WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Star Wars: The Rise of Kylo Ren #4, by Charles Soule, Will Sliney, Guru-eFX and VC's Travis Lanham, on sale now.
While Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker and the rest of the Star Wars sequel trilogy didn't delve too deeply into Kylo Ren's history, Marvel's Star Wars: The Rise of Kylo Ren miniseries has given fans many of the answers they wanted about one of the most compelling characters of this Star Wars era.
From Ben Solo's fall from the Jedi Order to his fascination with Darth Vader, the series goes into every aspect of Kylo Ren's development. And now, Star Wars: The Rise of Kylo Ren #4 has revealed the story behind his crackling, sparking red lightsaber.
From the first time it ignited fans' imaginations in the teaser trailer for The Force Awakens, it was clear that this was a lightsaber unlike any other. complete with a unique crossguard. While reference books and concept art mentioned that its design hearkened back to the ancient Great Scourge of Malachor, where inferior designs for lightsabers resulted in the same crackling and crossguard appearance, the details of Kylo's weapon remained unknown.
But as this comic reveals, Kylo forces himself to slay his fellow Jedi trainees as he journies deeper into the Dark Side. Even though they were his most trusted friends and allies, Kylo felt the conflict between the Light and Dark Side ripping him apart and sought to kill them to settle the matter permanently. While he used the same blue lightsaber that he always had in battle, that weapon wouldn't work after Kyle made his dark transition.
Kylo disassembled the weapon later and retrieved the kyber crystal inside. Although kyber crystals are naturally blue, green or purple, Kylo clenched his in his fist in order to "bleed" it. Kyber crystals are known for not naturally conducting the Dark Side of the Force, so the bleeding process is a method by which Dark Side users bend the crystal to their will. As Kylo does so his fist literally starts to bleed and crackle with tendrils of crimson lightning, and the crystal shatters into two pieces.
While he was mostly successful in bleeding the crystal and turning the lightsaber's blade red, Kylo's lightsaber still has its signature flaw. Designers behind the lightsaber previously revealed that Kylo's crackling weapon had a flaw in it that necessitated the crossguard. Serving more as exhaust ports for inefficiently produced energy to keep the hilt from overheating than an intentional design choice, the crossguard compensated for a flaw in the lightsaber's design. The recent origin pinpoints just where that flaw sits. In the process of bending the crystal to his will, Kylo fractured the crystal in his fist.
The effect overheats the hilt as soon as Kylo puts it together, and he soon after compensates for it by adding in the iconic crossguard. Igniting his weapon for the first time, Kylo enters his position as the new leader of the Knights of Ren with a weapon forged to more accurately represent the rage and turmoil inside of him. Sputtering and sparking as a literal reflection of the struggle that defines Kylo's character, the origin couldn't be better at settling the mystery behind one of Star Wars' most intriguing weapons once and for all.