WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for Star Wars: The Rise of Kylo Ren #2, by Charles Soule, Will Sliney, Guru-eFX and VC's Travis Lanham, on sale now.
Marvel's Star Wars: The Rise of Kylo Ren continues to flesh out Ben Solo's descent from promising Jedi padawan to fallen Sith acolyte. The second issue takes us back to a time in his adolescence when his first master, Luke Skywalker, still commanded his respect, and mopped the floor with the Knights of Ren.
In an extended flashback sequence, we see Ben, Luke and Lor San Tekka -- who gave Poe Dameron the first piece of the puzzle to tracking down Luke in The Force Awakens -- headed to a planet called Elphrona. Lor San Tekka suspects there might be old Jedi artifacts there and, upon arrival, it becomes clear he's probably right if the giant stone Jedi statues and Indiana Jones-style temple carved into the rockface are anything to go by.
"This isn't an outpost," Luke remarks as they enter a storage room lined with objects. "It's a treasure trove." Both Jedi are suddenly alerted to a cold presence and turn to see the masked Knights of Ren behind them. Their anonymous leader lays claim to everything in the room but offers the trio the chance to escape with their lives. Luke stands firm, though, pointing out that as "the last Jedi" everything related to the Jedi Order belongs to him. Meanwhile, Ben chastises the renegade group for threatening a legend like Jedi Master Luke Skywalker.
The Knights' leader, Ren, ignites his red lightsaber, spurring Luke to do the same. He instructs Ben to watch out for Lor San Tekka. Ben agrees, but worriedly points out that his uncle is about to engage in a seven-on-one brawl. "Oh... I'll be just fine," Luke assures him, in a cooly confident manner that calls back -- or, forward -- in the timeline to the demeanor of his Force projection at the end of The Last Jedi.
Demonstrating his nimble manipulation of the Force, Luke weaves and dodges through the squad of attackers, commenting on their "clumsy" use of the Dark Side, which he compares to a hammer in contrast to the precise blade of the Light Side. Luke stops short of killing the Knights, leading Ren to take extreme measures. He claims he's triggered an explosive kill switch in his lightsaber which will activate should Luke disarm him of the weapon. The Jedi Master is unfazed, however, retorting that the move won't "go the way [he] expects." Ren, unwilling to test the waters -- or lose such a rare instrument -- agrees to withdraw his men.
At that point, Ben was still suitably impressed by his uncle's skills. But, as the issue shows, Snoke's whisperings in his mind, coupled with Ren's words about a "shadow" inside of the padawan and an open-ended offer to join the Knights -- his parting gift -- were already pushing his curiosity elsewhere.