

However, that doesn’t make him a worse character. Sick crossguard lightsaber notwithstanding, that makes the last of the Knights of Ren less cool, by definition. Just as the First Order is essentially a Galactic Empire cover band, Kylo Ren is a Darth Vader impersonator. Everything about Kylo Ren’s Sith Lord persona is derivative of his famous forbearer, from the black helmet whose shape implies a pained grimace, to his cape, to his distorted voice. So, naturally, his grandson, Kylo Ren (aka Ben Solo), had some huge boots to fill when he debuted in Star Wars: The Force Awakens in 2015.

(RIP to those younglings, Remember Alderaan, et cetera.) Our point is that, since 1977, Darth Vader has been the standard by which all other Big Bads are measured. Vader is so superficially awe-inspiring that we have to remind ourselves occasionally that this guy is a mass murderer and that gushing about him to this extent is probably a bad look. He’s outer space’s greatest movie monster, an unstoppable half-human menace whose powers are limited only by the available special effects. We’re talking about a figure so imposing and confident that he makes wearing a respirator look rad as hell. Judging by pure cool factor, there are precious few villains in cinematic history who can contend with the OG Sith Lord himself, Darth Vader. Darth Vader is unquestionably cooler than Kylo Ren Disney
