How Powerful Is Kylo Ren Compared to Other Powerful Sith & Jedi?

The continuation of the Star Wars storyline found a new redeemable antagonist: Kylo Ren, who used to be Ben Solo before he turned to the dark side. Ren was the main antagonist of the earlier part of the Star Wars sequel trilogy before he found redemption in Rey, who was instrumental in pulling him back to the light side of the Force. Throughout the entire sequel trilogy, it was clear that Kylo Ren was a talented user of the Force and was skilled in lightsaber combat. But just how powerful was Kylo Ren?

Kylo Ren possessed the innate potential of a Skywalker, and that’s why he was unusually powerful in the Force and could reach levels that not all Jedi and Sith can reach. He was also incredibly skilled in lightsaber combat and was Luke Skywalker’s most talented student in terms of his lightsaber skills.

As powerful as Kylo Ren was, it was clear that he could never reach his full potential as a Force user because he met an untimely death at the end of the Skywalker Saga. Nevertheless, we know that Ren was incredibly skilled because he was a Skywalker who carried his family’s bloodline. So, with that said, let’s look at just how strong Kylo Ren was.

How Powerful Is Kylo Ren?

Even though we’ve seen a lot of different Jedi and Sith in the past, Kylo Ren found himself in a unique position when he was introduced during the events of Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens. That’s because he was neither Jedi nor Sith but was someone who Supreme Leader Snoke taught to learn how to use both the light and the dark sides of the Force to become incredibly powerful. As such, his innate talents were apparent because he was born as a Skywalker.

Originally named Ben Solo, Kylo Ren was the son of Leia Organa and Han Solo. He was one of the first students that Luke Skywalker trained in his new Jedi Order. And because he was a Skywalker that hailed from the bloodline of Anakin Skywalker, whose potential in the Force was never matched by anyone in history, he had the genetics that turned him into an innately powerful Force user.

In that regard, Kylo Ren possessed the potential of a powerful Force user, and it did not take long to become Luke Skywalker’s top student in his new Jedi Order. Ren quickly showcased his talents as a lightsaber combatant by easily surpassing all of his peers in Luke’s Jedi Order. And when he turned to the dark side, he used a combination of a lot of different styles of lightsaber combat, including the famed Form V that the Skywalkers use and the Form VII that users of the dark side favor.

Kylo Ren was so skilled in using a lightsaber that he defeated the remnants of Luke’s Jedi Order, and he earned the nickname “Jedi Killer” within the First Order due to his accomplishments. And he also showcased just how skilled he was when he defeated the Elite Praetorian Guard and the Knights of Ren with the help of Rey, even though they were both outnumbered.

Thanks to his Skywalker blood, Kylo Ren was a very skilled Force user and incredibly strong in using his telekinetic abilities. While he never learned to use Force Lightning, he had the same skill as Darth Vader regarding his telekinesis, as he was strong enough to stop a blaster bolt in the middle of the air. Kylo Ren was also strong enough to pull an entire shuttle using the Force, all while Rey was also pulling the shuttle toward her in what was a tug-of-war of Force telekinesis.

On top of that, Kylo Ren could use his influence over other people’s minds in a manner we haven’t seen before. He can probe another person’s mind and use this skill to gain information. And in Star Wars: Resistance, he showed the ability to influence another person’s mind regardless of how far away that person was.

Overall, Kylo Ren’s skills with a lightsaber and innate talent with the Force put him on par with some of the upper-tier Jedi and Sith we’ve seen in the past. It might be true that he was never strong enough to defeat Rey, who was in the early stages of her Jedi training, but that doesn’t take away the fact that he is still stronger than most Jedi and Sith.

Nevertheless, the problem with Kylo Ren is that he was too sloppy and unbalanced. It might be true that he could become one of the strongest of all time. But he could never handle his emotions properly and had difficulty balancing his Jedi persona of Ben Solo with his dark side persona of Kylo Ren. That is why he was often too emotional and was prone to making crucial mistakes.

How Does Kylo Ren Compare to Other Powerful Sith and Jedi?

To truly see just how strong Kylo Ren is, let’s compare him to some of the other powerful Sith and Jedi in the history of Star Wars.

Luke Skywalker

Luke Skywalker was the son of the Chosen One and was the man that defeated Darth Vader and allowed him to redeem himself by killing Emperor Palpatine. As such, Luke was strong enough to defeat one of the strongest Force users in galactic history. And he eventually went on to pass his teachings on to a new batch of Jedi by attempting to reform the Jedi Order.

Of course, Luke was Ben Solo’s first master before he turned into Kylo Ren. But Ren never reached Luke’s level in the Force and lightsaber combat. Even a Force projection that Luke used was enough to give Kylo Ren problems. As such, the real Luke would have defeated Ren right then and there.

Darth Vader

Darth Vader used to be Anakin Skywalker before he turned to the dark side. Anakin had the highest potential in the Force in the galaxy’s history before losing his limbs and life-threatening injuries after losing to Obi-Wan Kenobi in their first real duel. Even though he never reached his full potential, Darth Vader was so strong that he spent two decades hunting and killing powerful Jedi Masters and Knights all over the galaxy.

There is no doubt that Vader was always more powerful than Kylo Ren, as the former Ben Solo tried his best to reach the same power level and strength in the dark side of the Force that his grandfather achieved more than three decades ago. Vader was the standard that Ren was never able to surpass, as the reason why he trained under Snoke was to find a way to become as great as his grandfather.

Obi-Wan Kenobi

The truth is that Obi-Wan Kenobi was never one of the strongest Jedi as he wasn’t the most talented out of all of the Jedi of his era. However, his wisdom, experience, and inner serenity allowed him to reach a strength that not even the most talented Jedi before him could. That is why Kenobi defeated Darth Vader not once but twice.

While it might be true that Kylo Ren has more raw potential than Obi-Wan, the problem is that Ren’s power in the Force is so raw and unbalanced that he doesn’t know how to utilize it properly. On the other hand, Kenobi is always calm under pressure and can reach inner balance in the Force. As such, he can always use his experience and calm demeanor to overcome a powerful opponent like Kylo Ren.