There may be a lot of controversy among certain fans over the new Star Wars movies Disney began releasing with Episode VII: The Force Awakens, but one things most fans agree on is the new characters are exceptional. Whether you're a fan of Rey or prefer Finn as a new hero in the universe, it's pretty hard to forget about Kylo Ren.
Kylo Ren is a chaotic character whose origins place him somewhere in the middle between the light and the dark side of the Force. While he has clearly demonstrated a willingness to do whatever is necessary to achieve his goals, the guy is seemingly wrestling with some demons. He's impatient and violent but determined to live up to his grandfather's legacy.
One thing Kylo has shown us in the two films he's appeared in is that he possesses a strong command of the Force. He easily stopped a blaster bolt in midair and kept it suspended while interrogating Poe Dameron, which shows his level of concentration is incredibly high. He has further demonstrated his fighting skills with his lightsaber in the Last Jedi and can clearly handle himself.
Even with all his skills, he is far from the most powerful Force user in the Star Wars universe. When you expand the search outside of canon into the realm of the so-called Star Wars Legends, he pales in comparison to many. That being said, he is still powerful and there are those who are below his level.
Here are 15 Characters Stronger Than Kylo Ren (And 5 Weaker).
STRONGER: QUI-GON JINN
Qui-Gon Jinn was only in one film in the original prequel trilogy, but he had a lasting impact on the series. While he was alive, he demonstrated a mastery of the Force and was capable wielding a lightsaber. Though he fell in battle against Darth Maul, he would have certainly been a match for Kylo Ren.
One of the things Kylo Ren lacks that Qui-Gon Jinn possessed was a mastery over his emotions.
Kylo would certainly be a difficult opponent in a fight, but he would let his emotions (most notably his rage) get the better of him while Qui-Gon would maintain a level head throughout the fight. This would give the Jedi an edge in the battle making him the stronger of the two.
STRONGER: DARTH MAUL
Darth Maul is the Sith equivalent of a cockroach; the guy just can't be taken out. When we first saw him, he battled and slew Qui-Gon Jinn. This was followed with his quick bifurcation at the hands of Obi-Wan Kenobi, but that barely slowed him down. Unbeknownst to the Jedi, Darth Maul survived.
Later, he showed up in Star Wars: The Clone Wars with robotic legs and more recently in Solo: A Star Wars Story. Aside from his relative permanence, he is skilled with all manner of lightsaber combat and has a mastery of the Force thanks to his tutelage under Darth Sidious.
His ability to wield a duel-bladed lightsaber enables him to fight off two powerful foes at one time.
WEAKER: SUPREME LEADER SNOKE
Supreme Leader Snoke is presented in The Force Awakens and Last Jedi as an extremely powerful Force user. He is easily able to move objects with his mind from great distances and has other abilities that suggest he is more than capable of defeating his Apprentice, Kylo Ren.
That's what everyone, including Snoke, believes until the fateful moment when Kylo succeeds in tricking Snoke right before he turns on the lightsaber sitting beside him on his throne.
Within an instant, this powerful leader is bifurcated and removed from the equation.
It's not uncommon for a Sith Apprentice to dispatch their Master, but hardly anyone saw this one coming -- including Snoke.
STRONGER: DARTH SIDIOUS
Sheev Palpatine was just a lowly Senator from Naboo when he began to rise through the political spectrum to take on the role of head of the Galactic Government. It turned out, he was Darth Sidious the whole time— working to create a conflict that would require the government to launch an army of clones and get behind him making him the Emperor.
As the Emperor, he oversaw the destruction of countless worlds and even commissioned the creation of the Death Star. With this weapon, the Empire destroyed Alderaan and everyone on it.
Ultimately, he fell to his apprentice, Darth Vader, but he was one of the most powerful members of the Sith in a long time, suggesting he could easily have dispatched Kylo Ren were they to have met.
STRONGER: DARTH TYRANUS
Darth Tyranus, otherwise known as Count Dooku, was a pupil of Jedi Master Yoda until he turned to evil. Following the purported demise of Darth Maul, he took his place at Darth Sidious' side as his apprentice, but his powers were far beyond those of a Jedi Padawan at the time. He worked to create the conflict used to initiate the Clone Wars while pretending to remain on the side of good.
Between his evil machination and his ability to cast Force Lightning, he likely would have beaten Kylo Ren in a fight.
His time in the Star Wars universe came to an end at the hands of Anakin Skywalker, but it was all part of Sidious' plan to bring him to the dark side.
STRONGER: MACE WINDU
Mace Windu was one of the leading members of the Jedi High Council when the Galactic Republic fell. He confronted Chancellor Palpatine when his true nature as a Sith was revealed, Windu was the last Jedi standing after his fellow Jedi were dispatched within a few seconds of their engagement.
He ended up winning the fight and would have taken out Palpatine before he could truly become Emperor if it weren't for the treasonous act of Anakin Skywalker. Instead of helping Windu, he attacked him and kept Palpatine alive. This act made him Darth Vader, but it also kept a powerful Jedi from doing what needed to be done.
Windu's ability to beat Palpatine means he wouldn't break a sweat taking out Kylo Ren.
WEAKER: GENERAL GRIEVOUS
General Grievous is the only person on this list who is not a natural Force user, but that doesn't make him any less dangerous with the weapons normally attributed to the Jedi and Sith. Grievous was a fan of hunting down and slaying Jedi, which is how he was able to amass such an impressive collection of lightsabers.
Thanks to his being mostly made of machine, he was able to split his arms in two and wield four lightsabers in battle. Ultimately, he met his match when he battled Obi-Wan Kenobi, who was able to deflect each attack and remove the offending arms.
While he nearly won the battle, Kenobi surprised him and was able to win in the end.
Against Kylo, Grievous would likely have fallen as well, but he might have put up a good fight first.
STRONGER: OBI-WAN KENOBI
There's no denying that Obi-Wan Kenobi was a truly powerful member of the Jedi Order when he was alive. He was instrumental in shutting down Anakin's rise to the dark side, he watched over and helped bring Luke Skywalker into the Force.
After his demise at the hands of his former Padawan, he became more powerful than he could possibly have imagined.
Obi-Wan not only became a powerful user of the Force and an exceptional combatant with a lightsaber during his lifetime, he continued to guide and balance the Force long after his demise. He instructed Luke as a Force Ghost and helped him blow up the Death Star. He would have wiped the floor with Kylo Ren -- and possibly still could.
STRONGER: DARTH PLAGUEIS
Everyone needs a teacher, and for Darth Sidious, that teacher was Darth Plagueis. Plagueis may have been dispatched by his pupil in his sleep, as recalled in Revenge of the Sith, but he was incredibly powerful while he was awake.
He was so obsessed with finding the key to immortality that he learned to manipulate midi-chlorians to create it.
His studies also taught him how to prevent mortality by using midi-chlorians, so were he awake when Sidious assaulted him, he might have been able to keep himself going. Plagueis' skills and knowledge of the dark Sside of the Force place him far higher than Kylo Ren in terms of skills, so it's a good thing the two never met in battle.
STRONGER: LUKE SKYWALKER
Of all the Force users we have seen on film, few compare to the likes of Luke Skywalker. He was the hero of the original trilogy and not only was he instrumental in bringing about the downfall of Darth Sidious, he ended up creating a new Jedi Academy following the destruction of the Empire.
It was at that Academy that he trained his nephew Ben Solo, also known as Kylo Ren.
When the two finally met in battle, Luke didn't even bother to show up in the flesh.
He projected himself across the stars and distracted his former Padawan long enough to let the Rebels escape.
Now that he has passed, he could become a powerful Force Ghost, just like his teachers before him.
STRONGER: DARTH BANE
Darth Bane lived more than a thousand years before the first film series so he wouldn't have met up with Kylo without some sort of time travel. That's a good thing for Kylo, seeing as Bane was one of the most powerful Sith Lords to ever roam the galaxy. Bane developed his powers early in childhood when he subconsciously ended his abusive father's life.
He later studied the teachings of Darth Revan thanks to a Sith Holocron and developed a mastery over the Force. He was also responsible for creating the "Rule of Two," which stipulated only two members of the Sith could exist in the galaxy at one time: a Master and an apprentice.
WEAKER: KIT FISTO
During the years leading up to the Clone Wars, Kit Fisto rose through the ranks of the Jedi Order. He proved his skills at the Battle of Geonosis and became a Jedi General. Sometime during the Clone Wars, he was elevated in rank again to be given a seat on the Jedi Council, the highest rank and honor a Jedi could attain.
Unfortunately, his position on the Council resulted in his demise when Anakin Skywalker informed Mace Windu that Chancellor Sheev Palpatine was a Sith Lord. When Windu took Jedi Masters Agen Kolar and Sasee Tiin to Palpatine's office, Fisto accompanied him and was quickly dispatched in the fight.
Being taken out so easily by Palpatine suggests he wouldn't have lasted long in battle against Kylo Ren.
STRONGER: YODA
Jedi Master Yoda was not only the most powerful member of the Jedi Council who stood up to Darth Sidious in their epic battle, he was also 900 years old when he passed away.
His experience and understanding of the Force made him easily one of the most powerful characters ever seen on screen. And he wasn't bad with a lightsaber either.
Yoda was responsible for training Luke Skywalker and an untold number of Jedi who came before him.
Even after he passed away, his Force Ghost continued to steer the course of events in the galaxy. He was even shown using Force Lightning as a ghost in The Last Jedi, which suggests his Ghost could probably take on Kylo.
Stronger: REY
There are arguments for both sides, but given what we have seen in The Last Jedi and The Force Awakens, it definitely appears that Rey has much more innate strength than Kylo Ren.
When she withstood, and at times overpowered him, in The Force Awakens, Rey did not even fully understand what the Force was, while Kylo had years of training under the uber-powerful Snoke.
We also saw that Rey was able to shut Ren out of their Force bond at the end of The Last Jedi.
Given Rey is just beginning and she has already wounded Kylo Ren in a fight, she will likely exceed his power even further.
WEAKER: DARTH MALAK
Darth Malak was the Apprentice to Darth Revan, but both men began their careers as members of the Jedi Order. They ended up defying the Jedi Council when they defended the Republic against the invading Mandalorians. As they continued to pursue the Mandalorians, the two men fell to the Dark SIde of the Force. Both became truly powerful, but their relationship got a little hostile.
In true dark side fashion, Darth Malak slew his Master and took his place as a Dark Lord of the Sith. Unfortunately, for Malak, Revan didn't succumb to his Apprentice's attack and returned later to take revenge upon his former pupil.
Darth Malak was a memorable character, but he would likely have fallen in battle against the likes of Kylo Ren.
STRONGER: GALEN MEREK
Galen Marek is the playable character in Star Wars: The Force Unleashed and its sequel. He was taken in as an apprentice to none other than Darth Vader, but this was done in secret without Darth Sidious' knowledge.
Marek proves to be incredibly powerful with the Force due to a heightened Sensitivity that enables him to master a number of powers rather quickly.
Throughout the two games, the player take Marek throughout the galaxy, hunting Jedi. Eventually, he moves from the dark side of the Force to the light, but along the way, he takes out powerful enemies, pulls a Star Destroyer from orbit onto a planet, and masters just about every Force power known.
He would easily take out Kylo Ren were the two to ever meet in battle.
STRONGER: DARTH NIHILUS
Darth Nihilus was one of the Dark Lords of the Sith who took part in the Jedi Civil War. He was exposed to the dark energies of the Shadow Generator super-weapon on Melachor V, which altered his physiology in various ways.
He became a being who could only subsist on the Force Energy of others, which make him seek out and destroy Jedi. Doing so would make him stronger and keep him alive, but his condition worsened to the point that he had to bind his spirit within his armor and mask.
Eventually, he was defeated by the Jedi, but his spirit endured within his mask and armor, which were buried on Korriban, the Sith homeworld. He can still be contacted via a Sith Holocron suggesting he is effectively immortal.
STRONGER: DARTH REVAN
Darth Revan was a proud member of the tradition of starting as a Jedi, but going on to become a member of the Sith. He left the Jedi Order following his participation in the Mandalorian Wars and became the commander of a large invasion fleet of Sith vessels declaring war on the Republic.
Revan is ultimately defeated and taken before the Jedi Council who decides to wipe his memory.
It took a lot to bring him down, which is why he falls in the "Stronger" category.
It's likely that were Kylo Ren to face him in battle, he would have fallen to a greater enemy, but seeing as Revan was created for Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic and falls within the realm of Star Wars Legends, the two will never meet.
WEAKER: PLO KOON
Jedi Master Plo Koon was a leading member of the Jedi High Council who came to Geonisis for the fight that launched the Clone Wars. His biggest achievement was finding Ashoka Tano, but he remained a high-ranking Jedi General throughout the majority of the Clone Wars. Unfortunately, he was one of the Jedi who succumbed to the infamous Order 66.
When the order was given, his Troops turned on him while he was leading a squadron on Cato Neimodia. As he was one of the Jedi who fell to his own Troops, he would likely have similarly fallen were he to battle Kylo Ren.
Granted, he was taken by surprise when the Order was given, but his demise at the hands of Kylo seems a likely outcome were they to fight.
STRONGER: DARTH VADER
Anakin Skywalker was meant to bring balance to the Force, but as his Master once said, all he did was try to destroy it. When Anakin turned to the dark side, he did so with gusto— the guy went all out and destroyed the Jedi Temple (along with everyone inside). He unwittingly caused the passing of his wife while trying to save her and turned on his Master as the newly christened Darth Vader.
Vader swept through the galaxy removing any and all Jedi he could find. In a way, he did bring balance to the Force by reducing it to almost nothing, but that's not what the Jedi Council had in mind when they took him in.
As Kylo's grandfather, he is the standard Ren wishes to achieve, but he remains far from Vader's level of strength.
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What other Star Wars characters are stronger than Kylo Ren? Let us know in the comments!