Star Wars: 15 of the best character introductions

Photo Credit: Lucasfilm

6. Kylo Ren – Star Wars: Episode VII The Force Awakens

The son of Han Solo and Princess Leia (apologies if you didn’t know that yet but we are way past the spoiler embargo on that one), Kylo Ren is the only character from Star Wars: Episode VII The Force Awakens to make the list.

Say what you will about the character now that we have gotten to know him and his strange need to be shirtless, Kylo Ren’s intro into Star Wars was pretty damn epic.

Taking place on Jakku, in search of the map to Luke Skywalker, the First Order had located the village where Lor San Tekka, the man with the map, had been hiding. Rounding everyone up from the village up, Kylo emerges from his ship surveying the chaos in front of him.

He asks Lor San Tekka for the information and as soon as realizes he does have it, guts him down with his lightsaber.

Poe Dameron is watching all of this from the edge of the village and when he sees Kylo kill San Tekka, he fires his blaster at him. Kylo, as if it was nothing simpler than going to the bathroom, just stops the blaster bolt dead in its tracks.

It just hangs there, in mid-air. As if it was nothing. Kylo then proceeds to carry out his search, executing the villagers, etc., etc. all while still holding this blaster bolt in mid-air.

Basically, in no more than two minutes, 30 seconds, Kylo emerges from his ship looking like a disciple of Darth Vader, kills Lor San Tekka with his lightsaber, uses the force to stop a blaster bolt in mid-air (something that had never been done before), captures and interrogates the best resistance pilot in the galaxy, orders the mass execution of the rest of the village, heads back to his ship and then releases the blaster bolt he held in mid-air to fly across the village slamming into a wall

If they were going for shock and awe with Kylo Ren’s introduction they certainly achieved it.