Warning: Contains SPOILERS for Star Wars #50! Since Luke Skywalker contemplating murdering Ben Solo, they’ve been left in a state of frustrated confusion, as that seems like the opposite of what Luke would do considering he spent the entire original trilogy trying to save Darth Vader. However, as Star Wars delves deeper into Luke’s pre-sequel trilogy past, fans are given one old quote that actually explains why he considered killing Ben (despite sparing Vader).

In Star Wars #50 by Charles Soule and Madibek Musabekov, Ben fell to the dark side and became Kylo Ren). Luke is telling Ben a story about the closest he, Leia, Lando, and Chewie ever came to assassinating the Emperor between the events of Episode V and VI, when they used a mystical weapon with the power to kill anyone from across the galaxy: the Grim Rose.

While Luke was telling this story to Ben, they began discussing Darth Vader, and how he, too, would have been affected by the Grim Rose if Luke’s mission was brought to its horrific conclusion. Luke its that he didn’t want Vader to die, as he wanted the chance to redeem his father. However, now that Luke was an older man, he has a very different opinion. “Looking back, I had no real reason to believe that. The confidence of youth, the inevitability of happy endings. I wanted it to be true, so it had to be true”.

Post-Original Trilogy Luke Skywalker Wouldn’t Have Tried to Redeem Darth Vader

Luke’s Newfound Pessimism is Why He Even Considered Killing Ben Solo

This revelation makes it much easier to accept that Luke Skywalker would consider killing Ben Solo the moment he sensed the darkness brewing within him, as he would have done the same thing to Darth Vader if Luke faced his father as an adult. Luke its that he didn’t actually sense the goodness in Vader, even when he was a kid. It was all just naive optimism (and perhaps Jedi hubris) that drove Luke’s insistence that Darth Vader could be saved.

While Vader did choose the light in the end, he gave absolutely no indication that he would try to find redemption - and, honestly, he didn’t deserve it. Darth Vader committed heinous atrocities on a cosmic scale. He slaughtered innocents in droves, he kept the galaxy in line through fear and sheer brute force, and - as every Star Wars fan re - he killed children before even donning the iconic suit. Only a dumb, optimistic kid could look at this person and think they could be saved, and in this issue, Luke was not that kid anymore.

If Luke Skywalker had faced off against Darth Vader as an adult, this Star Wars issue indicates that he would have killed him without a second thought. He saw Vader for the villain he was, not the Jedi Luke wished he could be. Sure, it all worked out in the end, but that was a major gamble. One that Luke would not have made later in life, and one he was not prepared to make again with Ben Solo.

Star Wars MUST Explain Luke Skywalker’s Breaking Point in Future Comics

Now that fans know why Luke Skywalker was so willing to kill Ben Solo, it’s time for Star Wars to explain exactly what happened to Luke to make him lose his optimism. Mere life experience during an era of peace in the galaxy shouldn’t be enough to break such an optimistic spirit as Luke Skywalker’s, especially when his optimism actually paid off in the original trilogy. Luke saw the goodness in Vader, and that’s exactly what saved him and the entire galaxy.

So, why would he lose that optimism? How did he get to the point where he’d raise a blade at his own nephew at the mere feeling of darkness within him? That is what Star Wars now needs to explain as it enters its next comic book era. The Star Wars comics are about to detail the Battle of Jakku, all while publishing an ongoing Thrawn comic series, as well as stories set in the ‘Mandoverse’ era of Star Wars canon. Therefore, Star Wars needs to make room to tell the story of how Luke lost his optimism.

There are any number of events that could take place between Episode VI and VII (which is the next era of Star Wars comics) that could explain how Luke became a pessimistic shell of his former self. However, no matter what happened, this Star Wars comic explains that Luke Skywalker viewed Darth Vader as someone who wasn’t worth saving while he was training Ben Solo, which perfectly explains why he was so willing to kill Ben in the Star Wars sequel trilogy.

Star Wars #50 by Marvel Comics is available now.