Star Wars: The Force Awakens set up a mystery revolving around Darth Vader's burnt helmet, and how it was recovered may finally be revealed.

Summary

• The Force Awakens set up a mystery surrounding Darth Vader's helmet, and it seems that Star Wars is finally going to explore this mystery nearly a decade later.
• Kylo Ren's obsession with Vader is clear, but Star Wars never explained how he acquired the helmet. It is speculated that he may have found it himself on Endor, or it could have been passed down to him by Supreme Leader Snoke.
• The forthcoming book "The Steadfast Soldier" may reveal the story of how Vader's helmet was recovered and its connection to Kylo Ren. This discovery is critical to Emperor Palpatine's manipulation of Ren.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens set up a Darth Vader mystery that went unanswered in the sequel trilogy, but it may finally be explored eight years later. As a direct continuation of George Lucas' saga, The Force Awakens had the responsibility of building on where Return of the Jedi left off, with Anakin Skywalker redeemed and a Jedi once more. The sequels never so much as referenced Anakin Skywalker's name, though the films were rich with references to Darth Vader. Rather than track Anakin's regrets as a Force ghost, it was the legacy of Vader that held weight in the trilogy.

Anakin's grandson Kylo Ren was introduced as a Darth Vader obsessive, going so far as to craft a helmet emulating that of the Sith Lord's. Ren is in possession of Vader's helmet itself, a charred husk of what it once was when his grandfather terrorized the galaxy. He speaks to the helmet, believing Vader offers him guidance from beyond the grave, though it's later revealed that the resurrected Emperor Palpatine was the voice in his head all along. It's unclear when Ren's infatuation with Vader started or how he acquired his grandfather's helmet, but Star Wars is on the brink of finally solving the mystery.

Star Wars Has Never Explained How Kylo Ren Got Darth Vader's Mask

While his idolization of the relic is made clear, Star Wars never explained how Kylo Ren acquired Darth Vader's helmet. The young dark sider believed he could be a new Vader for a time, his greatest fear being that he could never live up to the strength of his grandfather. For someone so obsessed with Vader, it would make sense that Ren sought to retrieve every possession the Sith Lord had. He felt a sense of ownership over Anakin Skywalker's lightsaber as well, though the weapon didn't choose him back until Ben Solo returned on Exegol in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.

It would seem the obvious answer to the mystery is that Kylo Ren went to Endor and found Vader's helmet himself. Such an artifact is worth a personal mission, and it's doubtful the Ewoks would ever lay their paws on Vader's charred armor. The remains of the Sith Lord could have waited 25 years before being picked up by Kylo, a Jedi cremation being turned into a symbol of darkness again. But unless Luke Skywalker told his nephew about the funeral pyre, Kylo wouldn't know where to look. It's possible that Star Wars has a more immediate solution for the helmet's retrieval, one that predates Ben Solo's birth.

Did General Pryde Find Darth Vader's Mask On Endor?

The forthcoming anthology book From a Certain Point of View: Return of the Jedi features a story about Allegiant General Pryde, "The Steadfast Soldier" by Adam Christopher. Star Wars retcons The Rise of Skywalker's villain into the Battle of Endor, where he watches helplessly as the Death Star II is destroyed. The book's editor teased in a tweet that Pryde will venture to Endor's surface after the Empire's defeat, where he finds something noteworthy. Beyond wreckage and celebrating Ewoks, the only thing for Pryde to find on Endor is Darth Vader's mask.

"The Steadfast Soldier" may be telling the story of how Vader's helmet was recovered by the Imperial Remnant. It would later be passed down to Kylo Ren, perhaps as a gift from Supreme Leader Snoke to sink his claws into his new apprentice. Pryde may instead elect to leave Vader's mask behind on Endor, but when the First Order rises he brings Kylo to it on Palpatine's command. The mask is a means of dark inspiration and manipulation for Sidious to use against Ren, making it critical that Pryde's discovery be shared. While The Force Awakens and its sequels failed to answer the question, Star Wars appears to be resolving the mystery of Darth Vader's helmet nearly a decade after its reveal.

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