How powerful is Kylo Ren?

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This article contains spoilers for Star Wars: The Force Awakens. If you don't want me to spoil one of the biggest secrets of the movie for you, then hit the Home Button now!

If you are still here it is probably because you have already seen the movie. Kylo Ren, Formely known as Ben Solo, is the son of Han Solo and the princess-turned-general Leia Organa. This means the Force is strong in his family. He might not have the Skywalker tag in his name, but he is a Skywalker nonetheless. As we all know, they are descendants of the most powerful Force sensitive being ever known, Anakin Skywalker (A.K.A. Darth Vader). Although J. J. Abrams didn't want to fall into the midiclorians debate, they are part of the lore and the reason why the Skywalkers are so powerful. But how powerful are they really? Or, how powerful could they actually be? Continue after the break to find out.

Why Darth Vader never showed real power in the movies
Darth vader is actually pretty powerful, more than you know. The same way Yoda used the force to allow his body to move fast so he could fight with Count Dooku (Episode II: Attack of the Clones), Darth Vader uses the force to keep himself functional. The armor can only do so much for him. A non-force user could not have survived the injuries and the transformation process he went through. Another good example of using the force to keep your body working or even alive is Darth Maul. In The Clone Wars, he says it himself when Savage Oppress (his brother) finds him: the dark side of the force has kept him alive. He uses his powers to stay alive and to be able to move using the spider like body he uses. But his abilities are limited by this, to the point of needing someone else to bring him victims to feed on. So it is safe to assume that Vader's power is limited too by the condition of his body.

Another important factor that limits Vader's powers is his command of the midiclorians. The midiclorians exist on every single living organism. Vader is part machine, so yes, the midiclorians don't run through his robotic parts, hence the reason he can't produce lightning bolts just like the emperor. He is still pretty powerful. He can even stop blaster bolts without a single scratch in his gloves. If you are thinking "that's because he stopped it with his robotic had." Well, not quite. Those prosthetic hands are not designed for that, and It's proven in Return of the Jedi when a pirate shoots Luke in the hand while on board Jabba's Skiff. So blaster bolts are useless on Vader, but can he stop them in midair?  I really don't think so.

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Kylo Ren is actually really powerful
Ren not only uses the force a lot during the movie, he also does pretty amazing stuff with it. He stops a blaster bolt in mid-air and keeps it there while talking and even using his lightsaber. He paralyzes and puts people to sleep with a move of his hand. He can read minds and dig into your secrets. But there is something else that is actually more impressive: He gets shot by Chewbacca's bowcaster and walks away to keep on fighting. Chewie's bowcaster is very powerful. TFA makes a point of showing how powerful it is, even Han Solo makes comments about that. One blast of it sends a First Order Stormtrooper flying through the sky. Another shot blows a piece of a wall and takes down 3 stormtroopers. After Kylo Ren kills his father, Chewbacca shoots it, hitting Ren on his left side, just below his ribs. Ren is bleeding because of this, but at the moment of fighting with Finn and Rey, he toughs its up. He hits his bleeding wound with his hands and takes on Finn and almost Rey, too. He is definitely using the force to keep himself going while fighting (we know he can do two things at the same time). Maybe that is why Rey was able to win the fight in the first place. Kylo Ren was not at full capacity and using his powers to sustain himself.


How powerful will he get?
Just imagine how different the lightsaber fight between Ren and Rey would have been if Ren was at full capacity. Maybe Rey would be missing a hand by now. Maybe Finn would be dead and not just wounded. But, Rey won but didn't kill Kylo Ren, although she was tempted (read all about that here). The last time we see Supreme Leader Snoke we can hear him say "Bring Ren with you, he will finish his training." This is actually scary. If he wasn't wounded, he could have taken on Rey. Now imagine how much he can do if he finishes his training. Will he be able to take on Luke? My guess is yes.

Images are copyright of Disney and Lucasfilm Ltd.