Luke Skywalker’s Non-canon Child, Ben, Explained

One of the things that we know about Star Wars is that the Legends portion of the storyline is a lot deeper than the already established canon we have. That’s because there were plenty of stories written about the Star Wars characters after the fall of the Empire, and that means that the core trio of Luke, Leia, and Han were able to have their own families. Of course, Ben was an important part of the continuation of the Legends storyline. So, who is Ben?

Ben Skywalker is the son of Jedi Grand Master Luke Skywalker and Jedi Master Mara Jade. He was born a few years after the fall of the Empire and spent most of his younger years in Coruscant. He was mostly active as a Jedi during and after the Second Galactic Civil War.

Even though Ben Skywalker is no longer canon, as Luke never had a son in the current Star Wars canon, the thing about him is that he has a deep storyline that is quite engaging regardless of which between the canon and the Legends storylines you prefer. Now, let’s look at Ben Skywalker’s storyline in Star Wars Legends.

Ben Skywalker’s Story Explained

Old-school fans of the Star Wars franchise know that the storyline continued beyond the events of Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi. That’s because more stories were told through books and comics after the events of the original trilogy. That means that the characters we met and loved in the original trilogy went on to have their own lives and families after the fall of the Empire.

Of course, when Disney acquired Lucasfilm, retconned the entire Star Wars lore, and delegated the books to the “Legends” portion of Star Wars, the stories of Luke, Leia, and Han after the fall of the Empire were also retconned. Nevertheless, the Legends storyline of the Rebel heroes of the original trilogy is still something that fans love regardless of whether or not they are canon. And one such character that was introduced in the Legends portion of Star Wars was Ben Skywalker.

As his surname suggests, Ben Skywalker is the son of Jedi Grand Master Luke Skywalker, who established a new Jedi Order under his leadership. After the events of the Empire’s fall, he met Mara Jade, who also became a Jedi. The two married and bore a son that Luke named after his first mentor, Ben Kenobi. That means that he is Anakin Skywalker’s grandson, the man we all know as Darth Vader.

It was during a time of turmoil in the galaxy that Ben was born. That’s because the Yuuzhan Vong War happened during that time. This war kept Luke and Mara busy as they needed to ensure that certain worlds would be spared from the damage caused by this devastating war. That meant that Ben grew up under the care of Han and Leia Solo, who also had a son named Jacen Solo.

While Ben lived in Coruscant during his youth, he and the other Jedi apprentices moved to Maw. The Yuuzhan Vong War ended, but the devastation caused by the war was something that Ben felt through the Force. As such, he closed himself off to the Force for a long time after experiencing the pain of the effects of the war.

What Happened to Ben Skywalker?

By the time Ben was eight, another galactic crisis had happened. The Killik species of the Unknown Regions were discovered through their ability to telepathically connect with the Jedi through the Force. Because of this, Ben formed a connection with one of the Killiks, which tried to turn him against Mara Jade, his mother.

When Luke and Mara discovered what the Killik had been planning, they captured it. Meanwhile, Ben was placed under the care of his cousin, Jacen, who also became his Jedi Master, as he trained with him in the ways of the Force. Jacen Solo had just returned from a five-year absence to learn more about the Force, and it was through his knowledge that Ben could open himself up to the Force even though he was still apprehensive about it. Through Jacen’s teachings, Ben became more attuned to his Force abilities.

Five years later, the Second Galactic Civil War happened when the Corellian system and a few other systems left the Galactic Alliance. As such, Ben joined the Galactic Alliance Guard, which was secret police that worked to fight off the Corellian terrorists plaguing the galaxy. The one leading this secret police group was Jacen Solo.

It was through his involvement with the secret police that both Luke and Mara became concerned with their son, as he was quite aggressive in how he handled the Corellians on Coruscant. He participated in violent missions involving one of Corellia’s politicians and leaders. Through this, Jacen fell to the dark side of the Force, as he was tempted to shift over to that side by Sith Lady Lumiya. That was when Jacen became Darth Caedus.

Darth Caedus took over the Galactic Alliance and killed Mara Jade. When Ben learned Jacen was responsible for killing his mother, he decided to hunt him. However, Caedus was killed by his twin sister, Jaina, as the Second Galactic Civil War ended.

After the Second Galactic Civil War ended, Luke was exiled from Coruscant for failing to prevent Jacen from falling to the dark side. The only way he could return was for him to prove that Jace’s fall was not his doing. Ben had to accompany his father into exile. And during that time, anti-Jedi sentiment had greatly increased all over the galaxy, as several young Jedi went rogue due to an unexplainable madness. 

While in exile, Luke and Ben visited a lot of different Force-based organizations that Jacen studied with during his five-year absence from the Jedi Order. This was one of the things that they did to learn how and why Jacen fell into the dark side. During their journey, they were attacked by a group of Sith that they could barely escape.

During that time, the father-and-son duo continued to encounter and clash with several Sith operatives. However, they allied with the Sith to defeat the incredibly powerful Force-sensitive entity Abeloth, who was responsible for turning the Jedi Knights insane.

Ben became close with a Sith apprentice named Vestara Khai during this alliance. The Sith eventually betrayed the Jedi, as Ben and Luke escaped the betrayal and defeated Abeloth. Ben and Luke stayed behind to learn more about Abeloth’s origins and nature during this time.

Eventually, Ben, Luke, and Vestara teamed up together to defeat Abeloth and the Sith once more. Abeloth escaped as the Skywalker duo and Vestara continued their pursuit of this being. Vestara grew closer to Ben, who eventually formed a romantic relationship that was strong enough to convince her to turn to the light side by killing her father.

After that, they continued to fight Abeloth, only for the powerful entity to create a Force Storm. Ben was last seen helping Luke and Vestara save as many people as possible from the storm that Abeloth created.