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Kylo Ren - Wookieepedia - Wikia
Kylo Ren was a male human. Before he adopted the name of Kylo Ren, he was known as Ben. As Kylo Ren, he wore a black hood and cloak, a dark mask, and wielded a dangerous and crudely-built lightsaber he assembled himself. Ren wore a mask and helmet that altered his voice much like Darth Vader, his idol. However, unlike Vader, who needed a mask to keep him alive and hide a severely burned physique, Ren did not need a mask. It can be argued that he adopted a mask to be more like his grandfather, furthering the symbolism that the dark side acts as a tomb. His lightsaber, based on an ancient design dating back to the Great Scourge of Malachor, relied upon a cracked kyber crystal that could barely contain the power of the weapon, necessitating the lateral plasma vents that produced its signature crossguard quillons. The fractured crystal was also responsible for the unstable, serrated appearance of the weapon's red plasma blades. The crossguard exhaust ports were also useful in combat, such as when Kylo and Finn were pushing their lightsabers against one another, and Kylo was able to injure Finn's shoulder with his crossguard.