Tai was a Force-sensitive human male Jedi Padawan who lived during the New Republic Era, having joined the Jedi Order under Jedi Master Luke Skywalker, Tai learned the ways of the Force alongside other students, including Skywalker's nephew Ben Solo. He was returning to Ossus from an off-world mission with fellow Jedi Hennix and Voe when the Jedi training temple was destroyed. Finding the temple ablaze, they confronted Solo who overpowered the trio before retreating to Snoke. The three Jedi pursued him, believing he was responsible for the death of their master, although Tai remained adamant that Solo was not a murderer. However, after Solo accidentally killed Hennix on Elphrona, Tai concluded that his former friend was lost and set himself to track him down with Voe so they could kill him. When they traveled to the Minemoon to confront Solo and the Knights of Ren, Tai made another attempt to get through to his friend Ben, but was then killed by "Ren," the leader of the Knights of Ren. Enraged by Tai's death, Solo killed Ren and fell to the dark side of the Force, becoming Kylo Ren.

Biography[]

Luke's pupils[]

During the New Republic Era, Jedi Master Luke Skywalker tried to restore the Jedi Order by training a new generation in the ways of the Force.^[4] Tai was one of Skywalker's apprentices, along with Hennix, Voe, and Ben Solo.^[2] On one occasion, the four Jedi lifted rocks under the supervision of Master Skywalker on the grounds of the Jedi temple where they trained.^[3]

Around 24 ABY,^[1] Tai and Solo talked about the latter's decision to hide so much about himself. When Ben told him that he did so because of the pressures of living up to his family's legacy, Tai assured him that he needed to be who he really was and that he wasn't as bad as he thought. Comforted, Solo asked him if he was really sure about his words, leading Tai to reiterate him that he shouldn't be afraid of what other people thought about him and just be himself, as the rest would follow.^[3]

The Temple's destruction[]

In 28 ABY,^[1] Tai was on an off-world mission^[5] with Voe and Hennix. By the time they returned to Ossus, the Jedi temple was destroyed. They confronted Solo amidst the burning ruins of the Jedi temple, having sensed only his presence in the Force. Solo, who believed their master tried to murder him in his sleep, told the students that he killed Skywalker in self-defense. Tai cautioned restraint, hoping to learn more about what had transpired from Solo's perspective, but the others drew their lightsabers and attempted to subdue Solo by force.^[2]

After Solo used the Force to overpower them, including Tai, the three Jedi returned to their starship Verity to prevent Solo's escape. Tai warned Voe against pursuing Solo, knowing that he came from a family that boasted some of the most renown pilots in the galaxy. Solo ultimately escaped and found sanctuary with Snoke, having disabled the Verity with his own vessel, the Grimtaash. Although the three Jedi agreed to continue pursuing Solo, Tai proposed informing Solo's mother, Leia Organa, about the situation. He was overruled by his colleagues, who believed they needed to learn the full story before involving anyone else.^[2] They traveled to the Jedi outpost on Elphrona where they found Solo with a mask that once belonged to Ren, the leader of the Knights of Ren. Tai, Voe, and Hennix approached him with lightsabers drawn and warned him that there was nowhere left to go.^[6]

Battle of Elphrona[]

With no other option, Solo engaged in a duel against Tai, Voe and Hennix. During the duel, Solo shoved Tai against some rocks with the Force before jumping away to flee. Regaining composure, Tai saw how Voe and Hennix followed Solo to a cliff to subdue him only for Solo to push Voe off the cliff to then freeze her amidst her fall. However, Hennix threw his lightsaber from behind to kill Solo, leading the conflicted apprentice to let go Voe and redirect Hennix's weapon back to him. Tai did his best to slow Voe's fall with the Force, but Hennix was already dead. Before they could do anything, Solo ordered them to enter into the Jedi outpost. Tai tried to ask Solo about Hennix's fate, but Solo insisted that it didn't matter anymore and pushed them into the outpost, then sealing the entrance with rocks.^[3]

Long after Solo left Elphrona for Varnak, Tai and Voe pushed the rocks off their way. Upon retrieving his own lightsaber and Hennix's, Tai told Voe that he had read Solo's mind and knew about his plans to meet the Knights of Ren so he could find his true path. When Voe assured him that she didn't care where Ben's path took him but how it would end, Tai agreed with her and declared that he thought their former friend to be lost.^[3]

Last stand on the Minemoon[]

Tai and Voe made their way to the Minemoon, where the Knights were in the midst of attacking a group of Mimbanese miners in order to steal the Mindsplinter, a powerful Force artifact. Tai called out to his former colleague but Solo was determined to prove his worth to Ren and his Knights. While Voe went to aid the Mimbaneses miners, Tai attempted to use his special bond with Solo to reason with him. However, Ben charged at him with his lightsaber.^[7]

Tai told Solo that he found him through the Force and chastised him for turning his back on the light side, prompting Solo to reply that he was carving his new path. Tai responded that it was not yet too late for Solo to turn around, saying that every path goes in two directions. When Tai argued about the ability to chose, Ben replied that both the light and dark sides of the Force prevented him from controlling his destiny. As the dueling progressed, the two moved over a bridge.^[7]

Unwilling to give up on Solo, Tai said it was not too late to turn on the light side and invited him to help defeat the Knights of Ren. Seeking to reach out to Solo, Tai laid down his lightsaber and urged Ben to choose between killing and sparing him. Before Solo could respond, the Knights of Ren's leader Ren used the Force to break Tai's neck, killing him. Enraged by his friend's death, Solo wielded Tai's lightsaber in conjunction with his own and used it to attacked and killed Ren, falling to the dark side of the Force. Solo then killed Voe and became the Knight's new leader, taking on the name "Kylo Ren" and bleeding his kyber crystal.^[7]

Personality and traits[]

Tai was a human male with pale skin and blue eyes. He had dark colored eyebrows, but no hair on his head. He wore the brown Jedi robes typical of members of the Jedi Order.^[2]

A Jedi apprentice, Tai had faith in Jedi Master Luke Skywalker and believed that he would not be able to do anything like trying to kill somebody.^[2] Tai was also friends with Ben Solo, his master's nephew and the Jedi temple's prize student. Unlike Voe and Hennix, Tai was able to talk with Ben about his insecurities and helped him by suggesting that he should be like he truly was instead of acting differently to live up to his family's legacy.^[3]

Tai trusted Ben Solo and did not believe he would willingly kill his uncle or their fellow Jedi. Even when the others sought to subdue Solo through physical force, he attempted to speak with him to understand what happened and was sympathetic to his struggles.^[2] However, following Hennix's accidental death at Solo's hands, Tai concluded that his former friend was lost and agreed with Voe to track him down so they could kill him.^[3]

Despite the loss of Hennix, Tai attempted to reason with Solo and bring him back to the light side, by appealing to the former bond of friendship between the two classmates. Tai even attempted to convince Solo to choose between killing or sparing him, which he equated to the tension between the light and dark side. Though Solo had rejected the Jedi Order, he respected Tai enough that he could not bring himself to kill his former classmate.^[7]

Powers and abilities[]

As a Jedi, Tai was sensitive to the Force,^[2] though not as gifted as Ben Solo.^[4] Through the Force, he had the ability to sense the presence of other sentient beings on the surface of a planet from space.^[2]

He was a highly skilled telepath, allowing him to sense the emotions of others as well as reach into the minds of other individuals to search for information. He would come to sense Ben Solo's emotional distress throughout their childhood and, during their second encounter after the young fallen Jedi fled Skywalker's temple, was strong enough to penetrate Ben's mind for a brief time and learned of his next location, which allowed him and Voe to track him.^[6]

He also knew how to use a type of Force healing where he would take on the pain of an injured being so that they would not feel it themselves, although he could not do it successfully when emotionally distracted.^[2] Tai was also a competent lightsaber duelist who was able to fight Ben Solo in combat. However, he was no match for the darksider Ren's powers.^[7]

Equipment[]

Tai wore tan Jedi robes with a brown cloak. He possessed a blue-bladed lightsaber with a metallic silver hilt with two stacked sphere-like shapes near the emitter.^[2]

Behind the scenes[]

Tai first appeared in the 2019 comic The Rise of Kylo Ren 1 written by Charles Soule, the first issue of Marvel's Star Wars: The Rise of Kylo Ren mini-series.^[2]

Although Tai had blue eyes throughout The Rise of Kylo Ren 1, in one panel they appeared brown.^[2]

Appearances[]

• The Rise of Kylo Ren 1 (First appearance)
• The Rise of Kylo Ren 2
• The Rise of Kylo Ren 3 (In flashback(s))
• The Rise of Kylo Ren 4

Sources[]

• The Creators of Marvel's Star Wars: The Rise of Kylo Ren on Ben Solo's Turn on StarWars.com (backup link)
• Ben Solo Seeks Out the Knights of Ren in The Rise of Kylo Ren #3 – Exclusive on StarWars.com (backup link)
• "Luke Skywalker" — Star Wars Encyclopedia
• "Kylo Ren and Other Followers of the Dark Side" — Star Wars Encyclopedia
• Star Wars: Timelines

Notes and references[]