Kylo Ren ' s helmet Kylo Ren ' s helmet was a combat helmet worn by the First Order warlord Kylo Ren after turning to the dark side of the Force . It was patterned on the battle gear of the Knights of Ren . Concealing the face of his former persona , the fallen Jedi Ben Solo , the helmet was designed to increase Ren ' s imposing demeanor . During the Battle of Starkiller Base , Ren was confronted by his father , Han Solo , who implored Ren to remove the helmet so that he could see the face of his son . Although the dark warrior granted Solo ' s request , he ultimately chose to kill his father in an effort to suppress the pull of the light side of the Force . This act of patricide failed to impress his master , Supreme Leader Snoke , who believed that it only increased the conflict within his apprentice , contributing to Ren ' s defeat at the hand of Rey — a Jakku scavenger with no prior experience in lightsaber combat . Ren returned to Snoke following the destruction of Starkiller Base ; displeased with his apprentice , the Supreme Leader insulted Ren ' s helmet and ordered him to remove it . Observing the dark warrior ' s wounded face , Snoke derided him as sentimental and unworthy of the legacy of Darth Vader — a fallen Sith Lord and the grandfather of Kylo Ren . Castigated by his master , Ren destroyed his helmet in a fit of rage and plotted to regain the status he lost as a result of his duel with Rey . Description . Kylo Ren ' s helmet was a battered , face - concealing black combat helmet with a silver inlay that radiated from the eye s as a symbol of power . Modeled on the battle gear worn by the Knights of Ren , the helmet served to hide Ren ' s former identity as Ben Solo — the nephew and fallen apprentice of Jedi Master Luke Skywalker . In addition , its aesthetic design and integrated voice - projecting vocabulator enhanced Ren ' s imposing appearance . Like the mask worn by his grandfather , Darth Vader , Ren ' s helmet had a built - in vocoder that modulated his voice , resulting in a deep , intimidating voice . The face mask was connected to the helmet via articulated arms driven by servomotors ; a hinged mechanism sealed the mask to the helmet . Although he wore the helmet to make himself appear more intimidating , on rare occasions he would remove it via the servomotors to stare down his opponents with unrestrained malice in his eyes . Despite the helmet ' s design , neither his father or master — Han Solo and Snoke , respectively — were impressed by it . Solo deemed the helmet unnecessary whereas Snoke thought it was ridiculous . History . During the rise of the First Order , Supreme Leader Snoke began training the fallen Jedi Ben Solo in the ways of the dark side of the Force . Adopting the persona of Kylo Ren , master of the Knights of Ren and champion of the First Order , Snoke ' s new apprentice took to regularly wearing a battle helmet that concealed his former identity as he sought to follow in the example of his grandfather , Darth Vader , who also wore a mask during his time as a Dark Lord of the Sith . In the year 34 ABY , Ren captured a Jakku scavenger named Rey during the hunt for his uncle and former master , Luke Skywalker , and brought her to Starkiller Base for interrogation . Assuming her captor was some form of a creature due to the way Ren concealed his face with a mask , she was surprised to discover that he was in fact a young human male . Ren donned his helmet once more after Rey escaped from her cell , but removed it again at the request of his father . Han Solo confronted his son in the hope of turning him back to the light side of the Force , causing Ren to drop the helmet and offer his lightsaber to Solo . Yet despite Solo ' s efforts to redeem his son , the First Order warlord killed his father by stabbing him through the chest with the lightsaber . The act of patricide did not strengthen Ren ' s connection to the dark side , however . It weakened him and contributed to his defeat in a duel with Rey in spite of her lack of experience in lightsaber combat , as observed by Snoke . Disappointed by his apprentice ' s failings , the Supreme Leader ordered Ren to remove his helmet , revealing the facial scar inflicted upon him by Rey . Whereas Snoke was once impressed by Ren ' s raw strength in the Force and the potential of his bloodline , he now regarded Ren as a child who hid behind a mask and had too much of his father ' s heart . Consumed by rage , Ren smashed his helmet into the wall of a turbolift . Through his anger , the Force gave him the strength to hammer the helmet against the wall until it was destroyed , to such an extent that it was reduced to shards . Afterward he endeavored to regain his status by proving his worth to Snoke . Behind the scenes . Kylo Ren ' s helmet was first introduced in the 2015 sequel trilogy film , directed by J . J . Abrams . It was later destroyed in Rian Johnson ' s 2017 film . Johnson regarded the decision to lose Kylo ' s mask for " The Last Jedi " as being somewhat " terrifying , " as the helmet was the symbol of the movie on the packaging for merchandise of " The Force Awakens " and had also proven a popular choice as a costume with children by the time " The Last Jedi " began filming . Despite this , and his own love of the helmet , he considered it an important aspect of the film to get inside Ren ' s character a little more and for viewers to be able to look into his eyes . Though " The Last Jedi " film and most of its literary adaptations showed Ren destroying his helmet by smashing it against the wall of the elevator aboard the " Supremacy " , the film ' s storybook adaptation described Ren destroying his helmet by crushing it beneath his feet .