Why is Kylo Ren the Center of Episode VII Merchandise?

Why is Kylo Ren the Center of Episode VII Merchandise? January 20, 2017

I recently came upon these shirts in the boys’ clothing section at Walmart:

16145770_10104128800847008_864559462_o

The shirts both feature Kylo Ren, the primary villain of Star Wars Episode VII: A Force Awakens. I found myself suddenly curious. The heroes of Episode VII—the good guys—were Rey, a young white woman, and Finn, a young black man. But if you go to the Walmart website and google “Star Wars A Force Awakens shirt” there are half a dozen shirts prominently featuring Kylo Ren for every one shirt even picturing Finn. The same thing happens if you put those words in a google search.

In fact, if you search “Star Wars Kylo Ren shirt” on the Walmart website, you’ll find pages and pages of shirts prominently featuring Kylo Ren, generally alone. If you search “Star Wars Finn shirt” you’ll find only a meager handful of the same. (The situation is only slightly better if you search “Star Wars Rey shirt.”)

Is Kylo Ren simply “cooler” than Finn? Or do manufacturers think white boys won’t wear shirts depicting a black hero? It’s possible the issue isn’t race—Star Wars fans have often seemed more fascinated with Darth Vader than with Luke or (to a lesser extent) Han Solo. Even then, I’m curious as to  why. Darth Vader is a mass murderer. What is it that gives him such a fan base? Why are villains sometimes idolized more strongly than heroes—perhaps particularly when it comes to Star Wars?

I have a Patreon! Please support my writing!


Browse Our Archives