Durron, Kyp

• Appeared in:
  
  I
  II
  III
  IV
  V
  VI
  CW

• Homeworld:
  Deyer Colony of Anoat

• Species:
  Human

• Gender:
  Male

• Size:
  1.77 meters

• Weapon:
  Lightsaber

• Vehicle:
  X-wing fighter, Sun Crusher

• Affiliation:
  Jedi, Galactic Alliance

• 

From the Expanded Universe

Time and again Kyp Durron has faced incredible hardship, and has emerged stronger from the experience, yet not unscathed. Durron's attunement to the Force is very powerful, and the restraint taught by his master, Luke Skywalker, could barely contain the impetuous young Jedi. When Durron abandoned his restraint and gave into his emotions, the results were disastrous.

Durron was born to outspoken political activists in the Deyer colony of the barren Anoat system. When their views bordered on treason, Imperial stormtroopers raided the Durron home and rounded up the dissidents. Kyp and his parents were sentenced to hard labor at the Kessel spice mines while his older brother Zeth was drafted into the Imperial military at Carida.

A year into his sentence, Kyp's parents were killed in a prison revolt. The orphan toiled away in pitch darkness, extracting precious glitterstim for refinement in the processing centers of Kessel. During his time there, his path crossed that of a mysterious old woman named Vima-Da-Boda, who told him of the Force and helped nurture his nascent talents. But even that contact was denied him as Vima was transferred elsewhere.

For eight years Durron slaved away with little hope of liberty, until New Republic representative Han Solo and Chewbacca were incarcerated by the corrupt Kessel government. Solo and Chewbacca shared a work detail with Kyp, and the seasoned youngster provided valuable survival tips to the Republic heroes.

Solo and Chewie included Kyp in a daring prison break that saw the trio escape in a commandeered Imperial shuttle. Kyp demonstrated enormous Force-potential when he instinctively navigated his way through the maelstrom of black holes bordering the Kessel system. Although their ship was drawn into the Maw Cluster, Kyp somehow safely navigated them into the "eye" of the storm, and a top secret Imperial installation.

Although freed from the Kessel mines, Han, Chewie and Kyp were again imprisoned, this time by Imperial forces unaware that the Galactic Civil War had played itself out nearly a decade earlier. Maw Installation was a secret think tank of theoreticians and engineers carrying on the late Grand Moff Tarkin's legacy of superweapon development. Sunken into the nearly inaccessible Maw Cluster, these Imperials had no idea as to the true state of the outside galaxy.

Locked up in the complex, Solo was able to convince the na?ve scientist Qwi Xux the errors of her ways and the true nature of the Empire. Breaching decades of Imperial brainwashing, Solo appealed to Qwi's passion for life, and the willowy Omwati alien liberated Solo, Chewbacca, and Kyp, and fled the Maw Cluster in the installation's most stunning achievement -- the ultimate weapon-ship, the Sun Crusher. Once in possession of the Sun Crusher, the New Republic did away with the controversial craft by plunging it into the heart of the Yavin gas giant.

In fleeing the Maw, it was again Kyp Durron who instinctively navigated his way to freedom. At this time, Luke Skywalker was gathering candidates for his newly formed Jedi academy on Yavin 4. He tested Durron and was astounded by the youth's potential. The years of hardship had tainted Kyp, though. Having lived without freedom or family for years, he made a promise to himself never to be weak or overpowered again. This determination, fueled by anger and fear, brought Kyp ever closer to the dark side.

Skywalker's first class of Jedi students was an eclectic mix of Force-attuned beings from across the galaxy. Kyp was easily the most powerful, and he quickly grew impatient at Skywalker's pace of instruction. Unbeknownst to Luke, an evil presence had infested his praxeum. The shadowy spirit of a long-dead Dark Lord of the Sith, Exar Kun, resided in the ancient temples of Yavin 4. Seeing a capable youth easy to exploit, Kun whispered promises of power to Kyp and was secretly training him.

Possessed by the dark side, Kyp was determined to be the first new Dark Lord since the deaths of the Emperor and Vader. Filled with righteous vengeance, Kyp sought to end the Empire's destructive ways. Kyp confronted Skywalker on Yavin 4 and used his dark side energies to knock Luke into a coma. Incredibly, Kyp was then able to summon the Sun Crusher from the depths of Yavin 4 to use as his personal conveyance. As part of his maddened vigilantism, Durron ensured that another Sun Crusher would never be built by using the Force to tear all knowledge of the superweapon project from Qwi Xux's vulnerable mind.

Armed with the Sun Crusher, Kyp soared to Carida, the heart of the Imperial Academy. Kyp launched the Sun Crusher's resonance torpedoes into Carida's sun, triggering a chain reaction that would destroy the system. As he watched the inevitable, Kyp was shocked to learn that his brother Zeth was a trooper stationed on Carida. Kyp not only failed to rescue Zeth, but was the unwitting agent of his sole surviving relative's death.

Han Solo was disheartened to learn of Kyp's spree of destruction. Han chased Kyp down and confronted him. At this very moment, Luke's students at the Jedi Academy were able to defeat the dark spirit of Exar Kun, freeing Kyp from that terrible grip. Kyp surrendered to Solo, and although Han was able to forgive Kyp for what he had done, the galaxy would always remember the deaths caused by this young Jedi.

Kyp grappled with the guilt for years, dedicating himself to the Jedi order. He was instrumental in many heroic missions, and eventually grew to mentor several younger Jedi Knights. His exploits became legends to the younger students, who admired Kyp for his bold actions. Kyp even took a Jedi apprentice, Miko Reglia, and became one of the first Jedi Masters of the new order.

Kyp and Reglia formed an X-wing starfighter squadron of non-Jedi pilots called the "Dozen-and-Two Avengers." This brash unit was tasked with ridding the Outer Rim of smugglers and pirates. While they became known as a force to be reckoned with, the starfighter unit was ravaged by the initial invasion forces of the Yuuzhan Vong.

It was this massacre, and Kyp's resulting attitude, that would serve to polarize Luke Skywalker's Jedi order. Not willing to remain passive as the Yuuzhan Vong murdered civilians and sundered entire worlds, Kyp insisted the Jedi take a stance and bring the fight back to the aggressors. Alarmed by Kyp's proposed aggression, Skywalker forbade preemptive strikes and retaliatory actions fueled by anger, since such actions invariably lead to the dark side.

Kyp disregarded Skywalker's insights, and followed his own instincts. He has rallied a number of followers in his controversial bid to attack the Yuuzhan Vong. He even coerced Jaina Solo, Skywalker's niece to his side. He convinced Jaina that the Yuuzhan Vong were constructing a superweapon in the remnants of Sernpidal, and led a strike against the aliens. It wasn't a weapon, but a growing worldship that Durron and Jaina destroyed, and Jaina was furious at the older Jedi for his deceptive ways.

After the fall of Coruscant, Kyp helped Jaina steer away from the dark side, as the death of her brother Anakin filled her with rage. Kyp's intimate knowledge of the dark side's power helped, though his own aggressive philosophies made the transition difficult for Jaina. In working together to craft a means of deceiving the Yuuzhan Vong, Kyp and Jaina developed an unsual relationship, one of respect and caring, though it was fighter pilot Jag Fel that would eventually win Jaina's heart.

In helping guide Jaina away from the dark side, Kyp too has changed. He understood the power of consensus and the dangers of discord, and began working to assist Master Skywalker in his founding of a new Jedi Council. Kyp would become one of the founding members of this new governing body of the Jedi order.

Years later, after the defeat of the Yuuzhan Vong and during the Swarm War, Kyp was one of the many Jedi who pledged their full support to Master Skywalker's new Jedi order, despite the continued strife between the various Jedi Masters. He accepted Luke's assumption of the role of Grand Master of the Jedi, recognizing that Luke was only acting in the best interests of the galaxy and the Force. Durron became one of the new Jedi Order's leaders, although he often chose to play the role of contrarian in many discussions, hoping to stimulate new ideas.

Behind the Scenes

The character of Kyp Durron was created by author Kevin J. Anderson for his best-selling Jedi Academy Trilogy of novels. Kyp is actually seen in action in Anderson's comic series, Jedi Academy: Leviathan from Dark Horse Comics.