Rey’s family may be the most heavily discussed fan theory of the last six months, but an all-new connection to the Marvel Comics limited series, Shattered Empire, may shed some light on the subject, which was previously overlooked. At first glance the revelation may not be apparent, but let’s take a closer look.

WARNING: SPOILERS below that may ruin the enjoyment of the comic book series.

Here’s a poor summation of the comics: the story takes place immediately after the Battle of Endor. It jumps around from Han to Leia and Luke, detailing what each of them do after the battle. The Empire isn’t fully defeated and some leadership starts to enact protocols left by the Emperor in the event of his death. These protocols call for the destruction of several systems including Naboo. Leia is able to stop the Empire from carrying out these protocols assisted by an ace woman pilot. This woman and her husband have been Rebel fighters for a long time and are looking forward to finally going home and raising their son.

The husband teams up with Han to take out an Imperial stronghold on the other side of Endor, while his wife accompanies Luke on a secret mission to retrieve something from a secret Imperial research lab. It’s the ending of this last part with Luke that makes me realize who Rey’s parents really are.

It’s revealed that the Imperial lab is holding two Force trees. Trees that are essentially imbued with pure Force energy. Luke had heard of their existence but had only expected the one. His plan was to take the tree and plant it near a Jedi Temple that he hoped to use as a new place to train new Jedi. He gives the other tree to the pilot and tells her to plant it at her home.

The comic ends with the pilot planting the Force tree outside her house, then happily walking home with her husband to go see her toddler son, Poe Dameron. The tree being planted near him might explain why he’s such a good pilot as he is strong in the Force. I feel this also explains why his younger sister, Rey, later shows an extreme connection to the Force, as she was conceived most likely under the presence of the force tree.

Obviously, there are gaps in this narrative. Poe should have remembered he had a sister. Perhaps he was told the First Order killed her and she was left on Jakku to protect her (like Luke was when he was her age). We never see her interact with Poe at all in the movie, and I think this could be why. I guess part of me has hated the speculation that she’s Luke’s daughter, or Han and Leia’s, or even a descendant of Obi-Wan somehow. I want her to be a strong Force user that isn’t a Skywalker or descendant of another powerful Jedi.

The movie is called The Force Awakens and I feel that implies that it has Awakened in a completely new individual, not reborn in a descendant of other powerful Force users. It’s been Awakened in someone who was influenced by pure source of Force energy from her very birth. Though some people may see it as a stretch it is also possible that Luke and Shara Bey became intimately involved and Rey is Poe’s half sister too. Either way both of these options seem more likely than her being born of the Force ala Anakin in my opinion.

So there you have it. Rey is Poe’s sister and her incredible Force sensitivity is due to the Force tree planted by her mother after the events of Shattered Empire — a comic that had the approval of both Disney and Lucasfilm to be released prior to The Force Awakens.

-COMRADE OUT