Ben Swolo

2017image macroclassic

Published August 16, 2026

Ben Swolo is a photoshop and image macro joke built around the shirtless Kylo Ren scene in Star Wars: The Last Jedi, which hit theaters on December 14th, 2017. The name fuses Ren's birth name Ben Solo with the slang term 'swole,' and the format took off through fan edits of Adam Driver's surprisingly built physique and his very high-waisted pants.

star warsphotoshop memesthirst memesportmanteau memescelebrity nickname memes

Overview

Ben Swolo is a photoshop and image macro joke built around a single shirtless shot of Kylo Ren, played by Adam Driver, from Star Wars: The Last Jedi1. The name smashes Ren's birth name Ben Solo together with 'swole,' the internet slang for someone with visibly built muscle5. The joke rides on how surprisingly ripped Driver looks in the brief scene, plus the almost cartoonishly high waistline of his pants5.

Fans turned that one still into a running edit format, ranging from planet-sized Kylo hovering over horizons to tiny 'Smol Ben Swolo' cutouts. The meme lives mostly through image edits rather than any fixed caption template, and it stays tied to the specific 2017 scene it comes from1.

Origin & Background

Platform
4chan /tv/ (source), Twitter and 9gag (viral spread)
Date
2017

Star Wars: The Last Jedi opened in theaters on December 14th, 2017, and the shirtless Kylo Ren moment became an instant talking point1. That same day, a thread on 4chan's /tv/ board about the scene surfaced a screenshot from the film, which is credited as the earliest posting of the still that fueled the meme4.

The following day, Twitter user @jediren_ 2 posted the same image alongside a caption asking director JJ Abrams for more shirtless Kylo in Episode IX. The tweet pulled more than 780 likes and 220 retweets across the next two weeks4.

How It Spread

On December 15th, 2017, BuzzFeed published a roundup of thirsty Twitter reactions titled 'People Were Very Affected By Shirtless Kylo Ren In The Last Jedi And They Had FEEL-INGS'1. The tweets it collected ranged from all-caps shock at the scene existing to jokes about wanting shirtless Kylo action figures, treating Adam Driver's physique as the film's real headline1.

On December 18th, a 9gag user 3 uploaded a photoshop of Kylo rising over a planet's horizon under the title 'Ben Swolo,' pulling more than 3,200 points and 65 comments4. That same day, Imgur user toasttwithjam posted a gallery called 'Smol Ben Swolo dump,' which flipped the joke by shrinking Kylo instead of blowing him up4. Two days later, YouTube channel LoLiKitty x /2nd channel uploaded a remix of the scene that pulled over 118,000 views in its first week.

On December 24th, Redditor TheRed_Reaper 6 posted a Kim Jong-un Watching Television edit with shirtless Kylo pasted onto the TV screen while Kim fist-pumps in approval. The post hit around 1,900 points at 98% upvotes on r/dankmemes within 48 hours.

How to Use This Meme

The template typically starts from the same source still of Kylo Ren standing shirtless in his high-waisted pants5. Common conventions include shrinking him into 'Smol Ben Swolo' cutouts, blowing him up to planetary scale, or dropping him into other pop culture screenshots, with the punchline usually landing on his physique or the pants themselves1.

Frequently Asked Questions

Ben Swolo

2017image macroclassic

Published August 16, 2026

Ben Swolo is a photoshop and image macro joke built around the shirtless Kylo Ren scene in Star Wars: The Last Jedi, which hit theaters on December 14th, 2017. The name fuses Ren's birth name Ben Solo with the slang term 'swole,' and the format took off through fan edits of Adam Driver's surprisingly built physique and his very high-waisted pants.

star wars photoshop memes thirst memes portmanteau memes celebrity nickname memes

Overview

Ben Swolo is a photoshop and image macro joke built around a single shirtless shot of Kylo Ren, played by Adam Driver, from Star Wars: The Last Jedi1. The name smashes Ren's birth name Ben Solo together with 'swole,' the internet slang for someone with visibly built muscle5. The joke rides on how surprisingly ripped Driver looks in the brief scene, plus the almost cartoonishly high waistline of his pants5.

Fans turned that one still into a running edit format, ranging from planet-sized Kylo hovering over horizons to tiny 'Smol Ben Swolo' cutouts. The meme lives mostly through image edits rather than any fixed caption template, and it stays tied to the specific 2017 scene it comes from1.

Origin & Background

Platform
4chan /tv/ (source), Twitter and 9gag (viral spread)
Date
2017

Star Wars: The Last Jedi opened in theaters on December 14th, 2017, and the shirtless Kylo Ren moment became an instant talking point1. That same day, a thread on 4chan's /tv/ board about the scene surfaced a screenshot from the film, which is credited as the earliest posting of the still that fueled the meme4.

The following day, Twitter user @jediren_ 2 posted the same image alongside a caption asking director JJ Abrams for more shirtless Kylo in Episode IX. The tweet pulled more than 780 likes and 220 retweets across the next two weeks4.

How It Spread

On December 15th, 2017, BuzzFeed published a roundup of thirsty Twitter reactions titled 'People Were Very Affected By Shirtless Kylo Ren In The Last Jedi And They Had FEEL-INGS'1. The tweets it collected ranged from all-caps shock at the scene existing to jokes about wanting shirtless Kylo action figures, treating Adam Driver's physique as the film's real headline1.

On December 18th, a 9gag user 3 uploaded a photoshop of Kylo rising over a planet's horizon under the title 'Ben Swolo,' pulling more than 3,200 points and 65 comments4. That same day, Imgur user toasttwithjam posted a gallery called 'Smol Ben Swolo dump,' which flipped the joke by shrinking Kylo instead of blowing him up4. Two days later, YouTube channel LoLiKitty x /2nd channel uploaded a remix of the scene that pulled over 118,000 views in its first week.

On December 24th, Redditor TheRed_Reaper 6 posted a Kim Jong-un Watching Television edit with shirtless Kylo pasted onto the TV screen while Kim fist-pumps in approval. The post hit around 1,900 points at 98% upvotes on r/dankmemes within 48 hours.

How to Use This Meme

The template typically starts from the same source still of Kylo Ren standing shirtless in his high-waisted pants5. Common conventions include shrinking him into 'Smol Ben Swolo' cutouts, blowing him up to planetary scale, or dropping him into other pop culture screenshots, with the punchline usually landing on his physique or the pants themselves1.

Frequently Asked Questions