Dark Empire I
Encyclopedia
Dark Empire was a series of comic book
s written by Tom Veitch
and illustrated by Cam Kennedy
. They were originally released by Dark Horse Comics
in 1991 and 1992 as a 6-issue bi-monthly series, which were later compiled and sold in trade paperback form. The name also covers the trilogy which includes the two sequels Dark Empire II
and Empire's End
. All three comic series detailed the resurrection of Emperor Palpatine
in cloned bodies.
During the confusion of the civil war between Imperial factions, the Rebel Alliance sought to weaken the factions as much as possible by surreptitiously entering systems and battles with captured Star Destroyers, broadcasting falsified signals, and provoking attacks by one group against another.
On one of these raids to the Coruscant system, the Star Destroyer
Liberator (formerly the HIMS Adjudicator, an Imperial-class Star Destroyer captured at the Battle of Endor and, over a five-year period, repaired and beefed-up for covert missions) its sister ship, the Emancipator (originally the Accuser), three Star Destroyers demanded novel and unusual codes for clearance. The codes the Alliance had stolen or bartered with slicers for did not work, and Luke Skywalker
and Lando Calrissian
were shot down over the former Imperial City. They should have perished, but in a curious parallel to the opening of Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
, Luke, like his father, managed to successfully land the gargantuan vessel without too many casualties on the surface of Coruscant. For the next several days, Luke and Lando and their forces hid and fought Imperial forces.
When the news reached Han Solo
and Leia Organa, they rushed to the rescue along with the Wookiee
Chewbacca
and the droid C-3PO
. But while they arrived in the nick of time to rescue Lando and the crew of the Liberator, they were too late to save Luke, as the Reborn Emperor had initiated Operation Shadow Hand, his master plan to retake the galaxy, destroy the Rebel Alliance, and ensure that another rebellion could never occur again.
The first step required that he replace Anakin Skywalker
's place at his side—preferably with his son. Palpatine had several years to continue studying the Dark side, in a healthy and strong clone body, and he had made considerable progress: uniquely among all Sith
or Jedi
, he was capable of calling and commanding "Force storms
", destructive distortions in the very fabric of space-time. Across the interstellar distances, he conjured a small Force storm around Skywalker on Coruscant, which transported him into an Imperial dungeon ship.
This blow to the Alliance was followed up by the initial phase of Operation Shadow Hand: fleets of World Devastators, brainchildren of Umak Leth, machines which destroyed everything in their path, plunging them into vast furnaces which produced weapons and items which could repair or build new World Devastators. The first target Palpatine selected, for their long and steadfast support of the Rebellion, is the planet Mon Calamari.
The recently rescued Lando and his crew were dispatched aboard the Emancipator to fight a holding action while the main Rebel fleets assembled. At this time, Luke Skywalker had reached Byss. There he met face-to-face with the Emperor Reborn
; Skywalker's attempt at killing him was thwarted when Palpatine revealed that his vigorous fresh clone body was even more skilled at lightsaber combat than was Luke himself. Faced with an impossible situation, and deeply impressed by the power of the Emperor, his charismatic presence, his undoubted genius and deep knowledge of both sides of the Force, Luke acquiesced to becoming his apprentice. At this time, Luke secretly modifies R2-D2
to carry the Master Signal for the World Devastators.
With Luke gone, Han Solo
and Leia Organa Solo head to Nar Shaddaa, the moon near Nal Hutta, Jabba's world, where a few friend of Han were going to give them a ride to the Deep Core. Betrayed by their friends (Mako Spince), and pursued by the bounty hunter
Boba Fett
(long thought dead, eaten by the Sarlacc
during the events of Return of the Jedi), Han and Leia try to escape from Nar Shaddaa with Salla Zend and Shug Ninx in their ship the Starlight Intruder. They head to Byss to rescue Luke.
Captured by the Emperor
, Leia
discovers that he holds hostage an even greater treasure: a mysterious and intelligent artifact called the Jedi
Holocron, which the Emperor had stolen during the Great Jedi Purge
from Ashka Boda after slaying him. With both the Holocron and Luke Skywalker
under his control, the Emperor would appear to reign supreme in the Force. The Emperor then swore to take over the child strring in Leia's womb. Out of anger, Leia threw the Emperor over and ran away with the Holocron. Meanwhile, Han and Chewie were trying escape when Salla Zend and Shug Ninx who took control of a Hunter Droid, make the escape for them. With Luke aboard, the Falcon managed to get out. But Luke had used a Dark Side trick to make sure that they were safely off Byss while he kills the Emperor and his clones. Unfortunately, he failed to destroy one and after a lightsaber duel, Palpatine brought Luke over to the Dark Side.
Meanwhile, on Mon Calamari, the Devastators were still invincible. Luckily, Luke managed to install a code into R2's memory banks to shut down the Devastators. Though the great war machines were down, their crew somehow powered up the factories until control was restored. But R2 created a new code to make the Devastators recycle each other.
Unfortunately, this was only a small part of the Emperor's plan. The Deep Core had become a powerful fortress and the Imperial Navy had reaffirmed its allegiance to Palpatine. The Empire would spread across planets in proximity to the Galactic Core. Then he won't rest until the entire galaxy would fall under the sway of the dark side.
Luke traveled with the Emperor to capture his sister, aboard the recently completed and christened flagship, the Eclipse. Prior to the Eclipses arrival, the Holocron Leia stole from the Emperor delivered a thousand-year-old prophecy to Leia, which tells of her battle against the young Emperor: "...A brother and sister born to walk the sky/But reckless brother falls into dark side's eye!/Jedi sister carries hope, for future in her womb/Only SHE can save the Skywalkers from certain doom!/A Jedi-killer wants to tame her/Now the Dark lord comes to claim her/She must battle, join against this thief/Or the dynasty of ALL the Jedi will come to grief." It was Leia who was the one who boarded the Emperor's Eclipse-class Super Star Destroyer during its assault on the Pinnacle Moon of Da Soocha. It was she who appealed to the goodness inside Luke, redeeming him, and them both who assaulted Palpatine with the Light side of the Force, cutting him off from the Dark Side and control of the titanic Force-storm
he had exerted himself to the utmost to conjure, intending to utterly obliterate the Rebel Alliance fleet. The end result was the complete destruction of the Eclipse I and Palpatine (supposedly, though his spirit escaped to fight another day).
by destroying the Sith
, Dark Empire has been criticized for contradicting the prophecy of the Chosen One
and Anakin's killing of Palpatine
. However, Tom Veitch could hardly have known what George Lucas
had planned for the prequels, which were not made for another seven years.
Other fans have criticized the resurrection of the Star Wars
saga's main antagonist, but Lucas himself actually praised Dark Empire, saying that it was the closest thing to his idea of a sequel trilogy.
Veitch has also been criticized for having many pivotal events occur within a single panel or entirely off-panel, which many fans found to be jarring.
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
s written by Tom Veitch
Tom Veitch
Tom Veitch is an American writer, best known for his contributions to the Dark Horse Comics line of Star Wars comic books, primarily Dark Empire and Tales of the Jedi. For DC Comics Veitch wrote Animal Man, along with two Elseworlds series featuring Kamandi and an elder Superman...
and illustrated by Cam Kennedy
Cam Kennedy
Campbell Kennedy is a Scottish comics artist. He is best known for his work on 2000 AD, especially the flagship titles Judge Dredd and Rogue Trooper.-Biography:...
. They were originally released by Dark Horse Comics
Dark Horse Comics
Dark Horse Comics is the largest independent American comic book and manga publisher.Dark Horse Comics was founded in 1986 by Mike Richardson in Milwaukie, Oregon, with the concept of establishing an ideal atmosphere for creative professionals. Richardson started out by opening his first comic book...
in 1991 and 1992 as a 6-issue bi-monthly series, which were later compiled and sold in trade paperback form. The name also covers the trilogy which includes the two sequels Dark Empire II
Dark Empire II
Dark Empire II is the second trade paperback collecting a series of comic books written by Tom Veitch and illustrated by Cam Kennedy. It is preceded by Dark Empire I and followed by Empire's End.-Synopsis:...
and Empire's End
Empire's End
Empire's End is a trade paperback collecting a series of comic books written by Tom Veitch and illustrated by Jim Baikie, published in 1997...
. All three comic series detailed the resurrection of Emperor Palpatine
Palpatine
Palpatine is a fictional character and the main antagonist of the Star Wars saga, portrayed by Ian McDiarmid in the feature films.Palpatine first appeared as the unnamed Emperor of the Galactic Empire in the 1980 film Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back...
in cloned bodies.
Plot
- "And now, my young apprentice ... Your father is dead. Have you come to join me? Will you take the place that rightfully belongs to you... at my side?" —PalpatinePalpatinePalpatine is a fictional character and the main antagonist of the Star Wars saga, portrayed by Ian McDiarmid in the feature films.Palpatine first appeared as the unnamed Emperor of the Galactic Empire in the 1980 film Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back...
During the confusion of the civil war between Imperial factions, the Rebel Alliance sought to weaken the factions as much as possible by surreptitiously entering systems and battles with captured Star Destroyers, broadcasting falsified signals, and provoking attacks by one group against another.
On one of these raids to the Coruscant system, the Star Destroyer
Star Destroyer
Star Destroyers are capital ships in the fictional Star Wars universe. The Imperial Star Destroyer, which first appears in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope , is "the signature vessel of the Imperial fleet"...
Liberator (formerly the HIMS Adjudicator, an Imperial-class Star Destroyer captured at the Battle of Endor and, over a five-year period, repaired and beefed-up for covert missions) its sister ship, the Emancipator (originally the Accuser), three Star Destroyers demanded novel and unusual codes for clearance. The codes the Alliance had stolen or bartered with slicers for did not work, and Luke Skywalker
Luke Skywalker
Luke Skywalker is a fictional character and the main protagonist of the original film trilogy of the Star Wars franchise, where he is portrayed by Mark Hamill. He is introduced in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, in which he is forced to leave home, and finds himself apprenticed to the Jedi master...
and Lando Calrissian
Lando Calrissian
Lando Calrissian is a fictional character in the Star Wars universe. He is portrayed by Billy Dee Williams in Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back and Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi...
were shot down over the former Imperial City. They should have perished, but in a curious parallel to the opening of Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith is a 2005 American epic space opera film written and directed by George Lucas. It is the sixth and final film released in the Star Wars saga and the third in terms of the series' internal chronology....
, Luke, like his father, managed to successfully land the gargantuan vessel without too many casualties on the surface of Coruscant. For the next several days, Luke and Lando and their forces hid and fought Imperial forces.
When the news reached Han Solo
Han Solo
Han Solo is a fictional character in the Star Wars franchise played by Harrison Ford. Introduced in the film Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope , Solo and his Wookiee co-pilot, Chewbacca , become involved in the Rebel Alliance against the Galactic Empire...
and Leia Organa, they rushed to the rescue along with the Wookiee
Wookiee
Wookiees are a species of bipeds in the Star Wars universe. The most notable Wookiee is Chewbacca, a companion to Han Solo.-Inspiration:...
Chewbacca
Chewbacca
Chewbacca, also known as Chewie, is a character in the Star Wars franchise, portrayed by Peter Mayhew. In the series' narrative chronology, he appears in Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, Episode IV: A New Hope, Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back and Episode VI: Return of the Jedi...
and the droid C-3PO
C-3PO
C-3PO is a robot character from the Star Wars universe who appears in both the original Star Wars films and the prequel trilogy. He is also a major character in the television show Droids, and appears frequently in the series' "Expanded Universe" of novels, comic books, and video games...
. But while they arrived in the nick of time to rescue Lando and the crew of the Liberator, they were too late to save Luke, as the Reborn Emperor had initiated Operation Shadow Hand, his master plan to retake the galaxy, destroy the Rebel Alliance, and ensure that another rebellion could never occur again.
The first step required that he replace Anakin Skywalker
Darth Vader
Darth Vader is a central character in the Star Wars saga, appearing as one of the main antagonists in the original trilogy and as the main protagonist in the prequel trilogy....
's place at his side—preferably with his son. Palpatine had several years to continue studying the Dark side, in a healthy and strong clone body, and he had made considerable progress: uniquely among all Sith
Sith
-Sith:The Sith is a name applied to certain characters in the Star Wars universe. In the films they are the central antagonists. They are capable of using the dark side of the Force.-The Invention of the Sith:...
or Jedi
Jedi
The Jedi are characters in the Star Wars universe and the series's main protagonists. The Jedi use a power called the Force and weapons called lightsabers, which emit a controlled energy flow in the shape of a sword, in order to serve and protect the Republic and the galaxy at large from conflict...
, he was capable of calling and commanding "Force storms
Force (Star Wars)
The Force is a binding, metaphysical and ubiquitous power in the fictional universe of the Star Wars galaxy created by George Lucas. Mentioned in the first film in the series, it is integral to all subsequent incarnations of Star Wars, including the expanded universe of comic books, novels, and...
", destructive distortions in the very fabric of space-time. Across the interstellar distances, he conjured a small Force storm around Skywalker on Coruscant, which transported him into an Imperial dungeon ship.
This blow to the Alliance was followed up by the initial phase of Operation Shadow Hand: fleets of World Devastators, brainchildren of Umak Leth, machines which destroyed everything in their path, plunging them into vast furnaces which produced weapons and items which could repair or build new World Devastators. The first target Palpatine selected, for their long and steadfast support of the Rebellion, is the planet Mon Calamari.
The recently rescued Lando and his crew were dispatched aboard the Emancipator to fight a holding action while the main Rebel fleets assembled. At this time, Luke Skywalker had reached Byss. There he met face-to-face with the Emperor Reborn
Palpatine
Palpatine is a fictional character and the main antagonist of the Star Wars saga, portrayed by Ian McDiarmid in the feature films.Palpatine first appeared as the unnamed Emperor of the Galactic Empire in the 1980 film Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back...
; Skywalker's attempt at killing him was thwarted when Palpatine revealed that his vigorous fresh clone body was even more skilled at lightsaber combat than was Luke himself. Faced with an impossible situation, and deeply impressed by the power of the Emperor, his charismatic presence, his undoubted genius and deep knowledge of both sides of the Force, Luke acquiesced to becoming his apprentice. At this time, Luke secretly modifies R2-D2
R2-D2
R2-D2 , is a character in the Star Wars universe. An astromech droid, R2-D2 is a major character throughout all six Star Wars films. Along with his droid companion C-3PO, he joins or supports Anakin Skywalker, Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, and Obi-Wan Kenobi in various points in the saga...
to carry the Master Signal for the World Devastators.
With Luke gone, Han Solo
Han Solo
Han Solo is a fictional character in the Star Wars franchise played by Harrison Ford. Introduced in the film Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope , Solo and his Wookiee co-pilot, Chewbacca , become involved in the Rebel Alliance against the Galactic Empire...
and Leia Organa Solo head to Nar Shaddaa, the moon near Nal Hutta, Jabba's world, where a few friend of Han were going to give them a ride to the Deep Core. Betrayed by their friends (Mako Spince), and pursued by the bounty hunter
Bounty hunter
A bounty hunter captures fugitives for a monetary reward . Other names, mainly used in the United States, include bail enforcement agent and fugitive recovery agent.-Laws in the U.S.:...
Boba Fett
Boba Fett
Boba Fett is a character in Star Wars. A bounty hunter hired by Darth Vader to find the Millennium Falcon, he is a minor villain in both Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back and Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi....
(long thought dead, eaten by the Sarlacc
Sarlacc
The sarlacc is a fictional creature in George Lucas's science fiction saga Star Wars. It first appeared in the film Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi as a multi-tentacled alien beast whose immense, gaping mouth is lined with several rows of sharp teeth...
during the events of Return of the Jedi), Han and Leia try to escape from Nar Shaddaa with Salla Zend and Shug Ninx in their ship the Starlight Intruder. They head to Byss to rescue Luke.
Captured by the Emperor
Palpatine
Palpatine is a fictional character and the main antagonist of the Star Wars saga, portrayed by Ian McDiarmid in the feature films.Palpatine first appeared as the unnamed Emperor of the Galactic Empire in the 1980 film Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back...
, Leia
Princess Leia Organa
Princess Leia Organa of Alderaan is a fictional character in the Star Wars universe...
discovers that he holds hostage an even greater treasure: a mysterious and intelligent artifact called the Jedi
Jedi
The Jedi are characters in the Star Wars universe and the series's main protagonists. The Jedi use a power called the Force and weapons called lightsabers, which emit a controlled energy flow in the shape of a sword, in order to serve and protect the Republic and the galaxy at large from conflict...
Holocron, which the Emperor had stolen during the Great Jedi Purge
Great Jedi Purge
The Great Jedi Purge, or Order 66, is a major event in the Star Wars storyline. It is officially documented as a plot element in the 2005 film Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, and is further referenced in the Star Wars Expanded Universe...
from Ashka Boda after slaying him. With both the Holocron and Luke Skywalker
Luke Skywalker
Luke Skywalker is a fictional character and the main protagonist of the original film trilogy of the Star Wars franchise, where he is portrayed by Mark Hamill. He is introduced in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, in which he is forced to leave home, and finds himself apprenticed to the Jedi master...
under his control, the Emperor would appear to reign supreme in the Force. The Emperor then swore to take over the child strring in Leia's womb. Out of anger, Leia threw the Emperor over and ran away with the Holocron. Meanwhile, Han and Chewie were trying escape when Salla Zend and Shug Ninx who took control of a Hunter Droid, make the escape for them. With Luke aboard, the Falcon managed to get out. But Luke had used a Dark Side trick to make sure that they were safely off Byss while he kills the Emperor and his clones. Unfortunately, he failed to destroy one and after a lightsaber duel, Palpatine brought Luke over to the Dark Side.
Meanwhile, on Mon Calamari, the Devastators were still invincible. Luckily, Luke managed to install a code into R2's memory banks to shut down the Devastators. Though the great war machines were down, their crew somehow powered up the factories until control was restored. But R2 created a new code to make the Devastators recycle each other.
Unfortunately, this was only a small part of the Emperor's plan. The Deep Core had become a powerful fortress and the Imperial Navy had reaffirmed its allegiance to Palpatine. The Empire would spread across planets in proximity to the Galactic Core. Then he won't rest until the entire galaxy would fall under the sway of the dark side.
Luke traveled with the Emperor to capture his sister, aboard the recently completed and christened flagship, the Eclipse. Prior to the Eclipses arrival, the Holocron Leia stole from the Emperor delivered a thousand-year-old prophecy to Leia, which tells of her battle against the young Emperor: "...A brother and sister born to walk the sky/But reckless brother falls into dark side's eye!/Jedi sister carries hope, for future in her womb/Only SHE can save the Skywalkers from certain doom!/A Jedi-killer wants to tame her/Now the Dark lord comes to claim her/She must battle, join against this thief/Or the dynasty of ALL the Jedi will come to grief." It was Leia who was the one who boarded the Emperor's Eclipse-class Super Star Destroyer during its assault on the Pinnacle Moon of Da Soocha. It was she who appealed to the goodness inside Luke, redeeming him, and them both who assaulted Palpatine with the Light side of the Force, cutting him off from the Dark Side and control of the titanic Force-storm
Force (Star Wars)
The Force is a binding, metaphysical and ubiquitous power in the fictional universe of the Star Wars galaxy created by George Lucas. Mentioned in the first film in the series, it is integral to all subsequent incarnations of Star Wars, including the expanded universe of comic books, novels, and...
he had exerted himself to the utmost to conjure, intending to utterly obliterate the Rebel Alliance fleet. The end result was the complete destruction of the Eclipse I and Palpatine (supposedly, though his spirit escaped to fight another day).
Controversies
With the release of the prequels and the revelation that Anakin Skywalker was destined to bring balance to the ForceForce (Star Wars)
The Force is a binding, metaphysical and ubiquitous power in the fictional universe of the Star Wars galaxy created by George Lucas. Mentioned in the first film in the series, it is integral to all subsequent incarnations of Star Wars, including the expanded universe of comic books, novels, and...
by destroying the Sith
Sith
-Sith:The Sith is a name applied to certain characters in the Star Wars universe. In the films they are the central antagonists. They are capable of using the dark side of the Force.-The Invention of the Sith:...
, Dark Empire has been criticized for contradicting the prophecy of the Chosen One
Chosen One
Chosen One is the second Hillsong Music album in the Youth Alive series by the Hillsong Church.-Track listing:# "Let the Fire" # "Salvation" # "Sing Hallelujah"...
and Anakin's killing of Palpatine
Palpatine
Palpatine is a fictional character and the main antagonist of the Star Wars saga, portrayed by Ian McDiarmid in the feature films.Palpatine first appeared as the unnamed Emperor of the Galactic Empire in the 1980 film Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back...
. However, Tom Veitch could hardly have known what George Lucas
George Lucas
George Walton Lucas, Jr. is an American film producer, screenwriter, and director, and entrepreneur. He is the founder, chairman and chief executive of Lucasfilm. He is best known as the creator of the space opera franchise Star Wars and the archaeologist-adventurer character Indiana Jones...
had planned for the prequels, which were not made for another seven years.
Other fans have criticized the resurrection of the Star Wars
Star Wars
Star Wars is an American epic space opera film series created by George Lucas. The first film in the series was originally released on May 25, 1977, under the title Star Wars, by 20th Century Fox, and became a worldwide pop culture phenomenon, followed by two sequels, released at three-year...
saga's main antagonist, but Lucas himself actually praised Dark Empire, saying that it was the closest thing to his idea of a sequel trilogy.
Veitch has also been criticized for having many pivotal events occur within a single panel or entirely off-panel, which many fans found to be jarring.
Issues
- Dark Empire 1: The Destiny of a Jedi
- Dark Empire 2: Devastator of Worlds
- Dark Empire 3: The Battle for Calamari
- Dark Empire 4: Confrontation on the Smugglers' Moon
- Dark Empire 5: Emperor Reborn
- Dark Empire 6: The Fate of a Galaxy