Star Wars: Dark Empire

The struggle for freedom continues six years following the Battle of Endor. Although Darth Vader is deceased, a rejuvenated Empire, now under the command of a mysterious leader, retaliates against the struggling Rebel Alliance. Immense World Devastators, surpassing the Death Star in power and invincibility, lay waste to entire planets. Meanwhile, the merciless successors of Jabba the Hutt place a hefty bounty on Princess Leia and her husband, Han Solo. Alongside Lando, Chewbacca, Artoo, Threepio, and other established allies, Han and Leia fight to safeguard the future for their unborn child. However, their most formidable adversary may be their closest companion: Luke Skywalker…

During the Imperial Mutiny, the Rebel Alliance aimed to diminish the strength of the various factions. They achieved this by covertly infiltrating systems and battles using captured Star Destroyers. These vessels broadcasted misleading signals, inciting attacks between different Imperial groups.

In one such raid targeting the Coruscant system, the Star Destroyer Liberator (formerly the Adjudicator)—an Imperial-class Star Destroyer seized at the Battle of Endor, repaired, and modified over five years for clandestine operations—and its sister ship, the Emancipator (formerly the Accuser), entered the Coruscant system. There, three Star Destroyers demanded new and unusual clearance codes. The codes the Alliance had acquired through theft or bartering with slicers proved ineffective, resulting in Luke Skywalker and Lando Calrissian being shot down over the former Imperial City. Despite the odds, they managed to land the massive vessel with minimal casualties on Coruscant's surface. For the following days, Luke, Lando, and their forces engaged in hiding and battling Imperial battalions.

Upon hearing the news, Han Solo and Leia Organa, accompanied by Chewbacca and C-3PO, hurried to their rescue. They arrived just in time to save Lando and the crew of the Liberator. However, Luke sensed a significant disturbance in the Force. At that moment, a Force storm emerged from a hyperspace wormhole. Luke urged everyone to leave, but R2-D2 remained with him. As the Falcon departed, Luke and R2-D2 were pulled into the anomaly.

Later, at the Alliance base, Pinnacle Base, located on the fifth moon of Da Soocha, Alliance leaders reported that the separate Imperial factions had vanished into the uncharted regions of the Galactic Core. Furthermore, the initial stage of Operation Shadow Hand had commenced, deploying fleets of World Devastators, the creations of Umak Leth. These machines were designed to obliterate everything in their path, transforming them into vast furnaces that produced weapons and components for repairing or constructing new World Devastators. The planet Mon Calamari, chosen for its enduring support of the Rebellion, was designated as the initial target.

The recently rescued Lando and his crew were sent aboard the Emancipator to mount a delaying action while the main Rebel fleets gathered.

During this period, Luke Skywalker arrived at Byss, a Deep Core planet saturated with the power of the dark side of the Force. He encountered the resurrected Emperor, who revealed his long-term strategy of transferring his mind and consciousness into clone bodies to achieve immortality. However, these clones lacked a critical element for longevity; they were more consumed by the dark side than sustained by the Force. Nevertheless, Palpatine possessed numerous clones, enabling him to defy death and maintain his rule indefinitely. The Emperor offered Luke an apprenticeship, along with the opportunity to control the vast fleet of Devastators and the rest of the Imperial fleet. Faced with an impossible situation and the impending doom of his friends and allies, Luke reluctantly agreed to become his apprentice, hoping to defeat the Emperor from within. Around this time, R2-D2 was modified to carry the Master Signal for the World Devastators.

Simultaneously, Lando's attack force launched their attack against the Imperial fleet. Despite breaching the Star Destroyer defenses, the Devastator Silencer-7 destroyed the Emancipator and deployed squadrons of robotic TIEs. This forced the crew of the Republic Destroyer to abandon ship.

At Pinnacle Base, Leia received a message from Luke, instructing her not to pursue him. Han Solo and Leia Organa Solo journeyed to Nar Shaddaa in search of transport to the Deep Core. After landing the Falcon in Shug Ninx's garage and encountering Han's former girlfriend, Salla Zend, Han and Leia headed to Han's old living quarters. Along the way, they met a woman named Vima-Da-Boda, who gifted Leia a lightsaber. Upon reaching Han's place, they discovered that Boba Fett was alive and that their friend, Mako Spince, had betrayed them. Pursued by hunters, Han and Leia managed to reach the Starlight Intruder, the ship that had brought them to the Deep Core. Meanwhile, the Rebels engaged in combat over Mon Calamari received reinforcements from the Alliance reserves, including the new E-wings. Suddenly, three Devastators plunged into the sea as Luke Skywalker deactivated them from Byss.

After arriving on Byss and narrowly missing Fett, Leia piloted the Falcon to the Emperor's citadel. Once she, C-3PO, Han, and Chewbacca disembarked, Salla and Shug relocated the Falcon to a secure location. The four were then brought before the Emperor and Luke. Despite her attempts to resist, Leia was rendered unconscious and taken to Palpatine's chambers to be turned. There, she discovered an even greater treasure held hostage: a mysterious and intelligent artifact known as the Jedi Holocron, which the Emperor had stolen from Ashka Boda during the Great Jedi Purge. With both the Holocron and Luke Skywalker under his control, the Emperor seemed to have complete dominance over the Force. He revealed his plan to usurp Leia's third child, still developing in her womb, as his next host body. Enraged, Leia knocked Palpatine off his bed and stole the Holocron. She located Luke, who claimed to be free of the dark side, despite his eyes retaining a yellow glow. Meanwhile, Shug and Salla seized control of a Hunter Killer patrol droid to liberate Han and Chewie. After being joined by Leia, Luke, and the droids, the Falcon departed from Byss. However, Luke revealed that he had projected an illusory image of himself to deceive them into believing he had boarded, ensuring their escape.

The true Luke Skywalker then infiltrated the clone lab during Palpatine's final moments before the transfer. Upon revealing his intentions, Palpatine allowed his current form to perish, hoping to reach one of the clones before Luke could destroy them all. Skywalker embarked on a destructive rampage through the lab, attempting to reach the clones before Palpatine. However, he overlooked one.

The newly resurrected Palpatine mocked Luke's efforts to defeat him. When Luke attempted to subdue Palpatine, the Sith Lord seized one of the lightsabers stored in the lab and engaged Luke in combat. Despite his valiant efforts, Luke was disarmed and held at blade-point. Palpatine completed Skywalker's seduction to the dark side, turning him into an obedient enforcer.

Meanwhile, on Mon Calamari, the Devastators remained invincible. However, Luke had implanted a code into R2-D2's memory banks to shut down the Devastators. Although the massive war machines were disabled, the crew managed to reactivate the factories until control was restored. R2-D2 then generated a new code, causing the Devastators to recycle each other.

However, this was only a small facet of the Emperor's overall scheme. Vast new Imperial fleets were spreading across the Galactic Core, and soon the entire galaxy would succumb to the influence of the dark side.

Luke accompanied the Emperor to capture his sister aboard the recently completed and christened flagship, the Eclipse. Prior to the Eclipse's arrival, the Holocron Leia had stolen from the Emperor revealed a thousand-year-old prophecy to the Princess, foretelling her battle against the young Emperor:

As the Eclipse materialized from hyperspace, the Emperor issued his ultimatum to Alliance Command: Leia must come to his flagship alone, bearing the holocron, and he would consider a truce. Despite Han's protests, Leia boarded the shuttle, which transported her to the Emperor's Eclipse-class Super Star Destroyer. She played a pivotal role in appealing to the inherent goodness within Luke, leading to his redemption. Enraged by this, the Emperor engaged Luke in a lightsaber battle, which resulted in the loss of his hand.

However, a furious Palpatine unleashed a massive force storm with the intent of annihilating the Rebel Alliance fleet. Utilizing knowledge they had acquired, the siblings redirected the Force storm back towards its dark originator. This action led to the destruction of the Eclipse and the apparent demise of Palpatine (although his spirit managed to escape, setting the stage for future conflicts). With the Eclipse collapsing around them, the twins made their escape on a shuttle. Once they were safely aboard an Alliance cruiser, Luke, with his eyes now returned to their natural blue, declared:

On November 19, 1988, Tom Veitch dispatched a brief communication to George Lucas, proposing a fresh Star Wars comic book series, with Veitch as the writer and Cam Kennedy as the illustrator. At the time, no new Star Wars comic books or novels were in production, but Veitch, a long-time enthusiast of the saga, was convinced that the franchise still possessed untapped narrative potential beyond the realm of film. Veitch included samples of his collaborative work with Kennedy on The Light and Darkness War series within his proposal and, understanding the unlikelihood of success, awaited a response. Three days later, on November 22, Lucy Autrey Wilson representing Lucas Licensing, contacted Veitch, expressing Lucasfilm Ltd.'s interest in the proposal, contingent upon Lucas's approval of the concept after examining the creative team's samples. Lucas, a longtime comic book aficionado, gave his approval to the proposal, and on November 29, Wilson informed Veitch that the project was greenlit.

Before the writing process could commence, several crucial aspects demanded attention, specifically, the artists' familiarity with the franchise and the storyline's subject matter. Regarding the former, Veitch possessed extensive knowledge of the films, but Kennedy had, in fact, never viewed any of the Star Wars films previously. Before commencing work on the project, Kennedy watched the films on video cassette, and felt inspired to begin the series. Kennedy then relocated from Scotland to Oregon for a two-year period to collaborate with Veitch.

Concerning the story concept, it underwent multiple revisions before evolving into its final comic form. The initial proposal, submitted by Veitch on December 2, was titled The Jedi Chronicles and was intended as a prequel to the Star Wars original trilogy films. Veitch described the premise within this proposal as follows: "Our primary goal is to explore the era between the first and second trilogies, during which Darth Vader rose to prominence as 'Dark Lord of the Sith.' We are informed that it was during this 20-year period following the Clone Wars that Vader 'hunted down and exterminated the remaining Jedi' -- with the exception of Yoda and Obi-Wan Kenobi. We would like to concentrate on the magnificence of the martyred Masters, their intelligent and ingenious application of the Force, their remarkable exploits against the Empire, and ultimately their heroic sacrifices. Our book would conclude on an optimistic note, with Obi-Wan Kenobi observing young Luke Skywalker from a distance, foretelling Luke's future role in the struggle and the victories that lie ahead." Lucy Autrey Wilson, Director of Publishing and the Lucasfilm editor who collaborated with Veitch on the series, rejected this proposal on the basis that it could potentially interfere with the forthcoming Star Wars prequel trilogy films. She instead suggested that Veitch consider focusing the comic line on the time period following the 1983 film Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi. Veitch and Kennedy subsequently concurred with Wilson's suggested timeline for the series.

Veitch expressed enthusiasm regarding the prospect of continuing the narrative beyond Return of the Jedi, but he also felt apprehensive about the challenge. Nevertheless, Veitch was captivated by the opportunities that the era presented, stating later: "I eagerly embraced the opportunity to delve into the mythological foundations of the Force -- both the light and the dark side." Drawing inspiration from The Light and Darkness War, Veitch submitted a new proposal suggesting the return of Emperor Palpatine to the galaxy. In this proposal, Veitch offered several potential explanations for Palpatine's resurrection, including the concept that Palpatine was a machine, as well as the notion that Palpatine in the films was actually possessed by an extra-galactic "parasitical intelligence." The most enduring concept was the idea that Palpatine had been cloned, and through essence transfer had transferred his consciousness from one body to another, with his ultimate objective being to eventually do the same with Luke Skywalker's body. It was this proposal that Wilson approved, but the proposed outline would be subject to continual revisions. While some individuals expressed opposition to Palpatine's return, Veitch saw no issue with it, citing the influence of the Flash Gordon's franchise on Star Wars, specifically how the title character's arch-nemesis Ming the Merciless was never completely eliminated, such as in Mike Hodges' 1980 film adaptation. Regarding the characters' development since Return of the Jedi, Veitch chose to portray Luke as a fully realized Jedi and to depict Han and Leia's relationship as having moved beyond the teenage-like conflicts of the films, with little time for leisure and each of their brief moments being passionate and intense.

Throughout this process, Veitch maintained communication with Archie Goodwin at Marvel Epic regarding the series. On December 30, 1988, Veitch sent his nine-page proposal to Goodwin, who provided feedback and suggested his own ideas. One such idea was the return of Vader's costume; as Veitch explained, "Archie conceived the idea that the Empire would place someone else inside Vader's costume to instill fear throughout the galaxy." Veitch revised his proposal based on Goodwin's feedback and suggestions, and then submitted the updated proposal to Lucasfilm. Wilson authorized Veitch to begin writing scripts based on this outline, but she rejected any use of Vader's costume for the comic book series on the grounds that it could potentially interfere with Lucas's use of Vader or his likeness for the prequel films. Wilson also approved the use of the film actors' likenesses as visual inspiration for the drawing of the characters' faces.

Although work on the project had commenced, and plans were in place for its publication with Marvel, Goodwin departed from the comic book company in May of 1989, and the new Marvel editor did not share Goodwin's enthusiasm for the project, placing the series in jeopardy. Despite this setback, following a year of discussions, negotiations, and story treatments, Veitch submitted a 50-page synopsis to Lucasfilm on September 25, 1989, for a 144-page comic book to be drawn/painted by Kennedy and published as three 48-page comic books. At that juncture, Veitch had no clear idea how the story would conclude, other than that Luke and Leia would overpower Palpatine by uniting their minds with the Force. The following month, in October, Lucasfilm inquired whether Veitch would be interested in creating a novel adaptation of Dark Empire for Bantam Spectra, with whom they were in negotiations to produce a new Star Wars novel. However, while he was intrigued by the idea, Bantam preferred to engage one of their contracted writers, resulting in Timothy Zahn's hiring on November 6, 1989, to write what ultimately became the 1991 novel Heir to the Empire, as Zahn was gaining prominence in the science-fiction genre. Disregarding Veitch's offer to coordinate ideas and plotlines with Zahn, Bantam kept Zahn uninformed about Veitch's project, and someone there suggested creating a comic book adaptation of Zahn's novel in light of the success of Grant Morrison's 1989 Batman graphic novel Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth in direct market sales, but Lucasfilm honored their agreement with Veitch and continued negotiating contracts with Marvel. Once Bantam made Zahn aware of Dark Empire, Veitch was asked to critique Heir to the Empire and Zahn was asked to do the same with Dark Empire, with Zahn disliking how Dark Empire brought Palpatine back (which Veitch attributed as Zahn missing some of Episode VI's subtext in regards to Palpatine's intentions with Luke) while Veitch disliked how Heir to the Empire felt uncinematic. Both Veitch and Goodwin found Zahn's story pedestrian and unexciting due to seemingly rehasing the movies and making "knock-offs" of film characters for new characters, while deeming their own idea to bring Palpatine back better due to building on the tremendous power Palpatine, Jabba the Hutt and Boba Fett already held over the viewer's imagination, with Palpatine being the very essence of the dark side still thriving and more powerful than ever. A few more of Zahn's criticisms were the Force storms, how a Star Destroyer could crashland, that large-sized ships should stay away from planet-sized bodies, Leia not having her own lightsaber when the story starts and using telekinesis to blow up droids, Veitch's own statement on Luke having all the power of past Jedi, how Da Soocha V was geologically possible, the cooperating relationships of Dark Jedi on Byss and the way Luke and Leia would use mental power to defeat the Emperor (which he found completely, absolutely and insultingly wrong), for which all Veitch had in-universe rationalizations. Veitch felt that Han and Leia's union meant a child was inevitable, but Zahn did the same through Jacen and Jaina Solo, prompting Veitch to create Anakin Solo. By the spring of 1990, the artwork for the first issue had been completed, but contracts with Marvel for the series were still not finalized, resulting in Kennedy not being compensated for his work to that point. Although a print advertisement had been released for a three-issue iteration of the series with Marvel, scheduled for release in the fall of 1990, Kennedy was contemplating leaving the project to pursue other opportunities due to the lack of payment and progress with the series. Following further delays over the subsequent months, Kennedy informed Veitch and Wilson that he would have to withdraw from the project to seek other employment. Veitch was disheartened by the news, but, determined to salvage the project, he suggested other artists to complete the series, such as Andy and Adam Kubert. Wilson, a great admirer of Kennedy's artistic style, describing it as 'brilliant,' refused to allow further complications with the series to cause Kennedy to abandon it, leading her to explore alternative options to expedite its publication.

In a stroke of good fortune, Mike Richardson, the proprietor of Dark Horse Comics, had encountered some of Kennedy's artwork for the first issue of Dark Empire and expressed considerable interest in undertaking the project. Richardson, who was acquainted with Kennedy, believed that he could entice Kennedy to return to the project if Dark Empire were published by Dark Horse. In August of 1990, at the San Diego Comic-Con, Richardson and Randy Stradley met with Wilson to discuss the possibility of publishing Dark Empire at Dark Horse, and they also proposed the idea of Dark Horse acquiring the Star Wars license for comic books. Despite Marvel's lobbying efforts to publish the comic book, Wilson chose to pursue the transfer of the Lucasfilm comic book license from Marvel to Dark Horse. Dark Empire had discovered a new home and, consequently, a new avenue for publication; in December of 1990, Veitch contacted Kennedy to persuade him to rejoin the project.

As work recommenced on the project, new continuity issues emerged with the new production of Heir to the Empire, now the first in a line of new Star Wars novels. The Lucasfilm editorial staff recognized that if the two projects were not properly aligned in terms of continuity, it could negatively impact sales; with this in mind, they requested that Zahn and Veitch review each other's outlines, but the two authors held vastly different visions of the universe and were unable to agree on a unified vision. After Veitch initially proposed Dark Empire take place one year after Return of the Jedi, Zahn was not inclined to reference the events of that series, possibly leading to a conundrum in the timeline; Veitch proposed to Lucasfilm a simple resolution: he would set Dark Empire's events one year after Zahn's books and write an opening scroll to bridge the two projects. Lucasfilm agreed, and the timeline was established. Work proceeded on the series, and the first issue of Dark Empire was released on December 12, 1991, almost exactly three years after the initial proposal for the series was made.

In 1992, Veitch stated, “Lucy Wilson told us, you can't bring back Vader, but you can bring back the Emperor... if you can figure out how to do it.” In subsequent years, Veitch claimed in different interviews that George Lucas himself was involved in the development of the project. Star Wars Insider's series of retrospectives on the creation of the series in 2015 clarified that Veitch's editorial contact throughout the development of the series was Wilson. This was further illuminated in 2022, when Wilson spoke about the development of the series, saying: "Tom Veitch, the story he wrote... You know, we were kind of letting people do what they wanted then. He wrote his story. I didn't ask George anything."

The launch of Dark Empire achieved immense commercial success, effectively revitalizing the Star Wars comic book publishing program. Author Tom Veitch recalled in 2003 receiving letters from individuals who regarded Dark Empire as the finest of the post-Return of the Jedi narratives and suggested that it be adapted into a film or novel. As artist Cam Kennedy recounted, "Previously, Marvel had been selling about 4 to 5 thousand copies a month, and they had to sell about 7 and a half to cover costs. So it wasn't going anywhere. The first Star Wars I think we did, we did about 220,000. Which was good, and obviously Lucasfilm was very delighted. It kept selling and selling." Michael Kogge, writing in a series of retrospectives on the series for Star Wars Insider in 2015, wrote that the success of Dark Empire "stunned the comics world" and "changed how licensed properties were handled in the industry."

Numerous individuals within the industry enthusiastically praised the comics' painted artwork. Dark Horse editor Barbara Kesel commented, "Cam's painted art was a striking new approach for comics, let alone 'licensed' comics. The intense colors and watercolor approach were so visually different from the average comics of the time that the series would have stood out on the stands even without a good story." Dark Horse owner Mike Richardson would proclaim, "Cam Kennedy is the best Star Wars artist in comics. Nobody else even comes close." Kennedy would later share the anecdote of how, at a New York convention, the renowned French artist Moebius exchanged some of his own art for that of Dark Empire.

Legendary Star Wars concept artist Ralph McQuarrie would also commend the artwork of the series, proceeding to write the introduction for Dark Empire II. Within it, McQuarrie expressed his enthusiasm for the original run of Dark Empire, writing: "I haven't been an avid collector of comics and science fiction or fantasy art, but I've seen quite a lot, and I'll say the work in the Dark Empire series is very impressive. I look with envy at the crisp, stylized drawings by Cam Kennedy, the rich color and painterly effects Dave Dorman gets into his work." McQuarrie would further extend his praise, adding: "I'm certain Cam Kennedy or any number of people could have read the script I read and designed the things as well or better."

George Lucas had a multifaceted response to the comic, even though Veitch claimed Lucas told him personally he loved it. Regarding Lucas's response to the narrative of Dark Empire, Lucy Autrey Wilson recounted in 2022, "Later, George would run into me and he would say, "You know, Lucy, I would never clone the Emperor. He doesn't get cloned!" And I'm like, "How am I supposed to know that if you don't want to be involved in what we're doing? And yeah, if I do something you don't like?" So I started then having to send him memos. You know, this person wants to do this, this, and this; is this okay, is that okay." It was the publication of Dark Empire that prompted Lucas afterwards to take a more participatory role in the creation of the following stories in the Expanded Universe, with more oversight from him in the form of reviewed memos and outlines. In 2008, Lucas precisely disregarded Palpatine's cloning as something that stories following the events of Return of the Jedi did that didn't fit his vision becaise the main story of Star Wars ends with the tragedy of Darth Vader.

Lucas did, however, respond favorably to the artwork of the comic; he bought 14 of the 16 art pieces that Dorman created for the series. Lucas would proceed to give the collected issues to the employees of Lucasfilm as part of the annual Christmas gift. Lucas would eventually also choose to include cover art by Dorman from the series in his collection of favorite Star Wars comic art pieces as part of the Star Wars Art: Comics book.

Certain contributors to the Expanded Universe publicly expressed their dissatisfaction with the decision to resurrect Palpatine, including Del Rey editor Shelly Shapiro. In Vision of the Future, Timothy Zahn included a conversation that refers to the events of Dark Empire with Luke Skywalker mentioning "the resurrected Emperor" and Mara Jade retorting, "Whatever. Personally, I'm not convinced it was actually him."

One of the series' events, the Battle of Calamari, was adapted into a playable level in 1998's Rogue Squadron game, where the player can pilot a New Republic V-Wing against the World Devastators to defend Mon Calamari.

Characters and events referenced in the holocron used in Dark Empire subsequently served as the foundation for the original Tales of the Jedi series, also authored by Veitch.

Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith emphasizes Palpatine's aspiration for immortality, specifically mentioning how his master Darth Plagueis could manipulate the midi-chlorians to prevent the demise of those he held most dear. Veitch noticed this and liked how the film seemingly foreshadowed Palpatine's cloning scheme of Dark Empire in his pursuit for immortality.

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• The Dark Empire Saga on StarWars.com (content now obsolete; backup link)
• " Novel Approach " — Star Wars Insider 66
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• " Of Rebel Dreams and Dark Empires: The Making of a Star Wars Legend " — Star Wars Insider 157
• " Of Light and Darkness: The Making of Dark Empire – Part II " — Star Wars Insider 158
• " Death to the Dark Side!: The Making of Dark Empire – Part III " — Star Wars Insider 159
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