Star Wars Infinities: The Empire Strikes Back is a comic book series, consisting of four parts, and is a sub-series of Star Wars Infinities. The initial issue was released on July 2, 2002, with subsequent issues released until November 20, 2002. It was later compiled into a trade paperback on April 2, 2003.
The story explores an alternate timeline in which Luke Skywalker perishes in the icy environment of Hoth, leading Han Solo to journey to Dagobah instead.
Imagine taking the well-known events and beloved characters from a classic Star Wars film, introducing a single, unforeseen event, accident, or technical problem beyond anyone's control, and observing the resulting changes. Dark Horse initiated this concept with Infinities (Star Wars Infinities: A New Hope), where Luke Skywalker's brave attack on the Death Star was unsuccessful due to a malfunctioning detonator – an unpredictable event that led to a significant setback for the Rebellion. In Infinities -- The Empire Strikes Back, Han Solo's urgent search for Luke on the frozen planet Hoth is interrupted when his tauntaun dies from the cold, leaving Han a mile away from Luke. Han's arrival is too late, and he only hears Luke's final words about Jedi training and the planet Dagobah...
This sets the stage for a very different adventure compared to the film. The narrative includes a famous bounty hunter being frozen in carbonite, Han and Chewie being captured by Jabba the Hutt on Tatooine, and a crucial confrontation between Princess Leia, Yoda, and Darth Vader in a jungle setting! This collection includes the complete four-issue miniseries.