THE EMPEROR STRIKES BACK
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The Dark Empire Trilogy from Dark Horse Comics
Review by Matt Hart
[Ed. Note: The following is a compilation of two
separate reviews written in 1995]
There is a question frequently asked in Star Wars online circles: "I've just finished reading Kevin J. Anderson's 'Jedi Academy' trilogy. There are a lot of references to a resurrected Emperor and Luke turning to the dark side. What novel did I miss?" There was no novel. The missing link is the Dark Empire comic book series from Dark Horse Comics, consisting of Dark Empire (6 issues), Dark Empire II (6 issues), and Empire's End. But before you wonder when comics began to dictate what happens in Star Wars, let me caution you: This ain't yer father's Archie and Jughead.
DARK EMPIRE
At the end of Return of the Jedi, Darth Vader and the Emperor were dead, the second Death Star destroyed, and the Rebel Alliance proclaimed a New Republic over most of the Galaxy.
But now six years have
gone by. 
The Jedi are gone;
only Luke Skywalker and his untrained sister, Princess
Leia, remain. The core Imperial worlds are still loyal to
the Empire, as is the Imperial Starfleet. After the
narrow defeat of Grand Admiral Thrawn (in the Timothy
Zahn novel trilogy,) the remaining members of the
Emperor's Ruling Circle attempt to regain control of the
Galaxy by assaulting the New Republic capital of
Coruscant.
Thus begins an adventure every bit as exciting as the movies. Dark Empire starts off with the Falcon and two rebel frigates attempting a rescue of the crew of the downed Liberator, an Imperial Star Destroyer captured by the Rebels but now crashed landed in the assault to reclaim Coruscant. Luke has grown into a powerful Jedi, and in his first scenes he single-handedly takes on an AT-AT walker, deflecting powerful laser blasts with his lightsaber. Yoda's teachings were not in vain; Luke raises his hand and topples the walker with only the Force.
But this is a different Luke, not the smiling and happy Luke from the end of Return of the Jedi. And he's drawn by Cam Kennedy to reflect that change. Luke feels a powerful Dark Side presence somewhere in the Galaxy, and it wants him. Cam Kennedy's Luke has a dark face, inward thinking eyes, a belligerent stance.
The dark side presence that Luke has been drawn to is the resurrected Emperor Palpatine himself. It seems that the Emperor kept a few old Spaarti cloning cylinders around his home base on Byss, a world encased by the dark side of the Force. His dark side power is so great he can, uponphysical death, transfer his consciousness through the ether to a new host clone. Palpatine has been plotting, regrouping forces, and now he reaches out from Byss to pluck Luke and the ever faithful Artoo Detoo from the surface of Coruscant with a giant Force Storm. However, Luke goes willingly; he actually gives himself to the Emperor in an effort to defeat him by learning the secrets of the dark side -- from within. On this treacherous journey, Luke becomes like his father: Palpatine's right arm and commander of the Imperial Fleet.
This Imperial Fleet has a new addition - the World Devastator. While not a Death Star, it can nonetheless destroy a planet by consuming it. The materials and people of the planet are sucked into the vast engine and new robot TIE fighters and other vehicles are manufactured. Extremely strong shields and armor protect the Devastators, armor reminiscent of the AT-AT walkers in The Empire Strikes Back. The World Devastators begin their reign of terror on the world of Mon Calamari, long a supporter of the Rebellion and the home planet of Admiral Ackbar.
Can Luke be reclaimed from the dark side? Is there a way to defeat Palpatine once and for all? Can the mighty World Devastators be stopped? Is Mon Calamari doomed? These are the weighty cliffhangers that Dark Empire covers over its six issue run.
DARK EMPIRE II
Dark Empire II begins by focusing on the Emperor's new right hand man, Darkside Executor Sedriss, an evil looking dude with equally evil intent. It seems that the lackeys always hanging around Palpatine were empowered by the Emperor with the dark side of the Force and trained in dark side ways.
Sedriss, a spacer's version of a Hell's Angel, begins a consolidation of Imperial space with the governor of an arms manufacturing plant. The governor, however, is one tough character himself, and bargains to sell new and powerful war droids to the Empire. He also makes a secret deal with the New Republic. This is the major sub-plot of DE II.
In
the meantime, Luke has found a fallen Jedi, Kam Solusar.
Luke's strength and power has turned Solusar back from
the dark side. (This follows an important theme brought
up in both Return of the Jedi and Dark Empire:
one Jedi alone cannot defeat the dark side or return from
its clutches, but two or more Jedi together can, with the
Force binding them.) Kam and Luke search for other Jedi,
following a trail that leads them to a world inhabited by
a primitive people who use simple Force tricks in a
traditional magic style. One of their ceremonies involves
roping young men and women to an old tree. It turns out
that this tree is actually Master Oon, an ancient Jedi
Master spoken of in the Jedi Holocron. When the
primitives attack them, Luke and Kam easily avoid harm;
in fact, the scene where the "powerful" tribe
magician tries to use the Force against them is
hilarious.
The story is a bit harder to follow. I was initially disappointed to hear that the Emperor was back. I'm one of those people wondering "Isn't that guy ever going to go away?" One important thing to understand is that Veitch views the Emperor as an incarnation of the dark side. Since the dark side will always be there, so will the Emperor. Palpatine claims to be able to inhabit anyone, although he again seems to covet Leia's third child, Anakin (whose birth we witness in Dark Empire II, issue #6.) Even if the Emperor couldn't reincorporate, some vestige of his personality and evil will likely remain around the galaxy forever. This is certainly something which helps perpetuate the Star Wars saga, but it seems disappointing to *never* have an ending.
THE ART OF...
The artwork throughout "Dark Empire" is unique. Cam Kennedy's drawings evoke a dark and evil Luke, and his rendition of both the elderly gnarled Palpatine, and a young, reborn clone Emperor are excellent. The unique inks and colors in this incredible comic, also by artist Kennedy, are nearly indescribable. The brightly colored issues are given skies of aquamarine and reddish smoke, moody and vibrant.
Unfortunately, I had a problem with the Kennedy's rendition of Leia. She appears rather portly throughout the series. Perhaps it was the clothes; she is dressed down - "inconspicuously," but I just couldn't get used to this portrayal.
Dave Dorman's cover art is another treat - it's absolutely gorgeous, lifelike, and faithful to the look of the characters.
Dark Empire does raise some questions with regards to the Star Wars Trilogy. If the Emperor wasn't really dead at the end of Return of the Jedi, then what good was Darth Vader's sacrifice? Perhaps to save his son? Was the Emperor's "destruction" only secondary to that? Also, the Emperor has apparently been alive as a clone for some six years, fortifying his base on Byss. But if this is so, then why didn't Mara Jade in Timothy Zahn's "Heir to the Empire" trilogy sense him? She felt his presence around the moon of Endor, still following the orbit of the Death Star II. [Ed. note: author Tom Veitch answers these and other questions in a separate interview in this very issue.]
AUDIO DRAMAS
In
addition to the comics, Audio Book Dramas are available,
and I highly recommend them (in fact, a Dark Empire
Collector's Edition from Time Warner features CD versions
of the audio dramas from all three parts of the Dark
Empire Trilogy). I suggest you read the comic first,
then listen to the drama. What you get is an adventure
that is as good as, perhaps better than the NPR Star
Wars Radio Drama.
The Audio Book includes additional scenes not in the comic books, like scenes describing Luke's activities before his appearance and conflict with the Walkers in issue #1 of the first series. The actors in this drama even sound like the actors from the movies! Joe Hacker does a fair Harrison Ford (Han Solo), and Ann Patricio is believable as Carrie Fisher's Princess Leia.
But
the powerhouse performances come
from John Cygan's Mark Hamill (Luke), and Nick Jameson's
recreation of Ian McDiarmind as Emperor Palpatine. A real
surprise is Billy Dee Williams sounding just like
himself, as he returns in his role as Lando Calrissian.
Only Threepio sounds obviously different, but Jim Ward makes a go of it.
The Audio Book version of Dark Empire II is not as good as Dark Empire, but I do recommend it nonetheless. The scenes with Luke are excellent, but the New Republic attacks against the Empire seem a bit farfetched. It's kind of obvious that they are MEANT to seem farfetched, as Luke strongly recommends against them. It seems the New Republic has its own agenda, and the rash decision made against the advice of a Jedi Master turns out to be a big mistake. The audio drama for DEII didn't seem to add as many scenes like the Dark Empire audio drama did. The voice actor for Vima da Boda does an excellent job, and the voices again sound more like those of the Star Wars movie actors than the NPR audio dramas do.
If you have any road trips to make in the near future, this Audio Book Collection is a definite "must have" to make the trip pass faster. The Dark Empire Collector's Edition is ISBN 1-57042-347-4 and retails for $60.00 U.S.
The Dark Empire comics are available in separate collected books, known as a trade paperbacks, from most bookstores, comic shops, and directly from The LucasArts Company Store at (800) STAR-WARs or by fax at (415) 456-4381 or by mailing them at:
LucasArts Company Store
P.O. Box 10307
San Rafael, CA 94912
EMPIRE'S END
[Ed. Note: Empire's End
had not been released at the time of this review. It
turned out to be only 2 issues long (That length,
according to Veitch, was not his doing, but Lucasfilm's)
and contained art from Jim Baike using a Cam Kennedy
style. Although it resolved the Dark Empire
Trilogy, it seemed rushed and cramped in the small space
provided. The following is an edited press release that
preceeded Empire's End's
publication.]
From Dark Horse Comics:
Star Wars: EMPIRE'S END Written by: Tom Veitch. Illustrated by: Jim Baikie (New Statesmen, Blackmask) Painted cover by: Dave Dorman
The Emperor is back -- and this time he's out for blood! Following his battle with Luke Skywalker in Dark Empire II, Emperor Palpatine was forced to occupy an inferior clone-body. That body is now aging rapidly, and Palpatine's final, irrevocable end is near unless he can infuse his line of clones with genetic material from a Jedi bloodline. His target: Han and Leia's youngest child, Anakin!
Don't miss this exciting installment in the grand, epic saga that is Star Wars. Empire's End bridges the continuity between the Dark Empire and Dark Empire II series, and the Bantam novels written by Kevin J. Anderson. Another triumphal piece of the mosaic, written by Star Wars: Dark Empire II's Tom Veitch, with a painted Dave Dorman cover. $2.95 U.S., $4.15 Canada. 32 color pages, painted cover. Monthly. Shipping October 24, 1995.
(Contributor Matt Hart
can be reached via Email at 75450.3705@compuserve.com)
