Summary:
This graphic novel takes place about five to six years after the Battle of Endor and after the events of the Thrawn Trilogy. The story begins shortly after Luke Skywalker, Lando Calrissian, and Wedge Antilles crash land a captured Imperial Star Destroyer on Coruscant’s surface, which is again controlled by Imperial forces. Hand and Leia Solo, Chewbacca, and C-3PO lead a rescue aboard the Millenium Falcon. On Coruscant a civil war rages on between those still loyal to the fallen Emperor and those in the ruling council looking to gain power. Though Lando and Wedge are rescued by the Solo’s, Luke elects to stay on Coruscant as he senses a darkness he has not felt since the death of his father.
Meanwhile, incredibly dangerous weapons called “World Devastators” have surfaced above the planet of Calamari representing this “darkness” Luke has felt within the Empire. These devastators contain furnaces and factories that process the elements of its destruction into new weapons for use in the Empire. In the words of Admiral Ackbar, “this is a force far more lethal than the Death Star.”
Luke is willingly taken prisoner aboard an Imperial Dungeon ship and taken to the planet Byss, which is a world totally enveloped in the Dark Side. Luke soon discovers that the Emperor is very much alive and has been using the bodies of clones to sustain his energies. The Emperor has been biding his time in hiding and simply waiting for the proper moment to strike. Luke decides he must challenge the darkside from within and learn its secrets in order to defeat the Emperor. Thus, Luke Skywalker becomes the Emperor’s new apprentice!
Fully robotic tie fighters now begin to spit forth from the World Devastators adding to the disaster they’ve already caused on Calamari. Unfortunately for the Alliance, their Star Destroyer, the Emancipator, is also devoured by one of these World Devastators. However, it appears that Alliance E-Wings have found out how to defeat the World Devastators. But Lando believes that these monstrous machines self destructed. This notion by Lando also has given the Alliance the hope that Luke Skywalker is still in control of his own destiny.
Han and Leia Solo travel to Nal Hutta to meet with Han’s old friend named Shug Ninx. Han also runs into his old flame, Salla Zend, which doesn’t make Leia to happy. The Solo’s apparently need a ship that’s legal for space travel into the deep core. Salla has just the ship…a beauty by the name of the Starlight Intruder. Leai also encounters a mysterious Jedi named Vima while on Nal Hutta. Vima has spent years in hiding and begs Leia for her forgiveness of her “crimes”. Vima finally presents Leia with a gift before disappearing without a trace. Unfortunately, Han discovers his arch nemesis, Boba Fett, is still very much alive after escaping from the belly of the Sarlaac. Meaning, Han and Leia must now try to escape Nal Hutta before Fett collects a huge bounty that the Hutts have placed on both the Solo’s. The Solo’s manage to escape with Salla and Shug aboard the Starlight Intruder, complete with the Millenium Falcon as cargo.
When Han and Leia finally arrive on the planet of Byss, they soon discover that Luke Skywalker may be beyond their help. Luke seems to have fully embraced his position as the Emperor’s apprentice. However, the Emperor does reveal to Leai that he knows of Luke’s efforts to sabotage the Empire from within. The Emperor believes that the rewards are worth the risks for both parties involved. Though it seems as though Luke has escaped Byss with the Solo’s, he actually chooses to remain with the Emperor. However, Luke did manage to hide the master codes to the World Devastators in R2-D2 before the Solo’s left Byss. Leia is also able to steal a Jedi Holocron away from the Emperor before their escape. Luke, despite feeling energized in the Force after seeing his sister, is still unable to resist the Emperor now that he is alone.
Once R2-D2 is put in the hands of the New Republic forces on Calamari the tide of the battle against the Empire begins to change. The World Devastators appear dead in the water, but manage to keep their furnaces operational. Thus, the Empire is still able to present a challenge to their adversaries on Calamari. However, R2-D2 is able to override that program as well and turn the World Devastators against each other. The New Republic seems to have victory within their grasp when the Emperor shows up in the granddaddy of all super star destroyers. The Emperor proceeds to make two demands of his enemies. The first demand is that Leia return the Jedi Holocron she has stone from the Emperor. Secondly, the Emperor demands that leia surrender herself immediately without further delay. Then and only then will any talks of possible peace or negotiations be discussed with the New Republic. Leia Solo insists that this is her destiny though the New Republic leaders would just assume fight the Emperor.
Leia again realizes as she boards the Emperor’s ship that Luke has fallen prey to the Emperor’s power. That power embraces Luke to the extent that he and Leia have a brief exchange of lightsabers. However, the bond between Luke and Leia is too strong and once again Luke is freed from the dark embrace. At last Luke goes toe to toe with the Emperor and seems to best his in a duel of lightsabers. However, the Emperor calls upon the ultimate power of the darkside in the form of a Force storm meant to devour the entirety of the New Republic fleet. But Luke and Leia combine their power of the Force and confront the Emperor to such an extent that he seems no longer able to control the awesome power of this storm. Once the Emperor loses control, his own ship begins to be consumed by the very storm he created. And of course Luke and Leia are able to escape right before the ship is completely devoured by the storm.
The story ends with Luke Skywalker vowing to restore the Jedi Knights to their rightful place as protectors of the Republic. A nice little statement is also made regarding the child Leia is expecting…Anakin Solo. Luke of course feels Leia is the key in this future of the Jedi Knight considering she already has had the twins, Jacen and Jaina Solo.
Jedi Archive Opinions:
This was a great graphic novel that was also presented in a great audio drama format. Any fan should be very appreciative of the time and effort put into the creativity this awesome story. You have to believe that such a story could’ve and should’ve kick started a future line of novels, figures, games, etc. We as fans may’ve gotten a small part of that, but we wish it had been a bit more. That being said, our primary gripe regarding Dark Empire was the misuse of the Emperor in the storyline. How are we supposed to believe that the Emperor was so easily taken out after patiently waiting five plus years and building this massive new Empire on Byss? Why would the Emperor place all his eggs in one basket and attack Calamari with every single World Devastator? Meaning, even the Death Star was tested out on a planet that posed no threat in terms of defense. So why attack Admiral Ackbar and the Mon Calamari, who possess some of the greatest military minds of the New Republic? Not to mention the fact that the Mon Calamari were probably already planning or waiting for an opportunity to exact a little revenge on the Empire. Other than these gripes we recommend this graphic novel and audio dram from Dark Horse as a ust have for any true fan of Star Wars.