"Star Wars: Dark Empire" - A Review

Plus the idea that the Sith ressurected him has a suitable "Anti-Christ" like metaphor.

Also, really, Dark Empire is so popular probably because its got the Empire as such freaking bastards (pardon my language).

There's few works where the Empire is genuinely terrifying.

 

Well, because most of the other works have the Empire being led by people who we haven't seen. But when Palps is back at the reins, readers all remember how scary and evil he was, and so half the work is already done.

 

Honestly, the Sith have always been the most effective bad guys, at least in my book. They're scary and powerful and EVIL. I mean, Palpatine was a *great* villain. It was his presence (and Vader's) that made the Empire so sinister. For example, when Thrawn came back, was he really that evil? He was cool, but there were moments when I sat there thinking "Y'know, honestly, this guy wouldn't be so bad if he was in charge".

But Palpatine, when he's back in charge, makes the Empire terrifying again. That's why I enjoyed Dark Empire - I didn't like a lot of the plot choices (especially in terms of Luke's dark side jaunt), and I wasn't real happy about the invalidating of Anakin's sacrifice, but at the end of the day... it was Palpatine being a badass, and I forgave them for the rest.

Besides, come on. Force storms. How cool was that?

(and yeah, I guess I'm referring to both DE 1 and 2 here, but I consider them a unit)

 

I'm probably going to be blacklisted right here for saying it, but Dark Empire is my favorite EU story.

First of all, I want to advance my theory that simply killing ANYONE, even Palpatine is not a way to bring balance to The Force. It is not that he kills Palpatine but that he saves Luke that makes Anakin Skywalker restore balance to the force. The Force is similar to eastern religious principles of yin & yang, and when the Jedi defeat the Sith at the Battle of Ruusan, the Light Side becomes dominant. This causes the inevitable backlash of a Sith resurgance. By saving Luke's life, Anakin Skywalker allows the "Return of the Jedi", and with both Light & Dark on equal footing, the balance of the force is restored.

Frankly, with few exceptions, such as Thrawn and Carnor Jax (suprise suprise, another comic character)
There are very few Imperial leaders who inspire any kind of fear, or in fact even threaten the New Republic at all. If Palpatine is an old, frail man who can just get chucked over a railing, how in the hell could he survive ruling an entire galaxy with an iron fist? The way Emperor Palpatine taunts Luke to kill him without fear on the Death Star II prompts me to believe he had a plan in case of his death. Likewise, Palpatine, as a Sith, and seeking to recreate the Galaxy in the image of the Sith, is building the Empire up in steps towards his ultimate goal.

I. - He creates a civil war in the Old Republic, stretching the Jedi Order to protect their charges.

II. - He eliminates trust in the Jedi, letting the Galaxy know that they cannot be relied on to protect the people of the Old Republic

III. - He eliminated the Jedi and replaces them with something the people trust to keep them safe, the Imperial Army, Navy, Stormtroopers

IV. - He creates a stratified society that drives its members to compete and fight to reach the top, using the Imperial Military and COMPNOR to encourage the citizens of the Empire to battle one another to obtain these prestigious positions. Notice how the Emperor continually creates grander and grander positions, further seperating society into those who serve and those who rule.

V. - By feigning his death, his subordinates fall upon each other, weeding out the weak and the disloyal.

VI. - The survivors of the period between ROTJ and DE are driven and powerful, but also fanatically loyal. They see no qualms in a society that openly harbors Dark Jedi, as any method used to gain an advantage over others has become acceptable.

In addition, without Luke's turn to the Dark Side, he would never have developed the clarity of purpose he displays later on in the novels. It is his understanding of what the Dark Side is and its constant temptation that steels him to the task of recreating the Jedi Knights.

While I freely admit that Empire's End and Dark Empire II leave something to be desired in their characterization of established personalities and their lack of detail, I feel they are vital to the continuity of the EU.

 

As a story arc or idea, Dark Empire started well and showed much promise. In fact, in reading the first issue (I read them as parts 1-6) I really enjoyed the direction. However, by the end I was disappointed. I agree that the meeting of Leia and Vima was un-necessary and served only as a commercial for Tales of the Jedi (which was released shortly after DE). I agree the characters were handled badly and the art was sub-par.

Having said all that, let me explain why I'm a fan of Dark Empire. At the time it came out there was precious little in the way of EU stories and I soaked up every bit I could...also, the idea that Luke would fall to the dark and be saved by his sister who was now a jedi herself, and carrying the future of the order...that is still a very compelling story and idea. I liked it alot, and for that reason I can forgive most of the bad things or continuity errors that are part of Dark Empire.

I see it as a continuation of the story, nothing more and nothing less, I don't hold it as canon, nor do I allow it to disrupt my enjoyment of the other, more deserving parts of Star Wars EU. In fact, I recommend that all hard core fans read it at least once...just because its referenced in so many other works.

 

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>>I agree that the meeting of Leia and Vima was un-necessary and served only as a commercial for Tales of the Jedi (which was released shortly after DE).<<

Actually, I believe TOTJ was spawned from the scene in DE.[hr][/blockquote][/b]
Which many people picking up the revised trade collection will never understand, since the original Veitch endnote sections were snipped from the third edition onward. Ulic, the Krath, and the rest of the Sith War setup originally appeared in the fourth or fifth issue, with the text sections reprinted for the hardcover and first two softcover incarnations.

 

Actually, I believe TOTJ was spawned from the scene in DE.

I beg to differ, TOTJ was in development at the same time as DE, the only reason I remember that was because of a Magazine article, in I think Starlog, that talked about the return of Star Wars to comic form, and the projects in development at that time were DE, TOTJ and Classic Star Wars.

With Vima being the name of Naomi Sunrider's daughter, its easy to draw the connection...however, there may be some truth in that particular story element being inspired by TOTJ...not being the writer I can't tell you for sure.

 

DE was published 1991-92, TOTJ started in 1993. CSW began being published 1992, the 20 issue run finishing in 1994.

The writer of DE & TOTJ was Tom Veitch, who also wrote the notes in DE. What likely happened was DHC was taken aback by DE's success and began considering other series probably at the start of 1992, as by the DE issue 3 had come out and it was clear there was a strong and interested audience.

CSW was a case of reformatting and colouring the strips into comic form.

TOTJ likely spun out of the notes on Ulic Qel-Droma in DE. Although the whole TOTJ line of stories got a big boost in 1995 as it was revealed Veitch & Anderson had developed a 12-issue story on the Dark Lords of the Sith with input from Lucas!

How do I reckon I'm probably right on this? Well, I happened to stumble on DE as it was being published and got back in SW as a result, bought a load of comics 12 years back and that was that! Over a decade later and I'm still at it!

JB

 

One of the TOTJ comics have a long foreword note from Veitch or Anderson, explaining its planning stages. Dark Emp had from Anderson concering Jedi Search.

I forgot which one, even though I threaded it months ago, with Stevie Perry telling rabid fans off!

 

When I first got Dark Empire, I was kind of wishy-washy about it. The art was weird and I thought the reborn Emperor idea was kind of cheesy.

Then I read it again, and it grew on me. Then I listened to the audio adaptations, and now I'm a firm DE defender.

I don't feel that the Emperor's return invalidated the end of ROTJ at all. I think Vader balanced the Force when he 1.)killed all of the old Jedi and 2.)saved Luke to eventually restart the Jedi order. I think that the Force needed balancing because the Jedi had become too detached. Luke's new Jedi have a much more balanced view of the Force than the old Jedi ever had, and it never would have been possible without Vader. The Emperor's death in ROTJ had very little to do with it, except that it allowed Luke to live to fight another day.

The art in DE grew on me just like the story did. I appreciate it because it's different. I think there's room in Star Wars for a little impressionism, and I don't believe it detracted from the story any.

I like the character of Vima-da-boda because I like the idea of a Jedi that chickened out. The whole reason she survived the purge is because she renounced her Jedi-ness. The scene where she meets Leia is a redemption of sorts for her. She comes back in DE2, by the way and helps Luke and friends out.

I like the dialogue a lot, and I like it even more after hearing the audio versions. I agree that the Emperor's lines are excellent.

I agree with whoever said that the Empire was scary again. I think Zahn did a lot for trying to make the Empire sympathetic. I mean, look at Mara Jade and Paelleon. Likeable people, just happened to be on the evil side of the war. No such characters in DE. All the Imperials are scumbags, and there's no political ruse this time. No propoganda about "keeping order." Ol' Palpy's out for galactic domination, and all of his underlings are out to do his bidding. I liked being able to hate the Imperials like I did in ESB.

As far as the extravagant Force powers and superweapons are concerned ... it's Star Wars! Without extravagant Force powers and superweapons, it would just be Star Trek.