History ComicBook / DarkEmpire

* HeroicSacrifice: In ''spades''.

* IntentionalEngrishForFunny: Bizarre lines like "Aren't I the master of all the Jedi?" and "Unngh, the Corellian has killed me." become even worse when you consider the book is written ''in English''.

* {{Irony}}: Darth Sidious, [[TheChessmaster Chessmaster]] [[MagnificentBastard extraordinaire]] and the Sith'ari, dies for the last time when [[spoiler:Han Solo, a non-force-sensitive, shoots him]].

The old EU canon (now ''Franchise/StarWarsLegends'') was more internally consistent than most, but this series tended to be [[CanonDiscontinuity ignored fairly often]], mostly due to all the [[ResetButton retrogressive]] things that happened during it. A few things are acknowledged: Han and Leia had a son that they named [[DeadGuyJunior Anakin]], who went on to be pretty important. The first ''VideoGame/RogueSquadron'' game, mostly set between the movies, had a final level where the player was Wedge Antilles on Mon Calamari, trying to take down the World Devastators. In the ''Literature/HandOfThrawn'' duology, the subject of the Emperor's return comes up and Mara Jade -- who was his Hand and could hear his instructions from across the galaxy - doubts that this Emperor was really Palpatine. Mara, having gone to the Dark Side herself for a while, also suggests that Luke has been slightly tainted by it ever since. ''Literature/LukeSkywalkerAndTheShadowsOfMindor'' has a {{body surf}}ing villain think about how Palpatine had a similar plan to his, but involving clones, and since the villain in question was never able-bodied, he's going a [[GrandTheftMe different route]]. Additionally, the E-wing starfighter makes its debut, and in later books and comics would become one of the most common go-to machines when a writer wanted to utilize a fighter other than the four Rebel fighters from the films.

The old EU canon (now ''Franchise/StarWarsLegends'') was more internally consistent than most, but this series tended to be [[CanonDiscontinuity ignored fairly often]], mostly due to all the [[ResetButton retrogressive]] things that happened during it. A few things are acknowledged: Han and Leia had a son that they named [[DeadGuyJunior Anakin]], who went on to be pretty important. The first ''VideoGame/RogueSquadron'' game, mostly set between the movies, had a final level where the player was Wedge Antilles on Mon Calamari, trying to take down the World Devastators. In the ''Literature/HandOfThrawn'' duology, the subject of the Emperor's return comes up and Mara Jade - who was his Hand and could hear his instructions from across the galaxy - doubts that this Emperor was really Palpatine. Mara, having gone to the Dark Side herself for a while, also suggests that Luke has been slightly tainted by it ever since. ''Literature/LukeSkywalkerAndTheShadowsOfMindor'' has a {{body surf}}ing villain think about how Palpatine had a similar plan to his, but involving clones, and since the villain in question was never able-bodied, he's going a [[GrandTheftMe different route]]. Additionally, the E-wing starfighter makes its debut, and in later books and comics would become one of the most common go-to machines when a writer wanted to utilize a fighter other than the four Rebel fighters from the films.

* FanDisservice: Luke fighting Naked!Palpatine.
** One panel has [[http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/File:PalpyIsAKenDoll-DE.jpg a clear shot of Palpatine's crotch]]. Either his, er, Galaxy Gun and Death Stars are edited out, or Palpatine didn't think they're necessary.

* IdiotBall: Collectively, for all the Alderaanians who went to Byss because the ruler whose minion '''destroyed their planet''' wanted to make amends.
** Though in the EU, it's well established that the Empire [[PropagandaMachine blamed Alderaan's destruction on the Rebels]]...
** It also seems possible Palpatine controlled their minds with his Force powers.

* InTheBlood: Luke's the picture on the InTheBlood page. He took an enormous ship and crash-landed it safely during a battle, then resisted Palpatine's urgings, then turned with the best of intentions, then went evil for a while, then was redeemed by a relative's love. While under Palpatine he was given his father's title, Supreme Commander of the Imperial Forces, dressed in clothes much like his father's CustomUniform, and given a mechno-hand very like Vader's.

* CreepyMonotone: Luke after a generous helping of the Dark Side.

* BecomingTheMask: Luke.

* AndIMustScream: [[spoiler: Palpatine's final fate is described as "disembodiment in darkness, perpetual madness as if to always live with an open wound; terror without respite".]]

* AGodAmI: Palpatine's final plan is either this or an AssimilationPlot.

* CanonDiscontinuity: Despite originally praising the series, Creator/GeorgeLucas disregards ''Dark Empire'' as part of the ''StarWars'' story. In 2008, Lucas [[https://twitter.com/LaFamiliaFilm/status/540508589891526657/photo/1 stated]] that the story of the saga is Darth Vader's tragedy and that once he dies in ''Film/ReturnOfTheJedi'', the Emperor never gets brought back to life because that's where the story ends. This is fairly believable, as the Prequel Trilogy contradicted ''Dark Empire'' by establishing Anakin Skywalker as the Chosen One destined to bring balance to the Force by destroying the Sith, a revelation which caused many fans to criticize the series for making Darth Vader's HeroicSacrifice seem pointless (although obviously Tom Veitch could hardly have known what Lucas would include in the prequels). On the other hand, Palpatine's desire for immortality in ''Film/RevengeOfTheSith'' forced some fans to reexamine their positions. Anyway, with Disney's buyout of Lucasfilm and the subsequent canon reboot, ''Dark Empire'' never actually happened.

The old EU canon (now ''Franchise/StarWarsLegends'') was more internally consistent than most, but this series tended to be [[CanonDiscontinuity ignored fairly often]], mostly due to all the [[ResetButton retrogressive]] things that happened during it. A few things are acknowledged: Han and Leia had a son that they named [[DeadGuyJunior Anakin]], who went on to be pretty important. The first ''VideoGame/RogueSquadron'' game, mostly set between the movies, had a final level where the player was Wedge Antilles on Mon Calamari, trying to take down the World Devastators. In the Literature/HandOfThrawn duology, the subject of the Emperor's return comes up and Mara Jade - who was his Hand and could hear his instructions from across the galaxy - doubts that this Emperor was really Palpatine. Mara, having gone to the Dark Side herself for a while, also suggests that Luke has been slightly tainted by it ever since. ''Literature/LukeSkywalkerAndTheShadowsOfMindor'' has a {{body surf}}ing villain think about how Palpatine had a similar plan to his, but involving clones, and since the villain in question was never able-bodied, he's going a [[GrandTheftMe different route]]. Additionally, the E-wing starfighter makes its debut, and in later books and comics would become one of the most common go-to machines when a writer wanted to utilize a fighter other than the four Rebel fighters from the films.

** One panel has [[http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/File:PalpyIsAKenDoll-DE.jpg a clear shot of Palpatine's crotch]]. Either his, er, Dark scepter and orbs are edited out, or Palpatine didn't think they're necessary.

* ItTakesOneToKillOne: The World Devastators are only destroyed when they are used to "consume" each other.

-->'''[[TheReveal Palpatine]]:''' ...But then, so have I!

Star Wars' old EU canon (now ''Franchise/StarWarsLegends'') was more internally consistent than most, but this series tends to be [[CanonDiscontinuity ignored fairly often]], mostly due to all the [[ResetButton retrogressive]] things that happened during it. A few things are acknowledged: Han and Leia had a son that they named [[DeadGuyJunior Anakin]], who went on to be pretty important. The first ''VideoGame/RogueSquadron'' game, mostly set between the movies, had a final level where the player was Wedge Antilles on Mon Calamari, trying to take down the World Devastators. In the Literature/HandOfThrawn duology, the subject of the Emperor's return comes up and Mara Jade - who was his Hand and could hear his instructions from across the galaxy - doubts that this Emperor was really Palpatine. Mara, having gone to the Dark Side herself for a while, also suggests that Luke has been slightly tainted by it ever since. ''Literature/LukeSkywalkerAndTheShadowsOfMindor'' has a {{body surf}}ing villain think about how Palpatine had a similar plan to his, but involving clones, and since the villain in question was never able-bodied, he's going a [[GrandTheftMe different route]]. Additionally, the E-wing starfighter makes its debut, and in later books and comics would become one of the most common go-to machines when a writer wanted to utilize a fighter other than the four Rebel fighters from the films.

A series of ''Franchise/StarWarsLegends'' comic books (''Dark Empire'', ''Dark Empire II'' and ''Empire's End'' -- often all three together collectively called [[http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Dark_Empire Dark Empire]]) released between 1991 and 1992. It was also made into an [[http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Dark_Empire:_The_Collector%27s_Edition audio drama,]] which had a somewhat modified script. A sample can be heard [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_ARzFT6P9I here.]]

Star Wars' EU canon is more internally consistent than most, but this series tends to be [[CanonDiscontinuity ignored fairly often]], mostly due to all the [[ResetButton retrogressive]] things that happened during it. A few things are acknowledged: Han and Leia had a son that they named [[DeadGuyJunior Anakin]], who went on to be pretty important. The first ''VideoGame/RogueSquadron'' game, mostly set between the movies, had a final level where the player was Wedge Antilles on Mon Calamari, trying to take down the World Devastators. In the Literature/HandOfThrawn duology, the subject of the Emperor's return comes up and Mara Jade - who was his Hand and could hear his instructions from across the galaxy - doubts that this Emperor was really Palpatine. Mara, having gone to the Dark Side herself for a while, also suggests that Luke has been slightly tainted by it ever since. ''Literature/LukeSkywalkerAndTheShadowsOfMindor'' has a {{body surf}}ing villain think about how Palpatine had a similar plan to his, but involving clones, and since the villain in question was never able-bodied, he's going a [[GrandTheftMe different route]]. Additionally, the E-wing starfighter makes its debut, and in later books and comics would become one of the most common go-to machines when a writer wanted to utilize a fighter other than the four Rebel fighters from the films.

-->'''Palpatine:''' ...But then, so have I!

A series of ''Franchise/StarWarsLegends'' comic books (''Dark Empire'', ''Dark Empire II'' and ''Empire's End'' -- collectively called [[http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Dark_Empire Dark Empire]]) released between 1991 and 1992. It was also made into an [[http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Dark_Empire:_The_Collector%27s_Edition audio drama,]] which had a somewhat modified script. A sample can be heard [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_ARzFT6P9I here.]]

* FromASingleCell: See CloningGambit.

* AlwaysNight: Byss is ground zero for Dark Side energy, giving it a sickly blue glow.

* CanonDiscontinuity: Despite praising the series, Creator/GeorgeLucas disregards ''Dark Empire'' as part of the ''StarWars'' story. In 2008, Lucas [[https://twitter.com/LaFamiliaFilm/status/540508589891526657/photo/1 stated]] that the story of the saga is Darth Vader's tragedy and that once he dies in ''Film/ReturnOfTheJedi'', the Emperor never gets brought back to life because that's where the story ends. This is fairly believable, as the Prequel Trilogy contradicted ''Dark Empire'' by establishing Anakin Skywalker as the Chosen One destined to bring balance to the Force by destroying the Sith, a revelation which caused many fans to criticize the series for making Darth Vader's HeroicSacrifice seem pointless in spite that Tom Veitch could have hardly known what Lucas planned for the prequels, yet Palpatine's desire for any means of immortatility in ''Film/RevengeOfTheSith'' forced some fans to reexamine their positions. Anyway, with Disney's buyout of Lucasfilm and the subsequent canon reboot, ''Dark Empire'' never actually happened and most fans are happy now.

* CanonDiscontinuity: Despite praising the series, Creator/GeorgeLucas disregards ''Dark Empire'' as part of the ''StarWars'' story. In 2008, Lucas [[https://twitter.com/LaFamiliaFilm/status/540508589891526657/photo/1 stated]] that the story of the saga is Darth Vader's tragedy and that once he dies in ''Film/ReturnOfTheJedi'', the Emperor never gets brought back to life because that's where the story ends. This is fairly believable, as the Prequel Trilogy contradicted ''Dark Empire'' by establishing Anakin Skywalker as the Chosen One destined to bring balance to the Force by destroying the Sith, a revelation which caused many fans to criticize ''Dark Empire'' for making Darth Vader's HeroicSacrifice seem pointless in spite that Tom Veitch could have hardly known what George Lucas was planning for the prequels, though Palpatine's desire for any means of immortatility in ''Film/RevengeOfTheSith'' forced some fans to reexamine their positions. Anyway, with Disney's buyout of Lucasfilm in 2012 and subsequent canon reboot in 2014, ''Dark Empire'' never actually happened and most fans are happy now.