The original “Star Wars” trilogy was, above all, Luke’s story, especially after “A New Hope.” The beautifully told romance between Leia and Han gave them a significant presence in “The Empire Strikes Back,” but they were still a plot device for Luke. They were reduced to Rebel soldiers in “Return of the Jedi,” while Luke’s arc clearly took center stage.
That’s probably too harsh an assessment of Han and Leia’s place in the background, but there is some truth to it, and “Infinities: The Empire Strikes Back” (2002) shows us what could have been with a powerful opening twist: Luke dies on the plains of Hoth, and with his dying breath tells Han to go to Dagobah. What follows is the “Episode V” we possibly could have seen if Mark Hamill – heaven forbid – had died in that car accident between films rather than merely being injured.
I was predisposed to love this four-issue series, because it features the art team of Davide Fabbri (pencils) and Christian Dalla Vecchia (inks), along with gorgeous colors by Dan Jackson. The revelation here is Dave Land’s script – remarkably and unfortunately, it’s the Dark Horse editor’s only “Star Wars” credit as a writer. It’s not quite as good as Chris Warner’s “Infinities: A New Hope,” but it’s close.
At first glance, it’s ridiculous that Han would think he has Jedi properties, and that he’d embrace the idea, but I suppose the dying words of a friend can have a powerful effect. Ultimately, of course, it’s Leia who has the Force skills and who will be trained by Yoda.
In the middle chunk of “Infinities: The Empire Strikes Back,” Yoda trains Leia over the span of several months, since there’s no need for her to rush off to rescue her friends like Luke did in the actual film. In the Expanded Universe, Leia doesn’t fully commit to her Jedi training until Troy Denning’s “Dark Nest Trilogy,” when her twin children are already young adults and Jedis in their own right. Her excuse was always that the Rebellion (and later, the New Republic) needed her military (and later, political) leadership. In fact, Han brings up that point in “Infinities: Empire”: “You can’t do this, Leia! Your place is at the head of the Rebellion! They need you!”
The idea that the Rebellion can’t get along without Leia is never examined in “Infinities: Empire,” although we can presume that such a notion is false, and that the time-out for Jedi training enhances her leadership skills. By story’s end, Leia is a full-fledged Jedi who helps Yoda defeat Darth Vader in a duel on Dagobah (Han also chips in with well-timed blaster shots). “We have a galaxy to save,” Leia announces as Luke’s Force ghost smiles down on her, and presumably she would have been well equipped to do just that had this timeline continued.
I love the way Land portrays the Yoda-Vader matchup. In “Attack of the Clones,” which came out earlier in 2002, we see Yoda battle Dooku with a lightsaber. Although that duel ended up being cool, I had always imagined that Yoda would be so powerful in the Force that he’d be beyond using a lightsaber – any Force fight would be on a spectral plane. Indeed, in “Infinities: Empire,” Yoda shows Vader the atrocities he had committed through the years: “Entered your mind, I have. Even more twisted are you here, than in the physical realm.”
Other cool elements are the inclusion of a helmetless Boba Fett, taking advantage of the new knowledge of what he looks like. And I had to laugh when Land finds a novel way to incorporate carbon-freezing technology into this yarn: Lando freezes Fett and uses the carbonite block as a desk! Also worth a chuckle is money courier “Uncle Villie” (from the “Republic” comics) double-crossing Han and delivering him to Jabba the Hutt. Other neat visuals include Vader and Jabba having a discussion, nexu beasts in the rancor pit attacking Han and Chewie, and the Empire destroying Cloud City with its full military might as terrified citizens scramble to escape (Jackson’s colors are spectacular here).
All told, “Infinities: Empire” isn’t quite as deep as “Infinities: A New Hope,” but it is the most fun you can have in an alternate timeline this side of playing with your action figures.