10 Best Star Wars Comics Set Between Empire Strikes Back & Return Of The Jedi
Comic crossovers like Hidden Empire and stories like Shadow of the Empire explored adventures between the events of the 5th and 6th Star Wars movies.
Compared to the periods before and after the Original Trilogy, Star Wars comics have barely scratched the surface of Luke, Leia and Lando’s adventures between Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. Marvel’s latest Star Wars and Darth Vader comics look to remedy that, while some fantastic comic series have also touched upon that era.
How did Luke acquire a new lightsaber and become a Jedi Knight? What did Palpatine think of Vader’s proposed plan to overthrow him? How did Lando earn Leia and Chewie’s trust after the events in Cloud City? These amazing Star Wars comics answer these questions and many more, both in and out of current continuity.
The original Star Wars comic published by Marvel (now dubbed Classic Star Wars) was a great companion piece to the Original Trilogy. These comics not only adapted all three films but also filled the gaps between them. Issue #44 adapted the climactic battle between Luke and Vader on Bespin, while Star Wars #45 began a brand-new story with never-before-seen adventures.
These stories don’t exist in continuity today, but in the 1980s, alongside Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, reading Star Wars #45-81 was a great way for fans to experience even more Star Wars content.
“Scoundrel’s Wages” was the second part of a three-part miniseries under the Star Wars: The Bounty Hunters title by Dark Horse Comics. Lando Calrissian stars as the protagonist as he journeys to a foreign planet, paying off old gambling debts and recruiting for the Rebel Alliance along the way.
Most Star Wars stories focus on Luke Skywalker or Darth Vader, so “Scoundrel’s Wages” was a nice diversion that put Lando in the spotlight. Lando deserved it after essentially filling Han’s shoes at the end of Empire Strikes Back. This 1999 one-shot was a great way to add depth to Lando’s characters in a relatively unexplored Star Wars era.
Star Wars: Dark Droids was a fascinating comic event that felt like a crossover with Terminator. Scourge, a new, malevolent droid, gained sentience far greater than any droid before. With the ability to control other droids, Scourge soon created an army of “dark droids” to use as pawns in his war with humans and biological creatures.
Dark Droids was appropriately heavy and discussed the morality of enslaving droids who do actually gain some level of sentience. It also broke the Star Wars mold. Rather than yet another Empire vs. Rebels story, Dark Droids created a new, common enemy for the two factions.
“War of the Bounty Hunters” was the biggest Star Wars crossover in years. It dominated Marvel’s solicitations for most of 2021, with over 30 tie-in issues across all ongoing Star Wars comics at the time, including Doctor Aphra, Star Wars: Bounty Hunters, and Darth Vader.
Bounty hunters usually take a backseat in mainline Star Wars stories, but in “War of the Bounty Hunters,” Jabba the Hutt, Qi’ra and the Crimson Dawn, and Boba Fett all play major roles in the crossover. Han Solo’s head serves as the grand prize of their galactic game.
Crimson Reign was the sequel to “War of the Bounty Hunters.” The Star Wars comic crossover was nearly as big as its predecessor, enveloping every Star Wars comic series at the time while the main story unfolded in the Crimson Reign five-part miniseries. Qi’ra is back (in comic book form) after the character’s introduction in the Solo film.
Crimson Reign catapults Qi’ra up the Star Wars character tier list. While she was merely a supporting character in Solo, Qi’ra drives most of the action in this comic, turning the Crimson Dawn into a real galactic threat.
Star Wars: Hidden Empire is the final part of a three-part story that began in “War of the Bounty Hunters” and continued in the Crimson Reign miniseries. In Hidden Empire, Qi’ra further builds the Crimson Dawn enemy organization, aiming them at the galaxy’s grandest target: Emperor Palpatine.
These three story arcs, especially Hidden Empire, greatly expand the era between Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. While Han sits frozen in carbonite, Luke and Leia navigate a warring galaxy as the Empire and Rebels struggle against the rising Crimson Dawn.
Based on Steve Perry’s 1996 Legends novel, Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire was a six-part miniseries that explored a never-before-seen adventure before the events of Return of the Jedi. Han Solo is still frozen as Boba delivers him to Jabba the Hutt.
Meanwhile, a new hunter named Prince Xizor competes with Darth Vader to deliver Luke Skywalker’s head to the Emperor. The comic miniseries captures the magic of the original novel, introduces a fascinating new villain in Xizor, and adds incredible art to the words Perry originally crafted. Considering this story is no longer canon, it now serves as an intriguing Star Wars “what if?”
In the Original Trilogy, Darth Vader is a heartless killing machine who serves the Emperor and craves power for himself… until his son saves him from darkness. With the added context of the Prequel Trilogy and Star Wars: The Clone Wars, fans know Vader was once Anakin Skywalker. Where Vader shows no flaws or weaknesses, Anakin has plenty.
The first story arc of Star Wars: Darth Vader (2020), “Dark Heart of the Sith,” plays on Vader’s past emotions and attachments as Anakin Skywalker, resurrecting old faces. Darth Vader looks to his past at a time when the Dark Lord may have been conflicted after facing Luke Skywalker on Bespin.
Following “Dark Heart of the Sith,” Star Wars: Darth Vader’s second story arc, titled “Into the Fire” addresses the ramifications of Vader’s actions following the events of Empire Strikes Back. More than any other arc, these six issues are a tremendous follow-up to that film.
After Vader offered Luke Skywalker ultimate power, suggesting they team up to bring the Emperor down, Palpatine was disappointed in his Sith apprentice. “Into the Fire” explores how Palpatine chose to punish Lord Vader for his treacherous ideas, adding plausible consequences for his actions in the Original Trilogy.
The main Star Wars series focuses heavily on Luke’s continued journey toward becoming a Jedi Knight. The Luke Skywalker fans saw at the end of Empire Strikes Back was very different from the one they saw years later in Return of the Jedi. Star Wars (2020) chronicles that character arc as Luke discovers an odd path separate from Yoda or Ben Kenobi’s teachings.
In Star Wars #42, created by Charles Soule, Steven Cummings, Wayne Faucher, Clayton Cowles and Rachelle Rosenberg, Luke pursues the aid of a Sith through a red kyber crystal. How far will Luke go to become a Jedi? This series, particularly this issue, shows Star Wars fans a part of Luke’s journey they’d never seen before.
