The Rebel Alliance has won two decisive victories against the Empire, and they are gaining power across the galaxy. But the Empire won’t take this sitting down – and a dangerous secret is revealed, which will turn everybody’s life upside down! Join me as we arrive at The Empire Strikes Back in this week’s Legendary Adventure!
The Rebel Alliance had heard whispers of a dangerous super weapon for a long time, leading top agent Bria Tharen to search for its secrets. This weapon was the Death Star, a powerful battle station designed to destroy planets and sow fear throughout the galaxy. Thanks to the hard work of the rebel agents, the Alliance to Restore the Republic, whose leadership was once held hostage on the station, was able to launch an assault that destroyed the station, severely crippling the Empire. The Battle of Yavin was a major turning point in the Galactic Civil War, leading the Alliance to gain many allies across the galaxy. The Alliance is even able to outrace the Empire to items that would change the tide of the war, from a secret list of Alliance sympathizers to a super weapon that would have given control of hyperspace travel to the wielder. Princess Leia was even able to restore supply lines to their secret Rebel base on Hoth. It seems like everything was going in the right direction for the Alliance.
Unfortunately, the Empire has a trick up their sleeve that would allow them to bring the full force of their fury down on the Alliance: Senior Admiral of the fleet, Mith’raw’nuruodo. The Chiss, who once helped sabotage a Republic project known as Outbound Flight, has teamed with the Empire for his own purposes, but becomes invaluable to securing information on the Alliance. Thrawn gives Emperor Palpatine two suggestions: first, the gear the Alliance has gathered suggests a cold weather base, and two, the Emperor move the construction of his second Death Star somewhere far more secure, protected by a massive ray shield. These suggestions lead Darth Vader and Blizzard Squadron to check icy planets across the galaxy before finding Hoth in the Anoat Sector.
As Han, who formerly seemed to accept his role in the Alliance with a formal title, prepares to leave, the Empire’s Blizzard Force, armed with snowtroopers, AT-ATs, and AT-STs, attack Echo Base. The battle between Rebel forces and the Imperials is brief, but utterly destructive: quite a bit of the gear the Alliance gained from warlord Esva is destroyed, and they lose the base that seemed to work best for them. Han, Leia, C-3PO, and Chewbacca make a hasty exit on the Millennium Falcon. Luke Skywalker, who was injured from an attack by a wampa, leaves to Dagobah on the suggestion from the ghost of Ben Kenobi. This is not the first time that Luke has interacted with the spirit of his former Master, as Ben Kenobi possessed Luke’s body to fight Darth Vader on Mimban. On Dagobah, Luke receives the training required to become a full-fledged Jedi Knight, one who would defeat Darth Vader and Darth Sidious, bringing peace to the galaxy.
But unbeknownst to all of them, aboard the Executor, Darth Vader is receiving information from Darth Sidious that would change the course of the heroes’ lives forever. Sidious reveals to Vader (or, at least, Sidious believes that Vader does not know this) the pilot who destroyed the Death Star was his son, Luke Skywalker. Vader, who learned this in a comic series, Vader’s Quest, pretends to be shocked, but sees this as a chance to recruit an ally who would help him destroy the Emperor and rule the galaxy. Vader commissions a group of bounty hunters to track down the Millennium Falcon, including Boba Fett, whose long history with Han Solo makes him more than willing to track down the smuggler. As the heroes race to Lando, in Bespin, Boba follows them, allowing Vader to set a trap for the heroes in Cloud City long before they arrive.
Meanwhile, Luke’s Jedi training is going…poorly. Yoda begins training Luke, despite early misgivings about the boy’s age (prompted, of course, by Anakin’s failure, who was trained at almost ten) and due to his problems with controlling his temper and his lack of patience. Luke seems eager to learn from Yoda, but is resistant to the actual lessons Yoda has for him. Luke wants to become a warrior, but Yoda wants Luke to become a great Jedi, which does not mean the same thing as becoming a great warrior. In the midst of Luke’s Jedi training, they rest near a tree, which emanates with power from the Dark Side of the Force. Luke wants to investigate the tree, and Yoda is mostly willing to allow him to do so, but tells Luke to leave his weapons behind. Luke ignores this advice, entering the tree with his lightsaber. In the tree, Luke is approached by Darth Vader and they clash lightsabers. It seems as if Luke is victorious when he beheads the spiritual Vader, but the tree isn’t telling Luke that he can beat Vader. Instead, as the mask breaks open to reveal the face of Luke, the tree’s true lesson is revealed: if Luke goes down the path of a warrior, preparing to kill Vader, rather than approaching him as a Jedi, Luke will go down that same dark path. As Luke begins to doubt himself, and the value of Yoda’s lessons, Yoda demonstrates the immense power of the Force, lifting Luke’s X-wing from the Dagobah swamps. Luke is also troubled with visions of Leia, Han, and Chewbacca in trouble and in immense pain. Unfortunately, Luke again takes the wrong lesson from this action, and ignores Yoda and Ben’s warnings, and the tree’s vision, and goes to Bespin.
Chased by bounty hunters, and preceded by the Imperials, the Falcon arrives in Cloud City, where they are met by Baron Administrator Lando Calrissian. The last time Han and Lando met was a disaster: Bria Tharen used both of the men to advance her own Rebel goals, cheating them out of a reward that would have put both of them in much better states. Lando doesn’t seem to have forgotten this event, but welcomes the crew to Cloud City regardless. Regardless of Lando’s true feelings about Han in this moment, Lando has to welcome the heroes: Darth Vader demands it. Vader had taken over the city, threatening Imperial occupation if Lando did not play along with his traps. In Cloud City, C-3PO is blasted to bits, Han, Leia, and Chewbacca are captured, and all hope seems lost. Han is tortured, prompting Luke’s visions, in the hopes that they would bring Skywalker to Vader. Han is then frozen in carbonite, a test to ensure that a human subject could survive the process, as Vader wants to use it to bring Luke to the Emperor unharmed.
Luke’s arrival on Cloud City is obviously too late: Leia and Chewbacca are captured, Cloud City is under occupation, and Han has been frozen. As Luke watches his friends be taken to Imperial prisons, he approaches Darth Vader, hoping his meager Jedi training would be sufficient to destroy the Dark Lord. The two engage in a lightsaber duel, and Ben Kenobi’s spirit is nowhere to be found: if Luke wants to face Darth Vader, it would be on his own. Vader comments on Luke’s training, noting how he has grown some, but not quite enough to beat him. It seems only as if Vader is toying with the young Jedi. (Meanwhile, Luke’s distraction has allowed Lando, Leia, Chewie, and 3PO to escape.) As the two leave the carbon freezing chambers to the ventilation shafts of Cloud City, Vader drops a massive bomb on Luke: Ben Kenobi had lied to him. Darth Vader did not destroy Anakin Skywalker, as Ben claimed. No, Darth Vader and Anakin Skywalker were the same person; Darth Vader was the dragon that consumed Anakin Skywalker’s soul. Darth Vader was Luke Skywalker’s father.
Crushed by this information, Luke would rather die than join Vader, and he leaps from his precarious position, falling to what he can only assume is his death. As he hangs from the bottom of the floating Cloud City, Luke telepathically reaches out to Leia Organa through the Force, and she saves him from falling to his assured death over Bespin’s gas clouds. The heroes reunite with the Rebel fleet, but all have lost much. Leia has lost Han, whom she recently admitted her love to; Chewbacca has lost his co-pilot, the man who saved him from Imperial slavery; Lando has lost his city; and Luke has lost all sense of reality and trust in his Jedi Masters. The search for Han would take precedence next, leading our heroes on a collision course with the most vile crime syndicate in the galaxy…
Legendary Travel Tips:
– This preceded by Empire and Rebellion: Razor’s Edge and is followed by the massive multi-media event Shadows of the Empire.
– The Legends novel does not match the events of the films, and many descriptions of characters is changed – the biggest is Yoda, who is not the green alien we know, but an even tinier, blue imp! This review mostly follows the general outline of the story’s events, which helps gloss over most of the differences. I highly recommend checking out the novelization of the film, which is readily available at Barnes and Noble, either in a $25 hardcover collection of the Original Trilogy novels, or a $10 paperback collection.
You can follow Chris on Twitter @ChrisWerms, and of course, you can follow the Manor on Twitter @MynockManor!
Galactic Civil War Era: A New Hope | Scoundrels | Allegiance | Choices of One | Ruins of Dantooine | Honor Among Thieves | Splinter of the Mind’s Eye