Empire's End

Empire's End was a series of comics written by Tom Veitch and Jim Baikie, and the end of the Dark Empire trilogy. It was originally released by Dark Horse Comics in 1995 as a two-issue monthly series, then in September 1997 as a trade paperback.

Publisher's summary
''Emperor Palpatine has a new weapon&mdash;one that can annihilate a planet. But he's not targeting a planet&mdash;he's targeting the future of the Jedi, Leia's children. It looks like a hopeless situation for Luke Skywalker, who has the critical task of protecting the children. But it's not the first time Luke has found hope where none existed. The finale to the Dark Empire trilogy is collected here.''

Plot summary
After perishing in battle with Luke and Leia Skywalker in Dark Empire I, Emperor Palpatine was forced to occupy an inferior clone-body. Unbeknownst to him, his personal physician had been suborned by Carnor Jax, backed by a number of other high-ranking Imperial personnel. The physician deliberately inserted genetic material and contaminants into all stored samples of the Emperor's original body, to the effect that these bodies would be nowhere as resistant to the ravaging effects of the Dark side as the original.

The last remaining clone body undestroyed by Skywalker or traitorous Imperials is now aging rapidly, and Palpatine's final, irrevocable end is near unless he can either fix his genetic material (an impossibility since no unadulterated samples remain) or insert his spirit into another body. After consulting with ancient Sith Lords on the mausoleum planet Korriban, Palpatine learns that Han and Leia's youngest child, Anakin is the only workable body.

After an attack on Byss, in which the second Eclipse-class Star Destroyer, the Eclipse II, is steered into the Galaxy Gun by R2-D2, and a projectile from the Gun was shot into Byss (destroying Byss utterly), Palpatine followed the Solos to Onderon. He was killed by an unexpected blaster bolt from Han Solo and desperately tried to force his spirit into the infant Anakin Solo, but was blocked by the dying soul of Empatojayos Brand, who made the ultimate sacrifice, willingly clasping his soul to Palpatine's, ensuring that both of them would be pulled into the netherworld of the Force (in Palpatine's case, Chaos). At long last, Emperor Palpatine was finally and truly dead.

Individuals

 * C-3PO
 * Palpatine
 * R2-D2
 * Luke Skywalker
 * Anakin Solo
 * Jacen Solo
 * Jaina Solo
 * Han Solo
 * Leia Organa Solo
 * PalpatineEmperor Palpatine

Miscellaneous

 * Airseal gel

Issues

 * Empire's End 1: Triumph of the Empire
 * Empire's End 2: Rage of the Emperor

Collections

 * Empire's End
 * Dark Empire II Second Edition