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Star Wars Infinities #2
Star Wars: Infinities - The Empire Strikes Back
Take the events and characters from one of the classic Star Wars films, throw in one happenstance, mishap, or technical glitch beyond the characters' control, and watch how that changes everything. In Dark Horse's first foray into Infinities (A New Hope), Luke Skywalker's valiant torpedo attack on the Death Star failed due to a faulty detonator -- an event no one could have foreseen -- and the Rebellion was dealt a debilitating setback. In Infinities -- The Empire Strikes Back, Han Solo's desperate attempt to locate his friend Luke in the icy wastes of the planet Hoth is thwarted when the tauntaun he's riding succumbs to the cold while Han is still a mile from Luke's location. Han arrives too late, barely in time to hear Luke's dying words about Jedi training and the planet Dagobah...
Thus begins an adventure far different than the one seen in the motion picture. Along the way, a famous bounty hunter is frozen in carbonite, Han and Chewie are captured on Tatooine by Jabba the Hutt, and Princess Leia and Yoda have a fateful jungle showdown with Darth Vader! Collecting the four-issue miniseries.
Thus begins an adventure far different than the one seen in the motion picture. Along the way, a famous bounty hunter is frozen in carbonite, Han and Chewie are captured on Tatooine by Jabba the Hutt, and Princess Leia and Yoda have a fateful jungle showdown with Darth Vader! Collecting the four-issue miniseries.
96 pages, Paperback
First published April 2, 2003
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 51 reviews
May 18, 2018
Star Wars Infinities: Empire Strikes Back follows roughly a similar structure to the first. The forms and functions are nigh the same with the internal chronometer slightly turned back to overlap with Empire’s frosty intro. The beginnings of which is tepidly replicated with a titillating plot twist inserted a few pages in. From this point, a new tale will be cloned that will ultimately replace its parental growth.
With the speed of a Tatooine pod race, things are totally sped up concurrent to the tempo being jacked up to somewhere around 11. Sure enough, before we know it, Bespin is reached and good ol’ Calrissian jaunts down the plasticine aisle to welcome the (basically unchanged) group of rebels + smugglers. Even within the confines of a counter-factual – minor alterations aside, the first 2/3 of the story follows the original Empire script, albeit super-sped up, to a T.
In fact, untilJango Boba-Fett shows up sans his helmet on, I actually forgot for a moment I was reading anything unorthodox. Anyways, the reduplicative efforts continue with a few twists and turns until Solo and crew’s friendly departure. In lieu of murder, Fett is , and the rightly infuriated Empire shows up to do work on Cloud City. Blasting the pleasure city to bits, the superstructure sinks unto the cloudy atmosphere below.
While the planet of Bespin is undergoing its own horrific tumult this alternative timeline branches accordingly, Leia undergoes jedi training w/Yoda and Solo and Chewie head back to Tatooine to settle an old score. Again, just as before, tension and solid-construction is traded in for abbreviation and de-viscositification. As a perfect exemplar, the old green mini-master of yore who surprised us with his disproportionally high level of force mastery, doesn’t do anything here he, just tells us what’s what and that’s that. Given how the prequel series butchered the appeal of his character at every level, I’m sadly not surprised however. How dull. How trite.
Yup, more pointless shit goes down that amounts to frill-less filler. We’re brought to the not-so-stunning crescendo and a cerebral showdown gives way to a far more visceral denouement. Just as before unless you’re one of the scum-sucking fanboys you’ll be feeling an emotional cocktail of boredom and disappointment. By denuding this story of Star War’s central protagonist replacing him with made for an disappointing and lackluster choice. In doing so this anti-tumescent tale ends with a not a bang but a lamegasm.
With the speed of a Tatooine pod race, things are totally sped up concurrent to the tempo being jacked up to somewhere around 11. Sure enough, before we know it, Bespin is reached and good ol’ Calrissian jaunts down the plasticine aisle to welcome the (basically unchanged) group of rebels + smugglers. Even within the confines of a counter-factual – minor alterations aside, the first 2/3 of the story follows the original Empire script, albeit super-sped up, to a T.
In fact, until
While the planet of Bespin is undergoing its own horrific tumult this alternative timeline branches accordingly, Leia undergoes jedi training w/Yoda and Solo and Chewie head back to Tatooine to settle an old score. Again, just as before, tension and solid-construction is traded in for abbreviation and de-viscositification. As a perfect exemplar, the old green mini-master of yore who surprised us with his disproportionally high level of force mastery, doesn’t do anything here he, just tells us what’s what and that’s that. Given how the prequel series butchered the appeal of his character at every level, I’m sadly not surprised however. How dull. How trite.
Yup, more pointless shit goes down that amounts to frill-less filler. We’re brought to the not-so-stunning crescendo and a cerebral showdown gives way to a far more visceral denouement. Just as before unless you’re one of the scum-sucking fanboys you’ll be feeling an emotional cocktail of boredom and disappointment. By denuding this story of Star War’s central protagonist replacing him with made for an disappointing and lackluster choice. In doing so this anti-tumescent tale ends with a not a bang but a lamegasm.
June 30, 2020
SO MANY FEELINGS.
I read Star Wars Infinities - A New Hope ages ago, before TFA even existed, in the height of my Star Warsobsession love. I reread it last year. Oh my gosh, it was so good. In that book I could tell someone actually thought out "What would happen if Luke missed?" and worked with that exquisitely. Mad, mad good.
The what-if that this one focuses on is pretty intense - "What if Luke died before Han reached him on Hoth?"
I have a lot of spoilerly thoughts, but ultimately this book masterfully worked with this premise. It feels real - these are things that would genuinely happen if Luke had died early on. It feels so well done and I had a lot of emotions. I highly recommend the Infinities graphic novels if you love the original trilogy.
Now for a spoiler rave!
It should go without saying - 5/5 stars! I cannot wait for ROTJ.
I read Star Wars Infinities - A New Hope ages ago, before TFA even existed, in the height of my Star Wars
The what-if that this one focuses on is pretty intense - "What if Luke died before Han reached him on Hoth?"
I have a lot of spoilerly thoughts, but ultimately this book masterfully worked with this premise. It feels real - these are things that would genuinely happen if Luke had died early on. It feels so well done and I had a lot of emotions. I highly recommend the Infinities graphic novels if you love the original trilogy.
Now for a spoiler rave!
It should go without saying - 5/5 stars! I cannot wait for ROTJ.
December 31, 2014
This one didn't seem as plausible at A New Hope and I had trouble figuring out what was going on a few times, but I really liked it anyway. Especially the Cloud City parts. Could probably stand to be longer.
December 15, 2015
While the art was not always my favorite, I feel this is a very strong AU with several original elements. Empire Strikes Back is my favorite film of the original trilogy and this is my favorite of the Infinities. Leia takes on a very interesting and dynamic role in this alternate version of the story. It's a fascinating look at "what might have been."
September 24, 2014
Great book very action packed and very explainable on the reverse star wars story. Loved it!
January 17, 2022
2.5 of 5
Compared to new hope infinities this story is a little more interesting because Luke is no longer the main character and the burden of the story falls on Leia who has to become a Jedi because Yoda in another great plot twist tells her that she is a Skywalker and that she is the sister of Luke and these in turn are children of Vader. Everything happens in a very short time and important events always seem rushed, I imagine that it is the format of this type of publication that forces us to tell the story in a rush. The best part is the visions that Yoda provokes in Vader, that's where the art is outstanding, in the rest of the story it's ok.
2.5 of 5
Compared to new hope infinities this story is a little more interesting because Luke is no longer the main character and the burden of the story falls on Leia who has to become a Jedi because Yoda in another great plot twist tells her that she is a Skywalker and that she is the sister of Luke and these in turn are children of Vader. Everything happens in a very short time and important events always seem rushed, I imagine that it is the format of this type of publication that forces us to tell the story in a rush. The best part is the visions that Yoda provokes in Vader, that's where the art is outstanding, in the rest of the story it's ok.
2.5 of 5
October 7, 2025
Альтернативний сюжет 5-го Епізоду, де на Готі вамп виявилось надто багато, а Люка Скайвокера надто мало, тому він гине, передавши Гану, що треба летіти на Дагобу. Ган подумав, що саме він має стати джедаєм. Гине ще кілька персонажів, але Ган та скорочена компанія вже в Хмарному місті на Беспіні. І тим самим вони приносять лихо Лендо Калрісіану, бо настала його черга помирати. Далі Лея вчиться джедайству, Ган намагається розплатитися з Джаббою, Вейдер прилітяє на Дагобу і помирає. От і вся історія.
Не так цікаво, як в попередньому альтернативному епізоді.
Не так цікаво, як в попередньому альтернативному епізоді.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 30, 2018
TESB is my absolute favorite Star Wars movie/canonical story, and I loved it thoroughly. This holds up and addresses the "What if...?" question in a very entertaining manner. The characters stand true, and I was hooked from the beginning to the end. I have read and reread this with great enthusiasm. The best of the "Star Wars Infinities" line, in my humble opinion.
April 9, 2020
Unlike the Infinities: A New Hope story, this one focuses entirely on The Empire Strikes Back/i> and how the different beginning could affect the rest of the episode. This again was a very clever look at an alternate sequence of events, thanks to one fairly significant change. A lot of fun and nicely thought out. It does end rather abruptly though.
The artwork was also pretty good.
The artwork was also pretty good.
January 17, 2026
8/10:
Such a unique and exciting alternate history in regards to The Empire Strikes Back (1980)! I love how quickly the twist is introduced and how we see such fun takes on so many iconic characters. There are some particularly special moments with Leia, Yoda, Lando, and C-3PO that stand out quite a bit to me.
Such a unique and exciting alternate history in regards to The Empire Strikes Back (1980)! I love how quickly the twist is introduced and how we see such fun takes on so many iconic characters. There are some particularly special moments with Leia, Yoda, Lando, and C-3PO that stand out quite a bit to me.
June 23, 2017
A fun take on the Star Wars universe if something important DIDN'T happen. I liked the New Hope edition was more enjoyable for me, although this still was cool to see how the path would unfold. Characters still have their main drives and adapt to the new changes as you would hope they would.
January 1, 2018
This was dumb.
January 23, 2019
This one was less good than the first one.
March 17, 2020
Again, a fun take on alternate events. Clever use of the Force by Yoda to distract Vader.
July 19, 2020
I think this is my favorite of the Infinities trilogy. It's excellent.
November 2, 2020
4 estrelas pela Leia jedi SIM
July 25, 2021
JEDI LEIA AND ANAKIN APPEARANCE LETS GO
October 7, 2021
On the one hand, I love seeing Jedi!Leia. On the other, there ain't no way in hell she would have responded that way to Vader's death and the authors did her a disservice treating her as Luke 2.0
May 29, 2022
What if..disaster struck at the beginning of “Empire Strikes Back?” This tale revisits a classic with a twist. A fun alternate version.
August 13, 2022
This one was actually pretty decent, until the ending.
April 15, 2023
War ganz cool vor allem später auf Dagobah.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 8, 2025
Once again, very rushed plot but very cool plot! Han Solo taking up the mantle is awesome if unlikely
December 30, 2021
Star Wars Legends Project #291
Background: Star Wars Infinities: The Empire Strikes Back, released in April of 2003, collects the 4 issues originally published Jul-Nov 2002. All 4 issues were written by Dave Land and drawn by Davidé Fabbri. As lead editor of Star Wars at Dark Horse for several years, Land was involved in countless projects in some capacity. Fabbri worked on a few dozen issues of various Star Wars comics, most notably Republic and Empire.
Infinities: The Empire Strikes Back begins at the same point as the movie and covers roughly the same period of time, but it is not canon and therefore has no bearing on the timeline. The main characters are Han, Leia, Yoda, and Darth Vader. The story takes place primarily on Hoth, Bespin, and Dagobah.
Summary: What if . . . Luke Skywalker didn't survive the night on Hoth after being attacked by a Wampa? His friends are devastated, but don't have long to mourn when the Empire finds their base and launches an all-out attack. Desperate and on the run, the Rebels scatter, but a mysterious vision sends our heroes fleeing in the direction of Dagobah. Who will take up the mantle of the Jedi now that the last Jedi apprentice has fallen?
Review: When I first started reading this "Infinities" series, I had assumed they began with the premise of the first one, and then continued through the trilogy from there, which seemed like a weird choice. But no, each one begins in the movie it's titled after, changes a key detail within that story, and proceeds independently of anything that happened in the others. That makes more sense, and gives more room to explore interesting ideas. This one is just as enjoyable as the first one, and has some really fun ideas. I particularly enjoyed the encounters with Boba Fett on Cloud City. And yes, a lot of familiar details are still present in the story, but remixed.
This was definitely way less sweeping and epic than the first one was, but in many ways it was a tighter, more coherent story. On-balance, the experience was about the same, and equally worth checking out.
B-
Background: Star Wars Infinities: The Empire Strikes Back, released in April of 2003, collects the 4 issues originally published Jul-Nov 2002. All 4 issues were written by Dave Land and drawn by Davidé Fabbri. As lead editor of Star Wars at Dark Horse for several years, Land was involved in countless projects in some capacity. Fabbri worked on a few dozen issues of various Star Wars comics, most notably Republic and Empire.
Infinities: The Empire Strikes Back begins at the same point as the movie and covers roughly the same period of time, but it is not canon and therefore has no bearing on the timeline. The main characters are Han, Leia, Yoda, and Darth Vader. The story takes place primarily on Hoth, Bespin, and Dagobah.
Summary: What if . . . Luke Skywalker didn't survive the night on Hoth after being attacked by a Wampa? His friends are devastated, but don't have long to mourn when the Empire finds their base and launches an all-out attack. Desperate and on the run, the Rebels scatter, but a mysterious vision sends our heroes fleeing in the direction of Dagobah. Who will take up the mantle of the Jedi now that the last Jedi apprentice has fallen?
Review: When I first started reading this "Infinities" series, I had assumed they began with the premise of the first one, and then continued through the trilogy from there, which seemed like a weird choice. But no, each one begins in the movie it's titled after, changes a key detail within that story, and proceeds independently of anything that happened in the others. That makes more sense, and gives more room to explore interesting ideas. This one is just as enjoyable as the first one, and has some really fun ideas. I particularly enjoyed the encounters with Boba Fett on Cloud City. And yes, a lot of familiar details are still present in the story, but remixed.
This was definitely way less sweeping and epic than the first one was, but in many ways it was a tighter, more coherent story. On-balance, the experience was about the same, and equally worth checking out.
B-
December 16, 2010
After reading the first volume of Infinities, I was really excited to read this one. Unfortunately, as other reviewers have pointed out, The Empire Strikes Back Edition can't live up to the excellence of the A New Hope. I think creating a What If for the second of the Star Wars movie was a much taller task. There are so many more small, character moments that are harder to play with. The story also feels like it was cut down and has some abrupt transitions. Jabba the Hutt somehow seems almost jovial which is surprising and uncharacteristic. It isn't so much that this volume is bad either, it just isn't as great as the previous one. My favorite moment was when Han, Leia, and Chewie take refuge at Cloud City. The aftermath of this decision gave me that "Oh yeah! That would happen if Luke died" that was so prevalent in the first volume. The art is really fantastic in this trade too. I would like to see Davide Fabbri doing more Star Wars comics. Every panel is rich with plenty of background and he draws the ships and buildings so well. They just have that perfect Star Wars feel. These two redeeming factors make this trade worth reading if you can get your hands on it, but probably not worth paying full sticker price for.
July 27, 2014
What would happen to the Star Wars saga if Luke Skywalker died on Hoth? That is the premise of Star Wars: Infinities: The Empire Strikes back.
I'll start off with the bad. After loving the first one from A New Hope, I had high expectations for this. It was good, but I'll get to the reason why I rated it so high in a second. Most of this was very rushed. For example, when Yoda tells Leia she is Darth Vader's daughter, she sort of shrugs it off and doesn't think it is a big deal. And the end is also rushed. I thought that the final point of conflict happened and then it was over, and the galaxy was saved? Didn't really get that.
Now why I gave this four stars was for two reasons that I thought this movie did better for actual movies, if you can believe that. We get to see Boba Fett for the awesome bounty hunter he is. While he is not in it much, we get to see his skilled fighting skills and his best theatrical appearance of all time. Also there is a part at the end that I do not want to spoil for you, but it involves seeing the full power of Yoda verses the twisted mind of Darth Vader.
Overall, I really enjoyed this, and I think that a Star Wars fan would like it as well.
I'll start off with the bad. After loving the first one from A New Hope, I had high expectations for this. It was good, but I'll get to the reason why I rated it so high in a second. Most of this was very rushed. For example, when Yoda tells Leia she is Darth Vader's daughter, she sort of shrugs it off and doesn't think it is a big deal. And the end is also rushed. I thought that the final point of conflict happened and then it was over, and the galaxy was saved? Didn't really get that.
Now why I gave this four stars was for two reasons that I thought this movie did better for actual movies, if you can believe that. We get to see Boba Fett for the awesome bounty hunter he is. While he is not in it much, we get to see his skilled fighting skills and his best theatrical appearance of all time. Also there is a part at the end that I do not want to spoil for you, but it involves seeing the full power of Yoda verses the twisted mind of Darth Vader.
Overall, I really enjoyed this, and I think that a Star Wars fan would like it as well.
August 1, 2009
After being blown away with A New Hope Infinites, I was surprised how much of a down swing this was. The ‘What-if’ scenario is Luke Skywalker dies while Han Solo attempts to rescue him from the Hoth blizzard, seen at the beginning of the movie. It makes for an interesting premise as Solo mis-interprets Luke’s final message into believing he must go to Dagobah to train as a Jedi. Instead, he finds one of his other colleagues has the potential and must be trained to save the galaxy…. As I said, it starts out great and sets-up a great premise whilst using the background of the events of Empire Strikes Back (and locations). Unfortunately many parts feel rushed, like Yoda’s relevations or the Empire attack on Hoth and the conclusion was very open ended…. However the Yoda training segments were quite good, the confrontation with Darth Vader and you even get to see Boba Fett’s mug in one part. The story was just okay compared to the first Infinites. If they had made a continuing series based on the events in this story perhaps I would feel differently but there is no chance of that.
June 8, 2015
Continuing on from the What If story of a New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back is next. Now this does not start from the end of the last series, but begins that the events of A New Hope remained intact. The difference is that on Hoth Luke dies before Han can save him. With this being the change, we start to see the difference in what could have been.
Out of the three books, Return of the Jedi is next, this one was the weaker one. However, this does not mean it was bad. It was good, not as good as the other two.
The first half the story goes along fine. Most of the story is now centered on Han and Leia. The problem is the last half of the story goes in an opposite direction of what you expected.
It makes sense in a way with the differences of Luke's death, yet was not satisfying on how things are resolved. I can't fault it too much, as the purpose of a What If is to explore new possibilities.
It still is a good story that most Star Wars fans should enjoy.
Out of the three books, Return of the Jedi is next, this one was the weaker one. However, this does not mean it was bad. It was good, not as good as the other two.
The first half the story goes along fine. Most of the story is now centered on Han and Leia. The problem is the last half of the story goes in an opposite direction of what you expected.
It makes sense in a way with the differences of Luke's death, yet was not satisfying on how things are resolved. I can't fault it too much, as the purpose of a What If is to explore new possibilities.
It still is a good story that most Star Wars fans should enjoy.
February 27, 2014
Los llamados "Infinities" –o "Infinitos"– no son más que la versión galáctica de los famosos "What if..." dentro del mundo del cómic. Si en la primera entrega de la colección (que aún hoy puede encontrarse en castellano si se busca bien), Infinitos: Una nueva esperanza, el héroe de la Rebelión Luke Skywalker erró el tiro que propiciaría la destrucción de la primera Estrella de la Muerte, desencadenando toda una secuela de acontecimientos totalmente alternativos, en Infinites: The Empire Strikes Back conocemos una nueva versión de lo mostrado en la película El imperio contraataca. ¿Y si Luke hubiera perecido en el gélido planeta de Hoth, disipándose sus posibilidades de convertise en Jedi?
Sigue leyendo: http://www.laespadaenlatinta.com/2011/11/star-wars-infinities-empire-strikes.html
Sigue leyendo: http://www.laespadaenlatinta.com/2011/11/star-wars-infinities-empire-strikes.html
December 3, 2020
This AU pretends the altered event happened in ESB. The colours were great and the art was not bad.
- Luke freezes to death, but not before telling Han of Dagobah. Han, in turn tells Leia.
- The two of them and the droids first go to Bespin and thwart Fett...who's working for Vader, not Jabba as they expected. Vader destroys Bespin just after Han & Leia leave for Dagobah.
- Yoda trains Leia and Han goes to pay off Jabba only to be captured by...Villie!. Eventually, Han escapes Jabba's palace with R2, but 3PO is left behind.
- Vader gets a hold of 3PO and remembers the droid. Through some of his programming, he learns of Dagobah and confronts Yoda, and then Leia.
- Little demon Anakin is creepy
- Luke freezes to death, but not before telling Han of Dagobah. Han, in turn tells Leia.
- The two of them and the droids first go to Bespin and thwart Fett...who's working for Vader, not Jabba as they expected. Vader destroys Bespin just after Han & Leia leave for Dagobah.
- Yoda trains Leia and Han goes to pay off Jabba only to be captured by...Villie!. Eventually, Han escapes Jabba's palace with R2, but 3PO is left behind.
- Vader gets a hold of 3PO and remembers the droid. Through some of his programming, he learns of Dagobah and confronts Yoda, and then Leia.
- Little demon Anakin is creepy
July 27, 2010
The story is excellent -- I was very drawn to the "What if...?" aspect that permeates it. What if Luke had died from his injuries on Hoth? Who would then face Vader? What if Vader showed up at Cloud City a little bit later than he did in the film?
Instead of Luke training as a Jedi, we see Leia taking that role after Luke's death. And instead of Han being frozen in carbonite, a certain bounty hunter has to endure that -- and subsequently ends up as an interesting piece of furniture for Lando Calrissian's office.
Instead of Luke training as a Jedi, we see Leia taking that role after Luke's death. And instead of Han being frozen in carbonite, a certain bounty hunter has to endure that -- and subsequently ends up as an interesting piece of furniture for Lando Calrissian's office.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 51 reviews