Star Wars Infinities : The Empire Strikes Back Star Wars Infinities : The Empire Strikes Back is a 4 - part comic sub - series of " Star Wars Infinities " . It was published from July 2 , 2002 to November 20 , 2002 , then compiled as a trade paperback on April 2 , 2003 . It deals with what would have happened if Luke Skywalker had died in the frozen wastelands of Hoth , leaving Han Solo to go to Dagobah . Publisher ' s summary . " 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 " ( " " ) , 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 ! " Story summary . On the ice planet Hoth , Luke Skywalker is scouting the vast wastelands when he is attacked by a wampa . Freeing himself and escaping its cave , he collapses in the snow , hearing the voice of Obi - Wan Kenobi , telling him to go to Dagobah to train under Yoda . Events begin to change when Han ’ s Tauntaun dies before Han can find the missing Luke . A short time later , Han Solo arrives , but it is too late for the young Jedi . Luke tells Han to train as a Jedi , then dies in the Corellian ' s arms . The next day , the Alliance forces hold a funeral for Luke . Han tells Leia that he has to go to Dagobah , believing that he is to train as Jedi . The funeral is interrupted by the arrival of the invading Imperial forces . Wedge Antilles and Wes Janson die during the ensuing battle , although much of the Rebel force escapes , including Han , Leia Organa , Chewbacca , R2 - D2 and C - 3PO onboard the " Millennium Falcon " . The Falcon is unable to effectively escape the Hoth System due to a malfunctioning hyperdrive . Evading the blockading Imperial ships , the Falcon travels to Bespin , where Han and the others are met by Han ' s gambling buddy , Lando Calrissian . Although skeptical of Han ' s claim of being a Jedi , Lando offers to fix the Falcon and keep them company . When he returns to his office , Lando then meets with another recent arrival : Boba Fett sitting at his desk . Fett demands that Lando take him to Han and the others , but what Boba does not know is that they have already arrived ( as Han decided not to go into the asteroid field ) . Lando does so , quietly signaling to Lobot to inform Cloud City Police for assistance . Fett is led into a trap and knocked unconscious in the ensuing battle . Lando tells the others that Fett was here on his employer ' s wishes . Thinking that Fett meant Jabba the Hutt , Han , Leia , Chewbacca and Threepio depart Cloud City after the repairs are finished and head for Dagobah . Shortly thereafter , Lando is relaxing in his office and admiring his new desk , which is crafted using Boba Fett ' s carbonite - encased corpse , when Darth Vader arrives in orbit demanding to speak with the bounty hunter . Lando says that neither Fett nor the Rebels are there . Vader , using the admission as a reason to declare Cloud City as a secret Rebel base , utterly destroys it . Every inhabitant is killed including Lando . En route to Dagobah , Han comforts Leia on what he assumes is the events of the past few days catching up with her ( actually the subconscious disruption in the Force with the destruction of Cloud City ) . Once arriving on the planet , they are met by Yoda , who plainly tells the group that it is Leia , not Han , who is to be trained as a Jedi . Yoda tells Leia that Luke was her brother and her father is Darth Vader . With great reluctance , Han departs Dagobah to deal with his deathmark , while Leia remains to be trained with Yoda . Three months pass , Han gathers together the money he needs to pay off Jabba , and Leia continues to grow strong in the Force , while Vader continues to search for his son , not knowing the youth ’ s fate ; aggressively dismissing any rumor that he was killed during the Battle of Hoth , Vader insists that he can still sense Luke ’ s presence . Darth Vader led an operation to a forested planet . Vader ' s forces left behind a path of fiery destruction among native settlements , but their efforts turned up no signs of Skywalker . And on Tatooine , Han , Chewbacca , and C - 3PO arrive to pay off Jabba the Hutt , using the services of an aged Vilmarh Grahrk . Instead of helping them , however , " Uncle Villie " betrays Han and the others , who are captured by Jabba ’ s thugs and taken to Jabba ' s Palace and the Falcon is stolen by a bounty hunter . The next day , Han , Chewbacca and the droids are brought before Jabba and , despite Han ' s best efforts to convince the Hutt otherwise , are sentenced to death by a pair of nexu that Jabba keeps in a pit beneath his audience chamber , where the rancor used to be . With everyone ' s attention diverted , Artoo secretly frees Han and Chewbacca , who escape while the nexu — likewise freed from their imprisonment — tear the palace apart . In the confusion , Han , Chewbacca and R2 are able to board a Hutt shuttlecraft and escape to the docked Falcon in Mos Eisley and return to Dagobah to see if Leia has completed her training . Arriving the next day , Darth Vader demands that Jabba turn over Han and Chewbacca . Jabba says that they escaped and he does not know where Han is now , but Vader finds something of more interest : the droid he built as Anakin Skywalker and demands that his former creation be handed over to him . Taking him back to the " Executor " , he reveals himself as the droid ' s Maker , and learns from him the location of " Skywalker " : Dagobah . Back on Dagobah , Leia is in the last stages of her training and senses the presence of a lightsaber crystal from a nearby cave . Yoda sends her off to retrieve them , saying that she will soon become a Jedi . Shortly after she leaves , Vader arrives and demands that Yoda turn over Luke to him . The two then engage in a battle of minds that sees Vader harmed by the spirits of Jedi he knew during his time as Anakin Skywalker , specifically Obi - Wan , Qui - Gon Jinn and Mace Windu . During the confrontation , Vader learns of Luke ’ s death . Leia retrieves the crystals and , upon inserting them into her lightsaber , has a vision of Yoda in danger . She rushes back , but is too late , for Vader has delivered a death blow to the old Jedi Master through the mental link , severing the Jedi ’ s lock on his mind . Leia and Vader engage in a lightsaber duel and Leia severs Vader ' s right arm . Vader offers her the chance to join him and rule the galaxy , but Leia refuses . Before Vader can strike her down , Han and Chewbacca arrive in the Falcon . Han then fires at Vader and kills him . Lord Vader ' s last words were " I had … " have " … a daughter . " Before Yoda dies , he tells Leia to pass what she has learned on to others . Leia burns her father ’ s body on a funeral pyre . With both Yoda and Vader dead , and Leia now a Jedi Knight , she , Han and Chewbacca now leave on the Falcon and prepare themselves to rejoin the Rebels and bring everlasting peace to the galaxy . . . Parallels to the original story . The Infinities story included a few " tongue - in - cheek " references to the original version of :