Star Wars : Crimson Empire Star Wars : Crimson Empire is a comic book series of three story arcs published by Dark Horse Comics and written by Mike Richardson and Randy Stradley . The first series , titled " Crimson Empire " , was launched in December 1997 , concluding in May 1998 . The followup series , " " , was released in November of that year , concluding in April 1999 . After the end of the second story arc , a third was planned for release in 2001 ; the one shot comic " Hard Currency " was released as an introduction to the new storyline . However , the project would ultimately be shelved for a decade , eventually being revived in 2011 as " " , the conclusion to the series storyline . Set in the New Republic era immediately following the " Dark Empire " comic series , " Crimson Empire " follows the life of Kir Kanos , a former Imperial royal guard whose duty in life was to protect Emperor Palpatine . Following the final death of Palpatine during the Battle of Onderon and the slaughter of the rest of his kin on Yinchorr , Kir Kanos is left with a blood oath against the enemies of the Empire , swearing death to all involved in the death of his former master . The first storyline focused on the conflict between Kanos and Carnor Jax , a former Imperial Royal Guard and aspiring Sith Lord who made a bid for the throne following Palpatine ' s death , while the followup series chronicled Kanos ' time as a bounty hunter and his targeting of members of the Imperial Ruling Council . The third and final series focused on both Kanos ' desire to kill Luke Skywalker , the Jedi Master who was the main rival of the former Emperor , and his conflict with Devian , a former Imperial " thug " leading a splinter faction of the Imperial Remnant known as the " Restored Empire " . In addition to the three story arcs and various one off comics , an audio dramatization of the first " Crimson Empire " was released in 1999 . Conception . In 1983 , following the release of , writer Randy Stradley , who was working for the license holder of " Star Wars " related comics at the time , Marvel Comics , finished his first script . After turning in his script , the editor requested another story pitch . What resulted was a story focusing on four surviving members of the red - robed Imperial Royal Guard , seen fleetingly in the scenes on the Death Star II in " Return of the Jedi " . The guards would have " stalked " Luke Skywalker following the events of the film . A few weeks after submitting the pitch , Stradley was told that the story had been rejected by LucasFilm , who were uncomfortable with any mythology surrounding the Royal Guards at the time . The concept was put on the backburner for over a decade ; in 1989 , the " Star Wars " license was acquired by Dark Horse Comics , publishing the " Dark Empire " series in 1991 , focusing on the constant rebirth of Emperor Palpatine through clone bodies . In 1997 , Stradley had a brainstorming session with editor Ryder Windham and publisher Mike Richardson for potential new projects . It was then that Stradley revived his fourteen year old concept , making some changes to account for new continuity . For example , the concept was moved forward in the timeline to take place after the final death of the Emperor over Onderon rather than immediately after the Battle of Endor , and the four Royal Guard characters were consolidated into one , resulting in the creation of Kir Kanos . At the suggestion of Richardson , the concept became a trilogy , in which Kanos would first target a traitorous fellow guardsmen before working his way up and confronting Luke Skywalker himself . LucasFilm was comfortable with the pitch , greenlighting the " Crimson Empire " saga . Production . After the overwhelming success of the first installment of the series , work on " " began immediately based on an outline from Richardson . The miniseries was launched in November 1998 , concluding in April 1999 , one month before the premiere of . Certain plot elements in the second installment , such as the introduction of the seedy Nom Anor , were intended to foreshadow a future cross - media project by Dark Horse Comics and Bantam Spectra ; this project , chronicling the invasion of the extragalactic race , the Yuuzhan Vong , would be turned over to Del Rey , who published " " in 1999 . " Crimson Empire III " . Despite the fact that the one off comic " Hard Currency " was apparently written as a prelude to the third chapter of the " Crimson Empire " saga , because of the release of " Vector Prime " and its follow up novels in the late 90 ' s and early 2000 ' s , plans for a " Crimson Empire III " were put on hold , due in part to the everchanging continuity for that time period . Randy Stradley himself could not come up with a satisfying conclusion to the saga . Years later , in 2010 , Mike Richardson announced his intentions to resurrect the project , with the deluge of " New Jedi Order " - related material far in the past . Although Stradley was reluctant to return to the series , he agreed to assist in the writing , which was for the most part Richardson ' s duty , to " steer him through the maze of " Star Wars " continuity . " " Crimson Empire III : Empire Lost " would ultimately debut in October 2011 . Future . Randy Stradley indicated in the May 2012 edition of " Scarlet Letters " , included with the of " Crimson Empire III " , that " the saga of Kir Kanos ends . Forever . Well , at least until there ' s a CE IV . But , there are no promises ( or even hints ) that such a story will ever be told . So don ' t go waiting for it and pestering me about it for a dozen years . Deal ? " Main characters . Kir Kanos . Kir Kanos the main protagonist and anti - hero of the series . A member of the Imperial Royal Guard , Kanos is characterized as being extremely loyal , possibly even obsessive , over the late Emperor , Palpatine . Kanos made his first appearance in the first issue of " Crimson Empire " , quickly shown as being resourceful and cunning in his efforts to avoid capture by the forces of Carnor Jax . Kanos is based on a rough idea by Randy Stradley dating back to his time with Marvel Comics , in which four Royal Guards seek to avenge Palpatine ' s death after the Battle of Endor . In the audio adaptation of the series , Kanos was portrayed by voice actor Patrick Coyle . Mirith Sinn . The love interest of Kir Kanos , Mirith Sinn , a New Republic lieutenant , first appeared in the second issue of the original series . Despite their differences , Kanos and Sinn would eventually begin a romantic , though tumultuous , relationship . Even as a man of his resolve , Kanos goes out of his way several times to keep Sinn out of harm ' s way . She is portrayed by Nichole Pelerine in the audio adaptation . Carnor Jax . Carnor Jax is the main antagonist of the first " Crimson Empire " , being the first object of Kir Kanos ' vengeful obsession . A former graduate of the Imperial Royal Guard Academy alongside Kanos , Jax was essential in the final downfall of the returned clone emperor ; by bribing Palpatine ' s physician , he ensured the rapid decay of Palpatine ' s stockpile of clone bodies . Now the galactic emperor , Jax uses his resources to track down Kir Kanos , who is a thorn in his plans . Jax and Kanos were originally conceived as being genetic brothers originating from the same prime clone ; however , the idea would later be abandoned with the establishment of ideas such as Carnor Jax ' s father . Jax is portrayed by Robert Downing Davis in the audio adaptation . Devian . Ennix Devian is the main antagonist of " Crimson Empire III : Empire Lost " . Devian was first mentioned in the of " Empire Lost " by the ancient Jedi Master Vima - Da - Boda , warning Luke of his imminent attack on galactic society . He first his first appearance in the . A former Imperial assassin under the wing of Emperor Palpatine , Devian wishes to bring back the golden age of the Empire as it was under his former master . Although he shares the same motives and aspirations as Kanos , he is a foil to Kanos ' character , showing no honor and willing to sacrifice millions of civilian lives to further his cause . However , his is unaware that he is simply being manipulated by Nom Anor , a sleeper agent for the imminent Yuuzhan Vong invasion of the galaxy attempting to weaken galactic society by prolonging the Galactic Civil War . Story arc summaries . " Crimson Empire " . The forces of the Imperial Remnant , under the rule of Sith Lord and former Imperial Royal Guard Carnor Jax , is on the hunt for a fugitive named Kir Kanos . On the backwater Imperial world of Phaeda , a group of off - duty Imperials get into a drunken bar - fight with a robed figure brandishing a double - bladed vibroblade . The man , Kanos , is given shelter by a man named Merkon , who is a contact of the local New Republic resistance cell . After recounting his tales of training in The Squall on Yinchorr under the Sith Lord Darth Vader , Kanos is introduced to the local New Republic supporting rebels under the command of lieutenant Mirith Sinn . After being betrayed by Merkon , who was playing both sides for self - profit , an Imperial attack on the Rebel base leads Kanos to display his exceptional combat skills . After the invasion , Kanos divulges his sworn " blood oath " against Carnor Jax , a traitor who accelerated the death of Emperor Palpatine and arranged the murder of the entire Royal Guard unit . Although Sinn displays interest in having a man like Kanos on the side of the rebels , Kanos claims that he works alone , only to further his own oath to kill Jax . Regardless , Sinn helps Kanos off the planet , acting as his decoy and being captured . Under torture , she divulges his current destination as being Yinchorr , the Royal Guard training world . Setting Sinn free , Jax takes his Star Destroyer , the " Emperor ' s Revenge " , to Yinchorr , where the crew of the ship falls to a trap laid by Kanos , capturing his starfighter which was actually rigged to blow , taking the " Emperor ' s Revenge " with it . Jax managed to avoid the destruction of his flagship , landing in The Squall on the planet ' s surface with a squad of stormtroopers . Kanos engages in an intense duel with his former fellow guardsmen , and nearly loses . However , the arrival of Mirith Sinn and her right hand man , Sish Sadeet , prove enough of a distraction for Kanos to regain himself and overpower Jax . Despite the contentions of Sinn and Sadeet , who wish to take Jax alive , Kanos executes the usurper emperor , and kills Sadeet when the Trandoshan attempted to stop him . Kanos bids farewell to Sinn , swearing to kill whatever enemies of Palpatine remain . Sinn herself swears to kill Kanos to avenge the death of Sadeet , her best friend . " Council of Blood " . Shortly after the death of Carnor Jax , the Imperial Ruling Council , the interim Imperial governing body in the absence of Palpatine which Carnor Jax led , finds itself in a power struggle , all the while members of the council are assassinated one by one , with the culprit leaving clues that point to Kir Kanos . Feena D ' Asta , the daughter of the wealthy baron Ragez D ' Asta , suggests a peace treaty with the New Republic . Meanwhile , the criminal organization Black Sun arranges the kidnapping of Feena by the crime lord Grappa the Hutt : they intend to replace her and other members of the Council with clones grown from Spaarti cloning cylinder s . " Empire Lost " . Two years after the events of " Council of Blood " , Kir Kanos is sought by a man named Ennix Devian , who is a threat to the galaxy large enough for Vima - Da - Boda to warn Jedi Master Luke Skywalker of . Devian , the leader of a splinter faction of the Imperial Remnant known as the Restored Empire , wishes to reform the Empire under the ideals of Palpatine in the same vein as Kanos . To this end , Devian hires bounty hunter Boba Fett to retrieve Kanos , who was operating under his " Kenix Kil " pseudonym in the backwater region of Meenka , and bring him to the Restored Empire homebase of RZ7 - 6113 - 23 . There , Kanos is acquainted with a massive army and fleet made up of Clone Wars - era hardware , which Devian plans to use to attack the homeworlds of both the Imperial Remnant and the New Republic and create a new order . Meanwhile , political turmoil erupts on various worlds due to the influence of Nom Anor , a man of unknown origin who arranges the theft of a small supply of the volatile and highly explosive material zinethium from a storehouse on Nyara . Recognizing Devian as a corrupt " thug " and assassin with no moral value , Kanos rejects his political ideals , escaping from the base in a captured shuttle . He travels to Coruscant in an attempt to make amends with Mirith Sinn and warn her of Devian ' s imminent attack ; however , he is unaware that the shuttle has been embedded with the zinethium stolen from Nyara , which is abandoned in orbit by Luke Skywalker just as it detonates . The blame falls on Kanos , who was accompanying Sinn to a possible peace treaty between the Imperial Remnant and the New Republic hosted by the D ' Asta family . Soon after the attempted attack on Coruscant , the peace summit is disrupted by a squad of Devian ' s stormtroopers , and Feena D ' Asta is killed in the ensuing firefight . With peace talks halted by what seemed to be a New Republic ambush , Admiral Gilad Pellaeon of the Imperial Remnant quickly launches a retaliatory fleet towards Coruscant ; with the Imperial homeworld of Orinda left relatively undefended , Devian mobilizes his fleet to attack . Amidst this political and military confusion , Kanos and Sinn make an alliance with Feena ' s father , Ragez , who offers his fleet to ambush Devian ' s fleet as it enters the Orinda system . They narrowly save Admiral Pellaeon from capture by Devian during the battle , and Kanos challenges Devian to a final duel . Kanos overcomes Devian and kills him , but is critically wounded in the process . He uses this opportunity to fake his death , allowing the New Republic to pardon him " posthumously " of his crimes while he recovered from his wounds in one of Ragez D ' Asta ' s safehouses . D ' Asta and his remaining daughter , the clone of Feena created by Black Sun which he adopted , help Kanos begin a new life , one without the Empire . Media . An audio dramatization of the first miniseries was released on a two disc / cassette set in 1999 . Reception . Despite overwhelmingly positive fanmail , " Crimson Empire III " received mixed to negative reviews from websites such as IGN . The publication criticized the artwork of Paul Gulacy , which they considered " poorly proportioned " . They also considered the characterization of Mirith Sinn and her interactions with the Solo family as having " some horrible character chemistry " . Ultimately , in their review of the sixth issue , writer Poet Mase claimed , " Presumably , someone in the creative ladder behind Crimson Empire III had a vision , at some point , for an integral and thrilling installment for the series . Empire Lost # 6 marks the final nail in the coffin of that vision , as , somewhere between the spark of an idea and the pages being assembled , things went terribly wrong . "