Star Wars Finally Explains Why the Empire Could Never Survive Without Emperor Palpatine at the Wheel

Marvel’s Star Wars comics have made a point of exploring why the Empire fell apart following Emperor Palpatine’s death, as the publisher begins to tell stories set in the aftermath of Return of the Jedi. Given what fans already know about Palpatine, it should come as no surprise that the Dark Lord of the Sith did not plan for his Empire to carry on in the event of his defeat.

Star Wars: The Battle of Jakku – Republic Under Siege (2024) #3 – written by Alex Segura, with art by Stefano Raffaele – includes a scene in which Grand Moff Rand points out the flaws in his Imperial rivals’ plans in the post-Palpatine Imperial era. Meanwhile, Anoat Sector Governor Grand Moff Adelhard, afraid of losing the power he once had, builds up a circle of allies, without realizing how untrustworthy those allies really are.

In effect, all of this division plays directly into Palpatine’s designs, as the Emperor plots from beyond the grave to destroy his own Empire and rebuild it anew.

Marvel’s Star Wars Comics Confirm That The Empire Was Not Built To Outlast Palpatine

Star Wars: The Battle of Jakku – Republic Under Siege (2024) #3 – Written By Alex Segura; Art By Stefano Raffaele; Color By Alex Sinclair; Lettering By Joe Caramagna

As the central antagonist of Marvel’s Battle of Jakku comics so far, Governor Adelhard determined that the best course of action after the Emperor’s death was to separate from the rest of the Empire and build his own. He isolated his sector from the rest of the galaxy and gathered his own allies, and eventually believed the Imperial Remnants should be sending him reinforcements, as he is the future of the Empire. This only made the leader of the Emperor’s Contingency, Counselor Gallius Rax, turn against Adelhard and activate a spy Rax has planted in the Anoat sector.

Unfortunately for Imperial loyalists. Counselor Rax isn’t much better than Adelhard. All Imperials want power, but they had their Emperor to tell them what to do. Once Palpatine died, all the top Imperials took their share of power, claiming to be leaders in their own right. Though Rax was most entitled, he keeps secrets from his Shadow Council, withholding his true plan to destroy the Empire and New Republic, to forge a stronger galactic order. Rax’s failure to communicate with his followers breeds mistrust and betrayal, and weakens even the strongest Imperial faction of this new era.

Marvel’s Post-Return of the Jedi Comics Show How Tenuous The Empire’s Grip On Power Is Without Palpatine In Charge

Moff Adelhard’s Failures Play Into Palpatine’s Plot

In Battle of Jakku #3, Governor Adelhard is barely holding his faction together anymore. The Spice Runners of Kijimi are not known for their loyalty, Counselor Rax and his Shadow Council are plotting Adelhard’s destruction, and even Reyna Oskure tries to assassinate Adelhard on behalf of the Acolytes of the Beyond. Thankfully, Adelhard’s romantic relationship with Reyna helped convince her to stay on his side, but that probably won’t be permanent. As the Empire crumbles after Emperor Palpatine’s death, so will Adelhard’s faction if he doesn’t pull his act together.

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Governor Adelhard planned to learn the dark side to counter Luke Skywalker’s powers, but even that may not be enough. Adelhard needs the ability to stand on his own, with enough power that if his allies do betray him, he can still defend himself, and defeat his enemies. The Empire was built on mistrust and bad deeds, so the only person Adelhard can trust is himself. Emperor Palpatine was powerful enough to lead the Empire, so Adelhard needs to be too, or else he will soon fall, just like Palpatine did.

Star Wars: The Battle of Jakku – Republic Under Siege #3 is available now from Marvel Comics.

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Star Wars

Star Wars is a multimedia franchise that started in 1977 by creator George Lucas. After the release of Star Wars: Episode IV- A New Hope (originally just titled Star Wars), the franchise quickly exploded, spawning multiple sequels, prequels, TV shows, video games, comics, and much more. After Disney acquired the rights to the franchise, they quickly expanded the universe on Disney+, starting with The Mandalorian.