As the daughter of Pé Amidala and Anakin Skywalker, Star Wars lore. Though Princess Leia is an iconic Star Wars hero, there is an alternate universe from the Dark Horse Comics Star Wars line where she turns to the Dark Side of the Force and s her father, Darth Vader.

Star Wars: Infinities is a collection of comic book series that provides alternate outcomes to A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back, and Return of the Jedi. There are four issues per trilogy, each focusing on different hypotheticals that deviate from the original trilogy.

Published in 2001 by Dark Horse Comics, Star Wars: Infinities - A New Hope by Chris Warner, Drew Johnson, and Al Rio reimagines the events of A New Hope, creating a world where Princess Leia discovers her parentage and chooses to abandon the Rebellion for the Empire.

Star Wars: Infinities - A New Hope Shows How Brutal Leia Could Have Been as a Sith

Star Wars' Very Own "What If...?" Scenario

Star Wars: Infinities - A New Hope diverges from the canon storyline at the Battle of Yavin. In the canon version, the Battle of Yavin was a massive victory for the Rebel Alliance and led to the destruction of the Death Star, but the Star Wars: Infinities version shows the rebels defeated. The Empire’s victory results in the destruction of their base on Yavin and the capture and imprisonment of a majority of rebels, with their ultimate sentence being death. However, Princess Leia is instead brought to Coruscant and eventually starts to train in the ways of the Dark Side under Vader.

For more comics actually set in Star Wars' traditional continuity, check out the current line from Marvel Comics, including Star Wars #1, available May 7th, 2025.

Over five years of training with Vader, Leia becomes a Sith nearly on par with her father, while Luke trains as a Jedi. During Luke’s final trial, he is shown the truth: Leia is his sister and Darth Vader is his father. With the two twins taking two very opposing paths after the failed rebellion, the confrontation is inevitable. Luke faces Palpatine, Vader, and Leia, and he and Leia engage in a lightsaber duel. Leia is fierce and relentless, but Luke connects with her and brings her back to the light side.

As in the canon version of events, Darth Vader sacrifices himself to save his children from Palpatine, once again becoming Anakin Skywalker in the process and redeeming himself from his tragic fall to darkness decades earlier. The Death Star is destroyed, taking out Palpatine in the process and bringing an end to the Empire as the galaxy knows it. A few years afterward, it is revealed that Leia - now with a clear mind thanks to Luke - has become Supreme Chancellor of the New Republic, ushering in the era of peace that the Rebel Alliance once fought for on Yavin.

The Alternate Version of Star Wars Events Highlights Leia's Skills in a Different Context

Leia Has All the Makings of a Powerful Sith

The decision to turn Leia to the Dark Side in Star Wars: Infinities - A New Hope is a very clever one that highlights all of Leia’s best qualities, only used for evil. She is fierce, brave, and unapologetic, which made her a perfect leader for the Rebel Alliance, but also makes her a deadly and powerful Sith in this comic series. Vader, sensing the full potential in a young Leia who has already shown herself to be fearless in the face of danger, turns her into someone that could have ruled the galaxy, if not for Luke clearing her mind.

For all of Vader’s strength and power in the canon series, he lacked an apprentice or a trusted partner, thus putting him at an immediate disadvantage.

It isn’t difficult to imagine what an Empire under a Sith Leia and her father could have been like, if the comic's depiction of Leia’s skills are any indication. For all of Vader’s strength and power in standard continuity, he lacked an apprentice or a trusted partner, thus putting him at an immediate disadvantage. Though Vader did not trust anyone and preferred to control those around him with fear and intimidation, a change as simple as giving him an apprentice could have changed everything, never mind an apprentice as skilled and with as much potential as Leia.

The significance of the events of the series taking place on Coruscant is heartbreaking when hindsight and twenty-four years of expanded Star Wars lore are factored in. As Star Wars: Infinities - A New Hope was released in 2001, the series predates Star Wars: Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Jedi, wherein Leia’s parents - Anakin and Pe - fall in love and start their secret lives together on Coruscant. It is where Anakin grew up and trained and where Pe fought for justice and a better world as part of the Senate. It is where the Jedi had flourished for centuries.

Coruscant and Naboo Play a Significant Role in Illustrating Leia's Dark and Light Sides

Both Planets Are Tied to Leia's Parents

But Coruscant is also where Anakin was seduced by the Dark Side and ushered in the era of the Empire, becoming Darth Vader. The significance of Leia following on the same path as her father - going from hero to Sith - on the same planet is a harrowing parallel. Reading the series now with the benefits of nearly a quarter-century of Star Wars knowledge makes Leia’s fall to darkness even more tragic, considering the importance of Coruscant for both positive and negative change.

Another planet in Star Wars: Infinities - A New Hope that is just as symbolic and significant to Leia's heritage as Coruscant is Naboo. At the end of the comic, once Leia is brought back to the Light Side, she is declared Supreme Chancellor of the New Republic from the planet Naboo. Seeing Leia essentially rise to the ultimate symbol of goodness on the same planet where her mother was queen is an emotional moment, made even more so when the ghosts of Obi-Wan, Anakin, and Yoda reveal themselves to Luke and Leia.

Leia’s fall to darkness happening on the same planet where her father fell, but her rise to power as a symbol of hope happening on the same planet where her mother was born, ruled with devotion as queen, and represented fiercely in the Senate, are beautiful parallels. Both sides of Leia’s parentage - Anakin and Pe - are represented in her journey from Sith to Supreme Chancellor of the New Republic. Leia Organa’s arc in Star Wars: Infinities - A New Hope reflects both the best and worst sides of her parents and puts her on a path that would ultimately make them both proud.

Star Wars: Infinities - A New Hope is available now from Dark Horse Comics.