Topps The Empire Strikes Back Series 1

The first Empire Strikes Back card series

Topps began its 1980 Empire Strikes Back program with 132 numbered film cards and 33 separately numbered stickers. Series 1 runs from base card 1 through card 132, while the stickers run from 1 through 33. Its red picture frames sit on a silver-toned background. The program should not be confused with the earlier five-series Star Wars run, whose printed numbering belongs to a different film.

Star Files, film scenes and artwork

The first card introduces the new series. Its next ten records are Star File portraits of central characters, including Yoda and Boba Fett. Most of the subsequent numbered cards summarize movie events in sequence. Thirteen later entries reproduce production concept artwork, and the final two are checklists. Those format changes explain why one numbered series includes portraits, story stills, artwork and inventory cards.

Different information on numbered-card backs

The first series uses several types of printed reverses rather than treating every card as an identical picture. Star File entries contain official character information, story cards summarize scenes, and the artwork entries include movie facts. The reverse of a given numbered card remains tied to its printed front code. A scan of an unrelated card showing the same character is not a substitute for its matching back.

Thirty-three separate stickers and a reverse puzzle

Sticker numbers 1 through 33 make up a second sequence within Series 1. Twenty-two sticker fronts show letter-framed imagery; the final eleven are character portraits cut to shape. The collector gallery also documents a picture puzzle assembled from sticker backs. Stickers are neither additional numbered film cards nor interchangeable with cards bearing the same numeral. The searchable gallery keeps both groups separate.

Front-and-back image coverage

The archive already records 165 front-image links and 165 corresponding reverse-image links: 132 numbered cards plus 33 stickers. The earlier catalog total of 132 pictures counted the numbered cards but omitted the sticker fronts. These links point to credited third-party reference scans, not newly acquired files. Image URLs can become unavailable, and the existence of a link is not permission to republish its underlying photograph.

Card checklists and image attribution

The StarWarsCards.net checklist documents the release's numbered rows. The esbirrios base-card gallery and its dedicated sticker page show matching photographs and describe how their backs are organized. Each scan is associated with a printed code. A purported misprint, an unusual reverse or a marketplace photo should be checked against those edition-specific records before it changes the database.

• StarWarsCards.net checklist
• esbirrios.com card front and back gallery
• esbirrios.com Series 1 sticker fronts and backs

Sources and editorial standards · All U.S. Star Wars card sets