Pansies?

How the hell could you leave out "The Company" from the Alien movies.

Well, since Star Wars is fantasy and not sci-fi, that pretty much takes it off the list.

I think it's a harmonious marriage of scifi and fantasy.

I once tried to argue that Star Wars was not sci fi with some people at another forum. They all ganged up on me and told me I was wrong. Of course they never heard of Joseph Campbell and his work that I tried to tell them about.

Well, the clone strain just got weaker. The earlier clones took the jedi out like a bitch.

You mean Weyland-Yutani?

But in the Alien franchise, Weyland-Yutani did not rule the Galactic government, although Weyland-Yutani had many ships and planetary facilities everywhere across the Milky Way.

And even though Weyland-Yutani had ultra deep pockets and could seemingly buy out half of the Colonial Marine Corps. they still got bought out by Wal-Mart...

I'd have to go with the Vorlons. Ships go there and aren't heard from again. Planet killers to match any Death Star (which can travel great distances through hyperspace, much faster than any "small moon").

Can any other empire in that list say the same thing?

The Vorlons are a much more ancient civilisation than the Galactic Empire, but the Death Star could travel from edge of it's home galaxy to the other quite easily. And the Galactic Empire is built upon the foundations of the much older and venerable Galactic Republic, which has a history that goes back a few hundred thousand years.

I imagine the Vorlons have the means to do the same thing.

There's really nothing about Star Wars that's sci-fi except the world it exists in.

Also voted for the Vorlons, but meant to vote for the Vogons (the most realistic empire on the list).

I used to agree that Star Wars was just a fantasy set in space, and not sci-fi, but with the new trilogy -- and it's focus on a clone army allowing a bad guy to rule all -- I'd say it can fit under the sci-fi umbrella.

Advanced technology, that could be used for good, is instead used for bad? And terrible crap happens? Sounds like sci-fi to me. Especially with genetically-engineered clones.

Although not empires, the Q Continium(sp?) or Organians could probably beat them all.

The only thing worse than the people who try to argue that Star Wars is a Fantasy (and not sci-fi in anyway, despite spaceships and warpdrives and robots and deathrays that you may have imagined seeing in it) are the people who try to argue that it's a Western.

That has nothing to do with whether it's a fantasy or sci-fi. It's a fantasy in a sci-fi settings. But the stories hold none of the trappings of science-fiction. I could go off on a long discussion why it's not, but I think we all know the differences.