Fictional character in Star Wars
Fictional character
Mara Jade Skywalker
is a fictional character in the
Star Wars
franchise. She appears in the now non-canon
Legends
series as the wife of
Luke Skywalker
and mother of
Ben Skywalker
. She has been voiced by Heidi Shannon,
Edie Mirman
and
Kath Soucie
in various
Star Wars
video games
.
Concept and development
[
edit
]
Her first appearance was in
Timothy Zahn
's
Heir to the Empire
(1991). Zahn imagined Jade as a strong, complex female character, somebody he thought lacking in the
Star Wars
universe. While competent, she is flawed.
[1]
When the
Thrawn
trilogy
ended in 1993 with
The Last Command
, Zahn thought it was the last book for which he would develop the character.
[2]
Asked to write another novel, he established two goals: "to end the war between the
New Republic
and the
Empire
, and to get
Luke Skywalker
and Mara together."
[2]
Although
Lucasfilm
resisted the idea of Luke marrying Mara, they eventually acquiesced.
[2]
In 2018, Zahn said Lucasfilm gave him some creative control over the character of Mara Jade: any appearance of Mara in new works requires Zahn's approval. Zahn also explained that Lucasfilm Story Group held the authority to prevent him from incorporating Mara back into the canon, so any appearance of the character must be approved by both parties. Zahn said he would only allow her to appear if she plays an important role in the plot, and he would block any kind of cameo. Previously, the character of
Grand Admiral Thrawn
, another Zahn creation, made the jump from
Legends
to canon, albeit with a slightly-reworked story. Subsequently, Zahn said he hoped to find a way to bring Mara into the canon, stating "If there was a generic, or organic, spot for her to fit into a story... I promise people, I will pitch it to the Lucasfilm story group, and then, it's their decision whether to allow it or not."
[3]
Compared to
Princess Leia
, Zahn said, "Mara has a sharper and sarcastic manner, and of course, she had to go through the painful realization her service was to an evil cause. But both women are strong without sacrificing their femininity, a balance which I think some authors have trouble writing. Bear in mind, too, Leia was one of the first people in the New Republic who decided Mara could be trusted, which perhaps says something about their understanding of each other."
[4]
Appearances
[
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Mara is introduced as
smuggler
Talon Karrde
's second-in-command in
Heir to the Empire
. The novel establishes she was previously an "Emperor's Hand"?a special agent?for
Emperor Palpatine
.
Several stories depict Jade before the events in
Heir to the Empire
, showing her training under Palpatine and executing his orders. The
Thrawn
trilogy depicts Mara's first confrontation with Luke Skywalker, whom she swears to kill to avenge Palpatine's death (Palpatine sent her a faked image of Luke and Vader turning on him together, rather than Vader killing Palpatine, and the demand for Luke's death motivated by Palpatine's desire for revenge against his father rather than Luke's actions).
This was re-inforced by the Emperor's final
telepathic
command to assassinate Luke, plaguing her thoughts since his death; upon learning this situation, Luke vowed to help Mara break Palpatine's hold on her, regardless of the threat she posed to Luke. Toward the end of the trilogy, she turns against the Empire, and resolves her anger toward Luke, silences the command without killing him and instead killing Luke's
clone
?
Luuke Skywalker
?made by the Dark Jedi
Joruus C'baoth
to challenge Luke.
In doing so, she took Luke's lightsaber that was recovered after his initial duel with Darth Vader, and used it to stab C'baoth. At the close of
The Last Command
, Luke gives her Anakin's lightsaber because he believed she earned it and because he truly wanted her to have it. Over the course of the series, Luke recognizes in Mara an underdeveloped affinity for
the Force
; and although she initially resists
Jedi
training, she eventually becomes a Jedi Master.
Luke and Mara develop a strong bond in Zahn's
The Hand of Thrawn
duology; he proposes marriage, and the two wed in
Michael A. Stackpole
's graphic novel
Union
.
[5]
She delivers a son, Ben, during
The New Jedi Order
series.
In the
Legacy of the Force
series, Mara is suspicious of her nephew,
Jacen Solo
, after he sends Ben on several ethically-dubious missions. Upon learning Jacen is a
Sith
apprentice, Mara vows to kill him, but Jacen ultimately kills
her
in
Sacrifice
. She later appears as a Force ghost, first to Ben then to Luke, in
Revelation
. She also appears as a Force ghost to
Cade Skywalker
in the
Legacy
comics, set more than a century after the
Star Wars
films.
Other appearances
[
edit
]
Mara also appears in the short story "Sleight of Hand: The Tale of Mara Jade," by
Timothy Zahn
, in the
anthology
Tales from Jabba's Palace
. In this story, she infiltrates
Jabba the Hutt
's palace as a dancing girl to assassinate Luke Skywalker under orders of the Emperor, but misses her chance after Jabba drops him into the
Rancor
's lair then escapes.
Mara was portrayed by model
Shannon McRandle
(as Shannon Baksa) on several cards in the
Star Wars Customizable Card Game
.
She is a playable character in
Star Wars: Masters of Teras Kasi
,
.
Star Wars Jedi Knight: Mysteries of the Sith
,
Star Wars: Empire at War
and
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed
(Wii version). Meeting her was also a mission objective in the defunct massively multiplayer online game
Star Wars Galaxies
. She also narrates the Imperial campaign in
Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds
.
[
citation needed
]
She was portrayed by Denise Donovan in the
Team Starkid
musical parody
Ani
.
Canonicity
[
edit
]
In 2008, when franchise creator
George Lucas
said there would be no
sequel trilogy
, he explained that plot elements from the Expanded Universe were not part of his story, saying, "Luke doesn't get married".
[6]
With the 2012 acquisition of Lucasfilm by
The Walt Disney Company
, most of the licensed
Star Wars
novels and comics produced since the originating 1977 film
Star Wars
were re-branded as
Star Wars Legends
and declared
non-canon to the franchise
in April 2014.
[7]
[8]
[9]
Reception
[
edit
]
Mara Jade was chosen by
IGN
as the 19th top
Star Wars
character.
[10]
IGN
'
s Jesse Schedeen also listed the character as the top 10th
Star Wars
hero, noting she "entered the Expanded Universe early, and she stuck around for so long because she's just a great character".
[11]
UGO Networks
called the character the seventh top
Star Wars
Expanded Universe character, calling her complex.
[12]
In a 1998
Star Wars Insider
poll of fans' favorite
Star Wars
characters, Mara was the only expanded universe character to break the top 20.
[
citation needed
]
In 2006, Zahn called Mara and
Grand Admiral Thrawn
his favorite characters out of those he created, saying "Mara, with her attitude and her
Jedi
skills, is just plain fun to write, especially in opposition?or in partnership?with Luke."
[13]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Carter, Jeff.
"Star Wars Per-Zahn-Ified"
. Archived from
the original
on 2012-09-08
. Retrieved
2008-03-18
.
Mara [is] a strong female character (which were few and far between in the Star Wars movies), but she's also flawed and searching and?dare we say it??human. At the same time, she's highly competent at her job.
- ^
a
b
c
"Timothy Zahn"
.
Interviews ? Face To Face With The Masters
.
TheForce.Net
. 2008-03-13.
- ^
Agar, Chris (July 25, 2018).
"Mara Jade Creator Hasn't Been Asked To Approve
Star Wars
9 Appearance"
.
Screen Rant
. Retrieved
August 19,
2018
.
- ^
Carter, Jeff.
"Star Wars Per Zahn-Ified"
. Archived from
the original
on 2012-07-29
. Retrieved
2008-03-18
.
- ^
Stackpole, Michael A.
(
w
).
Union
, no. comic series (1999?2000).
Dark Horse Comics
.
- ^
Wakeman, Gregory (December 4, 2014).
"George Lucas Was Terrible At Predicting The Future Of Star Wars"
.
Cinema Blend
. Retrieved
November 29,
2019
.
- ^
"Disney and Random House announce relaunch of
Star Wars
Adult Fiction line"
. StarWars.com. April 25, 2014
. Retrieved
May 26,
2016
.
- ^
McMilian, Graeme (April 25, 2014).
"Lucasfilm Unveils New Plans for
Star Wars
Expanded Universe"
.
The Hollywood Reporter
. Retrieved
May 26,
2016
.
- ^
"The Legendary
Star Wars
Expanded Universe Turns a New Page"
.
StarWars.com
. April 25, 2014
. Retrieved
May 26,
2016
.
- ^
"Top 100 Star Wars Characters"
.
IGN
. Archived from
the original
on 17 August 2010
. Retrieved
28 November
2010
.
- ^
Jesse Schedeen (14 August 2008).
"Top 25 Star Wars Heroes: Day 4"
.
IGN
. Retrieved
16 May
2011
.
- ^
Adam Rosenburg (1 July 2008).
"Top 50 Star Wars Expanded Universe Characters"
.
UGO Networks
. Archived from
the original
on 27 August 2010
. Retrieved
16 May
2011
.
- ^
"Timothy Zahn:
Outbound Flight
Arrival"
. StarWars.com. January 31, 2006. Archived from
the original
on February 4, 2006
. Retrieved
July 21,
2016
.
External links
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