I’ll admit it. The first time I read about mara jade, I pronounced her name “Mar-uh” like an idiot. But pronunciation crimes aside, this woman changed the way I looked at Star Wars forever. Not just another pretty face with a blaster—no, she was the face you saw last if the Emperor wanted you gone.

You know that quiet girl in class who turns out to be a black-belt and kind of terrifying? That’s mara jade.

Born in the Shadows (Literally, Nobody Knows Where)

Some people get a baby blanket when they’re born. Mara jade probably got a Force-infused assassin’s dagger and a pep talk from a Sith Lord.

We don’t really know her origin. Palpatine just plucked her out of nowhere like, “Hey kid, wanna murder people for me?” And she said… yes. I mean, what else do you do when you’re eight and the most powerful man in the galaxy offers you psychic WiFi to his brain?

She was trained to be:

• The Empire’s ninja spy assassin lady
• Silent but deadly (like the worst kind of fart)
• Someone who got orders telepathically—because emails are for scrubs

Fun fact I probably made up but sounds right: she once infiltrated a palace by impersonating a Twi’lek dancer, but ended up killing the governor in his jacuzzi with a butter knife. Don’t fact-check that. Just feel it.

The Emperor’s Hand (And No, That’s Not a Job Title You Can Put on LinkedIn)

You know how Vader did the flashy lightsaber stuff? Mara jade was on the other side of things—silent assassinations, undercover work, the occasional seduction-then-execution combo. Girl had range.

She did whatever the Emperor told her to do, no questions asked. Except she did have questions… deep down. But y’know, when your boss can shoot lightning out of his fingers, you tend to keep those questions in the “suppress and repress” folder.

Anyway, here’s the kicker:

• She wasn’t evil. Not really. She thought she was serving justice.
• She killed corrupt officials. Rogue agents. Maybe even a bad boss or two (me, please).
• And she was mara jade. So we forgave her murder resume.

Oh and yeah—Palpatine’s last message to her before he died? “Kill Luke Skywalker.” Like that’s not a weird post-mortem voicemail to get.

From Assassin to Smuggler: The Midlife Crisis Years

After Endor? The Empire’s gone. The Emperor’s dead. And mara jade is just… mad.

She doesn’t kill Luke right away (spoiler: she never really does). Instead, she gets a job. Like the rest of us post-breakup. Joins Talon Karrde’s crew, runs spice, and generally acts like she didn’t once have the Sith Lord himself whispering bedtime stories in her head.

Me during this arc: Please stab Luke. But also maybe kiss him. I don’t know, surprise me.

Some messy highlights:

• She threatens Luke with a lightsaber at least twice.
• Works in a smuggling crew but is still the most competent person in the room.
• Kinda, sorta starts respecting Luke. (Boooooo say the ghosts of dead Imperials.)

One time she saves his life and grumbles about it like she just had to fish her phone out of the toilet. That’s the mara jade I fell for.

That Time She Didn’t Kill Luke (But Maybe Fell in Love Instead?)

Fast forward past three failed attempts to murder Luke and one awkward cave rescue… and bam. Tension. Respect. Flirtation?

I mean—I didn’t see it coming. But also, who else could handle Luke Skywalker? He’s a cinnamon roll dipped in naive optimism. He needed someone who could snap him back to reality.

Mara jade was that someone.

Enemies-to-sorta-friends-to-lovers checklist:

• Rescues him.
• Yells at him.
• Saves the galaxy with him.
• Reluctantly marries him.

I remember reading the wedding scene with one eyebrow raised like, “Are we really doing this?” And yet… it worked. Better than any Jedi-political-marriage has a right to. Fight me.

Jedi Master. Badass Wife. Possibly the Coolest Star Wars Mom?

Once she joins the Jedi Order, mara jade doesn’t stop being deadly—she just channels that energy into protecting people instead of, y’know, slicing throats in the dark.

She becomes a Jedi Master, and honestly? She’s one of the few that doesn’t seem… delusional.

• She trains apprentices (and somehow doesn’t kill any of them).
• Balances galactic politics and motherhood.
• Marries a Jedi hero but never becomes “Luke’s Wife™.” She stays mara jade.

Also, Ben Skywalker—her son? Yeah. He’s basically Force Harry Potter, and mara jade is the Hermione if Hermione could kick your teeth in.

Side note: I once spilled coffee on the “New Jedi Order” paperback where she saves Ben from kidnappers and had to finish the chapter through the blur of soggy ink and pure pride.

Her Final Duel: One Last Mission, One Last Goodbye

Now we get to the part I still haven’t emotionally recovered from: her death.

She goes after Jacen Solo (her nephew, technically) after he turns into Darth Caedus, the edgy Sith-lite villain who thinks child endangerment is an okay Tuesday.

And instead of waiting for backup, mara jade does what she’s always done—goes in alone.

• She almost wins. Of course she does. She’s smarter than him.
• She stabs him with his own arrogance.
• But then he cheats. Uses a poisoned Force illusion or something. Typical Sith move.

That death hit me harder than the time I dropped my signed copy of Heir to the Empire in a puddle behind Pete’s Hardware on 5th Ave. (RIP both my soul and that book.)

Why Fans Still Obsess Over Her (Me. I’m “Fans.”)

It’s been years since mara jade got booted from canon status, but her fanbase? Alive and feral.

Here’s why she’s still the GOAT:

• She didn’t start good. She earned it.
• She never stopped being complex—even after redemption.
• She made Luke interesting, let’s be honest.

Tina from down the street swears mara jade helped her survive her divorce. I think she’s joking, but I also watched Tina repaint her Honda CR-V “lightsaber green,” so who knows.

And yes, I still wear my Mara Jade cosplay to conventions. No, I will not be taking questions.

Could She Come Back? (Manifestation Circle, Assemble)

Now that Thrawn is canon again (hello, blue daddy), we’re all praying Dave Filoni pulls some kind of multiverse magic trick and brings her back.

Picture this:

• A new timeline where Luke never became a grumpy milk-drinker.
• Mara jade steps in, red hair blazing, lightsaber out.
• Cuts through canon like it owes her money.

Would it be the same? No. But I’d still scream in joy and cry into my popcorn.

Until then? We write fanfic. We reread Legends. We whisper her name into the void.

Final Thoughts… Or Whatever This Is

You can have your Reys and Ahsokas and Leias (all queens, to be clear), but for me? It’s always gonna be mara jade. She had sarcasm, trauma, redemption, power, and good hair. What else do you want?

As noted on page 42 of the out-of-print “Assassins in Space and Their Weird Love Lives” (1998), “Never trust a redhead with a lightsaber and unresolved trauma.” Especially if she used to work for Palpatine.

Mara jade wasn’t perfect. She was petty. She held grudges. She broke rules. But that’s exactly why I loved her.

And if you didn’t? Well… go reread The Crystal Star and tell me that’s the hill you want to die on.