Mara Jade

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First Appearance: Heir to the Empire by Timothy ZahnOf all the female characters in Star Wars Legends, Mara Jade, who was introduced in Timothy Zahn’s Thrawn Trilogy, is undoubtedly the most popular. Trained as the Emperor’s Hand, her final mission for the Empire is to kill Luke Skywalker. But when she first encounters the not-yet-Jedi-master, she realizes they need to work together to survi... read more

Mara Jade Skywalker is a character in Star Wars Expanded Universe books, comic books, and computer games. She is also wife to Luke Skywalker, and mother to Ben Skywalker. In the different video games, she is voiced by Heidi Shannon and Kath Soucie.

Mara Jade is introduced as smuggler Talon Karrde's second-in-command in Heir to the Empire. The novel establishes that 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 has sworn to kill to avenge Palpatine's death. This was reinforced by the Emperor's final telepathic command to assassinate Luke, which had plagued her thoughts since his death; upon learning this situation, Luke vowed to help Mara break Palpatine's hold on her, regardless of the danger she posed to him. Towards the end of the trilogy, she turns against the Empire and resolves her anger toward Luke and silences the command without killing Luke, instead killing Luke's clone — Luuke Skywalker — who had been made by a corrupt Jedi to challenge Luke. In doing so, she took Anakin Skywalker's blue lightsaber (which Luke was using), and used it instead of Luke's green lightsaber, which she kept because she did not trust Luke. Luke recognizes in Mara an underdeveloped affinity for the Force; 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. She delivers a son, Ben, during The New Jedi Order series. In the Legacy of the Force series, Mara becomes suspicious of her nephew, Jacen Solo, when he sends Ben on several ethically dubious missions. Upon learning that Jacen has become 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 and 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.