Mara Jade

Created by author Timothy Zahn for the 1991 novel Heir to the Empire, Mara Jade begins in-universe as an operative known as the Emperor's Hand who carried out clandestine orders for Emperor Palpatine. After Palpatine's death, she is initially driven by the Emperor's final telepathic command to kill Luke Skywalker, a compulsion that shapes her early actions in the Thrawn trilogy. Over subsequent Legends narratives she becomes a smuggler working with Talon Karrde, later accepts Jedi training, becomes a Jedi Master, marries Luke Skywalker, and—after being killed during the Legacy of the Force story arc—appears as a Force ghost in later comics.

Sources and visual media commonly depict Mara Jade in a recognizable black catsuit motif (noted specifically in archival design references such as a brooch tied to that outfit) and in various card art, player models and trading-card photos (e.g., model Shannon McRandle). The supplied textual sources emphasize these visual cues without providing a full catalog of biometric details in the excerpts provided.

Within Legends continuity Mara Jade is a highly competent human operative (trained as the Emperor's Hand), skilled in espionage, assassination and covert operations. She later functions as a smuggler's lieutenant (second-in-command to Talon Karrde) and, as her Force sensitivity matures, becomes a Jedi Knight and ultimately a Jedi Master. Key narrative actions include resisting and eventually breaking the Emperor's final telepathic command to kill Luke Skywalker (with Luke's aid) and engaging in lightsaber combat: she kills the Dark Jedi Joruus C'baoth in The Last Command. After her death in Legacy of the Force she appears to others as a Force spirit in subsequent comics.