Notice! This post contains SPOILERS for Star Wars: Battle of Jakku – Insurgency Rising #2Star Wars may have just created a fascinating way to bring back Mara Jade in official canon, the wife of Luke Skywalker from the previous Legends continuity. Currently, Marvel Comics is releasing a new, canonical Star Wars comic book series set shortly after Return of the Jedi and the Battle of Endor. To this end, a potential door may have been opened for Mara Jade’s return in this new series.
As seen in Star Wars: Battle of Jakku – Rise of the Insurgency #2 by Alex Segura, Leonard Kirk and Rachelle Rosenburg, The Force called on Luke Skywalker to retrieve an old Jedi star compass that was stored in one of Palpatine’s secret observatories. However, Luke is quickly ambushed by dark side cultists known as Acolytes from Beyond. Likewise, these cultists are being led by a red-haired woman who claims to have been a devoted servant of Palpatine and Darth Vader.
Although this new Star Wars the edition says this woman’s name is “Yuan Howzell”, It would be fascinating if this agent of the dark side was later revealed to be none other than a re-canonized Mara Jade.
Who is Mara Jade in Star Wars Legends?
Luke Skywalker’s Wife Explained
In Legends, Mara Jade was also a servant of Emperor Palpatine during the Galactic Civil War. Trained to be an assassin and Force-using operative known as the Emperor’s Fist, Mara Jade’s last orders from Palpatine were to kill Luke Skywalker, orders she did not carry out after the Emperor’s death, choosing to become a smuggler rather than continue serving the Empire.. Likewise, she and Luke would join forces during Grand Admiral Thrawn’s campaign. The couple gradually fell in love and got married in the original Star Wars continuity before Disney’s 2012 canon purge.
Although Mara Jade no longer exists in the official canon, that hasn’t stopped Star Wars fans of theorizing and discovering ways in which she could one day be reintegrated into the established canon. After all, there is still considerable time between the original trilogy and the sequel, with new stories to tell. As such, this new Battle of Jakku series set shortly after Return of the Jedi could be a means by which Luke Skywalker’s wife would finally be canonized again.
Acolytes from Beyond Could Be the Answer to a Canonical Mara Jade
Still serving the Sith (just in a different way)
Very little is known about the Acolytes of the Beyond, except that they served the recently deceased Sith Lords and were led by Yupe Tashu, a member of Palpatine’s inner circle. With that in mind, perhaps Mara Jade is this issue’s Acolyte leader who is sent to confront Luke Skywalker. “Yuan Howzell” could simply be an alias or a name given to Mara by the cult whenever she was accepted (or taken) to join their ranks. As such, the Acolytes could be key to providing a familiar yet fresh and canonical look at Mara Jade’s origins in the official film. Star Wars canon.
Star Wars: Battle of Jakku – Rise of the Insurgency #2 is now on sale at Marvel Comics