Mara Jade is an exceptionally powerful Force-user in the Star Wars Legends continuity, whose skills and aptitude are comparable to those of Luke Skywalker. While Mara Jade is no longer part of the modern Star Wars canon, she was created for the franchise’s first official continuity, the Expanded Universe, which became the alternate Legends timeline in 2014. Mara Jade is famous for being one of the Empire’s most powerful Force users (aside from Emperor Palpatine and Darth Vader) and later one of the New Jedi Order’s most formidable Knights, making comparisons to Luke Skywalker inevitable.
Mara Jade was taken from her parents at a young age by Emperor Palpatine, due to her astounding potential to use the Force. Raised as both Palpatine’s daughter and an Emperor’s Hand, Mara Jade underwent intense military training among the Emperor’s Royal Guards (arguably the Empire’s deadliest non-Force sensitive warriors) and was tutored in the ways of the Sith by Palpatine. As a Jedi, Mara Jade trained under Kyle Katarn and Luke Skywalker, with her past as an Emperor’s Hand and exceptional aptitude in using the Force quickly making her among the most skilled members of the New Jedi Order.
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Luke Skywalker Is Far More Powerful Than Mara Jade
While undoubtedly a highly gifted Force-user, if the two are at their respective peaks, Luke Skywalker is more powerful than Mara Jade. Luke Skywalker’s Force powers in Legends are unsurpassed by any ordinary being, with the near-omnipotent abomination known as Abeloth being the sole exception. This is not to say that Mara Jade is by any means weak or unskilled, and she was, in fact, the more powerful of the two for a significant amount of time in the Star Wars Legends timeline.
Mara (Initially) Had Much More Training Than Luke
According to Legacy of the Force: Sacrifice, by Karen Traviss, Mara Jade’s training rendered her an adept soldier, assassin, spy, and dark side user in her early teenage years. Surely, Mara Jade would have bested Luke Skywalker in a fight if she were to encounter him before the events of Return of the Jedi. Mara Jade’s dark side abilities were also augmented by Palpatine, who shared a Force bond with his adopted daughter, though he also used this bond to plant a sinister suggestion in Mara’s mind, which she struggled against throughout Timothy Zahn’s Thrawn Trilogy.
As both an Emperor’s Hand and a Jedi, Mara Jade was an exceptional duelist, favoring Form IV of lightsaber combat and being able to match Kyle Katarn in combat, even after wading through the horrors of the Dark Force Temple on Dromund Kaas. Mara Jade also proved superior to the Sith Lord Darth Caedus (formerly Jacen Solo), leading him to rely on trickery to gain the upper hand in their battle. Mara Jade may not be quite as powerful as Luke Skywalker, but she is still an exceptional Force-using warrior in the Star Wars Legends continuity.
