Mace Windu famously had a purple lightsaber during Star Wars’ prequel trilogy, and he was the first Jedi to ever be shown wielding one, though he wouldn’t be the last, as Luke Skywalker’s future wife Mara Jade also had a purple lightsaber. However, the difference was that Mara Jade actually deserved hers more than Mace Windu.
The purple lightsaber originated as a request made by the actor who played Mace Windu, Samuel L. Jackson, to Star Wars creator George Lucas seemingly due to Jackson’s preferred aesthetic on-screen. But, after that, the purple lightsaber became an official part of Star Wars lore, and thus needed a reason behind its coloring. The green and blue lightsabers represent different skill sets in a Jedi, but are based entirely in the Light Side of the Force. To have a purple lightsaber, one has to have an affinity with both the Light and Dark Sides of the Force, and it is best wielded by a morally uncertain person, though one who will still choose the Light Side at the end of the day. For this reason, Mara Jade is way more suited to have a purple blade than Windu.
Mara Jade is Star Wars’ Perfect Purple Lightsaber Wielder (Not Mace Windu)
In Star Wars: Mara Jade – By the Emperor’s Hand by Timothy Zahn, Michael A. Stackpole, and Carlos Ezquerra, readers are introduced to Mara Jade, not as the wife of Luke Skywalker, but as the personal Force-sensitive assassin of Emperor Palpatine. In the first issue, Mara is on a mission to kill Luke Skywalker by the Emperor, before she is called away because the Emperor changed his mind and decided he’d try to seduce Luke to the Dark Side rather than have him killed. So, Mara sets off on another mission for Palpatine, one that involves taking out a high-ranking gangster who has grown big enough to threaten certain factions of the Empire. By the end of the series, Mara Jade is able to take out her target, and she does so with her purple lightsaber.
Mara Jade is not only the first person to wield a purple lightsaber since Mace Windu, but she’s the first person truly worthy to do so. Mace Windu has been shown time and again as a stickler for the rules of the Jedi Order, and proved to be one of the most devout lightsiders on the Jedi Council. He was able to use a purple lightsaber not because he also practiced in the Dark Side of the Force, but because he was an expert in Vaapad, which is a technique that effectively uses someone’s Dark Side against them in battle by allowing it to travel through one’s own body. Technically he’s wielding the Dark Side when battling a Sith or any other darksider, but Windu doesn’t call upon it. There is no uncertainty within Mace Windu, as Vaapad only proves his own self-confidence in his control of the Light Side of the Force. Meanwhile, Mara Jade is the epitome of what the purple lightsaber stands for.
Mara Jade began her Star Wars career as a Force-wielding assassin for the Emperor before ending it as the wife of Luke Skywalker (along with being one of his fellow Jedi). She represents the perfect person who should have a purple blade, as she never allowed herself to fall completely to the Dark Side, but she still used the Force to murder people in the name of the Emperor. But, by turning to the Light Side, she proved that she could practice in both forms of the Force and still choose the Light Side at the end of the day, which is exactly the type of person who should wield a purple blade. While both technically meet the requirements for carrying a purple lightsaber, it’s fair to argue that Luke Skywalker’s wife, Mara Jade, deserves hers more than Mace Windu.
