Mara Jade #14

(1 customer review)

$9.99

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Description

An assassin for Emperor Palpatine, Mara’s life changes when she meets — and eventually marries — Luke Skywalker.

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Expanded Universe

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Exclusive to

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1 review for Mara Jade #14

  1. mr-jabbajohnl

    “Did you ever hear the tragedy of Mara Jade the Black Series figure? I thought not. It’s not a story Hasbro would tell you… It’s a collector legend…”
    In late 2011, Hasbro held their eighth official Fans’ Choice poll to pick a character that would be produced in the continuing Vintage Collection alongside Return of the Jedi’s 30th anniversary in 2013. Previous winners included Ellorrs Madak, Amanaman, Ephant Mon, McQuarrie Concept Stormtrooper, Captain Antilles (released alongside runner-up Jan Dodonna), Quinlan Vos (with runner-up Darth Revan made since Vos was already in production), and Bastila Shan – all of which were first-time figures in the modern line. There were a few other Fans’ Choice polls to determine repacks as well.
    Fan sites were asked to submit their top 10 lists, and Cliegg Lars took top honors in SirStevesGuide’s poll with the only resculpt in our top 10 being the long-requested Captain Piett. Only two Forum members placed Mara Jade Skywalker on their personal lists, hoping she would be released with her braided hairstyle and green Jedi robes as seen on the Vision of the Future cover artwork and the Japanese release of Specter of the Past. Hasbro had released two versions of Mara in her well-known catsuit in 1998 and 2007, but her Jedi robes – or any other getup – remained untouched. In our poll, Mara tied for 43rd place with Kneesaa (who has since been released) and an updated Spirit Yoda (who has not). The character did not appear to be a top choice on most other fan sites, either.
    Hasbro then culled the various sites’ results and released the final poll for public voting on Star Wars Insider’s website. Among the 20 options was an entry labeled “Mara Jade Skywalker (Jedi),” accompanied by an image of Mara in a tan shirt and blue jumpsuit from the Japanese cover of Dark Nest III: The Swarm War. The outfit didn’t exactly scream “Jedi” and had not been depicted anywhere else. Since Star Wars Insider is not solely a collector-focused publication, the poll presumably attracted a wider swath of fans than just Hasbro collectors; interestingly, when the magazine ran a poll to determine favorite characters in 1998, Mara Jade was the only expanded universe creation to make it into the top 20.
    So perhaps it shouldn’t have been a surprise when Hasbro announced at New York Toy Fair in February 2012 that Mara Jade had won the poll. This was unfortunate news for collectors who saw the polls as an increasingly rare opportunity to get obscure, unmade characters into the line, but others still hoped that the Jedi version would finally see the light of day. The slideshow presentation still referred to the figure as “Mara Jade Skywalker (Jedi)”… but also included two images of Mara wearing the catsuit.
    At San Diego Comic Con in July 2012, Hasbro revealed that The Vintage Collection was to be replaced by the return of Legacy Collection (due to Lucasfilm not wanting to wear out Vintage’s welcome), with “Mara Jade Skywalker (Jedi)” set for release in the second wave. We learned that she would include a piece to build either R5-X2 or R8-B7, but the new slideshow still showed Adam Hughes’ illustration of her catsuit look.
    By the time Celebration VI rolled around in August 2012, any hope that she wouldn’t be the catsuit version had nearly flickered out, so of course when Hasbro showed an image of the figure she was revealed to be wearing… the catsuit. She also had a red lightsaber and yet was inexplicably still referred “Mara Jade Skywalker (Jedi).” When SirStevesGuide later asked Hasbro why they chose this version, we were told that the design team made the decision in order to deliver what they saw as the best-possible figure. Former Hasbro employee Erik Araña later revealed the initial drawings for the figure on BossFightStudio.com, showing that the figure was indeed meant to be released in a different outfit: the full-body black armor seen in recent artwork. It seems the Jedi version was never even truly considered.
    Unfortunately, the figure’s woes were not over yet. Rising costs forced the cancellation of Legacy Collection and sent several figures into limbo, and it wasn’t until San Diego Comic Con came around again in July 2013 that Hasbro revealed (in a presentation dominated by Angry Birds) that Mara would finally be released in The Black Series later in the year.

    ***

    So how’s the actual figure? By the time she was sent to production, she seemingly underwent another unfortunate sculpt revision that gave her a chiseled jawline and a less feminine portrait. Her hair was always intended to be a separate piece from her head, and while it does limit the number of poses she can strike, it’s a little rubbery so she can still look around a bit. Several early samples saw her giant ’do glued way too high, resulting in a severe case of fivehead. Later figures thankfully don’t have this issue, but they do keep her thick, vibrantly orange eyebrows arched at a severe angle. Many collectors have opted to purchase redheaded female figures from other figure lines and swap their heads, but at least now the included noggin isn’t quite as awful as it was at first.
    She’s significantly better from the neck down, with a ball-jointed torso and a holster than can plug into her belt on the side or the back. Her lightsaber blade is the appropriate purple, her additional hilt can hang from her waist, and the blaster isn’t ridiculously oversized like the 2007 figure’s was. Hasbro definitely could have added more value by adding a cape, goggles, or a head wrap – the 2007 accessory doesn’t get along with her mane at all.
    So while Mara Jade absolutely looks like a more current figure and has more articulation than the previous versions, she’s far from perfect. All that time and disappointment resulted in nothing more than a mediocre figure that nobody wanted, and now we’re unlikely to ever see any different Mara Jade figures unless she’s included in Disney’s plans for the future of Star Wars. Hooray?

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