Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 3,011: Mara Jade (The Black Series)

MARA JADE So is she coming to Disney+ now?
The Black Series Publishing - Shared Exclusive
Item No.: No. F7001
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: n/a
Includes: Blaster, lightsaber
Action Feature: Blaster fits in holster, lightsaber hangs on belt
Retail: $27.99
Availability: February 2023
Appearances: Dark Horse Comics

Bio: Mara Jade was once Emperor Palpatine's hand, his most trusted assassin. Five years later and now a successful smuggler, the last thing Mara expected was to stumble on her former arch-eneemy, Luke Skywalker.. (Taken from the box flap.)

Image: Adam's photo lab.

Availability: Click here to buy it at Entertainment Earth now!

Click here to buy it at Amazon now!

Commentary: Pretty good, but there were some shortcuts taken here. When Hasbro put out Jaina Solo and a previous version of Doctor Aphra, I said to a friend of mine "they're totally going to make a Mara Jade from this eventually." It took a few years, but here we are! You can see the molded SKU for Jaina on Mara's foot, and she's basically the same figure with a new head and different arms. (And those lower arms are probably the same as the original Doctor Aphra.) While the higher price tag on the figure is insulting - being charged a $3 premium for a retool is increasingly insulting - the decision to make this figure in this manner makes all the sense in the world.

For those just wanting the very best Mara Jade figure, this is a lateral move. Hasbro can reuse Expanded Universe bodies even when it's not a perfect fit, because there's plenty of wiggle-room in artistic interpretation of a lot of these costumes. The dark blue suit, the tall black boots, the sleeveless top, the holster... they're all here. The ribbing on the thighs of the pants are gone, as are frequent depictions of unique knee pads, but this is a figure where Hasbro threw in a newly-tooled harness and a scarf/goggle combo platter and said "close enough?" and starved fans that haven't seen a new Mara Jade figure in nearly ten years will unite with one voice and shrug, saying "Sure, why not." The dated double-jointed knees are showing their age and the spindly legs don't help keeping her upright terribly easily, but they certainly look close enough. The reused Doctor Aphra gloved hands work fine. The reused holster is arguably more Mara-y than expected, so that's good too. Her costume is a perfectly acceptable interpretation of what we've seen before in Heir to the Empire and Dark Force Rising and other Zahn-derived works.

The head seems to be new - I think. The hairstyle is a massive improvement over Hasbro's last attempt, with decent face paint and a look on her face that isn't goofy. I think Hasbro did a really nice job here. The hair may be a little too dynamic, a little too perfectly flowing, but they're basing her on comics and not a real person. So why not? It's striking, at least.

Ms. Jade's accessories are phoned in - the lightsaber hilt is reused from Jaina Solo, and so is the blaster. Previous releases of 3 3/4-inch Mara figures tended to have more specific blasters and some had more distinctive lightsaber hilts. If this were a 3 3/4-inch figure in a repaint/retool wave for under $10, I wouldn't be complaining - but Hasbro used to make a big fuss over how The Black Series were premium, collector-grade, definitive takes on these guys so shortcuts like these are upsetting. Especially at $28. Hasbro can (and does!) make 100% new figures for $28 so better weapons aren't exactly a lot to ask for here.

Having said that, this is the best/only Mara Jade you can buy, and $28 isn't that much more than you've been spending on basic figures. Heck, repaints of figures you already have as exclusives cost this much, so from that perspective this is one of the better overpriced repaints/retools on the market today for Star Wars fans to buy. If you don't compare her to reference materials, she's great - she looks like you remember, her articulation is good, the colors feel right, the head is nice, and the accessories aren't bad. But is she the best Hasbro can make with current technologies? Are her accessories perfect? No. If this is the only one Hasbro ever makes, I'd say grab it and be happy. If a better version comes along, I hope at least they really knock it out of the park because the only thing worse than a $3 premium for a retool is asking us to buy a complete second upgraded figure again later.

In terms of "wild speculation," I also assumed this meant (or may mean) Mara Jade will show up on a TV show this year. I heard about Krrsantan early and went "hunh what an odd choice" before he showed up on The Book of Boba Fett. The Disney era of Star Wars seems to rely on using existing tools and existing characters a lot, deploying a "retro" version of a beloved character around the time a new one hits your screens so they can capitalize on existing demand while creating more for a newer, more accurate version. And for full disclosure I am present unaware of any confirmed appearances or rumors of Mara showing up on cartoons or live action series.

Collector's Notes: I got mine from Entertainment Earth.

--Adam Pawlus

Day 3,011: March 14, 2023

Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 2,041: Mara Jade (The Black Series)

MARA JADE Take Three
The Black Series 3 3/4-Inch Basic Figures Fan's Choice Winner
Item No.: Asst. A5077 No. A5165
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: Black Series #14
Includes: Blaster, hilt, lightsaber, pop-off holster
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $10.99
Availability: September 2013
Appearances: Expanded Universe

Bio: An assassin for Emperor Palpatine, Mara's life changes when she meets - and eventually marries - Luke Skywalker. (Taken from the figure's cardback.)

Image: Adam's photo lab.

Availability: Click here to buy her at Entertainment Earth now!

Commentary: I'm somewhat pleased that I was on record of disapproving of Mara Jade before we even saw her - at Toy Fair 2012, during Hasbro's panel, you may have heard a smirking "boooo" from the back when Hasbro announced the Fan's Choice winner.  I was not mad at Hasbro, but you people - with all the stuff you bug me to ask Hasbro to make for you, given the chance, as a community, you all decided what you wanted the most was another Mara Jade?  Well, I guess we get what we deserve as a group.  This could've been a new character, and instead what we have is a figure that's decent but clearly suffering from factory communication problems.  Official photos of Mara show this hair piece fitting well enough to conceal that (as the kids call it) fivehead, which I have found is slang for what happens when someone like that one girl in my high school German class has too much forehead. And now you know.

Were this figure released in or before 2010, I think people would be more accepting.  Hasbro has been trying to say Vintage and now Black Series are "premium" expressions of the characters, but all we're seeing are head-swaps and higher price tags.  Mara Jade is one of precious few 100% newly-tooled figures in the assortment, which would be fine if we were dealing with a budget-conscious kid's line.  For eleven bucks, I want something good.  I admit I'm being unfair, but once a figure's head is poor the entire figure is skippable.   We've found out that you can give her various Black Widow (Marvel) heads to improve her, but should we have to?  The 1990s hair is more or less an acceptable color, but the eyebrows aren't quite right and probably should be darker.   Her expression isn't much to look at, and at best the head is just OK.   In some respects, the figure compares unfavorably to her 1998 ancestor. If you look at the official Hasbro shot on Amazon (see above for link), Mara 2013 actually looks quite pretty.

The figure body is largely good - the one thing I actively dislike about it is how her blaster holster falls off if you look at it funny.  The sculpt is nice, the torso joint is perfect, and the proportions are better than usual for a Hasbro lady figure.   What we have here feels like a missing link, or at least something that Hasbro probably had perfected in-house and got mucked up by China.  But that's all I can complain about - the arms are nice, the legs are nice, and she can actually sit down.  That's a big deal with me, and her gloves don't look like monster hands either.  It's clear to me that Hasbro designed the perfect Heir to the Empire Mara Jade, and got very close to giving it to us - maybe we'll see a tweak when she shows up in a later wave, because the existing figure's 14 points of articulation are so wonderfully integrated into her design that I'd be lying if I said Hasbro didn't deserve a pat on the back.  They did their job - they really tried!

I would be a bad toy complainer if I didn't mention how good her accessories were - the detail on the lightsaber hilts is quite good, with lots of little finely sculpted bits.  The unlit saber in particular is a joy to squint at, and the blaster is well worthy of your eyeballs.  Given the high prices of third-party accessories in some toy lines I feel silly suggesting you buy a figure for the parts but this is one of those times I believe a customizer would get a lot more out of this figure than a collector.   Overall this is a good figure with two significant flaws.  The body is nearly perfect.  The accessories are good, and fit in her hands and belt holes nicely (minus the holster).  It's rare to see a figure with a tight outfit that doesn't have exceptionally large assets.  I'm not saying they aren't big, but hey, they held back a bit here.   Also, Mara may have the tightest pants in the line.  She's going to make Meryl Silverburgh blush.

Collector's Notes: Early packaged sample photos have her hair set correctly and a red (rather than purple) lightsaber blade.  I got this figure online from Entertainment Earth, and so should you.  I have not seen her in stores yet.  And yes, I'm still irate she won a Fan's Choice slot over something new... and also that fans expected Mara Jade Skywalker.  Heck, so did Hasbro - the UPC for this figure actually reads "Mara Jade Skywalker" so it's clear someone changed their minds during development.  Ah well!  So close.  I anticipate seeing her with a better head as an exclusive later.  Throw in Sim Aloo and a couple of Stormtroopers, and you've got a deal.

Oh, and I loathe the unimaginative packaging.  If I look at a shelf of these, I can't tell who's there easily - the grey doesn't pop, and it's not obvious.  I just intensely dislike it and can't wait to see Hasbro change it.

--Adam Pawlus

Day 2,041: October 23, 2013

Figure of the Day: Day 991: Mara Jade

MARA JADE Expanded Universe
Power of the Force Collection 2
Item No.: Asst. 69605 No. 69891
Manufacturer: Kenner
Number: n/a
Includes: Lightsaber, blaster, backdrop
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $6.99
Availability: Fall 1998
Appearances: Heir to the Empire, others

Bio: Five years after the Battle of Endor, the Rebel Alliance has driven the evil Empire into a distant corner of the galaxy. But a new danger has arisen: the last of the Emperor's warlords has devised a battle plan that could destroy the New Republic. Before the death of Palpatine, Mara Jade was the Emperor's right hand assassin. Five years later and now a successful smuggler, the last thing Mara expected was to stumble upon her former arch-enemy - Luke Skywalker. (Taken from the figure's cardback.)

Image: A TV tray.

Commentary: One of the last dozen or so figures under the Kenner brand was this Mara Jade, an-- at the time-- long-awaited and not-really expected release. For the first few years of the modern line, the ratio of "figures that were made in the 1980s" to "new stuff" ratio was basically 10:1, if not greater. There were roughly 27 Luke figures in the first four years, so we were really, really happy to see new characters like this. Even if they weren't really all that great. Mara had an iffy face and a fairly thick neck, but somehow they basically got the costume right. The leather (I assume) getup has the knee pads, the gloves, and the hood with the goggles. Were it not for the head or the lack of articulation, this figure probably would have been just fine by most fans' standards. She can stand and sit, but odds are you're going to want to use a display stand of some sort with her. She does tend to topple over.

As a figure at the end of the "figures as actual toys" era, she's great. It's not like her head is going to pop off, like the 2007 release, but then again she is in her black outfit. Which, to date, is unique to this figure. If all you need is one Mara figure, it really doesn't matter which one you get, but technically each release is a different outfit. So you're probably going to want to buy both if you care about such things.

Collector's Notes: This figure may as well have never been released in 1998 it was so hard to get. As time went on, fans stopped being interested in her and the prices on the secondary market eventually declined. So today, she's cheap, and that's a good thing. She was never reissued, and this was the only release of Mara Jade until the 2007 Luke/Mara comic pack.

--Adam Pawlus

Day 991: April 1, 2009