[Mara Jade] Is she the most popular EU character?

She certainly is the most prolifically written about.

Most popular might simply come with the fact that she became a packaged deal with the Big 3 round about the time of the Thrawn Duology...sealed with Union of course.

But this could've been true of any of the candidates to be Luke's bride.

There is certainly a large support base for Mara, but many vocal detractors as well.

I think Corran Horn is a character more people have a general like for. They may not be as rabidly supportive, but there is not the vocal negative camp either.

I'd also give honorable mentions to:

Kyle Katarn
Thrawn
Dash Rendar
Talon Karrde

anytime an EU creation can jump authors, it's a testament to some support.

 

You obviously don't travel in the same circles I travel in. Come in the chat sometime and ask them how they feel about Corran. You'll get way more information than you ever bargined for, and none of it good.

 

I love reading about Corran Horn. He's my favorite EU character...

 

He's mine too. Other people just don't understand him.

 

Betrayal is going by so slow for me, the only time I perked up was when Corran Horn popped up.

 

To answer the two main topics in the thread, yes Mara sure seemed like the most popular EU character (I personally prefer Thrawn) and yes, TTT was the greatest thing to ever happen to the EU and remains so.

 

Kir Kanos.

'Nuff said.

 

QFT.

But regrettably, he's getting more obscure with each passing year.

 

that's me in a nutshell.

 

When the entire Thrawn Trilogy hit paperback, they were all put in our middle school library (we were about 10 or so at the time).

They very rarely stayed there. They were almost always checked out. There was such demand that the school librarians had a "Star Wars waiting list" you had to sign, so there wouldn't be fights over who got them next.

And it wasn't just the nerds who were reading them. It was people you normally wouldn't think would ever read a Star Wars book. There were the jocks, the cheerleaders, the "valley girls." Practically every kid in the school was falling over themselves to read these.

Mind you, most every other Bantam book, the middle and high school libraries got in hardcover, but none of them, not even the Hand of Thrawn, sparked such intense love. When we all graduated in 2000, Thrawn, Mara, Pellaeon, Karrde, etc were still recognized by everyone. When Vision of the Future had come out a couple of years previous, those nerds of us who had read it spread the word that Luke and Mara were finally getting married, and no one had to ask who the hell Mara was.

To me, that always has, and always will, say it all.

 

I couldnt agree more. It seems like you have to love her or hate her and there is no middle ground. And I agree that being bitchy doesnt make you strong. It just makes ya a bitch.

Personally my vote goes to Aayla. She was popular before the movies, but even bigger now. I really wish she would get her own novel.

 

The more I read, the more convinced I am this is a generational thing. TTT came out while I was in high school, and the reaction of the SW nerds I knew could charitably be described as polarizing. Significantly more positive than the reactions to Dark Empire, mind you, but still highly critical. The ysalamiri were a particularly widely hated feature. It was basically "Well, we're happy they're making more SW stuff, and that it's successful, but we're not happy that it's so disappointing."

Most SW geeks in my age bracket and older that I've known were turned off to the EU as a whole by the one-two punch of TTT and DE, and stayed movie purists. I've managed to convert a few of them wby loaning them Twilight, but the EU that stemmed from TTT has always had a really negative stigma to a lot of people I've known.

I think there's a huge difference between reading TTT for the first time in middle school and reading it in high school or college.

In general, I prefer to keep my favorite characters away from the novels, personally.

 

Then how about a good friend of mine? He lives in another state so he wasn't swept up in "Thrawn fever" like everyone in my school was. I bought him the trilogy for his 21st birthday present and he just fell in love.

 

I'm not saying it's true for every single individual. I'm saying that there was a whole segment of fandom for whom TTT was exactly the right thing at the right time to get them in, and for that segment of the fandom, it's always going to be the gold standard against which the rest of the EU is measured. For people outside that demographic, I don't think the appeal is nearly as universal.

 

I know that Mara, Kyp, Corran and Thrawn are all extremely popular, but who has the most detractors? I tend to think t's either Kyp or Mara. Everbody loves Thrawn.

 

SOTME's comic adaptation came out after TTT's adaptation. Think about that one.

 

Me too. Alot of what went on in the novels shaped my worldview in my early to mid teens.

 

Corran is awsome! He's the closest the EU has to Obi-Wan Kenobi. He's one of my favorite EU characters (2nd only to Kyp) simply cause I Love how he realizes he's not that powerful in the force and isn't limited by his force abilities because of the fact he relies on his brain instead of the force and is a perfect example of how as Darth Bane (I believe) said, while being powerful in the force will increase your dueling skills someone who's naturally skilled with a blade without using the force can still defeat someone more powerful in the force. Or something like that.

 

A lot of people think Thrawn is a huge Gary Stu and a seriously cheesy character. I'm not a huge Thrawn-basher specifically, but I definitely see where they come from.

 

Well...Shannon McRandle was something, that's for sure.

 

No, she's not, because kotorfanmedia.com exists and (say) njofanmedia.com doesn't. Or does it?

 

I have to say, that Mara Jade was my favorite Expanded Universe character by far. She possessed all of the traits I look for in a character. She was a strong female who wasn't afraid to get down and dirty with the best of them. She took her knocks and kept on coming. She could be surly and sarcastic like Han. Yet, there was a sensitive side of her as well. She was intelligent and talented and, I think, a perfect match for Luke Skywalker. I especially loved the fact that she was flawed. She had followed the Emperor's training and became his assassin believing that she was doing the right thing. Upon discovering that she'd been duped, she found a way to make ammends. She came to grips with the realization that she had followed the wrong path and, instead of whining about it or looking for a way to absolve her part in it, she acknowledged her mistakes and made a concerted effort to move toward the right path. Every once in a while, she would falter - her temper sometimes would get the best of her - but that just showed us her human side. If she were perfect, we wouldn't like her so much. I can't say enough about this character. She will be missed immensely!

 

Thats cool, but as someone who would like a leia or Aayla centered book I wish it would happen. It wont ofcourse cause everythign needs to be epic, which is s shame.