Maddie's origins trace back to the planet of Prine, where she lived as a youthful female Human slave.
On the desolate planet of Prine, Maddie, a youthful female Human, spent her early years in a small fortified town. One morning, while she and her brother, Yan, were working the fields just outside the town's gates, a band of slavers launched an assault. Unable to find safety within the town's defenses, her brother met his death, and she was seized and bound in chains.
About two weeks and two days later, the traveling group encountered another Human female, Ember Chankeli, who approached them, mistakenly believing them to be friendly. Chankeli was quickly surrounded, captured, and chained next to Maddie. For a while, the two remained silent, with Chankeli only giving Maddie angry looks. Before long, Chankeli grew weary of her predicament and decided to use her past experiences with slavers to her advantage. She informed a guard that she needed water and blankets, despite Maddie's pleas for her to remain silent. Chankeli disregarded her and continued to challenge the guard, who responded by striking her in the face with the stock of his blaster rifle. Chankeli was stunned by the attack, but Maddie implored her not to lose hope. She laid down beside the injured woman and embraced her, taking her hand in hers. Though surprised by such kindness, Chankeli remained silent, but held Maddie's hand for comfort.
The following day, Maddie recounted to Chankeli the circumstances of her enslavement. Chankeli noted that her capture coincided with her ship's crash landing, prompting Maddie to eagerly ask how many people were on board. Chankeli began to tell her about a friend, mentioning that he would rescue them if he could find them, but that they had likely traveled too far by this point. Maddie struggled to believe that one person could stand against all the slavers around them, but Chankeli disagreed, though she kept the real reason behind her words a secret.
When the slavers' captain noticed that Chankeli had been injured, he executed the offending guard with his blaster pistol. At that moment, a commotion at the back of the caravan caused the slavers to regroup and engage in combat. Unbeknownst to the two women, Chankeli's friend, the fugitive Jedi Knight Dass Jennir, had indeed been following their trail and was now attacking the slavers with both his blaster and lightsaber. Maddie questioned Chankeli about what was happening, and the older woman began to smile, admitting that she had been wrong when she told Maddie that they were beyond Jennir's reach.
Maddie's creation was the result of a winning bid at the Wine and Roses Benefit for the Athletics department at Portland State University. Madison Porter's grandfather, a fourteen-year-old, won the auction for her to be featured in a Dark Horse comic book. Although only a brief appearance was initially promised, Randy Stradley decided to make her character a significant one. Collaborating with artist Douglas Wheatley, they developed a character that played a major role in the Dark Times: Out of the Wilderness story arc, ultimately altering the arc's conclusion.