Boba Fett
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Boba Fett Born ( 32 BBY) is a popular character in the Star Wars universe, despite having relatively little screen time in the films. Boba Fett is a bounty hunter hired by the Empire to track down and capture Han Solo.
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Overview
Boba Fett's first appearance on-screen is in a cartoon as part of The Star Wars Holiday Special, an element of Star Wars that apparently George Lucas would prefer to have forgotten. His popularity and mystique are also contributed to by the fact that Kenner released a Boba Fett action figure before The Empire Strikes Back was released.
His first live appearance in a Star Wars movie is in The Empire Strikes Back, in which his name is not actually heard in the dialogue. He is first seen as one of a group of bounty hunters hired by Darth Vader to track down Han Solo and the crew of the Millennium Falcon. Familiar with Fett's ways, the Dark Lord growls "I want them alive. No disintegrations!" To which Fett responds, "As you wish." He is the only hunter to notice the Falcon eluding Imperial pursuit by hiding among garbage, and then tracks the ship to Cloud City on Bespin. He presumably reported the Falcon's location to the Empire, allowing Vader to arrange a "deal" with Lando Calrissian to secure the capture of Solo and the crew. (Attack of the Clones reveals a possible reason for this, as Obi-Wan Kenobi in that film pulls a similar trick on his father, Jango Fett, in the asteroid belt rings surrounding Geonosis.) Fett stays at Vader's side as the Dark Lord tortures Han Solo in an attempt to draw Luke Skywalker into a trap. In addition to the reward for Solo's capture from the Empire, Vader allows Boba Fett to take Han Solo, frozen in carbonite, back to Jabba to receive an additional reward, claiming two bounties on the same man. Fett's dialogue in The Empire Strikes Back, indeed in the entire original trilogy, consists of the four lines "As you wish", "He's no good to me dead", "What if he doesn't survive? He's worth a lot to me" and "Put Captain Solo in the cargo hold", in that order.
In Return of the Jedi, Boba Fett is at Jabba the Hutt's palace when Luke, Princess Leia, and Chewbacca rescue Han from his carbonite prison. Fett remains on guard but entertains himself, flirting with dancers and even laughing along with Jabba as Luke battles the vicious rancor. When Luke kills the monster, an outraged Jabba sentences Luke, Han and Chewbacca to be cast into the Pit of Carkoon where the ghastly Sarlacc lives. Luke stages his own rescue and Fett attempts to stop them along with several of Jabba's hapless guards. While the bounty hunter is focused on Skywalker, Han accidentally activates Fett's jet pack, rocketing him against the sail barge. The jet pack deactivates on impact, and Fett falls into the waiting maw of the Sarlacc.
Boba Fett's origin is revealed in Attack of the Clones. Boba is the son of legendary bounty hunter Jango Fett, one of the last of the Mandalorians; more specifically, Boba is a clone of his "father." Jango Fett is hired by Count Dooku to be the template for an entire army of clones, all of which are altered to be docile, obedient, and grow at twice the rate of normal men. Boba is the only unmodified clone and is raised by Jango to learn the Mandalorian ways on the stormy planet Kamino, home of the master cloners. When Boba is only ten, Obi-Wan Kenobi arrives on Kamino to investigate an assassination linked to Jango, and the Fetts flee to Geonosis to join Count Dooku and the Separatists forming the Confederacy of Independent Systems. Kenobi, along with Anakin Skywalker and Padmé Amidala, are to be executed in the Geonosian arena. Boba watches with interest, but the ceremonies are interrupted by the arrival of several Jedi led by Mace Windu. In the ensuing battle, Jango Fett is slain by Windu. Boba buries his father on Geonosis and takes his armor and ship to start his own life as a Mandalorian bounty hunter. He was believed to be briefly under the custody of General Grievous, who was a friend of his father.
Actors
Boba Fett is played by Jeremy Bulloch in both The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi and voiced by Jason Wingreen in The Empire Strikes Back (his only line in Return of the Jedi was a scream). A young Boba is played by Daniel Logan in Attack of the Clones. In a controversial move met with mixed reviews, the 2004 DVD re-release of the Star Wars Trilogy has Wingreen's voice replaced by Temuera Morrison (who plays Jango Fett in Attack of the Clones); the reasoning behind this seems to be that as a clone of Jango, Boba should sound like him as well. Thus, together with the uncredited voice actor in The Star Wars Holiday Special, he is played by five actors, only one fewer than Anakin Skywalker.
He was revealed in an alternate history Star Wars Comic to have long brown hair and an African demeanor.
Expanded Universe
In the Expanded Universe sources, Boba Fett escapes the Sarlacc with the help of Dengar. He is largely unharmed and resumes his career.
Some of Boba Fett's character in the Expanded Universe is sometimes thought to have been compromised by revelations in Attack of the Clones, but the literature still manages to entertain and reveal aspects of Fett's life not discussed in the films. When Boba's clone origins were first revealed in 2002, they appeared to contradict a few Expanded Universe stories that had preceded them. Following the stunning revelation of Attack of the Clones, however, new Expanded Universe stories retcon the apparent discrepancies in Fett's past, attempting to smooth out the major contradictions that had arisen as a result of the film.
In a young adult novel series set shortly after Attack of the Clones, Boba seeks out Darth Tyranus to claim the rest of his father's payment. He spends a short amount of time in the custody of the Sith Lord before venturing on his own to begin his career at an early age, already making modifications to both the Slave I and the Mandalorian armor inherited from his father. He meets his future employer Jabba the Hutt, fights the Separatist supreme commander General Grievous (and loses), and had several minor bounties under his belt before the age of thirteen.
In the young adult series, "The Last of The Jedi", Boba Fett, at the early age of fourteen, is hired by imperial leader Inquisitor Malorum to investigate Padmé Naberrie's death at the request of Lord Darth Vader. Fett traveled to Polis Massa and Naboo to gather this information. Polis Massa is the small moon planet where Padmé gives birth to Luke Skywalker and Leia Skywalker-Organa shortly before her own death. We can only assume that Vader was not satisfied with the Emperor's explanation of Padmé's demise. In addition to this investigation, Fett is also commissioned to find and capture a former Jedi by the name of Ferus Olin. Ferus, recovering from a leg injury, is being protected by an old friend, Master Obi-Wan Kenobi. Fett and Kenobi battle from afar, but Fett doesn't get a good look at Kenobi and can never report to Malorum with any certainty the identity of this powerful Jedi. These events take place a year or two after Episode III, Revenge of the Sith.
Boba Fett also makes a cameo appearance in The Unifying Force, the conclusion of the New Jedi Order series.
In addition to The Unifying Force, Boba Fett is a prominent figure in the Star Wars novels, comics, and games. Initially, the novels reveal tidbits of Boba's past; that he was once a Journeyman Protector called Jaster Mereel, an alias he takes to honor his father's mentor.
Boba Fett is garbed in traditional Mandalorian armor with a string of Wookiee scalps at his shoulder and owns a variety of specially-modified starcraft bearing the names Slave I through IV. Despite his weapon-laden suit of armor, Fett is a subtle hunter and relies more on his cunning and intelligence than on pure muscle and combat skill. Speaking with a raspy, gravelly voice, Fett allows few to see his face and even fewer to know his origins, giving the hunter a mysterious aura and a psychological edge over his prey. Though Boba is a perfect genetic clone of Jango Fett, a different lifestyle has produced some changes from his father's appearance: while Jango was focused on combat skill, Boba's emphasis on wit over muscle has given him a thinner build. Even with the thinner build, Boba is usually operating at peak human strength (Boba has enough strength to hold his own against massively strong foes such as Bossk) as seen in the Bounty Hunter Wars trilogy. Boba's face remains hidden, but it is a given that he looks more or less like his father did, but beyond his actual features, Boba's face may have more or fewer scars, tattoos, or less facial hair. Even if Jango's face is well-known among fans, it only gives a very basic idea of what Boba may look like.
There is a long-standing belief that Darth Vader and Boba Fett have an unspoken mutual respect for each other (ironically, Boba is eager to see Anakin die in the arena in Attack of the Clones). The bounty hunter is sometimes considered to be the closest thing Vader has to a right-hand man, even though Fett and Vader are at odds (with Fett questioning Vader over the carbonized Han Solo.) In the Enemy of the Empire story line (taking place a few years before A New Hope) Vader and Fett come to blows with a cask containing the decapitated-but still-living-head of an lcarii soothsayer is the prize. On Maryx Minor, Fett and Vader fight one-on-one for the cask, with Vader emerging the victor by only the slimmest of margins. In The Empire Strikes Back, Fett is seen questioning Vader in an informal manner, a deed which would probably get an Imperial officer strangled.
Likewise, Fett has a grudge of sorts against Han Solo. Few details are known, but Solo, along with Kyle Katarn, is among the only people to elude capture by Fett on multiple occasions. And, that is a good reason, for Fett is notorious for completely disintegrating those whom he has been hired to track down and kill.
As revealed in the Star Wars Marvel comics series, Boba Fett is believed to have served with a group of Supercommandos from the planet Mandalore towards the end of the Clone Wars. According to reports, only three Mandalorians survive: Boba Fett, Tobbi Dala, and Fenn Shysa. However, it is later revealed that this "Boba Fett" is not Boba Fett at all, but a rogue ARC trooper named Spar who has become obsessed with returning the Mandalorians to their former glory. Not long after the Clone Wars have ended, Boba visits his father's homeworld of Concord Dawn, and joins the ranks of the Journeyman Protectors under the name of Jaster Mereel. He is exiled from that planet after he kills a fellow Protector. Following this incident, he enrolls at-or infiltrates-the Imperial Academy on Carida. He becomes a stormtrooper, but deserts after he kills his commanding officer.
Boba Fett plays a prominent role in the miniseries Dark Empire where it is revealed that he has survived the Sarlacc and continues his hunt for Han Solo. The story of Boba's first escape and recovery (there are three of them) is documented mainly in the Bounty Hunter Wars trilogy and the anthology book Tales From Jabba's Palace. Interestingly enough, Fett is found lying outside the Sarlacc pit by a fellow bounty hunter named Dengar, whom Boba had previously left to die earlier on in the novel Tales of the Bounty Hunters. Boba Fett also plays a prominent role in the comic book version of Shadows of the Empire and has had several comic book miniseries.
During the Yuuzhan Vong War, Boba Fett returns to the galactic scene as Mandalore, leading a new group of Mandalorian Crusaders and restoring their legacy to the galaxy.
For a brief period, a young man named Jodo Kast poses as Boba Fett. Wearing Mandalorian armor similar to Fett's, Kast steals the bounty hunter's identity. His motives are clear: Gain the reputation of an infamous bounty hunter, and profit from this new profile. Kast's life is cut short however, by the hands of Fett himself. During an attempt to collect a bounty, Kast is ambushed by Fett and his fellow bounty hunter Dengar. A scuffle ensues and Kast collapses from the power of a poisonous dart. Fett rigs Kast's jet pack to explode and places the antidote for the poison just beyond his reach. However, Kast does not capture the antidote in time and is buried in the ruble from the explosion. Kast appears in a series of comics titled “Bounty Hunters”, published by Dark Horse comics, and the Sony Playstation game, “Star Wars: Masters of the Teräs Käsi”. Grand Admiral Thrawn, who first appeared in the Timothy Zahn's novel “Heir to the Empire”, disguises himself as Jodo Kast in the Timothy Zahn and Michael A. Stackpole’s novel, “Tales From The Empire”.
Quotes
"What are you!?!"
- The young Boba Fett when he meets General Grievous.
"As you wish."
- Boba Fett responding to Darth Vader's order not disintegrate the crew of the Millenium Falcon.
"He's no good to me dead."
- Boba Fett in reference to the tortured Han Solo.
"What if he doesn't survive? He's worth a lot to me."
- Boba Fett, questioning Darth Vader's decision to torture and freeze Solo.
"Put Captain Solo in the cargo hold."
- Boba Fett, ordering officers to push the frozen in carbonite Han Solo into Slave I's cargo hold.
"The Sarlacc found me somewhat indigestible."
- Boba Fett
"Everyone dies. It's the final and only lasting justice. Evil exists; it is intelligence in the service of entropy. When the side of a mountain slides down to kill a village, this is not evil, for evil requires intent. Should a sentient being cause that landslide, there is evil; and requires Justice as a consequence, so that civilization can exist. There is no greater good than Justice, and only if law serves Justice is it good law. It is said correctly that law exists not for the Just but for the unjust, for the Just carry the law in their hearts, and do not need to call it from afar. I bow to no one and I give service only for cause."
- Boba Fett, Tales of the Bounty Hunters
"I've one of those faces that used to appear familiar to everyone."
- Boba Fett, The Unifying Force
Allusions to Boba Fett
- Capcom's Mega Man X-series videogame character Vile (also known as Vava) is a rogue fighter with little tendency for formal alliance; his appearance is believed to be patterned on that of Boba Fett.
- The bounty hunter Jubal Early in the Firefly episode "Objects In Space" was inspired by Boba Fett, as revealed by Joss Whedon in his DVD commentary for that episode.
- A Boba Fett action figure is featured in E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. Interestingly enough, his name is mentioned in that movie before it is mentioned for the first time in a Star Wars movie, Return of the Jedi, released a year after E.T.
| Preceded by: Jango Fett | Mandalore 22 BBY (formally) - present | Succeeded by: Incumbent Template:End boxca:Boba Fett de:Figuren aus Star Wars#Boba Fett es:Boba Fett fi:Boba Fett ja:ボバ・フェット |