Boba Fett

Boba Fett (born c. 32 BBY) is a popular fictional 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.

Appearances

Attack of the Clones

Boba Fett's origin is revealed in . 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.

Related Topics:
Jango Fett - Mandalorian - Clone - Count Dooku - Kamino

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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.

Related Topics:
Geonosis - Confederacy of Independent Systems - Anakin Skywalker - Padmé Amidala - Mace Windu

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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.

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Live-action TV series

George Lucas has hinted around that he is interested in bringing actor Daniel Logan, the man (then boy) who played the young Boba Fett in Attack of the Clones, to reprise his role as Fett in the upcoming , scheduled for release in 2008.

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Droids

Fett appeared in the fourth episode of the 1985 Star Wars animated series, '. In the episode, entitled A Race to the Finish, Fett is hired by Mungo Baobab to track down the then-masters of C-3PO and R2-D2.

Related Topics:
C-3PO - R2-D2

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A New Hope

When the special edition of Star Wars was released in 1997, a scene with Han Solo and Jabba the Hutt was added to the film. Boba Fett is shown in Jabba's retinue before the Millennium Falcon takes off from Mos Eisley. This was presumably added to improve the trilogy's continuity.

Related Topics:
1997 - Added to the film - Mos Eisley

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The Star Wars Holiday Special

Boba Fett's first appearance on-screen was 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.

Related Topics:
The Star Wars Holiday Special - George Lucas - Kenner - Action figure - The Empire Strikes Back

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The Empire Strikes Back

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 deduce how the Falcon eluded the Imperials by hiding on the hull of a Star Destroyer. He then requests his ship to be placed in the Star Destroyer's garbage, in order to be hidden in it when the warship jettisoned the mass before departing, anticipating that the Falcon would use the waste as cover when itself detached from its hiding place. Fett's hunch is correct and he tracks the ship and surmises that Han Solo is likely headed for Cloud City on Bespin. He presumably reports the Falcon's destination 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.

Related Topics:
Darth Vader - Millennium Falcon - Cloud City - Bespin - Lando Calrissian - Attack of the Clones - Jango Fett - Luke Skywalker - Carbonite

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Return of the Jedi

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.

Related Topics:
Return of the Jedi - Jabba the Hutt - Princess Leia - Chewbacca - Sarlacc

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For the 2004 DVD version of Return of the Jedi, George Lucas reveals in the commentary for the DVD that he considered adding a shot in where Boba escapes the sarlaac, as the Expanded Universe has shown. The scene was meant as a form of fan service, despite the fact that he originally intended Fett to die, even though the Expanded Universe had made it canon. Eventually, though, he explains that he decided against it because at that point in the movie, the main point of focus is the death of Jabba the Hutt, and he felt that the scene with Fett would draw away from that. It is of interest to note that, though Fett's death is official and did "happen" in the Star Wars canon, had Lucas inserted that particular scene into the movie, it would have made Fett's death part of the highest level of canon, which is G-canon. It is unknown at this point whether or not Lucas actually filmed the scene for the DVD before deciding not to include it, or if he has or will film the scene for a futue release of his films. Becuase of Fett's rather high popularity in the fan community, and the fact that Lucas has shown interest in using the character of Boba Fett for the upcoming Star Wars live-action series, it is possible that Lucas may indeed wish to include this scene in a future release of the films, to cater to the fans, and to cash in on Fett's popularity.

Related Topics:
Fan service - Canon - Jabba the Hutt

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Expanded Universe

Based on Expanded Universe sources, Boba Fett escapes the Sarlacc with the help of Dengar. He is largely unharmed and resumes his career.

Related Topics:
Expanded Universe - Dengar

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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 retconned the apparent discrepancies in Fett's past, smoothing out the minor contradictions that had arisen as a result of the film. For the most part, official sources claim that his past was made ambiguous by him and others. All the stories that contradict his origins as seen in Attack of the Clones are seen as simply alternate stories, spread by Fett and others, with the intent to hide his true origins and past.

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Young adult Boba Fett series

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.

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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.

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The Last of the Jedi

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 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, Jedi 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 '.

Related Topics:
The Last of the Jedi - Inquisitor Malorum - Padmé - Darth Vader - Naboo - Polis Massa - Luke Skywalker - Leia - Obi-Wan Kenobi

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At some point between 19 BBY and 12 BBY, Boba fell in love with Kiffar bounty hunter Sintas Vel. They married and had one daughter, Ailyn Vel. Eventually, Boba left his family. On Ailyn's sixteenth birthday, her mother died while in pursuit of a bounty and she then tried to hunt down Boba.

Related Topics:
Kiffar - Sintas Vel - Ailyn Vel

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The Marvel Comic series

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, Alpha-Ø2, nicknamed Spar, who has become obsessed with returning the Mandalorians to their former glory. Spar becomes Mandalore, the traditional title given to the leader of the Mandalorians, and later becomes known as "Mandalore the Ressurector."

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Shadows of the Empire

Boba Fett also plays a prominent role in the comic book version of ', and has had several comic book miniseries.

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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.

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For a brief period, a young man named Jodo Kast poses as Boba Fett, by wearing a Mandalorian armor similar to Fett's. 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.

Related Topics:
Jodo Kast - Mandalorian - Dengar

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A scuffle ensues and Kast collapses from the power of a poisonous dart.

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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 rubble 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 novel Heir to the Empire, disguises himself as Jodo Kast in the Timothy Zahn and Michael A. Stackpole novel Tales From The Empire.

Related Topics:
Grand Admiral Thrawn - Heir to the Empire - Timothy Zahn

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Dark Empire comics

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.

Related Topics:
Han Solo - Dengar

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The New Jedi Order

Boba Fett also makes a cameo appearance in The Unifying Force, the conclusion of the New Jedi Order series.

Related Topics:
Cameo - The Unifying Force - New Jedi Order

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Other Expanded Universe appearances

In addition to those mentioned, Boba Fett is a prominent figure in many other Star Wars novels, comics, games, and fan-made films. Initially, the novels revealed false tidbits of Boba's past.

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