Despite how it may seem nowadays, artificial intelligence in Star Wars is not a new concept. AI was one of the staple concepts in the Star Wars universe as seen in the droids — protocol, astromechs, and combat (bounty hunter/assassin/battle) — although the term “artificial intelligence” did not appear in Star Wars content until 2015. As a result, almost every human character in the Star Wars universe would have come across droid technology to some degree unless you just happen to be trapped on a planet without technology, like Endor or Dagobah. Boba Fett and Jango Fett would be the type of characters who got used to AI technology, although each had fairly unique relationship with them versus most characters in Star Wars.

Typically in Star Wars, you have droids as assistants. Luke Skywalker with his Uncle and Aunt, for example, needed droids to assist them in work and at home with repairs and maintenance. Jawas scavenged for droids to sell because it was a lucrative business. Geonosians built droid armies because it was profitable. The Jedi Order as far back as 25,000 years (before the Battle of Yavin) used droids for teaching younglings how to build lightsabers, such as Huyang from “The Clone Wars” and “Ahsoka” television series. The Empire also used droids for combat and torture, although they liked to keep their droids from being too independent thinking, as seen in Dark Troopers which are more like mindless killer robots than sophisticated AI. And then there’s my favorite category of droid — the assassin or bounty hunter droid — and it was first seen in Boba Fett’s live-action screen debut in “The Empire Strikes Back” on Darth Vader’s Executor.

IG-88

IG-88

In the famous scene that introduced Boba, we see Darth Vader hiring six bounty hunters to hunt the Millennium Falcon ship down — with “no disintegrations.” These hunters were Boba Fett, Dengar, Bossk, Zuckuss, 4-LOM, and IG-88 (aka IG-88B), with the latter two being the first assassin or bounty hunter droids to appear in Star Wars. Despite killer droids with sophisticated AI involved in the hunt, it was Boba Fett who succeeded — a testament to his skill as a hunter. IG-88 came close, tracking Fett to Cloud City on Bespin, but Fett saw he was being tracked and turned IG-88 (temporarily) into scrap. It seems an advanced hunter droid cannot factor in luck, whereas by his nature as a human, Boba Fett would be paranoid enough to be prepared for another hunter trying to intercept his bounty. IG-88B would meet Fett again later (in the War of the Bounty Hunters story arc’s IG-88 one-shot comic), once again failing to factor in luck, and failing at his objective. Boba Fett’s blaster shot meant for IG-88 hit a carbon-freezing device he recently installed in Slave I that then froze IG-88. Boba Fett could have destroyed IG-88B once and for all, but Fett lets him live. By booting the frozen droid off his ship and giving the droid something to think about, it left the droid to consider why Fett let it live. It also consider what purpose it has now that it has no mission or master, having it wonder how it could fail if it has been born to succeed. In that moment, Boba Fett freed the droid IG-88B and expanded its droid mind with a newfound existential, philosophical way of thinking. It was a rare act of mercy from Boba, which makes one wonder how he really felt about droids. Did he pity their existence — or did he relate? After all, what is Boba but a copy of another human being, much like how IG-88B was a replica in a set of identical looking droids.

4-LOM

4-LOM

4-LOM was the other original assassin droid that had encounters with Boba Fett. 4-LOM’s name is a bit of a joke from a behind the scenes perspective, as it works as an acronym for “For the Love Of Money.” 4-LOM is basically C-3PO if C-3PO were into crime. 4-LOM’s encounters with Boba Fett — in Shadows of the Empire, War of the Bounty Hunters, and Bounty Hunters #35 — all involved Boba Fett badly damaging the droid, showing once again Boba Fett’s skill against droids who possess advanced AI programming, although the two never truly had any meaningful interactions outside of the bounty hunting business. It never seemed like Fett saw the droid 4-LOM and his force-sensitive, gas mask-wearing friend Zuckuss as much of a challenge, even though on paper a team up like that should be quite formidable.

R2-D2

R2-D2

Boba Fett did not only have an adversarial relationship with peers, but also with arguably the most iconic Star Wars character of all time: R2-D2. This astromech has lived a long time and seen many things and R2-D2 has played a big role in the Legends and Canon life of Boba Fett. In “The Empire Strikes Back,” R2-D2 is present when Luke Skywalker failed to sneak up on Boba Fett in Cloud City, saving Luke from getting shot by Boba Fett’s EE-3 blaster shots by delaying Skywalker’s movements. Even before this, R2-D2 saved Luke’s life in the “Holiday Special” cartoon, “The Story of the Faithful Wookiee,” where R2 manages to intercept a message between Boba Fett and Darth Vader. R2 then relays the message via C-3PO that Fett is working for the Empire before he could capture Skywalker and the rebels.

BL-17

BL-17

R2-D2’s dislike of Boba Fett was probably greatest on the “Droids” cartoon where Boba Fett had a droid ally that successfully manipulated C-3PO and almost strained R2 and C-3PO’s relationship. BL-17 was the name of Boba Fett’s droid in Legends, prior to “A New Hope.” BL-17 was a droid that once served with the Mandalorian protectors who were aligned with the Confederacy in the Clone Wars. It then became Boba Fett’s droid serving as a partner in the business of bounty hunter.

Highsinger

Highsinger

That relation is not much different than how young Boba Fett in Canon had C-21 Highsinger as a bounty hunter partner in Boba Fett’s clan, Krayt’s Claw. The cancelled game “Star Wars 1313” allegedly would have explored that partnership further between Boba Fett and a droid similar looking for C-21 Highsinger. It would have been interesting to see, but unfortunately what we know about C-21 was that eventually he and Boba Fett separated ways, perhaps because Highsinger sided with Cad Bane when Bane and Fett feuded. Last we saw of Highsinger he was destroyed on a mission with Latts Razzi, another bounty hunter that Boba Fett worked with during “The Clone Wars.” While the original Boba Fett droid, BL-17, was also destroyed during a mission (which R2-D2 interfered with), Boba Fett was rather upset about the droid’s fate, going after his own clients of the Fromm Gang to make up for the loss. It would seem to indicate Boba Fett did value the artificial life of androids to some extent. Maybe it was more because it was his droid and thus his possession, but it could also be that there was sentimental value with BL-17, being a droid that was connected to Mandalorians, since I never really saw Boba Fett as materialistic, or at least not materialistic without a purpose. He owns what he needs.

R2-D2 (Part 2)

R2-D2 did get the best of Fett twice, but the heroic maintenance/repair droid made up for it in the end, but only before being Boba’s nemesis. His first great offense against Boba was denying Fett of revenge against Mace Windu, as R2-D2 is the only reason Mace Windu and Anakin Skywalker survived on the planet Vanqor. That was back when they searched the remains of a Star Destroyer that Boba Fett destroyed, where Windu and Anakin discover a bomb within a Mandalorian helmet resembling Jango Fett. In the Dave Filoni directed “The Clone Wars” episode “R2 Come Home,” R2-D2 prevents Boba Fett from finishing off Mace Windu and then tricks him into thinking that Windu flew off the planet, successfully evading the Slave I’s attacks long enough to reach a hyperspace ring. Boba Fett was denied executing the killer of his father… all because of one little astromech.

The second time Boba Fett got screwed over by R2-D2 was the most famous example of Boba Fett getting unlucky, the famous Sarlacc Pit sequence from “Return of the Jedi.” Now the whole rescue plan was flawed except for one thing, and that was R2 storing the lightsaber. Leia’s rescue attempt and Luke’s initial attempt failed, so what worked was R2 delivering a lightsaber into Luke’s hands, which was total luck since what if Luke’s hands were tied on the skiff? The lightsaber mostly came in handy in that sequence when fighting Boba Fett specifically. The other minions could have been handled with blasters and a few force pushes, but the lightsaber was needed against Fett. When Fett sees Luke distracted by Lando’s near-fall into the pit he comes flying on to the skiff with the help of his jetpack. He raises his EE-3 towards Luke to shoot but it’s the lightsaber that slices Fett’s weapon, temporarily disarming him. Boba could still shoot out the whipcord, which succeeds until a Sail Barge gunner’s blast deflects off Luke’s lightsaber, hitting the skiff hard enough where Fett fell. This allows Chewbacca enough time to warn Solo of his presence, causing him to panic and get a lucky strike on Fett’s jetpack, shooting him towards the Sail Barge and then towards the Sarlacc. R2’s delivery of the lightsaber is the only reason why the heroes survive this sequence. Perhaps Fett should have trusted his instincts and made a preemptive move on R2-D2 in the Sail Barge, as there was one moment where he seemed to glance at the droid with some suspicion.

R2-D2 ultimately did help Boba Fett, albeit indirectly. In “The Book of Boba Fett,” Grogu’s presence on Tatooine in the battle for Mos Espa between the Pyke Syndicate and the Fett Gotra is the result of R2-D2’s link with Mandalorian Din Djarin, an associate of Boba Fett. R2 was the only means to staying in touch, allowing Din to travel to the planet Ossus where Luke was training/re-training the Mandalorian foundling Grogu. The gift Mando gives Grogu makes Luke reconsider his first student’s status, giving Grogu the choice of leaving to reunite with his human father. R2-D2 travels to Tatooine to deliver Grogu to the Mos Eisley mechanic who could find Din Djarin, who was busy working for Boba Fett in a semi-suicidal mission. Grogu arrives just in time to save his father from dying honorably in war, using his force powers to damage a Scorpenek Droid. Scorpenek Droids are one of the examples of unintelligent droid life meant to be weapons of mass destruction. It sometimes takes the combined efforts of The Force, advanced weapons like a darksaber, and Boba Fett on a Rancor to eliminate these major robotic threats.

8D8

8D8

The irony is not lost that a droid like 8D8 from Jabba’s palace who went on to work with Boba Fett may seem menacing with their morbid programming, but 8D8 is rather harmless. They are how they are programmed but they are capable of some independent thinking. For example, 8D8 thought Boba Fett felt threatened by the Hutts and thus avoided saying the name of Jabba during a palace briefing, a sentiment Fett felt insulted by. 8D8 also felt Boba Fett might be perceived as weak if he did not torture his enemies, something Boba Fett did not condone. But it’s interesting how tolerant Fett is of a droid being an independent thinker to some degree.

LEP-Series Service Droid

In contrast, the smaller droid in “Book of Boba Fett” that resembled a rabbit, the LEP-Series Service Droid, did not see Fett’s pretty side at first, shutting itself off after being chased around a kitchen when Fett invaded Bib Fortuna’s palace. It then was given a second chance, working in Boba Fett’s palace. This would show Boba Fett being tolerant of a droid that initially was a “quick little bugger” to him. There were several other droids working in Boba Fett’s palace, so he has learned to use droids out of convenience, even having droids dress him up in his armor on occasion. Perhaps as a retired bounty hunter he is more open to droids that provide a convenient service, although traditionally Boba Fett was not a character that cared for using droids for luxurious reasons, so “Book of Boba Fett” was experimental in that approach, done to add some aura of royalty around the Daimyo portrayal.

Jango Fett’s Droids

Jango Fett was not much into using droids like his son was, although worked alongside them in “Attack of the Clones” briefly during the droid factory sequence where Fett arrests Anakin and Padme. In the canon Bounty Hunters comic series, Jango Fett was seen fighting off a group of battle droids (Bounty Hunters #37), including a KX-series droid — the droid type originally developed for the “Rogue One” film. Jango Fett disarms the KX droid with a powerful knife weapon while using his flamethrower and whipcord launcher to defend his self from other battle droids. Jango Fett’s ability to fight droids was something seen within the Clone Army, as they inherited Jango’s gifts and thus were formidable enemies for an army of battle droids. Normal human beings, apart from the force-sensitive, do not stand much of a chance against battle droids unless they have the right tools and skills, which Jango Fett did. In the video game “Star Wars: Bounty Hunter,” there were some situations where Jango had to fight droids as well, like the battle droids of the prison where he stole the Firespray ship he’d name Slave I. There was also an optional secondary bounty involving a protocol droid, showing that Jango — and other Guild members — hunted droids down for money as well. For protocol droids to be wanted dead or alive would suggest a dark side to artificial intelligence in the service industry — and the very first Star Wars story was about a droid being hunted down for the sensitive information it contained, was it not?

R2-D2 (Part 3)

Back to R2-D2 again: he even plays a role in the life and death of Jango. At the very start of “Attack of the Clones,” R2-D2 is nearly destroyed on the landing platform that explodes, killing off several members of Senator Padme’s security and staff, including Padme’s decoy. The explosion was set up by bounty hunter Zam Wesell under the orders of Jango Fett. Zam was working for Dooku who hired Jango as a favor to Nute Gunray of the Trade Federation who was manipulated by Palpatine to do so, in order to destabilize the government enough in order to allow emergency powers for the Chancellor to approve of the clone army to deal with the threat of the Separatist Droid Army. Padme would have lost her life sooner were it not for R2-D2 as Jango and Zam make a second attempt at Padme’s life while she slept in her guarded Coruscant home. While it was technically Anakin that stopped the venomous multi-legged anthropods (named Kouhuns that come from the Wild Space region of the universe), Anakin could not have accomplished what he needed to do were it not for R2-D2 delaying the deadly creatures long enough. R2’s little delay inevitably is what sparks the chain of events that leads Obi-Wan Kenobi discovering Kamino, the Fetts, and the clones.

It was a miraculous, unlikely chain of events that involved Jango being seen briefly enough in the far distance after he shoots Zam with a Kamino dart which Obi-Wan’s prospector friend identified, pointing him towards the right direction. It seems Palpatine’s plans were never for Jango Fett to succeed in killing Padme. Instead, his skills of discretion and subtle assassinations backfire just enough where only a Jedi could find him exactly where Palpatine wanted and that Jango would be skilled enough to evade the Jedi while simultaneously being followed to Geonosis where the Separatists were meeting and the droid factories were, along with the initial Death Star design plans. While many could view Jango Fett’s mission a failure, it went exactly as Palpatine orchestrated, as he led them to both Kamino and Geonosis. It sets up for the ultimate showdown, between the Fett clones and the droid army. That concludes with Anakin Skywalker turning into half a machine and Boba Fett having to endure a war where soldiers with his father’s face were dying in a war against machines. Despite that, because he had no real connection to the other clones, he probably did not take it personally, so he was never one to refer to battle droids as clankers. In the Battle of Geonosis the difference between man and droid could not be more clear, as C-3PO can lose his head and get it re-attached by R2-D2. While at the same time in the same arena, Young Boba Fett can’t do anything about a very final death, except take the helmet of his father and mourn, looking into the T-visor where his father’s eyes once were looking back at him. He eventually would make his father’s helmet his own face, so much that even for a Mandalorian the way he moved had a robotic quality (even being confused for a droid by Jawas in a 1983 Marvel Comics story).

While droids are generally not a focus of Boba Fett stories, he has had enough of a history at this point where a storyteller could focus on that aspect in a story, unlike with Mandalorian Din Djarin who has a very planned out storyline in with regards to droids. Din Djarin’s distrust of them is rooted in his parents being murdered by a group of battle droids during The Clone Wars. They were programmed to exterminate villagers, who were then destroyed by heroic Mandalorians who saved Din and took him in as a foundling. Eventually and slowly he learned to accept droids are not evil in nature, learning that — while they possess artificial intelligence — most are still subject to the programming they are given. The variety of programming possible is exemplified in IG-11, transformed multiple times: from bounty hunter, to a nurse droid, to a remote guided robot, and then back to AI in the form of a Marshal.

On the other hand, Boba Fett grew up in a time when his blood-related brothers were at war with droids, while other droids were working as bounty hunters. He saw his father fight on the same side as Separatist droids in a battle against Jedi, only then to see clones siding with the Jedi against the droids. The lines of good and evil were blurred when it came to droids so he could not really think of them in those terms. Boba Fett knows reality doesn’t care how you feel, so he was neutral with droids. I think perhaps Boba Fett saw artificial intelligence as nothing but a business. On the flip side, a human character like Din Djarin feared and distrusted artificial intelligence on a personal and even spiritual level, mirroring real life attitudes on AI; people may see AI as an opportunity or something very problematic. The interesting thing about Star Wars is the lack of information on the origin of droids. They have existed thousands of years before the events of the original film and yet no one ever seems to question their origin in the universe.

We do know Jango Fett played a role when it came to a war between organic species and AI droids. His genetic material was being used for an army bred to fight that inevitability (even if it was the result of heavy manipulation by the Sith) and we know Boba Fett showed he was capable of doing a better job in the intergalactic bounty hunter business than advanced droids like IG-88 and 4-LOM. That’s what makes the Fetts unique in the conversation regarding Star Wars droids. Maybe it’s because one could imagine Fett in a world like that of “The Terminator” film series’ vision of an apocalyptic AI-dominated future. Perhaps because Boba Fett’s armor design was so battle worn, as if it had been through many battles, a key part of the Boba Fett armor design that has been lost in most modern interpretations of Mandalorian armor. While most fans of Star Wars focus on how Mandalorian armor and weapons were a good counter to Jedi Knights, another way to view it is that strong armor like that of beskar finally gave non-force sensitive types a way to even the odds against droids that are used as weapons in war. The Mod culture would also seem to reflect a subculture of people that evened the odds against machines by modifying their human bodies with droid style enhancements.

But if the droid enemy is R2-D2 then Mandalorian armor and modifications aren’t enough — because plot armor goes a long way in the Star Wars universe. After all, Star Wars is a fantasy as much as a sci-fi. While maybe an army of Boba Fetts fighting off killer androids isn’t realistic, or Boba Fett being superior over advanced bounty hunter droids may seem implausible, that’s kind of the point of this style of storytelling. It’s just like the unlikelihood of the Death Star being destroyed (twice). Or it’s like the miracle that the Rebels could find enough cracks during totalitarian-style Imperial rule where they could eventually discover the Death Star’s existence and its secrets. Or it’s the implausibility of characters surviving wounds that would normally kill a person, such as Anakin’s wounds, Palpatine’s survival, Maul’s survival, or Boba Fett’s survival of a near death experience. The droids of Star Wars are not meant to be too realistic or serious but the universe provides a diverse representation of androids, which have added much to the lore of characters like Boba Fett and other popular characters by perfectly blending sci-fi concepts with fantasy tropes.

One of the most brutal stories within the Star Wars Legends continuity was Boba Fett: Agent of Doom, a truly savage one-shot comic released by Dark Horse in 2000. Written by John Ostrander, who is known for his work on Suicide Squad, and illustrated by Cam Kennedy, the comic showcased the atrocities committed by the Galactic Empire while also highlighting the depths that Boba Fett was willing to go to in order to cement his reputation as the galaxy’s greatest bounty hunter, making it an unmissable read.

The story begins around a decade after the Battle of Endor, with Fett meeting a member of the Gulmarid species named Slique Brighteyes in a seedy bar on a backwater Outer Rim world known as Basteel. Brighteyes explains that his species was driven to near-extinction by the Galactic Empire, who ransacked their homeworld of Gulma and massacred most of the inhabitants. The few surviving Gulmarids were then rounded up by Imperials and placed aboard a prison ship known as the Azgoghk, where they were subjected to horrific experiments by an Imperial scientist named Leonis Murthé. These events were depicted in flashbacks throughout the panels in which Brighteyes described them to Fett. And since Star Wars is generally viewed as a family-friendly franchise, Ostrander certainly deserves praise for showcasing the galaxy we all know and love in a far more sinister light. The writer was also clearly not afraid to highlight the atrocities committed by the Galactic Empire, making Agent of Doom a story which really does display the dangers of totalitarianism.

Brighteyes reveals that he wants Fett to kill Murthé and Mir Tork, the Imperial admiral who commands the Azgoghk, as revenge for what they did to his people. Although the Empire had already been defeated by the time Agent of Doom took place, Murthé and Tork still continued to commit atrocious actions onboard the Azgoghk while also evading justice from the New Republic, and it is clearly understandable that Brighteyes would want to see them brought to justice. However, since the Gulmarids are clearly not wealthy, Brighteyes admits that he can only offer Fett a paltry sum of one hundred Imperial Credits for the job. This initially enrages Fett, who presses his blaster against Brighteye’s head and warns him that he is not someone who takes lightly to being mocked. Seeing as Brighteyes clearly has nothing left to lose, the alien then calmly explains that Fett’s reputation has suffered greatly after his encounter with the Sarlacc and his numerous failed attempts to capture Han Solo. Brighteyes then goes on to explain that accepting and completing this highly dangerous new assignment, which nobody else dared to attempt, could repair some of the damage to Fett’s blemished reputation. After a pause, Fett then agreed to accept the assignment. This exchange of dialogue proved to be fascinating for various reasons. Firstly, it proved that Fett really does care about protecting his reputation at all costs, something we can all relate to on some level. Despite being a bounty hunter who operates in a galaxy far, far away, Boba Fett still cares about how he is viewed by other people, making him a surprisingly human and relatable character, regardless of the cold and merciless exterior he presents to the outside world. And while he clearly did not have enough money to make the job appeal to Fett, Brighteyes clearly knew that appealing to Fett’s pride and his aloof but very real sense of morality, would ensure that he accepted the assignment.

Secondly, the conversation also showcased Fett’s sense of morality. Although Fett was regularly employed by the Empire at the height of its power, he still clearly disagreed with many of the immoral actions committed by the Empire’s totalitarian regime, and his willingness to accept the assignment also proved that he wanted to punish Murthé and Tork for their immoral actions. Since Fett does not remove his helmet throughout Agent of Doom, his exact feelings as he paused before accepting the job are ultimately ambiguous, but Ostrander no doubt wanted to display Fett’s human side by depicting him mentally weighing the advantages and disadvantages of the assignment before he agreed to hunt down the two war criminals.

Murthé and Tork are shown to be two of the most despicable villains ever depicted in the Star Wars franchise, as they both enjoyed the pain and suffering they inflicted on others. Murthé even admits that he no longer pretends to be a scientist, and that he simply inflicts pain for the pleasure it gives him. We also saw the heinous Murthé gleefully blasting a restrained Gulmarid with a blaster, while copious amounts of blood littered the floor, and a severed Gulmarid head and internal organs were strewn across a nearby table. Tork also explains that he approves of these appalling actions as he approves of the Empire’s anti-human agenda, and that, regardless of the Emperor’s death, he believes that all non-humans should be cleansed from the galaxy. Ostander clearly did a great job of making readers hate these two Imperials, because after just a few panels, fans will no doubt be hoping that Fett kills them both. And the panels showing Murthé torturing his victims almost seemed like they belonged in an R-rated horror film as opposed to a story in the Star Wars galaxy, since Kennedy really did pull no punches when it came to depicting the gruesome and heinous actions the crazed individual committed. Agent of Doom is certainly one of the more mature Star Wars comics on the market, and with good reason. There was even a panel depicting a grinning Murthé with the blood of his victims splashed across his face, since his sadism clearly knew no bounds.

As soon as Fett accepted the job, we were treated to some spectacular action sequences. Fett initially used an Ion Cannon to disable the Azgoghk’s engines as it was about to land on the world of Malicar 3, causing it to violently crash-land. He then transmitted a message to the ship, where he stated that he simply wanted Murthé and Tork, and that the rest of the crew could either go free or die along with them. Fett is known for being a man of few words, and the merciless way in which he delivered the cold and straightforward message would certainly have sent a chill to all those onboard the ship.

The crew of the Azgoghk refused to surrender, resulting in a gun battle with Fett after he used his jetpack to board the ship through a side opening. Fett effortlessly gunned down most of the guards while avoiding being hit himself, since this story was clearly written before it was established that anyone wearing Mandalorian armor is essentially a superhuman who is invulnerable to damage. Most of the guards proved to be no match for Fett, and he left a trail of bodies in his wake as he marched across the ship.

Fett then freed the captive Gulmarids who were being held onboard the Azgoghk, but he refused to help them any further, explaining that they should take the weapons of the dead guards and fight their way to freedom if they wished to survive. Although Fett clearly values the lives of sentient beings, he still believes in self-autonomy, which explains why he told the few surviving Gulmarids to fight the remaining guards themselves instead of helping them any further after he freed them.

Agent of Doom was published in 2000, before it was revealed that Boba Fett’s fatherly figure, Jango Fett, was killed by Jedi Master Mace Windu. Therefore, Fett did not have much of a reason to hate the Jedi at the time the story was published, unless you count how his skirmish with Luke Skywalker above the Great Pit of Carkoon played a role in him being fed to the Sarlacc. Since his grudge against the Jedi Order had not yet been established, Fett actually shows some respect towards the Jedi throughout Agent of Doom, as he explains to Murthé that wielding a Jedi’s weapon does not make him a Jedi. Fett was clearly disgusted by the sight of the sadistic Imperial scientist pretending that he knew how to wield a lightsaber in combat, and Murthé’s pathetic threats while he brandished the weapon clearly did not intimidate Fett. Instead of ending Murthé’s life quickly, Fett instead set the Imperial officer alight with his flamethrower, and casually looked on as the burning Murthé begged the bounty hunter to end his life to relieve him of his suffering. Since Murthé literally admitted earlier in the story that he enjoys inflicting pain on others, the way in which he begged for a quick end after being set on far was certainly satisfying. Like most who take pleasure in harming others, Murthé clearly could not handle being on the receiving end when pain was finally inflicted upon him. And because Fett causally looks on as Murthé burns and begs for a quick end, it was clear that, while he often tries to keep his sense of morality hidden, the bounty hunter clearly felt that Murthé deserved to suffer as punishment for the atrocities he had committed. Although he certainly is no saint, Boba Fett clearly still possesses a strong sense of right and wrong, something which was highlighted throughout Agent of Doom.

Fett then encounters Tork, who proves to be more of a challenge than the squirming Murthé. Although Tork threatened to detonate the ship’s self-destruct sequence unless Fett surrendered, the cunning and devious Fett then wisely chose to taunt his prey by pretending to leave and saying that he would hunt him down later. This act of mockery intentionally engaged Tork, who furiously demanded that Fett turn and face him before being shot dead by the bounty hunter. A squirming and mortally injured Murthé then charged into the room, and Fett swiftly ended him with a shot from his wrist launcher.

Because of the grim and bleak tone of Agent of Doom, Kennedy’s artwork was never too bright or colorful, and the dingy colors on display served the book well. The interiors of the Azgoghk were shown to be dimly lit, with foreboding shadows and narrow corridors helping to create feelings of tension and claustrophobia as Fett prowled the ship. The scene where Fett encounters Tork was bathed with an aggressive red light, to highlight the murderous intent which both men had on their minds. And the portions of the comic taking place outside took place at night, with daylight never being present throughout the story. Kennedy also conveyed strong levels of detail throughout the comic, with the dents on Fett’s armour, the bloodstained floors in the torture chamber, and the malicious smirks on the faces of Murthé and Tork all being shown clearly and deliberately unpleasantly.

At the end of the story, Fett returns to Basteel to deliver a sack containing the severed heads of Murthé and Tork to a dying Brighteyes. We did not actually see Fett decapitating the corpses of the two Imperials, but the sight of blood dripping from the sack which he was carrying still proved to be something which will be burned into your memory for years to come. Fett also tells the Gulmarids who he liberated earlier to do whatever they need to do to survive, while also warning them not to forget his name. Although he performed an act of kindness by freeing them from their captors, Fett still has a reputation to uphold, and he has clearly had his fill of charitable acts by this point. Brighteyes is then shown lying on his bed, and while he appears to be dying, he still manages to express his gratitude by saying that he knew that Fett would complete the job, for the simple reason that he is Boba Fett. Although Brighteyes is on his deathbed and the survival of the Gulmarid species in doubt, the story still ends on a bittersweet note, with Fett fulfilling his duty and Brighteyes learning that his people have been avenged. And readers will still be satisfied to learn that Brighteyes and the rest of his dwindling species finally got to experience justice, with the sack containing their severed heads serving as a grim reminder that nobody escapes from Boba Fett.

Boba Fett: Agent of Doom simultaneously showcases the lengths that Fett is willing to go to protect his reputation, while also highlighting the hidden sense of morality he hides underneath his Mandalorian armor. Although it certainly was not the most cheerful or upbeat Star Wars story you will ever read, Agent of Doom still proved to be an unforgettably brutal and harrowing account of why Fett is the galaxy’s most feared bounty hunter. And its relentless depiction of the more vicious side of the Star Wars galaxy and the way in which it exhibits Fett’s determination to succeed at all costs made it into one of the best one-shot comics from the entire Legends catalogue.

Rating

Boba Fett Agent of Doom
2000AVAILABILITY Varies $1.99 Kindle / ComiXology Digital Edition

Shadow of Fett’s Empire

Did you know LucasArts first video game wasn’t even Star Wars? Lucasfilm Games (later called LucasArts between 1990 and 2021) was created by George Lucas years ago in 1979 when he was seeking to venture towards other avenues of entertainment. But it wasn’t until the early 1990s that a LucasArts Star Wars video game was made and released. This was mostly due to licensing issues but it was in some ways a blessing in disguise — especially for Boba Fett. In the 1980s there were video games based off the original trilogy films. Atari 2600 saw the first few Star Wars games, the first being “The Empire Strikes Back” (1982). When that sold well, they released a lightsaber-based game called “Star Wars: Jedi Arena” (1983), which was a failure. Afterwards were a couple “Return of the Jedi” games on multiple consoles in 1983/1984. In 1987, Japan got an exclusive Star Wars game on Famicom (plus another exclusive Star Wars game in 1991).

Mark Hamill with “The Empire Strikes Back” pinball game from 1980.

On the arcade side of things, there were coin-operated arcade machines for all three movies released in 1983, ’84, and ’85. There was even a “Star Wars: Droids” game based off the cartoon in 1988. It’s a lesser known computer game that makes reference to the Fromm gang in its game summary — the same Fromm gang that Boba Fett associated with in the first Star Wars animated series. Sadly, that and the Empire Strikes Back pinball from 1980 by A. Hankin & Co. — the first licensed Star Wars pinball machine ever made, which did not have Boba Fett in the art, but it at least could make you think of him — was about the most Boba Fett you got in the 1980s video game era. His breakout moment had happened in film and television – but not in video games. At least not yet.

Then the 1990s came and Boba’s luck began to change in video games. But how did it happen and what was the point in which his status elevated to a video game icon? I theorize that it is Shadows of the Empire (1996) that cemented the status. But a Star Wars theory isn’t enough, I want to prove my claim, so I have to take a look at the history and evolution of it… so back to the topic of LucasArts (presently known again as Lucasfilm Games) and their history of Star Wars games that eventually led to Boba Fett joining the ranks of video game stardom with the likes of gaming legends like Donkey Kong & Chun-Li.

Shadows of the Empire (video game) - box cover

After making mostly forgettable original games in the 1980s, LucasArts ventured into the market of making video games based off their films. However, they started off with the Indiana Jones movie franchise, rather than the other Harrison Ford led series of Star Wars. Fortunately, they ended off the decade on a high note with some notable Indiana Jones games and LucasArts was on their way up. With Indiana Jones working out in the early gaming world it was only logical to move on to Star Wars. That worked out well for them too with the first couple of Star Wars games, based off the first 2 films, being successful enough.

Super Empire Strikes Back, Boss 8 (Slave I vs. Chewbacca)

Boba Fett finally made his first appearance in video games in The Empire Strikes Back (1991) and then again in Super Star Wars The Empire Strikes Back (1993), the upgraded version of the same game concept. In each version you can battle Boba Fett and the Firespray-class Slave I. Boba Fett even appears on the cover of Super Star Wars The Empire Strikes Back to complete the character’s first major video game milestone of being in a game: being a boss fight and making the cover. However, the one flaw about this game was the difficulty. While it did receive praise from certain magazine outlets, it also got heavy criticism from others, citing the challenges of maze-like gameplay being frustrating. Boba Fett wasn’t a game icon just yet.

The Software Toolworks Star Wars Chess

Boba Fett’s third appearance in gaming would come in a more … unusual well. Star Wars Chess (1993) did not make much of a name for itself (as one would expect) but it was indeed a chess game themed after Star Wars featuring Boba Fett as an Empire piece. The game included multiple animations of Boba Fett destroying someone from the Rebel Alliance — or Boba being destroyed by one of them, usually in a comical fashion. Seeing C-3PO take out Fett is a tough watch, although seeing Boba in action is a joy. As much as I personally don’t mind the game, it’s not making anyone’s list of favorite Star Wars game, so things needed to get back on track for Fett.

Boba Fett in "Dark Forces"

That’s where Star Wars: Dark Forces (1995) enters the picture. Now Dark Forces was part of that golden age of Star Wars computer games featuring 3D graphic gameplay. That all started with 1993’s popular Rebel Assault title that incorporated live-action footage and the more popular 3D space shooter TIE Fighter. But unlike those games there were no flying missions in Dark Forces — it was closer to a shooter like the popular DOOM. That was part of the charm of “Dark Forces” since it was DOOM but in the Star Wars universe. Being the gracious real life character he was, George Lucas allowed for creative freedom in these games. According to one prestigious game magazine of the time (EGM, July 1996) that featured an interview with a developer of “Dark Forces,” George Lucas even played and enjoyed “Dark Forces.” In the LucasArts era he was seemingly well aware of what was going on in the game universe. Fans certainly had no problem with it, as it respected both the film lore and Expanded Universe of multi-media. Instead of being in some sort of alternate version of “The Empire Strikes Back,” Boba Fett suddenly had real video game lore. He had a new enemy in the force-sensitive Kyle Katarn. In one of the sequels called Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy (2003), Katarn even reminisces about fighting Boba Fett after he learns one his students met him on a mission as well. Much like his role in the “Empire Strikes Back” games, Boba Fett was once again a boss character. Plus, he was on the back cover of the CD-ROM too, so once again being featured in the marketing of the game.

"Dark Forces" CD-ROM Insert with Boba Fett

After “Dark Forces” in 1995, I would say Boba Fett was on the verge on being a video game icon. But people forget that “Dark Forces” was originally a computer game, not a console game, so it didn’t initially have the console audience. While 3D gameplay was a revolutionary step forward in gaming — something that first person shooters like “DOOM” and “Dark Forces” helped pioneer — there was still something lacking from a cinematic perspective in first-person shooter (FPS) games. Even with cutscenes the player didn’t quite feel like they were in a movie during gameplay just yet. Dark Forces did receive a console port in late 1996 for PlayStation, but by the time there was a new game on the horizon part that had Boba Fett at the heart of things and had a more cinematic approach to the gameplay. That game was “Shadows of the Empire.”

"Shadows of the Empire" Cover

Now I say Boba Fett is at the heart of “Shadows of the Empire” because of course the storyline covered that period between “The Empire Strikes Back” and “Return of the Jedi.” It was Boba Fett’s mission to deliver Han Solo to Jabba the Hutt while Han’s friends sought to save him while also pursuing an end to Imperial rule as part of the Rebellion effort. Sure, Fett did not have much of an active role in the novel by Steve Perry, only spoken of and seen in Slave I. His novel story has Lando and Leia tracking Slave I using information from an informant who saw his ship on an imperial base on the planet of Gall three months after he should have already delivered Han Solo to Jabba. (He needed to repair his ship after a dogfight with IG-88.) A smuggler/mercenary who is friends of Lando and Han Solo named Dash Rendar guides the Millenium Falcon crew of Lando, Leia, Chewie, C-3PO, and R2-D2 to the planet of Gall and spot Fett’s ship — but TIE fighters attack and Fett escapes. In the novel Dash Rendar in his Outrider ship with his droid Leebo left the scene and did not attack Fett because he was not paid to, a mercurial move reminiscent of Han Solo. Wedge Antilles, the leader of Rogue Squadron, criticized him for it but still proves to be of worth when he helps save Luke Skywalker from Jabba’s gang of bounty hunter. They were hired by Black Sun, the powerful syndicate that could rival the Empire, and Prince Xizor, the Falleen species syndicate leader, to kill Skywalker in order to mess with Darth Vader’s plans, trying and winning over the Emperor. Interestingly when Jabba the Hutt met with Prince Xizor in the novel he mentions that Boba Fett had worked for Xizor once or twice before, which is more an indication of his prestigious intergalactic reputation. Boba Fett’s presence is only really seen on the back cover art by Drew Struzan but it is felt throughout the story. No dialogue needed and no action in the novel, yet still an effective portrayal.

Shadows of the Empire #1

“Shadows of the Empire” was not only a novel though — it was part of a larger multimedia project, which was another aspect of its charm. Being for all ages, Star Wars is meant to have variety. Historically the tone of Star Wars varies but it’s always been diverse. Some stories are more lighthearted, while others are more serious. “Shadows of the Empire” accomplishes both tones within the same project: it’s a novel that adults might prefer, but it was also a comic book miniseries that added more action as well as a video game where it got proper cutscenes with voice actors instead of stills with text. (The Nintendo 64 version had a scene with Han Solo that is mysteriously absent in the PC version.)

Battle of the Bounty Hunters (Pop-up Comic)

Lastly, as far as storyline went within the project there was a pop-up comic called “Battle of the Bounty Hunters” featuring Boba Fett fighting off IG-88D and a few other threats before delivering Han Solo to Jabba the Hutt. It’s basically the children’s version of Boba’s arc from the “Shadows of the Empire” comic, so simplified that the other bounty hunters were absent & it has Boba shooting down a few stormtroopers & a random Tatooine creature, making Boba look a bit more heroic I suppose, whereas the comic highlighted Boba Fett’s intelligence in outsmarting his opponents. In the comic he has to not only fight off and outsmart IG-88D but also Bossk, 4-LOM, Zuckuss, and another hunter named Furlag (along with a few unnamed bounty hunters that got in Boba’s way). On top of that he had to deal with Jabba’s gang of bounty hunters when he landed on Tatooine.

The cherry on top of the primary and comic story was that, in the video game, Boba Fett also fought Dash Rendar. In the “Shadows of the Empire” novel, Dash did not bother fighting Boba Fett or attacking Slave I on the Gall Imperial Spaceport because he was not contracted to, only hired to guide Leia, Lando, and Chewie to Fett’s ship. Without the Outrider’s help, the Millennium Falcon was unable to stop Slave I from leaving Gall. They had no choice but to go for the plan of waiting for Boba Fett to deliver Solo to Jabba and infiltrating the palace to save him. In fairness, Dash Rendar he is unique in his own right: the less romantic version of Han Solo who opts out of joining the rebellion despite working for them. In the video game things play out quite differently. Dash Rendar is more heroic in the game and is the one who gets the information on Boba Fett’s whereabouts from IG-88. Dash finds IG-88 in the junkyards of Ord Mantell and battles him — in a very difficult video game boss fight. Overconfident, IG-88 admits to Rendar where Boba Fett was before being destroyed (that dirty rat!), which is different than the comic book miniseries and pop-up comic book that had IG-88 defeated by Boba Fett. (That said, there are multiple IG-88 units, so it’s a moot point.) on the Afterwards, on the next level of the video game, Dash Rendar travels to Gall’s imperial spaceport where he fights off stormtroopers, native creatures, and even an AT-ST, before having to face Boba Fett in the ship hangar with Slave I. You first fight Boba Fett in an arena-like hangar where he jetpacks around and shoots at you. As Dash, you have the same ability except you lack armor and need to grab all the health you can find. Then you chip away enough of Boba’s health points until he climbs aboard the Slave I and now in his ship he attack you with it’s guns. This was a big deal because Slave I wasn’t really seen in action back in the day. We saw it fly in the Original Trilogy, knew it had weapons, and saw its interior, but it was a bit of a mystery what it could do. Even in the “Shadows of the Empire” novel, the Slave I does not engage in battle; it had no need to as Imperials became aware of the Rebel intruders. Plus, Slave I had just been repaired after a dogfight it went through with another hunter. But Fett wasn’t interested in fighting off Rebels — just delivering Solo and getting paid. It’s a similar logic to how in “Empire Strikes Back” Boba Fett doesn’t turn Slave I around and simply shoot down Princess Leia, Chewbacca, and Lando Calrissian on the Bespin platform. He could have, but Boba Fett knows the extremes of war. He would rather depart in that type of situation, especially when he already has his own peers — other bounty hunters — looking for him to take away his prize. But the video game “Shadows of the Empire” rewrites the scene to where Boba Fett couldn’t help but take shots at Dash Rendar with Slave I. Realistically, Slave I would win without an issue, but it’s a video game. As Dash with a jetpack, you can fly up to a low flying Slave I and shoot your weapons at it. Unable to maneuver much within the Imperial hangar, Boba Fett decides it’s not worth it and departs the destroyed Imperial base on Gall to head for Tatooine. Along the way, as seen in the comic book version, he also encounters Bossk, 4-LOM, Zuckuss, and Furlag who all fail to stop Boba Fett from his goal. Once on Tatooine another round of bounty hunters fail to stop Boba Fett, who outsmarts them by dressing up Zuckuss in his backup armor in order to have hunters chase Zuckuss while Boba delivered Solo to Jabba the Hutt.

Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire

I would like to think of the N64 video game version of the story as a rare example of changing an element of a novel in a cool way: by having Boba Fett and Dash Rendar fight. But in this alternate, secondary version of the story, realistically, Boba Fett should win that fight. But back in the 90s, the Han Solo/Boba Fett rivalry was real and it was only fitting a character similar to Han Solo be given the opportunity to fight Boba Fett. The PC version of the game even included a quick cutscene of a silent Boba Fett near his Slave I at the Imperial spaceport — seen right before they battle in gameplay while Fett escapes in his ship off screen. It’s fitting that Boba Fett says nothing at all (whereas IG-88 had plenty of dialogue). It shows that he was ready for action and not interested in talking. Amazing how Boba can not say a thing in both the video game &and novel while still being an impactful character. That said, the comic book version provided the more talkative Boba Fett (such as talking to Han Solo frozen in carbonite), which is in great contrast to the mainstream portrayal.

A New Hope: Special Edition, Mos Eisley Spaceport Scene, Blu-Ray (Retina)

Not too long after the release of “Shadows of the Empire” came the release of the first “Star Wars: Special Edition” in 1997. Among the additions to the film were a few nods to the “Shadows” project, including a ship that looks like Dash’s “Outrider” and the inclusion of swoop bikes plus ASP Labor Droids. Another addition was Boba Fett to the formerly omitted scene where Han Solo negotiates with Jabba the Hutt alongside the Falcon, other hunters, and Chewbacca. While the filming of Mark Anthony Austin as Boba Fett for SW:SE may have nothing to do with “Shadows” itself, it certainly gave Boba Fett yet another boost in the mid-1990s not long after being featured in this multimedia event. While he had the spotlight in film in the 80s, the 90s found Boba Fett elevate to becoming a comic book and video game icon, so it was only fitting that among the live-action Star Wars filming done in the 1990s that Boba Fett is there in the “Star Wars: Special Edition.” The 90s saw Boba Fett continue to be in video games after “Shadows of the Empire,” such as “Star Wars: Masters of Teras Kasi” (1997). It was a fighting game that took Boba Fett out of the boss fight role and made him playable for once. It was also the first video game to have a Boba Fett voice actor (by Neil Ross) since “Shadows” went with the silent portrayal of Fett. Masters of Teras Kasi also put him on the front cover and a lot of promotional material in artwork where he is battling Luke Skywalker. At this point it was clear Boba Fett had made it thanks to the efforts of “Shadows of the Empire.” There was no shock to Boba getting the spotlight anymore.

Video games provided a new medium for characters that didn’t get enough screen time in film. It’s this that allows for a character to expand its audience. The success of games like NES/SNES “Empire Strikes Back,” “Dark Forces,” and “Shadows of the Empire” that helped make Boba Fett a playable option, as well as the advancement of technology. Unfortunately, “Masters of Teras Kasi” had more of a mixed response than Fett’s previous games, but the idea of a playable Boba Fett lived on from that point on. In “Star Wars: Demolition” (2000) where you can jetpack around maps battling vehicles and even a Rancor. “Star Wars: Bounty Hunter” (2002) had Jango Fett, prior to being the father of Boba. He was also in the popular “Star Wars: Battlefront” and LEGO Star Wars games.

Star Wars Battlefront Wallpaper

Fett was definitely a favorite choice in the “Battlefront” games, which had Temuera Morrison voice the role of Boba this time instead of just Jango. Tom Kane and Dee Bradley Baker were the lucky ones who got to voice Fett multiple times in video games. Hopefully Daniel Logan — who voices Boba in “LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga” (2022) — gets to voice Boba in a game again so he can join that multi-time group; he certainly is old enough to voice a video game Boba that is in his prime. Temuera himself got to voice many clones of Jango Fett, including Boss (RC-1138), an elite clone commando from the video game “Republic Commando” who was part of Delta Squad and trained by Walon Vau, a Mandalorian that was recruited to train clones by Jango himself (which is referenced in the game).

LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga

The Fett Legacy is so solid his fans were even rewarded a pinball table (2013) of his own featuring the other bounty hunters of “The Empire Strikes Back” whom he beat out in the race to capture Han Solo and the location of the Millenium Falcon. That makes him only one of about a handful of characters to get their own character-named pinball table. What the future holds as far as a game about Fett or a playable Fett is unclear, but it has its place in history.

Star Wars Pinball

Boba Fett was more regularly appearing as a non-playable character – be it in popular classic games like “The Force Unleashed” (2008) where he had the displeasure of meeting Starkiller. He’s also in modern games like “Jedi: Survivor” (2023) where Cal Kestis had a tense moment with Boba Fett hunting an associate of his, who at the time was using Cal to carry out bounty missions. In fact Boba Fett’s scene (or scenes if we include the additional commentary) was an incredibly popular moment in the game if YouTube views, likes, and comments are anything to go by. Fans disappointed by Disney+ media’s interpretation of Boba Fett were relieved by Boba’s “Jedi: Survivor” moment, with some even preferring that sequence over “The Book of Boba Fett.” What was universally agreed on is that Temuera Morrison’s two approaches to voicing Fett were both great, as he sounds scarier and less forgiving in “Jedi: Survivor,” whereas in “Book of Boba Fett” he shifts between stoic, tough, and friendly when with allies. In a way the video game realm treated Boba Fett a bit better than how Boba was treated in television (especially when you factor the unfinished arc from “The Clone Wars”), although it wasn’t always smooth. The cancelled “Star Wars 1313” will always be seen as the moment that derailed Boba Fett in video games slightly, made all the more bittersweet by what was salvaged out of the project in terms of the beautiful concept art available here on BFFC. But if he wasn’t an icon, would he have survived that (attempted) derailment?

Star Wars 1313 (Cancelled), Boba Fett Concept Art

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor

The fact is, he is always welcome in the video game world, as evident by the magazine coverage of yesteryear, and what gamers say. It would also be hard for most other Star Wars characters to catch up to the solid history and reputation of video game Boba Fett, including a similar character. As popular as Din Djarin in “The Mandalorian” became in the last handful of years, for example, he’d have no shot at catching up to Boba Fett’s status of a video game icon — although for the last few years many have demanded such a game. Then there’s a character like Bo-Katan Kryze who has had many stories and has survived the test of time, but doesn’t have a video game legacy. George Lucas was a bit cooler about allowing others to use his characters in video games. Perhaps characters based off Boba and Jango Fett are a bit overprotected by their own creators? But then there are the Mandalorian bounty hunters made exclusively for video games — an odd category as they have very little chance of making a name for themselves if they are limited to one game. Boba Fett will always be the most popular choice because he has the most history.

Even if “Shadows of the Empire” may not make everyone’s favorite Star Wars game list, it was still a big milestone for Star Wars games that finally began to interconnect with the films, like “Star Wars: Bounty Hunter.” That’s opposed to non-substantial game adaptations of the films or something like Star Wars Chess which added nothing to lore. It was games like “Dark Forces” and “Shadows of the Empire” that started to really add to the lore. In the case of “Shadows,” it served to abridge “Empire” and “Jedi.” While it was a big deal at the time, I have to also mention that “Shadows of the Empire” sadly isn’t Canon — or anymore (depending on your take on degrees of Canon). Many argue it ought to have been. With the large gap between “Return of the Jedi” and “The Phantom Menace,” there were certain projects that were treated like movies like the Thrawn Trilogy, “Dark Empire,” and “Shadows of the Empire.” (Speaking of “The Phantom Menace,” Prince Xizor actually makes a hidden cameo appearance in it — I’m serious, look it up! — so it certainly seems like George Lucas saw “Shadows” of the Empire as a worthy story for the lore.) The multimedia project even had its own soundtrack composed by Joel McNeely, Topps trading cards, and toy lines from several companies. It even had references or connections in multiple video games including “Star Wars: Bounty Hunter” where you get a quick glance of the Outrider in the opening sequence – or how the “Battlefront” reboot included a training mission that remade the Hoth level from “Shadows of the Empire” (based off of “Empire”). The multimedia project itself left quite a legacy for itself within Star Wars while also helping boost Boba Fett’s video game status as well. It didn’t really win any game awards but it was one of the better N64 games of that year and it left a lasting impression. I would not doubt it will return eventually to consoles, although it’s strange it hasn’t already happened.

Oddly enough, characters like Dash Rendar and Prince Xizor are seemingly nonexistent in Canon so far. (They’d look great in a second season of Boba Fett, wouldn’t they?) But they are still memorable and alive and well in the minds of some Star Wars fans who crave for more stories like that. It goes to show the power of the multimedia project. If it were only a novel, would we have remembered what those guys looked like? And for a character like Boba Fett, “Shadows” as a multimedia project allowed fans to see him in multiple ways: as the shadowy villain of the novel, the more aggressive villain of the game, or the anti-hero of the comics where you are root for him against the other hunters trying to steal his prize. It was an interesting contrast to the Fett from the feature films. For example, in the Original Trilogy, the Slave I isn’t seen in battle, it’s a ship that stalks its prey and carries the bounties it collects towards its doom. The video games would never shy away from using Slave I in a boss battle, even though it would not be until “Attack of the Clones” where we saw the ship’s full potential in battle on screen. That’s the magic of creative freedom. Those games weren’t simply adapting Boba Fett, they were adding to the character we all loved — and still love today.

May the 4th aka “Star Wars Day” involves a bunch of product reveals and sales from official licenses. This year’s official theme is “Power the Force.” BFFC has dialed in just the goods for Boba Fett fans. May the 4th be with you!

Merchandise

Acme Archives

The art vendor is doing 25% off between May 1 and 5, with the discount applied at checkout. They have a newer “Helmets: Jango Fett” collectible pin and many more limited edition prints with Fett on their site.

Amazon

Their annual May the 4th Be With You landing page lists the main deals, plus a Boba Fett specific page, which includes the JoyJolt Star Wars Cosmic Color Drinking Glasses. Their are select deals specifically on May 4 only too.

JoyJolt Star Wars Cosmic Color Drinking Glasses
2025AVAILABILITY $31.50

BoxLunch

Starting May 2 and going through May 5, they have 30% off all Star Wars products on their website and in store. Since they list 27,000+ Star Wars matches, you can also narrow that to just over 1,200 matches with Boba Fett. Like Her Universe, everything seems to be on sale throughout the year.

Denuo Novo

Their 10% off sitewide and free shipping sale has already started, which includes their pre-assembled Fett jetpack kits as well as a revival of their unassembled kit version are on their site. (See our video review of the unassembled kit when it first dropped.)

Boba Fett / Jango Fett Jetpack Kit
2023

One thing to note: “Due to the new U.S. tariffs, select pre-order and in-stock items may be subject to a temporary fee when they arrive at our warehouse. Affected customers will be notified in advance, and pre-orders can be canceled at any time without penalty.”

Disney Store

The latest Boba Fett baseball jersey originally appeared just in Disney Parks but it’s now included on their site alongside May the 4th promotions. They may just be doing new product drops and not discounts, unfortunately.

Disney "Galactic Outlaw" Boba Fett #80 Baseball Jersey
2025

And, surprise, on May 4th, they revealed this pin which will be sold in Disney Parks plus DisneyStore.com:

Disney "The Empire Strikes Back" 45th Anniversary Boba Fett Slider Pin
2025AVAILABILITY Varies

Enso Rings

Their Star Wars Day sale takes 25% off and includes three of their remaining “The Book of Boba Fett” collection (Galactic Outlaw for $33.74, Fennec Shand for $31.49, and Boba Fett for $29.24) as well as other Star Wars rings on their site.

Enso Rings Galactic Outlaw Ring
2021

Enso Rings Boba Fett Ring
2021

Fortnite

The latest Fortnite x Star Wars crossover is timed with Star Wars Day. (Boba Fett is already in the game if you happened to pick up his skin, ship, or accessories when they were avail.) In one of the promo pics, BFFC fan Poke681YT (Twitter) noticed the blasters are the same ones used by Jango Fett. This is likely a v-bucks in-game purchase to upgrade to, but it also might mean a Jango Fett skin could be coming any day now…

Funko

From April 30 (12pm Pacific) to May 4 (11:59pm Pacific), Funko is doing a buy 2 Star Wars items get 1 free deal on their website. Several Boba Fett items in stock this year.

Hasbro

They’re doing a livestream event on May 2 at 8am Pacific / 11am Eastern on the Hasbro Pulse YouTube channel “for reveals and updates from The Black Series, The Vintage Collection, and more.” Maybe we’ll get something Boba or Boba adjacent? (Update: nothin’.)

Her Universe

Between May 2 and May 5, you can get up to 50% off Star Wars items. Their newer releases include a Boba Fett Icons Hoodie under their Our Universe brand on their site. They also have over 800 matches for “Fett” on their site too, most of which is discounted.

Our Universe Boba Fett Icons Hoodie
2025

Heritage Auctions

There are numerous Boba Fett items in their May 4 auction, including a unique Kenner peach Boba Fett first shot and also the original Robot Chicken Boba Fett stop motion puppet used in the show. (See our BFFC promo for their Robot Chicken item on May 3rd.)

Heroes & Villains

They’re doing reveals May 1 through May 5, plus exclusives and a select 20% off product sale. But only on May 2, their “Duel at Mos Espa” Boba Fett shirt will be available over on their site. On May 3 only, their Din Djarin shirt features Boba Fett’s helmet. And on May 5 only, their Cad Bane shirt name checks Boba Fett and Jango Fett.

Heroes & Villains "Duel at Mos Espa" Boba Fett T-shirt
2025

Heroes & Villains "Children of the Watch" Din Djarin T-shirt
2025

Heroes & Villains "Peligroso" Cad Bane T-shirt
2025

LEGO

The new LEGO Jango Fett Helmet (75408) and LEGO UCS Jango Fett’s Firespray-Class Starship (75409) are both May 4 releases (although LEGO Insider members can get in as early as May 1).

LEGO Jango Fett Helmet (75408)
2025AVAILABILITY $69.99

LEGO UCS Jango Fett's Firespray-Class Starship (75409)
2025AVAILABILITY $299.99

If you’re already a member of their free LEGO Insiders program, two more things:

• If you order the UCS ship through LEGO.com, you’ll also get their Jango Fett’s Starship Key Chain. Deal begins 5/1 and ends 5/5.
  
  

  LEGO Jango Fett’s Starship Key Chain
  2025
• If you have a ton of points, there are also a few Fett exclusives basically timed for Star Wars Day, dropping between April 30 and May 4. The Jango Fett’s Starship Coin costs 2,500 points and the “Flying with the Fetts” poster by Joe Hogan costs 1,800 points.
  
  

  LEGO Jango Fett's Starship Coin
  2025
  
  
  

  LEGO "Flying with the Fetts" by Joe Hogan
  2025

Shoe Palace

The spot to pick up kicks now has shirt and short apparel with Boba Fett on it plus an “Empire Strikes Back” poster at select store locations on May 4. See their site for the exact cities.

The Empire Strikes Back 45th Anniversary Poster by Oliver Barrett (Shoe Palace Exclusive)
2025

Shoe Palace Boba Fett Mens Jersey
2025

Shoe Palace Boba Fett Mesh Shorts
2025

Steam

The popular gaming platform is doing a Star Wars Day sale on their site, which ends May 5. The recently released “Bounty Hunter” (2004 enhanced edition of the 2002 original) is $10. “Shadows of the Empire” (1996) is $1.49. “Star Wars Outlaws” (2024) is also 50% off. (Helmet nod to BFFC contributor Tresob for the heads up.)

Target

They’re celebrating Star Wars Day with a special part of their website, which includes their kid-sized “May the 4th Be With You” tee.

Star Wars "May the 4th Be With You" 2025 T-Shirt for Kids
2025AVAILABILITY

Topps

Star Wars Meiyo by TOPPS is a new trading card set of 100 cards, which seems to be a reveal via StarWars.com and definitely not a discount. Boba Fett shows up on at least three cards in the set: Chrome Sticker S-2, Ukiyo E UK-1 Boba Fett vs. Cad Bane, and Ukiyo E UK-3 The Bounty Hunters. Topps has some more info on it on their site.

More

That’s not all… The official Star Wars website has more (updated for 2025), but we combed through it for Fett-related items. If you’re less disconcerting, check out their list too.

Did we miss anything else? Let us know in the comments!

Check out our past May 4 guides: 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, and 2016.

BFFC’s Chelsey B. Coombs spoke with Nelvana co-founders Michael Hirsh and Clive Smith in advance of their panel at Star Wars Celebration Japan.

Dive into their memories of Boba Fett’s animated debut plus their work with George Lucas on the Ewoks and Droids Adventure Hour.

If you’re at Celebration, save the date: this Saturday, April 19 at 10:30am – 11:30am is their panel on the Story of the Faithful Wookiee, Ewoks, and Droids cartoons.

Bonus: you can watch the B&W test Boba Fett footage they’re talking about from 1978 here on BFFC.

Also: we interviewed “Holiday Special” Boba Fett animator John Celestri about his role in this all back in 2019.

Our handy guide to Star Wars Celebration Japan 2025 is your very own checklist to all the Boba Fett sightings we know about. Updated up to and through the convention, thanks to our reporter there, Chelsey B. Coombs.

Not attending? They have some events livestreamed.

We explored the official Panels and Photo Ops lists to inform these highlights — with the most Fett potential:

Friday, April 18

Note: day 1’s live stream was made private by @StarWars soon after the day ended…

• 9:30 AM – 10:30 AM: Collectors Social @ Collectors’ Stage
• 10:00 AM – 11:00 AM: “The Mandalorian & Grogu” @ Celebration Stage (and streamed to Galaxy Stage and Twin Suns Stage) with guests Dave Filoni and Jon Favreau; we’ll be attending this one!
• 11:30 AM – 12:30 PM: Hasbro Star Wars Panel @ Twin Suns Stage — we’ll be attending this one!
• 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM: Light and Magic Season 2 @ Celebration Stage
• 2:00 PM: Lucasfilm Publishing panel, featuring writers like Ethan Sacks (“Jango Fett,” “Bounty Hunters”)
• 3:30 PM – 4:30 PM: Lucasfilm Animation’s 20th Anniversary @ Celebration and Galaxy Stages
• 4:30 PM – 5:30 PM: Bit Reactor Developer Panel featuring Respawn Entertainment and Lucasfilm Games @ Galaxy Stage
• 4:50 PM: Temuera Morrison photo op (reservation encouraged)
• 5:30 PM: Fett Father & Son, Temuera Morrison and Daniel Logan photo op (reservation encouraged)
• 5:50 PM: Daniel Logan photo op (reservation encouraged)

Saturday, April 19

• 10:30 AM – 11:30 AM: The Story of the Faithful Wookiee, Ewoks and Droids featuring Michael Hirsh and Clive Smith who both were involved in the Star Wars Holiday Special cartoon at Nelvana; see our video of Hirsh giving a similar talk at SDCC last year and also our newly released interview with the two of them:
• 1:30 PM: Temuera Morrison photo op (reservation encouraged)
• 2:20 PM: Fett Father & Son, Temuera Morrison and Daniel Logan photo op (reservation encouraged)
• 2:30 PM – 3:30 PM: Doug Chiang’s Masterclass @ Twin Suns
• 2:40 PM: Daniel Logan photo op (reservation encouraged)
• 5:00 PM – 6:00 PM: Vintage Japanese Diecast Delights @ Collectors

Sunday, April 20

• 11:45 AM – 12:45 PM: From Collecting to Visual Storytelling – Star Wars Toy Photography @ Collectors
• 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM: “ILM Presents The Mandalorian and Beyond: Behind the Scenes of The Mandalorian, The Book of Boba Fett, Ahsoka, and more” @ Galaxy Stage with guests John Knoll and Richard Bluff
• 1:00 PM – 1:45 PM: “The Fett Family” @ Twin Suns Stage with guests Daniel Logan and Temuera Morrison
• 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM: FIFTY YEARS OF MAGIC: Celebrating the Legacy of Industrial Light & Magic @ Galaxy
• 2:10 PM: Temuera Morrison photo op (reservation encouraged)
• 2:40 PM: Fett Father & Son, Temuera Morrison and Daniel Logan photo op (reservation encouraged)
• 3:00 PM: Daniel Logan photo op (reservation encouraged)

Exhibitors with Fett Merch (or Likely Bets)

We combed through the full list of exhibitors and the merch catalog to make this handy cheat sheet, along with adding a bunch we spotted not included on the official convention site:

• Hot Toys: not an exclusive but the first chance to pre-order the Star Wars Cosbi Balloon Series #056 Boba Fett and Hot Toys Zakka Masterpiece 1/6 Scale Package Boba Fett Magnet
  
  

  Star Wars Cosbi Balloon Series #056 Boba Fett
  2025
  
  
  

  Hot Toys Zakka Masterpiece 1/6 Scale Package Boba Fett Magnet
  2025
• Medicom Toys: not an exclusive but the first chance to pre-order the Be@rbrick (Bearbrick) Chase “The Empire Strikes Back” Boba Fett
  
  

  Be@rbrick (Bearbrick) Chase "The Empire Strikes Back" Boba Fett (Star Wars Celebration Japan Exclusive)
  2025
• Happy Lottery: not an exclusive but a pre-sale opportunity for the Jango Fett character acrylic stand, the unlabeled Jango Fett’s Slave I, and the larger The Skywalker Saga Poster
  
  

  Happy Lottery Jango Fett Character Acrylic Stand
  2025
  
  
  

  Happy Lottery Jango Fett's Slave I Vehicle Acrylic Stand
  2025
  
  
  

  Happy Lottery The Skywalker Saga Poster
  2025

Artwork

• “The Daimyo of Mos Espa” by Brad Hudson
  
  

  "The Daimyo of Mos Espa" by Brad Hudson (Star Wars Celebration Japan Exclusive)
  2025
• “The Force Arcana” by Dianne Vaznelis
  
  

  "The Force Arcana" by Dianne Vaznelis (Star Wars Celebration Japan Exclusive)
  2025

Exclusives

Looking through the official merchandise (which isn’t everything) plus our own research:

• Medicom has their Sofubi Vintage “Prototype Version” Boba Fett
  
  

  Sofubi Vintage "Prototype Version" Boba Fett (Star Wars Celebration Japan Exclusive)
  2025
• Celebration’s pin trading program has a Mystery 2-Pack Boba Fett Pin
  
  

  Star Wars Celebration Mystery 2-Pack Boba Fett Pin
  2025
• RSVLTS has an event exclusive Boba Fett pin and also the “I Want Them Alive” shirt with him on it
  
  

  RSVLTS "I Want Them Alive" Shirt (Star Wars Celebration Japan Exclusive)
  2025
• Star Wars Celebration store has a Boba Fett Samurai T-Shirt and a Boba Fett Boba Tea Plush
  
  

  Boba Fett Samurai T-Shirt (Star Wars Celebration Japan Exclusive)
  2025AVAILABILITY Varies
  
  
  

  Boba Fett Boba Tea Plush (Star Wars Celebration Japan Exclusive)
  2025AVAILABILITY Varies

Curious about our guides for prior Celebrations? See Star Wars Celebration Europe (2023), Star Wars Celebration Anaheim (2022), Star Wars Celebration Chicago (2019), Star Wars Celebration Orlando (2017), Star Wars Celebration Europe (2016), and Star Wars Celebration Anaheim (2015).

There was once a time where Boba Fett’s father, Jango Fett, was known as “the last of the Mandalorians.”

Count Dooku (aka Darth Tyranus): “Our search for the Prime Clone is nearly complete. The galaxy’s most dangerous mercenaries have been pitted against one another and I sense the victor will be a bounty hunter named… Jango Fett! The last of the Mandalorians, the sole survivor of the Jedi Raid on Galidran; He’s the perfect soldier in every way. I have interrogated a number of his former associated, yes, in fact, I’ve just returned from the planet Concord Dawn, where Fett was born… and his family died.”

Darth Sidious: “Excellent. The most dangerous men are always Orphans…”

— Star Wars: Open Seasons “legends” comic, written by Haden Blackman

Star Wars: Jango Fett Open Seasons Trade Paperback
2003

At this point in time, making him the last of the Mandalorians was a good way of explaining why it was that Jango Fett was chosen as the Prime Clone, aka the Clone Template. Whereas in the “Canon” film “Attack of the Clones,” he left his origins. Why he was recruited by Count Dooku remained a mystery. This left it to one’s imagination, as George Lucas’ focus was more on showing off what Fett could do in a fight, leaving only a glimpse of background information on the character. The film reveals a lot — that Jango Fett 1) had encountered Jedi in the past, 2) had known Count Dooku for about a decade, 3) had been living on Kamino (but not native to the planet), 4) had a reputation as a bounty hunter (who associated with at least one other hunter), 5) had some oversight of sorts with the training of clones, assuring Kenobi that they will do their job well, and 6) had a clone son named Boba Fett.

Fett's Apartment (Key Frame 7)

“Attack of the Clones” primarily portrays Jango Fett in two distinct ways. First, as a mercenary with combat and piloting skills with a reputation as a bounty hunter who is ruthless and professional enough to silence his own partner when it came down to it (Zam Wesell) while also capable enough to fight Jedi (RIP Coleman Trebor), and wild beasts (like the Reek). Second, as a caring, protective father plus a tragic figure, who despite the profit from being the Prime Clone and having his own clone son (the alpha clone Boba Fett), has put himself and his son in a dangerous position in pursuit of a simple life. He’s the simple man “trying” to make his way in the universe (or galaxy), right? But that’s easier said than done.

Temuera Morrison, Daniel Logan and George Lucas

Star Wars: Jango Fett Open Seasons #3

It makes sense for a person who has overcome trauma to want to escape painful past memories and start a new life. Jango Fett’s scars are not just on the surface, but also inside. In “Legends,” he loses his family (both parents and sister) to the Death Watch faction of Mandalorians. Then, years later, he loses his Mandalorian father Jaster Mereel. Eventually that entire faction of “True Mandalorians” were wiped out by a group of Jedi Knights (misled by Death Watch misinformation) in a battle where Jango, after witnessing one his own Mandos cut in half by a lightsaber — ferociously killed several Jedi using his own justified might — before surrendering.

Many years later, Jango Fett would suffer anther great loss with his Toydarian friend Rozatta who assisted him in the bounty hunting business. She was murdered by his main rival, the Mandalorian Montross, in Count Dooku’s bounty hunter contest that determined who would be the clone template for the Grand Army of the Republic. That army would then be modified to obey Palpatine’s Order 66 when the time came — an event which saw the murder of thousands of Jedi and the end of the Jedi High Council. As Jango Fett’s second family (the Mandalorians) had been murdered by Jedi, it was only fitting Count Dooku would reward Jango Fett with the ultimate revenge opportunity. And yet Jango wanted something more… as Rozatta planted the idea of seeking more to life than just bounty hunting. Jango finally listened and made himself a son, Boba Fett, or “Jaster’s Legacy” (as Jango was a man of Mandalorian culture).

Star Wars: Bounty Hunters #37 (Alex Maleev Variant)
2023

Sadly in “Canon,” some of the tragedy element is lost with Jango Fett (for now), although not entirely. For example, in Marvel’s Star Wars: Bounty Hunters #37 written by Ethan Sacks, we see a flashback of Jango Fett attempting to save his bounty hunter friend Kligson after he is injured in a heist that didn’t go as planned. Eventually he had to abandon his friend to a community of droids and say his farewell to him in a bittersweet moment.

Star Wars: Bounty Hunters #37

Star Wars: Jango Fett Trade Paperback
2025

In the limited Jango Fett miniseries by Ethan Sacks, we also learned that Jango Fett and Aurra Sing had an on-and-off type of relationship, both professional and not. At the end of the story arc, Aurra Sing asks Jango Fett if he ever considered having kids to pass down the Fett legacy to. She knows he was good with handling the young Nakano Lash, a young thief who — like Jango — got caught in the middle of an orchestrated conspiracy meant to destabilize the Republic. (That would make Supreme Chancellor Valorum look bad, to make it easier for Palpatine to replace him, as he did in “The Phantom Menace.”) Jango Fett at that point is not ready for a child, but considers it.

Star Wars: Bounty Hunter
2002

Star Wars: Age of Republic Jango Fett #1
2019

Meanwhile, Count Dooku learns of Jango’s professionalism, competence, and discretion from a corrupt Governor who had hired Jango Fett to re-acquire an item of political and cultural significance. This is what piques Dooku’s interest in Fett, which is what leads him to Jango to meet on one of the moons of Bogden. (This was mentioned in “Attack of the Clones” and seen in both the “Star Wars: Bounty Hunter” video game from 2002 written by Jon Knoles and the comic book “Age of Republic: Jango Fett” from 2019 written by Jody Houser).

Star Wars: Age of Republic Jango Fett #1

Boba Fett was not part of Dooku’s plans however, and yet Palpatine, being the evil mastermind he was, was able to incorporate and factor Boba Fett into his grand scheme. “Everything is going as planned,” said Sidious. Then again, maybe Boba wasn’t part of the plan. The Empire eventually got frustrated with the clones, not having realized their hidden paternal trait — something that especially irritated the imperial Dr. Royce Hemlock on “The Bad Batch” series. While Palpatine realized orphans made for dangerous men, he may have unwisely dismissed the innate need for family that even “the last of the Mandalorians” would feel.

Star Wars: Age of Republic Jango Fett #1

With all that being said, “Canon” has left some mystery to why Jango Fett decided to have a clone son named Boba. Was it his friend Aurra Sing’s casual suggestion that implanted the idea? Maybe it’s because he was a Mandalorian Foundling, looking to start a “Clan of Two” — like Clan Mudhorn, aka The Mandalorian and Grogu? In a way Jango and Boba are the original clan of two, except it ended prematurely for them. The direction George Lucas gave was simple enough – the father/son dynamic, the bounty hunter angle, and the clone angle. The clone angle is really the most unique aspect here because it begs the question of why have a clone son, rather than a non-clone son/daughter — like Boba had in “Legends?” And then on top of that, why raise him up in such a dangerous setting, living on a planet of water and storms? Was that part of the training, to get Boba used to a harsh environment? Or was it just because there was no other choice? This is where the contradiction lies: the “simple man” is awfully complicated. It’s hard to be simple in a complex universe, in a dangerous galaxy. The lives of Jango and Boba were anything but simple.

Perhaps Jango Fett had so much faith in his genes and abilities that a clone of himself was the logical ideal choice for a son. It was a guarantee that his Fett legacy would live on, beyond the clone army that shared his face. Had Boba Fett been more fortunate enough to have a mother, it would have been much harder for Jango to get away with pushing Boba towards the bounty hunter life. As an orphan and Mandalorian foundling who had to struggle to survive at a young age, he would have felt comfortable leaning Boba towards dangerous situations because his confidence and faith in Boba would be as high as his own self-confidence and pride in ability.

Let’s say, hypothetically speaking, Jango had a son or daughter with someone in his line of work like Aurra Sing or Zam Wesell. There is no guarantee that the offspring lives up to Jango Fett’s reputation, even with the appropriate training – or had he adopted a foundling. Through Cloner Technology of the Kaminoans, Jango Fett was able to achieve something special that he only otherwise could have been done through some convergence of Force Magic/Magick — and dark sorcery, to reference “The Acolyte,” which of course isn’t his thing. It’s understandable why he would take an opportunity of a lifetime, making what he saw as the perfect son. Jango Fett was an honorable man, even to pirates. While pirates tend to put money above all, Jango deep down under the hard armored exterior was a caring person. I think we can conclusively say that Jango cared more about Boba than he did about wealth or revenge on the Jedi.

But wealth was part of it too. Boba Fett does not exist as a clone without his father’s love of money. Boba similarly inherited that love of credits as well, working for the top gangsters of his time, including Darth Vader, the right hand man of the Emperor. After obtaining much wealth he eventually reached an epiphany, just like his father: there is more to life. When Jango turned his life around, he soon thereafter lost his life in the war orchestrated by the very Sith that chose to copy him to make perfect soldiers. Had Jango known the future would be “Clone Wars” — that led to an end of the democratic Republic and the rise of an Empire that dissolved the Senate and threaten whole planets with destruction — would Jango have killed Dooku when he had the chance? Boba Fett similarly was blinded by his own personal feelings and ambitions that he overlooked the bigger picture at times, which one could argue is his one real character flaw. Will it cost Boba Fett his life eventually, as it did his father? And on the opposite side of the fence will we see a similar dynamic with Din Djarin and Grogu where perhaps Din’s fate is not too different than that of Jango and Grogu ends up dealing with the same kind of trauma young Boba felt? Probably not, but it’s fun to think about Jango’s Legacy in Star Wars too. Hopefully the near future will provide even more insight into the life of Jango Fett, the complicated yet simple man from Concord Dawn.

This weekend, Boba Fett Fan Club went to Toy Fair New York, a trade show that brings toy companies and distributors under one roof to show off their latest products. Boba Fett had a big presence at the show – at least in terms of the Gentle Giant Studios booth – but there were lots of other Star Wars goodies, too, so let’s jump in.

Gentle Giant Studios

As I walked the floor Saturday morning, I was shocked to see a giant Kenner-action-figure-style Boba Fett statue at the Gentle Giant Studios booth. This was a fiberglass version of the 3D-printed Boba Fett Life Size Vintage Monument that Gentle Giant released all the way back in 2015 for $2,750. According to the representative at the show, they’re not planning a re-release of the six-foot scale behemoth, but thought it would be cool to bring along. It certainly got my attention, so mission accomplished.

Gentle Giant Ltd. and Diamond Select Toys

Not to be confused with the aforementioned Gentle Giant Studios, which does 3D scanning, prototyping and fabrication, the Gentle Giant Ltd. and Diamond Select Toys booth had a few new Star Wars items on display for the first time, including Jumbo Figures of Darth Vader (First Appearance), IG-12 with Anzellans and IG-12 with Grogu from “The Mandalorian” season three. It was surprising that there were no Boba Fett collectibles in the booth at all, but if you’ve got a craving for Fett, may we suggest their AOTC mini bust or the unhelmeted “The Book Of Boba Fett” (TBOBF) mini bust?

Hasbro

Hasbro invited BFFC to an after-hours fan media event to get an inside look at some of their latest action figures. There were two Boba Fetts on display: The Walmart-exclusive MixMashers “TBOBF” Boba Fett with pieces you can pull apart and recombine to create a Franken-Fett and the Epic World of Action Power the Force figure based on his appearance in “The Mandalorian.” The latter seems to be a rebranded repack of the 2024 Epic Hero four-inch scale figure that includes a giant jetpack with firing rocket and a flamethrower gauntlet. Both of the figures are aimed at a younger demographic (ages four and up), feature fewer points of articulation than Hasbro’s Vintage Collection (TVC) and Black Series figures and come at a cheaper price point.

I’m still hoping we’ll get a more accurate Black Series “TBOBF” figure as the TBOBF-branded version that was released in 2022 seems to be based on Fett’s appearance in “The Mandalorian” season two. Check out our guides on the differences between the “Re-armored” Mando Chapter 15 and  “Daimyo” TBOBF costumes to see the differences.

Also on display were a number of figures previously revealed in the Hasbro Star Wars team’s February 2025 livestream, including those from the Revenge of the Sith 25th Anniversary and Return to Tatooine themes, as well as the new Acolyte Stranger Black Series role play helmet.

Funko and Loungefly

Funko’s booth heavily featured their new Bitty Pop Bitty City line, which have road, scenery and land accessory packs to display your Bitty Pop and Bitty Town collections. The Bitty Pops are only 0.9-inches tall and come in similarly tiny boxes, so these are essentially even smaller versions of a Lego minifigure-scale city. There was a Bitty Pop Luke in his landspeeder driving (or would it be hovering?) down the street tailed by Santa in the Millenium Falcon in Funko’s display city, so we may see Boba in Slave I eventually. You can get the new “The Empire Strikes Back” Fett Bitty Pop figure in a four-pack (available on Amazon and seen in the Death Star display above) and “The Mandalorian” Fett Bitty Pop in another four-pack (also available on Amazon).

The only other Boba Fett I saw in the booth was from 2024’s Pocket Pop Holiday Mini-Figure 4-Pack, which are one-to-two inches tall and not to be confused with the Bitty Pops. As an aside, did you know there are a ton of Pop sizes?

Over the last few months, I’ve noticed a conspicuous lack of Star Wars Loungefly items being released, and when I asked a Funko/Loungefly rep at Toy Fair about it, she said there will be more coming later this year for May the Fourth.

Jazwares Micro Galaxy Squadron

I’ve been loving Jazwares’ Micro Galaxy Squadron line, which has given us three renditions of Slave I so far: Jango Fett’s Starship, Boba Fett’s Starship from TBOBF and Boba Fett’s Starship from ESB, which began arriving from Amazon just last week. You can check out our 2023 video review of the first two. Boba has also been released in the Clash at Carkoon Battle Pack and as a Nikto Speeder Chase variant.

Jazwares had no Boba Fett reveals at Toy Fair, but they did show off new ARC-170 and TIE/rp Reaper attack lander ships.

Paladone

Paladone makes licensed fandom products and had a number of Star Wars options on display in their booth. I reviewed their Boba Fett Diorama Light back in 2022 – it holds an honorary place on my desk – but there are a lot more lighting options where that came from. Their 48-inch tall and 10-inch wide half-scale Death Star panel lights (available at Entertainment Earth) can change color and react to music, although at $149.99 for one panel, decking out a whole room with them would require a significant investment. Paladone’s Millennium Falcon and X-Wing desk lights were also on display, and I think a Slave I version would be neat to see in the future.

Their 4.7” Din Djarin and Grogu holographic laser-etched crystal lights (available on Amazon) at the show would make great night lights; the Paladone rep I spoke to said there was a Boba Fett version that wasn’t on display, but that hasn’t been officially announced, so stay tuned on that.

While I’m iterating on products, a holographic crystal light of a Jango Fett clone in an embryo tube like we saw in “Attack of the Clones” and “The Bad Batch” would be the perfect application for the format, although I highly doubt that will happen because the market for that would essentially just be me.

Metal Earth

There were a few Boba Fett model kits in Metal Earth’s Toy Fair booth this year. I hadn’t seen their TBOBF Slave I kit (although it came out back in 2022), but I had seen the helmet model kit that was on display that came out a few years before that. Be aware that these kits are rated eight out of ten and five out of ten in difficulty, respectfully, so I would recommend trying some easier Metal Earth kits before tackling these.

Just Play

Disney’s Star Wars Doorables get in on the chibi blind box craze, and a display at Just Play’s Toy Fair booth featured the tiny figures and vehicles of the Galactic Cruisers Series 2. Thankfully, the Boba Fett with matching deco X-wing variant is considered common among this series, and boxes sporting the barcode ending in “A10” contain the bounty hunter, according to a tip from @darthjaq on Twitter.

Shadow Pop Displays

It’s sometimes difficult for collectors to display all of our figures – there’s only so much shelf space, after all, so the Shadow Pop Displays booth definitely caught my eye. These shadow boxes are made from corrugated cardboard and can be customized with backgrounds like Lego plates or comic covers, as well as acrylic shelves. They’re also relatively inexpensive with a four-pack coming in at $36. The light speed variant would look great with your Star Wars figures.

That’s all for Toy Fair 2025! Let us know if there’s anything that caught your eye from our round-up and follow Boba Fett Fan Club on social to stay up to date on all of the latest Fett collectibles.

Any recent or new Star Wars fans would have a very hard time grasping Boba Fett’s history even if they read his Wookieepedia “Legends” page, and all for one major reason: the retcon of Boba Fett that occurred with “Attack of the Clones.”

Even for us older fans who struggle with remembering how the lore developed into what became “Legends” (aka Expanded Universe) and Canon, you need to time travel in a way to revisit the old stuff. And maybe those who only think of Star Wars as just being about laser swords, blasters, cute puppetry, and CGI, they might not understand why the development of the mythology — and the psychology behind the creative changes — is really at the heart of this passionate fandom.

When I first became a fan in the mid-1990s, there was still a lot of mystery to the character of Boba Fett. The character had been around since the end of the ’70s and yet no one knew where he came from or his true destiny. I was a lot more aware of the Dark Horse Comics version of the character, where Boba was a gritty bounty hunter post-“Return of the Jedi” in comic book stories that had the edge of a Judge Dredd magazine. I also knew of the novels of that time, like the “Tales from Jabba’s Palace” and “Tales of the Bounty Hunters anthologies that added to the events of the original trilogy. And of course the multimedia project of “Shadows of the Empire,” right around the time the Special Editions came about. But what I wasn’t as familiar with were the old Marvel Comics tales of Boba Fett plus Fenn Shysa and Tobbi Dala, and where — outside of George Lucas’ contributions to the character and armor — the roots of Mandalorian lore began there.

In Marvel Comics Star Wars #68 (first on newsstands November 16, 1982), we see Fenn Shysa in the original Mandalorian lore was a Mandalorian Protector (aka Supercommando or Imperial Shocktroopers as noted in Bantha Tracks #5 from 1979) — along with his childhood friend, Tobbi Dala — and Boba Fett, who the chief officer of the group. When Emperor Palpatine formed the Empire he ordered the government of Mandalore to send a small army of 212 Mandalorians to fight on his behalf in The Clone Wars. Details of the original Clone Wars were unclear outside of who won. When they returned to Mandalore, after the war was “won,” they were only three Mandalorians: Fenn, Dala, and Boba. The other 209 Mandalorians were all killed in action. To their disappointment their homeworld had been turned into a slave camp, where people were made slaves (to do hard labor work) and sold off to the Empire. In a blatant act of disrespect to Mandalorian culture the slave distribution center that the slave-master (Suprema, who was chosen by Palpatine himself) used was within the skeletal remains of a Mythosaur creature.

Boba Fett, disenchanted with fighting for others, went independent, leaving Mandalore behind and becoming the elite bounty hunter that first appeared on the Star Wars Holiday Special animation and “The Empire Strikes Back.” Shysa and Dala chose to stay and fight for Mandalore and, with help from Princess Leia (who had been hunting Dengar on Mandalore), they helped liberate the slaves on Mandalore — mostly due to the actions, bravery, and self sacrifice of Shysa’s friend, Tobbi Dala, who blows up the Mythosaur-sized beast.

When Dark Horse Comics started doing Star Wars comics (including having him survive the Sarlacc as seen in Dark Empire #4 in 1992), the detail of Boba Fett being an ex-Mandalorian was changed to him being an ex-Stormtrooper in Dark Empire II #2, released January 24, 1995.

Not long after that in December 1996 that was retconned and Boba Fett became an ex-Journeyman Protector Jaster Mereel, a name coined by author Daniel Keys Moran for his “Tales” stories. (See our interview with him from 2007.) The Journeyman Protector was in a way a conceptual combination of Mandalorian and Stormtrooper. They were the law on Concord Dawn and Boba broke the law by killing a superior officer. Darth Vader cut him a break though and he became the most effective bounty hunter for years.

To be fair about the inconsistency, it was consistently keeping Boba Fett mysterious. It did not really matter a whole lot then if he were a true Mandalorian, a former Stormtrooper, or a journeyman of the law. What we knew about Boba Fett was that he was an elite bounty hunter who didn’t ever show his face, didn’t like taking orders from anyone unless he is getting paid a lot, and looked great in that battle worn metallic armor. That was seemingly enough for a following and cool “Legends” stories but character evolution is a necessary evil and thus comes “Attack of the Clones.”

It was inevitable. The enigmatic Fett needed to be more than just what’s on the surface and — now written by George Lucas instead of “Legends” writers — we got a completely new child version of Boba Fett, without his armor. We also got a surrogate of sorts for what Fenn Shysa and Tobbi Dala were in the Marvel Comics universe with Jango Fett, yet another Boba Fett-ish character, but one with slightly more … authenticity if you will, now that Lucas was directly involved. I would love to say George Lucas read those old Marvel comics and had any of that Mandalorian lore in mind but he probably did not.

With Jango Fett he stuck with the concept that worked: Fett as a mercenary/bounty hunter/assassin type. He had someone with the potential of being the perfect soldier for the Army of the Republic, although George left room for him to be a true Mandalorian as the film first introduced Mando’a, the Mandalorian written language in the Slave I’s cockpit, although I wouldn’t expect most to notice. Since the whole concept of Mandalorians is so engrained in the armor — made famous and pioneered by Boba Fett — it was hard for George Lucas to avoid giving Clone Troopers a helmet design that borrows from the Fett/Mandalorian helmet T-visor design. It was only fitting though, considering “prototype” Boba Fett’s armor in pre-production was originally meant to be special Imperial Commando armor. That was before George Lucas and his team realized it would be too expensive to make an army of Supertroopers and settled on making the armor that of a bounty hunter. From there, we got Boba Fett, the ideas of Mandalorians, Jango Fett, and then the “clone troopers” were born.

While young armor-less Boba Fett (portrayed by Daniel Logan) did not get the immediate attention and adoration that Jeremy Bulloch’s Boba Fett did, Young Boba did provide the character with a tragic background. It humanized the character that was once considered evil — much like how Fenn Shysa attempted to humanize Fett for Leia — and he even showed off some skill like operating Slave I to shoot at a combative Obi-Wan Kenobi.

Despite Jango Fett being a villain like Boba Fett, he was written as a villain with a heart, someone who just wanted to protect his son. George Lucas gave Fett fans a new way to look at the character. Instead of fighting in the Clone Wars on Concord Dawn with other Mandalorians, Boba became a Kamino native who became victim to the Clone Wars, along with his bounty hunter father who spawned the whole clone army. According to bonus feature audio commentary from the film, George Lucas originally considered having Boba Fett as simply a clone who wasn’t the son of Jango that broke away from the army to become a bounty hunter. However, Lucas felt that if Boba saw his father die at the onset of the war fighting Jedi that it would provide Boba further motivation to hate Jedi.

Along with the changes “Attack of the Clones” made also came changes to the history of characters like Boba Fett, Fenn Shysa, and others. After Jango Fett many more Mandalorians were created in the 21st century, along with notable Clones too. Boba Fett’s Mandalorian past was erased and remade into a Mandalorian future as written in several stories Karen Traviss (see our interview with her from 2006), while Jango Fett was given a Mandalorian past in works like “Open Seasons” comic written by Haden Blackman and the “Bounty Hunter” video game written/directed by Jon Knoles. (See our interview with him from 2024.)

Later, George Lucas provided his own vision of Mandalorians within “The Clone Wars” animated series. Fast forward even more and Jon Favreau with Dave Filoni created another version of Mandalorians (“The Way”/Children of the Watch). Ironically while Boba Fett prior to “Attack of the Clones” never removed his helmet, Jango Fett from the start had no issues holding his helmet by his side, a trend that continued in “The Clone Wars” animated series and it’s follow-up series. Eventually Boba himself took on the habit (on “The Book of Boba Fett,” but only after spending time with the Tuskens; whereas characters like Din Djarin, Armorer, and Paz Vizsla represent the way Boba Fett was written prior to the invention of Jango Fett, like in “Twin Engines of Destruction” (written by Andy Mangels). And lastly, Jaster Mereel became an actual character: Jaster became the Mandalorian who adopted the Concord Dawn native Jango Fett and made him a foundling.

While some criticize “Attack of the Clones,” most of the criticism really isn’t even on the retcon of Boba Fett — but that’s something to talk about another time. Most Star Wars fans enjoy Temuera Morrison as Jango and Daniel Logan as Young Boba Fett. Over time, fans have embraced George’s revision and the influence it has had on modern works. We can only to see more of them in Star Wars in the near future.

With just a comic mini series and a ton of collectibles boosting Fett fandom this year, we hit 188,533 followers this year when counting our website’s memberships alongside our Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, Tumblr, and Threads. (That’s also not counting our effort on up-and-comer platform Bluesky and we’re still test driving Mastodon and TikTok.)

Here’s a recap of our most popular content from January 1 to today, December 31.

Facebook | Instagram | BFFC News | YouTube | Twitter

If all social platforms were awesome, we could compare all things on the same metric, but unfortunately some stats we can get with ease are based on impressions/views and others are based on likes, the latter of which of course are harder to earn. We’ve noted that alongside each data set below.

Facebook

Here are our top 10 posts based on all of the year’s content, which clocked in 458,471 engagements (which Facebook boils together as Reactions, Comments and Shares) on Facebook, where we currently have over 79,045 fans:

#10: Same energy … #BobaFett #YusufDikec #StarWars #Olympics
6,613 engagements since 8/1

#9: #StarWars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones opened in theaters 22 years ago today
8,590 engagements since 5/16

#8: “Did you miss me?” – Jango Fett … Throwback to this 2002 TV spot for the original #StarWars: Bounty Hunter game by LucasArts, which we properly upscaled to 1080p back in 2016
8,969 engagements since 8/9

#7: Happy birthday to #BobaFett fan, Hayden Christensen!
10,923 engagements since 4/19

#6: On this day in 1978, the all-white “Prototype” #BobaFett costume was given a screen test plus formal introduction
10,953 engagements since 6/28

#5: Temuera Morrison and Daniel Logan doing Maori haka at the recent Osaka Comic Con in Japan
16,530 engagements since 5/8

#4: Happy #BobaFett Day! Boba Fett’s animated debut was in the “Star Wars Holiday Special,” released on this day in 1978
19,440 engagements since 11/17

#3: Happy birthday to #TheEmpireStrikesBack, released on this day 44 years ago in 1980!
25,784 engagements since 5/21

#2: Happy 22nd anniversary to the best sound effect ever – the seismic charge
28,709 engagements since 5/16

#1: “On the May 22 episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live!, guest Patton Oswalt says Jon Favreau told him he intentionally referenced the famous Parks and Recreation filibuster scene for a moment in “”The Book of Boba Fett””
36,902 engagements since 5/26

Stats pulled from Meta Business Suite (aka business.facebook.com) > Content > Export (button at the top) > Facebook > pull every 3 months (the max they allow) and merge the data in a spreadsheet…

Instagram

Out of the 181,373 likes on our 2024 posts, here were our top 10 posts based on likes in 2024 on Instagram, which has leveled off now to 38.6k followers:

#10: Happy birthday to #TheEmpireStrikesBack, released on this day 44 years ago in 1980!
1,316 likes since 5/21

#9: After the Polynesian Spa, #BobaFett goes for a run, greets a local fan in his district
1,457 likes since 1/29

#8: Since it’s been out for over two weeks now, let’s talk about that #BobaFett cameo in #StarWarsOutlaws
1,530 likes since 9/13

#7: Mando bros #BobaFett and #DinDjarin in the season one finale of #TheBookOfBobaFett, which premiered two years ago today on Disney
1,535 likes since 2/9

#6: “Did you miss me?” – Jango Fett … Throwback to this 2002 TV spot for the original #StarWars: Bounty Hunter game by LucasArts, which we properly upscaled to 1080p back in 2016
1,632 likes since 8/9

#5: On the May 22 episode of @JimmyKimmelLive, guest @PattonOswalt says Jon Favreau told him he intentionally referenced the famous Parks and Recreation filibuster scene for a moment in “The Book of Boba Fett”
1,829 likes since 5/26

#4: For Valentine’s Day today, share one thing you love about #BobaFett
1,841 likes since 2/14

#3: RIP James Earl Jones, the original trilogy voice for Darth Vader
1,858 likes since 9/9

#2: @Tem_Morrison and @InstaDanielLogan doing Maori haka at the recent Osaka Comic Con in Japan
2,218 likes since 5/9

#1: Happy #BobaFett Day! … Boba Fett’s animated debut was in the “Star Wars Holiday Special,” released on this day in 1978
3,026 likes since 11/17

Stats pulled from topnine.co for the top 9 and/or use this to get the 10th or more: Meta Business Suite (aka business.facebook.com) > Content > Export (button at the top) > Instagram > pull every 3 months (the max they allow) and merge the data in a spreadsheet…

BFFC News

Our News section has added more contributors and variety of contributions. From the 26 articles we published in 2024, these articles caught the most views.

#10: Review: “Star Wars: Jango Fett #2”
236 unique views since 4/30, written by Gustavo Perez

#9: Review: “Star Wars Insider Presents: The Mandalorian Collection”
269 unique views since 2/18, written by Gustavo Perez

#8: SDCC 2024: Guide for Boba Fett Fans
277 unique views since 7/17, written by Aaron Proctor

#7: Why “The Book of Boba Fett” Needs a Revision – And a Renewal
320 unique views since 10/24, written by Mosh Babilonia

#6: Exclusive Interview with Boba Fett Stuntman Eyad Elbitar
377 unique views since 3/26, written by Chelsey B. Coombs

#5: 2024 Black Friday / Cyber Monday Star Wars Sales Featuring Boba Fett
605 unique views since 11/22, written by Aaron Proctor

#4: What Fans Can Find in “Star Wars Outlaws”
612 unique views since 8/26, written by Aaron Proctor

#3: Review: “Star Wars: Bounty Hunter” Enhanced Edition
636 unique views since 8/5, written by Gustavo Perez

#2: Star Wars Day 2024: Guide for Boba Fett Fans
721 unique views since 5/2, written by Aaron Proctor

#1: What Temuera Morrison Actually Said at Fan Expo Chicago 2024
2,671 unique views since 8/19, written by Aaron Proctor

Stats pulled from our Google Analytics (GA4), using Engagement > Pages and screens > filtering by /news/, and then remove any non-2024 matches.

YouTube

We just hit 7,650 subscribers now on YouTube, which has 192 videos now.

#10: SDCC 2024: Day 3
141 views since 7/28, by Chelsey B. Coombs and Aaron Proctor

#9: SDCC 2024: Day 4
158 views since 7/28, by Chelsey B. Coombs and Aaron Proctor

#8: SDCC 2024: Day 2
180 views since 7/26, by Chelsey B. Coombs and Aaron Proctor

#7: 10 Years of Daily Fett
190 views since 3/11

#6: SDCC 2024: Day 1
215 unique views since 7/25, by Chelsey B. Coombs and Aaron Proctor

#5: SDCC 2024: Our Exclusive Interview with Hasbro
222 unique views since 7/31, by Chelsey B. Coombs and Aaron Proctor

#4: Tribute to Boba Fett Stuntman Bob Yerkes
246 views since 10/2

#3: The Book of Boba Fett: Special Edition (Teaser Trailer)
430 views since 4/1 (April Fool’s Day)

#2: Review: “The Vintage Collection” Deluxe Jango Fett from “Attack of the Clones”
1,025 views since 6/12, by Chelsey B. Coombs

#1: How Patton Oswalt Influenced “The Book of Boba Fett”
11,180 views since 5/29

Twitter

Since Elon blocked the free access to analytics.twitter.com, we can no longer report on our “best of” here.

###

What were your highlights in BFFC coverage this year? Let us know in the comments so we can do more of that — as you wish.

Curious what made the cut in prior years? See 2023, 2022, 2021, and 2020. (Our news coverage also goes all the way back to 1998.)