The STAR WARS Antiquary
Untangling Boba Fett: Consolidating and Analysing the Contradictory Accounts of the Man in the Mandalorian Armour
Introduction
Timeline
Conceptual Origins: Early 1978
The first draft of the then untitled Star Wars sequel, written by Leigh Brackett in 1977 based on a treatment by George Lucas. makes no mention of Boba Fett or bounty-hunters of any kind. By the time of the second draft in 1978, Fett appears in a form essentially identical to that in the final film, but the character did not spring fully-formed from the mind of George Lucas during the writing of said draft; rather, Fett had his origins in concept-art from Ralph McQuarrie and Joe Johnston for a commander of the Imperial snowtroopers.
Initial sketches resembled a cross between the common snowtrooper uniform and a samurai, but this design quickly morphed into an armoured flight-suit bristling with gadgets. This design was dubbed the "super trooper" by McQuarrie and Johnston. Evidently, George Lucas quite liked this design, and expanded the concept into an entire army of elite Imperial soldiers who were to feature in the Star Wars sequel. Like many of his more fantastic ideas for the Original Trilogy, Lucas's initial concept was tempered by budget-constraints. According to Johnston "...it turned out they didn't quite have the budget for an army of super troopers".
Empire Strikes Back script, second draft: April 1978
While the expense of an army of super troopers was too prohibitive to realise in film, Lucas liked the design enough to reincorporate into the second draft of the Star Wars sequel, by this time titled The Empire Strikes Back, recontextualised not as an elite Imperial soldier, but as a grizzled bounty-hunter named Boba Fett. In the script he is described thus:
"BOBA FETT, a man in a weapon-covered armored space suit."
Due to the brevity of description, there is little to be said. That Fett's panoply is explicitly a pressurised space-suit is interesting, very much in-keeping with the gasmask-helmets of Darth Vader and the Stormtrooper corps; remnants of early drafts of Star Wars: A New Hope in which exo-atmopsheric boarding-actions featured more prominently.
Star Wars Holiday Special: 17 November, 1978
The oft-maligned blacksheep of Star Wars live-action, the Star Wars Holiday Special aired on the Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) to near-universal derision; a perfectly reasonable reaction as the 2-hour variety show is an incoherent, incompetent mess. The animated segment of the special entitled "The Faithful Wookie", however, was received more fondly by audiences. In-contrast to the mundane main program, the cartoon was a proper space-operatic adventure in the same spirit as the 1977 film, with charming animation styled after the fabulous artwork of science-fiction cartoonist and illustrator Jean Giraud (which is fitting, as Giraud's art had considerable influence on the concept-art of the Original Trilogy). However, the cartoon's greatest claim-to-fame, and its reason for inclusion in this chronology, is that "The Faithful Wookie" was Boba Fett's narrative debut.
In "The Faithful Wookie", Rebel command has lost contact with Han Solo and his first-mate Chewbacca after the twain went off in search of a mysterious Talisman which has the alleged ability to turn its user invisible (this ability is never mentioned again; Chekov would be pissed). Thus, Luke Skywalker sets off in a Y-Wing to look for them, bringing C-3PO and R2-D2 along for the ride.
They crash-land on the mud-world of Panna, where they are accosted by a great beast resembling a Hawkinian plesiosaur, which begins to rip apart their starship. This is where Boba Fett comes into the picture. Riding atop a beast resembling a Knightian diplodocoid, Fett uses a pronged instrument to fire some sort of energy-beam at the pseudo-plesiosaur, appalling it back into the pink mire whence it came. Luke thanks his mysterious, helmeted saviour, introductions are made, and Fett offers to help Luke locate the Millennium Falcon.
During this exchange, Fett makes a remark about his mount's species "all they do is eat." Luke offers food to the beast, which promptly frets all his rations in a single bite. In response, Fett says the following:
"You are foolish to waste your kindness on this dumb creature. No lower lifeform is worth going hungry for, friend."
Fett does not appear to be much of an animal lover.
An indeterminate amount of time later, they locate the Falcon, half-submerged in mud. Within the ship, Han Solo hangs unconscious from a cord while Chewbacca, Talisman in hand, opens the Falcon's garbage-disposal/incinerator. Luke rushes to stop the wookie, but collapses, and Chewbacca disposes of the Talisman. Following close behind Luke, Fett ensnares Chewbacca with his ripcord demanding to know what he did to Luke. With translation via C-3PO, the wookie explains that Han and Luke have been infected by an Imperial sleeping-virus. Why the Talisman was impregnated with the sleeping-virus, why the Empire has a sleeping-virus, and why the Rebels wanted this Talisman at all is never explained.
It is mentioned that the sleeping-virus specifically effects humans, but Fett remains unafflicted, and this might at first seem puzzling. However, Fett does not enter the room until after the Talisman has been destroyed. Additionally, he wears a pressurised, armoured suit which would no doubt protect him from airborne pathogens.
Fortunately for our heroes, Fett knows of an antidote to the Imperial sleeping-virus which is sold in a nearby city. One wipe-transition later, Fett arrives at the city and purchases the antidote, but before returning to the Falcon, he finds a video-call console, using it to contact none other than Darth Vader. Plot-twist, Fett was working for the Empire the entire time! How and why the equivalent of a pay-phone can be used to contact high-ranking military officials is never addressed.
Fortunately for our heroes, Fett knows of an antidote to the Imperial sleeping-virus which is sold in a nearby city. One wipe-transition later, Fett arrives at the city and purchases the antidote, but before returning to the Falcon, he finds a video-call console, using it to contact none other than Darth Vader. Plot-twist, Fett was working for the Empire the entire time! How and why the equivalent of a pay-phone can be used to contact high-ranking military officials is never addressed.
The communication between Fett and Vader is thus:
Fett: "I have made contact with the Rebels, and all is proceeding as you wish, Darth Vader."
Vader: "Good work. But I want the alive. Now that you've got their trust, they may take you to their new base."
Fett: "This time we'll get them all!"
Vader: "I see why they call you 'The best bounty hunter in the Galaxy'."
That Fett addresses him as "Darth Vader" is noteworthy. Imperial officers always deferently address him as "Lord Vader". Obi-Wan Kenobi just calls him Darth; back when the character's actual name was Darth Vader, and now that "darth" is understood to be a title, Kenobi was deliberately refusing to address Vader with respect, the same way someone trying to belittle another might use a childhood pet name instead of one's full name or surname. With this in-mind, Fett's manner of addressing Vader, and Vader's lack of indignation thereof suggests an air of familiarity. Of course, this was most likely just an error on the part of the screenwriter; Lucas only wrote the initial treatment of the cartoon, and had no input on the final script.
More interesting is Fett's line "This time we'll get them all!" if Fett is merely a bounty-hunter with no stake in this conflict but the coin paid in-exchange for his services, it seems strange that Fett would make an exclamation with such jubilance at the thought of the Rebels' destruction. And why would he say "we"? This suggests nothing more than that Fett supports the Empire in a general sense, but it is an early piece of evidence which counters the belief amongst certain Star Wars enthusiasts that, had the Rebels the coin, Fett would have just as happily fought for their cause as he did for the Empire. This particular subject will be discussed at greater length later.
Unfortunately for the Imperials, R2-D2 accidentally intercepts this transmission, showing how logically absurd it is that an important military communication was transcieved via payphone, and Fett's true colours are betrayed.
Returning with the antidote, Fett cures Han and Luke of their ailment, and only then do the droids reveal Fett's affiliation with the Empire, forcing the bounty-hunter to escape, remarking "We'll meet again, friend" before jetting away.
Boba Fett, as depicted in the Star Wars Holiday Special, is a grim, duplicitous bounty-hunter with pro-Empire sentiments. No reference is made to super troopers, but that is hardly surprising for a nine-minute cartoon produced with limited Lucasfilm involvement. Funnily enough, Fett has more lines and screentime in this cartoon than in the entirety of the Original Trilogy.
Bantha Tracks #5: Summer 1979
Published several months after the airing of the Star Wars Holiday Special the previous November, this article from the official Star Wars fan magazine of the time provided the first insight into the character beyond his brief appearance in the aforementioned special:
"Not much is known about Boba Fett. He wears part of the uniform of the Imperial Shocktroopers, warriors from the olden time. Shocktroopers came from the far side of the galaxy and there aren't many of them left. They were wiped out by the Jedi Knights during the Clone Wars. Whether he was a shocktrooper or not is unknown. He is the best bounty hunter in the galaxy, and cares little for whom he works — as long as they pay."
Boba Fett as described in this article is a cutthroat mercenary in the Empire's employ. However, some tantalising new information is also revealed. Fett's armoured space-suit is identified as the uniform of an Imperial Shocktrooper; their particular role is not elaborated, but based on Boba Fett's notoriety as the "best bounty hunter in the galaxy", combined with the arsenal bristling from Shocktrooper battle-armour, it seems reasonable to assume they were elite troops.
Mention of the Clone Wars is notable. This was decades before the Prequel Trilogy explored the conflict in-depth. Back in 1979, the Clone Wars were little more than an offhand remark by Obi-Wan Kenobi. Superfans were aching to know more about this mysterious war, and any vague reference to the Clone Wars was another brief glimpse into the unknown backstory of the Saga. Naturally, this led to a trend in Expanded Universe material wherein describing something being "from the Clone Wars" was shorthand for it being old, mysterious, and often quite powerful. Anyone who has read one of the Bantam Spectra Star Wars novels should be able to think of at least one example.
According to this article, the shocktroopers were "wiped out by the Jedi Knights", but clearly they cannot be totally extinguished if "there aren't many of them left", implying at least more than three not only survived the onslaught but are still alive as of the events of The Empire Strikes Back. It is also notable that Boba Fett's affiliation with the shocktroopers is left vague; this will become a trend.
Being a fan magazine article from 1979, it is hardly an authoritative resource; however, this article references the original backstory for Fett which had been developed by Lucas, McQuarrie and Johnston, suggesting they had access to certain insider-information. Prior to an interview Johnston did in 2021 for Star Wars.com, this article was the most extensive published record of Fett's original backstory, and by-far the earliest. Interestingly, this article calls the elite Imperial soldiers "shocktroopers" rather than "super troopers"; a major improvement in my mind. Not only is "shocktrooper" a real word which actually means something, it is also far less ridiculous than "super trooper".
Starlog #31: February 1980
The next fan magazine to write an article on Fett would be Starlog, which had this to say about the bounty-hunter:
“Another of the new characters has the evil-smelling name of Boba Fett. They say he’ll rival Darth Vader for sheer terrorism. Apparently, he’s a remnant of the old Imperial Shocktroopers — who once made the Stormtroopers look like school-crossing guards. Then others say: No, he was never a Shocktrooper; he has merely adopted their uniform as a symbol of his nefarious purpose.”
The ambiguity of Fett's association to the shocktroopers remains, along with explicit confirmation of the shocktroopers' elite status. That they made the stormtroopers look like "school-crossing guards" might not sound very impressive at first-glance, considering their reputation for incompetence and poor marksmanship in the public consciousness. However, this is revisionist history which does not reflect what is actually depicted in the films.
Despite what decades of inaccurate pop-cultural osmosis would have one to believe, Imperial stormtroopers as they appeared in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope were far from bumbling goons but were efficient, elite soldiers. Obi-Wan Kenobi's assertion that "only Imperial stormtroops are so precise" is not an example of telling without showing. In the opening scene of the film, stormtroopers efficiently neutralise the Rebel threat with minimal casualties, executing their boarding action with almost implausible competence. The supposed incompetence of stormtroopers on the Death Star is explained in the film as a deliberate ploy. It is made explicitly clear that the Empire let the Falcon escape for the purpose of tracking it back to the hidden Rebel Base. The succeeding films in the trilogy provide more evidence for stormtrooper competence, but since these films were not released at the time of this article's publishing, they have no bearing on the author's implication when comparing shocktroopers to stormtroopers. With this context in-mind, the comparison to crossing guards, therefore, is not for the disparagement of stormtroopers, but for the elevation of the shocktrooper to mythic status.
As an additional note, "shocktrooper" and "stormtrooper" are synonyms; both describe (in real military terminology) specialist infantry used to lead assaults, and clear trenches. Both are also calques of the German words Stoßtrupp "shove troopers", and Sturmtruppen "storm troopers" respectively*. Whether or not this was intentional on the part of Lucas or anyone else, I cannot say, but I thought it at least worth mentioning.
⸻
*Note that in the original German, the terms referred to types of unit, not to the individuals thereof. A similar confusion arose when the Dutch word Kommando was loaned into English as "commando".
The Empire Strikes Back (Novelisation): April 1980
Released one month before the premier of the film itself, the novelisation of The Empire Strikes Back alludes to the super trooper origins of Boba Fett:
"A human bounty hunter, Fett was known for his extremely ruthless methods. He was dressed in a weapon-covered, armored spacesuit, the kind worn by a group of evil warriors defeated by the Jedi Knights during the Clone Wars" (pg. 127).
This passage was the first official Lucasfilm publication to mention the super soldiers and their defeat at the hands of the Jedi during the Clone Wars, as opposed to unofficial fan magazines. Interestingly, the novel does not call them "super troopers" or "shocktroopers", and does not even mention any affiliation to the Empire, instead they are simply described as "evil warriors". Unbeknownst to anyone at the time, and unappreciated by almost everyone thereafter, this represents a paradigm shift, the effects of which will be examine later. The ambiguity of Fett's affiliation to the warriors whose armour he wears remains.
The Empire Strikes Back: May 6, 1980
F
Marvel Comics Star Wars Issue #68: February 1983
Following Han Solo's capture by Boba Fett, Princess Leia set off on a mission to find and intercept the bounty-hunter before he can deliver Solo into the hands of the nefarious gangster Jabba the Hutt. To achieve this goal, Leia first seeks out Fett's fellow bounty-hunter and ex-partner Dengar, hoping the cyborg would be bitter enough following Fett's betrayal to help them find Boba Fett and foil his plans.
Flying in a Y-Wing, Leia and C-3PO arrive at Dengar's last known location; the planet Mandalore. Upon landing in the dense, untamed Mandalorian jungle, they encounter a band of slavers moving their newest chattel. Suddenly, guerrillas leap from the bush, and a skirmish breaks out between the guerrillas and the slavers. In the midst of this combat, "the leader of the attacking horde swoops onto the scene...looking for all the world like Boba Fett!"
The guerrillas manage to defeat the slavers, emancipating the chattel from their thralldom. With the battle over, Leia confronts the man in the weapon-covered, armored spacesuit. When she addresses him as Boba Fett, the man laughs and removes his helmet, introducing himself as Fenn Shysa. The guerillas, their newly-freed comrades, and Leia retreat to the guerrilla's hideout, where Shysa explains the situation further:
"Long years ago...I was part of a group o' supercommandos charged with the ultimate protection of Mandalore. It was a job I was proud of, but when Palpatine made his move to set up a Galactic Empire, the government o' Mandalore sent us inta the Clone Wars on the Emperor's side...At any rate, the War was finally won--but at a terrible cost. Of two hundred an' twelve Mandalorian Protectors what went inta the battle, only three survived. Our chief officer, who'd become disenchanted with fightin' fer other people, set off on his own an' ended up the canniest bounty hunter in the known worlds. That o' course, was Boba Fett."
While at first glance this humble little comic from the early 1980s might not seem that significant, but its profound impact on future Star Wars media can hardly be understated. In a single two-page spread, it revealed more about Boba Fett as a character than two movies, an animated short, two novelisations, and several fan magazine articles did over the course of five years. With a single word, this humble little comic introduced ideas to the Star Wars universe which would influence and spawn dozens of works in the following decades: "Mandalore". To the best of my knowledge, this comic was the first use of the words "Mandalore" and "Mandalorian". It does not appear in any script-draft for The Empire Strikes Back, or Return of the Jedi, it is not mentioned in any of the fan magazine articles; from what Johnston said in an interview with Star Wars.com, it seems the term did not originate from Lucasfilm at all. To think that the name of that race of warriors which has become such an iconic feature of the Star Wars expanded universe was invented, probably on a whim, by some Marvel Comic writer for a random issue of a tie-in comic run in the early 1980s is surprising to say the least.
But I digress. What about our understanding of Boba Fett has changed as a result of this comic? The super troopers cum shocktroopers have now become supercommandos, and it is this name which endure henceforth. The "evil warriors" have been identified as the Mandalorians, and their home on the far side of the Galaxy identified as Mandalore. Fett's "weapon-covered, armored spacesuit" is now identified as supercommando battle-armour, the uniform of the Mandalorian Protectors. Fett's affiliation to the "evil warriors" has been disambiguated, and not only was he part of their ranks, he was their chief officer.
This comic gives Fett more depth than either film or the cartoon ever gave, without him ever actually making an appearance. That Fett once fought in defence of his homeworld, an became a bounty-hunter only after the death of his comrades almost to the man left him disillusioned makes him seem like a far more complex and human character than the cutthroat presented elsewhere.
In addition, this comic introduces two new supercommando characters in the persons of Fenn Shysa and Tobbi Dala. That these characters exist at all is surprising; media publish before and after this comic portrayed Boba Fett as a mysterious loner who wears the armour of an equally mysterious, extinct warrior-race. But this humble comic published before Return of the Jedi even premiered, rips away the veil of mystery which cloaked Fett, and presented that warrior race as not only a living, personable population, but as loveable hicks.
Those ancient warriors described with such mystique in those fan magazines were in fact rustic guerrillas who spoke with thick brogues, lived in woodland huts, and spoke openly of their fraternal love. And it was from this stock that the infamous bounty-hunter hailed; for all his grim demeanour and ruthless reputation, Boba Fett was ultimately just a hick himself.
Return of the Jedi: May 25, 1983
F
Droids Episode 4 "A Race to the Finish": September 28, 1985
Some stuff happens in this dogshit show.
Star Wars Galaxy Guide #3: 1989
The Last One Standing - The Tale of Boba Fett: December 1996
Boba Fett - Twin Engines of Destruction: July 1996
The Han Solo Trilogy Volume II – The Hutt Gambit: August 11, 1997
Sci-Fi Invasion! #2: 1997
The Bounty Hunter Wars I – The Mandalorian Armor: June 1998
" Of all the sensory data he had ever experienced, from the acrid steam of the Andoan swamp islands to the blinding creation-swirl of the Vinnax system's countervacuum, those molecules signalling panic and desperation were what Fett found to be the most alien. Whatever minute subcutaneous organ produced fear sweat, it was missing in him. Not because he had been born without it — no sentient creature ever was — but because he had forced it into nonexistence, excised it from his mind with the razor-sharp scalpel of his will. The ancient Mandalorian warriors, whose lethal battle-gear he wore, had been just as coldly ruthless, according to the legends that were still told and retold in whispers throughout the galaxy. Long ago, when he had first gazed upon one of their empty helmets, a relic of an extinguished terror, he had seen in its narrow, unreadable gaze an image of his own future, of the death-bringing entity he would become." (pg. 79)
The Bounty Hunter Wars II – Slave Ship: October 1998
The Bounty Hunter Wars III – Hard Merchandise: 8 July, 1999
Outbid But Never Outgunned: 7 March, 2001
This comic featured in Star Wars Tales 7 introduces the character Sintas Vel, whom Fett once loved, and with whom he once begat a child (established in later material as a daughter named Ailyn Vel). This comic contradicts The Last Man Standing, which establishes Fett to be a virgin.
Attack of the Clones (Novelisation): April 23, 2002
Attack of the Clones: May 16, 2002
Jango Fett - Open Seasons: April-July 2002
After the many continuity issues introduced by Attack of the Clones, Open Seasons makes a valiant attempt to disambiguate things. The comic establishes Jango Fett as being the son of a Journeyman Protector from Concord Dawn. Jaster Mereel is reintroduced as a distinct character; the leader of the True Mandalorian Supercommandos. Mereel was once a Journeyman Protector, and friend of Fett senior before being exiled for the murder of a corrupt officer. Open Seasons corroborates earlier sources which mention the defeat of the Mandalorians at the hands of the Jedi. It is noteworthy that Dooku calls Jango "the last of the Mandalorians!". Considering that Silas was still alive mere days before Dooku made this statement, it is reasonable to imagine some other True Mandalorians survived the massacre at Galidraan, in addition to the remnants of Death Watch, but the Mandalorians are clearly near extinction and very rare.