Legends Why Boba Fett?

[Horhey]

Breaking News: Boba Fett Is Dumb
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^^
That about sums up the sentiments of the segment of Star Wars fans who are immune to Boba Fett's charms. Plenty more can be found. The standard line is, "he doesn't do anything" and "he got killed by a blind man". So then the question that always follows is, "why is Boba Fett so popular?" The answer surmised by the same crowd: "he has cool looking armor" so that must be why. Could that really be the only reason?

No, not for me anyways. The key word is "subtlety". What can be inferred from the limited screen time he had in the OT.

1. His armor and weaponry is suggestive of something (but what could it be?)

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Nuff' said.

2. The Slave 1

All right. Next..

3. "No disintegrations"

That statement clearly suggests this guy is bad ass. His hands were constrained as far as engaging Han Solo & co in combat. If Vader had wanted them dead, Fett would've confronted them himself.

4. He outwits Han Solo

Boba Fett was the only one who knew the Millennium Falcon was attached to the Star Destroyer. How did he figure it out? That's a special kind of experience.

5. He's not intimidated by Darth Vader

He confronts Vader and objects to his torturing of Han Solo, thinking that it might kill him. He does not fear the Dark Lord.

Boba Fett: "What if he doesn't survive? He's worth a lot to me?"

Darth Vader respects Boba Fett. Otherwise, he would've bullied him.

 

[Horhey]

6. He brazenly defies Darth Vader

Even after Vader already told him that he wanted Leia & co "alive", Fett still attempted to kill Chewbacca and would've done so had Vader not stopped him. He doesn't care.

Boba Fett Detects Luke Skywalker in Episode V

[YT]N3fdWyepMWk[/YT]

Watch closely. Fett hears Luke draw his gun.

Fett fires his weapon at Luke while knowing full well that Vader wants to capture him alive. He doesn't care. Luke was too close.

8. He was accidentally killed, not defeated straight up

But why was he killed in this way? Some say its "proof" that he's a garbage character. Well, George Lucas may have provided the answer in the ROTJ DVD commentary:

George Lucas - Fettpedia - Boba Fett Fan Club

[Boba Fett] seems like an all powerful character, except he gets killed ... And now that his history has been told in the first trilogy, y'know, it makes it even more of a misstep that we wouldn't make more out of the event of his defeat, because most people don't believe he died anyway.

I'd contemplated putting in that extra shot in where he climbs out of the hole, but y'know I figure that's . . . it doesn't quite fit, in the end.

And if he's so weak, why didn't Luke just kill him like all the other minions? What if there was no interference when Boba Fett and Luke were fighting?

Boba Fett vs deformed clone of Galen Marek (Starkiller)

Basically the same sequence as Boba Fett vs Luke Skywalker in ROTJ, minus the interference. Compare:

[YT]v4xKHWQckfI[/YT]

 

[Horhey]

9. He lives!

10. "FEEL THIS".

And that's how its done. What is there not to like?

 

[Horhey]

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[Horhey]

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[Horhey]

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[Lord]

He was wasted in Return of the Jedi, but that film wasn't kind to most character, remember when Chewbacca acted like a wild animal and was easily caught by an obvious Ewok trap? Doesn't make him a bad character, he had already proven himself, the writers were just lazy in that film.

 

[Horhey]

He was wasted in Return of the Jedi, but that film wasn't kind to most character, remember when Chewbacca acted like a wild animal and was easily caught by an obvious Ewok trap? Doesn't make him a bad character, he had already proven himself, the writers were just lazy in that film.

What I explained above is what gave rise to the character as portrayed in the EU. He wouldn't be able to pull it off if he wasn't credible.

 

[Horhey]

Edit....

 

[hellified]

is this it??

I'll repost my rebuttal..

Boba Fett was a one off character who had little effect on the story and DIED in Return Of The Jedi...yes he died, he was supposed to, you know why, because he's just a side character!

I get it, Boba Fett is cool looking, with the helmet and the gear and jet pack, I totally get it, believe me. He's a space bounty hunter for cryin' out loud! If man ever colonizes space, I guarantee you there will be a line around the corner for intergalactic bounty hunter and I'll be at the head of it. I even had the classic Boba Fett poster as a kid. So yes Boba Fett is the man. But that doesn't negate the fact that he was just a side character. His fanboy popularity is the reason Lucas shoehorned him into the prequels and even in that its pretty clear his presence was even more marginal than it was in 4 and 5. Every fan fiction story has Fett surviving the Sarlacc Pit and its so much BS...Fett was not a major character and people need to stop acting every person we see dressed in a cool outfit deserves a back history we need to get into in the story.

The Star Wars nine episode series is about the Skywalker clan. That's it. That's who we focus on, that's who we follow. No Skywalker, no care! Lucas himself established this pattern and theme with 4, 5, and 6. When A New Hope starts off we see Vader and Leia, then we go to Luke, then back to Leia, then Luke again, some stuff with Vader and back to Leia and so it goes. Thats it. We see the same pattern in The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. All the major points of all the films deal with a Skywalker. Getting to Boba Fett, or anyone else not a Skywalker only detracts from their story and stops it from moving forward.

 

[Lord]

I don't think Boba Fett fans think he's a major character, people like him because he was an interesting secondary character. Also, you can give him stories outside the main Episodes, that's what the Anthologies are there for. Rogue One's cast isn't integral to the Skywalker lineage either, but it will be neat to follow their story.

What I explained above is what gave rise to the character as portrayed in the EU. He wouldn't be able to pull it off if he wasn't credible.

Yeah, i agree 100% percent with most of your reasons, the only reason i don't agree with is 8, i think him being killed that way kind of was a stain in his character and the reason so many people find him overrated.

 

[hellified]

I don't think Boba Fett fans think he's a major character, people like him because he was an interesting secondary character. Also, you can give him stories outside the main Episodes, that's what the Anthologies are there for. Rogue One's cast isn't integral to the Skywalker lineage either, but it will be neat to follow their story.



Yeah, i agree 100% percent with most of your reasons, the only reason i don't agree with is 8, i think him being killed that way kind of was a stain in his character and the reason so many people find him overrated.

they wanted him to be a major character in the saga. Just like people are disappointed that captain phasma didn't do anything and are clearly interested in her character.. I sincerely believe its the ONLY reason we see jango fett in the PT to unnecessarily justify boba's existence.

 

[Horhey]

is this it??

I'll repost my rebuttal..

Boba Fett was a one off character who had little effect on the story and DIED in Return Of The Jedi...yes he died, he was supposed to, you know why, because he's just a side character!

I get it, Boba Fett is cool looking, with the helmet and the gear and jet pack, I totally get it, believe me. He's a space bounty hunter for cryin' out loud! If man ever colonizes space, I guarantee you there will be a line around the corner for intergalactic bounty hunter and I'll be at the head of it. I even had the classic Boba Fett poster as a kid. So yes Boba Fett is the man. But that doesn't negate the fact that he was just a side character. His fanboy popularity is the reason Lucas shoehorned him into the prequels and even in that its pretty clear his presence was even more marginal than it was in 4 and 5. Every fan fiction story has Fett surviving the Sarlacc Pit and its so much BS...Fett was not a major character and people need to stop acting every person we see dressed in a cool outfit deserves a back history we need to get into in the story.

The Star Wars nine episode series is about the Skywalker clan. That's it. That's who we focus on, that's who we follow. No Skywalker, no care! Lucas himself established this pattern and theme with 4, 5, and 6. When A New Hope starts off we see Vader and Leia, then we go to Luke, then back to Leia, then Luke again, some stuff with Vader and back to Leia and so it goes. Thats it. We see the same pattern in The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. All the major points of all the films deal with a Skywalker. Getting to Boba Fett, or anyone else not a Skywalker only detracts from their story and stops it from moving forward.

I don't think anyone disputes or cares that he was a side character. And just to be clear, are you referring to the EU as "fan fiction"?

I don't think Boba Fett fans think he's a major character, people like him because he was an interesting secondary character. Also, you can give him stories outside the main Episodes, that's what the Anthologies are there for. Rogue One's cast isn't integral to the Skywalker lineage either, but it will be neat to follow their story.

+1

Yeah, i agree 100% percent with most of your reasons, the only reason i don't agree with is 8, i think him being killed that way kind of was a stain in his character and the reason so many people find him overrated.

I think you could look at #8 either way. But if he had been defeated straight up like the others, he would not be what he is today.

 

[hellified]

I don't think anyone disputes or cares that he was a side character. And just to be clear, are you referring to the EU as "fan fiction"?.

people were disappointed with the way he died based on the few scenes we saw him in..and many people over the years talked as if he should have had a bigger role in the OT. Based on what we saw in the OT he was just some random bounty hunter.

Along with Bosk and IG-88 and some other dude. And the only reason fett got as much screen time as he did was because he was clearly the coolest looking of them. IG looks like a statue would be too cumbersome to shoot in moving scenes and Bosk looks fake as hell in a movie with enough muppets and fake looking creatures..otherwise the lines he spoke could have done by anyone of them with similar effect you point out, character who doesn't seem that intimidated by vader.

Again its only fanboy love that made lucas decide to tie his origin in with the PT.

There is no reason for the precursor to boba fett to be involved in that story.

And as for the EU in a sense whether its commissioned by professional writers or some regular person with an idea it is all fan fiction in that it all branches from the source material the OT.

 

[Horhey]

people were disappointed with the way he died based on the few scenes we saw him in..and many people over the years talked as if he should have had a bigger role in the OT. Based on what we saw in the OT he was just some random bounty hunter.

Along with Bosk and IG-88 and some other dude. And the only reason fett got as much screen time as he did was because he was clearly the coolest looking of them. IG looks like a statue would be too cumbersome to shoot in moving scenes and Bosk looks fake as hell in a movie with enough muppets and fake looking creatures..otherwise the lines he spoke could have done by anyone of them with similar effect you point out, character who doesn't seem that intimidated by vader.

Your counter-argument centers on Boba being cool looking, so how he carried himself doesn't count. It doesn't undermine anything. The filmaker's motives are irrelevant. It is what it is.

Again its only fanboy love that made lucas decide to tie his origin in with the PT.

I actually agree with you here. I've always said that Jango Fett is just GL's way of trying to make up for his "misstep" with Boba. What is shown in AOTC is probably similar to what GL would do if he could do the OT over again.

Still though. You're contending that the profit motive somehow delegitimizes the character. The entire industry is profit driven.

And as for the EU in a sense whether its commissioned by professional writers or some regular person with an idea it is all fan fiction in that it all branches from the source material the OT.

By implication, you're arguing that TFA is fan fiction. Does the Lucasfilm story group know that their Marvel comics are just fan fiction? Did Dark Horse know before Disney took over? Or are you cherry picking?

 

[Greens]

You could definitely argue that the EU was fan fiction.

The current canon is not fan fiction because the works aren't created independent from Lucasfilm.

 

[Horhey]

You could definitely argue that the EU was fan fiction.

The current canon is not fan fiction because the works aren't created independent from Lucasfilm.

I was always under the impression that the pre-Disney EU was canon until April 25, 2014. Shadows of the Empire, Dark Forces, and so on.

 

[Greens]

I was always under the impression that the pre-Disney EU was canon until April 25, 2014. Shadows of the Empire, Dark Forces, and so on.

The EU was full of ridiculous ideas and contradictions. Lucas never regarded it as official canon.

 

[Horhey]

The EU was full of ridiculous ideas and contradictions. Lucas never regarded it as official canon.

Doing some research. Shadows of the Empire was indeed canon:

Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire "Shadows of the Empire is like a movie project without the movie." ―Numerous Shadows of the Empire creative participants.

Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire was a multimedia project created by Lucasfilm Ltd. in 1996. The original idea was to create an interquel, a story set between the films Star Wars: Episode V The Empire Strikes Back and Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi (a period which no Star Wars book had portrayed before), and to explore all commercial possibilities of a full motion picture release, without actually making the film. The venture paved the way for the theatrical release of the Star Wars Trilogy: Special Edition in the following year, and the later releases of the Star Wars prequel trilogy.

Boba Fett was an absolute bad ass in that.

 

[Greens]

If I remember correctly, the EU had several levels of continuity. Some things were half-canon, some things were like what-if stories. It became a cluttered mess which is why I disregard it entirely at this point.

The Force Unleashed was canon because it was cooked up by Lucasfilm. I think the same goes for Shadows of the Empire.

 

[Horhey]

If I remember correctly, the EU had several levels of continuity. Some things were half-canon, some things were like what-if stories. It became a cluttered mess which is why I disregard it entirely at this point.

The Force Unleashed was canon because it was cooked up by Lucasfilm. I think the same goes for Shadows of the Empire.

Yea that's what I'm reading about now.

 

[hellified]

Your counter-argument centers on Boba being cool looking, so how he carried himself doesn't count. It doesn't undermine anything. The filmaker's motives are irrelevant. It is what it is.

I actually agree with you here. I've always said that Jango Fett is just GL's way of trying to make up for his "misstep" with Boba. What is shown in AOTC is probably similar to what GL would do if he could do the OT over again.

Still though. You're contending that the profit motive somehow delegitimizes the character. The entire industry is profit driven.

I'm just saying that boba fett is cool and mildly interesting but he doesn't belong as a recurring character in the saga as it would draw focus away from the skywalker story.

By implication, you're arguing that TFA is fan fiction. Does the Lucasfilm story group know that their Marvel comics are just fan fiction? Did Dark Horse know before Disney took over? Or are you cherry picking?

if you ask george lucas himself...yes it is since he had definite ideas and plans for the saga himself that they refused to use. And you can say whatever you want about his storytelling ability he IS the father of the star wars saga meaning any stories outside of his direct input in someway could be seen as fan fiction.

 

[Horhey]

i'm just saying that boba fett is cool and mildly interesting but he doesn't belong as a recurring character in the saga as it would draw focus away from the skywalker story.

^^
#10

 

[Lead Cenobite]

people were disappointed with the way he died based on the few scenes we saw him in..and many people over the years talked as if he should have had a bigger role in the OT. Based on what we saw in the OT he was just some random bounty hunter.

Along with Bosk and IG-88 and some other dude. And the only reason fett got as much screen time as he did was because he was clearly the coolest looking of them. IG looks like a statue would be too cumbersome to shoot in moving scenes and Bosk looks fake as hell in a movie with enough muppets and fake looking creatures..otherwise the lines he spoke could have done by anyone of them with similar effect you point out, character who doesn't seem that intimidated by vader.

Again its only fanboy love that made lucas decide to tie his origin in with the PT.

There is no reason for the precursor to boba fett to be involved in that story.

And as for the EU in a sense whether its commissioned by professional writers or some regular person with an idea it is all fan fiction in that it all branches from the source material the OT.

You have a bit of a vendetta against the character, don't you? The fact is, Boba Fett is the character they created to be the one to successfully track the Falcon to Bespin and help the Empire capture the heroes, and be the one to deliver Han to Jabba. Plus, he appeared in the Christmas special before the movie even came out and got his own mail-in order figure. Lucas and co. must have had something more in mind for the character than to be some pointless but cool looking extra.

And it isn't like anyone held a gun to Lucas's head to force him to include Boba Fett into the origin of the clones. Clearly, he did whatever he wanted with those movies, including making a few decisions that fans hated. You don't like that Boba Fett was a somewhat important character, take it up with the guy who invented Star Wars, not the fans.

 

[Grootster]

I don't get the recent trend of Boba-hating (at least it seems pretty recent to me). People like Boba Fett because he's cool, mysterious, and we get the feeling he's had a pretty interesting history. That's reason enough.

I never really wanted Boba to have a bigger role in the OT, but I do wish he had a more dignified death (or just leave his fate vague). Getting hit by a blind Han Solo and screaming as he falls into the burping Sarlaac seems like a goofy way to kill this character who was built up as so notorious in ESB (and who the filmmakers know has a big fanbase). I'm still not sure if Lucas was trying to make some kind of point with his death or it was just a cheap "hey wouldn't this be funny" decision (that's kind of the way it comes across.)

I'd really like a post-ROTJ movie about Boba escaping the Sarlaac, maybe he's been injured too badly and has to pass the torch to his son. I'm all in favor of seeing more Boba, as long as they keep him mysterious and stay away from referencing his clone origins too much. Please no more angsty Clone Wars teen Boba.

Although I'm not gonna lie, I was really hoping he'd appear in TFA (or maybe even in TLJ). Heck, if they'd have used old Boba to fill the Maz Kanata role, I'd have cheered. Call me crazy.