Boba Fett Sucked (But Was Still Important)

Let me be clear.

Boba Fett, the bounty hunter character from the original Star Wars trilogy, is awful as a character. I've never read about him in any novel, and I probably won't. In the films, he is basically just a cool suit of armor. He was originally created as part of the infamous Star Wars Holiday Special for crying out loud. As a cartoon!

Still cooler than you, Luke.

Star Wars as a franchise has a history of making some really cool looking characters that don't actually do much of anything. There was a whole cantina full of aliens in the first film that spawned any number of action figures for characters that were on camera for literally two seconds. Boba Fett isn't the worst offender in this group by far.

What are you talking about, man?

But he is still a totally overrated character, and is inexplicably high on the list of favorite Star Wars characters when he doesn't actually have a character. Smarter, more observant nerds than me have pointed this out before now, so I don’t pretend that his is new information. All he manages to accomplish is tracking the Millenium Falcon to Bespin. After that, he calls the Empire to do his dirty work, collects an easy payday in Han Solo’s bounty, then fails to keep his trophy subdued even though Han Solo is blind and disoriented. He does nothing and goes down like a punk. A tracking device would have been more useful.

Call the Empire now, idiot.

The prequels give us a Boba Fett who is a little kid that sees his Dad? Clonedad? murdered in front of him, and what? Swears revenge against someone? Maybe? I think the Jedi. He is a big nothing in the prequels, and it was such an obvious nod to fans as to make it laughable. Even the clone helmets don’t stay looking like Fett’s for long. Poor little Boba never gets that sweet sweet revenge, unless you count the other clones of his Clonedad shooting all the Jedi in the back. I guess that kind of counts.

Seriously, he is not a character. Name one character trait about Boba Fett that has nothing to do with his profession or his clothes. Can't do it, can you?

But Boba Fett is important, and here’s why:

Without Boba Fett, there are no Mandalorians. Without the Mandalorians, big chunks of story in the Clone Wars animated series don’t happen. Without the Mandalorians, there are no Mandalorian Mercs, a Star Wars cosplay group second only to the 501st. And, my personal favorite, without Boba Fett there would be no Sabine Wren.

Same awesome helmet; now with actual character inside!

If you aren’t familiar, Sabine Wren is a character in the newish Star Wars Rebels animated series, and she’s pretty much my favorite main character in it. She is Mandalorian, with roots in the Mandalorian characters from Clone Wars (don’t want to spoil it). She is also a card-carrying badass. When they need something blown up, she’s the one they ask. But she’s also an artist, a pilot, and a loyal friend.

What I'm trying to say is that she's better than Boba Fett.

So Boba's legacy is bigger than him. Even though he is barely a character, and a sucky one at that, he is still important. He is important because his cool suit of armor inspired a whole race of people, among whom are some pretty awesome characters, like Sabine Wren.

To bring it back around to Boba for a sec, I wonder if he even knows he is a Mandalorian. He was Jango Fett’s “Son” but did he go back to Mandalore? Did he even know? I have to think no, because every other Mandalorian, Sabine Wren included, is a badass, and Boba Fett just sucked. The best thing he did for Star Wars was look cool enough that people didn't realize he sucked.

I can't wait for the Boba Fett solo movie because I have literally zero idea what the character will be like. I hope he's a total idiot who sucks at his job but is extremely lucky. Like, despite his screwups, he still manages to catch the bounty and foil his competitors completely by accident. Haha, what a jerk.