The template for the Clone Army headed up his own Ages of Star Wars issue this week.
Jango Fett had a quote in Star Wars: Episode II that could apply to many of us here in the real world:
“I’m just a simple man trying to make my way in the universe.”
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Even though his quick demise would beg to differ, Jango Fett was a force to be reckoned with throughout the Star Wars galaxy. In this fourth issue of Marvel’s Ages of Star Wars series, we see just how far his reputation has taken him.
In this one, we meet new bounty hunters while getting some insight as to how Jango made a name for himself. There’s even a little bit of Boba in there, and a man called Tyranus on one of the Moons of Bogden makes an appearance. More than anything, this issue gives us a look at how Jango thinks, something that Attack of the Clones didn’t (or couldn’t) do.
We begin in a cantina on Telerath, where bounty hunters Neelda, Tiver, and Rinn await Jango for a new job. It’s clear from the beginning that Fett’s reputation precedes him from the way the three talk about him–they know he’s got “steady work from a mystery client” and that said client “has deep enough pockets to be his only client.” Seems like a credit to Jango’s abilities if nothing else.
Jango strolls up to their table and the bounty hunters immediately stand up to introduce themselves. A few panels later, we see that Jango’s brought Boba along for the ride for a little training session. When they depart from the cantina, Boba asks his father why they have to do a job with this crew rather than Cad Bane, Aurra Sing, or Zam Wesell (a pretty good question). Jango explains to Boba that since he already knows them, the real lesson here is “the unknown factor” of working with a new crew. When Boba asks his father if he can just take the jobs he wants, the Mandalorian tells him that he can but that it took a long time to get to that point.
A really cool scene ensues with a flashback to Jango meeting with Count Dooku on the Moons of Bogden. Dooku tells Jango that “the price the Kaminoans are offering is more than fair.” He explains that the cloners will need regular access to his template and that he’ll have to live on Kamino, save for any business matters off-world. When Jango asks why he was picked as the template, Dooku says that “there are few who have your reputation” and Jango adds that there are fewer that are human. Dooku tries to hype up the army that will come from Jango’s genetics, which leads to Fett asking for one additional compensation (what could it be?).
We cut back to the present day, where the crew is on Ord Mantell looking for the runaway they’ve been assigned to catch. The father of the girl in question wants her back, but it looks like she’s busy with her love life. The crew confronts the two lovers, causing the guy to bail (nice) and the girl to back up against the ledge. Boba holds her at gunpoint and she falls off the ledge, only to be swept out of the air by Jango, who immediately stuns her.
Boba catches up with Jango on the ground and asks him how he knew she was going to fall. Jango says that he didn’t know, but that he knew it was a possibility. He tells Boba that “you have to trust your instincts on the job” and that “you learn quickly that desperate people make stupid decisions.” Then, without warning, one of the new bounty hunters jumps Boba and holds a blade to his neck while another points his blaster at Jango, telling him to trade them the girl for Boba.
We get another flashback to Jango’s past, this time on Kamino. Taun We is showing Jango the new batch of clones, telling him that the army is their “finest creation yet” and that “not a single clone unit has fallen below combat parameters.” Jango doesn’t seem too impressed and when Taun We says that he must be proud, he asks “what do I have to be proud of?” and refers to the clones as “livestock bred for cannon fodder.”
Back to the new guys trying to stiff-arm Jango. The Mandalorian tells them that he won’t deal the girl for Boba, but Boba takes care of things himself and blasts his captor away. After killing Tiver, Boba deals with Rinn as well before turning to face Neelda. Boba decides to let him walk, concluding that he wasn’t in on the others’ coup attempt–but he still makes him pay back his cut of the deal.
The issue ends on the Slave I with Jango telling Boba that he wasn’t sure he was going to let Neelda go. Boba says he wasn’t sure he should’ve, but that it didn’t seem like he was in on it. Then, we get the best exchange of the issue with Boba telling it like it is and father admiring son:
"“I want him to tell other bounty hunters what happened today. I want the whole galaxy to know what happens when they mess with Jango Fett. I figured…it’s what you would do.”“When they mess with either of us, you mean. I wasn’t the one who fired those shots.”“Did I do all right, then? Even though they got the drop on me?”“You shot well. You trusted your judgment. And you’ve started building your reputation. A father couldn’t ask for a better start to his son’s legacy.”"
That’s just a really cool scene between the two Fetts. In Episode II, we never really got a look at how they interacted other than during the chase with Obi-Wan and that short scene between Jango and Kenobi.
So far, I’d say Jango’s issue is the second best one that we’ve seen. I’ll put it slightly below Obi-Wan’s, but it’s still great nonetheless.