Boba Fett: The greatest gift to Star Wars
By Josh Hill
We’re celebrating the holiday season with the greatest gifts Star Wars can ever give us: its characters! Here’s why Boba Fett is one of the best.
Boba Fett is one of a kind, full stop.
While there were many Jedi, a handful of witty smugglers, and even a few Yoda’s, there is only one Boba Fett.
Consider that Boba Fett is actually one of thousands of clones yet he still stands out as a singular entity and you’ll begin to grasp why he’s an absolute gift to the Star Wars universe.
It could be argued that Boba Fett is the purest form of the morales the saga tries to stand for. He lives by a code, not unlike the Jedi, one that dictates his every move but one that he always honors and refuses to betray even if it conflicts with rooting interests. When he’s outsmarting Han as he chases him to Bespin, he’s merely doing a job to the best of his ability even though that job is to hunt a beloved character. When he kills Bib Fortuna and assumes the Hutt throne, he is in his mind righting the wrongs of those who broke the bond of their word. No matter the situation, Boba Fett is always fair even when it seems like he’s not.
He’s unapologetically flawed, a characteristic that is bother idiosyncratic and endearing. His character arc is akin to that of a rock star, specifically Trent Reznor. Boba spends most of his adult life with a controlled devil may care bravado that is destructive to anything that steps into his path. His life is a hectic but rewarding one, a life where death is right around the corner but the thrill of that is intoxicating and easily romanticized by outsiders. He’s also meticulously professional and his exceptional perfectionism makes him the very best at what he does.
But that middle act of his life does not define Boba Fett, much like how the peak of Nine Inch Nails didn’t come to define Reznor. There’s an entire third act to both the rock star and the character that, as it develops, continues to be increasingly fascinating. Those traits that made them great are still there but they’ve evolved, and there’s a reckoning in with what as that makes them a different person now. Reznor is winning Oscars and scoring movies — a total plot twist when you think about the mud-soaked rock star screaming about sadism is the same person. Boba isn’t apologizing for the life he led, rather he’s cognizant of it as he forges a new path. The life he’s led has made him bolder and wiser, and his sharpness hasn’t dulled in the slightest.
When considering the gift of Boba Fett consider this: Only two characters are given the God View treatment where we see their lives from beginning to redemption. We see Boba Fett as a child, follow him as he navigates the seedier side of both himself and the galaxy, and get to watch him repent for his life of villainy by pledging to help Mando rescue Grogu.
The other character we get this complete character arc with? Darth Vader.
That’s right, Boba Fett started as one of a thousand clones and managed to become as singular as the Prince of the Empire. Boba is as heavy metal as they come, a rock star in space armor, a pure yet flawed soul, and one of the biggest gifts to the Star Wars universe.