Who is The Stranger at the end of The Book of Boba Fett?

This post contains spoilers for The Book of Boba Fett “Chapter 6: From the Desert Comes a Stranger.”

Out of the annals of Star Wars history comes one of the most famous bounty hunters in Star Wars. His name is Cad Bane, and he has done everything from capturing Ashoka Tano to stealing a Holocron out of the Jedi Temple.

After the death of Jango Fett, Cad Bane becomes the premier bounty hunter for Darth Sidious to use to push the world towards his ultimate plan of becoming the Empire. On this path, Cad Bane and Boba Fett develop a rocky relationship.

Cad Bane’s exploits during the Clone Wars included him fighting against the likes of Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Ashoka Tano on a frequent basis. Even against the likes of Jedi Master Mace Windu, Cad Bad always made it out alive and well. Cad Bane used an ionic mix of dual blasters, Jet Boots, flame throwers, and his breathing tubes to allow him to fight in any environment, and against any enemy. Flamethrowers can’t be blocked by a lightsaber, flying takes out the maneuverability, and the breathing tubes mean you can’t even force choke him. This survivability made him a tool of Count Dooku on several occasions, and Cad Bane even earned the respect of Obi-Wan Kenobi while he was undercover as a bounty hunter.

Needless to say, Cad Bane is an iconic character in Star Wars lore in his own right, but his relationship with Boba FetT is what makes his appearance even more interesting. In Boba’s quest to get vengeance for his father’s death, he attempts to contend with Cad Bane’s dominance of the bounty hunting sphere. In an unreleased episode of Star Wars: The Clone Wars, we see Bane and Boba with his father’s armor in an intense duel. While the episode is unfinished, the end reveals that Cad Bane shot Boba in the head, giving the helmet his iconic dent. Boba also made an impression on Bane, as Cad Bane was shot so badly that he had to undergo intense surgery.

After the duel with Boba, we first see Cad Bane reappears in The Bad Batch, trying to beat Fennec Shand to capture another Jango clone, Omega. In the released images of Bane’s model, we see that a cybernetic patch has to be installed in the back of Cad Bane’s head.

The final episode of The Book of Boba Fett sets up a conflict of old nemesis as Cad Bane is the Stranger. Presumably, he has been hired by the Pyke Syndicate to protect their spice shipments as he is facing pressure from the collection of bounty hunters formed by Boba Fett. Regardless of his losses the first time around, Cad Bane always comes back, and this time he might be able to get his revenge.

The Book of Boba Fett is streaming now on Disney+.