Boba Fett is, without doubt, one of the most iconic characters in the Star Wars franchise next to Darth Vader.
However, fans seem to be split about the supposed “softness” of Boba in the recent Disney+ show, The Book of Boba Fett [BoBF].
The issue people take is that a mercenary crime lord and a man who prides on honor and respect as incompatible. Some believe that this damages Boba’s character and were quick to blame Disney for softening the Star Wars brand. While I largely agree that Disney’s approach to the Star Wars IP has stripped the universe of its grittier edges, I do not believe that they made the same mistakes here – stripping Boba of his supposed “character”.
This is our in-depth deconstruction of Boba Fett’s character arc as it is told in the current canon. I will not be counting Boba’s stories in the Legends expanded universe as they have unfortunately been removed from the official lore.
The Public Perception
This has been some level of debate, as evidenced in BoBF, as to whether Boba should be a remorseless killer or an empathetic man who does his job. It is easy to lean on the former since, in real life, You don’t become a highly rated mercenary in the empire By being nice about it. Boba throughout his life has taken numerous contracts on a variety of targets. Whether it’s the empires most wanted or on the Hutt’s hit list, there wasn’t a job Boba took that was beyond his capabilities.
Since Boba has always served as a hitman for Vader and Jabba, it is natural to treat Boba as such. However, cool armor aside, Boba is a rather 1-dimensional character if you only count the films. His fall to the Sarlacc pit many would agree was the worst villain exit in the history of the franchise.
It is important to stress throughout the films and comics he’s always calm, calculating, and always eyeing on his target with no idea what his next move is. The Boba we know was a guy always motivated by his job specifically his thoroughness, why else he was so concerned if Han his prized target died. That’s the Hunter we as the audience have grown accustomed to but not what he is as a person.
Removing the Mystery
Boba Fett’s name (and armor) eclipsed the man
In some ways, the backlash is one of the consequences when you try to give a backstory to a mystery character. People’s ideas could be shattered if the backstory is not well told whether too vague or too complicated (*cough* Snoke *cough*).
When a Mysterious character has been given more backstory, it is only natural to question if we really needed to know in the first place. Sometimes the mystery alone is enough to make him or her compelling.
For example, in Solo the origin of Han Solo’s surname would have been a lot more epic if it was a name he gave himself, he didn’t need a random imperial officer to give him one. The reason for this is it reduces Han’s edginess as he has always been a character who prides himself on being alone. The name was synonymous with the character so having a random name by someone else removes some of the mystery that character had.
That’s the situation that has confronted Boba Fett, in a way Boba Fett’s name (and armor) eclipsed the man. The Portrayal of Boba has varied greatly through the years whether through comics or the animated shows. In those stories, he was portrayed as either a wordless hunter with no remorse or as a mercenary with a loose sense of personal honor. No matter what interpretation it can be agreed Boba Fett was always an anti-hero – whose actions were neither wholly evil nor moral. As such, his character was granted a large amount of moral flexibility. However, it is easy to lump him into the “villain” category when doing dirty work for the likes of Darth Vader and Jabba.
Ultimately, perhaps the best source to look at to describe Boba is through his own words in The Mandalorian
“I’m just a simple man making his way through the galaxy”
The Son of Jango
It is important to look at Boba’s childhood to understand what his “character” should be as an adult.
A Rough Childhood
Considering his father Jango was a founding and likely trained him as such in the Mandalorian ways of fighting, there’s a lot of skills and abilities he obtained at a young age. From the brief moments we see of young Boba in the films, we know that even at ~10 years old he could pilot ships and enjoys a fight – especially when ambushing a Jedi like Obi-Wan. However, Boba’s personal world was shattered with the death of his father at the hands of Mace Windu.
When finally we see young Boba again in the Clone Wars cartoon, it’s clear he’s focused on one thing: revenge for his father’s death, and turns to other bounty hunters for guidance like Aurra Sing and Cad Bane in an attempt to kill Mace Windu. Despite being bent on revenge he was very reluctant to take the shot, as he often had several moments where he had clones by gunpoint but never pulled the trigger. It was at this moment that Boba had a real taste of what mercenary work is, but what really stops him was every time he sees the clone’s faces he was reminded of his father. Many people thought BoBF reduced Boba’s character to a soft man, but in The Clone Wars did it first. (Written/produced by Dave Filoni)
The Family Profession
Anxious to live up to the name of his revered father, Boba takes up the profession shortly after escaping prison for his attempt to kill Windu. It’s clear that even as a teenager he was an intelligent and capable kid – even leading his own bounty squad in Season 4.
One clue that we’ve never got a full look at was one of the deleted arcs from The Clone Wars. The now 13-year-old Boba now wearing his father’s armor confronts Cad Bane, now his mentor, with what seems to be hostages. Not much is clear from this clip alone but it’s clear that both Mercenaries were put on a job that didn’t go well.
Despite the incident, Fett never turned away from the profession. For a long time, there simply was no other lifestyle that Boba could fathom. However, that never meant he didn’t question the logic of his employers. After The Clone Wars, not much is known about Boba’s career until we see him in Jabba’s entourage and accepting the occasional Imperial contract 19 years later.
The Book of Meta Fett
The series seemed to know their more empathetic portrayal of Fett would draw fan ire – as it goes into meta territory when Boba’s fellow hunters Fennec Shand and especially Cad Bane seems to point out how soft he’s become.
The reason for Boba’s “change” in BoBF is visible now is because his new story arc actually grants him some semblance of agency, and as such he can finally express some moral flexibility.
Tribal Bonds
Boba was alone most of his life after his father’s death, and being influenced by Aurra Sing and other figures would not have been a healthy ordeal growing up – but even in those years he still carried empathy to people. Boba never had a group that felt like family until the Tuskens, so for the first time in his life he actually had people he can depend on without money. Boba’s time with the Tuskins was when for the first time since he was a child he started to truly care for things beyond himself. This was especially apparent with the ritual with the Tree and how he keeps reflecting and metaphorically breaking his mercenary past.
In a way Boba Fett did die in the Sarlac pit, only to be reborn.
Old Grudges
However, his past never leaves him behind as the criminal underworld has a way of biting back with no mercy.
If Boba’s intentions are to now become a benevolent leader on Tatooine one must ask “how does that work?”. The reason is simple: in the greater universe, if you are not a person of high status there is nothing you can do to make a change. Boba can only change things if he was in the system what better position to make change than being in the system. In a place like Tatooine, it takes a crime lord to sway other lords.
This has come to ahead with Boba and Bane’s final confrontation, emulating their duel 30 years earlier. In many ways, Cad Bane’s fate is what Fett’s future could have been but rejected – another hunter killed in someone else’s fight. His time experiencing the little things on Tatooine persuaded him there’s more to life than hunting. That’s part of the symbolism when killing Bane with his gaffi stick: A simple tool for a simple man.
It is important to stress that even though this may water an aspect of boba, there’s still has a killer edge over what he does. When he believed that the Nikto speeder gang killed his Tusken families his immediate thought was to kill them all with slave 1 and he does this without hesitation or second thoughts. Boba was never a stranger to violence he was just pragmatic with his methods. That doesn’t mean boba is beyond using intimidation when he holds his dinner meeting right over his operational rancor pit. When his fellow syndicates betrayed him in the finale Boba sent Fennec to even the score ensuring the heads won’t be a problem any time soon.
Summing Up
There were valid criticisms about BoBF’s story and even dialogue, but those who think the series destroyed Boba’s character haven’t been paying attention. Boba’s time with the Tuskens didn’t turn him soft – he simply rediscovered what matters in life.
Boba Fett was never defined by his ruthlessness nor his abilities, but by his armor and presence. In a way, Boba was the originator of the mysterious silent villain trope that other characters like Darth Maul and even heroes like G.I. Joe’s Snake Eyes – the characters that were never defined by their backstories, but by their (badass) actions and portrayal.
Boba was a character that was always written as somewhat of a mystery. It was the fan community that elevated his fame – not George Lucas or any of the filmmakers. It doesn’t take away his character it makes him more human – or in his own words – a simple man making his way in the universe.
