"One question for you, Tyranus. Why me? There are plenty of bounty hunters out there."

"But there are few who have your reputation, Jango Fett. Both in terms of your skills and your discretion." ―Jango Fett and Darth Tyranus [src]

Jango Fett was a human male bounty hunter and mercenary who lived during the final years of the Galactic Republic, allegedly hailing from the planet Concord Dawn. In addition to the sleek armored suit that concealed his scarred face, Fett possessed an arsenal of weaponry, including dual WESTAR-34 blaster pistols, a Z-6 jetpack with a built-in missile launcher, and other exotic tools such as Kamino saberdart. His principal starship was a customized Firespray-31-class patrol and attack craft called Slave I. Known for his proficiency in marksmanship and unarmed combat, he was regarded as the best hunter in the galaxy by the time of the Separatist Crisis.

Although Fett wore Mandalorian armor, the government of Mandalore saw him as nothing more than a common mercenary and insisted he had no actual ties to the Mandalorians. Nevertheless, his reputation attracted the attention of the Sith as they plotted their return to galactic power and ties to the Warrior culture are ambiguous at best. When the Sith Lord Darth Tyranus approached him with an offer to become the template of an army of clone troopers, Fett agreed to be cloned on one condition: an unaltered clone would be created for him to raise as his son. That clone was Boba Fett who, unlike the clone troopers, was neither conditioned for obedience nor modified to age at an accelerated rate. Over the next decade—roughly between the Battle of Naboo in 32 BBY and the plot to assassinate Padmé Amidala in 22 BBY—Fett resided on the extragalactic planet Kamino where he provided his genetic material for the creation of millions of identical soldiers.

In the days leading to the first battle of the Clone Wars, Fett was hired by Viceroy Nute Gunray to assassinate his political nemesis, Senator Padmé Amidala of Naboo. He failed in his commission, however, and was subsequently tracked to the Kaminoan homeworld by the Jedi Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi, forcing Fett to return to his Sith benefactor on Geonosis. Fett served as Darth Tyranus' personal bodyguard during the battle between the Jedi Order and the Separatist Droid Army, but he was no match in battle against Jedi Master Mace Windu, who decapitated the bounty hunter with his amethyst-bladed lightsaber. His death marked the end of his storied career, but the legacy of Jango Fett lived on in the clones that composed the Grand Army of the Republic, as well as his son Boba Fett who followed in his father's example by becoming a legendary bounty hunter in his own right after the Galactic Empire rose to power.

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Biography

Early life

"I recently encountered a man who wore Mandalorian armor. Jango Fett."

"Jango Fett was a common bounty hunter. How he acquired that armor is beyond me." ―Obi-Wan Kenobi and Almec [src]

Jango Fett was born in the years prior to the Invasion of Naboo.[7] He claimed to have been born on the planet Concord Dawn, a Mandalorian world, but his exact history was unknown, much to Fett's enjoyment. While he did wear Mandalorian armor,[1] officials of Mandalore disavowed any connection to Fett, claiming that he was simply a bounty hunter who somehow stole an artifact from their planet's troubled past.[8] However, Fett's armor itself was fashioned from durasteel alloy, while most Mandalorian armor was made from beskar. In most other respects it was the same as the gear that had been designed hundreds of years prior.[1]

Fett rose to the top of the bounty hunting trade, where he used his advanced armor and twin blaster pistols to hunt down fugitives. At some point in his career Fett began to work with Zam Wesell.[7] At one point Jango Fett was also an associate of pirate captain, Hondo Ohnaka, and fellow bounty hunter, Aurra Sing.[9] Ultimately, Fett became widely regarded as the best bounty hunter in the galaxy,[1] but this notoriety eventually drew the attention of the Sith.[10]

Separatist Crisis

Clone template

"Think of it. A Grand Army of the Republic. A show of strength and power like the galaxy has never seen. All stemming from you. How many men can claim such a legacy?" ―Darth Tyranus, to Jango Fett [src]

Shorty after the Invasion of Naboo,[7] and in the years before the Clone Wars, on the moons of Bogden, Fett was recruited by the Sith Lord Darth Tyranus (publicly known as Count Dooku of Serenno) to be the genetic template for the clone army created by the cloners of the planet Kamino. Fett agreed and, in addition to his fee of twenty million credits,[11] also requested an unaltered clone for himself, one who was not subjected to the typical growth acceleration and behavioral modifications given to the clones. Fett raised this clone as his son, whom he named Boba Fett,[3] and remained on Kamino to supervise the flash-training of the clone troopers.[11] Despite providing the genetic template for and overseeing the training of the clones, Fett felt no particular pride in them and viewed them as the Kaminoans' achievement. He continued to take jobs as a bounty hunter. This confused at least one bounty hunter, Neelda, as he had heard Fett had a job with a mysterious client.[10]

Training Boba Fett

"Four bounty hunters to hunt down one little runaway? Talk about overkill." ―Tiver [src]

At some point during Boba's childhood, Fett brought him along on a mission to retrieve a Twi'lek girl who had run away from home with her Falleen lover Griph. Fett and his son traveled to Telerath where they met with the team of bounty hunters they would be completing the mission with, a Rodian named Neelda, a Gand named Rinn, and a Chadra-Fan named Tiver. The three bounty hunters agreed to let Fett bring Boba along on the mission, and the group departed for Ord Mantell.[10]

During the flight from Telerath to Ord Mantell, Boba complained to Fett about having to work with the three bounty hunters, asking why they could not work with bounty hunters like Cad Bane, Zam Wesell, or Aurra Sing instead. Fett explained to his son that the point of the mission was to teach Boba about adapting to unknown conditions, hence working with bounty hunters Boba did not know.[10]

On Ord Mantell, Fett and his team quickly tracked the Twi'lek and Griph to a bar where the two were discussing their plan to join Black Sun. While Boba and the trio of hunters cornered the lovers on the bar's balcony, Fett waited below in case his hunch was correct that the Twi'lek girl would jump. When she fell from the balcony, Fett caught and stunned her. Fett then brought her unconscious body to Slave I in order to bring her back to her father.[10]

Reuniting with his son and the other hunters, Fett and Boba were betrayed by Rinn and Tiver. Tiver pinned Boba, commanding Fett to give them the Twi'lek girl and forfeit his share of the bounty or she would kill his son. Fett, confident in his son's abilities, told her she could try to kill him. Boba, having hidden a small blaster on himself before the mission, killed both Tiver and Rinn before turning his blaster on Neelda. Boba asked Fett for guidance, and Fett told him that what happened to Neelda was his choice. Because Neelda had not aided Tiver and Rinn but also had not opposed them, Boba allowed Neelda to leave alive but without his share of the bounty.[10]

As Fett and his son left Ord Mantell to collect their bounty, the two discussed how Boba had done on the mission. Boba asked if he had done all right despite what had happened, and Fett told Boba that he had shot well, trusted his judgement, and started to build his reputation. Fett said that a father could not ask for a better start to his son's legacy.[10]

Assassination plot

"I hit the ship, but they used a decoy."

"We'll have to try something more subtle this time, Zam. My client is getting impatient. Here, take these. Be careful. They're very poisonous. Zam, there can be no mistakes this time." ―Zam Wesell and Jango Fett [src]

Towards the end of his life, Fett was involved in the assassination attempts against Senator Padmé Amidala, who was secretly being targeted by Dooku at the request of Nute Gunray of the Trade Federation. Fett had subcontracted the Clawdite bounty hunter Zam Wesell to carry out these attempts. After Wesell failed to kill Amidala upon the Senator's arrival to Coruscant, Fett provided her with a pair of deadly kouhuns and tasked her to kill Amidala in her sleep. The plan was foiled by two Jedi that had been assigned to protect the Senator, Jedi Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi and his Padawan Anakin Skywalker. Wesell fled, but was apprehended by the Jedi after a lengthy pursuit throughout Coruscant. However, before she was able to reveal the identity of her employer to the Jedi, Fett killed her at a substantial distance with a Kamino saberdart.[3]

Discovered by the Jedi

"Do you like your army?"

"I look forward to seeing them in action."

"They'll do their job well. I'll guarantee that." ―Jango Fett and Obi-Wan Kenobi [src]

As part of a Jedi investigation into the assassination attempts, Fett was tracked back to Kamino by Kenobi after the Jedi was able to determine the Kaminoan origins of the saberdart used to kill Wesell. There, the two met under civil circumstances at Fett's apartment in Tipoca City. Fett was questioned by Kenobi, who wished to know the details surrounding the creation of the clone army and Fett's knowledge of Jedi Master Sifo-Dyas. After speaking to Boba[3] in Fett Code,[12] the bounty hunter only told Kenobi that he had never heard of anyone named Sifo-Dyas, and that he was recruited by someone called Tyranus. After Kenobi left, Fett told Boba they were leaving. However, on the landing platform where Fett's ship, the Slave I, was docked, they were ambushed by Kenobi. The two battled for a short time before Kenobi went over the edge of the landing platform, giving Fett an opportunity to escape. Fett was followed to the planet Geonosis by Kenobi, who had placed a homing beacon on the hull of the Slave I. Fett led Kenobi on a prolonged chase through Geonosis' asteroid field and eventually locked onto his ship with a missile, believing Kenobi to have perished.[3]

Death on Geonosis

"Don't move, Jedi." ―Jango Fett, to Anakin Skywalker [src]

Fett later captured Skywalker and Amidala in the droid factory on Geonosis during their attempt to rescue Kenobi, who had been taken prisoner by the Separatists. In the Petranaki arena, during the scheduled execution of Amidala, Kenobi, and Skywalker, Jedi Master Mace Windu led a Jedi assault team to rescue the three prisoners in what would be the first battle of the Clone Wars. Fett protected Dooku during the skirmish, killing Jedi Master Coleman Trebor before joining the melee in the arena and attacking Windu. Fett tried to take Windu's lightsaber, but was run over by a stampeding reek. The reek charged at Fett a second time, who dispatched it with one shot. Fett was then rushed by Windu and began firing at the Jedi, who deflected the bounty hunter's shots. Fett attempted to use his jetpack to get away, but was unaware of the malfunction caused by the reek, and was subsequently killed by Windu, who first cut his blaster in half and then decapitated him.[3]

Legacy

"Tell the Jedi what he wants to know, Boba."

"Why should I help anybody?! I've got no one."

"It is the honorable thing to do. It's what your father would have wanted." ―Hondo Ohnaka And Boba Fett [src]

During Kenobi's visit to the planet Mandalore, he had a brief conversation with Prime Minister Almec about the late Jango Fett. Almec declared that the bounty hunter was not a Mandalorian despite the armor he wore.[13]

Fett's death inspired Boba to pursue a vendetta against Windu for the murder of his father. He teamed up with Sing, the Trandoshan bounty hunter Bossk, and the Klatooinian bounty hunter Castas in order to avenge his father's death. Boba infiltrated Windu's Star Destroyer, the Endurance, above the world of Vanqor and sabotaged it, causing it to crash on the planet's surface. He then attached a bomb to Jango's helmet and placed it in the bridge of the Endurance for Windu, hoping that when Windu came looking for survivors he would be killed by the bomb. However the attempt was unsuccessful and Jango's helmet was blown to pieces with one side of the helmet remaining.[14]

Meanwhile, the mass-produced trooper clones of Fett fought against the Separatists during the Clone Wars and subsequently helped execute the Fall of the Republic when Order 66 was enacted and then filled in the boots of the new Galactic Empire.[15]

Jango's ship, the Slave I, saw frequent use in the Clone Wars and later the Age of the Empire. During the Clone Wars the ship was initially used by Boba and Aurra Sing, but Aurra crash landed it on the surface of Florrum during a fight with the Padawan Ahsoka Tano.[9] Hondo Ohnaka, the leader of the pirate Ohnaka Gang, dragged Aurra from the wreckage of the ship[16] and rebuilt the vessel, adding it to his personal fleet of ships.[17] In the last year of the Clone Wars the Separatists invaded Florrum and destroyed Hondo's arsenal, prompting him to escape the planet in the Slave I. Sometime later, Boba reclaimed the ship and continued using it to carry out bounties for the Empire.[18]

Boba followed in his father's footsteps and became a freelance bounty hunter. By the time of the Galactic Empire, Boba was widely considered to be one of the deadliest bounty hunters in the galaxy,[19] and, like Jango before him, Boba came to be seen as the galaxy's best bounty hunter.[1] He was defeated combating the Rebel Han Solo on the planet Tatooine.[20]

Personality and traits

"I'm just a simple man trying to make my way in the universe." ―Jango Fett [src]

Jango Fett was a calm, analytic, and crafty mercenary, as well as an expert fighter, and reputedly, the best bounty hunter in the galaxy.[5] He was also an honorable man according to his friend, the pirate Hondo Ohnaka.[9] As a combatant, he was proficient in both marksmanship and unarmed combat. By the time of the Separatist Crisis, his face had several scars that he chose to conceal with a Mandalorian helmet. In combat, Fett favored the advantage of speed and height that his jetpack provided him with against his opponents.[5] During a bounty hunting assignment, he warned Zam Wesell to be careful when handling a pair of poisonous kouhuns. However, he later killed his partner to prevent Wesell from revealing his involvement in Amidala's assassination attempt to her Jedi captors.[3]

As a mercenary, Fett favored financial rewards for his services. Although he was generously compensated for his service as a clone template, he surprised his Kaminoan benefactors by requesting the creation of a clone for himself. This clone was unaltered in accordance with Fett's wishes, unlike the others who were modified for growth acceleration and enhanced docility. Fett provided the clone with a name, Boba Fett, and chose to raise him as his own.[3] He cared greatly for his son, who learned combat skills and ruthlessness from the elder Fett.[4]

He was loyal to his employers whilst they retained his service as a mercenary. After Wesell failed in her first attempt on Amidala's life, Fett set a new plan into action and emphasized to his partner that their employer's patience was waning. He later served as Count Dooku's personal bodyguard during the battle between the Jedi and Separatists.[3] Despite his combat skills, Fett was no match for Mace Windu[5]—the Jedi Order's greatest champion[21]—who severed the hunter's head from his neck with one swing of his amethyst-bladed lightsaber.[5]

Fett was a human male who stood at 1.83 meters.[4] He had black hair, brown eyes, and tan skin.[3]

Equipment

Jango Fett wore a set of energized Mandalorian armor and piloted a customized Firespray-31-class patrol and attack craft named Slave I throughout his career, which his son Boba inherited upon his death.[7][19][22] Fett also carried a vast array of equipment on his person. He owned a pair of customized WESTAR-34 blaster pistols that had hollowed-out grips[7] and used a Z-6 jetpack with a built-in missile launcher.[7][23] Jango was also known to use the JT-12 jetpack which was a lighter weight model of the Z-6. This jetpack was worn in the arena on Geonosis. He used a number of gadgets hidden in his gauntlets, including vibroblades,[4] a whipcord thrower, and a ZX miniature flame projector.[11]

Behind the scenes

Development

Jango Fett, named J'mee in early drafts,[24] made his first appearance in the 2002 film Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones, where he was portrayed by Temuera Morrison.[3]

Jango's armor revisits the original 1970s-era designs for Boba Fett's armor.[24] It was originally colored white like the clone troopers (a nod to Boba Fett's concept design during the development of The Empire Strikes Back), but at the end, it was changed to blue.[25]

Discrepancies

Jango Fett was a Mandalorian in the lore of Star Wars Legends. In the "Creating Mandalore" featurette on The Clone Wars: Season Two DVD set, however, series director Dave Filoni explained that, according to George Lucas, the Fetts were not Mandalorians.[26] After the creation of the new official Star Wars canon, Pablo Hidalgo of the Lucasfilm Story Group reiterated that the Fetts are not Mandalorians, though they might claim to be.[27] However, Jango was stated to be a Mandalorian, through the Z-6 Jetpack entry on the StarWars.com Databank[23] and in Star Wars Helmet Collection 17.[28] Finally, one of the announcement teasers for The Mandalorian described Jango and his son, Boba as Mandalorians, leaving their actual status as Mandalorians ambiguous.[29]

Ultimate Star Wars contains a contradiction on how often Fett worked with Zam Wesell. The book states that Fett and Wesell were sometimes partners, but it also says that Wesell was a frequent accomplice to Fett.[7]

Other appearances

Before the cancellation of Star Wars: The Clone Wars TV series, Jango's son, Boba was set to star in a four-episode arc starring him and fellow bounty hunter Cad Bane. During a "rescue mission" on Tatooine in order to save a child from Tusken Raiders, the story would emphasize Boba's and Cad's relation to one another as Cad had known Jango.[30]

In the non-canon video game Angry Birds Star Wars II, Fett's role differs from that in the films. He is present during the events of The Phantom Menace and assists Darth Sidious as his main ally. During the events of Attack of the Clones, his death was changed - being accidentally shot apparently by a stormtrooper, rather than beheaded by Mace Windu.[31]

Appearances

Non-canon appearances

Sources

Notes and references