Warning! Spoilers for Star Wars: War of the Bounty Hunters Prelude
The Star Wars universe has no shortage of bounty hunters, so being the best of them all is no small feat. However, the comics just confirmed that Boba Fett, the original trilogy’s most iconic mercenary, is indeed the most effective bounty hunter in the galaxy.
Star Wars: War of the Bounty Hunters is a highly anticipated crossover event from Marvel Comics that will converge several of their ongoing Star Wars series. Set between Episodes 5 and 6 after Han Solo was frozen in carbonite, the plot revolves around Boba Fett as he ferries the frozen Solo to Jabba the Hutt. Unfortunately, it doesn’t take long for some complications to arise, but the writers themselves seem to be in Boba’s corner, as the opening crawl of the prelude issue explicitly refers to him as “the galaxy’s most dangerous hunter.” High praise – especially considering how many other deadly assassins call the galaxy home – but does Boba live up to the title? In a word, yes.
The prelude issue begins with the first of what will likely be a long list of problems Boba has to deal with over the course of the series. The carbonite casing around Han Solo is unstable, forcing Fett to stop on Nat Shaddaa, the Smuggler’s Moon, to get it fixed and keep Han Solo alive. Boba goes to see his old friend, Doc Ragon, for help, but Doc doesn’t work for free. Since Boba is short on credits, he agrees to instead enter the nearby fighting pits to take out the champion, whom Doc has a vendetta against. After temporarily repainting his armor to draw less attention, Boba enters the fighting pits under his father’s name, Jango, and proceeds to slaughter everyone he’s put up against. The champion puts up a good fight, but she too goes down, cementing Boba as an incredibly formidable fighter.
By the end of the issue, Boba definitely earns his title as the galaxy’s most dangerous hunter. While he certainly looked intimidating in the original trilogy, Boba didn’t really get to do much in the movies, so its satisfying to see him finally show off his skills in this new series. This also partially helps explain Boba’s return in the second season of The Mandalorian. While we don’t know exactly how Boba Fett survived his apparent demise in Episode 6, he proves his capability as a warrior several times over in this issue alone, which makes it more believable that he could escape the Sarlacc.
With Han Solo’s frozen body stolen by other mercenaries at the end of the issue, it seems Boba already has some challengers for the title of best bounty hunter. However, considering we already know Boba Fett eventually delivers Solo to Jabba, things really don’t look good for those other hunters.
