P.W.

With only five lines and less than twenty minutes of screen time in three movies, it would seem as if Boba Fett was simply some random bad guy in the Star Wars Trilogy. However, as I can see in front of me, with my object: a two-inch action figure, as well as a multitude of other memoriablilia, Boba Fett is much more than he would appear to be at the first glance. This supporting character has become one of the most popular Star Wars characters, sporting fan clubs and websites like no other character. He is the only character besides Luke, Han, Leia and Chewbacca to have more than one action figure. George Lucas even out him into the Jabba scene in the the Special Edition of A New Hope. This popul arity would seem unwarranted for such a minor character, so what makes him different? Perhaps it is because of the mystery surrounding him. Perhaps because he was the only successful hunter in The Empire Strikes Back. Perhaps it is because of his placement in the overall mythology of Star Wars. Maybe it is simply because he is really cool. For whatever reason, the best bounty hunter in the galaxy has carved a place for himself in the following of Star Wars.

Very little is actually known about Fett, just his real name, Jaster Mereel, his planet of origin, Concord Dawn, and the fact that he is the most successful bounty hunter in the galaxy. Other than that, Boba Fett is a complete enigma. From canocal and apocryphal sources, Fett seems almost obsessed with his work. He is a hunter, a predator. His armor is that of the Mandalorian supercommandos, a group of evil warriors defeated by the Jedi during the Clone Wars. This armor alone brings some level of fear and infamy (there are only two others known to use Ma Åndalorian armor), but Fett is known to have modified it extensively, making it even deadlier. The Slave 1 has also been heavily modified with all sorts of weapons, shields and stealth and tracking systems. There is nothing a person in Star Wars fears more than the Slave 1 tracking them.

When I began my research, I decided to go out onto the internet. Why? Because the entire world of Fett fandom lives out on the net, not in some moldy, oldy library. By simply typing "Boba Fett" into Alta Vista or Infoseek, I was given in excess of 50,000,000 websites about Boba Fett. They ranged from simple picture sites to complex analyses of everything ever seen or read in the Star Wars Universe. Across the few sites that I was able to visit, I noticed a trend. I noticed that even in the most "official" fan site, no one could agree on what makes Fett so popular. Contradictory stories, theories, and Ú speculation run rampant. Even the Lucasfilm Star Wars site leaves Fett nothing more than a mystery: "At the end Fett falls in to the Great Pit of Carcoon, to be digested by the Sarlacc over a period of 1000 years. Or is he?" Since now even the god of Star Wars, Lucas, has declared Fett's fate to be in question, rumors about his future abound. He made an appearance in the Dark Empire comic series, in the Boba Fett series, and confronted Han several more times, all of which happened several years after Return of the Jedi.

Taking this in the context of the mythology in Star Wars, Fett seems to have a more primal purpose than the mere bounty hunter. He is a predator. He takes the place of the old bogeyman or big, bad wolf. He is the monster that must be vanquished at all costs. He is also the black shadow that haunts our dreams. He chases and chases us and eventually catches us. Fett has the characteristics of so many legendary monsters, he easily takes on the role that Grendel held so long ago : he is of men, but lives outside of their world, entering and leaving for his own reasons, with regard for none save himself. Is Boba Fett popular because he, or more apt, what he represents, scares us?

Fett can be viewed from another perspective, though. In the old west, lawmen risked their lives on a daily basis to fight for justice. In Star Wars, Fett does the same thing: he hunts down criminals and sees that they are brought to justice. While this romantic view might seem a bit odd, it should be pointed out that the good guys in the films are actually criminals in the eyes of the government. Thus, to the citizens of the Empire, Fett is a hero.

This lone lawman / vigilante character is rooted deeply in the American psyche. One has only to remember any Eastwood or Wayne western to see this type of man. Although Fett has traded his horse for a starship and his six-shooter for a blaster rifle, he drops right in to the mold of the "mystery man" who rides in to save the day, then rides off into the sunset (which he actually did in Empire). Now in this fashion, Fett would be the romantic figure who has inner strength of both body and will. He would be the true American folk hero! He is the societal rebel who rejects the norms and fashions of his people and sets of on his own to follow his own dreams and destiny. Isn't this the dream of most teenagers?

Maybe I'm reading too far into this. While the mythological arguments are all valid ones, perhaps they are too academic. Maybe Fett is so popular because he's so damned cool. He has his nifty armor, his slick spaceship, and a gun. Plus, on the Executor, Vader takes the effort to mention to Fett personally, "No disintegrations," as if Fett was the most likely to catch them first, then shoot and ask questions later. Fett has an attitude of supreme confidence and danger. When that nightmare mask focuses on you, you have great reason to shudder. Even his action figures look menacing in comparison to the others. It is in a cat-like crouched position, ready to pounce on his victim. This aura of danger that Fett projects is highly attractive to those of us who are of the high testosterone persuasion. We like our role models and heroes to be bad asses, and Fett delivers this quite well.

Fett is the guy who a lot of us want to be like. He is self-reliant, tough, respected, and fully capable of doing whatever he sets out to do. He is the man's man. Most people want be like Fett, not in the bounty-hunting sense, but in the total independence sense. We want to be able to dictate terms, to have the freedom to travel from place to place with no obligations. We want Fett's freedom, his satisfaction with his path, his happiness. Fett truly enjoys his work; it is what he enjoys most in the world, and we envy him because of it. We live the boring, monotonous lives of civilian city-dwellers and rarely, if ever, have a real adventure or excitement. As a result, we go to movies and live the adventures of others.

Above all, Fett is mysterious. The Trilogy gives absolutely no insight Ñ into the workings of his mind, besides the fact that he is obviously resourceful, cunning, and dangerous. Even his novel appearances, graphic and otherwise give little more insight into his character. The one short story that did: "Last Man Standing: The Tale of Boba Fett," by Kevin Anderson, which was in the anthology Tales of the Bounty Hunters has been almost universally labeled as sucky. No one can agree of the characterization of Fett and the way he sees himself. The only other time some light was shown on Fett's mind was in the Han Solo Trilogy by A.C. Crispin. However, instead of being moral, Fett was portrayed as the ruthless bounty hunter that caught our attention in the first place.

While these are all good and valid reasons why Boba Fett is so popular among Star Wars fans, I do not believe for a second that they are all-encompasing. Each person must decide for themselves what they see in such a character as Fett. My personal belief as to why Fett is so popular lies within the mystery surrounding him and his intrinsic coolness. I have noticed that in Star Wars, the cooler one's costume, ship, equipment, etc. is, the more of a badass you are. We have Vader in the 11 kilometer long Executer, Emperor Palpatine and his royal guard, and Boba Fett with his armor and the Slave 1. Fett has the most nifty stuff, he is the most dangerous person to run into, and is the most likely to find you when you run. At least Vader sends fleets of Star Destroyers, which are easy enough to lose. However, Fett will find you no matter where you hide, no matter how long you run. You will be forever looking across your shoulder when Boba Fett is on your trail. Why is Fett so popular? Because he is the best at what he does. He finds his prey, and captures our imaginations. He inspires fans to create their own Star Wars adventures, or even to explore their own new universe. Fett is freedom incarnate. He is free from all authority, obligations, and whatever else might hold one of us down. He is governed by his own heart, and restrained by nothing save his past. He is the legend, the icon that Americans struggle to be like. We want to be free, to travel, to be strong. Instead, we all live in the normal, boring world that we have made for ourselves. If only we could rip off our ties, smash our computers, and truly live! If only we could destroy the chains that bind! unfortunately, most of us are too comfortable to do so, so we have Boba Fett to live for us. He lets us escape our normality. He, while still a bad guy, is a mythological hero. He stirs our minds, stimulates the imagination, and allows us to roam the stars, either with him, or two steps in front. Either way, it's a trip!