Star Wars Read-Through Part 13: Prequel Era Bounty Hunters: The Seedy Side of Star Wars

With the initial adventures of the Jedi Knights and their apprentices post-Episode I out of the way, I refocus my attention on a set of characters that have been part of the core of Star Wars since the very beginning. 

They're badass warriors who prey upon the scum of the galaxy. They're hired guns who sell their services to the highest bidder. They're cold-blooded killers who live in a shoot-or-be-shot universe.

Bounty hunters have been part of the Star Wars mythology from the start, since Greedo tried to apprehend Captain Han Solo and bring him to Jabba the Hutt. It didn't go so well for Greedo, but that didn't stop more hired guns from hunting the smuggler-turned-Rebel. The Empire Strikes Back gave us a group of bounty hunters including the man in Mandalorian armor, Boba Fett. 

The prequel era had its share of bounty hunters as well, continuing the tradition George Lucas had begun decades earlier. The story of Episode I involved no bounty hunters, but one character seen on screen for two seconds during the podrace, Aurra Sing, had a backstory developed in the comics. We already met her briefly in Republic 7-12, where we learned she was a bounty hunter specializing in hunting Jedi. In Episode II: Attack of the Clones, we met two more bounty hunters, Jango Fett and Zam Wesell, both of whom had their backstories developed in comics and video games.

Aurra Sing, Jango Fett, and Zam Wesell. Images from Wookieepedia.

For this post, I consumed the following stories:

• Jango Fett: Open Seasons 1-4 (comic miniseries by Haden Blackman, 2002)
• Bounty Hunter (video game by LucasArts, 2002)
• Jango Fett (graphic novel by Ron Marz, 2002)
• Zam Wesell (graphic novel by Ron Marz, 2002)
• Republic 28-31: The Hunt for Aurra Sing (comic arc by Timothy Truman, 2001)
• Aurra's Song (comic story by Dean Motter, 2000)
• The Bounty Hunters: Aurra Sing (comic issue by Timothy Truman, 1999)

I read Jango Fett: Open Seasons in the collection Omnibus: Emissaries and Assassins, and Aurra's Song in Omnibus: Rise of the Sith. I've now read all stories in both of those omnibuses. The arc of Republic, The Bounty Hunters: Aurra Sing, and the Jango Fett and Zam Wesell graphic novels were both in Omnibus: Menace Revealed. I could not play the game Bounty Hunter but I watched someone else play on YouTube.

Story: 

Jango Fett: Open Seasons depicts the titular Mandalorian bounty hunter in his younger days, as he is trained by a sect called the True Mandalorians during their civil war against another Mandalorian sect called Death Watch. After routing Death Watch, Jango's mentor Jaster Mereel is killed when another True Mandalorian, Montross, refuses to come to his aid. Jango becomes the new leader of the True Mandalorians and casts Montross out. The remaining Death Watch hide on a Republic world and trick the Jedi into attacking their rivals. The True Mandalorians are virtually wiped out, but Jango Fett gets his revenge and wipes out Death Watch. He becomes a bounty hunter and travels the galaxy.

Cover of Jango Fett: Open Seasons 2. Image from Wookieepedia.

In Bounty Hunter, Jango Fett is one of multiple bounty hunters hired by Count Dooku (former Jedi and recently made apprentice to Darth Sidious) to find his former apprentice, Komari Vosa. Vosa is the leader of a death cult that needed to be destroyed. Jango works with Zam Wesell (the shapeshifting bounty hunter whom he meets for the first time) and travels across several worlds in search of clues. He defeats Montross (the one responsible for his mentor's death) and captures Komari Vosa. Before he can bring her in properly, Dooku arrives and kills her. He always knew where she was, and the hunt was a test to find a warrior worthy of being used as the template for a new clone army.

Working out of Kamino, where his son Boba lives, Jango Fett continues to hunt bounties in the graphic novels Jango Fett and Zam Wesell (with whom he teams up in both of these stories). The two are hired to find an artifact, which in the hands of the terrorist who secretly hired him can be used to destroy planets. Realizing the threat, Jango and Zam recover the artifact from the terrorist and return it to where it belongs. 

The Hunt for Aurra Sing (a four-issue arc of Republic) depicts a Jedi task force whose assignment it is to bring Aurra Sing, former Jedi Padawan and Jedi killer, to justice. This continues the story of Jedi Master Ki-Adi-Mundi and his apprentice A'Sharad Hett. They save the life of a corrupt Senator who Sing targeted, but Hett almost fell to the Dark Side as he fought the bounty hunter. Aurra Sing escaped, and it was agreed that Hett would be trained by Aurra Sing's former master, a Jedi hermit known only as "The Dark Woman".

Cover of Republic 28: The Hunt for Aurra Sing, Part 1. Image from Wookieepedia.

The Bounty Hunters: Aurra Sing is a one-shot comic telling a fun story of the character hunting a fallen Jedi. Aurra's Song explores some of her backstory, and how she was trained by Anzati assassins after leaving the Jedi Order.

Thoughts:

Bounty hunters have always been a fascinating aspect of the Star Wars universe. The galaxy is large and responsible authorities, be they Jedi or judiciary forces (or later clones or stormtroopers) hunt criminals who are on the run. Warriors who are strong, fast, and cunning, who have the best weapons and ships money can buy, can make a lot of money bringing criminals to justice, or working for gangsters.

Jango Fett's backstory in the new canon has not been explored (though doubt has been raised as to whether he even is a Mandalorian, or just wears their armor). In Legends though, his story is well developed and internally consistent. It has highs and lows, and his adventures as a bounty hunter (whether you read about them or play them yourself) are epic. He works for the highest bidder. He hates the Jedi. He loves his son. He has a conscience and when necessary he will fight for what is right, saving Coruscant from the stolen artifact. 

The explanation for how Jango became the template for the clone army is a good one. A contest among bounty hunters would certainly result in finding someone who is an excellent fighter, but also motivated by money and with questionable morals. This story has not yet been told in the new canon, but its Legends telling is solid. 

Box art for Star Wars: Bounty Hunter. Image from Wookieepedia.

Zam Wesell has been explored much less, but her shapeshifting abilities contribute to Jango's many successes over their years of working together.

In Aurra Sing's case, the idea of a former Jedi who becomes a bounty hunter specialized at hunting her former comrades makes for a compelling story. She knows how to fight them and she knows their weaknesses. She is also trained by elite assassins who installed a computer in her mind so she could take in more sensory information (including feeling her target's death). Her former master, who is so touched by darkness that she is nicknamed The Dark Woman, is compelling as she searches for atonement and tries to give young A'Sharad Hett the benefit of her experience. Aurra Sing's story is not yet over (indeed, she will resurface periodically for decades to come), and I look forward to seeing more of her as we move into the Clone Wars era.

Cover of The Bounty Hunters: Aurra Sing. Image from Wookieepedia.

In conclusion, since the beginning of Star Wars, bounty hunters have been these interesting and enigmatic characters whose stories simply required telling. There is more bounty hunter fun to come, and I look forward to reading it.

Next: 

My next Legends post (Part 14) will tell the pre-Clone Wars story of Jedi Knight Quinlan Vos, who had an extended arc in the period between Episodes I and II. After that, there are still two more batches of stories to read before reaching Attack of the Clones.

Before I cover Quinlan Vos, I will be writing about the Canon TV show Star Wars: Rebels and some of its tie-in stories.