Jango Fett vs. Boba Fett: Who is the more honorable and good?

I tend to think that my experiences with Boba Fett and Jango Fett have both been colored by their depictions.

Jango Fett in the movies is a man whom is perfectly willing to kill an innocent woman, is a Sith tool, and murder his own partner in Cold blood. He's not a nice guy by any stretch of the imagination and is only defined from being a brute by his love of his son which contrasts to the antagonistic relationship with Obi Wan.

Only later do we find out Jango Fett has been driven this way by slavery, the death of everyone he had ever known or befriended, and nevertheless still has imparted his code of honor along with ethics to a new generation of Mandalorians in the Clone Troopers that will one day ressurect their effectively extinct culture of war.

Certainly, for all his fallen nature, Jango led the Mandalorians with as much honor and valor as Jaster before him.

Boba Fett has been, unfortunately, consistently dominated in the EU by the depictions of himself as an amoral mercenary at best and at worst as a black hearted rogue with no sense of honor whatsoever. His worst offenses are in the Bounty Hunter Wars where he cheats his fellow hunters and leads to their murder proving himself not only to be a man with no sense of his own word but genuinely as a coward for not having the decency to at least fight them. While "Last Man Standing" depicted him as a honorable man if a bit of a fanatic and other depictions show him as a man with some sense of a code.

At worse we have him causally turning against the Empire to butcher 2000 soldiers to get at a minor conman to save his 'rep.'

 

In defense of Boba Fett, the destruction of the garrison to save his reputation was a later fabrication in the New Essential Guide to Characters; it wasn't mentioned in the story itself.

 

True.

I have no problem honestly with Boba killing 2000 Imperials. I've never bought that he'd feel any allegiance whatsoever to the Empire. His Loyalty was only to the Mandalorian ethic and his own code of honor even then.

It's why I never bought Last Man Standing. Boba Fett is his own man, he doesn't worry about law and order as a whole.

 

I think neither of them are really better than the other. As you stated, they both have their very low points, and they both have points where they are quite, well decent almost.

I have followed Boba more than Jango, and he has consistently shown (to me) that he is a man of his word. He follows his own sense of moral and professional judgement. His mercenary nature shines through when dealing with other hunters. He doesn't so much follow the Hunters Creed, he was never a real member of the Guild, or any guild for that matter. They were brought up into the game with a respect for other hunters. Boba didn't come up with that reasoning, this was a business, and they were his competition. He didn't need them, and he didnt want them.

But when it came to those that weren't in his way, he was rather gentlemanly. His treatment of Bria Tharen, his treatment of Labria, what he told Leia. He would go to great lengths to fulfil a "last request" of his quarry. It seemed like an honorable thing to do, at least to those that provided him with a challenge. A worthy prey that was worth the extra trouble.

He was a firm believer in the order that the Empire brought, but not only that, the law of the established government. He wasn't happy with how the NR affected his business in the later years, but he seemed to hold no real ill will towards them. His assault on the Azghohk didn't start until word that the Admiral had continued his alien elimination AFTER the Empire crumbled. He was willing to pass up their past transgressions because it was validated by the Emperors authority.

He worked with the Hutts since they were less of a problem to the established authority. He would likely take jobs on them if the Hutts weren't able to keep off the Empires radar for the duration of their reign.

Once the Empire fell, Fett had little respect for the thugs that took Vaders spot. And he took to working for the Hutts, and his other clientelle he had aquired over the years.

I thought his attack on the Imp garrison had been retconned to later on in life. Regardless, it was a testament to his "no one escapes" policy. And reputation is more important than the established authority. This has been his driving interest for years. Probably something he learned from his father as well. Defined best by his elimination of Jodo Kast.

Jango, well, I think he had a more prominent position in history. But I don't think they were very different in their lifestyles or decisions.

 

To me Boba Fett was an individual who started off as a servant of individuals like Dooku, Jabba the Hutt, and was attempting to find an individual like his father to fill the void in his life. Instead, what Boba Fett found was that none of them were remotely interested in living a life that was towards any sense of moral code or individual mercy. I tend to think of Boba's story as mirroring Anakin Skywalker's to a large extent. By the time of the Han Solo Trilogy when Boba Fett is 34 years old he's more or less come to utterly think everyone is the scum of the galaxy and cares only for the almighty credit.

Vader and he are kindred spirits in a way and I tend to think that on some level they recognized each other as Anakin and Boba Fett the Boy and reached out to one another over their respective circumstances. Occasionally, further, Boba also realized that he wanted to follow the code that his father had lived by. This is why there's the occasional sparks of mercy that we see or honor. They're also contrasted with Boba committing acts of senseless brutality against the Imperial forces ("overkill"), betraying hunters like Bossk (Boba recognized that the "Hunter's Code" was a sham ever since childhood), and selling people like a 14 year old whom slept with a rich man's daughter to their deaths.

I don't think Boba was forced to leave his wife and child (whom certainly could have come with him) but I tend to think he made a last ditch effort to try and recapture his father's honor and glory but realized that he'd fallen too far to redeem himself....at least until this point and abandoned them when he thought he might taint them with his own actions.

The worst, most reprehensible act of Boba Fett's life is his murder of Fenn Shysha whom he probably saw a nightmarish parody of his own life in. Fenn had grown up knowing Spar the Boba Fett that had been an honorable Mandalore that had waged war for their homeland and restored honor to his people. The fact that he killed them for the kaminoans doesn't change that he essentially realized his life had been meaningless up until that point.

It's questionable if he'll ever forgive the Jedi though.

It's the difference really that I think Jango Fett never quite "lost" himself while Boba Fett did for a very long time.

 

I'll bet a hobbit's endless singing I'm probably the only who found Fett's cameo in Unifying Force embarrassing to read.

He could have featured way before. There, at that moment, he typically chops some Vong with all the ease 19 Republic books gave "struggled" with, and damn Barad-dûr's pilot light it just looked seriously corny. Most of his stories are corny and pretty crap, some few exceptions aside. He literally has no character, no actual persona; to be quarrenly honest, he doesn't mean much to me. Give him a decent emotional story. Jango, on the other Selkath slurp, I've seen his backstory. Utterly cliche farmer that it was, at least you saw him go through the motions. Fett's only motions is finger triggering exercise. Granted his face line to Solo was slick, but he didn't have much of a point in TUF and it could have been Charlemagne19's bar buddies storming the station, butt-kicking for goodness, as that nutcase Minsc would say . . . or something like that.

Where was I? Ah yes---Jango's honourable Echani duelling shield, bad breathing all adversaries. I have to be mighty honest with you, what nobility? These are bounty hunters. I don't want to see them too honourable. Show them rough, but don't show them fluff. For that is what they are too often. Fett passed on Tharen's message to Solo; he was nice to Leia when sharing quarters in Jabba's home. Condo, I believe Americans call it. Add an r and it can fly, get it? Tidbits here and there are okay, maybe even oky-dokey; but contrary to the publisher's belief SW is a kindergarden of youthful audiences I have an idea. How 'bout we see Fett working really hard for a bounty, I mean really hard with great personal cost, only to discover it's a pregnant women, near the pop-out end. He has an annoying personal choice. Turn her in, not turn her in . . .

He turns her in.

Pleased to have his slave back, employer terminates her.

Just a bounty. Job done. I am a cold bounty, and that's what I am. And what a shock to read that'd be, just for once.

 

Well, Fetts already killed a teenager in the same manner as you.

Jango killed a lover and partner.

They're pretty cold barves to quote Bossk.

However, I think its important to note that I don't think Jango Fett was ever a bounty hunter as his primary profession. Jango Fett was a mercenary and Mandalorian first. His son, Boba, was the Bounty Hunter since he'd been that all of his life. It's just that Jango's military force was utterly annihilated.

Honestly, it might be interesting speculate whether Jango Fett was originally slated to lead the Clone Armies.

It might have been a very interesting situation.

 

A dozen added to a decade, starved in half, fed by three score more and one that is half a gross, digested down by half a century and grown from a dozen quartered totally denies your teeny assertions, my good Literaturean. What lover did Jango kill, in Cestus?

 

Eh, Jango was dead by Cestus.

I think he means Zam.

 

Whoa, hold on. Boba didn´t kill Fenn, Fenn died saving Fett from an so far unknown threath..
Or am I wrong??

 

Well Boba had gone to kill Fenn and was more or less responsible for his death no doubt.

 

Conflict of interest. He probably figured he owed Taun We, both for his leg and for looking after him when his dad wasn't around, as I'd suppose she might have.

 

Actually, Jango had a droid, MU-12, to take care of Boba when he was gone. The droid was gone by the young adult series, and Boba just hung out all alone in the apartment.

Anyways, I'd say Jango was more moral, seeing as how he saved Coruscant from destruction and all.

 

The point about his leg still holds.

I wonder if Boba's ever done anything like that.

 

Closest he's come is killing the Agent of Doom guys.

He'd probably blow up Coruscant if he figured he could collect all the bounties for people on it.

 

Now, now, let's not slip into hyperbole.

 

I think they take after each other so much, it's hard to say that one is "more moral" than the other. I think they both have the potential for good in them (Jango saving Coruscant and Boba's actions in TUF) spring to mind. And yet, they could just as easily kill just to collect a bounty. If push came to shove, I believe they BOTH could be good. But their lives haven't provided for that.

As has been stated previously here, Jango lost all of his family at a young age and was raised by the Mandalorians, which is quite the harsh upbringing. Boba lost the only family he ever knew quite gruesomly (I mean, how much would YOU be affected if you saw your father beheaded in front of you?). It does seem as they both got older that they somewhat "mellowed" out and became better people. But the point is they are quite the same. The potential for good AND bad exists in them and is shown often. That's why we always go back to them in stories.

 

Y'know, I was thinking about this after reading it this morning, and while Jango is admirable for his love and care for his son, once you strip away all of the Jango-worship of the clones that seems to put him on top at first glance, there's not much nobility that I can see in Jango (granted, I haven't read all material on him, but...)

Between visions of Boba in the young readers series, Last One Standing, and, most importantly (IMHO) "No Disintegrations, Please," Boba seems to have more nobility, morality, and compassion. Which is not to say that any of those three characteristics he possesses in great measure, nor in perfect nature. However, comparing between the two, I'd deffinetly peg Boba as the 'good...' though the jury is still out on which of them is more 'honorable;' based on our deffinitions of honor, or following their own?

 

To be quite honest, many people speak ill of Bobas "lack of character" in all his appearances. And I for one, actually like him that way. It's a wonderful change from the goody goody characters like Luke, and the downright vile people like Tarkin and the Emperor.

I liken him to Punisher comics, and Jeremy Bullochs influence by Clint Eastwood. He's that man with no name that wanders into town, does some damage, and possibly some good between the time he arrives and leaves. I was happy when he didn't have a past, when he was ambiguous, and when he didnt sound like Jango :/

I would be very happy if D.K Morans would get another shot at writing a Fett story. I'm sure he could easily pull off a wonderful book. Ostranders Agent of Doom story was good and pretty spot on for the character. Cam Kennedy's artwork is exactly what I think of when I think of a Fett comic, and his use of vibrant colours in those recent works has really bumped it to my favourite comic.

Anyway, Jango and Boba's lives mirror each other exactly. Except that Boba has lived quite a big longer. The only real key difference that I can think of, is Boba didn't have the companionship that Jango had with his mandalorians. He grew up alone, in a world of the Hutts, the one "companion" he had was D'haran. And wow, I bet hes a real talker.

Then again, he also tried to retire and have a family. That didn't turn out so well.

 

Are you that Lando with your money, though? Don't you want the best service at the cheapest price? Imagination is no substitute for what your eyes can read, and you want to read something with substance.

 

Which is why more readers in search of quality consistently make Fett their protagonist of choice, it might be said.

 

Don't you Zahn cheek twitch at me with innocent nonchalance. Fett's comic issues in half a decade are mostly just hack-the-enemy, minimal dialogue of course.

 

Good things come in small packages Ex, and a tasteful smattering of the few words of a man of action not wont to subject the reader to lengthy chatterings makes a welcome change from comic-book talky-ness, oh it does.

 

oh come now, its not that bad that I enjoy a good souless slaughtering in colourful 2D. It takes talent to create a story with no words from the protagonist (sort of).

Bah, I've lost my train of thought. Suffice it to say, to me they are good stories.

Hutts are funny too.

 

I think Boba's the better of the two men.

Jango spiralled downwards, but his son started off rock bottom, and grew upwards.