# Why is Boba Fett so legendary? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 1, 2010, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-boba-fett-so-legendary/562561 "2010-12-01T17:20:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Capitaine\_Zombie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e95f7d/32.png) [@Capitaine\_Zombie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capitaine_Zombie)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2010, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-boba-fett-so-legendary/562561/21 "2010-12-01T20:14:11Z")
> [@Pleonast](#): > > Not only that, but when she pulled the detonator out, while everyone else hit the deck, he pulled out his weapon and stood his ground. Yeah that too, even though the shot of Fett giving his slight nod to Leai defines the iconic Bobba Fett for me (that and the shot of him into Slaver and watching Han Solo getting away from the Empire fleet in ESB). I also forgot one thing, IIRC, in ROTJ, Fett doesnt say a word, he’s all about attitude. And ROTJ’s Fett is taller and gaunter than ESB’s Fett. I think in fact ROTJ is a better introduction to the character than ESB. It definitely was for me. And I still wonder why Lucas hasnt produced any Bobba Fett spinoff movie series. The character justified it. That is before Lucas anal raped him by making his father/clone or clown look like a total schmuck in the new trilogy. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2010, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-boba-fett-so-legendary/562561/22 "2010-12-01T20:28:12Z")
> [@Stormcrow](#): > > Boba Fett was also the only one of the bounty hunters that Vader assembled that figured out how Han Solo evaded the Imperial Navy, so he had a certain aura of competence to him. Plus, when they introduce the bounty hunters, Boba Fett is the only one who gets special instructions from Vader: “No disintegrations!” Suggesting that the Fett was too hard core even for a Sith Lord. ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2010, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-boba-fett-so-legendary/562561/23 "2010-12-01T21:01:14Z")
> [@Capitaine\_Zombie](#): > > … ROTJ’s Fett is taller and gaunter than ESB’s Fett… He’s played by the same actor in both movies. Was there a costume redesign? Perhaps its because Jeremy Bulloch wasn’t standing next to David Prowse in ROTJ. ---
**Author:** ![Capitaine\_Zombie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e95f7d/32.png) [@Capitaine\_Zombie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capitaine_Zombie)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2010, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-boba-fett-so-legendary/562561/24 "2010-12-01T21:21:38Z")
> [@garygnu](#): > > He’s played by the same actor in both movies. Was there a costume redesign? Perhaps its because Jeremy Bulloch wasn’t standing next to David Prowse in ROTJ. Fett in Empire Strikes Back and Return of The Jedi looks different. But you’re right , anyone standing next to Prowse would look dwarfish. Still in ESB, Fett looks more crouched, more curled up. Different directors might also explain that. Still, Return of the Jedi’s Fett gains a lot by not saying a word. It’s all corporal language, makes for a longer lasting impression than some barter with Vader (“Barter with Vader” would be a cool title). ---
**Author:** ![Lo-Slung\_Denim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f6c823/32.png) [@Lo-Slung\_Denim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lo-Slung_Denim)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2010, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-boba-fett-so-legendary/562561/25 "2010-12-01T21:29:32Z")
> [@garygnu](#): > > He’s played by the same actor in both movies. Was there a costume redesign? Perhaps its because Jeremy Bulloch wasn’t standing next to David Prowse in ROTJ. I’ve met Jeremy Bulloch - and David Prowse - at Comic Con, and Jeremy Bulloch was infinitely cooler. He signed a photo for me and was explaining the direction he got for the scene the photo was from. So maybe that was what made Fett so cool? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2010, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-boba-fett-so-legendary/562561/26 "2010-12-01T21:32:56Z")
> [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](#): > > I remember the action figure came out well before Empire Strikes Back was released, so he got that pub. In my experience, this is the source of the entire Boba Fett mystique. His action figure built anticipation about the character, and the adventures us kids wrote for him in our play vastly outweigh his actual involvement in the movies. > [@mlees](#): > > Actually, Fett had xray goggles built into his visor, and he could see what the golden bikini almost covered up later. “Nice gams, sister.” Nitpick: No one needs xray goggles to see a girl’s gams if she’s wearing a bikini, regardless of what it’s made of. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2010, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-boba-fett-so-legendary/562561/27 "2010-12-01T22:03:33Z")
“No disintegrations!” > [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](#): > > Someone really should just go up to Lucas and say “You know George, you did a great job with Star Wars and Empire. Why don’t we take it from here?” _The Empire Strikes Back_ was written by Leigh Brackett and Lawrence Kasdan (both are noted screenwriters), and directed by Irvin Kershner (probably the best thing he ever did). The producer of the film was Gary Kurtz; Lucas is listed only for story credit and as an executive producer. His involvement in the actual production appears to have been minimal. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![mlees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@mlees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mlees)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2010, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-boba-fett-so-legendary/562561/28 "2010-12-01T22:39:08Z")
[QUOTE=KneadToKnow] Nitpick: No one needs xray goggles to see a girl’s gams if she’s wearing a bikini, regardless of what it’s made of. 😉 [/QUOTE] Pardon my clumsiness. I meant that Fett got a sneak peak before the rest of us did. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2010, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-boba-fett-so-legendary/562561/29 "2010-12-01T22:52:49Z")
> [@mlees](#): > > Actually, Fett had xray goggles built into his visor, and he could see what the golden bikini almost covered up later. “Nice gams, sister.” The bikini already left her gams bare. How would an X-ray goggle help? ---
**Author:** ![mlees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@mlees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mlees)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2010, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-boba-fett-so-legendary/562561/30 "2010-12-01T22:53:52Z")
> [@acsenray](#): > > The bikini already left her gams bare. How would an X-ray goggle help? Was she wearing her bikini at the moment he nodded to her? ---
**Author:** ![Ura-Maru](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/51bf81/32.png) [@Ura-Maru](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ura-Maru)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2010, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-boba-fett-so-legendary/562561/31 "2010-12-01T23:02:54Z")
He was presented as a badass, so we all assumed he was a badass. Good direction work can do that. And he certainly looked the part. If he was on Vader’s short list of bounty-hunters, he was probably pretty good. Probably. Kind of like the Ring Wraiths, in both the books and the movie. Bunch of utter pusses, but the narrative insisted they were scary, so they managed to come off as (kind of) scary. – To be fair, a few of the unarmed and untrained civilians they tried with mixed success to intimidate were normal-human sized, not child sized. A few. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2010, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-boba-fett-so-legendary/562561/32 "2010-12-01T23:10:16Z")
> [@Ura-Maru](#): > > He was presented as a badass, so we all assumed he was a badass. Yep; he’s even one of the examples given of a [Memetic Badass](http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/MemeticBadass). WARNING: TV TROPES LINK. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2010, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-boba-fett-so-legendary/562561/33 "2010-12-02T00:18:57Z")
He’s much cooler than Bossk, IG88, 4-LOM, and Dengar. ---
**Author:** ![ElectricZ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/58f4c7/32.png) [@ElectricZ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElectricZ)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2010, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-boba-fett-so-legendary/562561/34 "2010-12-02T03:33:06Z")
[Robot Chicken, anyone?](http://video.adultswim.com/robot-chicken/going-out-like-a-punk.html) (Sorry, there’s an unskippable add… ☹ ) Just one example, but all the Fett stuff in RC is gold… ---
**Author:** ![jackdavinci](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackdavinci/32/3259_2.png) [@jackdavinci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackdavinci)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2010, 8:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-boba-fett-so-legendary/562561/35 "2010-12-02T08:40:34Z")
> [@KneadToKnow](#): > > In my experience, this is the source of the entire Boba Fett mystique. His action figure built anticipation about the character, and the adventures us kids wrote for him in our play vastly outweigh his actual involvement in the movies. Anecdotal only. I don’t recall thinking Boba Fett was cool because of anything other than he managed to procure the Han Solo removal. And I didn’t think anything less of him for dying in the Sarlacc Pitt. ---
**Author:** ![magnusblitz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b4bc9f/32.png) [@magnusblitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magnusblitz)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2010, 8:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-boba-fett-so-legendary/562561/36 "2010-12-02T08:58:46Z")
I’m too young to have the action figures affect me (grew up on the redone 1997 versions) but I also remember Fett being cool when I was young. I think it was just a lot of little things… he had a cool appearance (especially the helmet), he was competent, he hung out with Vader, his nod and reaction to the detonator in Jabba’s palace, he fought off Luke… just a cool character. Probably also helped that nearly every author to use him has also continued with his badassery. (Of course, Lucas tried hard to ruin him in the prequels like he did everyone else) ---
**Author:** ![Koxinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4af34b/32.png) [@Koxinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koxinga)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2010, 9:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-boba-fett-so-legendary/562561/37 "2010-12-02T09:37:14Z")
> [@Capitaine\_Zombie](#): > > And I still wonder why Lucas hasnt produced any Bobba Fett spinoff movie series. 'Cause he’s stupid, and he’s spent the past thirty years beating to death the one good idea he ever had. You can insert that as an answer to any question starting out with, “Why did/didn’t Lucas . . .” ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2010, 10:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-boba-fett-so-legendary/562561/38 "2010-12-02T10:32:33Z")
The **Star Wars** newspaper comic strip was a pretty big concern in the early 80s. IIRC, even though Fett was a minor character in the movies, he was a major one in the strip, and Lucasfilms coordinated both. That’s the way I heard it, anyway. Since the suit and special effects for the character likely outstripped any revenue they got from the comics, I’ll entertain alternate theories, but I wouldn’t put it past them to create a character solely for the benefit of their merchandising arm. ---
**Author:** ![interface2x](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c0e974/32.png) [@interface2x](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/interface2x)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2010, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-boba-fett-so-legendary/562561/39 "2010-12-02T14:29:50Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > Plus, when they introduce the bounty hunters, Boba Fett is the only one who gets special instructions from Vader: “No disintegrations!” Suggesting that the Fett was too hard core even for a Sith Lord. Exactly, when Darth Vader himself is telling you to dial it back a little, you’re probably a badass. ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2010, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-boba-fett-so-legendary/562561/40 "2010-12-02T16:24:47Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > He’s much cooler than Bossk, IG88, 4-LOM, and Dengar. We don’t need their scum! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-boba-fett-so-legendary/562561.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-boba-fett-so-legendary/562561.md?page=3)