The Weapons Of Boba Fett And Other Star Wars Bounty Hunters Explained
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It is difficult in this era of disposable media to explain the feverish degree of anticipation that built up over the year prior to the release of "Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back." Its predecessor completely altered the way Hollywood approached the making and marketing of movies, and, particularly for youngsters, turned the act of moviegoing into the sensation-seeking equivalent of lining up to ride a killer rollercoaster over and over again.
And when the first "Star Wars" left theaters, it was gone. No home video. No cable. Aside from a 1979 re-release, there were whole months when fans couldn't revisit that galaxy far, far away. So when fans were fortunate enough to see it again theatrically, they savored every second and obsessed on every detail — particularly with the Mos Eisley cantina sequence. Who were all these freaky looking creatures? What the heck were they eating? What kinds of weapons were they brandishing?
The weaponry consideration was a big deal for kids. In the absence of officially licensed toys, they crafted facsimiles out of whatever was strewn about the garage, storage room or local scrap heap. And a big kid like Lucas totally understood this.
When "The Empire Strikes Back" finally arrived in theaters on May 21, 1980, fans' antennae pinged like mad. A whole new assortment of spaceships, aliens and lasers to pick over to pick over! And there wasn't a cooler moment than the scene where Darth Vader addresses the six bounty hunters hired to track down the crew of the Millennium Falcon. Bossk! Zuckuss! IG-88! 4-LOM! Dengar! And, holy hell, Boba Fett!
With his badass, Joe Johnston-designed armor and lethal accouterments, Fett was an instant fan favorite. Fans wanted to know everything about him, especially what kind of weaponry he used.
44 years later, we know. And you're here because you want to know. So let's hit the highlights.
Vibroblades, carbine rifles, pulse cannons, oh my!
Thanks to the companion book "Star Wars: The Secrets of the Bounty Hunters," we have a beautifully illustrated itemization of Fett and his ilks' guns/knives/what-have-yous of choice. We've seen these instruments deployed in the films, cartoons, live-action series, books, comic books, video games and zoetropes. So what precisely are Fett and other galactic skip tracers packing? Here's the good stuff.
Vibroblade
Let's start small, but, by no means, nonlethal. Upon first glance, the vibroblade looks like a gnarly knife, but this bad boy can heat up and cut through anything that needs cutting. Mandalorians are too crafty to swear by one weapon, but the vibroblade might be the most versatile implement in their one-man arsenal.
ZX Miniature Flame Projector
From the manufacturing minds at the Czerka Corporation, this little number is essentially a flamethrower that you strap onto your wrist. It's not as flashy as, say, your basic BlasTech Dur-24, but sometimes you just need to see stuff burn.
EE-3 Carbine Rifle
Speaking of the fine folks at BlasTech, this old reliable is standard-issue for Mandalorians. Boba Fett was a big believer in the EE-3, and while it didn't save him from a slow-digested death in the belly of a Sarlaac on Tatooine (I do not recognize "The Book of Boba Fett" as canon), it got the job done in numerous other tight scrapes.
Pulse Cannon
The carbine rifle's bigger, meaner older brother, this is your go-to if you want all the accuracy of a carbine rifle with considerably more firepower. Just ask assassin droid IG-88, who never unhooks from his charger without this piece of space steel clasped in its iron claws.
Not every weapon is crafted expressly for killing
MM-9 Wrist Rockets
Consolidated Arms stakes their corporate reputation on these easy-to-launch, quick-to-kill projectiles, which are accurate at a range of up to 25 meters. Bossk prefers the more destructive Relby-V10 grenade launcher, but that's Bossk for you. Not one for nuance.
Snare Rifle
It can't be kill-kill-kill all the time! These are bounty hunters after all. They make their living by bringing their quarry in alive! To that end, a pro's pro like Zuckuss will tell you that the GRS-1 snare rifle offers ultra-strong netting that even a rancor would struggle to shred.
Z-6 Jetpack
Not a weapon per se, but a great place to stash a big ol' concussion missile and, for uses of capture, a grappler. This is a Mandalorian stand-by. You can't beat it for propulsion and general utility.
Steel Folding Chair
Sometimes you're caught off-guard and need to go with whatever is handy. Whether you're an Earthbound professional wrestler or a bounty hunter light years away, you can't beat the concussive impact of a steel folding chair.
Bandolier
Typically a shoulder strap used for the storage of ammunition (most dashingly modeled by Sean Connery in "Zardoz"), you can also secret poison darts and handgrenades into their slots. It's also a surprisingly convenient place to stash a packet of kleenex for when you get the sniffles.
And this is just scratching the surface! For more bounty hunter weaponry, be sure to check out "Star Wars: The Secrets of the Bounty Hunters" or, y'know, fire up ye olde Google machine!