Why Darth Vader Trusts Boba Fett So Much: A Key Star Wars Relationship Explained
There are two villains who have stood a cut above the rest in the "Star Wars" universe for decades now, albeit for wildly different reasons: Darth Vader and Boba Fett. On the one hand, Darth Vader is one of the all-time great cinematic villains and has been ever since his debut in "A New Hope" back in 1977. On the flip side, Boba Fett is a bounty hunter who, up until very recently, was purely a mysterious figure who operated on the wrong side of the law and was "bad" by virtue of his actions against the heroes of the original trilogy. And, despite very little screen time up until his reappearance in "The Mandalorian" and "The Book of Boba Fett," became one of the most popular characters in the entire franchise.
These two characters could not be more different and yet, they are inherently linked. Boba Fett's live-action debut in "The Empire Strikes Back" was directly connected to Vader, with the Sith Lord commissioning him for an important job to hunt down the crew of the Millenium Falcon. Fett had personal reasons for taking the job as Han Solo had a large bounty on his head. However, there is a bit more to it than that. Why did Vader trust Boba Fett so much? And how did he become the man for the job in a galaxy full of bounty hunters? How did he come to stand by Vader's side on Cloud City? There are some very good reasons for this and none of it is all that speculative. The answers are right there in "Star Wars" canon. You just need to know where to look.
The Captain Rex connection
So, where is the genesis for this trust between Boba Fett and Darth Vader? For that, we may have to go back to when Boba was a child in the aftermath of "Atack of the Clones." As many fans will surely recall, Boba's Dad Jango Fett was the model used to produce the Republic's clone army. Boba is an unaltered clone of his father and this is key to understanding the relationship there. Through seven seasons worth of "The Clone Wars" animated series, Anakin Skywalker battled side-by-side alongside many clones but, perhaps most importantly, Captain Rex.
Anakin, years before he would be turned to the Dark Side and become Darth Vader, battled it out against the droid army of the separatists, carrying out many missions with Rex, one of his most trusted allies in the clone army. Anakin was there on the day that Jango Fett died and he is no doubt aware of the fact that one of his friends in combat is an exact clone of Boba. That connection cannot be ignored when diving into this complex relationship.
Sure, Vader largely abandoned many attachments he had once he became a Sith and Anakin was "killed." Be that as it may, even the most heartless leader of the Empire had some memories behind that mask and, in Boba Fett, there would be some recognition of that past.
They both have it in for the Jedi
Another key thing to remember is that Vader has no love for the Jedi following the events of "Revenge of the Sith." It was bad and then, when his fight with his former master Obi-Wan left him nearly dead on the shores of Mustafar, there was no turning back. He hated the Jedi and that was never going to change — at least not until Luke managed to redeem his father at the tail end of "Return of the Jedi.
Similarly, Boba Fett has precisely zero love for the Jedi. Not only does he spend most of his adulthood on the wrong side of the law but he was also raised on the wrong side of the law. In his youth, the Jedi were the final word when it came to order in the galaxy. Naturally, that would present a bit of a clash. Beyond that, Mace Windu, one of the Jedi at the very top of the food chain, is the one who killed his father during the events of "Attack of the Clones." Boba watched this happen and that's not something you ever forget.
This provides a bit more opportunity for connection. Beyond the mutual hatred of the Jedi, let us not forget that Anakin was the one who more or less took out Mace Windu, the man who killed Jango Fett, during "Revenge of the Sith." This was his turning point and, in allowing Mace to seemingly die (but maybe not) at the hands of Palpatine, he became a Sith. And, in turn, destroyed the Jedi responsible for Jango's death. Boba would probably appreciate that.
The very important Luke Skywalker connection
Most of this just builds a case for the "maybe that's why" of it all, but there is an incredibly important event that takes place within the actual "Star Wars" canon that cements Boba Fett as one of Darth Vader's trusted allies. Even though it is an uneasy alliance between evil men that bears fruit when it is to their mutual benefit. As it just so happens. Boba Fett was actually the one who let Darth Vader know that his son was alive and that the Skywalker bloodline lived on outside of himself.
We learn in "The Empire Strikes Back" that Vader is Luke's father, making for one of the all-time great plot twists in any movie ever reaching far beyond the "Star Wars" galaxy. But when precisely did Vader learn this information? As far as he knew, Padme died during childbirth and his child did not survive. It is also important to remember he had no idea she was pregnant with twins, so Leia didn't even enter into his mind in that regard until much later.
But during the events of 2015's "Star Wars" comic from Marvel, as well as the "Darth Vader" series being published at the time, Palpatine's right-hand man does learn that Luke Skywalker is in fact, his son. Cue the dramatic music. These were some of the early books published by Marvel Comics as part of the new, reset canon under Lucasfilm and they opted to tell this hugely important tale across two titles. Namely, in issues #4 and #5 of "Star Wars" and issue #6 of "Darth Vader."
How it all went down
The comic book issues in question take place shortly after the events of "Star Wars: A New Hope" and, given that a single X-Wing pilot took out the Death Star, Darth Vader naturally has some questions. So, he tasks Boba Fett, behind the Emperor's back, to figure out who was in that starfighter. In issues #4 and #5 of "Star Wars," we see Fett's mission unfolding, with him heading to Tatooine looking for answers. Meanwhile, Luke is looking for answers of his own in Obi-Wan Kenobi's old haunt. After Fett gets the name "Skywalker" at the cantina, he and Luke cross paths at Ben's place and, as one might expect, they have quite the confrontation.
Ultimately, Luke being the budding Jedi that he is, narrowly evades capture. However, this does leave Fett with something to bring to Lord Vader. We see in both "Star Wars" #5 and "Darth Vader" #6 the moment where Fett delivers the information to Vader. While he leaves out the details of how Luke evaded capture, he drops the name "Skywalker" on his employer. "Darth Vader" #6 offers more of Vader's reaction to the information but, as one might expect, he's angry and surprised. Fett leaves and Vader is left to process all of this. But, the important thing is as it relates to this pairing, it offers a very solid reason for why Vader would trust Fett in the future.
This explains why Fett was called in alongside the likes of Bossk and IG-88 in "Empire Strikes Back." This explains why Vader would have reason to single him out and say "no disintegrations," suggesting that the two have had other dealings in the past that we don't know about. This is the man who brought everything full circle for Vader and, even though the dark lord of the Sith has to fear or respect no one, he clearly offers some level of respect to the feared bounty hunter they call Boba Fett.
Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics