Top 5 Most Interesting STAR WARS Bounty Hunters
Star Wars is chock-full of characters who aren't in the forefront of the story. From major players in the political scene of the films (like Mon Mothma, Bail Organa, etc.) to that one guy you see for four seconds in Empire Strikes Back (here's to you, Willrow Hood). Some of these characters are really interesting, though, despite their incredibly short screen times. But let's talk about some characters who have little to no screen time but were intriguing enough to elaborate on. In particular, bounty hunters. These are some of the coolest, most badass side characters in the universe. They have awesome character designs, bitchin' jobs, and some pretty interesting back stories, if you know where to look. Today we're going to look at some of the coolest and best bounty hunters in the galaxy.
Zuckuss
Let's talk about Zuckuss for a minute. Another of several characters you see for all of four seconds in Empire Strikes Back (of which there are a couple on this list), Zuckuss is a Gand Findsman. While that probably doesn't sound all that interesting at first, they're a pretty rad group of hunters. The Findsman are these religious bounty hunters who used abilities they say definitely have nothing to do with the Force, but pretty closely resemble what you would imagine witchcraft to be like. They perform specific rituals and rites in their efforts to find their quarry. Zuckuss was the heir to a nearly 300-year long line of Findsman, a role he took very seriously. He trained hard to hone his skills despite the introduction of advanced scanning equipment by the Empire making the Findsman mostly obsolete. After leaving his homeworld (an act forbidden by the Gand), Zuckuss found success among the bounty hunters of the galaxy, working with many of them at one time or another. Zuckuss has his flaws, though, primarily schizophrenia and a serious case of multiple personality disorder. What really makes him stand out, though, is that instead of just serving the Empire like many bounty hunters, Zuckuss served the Rebellion after they gave him some much needed medical care following a job gone south. This feeling of Rebel sympathy actually carried on with him, bringing him and his droid bounty hunter partner 4-LOM into direct conflict with Boba Fett over Han Solo. We all know how that turned out. Regardless, Zuckuss stands out among his fellow hunters for his ability to divine the location of his prey, despite their best efforts. Plus, he looks like a deep sea diver! That's awesome!
C-21 Highsinger
Highsinger is in a single episode of the Clone Wars series, and in that episode he only has a handful of scenes. But he is one of the coolest looking, most badass bounty hunters in the series. He works with Boba Fett, Dengar, Asajj Ventress, and Bossk, who are all dangerous in their own regards, but Highsinger stands above them all (literally). He's a giant droid who says no words but makes the most terrifying sounds you could ever imagine coming from something hunting you down. Being a droid, he's capable of pulling off maneuvers no fleshy creature ever could, including holding a blaster in each hand and spinning just his torso around blasting everyone around him. I wish there had been more of Highsinger in the show, and that makes a great side character.
Jango Fett
I feel like this is a pretty obvious choice. Jango is the best thing about the prequels for me (I'm only slightly biased towards anything Mandalorian-related). We see him go toe-to-toe with Obi-Wan in Attack of the Clones, we see him ruthlessly put down his own associate before she could give away information about him, and ultimately, Jango is so fracking dangerous that he was chosen to be the genetic template for an entire army of soldiers. Outside of the films, Jango came from nothing — he was the son of a farmer who eventually rose to become Mandalore, the leader of all Mandalorians. He's fought and killed Jedi with his bare hands, and he's beaten some of the best in the galaxy in a galactic bounty hunting competition. Jango is not to be underestimated, and he is the father of Boba Fett.
Boba Fett
Speaking of Boba Fett. I know what some of you are thinking, you mean the jackass that got knocked into the Sarlaac pit by a blind dude in Return of the Jedi? Yes, that guy. Because Boba is so much more than that. As far as the movies go, Boba was the bounty hunter selected by Darth Vader to help him lure Luke Skywalker to Cloud City, while capturing Han Solo in the process. He's the bounty hunter of choice for Jabba the Hutt, which ultimately was his downfall. For a while. In the former Extended Universe, Boba not only survives the Sarlaac, he returns to Mandalore to become their leader. He lives for another 30 years, while he helps the Mandalorians become a galactic presence again and helps the Galactic Alliance end a war with the Imperial Remnant, and its own civil war. I could go on for days about what Boba is involved in with the EU, but since that's all null and void now we'll just leave it at that and pray that the new powers that be are generous gods.
Cad Bane
This guy is one absurdly badass dude. He successfully holds the Galactic Senate hostage, successfully negotiates the release of his target and gets away clean on his first adventure in the Clone Wars series, but he also goes on to do even more insane things, including but not limited to: break into the Jedi Temple, steal a Holocron, escape said Temple, kidnap several Force-sensitive children, get captured by Mace Windu, trap him, escape again, get arrested (intentionally), break his client out of prison, go on the lam, compete in a galaxy-wide bounty hunter competition, nearly capture the Supreme Chancellor from under the noses of the entire Jedi Council, and still live on. Cad Bane is an unstoppable force in the galaxy. While his ultimate fate is still somewhat up in the air (much like Boba Fett himself), there's no denying that Cad Bane is one of the most BAMF ever to be in the Star Wars universe.
While this list is far from a completely inclusive work, these guys are some of the most bad ass individuals in Star Wars. I have a good feeling that we may see more of them, and people like them, in the new EU and, hopefully, in some of the movies to come.
What do you think, who are some of your favorite bounty hunters? Let us know in the comments below!