Boba Fett, the notorious “Star Wars” bounty hunter, is simple to spot because to his distinctive Mandalorian armour. Long before anyone ever knew what a Mandalorian was, he initially appeared in the animated section of the infamous 1978 “Star Wars Holiday Special” (a part titled “The Story of the Faithful Wookiee”). Due to his live-action roles in “The Empire Strikes Back” and “Return of the Jedi,” the character gained enormous notoriety, but it wasn’t until 2002 that Boba and his armour received a formal backstory in the “Star Wars” films.
The second instalment of George Lucas’ “Star Wars” prequel trilogy, “Attack of the Clones,” reveals that Boba is actually a clone of Jango Fett, a Mandalorian bounty hunter in armour who served as the genetic inspiration for the clones that make up the Grand Army of the Republic. Jango was given a non-genetically modified clone to raise as his son and gave the name Boba as part of his agreement with the Kaminoan scientists who were in charge of developing the Republic’s army. Boba, who grew up to become a successful bounty hunter in his own right after the Jedi Master Mace Windu killed Jango in battle during the First Battle of Geonosis, even wore his father’s armour as a sign of respect. Of course, it also helped that someone in Jango and Boba’s hazardous line of work would find Mandalorian armour to be extremely helpful.
Mandalorian armor – What is it good for?
Metal plates that cover a person’s chest, shoulders, and forearms as well as a helmet with a T-shaped visor make up the majority of a Mandalorian’s armour. However, the armor’s use of Beskar, a remarkably robust alloy that is indigenous to the planet Mandalore, is what really gives it its strength. Beskar is strong enough to fend off most blaster fire and can even survive lightsaber attacks. In truth, if Windu hadn’t been able to precisely strike Jango with his lightsaber through the neck during their confrontation, things would have turned out quite differently for Windu (perhaps the most vulnerable spot not protected by Mandalorian armor).
In the modern “Star Wars” canon (which declared the “Expanded Universe” stories about Boba non-canon and made them part of “Star Wars Legends”), Boba’s armour is reportedly the reason he was able to survive in “Return of the Jedi” after falling into the Great Pit of Carkoon, which was the final resting place of the deadly Sarlacc on Tatooine. Boba had the opportunity to flee before the Sarlacc could kill him because it was unable to consume the Beskar in his gear. As seen in Season 2 of “The Mandalorian,” Boba’s armour was eventually recovered by Jawa scavengers and sold to Cobb Vanth, the sheriff of the little Tatooine settlement of Mos Pelgo. Cobb Vanth then delivered the armour to yet another Mandalorian bounty hunter named Din Djarin. In order to get it back, Boba pursued Din all the way to the Deep Core planet Tython. Given its profound personal significance to him in addition to its usefulness, it is understandable why he did.
But what about that dent?
The odd dent in the helmet, which wasn’t there when Jango wore it, is the one feature that marks Boba Fett’s Mandalorian armour apart from other sets. Dave Filoni, head of Lucasfilm Animation and executive producer of “The Mandalorian,” showed animatic video from an unaired story arc on the animated “Clone Wars” series that would’ve explained where this puzzling dent originated from at the 2017 Star Wars Celebration. The video focused on a duel between Boba and Cad Bane, another amazing bounty hunter, in the Old West manner, in which Cad managed to hit Boba’s helmet with a bullet. To put it simply, Boba was fortunate that he was wearing his helmet at the moment and that it was made of some of the galaxy’s strongest materials.
It’s interesting to note that Cad Bane makes an appearance in the first season of the animated “Clone Wars” spinoff series “The Bad Batch” sporting a never-before-seen metal plate on the left side of his head.
