Is Boba Fett A Mandalorian? (Explained)
Boba Fett is one of the most popular characters in the Star Wars universe. With his signature armor closely resembling the one that Mando wears in the TV show Mandalorian and the fact that The Book of Boba Fett TV show is about to hit the small screen, many fans want to learn more about Boba and his origins. Most notably, is Boba Fett a Mandalorian?
Boba Fett is not a born Mandalorian but was raised under Mandalorian culture. Boba is a clone of Jango Fett, a prolific bounty hunter who raised him as his son under Mandalorian culture, but on another planet, Kamino.
That’s why his armor is almost identical to Mandalorian warriors, and he shares the same skillset, traditions, and customs. Also, Fett became the Mandalore later in his life, with the Mandalorians accepting him not just as one of them but their leader. Let’s dive deep to see who Boba Fett really is, what his skills are, and how he’d fare against a true Mandalorian warrior.
Is Boba Fett A Mandalorian?
Our story begins with Jango Fett. Jango was a Mandalorian warrior and one of the best – if not the best – bounty hunters in the galaxy. He was so prolific that the Empire decided to create an entire army of Jango’s clones, with slight genetic modifications to obey orders unquestionably. It marked the start of the Clone Wars.
Jango agreed to the deal under one condition – he wanted one of the clones for himself, unaltered in any way. Jango raised the clone as his son, naming him Boba. Hence, Boba Fett isn’t really Jango’s son, but rather his clone raised as a son.
Boba and Jango lived on the planet Kamino, but Jango gave it his best to raise Boba under Mandalorian culture and traditions. That includes combat training & warrior skills, along with their customs, social behavior patterns, and more.
Seeing that Boba was Jango’s identical clone, he quickly became just as good a warrior and bounty hunter as his so-called father. He started training from a very young age, and Jango’s death, while Boba was still very young, made the Fett clone grow up faster than he anticipated.
It only resulted in an even more diverse and prolific skillset, possibly even eclipsing his father as the galaxy’s best bounty hunter ever.
Boba Fett wasn’t born and raised on Mandalore, but rather created and raised on Kamino; one can’t consider him a true, native Mandalorian. Still, he was raised under their culture and tradition, learning all their warrior skills and customs. Boba even wears the traditional Mandalorian armor and helmet, the same as Jango wore before him.
Also, Boba became the Mandalore later in his life, with the Mandalorians accepting him as their leader. Therefore, although he might not be a native Mandalorian, Boba Fett deserves to be considered a Mandalorian warrior & bounty hunter.
Boba Fett’s Skills & Abilities
First and foremost, Boba Fett is an amazing warrior. He’s an identical clone to one of the best bounty hunters that ever existed in the galaxy, trained in combat from an extremely young age. That makes Boba one of the best bounty hunters and mercenaries ever, feared across the galaxy.
Boba Fett’s physical appearance might be deceiving. While his father, Jango, focused on brute force, Boba emphasizes intelligence and strategy in combat, making him have a slightly more slender build. Don’t let that fool you, though – Boba is extremely strong physically, especially when you combine his strength with the amazing combat skills the Fetts possess.
His armor is extremely durable but obviously damaged, which he reps with pride. The Mandalorian helmet and armor carry tons of features within, like a HUD display, voice command for weapons and connection to his Slave I and IV battleships, and much more.
The jetpack on Boba’s back allowed him to fly, but no more than two kilometers on one fuel tank. It got damaged later on.
As for his weapons of choice, Boba has plenty but usually relies on his awesome EE-3 carbine rifle, which has much more power than a regular Stormtrooper blaster. He also used Sarcos K-11 blaster pistols, a grenade launcher, wrist gauntlets, Czerka ZX mini flamethrowers, Dur-24 wrist lasers, etc.
Boba Fett used his incredible skills in hand-to-hand, close-range, mid-range, and long-range combat and his battle creativity to defeat enemies who were a lot more powerful than him. That’s why Boba was the go-to guy if you wanted a bounty to be collected.
The guy survived falling into a Sarlacc pit. You can’t get any more awesome than that. Would all that allow him to defeat Mando, the main protagonist of the Mandalorian TV show? I’m not that convinced.
Boba Fett Vs. Mando: Who Would Win?
We know that Boba Fett is one of the best bounty hunters and warriors in the galaxy ever. However, Mando – the main character of the Mandalorian TV show – is no slouch either. It seemed he could single-handedly destroy an entire squadron of Stormtroopers without even getting damaged. If we’re talking about a one-on-one fight, who would win?
It would be a very close battle and definitely not one-sided, but I believe Mando would eventually edge out a victory – and the reasons are simple.
First, Mando has superior equipment. While Mando and Boba Fett have similar armor, Mando’s armor is as good as new, whereas Boba’s has seen better days. The damage opens up opportunities for Mando to exploit the weak spots and eventually defeat the Fett clone.
Even their helmets aren’t the same anymore. Boba’s is quite damaged and probably already lacks a function or two it had before.
Also, if we’re talking about weapons, Boba Fett might be prolific with all sorts of weapons, but so is Mando – and his weaponry is newer and way more durable. Also, Mando has some stuff we haven’t seen with Boba, like the Whistling Birds, which proved extremely helpful when the situation gets sticky.
One could argue that Boba is a better pilot, but overall, I don’t think the skills would be the thing that wins this battle. Mando would win solely because his equipment is better, newer, and undamaged. In the end, I hope the two never fight so we don’t have to find out who’d be the winner of this battle scenario.
