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Review: "Star Wars: Jango Fett #2"
I’m sure many Fett fans are aware of the tragedy that is the cancellation of Star Wars 1313. (For those who don’t: it’s a video game that would have starred Boba Fett undertaking an epic journey on the titular level of Coruscant.) It seems, for the foreseeable future, that Jango Fett #2 will be the closest we get to seeing a Fett in action on Level 1313.
That’s where this issue starts us: Jango is walking through 1313, and easily takes out a group of thugs foolish enough to jump him. This is a taste of what the aforementioned game would have been — savor it, my cherished readers.
Actually, there’s another one. Jango is here for information, and the information broker he seeks has been surrounded by natives of Glee Anselm. It’s curious to note here that Jango launches the wrist rocket that both he and Boba have on their left gauntlets — but then, it bursts into the Whistling Birds made famous by “The Mandalorian.” It’s interesting how similar but diverse Mandalorian weaponry is among it’s users.
These five natives were armed with only: 2 bows and arrows, 2 spears, and a blaster. They are also small in size and have no armor. I pity the Anselmi for their … insufficient armament and resources. As you can imagine, the Whistling Birds tear through them like hot knives through butter. Again, it would have been amazing to do this in a video game, 1313 or otherwise. This comic does a good job of justifying even further the release of another Star Wars: Bounty Hunter game.
Jango gets his lead from the broker. As you might recall from Jango Fett #1, he is recovering an artifact important for a truce on the planet Glee Anselm. As you might also recall, Aurra Sing is on his tail, and uses her sniper rifle to launch a tracking device onto the hull of Slave I. This is the same trick Obi-Wan Kenobi used on Jango Fett and Slave I in “Attack of the Clones.” Remember what the great George Lucas said: “It’s like poetry, it rhymes.”
Aboard Slave I, Jango receives an incoming transmission from a Nautolan diplomat. He thinks he has a solid lead on the artifact (called the Hope of Glee Anselm) and now wants to cancel the contract Jango has been working. This foolish diplomat greatly overestimates his resources, and greatly underestimates Jango. What did he expect? For Jango to have the artifact within minutes? Fool. He does not realize that bounty hunting is a complicated profession. And Jango Fett is the best in the business — always was.
Jango flatly says “no” to this. I wonder how this will bode when the mission is complete? Sometimes bounty hunters are forced to conduct “aggressive negotiations” to secure their pay.
Jango then receives a transmission from an associate of his, Kligson. If you read the issues of Star Wars: Bounty Hunters featuring Jango Fett (like #37), you’ll recognize this guy as Jango’s friend from that arc. (The other comic series had the same writer, Ethan Sacks.) They have a funny banter where he mocks Jango’s classic line, about being “a simple man trying to make my way through the universe.” I guess Obi-Wan wasn’t the first person he ever said that to.
Anyway, the reason this is relevant is because Kligson helps Jango narrow down the lead from the information broker to a place called “Hallitron-7.” The sequences here isn’t very remarkable — Jango searches through the junkyard rubbles, intimates the locals — usual bounty hunting legwork, the less glorious kind.
Suddenly, Jango is interrupted by an electrified spear. It is the bounty hunter from the last issue, Vigor Struk. Let me tell you something: this guy is nothing special. It is laughable to bring a spear to a gunfight. The fight that ensues between him and Jango is exactly as I called it in my review of #1: biased in favor of this new guy. Although I will say, it is cool when Jango unsheathes a new blade from his gauntlet and slashes Spear Guy with it. This blade comes out from the front of the gauntlet, pointed in the direction Jango’s hand is facing. The blades he uses in “Attack of the Clones” come out from the forearm and point toward the side. It is very awesome to see that Jango’s gauntlets still have new surprises even to this day.
As Jango is fighting Spear Guy, we see Aurra Sing wiping out people in a nearby building and seeking access to the “judicial personal database.” Her fighting style is very agile and vicious — kudos to the writer Ethan Sacks and illustrator Luke Ross for this sequence!
To conclude the forced fight between Jango and Spear Guy, Jango calls in the Slave I to help him out. Again, this is laughable. The issues were pretty much perfect up until this moment. The only melee combatant that can realistically close the distance on a gunslinger like Jango Fett is a Jedi — this Spear Guy should have been gunned down immediately. But whatever.
As Jango is leaving, it seems one of his Westar-34 blasters was left behind, and Spear Guy vows to kill Jango with it. Don’t make me laugh, Spear Guy. Your rematch with Jango will only serve to let Jango retrieve the blaster from you after he hands you your final defeat. This series is only four issues long, and we are already at halftime. Spear Guy’s days are numbered. The one thing I will commend Spear Guy on is his armor — it is tough enough to save him from Firespray gunfire. However, Spear Guy’s head is unprotected. I predict this will be the Achille’s Heel Jango Fett uses against him in either Jango Fett #3 or #4.
The issues ends with Jango receiving an ominous message aboard Slave I: “If you survived, come and find me…on Roxuli.”
Overall, the comic was short but sweet, as usual for this mini-series. With the exception of the biased fight with Spear Guy, these pages are a worthy addition to Jango’s Canon career. When handling Jango Fett or Boba Fett, less is usually more. There are very few writers truly qualified to handle the Fetts in big, long-term projects. Although this project is small, my hat goes off to Ethan Sacks for bringing it yet again with a Jango Fett comic.
The Pros
- Jango Fett and Aurra Sing handled well
- 1313 cameo
- Logical sequence of bounty hunting work
The Cons
- Spear Guy is an annoying character — someone like Montross would have been a more fitting rival to challenge Jango Fett
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