Expanding the Clone Wars – Bounty

In Episode 4.20 “Bounty” we return to the underworld of the galaxy when Asajj Ventress joins a team of bounty hunters led by a young Boba Fett! In this week’s edition of Expanding the Clone Wars, we examine Dengar’s history, explore Boba Fett’s relationships with Dengar and Asajj and much more!

Dengar

Dengar was one of the galaxy’s most infamous bounty hunters. In 3 ABY, he was a middle-aged man, wore battered Stormtrooper armor, and the cloth around his head covered the circuitry for his enhanced auditory and visual systems. In this episode of The Clone Wars, he is in his prime and the cloth on his head is more of a turban than a bandage. Let’s see how Dengar’s role in this episode of The Clone Wars fits in with current continuity.

In Payback: The Tale of Dengar, Dengar didn’t become a bounty hunter until a year before A New Hope when he learned of a price on Han Solo’s head and wanted to seek revenge against the smuggler. Around 3 BBY, Dengar was a skilled swoop bike racer and in a race against Solo, Han burnt Dengar’s face with the repulsor exhaust from his swoop, forcing Dengar to crash headfirst into crystalline plants. One of the crystalline stems impaled his brain and Dengar was outfitted with cyborg parts by Imperial scientists. He then became an soulless assassin for the Empire until his desertion in 1 BBY.

Now with the revelation that Dengar was a bounty hunter in The Clone Wars, he must have been very new to the bounty hunting business. He is most likely a rookie hunter at this time and that could explain why he would accept a job led by a young kid; Boba Fett. We have to assume years after The Clone Wars, Dengar gives up the bounty hunting life to go back to the Corellian system and become a professional swoop racer, until he is forced back into bounty hunting after the accident.

About his armor; in The Empire Strikes Back, Dengar’s chest plate and undersuit were from a Snowtrooper while the shoulder bells, gauntlets and rest of his armor was salvaged from standard stormtrooper issue. In The Clone Wars his armor looks like it could be a mix of modified Clone Snowtrooper, Senate Commando, and standard Clone Trooper armor.

Boba and Dengar 

Underworld: The Yavin Vassikila is the earliest we see Dengar and Boba Fett together after The Clone Wars. It is interesting to see that Boba Fett, Bossk, and Dengar all worked together in The Clone Wars but years later they wouldn’t hesitate to kill each other if they got in the way of a job.

Dengar was the one who found and saved Boba Fett from the Sarlacc pit in 4 ABY. It’s interesting to note that in Payback: The Tale of Dengar, Boba Fett begs Dengar for his life after escaping the Sarlacc, while in The Mandalorian Armor, Fett just simply regains consciousness and goes about his business.

Boba and Asajj

Boba Fett and Asajj Ventress crossed paths in the Expanded Universe before, but never face to face.

In Boba Fett: Pursuit, Asajj Ventress was at Xagobah as part of Wat Tambor’s backup force. When Boba Fett attacks Tambor’s ship in the Slave 1, Asajj Ventress retaliates in her own ship which Fett recognizes. Boba Fett considers allying with her to take on Mace Windu but decided he wanted to kill Mace alone.

Pusuit is supposed to be placed around 19BBY and since we still don’t know Asajj’s fate in The Clone Wars, we have to assume she must be freelancing for Wat Tambor.

Other Stuff

There are some nods to Shadows of the Empire in this episode. This is the first time we see Bossk’s personal ship, Hound’s Tooth, and the skyhook above Quarzite was similar to the Falleen’s Fist, a Skyhook used by Prince Xizor.

Boba Fett’s personal assassin droid, C-21 Highsinger, is a cross between the design of HK-47 from Knights of the Old Republic and IG-88. Boba wields twin WESTAR-34′s, the same blasters his father used.

Thanks for joining this week as we expanded Episode 4.20 “Bounty”, and make sure you join us next week for the return of Darth Maul in Episode 4.21 “Brothers.”

Sources

Boba Fett: Pursuit, Knights of the Old Republic, Payback: The Tale of Dengar, Shadows of the Empire, The Mandalorian Armor, Underworld: The Yavin Vassikila

Written by Andy Ury
All staff members can be contacted at staff@eucantina.net