THE MANDALORIANS

FEB 25 Jeff Williams wrote: "I have been wondering about the portrayal of the Mandalorians in Episode 2.  Will they be an impressive group of elite warriors or will they be bumbling idiots like the stormtroppers we are all familiar with.  Sure they look cool, but so did the stormtroopers the first time we saw them and it takes more than a cool outfit to be a badass.  One thing to remember is that while most people love Boba Fett(myself included) and think he is one bad dude, he also had one of the most disgraceful deaths of any bad guy in the trilogy.  Sure he looks cool but one little jetpack malfunction and he falls head over heals into the Sarlac pit?  How silly. Good thing there were no ewoks around on in Cloud City or he would have never survived for ROTJ.  It's very possible that Fett's clumsy death (yes he is dead, the books don't count, let the man's soul rest) is Lucas' way of reminding of us of the bumbling Mandalorians of Episode 2.  After all man made technology is no match for the power of the Force.  Just a suggestion.  Me personally, I hope they're a competant group of warriors who kill as many Jedi as possible.  Please comment."

FEB 27 Gillespee wrote: "The Guide to the Star Wars Universe offers very, ver little on Mandalor warriors: "The Mandalore warriors were defeated by the Jedi Knights during the clone wars."  Wow.  Informative, no? Unfortunatly, I am not here to debate whether or not Bobba Fett looked cool, or he died his "disgraceful death."  Boo-hoo.  (Suffice to say I HATE Bobba Fett.)  But about Jeff's comment that man made technology is no match for the power of the Force, goes against what I have always believed.  Somewhere, perhaps in the ROTJ novelization, I remember a quote that says soemthing to the affect of: "Mandalore warriors wore technologically advnced armour that they used to fight, and sometimes beat Jedi."  While it seems to me that this is the exception, rather than the rule, it seems that it happened enough that they were seen as a major threat.  Jeff kind of made it seem like we would see the Three Stooges walking around in armour (nyack, nyack, nyack).  The Mandalore were not only great warriors, and I believe the best in the universe, at least the best lacking force skills.  And then again, whose to say they didn't have force skills. . ."

Matt Hecht wrote: "This is in response to Jeff Williams about the Mandalorians.  Instead of there being a bunch of bumbling troops, you can probably expect to see some lethal death machines.  Remember - for the most part, the good guys will be wiped out.  Although on this point I am looking for some opinions, and here might be another topic for Roderick : If the Mandalorians fight the Jedi in the Clone Wars and lose, do they still help kill the Jedi in Ep. 3?  Perhaps they are thwarted in Ep.2 (Much like the Empire in TESB) and team up with the Sith in Ep. 3 to exterminate the Jedi.  Anyway, back to the point.  Mandalorians may be like the Stormtroopers, but in this Trilogy hoefully they'll be earning their pay."

Alok Bose wrote: "The Mandalorian Supercommandos are one of those bad guy types who want to conquer the galaxy and crush anything that would stand in their way. We don't know much about them, only that they are the supposed enemy of the Jedi in the Clone Wars. Everyone knows that Boba Fett was not a Mandalorian; he just for some unknown reason wears their armor. Anyway, since the clone wars appear to have gone on for a number of years, the Mandalorians are definitely a tough enemy, especially if they're cloning themselves and Jedis. I'm sure we'll get to see at least one battle where the Jedis are beaten badly and then when all seems lost the Jedis will find a weakness and ultimately conquer as we know they do. Honestly, I'm more interested in knowing Fett's link with the Mandalorians rather than the cliched story of their defeat."

MAR 01 Dan Steigerwald wrote: "I think the Mandalorians are definitely going to be portayed as a serious threat to the Old Republic and the Jedi Counsel.  Boba Fett can be the main example for the  total power they will probably have.  Even though he did die a pretty humiliating death, he was also a very main guy in the Star Wars Universe.  Vader respected him.  Otherwise Vader would have just killied Solo after freexing him at Bespin.  Vader didn't need to respect his deal with Fett - he didn't his one with Lando.  Also remember Vader's renegade character in ESB.  He was willing to kill Imperial Commanders, yet he kept it real with Fett.  He certainly wouldn't have had a problem killing a stormtrooper.  The fact that he respected a bounty hunter shows there must be something to that bounty hunter.   As the symbol for what the Mandalorians were, and judging by the respect he commanded from the scum around him (Imperial and criminal) in the first trilogy, it seems the Mandalorians will be a serious problem in the prequels."

Gillespee wrote: "Matt Hecht, when you say Perhaps they are thwarted in Ep.2 (Much like the Empire in TESB) and team up with the Sith in Ep. 3 to exterminate the Jedi, waht exaclty do you mean?  Didn't the Empire beat up on the Rebels and Vader beat up on Luke in ESB?  How is that being thwarted. Perhaps you comparison will make more sense if you explain that part."

MAR 04 James wrote: "Ok, I just want to throw this in for Dan Steigerwald, Lucas himself has said that Boba Fett is a very small player in the overall Star Wars universe. Just because he looks cool and wears the same armor as the mysterious Mandalors doesn't mean he is important. Oh, and as for Vader acting like he respects him, Boba Fett is covered in weapons and sith lord or not Vader can still die. Everyone assumes that Vader is all powerfull but the force probably wouldn't do a whole lot of good if Boba Fett decided to set off a thermal detonator on the bridge of that super star destroyer."

Josh wrote: "In response to what Alok Bose said "Everyone knows that Boba Fett was not a Mandalorian; he just for some unknown reason wears the armor."  I don't believe this is true, because several "official" sources (inluding Jeremy Bulloch himself) have stated that Fett was indeed a Manlorian warrior.  Also just to throw in my 2 cents, the Force is indeed amazingly powerful, that is if the user uses it to it's fullest potential.  You have to realize that the average Jedi Knight is strong in the Force, but their actual Force stregth, and their ability to manipulate the Force weigh heavily upon what they can actually do with it.  When figuring these factors into the equation, it seems to make sense that an extremely technologically adavanced people (in this case the Mandalorians) would prove to be a threat to the Jedi.  Plus I think it would be incredible to see an army of Mandalore warriors duking it out with an army of Jedi:)"

Joe wrote: "I know this is very BROAD specualtion, but remember when Vader says to Fett, "I want them alive- No Disenegrations!"? Maybe somewhere in the prequels, probably Episode III, Boba Fett disentigrates a friend of Anakin's. This would give an explanation to why Vader knows about Fett's past of disentigrating...just a thought."

MAR 05 Gillespee wrote: "James hit it on the head, respect out of fire power and perhaps because of reputation.  While I still hate Boba Fett, i do realize that he was the most sought-after bounty huter in the galaxy.  Which means he's good.  No one, not even Vader, would feel comfortable standing next the greatest killing machine in the known galaxy.  As for Joe, while it is possible Fett disintegrated someone Anakin knew (he/she doesn't neccesarily have to be a friend), I believe it far more likely that Boba Fett's reputation once again precedes him.  Vader most likely just knows Fetts M.O.  But, hey, good speculation."

Adam wrote: "As far as this Vader respects Boba Fett stuff, I think it's a bunch of bull.  Vader doesn't take crap from anyone in the entire trilogy unless it's:Grand Moff Tarkin, the emperor, or when Luke gets super pissed in ROTJ and kicks his ass.  Boba Fett is a tool. Vader has no reason to screw with Boba Fett, he's providing a valuable service.  With the bounty hunters hunting for (and wasting their own lives\resourses) the Millennium Falcon, Vader can utilize his portion of the Imperial Fleet in other ways.  As far as Vader not breaking his agreement to Boba Fett, he has no reason to.  The princess was a very influential and powerful member of the alliance, letting her remain alive would be a potent threat.  Solo on the other hand is not nearly as important (at least in ESB), and poses little threat to the Empire.  Besides, it's not like Jabba was going to let him go free or something.            Vader doesn't respect Boba Fett, he simply has no reason to provoke a conflict with him.  Such a conflict would accomplish nothing, and would be a waste of time, energy, and a valuable resource.            A final thought... I also agree with others that Boba Fett isn't a terrible important person in the Star Wars universe.  He's a cool looking bounty hunter that has some connections with Jabba and the empire (maybe), etc.  Lucas never intended him to represent anything more.  He's the ESB's equivalent of Greedo. His role in the prequels is to appease fans and help create a link to the first trilogy."

MAR 10 R2Unit wrote: "I really hope to see an army of mandalorians in Episode 2, fighting a Republic army, not just the jedi. I´m sure the jedi will help the Republic in the clone wars, but i don´t believe there will be enough of them, to create an army by themselves. So the mandalorians will be defeated, but Republic losses will be heavy. When Palpatines jedi-purge starts, the first thing he does, is to legalize bounty-hunting. The Republic had no need for bounty-hunters, ´cause they had the jedi. Palpatines army can´t sneak around, searching for hidden jedi, and Vader realizes this, therefore he hires bounty-hunters, like in ESB. I would like to see the last surviving mandalorians, including Fett, make a cameo in Episode 3, as bountyhunters, perhaps even see them bring a jedi down. That would give Vader reason to say "No disintegrations" to him, in ESB.   Thanks for the most serious and civilized discussion on the Net."

MAR 22 Alok K. Bose wrote: "Josh said "several 'official' sources (inluding Jeremy Bulloch himself) have stated that Fett was indeed a Mandalorian warrior." Well I can't say what Jeremy Bulloch said, but I have not read anything which suggets that Fett was indeed a Mandalorian. I have read several books and comics, all of which explicitly say that Fett was not a Mandalorian and that he just wore their armor. Obviously no one can say for sure if this is true because Lucas can decide to change whatever he wants. Some people I know who are real Boba Fett fans (for some as of yet, unknown reasons) upbraid me for not coming to the obvious realization that Fett is still alive. They claim that any book which has Boba Fett in it after ROTJ proves it because Lucas approved it. Of course I counter with the very explicit "burp" which the Sarlacc gave after ingesting Fett. Now citing bodily functions does not make me seem very credible, but I believe that Lucas put that in there just to show all Fett fans that he is indeed dead. What I am trying to say is that there are no guarantees with the content of these films and therefore everything we say is only idle speculation. Even the names 'Padme', 'Qui-Jon', or 'Jar-Jar' might prove false in the end. Whatever the case, I look forward to the continuation of the Star Wars phenomenon.