Bounty Hunters #5 - Comic Review

Bounty Hunters concludes its first story arc, Galaxy’s Deadliest, with The High Cost of Revenge as Boba Fett attempts to settle an old debt and the destinies of Nakano Lash and Cadeliah—heir to both the Mourner’s Wail and the Unbroken Clan—are forever changed.

Make sure to check out the review of the previous issue before moving on!

“Nowhere in the galaxy is safe.” There has been an outrage regarding the cruel nature of Bounty Hunters over social media—especially focusing on the violence toward an expecting woman and the (presumed) meaningless death of an LGBTQ character. While these are valid points of discussion and are definitely concerning to some readers, a story cannot be fully judged by one or two panels without reading the entire book and also understanding the nature of mature content and its presence in Star Wars.

Writer Ethan Sacks has explored mature themes that are not as common as they used to be in Star Wars. Ever since Disney purchased Lucasfilm, there has been an audience focus towards family-oriented, inclusive, and more positive stories. However, mature content is not new to Star Wars. Let’s take for example Revenge of the Sith—probably the darkest chapter of the saga. The movie had some of the most morally controversial scenes—from the Jedi Purge, which included the killing of younglings, to Anakin Force-choking Padmé, who was pregnant at the time and died in childbirth soon after—the latter very similar to the one in Bounty Hunters. Even the (again, presumed) death of T’onga by the hands of Boba Fett could be paralleled with the one of Zam Wesell in Attack of the Clones—whose killer was Jango Fett. Mature content was to be further explored in the canceled live-action TV series Star Wars: Underworld and video game Star Wars 1313—following the bounty hunter Boba Fett navigating Level 1313, a subterranean metropolis within Coruscant.

Galaxy’s Deadliest Part 5: The High Cost of Revenge shows the true side of Boba Fett: heartless, cruel, villainous. He is a bounty hunter, and his job is to collect bounties. All he cares about is his reputation and that he gets the job done. He is not an anti-hero like The Mandalorian, he is a villain. Everyone else in the comic—for the exception of a few characters—is out for the kill by any means necessary.

The issue utilizes a few flashbacks to delve into the tragic past of Nakano Lash and back again to the events that lead Boba Fett to blacklist the Nautolan—which make the final act of the comic even more heartbreaking. Paolo Villanelli—with Arif Prianto’s wonderful colors—push the dynamicity of the action scenes to the next level while truly emphasizing the tragedy and the emotions emanating through the characters’ physicality and facial expressions.

Bounty Hunters: Galaxy’s Deadliest ends with a spark of hope and the beginning of a new quest—reminiscing the one in the new, upcoming season of The Mandalorian. Make sure to pick up your copy today from your favorite local comic book shop and share your thoughts on our social media outlets about the series!