The History Of Fennec Shand
Bounty hunters have been part of Star Wars lore from the beginning when Greedo confronts Han in the cantina in A New Hope. It was made more explicit in The Empire Strikes Back when Vader hired a group of bounty hunters to track down Solo and has been a fixture ever since. Fennec Shand is one of the newer additions to the ranks of bounty hunters. She first appeared in The Mandalorian at the end of 2019. Credit to Jon Favreau, Dave Filoni, and Brian Matyas for Shand feeling like an established character in her first appearance and quickly becoming a fan favorite.
Shand was named for the fennec fox and shares many of its attributes. They both live in the desert. Both are sly and cunning. Both are hunters but can be compassionate and caring. Most importantly, both act much bigger than their actual size.
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Fennec Shand's career in bounty hunting started towards the end of the Clone Wars. She quickly established herself as an excellent hunter and a master marksperson and assassin. Her reputation began to grow in the bounty hunting realm.
Fennec Shand made her debut in the Disney+ TV show The Bad Batch. After the Clone Wars ended, Shand was hired by the Kaminoan, Nala Se, to bring in the unaltered clone, Omega, who had joined the rogue squad known as the Bad Batch. Shand tracked Omega to Pantora. Since it was her job to bring Omega in alive, Shand used subterfuge, attempting to befriend Omega so she could take her without a fight. The plan seemed to be working until Hunter of the Bad Batch found them. A fight and chase ensued and, ultimately, Omega escaped with her squad.
Shand continued to track Omega to fulfill her mission, but Nala Se changed the job when it was discovered that Cad Bane had been hired to hand Omega over to the Kaminoan Prime Minister, Lama Su. It became Shand's mission to prevent Bane from succeeding. Shand tracked Bane and Omega to Bora Vio. There she fought Bane in a prolonged battle allowing Omega to escape in a pod and the Bad Batch was able to rescue her. Since Omega was safe, Nala Se considered the job complete and paid Shand for the bounty.
During the reign of Emperor Palpatine, Shand worked as a bounty hunter and mercenary for clients in the criminal underworld. She was very successful and very expensive. However, when the Empire fell, Shand was wanted by the new Galactic Republic for her role in all of that criminal activity. She fled to Tatooine to hide from the bounty on her own head.
While on Tatooine, she was discovered by Din Djarin and Toro Calican who were looking to win Shand's bounty. She was able to hold them off for a while, but, with two against one, she was eventually captured. While Djarin was off securing transport, Shand tried to talk her way out of the situation. She hoped to tempt Calican to betray Djarin who had his own bounty that was worth more than Shand's. Unfortunately for Shand, Calican was tempted but shot her in the belly rather than releasing her. She was left for dead in the desert.
Luckily for Shand, Boba Fett found her and saved her by having cybernetics implanted in her abdomen. Since she owed him her life, she agreed to help him in his next mission, recovering his ship from Bib Fortuna's palace. They were successful and Shand decided to stay with Fett for the time being.
Their next task was recovering Fett's Mandalorian armor which was in the possession of Djarin. They tracked Djarin to Tython where they confronted him. During their parley, Moff Gideon arrived and kidnapped Djarin's ward, Grogu. Boba Fett was able to prove the armor was his and since Grogu was captured at least in part because of Fett and Shand, they agreed to help Djarin rescue him. The group infiltrated Gideon's cruiser, but it looked like all was lost as a platoon of dark troopers descended on them. They were ultimately saved by the arrival of Luke Skywalker.
After recovering the armor and rescuing Grogu, Fett and Shand returned to Tatooine. Shand acted as Fett's lieutenant and advisor in his plan to eliminate Bib Fortuna and take over the territory. They had to deal with Fortuna's men as well as the Hutt Twins who wanted to claim Jabba's old territory. Their most difficult task, though, was stopping the Pike Syndicate in their attempt to take over. Shand and Fett recruited help to fight the battle against the Pikes. It finally ended with Shand assassinating the Pike leaders as well as the treacherous mayor of Mos Espa.
Fennec Shand proved herself to be fierce, ruthless, and highly skilled. She was also determined, loyal, and intelligent. It seems she has given up her bounty hunting and will stay with Boba Fett. The Star Wars universe is certainly richer with Fennec Shand in it.
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Source(s): Wookiepedia , Looper