Top 5 Most Dangerous Bounty Hunters And Assassins Of The ‘Star Wars’ Prequels
Star Wars has dangerous people spread all over the galaxy. With Jedi and Sith running rampant throughout the galaxy, it is easy to overlook the "Force-less" foes that exist, but that would be a huge mistake. The galaxy is filled with hundreds of assassins and bounty hunters that could, and have, give several Jedi and Sith a run for their money. We are introduced to several bounty hunters in the original trilogy, but they are not given the spotlight they deserve in those films. The prequel trilogy, and, by extension, The Clone Wars series, does a much better job of showing what these bounty hunters, and assassins are capable of. For this reason, I am sticking solely to the prequels. However, I will also include characters that have a large amount of activity during the prequels and continue their run into the original trilogy.
Honorable Mention: Hondo Ohnaka
Hondo Ohnaka was not really a bounty hunter or an assassin, but a pirate by trade, which is why he is only on this list as an honorable mention. That being said, Hondo was still an extremely formidable opponent to anyone who opposed him, and he did often align himself with bounty hunters such as Aurra Sing and Bossk. One of his first major “jobs” in the Clone Wars was kidnapping Separatist leader Count Dooku and Jedi Generals Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi. Even after their escape, Hondo kept a considerable deal of power in his “pirate kingdom,” and he did so with little involvement from the Separatists or the Republic.
5. Bossk
Bossk ‘wassak’ Cradossk, better known as Bossk to his “friends,” was a Trandoshan bounty hunter who was first introduced in Empire Strikes Back. He was actually active as an extremely successful bounty hunter during the Clone Wars. His “claim to fame” in the underworld was his skill at hunting Wookiees, who were planetary neighbors, and often enemies, to the Trandoshans. As we all know, killing Wookiees was no easy feat. If that was not enough, he would later go on to aid and help train the young Boba Fett in his revenge mission against Mace Windu. Throughout the Clone Wars they would go on several jobs together with other bounty hunters like Aurra Sing and Dengar.
4. Aurra Sing
Aurra Sing was another bounty hunter who aided Boba Fett in his hunt for Mace Windu. Unlike the other bounty hunters, she took more of a motherly role with Boba while aiding him in his adventure, and actively encouraging him to seek his revenge. However, she was ruthless, and was prepared to abandon him at a moment's notice if it meant she could escape being captured. She demonstrated this on a number of occasions. It was her ruthlessness and her marksmanship that earned her fame as a bounty hunter in the underworld. She had no problems with killing hostages, unarmed or wounded soldiers, or civilians to make a point, or to help her escape. Her marksmanship also allowed her to assassinate several Senate leaders and other high value targets without ever being seen, which made her a hot commodity in the underworld.
3. Asajj Ventress
I feel like I am cheating a little with this one because she did have Force abilities, but her title was “Sith Assassin” for a long time. Also, if you are talking about deadly and dangerous people that ran amuck during the prequels, Ventress was definitely a chief antagonist during the Clone Wars. Not only did she wield Force powers of both the Jedi and the Sith, but she also was trained in two forms of lightsaber combat. She knew Jar’Kai, which was dual-bladed combat, and she was instructed in Form II saber combat by Count Dooku himself. She was able to hold her own in a fight against both Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi, and she had fought against the likes of Count Dooku, General Grievous, and Savage Opress. She was also extremely skilled in hand-to-hand combat, and she once took on an onslaught of male Dathomirians and won. Even after she rebelled against the Sith and her master Count Dooku, she was still an incredibly formidable opponent that should not to be trifled with.
2. Cad Bane
Cad Bane was one of, if not the, fiercest and most impressive bounty hunters during the Clone Wars. Bane was often a recurring enemy for the Jedi and the Republic during this time period, and he would consistently outsmart and best the members of the Republic army, including high ranking Jedi. However, most of his disputes with the Jedi were never personal. He maintained that he would only work to complete his contract with whoever employed him. He bested several Jedi and Sith in combat including the likes of Obi-Wan Kenobi and Quinlan Vos. Even when he was imprisoned, he would manage to accomplish his primary objective in addition to escaping his captors. His skills and reliability made him a hot commodity for the underworld during the Clone Wars, and there was only one bounty hunter who was considered his better.
1. Jango Fett
Jango Fett was considered the best bounty hunter in the galaxy during the time of the Galactic Republic. He was a Mandalorian, and wore the famous Beskar armor which afforded him more protection than most armor would. He was extremely skilled in hand-to-hand combat, and had a wide variety of gadgets that could help him get out of almost any situation. Not only was he a successful bounty hunter, but he was chosen by Dooku to be the genetic template for the Clone Army of the Republic. He later became Dooku’s personal bodyguard at the coliseum Battle of Geonosis. He would have continued to be the top bounty hunter in the galaxy and threat to the Republic if he had not been killed by one of the strongest warriors of the Jedi Order, Mace Windu. However, his legacy lived on in the exact clone of himself, Boba Fett, whom he had raised as his son.