Warning! Spoilers for Star Wars: War of the Bounty Hunters #1 and The Mandalorian
In a new Star Wars comic, it has been revealed that Boba Fett almost took over Jabba's Palace before he eventually claimed the throne in The Mandalorian’s second season finale. Although Jabba the Hutt’s righthand man Bib Fortuna meets his demise at the hands of Boba Fett and Fennec Shand, the infamous bounty hunter had the opportunity to kill him a long time before.
In The Mandalorian’s second season finale “The Rescue,” the revived Boba, who had endured the horror of the Sarlacc Pit, walks into Jabba’s Palace on Tatooine nonchalantly alongside Fennec. Approaching a bloated Bib Fortuna sitting in Jabba’s seat, they blast him on the spot and take ownership of the Hutt’s crime empire. The moment was among several highlights of the season, as it paved the way for the announced Disney+ spinoff, The Book of Boba Fett. However, it turns out that this exchange of power in the Star Wars underworld could’ve happened much earlier in Star Wars: War of the Bounty Hunters #1 written by Charles Soule with art by Luke Ross.
After being confronted by fellow bounty hunter Zuckuss and defeating him, Boba Fett goes to visit Jabba the Hutt on the sand desert planet of Tatooine. Arriving at Jabba’s Palace, Boba find the Hutt isn't there and instead meets with Bib Fortuna and two Gamorreans accompanying him. Instantly, Boba shoots the guards and threatens Bib in a display of power. The story, which takes place before Return of the Jedi, proves that Boba Fett could have taken over Jabba’s crime empire long before the events of The Mandalorian. Although Bib Fortuna threatens the bounty hunter with the rancor and the Sarlacc Pit, he remains unconcerned and simply wants to know why Jabba has put a bounty on him. Upon learning that he’s been late in delivering the carbonite frozen Han Solo, Boba Fett wants to take care of business.
It’s fascinating to note that Boba seems to have no interest in becoming a crime lord in the galactic underworld at this point in time. Similar to the journey of Darth Maul, Boba Fett has to endure an anticlimactic defeat before he desires to gain power and become the head of a crime syndicate. Ironically, Maul also has some ties in War of the Bounty Hunters #1 as it marks the return of Qi'ra and Crimson Dawn. In any case, it should be obvious that if the rebels were able to take down Jabba, a skilled bounty hunter would be able to do the same. If Boba Fett had murdered the wheezing Bib Fortuna on the spot and inherited Jabba’s Palace, the final chapter of the Star Wars Original Trilogy would look very different.
This foreshadowing of events to come emphasizes the choice that Boba comes to make in his later years, following his resurrection from the Sarlacc Pit. In fact, Bib Fortuna’s offhand threat that the mighty Jabba might feed him to the Sarlacc might be a part of his motivation in returning to the palace and taking out Bib. For now, Boba Fett is clearly his father Jango Fett’s son. He’s just a simple man trying to make his way in the galaxy.