Warning! Spoilers for Star Wars: War of the Bounty Hunters #1
The Star Wars galaxy’s most infamous bounty hunter Boba Fett has doubled down on the divisive sense of humor from The Last Jedi. In a new comic, Boba makes a reference that feels oddly similar to a joke in the film, and a phrase from the real world.
When Star Wars: Episode VIII - The Last Jedi released, the fan base had passionate responses from both sides of the spectrum. While some were disappointed by the depiction of Luke Skywalker, others called the film’s sense of humor jarring and uncharacteristic in the context of the franchise. The Star Wars galaxy has always had its own way of talking about things in-universe that adds to the sense of escapism from the real world. Within the first few minutes of The Last Jedi, audiences recognized its comedy was a little closer to reality as Poe Dameron made a prank phone call to the First Order’s General Hux.
Boba Fett makes a comparable passing statement as he speaks with Bib Fortuna in Star Wars: War of the Bounty Hunters #1 written by Charles Soule with art by Steve Mcniven. While Fett is communicating with Jabba the Hutt’s righthand man over a radio, he becomes distracted as an alarm suddenly goes off on the carbonite frozen block containing Han Solo. Boba tells Bib, “I’ll call you back” to which he responds, “You’ll… what?” Evidently, this sort of phrase isn’t understood by Bib Fortuna, and comes across as a wink to the audience. In the opening scene of The Last Jedi, Poe specifically tells Hux that he’s “holding” as if they’re on an actual phone call, and not a space military-type intercom.
In the context of the story, it’s arguably less jarring than any joke in The Last Jedi. However, since Bib even acknowledges the phrase, it’s somewhat more digestible for fans who haven’t heard such Earth lingo come out of a galaxy far, far away. In any case, Boba Fett’s response brings up an interesting question, regarding what an alternative phrase might be in-universe. Some fans might forget that in the original Star Wars, Han Solo had a prolonged conversation with a stormtrooper on the Death Star on a similar communication device. Although he didn’t refer to it as a call, it would be easy to overlook how that moment might also compare to these two separate occasions.
Whereas that first instance of a call between Han and a stormtrooper fit more organically with the premise and had a clear consequence, Poe’s prank in The Last Jedi came across as unnatural to the situation he was in. However, Boba Fett is expected to disrespect someone like Jabba the Hutt’s lackey, especially when he has some big problems on his hands. Granted that giving him a call back isn’t the first thing on his mind, the quick exchange establishes a characteristic sense of tension between the bounty hunter for hire and the gangster’s people.