Warning! Spoilers for Star Wars: War of the Bounty Hunters - IG-88 #1
Although the Star Wars saga often rhymes with itself, Boba Fett isn’t playing along. The bounty hunter’s meta banter is subverting expectations.
Whether Han Solo has a “bad feeling” about something, or a Jedi gets their hand chopped off by a lightsaber, Star Wars constantly refers back to itself. Dialogue gets repeated by different characters, and events develop in similar ways. However, this common expectation for Star Wars also provides the franchise with the ability to surprise audiences. As the War of the Bounty Hunters event concludes, there is one particular war between bounty hunters that is finally happening. Boba returns to his ship Slave-I and encounters a droid preparing to steal the carbonite-encased body of Han Solo, which he had just retrieved after a long struggle.
As Boba Fett blasts at his fellow bounty hunter IG-88, they return banter that calls back to Han Solo’s famous phrase, “Never tell me the odds.” The logic-based droid bluntly tells Boba, “The odds of your surviving this battle are infinitesimally small.” to which Fett replies, “Thanks for the info.” The exchange emphasizes a difference between the bounty hunter and the smuggler, as Han is consistently put in desperate situations. However, Boba Fett is always searching for a solution. Han isn’t so concerned with the odds, as they can be a distraction. Boba doesn’t believe the odds are so bad as IG-88 is standing aboard his ship, which he uses to his advantage a moment later. Freezing the droid with a trap security system, Boba Fett wins the fight and leaves IG-88 outside to dry on Tatooine.
George Lucas often spoke about the saga rhyming with itself, through repetitive story points meant to contrast one another. The storytelling mechanic was used frequently during the prequel trilogy, as it built on the foundation of the originals. Considering that The Book of Boba Fett is coming next month, it’s possible that the bounty hunter could resort to lifting dialogue from the films. With the amount of times that The Mandalorian referred to the broader saga, there seems to be a good chance. For now, his comic book iteration is purposely going against the grain.
Such dialogue from Boba Fett expands on his sense of humor, which especially humanizes him as he fights a droid. It’s possible he would have been more ruthless in a fight and wouldn’t have said the line in a serious bounty hunting situation. As he shows mercy to IG-88, his dialogue becomes retroactively lighter in tone. This might also relate to Boba Fett’s bounty hunter code of honor, insinuating he wouldn’t truly take down IG-88 or retort with any real threat, since they are in the same line of work.