When it comes to tracking down their quarries, few bounty hunters can compare with DC Comics’ alien bounty hunter Lobo or Star Wars’ Mandalorian. Both are deadly, efficient hunters who seemingly come out on top even in no-win scenarios. But if these two ever came to blows, which one would win?
While plenty of fans will back either champion, let’s take a closer look at each bounty hunter’s capabilities to see how they might fare against each other in a no-holds-barred brawl.
Mandalore’s Pride: The Mandalorian
Born Din Dijarin, this orphaned boy was taken into by the Mandalorians of Death Watch and raised as one of their own. Taught their fighting styles and hunting techniques, Din—or “Mando” as his employers nicknamed him—quickly rose to become his clan’s greatest bounty hunter, capturing all of his quarries with uncanny speed.
As a trained Mandalorian warrior, Mando wears specially forged armor made of Beskar, one of the strongest metals in the Star Wars universe. His armor plates can withstand lightsaber strikes or even repeated blows from a Dark Trooper droid. Moreover, the armor is equipped with multiple built-in weapons, including a flamethrower and Mando’s infamous “whistling birds” - miniature Beskar missiles deployed from his wrist launcher which can take out multiple targets in seconds.
Since his missions regularly take him to different planets, Mando is a skilled pilot and engineer who flies his own ship, the Razor Crest. Much like Star Wars’ other famous ship, the Millennium Falcon, the Crest is deceptively formidable as it routinely takes on serious damage yet always seems to outfly and outmaneuver its opponents (with one notable exception). Much of this is thanks to Mando’s exceptional piloting skills, as he’s shown himself capable of taking out targets in high-risk dog fights.
Even without his gear, Mando is a dangerous man, capable of taking on multiple foes in hand-to-hand combat. He’s also highly adept at using different weapons and possesses a Beskar spear that makes him a match in lightsaber duels. However, his most dangerous weapon is his mind—even when seemingly outmatched, Mando can come up with brilliant tactical plans that give him the advantage even over groups of foes.
Although his skills and persona make him seem cold and merciless, Mando actually leads with his heart most of the time. He’ll go to tremendous lengths to protect his friends and family, particularly his adopted “son” Grogu (aka Baby Yoda). This has led him to willingly dive straight into firefights and take insane amounts of damage. While his armor and iron will usually allow him to survive, he’s come extremely close to death many times and often stays alive only through fortunate twists of fate.
The Main Man: Lobo
A member of the peaceful alien race the Czarnians, Lobo proved to be a bad seed who ended up killing off most of his people by unleashing a plague on his world. He went on to become a skilled bounty hunter, traveling the universe in search of his violent fights and opportunities for drunken debauchery.
Possessing a degree of superhuman strength that seems virtually limitless in some stories, Lobo has gone toe-to-toe with both Superman and Etrigan the Demon. He’s also basically indestructible - capable of surviving in space without a pressurized suit and withstanding powerful blasts from weapons and god-like beings. Even if he somehow does get injured, his healing factor allows him to regenerate any damaged tissue incredibly fast. To top it off, his personality made him so unlikeable to devils and angels that he was banished from the afterlife, rendering him basically immortal.
In terms of gear, Lobo usually gets around the universe in a flying “Space Hog” motorcycle that can travel interstellar distances. He also uses a variety of weapons, including multiple guns and a chain with a gutting hook. A fan of wanton violence, Lobo is highly adept at fighting and has killed entire civilizations thanks to his love of mayhem.
For all of his brutish ways, however, Lobo does have some decent traits that make him somewhat reasonable in certain situations. He insists on fulfilling any contract and will keep his word, even at the risk of great personal injury. He also has a soft spot for space dolphins whom he protects and cares for. And while he might seem dull-witted, he’s actually a genius, capable of speaking thousands of languages and familiar with a large variety of alien cultures.
Lobo vs. Mando
So, which of these two bounty hunters would come out on top in a fight? Given the great power disparity between these characters, it seems most likely that Lobo would take down the Mandalorian, although Mando would still prove a dangerous adversary in battle.
In terms of sheer physical strength, Lobo completely outclasses Mando. While Mando’s Beskar armor might allow him to withstand some of Lobo’s powerful blows, anyone who’s been able to hurt Superman in a fight would eventually break through the normally indestructible metal. Even Mando’s Beskar spear wouldn’t be much good in a fight against Lobo since the Main Man would just regenerate from any wounds Mando inflicted (and wouldn’t be able to die, regardless).
Mando’s tactical skill might enable him to evade Lobo for a time, but Lobo’s own genius-level intellect would eventually come up with counter-measures for the Mandalorian’s battle plans. Worse, Lobo’s sadistic nature would most likely cause him to use the people Mando cared about the most, particularly Grogu/Baby Yoda, as pawns to lure Mando into a trap where he could more easily kill him.
Still, Mando won’t go down easily. If his battles have shown fans anything, it’s that Mandalorians refuse to admit defeat even when death seems a total certainty. So, while Mando may realize a prolonged battle with Lobo could only result in his murder, he’ll willingly participate in the fight - as long as it means the people he cares about will be safe. As the Mandalorian has stated multiple times, “this is the way.”