Warning: major spoilers ahead for Star Wars: Bounty Hunters #12!
Star Wars just introduced a deadly new bounty hunter to canon. Star Wars: Bounty Hunters #12 is a prelude to the War of the Bounty Hunters crossover event. This series has brought back fan-favorite bounty hunters, established new stories for less-known ones, and is bringing new hunters to the galaxy.
War of the Bounty Hunters is a crossover event that focuses on Boba Fett as he completes his most famous bounty- Han Solo. It reveals the difficulties he faces as he transports Solo and the hunt for him that other hunters are undergoing, including Dengar and Beilert Valance - a cyborg bounty hunter. Valance was previously a bounty hunter in Star Wars Legends before he was brought back as a fellow Imperial Cadet training at the same academy as Han Solo. Since then, Valance has largely led up the series.
Created by Ethan Sacks, Paolo Villanelli, Arif Prianto, and Mattia de Iulis, Star Wars: Bounty Hunters #12 features Beilert Valance completing an older job, while in the present he chases after Boba Fett. On Abregado-Rae, Valance is tasked with shooting Han Solo as he joins up with a crew that fans haven't seen before: the Caviness Thorn crew, led by Caviness Thorn. This character has never been seen in the Star Wars universe before, but the interaction Caviness has with Valance could lead to a bigger conflict between the two going forward.
Caviness Thorn is the leader of a new bounty hunting crew. The new bounty hunter is in need of a fourth hand to pull a job, but is reluctant to let Valance have the spot due to the cyborg's history - particularly the Nakano Lash job that went wrong earlier in this series. Caviness is clearly part of the main bounty hunter network since Valance mentions Syphacc, who is similar to Greef Karga from The Mandalorian, in that he hands out bounties to various hunters. However, this debuting hunter is like other bounty hunters - hesitant to join up with anyone who hasn't proven themselves somehow.
In order to be the fourth on this crew and earn some credits, Caviness requires Valance to face off with the Pyke Syndicate, after alerting them to Valance's presence. Caviness tells the Pykes that Valance is a Hutt associate, which isn't a good thing since the crime syndicates in the galaxy aren't known for getting along with one another. Beilert does manage to prove himself in this encounter, but he still manages to cross Caviness. The lead hunter is after Han Solo and ready to take him out. Caviness tasks Valance with shooting the rogue, but the cyborg purposely misses - botching yet another job. Beilert Valance can't seem to avoid making new enemies wherever he turns. The way this job went, it seems very possible that Caviness will pop up again in the future with revenge in mind as Star Wars adds more deadly bounty hunters into the galaxy.