Jango Fett and Boba Fett are two of the top bounty hunters in Star Wars. Both father and son were known as fearsome and skilled mercenaries who tracked down Rebels in the prequel and original movies.
Yet, many bounty hunters played important roles in the Star Wars galaxy. We may think of classic ones like IG-88 or more recent characters like Din Djarin.
Jango and Boba are great, but are they the top bounty hunters? Read more below to find out who are the ten best bounty hunters.
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#10 Aurra Sing
Aurra Sing spent some time working with Cad Bane. She also served as a mother figure to Boba Fett after Jango died and tutored him in bounty hunting. She became well-regarded for her sharpshooting.
Sing was a Force-user who left the Jedi Order to become a bounty hunter. With her dual trigger blasters, she teamed up with Boba Fett, worked with the Hutts, and then joined Bane’s bounty hunter team.
She became known as someone who would do anything to carry out her contract and was as good as Bossk or Boba Fett. She had quite a career before it came to a premature end at the hands of Tobias Beckett.
#9 Dengar
Dengar first made an appearance in Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back. A younger Dengar was revealed in the television series The Clone Wars.
From the Clone Wars to the Galactic Civil War, Dengar worked as a bounty hunter. That longevity places him on this list. So does his time serving as a bodyguard for Jabba the Hutt.
Although “crude and slovenly”, with a headdress that made him look constantly wounded, Dengar drew the admiration of Boba Fett, whom Dengar also helped train as a bounty hunter.
As he worked alongside more notable bounty hunters, Dengar gained a reputation for being one of the best himself.
#8 Asajj Ventress
A one-time Sith, Asajj Ventress teamed up with Boba Fett to become a bounty hunter. Her combat, Force, and tracking skills became evident, and she drew on them to eventually capture Jedi Ahsoka Tano. That feat alone earns her a spot on this list.
Yet, there is more. Ventress successfully transitioned from Sith Assassin to Nightsister to bounty hunter. As a bounty hunter, Ventress had numerous accomplishments, such as protecting valuable cargo from attackers, rescuing Obi-Wan Kenobi, and working with Ahsoka.
A gifted dual lightsaber user, she was an asset to other bounty hunters she teamed up with.
#7 Cad Bane
Cad Bane frequently makes the top ten list of Star Wars bounty hunters. A chief reason is his gunslinging skills.
Some contend that Bane’s skill with his blaster makes him a better bounty hunter than Boba Fett. This provides a good basis for his spot on this list but is not enough to launch Bane past Boba.
Bane did seem to best Boba Fett in a blaster fight during a planned episode of The Clone Wars series. Bane also looked like he would win the duel featured in The Book of Boba Fett because he was a faster draw. Yet, Boba ultimately won this rematch through his own set of skills.
Still, Bane has been recognized as the best bounty hunter after Jango Fett’s death during the Clone Wars. Bane likewise survived until his run-in with Boba, reflecting a long career as a feared bounty hunter.
#6 IG-11
IG-88 was the droid bounty hunter that appeared in The Empire Strikes Back and almost made this list. IG-11 takes that spot instead.
IG-11 showed off its skills in The Mandalorian, blasting innumerable opponents at once and sacrificing itself to save Mando and the team.
A droid, IG-11 was fearless and used a blaster rifle with utmost accuracy. This droid also had beyond-human speed, strength, and reflexes. All this combined for one deadly bounty hunter.
IG-11 was a successor to IG-88, which was taken out by Boba Fett. This classic bounty droid was revamped into a killing machine in the form of IG-11, who was tasked with terminating Grogu.
IG-11 almost single-handedly dispatched the Nikto mercenaries who held Baby Yoda. IG-11 was later reprogrammed to protect Grogu and did so with lethal means.
This droid’s bounty hunter skills persisted even after his time as a bounty hunter concluded.
# 5 Bossk
Making a brief appearance in The Empire Strikes Back, Bossk immediately reflected an intimidating persona. His story was fleshed out more in The Clone Wars television series where he displayed his bounty hunter skills.
As a Trandoshan, Bossk came from a species of reptilian humanoids known for their incredible hunting abilities. This species had long arms, scaly skin, and tremendous strength.
During the Clone Wars, Bossk served as a mentor to a young Boba Fett and built up his bounty hunter skills by working with the criminal group Krayt’s Claw, a group of five to six bounty hunters with Fett as the leader.
As his bounty hunter resume solidified, Bossk became regularly employed by the Empire to capture or kill Rebels, criminals, or other designated targets, like Han Solo. Bossk also took to ruthlessly hunting Wookiees, an enemy of the Trandoshans, further reflecting his fighting skills.
Like Boba Fett, Bossk followed the pathway of his father Cradossk, another top bounty hunter. Bossk thus had a genetic family-to-species inclination for bounty hunting that he combined with galaxy-wide experience to become a legend.
#4 Fennec Shand
Fennec Shand figured prominently in The Book of Boba Fett. By this time, she was already known as an elite mercenary and assassin who had worked for the Empire.
She worked her way above the common criminal depths to clash with Cad Bane and carry out assassinations for the Hutts.
The Bad Batch television series captured her skills well. She got the better of Bane in two fights with him, proving her hand-to-hand and quick-thinking abilities.
Shand can hide in the shadows and sneak up on opponents like nobody else, using a knife or blaster to carry out her deeds.
Shand became a “contract killer” for more than twenty years before the Empire ended. She was saved from death by Boba Fett and then took on the role of enforcer in Boba’s syndicate.
#3 Jango Fett
Jango Fett was a Mandalorian recognized as the top bounty hunter during the final stages of the Galactic Republic. Skilled in the use of weaponry and hand-to-hand combat, Jango was feared across the galaxy.
Jango worked with numerous bounty hunters and mentored others like Cad Bane. He also took out a Jedi during the Battle of Geonosis.
Direct combat and piloting were among his top skills. His flamethrower and Westar-34 blaster pistols were among his chief weapons. He blasted away opponents with ease until he faced off with Mace Windu.
As Star Wars fans have pointed out, Jango was the best bounty hunter and soldier before he met his end. It’s hard to argue against his claim to fame, but he did not persist long enough to earn the top ranking.
#2 Din Djarin
Din Djarin grew up on the warrior planet of Mandalore. As seen in season 3 of The Mandalorian, he fought to regain control of his homeworld.
During the New Republic, Mando worked as a bounty hunter before meeting Grogu and forsaking that life. Yet, he retained the fighting skills that made him a galaxy-class bounty hunter.
In The Mandalorian series, audiences saw Din Djarin wearing his Beskar armor while he showed off his expert fighting and marksman skills, his jetpack and IB-94 blaster, and his Amban sniper rifle.
Since boyhood as an orphan, Mando trained in hand-to-hand combat, which placed him at the top of this list in terms of The Mandalorian’s fighters. Din Djarin was equally effective up close with an opponent or when using his blasters from farther away.
He garnered these skills as a bounty hunter and may be considered the best because of them. Yet, since he gave up being a bounty hunter, he does not earn the top spot here.
#1 Boba Fett
Even though some commentary about The Book of Boba Fett concludes this character was tarnished by this series, Boba Fett deserves the number one ranking because of the fighting skills he demonstrated across film and television.
Boba was the son of Jango Fett. He was an unaltered clone given to Jango for providing his DNA to create the Clone Army or Grand Army of the Republic.
Boba Fett followed after his father’s profession and acquired his father’s armor when Jango died at the blade of Mace Windu in Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones. Boba carried on his father’s legacy and became known as the best bounty hunter.
Both Boba and Jango efficiently tracked down their targets, with Boba displaying shoulder braids on his armor for his victims/captives.
Boba excelled at using weapons such as the EE-3 Carbine Rifle, wrist gauntlets, whipcord, flamethrower, and blasters. Boba was the premier marksman and stealth hunter.
Incredibly strong, Boba could knock people unconscious, including fellow bounty hunter Dengar. His combined skill and strength place him on par with his father Jango.
What launches Boba beyond his father is the fact that he lived on when his father did not. He even survived death in the Sarlacc pit.
As The Book of Boba Fett revealed, Boba escaped from the Sarlacc pit with help from his Beskar armor, some oxygen from a dead stormtrooper, and his flamethrower.
That resourcefulness catapulted him from bounty hunter to daimyo of Mos Espa. He may have lost some of his ruthlessness by then, but not his prowess as a bounty hunter.
Todd Wahlstrom is a creative and analytical freelance writer and life-long Star Wars fan who has expanded into writing about the Marvel Cinematic Universe. He has written about recent shows such as The Mandalorian and Andor and classic topics like Darth Vader, the Jedi, and Boba Fett. His recent articles include the MCU’s Iron Man, Captain America, and Thor. Todd is the author of a non-fiction book, holds a Ph.D. in history, and enjoys hiking, running, and reading about science.