Boba Fett (person)

Boba Fett is the pure clone of the late Jango Fett. Jango raised him personally like a son, and was a full father figure who was very devoted to Boba's welfare. While some doubt his love for his son, it was proven that Jango truly loves his clone as a son and not just as a selfish means to preserve himself, as seen in the comic book, Jango Fett, when he puts a paying mission on hold and plays "Starships" with Boba.

Boba was born on the watery planet Kamino and there, he spent the first 10 years of his life. He had always wanted to follow in his father's footsteps and become a bounty hunter. His father taught him ship maneuvering tricks, battle tactics and strategies, and how to fight. Apart from his physical training, he was also educated in other forms of knowledge, primarily by books at the Tipoca City Library. Jango considered it a waste of time, but he didn't stop Boba from reading. There was little else to do on that planet anyway. Boba had few friends, a librarian droid named Whrr and occasionally, bounty hunter Zam Wesell, who popped in when she had something to discuss with his father.

Prior to Jango's decapitation at Geonosis by Jedi Master Mace Windu, Boba was given an instructional video-booklet that would teach him what to do (as well as countless sayings, quotes, and teachings from Jango's personal bounty hunter code), in the event that he ever had an unfortunate accident. "When you open this, your childhood will be over," Jango said. When what happened happened, Boba buried his father on the planet and marked his grave with scavenged droid parts that marked the initials J.F. He then took Slave I and fled from Geonosis to retrieve the video-book his father presented him, which he had left with Whrr at the library. He sought out Tyranus for the remaining credits that were set aside for him, and proceeded to meet Jabba the Hutt...all this was under Jango's booklet's guidance. "Meet Tyranus for credits, Jabba for knowledge." Shortly after, he is taken to Raxus Prime and delivered into the hands of the Count by bounty hunter Aurra Sing, who then takes off with the Slave I as payment. Tyranus initially agrees to take Boba under his wing for his own purposes, but changes his mind after Boba finds out about the Force Harvester. Boba manages to escape when the Republic's armies invade Raxus Prime. He is mistaken for an orphan/refugee and is brought aboard the Republic's ships. On the ship, Boba makes his first and only friend, another orphan named Garr. He begins to enjoy his new life and considers staying with the orphans, however when he sees the Slave I piloted by Aurra Sing tailing them, he is reminded that he cannot throw away his past life. In a defining moment, Boba Fett decides to abandon friendship and pursue the life of a bounty hunter. When the ship makes a stop on Bespin, Boba meets with Aurra Sing. Boba learns that Jango had been saving up quite a fortune for his son in several vaults around the galaxy (only his DNA and retina scan could unlock them). Sing promises she can show him where they are, provided she gets a small cut of the money. As you can guess, Boba is swindled mercilessly on this deal.

During his subsequent adventures, Boba Fett is countlessly tricked, kidnapped, and betrayed. This leads to Boba's coming of age, where he loses his trustingness, innocence, and any shred of compassion or mercy he once had. We see the beginnings of how he eventually becomes known as "the most ruthless bounty hunter in the galaxy."

There are several explanations that tie in the new developements with old stories in the Expanded Universe, for example in Tales of the Bounty Hunters, Fett is said to be be Journeyman Protector Jaster Mereel. Instead, we learn that Jango's old friend and mentor was Jaster Mereel, the familiar green camo armour that Boba Fett wears once did belong to him. This is why some legends say that Mereel is Fett, due to the confusion. He isn't. Other myths also say Fett had once joined the Stormtroopers. That is also not true, it is probably due to the fact that many clones still existed in the Stormtrooper Battalions and he was mistaken as one of them, since they look exactly alike (or records trace it back to Fett).

Update: I have not yet been able to verify this information yet, but it comes from a reliable source. Many thanks to NothingLasts4ever for informing me about new plot developements. These are his exact words

"There are some new Boba Fett books coming out. Here's the blurb for the second one: Boba Fett is alone -- orphaned by the actions of the Jedi. Continuing his father's legacy, Fett steels his resolve to survive and follow in his father's footsteps. Bounty hunter Aurra Sing delivers young Fett to Count Dooku, the mysterious benefactor who hired Jango. Young Fett assumes that Dooku will help him, but the renegade Jedi has his own dark agenda. What Boba discovers on that war-torn world known as Raxus Prime will change his life. The Clone Wars continue to spread across the galaxy, and Fett is caught in their crossfire . His adventures will lead him from the refuse heaps of the galaxy to firefights among the clouds. Crossfire, the second book of the Boba Fett series is by Terry Bisson, and is scheduled for release in November by Scholastic Inc."

Sources:
Boba Fett: The Fight for Survival, Scholastic Inc.:2002
Boba Fett: Crossfire, Scholastic Inc.:2003
Star Wars: Databank, www.starwars.com/databank/bobafett/
The Essential Star Wars Guide to Characters: Revised