WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Episode 6 of Star Wars: The Book of Boba Fett, “Chapter 6: From the Desert Comes a Stranger,” streaming now on Disney+.
In the Star Wars Universe, there have been quite a few gunslingers who’ve laid claim to being the best of the bunch. A lot of them have been bounty hunters, such as Jango Fett, with even smugglers like Han Solo throwing their names into the ring.
Interestingly, after her performances in the line of duty on The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett, Fennec Shand is a candidate as well thanks to her razor-sharp sniper’s eye. And last but not least, Boba himself continues to show he’s one of the finest in the galaxy to have ever pulled a trigger. However, while the debate rages over who’s the best, the ongoing civil war on Tatooine confirmed who is the most badass — and it’s none of these aforementioned names.
That title belongs to none other than the selfless Timothy Olyphant’s Cob Vanth. In The Mandalorian, fans saw a brutal gunslinger helping Din Djarin out. It led to Boba getting his armor back, with Olyphant ironically cutting that bold, decisive figure many love from Justified.
In Boba Fett, though, Cob has evolved into a quieter person as the Marshall of Mos Pelgo, now known as Freetown. The episode opened with him coming off a bit like John Wayne, marching out into the dusty terrain as if he just got out of bed. Grizzled and disheveled, he rocked no armor or badge, and wasn’t even mean-mugging the Pyke Syndicate soldiers illegally running spice through his district.
He simply inquired and asked them to vacate, like a proper sheriff would. He was cool, calm and collected as he ventured forth into the belly of the beast, refusing to stay from afar and fire. But as they pulled their weapons, in the blink of an eye, he grabbed his blaster and shot three down akin to Shane. Cob then left the fourth alive to relay the message that there’d be no bribes, crimes and spice-running on this side, expressing himself in a confident, intimidating way without lifting his voice.
It was style and substance, with no glamor or spectacle per other gunslingers in the galaxy, which puts Cobb atop the list. He could have been walking into a trap, but in mere seconds he sussed everything out and didn’t even ask for back-up in the form of his deputy. Unfortunately, as ballsy and accurate as he was, he got distracted in the finale when the sinister Cad Bane showed up. Cob got caught up trying to stop his deputy from shooting first and ended up taking fire himself.
Should he die like his colleague, then this title will shift to Cad, but since Cob looked like he was clinging to life, a rematch will confirm if he can be demoted from being number one. Admittedly, Cad cut a badass figure too, but he had help in the dimwitted trigger-happy deputy, so let’s hope it gets rectified later and both experienced men have a proper standoff and shootout to decide this once and for all.
The first six episodes of The Book of Boba Fett are streaming now on Disney+. The Season 1 finale airs Wednesday, Feb. 9.
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