A friend asked me today, “Who would win in a fight between a Predator and Boba Fett?” Most people would automatically say, “Predator!” and with good reason. Every depiction we have ever had of a Predator has shown him kicking all sorts of ass with a myriad of wicked weapons. But the answer didn’t come so easy to me. Let me explain why.

This isn’t the first of these kinds of questions I’ve been asked. Granted I don’t have a fancy computer program to crunch numbers, and I don’t have cool jelly bodies to slice and dice. But when someone poses this kind of question, I not only take into account the characters’ in question abilities, tools, and technique, I also take into account their character.  Because lets face it. A question like this isn’t “X Samurai” vs. “Y Viking.” This kind of question takes into account the person behind the tools and skills. So when Jose Lupe likes to play the “Who would win in a fight” game I give it a lot of thought and not only tell him who I think would win, but why.

Now I’ve decided to exploit this colossal waste of time in a blog post.

So, Boba Fett and a Predator. For starters I will look at what they are working with, just like the RL DEADLIEST WARRIOR TV show (which I LOVE.) I will look at their armor, weapons short, mid, and long range as well as special weapons. After all that I will take into account the characters themselves and make my decision.

This is purely for fun. You’re welcome to disagree with me, and we can have a discussion about it in the comments section. Ready? On with the show.

What we know about the Predator race is that they are born to hunt. Their whole society seems to revolve around the sport of hunting, and as we have seen in both movies (ALIEN V. PREDATOR) and comic books (BATMAN V. PREDATOR) we know that they view the hunt as a right of passage. The Predator has been seen with a ridiculous amount of weapons of the years in their various incarnations. However I think we can say with not too much argument that there are 4 weapons that most predators gravitate toward.

Short Range – Arm blade. I’m not going to explain this. You’ve seen it in every incarnation of the Predator.

Mid Range – Combi Stick – First seen in PREDATOR 2, the Combi stick is the telescopic Spear that can extend and retract wicked blades.

Long Range – Shoulder Laser – Again, if you don’t know what this is, then you don’t know what a Predator is either…why are you even reading this?

Special Weapon – Chakram (Smart Disc) and Razor Net – Again first SEEN in PREDATOR 2, the smart disc is like a giant razor discus thing that can return to the wielder like a boomerang. The razor net is heavy enough to pin whoever is unfortunate enough to get trapped under it, and constricts until it dismembers its victim.

Armor – “Hard Meat” – As seen in AVP, the Hard Meat was resistant to the xenomorph’s corrosive saliva, but when the Queen started throwing punches, it didn’t hold up too well. So we can take a crack and say it was a medium armor at best.

Boba Fett is the most notorious bounty hunter of the STAR WARS Universe and the warrior king of the Mandalorians- a warrior tribe that lives to sell their martial prowess to any cause that can pay the bills. From childhood on the harsh terrain of Mandalore, the Mandalorians are taught strength, self sufficiency, and ruthless cunning. It’s not all bad, however. Mandalorians are also taught fierce loyalty to their own people and will drop any contract at a moment’s notice if their Mandalore calls them home.

Short Range – Crush Gauntlets – seen in the Expanded Universe, crush gauntlets are basically bionic armor made out of a metal called Beskar that is virtually indestructible. And you guessed it. They can crush almost anything.

Mid Range – Wrist Flamethrower/Rockets – Never used in the films, but talked about a lot in the EU, Fett can use these to distract, disrupt, and buy himself some space in a jam.

Long Range – Sawed-off EE-3 Carbine Rifle- You don’t see it in action much in the films, but this baby killed many Jedi and Wookie before Luke Skywalker came along with that green lightsaber.

Special Weapons – Jet Pack/Fiber Cord Launcher in his gauntlet

Armor – Durasteel heavy armor with a liner shirt composed of a micro energy field projector which minimizes impact and blaster hits while also providing resistance to the elements.

Now lets compare the two, shall we?

Short Range

Both of these characters have to get up close and personal with their short range weapons. While Boba Fett is definitely wearing heavy armor, it has a lot of seams, so if that Predator finds one, and I’m sure he will, he’s done for. Sure the crush gauntlets will pretty much break the Predator’s neck, but the Predator is stronger, so in a physical fight, Fett doesn’t stand a chance. ADVANTAGE: PREDATOR

Mid Range

The Combi Stick is one mean bastard, and looks cool to boot, but the Predator still has to get pretty close to Boba Fett to use it. Fett’s Flamethrower and Wrist Rockets will disorientate and hurt his opponent long before that Combi stick comes anywhere NEAR him. If the Predator can’t get close enough to skewer his opponent, then the Combi stick is effectively useless unless he launches it like a javelin. ADVANTAGE: BOBA FETT

Long Range

While the Predator’s shoulder laser is one kick ass weapon, it’s not nearly as functional as a good blaster. Plus the Predator has never hunted anyone wearing Durasteel with a micro energy projector. If it comes down to a shootout I’m afraid that it’s going to come armor, and Fett is much better protected. ADVANTAGE: BOBA FETT

Special Weapons

The Smart Disc and Razor Net are much better utilities than Fett’s Jet Pack and Fiber Cord. Even if Fett uses the pack to get away, he’s still a sitting duck just floating around in the air. ADVANTAGE: PREDATOR

Armor

While the Hard Meat is pretty good for lighter armor, a well placed Alien tail will punch right through it. Fett’s armor on the other hand can turn away blaster bolts. Nuff Said. ADVANTAGE: BOBA FETT

Now on to the fight.

While a lot of you think I’ve forgotten the Predator’s most classic weapons, his cloaking shield and his helmet, I haven’t. The two are just rendered obsolete by Boba Fett’s helmet who can read through energy fields and see body heat, just like the Predator can. But hey, I’ll play your game for a second. The Predator is a hunter, so he will try and use stealth and ambush to take out Fett quickly and mercilessly. Good tactics against most. But Boba Fett’s instincts and reflexes are unnatural. Even a Jedi can’t sense Fett’s next move, because Fett has trained himself to be that unpredictable. He made his name hunting Jedi during the Purge. He knows how to fight. If the Predator is going to win at all it has to be in the beginning, and quickly. Because if he’s discovered, the playing field tips, and Fett is more than a match for him. If the ambush fails, the Predator will likely abandon the cloak. We have seen through the mythos that Predators are generally creatures of honor. When they meet prey that is a suitable challenge they will face them head on. Essentially a Predator is a melee fighter, just like a Jedi. It’s ranged weapons are weapons of surprise. Once the surprise is gone, a Predator is going to fall back on his melee abilities, which will do him little good in this fight. Fett will keep him at a distance as best he can with his myriad of tools, and wear him down until the Predator has to use that cop-out self destruct wrist thingy. Also keep in mind that while the Predator will fight fair, Fett will fight dirty. He’s a bounty hunter and he fights to win, by any means necessary. The Predator will get in his licks, but ultimately the Mandalorian will prevail.

WINNER: BOBA FETT