As the hungry Sarlacc holds Boba Fett in its lashing tentacles, you would expect Fett to rage at fate for bringing him to this hideous circumstance. But Fett never allows himself a second of weakness or self-pity. From the moment he witnessed the brutal death of his father in the first battle of the Clone Wars, Boba Fett has dealt with the injustices and vagaries of life in a cold, calculating manner. Encased in armor and hidden behind a battle helmet, Fett has cut himself off from the universe, protecting himself from the dangers of his work as a bounty hunter, and also, perhaps, from the pain of loving and losing anyone else dear to him. Even as he struggles within the deadly Pit of Carkoon, Boba Fett exemplifies a harsh enforcer of his own code of honor and justice. He is armed not only with powerful weapons but also with the superb survival and martial arts skills taught to him by his father. If it could be possible for anyone to emerge alive from the carnivorous maw of the Sarlacc, that person would be Boba Fett.
Wow, how emotionally introspective! You don't usually expect that from the guy who was, at this point, still nothing more than
a fancy set of clothes. This figure came out in Series 2, alongside Darth Sidious, back when these figures sold for $14.99. Can you imagine paying so much for a Star Wars toy? Unthinkable! But we were willing to pay it, because we knew it would be another decade before we'd get another large-scale Boba Fett (though the Unleashed figures are closer to 7" scale than 6" like The Black Series is). For the people who think Boba Fett's costume was different in Return of the Jedi than it was in Empire Strikes Back, this is Episode 6 look, with this like red gauntlets and a thick belt. Ooooh, so specific!
The figure is entirely made from PVC, which means it's flexible to various degrees based on the thickness of the parts. Like, the viewfinder on his helmet is very bendy, but the helmet itself is a nice, solid chunk. That does mean if you have Unleashed figures on disaplay and it's exceedingly warm out, they might start drooping over time, though that's not particularly bad in Boba's case.
Making a Boba Fett is an opprotunity to show off your paint applications, and this one gets all the usual silver scrapes and dings on his armor (and jetpack), and the tools in his shin-pockets. There's even some painted dirt on his shoes to make them look worn. Even the base gets its own unique paint apps, to make the scene look as realistic as possible. But why just the shoes? Why no scorch marks anywhere on his flight suit? Why no shading or stains on his cape?
Boba is posed being pulled down into the Sarlacc pit, trying to fight back with his jetpack roaring and reaching up to claw at the sky. He carries his regular blaster rifle - it's the full, intact version, despite this scene taking place after Luke cut it in half. Whoops! The figure's only point of articulation is the swivel in the right wrist,
which is really just to allow you to fine-tun how he's aiming the gun. (Down. He's aiming it down. Trying to shoot the Sarlacc.)
The display base is made of several separate pieces that need to be assembled for the finished product. As we said, the scene is the Sarlacc trying to pull him down, so the base shows us the edge of the pit, several of the spikes of teeth or whatever those are lining the edge, three tentacles reaching out to grab him, and a giant plume of exhaust that his rocket pack can plug into. The pit and cloud are one piece, the rising flames are a second, and all three tentacles are solo as well. The base is molded from translucent red plastic, with paint for the sandy edge of the pit and shadows on the cloud, while the exhausts face fromred to yellow as they reach his jets. The front tentacle wraps around Boba's leg (the upposer part of it is sculpted on, but the lower half plugs into a hole on the side of his knee), another reaches behind him and curls around his rocket, and the third id just waving wildly (though it does have a peg to plug it into the second for stability). It really is a very cool presentation!
Unleashed Boba Fett is a really cool design, even if he is more statue than action figure. It's a great, dynamic scene, and if not for the fact part of the tentacle is sculpted onto his leg, it would be fun to try putting Black Series Boba on here as an actual display base. There's still not much that compares to this, even years later.
-- 08/23/25
Should Boba Fett have survived, or no? Tell us on our message board, the Loafing Lounge.
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