Star Wars Bounty Hunters, tales, pics, and costumes brought to you by the 501st Legion
Monday, February 28, 2011
New for the fall
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Why did you choose your character - Jodo Kast
Been a while since the last post...our sincerest apologies but like I say if crime never sleeps it's because we are their nightmares.
Thought it would be interesting to share with folks some of the reasons our folks picked a particular character. This time I will cover Jodo Kast:
No Jodo is not the guy next to Boba Fett...it is the guy that looks like Boba Fett. Some describe him as a younger more ambitious bounty hunter than Fett but none the less Jodo filled the void in the dreams of fanboys everywhere who felt cheated by the untimely, punked demise of Fett. So here are some of our BH's reasons for loving on Jodo...
Thought it would be interesting to share with folks some of the reasons our folks picked a particular character. This time I will cover Jodo Kast:
1. When I started working on the armor, I'd been looking into what costume to do for about a year or so. I wanted to do a clone, then a stormie, then a sandy, then an officer, then a tie pilot, then a crewman, then a Dengar. And, working at McDonald's and being a college student, I realized none of those were possible on my budget of almost nil. So, while perusing “The Dented Helmet” (www.thedentedhelmet.com) one afternoon, and stumbling, tripping, and falling over all the scratch-build threads and templates, I settled for a different kind of BH. Not a Fett, cause he's way too overdone, as in out of out 417 BH's in the 501st, I would wager over 250 are Bobas, easily around 300. And I didn't like Jango, I don't know why, I just didn't. So I looked at Jodo's character. Sure, he's an impostor, a scoundrel, a con artist, but he's good enough to almost escape the inescapable. Hell, he even outsmarts Fett for a second, not many things can say that. And I always like to muse that if Boba can escape a Sarlacc, Jodo can survive a building collapsing. That, and I liked the orange better .
2. Been wanting to do a Mandolorian (name for planet where the Fett’s are from and the name of the armor) costume for a long while... thought of Jodo but as many pointed out Boba has been done by so many and I also I’m not a huge Jango fan. Thought of Jaster (Mereel) but not a fan of the simplistic gauntlets and figured if I go to events and people call me Boba and I do not correct them its in Jodo’s style. Best of both worlds if a Boba shows it makes for some fun photo ops, and if not people don't know the difference.
3. My reason is because Jodo Kast is who Boba Fett should be. Everyone fell in love with the Fett man in the original Star Wars movies. Here was a mysterious, awesome looking, bounty hunter that had such confidence and a swagger to him. Every moment he was on camera he had a presence to him. Boba Fett was the epitome of 'cool.' What made him so cool was you knew nothing about him. All you knew about Boba Fett was he was a bounty hunter, he was efficient as his job, and he had awesome gadgets. What more could you ask for?
To me, what made Boba Fett even more cool, was he had flaws. Yes, he was ruthless, efficient, but after his embarrassing fall in Return of the Jedi (where he should have died), you figured out he was 'only human.' Yes, he was skilled, he was awesome, but he eventually would meet his demise.
Then came the dreaded "Star Wars Expanded Universe Canon (EU)" Where characters can never die, always have to have some elaborate back story, and everyone is related or connected somehow. Boba Fett returns multiple times and is somehow a demi-god. He is able to fight the Dark Lord of the Sith in hand-to-hand combat (does ANYONE else think this is utterly absurd?!), defeated numerous bounty hunters simultaneously (4-Lom, Zuckuss, Bossk, "2" IG-88s?!), and simply cannot 'lose.' To my dismay, the coolest character in the Star Wars universe became "uber l33t' and a power-gamer...he is not allowed to lose. My problem with this is two fold:
First, there is no 'human' connection or sense of fear or danger. In the movies, you're watching Fett and wondering "Geez, I hope he doesn't die!" He appears very human, no super powers, nothing too extraordinary, etc. and you actually feel excitement and danger for the character.
Not in the EU I roll my eyes every time I read about Boba Fett. The guy can't be stopped, he somehow always "realizes" traps and plans that are set up for him (how the heck do you know that IG-88 -- let alone that there are TWO of them -- are waiting for you!??!), he can beat some of the top bounty hunters with ease, and can go toe-to-toe with Darth Vader. There is no sense of danger, outrageous plots and storyline, and I feel quite disconnect and actually laugh at the insipidness that unfolds.
Secondly, there is no more mystery of Boba Fett. What made Boba Fett so cool in the films was no one knew who he was. There was no need, it wasn't important. It made him all the more ruthless, more efficient, and cunning bounty hunter. If you wanted to portray him in your imagination...you could! Everyone had their own interpretations of Boba Fett and he could be anything you wanted him to be: some people could view him as a scumbag with no ties except only to bounties; others can make up his past and family, etc. The 'mystery' of Boba Fett was was simple and effective...sometimes less is more and that is exactly why Boba Fett ruled.
Now? You know EVERYTHING about him, as a child (this was a disappointment for me), how he's pretty much nothing more than a unaltered clone, etc. There is too much information, too many things are tangled and connected, and the more 'stories' the more outrageous and laughable they become.
What is known about Jodo Kast? Well, not too much: he was an ex-rebel special ops who was interested in credits, killed a "real" mandalorian Feskitt Bobb, and stole his armor and took up bounty hunting. That's pretty much all you know about him. He's human, has flaws (as Dengar 'kindly' pointed out....who got OWNED by Jodo Kast..don't get me started on Dengar), and eventually dies. Sounds like Boba Fett in the movies...which is exactly how he should have been.
To me, what made Boba Fett even more cool, was he had flaws. Yes, he was ruthless, efficient, but after his embarrassing fall in Return of the Jedi (where he should have died), you figured out he was 'only human.' Yes, he was skilled, he was awesome, but he eventually would meet his demise.
Then came the dreaded "Star Wars Expanded Universe Canon (EU)" Where characters can never die, always have to have some elaborate back story, and everyone is related or connected somehow. Boba Fett returns multiple times and is somehow a demi-god. He is able to fight the Dark Lord of the Sith in hand-to-hand combat (does ANYONE else think this is utterly absurd?!), defeated numerous bounty hunters simultaneously (4-Lom, Zuckuss, Bossk, "2" IG-88s?!), and simply cannot 'lose.' To my dismay, the coolest character in the Star Wars universe became "uber l33t' and a power-gamer...he is not allowed to lose. My problem with this is two fold:
First, there is no 'human' connection or sense of fear or danger. In the movies, you're watching Fett and wondering "Geez, I hope he doesn't die!" He appears very human, no super powers, nothing too extraordinary, etc. and you actually feel excitement and danger for the character.
Not in the EU I roll my eyes every time I read about Boba Fett. The guy can't be stopped, he somehow always "realizes" traps and plans that are set up for him (how the heck do you know that IG-88 -- let alone that there are TWO of them -- are waiting for you!??!), he can beat some of the top bounty hunters with ease, and can go toe-to-toe with Darth Vader. There is no sense of danger, outrageous plots and storyline, and I feel quite disconnect and actually laugh at the insipidness that unfolds.
Secondly, there is no more mystery of Boba Fett. What made Boba Fett so cool in the films was no one knew who he was. There was no need, it wasn't important. It made him all the more ruthless, more efficient, and cunning bounty hunter. If you wanted to portray him in your imagination...you could! Everyone had their own interpretations of Boba Fett and he could be anything you wanted him to be: some people could view him as a scumbag with no ties except only to bounties; others can make up his past and family, etc. The 'mystery' of Boba Fett was was simple and effective...sometimes less is more and that is exactly why Boba Fett ruled.
Now? You know EVERYTHING about him, as a child (this was a disappointment for me), how he's pretty much nothing more than a unaltered clone, etc. There is too much information, too many things are tangled and connected, and the more 'stories' the more outrageous and laughable they become.
What is known about Jodo Kast? Well, not too much: he was an ex-rebel special ops who was interested in credits, killed a "real" mandalorian Feskitt Bobb, and stole his armor and took up bounty hunting. That's pretty much all you know about him. He's human, has flaws (as Dengar 'kindly' pointed out....who got OWNED by Jodo Kast..don't get me started on Dengar), and eventually dies. Sounds like Boba Fett in the movies...which is exactly how he should have been.
Hmmm maybe next time well do Boba Fett and compare...for now there more credits to be made.
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