Cad Bane

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NOTE: This is a composite profile of both mainstream versions of Cad Bane being his Canon and Legends counterparts where both incarnations take different directions in their storylines with the exceptions of The Clone Wars.

Near Pure Evil

Full Name

Colby (canon)

Cad Bane (Legends)

Alias

Cad Bane (canon)

The Stranger

Origin

Star Wars: The Clone Wars

Allies

Niro (formerly)
His soldiers
Todo 360 (servant)
Aurra Sing
Shahan Alama
Cato Parasitti
Robonino
Embo
Moralo Eval
Darth Sidious
Count Dooku
Darth Maul
Lama Su
Dr. Royce Hemlock
Pyke Syndicate
Mos Espa Crime Families
Formerly:
Ziro the Hutt
Boba Fett

Powers / Skills

High intelligence

Brute strength
High agility
Marksmanship
Force resistance
Combat expertise
Leadership
Intimidation
Bounty hunting experience

Goals

Steal the holocron from the Jedi Temple.
Receive payment for his services.
Break out Moralo Eval from prison and help out Count Dooku in capturing Palpatine (all succeeded).
Capture and hand over M-Count targets to the Galactic Empire.
Help out the Pyke Syndicate in tyrannizing Tattooine.
Kill Boba Fett (all failed).

Moral Event Horizon

Killing his former best friend, Niro, in front of his son.
Kidnapping and handing over force-sensitive children to Darth Sidious.
Torturing Bolla Ropal for information on the holocron before killing him anyway.
Murdering Senator Philo for protesting him and attempting to kill the rest of the senators after freeing Ziro the Hutt.
Murdering Bulduga just to take his hat.

Kill Count

Dozens

Crimes

Organized crime
Terrorism
Mass murder
Kidnapping
Theft
Fraud
Blackmail
Conspiracy
Abuse
Assault
Drug trafficking
Child trafficking
Stalking
Animal cruelty
Incrimination
Arson

Type of Villain

Sociopathic Mercenary

“	I'm in control. I make the rules now.	„
	~ Cad Bane's catchphrase.

“	Consider this my final lesson: look out for yourself. Anything else... is weakness.	„
	~ Cad Bane to Boba Fett in their climatic stand-off. noicon

“	I knew you were a killer.	„
	~ Cad Bane's last words before apparently succumbing to his wounds. noicon

Colby, also known as Cad Bane, is a major antagonist in the Star Wars franchise.

He is a mysterious and ruthless bounty hunter hailing from planet Duro who rose through the ranks in his occupation throughout the Clone Wars, eventually becoming one of the most notorious in the galaxy. Bane is the archenemy of Boba Fett, to whom he was also an abusive mentor when training him after his father Jango's death.

In all his appearances, he was voiced by Corey Burton, who also voiced Lythos and Stratos in Hercules, Shockwave in Transformers: Animated, Malware in Ben 10: Omniverse, Brainiac in LEGO DC Super-Villains and Nitros Oxide in the Crash Team Racing: Nitro-Fueled remake. In The Book of Boba Fett, he was portrayed by stuntman Dorian Kingi.

His Evil Ranking[]

What Makes Him Close to Being Pure Evil?[]

In General[]

All throughout the galaxy, Cad Bane is infamous for being perhaps the most notorious bounty hunter in history.
Unlike other bounty hunters such as Jango Fett (a former Mandalorian), Embo, Bossk, and Boba Fett, who while being ruthless, care for those closer to them as well as having a code of honor, Bane is all-around selfish, holding no genuine sense of loyalty to anybody but himself and claiming that looking out for anyone else is a weakness.
Having already been a ruthless bounty hunter prior to his rise, Cad Bane was even then known for his willingness to betray his own side if a higher bid were offered to him.
He has few if any comedic moments and is taken completely seriously, to the point even his soldiers fear him.
Overall, he never shows any hint of remorse for his actions.
He always abuses his service droid, Todo 360, who is nothing but loyal and helpful to him.
Especially given his fairly low resources and how unfair it would be to compare him with Darth Sidious, Grand Moff Tarkin, Count Dooku, or Darth Vader, Bane well manages to stand out, passing the Heinous Standards with the magnitude and unique approach of his crimes.
While he did initially care about his childhood friend Niro and felt heavy remorse over leaving him to be arrested as kids, he seems to have subverted quality with time after he became as police officer and arrested him after he killed the lawman. He also showed visible anger when he was told Niro had fallen in love and married his girlfriend Arin. He then confronted him and killed him in cold blood, blaming him for taking everything from him, proving he no longer cared for his old friend.
While he once worked with Jango Fett and sometimes admired his skills, it is unknown if he truly cared about him since his reaction to his death was never shown. The way he treats his son Boba, especially when he coldly rubs in his face how his father’s blood is running through his veins, likely pushes him past it.

Background[]

As a child, he would steal food from civilians and make a game out of it.
He and his best friend Niro were hired by Lazlo to create a disturbance in order to distract a store owner, so Lazlo could kill him and his crew. After the job was finished, he and Niro fled the scene from the police, but was forced to abandon Niro after he got caught.
He destroyed and set fire to city block in order to attract the lawman who killed Lazlo. He then shot and killed the lawman in a standoff.
After being released from prison, he returned to Duros to kill Niro after he imprisoned for murder and arson. Despite being his best friend, he showed no remorse after he killed him.
Bane helps Maul kidnap a Jedi Padawan so he can kill her to satisfy his bloodlust.
Bane also killed many crime syndicates to cover up Maul's identity as a Sith.
He also didn't show any concern when Troo-tril-tek was left behind and left him for dead.
At somepoint during the Clone Wars, Bane hunted a defected agent named Graygon Eckt.
When Quinlan Vos refused to backdown, Bane sent the Bavana bounty hunters and other criminals on him. When the crimminals failed, Bane went after Vos himself but got blasted with the enginse.

Star Wars: The Clone Wars[]

Season 1[]

Took the Galactic Senate hostage and murdered Senator Philo for defying him.
Locked down the entire building to prevent anyone from escaping as means of coercion.
Although he was attempting to negotiate Ziro the Hutt out of prison, it was clearly not out of an immediate desire to help out Jabba the Hutt.
- As a result of Ziro being broken out of prison, a chase happened and several speeders killed Trace and Rafa's parents. Making Bane indirectly responsible for their tragic past and mistrust of the Jedi.
Upon noticing Anakin Skywalker, he attempted to shoot him dead.
Attempted to kill the senate even after Ziro was handed over to him by Chancellor Palpatine (who was secretly his ally Darth Sidious, ironically).
Immediately demanded payment from Ziro after liberating him.

Season 2[]

Stole the Holocron from the Jedi Temple, endangering not only Jocasta Nu and Ahsoka Tano but also his own soldiers by forcing them to serve as distractions. Not helping his case is also having allowed some of them like Cato Parasitti to be taken into custody without concern.
Tortured Jedi Master Bolla Ropal to death just so he could get the information on how to open the Holocron he just stole.
He captured and sadistically tortured Ahsoka. He then threatens to throw her out of the airlock to force Anakin to open the Holocron. After Anakin opens it and tries to reclaim it, Bane delivers on his threat and nearly gets Ahsoka killed while he escapes.
He killed Denal and Koho before disguising himself as the former to fake his death.
Led a coup to kidnap numerous Force-sensitive children, intending to hand them over to Sidious, well aware of his likewise odious intentions, proving how far he's willing to go in his measures in order to receive payment.
- Mace Windu says that there are thousands of children on that list which means that Bane is willing to condemn thousands of children across the galaxy to be turned into Imperial agents through torture and being used for Imperial projects like Project Harvester, an Inquisitorial project started by Palpatine which oversaw the indoctrination of Force-sensitive infants to the Dark Side after they are kidnapped from their families through things like physical, psychological and mental torments.
Although he did bring Mace and Obi-Wan to the holocron, he did leave them to die on a space station.

Season 3[]

In the mission of freeing Ziro from prison, Bane is revealed to have captured C-3PO, intending to interrogate him for important information regarding the Senate Building.
Deeming 3PO useless on information after he manages to hold out long enough on him, he proceeded to abduct and repeat the process on R2-D2's memory.
Although he did release the other droids, it was out of pragmatic reasons to simply not inconvenience himself with needless conflict from another end, even erasing their memories in the process before releasing them.
Although Ziro's death was well-deserved for his treachery towards his fellow Hutts, Bane immediately set back after him when given the word of approval. When he sees that Ziro was already killed off, he is only aggravated that someone else did it instead of him.
Fought and evaded capture from Jedi Masters Obi-Wan Kenobi and Quinlan Vos when they attempted to take him back into custody for holding the Senate hostage and orchestrating Ziro's escape.

Season 4[]

Staged a breakout alongside Moralo Eval, starting a mass riot to use for cover and manipulating Obi-Wan Kenobi—disguised as Rako Hardeen—into helping him. Moreover, he and Eval also killed several personnel on their exit just for sadistic enjoyment.
Almost killed a Rodian pawn shop owner named Pablo with a toothpick when purchasing new parts to repair his ship.
Murdered Bulduga the Ithorian bounty hunter in front of his brother and his comrades just to take his hat. Not helping Bane's case is him having first provoked the conflict.
Attempted to hand over Obi-Wan to local authority for involvement.
Participated alongside Eval, the disguised Obi-Wan, and several other contestants for who would lead the planned assassination against Palpatine.
When captured again by the Galactic Republic, he spitefully swore revenge on Obi-Wan and the Jedi.

Kanan comic[]

At some point, he gave holographic layout of the Jedi Temple to the Kage warrior brothers Rackham and Coburn Sear where they attempted to attack the Jedi temple.

Star Wars: The Bad Batch[]

Shot Hunter in the chest, nearly killing him.
Kidnapped Omega and attempted to hand her over to the Kaminoan Prime Minister Lama Su to personally have her terminated, only for his efforts to be impeded by another bounty hunter, Fennec Shand, who was hired by Nala Se to keep Omega safe until the Bad Batch came to rescue her.
He was hired by the Galactic Empire on one such mission, in which he and Todo travel to the planet Caraad to capture a Force-sensitive infant named Bayrn after being tipped off by an informant. They easily incapacitated Bayrn's mother and delivered the captive infant to Dr. Emerie Karr and Commander Scorch at an Imperial Orbital Space Station over Coruscant.
- It is implied he may have been hired by Dr. Royce Hemlock to kidnap the three Force-sensitive children—Eva, Jax, and Sami—that were held inside a secured room within the secret facility Mount Tantiss on the planet Weyland as part of the top secret Project Necromancer overseen both by Hemlock and Emperor Sidious.

The Book of Boba Fett[]

He is revealed to have been extremely abusive and cruel to Boba Fett when the latter was under his mentorship.
Leading up to his faceoff with Boba Fett, he first shot and injured the Marshall of Freetown, Cobb Vanth, before gunning down his deputy, Scott.
He revealed to Boba about the death of the Tusken Raider tribe he was once part of being caused by the Pyke Syndicate, simply to provoke him.
Terrorized the residents of Freetown and Mos Espa and threatened them should they interfere with the Pyke Syndicate's spice trafficking.
Used his flamethrower to frighten Boba's pet Rancor, sending the beast on a rampage amidst a battle between the citizens and the criminals.
Attempted to kill Boba by shooting him in the head and later trying to burn him during their battle.
Twice he hypocritically states that Boba is a cold blooded killer who worked for the Empire despite working with the Empire and killing himself. He also accused him of leaving behind the Tuskens despite betraying people himself countless times.
He later coldly rubs on Boba's face how his father Jango’s blood is running through his veins after their standoff, subverting any respect he had to Jango in the past.
His gruesome death by the hands of Boba Fett where he gets impaled by his stick was played for satisfaction rather than sympathy due to the countless number of people he killed over the years.

What Prevents Him from Being Pure Evil?[]

He has a fair sense of honor, as shown by his belief in a fair and even fight, even calling out Eval for his cowardice and saving Obi-Wan for such sake despite having no reason to do so. His sense of fairness is also shown by him going out of his way to save "Rako Hardeen" from the unfair odds of a rigged round in The Box.
- He also fulfilled his deals, like not ratting out Sidious to the Jedi and also bringing the Jedi the holocron, not the children, so he almost never betrays his employers.
- He also pointed out to the Hutt’s that the Jedi didn't break out Ziro and was willing to leave peacefully until Obi-Wan provoked him.
- He also pointed out to Vos in Hyperspace Stories 9 that he always claims his bounty for his employer.
- In the Legends continuity, he also spared his best friend Soopan, despite taking his identity. After Soopan choose to commit suicide, Bane was upset about it.
He shows a rare sense of affability, most notably to others such as Count Dooku, Darth Sidious, Embo, and "Rako Hardeen," despite how much he disagrees with them on certain viewpoints. He also can be somewhat affable when he notices someone’s skill by complimenting them; this was shown when Ahsoka tricked him; he then told her that she is “quite clever.” But him calling out his opponent's skill is sometimes obvious sarcasm. He also acknowledges Embo's skills, often tipping his hat to him. He also has several Pet the Dog moments, most notably when he saves Rako Hardeen. He also thanks the Aqualish villager who tipped him about Bayrn's Force-sensitivity by tossing some credits his way. When Emerie asks a few too many questions, he picks up on her empathy for the kidnapped children and warns her that such questions give away more than she thinks; a subtle warning to quit before she gets herself in trouble.
He cared about some people and has a legitimately tragic and sympathetic backstory that molded him into the sociopathic bounty hunter he is today:
- Bane cared about his mentor Lazlo, tearing through his crash ship to find if he as okay and was angry that he was killed. His death is what motivated Bane to avenge his death.
- He genuinely loved his girlfriend Arin, who despite betraying him, he ultimately forgave her and even goes home after years in prison to return to her, only for Arin to have died a few years prior, but not before marrying his old friend Niro and giving birth to Isaac, whom Niro adopted. When Bane realizes Isaac is his son, he spares the boy and leaves, realizing he has nothing now, which is played for sympathy.
- He grew up in poverty with his best friend, Niro, and barely knew his parents, which makes his tragedy genuine as he was often mistreated by locals being called a street rat and often being threaten with physical violence.

Trivia[]

A planned Star Wars: The Clone Wars 4-episode arc that went unproduced due to the show's cancellation involved Cad Bane mentoring Boba Fett while rescuing a child from the Tusken Raiders, a mission during which Bane would explain how he met Boba's father Jango and which would have culminated with Bane and Fett engaging in a duel that Fett would have won. Had those episodes been produced, it's unknown how this would have affected Cad Bane's Near Pure Evil status.
- Despite this, Lucasfilm Story Group's Pablo Hidalgo has insisted that the events of most unproduced episodes remain canonical, and Cad Bane's subsequent appearance and interactions with Boba Fett in The Book of Boba Fett heavily imply this storyline is among those that canonically happened, albeit offscreen, though how much of the original plots for those episodes is still canon remains unclear.
One of the inspirations that Star Wars creator George Lucas had in mind for the bounty hunter who became Cad Bane was Leef Van Cleef's gunslinger Angel Eyes, another Near Pure Evil character (though Pure Evil in the film's American theatrical version) who served as the main antagonist of the classic Western film The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.
His Canon counterpart’s NPE status could be affected as his backstory was revealed in Tales of the Underworld and it gave him a Freudian Excuse for why he’s a sociopathic bounty hunter in the present day.