WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Star Wars: War of the Bounty Hunters Alpha by Charles Soule, Steve McNiven, Laura Martin, and Travis Lanham, on sale now.
Marvel launched a new crossover in the recently-released Star Wars: War of the Bounty Hunters Alpha one shot, which follows Boba Fett as he deals with a succession of inconveniences while delivering the frozen Han Solo to Jabba the Hutt after the events of The Empire Strikes Back.
The issue is a light-hearted adventure that engages in a number of classic comic book and sci-fi tropes, most notably a classic sci-fi gladiator tournament. Recognizing his signature armor is too well known in the galactic underworld, Fett enters the tournament under his father’s name Jango and paints his armor black. Fett is not the first pop culture icon to enter a spaced-out fighting tournament decked out in a black costume, in fact, it is exactly what Raphael did way back in Archie’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures, the comic based on the original TMNT animated series.
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In War of the Bounty Hunters, Fett discovers that Solo’s carbonite freezing was not fully successful, and the carbonite is starting to decay, which would ruin Jabba’s trophy. Fett seeks out an underworld contact to fix his problem, who agrees to do it if Fett kills a champion Nar Kanji Pit Fighter who cost him a lot of money. Fett reluctantly agrees, coloring his iconic Beskar armor black so that he is less recognizable.
Classic Turtle fans might recognize something familiar in the conceit. In 1989’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures #7, by Dean Clarrain, Ryan Brown, Jim Lawson, the Turtles are abducted by a transdimensional, disembodied cow head to take part in the intergalactic Stump Arena fighting tournament and get new costumes for their fight. While all the Turtles get new duds, Raphael’s is the most memorable and the only one that sticks around.
Raphael kept his black costume for a handful of issues after the Turtles return to New York, telling Splinter it is simply practical since they are out at night most of the time. Several years later, Raph donned the suit again. It remains to be seen whether Fett’s all-black look will return, but the alternate black costume is something of a comic book trope on its own. Its presence in the War of the Bounty Hunters leans into the goofiness of these classic conventions.
The all-black take on iconic characters has historically proven to be an appealing fan favorite, with heroes like Superman and Spider-Man donning black suits. Often it represents a dark turn for the character or an overcoming of some kind of hardship.
For Spider-Man, the black costume started out as a big surprise for the original Secret Wars crossover. The costume would soon come to represent Spidey’s inner-darkness when the suit was revealed to be a living creature that draws on his anger. After jettisoning the alien costume, Spidey would return to the black suit many times during particularly dark stories like Kraven’s Last Hunt. Marvel has even revisited the darker implications of the black suit in their new “What If?” miniseries, Spider’s Shadow.
Superman notably wore black after he returned from the dead in the 90s, complete with the infamous mullet. That costume represented both the character and the DC Universe overcoming their darkest moment, an iconography carried over to film in Zack Snyder’s Justice League.
Raph’s black costume coincides with a subtle shift in his characterization during the Archie series. In the earliest issues, he is essentially the same sarcastic jokester that he is in the '80s cartoon. In Adventures, he transitions into the more classic angry and reclusive personality that he's known for. The costume emphasizes Raphael’s individuality and marks the start of that development.
The black look makes Fett even more intimidating than usual, but Steve McNiven’s art poignantly reminds readers that he lost his father in an arena, not unlike the one he is entering. It is a rare emotional moment for the Star Wars character that draws him into the darkness of his past.
Fett and Raphael are grim characters with a violent streak who have both leaned into darker visuals to represent their anger. While a more playful event in TMNT, the costume change for Fett is a fun nod to comic book tradition.
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