The Jedi of Star Wars are particularly known for their restraint, as most Jedi Knights and Masters know that they should only kill when necessary. Still, we’ve seen some Jedi killing enemies in a fight without even considering it. One such instance was when Mace Windu confronted Jango Fett during the First Battle of Geonosis and decapitated the bounty hunter with his lightsaber. So, why did Mace Windu kill Jango Fett?
Mace Windu had to kill Jango Fett because they were in the middle of a massive battle that could have led to the destruction of the Jedi Order. He had no choice because it was either Jango or the Jedi. And because Jango was the best bounty hunter in the galaxy, he was a dangerous foe that needed to be killed.
The fact that Windu killed Jango Fett is still one of the most surprising scenes in the storyline of Star Wars because he did something that Jedi were not known to do. Nevertheless, it was clear that Mace had no choice in that encounter with Jango because the Jedi were losing the battle with the droids. So, with that said, let’s look at this topic in greater detail to understand why Mace Windu had to kill Jango Fett.
Mace Windu Had to Kill Jango
Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones had one of the most epic battle scenes in the history of Star Wars. It all happened when Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker were investigating the matter involving the assassination attempt on Senator Padme Amidala’s life. And while Anakin was asked to protect Padme, Obi-Wan went on to try to get to the bottom of the assassination attempt.
Kenobi’s investigation led him to Kamino, where he found that a Jedi had mysteriously ordered the creation of a massive clone army for the Republic ten years ago. The clones were modeled after a bounty hunter named Jango Fett, one of the people hired to kill Padme. While this led to a fight between Kenobi and Fett, the Jedi was able to chase the bounty hunter to a planet called Geonosis, where a secret meeting between the Separatists was happening.
dooku kenobi
Count Dooku led the Separatists to capture Kenobi and then Anakin Skywalker, who tried to rescue his master. Luckily, the Jedi Order got Obi-Wan’s message and headed to Geonosis to confront Dooku and his massive droid army before Obi-Wan and Anakin were about to be killed. This led to an all-out fight between the Jedi Order and Dooku’s clone army.
During that battle, Jango Fett engaged Jedi Master Mace Windu. However, the bounty hunter was no match for the Jedi Master because Windu quickly overwhelmed him. Jango tried to escape using his jetpack, which malfunctioned due to the attack by one of the monsters in the arena. As such, he couldn’t do anything but fight back, only for Mace to quickly decapitate him using his lightsaber.
Was Mace Windu Secretly a Sith Lord? Theory Explained
Count Dooku had a surprised look on his face when he saw what his old colleague did to the bounty hunter. Of course, we know that the Jedi are taught the importance of restraint because they were supposed to be keepers of the peace. That meant they knew that killing was never the first option in a fight, especially if other options were available. But the fact that Windu didn’t even hesitate to kill Fett surprised many people because this wasn’t the Jedi way.
Nevertheless, it is important to consider that the Jedi Order was in an all-out battle that could have very well dictated whether the Jedi would continue to exist. Dooku’s droid army was so overwhelming that the Jedi were severely outnumbered in that fight. Clearly, the Jedi were fighting a losing battle in that arena.
Jango Fett was far stronger than any of the assets that Dooku had at his disposal. He was strong enough to kill a Jedi and even stalemate Obi-Wan in a fight. Even though Jango had a damaged jetpack and a busted blaster, he was still far stronger than any of the droids Dooku fielded in that battle because he was a trained Mandalorian bounty hunter who could hold his own against a Jedi.
As such, the only logical conclusion for Mace Windu when he encountered Jango Fett was to kill him. He didn’t want the strongest bounty hunter in the galaxy to give the Jedi any more problems than they already had. The Jedi already had their hands full with the countless droids raining blaster bolts on them. As such, killing Fett was the best option for him because the bounty hunter would have killed more Jedi if Windu allowed him to roam free and use any other weapon that he could use at his disposal.
In short, Mace didn’t kill Jango out of malice or hatred. He killed him because this was the only option that he could see at that moment. Taking him in wasn’t even an option because the Jedi were fighting a losing battle. However, had the circumstances been different, Windu wouldn’t have killed Fett.
Does Windu Regret Killing Jango?
As mentioned, Count Dooku had a surprised look on his face when he saw what Mace Windu did to Jango Fett. In a way, Dooku wasn’t expecting a Jedi to kill a living human without hesitation. And we even saw how Windu stared back at Jango’s body after looking at Dooku’s reaction.
Mace Windu vs. Palpatine: Who Was Stronger?
Of course, a part of Windu may have regretted killing Jango because there must’ve been another option available to him. But, at the same time, he also understood that he had to do what needed to be done because killing Jango was one of the only ways for him to make sure that the bounty hunter wouldn’t give the Jedi Order more trouble in the Battle of Geonosis or in the future.
But Windu’s true regret in the Battle of Geonosis wasn’t related to Jango Fett at all. Instead, he regretted not killing Count Dooku when he had the chance to do so because he knew that Dooku was one of the most important figures of the Clone Wars. So, while he might’ve felt bad about killing Jango Fett, he felt even worse about not being able to kill Count Dooku before the Clone Wars even broke out.
Why Did Jango Get Killed So Easily?
We all know that Jango Fett was the strongest and most accomplished bounty hunter in the galaxy then. Jango was able to fight Kenobi to a stalemate. And we know that other strong and accomplished bounty hunters, such as Cad Bane, could also hold their own against Jedi Masters.
Nevertheless, Jango was defeated quite easily in that fight with Mace Windu. Of course, Windu was one of the strongest Jedi then and arguably the strongest fighter in the Jedi Order. But some circumstances led to Jango’s defeat and quick death.
windu kills jango
First off, before his fight with Mace started, Jango got knocked to the ground by a monster called a Reek, which was responsible for damaging his jetpack. Fett was unaware of the damage that the monster did to his jetpack, and that was when he made the mistake of trying to run away from Windu using his jetpack, only for him to see that it wasn’t working. As such, Windu could easily decapitate the bounty hunter after destroying his blaster.
Second, Jango’s busted jetpack wasn’t the only reason he lost that fight to Windu. Let’s not forget that Mace was fighting to kill Jango instead of just apprehending him. And that made all of the difference.
Star Wars: Did Mace Windu Ever Have a Padawan?
We’ve seen bounty hunters like Cad Bane matching the prowess of a Jedi because he understood that the Jedi he was fighting wasn’t going to kill him. Of course, Jango Fett’s fight with Obi-Wan ended with him taking a quick advantage that allowed him to escape Kamino. But let’s not forget that Obi-Wan was trying to apprehend Jango because he wanted to bring him back to Coruscant for questioning. Obi-Wan wasn’t trying to kill him.
As such, while Jango Fett was a seasoned Mandalorian warrior that could hold his own against a Jedi, a fight against the mightiest Jedi Master was an entirely different story, especially when this Jedi Master was looking to kill him.
