The Millennium Falcon is the easily the most iconic ship in the Star Wars universe, but it’s not unrivaled. The Slave 1 has been used by two of the most notorious bounty hunters in the galaxy and has withstood everything anyone threw at it — outliving both its owners. In this post I will not only compare these two ships’ capabilities in battle, but also which is the better all around hunk of junk for a smuggler, bounty hunter, or any other shape or form of criminal.
In terms of sheer firepower Boba’s flagship can vaporize the Falcon instantly. The Falcon was originally a Corellian Engineering Corporation YT-1300fp light freighter, with an armament that consists of a powerful Corellian-built quad laser cannon on top, a concealed anti-personnel repeating blaster cannon near the ramp, and two illegal above-military-grade Arakyd ST2 concussion missile launchers. The Slave 1 is a highly modified Kuat Systems Engineering Firespray-class patrol and attack craft, armed with three twin rotating laser cannons, concussion missile launchers, way too expensive proton torpedo tubes, an ion cannon, a tractor beam projector, and seismic charges that can blow an asteroid to pieces. Both have strong enough shield generators to withstand heavy fire, but the Falcon is still no match.
The layouts of the two ships are entirely different and suited for very different tasks. The Flacon is optimized for storage space, ideal for a smuggler transporting illegal cargo. Lando Calrissian installed hidden compartments under the deck, and a previous owner added a cargo jettison feature for tight situations when it’s better to ditch the cargo than answer questions — both features made its black market value skyrocket. The Slave 1 has two separate sets of artificial gravity generators that reorient for flight and landing, meaning walls, floors, and ceilings are relative. Instead of a large cargo hold, it has 5 detention cells, a Force-cage to hold Jedi or other Force-users, and stealth mode. It has very little storage and no cargo hold, and even the crew quarters are cramped.
Speed and power are two more factor to consider, and the ship that made the Kessel Run in 12 parsecs easily outruns the Mandalorians’ ship. The Falcon’s Class 0.5 hyperdrive is fully twice as fast as that of Imperial warships, while its sublights are heavily modified Girodyne SRB42s that can power it up to 1,050 km/h in-atmosphere. The Slave 1’s three F-31 drive engines can only reach 1,000 km/h in-atmosphere and has a Class 0.7 hyperdrive, making it significantly slower than the Flacon in hyperspace.
A previous owner of the Falcon installed a main computer made of three salvaged droid brains: an R3 astromech, a V-5 transport droid, and a corporate espionage slicer droid. While they work together in emergencies, the ship is known to have arguments with itself. The exact computer the Slave 1 possesses is unknown, but it probably isn’t schizophrenic.
Overall, one ship isn’t better than the other. The Slave 1 is loaded solid with a wide range of weapons, deadly and nonlethal, and is optimized on the inside secure prisoner detention. It is an unstoppable vessel that can bring capitol ships to their knees and annihilate entire bases in a matter of minutes. The Millennium Falcon is sturdy, hard freighter full of surprises that can destroy fleets of TIEs with a few shots, but its real prowess is its unmatched speed and agility.
So if you prefer runs with little few incidents for impatient crime lords and colossal worms, the Falcon is is the perfect choice, but if you are willing to sacrifice cargo space and comfort for the adrenaline of clashing with squadrons and bringing warships down with a few shots, the Slave 1 should be your flagship.
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From ex-jedi to droids–yes, droid
10: Zam Wessel: Darth Sidious ordered Count Dooku to assassinate Padme. Dooku hired Jango Fett, Jango in hired Zam Wessel, Zam made a droid do the job. The droid dumped two toxic worms in the window to kill Padme. Obviously that failed, but Zam is still a pretty cool bounty hunter–and a shapeshifter.
9: Aurra Sing: Aurra Sing was supposed to be a Jedi padawan, but her training wasn’t going well. Apparently, she had an argument with her master and decided she had had enough of Jedi. She defected from the Order, and became a bounty hunter. She was a natural-born leader, succeeding in commanding the team of bounty hunters after Sugi, and worked for young Boba Fett in his quest for revenge on the Jedi.
8: Asajj Ventress: Ventress was a dark side acolyte, but the Rule of Two prevented her from becoming a true Sith. After a skirmish with a former ally Savage Oppress, she defected from the Seperatists to become a bounty hunter. Using her twin bent-hilted lightsabers and force powers, she became one of the most successful bounty hunters of the late Clone Wars.
7: Bossk: If there is one thing we can’t forgive a villain for, it’s hunting wookiees, and that’s exactly what Bossk does in his spare time. The reptilian has been seen in the Clone Wars hunting wookiees and working for Boba, in The Empire Strikes Back hunting Han Solo for Vader, and even in Rebels! “G
6: Dengar: Dengar was a bounty hunter who used sheer firepower to eliminate his enemies. He thought very highly of himself, which was only partially justified by his nearly unbroken track record. He used a combination of mini-grenades, his blaster rifle, and deadly skill to take down almost any foe. In Twin Engines of Destruction, Dengar and Boba Fett worked together to track down a fake who stole Boba’s identity.
5: IG-88: though not the only one, IG-88 is one of the very few droids who “escaped their programming” and became bounty hunters. He is no doubt one of the greatest bounty hunters ever; his chief rival for capturing Solo was Boba Fett. He is a modified IG-86 sentinel droid made from–uhh, recycled Mos Eisley Cantina parts left over from filming. Really, google it. Nonetheless, he’s pretty dang awesome.
4: Embo: There’s nothing bland about Embo: a bowcaster, a pet anooba called Marrok, an undecodable language, and downright colorful appearance. Not to mention the hat that doubles as a shield and triples as a snowboard. Though a quiet individual, he is completely ruthless when it comes to capturing his bounty. During the Clone Wars, his skills were second only to Cad Bane. <<You’re outmanned, laserblade.>>
3: Jango Fett: Having several million clones is not the only thing that makes Jango awesome. Extreme bounty hunting is really his thing; he knows that his clones will be for the Republic and that it was a Separatist who hired him, so he was willing to start a galaxy-wide war, as long as he gets payed. Besides, a guy who fights his own clones in his spare time has to be in the top three.
2: Cad Bane: Bane is one of the most notorious bounty hunters ever, going to massive lengths to achieve his goal. Breaking out of a Republic prison, kidnapping force-sensitive children pretending to be a jedi, infiltrating the Jedi Temple to steal a holocron, and holding the entire Senate as hostages are just a few highlights from his eventful career. Plus, he also has a genuinely evil droid, Todo 360. “I’ll take on any job…for the right price.” – Cad Bane.
1: Boba Fett: clone, bounty hunter, son of a mercenary, and Mandalorian. Boba was raised as a bounty hunter by a bounty hunter to become a bounty hunter. Capturing Han Solo and bringing him to Bespin was only one out of many jobs he completed. While he was young, he and a gang of other bounty hunters tracked down and nearly killed Mace Windu, the Jedi who killed his father. In Twin Engines of Desruction, he and Dengar tracked down and killed a fake pretending to be Boba. In addition, he’s the only person in the galaxy who dares to question Darth Vader.
Proton torpedoes: the Slave 1 has two torpedo launchers on the very tip of the nose (a concealed turret). Proton torpedoes are heavier firepower than standard laser cannons.
Shadow Squadron 