Dud Bolt/Legends

Dud Bolt was a Vulptereen male hitman who performed as a professional Podracer pilot around and during the year 32 BBY. Bolt held a reputation of being highly aggressive on the course, with his battered and scarred Vulptereen 327 Podracer a testament to his brutality. Unbeknownst to most, Bolt worked as the mid-air bodyguard for the notorious pilot Sebulba, a vicious Dug who employed various illegal tactics to gain the upper hand during a race. Despite what appeared to be a simple, if brutal, existence on the track, Bolt was a decent pilot with a well-oiled racing machine. He scored record lap times on the planet Malastare and even held the crowd's favor for the Malastare 100 racecourse, though he rarely won his races.

Bolt eventually followed Sebulba to the desert planet Tatooine in order to participate in the Boonta Eve Classic of 32 BBY. During the race's third lap, the Nuknog pilot Ark Roose caught Bolt's attention, and deciding that Roose was a threat, Bolt totaled Roose's racer while destroying his own Vulptereen 327 in the process. Bolt continued racing through at least 24 BBY, when he was replaced as Sebulba's bodyguard by none other than the Glymphid Aldar Beedo, a pilot and assassin who had previously been hunting Sebulba. For the following Podracing season, Bolt made it a note to eventually dispose of both Sebulba and Beedo during a future race. The Vulptereen held up his career through the year 22 BBY, intimidating other opponents with armed hirelings whenever he felt it was necessary.

The pilot from the Deep Core
"The Vulptereen racer Dud Bolt is on the track today. Ho, he is gonna be tough to beat."

- Fode Annodue, a Troig race announcer

Hailing from the Deep Core planet of Vulpter, the Vulptereen male Dud Bolt made his living as both a hitman-for-hire and a professional Podracing pilot. An aggressive individual who piloted a traction-centered Vulptereen 327 Podracer, his constant aggression towards other racers on the track eventually caught the eye of Sebulba, a Dug pilot who employed various illegal methods to gain the upper hand in a Podrace. Sebulba offered Bolt a paycheck for any other pilots whom Bolt could take down during a race in order to ensure Sebulba's own victories. Bolt agreed to the offer, and thus no longer entered races in order to win himself&mdash;only to protect Sebulba. The Vulptereen's aggressive tendencies amplified, and other pilots made sure to avoid him if possible in order to ensure their own survival. Bolt tended to remain in the rear of a pack, eyeing up anyone who seemed to be ready to make a jump for the lead. If anyone did, Bolt would boost after them and take them down before they had a chance of catching up to Sebulba.

However, Bolt did not completely dismiss the prospect of winning or becoming a successful racer. He made numerous attempts to establish the best lap time records for a circuit on the planet Malastare known as the Malastare 100, and he even participated in the famous Boonta Eve Classic. While Bolt had won the Malastare 100 and was a common sight there, his overall victories were few. He eventually set two course records for the track: a single lap time of 00:40.288 minutes and a race time of 02:03.087 minutes. Many spectators hypothesized that on the occasions when Bolt lost, he did so on purpose in hopes of bringing more attention to himself. Bolt also gained fame on a Malastare drag course. As Bolt's racing career continued, his Podracer became visibly damaged, and the Vulptereen often did not tend to its outward appearance, almost never taking the time to repaint it.

The Boonta Eve Classic of 32 BBY
"Bolt Dud [sic] and Ebe Endocott seem to be having words in the pit. Ha ha ha. There's no love lost between these two!"

- Fode Annodue

During 32 BBY, the next iteration of the Boonta Eve Classic on the Outer Rim planet Tatooine took place. As Sebulba ruled as the crowd favorite and the most common champion of the race, Bolt naturally followed the Dug there. On the night before the race, several of the Boonta pilots, including Sebulba, were interviewed on a talk show hosted by the Troig race commentator Fodesinbeed Annodue. Sebulba declared his belief that he would be the race's victor once again. Later that night, most of the competitors attended former Boonta winner Boles Roor's Glimmik concert at the Poodoo Lounge. Sebulba had a short meeting with Bolt before the show and, after pretending to mock Bolt for not attending the talk show, he advised Bolt to keep an eye for any adversaries. Unbeknownst to the pair, only a few seats away in the bar, the aging Devlikk pilot Wan Sandage hired the Glymphid hitman and Podracer Aldar Beedo to assassinate Sebulba during the race. The next day, Sebulba had found out from the Veknoid competitor Teemto Pagalies that the Bardottan pilot Mars Guo was planning to run away with one of Sebulba's masseuses, Ann Gella, after the race. Per Sebulba's orders, Bolt distracted Guo while the Dug broke a piece of machinery off Guo's Podracer.

The pilots began to gather at the Mos Espa Grand Arena only a short time later, and Bolt started on the outside of the second row, next to a Human child named Anakin Skywalker and directly behind Beedo. Fode Annodue introduced some of the pilots, cheerfully welcoming Bolt and his Podracer back to the Boonta. Jabba the Hutt, the host for the race, arrived in his personal viewing box soon after and exorbitantly announced the start of the race, and with his go-ahead, the pilots roared off into the track. Two pilots, however, were left behind&mdash;Skywalker and the Toong pilot Ben Quadinaros. Skywalker was able to start off a little later after readjusting his pod and caught up with the rear of the pack shortly thereafter, overtaking Bolt and several other Podracers. Bolt remained in the rear for the remainder of the race, near Sandage, Beedo, and the Xamster Neva Kee, while Sebulba knocked out any pilot who came near him.

While entering into an area of the latter part of the course known as the Coil, Bolt found himself near Ark "Bumpy" Roose, a dim-witted Nuknog. Seeing both a potential target and a threat, Bolt made his move to intercept Roose, a choice that proved to be disastrous. Both pilots bit the dust as their Podracers collided, and they received heavy injuries that put them into the Mos Espa med center. Nonetheless, the Vulptereen earned a hefty bonus from Sebulba for causing the wreck, and Bolt eventually recovered and returned to racing with a Vulptereen 327. However, by 24 BBY, Sebulba had fired Bolt from his coveted position at the Dug's side and instead hired Beedo, the very Glymphid who had once been hired to kill Sebulba. Bolt, enraged, vowed to decimate both pilots in the name of eternal hatred.

Racer revenge
"You get out of here, eh. We paid entry fee, and I never fly away from nonrefundable deposit. We going to race. Nothing you can do to stop us." &laquo;Are you stupid or crazy? Maybe a bit of both...&raquo;"

- Watto and Dud Bolt in a confrontation

For the new Podracing season, Bolt honed his piloting skills and upgraded his Podracer to become a fiercer presence on the track before entering into the Galactic Trials, the first set of races in the season. Bolt, more aggressive than ever, racked up high scores on the knockout charts, obtaining the lead spot for most knockouts with a score of four during two different races&mdash;one on a track located in a SoroSuub Facility on the planet Sullust and the other on the Orotoru G'am track on the planet Mon Calamari. For the Watchtower Run course on the planet Gamorr, he reached third on the knockout chart, with a total of two knockouts in one race. Beedo, the track favorite and Bolt's nemesis, held the top position with a total of five knockouts. Bolt performed well on the course, as he had the second best race time for the course, standing at 02:25.93 minutes. Beedo, however, topped that chart as well. Bolt later raced on the ice world of Ando Prime sometime around 22 BBY. The race was broadcast over the HoloNet, and the Outlander Club establishment on the planet Coruscant aired the race only a little while before the start of the Clone Wars on the planet Geonosis.

Sometime later during the year, Bolt participated in the Outer Rim Regional Podracing Circuit. By this time, he was considered to be the track favorite of a course located on the world of Utapau, which was the third and last race of the circuit. After losing the entire Regional circuit to a new Podracer pilot, who was racing on the behalf of the Toydarian junk dealer Watto, the Vulptereen confronted the pilot and Watto on the planet Bespin, shortly before the first race of the Professional Podracing Circuit. Backed by a pair of Trandoshans, Bolt began to threaten Watto's team. When Watto tried to interject, one Trandoshan hit the Toydarian with a stun baton. Before the trio could advance on the pilot, the Nosaurian pilot Clegg Holdfast intervened. Knocking out the Trandoshans with DUM-series pit droids, he advanced on Bolt with a wrench. Bolt tried to warn Holdfast back with a blaster pistol, but the undaunted Nosaurian advanced and knocked the gun out of Bolt's hand before hitting the Vulptereen with the wrench. Bolt quickly retreated. During the next race, located on Coruscant, Beedo killed Holdfast by using his own Podracer to destroy Holdfast's KV9T9-B Wasp Podracer. Bolt also participated in the race, but was unable to destroy Beedo or win the event, losing to Team Watto. In the end, Bolt was never able to finish off Beedo during a race, as Beedo was captured by a mercenary on Baroonda. The mercenary had been hired by another one of the Glymphid's enemies, the Fluggrian crime lord Kam Nale, who was better known by the name of "Elan Mak" on the Podracing circuits. As for Sebulba, his life ended in a fashion with which his enemies would have been pleased.

Personality and traits
The shovel-nosed Dud Bolt was an aggressive individual, and he funneled his aggression into his career as a hitman and his harrowing racecourse antics. Shameless, he readily accepted jobs to destroy the competition for others, accepting his employers' paychecks without hesitation. Bolt would sacrifice his own pod and race position to take down the targeted competitor, though if his violent actions ever slowed him down, his pod's boost package generally threw him back into the thick of things. He did not care much for maintaining his vehicle's appearance, and his battles were obvious with the scars that his Podracer exhibited. Bolt managed to upgrade both his pod and his own piloting abilities, however, and became more aggressive than ever, topping knockout charts by 24 BBY. The toady Vulptereen was also not above revenge, as after Sebulba double-crossed him, the enraged Bolt vowed to destroy his old employer and his new bodyguard, Aldar Beedo. In another instance, after losing three straight races to a new pilot, Bolt, who had little time for amateurs, confronted the pilot and had his henchmen assault Watto. The Vulptereen would draw a blaster whenever he needed to defend himself. Despite being aggressive and violent on the track, Bolt was not as brave out of his cockpit. When facing Holdfast, he hesitated to shoot the Nosaurian, and paid the price by getting physically beaten by Holdfast, after which Bolt made a hasty retreat.

A member of the Vulptereen species, Bolt only stood 0.94 meters tall and weighed a total of forty-five kilograms. His short nature allowed him to use a rather small and lightweight cockpit that would not slow down his pod. The barrel-shaped Bolt had a long, flat snout that had three tusks protruding from either side. Bolt had rather short legs, which were dwarfed by his long arms, which were more than double the length of his legs. He also had yellow eyes with skin that was predominately blue-gray, though it had areas of a much lighter blue that bordered the color of white, along with a dark yellow patch on his stomach.

Skills and abilities
Dud Bolt had the ability and reflexes to pilot a Podracer, a vehicle and sport that required sharp reflexes. Coupled with the fact that he was a known bruiser on the track, his sharp reflexes and his taste in destruction made him a dangerous on-track adversary. Bolt was known to quite literally destroy the competition, and was successful enough with his work to be hired by Sebulba. However, his destructive expertise did not render him infallible, as Bolt totaled his own Podracer in a failed attempt to down Ark Roose that cost him a race and a vehicle. For the 24 BBY racing season, the Vulptereen honed his racing skills, focusing more on piloting than destruction, though he made sure to target both Sebulba and Aldar Beedo. As such, his calamitous track presence had not totally diminished. His knockout records were yet another notifier of such retained skill. However, when it came to handling enemies outside of the cockpit, Bolt was hesitant, and in one case, he was unable to bring himself to shoot an adversary who was advancing on him.

Equipment
"And back again, it's the mighty Dud Bolt with that incredible racing machine, the Vulptereen 327!"

- Fode Annodue

Dud Bolt favored a Vulptereen 327 Podracer throughout his racing career, using it across worlds such as Ando Prime, Tatooine, Gamorr, and Malastare. The Vulptereen's engines were distinguishable by their blue, red, and gray color scheme, as well as the rather battered appearance of the Podracer itself. Bolt took little time to repaint his Podracer, instead opting to show off the battle scars of his past scraps with other pilots. The midsections of the engines were painted in a bright red color, with a browner color on top. The rear ends of the engines were painted blue, while the front ends were painted gray. The cockpit followed the same color scheme, with red wings on either side of the pilot's seat and a blue rear. The front of the cockpit was painted white. Overall, the color matched that of the flag colors Bolt had chosen to represent himself with during races.

The Vulptereen 327, also known as the RS 557 by 24 BBY, was known for its above-average traction that allowed pilots a greater amount of control when steering past rough terrain, or when pulling away from combat situations during a race. The native cooling systems were poor, however. During 32 BBY, Bolt's Pod had atrocious acceleration, which often meant that the Vulptereen pilot would fall behind the main pack for a time. By 24 BBY, Bolt upgraded the accelerator on the Pod, thus turning it into an excellent hit-and-run weapon.

Bolt normally did not wear much in the way of clothing other than pants on occasion. When competing, he wore a full set of racing attire, including at least two different leather jackets&mdash;one with pouches on the chest, a leather helmet with goggles, finger and wrist guards, arm braces, and shin guards. The leather uniform was brown in color for the most part, with black and gold trimmings on one of his jackets. An emblem was emblazoned on Bolt's shoulder pads and on the top his helmet, as well on his arm braces. His helmet was specially crafted to allow his upright ears to poke through the cap, and several small holes existed for the small spikes set between his eyes to poke through. Bolt also owned a blaster rifle that had a sling attached to it, as well as a blaster pistol.

Behind the scenes
Dud Bolt first appeared in the 1999 film Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace, directed by George Lucas. He later appeared in the tie-in video game Star Wars: Episode I Racer, which was released on the same day as the film. Prior to those appearances, the character was first mentioned&mdash;albeit incorrectly named as "Bolt Dud"&mdash;in the tie-in video game that adapted the entirety of the film. In the film, Bolt appeared during the Podrace sequences and was introduced by name, correctly as Dud Bolt, thanks to the race commentators. Along with Mars Guo, Bolt was one of two Podracers who were portrayed in the film by a puppet instead of a computer-generated character or an actor, even though a computer-generated version of the character was used for distance shots of the character. In Episode I Racer, Bolt was one of several playable characters and was available from the start of the game. He later appeared briefly in Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones on a holoscreen, using the computer-generated Podracer model that was used for distance shots in the first film.

The character appeared in the 2002 PlayStation 2 video game Star Wars: Racer Revenge, again as playable character. Like in Episode I Racer, Bolt was available at the beginning of the game. In both video game appearances, Bolt was voiced by David Jeremiah, who also voiced "Bullseye" Navior in Episode I Racer and Occo Ninebar in Racer Revenge. In early versions of Episode I Racer, Bolt lacked his headgear. In the Game Boy Color version of Racer, Bolt appeared without his headgear much in the same way he lacked it in the early Racer screenshots. Bolt later appeared in the 2012 video game Kinect Star Wars as a character in the game's Podracing story mode.

Bolt has appeared as an action figure twice. His first plastic appearance was in 2006 as a part of Hasbro's The Saga Collection. Bolt was packaged with Mars Guo, and both pilots came with a blaster accessory and removable headgear. During the 2012 Movie Heroes line, Bolt&mdash;along with Guo, Clegg Holdfast, Teemto Pagalies, and Gasgano&mdash;was released as part of a large multipack. Bolt used the same toy model from earlier, but with a darker paint job, a new flag accessory, a new base on which to stand, and a trading card.

Appearances

 * Star Wars Racer Arcade
 * Star Wars: Anakin's Speedway
 * Star Wars: Episode I Racer
 * Podracing Tales
 * Star Wars Episode I: I Am a Pilot
 * Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace
 * Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace PhotoComic
 * Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace video game
 * Star Wars: Racer Revenge
 * Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones
 * Kinect Star Wars