Cad Bane/Legends

"I'm in control. I make the rules now."

- Cad Bane to Supreme Chancellor Palpatine

Cad Bane was a male Duros bounty hunter in operation during the Clone Wars. Bane was born on the planet Duro before the Clone Wars. In it for the credits, he would work for the highest bidder. Because fellow bounty hunter Jango Fett had been killed in the Battle of Geonosis, the opening battle of the war, Bane rose to be one of the top bounty hunters in his time.

Bane assembled a team of hunters to capture Senators of the Galactic Senate to force Supreme Chancellor Palpatine to free Hutt crime lord Ziro Desilijic Tiure. Ziro had previously been arrested after he assisted the Confederacy Head of State Count Dooku, a Sith Lord, in a plot to kidnap Rotta, the son of Ziro's nephew Jabba Desilijic Tiure, in an attempt to turn Jabba against the Republic. After entering the Senate Building on the galactic capital of Coruscant and taking the Senators hostage, Bane and his team encountered Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker. Skywalker was captured, and Bane was successful in freeing Ziro from prison.

Later working for Count Dooku, Bane stole a holocron with potential Force-sensitive infants and kidnapped the infants on the list. Bane brought them to the planet Mustafar, where Dooku's Sith Master, Darth Sidious, planned to use them for his evil plans.

Bounty hunter
"Master Cad Bane, I presume. I've heard much about you. Who hasn't? The greatest hunter since Jango lost his head&hellip;"

- Davtokk, speaking of Cad Bane

Cad Bane was a Duros male born on the planet Duro during the last decades of the Galactic Republic. He became a bounty hunter, earning a reputation as a ruthless mercenary who worked solely for the reward of his missions. Bane worked for the highest bidder, caring little who was employing him or what faction they belonged to as long as the credits kept flowing; he had no qualms with turning on his original employer if his quarry offered him a better fee.

By the time Jango Fett, the bounty hunter considered to be the galaxy's best, perished in 22 BBY during the Battle of Geonosis, Bane was something of a veteran in his line of work. With Fett out of the picture, he was also among the galaxy's most notorious bounty hunter, thought to be cruel and fearsome. However, he had enemies, and a considerable price was placed on Bane's head.

Recruitment
"Such fighting spirit, Davtokk. Almost commendable, if you were successful. But you know what they say about ' almost.'" "This&hellip;this was a test?" "Yes. But not yours. A test of my colleagues. They're solitary types and I need a team. I am happy to say they passed &hellip; by ensuring that you failed."

- Cad Bane, and Davtokk

During the Clone Wars, Coruscant-based Hutt crime lord Ziro Desilijic Tiure was incarcerated by the Republic in the Republic Judiciary Central Detention Center for assisting Count Dooku in a plot to kidnap his nephew Jabba's son and turn the Hutts against the Republic; Jabba would take measures against the Republic and be arrested, leaving Ziro to take control of the Hutt clans.

Desperate to escape, Ziro promised Bane handsome payment to free him. Bane agreed but did not opt for a straightforward rescue; instead, he decided to force the Republic into freeing Ziro by taking hostages. To do so, the Duros would need a group of skilled bounty hunters, and he began assembling the team, consisting of notorious bounty hunter and Jedi killer Aurra Sing; Weequay mercenary Shahan Alama; and Robonino, a diminutive, piscine technician. The team was backed up by two Separatist droid commandos and a number of IG-86 sentinel droids, including one designated 3D.

As the organic members of Bane's team usually worked alone, Bane wanted to ensure that they could work together as a unit. Before putting his plan into motion, Bane arranged a final test for his colleagues. Bane lured fellow bounty hunter Davtokk to the planet Keyorin, where the Duros had a safehouse, under the pretense that Bane was holding a recruitment drive. Bane knew Davtokk intended to execute the bounty on his head, so he assembled a lifesize mannequin of himself, created from a scrapped battle droid. After entering the safehouse, Davtokk fired upon the mannequin, assuming it to be Bane. Robonino then detonated explosives set inside the safehouse and caught Davtokk in a razor net.

The bounty hunter quickly escaped the net, and managed to evade the onrushing Shahan Alama with a flash grenade. From a distant perch, Aurra Sing fired her sniper upon Davtokk's legs, preventing him from making any further progress. Bane, having watched the entire affair unfold, made himself known to Davtokk, explaining that it had all been arranged so as to test his new team. Bane killed the crippled mercenary, and the team headed to Coruscant.

Raid on the Senate
"I've got business with the Senate. How 'bout you fellas step aside?"

- Cad Bane to several Senate Commandos



Bane took his "posse" to raid the Galactic Senate in order to force free Ziro the Hutt. Though he had planned the raid and directed the actions of the others, Bane wasn't afraid to confront threats himself. After Bane, Robonino, Shahan Alama and two droid commandos landed at the Senate Building, the Senate Commandos confronted Bane. Before they could arrest him, Aurra Sing fired a sniper rifle from a long-range post and killed most of the guards. Bane killed one of the guards personally, tackling him and snapping his neck with his bare hands. The team entered the building, and Bane killed an entire group of guards with a thermal detonator. After destroying the guard posted at the power room, as well as several droids inside, Bane left Robonino to shut off the power before entering the atrium to confront the Senators.

Entering the Republic Executive Building, Bane caught the attention of the Senators discussing the Enhanced Privacy Invasion Bill by firing his blaster a few times, and the bounty hunter surrounded the frightened Senators. When Gran Senator Philo objected, walking away while refusing to "listen to insolence," Bane shot him in the back. Bane ordered the Senators to turn over their communication devices, and contacted Supreme Chancellor Palpatine in his office via a holotransmission. Bane stated that if the hostages were to be freed, Ziro the Hutt must be released from prison. After Palpatine objected, Robonino shut off the power, leaving Palpatine and Twi'lek Senator Orn Free Taa helplessly trapped in the office.

As Bane and his colleagues collected the Senators' communication devices, Bane came across Senator Padmé Amidala. While speaking with her, Bane noticed Amidala glance at something behind him. Bane turned around and recognized Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker surveying them from an upper level window. Bane fired at the man and Skywalker fled. Bane ordered Shahan Alama and an IG-86 sentinel droid after him. Alama returned without the droid: the droid had been destroyed, but he brought good news. From examination of the droids' remains, Alama deduced that Skywalker was without his lightsaber. Bane sent Alama back with Aurra Sing to find the Jedi.

Bane fired his blaster to stop the Senators from whispering amongst themselves, and contacted Palpatine once more. Bane told the Chancellor to make a pardon disc and give it to Senator Taa, who would be picked up by Bane's ship and deliver it to the prison. The Senator reluctantly obeyed, and 3D took him in the airspeeder to the prison and collected the Hutt. Bane ordered Robonino and Alama to set up the "parting gifts" around the Senators: a laser web that would activate explosives upon the slightest touch.

After Bane wished the Senators a "most respectful farewell," he left the building with his team. Upon arriving outside on the landing platform, two LAAT/i gunships landed, and clone troopers of the Coruscant Guard piled out and cornered the team. Palpatine contacted Bane, ordering him to stand down. Bane informed the Chancellor of the trapped Senators, and Palpatine reluctantly let Bane go. Bane's airspeeder arrived, driven by 3D and hauling Ziro in a rear transport. Bane and his team boarded the speeder, and they zoomed away.

However, Bane wasn't done with the Senators. Taking pity on the "horrors" Ziro had gone through while in prison, Bane remotely activated the explosives. However, Skywalker had recovered, and cut a hole in the floor, saving himself and the Senators. Bane demanded his pay from the Hutt as he didn't work for free.

Later work
Later during the Clone Wars, Cad Bane was hired by Sith Lord Count Dooku and the Separatists to work against the Republic, though the Duros was only loyal to Dooku as long as the Count continued to pay. Bane brought his experience, equipment and skill to bear against the Republic, fighting them directly during the conflict. On one mission for Dooku, Bane stole a holocron containing a list of potentially Force-sensitive infants, before capturing each of the infants himself. Bane took them to remote Mustafar and handed them over to Dooku's Sith Master, Darth Sidious, who planned to use them for his own means.

Personality and traits
"Once Ziro has been released and is handed over to me, then your associate will be released, understand?" "Oh, I do. But I feel it is my duty to warn you that you will end up paying for this outrage." "I can live with that."

- Cad Bane and Palpatine

Bane was at the "top of his game" during the Clone Wars, as fellow bounty hunter Jango Fett was no longer around, having died in the Battle of Geonosis. Bane had much less moral content than Fett, and would often turn upon the very people who hired him unless he was given money. He was much more ruthless, and also unlike Fett, he did not take prisoners, for he intended his Senator hostages to be killed, even after he had gone through negotiations with the Chancellor.

Equipment
Bane carried custom-made twin blaster pistols built from BlasTech LL-30 pistols. His breathing tubes were directly connected to his lungs, allowing him to hunt and do business freely in different types of atmospheres without additional protection. Bane was also equipped with rocket boots and wrist gauntlets, which had a variety of built-in tools and weapons, including a cable launcher, comlink, data uplink, and non-lethal stunners.

Behind the scenes
Bane made his first appearance in the Clone Wars web comic Invitation Only, and then appeared in the television series' Season One finale, "Hostage Crisis". He was voiced by Corey Burton, who also voiced Ziro Desilijic Tiure and Shahan Alama in the episode. Bane will apparently be making more appearances in Season Two, and is already scheduled for a part in "Cargo of Doom".

Early versions of the character were based on Durge, but the final design, at the request of George Lucas, took inspiration from Lee Van Cleef's characters from The Good, the Bad and the Ugly and For a Few Dollars More. His model was made after sketches of a character from the original Star Wars films.

Appearances

 * The Clone Wars: Invitation Only