Dud Bolt/Legends

Dud Bolt was a male Vulptereen hit-man who performed as a professional Podracer pilot around 32 BBY. Bolt held a reputation of being highly aggressive on the course, and his battered Podracer was proof enough. However, unbeknownst to most, Dud Bolt secretly worked as the mid-air bodyguard to the notorious pilot Sebulba, a vicious Dug who was known to employ various illegal tactics to gain the upper hand during a race. Despite what appeared to be a simple, if brutal, existence on the track, Dud Bolt was still a decent pilot with a well-oiled machine. Bolt managed to score record lap times on Malastare and even managed to hold the crowd's favor for the Malastare 100 racecourse, even though he rarely won.

Bolt eventually followed Sebulba to the desert planet Tatooine in order to participate in the Boonta Eve Classic for 32 BBY. During the race's third lap, Dud Bolt targeted the Nuknog pilot Ark Roose to knockout, and while he was successful in knocking Roose from the race, Bolt destroyed his own pod in the process. Dud Bolt continued racing up and through 24 BBY, when he was replaced as Sebulba's bodyguard by none-other than 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.

Early career
"The Vulptereen racer, Dud Bolt, is on the track today. Ho, he is gonna be tough to beat."

- Fode Annodue

Hailing from the Deep Core planet of Vulpter, the Vulptereen male Dud Bolt made his living as both a hit-man for hire and a professional Podracing pilot. An aggressive individual who piloted a traction-centered Vulptereen 327 Podracer,  his constant warring on the track eventually caught the eye of Sebulba, a Dug pilot who was known to employ various illegal methods to gain the upper hand in a Podrace. Sebulba offered Bolt a paycheck for any other pilots that Bolt could take down during a race in order to ensure Sebulba's own victories. Decidedly not participating to win races, Dud Bolt agreed to the offer. The Vulptereen's aggressive tendencies amplified, and pilots made sure to avoid him if possible in order to ensure their own survival. Bolt tended to remain in the rear of the pack, eyeing up anyone who seemed to be ready to make a jump for the lead. If anyone did, Bolt would be sure to boost after them and take them down before they had a chance at catching up to Sebulba. Bolt however did not completely dismiss the prospect of winning or becoming a successful racer. He had repeated numerous attempts to establish the best lap-time records for a Malastare circuit known as the Malastare 100, and had even participated in the famous Boonta Eve Classic. While Bolt had won the Malastare 100 and was a common sight on it, his overall victories were few. He did eventually set a record time for the course, however. Skillful and well known on the track, many hypothesized that on the occasions Bolt lost, he did so on purpose in hopes of gaining more attention for himself. Bolt also gained fame on a Malastare drag course. As Dud Bolt's racing career continued, his Podracer became notably damaged, and the Vulptereen often did not tend to its outward appearance, almost never taking the time to actually repaint it.

Boonta Eve Classic
"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!"

- Fodesinbeed Annodue

During 32 BBY, the next iteration of the Boonta Eve Classic on the Outer Rim planet of Tatooine was taking 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 were interviewed on a talk show hosted by the Troig race commentator Fodesinbeed Annodue. Sebulba made hard claims that he would be the race's victor once again, taunting the likes of two-time winner Boles Roor, journalist Clegg Holdfast, the Xexto Gasgano, and the Gran Mawhonic. Later that night, most of the competitors attended Roor's Glimmik concert at the Poodoo Lounge. Sebulba found Dud Bolt having a drink, and reminded Bolt to keep an eye out for any possible adversaries. However, only a few seats away in the bar, the aging Devlikk pilot Wan Sandage had already hired on the Glymphid hit-man Aldar Beedo to off Sebulba during the race. The next day, Sebulba had found out from Teemto Pagalies that the Phuii pilot Mars Guo was planning to run away with one Sebulba's masseuses, Ann Gella, after the race. Dud Bolt distracted Mars Guo per Sebulba's orders while the Dug broke a piece of machinery off of Guo's Podracer.

The pilots began to gather at the Mos Espa Grand Arena only a short time later, and Dud Bolt started on the outside of the second row, right next to Anakin Skywalker, a young Human child who was competing, and right behind Aldar Beedo. Fode Annodue, introduced 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–Anakin Skywalker and the Toong pilot Ben Quadinaros. Skywalker was able to start off a little later after readjusting his Pod, and was able to catch up with the rear of the pack soon after, overtaking Bolt and several other Podracers. Dud Bolt remained in the rear for the remainder of the race, while up in front Sebulba was picking off pilots left and right. Already during the first lap had Sebulba smashed Mawhonic apart in the Mushroom Mesa, and later roasted the engines of Clegg Holdfast with an illegal flamethrower before knocking Mars Guo out of the race by throwing a piece of junk into Guo's engine intake, a move that almost dispensed of Skywalker as well. While entering into an area of the latter part of the course known as the Coil, Dud Bolt caught onto the trail Ark "Bumpy" Roose, a dim-witted Nuknog. Seeing a potential target, Bolt made his move to intercept Roose, a choice that proved to be ill-fated. Both pilots bit the dust as their Pods collided, and both pilots received heavy injuries that put them into the Mos Espa Med Center. The Vulptereen was at least lucky enough to earn a hefty bonus from Sebulba. Dud Bolt eventually recovered and returned to racing with a new or rebuilt Vulptereen 327. However, by 24 BBY, Sebulba had removed Bolt from his coveted position at the Dug's side and instead hired Aldar Beedo, the very Glymphid who was once hired to kill Sebulba, to replace him. Dud Bolt, enraged, vowed to decimate both pilots in the name of eternal hatred.

Racer revenge
"Dud Bolt is really throwing his weight around on the track!"

- Dax Gazaway

For the new Podracing season, Dud Bolt honed his piloting skills and upgraded his Podracer to become a fiercer presence on the track, entering into the Galactic Trials. Bolt, more aggressive than ever, racked up on the knockout charts, obtaining the number one spot for most knockouts during a race for a Sullust track located in a SoroSuub Facility and the Mon Calamari track Orotoru G'am. Bolt had racked up an impressive four knockouts for both tracks. For the course Watchtower Run, located on Gamorr, Dud Bolt reached third on the knockout chart, with a total of two knockouts for one race. The track favorite and Bolt's nemesis, Aldar Beedo, held the top position with a total of five knockouts. Bolt apparently took well to 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. Dud Bolt later raced on the ice world of Ando Prime sometime around 22 BBY. The race was broadcasted over the HoloNet, and a Coruscant night club known as the Outlander Club aired the race only a little while before the start of the Clone Wars on Geonosis. Later yet, Dud Bolt was competing in yet another Podrace when he became argumentative with a pilot racing on the behalf of the Toydarian junk dealer Watto. As the Vulptereen became increasingly aggressive, however, Clegg Holdfast intervened and separated the two before the argument could escalate further. During the next race, Holdfast was killed by Aldar Beedo on the behalf of Sebulba during a race on Coruscant. Dud Bolt ended up having the chance to down Beedo after the collision, but was unable to do so. In the end, however, Bolt was never able to finish off Aldar 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, better known by the name of "Elan Mak" on the Podracing circuits. As for Sebulba, his life ended fatally in a fashion his enemies would've been pleased with, though it was never revealed if Bolt had been the cause.

Personality and traits
The shovel-nosed Dud Bolt was an aggressive individual, evident by his career as a hit-man and his harrowing race course antics. Shameless, he readily accepted jobs to destroy the competition for others, accepting his employers paychecks without hesitation. Dud Bolt would sacrifice his own Pod and race position to take down said competition, though if his violent actions ever slowed him down, his Pod's boost package generally threw him back into the thick of things, where he preferred it. He did not care much for his Pod's appearance and his battles were obvious with the scars that his Podracer showed off. Dud Bolt did manage to get around to upgrading both his Pod and his own piloting skills, however, and became more aggressive then ever, topping knockout charts by 24 BBY. The toady Vulptereen was also not above revenge, as after he was more-or-less double-crossed by Sebulba, an enraged Bolt vowed to destroy his old employer and his new bodyguard, Aldar Beedo.

A member of the Vulptereen species, Dud Bolt only stood at about 0.94 meters tall and weighed a total of 45 kilograms. His short nature allowed him to use a rather small and lightweight cockpit that wouldn't slow his Pod down. The barrel-shaped Dud 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 grayish-blue, 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 needed those sharp reflexes to handle effectively. Coupled with the fact that he was a known bruiser on the track, his sharp reflexes mixed with his taste in destruction made him a dangerous on-track adversary. Dud Bolt was known to destroy the competition quite literally, and was successful enough with his work to be hired by Sebulba. However, his destructive expertise was not all powerful, as when attempting to down Ark Roose, Bolt totaled his own Podracer, costing him a race and a vehicle. For the 24 BBY racing season, Dud Bolt honed his racing skills, focusing more on piloting than destruction, though he made sure to target both Sebulba and Aldar Beedo, and as such his calamitous track presence had not totally diminished. His knockout records were yet another notifier of such retained skill.

Equipment
Dud Bolt normally did not wear much in the way of clothing other than pants on occasion. When competing, Dud Bolt wore a full set of racing attire, including at least two different leather jackets&mdash;including 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 and several small holes for the small spikes set between his eyes to poke through. Dud Bolt also owned a blaster rifle that had a sling attached to it.

Behind the scenes
Dud Bolt first appeared in the 1999 film Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace that was directed by George Lucas, and appeared in the tie-in 1999 video game Star Wars: Episode I Racer, that was released on the same day as the film, though he was first mentioned, albeit incorrectly named as Bolt Dud, in the earlier released tie-in video game that adapted the entirety of the film. In the film, Dud Bolt appeared during the Podrace sequences and was introduced by name, correctly as Dud Bolt, thanks to the race commentators. Dud Bolt was one of two Podracers who were portrayed in the film as 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 Bolt. The other puppet was Mars Guo. In Episode I Racer Bolt was one of a number of 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. He appeared again 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, Dud Bolt lacked his headgear.

Dud 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, Dud Bolt, along with Guo, Clegg Holdfast, Teemto Pagalies, and Gasgano, were released as part of a large multipack. Bolt used the same toy model from earlier, but now with a darker paint job, a new flag accessory, a new base on which to stand on, plus 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 game
 * Star Wars: Racer Revenge
 * Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones
 * Kinect Star Wars