Dud Bolt/Legends

Dud Bolt was a male Vulptereen hitman 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. Unbeknownst to most, Bolt worked as the mid-air bodyguard for 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, Bolt was still a decent pilot with a well-oiled machine. He managed to score record lap times on Malastare and even held 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 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, the Vulptereen made his move. Using his Vulptereen 327 Podracer, Bolt totaled Roose's racer, but destroyed his own in the process. Bolt continued racing 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.

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

- Fodesinbeed 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 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 whom Bolt could take down during a race in order to ensure Sebulba's own victories. Decidedly not participating to win races, 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 of catching up to Sebulba.

Bolt, however, 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 Malastare circuit known as the Malastare 100, and he even participated in the famous Boonta Eve Classic. While Bolt won the Malastare 100 and was a common sight there, his overall victories were few. He did eventually set a record time for the course, however. Many 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!"

- Fodesinbeed Annodue

During 32 BBY, the next iteration of the Boonta Eve Classic on the Outer Rim planet of 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 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 Bolt having a drink and reminded him to keep an eye out for any possible adversaries. Only a few seats away in the bar, the aging Devlikk pilot Wan Sandage had already 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 Phuii 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, right next to Anakin Skywalker, a young Human child who was competing, and right behind 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&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, while up in front, Sebulba was picking off pilots left and right. Already during the first lap, Sebulba had smashed Mawhonic apart in the Mushroom Mesa. The Dug later roasted Holdfast's engines with an illegal flamethrower. Near the end of the second lap, he knocked Guo out of the race by throwing a piece of junk into the Phuii'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, Bolt caught onto the trail of 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. The Vulptereen was at least lucky enough to earn a hefty bonus from Sebulba. Bolt eventually recovered and returned to racing with a Vulptereen 327. However, by 24 BBY, Sebulba had removed 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
"Dud Bolt has got a mean streak going on out there!"

- Dax Gazaway, a race announcer

For the new Podracing season, 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 racked up an impressive four knockouts for both tracks. For the course Watchtower Run, located on Gamorr, he reached third on the knockout chart, with a total of two knockouts for one race. Beedo, the track favorite and Bolt's nemesis, held the top position with a total of five knockouts. Bolt 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. Bolt later raced on the ice world of Ando Prime sometime around 22 BBY. The race was broadcast over the HoloNet, and a night club on the world of Coruscant, known as the Outlander Club, aired the race only a little while before the start of the Clone Wars on the planet of Geonosis.

Bolt was later competing in 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, Clegg Holdfast intervened and separated the two before the argument could escalate any further. During the next race, located on Coruscant, Beedo killed Holdfast using his own Podracer to destroy Holdfast's KV9T9-B Wasp Podracer. Bolt also participated in the race, but was unable to best Beedo. 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, better known by the name of "Elan Mak" on the Podracing circuits. As for Sebulba, his life ended in a fashion that his enemies would have been pleased with.

Personality and traits
The shovel-nosed Dud Bolt was an aggressive individual, evident by 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 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 vehicle's appearance, and his battles were obvious with the scars that his Podracer showed off. Bolt did manage 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 he was 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, Bolt only stood at about 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 wouldn't 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 those sharp reflexes. 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. 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, 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.

Equipment
"And back again is the mighty Dud Bolt with that incredible machine&mdash;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 be left behind the main pack for a time. By 24 BBY, Bolt had 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 and several small holes for the small spikes set between his eyes to poke through. 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. He later appeared in the tie-in 1999 video game Star Wars: Episode I Racer, which was released on the same day as the film. Prior to then, the character was first mentioned, albeit incorrectly named as "Bolt Dud," 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. Bolt was one of two Podracers who were portrayed in the film as a puppet instead of as a computer-generated character or an actor, even though a computer-generated version of the character was used for distance shots of the character. The other puppet was Mars Guo. 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 game
 * Star Wars: Racer Revenge
 * Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones
 * Kinect Star Wars