Zam Wessell

Zam Wesell was the partner, potential romantic interest, and only friend of Jango Fett. She was a shapeshifting Clawdite from the planet Zolan.

Though a hideous, green-skinned reptilian Clawdite, Zam often appeared as a beautiful woman with short reddish-blonde hair, a tight-fitting purple bodysuit and a veil over her face. Though she and Jango held feelings for each other, both understood that their chosen professions left little room for social lives. This turned out to be the case in Attack of the Clones.

Zam Wesell was born on Zolan, a member of the changeling Clawdite race that was constantly at war with the native Zolanders, a race similar to the Clawdites but lacking their chameleon abilities. Zam was trained in the ways of the Mabari, an ancient order of warrior-knights from Zolan. She left Zolan at a young age to work as a corporate security officer on Denon, a metropolis second only to Coruscant. She rose from officer to sergeant to executive bodyguard in short time before she decided that she didn't earn enough and became a professional bounty hunter.

One of Zam's earliest missions was the capture of Bendix Fust, a smuggler wanted by Malastarian Dug crime lord Sebolto. Fust was an inmate at the infamous Oovo IV asteroid prison, but that didn't stop Zam from breaking in, capturing him, and staging a riot in order to cover her escape. Unfortunately, the notorious Jango Fett had also broken in at the same time, for the same target. Their mutual interference botched their respective plans and they were forced to worked together to escape. Zam cost Jango his ship and he was forced to steal a prototype Firespray Patrol Craft, which he would eventually dub the Slave I.

They continued to collaborate after Fust was turned in to Sebolto. Jango had been working a larger job, tracking Komari Vosa, a former Jedi who had become the leader of the death-obsessed Bando Gora cult. After Sebolto's clues led Jango and Zam to Tatooine, Zam was forced to betray Jango to save herself from Gardulla the Hutt. Nevertheless, Jango escaped certain death and found what he needed from Gardulla, killing her as a favor to Jabba the Hutt. For her treason, Jango left Zam in Gardulla's dungeon.

Somehow, she managed to escape and track Jango to one of the moons of Bogden, headquarters of the Bando Gora. Jango was captured by Komari Vosa and only Zam's timely interference saved him, though her blasts were deflected by Vosa's twin lightsabers. Before Vosa could finish her, Zam blasted the bonds holding Jango, allowing him to rush for his weapons. Startled, Vosa fled, but not before Jango reached her and after a long battle, defeated her.

As Jango carried the wounded Zam back to the Slave I, he explained that he had been hired by Darth Tyranus, otherwise known as former Jedi Count Dooku, to become the template for an army of clones on Kamino, and stranger still, he had asked for Tyranus to give him one unaltered clone to raise as his son. Thought Zam thought the idea rather silly, she eventually had an almost maternal relationship with Jango's son, Boba Fett. Though she and Jango considered each other romantic interests, their relationship never went beyond 'partner', as their careers came first.

Though both Zam and Jango preferred working alone, they would team up from time to time over a period of ten years. Around ten years after they first met, Jango was hired by Count Dooku and Nute Gunray to assassinate Senator Padmé Amidala. In order to keep the plot a secret, Jango sub-contracted the hit to Zam. At first, she planted explosives on the senator's landing platform, but killed her decoy instead. Jango then provided her with deadly kohoun worms, which she loaded into her assassin droid ASN-1 to slip them into the senator's bedroom. Unfortunately, Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi used the droid to track her down and as she escaped in her personal speeder, they chased her through the skies of Coruscant, until Zam crash-landed near a seedy bar. She hid for a few moments and foolishly attempted to sneak up on Obi-Wan, but his Jedi reflexes allowed him literally to disarm her. When Anakin pressed Zam to reveal who had hired her, Jango was forced to silence her with a toxic dart. Jango then fled back to Kamino, and his return marked the only occasion his son had ever seen him cry.

Behind the Scenes
Her appearances include the video game Bounty Hunter, the one-shot comics Jango Fett and Zam Wesell, the children's books Jango Fett vs. the Razor Eaters, The Shape Shifter Strikes, Warlords of Balmorra, and Boba Fett: The Fight to Survive, and Attack of the Clones.

Zam Wesell and Aurra Sing are the only female villains to appear in any Star Wars film, though many have appeared in the Expanded Universe.