hello i would like to hear about your “jaster never adopted jango” analysis
(LOVE your jaster art. im also inhaling crumbs)
(thank you for the compliment!!! I want to draw more of him sometime. perhaps from one of the many ‘jaster lives’ aus i’ve seen lmao)
Alright here we go gamers. strap in i'll try to organize my thoughts coherently.
It all comes back to "The Mandalorian: Season 2, Chapter 14", where Boba gets his armor back and shows Din his chain code to prove it belongs to him. Din's immediate reaction is "your father was a foundling", which seems to raise Din's opinion of Boba (but that's. another thing altogether lmao).
So this establishes that, not only was Jango a Mandalorian, but that he was specifically a foundling. Okay, what does this mean?
Foundlings, as portrayed in The Mandalorian, were kids from outside of the clans who were rescued and brought into the fold. They were raised by the clan until they could be 'reunited with their own kind' or came of age, where they could choose to swear the creed, or leave. Jango could not be returned to his family, since they were all killed, so Jaster raised him as a foundling, and we can guess based on the fact Jango's still running around in beskar'gam twenty years later, he swore in. HOWEVER.
Being raised as a foundling is different than being adopted! Foundlings raised in Din's covert were not part of the Clans, but if they swore the creed, they could go on to form their own (re: din and grogu forming Clan Mudhorn).
Okay, what does this have to do with Jango and Jaster? Once again, we wheel back to the scene where Boba shows Din his chain code. Remember, Din takes one look at this, and knows automatically that Jango was a foundling:
(source, a translation of Boba's chain code).
The most notable part here is that it lists Jango as Boba's father, but Jaster as Jango's mentor. The "Mentor/Father" distinction is key to my theory here lmao.
We know that Mandalorian's have a proclivity for adoption, but it seems to be limited to children of other Mandalorians, and that 'new blood' like foundlings are less likely to be adopted and typically form their own clans instead. Another source for this theory actually comes straight from the OG "Open Seasons" comic that goes over Jango's backstory and formally introduces Jaster.
(pictured; Frames from Jango Fett: Open Seasons, Volume 2. Montross is essentially harrassing Jango for “not really being Jaster’s son”. Also of note: normally I hesitate to source Open Seasons because so much of it is outdated lore, or downright racist or misogynistic, but. We’re going back to the beginning here)
This comic was published before a lot of the existing lore on Mandalorians was established (re: the “Republic Commando” Novels by Karen Traviss), but if we take it in that context, Montross saying Jango isn’t “really” Jaster’s son implies that Jango hasn’t been adopted, that the gai bal manda (mandalorian adoption vow) hasn’t been said. Adopted children ordinarily have no difference in standing, and typically no distinction is made between adopted and biological children, so Montross saying Jango isn’t Jaster’s son - I’m inclined to believe Montross.
(though Montross does later get Jaster killed in this issue so lmao. He’s trying to needle Jango here - and I’m sure Jango himself might’ve questioned why Jaster hadn’t adopted him).
If Jaster never adopted Jango, this could be why in The Clone Wars, Season 2, Episode 12: The Mandalore Plot, Prime Minister Almec states: “Jango Fett was a common Bounty Hunter -- How he got that armor is beyond me”. (This was apparently very controversial when this episode came out - saying Jango wasn’t a Mandalorian after all? In Meta, the reasoning was that the Mandalorians should be more than a mercenary company).
If Jaster never adopted Jango, this could be reason why Jango was not part of Mandalore’s records. Then again, Din’s name was apparently listed in a registry on Mandalore proper, so another question is: why isn’t Jango listed there? I have a few options:
1: Jango’s presumed death upon starting the Kamino Contract meant he was removed from any registries.
2: Jango’s earlier presumed death after Galidraan (and his subsequent time in slavery) meant he was removed from the registries.
3: Jaster’s Death on Korda IV meant Jango was removed from the records, since his Mentor died (kind of a stretch, since Jango seems to have already sworn the Resol’nare at this point).
4: Concord Dawn kept it’s own registries (possible, but unlikely, given Din was registered on Mandalore after being in the ass end of the galaxy (sorry, Aq Ventina)).
Anyway, Jango’s mandalorian status nonwithstanding, this doesn’t entirely explain why Jaster wouldn’t have just adopted Jango, since Jaster is well aware there is no one for Jango to go back to. So why didn’t he? I have another couple thoughts!
1: The funnier, albeit less likely (in my opinion) is that Jaster couldn’t legally adopt Jango because he is technically a convicted murderer (re: the republic commando novels, Jaster was exiled from Concord Dawn after murdering a fellow Journeyman Protector for corruption - likely Jaster caught him in the act of some Nasty Things and he was compelled by his own moral code to kill him). Even mandalorian’s i’m sure have legal statues against letting ‘violent criminals’ formally adopt children (though the Foundling loophole clearly still stands lmao. Also, as Mand’alor, i’m sure Jaster could just. Adopt anyway aklsdjflkasdj)
2: More likely in my opinion, is that Jaster didn’t adopt Jango out of respect for Jango’s old family. If an old friend died suddenly and you took in their kid, you wouldn’t want to replace them as the kid’s parent, right?
Jango was about ten years old when his parent’s were killed by Death Watch - plenty old to remember them fondly, recognize them as his ‘only parents’, and certainly old enough to get hostile with anyone who tries to replace them. I’m sure this isn’t uncommon among mandalorians or foundlings, so Jaster may have recognized the potential hostility and was extremely clear on not replacing his parents.
(pictured: clip from Jango Fett: Open Seasons, Volume 1 showing Jango’s father leaving food out for a ‘beggar’. Someone somewhere once used the name Cassius for Jango’s father, and it’s what I use - gotta inject a KOTOR reference somwhere, right?).
Jango’s father was covering for Jaster when Death Watch came knocking - He trusted Jaster enough to leave out food and put his family at risk for Jaster’s sake. It’s entirely possible they grew up together on Concord Dawn, or, barring that, were close friends as they were both Journeymen Protectors. He’s still covering for Jaster even as he’s beaten within an inch of his life in front of his family.
(Pictured: Poor Dad Fett getting beat up while Death Watch threatens to kill him in front of Jango. Dad says he Hasn’t seen Jaster since he was exiled.)
This is all to say, beyond the ordinary treatment of foundling’s it’s entirely possible Jaster didn’t want to adopt Jango, as doing so would remove one of Jango’s only remaining connections to family - Jango is a Fett first and foremost, and adopting him into Clan Mereel would remove him from that. (the Fett clan is old as hell, predating the Vizsla’s, but that’s another sidebar lmao).
Also super minor, but. What kind of kid calls their parent by their first name? lmao.
In summary: Din’s reaction to Boba’s Chain code implies that Jango wasn’t adopted, and ye olde Open Season’s Comics support this in various ways - from Montross’ dialogue to Jaster’s relationship with Jango’s family. Even if he wasn’t fomally adopted, Jaster and Jango recognized each other as family and the respect that came with it.
I’ll leave you with my favorite frame from Open Seasons, lmao. baby jango you are so cute
