Cobb Vanth
A former slave-turned-lawman who wears Boba Fett's Mandalorian armor to protect the town of Mos Pelgo on Tatooine.
Cobb Vanth (also known as The Sheriff and later The Marshal) is a fictional character in the Star Wars franchise. Introduced in the 2015–2017 Chuck Wendig novel trilogy Aftermath, he is a former slave who has used the Mandalorian armor of Boba Fett to bring order to Tatooine "Freetown" Mos Pelgo in the five years after the events of the 1983 film Return of the Jedi. Throughout the trilogy, Cobb faces off against foes such as the Red Key Raiders mining collective, the Tusken Raiders, and a krayt dragon.
The character reappears in the second season of the Disney+ television series The Mandalorian, set years after the events of the Aftermath trilogy and depicting Cobb joining forces with the Tuskens and the series' title character to finally defeat the krayt dragon. He is portrayed by Timothy Olyphant, who reprised the role in spin-off series The Book of Boba Fett, where Cobb faces off against the Pyke Syndicate and their representative, Cad Bane.
Quick Facts
- Series
- Star Wars
- First
- Aftermath (2015)
- Creator
- Chuck Wendig
- Adapted by
- Jon Favreau; Dave Filoni
- Portrayed by
- Timothy Olyphant
- Voice
- Marc Thompson
- Nickname
- The Marshal
- Also known as
- Cobb Vance
Lore & Background
Cobb first appeared in the 2015 Chuck Wendig novel Aftermath via an interlude chapter. In Aftermath (2015), Cobb shoots Adwin Charu, a Red Key Raiders representative, after they both discover Mandalorian armor in the wreckage of Jabba's barge, and Cobb takes the armor. In Life Debt (2016), Cobb has become sheriff of Mos Pelgo after liberating it from the Red Key Raiders' mining collective. He meets Malakili, former beastmaster for Jabba, who is protecting the infant Hutt heir Borgo, and agrees to bring them to Mos Pelgo.
In Empire's End (2017), Cobb and Malakili work to create a deal with the Tusken Raiders to protect the town, promising the pearl from inside a krayt dragon. Red Key members capture the town before the krayt dragon can be killed, reducing Cobb's arsenal. Cobb is revealed to have once been a slave, with slave markings on his back. The Tusken Raiders free Cobb and drive out the crime syndicate.
In the time between Empire's End and The Mandalorian, the town turns against the Tusken Raiders, and Malakili leaves with the Hutt.
Reader's Guide
Cobb Vanth is voiced by Marc Thompson in the audiobook for the Aftermath trilogy, and played by Timothy Olyphant in the second season of The Mandalorian and its spin-off series The Book of Boba Fett. His name is a reference to The Office supporting character Bob Vance, and is often misspelled "Cobb Vance" in certain chapters throughout the Aftermath trilogy. He is a former Imperial slave and sheriff/marshal of the town of Mos Pelgo/Freetown. Upon the character's initial appearance in the Aftermath trilogy, speculation was common that his Mandalorian armor belonged to Boba Fett, or that the character was a disguised Fett; the former theory was proven true in the second season of The Mandalorian.
Olyphant's portrayal was generally praised, with Comic Book Resources drawing comparisons to "basically [his Justified character] Raylan Givens... in Space". Olyphant's performance earned him a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series.
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