The Book of Boba Fett takes an extended look at the Tatooine underworld during the New Republic era. With Boba Fett and his companion Fennec Shand taking over Jabba’s Palace, there are plenty of criminal characters who will be looking to usurp him before his reign has even begun.
The Pyke Syndicate work in animation, books, live-action, they’d even make great characters in a crime-based video game set in the Star Wars universe. There is a lot to know about the Pyke Syndicate that will help viewers feel in the know when watching them throughout The Book of Boba Fett.
7 They’re A George Lucas Creation
With Disney Star Wars ramping up the pace, lots of new characters are being established in the universe and expanded upon across the TV shows. However, the Pyke Syndicate are a genuine George Lucas creation.
Lucas created the Pyke Syndicate for use in The Clone Wars, with them making their first appearance in Season 5 episode “Eminence”. With a lot of Star Wars media focusing on the New Republic or High Republic eras, there aren’t many new additions to live-action Star Wars that were created by George Lucas. In the final season of The Clone Wars, the Pyke Syndicate come up against another of Lucas’ created characters. This is something certain fans may not know about Ahsoka Tano, especially to a viewer who hasn’t yet seen the final Clone Wars season.
6 Oba Diah Is Their Homeworld
The Pyke Syndicate come from the planet Oba Diah. Oba Diah is an outer rim planet at the end of the Kessel run that has not yet been explored in live-action, which some fans view as a Star Wars untapped plotline. However, it has appeared in multiple episodes of The Clone Wars as well as the Dark Disciple novel.
Oba Diah’s location makes it an excellent place for the Pykes to sell spice from, as it is located as part of the Kessel run. This gives the Pykes and their organization a straight through trade-route line to many different planets, probably contributing to their growth.
5 They Killed Sifo-Dyas
In Attack of the Clones, Obi-Wan Kenobi becomes aware of a secret clone army being built on Kamino for the Republic. He learns that ten years previously, a Jedi Master named Sifo-Dyas had come to Kamino and paid for their people to begin cloning an army, using Jango Fett, Boba’s father, as the donor. This also led to the ‘birth’ of Boba Fett himself. Despite Attack of the Clones being a polarizing movie, it established an interesting mystery in the Sifo-Dyas character that would go on to be explored in the expanded universe.
In The Clone Wars, it is revealed that Sifo-Dyas and Supreme Chancellor Finis Valorum’s personal aide Silman were shot down while traveling to Felucia. This led to them crashing on the Oba Diah moon, and it was revealed that the Pykes were hired by the Sith to kill him.
4 They Helped The Death Watch Conquer Mandalore
Mandalore has been the sight of many different civil wars, a result of various Mandalorian clans with opposing views warring each other for generations, with the strongest Mandalorians usually taking control of the planet. Fans familiar with the civil war will remember the time that the Death Watch, under the banner of the Shadow Collective, overthrew the New Mandalorian government and conquered the planet.
Darth Maul was the head of the Shadow Collective and managed to convince the Pyke Syndicate, Black Sun, and Hutt Clan to help them in their quest. The Pykes agreed to help and were a big part of the Death Watch managing to conquer the planet.
3 They Bidded For Han Solo
Every Star Wars fan remembers the iconic moment that Han Solo was frozen in carbonite by Darth Vader during The Empire Strikes Back. Solo had built up quite a reputation over the years as a smuggler. So much so that an auction was held for him by Lady Qi’Ra, his old girlfriend as explored in the Solo film.
The Pyke Syndicate attended the auction and bid for him, eventually losing out to Jabba the Hutt. Fans will appreciate that Jabba won the bid, as it made more sense considering the backstory of Solo and Jabba’s dealings, and set up a great sequence in Return of the Jedi. This is one of the better things Star Wars’ new canon has come out with in recent years and adds more relevancy to the Pyke Syndicate in the overall lore.
2 Count Dooku Killed Their Old Leader
During the Clone Wars and likely a long time before that, the Pyke Syndicate were run by Lom Pyke. Lom’s era of stewardship over the Pykes led to them joining the Shadow Collective and helping Maul and the Death Watch to overthrow the New Mandalorian government.
Eventually, Lom was killed by Count Dooku when the Jedi started investigating Sifo-Dyas’ death. They revealed Dooku as Darth Tyranus to the Jedi and made it clear they didn’t have any business with him anymore. This was one of the best Clone Wars arcs, so it is well worth a watch to any Star Wars fan interested in this mystery.
1 They’re Weaker By The Time Of The Show…But Not Weak
By the time of the New Republic era. Events such as Lom’s death, the Empire’s tight grip on the galaxy causing crime to fall, and then the power vacuum created by the Empire’s downfall has resulted in the Pyke Syndicate as well as other criminal organizations being weaker than they used to be.
This does not mean that the Pyke Syndicate are weak, however, and they are likely to respond to violence against them with retaliation. Boba and the Tusken Raiders’ victory over them in The Book of Boba Fett’sflashback sequences likely means that they will soon be showing up to take their revenge. Future fights between the two may result in the death of either side.
