May 25, 1977, is a historic date in pop culture history. It was on this date that a small, low-budget science fiction film debuted that would end up taking the world by storm. The creator of the film, George Lucas, originally set out to make a film adaptation of Flash Gordon, but could not secure the rights. As a result of this setback, he began developing his very own science fiction odyssey that Twentieth Century Fox agreed to invest in. Fox anticipated the film would struggle at the box office, so cost-cutting measures were put in place to mitigate their risk. Surprisingly, the film opened to better than expected reviews and Star Wars fever was in full swing. George Lucas believed in the project and pushed for a major merchandising deal to accompany the release. Kenner Toys secured the rights to produce 3 and 3/4 inch scale action figures and play sets based on the franchise. Both the film and the merchandising were tremendous money makers, and a sequel to the film called The Empire Strikes Back was quickly announced. Anticipation for the next film grew, and Lucas knew he had to do something to whet the appetites of eager fans because it would not be released until May 21, 1980, which was almost three full years after the first one. Kenner Toys also needed to ensure that childrens attention spans would last almost three years before introducing new action figures, vehicles, and play sets based on the upcoming sequel. Luckily, an idea was brought forth to produce a Star Wars Holiday Special, which would be an animated television special set between the events of Star Wars and the upcoming planned sequel. The Star Wars Holiday Special would showcase a unique character that was to be introduced in the new movie. Released on Nov. 17, 1978, on CBS, the Star Wars Holiday Special, while considered lackluster and almost forgotten today, introduced a character that has been anything but forgotten today. Boba Fett was an armored bounty hunter who is infamously known for bringing Han Solo frozen in carbonite to the vile gangster Jabba the Hutt. Incidentally, including Boba Fetts appearance in The Empire Strikes Back and the final film in the original Star Wars trilogy, The Return of the Jedi, the character had only about seven minutes of total screen time in both films! Boba Fetts most iconic line was when Han Solo was being frozen and Boba Fett turns to Darth Vader and tells him rather coldly, Hes no good to me dead. This cemented the popularity of the character, and the rest is history. Before The Empire Strikes Back debuted and in between the time the Star Wars Holiday Special aired, Kenner Toys began working on a rocket firing version of Boba Fett. It would ship free with proof of purchases from other Kenner Star Wars action figures. Unfortunately, at the time of its development, competitor toy company Mattel was being sued due to an unfortunate choking incident as a result of the firing projectiles it provided with its Battlestar Galactica toy line. This caused Kenner to pause all work on the rocket firing version of Boba Fett and release a standard version of the figure without any launching projectiles. But memories of what could have been were stuck in childrens heads after seeing promotional materials announcing the new rocket firing version. It would take years for the beloved vintage Kenner Toys Star Wars line to be appreciated by hardcore collectors and Star Wars enthusiasts alike. Many of us, myself included, fondly remember growing up with the toy line. It was then that some of these collectors started asking what happened to pre-production examples of the Boba Fett rocket firing action figures. Low and behold, it was discovered that there were approximately 100 different rocket firing Boba Fett prototypes in existence and some were further developed than others. Today, we know that two such versions of this coveted prototype figure exist. One is known as the L slot example, which just denotes the shape of the launching mechanism on the back of the figure. L slots are the more common of the two variants, and there are believed to be about 70 of these figures prototypes in existence. The more uncommon version is known as the J slot and there are only believed to be about 30 of these examples. Demand for any kind of Boba Fett rocket firing prototype action figure has been steadily increasing over the past few years, along with ever increasing prices. Most collectors consider this to be the holy grail of Star Wars toy collectibles due to how few examples exist and how popular Boba Fett is. Most collectors, however, did not envision this figure selling for more than 1 million dollars. That all changed on Aug. 17, when a coveted J slot example graded and certified by AFA (Action Figure Authority) in AFA 85+ (near mint plus) condition crossed the auction block at Goldin Auctions. When the rocket dust settled and the final bids were placed, the final price was $1,342,000, which included the 22 percent buyers premium that Goldin charges. This is a world auction record price. -This example of the rocket firing Boba Fett prototype action figure is now the most expensive action figure ever sold at auction. But please do not bother checking your attic or basement for this exact figure, because again, this figure was never commercially released. That said, it is interesting that the most popular character in the history of Star Wars happens to be a character who only had about seven full minutes of screen time and one who didnt even show up until midway through the second film in the original trilogy. Let this be a good lesson to anyone out there who thinks they may not amount to much in the grand scheme of things. Where you start from in life is not always where you end up. Just ask George Lucas, as he himself could not even have predicted this. May the force be with you! Shawn Surmick has been an avid collector since the age of 12. He currently resides in his hometown of Boyertown, Pa., and is a passionate collector of antiques and collectibles. His articles focus on various topics affecting the marketplace.