"Riddick...You keep running, you keep hiding. Doesn't matter me none. Because in the end, I will find you!" -Boss R. Johns, Riddick (2013)
Colonel R. "Boss" Johns[1] is a bounty hunter and the father of William J. Johns, and for the last 10 years has been searching for Riddick in hopes of unearthing answers about the death of his son on a planet in the M-344/G System. Unlike his son however, Boss Johns remains calm and controlled when faced with adversity and has compassion for the weaker members of the team, specifically Luna.
Arrival on Not-Furya
Boss Johns arrived at the sun scorched planet, where Riddick had activated a beacon. While there Johns encountered another mercenary crew led by Captain Santana, who gave Boss Johns a hard time. Johns offered to help Santana track Riddick but Santana refused any and all help from him, even calling him "Too Late" on more than one occasion in terms of arrival. However, Johns realized that Santana was already in over his head and offered to be available when Santana eventually needed his help.
That night, Johns had Dahl check the supply logs for the merc station and saw that six steel traps had been stolen. He cut into Santana's frequency which he had been eavesdropping into the whole time and warned him of the traps. After witnessing one of his men being killed by the traps Riddick had set up, Santana retreated, but not before losing two more men to Riddick. Johns' crew immediately geared up to aid Santana but Johns told them to stand down and wait for Santana to come to them.
Finding Riddick
Santana reluctantly returned to Johns the next morning, finding it very difficult to ask for help. Johns enjoyed watching the humbled Santana struggle with asking for help. He used Santana's phraseology to mock and humble him even more when Santana asked to borrow Johns' gear power instead of men. Santana relented after Dahl beat him into his place and Johns took total control over the entire operation. Johns and his men, Moss and Lockspur pursued Riddick's jackal to his cave only to realize they had been led on a diversion when they accidentally shoot down one of the men Riddick killed and used as a decoy.
Upon returning to the merc station, Johns saw that Santana tried to force himself upon Dahl only to be beaten up by her once again. However, he found a message written on Santana's blood on the compartment where they kept the nodes for both of their ships to prevent Riddick from commandeering one of their ships. After a moment of tension between the crews, Johns ordered them to stand down, realizing Riddick was using this as a dive-and-conquer tactic. He had Santana open the compartment, running the risk of the anti-personal lock from exploding. Johns stood in front of Luna to protect him from the possible blast. Upon seeing the nodes still in the compartment, Santana left the compartment open since the lock seemed less dependable for safety.
However, Riddick stole and hid both nodes while Johns was drawing together a plan to find him. Riddick arranged a meeting outside the center and met with Johns, Santana and Diaz. Johns revealed that unlike the other mercenaries, he was not interested in apprehending Riddick, and instead only wanted to know what happened to his son, William. Flattered, Riddick kept the answer from him but offered a deal to return the node for a ship for them to leave on if they abandoned the other ship for him to use. When Riddick turned his back to leave, Santana and Diaz both attempted to kill Riddick, but were stopped by both Riddick's jackal and Johns, Riddick was incapacitated by Dahl with a tranquilizer and Johns with the butt of his rifle.
Making a Deal with Riddick
Riddick was bound in the merc station. However, he was unphased by the threats Sanatana made for him. Johns asked Riddick questions about his son but Riddick refused to answer, knowing Johns would not believe him. Angered and hurt, Johns agreed to let Santana behead Riddick when Cyclops picked up growing movement outside. Riddick then explained that if any of them wanted to survive the night and leave with a ship, they would have to free him, explaining that Johns' son had been in this similar position. Knowing, Riddick was the only one who knew what they were up against after both Lockspur and Moss were killed by the Mud Demons awakened by the rainstorm, Johns immediately began freeing Riddick. However, Sanatana's crew held Johns at gunpoint and Santana attempted to behead Riddick. Johns tactfully removed one of Riddick's leg cuffs, allowing him to kill Santana with three kicks, decapitating him with his own blade. Appalled and amazed, Diaz assumed command of Santana's crew and agreed to free Riddick.
Keeping a Strong Spine
Riddick, Johns, and Diaz drove their Jet Hogs to the place where Riddick had buried the nodes. Diaz attempted to kill Johns by driving him off a cliffside, but Johns survived and fought off the mud demons while Riddick watched. Angered, Johns demanded to know why Riddick didn't help him to which Riddick replied it was because Johns refused to let him have any. Johns was left with no alternative than to ride piggy-back on Riddick's Jet Hog which was humbling to him and amusing to Riddick. While digging up the nodes, Riddick told Johns that that his son tried to kill a kid to save his own neck, and that Riddick did not kill him. Johns refused to believe this, though he seemed to realize this was the truth.
Once the nodes were unearthed, Diaz tried to kill both Riddick and Johns, wanting the bounty for Riddick's head. Riddick killed Diaz with a blade he had hidden with the nodes, causing Diaz to inadvertently disable the last functional Jet Hog. Riddick and Boss Johns were forced to work together as they carried nodes across the landscape, fighting their way through hordes of mud demons. Riddick became injured by a mud demon and Boss Johns attempted to carry him and the nodes only to realize he was unable to do so while being attacked from, all sides by the creatures. He instead took Riddick's node and left him behind to fend for himself. Believing Johns had left him to die, Riddick fought off the mud demons until they cornered him and overpowered him. However, Johns returned with his now-functioning ship and saved Riddick by blasting the mud demons with his ship's guns. He sent Dahl to retrieve Riddick which both relieved and impressed Riddick.
Boss Johns adopted Luna into his crew and let Riddick take the other merc ship. Riddick and Johns parted ways on respectable terms, agreeing to settle their differences at a later point in time. Johns instinctively asked Riddick where he was planning to go next, before retracting the question, knowing it would only tempt him to pursue Riddick. Nevertheless, Riddick told Johns that he was going home before complimenting Boss Johns for having a code of honor, encouraging him to "keep a strong spine."
Trivia
- Despite playing the father of Johns from Pitch Black, the actor is actually only three years older than Cole Hauser.
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