The HUTTS are FAT SLUGS, how are they SO POWERFUL?

Who did you think I'll be announcing tomorrow for the tournament? 🤔

The Hutts are so powerful because they own Pizza Hutt and as they always say "you can never out pizza the Hutt"

It is pretty telling that even the Empire decided it was easier to negotiate and cut a deal with the Hutts than outright try to subjugate them.

They are basically Kingpin. They look fat but it's all muscle mass . And they have brains.

I assume that's why Fennec says "They're Hutts, if you want to kill them we'll need permission". You'd need other Hutts to basically cut them off and say they were fair game

In legends, a Hutt that trained and conditioned itself for combat was a terrifying opponent.

Perfect summation. Jabba was actually a cunning and fierce warrior in his day. Which is how he grew his faction. It would be nice if a current cannon or legends show would portray characters as they are described in other books or in full representation. I do appreciate the nod to the Gamoreans in the current series as being legitimate warriors versus useless pig aliens. Others such as Trandoshans and Bothans I think are overlooked currently.

Hutts were surprisingly strong and durable, so much so that one survived half his head being blown off and regenerated from it, and one was even the champion of a fighting pit in one comic. There my favorite star wars species.

That's the problem with a lot of Star Wars species: we see one individual from a species and that one becomes the model. Wookiees are all tall, and aggressive and brown haired, just slight costume variations on Chewbacca. All the Hutts are big flabby slug monsters, rather than Jabba just being a grotesquely obese and ancient version of a more lithe, imposing creature in its prime. I want to see a strapping young Hutt in his prime, built like a giant slug version of Connor McGregor. I want to see a bespectacled Wookiee merchant who wears a fob watch and walks with a cane. I want to see a kindly, matronly Devaronian schoolteacher.

It's interesting how the Hutts are treated in SWTOR. There's many hutts you can interact with, on Hutta, Nar Shaddaa, and across the galaxy, most are your typical obese crime lord, but there are a couple of exceptions. There is the hutt scientist Dr.Ogorrob, the tallest hutt in the game. And Toborro from the Makeb DLC, who is considered insane and power mad, but does make mention of the "old ways" of the hutts being one of warrior conquest, even building a special war droid to pilot in battle.

The Hutts are powerful for the same reason as Tony Stark and Batman, absolutely phat stacks of cash.

I think the Hutts are simply very intelligent on average, more so than any other physical characteristic. They outsmarted their rivals rather than used brute force alone.

I still can't imagine a Hutt jedi wielding a lightsaber even somewhat competitively

My favorite part about the Hutt twins coming to confront Boba, was how Boba was having absolutely NONE of it and basically told them to get their no good keister off his property before he really did something

Justin really showing no remorse in the title lmaoo

I think you're mistaken in saying the Twins "need" to be carried around. They're perfectly capable of moving themselves; using the litter and being carried by slaves is a show of power, not infirmity.

Even in our world, the rich and powerful don’t have to be physically mighty.

A long life is never to be underestimated. Imagine political leaders who live for hundreds of years. They'd have the experience and time to impose far reaching reforms and advance very time consuming schemes. From an economic view, they'd have vast experience in dealing with various species and able to see trends in commerce begin to form simply from what they've witnessed over a millennia. Just look at that in contrast to a human life. Just as we're starting to understand life and gain wisdom our bodies begin to deteriorate. Our elderly years hinder decades of experience with poor memory and reduced ability to concentrate. Even life long political leaders fail to maintain control as old age sets in and their authority and power passes to someone else. Someone younger and less experienced. Our ability to self-govern is hindered by a perpetual lack of experience and not enough time to benefit from any wisdom we do gain. So yeah, the Hutt's owe their power and influence to their long lives combined with a society that vividly remembers a civil war that nearly destroyed them creating a twisted, yet harmonious culture.

In the first book of the old Jedi Apprentice YA novels, young Obi-Wan Kenobi learns firsthand about how hutts can manipulate others to gain power through fear and withholding vital resources. I highly recommend that series for anyone interested in pre-Disney EU content.

You forgot to mention a Hutt did serve as Supreme Chancellor of the Old Republic at one time...