Welcome to Star Wars Transmissions. I’m Dan.
Among the myriad of reasons as to why I love Star Wars Rebels, Ezra Bridger is atop that
list. His growth from a thief and con-artist, scraping
by on the streets of Lothal, to an amazing Jedi Padawan is something I just can’t get
enough of, and, like many Star Wars fans, he’s quickly become a beloved character
for me. So, let’s discuss 5 interesting facts about
the badass Jedi Padawan, Ezra Bridger.
The Biblical and Pop-cultural influences in Ezra's creation
According to the StarWars.com blogger James Burns, Ezra Bridger was named after the Old
Testament character Ezra, who was a Jewish scribe that returned from Babylonian exile
and reintroduced the Torah in Jerusalem. Star Wars Rebels creators Simon Kinberg and
Dave Filoni also confirmed that Ezra and several characters in Rebels were named after historical
and Biblical characters in order to imbue their names with a sense of meaning and purpose
that would fit their characters. Hera Syndulla, for instance, was named after
the ancient Greek goddess Hera; Kanan Jarrus’ name was a reference to the
Biblical land of Canaan, and Sabine Wren’s name comes from the Sabine women of the Roman
Empire. Additionally, Ezra Bridger's character drew
inspiration from Ralph Macchio’s character Daniel LaRusso from the 1984 film, The Karate
Kid. The hair is a dead giveaway.
Sweep that damn leg Ezra’s Early Life was wrought with hardship
and sadness Ezra Bridger was a human Force-Sensitive male
from the Outer Rim planet of Lothal. He was born on Empire Day in 19 BBY, which
was the day that Darth Sidious declared himself Emperor of the Galactic Empire, bringing an
end to the Republic. Roughly a year after Ezra was born, his parents,
Mira and Ephraim Bridger began anti-Imperial activities, hoping to make the galaxy a better
place for their son. About 5 years later, In 14 BBY, Mira and Ephraim
set up public broadcasting transmissions to speak out against the Empire's harsh rule
and stifling oppression against Galactic citizens. By 12 BBY, Ezra’s parents were found and
taken away by the Empire, leaving the young boy to live largely on his own for the next
eight years. To survive, Ezra worked as a con artist and
thief, stealing technology and reselling it on the black market, while unknowingly using
the Force to occasionally get himself out of tough situations.
Eventually, our homeboy would come to live in the abandoned LothalNet comm tower E-272,
where he kept his collection of stormtrooper helmets he acquired over the years.
Ezra had a run in with notorious Trandoshan bounty hunter, Bossk
One day, while at Lothal’s Capital City's spaceport selling tickets for an illegal sporting
event known as Gladiator Night, Ezra caught sight of the Hound's Tooth, which was the
personal starship of Trandoshan bounty hunter Bossk.
Once Ezra met Bossk, the Trandoshan hired him as a guide to take him to Ake's Tavern,
where Bossk was hoping to secure a bounty As they reached their destination, Bossk sent
Bridger instead to lure out his prey, Gronson "Shifty" Takkaro.
Soon enough, however, a confrontation broke out between Bossk and several assassins hired
by an Imperial Security Bureau Lieutenant named Jenkes.
During the fight, Bridger stunned Bossk’s bounty, Takkaro, while Bossk killed the assassins,
only for Imperial authorities to surround them, forcing Bossk to leave his quarry behind
and escape with Ezra . As he two escaped, Bossk was injured and convinced
Bridger to help him by offering the boy all the contents of a strongbox he had aboard
his starship, The Hound’s Tooth. The two then worked together to foil and defeat
Lieutenant Jenkes, and, as promised, resulted in Bossk giving Ezra the contents of his strongbox,
which turned out to be just seventy-five credits. Ezra’s First Lightsaber Was Not a Run of
the Mill Lightsaber Among Lightsaber designs, Ezra’s lightsaber
was quite unique, which was fitting for a character like Ezra-who was quite unique himself.
His saber was a lightsaber-blaster hybrid, which allowed him to engage in both lightsaber
combat as well as firefights. The blaster component was built as a result
of Bridger's lack of skill at deflecting blaster bolts with his blade.
When his saber was in Blaster mode, which required disengaging the lightsaber blade
because the powerpack of the saber could not handle both at once, it fired stun blasts
at an enemy, giving Ezra time to escape dangerous situations.
Additionally, since using a lightsaber during the reign of the Galactic Empire drew unwanted
attention from Imperials, Bridger only did so as a last resort.
The built-in blaster function of his lightsaber gave him the ability to engage in combat without
revealing his Jedi-in-training identity, and it provided an advantage in confrontations
that other Jedi would not have. Furthermore, the inconspicuous design and
utilitarian appearance also made it much less likely to be recognized as a lightsaber.
In terms of the lightsabers components, it was built out of a number of parts given to
him by different members of the rebel crew of the Ghost.
Ezra's master, Kanan Jarrus, had spare lightsaber parts he acquired over the previous fifteen
years that he gave Ezra to use. Sabine Wren also donated modulation circuits
and an energy gate, while the astromech, Chopper, donated a power cell for Ezra to utilize.
Hera Syndulla also provided Ezra with a blade emitter shroud, handgrip ridges, a blade length
adjuster, an activator, and a blaster barrel. Lastly, unbeknownst to my boy Garazeb Orrelios,
Ezra used several parts from the Lasat's supplies. This type of lightsaber designs would never
have been built by Jedi during the days of the Jedi Order, as blasters were not typically
condoned by the Jedi Council, but Ezra was not your typical Jedi Padawan, nor was he
trained to become a Jedi during the safest of times to be one.
Sadly, during a mission to Malachor, Ezra encountered the Sith Lord Darth Vader, which
resulted in Vader destroying Ezra’s lightsaber in a duel, forcing Ezra to create a new Saber.
Ezra’s Strength in the Force allowed him to more easily connect with living beings
As Ezra’s strength, training, and knowledge in the Force grew, so did his abilities to
connect with living beings. On one occasion, he learned how to tame a
horde of silicon-based creatures called fyrnocks; however, on that very same day, he made a
connection to the dark side and his power was amplified to the point of being able to
summon a giant fyrnock, though he quickly collapsed from the unprepared exposure to
the malevolent power. On another occasion, while the Ghost Crew
attempted to steal much needed fuel from the Mining Guild, Ezra managed to communicate
with, and acquire assistance from, the leader of a pod of Purrgil, which were a semi-sentient
species of massive, whale-like creatures that lived in deep space, traveling from star system
to star system, In doing so, the pod of Purrgil helped the
Ghost Crew in escaping, while Ezra was also able to ascertain that the Purrgil depended
on the gas, Clouzon-36, to survive and to travel into hyperspace.
On several occasions, Ezra was also able to communicate with and summon Loth-wolves, which
were a mythical Lothalian creature long believed to be extinct.
In one instance, while fighting to liberate Lothal from the Empire, Ezra was able to summon
a pack of Loth-wolves, which aided in the Ghost Crew’s capture and surrender of Lothal’s
governor, the Imperial Moff Arindha Pryce. Like animals, Ezra’s Force abilities also
allowed him to connect with beings he came across.
Upon learning that Imperial Inquisitors were targeting select Force-sensitive children
for abduction, Ezra was able to use his Force connection to calm a wailing Ithorian infant
named Pypey, providing him and his fellow Ghost Crew members with some time to escape
the clutches of the Inquisitors on the planet Takobo.
Lastly, after acquiring a Sith Holocron and using it to aid in strengthening his powers
and knowledge in the Force, Ezra learned how to completely control a person's mind, rather
than influence them, and forced an Imperial walker pilot to turn on his comrades and commit
suicide, during the Ghost Crew’s mission to spring the pirate, Hondo Ohnaka, from an
Imperial prison on Naraka.
And there you have it, those are 5 interesting facts about my homeboy, Ezra Bridger.
As mentioned, Ezra is an excellent character, and his growth in Star Wars Rebels is spectacular.
The series finale of Star Wars Rebels was absolutely amazing, and, with rumors swirling
about a possible return of Ezra in Star Wars stories, I’m holding out hope we’ve yet
to see the last of the young Jedi Padawan. But what do you guys think about some of the
facts we’ve discussed? What are some of your favorite Ezra Bridger
facts or moments? Let me know down in the comments.
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