Star Wars ABCs: E is for Ezra Bridger

Star Wars ABCs is a fun 26-part series that partners Star Wars with your ABCs to introduce you to characters, droids, places, and creatures from every era of the franchise, including the newest venture into a galaxy far, far away — The High Republic.

E is for Ezra Bridger

Disney

Ezra Bridger was a human male Jedi Padawan and freedom fighter during the reign of the Galactic Empire. Bridger was an extreme rarity in that he was one of the few Force-sensitive beings to be trained as a Jedi during the era of the Galactic Empire.

Bridger had blue eyes, black hair, and obtained scars on his left cheek after a battle aboard an Imperial Star Destroyer. Before training as a Jedi, he used an old R-series manipulator to pick electronic locks, and an energy slingshot to stun his foes. As part of his Padawan training Bridger obtained a Kyber crystal from a hidden Jedi Temple on Lothal and used it to construct his first lightsaber, which had a blue blade. His first lightsaber was unique in that its blade was adjustable and that it had a built-in blaster with stun setting. Bridger constructed a second lightsaber with a green blade after the first was destroyed by Darth Vader.

The young Padawan was born in 19 BBY on Empire Day on the planet Lothal, to parents whose public criticism of the Empire led to their imprisonment and death, leaving Bridger an orphan. As a teenager, Bridger encountered the crew of the Ghost, a group of freedom fighters led by ace pilot Hera Syndulla and Padawan Kanan Jarrus. Despite being a Padawan himself, Jarrus took Bridger under his tutelage after recognized the young boy’s strong connection to the Force. Jarrus was eventually formerly elevated to the rank of Jedi Knight, and over the years his training helped the young boy grow into a formidable Force user.

Bridger was skilled at performing Force-enhanced jumps, sensing the presence of other beings through the Force, sensing danger, using Jedi reflexes to dodge blaster attacks, Force push, Jedi mind trick, he experienced several visions through the Force, and he could also use the Force to communicate with animals. The young Padawan was also an accomplished lightsaber duelist, having faced off against multiple Imperial Inquisitors and even Darth Vader (despite only lasting a few seconds) when he was still just a teenager. Bridger studied Form V lightsaber combat under Kanan Jarrus, and Form IV through a recording of Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker found in Kanan’s Jedi holocron.

As a crew member of the Ghost, Bridger was instrumental in helping the smattering of rebel cells spread across the galaxy coalesce into the Alliance to Restore the Republic, aka the Rebel Alliance. Bridger worked tirelessly for years with his fellow rebels to obstruct, sabotage, and demoralize the Empire at every turn, while bringing hope to the subjugated people of the galaxy by showing them the Empire could be defeated and good people still fought for what was right. The young man quickly rose up the ranks of his rebel cell, obtaining the rank of commander within the Rebel Alliance and playing a pivotal role in many of its most important early missions. He also helped fellow Ghost crew member Sabine Wren unite the people of Mandalore and free them from the Empire’s grip.

Over the years, Bridger’s homeworld of Lothal suffered more and more under the hand of the Empire as it was stripped of its natural resources and its people subjugated and forced to work in Imperial factories. In 0 BBY, Bridger freed his people from the Empire’s control during the Liberation of Lothal, in which he led the Rebels through a stunning operation that ended with him being sent to an unknown location through hyperspace by the purrgil, along with Grand Admiral Thrawn, who Bridger had captured and defeated.

After the fall of the Empire, the former Jedi Ahsoka Tano and the Mandalorian Sabine Wren began their search for Bridger, but it remains unknown as to whether or not they succeeded in locating him.

You can join Ezra Bridger on his adventures in the Star Wars: Rebels animated TV series on Disney+.