Ezra Bridger

"The Force is strong with you, Ezra."

- Kanan Jarrus, to Ezra Ezra Bridger is one of the main characters of the Disney XD animated series Star Wars Rebels, voiced by Taylor Gray.

Once a common thief trying to survive, Ezra is eventually adopted by Kanan Jarrus, who acknowledges his force potential, and joins the crew of the Ghost in their small Rebellion against the Empire.

Biography
Ezra was born to Ephraim Bridger and Mira Bridger on Lothal, the day when the Empire came to power. Ezra's parents were known to do secret broadcasting and speaking out publicly against the Empire because they fought for those in need and for his freedom. Sadly by the time he was seven, his parent's were captured and taken away by the Empire, leaving Ezra to fend for himself. Over the last eight years, he moved into and old communications tower which he dubbed "Ezra Tower" and took up stealing in order to survive. He would steal from anyone, including the Empire, and sell his stolen goods on the black market.

At the time, he was unaware that he was force-sensitive, but was able to use his unknown abilities in his robberies. He could force jump and sense future happenings before they are committed such as nearly being shot from behind. After meeting the Rebels of Lothal and former Jedi Kanan, he joined their Rebellion against the Empire and learn from Kanan the ways of the Jedi becoming his padawan.

Personality and Traits
Ezra is known to be a very clever con artist, playing innocent in order to pickpocket Imperials. Despite his intentions to help others, it always turns out he was only helping himself in order to survive. He at first is doubted by most of the crew of the Ghost, but soon earns their loyalty. Through his time with the Rebels he learns the importance of risking his life for others.

Property of Ezra Bridger
While wandering the outskirts of his tower, he came across the Ghost being pursued by an Imperial TIE Fighter. When the fighter crashes, Ezra decides to investigate. Upon further inspection, finds the pilot Valen Rudor alive. Ezra decided to help the man out, despite Rudhor's disgusted tone. However, he was actually pretending to help him just so he could steal equipment from his wrecked fighter and sell it on the black market.

Rudhor attempted to kill him with his fighter's lasers, but Ezra managed to evade the shots through the use of the Force. After using his energy slingshot to electrocute Rudhor, Ezra then made his way back to his tower, wearing the pilot helmet he stole.

Star Wars Rebels: Spark of Rebellion
In the Capital City on Lothal, Ezra witnessed three Rebels attack a group of Imperials in a attempt to steal several speeders carrying crates. He stood back for a while and after the Rebels took out the Troops, Ezra hijacked one of the speeders, and fled with some of their stolen goods. The Rebels chased him through the streets to the road that led out of the city. In a attempt to get back to his tower, he was soon pursued by a TIE Fighter, which destroyed the speeder he was riding, and before it could finish him, the fighter was destroyed by the Rebel's ship, the Ghost. The Rebels helped him aboard, and made a run for it with four more TIE Fighters after them. At this point, Ezra found himself in outer space for the first time in his life.

After evading their perusers, Ezra and the Rebels returned to Lothal and landed near a place called Tarkintown, named after Grand Moff Tarkin, and homed by farmers who had their farmlands taken away by the Empire. He helps Zeb and Sabine deliver their stolen crates for the people of Tarkintown, and later returned to the Ghost, where, through the Force, he found his way to Kanan's cabin, where he found a Holocron and a Lightsaber. He remained on board the Ghost when the Rebels had a new mission to rescue Wookiee prisoners being sent to a slave labor camp. Unfortunately, the Rebels had no idea they had been set up, and after being pleaded by Hera to warn the others, Ezra reluctantly boarded the Imperial Transport ship just in time to warn Kanan and Zeb. They made a run for it back to the ship, but Ezra was captured by Agent Kallus, and left behind by Zeb. Agent Kallus planned to use him as bait in an attempt to catch the Rebels, but Ezra doubted they would come back for him.

While imprisoned aboard the Star Destroyer, he was able to open the Holocron he stole, which displayed a message from Jedi master Obi-Wan Kenobi, warning all surviving Jedi about the falling of the Republic and the rise of the Empire. Ezra managed to escape from his prison by instigating the Stormtroopers guarding his cell to open it, and using an Imperial helmet's transmitter, he was able to listen in on where the Wookiee prisoners were actually being taken, and heard the Rebels had come back for him. He soon regrouped with them, and escaped with his knowledge on the Wookiees. He assisted the Rebels in their rescue mission and released the Wookies, but they were soon ambushed by the Imperials. It is at this point that when they are pinned down, he learns that Kanan is a Jedi. When he noticed a Stormtrooper chasing a young Wookiee, Ezra went out to rescue him. Ezra and the Wookiee were cornered by Kallus, but were rescued by the Rebels and escaped.

After sending the Wookiees on their way, Ezra was returned to his tower on Lothal with Kanan's lightsaber. Kanan showed up and told him about the Force, and that it was strong with him. He was given the option to join their Rebellion, or to learn the ways of the Force and become a Jedi. Ezra decides to choose the latter, for he sees family in the crew.

The Series
At the beginning of the series, Ezra becomes an official member of the Rebel crew and Kanan's Jedi apprentice. Throughout the course of the series he learns about the importance in helping those in need instead of just himself while at the same time learning to become a Jedi.

Ezra struggled with his Jedi training but not as much as Kanan. Since he never completed his training, he has limited knowledge about the Jedi way which made things difficult for both Master and Apprentice. In the episode "Rise of the Old Masters", he accompanied the Rebels in a mission to rescue Jedi Master Luminara Unduli. At the time, Ezra was upset because Kanan was no longer going to train him and instead pass him onto Luminara. However the attempted rescue was in vain, as they discovered that Luminara was dead, and her remains were set up as bait to lure any surviving Jedi to their ends. Through the engagement against the The Inquisitor, both Master and Apprentice were able to work together and have a better understanding for one another.

In "Empire Day" and "Gathering Forces" the Rebels became aware that the Empire was looking for a Rodian known as Tseebo, a friend of Ezra's parents, and carrying vital information that could be used against the Empire. Ezra learns from Tseebo that he tried to save his parents but was too afraid to try. Upset and angry, he blamed him for everything, and refused to listen to anymore. When the Rebels discovered the Phantom was planted with a tracking beacon by the Inquisitor, Kanan and Ezra took the Phantom to the abandoned clone base to lure the Inquisitor and the Empire away from the Ghost while the Rebels delivered Tseebo into safe hands. Kanan was hoping that while at this abandoned base he could teach Ezra to connect with another being and use the creatures that inhabited the base to attack the Imperials, but Ezra felt too scared, not because of the creatures, but due to fear of learning the truth of what actually happened to his parents. Then, through the Force, Ezra told Tseebo he was forgiven and was able to control his fear and connect with the Fyrnocks.

The Inqusitor and a squadron of Stormtroopers arrived at the base. Ezra and Kanan commanded the Fyrnocks to attack the Troopers. Kanan engaged the Inquisitor in a lightsaber duel and when Ezra sensed him in trouble, he stood in the way of the Inquisitor to protect his master. However the Inquisitor forced him away and began to torment him with the fear of losing everyone he cared about and everything he hoped for, at the same time encouraging him to give into his fear which grew into anger and then finally into hatred. Through the power of the Dark Side, he summoned a much larger Fyrnock and commanded it to attack the Inquisitor. The enormous power of the Force became so much for him that he collapsed and when he regained full consciousness, he had little memory of what happened.

Concerned by Ezra's dangerous connection with the Force, Kanan took him to a Jedi Temple on Lothal in "Path of the Jedi" where he would be tested to determine whether or not he was meant to become a Jedi. Journeying deep into the temple alone, Ezra came across many illusions that showed him his darkest fears but following his training he was able to face them and make a stand as an illusion of the Inquisitor prepared to kill him. With the illusion gone, he heard the voice of Master Yoda through the force, who guided him to his next test where he found himself in a hallway of inscriptions.

When Yoda asked him why Ezra should become a Jedi, he claimed it would allow him to become powerful enough to make the Empire suffer for everything it had done to him. Yoda became concerned by his reason because what he was seeking was vengeance, which Ezra denied. However, Yoda could see much anger and fear within him, which helped Ezra realize his true reason to become a Jedi, to protect not only his friends but everyone in the galaxy. When he was still living on the streets he only cared about himself until he met the Rebels and saw how their good deeds made people feel and wanted to be part of that. As the hall disappeared and replaced by a vision of countless stars, a Kyber Crystal appeared from nowhere and landed gently in Ezra's hands, representing a big step in his Jedi training. Ezra spent several weeks building his own Lightsaber using spare parts donated from the Ghost crew. Unlike a traditional Lightsaber, he fitted his with a blaster component, which fired stun blasts, since Ezra lacked any sword fighting skills at the time.

Ezra began to listen to broadcasts by Senator Gall Trayvis, who spoke out against the Empire. Trayvis hinted he wanted to meet with the Rebels at a tower on Lothal. After arriving at the tower, they were attacked by the Empire and they fled into the sewers. Ezra and Hera went a different way with Trayvis whilst Kanan, Sabine and Zeb held off the Stormtroopers. Hera gave Trayvis a blaster to defend himself, but he revealed himself to be an agent of the Empire. He told Ezra he knew his parents and when Hera was approaching him, he pulled the trigger but found out Hera didn't trust him and didn't load the blaster. She punched him as they regrouped with the others came and left. Ezra was disappointed with Trayvis' betrayal and because of that they planned on doing a broadcast themselves. It didn't go well because the Empire were expecting it and they captured Kanan. The broadcast was sent, but soon after Grand Moff Tarkin ordered the tower's destruction. Hera forbid the team from attempting a rescue mission for Kanan, due to advice from her informant, Fulcrum. They went anyway to Vizago and Ezra was able to convince him into helping them after revealing Kanan's Jedi identity, as well as his own. Vizago showed Ezra the kind of droids the Empire kept information in. After kidnapping a droid and sending Chopper in it's place, they discovered Kanan was being sent to the volcanic planet of Mustafar.

After stealing an Imperial Freighter, Ezra and the Rebels journeyed to Mustafar and deployed a TIE Fighter to fly aboard Tarkin's Star Destroyer that had Kanan and disabled the entire ship with an electromagnetic pulse. Once the Star Destroyer was disabled, Ezra and the Rebels docked with the ship and began the search for Kanan. However, the Imperials were on to them and had called in for reinforcements. The Rebels were forced to seal off the door that was their only path to Kanan, but Ezra managed to climb into the air vents to get to him. He came out on the other side, found Kanan, and set him free. Ezra and Kanan made their way to regroup with the others when they ran into the Inquisitor. Master and Padawan then engaged him in a lightsaber duel, using each others lightsabers. during the fight, Ezra was knocked off the platform leaving Kanan to believe he was dead.

After the defeat of the Inquisitor, Ezra appeared before his master, alive but scared after he was struck in the face by the Inquisitor's lightsaber. As the ship began to blow up, Ezra and Kanan boarded the Inquisitor's TIE Fighter and escaped with other Rebels, led by Ahsoka Tano.

Star Wars Rebels: The Siege of Lothal
When Minister Tua made call to the Rebels for asylum and a promise to reveal many secrets of why the Empire was on Lothal, Ezra was the first to go ahead with helping her while everyone else was reluctant too out of distrust. He sensed real fear for her life in her voice and therefore knew she was being sincere. Upon arriving on Lothal, Ezra and the Rebels had found out that things on the planet have gotten worse, as there were more Star Destroyers than before. Things got even worse when Minister Tua was killed in a staged accident set up by Darth Vader and put the blame on the Rebels. Knowing the Empire now had all of Lothal against, the Rebels were forced to leave for good, despite Ezra's refusal to run.

With all the ports locked down and on guard, Ezra and the Rebels sneaked into the spaceport at the Imperial Complex and steal a shuttle. However, before they could make their escape, Ezra began to sense a cold feeling. His master sensed it too, but unlike Ezra, Kanan recognized the power to be the Dark Side of the Force. Second later, Ezra and Kanan were face to face with Darth Vader himself. The two Jedi tried to fight him off but the Dark Lord was too powerful to handle. Ezra was nearly decapitated by his own weapon when Vader used the force to bring his lightsaber towards his neck, but was released the moment Kanan returned to the fight. Knowing they could defeat the Dark Lord, the Rebels retreated but did not head for space because the Imperials would no doubt be waiting for them. The Rebels decided to go to Lando's farm for help to smuggle them off Lothal. Lando was off-world at the time but his droid was there to assist them. Upon arrival, Ezra spotted smoke coming from Tarkintown and took off on a speeder bike to check it out, with Kanan following from afar. He arrived to find the place lying in burning rubble and the citizens were no doubt in Imperial custody. After returning to Lando's farm, Ezra and the Rebels proceeded with their plan and successfully got passed the Imperial blockage, leaving Ezra's home world forever.

However, upon returning to the Rebel fleet, the Rebels realized their shuttle had been rigged with a tracker allowing Darth Vader to follow them. Ezra and the Rebels boarded the Ghost and engaged the lone fighter in a dogfight with Ezra manning the nose gun. Ezra and the Rebels managed to escape before getting caught in a Star Destroyer's tractor beam, but Ezra was still full of questions about who Darth Vader was, questions that Ahsoka, who had the answers, denied.

Disney INFINITY 3.0
Ezra is set to appear in Disney INFINITY's third installment as a playable character.

Trivia

 * He made his first live action theme park appearance at Star Wars Weekends 2014, alongside Sabine Wren and Chopper.
 * By the time of the series, he was fourteen years old until he turned fifteen in the episode "Empire Day".
 * In the television movie Star Wars Rebels: Spark of Rebellion while speaking to Hera, Kanan calls Ezra a "Street Rat," which is what Aladdin is called in the film of the same name.
 * Because The Inquisitor threw his Lightsaber at Ezra in "Fire Across the Galaxy", he now has two scars on his left cheek.