Tuesday, July 9, 2019

Action Figure Review: Ezra Bridger from Star Wars: The Black Series Phase III by Hasbro

   Behind the now-assembled ESB bounty hunters, my next most anticipated subset in the Black Series has been the crew of the Ghost, also know as the Spectres. I love Star Wars: Rebels; it's not only one of my favorite Star Wars things since Disney's take over of Star Wars but probably one of my favorite Star Wars things in general. The crew of the Ghost managed to not only be incredible characters but also had some of the most visually appealing character designs ever seen in Star Wars. The Rebels crew managed to have classic Star Wars looks while also having very colorful, appealing color schemes, a balance that the Sequel Trilogy has really struggled with finding in costume designs. Ezra changed and matured a lot during the Rebels, though this figure depicts him during the earlier seasons of the show. Let's take a look at young Ezra Bridger, aka Spectre 6, after the break...



 The Facts:

Height: 5 1/2 inches

Articulation: Swivel/hinge ankles, double hinged knees, swivel thighs, double ball jointed hips, ball jointed mid-torso, swivel/hinge shoulders, swivel/hinge elbows, swivel/hinge wrists, balljointed neck, and a ball-jointed head.

Accessories: Imperial Cadet helmet, lightsaber w/ removable blade, belt, and removable vest.

Non-Scalper Price: $20 dollars
 The Positives:

* I love how Hasbro has translated the animated appearances of the Rebels crew into the more realistic style of the Black Series toyline, making this feel like it was based off of an actual human actor. Ezra looks fantastic and his orange flightsuit and rugged brown vest really makes him stand out on the shelf. The paintwork and sculpting of the material of his costume is fantastic and perfectly captures Ezra's looking during Rebels seasons 1 and 2. Again, I love how the character design is colorful and stands out yet still manages to feel very classically Star Wars.

 * The headsculpt is fantastic. This is definitely one of the best portraits I've seen in this line because even without being based on an actual actor, there's still a lifelike quality to the design. The paintwork and face printing look excellent here. I can still see some of the resemblance to Aladdin that folks joked about early in the series, but that's no issue: This is still a darn fine sculpt.


 * The body of Ezra's vest is removable, although the sleeves aren't. That's to say you probably won't want to remove it as he'll just have floating sleeves. The texture of the vest is excellent and the design on the pack is very well done.


* Ezra is wearing a very complex belt that is actually removable. There is a peg around back that can be unplugged to allow for the belt to be removed by sliding the straps down over the legs. On the right is a comlink and a spot to hold his lightsaber (more on that in a minute) while the left has a large pouch for storage.


* Ezra's legs are very authentic to the show with the right shin having some random pieces of armor and the left leg having a knee pad exposed due to the flight suit being torn above the knee.
 * The articulation is excellent, but that's just par for the Black Series now, isn't it? Seriously, Hasbro has nailed the articulation on these and I'm always very, very happy, particularly with the crazy range of motion on the elbows and with the head and neck. The hips are even a new design that feature a balljoint at the hip along with the traditional embedded balljoint in the thigh. I'm not sure the range of movement is really that much better here than on a standard figure but it's clearly a sign that Hasbro is always improving.

* One of Ezra's most endearing characteristics was the way he collected Imperial helmets. Hasbro included an Imperial cadet helmet with Ezra and it looks fantastic. Based on the Ralph McQuarrie preproduction art for the Snowtrooper, the Imperial cadet helmet has a terrific design with excellent, clean paint applications. It also fits quite securely on Ezra's noggin.


* Ezra also includes his lightsaber from the earlier seasons of the show. Ezra's lightsaber is unique in that it actually has a blaster built into the handle (Ezra and Kanan are fairly unconventional Jedi, after all). It's a cool design and the paint applications on it look great.
 The Negatives:


* The lightsaber blade is removable from the hilt but, for some reason, this one feels a bit less sturdy than others. I'm really worried about breakage here, so I'm kind of planning on sticking it on and leaving it on. I wish Hasbro would move towards using solid sabers and just including extra hilts for display.


* Ezra's lightsaber is supposed to hang on the little hook on his left hip but it doesn't. The hook is too large and the loop on the lightsaber is too small. Bad design, I'm afraid.
   While he has some issues with his lightsaber, Ezra is still a very well crafted figure. I do wish he had his energy slingshot, though. The Rebels releases have always been some of my most anticipated figures and with Ezra in-hand I'm now down to just needing Chopper (I'll be reviewing him at some point as I do have him!) and Zeb. C'mon Hasbro! Bring us Zeb! Ezra is a Great and a 1/2 figure and another solid entry for the newest series of figures. Hasbro is absolutely on fire right now and I'm excited to see what they have in store for Triple Force Friday and SDCC 2019. Hopefully Zeb makes an appearance!


This isn't the first Ezra Bridger figure I've reviewed. I've also reviewed the Rebels: Saga Legends Ezra Bridger back in 2014.

For more Star Wars: The Black Series figures check out the following:
0-0-0 (Triple Zero)
442nd Siege Battalion Clone Trooper, 212th Attack Battalion Utapau Trooper, Coruscant Guard ---(Phase II), and 501st Legion Clone Trooper 4 pack
4-LOM
Admiral Ackbar and First Order Officer
Admiral Piett
Ahsoka Tano 
AT-AT Pilot 
Battle Droid
Baze Malbus
BT-1 (Beetee)
C-3PO
C-3PO (Resistance Base) 
Captain Cassian Andor (Eadu) 
Captain Phasma
Captain Phasma (Quicksilver Baton)
Captain Poe Dameron
Chewbacca (Target Exclusive)
Chewbacca (The Force Awakens)
Chirrut Imwe 
Clone Captain Rex (HasCon Exclusive)
Clone Commander Gree
Clone Commander Wolffe 
Constable Zuvio
Darth Revan 
Darth Vader (Emperor's Wrath)
Death Star Trooper
Dengar
Dewback/ Sandtrooper
Director Krennic 
DJ (Canto Bight)
Doctor Aphra
Dryden Vos
Elite Praetorian Guard
Elite Praetorian Guard (with Heavy Blade)
Enfys Nest's Swoop Bike/ Enfys Nest
Finn (First Order Disguise)
Finn (FN-2187)
Finn (Jakku)
First Order Flametrooper
First Order General Hux
First Order Snowtrooper
First Order Snowtrooper Officer
First Order Special Forces TIE Fighter
First Order Stormtrooper
First Order Stormtrooper Executioner 
First Order Stormtrooper (with Gear)
First Order TIE Fighter Pilot
Gamorrean Guard
General Grievous
General Leia Organa
General Veers
Grand Admiral Thrawn (SDCC Exclusive)
Grand Moff Tarkin 
Guardians of Evil 4-Pack
Guavian Enforcer
Han Solo (Exogorth Escape)
Han Solo (Mimban)
Han Solo (Solo)
Han Solo (The Force Awakens)
Hera Syndulla
Imperial AT-ACT Driver
Imperial Death Trooper
Imperial Death Trooper, Captain Cassian Andor, and Sergeant Jyn Erso (Jedha) 3 pack
Imperial Hovertank Pilot 
Imperial Jumptrooper
Imperial Patrol Trooper
Imperial Shock Trooper 
Imperial Royal Guard 
Inferno Squad Agent
Jaina Solo (Legends)
Jango Fett
K-2SO
Kanan Jarrus
Kylo Ren 
Kylo Ren (SDCC 2016)
Kylo Ren (The Last Jedi) 
Kylo Ren (Starkiller Base)
Kylo Ren (Throne Room) 
L3-37
Lando Calrissian (Solo)
Lando Calrissian (The Empire Strikes Back)
Lando Calrissian (Skiff Guard)
Luke Skywalker 
Luke Skywalker (Death Star Escape)
Luke Skywalker (Jedi Master) 
Luke Skywalker (Jedi Master)- Ahch-To Island
Mace Windu
Maz Kanata 
Moloch
Obi-Wan Kenobi (Force Spirit)
Obi-Wan Kenobi (SDCC 2016) 
Padme Amidala
Phase 1 Clone Trooper Commander, Phase II Clone Trooper, Imperial Stormtrooper, and First Order ---Stormtrooper Officer four pack
Poe Dameron
Poe Dameron and First Order Riot Control Stormtrooper
Porgs 
Princess Leia (Bespin Escape)
Princess Leia Organa 
Princess Leia Organa (Hoth)
Qi'ra (Corellia)
Qui-Gon Jinn
R2-A3, R5-K6, and R2-F2
Range Trooper
Rebel Trooper
Red Squadron (R2-D2, R5-D8, and R2-X2)
Resistance Tech Rose
Resistance Trooper
Rey (Island Journey)
Rey (Jakku) & BB-8 
Rey (Jedi Training)
Rey (Jedi Training)- Crait
Rey (Starkiller Base) 
Rey's Speeder (Jakku)
Rio Durant
Sabine Wren
Sandtrooper Sergeant, Crimson Stormtrooper, Lieutenant OXIXO, and R2-Q5
Scarif Stormtrooper
Scarif Stormtrooper Squad Leader 
Sergeant Jyn Erso (Eadu)
Sergeant Jyn Erso (Jedha)
Snowtrooper 
Stormtrooper (Mimban)
Stormtrooper (With Blast Accessories)
Supreme Leader Snoke (Throne Room)
Tobias Beckett
Tusken Raider 
Val (Vandor)
Vice Admiral Holdo
X-34 Landspeeder & Luke Skywalker (SDCC Exclusive) 
X-Wing Pilot Asty 
Zuckuss


4 comments:

  1. I have been DYING for Zeb in the Black Series!! I will be very PO'd at Hasbro if they do something stupid and make him an exclusive.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I could see him maybe being a store or online exclusive due to his size, like Grievous, Moloch, or the Gamorrean Guard. I'd be OK with a store exclusive like that if it meant a perfect Zeb figure with cool accessories, but definitely not a con exclusive.

      Delete
  2. Can't wait to pick up Ezra and Chopper. Both look fantastic.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Chopper is loaded with extras. I'll hopefully be reviewing him over the next few days.

      Delete

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