Ezra Bridger’s Speeder - RO - Vehicles

Once a lone street urchin stealing to survive on Lothal, Ezra Bridger has been taken in by the crew of the Ghost and is now a determined freedom fighter who plays a critical role in the rebellion against the Empire. With the help of his master, Kanan, Ezra is well on his way to becoming a Jedi – he uses the Force to fight the Imperial opposition that threatens to destroy the galaxy.

Hasbro has to orchestrate a delicate balance. With so many different characters across various Star Wars Entertainment, it's become increasingly difficult to provide a hybrid line of Star Wars figures when the focus has to be on new characters while not forsaking characters they still haven't executed yet. In short, it has been messy. Hasbro has a lot on its plate these days. They’re infinitely playing catch up. They're trying to help market a television show and the first and second major Star Wars films in a decade while trying to create a Star Wars toy line that makes sense. But it doesn’t seem to be working out all that well. We're getting too much of one source, and then not nearly enough of another. They’re working within parameters that someone else wants to see them abide within and it’s done nothing but further complicate things. So how is all of this complaining applicable to Ezra Bridger’s Speeder, a Class I vehicle that made its debut in The Force Awakens line look and now has been carried forward into the Rogue One line? Rebels used to be in the limelight, but it's now an afterthought when it comes to the figures to support the show. What's more, it's mixed in with the latest Star Wars film toy line too.

The good news is that Ezra Bridger's Speeder is a pretty decent toy which brings back some of the sparkle dust from what Hasbro used to put into the vehicle from collections that were released in years past. Don’t get us wrong. This particular release is as simple as Class I vehicles can get. And back in the day, you’d still pay somewhere in the same range of this vehicle to get the same amount of plastic and quality. Things aren’t so terrible with this release. From the Season 1 episode entitled “Call To Action,” Ezra Bridger's Speeder is nicely captured in toy format with some neat features to give it the right amount of play value for kids of all ages. Most importantly, the speeder has been brilliantly painted and is faithful to the television show. It has also been beautifully decorated with fine details like the insignia, etc. In an era where we all cringe to see how badly Hasbro has painted something, it’s nice to see some things be issue free in this regard. Ezra Bridger's Speeder comes with an opening back hatch, articulated handlebars, and sliding pedals. There is even a special place to clip on Ezra’s lightsaber when not in use, although its premise like this is a believable feature is sillier than anything we’ve seen to date.

Although a straight repack from The Force Awakens release, you might be surprised to learn that Ezra Bridger is an all-new action figure. He borrows no parts from previous Ezra Bridger action figures released to date. If we had to complain about anything, we’d have to comment that his coloring is bizarre. His outfit looks a bit faded/dull, and his skin color looks pale (especially when compared to previous versions of the character). His costume is unique too. This time he comes with a holster hanging from his belt. Most notable is a peg to hang his lightsaber hilt on when not in use. And that brings us to the lightsaber itself. It comes with a removable lightsaber blade. This is shocking to us because we never expected Hasbro to do this in the simple five points of articulation range again. We’re quite surprised by this turn of events. But back to Ezra, he has also been given scratches on his face from some apparent injury. It’s wonderful to get something 100% completely new in the Star Wars toy line. We feel strongly that the Rebels toys should have remained in their distinct line look to set them apart from The Force Awakens or Rogue One line looks. They deserve their attention, but now they’re just getting lost in the mix.