The personal lightsaber of Ezra Bridger, a Padawan, rebel, and Ezra Bridger himself, served as a prototype weapon in the years leading up to the Battle of Yavin. After obtaining a kyber crystal from the Jedi Temple on Lothal, Bridger dedicated several weeks to its construction. Constructed from salvaged components provided by his fellow Ghost's crew members, the weapon was a unique lightsaber-blaster hybrid. In lightsaber configuration, the weapon featured an adaptable blade suitable for combat. Conversely, the blaster mode was set to stun, a feature implemented due to Bridger's relative inexperience in deflecting blaster projectiles with his lightsaber blade. After being saved, Kanan Jarrus used this weapon in a battle against the Grand Inquisitor, using it alongside his own lightsaber to achieve victory. During the mission to Malachor, Darth Vader would ultimately destroy this weapon in a duel with Ezra Bridger.
Later, Bridger replaced it with a more conventional green-bladed one, which mirrored his growing skill and self-assurance.
Ezra Bridger, a Padawan trained in the ways of the Jedi following the destruction of the Jedi Order, created his personal lightsaber at the age of 15, four years before the Battle of Yavin. This weapon was a hybrid, combining a lightsaber with a blaster, enabling him to participate in both lightsaber combat and ranged firefights. The lightsaber blade was designed to be lightweight and quick, complementing Bridger's agility and smaller stature. The blaster component was added because of Bridger's initial difficulty in deflecting blaster fire with his lightsaber. A handguard connected the pommel to the blaster's muzzle. The blaster mode, which required the lightsaber blade to be deactivated because the powerpack couldn't sustain both simultaneously, fired stun blasts at opponents, providing Bridger with opportunities to escape dangerous situations. Such a weapon would have been considered unorthodox by the Jedi Order, and while some rogue Jedi might have used blasters, it was never sanctioned by the Jedi Council. However, Bridger was not a traditional Jedi and prioritized survival over adhering to Jedi doctrine. Furthermore, using a lightsaber during the reign of the Galactic Empire attracted unwanted attention, so Bridger reserved its use for emergencies. The integrated blaster function allowed him to engage in combat without revealing his Jedi identity, offering an advantage that other Jedi would not have possessed. Its understated design and practical appearance also made it less likely to be identified as a lightsaber. Similar to his master's lightsaber, Ezra also incorporated a low-power setting to prevent injuries to sparring partners during training. In this setting, the blade displayed a different blue hue, and the weapon emitted a slightly higher-pitched vibration. He also affixed his old energy slingshot to the lightsaber hilt.
At the core of the lightsaber was a kyber crystal that Bridger obtained from the Jedi Temple on Lothal. This crystal was attuned to the Force. Besides the crystal, the lightsaber was constructed using a variety of components donated by members of the Ghost's rebel crew. Kanan Jarrus, Bridger's mentor, provided spare lightsaber parts he had collected over the preceding fifteen years. Sabine Wren, another member of the crew, contributed modulation circuits and an energy gate. C1-10P, an astromech droid known as Chopper, supplied a power cell. Hera Syndulla, the Ghost's owner and pilot, also offered technological components based on Bridger's specific requirements. These specifications included a blade emitter shroud, handgrip ridges, a blade length adjuster, an activator, and a blaster barrel. Additionally, some parts were secretly taken from Garazeb Orrelios's supplies.
The unusual double-bar design was dictated by the need to house the blaster components within the outer bar. This design was unconventional and untested, carrying a potential risk of short-circuiting at critical moments. Because Ezra had to learn how to assemble the entire weapon through experimentation, the blaster component was designed for easy removal to facilitate maintenance and repairs. It also included a low-power setting to prevent injuries during sparring sessions. In this mode, the blade changed to a different shade of blue and emitted a noticeably higher-pitched hum. The lightsaber was also engineered to allow for easy removal of its kyber crystal.
Five years prior to the Battle of Yavin, Bridger, who was then a street urchin on Lothal, became part of the Ghost's crew after discovering his Force-sensitive nature. Consequently, he agreed to be trained as a Jedi by Kanan Jarrus, a former Padawan who had survived the Jedi Order's destruction. They trained together, and Bridger's Force abilities developed rapidly. Later, on the fifteenth anniversary of the Galactic Empire's rise, Bridger inadvertently tapped into the dark side of the Force to protect Jarrus from the Jedi hunter known as the Grand Inquisitor.
After their escape, Jarrus guided Bridger to a Jedi Temple on Lothal, where Bridger's readiness for Jedi training was assessed through a series of trials. During these trials, Bridger confronted his fear of abandonment and received anonymous guidance from Jedi Master Yoda, who communicated with him from afar. The boy successfully completed the tests and was awarded a kyber crystal from within the temple, signifying his readiness to construct his own lightsaber. After several weeks of trial and error, using spare parts and technology from his crewmates, Bridger completed his lightsaber and unveiled it to his master before igniting it for the first time in front of the entire crew.
Kanan instructed Ezra in the use of the lightsaber for combat, often throwing rocks for Ezra to deflect. In total, Ezra failed to deflect 328 of the rocks. Initially, Ezra often relied on the lightsaber's blaster function in combat. However, he gradually began to use it more like a traditional lightsaber in later missions. During the mission to rescue Kanan, the lightsaber played a crucial role in defeating the Empire's Grand Inquisitor. Ezra lent his lightsaber to Kanan because the Inquisitor had taken his Master's lightsaber. During the battle, Ezra managed to retrieve Kanan's lightsaber from the Inquisitor to assist in the fight. After Ezra was incapacitated, Kanan wielded both his own and Ezra's lightsaber to defeat the Inquisitor.
During the Mission to Malachor, Kanan received a warning from C1-10P about an incoming TIE fighter while Ezra was exploring the secrets of the Sith temple. Ezra encountered the Sith Lord Darth Vader, who had arrived to claim the temple's power for his master. In the ensuing duel, Vader outmaneuvered Ezra by slashing and immediately destroying his lightsaber. Before Vader could deliver a fatal blow to Ezra, Ahsoka Tano intervened.
The first reveal of Ezra's lightsaber occurred in Star Wars Rebels: The Visual Guide, a reference book authored by Adam Bray. Further previews were provided in "Designing Star Wars Rebels," an article featured in Star Wars Insider 154. Its debut on the animated television series Star Wars Rebels took place in the episode "Path of the Jedi."