Master & Apprentice: Kanan Jarrus/Ezra Bridger VC Review

 

Sometimes, it's worth the wait. One of these figures is a serious contender for the best VC figure of 2024. The other one isn't bad, but compared to the other figure it's a let down. If you've seen Star Wars Rebels, you know that Kanan Jarrus was a survivor of Order 66, but he never completed his training. He would meet Ezra Bridger on the streets of Lothal after Ezra stole a cargo container Kanan and friends were attempting to steal. In the process of rescuing Wookiee slaves, Kanan outed himself as a Jedi as he ignited his lightsaber to save his friends and rescue the Wookiees. Ezra was able to play Kanan's holocron which had Obi-Wan Kenobi's warning to Jedi survivors to avoid Coruscant. The first 3.75 action figures were 5 POA versions, as you will see in the photos below: 

When compared to the VC versions you can see how much better the VC versions are. Only the 5 POA Ezra is from the first 2 seasons of Rebels, the VC Ezra, while from the Ahsoka series is Ezra as he appeared in seasons 3 & 4. Kanan in both versions is as he appeared in the first 2 seasons before being blinded by Maul in the Season 2 finale. Now that VC 2.0 is in its 6th year, not only do we finally have Rebels figures but the entire Ghost Crew, which will have the Ghost ship later this year, and will include Kanan, Ezra, Hera and Zeb is their looks from the final two seasons. Here is a look at the entire crew: 

From left to right: Droid Depot Chopper, VC Hera, VC Kanan, VC Zeb (Deluxe), VC Sabine (Deluxe) and VC Ezra. 

The sculpts on both figures are excellent. Ezra is from Ahsoka, specifically the hologram scene so his head sculpt resembles the actor who played him in the live action version. Kanan is a realistic interpretation of his animated appearance. Both have the standard 17 POA  however when it comes to full articulation range, Kanan has the full range as you'll see in the action poses below. A problem that the Sixer version of this Ezra figure had was linited hip articulation due to his holsters, but on the VC Ezra, it isn't a problem. Both figures are well balanced, and I didn't see any noticeable paint application errors on any figure. 

Moving the figures around is easy as the joints aren't too tight. But check out the 2nd solo photo of Kanan: that pose alone has him as my top VC figure of 2024. Easily! I'm not saying Ezra isn't a good figure, he is, but compared to Kanan, I just couldn't get the same articulation range with Ezra that I could with Kanan. For Kanan, a THWG is easy to do. It's harder for Ezra to do. But all the little details are done on both figures. From Ezra's lightsaber scars on his face, to Kanan's ponytail in the back: 

When it comes to accessories, both figures come with a blaster (Kanan has the Skiff Guard blaster, while Ezra has one similar to Han Solo) and both a lightsaber and unlit hilt. However the lightsabers I used for both figures in my photos are not the ones they came with. Both figures suffer from what I call "too short lightsaber syndrome" which began with Wandering Jedi Obi-Wan, and now to these two Jedi. Ezra uses the lightsaber that came with the Deluxe Sabine Wren since that is technically his lightsaber, as he gave it to her in the Rebels finale before leaving to confront Thrawn. For Kanan I used his lightsaber from the 5 POA figure (Randy in this case, 5 POA is okay, because it's a weapon swap!) as that lightsaber looks more like the one he used in the series. Check out the photos below: 

That last photo above was a pain in the @$$ to set up. Ezra tipped over and dropped the lightsaber, and it fell on the floor. Took me over 15 minutes to find it. For accessory storage you may want a small plastic bag. Kanan's holster keeps his blaster where you need it, Ezra's works well but I feel better keeping it in a small bag. But while blurry, you can see how both figures can get the THWG with the swapped lightsabers, and I was too lazy to set up a new shot. 

As far as definitive, these two figures fit the bill. If you backed The Ghost HasLab you'll be getting a similar Ezra figure, which I like since kid Ezra isn't my favorite. This Ezra can fit in any display and pairs well with Hera and Sabine. Kanan has his early seasons look down perfectly, if you wanted to add a lightsaber burn to his shoulder armor you'd get his look before being blinded down pat, and that lightsaber burn came from Vader, and I can assure you that despite not setting up an action shot with them (or Ezra with Maul) they can interact well with those figures. 

Now are they essential to your collection? Yes. Even if you only focus on the OT, Rebels is a great bridge into that era, just like Rogue One. If you didn't back The Ghost HasLab, these figures are good to have. Especially for me because I'm not opening my Mural Card figures. Since Hasbro likes to re-use bucks to make different characters, I could see Hasbro making a Kyle Katarn figure out of the Kanan buck, so that's a reason to get an extra Kanan if you're brave enough to attempt a custom. But the better news is this will hopefully lead to more Rebels figures. Like the Fifth Brother, Seventh Sister and both Imperial and Rebel versions of Kallus. I'm glad to finally get these two figures in my collection, and you should also consider to do the same, they're both worth it! 

Thanks for reading! A special thanks to Chris and Nomad at BanthaSkull for allowing me to post this link in the comments section! Please share this link on your social media accounts so I can get more readers!