List of Avatar: The Last Airbender characters

This is a list of significant characters from the Nickelodeon animated television series Avatar: The Last Airbender and its sequel The Legend of Korra, co-created by Bryan Konietzko and Michael Dante DiMartino, as well the live-action Avatar series. This list also includes characters from the comic continuations as well as the Kyoshi and Yangchen prequel novels by FC Yee and Michael Dante DiMartino.
In The Last Airbender, a fictional universe composed of four sovereign nations, some people are "benders" and can control air, fire, earth or water. Only the Avatar—a being who represents the bridge between the physical and spirit worlds—can master all four elements and thus bring balance to the land, but has been missing for the past 100 years. During this absence, a one hundred year-long world war started by the Fire Nation resulted in the Air Nomads' genocide, the near extinction of the Southern Tribes' waterbending population, and the Earth Kingdom's extensive forced displacement and colonization.
Character designs were originated from a series of drawings by one of the show's creators, Bryan Konietzko. The main sketch depicted a middle-aged monk with an arrow on his head and later included a flying bison as his pet. Konietzko's partner, Michael Dante DiMartino, was interested in documentaries related to the South Pole at the time. They combined these ideas and created the concept of an "air guy" and "water guys" trapped in a snowy wasteland, with "fire guys" invading them. Additionally, the writers based the characters' different bending abilities on distinct styles of martial arts.
The characters of Avatar: The Last Airbender were designed by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko, the co-creators of the series. The anime-styled character art was inspired by Shinichiro Watanabe's Cowboy Bebop, Samurai Champloo, and FLCL (Fooly Cooly) of Gainax. The original character conception was derived from a sketch by Bryan Konietzko that depicted a middle-aged balding man with an arrow on his head. Studios such as Studio 4°C, Production I.G, and Studio Ghibli, which produced anime-styled cartoons, were also sources of inspiration.
The greatest influences on the series were Asian art, culture and history; the characters' various personalities and traits are based on philosophical teachings such as Taoism and Buddhism. In the show, some characters have the ability to manipulate one of the four classic elements of ancient philosophy: Water, Earth, Fire and Air, although the Avatar has the ability to control all four. Each of these employ a different form of martial arts in their fighting choreography: tai chi for Waterbending, Hung Gar for Earthbending, Northern Shaolin for Firebending, and baguazhang for Airbending. These individual styles of martial arts also reflect on the personalities of the user and the nations as a whole. These starkly individual tendencies are explained in eighty-five distinct types of "Jings", or internal energy. For example: baguazhang employs the "negative jing" to create erratic circular movements and capitalizes on centripetal force and defensive positions; Northern Shaolin follows the "positive jing" and emphasizes brute strength and aggression to generate power; and Hung Gar uses the "neutral jing" in its ability to predict an opponent's movements and heavily relies on patience and reacting to the opponent's fighting accordingly.
The cultures of the four nations are also greatly influenced by East Asian and indigenous cultures. The Water Tribe is based on Inuit, Yupik, and Sirenik Eskimos cultures; the Fire Nation on Imperial China and Imperial Japan; the Air Nomads on Tibetan Buddhist monks, Tibetan culture, Buddhism and Hinduism; and the Earth Kingdom on Imperial China with Korean cultural influences.
Many of the recurring characters of the series have received traits based on the respective element. Aang is carefree and childlike, as is commonly attributed to "wonder" of the unknown, or the "freedom" of the wind and the air. As a spiritualist, a pacifist and a vegetarian, he is very Yin, hyper-attuned to the spirit world, and prefers non-violent alternatives to solving problems. Toph, despite being blind, is extremely perceptive of the world around her due to her connection to the Earth. Unlike Aang, she is extremely brusque when criticizing others, as attributed to Earth's toughness.
Avatar Aang (Chinese: 安昂; pinyin: Ān'áng) (voiced by Mitchel Musso in the unaired pilot, voiced by Zach Tyler Eisen in Avatar: The Last Airbender, D. B. Sweeney in Books One and Two of The Legend of Korra, portrayed by Noah Ringer in The Last Airbender, Gordon Cormier in the live-action series) is the protagonist of the original series and the current Avatar, a cyclically reincarnating being who maintains world balance. Aang often acts in a fun-loving, carefree manner. His pacifism and vegetarianism are primary traits of Buddhism. The creators intended Aang to "defeat enemies with his wits" and be a "trickster hero". Though Aang is often frivolous and enthusiastic, he becomes serious during a crisis. In the original series, Katara and Sokka rescue Aang from a century of suspended animation due to being frozen in an iceberg. Having already mastered his native Airbending, Aang learns Waterbending from Katara and later Pakku at the North Pole in Book One, Earthbending from Toph in Book Two, and Firebending from Zuko in Book Three. Throughout the series, Aang aids the Water Tribes and the Earth Kingdom, whom the Fire Nation has oppressed. Unwilling to kill Fire Lord Ozai despite the past Avatars insisting on it, Aang ultimately learns the ancient Lion-Turtles' technique of energybending, which allows the user to give or take away a person's bending, and uses it to render Ozai a non-bender. In The Legend of Korra, it is revealed that Aang, with the help of his friends, created the United Republic of Nations. He also married Katara and had three children, with his youngest son Tenzin restoring the Air Nomads while instructing the next Avatar, Korra. Like Roku before him, Aang appears at times before his reincarnation Korra, serving as a spiritual advisor, prior to their connection being destroyed by Unalaq.
Appa (阿柏; Ābǎi) (vocal effects provided by Dee Bradley Baker in the original animated series, Matthew Yang King in the live-action series) is Aang's male sky bison, animal guide and spirit companion. He is Aang's best friend and serves as the group's mode of transport around the world. He can fly and can use his tail to create powerful gusts of air. According to Aang, flying bisons were the first Airbenders. The show's creators, Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko, have described Appa's appearance as a cross between a bison and a manatee. He is known to shed his coat at the end of winter.
Momo (模模; Mómó) (vocal effects provided by Dee Bradley Baker in the original animated series, Matthew Yang King in the live-action-series) is the only known Winged Lemur. Avatar: The Last Airbender co-creator Bryan Konietzko admits that Momo is his favorite character to draw and that his body language is derived from memories of a childhood cat. Momo was introduced when Aang finds him at the Southern Air Temple and then keeps him as a pet. Although Momo has been in many dangerous situations while traveling with the protagonists, he has also been of aid to them and a source of comic relief throughout the series. According to the creators, Momo was intended to represent the spirit of Monk Gyatso, Aang's mentor. Momo is a cross between Bat and a Lemur and is the last of his kind in the show much like Appa (though it is possible based on the descriptions by the Pirate Captain in "The Waterbending Scroll" and by Tho in "The Swamp" that a few more of his kind may exist in captivity and circuses elsewhere in the Four Nations). Momo was introduced in the episode "The Southern Air Temple". In the episode, Aang finds Momo at the Southern Air Temple and then keeps him as a pet. After Momo eats a peach, Aang decides to name him Momo, which is Japanese for "peach" and the name of Tibetan dumplings.
Katara (卡塔拉; Kǎtǎlā) (voiced by Mae Whitman in the original series, Eva Marie Saint in Books One, Two, and Four of the sequel series, portrayed by Nicola Peltz in the live-action film, Kiawentiio in the live-action series) is a 14-year-old Waterbending master from the Southern Water Tribe, best friend and later wife of Avatar Aang, and Sokka's younger sister. In the original series, Katara is known to be very caring and compassionate while also having a strong determination to stand up against systems of oppression and injustice. While she may have been a relatively inexperienced Waterbender at the start of the series, by the end of Book One Katara manages to claim the title of "Waterbending Master" surpassing the skillset of Avatar Aang. Having left the Northern Water Tribe at the beginning of Book Two Katara continues to train Aang's as his teacher. In the episode "The Deserter" Katara learns that she possesses healing abilities, which she often uses to help her friends throughout the series. In addition to healing, Katara's abilities as a Waterbender range from temperature control, (turning water into ice shaped weapons such as spears, hooks, and blades as well as controlling steam) using streams of water to grab onto people and platforms, being able to manipulate the water in clouds, creating pockets of air in large bodies of water, being able to pull water from the air and plants, and the ability to control the water inside another living organism also known as Bloodbending. In The Legend Of Korra, Katara is revealed to have married Aang and had three children with him. It is also revealed that she becomes Avatar Korra's Waterbending teacher after the death of Aang.
Sokka (索卡; Suǒkǎ) (voiced by Jack DeSena in the original series, Chris Hardwick in the sequel series, portrayed by Jackson Rathbone in the live-action film, Ian Ousley in the live-action series) is a 15-year-old warrior of the Southern Water Tribe, and Katara's older brother. With no bending power of his own, Sokka relies largely on a metallic boomerang, a blunt metal club, a machete, and later a black jian, or sword, created from the metals of a meteorite. Surprisingly in an inhabitant of a mystical world, Sokka is an engineer and something of a jack-of-all-trades, in which respect he is easily able to understand the Fire Nation's advanced technology, and perfects the design of the hot air balloon. In addition, he is both heterodox and resourceful in his endeavors, and a source of comic relief throughout the series. Sokka was in love with the Northern Water Tribe princess Yue at the end of Book One and later shifted his affections to the Kyoshi Warriors' leader Suki in Books Two and Three. In the sequel series, flashbacks reveal Sokka was the first representative of the Southern Water Tribe to sit on the Republic City Council, and possibly its first chairman. He died a few years after Aang, when the next Avatar, Korra, was still a child.
Toph Beifong (北方拓芙; Běifāng Tuòfú) (voiced by Jessie Flower in Books Two and Three of the original series, voiced by Kate Higgins in flashbacks of Books One and Three from the sequel series, and by Philece Sampler in Book Four of the sequel series) is a blind and barefoot Earthbending grandmaster of the prestigious Beifong family in the Earth Kingdom. In the original series, Toph helps Aang master Earthbending. Toph is often sarcastic, direct, and confrontational; commonly depicted as the choleric and tomboy of the group. Though blind, Toph can feel vibrations in the earth. Through this heightened sense, she can identify people's locations, their distance from her, and their physical build. She learned this technique from the blind Badger Moles. This 'seismic sense' provides her with a distinct advantage when facing other Earthbenders in combat, as they require contact with the ground and extract rocks from their surroundings. As another result of her blindness, Toph has acute hearing, enabling her to recognize people by the sound of their voices and to eavesdrop on distant conversations. Unlike other Earthbenders, Toph has a distinct style of earthbending not based on Hung Gar but on the Southern Praying Mantis, featuring quick generation of energy and low kicks, to suit her small stature. Toph taught herself metalbending by manipulating the metals' impurities at the end of Book Two and throughout Book Three. In the sequel series, flashbacks reveal that Toph was the first Chief of the Metalbending Police Force, the police department of Republic City. Toph eventually became a single mother of two daughters: Lin, who eventually succeeded her mother as police chief, and Suyin, who founded a commune of free-thinking Earth and metalbenders known as Zaofu. By the time the series begins, having once lived with Suyin's family in Zaofu, Toph took residence in the Foggy Swamp where she assists Korra.
Zuko (祖寇; Zǔ Kòu) (voiced by Dante Basco in the original animated series, Bruce Davison in the sequel series, portrayed by Dev Patel in the live-action film, Dallas Liu in the live-action series) is the banished prince of the Fire Nation, who ultimately becomes Fire Lord. When exiled, prior to the beginning of the series, by his father Fire Lord Ozai for forfeiting an Agni Kai, a special firebending duel therewith, Zuko believed that capturing the Avatar would regain his honor. In addition to his firebending, Zuko is proficient in the use of double broadswords wielded in his alter ego of the "Blue Spirit".
Zuko's ancestry reflects his own anxieties, in that his paternal great-grandfather Fire Lord Sozin started the war while his maternal great-grandfather Avatar Roku attempted to prevent it.
In Book One, Zuko fails many times to capture the Avatar but disguises himself as the Blue Spirit and rescues Aang from Zhao's fortress. In Book Two, Zuko and his Uncle Iroh earn further displeasure from Ozai and Azula and they are subsequently forced to flee into the Earth Kingdom, where he befriends locals and goes so far as to rescuing them from corrupt Earth Army guards. When tempted by his sister Azula's offer of honor's restoration, he betrays his uncle to assist Azula's fight against the Avatar. In Book Three, Zuko eventually rejects his father Ozai's plans and joins Aang.
After he learns the secret of Firebending with Aang from two dragons, Zuko becomes Aang's Firebending teacher; helps Sokka rescue prisoners; assists Katara in confronting her mother's killer; and receives his uncle Iroh's forgiveness. After defeating Azula, Zuko becomes the new Fire Lord and ends the war.
The sequel series reveals that Fire Lord Zuko aided Avatar Aang reorganizing the Fire Nation's colonies in the Earth Kingdom as a United Republic of Nations and is the only one of Republic City's founders not to have lived there. After abdicating the throne in favor of his daughter Izumi while her son Iroh later serves as a general in the United Forces, Zuko travels the world as an ambassador for peace and keeping major threats in check while Aang's reincarnation Korra is still a child.
Suki (蘇琪; Sū Qí) (voiced by Jennie Kwan in the animated series, portrayed by Maria Zhang in the live-action series) is the leader of the exclusively female Kyoshi Warriors, a sect established by the Avatar incarnation of the same name. She is an exceptionally skilled fighter, first meeting Team Avatar when they visited her home of Kyoshi Island, where she captured the intruders. She also humiliated Sokka, causing him to change his chauvinistic ways, eventually striking up a friendship as she taught him how to fight. The two later reunited in Book Two, where she and Sokka began to date.
Later in Book Two, Suki and the Kyoshi Warriors encountered and fought Azula, after which they were defeated and imprisoned. She was liberated by Sokka and Zuko in Book Three, and remained with the protagonists thereafter.
Suki joined Toph and Sokka to disable the Fire Nation's air force. The other Kyoshi Warriors were released after the war and allowed Ty Lee to join them. She later served with Ty Lee to serve as Zuko's bodyguards after the war ended, reuniting with Sokka on several occasions.
Uncle Iroh (艾洛; Aìluò) (voiced by Mako in Books One and Two of the original series, Greg Baldwin in Book Three of the original series and Books Two and Three of the sequel series, portrayed by Shaun Toub in the live-action film, Paul Sun-Hyung Lee in the live-action series), also known as General Iroh and "The Dragon of the West", is a Firebending master and former heir to the Fire Nation throne. After the death of his son at the Siege of Ba Sing Se, his younger brother Ozai superseded him as Fire Lord.
Unlike most firebenders, Iroh lacks hostility toward other nations and generates his fire and lightning not from fury, as is conventional, but from an understanding of fire as a source of life-giving energy. He learned this from the dragons, the original source of firebending, and protected them from being discovered by stating (falsely) that he killed the last remaining dragons. As a member of the Order of the White Lotus, Iroh has social connections throughout the Four Nations. Iroh is outwardly easy-going and friendly and particularly fond of food, good tea (ginseng tea is his favorite), the strategy game Pai Sho, cheerful company, and pleasant music.
In his old age, he focuses more on relaxation and amusements than on the pursuit of the Avatar, a habit that clashes with the obsessions of his nephew Zuko. At the end of the series, after enlisting his fellow White Lotus members to release Ba Sing Se from the Fire Nation's rule, Iroh reopened his tea shop within the city called "The Jasmine Dragon".
In The Legend of Korra sequel series, near the end of his life, Iroh left his physical body and his soul ascended into the Spirit World where he offers his assistance to Aang's reincarnation Korra, and later to Aang's children Tenzin, Kya, and Bumi during their initial visits to the Spirit World. Iroh is also the namesake of Zuko's grandson.
Azula (阿祖拉; Ā Zǔ Lā) (voiced by Grey DeLisle in Books Two and Three of the animated series, portrayed by Summer Bishil in the live-action film, Elizabeth Yu in the live-action series) is Zuko's younger sister and a gifted Firebending master and prodigy, capable of creating blue fire and lightning. After Zhao's death, Azula is sent by Ozai to capture the Avatar, Zuko, and Iroh. Her amorality and ability to act without hesitation or remorse also accounts for her ability to create lightning, a skill that requires peace of mind. Despite her cruel temperament, she becomes distraught when abandoned by her friends Mai and Ty Lee, and collapses mentally when her father leaves her the now-worthless position of Fire Lord, in which she becomes increasingly irrational, paranoid, and mentally unstable, and ultimately suffers a full psychotic breakdown, in which she is overcome by Zuko and Katara. Following the end of the war, Azula is placed at a mental institution to be closely monitored. As revealed in the comic sequel, The Search, Azula managed to convince Zuko to let her accompany him in the search for their mother. But in reality, her madness tied to the hatred she bears towards her mother, Azula's reasons were to eliminate Ursa upon finding a letter that claimed Zuko to be only her half-brother and thus making her the legitimate heir to the throne. But after her attempt to kill her mother failed, and unable to accept Zuko still caring for her after everything she had done to him, Azula fled into the Forgetful Valley before the letter's contents were later revealed to be false.
Fire Lord Ozai (voiced by Mark Hamill in the animated series, portrayed by Cliff Curtis in the live-action film, Daniel Dae Kim in the live-action series) is the ruler of the Fire Nation, Azulon and IIah's second son, General Iroh's younger brother, Zuko and Azula's father, and the main antagonist of the series. He is often depicted as unnecessarily cruel and callous as well as hot-tempered, such as when he is seen scarring Zuko's face and banishing him for perceived disrespect during a flashback in "The Storm". Ozai shows Azula favor, but only due to her skill as a prodigy and being an embodiment of his ideals rather than any genuine love. Having welcomed his son home after Azula lied to him that Zuko killed Aang, Ozai is furious to learn of the Avatar's survival. When Sozin's Comet draws near, Ozai renames himself 'Phoenix King' and embarks to destroy the Earth Kingdom, entrusting an unstable Azula with their homeland. Defeated by Aang, Ozai is stripped of his ability to firebend and imprisoned.
Avatar Korra (寇拉; Kòulā) (voiced by Janet Varney and by Cora Baker as a child) is the immediate reincarnation of Aang from the original series. Athletic, confident, tomboyish and headstrong, Korra fully embraces and relishes her role as the Avatar, but lacked in spiritual development. Over the course of the series, Korra battles foes, both within and outside herself, as she tries to keep the world in balance. She overcomes having her bending removed by Amon, having her connection to her past lives severed by Unalaq and Vaatu, suffering posttraumatic stress disorder due to Zaheer's mercury poisoning, and having her position as world peacekeeper usurped by the military dictator Kuvira. Korra is especially notable in the Avatar franchise for connecting with the first Avatar Wan and starting a new Avatar cycle.
Korra was designed to be an inversion of Aang. Said DiMartino, "We also wanted to explore an Avatar who was the exact opposite of peaceful Aang, so we chose a hot-headed teenage girl from the Water Tribe. Her 'punch first and ask questions later' attitude opened up a whole new world of story possibilities." Korra's design was a collaboration between Konietzko, co-executive producer Joaquim Dos Santos and supervising producer Ki-Hyun Ryu. Four-year-old Korra was designed by Ryu. For Korra's look and attitude, the designers took reference from mixed martial artist Gina Carano as well as competitive female snowboarders.
Naga (voiced by Dee Bradley Baker) is a female polar bear-dog that belongs to Avatar Korra as her loyal animal companion and main form of transportation. Historically, polar bear-dogs were feared and hunted by the Water Tribe, and Korra is the only person to have ever befriended one. Naga is very protective of Korra, and uses her strength to help Korra out of trouble. The story of how Korra and Naga met is featured in the first official The Legend of Korra comic, published by Dark Horse Comics for 2016 Free Comic Book Day.
Naga was first revealed at the 2011 The Legend of Korra San Diego Comic-Con panel. Naga's design is based on a hybrid of a polar bear and a golden retriever. One of the three original concepts for Avatar: The Last Airbender, Naga was first developed in 2002 as a sketch of a bipedal polar bear-dog creature by co-creator Bryan Konietzko. The creators never found a place for the character in the first series, but brought her back as Korra's companion as they wanted Korra to have an animal mode of transport, and the original sketch was remodeled after the co-creators' dogs.
Mako (馬高; Mǎ Gāo) (voiced by David Faustino) is a firebender who grew up on the streets of Republic City as an orphan with his younger brother, Bolin. Forced to take on adult responsibilities at a young age, Mako is cynical and serious. Physically, Mako is tall, lean and handsome. Mako is Korra's love interest during the first two seasons, but they decide in the season 2 finale "Light in The Dark" that they are better off as friends. Mako is level-headed and fiercely loyal, and as the series progresses, he becomes someone his brother and friends can always rely on.
The final design for Mako was done by supervising producer Ki-Hyun Ryu. The character was named after the late Mako Iwamatsu, the original voice actor of Iroh in the first two seasons of Avatar: The Last Airbender.
Bolin (愽林; Bó Lín) (voiced by P. J. Byrne) is an earthbender who grew up on the streets of Republic City as an orphan with his older brother, Mako. Despite his tough childhood, Bolin is high-spirited, easy-going, optimistic, and has a somewhat childlike and naive view of the world. Physically, he is stocky and muscular. Bolin acts as the comic relief of the show, and is constantly underestimated by those around him. In the season 3 episode "Enter the Void", Bolin discovers he can lavabend, a rare earthbending technique. Loyal and brave, Bolin matures throughout the series and tries to help others in ways other than fighting.
The idea for Bolin and Mako's characters came from the creators desire to include a story about brothers in the series. They were also meant to illustrate how cultures had blended in Republic City, with their late mother and father hailing from the Fire Nation and Earth Kingdom respectively. Bolin's character was inspired by the original concept of Toph Beifong, who was going to be a male character Konietzko described as "kind of a big, not sharpest tool in the shed." When Toph's character was changed to a young girl, the creators still had many ideas for the male earthbender, which they implemented into Bolin. The final design for Bolin was done by supervising producer Ki-Hyun Ryu. Bolin is voiced by P.J. Byrne. Bryne related to the character as he explained, "I'm a people person, I'm a peoplely people, and I think that's what my character is."
Pabu (voiced by Dee Bradley Baker) is a mischievous male fire ferret who Bolin rescued from a local pet store. The story of how Mako and Bolin come to adopt Pabu is featured in the Nickelodeon three-part web series Republic City Hustle.
Pabu was first revealed at the 2011 The Legend of Korra San Diego Comic-Con panel. Pabu was designed by Konietzko, and is based on a hybrid of a red panda and a black-footed ferret. The original inspiration for Pabu was Futa, the "seemingly-bipedal red panda who had captured the adoration of the Japanese public" years ago during the production of Avatar: The Last Airbender.
Asami Sato (Japanese: 佐藤麻美, Hepburn: Satō Asami) (voiced by Seychelle Gabriel) is the nonbender only child of wealthy industrialist Hiroshi Sato. After her Equalist father was imprisoned following the events of season 1, she took over his company, Future Industries.
Although the well-mannered Asami grew up in a life of luxury, she also has a tough side. She is an expert driver and has been trained in self-defense since she was a child. She often uses an electrified chi-blocker glove for combat. As the only nonbender in Team Avatar, Asami compensates for this with her mastery of hand-to-hand combat, mechanic skills, and tech savvy. Throughout the series, she invents various weapons, devices and modes of transportation the team uses. Later on in the series, she becomes Korra's closest confidant and eventual girlfriend.
The idea for the character of Asami came later in the development process. Said DiMartino, "Once we had the idea for a nonbender revolution, we knew we'd need a character who wasn't a bender." Originally conceived to be an Equalist spy, DiMartino and Konietzko ended up liking the character so much that they decided to keep her on Team Avatar. Konietzko had previously had difficulty drawing women and chose to design Asami by himself, wanting a challenge. According to Konietzko, Asami's design was his "idea of a Hollywood Golden Age actress in the Avatar world," and her hair was inspired by that of 1940s actress Rita Hayworth.
Tenzin (丹增; Dān Zēng, Tibetan: བསྟན་འཛིན་; Bstan 'Ẑin) (voiced by J. K. Simmons) is the youngest child of Avatar Aang and Katara, and the couple's only airbending child. Tenzin is a traditionalist who works hard to protect and pass on Air Nomad teachings and culture. He embodies the peaceful, calm, spiritual nature of the Air Nomads. At the start of the series, he was the only airbending master in the world and thus served as Avatar Korra's airbending teacher and spiritual guide. Tenzin, however, had to undergo a lot of spiritual growth himself, facing his insecurities of living in his father's shadow. Tenzin and his wife Pema have four children: Jinora, Ikki, Meelo and Rohan.
Tenzin is the biggest link to Avatar Aang and the original series. On the conception of Tenzin's character, DiMartino said, "He was probably the second character we came up with after Korra. Since Korra would have to learn airbending, who would be better to teach it to her than Aang's son? His peaceful, traditionalist personality also provide a good source of conflict for the hotheaded, modern-thinking Korra." Tenzin's final design was done by supervising producer Ki-Hyun Ryu.
Lin Beifong (北方琳; Běifāng Lín) (voiced by Mindy Sterling and by Grey DeLisle when young) is the Chief of Police of Republic City's metalbender police force, the daughter of Toph Beifong, and the older half-sister of Suyin Beifong. A play on the "tough cop trope", Lin is tough and uncompromising, but also loyal and brave.
Although her mother taught Avatar Korra's previous incarnation, Aang, how to earthbend, Lin displayed no affection toward her when they first met, instead seeing Korra's arrival as a threat to her authority and to the rule of law she's worked hard to enforce. Lin's feelings toward Korra improves as the series progresses, and she would do anything to protect the Avatar from danger. In season 1, Lin and Tenzin work through their strained relationship caused by their past romance, and Lin ultimately helps save Tenzin's family from The Equalists. Lin's estranged relationship with her mother and half-sister is explored in seasons 3 and 4. In the season 3 episode "The Metal Clan", Lin and her sister Suyin meet again for the first time in 30 years. It is revealed in the following episode, "Old Wounds", that Suyin was the one who gave Lin her distinctive facial scars. The sisters eventually reconciled after a duel. In the season 4 episode "Operation Beifong", Lin reveals that she still harbors a lot of anger over Toph's decision not to reveal the identity of her father to her. After 20 years apart, the estranged mother and daughter finally reconcile after admitting their flaws. Zach Blumenfeld of Paste magazine described Lin's story as one that "unfolds beautifully over the course of The Legend of Korra," noting that "she balances the female strength that pervades the Avatar universe with the very real loneliness that tends to arise when people prioritize their careers over personal relationships."
Lin's character design was partly inspired by Han Young Ja, a longtime friend and colleague of Konietzko and DiMartino. Elements of her design also came from Marlene Dietrich as the creators wanted her "to have a tough and natural beauty". Lin's design was collaborated on by DiMartino and Joaquim Dos Santos.
Jinora (voiced by Kiernan Shipka) is an airbender and astral projectionist. She is the first child and eldest daughter of Tenzin and Pema and the granddaughter of Katara and Avatar Aang. She has a major role since season 2. Unlike her rambunctious siblings, Jinora is a reasonable and disciplined airbender who takes her spiritual duties seriously. Unlike her father, Jinora has a natural affinity for spirits and is able to communicate with the spirits in the Spirit World from the physical world. In season 2, when Korra needed to enter the Spirit World to close the spirit portals before Harmonic Convergence, Jinora became Avatar Korra's guide into the Spirit World. In the season 3 finale "Venom of the Red Lotus", Jinora leads the new airbenders in creating a giant cyclone and she saves Korra, earning her airbending tattoos and the title airbending master from her father, assuming a permanent leadership role in the new Air Nomads. She entered a romantic relationship with Kai on season 4. Jinora is capable of astral projection, an advanced airbending technique combined with spirituality; when using this ability, her spirit is capable of teleportation. She can also track down people by locking on to their energy.
Oliver Sava of The A.V. Club described Jinora's role in the series as being very similar to Katara's in the original Avatar series: "a sweet, but powerful bending master in the early throes of puberty. (That connection is accentuated by her romance with Kai, who is clearly carved from the Aang mold.)"
The Avatar Cycle follows the cycles of the seasonal order of Earth's climate, as each element represents a season: Winter (Water), Spring (Earth), Summer (Fire) and Fall (Air).
Appearing Avatar: The Last Airbender
Appearing in The Kyoshi's Novels
Appearing in The Legend of Korra
Never seen
The Legend of Korra introduced the concept of dark spirits, spirits who have become unbalanced due to the influence of the spirit of darkness and chaos, Vaatu. Co-creator Bryan Konietzko designed how the spirits would look in various states: in the 'dark' state, they were "rough and jagged...with deep, jewel-like colors on the body and a bright pattern for the face"; in 'neutral' state, they were "smoother and less menacing"; and in 'light' state, their colors were a "negative image" of the 'dark' state.
After the events of season 2 of The Legend of Korra, spirits become a more regular fixture in the series, often seen floating around in the background. Co-executive producer Joaquim Dos Santos noted that some of the spirit designs were inspired by the works of Studio Ghibli, while "others were just a fun way for the designers to cut loose and create with a sense of whimsy."
Appearing in Avatar: The Last Airbender
The Legend of Korra
The United Republic of Nations is a sovereign state founded by Avatar Aang and Fire Lord Zuko after the events of the original series as a haven for immigrants from all four nations. Its capital is the 1920s-inspired metropolis, Republic City. Its inhabitants were designed to reflect the multiculturalism of the city, such as firebender Mako and earthbender Bolin, brothers whose late mother and father hailed from the Fire Nation and Earth Kingdom respectively.
The Legend of Korra
Appearing in Avatar: The Last Airbender
Appearing in The Legend of Korra
The Fire Nation is a highly industrialized absolute monarchy ruled by the Fire Lord. One hundred years prior to the events of the series, Fire Lord Sozin declared war on all other regions under the pretense of sharing the Fire Nation's prosperity with the rest of the world, criminalizing dissent in the process. Despite their altruistic claims, the Fire Nation actually adheres to a supremacist ideology, viewing fire above all other elements and treating other benders as second-class citizens, indoctrinating residents to accept this worldview from childhood via propaganda campaigns in state-sponsored entertainment and education. By the start of the series, they have conquered a substantial portion of the world, forming a giant empire that allows them to constantly pursue Aang and his friends during his journey to master the four elements.
After ascending to the throne, Fire Lord Zuko strips away Sozin and Ozai's ideology from Fire Nation society, reversing a century's worth of indoctrination and reorganizing the Fire Nation as a peaceful world power.
Appearing in Avatar: The Last Airbender
Appearing in The Legend of Korra
Appearing in Avatar: The Last Airbender
Appearing in The Legend of Korra
Before the genocide, airbenders were a diverse and migratory people united by the Four Air Temples. The Four Air Temples were self-governed by a unitary pseudo-ecclesiastical adhocratic senate, known as the Councils of Elders. Composed of wise airbending masters, they had limited authority in their respective temples; they served as counsel for its citizens and airbending instructors. Except for Air Temple Island, sex segregation was par norm; the Northern and Southern Air Temple branches were exclusively male, while the Eastern and Western Air Temple branches were exclusively female.
After the genocide, to preserve the culture of the extinct Air Nomads, Avatar Aang founded the Air Acolytes; the group primarily consisted of Earth Kingdom non-benders that would uphold Air Nomad philosophies and traditions. After the acolytes' formation, the air temples were each administered by abbots and abbesses. Following harmonic convergence-event of 171 AG, Tenzin, by virtue of being the world's most senior airbending master, continued to have a say in global affairs as the figurehead of the Air Nation. He continued to reside on Air Temple Island branch.
Appearing in Avatar: The Last Airbender
Appearing in The Legend of Korra
Zaofu is an autonomous city state. A progressive metalbending city, it is the home of the Metal Clan and was founded and governed by the Beifong family. Considered the safest and most prosperous city in the world, the settlement is constructed entirely out of metal alloys and protective platinum domes.
The White Lotus is an international organization of teachers, philosophers, and warriors, who value knowledge and wisdom above nationality. Their name comes from the White Lotus tile, a low-ranking piece in the game of Pai Sho, which is the most common form of communication among members. Iroh is among the highest-ranking members, and hints of the Order are dropped throughout the series through his actions. Iroh, a Grand Lotus, eventually calls the entirety of the Order to reveal themselves and liberate Ba Sing Se during the events of "Sozin's Comet".
In The Legend of Korra, the White Lotus has expanded to act as an elite international police force among the Four Nations, while also taking responsibility for finding, guiding and defending the next Avatar, a task previously the responsibility of internal sages within each Nation. However, it would cause a division among its ranks with those disillusioned forming the anarchistic Red Lotus.
The Red Lotus is an anarchist splinter faction of the Order of the White Lotus that appears during the events of "The Legend of Korra" as the main antagonists of season 3. Disillusioned with the White Lotus doctrine and founded during Korra's childhood, former White Lotus member Xai Bau founded the Red Lotus on the ideal that chaos is the natural order of things and that all the world's existing power structures must dismantle. To achieve this "true freedom", the Red Lotus planned to eliminate world leaders and end the Avatar cycle. It is revealed in the season 3 episode "The Stakeout", that the Red Lotus attempted to kidnap Korra when she was a child and use her to release Vaatu: a scheme their former member Unalaq carried out to his own design. After being released when Zaheer manifested airbending abilities, the Red Lotus seek to capture Korra and kill her in the Avatar state to end the Avatar cycle. Though they failed, the Red Lotus's actions caused a power vacuum in the Earth Kingdom with the murder of the Earth Queen in the episode "Long Live the Queen".
Creating and writing for the Red Lotus was "a blast" said co-creator Bryan Konietzko, "[Michael Dante DiMartino], Tim Hedrick, Joshua Hamilton, and I got to dream up a team of baddies who represented each of the four elements, but with rare and deadly skills."
First encountered in "Jet", this rag-tag group led by the episode's namesake operates in the forests of the Earth Kingdom. The group consists of its leader Jet and his subordinates Pipsqueak, Smellerbee, Longshot, the Duke, and Sneers.
The Equalists are an anti-bender revolutionary group based in Republic City that evolved into a full-blown terrorist organization under the leadership from Amon, and weapons supplied by Hiroshi Sato. Their ultimate goal was to create equality for all by eradicating bending altogether. According to The Equalists, nonbenders are systemically oppressed by benders in Republic City, where bending grants greater social power and nonbenders must work substantially harder in order to succeed. The Equalists used electrified chi-blocker gloves so as to even the playing field between them and benders. Although they were defeated at the end of season 1, The Equalists movement resulted in the dissolution of the non-elected City Council, with nonbender Raiko becoming the first democratically elected president of the United Republic of Nations after being elected by the nonbending majority.
Bryan Konietzko and Joaquim Dos Santos did the character designs for The Equalists, including their leader, Amon. According to Dos Santos, the design for the Equalist chi-blockers did not come easy and was only approved after 20 to 30 different takes.
The characters of Avatar: The Last Airbender received praise from reviewers. Troy Island Mell, of IGN, felt that the story "would [not] be anywhere near as good as it is without its ability to create such strong characters". In particular, Mell enjoyed the development of Katara and Zuko throughout the first season, but thought that Zuko's relationship with his uncle was not "very organic." Jamie S. Rich of DVDTalk generally agreed with Mell's assessment of the characters. Rich also praised the fact that, unlike many cartoon television series, Avatar introduces antagonists that have a deep backstory and "are [not] just evil for the sake of it".
Jeremy Mullin, another IGN reviewer, felt that the characters were not brilliantly done, though he noted that they introduced some drama and romantic tension usually not found on Nickelodeon, especially between Aang and Katara. Lair of the Green Knight and DVD Verdict also enjoyed the romantic tension, focusing mainly on the female cast: Katara, Toph, and Azula, as well as the two minor characters, Mai and Ty Lee. Fitz at Lair of the Green Knight lauded the decision to not stereotypically fashion the women into the "usual weak female characters" but to instead give them "strong opinions and strength". IGN also compared character relationships, complimenting "Sokka and Princess Yue's forbidden love" while criticizing Iroh and Zuko's relationship as not being executed properly. DVDVerdict felt that some minor characters, especially Mai and Ty Lee, were "love em' or hate em'" characters. Gabriel Powers of DVDActive thought that while the characters fit into neat "archetypes", it was not a bad thing and fit well with the series.
In 2008, Avatar: The Last Airbender was awarded a Peabody for its "unusually complex characters". This makes the cartoon one of few animations to win the award and the only one to be cited for its character development.
M. Night Shyamalan originally offered the roles of Aang to Noah Ringer; Sokka to Jackson Rathbone; Katara to Nicola Peltz; and Zuko to Jesse McCartney. In selecting Nicola Peltz, Shyamalan commented that he did not want to make The Last Airbender without her, saying that "I said that only once before in my career, and that was when I met Haley in The Sixth Sense auditions." In February 2009, Dev Patel replaced McCartney, whose tour dates conflicted with a boot camp scheduled for the cast to train in martial arts.
The casting of all-white actors for main protagonist roles in the live-action, Asian-influenced film triggered a negative reaction which was marked by accusations of racism, a letter-writing campaign, and a protest outside of a Philadelphia casting call for movie extras. Jackson Rathbone dismissed the complaints in an interview with MTV, saying, "I think it's one of those things where I pull my hair up, shave the sides, and I definitely need a tan. It's one of those things where, hopefully, the audience will suspend disbelief a little bit." Shaun Toub, who plays Iroh, also defended the casting choices. He noted that "if they would have put all Asians in a certain nation, I think then there would be people who come out and said, 'Well, now you're stereotyping, saying that anything that has to do with martial arts has to do with Asians and chop suey and all that.' So it's nice to mix it up and just do the unexpected."
Movie critic Roger Ebert was one of the critical voices against the casting decision. When asked about selection of primarily white actors to portray the characters, he said, "The original series Avatar: The Last Airbender was highly regarded and popular for three seasons on Nickelodeon. Its fans take it for granted that its heroes are Asian. Why would Paramount and Shyamalan go out of their way to offend these fans? There are many young Asian actors capable of playing the parts." Jevon Phillips of the Los Angeles Times noted that despite Shyamalan's attempts to defuse the situation, the issue will "not fade away or be overlooked", and that this film exemplifies the need for a debate within Hollywood about racial diversity in its films. Popular Korean cartoonist Derek Kirk Kim reacted to the film's casting by comparing it to a hypothetical film which depicts white actors wearing traditional African clothing and eating traditional African food in traditional African huts. Shyamalan, however, countered that "this movie, and then the three movies, will be the most culturally diverse tentpole movies ever released."