Warden (prison rig)

:This article is about the warden in charge of the prison rig. For other similar uses, see Warden (disambiguation).
The warden was the cruel administrator of a Fire Nation prison rig in the Earth Kingdom that was specially designed to confine earthbenders. He saw the prisoners as savage and barbaric, and loved taunting them and mocking their bending to eradicate their morale and suppress any thoughts of rebellion. He used brutal punishments to maintain order, and constantly abused the people under his command, even the guards, and did not hesitate to take extreme measures when he felt that someone disrespected him.
== History ==
=== Controlling the prison rig ===
The warden acted as the overseer of the Mo Ce Sea prison rig, which doubled as a shipyard, since at least 94 AG, when Tyro arrived as a prisoner. As a result of his tyrannical behavior, the warden was unpopular both amongst the prisoners as well as the guards, though he was also very effective at preventing any open opposition.
After Katara purposely let herself be captured in late 99 AG, she and the other prisoners were brought to the rig, where they were personally greeted by the warden himself. He re-framed the situation as a positive one, telling the prisoners to look at him as their "humble and caring host", with whom they would get along if they did whatever they were told. However, he exposed his true colors when an elderly prisoner coughed during his speech, at which point the warden firebent at the man's feet and sentenced him to a week of solitary confinement. The warden gave the other arrivals a tour of the shipyard, emphasizing the fact that the structure was built entirely of metal, and thus they could not escape by bending it. He parted ways with them at the entrance of the prison yard.
Not long after, the warden witnessed from atop the prison walls Katara's attempt to rile the earthbenders into a rebellion. Though his soldiers moved to stop the waterbender from speaking, he stopped them and allowed her to finish, retreating with a pleased smile on his face as the earthbenders did not have the heart to react.
That night, two patrol guards reported to the warden that they thought they had seen a flying bison pass over the prison rig. However, the warden started to lose his patience when one of the guards opted that it looked more like a buffalo. When the captain stated that it was irrelevant to know if it was a buffalo or a bison, the warden angrily threw the man off the rig. Nonetheless, he ordered the remaining soldier to commence a search of the entire facility. Despite their best efforts, however, his guards could not prevent a series of sabotage acts in the prison rig's industrial area.
=== Rebellion ===
In the morning, the guards discovered Sokka at the prisoners' quarter, believing him to be the intruder. The warden confronted him and Katara, threatening them to give up as they would otherwise be killed on the spot. In a last attempt to inspire the earthbenders, Aang managed to provide them with the rig's coal supply, but much to the amusement of the warden, the earthbenders cowered back. The warden reprimanded Katara for her foolish attempts to change the hearts of the captured benders, pointing out how their spirits had been broken long before her arrival.
As he confidently retreated, he was hit on the back of the head by a piece of coal fired at him by Haru. Enraged, he retaliated with two powerful fire streams, but they were blocked by a wall of coal created by Tyro. Realizing that he had a prison revolt on his hands, he ordered his soldiers to show no mercy in putting the prisoners down. However, the advantage of the firebenders and guards had disappeared now that there was a bendable substance on the prison yard, and the earthbenders, with help from Team Avatar, soon managed to gain the upper hand. Tyro, Haru, and a third earthbender created a bed of coal underneath the warden, levitated him off of the metal island and prepared to drop him into the water below, much to the warden's fear as he proclaimed that he could not swim. Tyro taunted that he heard cowards float before dropping them in the sea.
The warden survived, and was able to get back onto the prison rig. Though all prisoners had been able to escape, he subsequently attempted to restore some order on the rig and restart its industrial production. In this regard, the warden was aided by Prince Zuko who arrived at the platform shortly after the mass breakout, seeking clues on the Avatar's whereabouts. Not long after the prince had left to continue his quest, the prison rig was attacked. Tyro had organized the former prisoners and other volunteers into a militia and was determined to put an end to the rig's operations for good. A battle for the platform erupted, and though the warden's forces lost control of the lower sections, they were able to keep control of the upper levels thanks to reinforcements by the Fire Nation military.
Instead of overseeing the fighting, the warden left his subordinates Goro and Juro in charge of the frontline. In addition, he took the most powerful and brutal firebenders from the reinforcements as his personal bodyguards, and barricaded himself in the prison's headquarters. Ultimately, Tyro's rebels were reinforced by Boqin's Earth Kingdom Army unit, allowing them to break through the Fire Nation defenses. As the Earth Kingdom forces approached the steel bridge to the headquarters, the warden was waiting and began taunting them. Infuriated, Boqin's soldiers stormed the bridge, only for the warden to trigger explosives and destroy it. He then gloated on how easy it was to deceive earthbenders before retreating into his headquarters. Soon after, the rebels constructed an earth bridge to finally confront the cruel overseer. By then, he had rallied his remaining forces to defend himself. When the warden's forces were defeated in the following battle, the warden screamed his disbelief about being bested until he was knocked out by Tyro. Later, however, he was able to escape from the scene and collected a few holdouts. Alongside these last loyal guards, he tried to hide from Boqin's soldiers who had taken control of most of the prison rig.
== Personality ==
The warden was a brutal, heartless man whose prisoners and guards suffered due to his cynical methods of operating the facility, as shown as when he decided to punish one prisoner for merely coughing during his speech, when he threw the rig's captain overboard for believing the difference between a buffalo and a bison to be irrelevant, and when he threatened to kill Katara when she planned the revolt of the prisoners. He was cruel, merciless, and intolerant of any nonsense or rebellion, taking pleasure in belittling and ridiculing his prisoners, crushing their morale, and shattering their resolve. When facing defeat, however, the warden displayed a more cowardly side, begging for mercy before being dropped into the ocean. Similarily, he opted to barricade himself alongside powerful bodyguards during the later stages of the battle for the prison rig, leaving the fighting at the frontline to his subordinates.
The warden was convinced of the Fire Nation's superiority over the other nations, and often used ethnic slurs when talking about Earth Kingdom natives. He also displayed a general contempt for earthbending, referring to it as "brutish savagery that passes for bending". He expressed the belief that Fire Lord Ozai was destined to bring order to the world.
== Abilities ==
The warden possessed firebending abilities strong enough to shoot many fire blasts in succession without tiring. In battle, he provoked his adversaries by stripping away their advantages.
== Appearances ==
=== Avatar: The Last Airbender ===
==== Book One: Water (水) ====
=== Avatar games ===
* Avatar: Generations
== References ==
de:Oberaufseher
es:Alcaide (prisión plataforma)
fr:Directeur (Plate-forme de prison)
nl:Cipier (Gevangen)
uk:Начальник в'язниці
ru:Надзиратель
Category:A to Z
Category:Avatar: Generations characters
Category:Characters
Category:Fire Nation characters
Category:Firebenders
Category:Minor characters
Category:Soldiers