Cabbage Corp

Cabbage Corp is a company producing motor vehicles and other technologies, founded by Cai, a cabbage merchant, and later owned by his son, Lau Gan-Lan. It is one of the largest companies of the world and a major rival to Future Industries.The Rift Library Edition commentary, page 182. Cabbage Corp's most famous automobile model is the Cabbage Car, a cheaper, more compact alternative to Future Industries' various Satomobile models. The company is also the airship supplier for the Earth Kingdom Air Force.
== History ==
=== Beginnings ===
As General Old Iron prepared to attack the village around the Earthen Fire Refinery, the villagers needed to evacuate, Cai being one of them. While leaving his Cabbage Delicacies Bistro, Cai noticed Satoru driving his forklift and, with an inspired look in his eyes, exclaimed what a remarkable machine it was. After the conclusion of the battle between Avatar Aang and the ancient spirit, Cai approached Satoru and asked if he was the one who built the forklift. This event inspired Cai to devote himself to technology, and he used the profits from his Cabbage Delicacies Bistro to fund his new interests.Avatar: The Last Airbender Cookbook: Official Recipes from the Four Nations, p. 69.
This ultimately resulted in Cai founding Cabbage Corp, dedicated to selling consumer and commercial machinery, as well as cabbages, at affordable prices. Under his leadership, it became one of the most prominent companies in the world. Cabbage Corp later became a rival to Future Industries. By design, the quality and costs of this company's products were lower than at Future Industries. The company marketed to the average consumer in the city, which meant that their products were affordable, but lower-quality and less durable.
=== 170 AG ===
Following the Equalists' attack on the Pro-bending Arena, the Metalbending Police Force was informed that Cabbage Corp was manufacturing Equalist weaponry. Soon after receiving the information, the police force searched one of Cabbage Corp's warehouses and discovered crates filled with Equalist propaganda and electrified gloves. Lin Beifong soon arrested Lau Gan-Lan outside the company's headquarters and ordered the shutdown of Cabbage Corp in front of a crowd of reporters and journalists. However, it was later discovered that Hiroshi Sato framed the company in an attempt to conceal from the authorities the fact that he had been the one manufacturing the Equalists' weaponry. After Hiroshi was incarcerated, Cabbage Corp resumed its operations, providing low-cost and less sturdy airships to the Earth Kingdom when compared to those produced by Future Industries.
=== 174 AG ===
A controversy in the business world was sparked when a Cabbage Corp blimp crashed out at sea, with accusations abound about who was truly responsible. Cabbage Corp believed they had been sabotaged, while some people at Future Industries believed Cabbage Corp was trying to frame them. However, Asami Sato believed that something more sinister was going on, and suspected that somebody wanted the companies at each other's throats.Avatar Legends: The Roleplaying Game. Core Book, Version 1.0, 2022, p. 266.
Cabbage Corp currently owns several half-wrecked buildings and factories in town, including its own headquarters, as well as extensive farmland through the Earth Kingdom. Cabbage Corp's cash reserves are staggering. While vice president Pakuk oversees repairs and renovations to their headquarters, the company as a whole rebuilds their physical production capabilities, in particular their ability to churn out ever-greater quantities of their own automobile design. They also have the wherewithal to act as a kind of venture capital firm, playing king-maker among smaller businesses and startups.
== Headquarters ==
Cabbage Corp's headquarters is a large skyscraper located in Republic City downtown. At the top of the building is a large golden roof which takes the shape of a traditional cabbage cart's roof. Like many structures in the city, the skyscraper sustained significant damage during Harmonic Convergence and the Earth Empire attack. However, the company was flush with cash. The founder, Cai, paranoid about the threats that natural disaster and the authorities might present, invested in extremely thorough insurance policies that predicted nearly every misfortune that happened to the Cabbage Corp the past years.
Outside the building is a large statue commemorating the Cai's first stand in Republic City. He is depicted standing atop a high pillar, while raising a cabbage in the palm of his hand.The Legend of Korra—The Art of the Animated Series, Book One: Air, page 92.
== Notable members ==
* Cai (founder)
* Lau Gan-Lan
* Pakuk (vice president)
* Yuki (formerly)
== Trivia ==
* Cabbage Corp is a reference to the cabbage merchant from Avatar: The Last Airbender. The series creators alluded to this reference during the 2010 Comic-Con by saying, "[The cabbage merchant's] legacy will be present in some form."
* Cabbage Corp is owned by Lau Gan-Lan. His name is a pun on the Chinese words , meaning "old man" or "Mr." and , meaning "wild cabbage". His name could therefore be translated as "Old Man Cabbage" or "Mr. Cabbage".
* Since Cabbage Corp was founded sometime before 120 AG, it is the oldest known private company in the Avatar World.
* Cabbage Corp provided sponsorship for a music program on the radio.
* The competition between Cabbage Corp and Future Industries is similar to the rivalry between Ford Motor Company and Oldsmobile.
* The Cabbage Corp headquarters bares similarities to Boji Tower, a skyscraper in Lansing, Michigan that was built in part by Oldsmobile founder, Ransom E. Olds.
* Some railroads remove the engines from obsolete locomotives and use their control cabs to remotely control another locomotive on the far end of the train. The empty engine space is used for luggage storage, hence, "cab-baggage cars" or "cabbage cars."
* Cabbage Corp's headquarters is part of Republic City's skyline. Like most of downtown, however, the building got overrun by vines when the spirit portals remained open, and it later sustained significant damage during Kuvira's invasion of the United Republic of Nations.
== References ==
de:Cabbage Corp
es:Corporación Col
fr:Brocoli et Compagnie
ru:Корпорация Капуста
Category:A to Z
Category:Establishments
Category:Legend of Korra
Category:Organizations
Category:Republic City
Category:United Republic