Private Fire

"Private Fire" is a comic book that takes place in Book Three: Fire, originally released by Nickelodeon in a four-part series through the Book Three individual DVD volumes from October 2007 to July 2008. It was later released by Dark Horse Comics in The Lost Adventures.
== Overview ==
When his ideas for learning about Fire Nation secrets bring no worthwhile results, Sokka decides that the only way to find out what he needs to know is to go undercover not as an ordinary citizen, but as a member of the Fire Nation Army. "Private Fire" soon discovers that he is in over his head when a temperamental drill sergeant strikes up a vendetta.
== Synopsis ==
Sokka, distraught by the fact that neither he nor anyone else in the group knows any practical information about the Fire Nation despite residing in "enemy territory", decides after some brainstorming that the most productive method of learning about the enemy is to observe them in their everyday lives. He leads the rest of Team Avatar to a market town, a place where he believes he will witness the Fire Nation's barbarism. While walking through the market, Toph correctly guesses that the innocent citizens of the town are simply there to shop, in sarcastic protest to Sokka's ever-present paranoia.
After fruitlessly spying on numerous everyday citizens, Aang, Katara, and Toph agree that watching ordinary people will not teach them what they need to know about the Fire Nation and that they must convince Sokka to end his vendetta. However, Sokka simultaneously devises a different plan: to briefly join the Fire Nation Army undercover and gather information. Although the team is strongly opposed to the idea and skeptical of whether the army would let him in, Sokka, disguised as an adult named Wang Fire, is recruited without issue.
At the boot camp, the base's leader, who becomes annoyed at "Private Wang Fire", decides to keep a close eye on the new recruit. After continued infractions, as Sokka fails to learn komodo dragon riding, getting Fire Nation uniforms, he decides that Sokka has crossed the line when the private rips the sergeant's prized sash, albeit accidentally. This results in multiple punishments for the private, including an order to shovel moo-sow droppings. While carrying out this particular punishment, Sokka overhears two soldiers mention that all new recruits will be shipped out to the front line tomorrow, a trip he cannot afford. Understanding the dire situation he has found himself in, he manages to sneak past the guards and escape the boot camp in the dead of night.
The following morning, the sergeant questions his men about Private Fire's absence and after the base has been scoured, he orders the soldiers to search for Private Fire, a criminal deserter of the Fire Nation, outside the base's borders. This search proves successful when Sokka, who has traveled to the cave where Team Avatar is camping to tell them that they must leave, is spotted not long after the team have left the cave.
Needing to think of an excuse quickly, Sokka exclaims that the reason for his absence is that he has tracked down earthbender and waterbender spies. Aang, Katara, and Toph bend at the soldiers to prove to the sergeant, whom they have overheard does not accept Sokka's claim that he has located spies. The sergeant is too stunned to give his soldiers commands, and so Sokka seizes the opportunity to enter the cave alone. After Team Avatar escapes through the back of the cave on Appa, a cave-in occurs due to Toph's earthbending. The sergeant, having witnessed Private Fire's apparent demise, is moved and vows to see to it personally that his memory lives on, arranging a memorial in his honor.
== Production notes ==
=== Transcript ===
=== Translations ===
=== Series continuity ===
* The first page, in which Sokka complains that Aang did not learn anything about the Fire Nation while Aang was enrolled in a school except that the children have an oath, heavily alludes to "The Headband". That episode is further referenced by Sokka's reuse of the Wang Fire guise.
=== Trivia ===
* Aang's hair is a slightly lighter shade of black throughout the story than it is on Part One's cover, or during the rest of the series for that matter.
* In November 2007, in advertisement of Nickelodeon Magazine hosting a panel at the New York Anime Festival, the magazine's LiVEJOURNAL chief posted a page of "Private Fire" with edited dialogue from the characters. The page used was page seven, in which Aang originally exclaimed, "You're going to join the Fire Nation Army?!" This text was replaced with, "We're going to the NY Anime Fest!?" Sokka's had his dialogue on the page replaced with him explaining the date and time of the event, and Toph said that she would cosplay as Sparky Sparky Boom Man for the occasion.
== References ==
== See also ==
* List of Avatar: The Last Airbender comics
de:Gefreiter Feuer
es:Soldado Fuego
nl:Private Fire
ru:Рядовой Огонь
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