Katara

:This article is about the character in the animated series. For the character in Netflix's live-action series, see .
Katara is a waterbending master, born in the Southern Water Tribe to Chief Hakoda and his wife Kya. During her childhood, she was the only waterbender living in the Southern Water Tribe. After losing her mother in a Fire Nation raid and her father left to battle against the Fire Nation in the Hundred Year War, she was raised by her paternal grandmother Kanna alongside her older brother Sokka. As a teenager, Katara and her brother discovered the young Air Nomad Avatar, Aang, who had been frozen in an iceberg with his bison, Appa, for a century. In need of a waterbending master, the siblings and Aang left the South Pole on a journey toward the Northern Water Tribe.
Realizing Aang was the Avatar, Katara and Sokka continued to travel with him across the world as he mastered the remaining elements, earth and fire. She became Aang's waterbending instructor after their departure from the Northern Water Tribe, replacing Master Pakku, who had instructed them during their time there. Her mastery of water made her a formidable asset to the group. The siblings' assistance helped Aang halt the Fire Nation's ambitions of world domination, ending the century-long war, and finally restoring balance to the world.
The murder of her mother and the later departure of her warrior father left Katara feeling traumatized and alone. Though she was cared for by Kanna, she invariably found herself filling the mother role left behind by Kya, even to her own older brother. Katara soon took on many of the responsibilities expected of an adult and quickly became independent and strong-willed. Morally and emotionally driven, she developed a great sense of justice and compassion for others, becoming fiercely protective of those in need.
After the Hundred Year War ended, Katara and Aang began a close romantic relationship that eventually led to marriage and raised a family with three children: Bumi, a nonbender who gained the ability to airbend later in life, Kya, a waterbender, and Tenzin, an airbender. Later in life, Katara became highly regarded as a master waterbender, and even said to be the best healer in the world. After Aang's passing, she became Avatar Korra's waterbending teacher and helped her to recover physically from her ordeal with the Red Lotus.
== History ==
=== Early life ===
Born into the diminished Southern Water Tribe capital of Wolf Cove to Hakoda and Kya, Katara faced the reality of her tribe's dwindling strength from an early age. At the time of her birth, fifty years of repeated Fire Nation raids intended to capture and imprison the tribe's waterbenders had left them devoid of benders. While the Southern Water Tribe's defenses would have crumbled under the might of the Fire Nation, the tribe's relative inaccessibility in the frigid South Pole and the Fire Nation's perception that they were a non-threat meant that they were mostly left alone. Katara grew up within a loving, close family and community in her tribe. When she was six years old, she broke a tooth on some seal jerky made by Ashuna.
However, when Katara was eight, the Fire Nation again raided Wolf Cove when charged by Fire Lord Azulon to find and dispose of the last remaining waterbender in the tribe. During the battle, the leader of the raid Yon Rha confronted Katara's mother, who was taking refuge in the family's igloo. Seeking shelter with her mother, Katara ran back to her home and interrupted their exchange. Realizing the intentions of Yon Rha, who had demanded Kya tell him the identity of the waterbender, Kya insisted Katara leave and gave herself up as the last waterbender, lying to protect her daughter. Katara ran to fetch her father, but by the time they returned, Yon Rha had left and her mother had been killed. The death of their mother had a profound impact on both Katara and Sokka, and both began to feel deep hatred and resentment toward the Fire Nation as a result.
With the absence of a mother figure in the family, Katara soon found herself filling the role left behind by Kya. She began to take on many of the domestic responsibilities expected of women of the Southern Water Tribe, despite her young age. When Katara was around twelve years old, her father, Chief Hakoda, left to fight in the Hundred Year War with the rest of the men of the Southern Water Tribe. Katara and Sokka were left in the care of their grandmother, Kanna. Though Kanna loved the two and cared deeply for them, Katara was left feeling traumatized and alone. Living in a tribe consisting almost completely of women, children, and the elderly, she took care of not only her own family but of the whole Southern Water Tribe as well.
=== Winter 99 AG ===
While on a fishing trip for Wolf Cove, Katara and her older brother, Sokka, accidentally steered their canoe into a rip current, where it was crushed between ice floes. The two found themselves stranded on a chunk of ice. After Sokka blamed their situation on Katara, Katara grew so angry that she inadvertently exploded an iceberg behind her with her waterbending. Katara and Sokka discovered a mysterious figure trapped in a large spherical iceberg that rose to the surface. The figure introduced himself as Aang, an airbender, and offered to escort them home on his flying bison, Appa. After her village was attacked by soldiers on a Fire Nation ship commanded by Prince Zuko, Katara learned that Aang was the Avatar. She and her brother set out to save Aang, who had surrendered to Zuko to keep the village from harm. After their successful rescue, and after witnessing Aang's impressive first display of the Avatar State, Katara mused that they might find a waterbending teacher at the North Pole, at which, Aang quickly brightened up and suggested he and Katara could learn together. The three began their journey to the North Pole. Throughout their journey, the group stopped in several locations across the world, mostly in the war-torn Earth Kingdom. Their first stop was the Southern Archipelago, where they first helped a local dojo before arriving at the Southern Air Temple, where Aang had grown up. After Aang came across Monk Gyatso's corpse and reflexively entered the Avatar State, Katara was able to calm him down. The trio stopped on Kyoshi Island, where they were ambushed by Prince Zuko and barely managed to escape.
Following this encounter, the team journeyed to the great Earth Kingdom metropolis of Omashu. On the way, they intervened in the siege of Shen Guan. Upon arriving at Omashu, they were brought before the city's elderly king who treated them as honored guests before promptly imprisoning them. Katara and her brother were given jennamite crystals that nearly covered their whole bodies, before Aang solved all the king's tasks, discovering that he was a childhood friend, Bumi. Before reaching the Northern Water Tribe, the trio had several other adventures while being pursued by multiple firebenders, including Zuko and his uncle Iroh, as well as Zhao of the Fire Navy. Among their missions, the group helped several earthbenders to escape from a Fire Nation prison rig, including Haru and his father Tyro. They helped the people of Senlin Village, who were being attacked by the spirit Hei Bai, before venturing to the Fire Nation where Aang learned about the urgency of defeating the Fire Lord by Avatar Roku. The trio barely escaped the clutches of Zuko and a group of pirates during a confrontation where Katara lost her mother's necklace, a precious keepsake. She also discovered the darker side of the resistance, when they came into contact with Jet and his Freedom Fighters who tried to destroy the village of Gaipan to kill its firebender occupants. The team also helped two warring tribes, the Zhang and the Gan Jin, cross the Great Divide and to make peace, and later encountered Bato, one of Hakoda's friends and a Southern Water Tribe warrior, where they almost departed from Aang before being reunited due to an unexpected shirshu attack. The team met Jeong Jeong later on their journey, who unsuccessfully tried to teach Aang the weight of firebending. During Aang's training, Katara was burned and discovered that she had healing abilities. When the group reached the Northern Air Temple, they defended a group of refugees led by a mechanist from War Minister Qin.
After their long journey, the team reached the Northern Water Tribe, where Sokka and Katara were celebrated as kin from the Southern Tribe, and Aang was honored as a special guest. It was decided that Aang would be taught waterbending by Master Pakku, but Katara was prohibited from learning combative bending on account of her gender. After it was discovered that Aang was secretly teaching Pakku's techniques to Katara at night, the master dismissed Aang as a student. At the palace, Katara pleaded with Chief Arnook for Pakku to take Aang back as his student. The master agreed to do so if Katara apologized, and while she conceded at first, she renounced her apology and challenged the master to a duel after being patronized. Although Katara was defeated, the master picked up her necklace, revealing that he had made it for Kanna sixty years prior, and decided to accept Katara as a student. When the Fire Nation's ships arrived at the Northern Water Tribe, Yue took Katara and Aang to a hidden oasis, where Aang crossed over to the Spirit World. After Zuko unexpectedly arrived, Katara dueled him and was able to restrain him by freezing him in ice, but the prince overpowered her when the sun rose and kidnapped the Avatar. Katara and her allies searched for and found Aang in the frozen landscape outside Agna Qel'a, and on their return, confronted Zhao, before the admiral killed the Moon Spirit, Tui. Failing to revive the dead koi with healing, Princess Yue realized that it was her destiny to give her life to repay the Moon Spirit, and transcended to the Spirit World. Aang won the battle after merging with the Ocean Spirit La and repelled the Fire Navy from the tribe. With the group now ready to move on and find an earthbending teacher for Aang, Pakku assigned Katara as Aang's new waterbending master.
=== Spring 100 AG ===
Katara and the others sailed back to the southern Earth Kingdom so Aang could learn from King Bumi. While they stayed at an Earth Kingdom stronghold to be escorted ot the city, General Fong placed Katara's life in danger to induce Aang's Avatar State; but achieved only the destruction of his own fort. During their journey to Omashu, Team Avatar met with Chong, Lily, and Moku, and with their help passed through a labyrinth and reached the city, only to find that it had fallen to the Fire Nation. In the city, it was revealed that King Bumi had intentionally been captured, and Katara and the rest of the team barely managed to escape Princess Azula, Mai, and Ty Lee. The team was later stuck together in the Foggy Swamp, experiencing hallucinations; Katara's own vision was one of her late mother. Following their escape, the team visited Chin Village, where Aang was placed under for one of Avatar Kyoshi's crimes, and it fell upon the siblings to prove Aang's innocence. Although unsuccessful, they were pardoned after saving the village from the Rough Rhinos. After the earthbender Toph Beifong joined the group in Gaoling to teach Aang, Katara initially quarreled with the new member of the group, but after being pursued by Azula, they began to trust each other more and became close friends. Soon after Toph started teaching Aang earthbending, they were attacked by Fire Army troops and Katara was separated from the rest of the team. She ended up in a small Earth Kingdom town where she encountered and befriended the pirate leader Jiang and her crew after helping them with a smuggling mission. She was reunited with the rest of Team Avatar the same day and parted ways with the pirates. Along with the others and Professor Zei of Ba Sing Se University, Katara visited Wan Shi Tong's library, where they learned that an eclipse would leave the Fire Nation vulnerable to invasion. Katara proved vital in Team Avatar's escape from the Si Wong Desert after Appa's kidnapping by Si Wong tribesmen, and helped a family of refugees cross the Serpent's Pass.
After reaching the Earth Kingdom's capital, Katara first helped to thwart another of Qin's plans, by helping destroy the Fire Nation Drill, before being welcomed into the city. Though they wished to inform the Earth King about the invasion plans, they were turned away, and found that a government conspiracy was taking place in the city. After the team recuperated while waiting to meet with the king, they resumed their search for Appa and eventually found him in the captivity of the Dai Li, a secret police force under the leadership of Long Feng, who had complete control over the city and controlled Earth King Kuei as a puppet. Team Avatar managed to subdue the Dai Li and began to plan an invasion of the Fire Nation in cooperation with the Council of Five, but a coup led by Azula hindered their plans. In the Crystal Catacombs below the Earth Kingdom Royal Palace, Katara encountered both Prince Zuko and his sister Azula, battling them both even after a brief moment of understanding between Katara and Zuko. A battle ensued where Aang was mortally wounded by Azula's lightning, before he and Katara managed to escape. With the city fallen to the Fire Nation, Team Avatar fled Ba Sing Se with the Earth King.
=== Summer 100 AG ===
After the fall of Ba Sing Se, Katara spent her time trying to heal an unconscious Aang while aboard a stolen Fire Nation ship with the rest of Team Avatar and several other allies, including her own father. Eventually, Katara and the rest of her small team traveled through the Fire Nation disguised as civilians. Among several adventures, Katara helped clean the Jang Hui River from pollution after disguising herself as the Painted Lady, and bettered her relationship with Toph, when she saved both of them from Combustion Man in Fire Fountain City. In one village, Katara met a Southern waterbender named Hama and began to learn the Southern style of bending from her, but turned on the woman after she revealed that she was a bloodbender. Katara was forced to use the art against Hama in order to save Aang and Sokka from harm. When the day of the invasion arrived, Katara and the rest of the team met with the rest of the invasion force and started to stealthily advance toward the capital via waterbending-powered submarines designed by the Northern Air Temple's mechanist. During the eclipse, the invasion advanced steadily toward Caldera City, while Aang reached the Fire Nation Royal Palace. It was quickly revealed that the invasion had been anticipated and the Fire Nation's counterattack with airships destroyed much of the invasion force, with only Team Avatar and a few younger allies managing to escape.
After the failed invasion, Katara and her friends retreated to the Western Air Temple, where they started searching for a new firebending master to teach Aang, and unexpectedly found one in Zuko, who introduced himself as an ally. The relationship between Zuko and Katara was at first intense and troublesome, with Katara determined to never forgive Zuko for his betrayal in Ba Sing Se. Eventually, Katara forgave Zuko for his actions after he helped to find Yon Rha, the man who killed her mother. Although she did confront the man, she hesitated from ending his life, but was able to move past her grief, and her grudge against Zuko. Right before the final battle between Team Avatar and the Fire Nation, Katara and the rest of the team retreated to Ember Island. The team watched a play performed by the Ember Island Players, with Katara growing embarrassed and annoyed while viewing an exaggerated caricature of herself. Although the team had wished to only battle Ozai after Sozin's Comet, they were made to act against the Fire Lord as soon as possible after Zuko revealed the plan to annihilate the Earth Kingdom. After Aang's unexpected disappearance, the team traveled to the Earth Kingdom before going separate ways, with Katara and Zuko heading to the Fire Nation to confront Azula. After the pair interrupted Azula's coronation as Fire Lord, a fierce Comet-Enhanced Agni Kai was fought between the two siblings, and Katara was saved from an unexpected lightning blast by Zuko, who redirected the attack. Katara eventually managed to goad Azula into walking directly over a grate of water. While freezing her opponent in ice, Katara was able to chain the princess to the grate before rushing to Zuko and healing him. She was present at Zuko's coronation after the team's successful victory in the century-long war. Later, Katara traveled to the Jasmine Dragon with Team Avatar, celebrating their hard-won victory. She followed Aang outside the tea shop and embraced him. The pair subsequently looked at each other lovingly before she instigated a romantic kiss, beginning the couple's formal relationship.
=== 100 - 102 AG ===
In the year following the war's conclusion, Katara and Team Avatar helped Fire Nation colonials resettle in their homeland in the Harmony Restoration Movement. However, when the group came to Yu Dao, they were attacked by Fire Army soldiers and confronted by Zuko. Aang and Zuko began to battle, but Katara managed to calm her boyfriend after he entered the Avatar State. The Fire Lord explained that unlike in the newer colonies, people of Fire Nation and Earth Kingdom descent had been living together for generations. Katara and the team traveled to Ba Sing Se to discuss the Yu Dao situation with the Earth King, and while waiting, the couple met a group of young women who had devoted themselves to Aang and Air Nomad teachings. Though Katara grew somewhat jealous, she realized that they reminded Aang of his people. The couple failed to dissuade the Earth King from attacking the Fire Nation colonies and returned to Yu Dao to evacuate its citizens, where they were confronted by the Yu Dao Resistance before they explained the impending attack. When Aang came to the conclusion that the four nations must remain separate after meeting the Air Nomad devotees in Yu Dao, Katara reminded him that the separation was an illusion. As the armies arrived, Katara told him that she saw their own future as a couple of different nations reflected in the families of Yu Dao. As the battle raged on, Katara propelled herself up to the Earth King's war balloon to help convince him that he was fighting a battle against his own nation. After the Earth Kingdom and Fire Nation agreed to make peace, Katara observed Aang welcome his devotees as the first Air Acolytes.
Sometime later, Zuko invited Katara, Sokka, and Aang on a search for his mother. As they readied to depart, Katara was horrified to see Azula, apparently escaped, but Zuko explained that she was coming with them in return for obtaining information from Ozai. Katara was unhappy with her coming with the team and helped to apprehend Azula during her psychotic episodes on their journey to Hira'a. In the town, Katara and Aang were welcomed by Noren and Noriko, with the former telling them that Ursa's lover Ikem headed to Forgetful Valley. As they ventured into the environment, the group was attacked by their surroundings, though Katara deduced that it was the work of a waterbender, and Rafa and Misu showed themselves. Another confrontation with Azula was halted by the appearance of the Mother of Faces. The ancient spirit began to battle the group, but it was halted when the spirit was reminded of her son Koh. Rafa's face was restored and Noriko was given back her memories and appearance as Ursa. Although Azula had escaped, Katara and Aang remained optimistic that she had begun to change. Katara stayed in the Fire Nation for several weeks afterward and comforted Ursa during her anxious return to the Fire Nation Capital.
The team returned to Yu Dao after the conclusion of peace talks and the formation of the coalition government. After a banquet, she found Aang meditating, who told her that he had seen a vision of Avatar Yangchen. Reminded of Yangchen's Festival, Katara set off with Aang and the Acolytes to pay their respects in the Yue Bay area. Katara consoled Aang when they found an industrial town built on previously sacred ground, and was surprised to see her childhood friends Niyok and Nutha in the area. Katara and the team were confronted by Loban's guards and the Rough Rhinos for trespassing on the Earthen Fire Refinery. She discovered an iron ore mine during the fight, but the area was unstable and began to cave in, with Katara and several others only being saved by Toph's earthbending. With Katara lending her support to Toph, the group was eventually freed with the aid of Aang and Toph's metalbending students. As a dangerous storm brewed on the horizon, Katara helped evacuate the town's houses and businesses before the arrival of General Old Iron. After the spirit's defeat, she reminisced with Niyok and Nutha and lent her emotional support to Aang in his challenging situation.
Katara and Sokka returned to Ba Sing Se for some time afterward, where they prepared to return home for the first time since they left the South Pole. Katara was surprised to find that Wolf Cove had grown into an urbanized city, with the Southern Reconstruction Project already underway. The siblings reunited with their grandmother, step-grandfather, and father, and met Maliq and Malina, who were managing the redevelopment project. Katara expressed skepticism for the project, as she had seen foreign workers harassing the locals. After Malina was robbed, Katara and Sokka chased the thief to an abandoned ship, where Gilak and Thod explained that they believed that foreigners were making them weak and they had to be removed. The siblings escaped Gilak's men and headed back to the city, where they were surprised to discover their father's romantic relationship with Malina. Katara remained skeptical of both the romance and the project and also met a pair of children that Pakku was trying to train as waterbenders. Aang also arrived in the South, following the end of the threat in the Fire Nation, as well as Toph, aiding in the construction. Katara later spoke to Sokka about how Gilak may have a point, only for Sokka to tell her that the idealistic vision Katara had of the tribe never existed. This left her realizing that her brother was right, as she had no idea of what the Southern Water Tribe was like before the war.
At a festival, Gilak's men attacked, chi-blocking Katara and stabbing Hakoda. After her father's recovery, Earth King Kuei was kidnapped. Katara participated in the skirmish at the Bridge of No Return, managing to save Malina from falling into a ravine. Afterward, she managed to inspire Siku and Sura to display their waterbending skills.
Later, Katara made her way to Yu Dao with the team, though they stopped at Cranefish Town upon Toph's request. The group was stunned to see the growth of the town and Earthen Fire Industries, though they learned that the city was threatened with turf wars between bending gangs and an increasing social divide between benders and nonbenders. She was awoken by a large explosion at Lao Beifong's factory shortly after their arrival and helped to put out the fire. Katara and the rest of the team investigated the perpetrator, which led them to Liling and her daughters. Toph had discovered a planned bending supremacist rally, which Katara attended in disguise along with Aang and Toph. Toph confronted Liling at the rally, leading to a fight where the businesswoman was captured. Katara and Toph also disagreed whether Aang should remove Liling's bending. After the woman escaped, Katara helped to battle Liling's supporters and convinced Aang to stop when he entered the Avatar State to remove Liling's bending. Following Liling's final arrest, the group felt a special connection to the city and decided to stay, helping Cranefish Town grow and prosper into a metropolis later known as Republic City.
=== Later life ===
Sometime after the Harmony Restoration Movement, Katara married Aang and gave birth to three children: Bumi, a nonbender who gained the ability to airbend later in life; Kya, a waterbender; and Tenzin, who was born an airbender like his father. Katara continued to develop her skills in waterbending, eventually becoming a leading expert in its various styles and respective skills and techniques, as well as being regarded as the best healer in the world. She passed on these skills to her daughter Kya, who became a renowned waterbender in her own right.
In 124 AG, Katara wrote a letter to include in the book that Aang was assembling for Tenzin, in which she wished her son the joys of youth and the strength to accept his legacy as one of the world's last airbenders.Avatar: The Last Airbender: Legacy, page 56. When Kya revealed her sexual orientation to her, Katara was supportive of her. In the mid-130s AG, she joined Aang in watching Tenzin and some vandals clear the airbending gates on Air Temple Island. Aang noted that conflict resolution was not always so easy, but Katara told him to settle the easy disputes for now, as Tenzin was still young.
Through Tenzin, who eventually married Pema, she became the paternal grandmother of Jinora, Ikki, Meelo, and Rohan.
Before 128 AG, Katara's efforts led to the outlawing of bloodbending in the United Republic. After the passing of Avatar Aang and his reincarnation into the new Avatar, Korra, she became the Avatar's waterbending teacher once again.
During one of her early training sessions with a young Korra, Katara taught her that waterbending was all about slow and calm movements. Her lesson did not stick with the Avatar, however, as she accidentally buried Katara under a pile of snow, not for the first time, when she tried to copy the elder's moves. Uncovering the elder, Senna apologized for her daughter, though Katara brushed it off, noting that she had battled more dangerous waterbenders during her life than the youngster and expressing her confidence that the Avatar will learn to control her abilities in time. The session got cut short by Tonraq that day, as a snowstorm was heading their way. Upon learning the next day that Korra had sneaked out during the bad weather, Katara joined Tonraq and Senna during their search for their daughter. Discovering the young Avatar safe and sound with a polar bear pup whom she desired to keep, Katara took the reluctant Tonraq and Senna aside and convinced them to let her bring the animal home, noting that every Avatar had had an animal guide and that raising Naga may be exactly what the high-energy Avatar needed. Afterward, Katara and Korra's waterbending lessons continued. Korra often spent a lot of time in Katara's healing hut growing up, where she taught Korra to mend wounds and broken bones.The Legend of Korra: An Avatar's Chronicle, p. 13. Korra eventually became a skilled healer under Katara's instruction.
In 170 AG, Katara supervised Korra's firebending test alongside other members of the Order of the White Lotus. She noted the Avatar's ferocity, to which the White Lotus leader responded that she also lacked restraint. After Korra defeated her opponents, the White Lotus turned to Katara for counsel, wondering whether or not they should let Korra start her airbending training with Tenzin, since the young Avatar had yet to grasp the spiritual side of bending. Confident in her son's abilities, Katara announced that she believed Korra to be ready to commence her airbending training, as Tenzin would be able to teach her what she needed to know.
When Tenzin and his family arrived at the Southern Water Tribe compound, Katara and Korra greeted Tenzin and his family. At her son's asking, Katara helped Meelo off of his head, much to her grandson's displeasure. As she expressed her joy over seeing her family again, Jinora approached her, informing her that she had read everything about her past adventures and asked what happened to Zuko's mother, Ursa. Katara attempted to elaborate, only to be interrupted by an excited Ikki, who fired several random questions at the old waterbender.
As the young airbenders ran off to play in the snow, Katara turned her attention to Tenzin and Pema, the latter being pregnant with their fourth child. She predicted that the child would be an airbender, much to Pema's dismay, who explained that it would be nice to have a nonbending child like her. When asked if Tenzin and his siblings were as rambunctious as the young airbenders, Katara said that Tenzin had always been more serious than Kya and Bumi.
When it was revealed that Korra's airbending training with Tenzin was to be delayed and the Avatar decided to find her own path by traveling to Republic City on her own, Katara was the only one who understood that Korra had to go and find her own place in the world. Confident in Korra, she gave her husband's reincarnation her blessing.
Months later, after Korra's bending had been removed by Amon, Katara tried using her healing powers to restore Korra's abilities, but to no avail. She later witnessed Korra, whose bending was restored by Aang, energybend Lin Beifong, restoring her earthbending abilities.
Six months later, Katara invited her oldest son, Bumi, to attend the Glacier Spirits Festival with her and the rest of their family. She, alongside her daughter, awaited the arrival of her sons at the dock, having a joyful reunion with her grandchildren. She later attended the royal banquet in honor of Chief Unalaq, sitting at a table with her family, where she looked on with concern as Tenzin was being picked on by his elder siblings.
The next day, Katara encouraged Tenzin to take his siblings along with him on his trip to all the air temples, reasoning that he should cherish the time he spends with his entire family. She also felt that the three siblings should visit Aang's birthplace together. Tenzin agreed to let his siblings join him and gave his mother a farewell hug, promising to see her soon. Before they all left, she gave Kya an old family picture of their family together while they were still young.
During the Water Tribe Civil War, Katara did not interfere between the two combating parties, believing her fighting days to be over, and instead helped tend to injured rebels along with several other healers in her healing hut. She was sought out by her family, who brought a spiritless Jinora for her to examine. Alarmed over the amount of time Jinora had been in that state, Katara placed her granddaughter in a bath of water to heal. Assessing the situation with her bending, she stated she was unsure how much longer Jinora would be able to survive with her body and spirit separated, noting that Jinora was strong to have lasted as long as she had.
When Jinora's spirit later returned to her body, Katara happily embraced her granddaughter and later accompanied her and her family to Korra's announcement that peace was restored between the Southern and Northern Water Tribes and that the South was officially independent.
Five weeks after the insurrection of the Red Lotus was put down, Katara was visited by a still injured Korra and set out to heal her. Katara commented that the mercury poisoning Korra had suffered had caused a lot of internal damage. Upon being asked if she could heal it, she remarked that all she could do was help guide the young Avatar's healing process, though the ultimate result of that was out of her hands. Reminiscing on the feeling of going through a traumatic experience, she told Korra that if she dedicated herself to getting better, she would recover stronger than ever.
The two waterbenders set out on the hard process of recovery. Progress was slow, however, and after nearly six months, a frustrated Korra snapped at Katara over the elder's inability to heal her. Katara tried to console her, stating it was all right and urging her to let her anger and frustration flow like water. When Korra admitted that she was tired of the situation, Katara told her she was not the first Avatar who had to overcome great suffering. She recalled how Aang felt about the destruction of his entire culture and revealed that he had sought meaning in his suffering, which eventually led to peace. She urged Korra to do the same and guided her to take her first steps again in a long time. Katara continued to help Korra over the next two years until she was physically fit again.
More than six months after Korra's recovery, Katara came to Republic City to visit her grandchildren. She also reunited with Toph, who had come to the city to see more of her own granddaughter, Opal. Toph and Katara's families spent a day at the beach together with Korra, Asami, and Bolin. Katara and Toph reminisced about their days of pranking each other, and had fun instigating a prank war at the beach.
== Personality ==
Katara had a warm, compassionate, and caring personality and often acted as a motherly figure to the group, something that often irritated the rebellious Toph. She displayed deep affection for those she traveled with and was fiercely protective whenever their safety was threatened. Her inner strength kept Aang and their friends together through their most difficult experiences, even in the absence of parental figures. While the team traveled through the Si Wong Desert, she was able to hold the group together in its most desperate moments. She had a soft spot for children, giving a portion of her food to a little boy in Jang Hui and went as far to defend Tom-Tom, despite the fact that he was from the Fire Nation and that everyone else, with the exception of Aang, was distrustful of him for it. This was because when Katara was a young girl, her mother was killed in a Fire Nation raid, an event which had a tremendous impact on her life and arguably shaped her into the person she became. According to Sokka, she largely prevented their family from falling apart and took on many responsibilities to the point where she filled the void left by their mother, so much that he pictured her in place of their mother.
Overall, Katara is often marked by a fierce determination to aid others and herself stated that she would never turn away from people who need her help, even if she had other priorities at the moment. According to Sokka, she was rather optimistic. Placing her whole heart in whatever affairs she had, she was often easily reduced to tears. She was even willing to defend Fire Nation civilians, such as when she helped the village of Jang Hui, and fought her former teacher Hama, who was from the Southern Water Tribe to defend the Fire Nation village she was living in. This strong desire often frustrated others, particularly Sokka.
Katara was marked by a fierce desire to learn waterbending, viewing it as a part of her and her culture that needed to be expressed. She may have viewed it as a hope for rebuilding her tribe and saw her mother's sacrifice not only to save a daughter but what she represented, their own bending style. Her enthusiasm for waterbending caused her to constantly train herself in the art despite she originally did not have a teacher and learnt whatever little she could with great ambition, ignoring the criticism of Sokka. Her pride and strong mind caused conflict with the traditions of the Northern Water Tribe, which forbade women from learning combat focused waterbending. She became overjoyed when she finally found a master to teach her formally. Like her brother, father, and grandparents, Katara was resourceful and very capable to adapt to her environment. Having quickly and exemplary advanced under the tutelage of Master Pakku, he stated that she accomplished this due to her fierce determination, passion and hard work.
Katara was portrayed as the most mature member of the group, rarely taking part in Sokka and Aang's goofy pranks and Toph's less silly ones, though she did have a sense of humor. She was a bit of a stickler for morality, even to the point of causing Sokka and Aang to faint from shock when she stated she wanted to pull a scam, as she had previously berated Toph for scamming people. Her loss was part of what drove her in her fight against the Fire Nation, although she did not exhibit as much outward prejudice as her brother. Although Sokka told Toph that Katara could be a pain and would get "involved and in-your-business", she is understanding of other people's privacy, continually scolding her brother for snooping around Hama's inn and rummaging through her personal belongings.
On the other hand, Katara could be overly domineering. For all her kindness, she was sometimes self-righteous, had a nasty temper, and could be fierce when provoked. With lack of sleep, this side of her can quickly become more apparent. She was also set in her ideals and frequently refused to relent on her views in the face of opposition. Combined with her strong sense of compassion, this gave Katara a strong sense of justice and she would run headlong into often dangerous situations to help others, which was best illustrated when she faked to be an earthbender to mix with innocent earthbenders in the prison rig when she was not a fighter yet, challenged the greatest waterbending instructor in the Northern Tribe for forbidding women from learning combat-focused waterbending, and destroying factories for their culpability in the severe contamination at Jang Hui while she infiltrated the Fire Nation. Her short temper has led to somewhat frequent, petty clashes with others, as she showed open, but short-lived, jealousy of Aang's talent, and was frequently perturbed by Toph's confrontational and rebellious nature.
Despite being one of the more compassionate members of the group, Katara was one of the least willing to let go of a grudge, especially against those who she felt had betrayed her trust. She held a considerable grudge against those who had threatened Aang or had done things she considered morally wrong. Upon her re-encounter with Jet, Katara reacted hostilely at the mere sight of him. For a while, she was argumentative with her father because she felt that he had abandoned her and Sokka when he left to fight in the War. At the Western Air Temple, she showed outright hostility toward Zuko and threatened to kill him if he slipped back to his old ways, being harsh and unforgiving of Zuko even long after he had joined Team Avatar and gained the trust of everyone else. However, this could be because Zuko's betrayal of her at Ba Sing Se was far more personal than his betrayal of anyone else. However, Katara was sometimes willing to give people second chances. With much reluctance, she allowed Jet to guide Team Avatar to Appa, and appeared to be saddened by his death. Also, she offered to try and heal Zuko's scar when they were enemies. Eventually, even after his betrayal, she decided to forgive him and embraced him as a friend after he helped her find the man who killed her mother.
The loss of her mother at the hands of the Fire Nation caused Katara to strongly express her emotions about that day to her teammates, bringing up the topic in situations that tested the feelings of both her friends and herself, reinforcing her relationship with her mother, albeit indirectly. Occasionally, this fervor also blinded her from the fact that the people around her had also suffered from similar experiences and events that equally impacted them. An example of this was when Katara described her mother as just hers and without giving a second thought that she was Sokka's as well, or when the waterbender told her brother that he did not love their mother the way she did after Sokka tried to stop Katara from tracking Kya's murderer, greatly upsetting him. When she got the chance to exert her revenge against the commander she believed was the killer, Katara was willing to use bloodbending against him, ignoring Aang's earlier advice to forgive rather than take revenge. She deeply regretted her actions after realizing she had bloodbent the wrong man, although she was not above planning to kill the murderer, only for her self-conscience to stop her from almost executing him, understanding that violence was not the answer.
Motherly and feminine as she might be, Katara was not afraid to go beyond her feminine looks and way of being to achieve what she wanted. When she and Toph were denied entrance to a rowdy pub because the both of them were girls, they dressed up as boys. Katara, in particular, showed her masculine side when wanting to ride the pub's mechanized bull; being even willing to start an all-out brawl with some of the men there who mocked her ability to stay on the bull. The whole thing ended with Toph dragging Katara away before things came to a head. The two later went to a spa and reflected on how being a girl was not so bad at all.
== Abilities ==
=== Waterbending ===
Katara's most notable ability was her waterbending. She rapidly developed her skill at the art, as her fierce resolve to master the element helped her become one of the most powerful waterbending masters in her era. Katara was identified as a waterbender when she was a small child after she cracked some ice when her brother teased her. She kept practicing even though she did not have a teacher as her father could not find any, learning whatever little she could with great ambition. Over the course of her childhood, she taught herself basic waterbending techniques and managed to master some simple waterbending forms. This was a difficult feat, considering she would have never had the chance to observe waterbending in practice. As of the discovery of Aang at the South Pole, Katara was capable of "pushing and pulling" water, streaming small amounts and manipulating it into basic forms and movements, and was beginning to gain some control over the ability to change its physical state, freezing it into ice, as well as attempting to create sizable waves of water. What little she knew, she taught to Aang, who quickly mastered all she had to offer. That which had taken her years to achieve, Aang managed to imitate and outperform her within mere minutes, much to her envy and frustration.
Katara's waterbending remained amateurish until she came across a Northern Water Tribe waterbending scroll in a pirate-traders ship depicting several different traditional waterbending forms. Incapable of passing up such an opportunity to have formal instruction, she eventually made away with the scroll and first learned the water whip technique with Aang and afterward continued to improve their overall technique. Up until their arrival at the Northern Water Tribe, the two showed considerable improvement and Katara's confidence in her own abilities increased dramatically. She demonstrated the ability to bend with much greater precision and ease compared to when she first stole the scroll, was able to draw unseen water out of different sources and bend greater quantities in general, streaming them into powerful blasts and freezing water with much more control than before. She later developed several of her own techniques, including cloud manipulation with Aang's help, and a hand-held variation on the water-whip technique. She also demonstrated greater manipulation of ice and snow. In the time between her acquisition of the waterbending scroll and arrival at the North Pole, her sheer determination and discipline saw her proficiency improve greatly, clearly surpassing that of Aang's. Later, Katara challenged the master waterbending instructor of the Northern Water Tribe, Pakku, to a duel. Though she was undoubtedly no match for the master, she was determined to not be beaten. She demonstrated more advanced techniques than she ever had previously and greater proficiency in basic waterbending techniques she had previously learned. For the first time, she was seen bending with her feet and transforming the physical state of a wave. Pakku eventually removed her ability to bend by trapping her body and limbs between spikes of ice and so won the fight without harming her, though he admitted that she was an exceptionally talented waterbender. Under the guidance of Master Pakku, Katara's waterbending abilities advanced quicker than that of any student he had ever trained, which he accredited to her fierce passion and hard-work. She fought and defeated Zuko with the augmented power of the near-full moon. During the fight, she knocked him off his feet, deflected his attacks, imprisoned him in a dome of solid ice, and later a wave of solid ice. Though she was defeated by Zuko after the sun rose, she fought him again with the full moon and defeated him easily.
Following the Siege of the North, Pakku declared Katara a full-fledged waterbending master in the short time that she was at the North Pole. She continued to hone her skills, regularly demonstrating her waterbending mastery in battle. In Omashu, she blocked a flurry of Mai's knives by waterbending wooden boards into the air as shields in front of herself, managed to block arrows with a wall of ice, and retaliated by freezing Mai's arm in ice, only being defeated when Ty Lee snuck behind her and blocked her chi, preventing her from waterbending. While in the swamp with Aang and Sokka, Katara used the stores in her pouch and caused enough pressure to the water in order to cut apart the vines, create large waves in the swamp water, freeze a part of Huu's "swamp monster", and create a coil of water to blast a hole into the monster. She then created large, round, razor-sharp blades out of the water to slice through the vines completely. Later, she easily defeated two earthbending students by freezing them in solid ice. When facing Ty Lee a second time, she fought using the water in her pouch to fend off her chi-blocking attacks, forcing Ty Lee to cartwheel away from disks of razor-sharp water. She also stopped Azula from killing Aang by catching her hand in a water whip. While crossing the Serpent's Pass, Katara made a bridge of ice for the group to travel across, worked with Aang to support an underwater bubble for the group to travel in, surfed around on a surfboard of ice, and formed a massive whirlpool with Aang to defeat the serpent.
Katara rapidly condensed water vapor into ice to defeat her foes. When assaulting Jet upon re-encountering him, she used ice spikes, similar to Mai's daggers, to pin Jet to the wall in an alley. While fighting off the Royal Earthbender Guards, she defeated dozens of them with whips and streams of water. In the Crystal Catacombs, Katara and Aang fought against Zuko and Azula, whom she managed to cut one hair bangs and created two enormous whips of water, which she used to briefly trap her. Later, these whips were able to match Zuko's enormous fire whips. When she was finally surrounded by Dai Li agents, she defended herself with the octopus form and rode on an enormous wave which knocked down these agents as well as Zuko. She proceeded to escape on a rising stream of water, carrying Aang to safety.
Katara's waterbending later became even more advanced and destructive. During a fight with a Fire Nation ship, she lifted a huge wave to separate the two ships and formed a huge steam barrier between them for cover. Once their ship was hit by a harpoon, she used her frosty breath of waterbending to freeze the hole in the ship's hull, thus repairing it. When Aang held a dance for some of his Fire Nation school friends, she created a fountain out of solid ice for beverages and the glasses they used to drink from. At the Jang Hui River, Katara created a cover of steam and sped herself atop the water's surface. Assisted by Aang, she formed crashing waves and precise missiles of water to destroy a Fire Nation Army factory. She also blasted a Fire Nation river craft into the air and against a cliff, as well as transported a huge bubble of water from a nearby creek to extinguish a fire.
When Combustion Man locked her and Toph in jail, Katara adapted to her environment, using her own sweat as a catalyst to form a water knife which broke out of a wooden prison cell. During her time hiding within the Fire Nation, Katara met Hama, an elderly, yet powerful fellow waterbending master from the Southern Water Tribe. After learning this, Hama began training her in Southern Style waterbending. Among many techniques and combat tactics, she became able to condense moisture in the air to create her own water source for her bending and could remove water from plant life. Alternatively, with the latter skill she could bend the plants by controlling the water inside them. During their duel, Katara stood her ground against Hama's blast of water instead of redirecting it, which shocked the old bender into silence and allowed Katara to temporarily gain the upper hand.
On the Day of Black Sun, Katara fought against the Fire Nation guards at the capital, destroying several guard towers with Sokka and defeating many soldiers. At the Western Air Temple, she rained ice spikes onto Combustion Man. While tracking down her mother's killer, Katara used the enhanced power of the full moon to nearly take down a whole Fire Nation ship of the Southern Raiders single-handedly. During her encounter with Yon Rha, she created a large wide dome of water by gathering rain drops and created ice spikes from it, nearly killing him. Katara's prowess was formidable enough to fight against such prodigious master benders like Azula. Finally, during Sozin's Comet, she froze herself and Azula into a block of solid ice, thawed the center of it, and chained Azula to a water grate.
==== Healing ====
Katara's innate aptitude toward waterbending abilities made her a rare case to naturally have access to the incredible ability to heal by manipulating the chi paths in a person's body, including herself. She inadvertently discovered this ability after Aang accidentally burned her hands and subsequently used this power again to heal Aang's own burn after his face-off with Admiral Zhao. Once she reached the Northern Water Tribe, she further developed this ability by training with Yagoda. By the time the gang met the General Fong, she healed several of his injured earthbending troops. However, Katara unsuccessfully attempted to heal Jet after he was fatally wounded by Long Feng.
With the aid of a small vial of spirit water, which held special properties, from the Spirit Oasis, Katara's healing abilities were enhanced. Though she was going to use the spirit water in an attempt to heal Zuko's scar, she instead used it to bring Aang back to life after he had been struck in the back by Azula's lightning. Even though she wasted out the Spirit Water, Katara's healing was enough to allow her father Hakoda to walk again after he was injured while taking out a Fire Nation ballista tower during the invasion. During Azula and Zuko's Agni Kai, Azula generated lightning and aimed it at Katara rather than Zuko; but he jumped in front of Katara and let the lightning shock him instead, sparing her from near death. Her healing had been successful enough that he could rise to his feet just moments after she had begun.
As an adult, Katara's prowess continued to grow, as she became well-recognized in her abilities throughout the world. She proved herself to be an excellent teacher, having trained her daughter and Avatar Korra to become highly adept masters themselves. However, even though her healing skills were recognized to be "the best in the world", she could not restore Korra's bending after Amon severed the connection Korra had to the three elements other than air with his bloodbending.
==== Bloodbending ====
After learning all of Hama's Southern Style skills, Hama decided to teach Katara bloodbending, an advanced ability to manipulate the water within the body of all living beings, controlling them like puppets. When Katara refused to learn such a technique due to viewing it as dark and immoral, Hama decided to silence her with the said technique. Despite only just hearing about the skill, Katara showed an innate talent for the art, quickly becoming the first known person to break the effects of a bloodbender's grip and free herself. Ultimately however, Hama tricked her into utilizing bloodbending to save Sokka and Aang, leaving her greatly distressed.
When she traveled with Zuko to hunt down the man who killed her mother, Katara alone took out nearly all the Southern Raiders under the full moon. After she discovered where the captain was, she let her anger take over and used bloodbending on him, which stunned Zuko. When she discovered that he was not the man she searched, she released him, shocked and dismayed that she had just used bloodbending on an innocent person. She is the only bloodbender who was never known to have had someone else break free of her grip, though she rarely used the skill. Though this was the last known time she used the technique, Katara came to greatly understand its workings, as she was able to determine how Amon had used bloodbending to remove Korra's bending, although she was not able to restore it.
=== Medical abilities ===
Katara's knowledge of healing extended outside the waterbending subskill: She was versed in midwifery, as she had helped her grandmother deliver many babies in the Southern Water Tribe and delivered Than and Ying's baby, Hope. She also seemed to have been knowledgeable on yoga. In later years, Katara was versed in physiotherapy, as evidenced when she guided Korra to walk again.
=== Physical prowess ===
Although she mostly lacked skill in hand-to-hand combat compared to her allies, Katara showed a surprising amount of agility and employing hand and foot strikes in combat in her fight against Pakku. Later, she exhibited remarkable agility and acrobatic skill, as evidenced when she performed a complicated dance with Aang.
== Relationships ==
== Relatives ==
== Appearances ==
== Trivia ==
* The name Katara means "drop, water droplet" (قَطْرَة) in Arabic.
** In the Greek dub, her name is Tamara. This is probably because "katara" (κατάρα) means curse in Greek. However, when Nickelodeon translated Sifu Kisu's words about waterbending he mentions her as Katara. Her name was also mentioned as Katara by the White Lotus leader in The Legend of Korra.
** In the unaired pilot, Katara's character was named Kya. The name Kya was later given to her previously unnamed mother. Nickelodeon's legal department vetoed the name when they discovered there was already a video game character named Kya, so they had to change it. Kanna was first proposed to replace Kya, but was later used for the name of her grandmother instead.
** The last character in Katara's name, 拉, means pull, which is one of the basics of waterbending.
* Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko have stated that they think of Katara as the deuteragonist of the series, as well as the "person the story is being told through"."The Women of Avatar: The Last Airbender".
* Katara was originally envisioned as a twelve-year-old girl, but after a suggestion from one of the crew members, she was "aged up".Avatar: The Last Airbender—The Art of the Animated Series, page 18
* Katara inherited her grandmother's looks, as Yagoda suggested.
* Initially, Katara's design had her strands of hair loosely hanging down. The idea for her tied-back hair loopies came from Tin House animation director Yoon Young Ki, making it so that her hair was easier to animate.DiMartino, Michael Dante & Konietzko, Bryan (September 19, 2006). Unaired pilot commentary. Book 1: Water, Volume 5 DVD.
* Katara once stated that she hates papayas.
* According to Aunt Wu, Katara will have her third great-grandchild before quietly passing away in her sleep.
* Katara, along with her brother, Sokka, had the longest list of love interests in the show: Jet and Aang both had her eye, and although nothing ever happened, Toph once assumed Katara and Haru "had a secret thing" together. Unlike her brother, she had no love interests from the Water Tribes or the Fire Nation.
* Katara is the only known person to use both healing and bloodbending, which constitutes all known sub-skills of waterbending.
** As such, Katara is the only known bender capable of using all known sub-skills of a given element.
* Katara's quick series of jabs against her master, Pakku, during their fight is the first instance of two benders using hand-to-hand combat in the series.
* Katara is the only person to have participated in all of the water duels featured during the Hundred Year War, battling Pakku, a number of his waterbending students, Aang,Throughout Avatar: The Last Airbender. and Hama.
* In "The Cave of Two Lovers" with Avatar Extras bonus commentary, it was confirmed that Katara mastered waterbending in the short time that she was at the North Pole, making her the first female student of Master Pakku.
* Katara is one of two people known to have trained two different Avatars, the other being Toph Beifong.
** Katara is also the second known person who trained alongside an Avatar and later taught their successor, the first of which being Gyatso.
* Katara is the only known waterbender to have taught more than one Avatar.
* Katara is one of only two people, aside from the Avatars themselves, to have seen four Avatars in their lifetime, the other being Sokka. She saw Roku and Kyoshi manifest themselves through Aang, knew Aang, and was Avatar Korra's waterbending master.
* Katara was the only member of Team Avatar never to meet Fire Lord Ozai on-screen during the series.
* Katara is the first known waterbender to have given birth to an airbender.
* The way Katara discovered Korra leaving the Southern Water Tribe compound is similar to the way Kanna discovered Katara and Sokka leaving in "The Avatar Returns". Both times a young person is leaving, somehow involving the Avatar's fate, and both times the elder lets them go.
* Other than in the opening sequence, Katara was the first person to bend in the series.
* Katara narrated the opening sequence, and therefore was the first person to speak in the series.
* Katara was seen or mentioned in every episode of Avatar: The Last Airbender except "Zuko Alone".
* Katara is the only character to appear in both the first and last scenes of Avatar: The Last Airbender.
* Katara appears in every book of the Avatar franchise, save for Book Three: Change.
== References ==
== See also ==
* in 
* Katara in video games
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ca:Katara
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he:קטרה
id:Katara
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ru:Катара
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