Zuko

Zuko is the gone rogue Crown Prince of the Fire Nation who was banished to find Avatar Aang after pissing off his father the Fire Lord Ozai over a plan that would have ended up killing hordes of new recruits within the Fire Nation Army. Zuko lived in exile and had a rough life and was sometimes an arogant jerk who tried to fight off the Avatar and his friends so he and his goons get the glory of being heroes themselves.

## Appearance

Zuko's hair is black and it is usually long in a way that goes to his neck. He has a scar on his left eye with tan skin. He wears red and gold clothes since he is from the Fire Nation.

## Personality

During his exile, Zuko was a bitter, impatient, and complex young man, akin to a tragic villain. More than anything, he wanted his place as heir to the Fire Nation throne and his father's love. Zuko believed, or forced himself to believe, that capturing the Avatar would make these wishes come true, making him one of Aang's most determined enemies.

Zuko believed one becomes strong by struggling and fighting for what they want. However, he expressed contradicting mindsets; he did not want good luck because he felt he could control his fate, but also believed he was marked unlucky and that the world was against him. His reaction to the perception of the world always set against him is iron-willed defiance and inflexible determination. He was clever, yet hot-headed, often letting his temper get the best of him. He seemed averse to the thought of harming others without any motive or benefit, having consented to Aang's request to spare the Southern Water Tribe in exchange for himself as his prisoner, and left the village unharmed. He rarely thinks his situations through, causing him to get in trouble; he captured Aang at the North Pole but chose to make his getaway through the perilous tundra, and he casually took the Sunstone off its pedestal in the Sun Warriors' temple only to fall into a trap. Said traits were criticized by his uncle, urging Zuko to try to control himself and think things through more often, which he managed to do over time.

Zuko had other contradictory traits, beliefs, and behaviors. He was domineering and controlling, a result of his upbringing as Fire Nation royalty, and disdained to work with people he believed were inferior; yet he adamantly refused to view people as expendable. He believed it was wrong to sacrifice able-bodied and willing troops as a diversionary tactic. During his banishment, he displayed zeal in pursuing the Avatar, using whatever means he thought necessary. Although he had said capturing the Avatar was a greater concern to him than the safety of his crew or himself, he showed compassion to those close to him, choosing to rescue Iroh when he was captured rather than pursue Aang, and risking his own life to save a member of his crew during a fierce storm. When the crew spotted Aang, he ordered the ship and crew to safety instead of chasing the Avatar. Even after all the hardship he suffered at the hands of his sister, Azula, he was still willing to vouch for her, giving her several chances for them to work together in order to find their mother. He even went as far as to show brotherly affection for her, inspired by Sokka's actions toward Katara. He was liable to commit brash actions against his sister, however, despite his best efforts to stop fighting her, even going as far as almost throwing her off a cliff.

Zuko was able to show mercy, even to his enemies. When fighting an Agni Kai with Zhao, he decided to spare him unscathed, though Zhao had expressed every intention to hurt Zuko.[21] Even after Zhao had arranged for Zuko to be murdered, Zuko offered his hand in order to save Zhao's life when the Ocean Spirit was about to drown him.

Zuko is sometimes sympathetic and sometimes regrets his behavior sometimes.

## Abilities

### Fire Bending

While growing up in the Fire Nation, Zuko showed no extraordinary skill in firebending. In his teen years, however, his ability began to develop significantly under his Uncle Iroh's tutelage, most noticeably during the last year of the Hundred Year War. He became able to fight on par with much more experienced firebenders, showing himself to be a late bloomer. Having continuously refined his skills, he has reached the point of becoming a firebending master, but despite his skill and fast development as a firebender, he has noted on more than one occasion that he is not as skilled or as powerful as his younger sister, Azula.

As a child, Zuko could only create small bursts of flame and was by no means focused or controlled in his bending, but by the time he was thirteen, he was confident enough in his abilities to readily accept a challenge of Agni Kai against General Bujing.

### Sword fighting

Aside from his bending, Zuko also developed masterful skill in swordsmanship, and he specialized in dual wielding swordplay, using a set of dao blades, skills he gained after being trained by the swordmaster Piandao. He would use these skills as his primary tactics whenever he was in his Blue Spirit disguise, unable to firebend, or when he needed to fight but also needed to conceal his firebending.