Avatar: The Last Airbender
Avatar: The Last Airbender is an American animated show from Nickelodeon, premiering on February 21, 2005. It was created by Michael Dante DiMartino and Brian Konietzko and directed by Aaron Ehasz. The series is set in a fantasy Asiatic-like world where some people can manipulate the classical elements (water, earth, fire, and air) with psychokinetic variants of the Chinese martial arts known as "bending"; the Avatar is a person who is the only person in the world to bend all four elements, as well as being a bridge between the human world and the spirit world. The series is presented in a style that blends anime and American cartoons and relies on imagery from East/South Asian, Inuit, and New World societies.
The series tells how the world lived in peace and harmony until the Fire Nation waged war against the other nations. A hundred years later, an Air Nomad Avatar named Aang awakens from being frozen and is befriended by two Southern Water Tribe siblings: a waterbender named Katara and her non-bending brother Sokka. Having run away at the start of the war, Aang soon accepts his role as the Avatar and learns to adapt to the world he has left behind. Later, joined by other friends and fighting new enemies, Aang and his companions must bring peace and unity to the world by ending the Fire Lord's war.
The series is praised for its art direction, humor, characters, themes, and cultural references. It was nominated for (and won) several awards and has sold plenty of merchandise, including action figures, a trading card game, video games, and stuffed animals; graphic novels were even released after the series ended, telling the adventures of Aang after the war. The series inspired a live-action movie in 2010 called The Last Airbender, directed by M. Night Shyamalan, though it was critically panned. A sequel called The Legend of Korra premiered in 2012, starring the titular Avatar after Aang, and a live-action remake of the series was released on Netflix on February 22, 2024. On February 24, 2021, an animated movie of the Avatar series was announced, titled "Aang: The Last Airbender," and Avatar Studios at Nickelodeon was created. A third series, called Avatar: Seven Havens, was announced on the series's 20th anniversary, starring the Avatar after Korra, Pavi.
There was a movie in production called Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender which was supposed to come out on Paramount+ in October 2026 after it was initially planned to be released to theaters. However, in April 2026, the entire movie was leaked to social media. Some fans refused to look at it to show loyalty to the creators and filmmakers, but some were a little disappointed that none of the original cast members were in the movie, with the exception of Dee Bradley Baker as Appa and Momo, and the animation style looked too different from the original show, and even The Legend of Korra. Due to the leak, the movie’s official release date was pushed to July 25, 2026.[1]
Setting
Avatar: The Last Airbender is set in an Asian-like world (along with a spirit world), home to humans and hybrid animals. The world is divided into four nations: the Water Tribe, the Earth Kingdom, the Fire Nation, and the Air Nomads. Each nation has people who are "benders" who can use telekinetic manipulation to control their nation's elemental martial arts.
Also in this world is the Avatar, a mediator maintaining harmony between the four nations and the human and spirit worlds. When the Avatar dies, their spirit reincarnates as the next Avatar of the next nation, following an order called the Avatar Cycle: Air Nomads, Water Tribe, Earth Kingdom, and Fire Nation. The Avatar is also the only being in this world who can bend all four elements, which must be mastered in order: they start with their home element before going through the other nations in the order of the Avatar Cycle; they usually begin at age 16. The Avatar can also use the ability to enter the Avatar State, where they gain all past Avatars' knowledge and skills. Although he/she is at their most potent, if an Avatar is killed in the Avatar State, the Cycle would end, and the Avatar would never again appear.
Story
A hundred years before the start of the series, the Fire Nation underwent rapid industrialization, technological advancement, and demographic shifts. The ruler of the Fire Nation, Fire Lord Sozin, planned to start a world war to expand his nation's territory, influence, and wealth, but the Fire Nation's Avatar stopped him: Roku (his best friend). After Roku's death, the next Avatar, an airbender named Aang, was born. Since the new Avatar was a child, Sozin seized his chance to continue his militant plans. Because of the threat of this world war, Aang learned about his Avatar earlier than usual, at the age of twelve. But Aang became afraid of his new responsibilities and worried he would be separated from his mentor, Gyatso, so he ran away from home with his flying bison, Appa. Out at sea, Aang got caught in a storm, entering the Avatar State and sealing himself and Appa in ice near the South Pole for a century.
Knowing that the new Avatar was an Air Nomad, Sozin committed genocide against the Air Nomads during Sozin's Comet. This comet appeared every 100 years and increased the power of firebenders. With this out of the way, Sozin continued his conquest and war, which lasted for a hundred years. The war also decimated the Southern Water Tribe until a handful of people remained.
A hundred years later (at the start of Season 1), a fourteen-year-old waterbender named Katara and her older brother Sokka find and revive Aang and Appa in the South Pole, where they live. Aang learns about the war, and he and the Water Tribe siblings decide to go to the Northern Water Tribe so that he and Katara can learn waterbending together. Pursuing them is Prince Zuko, the exiled son of the current Fire Lord, who sees the arrival of the Avatar, and he is joined by his uncle Iroh; he chases Aang in hopes of capturing him so that he can return home, though later his father reveals that he never wanted Zuko to return home at all. Another enemy pursuing them is Admiral Zhao, a Fire Nation admiral who intends to win Ozai's favor and nab himself some glory.
One of the first stops is the ruins of the Southern Air Temple, where Aang learned about his people's genocide. When the winter solstice rolls around, Aang meets the spirit of the Avatar before him, Avatar Roku, and comes to terms with the duties of the Avatar. After their adventure across the Earth Kingdom, they finally reach the Northern Water Tribe. Aang and Katara learn waterbending from Master Pakku, a stern man whose past is tied to Katara's grandmother. Sokka also falls in love with the chief's daughter, Princess Yue, and vows to protect her. Soon enough, Zhao and his navy lay siege to the Northern Water Tribe, capturing the mortal forms of the ocean and moon spirits - the first waterbenders. Zhao kills the moon spirit to rob the waterbenders of their power, but Aang joins the ocean spirit in driving off the enemy fleet (during which Zhao is dragged into the spirit world), while Yue sacrifices herself to restore the moon spirit to life. Ozai hears of Iroh's resistance to Zhao and sends his daughter, Azula, to capture his older brother and son.
In season 2, the three friends leave the Northern Water Tribe. Along the way, Aang and Katara continue their waterbending training while looking for an earthbending teacher for the former. The teacher they meet is a twelve-year-old blind girl named Toph Beifong, who wants independence from her upper-class protective parents. Pursued by Princess Azula and her gang, Prince Zuko and Iroh flee to the Earth Kingdom, living as wanderers and later refuges in Ba Sing Se, the Earth Kingdom's capital city. While exploring a library guarded by the owl-like spirit Wan Shi Tong, Aang and his friends learn of a solar eclipse that can diminish the Fire Nation's firebending and win them the war, so they journey to Ba Sing Se to tell the king about their plan (they lose Appa to sandbenders along the way, but they reunite with him in Ba Sing Se). They realize that Earth King Kuei is a puppet king manipulated by his advisor and head of the Dai Li secret police, Long Feng. They expose Long Feng's political schemes, while Azula collaborates with him and his Dai Li agents to conduct a coup d'état in Ba Sing Se. Zuko, who had spent time learning to make peace with his identity, ultimately sides with his sister. During a fight in the ancient catacombs under Ba Sing Se, Aang nearly completes the Avatar State only to be almost killed by Azula, forcing the heroes to flee with help from Iroh. Ba Sing Se is now under the rule of the Fire Nation.
In season 3, Aang finally awakes from a coma to see his friends and allies disguised as Fire Nation soldiers and citizens, preparing to invade the capital during the eclipse. They become ready to fight after spending time in the Fire Nation and among its people. The invasion succeeds at first, but because Azula had warned Ozai about the eclipse, Aang and his friends cannot find the Fire Lord and thus retreat. Zuko learns about the destruction his father plans to unleash upon the Earth Kingdom during Sozin's Comet, a massive comet that significantly enhances a firebender's power. He regrets choosing his father's authoritarian rule and abandons the Fire Nation to help Aang and teach him firebending. A few days before the comet's arrival, Aang wrestles with the possibility of killing Ozai to end the war, since, as a pacifist, he prefers not to kill, and he asks the spirits of his past lives for advice. In the meantime, Zuko, Katara, and the others meet up with Iroh, who leads a secret society called the Order of the White Lotus. Once Sozin's Comet arrives, the White Lotus liberates Ba Sing Se from the Fire Nation's grasp. Zuko and Katara confront Azula the day she is crowned the new Fire Lord, while Sokka, Toph, and Suki (Sokka's girlfriend from the Kyoshi Warriors) try to stop the Fire Nation's air fleet. Finally, Aang battles Ozai but is beaten until Ozai accidentally triggers Aang's final connection to the Avatar State. After a decisive fight, Aang strips Ozai of his firebending powers with a move called "energybending", which can remove a person's bending. Zuko is crowned the new Fire Lord in his father's place, and the remaining three nations work together for peace.
Main Characters
Avatar Aang (voiced by Zach Tyler Eisen): Aang is the main protagonist of the story as well as the current Avatar. He is the only human survivor of the Air Nomad massacre, waking up from spending a century in an iceberg that he had created. Aang is shown to have a lively and fun-loving spirit, taking time to have fun alongside taking up his Avatar duties. He's also a vegetarian, as Air Nomads are taught to respect all animals and refrain from eating meat. Despite his free-spirited personality, he does have self-doubt about being the Avatar, feeling tremendous guilt for leaving his people behind.
Katara (voiced by Mae Whitman): Katara is the deuteragonist of the story and Aang's love interest. She aspires to become a powerful waterbender, tagging along with Aang on his quest to the Northern Water Tribe with her brother. Early in the series, Katara is shown to have a selfless attitude, wanting to help people out (like saving her friend Haru when he gets arrested for earthbending or healing a fishing village in the Fire Nation by pretending to be a spirit), and she becomes a caretaker of sorts for the gang. While kind-hearted and determined to do what's right, she has a fierce temper and is not quite forgiving if she or her friends are crossed (especially shown when she confronts her mother's murderer later in the series). She also learns bloodbending - manipulating the blood flowing in a living being, whether human or animal - from an elderly Water Tribe woman named Hama, who had been taken prisoner by the Fire Nation military and had been taking it out on innocent citizens in the Fire Nation.
Sokka (voiced by Jack DeSena): Sokka is Katara's older brother and the only non-bending group member (until his girlfriend Suki joins them in the third season). Sokka is a jack-of-all-trades character, having interests ranging from weapons to technology; non-combat interests include fishing and inventing. He's also the gang's leading source of comic relief, offering some of the wittier lines of the series (whether with genuine humor or sarcasm). The series starts with him being more of a jerk with a low opinion of girls and women, but being beaten in a spar by Suki's Kyoshi Warriors humbles him.
Toph Beifong (voiced by Jessie Flower): Toph is a young blind earthbender and eventual creator of metalbending. Due to having been born blind, she ends up being sheltered by her overprotective parents, who don't know about their daughter's power. Once she meets Aang and his friends, she runs away from home and becomes Aang's earthbending teacher. Toph matches Sokka in delivering some of the wittier lines in the series (including quips about being blind when asked if she can see anything), and she has a rebellious streak as well. She can sense her way through the world through her feet via earthbending; she becomes metaphorically blind if walking on sand or ice.
Zuko (voiced by Dante Basco): Prince Zuko is the crown prince of the Fire Nation and a recurring antagonist in the first season. Three years before the story takes place, he had been brutally burned and banished by his father, Fire Lord Ozai, for speaking out of turn during a war meeting. He is tasked with finding the Avatar and has his uncle, former general Iroh, to help him during his journey. Throughout the series, Zuko wages a war within himself over whether to keep appealing to Ozai's nonexistent love for him or forge his path and pursue a life of good. He's also shown to have been very close to his mother and is saddened by her exile from the Fire Nation, for she had had a hand in the death of Ozai's father, Azulon.
Azula (voiced by Grey Griffon): Princess Azula is the princess of the Fire Nation and Zuko's younger sister, as well as a significant antagonist starting from the second season. Azula is a cold, calculating girl and a firebending prodigy, often one-upping her older brother and bragging about it. She eventually enlists the help of her two childhood friends - Mai and Ty Lee - to help her capture the Avatar.
Iroh (voiced by Mako Iwamatsu in Seasons 1 and 2/Greg Baldwin in Season 3): Iroh is the former crown prince of the Fire Nation, eldest son of Fire Lord Azulon, as well as a retired general. After losing his son in the battle against Ba Sing Se, Iroh retires from a life of battle and becomes a more peaceful man. He becomes his nephew Zuko's mentor and father figure when the latter's father scars and banishes him. He is also wise and has a good sense of humor, advising Zuko and allowing him to decide his own destiny. Despite his more peaceful ways, he can still fight and is known as the "Dragon of the West," able to spew fire from his mouth like a dragon.
Appa (voiced by Dee Bradley Baker): Appa is Aang's pet flying bison and the main means of transportation for the protagonists. While indeed a form of transportation, he can airbend just as well as his rider (his species being the first airbenders). He is afraid of going underground and, after having been in a harsh circus, fire. According to Aang, he has five stomachs. His species is inspired mainly by the American bison, as well as the manatee and the beaver. Since the flying bison are nearly extinct in Avatar, Appa was originally intended to be a pregnant female; the sequel series The Legend of Korra confirms that Aang found a long-lost herd of flying bison.
Momo (voiced by Dee Bradley Baker): Momo is Aang's pet flying lemur, a curious creature that adds to the comedy in the series. His species is inspired mainly by the lemur (a sifaka), as well as having the wings of a bat and the curiosity of a house cat.
Ozai (voiced by Mark Hamill): Fire Lord Ozai is the main antagonist of the series, Zuko and Azula's father, and Iroh's younger brother. A cruel and violent man, Ozai will stop at nothing until the Fire Nation dominates the two remaining nations, using Sozin's Comet as his endgame plan. He is also shown to be emotionally and eventually physically abusive towards his son, Zuko, scarring him for speaking out of turn during a war meeting. Azula herself is favored heavily by Ozai for sharing his cruelty and lust for power, but even she isn't spared from his neglect; when he makes her Fire Lord in the series finale, he immediately makes her title of Fire Lord as useless as he gives himself the title "Phoenix King." He also shows no regard for his older brother, Iroh, as when he tells his father, Azulon, to strip Iroh of his heir status due to having lost his son; when Azulon furiously refuses and threatens to kill one of Ozai's children in return, Ozai immediately agrees to let him do it.
Supporting Characters
Suki (voiced by Jennie Kwan): Suki is the leader of the Kyoshi Warriors, a group of female fighters from Kyoshi Island who arrest Aang, Katara, and Sokka for trespassing on the island and for being potential Fire Nation spies. She also serves as Sokka’s girlfriend after she and the other Kyoshi Warriors humble him, and travels with the main group on the Serpent’s Pass and during the final battle. Suki is a proud warrior and has a bit of a playful side, as when she reunited with Sokka in Season 2, she was in different attire and took advantage of that when she did a fake-out on him.
Mai (voiced by Cricket Leigh): Mai is one of Azula’s childhood friends, and served as one of her enforcers in Season 2 and early Season 3. Mai is shown to be very bored with life, as she easily joined Azula’s quest to capture Iroh and Zuko because “Anything to get out of this place.” Mai also had a crush on Zuko since she was young, and the two become a couple at the beginning of Season 3, but have suffered two breakups since. Despite this, her love for Zuko caused her to betray Azula, and the two become a couple again in the ending. Mai is a non-bender, so her choice of weaponry is throwing knives.
Ty Lee (voiced by Olivia Hack): Ty Lee is one of Azula’s childhood friends, and served as one of her enforcers in Season 2 and most of Season 3. Before joining Azula’s quest, she was a circus performer, and only joined Azula because Azula made her stunts more dangerous. Ty Lee was shown to be more loyal than Mai, as she was willing to chase Katara and Sokka through the inside of the drill machine, where Mai refused to get dirty. Despite her loyalty to Azula, that got fractured because, after Mai helped Zuko, Sokka, and other prisoners escape, Azula was going to kill her on the spot, but Ty Lee jumped in and did a chi block, which temporarily paralyzed Azula. In the ending, she joins the Kyoshi Warriors. Like Mai, Ty Lee is a non-bender, so her means of attack is a quick nerve attack known as chi blocking, which temporarily paralyzes victims and also takes away their ability to bend the elements.
Commander/Admiral Zhao (voiced by Jason Issacs): Zhao is a proud Commander in the Fire Nation military before being promoted to Admiral. He served as a major antagonist for Aang and Zuko in Season 1, as he learns that the Avatar is alive and hunts him down to prevent Zuko from completing his quest. Zhao is shown to be a very dishonorable man, as when he lost an Agni Kai to Zuko, he tried throwing a fireball when Zuko’s back was turned, before being blocked by Iroh. Zhao is also shown to be so willing to defeat his enemies that he would kill the Moon Spirit at the North Pole to permanently take away the Moon, which is the source of power for the Waterbenders. When he is taken by the Ocean Spirit for his deed, Zuko tries saving him, but Zhao’s pride refused the help, leading to his death.
Long Feng (voiced by Clancy Brown): Long Feng is the cultural minister in Ba Sing Se, and the leader of the Dai Li, the secret police who brainwash people into believing that the war the Fire Nation waged is nothing but fiction. Long Feng is shown to be a power-hungry man who maintains a hold on the Earth King, who spent his entire life in the inner ring of the city and knows nothing about the war. After Aang and co. prove to the King that the war is real, Long Feng is arrested, but the Dai Li still support him. Later, he makes a deal with Azula to give her the Avatar in exchange for overthrowing the military and the King. After that, Azula takes control of the Dai Li after they find her leadership better than Long Feng’s, and he kneels to her after the coup is successful.
Jet (voiced by Crawford Wilson): Jet is the leader of the Freedom Fighters, a group of young people who lost their homes to the Fire Nation. Behind Jet’s noble goals lies a manipulative and desperate teen, as he wanted to flood a town occupied by the Fire Nation, which would kill everyone there. In his debut episode, he manipulated Katara and Aang into helping him raise the water levels near the dam close to the town he wanted to destroy. Jet’s goals almost succeeded, but everyone in the town was saved thanks to Sokka warning them. Furthermore, his group beat up a defenseless old man under the pretense that he may be Fire Nation. Katara even developed a crush on Jet, but his true colors turned her against him. In Season 2, Jet wanted to start a new life with some of the Freedom Fighters in Ba Sing Se, but he relapsed into his old self when he saw Iroh firebend to warm up his tea. He tries proving that Iroh and his nephew Zuko are Fire Nation, but he’s arrested and brainwashed by the Dai Li. He later tells Aang and co. about Lake Laogi, where he was brainwashed, but when they get there, Long Feng brainwashes him again by saying the code word, chasing him to fight Aang. Aang eventually gets Jet to remember who he is, which leads to Long Feng killing Jet.
Subversive Elements
Like most children’s shows not about Christianity, this show was notorious for its subversive elements, most notably in the Season 2 finale where Aang went through training to master the Avatar State from a guru who resembled a Hindu, and he taught Aang to master the seven chakras, which are a big part of the Hindu faith.
Furthermore, at the end of Season 1, when Aang, Katara, and Sokka are in the North Pole, the former two want to take lessons from Master Pakku, who is the Northern Water Tribe’s best Waterbender, but he refuses to teach Katara how to fight because she’s a girl, saying that she should learn how to heal. Katara challenges Pakku to a fight, which he reluctantly accepts, and after he wins, he forgets his philosophy the tribe practiced for centuries because Katara’s skills were impressive, and she had the necklace he made for Katara’s grandmother, as they were supposed to marry before she left him due to his teaching philosophy.