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| | nationality = ] (Southern Air Temple) | | nationality = ] (Southern Air Temple) | ||
| | gender = Male | | gender = Male | ||
| | hair = |
| hair = Shaved bald (dark brown) <!-- DO NOT CHANGE WITHOUT DISCUSSING ON TALK PAGE. --> | ||
| | eyes = Blue-gray | |||
| | age = 12 (112 biologically) | | age = 12 (112 biologically) | ||
| | position = ] <!-- DO NOT CHANGE WITHOUT DISCUSSING ON TALK PAGE. --> | | position = ] <!-- DO NOT CHANGE WITHOUT DISCUSSING ON TALK PAGE. --> | ||
| | appearance = "The Boy in the Iceberg" | | appearance = "The Boy in the Iceberg" | ||
| | voice = ] | | voice = ] | ||
Revision as of 19:38, 18 February 2008
Fictional character| Aang | |
|---|---|
| File:Aang and Momo-Fire Background.jpg | |
| Voiced by | Zach Tyler Eisen |
| In-universe information | |
| Gender | Male |
| Position | Avatar |
| Nationality | Air Nomads (Southern Air Temple) |
Aang is a fictional character and the main protagonist for Nickelodeon's animated television series Avatar: The Last Airbender, created by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko and voiced by Zach Tyler Eisen.
Twelve-year-old Aang is the last surviving Airbender, a monk of the Air Nomads' Southern Air Temple, and is a supercentenarian at the incarnation age of 112. He is the current incarnation of the Avatar, the spirit of the planet manifested in human form. Aang, as the Avatar, controls the elements and is tasked with keeping the Four Nations at peace.
Aang is the series' reluctant hero and comic, spending a century in suspended animation before joining new friends Katara and Sokka on a quest to master the elements and save their world from the war-hungry imperialist Fire Nation.
Creation and conception
Aang was derived from a sketch created by director Bryan Konietzko as a middle-aged bald man with an arrow on his head. Konietzko metamorphosized the character into a child shepherding bison in the sky. Meanwhile, director Michael Dante DiMartino was interested in a documentary about explorers trapped in the South Pole and the idea caused the pair to think:
There's an air guy along with these water people trapped in a snowy wasteland... and maybe some fire people are pressing down on them...
— Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko
Originally, Aang was going to be trapped for a thousand years in an iceberg before waking to a world of new technology, to Momo his pet robot, and a dozen flying bison. However, they lost interest in the futuristic theme and they decided on 100 years of suspended animation, a flying lemur named Momo, and a bison named Appa.
Many of Aang's beliefs, such as his vegan diet and his respect for the planet, are derived from Buddhism and Taoism. For instance, in the Brahmajala Sutra, a Buddhist code of ethics, vegetarianism is encouraged. Aang's airbending follows an "internal" Chinese martial arts called Baguazhang, focusing on centrifugal movements to represent air's unpredictability, and does not have many finishing moves, to represent the peaceful belief amongst most airbenders.
Plot overview
Beginning
At a young age, Aang and the other airbending children travel to the Eastern Air Temple to choose a flying bison partner, named Appa. The elder monks held a private meeting with Aang to reveal his identity as the Avatar. Monk Gyatso, Aang's mentor and father-figure, insisted Aang be raised as a regular child. The monks believed Gyatso interfered too much, so they sent Aang to the Eastern Air Temple.
When Aang did not want to be torn away from his mentor, he wrote a note for Gyatso and flew away on his bison, Appa. While fleeing the temple, Aang is caught by a violent storm and plummets into the ocean. He entered the Avatar State unknowingly for the first time, using waterbending and airbending to encase himself and Appa in a frozen air bubble resembling an iceberg.
Book One: Water
Aang and Appa are freed by Katara and her brother Sokka after 100 years in the frozen air bubble. All four characters set off for the Northern Water Tribe to find a waterbending master. Aang meets his previous incarnation, Avatar Roku, informing him that he must master all four bending arts and defeat Fire Lord Ozai before the return of Sozin's Comet at the end of summer.
Book Two: Earth
If Aang dies in the Avatar State, the Avatar cycle would be broken and the Avatar would cease to exist. Aang meets Toph Bei Fong, a blind earthbending master, who becomes his earthbending teacher. Aang and his friends find out that a solar eclipse will occur before the arrival of Sozin's Comet, rendering the Firebenders powerless. The group journeys towards Ba Sing Se to inform the Earth King about it.
Aang then travels to the Eastern Air Temple to train with Guru Pathik in mastering the Avatar State. He is unable to complete his training when he sees a vision of Katara in danger. Later, in the battle in the underground caverns of Ba Sing Se, Aang is nearly killed when Azula strikes him down with lightning. Katara escapes with Aang and successfully brings him back from near death using water from the Spirit Oasis.
Book Three: Fire
Aang wakes up after spending several weeks in a coma, heavily bandaged with a scar on his back and finds out the world believes he is dead. Aang is now unable to enter the Avatar State because Azula's lightning strike blocked his seventh chakra. The gang gains a new enemy while traveling, an assassin hired by Zuko, who firebends with his third eye.
Despite the loss of the Earth King's army, Aang and his remaining allies attacked the Fire Nation capital in the Day of Black Sun, but were thwarted by Azula. He had to retreat with his friends to the Western Air Temple.
Aang accepts Zuko's offer to teach him firebending despite the group's reluctance to let their arch-nemesis join. Unfortunately, Zuko is unable to firebend properly, thus Aang and Zuko seek help from the Sun Warriors to discover the original way of firebending.
Characteristics
Michael Dante DiMartino, the show's co-creator, said:
We wanted Aang to solve problems and defeat enemies with his wits as well as his powerful abilities.
— Michael Dante DiMartino
Aang possesses a deep respect for life and freedom, as evidenced by his vegetarianism and his reluctance to fight. Aang prides himself on a complex social network of friends extending over all four nations.
Aang feels a heavy burden as Avatar. As the reluctant hero, Aang wishes he had been there to help his people a century ago, but would still rather live a child's carefree life. Aang cares deeply for those close to him, even to the point of deceiving others to keep the group together. For example, in "Bato of the Water Tribe," Aang thought Katara and Sokka might leave to visit their father, so Aang hid the map showing his whereabouts and lied about having it in the first place.
Reception
Parents have received Aang’s childish nature especially well. One reviewer states, "Aang seems to be the lighthearted kid that you can easily familiarize yourself with," and that he "seems to bring comfort in the most dangerous or hostile situations." There are many similar descriptions about Aang as a child-like character who is "reckless and excitable", thus allowing viewers to relate to him easily.
Avatar
Bending
Aang, as the reincarnated Avatar, possesses the ability to bend all four elements. Since he is a practitioner of the Chinese martial art of Baguazhang, he is a master at airbending; he can fly by manipulating the air creating a technique called the Air Scooter, but prefers to hang glide or ride on Appa. Even though naturally gifted in the bending arts as demonstrated in "The Waterbending Scroll", Aang's lack of focus has allowed Katara to surpass him in water manipulating skills; as a result she taught Aang waterbending. Aang had difficulty learning earthbending's offensive techniques from Toph in Bitter Work, preferring his habitual evasive maneuvers.
In the first season, Aang had little skill with fire, having received a rudimentary object lesson in breath control and firebending. After burning Katara, he vowed to never firebend again. In "The Western Air Temple", Zuko joins the group and offers to teach him firebending. Aang, at first, rejected him, but when he realizes that Zuko understands that he needs control over his bending or he would hurt other people, Aang accepts him as his teacher. After two dragons teach Aang the meaning of firebending, he is able to shoot out a large blast of fire with no apparent effort.
In "The Deserter", Jeong Jeong says that to master firebending, Aang, as the Avatar, will need to first master the other bending arts in their natural order--air, water, earth, and fire--implying that the disciplines of one bending art will support the disciplines of the next bending art in order--'evade and avoid' - 'redirect and turn against the opponent' - 'standing one's ground and enduring' and 'pre-emptive first strike'. In Bitter Work, Iroh comments:
It is important to draw wisdom from many different places. If we take it from only one place, it becomes rigid and stale. Understanding others, the other elements, and the other nations will help you become whole...It is the combination of the four elements in one person that makes the Avatar so powerful.
— Iroh
Spirit
Aang often receives advice and guidance from Avatar Roku, the previous incarnation. He has guided Aang several times, appearing to Jeong Jeong to persuade him to teach Aang, offering critical wisdom in the ways of the spirit world during "The Siege of the North", and most importantly, revealing to Aang the nature of the Avatar State. After receiving a letter from Guru Pathik in "The Earth King", Aang journeys to the Eastern Air Temple to learn to control the Avatar State. Guru Pathik reveals that the secret of entering, controlling, and leaving the Avatar State by free will lay in the 'releasing' of seven chakras. Aang struggles with the seventh - earthly attachments, namely, his love for Katara. Guru Pathik states that Aang's refusal to let Katara go has 'locked the final chakra,' disallowing him to enter the Avatar State. However, in "The Crossroads of Destiny", Aang attempts to open the seventh chakra and enter the Avatar State after the realization that he cannot win the fight against Zuko, Azula and the Dai Li. Once again, Aang was unsuccessful to achieve the mastery when Azula attacked him from behind, disrupting the process. From that point on, Aang has no longer been able to access the Avatar State.
Medium
Aang has the capacity to act as a medium, a bridge between the mortal world and the spirit world, the plane of existence where the universe's disembodied spirits dwell. Through inducing a deep meditative state, Aang can separate from his body and travel the physical world's astral plane in astral form, or, with the help of a gateway, travel to the spirit world. Once in the spirit world, Aang can travel freely and communicate with beings such as Avatar Roku or Koh the Face Stealer. This position as intermediary also allows him to channel spirits while in the Avatar State.
Appearances in other media
Aang has appeared in the Avatar: The Last Airbender Trading Card Game on a multitude of cards. He also appeared in the Avatar: The Last Airbender video game, released for various consoles, as one of the four playable characters in each game. The second installment is called Avatar: The Last Airbender - The Burning Earth. In addition, Avatar T-shirts, some with Aang appearing on them, are being sold through the Nickelodeon Shop website. Tokyopop has published a cine-manga, which Aang, being the main character of the show, appears in repeatedly.
See also
- Characters with flight
- List of fictional characters who can manipulate earth
- List of fictional characters who can manipulate fire
References
- ^ Director: Dave Filoni, Writers: Michael Dante DiMartino, Bryan Konietzko (2005-02-21). "The Boy in the Iceberg". Avatar: The Last Airbender. Season 1. Episode 1. Nickelodeon.
{{cite episode}}: External link in|transcripturl=|serieslink=ignored (|series-link=suggested) (help); Unknown parameter|transcripturl=ignored (|transcript-url=suggested) (help) - ^ DiMartino, Michael Dante; Konietzko, Bryan (Winter 2006), "In Their Elements", Nickelodeon Magazine, p. 6
{{citation}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link) - DiMartino, Michael Dante; Konietzko, Bryan (Winter 2006), "Myth Conceptions", Nickelodeon Magazine, p. 7
{{citation}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link) - Jing, Fanwang. "Brahmajala Sutra Translated Text" (HTML). Purify Out Mind. p. 4. Retrieved 2008-02-12.
He must not create the causes...and shall not intentionally kill any living creature.
- "Nickelodeon's Official Avatar: The Last Airbender Flash Site". Nick.com. Retrieved 2006-12-02.
- Director: Lauren MacMullan, Writer: Michael Dante DiMartino (2005-02-25). "The Southern Air Temple". Avatar: The Last Airbender. Season 1. Episode 3. Nickelodeon.
{{cite episode}}: External link in|transcripturl=|serieslink=ignored (|series-link=suggested) (help); Unknown parameter|transcripturl=ignored (|transcript-url=suggested) (help) - Director: Dave Filoni, Writers: Michael Dante DiMartino, Bryan Konietzko (2005-02-21). "The Avatar Returns". Avatar: The Last Airbender. Season 1. Episode 2. Nickelodeon.
{{cite episode}}: External link in|transcripturl=|serieslink=ignored (|series-link=suggested) (help); Unknown parameter|transcripturl=ignored (|transcript-url=suggested) (help) - Director: Giancarlo Volpe, Writer: Michael Dante DiMartino (2005-04-15). "Avatar Roku (Winter Solstice, Part 2)". Avatar: The Last Airbender. Season 1. Episode 8. Nickelodeon.
{{cite episode}}: External link in|transcripturl=|serieslink=ignored (|series-link=suggested) (help); Unknown parameter|transcripturl=ignored (|transcript-url=suggested) (help) - ^ Director: Giancarlo Volpe; Writers: Aaron Ehasz, Elizabeth Welch Ehasz, Tim Hedrick, John O'Bryan (2006-03-17). "The Avatar State". Avatar: The Last Airbender. Season 2. Episode 1. Nickelodeon.
{{cite episode}}: External link in|transcripturl=|serieslink=ignored (|series-link=suggested) (help); Unknown parameter|transcripturl=ignored (|transcript-url=suggested) (help) - Director: Ethan Spaulding; Writer: Michael Dante DiMartino (2006-05-05). "The Blind Bandit". Avatar: The Last Airbender. Season 2. Episode 6. Nickelodeon.
{{cite episode}}: External link in|transcripturl=|serieslink=ignored (|series-link=suggested) (help); Unknown parameter|transcripturl=ignored (|transcript-url=suggested) (help) - Director: Giancarlo Volpe; Writer: John O'Bryan (2006-06-14). "The o VolpeLibrary". Avatar: The Last Airbender. Season 2. Episode 10. Nickelodeon.
{{cite episode}}: External link in|transcripturl=|serieslink=ignored (|series-link=suggested) (help); Unknown parameter|transcripturl=ignored (|transcript-url=suggested) (help) - Director: Lauren MacMullan; Writer: Tim Hedrick (2006-06-14). "The Desert". Avatar: The Last Airbender. Season 2. Episode 11. Nickelodeon.
{{cite episode}}: External link in|transcripturl=|serieslink=ignored (|series-link=suggested) (help); Unknown parameter|transcripturl=ignored (|transcript-url=suggested) (help) - ^ Director: Giancarlo; Writers: Michael Dante DiMartino, Bryan Konietzko (2006-12-01). "The Guru". Avatar: The Last Airbender. Season 2. Episode 19. Nickelodeon.
{{cite episode}}: External link in|transcripturl=|serieslink=ignored (|series-link=suggested) (help); Unknown parameter|transcripturl=ignored (|transcript-url=suggested) (help) - Director: Michael Dante DiMartino; Writer: Aaron Ehasz (2006-12-01). "The Crossroads of Destiny". Avatar: The Last Airbender. Season 2. Episode 20. Nickelodeon.
{{cite episode}}: External link in|transcripturl=|serieslink=ignored (|series-link=suggested) (help); Unknown parameter|transcripturl=ignored (|transcript-url=suggested) (help) - Director: Giancarlo Volpe; Writer: Michael Dante DiMartino (2007-11-23). "The Day of Black Sun Part 1: The Invasion". Avatar: The Last Airbender. Season 3. Episode 10. Nickelodeon.
{{cite episode}}: External link in|transcripturl=|serieslink=ignored (|series-link=suggested) (help); Unknown parameter|transcripturl=ignored (|transcript-url=suggested) (help) - Director: Ethan Spaulding; Writer: Elizabeth Welch Ehasz (2007-10-24). "The Avatar and the Firelord". Avatar: The Last Airbender. Season 3. Episode 6. Nickelodeon.
{{cite episode}}: External link in|transcripturl=|serieslink=ignored (|series-link=suggested) (help); Unknown parameter|transcripturl=ignored (|transcript-url=suggested) (help) - ^ Director: Giancarlo Volpe; Writer: John O'Brien (2007-01-04). "The Firebending Masters". Avatar: The Last Airbender. Season 3. Episode 13. Nickelodeon.
{{cite episode}}: External link in|transcripturl=|serieslink=ignored (|series-link=suggested) (help); Unknown parameter|transcripturl=ignored (|transcript-url=suggested) (help) - DiMartino, Michael Dante; Konietzko, Bryan (2007-09-06). "Interview: Avatar's Bryan Konietzko and Michael Dante DiMartino" (url) (Interview). Interviewed by Eduardo Vasconcellos. Retrieved 2007-11-11.
{{cite interview}}: Unknown parameter|subjectlink2=ignored (|subject-link2=suggested) (help) - Director: Anthony Lioi; Writer: John O'Bryan (2005-03-18). "The King of Omashu". Avatar: The Last Airbender. Season 1. Episode 5. Nickelodeon.
{{cite episode}}: External link in|transcripturl=|serieslink=ignored (|series-link=suggested) (help); Unknown parameter|transcripturl=ignored (|transcript-url=suggested) (help) - ^ Director: Lauren MacMullan; Writer: Aaron Ehasz (2005-04-08). "The Spirit World (Winter Solstice, Part 1)". Avatar: The Last Airbender. Season 1. Episode 7. Nickelodeon.
{{cite episode}}: External link in|transcripturl=|serieslink=ignored (|series-link=suggested) (help); Unknown parameter|transcripturl=ignored (|transcript-url=suggested) (help) - Director: Lauren MacMullan; Writer: Aaron Ehasz (2005-06-03). "The Storm". Avatar: The Last Airbender. Season 1. Episode 12. Nickelodeon.
{{cite episode}}: External link in|transcripturl=|serieslink=ignored (|series-link=suggested) (help); Unknown parameter|transcripturl=ignored (|transcript-url=suggested) (help) - Director: Giancarlo Volpe; Writer: Ian Wilcox (2005-10-07). "Bato of the Water Tribe". Avatar: The Last Airbender. Season 1. Episode 15. Nickelodeon.
{{cite episode}}: External link in|transcripturl=|serieslink=ignored (|series-link=suggested) (help); Unknown parameter|transcripturl=ignored (|transcript-url=suggested) (help) - Lyons, Kendall (2005-12-08). "Avatar: The Last Airbender" (HTML). Animation Inside. p. 2. Retrieved 2008-02-15.
Aang seems to be the lighthearted kid that you can easily familiarize yourself with. He seems to bring comfort in the most dangerous or hostile situations.
- Robinson, Tasha (2006-03-07). "Avatar: The Last Airbender" (HTML). Sci-Fi Weekly. p. 2. Retrieved 2008-02-15.
Aang, meanwhile, is as reckless and excitable as a kid his age should be, but he also shows the marks of a monastic life of training and responsibility.
- Director: Anthony Lioi; Writer: John O'Bryan (2005-04-29). "The Waterbending Scroll". Avatar: The Last Airbender. Season 1. Episode 9. Nickelodeon.
{{cite episode}}: External link in|transcripturl=|serieslink=ignored (|series-link=suggested) (help); Unknown parameter|transcripturl=ignored (|transcript-url=suggested) (help) - Director: Ethan Spaulding; Writer: Aaron Ehasz (2006-06-02). "Bitter Work". Avatar: The Last Airbender. Season 2. Episode 9. Nickelodeon.
{{cite episode}}: External link in|transcripturl=|serieslink=ignored (|series-link=suggested) (help); Unknown parameter|transcripturl=ignored (|transcript-url=suggested) (help) - Director: Lauren MacMullan; Writer: Tim Hedrick (2005-10-21). "The Deserter". Avatar: The Last Airbender. Season 1. Episode 16. Nickelodeon.
{{cite episode}}: External link in|transcripturl=|serieslink=ignored (|series-link=suggested) (help); Unknown parameter|transcripturl=ignored (|transcript-url=suggested) (help) - Director: Dave Filoni; Writer: Aaron Ehasz (2005-12-02). "The Siege of the North, Part II". Avatar: The Last Airbender. Season 1. Episode 20. Nickelodeon.
{{cite episode}}: External link in|transcripturl=|serieslink=ignored (|series-link=suggested) (help); Unknown parameter|transcripturl=ignored (|transcript-url=suggested) (help) - "The Earth King". Avatar: The Last Airbender. Season 2. Episode 18. 2006-11-16.
{{cite episode}}: External link in|transcripturl=|serieslink=ignored (|series-link=suggested) (help); Unknown parameter|transcripturl=ignored (|transcript-url=suggested) (help) - "Upper Deck Entertainment Teams Up With Nickelodeon to Produce New Trading Card Game Based on the Wildly Popular Animated Series 'Avatar: The Last Airbender'" (HTML). PR Newswire. 2006-01-24. Retrieved 2008-02-11.
- "Mattel - Avatar, The Last Airbender" (HTML). ASM Magazine. 2006-02-12. Retrieved 2008-02-11.
- "The Nickelodeon Shop - Avatar" (HTML). Nickelodeon. Retrieved 2008-02-11.
- "ICv2 News - 'Avatar Cine-Manga' Tops 500k" (HTML). ICv2. 2006-05-25. Retrieved 2008-02-11.
External links
| Avatar: The Last Airbender | |||||||||||||||
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| The Last Airbender (The Legend of Aang) |
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| The Legend of Korra |
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| Chronicles of the Avatar | |||||||||||||||
| Related articles | |||||||||||||||
