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Aang
File:Avatar-book 1 Chapters 1 And 2 0003.jpg
Voiced byMitchell Musso (Pilot Only)
Zach Tyler Eisen
In-universe information
AliasesKuzon
GenderMale
PositionAvatar
NationalityAir Nomads (Southern Air Temple)

Aang is the main fictional character in the Nickelodeon animated television series Avatar: The Last Airbender. He is voiced by Zach Tyler Eisen, but was voiced by Mitchel Musso in the unaired pilot episode. Despite his young appearance, Aang is actually a 112-year-old monk, derived the Air Nomads, a tribe of people in the series who are defined by their ability to manipulate air. While spending 100 years of his life in suspended animation, a war breaks out between the belligerent Fire Nation and the other more peaceful nations, which include the Air Nomads, the Water Tribes, and the Earth Kingdom. After being released by Katara and Sokka, members of the Water Tribes at the South Pole, he is soon to be found as the current reincarnation of the Avatar, the character whom all of the nations have been hoping would return and end the disastrous war. With his new friends, including Toph who would appear in the second season (denoted as Book 2 as according to the show's aliases for different seasons), and his two pets, Appa and Momo, Aang journeys on a quest to master the elements, defeat the Fire Lord, and bring peace to the war-torn nations.

Aang's shaved head is a symbol of his status as a monk of the Air Nomads and the blue, arrow-shaped tattoos mark him as an Airbending Master. He comes from the Southern Air Temple where his guardian was Monk Gyatso. After he overheard that he would have to be separated from his guardian, he ran away, leaving the temple vulnerable to the attack that would soon wipe out the rest of the airbenders. While running away, a storm drove him and his flying bison, Appa, underwater, almost drowning them both until Aang encased the two in a massive ball of ice, which Aang would remain in for one hundred years of suspended animation. However, after Katara and Sokka broke him out of the frozen prison while fishing at the South Pole where they live, he quickly learns about the war going on between the Fire Nation and the other three nations, in addition to discovering that a banished Fire Nation Prince, Prince Zuko, has been chasing him for the longest time, hoping to destroy all hopes of the war ending and to regain his honor after a previous dispute between him and his father, Fire Lord Ozai.

After leaving the South Pole to save the tribe from being destroyed by Zuko, he is accompanied by Katara and Sokka on a long journey to the North Pole where he will be able to master Waterbending, the ability to manipulate water. He encounters many side trips, but finally succeeds by getting to his destination, from which he will leave to learn Earthbending, the ability to manipulate earth, and then to learn Firebending, the ability to manipulate fire.

History

File:Aang-baby.jpg
Baby Aang.

Aang, as the present reincarnation of the Avatar, was born upon the death of Avatar Roku, the late human Avatar incarnate. During his childhood, Aang was housed, raised and educated at the Southern Air Temple hidden in the Patola Mountain range--one of four Air Nomad temples and territory. When Aang was a child, he unknowingly revealed to the Air Nomad Elders of the Southern Air Temple that he was the next reincarnation of the Avatar when he chose four specific toys out of thousands. These four toys--a string-powered propeller (Air), a clay turtle flute (Water), a wooden Hog-Monkey (Earth) and a wooden hand drum (Fire)--were the same ones that past Avatars had chosen for generations when they were children.

This is the same procedure a child must go through in order to be recognized as the reincarnation of a Tulku Lama in Tibetan Buddhism. According to the book Magic and Mystery in Tibet by Alexandra David-Néel, "a number of objects such as rosaries, ritualistic implements, books, tea-cups, etc., are placed together, and the child must pick out those which belonged to the late tulku, thus showing that he recognizes the things which were his in his previous life".

Raised by Airbender monks, Aang grew up in the idyllic surroundings of the Southern Air Temple. Aang was a carefree young boy, given to frequent travel, play, and possessing an almost effortless mastery over his native element. His world drastically changed when the monks revealed that he was the Avatar, destined to master all four elements and bring peace to the world.

Usually, the Avatar is told of his or her true identity only after turning sixteen; however, Aang's caretakers feared that a war between the Four Nations was on the horizon and believed that the Avatar would be needed to help maintain balance. Aang soon began to feel overwhelmed with the burden of his position. His peers ostracized him for his airbending skill, while his caretakers pressured him to mature too quickly.

The only monk sympathetic to Aang's feelings was the elder Monk Gyatso, Aang's Airbending teacher and guardian. When the burden weighed heavily on his favorite student, Gyatso worked to instill a sense of fun through jokes and games. He sincerely believed that Aang should be allowed to grow up as a normal boy. However, the other monks disagreed. Citing Gyatso's attachment to the boy as an interference, they decided to send Aang away to the Eastern Air Temple to focus on his training, oblivious to the fact that Aang had overheard their caucus.

Confused and frightened by what he had learned, Aang fled from his home on his flying bison, Appa, towards the South Pole. While over the Southern ocean, a sudden storm caused Appa to plunge deep into the sea. Entering the Avatar State, Aang instinctively used a combination of Airbending and Waterbending to surround himself and Appa in an air bubble that quickly froze into an iceberg, putting them into a state of suspended animation for the next hundred years.

Story

Book 1: Water

Reawakening

In the present day, two teenage siblings from the Southern Water Tribe - Katara, a Waterbender, and her brother Sokka - discovered and freed Aang from his iceberg. Aang's first thought from being freed from the iceberg was to go penguin sledding with Katara.

Aang soon discovered that in his absence, the monks' fears of war had became reality. The very year he vanished, the leader of the Fire Nation at the time, Fire Lord Sozin, took advantage of the Firebending-enhancing powers of a mystical comet to launch a war on the three other nations. Unfortunately, to Aang's utter shock and disbelief, the Fire Nation's opening gambit had been a genocidal assault on the Air Nomads. All of the Air temples were stormed, and the monks slaughtered in an effort to break the Avatar Cycle, leaving him as the last known Airbender in existence.

Aang has since realized that the future of the Four Nations rests in his hands. It is his duty to defeat the Fire Nation and restore peace to the world. To achieve this, Aang and his newfound friends (and pets) set off on a quest to find and learn from Master Benders, while evading capture by the Fire Nation.

During one of their detours they land on Kyoshi Island (an island named after one of Aang's previous incarnations), where they were captured by the Kyoshi Warriors; the xenophobic inhabitants had kept out of the war for the past 100 years. There, they would meet a future ally, The warrior Suki When Prince Zuko arrived on Kyoshi Island, Aang realized that by staying too long he had endangered the people, it is here that Aang and his group learn they need to be constantly on the move.

In another detour, Aang took Katara and Sokka to the Earth Kingdom city of Omashu, where, long ago, his old friend Bumi took him on the world's biggest slide; the city's postal system. After their own ride on the slides, they were arrested for damages and taken before the King; the old King encased Katara and Sokka in a strange mineral called "creeping crystal," and after passing the King's odd tests in order to free his friends Aang was asked to guess his name. Aang deduced that it was his old friend Bumi. King Bumi told Aang that to end the war he must learn all the Bending Arts and defeat the Fire Lord himself.

Winter Solstice

When trying to help a village tormented by an angry spirit, Hei Bai, he unknowingly entered the Spirit World. There he was contacted by Avatar Roku's dragon, gave him a vision of Roku's temple on a crescent island, a fiery Comet and beams of light shining towards Roku's statue, Aang realized he could talk with his previous incarnation during the winter solstice.

On the morning of the solstice, Aang and his friends passed through a Fire Navy blockade and entered the Fire Nation, journeying to the Avatar temple. With the help of the only Fire Sage that was still loyal to the Avatar, Shyu, Aang managed to enter the inner chamber of the temple. Avatar Roku, who manifested himself when light from the solstice sun struck his statue, warned Aang of Sozin's Comet, a comet that returns once every one hundred years and greatly increases a Firebender's power. Fire Lord Sozin used the power of the comet to start the war a century ago, and Sozin's Comet will return at the end of summer. If Aang does not defeat Fire Lord Ozai before the Comet's arrival, the Fire Nation will be unstoppable, and the Avatar will be unable to restore balance to the world. Aang despairs that he has not learned the other bending arts and will be unable to complete his training before the Comet's arrival, but Roku assures him that, as his previous incarnations have done, he will succeed.

Future deadline

Although it takes years of discipline and training to master any particular element, Aang must master them all and defeat Fire Lord Ozai before summer's end. Fortunately, shortly before Sozin's Comet is due to arrive, there will be a complete solar eclipse during which Firebenders will lose their power, giving Aang a huge advantage when invading the Fire Nation and confronting Ozai.

With the knowledge of the Comet's impending arrival, the weight of his duty increasingly agitates Aang. To help relieve his predicament, Katara teaches Aang her Waterbending skills. She also steals a Waterbending scroll from a group of pirates. After a run-in with the pirates and Prince Zuko, Aang and Katara decide to learn together from the scroll.

Aang is briefly captured by the Yu Yan Archers under Admiral Zhao, a Fire Nation admiral who is competing with Zuko to capture Aang, while collecting a remedy for his friends' illness. Aang is imprisoned in a Fire Nation fortress. Though Zhao assured him no one is coming to his rescue, he is proven wrong when a masked vigilante called the Blue Spirit freed Aang. However, he was knocked out at long range. Aang took off the Blue Spirit's mask, to discover it was Zuko. Not wanting the banished prince to be executed for what he had done, Aang takes Zuko with him. When he woke up, Aang related him to a friend of his in the Fire Nation, Kuzon. Zuko responded by blasting him only for Aang to leave the scene. He then recollects the frogs and give them to his friends.

In "The Deserter" While masquerading in secret at a Fire Nation festival, Aang searches for a firebending master and is directed to Jeong Jeong, an enlightened and exiled firebending master. After basic training, Aang, frusturated attempts more advanced techniques against Katara's warning and in his lack of control, burns Katara. Although she would learn to heal her wounds promptly afterward, Aang, throughout the series due to this event, is afraid to attempt firebending and vows never to firebend again. He would finally accept himself as a firebender when he must unblock his chakras, namely, the one blocked by guilt.

Aang also travels to the Northern Air Temple and discovers that Earth Kingdom refugees have moved in and renovated the temple with the inventions of "the mechanist". He meets Teo, his disabled son, and after discovering the Fire Nation threatens to kill the colony if the mechanist does not hand his inventions over for their use, Aang helps the people drive off a Fire Nation attack, and accepts them as the new inhabitants of the temple. However, they were forced to abandon a crashed hot air balloon, inadvertently handing the Fire Nation soldiers a powerful war machine with some repair.

After arriving at the North Pole, Aang is introduced to Pakku, a waterbending master. However, Pakku refused to teach Katara because she was a girl. After a day of training, Aang taught Katara in secret but their lesson was discovered by Pakku who refused to teach him further until Katara apologizes. After their battle, Pakku decides to teach the two after discovering his past connection with Katara's grandmother.

Aang discovers the massive Fire Nation fleet heading to the North Pole, lead by Zhao intent on capturing him and destroying the Water Tribe. Aang decides he must contact the spirits of Moon and Ocean. Princess Yue directs him to the Spirit Oasis, a gateway to the Spirit World. There, Aang's spirit crosses over. However, Zuko stole his body and escaped into a frozen tundra. When Aang entered the Spirit World, he learns from a malevolent spirit, Koh, the Face Stealer, that the spirits are the koi fish. Aang returns to the physical world, and his body. After being rescued by his friends, he arrives at the spirit oasis where Admiral Zhao kills the moon spirit to disable waterbending permanently. Aang enters the avatar state and merges with the ocean spirit, and begins a fierce assault on the escaping Fire Nation ships. Princess Yue gives her life to restore the moon spirit and Aang and the ocean spirit return. Katara's natural skill with waterbending coupled with her eagerness to learn make her a waterbending master, and she would become Aang's waterbending instructor on their travels from then on.

Book 2: Earth

Return to Omashu

Following the defeat of Admiral Zhao at the hands of Ocean Spirit, Aang and his friends are escorted to General Fong's Earth Kingdom base, where he would then be taken back to Omashu to begin his earthbending instruction. However, Fong was intent on unleashing the Avatar State to immediately defeat the Fire Lord. Aang eventually became willing to comply, realizing how many people were being hurt or killed everyday. However, after three unsuccessful attempts, Fong takes matters into his own hands and orders his troops to attack Aang. As Aang was able to avoid his numerous attacks, Fong decided to attack a more defenseless target: Katara. By feigning to sink Katara totally into the ground, Fong finally triggered the Avatar state. This did not go as expected, and, as inevitable, resulted in Aang losing control and devastating the entire base. While in the Avatar state, Aang's spirit is taken from his body and he encounters Avatar Roku once again, who provided an explanation of the mechanism behind the state. Roku concluded his speech with a warning, if Aang were to be killed while in the Avatar state, the reincarnation cycle would be broken and the Avatar would cease to exist.

After meeting a band of singing nomads and surviving the Cave of Two Lovers, the group at last returns to Omashu, only to discover that the city had been conquered and occupied by the Fire Nation. Taken in by the resistance, Aang and his friends learned that Bumi perplexingly surrendered to the invading forces. After evacuating the civilian population and reuniting with Bumi, the king explains to Aang that he surrendered in order to wait for the perfect opportunity to strike. Aang comes to accept that he must leave his old friend behind and find another earthbending teacher, who Bumi describes as "someone who waits and listens before striking." Before leaving the fallen city, Aang reunites the Fire Nation governor and his wife with their wandering son Tom-Tom.

In Search of a Teacher

Aang and friends later come upon an Earth Kingdom town retaining an underground earthbending tournament in their continuous search for Aang's teacher. There, Aang meets and battles with the standing champion, "The Blind Bandit", whom he recognizes as the girl seen during his vision in "The Swamp". After seeing the blind Earthbender easily dispatch of an opponent, Aang comes to the conclusion that she would be a perfect teacher for him. However, before he could ask her, she left. After some researching, Aang discovers The Blind Bandit really to be Toph Bei Fong, the only daughter of a wealthy nobleman. He is able to meet her, and discovers her overprotective father shut his daughter off from the world to ensure her safety. Toph eventually came to accept Aang's offer. Her father, however, did not approve of this, leading her to run away from home to join the group. Once her father discovered she was gone, he paid Xin Fu and Master Yu, Toph's benefactor and earthbending teacher respectively, to bring her home.

Excited to finally learn earthbending, Aang was prepared to try, but could not handle the basics, or Toph's teaching methods. After confronting a saber-tooth moose-lion head-on, Aang could finally perform earthbending.

Desert of the Dead

Travelling to the Misty Palm Oasis of the Si Wong Desert as a mini vacation, Aang and friends find that, like everything else, had drastically changed. However, they do come across the inquisitive Professor Zei, an anthropologist in dedicated search of a long lost spirit library hidden in the desert. Easily transerving the sparse desert atop Appa, the library is soon located. The group along with Zei, descend into the almost completely buried building, with Toph choosing to remain outside and guard Appa. Once inside, the group is led to a planetarium where they discover that a solar eclipse had once rendered the Fire Nation helpless. They immediately began contemplating plans to make use of this information, only to be overhead by Wan Shi Tong, spirit guardian of the library. Frustrated that his knowledge being used for evil, the spirit attempted to sink and seal off the library forever, with them inside. With Sokka, they were quickly able to determine when the next eclipse would happen and make their escape, save Professor Zei who choose to stay behind with his life's work. Due in part to Toph holding up the library, Aang, Katara, Sokka and Momo manage to make it outside just before the structure completely submerges. Their rejoicement over escaping with the vital information swiftly disperses when it is revealed that Appa had been taken by a group of Sandbenders.

Infuriated, Aang unreasonably blames Toph for Appa's kidnapping. Seeing how everyone is more focused about making their way through the desert than his life long friend, Aang flies off on his own in search of Appa. In the end, Aang's search proves to be fruitless, with him engendering a gigantic mushroom cloud in frustration. After returning to the others, the group continues their trek through the endless desert, with Aang acting despondent, if not outright hostile and bitter, over their situation all the way. The group eventually comes across an abandoned sand sailer and compass, which they used to travel to a large rock formation in the desert's center. There, they are attacked by a hive of Buzzard-Wasps, one of which Aang viciously strikes down after attempting to take Momo.

The group then encountered the Sandbenders themselves, one of whom Toph identified as the person who stole Appa. Aang demanded to know where his bison was, threateningly obliterating their desert sailers one by one before slipping into the Avatar state. The Sandbender Ghashuin confessed that he had traded Appa over to some merchants and was probably in Ba Sing Se by now where he would be sold. The wind and sands twist around Aang as he proceeds to fully enter the state. Katara, however, manages to make her way to him and calm him down. Tears roll down his face as he falls into her arms and out of the Avatar state.

To Ba Sing Se

En route to the Earth Kingdom capital of Ba Sing Se, the group contemplates on what path to take on foot, seeing as they no longer have Appa, whom a repressed Aang questionably seems to no longer be upset over. They then meet a trio of refugees also headed for the same destination who direct them towards a ferry port. Thanks to Toph's status, she, Aang, Katara, and Sokka were able to secure four passes. However, when the refugees they had met earlier come to the four with the news that their passes had been stolen, Aang charges himself to guiding them safely across the Serpent's Pass, but not before being reunited with and accompanied by the Kyoshi Warrior Suki. In the midst of surviving and overcoming various trials of the dreaded pass, Aang experienced a dream of his very first bonding with Appa during one of their rest stops. Katara later finds Aang standing out on the edge of a cliff, staring out across the lake and expresses her concern over his unfeeling attitude. Aang states that he is imposing it upon himself to prevent himself from losing control again, a feeling he has come to hate. Katara asks Aang to promise not to stop caring, even when its hurts. At last the travelers finally make it out of the Serpent's Pass, and the walls of Ba Sing Se can be seen just over the next valley, when suddenly, Ying goes into labor. Fortunately Katara, who was experienced into delivering infants, was able to safely deliver the baby girl. The sight of the child brings Aang to tears before expressing that while he's had some hardship lately, she has made him feel hopeful. For that reason, the parents decide to name their new daughter Hope. Taking Katara aside, Aang goes on to admit that he thought that he was trying to be strong, but really was just running away from his feelings. Seeing this family together, so full of happiness and love, reminded him of how he felt about Appa, as well as her.

With the outer wall of Ba Sing Se was at last reached, the group was forced to delay their search once more in order to stop invading Fire Nation forces, which were using a giant drill to plow through the wall. Prideful in their defensive abilities, the commander of the wall, General Sung, refused the Avatar's help, that is until his elite platoon was easily defeated by Mai and Ty Lee. Thanks to Sokka's ingenuity, they were able to get into the machine and learn how to destroy it from the inside. Aang and Katara would go about this by using waterbending in tandem to sever the braces. As he prepared to deliver the final blow atop the drill, Aang's progress was obstructed by the interference of Princess Azula. Aang waged a fierce battle with the princess, using water, earth, air to hold his own. In the end, by driving a large, earthen spike into the drill's weak spot, he was able to delivered the final blow, which produced a shockwave that simultaneously disabled the machine completely as well as defeat his opponent.

Once inside the inner wall and within the actual city itself, the Avatar and his friends are given a house positioned in the Upper Ring as merit of their efforts against the Fire Nation. Though they were urgent to meet with the Earth King and deliver the information about the Fire Nation's weakeness, their tour guide, Joo Dee absentmindedly ignored their talk about the eclipse. Presented with notion that it would be at least over a month before their request for an audience with the Earth King would be processed, Aang decides that they should spend their time looking for Appa. Accompanied by Joo Dee, Aang and company are unable to acquire any leads, as everyone they ask instantly becomes nervous and seemingly oblivious at the mere sight of her. Opportunity arose for the group when they received a newsletter for a ball being held at the royal palace and came to be able to sneak in by dressing up as guests and waiters. Though they came close, their chance to see the king was stolen due to the interference of Ba Sing Se's cultural enforcers, the Dai Li. Their leader and the city's Grand Secretariat, Long Feng, reveals that the war had been kept from the citizens of Ba Sing Se in order to create what he has come to call a utopia. When Aang defiantly threatens to expose their conspiracy, Long Feng goes on to state that while the Avatar and his friends had been treated as our honored guests, they would be watched every waking moment by Dai Li agents. Before being escorted home by another Joo Dee eerily identical to their previous guide, they are warned that if they were to mention the war to anyone, it would result in expulsion from Ba Sing Se and Aang would never see Appa ever again.

During his separated tale that takes place within "The Tales of Ba Sing Se", Aang helps a zookeeper out with the animals of his underfunded zoo. Confident in his abilities with nature, the Avatar declares that he would be able to transport all the creatures to the wide, open plains just outside the inner wall. However, his attempt only resulted in the animals running rampant all over the city. By amplifying the effect of his bison whistle with a powerful exhale produced by airbending, Aang managed to lure the animals to the agricultural zone. There, he proceeded to create a brand new zoo from scratch using earthbending. Unfortunately, it soon becomes apparent that Aang also lured several domestic pets in the process. Though sincerely grateful, the zookeeper left an embarrassed Aang with the suggestion that he "stick to saving people."

Crossroads of Destiny

In "Lake Laogai" the group had made posters and fliers of Appa and sent them all over the city. But the first Joo Dee told them they needed permission for this but Aang, tired of rules, enragingly tells her to stay out of their way. The group then once again met Jet, who claimed to know where to find Appa. But the arrival of the other Freedom Fighters makes it obvious that Jet was brainwashed by the Dai Li. Managing to awaken Jet's real memories, the group along with the Freedom Fighters stormed the Dai Li's base at Lake Laogai and battled against the corrupt enforcers. When Aang and Jet confronted Long Feng alone, he offered to reunite Aang with Appa in exchange for leaving the city. When Aang refused, Long Feng used a hypnotization technique to turn Jet against him. Aang was able to remind Jet of who he was but Jet was mortally wounded by Long Feng. While the other freedom Fighters stood to defend their leader, the group returns to the surface, they were surrounded had not Appa been released by Zuko. With they friend back, there was nothing stopping them from informing the Earth King - except the palace guards and Long Feng trying to convince the King that they were part of a group plotting to take control. But thanks to the not covered Fire Nation drill, it was enough for the king to order Long Feng's arrest. To brighten the day, the Council of Five, the highest ranking generals in the Earth Kingdom, had found a number of letters for Aang and Toph. The letter for Aang told him that a guru at the Eastern Air Temple plans to teach him how to control the Avatar State. While Toph went to see her mother (which was unfortunately a trap), Katara stayed to plan the invasion of the Fire Nation, Aang dropped Sokka off at Chameleon Bay to see his father. Once he and Appa reached the Eastern Air Temple, he met Guru Pathik who was teaching how to open his chakras, the pools of energy swirling in his body in order to control the Avatar State. But at the Thought Chakra, Aang could not give up his attachment to Katara but Pathik said it was necessary. Just as he was about to open the final chakra, Aang received a vision of Katara being in danger and left, despite the guru's warning that he will not be able to go into the Avatar State at all.

Gathering Sokka and Toph (who had escaped from Xin Fu and Yu), Aang returns to Ba Sing Se. However, the Earth King assures him everything is fine and that Katara was probably off with the Kyoshi Warriors (who were actually Azula, Mai and Ty Lee in disguise). When the came back to their house and found no one else was there, they get a plead from Iroh, who had also moved into the city that they need to rescue Zuko as well. Thanks to a capture Dai Li agent, they learned that Azula and Long Feng were plotting a coup and that Katara and Zuko are in the crystal catacombs of old Ba Sing Se. While Sokka and Toph went to warn the Earth King of this, Aang and Iroh made their way underground. As they went, they talked about the differences between love and power. When they reached the captives and went their separate ways, Aang is confronted by Azula, joined by Zuko (who was promised he could regain his honor) and the Dai Li (who had switched loyalty to Azula). With few options left, Aang enters the Avatar state, only to be hit with lightning from Azula. But due to intervention from Katara and Iroh, they escaped the city. She then uses water from the Spirit Oasis to heal Aang. Glad that he was okay, Katara embraces him as they fly off into a bleak future.

Book 3: Fire

The Awakening

After several weeks spent unconscious, Aang finally awakens aboard a captured Fire Nation ship. He soon realizes that he now sports a full head of hair, a mass of bandages, and a vicious scar on his back. As Katara works to heal the scar on his back, Aang has a painful flash of memory back to the moment he had fallen--realizing in the process that he was not just injured, but was actually killed. Though Katara insists that it was the Spirit Water that saved him, Aang states it was her.

File:Hair357.jpg
Season 3 Aang.

The next day, Aang learns a horrid truth--the entire world believes he is dead. While Sokka is delighted by the idea, insisting that it provides a needed advantage, Aang finds himself in a state of frustration and dismay. He blames himself for the defeat at Ba Sing Se and the fall of the Earth Kingdom, saying that he had been there and failed to stop it. After a scuffle with a Fire Nation vessel that discovers them, a battle in which he was forced to remain hidden, Aang slips away in the night with only his glider in order to face his destiny alone, intending to redeem himself and keep anyone else from paying for his mistakes. Aang manages to make it past the naval blockade but finds himself caught in a nasty squall in which he falls into the sea and loses his glider. Believing he has failed once again and will now die because of his foolishness, Aang finds himself unable to work up the will to continue. In his darkest hour, Avatar Roku suddenly appears to Aang and tells hims not to blame himself, claiming that the fault is his own. Roku goes on to confide his belief that the boy is destined to redeem him as well as save the world. Additionally, the spirit of Yue appears and removes the last of Aang's doubt, encouraging him to save the world as he has before. She then helps Aang to safety, sending a wave that carries him to Cresent Island where Roku's home once stood.

The following morning, Aang is reunited with his friends when they find him lying at the shore. Aang apologizes to his friends for his rash actions, who in turn reply that they will be there with him for whatever comes next. In a symbolic link to this, Aang's glider washes ashore, broken, tattered and beyond repair. Admitting that it truly would be best for the world not to know he is alive, Aang accepts this and proceeds to plants the staff firmly in the volcanic rock, burning away the evidence of his existence and a piece of his old life.

The Headband

After stealing some clothes from an isolated household, Aang is grabbed from the streets by truant officers and thrust in a Fire Nation school. While there, however, he has fun and decides to remain enlisted so that he and the others could learn more about the local customs (including a secret river leading into the Fire Nation palace). He learns that history has been warped (e.g. Sozin attacked an Air Nomads army) but eventually becomes popular among the students--especially a girl named On Ji. After getting in trouble in several classes and getting in a "fight" with On Ji's overprotective boyfriend (said fight featuring Aang easily dodging every wild punch the other boy attempted to deliver), he is caught by the school's headmaster, earning a meeting with his "parents" (Sokka and Katara). Although he agrees with Sokka's firm statement that there is to be no more school for him, Aang tries to grant the students a little more freedom--by holding a dance party. He manages to help them overcome their fear and reluctance by showing them some ancient dance movements, and wins their admiration and loyalty. He also manages to gain the admiration of Katara, who shyly accepts an offer to dance with him. The two amaze the crowd with a flawless series of moves, until the headmaster and some police come to put a stop to this intolerable activity. When they learn that their superiors are searching for Aang as "the boy with the headband," the entire student body helps to cover Aang's escape by covering their own foreheads with their belts. Toph congratulates Aang for teaching those kids to be free while Katara gives him another kiss on the cheek.

While relaxing in a well-hidden lake, Aang and Momo take a stream that lead outside but he was noticed by two bored Fire Nation soldiers who sent a messenger hawk to the Fire Lord. But luckily and unluckily for Aang, the message was intercepted by an assassin hired by Zuko to eliminate him. Aang discovers the man can fire bend with a tattoo of an eye on his forehead. After an intense battle, Aang escapes.

Aang later came upon the remains of Roku's last home, after being instructed to be there on the day of the summer solstice. Through intense meditation he is able to contact his past incarnation once again. In the Spirit World, Aang appears in his Air Nomad clothes and without hair. He then sees Roku's life with the to-be Fire Lord Sozin, who was Roku's best friend and had the same birthday as him. Roku's life story ends with him dying in an attempt to stop a volcano, after, Aang witnesses his own birth (a baby him with a small patch of hair).

The Runaway

In "The Runaway" Aang, Toph, and Sokka scam people in order to get more money, but soon Toph begins drawing too much attention to herself and eventually, while doing a scam with Katara, gets thrown into a wooden jail along with Katara. It was revealed that The Combustion Man was behind it, attempting to draw Aang out to save them. After an intense battle, Toph (who was freed by Katara bending her sweat to help them escape) sends a large rock at the Combustion Man and he blows it up, but a small pebble hits him hard on his third eye which damages his ability to blow things up.


Personality

Aang is fun-loving, naive, and adventurous. As 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." He possesses a deep respect for life and freedom; he does not eat meat and is often reluctant to fight. He craves the stimulation of new people and places; in short, he is the consummate tourist. His frequent off-course detours frustrate both allies and pursuers alike. Yet Aang has always prided himself on a complex social network of friends extending over all four nations, and war will not stand in his way. In addition, he looks forward to playing with all the exotic fauna in each place he visits. Whether it's penguins, hog-monkeys or gigantic eels, no fit animal Aang sees goes un-ridden.

Aang feels a terrible guilt and burden in his duties as Avatar. Very much the reluctant hero, he wishes he had been there to help his people a century ago, but he had still rather live a child's carefree life. This initially caused him to conceal his true identity from friends, and he still has a tendency to slack off in his studies of the Bending Arts, even though he naturally excels at it.

Being the last Airbender and having no living peers (with the exception of the aged King Bumi and Guru Pathik), Aang cares deeply for those close to him, even to the point of deceiving and hurting others to keep the group together. In "Bato of the Water Tribe," Aang heard that Katara and Sokka might leave the group to visit their father, so Aang hid the map showing his whereabouts and lied about ever having it in the first place.

Recent events in the Earth Kingdom, however, have begun to take a toll on his care-free personality. Aang's attitude changed dramatically when Appa was captured. He became visibly enraged and hostile, particularly toward Toph, who was "keeping an eye on" Appa while they were gone. Despite attempts by Katara to calm Aang down, his anger continued to grow until finally he flew off to search for Appa alone. Eventually Aang returned to the group, but was still visibly upset. He violated the principles of Airbending when Momo was snatched up by a Buzzard-Wasp. He followed the creature and rescued Momo, but then unnecessarily struck it down with his staff. After Aang returned with Momo the group was confronted by the Sandbenders who had taken Appa. When one of the Benders revealed that they had sold the bison, Aang lashed out and smashed all their sand boats in a matter of moments. He then turned his sights on the Sandbenders and entered the Avatar State. Aang's rage was only stopped when Katara grabbed hold of him and held him in an embrace until he finally calmed down and returned to his normal state.

Avatar

Bending

The Avatars from Aang, Roku, Kyoshi, Kuruk, Yangchen and beyond

As the incarnation of the Avatar, Aang possesses the ability to bend all four elements. He is already an Airbending master and has made impressive progress with the other elements, except for Firebending, for which he has yet to find a master. Though he is able to master techniques with more ease than his young Waterbender friend Katara, his lack of focus has allowed her to surpass him.Now he must learn from her, as their teacher Master Pakku deemed her a master. He is an extremely skilled Waterbender, and in the episode "Bitter Work," Katara tells Aang he has the reflexes of a Waterbending Master. That being said, the gap between Katara and Aang in water bending ability appears to be getting narrower, as Katara continues to show great waterbending prowess, while Aang is rarely seen practicing and in battle he uses his earth and airbending more often.

The Earthbending style is the opposing style to his natural Airbending, and as such conflicts with his natural personality. At first, Aang's Earthbending abilities appeared stunted, as he has difficulty learning simple skills from Toph in Bitter Work as it was easier for Aang to simply avoid the obstacles physically. However, when he confronted with a need for direct opposition, rather than avoidance, he took his first step and successfully stood his ground to defend Sokka, who could not defend himself, and now Aang was able to assume the position of an Earthbender. By the time of "The Drill," his skills have improved dramatically, when he comfortably uses Earthbending in combat against Azula. He appears to have achieved mastery in Earthbending by the time of "The Tales of Ba Sing Se," creating a giant zoo with his bending, and by fending off hundreds of Earthbenders in "The Earth King". By the time of The Runaway he has at least begun learning how to see with earthbending like Toph does. Later, he incorporates his Airbender's staff into his Earthbending, much like Avatar Kyoshi incorporates her fans into her bending. It is possible for Aang to bend two elements at the same time, as demonstrated in "The Tales of Ba Sing Se." He has little skill with fire, but has received a rudimentary object lesson in breath control and Firebending. When he was briefly instructed by the fugitive Firebending master Jeong Jeong, he ignored warnings to restrain himself and accidentally burned Katara (leading inadvertently to the discovery of her healing powers). Newly respectful of fire's destructive power, he has not used Firebending since, and has even vowed to never firebend again, although, as Guru Pathik said in "The Guru," he will eventually have to, as he is the Avatar, therefore he is a Firebender.

As the Avatar, Aang is quite possibly the most powerful Bender in the world; he once used his Airbending skills to halt a massive lava flow without entering the Avatar State. Additionally, Aang has exceptional natural talent towards all bending, performing Waterbending on his first try when Katara took several months to learn the same move, and assuming a perfect Earthbending stance on his first try. However, Aang is loathe to use his skills in battle, preferring to solve problems non-violently. Even when forced into combat, Aang typically holds back, fighting defensively and trying to subdue opponents without seriously hurting them, even if they are not human. This attitude was apparently common among Airbenders, who were all vegetarians and taught that all living things are precious.

The only exception to Aang's pacifism is when his friends are threatened; in which case, he gets very angry and relentlessly attacks his opponents, sometimes even entering the Avatar State.

In The Deserter, Jeong Jeong says that to master Firebending, Aang, as the Avatar, will need to first master the other Bending Arts in order and not to deviate from their natural order--Air, Water, Earth and Fire--hinting 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," as he reveals how a Waterbender's technique of redirecting energy enabled him to develop his own technique to redirect a bolt of lightning--proving that the disciplines and Principles of one Bending Art support the disciplines and principles of another Bending Art. Other than his brief training with Jeong Jeong, Aang is yet to begin Firebending. During the same episode, Jeong Jeong said in a brief exchanging of words with Admiral Zhao that "I have never seen such raw power", a reference to Aang's bending prowess.

Spirit

Aang is the newest incarnation of the spirit of the planet, which has been continually reincarnated since time immemorial. The passage of reincarnation moves from the population of the Air nation to the Water, Earth and Fire nations in order. The most recent incarnations were Avatar Roku (fire), Avatar Kyoshi (earth), Avatar Kuruk (water) and Avatar Yangchen (air). In life-threatening situations or during instances of extreme emotional stress, Aang involuntarily channels the power of all his past lives, entering the powerful Avatar State. His tattoos, eyes and mouth glow white, and he either uses bending as an immediate means of self-preservation, or lapses into a dangerous fit of elemental volatility until he is calmed down.

This spiritual state is the manifestation of all the Avatar's previous incarnations, which allows Aang to tap into the sum total of their power. When in this state the Avatar is at his most powerful, but also his most vulnerable. If the Avatar dies while in the Avatar State, the previous incarnations of the Avatar will die along with him, and the cycle of reincarnation will be permanently broken.

Aang often receives advice and guidance from Avatar Roku, the previous Avatar incarnation. Born into the Fire Nation in life, Roku is a benign force in spirit, serving as Aang's advisor and protector. On the Winter Solstice, after informing Aang of the impending return of Sozin's Comet, he manifested himself to defeat a group of Firebenders holding Aang's friends hostage. (When Roku manifests, his voice can be heard behind Aang's when he speaks.) He has guided Aang several times since, 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 recently, 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 has little trouble with the first six, but struggles with the seventh - earthly attachments, namely, love. Aang's love for Katara, accompanied by a vision of her in dire need of help, captured in Ba Sing Se, causes him to leave the Guru and return to Ba Sing Se. Guru Pathik states that Aang's refusal to let Katara go has 'locked the final chakra' and disallowed him to enter the Avatar State at all. . Later, in "The Crossroads of Destiny", however, Aang begins to open the Seventh Chakra and enter the Avatar State by doing just as he had been told - letting go of his attachment to Katara. However, moments after entering the Avatar State, the process is interrupted as he is struck with lightning from behind by Azula, killing him and removing him from the State. Fortunately, after their escape, Katara is able to use the water from the spirit oasis to resurrect him.

Medium

The Avatar also has the capacity to act as a medium, a bridge between 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 completely 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 other spirits while in the Avatar State. He once acted as the Avatar of the Ocean Spirit to defeat the Fire Nation during the siege of the North Pole. He has also channeled the spirits of previous Avatars, namely Roku, and Kyoshi.

Family

Monk Gyatso

The closest person to a father in Aang's days at the Southern Air Temple, Monk Gyatso was a caring and understanding teacher. He seems to have been the source of Aang's love for fun, games, and jokes. When Aang returns to the temple after a century in suspended animation, he is devastated to find the corpse of his beloved mentor surrounded by the remains of Fire Nation soldiers. This prompts Aang to enter the Avatar State, causing a violent emotional episode of involuntary Airbending, which only abates when his friend Katara promises that she and her brother, Sokka, will be his new family.

Avatar Roku

Avatar Roku, while not "family" per se, is a facet of Aang's self, the previous incarnation of the Avatar. He serves in much the same capacity as Monk Gyatso before him, guiding Aang through the difficult process of becoming a fully realized Avatar. Though a deep relationship has not yet been established, each knows the other instinctively, and both are pleased to communicate with one another when the opportunity arises.

Zuko and Azula

Zuko and Azula are descendants of Aang's previous incarnation, Avatar Roku: their mother, Ursa, is the granddaughter of Avatar Roku.

Relationships

Katara

The first face Aang sees upon waking from suspended animation is the young Waterbender, Katara, who was his liberator from the iceberg. Aang fell in love with her; Guru Pathik later explained that Aang's love for her was the reincarnation of the love of his extinct people. The episode, "The Cave of Two Lovers," has an ambiguous scene where Katara and Aang lean in to kiss, not long after Katara suggested that they kiss to escape the cave they are trapped in. The scene then goes black until the two are seen, with their hands locked, looking up at the glowing crystals on the cave ceiling. It has not been revealed whether they actually kissed or not. When asked how they got out of the cave, Aang said that they "let love lead the way." As they prepare to depart, Aang gives Katara a sidelong glance, and she blushes. Katara is known to have kissed Aang on the cheek at the end of the episode "Bato of the Water Tribe", near the end of "The Earth King", and at the end of "The Headband".

Katara is Aang's only teacher so far to use positive reinforcement as a teaching method. Aang responds well to this method, most likely due to the generally free-spirited nature of Airbenders. In addition, as of the events in "The Desert," Katara remains the only person able to calm Aang down from the Avatar State. Also, as has seen from events in "The Serpent's Pass," Katara is able to renew emotions and believes in Aang where others were unable. While others had tried to renew Aang's optimism and hope, only Katara was successful.

This love for Katara put Aang in an unforeseen position as he goes to the Eastern Air Temple in "The Guru" to learn to control the Avatar State from Guru Pathik. Pathik tells Aang that the control of the Avatar State involves the releasing of various emotions in the seven chakras spread throughout the body, including earthly attachment. In order to open the seventh chakra, Aang is told that he must let go of his earthly attachment to Katara. He is reluctant but starts to do so, when he has a vision that Katara is in danger. Aang breaks his meditation and leaves to save her, despite Guru Pathik's warning that it would lock his inner chakra and he would never be able to enter the Avatar state at all.

At the end of "The Crossroads of Destiny," Aang and Katara face overwhelming odds against Azula, Zuko, and the Dai Li. Believing that entering the Avatar State is their only hope, Aang isolates himself and meditates, hoping to let go of his attachment to Katara and unlock the seventh chakra. Though Aang began to release the chakra and entered the Avatar State, according to Nick.com's description of the "Celestial Avatar Spirit Aang," he is unable to complete the process due to the interruption caused by Azula's lightning bolt strike. Consequently, Aang was prevented from clearing the seventh chakra and mastering the Avatar State, leaving his attachment to Katara intact.

In "The Headband", the group tries to blend in. After stealing some Fire Nation clothes, Aang sees how Katara's new appearance and is shocked at how beautiful she looks. When Aang decides to hold a dance party for the kids in his class, he asks Katara to dance. The two perform brilliantly and, after flying away, Katara kisses Aang on the cheek.

In "The Beach", Aang is left to distract a firebender sent by Prince Zuko to kill Aang, so that the rest of the group is able to escape. At the end of this episode Katara is seen holding onto Aang. He says that he is O.K. and Katara seems more relieved than the rest.

In "The Fire Lord and the Avatar", Roku and Aang talk about how hard love is when you're young, but that it get's eaiser. Aang seems to be relieved that his love for Katara wont always be so hard to deal with.

In "Nightmares and Daydreams", Aang has this peculiar daydream that he is fighting the war for the ones he loves and directly expreses his love towards Katara and suddenly kisses her. Katara, at first, is stunned, but then kisses him again in a romantic surrounding. Finally, when Aang reaches for her to kiss her again, he realises that he has been hallucinating and acts towards Katara as if nothing happened, but feels relieved when he sees that Katara was not even imagining what Aang has been thinking.

Prince Zuko

The Firebender Prince Zuko was ostensibly one of Aang's greatest enemies. His quest to capture Aang, thus ensuring the Fire Nation's victory, was a threat to Aang's work and the world at large. Yet each has worked in the other's service. Because Zuko's throne and right to return home from exile are forfeit if he does not find the Avatar, he must protect Aang from other potential threats. When Aang was captured by Zuko's rival, Admiral Zhao, Zuko posed as a blue-masked, dual-broadsword-wielding vigilante named the Blue Spirit to free Aang from custody. In turn, Aang rescued Zuko from capture when he was knocked unconscious in their escape attempt. Afterward, reflecting on an old Fire Nation friend named Kuzon, Aang asked Zuko if they could have been friends under different circumstances, only to receive a fire blast in reply, though Zuko subtly seemed to regret the action after-the-fact. Despite objections, Aang also saved Zuko from freezing to death in the icy tundra of the North Pole. During their first encounter in Book 2, Zuko and Aang initially trade blows but eventually fight alongside once again, this time against Zuko's sister, Azula.

The character development of Zuko in the series parallels that of Aang's. In the episode "The Storm", both Aang and Zuko confront their pasts and in "Bitter Work," while Aang was trying to learn a new art (Earthbending), Zuko was also learning a new skill (generating and redirecting lightning).

As individuals, Aang and Zuko share many similarities: both have had profound father figures in their lives - Monk Gyatso served as Aang's guardian when taken from his parents, while Iroh acted as a watchful mentor to his nephew Zuko after Ozai banished him. The two also share shameful pasts and must live with the guilt of disappointing those that they revered the most, forever marked in remembrance; Aang with his traditional tattoos and Zuko with the scar he received from his father. Lastly, the two are fighting for something: Aang for the world and the people around him, Zuko for his honor. To an end, Aang has displayed interest in Zuko as a person, but Zuko only sees Aang as a means to regain his lost honor.

During the course of "The Earth King," Zuko fell into a deep fever, during which he experienced a number of visions, hallucinations, and dreams, some of which seemed to allude to future events in his life. In the last of these, Zuko experienced a false awakening in which he saw himself with Aang's tattoos and no scar.

At the end of Book 2, he claims to have changed for the better, but then chooses to side with Azula and tries to capture Aang again.

In the beginning of Book 3, Zuko, under the belief that Aang is still alive, hires an assassin to "end" the Avatar.

At the end of "The Avatar and the Fire Lord", it is revealed that Zuko's mother Ursa is in fact Avatar Roku's descendant. Consequently, Aang is the reincarnation of Zuko's Great-Grandfather, but Aang however does not know yet that he is semi related to Zuko and Azula.

Sokka

While Aang has since disproved the young warrior's initial suspicions that he was a Fire Nation spy, his occasional carelessness can raise Sokka's hackles. When Aang tried Firebending, resulting in Katara's burnt hands, Sokka pushed a concerned Aang away, saying "You burned my sister!" Also, for his part, Aang often makes light of Sokka's serious demeanor. Along with Katara, he views Sokka's skeptical favoring of science over magic with some bewildered amusement, though he has grown impressed with Sokka's engineering skills. In "The Drill," Aang tells Sokka that he's usually the one who comes up with plans to help them, proving that he needs to depend on Sokka's help once in a while. Aang is also one of the few characters who does not voice any annoyance towards Sokka, nor contempt for his lack of Bending skills. Aang and Sokka are often seen goofing around with each other, often to Katara's chagrin. In fact, the childlike nature of their characters usually results in them sharing in on a joke or react very similarly to games and activities. He also seems to desire Sokka's permission for a relationship with his sister Katara, as seen in "The Fortuneteller" (though Sokka could not tell he was talking about Katara.)

Toph

Toph is a blind twelve-year old who is exceptionally skilled at Earthbending. Through Earthbending, she can "see," due to her increased perception of vibrations in the ground. While in the desert, Toph had said "As far as I'm concerned, we're walking on sandy pudding." Toph is Aang's Earthbending teacher, although she has a much different teaching approach than Katara, more akin to that of an army drill sergeant. Just like their elements, Aang and Toph's personalities are complete opposites as well. At first, Aang is intimidated by Toph's bold nature and tries to work peacefully around it. He is beginning to learn to stand up to her, however. He takes back his staff/glider when she refuses to stop mishandling it. In "The Desert", Aang, in a fit of anger, finally snaps at Toph, believing that she allowed Appa to be captured based on her previous complaints about him. However, they seem to get along much easier now. In the episode "The Earth King", he refers to everyone, including Toph, as his family.

Toph first appeared in "The Swamp" as a vision to Aang. The vision was a message that he would meet her in the future (as Aang correctly concluded in the episode). Her real first appearance was in "The Blind Bandit".


Appa

Appa the flying bison is both Aang's dear pet, friend and the group's primary means of travel. Aang met Appa at the Eastern Air Temple when he was just a calf because all Airbender children are paired with a flying bison for life. Appa is not only a skilled flier but also an adept swimmer, and he seems fairly impervious to adverse weather. Aang loves his fellow survivor of a century of sleep, as they both may be the last of their kind. Aang possesses a flying bison whistle (inaudible to humans, much like a dog whistle) to summon Appa from a distance, and he commands him to fly with a cry of "Yip-yip!"

Appa is a natural Airbender, and it is speculated that his species, like the badgermoles, inspired the locals to develop their own Airbending skills. The Airbenders even tattoo themselves with the flying bison's arrow-shaped markings. Appa seems to be able to communicate with animals of other species, such as Momo, and he hates going underground (as seen in the episode "The Cave of Two Lovers").

Appa is very faithful and protective of Aang, and on various occasions he has actively entered into battle to protect his little friend. As seen in "The Desert," Appa means a lot to Aang, since he has been with Aang for over 100 years. When Appa is taken by Sandbenders, Aang is driven mad in his anger, reverting to his Avatar State and destroying all the Sandbender skiffs and almost killing the Sandbenders. During the several episodes it took to retrieve Appa, Aang was often morose and very driven to get him back, which he finally did in "Lake Laogai" which he cried in happiness at getting him back.

Momo

Aang discovers Momo, a winged lemur, while wandering about the ruined Southern Air Temple. Aang quickly claimed him as a pet and named him after the peach Momo was holding at the time (momo is Japanese for "peach"). Aang is very fond of the creature, because he represents the small hope that other fragments of Air Nomadic culture, even other Air Nomads, could have survived somewhere in the world. He also seems very protective of Momo, as seen in the episode "The Desert", where he strikes a Buzzard-wasp in order to protect him. Momo, though he cannot understand English, seems to be able to understand Aang's wishes.

King Bumi

So far, King Bumi, the Earthbender ruler of the Earth Kingdom city of Omashu, is the only known peer of Aang's still living. Aang fondly remembers how a young Bumi taught him to use Omashu's mail chutes as a giant super slide. Now a supercentenarian, Bumi maintains the eccentric and unconventional thinking that caused Aang to dub him, "a mad genius." In the second season premiere, it is revealed that Aang plans to receive teachings in Earthbending under King Bumi, but after he is taken prisoner in "Return to Omashu", with no intention of escaping from his prison, waiting for an unsaid opportunity, Aang is forced to find a new teacher.

Iroh

Aang spent some time with Zuko's uncle Iroh when they were tunneling into the underground of Ba Sing Se to save Katara and Zuko. Despite the past, Aang bore no real grudge against Iroh and vice versa. Instead, Aang asked Iroh for some advice as Iroh had done for Toph earlier. When Aang told him he had given up the chance to gain control of the Avatar state when he had heard it would mean forgoing his feelings for Katara, Iroh commended Aang on choosing love instead of power. At the end of season 2, Iroh holds off Zuko and Azula, allowing Katara to escape with the injured Aang.

Kuzon

In a previous episode Aang was talking to Zuko, talking about friends he had from the Fire Nation. Kuzon was one of these friends. Kuzon was from the fire nation and when Aang gets accidentally involved in a fire nation school during a later episode, he uses this name as a disguise.

Enemies

Admiral Zhao

Admiral Zhao was a high ranking and important officer in the Fire Nation who had believed since childhood that he was destined for greatness. After discovering Aang's return to the world, Zhao became convinced that capturing Aang would be one of the paths to that greatness. As a result Zhao became one of Aang's primary enemies during Book One, although the two would only encounter each other face to face on a few occasions.

Zhao participated in a number of notable attempts to capture Aang. The first came during Aang's visit to the Fire Temple in order to seek advice from the spirit of Avatar Roku. Zhao attempted to corner and ambush Aang, but was thwarted when Roku himself intervened and caused an eruption of the volcano the temple was situated on. Later Zhao employed the skills of a legendary squad of archers to trap Aang, only to watch as Aang escaped from imprisonment with help from the disguised Zuko. While Aang was briefly being tutored by renegade Firebending master and Zhao's former teacher Jeong Jeong, Zhao led a convoy of ships up the river to Jeong Jeong's camp, where he attacked both his former teacher and Aang. However, Aang had learned from Jeong Jeong about Zhao's tremendous temper and lack of control, and decided to use that against his foe. He egged Zhao on until, careless with rage, Zhao's wild firebending destroyed the ships in his convoy. Aang then left Zhao there to stew on this, effectively defeating Zhao without having thrown a punch.

Finally, Zhao led a huge armada to attack and destroy the Northern Water Tribe, where Aang was studying Waterbending. Having discovered the mortal forms of the Moon (Tui) and Ocean (La) Spirits, Zhao sought to kill the Moon spirit, the Waterbenders' source of power. While Aang is in the Spirit World, Zhao invades the Oasis and bags the Moon Spirit fish (Which was what the spirit looked like after it gave up its immortality to become a part of the mortal world), causing a lunar eclipse which negated Waterbending abilities. Quickly confronted by Aang's group and Iroh, Zhao killed the Moon Spirit and fled. Angered, the Ocean Spirit allowed Aang to control its powers while in the Avatar State to vanquish Zhao's fleet. Foiled in his escape by the appearance of Zuko, Zhao fought the prince until the Moon Spirit was restored by Princess Yue's sacrifice. Seeing the return of its ally, the Ocean Spirit left Aang to hunt down Zhao. Zhao, unwilling to accept help from Zuko even if it meant the cost of his own life, is carried underwater to his apparent death, a fact which Aang seems to be unaware of.

Princess Azula

Azula is Zuko's younger sister, a princess of the Fire Nation and the current heir to the throne, considering Zuko's status as an exile and having been declared a traitor by his father. Cruel, ruthless, cunning and a firebending prodigy who has mastered firebending despite her youth, Azula is a formidable opponent for Aang.

Azula has taken over the Fire Nation's attempts to capture Aang during his attempts to rescue King Bumi in the episode "Return to Omashu". The two engaged in a fight across the city. Aang, with help from Bumi, escaped her.

The two met again in "The Chase" where Azula and her allies relentlessly pursued Aang and his friends. Finally, the two confronted each other in a deserted Earth Kingdom town. As they prepared to face off, Zuko arrived, and Azula had to fight against the two who were attacking her independently. Azula would have emerged victorious if not for Sokka, Katara, Iroh, and Toph arriving to help.

Aang and Azula would face off for a third time in "The Drill", where they battled on top of a massive Fire Nation drill attempting to breach the walls of Ba Sing Se. Aang is better able to fight Azula on his own, and with waterbending and earthbending abilities, was still evenly matched until he managed to destroy the drill.

His fourth faceoff against Azula occurs in "The Crossroads of Destiny". Zuko joins the fight on Azula's side, Aang fights and struggles against each individually. The arrival of corrupted Dai Li forces Aang to attempt to open the seventh Chakra and enter the Avatar State. However, just seconds after entering the state, he is struck in the back by a lightning blast from Azula and falls to the ground, defeated (Aang was actually killed by the blast). He is caught by Katara and they manage to escape with the intervention of Iroh, who held off the siblings and the Dai Li as Katara escapes with Aang. Later, Katara uses her water from the Spirit Oasis in the North Pole to bring Aang back to life.

Notes and references

  1. "Picture Of Aang".
  2. ^ "The Storm". Avatar: The Last Airbender. Season 1 (Book 1). Episode 12. 2006-06-03. Nickelodeon. {{cite episode}}: Unknown parameter |episodelink= ignored (|episode-link= suggested) (help) Cite error: The named reference "The Storm" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  3. “Each Tibetan owns a private bowl in which he alone drinks tea. The bowl may be the wooden one of the poor or the costly jade one with golden saucer and cover of the rich, or any of the intermediate kinds, but it is never lent to anyone to drink in.” (David-Neel 1971: 124)
  4. David-Neel, Alexandra. Magic and Mystery in Tibet. New York: Dover Publications, Inc., 1971 (ISBN 0-486-22682-4)
  5. ^ "The Boy In The Iceberg". Avatar: The Last Airbender. Season 1 (Book 1). Episode 1. 2005-02-21. Nickelodeon. {{cite episode}}: Unknown parameter |episodelink= ignored (|episode-link= suggested) (help) Cite error: The named reference "The Boy In The Iceberg" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  6. ^ "The Southern Air Temple". Avatar: The Last Airbender. Season 1 (Book 1). Episode 3. 2005-02-25. Nickelodeon. {{cite episode}}: Unknown parameter |episodelink= ignored (|episode-link= suggested) (help) Cite error: The named reference "The Southern Air Temple" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  7. ^ "The Warriors of Kyoshi". Avatar: The Last Airbender. Season 1 (Book 1). Episode 4. 2005-03-04. Nickelodeon. {{cite episode}}: Unknown parameter |episodelink= ignored (|episode-link= suggested) (help)
  8. ^ "The King of Omashu". Avatar: The Last Airbender. Season 1 (Book 1). Episode 5. 2005-03-18. Nickelodeon. {{cite episode}}: Unknown parameter |episodelink= ignored (|episode-link= suggested) (help)
  9. ^ "The Spirit World (Winter Solstice, Part 1)". Avatar: The Last Airbender. Season 1 (Book 1). Episode 7. 2005-04-08. Nickelodeon. {{cite episode}}: Unknown parameter |episodelink= ignored (|episode-link= suggested) (help)
  10. ^ "Avatar Roku (Winter Solstice, Part 2)". Avatar: The Last Airbender. Season 1 (Book 1). Episode 8. 2005-04-15. Nickelodeon. {{cite episode}}: Unknown parameter |episodelink= ignored (|episode-link= suggested) (help)
  11. ^ "The Library". Avatar: The Last Airbender. Season 2 (Book 2). Episode 10. 2006-07-14. Nickelodeon. {{cite episode}}: Unknown parameter |episodelink= ignored (|episode-link= suggested) (help)
  12. ^ "The Waterbending Scroll". Avatar: The Last Airbender. Season 1 (Book 1). Episode 09. 2005-04-29. Nickelodeon. {{cite episode}}: Unknown parameter |episodelink= ignored (|episode-link= suggested) (help)
  13. ^ "The Siege of the North, Part 2". Avatar: The Last Airbender. Season 1 (Book 1). Episode 20. 2005-12-02. Nickelodeon. {{cite episode}}: Unknown parameter |episodelink= ignored (|episode-link= suggested) (help) Cite error: The named reference "The Siege of the North Part 2" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  14. 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)
  15. ^ "The Avatar Returns". Avatar: The Last Airbender. Season 1 (Book 1). Episode 2. 2006-02-21. Nickelodeon. {{cite episode}}: Unknown parameter |episodelink= ignored (|episode-link= suggested) (help)
  16. ^ "The Siege of the North, Part 1". Avatar: The Last Airbender. Season 1 (Book 1). Episode 19. 2005-12-02. Nickelodeon. {{cite episode}}: Unknown parameter |episodelink= ignored (|episode-link= suggested) (help) Cite error: The named reference "The Siege of the North Part 1" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  17. ^ "Bato of the Water Tribe". Avatar: The Last Airbender. Season 1 (Book 1). Episode 15. 2006-10-07. Nickelodeon. {{cite episode}}: Unknown parameter |episodelink= ignored (|episode-link= suggested) (help) Cite error: The named reference "Bato of the Water Tribe" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  18. "The Desert". Avatar: The Last Airbender. Season 2 (Book 2). Episode 11. 2006-07-14. Nickelodeon. {{cite episode}}: Unknown parameter |episodelink= ignored (|episode-link= suggested) (help)
  19. ^ "Bitter Work". Avatar: The Last Airbender. Season 2 (Book 2). Episode 9. 2006-06-02. Nickelodeon. {{cite episode}}: Unknown parameter |episodelink= ignored (|episode-link= suggested) (help)
  20. "The Drill". Avatar: The Last Airbender. Season 2 (Book 2). Episode 13. 2006-09-14. Nickelodeon. {{cite episode}}: Unknown parameter |episodelink= ignored (|episode-link= suggested) (help)
  21. ^ "The Tales of Ba Sing Se". Avatar: The Last Airbender. Season 2 (Book 2). Episode 15. 2006-09-29. Nickelodeon. {{cite episode}}: Unknown parameter |episodelink= ignored (|episode-link= suggested) (help)
  22. ^ "The Earth King". Avatar: The Last Airbender. Season 2 (Book 2). Episode 18. 2006-11-17. Nickelodeon. {{cite episode}}: Unknown parameter |episodelink= ignored (|episode-link= suggested) (help)
  23. ^ "The Avatar State". Avatar: The Last Airbender. Season 2 (Book 2). Episode 1. 2006-03-17. Nickelodeon. {{cite episode}}: Unknown parameter |episodelink= ignored (|episode-link= suggested) (help)
  24. ^ "The Deserter". Avatar: The Last Airbender. Season 1 (Book 1). Episode 16. 2005-10-21. Nickelodeon. {{cite episode}}: Unknown parameter |episodelink= ignored (|episode-link= suggested) (help)
  25. ^ "The Guru". Avatar: The Last Airbender. Season 2 (Book 2). Episode 20. 2006-12-01. Nickelodeon. {{cite episode}}: Unknown parameter |episodelink= ignored (|episode-link= suggested) (help)
  26. "The Fortuneteller". Avatar: The Last Airbender. Season 1 (Book 1). Episode 14. 2005-09-25. Nickelodeon. {{cite episode}}: Unknown parameter |episodelink= ignored (|episode-link= suggested) (help)
  27. ^ "The Crossroads of Destiny". Avatar: The Last Airbender. Season 2 (Book 2). Episode 20. 2006-12-01. Nickelodeon. {{cite episode}}: Unknown parameter |episodelink= ignored (|episode-link= suggested) (help)
  28. "Avatar Day". Avatar: The Last Airbender. Season 2 (Book 2). Episode 5. 2006-04-28. Nickelodeon. {{cite episode}}: Unknown parameter |episodelink= ignored (|episode-link= suggested) (help)
  29. "The Cave of Two Lovers". Avatar: The Last Airbender. Season 2 (Book 2). Episode 02. 2006-03-24. Nickelodeon. {{cite episode}}: Unknown parameter |episodelink= ignored (|episode-link= suggested) (help)
  30. "The Earth King". Avatar: The Last Airbender. Season 3 (Book 3). Episode 02. 2007-09-28. Nickelodeon. {{cite episode}}: Unknown parameter |episodelink= ignored (|episode-link= suggested) (help)
  31. ^ "The Blue Spirit". Avatar: The Last Airbender. Season 1 (Book 1). Episode 13. 2005-06-17. Nickelodeon. {{cite episode}}: Unknown parameter |episodelink= ignored (|episode-link= suggested) (help)
  32. "The Chase". Avatar: The Last Airbender. Season 2 (Book 2). Episode 8. 2006-05-26. Nickelodeon. {{cite episode}}: Text "The Chase" ignored (help)

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