Zuko and Mai were hands down one of the major couples or pairings in the Avatar mythos. They already were in a relationship long before the show started, and by the time we see their pairing, it is pretty established that they are in a relationship. 

It was a pretty solid ship and had its own section of fans rooting for it. No matter the hurdles they faced, the Zai/Muko fans always wanted their faves to keep going on forever. And who can blame them? Zuko and Mai’s relationship was one of the most mature relationships in the series, filled with all that teenage angst, emotion, and good stuff. 

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But while there was a lot of love for our resident Hothead and Emo/Goth Girl, there were so many things fundamentally wrong with that relationship as well. Their interactions with one another were a sight to see (a major highlight of the excellent general character development on Avatar: The Last Airbender); but their blowouts were astronomical.

This pretty much just shows that as nice as they were together, they also did not make that much sense together. It’s probably why the creators had them break up in the tie-in comics, but we don’t know for sure if they stayed that way. 

Here are things that did not make any sense about Zuko and Mai’s relationship.

Zuko and Mai Didn’t Seem To Have Much In Common

It’s obvious that Zuko and Mai cared a great deal about each other. However, it’s also kind of clear that they do not have much in common when it comes to similarities. The strange thin is that this is a common problem with tv shows and movies; as they usually do not have time to fully focus on relationships and show the basic details. The one time we see them share something that they both enjoy is the scene where they have a picnic. But even that does not prove much. It’s hard to tell if they do or do not have things in common with each other.

Mai Seemed to Be Much of A Loner

One thing is clear about Mai’s character: she preferred to be alone.

Sure, she may have been really close friends with Azula and Ty Lee, but mostly, she appeared to be someone who enjoyed her own company more. People seemed to annoy her easily. Even at the point where she tells Zuko he is one of the few things (or people) she didn’t hate, there is the chance that she may have been happier without the stress of having to deal with the problems of a romantic relationship.

Not everyone is meant to be in this kind of relationship or is made for such. With this, it started to seem like a stretch that Zuko and Mai were in a relationship.

Zuko and Mai Had Incompatible Personalities

Let’s be honest. Zuko and Mai were polar opposites. Zuko is a person directly fueled by his passions and emotions, and Mai is a rather subdued and emotionless individual. It even affects how she reacts to things; in the sense that she doesn’t even react to things. 

Sure, they say opposites attract, and it might look like their being nothing alike in temperaments might be perfect for them to balance each other out. But that also means that there is a more likely chance that they get on each other’s nerves. Which they do. A LOT. The episode on the beach at Ember Island is a perfect example of their explosive pairing. Zuko on one hand gets tired of the fact that she never shows any emotion, and Mai is fed up with Zuko’s being overly dramatic.

They Are Like  A High School Couple

They say there is no love like high school love. It’s also generally believed that high school love is young and dumb, and can’t last long. And that is exactly how Zuko and Mai feel as a couple. 

They definitely have that endearing couple thing going on for them in some ways. Mai is an emo type of person and Zuko is dramatic and emo in his own way. However, it is this fact that makes their relationship seem like a coupling that is only fit for exuberant youth. It definitely does not feel like it can stand the test of time. 

Just imagine seeing Zuko and Mai together forever, tying the knot, and starting their own family. It would scream catastrophic. Hence, it was only natural that the creators split them up in the follow-up comics to the series. However, there is still a huge chance that they got back together, as we never really get any confirmation as to who the mother of  Zuko’s daughter, Izumo is.

Why Mai Went Along With Azula’s Plans for Such A Long Time

This one beats everybody. Okay, so we get the fact that they have been good friends for a long time. But for what it’s worth, Mai isn’t nearly as chaotically evil as Azula is, so why she stuck around to help her for so long is a huge mystery.

Her stance on the war may have been influenced by the heavy level of propaganda that the Fire Nation was giving its people, and there is the fact that Mai’s parents were top-level government as well. But this does not explain why Mai put up with Azula and her schemes, even where it was clear that she can’t stand the princess. She still went along loyally. Maybe this had something to do with extending her loyalty to Zuko to his sister.

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Zuko and Mai Could Have Had Better Matches

There are other people who would have made better matches for Zuko or Mai in the Avatar series. While they are not really that bad of a couple, maybe they would have fared better off with different partners. However, it’s easy to see why they were constantly paired. Zuko and Mai have known each other since they were children, not to mention the fact that they provide some form of balance to themselves.

They actually share a lot of nice relationship moments in the series, but you get the feeling that the chemistry could have existed elsewhere. We’ve already seen some fans ship Zuko with Katara (sorry Aang fans), so we knew there was something budding perhaps. As for Mai, a character like Ty Lee would have been perfect for her, with all of that cheerful positivity meeting Mai’s negative outlook.

Why Zuko Was So Possessive of Mai

Zuko does come off as a possessive boyfriend in the Zuko and Mai ship, and it is really not surprising that he is. The problem is that why.

Their relationship is understandably broken due to Zuko’s exile, and it meant they were apart for longer than they were together. There obviously wasn’t enough time to create any sense of serious ownership; and yet we see Zuko get really mad that Mai is talking to other boys at the beach house party. It’s nothing short of dramatic at the very least; an overreaction if you will. It did show they had serious jealousy problems in their relationship though.

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Why Didn’t Zuko Explain Why He Left Better In His Letter

When he leaves the Fire Nation and goes on to help Aang and the rest of the gang in the Book of Fire, Zuko writes a letter to Mai. However, the contents of that letter are rather surprising, as they do nothing by way of explaining why he is leaving. He does not even explain what he is going to do. We get it, you’re cryptic Prince Zuko – but it still made no sense why he took that approach.

Mai definitely deserved a better explanation on the state of things. He could have surely written more in his letter, explaining in detail. Better still, he should have just had a physical conversation with Mai, no matter how she would have taken the news. It’s one of the most puzzling things about Zuko and Mai’s relationship.

Zuko and Mai Never Tried to Find Each Other While He Was In Exile

You could argue that they were just teens and therefore it would have been difficult for Mai to seek out her boyfriend. But if Avatar: the Last Airbender is clear on something; it is that pre-teens, teens and teenagers rule the fictional world of the four nations.

It would have actually cost her nothing to seek him out and help him. If she really cared about him like she said she did, and if their relationship was so serious, then we expect her to have reached out to him since; and not just when a significant amount of time had passed. 

She would have tried to find out how he was doing.

Zuko Never Really Asks Mai to Join Him

It’s only natural to want your significant other to join you on important quests, right? Well, surprisingly Zuko never does ask Mai, and you wonder why. 

On the Boiling Rock, Zuko was surely done for. But luckily (for him and for their relationship), Mai intervened and saved his life, albeit at the betrayal of Azula. Before that though, we never see Zuko ask Mai for any help.

Maybe he just never thought she wanted to be part of the entire war. Even throughout the series, we never really can tell what feelings Mai has towards the war. She might have been morally grey about it all, and Zuko could have asked her; but he never does.

Roku was a fire nation Avatar that came after the legendary Avatar Kyoshi. He is also the preceding Avatar to Avatar Aang. Roku’s spirit served as a constant guide at specific points of Aang’s journey in the quest to defeat Fire Lord Ozai during the 100-year war. Roku was a wise and lenient Avatar and although he himself acknowledged that the war was and Sozin gaining so much ground was as a result of his indecisiveness. 

Another factor is that his lifelong friendship with Fire Lord Sozin played a great deal in his reluctance to take action against his best friend. This led to the war gaining ground and the fire nation expanding its territory. Roku was also a fire nation born, thus, he may have had to walk softly so as not to be regarded as a traitor. 

This ultimately was the cause of Roku’s death, which prevented him from stopping a war that would go on to last for one hundred years. This is something that weighed heavily on him in his afterlife. Aang inherited Roku’s burden of healing the war-torn world, and Roku firmly believed Aang was destined to fix his mistakes.

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Avatar Roku’s Early Life 

In Roku’s early years, he was best friends with then Prince Sozin at that time. They spent a lot of time together, constantly sparring and practicing their fire bending. They were extremely close and of course the best of friends. Sozin was quickly able to tell that Roku had a crush on Ta Min, a fire nation girl. He encouraged Roku to speak with her. Roku and Prince Sozin shared a birthday which they celebrated together every year. 

During one of their birthday parties, with Sozin celebrating his and Roku’s sixteenth birthday, Roku had the most shocking revelation. He was informed by the Fire Sages that he was the Avatar. Before Roku left the Fire Nation to master the other three elements, Sozin came by to talk to him and was informed by Roku that the Sages had told him not to bring anything with him on his travels, as the Avatar required no worldly possessions on his journey.

After learning this, Sozin gave him the headpiece worn by the Crown Prince of the Fire Nation, hoping that he was at least allowed to have that. Roku took the headpiece gratefully and wore it for the rest of his life.

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Roku’s Avatar Journey 

After learning that he was the Avatar, Roku began traveling to all the other nations to learn their sacred arts of bending. He trained under Masters to learn the other bending arts. Following the natural order of the elemental cycles, he had to learn air bending first.

To accomplish this, he traveled to the Southern Air Temple. While he was there, Roku became very good friends with a young Air Nomad named Gyatso, who would, in his elder years, become the guardian, mentor, and friend to Avatar Aang. A viable proof that friendships can indeed transcend lifetimes. 

In one of the air bending lessons that Roku underwent which involved the students taking off with their gliders; Roku showed off by performing a loop. When Gyatso saw this and tried to upstage him by air-surfing, he lost control and fell.

Roku did however come to the aid of his friend. Although their combined weight proved too much for Roku to control. They lost control and crashed into the other students that were standing safely on the ground.

After years of training and mastering air bending, Roku traveled to the Northern Water tribe to master water bending. This was particularly difficult for him as he was working with his natural opposite. Fire is to Water as Earth is to Air. We would later see Avatar Aang’s struggle to master Earth bending as it was his natural opposite as well. Roku recalls his whole process of learning the bending arts and mastering them as bitter work. 

However, years of practice and training helped him to duel his master and stand his ground. During one of these sparring sessions, Avatar Roku took the brunt of a water blow and ended up in the ocean, but popped back up to stand on an ice platform and swept his teacher away with a tall wave of water, crashing into the pinnacle of the chief’s palace, a good distance away.

After he had mastered this, he traveled to the Earth Kingdom to learn earth bending from a master named Sud. This was also another difficult task as mastering the bending arts required you to forget everything else that you knew but still remember it at the same time. They had different forms but were perceived as one of a great whole. He developed a great friendship. During one of their training sessions, they raced each other atop slabs of the earth to the top of a hill.

Although Sud was in the lead most of the time, Roku managed to beat him to the top with time to spare to prepare tea for both of them, much to Sud’s surprise. This showed great mastery and ease in performance. After he had mastered the bending arts, he moved on to more Avatar duties. He was to master the Avatar state and understand more of the spiritual side of the Avatar. 

Mastering The Avatar State

After mastering the bending arts, Roku went back to the fire nation. By this time, years had passed and he was already close to becoming a fully realized Avatar. He retired to a crescent Island for 5 months where he attempted to master the Avatar state. This was one of the Avatar temples in the fire nation. 

He attempted to master the Avatar State under the guidance of a Fire Sage named Kaja. Avatar Roku growing impatient after failing to master it with meditation tried using the winter solstice sun to force himself into the Avatar State.

Despite his success, he became trapped under its influence and was unable to control his powers, resulting in the destruction of the upper half of the Fire Temple and the eruption of the nearby volcano. Kaja eventually managed to free Roku from the state by aligning the Avatar’s eyes with the winter solstice sun once more, halting the destruction of the temple. 

In penance for his near destruction of the Fire Sages’ temple, Roku rebuilt parts of the temple and carved new underground passages out of the island’s magma. This was seen in the Last air bender series when Shayu escorted Aang and his friends through the underground secret passageways. After the incident, Roku became more patient with his training and completely mastered the Avatar State afterward.

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Roku’s Return

After the mastery of the bending arts and the Avatar state, Roku returned home, a fully realized Avatar. 

He reunited with Sozin and they shared a hug. He went on to marry his childhood sweetheart Ta Min. Sozin was his best man at the wedding. 

At the wedding, Sozin asked to speak with Roku in private and informed his close friend that he had thought hard about the state of the world.

He told Roku that he strongly believed the Fire Nation had entered a period of great prosperity and proposed to Roku that together the pair could spread this wealth to the world by expanding the empire. Roku was shocked by his horrific preposition and firmly told Sozin that the four nations were to be kept separate. He also advised that he never bring the subject forth in future conversations.

Later in his life, Roku found a dragon, Fang, when he was a baby, not yet hatched from his egg, and adopted him as his animal guide and constant companion during his life as the Avatar. He eventually settled down and began living out his life with Ta Min, with whom he later had a daughter, Rina.

Seventeen years after Roku’s wedding, he discovers that Sozin had went ahead with his plans and set up colonies in the Earth kingdom. Infuriated by Sozin’s act of war, Roku confronted his old friend friend, blasting through the doors of the throne room inside the fire nation palace.

He bashed his friend and ordered him to cease the expansion he was trying to achieve. When Sozin replied that Roku’s loyalty was to the fire nation and to his Fire Lord, he also further enunciated that halting the progress of this expansion made him a traitor. Roku warned Sozin not to challenge him and as he turned to leave, Sozin attacked.

Roku easily dodged this attack and used earth bending to reappear behind Sozin. This let Roku strike him with an air blast. Suspending Sozin in the air with an earth pair by the collar of his robe, he entered the Avatar state and destroyed the throne room. He spared Sozin’s life for the sake of their friendship and wanted him that any plans to further the expansion would result in Sozin’s permanent end.

Twenty-five years later, a volcanic explosion erupted at Roku’s home. He was able to save the rest of the island’s inhabitants. 

Roku ultimately realizes that his death was inevitable. Right before the pyroclastic flow engulfed him, Fang curled up with his master and the two died together.

When it comes to shows that last a lifetime and live on in the hearts of their fans, then Avatar: The Last Airbender is a show that fits that description perfectly well. This is because the show somehow managed to include everyone in its storytelling, and at the end of the day, there is hardly anyone who has seen the series that has not been touched by its uniqueness. Truly there are very few shows like it, so it is fondly remembered. This fodness even translates to merchandise and paraphernalia; anything that can remind fans about the show is considered golden. And that includes any Avatar the Last Airbender Wallpaper. 

In light of this, we’ve compiled some of the most amazing entries from the Avatar the Last Airbender wallpaper list; and we bet you’ll love them to bits.

Avatar The Last Airbender Wallpaper Canvas Poster 20×30inch(50×75cm)

What better way to start this list than with a canvas poster wallpaper that fully represents the climax of the series? Thus wallpaper showcases the primary characters from the third book; the Book of Fire. We have Sokka, Katara, Aang, Toph and a surprising addition of Zuko. On second thought, maybe not so surprising, considering by the third book, Zuko has switched sides and is now Aang’s firebending teacher. It’s a perfect piece, sure to draw wows and oohs from anyone who sees it, and we can just imagine it over a mantle in the home. Or even over a bed. 

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Avatar The Last Airbender Wallpaper Aang Canvas Poster

This is another canvas poster wallpaper, and this time we have the titular character himself; Avatar Aang. In this wallpaper, Aang looks to be in the avatar state, with his tattoos glowing as they do whenever he goes superpowered. Behind him is Sozin”s Comet, which is surrounded by a beautiful crimson hue. This is ironic considering the fact that the comet embodies the end of the world for the three nations as they know it. Luckily, Aang was able to defeat the Phoenix King and save the world from impending doom. 

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XIAOSA Avatar The Last Airbender Wallpaper Poster Decorative Painting Canvas

There are few things as disarming as Aang’s smile, truly. And this canvas wallpaper poster shows just that. It also pays homage to each of the three books in the series. The first frame shows Aang in the ocean swimming; a clear reference to the Book of Water. The second panel shows Aang in a cloud of orange smoke, and that symbolizes the Book of Fire. The third panel shows Aang surrounded by stalagmites, a pointer to his time learning how to bend earth in the Book of Earth. This wallpaper captures the true essence of the show in simple details, and would be a perfect addition to any collection.

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Avatar The Last Airbender Season 4 Wallpaper 

While we actually got just three actual seasons of the animated series, the story does not end there. The tie in comics serves as continuations, and the first comic, often referred to as Avatar The Last Airbender Season 4: The Promise. Now in this wallpaper, we get to capture the true essence of that tie-in comic. Not to brag, but we mention this wallpaper is a must-have. It does after all feature Aang, Toph, Katara, Zuko as the new Firelord, Sokka and even Momo as they try to find out what really happened to Zuko’s mother.

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Avatar State Aang

Aang is very rarely angered or distressed to the point where he is visibly fierce. But in this wallpaper we can see that the Avatar is on his edge. He has entered the Avatar state, and is now bending all four elements at the same time. Whatever the case may be, something serious has definitely happened for the otherwise peaceful and easy going defender of all elements. He’s even breathing fire.

Overlooking Aang

In this wallpaper, we see Aang overlooking the world as it stands. It is clearly different from the one he left behind, and from the colors and hues you can tell this is a pretty intense scene. This particular scene was taken from the intro sequence of the show itself, and you can just hear Katara recounting the events of the hundred year war as you look at this fine masterpiece.

Avatar: The Last Star Wars

This last wallpaper on our list is a bit of a parody. It is an interesting take on both franchises, imagining Avatar The Last Airbender characters as Star Wars Characters. Sokka appears as legendary voyager Han Solo. Appa is his trusted sidekick and companion Chew Bacca. Uncle Iroh appears as Yoda, not an unusual portrayal, considering the level of wisdom both characters exude. Momo is none other than JarJar Binks. Finally, we have Katara as Padme Amidala, Zuko as Anakyn Skywalker on the Darkside, and Aang as Obiwon Kenobi. It’s the best cosplay you can think of.   

Every show is just as good as its bad guy. While Avatar had plenty of bad guys, from Jet down to Combustion Man, they were all just to keep us waiting for the main Baddie. Azula might have ended up being more of a threat overall, but when it comes to the position of the primary bad guy from the animated series, then no one really takes the cake just like Fire Lord Ozai. 

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Voiced by legendary actor Mark Hamill, not much was known about the Firelord except for the brief scenes he appeared in at the beginning of the series. However, as short as those scenes were, one thing was clear. Fire Lord Ozai was a brutal ruler, and an even more brutal father; just ask Zuko or Zuko’s mother. While a legendary character, he however was defeated at the supposed height of his career. Still, he remains one very enigmatic character; interesting enough for us to find out exactly what is behind the man that was once the Phoenix King.

The Fire Lord had his face hidden for the entire first season of Avatar. It built up suspense and made you wonder in your head what he looked like. When they did reveal him, you see that he looks pretty normal but has a very demon like voice and smile to him.

1. He is Voiced By Mark Hamill

We already stated this, but it is worth mentioning again. Afterall, no one else could have really captured the menacing voice that Ozai was meant to have. Interestingly, even in silence, Fire Lord Ozai was an imposing figure to anyone who had the misfortune of being around him. At every single point in time, Mark Hamill captured every fiery emotion that Ozai exuded. From the snide lack of affection for his children to his onslaught on the Avatar in the last fight, Hamill portrayed Fire Lord Ozai in the best of villainy forms. 

Mark Hamil is also the voice of many other iconic characters like The Joker from Batman the Animated Series. Mark was able to perfectly capture the essence of the character with his voice. He was brutal, straight to the point and he lacked any real emotion. The only thing he cared about was power.

2. Fire Lord Ozai Killed His Father

Yes, you heard that right. Ozai already had a basket full of evil atrocities by the time we first meet him in the show, and one of them was patricide. In fact, this is the only reason he becomes fire lord, as the throne is rightfully Iroh’s. However, when Iroh’s son dies in battle, Ozai approaches their father to make him his heir in his brother’s place. The infuriated Firelord then asks Ozai to sacrifice Zuko as his punishment. 

However, in order to save Zuko, Ursa, his mother and Ozai’s wife, propositioned Ozai to poison Firelord Azulon. Ozai saw this as killing two birds with one stone; as he got to have the throne and Zuko got to live. This would have further secured his legacy and made his claim to the throne stronger. So Ozai goes ahead with the plan and kills his father to become Fire Lord Ozai.

3. He Had No Military Experience

Fire Lord Ozai was a powerful firebender no doubt, but he actually had no experience fighting wars. His brother General Iroh was more skilled, having earned his stripes on the battlefield, as well as the respect of the soldiers. Ozai on the other hand was just royalty. In fact, if it weren’t for his scheming and plotting, he might never have qualified for the throne. 

You make the assumption in the show that if Azula is so strong, her father must be that much stronger of a bender. But it’s just not true, he rarely if ever had to fight due to his royalty.

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4. Fire Lord Ozai’s Reign Was The Shortest

While his father Azulon ruled as fire lord for 75 years, and his grandfather Sozin ruled for 78 years, Fire Lord Ozai ruled as fire lord for a much shorter period of time. He only ruled for just five years, which pales greatly in comparison to the length of time his predecessors ruled. While he did commit a lot of atrocities in his time, it was still the shortest reign in history.

5. He Began The Fire Nation’s Industrial Age

Say what you want, but Ozai was a visionary, albeit a murderous one, it was under his rule that the fire nation really improved technologically, down to the point that by the time Sozin’s comet came again, the fire nation had tanks, boats, airships, and other metal war machinery. In that regard, their technological advancements also extended beyond their military. Let’s not forget that the fire nation was the most progressive and prosperous nation at the time as well, thanks to him catalyzing the situation and making their economy better. 

6. Fire Lord Ozai Nearly Took Over the World

So many times we hear a villain say they will conquer the world, but not many succeed at their quest. In fact, a lot of them are very bad at their quests for world domination, but there was something about Fire Lord Ozai. 

He actually came very close. With the might of the Fire Nation and their new technological war machines, Ozai painted the world red. The might of the Fire Nation at some point became too much for any nation to stand. Even the once impenetrable Ba Sing Se fell, thanks to good old fashioned trickery and spycraft. It was something even the dragon of the west, Iroh couldn’t do.

Of course, he didn’t do it all by himself. He had his father and grandfather’s reigns to thank, but under his reign, the Fire Nation’s hold on other countries increased. By the third season of the series, the Fire Nation has managed to extend their violent influence to 90 percent of the world. If that’s not impressive, we don’t know what is.

7. He Had A Fan Club

Loyalist is a much better word, but you could still call them a dedicated fan club. Fire Lord Ozai was one of the most popular fire lords ever. This is probably because many of the Fire Nation people agreed with him and helped spread his ideals and vision for the world. You can imagine what they tried to do to reinstate him after his defeat at the hands of Aang.

When Zuko took over as the Fire Lord, Ozai’s loyalists rebelled and wanted to put him back on the throne. They didn’t care that he was now a non-bender. Another interesting fact is that it was Zuko’s father-in-law, Mai’s father Ukano that started this rebellion. And guess what they were called? The New Ozai Society.  Of course, they failed, but you have to admit that Ozai still having influence even after his incarceration is a scary thing to behold.

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8. Fire Lord Ozai Was A Really Bad Father

This last point is no news. You need only take a look at his children Zuko and Azula to see so. Zuko was such a damaged and lost soul at the end of the series, that it took some divine intervention for him to find his way back to the light. Azula on the other hand was incredibly damaged psychologically. If there is anyone to blame for this, all fingers point at Ozai. 

The side characters in Avatar: The Last Airbender are so fleshed out that you can’t separate them from the main characters sometimes. That’s how well written the show is. One of such characters is Ty Lee, one of Azula’s closest friends, if we can call her that. Most of the time, the scenes she is in are focused mainly on fights, so we don’t get to dwell on her other traits. But in this article, we’ll talk about facts you should know about Ty Lee Avatar. 

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Ty Lee Avatar: Appeared In A  Few Episodes

Eleven. Yep, that’s the number of times Ty Lee appears in Avatar: The Last Airbender. We know, it sounds crazy, considering how it feels like Ty Lee was such a big part of the show. While that’s not wrong, we are made to believe this mostly because of her rather large personality. 

In fact, she didn’t make her first appearance until the third episode of Book Two. Furthermore, she only appeared in 11 episodes after that, and even one of those episodes involved her saying no lines. She didn’t even appear in the Legend of Korra series.

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Ty Lee Avatar Was The Only Person Azula Apologised To

It’s an impressive feat to note, almost as impressive as the fact that Azula never apologized to anybody in three seasons on that show. But Ty Lee was the exception, and perhaps it highlights just how serious the friendship between the two girls is. The apology comes after Azula makes her feel bad about her attention-seeking behavior.

The character is often used to show how insane and manipulating Azula was. In the end, it was as if Ty Lee knew all along that she was not really a good friend. Being with Azula meant being around power and that seemed to be the only attractive trait.

She is One of Seven Sisters

When she reveals the fact that she is one of seven sisters in “The Beach”, we don’t quite understand the gravity of that statement. In truth, Ty Lee is one of seven daughters – all of whom look shockingly alike. That really explains a lot about her personality. Her sisters even have similar names to hers. They are named Ty Lin, Ty Lat, Ty Lao, Ty Liu, Ty Lum, and Ty Woo. This totally explains the need for her to constantly seek attention from others, seeing as she does not have an identity when surrounded by her sisters. 

Ty Lee Avatar Was A Circus Girl

When she became frustrated at the lack of attention and further lack of identity that came from having six sisters that looked exactly like her, Ty Lee had to do something. So, she ran off to join the circus, and we really cannot blame her for that. Running off was likely the only option she had, the only chance she would ever have at getting what she wanted. Of course, that was cut short by Azula, who ended up pulling the poor Ty Lee back into her evil schemes.

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She is a chi blocking expert

Besides being an incredibly flexible person, Ty Lee also had the distinct ability to chi block. This would in turn block a bender’s access to their bending, and rendered most of them useless in a fight. It was an impressive ability, and she turned out to be a formidable foe. Even when she was faced with a large number of bending opponents, she would simply just take away their bending; tipping the scales back to her favor. 

Her Chi Blocking is widely used in the Legend of Korra. All the credit goes to Ty Lee because she was a character who was not a bender but used her Chi Blocking and athletic ability to win fights anyway. She gave real hope to all of the little people.

Ty Lee Avatar: The Kyoshi Warrior

When Ty Lee resisted the will of Azula, she found herself hanging out in a Fire Nation prison alongside the Kyoshi warriors. Eventually, she became friends with this fierce group of ladies, and later even became a member of their team. It was a team-up ordained by the heavens because Ty Lee already showed the skills that the Kyoshi Warriors had always embodied.

Ty Lee never felt like a fully fleshed out bad guy. Azula was a crazy person, and Mai was just down to do whatever would not leave her bored. But Ty Lee never felt evil, she just felt misguided. Her joining the Kyoshi Warriors made a lot of sense.

First Outsider Kyoshi Warrior

You might not know it, but Kyoshi warriors do not take in members, not from their Island. However, Ty Lee was the first-ever non-member of Kyoshi Island to become a Kyoshi Warrior.

Ty Lee Became Friends With Toph

Though the two didn’t interact much since they were on opposite sides of the conflict for most of the animated series, Toph Beifong and Ty Lee did form an unlikely friendship after the events of the series.

In the comics that picked up where the show left off, Ty Lee found herself discontented with her time post-war. She and Toph went to a circus performance to remind the former of her old life. To her surprise, her sisters were doing an acrobatic act together, following in her footsteps. Toph then took her around to more exhibits so she wouldn’t feel so out of sorts.

She Picked the Side of Good

Mai eventually betrayed Azula to save Zuko’s life. This meant that Ty Lee was forced to pick aside. We never really know the lengths that Azula could have gone to, so it really could have ended in death for Mai. Ty Lee could have easily stayed out of the whole business, but instead, she chose to side with Mai, believing Azula to have taken things too far. Ty Lee had to choose to save her friends, so she picked Mai. 

Of course, because of this, Ty Lee was sent to prison. It automatically meant her friendship with Azula was over. The interesting thing is that this betrayal seemed to hurt Azula more than anyone else, even leading her to a mental breakdown complete with paranoia. But for Ty Lee, it ended up being a good thing in the long run. She probably would have never met the imprisoned Kyoshi Warrior and become a part of them.

Ty Lee Avatar Wanted To Be An Individual

Remember we mentioned that Ty Lee had six sisters that looked exactly like she did? This was also why she joined the circus. Having so many faces around that look exactly like yours can be crazy, so we assume Ty Lee was always feeling like a part of a group and not really an individual. Through the series, we see she is on a constant quest to find her own identity, and it worked for a while.

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Every story has a beginning, and the Last Airbender series told a lot of beginnings in its long run. However, we didn’t quite get the lowdown on the origin of the eponymous character. Not until the spin off series; The Legend of Korra gave us an insight on the First Avatar; Avatar Wan.

The second book or season of The Legend of Korra series was not a very popular one. Many fans really hated it, and it is popularly considered as the lowest ranking season of all. It retconned a lot of the franchise’s established mythos; all the while doubling up with one of the most unbelievably annoying villains to appear on a TV screen; Unalaq.

There was no getting behind his foolish and downright creepy obsession with the spirit world.  The only redeeming factor from the Book of Spirits was the First Avatar’s appearance: Avatar Wan.

The First Avatar appeared in two episodes of Book 2, showing viewers a time when the four nations had not been formed; and the spirits had a higher stake to Earth than humans did.  While fans got to really see how life was for the First Avatar; the first ever bridge between the spirits and humans, you could argue that not every single detail was picked up. There were some subtle details that may have gone under the radar; and so it’s only right we shed some light on them.

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The First Avatar’s Eye Color 

Before he became the first Avatar; Wan was a resident of the city on the Lion Turtle that granted people the ability to bend fire. We can safely assume his people would go on to become the Fire Nation in the coming 10 millenia that spanned from The Beginning.

One other nod to this possibly correct assumption was the First Avatar’s eye color. Throughout the Avatar series, from the Last Airbender to The Legend of Korra; we see that there is a distinct eye color that many firebenders are shown to possess. Most of them have the same  copper-colored eyes that Wan does. 

We get more of this in the prequel novel, The Rise of Kyoshi; where Hei-Ran and her daughter Rangi are described as having the same ‘copper or bronze-colored iris’. It is also mentioned that this is one of the major ways to discern a firebender; down to the point that a waterbender once uses poison to change his eye color to bronze so he can hide from pirates.

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The Double Meaning of The First Avatar’s Name

Without even adding any actual logic to the name; you have to admit that the name Wan does sound like “one”. Away from that very phonetic link, is the fact that as Wan is the first Avatar to ever exist, his name also possesses a secondary meaning; already shown in the series before. Wan means ten thousand in Mandarin, which is a reference to the events that saw him become Avatar ten thousand years before Korra’s existence and the events in The Legend of Korra.

The name has also been used in Avatar: The Last Airbender before, in reference to the spirit owl Wan Shi Tong, whose library Avatar Aang and his group used to find a way to stop the Hundred Year War. In Mandarin, Wan Shi Tong means “he who knows ten-thousand things,” and the spirit himself mentions this when he is introduced in the episode.

The Basis For His Design

Character designs based on real people are not a new thing. In fact, it is not uncommon for animators to base character designs on likenesses to someone on the team, considering how much of a constant reference point they are when drawing and animating the character. We’ve already discussed how The Boulder was based on pro wrestler and A-List actor Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, but the very first Avatar was also subject to this treatment.

In the Legend of Korra’s artbook, we are treated to the knowledge that Avatar Wan was modeled after Avatar showrunner and co-creator Bryan Konietzko. He had also previously played the “Foaming at the mouth guy” in Warriors of Kyoshi and Avatar Day in The Last Airbender series.

The First Avatar Determined The Order Of The Elements

The Avatar series has one aspect that is widely known, and that is the order or cycle of the elements. The avatar elements rotate in a cycle, from the Fire Nation first, to the Air Nomads, then the Water Tribe and the Earth Kingdom bringing up the end. Once it ends, it restarts with the Fire Nation yet again. As Avatar Wan was the first Avatar, and as he was a firebender, it made sense that the order began there.

Also, it is in this order that the Avatar is supposed to learn the respective elements during training. The Avatar is meant to start learning the elements from their native element, and then work their way through the cycle in the order. Avatar Wan established this order, obtaining the elements as he sought to create peace with the spirits. He began with firebending, and then airbending, bringing it all to a close with waterbending and earthbending.

Where He Died

In his last moments, we see Wan passing away in a field after sustaining injuries from a war he was fighting. It is assumed he fought this war alongside or with the Earth Kingdom, as he is shown surrounded by many large wooden coins; which are a signature of siege weapons that the Earthbenders and the Earth Kingdom were associated with. 

This location was actually featured in the main Avatar series at an earlier time. During the Book 2 episode ‘Zuko Alone’, Zuko passes through a field of the broken Earthbender coins as he makes his way to a rural town.

The Legend of Korra: An Avatar's Chronicle

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The First Avatar’s Firebending Skills

Although we see that many characters have used the power of fire long before Wan did, the  first Avatar was actually the first to create the firebending artform. We see this when he single handedly manhandles a group of wanderers who attempt to attack him with their fire.

As the Avatar, and the first one at that, it should be no surprise that Wan’s bending would be above average in comparison to most firebenders, but we don’t see his skill in using fire to propel himself. The main instances of fire propulsion occur with mainly the Royal Family. In the Last Airbender, it’s Azula and Ozai that do this, and in the Legend of Korra, it’s General Iroh, Zuko’s grandson.

The First Avatar’s Firebending Teacher

In the Last Airbender, we learn that humans learned the art of bending the elements from watching the original masters of bending; dragons for fire, sky bison for air, badger moles for earth and the moon for water. The Legend of Korra may have either retconned or expanded that reveal with the introduction of the Lion Turtles, who are seen giving humans the power to bend, but they did not teach them the art. In the same vein, we see an actual training session from the original masters with Wan. 

The First Avatar spends some time in the spirit wilds, and while he does, he learns the firebending artform from a dragon spirit. The dragon spirit teaches him the Dancing Dragon bending form, which we have earlier seen. Aang and Zuko learn it from the last two dragons in the Last Airbender Book 3 episode; The Firebending Masters as they also learn that dragons are not as extinct as the world believes them to be.

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What He Wears As The First Avatar

The Avatar not only acts as the  bridge between the spirit and human worlds. He is also a force for unification of the four nations. As such, the Avatar must be impartial and treat everyone with impartiality. While he was not able to unify the four nations in his time as the Avatar, Wan did his best to represent all nations, and we see this especially in his fight against Vaatu. 

As he prepares to take on the dark spirit, Wan is dressed in clothing that honors all four nations. His robes are orange and yellow for the Air Nomads; his scarf is red for the Fire Nation; the blue sash he wears represents the Water Tribe and his green armbands signify the Earth Kingdom.

He Inadvertently Created The Red Lotus

The Red Lotus organization is introduced in Book 3 as the main antagonists. They are a militant splinter cell of the White Lotus organization. As opposed to the White Lotus’s task of protecting balance and the Avatar, the Red Lotus vehemently oppose the world order. They believe that the Avatar contributes imbalance to the world, and must be removed permanently. The reason for this belief lies in the actions of the first Avatar. Wan not only sealed away Vaatu in the Tree of Time but also closed off the spirit world from the physical world until the next Harmonic Convergence 10,000 years later.

If it wasn’t for the actions of Wan, the Red Lotus organization may never have been formed. In the same vein, we can argue that without Wan, the world would have been thrown into 10,000 years of darkness. This was something that Vaatu promised afterall. 

The First Avatar Was Voiced By Talented Actor Steven Yeun

We’ve had some amazing actors lend their voice talents to bring The Legend of Korra characters to life. There was J.K Simmons, who played Tenzin and Zelda Williams who played Book 4 villain Kuvira. In the same light, the first Avatar was actor Steven Yeun. 

Steven Yeun has a number of acting gigs under his belt, primarily with Netflix animations such as Keith in Voltron: Legendary Defender, Little Cato in Final Space and Steve in Tales of Arcadia. Most notably however, is his role as Glenn Rhee on AMC’s hit horror drama show; The Walking Dead.

It’s no surprise that someone of this calibre was hand picked to play the very first Avatar. Avatar Wan’s role was a very pivotal one, and so it makes a lot of sense.