Avatar The Legend of Korra: Who is Amon? Amon is an anarchist that served as one of Korra’s foes. He was the first obstacle that Korra encountered on her Avatar journey. So, who is Amon?

Avatar Aang and his friends always had the support of each other, and this helped them defeat the Fire Lord Ozai, ending the 100- year war. 

Asking yourself how the world went from its state of balance to the upset and imbalance we see in the adventures in the Legend of Korra.

Several things happened which were documented in different graphic novels that predate the birth of Korra. The creators, along with a lot of other talented writers, dropped different novels on the happenings after the Defeat of Ozai.

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Other Stories Before Korra

There have been graphic novels like The Search, The Rift, The Promise, and many more.

The Search is a graphic novel trilogy that is set one year after the events in The Promise. It also precedes the novel The Rift. 

It was written by Gene Luen Yang with Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko. The trilogy was released in three separate installments by Dark Horse Comics in collaboration with Nickelodeon throughout 2013. 

The story focuses on Zuko and Azula as they search for their mother, Ursa, with Team Avatar accompanying them to keep the mentally unstable princess in check.

Zuko tells Team Avatar regarding Azula.

“She’s going to come with me to look for our mother

“The Search trilogy includes:

Part one, two and three.

The first part of the Search is the first installment in the graphic novel trilogy series. It is a continuation of The Promise storyline. That itself is a follow-up of the series after the live TV animation series had ended. This is after team Avatar defeats Fire Lord Ozai. 

This follow-up to the plot of Avatar: The Last Airbender was originally set to be released by Dark Horse Comics in collaboration with Nickelodeon on March 20, 2013. It was released with its counterparts in Avatar: The Last Airbender—The Search Library Edition HC on February 5, 2014.

The Search takes up after The Promise ends and so on until the birth of Korra. 

As we have already established who Korra is, Who is Amon?

Who is Amon?

Amon and his Equalists on a mission of chaos

In Avatar the Legend of Korra: Who is Amon?

Amon is a water bender, born in the Northern water tribe. He was born in 130AG. His real name is Noatak. He is the leader of the anti-bending group that is known as the Equalists. Amon giving a speech during the Revelation rally said.

 “The Era of bending is over! A new Era of Equality has begun.”

Amon and his Equalists believe that bending induces an imbalance in the world. They also want to rid the world of bending by taking away the bending of anyone they can find. Naturally, the Avatar is the bridge, and the master of all four bending disciplines becomes Amon’s target. He toils with Korra, making her feel helpless, and finally succeeds in taking her bending away. This was before she could air bend.

Amon’s Goal

Amon about to take away a bender's ability for good

The ultimate goal of the Equalists was to introduce equality for all by permanently ridding the world of benders. The ranks of the Equalists are filled with non-benders who have suffered at the hands of benders and bending battles, unable to do anything in their defense.

Amon is a nimble, agile, and stealthy fighter. He was fearless in facing his opponents, regardless of their powerful bending skills and abilities. 

Amon claims to be an innocent non-bender who has been granted the power to rid the world of bending by the spirits. This is a power that was demonstrated by Avatar Aang in his final battle with Fire Lord Ozai. Aang chose the better path, deciding on a way forward that did not involve taking the Fire Lord’s life. He desperately sought this method as he could feel in the core of his being that the alternative option would alter his true nature.

Amon quickly gained the support of a lot of people, sharing his ideals like a plague and gathering more followers by the day. 

Amon’s Rise to Power

Amon threw the entire system of Republic city into chaos. The council, at first refusing to acknowledge the imminent threat that Amon posed, refused to take precautions. 

However, they soon came to acknowledge the danger. And just before the complete conquest of Republic City by the Equalists, Amon’s true identity was exposed to the public by Avatar Korra. 

She revealed that he was, in fact, a water bender. He was a prodigious Northern Water Tribe blood bender, son of the escaped crime boss, Yakone. Yakone was defeated by Avatar Aang in Republic city before Noatak was born. Alongside his younger brother, the former councilman, Tarrlok, Amon was unknowingly shaped by Yakone to be a tool for his revenge against the Avatar. With his identity exposed and his followers deserting him, Amon fled the city with Tarrlok. Tarrlok, however, ignited the fuel tank of their speedboat, killing them both. He saw this as a fitting end for both of them.

Amon’s Early Life 

Noatak was born in the Northern Water Tribe to Yakone and his wife. He was the older brother of Tarrlok by three years. When he was growing up, he was a good-natured child who always looked out for his younger brother and wanted everyone to be treated fairly and equally. It is said that those with the greatest capacity for compassion also have the ability for great hatred. It is the case for Noatak.

When Yakone discovered that both Noatak and Tarrlok were water benders, he ruthlessly trained them to help them develop their skills. 

While Noatak was a natural, Tarrlok struggled to progress as quickly and was often verbally abused by Yakone due to this. Noatak originally would stand up for his brother. He, however, stopped doing so when Yakone, their father, ordered him to never talk back.

When Noatak was ten, Yakone took both of his sons on a supposed hunting trip far from their home.

Amon’s True Powers

This was where he revealed his true identity as a Republic City criminal and explained what had happened to him all up until that time. He also explained the power of blood bending to them. He also claimed that their family had the strongest line of blood benders in history. This explains why Amon was strong enough to use blood bending to rid people of their bending without a full moon. 

Amon, demonstrating his true powers and taking away bending

Katara originally displayed this ability to blood bend without a full moon but never to Amon’s level. It was on this hunting trip that he expressed his intent to make his two sons blood benders of the highest level. This was in order to exact his revenge against Aang for stripping him of his bending. 

Yakone trained the two boys secretly during every full moon to use their blood bending on animals, such as yaks and wolves.

Noatak reveled in his newfound power, eventually mastering Yakone’s unique psychic blood bending technique by the time he was fourteen. As a prodigy, he carried the burden of all his father’s expectations and demands. Over the years, he became cold and detached. This birthed the Amon that we see in The Legend of Korra series.

At some point in his life, Noatak figured out how to use blood bending to disrupt a bender’s chi, making it impossible for them to bend. He assumed the alias of “Amon” and became the leader of the Equalists, an organization striving to rid the world of bending.


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