Appa is one of the most well-known characters of the Avatar series. He served as the animal companion of Avatar Aang throughout his life. When Aang was rediscovered by Sokka and Katara, frozen in an iceberg in the first episode of the Avatar: The Last Airbender TV Series. They find Appa with Aang as well. It is later revealed in the series that Bison’s choose their partners themselves by accepting an apple offering from them in their childhood. So Appa has been with Aang since he was practically a baby.
Appa is an equally important member of the Team Avatar. And is the team’s primary source of transportation. Everyone loves Appa but for Aang, the love is not even explainable. This is due to the fact that they are the only surviving members of the Air Nomad civilization. And when they learned this fact after waking up from their hibernation a 100 after their disappearance, they only had each other to grieve with. This sudden revelation of such a huge loss made them even closer to each other.
History Of Bisons
Appa is a Sky Bison and is one of the most notable sky bison because of being the animal companion of Avatar Aang. It can be seen in the TV series that the Sky Bisons are greatly respected by Air Nomads. This is due to the fact that they believed Bisons to be the first Airbenders. And every Airbender used to have a partner bison that they got in their childhood.
Before the 100 Years War, most of the Flying Bisons used to live in the Air Temples. And they were thought to be the only way of reaching the Air temples. Even when Katara revealed about the genocide of the Air Nomads, Aang did not believe it initially. And replied to Katara that the only way to reach the Air temples is through a flying Bison. So the Air Nomads can not be killed. But on reaching the temples and witnessing the ruins of once-great and full of life Air Temples firsthand, did Avatar Aang accepted the fate of his people.
First Interaction Between Aang And Baby Appa
Like all Airbenders, Aang also received his Bison when both of them were at a very young age. The mother of Baby Appa directed Appa and her other children to a group of young Nomads to become lifelong partners. Aang presented an apple to baby Appa which he happily accepted thus making them lifelong companions. When Aang overheard the monks’ plan to separate him from Monk Gyatso. He chose Appa to run away from the Air temple. But was caught in the middle of a storm that nearly killed them both.
It is at this time that the Avatar state took control of Aang and he formed a hibernating bubble around himself and Appa thus going into hibernation for a full hundred years.
Personality of Appa
Appa has a very trustworthy personality. He is very peaceful and is a herbivore who does not like to hurt animals. He has very complex feelings like humans. We see Appa on an emotional journey when he is taken captive by a group of Sandbenders. He is sold to a fire kingdom circus owner who forces him to perform. But Appa succeeds in running away from the circus and goes to the desert from where he was kidnapped to find Aang and the rest of the Avatar team.
But cries in pain when he finds nobody there. He then flies over the kingdoms in search of Aang and encounters the Kyoshi warriors where he heals himself both emotionally and physically. In his search for his lost friends Appa ultimately reaches the Eastern Air Temple. And meets Guru Pathik at the Temple who locates Aang from Appa by tracking down his energy trail. After learning the location of The Avatar from the Guru, Appa races to his location.
Because of his loyalty to The Avatar and his team Appa helps the team quite regularly. Appa has shown signs of intelligence by locating Aang on himself during their separation. He also yawns as a sign of approval or makes sounds as well whenever he is asked a question. The yawns or the sounds indicate his approval.
He also licks the characters that he deems trustworthy. And this personality trait of Appa plays a very crucial role in Zoku‘s acceptance by the Team Avatar. Overall, Appa also has a very cute and likable personality but he is also not shy of flexing his muscles whenever the team is in danger.
Abilities of Appa
Appa possesses very unique abilities that make him a worthy companion of the Avatar on his journey. Not only has he saved Team Avatar numerous times but has also safely escorted them to safety as well. In this section we will discuss some of the most notable abilities of this amazing Flying Bison.
Airbending
The most important ability of Appa is the ability to bend Air. Appa mostly uses his tail to bend the air and is able to fight at very high altitudes to avoid any type of danger. And it is because of this ability of Appa that the Avatar was able to roam all the four continents and master all the elements in time before the arrival of Sozin’s Comet.
Strength And Stamina
Due to his huge size Appa possesses raw brute strength and as opposed to his calm personality, he does not back out of a fight. He has fought against Nyla and has also resisted the creatures paralyzing poison. He had also taken down a fully grown Boar-q-pine while searching for Aang. His strength has also allowed him to take down two huge Fire Nation Tundra Tanks at the same time.
Appa not only possesses strength but also has huge stamina. As Appa is very heavy and needs to take short breaks while flying over longer journeys. But when the team was in danger and Azula was tracking them everywhere Appa flew non-stop for two days showing his huge stamina.
Conclusion
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