25 Wow Class Facts You Didn’t Know About Avatar: The Last Airbender
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Avatar: The Last Airbender really pushes the limits of kids cartoons. These facts go too far.
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It’s quite unfortunate that most people consider themselves to have outgrown animated shows. While their reason might be justified in their own eyes, the fact of the matter is that by closing themselves off from a particular avenue of entertaining, they’re willingly choosing to ignore some of the best shows and movies that will definitely entertain the majority of people who have adopted this dated viewpoint. Just take the example of Avatar: The Last Airbender — an animated show that is considered by many to be one of the best television shows of all time, and for good reason. The story, characters, visuals, audio, action, and dialogue are just a few of the many elements of the series that have received near-unanimous reviews from the majority of critics, whose authority is very much respected in the industry.
One major reason why Avatar: The Last Airbender has attained so much attention is due to the fact that the show is enjoyed by both kids and adults alike, which is a statement that carries a lot of weight, especially in today’s day-and-age. In fact, there are many clever additions in the series that might just fly by the head of unsuspecting viewers, until they happen to take a closer look at the various events in the series. If you don’t believe us, then just peruse 25 of the most interesting facts regarding Avatar: The Last Airbender that will completely surprise you once you find out about them.
25 Ursa Was Forced Into Marrying Lord Ozai
It seems that even in the fictional land of Avatar, royal marriages are still quite prevalent. A look at Ursa and Ozai’s contentious marriage is proof enough of this. After all, it was pretty evident that both parties weren’t exactly happy with the end result (hell, Ozai straight up kicked Ursa out and kept his son in the dark about it).
So, it wouldn’t be a stretch to say that Ursa was forced into marrying into royalty by her family. After all, in the comic book series The Promise, it is revealed that Ursa actually had a lover called Ikem, but due to circumstances, she was unable to see their love through. While not outwardly mentioned, certain hints make it clear that Ursa’s obligations were the main reason why she couldn’t stay with Ikem like she wanted to.
And speaking of Ikem…
24 Zuko Might Actually Be Ikem’s Son
One of the main dynamics present in Avatar has to Ozai’s downright unfair treatment of Zuko. After all, it was pretty clear that Zuko was a pretty talented firebender, and his knowledge — while seemingly limited at a first glance — was pretty expansive as well. This would’ve certainly made him a fitting successor to Ozai’s throne… but for some reason, he never managed to get on his father’s good side.
One convincing reason for this might be because of the fact that Zuko was never even Ozai’s son, to begin with. As mentioned in the previous entry, Ursa used to have a lover named Ikem. It wouldn’t be a stretch to say that the flames of passion never died out between the two, which culminated in Ursa giving birth to Ikem’s son. Ozai, fearing ridicule from his underlings, chose to raise Zuko as his own while keeping this fact a secret.
23 Zuko And Katara Were Meant To Be A Thing
We’re still not finished with Zuko. In fact, we’re just getting started.
Anybody who’s seen Avatar: The Last Airbender can appreciate the character development of Zuko, who transformed from a snot-nosed brat into a person worthy to become a wise and kind Fire Lord. It seems that the creators of the show had more plans for him — plans that, unfortunately, didn’t translate into the medium.
One of the major development that never saw the light of day was Zuko’s eventual relationship with Katara. Signs of this were seen early on in the series, but nothing really came out of it. Instead, Katara ended up with Aang, and — for better or for worse — Zuko ended up with Mai. But that’s a story for another day.
There’s another relationship that might’ve actually happened though.
22 Toph And Sokka Probably Ended Up Together
In The Legend Of Korra, we find out that Toph actually gave birth to two daughters, Lin and Suyin. She apparently raised them as a single mother before disappearing on them after they grew up and were able to take care of themselves. However, there’s one question that has always remained a mystery, even now — just who did Toph end up with?
Lin’s father is apparently a mysterious man named Kanto, while the identity of Suyin’s father is never even divulged. This explanation is quite lacking, and most fans have theorized that Toph actually ended up with Sokka and had her kids with him. Of course, this is just a theory — after all, we don’t really see a goofy man like Sokka leaving his kids behind.
It would’ve made more sense if…
21 Sokka Was Meant To Be A Serious Character
It might be somewhat hard to imaging Sokka as a serious character who doesn’t crack any jokes or goof around, which are two of the most identifiable traits when it comes to him. However, when the series was being formulated in its early goings, there were talks of making Sokka a serious character instead of the jokester we all know and love.
This all changed when Sokka’s voice actor, Jack DeSena, added his own personal touch to Sokka’s voice. Jack had done comedic work before for Nickelodeon’s All That, and the showrunners preferred his version of Sokka, using his iteration of the character in the final product. We have to say, this was a very wise choice indeed since Sokka ended up becoming one of the most memorable characters in the entire series.
Since we’re already talking about initial character sketches…
20 Toph Was Meant To Be A Man
Anybody who’s seen Avatar: The Last Airbender would obviously know that Toph was born blind, and her expertise when it came to earthbending was second to none. Using her disability to her advantage, Toph was able to approach — and master — earthbending from a completely different angle.
However, the initial character sketch of Toph was completely different. According to the show’s creators, Toph was actually not meant to be blind at all. In fact, she was actually meant to be a “he” — and not just any man either. Toph was meant to be a brawny giant of a man, with rippling muscles covered every inch of her… er, his body.
Thankfully, the creators didn’t follow through on this concept… although they did mess up with one thing when it came to Toph.
19 Toph Doesn’t Cover Her Eyes While Using Rock Armor Even Though She’s Blind
Well, talk about plain stupid.
As we’ve already mentioned before, Toph’s expertise when it came to earthbending was second to none. After all, the fact that she became the earthbending teacher for the Avatar speaks volumes for itself. The way that she worked around her disability and used it to her advantage is certainly quite impressive as well.
This makes it somewhat odd when, in one of the episodes of Avatar: The Last Airbender, Toph covered herself in a suit of rock armor, covering every inch of her body… except for her eyes. It’s a pretty puzzling thing to witness, and what actually happened was that the animation department goofed up. The hole was meant to be for Toph’s mouth, not her eyes.
18 The Day And Night Cycle At The Poles Makes No Sense
Let’s get one thing out of the way — yes, we know that a fantasy series like Avatar doesn’t really strive for realism in the first place. However, even keeping this fact in mind, we have to point out one of the biggest flaws in the series, which is the fact that days and nights go by normally on the poles.
Anybody who has even the vaguest idea when it comes to science knows that at the poles, days and nights last for six months each. This makes the entire premise of Avatar somewhat shaky. After all, the Fire Nation’s siege on the Northern Water Tribe was dependent on avoiding the night at all costs, since the moon would augment waterbending abilities.
17 Katara And Sokka Had Left The South Pole On Multiple Occasions
Speaking of the poles, let’s talk about the two residents of the Southern Water Tribe who end up playing a crucial role in the series — Katara and Sokka. After finding the Avatar encased in a sphere of ice, the duo free Aang and accompany him on his journey to master the four elements and face Fire Lord Ozai.
However, when they leave the South Pole, not only are they unfazed by the rapid change in temperature from what they were generally used to, but they are less than amazed to see scenery other than snow and ice. This might be an indication of the fact that both of them had already traversed outside the South Pole before the series had even started. It’s the only explanation that makes a lick of sense.
And since we’re on the topic of nonsensical things…
16 Sokka Doesn’t Even Bother To Go Back And Retrieve His Meteorite Sword
It was understandable that Sokka would start feeling out of place in a gang of benders. Wanting to contribute to the cause in his own way, Sokka decided to take swordsmanship lessons from Piandao, in a bid to improve his limited skillset. At the end of his training, he was instructed to forge a sword that he would be proud of wielding. And Sokka did exactly that — choosing to use a meteorite as the base material to craft a sword he would be proud of… or at least, that’s what we thought.
During the events of Sozin’s Comet, Sokka was forced to sacrifice his sword and boomerang to save his and Toph’s life. However, while he could see his weapons fall into the Wulong Forest, he made no effort to recover something that was apparently precious to him.
15 Anybody Should Be Able To Get Blue Fire If They Train Hard Enough
Azula is touted as a firebending prodigy in Avatar: The Last Airbender, and it’s easy to see why. Her trademark blue fire makes her a formidable adversary to Aang and Co. throughout the series, and her haughty and sarcastic nature is completely befitting of a spoilt princess. However, one might argue that blue fire might be given more importance than it should.
It’s specified in the series that Azula’s fire is blue due to her insistence on making the flames as hot as possible. If that’s the case, then shouldn’t any capable firebender be able to accomplish this feat? Why is Azula’s ability touted as special if — ideally — anyone should be able to achieve the same with enough training?
14 Lavabending Should Be Impossible
It seems that bending is not as fleshed out in the series as it should be.
Take the example of lavabending. Competent earthbenders can utilize this special ability to its fullest extent, attaining another dangerous weapon in their arsenal. However, there’s one problem that needs to be addressed when it comes to this particular ability — the act of lavabending itself should be impossible.
After all, there’s a reason why these rocks are molten, to begin with — the sheer amount of heat will burn a person alive if they’re even in the vicinity of lava. So basically, people like Bolin should burn to a crisp the moment they make the very smart decision of summoning lava.
In fact, it must be said that bending should’ve had a lot more thought put behind it, because…
13 Ideally, Airbenders Should Bend Lightning And Firebenders Should Be Lavabending
The special forms of bending are obviously pretty badass, but one might think that maybe the abilities should’ve been re-arranged a bit.
For example, it would obviously make more sense for airbenders to have the ability to bend lightning. After all, lightning is conducted in the atmosphere and has little to no relation with fire. If that’s the case, then why would firebenders be afforded this special ability instead?
In fact, the firebenders should’ve received the ability to lavabend instead. Heating up rocks until they start melting is an ability that would obviously be associated with someone who has the ability to heat up things. Instead, it has been given to people who can bend earth.
Very smart indeed.
12 Lake Laogai Is Named After An Actual Labor Camp
During the events of Avatar: The Last Airbender, Appa was captured by a group of sandbenders. Clearly distraught, Team Avatar embarked on a search to find the Air Bison, who was eventually found at Lake Laogai. The secret area that functioned as the Dai Li’s base of operations was quickly abandoned when Team Avatar found it out, but it’s the naming of this place that’s truly sinister.
The term “Laogai” stands for Laodong Gaizao, which means “reform through labor.” This name was derived from the many labor camps that had been set all across China. Any person who spoke out against the Chinese Communist Party were sent here, where they were victims of back-breaking labor, horrible treatment and — at times — torture.
And speaking of Laogai…
11 Jet Definitely Died Off-Screen
The whole purpose of the Dai Li was to stage a conspiracy, that they were carrying out through the use of many unethical means, such as brainwashing. One of the victims of this brainwash was Jet, who came back and seemingly wanted to help the Avatar before Long Feng decided to manipulate his brainwashed mind, and turned him against his allies.
However, Jet managed to break free of Long Feng’s control and tried to kill his mental captor. Instead, he was the victim of a fatal blow that pretty much guaranteed his death. Unfortunately, due to the kid-oriented nature of the show, showing any deaths on-screen was a strict no-no. This prevented us from having some much-needed closure when it came to Jet’s fate… although, at this point, it’s pretty clear that he passed away.
10 Aang’s Staff Is Way Sturdier Than He Makes It Out To Be
Aang’s staff is one of his most precious possessions. The staff allows him to fly with ease, and also serves as a catalyst that improved the overall power of Aang’s wind-based attacks. Perhaps the biggest reason why Aang is so careful about his staff is that it serves as the only remembrance of his past life with the Air Nomads.
However, throughout the series, Aang constantly talks about how delicate the staff is, to the point where he gets mad at Toph when she uses it to crack some nuts. If the staff happens to be so fragile, then how is it that Aang simply uses it to whack his enemies without so much as a second thought?
Oh, and since we mentioned the Air Nomads…
9 The Air Nomads Weren’t Dead — They Were Simply In Hiding
When Avatar: The Last Airbender starts out, it is clearly stated that all the Air Nomads had died out as a result of the Fire Nation’s attacks. All four Air Temples are completely barren and show no signs of life whatsoever. It’s understandable why Aang would be depressed after witnessing such a sight… but maybe he doesn’t need to be.
After all, the whole point of being a nomad is to constantly be on the move. If that’s the case, then it certainly wouldn’t be a stretch to say that, after identifying the danger, the traveling monks decided to hole themselves up in a secret hideout that no one knew about.
Speaking of the Air Nomads, there’s one particular monk that we need to talk about.
8 Monk Gyatso Is Named After One Of The Dalai Lama
One of the most prominent Air Nomads — who also happened to be Aang’s mentor — was Monk Gyatso, who’s wise advice completely flew over Aang’s head. After coming back to an empty air temple, Aang was distraught when he couldn’t find his mentor. It’s obvious that the creators wanted Monk Gyatso to appear as wise as possible, and his name is perhaps the biggest indicator of this fact.
Monk Gyatso’s name was derived from the 14th Dalai Lama, who was named Tenzin Gyatso. Obviously, Monk Gyatso wasn’t the only product of this inspiration — another man who is a part of the Avatar series and shares his name with the Dalai Lama is Tenzin. It’s obvious that the creators of the show were very much inspired by Buddhism, which is showcased throughout the series as well.
And since we’re on the topic of Monk Gyatso…
7 Momo Was Supposed To Be A Reincarnation Of Monk Gyatso
There are two animals that accompany Aang throughout his journey. One of them is Appa, an Air Bison. The other is Momo, a Lemur Bat. It’s obvious that Appa had more of an impact on the overall story, but an early concept for Momo revealed that he was meant to have just as much of an impact, if not more.
To put it into perspective, Momo was actually meant to be a reincarnation of Monk Gyatso. The idea of Aang receiving worldly advice from a cute creature like Momo is just too much, but it still might’ve been an interesting thing to witness. In fact, it would’ve been quite a creative risk that the creators could’ve taken, and it’s understandable if they chose not to go through with this particular course of action.
Now, let’s talk about another animal in the Avatar universe.
6 Nyla’s Nose Is Just Way Too Accurate
If you’ve forgotten who Nyla and June are, then let us provide you with a refresher. June is a bounty hunter who initially wanted to capture Aang and attain the massive reward that was attached to the Avatar’s capture. She managed to track Aang down with the help of Nyla, her beast who had an extremely powerful nose. After this less-than-ideal encounter, Team Avatar eventually warmed up to the duo.
However, Nyla’s tracking power just becomes way too convenient after a while. In Book Three, Nyla’s able to figure out that Aang’s not even present in the physical world. How’s that, you ask? By simply taking a whiff of Aang’s glider. The beast was also able to track Iroh without even taking the same path he did, which is certainly not how one accomplishes the task of tracking.
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