127 Fun Facts About Avatar the Last Airbender

Katara's waterbending movements are modelled on which real-world martial art?

Tai chi shaped waterbending; the creators consulted a professional martial artist so each bending style had a real basis.

What unique non-bending weapon does Sokka frequently use in battle?

Sokka's boomerang brings down the assassin Combustion Man by curving around a corner to hit him.

What innovative bending technique did Toph Beifong invent?

Toph Beifong, an earthbending prodigy, is credited with inventing metalbending by sensing the earth impurities within the metal.

What is the name of the grand tea shop Iroh runs in Ba Sing Se's upper city?

Iroh returns to run the Jasmine Dragon after the war, and the series' final scenes take place inside the tea shop.

Zuko's facial scar was inflicted during an Agni Kai duel against whom?

Zuko spoke out of turn and then refused to duel his father in the Agni Kai, so Ozai burned his face and banished him.

What unusual color are Azula's flames?

Azula's blue flames burn hotter than the red and orange fire of other firebenders, marking her as a firebending prodigy.

Who was the Avatar immediately preceding Aang?

Roku, the Fire Nation Avatar before Aang, was left to die in a volcanic eruption by his childhood friend Sozin, who then started the war.

Airbending's circular footwork is based on which real Chinese martial art?

Bagua fighters walk in circles and evade attacks, which suits airbenders, who prefer dodging to direct confrontation.

Which elderly Fire Nation innkeeper, secretly a waterbender, developed the technique of controlling others' bodies?

Hama was a Southern Water Tribe waterbender imprisoned by the Fire Nation, and she developed the technique while locked up in order to escape.

While disguised as a student at a Fire Nation school, what does Aang secretly organise for his classmates?

Aang throws a secret dance party for the strict Fire Nation pupils, and when the school finds out, the students help him escape.

In which vast Earth Kingdom desert do sandbenders steal Team Avatar's sky bison?

Sandbenders kidnap Appa in the Si Wong Desert while the group is inside a sinking spirit library, then trade him to a merchant in Ba Sing Se.

In Avatar: The Last Airbender, what energy does Ty Lee block?

Chi is the energy benders draw on, which is why Ty Lee can render Azula unable to bend by blocking it.

What does a parched Sokka drink that leaves him hallucinating after Appa is stolen?

Cactus juice holds a powerful hallucinogen, so Sokka, who drank it despite a warning against strange plants, babbles nonsense and sees things.

Which senior Air Nomad monk raised Aang and served as his mentor and surrogate father?

Gyatso planned to fight the monks' decision to send Aang away, but the boy fled before he knew and was frozen in an iceberg.

What kind of creature is the pet Aang adopts at his old temple and names Momo?

Momo the winged lemur was originally meant to be the reincarnated spirit of Aang's late mentor.

Which Foggy Swamp Tribe waterbender disguises himself as a vine-covered swamp monster?

Huu explains that the whole swamp is one giant tree, just as all living things are connected, which is why the group sees visions there.

Which giant owl spirit guards the vast ancient library buried in the Earth Kingdom desert?

Wan Shi Tong bars humans because they seek knowledge to gain an advantage, and he sinks his library into the sand rather than let Team Avatar leave with its secrets.

Which Earth Kingdom town, the Fire Nation's first colony, is where Zuko turns against the plan to remove the colonies?

Yu Dao's Fire Nation and Earth Kingdom families had lived side by side for generations, which persuades Zuko to withdraw his support for the Harmony Restoration Movement.

What was the name of Iroh's son, whose death made Iroh abandon the siege of Ba Sing Se?

Lu Ten was killed during the six-hundred-day siege, and Iroh's grief let his younger brother Ozai take the throne instead.

Which past Avatar lived to the age of 230?

Kyoshi lived to 230, and to stop Chin the Conqueror taking her home she split her peninsula off the mainland, creating Kyoshi Island.

Which ambitious Fire Nation officer, Zuko's rival, kills a sacred spirit during the siege of the Northern Water Tribe?

Too proud to take the hand Zuko reaches out to save him, Admiral Zhao is dragged into the depths by a vengeful spirit.

Which temple guardians are meant to serve the Avatar but, by Aang's time, answer to the nation's ruler?

The Fire Sages are responsible for identifying the Avatar when one is born in the Fire Nation, yet by Aang's time they are loyal to the Fire Lord instead.

Which Northern Water Tribe princess, engaged to Hahn, becomes Sokka's girlfriend instead?

Yue was saved as a dying infant by a spirit that turned her hair white, and during the siege she gives her life to take that spirit's place.

What does Aang learn would happen if he were killed while in the Avatar State?

The Avatar State is when the Avatar is most powerful, yet if Aang were killed in it the Avatar cycle would end and the Avatar would cease to exist.

Where on his body does the assassin Combustion Man launch his explosive blasts from?

Combustion Man fires from a third-eye tattoo on his forehead, and when Sokka strikes it, his next blast backfires and kills him.

What is the name of the waterbending master from the Northern Water Tribe who teaches Aang and Katara?

Master Pakku is a renowned waterbending master from the Northern Water Tribe who initially refuses to teach Katara due to sexist traditions but eventually becomes her and Aang's teacher.

What type of bender is King Bumi, the eccentric ruler of Omashu?

King Bumi, an Earthbender, puts Aang through deadly challenges before Aang realises the eccentric king is his old friend Bumi from a century before.

Tui and La, the circling koi of the Northern Water Tribe's Spirit Oasis, embody which pair?

Tui is the Moon Spirit and La the Ocean Spirit, and learning their secret gives the Fire Nation a plan to wipe out waterbending.

Azula, Zuko, Mai and Ty Lee are sent on a forced vacation to which Fire Nation resort in Book Three?

Ember Island is the Fire Nation's top vacation spot, and a local acting troupe there stages a play mocking Team Avatar's adventures.

The Earth Kingdom's walled capital city is modelled on which real-world city?

Ba Sing Se's walled rings for each social class resemble Beijing, and the Earth King's palace is based on the Forbidden City.

Ty Lee, the acrobatic friend who joins Azula's hunt, ran away from home as a girl to join what?

Ty Lee joined the circus to stand out from her six identical sisters, and later left it when Azula recruited her.

Which earthbending instructor do Toph's overprotective parents hire to teach her only basic moves?

Master Yu teaches Toph moves far below her skill, and her father later promises him and Xin Fu a chest of gold to bring her home.

Which Fire Nation swordsmith and White Lotus member teaches Sokka the way of the sword?

Master Piandao gives Sokka a white lotus tile when his training ends, a quiet hint that he belongs to the secret order.

Before settling on 'Combustion Man', what nickname did Team Avatar give the silent assassin Zuko hired to kill Aang?

Sparky Sparky Boom Man was Sokka's first name for the silent assassin, until Sokka decided it didn't fit and renamed him Combustion Man.

What is the name of the unique bending art that allows a person to control the water in living beings?

Katara is forced to use bloodbending against the woman who invented it, and later uses it willingly while hunting her mother's killer.

White Lotus members recognise each other by an unusual opening move in which board game?

Iroh opens a Pai Sho game with the white lotus tile, which many underestimate, and fellow members then hide him and Zuko from the bounty hunters chasing them.

Suki leads an all-female sect of island warriors whose signature weapons are what?

The warriors' golden war fans copy their founding Avatar's own, and Sokka trains with them in full uniform and makeup after asking Suki to teach him.

Sokka and Zuko infiltrate which top Fire Nation prison, an island in the middle of a volcanic lake?

Sokka breaks into The Boiling Rock to rescue prisoners from the failed invasion, and Mai's last-second betrayal of Azula lets them escape.

Who leads the Freedom Fighters, Earth Kingdom rebels against the Fire Nation?

Jet was willing to destroy a dam and flood a Fire Nation-occupied town, innocent villagers and all, just to drive out its soldiers.

Sokka's black jian sword was forged from the metal of what?

Sokka spends days forging the dark blade from a meteorite the group saw fall, and he fondly calls it his 'space sword'.

Which Earth Kingdom general forces Aang into the Avatar State by faking Katara's death, hoping to end the war quickly?

General Fong sinks Katara into the ground to fake her death, and Aang's rage triggers the Avatar State, just as Fong had hoped.

Mai, the bored noblewoman who accompanies Azula, fights with which weapons hidden in her clothing?

Mai later turns her throwing knives and darts on prison guards to save Zuko, telling Azula she loves him more than she fears her.

Which elements name Avatar's three Books, in order?

Water, Earth, Fire: each Book is named for an element Aang must master, since he was already a master of his native element.

Which exiled Fire Nation admiral reluctantly gives Aang his first firebending lesson?

Jeong Jeong had deserted the Fire Navy, and his lesson ends badly when an impatient Aang accidentally burns Katara's hands.

At which air temple, his childhood home, does Aang first discover the genocide of the Air Nomads?

At the Southern Air Temple, Aang finds his mentor's skeleton surrounded by fallen Fire Nation soldiers, and his grief triggers the Avatar State.

What is the name of the Earth King's beloved pet bear?

Bosco is one of the few ordinary, non-hybrid animals in the series, and the Earth King leaves to travel the world with him after Ba Sing Se falls.

Which guru at the Eastern Air Temple trains Aang to master the Avatar State by opening his chakras?

Guru Pathik teaches Aang to open his seven chakras, but Aang abandons the training early, against the guru's wishes, to save Katara.

What froze Aang in an iceberg for a century?

Caught in a storm while fleeing on Appa, Aang froze himself with his own bending in the Avatar State, which kept him alive for a century.

Who leads the Dai Li and, as Grand Secretariat of Ba Sing Se, is the real power behind the Earth King?

Long Feng's agents brainwash dissenters beneath Lake Laogai to keep the war secret inside the walls, until Azula turns the Dai Li against him.

Which fortuneteller's predictions does an entire Earth Kingdom village obey, even as a nearby volcano threatens?

Aunt Wu's predictions are taken as gospel, so Aang and Katara reshape the clouds into a warning to make the villagers act before the eruption.

Which prestigious broadcasting prize did Avatar: The Last Airbender win alongside five Annies and an Emmy?

Avatar won a Peabody Award for adding thoughtful substance to a genre best known for its style.

In what order does the Avatar reincarnate through the four nations?

The cycle runs Fire, Air, Water, Earth, so Aang, an Air Nomad, was succeeded by Korra of the Southern Water Tribe.

Sozin timed the Air Nomad genocide to coincide with what?

The arrival of a comet multiplies firebending power, and when it returns a century later, Ozai plans to use it to burn the Earth Kingdom.

Book Two's planned invasion of the Fire Nation is timed to which event, during which firebenders are powerless?

A solar eclipse strips firebenders of their power, so Aang seeks the Earth King's support for an attack on that day.

How does Aang finally defeat Fire Lord Ozai?

Aang takes away his firebending with energybending, which he learns while searching for a way to defeat Ozai without killing him.

Konietzko's original sketch, a sci-fi adventure, was primarily influenced by which anime?

Cowboy Bebop shaped Konietzko's half-baked sci-fi sketch, which featured a robot cyclops monkey with an arrow on its head.

Which anime director's films inspired the creators of Avatar: The Last Airbender?

The creators have said they love all of Hayao Miyazaki's films, especially Spirited Away and Princess Mononoke.

Which martial arts consultant helped base Avatar: The Last Airbender's bending moves on real fighting styles?

Sifu Kisu of the Harmonious Fist Chinese Athletic Association related each bending art to a real fighting style to make bending look authentic.

Which martial art inspired earthbending, chosen for its rooted stances?

Hung Gar's heavily rooted stances and strong kicks and punches evoke the mass and power of earth, the reason it became earthbending's base.

Which kung fu style does Toph use, unlike other earthbenders?

Toph's Southern Praying Mantis style keeps her feet in constant contact with the ground, letting the blind fighter see through vibrations.

What kind of blind creature does a bounty hunter ride to track Team Avatar by scent?

A shirshu is blind but has a powerful sense of smell, and its toxic tongue can paralyse anyone it strikes.

Which two people created the series' music and sound design?

Jeremy Zuckerman and Benjamin Wynn founded their company, The Track Team, in 2004 and went on to score The Legend of Korra as well.

Who voiced Aang in the unaired pilot before Zach Tyler Eisen took over?

Mitchel Musso voiced Aang in the unaired pilot and went on to play Oliver Oken on Disney Channel's Hannah Montana.

Head writer Aaron Ehasz has claimed which unrealised plan for Avatar: The Last Airbender?

DiMartino and Konietzko deny a fourth season was ever considered.

For how many straight days did Avatar: The Last Airbender stay in Netflix's daily top ten in 2020?

60 days, a record run on Netflix's daily top ten that followed the complete series arriving on US Netflix in May 2020.

Which director made the 2010 live-action film The Last Airbender?

M. Night Shyamalan, whose film went on to win five Golden Raspberry Awards, including Worst Picture.

Which Oscar winner voices Aang's son Tenzin in The Legend of Korra?

J. K. Simmons, who won his Oscar for playing Whiplash's abusive bandleader two months after Korra's December 2014 finale.

Which comic trilogy follows the post-war dispute over moving Fire Nation colonists out of the Earth Kingdom?

The Promise, named for Zuko's request that Aang promise to kill him if he ever becomes like his father.

Which spirit did Avatar Wan fuse with?

Raava, whose permanent union with Wan let him imprison Vaatu, the spirit of darkness.

Who plays Fire Lord Ozai in Netflix's live-action Avatar: The Last Airbender series?

Daniel Dae Kim, who had already voiced the industrialist Hiroshi Sato in The Legend of Korra.

Who taught Aang energybending?

A lion turtle, a creature as vast as an island, which Aang meets just before the comet arrives.

Which anarchist tried to kidnap the young Korra, leading to her being sequestered?

Zaheer, whose Red Lotus kidnapping plot was foiled by Zuko, Tenzin and Korra's father, Tonraq.

Who voices Sokka in The Legend of Korra?

Chris Hardwick, host of AMC's Walking Dead aftershow Talking Dead, voices the grown-up Sokka.

Who are Sokka and Katara's parents?

Hakoda and Kya: Kya died in a Fire Nation raid after passing herself off as the tribe's waterbender to protect Katara.

Who plays Sokka in the Netflix live-action series?

Ian Ousley; in the 2010 film, Jackson Rathbone played Sokka and won a Golden Raspberry for Worst Supporting Actor.

From which creatures did Toph secretly learn advanced earthbending as a child?

Badgermoles, blind creatures that naturally earthbend; Toph copied their movements to master the art.

Which Legend of Korra character's look was heavily influenced by Toph's original design?

Bolin: Toph was first conceived as a big, muscular teenage boy, and that original design shaped Bolin's look.

Who voices Toph in the original series?

Kate Higgins voiced adult Toph in Korra; Miyako plays her on Netflix.

Which Star Wars actor voices Fire Lord Ozai in the original animated series?

Mark Hamill, Luke Skywalker himself, who also voiced the Joker in Batman: The Animated Series.

Who played Zuko in the 2010 live-action film?

Dev Patel, cast after his film debut as Jamal Malik in Slumdog Millionaire, which won the Best Picture Oscar in 2009.

Who is Zuko's maternal half-sister, revealed in the comics?

Kiyi, Ursa's daughter with Ikem, born after a spirit changed Ursa's face and erased her painful memories.

Under what disguise does Zuko rescue Aang from Zhao's fortress?

The Blue Spirit, and when an arrow knocks Zuko out during the escape, Aang carries his unconscious enemy to safety.

Who took over voicing Iroh after Mako's death?

Greg Baldwin, who began recording Iroh late in Book Two when Mako could no longer record, then voiced him full-time in Book Three.

Which Fire Lord, Iroh and Ozai's father, was poisoned so Ozai could take the throne?

Azulon, who had ordered Ozai to kill young Zuko; Ursa made the poison to protect her son and was then banished.

Which two dragons secretly taught Iroh the true source of firebending?

Ran and Shaw, the last dragons, whom Iroh claimed to have killed so the Fire Nation would stop hunting dragons.

Which advanced technique, besides blue fire, is Azula known for?

Generating lightning, which Azula uses to strike down Aang while he is in the Avatar State in Ba Sing Se.

Whom does Azula hallucinate about as her psychosis deepens?

Her mother, Ursa, whose visions haunt Azula as she suffers a full mental breakdown before her coronation.

Which Studio Ghibli creature inspired Appa's six-legged design?

The Catbus from My Neighbor Totoro: the creators found a six-legged mammal hard to design, so they borrowed its look.

Who voices Appa and Momo in the original Avatar: The Last Airbender series?

Dee Bradley Baker, who also voices every clone trooper in Star Wars: The Clone Wars.

Which command gets Appa to take off?

Yip yip; when Appa was held under Lake Laogai, Zuko, who first meant to use him to catch Aang, set him free.

Which 1966 film earned Iroh's voice actor Mako an Oscar nomination?

The Sand Pebbles, his second credited film role; The Legend of Korra later named its firebender Mako after him.

Azula's voice actress Grey DeLisle also voices which Scooby-Doo character?

Daphne Blake, a role she took over after the death of her friend and teacher Mary Kay Bergman, Daphne's previous voice.

Which director helmed the premiere The Boy in the Iceberg?

Dave Filoni, whose Avatar work impressed George Lucas enough to hire him as supervising director of The Clone Wars.

Which episode aired alongside The Boy in the Iceberg on February 21, 2005?

The Avatar Returns, which aired the same night as The Boy in the Iceberg to form an hour-long premiere.

Which actor voices Admiral Zhao?

Jason Isaacs, who also played the scheming Lucius Malfoy in the Harry Potter films.

Which is the only episode not to feature Zach Tyler Eisen as Aang?

Zuko Alone, whose flashbacks show Ursa's sudden disappearance and Ozai becoming Fire Lord.

Which song does Iroh sing for his late son?

Leaves from the Vine, sung on his son's birthday; Iroh's segment ends with a dedication to his voice actor, Mako, who had died months earlier.

Which two characters spend a day at the spa in the first Tale of Ba Sing Se?

Katara and Toph; the episode is a set of short vignettes about each main character's adventures in Ba Sing Se.

What kind of animal is Naga, Korra's loyal companion and main transport in The Legend of Korra?

A polar bear-dog; a bipedal polar bear-dog hybrid already appeared in Konietzko's original sci-fi sketch that grew into the show.

Iroh's first voice actor, Mako, also voiced which Samurai Jack villain?

Aku, whom Mako voiced for four seasons; he died a decade before Samurai Jack's 2017 revival, so the demon got a new voice.

Which arena sport do Korra and her friends compete in during The Legend of Korra's first season?

Pro-bending, in which two teams of benders try to knock each other out of a ring; Korra joins the Fire Ferrets.

Which actress played Katara in the 2010 live-action film The Last Airbender?

Nicola Peltz, while Kiawentiio took the role in Netflix's 2024 live-action series.

In The Legend of Korra's final scene, who enters the spirit world with Korra?

Asami Sato: the pair leave for a vacation in the spirit world, and the creators later confirmed the scene as the start of their romance.

Which bending art does Korra first unlock in Book One's finale?

Airbending, which finally bursts out of her after an enemy has stripped away her other bending.

Which multicultural capital, founded by Aang after the war, is the main setting of The Legend of Korra's first season?

Republic City, which its creators pictured as if 1920s Manhattan had happened in Asia.

Which author co-wrote The Rise of Kyoshi with Michael Dante DiMartino?

F. C. Yee, whose prequel novel is set about 400 years before Aang's story.

Which Avatar's death, at age 33, precedes the events of The Rise of Kyoshi?

Kuruk; his old companions then searched for the next Avatar and wrongly settled on an Earth Kingdom boy named Yun.

Which Legend of Korra villain, Korra's own uncle, frees the spirit Vaatu and becomes a dark Avatar?

Unalaq, chief of the Northern Water Tribe and brother of Korra's father, Tonraq.

The 2006 Avatar video game was a launch title for which console in North America?

Wii: the game launched alongside the console in North America, with a story set between Book 1 and Book 2.

Which four characters are playable in the 2006 Avatar video game?

Aang, Katara, Haru and Sokka: the game is set between Book 1 and Book 2, before Toph joins the group.

Zuko's voice actor, Dante Basco, also voiced the title hero of which Disney Channel cartoon?

American Dragon: Jake Long, in which Basco voiced a Manhattan teen who can turn into a dragon to protect magical creatures.

Katara's voice actress, Mae Whitman, gave which Disney fairy a speaking voice for the first time?

Tinker Bell: the 2008 film Tinker Bell was the first Disney film to give the fairy a speaking role.

Which Steven Spielberg film gave Zuko's voice actor Dante Basco his role as Rufio?

Hook, in which Basco's Rufio leads the Lost Boys until he is killed in a duel with Hook himself.

Katara's voice actress Mae Whitman starred in which NBC family drama from 2010 to 2015?

Parenthood, as Amber Holt; she was also Arrested Development's Ann Veal, the girlfriend Michael calls 'Egg'.

Which once-every-10,000-years alignment of planets lets the spirit Vaatu break free in The Legend of Korra?

Harmonic Convergence, the same alignment during which the first Avatar, Wan, had battled Vaatu ten thousand years earlier.

Under what alias does Toph fight in the Earth Rumble tournament before joining Aang?

The Blind Bandit, a secret identity, because her parents saw her blindness as a disability and kept her hidden away.

Which Legend of Korra villain leads a crusade against benders while secretly being a waterbender himself?

Amon, born Noatak, told followers a firebender had scarred the face behind his mask, but the scar was fake makeup.

Who voices Zuko in the animated series' sequel, The Legend of Korra?

Bruce Davison voices the elderly Zuko, while the original Zuko, Dante Basco, plays Zuko's grandson, General Iroh.

Who developed Netflix's 2024 live-action Avatar: The Last Airbender series?

Albert Kim, brought in after the original creators quit in 2020 over creative differences; he stepped down as showrunner in April 2024.

Who voices Korra in The Legend of Korra?

Janet Varney, who co-hosts the official Avatar companion podcast, Braving the Elements, with Zuko's voice, Dante Basco.

Who voices Sokka in the original Avatar: The Last Airbender?

Jack DeSena, then a cast member of Nickelodeon's sketch show All That, who became known for his ad-libs as Sokka.

Iroh's title 'The Dragon of the West' came partly from his ability to do what?

Breathe fire; that and his supposed killing of the last dragon earned the title, though he had secretly spared the dragons.

Which Kim's Convenience star plays Uncle Iroh in Netflix's live-action Avatar: The Last Airbender?

Paul Sun-Hyung Lee, who won four Canadian Screen Awards for playing the family patriarch in Kim's Convenience.

Which Fire Nation officer does Katara track down in the episode The Southern Raiders?

Yon Rha: Katara confronts him and, though tempted by revenge, chooses not to kill him.

Which title does Ozai claim when he declares himself ruler of the world?

Phoenix King: Ozai names Azula his successor as Fire Lord, but Zuko interrupts her coronation.

Avatar head writer Aaron Ehasz went on to co-create which animated Netflix fantasy series?

The Dragon Prince, the first project of Wonderstorm, the studio Ehasz co-founded with game director Justin Richmond.

Which actress voices Toph in The Legend of Korra before the aged Toph appears in Book Four?

Kate Higgins; Philece Sampler takes over as the aged Toph in Book Four.