Team Avatar
Aang
Age: 112 (Books One and Two); 113 (Book Three)
Nation: Air Nomads
Bending Abilities: Air, Water, Earth, Fire
Special Abilities: Avatar State, Energybending
Aang, the main character of Avatar: The Last Airbender, is a playful, happy-go-lucky air nomad who is the current reincarnation of the Avatar. He does not care for violence, leading him to be reluctant in completing many of his Avatar duties.
During his 12 years of life, Aang was raised alongside the fellow air nomad children by the monks, spending much of their time practicing air bending and playing tricks on one another. However, one day Monk Gyatso, Aang’s caretaker and father figure, informs him that he is the Avatar, a secret that is usually kept until the Avatar’s sixteenth birthday, but due to there being signs of imminent war, he is told four years early. Once the rest of the children find out, Aang is outcasted and left to play with Monk Gyatso, causing him to feel disdain for his title. Due to his title, other monks urged for his training to begin immediately, while Monk Gyatso urged that he should grow up as a normal child. Unfortunately, Aang overheard the worst of these discussions, where the monks agreed to send him to the Eastern Air Temple for training, meaning he would have to leave his home and his beloved Monk Gyatso. Due to this, he and his flying bison, Appa, ran away from home but got caught in a storm where the two were pulled underwater and left to drown. This threw Aang into the Avatar State, leaving him and Appa frozen in ice for an entire century.
One hundred years later, after being freed from the ice by Katara and Sokka, Aang is now the last airbender alive and is the only person who can save the world.
Click here to learn more about Aang.
Katara
Age: 14 (Books One and Two); 15 (Book Three)
Nation: Water Tribe
Bending Abilities: Water
Special Abilities: Bloodbending, Healing
Katara is the most responsible member of Team Avatar, who discovered Aang frozen in the iceberg alongside her brother, Sokka. She is the only water bender left in the Southern Water Tribe after a Fire Nation raid wiped out the rest of the waterbenders, making her the only other human bender in Book One: Water’s original Team Avatar.
In this same raid, her mother, Kya, was killed in front of her by a Fire Nation soldier, making her only connection to her mother be a betrothal necklace that she is seen wearing throughout the series. After losing her mother to the war, her father, Hakoda, set out with the rest of the Southern Water Tribe’s men to fight in the war, thus leaving her and her brother to be raised by their grandmother, Kanna.
After finding Aang in the iceberg, she agrees to leave the South Pole so that she could find a waterbending master to help her hone her skills, while also helping Aang save the world.
Click here to learn more about Katara.
Sokka
Age: 15 (Books One and Two); 16 (Book Three)
Nation: Water Tribe
Bending Abilities: None
Special Abilities: Boomerang, Leadership
Sokka is the comedic relief character in Team Avatar, who discovered Aang frozen in the iceberg alongside his sister, Katara. He often finds himself caught up in various antics resulting from his goofiness, gluttony, and strong-headedness. As compared to his waterbending sister, Katara, he is a non-bender and uses his boomerang as well as his interest in combat to strengthen the team.
Due to the men of the Southern Water Tribe leaving to fight in the war, Sokka is the only man left in the village that is not under the age of ten. He struggles with this since he desperately wanted to go with his father, Hakoda, to avenge his mother’s death, but was too young at the time to do so. Due to this, he spent his time trying to train the young village boys in combat so that they could protect their village from another Fire Nation raid.
After finding Aang in the iceberg, he agrees to leave the South Pole, alongside Aang and Katara, so that he could finally follow in his father’s footsteps by fighting to end the war.
Click here to learn more about Sokka.
Toph
Age: 12 (Book Two); 13 (Book Three)
Nation: Earth Kingdom
Bending Abilities: Earth
Special Abilities: Metalbending
Toph is a hot-headed, highly-skilled earthbender, recruited to Team Avatar as Aang’s earthbending teacher at the beginning of Book Two: Earth. Although she is blind, she is able to see by feeling the vibrations of the earth and mapping out the positions from which they are coming. She discovered metal-bending while escaping her capture by the Fire Nation.
Toph is the daughter of the noble Beifong family, being one of the wealthiest families in the entire Earth Kingdom. However, due to her blindness, her parents sheltered her from the world, while restricting her earthbending skills to the basics, or so they thought. Unbeknownst to her family, Toph learned earthbending from the Badgermoles, who are also blind, granting her the aforementioned ability to see through vibrations. She later became powerful enough to pose as “The Blind Bandit” in underground earthbending tournaments, leading her to become the reigning champion and one of the most powerful earthbenders in the entire Earth Kingdom.
After being discovered in the underground arena by the rest of Team Avatar, her parents found out her true identity and power, making them want to shelter her even more. Toph’s sheltered life was unbearable for her, causing her to agree to join Team Avatar and run away from home.
Click here to learn more about Toph.
Zuko
Age: 16 (Books One and Two); 17 (Book Three)
Nation: Fire Nation
Bending Abilities: Fire
Special Abilities: Redirect Lightning, Dual Broadswords
Zuko is the Prince of the Fire Nation and heir to the Firelord thrown. He was an enemy to Team Avatar for much of the series, trying to capture and kill them throughout Book One: Water in order to regain his honor, but with the help of his uncle and father figure Iroh during Book Two: Earth, he finds the error of his ways and befriends them in Book Three: Fire.
Despite his title as the Crown Prince, his father, Firelord Ozai, favored his younger sister, Azula, instead due to her being a firebending prodigy and just as ruthless as her father. For this reason, Zuko remained close to his much kinder mother, Ursa, who is the descendant of the previous Avatar Roku, until one day, she disappeared. After her mysterious disappearance, Zuko grew angrier and more resentful of his father. One day, Zuko unintentionally spoke out of turn, thus disrespecting his father, causing him to duel him in a match of Agni Kai, a traditional firebending match where one opponent must burn the other in order to win. However, Zuko refused to fight his father, leading Firelord Ozai to burn his left eye. He was then banished from the Fire Nation until he could regain his honor, which he attributed to capturing the Avatar.
After convincing the rest of Team Avatar that he was no longer a threat, he became Aang’s firebending teacher and pursued ending the war that his predecessors started.
Click here to learn more about Zuko.
Appa
Age: 106 (Books One and Two); 107 (Book Three)
Nation: Air Nomads
Bending Abilities: Air
Special Abilities: Flight
Appa is the flying bison and spirit animal of Avatar Aang. He carries Team Avatar on his back and flies to each destination as their preferred means of transport, while also saving them from falling every now and then. He begins to fly when given the command, “Yip yip,” but will also do so of his own free will.
He has been with Aang since he was a child and was also frozen in the iceberg for one hundred years beside him.
Appa has a friendly feud with Momo but has a good relationship with the rest of Team Avatar.
Click here to learn more about Appa.
Momo
Age: Unknown
Nation: Air Nomads
Bending Abilities: N/A
Special Abilities: Flight
Momo is one of the last known winged lemurs alive, who was discovered by the rest of Team Avatar at the Southern Air Temple in Book One: Water. He helps the team in any way he can, such as by gathering items and pulling tricks on their opponents.
Momo has a friendly feud with Appa but has a good relationship with the rest of Team Avatar.
Click here to learn more about Momo.
Fire Nation Enemies
Azula
Age: 14 (Books One and Two); 15 (Book Three)
Nation: Fire Nation
Bending Abilities: Fire
Special Abilities: Lightning, Blue Flames
Azula is the Princess of the Fire Nation and the beloved child of Firelord Ozai due to being a ruthless, manipulative firebending prodigy. She is resentful of her brother Zuko for being weak, due to his compassion and selflessness, and yet, he is heir to the thrown.
For all of her life, she has been known to deceive, threaten, and inflict violence on others, which she even recognizes as she believes that her own mother saw her as a monster. Due to this, she is a wild card in battle since she lacks empathy and solely seeks personal gain.
Due to her father’s favor, she desperately follows his every order and works towards ensuring the Fire Nation’s victory in the war. She is seen trying to capture and kill Team Avatar throughout the series, much of which while alongside her friends Ty Lee and Mai, whilst slowly losing her sanity in the process.
Click here to learn more about Azula.
Ozai
Age: 40s
Nation: Fire Nation
Bending Abilities: Fire
Special Abilities: Lightning
Firelord Ozai is the dastardly ruler of the Fire Nation and the leader in continuing the war. Although, he was initially not meant to be the crown ruler of the Fire Nation, until his older brother, Iroh, lost his will to fight after losing his son in the war.
Ozai heavily favors his daughter, Azula, but refuses to give her the title of heir to the thrown. On the other hand, he banished his son, Zuko, after fighting and scarring his face during Agni Kai, a traditional firebending match where one opponent must burn the other in order to win. He emotionally manipulates both of his children so that he can fulfill his own selfish desires.
Ozai will destroy anything that prevents the Fire Nation from securing victory in the war, including the Avatar.
Click here to learn more about Ozai.
Zhao
Age: Unknown
Nation: Fire Nation
Bending Abilities: Fire
Special Abilities: N/A
Admiral Zhao is the common enemy to both Team Avatar and Zuko throughout Book One: Water, seeking to capture the Avatar himself.
Zhao is a master firebender, but with his ego and hot temper, he tends to get overzealous and power-hungry during battle.
Click here to learn more about Zhao.
Important Side Characters
Iroh
Age: 50s/60s
Nation: Fire Nation
Bending Abilities: Fire
Special Abilities: Lightning, Fire Breathing, Tea Making
Iroh is the wise former Crown Prince of the Fire Nation, who lost his title after losing all motive to fight due to his son’s death. He acts as a father figure to his nephew Zuko, viewing him as his own son, and travels along with him after his banishment.
Iroh is known in the Fire Nation for his failed 600-day Siege on Ba Sing Se, where he almost successfully invaded the impenetrable walls of the city until he heard about his son, Lu Ten, dying on the front lines. However, prior to this failure, he was a well-established Fire Nation general and has even earned the title, “The Dragon of the West” since he is believed to have killed the last dragon.
During his travels with Zuko, Iroh spends his time training him and providing him wisdom, all while making various types of tea in the process. Iroh is known to be one of the strongest firebenders and is said to be the wisest character in the show.
Click here to learn more about Iroh.
Roku
Age: Deceased
Nation: Fire Nation
Bending Abilities: Fire, Water, Air, Earth
Special Abilities: Avatar State
Roku is the previous Avatar right before Aang, born into the Fire Nation. He had a great friendship with the at-the-time Firelord, Sozin, until the two disagreed on the expansion of the Fire Nation, which even led to Avatar Roku’s death, see The War for more information.
Roku highly regrets not being able to stop Sozin, thus leading him to guide Aang in stopping the war throughout the show.
Click here to learn more about Roku.
Suki
Age: 16 (Book Two and Three)
Nation: Earth Kingdom
Bending Abilities: None
Special Abilities: Kyoshi Warrior, Fan Welding, Leadership
Suki is a direct descendent of Avatar Kyoshi, the previous Avatar right before Roku, and is the leader of the Kyoshi Warriors. She has a romantic relationship with Sokka for much of the series, however, she is most known for her incredible combat skills and agility.
Suki helps Team Avatar as much as she can while maintaining her responsibilities as a Kyoshi Warrior, but later joins them in helping take down the Fire Nation.
Click here to learn more about Suki.
Ty Lee
Age: 14 (Book Two and Three)
Nation: Fire Nation
Bending Abilities: None
Special Abilities: Chi-blocking
Ty Lee is the bubbly daughter of a Fire Nation noble family and the childhood friend of Azula and Mai. She is always quick to uplift her friends and maintains a positive attitude throughout the series.
Ty Lee works alongside Azula and Mai in capturing the Avatar, using her acrobatic skills to her advantage.
Click here to learn more about Ty Lee.
Mai
Age: 15 (Book Two and Three)
Nation: Fire Nation
Bending Abilities: None
Special Abilities: Launching Knives
Mai is the always bored daughter of a Fire Nation former governor and the childhood friend of Azula and Ty Lee. In addition, she has a romantic relationship with Zuko.
Mai works alongside Azula and Ty Lee in capturing the Avatar, using her knife launching skills to her advantage.
Click here to learn more about Mai.
