The Avatar is the spirit of the planet incarnate in human form, and the only physical being with the ability to practice all four bending disciplines. It is considered the Avatar's duty to master the four elemental disciplines, and use such power to keep balance amongst the four nations of the world. With the death of the Avatar, the spirit is reborn into the following nation, dictated by the cyclic order; Water, Earth, Fire, Air. Coincidentally, the cycle of reincarnation corresponds to the cycle of the seasons; each of which is affiliated with a particular nation and element; Water and Winter, Earth and Spring, Fire and Summer, Air and Autumn. The cycle is also the traditional order in which any one Avatar is to master the elements, beginning at which ever element they were born into. The Avatar possesses an innate connection to the Spirit World, and uses it as a bridge by which to reconcile the two worlds and ensure harmony. The Avatar is also capable of using this ability to contact the spirits of previous Avatars, and harness their combined energy to perform feats of bending beyond that of any other bender. Throughout the ages, countless incarnations of the Avatar have served to maintain harmony in the world. Each nation has a method of recognizing the new Avatar. Among the Air Nomads, this involved presenting all infants with a selection of toys to play with, and watching for a child that selected four specific toys that had belonged to past Avatars, called the Four Avatar Relics. Traditionally, the child is told of their identity as the Avatar on their sixteenth birthday (although the current Avatar, Aang, was told much earlier than this because of Fire Nation aggression). Avatars also possess the unique ability to use Energybending, though very few Avatars learned this technique, and even fewer have used it. Avatar Aang learned this technique from a Giant Lion Turtle and used it to remove Phoenix King Ozai's Firebending during "Sozin's Comet, Part 4: Avatar Aang". When the Avatar masters the Four Elements, namely Air, Water, Earth and Fire, and also gains control of the Avatar State, he or she is commonly noted to be a 'Fully Realized Avatar'.
The reincarnations of the Avatar are controlled by the Avatar Cycle of the elements: Water, Earth, Fire, Air. The cycle is based of the passage of the four seasons (water is winter, earth is spring, fire is summer and air is autumn). When an Avatar dies, the next Avatar will be born into the next nation in the Avatar Cycle (for example, Avatar Yangchen from the Air Nomads was followed by Avatar Kuruk from the Water Tribe, who was followed by Avatar Kyoshi from the Earth Kingdom, who was followed by Avatar Roku from the Fire Nation, who was followed by Avatar Aang from the Air Nomads. Once Aang dies, the Avatar will be reincarnated as Korra born of the Southern Water Tribe). The new Avatar will be born within approximately a week of the previous Avatar's death, hence the collective Spirit bonds with a baby close to birth rather than being reincarnated into a totally new body in the traditional sense. It is unknown if there is a pattern in the re-incarnation cycle that determines whether a particular Avatar will be male or female, although visions seen by Aang displaying previous Avatars seem to suggest there is not. (Interestingly, the last four avatars followed the pattern female-male-female-male, though Aang breaks this pattern) The Avatar Cycle also determines the order in which each Avatar must learn the four bending disciplines. The Avatar begins by mastery of his or her native elements (so an Avatar born into the Water Tribe would first learn Waterbending). The Avatar then goes on to learn the three remaining bending disciplines in the order of the cycle (the Water Tribe Avatar would learn first Waterbending, then Earthbending, then Firebending, and finally Airbending, in that order). Avatar Aang, however, due to his unique situation, tries to learn Firebending as his second element (with Jeong Jeong) but ends up learning Firebending later after some advice from Jeong Jeong to master water and earth first.
If Aang truly is the last Airbender, then the cycle will be broken. If Aang dies before siring a child (whether that child is an Airbender or just carries the potential for a child of its own to be an Airbender), then after the Avatar reincarnates through the Water Tribes, Earth Kingdom, and Fire Nation, there will be no one from the Air Nomads for the spirit to choose.
However, over time more Airbenders might be born, so the population could grow back to save the cycle. The Avatar cycle can take as short a time as 300 years, or as long as 500 years or more, to make a full rotation. That could be enough time to re-grow the population of Airbenders.
This issue seems to have been partially resolved as Aang will have an Airbender child named Tenzin, hence it is possible that the Airbenders could be repopulated. However if this is the only method available to restore the Airbenders it would take a lot of time to do so.
This currently appears to be the case as no Airbenders beyond Tenzin have been confirmed in Avatar: Legend of Korra.
The only other way they could learn Airbending if Aang manages to leave behind information on Airbending, like the scrolls used by Waterbenders to teach Waterbending or the Dancing Dragon Statues in the Sun Warrior Ruins.
Considering that the Air Nomads were wanderers by nature, it is also possible that some of them had offspring in other nations, therefore surviving the raids. While a character with progenitors from different nations has never been introduced, it's likely that one with Air Nomad ancestry might be able to learn Airbending, should he/she have the potential and be properly taught.
However, the creators have confirmed Aang is the last Airbender, given Tenzin exists in The Legend of Korra it can be presumed that Aang was the last Airbender during the original series.
The cycle of Avatars has already nearly been broken. When Azula shoots Aang with lightning in "Crossroads of Destiny" he admits later that he was "gone" and that Katara had brought him "back". He did repair the cycle and save the cycle, however, due to Katara healing him.
With the introduction of Energybending, it is possible that Aang simply has to Energybend the ability of Airbending to someone or a large number of people, and thus create a new diverse group of Airbenders for the Avatar spirit to choose from, assuming that Energybending has the ability to grant bending ability as well as remove them. This does seem possible, since the ability to Energybend was most likely directly bestowed on Aang by the Lion Turtle through Energybending, though as an Avatar he already had the potential of learning it.
In "The Deserter", Avatar Roku stated "I have mastered the elements a thousand times in a thousand lifetimes, and now I must do it once more...". It can be speculated that Aang is the 1001st incarnation of the Avatar, although his words may also be a conservative estimate, an outright exaggeration or simply a metaphor. Although this may not be the case, for in the Southern Air Temple sanctuary and in Aang's Spirit World trips during "The Avatar State" and "Sozin's Comet, Part 4: Avatar Aang", it can be seen that there have been many Avatars, possibly even a thousand or more.
If taken literally, this would mean that the first ever Avatar was an Air Nomad, which should not be surprising, due to the high level of spirituality of the Air Nomads.
If taken literally in conjunction with the fact that an Avatar Cycle takes some 300-500 years to complete, that means that the Avatar Era has been going on for some 75,000-125,000 years. Meaning it stretches far into the paleolithic, if not to the dawn of the human species.
Since the Avatar State is a defense mechanism designed to empower the Avatar with the skills and knowledge of all the past Avatars, along with the combined power of all their past lives, it seems clear that for each succeeding Avatar, the Avatar State becomes an even more powerful tool due to the continued addition of Avatars to the state.
This also means that the first Avatar had no profit from the Avatar State, as it was just his/her own powers.
Since Roku was shown in old age, and Kyoshi not, and Aang physically wore Fire Nation clothes yet entered the Spirit World with his monk robes and no hair, it is possible that an Avatar in the Spirit World can control what they look like, or they merely manifest visually as how they see themselves.
It is possible that Avatars are often 'extremely' long lived, should they not be killed in the line of their duties. Kyoshi was stated to have lived 230 years and Aang's eventual death in his (physical) late 60s or early 70s is acknowledged (by the series creators) to be an early death partially caused by the strain put on him during his 100 years in the iceberg.
It should be noted other individuals within the Avatar World have lived long lives; King Bumi, Fire LordSozin, and Guru Pathik were all centenarians and still very active.
It is unknown how the Avatar would learn of his/her status where he/she was born in the Foggy Swamp Tribe, Sandbender Tribes, or even the Sun Warriors, as the tribes are (with the exception of the second) disconnected with the rest of the world. It is also unknown how the first several Avatars found out about their status.
It is stated several times in the series (more specifically "Winter Solstice Part 2: Avatar Roku", "The Deserter" and "The Waterbending Scroll") that the Avatar can easily learn the four Bending Arts because he/she has done it in his/her past lives. This would mean each succeeding Avatar will become more powerful than the previous one.
However, in the episode "Bitter Work", the plot centers on Aang having difficulty mastering Earthbending, which may contradict this concept the idea.
It is, though, more likely that all Avatars suffer this problem when confronted with the opposite art to which they started with as they would have to go against their own native teachings and fighting style. Katara believed this when Aang was trying to learn Earthbending and it seemed to be confirmed by Roku in "The Avatar and the Fire Lord", as he stated that he experienced difficulty mastering Waterbending.
The Avatar is capable of bending more than one element at the same time. Aang first demonstrated this ability while in Ba Sing Se when he used his Earthbending to make a zoo while traveling on the Air Scooter made by his Airbending. Aang may also have used this ability on his way to Roku's Island to provide cloud cover for Appa using a combination of Airbending and Waterbending, though he may also have been using only Airbending, instead of both Airbending and Waterbending. During his battle with Ozai, Aang used all four elements while in the Avatar State to make himself nearly invincible and used these elements in a highly destructive attack. This consisted of him first bending air into a spherical shield around himself like he normally does while in the Avatar State, but then using Firebending to create flames and then compressing the flames into a ring around the Air Shield. Next, Aang broke incredibly big chunks of earth using Earthbending and compressed these boulders into small rocks and suspended them lined up in a ring around him. Finally he used Waterbending and compressed water into the final ring around him. The compression of the elements provided Aang with materials for bending all four elements without sacrificing too much size and speed thus making this an extremely dangerous attack, both defensively and offensively.
The most powerful ability that an Avatar can invoke is the Avatar State. This allows an Avatar to channel immense cosmic energies and knowledge of all previous Avatars, enabling them to perform epic acts of bending. Avatars yet to fully realize their power may unconsciously enter such a state in response to perception of mortal danger (a "defense mechanism" as Avatar Roku puts it) or emotional distress. During this state, an incompletely trained Avatar has access to bending techniques they themselves have yet to learn, but has no conscious control and likely causes great collateral damage. Fully realized Avatars have full conscious control over the state, and can enter and exit the state at will. It was by entering the Avatar State that Aang was able to freeze himself and Appa into an iceberg for 100 years, by using a combination of Airbending and Waterbending. While in the Avatar State, the Avatar's eyes glow - as do any body markings following Chi paths (such as Air Nomad body markings), although if the body has received an injury deeper than the tattoo then that spot will not glow in the state. It is not known if re-tattooing the area (once the injury has healed) would enable it to glow again. The glow is the combination of all the past lives, focusing their energy through the body. When Aang speaks in the Avatar State, his voice sounds like a cross between a few different voices at once, his and what is presumed to be past Avatars, whose voices appear to reverberate. It is unknown if any other type of tattoo may glow on an Avatar in the State; however, it has been stated by series creators that Air Nomad tattoos glow when in the Avatar State because they follow chi lines in the body. Thus, if a tattoo is not near a chi line or point, it is unlikely it would glow. Curiously in "Avatar Aang", several Air Nomad Avatars were shown with only their eyes glowing. It is most likely this was an error (as each time Aang used the State his tattoos glowed) or because this was in a vision in Aang's head. Avatar Roku entering the Avatar State.
It is possible for an Avatar to control the Avatar State, as Aang, Roku, Kyoshi, Kuruk, Yangchen, and the unknown Fire Nation Avatar have demonstrated in numerous flashbacks, but this requires great spiritual discipline and concentration (Guru Pathik attempted to teach Aang to control the Avatar State by helping him clear his chakras but Aang could not let go of Katara in exchange for cosmic power). More often, however, the Avatar State is activated by danger or emotional turmoil. In "The Southern Air Temple", Aang inadvertently enters the Avatar State when he discovers that his friend and teacher, Monk Gyatso, was killed by Fire Nation soldiers; in "The Avatar State", Aang entered the Avatar State when General Fong placed Katara in danger by pulling her into the ground with Earthbending. When an Avatar is in complete control of the Avatar State, their eyes glow momentarily, not constantly. However during most of Aang's fight with Ozai in "Sozin's Comet, Part 4: Avatar Aang" Aang's eyes and tattoos glowed continuously. Arguably, this may be because of how he was using the state at the time, or an indication he hadn't completely mastered the State until he stopped himself from killing Ozai, as when he puts out the fires in Wulong Forest the glow is only momentary. Aang at his most powerful.
It is possible for an Avatar to channel a specific previous incarnation while in the Avatar State. When this happens, the Avatar briefly takes on the appearance and voice of that previous incarnation. Aang has done this on several occasions, channeling Roku in "Winter Solstice Part 2: Avatar Roku" and "The Deserter", and Kyoshi in "Avatar Day", and the four Avatars before him in "Sozin's Comet, Part 2: The Old Masters". The appearance of these incarnations seems to vary as Roku always appears as an old man while all the other avatar incarnations appear youthful and in their prime. While it is possible that the ages they appear to be represent their ages at death, it is unlikely since Avatar Kyoshi lived for 230 years and would not have kept the same appearance all that time. It is equally possible that those in the Spirit World manifest visually as they see themselves and not as they currently are. Aang sees himself garbed in Air Nomad attire and with a shaved head within the Spirit World, even when he was wearing different clothes in the physical world, and had hair.
When the State works continuously, the Avatar's eyes, and tattoos (in the case of an Air Nomad Avatar) glow constantly, and the Spirits of the past Avatars actively channel their energy, skills and knowledge through the body of the current Avatar, granting him/her great amounts of power. The State has been seen to work this way almost exclusively as instinctive unconscious reaction, as the 'defense mechanism' Roku described the State as, when an Avatar (who has yet to master the State) is confronted with a threat beyond that they can deal with, or when their emotions (specifically rage and sorrow) reach a breaking point. So it may perhaps be more accurate to describe the state being used this way as 'reflexively' rather then 'continuously'. When the State is triggered this way the combined spirits of the past Avatars seem to take control of the Avatar's body, thus the current Avatar has little to no control over his/her actions and retains little to no memory of what he/she did. Aang appeared to use the State this way against Fire Lord Ozai, after the scar was forced against a rock unlocking his final Chakra. However, it is unclear if he was in control of his actions at the time or if it was being used reflexively before he gained control by sheer force of will. Thus, it is not clear if an Avatar who has mastered the Avatar State can trigger the State this way, or if they could control their actions if they did. Unlike previous times where Aang entered the state, he wasn't physically exhausted and he obviously had knowledge of what was going on, which may indicate he was indeed in control. However his exiting of the state prior to killing Ozai and verbal refusal to kill Ozai may indicate that he was more aware of his actions then before, possibly due to unlocking all but the last Chakra, and regained control from the collective spirit.
When the State is used non-continuously, the Avatar's eyes and tattoos (in the case of an Air Nomad Avatar) glow only for a second, and during that time the current Avatar stores the knowledge and energy needed within him/herself so that he can release it once he exits the state, taking only the power he needs for a specific task. This reduces the danger of being killed in the Avatar State and enables a more willful, controlled use of the Avatar State's power. This can only be done by an Avatar who has mastered the State as it is a conscious use rather than an instinctual response. Mastery of this technique is part of what distinguishes an Avatar as "Fully Realized".
The Avatar State also allows an Avatar to join with certain spirits. This was demonstrated in the episode "The Siege of the North, Part 2", when Aang enters the Avatar State in order to aid the frantic Ocean Spirit. Both Aang in his Avatar State and the Ocean Spirit combine their abilities to defend the Northern Water Tribe after all Waterbenders are rendered defenseless.
While Aang, or any other Avatar, is all but invincible in the Avatar State, having millions of bending experiences which can surpass an army of benders, there is one grave weakness - in effect, every Avatar, that is, the entity of the earth's spirit, is present in the physical world while the current Avatar is in the Avatar State. If the Avatar were to be killed while in the Avatar State, every Avatar would die with him. This would break the cycle permanently and the Avatar would cease to exist. And presumably, without an Avatar to maintain the balance, the entire world would soon follow. Aang almost bringing about the end of the Avatar Spirit.
In "The Crossroads of Destiny", Aang was fatally wounded by a lightning strike from Azula while entering the Avatar State. As a result, his connection with the Avatar Spirit was jeopardized, resulting in the Avatar Spirit to fall from the plane of existence. Fortunately, Aang was not killed outright by Azula's attack, giving Katara time to use the Spirit Water she received from Pakku to heal Aang, reviving Aang and consequently the Avatar Spirit. The strain of the revival caused Aang to slip into a coma for several weeks, and during that time, he managed to secure his connection to the Avatar State in the Escape from the Spirit World online comic, by meeting with the four Avatar incarnations before him. However, it took longer for his connection to his past lives to be completely restored. Another downside to the Avatar State is the considerable mental strain it can cause to less experienced Avatars and the long-term effects that its repeated use can cause in more experienced Avatars. Prior to his tutelage under the guru Pathik, Aang would often leave the Avatar State feeling horrified at what he'd done under its influence. Further the use of the state, at least in extraordinary circumstances, can place such a large physical strain on an Avatar's body that their life-span can be affected, as the series creators have stated that Aang's 100 years in the iceberg contributes greatly to his eventual death in his late 60s or early 70s (biologically). On the other end of things, repeated use of the Avatar State has a tendency to cause apathy on the part of the Avatar, as the increased awareness about the sheer size of time and space makes everything seem small and insignificant. This may have contributed to Avatar Kuruk's negligence in his duties, which caused the malevolent spirit Koh to take his beloved Ummi away from him. Similarly, the Avatar Kyoshi used her powers to split her village off from the mainland, in the process killing Chin. Though she viewed this as a small price to pay for peace, her actions angered Chin's people and created ill will that Aang was forced to redress four centuries later.
One hundred years preceding the series, Aang used it to save himself and Appa from their fall into the ocean. Both were sealed into an ice encrusted air pocket that eventually froze into an iceberg. Aang would remain in the State until he was released from the iceberg around 100 years later, this gives a hint to the incredible power available to the Avatar.
However this lengthy use of the state is ascribed to be a major factor to Aang's eventual death in his (physical) late 60s or early 70s.
Aang used it in the episode "The Avatar Returns" to escape another fall into the ocean and to stop Zuko. He Waterbends a water spout in the form of a twister.
In the episode "The Southern Air Temple", Aang falls into the State after witnessing the skeleton of his former mentor and foster father Monk Gyatso. In his anguished-induced state, he generated hurricane-force winds. In this event, it is shown that depictions of previous Avatars (such as sculptures or murals) react to the Avatar state, even when far away, glowing in the same manner that the Avatar in the image would.
In the episode "Winter Solstice Part 2: Avatar Roku", Aang meets Avatar Roku in the fire temple. Roku helped him and friends escape by directly taking over Aang's body and activating the volcano underneath the temple.
In the episode "The Storm", Aang almost enters into the Avatar State while telling Katara that Monk Gyatso and he were to be separated.
In the episode "The Storm", Aang enters the state after saving Sokka and a fisherman, rounding up everyone that fell into the ocean and pulling them out of the water into the calmness of the storm's eye.
In the episode "The Siege of the North, Part 2", Aang combines power with the spirit of the Ocean, La, after all Waterbenders are rendered powerless, and proceeds to lay waste to the Fire Nation fleet besieging the city.
In the episode "The Avatar State", Aang enters the Avatar State when General Fong uses Earthbending to bury Katara underground to force Aang into the Avatar State. He uses Airbending to knock the general to the floor, rises into the air on a tornado, and crashes down to the earth, releasing a powerful Earthbending attack on the general, his guards, and his fortress. A small air sphere surrounds Aang before the spirit of Avatar Roku takes him to the Spirit World to explain to him about the true nature of the Avatar State. In several flashbacks, we can see Avatar Kyoshi, Avatar Kuruk, Avatar Yangchen, and an unnamed fire Avatar in the Avatar State.
In the episode "Avatar Day", we see Avatar Kyoshi enter the Avatar State in a flashback. In the Avatar State, Kyoshi splits her home land from the mainland creating Kyoshi Island.
In the episode "The Desert", Aang enters the Avatar State when infuriated at Appa's kidnappers (a group of Sandbenders). A large air sphere surrounds him, lifting him up into the air, but is brought down by Katara, who grabs his arm and embraces him.
In the episode "The Crossroads of Destiny", Aang finally is willing to give up Katara to open the last chakra and willingly go into the Avatar State, but he is soon struck by lightning from Princess Azula.
In the episode "The Avatar and the Fire Lord", the Avatar State is used many times by Avatar Roku. In flashbacks, Avatar Roku uses the Avatar State twice, first in a battle with Fire Lord Sozin, then as an attempt to stop a volcanic eruption.
In the episode "Sozin's Comet, Part 4: Avatar Aang", Aang suffers a blow to the back while fighting Ozai, the same spot where Azula struck him with lightning, which reopens his chakra and enables him to effectively use the Avatar State. He collected all four elements and compressed them in a sphere around him, moving at incredible speed, plowing straight through obstacles where his opponent Ozai had to dodge said obstacles. The sphere can be used both for offense and defense. Since the sphere contains all four elements, it allowed Aang to Earthbend and Waterbend while away from a source. It is unclear if Aang had complete control of the Avatar State during the fight as his eyes and tattoos glowed continuously, as opposed to other known Avatars, whose eyes glowed only for a moment when using the Avatar State. After the fight was over, Aang used it once again; pulling in the ocean to put out the fire at Wulong Forest, before lowering the tide back again; this time, entering a momentary glow with realized control.
Aang does not enter the Avatar State during meditation and harmony with the spirits around him, but his tattoos and eyes glow in the same way. In this method, he visits the spirit world with his own spirit, leaving his body a defenseless shell in the real world. An example of this was seen in "The Siege of the North, Part 1."
Known Times Aang Used Meditation to Enter the Spirit World Edit
In the episode "Winter Solstice Part 1: The Spirit World," Aang is accidentally trapped in the Spirit World while chasing after a rampaging beast. The beast (later found to be an angry forest spirit) changed worlds at sunrise nearing the winter solstice, and Aang was too close when it happened.
In the episode "The Siege of the North, Part 1," Aang meditates into the spirit world to find a way to save the North Pole.
In the episode "The Swamp," Aang meditates at the center of the Swamp, and locates Appa and Momo by connecting with the whole swamp.
In the episode "The Avatar and the Fire Lord," Aang meditates on Avatar Roku's home Island to meet him in the Spirit World. Curiously when Aang is shown from a non-Spiritual World perspective after crossing over, his tattoos aren't glowing, which differs from previous occasions when his tattoos remained glowing.
While the Avatar's eyes, and tattoos in the case of an Air Nomad Avatar, usually glow white with a tinge of blue in the Avatar State there are times when it has been white, for example in "The Desert". It is possible that the intensity of the color could be affected by the intensity of emotions.
The glow while in the Avatar State was influenced from the anime FLCL, which the creators are fans of.
In Sanskrit/Hindi, Avatara means "descent" in verb form and "incarnation" in noun form.
In "The Southern Air Temple" with "Avatar Extras" bonus commentary, one of the commentary bubbles stated that the next Avatar will be decided by the season that they are born in and the cycle, so technically if the next Avatar is born just as the previous one dies, then you could predict the season that Avatar will die in.
Avatar Extras note a recurring joke regarding those who battle fully realized Avatars as ending up "looking stupid", as shown in "Avatar Day" when Chin the Conqueror challenged Avatar Kyoshi, and ended up having all his clothes blown off, leaving him standing in front of his army in his undergarments. When Fire Lord Sozin fought Avatar Roku in "The Avatar and the Fire Lord", Sozin was left hanging from a stone pillar by the back of his robe. In the series finale when Fire Lord Ozai battled Avatar Aang, he was left powerless and could barely move, being insulted by Toph, Sokka, and Suki.
Aang goes into the "continuous" Avatar State nine times in the whole series, but only once in the "non-continuous".
Strangely, the biological parents of the known Avatars are never mentioned.
While Aang is in the Southern Air Temple, looking at the statue of his past life, Avatar Roku, you can see the Avatar to the left should be Avatar Kyoshi, but instead there can be seen an un-named male Earthbender.
Avatar Aang, an Air Nomad, was the Avatar during the century-long conflict known as The War. His immediate predecessor was Avatar Roku, and his immediate successor was Avatar Korra. Being the manifestation of the world in human form, Aang was the only person in the Avatar world who could use all four bending disciplines: Airbending, Waterbending, Earthbending and Firebending. He is the main protagonist in Avatar: the Last Airbender. He is also one of a select few Avatars, and one of the first in many years, to learn the ancient art of Energybending and the only Avatar to use it during the series.
Before the beginning of the series, Aang was frozen in an iceberg for 100 years. He emerges, still biologically twelve years old, into a world engulfed by war. During his absence, the Fire Nation waged war with the other nations and managed to completely wipe out the pacifistic Air Nomads. It fell to Aang, the last of his kind, to put a stop to the war by mastering the other three elements and defeating Fire LordOzai. He remained something of a goofy, kind kid at heart throughout this year-long struggle, despite the overwhelming loss of his people and the heavy burdens he has been forced to bear. After his spectacular victory over the Fire Lord, Aang began a romantic relationship with his close friend, Katara. The couple eventually got married and raised a family, which includes at least one child, an Airbending son Tenzin.
Aang was born to two unnamed Airbenders in 12 BSC who gave him to the monks at the Southern Air Temple. As an Air Nomad, Aang has traveled extensively around the world. During his childhood, Aang was housed, raised and educated at his home, the Southern Air Temple, under the custody of Monk Gyatso who served as both a father figure and a counselor for Aang. According to Avatar Extras for the episode "The Warriors of Kyoshi", as a child Aang was a member of the "Air Scouts", the Air Nomad's version of the boy scouts. There, he learned to do many things such as how to tie reins to a bison's horns with the "Bison Horn Knot" and many other handy skills. When Aang turned six years old, he and several other young Air Nomad boys were taken to the Eastern Air Temple where they would each choose a Sky Bison to be their lifelong companion. Aang approached his soon-to-be pet Sky Bison Appa and offered him an apple which Appa accepted, thus marking the start of their friendship. In the Avatar Extras for the episode "The Waterbending Scroll", it says that Aang has always been able to excel with any new bending moves he learns. It is stated that "at the age of six, Aang was a better Airbender than kids twice his age, and at the age of ten, Aang proved to be a better Airbender than his own teachers". While still a young boy, Aang had unconsciously revealed himself to be the Avatar when he chose the four Avatar Relics from thousands of toys to play with. Due to the signs of a possible war, Aang was told about his status as the Avatar at age twelve, four years earlier than the traditional age of sixteen, after exhibiting prodigious talent with his native element, Air. Aang felt burdened by his status and came to spend more time practicing Airbending with the monks than playing with his friends as he was used to. Monk Gyatso was the only one to show understanding to Aang's burden (having been good friends with AvatarRoku, Aang's past life) and tried to help ease Aang through the transition from childhood to adulthood by providing Aang with balance through fun during the upheaval in his life.
However, after learning that he'd be sent to the Eastern Air Temple in order to complete his Airbending training away from Monk Gyatso, who other monks thought to be too soft on him, Aang attempted to run away on his flying bisonAppa. Shortly after running away, Aang and Appa were caught in a storm, crashing in the water and being swallowed by the waves. Aang saved himself and Appa while semi-unconscious by entering the Avatar State, freezing the two in a sphere of ice by using a combination of Airbending and Waterbending.
One hundred years later, Aang is found and freed from the iceberg by siblings Katara and Sokka of the Southern Water Tribe. He quickly befriended them and almost immediately attracted Prince Zuko's attention, who was to capture him by order of the Fire Lord. The three set out to find a Waterbending master who could teach Katara and Aang, evading Zuko's attempts to capture them along the way. While helping a village, Aang crosses over to the Spirit World where he meets Fang, the animal guide dragon of his predecessor, AvatarRoku. He was instructed to visit an Avatar temple on Crescent Island during the Winter Solstice so he could talk with Roku. Despite a run-in with most of the Fire Sages, who were now loyal to the Fire Lord, Aang managed to speak with Roku, who warned him about the arrival of Sozin's Comet which would grant the Fire Nation enough power to win the War.
Roku urged Aang to master the three remaining elements before summer's end, when the comet was due to arrive, or he or anyone else would never be able to restore balance to the world. When Aang is captured by Zhao, Zuko comes to his aid under the identity of the Blue Spirit, freeing the former so he could capture the Avatar himself. Upon the groups' arrival at the Northern Water Tribe, Aang was displeased to learn that his teacher, Master Pakku, wouldn't teach Katara, due to the tradition of not teaching females to use their Waterbending to fight. Katara is able to change Pakku's mind, and they both begin to learn under him. The period of calm is brief, as Zhao, now an admiral, commands an attack on the Northern Water Tribe with numerous ships. Aang finds the situation overwhelming and decides to seek guidance in the Ocean and Moon spirits, patrons of the Northern Water Tribe. Aang learns through a spirit named Koh that the spirits are in the mortal world, but his body is taken by Zuko in the process. Aang's friends managed to rescue him, but not before Zhao arrives at the Spirit Oasis, the lair of the spirits, and kills the Moon spirit, the source of power for all Waterbending. Determined not to fail the Water Tribe, Aang merges with the Ocean Spirit and proceeds to wipe out the rest of Fire Nation ships. After all is over, the group leaves the North Pole. Aang is now learning Waterbending under Katara, whose fierce determination allowed for a quicker rise to mastery.
Aang and the others are left near an Earth Kingdom base, from where they're to be escorted to Omashu, to be taught Earthbending by one of his living peers, King Bumi. Due to a misunderstanding with the general responsible for the base, who wanted to forcibly draw the Avatar State, the group decides to go to Omashu by themselves. Upon arrival they learn that the city has fallen under Fire Nation control. In a trade between the new governor's son, who accidentally left the city by following Momo, and Bumi, Aang fights Azula, Zuko's younger sister, who also decides to capture him. Bumi tells Aang that he must remain in Omashu and instructs him on who to search for as an Earthbending master: someone who waits and listens before attacking. While passing the Foggy Swamp, Aang has a vision about a laughing girl and flying boar. Upon reaching the city of Gaoling, they search for a supposed underground Earthbending tournament, hoping to find a good teacher. After watching many rounds, they witness a fight between one of the popular contestants and the current champion, a little blind girl. During her match, Aang notices that the girl waits and listens before attacking. She easily defeats her opponent. Aang tries to talk to her, but she ignores him.
The group later learns that the girl belongs to the Bei Fong family, whose symbol is a flying boar. They go to her estate and Aang announces himself as the Avatar. He learns that Toph, the Earthbender, hides her ability from her family. After the two are kidnapped, Toph manages to fight the attackers off and joins the group against her parents wishes. As Earth is the opposite element to Air, Aang goes through some difficulties while learning it but eventually gets it. On their way to Ba Sing Se, the group finds Wan Shi Tong's Library in the middle of the Si Wong Desert and learn valuable information on a solar eclipse that will leave the Firebenders powerless. They lose Appa while in the library, who is taken by desert people and sold. After crossing the Serpent's Pass, the group comes across a giant Fire Nation Drill which is trying to penetrate the walls of the city. The group manages to fight them off.
Finally reaching Ba Sing Se, Aang discovers that the city isn't like he thought; true power doesn't lie with the Earth King, but with his adviser, Long Feng, who controls the secret police, the Dai Li. After reuniting with Appa, they storm the palace and manage to tell the Earth King about the solar eclipse. Aang receives a message from Guru Pathik, telling him to go to the Eastern Air Temple so he could teach Aang how to control the Avatar State. While there, he struggles when he learns he has to let go of his feelings for Katara. He has a vision about her being in danger and returns to the city. He learns that Azula and her friends have infiltrated the city. After freeing Katara, they fight Zuko and Azula in the crystal catacombs. Things take a turn for the worse when the Dai Li, now under Azula's command, arrive. Aang retreats and tries to use the Avatar State but is then struck by lightning from Azula. The very powerful lightning bolt shoots through his body, making his seventh chakra impossible to re-open. The lightning bolt killed him while he was in the Avatar state, severing the connection of the Avatar Spirit to the Avatar World and causing the Avatar to fall from the plane of existence. Aang's lifeless body lay on Appa's back, where Katara used water from the Spirit Oasis in the North Pole to claim back his life, which revived the Avatar spirit in turn, but his ability to use the Avatar State was now inaccessible.
For several weeks, Aang was unconscious as he recovered from his injury. Mentally, he spent this time in the Spirit World, where he reconnected with his four previous selves to save the Avatar Spirit. However, upon his awakening, Aang forgot this journey. Team Avatar reached the Fire Nation and prepared for the invasion, planned during the Day of Black Sun. In the meantime, he was threatened by an assassin Zuko sent after him, Combustion Man. On the day of the eclipse, Aang, Sokka, and Toph go looking for Fire LordOzai, but Azula distracted them long enough for the eclipse to end and they decided to retreat to fight another day.
Afterward, Team Avatar and a few others went to the Western Air Temple, where Zuko appeared and wanted to join their group. Initially they rejected him, but when Zuko helped them defeat Combustion Man, Aang accepted him as his Firebending teacher. Zuko and Aang sought out the Sun Warriors to learn the original source of Firebending and eventually underwent a trial from the dragons that increased both Firebenders' abilities.
Due to his belief in the sacredness of all life, Aang felt strong anxiety about the concept of killing Ozai. When he left for an island off the shore of Ember Island, he met the Lion Turtle who taught him about Energybending. Armed with this knowledge, Aang went on to defeat the Fire Lord by taking away his Firebending. He vowed at Fire Lord Zuko's coronation to help him restore peace to the world. After Zuko's coronation, Aang is seen in Ba Sing Se with his friends, where he and Katara begin a romantic relationship with a passionate kiss.
Some time after the events of the War, Aang and Katara got married and started a family, which includes at least one child, an Airbender son named Tenzin who will eventually become an Airbending master. After around fifty-five years later, Aang died. His seemingly early death was the result of the one hundred years he spent frozen in the iceberg. Aang was then reincarnated into the Southern Water Tribe as a girl named Korra.[1] It is currently unknown whether or not he will appear in the Spirit World to act as a mentor to Korra, but the possibility still stands and is very likely.
Aang is fun-loving, somewhat naive, and adventurous. He possesses a deep respect for life and freedom, refuses to eat meat, and is often reluctant to fight. He craves the stimulation of new people and places. His frequent off-course detours frustrate both allies and pursuers alike. Yet Aang has always prided himself on a complex social network of friends extending over all four nations, and war will not stand in his way. In addition, he looks forward to playing with all the exotic fauna in each place he visits. Whether it's penguins, pig hog-monkeys or gigantic eels, no fit animal Aang sees goes un-ridden.
Within this carefree exterior, however, Aang hides a great deal of guilt and mental burden in his duties as Avatar. Very much the reluctant hero, he wishes he had been there to help his people a century ago. This initially caused him to conceal his true identity from friends, and he still has a tendency to slack off in his studies of the Bending Arts, even though he naturally excels at it. He also tends to becomes very distressed when he sees destruction caused by the war, believing that as the Avatar, it is his job to prevent such events from happening. During "The Storm", Aang decided to stop dwelling on the past; however, on several occasions his desire to end the war caused him to take desperate action such as attempting to induce the Avatar State or facing Fire LordOzai before he had fully mastered the elements. As a natural pacifist, Aang chooses to employ frustration rather than violence against Azula.
Being the last Airbender and having no living peers (with the exception of the aged King Bumi and Guru Pathik), Aang has developed very strong bonds with his friends (particularly Katara) explained by Guru Pathik as a reincarnation of his love for his people. His desire to protect them, however, leads to violent emotional outbursts when they are threatened, and he will even resort to deceiving and hurting others to keep the group together. In "Bato of the Water Tribe", Aang heard that Katara and Sokka might leave the group to visit their father, so Aang hid the map showing his whereabouts and lied about ever having it in the first place.
Aang prefers not to use his bending skill in battle due to his peaceful nature. He prefers to solve problems non-violently. Even when forced into combat, Aang typically holds back, fighting defensively and trying to subdue opponents without seriously hurting them, even if they are not human. This attitude was apparently common among all Airbenders, who were all vegetarians and taught that all living things are precious. The only exception to Aang's pacifism is when his friends are threatened; in which case, he gets very angry and relentlessly attacks his opponents, sometimes even entering the Avatar State. But even in these extreme circumstances he has never taken a life.
Recent events in the Earth Kingdom, however, have begun to take a toll on his care-free personality. Aang's attitude changed dramatically when Appa was captured. He became visibly enraged and hostile, particularly toward Toph, who was "keeping an eye on" Appa while they were gone. Despite attempts by Katara to calm Aang down, his anger continued to grow until finally he flew off to search for Appa alone. Eventually Aang returned to the group, but he was still visibly upset. He violated the principles of Airbending when Momo was snatched up by a Buzzard-Wasp. He followed the creature and rescued Momo, but then unnecessarily struck it down with a powerful Airbending move conjured with his staff. After Aang returned with Momo, the group was confronted by the Sandbenders who had taken Appa. When one of the benders revealed that they had sold the bison, Aang lashed out and smashed all their sand-sailors in a matter of moments using Airbending. He then turned his sights on the Sandbenders and entered the Avatar State. Aang's rage was only stopped when Katara grabbed hold of him and held him in an embrace until he finally calmed down and returned to his normal state. Enraged at the loss of Appa, the Avatar state is triggered through uncontrollable fury.
After failing in Ba Sing Se, Aang began to feel angry and upset with himself. He felt an urge to redeem himself and refused to let the others fight in the invasion due to "his mistake". After leaving the ship in a violent storm, he was stopped in the water by the harsh tides, but the spirits of Yue and Roku allowed Aang to see that his mistakes were not his fault and to let others help him. He returned to his lighter attitude soon after.
Four days before the invasion, Aang began to have nightmares about failing against fighting the Fire Lord. After each dream, Aang began to unravel and chose to avoid them by not sleeping. This caused him to mentally fall apart even more, causing Aang to see intense hallucinations, blanking off into realistic day dreams. His friends, the night before the invasion, finally forced him to sleep, during which he defeated the Fire Lord in his dreams and came back to sanity.
During the invasion, Aang became extremely upset upon not being able to find Fire Lord Ozai, believing that he had lost his only chance to defeat him and end the war. Aang later decided to face Ozai anyway, even though at this time the eclipse had passed and Ozai now had his powerful Firebending back. He was dissuaded, however, by Toph and Sokka who advised him to retreat and attack at a more advantageous time. Aang eventually accepts his duty to master Firebending, accepting Zuko into the group.
After the invasion, Aang was unwilling to face the reality of having to learn Firebending and wanted to have some fun at the Western Air Temple; however, with the arrival of Zuko, he once again began training in earnest. Although he had planned to wait until after the comet to face Ozai, upon learning of the Fire Lord's plan to burn through the Earth Kingdom, he decided to engage him anyway, even though he wasn't fully trained. He also became extremely conflicted upon learning that he would probably have to take Ozai's life.
As the current reincarnation of the spiritual entity known as the Avatar Spirit, the spirit of the world in human form, Aang possesses the power and ability to bend all four elements, making him the strongest and most powerful bender in the world. Because the Avatar Spirit has mastered all the elements many lifetimes over, Aang has exceptional natural talent towards bending. Aang can also bend more than two elements at the same time, as demonstrated in "The Tales of Ba Sing Se." Though Avatar Roku says mastering the elements can take many years, Aang was able to learn all four within a year, though technically he did not completely master all four as stated by Zuko and Toph in "Sozin's Comet, Part 1: The Phoenix King". Most Avatars are not told of their status until they are sixteen years of age, but Aang had become a fully-realized Avatar by the end of the series, while he was biologically still only twelve years old, making him the youngest known person to do so. Conversely, because he is chronologically one hundred and twelve years old, Aang is also has the distinction of having taken the longest to achieve this status. Aang never demonstrated the special sub-sets of each Bending Art (such as healing, creating lightning, or Metalbending), however it is possible he learned these skills later, as his training was unconventional.
By the series' beginning, Aang is already an Airbending master, the youngest in history. Aang achieved his mastery tattoos when he mastered thirty-five of the thirty-six tiers of Airbending and invented a new Airbending technique, the "Air Scooter". Because air is his natural element, it is the one he utilizes the most in battle. Once Aang begins to learn the other elements, for tactical purposes he relies less on Airbending, though it continues to remain his signature element. As a master, Aang's skill with Airbending is exceptional, being able to fight on-par with strong and powerful masters or against large numbers of opponents. He has been shown to create tornadoes and currents of air strong enough to lift or deflect extremely heavy objects. Aang's skill with air is great, even perilous, though his pacifistic Air Nomad nature halts the use of air as a deadly weapon (unless he is enraged or in the Avatar State). Instead, Aang uses Airbending for pure defense, evasion or other round-about methods of combat other than aggression. When not in battle, Aang uses Airbending in his everyday life, often for flying with his glider, or simply to augment his natural agility. While in the Avatar State, Aang's Airbending power is magnified to the point he can erode solid rock away with an unusually strong and powerful gust of air.
Though Aang was originally better at Waterbending than his fourteen-year-old friend Katara, or at least learned it quicker, once she trained under Master Pakku her skills developed rapidly. Katara was deemed a Waterbending Master and became Aang's teacher for the rest of the series. Aang has great skill with Waterbending, though it is one of his least used elements in battle, instead favoring other readily-available elements such as earth or air. He does not carry a water skin, preferring to bend from large sources of water such as rivers, lakes, or oceans. By the third book, it is clear Aang has complete and total mastery over the element, capable of creating massive tidal waves (with the help of the moon spirit) or bending entire streams of water. He was even able to extinquish a powerful blast of fire from Ozai, then use the water to briefly put the Fire Lord on the defensive. While in the Avatar State, Aang can bend an entire ocean to rise, mimicking the moon pulling the tides. Unlike Katara, Aang does not learn the healing aspects of Waterbending.
Because Earthbending is the natural opposing art of Airbending, Aang had great difficulty learning the bending art. Airbenders rely on indirect methods of combat, while Earthbending requires a head-on approach. When Aang was forced to protect Sokka, he stood his ground rather than avoid conflict, showing that he had an Earthbender's attitude; he was able to Earthbend soon thereafter. For the rest of the series his Earthbending improves greatly, allowing him to utilize Air, Water and Earthbending in combat together effectively. Since Book 2, Earthbending has become Aang's second most used fighting style behind Airbending, due to its general availability. Aang is capable of bending large boulders, sending massive columns of rock flying, or forming earthen armor around his body for protection. By Book Three Aang can fight and bend blindfolded, detecting things outside of his line of vision by using Toph's seismic sense. While in the Avatar State, Aang can manipulate massive columns of rock, compress boulders into pebbles, or send rocks flying at mach speeds, and requires no physical connection with the ground to Earthbend. Aang does not learn to bend metal, expressing interest in doing so only sarcastically while sabotaging the drill at Ba Sing Se before the technique was developed by Toph. Despite the proficiency with which Aang used Earthbending in his fight with Ozai, Toph had expressed an opinion that he could still improve, however it is unclear if she felt he had not yet mastered it or that he could improve a little more.
In "Book One: Water", Aang is given the opportunity to learn Firebending early from Master Jeong Jeong, against the normal order of learning (Air, Water, Earth, Fire). While training, Aang's impatience to learn the basics of Firebending results in him harming Katara, an accident which caused him great shame. He swore from then on never to Firebend again, out of fear of losing control again. It isn't until the later half of "Book Three: Fire" when the Invasion plan fails that Aang seeks to learn Firebending. After accepting Prince Zuko as his teacher and discovering the true meaning of Firebending from the dragonsRan and Shaw, Aang no longer fears Firebending and begins his training in the bending art. He is shown to be quite skilled, yet initially reluctant to show the aggressive attitude required for Firebending. Aang is capable of the ancient Dancing Dragon form, as well as highly strong and powerful kicks and blasts able to incapacitate a Fire Nation Airship with the help of Sozin's Comet which had greatly strengthened and enhanced his Firebending abilities to numerous power levels at the time. In preparation for fighting Fire Lord Ozai, Zuko taught Aang lightning redirection, a highly advanced and unique technique of Firebending that Zuko's paternal uncle Iroh invented by observing Waterbenders. While in the Avatar State, Aang can create exceedingly strong and powerful and highly destructive streams of fire, as well as melt solid stone. Aang does not learn to bend lightning during the series.
Aang is also able to use a very unique and ancient form of bending called Energybending, which he used to strip Ozai of his natural Firebending abilities, leaving Ozai permanently drained and in a state of weakness. According to Lion Turtle, before the Avatar existed, people did not bend the four elements, but the life force energy within themselves. However, in order to bend another's life force energy, the Energybender's own life energy must be unbendable, or they could become corrupted or even destroyed. It has been confirmed that Aang is not the first Avatar to learn Energybending; however, there are very few who have learned this particular bending art and even fewer who have used it due to its dangers. Having appeared in only one episode of the series, the full range and potential of Energybending is not shown. It might be possible (since Energybending can permanently remove a bender's innate bending powers) for Energybending to permanently grant people bending powers and abilities as well.
Aang is extremely agile and quick even without bending. He is able to defend himself without needing to resort to bending by simply dodging and avoiding attacks. He sometimes uses techniques similar to the martial art [1], which is the pursuit of harmony in conflict situations, rather than destroying or defeating the opponent. This technique is shown in some fights with Aang and in the Fire Nation School against the student Hide. Aang defeats him, without even touching him, but instead just dodging his blows and pushing him when he is off-balance.
This behavior is matched by his Airbending principles, which emphasise non-aggression. The martial art which Airbending is based on, Baguazhang, consists of intricate foot and palm movements to dodge, walk circles around the enemy and strike unexpectedly as well as defend from all angles - all principles which Aang utilizes often.
Aang can use his glider staff too with great skill, using it sometimes for attack, defense, or bending.
As can be seen in the episode "The Headband", Aang is also an agile and extremely talented dancer, being able to perform somersaults in mid-air among other acrobatic feats and coordinate with Katara in a dance. His somersaults at that time did not seem to be aided by Airbending, as he was in a public area surrounded by Fire Nation students and there was no sign of any air currents around him.
Aang is a reincarnation of the spiritual entity of the planet known as the Avatar, which has been continually reincarnated since before memorable history. The passage of reincarnation moves from the population of the Air Nomads to the Water Tribes, Earth Kingdom and Fire Nation in order. The most recent incarnations were AvatarRoku (fire), AvatarKyoshi (earth), AvatarKuruk (water) and AvatarYangchen (air). Aang often receives advice and guidance from Avatar Roku, the previous Avatar incarnation. Born into the Fire Nation in life, Roku is a benign force in spirit, serving as Aang's adviser and protector. On the Winter Solstice, after informing Aang of the impending return of Sozin's Comet, he manifested himself to defeat a group of Firebenders holding Aang's friends hostage. (When Roku manifests, his voice can be heard behind Aang's when he speaks.) He has guided Aang several times since, appearing to Jeong Jeong to persuade him to teach Aang, offering critical wisdom in the ways of the Spirit World during "The Siege of the North", and revealing to Aang the nature of the Avatar State. Aang begins to understand the dynamics of the Avatar Spirit.
After receiving a letter from Guru Pathik in "The Earth King", Aang journeys to the Eastern Air Temple to learn to control the Avatar State. Guru Pathik reveals that the secret of entering, controlling, and leaving the Avatar State by free will lay in the 'releasing' of seven chakras. Aang has little trouble with the first six, but struggles with the seventh - earthly attachments, mainly being, Aang's attachment to Katara. Aang's love for Katara, accompanied by a vivid distant vision of her in dire need of help, captured in Ba Sing Se, causes him to leave the Guru and return to Ba Sing Se. Guru Pathik states that Aang's refusal to let Katara go has 'locked the final chakra' and disallowed him to enter the Avatar State at all. Later, in "The Crossroads of Destiny", however, Aang begins to open the seventh and final chakra and enter the Avatar State by doing just as he had been told - letting go of his feelings for Katara. However, moments after entering the Avatar State, the process is suddenly interrupted as he is struck with lightning from behind by Azula, nearly killing him and removing him from the Avatar State, and the Avatar Spirit itself from the plane of existence. Fortunately, after their escape, Katara is able to use the special water from the spirit oasis to revive him.
Nonetheless, Aang's connection to his previous lives is severely damaged by this and he has to undertake a journey into the Spirit World, meeting with the last four Avatars, to revive and heal the Avatar Spirit. While he is successful the link to his past selves is not completely restored, because of the wound he had suffered, leaving him unable to enter the Avatar State. While he was still able to contact his past lives and enter the Spirit World, it is only during his final battle with Ozai that the connection was fully restored.
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