Avatar: The Last Airbender Character Guide

When Avatar: The Last Airbender (or ATLA) first came out in 2005, it was heralded as one of the best animated series of all time—and it still holds up today! It even sparked a sequel series, a live-action movie (that must not be named), and a live-action Netflix series. For anyone new to the Avatar fandom, you might wonder who the main characters are in Avatar: The Last Airbender. Follow us on a journey across the Four Nations as we meet and greet the main faces, along with some recurring side characters you'll see when watching ATLA!

All images courtesy of IMDb.

Avatar Aang

The cycle of the Avatar resets every time the Avatar dies, resulting in a new child born as the Avatar. The Avatar is the only person in the world able to manipulate all four elements: water, earth, fire, and air. In Avatar: The Last Airbender, the show focused on Aang, the current Avatar in the world. It was the Avatar's duty to promote balance between the elements and then nations, as well as between the material world and the spirit world. It's a tall order, especially given the circumstances surrounding current events. Aang was frozen in ice for 100 years at the age of 12, accidentally breaking the chain of the Avatar and allowing chaos to reign in the Avatar's absence. The world was in turmoil as the Fire Nation fought to take over the world, and the Fire Nation had already succeeded in purging the Air Nation. As far as we know, Aang existed as the only Airbender left. Does he have what it takes to bring balance back to the world and stop the Fire Nation?

Katara

One of the first members of Team Avatar, also lovingly referred to as the Gaang, Katara was the only waterbender in the group and the waterbending instructor for Aang. Given Aang's young age and lack of instruction, he still needed to be taught mastery of the other four elements outside of air. Katara ran across Aang encased in ice with her brother Sokka, and they traveled the world with him in search of additional bending instructors and a way to bring peace to the world. Katara became an incredibly powerful waterbender with the rare ability to use water to heal. However, she also discovered that she is capable of bloodbending, a skill which she greatly despises. Katara was later renowned as a master waterbender and even had a hand in teaching waterbending to the next Avatar, Korra.

Sokka

Sokka was the first non-bending character on Team Avatar. After discovering Aang with his sister, Katara, he traveled with the Avatar across the world. He often acted as the group's leader and strategist, although the other members far outshined him in terms of actual combat. (Being the non-super in a team of supers kind of sucks.) Sokka mainly fought with a boomerang, but he later learned sword fighting and other combat skills. Sokka often took on the role of the comic relief character, although everyone on Team Avatar had their moments.

Toph

Some may call her the Blind Bandit, while she has also referred to herself as Melon Lord—but we lovingly know her as Toph Beifong. Don't let the small, cute exterior fool you! While Toph was a child of the wealthy Beifong family, her true love was earthbending and bending tournaments. Toph was born completely blind, but she used her connection to the earth and her incredible earthbending skills to sense where her opponents were in an incredible display of earthbending mastery. As the third member of the Gaang, Toph was picked out of an earthbending tournament to become Aang's earthbending teacher. Initially reluctant to join, she proved to be a capable teacher. Toph was also renowned as the first earthbender to discover a brand new bending art—metalbending! She's kind of a big deal.

Prince Zuko

The most reluctant member to join Team Avatar, Prince Zuko, was initially their enemy. Tasked with bringing the Avatar to his father, Fire Lord Ozai, he was relentless when hunting down the Avatar to restore his honor. (Zuko was banished by his father and given his burn scar when he unintentionally disrespected his father and refused to duel with him.) With the guidance and support of Uncle Iroh, an exceptional mentor, he realized that his goals did not align with his father's. He later turned against his Fire Lord father and tried to join Team Avatar, but it took a while for them to allow him into their ranks as a trusted member. Zuko eventually became Aang's firebending teacher, which proved to be his most difficult element to master.

Uncle Iroh

Brother to Fire Lord Ozai, Uncle Iroh, was remarkably open-minded and a great mentor for Prince Zuko. The retired general traveled the world with his nephew as he hunted the Avatar, but dropped nuggets of wisdom along the way that eventually helped Zuko to realize that he would rather help Team Avatar instead of his father. Uncle Iroh even secretly helped members of Team Avatar from time to time, which eventually led to him being branded as a traitor. While he had excellent fighting and firebending skills, the gentle soul that is Uncle Iroh would rather be relaxing in a tea house.

Appa

Appa was Aang's loyal sky bison, a six-legged flying creature capable of flying Team Avatar around the world. (Sky bison could fly due to their natural affinity for airbending!) He was found frozen in the ice with Aang, one of the few sky bison left in the world after the Fire Nation killed all the airbenders and many of the local fauna. Appa unwittingly saved Aang from the Fire Nation when Aang used him to run away after hearing that he was to be separated from Monk Gyatso. Appa always turned heads wherever they went, as many believed the sky bison had gone extinct. Thankfully, we later discover that a herd survived the Fire Nation onslaught, so others might enjoy the pleasure of having their own Appa.

Momo

Another creature native to the Air Nation, Momo, was a winged lemur. The Gaang discovered Momo at the Southern Air Temple, and Aang took Momo in as his pet. Momo was intelligent and playful and occasionally helped get the team out of bad situations. The winged lemur also made good friends with Appa, and he liked to spend his time playing and eating fruit and bugs. Like Appa, Momo was also capable of flight, although he spent much of his time gliding when he could. While basically a pet character, Momo was still a valuable member of Team Avatar.

Princess Azula

Younger sister to Prince Zuko, Princess Azula was as fierce as she was ambitious. She was also extremely jealous of Zuko, believing she should be the next Fire Lord. She channeled these traits into her pursuit of absolute power, honing her bending skills to the point that she could bend lightning and blue fire. Azula practically made capturing the Avatar into a competition with her brother, also seeking her father's favor. With the aid of Mai and Ty Lee (who could hardly be called her friends, considering how she treated them), she chased after Team Avatar with a level of sadism that would give even the most loyal firebenders pause.

Fire Lord Ozai

The ultimate big bad of the series, Fire Lord Ozai, continued the family campaign to rule the world, following the path of his grandfather and father before him. He was believed to be the most powerful firebender in the world, and he used this power to grip the world with his iron fist. Ozai was so power-hungry that not even family got in his way—he usurped the throne by killing his father, banished his son, and even banished his wife. His vanity knows no bounds, as he set aside the title of the Fire Lord and declared himself the Phoenix King, ruler of the world. Can Aang manage to take him down and restore order to the Four Nations?

Suki

Suki was the leader of a band of Kyoshi Warriors, named for Avatar Kyoshi, who founded them to protect Kyoshi Island. The Kyoshi Warriors were an all-female team of highly-trained women who fought with metal fans and katanas and dressed like Avatar Kyoshi. Suki became a special member of Team Avatar, and was the only other non-bender on the team with Sokka. She was an incredibly skilled fighter, having trained since the age of eight. Suki could hold her own in battle, even against the likes of Ty Lee and her lightning-fast punches, chi-blocking techniques, and pressure point strikes. Suki became a love interest for Sokka and even helped teach him some of her fighting techniques.

Mai

As the daughter of a former governor, Mai led a very privileged life, which set her on the path to encounter Princess Azula and Ty Lee. Mai was incredibly skilled at throwing stilettos and small knives, often throwing multiple all at once or in quick succession. While not a bender herself, she could hold several benders at bay with a barrage of thrown weapons. While maintaining a sort of friendship with Azula, she became part of Azula's crew that intended to capture Zuko and Iroh, as well as Team Avatar. Incredibly apathetic, Mai begrudgingly followed orders from Azula and, at times, even outright refused to follow them. Only later did she betray Azula, primarily due to her love for Zuko.

Ty Lee

Ty Lee is the final member of Azula's three-woman band of fighters. She met Mai and Azula at the Royal Fire Academy for Girls, where they became friends. However, Ty Lee craved attention and a sense of individuality, as she had six identical sisters. For a time, Ty Lee ran away from home and joined the Fire Nation Circus, becoming an incredible acrobat. Ty Lee used her acrobatic skills in her fighting style, making her an incredibly formidable opponent, even for benders. She could even disable benders by using chi-blocking techniques that could paralyze an opponent or temporarily block their bending skills. After betraying Azula with Mai and getting imprisoned, Ty Lee met the Kyoshi Warriors and joined their ranks.

Avatar Roku

The previous incarnation of the Avatar before Aang, Avatar Roku, was originally a fire bender and a citizen of the Fire Nation. He often appears to Aang as a spiritual mentor and guide. Roku felt incredibly guilty about his soft approach to leadership and blamed himself for the turmoil in the world after his passing. While he had the opportunity to end the life of Fire Lord Sozin for his ambitions, he did not take it, resulting in Roku's death and the beginning of the Hundred Year War. Because Aang doesn't have the usual trainers and mentors afforded the Avatar due to the century-long absence and faded memories, Roku helps to fill that role in an effort to amend his past mistakes.

Avatar Kyoshi

Aang could access all of the previous Avatars for their guidance, including Avatar Kyoshi. Of all the Avatars, Kyoshi was practically a legendary figure—she was extremely tall for a woman and the longest-lived person at 230 years old. Unlike Aang and Roku after her, Kyoshi was very cold and calculating, willing to do what it took to maintain order and peace. Kyoshi was an extremely effective Avatar, employing justice where needed and even killing enemies if maintaining the World order called for it. Her reign was a time of unprecedented peace, as she thwarted several wars and uprisings. She occasionally tried to share her hardline approach with Avatar Aang, recommending death for Phoenix King Ozai, which Aang found to be a dissatisfying means to an end.

The Cabbage Merchant

While the cabbage merchant remains an unnamed character, he has a beloved place within the Avatar fandom, like many other background characters. He pops up occasionally throughout Book One and Book Two of the original series, a source of comic relief. His cabbage cart is commonly knocked into by Team Avatar or the surrounding events, leading to a scream of, "My cabbages!" While those words are his only lines, they're iconic to the fandom. The influence of the cabbage merchant was so significant that the sequel series had him as the founder of the company Cabbage Corp. If you know, you know.

Hopefully, you learned a thing or two about the characters of Avatar: The Last Airbender and feel fired up to watch the series! Are you a returning fan, or are you new to the world of ATLA? Who is your favorite Avatar: The Last Airbender character? We'd love to hear your thoughts on the series in the comments below! Don't forget to peruse our Avatar: The Last Airbender merch to show off your favorite fandom.