Avatar: The Last Airbender was a series that aired on Nickelodeon between 2005 and 2008, and became the highest-rated animated series in its demographic. The show takes place in a world where some people have elemental powers to bend water, air, earth, and fire. But there exists one person who can bend all four elements known as the avatar, and upon the avatar’s death, their spirit reincarnates into the next element nation in the avatar cycle: fire, air, water, and earth. The show garnered a cult following, had its own (not so well-received) live-action film in 2010 written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan, and spawned comics, books, video games, and a spin-off series, The Legend of Korra.
The original Avatar series followed Aang, the avatar born in the air nation but had been missing for a hundred years after he was frozen in a block of ice, leading people to believe the avatar was never reborn. Since his disappearance, the Fire Nation had taken control and killed all Airbenders to ensure the avatar can never be reborn into the next cycle. The spin-off, The Legend of Korra, follows after Aang’s death with the new Avatar, a waterbender named Korra.
Now, the original series will return to Netflix as a live-action series that the streaming giant has promised will be darker than the original cartoon, per CBR, which already touched on hard subjects like war and genocide. Both shows are prime examples of masterclass world-building, storytelling, and character development. Probably the most memorable part of the entire Avatar animated franchise is the complex and lovable character we’ve all come to love. With the original avatar in the series being an Airbender, we decided to make a ranked list of the best airbending characters in the entire franchise.
5 Jinora
Paramount Media Networks
Katara and Aang’s granddaughter, and Tenzin’s daughter, Jinora, is the youngest known airbending master and became Korra’s guide to the spirit world because of her natural connection to the spirit world. Like her father, she is a calm and mature, often called mean and bossy by her siblings. Despite her age, she demonstrates an admirable amount of courage and intelligence, taking on the responsibility of protecting Avatar Korra from any potential danger. She has an avid interest in history and enjoys reading her father’s journals of his adventure with his father, Avatar Aang, and Aang’s adventures with Katara and Sokka.
4 Tenzin
Tenzin is Aang and Katara’s youngest child in The Legend of Korra series. He was also the firstborn Airbender in a hundred years and grew to become an airbending master. Tenzin not only was the one left responsible to train Korra in the art of airbending and spirtuality, he was also the one who went to rescue her when she was kidnaped. His personality could not be any further from his father’s, who was known for being childish and fun-loving; Tenzin, according to his mother, was always very serious and stern. Because of this training, Korra is a true test on his patience. Underneath all of that is a man who will do whatever it takes to protect his family and the air nation, with a fury buried deep inside that he works hard to maintain.
3 Zaheer
A story is nothing without its antagonists. Zaheer, one of the four main antagonists of The Legend of Korra, is the leader of the Red Lotus, a militant anarchist organization that wants humans and spirits to coexist again. He was also the one that orchestrated Korra’s kidnapping and attempted assassination to end the Avatar cycle. He wasn’t always an airbender and only gained the skill after the Harmonic Convergence, which allowed for him to escape from prison and attack Korra. While you often don’t root or love villain characters (except Prince Zuko — we’ll always love Zuko), they’re the heart of any story, and without a good antagonist, there is no good story. Like any good villain, Zaheer is more complex than just a bad guy who wants to see his goals fulfilled. He was once a selfless man who worked hard to try to bring world peace, but his ideologies led him to become cruel and arrogant. He has a deep passion for philosophy and, upon gaining his airbending skills, an appreciation for the airbending culture. In the end, he wants the same thing the avatar wants: balance and peace. The biggest difference is how he plans to achieve it.
2 Gyatso
In Avatar: The Last Airbender, Gyatso was Avatar Aang’s mentor, training Aang in airbending and was the one who broke the news to him that he was the avatar, resulting in him running away. Besides being a mentor, he was something of a father-figure to the young avatar, who also valued allowing for the occasional games. Aang even went as far as to say he was the greatest airbender in the world. And perhaps the reason they had such a good relationship was because Gyatso was also good friends with Aang’s previous incarnation, Avatar Roku. Although in the show we never see Gyatso outside of flashbacks, from what we do see, we learn he was kind and had a sense of humor. Through Aang’s eyes, we learn to admire him just the same as he did, which is why it was all the more heartbreaking to discover he was killed in the Fire Nation’s genocide of all the airbenders.
1 Aang
Nickelodeon
Of course, everyone’s number one favorite airbender from the franchise would be Aang. From the first moment we meet the Avatar, we learn he’s just a kid who wants to have fun, and struggles with the responsibility that comes with being the Avatar. Frozen in ice for 100 years, he’s technically the oldest out of the whole group and occasionally is very wise in how he makes his decisions. Throughout the show, we get to watch him grow into role of the hero after learning about the genocide of his people, training in all four elements, and learning from his past incarnations how accept the role he was given. All of which is a lot to ask of from a kid his age. Plus we all loved rooting for his relationship with Katara and friendship with Zuko.
