Avatar: The Last Airbender, one of Nickelodeon’s cartoons from the mid-2000s, is regarded as one of the best cartoons of all time. Its rich world-building and complex characters are interwoven in an anime-inspired universe with plenty of wit and charm. The series followed Aang, the only survivor of the Airbender genocide, as he journeys throughout the land in an attempt to master all four elements and stop the imperialistic Fire Nation. To this day, the series is a hot topic of discussion and praise, with a multitude of fan art and appreciation posts made in the series’ honor on a daily basis.
The follow-up series, The Legend of Korra, had big shoes to fill. And while there are certainly many people out there who believe the show did not succeed as a sequel series, its merits still truly speak for themselves. Korra’s broken spirit after her battle with Zaheer, while Jinora receives the tattoos of an Airbending master, creates for a speechless-inducing scene that has even stuck with the show’s critics. Korra represented a changing of the guard for the franchise. She was a Waterbender (the next bender in the Avatar cycle). Certainly, there is an expectation for the next series to focus on an Earthbending Avatar as its next main character. However, need the next series be about the next Avatar? Not necessarily. Here’s why the next series shouldn’t center the Avatar as its next main character.
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We’ve Seen Avatars on Both Extremes of the Personality Spectrum
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Both Korra and Aang each had their own inner strengths and weaknesses. While Korra struggled with trying to match Aang’s accomplishments and live up to his legacy, Aang struggled with making amends for how he ran away one hundred years prior. Inferiority and guilt, respectively, plagued these characters, and how they tried to make up for these flaws shaped their characters and journeys. Moreover, their strengths were polar opposites. Korra was powerful in a physical sense. She easily mastered three out of the four elements in a relatively short amount of time and was a very confrontational and direct fighter. However, Aang was far more pacifistic in his approach to combat. Generally, he tried to reason with his opponents or go out of his way to ensure their safety. On the other hand, Aang excelled in making connections and in his spirituality. He understood himself far more than Korra, and it showed in their respective approaches to Airbending.
So with all this in mind, there is a risk of repetitiveness in introducing and centering yet another Avatar main character. We’ve already seen the burden of such responsibility from two first-person angles, so it may now be time to see it from a more detached perspective. Both Korra and Aang were great characters; however, it would be a disservice to their legacy for them to have established a sort of formula for the grander Avatar story.
It Would Offer a Fresh Perspective
As previously stated, we, as the audience, have already seen two drastically different Avatars. And we’ve seen how they view their responsibility. However, what we haven’t seen in great detail is someone who is a bit removed from the destiny of the Avatar, someone who doesn’t have a major portion of their life pre-determined. Additionally, such a fresh perspective would allow for a more traditional hero’s journey call to adventure where the main character doesn’t know that they’re supposed to accomplish something this epic until later in their life.
A fresher perspective would also permit further world-building. While we saw Korra have a job as a professional bender in season one, it was short-lived. A new main character who exists outside the business of the Avatar (or at least at first) would create an opportunity to add more to the Avatar world, such as new careers or new lifestyles. And while Korra and Aang obviously had different personalities, they both had a strong sense of responsibility. A character unburdened by this would be new and would certainly have room for creativity.
It Would Allow for a Less Predictable Plot
Being predictable is not necessarily a bad thing. Of course, in most narratives (especially those targeted toward children), good will always triumph over evil. It’s a tale as old as time, and it will be a tale that will be continued to be told for time immemorial. And it’s not a bad thing. However, shaking up the formula and removing the element of predictability is still something worth trying. With a main character who isn’t an Avatar, whether they can win the day is completely up in the air. While there have been Avatars who have failed, such as Roku, who was unable to stop Firelord Sozin’s increasingly fascist regime, fate is still on their side. As Avatars, their job is to bring balance to the world. There is almost an expectation or force that pushes them onwards towards success. Not to mention the advantage they get with the powers of the Avatar.
However, with an ordinary citizen, the odds are more or less against them. There’s no destiny for this person and no grand expectation from the universe for them to do good. It would simply be them pushing through wave after wave of seemingly unconquerable odds. And this can be a good thing; it can keep the audience guessing.
