Avatar: The Last Airbender is experiencing a comeback. The hit Nick cartoon was an instant classic when it first debuted in the mid-00s, exploring martial arts and Eastern philosophy while following the deeds of the reluctant messiah Aang, the Avatar mentioned in the title.
Recently, Netflix put the show back online and it has consistently been trending as among the top ten series being streamed. Further, a new fan-based Avatar project, The Legend of Genji, is being developed. As people indulge in the show, it feels like a good time to explore some of the secondary characters. One such character is the optimistic gymnast villain Ty Lee. The following are her ten most badass moments.
10 The Circus
When audiences first meet Ty Lee, she is a flexible acrobat with the circus. A free-spirited flower child, this skilled gymnast is at peace as a performer, saying it helps bring out the pink in her aura.
As such, when Princess Azula of the Fire Nation calls on her old friend Ty Lee to help her hunt down the Avatar, the upbeat acrobat refuses. Azula decides to watch her friend perform. Of course, Azula is furious at being rebuffed, so insists the net under Ty Lee be set aflame and that the most dangerous animals be released. Ty Lee still performs admirably, but afterwards, she informs Azula that the universe has communicated they should travel together.
9 Taking Out Katara
Ty Lee and Azula partner with their old childhood friend, Mai, a disaffected young noblewoman skilled with throwing knives. When Mai's baby sibling goes missing, a group of Earth kingdom rebels find the child and offer to trade it back to the Fire Nation in a prisoner exchange.
Mai, Azula, and Ty Lee interrupt this exchange of prisoners to attack Avatar Aang and his friends. In the fighting, Ty Lee jabs her fingers into Katara's body at pressure points, blocking the flow of Katara's chi and keeping her from being able to waterbend. This single attack would forever change the power dynamics and nature of fights on the show as benders no longer had an advantage.
8 Paralyzing Sokka
The next time Ty Lee and her friends find the Avatar, Aang decides to split off from Katara and Sokka. Ty Lee and Mae pursue the two members of the Southern Water Tribe, catching them at a river.
In the ensuing fight, Ty Lee bounces off the upper heights of tree trunks, then descends to attack Katara. However, as the dynamics of the fight change and she finds herself facing off against Sokka, she temporarily paralyzes him with a few quick blows to pressure points.
7 The Drill
Toward the middle of the second season, the Fire Nation attack Ba Sing Se with a massive fortified drill, attempting to bore through its outermost wall. The Earth Kingdom's imperial city responded with its elite unit of Earthbenders, the Terra Force.
Ty Lee is not the sort to let some haughty soldiers ground her. She is too much of a free spirit. She and Mai destroy the elite unit together as Ty Lee blocks their chi, preventing them from Earthbending.
6 Defeating Kyoshi Warriors
The Kyoshi Warriors are a group of samurai women who model their techniques after the legendary warrior and former Avatar Kyoshi, who fought with metal war fans.
The Kyoshi Warriors may not be benders, but they do not need it, relying on a mixture of martial arts forms to defeat their foes. While they are skilled enough to take on Firebenders and the iron war machines of the Fire Nation, Ty Lee and her friends tear them to pieces in a matter of minutes.
5 Ba Sing Se
The second time Ty Lee comes to Ba Sing Se, she does not attack it with the armies of the Fire Nation. Instead, she infiltrates the city dressed in the garb of a Kyoshi Warrior, accompanied by Azula and Mai.
The three work to overthrow the Earth Kingdom from within its strongest fortress, taking on the generals of the city and even trying to capture the Earth King himself. With the help of the Dai Lee secret police, they stage a coup for power. It was three women against the entire city of Ba Sing Se and they won.
4 Party Foul
One of the most lighthearted episodes of the series is "The Beach." Even its title suggests a sunny seaside break from the horrors of war. Indeed, this episode feels more like a teen comedy film than part of the larger war epic that comprises the rest of the final season.
"The Beach" follows Prince Zuko, his now-girlfriend Mai, his sister Azula, and the ever-popular Ty Lee as they vacation on Ember Island, where they play volleyball and go to a party with other Fire Nation teenagers. At the party, Ty Lee is cornered by a group of boys who all want her attention. When asked to choose just one, she panics and knocks them all out in a flurry of blows.
3 Gondola
Sokka can be underestimated as the only non-Bender in the Avatar group, but time and again, he more than proves his worth. One of his most daring feats occurs when he infiltrates a Fire Nation prison disguised as one of the guards, then stages a breakout to help his father, Zuko, and his girlfriend Suki escape.
As the escapees ride a gondola off the prison island, Ty Lee pursues them by running atop the steel cables. She then fights Sokka and his band on top of the gondola roof, suspended high above the crashing waves below.
2 Taking Out Azula
Sokka and Zuko manage to escape from Ty Lee and Azula when they are aided by Zuko's ex-girlfriend, Mai. For this act of treachery, Azula prepares to kill Mai.
Without hesitation, Ty Lee strikes Azula in multiple pressure points, blocking her chi and making the princess of the Fire Nation incapable of bending. As one of the most powerful Firebenders in the series, Azula is no joke, yet Ty Lee incapacitates her with ease.
1 Kyoshi Warrior
Ty Lee is locked up for betraying Azula. While in prison, she bonds with the captured Kyoshi Warriors. She even teaches them how to chi block.
None of this is seen on screen, but fans learn about it afterward when Ty Lee is accepted into the ranks of the Kyoshi Warriors as one of their own. This completes Ty Lee's journey, who has found redemption for her past crimes and is at last able to balance her natural combat abilities with her positive friendly personality by sharing in the joy of sisterhood with her fellow warriors-at-arms.