A good action show needs a good villain, and while Fire Lord Ozai was the archvillain of Nickelodeon's Avatar: the Last Airbender, Avatar Korra faces a quartet of brand-new villains in The Legend of Korra. The first one is the fearsome Amon, leader of the radical Equalist group in Republic City.
He is everything Korra is not, a terrifying and mysterious man who wants to control the entire city and rob everyone of their bending. And he hides behind a mask the entire time. Fortunately, Korra learns his true identity as Noatak, son of Yakone, and puts a stop to his rampage for good. But what else is there to know about Avatar Korra's first major villain?
Update October 20th, 2020 by Louis Kemner: By now, with Avatar: the Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra back on Netflix and enjoying strong ratings, it is clear that this universe is still near and dear to the Western animation community. Of course, these thrilling shows are fueled not just by their heroes, but the villains, too, and that includes Amon, the revolutionary waterbender who seeks balance. Let's review a few more cool facts about him.
15 His Mask Design
This fearsome radical hides his face behind a mask, which is useful for intimidating others and protecting his identity. His true face wasn't seen until later, when his face paint was washed off.
His mask is modeled after Korean and Chinese traditional designs, and the red disk on its forehead matches that of the Egyptian god Amun, whose name is similar to "Amon."
14 Equalize It All
Amon had a twisted idea of what "equality" means, and he's got some symbolism and hidden meaning where that's concerned. The logo of the Equalist revolution is a real Chinese character, and it means "to equalize," making it totally authentic.
Some other real-world languages match Amon's design as well. In the Urdu and Indonesian languages, the word "peaceful" is aman, which in fact sounds the same as "Amon."
13 He's Like Guy Fawkes
There is a popular analog for Amon: the one and only Guy Fawkes. He's a highly popular icon for revolutionary ideas, both past and present, and he and Amon are both mask-wearing revolutionary figures.
Right now, the Guy Fawkes mask is associated with the Anonymous movement, made up of those who protest political injustice. They're also called "Anon," which indeed sounds similar to "Amon."
12 His Hairstyle
Is that Korra? No, it's a young Amon, who was born to the Northern Water Tribe. In a minor design oversight, a young Amon/Noatak ended up with the same hairstyle as Korra, but the creators decided to keep it that way. Why?
Noatak and Korra having the same hairstyle hints at their shared Water Tribe heritage, and though they started off in the same place (water benders who want to help others), they ended up going in very different directions. Noatak is like a dark Korra.
11 Amon The Demon
No, Amon is not actually a demon, nor is he a spirit or anything like that. He's a man, but his name is the same as a demon in Binsfeld's classification of demons. In this case, Amon is one of the seven demon princes of hell.
In particular, Amon the demon is symbolic of wrath, and this matches how Amon the Equalist stirs up the anger and resentment of Republic City's downtrodden non-benders to form a militia of sorts. He sure knows how to whip a crowd into a frenzy.
10 He Thinks Far Ahead
Amon contrasts with Avatar Korra in many important ways, and one of them is Amon's meticulous planning vs Korra's brash, improvisational style of fighting and thinking. While Korra reacts, Amon acts, and not without planning first.
He won't make a move until all the pieces are in place, and he repeatedly outmaneuvered everyone from Korra and Tarrlok to the Republic City police and even the United Nations fleet. The members of Team Avatar have even commented on this (in total frustration).
9 He's Charismatic
The Equalist revolution was powerful for more than one reason. Amon knew how to stir the anger of the non-bending citizens of Republic City, and he put on a good show of it, too, as Korra and Mako personally saw during an early episode.
Amon used strong words and skillful rhetoric both on the radio and in-person to rile up the crowds, and he won them over with ease. He used a fictional personal story to add a human touch to it, and he uses smoke machines, a huge backdrop, and even a demonstration of his power to really crank up the entertainment factor. No wonder his message spread so fast.
8 He Tapped Into Firebender Discrimination
Amon made up that story about a firebender criminal killing his family, but the sentiment that he's exploiting is quite real. He even applied face paint to make his face look scarred and burned, and he showed that face when Korra questioned him about it.
Even though the war with the Fire Nation has been over for around 70 years, firebending is largely feared and mistrusted, often irrationally. At its core, firebending is about passion and life, not anger and destruction. Katara really did lose family to a firebender, but Amon did not.
7 He Uses Fear
Amon wields many weapons against his enemies, such as Team Avatar, the metal-bender police, and the United Nations. Not only can he rally a huge crowd to the cause and use all kinds of new tech, but he uses fear as a weapon, too.
Used correctly, terror can absolutely destroy an enemy's capacity to resist, and Amon uses everything from his mask and unique powers to threats on the radio and ambushes to drive Korra into a corner. Korra even had nightmares about her encounter with Amon at the Aang statue. That, and he uses more conventional terrorist methods as well, such as attacking the city council members and threatening the pro-bending arena.
6 He Cruelly Uses Others
This is the lieutenant, a powerful and loyal member of the Equalist revolution. And how did Amon repay his loyalty? By bloodbending him and tossing him aside upon being outed as a waterbender.
And it's not just him. Amon and Hiroshi made sure that Cabbage Corps took the fall in Future Industries' place during an investigation. All kinds of people suffer unfairly after Amon has used them, since he sees them as tools and convenient cover rather than loyal subjects.
5 He's Zaheer's Precursor
Amon was the first major villain to face Korra, and in some ways, he hinted at what was to come. He shares some elements with the Airbender anarchist known as Zaheer, who was another major challenge for Korra. To begin with, they both had a major problem with the avatar, and wanted her gone.
Amon also set the tone for Zaheer's interest in overthrowing the status quo and shaking up the world and its leadership. Amon took down the all-bender council of Republic City, throwing it into chaos, while Zaheer wanted all kings and queens disposed of.
4 He's Unalaq's Precursor, Too
Amon set the stage for the very next villain: Unalaq, the chief of the Northern Water Tribe. How? Amon is a Water Tribe native, like Unalaq, and thus they both challenge the "good guy Waterbender" paradigm, just like Hama once did.
Waterbenders are usually heroes in this franchise since water is soothing and nurturing. But Amon uses it for evil ends, and that smoothly leads right into Unalaq doing the same thing. The main difference is that Unalaq never tried to hide his Water Tribe heritage.
3 He Keeps Appearing
Amon was the villain of the first season (Book One: Air), but despite his death in that season, he continued to appear in some shape or form throughout the story. In Book Two: Spirits, he appeared as a vision to Korra, and the same thing happened in Book Three: Change (when Korra was poisoned).
He "appeared" in Book Four: Balance as a humorous version of himself, talking on the phone with Vaatu, a cartoonishly evil Unalaq, and some other villains. It seems like this masked menace will never go away.
2 He's Kuvira's Precursor, Too
It seems like every villain after Amon owes his or her role as a bad guy to the masked Waterbender who came before them. Amon was a populist revolutionary like Zaheer, an evil Waterbender like Unalaq, and a disciplined soldier like Kuvira the empire builder. How?
Amon never wanted to kill anyone, or even a whole group of people. He would rob them of their bending, and capture them via bloodbending to subdue them. He was also skilled at evading enemy attacks and never used lethal force in return. All that could be said about Kuvira, and she used metal strips to capture her enemies rather than bloodbending.
1 Survival Of The Fittest
What's ironic about Amon is that he repeatedly calls out for equality and the end of all bender oppression, but based on his personal actions and experience, he has some contradicting views. He must have reconciled these two sides in his mind years ago.
As a teenager, Naotak/Amon scorned his non-bender father for being weak, suggesting that the strong (like Amon) have the right to toss them around. He also scorned his younger brother, Tarrlok, for not having the stomach to make the most of his bloodbending talents. Amon claims to bring equality to the streets, but deep down, he must enjoy dominating other people, and he wants the strong to rule over it all. He's quite the hypocrite, in some ways.