It was obvious that Sokka would become one of the major characters of Avatar: The Last Airbender in the first episode itself — given that he's the first character whose voice is heard on screen (excluding Katara's narration of the opening scene). At first a bit standoffish, he quickly adapts to his new position in the changing history of the world, and nobody can deny that the Hundred Year War wouldn't have been won without him.
Sokka takes on a large fraction of Team Avatar's tasks, of his own volition, even though he often bites off more than he can chew. Nevertheless, he grows from a churlish teenager into a respectable political leader in the span of a few decades, but unfortunately, he dies before the sequel timeline. Was he all that he was made out to be, though?
10 Did He Really Believe That He Was The Leader Of His Tribe?
Sokka's left behind at the Southern Water Tribe village by his father, who promises that he would return, even telling him that he would have to lead the clan from that point on. Obviously, this is just a kind way of distracting the child, by having him assume some sort of role that would make him feel wanted and important.
However, Sokka seems to take this quite seriously, as seen when he tries to train the other "men" (toddlers, basically) to prepare for the upcoming skirmishes with the Fire Nation. Hilarious as it is, there is no real logic to this.
9 His Engineering Genius
For his age, Sokka is really quite gifted at engineering things, from hot air balloons to war submarines, but how does he pull them off with his level of artistic imagination? For instance, his technical drawing of the submarine looks like an infant had scrawled over a piece of paper with a crayon.
It's not possible to make technological developments if one doesn't understand the dimensional qualities of each segment of the device in question. In other words, it is essential that a complex diagrammatic representation is created before anything mechanical can be built.
8 Rejection Of Spiritual Aspects
Sokka accepts that bending exists, considering that his sister is a Waterbender. Likewise, he shows little surprise when the Avatar is discovered, implying that he doesn't deny the possibility of such a character.
However, he blatantly mocks the possibility of spirits, ghosts, and specters, referring to their scientific impossibility. First of all, every field of science contradicts the bizarrely magical world they live in, which is, in fact, governed almost entirely by spirituality. Sokka doesn't really get it, though, at least for a while.
7 He Still Pines After Yue
After his first (and very short-term) girlfriend, Princess Yue, accepts her destiny as the new moon spirit, Sokka is understandably upset. Who wouldn't be? Then he meets Suki, with whom he quickly develops a close friendship, which later grows into some serious affection.
However, when she inadvertently complains about the moon, Sokka instantly chides her for her statements, claiming that the moon "rules the sky with compassion and lunar goodness." While watching the play about Team Avatar on Ember Island, Sokka scolds Suki for interrupting the show when the story of Yue was going on. Just get over it already.
6 Many Partners, No Children?
After Yue and Suki, Sokka has a temporary "fling" with an Earth Kingdom girl named Kaya, raising his total girlfriend count to three, the highest of any among Team Avatar. And yet, in The Legend of Korra, there is no mention of any kids he may have had over the several decades following the Hundred Year War's conclusion and the creation of the United Republic of Nations.
A few fans suspect that he might have been the father of Suyin Beifong, the younger daughter of Toph, mostly due to the latter's romantic interest in Sokka, but it's a bit odd that he didn't have a single child.
5 How Did He Learn To Be So Organized?
Sokka is not as scatterbrained as Aang, but he certainly isn't as well-coordinated as Katara. Nevertheless, it is he who makes most of the decisions for the group, as well as help the Southern Water Tribe draft a plan for the invasion of the Fire Nation during the Solar Eclipse.
What's even more unbelievable is that his charts and timetables are cataloged with extreme efficiency, taking into account the time required for traveling, sleeping, eating, and going to the bathroom, with everything color-coded and impeccably systematized. Who taught him all of this?
4 The Speed Of His Swordsmanship Training
At one point, Sokka grows so tired of what he perceives to be his major failing point, his lack of bending ability, so to speak, that the others convince him to try cultivating a skill of his own. He chooses the way of the sword and goes to train under one of the finest swordsmen in the world, Master Piandao.
After a few initial stumbles, Sokka rapidly picks up the pace and within a few days, his teacher informs him that there is nothing left for him to learn. That's it? Sure, he obviously has other weaponry-based talents, such as his boomerang, but it would realistically take months or years to reach this point.
3 His Misogyny
As someone who grew up in the Southern Water Tribe during the peak of the Hundred Year War, Sokka has been surrounded by women for most of his life. His sister, Katara, is a clear influence on his way of thinking, and he himself admits as much to Toph on one occasion.
Further, the fact that he had been raised singlehandedly by Gran-Gran should have opened his eyes to the amount of physical and emotional labor that women go through in society, rather than lead him to wrongly assume that girls aren't strong enough to "go to war."
2 He Can Deliver Perfect Haikus
Sokka accidentally spies on a haiku session taking place at a meeting of the Five-Seven-Five Society in Ba Sing Se, where he unwittingly apologizes in flawless meter. Here, he embarks on a haiku rap battle with Madame Macmu-Ling, the poetry instructor, and shockingly wins after three rather astonishing attempts.
It's not clear if Sokka's aware of what he's supposed to do, because he makes a horrible error at the end (by including an extra syllable). Perhaps his haikus are born of pure luck, which unfortunately have a time limit set for them.
1 How Did He Calculate The Perfect Boomerang Angle?
One of the most impressive accomplishments in the Avatar universe is no doubt the defeat of Combustion Man, a feat that Sokka performs with stunning accuracy.
Before tossing his boomerang, however, he carefully measures out the possible angle to get a direct hit at his opponent, which bears fruit a few seconds later when Combustion Man blasts himself to smithereens. Did he calculate wind speed, though? Also, how did he manage to hit the villain's third eye so perfectly? Very strange.