As one of the most iconic animated series to have ever come out of western animation and, arguably, animation as a whole, Avatar: The Last Airbender has continued, even years after its release, to inspire fans and grow in popularity.
Part of what makes Avatar such an iconic series is the fantastic and well thought out world-building that has inspired generations of fans to explore and theorize about the world of Avatar. While some of these theories seem to have no place in the Avatar lore, there are many that are just crazy enough to make perfect sense.
10 Iroh’s Tea Represents The Harmony The Elements Need To Achieve
Throughout the entire Avatar: The Last Airbender series, Iroh is displayed as one of the only firebenders in modern times that truly understands and advocates for balance among the four nations and elements. In the early seasons of the series, he can be seen constantly trying to nudge his young nephew, Zuko, towards an understanding and appreciation of that balance.
Some fans have even theorized that Iroh’s favorite drink, tea, is a lesson in and of itself. In the preparation of tea, viewers, along with Iroh, can see that the harmony of fire (which heats the water), water (which acts as a base for the drink), earth (or clay, which is utilized to hold the beverage) and air (which must cool the tea before drinking) must exist in order to prepare the perfect cup of tea. Or as Iroh might say, it is not simply hot leaf juice.
9 Gyatso Used A Forbidden Airbending Technique To Kill FireBenders
Even before his time spent in a cryogenically frozen state, Aang was one of the most powerful airbenders among the air nomads. By age 12 he had become the youngest airbending master in Air Nomad history. This fact, is in part, due to the airbending masters that taught him along the way. Perhaps the greatest of his teachers being Monk Gyatso. Though Monk Gyatso would die during the Air Nomad genocide, he wouldn’t go down without a fight.
However, what’s peculiar about his death is not that it happened, but the circumstances under which it happened. During the scene where Aang discovers his body, viewers can see numerous Fire Nation soldier skeletons lying around him and no scorch marks on Gyatso whatsoever. It is theorized that Gyatso, much like Zaheer would later, remover the air from the lungs of the Fire Nation soldiers, or perhaps even from a set radius, killing himself in the process.
8 Hama Is The Reason Katara's Mom Died
Viewers likely remember Hama as one of the most cold-blooded waterbenders introduced in Avatar: The Last Airbender. While she directly hurt many people, it’s likely that her actions also indirectly hurt many others, most notably Katara. Before her capture and subsequent escape using bloodbending, the Fire Nation simply capture and imprisoned waterbenders. However, after her escape, the Fire Nation began killing waterbenders en masse.
It’s likely that this new form of waterbending scared the fire nation so much that they no longer took chance when it came to waterbenders. It’s important to note that Hama herself, much like Katara, came from the southern water tribe. This simple fact makes it very likely that the Fire Nation soldiers that raided the southern water tribe after Katara’s birth were actually looking for Hama when they killed Katara’s mother.
7 Zaheer Knew Aang & Was An Air Acolyte
Though Korra faces many incredible and powerful villains throughout her tenure as the Avatar, Zaheer is likely the antagonist that fans remember most fondly. While Zaheer was originally born a non-bender, after Korra opens the spirit portals and begins to restore the Air Nomads, Zaheer is one of many individuals given the gift of airbending.
What’s mot peculiar about Zaheer is not how he got his airbending abilities, but just how much knowledge and skill he has with both airbending and Air Nomad culture. It is theorized that Zaheer, like many others during Avatar Aang’s life, became an Air Acolyte and studied the culture and history of the Air Nomads in order to preserve their culture. This possibility also opens up the potential for Zaheer to has studied directly under Aang while he was still alive.
6 Sokka Is Suyin’s Father
This is a pretty popular theory among the Avatar fandom. The theory goes that at some point before his death, Sokka and Toph became romantically entangled. While Suyin’s father is never directly named, fans have taken to accepting that Sokka is, in fact, her father.
The evidence supporting this theory can be seen in Suyin and her family lines’ darker complexion as opposed to Lin and Toph Beifong. In addition to their complexion, many of Suyin’s children often look like earth kingdom replicas of Sokka-- similar hairstyles, facial features and even expressions. It’s hard to argue with genetics.
5 Azula Makes An Appearance In Legend Of Korra
While this theory is more of a longshot than some of the others mentioned, it still merits some exploration. During the episodes "Beginnings 1 & 2", fans watch as Korra washes ashore near a fire temple and is brought in and cared for by an elderly woman who some fans think they have seen before.
Her hair is worn up, she has the same locks of hair hanging from the sides as well as similar facial features and eyebrows-- it may be unlikely, but it’s possible this woman is none other than Azula herself.
4 The Avatar’s Animal Guide Reincarnates Alongside Them
While it’s never specifically stated when Appa died or how old he was when Aang met him, fans do know that Avatar Roku and his dragon, Fang, died at the exact same time. So it’s possible, maybe even likely, that Appa and Aang were born at around the same time, or more accurately, reincarnated at the same time.
RELATED: How Did Aang Die? & The Fate Of Every Other Member Of Team Avatar
Fans know that the avatar reincarnates due to Rava, the light spirit, but as Guru Pathik notes, the destiny of the avatar and their animal guide is intertwined, possibly opening the door to the idea that the avatars animal guide reincarnates right alongside them in order to continue their journey together.
3 Sozin Started Killing The Dragons To Hide The True Nature Of Fire Bending
Fire Lord Sozin really changed the course of the fire nation and established many new norms for both the Fire Nation and the world at large. While the war had, perhaps, the largest effect on the world of Avatar, there is another act that changed the Fire Nation in more ways than one. The act of killing dragons became popular under Sozin’s rule as a way to display great firebending skills while earning the title of ‘Dragon’.
However, it’s possible that the real reason Sozin instituted the hunting of dragons was to hide the true nature of firebending. He needed his citizens to be fueled by anger, hatred and destruction because it’s much harder to start and fuel a war with citizens that understand that fire is life, light and heat.
2 The Red Lotus Killed Sokka
There isn’t much known about the fate of Sokka after the original series. Fans are shown, through flashbacks, that Sokka becomes a member of the council for Republic City. It’s also likely that Sokka became a member of the White Lotus after being recruited by his master, Piandao. But what isn’t known is how he actually died.
Well, this theory states that Sokka was responsible for protecting Korra while she was still young, and as fans know, the Red Lotus tried to capture Korra very early in her life. So did Sokka die defending a young Korra from the Red Lotus? Fans may never know for sure, but sacrificing himself for such a worthy cause, in order to protect an old friend, sounds exactly like something Sokka would do.
1 The Job Of The Next Avatar Is To Fix The Errors Of The Last
There is a general theme that sweeps the Avatar lore, specifically with regards to the Avatar and the jobs they perform throughout their lifetimes. Over and over again throughout the lore of Avatar, it seems that each Avatar’s greatest mission is to correct the greatest failure of the previous Avatar. Aang is tasked with stopping the Fire Nation after Roku fails to do so during his life. Korra restores the Air Nomads after Aang failed to protect them while he was alive.
Kuruk has his life and spirit destroys bringing balance to the spirit world after Yangchen neglects the spirits in favor of the physical world. Yangchen herself is left to fix the problems of the physical world after Avatar Szeto focuses almost entirely on healing a broken Fire Nation. Their failings in their past lives becoming their most pressing tasks when they are reborn.