Mako is hardly the goofy type (his little brother more than makes up for the humor quotient of The Legend of Korra) — instead, the ever serious Firebender from Republic City takes on the exhausting burden of defending, rescuing, and caring for those around him, sometimes to the point of causing direct harm to himself.
Still, it's this protective Mako that makes all the difference to the narrative, as he has shown why he's an ideal comrade to the Avatar. He's quick-thinking as well as quick on his feet, and more often than not, he comes up with undeniably brilliant plans of action for Korra and the others. Of course, he does need help from Bolin once in a while.
10 Distracts Amon For A Few Seconds
Amon Bloodbends Korra's bending away and is about to do the same thing to Mako, having frozen him in place first. Unfortunately for him, the young Firebender's willpower is stronger than he had estimated, which he only realizes when a gigantic bolt of lightning strikes him straight in the face.
Although Amon recovers within a few seconds, this act is more than enough in this case, because it gives Mako and Korra to escape to a different location, where the Avatar finally unlocks her Airbending.
9 His Map-Reading Skills Allowed Him To Quickly Pinpoint Important Locations
Mako seems to have a decent knowledge of cartography, presumably derived from all those years spent dodging criminals in the complicated streets and alleys of Republic City.
When Korra picks up an Equalist-made map, Mako immediately pinpoints the locality in which Amon's rally is to take place. Later, after the Equalists begin their attack using planes, he figures out the location of their airbase. To be fair, he is helped by General Iroh in this regard.
8 Tells President Raiko Of Korra's Plan
The act of revealing a private piece of information, told to him in confidence (by his girlfriend, that too) to the government sounds like a betrayal. On an emotional level, perhaps it is.
But if he didn't do so, then Korra would have taken Iroh's naval fleet and launched a direct attack against the Northern Water Tribe who had been occupying her homeland against the will of her people. This would have inevitably led to all-out war, dragging the other nations into the fray, and destroying the peace established by Avatar Aang.
7 Effortlessly Defeats The Tigerdillos
The Fire Ferrets, composed of Mako, Korra, and Hasook, are underdogs in the Pro-bending Tournament, but they somehow reach the prelim semifinal stage, impressing audiences and judges alike.
Here, however, the Golden Temple Tigerdillos prove to be quite a hassle, as two of the Ferrets get disqualified by being tossed out of the arena, leaving Mako to take them on alone. Impressively, his performance is spectacular, and he wins the whole thing all by himself.
6 Builds Up Prince Wu's Confidence
At first, Mako despises Prince Wu's total inability to stand up for himself, but when the royal continues to exclaim "Wu down!" anytime anything goes wrong, his bodyguard steps up and helps him "toughen up."
During this process, he ensures that Wu has at least a basic understanding of offense and defense techniques, which make the prince more confident in himself. This is reflected much later when Wu takes charge of leading the citizens of Republic City to safety before Kuvira's arrival.
5 Actually Takes Down Ming-Hua
Mako is defeated by Ming-Hua so many times that it becomes obvious she is considerably more talented and innovative than he is. In their culminating battle, though, this is turned upside down — both of them fall into a cavern pool, which she uses to make herself even more powerful than before.
Mako's wits, the only thing he has left, really, save the day, because he nimbly jumps onto an outcropping and electrifies the water below him, and he takes Ming-Hua down once and for all.
4 Solves The Varrick Case
To be clear, Bolin is the one who brings this series of events to a conclusion, but he would never have been able to do this had Mako not already told him about his suspicions about Varrick.
In fact, when he, in his position as a detective in the Republic City police force, suggests that the billionaire from the Southern Water Tribe could be behind the random attacks, he finds himself framed by Varrick (and is forced to spend time in prison for his "crimes").
3 Saves His Brother (More Than Once)
In addition to the numerous scrapes that Mako has doubtless gotten Bolin out of, two instances stand out in which the older sibling can be credited with saving his baby brother from being killed (or worse). One is during the Equalist rally, which he and Korra gatecrash before slyly vanishing with Bolin.
Another time occurs in the graphic novel series, when Bolin, Lin Beifong, and Mako are in a warehouse rigged with innumerable incendiary devices. Mako's Firebending barely manages to keep them all breathing.
2 Destroys The Colossus Core
Mako insists that Bolin leave the gigantic platinum mech before he disables the core because his intention is to destroy it entirely with Lightningbending. He performs this heroic feat regardless of the fact that one of his arms receives injuries in the process.
However, after his success, he is knocked out when the spirit vines reverberate their pent-up power, which strikes him in the stomach. Bolin reappears to rescue him, so it all works out.
1 Gave Away His Precious Scarf
Mako's red scarf is the only remaining fragment linking him to his parents, it having belonged to his late father. He loves it so much that he refuses to take it off for any reason, as Asami finds out when she tries to have him improve his outfit.
Nevertheless, while visiting his father's family in Ba Sing Se, he learns that his grandmother had no idea her son was dead. As this piece of information leaves her distraught, Mako magnanimously decides to give the scarf to her — in one of the most emotional scenes in the Avatar franchise.