History AvatarTheLastAirbender / TropesAToH

*** Given the mish-mash of Asian cultural and story elements [[spoiler:Energybending]] is actually somewhat expected, given the mythological frequency with which evil is dealt with by [[spoiler: [[SealedEvilInACan]] sealing it away]]

** In Season 2 the Gaang starts getting chased by Zuko's much more competent sister, Azula, and her two friends who can throw knives and block bending. Then they make enemies with the government (Dai Li) of Ba-Sing-Se and the Fire Nation captures the city by the end of the season.
** Speaking of season 2's finale; [[spoiler:when Aang gave up his love for Katara in order to save her by activating the avatar state, his most powerful trump card. And is shot down almost immediately by Azula, nearly rendering him [[DeaderThanDead worse than dead]].]]

** Or how they introduce the Series Finale? [[spoiler: Zuko revealling that the plan by his father upon the advent of the comet is to burn the entire Earth Kingdom to the ground, destroying all life in an attempt to claim the land as permanent Fire Nation Territory.]] Making the whole "Stop the Fire Lord" thing a whole lot more [[DeadSerious serious]].

** The Mechanist from "The Northern Air Temple" [[spoiler:and "Day of Black Sun"]] is a classic lift right out of the {{Steampunk}} genre, a highly eccentric genius with steam and mechanisms [[spoiler:who reluctantly lends his talents to making weapons for the Fire Nation when they threaten his home and people.]]
** Sokka also shows some signs of inventive talent while at the temple [[spoiler:and the submarines from "Day of Black Sun" were also his idea]], and his father invented the "stink and sink" mine.

** Hei Bei is a localized example. After the Fire Nation burned down an entire (assumably ancient) forest, the guardian spirit flies into a rage and terrorizes the (innocent) population of the countryside [[spoiler: until the Aang shows it the acorns that will regrow the forest in time.]]

* GoodAngelBadAngel: Zuko's uncle and sister in the Season 2 finale; in the episode before, Zuko goes into an AngstComa and dreams about a Red dragon that speaks with Iroh's voice and a blue dragon with Azula's. This is a neat foreshadowing of [[spoiler:Avatar Roku and Fire Lord Sozin being his implied historical and psychological GoodAngelBadAngel]] in ''The Avatar and the Fire Lord''. [[spoiler:Roku (Ursa's grandfather) owned a red dragon and Sozin (Ozai's grandfather) owned a blue-green one.]]

* HappyEnding: Basically the [[spoiler:entire finale.]]
* HardWorkHardlyWorks: Subverted. It looks as though Aang learns waterbending faster than Katara (which would at least be justified by being the avatar), but when Katara and Aang get an actual instructor instead of relying on self-teaching and the scroll, Katara masters it even faster than Aang, who spends a lot of time slacking off. Furthermore, Aang has trouble with earthbending since that [[ElementalRockPaperScissors is the counter to air]].

* HeartSymbol: In "The Boiling Rock". Sokka exhibits it when he realizes [[spoiler:Suki]] is a prisoner there, so his mission [[spoiler:with Zuko]] is not in vain, ''and'' [[spoiler:he gets his LoveInterest back.]]
* HeelFaceTurn: If you watch the first season you will not be too surprised by [[spoiler:Zuko turning]]. But it is played with and at least initially subverted in several instances, the second season finale being the most infamous.

* HopeSpot: Happens in the second season finale when Aang enters the Avatar State intentionally for the very first time and looks ready to wipe the floor with everybody... [[spoiler:only to be electrocuted by Azula.]]

* HumanoidAbomination: The Avatar State borders on this, especially during the [[spoiler:fight with Ozai]] in the finale. Since the state is basically allowing all previous avatars to act through you instead of yourself, it's much more brutal and ruthless than Aang is normally.

* HumiliationConga: [[spoiler:Ozai]], quite a bit near the end.

** The Earth King - he didn't realize his country was at war for an entire century.

* ChaseScene: "The Waterbending Scroll".

** Zuko wins the duel with Zhao in the second episode by spinning on the ground while launching fire from his feet, knocking Zhao off balance. [[spoiler: He ends his duel with Azula in the finale with the same move, though with much more power, thanks to Sozin's Comet.]]

* {{Cincinnatus}}: [[spoiler:Iroh turns down the offer of Fire Lord if his brother was defeated, since he knew Zuko would have to do it.]]

* CliffHanger: [[spoiler:Zuko confronts his father]] and demands to know [[spoiler:where his mother]] is, but the answer is never displayed on screen for the viewer...[[SequelHook hmm]]...

* CloneByConversion: It's revealed that [[spoiler: there's an entire ''production line'' of women being brainwashed into "Joo Dee"s as guides.]]

** Also, Azula's blue fire, which indicates her cold, cruel detachment (It also shows her as a firebending prodigy since blue fire burns hotter) vs. Zuko's red (to indicate his heated emotional nature). Interestingly, the color combination [[spoiler:was reversed for Aang and Ozai when they were energybending in the Finale.]]

** There's also [[spoiler: the Order of the White Lotus]], who wear white clothing, signifying their willingness to mix philosophies and not be divided by nationality, since white is a mixture of all colors.

* CometOfDoom: Sozin's Comet (even if it's not REALLY a comet), although the prediction of doom is hardly mystical; its arrival increases the Firebenders' power by a hundredfold. Fire Lord Sozin, for whom the comet was named, used it to launch a [[ThePurge first strike]] against the Air Nomads, which completely eradicated them. His grandson, Fire Lord Ozai, attempted something similar in the finale.

** Season 2 - Another villain duo: Princess Azula for the entire season, [[spoiler:Long Feng]] for a StoryArc starting late in the season and extending towards the end.
*** [[spoiler:Long Feng]] is more of a BigBadWannabe. [[spoiler:At the very least, Azula overshadows him without even trying.]]

* BiggerBad: Fire Lord Ozai in the first two seasons, before taking a much more direct role in the third. Fire Lord Sozin however is this because he started the war and has been dead for most of the war's 100 years.

* BigDamnHeroes: This is Appa's main role, seriously.

** Jet, the WellIntentionedExtremist who bore a hatred toward the Fire Nation due to his village being attacked as child, served as this toward Sokka. While they both harbored prejudice, Jet's was so extreme that he [[JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope jumped off the slippery slope]].

* AweseomeMccoolname: "Katara" is very similar to "Katar" which is a ritualistic dagger from India. For the sake of MoreDakka, miniature guns would sometimes be added to both sides of the blade.

* BadassGrandpa[=/=]CoolOldGuy:

** BiggerBad: Fire Lord Ozai in the first two seasons, before taking a much more direct role in the third. Fire Lord Sozin however is this because he started the war and has been dead for most of the war's 100 years.

* CastCalculus: depends on the season.
** Season 1: PowerTrio.
*** TheKirk: Aang.
*** TheSpock: Sokka.
*** TheMcCoy: Katara.
** Season 2: FourTemperamentEnsemble:
*** Sanguine: Aang.
*** Choleric: Toph.
*** Melancholic/leuquine: Sokka.
*** Phlegmatic: Katara.
** Season 3 (Team Azula): FourTemperamentEnsemble:
*** Sanguine: Ty Lee.
*** Choleric: Azula.
*** Melancholic: Zuko.
*** Leuquine: Mai.
** Season 3 (The Gaang): FiveManBand:
*** TheHero: Aang.
*** TheLancer: [[spoiler:Zuko]]
*** TheSmartGuy: Sokka, also TheLeader in most situations
*** TheBigGuy: Toph, via {{Tomboy}}ism and pure {{badass}}, despite being the [[NonIndicativeName shortest and youngest of the cast]]. (Parodied in "The Ember Island Players").
*** TheChick: Katara. By mid point of the show she effectively becomes TheLancer herself.
*** [[spoiler:SixthRanger: Zuko.]]
*** [[spoiler:GuestStarPartyMember: Suki.]]
*** TeamPet: Momo
*** SignatureTeamTransport: Appa, doubles as a second TeamPet

* DependingOnTheArtist: The creators point out in a DVDCommentary that different animators disagreed on, in particular, how muscular Aang and Sokka are (whether they're simply skinny and undeveloped, or wiry with significant muscle definition). This varied randomly and couldn't be explained as them getter fitter as the series progressed.

** To a lesser extent, Zuko's sabres. Zuko uses them to ''deflect stones'' without them suffering so much as a dentt

* HisOwnWorstEnemy: When Aang truly mastered his full power by beating [[spoiler: Fire Lord Ozai was very easy]]. However, most of the issues he faces are him accepting his role as the Avatar and stopping/running away for his duties. He becomes much stronger atfer he accepts his responsibilities. In fact, his greatest failure isn't not stopping the war, but running away from it.

** It also grants Aang the power to [[spoiler:MindRape Ozai, [[SoulessShell rip out his soul]], and [[FateWorseThanDeath take away his bending.]] ]]

*** Handwaved: According to the creators, Aang can use airbending to insulate himself from convection.

* TheBechdelTest: Smashes it. This show features a lot of female characters, both heroic and villainous and they're all very defined characters independently of how they do relate with men.

* EverythingsWorseWithBees: ''Vulture'' bees! Encounters with them do not go well.

* HeWhoFightsMonsters: The series provides two examples of this in Jet and Hama, two individuals whose hatred of the Fire Nation blinded them to the point where they could no longer distinguish between friend and foe. Hama was even worse than Jet, because he at least tried to justify it as [[WellIntentionedExtremist doing the right thing]] by making sacrifices, and he did redeem himself [[RedemptionEqualsDeath in the end]]. Meanwhile, Hama was treated so badly that she targeted anyone within reach, mostly civilians. Both of them served as a warning to Sokka and Katara, respectively, about what they could become if they continued to hold on to their own prejudice and anger.

* FirstGirlWins: Three times over.

* BigBadassBirdOfPrey: The Fire Nation uses hawks as messengers.
** Even more badass is Combustion Man's bird.

* AlphaBitch: Azula in [[strike:almost]] every scene.

* AweseomeMccoolName: "Katara" is very similar to "Katar" which is a ritualistic dagger from India. For the sake of MoreDakka, miniature guns would sometimes be added to both sides of the blade.

* AweseomeMcCoolName: "Katara" is very similar to "Katar" which is a ritualistic dagger from India. For the sake of MoreDakka, miniature guns would sometimes be added to both sides of the blade.

* AeseomeMcCoolName: "Katara" is very similar to "Katar" which is a ritualistic dagger from India. For the sake of MoreDakka, miniature guns would sometimes be added to both sides of the blade.

* FragileSpeedster: Airbending: Its attacks and defensive abilities aren't particularly strong, but it puts more of an emphasis on mobility and speed.