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1'''Moment Subpages are Administrivia/SpoilersOff. Administrivia/YouHaveBeenWarned.'''
2
3Awesome moments in ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender''.
4----
5[[quoteright:350:[[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderSozinsCometPart4AvatarAang https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/aangavatarstate.png]]]]
6[[caption-width-right:350:The [[SuperMode Avatar State]], a.k.a. the "Awesome Moment State".]]
7[[index]]
8* [[Awesome/AvatarTheLastAirbenderComics Comic Books]]
9* Awesome/TheLegendOfKorra
10* Awesome/TheRiseOfKyoshi
11* Awesome/TheShadowOfKyoshi
12* Awesome/TheDawnOfYangchen
13
14[[/index]]
15[[foldercontrol]]
16[[folder:Aang]]
17!!Aang
18* [[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderTheAvatarReturns "The Avatar Returns"]]:
19** Aang's simultaneously hilarious and badass BigDamnHeroes moment where he saves Sokka from being burned by Zuko, humiliating Zuko in the process.
20** Even without tapping into his Avatar powers, he comes ''very'' close to escaping from Zuko's ship on his own. He runs circles around Fire Nation soldiers, breaks his bindings, retrieves his staff, and even knocks Zuko himself around in single combat. This is probably the first moment in the series that really highlights how this carefree child is also an ''Airbending Master''.
21** His EstablishingCharacterMoment as the Avatar: When Zuko knocks him into the water, he goes into the Avatar State and makes a massive waterspout, causing Zuko's, Katara's, and Sokka's mouths to drop open. Then he lands, eyes and arrows still glowing, twists the water into a ring around him, and then pushes out, [[CurbStompBattle taking out everyone]]. Two episodes in, and Aang has already given the Fire Nation ''very good'' reason to fear him.
22** As Aang and the Water Tribe Siblings escape on Appa, Zuko and Iroh try to blast them out of the sky with a combined fire blast. Aang airbends the blast away, taking out a large piece of a nearby glacier that the ship runs aground on/becomes partly buried in.
23--->'''Iroh:''' Good news for the Fire Lord. The Fire Nation's greatest threat is just a little kid.\
24'''Zuko:''' That "kid", Uncle, just did this.
25* [[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderTheWarriorsOfKyoshi "The Warriors of Kyoshi"]]: When Aang figures out he's the reason their peaceful little island is being burned to the ground, he decides to leave so that Zuko will follow him and leave Kyoshi Island alone ... but not before jumping off of Appa in midair and into the water to ride the Unagi that he ran from in the beginning of the episode, just to put out the fires and douse Zuko and his cavalry. It ends with Aang noting how stupid the act was to Katara and her agreeing, but also with [[SugarWiki/HeartwarmingMoments her giving Aang a big hug, obviously glad that he survived the ordeal]]. Good stuff.
26* [[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderTheWinterSolsticePart2 "Winter Solstice Part 2 - Avatar Roku"]]:
27** When the Gaang have to run a Fire Nation NavalBlockade to get to Avatar Roku's shrine, the Fire Nation keep lobbing fireballs up at Appa. Aang jumps off of Appa's head, and spin-kicks the fireball into pieces in SlowMotion mid-air. It's the first time we see anyone do any seriously impressive fighting, and it's just a harbinger of things to come.
28** Aang channeling Roku's spirit where he turns several incoming fireballs into a swirling fire shield, then gathers it all into a massive fire wave that knocks back Zhao and his mooks, and melts the chains binding Katara, Sokka, Zuko and Fire Sage Shyu, ''without burning a single one of them.'' It's just such an impressive display of control for such a deadly element that the Water Tribe siblings can only watch in awe as Roku-via-Aang destroys the entire temple with one hand.
29** There’s also [[OhCrap everyone’s reaction to seeing Roku in place of Aang]]. Zhao is shocked upon seeing the previous Avatar standing before him, while the Sages are so terrified that they immediately run away when he merely [[DeathGlare looks]] over at them. They definitely knew they'd messed up the minute they started opposing the Avatar and now, they're about to face his wrath.
30* [[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderTheGreatDivide "The Great Divide"]]: Regardless of the general consensus of the episode, Aang taking on several canyon crawlers at once, formulating a plan to incapacitate and temporarily tame them, ''and'' coming up with a convincing lie to get the Gan Jin and Zhang tribes to stop feuding ''while hungry'' is pretty impressive.
31* [[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderTheBlueSpirit "The Blue Spirit"]]:
32** While imprisoned by Zhao, Aang acts pretty defiant towards Zhao. First by demanding that his hands be unshackled so he can fight Zhao. Then, after Zhao sadistically gloats about Aang’s future as a permanent prisoner of the Fire Nation, Aang knocks Zhao down with a blast of air.
33** The entirety of his escape attempt with the Blue Spirit where he uses his [[BlowYouAway Airbending]] and practically [[CurbStompBattle blows away all of the prison guards that stood in their way]]. Granted that he ''is'' the Avatar, which allowed him to master Airbending at a very young age and would also increase his Airbending powers by tenfold. Goes to show you how powerful Airbending can actually be, should its [[BewareTheNiceOnes bender decide to go on the offensive.]]
34** When the Blue Spirit gets hit and reveals it was actually Zuko that helped him escape and Aang still saves him from being captured anyway counts as a great WhatYouAreInTheDark moment, showing that he is not prone to [[NoOneGetsLeftBehind leaving someone behind]].
35* [[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderTheFortuneteller "The Fortuneteller"]]: Aang shows us a glimpse of his real power by stopping an exploding volcano dead in its tracks - ''without'' entering his nearly all-powerful Avatar State. By blowing on it. Mind you, his predecessor died while attempting a similar feat (although, granted, the circumstances were quite different at that time).
36-->'''Sokka:''' Man, sometimes I forget what a powerful bender that kid is.
37* [[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderTheDeserter "The Deserter"]]:
38** Ladies and gentlemen, how do you humble a crotchety old firebending master? AppealToForce in the best of ways.
39-->'''Jeong Jeong''': ''(to [[KidHero Aang]])'' YOU ARE TOO ''WEAK!''
40-->''(Jeong Jeong extinguishes his candles in anger, then one flickers back on to reveal...)''
41-->'''[[TheDreaded Avatar]] [[OhCrap Roku]]''': You think I am ''weak?''
42** Aang defeating Zhao without firing a single shot. Instead, he jumps around [[DeadlyDodging evading Zhao's blasts,]] [[HoistByHisOwnPetard who ends up setting his own ships on fire]] due to Aang [[IShallTauntYou taking a page right out of Spider-Man's book]]. He hits Zhao with the ultimate insult thus far, enraging him so much that he incinerates the ship he is on.
43-->'''Aang''': I don't know why, but I thought you'd be ''better'' than Zuko!
44* "The Siege of the North":
45** [[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderTheSiegeOfTheNorthPart2 "The Siege of the North, Part 2"]]: Aang staring down Koh the Face-Stealer with a completely emotionless expression throughout his tirade.
46** Especially when he does get excited was pretty cool. He thinks about it, gets excited, and Koh whips around in like half a second ... only to see Aang with his stoic face. Most notable considering that he's a hyperactive twelve-year-old staring down a thousand-year-old spirit who's just admitted that he's ''very'' interested in stealing Aang's face as well.
47** When Zhao kills the Moon Spirit, Aang enters the Avatar State and merges with the spiritual embodiment of the ocean. The result is an awe-inspiring, gigantic Leviathan, which proceeds to annihilate dozens of fully-armed enemy warships in the span of a few minutes. He goes up to the fleet's commanding battleship, and gives the ship's command tower a DiagonalCut. He's only attacking with water, and he cut a tower in half cleanly.
48-->'''Yue:''' There's no hope now, it's over.
49-->'''Aang in Avatar State:''' '''''No.''''' '''It's not over.'''
50* [[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderTheDrill "The Drill"]]: The way Aang ended the fight against Azula on top of the titular drill, underscored by a rather awesome ThemeMusicPowerUp.
51* [[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderTheEarthKing "The Earth King"]]: The way the Gaang storms into the palace, sweeping aside dozens of earthbending guards, is incredible to watch. Special mention to Aang singlehandedly shattering a chunk of rock being hurled at Appa, using only the back of his hand without even looking.
52* [[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderTheHeadband "The Headband"]]:
53** Aang is undercover at a Fire Nation school and defeats the school bully in a fight, in which all he does is dodge and sidestep the bully's attacks (well, he technically used his [[CherryTapping bum]] once).
54** He also performs a dance with Katara which in turn evolves into what looks like a very skillfully played Capoeira game and leaves his schoolmates staring in awe.
55** Also at school, albeit not nearly as flashy as many things on this page: in history, the teacher has them write a test, with the first question being about the Fire Nation's attack on the Air Nomads (namely, about the size of the troops the Air Nomads used). Aang is daring enough to call them out on their BS: he asks if this is a trick question, because the Air Nomads, being ''pacifists'', never had an army at all.
56* [[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderTheBeach "The Beach"]]: Fighting Combustion Man in the rock field, where he used Airbending to deflect an explosion with one hand, and then blew straight through a pillar he was sent flying into. Also later, when he covered himself in rocks and used one of the explosions to rocket away and escape.
57* In [[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderNightmaresAndDaydreams "Nightmares and Daydreams"]]: Aang, after having multiple nightmares about facing Ozai, turns the tables on him in a moment both [[SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome awesome]] and [[SugarWiki/FunnyMoments hilarious]]:
58--> '''Ozai''': Do you really think you can take me down? You're not even wearing pants!\
59'''Aang''': [''After falling for it once before''] No, Firelord Ozai. [[NoYou You're not wearing pants!]]\
60'''Ozai''': [''Looks down and screams, covering his shame''] My royal parts are showing!
61* "Sozin's Comet":
62** Aang's courage in standing up to the Lion Turtle. Anyone else would have mistaken it for an EldritchAbomination and hightailed it out of there.
63** Just the sight of Aang waiting for Ozai's genocidal air fleet. Bonus points for the music and Sokka's reaction upon spotting him. It's here you finally believe Aang can and '''''WILL''''' save the world.
64** Aang sinks Ozai's immense flagship by taking out the propellers with boulders and blasting it with a comet-enhanced fireball.
65** Avatar Aang Vs. Phoenix King Ozai. At this point he was just a 12-year-old boy going up against the most powerful and ruthless warrior king in the world. And on top of that, he went in knowing he didn't have the Avatar State to help him. Highlights include:
66*** Aang’s ability of redirecting Ozai's lightning (which deserves special mention), and not just because it's comet-enhanced lightning delivered by one of the most powerful firebenders in the world. It's evident from the look on Ozai's face that he knows ''exactly'' where Aang learned that technique, and that this is the first point where it really hit him that [[OhCrap Zuko made good on his promise to join the Avatar and help take him down]].
67*** Further, Ozai had been spamming lightning at Aang prior to this yet upon recognition of the technique, and even though the redirection seems to heavily weaken Aang, he doesn't dare fire even a single further blast.
68*** Aang hits his wound on a rock, unlocking his chakra and letting him go into the Avatar State, where he [[OhCrap grabs Ozai's beard]], and gives him a RepeatCut of him getting slammed into a pillar and proceeds to chase a terrified Ozai through the previous battlefield he was curbstomping him in. He then pulls off a spectacular display of tremor vision and [[OffhandBackhand retaliates against Ozai with]] [[BadassBack his back turned]].
69*** ButWaitTheresMore Aang turns into a massive ball of cosmic energy, simultaneously bending all four elements at the same time, while attacking Ozai. See [[http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_LpF1Escpszc/TEcruk_cveI/AAAAAAAAB9E/d22kAv9OFMI/s1600/AvatarState.jpg here]] for details. And those rocks floating around him? They weren't that small to begin with. Aang ripped a bunch of enormous boulders out of the ground and compressed them (as in, reduced the size without losing any of the mass) with Earthbending. Even more awesome when you realize he did the exact same with the other elements. The five Firebending jets he roared out were roughly the size of the flames being used to burn down the Earth Kingdom. And the water he bended into a ring the size of a hula-hoop was a small river's worth. And one can only imagine how much air is swirling around at high speeds, allowing you to create a freaking crater on impact. And Aang doesn't even need all those elements to defeat Ozai. Those compressed rocks are basically bullets. Aang only needs Earthbending (and probably Airbending) to pull it off. No amount of Firebending skill could stop a bullet. Even better, watching the whole fight carefully, Aang uses everything in that wheel of death. It's not just RuleOfCool.
70*** Watch the fight closely. Aang hits Ozai with every single element at least once, and his finishing strike combined all four elements together. It's incredibly fitting that a genocidal Fire-supremacist who continued his father and his grandfather's efforts to destroy the other nations and glorified Fire above all other elements, was beaten by all four elements working in concert.
71---->'''Aang:''' ''[speaking with the [[VoiceOfTheLegion voice of all past avatars]]]'' '''Fire Lord Ozai. You and your forefathers have devastated the balance of this world. And now, you shall pay the ultimate price!'''
72*** Really, Ozai is incredibly lucky that out of all the Avatars that he could have faced, he just happened to face the [[MartialPacifist peace loving]] [[KidHero kid monk who]] [[ThouShaltNotKill didn't want to hurt him]]. If he faced any other Avatar (Yangchen, Kuruk, Korra, or ''especially'' Kyoshi and Roku), it's safe to say that they wouldn't have hesitated to absolutely rip him apart. The farthest the battle with any of the other Avatars would have been was when they successfully redirected Ozai's lightning. And we don't even have to imagine what them battling Ozai would look like: the Avatar State shows us [[NoNonsenseNemesis exactly this]], since Aang is being influenced by his past lives after all.
73---->'''Aang:''' No. I'm not going to end it like this. (He's not talking to Ozai. He's talking to his ''past lives''.)
74*** An underrated moment is Aang pulling off one of the most precise and difficult bending feats in the show by creating an air shield to stop Ozai's fire breath. This doesn't seem like much but remember that not only was this while Ozai's power was at its most destructive but Aang wasn't even using the Avatar State when he did this.
75*** Aang is revealed to have mastered Seismic Sense from Toph. When Ozai attemps to Firebend him InTheBack, Aang is able to Earthbend a wall to trap Ozai's hand ''without even looking at him''.
76*** Then he energybends Ozai and takes away his firebending. After days of his friends, his mentors, and his own past lives telling him that he has to kill Ozai, Aang proceeds to ignore them all and TakeAThirdOption anyway, solving the conflict ''without'' breaking his own principles. Perhaps [[WhatKindOfLamePowerIsHeartAnyway heart isn't so lame after all]]. To top it off, the last time we see bending in the fight is him pulling in ''the ocean'' to put out the fires, and bringing it back out, as the comet leaves and Momo returns, therefore signifying that, yes, the War is finally over.
77** In short, Aang saved the world. He started this series as a goofy, though well-meaning kid who ran away from his responsibilities, and [[CharacterDevelopment ended it as a wise, mature, fully-fledged avatar]] who has mastered the four elements, ended a 100-year war, and [[TrueCompanions brought an unforgettable cast of characters along for the ride]]. And he managed to pull it off in just nine months, no less. Seeing Aang fully come into his own as the hero the world needed him to be is one of the most satisfying elements in a series finale full of them.
78[[/folder]]
79[[folder:Katara]]
80!!Katara
81* Her actions for the entirety of [[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderImprisoned "Imprisoned"]], and especially the speech she gives the captured Earthbenders. It falls completely flat, and yet it's a testament to Katara's determination--throughout the episode she never once stops fighting for them and without that passion none of them would have followed through on the final, successful escape plan.
82* [[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderTheWaterbendingMaster "The Waterbending Master"]]: Katara challenging the chauvinistic Master Pakku. When he at first refuses to fight her and smugly tells her to go heal with the other women, she gives him a well-deserved slap on the back of his misogynistic head (with a water whip), provoking him enough to fight her. While she doesn't win, she gives him one hell of a fight, and, from what we see of later episodes, heralds a sea change in the Northern Water Tribe regarding girls and combat Waterbending.
83-->'''Katara''': '''You can't knock me down!''
84* [[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderTheSiegeOfTheNorthPart1 "The Siege of The North Part 1"]]: At the start of the series, the gap in bending skill between Zuko and Katara was so wide she never even tried to fight him. By this point, she's improved enough to take on Zuko one-on-one without an ounce of fear, nearly overwhelming him multiple times and only losing via a combination of the sun rising and a cheap shot from behind.
85* [[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderTheSiegeOfTheNorthPart2 "The Siege of The North Part 2"]]: When Katara, Yue, and Sokka catch up to Zuko after he kidnapped Aang at the Spirit Spring. Zuko asks her if she is "Here for a rematch?", and she says "it's not going to be much of a match". She then blocks a fireball that enters the screen just as she finishes her sentence while Sokka and Yue look on from Appa's saddle. She sends a shockwave of ice hurtling towards him. When it reaches Zuko, she encases him in a pillar of ice that she raises up high, then drops. Zuko falls to the ground unconscious.
86* [[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderTheBlindBandit "The Blind Bandit"]] has a small moment. Aang asks a couple of jocks where to find an earthbending tournament they were talking about, and they rather rudely brush him off. Katara runs after them and leads us to believe she's going to flirt with them to get the information. Nope - ''she encases them from the neck down in ice, horizontally on a wall.'' Definitely as retribution for their rudeness towards Aang.
87* [[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderReturnToOmashu "Return to Omashu"]]: Fighting Mai and Ty Lee simultaneously on the construction platform, using only her water skin for ammunition ''and'' having to protect Sokka and Tom-Tom at the same time. She gets overpowered eventually, but it's still impressive.
88* [[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderTheDesert "The Desert"]]: This is the moment that Katara's status as TeamMom really pays off. With Toph's DisabilitySuperpower nullified by the desert's sand, Aang depressed over Appa being kidnapped, and Sokka [[MushroomSamba higher than a kite from cactus juice]], Katara was the only character capable of competent leadership when they were forced to walk across the desert on foot.
89* [[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderTheSerpentsPass "The Serpent's Pass"]]:
90** When she takes on the sea serpent, surfing to Aang's rescue, before creating a massive whirlpool and then slamming the serpent against the cliff. After making sure all the others were safe.
91** Katara calmly and competently delivers a refugee couple's baby, on the side of the road, after battling a sea serpent, at the age of fourteen.
92* [[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderTheCrossroadsOfDestiny "The Crossroads of Destiny"]]:
93** Nearly every fight Azula's been in this season is a CurbStompBattle of varying degrees for the opposing party. She and Katara come to blows in this episode, and not only does Azula not win, she gets thoroughly trounced, with Katara repeatedly knocking her down and blocking or countering nearly every attack she can think to make. Katara only fails to take her out because Zuko intervened.
94** After seeing Aang get struck by Azula's lightning, Katara surrounds herself in a sphere of water and floods the entire battlefield, sweeping up Dai Li agents, Azula, and Zuko up like they're dust bunnies to get to Aang.
95** Also, her healing Aang with her remaining Spirit Water.
96* [[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderTheAwakening "The Awakening"]]: When under attack by a Fire Nation ship, Katara summons a large fog cloud, large enough to surround both warships, which are pretty huge themselves.
97* [[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderThePaintedLady "The Painted Lady"]]:
98** Her performance during her attack on the Fire Nation thugs as they tried harassing the innocent villagers (again).
99** In short, this episode climaxed in one long SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome for Katara, starting with the line, "No! I will never, EVER turn my back on people who need me!"
100* [[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderTheRunaway "The Runaway"]]: Breaking out of a wooden jail cell with her own sweat, followed by [[BigDamnHeroes shoving an ice pillar onto Combustion Man's head]].
101* The Bloodbending fight in [[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderThePuppetmaster "The Puppetmaster"]]: The whole scene can be summed up with seven simple words: [[MyKungFuIsStrongerThanYours "My bending is more powerful than yours!"]]
102** Special mention must be given to a minor moment in this fight: Right before Aang and Sokka show up, Katara manages to strike out at a jet of water that Hama sent directly at her. Consider how sharply this contrasts to the usually fluid movements of Waterbending. This is more like something Toph would do. Katara is such a boss that she used an Earthbending style move on water! Hama's face sells it. She literally cannot believe what she's seeing.
103* [[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderTheWesternAirTemple "The Western Air Temple"]]: Her "[[IfYouEverDoAnythingToHurtHer talk]]" with Zuko at the end of the episode. Look at how far we've come from the beginning of the series, when Katara's Waterbending skills were quite poor. Two seasons later, she's standing in front of the man who raided her village and making it clear on no uncertain terms that she will strike him down without mercy if he even thinks about hurting Aang and has the skills to back up that claim, too. It was awesome beyond words.
104-->'''Katara:''' You might have everyone else here buying your "transformation", but you and I both know you've struggled with doing the right thing in the past. So let me tell you something right now. You make one step backward, one slip up, give me one reason to think you might hurt Aang and you won't have to worry about your destiny anymore. Because [[IllKillYou I'll make sure your destiny ends, right then and there]]. Permanently.
105* [[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderTheSouthernRaiders "The Southern Raiders"]]:
106** As nightmarish as her action is, the sight of Katara using Bloodbending on the leader of the Southern Raiders is very gratifying for those who sympathize with her.
107** The entire sequence where she goes after her mother's killer: "She was protecting the last waterbender... ME!", followed by her stopping all the rain midair, making giant icicles and flinging them at the guy... but having enough control [[SwordOverHead to stop in midair]], deciding he's NotWorthKilling. Her following ReasonYouSuckSpeech is enough to reduce the man to tears. It was a spectacular display of psychological warfare, a bit of NightmareFuel, and BewareTheNiceOnes.
108* In [[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderSozinsCometPart4AvatarAang "Sozin's Comet Part 4: Avatar Aang"]]: Katara's defeat of Azula, binding her after she goes insane. Made even better by the fact that she does it without landing a single offensive blow. And freezing both of them in ice, with Azula a millisecond away from blowing her head off! Pure ownage by the primarily defensive Waterbending style. Bear in mind that Katara was facing, at worst, the third most powerful Firebender in the world, on a day that Firebenders' powers are vastly enhanced. And Waterbending is weaker during the day.
109[[/folder]]
110[[folder:Sokka]]
111!!Sokka
112* [[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderTheAvatarReturns "The Avatar Returns"]]:
113** Standing his ground against a huge warship, while it bears down on him until the ground itself moves.
114** Despite being the only boy of fighting age in the village, Sokka stands his ground and doesn't give up, even when it's clear Zuko is more than a match for him. His dad left him to protect his people, and he takes that seriously.
115** Making Zuko look like an idiot in an otherwise completely one-sided fight when his boomerang came back and nailed him in the head.
116* [[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderTheWarriorsOfKyoshi "The Warriors of Kyoshi"]]: Rather than letting his hurt pride get the better of him and doubling down, Sokka is instead able to let go of a long-held prejudice when faced with reality.
117* [[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderTheWinterSolsticePart1 "The Winter Solstice Part 1: The Spirit World"]]: It was incredibly stupid, but Sokka rushing out with nothing but his boomerang to help Aang against an enraged spirit monster showed serious courage. His response to seeing ''[[PhysicalGod the Avatar]]'' being tossed about by a huge monster is "I need to go in there and help."
118* [[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderTheWinterSolsticePart2 "The Winter Solstice Part 2: Avatar Roku"]]: Sokka gets a small one when he comes up with an idea on how to get into Roku's Sanctum: Multiple explosives detonated simultaneously in order to fake the Firebending needed to open the Sanctum's door. When the attempt fails due to needing five continuous streams of fire (something that requires a team of Firebenders, or a fully realized Avatar), Sokka then uses the scorch marks left behind from the explosives to trick the other Fire Sages into opening the door themselves. This is arguably the first time that Sokka shows some of the ingenuity and creativity that would be a mainstay of his character.
119* [[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderTheWaterbendingScroll "The Waterbending Scroll"]]: Captured by pirates and about to be turned over to Zuko, Sokka extricates the Gaang from the situation with nothing more than some clever wordplay, appealing to the pirates by convincing the pirates to renege on their deal with Zuko and give up the titular scroll in favor of reaping the much higher worth of the Fire Nation's bounty on Aang's head, causing the pirates and Zuko's band turn against each other.
120* [[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderJet "Jet"]]: It becomes apparent that the title character is going to flood a Fire Nation-occupied village by blowing up a dam. The bombs go off and the village floods. And that's when Sokka shows up and reveals that he had evacuated everybody in the village beforehand. He was able to do this because he had the vocal support of a single old man whom Sokka had stood up for earlier. In that scene he shows a great deal more maturity than Jet by protecting the villagers, even though he has just as much reason to hate the Fire Nation as Jet does. He also demonstrates his status as the most intelligent of the group by seeing Jet's true nature far far earlier than Aang or Katara do. Even more so, in this move, he shows his intelligence and instincts, precisely by subverting this BigDamnHeroes moment. He knew that by confronting Jet, and his gang, he wouldn't necessarily be able to stop the plot, even if he could beat Jet in a fight, so he took the other route, and beat them not through skill or strength, but by planning and forethought.
121* [[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderBatoOfTheWaterTribe "Bato of The Water Tribe"]]: When Sokka sails over a reef with no actual experienced sailors, only pure [[TheSmartGuy smarts]]. He later uses his intelligence to best the Shirshu through sensory overload.
122* [[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderTheDeserter "The Deserter"]]: Sokka's reaction when Aang accidentally burns Katara [[BigBrotherInstinct shows how much he cares for his sister]]; he tackles and [[WhatTheHellHero tells off]] the Avatar. Sokka has already seen Aang in the Avatar State, and he's completely aware of how destructive it can be. He tackled a GodInHumanForm knowing full well what Aang could do to him, and he's a nonbender. That was the Avatarverse equivalent of giving a lecture to Jesus after you've seen him walk on water and calm storms.
123* Sokka gets a bunch of these in [[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderTheNorthernAirTemple ''The Northern Air Temple'']], where we get to see him at his GadgeteerGenius best. He matches the Mechanist in terms of ideas, and co-invents the zeppelin.
124* [[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderTheSiegeOfTheNorthPart1 "The Siege of the North Part 1"]]: A relatively small one, but Sokka presenting himself as TheAce to Yue when he's gives her a ride on Appa, complete with the elegant "[[PunctuatedForEmphasis Yip! Yip!]]"
125* [[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderTheCaveOfTwoLovers "The Cave of Two Lovers"]]: Sokka and the hippies escaping the title cave with help from Badger-Moles. summed up in this exchange:
126-->'''Aang:''' Just like the legend says. We let love lead our way!
127-->'''Sokka:''' Really? We let huge, ferocious beasts lead our way.
128* [[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderReturnToOmashu "Return To Omashu"]]:
129** When Mai taunts Katara, who has been Chi-Blocked by Ty Lee, by asking him how she expects to fight without her bending. Sokka knocks the knife out of her hand with his boomerang and tells her that he seems to manage.
130** The Fire Nation captures the titular city with the intention of holding all its citizens hostage. Sokka invents a plague using make-up and tells everyone to act like they're deathly ill. The Fire Nation soldiers not only release all of the hostages, but ''help escort them out of the city'' out of fear of the disease.
131* [[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderTheChase "The Chase"]]: After being picked on by Toph for not having bending earlier, Sokka later shows why you shouldn't count him out when he intercepts and blocks Mai's throwing knives. When she throws some more a second later, he bats them aside effortlessly. And keep in mind he's still heavily sleep deprived at this point.
132* [[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderTheLibrary "The Library"]]: Giant owl spirit Wan Shi Tong is about to attack Katara and brags that he has studied Waterbending Northern Water Style, Southern Water Style, even Foggy Swamp Style. Sokka then falls from the ceiling and knocks him unconscious with a heavy blow to the head with a book and replies: "That's called ''Sokka Style''! Learn it!"
133* [[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderTheHeadband "The Headband"]]: Sokka's cover identity as [[MemeticBadass the most badass Fire Nation soldier]] ever to walk the Earth:
134-->'''School Principal''': Thank you so much for coming Mr...?\
135'''Sokka''': "Fire! Wang Fire. And this is my wife, [[PunnyName Saph Fire]]!"\
136'''Katara''': Sapphire Fire, nice to meet you.
137* [[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderThePaintedLady "The Painted Lady"]]: When he stands up for his entire group against an ungrateful town whom they had saved from Firebenders with Katara under the disguise of the town mythological figure.
138* [[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderSokkasMaster "Sokka's Master"]]: To put it briefly, the episode shows that Sokka isn't capable in spite of his eccentric ways, he's that way (and so a BadassNormal) [[SuccessThroughInsanity because]] of them. Oh, and don't forget the brilliant sword-fighting. That entire episode was one long SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome for Sokka. For a guy who's constantly bragging about his skills and is the universe's designated comic relief and ButtMonkey, he solemnly bows before Piandao and admits he's just a boy, and may be completely worthless as a student. Then we see him slaving to forge his own sword, something that is uniquely his, without a shred of his usual antics (usually when he's sharpening his weapons or preparing, something would go wrong and he'd be comically injured). Finally, after the long speech Piandao gave about his badassery, Sokka fully admits to being a fraud, and basically challenges his master to a one-on-one duel. For a brief moment too, it seemed like he would actually win against, a [[OldMaster White Lotus Grand Master]] of all people.
139** Also the fact that at the end Piandao hands him a white lotus tile. That could mean that said White Lotus Grand Master is saying that Sokka could indeed end up being a future member of the group!
140** More props to Sokka for convincing Piandao to take him as student in the first place. Piandao's butler states he turns away almost everyone who tries to become his student and doesn't think Sokka has a chance. Piandao's snarky comments indicate that the bulk of his would-be students try to prove their worth by bragging about their skills and expects Sokka to do the same. Sokka manages to convince Piandao he is worth his time with a show of humility.
141* "The Day of Black Sun":
142** [[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderTheDayOfBlackSunPart1 "Part 1: The Invasion"]]: Defeating a mook by running up onto his mount, using his new sword to cut the guy's spear in half [[http://piandao.org/screenshots/fire/fire10/fire10-1653.jpg the long way]], then kicking him off to take his ride.
143** Before that, he gets one for beating the huge flaming gates guarding the Fire Nation capital by inventing submarines!
144** And followed by his taking command and leading the invasion off the beach.
145** [[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderTheDayOfBlackSunPart2 "Part 2: The Eclipse"]]: Shaking down Azula for information, having her by the throat and bellowing out pure, distilled rage, [[PunctuatedForEmphasis "WHERE...IS...SUKI?!"]]
146* [[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderTheWesternAirTemple "The Western Air Temple"]]: Throwing his boomerang around a corner for a dead center shot, [[AwesomenessbyAnalysis based on two angles of fire that he saw]][[note]] aka ''TRIGONOMETRY''[[/note]], and killing Combustion Man.
147* "The Boiling Rock": Most heroes only have to come up with one risky, almost-impossible plan to escape TheAlcatraz. Sokka came up with two not-risky-at-all plans. His plan in [[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderTheBoilingRockPart1 "Part 1"]], having a punishment cooler unbolted and floated across the boiling lake, would have worked if he had been there to stop the prisoner from grabbing the IdiotBall and tried to paddle. His next plan in [[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderTheBoilingRockPart2 "Part 2"]], holding the warden hostage to take the cable car across, did work despite interference from [[MagnificentBastard Azula]].
148* "Sozin's Comet":
149** Sokka's willingness to take on Ozai, the BigBad at the height of his power, who posed a serious challenge to even the Avatar, and Sokka is a BadassNormal at best, if Aang couldn't get there in time. And he was willing to fight him. All right, he would have had backup from fellow BadassNormal Suki and CuteBruiser Toph, but that takes some straight up testicular elephantiasis. And how calmly he realizes it. Sokka asks Iroh what he, Toph and Suki should be doing when the group split up at the camp. Iroh asks ''him'', and he simply states they need to do what they can do, together, to tackle Ozai. Once standing on the airship he says "Fire Lord Ozai, here we come." with a wonderfully determined/fierce expression on his face.
150** Sokka diverting the crew of an airship to the bomb bay ''by telling them it was a crew member's birthday and then ejecting them''. Bonus points for it actually being a crew member's birthday.
151** Taking out the entire armada of Fire Nation air ships by overloading the airship's engines, sending it barreling towards the rest of the armada at a terrific speed.
152** Saving himself and Toph from a bunch of Firebenders with one hand (the other keeping Toph from falling) and a broken leg, sacrificing [[CompanionCube Boomerang and Space Sword]] to do so.
153** Offscreen, he, Toph, and Suki defeat the entire super-Firebender crew and use the ship to rendezvous with Aang.
154[[/folder]]
155[[folder:Toph]]
156!!Toph
157* [[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderTheBlindBandit "The Blind Bandit"]]: [[CurbStompBattle Kicking the behinds of an entire team]] of [[ProfessionalWrestling Professional Earthbenders]] in [[EstablishingCharacterMoment her first official appearance]], declaring that "They're mine!" ... and you're not having any. Doubly awesome because it takes place right after this exchange:
158-->'''Lao Beifong''': My daughter is blind! She is [[DisabilitySuperpower blind]] and [[CuteBruiser tiny]] and [[TheCaretaker helpless]] and [[ParentalObliviousness fragile]]! She cannot help you.
159-->'''Toph Beifong''': ''(pulls her hand free)'' [[LittleMissBadass Yes. I can.]]
160** Also, ''how'' she beats them: Not just with power and skills, but also by outsmarting them. All together, her seven opponents could beat her... So first she tosses a cloud of dust in their faces to separate them, then she goes after Fire Nation Man, a Dust Bending specialist who isn't as hampered as the others by this move, and tosses him out, before making sure he ''stays'' down by throwing the others at him one by one, also knocking them down. And when Xin Fu is the last one remaining she dispells the cloud... And makes very clear just how ''better'' she is.
161--->'''Yu''': Your daughter is amazing!
162** Earlier in the episode, Toph versus the Boulder. We had seen the Boulder defeating various opponents with ease, establishing him as a powerful and skilled opponent... [[TheWorfEffect So that Toph beating him would make clear how formidable]] ''[[TheWorfEffect she]]'' is. And she casually neutralizes him by bending the ground to move his foot and split his legs, before tossing him out with ease.
163* [[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderTheLibrary "The Library"]]: When the demonic owl, Wan Shi Tong, has decided to pull his library back to the Spirit World with the heroes still inside, little girl Toph decides that the library isn't going to sink if she has anything to say about it. [[HeroicResolve The]] [[LoadBearingHero little]] [[TykeBomb girl]] [[DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu wins]].
164* [[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderTheTalesOfBaSingSe "The Tales of Ba Sing Se"]]:
165** When she bends her mud mask to scare the spa attendant using only her face.
166** Dropping the three girls who mock her make-up through a bridge. Doubles as a SugarWiki/{{Funny Moment|s}}.
167* [[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderTheEarthKing "The Earth King"]]: The number of {{Mooks}} Toph takes out in droves, whether they end up impaled to the ceiling on columns of Earth or bowled over by an earthquake when the Gaang storm the Earth King's palace.
168* [[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderTheGuru "The Guru"]]: Toph has been kidnapped by bounty hunters, Xin Fu and Yu, and is being taken back to her parents. When she tries to escape, Xin Fu taunts her by saying: "You might ''think'' you're the greatest earthbender in the world, but even ''you'' can't bend metal." Toph then uses her earthbending on metal (a feat which was said multiple times over the course of the series to be entirely impossible) to escape a metal cage, using the same "impossible" skill to trap her captors in their own cage, triumphantly yelling the completely accurate statement of ''"I am the greatest earthbender in the world!"'', and then riding away on a gigantic wave of ground.
169** And what does she say when she first manages to punch a dent in her cage? "Toph, you rule!" Truer words were never spoken.
170* [[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderTheRunaway "The Runaway"]]: When she uses only a small movement of her head to make the "dice" she throws to go the way she wants and thus cheat the gamblers out of their money.
171* [[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderTheWesternAirTemple "The Western Air Temple"]]: Toph [[WhatTheHellHero calling the others out on being so quick to reject Zuko]], even though they were just talking about how much Aang needs a Firebending teacher.
172* [[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderTheFirebendingMasters ''The Firebending Masters'']]: Her demonstrating surprising wisdom when Zuko has trouble firebending and giving him some excellent advice based off her own experiences. Toph, for all her arrogance and boisterousness, is a master earthbender for a reason, and knows it's not just a question of raw power.
173* "Sozin's Comet":
174** Toph launching herself, Sokka, and Suki on board the nearest airship.
175*** Keep in mind, she can't even ''see'' the airship; all she had to go on was the vague direction Sokka was pointing.
176** Toph Metalbending a door into a full-body suit and using the contents of an airship's control room to take out the crew, all while dodging fireblasts and jumping around the metal cockpit like ComicBook/SpiderMan. The awesomeness really comes from the fact that to do what she does in that scene, she has to Metalbend with every motion. To repeat, she has to perform, with perfect dexterity, a feat that was thought to be impossible before she invented it, every second. Oh, and she started this by knocking "ShaveAndAHaircut." With the last knock replaced by the crash of her blowing the door across the room.
177** Toph Metalbending the stricken airship's rudder so that it spirals and crashes itself into the other airships.
178[[/folder]]
179[[folder:Suki]]
180!!Suki
181* [[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderTheWarriorsOfKyoshi "The Warriors of Kyoshi"]]: [[BadassNormal Kyoshi]] [[AmazonBrigade Warriors]] galore [[AndZoidberg and]] [[TheOneGuy Sokka]] taking on the Fire Nation troops [[AndZoidberg and Zuko]].
182** Before that, there's Suki making it clear she's taking exactly ''none'' of Sokka's sexism.
183-->'''Sokka:''' There's no way a bunch of girls took us out.
184-->'''Suki:''' "A bunch of girls", huh? ''(grabs Sokka)'' The unagi's gonna eat well tonight.
185* ''The Serpent's Pass:'' Leaping into the water to save Toph before Sokka could.
186* [[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderTheBoilingRockPart2 The Boiling Rock Part 2]]: Suki vaulting off the heads of numerous participants in a Fire Nation prison riot before [[WallCrawl scaling the walls like Spiderman]], using the tips of her feet to somersault up to a higher platform, taking out several Fire Nation prison guards in less than a second, baseball sliding under the last guard and blocking the warden's attack to twist him around [[BoundAndGagged tying and gagging him]], again, in less than a second. Made that bit more amusing that she isn't even out of breath, and when everyone else catches up, they are out of breath. Followed by her being one of only two characters to fight Ty Lee hand-to-hand without being paralyzed (the only other one was Sokka). Worth noting that Sokka just dodged Ty Lee's chi-blocking. Suki, meanwhile, blocks Ty Lee's every blow.
187* [[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderSozinsCometPart4AvatarAang "Sozin's Comet Part 4: Avatar Aang"]]: Just as more benders arrive and Sokka and Toph accept death, an airship lunges out of nowhere and IMPALES their airship, and they fall onto it. It was hijacked by Suki, who was last seen on a fragment of a sinking airship.
188[[/folder]]
189[[folder:Zuko]]
190!!Zuko
191* The fact that out of everyone in the series, Zuko has the widest repertoire of skills: he's a master firebender, a master swordsman, skilled in hand-to-hand combat, and experienced with throwing knives and knifeplay. Say what you will about his [[AntiHero pragmatic tendencies]], that boy is multitalented!
192* [[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderTheAvatarReturns "The Avatar Returns"]]: Zuko being fast enough to briefly get the drop on ''Aang'' of all people while the airbender was speeding around on his air scooter. Not to mention this is Zuko's ''first time'' combatting airbending.
193* [[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderTheSouthernAirTemple "The Southern Air Temple"]]: Zuko defeating Zhao, a smug, experienced commander at least twice his age in an Agni Kai, specifically by not doing anything flashy. Just two episodes ago, Iroh was insisting he needed to master basic forms before moving onto advanced techniques. During the Agni Kai, Zuko appears to be beaten by Zhao using exactly that simple form, only for him to get up and respond in kind. Even in his third episode this villain is being shown in an intelligent and, through the SwordOverHead moment, admirable light. As an added bonus, it's a ShirtlessScene.
194* [[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderTheWarriorsOfKyoshi "The Warriors of Kyoshi"]]: The Kyoshi Warriors gang up on Zuko and knock him down. Royally incensed, Zuko roars back into the fight, taking out half a dozen of them with his signature leg sweep and proceeds to curbstomp the rest.
195* [[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderTheWinterSolsticePart1 "The Winter Solstice Part 1"]]: Zuko gets several moments in this one, and it's one of the first episodes where he demonstrates just how competent he is. First, he correctly deduces what happened to his missing uncle just by studying a pile of rocks where Iroh was. Then, he manages to track him down by finding Iroh's sandal. To top it off, he rescues Iroh from having his hands crushed by kicking aside a boulder much larger than himself, and subsequently frees his uncle by shattering iron shackles with a ''single kick''. As a side note, he also gets an EstablishingCharacterMoment when he spots the Avatar's sky bison in the middle of his search—and ''lets him go'', all to save his uncle.
196* [[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderTheWinterSolsticePart2 "The Winter Solstice Part 2"]]: Zuko pulling a Sokka-style improvisation and turning the damage to his ship into an advantage—by rigging it into a smokescreen. Also, the fact that he's [[TheDeterminator so determined to capture the Avatar for his father]] that he'd run a blockade and risk getting arrested.
197* [[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderTheWaterbendingScroll "The Waterbending Scroll"]]: Zuko effortlessly physically overpowers Katara and ties her to a tree, manipulates the pirates into helping him find Aang by threatening to burn their precious scroll, and is smart enough to see through Sokka's TalkingYourWayOut ploy. Even Aang didn't realize what Sokka was trying to do!
198* [[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderTheStorm "The Storm"]]:
199** Zuko risking his own life to save one of his crew members. He catches the falling helmsman by the wrist while hanging on to a (wet and probably slippery) ladder in the middle of wind, rain, and rough ocean and manages to set him down safely. It's made especially awesome because he'd been acting like a RoyalBrat for that entire episode (backstory reveal notwithstanding) but proves in that one moment that yes, he really does care about other people.
200** The {{Flashback}} that shows the [[WeHaveReserves reason]] why Zuko got his scar. [[WhiteSheep Too bad villains don't appreciate courage, loyalty, or respect for the sanctity of human life]].
201-->'''General:''' The Earth Kingdom defenses are concentrated here, a dangerous battalion of their strongest Earthbenders and fiercest warriors. So, I am recommending the 41st division.\
202'''Old General:''' But the 41st is entirely new recruits. How do you expect them to defeat a powerful Earth Kingdom battalion?\
203'''General:''' I don't. They'll be used as a distraction while we mount an attack from the rear. What better to use as bait then fresh meat?\
204'''Young Zuko:''' You can't sacrifice an entire division like that! Those soldiers love and defend our nation! How can you betray them?!
205* [[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderTheBlueSpirit "The Blue Spirit"]]: Saving Aang as the title spirit [[BadassNormal without bending]] or making a sound.
206* [[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderBatoOfTheWaterTribe "Bato of the Water Tribe"]]: Zuko dueling Aang relatively equally for the first time in the show; he matches him for speed, power, dexterity, and skill for an extended amount of time.
207* In [[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderTheSiegeOfTheNorthPart2 "The Siege of The North Part 2"]] After Zhao hires pirates to blow up Zuko's ship, Zuko... shields himself from the explosion (but still gets injured), disguises himself as a soldier, and hides on Zhao's personal flagship. He then sneaks out when they reach the North Pole, managing to evade Fire Navy scouts and Water Tribe sentries; finds and navigates a series of underwater tunnels; Firebends ''underwater, at night, in the middle of the North Pole, while oxygen deprived'' to melt through what looks like half a foot of ice in order to get into the city; sneaks through the Northern Water Tribe without ''anyone'' spotting him; finds Aang in an out-of-the-way place in a city of probably a thousand people; fights a skilled Waterbender (Katara) at night, and ''almost wins'' before she freezes him; beats her after the sun comes up and he can melt the ice; carries Aang, a good-sized twelve-year-old, up a cliff and who-knows-how-far across the Arctic tundra in a blizzard, wearing a thin ninja-parka and probably still damp; and finally delivers a heart-wrenching speech about his past, still visibly injured during all of this.
208-->"There's always something. Not that you would understand. You're like my sister - everything always came easy to her. She's a Firebending prodigy, and everyone adores her. My father says she was born lucky. He says I was lucky to be born! ''[beat]'' I don't need luck, though. I don't want it. [[IronWoobie I've always had to struggle and fight and that's made me strong. It's made me who I am]]."
209** On top of all of this, he ends up confronting Zhao a second time and wins a decisive victory against him — both with firebending and with hand-to-hand combat. One of his winning moves is when he ''uses Zhao's own shoulder to flip over him'', uses unarmed combat in order to divert Zhao's fire punch, and gets a good blow in at his subsequently vulnerable side. ButWaitTheresMore In an EstablishingCharacterMoment, Zuko tries to rescue Zhao from his well-deserved punishment from La; Zhao, being the idiot he is, ignores Zuko's outstretched hand and is dragged off to his penance. Zuko is visibly upset by this, despite everything Zhao put him through, which speaks volumes of his JerkWithAHeartOfGold characterization.
210** It should be noted that WordOfGod stated that he did all of this while suffering from a variety of ailments, including previous injury, sleep deprivation, borderline hypothermia, and overall exhaustion. And he ''still'' manages to pull all of that off. TheDeterminator, anyone?
211* [[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderTheSwamp "The Swamp"]]: Zuko tracking down the man who humiliated his uncle, without knowing anything about the layout of the village or the identity of the man, and approaching him so silently that the guy doesn't even realize he's there — that is, until Zuko disarms him of his swords and throws him into some crates in the alley, without bending.
212* [[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderZukoAlone "Zuko Alone"]]: The ShowdownAtHighNoon in his DayInTheLimelight. It starts with him taking out his first opponent without even fully removing his sword from the sheath, escalates into a masterful showing of unarmed combat and swordplay, climaxes into one of the most powerful shows of firebending we've seen yet, and ends with a classic MyNameIsInigoMontoya moment. Unfortunately, it fully ends with a TearJerker when they reject him.
213** It should be noted that he was starved and unfit when he beat the soldiers, even though he was outnumbered four to one.
214** Practically the entirety of the episode is awesome just for the character development given to Zuko. This could easily have been the pilot episode for its own series, it was so good.
215* In [[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderTheDesert "The Desert"]]: When the Rough Rhinos gang up on Fire Nation fugitives Zuko and Iroh, that Zuko could still chop an arrow in half in midair and shoot a fireblast through the bow string while both weary and half-starved at the time.
216* [[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderCityOfWallsAndSecrets "City of Walls And Secrets"]]: His SwordFight with Jet. "You want a show? I'll give you a show!" He doesn't even need his Firebending to be awesome.
217* [[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderLakeLaogai "Lake Laogai"]]: Zuko, as the Blue Spirit, ambushes one of the Dai Li agents and forces the man to tell him where Appa is being held. After the Gaang spent weeks in fruitless search, Zuko finds Appa within a day by just [[CuttingTheKnot grabbing someone and forcing the information out of them.]]
218* [[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderTheCrossroadsOfDestiny "The Crossroads of Destiny"]]: In a sick, twisted way, his [[WhamEpisode totally unexpected]] subversion of the HeelFaceTurn. No fictional character should have the power to make real people feel so [[EmotionalTorque angry, shocked, dismayed, saddened, sickened, enraged, and betrayed]].
219** Also, his short fight with Katara. Azula may be the prodigy, more skilled, more ruthless, but Katara was able to put ''her'' fire out with water. Zuko's fire proved to be a different matter altogether.
220* [[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderTheDayOfBlackSunPart2 "The Day of Black Sun Part 2: The Eclipse"]]:
221** His deliciously-good comeback, mainly his true HeelFaceTurn, when he finally [[CallingTheOldManOut confronts Ozai]] and tells him what a terrible father he's been is a true testament to Zuko's character growth, coming from the guy spent the first two seasons hunting the Avatar so that Ozai could restore his honor. While doing that, Zuko delivers a heroic NoMoreHoldingBackSpeech for a good measure. Which, of course, leads to this gem:
222--->'''Zuko''': For so long, all I wanted was for you to love me. To accept me. I thought it was my honor that I wanted, but really, I was just trying to please you. [[DisproportionateRetribution You, my father, who banished me just for talking out of turn!]] ''[[AbusiveParents My father]]'', who challenged me, a ''13-year-old boy'', to an Agni Kai. How can you possibly justify a duel with a child?!\
223'''Ozai''': It was to teach you respect!\
224'''Zuko''': It was ''cruel''! And it was wrong.\
225'''Ozai''': Then you've learned nothing!\
226'''Zuko''': [[ArmorPiercingResponse No! I've learned]] ''[[ArmorPiercingResponse everything!]]'' And I had to learn it on my own. Growing up we were taught that the Fire Nation was the greatest civilization in history, and somehow the war was our way of sharing our greatness with the rest of the world. What an amazing lie that was! The people of the world are ''terrified'' by the Fire Nation. They don't see our greatness. They ''hate'' us! And we deserve it. We've created an era of fear in the world. And if we don't want the world to destroy itself, we need to replace it with an era of peace and kindness.\
227'''Ozai''': ''([[EvilLaugh laughs contemptuously]])'' Your uncle has gotten to you, hasn't he?\
228'''Zuko''': [[InsultBackfire Yes, he has]]. After I leave here today, I'm going to free Uncle Iroh from his prison, and I'm going to beg for his forgiveness. [[ParentalSubstitute He's the one who's been a real father to me]].\
229'''Ozai''': Oh, that's just beautiful. And maybe he can pass down to you the ways of tea and failure.\
230'''Zuko''': But I've come to an even more important decision. ''({{Beat}})'' I'm going to join the Avatar, and I'm going to help him defeat you.
231** Zuko's first successful redirection of lightning is the cherry on top. Not just regular lightning; it was double-strength lightning, fired at him by possibly the most powerful Firebender in the world. The invasion may have been thwarted, but Ozai is left fuming with rage after the humilation his son dealt him.
232** How Zuko gets Ozai to listen. He starts by explaining Aang is alive. Ozai threatens to kill Zuko if he doesn't leave. Zuko in response draws his swords and tells his father that he is going to speak his mind and Ozai will listen. Ozai relents at the realization he cannot intimidate his son anymore. He even admits Zuko can kill him.
233* [[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderTheBoilingRockPart2 "The Boiling Rock"]]: Zuko's fight with Azula for pretty much the first time ever he's fighting his Firebending-prodigy-daddy's-favorite-child-magnificent-bastard sister on equal terms. Whilst on top of an moving airship, after jumping onto it from another one. He matches Azula blow for blow, and holds a rather even fight against her! Looking closer, one realizes that this is their first one-on-one since Zuko learned the original art of Firebending, which didn't rely on being fueled by rage and hatred... and this was only a few episodes after Zuko just learned about it!
234** Earlier in the episode, Zuko is thrown in the Cooler, solitary confinement cells that are kept so cold that firebending is impossible. When Sokka comes to retrieve him, Zuko is calmly sitting practicing Fire Bending breathing techniques. He took Iroh's lessons at the North Pole to heart.
235* "Sozin's Comet":
236** [[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderSozinsCometPart2TheOldMasters "Part 2: The Old Masters"]]: Zuko's reunion with Iroh. It has to take guts to face a guy after you betray him, especially when you feel like shit about it, not to mention when you know that same guy apparently PHYSICALLY broke through the bars of his prison and took out ALL the guards in order to escape. Even if it's not a Crowning Moment of Awesome, it definitely applies as a Crowning Moment of Heartwarming.
237** [[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderSozinsCometPart3IntoTheInferno "Part 3: Into The Inferno"]]: Zuko's Agni Kai with Azula. Though tragic, it's one of the best fights in the series in terms of sheer spectacle. Zuko and Azula's comet-enhanced Firebending is beautifully animated, the SimpleScoreOfSadness gives the fight real weight, and in this fight the two are on equal ground. And whether you count Azula attacking Katara as forfeiting the fight or not, Zuko wins. He gets the last hit in and he is soundly beating Azula throughout the fight, to the point of daring her to Lightningbend at him. Then when Azula decides to try taking the coward's way out by shooting lightning at Katara instead, Zuko, without any hesitation whatsoever, jumps in the way and takes the lightning himself, saving Katara's life. Due to the awkward position he is in at the moment of impact, he is unable to redirect all of the lightning and is seriously injured, but manages to redirect enough to prevent his injury from being fatal. The fact that he's willing to risk grave injury to save the person who took the longest to forgive him really hammers home the extent of his character development.
238*** Pay attention to how Zuko is fighting during the Agni Kai. Azula is darting all over the place but he's nearly stationary. He's gone back to the basics like Iroh was drilling him early on. He's focusing on maintaining his root and conserving power. Watch how flashy Azula is, and then watch how Zuko never wastes a single movement. He maintains his root the whole time and overwhelms Azula by breaking hers while she's darting around like a madwoman. He's truly surpassed Azula here, because for all her power and talent, he wins with Firebending basics.
239*** Pay particular attention to one of the ways he blocks Azula's attacks. Instead of dodging or punching it out of the way like most firebenders, he redirects it around him with a sort of spinning maneuver. The same maneuver that we see Aang do in the opening of every episode. Zuko may have been Aang's teacher, but he clearly learned from his student as well.
240** Thematically, this fight is an embodiment of the philosophies the four nations: He has the strategies and patience of the Earth Kingdom, the adaptability and love for his friends and family like the Water Tribe (he's also protected from lightning because Redirection is based on Waterbending techniques applied to Firebending), he is the best example of the drive and purpose of the Fire Nation, and he fights for freedom like an Air Nomad. Of all the other supporting characters, this is the moment when Zuko has truly become a mirror of the Avatar.
241** [[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderSozinsCometPart4AvatarAang "Part 4: Avatar Aang"]]: His [[AwesomeMomentOfCrowning speech to the assembled members of the other nations where he officially declares the war over and vows to spend the rest of his life rebuilding the world alongside his friends, followed by him officially being crowned Firelord]]. And after the ceremonies are over, he leaves to confront his father one final time and demands he tell him where his mother is.
242--->'''Zuko:''' Today, this war is finally over! I promised my Uncle that I would restore the honor of the Fire Nation, and I will. The road ahead of us is challenging. A hundred years of fighting has left the world scarred and divided. But with the Avatar's help, we can get it back on the right path, and begin a new era of love and peace.
243[[/folder]]
244[[folder:Appa and Momo]]
245!!Appa
246* Appa's fight with the giant boar in "Appa's Lost Days". After several weeks of abuse and hunger, and having his legs cuffed together, Appa still has the strength to first blast the thing with air, then grab it with his front legs and chuck it across the forest.
247* [[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderLakeLaogai "Lake Laogai"]]: After spending weeks separated from Aang, enduring horrible physical and mental stress, imprisoned in an ElaborateUndergroundBase for who knows how long, Appa's first act after being freed is to swoop down on the {{Mooks}} surrounding the heroes, scaring all of them off, then chomping down on the resident [[SmugSnake Long Feng's]] leg and effortlessly tossing him into the eponymous lake. Cue SugarWiki/{{Heartwarming|Moments}} as he is finally reunited with Aang. Keep in mind that said bite's mark is one of the things the heroes use to prove Long Feng's treachery to the Earth King.
248!!Momo
249* In [[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderTheWaterbendingScroll "The Waterbending Scroll"]] Momo freeing Katara, then successfully stealing back the scroll while managing to trap the pirate's Iguana Parrot in the ship's flag.
250* Momo stopping Aang from falling off [[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderTheDrill The Drill]].
251[[/folder]]
252[[folder:The Fire Nation]]
253!!Iroh
254* Perhaps the most notable achievement Iroh has accomplished, and the one he is most known for, is his siege of Ba Sing Se. He's known to be the only person to have brought down the ''impenetrable wall'' of the Earth Kingdom capital, a feat which would not be replicated for many years. It is implied that he would've succeeded in conquering the capital, were if not for the untimely death of his son, which forced him to abandon the siege in grief.
255* [[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderTheSouthernAirTemple "The Southern Air Temple"]]: First indication we get of Iroh being a formidable firebender is when he so casually stops Zhao attacking Zuko from behind, accompanied by a lecture on how, even in exile, his nephew is more honorable than the so-called-great Commander Zhao. Doubles as a heartwarming moment to give Zuko such vocal support. Of course, he promptly ignores it when questioned soon after.
256* [[{{Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderTheWinterSolsticePart1}} "The Spirit World (The Winter Solstice Part 1)"]]: Convincing the guys who have captured him to tighten his handcuffs, then breathing on them with his Firebending skill and pressing a soldier's hand down on the red-hot metal. Then he rolls down a cliff while his hands and feet are still chained together. The Avatar Extras commentary notes, "Earthbenders, 0; Naked Shackled Guy, 3."
257** The ensuing fight between Iroh and Zuko against the Earthbenders is something to note as well. Despite being outnumbered 5 to 2, Zuko and Iroh make short work of the Earthbender soldiers. What's even more impressive is that Iroh at no point in the fight uses his firebending abilities, solely dispatching his opponents with the remains of the chains that had been binding him.
258* [[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderTheStorm "The Storm"]]: When the ship is about to be struck by lightning, Iroh redirects it.
259* [[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderTheWaterbendingMaster "The Waterbending Master"]]: Iroh gets a subtle but impressive dig at Zhao. When asked about the Blue Spirit, Iroh says he believes that it doesn't exist... meaning he was basically saying that not only did Zhao let the Avatar get away when he was already Zhao's prisoner, but that he was able to do it without any help!
260* [[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderTheSiegeOfTheNorthPart2 "The Siege of The North Part 2"]]: When Zhao threatens to kill the spirit, Iroh tells him "Whatever you do to that spirit, I'll unleash on you ten-fold! [[SuddenlyShouting LET IT GO, NOW!]]" When Zhao does it anyway, [[UnstoppableRage Iroh goes berserk]] and just [[CurbStompBattle annihilates]] four firebenders by himself in seconds. [[OhCrap Zhao just slowly backs away when he sees that display]].
261** Let's not forget that he agreed with Aang that the moon is important to everyone, including the Fire Nation. This is one of the first times where he sides with the Avatar, proving that the Fire Nation has people with good hearts and strong morals.
262** More minor, but over the course of the season, Zhao has proven that he's not afraid of anything, if only because he's too prideful and arrogant. Even being ''dragged to his death'' by the Moon Spirit doesn't make him lose his cool... but an '''''extremely'''-pissed off Iroh'' scared Zhao.
263* [[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderTheAvatarState "The Avatar State"]]: In their first encounter with Azula, Iroh takes on a whole royal escort single-handedly (without Firebending) then [[CurbStompBattle curb-stomps]] ''Azula'' in about a second.
264** ''How'' he beats Azula: she's generating ''lightning'', of all things, she aims to shoot it at Zuko... And Iroh grabs the lightning hand, redirects the lightning on a cliff, and then throws her in the water. The experience rattled her so much that in the finale, even at the height of her madness, she doesn't ''dare'' to use lightning on someone she knows can redirect it.
265* His speech on the four elements in [[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderBitterWork "Bitter Work"]] is nothing short of impressive:
266-->'''Iroh''': [Draws Fire symbol in the dirt] Fire is the element of power. The people of the Fire Nation have desire and will and the energy and drive to achieve what they want.
267-->[Draws Earth symbol] Earth is the element of substance. The people of the Earth Kingdom are diverse and strong. They are persistent and enduring.
268-->[Draws Air symbol] Air is the element of freedom. The Air Nomads detached themselves from worldly concerns and found peace and freedom. Also, they apparently had pretty good senses of humor.
269-->[Draws Water symbol] Water is the element of change. The people of the Water Tribes are capable of adapting to many things. They have a sense of community and love that holds them together through anything.\
270'''Zuko''': Why are you telling me these things?\
271'''Iroh''': [Draws straight lines separating the four symbols] It is important to draw wisdom from many different places. If you take it from only one place, it become rigid and stale.
272-->[Draws a circle around all four symbols] Understanding others, the other elements, and the other nations, will help you become whole.\
273'''Zuko''': All this four elements talk is sounding like Avatar stuff.\
274'''Iroh''': It is the combination of the four elements in one person that makes the Avatar so powerful. But it can make you more powerful, too.
275** Iroh then reveals exactly why he's teaching this to Zuko. Turns out the lightning redirection technique Iroh used against Azula was one ''he invented'' and he got the idea from studying how Waterbenders redirect their opponents' attacks.
276* In [[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderTheDesert "The Desert"]]: When the Rough Rhinos gang up on Fire Nation fugitives Zuko and Iroh, Iroh kicks aside a cannonball on a chain and causes it to wrap around a rhino's leg while both weary and half-starved at the time.
277* [[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderTheTalesOfBaSingSe "The Tales of Ba Sing Se"]]: In his feature, Iroh convinces a man not to mug him by instructing him on how to mug people more effectively. He observes the man's poor stance, points it out, and demonstrates that such an unstable stance makes him easy to knock over, before talking him into pursuing a career as a masseur. What a guy! He knew he had nothing to fear, even with a knife pointed at him.
278* [[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderLakeLaogai "Lake Laogai"]]:
279** When the Gaang and Zuko invade the underwater base, it takes massive amounts of stealth, and even then Zuko only gets in alone because the Dai Li were busy. Iroh walks in with no discernible disguise, and completely unruffled. So either he walked past hallways of guards on high alert, or he curbstomped whoever he saw without breaking a sweat. Either way is awesome.
280** And then he tears Zuko a new one about destiny. Awesome.
281* [[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderTheCrossroadsOfDestiny "The Crossroads of Destiny"]]:
282** During Azula's coup, Iroh demonstrates how he got the nickname the "Dragon of the West". Azula and the Dai Li lure Iroh and Zuko into the palace by claiming the Earth King wants them to serve him tea, then try to capture them. Iroh then casually gets up and breathes fire at Azula and her guards, allowing him and Zuko to escape. Iroh comes in and defeats the entire Dai Li army and Azula. And Zuko just grins a little before this happens. He knows Iroh is about to do something awesome.
283** When Katara and a fatally wounded Aang are cornered by Azula, Zuko, and about fifty Dai Li agents, Iroh pulls a BigDamnHeroes moment and tells Katara to escape while he holds them off as long as he can. After seeing Aang and Katara have safely escaped, he offers the rest pose for Kung Fu. The Dai Li was only able to capture him because he allowed them to.
284** When he meets the Gaang, at their house no less, Iroh reveals he's brought a Dai Li along with him. Meaning he somehow managed to get across the city carrying a Dai Li, and got away with it.
285** Iroh somehow frees himself from a crystal prison, and proceeds to fend off the Dai Li to give Katara time to get away. In fact, the only reason why they're even able to capture him is because he stops fighting once he sees Katara escape and surrenders.
286* [[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderSokkasMaster "Sokka's Master"]]: Preparing to bust out of jail while hiding behind ObfuscatingInsanity. People have begun to refer to Iroh's workouts as "[[TookALevelInBadass Irohbics]]". As a retroactive example, think back on anytime you see Iroh in flashback, before he retired. His stomach is always obscured. After his Irohbics session, he is the Dragon of the West once more.
287* [[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderTheDayOfBlackSunPart2 "The Day of Black Sun Part 2: The Eclipse"]]: He broke out of the Fire Nation prison single-handedly at some point during the eclipse and the one witness, clearly traumatized, said he was like a OneManArmy.
288** This has a couple layers of awesome underneath it that underline Iroh's abilities: First, given his warning to Ming that she should take that particular day off, he knew that The Day of Black Sun was coming and that firebenders lost their power during an eclipse. Secondly, given the implication he escaped at least partially ''during'' the eclipse, part of that OneManArmy routine was ''without'' firebending.
289** Fridge-Awesome: Iroh even gets one ''unwittingly''. When Zuko is [[CallingTheOldManOut talking down Ozai]] during the eclipse, at one point, he declares Iroh [[FamilyOfChoice more a father]] than his own [[AbusiveParents biological father]]. Ozai ''seems'' unfazed by this, but his irritated expression when Zuko says Iroh has "gotten to [him]" suggests otherwise. It's implied that Ozai envies Iroh for being virtually better at everything than him. Him being told by his son that his own brother is a ''better father'' than him must've added insult to injury.
290* [[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderSozinsCometPart2TheOldMasters "Sozin's Comet Part 2: The Old Masters"]]:
291** Iroh's forgiveness of Zuko. Considering he'd been tossed in a filthy jail cell with cruel guards, due to the selfishness of someone he dearly loved, then had to work hard for weeks in order to bust himself out, the reunion scene is just all the more incredible. It's not a flying-acrobatic-combat sort of awesome, but that doesn't mean it doesn't fall under "awesome."
292** Without Aang, odds for beating the Fire Lord and stopping the war, already shaky, are grim. Zuko and the rest of the Gaang find the White Lotus encampment and Zuko's idea of a suitable replacement for the ''Avatar'' is Iroh. What's more, Iroh doesn't deny that he could do it, only turning down the task because it would be the wrong victory and create more ill history for the Fire Nation. Not only is he effectively saying that he ''could'' defeat Ozai if he wanted to, but viewers who've seen him in action won't doubt it: Ozai may be the strongest through natural gifts alone, but Iroh is also from the same line of powerhouse genetics, would also be souped up on comet power, and unlike Ozai, has mastered true firebending, plus hand-to-hand, ''and'' augmented his craft with techniques adopted from other bending arts, which created lightning redirection. Somewhere out there, there's a universe where Iroh took on Ozai and ended the war personally.
293* [[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderSozinsCometPart3IntoTheInferno "Sozin's Comet Part 3: Into The Inferno"]]:
294** Iroh tore through Ba Sing Se's wall like it was toilet paper, and ended the siege by burning the flag of the Fire Nation hanging in the palace, symbolizing that the Earth Kingdom is free once again. The irony being that in his heyday when he was a famed General working for the Fire Nation, he couldn't pull it off (granted, he didn't have Sozin's Comet then and only retreated because his son died, but still). And now years later, he accomplished this in less than a day (ousting Azula's 48-hour takeover). Maybe fighting for something he really believes in helps.
295*** That moment when he becomes empowered by the comet. Without him making a single gesture, a ring of fire appears around him and his comrades. It steadily grows in intensity as he inhales and exhales, until at last he condenses it into a ball and sends it through the wall.
296** The simple fact that this is Iroh's redemption. Iroh may have started his redemption journey long before the series began, but it takes until the very end of the show for him to complete it. Iroh was once one of the greatest generals the Fire Nation ever saw and was on record as the only person to have ever laid siege to Ba Sing Se, but since then he's learned the errors of war and imperialism and became part of a secret society dedicated to fighting it. That moment, when he burned the flag of his home nation and freed the Earth Kingdom symbol beneath it, was a powerful rejection of the ideals he'd been born into. Iroh of the Fire Nation went from the monster the rest of the world feared to a hero who fought for peace.
297!!Azula
298* [[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderTheAvatarState "The Avatar State"]]: [[EstablishingCharacterMoment From her first major ever appearance]].
299-->'''Azula:''' You said the tides would not allow us to bring the ship in. Do the tides command this ship?\
300'''Captain:''' No, princess.\
301'''Azula:''' And if I were to have you thrown overboard, would the tides think twice about smashing you against the rocky shore?\
302'''Captain:''' No, princess.\
303'''Azula:''' Well then, maybe you should worry less about the tides who have already made up their mind about killing you, and worry more about me, who's still mulling it over.
304** In the same episode, she first demonstrates [[ShockAndAwe Lightningbending]]. The demonstration is ''almost'' perfect, with the only blemish being a single strand of hair out of place-not enough for her, she demands ''perfection'' from herself.
305* [[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderReturnToOmashu "Return To Omashu"]]: Creating discs of fire.
306* [[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderTheChase "The Chase"]]:
307** Creating a flame shield around her that can block four simultaneous bending attacks all at once.
308** Also, in both "Return to Omashu" and this episode, [[ImplacableWoman she comes off almost like a force of nature that refuses to slow down]]. [[WakeUpCallBoss She certainly comes across as a]] ''[[WakeUpCallBoss far]]'' [[WakeUpCallBoss greater threat]] than [[SmugSnake Zhao]] ever did.
309* [[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderTheCrossroadsOfDestiny "The Crossroads of Destiny"]]:
310** Where to even begin? [[TheChessmaster Azula]] cements her place in villain history here. First, single-handedly taking over Ba Sing Se in under 48 hours by promising Long Feng an opportunity to take the throne, and exploiting the alliance to sway the loyalties of the Dai Li to herself. Which also brings about this gem of an exchange:
311-->'''Long Feng:''' [[OutGambitted You've beaten me at my own game]].
312-->'''Azula:''' [[MagnificentBastard Don't flatter yourself. You were never even a player]].
313** Afterwards, [[TheCorrupter she turns Zuko back to the side of the Fire Nation]], just as it looked like he was about to make his long-awaited HeelFaceTurn, resulting in one of the most shocking twists in the entire series [[ManipulativeBastard using just the right words to get him to trust her over his uncle, despite the fact that he knows she always lies]].
314** Finally, during the last fight, Aang realizes Katara and he can't beat Azula, Zuko and [[EliteMooks the Dai Li]] without some serious power. Aang goes into the Avatar State and rises into the air, encased in a pillar of light. Katara looks on with admiration and awe, the music gets upbeat and [[SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic seriously epic]], and it looks like we're about to see a repeat of [[CurbStompBattle the Book One finale]]... and then [[HeroKiller Azula]] fries him with a bolt of lightning, in the middle of the transformation sequence. While everyone else just gawked, she hit Aang with her most powerful attack, at the exact moment he was most vulnerable. It's nightmarish and shocking (even the soundtrack sounds stunned and frightened), and it's exactly what a [[MagnificentBastard cunning, dangerous villain]] should do. Honestly, the episode could probably be renamed "[[TheBadGuyWins Azula's Finest Hour]]".
315* [[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderTheAwakening "The Awakening"]]: If there was any doubt whatsoever about Princess Azula's MagnificentBastard status after she demonstrated her ruthlessness and her savviness in the second season finale, the start of the next season removed them. Keep in mind that that scene opened with Zuko barging into her bedroom demanding to know, "Why'd you do it?" Her response? "[[ButForMeItWasTuesday You're going to have to be a little more specific]]." Because she's currently working on so many diabolical plots, she can't possibly be expected to know off the top of her head which one he's referring to.
316-->'''Azula''': You seemed so worried about how [[TheUnfavorite father would treat you]] because you hadn't captured the Avatar. I figured, if I gave you the credit [for killing him], you'd have nothing to worry about.
317-->'''Zuko''': But why?
318-->'''Azula''': Call it a generous gesture. I wanted to thank you for your help, and I was happy to share the glory.
319-->'''Zuko''': You're lying.
320-->'''Azula''': If you say so.
321-->'''Zuko''': [[ThePlan You have another motive for doing this]]. I just haven't figured out what it is.
322-->'''Azula''': Please, Zuko. What ulterior motive could I have? What could I possibly gain by letting you get all the glory for defeating the Avatar? Unless somehow, [[ParanoiaFuel the Avatar was actually alive]]... All that glory would suddenly turn to shame and foolishness. [[NoOneCouldSurviveThat But you said yourself that was impossible]]. Sleep well, Zuzu.
323* [[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderTheDayOfBlackSunPart2 "Day of Black Sun Part 2 The Eclipse]]":
324** When [[LivingLieDetector Toph]] tells Azula she can tell when people are lying, Azula replies: "I am a 400-foot-tall purple platypus-bear with pink horns and silver wings.", and Toph admits she is good.
325** Swiftly avoiding and evading simultaneous bending attacks from Aang and Toph without even breaking a sweat during the eclipse when she is rendered [[BroughtDownToBadass powerless]].
326** Her masterstroke idea to buy time: She taunts Sokka, the man who knew she was just stalling for time by toying with him on "her favorite prisoner." What makes this brilliant? Azula never gave any specifics. [[YouJustToldMe She simply played vague and taunted and let Sokka do the rest of the work]], buying out the necessary time to stall out the eclipse. She let Sokka beat himself and cost the team their moment.
327* [[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderTheBoilingRockPart2 "The Boiling Rock"]]: When Azula starts flying, using her Firebending to turn herself into a small rocket.
328* [[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderTheSouthernRaiders "The Southern Raiders"]]: When Azula recovers from falling down a cliff by using Firebending to reach a cliff and stopping with a hair pin, leaving her hanging off the face of a cliff with her hair billowing in the wind.
329* [[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderSozinsCometPart4AvatarAang "Sozin's Comet Part 4: Avatar Aang"]]: Azula even as she is losing, then forfeiting, her duel with Zuko. We hear [[OldMaster Iroh's]] lessons about the generation of lightning requiring total calmness and dispassion/serenity in Season two. So of course we see Azula, in the middle of a full-blown psychotic break, do it anyway. Crazy as she was at the time, Azula's proficiency with the technique would cause her to unconsciously focus on the task, even if her conscious mind was in turmoil.
330!!Mai
331* [[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderReturnToOmashu "Return To Omashu"]]: Her [[EstablishingCharacterMoment very first scene]] where she chases the Gaang, who take out all her family's guards but not her. Aang collapses a scaffolding in her path that still fails to stop her, leading to an OhCrap moment after one of her throwing stars nearly impales him.
332* [[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderTheDrill "The Drill"]]: Coolly being rather above it all and refusing to jump into the slurry, stating "She can shoot all the lightning she wants at me -- I am not going in that [[BuffySpeak wall-sludge juice]]." Almost as awesome as getting the last word: "We lost."
333* [[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderTheBeach "The Beach"]]: Where she puts on a WellExcuseMePrincess, including a DidYouThinkICantFeel moment.
334* [[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderTheBoilingRockPart2 "The Boiling Rock Part 2"]]:
335** Her BigDamnHeroes moment in single-handedly dispatching an entire squad of prison guards with her arsenal of knives, thus saving the heroes and their party. When asked what she is doing, she replies: "[[DeadpanSnarker Saving the jerk who dumped me]]."
336** Her standoff with Azula where she tells her, "[[EvilCannotComprehendGood You miscalculated]]. I love Zuko more than I fear you." Such an awesome line it pushes Azula down the road to her VillainousBreakdown.
337*** Mai must know that she is out of her league against Azula, yet she shows absolutely no fear when preparing to fight one-on-one.
338!!Ty Lee
339* [[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderTheDrill "The Drill"]]: When an Earth Kingdom general sends out an "elite platoon of Earthbenders" to stop the Fire Nation's advance on Ba Sing Se. They do indeed prove to be formidable, destroying a decent amount of tanks initially. Then Ty Lee shows up and essentially defeats them all in a matter of seconds.
340* [[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderTheBeach "The Beach"]]: Where Zuko vents his anger out at her and mocks her for her happy attitude and calls her a 'circus freak'. She shoots back with how she joined the circus to get her own identity, before ending with how 'circus freak' is a compliment to her. Given how easy-going she is, standing up for herself like that was awesome.
341* [[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderTheBoilingRockPart2 "The Boiling Rock Part 2"]]: Ty Lee taking out Azula to save Mai, especially considering how terrified she was known to be.
342* Overall, Ty Lee's ability to temporarily debend ''and'' paralyze powerful opponents with a combination of advanced acrobatics and knowing exactly which pressure points to strike. Bonus for being the only character in the series to do this.
343!!Ozai
344* [[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderTheDayOfBlackSunPart2 "The Day of Black Sun Part 2 The Eclipse"]]:
345** After successfully stalling Zuko long enough, Ozai is instantly aware of when the eclipse no longer affects Firebending. This man's been in an underground bunker for over a day and he knows the split second of when his power is back.
346** Lightning is the most advanced form of Firebending and it takes both Azula and Iroh three to five seconds to fire a single bolt at a target. Ozai can create an even larger and stronger lightning bolt than them in two seconds ''at most''. The speed, power, and precision required for what he's capable of is staggering.
347* [[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderSozinsCometPart3IntoTheInferno "Sozin's Comet"]]:
348** Under the might of the comet, Ozai demonstrates true flight as a Firebender, blasting through the sky like a fighter jet.
349** Ozai's attacks are so vicious that Aang is forced into pure defence by creating a stone barrier around himself. Undeterred, Ozai starts blasting the rock to roast Aang alive inside. Ozai then has enough and with a little leverage ''shatters'' the barrier with a concussive blast of fire.
350!!Others
351* [[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderTheBlueSpirit "The Blue Spirit"]]: The Yu Yan Archers are pure awesome, despite not even [[BadassNormal being benders of any kind]]:
352--> '''Zhao''': "The Yu Yan Archers' skill is legendary. They can pin a fly to a tree a hundred feet away. ''Without killing it.''"
353** Aang, pursued by them, jumps down a cliff to escape. After all, he's an Airbender, so he can slow his fall. The Yu Yan Archers aren't - but without even a moment's hesitation they jump after him, shoot arrows with ropes tied to them at trees below them WHILE FALLING, and then use those ropes to swing down to the ground without breaking their pace. Oh, and they quickly proceed to capture the Avatar, something that even very experienced benders have great problems with.
354** Another awesome moment from the Archers comes later in the episode, when Zhao calls one of them in to snipe the Blue Spirit. From hundreds of feet away. Without hitting Aang. Keep in mind that the Spirit is holding Aang hostage and they are literally less than a foot away from each other. And he does this ''in the dark''.
355* [[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderTheSiegeOfTheNorthPart2 "The Siege of The North Part 2"]]: Admiral Zhao, who is usually best at awesomely screwing up. Hahn charges onto the deck of his ship intending to assassinate him. Without turning around, with no fuss, no warning, no acknowledgement whatsoever, Zhao casually throws him overboard, and without missing a beat, then says to Iroh, "[[CasualDangerDialogue As I was saying]]..."
356** Regardless of whether it was a good idea or not, [[InsaneAdmiral Zhao]] [[DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu did manage to kill the Moon]].
357** Zhao arguably went out with more dignity than [[SmugSnake someone like him]] has any right to. With the moon back in the sky, the angry Ocean Spirit got a grip on him, and the young man he loathed reaching out to save him, he doesn't panic or breakdown whatsoever. Instead he decides to let the spirit [[FaceDeathWithDignity drag him to his doom]] and go down like the war hero he believed himself to be.
358* [[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderTheHeadband "The Headband"]]: The class of Fire Nation children covering for Aang as he escapes, by all [[IAmSpartacus putting on red headbands]], his only distinguishing feature at that point, so he could sneak through the crowd.
359* [[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderTheBeach "The Beach"]]: Combustion Man's first fight, where he relentlessly pursues the Gaang and continuously [[HavingABlast blows up]] whatever they throw at him, be it a huge mass of water, deluge of rock, or stone pillars.
360* [[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderSokkasMaster Sokka's Master"]]: Piandao at the end of the episode. Sokka is fighting for his life against a master swordsman, and Piandao is critiquing his technique.
361** How Piandao wins. Sokka threw sand in his face and attempted to run, but stepped on a twig. The sound clued Piandao in on Sokka's location and he quickly disarmed him even though he couldn't see. He demonstrated why he is considered the best swordsman in the history of the Fire Nation and that Sokka only lasted as long as he did because the master wanted to see what his student had learned.
362* [[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderTheAvatarAndTheFireLord "The Avatar and the Fire Lord"]]: Fire Lord Sozin of all people has one of these. Seeing the Avatar's village besieged by a volcano, his first instinct is to rush to the area to save the people, to fight alongside his then-arch enemy Roku (the two of whom haven't so much as spoken for 20 years) without so much as batting an eyelash. It ends up making his betrayal of the Avatar all the more horrifying and heartwrenching however.
363** Roku and Sozin get a combined one when they, for a little while, manage to ''stop a volcano!'' True, eventually they lose, but their powers combined are truly a wonder to behold, the most powerful fire bender of his era and the Avatar working in unison.
364* [[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderTheBoilingRockPart2 The Boiling Rock Part 2]]: The Warden of the titular prison demonstrates just how dedicated he is to his job when he is held hostage on the cable car, when [[KillUsBoth he demands it to be cut down with him in it]]. Bonus points for having boasted about it in the [[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderTheBoilingRockPart1 first part of the episode]], showing he puts his money where his mouth is.
365** From the same episode, Hakoda tries to start a riot unsuccessfully. Chit Sang appears and Sokka asks him if he wouldn't happen to know how to start one. Chit Sang just nonchalantly says "A riot? Please...", picks up a random prisoner as he walks towards the gathered prisoners, shouts "RIOT!" while lifting said prisoner above his head... and a successful riot starts.
366[[/folder]]
367[[folder:Other Characters]]
368!!Bumi
369* [[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderTheKingOfOmashu "The King of Omashu"]]: During Bumi's fight with Aang, Aang tricks Bumi into sending a boulder flying at himself. Bumi then turns the boulder to dirt when it comes in contact without moving an inch. He then proceeds to ''hurl a huge chunk of the stadium at Aang'', but Aang sends it flying back with a tornado. Bumi then splits that piece in half as it comes at him, again without moving an inch. Aang uses this as an opening and makes his move, but then we see that Bumi used the movement of sticking up his hand to hang a rock right above them both.
370** The beginning of the fight is pretty awesome. For his final test, Bumi calls two very tough-looking warriors by his side and tells Aang to choose any of the presented warriors to be his opponent. Aang, attempting to be clever, chooses Bumi as his opponent. Cue Bumi throwing off his robes to reveal that he's ''ripped'' despite his apparent age and an incredibly powerful Earthbender.
371--->'''Bumi:''' [[PreAsskickingOneLiner Wrong choice]].
372* [[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderReturnToOmashu "Return To Omashu"]]: When Aang rescued him, he fought off Azula despite being in a steel coffin, earthbending using his face. Then he willingly sends himself back because he wants to be there to rescue his city the moment the opportunity presents itself.
373* "Sozin's Comet": King Bumi's {{Flashback}} to waiting for the right moment during the Day of Black Sun, Earthbending his way out of his cage, again using only his face, and proceeding to ''level'' the entire city in one candy-fueled, maniacally laughing rampage, single-handedly wrecking all the Fire Nation soldiers in the city. He breaks a half-dozen Fire Nation tanks and stacks them all on top of each other, [[OffhandBackhand without even looking in their direction]]. He punts buildings into the air and tosses a fifty-foot statue of Ozai into the gorge after defacing it with a smiley face, and he is completely blase about the entire ordeal. According to the Commentary, Bumi had no idea that the Eclipse would strip Firebenders of their power at all, this also being an example of his neutral Jing strategy. And this guy is at least 112 years old.
374-->'''Fire Nation Soldier:''' Hey! What do you think you're doing?! ''(Tries to shoot fire, but nothing happens)'' Huh?\
375'''Bumi:''' ''(Looks confused for a moment before he smiles with realization)'' Taking back my city! You've got no more firepower, and it's payback time!
376** Keep in mind: the eclipse is still going when he's done. Bumi managed to do all of the above in under ''eight minutes.''
377!!Other Characters:
378* [[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderTheSouthernAirTemple "The Southern Air Temple"]]: The scene where Monk Gyatso's body is discovered, ''along with the bodies of at least half a dozen Fire Nation soldiers''. He went down fighting. Don't forget that the soldiers were operating with the power of Sozin's Comet and that of all the bending disciplines, Airbending is specifically said to have no lethal finishing strike like the other three. Made even more awesome when you apply FridgeLogic and realize an Airbender can make a massacre by just sucking the air out of his victims' lungs: he killed so many ''because he stopped defending and started attacking''. If more Airbenders did that, they probably would've crippled the Fire Nation military for decades.
379** It's also notable that monk Gyatso's clothes are torn and stained... but not burned. Gyatso fought of an army of firebenders ''at the peak of their bending prowess'' without a single one hitting him. Makes you wonder how he died at all. One possibility is that he actually killed himself by removing the air from the room, not only choking the firebenders but also making them defenseless, since fire needs oxygen to work.
380** The fact that Gyatso surely ''could'' have killed them without dying himself makes it a rather sad and noble kind of awesome. Gyatso was so committed to Airbender pacifism that when he was forced by circumstances to kill, he must have decided [[HeroicSacrifice the only way to atone was his own life in exchange]]. It hints at the stakes of Aang's fight with Ozai in a way they could never get away with actually saying on TV - would he willingly commit to a [[TakingYouWithMe suicidal attack]]? Especially since he [[TakeAThirdOption finds another way entirely.]]
381* [[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderImprisoned "Imprisoned"]]:
382** Haru's [[EstablishingCharacterMoment introduction]] in that episode is also pretty awesome. He's practicing his Earthbending by throwing around giant rocks with enough strength to ''make the ground shake''.
383** After Katara and the Gaang go through with their plan to give the Earthbenders something to bend, her short encouraging speech appears to fail. The warden of the rig berates her failed speech, then walks away... only for a small rock to nail him in the head. Furious, he turns around, to find Haru with a fierce, determined expression, earthbending a small circle of rocks. The warden attacks him, [[PapaWolf only for this to be the excuse the Earthbenders needed to fight back, and kick their asses]]. [[NiceJobFixingItVillain Nice job fixing it]].
384** Haru's dad Tyro throwing the warden and a few Imperial Firebenders into the ocean off a stone platform.
385-->'''Warden:''' [[AintTooProudToBeg No! Please! I can't swim!]]\
386'''Tyro:''' [[PreMortemOneLiner Don't worry. I hear cowards float.]]\
387(Cue Tyro earthbending the platform to pieces, dropping the Warden and a few firebenders into the ocean)
388* [[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderJet "Jet"]]
389** When Sokka tries to warn the villagers of Jet's plan nobody believes him, until one man steps in and vouches for him. The man in question was a helpless and old fire-nation man whom Jet and his comrades attacked without provocation. The man saw Sokka stand up for him and look at him apologetically before leaving. He therefore knew that, unlike Jet, Sokka was an honourable person. The best part? Thanks to this man's intervention, the village was evacuated safely without a single casualty.
390** Often overlooked is the stark contrast between this man's actions to those of the old man from "Imprisoned". The latter is an Earth Kingdom resident who betrayed Haru to the Fire Nation, despite the fact that the young man saved his life earlier that day. Here, the man Sokka helped is implied to be from the Fire Nation, i.e. Jet and the Gaang's enemies. Yet even so, he helps a member of Team Avatar to save innocent people lives.
391* [[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderTheSiegeOfTheNorthPart2 "The Siege of The North Part 2"]]: Master Pakku demonstrates exactly why he is called "master" on an unsuspecting group of Fire Nation soldiers. It involves a water-spout.
392* "[[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderAvatarDay Avatar Day]]": Avatar Kyoshi showing us just how powerful a fully realized Avatar is. In the space of a few seconds, she humiliates the tyrant she is fighting, splits off part of the mainland, and uses Airbending to blow it out to sea, creating Kyoshi Island. Avatar Kyoshi, people - so much of a badass she can stand her ground even while retreating.
393** She's so badass, she can ''come back from the dead''. And she does it just to flip off the court trying to prosecute her reincarnation.
394--->'''Kyoshi:''' ''I killed Chin the Conqueror''.
395* [[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderCityOfWallsAndSecrets "City of Walls and Secrets"]]: Jet's fight with Zuko. Not only does he know full well that his opponent's a Firebender, but he outright tries to goad him into using his powers, risking his own life to expose his enemy's identity.
396* [[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderTheEarthKing "The Earth King"]]: The eponymous King Kuei realizing there is a conspiracy going on in his kingdom, admitting: "I've been a fool". It takes a true man to admit that.
397* [[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderThePuppetmaster "The Puppetmaster"]]: Hama surviving ''years'' of inhuman conditions and eventually striking back with the power that is as [[NightmareFuel/AvatarTheLastAirbender nightmarish]] as it is awesome.
398* "The Day of Black Sun":
399** Hue turning up as the 'monster' and tossing tanks around.
400** Hakoda's single-handed, successful attack on a watch-tower. Sokka inherited more than his dad's sense of humour, clearly.
401** The resourcefulness of the Mechanist's inventions, even when it's ultimately turned against them with the Fire Nation's zeppelins.
402* [[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderTheFirebendingMasters "The Firebending Masters"]]: The scene with the dragons where they show Aang and Zuko the true nature of Firebending is just remarkable. [[ShowDontTell They do it with very little dialogue, allowing the expressions on Zuko and Aang's faces, the imagery, and music to speak volumes. You see the two dragons dance in harmony, with Zuko and Aang mirroring their movements. Then the two dragons breath in unison and create a vortex of fire, made up of every color imaginable]]. The Chief sums it up clearly: Firebending is not just destruction, but life and creation.
403* "Sozin's Comet":
404** In Zuko's flashback to his latest war meeting, Zuko's speech about the Earth Kingdom people having hope is certainly a testament to their strong will, and it certainly explains why the war lasted 100 years. Otherwise, the war would've ended on the Fire Nation's terms a ''long'' time ago.
405** Aang finds himself on what appears to be a mysterious island. Then he finds out it is a huge living being, the [[TurtleIsland Lion Turtle]].
406** Piandao's appearance at the final episode. Unlike all of the others present, he is not a bender in any way. He literally took a sword to a gun fight (against fire-breathing tanks no less) and it's hinted he won. It makes his comments to Sokka all the more awesome.
407** Masters Pakku and Piandao fighting against Firebenders on ice. Piandao's performance is doubly badass, given that the Firebenders are all powered up by the Comet, while he [[BadassNormal has no powers at all]].
408** The Comet-powered Jeong Jeong hovering in the air with Firebending jet-feet, while simultaneously using huge waves of flame to block equally-large waves of fire, but also crash dozens of Fire Nation tanks into big functionless pileups.
409[[/folder]]

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