http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Characters/AvatarTheLastAirbenderOtherCharacters

These are other characters who Team Avatar encounter in their adventures.

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Southern Water Tribe

Kanna

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/screen_shot_5773-10-15_at_4_20_24_pm_8855.png

Voiced by: Melendy Britt (original), Miriam Torres (Latin American Spanish), Elżbieta Kijowska- Rozen (Polish)

Katara and Sokka's grandmother.

Arranged Marriage: With Pakku in the past.
Cool Old Lady: Very wise and motherly.
Dark and Troubled Past: Was arranged to marry Pakku and ran away because she refused conform to the Northern Water Tribe's sexism. She then had to see a number of atrocities from the Fire Nation, including the death of her daughter-in-law. And her only son is out fighting in the war.
December–December Romance: After so many years separated, she married Pakku when he travelled to the Southern Water Tribe.
Determinator: As a young woman she travelled from one end of the world to the other by herself in the midst of a nation-wide war to find a better life.
Generation Xerox: In her youth, Kanna was infuriated by Pakku and the Northern Water Tribe's sexism and refused to conform to the submissive role expected of her. Years later, Katara is similarly furious that as a woman she's only allowed to be a healer and challenges Pakku for the right to learn combat waterbending.
Go-Getter Girl: Ran away from the conservative and sexist Northern Water Tribe so she could live more freely.
I Was Quite the Looker: A flashback of her in her teenage years shows that yes, she was indeed quite a looker. If anything, Katara is said to be her spitting image.
Parental Substitute: After Katara and Sokka's mother dies and their father leaves to fight in the war, she becomes this for them.
Runaway Fiancé: She was once arranged to be married to Pakku, but she ran away to the Southern Water Tribe. Unlike most examples, Kanna actually loved her fiancé but ran away to escape the oppressive customs of the Northern Tribe, keeping her betrothal necklace as a memento of Pakku.
Tareme Eyes: She had droopy eyes as a teenager.

Kya I

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/kya_8078.png

"Just let her go, and I'll give you the information you want."

Voiced by: Grey DeLisle (original), Mirta González (Latin American Spanish), Katarzyna Kozak (Polish)

Kya was the mother of Sokka and Katara and the wife of Hakoda. Her death during a raid on her home had a profound impact upon both her children. Katara wore her mother's necklace as a memento of her affection.

Early Installment Character-Design Difference: We see a brief vision of her in Book Two, however when we get a better visual via flashback in Book Three she looks quite a bit different.
Good Parents: She's remembered fondly of by both Katara and Sokka, especially the former.
Happily Married: Was implied to be this with Hakoda.
Heroic Sacrifice: Kya claimed to be the last remaining waterbender to spare her daughter a lifetime in prison. Though she probably wasn't expecting Yon Rha to kill her, since the Fire Nation had imprisoned all other waterbenders.
I Am Spartacus: How she saved her daughter's life.
Mama Bear: Knowing that waterbenders are taken away and imprisoned for life, Kya claimed to be the last remaining waterbender to spare her daughter such a horrible fate.
Missing Mom: To Katara and Sokka.
Satellite Family Member: She is important to the story because she sacrificed herself to save Katara's life when Katara was a little girl. Every mention of her is related to Katara's (and occasionally Sokka's) grief and the consequences of her death. Katara was forced to grow up early and take on her mother's role in the family, resulting in her being the Team Mom for her friends. In Book 3, Zuko helps Katara track down Kya's murderer, which causes her to forgive him and accept him as a friend.
Small Role, Big Impact: Her sacrifice not only saved her daughter's life, but made it possible for said daughter to free the Avatar several years later. This directly led to the end of the war.

Northern Water Tribe

Chief Arnook

Arnook

Voiced by: Jon Polito, Andej Chudy (Polish)

The chieftain of the Northern Water Tribe during the final stages of the Hundred Year War.

The Good King: Arnook always has people's safety in mind.
Outliving One's Offspring: His daugher, Yue, sacrifices herself to save the Moon spirit.
Reasonable Authority Figure: Caring for the Northern Water Tribe is his first priority, and is willing to listen to new information from Sokka and takes him at his word that the information is accurate when Sokka points out what they think they know about the Fire Nation is 85 years out of date. He assists the Avatar but is not willing to force Pakku to break tradition and train Katara which could alienate and cause division within the tribe. Additionally, while Arnook does remove Sokka from the mission after his act of disrespect and insubordination and starting a fight with a fellow warrior, he tasks Sokka to protect his daughter instead of sentencing him to a grim punishment as the existential threat makes it clear every warrior needs to be put to good use.

Hahn

"Let me tell you, Sokka, I've courted a lot of girls, but Yue is the finest, and she comes with the most perks."

Voiced by: Benjamin Diskin, Artur Pontek (Polish)

Hahn was Yue's fiancé. During the Siege of the North, he led a group of Northern Water Tribe soldiers infiltrating the Fire Nation fleet.

Ambition Is Evil: He's betrothed to Princess Yue because of the political perks, and this is portrayed as a negative aspect.
Arranged Marriage: With Princess Yue. Unlike most examples, he doesn't even hide that he has no love for her, and while bragging about it outright states he is doing it for political advantages.
Asshole Victim: Zhao chucks him off his ship.
The Casanova: Hahn outright states he's courted a lot of girls and is partly implying that he goes for the perks of the girl's family.
Disney Villain Death: He's not quite a villain, but given that he's never seen afterward, he very well may have been killed by Zhao throwing him overboard.
Dropped a Bridge on Him: He's offhandedly defeated by Zhao while he discusses his plan to destroy the Northern Tribe with Iroh.
Epic Fail: His assassination attempt on Zhao, which consists of revealing his presence (while wearing an outdated uniform), not getting Zhao's name right (calling him Admiral Choi), and charging at Zhao with a spear. It's so bad, the pyromanical Zhao doesn't resort to firebending, just nonchalantly throwing him overboard.
Glory Hound: Hahn did not want to be denied the glory of assassinating Admiral Zhao, that he recklessly charges against Zhao, only to get pushed into the sea.
Hate Sink: To make certain that no one will root for him rather than Sokka in the Love Triangle, he is presented as both incompetent and a jerkass who does not care about Yue's feelings.
Helmets Are Hardly Heroic: He throws his helmet to the side when he tries to assassinate Zhao and whips his hair around to make certain he looks good doing it.
Hidden Depths: Despite how pathetically his infiltration of Zhao's flagship ends, he still somehow managed to get to the deck where Zhao and Iroh are while wearing extremely out-of-date armour.
The Infiltration: His task during the Siege of the North is to infiltrate the Fire Nation fleet.
Informed Ability: Apparently he's a skilled and respected warrior, enough that the chief trusted him to lead the mission to assassinate Admiral Zhao. What we see him do is quite pathetic. Though the fact he managed to get so close to Zhao without arising suspicion shows he's not entirely incompetent.
Jerkass: He's an incompetent Glory Hound who is only interested in Yue for the political perks.
Lantern Jaw of Justice: He has a prominent square jawline and is on the heroes' side, but his attitude leaves very much to be desired. Furthermore, the contrast of his jawline and lean build makes him look rather "off" and slimy instead of handsome out-of-universe.
Laser-Guided Karma: Even if he survived Zhao throwing him off his ship, his brazen attempt to kill Zhao inevitably fails, allowing Zhao to kill the moon spirit and forcing Yue to give up her life to revive it, costing him the perks of marrying her.
Prince Charmless: While not explicitly a prince, he is some form of high nobility, and lovelessly betrothed to Yue for political reasons.
The Rival: To Sokka over Yue. Hahn is betrothed to Yue, but Sokka has her heart.
Small Role, Big Impact: If he had simply killed Zhao by surprise when he had the chance, he would've been the successor to the throne, and Unalaq would've never obtained power. In addition, on a much smaller scale, if he had taken Zhao out, Iroh would likely have taken command of the siege, and he certainly would never have allowed the Moon Spirit to come to harm, meaning Yue would still be alive and would have come to power after her father's passing instead.
Upper-Class Twit: He insults Sokka because he is from the Southern Water Tribe, stating that Sokka wouldn't understand the "political complexities" of the Northern Water Tribe; said complexity is marrying Yue for political reasons. His feud with Sokka begins when Sokka notes the discrepancies with current and past Fire Nation Navy uniforms. Hahn also can't be trusted to learn the Fire Nation admiral's name: Zhao.
What Happened to the Mouse?: It's never shown if he survived being thrown out of Zhao's ship or how he reacted to Yue's fate.

Earth Kingdom

Jet

"We can't win without making some sacrifices."

Voiced by: Crawford Wilson, Janusz Zadura (Polish, season 1), Krzysztof Królak (Polish, season 2 )

Voiced by (Italian): Simone Crisari

Voiced by (German): Florian Knorn

As a young boy, Jet's family was killed by the Fire Nation. Swearing vengeance, Jet became a dashing rebel against their forces, forming a Merry-Men esque group of freedom fighters with other war orphans. However, Jet has an extremist side and is willing to destroy the Fire Nation by any means necessary. After getting called out by Katara and Sokka, Jet realized the error of his ways and tried to start over, only to get brainwashed into an agent of the Dai Li by Long Feng. And then is killed by him when he tried to break free.

Anti-Hero: Albeit a tragic one. At first, he seems like a romantic, handsome, vigilante freedom fighter, but he's willing to go to horrifying extremes to defeat the Fire Nation. Later, he goes straight. Unfortunately, Redemption Equals Death.
Anti-Villain: His motives are understandable — the Fire Nation killed his family and has done many other terrible things — but he's not above killing innocent people.
The Atoner: In Book Two, he shows deep regret for trying to flood an entire Earth Kingdom village that was occupied by the Fire Nation and decides to move to Ba Sing Se to start over and helps Team Avatar find Appa to show that he's changed.
Back for the Dead: Jet's return to the series was meant to serve as a catalyst for how fucked up a city Ba Sing Se was.
Badass Normal: He's a perfectly normal teenage boy, but his two hookswords and impressive agility more than make up for his lack of bending.
Bad Butt: Given the demographic of the show, this is inevitable.
Bait the Dog:
- He is hospitable enough when he first meets Team Avatar, allowing them to take refuge in his hideout and sharing his backstory with them. He then casually reveals he plans on blowing up the Fire Nation colony along with its inhabitants.
- After returning to the show, he expresses remorse for his past deeds, steals food for poor boat passengers, and tries to strike up a friendship with Zuko. He then goes to obsessive lengths to prove that Zuko and Iroh are Fire Nation before finally attacking them with his swords.
Black-and-White Insanity: Jet has nothing but pure hatred for the Fire Nation that he’ll go after ANYONE from the Fire Nation, even if they’re civilians. To him, all firebenders and Fire Nation people are bad.
Brainwashed and Crazy: Courtesy of Long Feng. It doesn't last, but sadly, neither does his life after he is freed.
Broken Ace: He's strong, he's a good leader, he sweeps Katara off her feet, and Aang doesn't even seem to notice because he thinks Jet is awesome, too. Only Sokka is suspicious of him, and for good reason; they later find out that Jet is rather psychotic and was willing to kill innocent people in order to wipe out a few Fire Nation soldiers.
Cassandra Truth: Although his fanatical behavior is not justifiable, and he has no solid proof, Jet is actually right that Zuko and Iroh are firebenders. No one in Ba Sing Se believes him because, well, he's acting like a violent zealot.
The Charmer: "I like your hair-loopies."
Consummate Liar: He lies through his teeth very casually and convincingly. Even when caught out with inconsistency, he smoothly weaves it into his web with his endearing, understanding manner and self-effacing language, both typical of accomplished conmen.
Corrupted Character Copy: Being an homage to the protagonists of Shinichiro Watanabe's works, he can be seen as a more vicious version of Mugen or Spike Spiegel, sharing both of their charming, laidback personalities but none of their morals (at least at first).
Cynicism Catalyst: Seeing his parents murdered has driven Jet on a much darker path.
Dark and Troubled Past: Jet watched his parents and village be murdered by Fire Nation soldiers when he was only a child.
Didn't Think This Through: Any time he tries to out gambit the Fire Nation or enemy firebenders in general, his plans are filled with holes, ranging from excessively overkill at best and outright suicidal at worst.
- In his first appearance, he plans to rid the Fire Nation soldiers that occupied the town of Gaipan by causing a massive flood. Not only would this "plan" of his be complete overkill had it actually succeeded (causing numerous innocent casualties in collateral damage to eliminate a tiny sliver of the Fire Nation's land army, killing more people than he would have saved), but it would've backfired horribly on him in the long run. Considering how ruthless the Fire Nation is, to the point where one General in Zuko's past was willing to sacrifice an entire division of new recruits just to distract the Earth Kingdom's battalion^note, it wouldn't be a stretch that the Fire Nation military would burn down the entire forest just to take out Jet and his freedom fighters (or even just Jet himself) if they have proven to be enough of a threat to gain their attention.
- In his attempts to unmask Zuko and Iroh as firebenders, he ends up attacking them when they're at work, and his poor choice of wording — "I saw the old man heating his tea!" — and getting into a duel with Zuko means all the bystanders are firmly on Zuko and Iroh's side when the Dai Li show up.
The Dragon: To Long Feng, but not intentionally.
Dropped a Bridge on Him: Lampshaded in "The Ember Island Players" episode, wherein the main heroes' journey is re-enacted in a play, including the rather ambiguously depicted death of Jet.
Zuko: "Did Jet just... die?"
Sokka: "You know, it was really unclear."
Dual Wielding: With some rather unique hooked-swords.
Easily Forgiven: By the Gaang (with the exception of Katara) in Ba Sing Se. Even after his death, Katara still holds his crime of attacking innocents against him, showing that she still sees him as a terrorist. Word of God even admits that they had to invoke this trope for Sokka in order to focus on Katara's anger and the Dai Li plot.
Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Jet's anger over the deaths of his parents is what pushed him into extremism.
Evil Counterpart: To Sokka. Both have experienced tragedy at the hands of the Fire Nation and both are Badass Normals who can fight evenly with powerful benders. How they differ is how they act toward the Fire Nation, since Sokka doesn't take his hatred into He Who Fights Monsters territory.
Evil Eyebrows: He's more amoral than evil, but he's got very interesting eyebrows.
Fantastic Racism: Toward the Fire Nation, but he's hardly unique in this.
Fatal Flaw: Even as The Atoner, he's completely incapable of thinking of the Fire Nation as anything but Always Chaotic Evil. However, he does get a better idea of how to treat them without going off the slippery slope. Before his development, he would've gladly flooded a Fire Nation-controlled town full of Earth Kingdom civilians. After, he tries to keep his anger under control and simply gathers evidence to report to the police.^noteTries, but fails.
Faux Affably Evil: Towards Sokka when he finds out about his plan.
Femme Fatale: Gender Inverted. He's a sexy, charming boy who uses his outer seductiveness to blind Katara to his dangerous intentions. Like many female examples of this trope, he comes to genuinely care about Katara and ends up redeeming himself — and then dying.
First Love: Jet was Katara's first crush before she realized how truly dark he was.
Freudian Excuse: He lost his family to a Fire Nation raid, much like how Katara lost her mother.
Hairstyle Inertia: Jet has the same style of Messy Hair from when he was a child.
Hammer Hilt: Each of Jet's swords has a small dagger set into the handle, allowing him to use them for stabbing attacks.
Harmful to Minors: When he was little, he watched his entire village and family get burned down.
Heel–Face Brainwashing: The Dai Li's brainwashing also has the effect of tempering Jet's extremist behavior, rehabilitating him into an obedient, yet model citizen.
Heel–Face Revolving Door: Considering his character, it's no surprise.
He Who Fights Monsters: He has a pretty damn good reason to hate the Fire Nation, but he sadly takes his hatred a little too far.
Ignored Epiphany: He got a wakeup call from Sokka and Katara about how he's become as bad as the Fire Nation soldiers that made him an orphan by attacking innocents who weren't hurting anyone. Jet seemed to take this lesson to heart when he boards the boat to Ba Sing Se... and then he sees Iroh's tea suddenly become hot after he complained about it being cold. Even though Zuko just helped him steal food for the poor boat passengers, he becomes determined to expose him and his uncle as Firebenders. Lampshaded when his friends advise him against going back to his old ways but he refuses to listen.
Inspector Javert/Sympathetic Inspector Antagonist: To Zuko and Iroh. Turns out he was right to be suspicious, after Zuko helps take over Ba Sing Se when Azula tempts him.
Ironic Echo:
Katara: "We were just following instinct!"
Jet: "You'll get yourself killed that way."
Ironic Hell: Jet believes that the Freedom Fighters should follow him without question and anyone who threatens his plans will either be forcibly stopped or killed. In Ba Sing Se, the Dai Li brainwash him into following their orders obliviously and Long Feng kills him when he fights back.
Jumping Off the Slippery Slope: Jet's goal is to protect children like himself orphaned by the warmongering Fire Nation and to fight back. However, it's made pretty clear that Jet has jumped off this slope when he attempts to drown an entire town uninvolved with the war effort, murder innocent elderly people, and put his own life at risk for the purpose of revenge. He notably later attempts to jump back on the slope, but it doesn't turn out too well. It's implied he had already fallen that far long before they met him — the plan was already in place and he had apparently been attacking travelers indiscriminate to their threat-level for a while now. Not to mention his "enforcers" thought nothing of Jet ordering them to kill Sokka. It's not entirely clear whether he truly regretted his actions for being morally wrong.
Just Like Robin Hood: He's a dashing young rebel who leads a ragtag team to fight off tyranny. Unlike Robin Hood, however, his methods and morals are a lot more venomous.
Knight Templar: Particularly in his first appearance. To him, everyone in the Fire Nation is evil and must be destroyed, even if they are harmless elderly people or if doing so would wipe out scores of innocent people in a town that is merely being occupied by Fire Nation troops.
Manchurian Agent: He was brainwashed by the Dai Li and ordered to kill Aang.
Manipulative Bastard:
- In his debut episode, his interactions with Aang, Katara, and Sokka are extremely manipulative. He frequently compliments them; this is not merely an example of him being The Charmer as some compliments are more subtle than others, such as implying that Katara was responsible for Sokka's supposed Out-of-Character Moment. This not only makes her feel good, it neatly deflects them from wandering down any nasty trains of thought. When he realizes that Sokka and the other two have a split over their trust of him, he plays them against each other while still trying to court each side. He continues to try to win over Sokka even near the end of the episode; not because he thinks he will be successful, but to keep up appearances.
- In his second appearance, he tries to tempt Zuko into joining the Freedom Fighters by cleverly picking up that Zuko's the kind of guy who believes he deserves better than what he's getting and despite his gruff nature, he will help people who he recognizes are in a similar situation (Jet thought Zuko's scar marked him as a fellow victim of the Fire Nation). Jet's only flaws in his plan are that he doesn't understand Zuko and Iroh's relationship, that Zuko doesn't want to leave his uncle again. He gives up when he realizes Zuko's a Firebender.
Master Swordsman: Jet uses his dual hook swords to take on a pack of Fire Nation soldiers, outfight Aang, and duel Zuko to a standstill. It's worth noting that he's not a classically trained swordsman and uses a lot of Confusion Fu to give himself the edge.
Messy Hair: Jet has spiky, unkempt hair.
Missed Him by That Much: For all his efforts to force Iroh and Zuko to reveal themselves by firebending, they both do without any provocation in Tales of Ba Sing Se- Iroh to light incense sticks, and Zuko to light the lights at a fountain. Jet just couldn't witness it because he'd been arrested after his paranoid attack on Zuko.
Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: In Ba Sing Se, he tries to attack Zuko and Iroh in the tea shop where they work, to make them firebend in self-defense and out themselves. Zuko draws his swords and reveals he doesn't need to firebend to fight back, and Jet's ramblings make him look like a paranoiac to the passerby. When the police take him into custody, they deliver him to the Dai Li where he's brainwashed... to first lead the Avatar on a Wild Goose Chase for Appa and then kill him on Long Feng's orders. Oops. Later circumstances reveal that Zuko getting arrested by the Dai Li would have done more harm than good in the long run.
Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: His assaulting an elderly old man led to Sokka becoming suspicious of him. That same old man would vouch for Sokka when the latter ran to warn the nearby village about the Freedom Fighters' plan to engineer a flood. As Sokka put it, Jet's desire to endanger innocent lives ended up derailing his plans.
"Not So Different" Remark: Twice. First to Zuko and then to Katara (Aang makes the comparison to the latter).
Oral Fixation: Likes to carry a piece of wheat in his mouth.
Rebel Leader: He's the leader of the Freedom Fighters.
Rebel Relaxation: He's very fond of this, complete with a piece of straw in his mouth much like a cigarette, effectively wooing Katara (in the episode "Jet") because of All Girls Want Bad Boys.
Redemption Equals Death: He dies not long after he makes his redemption.
Reformed, but Rejected: Technically a subversion, as he was unknowingly working for Long Feng at the time and was less reformed than he thought he was. Still, Katara absolutely refused to believe he has changed. Understandably so given that he lied to her before and tried to use her and Aang to flood an Earth Kingdom village.
Revenge Before Reason: Even though he was completely justified in being suspicious of Zuko, the methods he goes to prove he's from the Fire Nation were not smart. Stealing Iroh's fire stones was sensible enough, but attacking him and Zuko in broad daylight wasn't, especially since Zuko and Iroh weren't hurting anyone. His friends even lampshade it, telling him that he's going too far.
Romantic False Lead: For Katara. She spent a majority of his first episode fawning over him, but she rejected him once she learned he plans to flood a village. When they meet again in Ba Sing Se, Toph asks Katara if Jet was an ex-boyfriend, which she denies. Then there's the little blush on Katara's face after Toph says she's lying.
Shout-Out: His laid back demeanor, character design, and name are shout outs to the works of Shinichiro Watanabe of Cowboy Bebop and Samurai Champloo fame. His characterization, on the other hand...
Small Name, Big Ego: Seems to think he's a much bigger threat to the Fire Nation than he actually is. Though this could just be him trying to boost the Freedom Fighters' morale.
Smug Smiler: He does this. During his first appearance, the writers apparently had orders to make sure Jet always looked cool.
Teens Are Monsters: He attempts to kick an old man in the head and flood a whole village of innocents in his intense rage towards the Fire Nation. He's the leader of a gang of teenagers willing to commit murder and other dark crimes for no other motivation than revenge, and gets called a monster in-universe by Katara. He's changed his approach by the next time we see him, insisting that nobody else will get hurt when he tries to expose two firebenders disguised as Earth Kingdom refugees, but is forced to learn that Redemption Equals Death when his plan backfires on him.
Thin Chin of Sin: He has a very angular jawline and while not a villain, his hatred of the Fire Nation leads him into taking very extreme actions.
Tragic Hero: Despite redeeming himself, his deadly obsession with Fire Nation was what led him to become a pawn of Long Feng. He also genuinely loved Katara.
Troubled, but Cute: He's attractive, charming, amoral, and has a tragic past.
The Unfettered: Before his reformation, he seemed willing to cross any line to take down the Fire Nation.
Unusual Eyebrows: Of the kinked variety.
Well-Intentioned Extremist: He really does want to help take down the Fire Nation, but is rather hardcore in the lengths he's willing to go to.
Would Harm a Senior: The clincher that makes both the audience and Sokka realize Jet is not that well-intentioned is when he attacks a harmless old man for being from the Fire Nation, even attempting to kick him in the head. Sokka luckily stops him before he can go any further.
Would Hurt a Child: Jet had no problem flooding a village that was also filled with children.
You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: Long Feng kills him after he breaks free of his brainwashing.
You Have to Believe Me!: Does this a lot in Ba Sing Se after discovering Zuko's and Iroh's secret.

The Freedom Fighters

Freedom Fighters

From left to right: Jet, Smellerbee, The Duke, Pipsqueak, and Sneers. Missing: Longshot

Voiced by: Nika Futterman (Smellerbee), Mitch Hollerman (The Duke, Season 1), Nick Soboda (The Duke, Season 3), Sterling Young (Pipsqueak), Marc Donato (Longshot)

The Freedom Fighters are a handful of children and teenagers from (apparently) all over the Earth Kingdom who have been orphaned by the attacks of the Fire Nation. Led by Jet, they are a Ragtag Bunch of Misfits who pretty much throw monkey wrenches into Fire Nation activity wherever they can.

Longshot and Smellerbee show up with Jet en route to Ba Sing Se in Book Two. Pipsqueak and The Duke show up in Season 3. Sneers, Smellerbee, and Longshot reappeared in The Promise leading the reorganized Freedom Fighters.

In General

Alliterative Name: The Freedom Fighters.
The Atoner: Longshot and Smellerbee have truly changed by the time of Season 2. They go from blindly following Jet's orders to giving him advice about his actions. When they find out Jet was brainwashed by the Dai Li, they help Team Avatar undo it and fight to rescue Appa.
Badass Normal: Longshot and Smellerbee can hold their own against Dai Li Earthbenders. As Freedom Fighters though, we can assume that anti-Firebender combat is something of a specialty for them.
Implied Love Interest: According to the "Avatar Extras", Longshot and Smellerbee were rumored to be in a romantic relationship.
Big Guy, Little Guy: Pipsqueak (big guy) and The Duke (little guy).
Bolivian Army Ending: For Longshot and Smellerbee, who stay behind to hold the Dai Li off and allow Team Avatar to escape. Their ultimate fates are unknown until The Promise, which reveals they got out fine.
Ironic Nickname: Guess which one's called Pipsqueak... Lampshaded by Aang when they first meet. He first believes Pipsqueak is The Duke's name for obvious reasons. But when he learns which Freedom Fighter's it really is, he changes his mind... It's hilarious!
Offscreen Moment of Awesome: After Jet is killed, Longshot and Smellerbee somehow managed to fight their way out of Lake Laogai and the Dai Li without a scratch.
One of the Guys: Smellerbee, who is the Freedom Fighters' only (at least properly named and introduced) female member.
Only Known by Their Nickname: Fairly obvious. Even "Jet" can also mean "black". Possibly Smellerbee is the only one who's known by her real name.
Party Scattering: Seems to have happened at some point after their first encounter with Team Avatar; while Longshot and Smellerbee accompanied Jet, Pipsqueak and The Duke apparently wandered for a while before meeting up with the invasion force.
The Revolution Will Not Be Civilized: They don't seem to have that many morality qualms during the Great War Era.
Spanner in the Works: Team Avatar was about to go on a Wild Goose Chase to find Appa with Jet in tow, who gave them a lead. They then ran into Smellerbee and Longshot, who are relieved to see them. Smellerbee reveals that Jet was arrested by the Dai Li, but Jet has no memory of it. The Gaang is confused, especially when Toph confirms Smellerbee and Jet are both telling the truth. This leads them to uncover Jet's brainwashing and Appa's real location, which would later lead to Long Feng's imprisonment.
Vigilante Man: The Freedom Fighters are just a bunch of skilled orphaned kids who fight against the Fire Nation.
What Happened to the Mouse?: Longshot and Smellerbee are not seen again in the show after tending to Jet's wounds. Sneers is not seen in the show after his debut episode. Also, all the other kids we see in "Jet" apparently went off on their own after.

Smellerbee

Boyish Short Hair: Smellerbee has a short and messy bobcut, which doesn't help her not being mistaken for a guy.
Lady Looks Like a Dude: Smellerbee. Iroh even mistakes her for a guy in "The Serpent's Pass".
The Smurfette Principle: Smellerbee is the only named female freedom fighter.
This Means Warpaint: Smellerbee has two red marks on each cheek, which fits her "rebel vigilante" look.

The Duke

Spell My Name with a "The": It's THE Duke!
Out of Focus: The Duke shares this trope with Haru and Teo. Despite being one of the few people who made it out of the failed invasion of the Fire Nation, the three never do anything of note during their time with Team Avatar. And then when Azula attacks the Western Air Temple, they end up separating from the group with Hakoda and aren't seen again until the season finale after the war is over.
Tagalong Kid: The Duke, who doesn't look older than six years old.

Longshot

Cold Sniper: Longshot's role in the group.
The Silent Bob: Smellerbee and Jet often act as though he had said something after looking at his face, though.
Suddenly Speaking: Longshot speaks after Long Feng wounds Jet.

Pipsqueak

Badass in Distress: Pipsqueak is captured by the Fire Nation after the Day of Black Sun.
Carry a Big Stick: Pipsqueak uses a log in combat.
Sticks to the Back: Pipsqueak typically carries his log on his back.

Sneers

Ascended Extra: While never having spoken once in the show, Sneers becomes more prominent in The Promise. And he has a girlfriend (and a pretty one at that).

Cai The Cabbage Merchant

Cabbage Merchant

"MY CABBAGES!!!!"

Voiced by: James Sie, Paweł Galia (Polish)

A hapless cabbage merchant whose produce keeps getting inadvertently destroyed by the Gaang. Needless to say, he's not too fond of them.

Butt-Monkey: Bar none, the biggest schlimazel in the entire franchise; the poor little fella just wants to make a sale...
Catchphrase: He tends to shriek, "MY CABBAGES!!!" nearly every time his produce is destroyed.
Disproportionate Retribution: While he understandably hates the Gaang, he's a little overzealous about it. Like that time he thought they were going to be executed (This was the first time they had destroyed his cabbages nonetheless):
"Off with their heads! One for every head of cabbage!"
Fruit Cart: The owner of one, which always gets knocked over.
Generation Xerox: His son in Legend of Korra is basically a taller, better dressed version of himself. He even shrieks, "NO! NOT MY CABBAGE CORP!" when his company is shut down.
Honor Before Reason: He’ll NEVER turn down a paying customer, even if that customer is the Avatar who agreed to make a purchase to use his establishment.
Humiliation Conga: Ho, boy. Let's recap, shall we?
- (1)"The King of Omashu": In his first appearance, his cabbages are jettisoned into a gorge by some overzealous Omashu guards, after the latter claim them to be of "inferior" quality.
- (2) Shortly after the above instance, the Gaang goes on a wild ride aboard a rogue mail delivery bin, which ends with them landing on top of the cabbage cart (and, of course, demolishing it in the process).
- (3) At the very end of the episode, the above scenario happens AGAIN, thanks to Aang and Bumi going on a joy-ride for old times' sake.
- (4) "The Waterbending Scroll": At the merchant docks, Aang uses his airbending to blast the cabbages into the faces of pursuing pirates.
- (5) "The Serpent's Pass": The passport attendant at Full Moon Bay refuses to allow the cabbages on the ferry to Ba Sing Se, for fear that they might harbor slugs that could destroy Ba-Sing-Se's ecosystem. She then calls in security, who sic a platypus bear on the cart.
  - (5a) They were right about the slugs.
- (6) "The Tales of Ba Sing Se": A rabaroo, escaped from the Ba Sing Se Zoo, scarfs down the cabbages after spending Raava-only-knows-how-long cooped up in a cramped cage with little to eat.
No Name Given: His name is never revealed, not even in supplementary material. This was eventually changed in the 2024 children's book "My Cabbages!" where his name is revealed to be Cai.
Out of Focus: Despite having a lot of appearnces in the first two seasons, he vanishes in season 3 as the Gaang left the Earth Kingdom. The merchant was only mentioned offhand as one of the sources for the Ember Island Playerss' renditon of the series.
Properly Paranoid:
- He automatically assumes the Avatar will damage his property in some manner. He's right about half the time. The other half, Aang's merely in the area while some Earth Kingdom official is responsible for smashing his cart.
- His eventual tech company, Cabbage Corp, is noted in expanded universe materials to put out extensive insurance policies out of on everything. Meaning that despite Republic City suffering several calamities during the events of the series, Cabbage Corp was covered for everything that the series threw at Republic City.
Recurring Extra: Lampshaded in "The Ember Island Players" when the list of sources for the play mentions, "a surprisingly knowledgeable merchant of cabbage".
Screw This, I'm Outta Here: In his last appearance, he goes, "MY CABB- oh, forget it!"
Throw the Dog a Bone:
- Didn't meet up with the Gaang at all during the final season, and even worked as a consultant for an anti-Avatar play.
- The Legend of Korra reveals that he and his family go on to build a large corporation that makes automobiles, among other things.
- He returns in the comic sequel "The Rift" and it shows how his passion for technology started.
Unwitting Instigator of Doom: Nearly brings cabbage slugs into Ba Sing Se.
Yank the Dog's Chain:
- Aforementioned corporation is shut down after it is wrongfully accused of providing the Equalists with weaponry. Even after death, the poor guy just can't catch a break. Well after that, his company is back and running.
- And then we learn that Cabbage Corp's products are pretty much crap compared to the things put out by their rivals at Future Industries. However, the poor quality of their products is partially the CEO's fault due to him focusing on making more money and putting too much emphasis on "cheap" alternatives.

The Kyoshi Warriors

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/kyoshi.jpg

An all-female team of warriors who serve as the protectors of Kyoshi Island. Later, fight for the Earth Kingdom during the war and serve as Zuko's bodyguards.

Action Girl: All of them, especially Suki and eventually Ty Lee.
Amazon Brigade: They are an all-female group of warriors. Avatar Kyoshi originally founded the group so the women of her village would know how to protect themselves but eventually became a force to protect Kyoshi Island from intruders.
Anti-Magic: Ty Lee teaches them chi-blocking in prison.
Art Evolution: In their first appearance, all the Warriors besides Suki pretty much looked identical. In subsequent appearances, each Kyoshi Warrior has a unique face shape, hairstyle, and headpiece.
Bolivian Army Ending: We last see them in Book Two fighting Azula, Mai, and Ty Lee. Book Three reveals they lost.
Cadre of Foreign Bodyguards: In the comics, Zuko hires them to serve as his bodyguards after the regular Praetorian Guard proves too ineffectual.
The Call Knows Where You Live: Kyoshi Island remained neutral in the war until Team Avatar showed up and unintentionally brought the Fire Nation with them. After this, the Kyoshi Warriors are inspired to leave the island and fight for the Earth Kingdom.
Combat Hand Fan: Their weapon of choice is gold fans modeled after Kyoshi’s own.
Cool Mask: Well, it’s actually face paint and not a mask, but it’s still very cool.
Defeat Means Friendship: Sort of. Ty Lee, one of the people responsible for imprisoning the Kyoshi Warriors, joins their ranks when she is imprisoned alongside them and teaches them chi-blocking. They're still a little uneasy around her in the Grand Finale, but this seems to have gone away by the time of the comics.
Friend to All Living Things: They free Appa from his chains and clean him.
Geisha: The Kyoshi Warriors have the makeup and femininity of geisha, while still being competent fighters.
Good Counterpart: To the Dai Li. Both of them were formed by Avatar Kyoshi, but while one stayed true to its purpose to protect Kyoshi Island, the other one became the enforcer of a corrupt regime. To reinforce the parallels, the Kyoshi Warriors became bodyguards for the Fire Lord much like how the Dai Li were the bodyguards of the Earth King.
Hero of Another Story: The Kyoshi Warriors went on several missions across the Earth Kingdom during the war, though the only one we actually saw was in “Appa’s Lost Days”.
Heroic Sacrifice: They let themselves be captured in order to give Appa time to escape.
Kicking Ass in All Her Finery: Just like their namesake. Their fancy uniforms are pretty standard.
Lady of War: Again, just like their namesake.
Multi-Melee Master: Their fans are their preferred weapons, but the Kyoshi Warriors are also skilled with katanas and collapsible shields, as well as hand-to-hand combat.
Ninja: They train for many years in the art of stealth.
Offscreen Moment of Awesome: Goes hand-in-hand with being heroes of another story during Books One and Two.
Le Parkour: Suki demonstrates great parkour skill at the Boiling Rock.
Properly Paranoid: While capturing Team Avatar and threatening to feed them to the Unagi was going a bit overboard, the Kyoshi Warriors are ultimately correct that Aang would lead the war to Kyoshi Island.
Put on a Prison Bus: They are arrested by Azula after “Appa’s Lost Days” and sent to prison. While Suki is sent to the Boiling Rock and eventually manages to escape, the other warriors are sent to a different prison where they briefly meet Sokka's father Hakoda and also Ty Lee again and are released at the end of the war.
True Companions: They consider themselves sisters and will always have each other’s back.
Unwitting Instigator of Doom: While leaving Kyoshi Island to fight in the Earth Kingdom is certainly a noble cause, this decision ultiimately gave Azula, Mai, and Ty Lee the disguises they needed to sneak into Ba Sing Se.

Foamy Mouth Guy

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Foaming_Mouth_Guy.png

Voiced by: Bryan Konietzko^noteUsing alias Byron McKittrick

A fan of the Avatar who lives on Kyoshi Island. Known for his tendency to go into a screaming fit and foam at the mouth when he thinks Aang is near.

Hero-Worshipper: Absolutely adores Aang.
Loony Fan: He faints and foams in the mouth when Aang is near.
Non-Standard Character Design: He's animated much differently compared to the other characters.
Squee: His Running Gag is to scream in joy whenever he sees Aang.

June

"So, this is your girlfriend... No wonder she left; she's way too pretty for you."

Voiced by: Jennifer Hale (original), Yaninna Quiroz (Latin American Spanish), Monika Pikuła(Polish, season 1), Katarzyna Kozak (Polish, season 3)

A skilled bounty hunter, June is out for money and doesn't care who she has to work for to get it. She collects bounties with Nyla, her pet Shirshu, a ferocious beast with an incredible sense of smell. When she inadvertently damaged Zuko's ship while chasing a bounty, Zuko had her hunt the Avatar as compensation. In the finale, she was recruited by Zuko to track down Iroh.

Back for the Finale: She comes back in Sozin's Comet to help the Gaang find Aang. When that fails, she is instead asked to find Iroh, and successfully does.
Badass Normal: She isn't known to have any bending abilities, but kicks plenty of ass with her whip and pet Shirshu.
Bar Brawl: She spends her free time beating up burly men.
Bounty Hunter: And a pretty darn skilled one at that.
Character Development: Her treatment of her Shirshu, Nyla improves in her second appearance. In her first appearance, she constantly whips Nyla. Come the finale, she's hugging and petting him and calling him "Snuffly-Wuffly".
Charles Atlas Superpower: Best demonstrated by her effortlessly defeating a muscular man, who struggled terribly against her in their arm-wrestling match and lifting up two men.
Dark Is Not Evil: Played with. June only hunted the Gaang because of her profession and Zuko asked her to. Other than that, June doesn't seem like a real troublemaker or even a jerk.
Deadpan Snarker: If a lot of her dialogue is anything to go by, she enjoys mocking people like Zuko.
Dressed Like a Dominatrix: Or as close to a dominatrix as Nickelodeon will allow. She wears black leather, ties her hair up, wields a whip, etc..
Eerie Pale-Skinned Brunette: She has black hair and incredibly pale skin.
Everyone Has Standards: It's implied that Zuko's revealing the Fire Lord's plans was enough to inspire her to help the Gaang free of charge.
Fluffy Tamer: Though not at first. In her first appearance, she has no problem with whipping her Shirshu when it under-performs. Later, she seems to have adopted this behavior, calling it her "Snuffly-Wuffly".
A Girl and Her X: June's father received a shirshu from a rare animal collector in payment for a bounty, and gave it to her. The shirshu, who was named Nyla, became June's inseparable companion. And they have been a team for more than 17 years.
Hell-Bent for Leather: One of the very few characters to wear leather in the series.
Jerk with a Heart of Gold: More so in her second and final appearance. She's an immoral bounty hunter seemingly only caring about money but she does care for Nyla and her implied Everyone Has Standards moment above may indicate she does have some morals.
Juggle Fu: And seemingly the reason Toph likes her!
The Lad-ette: A tough, tattooed young woman in a traditionally manly job, who loves partying, gambling, and trials of strength.
Makeup Is Evil: Subverted. June wears makeup and does become an antagonist for the Gaang but it was mainly due to Zuko hiring her.
Muscles Are Meaningless: She's able to win an one-arm wrestling contest with a much more muscular looking opponent. She didn't even struggle.
The Nicknamer: "Oh great, it's Prince Pouty."
Only in It for the Money: Money is always her priority when doing a job.
O.O.C. Is Serious Business: Subtle, but the normally Only in It for the Money June doesn't ask for any when helping the Gaang track down a missing Aang. Might have something to do with Zuko revealing the Fire Lord's evil plans.
Punch-Clock Villain: She only hunted Aang because Zuko hired her. Later, she works with the Gaang in the finale, apparently for no pay.
Raven Hair, Ivory Skin: Jun is very gorgeous and has one of the palest complexions on the show.
Scarily Competent Tracker: Thanks to her pet with the incredible sense of smell.
Sense-Impaired Monster: She has a creature known as a "shirshu", which resembles a cross between a wolf, a giant anteater, and a star-nosed mole, as her tracker, attack animal, and mount all in one. The shirshu has no eyes, but it does have an incredible sense of smell, allowing them to track a target virtually anywhere on the planet once it's picked up their scent. The main characters are able to drive it away at one point by exploiting a Logical Weakness: an animal with such powerful olfactory capabilities can't stand to be around potent scents, and it goes berserk when several pitchers of perfume are spilt around it.
Skeleton Motif: June's hairtie resembles a skull.
Small Role, Big Impact: Had only one scene in the series finale but without her and Nyla, the Gaang (minus Aang and Momo) wouldn't have been able to reunite with Iroh and the White Lotus members.
Tall, Dark, and Snarky: She's hot, has Raven Hair, Ivory Skin, and is rather sarcastic, particularly towards Zuko.
Tattooed Crook: Subverted. June has a snake tattoo on her left arm but has a professional job and only hunted tha Gaang because of it.
Tsurime Eyes: She has narrow, upwards arching eyes.
Waif-Fu: She can wrestle men twice her size.
Whip of Dominance: She carries a whip with her to keep her ferocious Shishu partner, Nyla, under control and she also has a domineering theme, with her tough and aggressive personality and her Hell-Bent for Leather outfit. She also never actually uses the whip as a weapon, using martial arts for combat instead. Notably, her usage of the whip with Nyla is used to denote her Character Development. During her first appearance in "Bato of The Water Tribe", she doesn't hesitate to ruthlessly whip Nyla for the duration of the episode yet by "Sozin's Comet, Part 2 - The Old Masters" she's now a Fluffy Tamer who hugs, pets and give treats to Nyla and even and calls him "Snuffly-Wuffly", with the whip nowhere to be seen.

Nyla

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/shirshu_0.png

Voiced by: Dee Bradley Baker

June's pet shirshu.

Action Pet: For June, as they do bounty hunting together.
All Animals Are Dogs: Zigzagged. Nyla is a combination of an anteater, wolf, and mole. He also does some dog-like things, such as licking when being friendly and growling when angry.
Big Friendly Dog: Zigzagged. Friendly to June but dangerous to those their hunting, whether they're a good person or not.
Eyeless Face: As a shirshu, Nyla doesn't have any eyes.
Gender-Blender Name: "Nyla" is a girls' name but this Nyla is male.
Lightning Bruiser: Nyla has incredible strength and is also faster than he looks.
Horse of a Different Color: June rides him like a horse.
Mix-and-Match Creatures: He looks like a giant wolf, with the plumed tail and long tongue of a giant anteater and the tentacled snout of a star-nosed mole.
Multipurpose Tongue: He uses his paralyzing tongue like a whip.
The Nose Knows: A shirshu's sense of smell is so keen, it can detect a rat from a continent away with just one whiff.
The Paralyzer: A shirshu's saliva causes temporary paralysis on contact with flesh.
Punch-Clock Villain: Like June, he only went after the Gaang because he was hired to do so.
Scarily Competent Tracker: Thanks to his incredible sense of smell.
Sense-Impaired Monster: As a shirshu, Nayla has no eyes, but does have an incredible sense of smell, allowing him to track a target virtually anywhere on the planet once he's picked up their scent. The main characters manage to exploit a Logical Weakness caused by this: since its nose is so sensititive to even faint scents, dousing him in intense perfumes sends him into sensory overload and effectively "blinds" him.
Small Role, Big Impact: Like June, without him, the Gaang wouldn't have found Iroh and the other White Lotus members in the series finale.
Tuckerization: Named after the pet dog of Lisa Yang, a writer for the series.
Weaksauce Weakness: He is rendered completely useless when his sense of smell is overloaded.

The Pirate Captain

Pirate Captain

Voiced by: Jack Angel

"I've already got a buyer — a nobleman in the Earth Kingdom. Unless, of course, you kids have 200 gold pieces on you right now?"

The Pirate Captain and his crew first appear in the first season episode "The Waterbending Scroll". Aang and his friends come aboard their ship to browse and Katara steals a very valuable waterbending scroll that The Pirate captain said he had gotten "at a most reasonable price, free" Afterwards the pirates chase after Aang and his friends to take the scroll back, they escape, then the pirates team up with Prince Zuko who is hunting The Avatar. At first The Pirates and Zuko work well together as they manage to catch Aang and his friends but then Sokka convinces the pirates to renege on their deal with Prince Zuko at which point a Mêlée à Trois battle ensues, Aang and his friends manage to escape. The Pirates ship and Prince Zuko's River Boat get destroyed in the process, and the pirates are not seen again until "The Waterbending Master" in which Admiral Zhao hires them to kill Prince Zuko. After that they are not seen again.

Badass Normal: The Pirate Captain is skilled enough with a sword to take on Prince Zuko.
"Blackmail" Is Such an Ugly Word: He admits that he stole the waterbending scroll from a northern water tribe member, but doesn't call it as such.
Faux Affably Evil: The Pirate Captain appears very personable if somewhat gruff and rough around the edges, but he drops all pretenses if he thinks you're wasting his time.
Honest John's Dealership: The pirates' ships main purpose when at port is as a store selling exotic curios.
Karma Houdini: He and his crew walk away from trying to kill Prince Zuko with more gold than they had before and seemingly are not punished.
Pirate Booty: The Pirates have quite a collection of things that they market as "exotic curios".
Pirate Parrot: Actually it looks more an Archaeopteryx, which is a prehistoric ancestor of modern birds, his pet is aptly described by Sokka as a "pet reptile-bird" Word of God states his pet is an Iguana-Parrot.
Professional Killer: Downplayed, he’s only known to have taken one contracted kill: when Zhao hired him to kill Zuko.
Talk Like a Pirate: Jack Angel pulls off his voice magnificently.
Villain of the Detour: To Team Avatar the captain is this after Katara stole a waterbending scroll from him so she and Aang could learn a new technique. Naturally the captain wants it back. When he finds out the avatar could be more worth than the scroll he tries to capture him and fails.
What Happened to the Mouse?: It's unknown what happened to him and the other pirates after Zhao hired them to kill Zuko.
Would Hurt a Child: He's perfectly willing to rough up Aang and his friends, and to hand Aang over to Zuko and the Fire Nation. Taken to an extreme when he and his crew gleefully plan Zuko's (a sixteen-year-old's) murder.

Pirate Barker Oh

Voiced by: Bryan Konietzko^noteUsing alias Byron McKittrick

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/oh_6850.png

"Earth Nation, Fire Nation, Water Nation, so long as bargains are your inclination, your're welcome here!"

Affably Evil: He seems genuinely nice, even if it is very apparent that he's quite a shady character, he also comes across as somewhat chatty and annoying.
Badass Normal: The Pirate Barker knows how to use his weapons and isn't afraid to let them do the talking if the need arises.
"Blackmail" Is Such an Ugly Word: When Sokka deduces and screams out that "You guys are pirates!" The Pirate Barker says "We prefer to think of ourselves as 'high risk traders'."
Combat Pragmatist: Uses smoke pellets to distract and disorient his enemies.
Equal-Opportunity Evil: When he's barking about their items, he mentions that "Earth Nation, Water Nation, and Fire Nation" citizens are all welcome in his shop. He's also equally interested in stealing from any of them.
Honest John's Dealership: The pirates' ships main purpose when at port is as a store selling exotic curios.
Tasty Gold: Actually says "That's some tasty gold!" While biting into a gold coin after Admiral Zhao paid the pirates to assassinate Prince Zuko.
Traveling Sales Man: This seems to be his job and he does it with enthusiasm.
What Happened to the Mouse?: It's unknown what happened to him and the other pirates after their failed assassination of Prince Zuko.

General Fong

Voiced by: Daniel Dae Kim

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/fong.png

An Earth Kingdom General.

Bullying a Dragon: Invoked; Fong intentionally attacks Aang and later his friends in order to force him into the Avatar State out of anger. Aside from a brief Oh, Crap! moment when he realizes said Avatar State is about to go on the attack, he's ecstatic otherwise that it worked.
Drill Sergeant Nasty: He has his men attack Aang to try and trigger the Avatar State to use it against the Fire Nation.
The Extremist Was Right: For all his willingness to threaten the lives of the Gaang to figure out a way to reliably unleash the Avatar State, he's ultimately right about Aang needing that power and controlling it to beat Ozai.
The Remnant: He isn't present in Ba Sing Se when it falls to the Fire Nation and apparently continues to resist the Fire Nation off-screen, as soldiers mentioned as being under his command are part of the alliance in the finale.
Up Through the Ranks: Fong has spent twenty-five years in the military, starting as an enlisted man. This inspires a sense of loyalty among his men.
Well-Intentioned Extremist: General Fong wants Aang to use the Avatar State to make a quick attack on the Fire Nation and end the war, and all the suffering it brings. Unfortunately, he doesn't take it well when Aang doesn't want to.

Zei

Professor Zei

Voiced by: Raphael Sbarge

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/zei_8364.png

"I'm not leaving... I can't... I've spent too long trying to find this place... there's not another collection of knowledge like this on Earth... I could spend an eternity in here."

Professor Zei was the head of the Anthropology Department at Ba Sing Se University. An ambitious cultural anthropologist, he was well-traveled and highly educated in exotic cultures. His thirst for knowledge brought him to strange, remote, and often dangerous places. Zei was an eccentric man to whom knowledge was priceless. He got very excited at the prospect of learning anything about history or the world around him. A map of his travels showed he had been everywhere in the world, except the Fire Nation. Even though he had discovered many lost civilizations over the years, he longed to find the "crown jewel" of ancient discoveries: Wan Shi Tong's Library.

He never managed to find Wan Shi Tong's Library until he ran into Aang and his friends in the Si Wong Desert. He explained to them that he made several expeditions into the desert but almost died each time. He finally fulfills his life long wish, by flying on the back of Appa. After they get into Wan Shi Tong's Library, Wan Shi Tong initially refuses them entry , but lets them pass under the condition that they provide him with new knowledge. Unlike Aang and his friends who wanted to use Wan Shi Tong's library to help them find possible ways to help them defeat the Fire Nation, Professor Zei wanted to find the library simply because he was a lover of knowledge. When Wan Shi Tong finds out about this, he sinks his library into the desert sand and tries to keep Aang and his friends trapped for eternity. Professor Zei willingly chooses to stay behind, and in The Legend of Korra it's revealed that he died there.

Adventure Archaeologist: Professor Zei divides his time teaching Cultural Anthropology at Ba Sing Se University and looking for lost civilizations.
Adventurer Outfit: It helps him survive in the hostile desert.
Badass Bookworm: We never actually see how much of a badass he is, but he has to be one to have journeyed through the Si Wong Desert several times and live to tell the tale.
Buried Alive: Essentially and by his own choice this is what happens to him, because he chooses to stay behind in Wan Shi Tong's library even though Wan Shi Tong was burying it underneath the Si Wong Desert.
Bus Crash: Unsurprisingly, his next appearance after being buried in the library reveals that he's been long dead (his skeleton is still in the library). Whether or not he was killed when the library was buried, or simply remained sealed in there until dying of natural causes, is never revealed.
For Science!: Chooses to stay in the library for the probably not particularly long rest of his life just so he can expand his personal knowledge.
Hypocritical Humor: Wishes he could talk to Appa, commenting wistfully on "the stories this beast could tell". When Momo tries to talk to him, he says "Shush, chatty monkey!", apparently not realizing that Momo is a lemur, not a monkey.
Killed Offscreen: Trapped in the library with little or more likely, no food or water, Zei didn't survive long after being buried with the library.
Nice Guy: A bit eccentric, maybe, but quite pleasant.
Non-Action Guy: Since he's an academic he doens't do much fighting, but he was really important in helping the Gaang to find the library.
Small Role, Big Impact: He only appears in one episode and isn't mentioned again, but his leading the heroes to the Library gave them information on the Day of the Black Sun. The resulting invasion plan drives the rest of Book 2 and a large chunk of Book 3. Furthermore, The Legend Of Korra shows that Wan Shi Tong still has no trust for humans and the Avatar as a result of the Gaang's visit.
Tareme Eyes: He has droopy eyes.

Song

Voiced by: Kim Mai Guest, Zuzanna Galia (Polish)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ey0ytm8x0aqbohd.jpg

A young girl who worked at a hospital in an agricultural Earth Kingdom village.

Disappeared Dad: Justified, while her dad isn't living with Song and her mother, it's because he was captured by the Fire Nation during a raid when Song was a little girl.
The Farmer and the Viper: She unknowingly takes Zuko, the banished prince of the Fire Nation to stay at her place for the night. He ends up stealing her ostrich-horse.
Good Scars, Evil Scars: She has a large scar on her leg from being burned by a firebender.
The Medic: Downplayed, Song works in a hospital, but the only medical skill she's shown is when she applies ointment to Iroh's rash after he's drunk tea made from a poisonous plant.
Nice Girl: She readily welcomes two strangers into her home for dinner, believing their lie that they’re refugees fleeing the war, and even spends time trying to relate to Zuko over their shared experiences with firebenders hurting them.
One-Shot Character: Only appears once.
Small Role, Big Impact: While she only has a single appearance, she provides Zuko the first evidence that the reality of the war is far from the propaganda he had been fed for his whole life, and that the Fire Nation has been hurting genuinely innocent people. While he does his best to ignore it by the end of the episode, it plants the early seeds for his eventual Heel Realization.

Yung

Voiced by: Fred Tatasciore

An aggressive commander of the Omashu military.

The Remnant: Yung refuses to surrender with Bumi and goes into the sewers to fight back against the Fire Nation occupiers.
What Happened to the Mouse?: Aang convinces him and his men to leave the city and fight another day but they never return in the show.

Lee

Voiced by: Robby Bruce

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/lee_44.png

A village boy Zuko encounters while wandering alone.

Broken Pedestal: He likes Zuko and sees him as a friend until finding out he's the Fire Nation prince.
Conscription: He's temporarily taken as a conscript by the local soldiers after threatening one with a knife when they rob his family.
Jerkass Has a Point: While him and his village turning on Zuko and driving him out after he defended them does seem harsh, Zuko did so while declaring himself the proud crown prince of the nation whose invasions had driven their village to poverty and ruin and possibly gotten his older brother killed. Zuko is also the reason for Lee's capture, as Lee was captured for pulling a knife on some soldiers, and said knife was given to him by Zuko.
One-Steve Limit: Zuko had previously used the alias "Lee" when staying with Song, and sticks with that alias in Ba Sing Se long after meeting this Lee.
Small Role, Big Impact: Zuko only meets him once while travelling through his village, but Lee's rejection of Zuko after he reveals his true identity is his first time truly reckoning with what the Fire Nation means to the rest of the world, and the propaganda he was raised on about the war.
Street Urchin: While he does have a home and family, he is intruded stealing some food from the corrupt local soldiers due to the poverty around.

Gaoling

Lao and Poppy Beifong

Lao voiced by: Cam Clarke, Marek Bocianiak (Polish)

Poppy voiced by: Gabrielle Carteris, Bożena Furczyk (Polish)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/lao_poppy_and_yu.png

"The Avatar has kidnapped my daughter. I want you to do whatever it takes to bring her home."

"Poor Toph. She must be so scared."

Toph's parents. Although they both love Toph dearly, they failed to recognize what their daughter really wanted, believing her blindness made her weak, helpless, and frail. As a result, they had her guarded and cared for the majority of the time. Unbeknownst to both of them, Toph had become an excellent earthbender all on her own. When Toph runs away to teach Aang earthbending, Lao hires Xin Fu and Yu to bring her back.

Abusive Parents: Mostly out of neglect and overprotectiveness. They locked Toph in the house, ostensibly to protect their helpless blind daughter, but still continue this behavior even after she proves strong and capable. Then after Toph runs away, they hire two people to bring her back, one of which had kidnapped her moments ago.
Aerith and Bob: Poppy's name stands out compared to her husband and daughter's Chinese names.
Aw, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other: Despite disowning her in "The Rift" Lao is seen keeping a picture of Toph, showing that for all his disappointment in her he does care.
Because I Said So: "That's just how it's done." was Lao's typical response to Toph's questions, which became a source of great discomfort for her.
Break the Haughty: It takes his daughter and wife leaving him and almost being buried alive for Lao to realize he'd been a callous parent to Toph.
Foil: Interestingly, Lao and his partner Loban — both men of wealth — have two inverted traits in The Rift. Lao is an honest owner who valued workers' lives and working conditions, but his strict rearing of his daughter caused a rift between each other. While Loban valued profits even if it meant endangering the land and the workers, he genuinely cared for Satoru after finding him begging on the street as a runaway.
Heel–Face Turn: Lao mends fences with his daughter at the end of The Rift.
Honest Corporate Executive: Lao Beifong becomes this in The Rift, in contrast to his partner Loban where he actually treats the workers decently and is quite upset once he finds out that Loban constructed a mine that was built in a place he restricted due to unstable geography, which isn't helped by the haphazard construction and pollution of a local river from its run off.
Ignored Epiphany: Lao Beifong realizes just how strong and capable his daughter really is. His response? To double-down on being overprotective.
I Have No Son!: Lao was shown to become this in The Rift, refusing to acknowledge that Toph is the daughter he raised, even in light of the fact that she's essentially a world-renowned hero.
Jerkass Realization: He gets one when Toph uses her metalbending to save him and his crew from a cave-in, all the while buying time for them. Lao thinks Toph is going to die, and it's his fault; she also reminds him that she left because he didn't think she could save herself.
Knight Templar Parent: Due to Toph being born blind, her parents are terrified of her getting hurt, which is why they’re so overprotective of her. They also become quite worried when she’s kidnapped and Lao becomes very nervous when she’s fighting the Earth Rumble six fighters. The fact that she beat them all on her own doesn't change this and instead make them even more strict, leading her to run away. Lao is extremely protective of his daughter, even keeping her existence a secret. He's so overprotective that when she runs off precisely because of that, he immediately assumes Aang kidnapped her, and hires the very man who actually did just kidnap her to find her again.
Never My Fault:
- When Toph ran away after Lao decides to protect her regardless of how capable she is, he blames the Avatar for the kidnapping and hires two people, including someone he just saw attempted to kidnap his daughter, to kidnap her and force her home, never admitting that it is his own fault she ran away.
- Implied with Poppy, when Lao explains that after failing to bring Toph back, Poppy blamed him for everything that happened and left him. Never mind the fact that she wholeheartedly agreed to keep their daughter under lockdown to keep her safe.
Pet the Dog: For all his over protectiveness and denial that he has no daughter in spite of everything, when Toph is trying to prevent him and the other workers from the mine collapse, he genuinely apologizes to her, acknowledging Toph as not only a strong girl but also as his daughter.
Satellite Family Member: They are only important to Toph's arc. They refuse to let her have even the smallest bit of freedom, even after learning that she's powerful earthbender capable of taking on several adult men on her own. This motivates her to run away from home, join Team Avatar, and teach Aang earthbending. Upon discovering that their daughter is missing, they send Xin Fu and Yu to track her down.
Small Role, Big Impact: If they had learned to loosen up on Toph and not be so overprotective over their daughter even after she proved herself a capable fighter, Toph may not have acompanied Team Avatar on their journey, and things would have been very different.
What Happened to the Mouse?: They never appear after their debut episode and the series ends with Toph never returning to them. It is also unclear whether Sokka's messenger hawk managed to successfully deliver Toph's message to them. Lao returns in The Rift, where he settles things once and for all with his daughter.

The Boulder

Voiced by: Mick Foley

"The Boulder's going to win this in a landslide!"

An arrogant yet entertaining Earthbender, he was a wrestler and arena champion who thought he would easily defeat a certain little girl in the tournament. He was painfully curb stomped instead.

The Big Guy: Just not as big as the Big Bad Hippo.
Boisterous Bruiser: To the point that he's a Third-Person Person.
The Brute: The Boulder is very strong, and is an excellent earth bender, but when Katara says that he could be a possible Earthbending teacher to Aang, Aang reminds her "That Bumi told me to find somebody who listens to the earth, he's just listening to his big muscles."
Curb-Stomp Battle: To establish Toph's badassery, The Boulder gets hit with a Groin Attack before being catapulted out of the ring.
Dishing Out Dirt: Like every one of the wrestlers, he is an Earthbender. The only wrestler who surpasses him at this is Toph.
Early-Bird Cameo: He's the earthbender in the opening title sequence.
Easily Forgiven: He takes part in the invasion along with The Hippo and nobody even brings up the fact that he once helped Xin Fu capture Toph and Aang (which he seemed to agree with Xin Fu's idea to sell him to the Fire Lord).
Everyone Has Standards: He expresses some initial reluctance towards fighting a blind twelve-year-old girl. That is, until she insults him, making him retract his statement.
Face: The most popular wrestler of Earth Rumble Six, he also happens to be Sokka's favorite competitor.
Groin Attack: Toph's opening move against him is to use Earthbending to give him a very painful case of the splits. The look of pain on his face and his higher octave squeal give a good idea of just how badly this affected him.
Heel–Face Turn: He's one of the many wrestlers who kidnaps Aang and Toph, but he and the Hippo eventually come to the good side to help with the invasion. When Toph senses their presence, she initially thinks they want to fight, but the Boulder explains they are there to help. "The Boulder and the Hippo no longer fight for the entertainment of others, now we fight for our kingdom!"
Hurricane of Puns: Or would that be an rockalanche?
Large Ham: Combines expressive gestures, strange facial expressions, and Mick Foley.
Nobody Calls Me "Chicken"!
The Boulder: "The Boulder feels conflicted about fighting a young, blind girl."
Toph: "Sounds to me like you're scared, Boulder!"
*Beat*
The Boulder: "The Boulder is over his conflicted feelings, and is now ready to bury you in a rockalanche!"
No Celebrities Were Harmed: Purposely resembles The Rock. Given that Mick Foley^note is the one voicing him, he could be seen as an outright parody.
Pec Flex: Can be seen briefly during his winning streak in "The Blind Bandit".
Power Tattoo: Subverted, the Boulder has a tattoo of a Badgermole on his back, but it doesn’t empower him in any way. The power part comes into play as it’s the animal that Earthbenders originally learnt earthbending from.
Third-Person Person: In the Western, "full of himself" sense.
Walking Shirtless Scene: He never puts on a shirt in the entire series.
The Worf Effect: Has a winning streak at Earth Rumble 6 to prove he's good, only for his utter and complete defeat at Toph's hands to establish how outclassed he is — and how good Toph is.

The Big Bad Hippo

Voiced by: Kevin Michael Richardson

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/hippo_chewing_on_stones_517.png

"HIPPO, MAD!"

The Big Bad Hippo was an Earthbending wrestler in Earth Runble VI, just like the Boulder. He almost beat the Boulder by stomping his feet and jumping up and down, which caused him to almost fall out of the ring. This was the Hippo's signature move which was called "Rocking The Boat". The Boulder however manages to catch his balance and defeats the Hippo by lifting him up in the air using his Earthbending and tossing him out of the ring.

Angry, Angry Hippos: He's not a literal hippopotamus, but he's a massive Earthbending wrestler who happens to look like one.
Animal Motifs: Fitting his wrestling name, he is big, bulky, and has a large mouth with tusk-like teeth like an actual hippopotamus.
Boisterous Bruiser: Exactly the personality you'd expect from an earthbender.
Bruiser with a Soft Center: When he and Toph met again in the Invasion he hugs her. "Hippo happy to see Blind Bandit!", indeed.
The Brute: Even more so than the Boulder.
Expy: His fatness and four teeth, along with his title, make him greatly resmble King Hippo.
Gentle Giant: After his Heel–Face Turn his first scene after seeing Toph again is to wrap her in a bear hug and tell her that he is happy to see her.
The Giant: Almost all the Earth Rumble Six Wrestlers are big and muscular, but The Big Bad Hippo is the biggest.
Heel–Face Turn: During "The Day of Black Sun", the Hippo and the Boulder help invade the Fire Nation. They also make cameo appearances at the end of the third season finale.
Huge Guy, Tiny Girl: He has a couple of moments with Toph.
Hulk Speak: "HIPPO, MAD!"
Mighty Glacier: Is slow but incredibly powerful, he is able to withstand an Earthbending attack from The Boulder to the back of his head, and during the opening of their fight, caught rocks The Boulder threw at him, chewed them up, and spit them out.
Third-Person Person: Just like the Boulder, he constantly refers to himself in the third person, but the Boulder is much more refined. The Hippo refers to himself and generally talks in Hulk Speak.

The Earth Rumble VI Wrestlers

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/earth_rumble_vi_combatants_2533.png

Earthbenders participating in the Earth Rumble VI earthbending tournament, where they get beaten by The Boulder. Later they kidnap Toph and Aang, and get curbstomped by Toph for their troubles. After that, they're never seen again.

Fire Nation Man

"Please do rise for Fire Nation national anthem."
♪ "Fire Lord, my flames burns for thee." ♪

Butt-Monkey: He gets easily defeated whenever he fights; during Earth Rumble VI, the Boulder sends him flying before he takes a step, then is the first of the competitors to be defeated during their fight with Toph in the climax, getting struck by each as they are beaten.
Fake Nationality: In-universe. Despite his entire character, he's shown sandbending, which means he's from the Earth Kingdom.
Foreign Wrestling Heel: Even though he is an Earthbender, his Gimmick is that he's a Fire Nation patriot. While performing, he also talks in a stereotypical thick Eastern European accent. He was easily beaten by The Boulder, and wasn't too proud to beg, screaming "NO! PLEASE!" before the Boulder sent him flying out of the ring.
Hollywood Tone-Deaf: Tried to sing a mocking version of the Fire Nation national anthem, and it sounded very bad. Given his role as a Heel, it was possibly invoked.
Hot Blooded Sideburns: A wrestler pretending to be a Fire Nation patriot complete with the sideburns of a high ranking member of the Fire Nation army.
Jobber: Given his status as a heel and how easily he goes down against the Boulder, it's hard not to suspect he's meant as one of these.
No Celebrities Were Harmed: The foreign heel gimmick and especially the singing of a foreign national anthem clearly reference Nikolai Volkoff.
Plays Great Ethnics: In-Universe, he is a Sandbender (An ethnic minority within the Earth Kingdom.) playing a citizen of the Fire Nation.
What Happened to the Mouse?: Unlike the Boulder and the Hippo, he and the other wrestlers are not seen again after Episode Six of Season 2.

The Gecko

Animal Motifs: His mask is reptilian-looking, and his Gimmick is crawling around on his hands and knees like a lizard.
Cool Mask: He wears a green mask that makes him resemble a lizard.
Masked Luchador: His mask and smaller stature clearly invokes this image.
What Happened to the Mouse?: Unlike the Boulder and the Hippo he and the other wrestlers are not seen again after Episode Six of Season 2.

The Gopher

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/gopher.png

Animal Motifs: His Gimmick is using his Earthbending to attack from underground, and his mustache and goggles give him a rodent-like appearance.
Cool Mask: It's not a mask, but it's still cool. He wears a very unique pair of goggles and head gear.
Tunnel King: They don't call him The Gopher for nothing.
What Happened to the Mouse?: Unlike the Boulder and the Hippo he and the other wrestlers are not seen again after Episode Six of Season 2.

The Headhunter

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/headhunter.png

Spiky Hair: Has upward pointing hair.
What Happened to the Mouse?: Unlike the Boulder and the Hippo he and the other wrestlers are not seen again after Episode Six of Season 2.

The Blind Bandit

The Champion of Earth Rumble

See her entry under here

Xin Fu and Yu

Voiced by: Marc Graue (Xin Fu), Sab Shimono (Yu)

"Nobody cheats Xin Fu!"

"If you pay for the whole year in advance, I'll bump you up to the next belt."

Xin Fu is the coordinator of the wrestling tournament in which Toph participates. When he thinks Toph cheated him out of the prize money he offered for her defeat, he kidnaps her and demands the prize money back as ransom.

Yu is an Earthbending teacher in Toph's hometown. He was hired to teach Toph Earthbending, but he grossly underestimated her abilities and thought she would never get past the beginner level.

Both of them are later hired by Toph's father to bring her back after she ran away with Team Avatar.

Affably Evil: Master Yu, who is very polite and softspoken for a bad guy.
And I Must Scream: Being stuck in a metal cage until they are either freed by a passerby or, more likely, die of starvation/dehydration/what have you since regular Earthbenders can't bend metal. Which ends up happening, we're never told until The Rift, where it is revealed that they eventually escaped from the cage.
Bounty Hunter: Not their actual occupation, but they're willing to do anything for a buck.
Brains and Brawn: Yu actually thinks things through, realizing things like trying to take down two people with large bounties in a Bad Guy Bar full of desperate outlaws will probably mean having to take on the whole room. Xin Fu will just charge in and beat up the half dozen guys in his way.
Combat Commentator: Xin Fu's day job.
Curb Stomp Cushion: Xin Fu is one of the few characters to hold his own against Toph, if only briefly. Of course once she gets serious she takes him down.
Cynical Mentor: Yu's Earthbending academy is a parody of McDojos (shoddy martial arts schools that aim to squeeze profit rather than teach people), shown by his clumsy teaching of Aang and his willingness to bump students up to the next belt if they pay extra. Yu himself is actually a pretty talented Earthbender, though.
Foil: To Zuko and Iroh. Like Zuko, Xin Fu is a muscular bender with a nasty temper and often gets annoyed with his respective Older Sidekick. Also both he and Zuko wish to capture Aang for Ozai, though while Zuko wants to capture Aang to restore his honor Xin Fu simply wants the reward money. Master Yu and Iroh meanwhile are both Old Masters who are less aggressive than their younger partners and generally are Affably Evil.
Genre Blind: Master Yu almost falls for Toph using the old excuse of having to go the bathroom, but Xin Fu stops him from letting her out.
Hoist by His Own Petard: Toph sealed them in the metal prison originally intended for her.
Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: They would have been fine if they hadn't taunted Toph about her inability to bend metal, making Toph that much more determined to do it.
No Sympathy Between Mooks: The two have a hard time getting along due to their conflicting personalities.
Not So Harmless Villains: They actually got the drop on Toph, and would have won if Toph hadn't invented Metalbending just to escape/beat them. They're also experienced enough earth-benders to fight off multiple assailants.
Odd Couple: They're polar opposites, yet both of them are working together to find Toph.
Overshadowed by Awesome: They managed to defeat a whole bar of thugs by themselves. But they Toph is a lot better.
Pet the Dog: In his debut episode Master Yu enthusiastically proclaims that Toph is the greatest earthbender he saw. Later, after Toph is captured he considers letting Toph out of the cage for a potty break, before realizing it's a trap.
Potty Emergency: Master Yu's final line, AFTER the two are locked in the metal box, is used to inform us of this. It's also an Ironic Echo, because that's almost how Toph tricks Master Yu into letting her out. Xin Fu is just smart enough to know Toph was up to no good.
Punch-Clock Villain: Master Yu, definitely. Though Xin Fu is a debatable case.
Small Role, Big Impact: The invention of metalbending, a massively influential and technologically transformative new discipline, draws its' inciting incident to these two schmucks boxing up Toph and taunting her about not being able to bend metal.
Tempting Fate: "You may think you're the greatest Earthbender in the world, but even you can't bend metal." Turns out, yeah. Yeah, she can.
Underestimating Badassery: Master Yu made the mistake of assuming Toph wouldn't be a talented Earthbender due to blindness and Xin Fu tempted fate by believing Toph would be unable to break out of the metal cage. Oh, how wrong they were...
What Happened to the Mouse?: Their fates are left unexplored in the main series. The sequel comic The Rift reveals that they got out somehow, but gave up their hunt for Toph after that incident.

Si Wong Desert

Sha-Mo

Voiced by: Bill Bolender (original),

"Quiet, Ghashiun. No one accused our people of anything. If what they say is true, we must give them hospitality."

The Chieftain of a tribe of sandbenders, and father to Ghashiun.

Everyone Has Standards: He yells, "WHAT DID YOU DO?!" at his son when he finds out he stole the Avatar's sky bison to sell him to poachers and stranded a group of innocent people in the desert. It turns out he wasn't part of the theft and believes that violating Sacred Hospitality is awful.
Reasonable Authority Figure: The Chief seemed to have no part in the theft, and while figuring out what had happened, mentions they should offer the Gaang hospitality. Unfortunately, Aang is too far gone, and he does little good.

Ghashiun

Voiced by: Paul Mc Kinny (original),

"They're lying! They're the thieves!"

A young sandbender and the son of Chief Sha-Mo, Ghashiun was responsible for stealing Appa.

Oh, Crap!: He realizes that the bison he stole was the Avatar's, and they have no way of getting it back. Oh, and said Avatar is enraged at him,
Suspiciously Specific Denial: Ghashiun immediately gets defensive when Katara explains that their bison was stolen, denying that they had any part of it. As his father points out, nobody accused them of anything.

Ba Sing Se

Long Feng

Voiced by: Clancy Brown (original), Rolando Silva (Latin American Spanish), Luigi La Monica (Italian), Klaus-Dieter Klebsch (German)

"The Earth King has invited you to Lake Laogai."

In the Earth Kingdom capital of Ba Sing Se, a group called the Dai Li keeps the war with the Fire Nation a secret, in order to maintain cultural order. A man who has fought long and hard for his position, Long Feng serves as their Big Brother-like leader. Using the Dai Li to keep himself in power, Long Feng manipulates both the city and the Earth King himself, whom Long Feng uses as a puppet ruler. After getting exposed by the Gaang, he tried to get back in power by working with Azula and double-crossing her at the moment of triumph. That didn't work out too hot.

Arc Villain: For the latter half of Book Two up until the end, where Azula shows him who's boss.
Bald of Evil: He's an Evil Chancellor who is clearly balding.
Beard of Evil: Similar to the Bald of Evil, he has a Fu Manchu-esque beard to highlight him as an antagonist.
Big Bad Wannabe: Long Feng is a decent manipulator who has ruled Ba Sing Se in everything but name for years, but he vastly underestimate's Azula's own competence and pays dearly for it.
Bilingual Bonus: His name is Chinese for "dragon phoenix."
Blatant Lies: The heroes manage to show the Earth King the Fire Nation drill outside the outer wall of Ba Sing Se, as concrete evidence that the Fire Nation is at war with the Earth Kingdom. Long Feng shows up and explains to the king that the drill is merely "a construction project". Really? As Katara points out, "Then why is there a Fire Nation insignia on your little 'project'?" Long Feng brushes it off as "imported". The Earth King doesn't buy it and arrests his advisor for treason.
The Chessmaster: And a pretty good one, too. Too bad for him, Azula is far better at this game than he is.
Complexity Addiction: Long Feng seems incapable of creating a plan that doesn't require convoluted misdirection, even when his interests would be far better served by a more straightforward approach.
Dishing Out Dirt: He's not seen fighting by himself too much, but he is a skilled Earthbender.
Evil Chancellor: To the Earth King, who is completely oblivious to it. But, after his whole conspiracy was revealed, he decides to outright overthrow his king.
Evil Reactionary: Apart from maintaining his power, his main goal is to keep the city of Ba Sing Se precisely as it has always been for the last century, to the point of denying that a war is going on. This ideology is counter-productive as the Fire Nation is winning and he would have been ousted from his job anyway and possibly even executed if the Dai Li hadn't just agreed with Azula to let the Fire Nation in through the front door rather than eventually and inevitably winning by conquest as they were increasingly poised to do.
Evil Sounds Deep: He has a very deep voice courtesy of Clancy Brown.
Eviler than Thou: Ended up on the wrong side of this. Azula claims, "You were never even a player."
Faux Affably Evil: He's very polite and collected, which only serves to mask his manipulative nature.
From Nobody to Nightmare: According to Azula: "You were born with nothing. So you had to struggle, and connive, and claw your way to power."
Graceful Loser: After briefly freaking out upon being Out-Gambitted by Azula, he recollects himself and bows down to her, admitting defeat.
Green and Mean: Is the corrupt head of the Dai Li and wears the green robes of the secret police.
Hero Killer: He infamously kills Jet shortly after the latter overcomes his brainwashing without a shred of remorse, and unlike with Aang, it sticks by the end of the series.
Kick the Dog: In addition to killing Jet, he mocks him as a "foolish boy [who has] chosen [his] own demise".
Idiot Ball: He kidnaps Appa, while knowing that the Gaang is looking for him. Rather than lead them to Appa, he creates a twisted scheme to throw them off his scent, leading to his eventual fall from the Earth King's favour.
Insistent Terminology: He doesn't like to refer to the Earth King as a puppet, and officially maintains that he is "a god" to his people. The people may buy that, but the heroes don't.
It's All About Me: He claims that everything he's doing is for the good of the city... But said actions (such as keeping the king in the dark about the war, threatening citizens, unethical brainwashing, etc.) make it absolutely clear he only cares about himself and securing his position of power.
Just the First Citizen: His official title is the rather harmless-sounding Minister of Culture, but in practice, he is the one who runs the Earth Kingdom federal government (and, more importantly, the Dai Li).
Manipulative Bastard: Though again, not to Azula's level, and he must eventually admit that he has been good and proper OutGambitted by her.
Meaningful Name: Long Feng translates from Chinese as "dragon phoenix." In China, the dragon is a symbol of the emperor; and the phoenix, one of the empress. Having both in his name despite ostensibly serving under the Earth King foreshadows that it is Long Feng who is truly in control of Ba Sing Se.
Normal Fish in a Tiny Pond: He has complete control over Ba Sing Se - and only Ba Sing Se. When people from outside the walls (Team Avatar, Zuko and Iroh, and Azula's Team) start moving against him, he's unseated in, at most, a few weeks.
Not-So-Well-Intentioned Extremist: He claims he just wants Ba Sing Se to be a "peaceful, civilized" city... by using unethical means against its very citizens to ensure his "perfect" city stays ignorant of the war. And he all but admits to Team Avatar that all he cares about is power, not the safety of his people. He even willingly sells out Ba Sing Se to Princess Azula in hopes of achieving more power... when all he did was surrender it to the Fire Nation and he's left with nothing.
Obviously Evil: His every action screams "up to something".
Offscreen Teleportation: Pulls this off when Katara and Toph try to ditch him at a party. They've barely turned away from him when he reappears in front of them.
Oh, Crap!: Has one when Azula gives her Breaking Speech, as he realizes that this girl who he assumed was in way over her head (something that she helped with), was in reality the most cunning and dangerous player in the game.
Out-Gambitted: By Azula, who sees his deception coming from a mile away and turns the Dai Li against him.
Regent for Life: Ba Sing Se may have a king, but Long Feng's the one really pulling the strings.
Rewarded as a Traitor Deserves: Being an Evil Chancellor and all, he is definitely a traitor to the King and his people as a whole. He becomes an even bigger traitor by making a deal with the Fire Nation so that he could take back control of Ba Sing Se. In the end, Azula rewarded him with nothing.
Self-Made Man: The son of a merchant who became the most feared man in Ba Sing Se.
Smug Snake: While capable, he loses as soon as the Gaang get serious, and Azula upsets him by her charisma alone.
State Sec: The Dai Li organization, which he directly controls. It functions as a Secret Police, but also fields at least some of the empire's crack earthbending troops.
Stupid Evil: For a guy who is effectively in charge of an entire regime, he shows a surprising lack of forward thinking and basic self-preservation instinct. When the Gaang is on to exposing him, he goes to great lengths just to remain in his position of power, keep Ba Sing Se ignorant and unprepared for war and to try to get rid of the Avatar — even forming an alliance with Azula. Mind you, the war is going very poorly for the Earth Kingdom, the defenses of Ba Sing Se were nearly broken just a few days earlier and if not for Aang's intervention, the city would have been invaded already. And in spite of that, Long Feng is determined to eliminate the one guy thanks to whom he's still in charge. Even if everything worked out for him in the end and Azula did not double-cross him, just how much longer this idiot think he was going to rule? A few more weeks maybe, until another, more successful (no Avatar to save them this time) assault from the Fire Nation?
- To add to his lack of brains, he also didn't seem to have an exit strategy in the event of his crimes actually getting exposed to the public.
Thoughtcrime: If you already know about the war, you're brainwashed into forgetting.
Trigger Phrase: "The Earth King has invited you to Lake Laogai."
Underestimating Badassery: He severely underestimates Azula's cunning and ruthlessness.
Unwitting Pawn: He had planned to use Princess Azula as this, employing her as an instrument to lead the Dai Li in taking over Ba Sing Se and then betraying her as soon as the task was done. It wasn't until then that he realized he had been her unwitting pawn all along to take Ba Sing Se for the Fire Nation, as she turned the Dai Li to her side.
Utopia Justifies the Means: He's keeping Ba Sing Sei the most secure and peaceful place left in the world via the most horrifying means imaginable. And of course, he's doing it for himself, rather than the citizens.
Villain Ball:
- Threatening the Gaang in the first place, since he's not in a position to simply silence them as he would one of his citizens.
- Likewise, he could have simply lied to the Gaang and directed them to generals operating the outer walls to explain their plan, promising aid and then not delivering it when the eclipse comes. Instead, he's completely honest that he wants Ba Sing Se to never fight.
- Kidnapping Appa. He doesn't ransom Appa or use him as a hostage, which would not have been an example of this trope, but instead just keeps him locked up for no reason while trying to send the Gaang off on a wild goose chase. If he had just given Appa back to Aang or used him as a bargaining chip, he could have avoided everything that followed.
- Denying that the war was going on and hiding it from the populace, as well as the Emperor, was an incredibly stupid thing to do since it meant that the war was being fought in a half-hearted manner at best, and if the Gaang hadn't shown up he might have been forcibly ousted by the Fire Nation sooner or later anyway.
What Happened to the Mouse?: His fate after being beaten by Azula remains unknown, but he is most likely imprisoned.
Worthy Opponent: He believes he and Azula to be this to each other at the end. Azula disagrees and practically laughs at the very notion of it.
Long Feng: You've beaten me at my own game.
Azula: Don't flatter yourself. You were never even a player.
Would Hurt a Child: Sics a brainwashed Jet on a 12-year-old boy.

The Dai Li

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/dai_li.png

"Calm down, you're safe here. There's no war in Ba Sing Se. There is no war within the walls. Here we are safe. Here, we are free."

The secretive and elite police force of Ba Sing Se who work to capture, interrogate, and imprison political dissidents. The organization was founded by Avatar Kyoshi with the aim of "protecting the cultural heritage of Ba Sing Se", effectively protecting the Earth King's interest against subversive individuals and groups.

Chronic Backstabbing Disorder: When the Earth King busts Long Feng for lying about the war, the Dai Li plan a coup to make him the leader. Then Azula comes, and they switch loyalties to her. It's lampshaded by Azula herself in the midst of her paranoid Villainous Breakdown when she banishes them, noting that they've betrayed their previous masters so why should she expect anything better if someone came along with an offer?
Dark Is Evil: Wear dark green robes and are a corrupt force in Ba Sing Se.
The Dreaded: While no one in Ba Sing Se is completely aware of what they do, they stand in quiet horror on seeing them arrive to break up Jet and Zuko's fight. The tea shop owner quickly explains the situation so they'll handle it and leave.
Elite Mooks: They are a small army of some of the most skilled and dangerous foes the Gaang have ever faced.
Emerald Power: Wear green robes and qualify as Elite Mooks, even giving Team Avatar trouble in fights.
Eviler than Thou: The regular police guards are very civil to the citizens and try to prevent chaos from happening, while being complicit in the fascist regime. If the Dai Li come, they'll arrest you on legitimate charges and drag you away to a Fate Worse than Death.
Ignored Epiphany: They're convinced by Azula to betray their city, with some regretting it as she says no one can ever trust them for being turncoats. Then she banishes them in turn during a fit of paranoia. About several decades later in Legend of Korra, they return and are in full service to the Earth Queen of that show. Unfortunately, it's to round up and conscript the new airbenders for said Earth Queen, who is also one of the most despicable tyrants in either show. The Dai Li just end up getting their asses kicked by the new Team Avatar and the Red Lotus respectively.
Interservice Rivalry: They and the regular military are completely at odds and have acted as red tape to high ranking generals due to their control over the state. The military on the other hand, remains loyal to the King and doesn’t trust the Dai Li.
Know When to Fold 'Em: Loyal to Long Feng they may be, but when the Earth King directly orders them to arrest Long Feng once his treason against the Earth Kingdom is made known, the two agents present share a glance before complying. After all, directly disobeying in public would condemn the rest of the organization alongside their leader and thus prevent them from staging their coup to take back power discreetly. Though we do find out that neither the military nor even the King himself trusts them.
Laser-Guided Karma: Azula convinced them to turn on Long Feng and surrender the city to the Fire Nation. They're eventually banished by Azula when she suspects them of betrayal, meaning everything that sacrificed for her was for nothing.
Normal Fish in a Tiny Pond: They're skilled at cowing the powerless citizens of Ba Sing Se, but the minute someone who knows what they're doing shows up (Team Avatar, the Freedom Fighters, the Fire Nation), they fold faster than a deck of cards.
Power Fist: Their main weapon is to cover their hands with rocks like a glove, which they can shape to form handcuffs or launch them like projectiles.
Secret Police: They function as this for Ba Sing Se.
State Sec: The Dai Li are the Earth Kingdom government’s elite agency that fields its own troopers. They zealously guard the state against dissent and other threats to its existence.
Stupid Evil: What they have in strength, they lack in brains. Despite the Earth King telling them they need to prepare for a Fire Nation invasion, their bigger priority is staging a coup to put Long Feng on the throne. Then they deliver Ba Sing Se to the Fire Nation, all because a charismatic teenager charmed them.
Superpowered Mooks: They are all Earthbenders.
Villain Decay: In Avatar, the Dai Li are the strongest forces in the Earth Nation only second to Toph. By The Legend of Korra, they still use the same fighting technique Kyoshi taught them without changing their battle styles, but that makes their bending style outdated, with new styles of Earthbending like metalbending and even lavabending taking the forefront.
Wall Crawl: They can use their earthbending in conjunction with their stone gloves and shoes to scuttle up and down walls.

Joo Dee

"Hello, my name is Joo Dee. Let's begin our tour and then I'll show you to our new home here. I think you'll like it."

Voiced by: Lauren Tom

Brainwashed and Crazy: Brainwashed by the Dai Li to act as their spy.
The Dreaded: All of the merchants go Oh, Crap! when Joo Dee smiles at them. They then close up shop quickly.
Hope Spot: When Aang blows up at her and slams a door in her face, it seems to break her brainwashing. Our Joo Dee's crying as she explains to Long Feng that the children no longer trust her. Then Long Feng reactivates it without blinking an eye.
Not So Stoic: Out of all the Joo Dees, this one doesn't always act like a mindless state drone, which means she has some level of resistance if it takes a shock to bring her out of it. She breaks out of her fake smile after seeing Aang and his friends make a spectacle to see the King, showing genuine concern for them and implores them to leave the palace immediately. Then, after Aang yells in her face, she's outright intimidated, and she cries right in front of her boss, clearly fearing Long Feng will have her head for her failure.
Puppet King: A Lost Adventures comic reveals Azula put her in charge of Ba Sing Se before she returned to the Fire Nation.
Stepford Smiler: Wears an eerie fake smile, which is conditioned into her brainwashing.
Unwitting Pawn: Justified in that she is brainwashed by the Dai Li. Azula installs her as a Puppet Queen representative in Ba Sing Se since she is from the city and conditioned to obey her leader.
What Happened to the Mouse?: After the war ends, it's unknown if she gets broken free of her brainwashing or if it can be broken at this point.
You Are Number 6: There are hundreds of women named Joo Dee and brainwashed for the Dai Li. The Gaang even comments on it when Long Feng sends them another Joo Dee.

Jin

Voiced by: Marcella Lentz-Pope

"You're right, Zuko. I've seen that girl in here quite a lot. It seems to me she has quite a little crush on you!" — Iroh

Jin is a citizen of Ba Sing Se and a regular patron of the tea shop where Iroh and Zuko work. She nurses a crush on Zuko and decides to ask him out on a date, which doesn't go very well. She appeared in one of the Avatar comics that came out between Seasons 2 and 3 and had a two-second cameo in the first episode of the third season. Despite her very short screen time, she has gained a decent measure of popularity with the fandom.

All Girls Want Bad Boys: Inverted. She has no idea who her date really is and only sees Zuko's cute side.
The Ditz: Gets accused of this sometimes for not realizing that Zuko was a Firebender after he lit all the candles around the fountain, though it's entirely possible that she knew and just didn't think it was bad. After all, there is no war in Ba Sing Se. Alternatively, she may not know the specifics of bending, since she doesn't appear to be a bender herself. Since Zuko claimed to have worked in a circus, Jin might even have assumed it was a circus trick.
Foil:
- She has the opposite personality of Mai, being a peasant girl with a friendly personality as opposed to the daughter of a governor with a sour attitude. The only thing they have in common is having feelings for Zuko.
- She serves as one to Lee, another Earth Kingdom citizen that Zuko encountered. Lee was a young boy who looked up to Zuko as a surrogate big brother before learning his identity and declaring his hate for him, which would start his realization that the Fire Nation wasn't in the right in the war as he was raised to think. By contrast, Jin was a teenager with a crush on him who, despite him seemingly drawn to her, he had to turn her down to hide his identity from her, and leave the door open for him reuniting with Mai.
Girl Next Door: She's a very sweet, down-to-earth girl.
Girl of the Week: She only appears in one episode as a love interest for Zuko. (Though technically, she does have a cameo in another episode and appears in a tie-in comic about Zuko and Mai.)
Nice Girl: An easygoing, friendly girl who’s genuinely interested in Zuko.
Satellite Love Interest: Her whole purpose was being a (sort of) love interest for Zuko.
Star-Crossed Lovers: One sided. Even if she wasn't a character of the day, despite a cameo in a later episode and a minor role in a comic, she's a refugee of the Earth Kingdom unaware she has a crush on the prince of the Fire Nation. Even without Mai, those odds seemed unlikely.
Tareme Eyes: She has droopy eyes.
Unkempt Beauty: She wears fairly messy braids.

General How

Voiced by: Jim Meskimen

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/how.png

King Kuei's top military advisor.

The Brigadier: How is the general who plans Ba Sing Se's field invasion of the Fire Nation.
Combat Pragmatist: He voices a willingness to attack and kill an enemy commander when he's isolated and alone.
Hypocritical Heartwarming: He has a mild example during the sequel comics he spends a while fighting Zuko and the Fire Nation as hostilities between the former enemies flare up but shows concern for Zuko when he falls into a crater right as How had been trying to bring him down.
Secret-Keeper: He's one of the people keeping the war secret from the Earth King, but expresses unhappiness about this.

General Sung

Voiced by: Barry Dennen

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/sung.png

One of Ba Sing Se's senior generals, and commander of The Outer Wall.

Adaptational Nice Guy: The comic adaptation has an added scene where he speaks glowing of the teams' behalf to the Earth King for their role in stopping the attacking Drill.
Cannot Tell a Joke: He tries to make a quip about how the city's name isn't Na Sing Se (which apparently means penetrable city) but has to explain it.
Not Now, Kiddo: When The Gaang offer their help he initially brushes them away as civilians who will only get in the way of his trained men.
Oh, Crap!: Sung panickedly screams that their doomed after seeing Ty Lee chi-block his best soldiers.
The Peter Principle: Sung seems to be less efficient at bending and tactics than some of the soldiers under his command.
What Happened to the Mouse?: His final scene is being taken prisoner by Dai Li traitors.

Spirits

Hei Bai

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/723fb3f5d9_tumb.jpg

^{Click here} to see him in his usual form.

A forest spirit, normally appearing in the form of a large, docile panda. He served as the protector of the forest on the edge of Senlin Village for a millenium, until the forest was reduced to a pile of ash. Outraged, Hei Bai assumed that it had been done by the residents of Senlin Village, and began attacking the village every night.

Anti-Villain: Hei Bai really isn't a malevolant spirit. He's just angry that his home was destroyed and started taking out his anger on the village he thought was responsible. Once he learns the truth, he lets them all go.
Beary Friendly: Despite his ability to transform into a four-armed monster, Hei Bai is actually not really that malicious.
Beware the Nice Ones: Hei Bai is one of the more gentle spirits who prefers to keep to himself. However, when enraged, he transforms into a horrifying, four-armed monster capable of destroying everything in his path.
Breath Weapon: He roars a massive blue wave that can easily blast buildings apart and blast people back, though there's some ambiguity if it's an actual Breath Weapon or if he's just roaring loudly and the color is for the audience's sake.
The Bus Came Back: After being introduced in The Spirit World: Winter Solstice Part 1, Hei Bai returns in The Siege of the North, Part 2 to help Aang leave the Spirit World.
Dark Is Not Evil/Light Is Good: Is called the Black and White Spirits and in his debut is only attacking the village because his forest is burn down. After Aang calms him down he helps him get back to the Living World from the Spirit World.
Gentle Giant: Even in his Panda form, Hei Bai is abnormally large.
Heel–Face Turn: Once Hei Bai learns that the villagers he was tormenting weren't responsible for the destruction of his home, and reassured him that the forest would grow back in time, Hei Bai lets go of his anger and returns to the forest, releasing all the townsfolk he had kidnapped.
Meaningful Name: "Hei Bai", is Chinese for "Black White". Given his black and white color scheme (and the fact that he's a panda) it's a pretty fitting name.
Undying Loyalty: Because Aang gave him reassurance that the forest will regrow, Hei Bai becomes loyal to Aang and assists him when he’s in the Spirit World. He also scares off the Baboon Spirit when he expresses relief that Aang is gone.

Tui and La

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/tuila.png

Tui (the Moon) and La (the Ocean) are two ancient spirits who chose to manifest in the mortal world shortly after its creation. They reside in the Spirit Oasis at the Northern Water Tribe and appear as two koi fish, pushing and pulling each other in an eternal dance.

Lord of the Ocean: They are the personifications of the moon and the ocean and represent the eternal push and pull of the tides, having taken the form of two black and white koi fish within the Spirit Oasis in the North Pole. When Tui is killed by Zhao to rob the Waterbenders of their bending ability, La retaliates by fusing with Aang in the Avatar state to become a massive water spirit, rampaging across the North Pole and decimating the Fire Nation armada effortlessly.
Meaningful Name: Tui and la mean "push" and "pull" in Mandarin, which describes how the Waterbenders see the relationship between the moon and the ocean.
Physical God: By using Aang as a conduit, La manifests in the form of a massive being made of water, and proceeds to single-handedly annihilate the Fire Nation forces. Notably, the Water Tribesman, upon seeing La, all prostrate themselves before it.
Roaring Rampage of Revenge: After Zhao kills Tui, La fuses with Aang in the Avatar State to create a giant watery monster that easily takes out large swathes of the Fire Nation navy. After Yue resurrects the Moon Spirit, La focuses on coming directly for Zhao, dragging him off to parts unknown.However, 70 years later in "Legend of Korra", it's revealed that La imprisoned Zhao in the Fog of Lost Souls, a spiritual prison which makes its prisoners insane for all eternity.
Western Zodiac: Their appearance invokes the sign of Pisces, which is associated with water and the moon.

Koh

Voiced by: Erik Dellums

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Koh_avatar10.png

"It's been a long time since I've added a child's face to my collection. So... how may I help you?"

One of the oldest spirits in the Spirit World, Koh is a nightmarish centipede creature with a dangerous hobby of stealing faces. If he sees a face that makes even the slightest twitch of emotion, he will snatch it off and wear it as his own. Although he was attacked by Avatar Kuruk, he holds no grudge against the other Avatars. Because of his age, he is privy to many secrets of the world around him. So if Aang comes knocking on his door for help, who is he to refuse? There's always room for one more...

He only appears in one episode (three technically, but the other two were a flashback to that episode and a cameo), and barely does anything, but he's so damn creepy that everyone remembers him.

Affably Evil: He's quite amiable and polite... for an Eldritch Abomination who sees nothing hideous about identity theft.
Animalistic Abomination: A huge face-stealing abomination that looks like a (mostly) human-faced centipede. Koh has more than human faces in the bag, though.
Antagonistic Offspring: To the Mother of Faces. She says they had a major fallout at the beginning of time.
Anti-Villain: His actions suggest that he's simply amoral, not pure evil. He stole the face of Avatar Kuruk's lover to punish him for his arrogance, and bears no ill will towards Aang or any other incarnation of the Avatar for Kuruk's attack on him because he knows they're not the same person. Furthermore, he willingly told Aang the locations of the Ocean and Moon Spirits and the danger they were in, albeit in a cryptic and riddle-filled manner and while constantly trying to steal his face.
Arch-Enemy: He became this for Avatar Kuruk after stealing the face of the woman he loved on their wedding day. Kuruk spend the rest of his life trying to kill Koh and almost succeeded at doing so.
Arc Villain: Never becomes an overarching antagonist in the series proper, but he is so in the flash game which serves as the bonus episode between Book 2 and Book 3, trying to steal Aang's face and having several spirits under his command to lead Aang astray from his quest to talk to his previous lives.
Blue-and-Orange Morality: Koh has a code. Koh sticks to agreements. Koh has a moral aesthetic that is so odd you need luck to wrap your head around it.
Cheshire Cat Grin: While not as wide as other smiles, his main face has a face with a soft smile plastered on its face. All. The. Time.
The Collector: Of faces.
Creative Sterility: The Mother of Faces is his mother, and he's envious of her work, which is why he resorts to stealing faces she already made rather than making his own.
Creepy Centipedes: Creepier than the average multilegged horror, even. The shadows-and-faces thing he has going on just makes the scuttley movements, the segments and those legs somewhat worse, if anything.
Defanged Horrors: To an extent. When we first meet him, it is as fully genuine wall-to-wall eek for many valid reasons that don't lessen over time. But, then we get more Spirit World horror hurled at us, and after all that... Koh retrospectively comes across as a downright ethical, helpful (if slightly neurotic) cuddlebug in comparison to some of the other, truly malicious reality-rippers out there.
Evil Sounds Deep: Speaks with a very low, sinister voice.
Face Stealer: The Trope Namer, though he can't really shapeshift beyond the face.
Freudian Excuse: He, of all characters, gets one. He steals faces both because of spite and because he secretly misses his mother, the Mother of Faces.
Friendly Enemy: Subverted. He's just trying to get Aang's guard down so he can steal his face. Though he still helped Aang at no benefit to himself when it didn't work.
Jump Scare: Invoked; Koh can only steal a face if it shows any emotion in his field of view, regardless of why. As such, he's not afraid to use these to try and force these emotions. Look no further than his encounter with Aang, where he first appears by intentionally building up the suspense before suddenly shooting in front of him while shouting, and throughout the conservation makes sudden and unexpected jerking turns back towards Aang's face while raising his voice.
Malevolent Masked Men: He treats his various faces like masks.
Mommy Issues: Revealed to have these with his parent, the Mother of Faces.
Names to Run Away from Really Fast: You don't want to mess with anyone whose moniker is "The Face Stealer".
Nothing Is Scarier: He has a rather threatening aura around him. Something about having your face being taken just for showing an emotion is just unnerving.
Only Known By His Nickname: Koh isn't his birth name given by the Mother of Faces.
Suddenly Shouting: He does this several times to try and get a reaction out of Aang to commence with the face-stealing, only to immediately go back to his usual calm, deep speech when it fails.
We Will Meet Again: He says this, but their second encounter is never shown on screen, instead happening in Escape from the Spirit World, an online game taking place between the second and third seasons, while Aang is in a coma.
White Mask of Doom: His most common, and possibly his true, face.
Would Hurt a Child: Children are not exempt from Koh's habit, as he's very eager to take Aang's face and muses that it's been a "long time" since he had the chance to add a child's face to his "collection".
Writers Cannot Do Math: Koh claims that a past Avatar tried to kill him "Eight or nine-hundred years ago." But Kuruk is the only Avatar to have attacked Koh, supported by the fact that Escape from the Spirit World confirms he showed Kuruk's wife's face when he mentioned the girl to Aang. Aang lived 112 years at that point, and Roku lived 70 years before him. Before Roku was Kyoshi, who lived 230 years, and before her was Kuruk, who was 33 when he died. Add that all up and the event was definitely less than 445 years ago. But perhaps Koh's memory is a little fuzzy due to The Fog of Ages.

Wan Shi Tong

Voiced by: Héctor Elizondo

"You think you're the first person to believe your war was justified? Countless others before you have come here seeking weapons or weaknesses or battle strategies!"

Wan Shi Tong is known as the great knowledge Spirit, which takes the form of a large black barn owl with a white face. Wan Shi Tong created the Spirit Library to house his ever growing collection of knowledge, and brought it to the mortal world so that humanity might benefit from such wisdom. However, eons of seeing humans abusing his knowledge for the sake of conflict has turned Wan Shi Tong to ban humans from his library for their misuse. When the Gaang arrive there, Aang promises not to abuse the knowledge they gain from the library, but they quickly go back on their word when they learn about the Fire Nation's vulnerability during a solar eclipse. Wan Shi Tong decided enough was enough and took his library back to the Spirit World while simultaneously trying to kill the Gaang for what they did.

Abnormal Limb Rotation Range: Justified because he's an owl, his head can rotate a full 180 degrees.
Above Good and Evil: He cares nothing for the conflicts of humanity and demands that his knowledge only be obtained by those who seek it for its own sake with no intention of using it against someone else.
Ancient Keeper: He is an old spirit that has been guarding the library for millenia.
Animalistic Abomination: An entity of infinite knowledge in the form of a giant draconic owl.
Bilingual Bonus: Wan Shi Tong literally means "He who knows 10,000 things" in Chinese.
The Cynic: Although this may not have always been the case. The whole reason why he brought his library to the physical world was indeed to help humanity, but after countless centuries of travelers using the knowledge they had gained for war and destruction have left him bitter. After being tricked by the Avatar, he simply forbade any human from entering.
Fantastic Foxes: He sends out fox-like spirits into the world to gather new volumes for the library so its collection keeps ever growing.
Feathered Fiend: He's more of a Knight Templar than a full on villain or sadist, though.
Feathered Serpent: Wan Shi Tong's second form is a combination between two animals, owls and snakes. This makes sense both animals are used as symbols for knowledge.
Flanderization: In The Legend Of Korra, his owl characteristics become more emphasized than his draconic ones, like his ability to turn his head 180 degrees.
Genius Bruiser: Holds eons' worth of knowledge, and horrific strength to go with it.
Giant Flyer: As a gigantic owl, this is to be expected.
God of Knowledge: Wan Shi Tong is an ancient spirit of knowledge that takes the form of an owl, and claims to be essentially omniscient. His knowledge is however confined to things that he can acquire and add to his immense library, making him less omniscient than he claims. He used to be a widely respected and revered figure but has since retreated into seclusion due to having grown bitterly disillusioned with humanity, as humans repeatedly tried to use his stores of knowledge for destructive and selfish ends.
Humans Kill Wantonly: The Spirit is fed up with humans seeking knowledge just so they can find new ways to fight their wars.
Informed Ability: Wan Shi Tong stated that he learned all styles of Waterbending when he cornered Katara. If that means he can waterbend himself or simply knows how to counter it wasn't found out.
Jerkass Has a Point: Trying to kill Zei and the Gaang was going too far, but it's hard not to see where he's coming from; they did break into his library, lie to his face, and try to steal information to do exactly the thing he said they were going to do after he gave them free run of the place in good faith. While the Fire Nation absolutely does need to be stopped, he's also right in pointing out that everyone, Fire Nation included, believes that they're on the "right" side of any war. Notably, nobody ever gives a good counter to this argument (such as pointing out that they've already committed two genocides and came close to committing a third). And even if they did bring it up, they just established themselves as flagrant, unabashed liars so he has no reason to trust their claims.
Knight Templar: He's willing to sink the library, even if it means killing the Gaang and Professor Zei, just to stop people from abusing his knowledge.
Leave No Survivors: His method of "taking his knowledge back", which involves burying the library with anyone still in it, once he learns Team Avatar's reason for accessing the place is no different from other humans before.
Magic Librarian: An unaging owl-like spirit that guards an enormous library.
Meaningful Name: "Wan Shi Tong" means "He who knows ten thousand things". Taken a step further, "ten thousand things" is a Taoistic expression for all of creation; by introducing himself as "he who knows ten thousand things" Wan Shi Tong calls himself all-knowing. "Ten-thousand" is also linked to what in English is the Jack of All Trades, Master of None idiom. Sure, knowing many things is great... but, how about actually knowing how to do something worthwhile for everybody with that library of yours, mate? Hiding and hoarding doesn't solve anything.
Muggle with a Degree in Magic: While presumably not a bender himself, he claims that he's studied the Northern, Southern and even Foggy Swamp styles of Waterbending, to a degree where nothing Katara can throw at him will catch him off-guard. Unfortunately he didn't study "Sokka style".
Not So Omniscient After All: While he is still incredibly wise, he doesn't actually leave the library much and is reliant on his fox servants to gather new information from the outside world, and they aren't always great at their job; for instance, they thought that radios had tiny people inside of them. When Jinora explains radio waves to him, he berates them in a way that indicates this is not an irregular occurrence.
Ominous Owl: He's very creepy. Even when he's not angry.
The Omniscient: He's not called "He-Who-Knows-Ten-Thousand-Things" for nothing.
One-Winged Angel: Became more serpent-like when he attacked the Gaang.
Our Dragons Are Different: His second form looks like an odd combination of an owl and a dragon.
The Owl-Knowing One: He is an owl-like supernatural being and keeper of a library, known as the great knowledge spirit.
Right Behind Me: Showed up behind Sokka just as he blurts out that the Fire Nation was going down.
"Mortals are so predictable. And such terrible liars."
Scary Librarian: If you don't behave in his library, he will turn into an owl monster and destroy you.
Shown Their Work: Real owls can indeed take on a sleeker, more menacing appearance when they're agitated, though not in such a dramatic fashion as Wan Shi Tong does.
Took a Level in Kindness: According to the Avatar RPG, Wan Shi Tong does mellow out a bit after the end of The Legend of Korra and begins to consider sharing his knowledge again. He's still pretty arrogant though.
Voice of the Legion: He speaks like this, and it goes from creepy to horrifying when he tries to kill the Gaang.
You Are the Translated Foreign Word: "I am Wan Shi Tong — He Who Knows 10,000 Things."

Others

The Blue Spirit

Blue Spirit

A mysterious figure known for his iconic opera mask. With his incredible badassery and excellent stealth skills, he tries to rescue Aang from Admiral Zhao.

Badass Normal: The Blue Spirit can hold his own against skilled Benders with just his swords. Zuko never Firebends while in this persona, presumably as a means of protecting his secret identity.
Cool Mask: A badass opera mask, to be precise. Not only is it a really badass mask, it also helps hide Zuko's identity.
The Cowl: Subverted. He freed Aang from Zhao's clutches, but this was only to capture Aang and get the glory for himself.
Dual Wielding: His dual dao swords are so iconic that Zhao can figure out his identity just by seeing them in his room.
Fights Like a Normal: He's actually a firebender, as his true identity is Zuko, but he sticks solely to his dual swords so as to protect his identity.
Ho Yay: Done in-universe with Aang's character in the Ember Island Players' play "The Boy in the Iceberg".
Leitmotif: A chilling bell tingling signals his presence. Sometimes the theme shows up just the sight of his mask alone without him wearing it.
Le Parkour: It helps him with infiltration.
Lovable Rogue: He may actually be Zuko in disguise trying to capture the Avatar, but he did help Aang out a great deal.
Mysterious Protector: He shows up seemingly out of nowhere to save Aang after Zhao captures him.
Ninja: A master of infiltration. Not so lucky on extraction, though.
Non-Indicative Name: Despite what the name might imply, the Blue Spirit is not actually a spirit but merely a human wearing a mask.
Non-Powered Costumed Hero: Invoked. He actually uses Elemental Powers under his Secret Identity, but he Fights Like a Normal while in costume.
Secret Identity: Of Zuko, who initially used the guise of the Blue Spirit to capture Aang from Zhao.
Shout-Out: In-Universe. The mask and, to a lesser degree, the name is taken from the Dark Water Spirit, the antagonist in the popular play Love Amongst the Dragons. Zuko chose this mask as his identity because when he and Azula were children, they would reenact the play after watching it with their mother, and Zuko would always play the Spirit.
Shrouded in Myth: Even after his real identity is revealed to the audience, he remains shrouded in mystery In-Universe.
Superpowered Alter Ego: Inverted — he's Zuko's non-powered alter ego.
The Voiceless: Never makes a sound until "Lake Laogai".

Lian

Lian (The Maker)

A main character from the video game. She was captured by the Fire Nation and used to make powerful machines to aid them in the war.

Arc Villain: She turns out to be the main antagonist in the video game.
Canon Foreigner: Lian was introduced in the first video game adaptation of the show, and as such, is not part of the actual canon of the series.
Continuity Nod: Considering the anti-bender Equalist Movement that would occur in The Legend of Korra, one could say Lian is a kind of predecessor to the idea of non-benders using machinery to assert dominance over benders due to mistreatment.
Damsel in Distress: In the "Amongst the Enemy" chapter, she's the Fire Nation's prisoner, being used to make machines for the Fire Nation.
Death by Looking Up: Lian and two of her minions are crushed to death by the collapsing Ultimaton.
Evil Cannot Comprehend Good: She thinks to be the Avatar means to control all four elements. She doesn’t understand the responsibilities the Avatar must bear to maintain balance of the world. She also fails to understand why Aang would refuse to help her end the war with her machines, not realizing that Aang opposes such extreme measures.
Forced into Evil: While under capture of the Fire Nation, Lian is forced to make machines for them that ultimately overtake them as the greatest threat in the game.
Gadgeteer Genius: Lian managed to create giant robots that can shoot fire, fly, control water, and shatter the earth at a time when hot air balloons were the peak of technological evolution and clocks weren't even conceived.
Manipulative Bitch: When she escapes to the Air Temple, she instructs her machines to attack the Avatar Sanctuary, knowing that Aang would be inclined to stop them. She also uses this as a chance to capture his friends while they wait for his return.
Muggle Power: Lian's machines can reproduce the powers of benders while challenging even the Avatar. It turns out Lian is well aware of this, and intends to use her machines to destroy the nations and create a world of equality.
Tsurime Eyes: She has narrow, upwards arching eyes.
Walking Spoiler: She’s not just some captured mechanic forced to work for the Fire Nation.
We Can Rule Together: During two different points in the game, Lian extends an offer for Aang to work with her to end the war once and for all. However, because she plans to commit mass genocide and she fails to understand what it means to be the Avatar, he refuses.
Well-Intentioned Extremist: She wants to end the war, but she plans to do so by killing all Benders and replacing them with machines.

Characters / Avatar: The Last Airbender - Other Characters

Edit Locked

Southern Water Tribe

Voiced by: Melendy Britt (original), Miriam Torres (Latin American Spanish), Elżbieta Kijowska- Rozen (Polish)

Voiced by: Grey DeLisle (original), Mirta González (Latin American Spanish), Katarzyna Kozak (Polish)

Northern Water Tribe

Arnook

Voiced by: Jon Polito, Andej Chudy (Polish)

Hahn

Voiced by: Benjamin Diskin, Artur Pontek (Polish)

Earth Kingdom

Jet

Voiced by: Crawford Wilson, Janusz Zadura (Polish, season 1), Krzysztof Królak (Polish, season 2 )

Voiced by (Italian): Simone Crisari

Voiced by (German): Florian Knorn

Freedom Fighters

Voiced by: Nika Futterman (Smellerbee), Mitch Hollerman (The Duke, Season 1), Nick Soboda (The Duke, Season 3), Sterling Young (Pipsqueak), Marc Donato (Longshot)

In General

Smellerbee

The Duke

Longshot

Pipsqueak

Sneers

Cabbage Merchant

Voiced by: James Sie, Paweł Galia (Polish)

The Kyoshi Warriors

Foamy Mouth Guy

Voiced by: Bryan Konietzkonote Using alias Byron McKittrick

June

Voiced by: Jennifer Hale (original), Yaninna Quiroz (Latin American Spanish), Monika Pikuła(Polish, season 1), Katarzyna Kozak (Polish, season 3)

Nyla

Voiced by: Dee Bradley Baker

Pirate Captain

Voiced by: Jack Angel

Pirate Barker Oh

Voiced by: Bryan Konietzkonote Using alias Byron McKittrick

General Fong

Voiced by: Daniel Dae Kim

Professor Zei

Voiced by: Raphael Sbarge

Song

Voiced by: Kim Mai Guest, Zuzanna Galia (Polish)

Yung

Voiced by: Fred Tatasciore

Lee

Voiced by: Robby Bruce

Gaoling

Lao voiced by: Cam Clarke, Marek Bocianiak (Polish)

Poppy voiced by: Gabrielle Carteris, Bożena Furczyk (Polish)

The Boulder

Voiced by: Mick Foley

The Big Bad Hippo

Voiced by: Kevin Michael Richardson

Fire Nation Man

The Gecko

The Gopher

The Headhunter

Xin Fu and Yu

Voiced by: Marc Graue (Xin Fu), Sab Shimono (Yu)

Si Wong Desert

Voiced by: Bill Bolender (original),

Voiced by: Paul Mc Kinny (original),

Ba Sing Se

Long Feng

Voiced by: Clancy Brown (original), Rolando Silva (Latin American Spanish), Luigi La Monica (Italian), Klaus-Dieter Klebsch (German)

Joo Dee

Voiced by: Lauren Tom

Jin

Voiced by: Marcella Lentz-Pope

General How

Voiced by: Jim Meskimen

General Sung

Voiced by: Barry Dennen

Spirits

Hei Bai

Tui and La

Koh

Voiced by: Erik Dellums

Wan Shi Tong

Voiced by: Héctor Elizondo

Voiced by: Bryan Konietzko^noteUsing alias Byron McKittrick

Voiced by: Bryan Konietzko^noteUsing alias Byron McKittrick