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!!This is a partial character sheet for ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra''. Visit [[Characters/TheLegendOfKorra here]] for the main character index. Subjective trope and audience reactions should go on the [[YMMV/TheLegendOfKorra YMMV page]].
[[foldercontrol]]
[[folder:Amon]]
!Amon [[spoiler:/ Noatak]]
[[quoteright:332:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Amon_5948.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:332: "I am the solution."]]
->Voiced by SteveBlum
The leader of the Equalists and the primary antagonist of the first season. A man shrouded in mystery, Amon seeks to rid the world of benders and usher in a new era of equality. He seeks to destroy Korra, whose presence in Republic City threatens his anti-bender agenda.
----
* AmbiguouslyEvil: With his past completely shrouded in mystery aside from his personal testimony, it's hard to say just how evil he is. That said, the further the show goes on, the further down the slope he goes. [[spoiler:Once his endgame kicks in, he has no problem launching a full-scale assault on the city, depowering metalbender cops (including Lin Beifong), kidnapping the entire council (save Tenzin but not for lack of trying), and attacking Tenzin's family when he knew Tenzin wasn't there to help them. The last part is especially notable because he'd be complicit in the nearly-successful genocide of the Air Nomads started by the Fire Nation nearly two centuries earlier had he succeeded (though, admittedly, he probably wouldn't ''kill'' them, just strip them of their bending). According to Tarrlok, he does genuinely believe his rhetoric, despite his heritage.]]
** In the end, despite having his backstory [[spoiler: revealed]], Amon is still AmbiguouslyEvil to the extreme. Was [[spoiler: Tarrlok]] right in saying that Amon genuinely believed in his rhetoric, [[spoiler: despite being a bender himself, or did his use of bloodbending [[DrunkOnTheDarkSide Send Him Over the Edge]]]]? Was the [[spoiler: tear he cried right before Tarrlok ignited the fuel tank of the boat they were riding in acknowledgement and acceptance of what Tarrlok [[RedemptionEqualsDeath Was About]] [[MurderSuicide To Do]], or simply him recalling a fond memory?]] The questions go on and on.
* [[spoiler:AccidentalPublicConfession]]: [[spoiler:Non-verbal one. After being blasted out of a window into the ocean, he instinctively waterbends himself back out, exposing himself as a waterbender and washing off the paint used to fake a firebending scar.]]
* AntiVillain: [[SlidingScaleOfAntiVillains Type]] [[WellIntentionedExtremist III]]. Wanting equality and to help lower class citizens isn't bad... but doing so by trying to eradicate bending is extreme. He only targets benders who use their abilities for evil, at least until he's built up enough support to get away with more ambiguous targets or full-on public servants. He has also told Korra to her face (while his men held her down) that the only reason she still has her bending is that he is saving her for later. For all purposes, he does appear to have a moral code. It's just that he is pragmatic enough to take more amoral or even outright immoral actions to see his plans come to fruition.
** [[spoiler:It's revealed in the finale he's actually Yakone's son and a bloodbender, and, according to Tarrlok, came to the conclusion that bending was the root of all evil due to his father's [[AbusiveParents Abusiveness]]. The fact that bloodbending is known to get people DrunkOnTheDarkSide probably didn't hurt. He ultimately seems to come in as a solid [[SlidingScaleOfAntiVillains Type II]] AntiVillain, alongside his previously inferred Type III position. On the other hand, the show is somewhat unclear, as Tarrlok says he enjoyed the power Bloodbending gave him and we see him bloodbend a pack of wolves to bow down to him in a flashback.]]
* AuthorityEqualsAsskicking: He prefers not to fight (see Pragmatic Villainy) but when he does....
* {{Badass}}: He has yet to lose a one-on-one fight to anyone. Notable because this has included a firebender skilled in shooting lightning and a [[spoiler:bloodbender, which he somehow powered through despite the debilitating effect it had on his men]].
** BadassNormal[=/=]MageKiller: He's a very powerful chi-blocker.
*** [[spoiler:BadassAbnormal: But he's actually a waterbender and a bloodbender. Tarrlok's brother no less.]]
** BadassBaritone: He ''is'' voiced by SteveBlum.
** BadassBoast:
--->'''[[spoiler:Tarrlok]]:''' [[WhatTheHellAreYou What... what are you?]]
--->'''Amon:''' I am the solution.
* [[spoiler:BadPowersBadPeople]]: Zig zagged. [[spoiler: He's a bloodbender, but he is basically a WellIntentionedExtremist and/or KnightTemplar, so he's bad in a rather unorthodox way.]]
* BeneathTheMask: [[spoiler: Once stripped of his plans and supporters, he seems to be nothing more than an optimistic and possibly even naive man longing to live the life he never had with his baby brother. Given Tarrlok's MurderSuicide of them both, it is arguable as to whether that would remain the case ever after.]]
* BigBad: Of Book One.
** [[spoiler:BigBadEnsemble]]: [[spoiler:[[SubvertedTrope Subverted]]. It appeared that he would be this with Tarrlok in the eighth episode of the first season, but upon their meeting at the end of episode 9, Amon resists [[BigBadWannabe Tarrlok]]'s bloodbending and de-bends him. Which leaves Amon as the only, and rightful BigBad.]]
* [[spoiler: BigBrotherInstinct: Tarrlok claims he always looked out for him when they were kids. In ''Out of the Past'' he does the gruntwork of taking Tarrlock to the truck himself while the Lieutenant and some mooks try to nab Korra, quite possibly to protect his brother from them, as any of them would likely take the chance to hurt him. At the finale, Amon tells him he's all he has left in the world.]]
* [[spoiler: BoomerangBigot: He's a waterbender, and none too proud of it, if Tarrlok's right about his motives.]]
* BreakingSpeech: He delivers one so effective and intimidating that Korra suffers a complete breakdown afterwards.
* [[spoiler: CainAndAbel: Zigzagged. He takes away his brother's bending, but his brother ultimately kills him. And, well, he still loves him regardless.]]
* TheChessmaster: Holy crap, yes. His actions in Episode 6 sealed his status as one and [[MagnificentBastard even more.]] See XanatosGambit below.
* [[spoiler:ChildProdigy: Mastered bloodbending at ''14''.]]
* CombatPragmatist: Uses ambushes, greater numbers, weapons the opposition has no defense against, and psychological warfare to lead the Equalists to victory. [[spoiler:He also subtly uses bloodbending to gain the edge in fights with other benders without exposing himself.]]
* CoolMask: Some kind of Venetian Carnival mask, it has the spook factor of one.
* CrazyPrepared: The Finale reveals that [[spoiler:he wears fake scars on his face just by the off chance that someone might knock his mask off, or force him to reveal his face.]]
* CulturePolice: Desires to end pro-bending as means to end "bending worship".
* DangerouslyGenreSavvy:
** He lets Korra escape the Revelation because she'd be the "perfect messenger" about what just transpired; letting Benders hear it from the Avatar herself that he has the power to take away bending.
** When answering Korra's gauntlet throw-down on Aang's Memorial Island, [[spoiler:he doesn't come alone. He has chi-blockers [[ZergRush dog pile]] Korra first, then says he won't unbend her because he'd just create a martyr.]] He seems fairly intent on his "No Martyr" policy, at least for the early stages of his plan. [[spoiler: His victims are either unpopular with the public or publicly shamed by Amon himself before neutralization (crime lords, Wolfbats after cheating, Tarrlok after losing his good publicity, etc.)]]
** His plan in "And the Winner Is...". See XanatosGambit below.
** [[spoiler:He also took the extremely dangerous Tarrlok off guard and in a position where Tarrlok had no water at his disposal to bend. With his bloodbending useless, Tarrlok was forced to fight Amon hand to hand, something Amon is exceptionally skilled at, instead of being able to fight back with his extremely powerful bending.]]
** [[spoiler:He wears makeup beneath his mask to fake a firebending scar, just in case he needs to put down any claim that he's lying.]]
* DarkMessiah: He's set himself up as a Messiah figure to the Equalist movement, and his ultimate goal is to replace the Avatar as the world's savior. Though the Equalists are not a religious movement, he does claim that his exceptional abilities were granted to him by the spirits that protect the world, and that it is his destiny to be the savior of non-benders by bringing them into balance with those who can (or could) bend.
* [[spoiler: DeathEqualsRedemption / HeelRealization]]: Depending on your [[AlternateCharacterInterpretation interpretation]] of [[spoiler: the single tear he cries before Tarrlok kills the two of them, it's possible he fell under this trope; if he was indeed aware of what Tarrlok was about to do, and did nothing to stop him, the likely conclusion is that he accepted his brothers' judgement, and understood why he needed to die.]]
* DeathGlare: Gives quite a potent one to Korra as seen in episode 4 when he confronts her underneath Aang's statue. It's especially notable since he can give quite a DeathGlare even behind that mask.
* [[spoiler:DePower]]: [[spoiler:He has the ability to strip people of their bending. He somehow uses bloodbending to do it, and in such a way that even Katara can't heal it. However, true energybending can counteract this.]]
* DiabolicalMastermind: Beneath his ruse of being a revolutionary, he seems to be this.
* DissonantSerenity: The cargo bay of his [[CoolAirship zeppelin]] being filled with flame by Korra [[UnflinchingWalk doesn't even break his stride]]. [[spoiler:He doesn't seem fazed by Tarrlok's bloodbending, and while he's affected he is able to push through and maintain his composure without faltering.]] The mask definitely helps with the effect.
* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: His ideals parallel the development of Communism and Fascism, which rose to compete against the fledgling democracies of the early 20th century. His rhetoric also is reminiscent of the Taiping Rebellion, as he fashions himself as a messianic figure and tries to replace the Avatar.
* TheDreaded: He terrifies Korra to the point that she breaks down into tears after one confrontation with him, and his encounter with Bolin left the earthbender with nightmares for at least a week.
* [[spoiler:DrunkOnTheDarkSide]]: [[spoiler:Like Tarrlok, he was taught bloodbending by his father, which may have had something to do with his descent into villainy.]]
* [[spoiler:EvenEvilHasLovedOnes:]] [[spoiler:He does seem to still love Tarrlok, although he rejected him when they were children and took his bending away.]]
* ExpressiveMask: On occasion, there are subtle illustration changes to the mouth on his mask, and his eyes and tone do the rest.
* EvilSoundsDeep: What else would you expect from SteveBlum? Evil's as deep as the ocean.
* [[spoiler: FamousLastWords]]: [[spoiler:"I had almost forgotten the sound of my own name."]]
* [[FantasticRacism Fantastic Racist]]: Hates benders and seeks to get rid of bending altogether.
* TheFaceless: [[UnreliableExpositor Supposedly]] due to FacialHorror.
* FacialHorror: The stated reason for his mask. He [[UnreliableExpositor claims]] to have gotten the scars from the same Firebender that killed his family. [[spoiler:He's lying. Underneath the mask, [[CrazyPrepared and the makeup he's wearing under the mask]], he's actually [[http://minuiko.tumblr.com/post/25723337788/one-other-thing-it-kills-me-to-see-how-helpless good looking]].]]
* {{Foil}}:
** To Korra. [[spoiler:His debending powers make him a sort of anti-Avatar]]. He's also styling himself in the same vein as an Avatar, claiming to be a savior sent by the spirits. He also is a very calm, controlled individual who claims to be sent by the spirits, while Korra is a BoisterousBruiser who has ''major'' difficulty with the spiritual side of bending. [[spoiler: It also turns out they're both native waterbenders and bending [[ChildProdigy Child Prodigies]]. Not to mention his young self looks strikingly like a male version of Korra.]]
** His back-story is very similar to Mako and Bolin's. They all had parents killed by a firebender. But while the brothers eventually learned to live with their loss, he took it in a completely [[FantasticRacism different direction.]] [[spoiler: Of course, this turns out to be a lie.]]
** In a meta sense, he's a foil to Ozai in the same sense that Korra is to Aang. Whereas Ozai was a power-hungry conqueror, Amon is a partisan revolutionary. Ozai was as close to a complete monster as a character can be in a child-friendly cartoon, whereas Amon is arguably an anti-villain. Ozai was [[spoiler:defeated with energybending]] and Amon [[spoiler:takes away bending and is ultimately defeated by revealing his bending. Amon is also a waterbender, further providing contrast between them]].
** In a way, he could be seen as this to Tarrlok. Both men are highly charismatic people who've captured the hearts of their respective branches of public, [[AuthorityEqualsAsskicking they're both more than capable of holding their own in a fight]], [[spoiler:and they both have secret powers that come off as a major shock to anyone who's fighting them for the first time]]. And then it turns out [[spoiler:[[SiblingYinYang Tarrlok is Amon's brother.]]]]
* FreudianExcuse: Amon explains at an Equalist rally that his parents were murdered and his face disfigured by a firebender when he was just a child.
** [[spoiler:Turns out that backstory is a lie, but his real backstory is arguably just as sympathetic. His father, Yakone, was an extremely [[AbusiveParents abusive parent]], and forced him and his brother Tarrlok to learn bloodbending so he could use them to exact revenge on Republic City and the Avatar. Ultimately, this mistreatment put Amon on the path to darkness. Eventually, when his father made him and his brother use bloodbending on each other, he turned on his father, and ran away from home.]]
* FromNobodyToNightmare: He claims to have once been a simple FarmBoy... then, his family was murdered. Now he's a DarkMessiah revolutionary trying to bring down bending and replace the Avatar.
** [[spoiler: [[ZigZaggedTrope Zig Zagged]] in the finale; turns out his father was Yakone, who fled Republic City. He was still nobody when he left the Northern Water tribe, but his story wasn't the one he claimed it was.]]
* GeniusBruiser: Really good public speaker, social leader, and [[TheChessmaster master strategist]]; terrifyingly good close-combatant[[spoiler:, prodigy waterbender and psychic bloodbender]].
* GloriousLeader
* GoldAndWhiteAreDivine: An unusual case in that said colour pattern is confined to his mask.
* GoodColorsEvilColors:
** His mask is white and gold, noble colors, which are his ''mask'' which he hides behind, his red circle on his head could be his "evil" ambitions poking through his veneer of righteousness, and the fact that this is surrounded by black seems to mean he is the one noble being surrounded by darkness "benders" his point of view.
** When viewed through the lens of [[http://www.sensationalcolor.com/color-messages-meanings/color-around-the-globe/china-the-colorful-masks-of-the-chinese-opera.html Chinese opera]], Amon's mask takes on considerable symbolism. Its white/silver and gold color scheme immediately places the character in the realm of the mystic, with the gold/yellow coloration also playing into the character traits of treachery and ferociousness. The red circle on his forehead evokes a hint of Buddhist symbolism, referencing his spiritual connection, and also carries some connotations with intelligence and cleverness.
** White is the color of death in Asian cultures, which fits well with the symbolism often attributed to the WhiteMaskOfDoom. Red and gold are generally considered positive colors in Chinese culture, making their use [[LightIsNotGood ironic]] in this case.
** The gold on his mask can also be seen as green. Another [[http://atla-annotated.tumblr.com/post/19671786341/amons-mask-analyzed-through-beijing-opera analysis]] through that lens holds that the white symbolizes cunning, treachery, and craftiness, the green is violence and lack of self-restraint, and the red dot is both spirituality and the mocking of it.
* [[spoiler: GoOutWithASmile: After losing Republic City and the Equalists, Amon decides to reclaim his old identity as Noatak and turn over a new leaf with Tarrlok, his long-lost brother. As they leave on a getaway boat, Noatak happily contemplates the new life they would build with each other as brothers, while Tarrlok silently decides to kill both of themselves as recompense for their past crimes and to halt their father's villainous legacy once and for all. From the driver's seat Noatak smiles as he muses on how he'd almost forgotten the sound of his own name and begins crying, perhaps [[DeathEqualsRedemption realizing and accepting]] what Tarrlok is about to do just before Tarrlok ignites the gas tank and detonates the boat.]]
* HeroKiller: [[spoiler:Anyone he can lay his hands on is effectively neutralized since they can no longer bend. His first confrontation with Korra also implies that he plans to kill her after taking away her bending, though that may have been poor use of the phrase "untimely demise" as a metaphor.]] He fully enters into this trope after de-bending [[spoiler:Lin Beifong]].
* HiddenAgendaVillain: Throughout the series, his real motivations are never really revealed. [[spoiler:His backstory implies he's either a KnightTemplar seeking to rid the world of bending because he seeks it as the root of all evil, or was seeking to follow in his father's footsteps and take over Republic City. Evidence is presented for both.]]
* {{Hypocrite}}: In several ways. He wants to get rid of benders for making non-benders live in terror, while his own strategy consists of doing exactly that. Not to mention that he's not only [[spoiler:a bender himself, but a ''bloodbender'', aka the most dangerous type of bender in the world]]. And in the end, [[spoiler:the Lieutenant]] is not at all happy to realize this.
* IAmTheNoun: "I am the ''solution''".
** Also printed on some of his posters, though that's a [[BilingualBonus Readers Of Chinese Bonus]].
* InTheHood
* TheJuggernaut: [[spoiler:When Tarrlok tries to use bloodbending on him, he just shrugs it off and keeps advancing. Turns out he was bloodbending himself.]]
* JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope: While some of his actions were extreme before, he does this in episode 10 when [[spoiler:he carries out a ''massive'' invasion on Republic City. This carries on into the finale, when he attempts to debend the last remaining airbenders, three of whom are children.]]
** [[spoiler: This appears to have happened some time in his backstory, between Noatak running away from home and taking up the identity of Amon.]]
* JustToyingWithThem: Amon makes a show out of tying up [[ElementalPowers bending]] members of a crime syndicate (and one of the heroes who got mixed up with them) and [[spoiler: removing their powers]] in front of a huge crowd of [[AntimagicalFaction Equalist]] sympathizers. This trope comes into play when, as part of his show, Amon lets the crime boss loose and offers him the chance to fight to protect himself. It's all the more impressive when Amon wins. [[CurbStompBattle Rather easily]], in fact. [[spoiler:It's later revealed he uses bloodbending to get them to move somewhat predictably without revealing his ability, making his defeat of them inevitable.]]
* JustYouMeAndMyGuards: [[spoiler:How Amon eventually responds to Korra's mano-a-mano challenge to him. Could be justified because Tarrlok was supposed to have soldiers watching the fight, and Amon is GenreSavvy enough to suspect something like that.]]
* KickTheSonOfABitch: Every early instance of on-screen [[spoiler:de-bending]] we saw him carry out was upon someone who was used their bending to illegally gain a position of power while being protected from reprisals by corruption in the system (the Triple Threat Triad, an organized crime syndicate, as well as the Wolfbats who cheated their way into winning the tournament, and [[spoiler:Tarrlok]]). This is a consistent part of his political strategy, and also why he refuses to fight Korra at first.
** KickTheDog: After his plans have advanced far enough that he doesn't need the good press anymore, he has no problem attacking benders who haven't done anything to deserve it. [[spoiler:The Metalbending police, the entire Republic City Council (save Tenzin), the last airbenders (who escaped), and Lin Beifong. Not to mention bombing the crap out of Republic City. In the finale, he has benders lined up execution-style, captures Tenzin and his family to eliminate airbending altogether, and attacks and possibly ''kills'' the Lieutenant when he finds out Amon is a bloodbender.]]
* [[spoiler:KilledOffForReal]]: [[spoiler:Escapes Republic City with Tarrlok, but Tarrlok ultimately decides to sacrifice himself to stop him once and for all by blowing up the boat they're in.]]
* KneelBeforeZod: [[spoiler:Forces a pack of wolves to do this as a child with bloodbending .]]
* KnightOfCerebus: While the series started out as upbeat, immediately after his appearance, the story became much darker. Unlike [[CompleteMonster Ozai]], who wanted to [[CardCarryingVillain take over the world and prove his superiority to the Avatar]]; he has made it quite clear that he intends to kill Korra and rid the world of Benders to which he does with lethal precision and intimidating charisma.
** Given the [[PuttingOnTheReich things]] [[MindRape he]] [[NoSell does]], he could be considered one of these for ''the franchise itself''!
* KnightTemplar: See WellIntentionedExtremist below. He definitely invokes this in his rhetoric. His [[spoiler: attacks on Republic City and Air Temple Island in the final episodes]] push him over the edge, however.
* KnowWhenToFoldEm: [[spoiler: After being defeated by Korra and Mako, he immediately leaves and retrieves Tarrlok, before leaving the Equalists behind to start a new life with his brother.]]
* LightIsNotGood: Though Amon invokes certain heavenly archetypes with his [[GoldAndWhiteAreDivine white and gold]] sun mask, Egyptian sun god name, golden eyes, and [[MessianicArchetype possible mystical connections]], he's still the leader of a private military force with a cultist agenda. [[spoiler:He's a waterbender, and while a bloodbender, his method is essencially a reversal of [[HealingHands waterbending healing]], manipulating chi regardless. Thus, arguably WhiteMagic.]]
* LightningBruiser: Extremely agile and nimble fighter with the strength to take down even the most skilled benders with no sweat.
* MadeOfIron: He took a lightning bolt to the chest, several seconds long at that, and ''walked it off''.
* [[spoiler:MakingASplash]]: [[spoiler:Turns out he's a waterbender and a bloodbender.]]
** [[spoiler:BloodMagic]]
* [[MalevolentMaskedMen Malevolent Masked Man]]: Like the lower-level Equalists, although they're GasMaskMooks and his is more of a traditional mask.
* MissionFromGod: He claims that he was chosen by the spirits to bring down bending and replace the Avatar.
* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: "Amon" has plenty of possible meanings.
** To start, it's the name of an Egyptian god and a [[ArsGoetia demon]].
** The word or root "Amen" means "what is hidden", "what is not seen", "what cannot be seen" and the like.
** One of the worst Nazi criminals was [[Film/SchindlersList Amon Goeth]].
** [[http://masterarrowhead.tumblr.com/post/21546778935/hawkfeather-atla-annotated-energybending-a Amon is also the name of an acupuncture point on the back of the neck.]] Amon was shown pressing onto that point as well as the forehead.
** A fan [[http://atla-annotated.tumblr.com/post/21979689321/amon-is-the-answer-interesting-choice-of translated his name written in Chinese characters]]. 阿蒙. ‘cover; ignorant; suffer’.
* NoSell: When [[spoiler:Tarrlok]] uses [[spoiler:bloodbending]] to incapacitate his mooks, Amon shrugs it off. Even when [[spoiler:Tarrlok]] redoubled his efforts, it just barely slowed Amon down. [[spoiler:Since he can bloodbend with his mind, he was able to counteract Tarrlok's powers without moving.]]
* ObviouslyEvil: He looks pretty dang evil, but looking at him through the lens of Asian Culture (which Avatar takes heavy cues from), he looks a ''lot'' more evil. See GoodColorsEvilColors.
* [[spoiler:ThePowerOfBlood]]: [[spoiler:He's a bloodbender. He's so good that he can do it [[BeyondTheImpossible without moving his hands. In daytime.]]]]
** [[spoiler:PsychicPowers]]: [[spoiler:Tarrlok specifically calls his bloodbending this.]]
* PragmaticVillainy:
** "[[Recap/TheLegendOfKorraS1E4TheVoiceInTheNight The Voice in the Night]]" reveals just how pragmatic he is, to the point of ReasonBeforeHonor.
** Get challenged to a one-on-one duel? No {{Mooks}} for either side? [[spoiler:So you've made yourself defenseless. Perfect. Meet my platoon of chi-blockers.]]
** At last, I have my most dangerous opponent [[IHaveYouNowMyPretty at my mercy]]. [[spoiler:See ya round kid. [[DangerouslyGenreSavvy The international public outcry wouldn't be worth it right now.]] But don't worry! I'm going to save you for last, letting you watch all you love and care for be destroyed before I take you out. Toodle-oo!]]
* PreAssKickingOneLiner: "It is time for you to be Equalized."
* [[spoiler:PsychopathicManChild]]: [[spoiler:In his final scenes he displays naivety and untoward optimism, shucking off his persona of Amon as if it was a disguise. He's incredibly cheerful for a defeated man and is seemingly giddy from the prospect of being with his little brother again, as if he and Tarrlok are two little schoolboys running away from home. He seems to think everything will be just fine, ignoring the fact that every facet of their identities were shaped so that a normal life would be improbable or even impossible.]]
** That said, [[spoiler: the sheer amount of explosives/electric weapons, as well as his tear before Tarrlok exploded the boat, might imply it was a ruse to lead his brother to kill them both.]]
* RebelLeader: He is the leader of the anti-bending movement.
* ScrewThisImOuttaHere: [[spoiler: After being defeated and uncovered by Korra, Tarrlok asks him to escape together and rebuild a life as brothers. Amon agrees, and ultimately seems to be truly happy to do so.]]
* ShadowArchetype: To Korra, as essentially the anti-Avatar. He's also one to Bolin and Mako, as they've all lost their parents to Firebenders. However, Amon now wants to destroy all benders, while Bolin and Mako are making the best of their situation.
* [[spoiler:SiblingYinYang]]: [[spoiler:With Tarrlok.]]
* [[spoiler:SingleTear]]: [[spoiler:Sheds one right before his death]].
* StrongerSibling: [[spoiler:He's Tarrlok's.]]
* SuperPowerLottery: Assuming that his abilities are, in fact, supernatural, he won the jackpot. Moves so quickly that he can avoid most all bending attacks directed at him.
** As it turns out [[spoiler:he's a bloodbender, which he used to dodge attacks and to strip people of their bending.]]
* TellMeHowYouFight: [[spoiler:Tarrlok identifies Amon as his brother, despite Amon's appearance being totally concealed, by the distinctive feel of his bloodbending]].
* [[spoiler:ThisCannotBe]]: [[spoiler:When he debends Korra only for her to use airbending against him.]]
* [[spoiler:TragicVillain]]: In the finale, it's revealed that [[spoiler:Amon is actually Tarrlok's older brother, Noatak. He and Tarrlok were forced by their [[AbusiveParents father]] Yakone to learn bloodbending, so that he could use them to exact vengeance on Republic City and the Avatar. After Yakone forced him and Tarrlok to use bloodbending on each other, Noatak turned on his father, incapacitated him with bloodbending, and ran away from home, taking up the identity of Amon years later. According to Tarrlok, he really and truly believed bending to be the root of all evil in the world, despite being a bender himself, though Tarrlok also implies Amon enjoyed the power bloodbending gave him.]]
** It's worse than that. [[spoiler: He wanted Tarrlok to run away with him, but he didn't want to leave their mother behind. At the finale he's looking forward to a peaceful life with his brother. Apparently that's all he really wanted.]]
* [[spoiler:{{Tykebomb}}: His father Yakone tried to turn him and his brother, Tarrlok, into this in a plot for revenge on Republic City and the Avatar. While he ''did'' turn on his father, he ultimately ended up fulfilling what Yakone wanted him to do anyway, make Republic City suffer.]]
* {{Ubermensch}}
* TheUnfettered: He ''seems'' to have rules but really just pragmatism. He'll do anything.
* UnflinchingWalk:
** Pulls this off in the face of a fireball that blasts most of his {{Mooks}} away.
** Also, [[spoiler:when up against Tarrlok, he pulls this off. Which is impressive, because he ''shouldn't'' have been able to stand, let alone walk. It turns out Amon himself is a bloodbender, hence why he wasn't affected.]]
* UnreliableExpositor: His highly theatrical presentation of his "revelation," his {{backstory}} and even [[spoiler: his energybending]], throws the truthfulness of all he says into question.
** [[spoiler:It's ''all'' a lie. He's actually Tarrlok's older brother and a waterbender, who uses the bloodbending their father Yakone forced him and his brother to learn to prevent people from bending. That said, according to Tarrlok, he genuinely believes bending to be the root of all evil.]]
* [[spoiler:UsedToBeASweetKid]]: [[spoiler:Until his father forced him and his brother to learn bloodbending.]]
* VillainHasAPoint: His talk about benders oppressing non-benders gained a lot more credence [[spoiler:once Tarrlok took over.]]
* VillainWithGoodPublicity: A major part of his plan is to become this. So far, he's been remarkably successful. While officially considered a terrorist, he has amassed a massive amount of followers, enough to threaten all of Republic City.
* [[spoiler:VillainousBreakdown]]: [[spoiler:After Korra manages to use airbending despite having been debended. He ''really'' gets this once he's not only unmasked, but his makeup to make him look scarred is washed off in the water, revealing him for what he really is.]]
* [[spoiler:VillainousRescue]]: [[spoiler:Rescues Korra from Tarrlok, though he didn't plan on letting her go free after taking down Tarrlok.]]
* VisionaryVillain: A world of equality.
* WellIntentionedExtremist: According to himself, Amon genuinely wants to make a better world. Said better world simply involves the eradication of bending and most likely placing himself in power.
** [[spoiler:It turns out his backstory was a lie, and he's actually a bender, though Tarrlok thinks he genuinely believes that bending is the root of all evil.]]
* WhiteMaskOfDoom: The only known Equalist to have one.
* [[WhyDontYouJustShootHim Why Don't You Just Shoot Her?]]: He makes it clear that he could have easily taken away Korra's bending when he ambushed her. He also makes it clear that doing so would have made her into a martyr, which is why Korra will be the last to lose her bending, and then she will die.
* WouldHitAGirl: He knocks Korra unconscious when he ambushes her. And he plans to kill her.
* WouldHurtAChild: In the finale, [[spoiler:he has captured Tenzin and his family and plans on debending them.]]
* XanatosGambit: Pulls one off in "And the Winner Is...". He makes [[DoNotAdjustYourSet a public demand over the radio]] that the city government shut down the Pro-Bending arena and cancel the championship match. If the pro-bending championships are not stopped, then he and the Equalists have an audience for the demonstration of their power and he gets to begin his war. If the tournament is canceled the government has given into Amon's demand and showed that it will not challenge him.
* [[spoiler:YouAreWhatYouHate]]: By implication, [[spoiler:if he was really sincere about his belief that benders are the source of all evil in the world]].
[[/folder]]
[[folder:The Lieutenant]]
!The Lieutenant
[[quoteright:350:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Screen_Shot_2012-04-29_at_11_40_21_AM_7512.png]]
[[caption-width-right:350:"You benders need to understand... there's no place in this world for you anymore."]]
->Voiced by Lance Henriksen
Amon's second-in-command.
----
* AwesomeBackpack: He carries a power generator on his back to supply power for his weapons.
** AmmunitionBackpack
* BadassMoustache
* BadassNormal
* [[spoiler:BrokenPedestal: Let's just say that he didn't take learning the truth about Amon well]].
* TheDeterminator: Always back up and ready for another fight, no matter how much of a beating he takes.
* DiminishingVillainThreat: Appears very threatening early on, soundly defeating Bolin and Mako in "The Revelation," but every time he is encountered thereafter, he is usually either attacking a helpless or outmatched opponent or he loses.
* TheDragon: For Amon.
* DualWielding: Electricfied kali sticks in both hands.
* EveryoneCallsHimBarkeep
* EvilSoundsDeep: Being voiced by Lance Henriksen, this is a given. That man could inhale multiple canisters of helium and he would still sound like he had more than one puberty.
* GlassCannon: Very agile and deadly in combat. He hits as fast as lightning, and he's very powerful. However, he goes down after one hit.
* GogglesDoNothing
* GoodHairEvilHair: He has a Fu Manchu moustache.
* HonorBeforeReason: Considering that he saw Amon [[spoiler: bloodbending]] Korra and Mako at the same time, he probably realized that a head-on charge would be suicide, but decided he'd rather go out swinging than continue to follow a lie.
* IcyBlueEyes
* ImpossiblyCoolWeapon: He wields a pair of electrified kali sticks, because his opponents are metalbending cops, and electricity works pretty well on all benders. The fact that an industrialized city like Republic City has conductive metal ''everywhere'' doesn't hurt, either.
* IneffectualSympatheticVillain: Starts to shade into this as the DiminishingVillainThreat kicks in. Poor guy can't do ''anything'' right.
* ItsPersonal: [[spoiler:When Korra's trapped in a metal cage, he shows a certain satisfaction in getting to shock her unconscious as payback. Unfortunately for him, she was one step ahead.]]
** He also takes [[spoiler:realizing that he'd been played by Amon]] pretty badly.
* MadeOfIron: Has been sucker punched with a boulder, knocked off a building, blasted over a roof, and smashed into the ground from midair by a polar bear dog. And each time, he has dusted himself off and returned ready to fight again.
* MookFaceTurn: [[spoiler:Turns on Amon when he finds out about his bending, though as usual he didn't do that well in the ensuing "fight".]]
* NobleTopEnforcer: While the Lieutenant comes off as sadistic and cruel, he truly believes in the Equalists' agenda and dedicated his life to it.
* NoNameGiven
* NoPeripheralVision: Maybe it's the goggles, but the Lieutenant has had an unfortunate tendency to be taken out by surprise, typically by someone new showing up from behind or the side while he's fighting another opponent.
* PsychoElectro: While he is serious in wanting to end bending like all other Equalists, he seems to actually enjoy inflicting pain on benders with his electric arsenal a bit ''too much''.
* ShockAndAwe
** StaticStunGun
* SimpleStaff: Of the two handheld rod variety.
* SpannerInTheWorks: His [[CurbStompBattle "battle"]] [[spoiler:with Amon gave Mako the time to muster up the energy to fire off his lightning.]]
* TallDarkAndHandsome: He actually doesn't look that bad unmasked.[[hottip:*:Seen [[http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m5q76pCfDJ1qa7n5e.gif here]]
* [[spoiler: YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness]]
[[/folder]]
[[folder:The Chi-blockers]]
!The Chi-blockers
[[quoteright:350:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Chi_blockers_6466.jpg]]
The foot-soldiers of the Equalist cause, trained in chi-blocking to nullify the powers of benders.
----
* AirplaneArms: They use the further back, ninja-like variation.
* BadassArmy: BadassNormal GasMaskMooks trained specifically in a PressurePoint-striking fighting method designed to temporarily [[PowerNullifier disarm]] and [[TheParalyzer disable]] the wielders of ElementalPowers.
* BadassBiker: The chi blockers are excellent motorcyclists.
* BadassNormal: They completely dominate Korra and Mako in their first fight, due to clever use of their gadgets and their martial arts.
* CombatPragmatist: They take any advantage they can get. Aside from their grenades, they use bolas, tripwires, whips, and do not obey MookChivalry.
* EliteMooks: They're pretty much an entire army of them. Even just a few of them can put up a hell of a fight against very powerful benders.
* EqualOpportunityEvil: Their figures show that more than a few are [[DarkActionGirl women]]. The ladies fight alongside the men. Also we can't be sure with their masks, but they seem to be non-benders from any of the three nations.
* GasMaskMooks: Since they use gas grenades, this is a necessary aspect of their outfit. Also helps when [[spoiler: being knocked down by fartbending]].
* KickTheDog: Electrocuting Shiro Shinobi, the announcer, who is a non-bender and wasn't fighting back.
* KungFuProofMook: The Equalists' MiniMecha are made from platinum, metal so pure metalbenders are incapable of manipulating it.
* MageKiller: Their combat training specifically targets benders.
* MiniMecha: Their platinum mech-tanks.
* {{Ninja}}
* TheParalyzer: Their blows cause temporary (and apparently painful) paralysis in addition to serving as a...
* PowerNullifier: Even after the paralysis wears off, a chi-blocker's strike will render their target temporarily unable to bend.
* PressurePoint: The centerpiece of their fighting style, featuring extremely rapid strikes.
* ShockAndAwe: A favored tactic of theirs, in various flavors:
** The less skilled among them use electricity-generating gloves. The ones in full attire never do.
** The MiniMecha have built in tasers and can fire bola disks which shock the recipient unconscious. This same weapon is used by hand occasionally.
* SmokeOut: They use grenades that release a greenish, slightly unpleasant gas to dissuade pursuers.
* TheVoiceless: They apparently use this as a psychological tactic, as their near-absolute silence in battle, communicating and coordinating only through gestures and reading each other's body motions, accentuate the inhumanity their faceless masks lend them. It's almost jarring when we hear them speak in episode 9 during unguarded moments.
* TheWorfEffect: In episode 10, several of them were quickly defeated by Jinora, Ikki, and Meelo. Somewhat justified by the fact that airbenders only number in the single digits and only one is actually an adult, so they weren't prepared for it. Add on to that the fact that they were attacked by children, which would be a surprise in itself assuming they were actually willing to assault children in the first place.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:The Protester]]
!The Protester
[[quoteright:350:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Screen_Shot_2012-04-29_at_11_27_37_AM_9261.png]]
->Voiced by Carlos Alazraqui
He's a protestor who comes into the Republic City park to preach about Amon's ideals.
----
* AttentionWhore: He promotes the Equalists for this reason, according to the official website. He attempts to get said attention by taking the unpopular position on any given issue (in this case, bending rights). His parents were evidently supportive of benders.
* BackForTheFinale
* BigWhat: He lets one out in the finale when [[spoiler:Amon outs himself as a waterbender.]]
%% EyesOfGold has more requirements for the trope than just "gold eyes". The protestor does not fit any of them.
* HotBloodedSideburns: Which also point to Fire Nation parentage.
* NoNameGiven
[[/folder]]
[[foldercontrol]]
[[folder:Amon]]
!Amon [[spoiler:/ Noatak]]
[[quoteright:332:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Amon_5948.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:332: "I am the solution."]]
->Voiced by SteveBlum
The leader of the Equalists and the primary antagonist of the first season. A man shrouded in mystery, Amon seeks to rid the world of benders and usher in a new era of equality. He seeks to destroy Korra, whose presence in Republic City threatens his anti-bender agenda.
----
* AmbiguouslyEvil: With his past completely shrouded in mystery aside from his personal testimony, it's hard to say just how evil he is. That said, the further the show goes on, the further down the slope he goes. [[spoiler:Once his endgame kicks in, he has no problem launching a full-scale assault on the city, depowering metalbender cops (including Lin Beifong), kidnapping the entire council (save Tenzin but not for lack of trying), and attacking Tenzin's family when he knew Tenzin wasn't there to help them. The last part is especially notable because he'd be complicit in the nearly-successful genocide of the Air Nomads started by the Fire Nation nearly two centuries earlier had he succeeded (though, admittedly, he probably wouldn't ''kill'' them, just strip them of their bending). According to Tarrlok, he does genuinely believe his rhetoric, despite his heritage.]]
** In the end, despite having his backstory [[spoiler: revealed]], Amon is still AmbiguouslyEvil to the extreme. Was [[spoiler: Tarrlok]] right in saying that Amon genuinely believed in his rhetoric, [[spoiler: despite being a bender himself, or did his use of bloodbending [[DrunkOnTheDarkSide Send Him Over the Edge]]]]? Was the [[spoiler: tear he cried right before Tarrlok ignited the fuel tank of the boat they were riding in acknowledgement and acceptance of what Tarrlok [[RedemptionEqualsDeath Was About]] [[MurderSuicide To Do]], or simply him recalling a fond memory?]] The questions go on and on.
* [[spoiler:AccidentalPublicConfession]]: [[spoiler:Non-verbal one. After being blasted out of a window into the ocean, he instinctively waterbends himself back out, exposing himself as a waterbender and washing off the paint used to fake a firebending scar.]]
* AntiVillain: [[SlidingScaleOfAntiVillains Type]] [[WellIntentionedExtremist III]]. Wanting equality and to help lower class citizens isn't bad... but doing so by trying to eradicate bending is extreme. He only targets benders who use their abilities for evil, at least until he's built up enough support to get away with more ambiguous targets or full-on public servants. He has also told Korra to her face (while his men held her down) that the only reason she still has her bending is that he is saving her for later. For all purposes, he does appear to have a moral code. It's just that he is pragmatic enough to take more amoral or even outright immoral actions to see his plans come to fruition.
** [[spoiler:It's revealed in the finale he's actually Yakone's son and a bloodbender, and, according to Tarrlok, came to the conclusion that bending was the root of all evil due to his father's [[AbusiveParents Abusiveness]]. The fact that bloodbending is known to get people DrunkOnTheDarkSide probably didn't hurt. He ultimately seems to come in as a solid [[SlidingScaleOfAntiVillains Type II]] AntiVillain, alongside his previously inferred Type III position. On the other hand, the show is somewhat unclear, as Tarrlok says he enjoyed the power Bloodbending gave him and we see him bloodbend a pack of wolves to bow down to him in a flashback.]]
* AuthorityEqualsAsskicking: He prefers not to fight (see Pragmatic Villainy) but when he does....
* {{Badass}}: He has yet to lose a one-on-one fight to anyone. Notable because this has included a firebender skilled in shooting lightning and a [[spoiler:bloodbender, which he somehow powered through despite the debilitating effect it had on his men]].
** BadassNormal[=/=]MageKiller: He's a very powerful chi-blocker.
*** [[spoiler:BadassAbnormal: But he's actually a waterbender and a bloodbender. Tarrlok's brother no less.]]
** BadassBaritone: He ''is'' voiced by SteveBlum.
** BadassBoast:
--->'''[[spoiler:Tarrlok]]:''' [[WhatTheHellAreYou What... what are you?]]
--->'''Amon:''' I am the solution.
* [[spoiler:BadPowersBadPeople]]: Zig zagged. [[spoiler: He's a bloodbender, but he is basically a WellIntentionedExtremist and/or KnightTemplar, so he's bad in a rather unorthodox way.]]
* BeneathTheMask: [[spoiler: Once stripped of his plans and supporters, he seems to be nothing more than an optimistic and possibly even naive man longing to live the life he never had with his baby brother. Given Tarrlok's MurderSuicide of them both, it is arguable as to whether that would remain the case ever after.]]
* BigBad: Of Book One.
** [[spoiler:BigBadEnsemble]]: [[spoiler:[[SubvertedTrope Subverted]]. It appeared that he would be this with Tarrlok in the eighth episode of the first season, but upon their meeting at the end of episode 9, Amon resists [[BigBadWannabe Tarrlok]]'s bloodbending and de-bends him. Which leaves Amon as the only, and rightful BigBad.]]
* [[spoiler: BigBrotherInstinct: Tarrlok claims he always looked out for him when they were kids. In ''Out of the Past'' he does the gruntwork of taking Tarrlock to the truck himself while the Lieutenant and some mooks try to nab Korra, quite possibly to protect his brother from them, as any of them would likely take the chance to hurt him. At the finale, Amon tells him he's all he has left in the world.]]
* [[spoiler: BoomerangBigot: He's a waterbender, and none too proud of it, if Tarrlok's right about his motives.]]
* BreakingSpeech: He delivers one so effective and intimidating that Korra suffers a complete breakdown afterwards.
* [[spoiler: CainAndAbel: Zigzagged. He takes away his brother's bending, but his brother ultimately kills him. And, well, he still loves him regardless.]]
* TheChessmaster: Holy crap, yes. His actions in Episode 6 sealed his status as one and [[MagnificentBastard even more.]] See XanatosGambit below.
* [[spoiler:ChildProdigy: Mastered bloodbending at ''14''.]]
* CombatPragmatist: Uses ambushes, greater numbers, weapons the opposition has no defense against, and psychological warfare to lead the Equalists to victory. [[spoiler:He also subtly uses bloodbending to gain the edge in fights with other benders without exposing himself.]]
* CoolMask: Some kind of Venetian Carnival mask, it has the spook factor of one.
* CrazyPrepared: The Finale reveals that [[spoiler:he wears fake scars on his face just by the off chance that someone might knock his mask off, or force him to reveal his face.]]
* CulturePolice: Desires to end pro-bending as means to end "bending worship".
* DangerouslyGenreSavvy:
** He lets Korra escape the Revelation because she'd be the "perfect messenger" about what just transpired; letting Benders hear it from the Avatar herself that he has the power to take away bending.
** When answering Korra's gauntlet throw-down on Aang's Memorial Island, [[spoiler:he doesn't come alone. He has chi-blockers [[ZergRush dog pile]] Korra first, then says he won't unbend her because he'd just create a martyr.]] He seems fairly intent on his "No Martyr" policy, at least for the early stages of his plan. [[spoiler: His victims are either unpopular with the public or publicly shamed by Amon himself before neutralization (crime lords, Wolfbats after cheating, Tarrlok after losing his good publicity, etc.)]]
** His plan in "And the Winner Is...". See XanatosGambit below.
** [[spoiler:He also took the extremely dangerous Tarrlok off guard and in a position where Tarrlok had no water at his disposal to bend. With his bloodbending useless, Tarrlok was forced to fight Amon hand to hand, something Amon is exceptionally skilled at, instead of being able to fight back with his extremely powerful bending.]]
** [[spoiler:He wears makeup beneath his mask to fake a firebending scar, just in case he needs to put down any claim that he's lying.]]
* DarkMessiah: He's set himself up as a Messiah figure to the Equalist movement, and his ultimate goal is to replace the Avatar as the world's savior. Though the Equalists are not a religious movement, he does claim that his exceptional abilities were granted to him by the spirits that protect the world, and that it is his destiny to be the savior of non-benders by bringing them into balance with those who can (or could) bend.
* [[spoiler: DeathEqualsRedemption / HeelRealization]]: Depending on your [[AlternateCharacterInterpretation interpretation]] of [[spoiler: the single tear he cries before Tarrlok kills the two of them, it's possible he fell under this trope; if he was indeed aware of what Tarrlok was about to do, and did nothing to stop him, the likely conclusion is that he accepted his brothers' judgement, and understood why he needed to die.]]
* DeathGlare: Gives quite a potent one to Korra as seen in episode 4 when he confronts her underneath Aang's statue. It's especially notable since he can give quite a DeathGlare even behind that mask.
* [[spoiler:DePower]]: [[spoiler:He has the ability to strip people of their bending. He somehow uses bloodbending to do it, and in such a way that even Katara can't heal it. However, true energybending can counteract this.]]
* DiabolicalMastermind: Beneath his ruse of being a revolutionary, he seems to be this.
* DissonantSerenity: The cargo bay of his [[CoolAirship zeppelin]] being filled with flame by Korra [[UnflinchingWalk doesn't even break his stride]]. [[spoiler:He doesn't seem fazed by Tarrlok's bloodbending, and while he's affected he is able to push through and maintain his composure without faltering.]] The mask definitely helps with the effect.
* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: His ideals parallel the development of Communism and Fascism, which rose to compete against the fledgling democracies of the early 20th century. His rhetoric also is reminiscent of the Taiping Rebellion, as he fashions himself as a messianic figure and tries to replace the Avatar.
* TheDreaded: He terrifies Korra to the point that she breaks down into tears after one confrontation with him, and his encounter with Bolin left the earthbender with nightmares for at least a week.
* [[spoiler:DrunkOnTheDarkSide]]: [[spoiler:Like Tarrlok, he was taught bloodbending by his father, which may have had something to do with his descent into villainy.]]
* [[spoiler:EvenEvilHasLovedOnes:]] [[spoiler:He does seem to still love Tarrlok, although he rejected him when they were children and took his bending away.]]
* ExpressiveMask: On occasion, there are subtle illustration changes to the mouth on his mask, and his eyes and tone do the rest.
* EvilSoundsDeep: What else would you expect from SteveBlum? Evil's as deep as the ocean.
* [[spoiler: FamousLastWords]]: [[spoiler:"I had almost forgotten the sound of my own name."]]
* [[FantasticRacism Fantastic Racist]]: Hates benders and seeks to get rid of bending altogether.
* TheFaceless: [[UnreliableExpositor Supposedly]] due to FacialHorror.
* FacialHorror: The stated reason for his mask. He [[UnreliableExpositor claims]] to have gotten the scars from the same Firebender that killed his family. [[spoiler:He's lying. Underneath the mask, [[CrazyPrepared and the makeup he's wearing under the mask]], he's actually [[http://minuiko.tumblr.com/post/25723337788/one-other-thing-it-kills-me-to-see-how-helpless good looking]].]]
* {{Foil}}:
** To Korra. [[spoiler:His debending powers make him a sort of anti-Avatar]]. He's also styling himself in the same vein as an Avatar, claiming to be a savior sent by the spirits. He also is a very calm, controlled individual who claims to be sent by the spirits, while Korra is a BoisterousBruiser who has ''major'' difficulty with the spiritual side of bending. [[spoiler: It also turns out they're both native waterbenders and bending [[ChildProdigy Child Prodigies]]. Not to mention his young self looks strikingly like a male version of Korra.]]
** His back-story is very similar to Mako and Bolin's. They all had parents killed by a firebender. But while the brothers eventually learned to live with their loss, he took it in a completely [[FantasticRacism different direction.]] [[spoiler: Of course, this turns out to be a lie.]]
** In a meta sense, he's a foil to Ozai in the same sense that Korra is to Aang. Whereas Ozai was a power-hungry conqueror, Amon is a partisan revolutionary. Ozai was as close to a complete monster as a character can be in a child-friendly cartoon, whereas Amon is arguably an anti-villain. Ozai was [[spoiler:defeated with energybending]] and Amon [[spoiler:takes away bending and is ultimately defeated by revealing his bending. Amon is also a waterbender, further providing contrast between them]].
** In a way, he could be seen as this to Tarrlok. Both men are highly charismatic people who've captured the hearts of their respective branches of public, [[AuthorityEqualsAsskicking they're both more than capable of holding their own in a fight]], [[spoiler:and they both have secret powers that come off as a major shock to anyone who's fighting them for the first time]]. And then it turns out [[spoiler:[[SiblingYinYang Tarrlok is Amon's brother.]]]]
* FreudianExcuse: Amon explains at an Equalist rally that his parents were murdered and his face disfigured by a firebender when he was just a child.
** [[spoiler:Turns out that backstory is a lie, but his real backstory is arguably just as sympathetic. His father, Yakone, was an extremely [[AbusiveParents abusive parent]], and forced him and his brother Tarrlok to learn bloodbending so he could use them to exact revenge on Republic City and the Avatar. Ultimately, this mistreatment put Amon on the path to darkness. Eventually, when his father made him and his brother use bloodbending on each other, he turned on his father, and ran away from home.]]
* FromNobodyToNightmare: He claims to have once been a simple FarmBoy... then, his family was murdered. Now he's a DarkMessiah revolutionary trying to bring down bending and replace the Avatar.
** [[spoiler: [[ZigZaggedTrope Zig Zagged]] in the finale; turns out his father was Yakone, who fled Republic City. He was still nobody when he left the Northern Water tribe, but his story wasn't the one he claimed it was.]]
* GeniusBruiser: Really good public speaker, social leader, and [[TheChessmaster master strategist]]; terrifyingly good close-combatant[[spoiler:, prodigy waterbender and psychic bloodbender]].
* GloriousLeader
* GoldAndWhiteAreDivine: An unusual case in that said colour pattern is confined to his mask.
* GoodColorsEvilColors:
** His mask is white and gold, noble colors, which are his ''mask'' which he hides behind, his red circle on his head could be his "evil" ambitions poking through his veneer of righteousness, and the fact that this is surrounded by black seems to mean he is the one noble being surrounded by darkness "benders" his point of view.
** When viewed through the lens of [[http://www.sensationalcolor.com/color-messages-meanings/color-around-the-globe/china-the-colorful-masks-of-the-chinese-opera.html Chinese opera]], Amon's mask takes on considerable symbolism. Its white/silver and gold color scheme immediately places the character in the realm of the mystic, with the gold/yellow coloration also playing into the character traits of treachery and ferociousness. The red circle on his forehead evokes a hint of Buddhist symbolism, referencing his spiritual connection, and also carries some connotations with intelligence and cleverness.
** White is the color of death in Asian cultures, which fits well with the symbolism often attributed to the WhiteMaskOfDoom. Red and gold are generally considered positive colors in Chinese culture, making their use [[LightIsNotGood ironic]] in this case.
** The gold on his mask can also be seen as green. Another [[http://atla-annotated.tumblr.com/post/19671786341/amons-mask-analyzed-through-beijing-opera analysis]] through that lens holds that the white symbolizes cunning, treachery, and craftiness, the green is violence and lack of self-restraint, and the red dot is both spirituality and the mocking of it.
* [[spoiler: GoOutWithASmile: After losing Republic City and the Equalists, Amon decides to reclaim his old identity as Noatak and turn over a new leaf with Tarrlok, his long-lost brother. As they leave on a getaway boat, Noatak happily contemplates the new life they would build with each other as brothers, while Tarrlok silently decides to kill both of themselves as recompense for their past crimes and to halt their father's villainous legacy once and for all. From the driver's seat Noatak smiles as he muses on how he'd almost forgotten the sound of his own name and begins crying, perhaps [[DeathEqualsRedemption realizing and accepting]] what Tarrlok is about to do just before Tarrlok ignites the gas tank and detonates the boat.]]
* HeroKiller: [[spoiler:Anyone he can lay his hands on is effectively neutralized since they can no longer bend. His first confrontation with Korra also implies that he plans to kill her after taking away her bending, though that may have been poor use of the phrase "untimely demise" as a metaphor.]] He fully enters into this trope after de-bending [[spoiler:Lin Beifong]].
* HiddenAgendaVillain: Throughout the series, his real motivations are never really revealed. [[spoiler:His backstory implies he's either a KnightTemplar seeking to rid the world of bending because he seeks it as the root of all evil, or was seeking to follow in his father's footsteps and take over Republic City. Evidence is presented for both.]]
* {{Hypocrite}}: In several ways. He wants to get rid of benders for making non-benders live in terror, while his own strategy consists of doing exactly that. Not to mention that he's not only [[spoiler:a bender himself, but a ''bloodbender'', aka the most dangerous type of bender in the world]]. And in the end, [[spoiler:the Lieutenant]] is not at all happy to realize this.
* IAmTheNoun: "I am the ''solution''".
** Also printed on some of his posters, though that's a [[BilingualBonus Readers Of Chinese Bonus]].
* InTheHood
* TheJuggernaut: [[spoiler:When Tarrlok tries to use bloodbending on him, he just shrugs it off and keeps advancing. Turns out he was bloodbending himself.]]
* JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope: While some of his actions were extreme before, he does this in episode 10 when [[spoiler:he carries out a ''massive'' invasion on Republic City. This carries on into the finale, when he attempts to debend the last remaining airbenders, three of whom are children.]]
** [[spoiler: This appears to have happened some time in his backstory, between Noatak running away from home and taking up the identity of Amon.]]
* JustToyingWithThem: Amon makes a show out of tying up [[ElementalPowers bending]] members of a crime syndicate (and one of the heroes who got mixed up with them) and [[spoiler: removing their powers]] in front of a huge crowd of [[AntimagicalFaction Equalist]] sympathizers. This trope comes into play when, as part of his show, Amon lets the crime boss loose and offers him the chance to fight to protect himself. It's all the more impressive when Amon wins. [[CurbStompBattle Rather easily]], in fact. [[spoiler:It's later revealed he uses bloodbending to get them to move somewhat predictably without revealing his ability, making his defeat of them inevitable.]]
* JustYouMeAndMyGuards: [[spoiler:How Amon eventually responds to Korra's mano-a-mano challenge to him. Could be justified because Tarrlok was supposed to have soldiers watching the fight, and Amon is GenreSavvy enough to suspect something like that.]]
* KickTheSonOfABitch: Every early instance of on-screen [[spoiler:de-bending]] we saw him carry out was upon someone who was used their bending to illegally gain a position of power while being protected from reprisals by corruption in the system (the Triple Threat Triad, an organized crime syndicate, as well as the Wolfbats who cheated their way into winning the tournament, and [[spoiler:Tarrlok]]). This is a consistent part of his political strategy, and also why he refuses to fight Korra at first.
** KickTheDog: After his plans have advanced far enough that he doesn't need the good press anymore, he has no problem attacking benders who haven't done anything to deserve it. [[spoiler:The Metalbending police, the entire Republic City Council (save Tenzin), the last airbenders (who escaped), and Lin Beifong. Not to mention bombing the crap out of Republic City. In the finale, he has benders lined up execution-style, captures Tenzin and his family to eliminate airbending altogether, and attacks and possibly ''kills'' the Lieutenant when he finds out Amon is a bloodbender.]]
* [[spoiler:KilledOffForReal]]: [[spoiler:Escapes Republic City with Tarrlok, but Tarrlok ultimately decides to sacrifice himself to stop him once and for all by blowing up the boat they're in.]]
* KneelBeforeZod: [[spoiler:Forces a pack of wolves to do this as a child with bloodbending .]]
* KnightOfCerebus: While the series started out as upbeat, immediately after his appearance, the story became much darker. Unlike [[CompleteMonster Ozai]], who wanted to [[CardCarryingVillain take over the world and prove his superiority to the Avatar]]; he has made it quite clear that he intends to kill Korra and rid the world of Benders to which he does with lethal precision and intimidating charisma.
** Given the [[PuttingOnTheReich things]] [[MindRape he]] [[NoSell does]], he could be considered one of these for ''the franchise itself''!
* KnightTemplar: See WellIntentionedExtremist below. He definitely invokes this in his rhetoric. His [[spoiler: attacks on Republic City and Air Temple Island in the final episodes]] push him over the edge, however.
* KnowWhenToFoldEm: [[spoiler: After being defeated by Korra and Mako, he immediately leaves and retrieves Tarrlok, before leaving the Equalists behind to start a new life with his brother.]]
* LightIsNotGood: Though Amon invokes certain heavenly archetypes with his [[GoldAndWhiteAreDivine white and gold]] sun mask, Egyptian sun god name, golden eyes, and [[MessianicArchetype possible mystical connections]], he's still the leader of a private military force with a cultist agenda. [[spoiler:He's a waterbender, and while a bloodbender, his method is essencially a reversal of [[HealingHands waterbending healing]], manipulating chi regardless. Thus, arguably WhiteMagic.]]
* LightningBruiser: Extremely agile and nimble fighter with the strength to take down even the most skilled benders with no sweat.
* MadeOfIron: He took a lightning bolt to the chest, several seconds long at that, and ''walked it off''.
* [[spoiler:MakingASplash]]: [[spoiler:Turns out he's a waterbender and a bloodbender.]]
** [[spoiler:BloodMagic]]
* [[MalevolentMaskedMen Malevolent Masked Man]]: Like the lower-level Equalists, although they're GasMaskMooks and his is more of a traditional mask.
* MissionFromGod: He claims that he was chosen by the spirits to bring down bending and replace the Avatar.
* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: "Amon" has plenty of possible meanings.
** To start, it's the name of an Egyptian god and a [[ArsGoetia demon]].
** The word or root "Amen" means "what is hidden", "what is not seen", "what cannot be seen" and the like.
** One of the worst Nazi criminals was [[Film/SchindlersList Amon Goeth]].
** [[http://masterarrowhead.tumblr.com/post/21546778935/hawkfeather-atla-annotated-energybending-a Amon is also the name of an acupuncture point on the back of the neck.]] Amon was shown pressing onto that point as well as the forehead.
** A fan [[http://atla-annotated.tumblr.com/post/21979689321/amon-is-the-answer-interesting-choice-of translated his name written in Chinese characters]]. 阿蒙. ‘cover; ignorant; suffer’.
* NoSell: When [[spoiler:Tarrlok]] uses [[spoiler:bloodbending]] to incapacitate his mooks, Amon shrugs it off. Even when [[spoiler:Tarrlok]] redoubled his efforts, it just barely slowed Amon down. [[spoiler:Since he can bloodbend with his mind, he was able to counteract Tarrlok's powers without moving.]]
* ObviouslyEvil: He looks pretty dang evil, but looking at him through the lens of Asian Culture (which Avatar takes heavy cues from), he looks a ''lot'' more evil. See GoodColorsEvilColors.
* [[spoiler:ThePowerOfBlood]]: [[spoiler:He's a bloodbender. He's so good that he can do it [[BeyondTheImpossible without moving his hands. In daytime.]]]]
** [[spoiler:PsychicPowers]]: [[spoiler:Tarrlok specifically calls his bloodbending this.]]
* PragmaticVillainy:
** "[[Recap/TheLegendOfKorraS1E4TheVoiceInTheNight The Voice in the Night]]" reveals just how pragmatic he is, to the point of ReasonBeforeHonor.
** Get challenged to a one-on-one duel? No {{Mooks}} for either side? [[spoiler:So you've made yourself defenseless. Perfect. Meet my platoon of chi-blockers.]]
** At last, I have my most dangerous opponent [[IHaveYouNowMyPretty at my mercy]]. [[spoiler:See ya round kid. [[DangerouslyGenreSavvy The international public outcry wouldn't be worth it right now.]] But don't worry! I'm going to save you for last, letting you watch all you love and care for be destroyed before I take you out. Toodle-oo!]]
* PreAssKickingOneLiner: "It is time for you to be Equalized."
* [[spoiler:PsychopathicManChild]]: [[spoiler:In his final scenes he displays naivety and untoward optimism, shucking off his persona of Amon as if it was a disguise. He's incredibly cheerful for a defeated man and is seemingly giddy from the prospect of being with his little brother again, as if he and Tarrlok are two little schoolboys running away from home. He seems to think everything will be just fine, ignoring the fact that every facet of their identities were shaped so that a normal life would be improbable or even impossible.]]
** That said, [[spoiler: the sheer amount of explosives/electric weapons, as well as his tear before Tarrlok exploded the boat, might imply it was a ruse to lead his brother to kill them both.]]
* RebelLeader: He is the leader of the anti-bending movement.
* ScrewThisImOuttaHere: [[spoiler: After being defeated and uncovered by Korra, Tarrlok asks him to escape together and rebuild a life as brothers. Amon agrees, and ultimately seems to be truly happy to do so.]]
* ShadowArchetype: To Korra, as essentially the anti-Avatar. He's also one to Bolin and Mako, as they've all lost their parents to Firebenders. However, Amon now wants to destroy all benders, while Bolin and Mako are making the best of their situation.
* [[spoiler:SiblingYinYang]]: [[spoiler:With Tarrlok.]]
* [[spoiler:SingleTear]]: [[spoiler:Sheds one right before his death]].
* StrongerSibling: [[spoiler:He's Tarrlok's.]]
* SuperPowerLottery: Assuming that his abilities are, in fact, supernatural, he won the jackpot. Moves so quickly that he can avoid most all bending attacks directed at him.
** As it turns out [[spoiler:he's a bloodbender, which he used to dodge attacks and to strip people of their bending.]]
* TellMeHowYouFight: [[spoiler:Tarrlok identifies Amon as his brother, despite Amon's appearance being totally concealed, by the distinctive feel of his bloodbending]].
* [[spoiler:ThisCannotBe]]: [[spoiler:When he debends Korra only for her to use airbending against him.]]
* [[spoiler:TragicVillain]]: In the finale, it's revealed that [[spoiler:Amon is actually Tarrlok's older brother, Noatak. He and Tarrlok were forced by their [[AbusiveParents father]] Yakone to learn bloodbending, so that he could use them to exact vengeance on Republic City and the Avatar. After Yakone forced him and Tarrlok to use bloodbending on each other, Noatak turned on his father, incapacitated him with bloodbending, and ran away from home, taking up the identity of Amon years later. According to Tarrlok, he really and truly believed bending to be the root of all evil in the world, despite being a bender himself, though Tarrlok also implies Amon enjoyed the power bloodbending gave him.]]
** It's worse than that. [[spoiler: He wanted Tarrlok to run away with him, but he didn't want to leave their mother behind. At the finale he's looking forward to a peaceful life with his brother. Apparently that's all he really wanted.]]
* [[spoiler:{{Tykebomb}}: His father Yakone tried to turn him and his brother, Tarrlok, into this in a plot for revenge on Republic City and the Avatar. While he ''did'' turn on his father, he ultimately ended up fulfilling what Yakone wanted him to do anyway, make Republic City suffer.]]
* {{Ubermensch}}
* TheUnfettered: He ''seems'' to have rules but really just pragmatism. He'll do anything.
* UnflinchingWalk:
** Pulls this off in the face of a fireball that blasts most of his {{Mooks}} away.
** Also, [[spoiler:when up against Tarrlok, he pulls this off. Which is impressive, because he ''shouldn't'' have been able to stand, let alone walk. It turns out Amon himself is a bloodbender, hence why he wasn't affected.]]
* UnreliableExpositor: His highly theatrical presentation of his "revelation," his {{backstory}} and even [[spoiler: his energybending]], throws the truthfulness of all he says into question.
** [[spoiler:It's ''all'' a lie. He's actually Tarrlok's older brother and a waterbender, who uses the bloodbending their father Yakone forced him and his brother to learn to prevent people from bending. That said, according to Tarrlok, he genuinely believes bending to be the root of all evil.]]
* [[spoiler:UsedToBeASweetKid]]: [[spoiler:Until his father forced him and his brother to learn bloodbending.]]
* VillainHasAPoint: His talk about benders oppressing non-benders gained a lot more credence [[spoiler:once Tarrlok took over.]]
* VillainWithGoodPublicity: A major part of his plan is to become this. So far, he's been remarkably successful. While officially considered a terrorist, he has amassed a massive amount of followers, enough to threaten all of Republic City.
* [[spoiler:VillainousBreakdown]]: [[spoiler:After Korra manages to use airbending despite having been debended. He ''really'' gets this once he's not only unmasked, but his makeup to make him look scarred is washed off in the water, revealing him for what he really is.]]
* [[spoiler:VillainousRescue]]: [[spoiler:Rescues Korra from Tarrlok, though he didn't plan on letting her go free after taking down Tarrlok.]]
* VisionaryVillain: A world of equality.
* WellIntentionedExtremist: According to himself, Amon genuinely wants to make a better world. Said better world simply involves the eradication of bending and most likely placing himself in power.
** [[spoiler:It turns out his backstory was a lie, and he's actually a bender, though Tarrlok thinks he genuinely believes that bending is the root of all evil.]]
* WhiteMaskOfDoom: The only known Equalist to have one.
* [[WhyDontYouJustShootHim Why Don't You Just Shoot Her?]]: He makes it clear that he could have easily taken away Korra's bending when he ambushed her. He also makes it clear that doing so would have made her into a martyr, which is why Korra will be the last to lose her bending, and then she will die.
* WouldHitAGirl: He knocks Korra unconscious when he ambushes her. And he plans to kill her.
* WouldHurtAChild: In the finale, [[spoiler:he has captured Tenzin and his family and plans on debending them.]]
* XanatosGambit: Pulls one off in "And the Winner Is...". He makes [[DoNotAdjustYourSet a public demand over the radio]] that the city government shut down the Pro-Bending arena and cancel the championship match. If the pro-bending championships are not stopped, then he and the Equalists have an audience for the demonstration of their power and he gets to begin his war. If the tournament is canceled the government has given into Amon's demand and showed that it will not challenge him.
* [[spoiler:YouAreWhatYouHate]]: By implication, [[spoiler:if he was really sincere about his belief that benders are the source of all evil in the world]].
[[/folder]]
[[folder:The Lieutenant]]
!The Lieutenant
[[quoteright:350:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Screen_Shot_2012-04-29_at_11_40_21_AM_7512.png]]
[[caption-width-right:350:"You benders need to understand... there's no place in this world for you anymore."]]
->Voiced by Lance Henriksen
Amon's second-in-command.
----
* AwesomeBackpack: He carries a power generator on his back to supply power for his weapons.
** AmmunitionBackpack
* BadassMoustache
* BadassNormal
* [[spoiler:BrokenPedestal: Let's just say that he didn't take learning the truth about Amon well]].
* TheDeterminator: Always back up and ready for another fight, no matter how much of a beating he takes.
* DiminishingVillainThreat: Appears very threatening early on, soundly defeating Bolin and Mako in "The Revelation," but every time he is encountered thereafter, he is usually either attacking a helpless or outmatched opponent or he loses.
* TheDragon: For Amon.
* DualWielding: Electricfied kali sticks in both hands.
* EveryoneCallsHimBarkeep
* EvilSoundsDeep: Being voiced by Lance Henriksen, this is a given. That man could inhale multiple canisters of helium and he would still sound like he had more than one puberty.
* GlassCannon: Very agile and deadly in combat. He hits as fast as lightning, and he's very powerful. However, he goes down after one hit.
* GogglesDoNothing
* GoodHairEvilHair: He has a Fu Manchu moustache.
* HonorBeforeReason: Considering that he saw Amon [[spoiler: bloodbending]] Korra and Mako at the same time, he probably realized that a head-on charge would be suicide, but decided he'd rather go out swinging than continue to follow a lie.
* IcyBlueEyes
* ImpossiblyCoolWeapon: He wields a pair of electrified kali sticks, because his opponents are metalbending cops, and electricity works pretty well on all benders. The fact that an industrialized city like Republic City has conductive metal ''everywhere'' doesn't hurt, either.
* IneffectualSympatheticVillain: Starts to shade into this as the DiminishingVillainThreat kicks in. Poor guy can't do ''anything'' right.
* ItsPersonal: [[spoiler:When Korra's trapped in a metal cage, he shows a certain satisfaction in getting to shock her unconscious as payback. Unfortunately for him, she was one step ahead.]]
** He also takes [[spoiler:realizing that he'd been played by Amon]] pretty badly.
* MadeOfIron: Has been sucker punched with a boulder, knocked off a building, blasted over a roof, and smashed into the ground from midair by a polar bear dog. And each time, he has dusted himself off and returned ready to fight again.
* MookFaceTurn: [[spoiler:Turns on Amon when he finds out about his bending, though as usual he didn't do that well in the ensuing "fight".]]
* NobleTopEnforcer: While the Lieutenant comes off as sadistic and cruel, he truly believes in the Equalists' agenda and dedicated his life to it.
* NoNameGiven
* NoPeripheralVision: Maybe it's the goggles, but the Lieutenant has had an unfortunate tendency to be taken out by surprise, typically by someone new showing up from behind or the side while he's fighting another opponent.
* PsychoElectro: While he is serious in wanting to end bending like all other Equalists, he seems to actually enjoy inflicting pain on benders with his electric arsenal a bit ''too much''.
* ShockAndAwe
** StaticStunGun
* SimpleStaff: Of the two handheld rod variety.
* SpannerInTheWorks: His [[CurbStompBattle "battle"]] [[spoiler:with Amon gave Mako the time to muster up the energy to fire off his lightning.]]
* TallDarkAndHandsome: He actually doesn't look that bad unmasked.[[hottip:*:Seen [[http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m5q76pCfDJ1qa7n5e.gif here]]
* [[spoiler: YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness]]
[[/folder]]
[[folder:The Chi-blockers]]
!The Chi-blockers
[[quoteright:350:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Chi_blockers_6466.jpg]]
The foot-soldiers of the Equalist cause, trained in chi-blocking to nullify the powers of benders.
----
* AirplaneArms: They use the further back, ninja-like variation.
* BadassArmy: BadassNormal GasMaskMooks trained specifically in a PressurePoint-striking fighting method designed to temporarily [[PowerNullifier disarm]] and [[TheParalyzer disable]] the wielders of ElementalPowers.
* BadassBiker: The chi blockers are excellent motorcyclists.
* BadassNormal: They completely dominate Korra and Mako in their first fight, due to clever use of their gadgets and their martial arts.
* CombatPragmatist: They take any advantage they can get. Aside from their grenades, they use bolas, tripwires, whips, and do not obey MookChivalry.
* EliteMooks: They're pretty much an entire army of them. Even just a few of them can put up a hell of a fight against very powerful benders.
* EqualOpportunityEvil: Their figures show that more than a few are [[DarkActionGirl women]]. The ladies fight alongside the men. Also we can't be sure with their masks, but they seem to be non-benders from any of the three nations.
* GasMaskMooks: Since they use gas grenades, this is a necessary aspect of their outfit. Also helps when [[spoiler: being knocked down by fartbending]].
* KickTheDog: Electrocuting Shiro Shinobi, the announcer, who is a non-bender and wasn't fighting back.
* KungFuProofMook: The Equalists' MiniMecha are made from platinum, metal so pure metalbenders are incapable of manipulating it.
* MageKiller: Their combat training specifically targets benders.
* MiniMecha: Their platinum mech-tanks.
* {{Ninja}}
* TheParalyzer: Their blows cause temporary (and apparently painful) paralysis in addition to serving as a...
* PowerNullifier: Even after the paralysis wears off, a chi-blocker's strike will render their target temporarily unable to bend.
* PressurePoint: The centerpiece of their fighting style, featuring extremely rapid strikes.
* ShockAndAwe: A favored tactic of theirs, in various flavors:
** The less skilled among them use electricity-generating gloves. The ones in full attire never do.
** The MiniMecha have built in tasers and can fire bola disks which shock the recipient unconscious. This same weapon is used by hand occasionally.
* SmokeOut: They use grenades that release a greenish, slightly unpleasant gas to dissuade pursuers.
* TheVoiceless: They apparently use this as a psychological tactic, as their near-absolute silence in battle, communicating and coordinating only through gestures and reading each other's body motions, accentuate the inhumanity their faceless masks lend them. It's almost jarring when we hear them speak in episode 9 during unguarded moments.
* TheWorfEffect: In episode 10, several of them were quickly defeated by Jinora, Ikki, and Meelo. Somewhat justified by the fact that airbenders only number in the single digits and only one is actually an adult, so they weren't prepared for it. Add on to that the fact that they were attacked by children, which would be a surprise in itself assuming they were actually willing to assault children in the first place.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:The Protester]]
!The Protester
[[quoteright:350:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Screen_Shot_2012-04-29_at_11_27_37_AM_9261.png]]
->Voiced by Carlos Alazraqui
He's a protestor who comes into the Republic City park to preach about Amon's ideals.
----
* AttentionWhore: He promotes the Equalists for this reason, according to the official website. He attempts to get said attention by taking the unpopular position on any given issue (in this case, bending rights). His parents were evidently supportive of benders.
* BackForTheFinale
* BigWhat: He lets one out in the finale when [[spoiler:Amon outs himself as a waterbender.]]
%% EyesOfGold has more requirements for the trope than just "gold eyes". The protestor does not fit any of them.
* HotBloodedSideburns: Which also point to Fire Nation parentage.
* NoNameGiven
[[/folder]]
to:
[[foldercontrol]]
[[folder:Amon]]
!Amon [[spoiler:/ Noatak]]
[[quoteright:332:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Amon_5948.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:332: "I am the solution."]]
->Voiced by SteveBlum
The leader of the Equalists and the primary antagonist of the first season. A man shrouded in mystery, Amon seeks to rid the world of benders and usher in a new era of equality. He seeks to destroy Korra, whose presence in Republic City threatens his anti-bender agenda.
----
* AmbiguouslyEvil: With his past completely shrouded in mystery aside from his personal testimony, it's hard to say just how evil he is. That said, the further the show goes on, the further down the slope he goes. [[spoiler:Once his endgame kicks in, he has no problem launching a full-scale assault on the city, depowering metalbender cops (including Lin Beifong), kidnapping the entire council (save Tenzin but not for lack of trying), and attacking Tenzin's family when he knew Tenzin wasn't there to help them. The last part is especially notable because he'd be complicit in the nearly-successful genocide of the Air Nomads started by the Fire Nation nearly two centuries earlier had he succeeded (though, admittedly, he probably wouldn't ''kill'' them, just strip them of their bending). According to Tarrlok, he does genuinely believe his rhetoric, despite his heritage.]]
** In the end, despite having his backstory [[spoiler: revealed]], Amon is still AmbiguouslyEvil to the extreme. Was [[spoiler: Tarrlok]] right in saying that Amon genuinely believed in his rhetoric, [[spoiler: despite being a bender himself, or did his use of bloodbending [[DrunkOnTheDarkSide Send Him Over the Edge]]]]? Was the [[spoiler: tear he cried right before Tarrlok ignited the fuel tank of the boat they were riding in acknowledgement and acceptance of what Tarrlok [[RedemptionEqualsDeath Was About]] [[MurderSuicide To Do]], or simply him recalling a fond memory?]] The questions go on and on.
* [[spoiler:AccidentalPublicConfession]]: [[spoiler:Non-verbal one. After being blasted out of a window into the ocean, he instinctively waterbends himself back out, exposing himself as a waterbender and washing off the paint used to fake a firebending scar.]]
* AntiVillain: [[SlidingScaleOfAntiVillains Type]] [[WellIntentionedExtremist III]]. Wanting equality and to help lower class citizens isn't bad... but doing so by trying to eradicate bending is extreme. He only targets benders who use their abilities for evil, at least until he's built up enough support to get away with more ambiguous targets or full-on public servants. He has also told Korra to her face (while his men held her down) that the only reason she still has her bending is that he is saving her for later. For all purposes, he does appear to have a moral code. It's just that he is pragmatic enough to take more amoral or even outright immoral actions to see his plans come to fruition.
** [[spoiler:It's revealed in the finale he's actually Yakone's son and a bloodbender, and, according to Tarrlok, came to the conclusion that bending was the root of all evil due to his father's [[AbusiveParents Abusiveness]]. The fact that bloodbending is known to get people DrunkOnTheDarkSide probably didn't hurt. He ultimately seems to come in as a solid [[SlidingScaleOfAntiVillains Type II]] AntiVillain, alongside his previously inferred Type III position. On the other hand, the show is somewhat unclear, as Tarrlok says he enjoyed the power Bloodbending gave him and we see him bloodbend a pack of wolves to bow down to him in a flashback.]]
* AuthorityEqualsAsskicking: He prefers not to fight (see Pragmatic Villainy) but when he does....
* {{Badass}}: He has yet to lose a one-on-one fight to anyone. Notable because this has included a firebender skilled in shooting lightning and a [[spoiler:bloodbender, which he somehow powered through despite the debilitating effect it had on his men]].
** BadassNormal[=/=]MageKiller: He's a very powerful chi-blocker.
*** [[spoiler:BadassAbnormal: But he's actually a waterbender and a bloodbender. Tarrlok's brother no less.]]
** BadassBaritone: He ''is'' voiced by SteveBlum.
** BadassBoast:
--->'''[[spoiler:Tarrlok]]:''' [[WhatTheHellAreYou What... what are you?]]
--->'''Amon:''' I am the solution.
* [[spoiler:BadPowersBadPeople]]: Zig zagged. [[spoiler: He's a bloodbender, but he is basically a WellIntentionedExtremist and/or KnightTemplar, so he's bad in a rather unorthodox way.]]
* BeneathTheMask: [[spoiler: Once stripped of his plans and supporters, he seems to be nothing more than an optimistic and possibly even naive man longing to live the life he never had with his baby brother. Given Tarrlok's MurderSuicide of them both, it is arguable as to whether that would remain the case ever after.]]
* BigBad: Of Book One.
** [[spoiler:BigBadEnsemble]]: [[spoiler:[[SubvertedTrope Subverted]]. It appeared that he would be this with Tarrlok in the eighth episode of the first season, but upon their meeting at the end of episode 9, Amon resists [[BigBadWannabe Tarrlok]]'s bloodbending and de-bends him. Which leaves Amon as the only, and rightful BigBad.]]
* [[spoiler: BigBrotherInstinct: Tarrlok claims he always looked out for him when they were kids. In ''Out of the Past'' he does the gruntwork of taking Tarrlock to the truck himself while the Lieutenant and some mooks try to nab Korra, quite possibly to protect his brother from them, as any of them would likely take the chance to hurt him. At the finale, Amon tells him he's all he has left in the world.]]
* [[spoiler: BoomerangBigot: He's a waterbender, and none too proud of it, if Tarrlok's right about his motives.]]
* BreakingSpeech: He delivers one so effective and intimidating that Korra suffers a complete breakdown afterwards.
* [[spoiler: CainAndAbel: Zigzagged. He takes away his brother's bending, but his brother ultimately kills him. And, well, he still loves him regardless.]]
* TheChessmaster: Holy crap, yes. His actions in Episode 6 sealed his status as one and [[MagnificentBastard even more.]] See XanatosGambit below.
* [[spoiler:ChildProdigy: Mastered bloodbending at ''14''.]]
* CombatPragmatist: Uses ambushes, greater numbers, weapons the opposition has no defense against, and psychological warfare to lead the Equalists to victory. [[spoiler:He also subtly uses bloodbending to gain the edge in fights with other benders without exposing himself.]]
* CoolMask: Some kind of Venetian Carnival mask, it has the spook factor of one.
* CrazyPrepared: The Finale reveals that [[spoiler:he wears fake scars on his face just by the off chance that someone might knock his mask off, or force him to reveal his face.]]
* CulturePolice: Desires to end pro-bending as means to end "bending worship".
* DangerouslyGenreSavvy:
** He lets Korra escape the Revelation because she'd be the "perfect messenger" about what just transpired; letting Benders hear it from the Avatar herself that he has the power to take away bending.
** When answering Korra's gauntlet throw-down on Aang's Memorial Island, [[spoiler:he doesn't come alone. He has chi-blockers [[ZergRush dog pile]] Korra first, then says he won't unbend her because he'd just create a martyr.]] He seems fairly intent on his "No Martyr" policy, at least for the early stages of his plan. [[spoiler: His victims are either unpopular with the public or publicly shamed by Amon himself before neutralization (crime lords, Wolfbats after cheating, Tarrlok after losing his good publicity, etc.)]]
** His plan in "And the Winner Is...". See XanatosGambit below.
** [[spoiler:He also took the extremely dangerous Tarrlok off guard and in a position where Tarrlok had no water at his disposal to bend. With his bloodbending useless, Tarrlok was forced to fight Amon hand to hand, something Amon is exceptionally skilled at, instead of being able to fight back with his extremely powerful bending.]]
** [[spoiler:He wears makeup beneath his mask to fake a firebending scar, just in case he needs to put down any claim that he's lying.]]
* DarkMessiah: He's set himself up as a Messiah figure to the Equalist movement, and his ultimate goal is to replace the Avatar as the world's savior. Though the Equalists are not a religious movement, he does claim that his exceptional abilities were granted to him by the spirits that protect the world, and that it is his destiny to be the savior of non-benders by bringing them into balance with those who can (or could) bend.
* [[spoiler: DeathEqualsRedemption / HeelRealization]]: Depending on your [[AlternateCharacterInterpretation interpretation]] of [[spoiler: the single tear he cries before Tarrlok kills the two of them, it's possible he fell under this trope; if he was indeed aware of what Tarrlok was about to do, and did nothing to stop him, the likely conclusion is that he accepted his brothers' judgement, and understood why he needed to die.]]
* DeathGlare: Gives quite a potent one to Korra as seen in episode 4 when he confronts her underneath Aang's statue. It's especially notable since he can give quite a DeathGlare even behind that mask.
* [[spoiler:DePower]]: [[spoiler:He has the ability to strip people of their bending. He somehow uses bloodbending to do it, and in such a way that even Katara can't heal it. However, true energybending can counteract this.]]
* DiabolicalMastermind: Beneath his ruse of being a revolutionary, he seems to be this.
* DissonantSerenity: The cargo bay of his [[CoolAirship zeppelin]] being filled with flame by Korra [[UnflinchingWalk doesn't even break his stride]]. [[spoiler:He doesn't seem fazed by Tarrlok's bloodbending, and while he's affected he is able to push through and maintain his composure without faltering.]] The mask definitely helps with the effect.
* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: His ideals parallel the development of Communism and Fascism, which rose to compete against the fledgling democracies of the early 20th century. His rhetoric also is reminiscent of the Taiping Rebellion, as he fashions himself as a messianic figure and tries to replace the Avatar.
* TheDreaded: He terrifies Korra to the point that she breaks down into tears after one confrontation with him, and his encounter with Bolin left the earthbender with nightmares for at least a week.
* [[spoiler:DrunkOnTheDarkSide]]: [[spoiler:Like Tarrlok, he was taught bloodbending by his father, which may have had something to do with his descent into villainy.]]
* [[spoiler:EvenEvilHasLovedOnes:]] [[spoiler:He does seem to still love Tarrlok, although he rejected him when they were children and took his bending away.]]
* ExpressiveMask: On occasion, there are subtle illustration changes to the mouth on his mask, and his eyes and tone do the rest.
* EvilSoundsDeep: What else would you expect from SteveBlum? Evil's as deep as the ocean.
* [[spoiler: FamousLastWords]]: [[spoiler:"I had almost forgotten the sound of my own name."]]
* [[FantasticRacism Fantastic Racist]]: Hates benders and seeks to get rid of bending altogether.
* TheFaceless: [[UnreliableExpositor Supposedly]] due to FacialHorror.
* FacialHorror: The stated reason for his mask. He [[UnreliableExpositor claims]] to have gotten the scars from the same Firebender that killed his family. [[spoiler:He's lying. Underneath the mask, [[CrazyPrepared and the makeup he's wearing under the mask]], he's actually [[http://minuiko.tumblr.com/post/25723337788/one-other-thing-it-kills-me-to-see-how-helpless good looking]].]]
* {{Foil}}:
** To Korra. [[spoiler:His debending powers make him a sort of anti-Avatar]]. He's also styling himself in the same vein as an Avatar, claiming to be a savior sent by the spirits. He also is a very calm, controlled individual who claims to be sent by the spirits, while Korra is a BoisterousBruiser who has ''major'' difficulty with the spiritual side of bending. [[spoiler: It also turns out they're both native waterbenders and bending [[ChildProdigy Child Prodigies]]. Not to mention his young self looks strikingly like a male version of Korra.]]
** His back-story is very similar to Mako and Bolin's. They all had parents killed by a firebender. But while the brothers eventually learned to live with their loss, he took it in a completely [[FantasticRacism different direction.]] [[spoiler: Of course, this turns out to be a lie.]]
** In a meta sense, he's a foil to Ozai in the same sense that Korra is to Aang. Whereas Ozai was a power-hungry conqueror, Amon is a partisan revolutionary. Ozai was as close to a complete monster as a character can be in a child-friendly cartoon, whereas Amon is arguably an anti-villain. Ozai was [[spoiler:defeated with energybending]] and Amon [[spoiler:takes away bending and is ultimately defeated by revealing his bending. Amon is also a waterbender, further providing contrast between them]].
** In a way, he could be seen as this to Tarrlok. Both men are highly charismatic people who've captured the hearts of their respective branches of public, [[AuthorityEqualsAsskicking they're both more than capable of holding their own in a fight]], [[spoiler:and they both have secret powers that come off as a major shock to anyone who's fighting them for the first time]]. And then it turns out [[spoiler:[[SiblingYinYang Tarrlok is Amon's brother.]]]]
* FreudianExcuse: Amon explains at an Equalist rally that his parents were murdered and his face disfigured by a firebender when he was just a child.
** [[spoiler:Turns out that backstory is a lie, but his real backstory is arguably just as sympathetic. His father, Yakone, was an extremely [[AbusiveParents abusive parent]], and forced him and his brother Tarrlok to learn bloodbending so he could use them to exact revenge on Republic City and the Avatar. Ultimately, this mistreatment put Amon on the path to darkness. Eventually, when his father made him and his brother use bloodbending on each other, he turned on his father, and ran away from home.]]
* FromNobodyToNightmare: He claims to have once been a simple FarmBoy... then, his family was murdered. Now he's a DarkMessiah revolutionary trying to bring down bending and replace the Avatar.
** [[spoiler: [[ZigZaggedTrope Zig Zagged]] in the finale; turns out his father was Yakone, who fled Republic City. He was still nobody when he left the Northern Water tribe, but his story wasn't the one he claimed it was.]]
* GeniusBruiser: Really good public speaker, social leader, and [[TheChessmaster master strategist]]; terrifyingly good close-combatant[[spoiler:, prodigy waterbender and psychic bloodbender]].
* GloriousLeader
* GoldAndWhiteAreDivine: An unusual case in that said colour pattern is confined to his mask.
* GoodColorsEvilColors:
** His mask is white and gold, noble colors, which are his ''mask'' which he hides behind, his red circle on his head could be his "evil" ambitions poking through his veneer of righteousness, and the fact that this is surrounded by black seems to mean he is the one noble being surrounded by darkness "benders" his point of view.
** When viewed through the lens of [[http://www.sensationalcolor.com/color-messages-meanings/color-around-the-globe/china-the-colorful-masks-of-the-chinese-opera.html Chinese opera]], Amon's mask takes on considerable symbolism. Its white/silver and gold color scheme immediately places the character in the realm of the mystic, with the gold/yellow coloration also playing into the character traits of treachery and ferociousness. The red circle on his forehead evokes a hint of Buddhist symbolism, referencing his spiritual connection, and also carries some connotations with intelligence and cleverness.
** White is the color of death in Asian cultures, which fits well with the symbolism often attributed to the WhiteMaskOfDoom. Red and gold are generally considered positive colors in Chinese culture, making their use [[LightIsNotGood ironic]] in this case.
** The gold on his mask can also be seen as green. Another [[http://atla-annotated.tumblr.com/post/19671786341/amons-mask-analyzed-through-beijing-opera analysis]] through that lens holds that the white symbolizes cunning, treachery, and craftiness, the green is violence and lack of self-restraint, and the red dot is both spirituality and the mocking of it.
* [[spoiler: GoOutWithASmile: After losing Republic City and the Equalists, Amon decides to reclaim his old identity as Noatak and turn over a new leaf with Tarrlok, his long-lost brother. As they leave on a getaway boat, Noatak happily contemplates the new life they would build with each other as brothers, while Tarrlok silently decides to kill both of themselves as recompense for their past crimes and to halt their father's villainous legacy once and for all. From the driver's seat Noatak smiles as he muses on how he'd almost forgotten the sound of his own name and begins crying, perhaps [[DeathEqualsRedemption realizing and accepting]] what Tarrlok is about to do just before Tarrlok ignites the gas tank and detonates the boat.]]
* HeroKiller: [[spoiler:Anyone he can lay his hands on is effectively neutralized since they can no longer bend. His first confrontation with Korra also implies that he plans to kill her after taking away her bending, though that may have been poor use of the phrase "untimely demise" as a metaphor.]] He fully enters into this trope after de-bending [[spoiler:Lin Beifong]].
* HiddenAgendaVillain: Throughout the series, his real motivations are never really revealed. [[spoiler:His backstory implies he's either a KnightTemplar seeking to rid the world of bending because he seeks it as the root of all evil, or was seeking to follow in his father's footsteps and take over Republic City. Evidence is presented for both.]]
* {{Hypocrite}}: In several ways. He wants to get rid of benders for making non-benders live in terror, while his own strategy consists of doing exactly that. Not to mention that he's not only [[spoiler:a bender himself, but a ''bloodbender'', aka the most dangerous type of bender in the world]]. And in the end, [[spoiler:the Lieutenant]] is not at all happy to realize this.
* IAmTheNoun: "I am the ''solution''".
** Also printed on some of his posters, though that's a [[BilingualBonus Readers Of Chinese Bonus]].
* InTheHood
* TheJuggernaut: [[spoiler:When Tarrlok tries to use bloodbending on him, he just shrugs it off and keeps advancing. Turns out he was bloodbending himself.]]
* JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope: While some of his actions were extreme before, he does this in episode 10 when [[spoiler:he carries out a ''massive'' invasion on Republic City. This carries on into the finale, when he attempts to debend the last remaining airbenders, three of whom are children.]]
** [[spoiler: This appears to have happened some time in his backstory, between Noatak running away from home and taking up the identity of Amon.]]
* JustToyingWithThem: Amon makes a show out of tying up [[ElementalPowers bending]] members of a crime syndicate (and one of the heroes who got mixed up with them) and [[spoiler: removing their powers]] in front of a huge crowd of [[AntimagicalFaction Equalist]] sympathizers. This trope comes into play when, as part of his show, Amon lets the crime boss loose and offers him the chance to fight to protect himself. It's all the more impressive when Amon wins. [[CurbStompBattle Rather easily]], in fact. [[spoiler:It's later revealed he uses bloodbending to get them to move somewhat predictably without revealing his ability, making his defeat of them inevitable.]]
* JustYouMeAndMyGuards: [[spoiler:How Amon eventually responds to Korra's mano-a-mano challenge to him. Could be justified because Tarrlok was supposed to have soldiers watching the fight, and Amon is GenreSavvy enough to suspect something like that.]]
* KickTheSonOfABitch: Every early instance of on-screen [[spoiler:de-bending]] we saw him carry out was upon someone who was used their bending to illegally gain a position of power while being protected from reprisals by corruption in the system (the Triple Threat Triad, an organized crime syndicate, as well as the Wolfbats who cheated their way into winning the tournament, and [[spoiler:Tarrlok]]). This is a consistent part of his political strategy, and also why he refuses to fight Korra at first.
** KickTheDog: After his plans have advanced far enough that he doesn't need the good press anymore, he has no problem attacking benders who haven't done anything to deserve it. [[spoiler:The Metalbending police, the entire Republic City Council (save Tenzin), the last airbenders (who escaped), and Lin Beifong. Not to mention bombing the crap out of Republic City. In the finale, he has benders lined up execution-style, captures Tenzin and his family to eliminate airbending altogether, and attacks and possibly ''kills'' the Lieutenant when he finds out Amon is a bloodbender.]]
* [[spoiler:KilledOffForReal]]: [[spoiler:Escapes Republic City with Tarrlok, but Tarrlok ultimately decides to sacrifice himself to stop him once and for all by blowing up the boat they're in.]]
* KneelBeforeZod: [[spoiler:Forces a pack of wolves to do this as a child with bloodbending .]]
* KnightOfCerebus: While the series started out as upbeat, immediately after his appearance, the story became much darker. Unlike [[CompleteMonster Ozai]], who wanted to [[CardCarryingVillain take over the world and prove his superiority to the Avatar]]; he has made it quite clear that he intends to kill Korra and rid the world of Benders to which he does with lethal precision and intimidating charisma.
** Given the [[PuttingOnTheReich things]] [[MindRape he]] [[NoSell does]], he could be considered one of these for ''the franchise itself''!
* KnightTemplar: See WellIntentionedExtremist below. He definitely invokes this in his rhetoric. His [[spoiler: attacks on Republic City and Air Temple Island in the final episodes]] push him over the edge, however.
* KnowWhenToFoldEm: [[spoiler: After being defeated by Korra and Mako, he immediately leaves and retrieves Tarrlok, before leaving the Equalists behind to start a new life with his brother.]]
* LightIsNotGood: Though Amon invokes certain heavenly archetypes with his [[GoldAndWhiteAreDivine white and gold]] sun mask, Egyptian sun god name, golden eyes, and [[MessianicArchetype possible mystical connections]], he's still the leader of a private military force with a cultist agenda. [[spoiler:He's a waterbender, and while a bloodbender, his method is essencially a reversal of [[HealingHands waterbending healing]], manipulating chi regardless. Thus, arguably WhiteMagic.]]
* LightningBruiser: Extremely agile and nimble fighter with the strength to take down even the most skilled benders with no sweat.
* MadeOfIron: He took a lightning bolt to the chest, several seconds long at that, and ''walked it off''.
* [[spoiler:MakingASplash]]: [[spoiler:Turns out he's a waterbender and a bloodbender.]]
** [[spoiler:BloodMagic]]
* [[MalevolentMaskedMen Malevolent Masked Man]]: Like the lower-level Equalists, although they're GasMaskMooks and his is more of a traditional mask.
* MissionFromGod: He claims that he was chosen by the spirits to bring down bending and replace the Avatar.
* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: "Amon" has plenty of possible meanings.
** To start, it's the name of an Egyptian god and a [[ArsGoetia demon]].
** The word or root "Amen" means "what is hidden", "what is not seen", "what cannot be seen" and the like.
** One of the worst Nazi criminals was [[Film/SchindlersList Amon Goeth]].
** [[http://masterarrowhead.tumblr.com/post/21546778935/hawkfeather-atla-annotated-energybending-a Amon is also the name of an acupuncture point on the back of the neck.]] Amon was shown pressing onto that point as well as the forehead.
** A fan [[http://atla-annotated.tumblr.com/post/21979689321/amon-is-the-answer-interesting-choice-of translated his name written in Chinese characters]]. 阿蒙. ‘cover; ignorant; suffer’.
* NoSell: When [[spoiler:Tarrlok]] uses [[spoiler:bloodbending]] to incapacitate his mooks, Amon shrugs it off. Even when [[spoiler:Tarrlok]] redoubled his efforts, it just barely slowed Amon down. [[spoiler:Since he can bloodbend with his mind, he was able to counteract Tarrlok's powers without moving.]]
* ObviouslyEvil: He looks pretty dang evil, but looking at him through the lens of Asian Culture (which Avatar takes heavy cues from), he looks a ''lot'' more evil. See GoodColorsEvilColors.
* [[spoiler:ThePowerOfBlood]]: [[spoiler:He's a bloodbender. He's so good that he can do it [[BeyondTheImpossible without moving his hands. In daytime.]]]]
** [[spoiler:PsychicPowers]]: [[spoiler:Tarrlok specifically calls his bloodbending this.]]
* PragmaticVillainy:
** "[[Recap/TheLegendOfKorraS1E4TheVoiceInTheNight The Voice in the Night]]" reveals just how pragmatic he is, to the point of ReasonBeforeHonor.
** Get challenged to a one-on-one duel? No {{Mooks}} for either side? [[spoiler:So you've made yourself defenseless. Perfect. Meet my platoon of chi-blockers.]]
** At last, I have my most dangerous opponent [[IHaveYouNowMyPretty at my mercy]]. [[spoiler:See ya round kid. [[DangerouslyGenreSavvy The international public outcry wouldn't be worth it right now.]] But don't worry! I'm going to save you for last, letting you watch all you love and care for be destroyed before I take you out. Toodle-oo!]]
* PreAssKickingOneLiner: "It is time for you to be Equalized."
* [[spoiler:PsychopathicManChild]]: [[spoiler:In his final scenes he displays naivety and untoward optimism, shucking off his persona of Amon as if it was a disguise. He's incredibly cheerful for a defeated man and is seemingly giddy from the prospect of being with his little brother again, as if he and Tarrlok are two little schoolboys running away from home. He seems to think everything will be just fine, ignoring the fact that every facet of their identities were shaped so that a normal life would be improbable or even impossible.]]
** That said, [[spoiler: the sheer amount of explosives/electric weapons, as well as his tear before Tarrlok exploded the boat, might imply it was a ruse to lead his brother to kill them both.]]
* RebelLeader: He is the leader of the anti-bending movement.
* ScrewThisImOuttaHere: [[spoiler: After being defeated and uncovered by Korra, Tarrlok asks him to escape together and rebuild a life as brothers. Amon agrees, and ultimately seems to be truly happy to do so.]]
* ShadowArchetype: To Korra, as essentially the anti-Avatar. He's also one to Bolin and Mako, as they've all lost their parents to Firebenders. However, Amon now wants to destroy all benders, while Bolin and Mako are making the best of their situation.
* [[spoiler:SiblingYinYang]]: [[spoiler:With Tarrlok.]]
* [[spoiler:SingleTear]]: [[spoiler:Sheds one right before his death]].
* StrongerSibling: [[spoiler:He's Tarrlok's.]]
* SuperPowerLottery: Assuming that his abilities are, in fact, supernatural, he won the jackpot. Moves so quickly that he can avoid most all bending attacks directed at him.
** As it turns out [[spoiler:he's a bloodbender, which he used to dodge attacks and to strip people of their bending.]]
* TellMeHowYouFight: [[spoiler:Tarrlok identifies Amon as his brother, despite Amon's appearance being totally concealed, by the distinctive feel of his bloodbending]].
* [[spoiler:ThisCannotBe]]: [[spoiler:When he debends Korra only for her to use airbending against him.]]
* [[spoiler:TragicVillain]]: In the finale, it's revealed that [[spoiler:Amon is actually Tarrlok's older brother, Noatak. He and Tarrlok were forced by their [[AbusiveParents father]] Yakone to learn bloodbending, so that he could use them to exact vengeance on Republic City and the Avatar. After Yakone forced him and Tarrlok to use bloodbending on each other, Noatak turned on his father, incapacitated him with bloodbending, and ran away from home, taking up the identity of Amon years later. According to Tarrlok, he really and truly believed bending to be the root of all evil in the world, despite being a bender himself, though Tarrlok also implies Amon enjoyed the power bloodbending gave him.]]
** It's worse than that. [[spoiler: He wanted Tarrlok to run away with him, but he didn't want to leave their mother behind. At the finale he's looking forward to a peaceful life with his brother. Apparently that's all he really wanted.]]
* [[spoiler:{{Tykebomb}}: His father Yakone tried to turn him and his brother, Tarrlok, into this in a plot for revenge on Republic City and the Avatar. While he ''did'' turn on his father, he ultimately ended up fulfilling what Yakone wanted him to do anyway, make Republic City suffer.]]
* {{Ubermensch}}
* TheUnfettered: He ''seems'' to have rules but really just pragmatism. He'll do anything.
* UnflinchingWalk:
** Pulls this off in the face of a fireball that blasts most of his {{Mooks}} away.
** Also, [[spoiler:when up against Tarrlok, he pulls this off. Which is impressive, because he ''shouldn't'' have been able to stand, let alone walk. It turns out Amon himself is a bloodbender, hence why he wasn't affected.]]
* UnreliableExpositor: His highly theatrical presentation of his "revelation," his {{backstory}} and even [[spoiler: his energybending]], throws the truthfulness of all he says into question.
** [[spoiler:It's ''all'' a lie. He's actually Tarrlok's older brother and a waterbender, who uses the bloodbending their father Yakone forced him and his brother to learn to prevent people from bending. That said, according to Tarrlok, he genuinely believes bending to be the root of all evil.]]
* [[spoiler:UsedToBeASweetKid]]: [[spoiler:Until his father forced him and his brother to learn bloodbending.]]
* VillainHasAPoint: His talk about benders oppressing non-benders gained a lot more credence [[spoiler:once Tarrlok took over.]]
* VillainWithGoodPublicity: A major part of his plan is to become this. So far, he's been remarkably successful. While officially considered a terrorist, he has amassed a massive amount of followers, enough to threaten all of Republic City.
* [[spoiler:VillainousBreakdown]]: [[spoiler:After Korra manages to use airbending despite having been debended. He ''really'' gets this once he's not only unmasked, but his makeup to make him look scarred is washed off in the water, revealing him for what he really is.]]
* [[spoiler:VillainousRescue]]: [[spoiler:Rescues Korra from Tarrlok, though he didn't plan on letting her go free after taking down Tarrlok.]]
* VisionaryVillain: A world of equality.
* WellIntentionedExtremist: According to himself, Amon genuinely wants to make a better world. Said better world simply involves the eradication of bending and most likely placing himself in power.
** [[spoiler:It turns out his backstory was a lie, and he's actually a bender, though Tarrlok thinks he genuinely believes that bending is the root of all evil.]]
* WhiteMaskOfDoom: The only known Equalist to have one.
* [[WhyDontYouJustShootHim Why Don't You Just Shoot Her?]]: He makes it clear that he could have easily taken away Korra's bending when he ambushed her. He also makes it clear that doing so would have made her into a martyr, which is why Korra will be the last to lose her bending, and then she will die.
* WouldHitAGirl: He knocks Korra unconscious when he ambushes her. And he plans to kill her.
* WouldHurtAChild: In the finale, [[spoiler:he has captured Tenzin and his family and plans on debending them.]]
* XanatosGambit: Pulls one off in "And the Winner Is...". He makes [[DoNotAdjustYourSet a public demand over the radio]] that the city government shut down the Pro-Bending arena and cancel the championship match. If the pro-bending championships are not stopped, then he and the Equalists have an audience for the demonstration of their power and he gets to begin his war. If the tournament is canceled the government has given into Amon's demand and showed that it will not challenge him.
* [[spoiler:YouAreWhatYouHate]]: By implication, [[spoiler:if he was really sincere about his belief that benders are the source of all evil in the world]].
[[/folder]]
[[folder:The Lieutenant]]
!The Lieutenant
[[quoteright:350:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Screen_Shot_2012-04-29_at_11_40_21_AM_7512.png]]
[[caption-width-right:350:"You benders need to understand... there's no place in this world for you anymore."]]
->Voiced by Lance Henriksen
Amon's second-in-command.
----
* AwesomeBackpack: He carries a power generator on his back to supply power for his weapons.
** AmmunitionBackpack
* BadassMoustache
* BadassNormal
* [[spoiler:BrokenPedestal: Let's just say that he didn't take learning the truth about Amon well]].
* TheDeterminator: Always back up and ready for another fight, no matter how much of a beating he takes.
* DiminishingVillainThreat: Appears very threatening early on, soundly defeating Bolin and Mako in "The Revelation," but every time he is encountered thereafter, he is usually either attacking a helpless or outmatched opponent or he loses.
* TheDragon: For Amon.
* DualWielding: Electricfied kali sticks in both hands.
* EveryoneCallsHimBarkeep
* EvilSoundsDeep: Being voiced by Lance Henriksen, this is a given. That man could inhale multiple canisters of helium and he would still sound like he had more than one puberty.
* GlassCannon: Very agile and deadly in combat. He hits as fast as lightning, and he's very powerful. However, he goes down after one hit.
* GogglesDoNothing
* GoodHairEvilHair: He has a Fu Manchu moustache.
* HonorBeforeReason: Considering that he saw Amon [[spoiler: bloodbending]] Korra and Mako at the same time, he probably realized that a head-on charge would be suicide, but decided he'd rather go out swinging than continue to follow a lie.
* IcyBlueEyes
* ImpossiblyCoolWeapon: He wields a pair of electrified kali sticks, because his opponents are metalbending cops, and electricity works pretty well on all benders. The fact that an industrialized city like Republic City has conductive metal ''everywhere'' doesn't hurt, either.
* IneffectualSympatheticVillain: Starts to shade into this as the DiminishingVillainThreat kicks in. Poor guy can't do ''anything'' right.
* ItsPersonal: [[spoiler:When Korra's trapped in a metal cage, he shows a certain satisfaction in getting to shock her unconscious as payback. Unfortunately for him, she was one step ahead.]]
** He also takes [[spoiler:realizing that he'd been played by Amon]] pretty badly.
* MadeOfIron: Has been sucker punched with a boulder, knocked off a building, blasted over a roof, and smashed into the ground from midair by a polar bear dog. And each time, he has dusted himself off and returned ready to fight again.
* MookFaceTurn: [[spoiler:Turns on Amon when he finds out about his bending, though as usual he didn't do that well in the ensuing "fight".]]
* NobleTopEnforcer: While the Lieutenant comes off as sadistic and cruel, he truly believes in the Equalists' agenda and dedicated his life to it.
* NoNameGiven
* NoPeripheralVision: Maybe it's the goggles, but the Lieutenant has had an unfortunate tendency to be taken out by surprise, typically by someone new showing up from behind or the side while he's fighting another opponent.
* PsychoElectro: While he is serious in wanting to end bending like all other Equalists, he seems to actually enjoy inflicting pain on benders with his electric arsenal a bit ''too much''.
* ShockAndAwe
** StaticStunGun
* SimpleStaff: Of the two handheld rod variety.
* SpannerInTheWorks: His [[CurbStompBattle "battle"]] [[spoiler:with Amon gave Mako the time to muster up the energy to fire off his lightning.]]
* TallDarkAndHandsome: He actually doesn't look that bad unmasked.[[hottip:*:Seen [[http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m5q76pCfDJ1qa7n5e.gif here]]
* [[spoiler: YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness]]
[[/folder]]
[[folder:The Chi-blockers]]
!The Chi-blockers
[[quoteright:350:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Chi_blockers_6466.jpg]]
The foot-soldiers of the Equalist cause, trained in chi-blocking to nullify the powers of benders.
----
* AirplaneArms: They use the further back, ninja-like variation.
* BadassArmy: BadassNormal GasMaskMooks trained specifically in a PressurePoint-striking fighting method designed to temporarily [[PowerNullifier disarm]] and [[TheParalyzer disable]] the wielders of ElementalPowers.
* BadassBiker: The chi blockers are excellent motorcyclists.
* BadassNormal: They completely dominate Korra and Mako in their first fight, due to clever use of their gadgets and their martial arts.
* CombatPragmatist: They take any advantage they can get. Aside from their grenades, they use bolas, tripwires, whips, and do not obey MookChivalry.
* EliteMooks: They're pretty much an entire army of them. Even just a few of them can put up a hell of a fight against very powerful benders.
* EqualOpportunityEvil: Their figures show that more than a few are [[DarkActionGirl women]]. The ladies fight alongside the men. Also we can't be sure with their masks, but they seem to be non-benders from any of the three nations.
* GasMaskMooks: Since they use gas grenades, this is a necessary aspect of their outfit. Also helps when [[spoiler: being knocked down by fartbending]].
* KickTheDog: Electrocuting Shiro Shinobi, the announcer, who is a non-bender and wasn't fighting back.
* KungFuProofMook: The Equalists' MiniMecha are made from platinum, metal so pure metalbenders are incapable of manipulating it.
* MageKiller: Their combat training specifically targets benders.
* MiniMecha: Their platinum mech-tanks.
* {{Ninja}}
* TheParalyzer: Their blows cause temporary (and apparently painful) paralysis in addition to serving as a...
* PowerNullifier: Even after the paralysis wears off, a chi-blocker's strike will render their target temporarily unable to bend.
* PressurePoint: The centerpiece of their fighting style, featuring extremely rapid strikes.
* ShockAndAwe: A favored tactic of theirs, in various flavors:
** The less skilled among them use electricity-generating gloves. The ones in full attire never do.
** The MiniMecha have built in tasers and can fire bola disks which shock the recipient unconscious. This same weapon is used by hand occasionally.
* SmokeOut: They use grenades that release a greenish, slightly unpleasant gas to dissuade pursuers.
* TheVoiceless: They apparently use this as a psychological tactic, as their near-absolute silence in battle, communicating and coordinating only through gestures and reading each other's body motions, accentuate the inhumanity their faceless masks lend them. It's almost jarring when we hear them speak in episode 9 during unguarded moments.
* TheWorfEffect: In episode 10, several of them were quickly defeated by Jinora, Ikki, and Meelo. Somewhat justified by the fact that airbenders only number in the single digits and only one is actually an adult, so they weren't prepared for it. Add on to that the fact that they were attacked by children, which would be a surprise in itself assuming they were actually willing to assault children in the first place.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:The Protester]]
!The Protester
[[quoteright:350:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Screen_Shot_2012-04-29_at_11_27_37_AM_9261.png]]
->Voiced by Carlos Alazraqui
He's a protestor who comes into the Republic City park to preach about Amon's ideals.
----
* AttentionWhore: He promotes the Equalists for this reason, according to the official website. He attempts to get said attention by taking the unpopular position on any given issue (in this case, bending rights). His parents were evidently supportive of benders.
* BackForTheFinale
* BigWhat: He lets one out in the finale when [[spoiler:Amon outs himself as a waterbender.]]
%% EyesOfGold has more requirements for the trope than just "gold eyes". The protestor does not fit any of them.
* HotBloodedSideburns: Which also point to Fire Nation parentage.
* NoNameGiven
[[/folder]]
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
I\'m gonna assume you accidentally did that and are not a vandal...
Added DiffLines:
!!This is a partial character sheet for ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra''. Visit [[Characters/TheLegendOfKorra here]] for the main character index. Subjective trope and audience reactions should go on the [[YMMV/TheLegendOfKorra YMMV page]].
[[foldercontrol]]
[[folder:Amon]]
!Amon [[spoiler:/ Noatak]]
[[quoteright:332:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Amon_5948.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:332: "I am the solution."]]
->Voiced by SteveBlum
The leader of the Equalists and the primary antagonist of the first season. A man shrouded in mystery, Amon seeks to rid the world of benders and usher in a new era of equality. He seeks to destroy Korra, whose presence in Republic City threatens his anti-bender agenda.
----
* AmbiguouslyEvil: With his past completely shrouded in mystery aside from his personal testimony, it's hard to say just how evil he is. That said, the further the show goes on, the further down the slope he goes. [[spoiler:Once his endgame kicks in, he has no problem launching a full-scale assault on the city, depowering metalbender cops (including Lin Beifong), kidnapping the entire council (save Tenzin but not for lack of trying), and attacking Tenzin's family when he knew Tenzin wasn't there to help them. The last part is especially notable because he'd be complicit in the nearly-successful genocide of the Air Nomads started by the Fire Nation nearly two centuries earlier had he succeeded (though, admittedly, he probably wouldn't ''kill'' them, just strip them of their bending). According to Tarrlok, he does genuinely believe his rhetoric, despite his heritage.]]
** In the end, despite having his backstory [[spoiler: revealed]], Amon is still AmbiguouslyEvil to the extreme. Was [[spoiler: Tarrlok]] right in saying that Amon genuinely believed in his rhetoric, [[spoiler: despite being a bender himself, or did his use of bloodbending [[DrunkOnTheDarkSide Send Him Over the Edge]]]]? Was the [[spoiler: tear he cried right before Tarrlok ignited the fuel tank of the boat they were riding in acknowledgement and acceptance of what Tarrlok [[RedemptionEqualsDeath Was About]] [[MurderSuicide To Do]], or simply him recalling a fond memory?]] The questions go on and on.
* [[spoiler:AccidentalPublicConfession]]: [[spoiler:Non-verbal one. After being blasted out of a window into the ocean, he instinctively waterbends himself back out, exposing himself as a waterbender and washing off the paint used to fake a firebending scar.]]
* AntiVillain: [[SlidingScaleOfAntiVillains Type]] [[WellIntentionedExtremist III]]. Wanting equality and to help lower class citizens isn't bad... but doing so by trying to eradicate bending is extreme. He only targets benders who use their abilities for evil, at least until he's built up enough support to get away with more ambiguous targets or full-on public servants. He has also told Korra to her face (while his men held her down) that the only reason she still has her bending is that he is saving her for later. For all purposes, he does appear to have a moral code. It's just that he is pragmatic enough to take more amoral or even outright immoral actions to see his plans come to fruition.
** [[spoiler:It's revealed in the finale he's actually Yakone's son and a bloodbender, and, according to Tarrlok, came to the conclusion that bending was the root of all evil due to his father's [[AbusiveParents Abusiveness]]. The fact that bloodbending is known to get people DrunkOnTheDarkSide probably didn't hurt. He ultimately seems to come in as a solid [[SlidingScaleOfAntiVillains Type II]] AntiVillain, alongside his previously inferred Type III position. On the other hand, the show is somewhat unclear, as Tarrlok says he enjoyed the power Bloodbending gave him and we see him bloodbend a pack of wolves to bow down to him in a flashback.]]
* AuthorityEqualsAsskicking: He prefers not to fight (see Pragmatic Villainy) but when he does....
* {{Badass}}: He has yet to lose a one-on-one fight to anyone. Notable because this has included a firebender skilled in shooting lightning and a [[spoiler:bloodbender, which he somehow powered through despite the debilitating effect it had on his men]].
** BadassNormal[=/=]MageKiller: He's a very powerful chi-blocker.
*** [[spoiler:BadassAbnormal: But he's actually a waterbender and a bloodbender. Tarrlok's brother no less.]]
** BadassBaritone: He ''is'' voiced by SteveBlum.
** BadassBoast:
--->'''[[spoiler:Tarrlok]]:''' [[WhatTheHellAreYou What... what are you?]]
--->'''Amon:''' I am the solution.
* [[spoiler:BadPowersBadPeople]]: Zig zagged. [[spoiler: He's a bloodbender, but he is basically a WellIntentionedExtremist and/or KnightTemplar, so he's bad in a rather unorthodox way.]]
* BeneathTheMask: [[spoiler: Once stripped of his plans and supporters, he seems to be nothing more than an optimistic and possibly even naive man longing to live the life he never had with his baby brother. Given Tarrlok's MurderSuicide of them both, it is arguable as to whether that would remain the case ever after.]]
* BigBad: Of Book One.
** [[spoiler:BigBadEnsemble]]: [[spoiler:[[SubvertedTrope Subverted]]. It appeared that he would be this with Tarrlok in the eighth episode of the first season, but upon their meeting at the end of episode 9, Amon resists [[BigBadWannabe Tarrlok]]'s bloodbending and de-bends him. Which leaves Amon as the only, and rightful BigBad.]]
* [[spoiler: BigBrotherInstinct: Tarrlok claims he always looked out for him when they were kids. In ''Out of the Past'' he does the gruntwork of taking Tarrlock to the truck himself while the Lieutenant and some mooks try to nab Korra, quite possibly to protect his brother from them, as any of them would likely take the chance to hurt him. At the finale, Amon tells him he's all he has left in the world.]]
* [[spoiler: BoomerangBigot: He's a waterbender, and none too proud of it, if Tarrlok's right about his motives.]]
* BreakingSpeech: He delivers one so effective and intimidating that Korra suffers a complete breakdown afterwards.
* [[spoiler: CainAndAbel: Zigzagged. He takes away his brother's bending, but his brother ultimately kills him. And, well, he still loves him regardless.]]
* TheChessmaster: Holy crap, yes. His actions in Episode 6 sealed his status as one and [[MagnificentBastard even more.]] See XanatosGambit below.
* [[spoiler:ChildProdigy: Mastered bloodbending at ''14''.]]
* CombatPragmatist: Uses ambushes, greater numbers, weapons the opposition has no defense against, and psychological warfare to lead the Equalists to victory. [[spoiler:He also subtly uses bloodbending to gain the edge in fights with other benders without exposing himself.]]
* CoolMask: Some kind of Venetian Carnival mask, it has the spook factor of one.
* CrazyPrepared: The Finale reveals that [[spoiler:he wears fake scars on his face just by the off chance that someone might knock his mask off, or force him to reveal his face.]]
* CulturePolice: Desires to end pro-bending as means to end "bending worship".
* DangerouslyGenreSavvy:
** He lets Korra escape the Revelation because she'd be the "perfect messenger" about what just transpired; letting Benders hear it from the Avatar herself that he has the power to take away bending.
** When answering Korra's gauntlet throw-down on Aang's Memorial Island, [[spoiler:he doesn't come alone. He has chi-blockers [[ZergRush dog pile]] Korra first, then says he won't unbend her because he'd just create a martyr.]] He seems fairly intent on his "No Martyr" policy, at least for the early stages of his plan. [[spoiler: His victims are either unpopular with the public or publicly shamed by Amon himself before neutralization (crime lords, Wolfbats after cheating, Tarrlok after losing his good publicity, etc.)]]
** His plan in "And the Winner Is...". See XanatosGambit below.
** [[spoiler:He also took the extremely dangerous Tarrlok off guard and in a position where Tarrlok had no water at his disposal to bend. With his bloodbending useless, Tarrlok was forced to fight Amon hand to hand, something Amon is exceptionally skilled at, instead of being able to fight back with his extremely powerful bending.]]
** [[spoiler:He wears makeup beneath his mask to fake a firebending scar, just in case he needs to put down any claim that he's lying.]]
* DarkMessiah: He's set himself up as a Messiah figure to the Equalist movement, and his ultimate goal is to replace the Avatar as the world's savior. Though the Equalists are not a religious movement, he does claim that his exceptional abilities were granted to him by the spirits that protect the world, and that it is his destiny to be the savior of non-benders by bringing them into balance with those who can (or could) bend.
* [[spoiler: DeathEqualsRedemption / HeelRealization]]: Depending on your [[AlternateCharacterInterpretation interpretation]] of [[spoiler: the single tear he cries before Tarrlok kills the two of them, it's possible he fell under this trope; if he was indeed aware of what Tarrlok was about to do, and did nothing to stop him, the likely conclusion is that he accepted his brothers' judgement, and understood why he needed to die.]]
* DeathGlare: Gives quite a potent one to Korra as seen in episode 4 when he confronts her underneath Aang's statue. It's especially notable since he can give quite a DeathGlare even behind that mask.
* [[spoiler:DePower]]: [[spoiler:He has the ability to strip people of their bending. He somehow uses bloodbending to do it, and in such a way that even Katara can't heal it. However, true energybending can counteract this.]]
* DiabolicalMastermind: Beneath his ruse of being a revolutionary, he seems to be this.
* DissonantSerenity: The cargo bay of his [[CoolAirship zeppelin]] being filled with flame by Korra [[UnflinchingWalk doesn't even break his stride]]. [[spoiler:He doesn't seem fazed by Tarrlok's bloodbending, and while he's affected he is able to push through and maintain his composure without faltering.]] The mask definitely helps with the effect.
* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: His ideals parallel the development of Communism and Fascism, which rose to compete against the fledgling democracies of the early 20th century. His rhetoric also is reminiscent of the Taiping Rebellion, as he fashions himself as a messianic figure and tries to replace the Avatar.
* TheDreaded: He terrifies Korra to the point that she breaks down into tears after one confrontation with him, and his encounter with Bolin left the earthbender with nightmares for at least a week.
* [[spoiler:DrunkOnTheDarkSide]]: [[spoiler:Like Tarrlok, he was taught bloodbending by his father, which may have had something to do with his descent into villainy.]]
* [[spoiler:EvenEvilHasLovedOnes:]] [[spoiler:He does seem to still love Tarrlok, although he rejected him when they were children and took his bending away.]]
* ExpressiveMask: On occasion, there are subtle illustration changes to the mouth on his mask, and his eyes and tone do the rest.
* EvilSoundsDeep: What else would you expect from SteveBlum? Evil's as deep as the ocean.
* [[spoiler: FamousLastWords]]: [[spoiler:"I had almost forgotten the sound of my own name."]]
* [[FantasticRacism Fantastic Racist]]: Hates benders and seeks to get rid of bending altogether.
* TheFaceless: [[UnreliableExpositor Supposedly]] due to FacialHorror.
* FacialHorror: The stated reason for his mask. He [[UnreliableExpositor claims]] to have gotten the scars from the same Firebender that killed his family. [[spoiler:He's lying. Underneath the mask, [[CrazyPrepared and the makeup he's wearing under the mask]], he's actually [[http://minuiko.tumblr.com/post/25723337788/one-other-thing-it-kills-me-to-see-how-helpless good looking]].]]
* {{Foil}}:
** To Korra. [[spoiler:His debending powers make him a sort of anti-Avatar]]. He's also styling himself in the same vein as an Avatar, claiming to be a savior sent by the spirits. He also is a very calm, controlled individual who claims to be sent by the spirits, while Korra is a BoisterousBruiser who has ''major'' difficulty with the spiritual side of bending. [[spoiler: It also turns out they're both native waterbenders and bending [[ChildProdigy Child Prodigies]]. Not to mention his young self looks strikingly like a male version of Korra.]]
** His back-story is very similar to Mako and Bolin's. They all had parents killed by a firebender. But while the brothers eventually learned to live with their loss, he took it in a completely [[FantasticRacism different direction.]] [[spoiler: Of course, this turns out to be a lie.]]
** In a meta sense, he's a foil to Ozai in the same sense that Korra is to Aang. Whereas Ozai was a power-hungry conqueror, Amon is a partisan revolutionary. Ozai was as close to a complete monster as a character can be in a child-friendly cartoon, whereas Amon is arguably an anti-villain. Ozai was [[spoiler:defeated with energybending]] and Amon [[spoiler:takes away bending and is ultimately defeated by revealing his bending. Amon is also a waterbender, further providing contrast between them]].
** In a way, he could be seen as this to Tarrlok. Both men are highly charismatic people who've captured the hearts of their respective branches of public, [[AuthorityEqualsAsskicking they're both more than capable of holding their own in a fight]], [[spoiler:and they both have secret powers that come off as a major shock to anyone who's fighting them for the first time]]. And then it turns out [[spoiler:[[SiblingYinYang Tarrlok is Amon's brother.]]]]
* FreudianExcuse: Amon explains at an Equalist rally that his parents were murdered and his face disfigured by a firebender when he was just a child.
** [[spoiler:Turns out that backstory is a lie, but his real backstory is arguably just as sympathetic. His father, Yakone, was an extremely [[AbusiveParents abusive parent]], and forced him and his brother Tarrlok to learn bloodbending so he could use them to exact revenge on Republic City and the Avatar. Ultimately, this mistreatment put Amon on the path to darkness. Eventually, when his father made him and his brother use bloodbending on each other, he turned on his father, and ran away from home.]]
* FromNobodyToNightmare: He claims to have once been a simple FarmBoy... then, his family was murdered. Now he's a DarkMessiah revolutionary trying to bring down bending and replace the Avatar.
** [[spoiler: [[ZigZaggedTrope Zig Zagged]] in the finale; turns out his father was Yakone, who fled Republic City. He was still nobody when he left the Northern Water tribe, but his story wasn't the one he claimed it was.]]
* GeniusBruiser: Really good public speaker, social leader, and [[TheChessmaster master strategist]]; terrifyingly good close-combatant[[spoiler:, prodigy waterbender and psychic bloodbender]].
* GloriousLeader
* GoldAndWhiteAreDivine: An unusual case in that said colour pattern is confined to his mask.
* GoodColorsEvilColors:
** His mask is white and gold, noble colors, which are his ''mask'' which he hides behind, his red circle on his head could be his "evil" ambitions poking through his veneer of righteousness, and the fact that this is surrounded by black seems to mean he is the one noble being surrounded by darkness "benders" his point of view.
** When viewed through the lens of [[http://www.sensationalcolor.com/color-messages-meanings/color-around-the-globe/china-the-colorful-masks-of-the-chinese-opera.html Chinese opera]], Amon's mask takes on considerable symbolism. Its white/silver and gold color scheme immediately places the character in the realm of the mystic, with the gold/yellow coloration also playing into the character traits of treachery and ferociousness. The red circle on his forehead evokes a hint of Buddhist symbolism, referencing his spiritual connection, and also carries some connotations with intelligence and cleverness.
** White is the color of death in Asian cultures, which fits well with the symbolism often attributed to the WhiteMaskOfDoom. Red and gold are generally considered positive colors in Chinese culture, making their use [[LightIsNotGood ironic]] in this case.
** The gold on his mask can also be seen as green. Another [[http://atla-annotated.tumblr.com/post/19671786341/amons-mask-analyzed-through-beijing-opera analysis]] through that lens holds that the white symbolizes cunning, treachery, and craftiness, the green is violence and lack of self-restraint, and the red dot is both spirituality and the mocking of it.
* [[spoiler: GoOutWithASmile: After losing Republic City and the Equalists, Amon decides to reclaim his old identity as Noatak and turn over a new leaf with Tarrlok, his long-lost brother. As they leave on a getaway boat, Noatak happily contemplates the new life they would build with each other as brothers, while Tarrlok silently decides to kill both of themselves as recompense for their past crimes and to halt their father's villainous legacy once and for all. From the driver's seat Noatak smiles as he muses on how he'd almost forgotten the sound of his own name and begins crying, perhaps [[DeathEqualsRedemption realizing and accepting]] what Tarrlok is about to do just before Tarrlok ignites the gas tank and detonates the boat.]]
* HeroKiller: [[spoiler:Anyone he can lay his hands on is effectively neutralized since they can no longer bend. His first confrontation with Korra also implies that he plans to kill her after taking away her bending, though that may have been poor use of the phrase "untimely demise" as a metaphor.]] He fully enters into this trope after de-bending [[spoiler:Lin Beifong]].
* HiddenAgendaVillain: Throughout the series, his real motivations are never really revealed. [[spoiler:His backstory implies he's either a KnightTemplar seeking to rid the world of bending because he seeks it as the root of all evil, or was seeking to follow in his father's footsteps and take over Republic City. Evidence is presented for both.]]
* {{Hypocrite}}: In several ways. He wants to get rid of benders for making non-benders live in terror, while his own strategy consists of doing exactly that. Not to mention that he's not only [[spoiler:a bender himself, but a ''bloodbender'', aka the most dangerous type of bender in the world]]. And in the end, [[spoiler:the Lieutenant]] is not at all happy to realize this.
* IAmTheNoun: "I am the ''solution''".
** Also printed on some of his posters, though that's a [[BilingualBonus Readers Of Chinese Bonus]].
* InTheHood
* TheJuggernaut: [[spoiler:When Tarrlok tries to use bloodbending on him, he just shrugs it off and keeps advancing. Turns out he was bloodbending himself.]]
* JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope: While some of his actions were extreme before, he does this in episode 10 when [[spoiler:he carries out a ''massive'' invasion on Republic City. This carries on into the finale, when he attempts to debend the last remaining airbenders, three of whom are children.]]
** [[spoiler: This appears to have happened some time in his backstory, between Noatak running away from home and taking up the identity of Amon.]]
* JustToyingWithThem: Amon makes a show out of tying up [[ElementalPowers bending]] members of a crime syndicate (and one of the heroes who got mixed up with them) and [[spoiler: removing their powers]] in front of a huge crowd of [[AntimagicalFaction Equalist]] sympathizers. This trope comes into play when, as part of his show, Amon lets the crime boss loose and offers him the chance to fight to protect himself. It's all the more impressive when Amon wins. [[CurbStompBattle Rather easily]], in fact. [[spoiler:It's later revealed he uses bloodbending to get them to move somewhat predictably without revealing his ability, making his defeat of them inevitable.]]
* JustYouMeAndMyGuards: [[spoiler:How Amon eventually responds to Korra's mano-a-mano challenge to him. Could be justified because Tarrlok was supposed to have soldiers watching the fight, and Amon is GenreSavvy enough to suspect something like that.]]
* KickTheSonOfABitch: Every early instance of on-screen [[spoiler:de-bending]] we saw him carry out was upon someone who was used their bending to illegally gain a position of power while being protected from reprisals by corruption in the system (the Triple Threat Triad, an organized crime syndicate, as well as the Wolfbats who cheated their way into winning the tournament, and [[spoiler:Tarrlok]]). This is a consistent part of his political strategy, and also why he refuses to fight Korra at first.
** KickTheDog: After his plans have advanced far enough that he doesn't need the good press anymore, he has no problem attacking benders who haven't done anything to deserve it. [[spoiler:The Metalbending police, the entire Republic City Council (save Tenzin), the last airbenders (who escaped), and Lin Beifong. Not to mention bombing the crap out of Republic City. In the finale, he has benders lined up execution-style, captures Tenzin and his family to eliminate airbending altogether, and attacks and possibly ''kills'' the Lieutenant when he finds out Amon is a bloodbender.]]
* [[spoiler:KilledOffForReal]]: [[spoiler:Escapes Republic City with Tarrlok, but Tarrlok ultimately decides to sacrifice himself to stop him once and for all by blowing up the boat they're in.]]
* KneelBeforeZod: [[spoiler:Forces a pack of wolves to do this as a child with bloodbending .]]
* KnightOfCerebus: While the series started out as upbeat, immediately after his appearance, the story became much darker. Unlike [[CompleteMonster Ozai]], who wanted to [[CardCarryingVillain take over the world and prove his superiority to the Avatar]]; he has made it quite clear that he intends to kill Korra and rid the world of Benders to which he does with lethal precision and intimidating charisma.
** Given the [[PuttingOnTheReich things]] [[MindRape he]] [[NoSell does]], he could be considered one of these for ''the franchise itself''!
* KnightTemplar: See WellIntentionedExtremist below. He definitely invokes this in his rhetoric. His [[spoiler: attacks on Republic City and Air Temple Island in the final episodes]] push him over the edge, however.
* KnowWhenToFoldEm: [[spoiler: After being defeated by Korra and Mako, he immediately leaves and retrieves Tarrlok, before leaving the Equalists behind to start a new life with his brother.]]
* LightIsNotGood: Though Amon invokes certain heavenly archetypes with his [[GoldAndWhiteAreDivine white and gold]] sun mask, Egyptian sun god name, golden eyes, and [[MessianicArchetype possible mystical connections]], he's still the leader of a private military force with a cultist agenda. [[spoiler:He's a waterbender, and while a bloodbender, his method is essencially a reversal of [[HealingHands waterbending healing]], manipulating chi regardless. Thus, arguably WhiteMagic.]]
* LightningBruiser: Extremely agile and nimble fighter with the strength to take down even the most skilled benders with no sweat.
* MadeOfIron: He took a lightning bolt to the chest, several seconds long at that, and ''walked it off''.
* [[spoiler:MakingASplash]]: [[spoiler:Turns out he's a waterbender and a bloodbender.]]
** [[spoiler:BloodMagic]]
* [[MalevolentMaskedMen Malevolent Masked Man]]: Like the lower-level Equalists, although they're GasMaskMooks and his is more of a traditional mask.
* MissionFromGod: He claims that he was chosen by the spirits to bring down bending and replace the Avatar.
* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: "Amon" has plenty of possible meanings.
** To start, it's the name of an Egyptian god and a [[ArsGoetia demon]].
** The word or root "Amen" means "what is hidden", "what is not seen", "what cannot be seen" and the like.
** One of the worst Nazi criminals was [[Film/SchindlersList Amon Goeth]].
** [[http://masterarrowhead.tumblr.com/post/21546778935/hawkfeather-atla-annotated-energybending-a Amon is also the name of an acupuncture point on the back of the neck.]] Amon was shown pressing onto that point as well as the forehead.
** A fan [[http://atla-annotated.tumblr.com/post/21979689321/amon-is-the-answer-interesting-choice-of translated his name written in Chinese characters]]. 阿蒙. ‘cover; ignorant; suffer’.
* NoSell: When [[spoiler:Tarrlok]] uses [[spoiler:bloodbending]] to incapacitate his mooks, Amon shrugs it off. Even when [[spoiler:Tarrlok]] redoubled his efforts, it just barely slowed Amon down. [[spoiler:Since he can bloodbend with his mind, he was able to counteract Tarrlok's powers without moving.]]
* ObviouslyEvil: He looks pretty dang evil, but looking at him through the lens of Asian Culture (which Avatar takes heavy cues from), he looks a ''lot'' more evil. See GoodColorsEvilColors.
* [[spoiler:ThePowerOfBlood]]: [[spoiler:He's a bloodbender. He's so good that he can do it [[BeyondTheImpossible without moving his hands. In daytime.]]]]
** [[spoiler:PsychicPowers]]: [[spoiler:Tarrlok specifically calls his bloodbending this.]]
* PragmaticVillainy:
** "[[Recap/TheLegendOfKorraS1E4TheVoiceInTheNight The Voice in the Night]]" reveals just how pragmatic he is, to the point of ReasonBeforeHonor.
** Get challenged to a one-on-one duel? No {{Mooks}} for either side? [[spoiler:So you've made yourself defenseless. Perfect. Meet my platoon of chi-blockers.]]
** At last, I have my most dangerous opponent [[IHaveYouNowMyPretty at my mercy]]. [[spoiler:See ya round kid. [[DangerouslyGenreSavvy The international public outcry wouldn't be worth it right now.]] But don't worry! I'm going to save you for last, letting you watch all you love and care for be destroyed before I take you out. Toodle-oo!]]
* PreAssKickingOneLiner: "It is time for you to be Equalized."
* [[spoiler:PsychopathicManChild]]: [[spoiler:In his final scenes he displays naivety and untoward optimism, shucking off his persona of Amon as if it was a disguise. He's incredibly cheerful for a defeated man and is seemingly giddy from the prospect of being with his little brother again, as if he and Tarrlok are two little schoolboys running away from home. He seems to think everything will be just fine, ignoring the fact that every facet of their identities were shaped so that a normal life would be improbable or even impossible.]]
** That said, [[spoiler: the sheer amount of explosives/electric weapons, as well as his tear before Tarrlok exploded the boat, might imply it was a ruse to lead his brother to kill them both.]]
* RebelLeader: He is the leader of the anti-bending movement.
* ScrewThisImOuttaHere: [[spoiler: After being defeated and uncovered by Korra, Tarrlok asks him to escape together and rebuild a life as brothers. Amon agrees, and ultimately seems to be truly happy to do so.]]
* ShadowArchetype: To Korra, as essentially the anti-Avatar. He's also one to Bolin and Mako, as they've all lost their parents to Firebenders. However, Amon now wants to destroy all benders, while Bolin and Mako are making the best of their situation.
* [[spoiler:SiblingYinYang]]: [[spoiler:With Tarrlok.]]
* [[spoiler:SingleTear]]: [[spoiler:Sheds one right before his death]].
* StrongerSibling: [[spoiler:He's Tarrlok's.]]
* SuperPowerLottery: Assuming that his abilities are, in fact, supernatural, he won the jackpot. Moves so quickly that he can avoid most all bending attacks directed at him.
** As it turns out [[spoiler:he's a bloodbender, which he used to dodge attacks and to strip people of their bending.]]
* TellMeHowYouFight: [[spoiler:Tarrlok identifies Amon as his brother, despite Amon's appearance being totally concealed, by the distinctive feel of his bloodbending]].
* [[spoiler:ThisCannotBe]]: [[spoiler:When he debends Korra only for her to use airbending against him.]]
* [[spoiler:TragicVillain]]: In the finale, it's revealed that [[spoiler:Amon is actually Tarrlok's older brother, Noatak. He and Tarrlok were forced by their [[AbusiveParents father]] Yakone to learn bloodbending, so that he could use them to exact vengeance on Republic City and the Avatar. After Yakone forced him and Tarrlok to use bloodbending on each other, Noatak turned on his father, incapacitated him with bloodbending, and ran away from home, taking up the identity of Amon years later. According to Tarrlok, he really and truly believed bending to be the root of all evil in the world, despite being a bender himself, though Tarrlok also implies Amon enjoyed the power bloodbending gave him.]]
** It's worse than that. [[spoiler: He wanted Tarrlok to run away with him, but he didn't want to leave their mother behind. At the finale he's looking forward to a peaceful life with his brother. Apparently that's all he really wanted.]]
* [[spoiler:{{Tykebomb}}: His father Yakone tried to turn him and his brother, Tarrlok, into this in a plot for revenge on Republic City and the Avatar. While he ''did'' turn on his father, he ultimately ended up fulfilling what Yakone wanted him to do anyway, make Republic City suffer.]]
* {{Ubermensch}}
* TheUnfettered: He ''seems'' to have rules but really just pragmatism. He'll do anything.
* UnflinchingWalk:
** Pulls this off in the face of a fireball that blasts most of his {{Mooks}} away.
** Also, [[spoiler:when up against Tarrlok, he pulls this off. Which is impressive, because he ''shouldn't'' have been able to stand, let alone walk. It turns out Amon himself is a bloodbender, hence why he wasn't affected.]]
* UnreliableExpositor: His highly theatrical presentation of his "revelation," his {{backstory}} and even [[spoiler: his energybending]], throws the truthfulness of all he says into question.
** [[spoiler:It's ''all'' a lie. He's actually Tarrlok's older brother and a waterbender, who uses the bloodbending their father Yakone forced him and his brother to learn to prevent people from bending. That said, according to Tarrlok, he genuinely believes bending to be the root of all evil.]]
* [[spoiler:UsedToBeASweetKid]]: [[spoiler:Until his father forced him and his brother to learn bloodbending.]]
* VillainHasAPoint: His talk about benders oppressing non-benders gained a lot more credence [[spoiler:once Tarrlok took over.]]
* VillainWithGoodPublicity: A major part of his plan is to become this. So far, he's been remarkably successful. While officially considered a terrorist, he has amassed a massive amount of followers, enough to threaten all of Republic City.
* [[spoiler:VillainousBreakdown]]: [[spoiler:After Korra manages to use airbending despite having been debended. He ''really'' gets this once he's not only unmasked, but his makeup to make him look scarred is washed off in the water, revealing him for what he really is.]]
* [[spoiler:VillainousRescue]]: [[spoiler:Rescues Korra from Tarrlok, though he didn't plan on letting her go free after taking down Tarrlok.]]
* VisionaryVillain: A world of equality.
* WellIntentionedExtremist: According to himself, Amon genuinely wants to make a better world. Said better world simply involves the eradication of bending and most likely placing himself in power.
** [[spoiler:It turns out his backstory was a lie, and he's actually a bender, though Tarrlok thinks he genuinely believes that bending is the root of all evil.]]
* WhiteMaskOfDoom: The only known Equalist to have one.
* [[WhyDontYouJustShootHim Why Don't You Just Shoot Her?]]: He makes it clear that he could have easily taken away Korra's bending when he ambushed her. He also makes it clear that doing so would have made her into a martyr, which is why Korra will be the last to lose her bending, and then she will die.
* WouldHitAGirl: He knocks Korra unconscious when he ambushes her. And he plans to kill her.
* WouldHurtAChild: In the finale, [[spoiler:he has captured Tenzin and his family and plans on debending them.]]
* XanatosGambit: Pulls one off in "And the Winner Is...". He makes [[DoNotAdjustYourSet a public demand over the radio]] that the city government shut down the Pro-Bending arena and cancel the championship match. If the pro-bending championships are not stopped, then he and the Equalists have an audience for the demonstration of their power and he gets to begin his war. If the tournament is canceled the government has given into Amon's demand and showed that it will not challenge him.
* [[spoiler:YouAreWhatYouHate]]: By implication, [[spoiler:if he was really sincere about his belief that benders are the source of all evil in the world]].
[[/folder]]
[[folder:The Lieutenant]]
!The Lieutenant
[[quoteright:350:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Screen_Shot_2012-04-29_at_11_40_21_AM_7512.png]]
[[caption-width-right:350:"You benders need to understand... there's no place in this world for you anymore."]]
->Voiced by Lance Henriksen
Amon's second-in-command.
----
* AwesomeBackpack: He carries a power generator on his back to supply power for his weapons.
** AmmunitionBackpack
* BadassMoustache
* BadassNormal
* [[spoiler:BrokenPedestal: Let's just say that he didn't take learning the truth about Amon well]].
* TheDeterminator: Always back up and ready for another fight, no matter how much of a beating he takes.
* DiminishingVillainThreat: Appears very threatening early on, soundly defeating Bolin and Mako in "The Revelation," but every time he is encountered thereafter, he is usually either attacking a helpless or outmatched opponent or he loses.
* TheDragon: For Amon.
* DualWielding: Electricfied kali sticks in both hands.
* EveryoneCallsHimBarkeep
* EvilSoundsDeep: Being voiced by Lance Henriksen, this is a given. That man could inhale multiple canisters of helium and he would still sound like he had more than one puberty.
* GlassCannon: Very agile and deadly in combat. He hits as fast as lightning, and he's very powerful. However, he goes down after one hit.
* GogglesDoNothing
* GoodHairEvilHair: He has a Fu Manchu moustache.
* HonorBeforeReason: Considering that he saw Amon [[spoiler: bloodbending]] Korra and Mako at the same time, he probably realized that a head-on charge would be suicide, but decided he'd rather go out swinging than continue to follow a lie.
* IcyBlueEyes
* ImpossiblyCoolWeapon: He wields a pair of electrified kali sticks, because his opponents are metalbending cops, and electricity works pretty well on all benders. The fact that an industrialized city like Republic City has conductive metal ''everywhere'' doesn't hurt, either.
* IneffectualSympatheticVillain: Starts to shade into this as the DiminishingVillainThreat kicks in. Poor guy can't do ''anything'' right.
* ItsPersonal: [[spoiler:When Korra's trapped in a metal cage, he shows a certain satisfaction in getting to shock her unconscious as payback. Unfortunately for him, she was one step ahead.]]
** He also takes [[spoiler:realizing that he'd been played by Amon]] pretty badly.
* MadeOfIron: Has been sucker punched with a boulder, knocked off a building, blasted over a roof, and smashed into the ground from midair by a polar bear dog. And each time, he has dusted himself off and returned ready to fight again.
* MookFaceTurn: [[spoiler:Turns on Amon when he finds out about his bending, though as usual he didn't do that well in the ensuing "fight".]]
* NobleTopEnforcer: While the Lieutenant comes off as sadistic and cruel, he truly believes in the Equalists' agenda and dedicated his life to it.
* NoNameGiven
* NoPeripheralVision: Maybe it's the goggles, but the Lieutenant has had an unfortunate tendency to be taken out by surprise, typically by someone new showing up from behind or the side while he's fighting another opponent.
* PsychoElectro: While he is serious in wanting to end bending like all other Equalists, he seems to actually enjoy inflicting pain on benders with his electric arsenal a bit ''too much''.
* ShockAndAwe
** StaticStunGun
* SimpleStaff: Of the two handheld rod variety.
* SpannerInTheWorks: His [[CurbStompBattle "battle"]] [[spoiler:with Amon gave Mako the time to muster up the energy to fire off his lightning.]]
* TallDarkAndHandsome: He actually doesn't look that bad unmasked.[[hottip:*:Seen [[http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m5q76pCfDJ1qa7n5e.gif here]]
* [[spoiler: YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness]]
[[/folder]]
[[folder:The Chi-blockers]]
!The Chi-blockers
[[quoteright:350:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Chi_blockers_6466.jpg]]
The foot-soldiers of the Equalist cause, trained in chi-blocking to nullify the powers of benders.
----
* AirplaneArms: They use the further back, ninja-like variation.
* BadassArmy: BadassNormal GasMaskMooks trained specifically in a PressurePoint-striking fighting method designed to temporarily [[PowerNullifier disarm]] and [[TheParalyzer disable]] the wielders of ElementalPowers.
* BadassBiker: The chi blockers are excellent motorcyclists.
* BadassNormal: They completely dominate Korra and Mako in their first fight, due to clever use of their gadgets and their martial arts.
* CombatPragmatist: They take any advantage they can get. Aside from their grenades, they use bolas, tripwires, whips, and do not obey MookChivalry.
* EliteMooks: They're pretty much an entire army of them. Even just a few of them can put up a hell of a fight against very powerful benders.
* EqualOpportunityEvil: Their figures show that more than a few are [[DarkActionGirl women]]. The ladies fight alongside the men. Also we can't be sure with their masks, but they seem to be non-benders from any of the three nations.
* GasMaskMooks: Since they use gas grenades, this is a necessary aspect of their outfit. Also helps when [[spoiler: being knocked down by fartbending]].
* KickTheDog: Electrocuting Shiro Shinobi, the announcer, who is a non-bender and wasn't fighting back.
* KungFuProofMook: The Equalists' MiniMecha are made from platinum, metal so pure metalbenders are incapable of manipulating it.
* MageKiller: Their combat training specifically targets benders.
* MiniMecha: Their platinum mech-tanks.
* {{Ninja}}
* TheParalyzer: Their blows cause temporary (and apparently painful) paralysis in addition to serving as a...
* PowerNullifier: Even after the paralysis wears off, a chi-blocker's strike will render their target temporarily unable to bend.
* PressurePoint: The centerpiece of their fighting style, featuring extremely rapid strikes.
* ShockAndAwe: A favored tactic of theirs, in various flavors:
** The less skilled among them use electricity-generating gloves. The ones in full attire never do.
** The MiniMecha have built in tasers and can fire bola disks which shock the recipient unconscious. This same weapon is used by hand occasionally.
* SmokeOut: They use grenades that release a greenish, slightly unpleasant gas to dissuade pursuers.
* TheVoiceless: They apparently use this as a psychological tactic, as their near-absolute silence in battle, communicating and coordinating only through gestures and reading each other's body motions, accentuate the inhumanity their faceless masks lend them. It's almost jarring when we hear them speak in episode 9 during unguarded moments.
* TheWorfEffect: In episode 10, several of them were quickly defeated by Jinora, Ikki, and Meelo. Somewhat justified by the fact that airbenders only number in the single digits and only one is actually an adult, so they weren't prepared for it. Add on to that the fact that they were attacked by children, which would be a surprise in itself assuming they were actually willing to assault children in the first place.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:The Protester]]
!The Protester
[[quoteright:350:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Screen_Shot_2012-04-29_at_11_27_37_AM_9261.png]]
->Voiced by Carlos Alazraqui
He's a protestor who comes into the Republic City park to preach about Amon's ideals.
----
* AttentionWhore: He promotes the Equalists for this reason, according to the official website. He attempts to get said attention by taking the unpopular position on any given issue (in this case, bending rights). His parents were evidently supportive of benders.
* BackForTheFinale
* BigWhat: He lets one out in the finale when [[spoiler:Amon outs himself as a waterbender.]]
%% EyesOfGold has more requirements for the trope than just "gold eyes". The protestor does not fit any of them.
* HotBloodedSideburns: Which also point to Fire Nation parentage.
* NoNameGiven
[[/folder]]
[[foldercontrol]]
[[folder:Amon]]
!Amon [[spoiler:/ Noatak]]
[[quoteright:332:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Amon_5948.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:332: "I am the solution."]]
->Voiced by SteveBlum
The leader of the Equalists and the primary antagonist of the first season. A man shrouded in mystery, Amon seeks to rid the world of benders and usher in a new era of equality. He seeks to destroy Korra, whose presence in Republic City threatens his anti-bender agenda.
----
* AmbiguouslyEvil: With his past completely shrouded in mystery aside from his personal testimony, it's hard to say just how evil he is. That said, the further the show goes on, the further down the slope he goes. [[spoiler:Once his endgame kicks in, he has no problem launching a full-scale assault on the city, depowering metalbender cops (including Lin Beifong), kidnapping the entire council (save Tenzin but not for lack of trying), and attacking Tenzin's family when he knew Tenzin wasn't there to help them. The last part is especially notable because he'd be complicit in the nearly-successful genocide of the Air Nomads started by the Fire Nation nearly two centuries earlier had he succeeded (though, admittedly, he probably wouldn't ''kill'' them, just strip them of their bending). According to Tarrlok, he does genuinely believe his rhetoric, despite his heritage.]]
** In the end, despite having his backstory [[spoiler: revealed]], Amon is still AmbiguouslyEvil to the extreme. Was [[spoiler: Tarrlok]] right in saying that Amon genuinely believed in his rhetoric, [[spoiler: despite being a bender himself, or did his use of bloodbending [[DrunkOnTheDarkSide Send Him Over the Edge]]]]? Was the [[spoiler: tear he cried right before Tarrlok ignited the fuel tank of the boat they were riding in acknowledgement and acceptance of what Tarrlok [[RedemptionEqualsDeath Was About]] [[MurderSuicide To Do]], or simply him recalling a fond memory?]] The questions go on and on.
* [[spoiler:AccidentalPublicConfession]]: [[spoiler:Non-verbal one. After being blasted out of a window into the ocean, he instinctively waterbends himself back out, exposing himself as a waterbender and washing off the paint used to fake a firebending scar.]]
* AntiVillain: [[SlidingScaleOfAntiVillains Type]] [[WellIntentionedExtremist III]]. Wanting equality and to help lower class citizens isn't bad... but doing so by trying to eradicate bending is extreme. He only targets benders who use their abilities for evil, at least until he's built up enough support to get away with more ambiguous targets or full-on public servants. He has also told Korra to her face (while his men held her down) that the only reason she still has her bending is that he is saving her for later. For all purposes, he does appear to have a moral code. It's just that he is pragmatic enough to take more amoral or even outright immoral actions to see his plans come to fruition.
** [[spoiler:It's revealed in the finale he's actually Yakone's son and a bloodbender, and, according to Tarrlok, came to the conclusion that bending was the root of all evil due to his father's [[AbusiveParents Abusiveness]]. The fact that bloodbending is known to get people DrunkOnTheDarkSide probably didn't hurt. He ultimately seems to come in as a solid [[SlidingScaleOfAntiVillains Type II]] AntiVillain, alongside his previously inferred Type III position. On the other hand, the show is somewhat unclear, as Tarrlok says he enjoyed the power Bloodbending gave him and we see him bloodbend a pack of wolves to bow down to him in a flashback.]]
* AuthorityEqualsAsskicking: He prefers not to fight (see Pragmatic Villainy) but when he does....
* {{Badass}}: He has yet to lose a one-on-one fight to anyone. Notable because this has included a firebender skilled in shooting lightning and a [[spoiler:bloodbender, which he somehow powered through despite the debilitating effect it had on his men]].
** BadassNormal[=/=]MageKiller: He's a very powerful chi-blocker.
*** [[spoiler:BadassAbnormal: But he's actually a waterbender and a bloodbender. Tarrlok's brother no less.]]
** BadassBaritone: He ''is'' voiced by SteveBlum.
** BadassBoast:
--->'''[[spoiler:Tarrlok]]:''' [[WhatTheHellAreYou What... what are you?]]
--->'''Amon:''' I am the solution.
* [[spoiler:BadPowersBadPeople]]: Zig zagged. [[spoiler: He's a bloodbender, but he is basically a WellIntentionedExtremist and/or KnightTemplar, so he's bad in a rather unorthodox way.]]
* BeneathTheMask: [[spoiler: Once stripped of his plans and supporters, he seems to be nothing more than an optimistic and possibly even naive man longing to live the life he never had with his baby brother. Given Tarrlok's MurderSuicide of them both, it is arguable as to whether that would remain the case ever after.]]
* BigBad: Of Book One.
** [[spoiler:BigBadEnsemble]]: [[spoiler:[[SubvertedTrope Subverted]]. It appeared that he would be this with Tarrlok in the eighth episode of the first season, but upon their meeting at the end of episode 9, Amon resists [[BigBadWannabe Tarrlok]]'s bloodbending and de-bends him. Which leaves Amon as the only, and rightful BigBad.]]
* [[spoiler: BigBrotherInstinct: Tarrlok claims he always looked out for him when they were kids. In ''Out of the Past'' he does the gruntwork of taking Tarrlock to the truck himself while the Lieutenant and some mooks try to nab Korra, quite possibly to protect his brother from them, as any of them would likely take the chance to hurt him. At the finale, Amon tells him he's all he has left in the world.]]
* [[spoiler: BoomerangBigot: He's a waterbender, and none too proud of it, if Tarrlok's right about his motives.]]
* BreakingSpeech: He delivers one so effective and intimidating that Korra suffers a complete breakdown afterwards.
* [[spoiler: CainAndAbel: Zigzagged. He takes away his brother's bending, but his brother ultimately kills him. And, well, he still loves him regardless.]]
* TheChessmaster: Holy crap, yes. His actions in Episode 6 sealed his status as one and [[MagnificentBastard even more.]] See XanatosGambit below.
* [[spoiler:ChildProdigy: Mastered bloodbending at ''14''.]]
* CombatPragmatist: Uses ambushes, greater numbers, weapons the opposition has no defense against, and psychological warfare to lead the Equalists to victory. [[spoiler:He also subtly uses bloodbending to gain the edge in fights with other benders without exposing himself.]]
* CoolMask: Some kind of Venetian Carnival mask, it has the spook factor of one.
* CrazyPrepared: The Finale reveals that [[spoiler:he wears fake scars on his face just by the off chance that someone might knock his mask off, or force him to reveal his face.]]
* CulturePolice: Desires to end pro-bending as means to end "bending worship".
* DangerouslyGenreSavvy:
** He lets Korra escape the Revelation because she'd be the "perfect messenger" about what just transpired; letting Benders hear it from the Avatar herself that he has the power to take away bending.
** When answering Korra's gauntlet throw-down on Aang's Memorial Island, [[spoiler:he doesn't come alone. He has chi-blockers [[ZergRush dog pile]] Korra first, then says he won't unbend her because he'd just create a martyr.]] He seems fairly intent on his "No Martyr" policy, at least for the early stages of his plan. [[spoiler: His victims are either unpopular with the public or publicly shamed by Amon himself before neutralization (crime lords, Wolfbats after cheating, Tarrlok after losing his good publicity, etc.)]]
** His plan in "And the Winner Is...". See XanatosGambit below.
** [[spoiler:He also took the extremely dangerous Tarrlok off guard and in a position where Tarrlok had no water at his disposal to bend. With his bloodbending useless, Tarrlok was forced to fight Amon hand to hand, something Amon is exceptionally skilled at, instead of being able to fight back with his extremely powerful bending.]]
** [[spoiler:He wears makeup beneath his mask to fake a firebending scar, just in case he needs to put down any claim that he's lying.]]
* DarkMessiah: He's set himself up as a Messiah figure to the Equalist movement, and his ultimate goal is to replace the Avatar as the world's savior. Though the Equalists are not a religious movement, he does claim that his exceptional abilities were granted to him by the spirits that protect the world, and that it is his destiny to be the savior of non-benders by bringing them into balance with those who can (or could) bend.
* [[spoiler: DeathEqualsRedemption / HeelRealization]]: Depending on your [[AlternateCharacterInterpretation interpretation]] of [[spoiler: the single tear he cries before Tarrlok kills the two of them, it's possible he fell under this trope; if he was indeed aware of what Tarrlok was about to do, and did nothing to stop him, the likely conclusion is that he accepted his brothers' judgement, and understood why he needed to die.]]
* DeathGlare: Gives quite a potent one to Korra as seen in episode 4 when he confronts her underneath Aang's statue. It's especially notable since he can give quite a DeathGlare even behind that mask.
* [[spoiler:DePower]]: [[spoiler:He has the ability to strip people of their bending. He somehow uses bloodbending to do it, and in such a way that even Katara can't heal it. However, true energybending can counteract this.]]
* DiabolicalMastermind: Beneath his ruse of being a revolutionary, he seems to be this.
* DissonantSerenity: The cargo bay of his [[CoolAirship zeppelin]] being filled with flame by Korra [[UnflinchingWalk doesn't even break his stride]]. [[spoiler:He doesn't seem fazed by Tarrlok's bloodbending, and while he's affected he is able to push through and maintain his composure without faltering.]] The mask definitely helps with the effect.
* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: His ideals parallel the development of Communism and Fascism, which rose to compete against the fledgling democracies of the early 20th century. His rhetoric also is reminiscent of the Taiping Rebellion, as he fashions himself as a messianic figure and tries to replace the Avatar.
* TheDreaded: He terrifies Korra to the point that she breaks down into tears after one confrontation with him, and his encounter with Bolin left the earthbender with nightmares for at least a week.
* [[spoiler:DrunkOnTheDarkSide]]: [[spoiler:Like Tarrlok, he was taught bloodbending by his father, which may have had something to do with his descent into villainy.]]
* [[spoiler:EvenEvilHasLovedOnes:]] [[spoiler:He does seem to still love Tarrlok, although he rejected him when they were children and took his bending away.]]
* ExpressiveMask: On occasion, there are subtle illustration changes to the mouth on his mask, and his eyes and tone do the rest.
* EvilSoundsDeep: What else would you expect from SteveBlum? Evil's as deep as the ocean.
* [[spoiler: FamousLastWords]]: [[spoiler:"I had almost forgotten the sound of my own name."]]
* [[FantasticRacism Fantastic Racist]]: Hates benders and seeks to get rid of bending altogether.
* TheFaceless: [[UnreliableExpositor Supposedly]] due to FacialHorror.
* FacialHorror: The stated reason for his mask. He [[UnreliableExpositor claims]] to have gotten the scars from the same Firebender that killed his family. [[spoiler:He's lying. Underneath the mask, [[CrazyPrepared and the makeup he's wearing under the mask]], he's actually [[http://minuiko.tumblr.com/post/25723337788/one-other-thing-it-kills-me-to-see-how-helpless good looking]].]]
* {{Foil}}:
** To Korra. [[spoiler:His debending powers make him a sort of anti-Avatar]]. He's also styling himself in the same vein as an Avatar, claiming to be a savior sent by the spirits. He also is a very calm, controlled individual who claims to be sent by the spirits, while Korra is a BoisterousBruiser who has ''major'' difficulty with the spiritual side of bending. [[spoiler: It also turns out they're both native waterbenders and bending [[ChildProdigy Child Prodigies]]. Not to mention his young self looks strikingly like a male version of Korra.]]
** His back-story is very similar to Mako and Bolin's. They all had parents killed by a firebender. But while the brothers eventually learned to live with their loss, he took it in a completely [[FantasticRacism different direction.]] [[spoiler: Of course, this turns out to be a lie.]]
** In a meta sense, he's a foil to Ozai in the same sense that Korra is to Aang. Whereas Ozai was a power-hungry conqueror, Amon is a partisan revolutionary. Ozai was as close to a complete monster as a character can be in a child-friendly cartoon, whereas Amon is arguably an anti-villain. Ozai was [[spoiler:defeated with energybending]] and Amon [[spoiler:takes away bending and is ultimately defeated by revealing his bending. Amon is also a waterbender, further providing contrast between them]].
** In a way, he could be seen as this to Tarrlok. Both men are highly charismatic people who've captured the hearts of their respective branches of public, [[AuthorityEqualsAsskicking they're both more than capable of holding their own in a fight]], [[spoiler:and they both have secret powers that come off as a major shock to anyone who's fighting them for the first time]]. And then it turns out [[spoiler:[[SiblingYinYang Tarrlok is Amon's brother.]]]]
* FreudianExcuse: Amon explains at an Equalist rally that his parents were murdered and his face disfigured by a firebender when he was just a child.
** [[spoiler:Turns out that backstory is a lie, but his real backstory is arguably just as sympathetic. His father, Yakone, was an extremely [[AbusiveParents abusive parent]], and forced him and his brother Tarrlok to learn bloodbending so he could use them to exact revenge on Republic City and the Avatar. Ultimately, this mistreatment put Amon on the path to darkness. Eventually, when his father made him and his brother use bloodbending on each other, he turned on his father, and ran away from home.]]
* FromNobodyToNightmare: He claims to have once been a simple FarmBoy... then, his family was murdered. Now he's a DarkMessiah revolutionary trying to bring down bending and replace the Avatar.
** [[spoiler: [[ZigZaggedTrope Zig Zagged]] in the finale; turns out his father was Yakone, who fled Republic City. He was still nobody when he left the Northern Water tribe, but his story wasn't the one he claimed it was.]]
* GeniusBruiser: Really good public speaker, social leader, and [[TheChessmaster master strategist]]; terrifyingly good close-combatant[[spoiler:, prodigy waterbender and psychic bloodbender]].
* GloriousLeader
* GoldAndWhiteAreDivine: An unusual case in that said colour pattern is confined to his mask.
* GoodColorsEvilColors:
** His mask is white and gold, noble colors, which are his ''mask'' which he hides behind, his red circle on his head could be his "evil" ambitions poking through his veneer of righteousness, and the fact that this is surrounded by black seems to mean he is the one noble being surrounded by darkness "benders" his point of view.
** When viewed through the lens of [[http://www.sensationalcolor.com/color-messages-meanings/color-around-the-globe/china-the-colorful-masks-of-the-chinese-opera.html Chinese opera]], Amon's mask takes on considerable symbolism. Its white/silver and gold color scheme immediately places the character in the realm of the mystic, with the gold/yellow coloration also playing into the character traits of treachery and ferociousness. The red circle on his forehead evokes a hint of Buddhist symbolism, referencing his spiritual connection, and also carries some connotations with intelligence and cleverness.
** White is the color of death in Asian cultures, which fits well with the symbolism often attributed to the WhiteMaskOfDoom. Red and gold are generally considered positive colors in Chinese culture, making their use [[LightIsNotGood ironic]] in this case.
** The gold on his mask can also be seen as green. Another [[http://atla-annotated.tumblr.com/post/19671786341/amons-mask-analyzed-through-beijing-opera analysis]] through that lens holds that the white symbolizes cunning, treachery, and craftiness, the green is violence and lack of self-restraint, and the red dot is both spirituality and the mocking of it.
* [[spoiler: GoOutWithASmile: After losing Republic City and the Equalists, Amon decides to reclaim his old identity as Noatak and turn over a new leaf with Tarrlok, his long-lost brother. As they leave on a getaway boat, Noatak happily contemplates the new life they would build with each other as brothers, while Tarrlok silently decides to kill both of themselves as recompense for their past crimes and to halt their father's villainous legacy once and for all. From the driver's seat Noatak smiles as he muses on how he'd almost forgotten the sound of his own name and begins crying, perhaps [[DeathEqualsRedemption realizing and accepting]] what Tarrlok is about to do just before Tarrlok ignites the gas tank and detonates the boat.]]
* HeroKiller: [[spoiler:Anyone he can lay his hands on is effectively neutralized since they can no longer bend. His first confrontation with Korra also implies that he plans to kill her after taking away her bending, though that may have been poor use of the phrase "untimely demise" as a metaphor.]] He fully enters into this trope after de-bending [[spoiler:Lin Beifong]].
* HiddenAgendaVillain: Throughout the series, his real motivations are never really revealed. [[spoiler:His backstory implies he's either a KnightTemplar seeking to rid the world of bending because he seeks it as the root of all evil, or was seeking to follow in his father's footsteps and take over Republic City. Evidence is presented for both.]]
* {{Hypocrite}}: In several ways. He wants to get rid of benders for making non-benders live in terror, while his own strategy consists of doing exactly that. Not to mention that he's not only [[spoiler:a bender himself, but a ''bloodbender'', aka the most dangerous type of bender in the world]]. And in the end, [[spoiler:the Lieutenant]] is not at all happy to realize this.
* IAmTheNoun: "I am the ''solution''".
** Also printed on some of his posters, though that's a [[BilingualBonus Readers Of Chinese Bonus]].
* InTheHood
* TheJuggernaut: [[spoiler:When Tarrlok tries to use bloodbending on him, he just shrugs it off and keeps advancing. Turns out he was bloodbending himself.]]
* JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope: While some of his actions were extreme before, he does this in episode 10 when [[spoiler:he carries out a ''massive'' invasion on Republic City. This carries on into the finale, when he attempts to debend the last remaining airbenders, three of whom are children.]]
** [[spoiler: This appears to have happened some time in his backstory, between Noatak running away from home and taking up the identity of Amon.]]
* JustToyingWithThem: Amon makes a show out of tying up [[ElementalPowers bending]] members of a crime syndicate (and one of the heroes who got mixed up with them) and [[spoiler: removing their powers]] in front of a huge crowd of [[AntimagicalFaction Equalist]] sympathizers. This trope comes into play when, as part of his show, Amon lets the crime boss loose and offers him the chance to fight to protect himself. It's all the more impressive when Amon wins. [[CurbStompBattle Rather easily]], in fact. [[spoiler:It's later revealed he uses bloodbending to get them to move somewhat predictably without revealing his ability, making his defeat of them inevitable.]]
* JustYouMeAndMyGuards: [[spoiler:How Amon eventually responds to Korra's mano-a-mano challenge to him. Could be justified because Tarrlok was supposed to have soldiers watching the fight, and Amon is GenreSavvy enough to suspect something like that.]]
* KickTheSonOfABitch: Every early instance of on-screen [[spoiler:de-bending]] we saw him carry out was upon someone who was used their bending to illegally gain a position of power while being protected from reprisals by corruption in the system (the Triple Threat Triad, an organized crime syndicate, as well as the Wolfbats who cheated their way into winning the tournament, and [[spoiler:Tarrlok]]). This is a consistent part of his political strategy, and also why he refuses to fight Korra at first.
** KickTheDog: After his plans have advanced far enough that he doesn't need the good press anymore, he has no problem attacking benders who haven't done anything to deserve it. [[spoiler:The Metalbending police, the entire Republic City Council (save Tenzin), the last airbenders (who escaped), and Lin Beifong. Not to mention bombing the crap out of Republic City. In the finale, he has benders lined up execution-style, captures Tenzin and his family to eliminate airbending altogether, and attacks and possibly ''kills'' the Lieutenant when he finds out Amon is a bloodbender.]]
* [[spoiler:KilledOffForReal]]: [[spoiler:Escapes Republic City with Tarrlok, but Tarrlok ultimately decides to sacrifice himself to stop him once and for all by blowing up the boat they're in.]]
* KneelBeforeZod: [[spoiler:Forces a pack of wolves to do this as a child with bloodbending .]]
* KnightOfCerebus: While the series started out as upbeat, immediately after his appearance, the story became much darker. Unlike [[CompleteMonster Ozai]], who wanted to [[CardCarryingVillain take over the world and prove his superiority to the Avatar]]; he has made it quite clear that he intends to kill Korra and rid the world of Benders to which he does with lethal precision and intimidating charisma.
** Given the [[PuttingOnTheReich things]] [[MindRape he]] [[NoSell does]], he could be considered one of these for ''the franchise itself''!
* KnightTemplar: See WellIntentionedExtremist below. He definitely invokes this in his rhetoric. His [[spoiler: attacks on Republic City and Air Temple Island in the final episodes]] push him over the edge, however.
* KnowWhenToFoldEm: [[spoiler: After being defeated by Korra and Mako, he immediately leaves and retrieves Tarrlok, before leaving the Equalists behind to start a new life with his brother.]]
* LightIsNotGood: Though Amon invokes certain heavenly archetypes with his [[GoldAndWhiteAreDivine white and gold]] sun mask, Egyptian sun god name, golden eyes, and [[MessianicArchetype possible mystical connections]], he's still the leader of a private military force with a cultist agenda. [[spoiler:He's a waterbender, and while a bloodbender, his method is essencially a reversal of [[HealingHands waterbending healing]], manipulating chi regardless. Thus, arguably WhiteMagic.]]
* LightningBruiser: Extremely agile and nimble fighter with the strength to take down even the most skilled benders with no sweat.
* MadeOfIron: He took a lightning bolt to the chest, several seconds long at that, and ''walked it off''.
* [[spoiler:MakingASplash]]: [[spoiler:Turns out he's a waterbender and a bloodbender.]]
** [[spoiler:BloodMagic]]
* [[MalevolentMaskedMen Malevolent Masked Man]]: Like the lower-level Equalists, although they're GasMaskMooks and his is more of a traditional mask.
* MissionFromGod: He claims that he was chosen by the spirits to bring down bending and replace the Avatar.
* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: "Amon" has plenty of possible meanings.
** To start, it's the name of an Egyptian god and a [[ArsGoetia demon]].
** The word or root "Amen" means "what is hidden", "what is not seen", "what cannot be seen" and the like.
** One of the worst Nazi criminals was [[Film/SchindlersList Amon Goeth]].
** [[http://masterarrowhead.tumblr.com/post/21546778935/hawkfeather-atla-annotated-energybending-a Amon is also the name of an acupuncture point on the back of the neck.]] Amon was shown pressing onto that point as well as the forehead.
** A fan [[http://atla-annotated.tumblr.com/post/21979689321/amon-is-the-answer-interesting-choice-of translated his name written in Chinese characters]]. 阿蒙. ‘cover; ignorant; suffer’.
* NoSell: When [[spoiler:Tarrlok]] uses [[spoiler:bloodbending]] to incapacitate his mooks, Amon shrugs it off. Even when [[spoiler:Tarrlok]] redoubled his efforts, it just barely slowed Amon down. [[spoiler:Since he can bloodbend with his mind, he was able to counteract Tarrlok's powers without moving.]]
* ObviouslyEvil: He looks pretty dang evil, but looking at him through the lens of Asian Culture (which Avatar takes heavy cues from), he looks a ''lot'' more evil. See GoodColorsEvilColors.
* [[spoiler:ThePowerOfBlood]]: [[spoiler:He's a bloodbender. He's so good that he can do it [[BeyondTheImpossible without moving his hands. In daytime.]]]]
** [[spoiler:PsychicPowers]]: [[spoiler:Tarrlok specifically calls his bloodbending this.]]
* PragmaticVillainy:
** "[[Recap/TheLegendOfKorraS1E4TheVoiceInTheNight The Voice in the Night]]" reveals just how pragmatic he is, to the point of ReasonBeforeHonor.
** Get challenged to a one-on-one duel? No {{Mooks}} for either side? [[spoiler:So you've made yourself defenseless. Perfect. Meet my platoon of chi-blockers.]]
** At last, I have my most dangerous opponent [[IHaveYouNowMyPretty at my mercy]]. [[spoiler:See ya round kid. [[DangerouslyGenreSavvy The international public outcry wouldn't be worth it right now.]] But don't worry! I'm going to save you for last, letting you watch all you love and care for be destroyed before I take you out. Toodle-oo!]]
* PreAssKickingOneLiner: "It is time for you to be Equalized."
* [[spoiler:PsychopathicManChild]]: [[spoiler:In his final scenes he displays naivety and untoward optimism, shucking off his persona of Amon as if it was a disguise. He's incredibly cheerful for a defeated man and is seemingly giddy from the prospect of being with his little brother again, as if he and Tarrlok are two little schoolboys running away from home. He seems to think everything will be just fine, ignoring the fact that every facet of their identities were shaped so that a normal life would be improbable or even impossible.]]
** That said, [[spoiler: the sheer amount of explosives/electric weapons, as well as his tear before Tarrlok exploded the boat, might imply it was a ruse to lead his brother to kill them both.]]
* RebelLeader: He is the leader of the anti-bending movement.
* ScrewThisImOuttaHere: [[spoiler: After being defeated and uncovered by Korra, Tarrlok asks him to escape together and rebuild a life as brothers. Amon agrees, and ultimately seems to be truly happy to do so.]]
* ShadowArchetype: To Korra, as essentially the anti-Avatar. He's also one to Bolin and Mako, as they've all lost their parents to Firebenders. However, Amon now wants to destroy all benders, while Bolin and Mako are making the best of their situation.
* [[spoiler:SiblingYinYang]]: [[spoiler:With Tarrlok.]]
* [[spoiler:SingleTear]]: [[spoiler:Sheds one right before his death]].
* StrongerSibling: [[spoiler:He's Tarrlok's.]]
* SuperPowerLottery: Assuming that his abilities are, in fact, supernatural, he won the jackpot. Moves so quickly that he can avoid most all bending attacks directed at him.
** As it turns out [[spoiler:he's a bloodbender, which he used to dodge attacks and to strip people of their bending.]]
* TellMeHowYouFight: [[spoiler:Tarrlok identifies Amon as his brother, despite Amon's appearance being totally concealed, by the distinctive feel of his bloodbending]].
* [[spoiler:ThisCannotBe]]: [[spoiler:When he debends Korra only for her to use airbending against him.]]
* [[spoiler:TragicVillain]]: In the finale, it's revealed that [[spoiler:Amon is actually Tarrlok's older brother, Noatak. He and Tarrlok were forced by their [[AbusiveParents father]] Yakone to learn bloodbending, so that he could use them to exact vengeance on Republic City and the Avatar. After Yakone forced him and Tarrlok to use bloodbending on each other, Noatak turned on his father, incapacitated him with bloodbending, and ran away from home, taking up the identity of Amon years later. According to Tarrlok, he really and truly believed bending to be the root of all evil in the world, despite being a bender himself, though Tarrlok also implies Amon enjoyed the power bloodbending gave him.]]
** It's worse than that. [[spoiler: He wanted Tarrlok to run away with him, but he didn't want to leave their mother behind. At the finale he's looking forward to a peaceful life with his brother. Apparently that's all he really wanted.]]
* [[spoiler:{{Tykebomb}}: His father Yakone tried to turn him and his brother, Tarrlok, into this in a plot for revenge on Republic City and the Avatar. While he ''did'' turn on his father, he ultimately ended up fulfilling what Yakone wanted him to do anyway, make Republic City suffer.]]
* {{Ubermensch}}
* TheUnfettered: He ''seems'' to have rules but really just pragmatism. He'll do anything.
* UnflinchingWalk:
** Pulls this off in the face of a fireball that blasts most of his {{Mooks}} away.
** Also, [[spoiler:when up against Tarrlok, he pulls this off. Which is impressive, because he ''shouldn't'' have been able to stand, let alone walk. It turns out Amon himself is a bloodbender, hence why he wasn't affected.]]
* UnreliableExpositor: His highly theatrical presentation of his "revelation," his {{backstory}} and even [[spoiler: his energybending]], throws the truthfulness of all he says into question.
** [[spoiler:It's ''all'' a lie. He's actually Tarrlok's older brother and a waterbender, who uses the bloodbending their father Yakone forced him and his brother to learn to prevent people from bending. That said, according to Tarrlok, he genuinely believes bending to be the root of all evil.]]
* [[spoiler:UsedToBeASweetKid]]: [[spoiler:Until his father forced him and his brother to learn bloodbending.]]
* VillainHasAPoint: His talk about benders oppressing non-benders gained a lot more credence [[spoiler:once Tarrlok took over.]]
* VillainWithGoodPublicity: A major part of his plan is to become this. So far, he's been remarkably successful. While officially considered a terrorist, he has amassed a massive amount of followers, enough to threaten all of Republic City.
* [[spoiler:VillainousBreakdown]]: [[spoiler:After Korra manages to use airbending despite having been debended. He ''really'' gets this once he's not only unmasked, but his makeup to make him look scarred is washed off in the water, revealing him for what he really is.]]
* [[spoiler:VillainousRescue]]: [[spoiler:Rescues Korra from Tarrlok, though he didn't plan on letting her go free after taking down Tarrlok.]]
* VisionaryVillain: A world of equality.
* WellIntentionedExtremist: According to himself, Amon genuinely wants to make a better world. Said better world simply involves the eradication of bending and most likely placing himself in power.
** [[spoiler:It turns out his backstory was a lie, and he's actually a bender, though Tarrlok thinks he genuinely believes that bending is the root of all evil.]]
* WhiteMaskOfDoom: The only known Equalist to have one.
* [[WhyDontYouJustShootHim Why Don't You Just Shoot Her?]]: He makes it clear that he could have easily taken away Korra's bending when he ambushed her. He also makes it clear that doing so would have made her into a martyr, which is why Korra will be the last to lose her bending, and then she will die.
* WouldHitAGirl: He knocks Korra unconscious when he ambushes her. And he plans to kill her.
* WouldHurtAChild: In the finale, [[spoiler:he has captured Tenzin and his family and plans on debending them.]]
* XanatosGambit: Pulls one off in "And the Winner Is...". He makes [[DoNotAdjustYourSet a public demand over the radio]] that the city government shut down the Pro-Bending arena and cancel the championship match. If the pro-bending championships are not stopped, then he and the Equalists have an audience for the demonstration of their power and he gets to begin his war. If the tournament is canceled the government has given into Amon's demand and showed that it will not challenge him.
* [[spoiler:YouAreWhatYouHate]]: By implication, [[spoiler:if he was really sincere about his belief that benders are the source of all evil in the world]].
[[/folder]]
[[folder:The Lieutenant]]
!The Lieutenant
[[quoteright:350:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Screen_Shot_2012-04-29_at_11_40_21_AM_7512.png]]
[[caption-width-right:350:"You benders need to understand... there's no place in this world for you anymore."]]
->Voiced by Lance Henriksen
Amon's second-in-command.
----
* AwesomeBackpack: He carries a power generator on his back to supply power for his weapons.
** AmmunitionBackpack
* BadassMoustache
* BadassNormal
* [[spoiler:BrokenPedestal: Let's just say that he didn't take learning the truth about Amon well]].
* TheDeterminator: Always back up and ready for another fight, no matter how much of a beating he takes.
* DiminishingVillainThreat: Appears very threatening early on, soundly defeating Bolin and Mako in "The Revelation," but every time he is encountered thereafter, he is usually either attacking a helpless or outmatched opponent or he loses.
* TheDragon: For Amon.
* DualWielding: Electricfied kali sticks in both hands.
* EveryoneCallsHimBarkeep
* EvilSoundsDeep: Being voiced by Lance Henriksen, this is a given. That man could inhale multiple canisters of helium and he would still sound like he had more than one puberty.
* GlassCannon: Very agile and deadly in combat. He hits as fast as lightning, and he's very powerful. However, he goes down after one hit.
* GogglesDoNothing
* GoodHairEvilHair: He has a Fu Manchu moustache.
* HonorBeforeReason: Considering that he saw Amon [[spoiler: bloodbending]] Korra and Mako at the same time, he probably realized that a head-on charge would be suicide, but decided he'd rather go out swinging than continue to follow a lie.
* IcyBlueEyes
* ImpossiblyCoolWeapon: He wields a pair of electrified kali sticks, because his opponents are metalbending cops, and electricity works pretty well on all benders. The fact that an industrialized city like Republic City has conductive metal ''everywhere'' doesn't hurt, either.
* IneffectualSympatheticVillain: Starts to shade into this as the DiminishingVillainThreat kicks in. Poor guy can't do ''anything'' right.
* ItsPersonal: [[spoiler:When Korra's trapped in a metal cage, he shows a certain satisfaction in getting to shock her unconscious as payback. Unfortunately for him, she was one step ahead.]]
** He also takes [[spoiler:realizing that he'd been played by Amon]] pretty badly.
* MadeOfIron: Has been sucker punched with a boulder, knocked off a building, blasted over a roof, and smashed into the ground from midair by a polar bear dog. And each time, he has dusted himself off and returned ready to fight again.
* MookFaceTurn: [[spoiler:Turns on Amon when he finds out about his bending, though as usual he didn't do that well in the ensuing "fight".]]
* NobleTopEnforcer: While the Lieutenant comes off as sadistic and cruel, he truly believes in the Equalists' agenda and dedicated his life to it.
* NoNameGiven
* NoPeripheralVision: Maybe it's the goggles, but the Lieutenant has had an unfortunate tendency to be taken out by surprise, typically by someone new showing up from behind or the side while he's fighting another opponent.
* PsychoElectro: While he is serious in wanting to end bending like all other Equalists, he seems to actually enjoy inflicting pain on benders with his electric arsenal a bit ''too much''.
* ShockAndAwe
** StaticStunGun
* SimpleStaff: Of the two handheld rod variety.
* SpannerInTheWorks: His [[CurbStompBattle "battle"]] [[spoiler:with Amon gave Mako the time to muster up the energy to fire off his lightning.]]
* TallDarkAndHandsome: He actually doesn't look that bad unmasked.[[hottip:*:Seen [[http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m5q76pCfDJ1qa7n5e.gif here]]
* [[spoiler: YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness]]
[[/folder]]
[[folder:The Chi-blockers]]
!The Chi-blockers
[[quoteright:350:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Chi_blockers_6466.jpg]]
The foot-soldiers of the Equalist cause, trained in chi-blocking to nullify the powers of benders.
----
* AirplaneArms: They use the further back, ninja-like variation.
* BadassArmy: BadassNormal GasMaskMooks trained specifically in a PressurePoint-striking fighting method designed to temporarily [[PowerNullifier disarm]] and [[TheParalyzer disable]] the wielders of ElementalPowers.
* BadassBiker: The chi blockers are excellent motorcyclists.
* BadassNormal: They completely dominate Korra and Mako in their first fight, due to clever use of their gadgets and their martial arts.
* CombatPragmatist: They take any advantage they can get. Aside from their grenades, they use bolas, tripwires, whips, and do not obey MookChivalry.
* EliteMooks: They're pretty much an entire army of them. Even just a few of them can put up a hell of a fight against very powerful benders.
* EqualOpportunityEvil: Their figures show that more than a few are [[DarkActionGirl women]]. The ladies fight alongside the men. Also we can't be sure with their masks, but they seem to be non-benders from any of the three nations.
* GasMaskMooks: Since they use gas grenades, this is a necessary aspect of their outfit. Also helps when [[spoiler: being knocked down by fartbending]].
* KickTheDog: Electrocuting Shiro Shinobi, the announcer, who is a non-bender and wasn't fighting back.
* KungFuProofMook: The Equalists' MiniMecha are made from platinum, metal so pure metalbenders are incapable of manipulating it.
* MageKiller: Their combat training specifically targets benders.
* MiniMecha: Their platinum mech-tanks.
* {{Ninja}}
* TheParalyzer: Their blows cause temporary (and apparently painful) paralysis in addition to serving as a...
* PowerNullifier: Even after the paralysis wears off, a chi-blocker's strike will render their target temporarily unable to bend.
* PressurePoint: The centerpiece of their fighting style, featuring extremely rapid strikes.
* ShockAndAwe: A favored tactic of theirs, in various flavors:
** The less skilled among them use electricity-generating gloves. The ones in full attire never do.
** The MiniMecha have built in tasers and can fire bola disks which shock the recipient unconscious. This same weapon is used by hand occasionally.
* SmokeOut: They use grenades that release a greenish, slightly unpleasant gas to dissuade pursuers.
* TheVoiceless: They apparently use this as a psychological tactic, as their near-absolute silence in battle, communicating and coordinating only through gestures and reading each other's body motions, accentuate the inhumanity their faceless masks lend them. It's almost jarring when we hear them speak in episode 9 during unguarded moments.
* TheWorfEffect: In episode 10, several of them were quickly defeated by Jinora, Ikki, and Meelo. Somewhat justified by the fact that airbenders only number in the single digits and only one is actually an adult, so they weren't prepared for it. Add on to that the fact that they were attacked by children, which would be a surprise in itself assuming they were actually willing to assault children in the first place.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:The Protester]]
!The Protester
[[quoteright:350:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Screen_Shot_2012-04-29_at_11_27_37_AM_9261.png]]
->Voiced by Carlos Alazraqui
He's a protestor who comes into the Republic City park to preach about Amon's ideals.
----
* AttentionWhore: He promotes the Equalists for this reason, according to the official website. He attempts to get said attention by taking the unpopular position on any given issue (in this case, bending rights). His parents were evidently supportive of benders.
* BackForTheFinale
* BigWhat: He lets one out in the finale when [[spoiler:Amon outs himself as a waterbender.]]
%% EyesOfGold has more requirements for the trope than just "gold eyes". The protestor does not fit any of them.
* HotBloodedSideburns: Which also point to Fire Nation parentage.
* NoNameGiven
[[/folder]]
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!!This is a partial character sheet for ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra''. Visit [[Characters/TheLegendOfKorra here]] for the main character index. Subjective trope and audience reactions should go on the [[YMMV/TheLegendOfKorra YMMV page]].
[[foldercontrol]]
[[folder:Amon]]
!Amon [[spoiler:/ Noatak]]
[[quoteright:332:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Amon_5948.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:332: "I am the solution."]]
->Voiced by SteveBlum
The leader of the Equalists and the primary antagonist of the first season. A man shrouded in mystery, Amon seeks to rid the world of benders and usher in a new era of equality. He seeks to destroy Korra, whose presence in Republic City threatens his anti-bender agenda.
----
* AmbiguouslyEvil: With his past completely shrouded in mystery aside from his personal testimony, it's hard to say just how evil he is. That said, the further the show goes on, the further down the slope he goes. [[spoiler:Once his endgame kicks in, he has no problem launching a full-scale assault on the city, depowering metalbender cops (including Lin Beifong), kidnapping the entire council (save Tenzin but not for lack of trying), and attacking Tenzin's family when he knew Tenzin wasn't there to help them. The last part is especially notable because he'd be complicit in the nearly-successful genocide of the Air Nomads started by the Fire Nation nearly two centuries earlier had he succeeded (though, admittedly, he probably wouldn't ''kill'' them, just strip them of their bending). According to Tarrlok, he does genuinely believe his rhetoric, despite his heritage.]]
** In the end, despite having his backstory [[spoiler: revealed]], Amon is still AmbiguouslyEvil to the extreme. Was [[spoiler: Tarrlok]] right in saying that Amon genuinely believed in his rhetoric, [[spoiler: despite being a bender himself, or did his use of bloodbending [[DrunkOnTheDarkSide Send Him Over the Edge]]]]? Was the [[spoiler: tear he cried right before Tarrlok ignited the fuel tank of the boat they were riding in acknowledgement and acceptance of what Tarrlok [[RedemptionEqualsDeath Was About]] [[MurderSuicide To Do]], or simply him recalling a fond memory?]] The questions go on and on.
* [[spoiler:AccidentalPublicConfession]]: [[spoiler:Non-verbal one. After being blasted out of a window into the ocean, he instinctively waterbends himself back out, exposing himself as a waterbender and washing off the paint used to fake a firebending scar.]]
* AntiVillain: [[SlidingScaleOfAntiVillains Type]] [[WellIntentionedExtremist III]]. Wanting equality and to help lower class citizens isn't bad... but doing so by trying to eradicate bending is extreme. He only targets benders who use their abilities for evil, at least until he's built up enough support to get away with more ambiguous targets or full-on public servants. He has also told Korra to her face (while his men held her down) that the only reason she still has her bending is that he is saving her for later. For all purposes, he does appear to have a moral code. It's just that he is pragmatic enough to take more amoral or even outright immoral actions to see his plans come to fruition.
** [[spoiler:It's revealed in the finale he's actually Yakone's son and a bloodbender, and, according to Tarrlok, came to the conclusion that bending was the root of all evil due to his father's [[AbusiveParents Abusiveness]]. The fact that bloodbending is known to get people DrunkOnTheDarkSide probably didn't hurt. He ultimately seems to come in as a solid [[SlidingScaleOfAntiVillains Type II]] AntiVillain, alongside his previously inferred Type III position. On the other hand, the show is somewhat unclear, as Tarrlok says he enjoyed the power Bloodbending gave him and we see him bloodbend a pack of wolves to bow down to him in a flashback.]]
* AuthorityEqualsAsskicking: He prefers not to fight (see Pragmatic Villainy) but when he does....
* {{Badass}}: He has yet to lose a one-on-one fight to anyone. Notable because this has included a firebender skilled in shooting lightning and a [[spoiler:bloodbender, which he somehow powered through despite the debilitating effect it had on his men]].
** BadassNormal[=/=]MageKiller: He's a very powerful chi-blocker.
*** [[spoiler:BadassAbnormal: But he's actually a waterbender and a bloodbender. Tarrlok's brother no less.]]
** BadassBaritone: He ''is'' voiced by SteveBlum.
** BadassBoast:
--->'''[[spoiler:Tarrlok]]:''' [[WhatTheHellAreYou What... what are you?]]
--->'''Amon:''' I am the solution.
* [[spoiler:BadPowersBadPeople]]: Zig zagged. [[spoiler: He's a bloodbender, but he is basically a WellIntentionedExtremist and/or KnightTemplar, so he's bad in a rather unorthodox way.]]
* BeneathTheMask: [[spoiler: Once stripped of his plans and supporters, he seems to be nothing more than an optimistic and possibly even naive man longing to live the life he never had with his baby brother. Given Tarrlok's MurderSuicide of them both, it is arguable as to whether that would remain the case ever after.]]
* BigBad: Of Book One.
** [[spoiler:BigBadEnsemble]]: [[spoiler:[[SubvertedTrope Subverted]]. It appeared that he would be this with Tarrlok in the eighth episode of the first season, but upon their meeting at the end of episode 9, Amon resists [[BigBadWannabe Tarrlok]]'s bloodbending and de-bends him. Which leaves Amon as the only, and rightful BigBad.]]
* [[spoiler: BigBrotherInstinct: Tarrlok claims he always looked out for him when they were kids. In ''Out of the Past'' he does the gruntwork of taking Tarrlock to the truck himself while the Lieutenant and some mooks try to nab Korra, quite possibly to protect his brother from them, as any of them would likely take the chance to hurt him. At the finale, Amon tells him he's all he has left in the world.]]
* [[spoiler: BoomerangBigot: He's a waterbender, and none too proud of it, if Tarrlok's right about his motives.]]
* BreakingSpeech: He delivers one so effective and intimidating that Korra suffers a complete breakdown afterwards.
* [[spoiler: CainAndAbel: Zigzagged. He takes away his brother's bending, but his brother ultimately kills him. And, well, he still loves him regardless.]]
* TheChessmaster: Holy crap, yes. His actions in Episode 6 sealed his status as one and [[MagnificentBastard even more.]] See XanatosGambit below.
* [[spoiler:ChildProdigy: Mastered bloodbending at ''14''.]]
* CombatPragmatist: Uses ambushes, greater numbers, weapons the opposition has no defense against, and psychological warfare to lead the Equalists to victory. [[spoiler:He also subtly uses bloodbending to gain the edge in fights with other benders without exposing himself.]]
* CoolMask: Some kind of Venetian Carnival mask, it has the spook factor of one.
* CrazyPrepared: The Finale reveals that [[spoiler:he wears fake scars on his face just by the off chance that someone might knock his mask off, or force him to reveal his face.]]
* CulturePolice: Desires to end pro-bending as means to end "bending worship".
* DangerouslyGenreSavvy:
** He lets Korra escape the Revelation because she'd be the "perfect messenger" about what just transpired; letting Benders hear it from the Avatar herself that he has the power to take away bending.
** When answering Korra's gauntlet throw-down on Aang's Memorial Island, [[spoiler:he doesn't come alone. He has chi-blockers [[ZergRush dog pile]] Korra first, then says he won't unbend her because he'd just create a martyr.]] He seems fairly intent on his "No Martyr" policy, at least for the early stages of his plan. [[spoiler: His victims are either unpopular with the public or publicly shamed by Amon himself before neutralization (crime lords, Wolfbats after cheating, Tarrlok after losing his good publicity, etc.)]]
** His plan in "And the Winner Is...". See XanatosGambit below.
** [[spoiler:He also took the extremely dangerous Tarrlok off guard and in a position where Tarrlok had no water at his disposal to bend. With his bloodbending useless, Tarrlok was forced to fight Amon hand to hand, something Amon is exceptionally skilled at, instead of being able to fight back with his extremely powerful bending.]]
** [[spoiler:He wears makeup beneath his mask to fake a firebending scar, just in case he needs to put down any claim that he's lying.]]
* DarkMessiah: He's set himself up as a Messiah figure to the Equalist movement, and his ultimate goal is to replace the Avatar as the world's savior. Though the Equalists are not a religious movement, he does claim that his exceptional abilities were granted to him by the spirits that protect the world, and that it is his destiny to be the savior of non-benders by bringing them into balance with those who can (or could) bend.
* [[spoiler: DeathEqualsRedemption / HeelRealization]]: Depending on your [[AlternateCharacterInterpretation interpretation]] of [[spoiler: the single tear he cries before Tarrlok kills the two of them, it's possible he fell under this trope; if he was indeed aware of what Tarrlok was about to do, and did nothing to stop him, the likely conclusion is that he accepted his brothers' judgement, and understood why he needed to die.]]
* DeathGlare: Gives quite a potent one to Korra as seen in episode 4 when he confronts her underneath Aang's statue. It's especially notable since he can give quite a DeathGlare even behind that mask.
* [[spoiler:DePower]]: [[spoiler:He has the ability to strip people of their bending. He somehow uses bloodbending to do it, and in such a way that even Katara can't heal it. However, true energybending can counteract this.]]
* DiabolicalMastermind: Beneath his ruse of being a revolutionary, he seems to be this.
* DissonantSerenity: The cargo bay of his [[CoolAirship zeppelin]] being filled with flame by Korra [[UnflinchingWalk doesn't even break his stride]]. [[spoiler:He doesn't seem fazed by Tarrlok's bloodbending, and while he's affected he is able to push through and maintain his composure without faltering.]] The mask definitely helps with the effect.
* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: His ideals parallel the development of Communism and Fascism, which rose to compete against the fledgling democracies of the early 20th century. His rhetoric also is reminiscent of the Taiping Rebellion, as he fashions himself as a messianic figure and tries to replace the Avatar.
* TheDreaded: He terrifies Korra to the point that she breaks down into tears after one confrontation with him, and his encounter with Bolin left the earthbender with nightmares for at least a week.
* [[spoiler:DrunkOnTheDarkSide]]: [[spoiler:Like Tarrlok, he was taught bloodbending by his father, which may have had something to do with his descent into villainy.]]
* [[spoiler:EvenEvilHasLovedOnes:]] [[spoiler:He does seem to still love Tarrlok, although he rejected him when they were children and took his bending away.]]
* ExpressiveMask: On occasion, there are subtle illustration changes to the mouth on his mask, and his eyes and tone do the rest.
* EvilSoundsDeep: What else would you expect from SteveBlum? Evil's as deep as the ocean.
* [[spoiler: FamousLastWords]]: [[spoiler:"I had almost forgotten the sound of my own name."]]
* [[FantasticRacism Fantastic Racist]]: Hates benders and seeks to get rid of bending altogether.
* TheFaceless: [[UnreliableExpositor Supposedly]] due to FacialHorror.
* FacialHorror: The stated reason for his mask. He [[UnreliableExpositor claims]] to have gotten the scars from the same Firebender that killed his family. [[spoiler:He's lying. Underneath the mask, [[CrazyPrepared and the makeup he's wearing under the mask]], he's actually [[http://minuiko.tumblr.com/post/25723337788/one-other-thing-it-kills-me-to-see-how-helpless good looking]].]]
* {{Foil}}:
** To Korra. [[spoiler:His debending powers make him a sort of anti-Avatar]]. He's also styling himself in the same vein as an Avatar, claiming to be a savior sent by the spirits. He also is a very calm, controlled individual who claims to be sent by the spirits, while Korra is a BoisterousBruiser who has ''major'' difficulty with the spiritual side of bending. [[spoiler: It also turns out they're both native waterbenders and bending [[ChildProdigy Child Prodigies]]. Not to mention his young self looks strikingly like a male version of Korra.]]
** His back-story is very similar to Mako and Bolin's. They all had parents killed by a firebender. But while the brothers eventually learned to live with their loss, he took it in a completely [[FantasticRacism different direction.]] [[spoiler: Of course, this turns out to be a lie.]]
** In a meta sense, he's a foil to Ozai in the same sense that Korra is to Aang. Whereas Ozai was a power-hungry conqueror, Amon is a partisan revolutionary. Ozai was as close to a complete monster as a character can be in a child-friendly cartoon, whereas Amon is arguably an anti-villain. Ozai was [[spoiler:defeated with energybending]] and Amon [[spoiler:takes away bending and is ultimately defeated by revealing his bending. Amon is also a waterbender, further providing contrast between them]].
** In a way, he could be seen as this to Tarrlok. Both men are highly charismatic people who've captured the hearts of their respective branches of public, [[AuthorityEqualsAsskicking they're both more than capable of holding their own in a fight]], [[spoiler:and they both have secret powers that come off as a major shock to anyone who's fighting them for the first time]]. And then it turns out [[spoiler:[[SiblingYinYang Tarrlok is Amon's brother.]]]]
* FreudianExcuse: Amon explains at an Equalist rally that his parents were murdered and his face disfigured by a firebender when he was just a child.
** [[spoiler:Turns out that backstory is a lie, but his real backstory is arguably just as sympathetic. His father, Yakone, was an extremely [[AbusiveParents abusive parent]], and forced him and his brother Tarrlok to learn bloodbending so he could use them to exact revenge on Republic City and the Avatar. Ultimately, this mistreatment put Amon on the path to darkness. Eventually, when his father made him and his brother use bloodbending on each other, he turned on his father, and ran away from home.]]
* FromNobodyToNightmare: He claims to have once been a simple FarmBoy... then, his family was murdered. Now he's a DarkMessiah revolutionary trying to bring down bending and replace the Avatar.
** [[spoiler: [[ZigZaggedTrope Zig Zagged]] in the finale; turns out his father was Yakone, who fled Republic City. He was still nobody when he left the Northern Water tribe, but his story wasn't the one he claimed it was.]]
* GeniusBruiser: Really good public speaker, social leader, and [[TheChessmaster master strategist]]; terrifyingly good close-combatant[[spoiler:, prodigy waterbender and psychic bloodbender]].
* GloriousLeader
* GoldAndWhiteAreDivine: An unusual case in that said colour pattern is confined to his mask.
* GoodColorsEvilColors:
** His mask is white and gold, noble colors, which are his ''mask'' which he hides behind, his red circle on his head could be his "evil" ambitions poking through his veneer of righteousness, and the fact that this is surrounded by black seems to mean he is the one noble being surrounded by darkness "benders" his point of view.
** When viewed through the lens of [[http://www.sensationalcolor.com/color-messages-meanings/color-around-the-globe/china-the-colorful-masks-of-the-chinese-opera.html Chinese opera]], Amon's mask takes on considerable symbolism. Its white/silver and gold color scheme immediately places the character in the realm of the mystic, with the gold/yellow coloration also playing into the character traits of treachery and ferociousness. The red circle on his forehead evokes a hint of Buddhist symbolism, referencing his spiritual connection, and also carries some connotations with intelligence and cleverness.
** White is the color of death in Asian cultures, which fits well with the symbolism often attributed to the WhiteMaskOfDoom. Red and gold are generally considered positive colors in Chinese culture, making their use [[LightIsNotGood ironic]] in this case.
** The gold on his mask can also be seen as green. Another [[http://atla-annotated.tumblr.com/post/19671786341/amons-mask-analyzed-through-beijing-opera analysis]] through that lens holds that the white symbolizes cunning, treachery, and craftiness, the green is violence and lack of self-restraint, and the red dot is both spirituality and the mocking of it.
* [[spoiler: GoOutWithASmile: After losing Republic City and the Equalists, Amon decides to reclaim his old identity as Noatak and turn over a new leaf with Tarrlok, his long-lost brother. As they leave on a getaway boat, Noatak happily contemplates the new life they would build with each other as brothers, while Tarrlok silently decides to kill both of themselves as recompense for their past crimes and to halt their father's villainous legacy once and for all. From the driver's seat Noatak smiles as he muses on how he'd almost forgotten the sound of his own name and begins crying, perhaps [[DeathEqualsRedemption realizing and accepting]] what Tarrlok is about to do just before Tarrlok ignites the gas tank and detonates the boat.]]
* HeroKiller: [[spoiler:Anyone he can lay his hands on is effectively neutralized since they can no longer bend. His first confrontation with Korra also implies that he plans to kill her after taking away her bending, though that may have been poor use of the phrase "untimely demise" as a metaphor.]] He fully enters into this trope after de-bending [[spoiler:Lin Beifong]].
* HiddenAgendaVillain: Throughout the series, his real motivations are never really revealed. [[spoiler:His backstory implies he's either a KnightTemplar seeking to rid the world of bending because he seeks it as the root of all evil, or was seeking to follow in his father's footsteps and take over Republic City. Evidence is presented for both.]]
* {{Hypocrite}}: In several ways. He wants to get rid of benders for making non-benders live in terror, while his own strategy consists of doing exactly that. Not to mention that he's not only [[spoiler:a bender himself, but a ''bloodbender'', aka the most dangerous type of bender in the world]]. And in the end, [[spoiler:the Lieutenant]] is not at all happy to realize this.
* IAmTheNoun: "I am the ''solution''".
** Also printed on some of his posters, though that's a [[BilingualBonus Readers Of Chinese Bonus]].
* InTheHood
* TheJuggernaut: [[spoiler:When Tarrlok tries to use bloodbending on him, he just shrugs it off and keeps advancing. Turns out he was bloodbending himself.]]
* JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope: While some of his actions were extreme before, he does this in episode 10 when [[spoiler:he carries out a ''massive'' invasion on Republic City. This carries on into the finale, when he attempts to debend the last remaining airbenders, three of whom are children.]]
** [[spoiler: This appears to have happened some time in his backstory, between Noatak running away from home and taking up the identity of Amon.]]
* JustToyingWithThem: Amon makes a show out of tying up [[ElementalPowers bending]] members of a crime syndicate (and one of the heroes who got mixed up with them) and [[spoiler: removing their powers]] in front of a huge crowd of [[AntimagicalFaction Equalist]] sympathizers. This trope comes into play when, as part of his show, Amon lets the crime boss loose and offers him the chance to fight to protect himself. It's all the more impressive when Amon wins. [[CurbStompBattle Rather easily]], in fact. [[spoiler:It's later revealed he uses bloodbending to get them to move somewhat predictably without revealing his ability, making his defeat of them inevitable.]]
* JustYouMeAndMyGuards: [[spoiler:How Amon eventually responds to Korra's mano-a-mano challenge to him. Could be justified because Tarrlok was supposed to have soldiers watching the fight, and Amon is GenreSavvy enough to suspect something like that.]]
* KickTheSonOfABitch: Every early instance of on-screen [[spoiler:de-bending]] we saw him carry out was upon someone who was used their bending to illegally gain a position of power while being protected from reprisals by corruption in the system (the Triple Threat Triad, an organized crime syndicate, as well as the Wolfbats who cheated their way into winning the tournament, and [[spoiler:Tarrlok]]). This is a consistent part of his political strategy, and also why he refuses to fight Korra at first.
** KickTheDog: After his plans have advanced far enough that he doesn't need the good press anymore, he has no problem attacking benders who haven't done anything to deserve it. [[spoiler:The Metalbending police, the entire Republic City Council (save Tenzin), the last airbenders (who escaped), and Lin Beifong. Not to mention bombing the crap out of Republic City. In the finale, he has benders lined up execution-style, captures Tenzin and his family to eliminate airbending altogether, and attacks and possibly ''kills'' the Lieutenant when he finds out Amon is a bloodbender.]]
* [[spoiler:KilledOffForReal]]: [[spoiler:Escapes Republic City with Tarrlok, but Tarrlok ultimately decides to sacrifice himself to stop him once and for all by blowing up the boat they're in.]]
* KneelBeforeZod: [[spoiler:Forces a pack of wolves to do this as a child with bloodbending .]]
* KnightOfCerebus: While the series started out as upbeat, immediately after his appearance, the story became much darker. Unlike [[CompleteMonster Ozai]], who wanted to [[CardCarryingVillain take over the world and prove his superiority to the Avatar]]; he has made it quite clear that he intends to kill Korra and rid the world of Benders to which he does with lethal precision and intimidating charisma.
** Given the [[PuttingOnTheReich things]] [[MindRape he]] [[NoSell does]], he could be considered one of these for ''the franchise itself''!
* KnightTemplar: See WellIntentionedExtremist below. He definitely invokes this in his rhetoric. His [[spoiler: attacks on Republic City and Air Temple Island in the final episodes]] push him over the edge, however.
* KnowWhenToFoldEm: [[spoiler: After being defeated by Korra and Mako, he immediately leaves and retrieves Tarrlok, before leaving the Equalists behind to start a new life with his brother.]]
* LightIsNotGood: Though Amon invokes certain heavenly archetypes with his [[GoldAndWhiteAreDivine white and gold]] sun mask, Egyptian sun god name, golden eyes, and [[MessianicArchetype possible mystical connections]], he's still the leader of a private military force with a cultist agenda. [[spoiler:He's a waterbender, and while a bloodbender, his method is essencially a reversal of [[HealingHands waterbending healing]], manipulating chi regardless. Thus, arguably WhiteMagic.]]
* LightningBruiser: Extremely agile and nimble fighter with the strength to take down even the most skilled benders with no sweat.
* MadeOfIron: He took a lightning bolt to the chest, several seconds long at that, and ''walked it off''.
* [[spoiler:MakingASplash]]: [[spoiler:Turns out he's a waterbender and a bloodbender.]]
** [[spoiler:BloodMagic]]
* [[MalevolentMaskedMen Malevolent Masked Man]]: Like the lower-level Equalists, although they're GasMaskMooks and his is more of a traditional mask.
* MissionFromGod: He claims that he was chosen by the spirits to bring down bending and replace the Avatar.
* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: "Amon" has plenty of possible meanings.
** To start, it's the name of an Egyptian god and a [[ArsGoetia demon]].
** The word or root "Amen" means "what is hidden", "what is not seen", "what cannot be seen" and the like.
** One of the worst Nazi criminals was [[Film/SchindlersList Amon Goeth]].
** [[http://masterarrowhead.tumblr.com/post/21546778935/hawkfeather-atla-annotated-energybending-a Amon is also the name of an acupuncture point on the back of the neck.]] Amon was shown pressing onto that point as well as the forehead.
** A fan [[http://atla-annotated.tumblr.com/post/21979689321/amon-is-the-answer-interesting-choice-of translated his name written in Chinese characters]]. 阿蒙. ‘cover; ignorant; suffer’.
* NoSell: When [[spoiler:Tarrlok]] uses [[spoiler:bloodbending]] to incapacitate his mooks, Amon shrugs it off. Even when [[spoiler:Tarrlok]] redoubled his efforts, it just barely slowed Amon down. [[spoiler:Since he can bloodbend with his mind, he was able to counteract Tarrlok's powers without moving.]]
* ObviouslyEvil: He looks pretty dang evil, but looking at him through the lens of Asian Culture (which Avatar takes heavy cues from), he looks a ''lot'' more evil. See GoodColorsEvilColors.
* [[spoiler:ThePowerOfBlood]]: [[spoiler:He's a bloodbender. He's so good that he can do it [[BeyondTheImpossible without moving his hands. In daytime.]]]]
** [[spoiler:PsychicPowers]]: [[spoiler:Tarrlok specifically calls his bloodbending this.]]
* PragmaticVillainy:
** "[[Recap/TheLegendOfKorraS1E4TheVoiceInTheNight The Voice in the Night]]" reveals just how pragmatic he is, to the point of ReasonBeforeHonor.
** Get challenged to a one-on-one duel? No {{Mooks}} for either side? [[spoiler:So you've made yourself defenseless. Perfect. Meet my platoon of chi-blockers.]]
** At last, I have my most dangerous opponent [[IHaveYouNowMyPretty at my mercy]]. [[spoiler:See ya round kid. [[DangerouslyGenreSavvy The international public outcry wouldn't be worth it right now.]] But don't worry! I'm going to save you for last, letting you watch all you love and care for be destroyed before I take you out. Toodle-oo!]]
* PreAssKickingOneLiner: "It is time for you to be Equalized."
* [[spoiler:PsychopathicManChild]]: [[spoiler:In his final scenes he displays naivety and untoward optimism, shucking off his persona of Amon as if it was a disguise. He's incredibly cheerful for a defeated man and is seemingly giddy from the prospect of being with his little brother again, as if he and Tarrlok are two little schoolboys running away from home. He seems to think everything will be just fine, ignoring the fact that every facet of their identities were shaped so that a normal life would be improbable or even impossible.]]
** That said, [[spoiler: the sheer amount of explosives/electric weapons, as well as his tear before Tarrlok exploded the boat, might imply it was a ruse to lead his brother to kill them both.]]
* RebelLeader: He is the leader of the anti-bending movement.
* ScrewThisImOuttaHere: [[spoiler: After being defeated and uncovered by Korra, Tarrlok asks him to escape together and rebuild a life as brothers. Amon agrees, and ultimately seems to be truly happy to do so.]]
* ShadowArchetype: To Korra, as essentially the anti-Avatar. He's also one to Bolin and Mako, as they've all lost their parents to Firebenders. However, Amon now wants to destroy all benders, while Bolin and Mako are making the best of their situation.
* [[spoiler:SiblingYinYang]]: [[spoiler:With Tarrlok.]]
* [[spoiler:SingleTear]]: [[spoiler:Sheds one right before his death]].
* StrongerSibling: [[spoiler:He's Tarrlok's.]]
* SuperPowerLottery: Assuming that his abilities are, in fact, supernatural, he won the jackpot. Moves so quickly that he can avoid most all bending attacks directed at him.
** As it turns out [[spoiler:he's a bloodbender, which he used to dodge attacks and to strip people of their bending.]]
* TellMeHowYouFight: [[spoiler:Tarrlok identifies Amon as his brother, despite Amon's appearance being totally concealed, by the distinctive feel of his bloodbending]].
* [[spoiler:ThisCannotBe]]: [[spoiler:When he debends Korra only for her to use airbending against him.]]
* [[spoiler:TragicVillain]]: In the finale, it's revealed that [[spoiler:Amon is actually Tarrlok's older brother, Noatak. He and Tarrlok were forced by their [[AbusiveParents father]] Yakone to learn bloodbending, so that he could use them to exact vengeance on Republic City and the Avatar. After Yakone forced him and Tarrlok to use bloodbending on each other, Noatak turned on his father, incapacitated him with bloodbending, and ran away from home, taking up the identity of Amon years later. According to Tarrlok, he really and truly believed bending to be the root of all evil in the world, despite being a bender himself, though Tarrlok also implies Amon enjoyed the power bloodbending gave him.]]
** It's worse than that. [[spoiler: He wanted Tarrlok to run away with him, but he didn't want to leave their mother behind. At the finale he's looking forward to a peaceful life with his brother. Apparently that's all he really wanted.]]
* [[spoiler:{{Tykebomb}}: His father Yakone tried to turn him and his brother, Tarrlok, into this in a plot for revenge on Republic City and the Avatar. While he ''did'' turn on his father, he ultimately ended up fulfilling what Yakone wanted him to do anyway, make Republic City suffer.]]
* {{Ubermensch}}
* TheUnfettered: He ''seems'' to have rules but really just pragmatism. He'll do anything.
* UnflinchingWalk:
** Pulls this off in the face of a fireball that blasts most of his {{Mooks}} away.
** Also, [[spoiler:when up against Tarrlok, he pulls this off. Which is impressive, because he ''shouldn't'' have been able to stand, let alone walk. It turns out Amon himself is a bloodbender, hence why he wasn't affected.]]
* UnreliableExpositor: His highly theatrical presentation of his "revelation," his {{backstory}} and even [[spoiler: his energybending]], throws the truthfulness of all he says into question.
** [[spoiler:It's ''all'' a lie. He's actually Tarrlok's older brother and a waterbender, who uses the bloodbending their father Yakone forced him and his brother to learn to prevent people from bending. That said, according to Tarrlok, he genuinely believes bending to be the root of all evil.]]
* [[spoiler:UsedToBeASweetKid]]: [[spoiler:Until his father forced him and his brother to learn bloodbending.]]
* VillainHasAPoint: His talk about benders oppressing non-benders gained a lot more credence [[spoiler:once Tarrlok took over.]]
* VillainWithGoodPublicity: A major part of his plan is to become this. So far, he's been remarkably successful. While officially considered a terrorist, he has amassed a massive amount of followers, enough to threaten all of Republic City.
* [[spoiler:VillainousBreakdown]]: [[spoiler:After Korra manages to use airbending despite having been debended. He ''really'' gets this once he's not only unmasked, but his makeup to make him look scarred is washed off in the water, revealing him for what he really is.]]
* [[spoiler:VillainousRescue]]: [[spoiler:Rescues Korra from Tarrlok, though he didn't plan on letting her go free after taking down Tarrlok.]]
* VisionaryVillain: A world of equality.
* WellIntentionedExtremist: According to himself, Amon genuinely wants to make a better world. Said better world simply involves the eradication of bending and most likely placing himself in power.
** [[spoiler:It turns out his backstory was a lie, and he's actually a bender, though Tarrlok thinks he genuinely believes that bending is the root of all evil.]]
* WhiteMaskOfDoom: The only known Equalist to have one.
* [[WhyDontYouJustShootHim Why Don't You Just Shoot Her?]]: He makes it clear that he could have easily taken away Korra's bending when he ambushed her. He also makes it clear that doing so would have made her into a martyr, which is why Korra will be the last to lose her bending, and then she will die.
* WouldHitAGirl: He knocks Korra unconscious when he ambushes her. And he plans to kill her.
* WouldHurtAChild: In the finale, [[spoiler:he has captured Tenzin and his family and plans on debending them.]]
* XanatosGambit: Pulls one off in "And the Winner Is...". He makes [[DoNotAdjustYourSet a public demand over the radio]] that the city government shut down the Pro-Bending arena and cancel the championship match. If the pro-bending championships are not stopped, then he and the Equalists have an audience for the demonstration of their power and he gets to begin his war. If the tournament is canceled the government has given into Amon's demand and showed that it will not challenge him.
* [[spoiler:YouAreWhatYouHate]]: By implication, [[spoiler:if he was really sincere about his belief that benders are the source of all evil in the world]].
[[/folder]]
[[folder:The Lieutenant]]
!The Lieutenant
[[quoteright:350:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Screen_Shot_2012-04-29_at_11_40_21_AM_7512.png]]
[[caption-width-right:350:"You benders need to understand... there's no place in this world for you anymore."]]
->Voiced by Lance Henriksen
Amon's second-in-command.
----
* AwesomeBackpack: He carries a power generator on his back to supply power for his weapons.
** AmmunitionBackpack
* BadassMoustache
* BadassNormal
* [[spoiler:BrokenPedestal: Let's just say that he didn't take learning the truth about Amon well]].
* TheDeterminator: Always back up and ready for another fight, no matter how much of a beating he takes.
* DiminishingVillainThreat: Appears very threatening early on, soundly defeating Bolin and Mako in "The Revelation," but every time he is encountered thereafter, he is usually either attacking a helpless or outmatched opponent or he loses.
* TheDragon: For Amon.
* DualWielding: Electricfied kali sticks in both hands.
* EveryoneCallsHimBarkeep
* EvilSoundsDeep: Being voiced by Lance Henriksen, this is a given. That man could inhale multiple canisters of helium and he would still sound like he had more than one puberty.
* GlassCannon: Very agile and deadly in combat. He hits as fast as lightning, and he's very powerful. However, he goes down after one hit.
* GogglesDoNothing
* GoodHairEvilHair: He has a Fu Manchu moustache.
* HonorBeforeReason: Considering that he saw Amon [[spoiler: bloodbending]] Korra and Mako at the same time, he probably realized that a head-on charge would be suicide, but decided he'd rather go out swinging than continue to follow a lie.
* IcyBlueEyes
* ImpossiblyCoolWeapon: He wields a pair of electrified kali sticks, because his opponents are metalbending cops, and electricity works pretty well on all benders. The fact that an industrialized city like Republic City has conductive metal ''everywhere'' doesn't hurt, either.
* IneffectualSympatheticVillain: Starts to shade into this as the DiminishingVillainThreat kicks in. Poor guy can't do ''anything'' right.
* ItsPersonal: [[spoiler:When Korra's trapped in a metal cage, he shows a certain satisfaction in getting to shock her unconscious as payback. Unfortunately for him, she was one step ahead.]]
** He also takes [[spoiler:realizing that he'd been played by Amon]] pretty badly.
* MadeOfIron: Has been sucker punched with a boulder, knocked off a building, blasted over a roof, and smashed into the ground from midair by a polar bear dog. And each time, he has dusted himself off and returned ready to fight again.
* MookFaceTurn: [[spoiler:Turns on Amon when he finds out about his bending, though as usual he didn't do that well in the ensuing "fight".]]
* NobleTopEnforcer: While the Lieutenant comes off as sadistic and cruel, he truly believes in the Equalists' agenda and dedicated his life to it.
* NoNameGiven
* NoPeripheralVision: Maybe it's the goggles, but the Lieutenant has had an unfortunate tendency to be taken out by surprise, typically by someone new showing up from behind or the side while he's fighting another opponent.
* PsychoElectro: While he is serious in wanting to end bending like all other Equalists, he seems to actually enjoy inflicting pain on benders with his electric arsenal a bit ''too much''.
* ShockAndAwe
** StaticStunGun
* SimpleStaff: Of the two handheld rod variety.
* SpannerInTheWorks: His [[CurbStompBattle "battle"]] [[spoiler:with Amon gave Mako the time to muster up the energy to fire off his lightning.]]
* TallDarkAndHandsome: He actually doesn't look that bad unmasked.[[hottip:*:Seen [[http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m5q76pCfDJ1qa7n5e.gif here]]
* [[spoiler: YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness]]
[[/folder]]
[[folder:The Chi-blockers]]
!The Chi-blockers
[[quoteright:350:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Chi_blockers_6466.jpg]]
The foot-soldiers of the Equalist cause, trained in chi-blocking to nullify the powers of benders.
----
* AirplaneArms: They use the further back, ninja-like variation.
* BadassArmy: BadassNormal GasMaskMooks trained specifically in a PressurePoint-striking fighting method designed to temporarily [[PowerNullifier disarm]] and [[TheParalyzer disable]] the wielders of ElementalPowers.
* BadassBiker: The chi blockers are excellent motorcyclists.
* BadassNormal: They completely dominate Korra and Mako in their first fight, due to clever use of their gadgets and their martial arts.
* CombatPragmatist: They take any advantage they can get. Aside from their grenades, they use bolas, tripwires, whips, and do not obey MookChivalry.
* EliteMooks: They're pretty much an entire army of them. Even just a few of them can put up a hell of a fight against very powerful benders.
* EqualOpportunityEvil: Their figures show that more than a few are [[DarkActionGirl women]]. The ladies fight alongside the men. Also we can't be sure with their masks, but they seem to be non-benders from any of the three nations.
* GasMaskMooks: Since they use gas grenades, this is a necessary aspect of their outfit. Also helps when [[spoiler: being knocked down by fartbending]].
* KickTheDog: Electrocuting Shiro Shinobi, the announcer, who is a non-bender and wasn't fighting back.
* KungFuProofMook: The Equalists' MiniMecha are made from platinum, metal so pure metalbenders are incapable of manipulating it.
* MageKiller: Their combat training specifically targets benders.
* MiniMecha: Their platinum mech-tanks.
* {{Ninja}}
* TheParalyzer: Their blows cause temporary (and apparently painful) paralysis in addition to serving as a...
* PowerNullifier: Even after the paralysis wears off, a chi-blocker's strike will render their target temporarily unable to bend.
* PressurePoint: The centerpiece of their fighting style, featuring extremely rapid strikes.
* ShockAndAwe: A favored tactic of theirs, in various flavors:
** The less skilled among them use electricity-generating gloves. The ones in full attire never do.
** The MiniMecha have built in tasers and can fire bola disks which shock the recipient unconscious. This same weapon is used by hand occasionally.
* SmokeOut: They use grenades that release a greenish, slightly unpleasant gas to dissuade pursuers.
* TheVoiceless: They apparently use this as a psychological tactic, as their near-absolute silence in battle, communicating and coordinating only through gestures and reading each other's body motions, accentuate the inhumanity their faceless masks lend them. It's almost jarring when we hear them speak in episode 9 during unguarded moments.
* TheWorfEffect: In episode 10, several of them were quickly defeated by Jinora, Ikki, and Meelo. Somewhat justified by the fact that airbenders only number in the single digits and only one is actually an adult, so they weren't prepared for it. Add on to that the fact that they were attacked by children, which would be a surprise in itself assuming they were actually willing to assault children in the first place.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:The Protester]]
!The Protester
[[quoteright:350:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Screen_Shot_2012-04-29_at_11_27_37_AM_9261.png]]
->Voiced by Carlos Alazraqui
He's a protestor who comes into the Republic City park to preach about Amon's ideals.
----
* AttentionWhore: He promotes the Equalists for this reason, according to the official website. He attempts to get said attention by taking the unpopular position on any given issue (in this case, bending rights). His parents were evidently supportive of benders.
* BackForTheFinale
* BigWhat: He lets one out in the finale when [[spoiler:Amon outs himself as a waterbender.]]
%% EyesOfGold has more requirements for the trope than just "gold eyes". The protestor does not fit any of them.
* HotBloodedSideburns: Which also point to Fire Nation parentage.
* NoNameGiven
[[/folder]]
[[foldercontrol]]
[[folder:Amon]]
!Amon [[spoiler:/ Noatak]]
[[quoteright:332:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Amon_5948.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:332: "I am the solution."]]
->Voiced by SteveBlum
The leader of the Equalists and the primary antagonist of the first season. A man shrouded in mystery, Amon seeks to rid the world of benders and usher in a new era of equality. He seeks to destroy Korra, whose presence in Republic City threatens his anti-bender agenda.
----
* AmbiguouslyEvil: With his past completely shrouded in mystery aside from his personal testimony, it's hard to say just how evil he is. That said, the further the show goes on, the further down the slope he goes. [[spoiler:Once his endgame kicks in, he has no problem launching a full-scale assault on the city, depowering metalbender cops (including Lin Beifong), kidnapping the entire council (save Tenzin but not for lack of trying), and attacking Tenzin's family when he knew Tenzin wasn't there to help them. The last part is especially notable because he'd be complicit in the nearly-successful genocide of the Air Nomads started by the Fire Nation nearly two centuries earlier had he succeeded (though, admittedly, he probably wouldn't ''kill'' them, just strip them of their bending). According to Tarrlok, he does genuinely believe his rhetoric, despite his heritage.]]
** In the end, despite having his backstory [[spoiler: revealed]], Amon is still AmbiguouslyEvil to the extreme. Was [[spoiler: Tarrlok]] right in saying that Amon genuinely believed in his rhetoric, [[spoiler: despite being a bender himself, or did his use of bloodbending [[DrunkOnTheDarkSide Send Him Over the Edge]]]]? Was the [[spoiler: tear he cried right before Tarrlok ignited the fuel tank of the boat they were riding in acknowledgement and acceptance of what Tarrlok [[RedemptionEqualsDeath Was About]] [[MurderSuicide To Do]], or simply him recalling a fond memory?]] The questions go on and on.
* [[spoiler:AccidentalPublicConfession]]: [[spoiler:Non-verbal one. After being blasted out of a window into the ocean, he instinctively waterbends himself back out, exposing himself as a waterbender and washing off the paint used to fake a firebending scar.]]
* AntiVillain: [[SlidingScaleOfAntiVillains Type]] [[WellIntentionedExtremist III]]. Wanting equality and to help lower class citizens isn't bad... but doing so by trying to eradicate bending is extreme. He only targets benders who use their abilities for evil, at least until he's built up enough support to get away with more ambiguous targets or full-on public servants. He has also told Korra to her face (while his men held her down) that the only reason she still has her bending is that he is saving her for later. For all purposes, he does appear to have a moral code. It's just that he is pragmatic enough to take more amoral or even outright immoral actions to see his plans come to fruition.
** [[spoiler:It's revealed in the finale he's actually Yakone's son and a bloodbender, and, according to Tarrlok, came to the conclusion that bending was the root of all evil due to his father's [[AbusiveParents Abusiveness]]. The fact that bloodbending is known to get people DrunkOnTheDarkSide probably didn't hurt. He ultimately seems to come in as a solid [[SlidingScaleOfAntiVillains Type II]] AntiVillain, alongside his previously inferred Type III position. On the other hand, the show is somewhat unclear, as Tarrlok says he enjoyed the power Bloodbending gave him and we see him bloodbend a pack of wolves to bow down to him in a flashback.]]
* AuthorityEqualsAsskicking: He prefers not to fight (see Pragmatic Villainy) but when he does....
* {{Badass}}: He has yet to lose a one-on-one fight to anyone. Notable because this has included a firebender skilled in shooting lightning and a [[spoiler:bloodbender, which he somehow powered through despite the debilitating effect it had on his men]].
** BadassNormal[=/=]MageKiller: He's a very powerful chi-blocker.
*** [[spoiler:BadassAbnormal: But he's actually a waterbender and a bloodbender. Tarrlok's brother no less.]]
** BadassBaritone: He ''is'' voiced by SteveBlum.
** BadassBoast:
--->'''[[spoiler:Tarrlok]]:''' [[WhatTheHellAreYou What... what are you?]]
--->'''Amon:''' I am the solution.
* [[spoiler:BadPowersBadPeople]]: Zig zagged. [[spoiler: He's a bloodbender, but he is basically a WellIntentionedExtremist and/or KnightTemplar, so he's bad in a rather unorthodox way.]]
* BeneathTheMask: [[spoiler: Once stripped of his plans and supporters, he seems to be nothing more than an optimistic and possibly even naive man longing to live the life he never had with his baby brother. Given Tarrlok's MurderSuicide of them both, it is arguable as to whether that would remain the case ever after.]]
* BigBad: Of Book One.
** [[spoiler:BigBadEnsemble]]: [[spoiler:[[SubvertedTrope Subverted]]. It appeared that he would be this with Tarrlok in the eighth episode of the first season, but upon their meeting at the end of episode 9, Amon resists [[BigBadWannabe Tarrlok]]'s bloodbending and de-bends him. Which leaves Amon as the only, and rightful BigBad.]]
* [[spoiler: BigBrotherInstinct: Tarrlok claims he always looked out for him when they were kids. In ''Out of the Past'' he does the gruntwork of taking Tarrlock to the truck himself while the Lieutenant and some mooks try to nab Korra, quite possibly to protect his brother from them, as any of them would likely take the chance to hurt him. At the finale, Amon tells him he's all he has left in the world.]]
* [[spoiler: BoomerangBigot: He's a waterbender, and none too proud of it, if Tarrlok's right about his motives.]]
* BreakingSpeech: He delivers one so effective and intimidating that Korra suffers a complete breakdown afterwards.
* [[spoiler: CainAndAbel: Zigzagged. He takes away his brother's bending, but his brother ultimately kills him. And, well, he still loves him regardless.]]
* TheChessmaster: Holy crap, yes. His actions in Episode 6 sealed his status as one and [[MagnificentBastard even more.]] See XanatosGambit below.
* [[spoiler:ChildProdigy: Mastered bloodbending at ''14''.]]
* CombatPragmatist: Uses ambushes, greater numbers, weapons the opposition has no defense against, and psychological warfare to lead the Equalists to victory. [[spoiler:He also subtly uses bloodbending to gain the edge in fights with other benders without exposing himself.]]
* CoolMask: Some kind of Venetian Carnival mask, it has the spook factor of one.
* CrazyPrepared: The Finale reveals that [[spoiler:he wears fake scars on his face just by the off chance that someone might knock his mask off, or force him to reveal his face.]]
* CulturePolice: Desires to end pro-bending as means to end "bending worship".
* DangerouslyGenreSavvy:
** He lets Korra escape the Revelation because she'd be the "perfect messenger" about what just transpired; letting Benders hear it from the Avatar herself that he has the power to take away bending.
** When answering Korra's gauntlet throw-down on Aang's Memorial Island, [[spoiler:he doesn't come alone. He has chi-blockers [[ZergRush dog pile]] Korra first, then says he won't unbend her because he'd just create a martyr.]] He seems fairly intent on his "No Martyr" policy, at least for the early stages of his plan. [[spoiler: His victims are either unpopular with the public or publicly shamed by Amon himself before neutralization (crime lords, Wolfbats after cheating, Tarrlok after losing his good publicity, etc.)]]
** His plan in "And the Winner Is...". See XanatosGambit below.
** [[spoiler:He also took the extremely dangerous Tarrlok off guard and in a position where Tarrlok had no water at his disposal to bend. With his bloodbending useless, Tarrlok was forced to fight Amon hand to hand, something Amon is exceptionally skilled at, instead of being able to fight back with his extremely powerful bending.]]
** [[spoiler:He wears makeup beneath his mask to fake a firebending scar, just in case he needs to put down any claim that he's lying.]]
* DarkMessiah: He's set himself up as a Messiah figure to the Equalist movement, and his ultimate goal is to replace the Avatar as the world's savior. Though the Equalists are not a religious movement, he does claim that his exceptional abilities were granted to him by the spirits that protect the world, and that it is his destiny to be the savior of non-benders by bringing them into balance with those who can (or could) bend.
* [[spoiler: DeathEqualsRedemption / HeelRealization]]: Depending on your [[AlternateCharacterInterpretation interpretation]] of [[spoiler: the single tear he cries before Tarrlok kills the two of them, it's possible he fell under this trope; if he was indeed aware of what Tarrlok was about to do, and did nothing to stop him, the likely conclusion is that he accepted his brothers' judgement, and understood why he needed to die.]]
* DeathGlare: Gives quite a potent one to Korra as seen in episode 4 when he confronts her underneath Aang's statue. It's especially notable since he can give quite a DeathGlare even behind that mask.
* [[spoiler:DePower]]: [[spoiler:He has the ability to strip people of their bending. He somehow uses bloodbending to do it, and in such a way that even Katara can't heal it. However, true energybending can counteract this.]]
* DiabolicalMastermind: Beneath his ruse of being a revolutionary, he seems to be this.
* DissonantSerenity: The cargo bay of his [[CoolAirship zeppelin]] being filled with flame by Korra [[UnflinchingWalk doesn't even break his stride]]. [[spoiler:He doesn't seem fazed by Tarrlok's bloodbending, and while he's affected he is able to push through and maintain his composure without faltering.]] The mask definitely helps with the effect.
* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: His ideals parallel the development of Communism and Fascism, which rose to compete against the fledgling democracies of the early 20th century. His rhetoric also is reminiscent of the Taiping Rebellion, as he fashions himself as a messianic figure and tries to replace the Avatar.
* TheDreaded: He terrifies Korra to the point that she breaks down into tears after one confrontation with him, and his encounter with Bolin left the earthbender with nightmares for at least a week.
* [[spoiler:DrunkOnTheDarkSide]]: [[spoiler:Like Tarrlok, he was taught bloodbending by his father, which may have had something to do with his descent into villainy.]]
* [[spoiler:EvenEvilHasLovedOnes:]] [[spoiler:He does seem to still love Tarrlok, although he rejected him when they were children and took his bending away.]]
* ExpressiveMask: On occasion, there are subtle illustration changes to the mouth on his mask, and his eyes and tone do the rest.
* EvilSoundsDeep: What else would you expect from SteveBlum? Evil's as deep as the ocean.
* [[spoiler: FamousLastWords]]: [[spoiler:"I had almost forgotten the sound of my own name."]]
* [[FantasticRacism Fantastic Racist]]: Hates benders and seeks to get rid of bending altogether.
* TheFaceless: [[UnreliableExpositor Supposedly]] due to FacialHorror.
* FacialHorror: The stated reason for his mask. He [[UnreliableExpositor claims]] to have gotten the scars from the same Firebender that killed his family. [[spoiler:He's lying. Underneath the mask, [[CrazyPrepared and the makeup he's wearing under the mask]], he's actually [[http://minuiko.tumblr.com/post/25723337788/one-other-thing-it-kills-me-to-see-how-helpless good looking]].]]
* {{Foil}}:
** To Korra. [[spoiler:His debending powers make him a sort of anti-Avatar]]. He's also styling himself in the same vein as an Avatar, claiming to be a savior sent by the spirits. He also is a very calm, controlled individual who claims to be sent by the spirits, while Korra is a BoisterousBruiser who has ''major'' difficulty with the spiritual side of bending. [[spoiler: It also turns out they're both native waterbenders and bending [[ChildProdigy Child Prodigies]]. Not to mention his young self looks strikingly like a male version of Korra.]]
** His back-story is very similar to Mako and Bolin's. They all had parents killed by a firebender. But while the brothers eventually learned to live with their loss, he took it in a completely [[FantasticRacism different direction.]] [[spoiler: Of course, this turns out to be a lie.]]
** In a meta sense, he's a foil to Ozai in the same sense that Korra is to Aang. Whereas Ozai was a power-hungry conqueror, Amon is a partisan revolutionary. Ozai was as close to a complete monster as a character can be in a child-friendly cartoon, whereas Amon is arguably an anti-villain. Ozai was [[spoiler:defeated with energybending]] and Amon [[spoiler:takes away bending and is ultimately defeated by revealing his bending. Amon is also a waterbender, further providing contrast between them]].
** In a way, he could be seen as this to Tarrlok. Both men are highly charismatic people who've captured the hearts of their respective branches of public, [[AuthorityEqualsAsskicking they're both more than capable of holding their own in a fight]], [[spoiler:and they both have secret powers that come off as a major shock to anyone who's fighting them for the first time]]. And then it turns out [[spoiler:[[SiblingYinYang Tarrlok is Amon's brother.]]]]
* FreudianExcuse: Amon explains at an Equalist rally that his parents were murdered and his face disfigured by a firebender when he was just a child.
** [[spoiler:Turns out that backstory is a lie, but his real backstory is arguably just as sympathetic. His father, Yakone, was an extremely [[AbusiveParents abusive parent]], and forced him and his brother Tarrlok to learn bloodbending so he could use them to exact revenge on Republic City and the Avatar. Ultimately, this mistreatment put Amon on the path to darkness. Eventually, when his father made him and his brother use bloodbending on each other, he turned on his father, and ran away from home.]]
* FromNobodyToNightmare: He claims to have once been a simple FarmBoy... then, his family was murdered. Now he's a DarkMessiah revolutionary trying to bring down bending and replace the Avatar.
** [[spoiler: [[ZigZaggedTrope Zig Zagged]] in the finale; turns out his father was Yakone, who fled Republic City. He was still nobody when he left the Northern Water tribe, but his story wasn't the one he claimed it was.]]
* GeniusBruiser: Really good public speaker, social leader, and [[TheChessmaster master strategist]]; terrifyingly good close-combatant[[spoiler:, prodigy waterbender and psychic bloodbender]].
* GloriousLeader
* GoldAndWhiteAreDivine: An unusual case in that said colour pattern is confined to his mask.
* GoodColorsEvilColors:
** His mask is white and gold, noble colors, which are his ''mask'' which he hides behind, his red circle on his head could be his "evil" ambitions poking through his veneer of righteousness, and the fact that this is surrounded by black seems to mean he is the one noble being surrounded by darkness "benders" his point of view.
** When viewed through the lens of [[http://www.sensationalcolor.com/color-messages-meanings/color-around-the-globe/china-the-colorful-masks-of-the-chinese-opera.html Chinese opera]], Amon's mask takes on considerable symbolism. Its white/silver and gold color scheme immediately places the character in the realm of the mystic, with the gold/yellow coloration also playing into the character traits of treachery and ferociousness. The red circle on his forehead evokes a hint of Buddhist symbolism, referencing his spiritual connection, and also carries some connotations with intelligence and cleverness.
** White is the color of death in Asian cultures, which fits well with the symbolism often attributed to the WhiteMaskOfDoom. Red and gold are generally considered positive colors in Chinese culture, making their use [[LightIsNotGood ironic]] in this case.
** The gold on his mask can also be seen as green. Another [[http://atla-annotated.tumblr.com/post/19671786341/amons-mask-analyzed-through-beijing-opera analysis]] through that lens holds that the white symbolizes cunning, treachery, and craftiness, the green is violence and lack of self-restraint, and the red dot is both spirituality and the mocking of it.
* [[spoiler: GoOutWithASmile: After losing Republic City and the Equalists, Amon decides to reclaim his old identity as Noatak and turn over a new leaf with Tarrlok, his long-lost brother. As they leave on a getaway boat, Noatak happily contemplates the new life they would build with each other as brothers, while Tarrlok silently decides to kill both of themselves as recompense for their past crimes and to halt their father's villainous legacy once and for all. From the driver's seat Noatak smiles as he muses on how he'd almost forgotten the sound of his own name and begins crying, perhaps [[DeathEqualsRedemption realizing and accepting]] what Tarrlok is about to do just before Tarrlok ignites the gas tank and detonates the boat.]]
* HeroKiller: [[spoiler:Anyone he can lay his hands on is effectively neutralized since they can no longer bend. His first confrontation with Korra also implies that he plans to kill her after taking away her bending, though that may have been poor use of the phrase "untimely demise" as a metaphor.]] He fully enters into this trope after de-bending [[spoiler:Lin Beifong]].
* HiddenAgendaVillain: Throughout the series, his real motivations are never really revealed. [[spoiler:His backstory implies he's either a KnightTemplar seeking to rid the world of bending because he seeks it as the root of all evil, or was seeking to follow in his father's footsteps and take over Republic City. Evidence is presented for both.]]
* {{Hypocrite}}: In several ways. He wants to get rid of benders for making non-benders live in terror, while his own strategy consists of doing exactly that. Not to mention that he's not only [[spoiler:a bender himself, but a ''bloodbender'', aka the most dangerous type of bender in the world]]. And in the end, [[spoiler:the Lieutenant]] is not at all happy to realize this.
* IAmTheNoun: "I am the ''solution''".
** Also printed on some of his posters, though that's a [[BilingualBonus Readers Of Chinese Bonus]].
* InTheHood
* TheJuggernaut: [[spoiler:When Tarrlok tries to use bloodbending on him, he just shrugs it off and keeps advancing. Turns out he was bloodbending himself.]]
* JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope: While some of his actions were extreme before, he does this in episode 10 when [[spoiler:he carries out a ''massive'' invasion on Republic City. This carries on into the finale, when he attempts to debend the last remaining airbenders, three of whom are children.]]
** [[spoiler: This appears to have happened some time in his backstory, between Noatak running away from home and taking up the identity of Amon.]]
* JustToyingWithThem: Amon makes a show out of tying up [[ElementalPowers bending]] members of a crime syndicate (and one of the heroes who got mixed up with them) and [[spoiler: removing their powers]] in front of a huge crowd of [[AntimagicalFaction Equalist]] sympathizers. This trope comes into play when, as part of his show, Amon lets the crime boss loose and offers him the chance to fight to protect himself. It's all the more impressive when Amon wins. [[CurbStompBattle Rather easily]], in fact. [[spoiler:It's later revealed he uses bloodbending to get them to move somewhat predictably without revealing his ability, making his defeat of them inevitable.]]
* JustYouMeAndMyGuards: [[spoiler:How Amon eventually responds to Korra's mano-a-mano challenge to him. Could be justified because Tarrlok was supposed to have soldiers watching the fight, and Amon is GenreSavvy enough to suspect something like that.]]
* KickTheSonOfABitch: Every early instance of on-screen [[spoiler:de-bending]] we saw him carry out was upon someone who was used their bending to illegally gain a position of power while being protected from reprisals by corruption in the system (the Triple Threat Triad, an organized crime syndicate, as well as the Wolfbats who cheated their way into winning the tournament, and [[spoiler:Tarrlok]]). This is a consistent part of his political strategy, and also why he refuses to fight Korra at first.
** KickTheDog: After his plans have advanced far enough that he doesn't need the good press anymore, he has no problem attacking benders who haven't done anything to deserve it. [[spoiler:The Metalbending police, the entire Republic City Council (save Tenzin), the last airbenders (who escaped), and Lin Beifong. Not to mention bombing the crap out of Republic City. In the finale, he has benders lined up execution-style, captures Tenzin and his family to eliminate airbending altogether, and attacks and possibly ''kills'' the Lieutenant when he finds out Amon is a bloodbender.]]
* [[spoiler:KilledOffForReal]]: [[spoiler:Escapes Republic City with Tarrlok, but Tarrlok ultimately decides to sacrifice himself to stop him once and for all by blowing up the boat they're in.]]
* KneelBeforeZod: [[spoiler:Forces a pack of wolves to do this as a child with bloodbending .]]
* KnightOfCerebus: While the series started out as upbeat, immediately after his appearance, the story became much darker. Unlike [[CompleteMonster Ozai]], who wanted to [[CardCarryingVillain take over the world and prove his superiority to the Avatar]]; he has made it quite clear that he intends to kill Korra and rid the world of Benders to which he does with lethal precision and intimidating charisma.
** Given the [[PuttingOnTheReich things]] [[MindRape he]] [[NoSell does]], he could be considered one of these for ''the franchise itself''!
* KnightTemplar: See WellIntentionedExtremist below. He definitely invokes this in his rhetoric. His [[spoiler: attacks on Republic City and Air Temple Island in the final episodes]] push him over the edge, however.
* KnowWhenToFoldEm: [[spoiler: After being defeated by Korra and Mako, he immediately leaves and retrieves Tarrlok, before leaving the Equalists behind to start a new life with his brother.]]
* LightIsNotGood: Though Amon invokes certain heavenly archetypes with his [[GoldAndWhiteAreDivine white and gold]] sun mask, Egyptian sun god name, golden eyes, and [[MessianicArchetype possible mystical connections]], he's still the leader of a private military force with a cultist agenda. [[spoiler:He's a waterbender, and while a bloodbender, his method is essencially a reversal of [[HealingHands waterbending healing]], manipulating chi regardless. Thus, arguably WhiteMagic.]]
* LightningBruiser: Extremely agile and nimble fighter with the strength to take down even the most skilled benders with no sweat.
* MadeOfIron: He took a lightning bolt to the chest, several seconds long at that, and ''walked it off''.
* [[spoiler:MakingASplash]]: [[spoiler:Turns out he's a waterbender and a bloodbender.]]
** [[spoiler:BloodMagic]]
* [[MalevolentMaskedMen Malevolent Masked Man]]: Like the lower-level Equalists, although they're GasMaskMooks and his is more of a traditional mask.
* MissionFromGod: He claims that he was chosen by the spirits to bring down bending and replace the Avatar.
* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: "Amon" has plenty of possible meanings.
** To start, it's the name of an Egyptian god and a [[ArsGoetia demon]].
** The word or root "Amen" means "what is hidden", "what is not seen", "what cannot be seen" and the like.
** One of the worst Nazi criminals was [[Film/SchindlersList Amon Goeth]].
** [[http://masterarrowhead.tumblr.com/post/21546778935/hawkfeather-atla-annotated-energybending-a Amon is also the name of an acupuncture point on the back of the neck.]] Amon was shown pressing onto that point as well as the forehead.
** A fan [[http://atla-annotated.tumblr.com/post/21979689321/amon-is-the-answer-interesting-choice-of translated his name written in Chinese characters]]. 阿蒙. ‘cover; ignorant; suffer’.
* NoSell: When [[spoiler:Tarrlok]] uses [[spoiler:bloodbending]] to incapacitate his mooks, Amon shrugs it off. Even when [[spoiler:Tarrlok]] redoubled his efforts, it just barely slowed Amon down. [[spoiler:Since he can bloodbend with his mind, he was able to counteract Tarrlok's powers without moving.]]
* ObviouslyEvil: He looks pretty dang evil, but looking at him through the lens of Asian Culture (which Avatar takes heavy cues from), he looks a ''lot'' more evil. See GoodColorsEvilColors.
* [[spoiler:ThePowerOfBlood]]: [[spoiler:He's a bloodbender. He's so good that he can do it [[BeyondTheImpossible without moving his hands. In daytime.]]]]
** [[spoiler:PsychicPowers]]: [[spoiler:Tarrlok specifically calls his bloodbending this.]]
* PragmaticVillainy:
** "[[Recap/TheLegendOfKorraS1E4TheVoiceInTheNight The Voice in the Night]]" reveals just how pragmatic he is, to the point of ReasonBeforeHonor.
** Get challenged to a one-on-one duel? No {{Mooks}} for either side? [[spoiler:So you've made yourself defenseless. Perfect. Meet my platoon of chi-blockers.]]
** At last, I have my most dangerous opponent [[IHaveYouNowMyPretty at my mercy]]. [[spoiler:See ya round kid. [[DangerouslyGenreSavvy The international public outcry wouldn't be worth it right now.]] But don't worry! I'm going to save you for last, letting you watch all you love and care for be destroyed before I take you out. Toodle-oo!]]
* PreAssKickingOneLiner: "It is time for you to be Equalized."
* [[spoiler:PsychopathicManChild]]: [[spoiler:In his final scenes he displays naivety and untoward optimism, shucking off his persona of Amon as if it was a disguise. He's incredibly cheerful for a defeated man and is seemingly giddy from the prospect of being with his little brother again, as if he and Tarrlok are two little schoolboys running away from home. He seems to think everything will be just fine, ignoring the fact that every facet of their identities were shaped so that a normal life would be improbable or even impossible.]]
** That said, [[spoiler: the sheer amount of explosives/electric weapons, as well as his tear before Tarrlok exploded the boat, might imply it was a ruse to lead his brother to kill them both.]]
* RebelLeader: He is the leader of the anti-bending movement.
* ScrewThisImOuttaHere: [[spoiler: After being defeated and uncovered by Korra, Tarrlok asks him to escape together and rebuild a life as brothers. Amon agrees, and ultimately seems to be truly happy to do so.]]
* ShadowArchetype: To Korra, as essentially the anti-Avatar. He's also one to Bolin and Mako, as they've all lost their parents to Firebenders. However, Amon now wants to destroy all benders, while Bolin and Mako are making the best of their situation.
* [[spoiler:SiblingYinYang]]: [[spoiler:With Tarrlok.]]
* [[spoiler:SingleTear]]: [[spoiler:Sheds one right before his death]].
* StrongerSibling: [[spoiler:He's Tarrlok's.]]
* SuperPowerLottery: Assuming that his abilities are, in fact, supernatural, he won the jackpot. Moves so quickly that he can avoid most all bending attacks directed at him.
** As it turns out [[spoiler:he's a bloodbender, which he used to dodge attacks and to strip people of their bending.]]
* TellMeHowYouFight: [[spoiler:Tarrlok identifies Amon as his brother, despite Amon's appearance being totally concealed, by the distinctive feel of his bloodbending]].
* [[spoiler:ThisCannotBe]]: [[spoiler:When he debends Korra only for her to use airbending against him.]]
* [[spoiler:TragicVillain]]: In the finale, it's revealed that [[spoiler:Amon is actually Tarrlok's older brother, Noatak. He and Tarrlok were forced by their [[AbusiveParents father]] Yakone to learn bloodbending, so that he could use them to exact vengeance on Republic City and the Avatar. After Yakone forced him and Tarrlok to use bloodbending on each other, Noatak turned on his father, incapacitated him with bloodbending, and ran away from home, taking up the identity of Amon years later. According to Tarrlok, he really and truly believed bending to be the root of all evil in the world, despite being a bender himself, though Tarrlok also implies Amon enjoyed the power bloodbending gave him.]]
** It's worse than that. [[spoiler: He wanted Tarrlok to run away with him, but he didn't want to leave their mother behind. At the finale he's looking forward to a peaceful life with his brother. Apparently that's all he really wanted.]]
* [[spoiler:{{Tykebomb}}: His father Yakone tried to turn him and his brother, Tarrlok, into this in a plot for revenge on Republic City and the Avatar. While he ''did'' turn on his father, he ultimately ended up fulfilling what Yakone wanted him to do anyway, make Republic City suffer.]]
* {{Ubermensch}}
* TheUnfettered: He ''seems'' to have rules but really just pragmatism. He'll do anything.
* UnflinchingWalk:
** Pulls this off in the face of a fireball that blasts most of his {{Mooks}} away.
** Also, [[spoiler:when up against Tarrlok, he pulls this off. Which is impressive, because he ''shouldn't'' have been able to stand, let alone walk. It turns out Amon himself is a bloodbender, hence why he wasn't affected.]]
* UnreliableExpositor: His highly theatrical presentation of his "revelation," his {{backstory}} and even [[spoiler: his energybending]], throws the truthfulness of all he says into question.
** [[spoiler:It's ''all'' a lie. He's actually Tarrlok's older brother and a waterbender, who uses the bloodbending their father Yakone forced him and his brother to learn to prevent people from bending. That said, according to Tarrlok, he genuinely believes bending to be the root of all evil.]]
* [[spoiler:UsedToBeASweetKid]]: [[spoiler:Until his father forced him and his brother to learn bloodbending.]]
* VillainHasAPoint: His talk about benders oppressing non-benders gained a lot more credence [[spoiler:once Tarrlok took over.]]
* VillainWithGoodPublicity: A major part of his plan is to become this. So far, he's been remarkably successful. While officially considered a terrorist, he has amassed a massive amount of followers, enough to threaten all of Republic City.
* [[spoiler:VillainousBreakdown]]: [[spoiler:After Korra manages to use airbending despite having been debended. He ''really'' gets this once he's not only unmasked, but his makeup to make him look scarred is washed off in the water, revealing him for what he really is.]]
* [[spoiler:VillainousRescue]]: [[spoiler:Rescues Korra from Tarrlok, though he didn't plan on letting her go free after taking down Tarrlok.]]
* VisionaryVillain: A world of equality.
* WellIntentionedExtremist: According to himself, Amon genuinely wants to make a better world. Said better world simply involves the eradication of bending and most likely placing himself in power.
** [[spoiler:It turns out his backstory was a lie, and he's actually a bender, though Tarrlok thinks he genuinely believes that bending is the root of all evil.]]
* WhiteMaskOfDoom: The only known Equalist to have one.
* [[WhyDontYouJustShootHim Why Don't You Just Shoot Her?]]: He makes it clear that he could have easily taken away Korra's bending when he ambushed her. He also makes it clear that doing so would have made her into a martyr, which is why Korra will be the last to lose her bending, and then she will die.
* WouldHitAGirl: He knocks Korra unconscious when he ambushes her. And he plans to kill her.
* WouldHurtAChild: In the finale, [[spoiler:he has captured Tenzin and his family and plans on debending them.]]
* XanatosGambit: Pulls one off in "And the Winner Is...". He makes [[DoNotAdjustYourSet a public demand over the radio]] that the city government shut down the Pro-Bending arena and cancel the championship match. If the pro-bending championships are not stopped, then he and the Equalists have an audience for the demonstration of their power and he gets to begin his war. If the tournament is canceled the government has given into Amon's demand and showed that it will not challenge him.
* [[spoiler:YouAreWhatYouHate]]: By implication, [[spoiler:if he was really sincere about his belief that benders are the source of all evil in the world]].
[[/folder]]
[[folder:The Lieutenant]]
!The Lieutenant
[[quoteright:350:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Screen_Shot_2012-04-29_at_11_40_21_AM_7512.png]]
[[caption-width-right:350:"You benders need to understand... there's no place in this world for you anymore."]]
->Voiced by Lance Henriksen
Amon's second-in-command.
----
* AwesomeBackpack: He carries a power generator on his back to supply power for his weapons.
** AmmunitionBackpack
* BadassMoustache
* BadassNormal
* [[spoiler:BrokenPedestal: Let's just say that he didn't take learning the truth about Amon well]].
* TheDeterminator: Always back up and ready for another fight, no matter how much of a beating he takes.
* DiminishingVillainThreat: Appears very threatening early on, soundly defeating Bolin and Mako in "The Revelation," but every time he is encountered thereafter, he is usually either attacking a helpless or outmatched opponent or he loses.
* TheDragon: For Amon.
* DualWielding: Electricfied kali sticks in both hands.
* EveryoneCallsHimBarkeep
* EvilSoundsDeep: Being voiced by Lance Henriksen, this is a given. That man could inhale multiple canisters of helium and he would still sound like he had more than one puberty.
* GlassCannon: Very agile and deadly in combat. He hits as fast as lightning, and he's very powerful. However, he goes down after one hit.
* GogglesDoNothing
* GoodHairEvilHair: He has a Fu Manchu moustache.
* HonorBeforeReason: Considering that he saw Amon [[spoiler: bloodbending]] Korra and Mako at the same time, he probably realized that a head-on charge would be suicide, but decided he'd rather go out swinging than continue to follow a lie.
* IcyBlueEyes
* ImpossiblyCoolWeapon: He wields a pair of electrified kali sticks, because his opponents are metalbending cops, and electricity works pretty well on all benders. The fact that an industrialized city like Republic City has conductive metal ''everywhere'' doesn't hurt, either.
* IneffectualSympatheticVillain: Starts to shade into this as the DiminishingVillainThreat kicks in. Poor guy can't do ''anything'' right.
* ItsPersonal: [[spoiler:When Korra's trapped in a metal cage, he shows a certain satisfaction in getting to shock her unconscious as payback. Unfortunately for him, she was one step ahead.]]
** He also takes [[spoiler:realizing that he'd been played by Amon]] pretty badly.
* MadeOfIron: Has been sucker punched with a boulder, knocked off a building, blasted over a roof, and smashed into the ground from midair by a polar bear dog. And each time, he has dusted himself off and returned ready to fight again.
* MookFaceTurn: [[spoiler:Turns on Amon when he finds out about his bending, though as usual he didn't do that well in the ensuing "fight".]]
* NobleTopEnforcer: While the Lieutenant comes off as sadistic and cruel, he truly believes in the Equalists' agenda and dedicated his life to it.
* NoNameGiven
* NoPeripheralVision: Maybe it's the goggles, but the Lieutenant has had an unfortunate tendency to be taken out by surprise, typically by someone new showing up from behind or the side while he's fighting another opponent.
* PsychoElectro: While he is serious in wanting to end bending like all other Equalists, he seems to actually enjoy inflicting pain on benders with his electric arsenal a bit ''too much''.
* ShockAndAwe
** StaticStunGun
* SimpleStaff: Of the two handheld rod variety.
* SpannerInTheWorks: His [[CurbStompBattle "battle"]] [[spoiler:with Amon gave Mako the time to muster up the energy to fire off his lightning.]]
* TallDarkAndHandsome: He actually doesn't look that bad unmasked.[[hottip:*:Seen [[http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m5q76pCfDJ1qa7n5e.gif here]]
* [[spoiler: YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness]]
[[/folder]]
[[folder:The Chi-blockers]]
!The Chi-blockers
[[quoteright:350:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Chi_blockers_6466.jpg]]
The foot-soldiers of the Equalist cause, trained in chi-blocking to nullify the powers of benders.
----
* AirplaneArms: They use the further back, ninja-like variation.
* BadassArmy: BadassNormal GasMaskMooks trained specifically in a PressurePoint-striking fighting method designed to temporarily [[PowerNullifier disarm]] and [[TheParalyzer disable]] the wielders of ElementalPowers.
* BadassBiker: The chi blockers are excellent motorcyclists.
* BadassNormal: They completely dominate Korra and Mako in their first fight, due to clever use of their gadgets and their martial arts.
* CombatPragmatist: They take any advantage they can get. Aside from their grenades, they use bolas, tripwires, whips, and do not obey MookChivalry.
* EliteMooks: They're pretty much an entire army of them. Even just a few of them can put up a hell of a fight against very powerful benders.
* EqualOpportunityEvil: Their figures show that more than a few are [[DarkActionGirl women]]. The ladies fight alongside the men. Also we can't be sure with their masks, but they seem to be non-benders from any of the three nations.
* GasMaskMooks: Since they use gas grenades, this is a necessary aspect of their outfit. Also helps when [[spoiler: being knocked down by fartbending]].
* KickTheDog: Electrocuting Shiro Shinobi, the announcer, who is a non-bender and wasn't fighting back.
* KungFuProofMook: The Equalists' MiniMecha are made from platinum, metal so pure metalbenders are incapable of manipulating it.
* MageKiller: Their combat training specifically targets benders.
* MiniMecha: Their platinum mech-tanks.
* {{Ninja}}
* TheParalyzer: Their blows cause temporary (and apparently painful) paralysis in addition to serving as a...
* PowerNullifier: Even after the paralysis wears off, a chi-blocker's strike will render their target temporarily unable to bend.
* PressurePoint: The centerpiece of their fighting style, featuring extremely rapid strikes.
* ShockAndAwe: A favored tactic of theirs, in various flavors:
** The less skilled among them use electricity-generating gloves. The ones in full attire never do.
** The MiniMecha have built in tasers and can fire bola disks which shock the recipient unconscious. This same weapon is used by hand occasionally.
* SmokeOut: They use grenades that release a greenish, slightly unpleasant gas to dissuade pursuers.
* TheVoiceless: They apparently use this as a psychological tactic, as their near-absolute silence in battle, communicating and coordinating only through gestures and reading each other's body motions, accentuate the inhumanity their faceless masks lend them. It's almost jarring when we hear them speak in episode 9 during unguarded moments.
* TheWorfEffect: In episode 10, several of them were quickly defeated by Jinora, Ikki, and Meelo. Somewhat justified by the fact that airbenders only number in the single digits and only one is actually an adult, so they weren't prepared for it. Add on to that the fact that they were attacked by children, which would be a surprise in itself assuming they were actually willing to assault children in the first place.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:The Protester]]
!The Protester
[[quoteright:350:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Screen_Shot_2012-04-29_at_11_27_37_AM_9261.png]]
->Voiced by Carlos Alazraqui
He's a protestor who comes into the Republic City park to preach about Amon's ideals.
----
* AttentionWhore: He promotes the Equalists for this reason, according to the official website. He attempts to get said attention by taking the unpopular position on any given issue (in this case, bending rights). His parents were evidently supportive of benders.
* BackForTheFinale
* BigWhat: He lets one out in the finale when [[spoiler:Amon outs himself as a waterbender.]]
%% EyesOfGold has more requirements for the trope than just "gold eyes". The protestor does not fit any of them.
* HotBloodedSideburns: Which also point to Fire Nation parentage.
* NoNameGiven
[[/folder]]
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* LightningBruiser: Extremely agile and nimble fighter with the strength to take down even the most skilled benders with no sweat.
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* LightningBruiser: Extremely agile and nimble fighter with the strength to take down even the most skilled benders with no sweat. sweat.
* MadeOfIron: He took a lightning bolt to the chest, several seconds long at that, and ''walked it off''.
* MadeOfIron: He took a lightning bolt to the chest, several seconds long at that, and ''walked it off''.
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* [[spoiler: PsychopathicManChild: In his final scenes he displays naivety and untoward optimism, shucking off his persona of Amon as if it was a disguise. He's incredibly cheerful for a defeated man and is seemingly giddy from the prospect of being with his little brother again, as if he and Tarrlok are too little schoolboys running away from home. He seems to think everything will be just fine, ignoring the fact that every facet of their identities were shaped so that a normal life would be improbable or even impossible.]]
to:
* [[spoiler: PsychopathicManChild: In [[spoiler:PsychopathicManChild]]: [[spoiler:In his final scenes he displays naivety and untoward optimism, shucking off his persona of Amon as if it was a disguise. He's incredibly cheerful for a defeated man and is seemingly giddy from the prospect of being with his little brother again, as if he and Tarrlok are too two little schoolboys running away from home. He seems to think everything will be just fine, ignoring the fact that every facet of their identities were shaped so that a normal life would be improbable or even impossible.]]
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* [[spoiler: TragicVillain]]: In the finale, it's revealed that [[spoiler:Amon is actually Tarrlok's older brother, Noatak. He and Tarrlok were forced by their [[AbusiveParents father]] Yakone to learn bloodbending, so that he could use them to exact vengeance on Republic City and the Avatar. After Yakone forced him and Tarrlok to use bloodbending on each other, Noatak turned on his father, incapacitated him with bloodbending, and ran away from home, taking up the identity of Amon years later. According to Tarrlok, he really and truly believed bending to be the root of all evil in the world, despite being a bender himself, though Tarrlok also implies Amon enjoyed the power bloodbending gave him.]]
** Its worse than that. [[spoiler: He wanted Tarrlok to run away with him, but he didn't want to leave their mother behind. At the finale he's looking forward to a peaceful life with his brother. Apparently that's all he really wanted.]]
** Its worse than that. [[spoiler: He wanted Tarrlok to run away with him, but he didn't want to leave their mother behind. At the finale he's looking forward to a peaceful life with his brother. Apparently that's all he really wanted.]]
to:
* [[spoiler: TragicVillain]]: [[spoiler:TragicVillain]]: In the finale, it's revealed that [[spoiler:Amon is actually Tarrlok's older brother, Noatak. He and Tarrlok were forced by their [[AbusiveParents father]] Yakone to learn bloodbending, so that he could use them to exact vengeance on Republic City and the Avatar. After Yakone forced him and Tarrlok to use bloodbending on each other, Noatak turned on his father, incapacitated him with bloodbending, and ran away from home, taking up the identity of Amon years later. According to Tarrlok, he really and truly believed bending to be the root of all evil in the world, despite being a bender himself, though Tarrlok also implies Amon enjoyed the power bloodbending gave him.]]
**Its It's worse than that. [[spoiler: He wanted Tarrlok to run away with him, but he didn't want to leave their mother behind. At the finale he's looking forward to a peaceful life with his brother. Apparently that's all he really wanted.]]
**
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Yakone says that they come from a family of powerful waterbenders, and bending has been established to be genetically inherited. Also, Amon and Tarrlok both need to be taught how to use their inherited abilities, so... yeah, don\'t think it\'s this trope.
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* [[spoiler:LamarckWasRight]]: [[spoiler:Inherited and was taught his powers from his father, Yakone.]]
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* [[spoiler:EvenEvilHasLovedOnes:]] : [[spoiler:He does seem to still love Tarrlok, although he rejected him when they were children and took his bending away.]]
to:
* [[spoiler:EvenEvilHasLovedOnes:]] : [[spoiler:He does seem to still love Tarrlok, although he rejected him when they were children and took his bending away.]]
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* [[spoiler:DePower]]: [[spoiler:He has the ability to strip people of their bending forever. He somehow uses bloodbending to do it, and in such a way that even Katara can't heal it.]]
to:
* [[spoiler:DePower]]: [[spoiler:He has the ability to strip people of their bending forever.bending. He somehow uses bloodbending to do it, and in such a way that even Katara can't heal it. However, true energybending can counteract this.]]
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* [[spoiler: YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness]]
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* IneffectualSympatheticVillain: Starts to shade into this as the DiminishingVillainThreat kicks in. Poor guy can't do ''anything'' right.
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* [[spoiler: BoomerangBigot: He's a waterbender.]]
to:
* [[spoiler: BoomerangBigot: He's a waterbender.waterbender, and none too proud of it, if Tarrlok's right about his motives.]]
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* MadeOfIron: Has been sucker punched with a boulder, knocked off a bulding, blasted over a roof, and smashed into the ground from midair by a polar bear dog. And each time, he has dusted himself off and returned ready to fight again.
to:
** He also takes [[spoiler:realizing that he'd been played by Amon]] pretty badly.
* MadeOfIron: Has been sucker punched with a boulder, knocked off abulding, building, blasted over a roof, and smashed into the ground from midair by a polar bear dog. And each time, he has dusted himself off and returned ready to fight again.
* MadeOfIron: Has been sucker punched with a boulder, knocked off a
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* {{Hypocrite}}: In several ways. He wants to get rid of benders for making non-benders live in terror, while his own strategy consists of doing exactly that. Not to mention that he's not only [[spoiler:a bender himself, but a ''bloodbender'', aka the most dangerous type of bender in the world]]. And in the end, [[spoiler:the Lieutenant]] is not at all happy to realize this.
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** That said, [[spoiler: the sheer amount of explosives/electric weapons, as well as his tear before Tarrlok exploded the boat, might imply it was a ruse to lead his brother to kill them both.]]
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* NobleTopEnforcer: While the Lieutenant comes off as sadistic and cruel, he truly believes in the Equalists' agenda and dedicated his life to it.
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* [[spoiler: PsychopathicManChild: In his final scenes he displays naivety and untoward optimism, shucking off his persona of Amon as if it was a disguise. He's incredibly cheerful for a defeated man and is seemingly giddy from the prospect of being with his little brother again, as if he and Tarrlok are too little schoolboys running away from home. He seems to think everything will be just fine, ignoring the fact that every facet of their identities were shaped so that a normal life would be improbable or even impossible.]]
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* StrongerSibling: [[spoiler:He's Tarrlok's.]]
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* BeneathTheMask: [[spoiler: Once stripped of his plans and supporters, he seems to be nothing more than an optimistic and possibly even naive man longing to live the life he never had with his baby brother. Given Tarrlok's MurderSuicide of them both, it is arguable as to whether that would remain the case ever after.]]
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* DarkMessiah: He's set himself up as a Messiah figure to the Equalist movement, and his ultimate goal is to replace the Avatar as the world's savior. Though the Equalists are not a religious movement, he does claim that his exceptional abilities were granted to him by the spirits that protect the world, and that it is his destiny to be the savior of non-benders by bringing them into balance with those who can (or could) bend.
to:
* DarkMessiah: He's set himself up as a Messiah figure to the Equalist movement, and his ultimate goal is to replace the Avatar as the world's savior. Though the Equalists are not a religious movement, he does claim that his exceptional abilities were granted to him by the spirits that protect the world, and that it is his destiny to be the savior of non-benders by bringing them into balance with those who can (or could) bend. bend.
* [[spoiler: DeathEqualsRedemption / HeelRealization]]: Depending on your [[AlternateCharacterInterpretation interpretation]] of [[spoiler: the single tear he cries before Tarrlok kills the two of them, it's possible he fell under this trope; if he was indeed aware of what Tarrlok was about to do, and did nothing to stop him, the likely conclusion is that he accepted his brothers' judgement, and understood why he needed to die.]]
* [[spoiler: DeathEqualsRedemption / HeelRealization]]: Depending on your [[AlternateCharacterInterpretation interpretation]] of [[spoiler: the single tear he cries before Tarrlok kills the two of them, it's possible he fell under this trope; if he was indeed aware of what Tarrlok was about to do, and did nothing to stop him, the likely conclusion is that he accepted his brothers' judgement, and understood why he needed to die.]]
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* [[spoiler: GoOutWithASmile: After losing Republic City and the Equalists, Amon decides to reclaim his old identity as Noatak and turn over a new leaf with Tarrlok, his long-lost brother. As they leave on a getaway boat, Noatak happily contemplates the new life they would build with each other as brothers, while Tarrlok silently decides to kill both of themselves as recompense for their past crimes and to halt their father's villainous legacy once and for all. From the driver's seat Noatak smiles as he muses on how he'd almost forgotten the sound of his own name and begins crying just before Tarrlok ignites the gas tank and detonates the boat.]]
to:
* [[spoiler: GoOutWithASmile: After losing Republic City and the Equalists, Amon decides to reclaim his old identity as Noatak and turn over a new leaf with Tarrlok, his long-lost brother. As they leave on a getaway boat, Noatak happily contemplates the new life they would build with each other as brothers, while Tarrlok silently decides to kill both of themselves as recompense for their past crimes and to halt their father's villainous legacy once and for all. From the driver's seat Noatak smiles as he muses on how he'd almost forgotten the sound of his own name and begins crying crying, perhaps [[DeathEqualsRedemption realizing and accepting]] what Tarrlok is about to do just before Tarrlok ignites the gas tank and detonates the boat.]]
