History Headscratchers / AvatarTheLastAirbenderTheAvatar

** Because the Avatar State isn't something to be relied on too often. It's first and foremost a self-defense mechanism intended to help the Avatar in moments of life and death scenarios, but even then there's a big risk that the Avatar during an Avatar State could be overwhelmed and killed. If it was used simply for mundane tasks all the time then it's likely that the Avatar State wouldn't be honed to survival as well. Finally, it is taxing on the body if used too much. Aang had spent a full 100 years in the Avatar State and was biologically speaking was 66 years old by the time he died, which when compared to Roshi and Kyoshi before him lived longer than that. And keep in mind, Aang died rather peacefully whereas Roshi's life was only cut short thanks to breathing in toxic fumes and dealing with sweltering heat on two volcanoes: there's no telling how much older he could've gotten otherwise.

* If the Avatar State is basically a manifestation of all the knowledge and experience of all the past Avatars, and there is a process through which Aang can learn to control it, then why does he even worry about learning to bend the elements on his own? Couldn't he just as easily do his job by going into the Avatar state to get the work done?

** The tattoos follow the flow of the chi in the body, and in the back, reach from the 1st chakra to the 7th (and the 6th on the forehead). The tattoos probably light up because the chi flow underneath them is greater in Avatar State than otherwise. Regular tattoos are unlikely to glow, though.

** Beyond all this, Azula was FREQUENTLY shown to be DangerouslyGenreSaavy, so it shouldn't be surprising that her reaction to the Avatar state would be to assess the situation and get in a shot while she could. And what she did didn't even require THAT much genius- just a calm mind under fire. Heck, someone was bound to figure it out and try it eventually

** "Was he just paranoid and didn't want to assume they Avatar was dead unless it was proven without a shadow a doubt?" Yes, I think that's it. Sozin would have no way of knowing which, if any, of the slain airbender children was the Avatar. However, CrazyPrepared and DangerouslyGenreSavvy runs in the family; in the flashbacks in ''The Search'', Ozai similarly refuses to accept NoOneCouldSurviveThat as definite proof that Ikem is dead.

** It's been shown several times that while the Avatar State still gives you a powerful edge and superhuman feats, the body is still susceptible to death and injuries. Sure, the Avatar State tries the best it can to ''prevent'' death and can even circumvent bloodbending, but it only buys them a matter of minutes. In WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra Book 3, Korra is poisoned with a whole large bowl's worth of mercury soaking into her system. The Avatar State tries to turn on in order to prevent her from dying and eventually succeeds when Korra is too weak to keep it held back but even then she still ends up being affected by it after a few minutes. Heck, even Aang got shot full of lightning by Azula in the state and that wound up ''still'' killing him. So it's not too out there to believe that age + inhaling toxic fumes + Avatar State wouldn't give Roku enough time to get both volcanoes to stop when the odds are stacked against him.

** It's been shown several times that while the Avatar State still gives you a powerful edge and superhuman feats, the body is still susceptible to death and injuries. Sure, the Avatar State tries the best it can to ''prevent'' death and even circumvent bloodbending, but it only buys them a matter of minutes. In WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra Book 3, Korra is poisoned with a whole large bowl's worth of mercury soaking into her system. The Avatar State tries to turn on in order to prevent her from dying and eventually succeeds when Korra is too weak to keep it held back but even then she still ends up being affected by it after a few minutes. Heck, even Aang got shot full of lightning by Azula in the state and that wound up ''still'' killing him. So it's not too out there to believe that age + inhaling toxic fumes + Avatar State wouldn't give Roku enough time to get both volcanoes to stop when the odds are stacked against him.

** It's been shown several times that while the Avatar State still gives you a powerful edge and superhuman feats, the body is still susceptible to death and injuries. Sure, the Avatar State tries the best it can to ''prevent'' death and even circumvent bloodbending, but it only buys them a matter of minutes. In WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra Book 3, Korra is poisoned with a whole large bowl's worth of mercury soaking into her system. The Avatar State tries to turn on in order to prevent her from dying and eventually succeeds when Korra is too weak to keep it held back but even then she still ends up being affected by it after a few minutes. Heck, even Aang got shot full of lightning by Azula in the state and that wound up still killing Aang. So it's not too out there to believe that age + inhaling toxic fumes + Avatar State wouldn't give Roku enough time to get both volcanoes to stop when the odds are stacked against him.

* WordOfGod has it that Aang was born the exact moment Roku died. So then what sort of reincarnation are we talking about? Are all the avatars in fact different people while it is the Avatar spirit that actually keeps reincarnating?

** It's been shown several times that while the Avatar State still gives you a powerful edge and superhuman feats, the body is still susceptible to death and injuries. Sure, the Avatar State tries the best it can to ''prevent'' death and even circumvent bloodbending, but it only buys them a matter of minutes. In WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra Book 3, Korra is poisoned with a whole large bowl's worth of mercury soaking into her system. The Avatar State tries to turn on in order to prevent her from dying and eventually succeeds when Korra is too weak to keep it held back but even then she still ends up being affected by it after a few minutes. Heck, even Aang got shot full of lightning by Azula in the state and that wound up still killing Aang. So it's not too out there to believe that age + inhaling toxic fumes + Avatar State wouldn't give him enough time to get both volcanoes to stop when the odds are stacked against him.

*** One thing that people tend to forget about this scene that makes it different from his other times being in the Avatar State, is that Aang is ''[[FridgeBrilliance attempting to master the Avatar State at that point.]]'' Because he ran away from Pathik in the middle of training to master the state to save his friends, he unintentionally locked it until he was finished with attaining enlightenment. In all the other times he's activated the state, it's been [[spoiler: Raava and/or the previous Avatars]] who've been piloting the Avatar State and making Aang a dangerous force to be reckoned with, but this time ''Aang'' is the one trying to control it, making the transition a good opening for Azula to strike. When it boils down to it, [[IncrediblyLamePun the lights are on but nobody's home.]]

*** One thing that people tend to forget about this scene that makes it different from his other times being in the Avatar State, is that Aang is ''[[FridgeBrilliance attempting to master the Avatar State.]]'' Yes, he did run off from Guru Pathik in the middle of training to master the state, but that simply locked it until he was finished with attaining enlightenment, which he would have accomplished had he not been shot by Azula's lightning. In all the other times he's activated the state, it's been [[spoiler: Raava and/or the previous Avatars]] who've been piloting the Avatar State and making Aang a dangerous force to be reckoned with, but this time ''Aang'' is the one trying to control it, making the transition a good opening to strike. When it boils down to it, [[IncrediblyLamePun the lights are on but nobody's home.]]

*** One thing that people tend to forget about this scene that makes it different from his other times being in the Avatar State, is that Aang was ''[[FridgeBrilliance attempting to master the Avatar State.]]'' Yes, he did run off from Guru Pathik in the middle of training to master the state, but that simply locked it until he was finished with attaining enlightenment, which he would have accomplished had he not been shot by Azula's lightning. In all the other times, it's been [[spoiler: Raava and/or the previous Avatars]] who've been piloting the Avatar State and making him a dangerous force to be reckoned with, but here Aang is the one trying to control it. I'd say that attempting to control something like that on your first try would be pretty difficult. When it boils down to it, [[IncrediblyLamePun the lights are on but nobody's home.]]

** Explained in WesternAnimation/LegendOfKorra. When Avatar enters the Avatar state, s/he is physically fused with spirit of light Raava. So if you die in this state, Raava dies too. No Raava, no connection to past life or ability to bend all four elements. [[spoiler: However, if you separate Raava and Avatar...]]

* Why do Aang and Yangchen's tattoos light up when they go into the Avatar State? Is there something special about the ink? If an avatar from another nation got a regular tattoo, would it light up?

*** Also, Aang is never ready to fight as soon as he goes into the Avatar State. He always does the floaty thing for a while while he charges up. It's not so much that Aang was unusually foolish or that Azula had superpowers, as it is the fact that Azula was the only villain who realized it might be a good idea to take a shot at him while he was vulnerable.

* Why do Aang and Yangchen's tattoos light up when they go into the Avatar State? Is there something special about the ink? If an avatar from another nation got a tattoo, would it light up?

** You have to remember that what was blocking Aang from the Avatar State was his final chakra in which he had to let go of all worldly attachments. Katara is blocking Aang from unlocking it because his love for her kept him bound. This isn't to say he shouldn't love her, as shown a few chakra's earlier, but the lesson here is not "let katara go" but to learn to let go. It's not a permanent thing, it's just learning to disconnect himself from these earthly bonds and thus, control the Avatar State.

**** Extended lifespans happen in Avatar, and the Avatar isn't necessarily one of those individuals who'll have an extended lifespan. Aang might or might not have lived longer had fate been more kind, while Roku seemed well on his way to an average lifespan before he was betrayed. Kyoshi has the longest known lifespan, but the Guru and Bumi are both pushing 100 as well.

* How did Aang go into the Avatar State in ''Crossroads Of Destiny''? If the block was his love for Katara, then we would have to see him rejecting that love in some fashion, and we never do. What the heck did he do to "let her go"? And for that matter, what does "let her go" actually ''mean''?

* How did Aang go into the Avatar State in ''Crossroads Of Destiny''. If the block was his love for Katara, then we would have to see him rejecting that love in some fashion, and we never do. What the heck did he do to "let her go"? And for that matter, what does "let her go" actually ''mean''?

** Sozin asks his troops did any of the airbenders use anything else than airbending or go into weird hypermode. No? Avatar got away. Avatar state is(until mastered) a reflex reaction to protect the Avatar.

** [[spoiler: TheLegendOfKorra reveals that the Avatar spirit is the fusion of a human soul and the spirit that represents peace and light. So maybe she keeps them good.]]

** Explained in LegendOfKorra. When Avatar enters the Avatar state, s/he is physically fused with spirit of light Raava. So if you die in this state, Raava dies too. No Raava, no connection to past life or ability to bend all four elements. [[spoiler: However, if you separate Raava and Avatar...]]

** "Was he just paranoid and didn't want to assume they Avatar was dead unless it was proven without a shadow a doubt?" Yes, I think that's it. Sozin would have no way of knowing which, if any, of the slain airbender children was the Avatar. However, CrazyPrepared and DangerouslyGenreSavvy runs in the family; in the flashbacks in ''The Search'', Ozai similarly refuses to accept NoOneCouldSurviveThat as definite proof that Ikem is dead.