Line #9 MoralEventHorizon/AvatarTheLastAirbender


1	->''"I always knew the Fire Lord was a bad guy, but his plan is just pure evil."''
2	-->-- '''Sokka''', ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender''
3
4	MoralEventHorizon in [[Franchise/AvatarTheLastAirbender this series]].
5	----
6	'''''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'''''
7	* In the Book 1 finale, "[[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderTheSiegeOfTheNorthPart2 The Siege of the North, Part 2]]", Admiral Zhao crosses this when he [[spoiler:kills the Moon Spirit.]] [[EvilIsPetty It hadn't even done anything to him]]: he wanted to make a name for himself so that he would be remembered by history forever, but as Iroh told him, "History isn't always kind to its subjects."
8	* [[EvilOverlord Fire Lord Ozai]] started at this and just kept running, becoming the most thoroughly [[HateSink unsympathetic villain]] in the entire series. After his son disrespected one of the generals in the war room because he didn't agree with the idea of using fresh recruits as bait, Ozai ''[[DisproportionateRetribution burned half his face]]'' and sent him on a SnipeHunt. Still, villains have been redeemed from worse. What truly defines him is his utter ''excitement'' at carrying out his plan in the finale, which is to [[spoiler:quell rebellion in the Earth Kingdom by ''burning the continent to nothing''.]]
9	** In ''ComicBook/AvatarTheLastAirbenderTheSearch'', [[spoiler:it's revealed that he crossed it a long time ago when he learnt of Ursa's wish for Zuko to be Ikem's son instead of his. Any semblance of a good father (that Zuko remembers in his Ember Island vacation days) were reduced to ashes as Ozai responded by ordering the assassination of Ikem and then declaring his intent to treat Zuko like a bastard child to "honor" Ursa's wish. [[RevengeThroughCorruption And he makes it clear he would only treat his children well if they act nothing like their mother]], leading to psychological issues for the children that involve winning daddy's approval]].
10	* For Azula, many people felt she crossed it [[spoiler:when she killed Aang when he was going into his Avatar state at the end of Season 2 (he got better), when she gave Ozai the idea of [[FinalSolution burning the Earth Kingdom to the ground]], or when after she embraces her insanity, she used Katara as bait so she can kill Zuko with a lighting strike, which almost works. Though the Gaang forgives her and tries to redeem her in the comics, she just won't bite]].
11	* Azulon didn't like Ozai [[spoiler:mocking the death of Iroh's son, so he orders Ozai to kill Zuko to teach him a lesson on what it's like to lose a son]]. It serves as a reminder that Ozai's evil is not unique and Zuko could have easily become just like that if it weren't for the guidance of Iroh.
12	** In [[ComicBook/AvatarTheLastAirbenderTheSearch comics]], [[spoiler:it's revealed that Azulon forced Ursa to marry Ozai with an implied threat to her family, and showed no sign of concern if [[ChildByRape his grandchildren were concieved under dubious consent]]]].
13	* Colonel Mongke crossed it when it was revealed that he and the Rough Rhinos were the ones who murdered [[spoiler:Jet's parents]].
14	* Long Feng, the Earth Kingdom's EvilChancellor, crosses the line in "[[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderLakeLaogai Lake Laogai]]" when he [[spoiler:brainwashes Jet and then [[HeroKiller kills him]] shortly after he resists]].
15	* Hama has every reason to be sympathetic: she was stolen from her tribe, kept locked up in a prison that took every precaution to prevent her from bending, and kept there for decades. In fact, she ''uses'' this information to garner Katara's sympathy, then reveals that she escaped by bending the blood in the bodies of the guards, and is now using this same power to herd innocent civilians to a mountain where she keeps ''them'' prisoner out of blind revenge. And ''then'' she tries to forcibly teach Katara the technique, and sends her into an HeroicBSOD by using her bloodbending power to manipulate Aang and Sokka into fighting a panicking Katara. She serves as a reminder that even the most innocent people in a war can become [[HeWhoFightsMonsters no better than those who persecute them]] if pushed far enough.
16	* Sozin crossed the line when he abandoned Avatar Roku, [[spoiler:his former best friend]], to die and then [[FinalSolution wiped out the Air Nomads all]] to make sure the next Avatar couldn't stop him. [[spoiler:He himself [[HeelRealization realized]] he did this after a lifetime of telling himself it was [[WellIntentionedExtremist necessary for a better world]], but [[HeelFaceDoorSlam far too late to try and atone for it]].]] It's lampshaded when Aang finds out that [[ArtisticLicenseHistory Fire Nation students are taught the airbenders had an army, and he knows for a fact that airbenders were pacifists]].
17	* Combustion Man crosses the line by [[spoiler:refusing to obey Zuko when (having pulled off a HeelFaceTurn) he calls off his pursuit of the Avatar]]. In fact, WordOfGod's revelation that he felt his mission would still be in Ozai's interests (and possibly Azula's) proves that point.
18	* Most firebending generals and soldiers are shown as being an AntiVillain ObliviouslyEvil posse, with Jeong-Jeong saying that he was in the army for years before realizing he was enabling atrocities. Then we come across Yon Rha, who murdered an innocent woman in her home after she lied about being the last South Pole waterbender. Zuko, formerly Fire Nation, shows disgust when he admits that he went against protocol and killed Kya in cold blood, leaving [[HarmfulToMinors her family to find her body]]. Katara says that her mother lied because ''she'' is the last waterbender, and comes close to impaling Yon Rha with frozen rain shards. His response is to [[DirtyCoward offer up ''his'' own mother for her to kill and smiling about the thought]]. Then Katara [[IfYouKillHimYouWillBeJustLikeHim admits]] his death wouldn't give her satisfaction because he's a pathetic old man, and leaves him to sob in the rain. She still says she doesn't forgive him, however, and Aang admits that not everyone deserves forgiveness necessarily.
19
20	'''''Avatar: The Last Airbender'' comic books'''
21	* ''[[ComicBook/AvatarTheLastAirbenderNorthAndSouth North and South]]'': If Gilak didn't cross it when [[spoiler:he stabbed Hakoda in response to Hakoda's offer of forgiveness]], he ''definitely'' did when [[spoiler:he tried to murder both Hakoda and Earth King Kuei at the same time by cutting the bridge out from under them]].
22	* ''[[ComicBook/AvatarTheLastAirbenderImbalance Imbalance]]'':
23	** Yaling just seems to be a blind follower of her mother, loyal and unquestioning her behavior. Then we learn she has no compunctions about trying to kill a Firebender that she and Ru hired when Team Avatar catches him sabotaging the factories. It also ends up being her undoing; Aang saves the Firebender who reveals his employers since he owes the Avatar his life.
24	** Aang even when finding out that Liling never had any intention of brokering peace believes he can convince her to change her mind, that they can work together in Cranefish town to stop the probender tensions. That doesn't last when she tries murdering her own daughter on learning that the nonbending Ru defected to Team Avatar. Ru pointing out to Liling that she's never seen her own daughter as someone worthy compared to her bending daughter Yaling has no effect on the lady, who proceeds to try to bury Ru alive. In fact, this is part of the reason why Toph advocates that Aang remove Liling's bending, since she's just as bad as Ozai who did the same thing. Aang only doesn't because he sees that it wouldn't teach Liling or her probender followers anything.
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26	'''''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'''''
27	* [[spoiler:The crime lord of Republic City, Yakone]] crosses this when he [[spoiler:bloodbends the entire courtroom after they give him a life sentence for his crimes]]. If it's not the act itself, it's the sadistic glee he takes in it. And if he hadn't crossed it then, well, he definitely skipped across it in the flashback [[spoiler:that came with the finale showing how he turned his own sons into his personal bloodbending instruments of revenge and power, and even had them ''bloodbend each other'' as a part of that training.]]
28	* Amon and the Equalists launch a full scale assault on Republic City, capturing the entire council save Tenzin, bombing the streets, gassing Police HQ, trying to wipe out the only airbenders left, and [[spoiler: ending with Amon depowering Lin Beifong.]]
29	* Amon definitely crossed it in the finale if he hadn't already done so. [[spoiler: The last element of his humanity goes out the window when we find out he had no qualms about ''debending his own brother'' to further his plans. And then he attempts to debend Tenzin's children. And then he tosses the Lieutenant, his most loyal follower, aside with no remorse when the Lieutenant finds out Amon's a bender.]]
30	* In the episode "[[Recap/TheLegendOfKorraS1E8WhenExtremesMeet When Extremes Meet]]", Councilman Tarrlok crosses it when enacts a curfew on a Non-Bender district of Republic City, shuts off the power to said district so he can arrest those who "break curfew" as they come out to complain, arrests the new Team Avatar for trying to help them and to top all off, bloodbends Korra and has her exiled from Republic City and left to die alone, locked in a box.
31	* The OriginsEpisode "Beginnings" introduces Vaatu, the spirit of chaos and all around GodOfEvil. His moment is when he corrupts Wan's spirit friends into dark spirits and causes a fight between them and Wan's human friends. Wan tries to stop the two forces, but he isn't a full Avatar yet and the strain knocks him out. When he comes to, he finds the valley in flames and Vaatu [[EvilGloating gloating about how all of Wan's human friends were completely slaughtered]].
32	* If Unalaq didn't cross it in "[[Recap/TheLegendOfKorraS2E4CivilWarsPartTwo Civil Wars Part 2]]" when he was discovered to have [[CainAndAbel engineered his brother Tonraq's]] sham trial and prior banishment from the Northern Water Tribe to usurp the chiefdom, he ''polevaults'' across it in "[[Recap/TheLegendOfKorraS2E10ANewSpiritualAge New Spiritual Age]]" by [[spoiler:nearly wiping out Korra and Jinora's souls. Note, Korra is [[KinslayingIsASpecialKindOfEvil his niece]] and Jinora is an [[WouldHurtAChild 11-year-old girl]]. Erasing any ambiguity of his crossing is his SlasherSmile which he does these things.]]
33	* The [[GodSaveUsFromTheQueen Earth Queen]] crossed this a while ago in her treatment of her citizens, but with the revelation that she kidnapped several post-Harmonic Convergence airbenders for an army and is fine with the Dai Li killing any possible deserters ([[WouldHurtAChild children included]]), there probably isn't any redemption for her. [[spoiler:Her SupernaturalSuffocation in the hands of Zaheer, another post-Harmonic Convergence airbender, was well-deserved.]]
34	* The Red Lotus pretty much cross this when they threaten to [[FinalSolution kill everyone in the new Air Nation]] to force Korra to surrender to them. If that wasn't enough, then:
35	** Zaheer definitely crosses it in the season finale by poisoning Korra so that she can be forced into the Avatar State and his cohorts can kill her, thus permanently ending the Avatar. And his reaction to [[spoiler:Korra apparently dying in her grieving father's arms]] is to [[EvilLaugh laugh in triumph]].
36	** P'Li crosses it by [[WouldHurtAChild shooting at Kai]], [[spoiler:seemingly]] killing him. [[spoiler:He actually survived, but the fact that she WouldHurtAChild still stands.]]
37	** Ghazan crosses it when, [[spoiler:not willing to be sent back to jail, he tries to kill Mako and Bolin by collapsing the entire cave with all of them inside.]]
38
39	'''''Legend of Korra'' comics'''
40	* ''[[ComicBook/TheLegendOfKorraTurfWars Turf Wars]]'':
41	** Raiko not only tries to turn the public against Korra to distract them from the reasons they’re angry at him, but it's implied that he withheld food from the refugees just to screw Zhu Li over out of spite, even though Zhu Li did nothing to antagonize Raiko in the first place. Even the fans who defended him up to this point have a hard time here.
42	** How does Tokuga plan to take control of Republic City? He threatens to release a cloud of poison gas on the populace if Korra and Raiko don't do as he says.
43	* ''[[ComicBook/TheLegendOfKorraRuinsOfTheEmpire Ruins of the Empire]]'': Guan seems to be a mirror of who Kuvira was, wanting to use Wu's new system to become elected as the Earth Kingdom governor and then reforming the Empire. He also makes legitimate points that Kuvira is a DirtyCoward, which she tries to contest by attacking him during a peace talk. [[spoiler:Then we learn he perfected the Dai Li brainwashing and is using it on voters to hedge his bets. He gets DrunkWithPower and brainwashes half of Team Avatar and Wu, even targeting Korra despite the fact that she agrees they can't use force or canceling the election to stop him. Kuvira herself nearly murders Guan for this when she gets the opportunity in the climax]].
44
45	'''Kyoshi novels'''
46	* ''Literature/TheRiseOfKyoshi'':
47	** Jianzhu crosses it by [[spoiler:leaving Yun to die in the Spirit World when Father Glowworm confirms he is not the Avatar. He then murders his best friend and Kyoshi's adoptive father Kelsang when the Air Nomad tries to stop him. Kyoshi considers both these points to be this as well, refusing to accept him as her teacher]]. Sure enough, [[spoiler: Yun ends up striking the decisive blow against Jianzhu and murders him painfully in revenge at the end of the novel]].
48	** [[EvilIsBurningHot Xu Ping An]] firmly places himself above this when he sadistically butchers dozens of villages out of his [[ItsAllAboutMe sheer egomania that the world owes a debt to him]] and that he is above everyone to be judged. If that was not enough, the time he beats up a family and forces the child and mother watch the father be be slowly boiled to death to simply let off some steam would be as that's Kyoshi's breaking point and calling out to him that such sadistic acts makes his entire existence insulting to her.
49	** [[PirateGirl Tagaka]] crosses it by enslaving several people living on Zeizhou Province's southern coast, [[SlaveryIsASpecialKindOfEvil an act vile enough]] to turn Yun and Jianzhu against her.

Context MoralEventHorizon / AvatarTheLastAirbender