"Our showdown, while inevitable, is premature. Although it would be the simplest thing for me to take away your bending right now, I won't. You'd only become a martyr. Benders of every nation would rally behind your untimely demise, but I assure you, I have a plan. And I'm saving you for last, then you'll get your duel, and I will destroy you."
The Avatar and all of their reincarnations, as the sole bender of all four elements, has had to go through various trials, tribulations and responsibilities of holding the power. This includes dealing with a wide variety of foes and enemies. Some of those enemies are cunning, bold and suave enough to give the Avatar themself a run for their money.
All spoilers are unmarked. You Have Been Warned!
Avatar: The Last Airbender
- "Bato of the Water Tribe" & "The Old Masters": June is a sultry, whip-wielding Bounty Hunter who uses her shirshu Nylah to masterfully track targets across the world, using Nylah's paralyzing tongue and her own fighting skills to easily accomplish her missions. Hired by Prince Zuko to hunt down Avatar Aang, June first tracks down and ambushes Aang's friend Katara, then uses her as bait to lure Aang into a fight, where June works with Nylah to take down Aang's sky bison Appa. Even when beaten by the group's quick thinking, June simply dusts herself off and continues her successful career, spending her free time kicking ass in bar fights while endearing herself to the occupants before working with Zuko once more on a mission to help protect the Earth Kingdom with her usual snark and skill.
- Amon, master of the Equalists, is one of the most skilled benders and fighters in history. Born a waterbender named Noatak, he later comes to see bending as the root of evil, and adopts a mask with the name Amon. Swaying countless followers to his 'Equalists', Amon defeats avatar Korra, but spares her to prevent her from being a martyr, while initiating a series of gambits to depower benders in public for maximum efficiency while also orchestrating a takeover of Republic City. When Korra confronts him with his falsified backstory, Amon reveals he has always used makeup to make himself appear hideously scarred in preparation for such an event. Hellbent on eradicating bending and able to inspire countless non-benders to his side by sheer force of will, Amon showed himself as one of Korra's most dangerous and brilliant enemies.
- Iknik Blackstone Varrick is a member of the Southern Water Tribe who built a multinational shipping corporation from a local delivery service in a single canoe. He becomes a business partner to Asami Sato and Future Industries, then hires criminal gangs to sabotage their operations and drive Future Industries into bankruptcy so he can buy a controlling share of the company at a bargain price. He also heightens tensions in the brewing Water Tribe Civil War and tries to get the United Republic involved, intending to use his control of the technology market to become a war profiteer. When his efforts to convince Republic President Raiko to enter the war fail, he begins making propaganda films to sway public opinion and arranges to have crooks posing as Water Tribe members abduct Raiko. Through it all he evades detection by seemingly being too silly and friendly to be an evil schemer, and is only caught by sheer bad luck — but he even planned for this eventuality by having a prison he built include a luxury cell especially for him. Charismatic, kooky, sly, manipulative, and running multiple schemes for power at once, Varrick became an enemy of Team Avatar while they each considered him to be a helpful friend.
- Zhu Li Moon is Varrick's assistant, adept at anticipating his needs without being asked. Zhu Li readily helps Varrick in his plans to steal Future Industries and kidnap President Raiko before joining him in prison. Sometime after helping Varrick escape prison and moving to Zaofu, Zhu Li helps him develop a weapon using Spirit Vine energy. After a failed escape attempt, Zhu Li pretends to join Kuvira's side, even helping capture Suyin and her family, before sabotaging the Spirit canon twice. After being found out by Kuvira, Zhu Li would later help defeat her before becoming the President of Republic City. Always ready to "Do the thing" and being able to trick Kuvira herself for a while, Zhu Li repeatedly shows why Varrick never goes anywhere without her.
- Zaheer is the leader of the Red Lotus, a secret society dedicated to bringing about chaos as the world's natural order. Imprisoned years ago for attempting to kidnap Avatar Korra, Zaheer attains airbending after the events of Harmonic Convergence. With his newfound powers, he breaks himself and his fellow members out from prison, before resuming their goal to capture the Avatar. Undeterred by any setback he comes across, Zaheer comes up with plans on the fly that allows him to stay one step ahead of the heroes. Once a deal with the Earth Queen Hou-Ting goes south, he murders her out of contempt for her tyranny, publicly declaring the liberation of the Earth Kingdom and throwing the land into his desired anarchy. After losing his lover P'Li in battle, Zaheer awakens the power of Flight and manages to escape with his remaining comrades with a captured Korra. Zaheer plans to kill Korra in the Avatar state by poisoning her body with mercury and end the Avatar cycle for good, but was narrowly thwarted and imprisoned once again. Briefly returning in Book 4, an imprisoned Zaheer helps Korra recover from her trauma so that she could help fix the mess he created and take down Kuvira. Always polite to ally and enemy alike, Zaheer has both guile and conviction on his side, through which he attains the power of flight, a feat no other airbender has achieved in 4000 years.
- Kuvira, the final Big Bad of the series, decides to reunify the fractured Earth Kingdom with herself as its ruler. Kuvira begins to win over the loyalty or obedience of the provinces and towns by offering protection against bandits and distributing food with the caveat that they must pledge loyalty to her and her alone. Kuvira then proceeds to launch a bloodless coup by dissolving the position of Earth King and proclaiming the birth of the Earth Empire before attempting to conquer her former home of Zaofu. Setting up a duel and allowing Airbenders to interfere to "break the agreement" against her, Kuvira proceeds to take it as justification to conquer Zaofu, before moving on to Republic City itself where her strategic prowess nearly secures the city's fall with the full intention of forging order out of chaos in what Kuvira truly feels is best for her homelands.
Other Media, by release date
- Turf Wars: Jargala Omo is the charming leader of the Creeping Crystals gang. The most stern foe that the Triple Threat Triads and their monstrous boss Tokuga have ever faced, Jargala has kept the Triads at bay from claiming her turf through many fights. Trying to take advantage of Asami Sato's riches by offering to protect her from Tokuga, Jargala responds to rejection by simply letting Asami be kidnapped by Tokuga while evading suspicion from Avatar Korra. After Tokuga lays waste to her territory, Jargala teams up with Korra and her allies to lead them on an ambush of the Triads, Jargala ensuring the defeat of Tokuga while she clears out the Triads from her turf and secures her power once and for all.
- The Rise of Kyoshi: Jianzhu was the mentor and friend to the deceased Avatar Kuruk. When the Yellow Neck rebellion rises, a rebellion headed by bandits, Jianzhu tricks them into digging their own graves and then buries them alive. Jianzhu then becomes the mentor to Yun, the supposed new Avatar. Having his doubts about the true identity of the Avatar, he leads Kyoshi and Yun to a cave and leaves Yun to die at the hands of a dark spirit. Afterwards to cover his tracks, he poisons his rival politicians and sages, dosing himself in order to avoid suspicions. Upon achieving this, he uses his ties to track down Kyoshi. Once he finds her, he drugs both Kyoshi and her girlfriend Rangi, kidnapping the latter. When confronted by Kyoshi, he puts up a formidable fight only to die at the hands of the unpredictably resurrected Yun.
- Katara and the Pirate's Silver, by Faith Erin Hicks: Jiang is the captain of the Flying Wolfbat and a proud descendant of river pirates who carried on their traditions of plundering until the Fire Nation attacked. Fending them off when they tried to commandeer her ship, Jiang and her crew vowed to fight the invaders and put aside their usual lives of crime until the war ended, frequently raiding the supplies of Earth Kingdom forces who had abandoned the common people. Encountering Katara while preparing to smuggle medicine through a Fire Nation blockade, Jiang recruits her in the likelihood that their ship is recognized, successfully fighting off their enemies to deliver the supplies to a local impoverished village. A cutthroat rogue with a sense of honor and a love for her heritage, Jiang is happy to take mere flowers as payment for her services and parts amicably with Katara, still contemplating whether to retire or to return to their lawless ways when the fighting eventually ends.
