The Legend of Korra

But I wanted more Korra. Korra as the lead.

Honestly, same. With her well into adulthood rather than just out of her teens. I think there’s plenty of potential there.

I also wouldn’t want a sequel set in the modern day because part of the appeal of Avatar to me is its historical settings, and a story that’s just “nowadays but benders” doesn’t feel as interesting to me.

& I agree but we still have that Lo K Movie, right?

I do feel like we could use more stuff for Avatars after they've had their big opening crisis. Show us Aang years after he beats the Fire Lord, show us Korra years after she opens the new spirit portal. We've definitely gotten some of that in the comics and such, but having a full series of, like, Korra in her 40s would be cool.

While new Korra would be cool, I'm also aware I thought the same thing after TLA.

I think it would be interesting if we had bigger gaps between seasons for the Earth Avatar.

As Discar says, it would be interesting seeing a more established Avatar. And that strategy could let us see both the beginning and middle.

Pfft, an adult protagonist? In a kids show? Ain't gonna happen! I mean, who would want that, right?

The next protagonist is going to be another kid. A teenager if we're lucky. Adult protagonists are very much out of fashion with producers these days.

Also, these kind of shows are all into coming of age/coming into one's own stories. No one is writing about 30-somethings who are long-established in what they do and have already grown up and faced their biggest challenges in life. Again, especially not in children's media.

Edited by Redmess on Dec 25th 2022 at 9:54:57 PM

As far as technology goes, I think the world of Avatar will simply never have guns. Do they have cannons ? Or any gunpowder weapons for that matter ?

They probably have gunpowder, but there's little use for guns and canons when you have benders around.

gunbenders!

Wax and Wayne did a "finding yourself" story for an adult. Wax leaves civilization as a teenager, becomes a respected sheriff in the frontier... and then gets dragged back to the city when he's in his 40s to lead his house in a way he is absolutely not prepared for. He has to balance being the leader he was raised to be (and ran from) and a lawman, and realizing he can do the most good by balancing them rather than just abandoning one.

Though you are right, it's not children's media. Young adult at the youngest.

Sure, but adult protagonists are believed not to sell with children these days, especially in animation.

That's why you use the young adult cheat.

If it were a new protagonist, sure. But people are saying Korra specifically someone we already know. I feel like there'd be something worth exploring.

That said... Korra IS an adult in Book 4, isn't she? Isn't she 16 in Book 1, then 17 in 2 and 3, and there's a three year time skip into Book 4? I might be remembering wrong...

I guess she is, yes. I hadn't really paid attention to that.

But the question isn't what we think, but what the studio feels will appeal to audiences, and right now studios tend to think children don't want adult protagonists.

Whatever the title of this new Earth Avatar show, its subtitle will be "Not as cool as Toph Beifong".

They might bank on having a better relationship with their family, at least.

It's gonna turn out that the next earth avatar is a Beifong.

Actually, you know what? I just fucking realized something I should've realized years ago. The airbenders in Korra have this sense of vibrations in the air, something Aang never mentioned... But Aang learned something similar from Toph with her tremor sense, and I'm almost certain adapted it for Airbending to make it infinitely more versatile.

I believe that the ability to use the reception of vibrations through air in order to perceive the environment is a technique Aang had already discovered and implemented. It's called hearing.

That'd be a pretty scary way to introduce an Airbender villain who can weaponize that if they choose to do so. "My ears are everywhere, so don't even think of planning things because I will know."

The tradition of Air Nomads shaving their heads in order to better perceive the vibrations of air currents around them and subsequently enhance their reaction time long predates Aang. In fact, it's the reason he shaved his own head in the first place. It seems to date back as far as the Lion Turtles.

Meanwhile, the double standard of Air Nomad women doing that weird half-shave thing that results in truly bizarre hairstyles rather than just going bald like everyone else can similarly be seen before Aang's time, with Avatar Yangchen.

Edited by TobiasDrake on Dec 26th 2022 at 7:13:05 AM

"I don't just control the Earth around me. I AM the Earth. I am every pebble and every boulder. I am the road you step over, the floor that holds your weight, the roof that stands above you. I reside in every house, from the lowest hovel to the highest palace. To defy me is to defy the very will of the world. You will find no safety, in the largest cities or the most isolated hermitages. Support me and you will find my hand lifting you into prosperity. Raise a hand against me and you will see the ground beneath swallow you whole and leave nothing left to remember."

"Having ears everywhere" sounds scary until you realize that the signal-to-literal-noise ratio is abysmal. You need the parallel processing power (not to mention patience) to deal with all the pointless blabber, not just enhanced hearing.

And Yangchen just looks like she has a giant forehead, which is hilarious.

"I am Avatar Yangchen, wielder of the mythical 9head. No mortal can have more forehead than I do!"

I feel like it would be very tricky to write an adult, established Avatar as the protagonist.

Because, like, isn't one of the hallmarks of the Avatar that they're nigh unstoppable once they reach their peak? Like, how can anything fight a fully realized Avatar?

You'd have to go all in on the conflicts being political or morally ambiguous in nature, right? Things you can't just punch your way out of. Because I can't imagine many benders being a worthy fight for an Avatar.

Edited by GNinja on Dec 26th 2022 at 3:39:17 PM

Many writers have successfully managed to make seemingly invincible characters exciting and fun to root for. Getting the audience to root for someone who isn't the underdog but is instead the Reigning Champion of Badass Mountain is something shonen actually does a lot, as does superhero media. The trick is to make them goddamn cool as fuck, so the audience doesn't stop to think about the fact that they're not in any mortal peril. A curb-stomp can actually be very exciting and interesting, especially when it's cathartic.

Like. Nobody who reads Wolverine comics is really bothered by the fact that Wolverine is literally invincible.

So. Yeah. As was suggested earlier in this thread, a Beifong is perfect. Toph only sometimes fought enemies that were in her weight class. Most of her iconic moments consist of her just going to fucking town on hapless Fire mooks.

Edited by TobiasDrake on Dec 26th 2022 at 7:45:39 AM