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Dec 2008

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Avatar: The Last Airbender takes place in a fantasy world that is home to humans, fantastic animals, and spirits. Human civilization is divided into four nations: the Water Tribes, the Earth Kingdom, the Air Nomads, and the Fire Nation. Each nation has its own natural element, on which it bases its society. Within each nation exists an order called "Benders" who have the ability to manipulate the eponymous element of their nation. The show’s creators assigned each Bending art its own style of martial arts, causing it to inherit the advantages and weaknesses of the martial arts it was assigned. The Bending types are Waterbending, Earthbending, Firebending, and Airbending.

Each generation yields one person who is capable of Bending all four elements, the Avatar, the spirit of the planet manifested in human form. When an Avatar dies, he is reincarnated into the next nation in the Avatar Cycle. The Avatar Cycle parallels the seasons: autumn for the Air Nomads, winter for the Water Tribe, spring for the Earth Kingdom and summer for the Fire Nation. Legend holds the Avatar must master each bending art in order, starting with his native element. This can sometimes be compromised when the situation requires it, as Aang demonstrates in the show. For the Avatar, learning to bend the element opposite his native element can be extremely difficult. This is because opposing Bending arts are based on opposing fighting styles and disciplines. Firebending and Waterbending are opposites, as are Earthbending and Airbending.

The Avatar possesses a unique power called the Avatar State, which endows the Avatar with the knowledge and abilities of all past Avatars and acts as a self-triggering defense mechanism, although it can be made subject to the will if the user opens his bodily Chakras. If an Avatar is killed in the Avatar State, the reincarnation cycle will be broken, and the Avatar will cease to exist. Through the ages, countless incarnations of Avatar have served to keep the four nations in harmony, and maintain world order. The Avatar serves as the bridge between the physical world and the Spirit World, allowing him or her to solve problems that normal benders cannot.

Characters

Aang is a twelve year old airbender who woke up from a state of suspended animation one hundred years later to discover the world that he had known was now war ravaged by the mighty Fire Nation and that he is probably the last of his people, the Air Nomads. He is the Avatar, the spirit of the world re-incarnated into human form and it's his job to make things right. Problem is he doesn't know how he's going to do that. Before he can save anyone Aang must master all four bending elements but without any of the Air Nomads left there's no one to teach him. Somehow Aang must learn how to be the Avatar in time to prevent the Fire Nation from taking over the entire world. (No pressure right?)

Katara is a 14 year old waterbender from the remains of a small Water Tribe in the South Pole. She is the only one in her entire village with bending abilities. Her dream is to find a master waterbender to teach her. When she and her brother Sokka discover Aang and she realizes he's not just an airbender but the long lost Avatar, she forms a protective kinship with him. When Aang offers to take her to the North Pole, Katara at long last feels like her dreams can come true. Katara has a maternal, protective nature but is far from weak and as her waterbending skills improve she proves to be quite capable of fighting her own battles.

Sokka is Katara's 16 year old brother and the only main character in the show without any bending abilities. Though the brunt of many of the comical elements in the show, he is probably the most level headed of the group and tries his best to keep Aang and Katara out of trouble and out of the clutches of the Fire Nation searching for the Avatar. Like his father, Sokka wants to be a warrior and prefers things based in reality than "magic". He is skilled at using his boomerang and will bravely take on any firebender despite his lack of bending abilities.

Zuko is an angry 16 year old firebender with a big chip on his shoulder not to mention a horrible scar across his face. Two years ago he was stripped of his birthright, banished from his homeland by his father Firelord Ozai and sent on a seemingly hopeless quest to find and bring back the Avatar. In the first season he is never far off the trail of Aang and his friends as they travel to the North Pole and proves to be quite a thorn in the trio's side as well as competiton for Commander/Admiral Zhao (another firebender determined to capture the Avatar). Prince Zuko is probably the most complex character. Despite his impatient and obsessive determination to capture the Avatar, there is a deep rooted since of honor within him that makes him almost likeable, or at least understandable in his quest. As the second season unfolds Zuko (along with his Uncle Iroh) is considered fugitive by the Fire Lord.

Toph Bei Fong (A.K.A The Blind Bandit) runs away from home and joins the Avatar team in the sixth episode of Season Two as Aang's new Earthbending teacher. She is twelve years old and though blind from birth uses her Earthbending in a unique way to "see". She's as much an Earthbending prodigy as Azula is at Firebending. But if Aang thinks learning from Toph will be easy, he's got another thing coming from this rather gruff to the point, hard-nosed spunky girl! But Toph has her own problems to deal with when her weathy and extremely over-protective father sends two thugs after her to bring her back.