It will be a decade this July since the conclusion of one of the most beloved TV shows of all time. I've always told people that there's two ways to watch Avatar: The Last Airbender: once as a kid and later on as an adult.
As a young child, you'll watch the Nickelodeon show with awe and passion, learning subtly about ancient Asian culture as well as magic elemental abilities. Prancing around the living room waving your arms frantically, pretending a boulder comes out of the ground or a fire from your hands. As an adult, you'll see things more clearly and develop of a new appreciation for life, friendship and virtue. Whether it's Iroh singing to his deceased son, Zuko's obsession with redeeming his honor, or Aang's struggle with destruction and peace, there's a certain something about the show that we can always tune back into.
Well-thought out, greatly written, incredibly detailed, amazing dialogue with a hint of anime trends as well as developing characters, Avatar: The Last Airbender is among the most unparalleled TV shows. The Last Airbender has been a major and continuing influence in the lives of many. However, as much as good as the show was, there are theories to be theorized upon. Here at TheGamer we'll do our best in mastering earth, fire, water and air, giving you the top 20 Avatar Fan Theories!
20 The Way Appa Went
Appa, the taxi of The Last Airbender series and Aang's best friend, served as one of the major plot-points of the second season. What of the Avatar's companion, what became of him. Theories have it that the flying bison perished along with his trusty lifelong airbending companion.
Avatars and their animal companions are said to have "mixed energies" and have a deep spiritual connection. They can even spiritually trace each other, as seen when Guru Pathik uses Appa to find Aang. As we see it with Avatar Roku and his dragon companion, the two perish together. It's quite likely that before reproducing more bison, Appa perished along with Aang. Even though Flying Bison do tend to live long, it's possible that if Aang perished first, Appa's spiritual connection had come to an end, similar to Luke Skywalker's in The Last Jedi.
19 Iroh In The Spirit World
Iroh was definitely the most spiritual man in the entire series. Don't lie, we've always wanted to grab a cup of his Jasmine Dragon tea and have him regale us with his wisdom. The question remains, however, how did Uncle Iroh make into the Spirit World and how could he see spirits?
Similar to Princess Yue, who possessed a part of the moon spirit within her, is it possible that Iroh also possessed a part of a spirit.
We do know that spirits do can foresee the future. Remember those cute foxes the "Knowledge Seekers" from Wan Shi Tong's library? There were 3 of them in The Last Airbender and only 2 in Korra. It's theoretical that the 3rd fox knew of its impending passing and chose to give part of its soul to Iroh while he was in Wan Shi Tong's library.
18 Yue's Meteor
Sokka's space sword is one of the coolest weapons in The Last Airbender. Given that most of the aggression is done through magical manipulation of elements, it's fair to say that other than Jet and Zuko's swords, Sokka's is almost the only significant weapon in the series.
Not to mention it's made from a rock from space.
Although it's not a popular theory, what may seem true is that Princess Yue, Sokka's girlfriend that turned into the moon, sent that meteor to Sokka to aid him in his quest in helping the Avatar defeat the all-evil Fire Lord (later Phoenix King). It's definitely a fun theory to play with, not to mention a subtle nod to the audience, telling us that Princess Yue is still very well with us.
17 The Son Of Toph And Sokka
Suyin Beifong, the daughter of the all-mighty earthbender, Toph Beifong, has a father that is never mentioned in the entire series, not even in the comics (which did clear up on a lot of stuff). Given the way her family looks, and the unmentioned father, in all likely hood, Sokka was likely the father. Baatar Jr. and Huan look just like him!
It's possible that Suki and Sokka had a falling out.
Given how I've previously mentioned about Toph and Sokka's relationship, it's plausible they eventually got together and started a family. The staggering amount of evidence and similar looks throughout the later Beifong generations would suggest that Toph and Sokka did get married later on.
16 A Crush On Sokka
When Team Avatar are on their way to Ba Sing Se, they escort a family with a pregnant woman through a dangerous passage known as the Serpent's Pass... home of a giant sea snake. As they walk underwater through water bending, the serpent attacks them.
Katara makes an ice bridge so the others can get to safety while she and Aang lead the mosnter away.
Toph, not being able to "see" on ice, slowly makes her way over until the serpent destroys the bridge with its tail. She flails and drowns until Suki comes to the rescue. When Toph is saved, she thinks it's Sokka and praises him by giving a big kiss on the cheek... to Suki. You'll notice she often holds Sokka's arm when flying on Appa or on other occasions when she can't see.
15 The World War II Connection
If you know your history, the beginning seasons of Airbender unravel the same way WWII and the Cold War do. So as well know, the four nations lived in harmony until the fire nation attacked, Ozai believed the world would be a better place if the the Fire Nation controlled the world and committed genocide to the Air Nomads who stood in his way. Similarly to how a tyrant believed Europe should become an Aryan utopia with Germany at its head.
The Fire Nation's mechanical superiority mimics that of Germany's at the beginning of WWII. Furthermore, Germany built a mass amount of unique weapons, similarly how the Fire Nation builds giant drills weaponized blimps. The War ends once the the western powers and Russia unite and fight, the same way how the Earth Kingdom and the Water Tribe unite under the last airbender to defeat the Fire Nation.
14 Comparisons To A Major Historical Event
Taking off from the WWII theory, it wouldn't be unwise to say The Legend of Korra follows the same pattern and trend as does the Cold War. The shambles that most of the world was left in after the Second World War allowed for the rise of communism and equality, much along the likes of Amon and the Equalists in Season 1.
The Equalists strive for complete equality among people by removing the power of benders by obstructing their chis.
Many of Amon's followers are factory workers who can't stand the advantages benders have... or in this case, the bourgeoisie. Amon is overthrown when he is revealed to be a fraud (waterbender) similarly how Stalin was caught living a life more opulent than his followers. It's also worth noting that in season 2, the two Water Tribes do try to reunify, much like North and South Korea.
13 Their World, Our World
According to the wiki, the world of Avatar does take some geographical and political inspiration from that of ours; more specifically, that of Asia. The Fire Nation is an small archipelago nation with inhabitants possessing light skin and dark hair that have a deep value of honor, much like the Japanese. The people of the Fire Islands during the warlord era are said to have been based on the Ainu people, an ancient native group from Japan.
Moreover, the Earth Kingdom draws a lot of influence from ancient China.
Its capital, Ba Sing Se is a walled city with a massive population just like Beijing. People from the Earth Kingdom possess a Chinese appearance with their hair and skin as well as their attire. The Earth Kingdom army wear armor that reassembles Manchurian soldiers during the Qing dynasty.
12 Still In A World Like Ours
Following on, the Air Nomads share similar trends to that of Hindu monks living in Tibet. Like the Tibetan, the Air Nomads practiced peace, harmony, and non-violence. It's a really great way to live their lives. They each shave their heads and wear similar floppy clothing that enables a wide range of movements. Sound familiar to the Hindu monks at all?
Lastly, the Water Tribe have commonalities to the Inuit tribes that inhabit. Their darker skins and snow attire attribute to such. Their geographic locations resemble the Arctic and Antarctica as do their climate. It should be mentioned that like the Inuit tribes, the Water Tribes are patriarchal as little to no women have served in the Tribe's armies. Republic City... Hong Kong??
11 Creation Theory
Not much is known about how or where the world of the Avatar universe was created. Given that it's a world inhabited by spirits, elemental benders and... regular people, it definitely possesses a complicated background.
Yin and Yang, push and pull, good and evil is a recurring theme in the Avatar series, as it's obvious that the show draws on a lot of Asian mythology. It's theorized that the Lion Turtles (the giant beasts that taught Aang how to remove one's bending) created the world and the Tree of Time. Its roots hold the spiritual and human world together, as seen in Korra. There's a lot of Eastern Mysticism; Hinduism uses the shell of tortoises to explain where we exist and the significance of the special trees, of which their roots serve as connectors between various realms. Not bad for a kid's show.
10 The Legacy Of Aang
Although unlikely, the possibility of Aang still being alive isn't completely impossible. Obviously, much of The Legend of Korra is based on the next Avatar and most of us know that another Avatar cannot be born unless the previous one perished... or is it?
There's a way he might still be alive.
It's possible that Aang lost his ability to bend from an accident, or a chi blocking, or maybe of another spiritual way we know not of just yet, and the Avatar cycle continued without him. Rendering himself useless and incapable of fully acting as an Avatar, Aang would have exiled himself and allowed for the world to accept a new Avatar in his place. As for Legend of Korra, Aang could have communicated with his successor similarly how Iroh did with her later.
9 Keeping The Fire Nation Close
Similar to how Game of Thrones' Lannister family go about their royal business, in all plausibility, it wouldn't be so wrong to suggest that Ozai and his family practiced similar practices as well. So much for staying G rated.
The Royal Fire Family are regarded by many to be incredibly powerful firebenders. The creators of Avatar have clarified that bending is a genetic trait and can be passed within the element(s). The Fire Nation family acquired their power through their sheer power, which they may have achieved through special matters in order to keep the bloodline as pure as possible. These practices could also explain Azula and Ozai's madness and Zuko's inadequate firebending abilities.
8 The Reincarnation Of Aye-Aye
Remember that insane backstory of the first Avatar in The Legend of Korra, Wan? Now, do you remember that lemur-looking fellow by the name of Aye-Aye? Avatar Wan was the first person to "show compassion" to the animal spirit, after being harassed by humans... initiating the bond between animals and mankind, especially between companion and Avatar.
"You, my friend, are just a few plums short of a fruit pie."
Momo, like Aye-Aye, is an animal that Aang shows compassion to, after Sokka tries to eat him. He's much more intelligent than the average Lemur and devotes a lot of loyalty to Aang throughout the entire series. Theory has it that after the Avatar went missing for 100 years, it's possible the spirit of Aye-Aye incarnated into Momo to find the missing Airbender.
7 Zuko's Ship And The Tale Of The USS Cole
On October 12, 2000, while docked in a harbor off the coast of Yemen, a couple of Al-Qaeda terrorists sneaked aboard the USS Cole, an American Navy vessel. The bombs that were implanted ended 17 of the sailors, injuring 39 more. How does that connect to Avatar? Well, there seems to be a comparability between this event and that of Zuko's ship. Back in season 1, Admiral Zhao hired some terrorists to sneak onto Zuko's ship in an attempt to end him and devastate his means of transportation. The means of outcomes aren't the same, being the USS Cole stayed afloat while Zuko's ship completely imploded. That said, it wouldn't be the first (or last) time Avatar: The Last Airbender drew inspiration from history.
6 The Anti-Avatar
The second season of The Legend of Korra was a bit more confusing than the average season in the Avatar franchise. Bear with us here though, because while it's tricky, it's actually really interesting as a whole. There's that whole timeline of spirits and politics, but add in a psychotic water bending maniac and you've got yourself confusion.
That said, it's speculated that Vaatu, the spirit of everything darkness and evil, planned for Jinora, the son of Tenzin to become the Anti-Avatar.
Vaatu would have incarnated himself (itself?) into Jinora and used her bending abilities and bloodline advantage to defeat Korra and to take over the mortal world. Two Avatars facing off? Reminds me of the Dragonborn DLC from Skyrim...
5 Bio-Chemical Engineering Lead To Bending
This is a theory that actually has a lot of traction. It's a little out there, yes, but this theory would indicate that bending, unlike how it's explained in the show, comes from a genetically modified trait.
The theory states that a total of four nations (fire, earth, water, and air) had transported a number of people to a planet in the far reaches of space for scientific research. When the research was completed, they injected hosts with the necessary genetics to give the people the ability to bend and manipulate natural elements to their disposal. Silly as this may seem, it's still possible. There's been a lot of talk about this one in particular on the far corners of the internet, and we'd be interested in hearing more.
4 Suki In Prison
Remember when Suki was trapped in her cell in the Boiling Rock? Sokka finds her and successfully makes it to her cage. It should be noted that Sokka's face is covered by a helmet, Suki doesn't make the connection and punches Sokka in the face as soon as he starts making kissy faces to her.
Hold on. What's with escalating crazy reaction?
Theory suggests that Suki was, to put it lightly... meddled with during her time in prison. It's definitely possible, given how angry and resistant she is to a rather small man (who she's beaten up on many occasions) who's only doing some strange Sokka stuff as usual. For a kid's show, it does sometime have some radical elements.
3 The Tent Scene
I feel like Suki's going to have some crazy stuff attached to her character soon enough. In the episode, The Southern Raiders, Zuko finds Sokka's tent to ask him about his mother. However, before entering it, he sees Suki who was also about to enter. He asks if she needed to talk to Sokka, to which she casually plays it off as if she didn't.
Sokka is found with a rose in his mouth, surrounded by candles. He certainly wasn't expecting Zuko, and as soon as he sees him, goes wide-eyed and swallows his rose. When he ushers Zuko out, he pops his head out of his tent whispering for Suki. Again, I too thought this was just a cartoon for kids.
2 The Truth About Amon's Mother
Definitely among the fan-favorites was Ty Lee, the non-bending circus acrobat that invented chi-blocking. Given how Amon corrupts people's chi to take their bending away using similar techniques that Ty Lee uses, so it's not all that unlikely that Amon is her son.
There's more to prove this. When Ozai was defeated, Aang tells his group as well as Suki that he learned how to take people's bending away.
Ty Lee later joins the Kyoshi Warriors whose head is Suki. It's possible that Suki told Ty Lee of Aang's ability to take away people's bending and compelled Ty Lee to develop her own way of doing so, possibly giving way to her potential son Amon in creating the Equalists. It's certainly compelling.
1 The Drill Scene
Remember when the Fire Nation tried to take control of Ba Sing Se with that giant drill? Yeah, it can get much more... out there than you think. Think about it: it's a long narrow drill being inserted through a hole, which ends up going deeper and deeper. As drills do.
As Toph says, "Here it comes," the drill eventually explodes from within, sending some sort of cream-colored goo all over the place and all over everyone. Everyone reacts differently to this. Sokka is doing his best to scrape it off his tongue, Mai stays away, and Ty Lee spits it out. Theoretically, this could have been a very subtle move on their part. If so, I should remind everyone that this is a bit more than a kid's show to the more creative minds out there.