Who doesn’t love Aang from the Avatar series? I mean seriously, the kid is practically a ray of sunshine. Aang is a character that was incredibly well done, as the show had him learning to grow and mature while also figuring out how to stop a madman from destroying the world. This is a kid who had so much on his shoulders and went through a lot of heartache, but he still managed to find things to smile about and laugh at.
Aang is impressive in just how powerful he is. He mastered all the elements in record time, he’s actually very good at combat (though most of it is defensive), and he has a knack for resolving conflicts peacefully. This kid was literally born to bring peace to the world, and boy does he do it!
What is also amazing about Aang is that he often proves that violence isn’t always the answer, if it ever is. He also lives the idea that just because there’s one way to do something, that doesn’t make it the only way. His quick thinking and creativity are what helped him bring the world to peace and still hold true to his own beliefs.
But how much do we actually know about Aang? While the kid is often an open book in most cases, he still is a bit of a mystery at times. So here are 20 interesting facts about Aang that you likely didn’t know. Think we missed some? Be sure to let us know!
20 His Early Years Are A Mystery
Most of the main characters in Avatar: The Last Airbender have parents we’ve either met or heard about. Regardless of whether they were good or bad parents, we still knew a fair amount about them. But that’s not the case with Aang. In fact, we don’t really know anything about Aang’s birth parents.
Once the monks determined that he was the avatar, Aang was taken to the Eastern Air Temple to study there. So Aang likely doesn’t know who his parents are, or perhaps he does but chooses not to talk about them. The closest thing Aang had to a parental figure was Monk Giyatso. This would explain why Aang wanted to run away after hearing they were transferring him because they thought he got too close the kind older monk.
19 These Two Have A Unique Connection
Since nearly the beginning of the series, Aang and Zuko have been locked together in combat. They started out fighting each other and then ended up working together. It seems like the Avatar and the young prince were fated to meet both as enemies and as friends. But Aang and Zuko are actually more connected than you may initially think. In fact, technically speaking, Aang and Zuko are related.
Well, more like Aang’s past life is related to Zuko. It turns out that Roku, the previous Avatar, was Zuko’s great-grandfather on his mother’s side. What makes it even more interesting is that Roku was good friends with Sozin, Zuko’s great-grandfather on his father’s side. So Aang and Zuko have quite an interesting connection. Do you think they consider each other cousins?
18 A Master Of Elements In Record Time
Most Avatars take their time in mastering all four elements, often spending years on just one element. As a result, they often don’t master all four elements until they’re quite a bit older. I think Avatar Roku was in his thirties before he mastered all of the elements. But then there’s Aang.
Granted, Aang was told he was the Avatar earlier than most due to the looming war. (Most Avatars are told when they turn seventeen, Aang was told when he was twelve). Discounting the 100 years he was frozen in the ice, Aang mastered all of the other elements within a year. Yep, he mastered water, earth, and fire all within a year of waking up. He did have the war looming over his head, and the need to take down the Fire Lord before he destroyed the world, but man. This kid is crazy powerful.
17 A Rather Sinister Pact
In the comic series that take place after the events of Avatar: The Last Airbender, Aang and Zuko and the other members of the Gaang work together to try and help bring peace to their scarred world. During this time period, Zuko asks a strange favor of Aang.
One of Zuko’s greatest fears is that he will turn out like his father, and he’s afraid that ruling as the Fire Lord will make that happen. So, he asks Aang to kill him if he becomes too much like Ozai. Aang refuses at first (we all know how he feels about killing), but Zuko makes him promise. I think a lot of this was for Zuko’s peace of mind, knowing that if he goes too far, someone powerful enough will stop him. But still, that’s a messed-up agreement, guys.
16 He Has A Fan Club
Considering how famous Aang becomes, especially after the end of the Hundred Year War, it would make sense that he would be popular among the ladies. In fact, Aang has his own fan club. This group of people are shown in the comics series and they actually do help cheer up Aang.
Aang did have his own mini fan club on Kyoshi Island when they first got there at the beginning of the series. He ended up being quite popular with all the little girls and he started to show off for them a bit. Granted, this ended in him nearly getting himself killed riding the Unagi, but it’s still a pretty fun story. Aang likes to make people happy, so I don’t think he would really oppose a fan club.
15 He’s Interacted With Some Interesting Spirits
We know that Aang has a special connection to the spirit world since he is supposed to be the bridge between the two worlds. Many of his adventures in the show involved him interacting with various spirits. But did you know that he once got possessed by a wolf spirit? Well, possessed is a strong word, more like he connected with a wolf spirit.
This actually happened in the comics, so it’s a little lesser known. It actually gets pretty funny since the face Aang makes when the wolf spirit appears is entertaining. While the spirit does initially attack the gang, Aang connects with it, and it brings him to the powerful spirit: The Mother of All Faces. So it essentially guided Aang on another spiritual quest.
14 He Had A Surprisingly Short Life (Relatively)
Technically, Aang is well over 112 years old when we first meet him, but physically, he was very much a twelve-year-old. But being frozen in that ice for so long had to have done something to him. It turns out that staying frozen for that long took out a lot of his life-force, so in the end, Aang’s life was cut a little shorter than people anticipated.
Aang died at the age of 66, simply due to his body giving out. This was pretty rare, especially since we see in Avatar: The Legend of Korra that Katara and Toph are both well into their 80s and doing just fine. But if we see him as being technically 166 years old, that’s actually pretty impressive. Apparently, past versions of the Avatar were known for living for a pretty long time, which makes Aang’s death even more unusual.
13 No Meat For This Guy
Aang carries on the philosophy and culture of the Air Nomads, who believed all life was sacred. This is a big part of Aang’s outlook on life, and he’s a firm believer that violence should be a last resort. As part of his beliefs, Aang is a vegetarian, so he doesn’t eat any meat.
What’s pretty cool about this is that even though Aang is a vegetarian, he doesn’t really care if others aren’t. I mean, he’s constantly traveling with Sokka, the guy who practically lives on meat. You never hear Aang get on Sokka’s case for liking meat. I think for Aang, he’s fine with others’ different ways of thinking, but he’s also going to stay true to his own beliefs. And that’s a pretty mature outlook on life, especially for a 12-year-old.
12 He Gives And He Takes Away
The climax for Avatar: The Last Airbender involved Aang learning a completely different type of bending called energybending. He learns this bending art from an ancient lionturtle creature and sees it as a way to stop the Fire Lord from destroying the world without actually killing him. So, what does energybending do? Well, Aang uses it to take away Ozai’s firebending.
Yes, Aang is capable of bending the energy inside someone so that they can no longer bend their respective element. It’s the perfect solution for the non-violent Aang to neutralize a dangerous threat. We also find out in Avatar: The Legend of Korra that he could also restore someone’s bending, a technique he teaches to Korra after the whole Amon fiasco. That’s a pretty crazy power to have.
11 He’s Got Some Great Moves
Aang’s fighting style is mostly defensive that involves him often using his opponents’ momentum against them. He also tends to use a lot of quick circular movements that require light feet. It’s a great style of fighting that’s perfect for Aang’s non-confrontational personality, and it allows him to be effective without causing too much damage or pain.
But did you know that Aang’s fighting style is based on an actual martial art called Baguazhang? This style involves intricate foot movements, palm movements, and walking and dodging circles around the enemy. It allows them to strike quickly and unexpectedly while defending from every angle. It’s the optimal style for those that want to find harmony in conflict situations. Seems like the perfect style for our peace-loving Avatar.
10 He’s Quite The Young Prodigy
If you think about it, this show is full of young bending masters. For example, Katara mastered water at the age of fourteen and Toph mastered Earthbending at the age of twelve. Even Azula became quite the master of fire and lightning at a young age. And all of the main characters are under the age of eighteen, so the fact that they’re doing things like fighting and strategizing is pretty impressive.
Aang is no exception to this since he became an airbending master at the age of twelve. I’m sure being the Avatar helped, but still, this kid mastered one element before he became a teenager. He even came up with a new technique called the air scooter. You can’t deny that this lovable goof is incredibly talented.
9 These Two Have More In Common Than You Think
Considering how Avatar: The Last Airbender is a pretty fantasy-heavy series, you wouldn’t think there would be any references to science fiction. (Although the original concepts had more sci-fi elements.) But there is actually a reference to Star Wars in the second season of the show. No, I’m serious.
There’s a moment where Aang is training with the guru, and he realizes that his friends are in danger. Instead of completing his training, Aang leaves early in order to help his friends, despite the warnings of the guru. Sound familiar? It’s almost exactly what Luke Skywalker did in The Empire Strikes Back. And in both cases, it ends up with the protagonist pretty heavily injured and the good guys regrouping after a defeat. That’s quite the parallel.
8 He’s Just A Kid
Sometimes, it’s hard to remember that Aang is only twelve. And there are other times when it’s pretty obvious. One of the big charms of Aang is his youth. He brings a much fresher perspective to this war, and his antics are pretty fun. But did you know that he was originally going to be younger?
When the creators first pitched the series, Aang was going to be only ten years old. And even Katara and Sokka were going to be younger too. But as the show was developed, they decided to age up the main characters. I personally think it was a good choice. Being twelve gave Aang a bit of a more mature outlook, but still let him retain a childlike personality. It also gave him room to grow and learn, which he definitely did.
7 He's Got Connections To All The Elements
Every bending art has an original source or the source where the humans learned how to bend that particular element. The original waterbender was the moon, the original earthbenders were the badgermoles, the original airbenders were the Skybison, and the original firebenders were the dragons.
Well, Aang has actually met the original source for every single bending art. (He’s even met the lionturtles, who were the original source for energybending). It’s not really said if it was unusual for the Avatar to meet the original sources, but the fact that Aang did it for every element is pretty cool. It shows just how much he was connected to the elements and the spiritual side of bending. He learned to just not manipulate these elements but to also understand them.
6 He Was Mostly Dead
The finale for the second season of Avatar: The Last Airbender was pretty intense, with Aang and Katara fighting Zuko and Azula. During this battle, Aang learns to let go and access the Avatar State of his own free will (in the past, he could only access it unconsciously or when he was in mortal danger). But then the unthinkable happens: Aang is killed.
Seriously, Azula actually kills Aang with a blast of lightning right to his back. Katara manages to catch his body and escape, but at that point Aang is dead. It’s only thanks to Katara and the healing spirit water she carried that Aang was revived. While the show never fully says he died, Aang confirms it when he wakes up and remembers, saying “I went down, didn’t I? I wasn’t just hurt.”
5 He’s Now In Control
In Avatar: The Last Airbender, bloodbending is a new bending art, created by the Southern Water Tribe waterbender Hama. At that point, only she and Katara could do it under a full moon. But as the years went by, other waterbenders could do it, and the art was outlawed. But did you know that Aang could bloodbend too?
He only used it once when he was battling Yakone, a water bender who was powerful enough to bloodbend without a full moon. He actually attacked Aang and Aang ended up having to go into the Avatar state to break free of Yakone’s grip. He then bloodbended Yakone into submission. Aang is the first known Avatar to bloodbend, and the second person to break free from a bloodbending grip (the first was Katara).
4 These Two Made History
Kataang fans rejoiced when they saw the two kiss at the end of Avatar: The Last Airbender, and they continued to rejoice when they learned that Katara and Aang eventually married and had a family. But did you know that their marriage actually made history?
Aang was the first Avatar to have an interracial marriage. It does make sense since even before the Hundred Year War, the nations didn’t seem to interact a lot, so things like interracial marriages were likely not as common. And there’s the fact of whether or not the Avatar married during his or her lifetimes since many didn’t. Well, I think Aang and Katara do make a beautiful couple, and they’re the right people to pave the way for similar marriages. Go Kataang!
3 His Favorite Food Is A Dessert
While Aang isn’t nearly as obsessed with food as Sokka is, he still is a twelve-year-old boy with an appetite. And while he’s not particularly picky with food (except for barnacle stew, which he hates), Aang does have a favorite food: egg custard tart. It’s a dessert that’s very popular in the Earth kingdom, and is a baked pastry filled with egg custard.
This is actually known in the episode “The Great Divide.” The clan he was traveling with brought food, despite the canyon’s instructions not too. Although Aang is angry with them at first, he changes his tune pretty quickly when he learns they brought egg custard tart. He even mentions it later after the conflict is over, stating that he’s starving. Aang’s favorite food would be a sweet dessert.
2 That Face Looks Familiar
After he helped end the Hundred Year War, Aang practically became a worldwide celebrity, as both the Avatar and the boy whole helped end the war. So, it would make sense that people would want to immortalize him. There is a giant statue of him in Republic City, but did you know that his face is also on the currency?
The paper currency of Republic City consists of yuan bills, and these bills have Aang’s face on them. Well, Aang did help found the Republic and Republic City. It really shows how important and beloved he was to the people. He probably was embarrassed by it though, since he didn’t really crave that kind of attention. So even though he eventually died, his legacy will live on in many ways. That’s pretty cool!
1 Finding His Voice
In animation, one of the hardest things can be the casting. It can be tricky to find just the right voice that you had in mind for these characters. Some characters can be figured out pretty quickly, while others take more time and many more auditions. Well, that’s what happened with Aang.
According to Michael Dante DiMartino, it was difficult to find the right voice actor for Aang for both Avatar: The Last Airbender, and Avatar: The Legend of Korra. They wanted to find a voice that was definitely childlike, but not obnoxious. And older Aang was even harder to pinpoint. But they eventually got Zach Tyler Eisen to voice young Aang, and Daniel Bernard Sweeney to voice older Aang. And I think both actors did a fantastic job.