There are way too many shows that come to mind when one talks about the genre of animation. This can be mainly attributed to the sheer level of flexibility that's afforded through this medium, allowing imaginative people to go absolutely wild and develop a world that can enrapture fans from across the world. This is exactly what Avatar: The Last Airbender was able to accomplish, and Nickelodeon ended up serving as a platform for what turned out to be one of the most popular and critically acclaimed animated shows of all time, without a shadow of a doubt.

However, it seems that the hardcore fans of the series have completely glossed over some elements of the Avatar universe that absolutely need to be addressed. We say this because these particular instances in the series are certainly not kid-friendly, and can prove to be extremely creepy for the unsuspecting adolescent viewer who is unaware that a seemingly innocent series like Avatar can actually house such unsettling elements that can lead to some unwanted nightmares. It boggles the mind as to why the showrunners decided to include these elements in the series, to begin with. So, without further ado, let us start off with 25 of the creepiest things about Avatar: The Last Airbender that you probably don't know about.

25 Azula Felt Unloved By Her Mother

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Imagine having a mother who considered you to be such a hopeless case that she never provided you with any love or care whatsoever. It would be one of the most crushing things that one could ever experience, and could almost break you as a person. Perhaps this is the reason why Azula became the person that she was — after all, it was painfully apparent that Ursa was never fond of her only daughter.

There are only two moments when Ursa shows affection towards Azula.

Once was when she kissed her goodnight. However, the other time came much, much later... when Ursa had completely lost her memories and apologized to Ursa for not showering her with the love and care she should've provided as a mother (in case you're confused, both these events occurred in the comics).

Perhaps this is what led to...

24 Azula's Descent Into Madness

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Being the rich and spoilt brat that she was, Azula felt like the world belonged to her, and her only. This one-dimensional mindset actually served as the catalyst for her success as a firebender, but at the same time, it also proved to be a massive detriment when it came to her overall development as a human being. The first signs of her deteriorating mental state showed when Mai and Ty Lee chose to betray her. The sight of her friends turning against her was a hard sight to bear.

Her mind finally broke when she lost to Zuko in the Agni Kai.

This affected her deeply, especially since she had always thought herself to be superior to what she considered to be nothing more than a worthless sibling. This finally broke her mind, which forced Zuko to send her to a mental asylum, in the hope that she would be cured.

And speaking of mental issues...

23 Korra's PTSD Is Unnervingly Accurate

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After The Legend Of Korra was taken off the airwaves and made available solely on digital platforms, the creators probably got more freedom when it came to what they could depict in the show. It seems that they decided to take full advantage of the freedom by showing a PTSD-stricken Korra after surviving the effects of a poison in Book 3.

It's quite unnerving to witness Korra transform from a headstrong woman into a shadow of her own self, as she tries to forget the torture she'd faced at the hands of Zaheer. Many people have come out to laud the accuracy of what Korra goes through, which just adds to the creepy nature of this particular aspect of the series.

Something similar to this happens to Aang as well.

22 Aang Comes Back To See The Skeletons Of His Deceased Friends And Mentors

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Imagine yourself in Aang's position — you decided to run away from your friends and mentors, only to be encased in ice for a century. After reverting back to consciousness, you find everybody telling you that it's been 100 years since you've been gone and that the airbenders have been wiped out. Obviously, any person would like to believe the total opposite, to preserve their own sanity. So, you can't really faulty Aang for being hopelessly optimistic as he went back to what he thought was still his home.

Unfortunately, all the people he was close to were gone.

The sight affected Aang so much that his unbridled rage transformed him into the Avatar state. If Katara hadn't been there to calm him down, then who knows what would've happened?

This scene also revealed one more underlying truth in Avatar.

21 The Avatar State Turns Good People Into Ruthless Destroyers

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Both Aang and Korra are kind people who only want what's best for everyone, without having to resort to any extreme means. Even when Aang was supposed to get rid of Ozai, he strived to find a way to do it without having to kill him altogether. This is because, in their normal state, both Avatars prefer to solve things with peace.

But the Avatar State is a whole another story.

If their emotions get out of control, then both of these characters completely throw away any semblance of kindness and lay waste to anything and everything that might stand in their way. This transformation is quite extreme, and showcases just how powerful — and ruthless — the Avatar can get.

If only some people understood what this state actually implied, unlike the subject of the next entry.

20 General Fong Coerces Aang Into The Avatar State By Pretending To Bury Katara

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General Fong is one of the most annoying and dumbest characters in Avatar: The Last Airbender, and for good reason. The man has little to no idea when it comes to what the responsibilities of an Avatar are, and instead simply thought that simply transforming Aang into the Avatar State was enough to accomplish this goal.

Obviously, Aang wasn't willing to comply with General Fong's highly unreasonable demands. So, what did Fong do to witness the power of the Avatar State? Oh, he just chose to straight up make a kid believe that one of his closest friends had been buried alive right in front of his eyes.

Instances like these just add to the weight of the statement that we're making in the following entry.

19 The Pressure Of Saving The World Is Put On The Shoulders Of Individuals Who Aren't Even Adults

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It goes without saying that when it comes to deciding the fate of the world, it's obvious that a mature mind needs to make such lofty decisions. After all, if one person does need to make a decision that the rest of the world will bear the consequences of, then mind that's making these choices needs to be reasonable.

Kids shouldn't be entrusted with the fate of the world.

And yet, for some reason, in The Legend Of Korra, a seventeen-year-old has to make incredibly hard decisions that even adults might find hard to make. This is worse in Avatar: The Last Airbender, where — for some insane reason — a 12-year-old kid is expected to do what's right for the entire world.

But it seems that kids simply can't catch a break in the series.

18 Mako's Parents Were Eliminated In Front Of Him By Firebenders When He Was Just 8

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The heartthrob who was introduced in Book One, Mako ends up being Korra's love interest for the majority of the series, before the show pulled a complete switcheroo near the end. While one might argue that his character development was pretty subpar when compared to the rest of the character in the series, it doesn't change the fact that he's gone through his own share of problems.

In particular, Mako's childhood was extremely traumatic.

When he was just eight, he witnessed the demise of his parents at the hands of a firebender mugger. At least Bolin wasn't present to watch his parents burn to a crisp, which is more than what Mako can say. Their lives ended up being quite hard after their parents' passing, since they had to get by on the streets as orphans.

This just proves the fact that...

17 Benders Can Easily Use Their Powers For Nefarious Means

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At a glance, it might seem cool to imagine a universe where people have the power to bend the elements of nature at their will. However, the novelty of such a world soon wears off when a person realizes that this world also includes people who have no such powers.

These people can be toyed around by benders for amusement.

One simply can't assume that people who have these powers will just use them for good. Both series look at different types of benders — some who are good, and others... not so much. People who have no powers whatsoever are pretty much at the mercy of these benders, who have a weapon that they can't use. The fact that there are apparently no firearms in the universe also puts non-benders at a further advantage.

So, it can be said that...

16 The Equalist Movement Arose Because Of Legitimate Concerns

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At a glance, the Equalists might seem light nothing more than ruthless individuals who just wish to assert their own dominance in Republic City. However — keeping what we've talked about above in mind — it must be said that these people would obviously want their voice to be heard in a society that seemingly places more importance on benders, over these normal folk.

This sentiment is exactly what Amon was able to exploit.

By essentially becoming the voice of the oppressed, Amon was able to take full advantage of the anger that was building up in non-benders to generate a movement that would completely shatter the peace of Republic City.

His crafty nature can be witnessed in the next entry as well.

15 Korra's Naivety Is Exploited By Amon

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When the series had started, Korra was a naive 17-year-old girl who had little to no knowledge when it came to the real world. She had never really experienced any danger to her life before, and Amon's Equalist Movement was perhaps the first threat she'd faced as a fully-fledged Avatar. So, assuming that honor was a universal concept, she asked Amon to meet her in a one-on-one duel to settle things once and for all.

Unfortunately, things did not go as planned.

Instead of abiding by these rules, Amon brought his Equalists along with him as they subdued Korra and presented her before the man who would become one of her biggest fears. The only reason why Korra's life wasn't snuffed out was since Amon didn't want to make her a martyr.

Of course, Amon was clearly capable of worse things.

14 The Equalists Initiate An Attack On The Pro-Bending Stadium

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Pro-bending was a pretty cool concept that was introduced in The Legend Of Korra. The idea of using bending as a way to play a sport is admittedly awesome, and makes sense in the context of the world as well. The audience that every pro-bending match generates is quite massive as well... which is perhaps why the actions of the Equalists is just so deplorable.

In a nutshell, the Equalists were nothing short of terrorists.

In case you've forgotten, let us refresh your memory by reminding you of the time when Amon and the Equalists decided to straight up initiate what can only be labeled as a terrorist attack on the stadium, injuring and potentially even ending numerous lives through their careless actions.

The showrunners clearly wanted Amon to be a completely despicable character from the get-go. After all...

13 Amon Shares His Name With WHAT Crazy Thing

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It's easy to see why Amon is just so despicable. His actions already speak for itself, but people who know about the atrocities committed By Germany's terrifying ruler during WWII (or have seen Schindler's List) know about a certain person named Amon Leopold Goth, the namesake of Book One's villain whom we've already talked about at length.

The Germans themselves thought Goth was too much of a psycho.

His blatant disregard for human life led to the demise of numerous Jews during this horrifying time. Thankfully, in the aftermath of World War II, Goth was rightfully tried and convicted as a war criminal. His punishment? Execution.

Amon's powers were also pretty unsettling, especially since...

12 Losing Your Bending Is Like Losing Part Of Your Identity

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Imagine living in a world where you've had special powers since birth. It does sound cool, especially since you're already at an elevated status, above those who have no control over the elements. As you grow, so do your powers, and inevitable it will reach a point where you can't even imagine your life without it.

This is exactly why energybending is just so disturbing.

The mere idea of something that has been an integral part of your life being taken away in seconds through no fault of your own is undoubtedly depressing. All those people who lost their bending abilities to Amon must've suffered a lot from a mental perspective.

But even considering Amon's transgressions, perhaps the way things ended wasn't exactly ideal.

11 Tarrlok And Amon's Grim Fate

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The duo of Tarrlok and Amon certainly wreaked havoc in Republic City. A combination of the Equalist movement that had been initiated by Amon and the dangerous game of politics that Tarrlok was playing almost destabilized Republic City completely. Thankfully, Team Avatar managed to uncover their ploy before the city would've been completely under their control.

However, when their plan was found out and both of them were forced to leave Republic City for good, no one could've predicted what could happen. After helping Noatak (Amon's real name) escape, he realized that the chain would just repeat again. Preferring to simply end it all, Tarrlok ignited the fuel tank of the boat, blowing both himself and his brother up in a lethal explosion.

10 Koh The Face Stealer Is One Heck Of A Creep

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The original Avatar series had its fair share of awful moments, but nothing even comes close to the sheer horror that an unsuspecting kid might experience when they chose to watch one particular episode in Book One that featured a spirit by the name of Koh. This spirit stole the faces of people if they showed a single expression, which made his encounter with Aang extremely tense.

To make sure that he didn't lose his face, Aang had to maintain a perfect poker face during his conversation with Koh. While he was successful for the most part, there was one particular instance where he had a Eureka moment that was clearly visible on his face. Thankfully, Koh had his back turned, so Aang was able to revert back to his poker face in the nick of time.

Speaking of eerie moments...

9 The Fog Of Lost Souls Is Pretty Creepy

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There are a lot of elements present in the Avatar universe that have seriously upsetting implications. One such moment has to be the Fog of Lost Souls, which might seem rather comical at a first glance, but the underlying truth is anything but.

Spirits in the fog have to live in constant fear for all eternity.

This can be seen when General Zhao mistook Tenzin for an older Aang, and tried to capture him again to get over the fear of his own failure. The fact that his spirit was still trapped in the fog eons after the Northern Water Tribe siege had failed is a testament to just how unsettling this place actually is.

8 Avatar Roku's Passing Is Quite Depressing

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Speaking of unsettling things, let's talk about how Avatar Roku passed away now, shall we?

Roku was one of the most powerful individuals of all time — which goes without saying, since he was the freaking Avatar. He was also childhood friends with Sozin, but this friendship became strained when Roku prohibited Sozin from taking over the world with his Fire Nation army. The ensuing confrontation ended in Sozin's defeat, and both of them didn't talk for ages... until one pivotal moment.

Decades later, when the volcano on Roku's island erupted, Roku and Sozin worked together one last time to contain the lava flow. However, the poisonous gases overwhelmed Roku, who asked for Sozin's help. However, Sozin realized that Roku's passing would aid his bid for conquest, and watched on silently as his friend passed away.

7 Legend Of Korra Dropped The Avatar Name Because Of James Cameron's Movie

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The mention of the word "Avatar" brings about a noticeable split when it comes to society in general. Some people might associate it with the animated series we all know and love, while others will talk about the movie that had been released by James Cameron. When the idea of a sequel to Avatar was pitched, Nickelodeon gave it the green light, albeit with one major change.

The word "Avatar" couldn't be mentioned in the title.

It's a minor change, but the executives decided to go through with it nevertheless so that they could distance themselves from James Cameron's Avatar franchise. Thankfully, the mention of "Avatar" in the series itself wasn't restricted.

6 Azulon Ordered Ozai To End Zuko

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Azulon was Ozai and Iroh's father, and Sozin's son and heir to the throne. As he grew older, he realized that he needed to make a decision regarding the future of the Fire Nation's leadership. Iroh was the obvious choice since he was older and wiser. However, Ozai wanted his father to choose him over his own brother, which angered Azulon to no end.

As punishment, he ordered Ozai to "take care" of Zuko.

The fact that Azulon was so nonchalant when it came to the life of his one and only grandson is pretty awful. His lack of affection is probably what made him such a great military leader, but also contributed to his poor judgment as a father.

Perhaps the worst thing about this was that...