How many Avatars are there in Avatar: The Last Airbender?

At the center of the universe of Avatar: The Last Airbender are the titular Avatars, who can control the elements of earth, fire, air, and water. Therefore, something that's outside the reach of ordinary humans. Every subsequent Avatar is identified with restoring balance and building world peace, but not everyone wants to fulfill these tasks. The history of the consecutive Avatars goes back as far as 10,000 years before Aang appeared, and over the course of successive episodes, we could learn the identity of some of them.

Wan - The First Avatar

Avatar: The Last Airbender; Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko; Nickelodeon; 2005

In ancient times, people almost went extinct and hid on the backs of huge lion turtles. At that time, there was also a battle between Raava, the spirit of light and peace, and Vaatu, the spirit of darkness and chaos. The winner had the power to determine the world's future, and Wan ended up in the midst of a conflict between two powerful spirits by chance.

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Wan freed Vaatu from the clutches of Raava. The spirit of light was unable to oppose his dark counterpart, so the young man merged with Raava, thus becoming the first Avatar. Together, they managed to imprison Vaatu for another 10,000 years.

Gun, Salai, and Szeto

Avatar: The Last Airbender; Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko; Nickelodeon; 2005

For thousands of years, Avatars have been reborn, but we often don't even know their names. During this extremely long period, three individuals stood out: Gun, Salai, and Szeto. The oldest of them is Gun, nothing is known about his identity, apart from his name. He is remembered for attempting to rescue a city from a tsunami, which was unsuccessful and resulted in the death of the Avatar's friend, Mesose. For this reason, Gun decided to resign from his role as Avatar.

We only know Salai by name, but nothing is known about his achievements. He was supposed to be one of the greatest Avatars in history, but there are no sources clarifying the basis for such an evaluation of his accomplishments. Szeto is the third recognized Avatar from this several thousand year period. Quite a bit of information about him has survived: he was an Avatar with a preference for diplomacy and bureaucratic action. He helped raise the Fire Nation from the edge of collapse and was celebrated as a hero during his lifetime, leading to the creation of a holiday in his honor.

Avatar Yangchen

Avatar: The Last Airbender; Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko; Nickelodeon; 2005

After Szeto, Yangchen was reborn as the Avatar. During her childhood, she frequently had nightmares about her past lives, and her sister Jetsun tried to protect her. Unfortunately, this ended with her death. Yangchen was a member of the Air Nomads, but one of her major accomplishments involved her work with the Earth Kingdom. She succeeded in establishing order in the corrupt land, bringing many years of peace.

Yangchen has been fondly remembered and popular over the decades. What cannot be said about her successor.

Avatar Kuruk

Avatar: The Last Airbender; Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko; Nickelodeon; 2005

Kuruk theoretically had little work to do as the one restoring balance to the world, thanks to the peace created by Yangchen. His time was occupied with games and duels with those willing to fight the Avatar. Avatar Kuruk's selfish life caused the spirit Koh, the Face Stealer, to take the face of Kuruk's fiancée, Ummi, and imprison her in the Spirit World.

Kuruk's arrogance hasn't brought him any sympathy, but people don't know one chapter of his life that he has kept hidden. The previous Avatar, Yangchen, interacted with humans more often than with spirits despite being a member of the Air Nomads. Her actions often angered the spirits, causing them to disrupt the physical world. Kuruk later struggled with these agitated spirits, and the numerous battles had a powerful impact on him, leading to his hedonistic lifestyle as he tried to rid himself of the pain associated with destroying souls. However, he never revealed the true reason for his behavior.

Avatar Kyoshi

Avatar: The Last Airbender; Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko; Nickelodeon; 2005

Kyoshi is a character whose story has been very well covered. Her parents came from the Air Nomads and the Earth Kingdom. They were wanted criminals, so they abandoned the child. Kyoshi was taken in by Kuruk's companion, Kelsang, and by Jianzhu. They were both searching for the Avatar without realizing that they had already found one.

Kyoshi grew up as a servant to Yun, who fooled everyone by claiming to be the Avatar. When Jianzhu found out that Kyoshi was the true Avatar, he ordered to get rid of Yun. But Kyoshi refused to be controlled and left Rangi, who was protecting the young boy. Jianzhu made sure to destroy Kyoshi's reputation as a result of their escape. The girl had to demonstrate persistence and determination in order to move forward. Her aversion to violence was well known.

The woman's legacy were the Kyoshi Warriors, who were responsible for protecting the Avatar's family islands. The all-female order featured a unique fighting style reminiscent of Kyoshi's, but they didn't use bending. Together with Aang, they headed to the Earth Kingdom to defend the weak, and after they were captured, one of the Warriors, Suki, joined Aang and helped end the war.

Avatar Roku

Avatar: The Last Airbender; Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko; Nickelodeon; 2005

Avatar Roku must have faced a great challenge as he lived in a time of turbulent change and numerous conflicts. During his youth, he was also a close friend of Sozin, who was the heir to the Fire Nation throne. When Roku discovered that he was the Avatar, he set out on a journey to master all the elements. While he was traveling, Sozin attacked the Earth Kingdom, which was opposed by his friend. In the moment of his greatest trial, Roku hesitated and spared his old friend's life, leading to their paths going separate ways.

Years later, they met again when Roku attempted to rescue the island he inhabited from a volcanic eruption. Sozin appeared out of nowhere to offer help, but then left the injured Roku to die. The Avatar's absence allowed Sozin to follow his plan of conquest and ensure that another Avatar wouldn't reach full strength, which he sought to achieve by eliminating all Air Nomads.

Avatar Aang

Avatar: The Last Airbender; Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko; Nickelodeon; 2005

Aang is the penultimate known Avatar. He was born about 100 years before the action of the series. As he grew up, he sealed himself in a block of ice using the power of the Avatar in order to save his own life. Aang became a hero who managed to restore peace and stop the Fire Nation, which had been waging war since Sozin's time.

Sealing in a block of ice probably saved Aang's life to a greater extent than he could have imagined. Sozin was determined to find the last airbender, the Avatar, at any cost, but of course, he didn't succeed. The young man had a gift to charm people. His companions, or the so-called Team Aang, included people belonging to the four nations - Fire, Water, Earth, and Air. Adult Aang married his friend Katara, and they had three children together: Bumi, who was a nonobender, Kya, a waterbender, and Tenzin, an airbender.

Avatar Korra

The Legend of Korra; Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko; Netflix; 2012

Korra succeeded Aang directly and differed from her predecessor in every possible way. Compared to the stoic Aang, she was much more impulsive. She was active as an Avatar during the industrialization of the nations when she succeeded in restoring the art of air bending and the legacy of the Air Nomads. Aang stopped the Fire Nation, while Korra halted the Earth Empire's aggressive impulses, once again restoring peace.

Restoring harmony extended beyond just the real world of people and the reconciliation of warring nations. Korra didn't neglect her relationship with spirits and decided that the portals connecting the human and spirit worlds would no longer be closed. This brave decision has initiated a new era in the interactions among such diverse beings and the potential for coexistence in a new world.

Zbigniew Woznicki

Zbigniew Woznicki

He began his adventure with journalism and writing on the Allegro website, where he published news related to games, technology, and social media. He soon appeared on Gamepressure and Filmomaniak, writing about news related to the film industry. Despite being a huge fan of various TV series, his heart belongs to games of all kinds. He isn't afraid of any genre, and the adventure with Tibia taught him that sky and music in games are completely unnecessary. Years ago, he shared his experiences, moderating the forum of mmorpg.org.pl. Loves to complain, but of course constructively and in moderation.