Say Hello to the Balance Breakers
Aside from its stunning animation, great storytelling and mesmerising lore, the Avatar and its successful sequel can add awesome villains to its list of achievements. Whether they’re sympathetic to the core or just have way too much fun being evil, these are the foes that nearly put the Avatar six feet under on multiple occasions!
#5: Zaheer
Behold the one villain that left Korra utterly broken. Along with his three lethal criminal companions, Zaheer’s desire is true freedom for the world, where the likes of governments and Avatars will no longer hold sway over the people. With his newfound power of airbending and his philosophical nature, the leader of the Red Lotus committed some pretty horrific deeds in the name of his cause: he suffocated the Earth Queen and beat Tenzin to near death, not to mention he poisoned and effectively crippled Korra. He may have lost the final battle, but his actions were most definitely felt throughout the rest of the series.
#4: Amon
In our introduction to the brand new Avatar, we were given an equally compelling villain. Leader of the Equalists, a movement that sought to battle against benders, Amon appeared to be a formidable warrior with the power to take away a person’s ability to bend the elements. Underneath that mask, however, it’s a whole different story. Amon’s father wasn’t only one of Aang’s enemies, but also possibly the most powerful bloodbender to ever live – a power Amon inherited. He may have managed to pull the wool over everyone’s eyes and inspire their prejudices, but in the end his hypocrisy and arrogance proved to be his downfall. Like father, like son.
#3: Kuvira
In the wake of Zaheer dismantling the Earth Kingdom came one of Avatar’s most complex dictators. Highly revered as the Great Uniter, Kuvira brought hope and prosperity back to her people to the point where she amassed enough devotion and power that she could demand that the entire world submit to the new Earth Empire – or suffer the consequences. With her mastery of metalbending and an army at her back, not to mention the near unstoppable force of the Colossus at her disposal, the battle between this sympathetic tyrant and the Avatar was a truly worthy choice for Korra’s final outing.
#2: Fire Lord Ozai
Continuing the work started by his ancestor Sozin, Ozai is the ruthless Fire Lord who holds dominion not only over his own nation, but over the rest of the world as well via subjugation, enslavement, and terror. His presence can be felt throughout the entire series even before his big reveal, and boy what an intro he makes. So without empathy that he was willing to hideously burn his own son’s face, Ozai cares only about power. This is made even clearer during his climactic final battle with Aang where he’s prepared to burn the entire Earth Kingdom to ashes. His defeat may have left him a powerless man, but the impact he made won’t be forgotten in a hurry.
#1: Azula
A master manipulator, completely without remorse, whose inner turmoil led her down to the road to utter insanity; Azula truly was a villain’s villain. The sister of Zuko and a powerful firebender in her own right, she managed to bring down all of Ba Sing Se, practically killed Aang with a lightning bolt, and played every one of her friends and foes like pawns. Her final battle against her brother was the perfect contrast to show just how far she had fallen from grace, lifting the veil to show the madness within her. She’s a monster with a perfect smile that will incinerate you without a second thought, and oh how we love her for it!
Be sure to check out the videos below to see our picks for the Top 10 Avatar: The Last Airbender Episodes.
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