ATLA/TLOK villains and the deadly sins that best represent them
Here’s an essay on a specific set of ATLA/TLOK villains with possible sins they identify with the most. Let me know if you agree with my list or suggest an atla/tlok villain that I haven’t listed and associate him/her with one of the sins that best fits.
Unalaq = Lust: Particularly, the lust for power. Unalaq’s motives are arguably the most monstrous but also kinda confusing. As he states, he studies the spirits and learns their ways. He mostly acts cold and unfazed, the only time he takes joy in anything, it’s him inflicting horrendous and savage misery on others and he seems to take a little too much enjoyment with his merger with Vaatu. He can't seem to stand the idea of someone having power that he doesn't which is the main reason he hates his brother, who was to become chief of the North Pole and later fathered the Avatar, and is implied to be one reason why he merged with Vaatu. Vaatu’s likely the one who got into Unalaq’s head because Unalaq, at times, acts less of a right-hand man and more of a mindless minion. It helps that the color scheme of his clothes matches that of the associated color of lust.
Zhao = Gluttony: Zhao’s motives are for the sake of eternal glory and worship. He easily gets higher rankings and is addicted to the destructive power of firebending, caring little for the temperance to control it and the fact that fire itself can consume anything in its path is reason enough for him to believe that fire is the superior element.
Kuvira = Greed: She stems far off from her intended position and seeks to take as much control and wealth as possible. She becomes obsessed with loyalty to the point she sets up “education camps” for those who are disloyal. As Kuvira's power base builds up, she shows signs of megalomania and a power trip.
Azula = Sloth: Her viewpoint is very simple, the fire nation is the good guys who deserve to take over the world and if you refuse to obey or betray them in any way, it’s all on you and you deserve to be punished. To be forced to confront complicated and gray situations was too difficult for her to grasp and she starts losing it. She has a degree of leadership skills but she’s more comfortable being second in command than a full-on top dog. Azula wasn’t that impressed that she got to be fire lord, just another job to do, and she was clearly WAY in overhead before she even got the crown. She also seems to rely heavily on her status as a prodigy and never thought she’d have to work too hard, that’s how Katara managed to beat her almost twice despite Azula having some combat training. In Smoke and Shadow, Azula has a cooler head now that she accepts that Zuko’s on the throne and doing all the heavy lifting but will try to force some pointers on him to help him be the fire lord she’s used to working for. I don't buy that Azula was able to orchestrate everything that goes on in smoke and shadow by herself given her mental chaos in the search, someone else has to be pulling the strings from deeper in the shadows. given that Ozai is the only one to have an effect on her, is the only one she's fanatically loyal to, is the one who nearly tricked Zuko into restarting the war, her and Ozai speaking privately under Azula's request, and her whole plan is clearly Ozai themed despite him not being physically involved. It would make sense if Ozai's behind it all.
Earth Queen = Wrath: She can barely go two seconds without yelling at her subordinates for the pettiest of reasons. EQ is impatient, has a short fuse, and is an overbearing perfectionist, and that fact she’ll put Korra on the most wanted list for liberating airbenders that weren’t hers to keep shows she can hold a grudge. She’s basically a bratty child constantly having tantrums with some inspiration from the queen of hearts, and maybe Geoffrey.
Zuko = Envy: In his monologue with Aang, he reflects on the “perfect life” Azula has and how everything came easy to her and is beloved by all. It’s easy to understand that Zuko is very jealous of Azula to the point he views her as an ever-lying competition. Ozai inflicted so much hurt and misfortune, as opposed to Zuko’s view of Azula having it easy that he uses her as an excuse, he blames her for every bad thing that’s happened to him, Iroh never really helped ease his envy, and to think he of all people would understand the dangers of envy. Even when Zuko sees the light, is bettering himself, and calls Ozai out for his mistreatment, he still doesn’t understand what she’s been through or what she’s done for him, still trying to compete against Azula and will take the moral high ground to justify it.
Sozin = Pride: With Sozin as Fire Lord during a great time of industrial prosperity and Roku having divine authority as the avatar, Sozin figured that both he and Roku should have united the Four Nations as one powerful empire where everything is shared. After all, division is an illusion. But Roku chose to cling to that illusion which drove Sozin to make everything worse. He was so convinced that he was in the right in his efforts to share the Fire Nation's "prosperity" with the world that he declared Roku a traitor to the Fire Nation for criticizing his warmongering and imperialism. Sozin eventually realized that his life was a total waste and that he had committed horrible atrocities in the name of changing and saving the world, to do so he murdered his best friend in cold blood and initiated a genocide that failed to kill the one person he was after. Sozin knows he is irredeemable, but has far too much pride to openly admit that he committed horrible acts of evil and thus the war continues for over a century. He might as well have reigned throughout the war he waged because his two successors, Azulon and Ozai, don't act like individuals with their own reasons for continuing the war, they merely act like extensions of Sozin and almost like servants without their master. Everything they did, they all did in Sozin's name.
Amon = Despair: Like Azula, Amon was a prodigy who gained the favor of his father, but, like Azula, that turned out to be the worst for him. Yakone's expectations drove Amon to lose faith in all benders. Amon running away caused despair to Yakone. When Tarrloq was about to waste Amon along with himself, the tear that fell from Amon's eye implies that he knew about it and he let it happen.
Vaatu = All of the above: It goes without saying. He's an ancient monstrosity who feeds on darkness, chaos, conflict, extinction, and negative emotions. He desires nothing more than to destroy the concepts of peace, light, life, and existence every 10,000 years. It'd be more fitting, narratively and thematically, if Vaatu manipulates Sozin into starting the war through his subconsciousness and Ozai is the dark avatar instead of Unalaq, with all elements plus energybending, all sub-bendings, and all non-bender skills. I picture Ozai and Vaatu being the same person instead of Ozai having to fuse with Vaatu, and Vaatu's vanquished permanently after his natural abilities/instincts were removed and fused with Raava's, changing her into Raavaatu.
