So recently, I wrote a meta regarding the parallels between Aang and Kuruk, and while writing that meta (more specifically, I was writing the part about their respective heritages), I had a sudden realization: Water Tribe Avatars are meant to be the most powerful in the Avatar Cycle. Let me explain.
To understand the elements, we first have to understand their core values, and what they represent (I'm starting to sound like Uncle Iroh lol). For the element of water, there are two particular descriptions in animated media that I remember very well. The first is obviously from Avatar: The Last Airbender, specifically in the episode Bitter Work (Book 2: Episode 9); when Iroh is teaching Zuko lightning redirection, he first gives a brief lesson on the four elements:
"Fire is the element of power. The people of the Fire Nation have desire and will, and the energy and drive to achieve what they want."
"Earth is the element of substance. The people of the Earth Kingdom are diverse and strong. They are persistent and enduring."
"Air is the element of freedom. The Air Nomads detached themselves from worldly concerns and found peace and freedom. Also, they apparently had pretty good senses of humor!"
"Water is the element of change. The people of the Water Tribe are capable of adapting to many things. They have a deep sense of community and love that holds them together through anything."
For now, we will focus on Iroh's lesson on waterbending. He says that water is the element of change. This is true, since water has three distinct states: Solid (ice), liquid (water), and gas (water vapor or steam). Waterbenders in the North and South Poles grow up adapting to their polar climate by bending the ice and snow, in addition to liquid water (we haven't seen anyone bend steam yet as of now, but waterbenders like Katara have been able to summon water from the atmosphere). Likewise, the Foggy Swamp Tribe adapts to their marshy habitat by learning plantbending; that is, to bend the water inside the plants. Hama invented bloodbending by adapting to the conditions of her dry prison cell, which lacked any liquid water for her to manipulate, and Katara was able to bend her own sweat to escape her and Toph's prison cell at the end of The Runaway (Book 3: Episode 7). If that's not resourceful, I have no clue what is.
Also, can someone please tell me how in the four nations did waterbenders learn to bend from the freaking Moon? I know that Tui and La's mortal bodies are koi fish, but that's still insanely OP to me. If that koizilla is the result of a 12-year-old Air Nomad Avatar merging with the Ocean Spirit, what would happen if a fully realized/adult Water Tribe Avatar merged with La?
The second description of water comes from one of my favorite shows that I used to watch: Ninjago: Masters of Spinjitzu. In the episode Stiix and Stones (Season 5: Episode 47), Nya begins her own training to become the Water Ninja, and Master Wu teaches her the properties of water in detail:
"To become water, you must find its qualities within yourself. While earth is strong and air is fluid, water can be both, strong and fluid. Over time, it's strong enough to carve this rock. Or if I use my cup to stop its flow, it can adapt. It's flexible, shapeless. You put water in a cup, it becomes the cup. You put it into a teapot, it becomes the teapot. Be water, Nya."
(The last three lines make a Bruce Lee reference, hehe.)
The above excerpt describes the qualities of water as a combination of the qualities of both earth and air by comparing water to both elements. Like earth, water can be strong and solid (ice), and like air, water can be gaseous, fluid and unpredictable (steam). However, most of the time, water exists in an intermediate liquid state: strong, yet fluid and adaptable; having a definite volume, but always changing shape.
"But Mone," you might begin to question. "What exactly does water have to do with the Avatar Cycle?" The answer is, I'm getting to it now.
To recap, the Avatar Cycle is the concept of the Avatar reincarnating in a cyclical order (fire, air, water, earth), and learning to master the elements in a similar order. Every Avatar is a reincarnation of the first Avatar, Wan. The identity of the Avatar is always changing (like the shape of water), but their duties stay the same (like its volume). As one might say, "Names change, but the streets stay the same." Or perhaps a human equivalent, "New person, same old mistakes." The same goes for the Avatar. For example, Avatar Yangchen reincarnates to Avatar Kuruk, meaning Kuruk is technically Yangchen, but he also has his own identity as the Avatar. Conversely, both Yangchen and Kuruk are technically Wan, too (and have the same duties as he did), but all three have their own distinct identities.
This could also be explained in terms of Raava, the spirit of light and order; she is the spirit that reincarnates with each Avatar. The Avatars of past and present may be from different cultures, have different personalities, and face different conflicts, but one constant is the bond with Raava. Raava's "container" may change with each cycle, but the Avatar's essence remains.
In addition, when the Avatar masters the four elements, he/she is also meant to understand and adopt the principles and philosophies of each of the four nations. As water is the element of change, and the people of the Water Tribes are naturally resourceful and adaptable, this means Water Tribe Avatars, like Kuruk and Korra, can easily adapt to different bending styles, and could thus naturally have a better understanding of the four nations.
This fluidity and adaptability of water are prominent clues to just how powerful a Water Tribe Avatar could potentially be. If you thought a regular waterbender was capable enough, wait until you see a fully realized Avatar hailing from either of the three Water Tribes. Kuruk's legacy as a waterbender, and thus his ability to adapt to any situation is exactly the reason why he was believed to a "go with the flow" type of person, the reason why he was a menace in hunting and on the battlefield, the reason why he excelled at almost anything he tried his hand at, the reason why he, more than any other Avatar in history, was able to adapt to, innovate, and combine the philosophies of the four nations together, into a single identity. Korra's legacy as a waterbender is the reason why she could control three of the four elements as a small child, the reason why she could endure mercury poisoning, which could have lead to instant death to anyone else, the reason why she was able to control the Avatar State immediately. Both Kuruk and Korra could and have demonstrated complete talent and mastery over the four elements, as well as the Avatar State.
This last detail can actually be explained with real-life physics. You ever realize just how quickly water can transform and vary from a gentle and peaceful stream to a violent tsunami? Me too, my dear mutuals.
(If only they had the chance to prove it. I guess they have to compensate their prowess and potential with terrible luck and reputations, both in-universe and in the fandom.)
Tl; dr: Waterbending is OP as hell. In fact, calling it OP would actually be the understatement of the century. Water Tribe Avatars are not weapons, they're the entire nuclear arsenal!
One of the key themes of the ATLA franchise is the concept of the Avatar; master of all 4 elements, the fusion of humanity and Raava, the spirit of light and order, whose sole duty is to bring balance to the world, and be the bridge between both the physical and spiritual realms. Along with this comes the idea of reincarnation, which is the premise of the Avatar Cycle, the idea that the Avatar reincarnates in a cyclic order in any of the four nations (fire, air, water, earth). Another concept related to the Avatar Cycle (although originating from the fandom) is the idea of the Avatar fixing the mistakes of their past life, which is often indicated in differences in both habitual circumstances and personalities between both predecessor and successor, and therefore differences in morality.
But what if I were to tell you that the saying "history repeats itself" is also true among Avatar incarnations? Not exactly going the same way, but rather parallels between the lives, personalities, and accomplishments (and failures) of past lives?
In this series of metas, I will be going over parallels (or in some cases, foils) between certain pairs of Avatars that lived decades, or even centuries apart, and yet could not have ever been more similar.
The Unlikely Analogy: Avatars Aang and Kuruk
"Aang was an Air Nomad born in 12 BG and the Avatar during the Hundred Year War, succeeding Avatar Roku and preceding Avatar Korra. As the Avatar of his time, he was the only person capable of using all four bending arts: airbending, waterbending, earthbending, and firebending. He was also one of a select few Avatars and one of the first in many cycles to learn the ancient art of energybending as well as the first Avatar known to have actively used the technique."
"Kuruk was the Water Tribe Avatar immediately succeeding Avatar Yangchen and preceding Avatar Kyoshi. Native to the Northern Water Tribe, he was a powerful and gifted bender who dreamed of changing the mortal world for the better by uniting the people and acting upon the foundations laid by Yangchen."
Both texts above are directly taken from the first paragraphs of their respective wiki pages; however, you would be forgiven for believing they are nothing alike, specifically due to their respective heritages. In reality, I would wager that Aang and Kuruk are actually the same person (literally and metaphorically).
(WARNING: There will be possible spoilers for both The Rise of Kyoshi and The Shadow of Kyoshi, particularly regarding Kuruk's backstory. If you do not wish to be spoiled, I suggest not reading any further and scrolling past this post until you have finished reading both novels. You have been warned.)
Kuruk's legacy plays a central role in both Kyoshi novels, especially in the Shadow of Kyoshi, where it's revealed that Kuruk hunted and killed dark spirits. This lead to both his body and spirit falling apart and him dying at just 33.
The first parallel is, ironically, their heritage. Aang is an Air Nomad, and his native element is air. Kuruk is a Water Tribesman, and his native element is water. Air and water are compatible in the sense that water can literally be described as a combination of the qualities of earth and air. Like earth, water can be strong and solid. Like air, water can be gaseous, fluid, and unpredictable. However, water also has an intermediate liquid state, with a definite volume, but always changing shape. Something about being the element of change or something. Just like the Avatar Cycle. I actually wrote a meta dedicated to this subject.
Why am I mentioning this? It's because the first element Aang learned to master (besides air, ofc) is water (which was also the element that was easiest for Aang to learn besides his own, due to air and water having similar philosophies), and he first learned to waterbend in the Northern Water Tribe, Kuruk's home (although he only learned the basics with Master Pakku; he only mastered it under the tutelage of his companion Katara of the Southern Water Tribe, who is also part-NWT). Conversely, the last element Kuruk learned to master was air, and he mastered airbending at the Southern Air Temple, Aang's home (he learned to master it under the tutelage of his companion Monk Kelsang, and it can also be assumed hat it was the element that was easiest for Kuruk to master besides water). Both Kelsang and Katara go on to become mentors to Kuruk and Aang's successors, Kyoshi and Korra respectively.
Another parallel is that both Kuruk and Aang were successors to wise and influential Avatars of their time (Avatars Yangchen and Roku respectively). As I have said in the first paragraph of the introduction, I mentioned the idea of the current Avatar fixing the mistakes of his/her predecessor. In The Shadow of Kyoshi, it is revealed that Yangchen neglected the spirit world, often siding with humans when making decisions between them. This lead to an increase of corrupted spirits ravaging the physical world during Kuruk's time by passing through rifts created by Father Glowworm, some attacking up to a dozen villages in one day. In the episode The Avatar and the Firelord (Book 3: Episode 6), it's revealed that Roku, by refusing to kill Firelord Sozin, was unable to prevent the Air Nomad Genocide and, by extension, the Hundred Year War. Both Kuruk and Aang had to face the consequences of their revered past lives.
Also, Kuruk ended up spending so much time in the spirit world that he ended up neglecting his duties in the physical world. He also started leading a lifestyle filled with alcoholism and debauchery, both as a coping mechanism and as a smokescreen to hide his duties from his Team Avatar (Jianzhu, Kelsang, and Hei-Ran). This means that both Aang and Kuruk have avoided their Avatar duties, but due to different reasons. Aang ran away because he didn't WANT to be the Avatar, while Kuruk ran away because he NEEDED to be the Avatar.
Kuruk hid his illness from his friends because he wanted to protect his predecessor, Avatar Yangchen's legacy (she often sided with humans over spirits when making decisions between them), and because he worried for his friends' safety. Both Aang and Kuruk share a common fear: being unable to save their loved ones from despair. This can be tied to the episode Nightmares and Daydreams (Book 3: Episode 9), where Aang suffered with anxiety nightmares the night before the Black Sun invasion. One series in particular consisted of his friends, Zuko, Katara, Sokka, and Toph, suffering, with Aang unable to save them, and Kuruk's refusal to confide in his friends to keep them safe (which could be a result of two of Yangchen's companions sacrificing their lives to protect her, and Kuruk not wanting to repeat it). The difference is that unlike Kuruk, Aang did confide in his friends (more accurately, you could say that his friends confided in him, as he was the only one able to defeat Firelord Ozai), and in the end, they all played a role in defeating Ozai.
This isn't even taking account the Kummi-Taang theory, which indicates more parallels between them both. To give a simple run-down, the theory states that Toph is a reincarnation of Ummi, Kuruk's wife, whose face was stolen by the spirit Koh The Face Stealer, hence why Toph was born blind, and why Aang met her in the mystical swamp in the episode of the same name (Book 2: Episode 4). I'll post another link to the actual meta dedicated to it:
So this was originally supposed to be a response to an ask I had gotten about this ATLA theory, but because Read More links on Tumblr asks s
On a more positive note, both Kuruk and Aang are stated to be bending prodigies, Kuruk especially. They each invented an airbending technique at the Southern Air Temple during their airbending training, demonstrating their unique creativity and adaptability (Kuruk's technique involved creating a cushion of air under a heavy object so it could be slid and moved over a floor with care, Aang's technique, the air scooter, is a spherical "ball" of air that can be ridden balancing on it like a top). Aang had already learned 35 of the 36 tiers of airbending at the time, so it would be rather ironic if Kuruk's technique was the only one Aang hadn't mastered at the time; however, I do have a theory that both techniques are connected, which I will discuss in a separate post. Aang earned his airbending mastery tattoos, and had Kuruk been an Air Nomad, he woud have gotten the same tattoos. Though, he did get a sky bison as a gift, and Aang's animal companion was a sky bison (Appa).
I noticed that the only time Kuruk actually wears his iconic polar bear headdress is when Aang summons him in the episode Sozin's Comet, Part 2: The Old Masters (Book 3: Episode 19), not counting his brief appearance in The Avatar State (Book 2: Episode 1). In The Old Masters, Aang summons the past four Avatars before him for advice on how to defeat Firelord Ozai. According to @atlaculture, Kuruk's decision to wear the headdress in front of Aang--a strict vegetarian--could be him subtly reminding Aang that killing isn't always merciless (as Kuruk was a hunter, and probably had to hunt down large animals for food or as a rite of passage), which is stated here.
I noticed the line Aang says just before he summoned Kuruk:
"I need to look deep inside myself."
Despite the existence of the webcomic Escape from the Spirit World, which takes place between Books 2 and 3 (although Yangchen did say Aang wouldn't remember his journey in the Spirit World), this lines implies that out of Aang's past four lives, Kuruk's is the one he knows least about (Roku was Aang's predecessor, Aang probably knew/learned a lot about Kyoshi during his visits to the Earth Kingdom, and Yangchen, being an Air Nomad like Aang, was revered almost as a god-like figure across the four nations). Ironically, if you dig deeper, Kuruk is also the past life who was/is most similar to Aang.
Also, Kuruk's actual advice to Aang was: "Aang, you must actively shape your own destiny and the destiny of the world." This piece of advice has multiple interpretations. What Aang interpreted was Kuruk telling him to kill Ozai (combined with the fact that Kuruk was wearing a literal animal skin in front of Aang, only reinforcing his interpretation). However, Kuruk never said anything about killing Ozai. He could have actually meant that to him, it doesn't matter how Aang defeated Ozai, or even if Aang did kill him. To Kuruk, the only thing that mattered was Aang performing the act of Showing Up, and actively finding a way to defeat Ozai himself. Therefore, Aang obtaining energybending and then taking Ozai's bending away rather than killing him doesn't mean he didn't follow any of the Avatars' advice. On the contrary, by actively finding a third option to end the war, and actively participating in the final battle, Aang actually subconcisiously followed Kuruk's advice to heart (although you could say Aang didn't follow Kuruk's advice, since Aang didn't actively seek out the lionturtle; rather he was merely kidnapped by chance).
The final parallel between Aang and Kuruk is their relatively young deaths; more specifically, their final wishes. Kuruk died at just 33, surrounded by his Team Avatar, and he made them promise to take care of his successor and make sure she succeeds as the Avatar. Around 500 years later, Aang died at a relatively young biological age of 66 (and the chronological age of 165) surrounded by his Team Avatar and the Order of the White Lotus, and he made them promise to do the exact same thing. However, both Yun and Korra ended up growing up isolated from the rest of the world, and being told that being the Avatar was the only thing that mattered, which led to a serious mental stunt, even though it wasn't Aang's fault Korra ended up being kept in the Southern Compound on the orders of Tonraq, Tenzin, and Sokka, or Kuruk's fault that Yun was being physically and mentally abused by Jianzhu and Hei-Ran. The only difference was that Korra was correctly identified as the Avatar, but Yun wasn't. Kyoshi did not grow up the same way, but she was not spared either; I'll make a meta on her too. But seriously, how in the four nations is it possible for two people who lived centuries apart die with the exact same wish given to their loved ones? Unless they were the Avatar.
In conclusion, despite the difference in Aang and Kuruk's heritage, morality, and overall results as the Avatar, one could argue that it is true that certain beats in the cycle often repeat, depending on their journeys, personalities, and abilities. In the next part, I will explore the parallels between Avatars Aang and Kyoshi, Kuruk's successor.
One of the key themes of the ATLA franchise is the concept of the Avatar; master of all 4 elements, the fusion of humanity and Raava, the spirit of light and order, whose sole duty is to bring balance to the world, and be the bridge between both the physical and spiritual realms. Along with this comes the idea of reincarnation, which is the premise of the Avatar Cycle, the idea that the Avatar reincarnates in a cyclic order in any of the four nations (fire, air, water, earth). Another concept related to the Avatar Cycle (although originating from the fandom) is the idea of the Avatar fixing the mistakes of their past life, which is often indicated in differences in both habitual circumstances and personalities between both predecessor and successor, and therefore differences in morality.
But what if I were to tell you that the saying "history repeats itself" is also true among Avatar incarnations? Not exactly going the same way, but rather parallels between the lives, personalities, and accomplishments (and failures) of past lives?
In this series of metas, I will be going over parallels (or in some cases, foils) between certain pairs of Avatars that lived decades, or even centuries apart, and yet could not have ever been more similar.
An Unlikely Analogy II: Avatars Kyoshi and Korra (+ Yun)
"Kyoshi was the Earth Kingdom-born Avatar immediately succeeding Avatar Kuruk of the Northern Water Tribe, and preceding Avatar Roku of the Fire Nation. She died at the age of 230, making her the oldest confirmed human, and was also an exceptionally tall woman, towering over most people. Kyoshi was born to two criminals: Jesa, a renegade Air Nomad nun, and Hark, a thief from an impoverished family of Earth Kingdom actors. She inherited her later signature outfit from her parents, adopting her mother's golden headdress and metal war fans and her father's daofei face paint."
"Korra is the current incarnation of the Avatar and immediate successor of Avatar Aang. Born and raised in the Southern Water Tribe, where she mastered waterbending, earthbending, and firebending, she later relocated to Republic City to attain a similar proficiency with airbending under the tutelage and guidance of Tenzin, as well as to help her overcome her aversion to the spiritual aspects of the bending arts. With the assistance of Aang's spirit, Korra gained the ability to energybend and, after connecting with her past lives, she gained the capacity to enter the Avatar State at will, marking her transition into a fully realized Avatar."
"Yun was the friend of Kyoshi and Rangi and the earthbending pupil of Jianzhu. Talented, charismatic, and handsome, he was misidentified as the new Earth Avatar after a long and difficult search. Following the revelation of Kyoshi's identity as the true Avatar, Yun was betrayed by Jianzhu, who felt the boy's usefulness had been exhausted and allowed Father Glowworm to carry him off in the mountains."
I once again posted the first paragraph of their respective pages, and you might be wondering why I've included Yun. The reason is that, although Yun was misidentified as the Avatar, he still has various parallels with both Korra and Kyoshi during his "journey". On the surface, you might say that they are more balanced; they have both similarities and differences between their morals and personalities. You would be right on this account, so let's dive in!
(WARNING: There will be possible spoilers for both The Rise of Kyoshi and The Shadow of Kyoshi. If you do not wish to be spoiled, I suggest not reading any further and scrolling past this post until you have finished reading both novels. You have been warned.)
First, we have to take account the parallels between Kyoshi and Korra. The problems that arose during their times were rather complex; Kyoshi's predecessor Kuruk left behind a destabilised Earth Kingdom overrun by criminals, while Aang, although he brought the world to peace, had left behind both the Equalists and the Red Lotus for Korra to deal with. In addition, according to the first chapter of both The Rise of Kyoshi and the premier of The Legend of Korra, Welcome to Republic City (Book 1: Episode 1), both Jianzhu and the White Lotus had been looking for the Avatar for years. Jianzhu and Kelsang had been trying to locate the Avatar across the Earth Kingdom, while the White Lotus had searched both the North and South Poles. This is also where Yun comes in.
Initially in Book 1, Korra had similar opinions on violence and control as Kyoshi did (only justice will bring peace), and even befriended a polar bear-dog (Naga) at the age of four. (Polar bear-dogs are considered to be dangerous animals in the Avatarverse.) However, there is a difference between how each Avatar reacted to her status. Kyoshi denied it and ran away (which I have mentioned parallels with Aang), whereas Korra was the one who discovered her status and accepted her fate as the Avatar, saying that there was nothing more she wanted to be, which is a parallel to Yun's false identity as the Avatar. Ironically, Kyoshi (like Aang) ran away from her duties when the world needed the Avatar, while Korra accepted her duties during a time when the world had long since advanced beyond the need of an Avatar.
Both Kyoshi and Korra are also of mixed ancestry; Kyoshi's father was from the Earth Kingdom, while her mother was a rogue Air Nomad. Korra's father, like Kyoshi's mother, was a rogue immigrant to another nation, being a member of the NWT royal family, while her mother was from the SWT, which gained independence from the North after the Water Tribe Civil War. Kyoshi and Korra are also the only two Avatars to master the elements in their home nation, rather than travelling abroad (Kyoshi learned earth-, fire-, and waterbending with the FOC in the Earth Kingdom and mastered air- and waterbending in the Fire Nation, while Korra mastered water-, earth, and fire-bending in the White Lotus Compound in the South Pole and learned airbending at Air Temple Island in Republic City). However, Kyoshi was constantly on the run, living on the streets as a child, whereas Korra lived in comfort, but isolation.
However, their bending affinity are opposites. Kyoshi struggled to earthbend due to her sheer power, to the point that she had trouble bending small amounts of earth, while moving chunks of the seafloor with ease (not how it typically works), and favoring its elemental opposite, air, in combat. Korra, on the other hand, preferred earth- and especially firebending in combat, while struggling to airbend due to its philosophies contradicting with her drive and hot-headedness.
Now, the parallel between Korra and Yun. Korra and Yun's respective upbringings parallel each other; both grew up isolated in compounds, and being taught by the companions of their predecessors, being told that the only thing that mattered was their status as the Avatar. As a result, this caused a serious mental stunt for both of them, especially when it was revealed that Yun wasn't the true Avatar. Korra wasn't taught how to properly handle politics, whereas Yun went all-in and hunted Kyoshi down Tai Lung-style. Ironically, this was originally supposed to be a way to protect the Avatar, issued by their predecessors, Aang and Kuruk respectively, which was apparently misinterpreted by their supposed caretakers (The White Lotus and Kuruk's companions respectively).
Finally, the parallels between Kyoshi and Yun. Both are similar in that they both grew up abandoned in the streets; Kyoshi in Yokoya, and Yun in Makapu; at least until they were moved into Jianzhu's mansion in Yokoya. Both were "cared" for by a former companion of Avatar Kuruk (Kelsang and Jianzhu respectively; note that I put quotation marks on "cared for" because Jianzhu pretty much physically and mentally abused Yun), but this is where the similarities end.
Now, there are a handful of scenes in the Kyoshi novels which particularly stood out to me. The parallels between Yun's ability to bend the tiniest speck of dust vs Kyoshi struggling with the finer movements but easily raising the entire sea floor during her fight with Tagaka. The parallels between Kyoshi almost drowning herself to connect with Kuruk for the first time while forgetting she can waterbend vs Yun returning to the physical world only to be denied access to water.
We have to remember that the element of earth plays a central role in Rise; Kyoshi is a born earthbender, the book takes place in the Earth Kingdom, earth is the only element Yun can bend, earthbending is the only advantage Jianzhu has against Kyoshi, most of the FOC (Kyoshi's daofei gang) are earthbenders,etc, while the element of water is a central theme in Shadow (which is ironic, considering the book takes place in the Fire Nation), as is Avatar Kuruk's legacy as the Water Tribe predecessor of Kyoshi. In the original series, Iroh states that water is the element of change. During the whole novel, water represents the ability to move on, the ability to change. In these two scenes, water represents both Kyoshi feeling overwhelmed by her new duties as the Avatar and Yun's desperation to prove that he is the true Avatar.
Also, during the final battle, Kyoshi kills Yun by freezing his heart and lungs. Her ability to waterbend represents her ability to move on from the past and change, whereas his lack of waterbending represents his inability to grow, to move on from the past, to change. Yun even bends the earth similar to water, but it's a mere imitation of the bending art, not the skill itself.
Generally speaking, most people can easily spot the similarities (and in some cases, differences) between Kyoshi and Korra. From bending to upbringing to the conclusions of their respective histories, one can find some details between both Avatars. What they don't see is their biggest connecting link; their similarities with Yun. The False Avatar acts as the foil to enhance both characters, their histories, and their legacy. In the next part, we'll discuss the similarities between the current Avatar Korra and the Water Tribe Avatar before her, Kuruk.
One of the key themes of the ATLA franchise is the concept of the Avatar; master of all 4 elements, the fusion of humanity and Raava, the spirit of light and order, whose sole duty is to bring balance to the world, and be the bridge between both the physical and spiritual realms. Along with this comes the idea of reincarnation, which is the premise of the Avatar Cycle, the idea that the Avatar reincarnates in a cyclic order in any of the four nations (fire, air, water, earth). Another concept related to the Avatar Cycle (although originating from the fandom) is the idea of the Avatar fixing the mistakes of their past life, which is often indicated in differences in both habitual circumstances and personalities between both predecessor and successor, and therefore differences in morality.
But what if I were to tell you that the saying "history repeats itself" is also true among Avatar incarnations? Not exactly going the same way, but rather parallels between the lives, personalities, and accomplishments (and failures) of past lives?
In this series of metas, I will be going over parallels (or in some cases, foils) between certain pairs of Avatars that lived decades, or even centuries apart, and yet could not have ever been more similar.
Elemental Foils II: Avatars Kuruk and Roku
"Kuruk was the Water Tribe Avatar immediately succeeding Avatar Yangchen and preceding Avatar Kyoshi. Native to the Northern Water Tribe, he was a powerful and gifted bender who dreamed of changing the mortal world for the better by uniting the people and acting upon the foundations laid by Yangchen."
"Roku was the Fire Nation-born Avatar immediately succeeding Avatar Kyoshi and preceding Avatar Aang. Roku's memory served as a guiding force for Aang throughout his quest to end the Hundred Year War."
This post will be a little different, because instead of analyzing the similarities between Kuruk and Roku, I'm going to examine the differences between them. I once again showed part of their respective Avatar Wiki to test whether there are any similarites between them; however most might say "Mone, they may technically be the same person, but aside from Raava, they're completely different people!"
And you'd be dead right.
Before we begin, we must define the word "foil". This word has many meanings, but we're going to define it with a literature standpoint (no, I don't mean the one made from aluminium). Britannica defines the word "foil" as follows:
Foil, in literature, a character who is presented as a contrast to a second character so as to point to or show to advantage some aspect of the second character. An obvious example is the character of Dr. Watson in Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes stories. Watson is a perfect foil for Holmes because his relative obtuseness makes Holmes’s deductions seem more brilliant.
You see, unlike most pairs of Avatars, Kuruk and Roku are the only true "foils", even though they are literally the same person. It's my humble belief that Kuruk is supposed to act as a narrative foil to Roku (compared to the similarities between their successors, Kyoshi and Aang respectively), especially when we take into account Kuruk's extended backstory.
(WARNING: There will be possible spoilers for both The Rise of Kyoshi and The Shadow of Kyoshi, particularly regarding Kuruk's backstory. If you do not wish to be spoiled, I suggest not reading any further and scrolling past this post until you have finished reading both novels. You have been warned.)
The first (and most obvious) difference between Kuruk and Roku is their native element; Kuruk's is water, Roku's is fire. According to the episode The Avatar and the Firelord (Book 3, Episode 6), water has even been established as the element that Roku mostly struggled with mastering (similarly to how Aang struggled to master earthbending), due to it being the opposite of fire, and thus being unable to adapt to change. As a result, it took Roku 12 years to master the four elements.
On the other hand, firebending would be the most obvious choice for the element that Kuruk would most struggle to master. However, Kuruk was stated to be a prodigy in mastering the other three elements, even going so far as to invent a master airbending technique, and being the only Avatar in history confirmed to have participated in an Agni Kai (and apparently won, considering he still has hair), so we could infer even firebending wasn't particularly difficult for him to master. We can infer that it took Kuruk around 4-5 years to master the four elements. Even then, he still asked his Team Avatar to continue teaching him so he could be the best bender of all time, saying that Pai Sho masters never stopped learning and improving their skills. (This man is basically a younger Water Tribe Avatar version of Uncle Iroh, or at least Iroh's role model.)
In The Shadow of Kyoshi, it's revealed that Avatar Yangchen neglected the spiritual world, often siding with humans when making decisions between humans and spirits. As a result, there were many dark spirits ravaging the physical world, and Kuruk hunted down and killed them, harming his own spirit in the process until his early death at 33. At this time, his physical and bending prowess were clearly challenged, especially in his battle against Father Glowworm, and that I already sort-of-talked about here. Short answer: He wasn't a weapon, he was the entire arsenal.
However, by spending so much time in the Spirit World, he accidentally neglected his physical duties (Yangchen, but in reverse), which led to the corruption of the Earth Kingdom (although, in Kuruk's defense, when is the Earth Kingdom ever not corrupt?), as well as an increase in daofei and raids by the Fifth Nation, among many others.
However, it's unknown what sort of conflict Avatar Kyoshi left behind for Roku to solve, at least until Roku's first novel, The Reckoning of Roku, arrives. (Yes, there was the Dai Li, but that was mostly Aang's problem, especially during Azula's invasion of Ba Sing Se.) From what little information we know of Roku's life that is shown in The Avatar and the Firelord, Roku mostly kept his role as the maintainer of the long-lasting peace that Kyoshi worked for. We don't really know what Roku was capable of in terms of bending; however, we can assume he was a pretty competent bender.
The real problems in Roku's time as the Avatar began with his falling out with his childhood friend Sozin. For a long time, Roku was indecisive and couldn't bring himself to kill Sozin and stop his imperialism when he had a chance. As a result, he was indirectly responsible for the Air Nomad Genocide, which resulted in the death of his successor, Avatar Aang's people (and by extension, the Hundred Year War). Roku believed that it was Aang's destiny to end the Hundred Year War and to atone for both of their mistakes, even though the Air Nomad Genocide was not Roku's fault; it was, and still is, Sozin's sole responsibility (looking at you, Avatar blamers).
Even their deaths are similar yet contrary. Kuruk "betrayed" his friends Jianzhu, Kelsang, and Hei-Ran by not communicating with them about his spiritual duties (although, technically they all "betrayed" him first by regarding him as a failure to the world). Roku, on the other hand, was betrayed by Sozin when the latter left the former to die from the volcanic explosion. Kuruk died to protect his friends, while Roku died as a result of his friend's actions.
This also adds an additional tragedy to the fact that in the Spirit World, Roku appears as an old man, while Kuruk appears as a young man. It's a common theory in the ATLA fandom that the Avatars either appear around the age of the greatest defining moment of their lives, or they choose to appear the way they do, since in The Avatar and the Firelord, Aang appeared to be bald and wearing Air Nomad robes in the Spirit World, even though at this point in time, Aang had hair and was wearing his Fire Nation disguise. Either way, it's still an unfair tragedy, since Roku was able to live a long and healthy life, while Kuruk wasn't given the same chance. This parallels their greatest regrets: Kuruk's decisiveness saved the world at the expense of his own life, while Roku's indecisiveness lengthened his own life but ruined the world. @natequarter has talked about this particular detail (in great detail) here.
And yet, their "supposed" legacies and how they are remembered don't do them the appropriate justice they deserved as merely flawed individuals. Their respective successors, Kyoshi and Aang, have contrarian views on their predecessors' achievements. Kyoshi, like the rest of the world, blamed Kuruk for the mess that was left behind for her to solve, while Aang holds Roku in high esteem and regard. I'm pretty sure the Fire Sages also respect him, since in Winter Solstice Part 2: Avatar Roku (Book 1: Episode 8), when the Fire Sages first see Roku after he took over Aang's body, they immediately prostrate before him (which indicates respect and reverence).
Kuruk was forced to sacrifice himself killing dark spirits again and again and again, and he did sort of succeed in bringing balance to the Spirit World, but no one knew the truth, and thus the world mocked Kuruk by calling him a lazy, entitled failure of an Avatar, and this was encouraged by everyone. Roku, on the other hand, had one job and failed miserably, but was never held accountable for his mistakes; rather he was held in high regard among the four nations.
This is exactly the reason why I believe that F. C. Yee made Kuruk a narriative foil to Roku by providing an extended backstory to the former. From their opposing elements, to their journeys as the Avatars of their time, to how they are remembered beyond the grave, one might understand that when you put them together in any context, they only enhance each other and their opposing traits. In the next part, I will explore the parallels between Kuruk's successor, Kyoshi, and the Water Tribe after him, Avatar Korra, along with a very special guest.
One of the key themes of the ATLA franchise is the concept of the Avatar; master of all 4 elements, the fusion of humanity and Raava, the spirit of light and order, whose sole duty is to bring balance to the world, and be the bridge between both the physical and spiritual realms. Along with this comes the idea of reincarnation, which is the premise of the Avatar Cycle, the idea that the Avatar reincarnates in a cyclic order in any of the four nations (fire, air, water, earth). Another concept related to the Avatar Cycle (although originating from the fandom) is the idea of the Avatar fixing the mistakes of their past life, which is often indicated in differences in both habitual circumstances and personalities between both predecessor and successor, and therefore differences in morality.
But what if I were to tell you that the saying "history repeats itself" is also true among Avatar incarnations? Not exactly going the same way, but rather parallels between the lives, personalities, and accomplishments (and failures) of past lives?
In this series of metas, I will be going over parallels (or in some cases, foils) between certain pairs of Avatars that lived decades, or even centuries apart, and yet could not have ever been more similar.
Elemental Foils: Avatars Aang and Kyoshi
"Aang was an Air Nomad born in 12 BG and the Avatar during the Hundred Year War, succeeding Avatar Roku and preceding Avatar Korra. As the Avatar of his time, he was the only person capable of using all four bending arts: airbending, waterbending, earthbending, and firebending. He was also one of a select few Avatars and one of the first in many cycles to learn the ancient art of energybending as well as the first Avatar known to have actively used the technique."
"Kyoshi was the Earth Kingdom-born Avatar immediately succeeding Avatar Kuruk of the Northern Water Tribe, and preceding Avatar Roku of the Fire Nation. She died at the age of 230, making her the oldest confirmed human, and was also an exceptionally tall woman, towering over most people. Kyoshi was born to two criminals: Jesa, a renegade Air Nomad nun, and Hark, a thief from an impoverished family of Earth Kingdom actors. She inherited her later signature outfit from her parents, adopting her mother's golden headdress and metal war fans and her father's daofei face paint."
Similarly to the previous post, I listed the first paragraphs of both Aang and Kyoshi's respective Wiki pages, and you can clearly see foils between them both and balk at the idea of any connection between them whatsoever (aside from Raava, ofc). However, Kyoshi is actually very similar to Aang in terms of their heritage and relationships with other people, second only to her predecessor Kuruk overall in terms of similarities with Aang.
I will first list the differences between the two. Aang is an Air Nomad; Kyoshi is an Earth Kingdom citizen (what is the citizen name for the EK?). Aang's native element is air; Kyoshi's is earth, its natural opposite. Kyoshi believed in absolute justice (which, yes, included murder, although she never killed someone out of boredom--she only killed when necessary); Aang was taught that all life is sacred (which conflicted with his duty to kill Ozai).
Underneath these skin-deep contrasts, however, lie striking similarities between our protagonist and his daofei past life.
(WARNING: There will be possible spoilers for both The Rise of Kyoshi and possibly The Shadow of Kyoshi. If you do not wish to be spoiled, I suggest not reading any further and scrolling past this post until you have finished reading both novels. You have been warned.)
The first point I will make is their heritage. In The Rise of Kyoshi, it is revealed that Kyoshi's mother, Jesa, was a rogue Air Nomad, and a nun at that. Meaning both Aang and Kyoshi have Air Nomad heritage (although Kyoshi's native element was earth, not air, which I will get into later). Both Kyoshi and Aang grew up travelling, without staying in one place for a long time. In Kyoshi's case, her nomadic lifestyle prevented her from being discovered as the Avatar early on. However, like I mentioned earlier, they have opposite native elements; Aang's is air, Kyoshi's is earth.
And yet, they have similar capabilities in both elements. Kyoshi is the only known Avatar to struggle with her native element, and seems to favor airbending in combat (which could be linked to her heritage as a part of both cultures). Likewise, Aang is stated to be an airbending master at just 12, while earthbending was the element he most struggled with (as Aang struggled with learning to face his problems head-on, instead of running away from them). Ironically, although according to the fandom, Kyoshi would despise Aang for running away from his Avatar duties, Kyoshi has also run away from her duties when it became clear that she was Kuruk's successor, not Yun.
The second thing is their relationships with other people. Yes, Kyoshi befriended a group of daofei (The Flying Opera Company) and an immortal assassin who taught her the secret to immortality (Lao Ge/Tieguai), but she has a similar dynamic with the Flying Opera Company that Aang would have with the GAang centuries later: A motley crew of runaway misfits who work together and understand each other as family, and see you as your own person instead of the Avatar. It certainly beats having unsupportive "friends" who consider you the Avatar first, disregarding your own identity (looking at you, Team Kuruk--except Nyahitha, he's approved in my book). Speaking of which, both Kyoshi and Aang's father figures (Kelsang and Gyatso) were Air Nomad monks from the Southern Air Temple (like Aang), who influenced their young proteges' bending affinity. Both Kelsang and Gyatso were also companions to Kyoshi and Aang's predecessors (Kuruk and Roku respectively, completing one Avatar Cycle of each element). Kelsang was killed by Jianzhu (another former companion of Kuruk) and Gyatso took down at least 50 FN soldiers during the Air Nomad Genocide (orchestrated by Firelord Sozin, Avatar Roku's childhood friend) before laying his own life (there's a popular theory that Gyatso used suffocation to suck the air out of the room suicide-style).
Kyoshi and Aang have also hid themselves behind masks. Kyoshi donned her mother's headdress and fans, as well as her father's daofei makeup (to hide her facial expressions and to appear more intimidating to her enemies) as a part of her iconic appearance. Aang, on the other hand, went through two brief masks during the entire series: His stint as the elderly Bonzu Pippinpaddleopsicopolis III in The King of Omashu (Book 1: Episode 4) and his stint as Kuzon in The Headband (Book 3: Episode 2).
Another thing they have in common is the fact that they were both struck by lightning (Kyoshi by Xu Ping An; Aang by Azula), which mortally wounded them (Kyoshi has lightning scars all over her hands; Aang has a scar on his back where the lightning entered his body, and an "exit" scar on his foot where it left his body). Ironically, in Kyoshi's case, the lightning helped her enter the Avatar State, while for Aang, it locked his chakras, preventing him from being able to access the Avatar State.
Also, both Kyoshi and Aang's love interests are from the same nation as their successors (Rangi is from the Fire Nation, Katara is from the Southern Water Tribe). Kyoshi, however, had a brief crush on False Avatar Yun, and I prefer to ship Aang with Toph, both being earthbenders. (I also have two separate theories that both Yun and Katara are descendants of Avatar Kuruk, but that's for another time.)
The final similarity between Kyoshi and Aang is their age--more specifically, their age at death. Both Kyoshi and Aang lived to be extremely old, with minimal physical ageing (Kyoshi learned to stop herself from ageing and lived to be 230, while Aang was trapped in the iceberg for 100 years). However, Aang died at a relatively young physical age at 66 due to the heavy toll on his body after freezing himself in the Avatar state for a century (still higher than Kuruk, tho), while his chronological age was a still mighty 165 at death. Roku, by contrast, lived to a relatively normal 70 years old.
In conclusion, despite their differences in morality and overall journey in becoming fully realized, Kyoshi and Aang connect in their shared heritage as Air Nomads, as well as their ability to disguise in unexpected places. This is proof that history doesn't always repeat, but it often rhymes. In the next part, I will explore how their predecessors, Kuruk and Roku, act as foils to each other.
