After Aang, Avatar Korra came to find her own way to bring balance to the world. But the very loud waterbender was a different kind of Avatar.
The TV series Avatar is one of the universally most well-liked animated shows ever made. While it was made and marketed as a ‘kids show’ and is never not technically age-appropriate, it’s also a show that shows a tremendous amount of world-building while tackling some pretty big subjects. It managed to be a light-hearted and fun show whose backdrop and biggest plot included war, genocide, and trauma. And as I said, it does all of this while never being too much for its relatively young target audience.
So it was no surprise when the target audience grew up to be excited for more Avatar with the introduction of Korra, and then more again with the recently announced movie. This is a top-tier series that I can’t recommend enough if you haven’t watched it yet. But for now let’s talk about one of the Avatars we get to know to best, Avatar Korra.
The Avatar
To understand who Korra is, you’ll need to understand what the Avatar is. The series takes place in a world where a small part of the population has the ability to ‘bend’ or control one of the four elements. Some people from the Fire Nation can firebend, while the Water Tribes are home to waterbenders and so on with the Earth Nation and Air Nomads.
Once per generation the Avatar is reincarnated, and that special individual has the power to bend all four elements. They also have the ability to form a special connection to their former lives and all of the Avatars that came before.
With these powers, the Avatar has a global responsibility to maintain balance and keep peace between the four nations. The Last Airbender, the first Avatar series, shows Aang, an airbender, as he tries to stop the Fire Nation from taking over the whole world. When his story ends, Aang is reincarnated as Avatar Korra.
Avatar Korra’s Early Life
Korra was born to Tonraq and Senna in the Southern Water Tribe. And while some Avatars need to be searched for many years, her abilities were obvious almost immediately. By the age of four Korra was demonstrating an impressive amount of proficiency in bending not only water, but fire, and earth as well.
She quickly trained to be a master waterbender under Katara before moving onto fire and Earth. And by the time Korra was seventeen she had mastered all but airbending. This skill was difficult for her in part because airbending required a certain amount of calmness and peace, which was difficult for Korra’s boisterous and hot-headed personality. In order to learn airbending it was decided that she and her polar bear dog, Naga, should move to Republic City to learn from Aang’s own son, Tenzin.
As the Avatar
Once in Republic City, Korra joined a pro-bending team called the Fire Ferrets, attempted some vigilante justice, and generally made it obvious immediately that she was the new Avatar and had never seen a city before. But eventually and after making a few allies in her new home, Korra began to get the hang of her new life and even had to start solving some Avatar-level problems of her own.
Subscribe to our newsletter!
Get Tabletop, RPG & Pop Culture news delivered directly to your inbox.
The first season featured the ‘Equalists,’ a group of terrorists who believed that nobody should have bending ability. Their leader Amon even showed the ability to remove a bender’s abilities.
Season two’s issues were not only much more global but spread into the spirit world as well. A civil war within the Water Tribes threatened to become a worldwide conflict as the ancient spirits, Vaatu and Raava fought for supremacy. But as spirits of light and darkness, neither could exist without balance from the other and once again the Avatar’s job was to bring balance to the world.
In Season Three, the events of the previous season left people discontent while others found themselves spontaneously able to airbend. As a result of all of the change, the Red Lotus group came about. This season was a rollercoaster, as Korra learned new skills like metalbending, an offshoot of earthbending, but was also kidnapped and very seriously injured. With her injury came a long recovery and an understandable shake to her confidence.
The final season shows Avatar Korra adjusting and recovering in time for another global conflict as now a rogue group of earthbenders attempt a hostile takeover.
Avatar Korra’s Future and Legacy
It took Korra longer to come into her own, and as such she is a much less immediately likable Avatar than Aang was. This is evident through how he is spoken of and remembered, versus how people- especially those in positions of power- always seem to have to warm up to Korra. But Korra is also an incredibly relatable character with struggles that feel real and recognizable, even to audience members without any special powers. Korra’s story continues on through comics, some of which show snippets of her her romantic relationship with Asami.
Eventually, within the world of Avatar, Korra is recognized for her unique abilities and mark on the world with a park being named after her in Republic City and her growing into a universally respected figure.
Who is your favorite Avatar? In the world of Avatar would you be an Avatar, and if so what would your element be? Which Legend of Korra season was your favorite? Let us know in the comments!
Happy adventuring!
Read more at this site