Monday, July 1, 2019

Character Analysis: Avatar Aang


Links to Behind the Scenes Content


Background

Long ago, a young man named Wan would be granted the power to bend all four elements to his will and go on to fuse with Raava, the Spirit of Light, creating a bond that would last for many centuries. This bond created the Avatar, a powerful bender that made it their personal mission to maintain peace and balance. Every time an Avatar dies, they are reincarnated into the next nation in the cycle and so on.

Ten thousand years later, after the death of Avatar Roku, the leader of the Fire Nation. Fire Lord Sozin, would go on to instigate a war that would last a century and launched a genocidal attack on the Air Nomads. While Sozin was successful in wiping out most of the Air Nomads, one managed to elude him and remained hidden in a ball of ice for the next century. The Air Nomad was Aang, the Last Airbender and current Avatar.

Before Sozin launched his attack, Aang learned of his true identity at the age of 12. When he found out that the higher ups of his village planned to separate him from his loved ones, Aang, along with flying bison Appa, ran away from home, got caught up in a storm, and crashed into the ocean. While it seemed that Aang and Appa were going to drown, Aang's Avatar Spirit activated and froze both in a ball of ice that prevented Aang or Appa from aging. 

100 years later, Aang would be discovered by a young waterbender named Katara and her older brother Sokka, and the three of them would form a group that would go on to challenge the Fire Lord and put an end to the 100 year war.

Weapons and Equipment

Glider Staff
A glider staff uses to channel his airbending. With it, Aang can fly and fire gusts of wind from it. While Aang's original glider staff was destroyed near the beginning of Season 3, he received a new one during the Day of Black Sun.

Abilities

Airbending
The ability to manipulate air and Aang's preferred element to use in most confrontations. This bending style focuses on speed and evasion, forgoing a strong offense for a stronger defense. Aang tends to use his agility to tire out foes. With airbending, Aang can create powerful gusts of wind, mini tornadoes, and an orb of air to ride on top of like a scooter.

Waterbending 
The ability to manipulate water. Waterbending is a very adaptable and versatile form of bending that focuses on turning the enemy's strength against them. With waterbending, Aang can change water into ice, create water jets, tendrils, walls of ice, freeze others, etc.

Earthbending
The ability to manipulate earth. Earthbending utilizes both a strong offense and defense. With earthbending, Aang can create stone walls, coat himself in earth to form earth armors, and toss boulders at enemies.

Seismic Sense
A sub-skill of earthbending. Enables the user to detect vibrations in the ground to perceive objects, people, and other aspects of the environment. This allows Aang to fight, even while blinded.

Firebending
The ability to manipulate fire. Firebending heavily focuses on offense over defense. With firebending, Aang can shoot fire blasts, streams, and waves from his hands, feet, and mouth. Firebenders can physically resist fire-based attacks.

Lightning Redirection

A sub-skill of firebending. The ability to redirect electricity.


Lavabending
The ability to manipulate molten lava. According to an Avatar Extra found in episode 1 of Book 2, "lavabending is a combination of both earthbending and firebending." Other lavabenders like Bolin and Ghazan have shown that they can phase-shift lava into earth and earth into lava. While Aang has never personally shown to be capable of using this ability, past Avatars like Kyoshi have shown this ability, meaning Aang can access this while in the Avatar State.

Energybending
The ability to bend a person's life energy. Aang has used this ability to remove Ozai and Yakone's bending, as well as restore Korra's after Amon took it away.

Avatar State
By channeling vast cosmic energies and knowledge of previous Avatars, Aang can tap into the Avatar State, a form in which Aang's bending prowess is greatly increased. While in the Avatar State, Aang can bend all four elements at once, has access to the knowledge and experience of past Avatars, and can replicate the skills of past Avatars he may not know naturally, like lavabending and flight. 

The Avatar State can be triggered unconsciously in response to perception of mortal danger or when under emotional stress, utilizing it as a defense mechanism. However, thanks to being a fully realized Avatar, Aang can enter the state anytime he chooses. It is also implied that the Avatar State grants a boost in physicality as well, as seen when Korra broke platinum chains she could not break without the Avatar State.

Feats

Strength/Bending Strength

Speed

Durability

Scaling



Accomplishments

  • Defeated Prince Zuko on multiple occasions
  • Completed King Bumi's challenges, which required a fair amount of problem solving
  • Defeated Zhao by using his temper against him
  • After fusing with the Koi Fish, took out an armada of firebenders
  • Won Earth Rumble VI
  • Stopped a drill from infiltrating Ba Sing Se
  • Eventually learned how to bend all four elements
  • Defeated Fire Lord Ozai and ended the 100 year war
  • Became a fully realized Avatar
  • Found Republic City
  • Restored Korra's bending
  • Crushed any hopes of Taang or Zutara becoming a thing
  • Kataang wins

Weaknesses

Aang is a pacifist that only resorts to brute force if necessary (albeit this would be limited to an extent in a DEATH BATTLE scenario) and killing him while in the Avatar State will result in the permanent end of the Avatar Cycle.   
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