Yakone

"water"

- This time I'm going to put you to sleep - for good!

Yakone was a powerful bloodbender who threatened Republic City many years before Avatar Korra's arrival.

Crimes in Republic City
Yakone was the head of a criminal empire in Republic City and had a history of being arrested, though he was always acquitted of all charges. Eventually, he was accused of bloodbending, the use of which had been outlawed. This time it came to a conviction, but Yakone fled his punishment by using of his bending. However Avatar Aang chased the criminal and successfully dealt with him head-on, removing his bending through the avatar state.

Many years later Councilman Tarrlok, his son, brought him up in an argument with Tenzin in order to persuade the United Republic Council to allow his task force to attack Amon head-on, just as Avatar Aang had done all those years ago against Yakone.

Korra's visions
When Korra was captured by Tarrlok, she followed Tenzin's advice to meditate, only to see flashbacks of her predecessor's past life in Republic City. In her first vision, Yakone is seen being arrested for his crimes by Aang and Toph Beifong per evidence given by several witness statements. In her next vision, Yakone appears in the City Hall as the accused in a criminal trial. The prosecution and defense statements are heard. The prosecution accuses Yakone of resurrecting the tabooed skill of bloodbending, supported by statements from witnesses. The defense counters by reminding the council that bloodbending is such a rare skill and any chance of Yakone being a bloodbender is scarce. The defense lawyer adds to his statement about the skill's usage, that bloodbending can only be done under a full moon and that the witnesses' claims of Yakone bloodbending on days where the full moon is absent are irrational.



In her next vision, Korra hears of Sokka's verdict that convicts Yakone of his crimes and sentences him to life imprisonment. After the verdict of the council, Yakone uses bloodbending on everybody inside City Hall during his trial, including Aang who unsuccessfully tries to stop him from fleeing only to be thrown unconscious due to his bloodbending. Aang is forced to go into the Avatar State and pursues Yakone on the streets. Yakone then tries to bloodbend Aang into submission and end his life, but is prevented from doing so when Aang enters the Avatar State again. With Yakone's bloodbending useless on the Avatar, Aang stops Yakone by taking away his waterbending abilities for good. After the visions stop, Korra realizes that Tarrlok is Yakone's son, having assumed a new identity to follow his father's goal of ruling Republic City.

Abilities
According to the testimonies of several of Yakone's bloodbending victims, Yakone used his ability on multiple occasions, all without the assistance of the full moon. During Korra's flashbacks, Yakone was shown to be an extremely powerful bloodbender, utilizing the ability on an entire courtroom, including Avatar Aang, in broad daylight. All this he accomplished while hardly moving, though he was not powerful enough to bloodbend Avatar Aang whilst he was in the Avatar State. Yakone could levitate people off the ground, as well as knock people unconscious. His bending abilities were later removed by Avatar Aang following Yakone's unsuccessful escape from Republic City.

Relatives

 * Tarrlok (son)

Trivia

 * Yakone's name means "Red Aurora" in the Ahtna Athabascan language spoken by the Athna group of Alaskan Natives. When Yakone is used as a metaphor, it can mean "blood spray on the snow".
 * Yakone is the first person known to be able to bloodbend without the help of a full moon, and also the first male bloodbender. Tarrlok, his son, inherited this ability.
 * Councilman Sokka compared Yakone's special bending abilities to Combustion Man's ability to firebend with his mind, as well as Toph's creation of metalbending.
 * Yakone is the second person known and second person chronologically to have had their bending abilities removed by Avatar Aang.
 * He is voiced by Clancy Brown, who also provided the voices of Long Feng and Bosco in the original series.