Appa

"air"

- Choose well. A sky bison is a companion for life.

Appa was Aang's loyal sky bison. Aang and Appa, along with Momo, had a strong family bond with each other because they were each the last of their kinds. Appa was most noted for his ability to fly in spite of his heavy weight, a feat achieved through airbending. This made Appa the primary means of transportation utilized by Team Avatar.

Early life


The earliest known stage of Appa's life was when he was a young calf. This was the moment when he first encountered Aang. Once airbenders reached six years of age, they were taken to the Eastern Air Temple where Sister Iio allowed them to meet their future companions, who bond with them for life. Not much was explained about the exact nature of the relationship between the Air Nomads and their flying bison, but it appeared that the mother sky bison was willingly directing her calves down to the young monks. Aang came forward and offered an apple to Appa. Almost immediately, the two became friends and would be together for most of their lives up until the present day.

Journey to the North
When Aang heard that the monks were going to separate him from Monk Gyatso, he decided to run away and took Appa with him. Appa didn't know where he was going, only that he was leaving the air temples. Aang flew Appa over the ocean, and together, they were caught in a vicious storm. The two were driven underwater by the wind and the waves, and Aang lost consciousness. Sensing that death was near, he entered the Avatar State and froze himself and Appa in an iceberg, where Appa was stuck in hibernation along with Aang for one hundred years until they were discovered by Katara and Sokka. Since then, Appa had been the group's main form of transportation in their quest to help Aang master all the elements.

Disappearance


Appa became lost for a short while when the group was traveling through the Earth Kingdom. He was kidnapped by sandbenders in the middle of the vast Si Wong Desert, while Aang, Katara, Sokka, and Momo were trapped in an intricate underground library. It was later revealed that he was eventually sold to Beetle-headed merchants, who in turn sold him to a Fire Nation circus where a sadistic animal tamer attempted to make him part of the show. Encouraged by a sympathetic boy, Appa later escaped and hurried back to the Si Wong Desert where he last saw Aang. Understanding that his friends weren't there anymore, he journeyed throughout the Earth Kingdom until he encountered the Kyoshi Warriors, who healed the various wounds he had sustained on his travels and wanted to escort him back to Aang. However, they were thwarted in their attempt when Azula and her allies attacked. Appa was forced to leave, ushered away by Suki while the warriors tried to delay the three Fire Nation girls. On his journey he encountered Guru Pathik at the Eastern Air Temple. The Guru was able to tell Appa of Aang's location by reading his energy. Consequently, Appa flew to Ba Sing Se, where he was captured by Long Feng.

Appa was kept in a secret location at Lake Laogai until his rescue by Zuko, who was initially planning on utilizing him to capture the Avatar. Appa found the group cornered by Long Feng and the Dai Li and was instrumental in their defeat, biting Long Feng on the leg when confronted by him. Aang welcomed Appa in a tearful display of affection.

Earth Kingdom
Appa took part in forcibly entering the Royal Palace of Ba Sing Se, providing the first piece of evidence to King Kuei of Long Feng's subterfuge since Long Feng's bite mark still lingered. When the Dai Li's cover up efforts left the Earth King skeptical of Team Avatar's claims, Sokka made a last-ditch effort to show the King the ruined Fire Nation drill by enticing him with a ride on Appa. Since Appa's saddle was lost during his capture, the group was forced to ride bareback. After the fall of Ba Sing Se, Appa was seen spiriting Team Avatar (including a grievously wounded Aang), the Earth King, and his pet, Bosco, out of the now captured city.

In the Fire Nation
Appa stayed with the group as they found their way aboard Hakoda's commandeered Fire Navy vessel, and had a new saddle constructed for him. After Aang ran off into a storm, Appa and the rest of Team Avatar split off from Hakoda's crew after Aang, and they regrouped on Crescent Island. As they traveled through the Fire Nation, Appa had to stay hidden. When Appa flew, Aang and Katara created a cloud around him so that he resembled a cloud to Fire Nation civilians. Also, when they left him and Momo alone, the gang had to cover Appa up with some sort of camouflage.



After the Invasion of the Fire Nation failed on the Day of Black Sun, Appa took Aang's friends and all of the younger members of the invasion force to the Western Air Temple to seek refuge. When Zuko, who had abandoned the Fire Nation during the invasion, arrived at the temple, Appa immediately welcomed and licked him. This was due to Appa remaining grateful to Zuko for freeing him in Ba Sing Se from his imprisonment in Lake Laogai. Zuko then requested that he join the group so that he could teach Aang firebending. Despite Appa's obvious welcome for Zuko, the group did not accept Zuko until later, when he saved the group from an attack by Combustion Man.

In the last days before Sozin's Comet, Appa helped Team Avatar (without Aang) travel to the Earth Kingdom, where they had June and her shirshu, Nyla, try and track Aang. Unsuccessful, they tracked Iroh to Ba Sing Se. Appa later escorted Zuko and Katara to the Fire Nation Capital for their confrontation with Azula.

After the War
After the the War's end, Appa was seen in Ba Sing Se with the gang as they celebrated their victory at the Jasmine Dragon, seemingly enjoying Iroh's tsungi horn music. After this, the team decided to take a ride on Appa before Earth King's celebration to announce the Harmony Restoration Movement to the kingdom.

A year later, when the movement was being carried out, Appa helped Team Avatar transporting Fire Nation colonials back to their nation.

Personality


There was little said about Appa's personality, as he lacked the ability to speak human language. However, he had displayed an ability to understand human language on several occasions. He was also afraid of going underground and of fire. His fear of fire could have started due to his experience at the Fire Nation circus, or it could be a natural tendency of his species. It would be safe to assume that Appa had a reasonably trusting attitude before the events occurred when he was captured in the Si Wong Desert and the circus. He did not take long to accept the apple offered to him by Aang and took an immediate liking to Sokka when he first saw him. However, this trait was damaged due to his experience with the ringmaster and the sandbenders. In these difficult moments, Appa seemed to have similar feelings to humans when he missed Aang and he tried his best to find the team. In the Eastern Air Temple, he also remembered with sorrow his childhood with his siblings and his mother.

Appa also might have had some degree of intelligence as shown when he yawned after Aang prompted him, and when he apparently "scolded" Hawky and Momo when the two fought due to Sokka's order that Appa was in charge.

Abilities


As a sky bison, Appa possessed the ability to fly. He utilized his airbending for this purpose; his tail appeared to be the main driving force behind his bending, but he also had shown the ability to accomplish it with his mouth. Due to his size and mass, it took a lot of energy for him to stay aloft. As a result, Appa couldn't fly for an extended time and periodically required stopping and resting. However, there were times when he displayed extreme stamina, such as when Katara stated that they flew two days non-stop, as well as when Appa continually had to fly to avoid Azula, Ty Lee and Mai for hours on end with only a few minutes of rest each time he stopped. He was also capable of carrying quite a burden on his back; Appa carried seven medium-weight persons once. He was also shown to be a fairly adept swimmer, although he was more frequently seen flying or walking rather than swimming. Despite the tranquility related to his personality as well as his species, Appa had shown himself to be very capable of fighting when necessary. With his bending, Appa could create powerful gusts of air with just a flick of his tail and could gain an advantage over his opponents by hovering. He even defeated Long Feng, Ty Lee and Mai. Being a bison, he was also naturally capable of brute strength and endurance. The best demonstration of this was in the fight against Nyla in the abbey, and against a fully-grown boarcupine in the forest.

Aang also remarked on the fact that Appa had five stomachs that may be due to his size and the amount of energy he required to fly. This may also be a nod to the actual bison, with four stomachs.

Relatives

 * His mother
 * Unnamed siblings

Appearances
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The Promise Trilogy
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 * The Promise Part 1

Trivia

 * Appa in Korean, Hungarian, Arabic, Hebrew, and several Indian dialects is similar to the word meaning father or dad, and it is also an anagram of the word papa. In Inuit, the word 'Aapa', pronounced the same, means dad. In Urdu, the word Appa is used to refer to a female caretaker or a female elder, alluding to an unused idea to reveal Appa as female in the finale. This may be intentional, and rightly so, as the group relied on Appa to carry them around the world and to protect them when everything else failed. This was exemplified in "Lake Laogai" where Appa appeared to protect the group against a seemingly unstoppable force of Dai Li Agents.
 * Appa was a herbivore. His flat teeth were indicative of this, and Appa's diet, from what we've seen, was mainly plants and fruits. Like most farm animals, Appa seemed to prefer hay when possible. Appa also consumed honey and attempted to snatch an egg when he was desperate for food.
 * According to his missing posters and Aang's statement, Appa's weight was 10 tons.
 * Appa's design is similar to that of the Catbus from the anime film My Neighbor Totoro which was made in 1988. The Catbus also has multiple legs and a large tail.Appa's early concept.png
 * Appa's name is a palindrome, like Kuruk.
 * Co-creator Bryan Konietzko described Appa as a manatee-bison hybrid, although the manatee aspect of Appa is extremely subtle. Early development sketches of Appa show him with much more manatee-like facial features.
 * Appa was originally a dog-like animal and much smaller, albeit still larger than Aang. The design was eventually recycled into Naga, Korra's animal guide.
 * Due to Appa being a male and the implications of Appa being the last sky bison, it was speculated that the species would become extinct upon his death. However, it is mentioned that a flock of sky bison was discovered after the War.
 * Appa is claustrophobic, and since the events in the Fire Nation circus, he has become pyrophobic as well.