Avatar



The Avatar is the spirit of the planet incarnate in human form and thus the only physical being with the ability to practice all four bending disciplines. It is considered the Avatar's duty to master the four elemental disciplines and use such power to keep balance amongst the four nations of the world. With the death of the Avatar, the spirit is reborn into the following nation, dictated by the cyclic order; water, earth, fire, air. Coincidentally, the cycle of reincarnation corresponds to the cycle of the seasons; each of which is affiliated with a particular nation and element; water and winter, earth and spring, fire and summer, air and autumn. The cycle is also the traditional order in which any one Avatar is to master the elements, beginning at which ever element they were born into. The cycle can only be broken if the Avatar dies while using the Avatar State.



The Avatar possesses an innate connection to the Spirit World and uses it as a bridge by which to reconcile the two worlds and ensure harmony. The Avatar is also capable of using this ability to contact the spirits of previous Avatars and harness their combined energy to perform feats of bending beyond that of any other bender. Throughout the ages, countless incarnations of the Avatar have served to maintain harmony in the world.

Each nation has a method of recognizing the new Avatar. Among the Air Nomads, this involved presenting all infants with a selection of toys to play with and watching for a child that selected four specific toys that had belonged to past Avatars, called the four Avatar relics. Traditionally, the child is told of his identity as the Avatar on his sixteenth birthday. However, Avatar Aang was told much earlier than this because of Fire Nation aggression, and Korra was discovered as the Avatar when she was still a little girl when she was seen bending three elements without formal training.

Avatars also possess the ability to bend energy, though very few Avatars have learned this technique, and even fewer have used it. Avatar Aang learned this technique from a lion turtle and used it to remove Phoenix King Ozai's firebending, thereby ending the Hundred Year War. Korra was also taught this ability after being able to contact Aang when she lost her bending. Aang used this ability to restore her bending and she likewise did the same for Lin Beifong.

When the Avatar masters control of the Avatar State, he is commonly said to be a 'Fully Realized Avatar'. However, it has not yet been confirmed whether mastery of the Four Elements, namely water, earth, fire and air, is required for this status as well.

Avatar Cycle
The reincarnations of the Avatar are controlled by the Avatar Cycle of the elements: water, earth, fire, air. The cycle is based on the passage of the four seasons (water is winter, earth is spring, fire is summer, and air is autumn).

When an Avatar dies, the next Avatar will be born into the next nation in the Avatar Cycle; for example, Avatar Yangchen from the Air Nomads was followed by Avatar Kuruk from the Northern Water Tribe, who was followed by Avatar Kyoshi from the Earth Kingdom, who was followed by Avatar Roku from the Fire Nation, who was followed by Avatar Aang from the Air Nomads. Once Aang died, the Avatar reincarnated as Korra born in the Southern Water Tribe.

The Avatar Cycle also determines the order in which each Avatar must learn the four bending disciplines. The Avatar begins by mastery of his native element (so an Avatar born into the Water Tribe would first learn waterbending). The Avatar then goes on to learn the three remaining bending disciplines in the order of the cycle (the Water Tribe Avatar would first learn waterbending, then earthbending, then firebending, and finally airbending, in that order). Due to his unique situation, however, Avatar Aang tried to learn firebending as his second element (with Jeong Jeong who first objected, using the cycle as his reason) but ended up learning firebending later after prematurely ending his training with Jeong Jeong.

Known Avatars


The known Avatars in the order of current to oldest are: 153 ASC - present 12 BSC - 153 ASC 82 BSC - 12 BSC 312 BSC - 82 BSC Years unknown - 312 BSC Years unknown Years unknown
 * Korra (Water Tribe, Southern Water Tribe)
 * Aang (Air Nomads, Southern Air Temple)
 * Roku (Fire Nation, Roku's island)
 * Kyoshi (Earth Kingdom, now Kyoshi Island)
 * Kuruk (Water Tribe, Northern Water Tribe)
 * Yangchen (Air Nomads, Western Air Temple)
 * Unnamed fire Avatar (Fire Nation)

Simultaneous bending


The Avatar is capable of bending more than one element at the same time. Avatar Aang first demonstrated this ability while in Ba Sing Se when he used his earthbending to recreate a zoo while traveling on the air scooter made by his airbending.

During the battle with Ozai, Aang used all four elements while in the Avatar State to make himself nearly invincible and used the elements in a highly destructive attack. This consisted of him first bending air into a spherical shield around himself like he normally does while in the Avatar State, but then using firebending to create flames and then compressing the flames into a ring around the air shield. Next, Aang broke incredibly large chunks of earth using earthbending and compressed these boulders into small rocks and suspended them lined up in a ring encircling him. Finally he used waterbending and compressed water into the final ring around him. The compression of the elements provided Aang with materials for bending all four elements without sacrificing too much size and speed, thus making this an extremely dangerous attack both defensively and offensively.

Avatar State


The strongest and most powerful ability that an Avatar can invoke is the Avatar State. It allows an Avatar to channel immensely vast cosmic energies and knowledge of all of the previous Avatars, enabling them to perform epically powerful and amazing bending feats. Avatars may unconsciously enter such a state in response to perception of mortal danger, utilizing the state as a defense mechanism, or emotional distress. While in this state, an Avatar has access to bending techniques they themselves may have yet to learn but has no conscious control and likely causes great collateral damage. Avatars with mastery of the Avatar State have full conscious control over the state and can enter and exit it at will. It was by entering the Avatar State defensively that Aang was able to freeze himself and Appa inside an iceberg for a hundred years by using a combination of airbending and waterbending. He did not physically age at all during the century he was in suspended animation.

While in the Avatar State, the Avatar's eyes glow, as do any body markings following Chi paths such as Air Nomad tattoos; however, if the body has received an injury deeper than the tattoo, then that spot will not glow in the state. The glow is the combination of all the past lives, focusing their energy through the body. When Aang spoke in the Avatar State, his voice encompassed a combination of several different voices, presumed to belong to past Avatars, at once.



It is possible for an Avatar to control the Avatar State, as Aang, Roku, Kyoshi, Kuruk, Yangchen, and the unnamed Fire Nation Avatar have demonstrated in numerous flashbacks, but this requires great spiritual discipline and concentration. Guru Pathik attempted to teach Aang to control the Avatar State by helping him clear his chakras, but Aang could not let go of Katara in exchange for cosmic power, and Fire Sage Kaja informed Roku to clear his mind, but Roku found emptying his mind of thoughts to be quite challenging and was initially unable to do so. More often, the Avatar State is activated by danger or emotional turmoil. Aang inadvertently entered the Avatar State when he discovered that his friend and teacher, Monk Gyatso, was killed by Fire Nation soldiers. Aang entered the Avatar State when General Fong placed Katara in danger by sinking her into the ground with earthbending. When an Avatar is in complete control of the Avatar State, their eyes glow momentarily, not continuously.



It is possible for an Avatar to channel a specific previous incarnation while in the Avatar State. When this happens, the Avatar briefly takes on the appearance and voice of that previous incarnation. Aang did this on several occasions, channeling Roku on two occasions and Kyoshi once. The appearance of these incarnations seems to vary as Roku always appeared as an old man while all the other Avatar incarnations appeared youthful and in their prime. It is unlikely the age of the Avatar's death is the deciding factor in their appearance since Avatar Kyoshi lived for 230 years and would not have kept a young appearance at that time. It is possible that those in the Spirit World manifest visually as they see themselves and not as they currently are. Aang sees himself garbed in Air Nomad attire and with a shaved head within the Spirit World, even when he was wearing different clothes in the physical world and had hair.

It appears that the Avatar State is capable of nullifying the effects of bloodbending, as shown when Aang dispels Yakone's bloodbending and then proceeds to strip him of his waterbending.

Ways the Avatar State works
There seems to be two distinct ways to how the Avatar State works:

Continuous
When the State works continuously, the Avatar's eyes, and tattoos in the case of an Air Nomad Avatar, glow white constantly, and the spirits of the past Avatars actively channel their energy, skills, and knowledge through the body of the current Avatar, granting him or her great amounts of strength and power.

The State has been seen to work this way almost exclusively as instinctive unconscious reaction, as the 'defense mechanism' Roku described the State as, when an Avatar is confronted with a threat beyond that they can deal with, or when their emotions, specifically rage and sorrow, reach a breaking point. So it may perhaps be more accurate to describe the State being used this way as 'reflexively' rather than 'continuously'. When the State is triggered this way the combined spirits of the past Avatars seem to take control of the Avatar's body and voice, thus the current Avatar has little to no control over his own actions and may retain little to no memory of what he did, though this is not always the case.

Aang appeared to use the State this way against Fire Lord Ozai after the scar was forced against a rock unlocking his final chakra. Just as Guru Pathik had said, this event led to Aang being able to control the State himself.

Unlike previous times where Aang entered the State, he was not physically exhausted. This is possibly due to unlocking the final chakra, which let him regain control over the collective spirit.

Non-continuous
When the State is used non-continuously, the Avatar's eyes, and tattoos in the case of an Air Nomad Avatar, glow only for a second, and during that time the current Avatar stores the knowledge and energy needed within himself so that he can release it once he exits the state, taking only the power needed for a specific task. This reduces the danger of being killed in the Avatar State and enables a more willful, controlled use of the Avatar State's power. This can only be done by an Avatar who has mastered the State as it is a conscious use rather than an instinctual response. Mastery of this technique is part of what distinguishes an Avatar as "Fully Realized".

Spiritual link-up
The Avatar State also allows an Avatar to join with certain spirits. This was demonstrated when Aang enters the Avatar State in order to aid the frantic Ocean Spirit. Both Aang in his Avatar State and the Ocean Spirit combine their abilities to defend the Northern Water Tribe after all waterbenders are rendered defenseless.

Weakness
While the Avatar, is all but invincible in the Avatar State, having millions of bending experiences which can surpass an army of benders, there is one grave weakness - while in effect, every Avatar, or the entity of the earth's spirit, is present in the physical world while the current Avatar is in the Avatar State. If the Avatar were to be killed while in the Avatar State, every Avatar would die with him. This would break the cycle permanently and the Avatar would cease to exist.



Aang was fatally wounded by a lightning strike from Azula while entering the Avatar State. As a result, his connection with the Avatar Spirit was jeopardized, resulting in the Avatar Spirit's fall from the plane of existence. Fortunately, Katara was able to use the Spirit Water she received from Pakku to heal Aang, reviving Aang and consequently the Avatar Spirit. The strain of the revival caused Aang to slip into a coma for several weeks, and during that time, he managed to secure his connection to the Avatar State by meeting with the four Avatar incarnations before him. However, it took longer for his connection to his past lives to be completely restored.

Another downside to the Avatar State is the considerable mental strain it can cause to less experienced Avatars. Prior to his tutelage under Guru Pathik, Aang would often leave the Avatar State feeling horrified at what he had done under its influence. Furthermore, use of the state, at least in extraordinary circumstances, can place such a large physical strain on an Avatar's body such that their life span can be affected; thus, Aang's one hundred-year time in the iceberg contributed greatly to his eventual death at sixty-six years of age biologically, and 166 years chronologically.

Known incidents of use

 * Aang used the Avatar State to save himself and Appa from their fall into the ocean. Both were sealed into an ice encrusted air pocket that eventually froze into an iceberg. Aang would remain in the State until he was released from the iceberg around one hundred years later, hinting at the incredible power available to the Avatar.
 * However this lengthy use of the state is ascribed to be a major factor to Aang's eventual death at a biological age of sixty-six.
 * Aang used it to escape another fall into the ocean and to stop Zuko. He waterbent a water spout in the form of a twister.
 * Aang later went into the State after witnessing the skeleton of his former mentor Monk Gyatso. In his anguished-induced state, he generated hurricane-force winds. In this event, it is shown that depictions of previous Avatars (such as sculptures or murals) may react to the Avatar state (for unknown reasons), even when far away, glowing in the same manner that the Avatar in the image would.
 * Aang met Avatar Roku in the fire temple. Roku helped him and friends escape by directly taking over Aang's body and activating the volcano underneath the temple.
 * Aang almost entered into the Avatar State while telling Katara that Monk Gyatso and he were to be separated.
 * Aang entered the state after saving Sokka and a fisherman, rounding up everyone that fell into the ocean and pulling them out of the water into the calmness of the storm's eye.
 * During the Siege of the North, Aang combined power with the spirit of the Ocean, La, after all waterbenders were rendered powerless, and proceeded to lay waste to the Fire Nation fleet besieging the city.
 * Aang entered the Avatar State when General Fong used earthbending to bury Katara underground to force Aang into the Avatar State. He used airbending to knock the general to the floor, rose into the air on a tornado, and crashed down to the earth, releasing a powerful earthbending attack on the general, his guards, and his fortress. A small air sphere surrounded Aang before the spirit of Avatar Roku took him to the Spirit World to explain to him about the true nature of the Avatar State. In several flashbacks, Avatar Kyoshi, Avatar Kuruk, Avatar Yangchen, and an unnamed fire Avatar were seen in the Avatar State.
 * Avatar Kyoshi entered the Avatar State in her battle versus Chin. Using the Avatar State masterfully (non-continuous usage), Kyoshi split her home land from the mainland, creating Kyoshi Island.
 * Aang entered the Avatar State when infuriated at Appa's kidnappers, a group of sandbenders. A large air sphere surrounded him, lifting him up into the air, but was brought down by Katara, who grabbed his arm and embraced him.
 * While battling in Ba Sing Se, Aang finally was willing to give up Katara to open the last chakra and willingly go into the Avatar State, but he was soon struck by lightning from Princess Azula.
 * The Avatar State was used many times by Avatar Roku. In flashbacks, he used the Avatar State twice, first in a battle with Fire Lord Sozin, then as an attempt to stop a volcanic eruption.
 * Aang suffered a blow to the back while fighting Ozai in the same spot where Azula struck him with lightning, reopening his chakra and enabling him to effectively use the Avatar State. He collected all four elements and compressed them in a sphere around him, moving at incredible speed, plowing straight through obstacles whereas his opponent Ozai had to dodge said obstacles. The sphere could be used both for offense and defense. Since the sphere contained all four elements, it allowed Aang to earthbend and waterbend while away from a source. It was unclear if Aang had complete control of the Avatar State during the fight, as his eyes and tattoos glowed continuously, as opposed to other known Avatars, whose eyes glowed only for a moment when using the Avatar State. After the fight was over, Aang used it once again; pulling in the ocean to put out the fire at Wulong Forest, before lowering the tide back again, this time entering a momentary glow with realized control.
 * During a confrontation with Zuko over Yu Dao, Aang entered the Avatar State with intent to fulfill his promise to kill the Fire Lord if he became like Ozai.
 * Aang went into the Avatar State twice non-continuously to defeat Yakone and used his energybending to take the criminal's bending away.
 * Korra entered this state after having her bending abilities unlocked by the spirit of Aang when "she was at her lowest". She formed an airspout to lift herself into the air, and released air, fire and earth rings around her before forming a large wave from the ocean below her and sending it crashing against the cliff.

Meditation


Aang did not enter the Avatar State during meditation and harmony with the spirits around him, but his tattoos and eyes glow in the same way. In this method, he visited the Spirit World with his own spirit, leaving his body a defenseless shell in the real world. An example of this was seen at the North Pole.

Known incidents of meditation

 * Aang meditated into the Spirit World to find a way to save the North Pole.
 * Aang meditated on Avatar Roku's home island to meet him in the Spirit World. Curiously, when Aang was shown from a non-Spiritual World perspective after crossing over, his tattoos were not glowing, which differed from previous occasions when his tattoos remained glowing.
 * Aang meditated on the Lion turtle to get some advice from his past lives on what he should do when facing Fire Lord Ozai.
 * Aang meditated before meeting Zuko in Yu Dao to ask Roku for some advice when he sees Zuko.
 * Korra meditated while kidnapped by Tarrlok to find out more about Aang and Yakone.

Trivia

 * Stopping the Avatar State during its reflexive use might not represent mastery of the Avatar State but rather the ability to harness the Avatar State's power momentarily and enter into and exit the State at will more freely. Aang stopped the state himself a few times throughout the first series, initially at the Southern Air Temple upon soothing words from Katara, as well as in "The Storm" when his tattoos only briefly glowed. He did it again in "The Desert" when he realized he had nearly taken his wrath out upon Katara, and finally when stopping himself from killing Ozai at Wulong Forest. The Promise Part 1 supports this, as Aang enters the Avatar State when Zuko starts to act like Ozai, snapping out of it when Katara reminded him he could do things he would later regret.
 * A possible reason otherwise is that Avatars are told to subdue their emotions in order to control the Avatar State, such as Pathik telling this to Aang in "The Guru", and Fire Sage Kaja telling Roku to clear his mind in Escape from the Spirit World.
 * Aang was shown to have little to no realization or memory as to what he was doing at various times during usage of the Avatar State, though at other times he was shown to have had such understanding and cognitive awareness of his surroundings. This was demonstrated when Katara's words alone bring him out of the Avatar State at the Southern Air Temple, was shown to have haunting nightmares regarding his actions at the North Pole and after stopping himself from nearly bringing harm to Katara at Si Wong Desert.
 * It is not certain why tattoos on an Avatar's chi line are able to glow, as they are simply colors infused into their skin. An Avatar's skin does not glow if no tattoos are present.
 * The glow while in the Avatar State was influenced from the anime FLCL, of which the creators are fans.
 * In Sanskrit/Hindi, Avatara means "descent" in verb form and "incarnation" in noun form.
 * In "The Southern Air Temple" with "Avatar Extras" bonus commentary, one of the commentary bubbles stated that the next Avatar will be decided by the season that they are born in and the cycle. If this is the case, this could show how long the Avatar Spirit must wait before choosing its next host after the last Avatar's death.
 * "Avatar Extras" noted a recurring joke regarding those who battle fully realized Avatars as ending up "looking stupid", as shown when Chin the Conqueror challenged Avatar Kyoshi and ended up having all his clothes blown off, leaving him standing in front of his army in his undergarments. When Fire Lord Sozin fought Avatar Roku, Sozin was left hanging from a stone pillar by the back of his robe. During the Battle at Wulong Forest, Ozai was left powerless and could barely move, being insulted by Toph, Sokka, and Suki.
 * As such "Avatar Extras" declared Aang a Fully Realized Avatar, which would make him the youngest biologically, and also the oldest chronologically known Avatar to become fully realized.
 * Aang went into the "continuous" Avatar State nine times during the course of the first series, but only once into the "non-continuous" state. Aang is seen to have gone into the "continuous" Avatar State once in The Promise and twice "non-continuously" in The Legend of Korra.
 * The biological parents of the known Avatars before Avatar Korra were never mentioned.
 * Aang was the father of another airbender, Tenzin, who in turn was the father of the airbenders Jinora, Ikki, and Meelo. Subsequently, the next airbending Avatar will almost certainly be descended from him, due to his former status as the last remaining airbender and the one responsible for starting a new line of airbenders.
 * Both Avatar Aang and Avatar Korra were taught by descendants of the previous Avatar. In Aang's case, Zuko (Roku's great-grandson) taught him firebending; in Korra's case, Tenzin (Aang's son) taught her airbending.
 * When Aang went into the Avatar State at the Southern Air Temple, Avatar statues across the world lit up, signaling the return of the Avatar. It is unclear what triggers this phenomenon, seeing as Aang had been in the Avatar State for a hundred years and the statues were not lit.
 * The only Avatars mentioned to have descendants were Aang, Kyoshi, and Roku. Kyoshi had a daughter, Koko, with an unknown husband; Roku had children with Ta Min, of whom Ursa is a descendant (thus making Zuko and Azula descendants as well); and Aang had children with Katara.
 * It is unknown if any other type of tattoo may glow on an Avatar in the State; however, it has been stated by the series creators that Air Nomad tattoos glow when in the Avatar State because they follow chi lines in the body. Thus, if a tattoo is not near a chi line or point, it is unlikely it would glow. Curiously, several Air Nomad Avatars were shown with only their eyes glowing.
 * Korra was the youngest known Avatar to have learned who she was; most Avatars are not told until they are sixteen, but Korra discovered the truth by the age of four. The only other known exception was Aang, who was told at age twelve.
 * The only Avatars that are known to have an animal guide are Korra, Aang, and Roku.
 * Only Avatars Aang and Korra are shown traveling and working with a group of friends. Previous Avatars seemed to have worked alone.
 * Aang is the only known Avatar to have not mastered all elements prior to mastering the Avatar State.
 * The past Avatars are known aiding Aang and Korra both to defeat their enemies.