Malu


 * This article is about the character in the series. For the character of the Trading-Card Game, see Malu.

"fire"

- Don't worry, young maiden! I will tame this fiery beast!

Malu was a traveling firebending magician who toured with the Fire Days Festival, entertaining many with his incredible tricks.

History
Born into a family of magicians, Malu grew up in the circus, traveling around the Fire Nation and Earth Kingdom. As a natural performer, Malu toured with the Fire Days Festival, entertaining Fire Nation citizens all over the world. His specialties included juggling fire and turning fireballs into doves. The trick that made him famous was called "taming the dragon", where he used firebending to conjure a large dragon made of fire. He didn't share how he performed his tricks when questioned, as a magician never reveals his secrets.

When Aang, Sokka, and Katara attended the Fire Days Festival, the crowd that had gathered for Malu's show drew their attention. Aang volunteered to be Malu's assistant for his next trick, but the magician selected Katara from the spectators instead. He bound Katara to a chair to play his "captured princess", while he would perform the trick "taming the dragon". During the performance, Aang grew worried when Malu built suspense by faking a loss of control over the fiery beast. In the belief that he was saving his friend, Aang leaped onto the stage and ruined the trick by airbending the fire dragon into a whirlwind of cheery colors, much to Malu's dismay. The disgruntled performer asked if Aang was trying to "upstage [him]".

Trivia

 * His voice actor, Scott Menville, also voiced the Ba Sing Se University student, the firebending entertainer, the Fire Lord puppet at the Fire Festival, and a Gan Jin scout.
 * The trick Malu performed, "taming the dragon," is an available move in the Avatar MMO: "Avatar: Legends of the Arena".
 * In Indonesian and Malayan, "Malu" means "shame".