Yakone

"water"

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

Yakone was a powerful crime lord who threatened Republic City for many years with his bloodbending abilities before they were permanently removed by Avatar Aang. He fathered a son, Tarrlok.

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.

In 128 ASC, Yakone was accused of bloodbending after the testimony of several witnesses. Chief Toph Beifong, accompanied by some metalbending officers and Avatar Aang, arrested him while he was eating at a restaurant. The criminal sarcastically claimed he would beat this charge again as he had done with the previous ones.

Yakone was then taken to City Hall to be judged before the United Republic Council, where he was defended by a lawyer who appealed to the impossibility to bloodbend when there is no full moon, as witnesses had claimed that his client had performed the feat "at every other time except during a full moon", making the crime seemingly impossible to commit. When the Council made its final decision, announced the verdict, stating that the evidence was enough to convince them that Yakone was a "unique bender" and had used this ability to commit the crimes of which he had been accused. For this reason, the bloodbender was considered guilty and sentenced to life imprisonment.



However, Yakone stood up, grinning, and proceeded to bloodbend Sokka as well as the other council members. Toph attempted to halt Yakone with a metal cable, but he was able to overpower her as well. Soon everyone in the room fell victim to his bloodbending. He used this dark bending art to force Toph over to him and unlock his handcuffs. Yakone's victims included Avatar Aang, who unsuccessfully tried to stop the criminal from fleeing, only to be knocked to the floor. Aang then entered the Avatar State and pursued Yakone, destroying his getaway cart. Surprising Aang by popping out of the wreckage, the bloodbender used his technique again, in an attempt to kill Aang, but was thwarted when Aang entered the Avatar State, breaking the criminal's bloodbending hold and trapping Yakone within an earth shell. Yakone was unable to prevent Aang from removing his bending.



Forty-two years later, his son, Tarrlok, who inherited his ability, tried to follow his father's steps in order to "win" Republic City. Aang tried to communicate with Avatar Korra on several occasions about Yakone's life and warn her about the Councilman; however, it was not until she was captured by the bloodbender that the Avatar decided to meditate, and in doing so, managed to finally understand the message from her predecessor.

Personality
Yakone was a corrupt and ruthless individual, as demonstrated during his trial for committing various crimes and atrocities with his bloodbending skill. After being found guilty, he wasted no time in using his ability by bloodbending everyone present, including Aang, Sokka, Toph, and even his own attorney, knocking them all unconscious before escaping.

Abilities
Yakone was a bloodbender who was able to display this ability on multiple occasions without the aid of a full moon. Considering the information presented at his trial, Yakone appeared to be capable of bloodbending at any time besides during a full moon, an inverse of what is typically the case. The criminal could bend the fluids inside a person, allowing him to either manipulate a person's body in a similar fashion to that of a puppet master or cause injury by painfully twisting their body parts in various directions and could even levitate his targets, throw them around, and knock them unconscious. Yakone displayed a powerful use of bloodbending, as he was able to bloodbend dozens of people present at his trial into unconsciousness without the aid of the full moon, having his hands restrained, and only exerting minimal mental effort. However, his bloodbending proved ineffective against Aang in the Avatar State.

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 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.