Kuvira

"earth"

- Pledge your loyalty to me, and I'll give you a new purpose in your lives.

Kuvira is a former metalbending member of the Metal Clan in Zaofu and served as both the captain of the city's guard and part of Suyin Beifong's dance troupe. Three years later she is known as the "Great Uniter", in her attempt to achieve balance in the Earth Kingdom through military discipline. She is engaged to Baatar Jr..

Defending Zaofu
In 171 AG, Kuvira and the other members of Suyin Beifong's dance troupe rehearsed a routine for an upcoming recital. The rehearsal ended following the arrival of Avatar Korra and her friends.



Several days later, Kuvira accompanied Suyin's family and Team Avatar to a rooftop where they bade farewell to Opal, who left Zaofu to train at the Northern Air Temple. After the airbender's airship left the city, Kuvira used her radio to command the other guards to begin locking Zaofu for the night. Later that night, Kuvira attacked Zaheer and his associates after the four managed to infiltrate the city to kidnap Korra. She helped the other members of the Metal Clan trap the criminals in a makeshift metal prison, before ordering them to surrender and return the Avatar. Following the group's escape, Kuvira and the other guards searched the city, albeit to no avail, as they were unable to find any trace of the four benders.

Kuvira was questioned by Aiwei, along with the rest of the city's guards, in an attempt to determine the identity of Zaheer's accomplice. After Aiwei fled the city upon his involvement in the attempted kidnapping of Avatar Korra being revealed, Kuvira was ordered by Lin Beifong to search the city for the truth seer and determine where the tunnel underneath his house led, which she eventually traced to a dead end with no sign of Aiwei.

Stopping the Red Lotus
Kuvira traveled with Team Avatar, their allies, and additional members of the Metal Clan to the Northern Air Temple in an attempt to free the airbenders being held captive by the Red Lotus. Adhering to Zaheer's demand to meet Korra alone at Laghima's Peak, Kuvira went with Suyin, Lin, Tonraq, and the other metalbenders to the base of the peak, ready to use their bending to scale the mountain if necessary. When Mako alerted Lin that they had been double-crossed, Kuvira and the other metalbenders rapidly climbed the rest of the way to save Korra, though she and another guard were blown down the mountain when one of P'Li's combustion attacks exploded nearby. Using their cables, they managed to save themselves and re-ascend the cliff. Later, as the battle progressed, Kuvira managed to use her cables to save Tonraq after the waterbender had been thrown off the cliffside by Zaheer's airbending.



While the group reassembled at the base of the peak, Kuvira tended to Tonraq's wounds, bandaging his arm, and was thanked for saving his life. When addressed as captain, she introduced herself by name to the Southern chief. After Kai and the rest of Team Avatar returned and everyone learned of the airbenders' whereabouts from the young boy, Kuvira requested to go along on the rescue mission, but was told by Suyin to stay behind with the injured. Knowing she would be picked up once the Avatar was retrieved, she inclined her head, accepting the order.

Reuniting the Earth Kingdom
After the insurrection of the Red Lotus was put down, Kuvira embarked on a journey to unite the Earth Kingdom under her control. She also fell in love with Baatar Jr., Suyin's oldest son, and accepted his marriage proposal. With forces assembled, inclusive of mecha tanks, Bolin, Varrick, and Zhu Li, Kuvira went from region to region by train, getting leaders to agree to deals that in exchange for pledging loyalty to her, she would supply their people while protecting them from roving gangs of bandits.

Annexation of the Yi state
One day in 174 AG, Bolin informed Kuvira that had another state had agreed to her terms, bringing their goal to ninety percent of completion. Upon being offered celebratory tea, she refused, saying she would only celebrate once her mission was completed in its entirety. After the train was forced to stop due to a pile of rocks on the tracks left behind by a gang of bandits, Kuvira decided to handle them herself. She dodged and redirected their earthen attacks, shooting magnetic strips at them which covered their eyes and wrists and knocked them down upon impact. After ensnaring them all and sticking them to the tracks, the metalbender gathered them and removed the strips from their eyes, though warned them not to talk over her nor grovel. She gave them the opportunity to rehabilitate themselves and join her army or they could simply remain as they were. The bandits promptly pledged their loyalty, much to her satisfaction.

After arriving in the state of Yi, Kuvira was pleasantly surprised to see Opal and Bolin, her favorite couple, reunite. She told an angered Opal that they were not there to discuss her and Baatar Jr.'s betrayal of Suyin when they left Zaofu, but rather to help the region. She addressed the negative rumor about her conquering towns by saying she was only there to provide a better future, laying the groundwork for people to achieve their own greatness, telling a shocked Opal she and her brother were getting married and asking her if it was time to forgive and forget. Upon being approached by Yi's governor, Kuvira sat him down in her train for a talk. She warned the defiant leader that the bandits outnumbered and outsupplied his state, saying that signing her contract would resolve these issues. The governor continued to refuse her, stating she was a manipulator and was only after Yi's supply of ore. Kuvira got into his face, saying his pride would not protect Yi as the state fell apart and his people went hungry. With the governor still defiant, she warned him he would perish unless he took her offer. Declaring their intent to pull out, Kai asked if they would help, to which she gave the young airbender her contract, saying they would wait at the border for one day for the governor to decide and they would have all their help if he signed it. After bandits stole the supplies Opal and Kai were trying to bring back to the state capital and the governor signed her contract, Kuvira returned to the town with a supply of food and mecha tanks, declaring Yi was now under her army's protection. She subsequently forced the governor to pledge his loyalty if he wished to keep his position.

Earthbending and Metalbending
As a former head guard in Zaofu, Kuvira is a very powerful earthbender which great efficiency in metalbending. With metal cables, Kuvira is shown able to seamlessly traverse terrains and climb large mountainsides. In battle, Kuvira demonstrated tremendous agility and aim, able to effortlessly dodge a barrage of earthbending attacks while effortlessly detaining her enemies with metal sheets to cuff their arms and cover their eyes.

Other Skills
While many in the world have come to resent her methods, Kuvira has proven to herself to be an effective leader, having almost completely ended anarchy in the Earth Kingdom after three years. Her accomplishments made her infamous among bandits, striking fear unto them upon seeing her.

Trivia

 * Kuvira is a Hindi name meaning "courageous woman", befitting her job as part of Zaofu's metalbending guard.
 * Kuvira's image was on the back of the newspaper Lin Beifong was reading before being interrupted by Korra and Opal one night in Zaofu. The text below her picture read, meaning "security team".
 * Kuvira is the first since Chin The Conqueror to attempt to unite the Earth Kingdom through military conquest and mostly succeed.