History of Sokka (84 AG - 100 AG)

Sokka, born and raised as a warrior in the Southern Water Tribe, was on a fishing trip with his younger sister Katara when he found Aang frozen in an iceberg. He then accompanied them in their journey north to teach the young Avatar Waterbending.

Background


Sokka was born in the Southern Water Tribe, to Chief Hakoda and Kya. He was raised from a young age to be a warrior, and possesses much knowledge of water tribe weapons and tactics. When he was young, his mother was killed in a Fire Nation raid. Several years before finding Avatar Aang, his father along with all the other Warriors left the Water Tribe to fight in the War. He was left in the care of his grandmother and little sister Katara, and built some crude defenses for what remained of his Tribe.

Boy in the Iceberg


While on a fishing expedition for their village, Sokka and Katara accidentally steered their canoe into a rip current, where it was crushed between ice flows. Sokka blamed Katara for their predicament, and she began to yell angrily about his inconsiderate behavior, gesturing emphatically as she does so. She did not realize that she was involuntarily Waterbending, causing cracks in a massive iceberg directly behind her. A large, spherical underwater portion bobbed to the surface, revealing a flying bison named Appa and Avatar Aang, trapped in a state of suspended animation. Katara grabbed Sokka's club and shattered the iceberg to free him. As she did so, a vertical column of bright blue light shot up from their position into the sky like a beacon. The boy climbed out of the ice and collapsed into Katara's arms. He introduced himself as Aang, an Airbender, and offered to escort them home on Appa.



After their village got attacked by a Fire Nation ship, led by Prince Zuko, Sokka and Katara learned that Aang was the Avatar. Katara mused that they might find a Waterbending teacher at the North Pole, and Aang quickly brightened up, suggesting they learn Waterbending together. Along with Sokka, who decided to come along under the excuse of this being an opportunity to knock the heads of some Firebenders, they decided to journey together.

Kyoshi Island
Sokka, Katara and Aang were flying on the back of Appa with Sokka indicating Aang's lack of navigational skills. Aang then landed on a small Earth Kingdom island with Sokka and Katara informing him that they had taken too many detours recently, which they cannot afford if they wanted to reach the North Pole. Suddenly the group was ambushed by a mysterious group of warriors. The gang was then tied to a pole and after having removed the cloth from covering Aang, Katara and Sokka’s eyes, Sokka uttered a remark about how they could not have been beaten by a bunch of girls. Aang stated that he was the new Avatar and got his friends out of trouble. The group learned that they were now on Kyoshi Island. Aang and Katara enjoyed a delicious meal of desserts and treats, charitably given from the town while Sokka lied on the floor, angry because he was bested by females. Sokka went to the Kyoshi Warriors and he was asked if he wanted to show off some of his 'moves'. He tried to demonstrate his techniques but was brought down by Suki. He simply stated that he was going easy on her and ultimately failed again being tied arm to leg and swung to the ground. He then left out of embarrassment.



Sokka returned to the training area and bows before Suki, admitting he would be honored to be trained by her. She made sure he would not care to be trained by a girl. He accepted that he said some inappropriate things before. She agreed if he underwent all their traditions. The scene skipped to him into a Kyoshi warrior outfit. He complained about being in a dress and Suki called it a symbol of honor and bravery. Aang then walked by, giggling, and said, "Hey Sokka... nice dress." Suki began training Sokka in the art of Kyoshi style fighting. After a little while of training, Sokka believed he was starting to understand the form but inevitably chucks his weapon out the door. Suki laughed, saying it was not about strength. It was about using your opponent's force against them and to wait until the right moment to strike. Sokka then knocked down, Suki, who embarrassed, said it was on purpose. Then she admitted she was knocked down and asked him to try it again.

After the town is attacked by Fire Nation, Aang decided that if they left so will the Fire Nation. Suki urged Sokka to hurry and left but he said he would not leave her; at least without an apology. She asked why and he explained that he treated her like a girl instead of a warrior. Suki then kissed Sokka, telling him that she was a warrior but a girl, too. Aang, Katara and Sokka left as the town was being set on fire and Zuko and his followers pursue him again.

Throughout the Earth Kingdom
Aang flew the two Water Tribe siblings to the great Earth Kingdom metropolis of Omashu, a grand city and stronghold boasting a superb mailing system. Entering the city under individual aliases, the Avatar and his friends decided to take a joy ride through the city on one of the mail carts. The ride resulted in considerable damage to various homes and shops throughout Omashu and the trio's arrest. They were brought before the elderly king of the city and, much to their surprise, treated as royalty and thrown a feast.

When Aang unintentionally revealed himself to be the Avatar, the king ordered the three to be confined within a newly refurbished prison chamber and challenged Aang with three deadly tasks. To add to the pressure, the king had pure jennamite rings placed over both Katara and Sokka's fingers. The jennamite rings proved impossible to remove and slowly grew to incase their entire bodies. Aang was able to successfully complete all three challenges as well as an additional assignment, which was to identify the king, whom he learned was his old friend, Bumi, from before the War. Sokka and Katara were thus saved and the trio eventually left the city to continue on their travels.

Meeting Jet
The team temporarily camped out in a forested area where Momo, lured by a pile of leechi nuts, accidentally became caught in a trap. After freeing the lemur and two hog monkeys from their cages, the team examined the traps and identified them as being the work of the Fire Nation. Upon discovering this, Sokka decided they disassemble their campsite and continue their journey northward. He opposed Aang and Katara's desires to fly off on Appa, claiming the bison to be "too noticeable." This prompted Katara to question his level of authority in the group to which Sokka proclaimed himself the leader, much to her amusement. After a brief confrontation in which Sokka stated that he wished to rely on his instincts to lead the group, the team set off on their journey by foot.

Things took a turn for the worse when the group accidentally wandered into a camp where several Fire Nation soldiers were stationed. Sokka unsuccessfully attempted to bargain with the soldiers, stating they would cause no harm if the soldiers would let them pass. The situation seemed hopeless until a band of rebel fighters suddenly emerged from hiding and ambushed the Fire Nation men. The leader of the group, a teenaged boy who fought with hook swords, proved himself to be a valiant fighter, ousting Sokka in defeating soldiers which upset the latter greatly. The soldiers were soon defeated and the leader introduced himself as Jet and his group as the Freedom Fighters.



While Katara took an instant liking to Jet, Sokka remained highly skeptical of him. He even openly mocked the Freedom Fighter, once saying, "Yeah, nothing's braver than a guy in a tree house," "tree house" referring to the band's hideout amongst the trees. Sokka's dislike of Jet only increased during a scouting mission later on where Jet ambushed a harmless old man. When the Freedom Fighter prepared to beat the elder, who happened to be a citizen of the Fire Nation, Sokka intervened, convincing him to leave the man be. Although Jet refrained from attacking the man any further, he and a couple of others proceeded to steal his possessions.

From then on, Sokka tried desperately to convince Katara and Aang of Jet's true nature. These attempts, however, were unsuccessful and the two remained incredulous. That night, the warrior awoke to the sound of Jet and a few other Freedom Fighters sneaking out into the forest. He silently followed them to the location of a cliff overlooking a river where he discovered Jet's plans to blow up a dam protecting the Earth Kingdom village of Gaipan from potentially disastrous flooding. He himself was discovered hidden among the brush and apprehended by Smellerbee and Pipsqueak, who then took him on a long walk per Jet's orders.

Fortunately, Sokka was able to outsmart the two, sneakily leading them to the location of the traps in which Momo was caught before where Smellerbee and Pipsqueak then became caught in the cages themselves. With knowledge of Jet's intentions, Sokka made his way to Gaipan where he warned everyone of the oncoming danger. Although disbelieved at first and assumed to be a spy by the Fire Nation also occupying the village, the old man Jet had attacked earlier vouched for him and all the villagers were successfully led out of the village before it was flooded. He then returned on Appa to the outskirts of the forest where Aang and Katara were both confronting Jet, who was frozen to a tree, now aware of his true nature. The three abandoned him with Sokka telling him as they departed, "You became the traitor when you stopped protecting innocent people."

Continuing on their journey
Sokka and the others continued their travels to the North Pole, briefly making a pit stop to the Great Divide, the largest canyon in the Earth Kingdom. Unlike Katara and Aang, Sokka expressed little appreciation for the fascinating view it provided. While there, they met two tribes, the Zhang and the Gan Jin, both of whom were differing in their culture and had been feuding for the past one hundred years. Aang was eventually persuaded to aid them in traversing the canyon on foot. Sokka favored the Zhang as opposed to Katara, who favored the Gan Jin, most likely due to the fact that they fed him overnight. He joined the two tribes in a combined effort to harness the predatory canyon crawlers that inhabited the canyon and the entirety of the traveling group was able to successfully escape the gorge by riding atop their backs. The warrior was there to witness Aang devise a false story to settle the feud between the two tribes.



Later on, while camping out on a beach, the team discovered they were out of food and flew to a marketplace in a harbor town. The three overheard a fisherman and his wife arguing nearby, with the wife trying to persuade her husband not to go out to sea due to an oncoming storm, a statement the latter refused to believe. After hearing the fisherman tell his wife that he would hire someone else and pay them twice as much, Sokka volunteered to accompany him and was hired on the spot.

The wife's predictions of an oncoming storm turned out to be true and, while out at sea, the fishing boat on which they were riding capsized. Both Sokka and the fisherman were in a hopeless situation until Aang and Katara arrived on Appa to rescue them, a mission which resulted in success and the safe return of both.

Unfortunately, Sokka contracted a cold as a result from being caught out at sea. The team took shelter in a derelict building near the ruins of Taku where Katara tended to his illness. While sick, Sokka fell under a hallucinated state, making nonsensical comments on Appa's sense of humor and his non-existent Earthbending skills. Katara subsequently caught Sokka's cold. When Aang was unable to find ginger root for tea, he traveled to an herbalist institute where he was captured by the Yu Yan Archers and taken to a prison under Admiral Zhao's command, leaving Katara worried about his whereabouts.

Aang was able to escape imprisonment, with the aid of Zuko disguised as the mysterious Blue Spirit, and returned to his friends, giving them frozen wood frogs from the nearby valley swamp on which to suck, a method advised by the Herbalist. Sokka commented on the apparently tasty flavor of the frozen frog, only for the creature to thaw out and come to life. This left both him and his sister cured yet disgusted. After this incident, Sokka claimed to have had a wart on his uvula for a week, a claim Katara adamantly refused to believe.

Later on, the group camped out near a river where they met a man being attacked by a platypus bear. The man remained perfectly calm, despite being in the face of danger, based on the prediction of his town's fortuneteller that he would have a safe journey. Aang and Katara decide to travel to the village, thinking it would be fun to have their fortunes told. Sokka expressed displeasure at this, protesting that fortunetelling was pure nonsense, but the team went to see the fortuneteller anyway.

The trip proved extremely frustrating for Sokka, whom the fortuneteller, Aunt Wu, predicted would have a future filled with self-inflicted struggle and anguish. He repeatedly attempted to prove her predictions wrong, which only succeeding in further frustrating him. Aang once approached Sokka for advice on talking to girls, implying Katara, to which the warrior gladly agreed. Sokka, however, was oblivious of the fact that Aang had meant Katara and mistook his crush as Aunt Wu’s assistant, Meng, a ten year-old who had fallen for Aang. He urged Aang to act aloof, as though he didn’t really care, advice that the latter willingly took and acted upon.

Aang's attempts to catch Katara's attention by remaining aloof were unsuccessful and he instead decided to get her a rare panda lily flower from the rim of the Makapu volcano. He took Sokka along with him, much to the latter’s annoyance. Upon arrival at the rim, the two discovered the volcano filled with lava and ready to erupt, contrary to Aunt Wu's earlier prediction that the caldera would remain dormant for another year. They flew back to the village on Aang’s glider and informed Katara of the oncoming danger. They then attempted to persuade the villagers to accept the truth that Aunt Wu was wrong, but to no avail. Quickly running out of time, the team came up with a plan in which Aang would borrow Wu's cloud-reading book and he and Katara would use bending to shape the clouds into the symbol for volcanic doom.

Their strategy was successful and, now fully aware of the danger, the villagers accepted Sokka's plan to dig a trench and channel the lava into the nearby river. These actions along with an impressive display of Aang’s Airbending power saved the village from being destroyed. Sokka expressed his hopes that the event would teach the civilians not to rely too much on fortunetelling only to be told by the calm man that Wu’s prediction that the village would not be destroyed by the volcano had come true because it was ultimately saved. Sokka said through gritted teeth, "I hate you," and had to be led away by Katara. The team then left.

Reunion with Bato
The group met up with an old friend from their Water Tribe village named Bato who had been injured and left behind. They head back to his current home in an abbey of nuns who made perfumes and cures. They spent so much time reminiscing, that they neglected Aang. They suddenly started talking about how Katara and Sokka might be able to visit their father Hakoda, and that a message was arriving soon about their Hakoda's whereabouts. Aang ran off feeling hurt that Katara and Sokka might leave him to go find Hakoda instead of helping him.

While Aang was contemplating their possible departure, a messenger arrived with the news from Hakoda and instead of giving it to them, Aang hid it. Meanwhile, Zuko was busy relaxing with his uncle when a bounty hunter named June stormed on his ship, finding a stowaway on board. Zuko hired her to find the Avatar using the scent of Katara's necklace on her shirshu in exchange for the damages to his ship.

The next day, Bato took Sokka on a coming-of-age ritual called "ice dodging." Instead of ice, though, they used jagged rocks. With the help from Katara and Aang, they passed the test and all received a ceremonial mark for their wisdom, bravery and trust. However, when Aang received the mark of trust he couldn't contain himself any longer and gave the message to Katara and Sokka. A furious Sokka and a disappointed Katara decided to go off to find Hakoda and left Aang to go to the North Pole on his own. Aang herded Appa back to the beach.



June, Zuko, and Iroh burst into the abbey, having just missed the others, and continued the trail. The mother superior immediately ran to Aang seeking for his help. Aang realized that Zuko was after his friends.

Soon down their path, Bato, Katara and Sokka heard a wolf cry. Katara suggested that the wolf was hurt, but Bato told them that the wolf had been separated from its pack. He then explained how he knew this by telling about when he was wounded in battle and left in the abbey to heal by his fellow Water Warriors, feeling the loneliest he had ever felt. This story reminded Sokka of when Hakoda left to fight the War, and he told Sokka that he couldn't come along and fight with him. Hakoda told Sokka, "Being a man is knowing where you're needed the most. And for you right now, that's here, protecting your sister." Sokka and Katara realized their mistake and turned around to apologize and travel with Aang.

As they were walking back to find Aang, Zuko, June and Iroh appeared on Nyla. They quickly subdued them. June commented that its no wonder Katara left Zuko as she's too pretty for him. A furious Zuko questioned them about Aang's whereabouts but they did not know as they were separated. Even though the Avatar was not with Sokka and Katara, the beast found a new scent; the message that Aang had. They headed back to the abbey as Aang came to the rescue.

Aang battled Zuko among the rooftops, while Appa took on June and the shirshu. Aang managed to get Katara's necklace back but was soon trapped by the shirshu and Zuko.

Meanwhile, Sokka and Katara were revived by some perfume given to them by the nuns and suddenly Sokka had an idea. The nuns poured out all their perfumes and Katara started Waterbending them all around. Since the shirshu could only "see" with its nose, it got confused and started lashing at random people. When Zuko and June were paralyzed by the beast, Iroh feigned paralysis to get close to June and held her in his arms as he lied on the ground. Aang and the others used the opportunity to escape.

Later, the kids were flying on Appa. Aang asked what the plan was now. They told him they were going to get him to the North Pole because he was their family. Aang gave Katara back her necklace. Katara went over and kissed Aang on the cheek. Aang blushed and twiddled with his thumbs to hide his face as they all flew off into the sunset.

Arrival to the North
After Sokka complained that Appa was flying too slowly, Aang defensively replied that they should all climb on Sokka's back and he could fly them to the North pole. Katara tried to smooth the situation remarking that they were all tired and cranky as a result of flying for two days straight. Just as Sokka was voicing his doubts about finding the Northern Water Tribe, the group was attacked by Northern Waterbenders who led them to their Water Tribe. While touring the city by gondola, Sokka saw Princess Yue for the first time and fell in love with her.



Outside the great palace of the Northern Water Tribe Sokka and Katara were celebrated as family from the Southern Tribe, and Aang was honored as a special guest. The sixteenth birthday of the Princess, Yue, was also celebrated, coming of marrying age. Sokka was far more interested in the food at the banquet and Princess Yue who was sitting next to him. He broke an awkward silence by telling Yue that back in his tribe he was "kind of like a prince himself". This statement was heard by Katara, who derisively asked him what he was the prince of. Embarrassed, Sokka replied that he was the prince of a lot of things and that he was in the middle of a conversation. Ironically, since Sokka's father is chief of the Southern Water Tribe, one could say that he is in fact the "prince" of the Southern Water Tribe. Though it is not specified what is the hierarchy of the Southern Tribe and whether or not he will succeed his father as head of the tribe when he dies. He told Yue that he will be in town for a while and asked if she would like to "do an activity" with him. Sokka made plans with Princess Yue to meet on a bridge above the canal.

Sokka met with Princess Yue on the bridge, presenting her with a carved fish, which she mistook for a bear. However, Yue told Sokka that she made a mistake inviting him there and ran away, leaving Sokka looking devastated and causing him to throw his carving into the water out of anger. Later, when the gang met in their living quarters, they were all unhappy with how their day went. Sokka was confused and upset by Yue's mixed messages and Aang and Katara were unhappy that Katara was not allowed to learn Waterbending. Sokka suggested that at night, Aang could teach Katara everything he had learned in the day.

Master Pakku told Katara that her grandmother left an arranged marriage to him to begin her life in the South Pole. Katara understood that she refused to let her tribe's customs rule her life. This revelation made Princess Yue burst into tears and run away. Sokka followed her and found her on the bridge they met at. Yue weeped softly while Sokka told her he wanted nothing from her, but to tell her that she was beautiful and that he never would have thought she would even notice a guy like him. Yue told him that he did not understand, but Sokka believed he did: she was a princess and he was just a Southern Tribe peasant. He turned to leave, but Yue kissed him, making Sokka happy but extremely confused. Yue explained that she had also fallen for Sokka, but they could not be together, and not for the reason Sokka thought. She sadly pulled down the furs about her neck to reveal a betrothal necklace, explaining that she was engaged to Hahn. She apologized and left Sokka alone on the bridge.

Siege of the North


As Admiral Zhao began to launch his attack against the Northern Water Tribe, Sokka took Princess Yue on a ride on Appa, during which they nearly kissed. Soot began to fall and Sokka recognized it from when his tribe was attacked; due to the amount of soot he knew that a massive attack force was approaching.

The Northern Water Tribe prepared to defend itself from invasion and Sokka volunteered for a dangerous mission where several warriors will be forced to infiltrate the Fire Nation fleet. As the walls of the prestige city began to fall, Aang felt duty bound to prevent the same fate that befell the Air Nomads and the Southern Water Tribe. However, he found that against such a vast fleet, he did not stand a chance and retreats in exhaustion.

After some critical remarks from Sokka during a briefing, mainly about the Fire Navy uniforms, Chief Arnook decided to have him advise Hahn, the leader of the infiltration mission and Yue's betrothed. Hahn turned out to be a complete jerk, or a "self-absorbed weasel", as Sokka put it, with a greater interest in rising in rank than Yue herself. The two got into a fight and Arnook pulled Sokka off the mission. A disgruntled Sokka was left behind until Arnook revealed the real reason behind the act: he wanted Sokka to protect Yue.

After Aang came out of the Spirit World, he noticed that he had been taken by Zuko. Just then, he was saved by the timely arrival of Katara, Sokka and Princess Yue on Appa. Zuko and Katara had a rematch but due to the moon being out this time, Katara easily defeated him in a matter of seconds. Aang took the unconscious Zuko with him, despite some disagreement from Sokka and Katara.



While returning to the oasis, Zhao had already captured the white koi fish. Promptly, the moon glowed red, creating a lunar eclipse and color seeped from the world. Immediately, the fighting Waterbenders were rendered helpless. Zhao was making names for himself until Momo jumped on his head. After Zhao attempted to get the lemur off, Momo rejoined the group. However, Zhao suddenly threw fire at the koi, killing it. The moon vanished altogether from the sky, leaving complete darkness in the world. Iroh and Katara attempted to revive the Moon Spirit, but it was too late. Aang suddenly entered the Avatar state and fused with the Ocean Spirit, turning into a giant fish-like creature of water. In this state, Aang scoured the entire Northern City and massacred the Fire Nation's invasion force, while leaving the citizens of the Water Tribe, who were bowed in worship, unharmed in a manner similar to the Passover.

Princess Yue, who at birth was saved from death by the moon spirit, sacrificed herself to give the white Koi the bit of the moon spirit that was inside her. She became the reincarnation of Tui, the Moon Spirit, and gave Sokka one final kiss as she faded away and restored the balance of the spirit. The moon reappeared and La, the Ocean Spirit, dissipated and left Aang on a cliff. While returning to the Oasis, La attacked Admiral Zhao and dragged him into the water. After the battle, Arnook revealed to Sokka that despite all his attempts, he had known his daughter's destiny from when the moon spirit gave her life.