Shaozu

Shaozu is a former firebender and a member of the White Falls Wolfbats pro-bending team. Like his two teammates, he used tactics that were against the rules in order to win matches. However, the match's referee never called them, allowing the Wolfbats to defeat their competition and reign as the tournament champions for four consecutive years.

History
The members of the team were very popular among Republic City's female citizens and often had a crowd of fangirls following them. Prior to Avatar Korra's arrival in Republic City, the team had won three consecutive pro-bending championships.

Meeting Avatar Korra


During her date with Bolin at Narook's Seaweed Noodlery, Korra noticed that the Wolfbats and their fangirls were watching them intently. Bolin warned Korra not to make eye contact with them, describing the pro-bending team as "nasty". However, she ignored his advice and glared straight at Tahno who stood up and confronted Korra. Shaozu and Ming followed his lead and showed the same contemptuous attitude. However, when Naga frightened Tahno, the latter tried to regain his composure and signaled for the Wolfbats to leave.

The Pro-bending Championship
As part of their run to a fourth title, Shaozu and the Wolfbats achieved a brutal victory in their semifinal match, seriously injuring their opponents in the process.

Shaozu and the Wolfbats' entrance into the championship match was extravagant and highlighted by fireworks and pyrotechnic displays. During the first round, he showed off his agility by nimbly twirling in the air to avoid Bolin's attack. The disc bounded off the ropes, however, and he was hit square in the stomach. He took revenge by aiding Tahno in knocking Bolin out of the ring by melting the ice, an illegal move, the waterbender created to let the earthbender slip and fall.



In the final match of the tournament against the Fire Ferrets, they won a closely contested but controversially refereed match. They very nearly cheated their way to a first round knockout, but Korra and Mako were able to hang on to the ring's edge before the former launched Mako onto the ring again. In round two, the Wolfbats turned to various illegal moves which were entirely ignored by the match's official. At one point, Shaozu fired head-shots at the Fire Ferrets to prevent them from gaining ground. However, they failed to capture the round when Korra defeated Tahno in a tiebreaker. They continued their illegal moves in round three, resorting to such tactics as combining elements, ice, and additional head-shots. They eventually won with a knockout, securing their title.



After all three Ferrets were knocked out the ring, Shaozu and the rest of the Wolfbats celebrated their victory, but as they did so, they were surprised to witness the beginning of the Equalist Revolution. As Amon entered the ring, the Wolfbats decided to fight him and his chi blockers. Shaozu briefly aided his captain in fighting the Equalist leader, but was swiftly defeated. Tahno attempted to help his teammate, but before he could do so, he was immobilized by the bolas of Amon's followers. Shaozu and his friends were then lined up, and the revolutionary "cleansed" the Wolfbats' of their "impurity" through bloodbending, despite Tahno's begging. After all three members had had their bending removed, they were thrown into the water, but still managed to swim to the edge. During his speech, Amon referred to the Wolfbats' cheating, calling Shaozu and his teammates "bullies who cheated their way to victory" and admonishing the crowd for celebrating it.

Trivia

 * Shaozu is the eighth known person to lose his bending in the Avatar universe, and the sixth to do so in The Legend of Korra.
 * Shaozu has blue eyes, as opposed to the typical amber-colored eyes most firebenders have.
 * However, when his bending was being taken away, his eyes were amber.