Aang's relationships

This page is comprised of Aang's relationships with other characters in the series. Aang met many people around the world due to both his friendly nature and his position as the Avatar.

Katara
"'Why would I let go of Katara? I-I love her!' - Aang to Guru Pathik in 'The Guru'"

The first thing Aang saw upon waking from his one-hundred-year sleep was the face of the fourteen-year-old Waterbender, Katara, who was his liberator from the iceberg. Aang instantly formed a tight bond with her; this friendship was only strengthened by the fact that Katara was ready to choose Aang over her very own family and tribe. Throughout his time at the South Pole, there were multiple more-or-less subtle hints of some initial attraction. Later, many of his actions and antics were motivated by his want to impress her and gain her attention; for example, when they visited Kyoshi Island, he was idolized by the children there but mainly ignored by Katara, much to his disappointment.

His growing affection for her served as an important plot point when he made her a necklace to replace her grandmother's, which had been lost earlier; he eavesdropped on one of her conversations in which she had her fortune told by Aunt Wu and gleefully celebrated after hearing that she would marry a powerful bender. When having his own fortune told, Aang specifically asked Aunt Wu if she had seen anything in his future concerning a girl. He began acting "aloof" on the orders of Sokka, who mistook Meng as his target, but this only succeeded in confusing Katara; finally, after seeing a woman react positively to the gift of a rare panda lily, Aang climbed to the top of Mt. Makapu to bring Katara such a flower. This resulted in him finding out that the volcano was about to erupt after all, contrary to Aunt Wu's earlier prediction. Before leaving the village, Aang asked Aunt Wu if she had lied about his love life during his fortunetelling. Aunt Wu responded by saying: "I'll tell you a secret, young Airbender: Just as you reshaped those clouds, you have the power to shape your own destiny".

When Aang, Katara and Appa became lost in the labyrinth where the only solution to successfully navigating the tunnels was to trust in love, Katara, who was embarrassed and shortly afterward dismissed the idea as crazy, suggested that by kissing, they could find their way out. Aang's attempts to agree with her backfired and left her angry with him:

"Katara: 'Well, what if we kissed?' Aang: 'Us? Kissing?' Katara: 'See? It was a crazy idea.' Aang: [Dreamily] 'Us . . . kissing.' Katara: [Slightly embarrassed] 'Us, kissing! What was I thinking? Can you imagine that?' Aang: [Sheepishly trying to agree with her] 'Yeah . . . I definitely wouldn't want to kiss you!' Katara: 'Oh, well, I didn't realize it was such a horrible option. Sorry I suggested it!' Aang: 'No, no, I mean, if it was a choice between kissing you and dying -' Katara: 'Ugh!' Aang: 'What? I'm saying I'd rather kiss you than die, that's a compliment!' Katara: 'Well I'm not sure which I would rather do!' [Storms off.] Aang: [Sadly] 'What is wrong with me?'" Eventually, desperation - and possibly mutual affection - led to the two trying out the suggestion.

Aang later discovered that his love for Katara was the rebirth for his love of the deceased Air Nomads when he went to the Eastern Air Temple. This love for her put Aang in an unforeseen position to learn to control the Avatar State from Guru Pathik. Pathik told Aang that controlling the Avatar State involved the releasing of various emotions in the seven chakras spread throughout the body, including earthly attachment. In order to open the seventh chakra, Aang was told that he must let go of his earthly attachment to Katara. He was reluctant to agree and eventually abandoned the process entirely when he had a vision that Katara was in danger, despite Guru Pathik's warning that it would lock his inner chakra and he wouldn't be able to enter the Avatar State at all.

Aang received a kiss on the cheek from her on three known occasions, blushing each time. Similarly, her changing outfits usually had a very positive influence on him. While spending some time in prison, Aang received some advice concerning her from the other inmates. During a secret dance party, he danced with her quite impressively, gaining the attention of the entire party. Later, when Aang saw that his previous incarnation also had troubles with girls, Avatar Roku remarked that "love is hard when you're young" and consolingly explained, "Don't worry; it gets better." When trying to revive Jet's memory, after Sokka suggested Katara kiss Jet to bring back his memory, Aang muttered under his breath that the idea was "a bad one".

Facing separation from Katara, Aang attempted to tell her of his feelings, only to be interrupted by Sokka at the last minute.

Aang and Katara faced overwhelming odds against Azula, Zuko, and the Dai Li. Believing that entering the Avatar State was their only hope, Aang isolated himself and meditated, hoping to let go of his attachment to Katara and unlock the seventh chakra. Though Aang began to release the chakra and entered the Avatar State, the "Celestial Avatar Spirit Aang", he was unable to complete the process due to being shot by Azula's lightning bolt. Consequently, Aang was prevented from clearing the seventh chakra and mastering the Avatar State, leaving his attachment to Katara intact.

Later, he was successful in telling her his feelings and sneaked in a kiss or two as part of a daydream, before realizing the whole scenario was merely a figment of his imagination. Ultimately, however, the upcoming final battle with the Fire Lord, Ozai, and the possibility that he might not come back alive from that encounter, gave Aang enough courage and motivation to successfully declare his affections for her - in the form of a kiss, to which she responded by leaning in. Afterwards, though, she looked away, and her expression seemed slightly sad, although this could be interpreted as her thinking about the kiss and worrying about the fact that she may never see Aang again.

Katara was Aang's only teacher to use positive reinforcement as a teaching method. Aang responded well to this method, most likely due to the generally free-spirited nature of Airbenders, or due to his special bond for her in general. In addition, Katara remained the only person able to calm Aang out of the Avatar State. Additionally, Katara was able to renew emotions and believed in Aang where others were unable to. While others tried to renew Aang's optimism and hope, only Katara was successful.

Aang grew jealous when the actress on the stage playing Katara confessed her love to the actor playing Zuko and said that she saw Aang as a brother. This upset Aang and he later confronted her about it. She claimed it was only acting, but Aang was unconvinced. He thought that something should have happened between them since they kissed on the morning of the invasion. Katara told Aang that she was just confused and that it "wasn't the right time." Aang tried to kiss her, only to have her pull back and reiterate, albeit a bit forcefully, that she was confused. She left Aang feeling heartbroken and stupid for his own actions.

After the end of the War, in Ba Sing Se, Katara approached Aang and instigated a hug and a passionate kiss. This finally demonstrated that Aang's feelings for Katara were mutual and the two enjoyed a long-term relationship and marriage, culminating with the birth of three children, one of them an Airbending son named Tenzin.

Friends
On his journey around the world, Aang made many friends from all four nations. Though Bumi remained his only friend from before the War and Aang's one hundred years frozen in the iceberg, he mentioned that he had many friends from the other nations, including the Fire Nation. Now that those one hundred years had passed, most of his friends from pre-war were deceased, though he had, since then, made many new friends after being liberated from the iceberg. Katara, Sokka, Toph, and Suki became his closest friends. He also formed friendships with former enemies, such as Zuko and Iroh.

Sokka
"'You're the idea guy.' - Aang to Sokka in 'The Drill'"

When Aang and Sokka first encountered one another, the Water Tribe warrior immediately assumed the strange boy in the iceberg was a Fire Nation spy. Though this initial suspicion was quickly disproven, the young Avatar's occasional carelessness often infuriated Sokka. When Aang tried Firebending, resulting in Katara's burnt hands, Sokka pushed a concerned Aang into the ground angrily, yelling, "You burned my sister!" For his part, Aang often made light of Sokka's serious demeanor. Along with Katara, he viewed Sokka's skeptical favoring of science over magic with some bewildered amusement, though he grew impressed with Sokka's engineering skills. Aang told Sokka that the latter was usually the one who came up with plans to help them, proving that he depended on Sokka's help and intelligence openly. Aang also did not voice any annoyance nor contempt towards Sokka for his lack of bending skills. Through their travels around the world, the two boys formed a very solid bond. Aang and Sokka were often seen goofing around with each other, much to Katara's annoyance. In fact, the childlike nature of their characters usually resulted in them sharing a joke or reacting very similarly to games and activities, such as both of them chuckling at the mention of "buttresses" and making fun of Katara by imitating "spirit magic". He also seemed to desire Sokka's permission for a relationship with his sister, Katara, though Sokka at the time could not tell Aang was talking about Katara. Their relationship became more profound after the fall of Ba Sing Se, when Sokka sought Aang's advice and consolation after a moment of blunder in front of the invasion force.

Aang and Sokka became very cooperative on the battlefield, as Sokka chose to assist Aang in his failed attempt to kill Fire Lord Ozai. It was prior to that battle that Aang cheered Sokka up following his botched battle speech, and Sokka confessed that while he hadn't liked Aang at first, he had grown to love him platonically over time. When Zuko requested to join the group, Sokka refused on Aang's account, defending his friend's safety. Finally, however, when Aang did choose to accept him after the latter saved their lives, Sokka gave his consent, trusting Aang's judgment on the matter. Sokka also aided Aang significantly during his friend's last confrontation with Fire Lord Ozai in Wulong Forest, where together with Suki and Toph, he brought down the Fire Nation airship fleet, stopping the continued destruction of the Earth Kingdom from the other Firebenders while Aang defeated Ozai.

It can be assumed that Aang and Sokka remained good friends and eventually brothers-in-law when Katara married Aang. Sokka later became an uncle, when Aang and Katara had children.

Toph Bei Fong
"'I don't want to fight you. I just want to talk to you.' - Aang to Toph in 'The Blind Bandit'"

Toph first appeared as a vision to Aang in a mystical swamp. The vision was a message that he would meet her in the future.

When Aang first met Toph for real, their relationship got off to a rocky start. She initially disliked him because he defeated her in a match in Earth Rumble VI. While Aang tried to persuade her to be his Earthbending teacher, Toph wasn't interested in the offer, fearing her parent's wrath if they found out about her secret life. However, after a dinner fiasco in front of her parents, Toph "[called] a truce" with Aang, and they were able to talk, though she still showed doubts of leaving her parents and explained why she felt she could not leave. At the end of the episode, however, Toph joined Aang's group in order to teach him Earthbending. Aang snapped at Toph when she accused Appa of leading Azula to them, which caused her to temporarily leave the group. She rejoined them, acting on Iroh's advice, and helped the others fight Azula in Tu Zin. After that, Toph officially began teaching Aang Earthbending. She quickly revealed that she had a much different teaching approach than Katara, akin to that of an army drill sergeant. Just like their elements, Aang and Toph's personalities were complete opposites as well. At first, Aang was intimidated by Toph's bold nature and tried to work peacefully around it. He eventually learned to stand up to her, however, as when he took back his staff when she refused to stop mishandling it, and when the group found themselves stranded in the desert where Aang yelled at her in a fit of anger, believing that she allowed Appa to be captured based on her previous complaints about him.

However, they seemed to get along much easier over time. He referred to everyone, including Toph, as his family. Aang and Toph have become good and steadfast friends. Aang was seen having fun with Toph and Sokka by scamming people for money. Toph also regularly referred to Aang as "Twinkle Toes", a nickname she used to tease his light footsteps.

Despite their differences, Aang seemed to hold Toph in great admiration, respect, and even awe at times because of her unique bending capabilities. After Toph explained the full capacity of her power, Aang responded: "That's amazing!" He repeated the same line after Toph revealed how she learned Earthbending. Toph also seemed to eventually show respect for Aang's own bending power. Toph told him during a group hug before he flew off to face Ozai, "I hope you kick some serious Fire Lord-butt, Twinkle Toes!," and "You're the man, Twinkle Toes!," showing her belief in his capability.

It is highly likely Toph knew about Aang's love for Katara, due to her ability to detect physical reactions in people. When Katara kissed Aang's cheek, Toph was standing right next to him when he blushed.

Appa
"'I missed you, buddy.' - Aang to Appa in 'Lake Laogai'"

Appa, the flying bison, was Aang's loyal pet and friend, as well as Team Avatar's primary means of travel. Aang first met Appa at the Eastern Air Temple when the latter was just a calf during a customary event where all Airbender children are paired with a flying bison for life. After Aang offered an apple to Appa, the young sky bison seemed to bond with him immediately, affectionately licking his face. Aang loved his fellow survivor of a century of sleep, as they both may be the last of their kind.

Appa was very faithful and protective towards Aang, and on various occasions he entered into battle to protect his little friend. The feeling was mutual; when Toph blamed Appa for leaving a trail of fur for Azula and her team to follow, Aang angrily defended Appa. When Appa was later kidnapped by Sandbenders in the Si Wong Desert, Aang became sober and, later, furious upon hearing that Sandbenders stole him. He entered the Avatar State and destroyed all the Sandbender skiffs and almost attacked the Sandbenders, had it not been for Katara who managed to comfort him. During his time apart from Appa, Aang was often morose and driven to get him back, which he finally did when Team Avatar traveled to Lake Laogai. After reuniting with Appa, Aang cried in happiness.

Aang possessed a flying bison whistle, which emitted sounds almost inaudible to humans, to summon Appa from a distance. Additionally, he could command him to fly with a cry of "Yip-yip!"

Momo
"'Say hello to the newest member of our family.' - Aang talking about Momo in The Southern Air Temple"



Aang discovered Momo, a winged lemur, while wandering about the ruins of the Southern Air Temple. Aang quickly claimed him as a pet and named him after the peach Momo was holding at the time (momo is Japanese for "peach"). He also seemed very protective of Momo, as seen when he struck a buzzard wasp in order to protect him. This was shown during his final battle with Ozai, as Aang told Momo, the only one that accompanied him when he ventured onto the lion turtle, to stay far away from the scene of the fight. Though Momo didn't fully understand human speech, it seemd that he was capable of understanding Aang to some extent.

Bumi
"'Bumi, you're a mad genius!' - Aang to Bumi in 'The King of Omashu'"

King Bumi, the Earthbender ruler of the Earth Kingdom city of Omashu, was the only known still living peer of Aang, prior to Aang's disappearance one hundred years ago. Aang fondly remembered how a young Bumi taught him to use Omashu's mail chutes as a giant super slide. Now a supercentenarian, Bumi maintained the eccentric and unconventional thinking that caused Aang to dub him, "a mad genius." Aang had planned to receive teachings in Earthbending under the king, but after the Avatar found out that Bumi had been taken prisoner with no intention of escaping from his prison after the capture of Omashu, waiting for an unsaid opportunity, Aang was forced to find a new teacher.

Iroh
"'So, Toph thinks you give pretty good advice. And great tea.' - Aang to Iroh in 'The Crossroads of Destiny'"

Iroh was originally one of Aang's enemies, albeit indirectly, as the Firebender was aiding his nephew, Prince Zuko, in capturing the Avatar and restoring his honor in the Fire Nation, actually attacking the team early in their journey. Iroh and Aang didn't truly know each other very much during most of their travels, but, while the Avatar was learning Waterbending in the North Pole, the Fire Navy attacked the Northern Water Tribe. In the chaos, Admiral Zhao was able to infiltrate the Spirit Oasis and attempted to slay the Moon Spirit and Aang was unable to stop him, Iroh intervened and warned Zhao to let the spirit go, as upsetting the natural balance would not only affect the Water Tribe but also the entire world; when the admiral arrogantly refused and murdered the moon, the old general defeated the rest of the Fire Nation soldiers before assisting Princess Yue in her sacrifice.

Some weeks later, a thoroughly sleep-deprived Aang was fighting a three-way duel between Zuko, Princess Azula, and himself; Iroh, along with Katara, Sokka, and Toph arrived to aid him. Unfortunately, even against the combined efforts of the team, the Prince, and the Dragon of the West, Azula was able to escape.

Aang spent some time with Iroh when the two of them were tunneling into the catacombs of Ba Sing Se in order to save Katara and Zuko from the Dai Li. Despite a past of attacks, Aang bore no real grudge against Iroh, as the latter had merely accompanied Zuko on the exiled prince's attempts to capture the Airbender, nor did the member of the Order of the White Lotus take issue with the Avatar. Instead, Aang, who knew that Iroh had advised Toph, asked the wise Firebender for guidance. When Aang explained that he had been given the opportunity to master the Avatar State by a guru, but as opening the chakras meant forgoing his feelings for Katara, he had not taken the chance, Iroh commended Aang on choosing love instead of power, stating, "Perfection and power are overrated. I think you were very wise to choose happiness and love". After rejoining with each other, Katara and Aang were forced to fight both Azula and Zuko; the Fire Nation Princess shot lethal lightning into the Avatar. Fortunately, Iroh joined the fray, holding off the Firebenders and the Dai Li long enough to allow Katara to escape with the injured Aang. Once safely on Appa, Katara revived Aang with the water from the Spirit Oasis in the North Pole.

Iroh, Grand Lotus of the Order of the White Lotus, later assisted Team Avatar in defeating the Fire Nation and after the end of the War became an official friend of Aang, as shown in the Jasmine Dragon.

Zuko
"'If we knew each other back then, do you think we could have been friends too?' - Aang to Zuko in 'The Blue Spirit'"

Prince Zuko was at first one of Aang's greatest enemies. His persistent quest to capture the Avatar, fueled by his need to have his father's acceptance, was a threat to both Aang and the world at large, as he was the only thing standing between the Fire Nation and total world domination, and yet each of them had helped the other in various ways. Because his right to the throne and to return home from exile hinged on the Avatar's capture, he had to protect Aang from other potential "threats". When Aang was abducted by the prince's rival, Admiral Zhao, Zuko, hiding his identify behind a blue mask, posed as a vigilante and master of dual dao swords named the Blue Spirit in order to free Aang from custody. In turn, the Avatar rescued the exiled prince when the latter was knocked unconscious during the escape attempt. Afterward, reflecting on an old Fire Nation friend named Kuzon, Aang asked Zuko if they could have been friends under different circumstances, only to receive a fire blast in reply.

Despite objections from the rest of Team Avatar, Aang also saved Zuko from freezing to death in the icy tundra of the North Pole. During their subsequent encounter several weeks later, Zuko and Aang initially traded blows but eventually fought alongside once again, this time against their mutual enemy, Princess Azula.

Zuko's life development paralleled Aang's as both of them confronted their pasts at the same time ; later, while Aang was learning to Earthbend, Zuko also struggled with a new skill, generating lightning, and finally learned to redirect lightning.

As individuals, Aang and Zuko shared many similarities: both had profound father figures in their lives, as Monk Gyatso served as Aang's guardian when the latter was taken from his parents to become an Air Monk, while Uncle Iroh acted as a watchful mentor to his nephew Zuko after Fire Lord Ozai banished him. The two also had shameful pasts and were forced to live with the guilt of disappointing those that they revered the most - and both were forever marked with a symbol of their guilt, as Aang had received his traditional Air Nomad tattoos from the monk, while Zuko's father had burned a scar onto his son's face. As well, the two were fighting for something specific; Aang persevered for the world and the people around him, while Zuko strove for his honor. To some extent, Aang displayed interest in Zuko as a person, but the exiled prince only saw the Avatar as a means to regain his lost honor.

While at Ba Sing Se, Aang, attempting to find his lost sky bison, distributed fliers throughout the city; coming upon one of the fliers, who realized the Avatar was within reach. Donning his Blue Spirit mask, he sneaked into the underground Dai Li bunker and found the room in which Appa was being held. After Uncle Iroh confronted him, an extremely confused Zuko finally saw the light and released the Avatar's bison, but upon his return to the apartment, he fell into a deep fever, during which he experienced a number of visions, hallucinations, and dreams, some of which seemed to allude to future events in his life. In the last of these, Zuko experienced a false awakening in which he saw himself with Aang's tattoos, a shaved head, and no scar. Later, while in the catacombs of the city, he claimed to have changed for the better, but then he chose to side with Azula, who promised him his honor and his throne, and attempted to capture Aang again.

Once he had returned to the Fire Nation and reclaimed his place as the Crown Prince, Zuko, under the belief that Aang was still alive, hired an assassin to "end" the Avatar.

Zuko's mother Ursa was in fact Avatar Roku's descendant, consequently, Aang was the reincarnation of one of Zuko's maternal great-grandfather, making the Avatar and the Fire Prince spiritual relatives. However, it seemed likely Aang was unaware of this, as he only saw visions of Roku's life, however, Iroh informed Zuko that he was Roku's descendent, but he apparently never told this to Aang. Though it's unknown if Zuko himself realized that he was spiritually related to the current Avatar. After confronting his father on the Day of Black Sun, Zuko defected from the Fire Nation in order to join Team Avatar. Aang, who was not comfortable with any sort of responsibility at the moment, watched for cues among the rest of the team as to how to respond; when Katara, who had been hurt by him in the catacombs, reacted negatively, the Avatar did likewise. Afterwards, he revealed how Zuko had rescued him at Pohuai Stronghold; Aang himself believed that Zuko had some good in him, but when the Firebender burned Toph's feet, the Avatar was forced to agree with the others: Zuko could not have been allowed to join the group. However, once he had proven himself by defending the Gaang from Combustion Man and stating that Firebending required proper control and understanding, Aang accepted Zuko as his Firebending teacher.

Unfortunately, with the Avatar's capture no longer driving him, Zuko appeared to have lost the ability to Firebend, and so he and Aang traveled to the Sun Warrior ruins in the hopes of finding something that would restore Zuko's bending. Fortunately, they met the Sun Warriors, whose chief decided that they would be judged by the masters, Ran and Shaw, who turned out to be dragons. After Aang and Zuko worked together to perform the Dancing Dragon, Ran and Shaw deemed them worthy, and they were shown the true meaning of Firebending as life itself. Despite Zuko's past misdeeds, Aang seemed to have developed a fair degree of respect and admiration for him, even giving him the nickname "Sifu Hotman", much to the prince's annoyance.

Three days prior to the arrival of Sozin's Comet, Zuko berated Aang for his failure to focus on his Firebending training. When the Avatar decided have a beach party with all his friends, excluding Zuko on Ember Island, the former Fire Prince attacked him in a brazen attempt to force Aang to understand that he had to defeat Fire Lord Ozai before the comet arrived. When Zuko told the group of Ozai's malicious plot to raze the Earth Kingdom to the ground, the young Avatar finally realized the severity of his inevitable task. Zuko proceeded trained to Aang in the art of redirect lightning for protection against Ozai, and he explained the danger of redirecting from his own experience against his father. As the monk understood that there would be no "spirit water action" if something went wrong, his Firebending teacher bluntly stated, "You'll have to take the Fire Lord’s life before he takes yours." Several hours later, Aang, still undecided, contemplated whether he should take Ozai's life or not, as the monks taught him to value all life, and when Zuko and the rest of the team declared that it had to be done, the Avatar became frustrated and enraged, and he left to meditate on the decision. The next day, Aang disappeared without a trace, even from the bounty hunter June and her shirshu Nyla.

After being called away onto a mysterious island, Aang ended up on the back of a lion turtle and was taught a new ability, Energybending, which he used to triumph over Ozai by stripping the crazed Phoenix King of his bending. With this victory, as well as Zuko and Katara's victory over Azula, Zuko became the new Fire Lord, and he swore that he and Aang would work together to restore peace and unity to the war-torn nations. The Avatar and the Fire Lord embraced each other in a warm hug, affirming their deep friendship.

Past Lives
"'I have mastered the elements a thousand times in a thousand lifetimes. Now I must do it once again' - Roku to Jeong Jeong in 'The Deserter'"

As the Avatar, Aang was able to speak and interact with his past lives, the previous incarnations of the Avatar Spirit.

Avatar Roku was the incarnation directly before Aang. He first learned of Roku by seeing his statue in the sanctuary of the Southern Air Temple, and he officially met him at the temple on Crescent Island. On Crescent Island, Roku informed the current Avatar that Fire Lord Ozai must be defeated before the arrival of Sozin's Comet at summer's end. Afterwards, Roku became a spiritual guide to Aang, teaching him everything he knew about being the Avatar, including the dangers of the Avatar State, and helping him when he needed advice. When Aang believed that he had failed the world, Roku, with help from Yue, encouraged him and convinced him to continue with his struggle against the Fire Lord as he had previously. However, Roku's counsel wasn't always what Aang wanted to hear; Roku's wisdom regarding the issue of taking the Fire Lord's life was to "be decisive". Otherwise, Aang would make the same mistake Roku made by sparing Fire Lord Sozin's life, thus indirectly being the cause for the Air Nomad genocide and subsequent war.

Additionally, Aang relied on the three incarnations prior to Roku for support and guidance. The day before Sozin's Comet arrived, the current Avatar faced a moral crisis: the monks had taught him that murder was wrong, yet everyone he knew was pressuring him to end the War and save the world by taking Ozai's life. After Roku more or less bluntly told Aang to take the then-Phoenix King's life by urging him to be decisive, the monk decided to ask his other incarnations in the hopes that one of them would give him a way out of taking Ozai's life. He first approached Avatar Kyoshi for advice, and she reminded Aang of her conflict with Chin the Conqueror: she had been prepared to end Chin's life and therefore saw no difference as to whether she had killed him deliberately or now - and now Aang must do whatever it took to stop Ozai. Naturally, Aang regretted asking her for this advice, stating that "[he] knew [he] shouldn't have asked Kyoshi", and went on to question Avatar Kuruk, who talked about how laid back the Water Tribe Avatar had been and how his lack of action had cost him his bride Ummi to Koh; his advice was that, as the Avatar, Aang must actively shape his own destiny and the destiny of the world. Desperate to find another way that didn't involve taking anyone's life, he asked the Air Nomad Avatar before him; Avatar Yangchen. Although she agreed that all life was sacred and that Aang had been taught well by the monks, she advised Aang that "selfless duty" meant that he needed to sacrifice his own spiritual needs to satisfy the needs of the world. After this, Aang finally understood that the only way to end the War and save the world was to take the Fire Lord's life.

Monk Gyatso
"'He taught me everything I know.' - Aang to Sokka and Katara in 'The Southern Air Temple'"

Monk Gyatso and Aang's relationship was developed only before the Avatar ran away from the Air Temple, it was clear that the older monk was an important figure in the young Avatar's life as a mentor, guardian, and surrogate father. According to Aang, Gyatso taught him everything he knew. When the other head monks revealed that Aang was the Avatar - a full four years earlier than expected - Gyatso was the only person who sympathized with him; he attempted to relieve Aang's confused emotions and distract him through fun and games, but this was frowned upon by Monk Tashi, who believed that Aang should have concerned himself with learning all four elements, and he took this matter to the Council of Elders. When Head Monk Pasang decided to separate Aang and Gyatso, so that the young Airbender could focus on his training, an extremely distraught Aang eavesdropped on the conversation and fled, along with his sky bison, Appa, from the Southern Temple.

When Aang learned of Gyatso's death, he became so enraged that he triggered the Avatar State, and when he meditated on his grief in order to open his air chakra, he had a vision of the Air Nomads, with Gyatso first among them.

Princess Yue
"'You already saved the world, and you'll save the world again. But you can't give up.' 'You're right. I won't give up.' - Yue to Aang in 'The Awakening'"

During the events of the siege of the North, Aang realized that there were far too many Fire Navy ships to destroy them himself, so Yue brought the Avatar to the Spirit Oasis in order to aid him journey to the Spirit World and the seek the advice of Tui and La, the Ocean and Moon Spirits. After Admiral Zhao slayed the Moon Spirit, Yue, who had a spiritual connection to the moon, sacrificed her life in order to restore it and became the physical appearance of the spirit as well.

As the Moon Spirit, Yue helped Aang many times. After he was shot by Azula's lightning, she served as his guide when she informed him he needed to reconnect with his past lives to keep the Avatar Cycle whole. After he awoke from his coma, Aang decided to leave his friends and face the Fire Lord alone, but he, still injured, was unable to make it and found himself stranded in the middle of the ocean. Convinced he had failed, the Avatar even refused to be consoled by Roku, but Yue, calming the seas, reminded him that he had already saved and encouraged him not to give up; with his will restored, Aang realized he had to keep trying, and the Moon Spirit bent a giant wave to give him a safe journey towards the Fire Nation.

On Ji
"'Don't let the headmaster catch you with that monkey.' - On Ji to Aang in 'The Headband'"

While in the Fire Nation, Aang accidentally disguised himself as a student from the local school; confused and in desperate need of help, he befriended a girl named On Ji, who aided him throughout the school day. Growing jealous, On Ji's boyfriend, Hide, threatened Aang to him from speaking to her, but the Avatar invited her to the party at the cave; he even danced with her. When the headmaster of the school and several teachers arrived at the party to stop it, Aang and the rest of Team Avatar fled with the help of the other students. On Ji's destiny after the War is unknown.

On Ji showed some possible romantic interest in Aang; this unrequited affection became more evident when she blushed as Aang approached her.

Kuzon
"'I used to visit my friend Kuzon here all the time.'- Aang in 'The Headband'"

Kuzon was Aang's former friend from the Fire Nation. The two had a very close relationship, as "[they] used to get in and out of so much trouble together". Aang even referred to him as "one of the best friends he ever had".

Kuzon also offered a helping hand when Team Avatar traveled into the Fire Nation. When Aang was asked his name by a Fire Nation school teacher, he chose the name Kuzon as a cover name.

Enemies
However, being the Avatar did not mean smooth sailing at all times. Throughout his traves, Aang made many enemies from both the Fire Nation and the Earth Kingdom. The most notable of these were Prince Zuko (formerly), General Iroh (formerly), Admiral Zhao, Fire Lord Ozai, Princess Azula, Long Feng, and Combustion Man.

Admiral Zhao
"'I've never hidden from you. Untie me and I'll fight you right now!' - Aang to Zhao in 'The Blue Spirit'"

Admiral Zhao was a high ranking and important officer in the Fire Nation military and had believed since childhood that he was destined for greatness. After discovering the Avatar's return to the world, Zhao became convinced that capturing Aang would be one of the paths to that greatness. As a result, though their encounters were sparse, Zhao became one of Aang's primary enemies until the latter's departure from the North Pole.

Zhao participated in a number of notable attempts to capture Aang. As the Avatar was seeking advice from the spirit of Avatar Roku, Prince Zuko was able to track him to Crescent Island. The then-Commander, in charge of the blockade, allowed the exiled prince intoire Nation waters - and then followed him. Arriving at the Fire Temple, Zhao attempted to corner and ambush Aang, who was already speaking with Roku, but the Firebender's plans were thwarted when Roku himself intervened and caused the volcano beneath the temple to eruption; in the confusion, the team was able to escape. Some time later, the newly promoted Admiral Zhao employed the skills of a legendary squad of archers to trap Aang, only to watch as the Avatar escaped from imprisonment with help from the Blue Spirit. When Aang was briefly being tutored by renegade Firebending Master Jeong Jeong, the Admiral let a convoy of ships up the river to the hidden deserts' campsite and proceeded to attack both his former teacher and the Avatar. However, from Jeong Jeong, Aang had learned about Zhao's tremendous temper and lack of control, and the peaceful Avatar decided to use his knowledge against his foe by taunting him on until, careless with rage, Zhao's wild Firebending destroyed the ships in his convoy. Aang then left the Admiral to stew on his defeat, as the monk had effectively defeated Zhao without having thrown a single punch.

Prior to the Avatar's return, Zhao had come across a secret library, where he discovered the mortal forms of the Moon, Tui, and Ocean, La, Spirits. Having finally received permission from the Fire Lord, the Admiral led a huge armada to the North Pole in order to destroy the Northern Water Tribe, where Aang was studying Waterbending, and slay the Moon Spirit - the source of Waterbending itself. Zhao attacked the Northern Water Tribe, and Aang was quick to retaliate, yet there were far too many Fire Navy ships. Desperate, the Avatar meditated and entered the Spirit World to seek help, but, unbeknownst to him, his physical body was captured by Prince Zuko.

While the rest of Team Avatar searched the outside tundra for the exiled prince, Zhao invaded the Spirit Oasis and bagged the Moon Spirit, whose mortal form was a white koi fish; this caused a lunar eclipse which negated all Waterbending abilities. Quickly confronted by the Gaang as well as an angered Iroh, Zhao slayed the Moon Spirit and fled. Enraged, the Ocean Spirit and Aang in the Avatar State combined their powers to form Koizilla and vanquished the entire Fire Navy fleet. Foiled in his escape by the appearance of Zuko, Zhao fought the exiled prince until the Moon Spirit was restored by Princess Yue's sacrifice. Seeing the return of its ally, the Ocean Spirit relinquished its hold on the Avatar and proceeded to down the Admiral; Zhao, unwilling to accept help from Zuko even at the cost of his own life, was carried underwater and drowned, a fact of which Aang seemed unaware.

Azula
"'You mean you haven't guessed? You don't see the family resemblance? Here's a hint. (Imitating Zuko) I must find the Avatar to restore my honor. It's okay, you can laugh; it's funny.' - Azula to Aang in 'The Chase'"



Azula was Zuko's younger sister, a princess of the Fire Nation, and the heir to the throne, considering Zuko's status as an exile and a traitor. Cruel, ruthless, and cunning, this Firebending prodigy, having mastered Firebending in her youth, was a formidable opponent for Aang.

After Zhao's failure, Azula had taken over the Fire Nation's attempts to capture the Avatar. He first met her in New Ozai during his attempts to rescue King Bumi. After a chase along the delivery chutes across the city, Aang managed to escape with Bumi's help, though the latter allowed himself to be recaptured.

The two met again when Azula and her allies, following the trail of Appa's shed fur, relentlessly pursued the group. While Mai and Ty Lee tracked Sokka and Katara, the Avatar and the Fire Princess confronted each other in a small Earth Kingdom town. As they prepared to face off, Zuko arrived, and though both Aang and the exiled prince attempted to fight Azula, the Firebending prodigy was more than able to handle the three-way duel; indeed, she would have emerged victorious had it not been for Sokka, Katara, Iroh, and Toph arriving to help.

Following the Avatar's arrival to Ba Sing Se, Aang discovered a massive Fire Nation drill attempting to breach the outer wall of the city. Upon realizing that efforts to damage the machine from inside would be futile, he took to the top; however, Azula attacked him in an attempt to protect mechanical weapon. Though Aang was better able to fight the princess due to his new knowledge of Earthbending, they were still evenly matched until he managed to destroy the drill.

Aang, with Katara’s help, faced off against Azula once more in the crystal catacombs and was gaining the upper hand when Zuko, who was struggling with his inner self, joined the fray.

The arrival of corrupted Dai Li forced Aang to attempt to abandon Katara and open his seventh chakra in order to enter a fully mastered Avatar State. However, just seconds after doing so, he was struck in the back by a lightning blast from Azula and fell to the ground, defeated. Unfortunately, mere seconds after he had done so, the Firebending prodigy generated lightning, and Aang was struck in the back and fell to the ground, defeated. He was caught by Katara, and, after Iroh intervened to hold off the siblings and the Dai Li, the Waterbender was able to escape with the unconscious and likely deceased Avatar. Once safely on Appa with the rest of the team, plus Earth King Kuei, Katara used her water from the Spirit Oasis to bring Aang back to life.

Following Aang's defeat at Ba Sing Se, Azula, along with the rest of the world, assumed that he was dead and the War effectively won. However, when she asked Zuko in regards to the monk's chances of survival, he unintentionally gave her the suspicion that the Avatar might have survived. In order to avoid dishonoring her father, Ozai, the Firebending prodigy informed the Fire Lord that Zuko had slain the Avatar, leaving her brother to face punishment should Aang return.

During the Invasion, Aang, along with Sokka and Toph, infiltrated a secret Fire Nation bunker; the Avatar planned to defeat the Fire Lord, who would be powerless due to the eclipse. As the Fire Princess had learned of the Invasion while masquerading as a Kyoshi Warrior in Ba Sing Se, she was prepared for the team and lay in wait in what was normally the Fire Lord's secret chamber; after the Avatar burst into the room, she deployed a pair of Dai Li agents and proceeded to attempt to escape in order to distract him and his friends from reaching Ozai before the end of the eclipse. Though her agents were defeated, the Firebending prodigy continued to torment them even while shackled to the wall; the group realized what she was doing and tried to ignore her diversions until Azula provoked Sokka by informing him that Suki was her prisoner. Though Aang attempted to convince Sokka to cease the fruitless interrogation, the warrior's anger was unquenchable, and the Fire Princess are able to keep the group from successfully finding Ozai until the eclipse ended, at which point she easily escaped. Following the subsequent defeat of the Invasion force, Aang and the other children, leaving behind the bulk of their friends and family, left on Appa. As she knew he would return, and because the airships moved more slowly than a sky bison, Azula chose not to pursue.

Azula's final encounter with Aang occurred at the Western Air Temple when she tried to destroy the sacred Air Nomad structure and the group with a fleet of airships, causing the Gaang to once again become separated as some, including Chief Hakoda, retreated on foot, while the rest fled on Appa and took shelter on a nearby cliffside.

Though Aang never faced Azula in direct combat again, the Firebending prodigy later lost her sanity and, after being defeated by his allies, Katara and Zuko, was sent to a mental health facility.

Aang, being Roku's reincarnation, is Azula's spiritual great-grandfather although it was unclear if either of them was aware of this. Of all the villains in the World of Avatar, Azula was the one who came closest to taking the Avatar's life, as her lightning strike would have proved essentially fatal had Katara not used the Spirit Water to resurrect him, and he would remain in a coma for several weeks. Unfortunately, this also temporarily cut off his connection to his past lives and blocked the Avatar State until his battle with Ozai.

Other than being enemies, Aang and Azula didn't seem to have much of a relationship, and it is unknown what their personal views on one another were, if any. Azula appeared to regard Aang simply as an opponent to be destroyed and an enemy of the Fire Nation, while the Avatar wasn't shown to have any opinions regarding the Firebending prodigy besides his obvious fear of her prowess.

Long Feng
"'I'll tell them! I'll make sure everyone knows!' - Aang to Long Feng in 'City of Walls and Secrets'"

Long Feng was quite possibly one of Aang's most hated foes, as he blackmailed the Avatar with a kidnapped Appa, murdered Jet and almost framed Team Avatar as enemies of the Earth Kingdom.

Before even meeting with the members of the group, Long Feng assigned Joo Dee as their tour guide, and she worked diligently to ensure that their attempts to find Appa and meet the Earth King were fruitless.

Long Feng was first introduced when Katara and Toph attempted to crash a party the Earth King was attending in order to sneak Aang in and allow the Avatar to speak with the King about the coming solar eclipse. When the door guards refused to let them in due to the facts that the two didn't have tickets - only Toph's family document - Katara and Toph, using false names, unwittingly asked the Grand Secretariat for help in "finding their parents".

Seeing through the disguise, Long Feng subsequently managed to secure all four children, Aang included, before Team Avatar was able to exchange word with the Earth King. After taking them to his private study, he proceeded to inform them that the Earth King was almost entirely powerless in Ba Sing Se; it was Long Feng, head of the Dai Li agents, who had control over the city. One was not allowed to mention the War within the walls, as Ba Sing Se was striving to stay out of the War, and Long Feng was convinced the city would be able to defend against any attack. Upon realizing the Earth King was little more than Long Feng's "puppet", Aang threatened to publicly tell the King, along with the citizens of Ba Sing Se, about the Dai Li conspiracy and the War.

Long Feng responded in kind, saying, "I understand you’ve been looking for your bison. It would be quite a shame if you were not able to complete your quest." Understanding that the Grand Secretariat did, indeed, have Appa in custody, Aang became enraged.

After meeting Jet under very suspicious circumstances - circumstances orchestrated by Long Feng himself in an attempt to trick Aang into leaving Ba Sing Se - as well as Smellerbee and Longshot, Team Avatar realized something very sinister was occurring and that Jet had been brainwashed. Upon the restoration of his memory, Jet led the team to the Dai Li headquarters under Lake Laogai, where the group discovered with the full extent of the conspiracy, which included the brainwashing of girls to become Joo Dees. Inside the underground bunker, Aang, along with Jet, again confronted Long Feng; the Grand Secretariat, having brainwashed Jet, said the trigger phrase and forced the former Freedom Fighter to attack the Avatar.

Aang managed to break Jet's trance and allow the former Freedom Fighter to regain control, but the Head of the Dai Li used Earthbending to eliminate him. Because the Avatar refused to leave his fallen friend, Long Feng was able to escape. Leaving Jet in the care of Smellerbee and Longshot, Team Avatar ventured outside of the bunker and reunited with Appa. With the sky bison's help, the group was able to overcome the Dai Li agents; in the process, Appa bit Long Feng's lower leg.

Team Avatar then stormed the Earth King's palace and, using the bite mark on Long Feng's leg, was able to convince Earth King Kuei to inspect Lake Laogai.

After a failed attempt to show them the underground headquarters, which had been destroyed by the Dai Li themselves, the Earth King was convinced of Long Feng's treachery by seeing the drill outside of the outer wall. Long Feng was arrested and placed into prison, but the Dai Li remained loyal to him. Princess Azula, masquerading as a Kyoshi Warrior, offered him her aid, and, deciding to simply use her, he attempted to outsmart Azula, only be outsmarted in turn, thus indirectly becoming the instrument for both the fall of Ba Sing Se and Aang's near-death at Azula's hands. It was unclear what happened to the former Grand Secretariat after Azula took control of the Dai Li; though the Earthbending agents guarded her on the Day of Black Sun, Long Feng himself was never seen again.

Joo Dee
"'You are absolutely forbidden by the rules of the city to continue putting up posters.' 'We don't care about the rules and we're not asking permission! We're finding Appa on our own, and you should just stay out of our way!' - Aang and Joo Dee in Lake Laogai"

In the beginning of Aang and his friends' stay in Ba Sing Se, a woman named Joo Dee greeted them and explained that she would be their helper during their visit. After the Gaang arrived, she showed them around the city, leading them eventually to the apartment-like guest house in which they would be staying. During the tour, Joo Dee evaded any questions about seeing the Earth King, and when Aang attempted to glean information about Appa's possible location from different citizens of Ba Sing Se, she purposefully motioned for those interrogated not to speak a word. Later, when Team Avatar managed to infiltrate the Earth King's party, Joo Dee lost her characteristic smile as she realized her failure and was subsequently replaced with a new Joo Dee. Finally, after she attempted to stop Aang from distributing flyers asking for Appa, he stepped up and said he would do whatever he wanted to. There were not many confrontations between the two, and after the group was reunited with Appa, Aang was never seen with Joo Dee again.

Combustion Man
"'It's Sparky Sparky Boom Man!' - Aang to Sokka in 'The Runaway'"

Though they rarely met, Combustion Man, formerly known as Sparky Sparky Boom Man, was one of Aang's deadliest enemies due to his unique ability to superheat the air around him and shoot extremely explosive fire out of his tattooed third eye. Hired by a worried Zuko, Combustion Man never ceased his efforts to kill the Avatar. In their first meeting, he and the rest of Team Avatar was no match for him despite their mastery of bending. In their second meeting, Aang, after saving Sokka, was almost killed but was saved by Katara who froze the Combustion Man's head in an ice cylinder. Afterwards, Toph bended a rock at him; the stone hit his third eye, disrupting his ability, and caused it to ignite the air around him, allowing the group to escape. Their last meeting was at the Western Air Temple, where Combustion Man tried once again to kill Aang even after Zuko called off the mission, threatening not to pay the assassin and offering more money for him to stop, neither of which had any effect. Zuko managed to push Combustion Man to miss his target twice. This provoked the assassin into attacking Zuko, who managed to protect himself, though he had to grab onto a plant root not to fall down the cliff. Combustion Man was defeated after his ability was once again disrupted, this time by Sokka's well calculated boomerang throw.

Fire Lord Ozai
"'But he's still a human being.' 'You're going to defend him?' 'No, I agree with you. Fire Lord Ozai is a horrible person, and the world would probably be better off without him, but there's gotta be another way.' - Aang to Zuko in 'Sozin's Comet, Part 1: The Phoenix King'"

The ruthless leader of the Fire Nation, Ozai, was Aang's greatest foe. It was Ozai who charged Zhao with the task of capturing the Avatar and even promoted him to Admiral so that he would have greater resources to do so. It was revealed that in order to stop the Fire Nation and save the world, Aang had to face and defeat the Fire Lord before Sozin's Comet, which would enhance all Firebending, arrived at the end of summer. To that end, Aang trained throughout his journey to master the four elements so that the Avatar would be able to defeat him.

When Aang meditated on his fears in order to open his earth chakra, he saw a vision of the Fire Lord shrouded in flames, representing his greatest fear.

During the days prior to Sozin's Comet, Aang found himself unwilling to kill Ozai. Aang insisted that he had no reason to defend Ozai but that as an Air Nomad he had been taught that all life was precious and therefore had to be respected. Aang, in a meditative trance, was attracted to an island, where he confronted this personal conflict and asked the previous Avatars for guidance; however, he became increasingly desperate when each past life told him that, as the Avatar, he would have to resort to extreme measures to protect the world, and he reluctantly agreed to kill Ozai. Shortly after coming to this decision, Aang realized that the island was moving and that it was an animal of some kind; the wise lion turtle informed the young Avatar of an ancient though forgotten art which could be used to defeat Ozai, and Aang regained confidence in his ability to defeat the Fire Lord without taking his life.

When Ozai and his fleet of airships arrived to burn down the Earth Kingdom, Aang damaged the Fire Lord's personal ship and caused him to recognize the Avatar's presence. Ozai immediately went on the offensive, and though Aang used a combination of all four elements in the ensuing battle, the Fire Lord proved to be the Avatar's greatest opponent yet with his enhanced Firebending and fighting prowess. During this fight, Aang was able to redirect lighting that Ozai had generated, but the monk chose not to redirect it at the Fire Lord in order to take his life but rather to shoot it harmlessly into the sky. Eventually, Ozai gained the upper hand, and Aang, badly injured, protected himself from further attack within a ball of rock. The Fire Lord continually assaulted the Avatar with flame while Aang attempted to maintain his shield, but the stone sphere finally gave way, and the Avatar slammed into a pillar of rock, inadvertently opening his blocked chakra and allowing him to enter the Avatar State. Due to the sheer power of the Avatar State, the Fire Lord was forced on the defensive, and, after a terrible battle, Aang managed to overpower him and pin him down with Earthbending. The Avatar State, as well as the past lives controlling him, was intent on taking the Fire Lord's life, but Aang managed to regain control and stop at last minute.

Aang refused to take Ozai's life, stating, "I’m not going to end it like this." When the Avatar's back was turned, Ozai attempted to attack again, but Aang used Toph's technique of seismic sense to sense the Fire Lord's movements and restrained him using Earthbending. Remembering what the Lion Turtle had told him, Aang used Energybending to strip Ozai of his Firebending, thus sparing his life but rendering himself totally powerless. Weak and dazed, he Fire Lord found himself unable to even stand and fell limply to the ground. In the process, it was revealed that Aang had become a fully realized Avatar.

Ozai was later imprisoned for war crimes, and his son Zuko took over as Fire Lord. Avatar Aang had finally fulfilled his destiny to save the world from the treacherous Fire Lord.

Aang and Ozai never truly knew each other, as they only met once, but the Fire Lord seemed to have nothing but disdain for the Avatar, while Aang himself likely didn't think much of Ozai, regarding him simply as "a horrible person" without whom the world would probably be better off. This however, didn't prevent him from sparing Ozai's life, though he did so for his beliefs, not for the Fire Lord.