Amon

"water"

- The era of bending is over! A new era of equality has begun!

Amon, or Noatak, was the charismatic and mysterious leader of a group of chi blockers known as the Equalists, whose ultimate goal was to create equality for all by ridding the world of benders. A nimble and stealthy fighter, he was fearless in facing his opponents, regardless of their bending skills and abilities. Claiming he was a non-bender, Amon possessed the unique ability to remove a person's bending permanently, something which only the Avatar is said to have. While complete conquest of Republic City by the Equalists was at hand, Amon was revealed by Avatar Korra to be a fraud, in actuality a prodigious Northern Water Tribe bloodbender named Noatak related to past crime boss Yakone and former-Chairman Tarrlok.

Early life
Noatak was born in the Northern Water Tribe to Yakone and a Water Tribe woman. Three years after he was born, Noatak's mother gave birth to another son, Tarrlok. Tarrlok described Noatak as "...always looking out for [him]" and "even then [at a young age], he still wanted everyone to be treated fairly and equally."

When Noatak and Tarrlok both discovered they were waterbenders, Yakone trained them harshly to develop their skills. A few years later, Yakone took them on a "hunting trip" far from their home, where he revealed his real identity and their power of bloodbending. Every full moon, Yakone would take them on a supposed "hunting trip", keeping the truth from his wife, and train them to use their bloodbending on animals, such as yaks and wolves. Tarrlok was against harming animals this way, but Noatak excelled in the art, also becoming colder and more distant. Yakone eventually succeeded in teaching his sons how to bloodbend without a full moon, and was very impressed with Noatak's skill.

Eventually, Yakone ordered his sons to bloodbend each other, and when Tarrlok refused, Yakone became furious, calling his son weak. Angered, Yakone was about to attack, but Noatak defended his brother and stated that it was he that was the weakling. Noatak bloodbent his own father, and told his brother that they needed to leave and start a new life. Tarrlok declined, worried about their mother, which then caused Noatak to agree with what their father had said about Tarrlok. Noatak then ran off, prompting Yakone and Tarrlok to search for him for days. Eventually the two concluded that he must have perished in the ice.

At some point in his life, Noatak took the alias of Amon and became the leader of the Equalists, an organization striving to rid the world of bending. To gather sympathy, Amon claimed that he was born on a small farm to a family of non-benders who were being extorted by a firebender. In the story, when Amon's father eventually confronted their oppressor, the bender killed his family and severely deformed Amon's face, forcing him to "hide behind a mask" ever since. Although he later took off his mask to reveal a scar, the scar turned out to be just make-up that simply washed off when he came into contact with water.

Accelerating plans
When Avatar Korra announced her official relocation to Republic City during a press conference at City Hall, Amon heard her responding to questions through the radio. When his second-in-command inquired about how he was going to handle the unforeseen situation, Amon replied that since the Avatar had arrived early, they would have to "accelerate" their plans.



Later, at an Equalist assembly called "The Revelation", Amon announced to the gathered crowd that he planned on eradicating the world of benders, as they "had only brought suffering" and "were the cause of every war in every era". Amon believed the spirits had chosen him to usher in a new era of balance to the world by permanently removing people's bending in order to make equality a reality. As a demonstration of his abilities, he had his Equalist henchmen bring forward several Triple Threat Triad members and Bolin and proceeded to remove their bending, one by one, starting with Lightning Bolt Zolt's firebending. However, before he could remove Bolin's earthbending, Korra created a distraction by letting a screen of water vapor out into the room, allowing Mako to grab Bolin and escape. As the brothers and Korra were riding atop Naga with several Equalists chasing them, Amon opted to let them leave, as they would be the perfect tool to tell Republic City of his strength and power.

Meeting Korra
Amon had made a severe impression on Korra and she was plagued by nightmares of him in which he took away her bending. Upon hearing that the United Republic Council had proclaimed him public enemy number one, he spread a message over the radio to his fellow Equalists, using the actions of the Council as proof of the oppressive nature of the benders.



After Councilman Tarrlok and Avatar Korra led a task force that successfully raided an Equalist training facility, he was publicly challenged by her to a midnight duel on Aang Memorial Island without the involvement of the task force or chi blockers. However, Amon did not show up on time, nor did he come alone. Just as Korra began to leave the island, several hidden Equalists reeled her inside the island's museum. There, Amon emerged from the shadows and revealed that he would allow her to keep her bending for the time being because removing it then would only make her a martyr and cause benders from every nation to rally behind her "untimely demise". However, he warned a terrified Korra that he would "save her for last" and finally "destroy her" in their inevitable showdown.

Attack at the Pro-bending Arena


On the eve of the pro-bending championship match, Amon demanded that the Council shut down the Pro-bending Arena and put an end to the tournament, threatening that there would be "severe consequences" should they refuse. The Council voted to keep the arena open, which Amon revealed to be in line with his plans for the situation. He later entered the arena after the tournament and stripped Tahno and the rest of the White Falls Wolfbats of their bending powers. While some of his Equalists took out the police officers in the stands with electrified gloves, he gave a speech in which he stated his goals to replace the current government with "a fair minded, Equalist government" and remove bending from the world altogether. He partially destroyed the playing field before leaving the Pro-bending Arena via the roof on an airship. Boarding the zeppelin, he narrowly escaped Korra's firebending attack and remained unfazed as the flames swirled around him.

Cleansing of Tarrlok


Days later, Amon, accompanied by Lieutenant and a group of Equalists, found Tarrlok in his hidden hideout deep in the mountains surrounding Republic City. Warning the Councilman that it was his time to be "equalized", the waterbender defended himself by bloodbending his attackers. Although his henchmen were easily overpowered by Tarrlok, Amon himself was able to resist the bloodbending's effects, and used Tarrlok's state of shock to approach him and take away his bending. When asked what he was, referring to his ability to overcome the effects of bloodbending, Amon simply responded that he was "the solution".

While taking care of Tarrlok, he ordered his fellow Equalists to retrieve Korra, who was trapped inside a metal prison box in the basement. He reminded his men not to underestimate the Avatar and ordered them to electrify the box to knock her out before opening it. However, as he was putting Tarrlok in the truck they arrived in, Korra stormed out of the cabin, having overpowered the other Equalists. Noticing Amon, she shot several ice spears in his direction. Amon evaded them all and briefly gave chase, however, stopping when Korra made her escape by swiftly gliding down the snowy slopes of the mountain. When the Lieutenant and the other Equalists joined him in watching Korra leave, he lightly scolded them for having underestimated her.

Attacking Republic City


Amon observed the attack on Republic City from an airship floating above the metropolis. Eventually, his airship was in the vicinity of the police headquarters as Tenzin and Team Avatar were fighting the Equalists' mecha tanks. After Hiroshi Sato, who was present aboard the airship with Amon, expressed his disgust while watching his daughter fighting alongside benders, the revolutionary leader promised him that he would have his daughter back soon. Later, Amon was on Air Temple Island when his followers brought a captured Lin Beifong to him. He offered Lin the chance to keep her bending by telling him where Korra was, but at Lin's refusal, Amon proceeded to take away her bending.

Endgame
Amon soon used Air Temple Island as his base and began to de-bend benders by the dozens. After the United Forces battle fleet arrived, Amon's forces engaged them with a surprise attack, with an aerial assault led by Hiroshi Sato destroying the fleet after it ran into a minefield. Later on, when Korra and Mako infiltrated Air Temple Island to locate Amon, they instead found Tarrlok as a solitary prisoner, and learned from him that Amon was his brother, whose real name was Noatak, and they were both the son of Yakone. It was additionally revealed that Amon did not use energybending, as previously thought, but that he was in fact a waterbender, and somehow used bloodbending to permanently remove a person's bending.

When Korra challenged Amon's story of his past at the rally in the Pro-bending Arena, Amon revealed his face to the crowd, showing what appeared to be a firebending scar stretching across his face, thus making Korra look like she was lying. As Amon turned his attention to Tenzin and his children to "wipe out airbending," Mako shot lightning at the stage, allowing Korra time to free Tenzin and his family. Amon, his Lieutenant, and several other chi blockers attempted to fight back but were all blown off the stage by Mako and Tenzin.

Amon pursued and eventually found Korra, subduing her with bloodbending. When Mako arrived to help, he too was stopped by Amon's bloodbending. With the Avatar and her friend helpless, Amon took away Korra's bending. This action was witnessed by the Lieutenant, who, after seeing Amon use bloodbending, denounced him as a traitor and attempted to attack, although Amon was able to stop him easily with his bloodbending ability and hurled him through the air.

The distraction, however, allowed Mako to struggle into position and blast Amon with lightning, buying time for him and a severely weakened Korra to escape. Amon caught up with them and again used his bloodbending to stop them. He prepared to take away Mako's bending, musing over the fact that no one else had been able to resist him so, and that it was almost a shame to take bending away from one so talented. Korra, however, seeing Mako in danger suddenly unlocked her airbending and used it to to knock Amon away from him. As she unleashed a barrage of air attacks upon him, Amon attempted to fight back with bloodbending, but the narrow corridor allowed Korra to keep on attacking and blast him out a window into the harbor below, where his "scar" was washed away, revealed as nothing more than face paint.

A crowd of his followers began to denounce Korra as a tyrant. Amon, regaining conciousness underwater, instinctively waterbended himself out of the sea on a giant column of water, causing his stunned followers to realize the Avatar had been telling the truth about him all along. Realizing that he had lost everything, Amon dodged Mako's blasts of fire and fled, deciding to reconcile his elder brotherly relationship with Tarrlok and start over. They escaped out to sea on an Equalist speedboat. Amon, going by his true name Noatak again, happily spoke of how there was nothing they could not do together. Tarrlok, however, used an Equalist glove to ignite the fuel tank, causing the boat to explode, probably killing them both. Just before that, Noatak shed a single tear.

Personality
Amon is a calm and composed individual with a desire for power. At a young age Amon "reveled in his newfound bloodbending power" but believed that the most powerful ability was to remove a person's bending; this drove him to learn how to remove a person's bending using bloodbending. He has a severe abhorrence toward benders and is a staunch believer in what he views as equality and affectionately refers to his followers as "brothers and sisters". According to Tarrlok, Amon sincerely believes in his rhetoric, having strived to be fair since he was a child.



He is clever and calculating, as well as a convincing orator. He has a high command of the art of public speaking, knowing how to mystify and terrify his audiences and enemies alike, creating loyalty with each word, and gaining widespread following for his cause. He seems to have plans for Korra and has thus far avoided fighting her, resorting to allowing her to escape and spread word of his abilities to the city. Amon also chose not to take away her bending when he ambushed her after refusing to fight her, foreseeing that it would make her a martyr for benders and unite them globally against his cause.

Amon is a cautious and calculating person, always prepared for direct confrontation with opponents, no matter how skilled they may be. He has displayed utter fearlessness, such as when he was almost blasted by Korra's firebending, overcoming Tarrlok's bloodbending, and chasing after Korra following her escape from Tarrlok's hideout. He is a strong-willed individual in possession of a high level of self control, making him an extremely formidable opponent. His calm and composure never wavers; when Korra escaped her prison and fired large missiles of ice at him, Amon didn't hesitate to chase after her, but he remained composed when he lightly scolded his subordinates for underestimating her, which he had warned them not to do.

Abilities


Amon is an extremely talented and powerful waterbender and bloodbender. He inherited his father, Yakone's, psychic bloodbending and is probably one of the strongest bloodbenders to ever live. Amon has also shown himself to be a very skilled, agile, and nimble fighter; his superior agility, in combination with stealthily bloodbending his opponent, allows him to maneuver himself gracefully to the extent of being able to dodge lightning at close range. He has also demonstrated the ability to take away a person's bending through bloodbending, seemingly permanently, an ability that remains shrouded in mystery. No medical intervention has been able to restore one's bending, and even the best healer in the world, Katara, aided with her knowledge of bloodbending was unable to reverse the effect. The only known cure to Amon's power is the immense power of the Avatar State to restore bending (using energybending), as displayed by Korra.

It can be deduced that Amon studied the bodies of benders in-depth (probably while using waterbending) and practiced on how to remove a person's bending, before the events of The Legend of Korra, in order to gain a power that could rival that of the Avatar. However he never had the chance to study and practice on Airbenders since the only Airbenders were on Air Temple Island. Thus, while he could remove Waterbending, Earthbending and Firebending, he could not disrupt the connection to Air since he didn't know what was fundamentally different in Airbenders that allowed them to Airbend. He merely believed that he already knew because of his success with the other three elements. This is the reason why when he stripped Korra of her bending he failed to remove her Airbending and was shocked as a result.

Amon is able to resist bloodbending. However, bloodbending does seem to have some effect on Amon, although slighty, as he was shown to be struggling against it initially, as the surrounding Equalists were subdued completely. It is possible that he was breaking Tarrlok's control using his own bloodbending, due to him being one himself.

Aside from his mysterious abilities, Amon's greatest skills are his intellect and charisma. Displaying a gift for political strategy, he accurately portended that if he took away Korra's bending so early in his revolution, it would only end in Korra becoming a martyr, ensuring that benders across the globe would unite against his Anti-bending Revolution. He is also well-versed in terrorist tactics, subverting non-benders by manipulating their hate and bestowing fear upon benders, always seeking a psychological edge against his opponents, and consistently using intimidation and threats against his numerous enemies. As evidenced by the multiple attacks orchestrated by the Equalists, Amon is also a capable strategist and tactician, outmatching other organized forces such as the Metalbending Police Force on several occasions.

Known victims
Amon has utilized his physical skills and powerful bloodbending abilities to block many peoples' bending, including the following:


 * Lightning Bolt Zolt
 * Shady Shin
 * Triple Threat Triad member wearing green
 * Triple Threat Triad member wearing brown
 * Tahno
 * Ming
 * Shaozu
 * At least five members of the Metalbending Police Force, including this metalbender officer
 * Tarrlok
 * Lin Beifong (restored by Avatar Korra)
 * At least one member of Tarrlok's task force
 * Korra (restored by Korra's past lives)

Relatives

 * Yakone (father)
 * Unnamed mother
 * Tarrlok (younger brother)

Trivia

 * Given his altruistic (yet misguided) intentions and tragic past, Amon technically is an anti-villain. He's the first anti-villain in the Avatarverse to be an adult, since the two previous ones, Zuko and Jet, both being minors at the time their story arcs took place.
 * Like several other characters, Amon was revealed on July 23, 2011 at San Diego Comic-Con.
 * The red circle on Amon's mask is similar to that of the large red disk featured on the flag of Japan, which represents the rising sun and thus the dawn of a new era. This circle also marks one of the two pressure points Amon touches to take one's bending away.
 * Amon may be an English phonetic spelling for "Aman" meaning "peace" in Indonesian and Malay, Sanskrit (अमन) and Urdu (امن). This may explain the Chinese ideogram, meaning "peace" on the chest of his previous character design. The 平 ideogram also means "fair" and "equal", matching the Equalists' name.
 * The Chinese transliteration for Amon's name,, can have a few meanings, but the most appropriate is "to cover".
 * Amon is an Egyptian name meaning "hidden", which may refer to his covered face.
 * Noatak (Nuataaq in Iñupiaq) is a name for a census-designated place in the Arctic Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska. The Noatak River also runs through that place.
 * Amon claimed to have lost his family to a firebender, in a manner similar to how Mako, Bolin and Jet lost their parents, how Asami, Sokka, and Katara lost their mothers, and how Aang lost his people, the Air Nomads.
 * Amon is the only known person who is not an Avatar to have the ability to remove someone's bending.
 * Amon is the first character in the Avatar universe to be both a bender and a chi-blocking practitioner.
 * Though Amon is himself a bender, according to Tarrlok, he believes that bending is the greatest evil in the world.
 * Hiding his face prevents others from identifying him as Yakone's son and a waterbender, especially from his brother Tarrlok who was then on the United Republic Council, which would undermine his leadership with his Equalist followers and supporters.