Kuvira

"earth"

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

Kuvira is a metalbender who was part of the Metal Clan in Zaofu. Prior to her departure in 171 AG, Kuvira served as both the captain of the city's guard and part of Suyin Beifong's dance troupe. Following the outbreak of anarchy in the Earth Kingdom, Kuvira was appointed as the nation's interim president and attempted to re-establish unity with her army, which earned her the title of "Great Uniter". In her pursuit of order, Kuvira offered to protect the nation's states from bandits in exchange for their loyalty. She is engaged to Baatar Jr.. During Prince Wu's coronation, Kuvira usurped the newly-crowned king and proclaimed a new "Earth Empire" with her leading.

Early life
Kuvira grew up in Zaofu, where she became heavily influenced by Suyin's progressive ideology concerning modernization and self-fulfillment. She became part of the matriarch's dance troupe and eventually became captain of the city's guard.

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



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

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

Stopping the Red Lotus
Kuvira traveled with Team Avatar, their allies, and several other members of the Metal Clan to the Northern Air Temple in an attempt to free the airbenders held captive by the Red Lotus. Adhering to Zaheer's demand to meet Korra alone at Laghima's Peak, Kuvira went with Suyin, Lin, Tonraq, and the other metalbenders to the base of the peak and started climbing the mountain with their metal cables in order to be ready to aid Korra if it became necessary. After Mako alerted Lin that they had been double-crossed, the group hurried to the top, though as soon as Kuvira emerged, she was blown off the peak by one of P'Li's combustion beams. Using her cables, she managed to save herself and rejoined the other metalbenders atop the cliff, where they attempted to subdue P'Li. In the midst of the battle that ensued, Kuvira used her cables to save Tonraq after Zaheer used airbending to throw the waterbender off the mountain.



Following the fight, the group reassembled at the base of the peak, where Kuvira tended to Tonraq's wounds. While bandaging the tribal chief's arm, Kuvira introduced herself by name after the waterbender thanked her for her help and addressed her by her rank. She requested to accompany Suyin and the members of Team Avatar to a series of caves near the temple in order to rescue the missing airbenders, but was ordered by Suyin to remain with the injured, much to her disappointment.

Reuniting the Earth Kingdom
After the insurrection of the Red Lotus, Kuvira was appointed as the interim president of the Earth Kingdom and set out to reunite the nation, preparing it for the coronation of its new king, Wu. Kuvira left Zaofu and assembled a massive army which included Bolin, Varrick, Zhu Li, and Baatar Jr., the last of whom she fell in love with and eventually got engaged. With modernized airships, mecha tanks, and a high-speed train, Kuvira traveled to states overran by bandits and bargained with their leaders, offering protection and supplies in return for their allegiance to her.

Annexation of the state of Yi


By 174 AG, Kuvira had united ninety percent of the states of the Earth Kingdom. When Varrick ordered Zhu Li to provide everyone with some celebratory tea, Kuvira declined the beverage, vowing to celebrate only when her mission was completed in entirety, causing Varrick, Zhu Li, Bolin, and Baatar Jr. to hold off on their own drinks. When the train suddenly halted, she demanded to know the reason and was informed that the tracks were blocked by a pile of rocks left by bandits. Although troops had been deployed to handle the situation, Kuvira ordered their retreat as she wanted to handle the situation herself. She exited the train atop its roof from where she watched the bandits descend the cliffs on either side of her vehicle. Kuvira easily evaded or deflected the rocks aimed at her and, as soon as her opponents came within striking distance, she retaliated by launching a series of metal strips which she used to cover her opponents' eyes and restrict their limbs. After subduing all of her attackers and binding them to the train tracks, Kuvira removed the metal strips covering their eyes and addressed the earthbenders, whom she berated for causing chaos where she was attempting to restore order. When a female bandit started to apologize, Kuvira silenced her by covering her mouth momentarily with a metal strip to prevent the woman from interrupting her. When a male bandit begged for mercy, she ordered them to stop groveling over their predicament and offered them the opportunity to rehabilitate themselves and serve as productive members of the Earth Kingdom, vowing to give them a new purpose in life in return for their loyalty to her. If they refused her offer, she threatened to leave them stuck to the tracks, prompting the prisoners to pledge their loyalty and join her army, much to her satisfaction.



After arriving at the capital of the state of Yi, Kuvira was pleased to see Opal and Bolin reunite, remarking that they were her favorite couple. After Opal snapped at Baatar Jr. that he had betrayed their mother, Kuvira urged the airbender to let go of what happened three years ago, remarking that she and her army were there solely to help the state recover. She acknowledged that rumors of her conquering towns may paint her in a negative light, but assured Opal that she was only concerned in providing a better future for the Earth Kingdom people by laying the groundwork for citizens to achieve their own greatness. After revealing that she and Baatar Jr. were engaged, she asked Opal to forgive and forget the troubles that occurred between her and the Beifong family three years prior. Their conversation was cut short, however, when Kuvira was asked by the governor of Yi what she was doing there, upon which she requested a private audience with the man on her train.



Alone inside her train, Kuvira asked the governor if he had time to rethink her offer, which she deemed to be generous. When the governor opposed the generosity of it all, she pointed out that that bandits outnumbered his people and out-supplied his state, making it only a matter of time until Yi would succumb. By signing her deal, she would save the lives of the people of Yi as well as keep the governor in position under her supervision, which was something that she deemed to be generous. She was refused once more, however, and accused of only wanting access to Yi's ore reserves, which prompted Kuvira to reprimand the governor for his pride, which would be ineffective to protect Yi against bandits and to feed the people. Despite her efforts, the governor refused to yield and Kuvira ordered her troops to head out. Upon asked what had happened, Kuvira explained that she was unable to make a deal with the governor. As she moved to retreat into the train, Kai asked if they were no going to stay and help, which prompted Kuvira to hand him the contract, saying that she and her army would remain stationed at the state border for a day and if he could get the governor to sign the document, she would provide all the help Yi needed.



Kuvira returned to the state capital after the governor acquiesced and signed the contract, immediately deploying soldiers and modernized mecha tanks as well as distributing parcels of food. She declared that Yi was under her army's full protection before turning to the governor and forcing him to pledge his allegiance to her if he wished to keep his position.

Claim to power
Kuvira and her army made their way to Republic City for Prince Wu's coronation as the Earth King, reserving the presidential suite at the Republic City Four Elements. When Wu approached her and began to flirt, saying he could get her an upgrade, Kuvira told him about her reservation, adding that she got him moved down to a junior suite and that she always got what she wanted.

At the ceremony, Kuvira was called up by Wu and honored with the Kyoshi Medal of Freedom for her work in stabilizing the nation. After being allowed to give a speech, she stated how she had learned in Zaofu that the monarchy was archaic and technology was the only way to move forward, blaming the monarchy for the state of disarray in the Earth Kingdom. Declaring she would not let her work slip away, Kuvira told the crowd Wu had no authority and that she was declaring an "Earth Empire" under her rule. She ripped off her medal and warned the world leaders that anyone who got in her way would be crushed, crunching her medal to symbolize this.



Upon returning to the presidential suite, Kuvira noticed that Bolin looked worried. After being told of his fears, Kuvira told him to stick with him as he believed in what they had done to that point. She added they would need his help more than ever, believing the world leaders would force them to accept someone who would only serve them but not the people. She assured him that all her words were no more than rhetoric and the last thing she wanted was conflict, leading him to stand by her. After Suyin entered, Kuvira dismissed Bolin to speak with the matriarch of Zaofu alone. The metalbender criticized her for not taking the incentive to reunite the kingdom in the first place, saying she stepped up and provided stability and equality. She also told Suyin to tell the world leaders to stay out of the Earth Empire's business and not force Wu on them. Being told that Suyin knew of what she had done, Kuvira warned her that the same was coming for Zaofu.

As Kuvira and her army left Republic City on her train, she watched as Varrick began to experiment on a hunk of spirit vine, telling him the development of a new technology was his number one priority.

Personality


Kuvira is driven by a fierce desire to protect the citizens of the Earth Kingdom and persistent on achieving national unity through the use of military force. Her willingness to usher in an age of solidarity and collective well-being stems from Suyin Beifong's progressive ideology, to which she was exposed from a very early age. She has also shown herself to be loyal and obedient to authority, following orders from her former superiors with no protest. Once she began her campaign to restore the Earth Kingdom, Kuvira demonstrates a capacity to be cold and unforgiving to those who defy her or criticize her motives, having shown willingness to leave a group of bandits to die if they refused to become productive members of the Earth Kingdom. In addition, she did not hesitate to leave the capital of Yi without providing aid to its impoverished citizens when she was disrespected by the state's governor, whom she berated for failing to put his citizens' needs ahead of his own pride. Kuvira is persuasive and capable of convincing state leaders into pledging their allegiance to her, but is also proficient in the use of intimidation if individuals refuse to comply with her requests. Ultimately, Kuvira came to believe that giving control of the Earth Kingdom to someone based on lineage was foolish, believing that she was more suited to govern the nation.

Metalbending
Kuvira is proficient in the use of metalbending, capable of traversing several terrains and climbing large mountainsides with relative ease using metal cables. She also demonstrates physical strength, having been able to grip Tonraq with a cable and support his weight. Coupled with great aim and agility, Kuvira can subdue several opponents simultaneously by covering their eyes and binding their limbs with metal strips.

Other skills
Kuvira is an effective leader, as evident by her service as captain of the guard in Zaofu and further by her accomplishments as the "Great Uniter". She is capable of engaging in persuasive negotiation, but can also employ intimidation in order to convince state leaders into pledging their allegiance to her and her cause. Using these abilities, Kuvira has managed to bring ninety percent of Earth Kingdom states into her control, earning her a fierce reputation in the Earth Kingdom.

Trivia

 * Kuvira is a Hindi name meaning "courageous woman", befitting her personality.
 * Kuvira's image was on the back of the newspaper Lin Beifong was reading in Zaofu. The text below her picture read, meaning "security team".
 * Kuvira is the first main villain in The Legend of Korra to be female.