Korra


 * This article is about the character. For the series, see The Legend of Korra.

"water"

- I'm the Avatar! You gotta deal with it!

Avatar Korra, originally from the Southern Water Tribe, is the Avatar immediately succeeding Aang. A talented bender and eager to learn, Korra has already mastered waterbending, earthbending, and firebending, but has yet to conquer airbending. Hotheaded and rebellious, Korra fully accepts and relishes her role as "The Chosen One", and believes that being a powerful bender is all that it takes to be a great Avatar. The resulting lack of spiritual development is one of the reasons Korra has been unable to overcome her airbending block.

History
Korra was born in the Southern Water Tribe after the death of Avatar Aang. She appeared to have discovered early in her life she was the Avatar, proudly announcing it to the Order of the White Lotus when they came to the Southern Water Tribe seeking her after her family claimed she was the Avatar, and performing waterbending, earthbending, and firebending before them. Her identity established, Korra's training in order to become a fully realized Avatar began in earnest. Once she had mastered the aforementioned elements, Korra only needed to learn and master the art of airbending to gain full control over the Avatar State and become a fully realized Avatar.

At the age of 17, Korra ran away to Republic City with Naga, her polar bear dog and animal guide, in order to seek tutelage in airbending from Tenzin, the son of Avatar Aang and Katara. She moved in with him and his family on Air Temple Island, though her billegerence quickly began to impede her bending studies. Korra had the habit of leaving a trail of destruction wherever she went, much to Chief Lin Beifong's chagrin, who in turn wanted her out of the city. She later met Bolin, who introduced her to his older brother, Mako. Some time after, she joined their pro-bending team, the Fire Ferrets and soon began fighting alongside them in the arena.

As Korra progressed, she learned that being the Avatar came with many dangers and responsibilities. When she encountered a group of chi blockers, led by the mysterious and charismatic Amon who threatened the city and all the benders in it, Korra vowed to fight the growing anti-bending revolution.

Personality
Korra is fiery and pugnacious. Her personality is in many ways the opposite of the previous Avatar, Aang. He was a peaceful, diffident, nomadic airbender, whereas Korra is tough, headstrong, and assertive. However, like Aang, she also has a good sense of humor, with a teenage charm and vulnerability.

Trivia

 * Her name follows a long line of tradition in the polar Water Tribes, where often people include one or two "K"s and have an "UH" sound in their name (Katara, Hakoda, Sokka, Pakku, Kuruk, Kanna, Arnook, etc.)
 * Korra's situation appears to be the opposite of that of Aang; Aang had mastered airbending and had to travel the world to learn the other three elements. Korra has mastered waterbending, earthbending, and firebending, and has yet to learn airbending.
 * "Korra" means "from the mountain valley" in Irish, and is also similar in pronunciation to another Irish word "cora", which means "weir". It also means "crust" in Greek, and "grass" in certain Australian Aboriginal dialects and is an Estonian word meaning "procedure". When anglicized, Greek "Kore" reforms as "Cora", with both names meaning "maiden". Kore is also another name for Persephone, Greek goddess of the underworld, who is described by Homer as a formidable and powerful young queen.
 * Korra is also the name of a village in the Tibetan Autonomous Region of China.
 * Korra is the first Avatar to hail from the Water Tribes since Kuruk, 489 years ago.