Equalists

"URN"

- Are you tired of living under the tyranny of benders? Then join the Equalists! For too long, the bending elite of this city have forced non-benders to live as lower class citizens! Join Amon and together we will tear down the bending establishment!

The Equalists were an organization of radical revolutionaries led by Amon that operated within Republic City. They opposed the use of bending, which they saw as inherently oppressive and unfair, and sought to equalize society through its elimination. Because of this, the Equalist movement was occasionally referred to as the "anti-bending revolution".

Equalist fighters were known for employing chi blocking as a means to counteract bending and its advantages. Adept at using long-range weapons to restrain and immobilize their enemies, the Equalists utilized a selection of tools and equipment, including smoke grenades, electrified gloves, and motorcycles.

Formation
After fleeing the Northern Water Tribe in 144 ASC, Noatak, the waterbending son of the crime lord Yakone, grew a strong hatred toward all benders due to having a troubled childhood under his father's influence. He believed that benders were the cause of every war in history. At some point, Noatak used makeup to appear scarred, donned a mask to hide his identity, and assumed the alias of Amon. He claimed to have been born on a farm to a family of non-benders, that he was a non-bender himself, and he developed strong feelings of hatred and revenge after his parents' supposed murder at the hands of a firebender. He also claimed that he was chosen by the spirits to bring balance to the world, as the Avatar had failed in doing so. The anti-bending movement began recruiting adepts and the Equalists eventually became a formidable group within Republic City.

The Revelation


In order to fulfill their goal, Amon decided to accelerate their plans after the early arrival of the Avatar to the city, a reason why an Equalist assembly called "The Revelation" was scheduled to be carried out. For this purpose, they kidnapped some Triple Threat Triad members at their headquarters, which included the newly re-recruited Bolin. Mako and Korra witnessed the Equalists ride away in a truck with their hostages. The duo gave chase on Naga and the Equalists were forced to evade some firebending and earthbending attacks. Eventually, two Equalists on motorcycles broke off from the pack to face their pursuers. With a well-aimed throw, one Equalist fighter tripped the polar bear dog by tying her legs together with a bola. As the animal's riders where thrown from the saddle, the two Equalists engaged them in a hand-to-hand fight. With their superior agility, the two Equalist fighters were able to quickly immobilize Korra and Mako with chi blocking, but retreated when Naga untangled herself and came to the rescue of her friends.



Later, at the rally, Amon gave a speech telling the audience about his life story and his motivation to lead the revolution. He blamed the benders of the world to be the cause of every war that has ever been and showcased his plans for all the benders in the world on the prisoners by demonstrating an ability he claimed the spirits had granted him: the ability to take away a person's bending, permanently. Unknown to the attendees at the time, however, Korra and Mako had infiltrated the rally, and just before Amon could remove Bolin's bending, Korra released vast amounts of steam from the water boilers. This created enough of a distraction and cover for Mako to overpower an Equalist fighter, grab Bolin, and get out before anyone could react.

Amon's second-in-command, the Lieutenant, defeated the two brothers rather easily with his electrified kali sticks while they were trying to escape. However, Korra arrived and earthbent him into a wall before he could do more damage. As the trio escaped on Naga, the Equalists wanted to give chase, but Amon gave the order to let them go, stating that the Avatar was the best person to spread word of his power.

Psychological impact on Avatar Korra


The Equalists and their leader had made a profound impression on the Avatar, as Korra had nightmares about being attacked by them after witnessing their skill at the rally. When Korra later aided a special task force led by Councilmen Tarrlok to raid a secret underground training facility in the Dragon Flats borough, an Equalist ambushed her when she was in pursuit of two trainees. However, Korra managed to evade his attack and immobilized him by bending a rock straight into his stomach. A second Equalist member was frozen to the wall when Tarrlok came to Korra's rescue. The raid resulted in the defeat and capture of four Equalist members.

At the ensuing press conference, Korra challenged Amon to a duel on Aang Memorial Island at midnight, without the presence of the task force or the chi blockers. However, it appeared as though Amon did not hold up his end of the deal as midnight passed without his appearance. Korra, believing he did not turn up, started to return home. However, as she did so, several Equalists ambushed the Avatar and quickly overpowered and immobilized her. It was only then that Amon emerged from the shadows and explained part of his plan to eradicate all benders. Knocking Korra out cold, but without doing further damage, the Equalists left her in the island's museum.

Attack on the Pro-bending Arena


Amon later demanded the shutdown of the Pro-bending Arena before the sport's championship match, but the United Republic Council did not agree to this. As a result, the Equalists disguised themselves in the arena and waited for their moment. After the match, they sprang into action, electrifying several members of the Metalbending Police Force who were present on security detail, Tenzin, Lin Beifong, and the Fire Ferrets. As they appeared on the playing field, the still present White Falls Wolfbats attacked them, but Amon easily evaded their attacks and took their bending away. The Equalists kept the arena secured as Amon declared war on all the benders, before blowing up the playing field. As they escaped on their airship, Korra came after them. With a little help of Lin, she managed to knock some Equalists off the cables suspended underneath the airship, but was soon knocked off herself. A fight ensued on the arena's roof between Korra and Lin against four Equalists, among whom the Lieutenant. Lin immobilized two of them with her metalbending and Korra knocked out the other one and even threw the Lieutenant off the roof, but Amon and the remainder of his cronies escaped.

Battle at the Equalist factory


In the aftermath of the attack, the Equalists framed the head of Cabbage Corp by planting evidence in the factory indicating that Cabbage Corp was responsible for the manufacturing of the electrified gloves. This action was a decoy to lead the authorities away from Future Industries where Hiroshi Sato was working on a new weapon for the Equalists, the mecha tanks. However, Korra overheard him on the phone and together with Tenzin, Lin, and several officers, they discovered a hidden factory where several of the tanks were already operational. Hiroshi had set up a trap for them and used them as a test run for the new machines. They proved to be a great success and the Equalists manage to take several police officers hostage. Korra, Tenzin, and Lin managed to keep out of their clutches, however, due to the interference of Asami who took out her father and the Lieutenant, allowing Mako and Bolin to carry them out.



Sometime after the discovery of Hiroshi Sato's secret factory, an Equalist raiding party instigated a jailbreak of chi blockers and sympathetic inmates to the cause. However, after a daring pursuit by Team Avatar, the getaway of Equalist raiders and the escaped convicts was thwarted and they were handed over to the Metalbending Police Force to be imprisoned.

Korra's kidnapping


When Korra was kidnapped by Tarrlok, the councilman blamed the incident on the Equalists. Team Avatar, Tenzin and Lin infiltrated an underground Equalist prison, where Lin found her officers but was too late to save their bending abilities. Mako aggressively interrogated an Equalist guard about Korra's whereabouts, where the guard revealed that they weren't responsible for the Avatar's kidnapping. Tenzin figured out that Tarrlok was behind the kidnapping, and the group successfully escaped the underground compound to confront him.

Amon personally led a small team of Equalists to Tarrlok's mountain hideout to "equalize" the disgraced councilman and capture Korra. Tarrlok easily subdued the Lieutenant and the henchmen with bloodbending, but Amon, with some struggle, resisted its effects. Amon backed Tarrlok into a wall and took away his bending. While Amon carried him to the truck, the rest of the team went to capture Korra with Amon warning them not to underestimate her. However the Avatar outsmarted them and successfully evaded Amon's pursuit.

Attack on Republic City


On the eve of an emergency meeting called by Councilman Tenzin, the Equalists advanced their plans and captured all of the council members. Tenzin successfully evaded capture due to his mastery of airbending, solely becoming the leader of the city.

At this point, the Equalists begin their attack on the city starting with the bombardment of buildings and establishments from their airships. Utilizing their mecha tanks, the Equalists took over the police headquarters and captured the remaining officers of the Metalbending Police Force, including Chief Saikhan. They moved forward with their attack by invading Air Temple Island. Though successful at repelling the attackers, Tenzin and his family were forced to evacuate the city, leaving both the island and the city as a whole under Equalist control.



A division of the United Forces, led by General Iroh, arrived to retake Republic City, however the Equalists were aware of their impending arrival. To this end, Hiroshi Sato created biplanes to destroy the fleet of battleships. General Iroh was the only known person who escaped the first attack on the United Forces.

It was later revealed by Tarrlok that Amon was his brother, and shared his waterbending and bloodbending talents. Korra and Mako realized that the Equalist revolution was a lie, and went to the Pro-bending Arena to expose Amon at his rally.



After Amon successfully held the city from the United Forces, he went to the Pro-Bending Arena to conduct his rally. However, Korra and Mako arrived in disguise and revealed that Amon was a waterbender and a bloodbender. In order to end all suspicions against him, he removed his mask, revealing scar marks. Korra and Mako attempted to leave, but Amon revealed Tenzin and his three children tied up to posts, and proceeded to try to take their bending away. He was knocked back by Mako's lightning, and the Equalists around him were knocked out. After Korra freed the airbenders, Amon followed Korra and Mako and bloodbent them. He took Korra's bending. The Lieutenant saw this and attacked Amon, saying he was a traitor for being a bender, but was easily defeated. As Amon was preparing to remove Mako's bending, the firebender stunned him with lightning. Mako used this time and tried to escape with Korra but Amon bloodbent them again and proceeded to remove Mako's bending. However, he failed after Korra used her newly-unlocked airbending to send him flying toward the window.



The Equalists were shocked to see their leader flying toward the sea. After Amon's mask floated to the surface, they were outraged and angry at the Avatar for seemingly killing their leader. However, Amon, at instinct, used his waterbending to levitate himself from the sea, much to the surprise of his followers, including the Protestor. Realizing that all was lost, Amon attempted to escape with Tarrlok at his side. However, Tarrlok blew up the speedboat as they were traversing the Mo Ce Sea, killing them both.

The Equalists were left without any leaders, as Amon, Hiroshi Sato, and the Lieutenant were all defeated.

Ideology


The Equalists followed the teachings of Amon, who began spreading his ideas after allegedly receiving a vision from the spirits that the Avatar had failed humanity in its duty to bring balance to the world. The main cause of this imbalance was bending, which was used to bully and oppress the world's non-benders and which had been the cause of "every war". According to Amon, the only way to bring equality back to the world is to remove the abilities of the world's benders, who exploit and marginalize the non-bending majority, and then overthrow the "bending elite" in a wide-ranging social revolution. Accordingly, the spirits granted Amon the ability to permanently remove a person's bending powers. Through eliminating people's bending ability, their aim was to create a society free of bender/non-bender divisions, where no person has an innate advantage over another.

Because of Amon's central position as the only who could destroy the world's bending at all, the entire Equalist ideology was strongly focused on him. Accordingly, Equalist propaganda often showed Amon as a central motif.

Although Amon's final goal remained unclear at the time of his death, he had expressed an eventual plan to export the Equalist revolution beyond the borders of Republic City to the rest of the world. Assisting Amon in his quest were a multitude of Equalist fighters, including sleeper agents disguised as ordinary civilians and highly trained chi blockers. Amon himself seemed to have a deep disdain for bending, as he had referred to it as an "impurity" that must be cleansed. This most likely stemmed from his childhood, when his father Yakone would train him and his brother Tarrlok to bloodbend. His intent was that after he had taken over Republic City, he would replace the "bending regime" with a "fair-minded" Equalist government.

Methods, equipment, and abilities


Equalists were shown using various means in order to match and defeat benders. Equalist members were trained as hand-to-hand fighters and in the art of chi blocking, a key skill in defeating a bender. Because of their lack of bending capabilities, Equalists typically employed underhanded tactics such as ambush attacks, hit-and-run strikes, and use of sleeper agents, among others. They also employed fear tactics such as the attack on Republic City's Pro-bending Arena.

Aside from their fighting skills, they employed a large range of tools, such as special suits, smoke grenades, knockout gas, bolas, motorcycles, and airships, among other things. The Equalist Lieutenant was shown using a set of electrified kali sticks to electrocute and neutralize opponents. With the support of Hiroshi Sato, they started utilizing electrically-charged gloves, which Amon described as "the power of a chi blocker in their hand". These are capable of instantly neutralizing any enemy, even a metalbending police officer, whose metal armor was formerly impervious to chi blocker attacks.



Sato also developed a mechanical suit called a mecha tank. These are made of platinum, which is immune to metalbending due to its purity. These machines use extendable claws, metal cables, and can disperse electricity through these appendages to electrocute enemies. They are also quite durable as the one Sato commanded withstood multiple fire and air strikes from Tenzin and Korra without any visible damage. However, their second encounter showed that, with the right benders present and awareness of the machine's weapons, the tanks are actually quite vulnerable to benders. In fact, the main weakness of the Equalist equipment seems to be the sheer reliance on surprise and ambush, as proven by the second appearance of mecha tanks, which were of course soundly defeated. Sato would later provide a fleet of small, high-speed aircraft, armed with bombs and torpedoes that were powerful enough to destroy the United Forces fleet.



To gain public support, Amon used his powers to target benders who were well known for abusing their powers, such as the Triple Threat Triad and White Falls Wolfbats, as both a way to strike fear into the bender population and to win the support of non-benders. After it was made known that Sato was an Equalist, Amon made no distinction as he began to target all benders regardless of who they were, evident as Amon was going to stip the bending of Tenzin and his family which consisted of mostly children. Despite their use of guerrilla attacks, the Equalists also possessed massive amounts of both man and firepower, enough to completely overpower the Metalbending Police Force, take over Republic City in the span of a day, and even defeat the United Forces fleet, although relying very heavily on planted agents and the element of surprise.

List of known members

 * Amon (deceased)
 * Lieutenant
 * Hiroshi Sato
 * Doorman
 * Protestor
 * Warehouse worker
 * Feathered hat man

Trivia



 * The Equalists' symbol seems to be a large red circle inscribed with the Chinese character, which can mean "equal", "level", or "peace". This symbol is seen on many Equalist banners throughout the series.
 * The Equalists were originally named the 'anti-benders', until the name change was announced at San Diego Comic-Con 2011.
 * The highly advanced technology used by the Equalists parallels the real world time period in which the show is based upon. Smoke grenades were developed shortly after the First World War, motorcycles gained prominence in the early 1900s, and the electric weapons are reminiscent to the sharp growth of electronics from 1890s to the 1920s.
 * The large banners featured on a wall of the chi blocker training room and hanging from the ceiling of Hiroshi Sato's hidden factory have the words: "阿蒙就是答案", which mean "Amon is the solution".
 * Amon was the only member of the Equalists to not have been seen using any sort of physical weapon.
 * The Equalist tactic of using a smoke screen on motorcycles to blind an enemy is similar to the use of smoke generators by American destroyers during WWII. The American ships would use the smoke to cover a retreat or to catch the enemy by surprise.