Amon

"URN"

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

Amon is the charismatic and mysterious leader of a group of chi blockers known as the Equalists, whose ultimate goal is to create equality by ridding the world of benders. A nimble and stealthy fighter, he is fearless in facing his opponents, regardless of their bending skills and abilities.

Early life
Amon was born on a small farm to a family of non-benders; nonetheless, they were extorted by a firebender. When Amon's father eventually confronted their oppressor, the firebender killed his family and severely deformed Amon's face, forcing him to "hide behind a mask" ever since.

At some point in his life, Amon became the leader of the Equalists, an organization based in Republic City. They terrorize the city, striving to rid the world of bending.

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 a 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 its effects, and used Tarrlok's astonishment 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 gave chase. However, he was forced to stop 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 watched the siege of Republic City take place from an airship floating above the metropolis. Eventually, Amon's airship was hovering over the police headquarters at the same time that Tenzin and Team Avatar were fighting the Equalist's mecha tanks. After Hiroshi Sato, who was present on the airship with Amon, expressed his disgust at seeing his daughter fighting alongside benders, Amon told 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. Amon offered Lin the chance to keep her bending by telling him where Korra was, but at Lin's refusal, he proceeded to take away her bending.

Personality
Amon appears to be a calm and composed individual, but beyond that much of his personality is unknown, as are his motivations aside for word of mouth claims. He has a severe abhorrence toward benders and he appears to be a staunch believer in what he views as equality and affectionately refers to his followers as "brothers and sisters".



He is clever and calculating, as well as a convincing orator. He has a disturbing degree of skill at public speaking, knowing how to mystify and terrify his audiences and enemies alike, creating loyalty with each word, resulting in having a 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 appears to be cautious and calculating, always prepared for direct confrontation with opponents. However, he has often displayed utter fearlessness, such as when dealing with Tarrlok and when almost blasted by Korra's firebending. This would normally show the nature of a strong willed individual. However, he has far more often shown an extreme unwillingness to take any manner of personal risk, even the most minor. Even when facing Tarrlok, it was simply because his minions had been disabled by the bloodbender. He even refused to be anywhere near an unrestrained or disabled Korra, even though she was imprisoned, and paused in alarm when the Avatar appeared, but even after she had escaped, Amon maintained his calm demeanor as he berated his subordinates for underestimating her after his warning.

Abilities


Amon has shown himself to be a very skilled, agile and nimble fighter; his superior agility allows him to maneuver himself gracefully to the extent of being able to dodge lightning at close range. His knowledge of chi blocking is powerful, making him dangerous to benders. He has also demonstrated the ability to take away a person's bending, seemingly permanently, an ability that remains shrouded in mystery. No medical intervention has been able to restore one's bending as of yet. Amon is able to resist bloodbending, which is normally only possible for waterbenders with some knowledge of the dark art or an Avatar in the Avatar State. However, he is not completely immune to it, as he struggled momentarily when Tarrlok focused solely on him, and overcoming it only when Tarrlok panicked. The nature of this is as mysterious and uncertain as his anti-bending ability.

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 mysterious skills and abilities to remove bending from the following people:


 * Lightning Bolt Zolt
 * Shady Shin
 * Triple Threat Triad member wearing green
 * Triple Threat Triad member wearing brown
 * Tahno
 * Ming
 * Shaozu
 * Four officers of the Metalbending Police Force
 * Metalbender officer
 * Tarrlok
 * Lin Beifong

Trivia

 * Like several other characters, Amon was revealed on July 23, 2011 at San Diego Comic-Con.
 * Amon's mask has both significant color and cultural symbolism. In Chinese opera, gold is associated with deception and aggressiveness, while red is a positive color, linking his desire for a better world for non-benders with his violent methods to acquire it. White is also the color of death in Asia.
 * The red circle on Amon's mask is also 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 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.
 * The name Amon is very similar to Amun-Ra, the King of Gods in early Egyptian mythology, who is associated with hidden things and the unknown.
 * Amun-Ra's ascent to the egyptian pantheon also coincides with a time when the egyptians were opressed under Hyksos rule, just as Amon is venerated due to the opression of non-benders.
 * Amon is the seventh evil spirit listed in "Ars Goetia" in The Lesser Key of Solomon. He is said to be a Marquis of Hell.
 * Among the demons representing the seven deadly sins in mythology or classical literature, the name Amon is associated with the inner demons of wrath.
 * However, the only sources that list Amon as a demon (both french grimoires) attribute him lorshi over reconciling friendships (see Ars Goetia), making the name ironic at best.
 * Amon states that benders have started every war in every era. That would be an error considering the war between the villages of Oma and Shu which subsequently led to, and thus it took place before, the origin of earthbending.
 * Ironically, Amon is a non-bender that started a war between benders and non-benders, contradicting his claims.
 * From Amon's point of view benders have started the war against non-benders. Like most warmongers he defines his violence as deffence.
 * Amon is the name of the second deadliest pressure point in the human body. Located on the back of the neck near the base of the brain stem. A precise strike can be fatal.
 * Amon of Judah was the name of a king recalled in the Bible. Amon is most remembered for his heretic practices while king, which led to a revolt against him and his subsequent assassination.
 * Amon sounds similar to the term Anon - short for Anonymous, people who post on image boards that do not require registration (*chan), an internet movement, and/or concept of anonymous activists who protest political injustice. They often use a Guy Fawkes mask as a symbol for the movement and as a disguise, which is similar to the mask Amon uses.
 * Amon's outfit bears a resemblance to Dr. Doom, a villain from Marvel comics. Amon also has similarities to V from V For Vendetta, both being masked revolutionaries who had their faces burned by fire, as well as masters at manipulation.
 * Amon 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.
 * Much like Zuko, his face was scarred by a firebender.
 * Amon is the only known person who is not an Avatar to have the ability to permanently remove someone's bending. Noticeably, while similar to energybending, Amon's ability is normally performed from behind his target with his left hand at the back of the neck whereas Aang's ability was performed in front with his left hand at the target's chest.
 * Amon is the only person known to be capable of resisting bloodbending without having advanced waterbending skills or access to the Avatar State.
 * Amon has drawn many parallels to Makoto Shishio, an antagonist from the Rurouni Kenshin series, who is also voiced by Steve Blum. Both characters assembled militias to overthrow the government and institute new jurisdiction. Although Shishio wanted to create a society governed by natural selection where only the strong survive, in stark contrast, Amon seeks to stop the strong from taking advantage of the weak. Most of Shishio’s skin was burnt off and, much like Amon, his face is covered throughout the majority of the series.
 * Coincidentally, a pressure point around where Amon touches on the back of the neck when taking a person's bending is actually called Amon.