June

"earth"

- Make it your weight and we got a deal.

June was a bounty hunter who traveled around the Earth Kingdom. She was a mercenary and had no allegiance to any nation, only to the highest bidder for her services.

She was confident and self-assured, possessed a dry sarcastic wit, considered quite beautiful in a dangerous sort of way and had incredible physical strength. June would arm wrestle men in bars on a bet, then squander her winnings on a round of drinks. June wore a band around her top-knot with a skull adornment.

She hunted her prey with the help of her mount, a giant beast called a shirshu. Though blind, the shirshu, Nyla, "saw" by means of its powerful scent receptors, and June claimed it could "smell a rat a continent away". To capture her targets June depended on her shirshu to use its long whip-like tongue coated in paralyzing neurotoxins to immobilize them.

History
June originated from the Earth Kingdom where she spent her childhood traveling with her father, who was also a bounty hunter. It was from him that she adopted the tracking and fighting skills she has employed. June received the shirshu she now owns from her father when she was just a child. A rare animal collector once took the shirshu when it was an infant and later gave it to June's father as payment for a bounty, who then later gave it to her. The two have grown up together for over seventeen years.



Early in 100 ASC, June tracked a fleeing target who had stowed on board Zuko's ship and captured him, inflicting mild damage to the ship in the process. Iroh developed an immediate interest in her while Zuko was angered, though quietly impressed, with her proficiency and skill. Tracking her down afterwards, they employed her to track down Aang by following his trail after obtaining Katara's scent from her necklace. They successfully found Aang at a nearby abbey where she was largely occupied with an angry Appa. Eventually Nyla was blinded by a large quantity of perfume that Katara had waterbent over it. As the shirshu lashed out in confusion, June and Zuko were both temporarily paralyzed. Iroh caught and supported her and was quite content to feign paralysis simply to get close and hold her. Although the act clearly annoyed her, she could not do anything about it.

Much later, a reformed Zuko and Team Avatar went in search of her hoping to use her shirshu to find a currently missing Aang; unfortunately, Aang's scent could not be found, because according to June, it was as if Aang did not exist on the planet as he was on the lion turtle at the time. Instead Zuko suggested they search for Iroh, hoping he would know; she soon led them outside the broken walls of Ba Sing Se, saying that Iroh was just on the other side of the large pile of debris and with her job complete, she gave a final farewell to the group and rode off.

Personality
In June's profession she must mix with a variety of people from unsavory to low life as well as regular characters. Her determination, resolve and superior physical strength have enabled her to get the job done in the toughest of assignments. June's character along with her shirshu's abilities made her a force to be reckoned with - a fearless and non-fragile woman who was rarely misunderstood. June was also confident and decisive; although she seemed dark and uncaring, she did not ask for payment from Zuko when he said that the world would be destroyed and needed her help, proving that loyalty to her pocket was not the only consideration, although since she was in the Earth Kingdom at the time it may just have been self-preservation.

Abilities


June was a professional bounty hunter. She was an experienced shirshu rider, who knew how to ride it when it leaped and ran great heights and distances. June was also known to be skilled in using the whip. In addition, she was very strong which had been demonstrated by her effortlessly defeating a muscular man, who struggled terribly against her in their arm-wrestling match. Further proof of her brute strength was lifting up two men; the first being the stowaway and the other being the man whom she was fighting when Team Avatar, with the exception of Aang and Momo, came looking for her. She was shown to be able to defeat opponents before a cup she was drinking from hit the ground. June proved to be a formidable fighter, as she demonstrated amazing speed, hand-to-hand combat, and evasion.

Trivia

 * Even though she appeared in only three episodes ("Bato of the Water Tribe", "Sozin's Comet, Part 1: The Phoenix King", and "Sozin's Comet, Part 2: The Old Masters"), June became quite popular among fans, something the creators of Avatar (half-jokingly) noted.
 * June was featured in the Super Deformed Shorts "School Time Shipping" with her shirshu, Nyla.
 * Even though June was from the Earth Kingdom, she was frequently thought to be from the Fire Nation.
 * June's voice actress, Jennifer Hale, also voiced Avatar Kyoshi.
 * June continually teased Zuko and Katara about being boyfriend and girlfriend much to their frustration.
 * In "Bato of the Water Tribe", June treated Nyla very harshly, but in "Sozin's Comet, Part 2: The Old Masters", she treated him much more kindly, calling it her "snuffly wuffly". The reason for the difference in treatment is a matter of speculation, though it could be that June treated Nyla harshly because they were working on capturing the Avatar and she wanted Nyla to do its best.




 * There has been some confusion among fans whether her name should be spelled "June" or "Jun". "Jun" is a more authentic Japanese name, used in many anime. However, the credits and Nickelodeon website both spell the Avatar character's name as "June".
 * The name June comes from English meaning "The first month of summer". This month was named after Juno, the ancient Roman goddess and queen of the gods.
 * June's design was based on staff member Lisa Yang, and her shirshu's name Nyla is also the name of Yang's Rottweiler.
 * Iroh appeared to have a little crush on her.
 * June resembles Lian, the Maker from Avatar: The Last Airbender video game.
 * A seeming nod to June's toughness could be seen in her bar room antics, where she arm wrestled a man bearing striking resemblance to Ryu, the protagonist of the Street Fighter series of video games.
 * There has been rumors by fans that June could be Asami's grandmother as they both dress in dark clothing, wear lipstick and are non-benders.