Amon

"neutral"

- 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.

Early life
Amon was born on a small farm to a poor 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 opposed to the art of bending, based in Republic City. They terrorized the city, striving to rid the world of bending.

Accelerating plans
When Korra announced her official relocation to Republic City during a press conference at the 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 removing people's bending in order to make equality a reality. As a demonstration of his great strength, he had his Equalist henchmen bring forth 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 bending, Korra created a distraction by letting out a steam screen 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, as she was plagued by nightmares of him taking away her bending. After he heard 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, alongside a task force, successfully executed a raid on an Equalist training facility in the Dragon Flats district, he was publicly challenged by Korra to a midnight duel on Aang Memorial Island with the condition that the island would be exempt of the task force and chi blockers. Amon didn't 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 to her that he would allow her to keep her bending for the time being, because removing it at that time would make her a martyr and may cause benders from every nation to rally behind her "untimely demise". But he warned a terrified and frightened Korra that he would "save her for last" and finally "destroy her" in their future final 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. His other equalists also helped in this matter using "stun gloves" manufactured by Hiroshi Sato. After giving a speech in front of audience in which telling of his goals to replace the current government with a "fair minded, Equalist government" and partially destroying the arena, Amon is airlifted out of the stadium, narrowly escaping Korra's waterbending and firebending attacks.

Personality
Amon appears to be a calm and composed individual. He has a severe abhorrence towards benders, supposedly blaming them as a whole for the death of his family, his facial disfiguring, and every war that has ever occurred. He is 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 speaker and manipulator. He has a disturbing skill of public speaking, knowing how to mystify and terrify his audiences and enemies alike, creating loyalty and spreading prejudice with each word he says. He seems to have plans for Korra, and has thus far avoided fighting her, letting her escape instead, seeing she would be the perfect one to announce his ability 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 the benders, and unite them globally against his cause.

Abilities
Amon has shown himself to be a very skilled and nimble fighter; his superior agility allows him to maneuver himself gracefully to the extent of being able to dodge lightning. 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. The nature of his ability is unknown, aside for his personal claims and boasts. His claims of mystical power, however, does not hold much water itself. He is also well versed in terrorist tactics, drawing out hatred from non-benders and bestowing fear on benders, always looking for a psychological edge against his opponents and terrorizing and threatening all who go against his plans.

He has also displayed a gift for political strategy, accurately portending that if he took away Korra's bending so early in his revolution that it would only end in Korra becoming a martyr, and that benders across the globe would unite against the Equalist revolt.

Known victims
Amon has utilized his dangerous skills and abilities to permanently remove bending from the following characters:
 * Lightning Bolt Zolt
 * Shady Shin
 * Unnamed man wearing green
 * Tahno
 * Ming
 * Shaozu

Trivia

 * Like several other characters, Amon was revealed on July 23, 2011 at San Diego Comic-Con.
 * Amon may be an English phonetic spelling for "Aman", meaning "peace" in Sanskrit, Malay, and Arabic. 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".
 * The name Amon is very similar to Amun (also known as Amun-Ra), the King of Gods in Egyptian mythology. The spelling "Amon" is also used in some transliterations. Amon is an Egyptian name meaning "hidden", which may refer to his covered face.
 * 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.
 * 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.
 * Amon is also the first name of Amon Goeth, a notorious Nazi officer who was found guilty for murdering tens of thousands of people, in addition to sniping countless others from the balcony of his house overlooking the concentration camp he was in charge of. He was also the primary antagonist in Schindler's List.
 * 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.
 * The red circle on Amon's mask is 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 sounds very similar to 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, much like Mako, Bolin, and Jet lost their parents, and Asami and Katara lost their mothers. His face was also scarred by a firebender, much like Zuko.