Iroh (United Forces general)

   

This article is about the general of the United Forces. For other similar uses, see Iroh (disambiguation).

"Tell her we will be arriving in three days' time and that I look forward to winning back Republic City, together."

— Iroh relaying a message to Korra.

Iroh
Biographical information
Ethnicity	Fire Nation
Age	36 in Book One: Air 37 in Book Two: Spirits 40 in Book Four: Balance
Born	134 AG
Physical description
Eye color	Amber
Hair color	Black
Skin color	Light tan
Personal information
Allies	Fire Nation, Izumi, his sister, Zuko, United Forces, Bumi, Tenzin, Team Avatar, United Republic, Gommu
Enemies	Amon, Hiroshi Sato, Equalists, Unalaq, Kuvira, military of the Earth Empire
Weapon of choice	Fire, lightning
Fighting styles	Firebending, lightning generation
Political information
Profession	Military official
Position	Firebending master General of the United Forces Prince of the Fire Nation United Forces general
Affiliation	Fire Nation Royal Family United Forces
Chronological information
First appearance	"Turning the Tides"
Voiced by	Dante Basco
Image gallery (15)

Iroh is the youngest general in United Forces history, the son of Fire Lord Izumi, the grandson of Lord Zuko, and the grandnephew of Azula and Kiyi. A firebending master and skilled military leader, Iroh played a crucial role in the battle for Republic City in 170 AG, in which he fought on despite losing his fleet.

Quick Answers

Who is the voice actor for General Iroh in "The Legend of Korra"?

Dante Basco, who also voiced Zuko in "Avatar: The Last Airbender", voiced General Iroh.

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What is the relationship between General Iroh and Zuko?

General Iroh, who is Zuko's grandson, holds his grandfather in high esteem and often seeks his guidance, much like Zuko did with his own Uncle Iroh. This relationship is so influential that General Iroh even bases his decisions on Zuko's words, such as respecting the Avatar's instincts, a principle Zuko upheld. This deep bond is a testament to the enduring legacy of Zuko's wisdom and the respect he commanded from his descendants.

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How did General Iroh become the youngest general in the United Forces' history?

From an early point, Iroh wanted to embark on a career as a military officer. Inspired by the tales of his namesake and his grandfather Zuko cooperating with the other nations, as well as feeling the draw of the ocean, Iroh volunteered to serve on an infamous fleet of Northern Water Tribe vessels, with a reputation for teaching various forms of seafaring espionage. This experience allowed him to learn unfamiliar martial arts and survival skills, with his indefatigable attitude earning him the respect of his crewmates. Upon completing his training, he joined the United Forces and quickly rose through the ranks due to his cosmopolitan education, eventually becoming the youngest general in the history of the military.

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What led General Iroh to choose a career as a military officer?

From an early point, Iroh wanted to embark on a career as a military officer. Defying public expectations, however, he opted to leave the Fire Islands and volunteered to serve on a Northern Water Tribe fleet, learning many useful skills in the process. After completing his service at the Northern Water Tribe, he joined the United Forces and rose to the rank of general.

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History

Early life

Iroh was born in 134 AG to Fire Lord Izumi. He joined the United Forces, where he became the youngest general in the history of the military and befriended many people, including Commander Bumi.

170 AG

Destruction of the First Division

During the battle for Republic City, Tenzin sent a message to General Iroh requesting the support of the United Forces. The General accepted the request for help, wishing to reclaim Republic City from the Equalists alongside Avatar Korra, and led his fleet of battleships to the city.

Avatar Korra saved Iroh.

Once Iroh and his fleet reached the shores of Republic City, he was surprised at the apparent silence and the fact that there were no Equalists awaiting them on shore despite their knowledge about his arrival. However, the general and his fleet were quickly overwhelmed by a series of naval mines and the new high-speed aircraft fielded by the Equalists. At one point, Iroh himself attacked from the helm of his ship, launching fire blasts at the enemy biplanes; he managed to destroy several until he struck a bomb in midair with his firebending. The resulting explosion catapulted the General overboard and into the ocean, where he was later rescued by Avatar Korra.

Taking Republic City back

General Iroh instructed Gommu to send a message of caution to Commander Bumi, warning him about the Equalists' biplanes.

With his fleet destroyed, Iroh and Team Avatar hid in the sewers of Republic City. While he had his wounds healed by the Avatar, he and the team planned to take out the Equalist airfield. To prevent the second fleet from being destroyed as well, Iroh sent a message to Commander Bumi via former telegraph operator Gommu, telling him to wait with his fleet at Red Sand Island until the airfield was taken out. Korra decided to stay in Republic City to face Amon, although Iroh did not approve of the idea. Korra insisted and Mako decided to stay with her. The General allowed her to stay, stating that his grandfather would have trusted the Avatar's instinct and he should as well.

When Iroh, Asami, and Bolin reached the airfield, despite Asami's confusion over the airfield being surrounded by a fence with no wires, they proceeded anyway and were electroshocked by an electric fence that surrounded the complex. They were caught and subsequently imprisoned, where the group was confronted by Hiroshi Sato, who told them that he had intercepted General Iroh's wire to Bumi and knew exactly where his fleet was hiding. Seeking a means of escaping, the General asked Bolin if he was a metalbender, but he answered that he was not, much to Iroh's disappointment. Naga, however, arrived on the scene shortly afterward and broke the three out of their cell, allowing them to head toward the airstrips.

Iroh propelled himself with firebending.

After escaping, Iroh pursued a taxiing biplane down a runway. By utilizing his firebending in a manner similar to rocket propulsion, he successfully boarded the plane as it took off, hijacked it, and forced the pilot to bail out.

Once inside, Iroh struggled to control the machine; eventually, however, the general gained control of the aircraft and used it to intercept a squadron of five aircraft flying over Republic City. He was able to destroy two airplanes during his initial attack with lightning. Following this, his own biplane was destroyed when an Equalist bola jammed the propellers.

Once again utilizing the rocket propulsion technique, Iroh boarded a second plane, fatally damaging another plane with his firebending before commandeering the biplane. During the fight, Iroh's biplane was damaged by the last aircraft which had dropped a bomb on the tail of his aircraft. As the other biplane prepared to continue the bombing, Iroh used his firebending to detonate the remaining bombs in the attacking plane's bomb bay.

Despite his success, Iroh's airplane was damaged to the extent that it could no longer remain airborne. He unsuccessfully attempted to steer the plane away from Aang Memorial Island and had to bail out, grabbing onto the Equalist banner hanging from the statue of Aang to save himself. Iroh watched as his biplane crashed into the statue's face, causing the giant replica of Amon's mask to fall off into the water. Iroh subsequently thanked Aang for watching over him.

171 AG

Iroh devised a plan to help Korra and the Southern Water Tribe without blatantly going against President Raiko.

Six months after the end of the Anti-bending Revolution, Avatar Korra requested Iroh's help once again to aid the southerners against the Northern Water Tribe. Aware that helping Korra would mean going against President Raiko, Iroh informed her nonetheless that he was willing to help, musing that he could mask it as a routine training session; if he were to take his fleet south and happened to encounter hostile Northern troops, he would have to defend himself. However, in the middle of their meeting, President Raiko boarded the ship, commanding Iroh to remain at the harbor unless he received direct orders from the President stating otherwise. Raiko made it clear that if Iroh were to disobey those orders, he was to be court-martialed. Unable to help Korra out himself, he suggested that she travel to the Fire Nation to talk to his mother, the Fire Lord, as she and his grandfather had always been good friends with the Avatar and the Southern Water Tribe.

During the Harmonic Convergence, Iroh was ordered by President Raiko to protect Republic City. Upon seeing a large incarnate of Unalaq and Vaatu merged, the general ordered his troops to attack him. However, their attempts proved to be futile as the Dark Avatar easily neutralized their attacks, and waterbent the battleships away with a large wave.

174 AG

After Kuvira took control of the Earth Kingdom and planned to attack Republic City, General Iroh erected defensive barriers around the city. While eleven of his battleships were stationed at Yue Bay, he brought his ground troops to a clearing on the outskirts of the metropolis; having deployed five battalions of foot soldiers, aided by thirty-five mecha tanks in total, he awaited the arrival of Kuvira's army.

Iroh and Korra grew angry upon hearing Kuvira demand the surrender of the United Forces and the Avatar.

A week after their preparations began, General Iroh received a call from Lin Beifong, who alerted him that their previous assumption of Kuvira's arrival still being a week away was wrong and that the attack was happening that day. Avatar Korra joined him at the front line, though Iroh was shocked to witness the arrival of the enormous mecha suit that destroyed his fleet in Yue Bay in a matter of seconds with the spirit energy cannon it carried. When Kuvira aimed her cannon at his infantry, Iroh called President Raiko to confirm if he had the order to engage. His request was denied, however, as the president surrendered the city. Angered about hearing Kuvira demand the surrender of the United Forces and the Avatar as well, he told Korra to retreat to the city before she was spotted by Kuvira and figure out a way to destroy the spirit energy cannon.

When Tokuga and his Triple Threat Triad had a run-in with several dark spirits, Iroh was commanded by President Raiko to set up a perimeter around Republic City's spirit portal. This action was opposed by Korra, who saw it as a way to anger the spirits even more, though Iroh countered that all he wanted was peace, not war. When the Avatar's opinion was backed by Tenzin and Ikki, Iroh suggested that the airbenders took their grievances to Raiko, since he gave the army their orders.

Iroh was later alerted to the Air Nation flying toward the spirit portal on a herd of flying bison. The general ordered his soldiers not to make a move but informed Tenzin that everyone would need to leave. The airbending master raised that the protest was nonviolent and that they would not leave until the United Forces did, to which Iroh reluctantly allowed the protest, although he contacted Raiko and informed him of the situation. When the president arrived at the portal, ordering waterbender soldiers to hose down the airbenders, Iroh advised him to retract the order as the airbenders were not fighting back.

To meet Tokuga's demands and ward off him releasing poisoning gas on the city, Iroh was later ordered by Raiko to withdraw his troops from the portal area to buy them some time until they could bring in a squadron of airplanes to take down Tokuga's airship. Iroh expressed concern for Asami and Wonyong Keum, who were being held hostage aboard the airship, but Raiko cautioned him against questioning a direct order. When Korra arrived at the spirit portal, he informed her about the airplane attack and that she had about five minutes to save Asami before the ship was brought down.

Iroh was later present at the Republic City Four Elements on election night, where he listened to Zhu Li Moon's first speech as President-elect.

Personality

Iroh is a disciplined and determined man, unwilling to give up without a fight. Like his namesake, he is very cautious and methodical in his approach during battle. Furthermore, he has shown great bravery on the field, willing to risk his life to aid his allies without hesitation. Despite his senior rank among the United Forces and his status as a member of the Fire Nation Royal Family, Iroh is a humble man, openly showing his sincere gratitude for other people's assistance. Likewise, Iroh is very loyal to his friends, willing to do whatever is in his power to help so long as it does not outright defy authority.

Abilities

Iroh firing a bolt of lightning.

Iroh has demonstrated great skill in firebending, as shown by his ability to generate lightning and his use of firebending to propel himself through the air with great speed and accuracy, fast enough to catch up with a speeding airplane. He also effectively took down numerous airborne planes with only his bending.

Furthermore, he is a quick learner, as he was able to figure out how to pilot an Equalist biplane despite his lack of experience with them.

Appearances

The Legend of Korra Book One: Air (气) 110. "Turning the Tides" 111. "Skeletons in the Closet" 112. "Endgame" Book Two: Spirits (神靈) 205. "Peacekeepers" 214. "Light in the Dark" Book Four: Balance (平衡) 411. "Kuvira's Gambit" Graphic novel trilogies Turf Wars Part Two Turf Wars Part Three

Relatives

Main article: Fire Nation Royal Family

Yosor

Descendants

Gonryu

Descendants

Huazo

Chaeryu

Sulan

Chaejin

Zoryu

Descendants

Sozin's father

Sozin

Zeisan

Roku

Ta Min

Azulon

Ilah

Rina

Jinzuk

Iroh

Ozai

Ursa

Noren

Lu Ten

Zuko

Azula

Kiyi

Izumi

Iroh

Izumi's daughter

Trivia

• Like his Great-great-uncle Iroh, Iroh also holds the rank of general.
• Iroh has a very close relationship with his grandfather, Zuko.
• Bryan Konietzko referred to Iroh as "Iroh the Younger" and described him as a "swashbuckling hero-type guy".
• Iroh is voiced by Dante Basco, who also voiced his grandfather Zuko in Avatar: The Last Airbender.
  • In the Hebrew and German dub, Iroh is also voiced by the same actor who previously voiced Zuko in Books Two and Three of the original series.
• Iroh is the fourth of seven people to be seen using firebending to propel themselves into the air and the first person to do so in The Legend of Korra; the others were Azula, Jeong Jeong, Ozai, Mako, Wan, and Korra.
• Having destroyed many aircraft, Iroh would be considered a flying ace, that is, a pilot that has shot down five or more enemy aircraft. He also earned it in a single day without any prior experience or training, an incredible feat for a real-world pilot. As such, he would be the first known flying ace in the Avatar world.
• After the initial skirmish following his arrival in Republic City, General Iroh gained a burn scar on his left arm reminiscent of his grandfather Zuko's burn scar.
• The way that Iroh said that if "[his] grandfather would respect the Avatar's instinct, [he should, too]" is very similar to how Zuko would ask himself what his uncle would do.
• The original Iroh and King Bumi worked together in the Order of the White Lotus, much like how Zuko's grandson Iroh and Aang's son Bumi worked together in the United Forces.
• Prior to confirmation of Book Two: Spirits, an initial script for "Endgame" had Iroh present at the Southern Water Tribe compound, as Asami intended to join the United Forces.

References

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