| "I've done more traveling and seen more action in six months as the Jasmine Dragon's official tea discoverer than I did in five years as a bounty hunter. And I wouldn't have it any other way. Retirement suits me." |
| — June to Iroh about her new career.[1] |
June was a bounty hunter who traveled around the Earth Kingdom and Fire Nation. Of all the bounty hunters in the world, she was the best and most expensive of her time. She was a mercenary and had no allegiance to any nation, only to the highest bidder for her services.[3]
She was a confident and self-assured woman who possessed a dry, sarcastic wit. She was also considered beautiful, in a dangerous sort of way, and had incredible physical strength. June would arm wrestle men in bars on a bet, before squandering her winnings on a round of drinks. June wore a band with a skull motif around her top-knot.
She tracked her prey with the help of her mount, Nyla, a shirshu. Though blind, it saw by means of its powerful scent receptors, reportedly sensitive enough to "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 toxins to stun them.
Quick Answers
What made June the most expensive bounty hunter of her time in "Avatar: The Last Airbender"?
How does June's neutrality shape her character in Avatar?
How did June come to own her shirshu, Nyla?
How does June's physical strength compare to other characters in "Avatar: The Last Airbender"?
History[]
Early life[]
June's family was torn apart when her mother stayed behind to delay a raid by Earth Kingdom security forces.
June originated from the Earth Kingdom.[3] Her parents were an unusual couple, as her mother was an infamous thief who had been first captured and then rescued by her father, an Earth Kingdom soldier turned bounty hunter. In her childhood, June loved to listen to her parents' stories, in particular of how they fell in love after her father understood her mother's cause. One day, soldiers discovered them, June's mother telling them to flee, as his punishment for being a deserter would be more severe than hers, telling June to be free.[1]
Now alone with her father, she spent much time traveling with him. It was from him that she adopted the tracking and fighting skills she employed. June's father received a shirshu from a rare animal collector in payment for a bounty, and gave it to her. The shirshu, named Nyla, became June's inseparable companion.[3] She and her father both swore to never owe allegiance to no one and never represent any government authority.[1]
Hunting and aiding the Avatar[]
June successfully captured her target with Nyla's help.
Early in 100 AG, June tracked a fleeing target who had stowed on board Zuko's ship and captured him while inflicting mild damage to the ship. Iroh developed an immediate interest in her while Zuko was angered, though quietly impressed, with her proficiency and skill. After finding the huntress, 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 content to feign paralysis simply to get close and hold her. Although the act clearly annoyed her, she could not do anything about it.[4]
At summer's end, a reformed Zuko and Team Avatar went in search of her hoping to use her shirshu to find the unaccounted-for Aang. Initially, June was not interested until Zuko gave her some encouragement, mentioning "the end of the world". However, Aang's scent could not be found, as if he did not exist.[2] 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 wished the group good luck before riding off.[5]
Changing careers[]
After the Hundred Year War, Zuko hired June in one of his many attempts to track down his long lost mother; to no avail.[6] Later, she was hired to kidnap Iroh from Ba Sing Se by Keung, a former subordinate of his during the Siege of Ba Sing Se, and bring him to Daxia. En route to Daxia, she explained to Iroh that bounty hunting was becoming a harder profession after the end of the war, following reforms set by Earth King Kuei, as well as further world civilization. June wanted to remain committed to her craft, refusing to turn on fellow bounty hunters and turn them over to authorities, one of the few easy ways to remain in the profession.[1]
Upon arrival at Daxia, June met up with former associates, including Fan, who had transitioned to farming and agriculture, wishing to give back to the struggling community, much to June's shock. Having collected her bounty on Iroh, she felt that Keung's desire for Iroh to die in atonement for abandoning his unit during the Siege was unjustified, as Iroh was a different person now. After talking to her former associates, reflecting on the difficulty of changing and learning from one's mistakes, June used her collected bounty to hire them to rescue Iroh.[1]
After freeing Iroh, June decided for a career change, and was hired by Iroh to procure rare teas for the Jasmine Dragon, which allowed her to remain travelling, an aspect of bounty hunting she could continue to enjoy. Six months into the job, she deemed it more exciting than her last five years as a bounty hunter.[1]
Personality[]
In June's profession, she had to mix with a variety of people from unsavory to low life as well as regular characters. Her determination, resolve and superior physical strength 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.[4][2]
A fearless woman who was rarely misunderstood, June was also confident and decisive, though occasionally sassy. While she was often dark and uncaring,[4] 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.[2]
Abilities[]
June and Nyla tracked Aang and his friends to the abbey.
June was a professional bounty hunter and an experienced shirshu rider. Despite her slender frame, she was also deceptively strong, as she was able to effortlessly defeat a muscular man in an arm-wrestling match[4] and lift up a grown man.[4] Additionally, June proved to be a formidable fighter, as she demonstrated amazing speed, hand-to-hand combat skills, and evasiveness. She was able to defeat multiple opponents before a cup she was drinking from, which she had thrown in the air, hit the ground.[2] She was also known to be skilled in using the whip.
Relatives[]
Appearances[]
Avatar: The Last Airbender[]
Book One: Water (水)[]
- 115. "Bato of the Water Tribe"
Book Three: Fire (火)[]
- 318. "Sozin's Comet, Part 1: The Phoenix King" (no lines)
- 319. "Sozin's Comet, Part 2: The Old Masters"
Graphic novels[]
Trivia[]
- In "Bato of the Water Tribe", June treated Nyla harshly, but in "Sozin's Comet, Part 2: The Old Masters", she treated him much more kindly, calling him her "snuffly wuffly".
June and Nyla were drawn chibi-style for their appearance in School Time Shipping.
- June was featured in the Super Deformed Short School Time Shipping with her shirshu, Nyla.
- June's design was inspired by staff writer Lisa Yang, and her shirshu's name Nyla is also the name of Yang's Rottweiler.[7][8][9]
- Iroh appeared to have a small crush on her.[4]
- By the time Team Avatar met up with June, she and Nyla had been together for more than seventeen years.[10]
- A cut concept for the invasion storyline in Book Three involved June tracking down and recruiting Team Avatar's allies such as the mechanist.[11]