Aang
Aang is a male animated character who features in Avatar: The Last Airbender.
Contents |
Biography
Aang (Chinese: 安昂; pinyin: Ān Áng)
During his childhood, he was housed, raised and educated at the Southern Air Temple where he was placed under the guardianship of Monk Gyatso who served as a parental figure, counsellor and tutor. In these years, Aang came to be a member of the Air Scouts where he learnt essential skill that included tying the reins of a bison's horns with a bison horn knot. (Episode: The Southern Air Temple) He was then brought before the elders where he was informed that he was actually the latest reincarnation of the Avatar. At first, Aang did not believe the monks but their findings were confirmed. Monk Gyaso was assigned the role of continuing to be the Avatar's guardian. Typically, they informed the Avatar when he was older but tensions in the world meant that they felt that they needed to inform Aang of his heritage earlier than planned. (Episode: The Storm) The revelation that he was the Avatar caused Aang to be sad for a time though Gyatso worked to cheer his charge up. (Episode: The Southern Air Temple) From the day onwards, Aang felt a change in his life as his lessons became more strict and his friends stopped playing with him. One day, he spied on a meeting among the head monks who believed Gyaso was holding back the Avatar's training. They decided to take the Avatar from his care and send him to the Northern Air Temple instead. Upon hearing this, Aang could not cope with the duties of being the Avatar and fled the temple without telling anyone as he ran away from his home. (Episode: The Storm)
For a century, he remained within the iceberg until siblings Katara and Sokka from the Southern Water Tribe discovered him. (Episode: The Boy in the Iceberg) After being freed from the ice, he quickly befriended the pair and went to their village as he came to learn more about the world. From Aang's perspective, it was only days since he was frozen but he began to learn that a hundred years had passed with the world having been greatly changed. This was because the Fire Nation was now posed to take over the world with their armies. During this time, his activities drew the attention of Prince Zuko who was a disgraced member of the royal family and son of the Fire Lord Ozai where he planned to capture the Avatar in order to restore his position in the imperial court. (Episode: The Avatar Returns)
While helping rid Senlin Village of Hei Bai, a spirit that was destroying their village, Aang crossed over to the Spirit World where he met Fang, the animal guide of his predecessor, Avatar Roku. He was instructed to visit the Avatar Temple on Crescent Island during the winter solstice so he could talk with Avatar Roku. (Episode: The Spirit World)
Despite a confrontation with most of the Fire Sages, whose loyalty had turned from the Avatar to the Fire Lord, Aang managed to speak with Roku, who warned him about the impending arrival of Sozin's Comet, which would grant the Fire Nation enough power to win the war. (Episode: Winter Solstice)
Roku urged Aang to master the three remaining elements before summer's end when the comet was due to arrive, or no one would ever be able to restore balance to the world. (Episode: Winter Solstice)
With the knowledge of the comet's impending arrival, the weight of his duty increasingly agitated Aang. To help relieve his predicament, they landed near a river in front of a waterfall where Katara offered to begin training him in the art of waterbending. Aang quickly undressed to his red briefs, but Katara told him to remember the reason they were there. Sokka asked what he was supposed to do and Aang told him to clean mud and bugs out of Appa's toes. Katara taught Aang some of her waterbending skills, only to find Aang was faster and better at learning the techniques that took her a long time to learn, causing her to grow jealous. Aang's waterbending eventually caused all their supplies to wash downstream, and the group was forced to head to a port market to buy new supplies. (Episode: The Waterbending Scroll)
When Aang was later captured by Admiral Zhao, Zuko came to his aid under the identity of the Blue Spirit, freeing the former so that he could capture the Avatar himself. (Episode: The Blue Spirit)
Aang, Sokka, and Katara continued their travels to the Northern Water Tribe, while developing a tighter bond, as Aang began to develop a crush for Katara. Upon the group's arrival at the Northern Water Tribe, Aang was displeased to learn that the waterbending master, Pakku, would not teach Katara due to the law barring women learning combative waterbending, and was instead instructed to heal. However, she was able to change Pakku's mind, and they both began to learn from him. Zhao commanded an attack on the Northern Water Tribe with a large fleet of ships. (Episode: The Waterbending Master)
At Princess Yue's suggestion, Aang decided to seek the guidance of the Ocean and Moon Spirits, patrons of the Northern Water Tribe. Aang learned through a spirit named Koh that the spirits existed in the mortal world, but his physical self had been captured by Zuko while he was in the Spirit World. Aang's friends managed to rescue him, but not before Zhao arrived at the Spirit Oasis and killed the Moon Spirit, who was the source of power for waterbenders. Determined not to fail the Water Tribe, Aang merged with the Ocean Spirit and proceeded to annihilate the Fire Nation ships, winning the battle and forcing them to retreat. (Episode: The Siege of the North)
While journeying to the Earth Kingdom via a Water Tribe ship, Aang dreamt that he was in the Avatar State, but he was outside his body, witnessing his destructive attacks firsthand. Seeing this frightened the young Avatar and he awoke with a start. Aang, Katara, and Sokka parted ways with the Water Tribe citizens accompanying them and set off for Omashu where Aang would learn earthbending from King Bumi. Aang and the team traveled to a military base from where they would be escorted to the metropolis. They met Fong, an Earth Kingdom general who believed Aang was wasting time mastering the elements. He devised a plan to trigger the Avatar State whose power would enable Aang to defeat the Fire Lord. Feeling guilty because of the casualties of the Hundred Year War, Aang agreed. First, they tried using a stimulant tea which induced a state of hyperactivity in Aang. Next, Sokka attempted to scare him into the Avatar State by making it seem as if Momo's head had replaced his own. Lastly, they tried by creating a mixture comprising of the four elements which was subsequently thrown onto Aang. However, the mixture ended up simply being mud that merely caused Aang to sneeze on everyone. Aang came to realize that he should not try to trigger his Avatar State. Hoping that Fong would understand, Aang confronted him, but Fong foolishly tried to trigger the Avatar State by ordering his troops to attack the Avatar. When that failed, Fong used his earthbending to bury Katara. This enraged Aang, who fell under the Avatar State. Although initially overjoyed at his success, Fong quickly realized the error of his ways; he tried to explain that he had faked Katara's death in order to induce the Avatar State. However, Aang used a powerful wave of earthbending to defeat Fong and his troops. He was subdued only when Avatar Roku communicated to him during the battle, briefly taking him into the Spirit World. Roku explained that the Avatar State empowered the Avatar with the skills and knowledge of all his past lives. While in the Avatar State, Aang was at his most powerful, but also at his most vulnerable. Should an Avatar die while in this state, Roku warned, the Avatar Cycle would die with it and the Avatar would cease to exist. With the explanation completed, Roku returned Aang to his body. Having regained his senses, Aang saw the damage that he had caused and felt ashamed. General Fong, on the other hand, was overjoyed that Aang had entered the Avatar State and suggested that they begin finding a way to control the Avatar State. Sokka knocked Fong out before he could proceed with his idea, and the group left for Omashu without an escort. (Episode: The Avatar State)
Overview
Personality and attributes
In appearance, Aang was a twelve-year-old Air Nomad boy with a lean build, gray eyes, and a shaved head marked by blue arrow tattoos running from his forehead down his back, arms, and legs — symbols of his status as an airbending master. He typically wore orange and yellow Air Nomad robes with brown boots, carrying a collapsible wooden staff that doubled as a glider. When in the Avatar State, Aang’s tattoos and eyes glowed with intense white-blue light, signaling the full channeling of his Avatar power.
Aang was cheerful, playful, and often mischievous, displaying the free-spirited nature of the Air Nomads. Despite this lightheartedness, he carried the heavy burden of being the last surviving airbender and the Avatar. His aversion to violence was rooted in Air Nomad pacifism, leading him to seek peaceful solutions wherever possible. However, when pushed to defend others, Aang fought with determination and skill, guided by his compassion for his friends and his desire to restore balance to the world.
Aang was a skilled player in the airbending game of Airball. (Episode: The Storm)
He came to instinctually known that the Firebender Avatar Roku was one of his previous incarnations. (Episode: The Southern Air Temple)
After the revelation of him being the Avatar, Aang somewhat resented the role being placed on him as he noticed that other people tended to treat him differently. He noticed that the other children stopped playing with him as they felt that it was an unfair advantage to whichever team he joined in a game. This combined with hearing the Air Nomads thinking of separating him from Gyaso that led to him running away. (Episode: The Storm)
Whilst at the Southern Air Temple, Aang had a father-figure in Monk Gyatso who looked after him as a boy and helped raise him. A century later, he came to learn that the kind monk was killed by Fire Nation soldiers with this greatly upsetting Aang. (Episode: The Southern Air Temple)
A century ago, one of his friends he made was a boy named Kuzon who was from the Fire Nation with the two often getting into mischief together. (Episode: The Blue Spirit)
Powers and abilities
In powers, Aang was a natural master airbender, skilled in creating powerful gusts, whirlwinds, and protective air shields, as well as using his glider for enhanced mobility. As the Avatar, he held the potential to master all four elements: water, earth, fire, and air. Though initially limited to airbending, he demonstrated the ability to enter the Avatar State, tapping into immense spiritual and elemental power far beyond his age or training. His combat style emphasized speed, agility, and redirection, making him highly evasive and difficult to overpower even against multiple enemies.
One of the sports practiced by Airbenders that he was familiar with was 'Airball. (Episode: The Southern Air Temple)
He later came to learn the martial art of firebending from Zuko. (Episode: The Firebending Masters)
Notes
- Aang was created by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko whilst he was voiced by voice actor Zach Tyler Eisen and featured in the setting of Avatar: The Last Airbender.
- On IGN, an interview with co-creator Michael Dante DiMartino who noted, "There's an air guy along with these water people trapped in a snowy wasteland...and maybe some fire people are pressing down on them...."
In other media
Films
- In The Last Airbender, Aang appeared in the setting of the 2010 live-action film where he was portrayed by actor Noah Ringer.
Video games
- In Avatar: The Last Airbender, Aang appeared as a playable character in the setting of the video game.
Appearances
- Avatar: The Last Airbender:
- The Legend of Korra:
External Links
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