20 "Avatar: The Last Airbender" Facts You Probably Haven't Heard About

Zutara was ACTUALLY supposed to be a thing?!?!

20. Each Book Starts On A Ship And Features Aang Waking Up

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Season 1 is Katara and Sokka on a rowboat accidentally discovering Aang and breaking him out of his ice prison where he wakes up and abroad their ship. Season 2 it’s Master Pakku’s ship and Aang is awakening after his jaunt in the Avatar State. Season 3 is Aang on a Fire Nation ship waking up after his near-death from Azula

19. Toph Was Originally Designed As A Bulky, Sighted Man

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When Toph was first being designed, she was envisioned as male. At one stage she was a teenage boy, at another, she was a bulky adult. Those latter mock-ups would later factor into the looks of a few other characters, but the pitch to make her a small, blind girl originally started as a pipe-dream.

18. Jet Passed Away Off-Screen

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When Long Feng — the head of the Dai Li — twisted Jet's mind and tried to make him destroy the Avatar, Jet tried to fight it off and attacked Long Feng instead. Unfortunately, it didn't work out as expected, and Jet ended up being at the receiving end of a fatal blow. Since Avatar is a kids show, after all, his demise had to be handled off-screen.

17. Azula Had To Be Held In A Mental Institution After The Events Of Avatar: The Last Airbender

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Between losing the battle to Katara and Zuko, Mai and Ty Lee turning their back on her, the feeling that she is not loved by her mother, and having Ozai as a father drives Azula off the deep end, and she absolutely loses her sanity, which forces Zuko to place her in a mental institution

16. The Fate Of Zuko’s Mother Was Revealed In The Comics

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After the show didn't give closure on what happened to Zuko's mother, the books picked up the torch and told the rest of Ursa’s story. It’s revealed that she was the one who made the poison that killed her father-in-law so that her husband could take to the throne. From there, she travels home and is gifted a new face and life by a mystical being. Eventually, she has a new child, encounters Azula, and even confronts Ozai while he’s imprisoned.

15. Zuko Might Not Actually Be Ozai's Son In The First Place

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After all, it wouldn't be a stretch to say that Ursa never really snuffed out her love with Ikem, and the two ended up giving birth to Zuko. Since Ozai didn't want to be humiliated by his wife's affairs, he decided to hide this fact completely and raised Zuko as he would his own child. That would explain why Zuko was the target of his father's rage while Azula went scot-free.

14. Bosco Was Eaten By The Earth Queen Hou-Ting

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It turned out that the Earth Queen Hou-Ting absolutely hated animals. In order to show everyone just how despicable animals actually were, she decided to straight-up digest a defenseless Bosco as a way to establish her dominance and show the kingdom just how badly she despised animals. Holy crap.

13. Uncle Iroh Almost Betrayed Zuko

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There isn’t a more likable character in the series than Uncle Iroh, so it’s hard to imagine that the series finale ended with him stabbing his favorite nephew, prince Zuko, in the back. Originally in the series, Iroh was supposed to betray Zuko, acting as a double agent that would have been a major plot twist in the animated series. Thankfully, the writers finished the series with the happy ending Uncle Iroh deserved

12. The Story Has Continued As Comic Books

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For fans hoping to spend more time with the Aang Gang, however, their story has continued in a number of comics and graphic novels.

11. Only Water Bending Wasn’t Taught By An Animal

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Toph learns how to Earthbend from badger moles. Aang confirms that the sky bison taught the monks how to Airbend. Firebending, meanwhile, was taught to humans by dragons

Waterbending, by contrast, was taught by the moon. While still a natural force, it does break the chain a bit. Of course, it could be that the moon spirit, a coy fish, taught the first Waterbenders.

10. Azula Was Meant To Have An Arranged Marriage

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According to the showrunners, during Book Three, Azula was actually meant to have an arranged marriage.

Why this was a good idea is anybody's guess — after all, one of the main aspects of Azula's character was the fact that she was a woman who would do anything she wanted, when she wanted. Watching someone so independent having to be constricted by the chains of an arranged marriage would've spelled disaster for her character. Thankfully, this idea was completely scrapped.

9. Ursa Was Also Forced Into Marrying Ozai

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Ursa and Ozai didn't exactly have a great marriage — just read The Promise to get a good idea of just how dysfunctional this relationship was. However, how did things get so bad if they managed to fall in love, in the first place? Well, that's the thing — Ursa never really married Ozai out of love, but because of a duty that she was expected to fulfill. Which meant she had to abandon Ikem, who was the actual love of her life.

8. Zuko Forced Aang Into A Promise To End Him If He Becomes Like His Father

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After unseating Fire Lord Ozai from his throne, Zuko chose to rule with compassion, a trait that his father lacked. However, fearing that he might transform into his father, he made Aang forcefully promise him to end his life if he became too tyrannical.

7. The Last Lion Turtle Passed Away After Giving Aang The Ability To Energybend

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When Aang happens to meet the last Lion Turtle near the end of the series, he receives the ability to energybend. However, what's never mentioned later on is the fate of this last Lion Turtle. It wouldn't be a stretch to say that he decided to live out the rest of his days in seclusion, before perishing.

6. The Show Used A Real Fight Choreographer

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5. Lake Laogai Is Based On An Actual Chinese Labor Camp

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Lake Laogai is based on an actual Chinese phrase, which is short for the word Láodòng Gǎizào and means "reform through labor." Though hypnosis wasn’t part of it, brutal labor and treatment led to a form of brainwashing, along with many deaths.

4. Monk Gyatso Is Named After The Dalai Lama

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3. Momo Was Supposed To Be A Reincarnation Of Monk Gyatso

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The creators actually wanted Monk Gyatso to play a bigger role in the story of Aang's development, so Monk Gyatso's spirit was supposed to be reborn... as a lemur bat in the form of Momo. Yeah, you read that right — for some reason, the showrunners thought that having a wise person like Gyatso come back as an insignificant creature was the right move to make.

2. Sokka Was Meant To Be Serious, And Nowhere Near As Funny

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It's hard to think of Sokka as anything more than a character meant solely for comedic relief. This is why it might surprise you that Sokka was meant to be one of the more serious characters in series. However, the voice actor of Sokka was Jack DeSena, a person known for his comedic mettle in Nickelodeon's All That, who decided to add his own spin to how the character would sound and act. His performance impressed the creators of the show, who decided to adopt his version of Sokka into the final product.

1. And finally, Katara And Zuko Were Supposed To End Up Together

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This is for all you Zutara shippers out there. Many of the creatives behind the show, long planned for Zuko and Katara to finally fall in love.

Given the age gap between Aang and Katara and the more obvious nature of them ending up together, the plan for a long time was to put the Waterbender and the Firebender in a relationship. Even the voice actors for each character have publicly stated that they believe their characters have feelings for one another, but that ultimately their love was unfulfilled.

Even before Zuko, Aang didn’t stand a chance, as the male version of Toph was originally conceived of as a love interest for Katara.

Which one of these facts was the most surprising? Tell us in the comments below!

Some facts may have been edited for length and/or clarity.