Avatar: The Last Airbender characters

Fire Lord Azulon
Azulon was the previous Fire Lord who has so far only appeared in the flashbacks Zuko had in "Zuko Alone." He was the husband to Fire Lady Ilah. He was the father of Fire Lord Ozai and Iroh, and thus grandfather to Prince Zuko, Princess Azula, and Prince Lu Ten. He was the son of Fire Lord Sozin, instigator of the war. Like Iroh, Azulon was apparently a general in the war years before becoming the Fire Lord and once searched for the Avatar as Zuko does now. His granddaughter Azula is named after him. Azulon was the Fire Lord of the Fire Nation for almost twenty-three years until he mysteriously died about six years ago. Fire Lord Azulon ran the Fire Nation much like his father did – with an iron fist, and was a frightening man who demanded perfection. Fire Lord Azulon, like every Fire Lord, was a master Firebender. In his time, he was considered one of the best in the world and no one would dare cross him. Despite his strong leadership, Azulon cared very little for the people of his nation and was more interested in world domination, a quality he passed down to Ozai. Some of his greater military successes included the conquest of the Hu Zin provinces in the Western Earth Kingdom and the Battle of Garsai.

Fire Lord Azulon appears in "Zuko Alone."

Bedouins
More commonly referred to as the "Beetle-headed merchants," these opportunistic, traveling traders primarily dwell within the Si Wong Desert and also pre-date all other tribes of the desert. Legend holds that their distinct beetle-like headpieces date far back to ancient times when their subterraneaous ancestors managed to wistand the attacks of giant Gilacorns by mimicking the appearance of the foul-tasting Sour Beetles, the sole creatures on the desert floor unpalatable to giant lizards. The merchants' flexible nature as well as their ability to see saleable potential in almost anything presented to them makes them every tribe's first choice with whom to trade and swap.

The Bedouins appear in "Appa's Lost Days."

The Boulder
A combatant in the Earth Rumble competition, "The Boulder" is a powerful Earthbender who is a parody of professional wrestlers in general and, more specifically, The Rock as well as being voiced by veteran wrestler Mick Foley. Though his "pro wrestling" stage accent may seem unintelligent, he speaks with a degree of consideration and eloquence that suggests a greater intellect beneath his bombast wrestler facade. He appears to be a decent human being at a base level, but is dedicated to winning and competing in the Earth Rumble tournament. He shows this through his initial reservations about attacking Toph, a twelve year old blind girl, when she confronts him during the final round of Earth Rumble VI.

The Boulder appears in "The Blind Bandit." According to Toph's ransom letter.

Bosco
Bosco, the Earth King's pet bear, is first seen briefly in "City of Walls and Secrets", when a party is being held for him. After that, he isn't seen until "The Earth King", once again with a small appearance. After the Earth King is imprisoned in "The Crossroads of Destiny", Bosco is watched over by Mai and Ty Lee. Sokka and Toph free the Earth King and rescue Bosco. Toph Earthbends Ty Lee's limbs into the ground, and Mai simply isn't interested in fighting and tells them to "just take the bear." He later escapes Ba Sing Se with his owner, along with Aang and his friends.

Bosco is the Italian word for 'forest.' It is also a chocolate syrup brand whose icon is a bear.

Chin the Great
A conqueror and warlord born over 370 years ago, Chin was a ruthless tyrant and managed to take control of most of the Earth Kingdom, save Ba Sing Se in the northeast and the Kyoshi Peninsula in the southwest. When Chin demanded that Avatar Kyoshi surrender her homeland to him, Kyoshi instead split it from the mainland, killing Chin and creating Kyoshi Island. The village of Chin, located at the split of the Kyoshi Peninsula, is named in his honor.

Written in ancient Chinese script, at the base of the Chin the Great statue is his name, (qín wěi), which literally means "Chin--Great". He is named after Qin Shi Huang, the first Emperor of China, for whom the country is named.

Chong, Lily, and Moku
A trio of Earth Kingdom nomads who along with their group travel around land singing songs to experience the wonders of the world. This trio is probably meant to be a parody of hippies, as their songs concentrate on the topics of love and peace.

Chong, his wife Lily, Moku, and two other nomads, who remain unnamed, meet the kids, who are on their way to Omashu, and offer to take them through a shortcut to Omashu known as the Cave of Two Lovers. None of them seem terribly bright and act somewhat unusually easy-going, which becomes a source of frustration for the kids, especially Sokka.

They appear in "The Cave of Two Lovers." The Chinese word for the flower 'lily, translates as 'hundreds unite,' which is coincidentally one of the goals of a hippie. Since he somewhat resembles one with his coolie hat, Moku's name could be variational pronunciation of the Chinese word for 'mushroom,' mó gu. The word Chóng can be translated as 'bug,'.

Dai Li
Selectively picked at a young age, the members of the Dai Li are elite officers of Ba Sing Se under the control of Long Feng. Their job is to ensure that no one disrupts the order of the city, such as by speaking of "undesirable" topics like the war with the Fire Nation. They employ skilled Earthbenders as a secret police group, who wear gloves made apparently out of earthen materials in order to dexterously Earthbend on the go. The Dai Li also are adept at using Earthbending to cling to sheer rock surfaces, such as walls or ceilings. They conceal chained metal cuffs within their sleeves, which they use to snare and hold prisoners, particularly other Earthbenders so as to inhibit their bending.

The Dai Li first appear in "City of Walls and Secrets."

The Earth King
The fifty-second ruler of Ba Sing Se, and indeed the entire Earth Kingdom, the Earth King makes a cameo appearance in the episode "City of Walls and Secrets" during a party for his pet bear, Bosco, for whom he seems especially fond. He makes his first full appearance in "The Earth King", when Aang and his friends come before him accusing the Dai Li of treason. Having never left his palace and being told false information by Long Feng, the king was previously unaware of the war against the Fire Nation. However, evidence provided by Aang and his group persuaded him, and he agreed to mount an invasion of the Fire Nation. Unbeknownst to him, the Dai Li remained loyal to Long Feng.

The name Kuei is a spelling variation on the Mandarin word for "leader, it may also be a variant of the word for "puppet", kuî .

The Five Seven Five Society
Directed by the formal Madame Macmu-Ling, the Five Seven Five Society is haiku club whose membership appears to primarily consist of elegant young ladies who hail from Ba Sing Se's upper echelon of families. In addition to haiku "slamming", the society also hosts tea and garden parties. The name of the club is conspiciously based off the defining syllabic layout of a typical haiku.

The Five Seven Five Society appears within "The Tale of Sokka" in "The Tales of Ba Sing Se."

General Fong
General Fong is an Earthbender General who is in command of an Earth Kingdom fortress situated in a mountain range in the western Earth Kingdom. Known for his unusual tactics and now considered to be one of the most aggressive officers in the army, Fong originally enlisted as a common soldier twenty-five years ago, but rose through the ranks to become an officer and eventually General. Despite being poorly educated, he has gained high recognition from his superiors for his 'no fear' attitude on the front lines, as well as loyalty from his troops through the air of equality his less than formal background provides.

He appears in "The Avatar State." His name likely a variant of the word fēng (瘋) which translates as 'insane.' At the end of the episode "The Avatar State," Aang even commented to him "You're out of your mind."

Ghashiun
A desert dweller and Sandbender who resides within the Si Wong Desert. He is the son of Sha-Mo and is the person directly responsible for Appa's kidnapping in The Library. Ghashiun is an adolescent who normally spends his days riding around the Si Wong on his sand-sailor with his gang of friends, usually getting into trouble and stealing anything that isn't well guarded. According to the official site, Ghashiun has been acting somewhat emotionally detached ever since his mother, Yulduz, died of skin cancer, a common affliction in the sun-drenched desert. As demonstrated in The Desert, his relationship with his father is distant at best with Ghashiun's lying and stealing only serving to strengthen the rift.

Ghashiun appears in "The Library", "The Desert", and "Appa's Lost Days", with his speaking role increasing with each appearance.

Gow
The head of a band of thugs in an Earth Kingdom village, he and his crew bullied and terrorized the citizens of the town, excusing themselves as Earth Kingdom soldiers. When Zuko entered the village, they stole the feed he had purchased and accused him of throwing eggs at them. Zuko did not flinch, though, and Gow warned him to get out. Later, Gow led his band to Ganzu's homestead. He informed the farmer that his eldest son, Sen Su, had been captured, but backed down when Zuko threatened him. Later, Gow kidnapped Lee, Ganzu's younger son, and refused to surrender him when Zuko commanded it.

Gow is a Scottish surname that derives from 'Gobha,' the Gaelic for 'smith,' which the character resembles with his twin hammers.

General How
As leader of the Council of Five, How is essentially the supreme officer of the Earth Kingdom military and the primary military adviser to the Earth King. Introduced in "The Earth King", he and his men searched Long Feng's office, retrieving several documents including a military report revealing the location of the Southern Water Tribe forces, the scroll from the Guru, and a letter said to be from Toph's mother. He is loyal to the Earth King and was therefore conflicted about the war remaining a secret from him. How and the other Council members were making preparations for the invasion of the Fire Nation during the solar eclipse when Azula and the Dai Li captured them as part of their coup in "The Crossroads of Destiny".

General How first appears in "The Earth King".

Sister Iio
As a Mother Superior, Sister Iio was the female Airbender nun in charge of the Eastern Air Temple seen in a flashback at the age of 87 during Appa's Lost Days. She prepared several children, including Aang, to bond with a group of young Flying Bison. She gives each of them an apple, telling them how to choose a bison carefully, because a Sky Bison is a companion for life. Iio is described as an uneffected and cheerful person, and apparently quite skilled at Airball. Her ultimate fate is unknown, though she likely died when the Fire Nation destroyed the Air Nomads.

Sister Iio appears in "Appa's Lost Days". Iio (pron: eye-oh) is a Japanese surname (飯尾) that literally translates as 'steamed rice fish tail.'

Ilah
Ilah was the wife of Fire Lord Azulon, the mother of Fire Lord Ozai and Iroh, the grandmother of Lu Ten, Zuko and Azula. Nothing is known about her other than the facts above. She is deceased at the time of Azulon's funeral.

Ilah is mentioned briefly in "Zuko Alone" at Azulon's funeral. ʾilāh is the Arabic for 'deity,' which goes well with the translation of Azula's name as the Sanskrit word for 'demon,' Asura.

Jin
A citizen of Ba Sing Se who frequently visits the tea shop where Iroh and Zuko were employed, Jin eventually builds up the courage to ask Zuko out on a date. After going out to an awkward dinner, the pair go to a fountain that is renowned for its beauty (and the place where Jin's parents used to meet as teenagers); however, the lanterns that majestically illuminate the fountain are unfortunately unlit when they arrive. Noting her disappointment, Zuko asks Jin to close her eyes and he carefully uses Firebending to light the lanterns. At the end of their date Jin kisses Zuko. Although he begins to return it, he then backs away abruptly and excuses himself by saying, "It's complicated", and he leaves her standing alone.

Jin appears in "The Tales of Ba Sing Se". Jin is also briefly seen in "The Awakening" inside the tea shop during the Fire Nation invasion of Ba Sing Se.

Joo Dee
Introduced in "City of Walls and Secrets", Joo Dee at first appears to be a stereotypically vapid and ignorant tour guide—despite the fact that Sokka has information regarding the war against the Fire Nation, she constantly "handles" the entire group into following her tour, promising them audience with the Earth King of Ba Sing Se within six to eight weeks. When Aang and the group go searching for Appa and information dealing with the war on the Fire Nation, Joo Dee hangs back from the others, ever-smiling. When Sokka asks a question that gets close to the truth, Joo Dee will smile broadly and shake her head at the person under interrogation, which elicits a withdrawn, scared reaction from them. When Aang and the group crash the Earth King's party in a botched attempt to alert him of the solar eclipse that causes Firebenders to lose their bending power, Joo Dee urges them to leave before they are caught; but when Aang is exposed as the Avatar, her perpetual smile melts into something closer to hopeless despair.

Joo Dee appeared in "City of Walls and Secrets" and "Lake Laogai."

Lao Bei Fong
Lao Bei Fong is Toph's father and a wealthy figure in the village of Gaoling. He cares deeply for his daughter and only wishes for her safety, but he is far too overprotective of her, even going as far as hiding her existence from the rest of the town. His fear for her well being only increased when he witnessed her mastery of earthbending. When Toph ran away to teach the Avatar, he assumed she was kidnapped by him and commissioned Xin Fu, the promoter of the Earth Rumble VI Earthbending tournament, and Master Yu, Toph's earthbending teacher, to do "whatever it takes" to rescue her.

Lao appears in "The Blind Bandit." According to Toph's passport in "The Serpent's Pass" and the fake letter from her mother in "The Earth King", Bei Fong is written as 北方 and when put after 老(lào) translates as 'Old North' or 'Mr. North.'

Oma and Shu
First mentioned in The Cave of Two Lovers, Oma and Shu were the world's very first human Earthbenders. Their tombs lie side by side within the walls of the cave, whose decorated walls tell their story, otherwise known as "The Legend of the Two Lovers." Oma and Shu were a woman and a man who met atop a mountain that divided their two villages, two different tribes who were currently warring with each other. Their love was strong, however, and they were able to find a way to be together. The two were able to learn earthbending from the badgermoles that dwelled within the mountain, and using their bending, were able to carve out elaborate tunnels where they continued to meet secretly.

Guru Pathik
When met by Appa in "Appa's Lost Days", Guru Pathik understood that he was not the person Appa expected, and he simply lies back, looking at Appa every so often, and receiving a growl in return. Eventually, night settles in, and Appa falls asleep. The Guru reads Appa's Spiritual energy, remarking on how Appa is so full of love and trust, but at the same time fear is moving into where trust should be. He also tells of how he had a vision of Aang and Appa years ago, and decided to come to the Eastern Air Temple and wait for the two. He then leaves Appa to rest, saying how Appa must let the clouds in his mind part and be at peace.

A guru is a spiritual teacher. The word 'pathik' means "the traveler" in Hindi.

The Rough Rhinos
The Rough Rhinos are a group of Fire Nation soldiers who are currently pillaging and raiding Earth Kingdom villages like common bandits. They are strong however, as each of the five members rides a ferocious three horned lizard and is a master of a different weapon.

The name "Rough Rhinos" itself may be a reference to the Rough Riders, a nickname given to the 1st U.S. Volunteer Cavalry Regiment during the Spanish-American War.

General Sung
General Sung is in charge of defending the outer wall of Ba Sing Se, the Earth Kingdom capital city. He originally refused Aang's help in stopping the Drill that the Fire Nation was using to attack the outer wall, believing he could handle the situation himself, but humbly requested the Avatar's assistance after the Terra Team, an elite team of Earthbenders which were defeated by Ty Lee, failed to destroy the machine. He is also part of the Council of Five, the Earth King's most trusted generals.

General Sung first appears in "The Drill."

Old Sweepy
Under the guise of a weary but talkative janitor, "Old Sweepy" in actuality is an undercover agent for the Dai Li who serves to keep close watch on the Lower Ring and spreads misinformation wherever Long Feng instructs. Desite his ragged and dreary appearance, he is quite professional as well as effective in regards to the execution of his duties. Once a top officer of the Cultural Authority, Sweepy was severely relegated by the Grand Secretariat into deep cover as a menial laborer after he botched an assignment. Dedicated to his demeaning position, old Sweepy hopes to eventually win back his favor in Long Feng's eyes.

Old Sweepy appears in "Lake Laogai."

Terra Team
A platoon of elite Earthbenders that guard the walls of Ba Sing Se commanded by General Sung. The Terra Team was ordered to destroy the Fire Nation drill attacking the wall, but were easily disabled by Mai and Ty Lee.

The Terra Team briefly appear in "The Drill." Their name is clearly influenced by the Latin word "Terra", literally meaning "earth."

Tho, Due, and Huu
Three members of the Foggy Swamp Tribe. While Momo and Appa are separated from Aang, Katara and Sokka, they are being hunted by Tho, who is a little short and chubby, and Due, who is very tall and skinny. The kids, in the meantime, are being chased after by a Waterbender named Huu (pronounced "Hugh"), a fat man of average height, who can bend the water in plants and use them for a swamp monster disguise. Huu, like Aang, heard a voice from the Swamp and became "enlightened" as he realized that the swamp's illusions reflect on life, death, the connection between the earth and all its organisms as a whole and that time is irrelevant. Using this new-found knowledge, Aang finds Appa and Momo and stop Tho and Due, who are more than happy to find fellow Waterbenders outside of the Swamp in Aang and Katara.

Tho, Due, and Huu appeared in "The Swamp."

Tycho
A mugger who formerly had high hopes of working at the Spa University in Ba Sing Se, but was refused aid in paying the tuition and disowned by his family. In desperation, he fell into a life of crime. In "Tales of Ba Sing Se", within an alley, Tycho came across and attempted to mug Iroh, who was on his way to a picnic, but was easily knocked off his "poor stance" and disarmed within seconds. Rather than have him arrested, Iroh instead briefly provided instruction towards the mugger on how to assume a more serious and solid stance. Over a cup of tea, Iroh proceeded to encourage him to pursue his dream of becoming a masseur. Tycho expressed great joy over Iroh's advice, stating that he was the first person ever to truly believe in him.

Tycho first appears as brief cameo in "City of Walls and Secrets", seen offering a large saber to a man in an alley.

Princess Ursa
Princess Ursa is the wife of Ozai and mother of Prince Zuko and Princess Azula. She has only appeared in flashbacks in the episode "Zuko Alone" and a feverish dream of Zuko in "The Earth King", although not much is known about her. It is shown that she is very protective of her son Zuko and may be one of the only members of the Fire Nation royal family (along with Uncle Iroh) who loves him. Shortly after the death of Iroh's son, Lu Ten, her husband Ozai asked his father, the Fire Lord Azulon, to pass Iroh's birthright to the throne to him. Ozai considered Iroh an unworthy quitter who let the death of his son get in his way of conquering Ba Sing Se. This dishonorable request only infuriated Azulon, who declared that Ozai would be fittingly punished for venturing to betray his own brother in his time of sadness. It is unknown what exactly this punishment was or if it was even carried out, though Azula told Zuko that it was to have him killed so that Ozai would know how it felt to lose his own first-born son. By the next morning, Ursa had disappeared, Azulon was proclaimed dead, and Ozai was announced as his willed successor. It is unknown what part Ursa had in these scandalous events, but it is almost certain that she played a major role in protecting Zuko. In Ursa's final appearance in the flashbacks, she wakes Zuko before her departure to remind him of her love and to tell him to always remember who he was, no matter how things seemed to change.

"Ursa" is Latin for bear, which is likely a reference to how protective she is of Zuko.

Princess Ursa first appears in "Zuko Alone." In "The Earth King", the blue dragon (who has Azula's voice) says "Sleep... just like mother!" referencing her disappearance. Also, although not seen, Ursa is mentioned in "The Crossroads of Destiny".

Wan Shi Tong
Wan Shi Tong is the spirit of knowledge, an ancient and powerful being who knows more than any human walking the earth. Though his normal physical form is that of an immense black-and-white barn owl, an animal commonly associated with wisdom in Western thought, Wan Shi Tong is able to lengthen his body and transform into a feral serpent-like creature when angered. Thousands of years ago, he built the great spirit library in the pursuit of preserving all knowledge of the world. Despite his vain persona, in hopes of sharing the knowledge, Wan Shi Tong brought the structure over to the mortal plane, placing it within the Si Wong Desert.

Wan Shi Tong appears in "The Library." His name is a phrase in Mandarin Chinese ("萬事通") that literally translates to "He Who Knows 10,000 Things."

Xin Fu
The promoter as well as the host of the underground Earthbending tournament, Earth Rumble VI, Xin Fu seems on the outside a nice enough guy, but when prompted with the possibility that he has been cheated, his more underhanded side becomes clear. He kidnapped Aang and Toph when the Boulder suggested that Toph purposely lost the match to Aang and then split the money with him afterward. Though Xin Fu is seemingly a powerful Earthbender since he lasts longest against Toph, he is still defeated. He is then recruited by Toph's father to retrieve Toph who Aang "kidnapped" by "any means necessary", and is now pursuing Aang, Katara, Sokka, and Toph alongside Master Yu. He has also shown that if he catches Aang, he fully intends to sell him to the Fire Nation for a large monetary reward. He is shown in The Blind Bandit to be a proficient and powerful Earthbender as he was once an active competitor of the Rumble.

Xin Fu appears in "The Blind Bandit", "The Desert", "The Earth King", and "The Guru." Although partly obscured, his name in Toph's ransom letter was written as 辛富 (xīn fù) which translated as 'bitter rich.'

Master Yu
A Master Earthbender who teaches the local children earthbending and provides private lessons to Toph, but only teaches her the basics (simple breathing exercises and stances), at the request of her father.

Even though Master Yu is treated with a great deal of respect, he doesn't seem to be the powerful Earthbender that everyone treats him as. Although, he may simply be holding his real skills and knowledge back from his students so that he doesn't have to strain himself teaching them as he is shown keeping up with Xin Fu in "The Desert,".

Master Yu appears in "The Blind Bandit", "The Desert", "The Earth King", and "The Guru." According to the leaflet from his school in The Blind Bandit. Yú is a Chinese surname meaning 'surplus' and (shīfù) means 'master' which as a title is put end of a teacher's name.

Yung the Resistance Leader
Yung formerly was the Captain of King Bumi's army, until Bumi ordered him and his forces to stand down and surrender the Earth Kingdom city of Omashu in the wake of a Fire Nation invasion. Yung reluctantly followed the orders of his King, and afterwards became the leader of the resistance force against the occupying Fire Nation within the city. Yung was saddened and confused at what he saw as shamefully surrendering the city without a fight. An assertive, confident, battle-oriented Earthbender,[1] Yung has clearly stated that he would have much rather fought the Fire Nation to the death and lost than to have surrendered to them Omashu as was ordered to. Yung continues to lead the resistance, planning attacks and trying to remove the city's rulers from power, in hopes of driving the Fire Nation out and reclaiming Omashu (later renamed New Ozai by Azula, in honor of her father) for his people.

He appears in "Return to Omashu".

Professor Zei
He is the head of the Anthropology Department at Ba Sing Se University. Professor Zei is a well-traveled, highly educated student of exotic cultures. His thirst for knowledge brings him to strange, remote, and often dangerous places. A map of his travels shows he's been everywhere in the world, except the Fire Nation. However, before meeting Aang and his friends, the professor was unable to fulfill his life work: finding the secret library built by the spirit Wan Shi Tong and his knowledge seekers. He does find the library with the help of Aang and his friends. When Wan Shi Tong discovers their plans against the Fire Nation they had drawn up using his information, he sinks his library so that his knowledge could never be misused again. As he and the others try to escape, Zei tries desperately to grab as many books as he can to take; eventually, though, he simply declares that he would rather stay "for eternity" than lose his life's work, and the others are forced to leave without him.

Professor Zei appears in "The Library."

There is only one zéi in Mandarin and it means 'thief,' which is in a way what an archaeologist is sometimes considered.