| Avatar: The Last Airbender character | |
|---|---|
| Aang | |
| Nationality | Air Nomads |
| Notable Aliases | Avatar (by people who do not know his name) |
| Gender | Male |
| Hair color | Dark brown (generally shaven) |
| Age | 12 (biological) 112 (chronological) |
| First appearance | "The Boy in the Iceberg" |
| Voiced by | Zach Tyler Eisen |
| Mitchel Musso (television pilot) | |
Aang is a fictional character in Nickelodeon's animated television series Avatar: The Last Airbender. The character, created by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko, is voiced by Zach Tyler Eisen. Aang—the show's main protagonist—has appeared in all but one episode of the show, the exception being "Zuko Alone". Aang also appeared in the pilot episode, which has never been aired.[1] Aang has appeared in other media, such as trading cards,[2][3] video games,[4][5] T-shirts,[6] and web comics.[7]
In the show, Aang is the last surviving Airbender and a monk of the Air Nomads, the only race of people with the unique ability to manipulate the air around them. He is also a supercentenarian at the age of 112.[8] He was in suspended animation for one century, making his biological age twelve.[8] It is revealed in the second episode that he is the current incarnation of the Avatar, the spirit of the planet manifested in human form.[9][10] As the Avatar, Aang controls the elements and is tasked with keeping the Four Nations at peace.[11] The show follows Aang's journeys to complete this task.[11]
Most of Aang's traits, such as vegetarianism,[12] are based on Buddhist and Taoist tradition.[13] Aang is the series' reluctant hero,[11] showing hesitation when joining his friends to save the world from the Fire Nation.[9] His "lighthearted" personality has been accepted well among critics.[14] The creators intended Aang to "defeat enemies with his wits" and be a "trickster hero".[15]
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Aang's character was developed from a drawing by Bryan Konietzko. The sketch depicted a middle-aged bald man with an arrow on his head. Konietzko evolved the character into a picture of a child with a flying bison.[16] Meanwhile, Michael Dante DiMartino was interested in a documentary about explorers trapped in the South Pole. The idea caused the pair to think:
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...
—Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko[16]
The plot they described corresponds with the first and second episodes of the series, where the "water people" (Katara and Sokka) rescue the "air guy" (Aang) while "trapped in a snowy wasteland" (the Southern Water Tribe) with "some fire people [that] are pressing down on them" (Fire Nation Troops and Zuko).[8][10][16] The creators of the show intended Aang to be trapped in an iceberg for one thousand years. He was to wake inside a futuristic world, where he would have a pet robot named Momo and a dozen flying bison. The creators lost interest in the theme, and changed it to one hundred years of suspended animation. The robotic Momo was changed to a flying lemur, and the herd of bison was reduced to one.[16]
Aang's character has a well developed cultural ideology. According to the show's creators, "Buddhism and Taoism have been huge inspirations behind the idea for Avatar."[13] A notable aspect of the character is his vegetarian diet, consistent with Buddhism or Taoism.[13] In the Brahmajala Sutra, a Buddhist code of ethics, vegetarianism is encouraged.[17] In "The King of Omashu", Aang demonstrates his vegetarian beliefs by refusing to eat meat.[18] Aang consistently shows a reluctance to fight and an aversion against killing. In "The Spirit World (Winter Solstice, Part 1)", Aang gets into a fight with an angry spirit who is destroying a village; instead of fighting the spirit, Aang negotiates.[19] In Buddhism, this principle is known by its Sanskrit name, ahimsa, or non violence.
Airbending, the style Aang primarily uses in the show, is based on an "internal" Chinese martial art called Baguazhang. This fighting style focuses on circular movements, and does not have many finishing moves. These characteristics were meant to represent the unpredictability of air and the peaceful nature of Airbenders in the show.[20]
The producers of the show have named each season as a "book"; each of these books was named after one of the four elements in the show. Flashbacks also reveal events that happened before the show opened.[21] In a flashback during "The Storm", the elder monks hold a private meeting with Aang to reveal his identity as the Avatar. Monk Gyatso, Aang's mentor and father-figure, insists that Aang be raised as a regular child.[22] Nearing the end, the monks began to believe that Gyatso interfered too much, so they decide to send Aang to the Eastern Air Temple. Aang refuses to be torn away from his mentor; he writes a note for Gyatso before flying away on his bison. It is revealed in the first episodes of the show that a violent storm catches Aang and plummets him into the ocean during his escape. Aang then enters the Avatar State, unknowingly, for the first time to encase himself and Appa in a frozen air bubble. An image of this air bubble, resembling an iceberg, ends the flashback.[8][22]
After 100 years in the frozen iceberg, the show opens when Katara and her brother Sokka free Aang and Appa in the first episode of the show.[8] In the next episode, they all set off for the Northern Water Tribe, with intentions to find a waterbending master to teach Aang and Katara.[10] In another episode, Aang meets his previous incarnation, Avatar Roku, informing him that he must master all four bending arts and defeat Fire Lord Ozai before the end of summer.[23] Later, in the second season, Aang meets Toph Bei Fong, a blind earthbending master, who becomes one of his teachers.[24] A couple of episodes later, Aang and his friends find out that a solar eclipse will occur before the end of the summer, rendering the Firebenders powerless.[25] During the season finale, Aang battles in the underground caverns of Ba Sing Se. He is nearly killed when Azula strikes him with lightning, but survives thanks to Katara's healing abilities.[26]
In the third season, Aang and his comrades gain a new enemy while traveling – an assassin hired by Zuko who firebends with his third eye.[27] Aang and his remaining allies attack the Fire Nation capital in the tenth and eleventh episodes of the season, but are thwarted by Azula.[28] In the following episode, Zuko has a change of heart and offers to teach Aang firebending. Aang accepts, despite the group's strong opposition. In "The Firebending Masters" Aang learns firebending with the help of the last two dragons.[29]
During the two hour series finale, he struggles greatly about whether or not to kill the Fire Lord. After he sleepwalks into a forest, he speaks to four previous Avatars, seeking advice. Each tells him that he must kill the Fire Lord, albeit in different ways. After discovering that the forest is atop a swimming lion-turtle, and receiving advice from said lion-turtle, he prepares to confront the Fire Lord. Once Ozai arrives, Aang engages him in battle. After sparing Ozai when redirecting his lightning and then being backed into a corner, Aang releases his seventh chakra and enters the Avatar State. The Avatar State tips the battle in Aang's favor, and makes swift work of Ozai. Using a technique taught to him by the lion-turtle, Aang removes Ozai's ability to firebend, effectively eliminating the threat. Back in the Fire Nation capital, Aang is seen in monk robes, standing beside Zuko while Zuko is appointed Fire Lord. He is later seen relaxing with his friends in Ba Sing Se.[30]
Michael Dante DiMartino, the show's co-creator, said:
We wanted Aang to solve problems and defeat enemies with his wits as well as his powerful abilities.
—Michael Dante DiMartino[15]
Aang is a vegetarian, as shown in "The King of Omashu" when he refuses to eat meat,[12] because the Air Nomads taught him that all life is sacred.[30] Aang states a reluctance to fight in "The Spirit World (Winter Solstice, Part 1)"; Aang hopelessly negotiates with a spirit who is destroying a village instead of fighting.[19] Due to his non-violent nature, he also shows ethical reluctance in killing Firelord Ozai,[31] and eventually strips Ozai of his bending instead of killing him.[30] Even as a small child a hundred years ago, Aang was well-traveled and had a complex network of friends extending over all four nations. A few of them who were also young children when he met them are actually still alive in the present day, such as King Bumi of Omashu, though he is now an old man.[8]
Aang reveals in "The Storm" that he wishes he had been there to help his people a century ago, but would rather live a child's carefree life.[21] Multiple times in the show, Aang demonstrates how much he cares for those close to him and his childish qualities, even to the point of deceiving others to keep the group together. In "Bato of the Water Tribe", Aang thinks Katara and Sokka might leave to visit their father. Aang hides the map showing their father's whereabouts and lies about having it in the first place.[32]
In the culture of the Air Nomads, children never know their biological mothers or fathers. While they do come together to produce children, due to their philosophy of removing themselves from worldly attachments, Air Nomads maintain no family units or marriages. Instead, children are raised by monks in a dormitory system. As a result Aang never knew any "parents". [8] Thus while he is very quick to make new friendships even with complete strangers, he sometimes has difficulty understanding the true depths of the family bonds that motivate the actions of others. However, Aang did share a great mutual bond with his mentor, Monk Gyatso, and in many ways Gyatso was effectively his father-figure. Aang took Gyatso's death very hard, and continues to blame himself that his actions in running away indirectly led to the Fire Nation's genocidal attack on the Air Nomads. [33]
In some episodes, he demonstrates flight abilities with airbending. One technique for this is to make a ball of air and ride on it, which Aang calls the Air Scooter.[34] Other methods of flying include his glider,[8] and Appa.[35] In the last episode, Aang can also fly when he's in a ball of air.
In the show's intended demographics, Aang has been received exceptionally well. Kendall Lyons stated, "Aang seems to be the lighthearted kid that you can easily familiarize yourself with", and that he "seems to bring comfort in the most dangerous or hostile situations."[14] There are many similar descriptions about Aang as a child-like character who is "reckless and excitable".[36] Reviews point out that "as the Avatar, Aang seems unstoppable, but as Aang, he is just another Airbender"; the review states later that the show continues to focus on a more realistic character instead of a perfect one by revealing many character flaws.[37]
Aang's character appeared in the Avatar: The Last Airbender Trading Card Game on a multitude of cards.[2][3] He appeared in the Avatar: The Last Airbender video game as one of the four playable characters.[38] The second installment is Avatar: The Last Airbender - The Burning Earth.[4][39] Avatar T-shirts, some with Aang appearing on them, are being sold through the Nickelodeon Shop website.[6] Tokyopop has published a films comic (sometimes referred to as cine-manga), which Aang, being the main character of the show, appears in repeatedly.[7]
Aang appeared in Escape from the Spirit World, an online video game that can be found on Nickelodeon's official website. The game includes certain plot changes that are not shown in the show. The show's directors, Michael DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko, claim the events are part of canon.[5] This means that even though the events occurred in a separate media, they still are considered part of the storyline.
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