Summary

• Avatar was initially set in the future.
• Zuko almost didn't make the cut for the show, but ended up becoming a fan-favorite character with a fulfilling arc.
• Toph was originally envisioned as a muscular man, but her small stature added to her appeal as a powerful earthbender.

There is no shortage of iconic Nickelodeon shows, but Avatar: The Last Airbender is something special, and despite its huge number of fans, there are a lot of Avatar: The Last Airbender facts those fans might not know. Aang, the titular last airbender, is also the Avatar, the person responsible for bringing balance to the Four Nations and wielding all elements they are capable of bending. In the show, there was just as much work for the creative team behind the camera as there was for Aang and his friends on screen.

The Last Airbender is often hailed as one of the “greatest cartoons of all time”, offering viewers something completely different from Nickelodeon’s usual roster of programs at the time. With mature writing, gorgeous animation, fully realized characters, and high-concept world-building, The Last Avatar became a massive commercial and critical hit, respected by kids, teenagers, and adults. Spanning three seasons and 61 episodes, creators Bryan Konietzko and Michael DiMartino managed to capture lightning in a bottle.

The Show Almost Aired Without Zuko

Zuko would become a fan-favorite character

Despite his relentless attempts to hunt down Aang for the first two seasons, Zuko ended up becoming perhaps the biggest fan-favorite of The Last Airbender. His arc, from a hate-filled prince who is desperate to win his father’s approval to a confident leader who earns his nation’s trust, is one of the most fulfilling of the show’s run.

Given his significance and popularity, it’s astounding to learn that the show almost aired without Zuko at all, as the young Prince of the Fire Nation was one of the last characters to be written in. Originally, the writers had intended the Fire Lord to be the big bad of all three seasons. However, they soon realized that they couldn’t do enough with the Fire Lord just sitting on his throne, and wrote in Zuko’s character instead.

Toph Was Originally A Muscular Man

Toph's small stature could mislead opponents

Toph is one of the most powerful earthbenders in the history of the series and is responsible for inventing the technique of metalbending. That fact that she’s small but powerful gave Toph enormous appeal, but this iconic earthbender came close to ending up with a very different look.

Initially, the writers’ plan was to make Toph a huge man with the physique of someone like Hulk Hogan or the Rock. The character wasn’t initially written as being blind either and was even pitched as a potential love interest for Katara. The idea was eventually scrapped.

Azula Could Have Had An Arranged Marriage

Azula ended the series without any romance

Another powerful female bender was Azula, Princess of the Fire Nation and older sister of Zuko. As the daughter of the Fire Lord, Azula exhibited immense strength, and a sadistic, evil attitude to go along with it. Given her authoritative and insidious nature, it’s almost unthinkable for her to get romantically involved with anyone in the show, but that’s exactly what the writers intended to happen towards the tail end of Book Three.

One of the subplots of the final season was going to involve Azula being set up in an arranged marriage. However, the writers didn’t think there was enough meat to the story and scrapped the idea. It would have been unfortunate for the viewers, and even more unfortunate for anyone who wound up with Azula.

Lake Laogai is Based on a Real Chinese Labor Camp

Laogai is short for Laodonggaizao

One of the best episodes came towards the end of the second season with “Lake Laogai.” In it, Aang and the group run into former antagonist Jet, who’s been psychologically conditioned in a secret underground lab led by a faction of the Earth Kingdom. Though “Lake Laogai” is a thrilling episode, it’s also one of the most culturally relevant, because the underground prison camp is inspired by a real place.

In Chinese, Laogai is short for Laodong gaizao, a term that actually means “reform through labor”. Laodong gaizao was also the name of a Chinese political prison camp used in the 50's and 60's. Hundreds of political prisoners were sent to this camp and psychologically conditioned, much like the fictional underground base in “Lake Laogai.”

The Tale of Two Irohs

Two actors played Uncle Iroh

The entire cast of The Last Airbender did a phenomenal job in bringing their characters to life, but legendary voice actor Mako Iwamatsu (known simply as Mako) did an especially nice job with Uncle Iroh. Powerful, wise, and commanding, Mako was the perfect choice to play the jovial firebender who had a dark history and provided the emotional backbone of the series.

However, tragedy struck in the middle of season two when Mako unfortunately passed away from esophageal cancer. In a scramble, Nickelodeon tried replacing the actor the quickest and best they could. They accomplished that task by hiring Greg Baldwin, Mako’s understudy. The actor did such a fine job filling in that some years later he also took over Mako’s role of Aku for the fifth and final season of Samurai Jack.

The Boy In The Iceberg Is The Live Action Movie

The story is satirized in a show within a show

The Last Airbender is a sweeping epic with limitless world-building and fully-realized characters. With such rich material to mine from, it would only make sense that the series would eventually be adapted into a live-action film. The 2010 adaptation, directed by none other than big-time director M. Night Shyamalan, was almost universally disliked for the changes it made to the source material.

The movie’s failure is foreshadowed in “The Boy in the Iceberg,” the fictional Fire Nation play from the show that retells Aang’s story. Embarrassed, the gang describes the play as bad but with decent effects, which is largely how audiences described the 2010 movie as well.

Mark Hamill Voiced The Fire Lord

Mark Hamill is best known for playing Luke Skywalker in Star Wars

Though the audience doesn't see a lot of him until the third season, Fire Lord Ozai is one of the most powerful benders of the series. He’s the incarnation of pure evil, a domineering, sadistic ruler who is consumed only with rage and power. He’s the kind of malevolent bad guy who scars his son for simply speaking out of turn or burns down the entire Earth Kingdom just to prove a point.

With such a big and scary personality, Nickelodeon was tasked with finding a voice that could provide the right candor to bring this evildoer to life. They found it in none other than Luke Skywalker himself, Mark Hamill. Hamill, who had past experience with bringing animated bad guys to life with the Joker, was the perfect choice for Ozai, whose voice is just as fierce as the fire he bends.

Co-creator Michael DiMartino Left Family Guy to Work on Last Airbender

DiMartino worked on adult animated comedies Family Guy and King of the Hill

The Last Airbender

is a kid-friendly adventure program and Family Guy is an adult-based comedy with some particularly raunchy humor, but the two shows actually have a little in common. One of the co-creators of Airbender, Michael DiMartino, worked on Family Guy for years, directing and writing a number of episodes. DiMartino eventually left the Fox sitcom in 2002 in order to spend his time on his passion project, The Last Airbender.

Prior to creating the Nickelodeon cartoon with Bryan Konietzko, DiMartino worked for 12 years at Film Roman, during which time he worked on Family Guy and also directed several episodes of another Fox program, King of the Hill. Konietzko and DiMartino have also worked on other Nickelodeon shows over the years, including cult-favorite Invader Zim.

The Show Was Going to Take Place Thousands of Years in the Future

Avatar went through a lot of changes while in development

The Last Airbender was first conceived in 2001 by Bryan Konietzko off nothing more than his sketch of a bald kid herding bison in the sky. He showed the drawing to fellow animator Michael DiMartino and the pair soon began work on a concept about an “air guy” with some “water people” who were getting pressed down on by some “fire people”.

That barebones concept is a far cry from the final product. However, even stranger is that during this early stage, Konietzko and DiMartino were tinkering with the idea of placing the world of Avatar thousands of years into the future! The pair decided to scrap the sci-fi concept in favor of the older time period in which the show is set.

The Comics Reveal the Fate of Zuko's Mother

Zuko's mother eventually gets to return to her son

The fate of Zuko’s mother Ursa is the biggest unsolved mystery of The Last Airbender. While the writers were intending on solving that question in the series finale, there just wasn’t enough time, and the idea was ultimately scrapped. Thankfully, that lingering question was answered in The Promise, The Search, and Smoke and Shadow, a series of comics that take place after the show and detail Ursa’s upbringing, her past love, her marriage to Ozai, and, eventually, her disappearance.

Although it’s hinted at in the show, it’s revealed that Ursa was responsible for poisoning Ozai’s father so that her husband could claim the throne. After she’s banished, she’s granted a new identity by a mystical being and starts a new family. She’s finally given the happy ending she deserves when Zuko meets up with her and ends her banishment once and for all

Commander Zhao Was Inspired By Jason Isaacs In The Patriot

Jason Isaacs went on to voice the character

The Last Airbender is loaded with real world inspirations. Monk Gyatso was named after the Dalai Lama, the Hippo was inspired by Andre the Giant, and the Boulder was modeled after Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. However, it is Admiral Zhao that provides the biggest pop culture collaboration of the show.

Jason Isaacs reprises his role as Commander Zhao in The Legend of Korra, season 2, spisode 13, "Darkness Falls".

While crafting the character, creators Bryan Konietzko and Michael DiMartino asked casting director Maryanne Dacey to find someone who could provide a voice just as menacing as the villain William Tavington from the 2000 movie, The Patriot. Dacey was able to find the perfect candidate: Jason Isaacs, who actually played Tavington in The Patriot. Isaacs happened to be available and wound up playing a character that was based on a villain he had already played.

Zuko and Katara Could Have Ended Up Together

Nickelodeon fueled rumors that they were love interests

Although Katara becomes romantically involved with Aang in the series finale, she could have wound up with the Prince of the Fire Nation himself, Zuko - at least according to Nickelodeon. The potential of the pairing was floated in the writers' room for the show, which is evident in some of their more charged interactions in the series, but Aang was considered endgame for Katara.

Nickelodeon added fuel to the fire when their behind-the-scenes facts for the show included the reveal that Zuko was a potential love interest for Katara. Some fans have speculated that with Katara and Aang's relationship dialed back in Netflix's live-action series, there's the possibility that a romance between Zuko and Katara could be revisited there.

Momo’s Original Design Was Very Different

Momo could have been a robot

With the possibility that The Last Airbender would be set thousands of years into the future, many of the characters would have had very different looks. More specifically, Momo, everyone’s favorite half bat, half lemur creature would have been very different.

Momo wound up looking furry and adorable, but that’s a far cry away from his original design, which involved robotics. The first rough sketch of Momo depicted a robot-monkey-cyclops that looked like it came straight out of the mind of Neil Blomkamp, and was going to be named Momo-3. Eventually, the creators decided to change the time period, and Momo became the fuzzy, mischievous creature everyone knows and loves.

Uncle Iroh Almost Betrayed Zuko

Zuko wouldn't have been the only one betrayed

Uncle Iroh stabbing Zuko in the back in the series finale feels like an impossibility for longtime fans. There isn’t a more likable character than Iroh in the entire series. He’s wise, funny, powerful, and he’s completely responsible for putting his troubled nephew on the path to redemption.

However, Iroh’s original role in the series was intended to betray Zuko in the series finale, acting as a double agent and throwing all of the character’s rich history out the window in favor of a twist. Fans would have felt as betrayed as Zuko, so it's good that this idea ended up scrapped.

The Legend of the “Cabbage Merchant”

The cabbage merchant was meant as a one-off joke

Fans of The Last Airbender will recognize this unlucky street merchant who is constantly trying to save his wagon of produce from utter destruction. The “Cabbage Man” or “Cabbage Merchant” originally showed up in season one when his cart of tasty cabbages was completely destroyed by a group of overenthusiastic earthbenders.

Originally written as a one-off joke, the Cabbage Merchant was such a hit with fans that the writers decided to make him a running gag throughout the series. The Merchant shows up in three more episodes, his cart usually being destroyed by Aang and the crew with the Merchant exclaiming “My cabbages!” In the follow-up series, The Legend of Korra, the Cabbage Man heads up a super-successful company named Cabbage Corp., so at least his story has a happy ending.

The Cabbage Merchant Is The Only Actor To Reprise Their Role In Live Action

James Sie plays the cabbage merchant

Since the cabbage merchant’s concern for his cabbages became such a beloved gag in the original series, it’s only right that it’s included in the Netflix live-action adaptation of the story. James Sie reprises his role for the Netflix live-action Avatar series.

Sie voiced the cabbage merchant for all of his appearances that required any lines in the animated version. Now, he gets to play the character in full costume for the live-action version. He appears in episodes 3 and 4 of the Netflix series, and in the first season, is the only person to reprise their voice role for live-action.

Avatar Exists Because The Creators’ Original Nickelodeon Ideas Were Rejected

The original pitch was about kids in the woods instead

Bryan Konietzko and Michael DiMartino originally teamed up because they wanted to create a television series that spoke to childhood nostalgia. They wanted to work on a coming-of-age series inspired by their own memories of playing in the woods as kids. According to Avatar: The Art Of The Animated Series, when they pitched their original idea, it was rejected.

Nickelodeon was interested in a more action-oriented show, and something with extensive lore, something akin to the Harry Potter franchise whose popularity was beginning to explode at the time. Konietzko and DiMartino went back to the drawing board - almost literally - combining ideas they had formed from doodled images and notes to create a new concept, and The Last Airbender was born.

No Japanese Studio Wanted To Work On The Show

The creators initially wanted to make a traditional anime

When the creative team began working on the story for Avatar: The Last Airbender in earnest, they drew a lot of inspiration from different Asian cultures. The Fire Nation is inspired by Imperial Japan, the Water Tribes by indigenous Arctic cultures, the Air Nomads are inspired by Tibetan Buddhist monks, and the Earth Kingdom is inspired by monarchical China. The animation style they drew from, however, was Japanese anime.

Because of that, there was interest in working with a Japanese studio on the project. DiMartino explained in The Art Of The Animated Series, “After many unreturned phone calls, we realized that the Japanese studios didn't love the idea of doing a coproduction with us”. They ended up partnering with the Korean studio Tin House on the animation instead, giving the studio the freedom to create a new look for the series - as long as they didn’t show too much blood for Nickelodeon’s standards.

Even The Creators Aren’t Sure If Avatar Should Be Classified As Anime

There is a debate on whether to consider the show anime

Since the premiere of Avatar: The Last Airbender, there has been debate as to whether the series should be considered an anime or not. After all, it was inspired by Japanese animation. Traditionally, however, anime is only made by Japanese animation studios, which prompts some fans to call The Last Airbender a cartoon, but not an anime.

The series creators also aren’t sure if Avatar: The Last Airbender should be called an anime or not. In the Avatar: Braving The Elements podcast, DiMartino explained, “We wanted to do a love letter to anime. Not just copy it. In some ways I know it would have looked better if I had just copied stuff, but I was trying to do our little crummy version”. Dante Bosco, who co-hosts the podcast, described Avatar as “American anime”, which is an apt description.

The Series Creators Were Against The Live-Action Movie

A live-action movie released in 2010

Fans of the animated series have not been kind to the live-action movie adaptation of Avatar: The Last Airbender that followed. Concerns about the adaptation have ranged from the casting of white actors to the compressed storyline. The creators of the animated series were not involved in the movie, but initially, they wanted to do it themselves.

According to a Nerdist writers panel in 2014, Konietzko explained that they didn’t want the movie to happen at all, but if it was going to be done, they wanted to be involved to see their story from the animated version through. He explained fully to the panel that a falling out occurred, and they didn’t even get to consult on the movie:

A) We didn't want it to be done at all. Before anyone was attached, we didn't want it. And then B) If it was going to be done, we wanted to do it, but they weren't going to let us. C) When they attached Night, we just thought, 'Well, this is what we've been dealt. We'll just offer help when it's asked of us, and if it's not, we'll stay out of the way'. In the beginning, it was more positive, and we offered help, but then we had a big falling out.

In yet another Avatar: The Last Airbender fact, the animated series creators are also not involved in the Netflix live-action series adaptation despite initially being attached to it.