Summary

• Dive deeper into Zuko's backstory with Avatar comics revealing his mother Ursa's tragic past and her ultimate fate.
• Witness Zuko's emotional journey as he uncovers the truth about his mother's disappearance and strives for a family reunion.
• The potential for a Zuko-focused spinoff promises to delve into his complex relationships and offer a fresh perspective on his character.

Avatar: The Last Airbender's Prince Zuko lost his mother when he was just a child, and she is presumed dead, but the tie-in comics tell the story of exactly why she disappeared and where Zuko's mom has been. Zuko's mom is called Ursa, and she is the granddaughter of Roku, the Fire Nation Avatar who preceded Aang. In Avatar: The Last Airbender, it is only revealed that she made a bargain for Zuko's life when his father was planning to kill him, and Zuko's mom was later exiled from the Fire Nation.

In Avatar: The Last Airbender's ending, the young Fire Prince confronts his father in jail, demanding to know anything about what really happened to Zuko's mother. Luckily, there are sequel comics written by Gene Luen Yang with Avatar: The Last Airbender showrunners Bryan Konietzko and Michael Dante DiMartino, set in the days after Avatar Aang defeats Fire Lord Ozai. One of the Avatar: The Last Airbender comics' story arcs, The Search, details Zuko's quest to find out what happened to his mother — and perhaps even be reunited with her.

Zuko's Real Mother — Identity & Backstory Explained

Zuko's mom Ursa was born in the Fire Nation town of Hira’a to Jinzuk and Rina. Her mother, Rina, was the daughter of the previous Fire Nation Avatar Roku. The comics reveal that Ursa was very close to a local boy named Ikem as a young woman and that the two were part of a theater group together in town. The play that Ursa and Ikem rehearse in the comic is Love Amongst the Dragons, a play that Ursa would later take her children Azula and Zuko to see on Ember Island, as it was her favorite play.

The live-action Zuko is played by Dallas Liu.

On the night that Ikem proposed to Ursa during one of their play rehearsals, Zuko's mom returned home to find Fire Lord Azulon and his son Prince Ozai in her residence. Zuko's grandfather, Fire Lord Azulon, heard a prophecy from the Fire Sages that suggested that he should mix his bloodline with that of Avatar Roku. This would supposedly produce descendants with great power, securing his family's place on the throne long after he was gone. He managed to track down Ursa and forced her to marry Zuko's father, Ozai, even though she was already betrothed to Ikem.

With no real choice in the matter, Ursa had to accept Prince Ozai’s proposal and leave immediately for her new life as a Fire Nation Princess. Ikem tried to stop them from leaving, forcing Ursa to lie about her true feelings for him and claim that Prince Ozai was the better option for her future. Shortly after Ursa’s wedding to Prince Ozai, he forced her to break off communication with her family back in Hira'a. Although Zuko's mom tried to send letters to her family, Ozai made sure that they were never received. He had firmly separated Ursa from all of her loved ones.

Why Zuko's Mother Was Banished

Zuko's mom, Ursa, lived for many years as Fire Princess and gave Prince Ozai two children, Zuko and Azula. When the children were still very young, their cousin (Uncle Iroh’s only son) Lu Ten was killed in battle. The children overheard Ozai asking his father Azulon to pass Iroh's throne birthright to him instead of Iroh since Iroh had abandoned his duties as General in his grief. As punishment for Ozai’s insolence, Azulon wanted Ozai to feel the pain Iroh had felt upon losing his firstborn son and ordered Ozai to kill Zuko.

Fire Lord Ozai is portrayed by Daniel Dae Kim in the Netflix live action adaptation.

Upon discovering this plot, Zuko's mom made a deal with Ozai: she would use her herbal skills to concoct a colorless and odorless poison so that Azulon could be killed (and Zuko's life spared) and Ozai could take his place as Fire Lord. Zuko's father, Ozai, agreed to the murder plot on one condition: after Azulon was dead, Ursa would leave the Fire Nation and never return, ensuring that she could never use the same poison on Ozai. Ozai also threatened that should Ursa try to take her children with her, he would hunt them all down and kill them. A heartbroken Ursa was forced to leave her children behind.

What Happened To Zuko's Mother After She Was Banished

The Mother of Faces offered Ursa not only a new face but a new mind as well, where all the memories of her life as Ozai's wife would be erased.

After fleeing the Fire Nation Palace, Zuko's mom returned to the village where she was born. There, she met a man called Noren — who was actually her first love, Ikem. Ikem had asked a spirit called the Mother of Faces to change his appearance so he could escape Ozai's wrath. Ursa decided in Avatar: The Last Airbender: The Search that she would make a similar deal with the Mother of Faces to get a fresh start in life.

However, when the Mother of Faces felt the pain in Ursa's heart, she offered something extra: not only a new face but a new mind, where all her memories of her life as Ozai's wife would be erased. Ursa made the difficult choice to forget her children along with the rest of her former life and was given a new face and a new name: Noriko. She and Noren lived in peace together for many years and had a daughter called Kiyi — Zuko and Azula's half-sister.

Zuko Is Reunited With His Mother

Zuko first meets Noren and Noriko in The Search without realizing that they are actually Ikem and Ursa. After learning the truth from the Mother of Faces, Zuko returns to the village and reveals to Noriko/Ursa that he is her son. Noriko then chooses to have her face and memories restored and, finally, she and Zuko are properly reunited. Azula, unfortunately, is not so quick to forgive her mother. Having been driven mad at the end of Avatar: The Last Airbender, she believed that Ursa was responsible for everything bad that had ever happened to her.

Fire Lord Zuko manages to stop Azula from killing their mother, Ursa, and watches helplessly as his sister runs away. The Search ends with Ursa promising to tell Zuko everything about her life, starting from the very beginning. The Fire Lord family still has quite a bit of trauma to unpack, but with a positive mother figure back in their lives, the comics suggest they will work it out.

The live-action Azula is played by Elizabeth Yu.

Later in the Avatar: The Last Airbender companion comics, Zuko's mom returns to the Fire Nation Palace for the first time since she was banished and finally confronts Ozai again — now powerless and locked up in the dungeons. Ozai proceeds to threaten to destroy everyone she loves, but Ursa sees him for what he really is: "a small, small man." Ursa walks away from the disgraced ex-Fire Lord, no longer afraid of him, ignoring him as he impotently orders her to grovel for him.

An Avatar Spinoff Will Focus On Zuko, And His Mother Should Feature

Zuko's Avatar: The Last Airbender backstory is a crucial component of his motivation throughout the series and drives his significant character growth over three seasons. As the ATLA character with arguably the best arc, it makes sense that the new Avatar Studios is developing a spinoff project that focuses on Zuko as its main character. Story details about this project are extremely scarce at the moment, but it could tackle Zuko's past before he was exiled from the Fire Nation as well as the years after Ozai's defeat in which he takes on the new mantle of Fire Lord.

Regardless of when it's set, though, the Zuko spinoff will have to touch on his troubled family history, and featuring Zuko's mother as one of the characters is a perfect vehicle for achieving this. In fact, The Search is a perfect Zuko movie story for Avatar Studios to adapt to the screen. This story is set after the events of the Avatar: The Last Airbender series, as Zuko is already Fire Lord, but it unpacks his childhood with more depth at the same time.

Ursa was voiced by Jen Cohn in the original Avatar: The Last Airbender.

If the Zuko spinoff ends up being a series, it could also go even further, perhaps exploring whether Zuko and Ursa can ever repair their relationships with Azula or (less likely) Ozai.At the same time, any Avatar Studios Zuko projects should also seek to break new ground that hasn't already been covered in his previous stories. Avatar: The Last Airbender and its comic book spinoffs have already done a great job with Zuko's arc, so new projects are free to explore even more sides of the character.

The Live-Action Avatar Show Can Handle Zuko's Mom Better

While the firebender Zuko's quest to find his mother wasn't properly fleshed out in Avatar: The Last Airbender, the upcoming live-action series will reportedly see the two finally meet. Since this arc was never really explored, questions remain in The Last Airbender's wake, like was Zuko's mom banished for killing his grandfather, and did Zuko ever really find her? The Netflix adaptation could tell the tale that The Last Airbender missed out on, and more.

There are also rumors that the first live-action Avatar: The Last Airbender spin-off movie will focus on Zuko and arrive at some point in 2026 (via Avatar News), although there's yet to be any official confirmation of this. There's also not been any news of Ursa being cast in live-action. All of this news — confirmed and speculative — is a positive sign for those hoping Zuko's mom finally gets the screen time she deserves at some point in the live-action Avatar: The Last Airbender.

While much of Ursa's story is covered in the supplemental comic material, there's no telling what the Netflix show will take from the tale, and what it will discard, which makes Avatar canon rather tricky. However, the upcoming live-action Avatar show will definitely put a unique spin on the firebender's quest to find his mother. So, while Avatar: The Last Airbender did Zuko a disservice in not finishing out his storyline, at least the Netflix adaptation can see Zuko's mom and her son reunited in some capacity.