With Avatar: The Last Airbender becoming available on Netflix, new and old fans alike are enjoying the series and finding that it’s full of many memorable moments, quotes, and lessons. One of the most iconic characters from the series is Azula, and she definitely is a complex villain.
While she might be cruel and evil, she’s also extremely smart and engaging, and some of her lines are both intimidating and a little funny. To celebrate one of the most interesting villains in an animated children's show ever, enjoy Azula’s top evil quotes.
Updated on March 22, 2021 by Kristen Palamara: The Fire Nation was the main antagonist for most of Avatar: The Last Airbender, but many of the characters from the Fire Nation ended their story arcs, most notably Zuko, by switching sides and wanting to bring peace between the four nations with the Avatar. Azula was one of the only characters who consistently stayed loyal to the old ways of the Fire Nation and even became increasingly more evil throughout the series and her story arc. She provided Avatar fans with countless intimidating, ruthless, and downright evil quotes.
"Uncle is a quitter and a loser."
This quote is short and blunt but still incredibly evil as Azula continues to turn on her own family whenever they show weakness or their loyalties don't align with hers. She tries to convince her brother Zuko to turn against their Uncle Iroh.
Zuko is still torn between returning to the Fire Nation and starting a new life with his Uncle Iroh and Azula uses this line to demean their uncle and make Zuko feel like a fool for wanting to be with him.
"Alright, hair, it's time to meet your doom."
This is more of a funny quote out of context, but it still shows Azula's intensity and hatred even for mundane things in life like her hair being out of place. Azula gets frustrated when she can't style her hair and so she decides to hastily chop at with a knife.
The scene signifies her final descent into true villainy as right after, she attempts to kill her own brother without any hesitation.
"I assure you, if you hesitate, I will not hesitate to bring you down. Dismissed!"
Azula is tasked with tracking down her brother and uncle when they betray the Fire Nation and she senses that her team is hesitant to be attacking the royal family. She makes a blanket speech to everyone that brings up their feelings.
She uses fear, as usual, and threatens to attack anyone who hesitates to capture Zuko and Iroh, and it works to make everyone follow her command.
"It's terrible when you can't trust the people who are closest to you."
Azula is only loyal to the Fire Nation, but most of the other characters in the series turn against the Fire Nation like her two closest allies, Mai and Ty Lee.
Everyone eventually turns on Azula, leaving her alone to fight for the old ways of the Fire Nation instead of for progress, peace, and equality between the four nations. She ends the series without anyone on her side or close to her.
"Put them somewhere I'll never have to see their faces again and let them rot."
Azula is not one to forgive and would never forget someone betraying her. Both her previously loyal allies Ty Lee and Mai decide to stand against her and help the Avatar achieve the goal of reuniting the four nations. Azula doesn't hesitate once they make their decision to go against her.
Azula doesn't show any love toward them anymore and would rather capture them and have them rot somewhere where she never has to see them again.
“Trust is for fools. Fear is the only reliable way.”
Azula's upbringing is a huge contributing factor in how she behaves.
She took after her father and always tried to make him happy, and she’s learned to manipulate people around her using fear. However, despite wanting people to be loyal to her, she never quite learned that trust and kindness is a better way to inspire devotion.
“You will never rise from the ashes of your shame and humiliation!”
While Azula might be cunning and scary, she’s also technically only 14 years old in the series. So, when she, Zuko, Mai, and Ty Lee go to Ember Island to participate in some typical teenage fun, it’s very fascinating to see how she fares.
During a game of beach volleyball, this talented group easily destroys the other team during the match, and Azula’s overreaction to their triumph is both hilarious and disturbing.
“I’m a pretty good liar.”
During the Gaang's failed attempt at defeating the Firelord during the Day of Black Sun, Toph, Sokka, and Aang run into Azula in the tunnels under the palace.
While Toph is normally able to tell if someone is lying using the vibrations she feels through her feet, Azula is able to trick even her with her ability to lie and manipulate. She continues by saying, “I am a 400-foot tall purple platypus bear with pink horns and silver wings.”
“Do the tides command this ship?”
Probably one of the most iconic and terrifying Azula moments that illustrated just how intense and villainous she could be was in her very first episode. She commands the Captain of the Fire Navy ship to go after the Avatar, and she insists that they go against the rules of nature to do so.
This moment shows just how brutal Azula is to everyone around her, even those on her own side, and it is very revealing as to the type of leader she would be.
“I’m about to celebrate becoming an only child.”
Perhaps one of the most disturbing things that Azula ever says is this line that she tells Zuko. When Azula finds Zuko and Team Avatar at the Western Air Temple, Zuko asks what she’s doing, and she responds that she’s basically looking to murder her own brother.
This moment shows just how far she is willing to go and how no one really means anything to her in the end.
“You should have feared me more!”
This is another scene where Azula really shows how she treats those around her.
When Mai betrays Azula in order to help Zuko escape from the Boiling Rock prison, Azula is shocked at her decision. Mai says that she loves Zuko more than she fears Azula, which fills Azula with rage. She clearly doesn’t understand how emotions and relationships work beyond fear and manipulation.
“Oh, sounds like the firebending is back on.”
One of the most entertaining things about Azula is that while she can be truly bone-chilling and cruel at times, she also has a humor and arrogance about her that is fun to watch. When Aang and the others fail to defeat Ozai during the eclipse, Azula says this line once she is able to firebend again.
Her casual tone of voice and the joy she has in being able to fight again is palpable, and it’s a rather scary moment as dealing with Azula in a fight is never easy for the Gaang.
“Don’t flatter yourself. You were never even a player.”
After her masterful infiltration of Ba Sing Se and the Dai Li, Long Feng admits to his defeat by saying, “You’ve beaten me at my own game.”
In response, Azula says this insulting line that shows her arrogance and confidence. While this ends up being her downfall, at this moment, she truly is unparalleled.
“My mother thought I was a monster. She was right, of course, but it still hurt.”
While most of the time Azula is rather self-assured with no insecurities, when it comes to relationships, she actually has a lot of them.
Her relationship with her mother is clearly a sore spot for her, and she reveals just how difficult these memories are during the Ember Island trip. While Azula might not feel much remorse, she clearly does envy that her mother had a soft spot for Zuko instead of her.
“True power, the divine right to rule, is something you were born with.”
Azula is very narcissistic and power-hungry, and she also has messed up ideas about power and the worth of individuals. So when she says this line, she reveals that she truly believes that she was born to be great and to rule over other people.
It’s rather terrifying, but it also is intriguing given how young she is.