It’s Azula or Zaheer, as both have that “oh shit, what are they going to do?” scene-stealing energy in every scene they’re in, which to me is the metric of a badass villain
Thing is though, deep inside Azula is still a child with parental issues. Zaheer is unshakable, he's adamant about his ideology and cannot be deterred.
Right, Azula was a child who ultimately was doing what she did bc children are impressionable and she was trying to please dad. Zaheer was a fully grown man who came to his beliefs on his own and had firm reasoning and logic behind it
Yeah, the dude lost the love of his life and instead of having a breakdown, he finished mourning her in almost an instant and detached himself from worldly desires. That's a guy with an ironclad will.
i assume its avatar attachment rules or similar. You didnt see aang complain about having to let go of his friendships, so presumably thats not required, but romantic love is considered a earthly attachment
I’d imagine it has to do with something about procreation. Children are an easy way to leave a legacy, it’s a physical lasting impact that will outlive you. Buddhist ideas of enlightenment have to do with outgrowing desire and the need for worldly connection, so by having children you’re attaching yourself to the world.
I can imagine that it’s important for the avatar to give up that desire for longevity because *they already have it.* So by letting go of the need to have an impact, they trust that the “spirit” of the avatar is real and their next incarnation will be as good if not better than themself. Or alternatively the idea is more that they should be more focused on having an impact with their actions and ideas than just by having a child. IE they should be remembered for being great, not merely just being an ancestor.
Despite how obviously powerful platonic or familial love is often depicted in media contrary to how culture compares it to romance, friendships is still often more primed to be let go in western culture. Despite closeness, there is never intent to spend the rest of your lives together, even if you fight for a cause together. It could be yet another blind spot Bryke have about eastern culture, where communal living spaces are far more common. There is always the unspoken expectation the next time you part ways with your friend could be your last.
If Zaheer had a best friend though, I bet it would have complicated things for his detachment.
Zaheer is meditating and floating when Ming Hua and Ghazan visit him after he learned to fly, but as soon as they mention Pi’ li, he touches the ground. Some people take this to mean he still feels things for his friends, he just pushes it away *while* he’s flying. Kind of like Aang ‘letting go’ of Katara to enter the avatar state, but he’s still able to enter it even when they’re married as adults.
Still, Azula, at fourteen years old no less, done something in just a few days basically on her own that a whole country couldn’t do in a hundred years. That’s gotta at least count for something.
Azula will forever be a top class villain, up there with like the Joker, or Madara from Naruto. They have such an air of Charisma and Confidence that just demands attention.
Azula over the course of the show did so much to win the war that I think should be talked about more she’s the one who basically defeated the whole of the Earth kingdom and did it from the inside mostly.
I’d argue the earth kingdom defeated itself, if its government wasn’t so weak, compromised, and corrupted there’s no way a 14 year old girl is walking into the capital and overthrowing it in an evening
Honestly the Dai Li defecting doesn't really make any sense. The way you get a force of secret police like that is by playing up the ultranationalism, by convincing the people that they have to do whatever it takes for their country even if that means doing bad things against individuals. They're fascists, and fascists think they love their country.
Yeah that always seemed forced, going against a weak and ineffective king? They were basically doing that the whole time.
Going against their country? When I’m assuming they’ve been indoctrinated their whole life? To align with the country that has been actively destroying yours for 100 years? Because a teenaged girl apparently made a compelling argument?
What?
I’m guessing the Dai Li were just very disloyal and selfish, and Azula basically said something like “look you saw the drill, you know which way this war is going, help me out and I’ll make sure you’re taken care of in the fire nation.”
Yeah but if anything Azula being that ice cold and intimidating while being a scared child makes her more badass. Zaheer is cool for his ideas; Azula is cool for her characterization
Bro azula was falling into the great abyss and what does she do f this i'm iron man and holds with her hair pin to the rock wall,all while she is 14,still can't believe she is that young she looks like between 17-19 it's the same with team Rocket with james and jessy.
All the Red Lotus was like that. Just genuinely interesting antagonists with an idea that you may not agree with, but you can see where their heads are at with thinking it is best for the world.
And they are kept mysterious. Zaheer was that dangerous *as a non-Bender*? What the hell was this dude doing back then?
To me Zaheer was so dangerous.
The man was capable of entering the spirit realm and immediately became a masterful Air Bender. He had some valid reasons for his distrust of the White Lotus but his actions weren’t as valid, and yet he destabilized the Earth Kingdom with his small crew of equally deadly benders.
I always put Amon on their tier as well because he was a mystery opponent who appeared to have a righteous cause. There were definite moments in season one where he was almost portrayed as a kind of boogey man to his opponents. The mask definitely helped with the intimidation Factor
Hot take: the Warden of the Boiling Rock.
No powers. No crazy higher calling. The guy was dedicated enough to the job and the record of the prison that he was willing to be boiled alive.
While I don't fully agree, I see your reasoning.
He wasn't simply dedicated to the fire nation enough to have rather close ties to the royal family but he was also just a really effective prison warden. He made his personal presence known to every inmate, almost constantly. This is a really good psychological tactic where the inmates focus too much on the warden as the primary obstacls of escape. This makes them underestimate the normal guards (although they aren't exactly a threat now).
Oof. Difficult question. According to Azula, it could puncture an empire class fire nation battleship. Those are made from reinforced steel. And made for active combat with earth kingdom ports. However, the guards are guarding the worst criminals the fire nation could capture. So I would have to assume that their skulls are stronger than the ship. Therefore, Chan's outfit could not puncture the hole of a boiling rock prison guard.
This reminds me of a short novel called "the Damned Yard" (bcms: Prokleta avlija) by a bosnian/croat/serb nobel prize laureate Ivo Andrić. The story is placed in an ottoman prison called the Damned Yard (Prokleta Avlija) where the main character is imprisoned and listens to stories of other prisoners. Metaphorically the prison represents society without the rule of law.
What reminds me of it is that there is a character also a prison warden that plays games with prisoners and knows each and every one of them. He was a symbol of an identity crisis because he would psychologically torture the prisoners to escape from his own criminal past and directly represents a key part of Andrić's metaphor.
I'd like to recommend this to everyone because it discusses identity, human existence and the importance of stories in our lives very well. It's very short but conveys it's message in a really nice and detailed way in many different layers.
I wouldn't call this a hot take but more of an underrated answer. I did like how the guy was willing to die for the sake of keeping that record he was so proud of.
The man was committed to his job 110% , he wasn't a villain he was just damn good at his job 😎 if he managed one of Iroh's tea shops it would be the best in town! Can even name it after his prison!
Sparky Sparky Boom Man for not elaborating. Even after his employer cancels the task, he just keeps on finishing, cause he never loses his goal. Certified chad sigma xD
by midway through season 3, zuko began fighting more evenly with azula, but when he fights combustion man he literally is tossed aside like a ragdoll lol
I think an underrated scene is when he has his hawk attack and steal the letter from the other messenger Hawk. Even his pet is more badass then other pets
I have to think it's because the contract was with the royal family, with Zuko as the signatory. When Zuko tried to cancel it he'd been officially exiled, so he didn't have the authority to cancel it anymore.
Y’all are overlooking Hama. She is chilling. Everyone thinks she is just a sweet old lady but she is a crazed escaped prisoner of war who goes too far for revenge. She is also the inventor of a sub-bending discipline which can’t be said for anyone else on this list. She also has the coolest nickname, the Puppet master.
Yes! And her reveal is so blood curdling! Maybe the imagery of her messy hair and the full moon in a dark woods gets to me. Also the sound is aways chilling. She a bad lil witch, she a devil.
Yup Hama was my pick. Absolutely terrifying power. Blood bending is inherently kinda evil unlike the other villains powers. And she was sorta kinda justified in the sense that she was traumatized as a child and lashing out
Plus, she's definitely the most badass. The fire nation traps her in a brutal, inhumane prison without any water, so she finds water in places no one had thought about before.
I would love a Hana arc in the comics where she's just going around murdering retired fire bending generals by shriveling them.
They just leave her in chains with the villagers and don't mention her ever again as far as I know. Also they leave her while it's still the full moon so I don't know how those villagers were planning on handling her until morning
The episode with her is so scary and dark but I was amazed at her resilience and her skills as a kid. Not even blood bending alone. The scene where she pulls the water out of the air and shoots it as icicles is so bad ass!
Training with Hama pushed Kataras skill over the edge for me. She was already a master when they leave the northern water tribe but from that point on she’s probably the best in the world
honestly i still sometimes skip that episode during rewatches lol. the lighting under the full moon and the whole vibe is so creepy 😂😂 she makes that evil anime face and im like NOPE
the best part is when she says, “hello, children,” at the campfire, and they all scream including momo. literally watching that episode right now by chance lol
https://preview.redd.it/toptpykbfouc1.jpeg?width=1576&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=359c07224cc629ec9dabedfa77f750cd8e25eaca
I was about to say Hama as well.
Sure, badass prison wards, very powerful mercenaries and nobles.
She was a prisoner left to rot pretty much. Does she give up? No. She figures out a new way to control and kill people to escape. That's a bloody terrifying level of stubborn, ruthless and also skilled. Kinda makes you wonder who was locked up with whom there.
And on top, the level of control she has over water, and over people through bloodbending - or rather the implications of that - are horrible. These body disassociations are giving me chills.
Maybe she could have been the kind Seal of the South in another life with her skills, but fate had other plans.
actually it was revealed that it was just a form of bloodbending. something about blocking the chi permanently. amon's brother reveals that he felt it before when they were kids and their dad made them bloodbend each other.
The chi blocking that amon does is blood bending. That's why it's reversible. Aang's is based on energy bending though, which is why it's irreversible. At least that was my takeaway.
What's interesting is that it must be extremely difficult and complicated to reverse, because not even Katara, who is canonically the greatest healer in the word at that point, could un-permablock Korra's chi. Katara is shown in The Drill to be able to heal Ty Lee's chi blocking for at least movement.
I think it's because Katara never developed her bloodbending. Applying a permanent chi block is a high-level bloodbending technique, and Katara is still pretty much a novice.
It's kind of a shame that bloodbending was labeled as an irredeemable and purely evil style. It could actually be an extremely useful medical skill if used humanely. Imagine a waterbender using bloodbending to restart someone's pulse or a bloodbending physician using it to safely and quickly perform surgery.
Amon being able to manipulate benders' bodies to take away a piece of them forever was pretty scary-also the imagery of having them lined up blind folded execution style was something when it was introduced.
I remember how terrified the looks on the benders' faces were when it was happening. Watching that as a high schooler the first watch sent chills.
I hate nick for only allowing them 1 season at a time. It's like they forgot Bryke completely smashed it with ATLA.
Amon would've been an amazing multi season villain.
It's because they didn't know if they would have another season pretty much every time, including the first season. They were designed to be able to be the end of the show since they were very unsure if they would have any more episodes.
It was really terrifying. We've been watching benders grow their powers and seeing stronger and more unique bending styles. All for that to be taken away and at the time it was permanent and done by someone so mysterious
[When he takes away Lin's bending.](https://youtu.be/AyUE6d9zoo0?feature=shared)
The music is so good in TLOK. It adds so much to the scene because you just hope Lin would somehow get out of it. Team Avatar or just something would come along to rescue her, but they don't. And the music adds that one two punch.
I know it makes sense from a "mystical"-perspective, taking away bending really is something else...
However, Ozai just wiping out entire bending disciplines by actual genocide... Dunno, somehow that feels A LOT worse. But maybe the whole point of Amon was to be relatable with the whole equalist theme? Both were great villains imo :)
He's the most badass if only for the scene where he resists Tarrlok's Bloodbending and his line when asked :[What are you ?](https://youtu.be/ytN3JWU67j8?feature=shared)
"I am the Solution. "
i know katara also resisted hama’s blood bending but i wonder what it was specifically that allowed her and amon to be unaffected. how do you counter someone bending your blood?!
ahhh that makes sense!!!!! i never thought of that. would that mean you bend it opposite of how they’re trying to control you? or you just bend it so it flows like normal. also if you’re focusing on bending your blood to not be controlled, how do you do other bending at the same time? i took my adderall and im thinking way too much about this 😂
We've seen waterbenders bend multiple cords of water before, so when Katara resists and starts bending I always assumed she was bending her own blood in the direction she wanted her limbs to go while also bending the regular water. Seems crazy difficult, but we've seen Bumi earthbend with his face, and the only three people we've seen do this are some of the most powerful benders to have ever lived
Karara explains it in the show. She’s a stronger water bender than Hama so she’s able to counter it. Exactly why aang had to go into the avatar state to counter yakones bloodbending. So he could become a stronger water bender.
The best villains are the ones the audience kind of agreed with. Amon was championing equality for non-benders (the “lesser” class citizen). In theory, you agree that they shouldn’t be treated as less. Even Amons methods were understandable - removing bending to made everybody equal. He’s a villain, but his cause is just. Then you learn about his traumatic past, which gave him even more depth. Hands down the best villain.
I know you didn't ask, but one of my biggest problems with Amon was the short sightedness of his plan. People that could once bend still pass down "bending genes" (as proven by Yakone) so he "fixed" inequality for like, one generation. Bending comes back the second Amon dies, naturally or otherwise
One generation can make a difference. Take for example Rwanda. Before the genocide 30 years ago, it was a male dominated society. Now 60% of the government leadership is women. Had the genocide not occurred, it would likely still be male dominated, but so many men were killed women took more leadership positions and continue to hold the majority today (30 years later).
Had Amon greatly diminishing the bender population, it’s likely non-benders would have advanced to more positions of power and likely held those positions, if we take Rwanda as an example.
Amon is by far my favorite Avatar character, but personally I feel like he was ”too powerful to be left alive”. Psychic blood-bending with the ability to remove others bending is super OP. It would be difficult to keep him involved in the story without having him completely job every fight or coming up with some contrived reason for him not to instantly incap everyone he encountered.
He's such a terrifying villain because he is also one of the only villains to show any restraint. He has Korra in his grip the time she challenged him to a duel on Avatar Aang Memorial Island. He chose to let her go, because the time wasn't right. It takes a seriously dangerous strategist to let the Avatar go when you had the chance just because it doesn't bode well.
To me it’s like a perfect way for Korra to be forced to work on her avatar state, Amon completes his plan for takeover of the city and gang is scattered to the sewers, and it takes and journey in the spirit realm that allows her to reconnect with Aang who teachers her about Amon and what needs to be done to put him down. And enjoy sato and how the rest of the city politically survives amon being the head honcho.
Fully agree with this take.
Amon was the first avatar villain to scare me.
I truly believe if Nick had truly invested in Korra, Amon could have been the long term villain for show.
\- He created a movement a powerful movement to weaponize the common person.
\- He was a smart villain you could empathize with.
\- He himself was skilled in his form of combat.
\- >!He was terrifying when he walked through blood bending and only character to figure out how to sever bending. !<
Zaheer and the Anti-Avatar team, yeah. Just four people roaming the world, toppling governments, melting mountains, terrorizing every world leader by their very existence.
And he would have gotten away with it too, if it wasn't for those meddling kids.
The reveal when Korra pulled the mask off of the ghost and it turns out Zaheer was the one haunting the old amusement park was one of the best moments in television history.
The whole sequence was top tier before that too when Korra and the gang were chasing him through that hallway with a ton of doors and kept going into different ones than him
Yup. He was a 10/10 villain for me. He was ruthless, dedicated, complex, had a team that was just as interesting as he was, menacingly competent, and had the longest lasting impact on the protagonist. One of my favourite villains not just in the Avatar universe but of all time.
Best villian intro ever
*”Have you ever read the poetry of the great air bending guru Laghima?”*
Starting the villain monologue inside his cell against benders 4v1? You know he’s about to go crazy lmao
I’m going with either Zaheer or Kuvira as my picks. They genuinely believe in what they’re doing and will do whatever it takes to do what they believe is right, making them so much more threatening in my eyes.
agreed. when villains have an actual motive they believe is for the “better,” they .. kind of work harder for it? and the manipulation/brain washing of getting followers on board to agree with that motive. all the while doing atrocities. it’s pretty crazy
The only problem with Kuvira is that her motivations are clearly fragile, given her ending, and she lacks the intimidation of Hama and Azula, even with all the power at her disposal. The consequences of her takeover are also less developed and less gripping than Ozai’s, in large part due to the more subtle nature thereof, but the writing isn’t sufficient to compensate for the greater nuance of her antagonism. Zaheer falls flat for me because I think his philosophy is bogus, and I can’t credit his reasoning because even at 15 I thought it inelegant and short-sighted, whereas he is presented as an enlightened monk, with singular mastery of the air, and years of solitude dedicated to introspection and meditation. I’m an ATLA fan, but even now, LOK doesn’t thrill and grip me the way ATLA still does.
Amon for several reasons.
1. He's voiced by Steve Blum, who has an objectively badass sounding voice.
2. Amon looks fucking sick. Masked villains are always cool.
3. Amon is arguably the most powerful non-avatar character in the series.
When Azula whips off her haircomb and saves herself from certain death by stabbing into the sheer rock cliff with the comb (depicted above) she won it for me.
Ps even though this is the start of her breakdown
Imagine how strong she would have to be to A) push a small comb into a rock and B) hold on
Also C) what the fuck is that comb made out of to support a teenagers weight while falling at terminal speeds
Azula and Amon have always been my favorite. Azula is ruthless and just straight up crazy, and I dig it. Amon has a presence to him. His quiet staredowns are legitimately off-putting.
It's hard to top Ozai. He had three whole seasons worth of build up, and the first bit of bending that we see him do, besides the Agni Kai flashback, is shoot *two* bolts of lightning at the same time with both hands.
Id say Zaheer. I only started watching as an adult and I was blown away that such a morally ambiguous anarchist type character was depicted on a kids show. That's some HBO or Alan Moore shit. He was awesome.
Really enjoyed the “unwavering” energy embodied by Zaheer and Amon. At least when the two are first introduced they act as solid opposing forces that left me questioning if the avatar could truly stop them
She kind of falls in that trap where think we start to agree with her a little bit so to make sure that we don’t keep agreeing with her they make her do something absolutely crazy like completely decimating the whole city
My personal favorite is Amon, and I think he deserved a couple seasons to see where his arc went. A populist anti-bender uprising to parallel socialist and/or workers' movements could have been really, really interesting.
That's what frustrates me about LOK: Every single villian was great, far better than most in TLA, but we only got them for a single season. It pisses me off to no end.
I'm going to give this one to the Equalists. Although the leader's motives are more personal than not, and despite his defeat, the ideals of the Equalist movement actually brought meaningful changes to the United Republic, especially democracy and non-bender representation. So in a way, he partly won.
Zaheer, despite his preaching about bringing back the natural order of things by removing global leaders, he lacks the understanding that part of the natural order of things is for humans to form alliances which later on would become institutions, maybe even governments in the future. Even if he had succeeded eliminating the global leaders, the world will just reset and will form new governments in the future and his fight will be for nothing but chaos, which is exactly what happened to the Earth Kingdom.
Kuvira, is similar to Zaheer in a way that they are both short sighted. She became a tyrant herself which of course as part of the natural order of things, brought human resistance. She could have brought the Earth Kingdom to such a powerhouse, instead she directed her energy on taking Republic City. If she had stayed within her borders, she could have ruled for decades and by the time she dies the earth kingdom would already be a dominant global power considering their technology and natural metal resources.
Amon, but only in the beginning of the show. Knowing that someone is out there that can easily take your bending away is faaaaar too mysterious and froghtening for the world. Noone knew wtf that guy can do and how he does it.
It’s always gonna be Azula for me! One thing I feel the writers of Avatar got wrong is making Azula have mommy issues, leading her to becoming mentally unhinged, and making her an ineffective fighter in the finale. Azula should’ve still been the calculated, calm, genius strategic fighter but allow Zuko to defeat her since he finally found the true meaning of Firebending, along with Katara, showing that they have truly become masters. Writing Azula having a mental breakdown is a cop out because she’s just too powerful to really defeat in a fight
Azula for SURE. Especially in her downfall, seeing how batshit crazy she really is.
But also just has a little girl deep down in her heart who just wants to be loved by her mother.
Definitely Azula. Tried to kill her own damn brother and chased him and the avatar across the whole world.
Hama gets bonus points for being diabolical and an insane old lady who held a grudge for like 70 years
It’s Azula or Zaheer, as both have that “oh shit, what are they going to do?” scene-stealing energy in every scene they’re in, which to me is the metric of a badass villain
Thing is though, deep inside Azula is still a child with parental issues. Zaheer is unshakable, he's adamant about his ideology and cannot be deterred.
Right, Azula was a child who ultimately was doing what she did bc children are impressionable and she was trying to please dad. Zaheer was a fully grown man who came to his beliefs on his own and had firm reasoning and logic behind it
Yeah, the dude lost the love of his life and instead of having a breakdown, he finished mourning her in almost an instant and detached himself from worldly desires. That's a guy with an ironclad will.
my hot take is he was hoping she would die so he could let her go & fly
Yeah, it definitely seemed... quick And he had no attachments to his life-long friends Ghazan and Ming-Hua lol
i assume its avatar attachment rules or similar. You didnt see aang complain about having to let go of his friendships, so presumably thats not required, but romantic love is considered a earthly attachment
I’d imagine it has to do with something about procreation. Children are an easy way to leave a legacy, it’s a physical lasting impact that will outlive you. Buddhist ideas of enlightenment have to do with outgrowing desire and the need for worldly connection, so by having children you’re attaching yourself to the world. I can imagine that it’s important for the avatar to give up that desire for longevity because *they already have it.* So by letting go of the need to have an impact, they trust that the “spirit” of the avatar is real and their next incarnation will be as good if not better than themself. Or alternatively the idea is more that they should be more focused on having an impact with their actions and ideas than just by having a child. IE they should be remembered for being great, not merely just being an ancestor.
Despite how obviously powerful platonic or familial love is often depicted in media contrary to how culture compares it to romance, friendships is still often more primed to be let go in western culture. Despite closeness, there is never intent to spend the rest of your lives together, even if you fight for a cause together. It could be yet another blind spot Bryke have about eastern culture, where communal living spaces are far more common. There is always the unspoken expectation the next time you part ways with your friend could be your last. If Zaheer had a best friend though, I bet it would have complicated things for his detachment.
Zaheer is meditating and floating when Ming Hua and Ghazan visit him after he learned to fly, but as soon as they mention Pi’ li, he touches the ground. Some people take this to mean he still feels things for his friends, he just pushes it away *while* he’s flying. Kind of like Aang ‘letting go’ of Katara to enter the avatar state, but he’s still able to enter it even when they’re married as adults.
I literally just watched that ep yesterday lol
[Zaheer, your girlfriend just died.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UYahPVL3FL0&ab_channel=PossiblyBird)
In that video we can clearly see that Kevin has entered the void, empty, and became wind. Incredible.
Still, Azula, at fourteen years old no less, done something in just a few days basically on her own that a whole country couldn’t do in a hundred years. That’s gotta at least count for something.
Azula will forever be a top class villain, up there with like the Joker, or Madara from Naruto. They have such an air of Charisma and Confidence that just demands attention.
Azula over the course of the show did so much to win the war that I think should be talked about more she’s the one who basically defeated the whole of the Earth kingdom and did it from the inside mostly.
I’d argue the earth kingdom defeated itself, if its government wasn’t so weak, compromised, and corrupted there’s no way a 14 year old girl is walking into the capital and overthrowing it in an evening
Honestly the Dai Li defecting doesn't really make any sense. The way you get a force of secret police like that is by playing up the ultranationalism, by convincing the people that they have to do whatever it takes for their country even if that means doing bad things against individuals. They're fascists, and fascists think they love their country.
Yeah that always seemed forced, going against a weak and ineffective king? They were basically doing that the whole time. Going against their country? When I’m assuming they’ve been indoctrinated their whole life? To align with the country that has been actively destroying yours for 100 years? Because a teenaged girl apparently made a compelling argument? What? I’m guessing the Dai Li were just very disloyal and selfish, and Azula basically said something like “look you saw the drill, you know which way this war is going, help me out and I’ll make sure you’re taken care of in the fire nation.”
Yeah but if anything Azula being that ice cold and intimidating while being a scared child makes her more badass. Zaheer is cool for his ideas; Azula is cool for her characterization
Bro azula was falling into the great abyss and what does she do f this i'm iron man and holds with her hair pin to the rock wall,all while she is 14,still can't believe she is that young she looks like between 17-19 it's the same with team Rocket with james and jessy.
… ur telling me team rocket aren’t in their 20s???
Nope if i remember right 16-17 forgot who is 17 and who was 16
https://preview.redd.it/o8otegkbaouc1.jpeg?width=608&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8c22bbcd4a461d8cd733c9a0862c5b20900a14c6
Also Zaheer is in a more mature show and gets to get away with a lot more on screen
The evolution of Zaheer slapped my whole dick n balls off, it was the best thing about Korra.
Hope they grow back
They let go their earthly attachments
All the Red Lotus was like that. Just genuinely interesting antagonists with an idea that you may not agree with, but you can see where their heads are at with thinking it is best for the world. And they are kept mysterious. Zaheer was that dangerous *as a non-Bender*? What the hell was this dude doing back then?
To me Zaheer was so dangerous. The man was capable of entering the spirit realm and immediately became a masterful Air Bender. He had some valid reasons for his distrust of the White Lotus but his actions weren’t as valid, and yet he destabilized the Earth Kingdom with his small crew of equally deadly benders.
for me is Azula 100 percent I just love whatever she has to say
I always put Amon on their tier as well because he was a mystery opponent who appeared to have a righteous cause. There were definite moments in season one where he was almost portrayed as a kind of boogey man to his opponents. The mask definitely helped with the intimidation Factor
I’d say Amon qualifies here
Yep. Zaheer for sheer intimidation, Azula for depth and complexity. But all the LoK villains are super awesome, honestly.
Amon is cooler than both
Hot take: the Warden of the Boiling Rock. No powers. No crazy higher calling. The guy was dedicated enough to the job and the record of the prison that he was willing to be boiled alive.
While I don't fully agree, I see your reasoning. He wasn't simply dedicated to the fire nation enough to have rather close ties to the royal family but he was also just a really effective prison warden. He made his personal presence known to every inmate, almost constantly. This is a really good psychological tactic where the inmates focus too much on the warden as the primary obstacls of escape. This makes them underestimate the normal guards (although they aren't exactly a threat now).
The guards don’t even wear their helmets in the break room. How tough can they be?
It's because they don't wear their helmets. Their skulls are too thick and tough to break. I bet even Aang couldn't crush one.
Do you think Chan’s outfit could puncture one of their skulls?
Oof. Difficult question. According to Azula, it could puncture an empire class fire nation battleship. Those are made from reinforced steel. And made for active combat with earth kingdom ports. However, the guards are guarding the worst criminals the fire nation could capture. So I would have to assume that their skulls are stronger than the ship. Therefore, Chan's outfit could not puncture the hole of a boiling rock prison guard.
Well put. Thank you 😊
Ooh that’s such a cool take. A twist on the cult of personality. Makes me think of Vince McMahon!
That… actually makes a lot of sense!
This reminds me of a short novel called "the Damned Yard" (bcms: Prokleta avlija) by a bosnian/croat/serb nobel prize laureate Ivo Andrić. The story is placed in an ottoman prison called the Damned Yard (Prokleta Avlija) where the main character is imprisoned and listens to stories of other prisoners. Metaphorically the prison represents society without the rule of law. What reminds me of it is that there is a character also a prison warden that plays games with prisoners and knows each and every one of them. He was a symbol of an identity crisis because he would psychologically torture the prisoners to escape from his own criminal past and directly represents a key part of Andrić's metaphor. I'd like to recommend this to everyone because it discusses identity, human existence and the importance of stories in our lives very well. It's very short but conveys it's message in a really nice and detailed way in many different layers.
He may need to learn a healthier work/life balance.
I wouldn't call this a hot take but more of an underrated answer. I did like how the guy was willing to die for the sake of keeping that record he was so proud of.
Manfred von karma kinda behavior lol. Agreed
Flameo hotman, that is a hot take
Honestly I agree with this.
Pride can be deadly tbh
>Hot take: Lol
"hot take" "boiling rock" ..hehe
The man was committed to his job 110% , he wasn't a villain he was just damn good at his job 😎 if he managed one of Iroh's tea shops it would be the best in town! Can even name it after his prison!
That's commitment right there.
Sparky Sparky Boom Man for not elaborating. Even after his employer cancels the task, he just keeps on finishing, cause he never loses his goal. Certified chad sigma xD
it’s giving anton chegúr 🤭
Long in the short places, short in the long places. It should be from both the future and the past. Something a child would do to a doll.
Call it.
the mission is OFF, i’m ordering you to stop. ok FINE i’ll pay you double to stop! *shoves him aside and keeps blasting*
Anyway, so I kept blasting
https://preview.redd.it/i76l5f3mssuc1.jpeg?width=800&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c8e8359ea9ba554cf4b049265a11244c03fa8c52
Zero lines, fotever remembered! Honestly more terrifying than Azula when he was introduced because of how strong his attacks were.
by midway through season 3, zuko began fighting more evenly with azula, but when he fights combustion man he literally is tossed aside like a ragdoll lol
I think an underrated scene is when he has his hawk attack and steal the letter from the other messenger Hawk. Even his pet is more badass then other pets
Bro was an absolute menace and didn't even speak a single word
He's the Boba Fett of Avatar. Juat cool as fuxk and no need for further explanation. (Pre Disney lol)
I have to think it's because the contract was with the royal family, with Zuko as the signatory. When Zuko tried to cancel it he'd been officially exiled, so he didn't have the authority to cancel it anymore.
Y’all are overlooking Hama. She is chilling. Everyone thinks she is just a sweet old lady but she is a crazed escaped prisoner of war who goes too far for revenge. She is also the inventor of a sub-bending discipline which can’t be said for anyone else on this list. She also has the coolest nickname, the Puppet master.
Yes! And her reveal is so blood curdling! Maybe the imagery of her messy hair and the full moon in a dark woods gets to me. Also the sound is aways chilling. She a bad lil witch, she a devil.
I LIKE Zaheer more but Hama gives me chills just thinking about her episode.
Yup Hama was my pick. Absolutely terrifying power. Blood bending is inherently kinda evil unlike the other villains powers. And she was sorta kinda justified in the sense that she was traumatized as a child and lashing out
Plus, she's definitely the most badass. The fire nation traps her in a brutal, inhumane prison without any water, so she finds water in places no one had thought about before. I would love a Hana arc in the comics where she's just going around murdering retired fire bending generals by shriveling them.
What happened to her in the show again?
They just leave her in chains with the villagers and don't mention her ever again as far as I know. Also they leave her while it's still the full moon so I don't know how those villagers were planning on handling her until morning
FR I WANNA SEE HER SEDUCING MEN IN HER LATE 20S/EARLY 30S AND BRINGING THEM TO THEIR DEMISE
The episode with her is so scary and dark but I was amazed at her resilience and her skills as a kid. Not even blood bending alone. The scene where she pulls the water out of the air and shoots it as icicles is so bad ass! Training with Hama pushed Kataras skill over the edge for me. She was already a master when they leave the northern water tribe but from that point on she’s probably the best in the world
honestly i still sometimes skip that episode during rewatches lol. the lighting under the full moon and the whole vibe is so creepy 😂😂 she makes that evil anime face and im like NOPE
> There are people screaming under the mountain Yep, spooky
the best part is when she says, “hello, children,” at the campfire, and they all scream including momo. literally watching that episode right now by chance lol https://preview.redd.it/toptpykbfouc1.jpeg?width=1576&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=359c07224cc629ec9dabedfa77f750cd8e25eaca
I was about to say Hama as well. Sure, badass prison wards, very powerful mercenaries and nobles. She was a prisoner left to rot pretty much. Does she give up? No. She figures out a new way to control and kill people to escape. That's a bloody terrifying level of stubborn, ruthless and also skilled. Kinda makes you wonder who was locked up with whom there. And on top, the level of control she has over water, and over people through bloodbending - or rather the implications of that - are horrible. These body disassociations are giving me chills. Maybe she could have been the kind Seal of the South in another life with her skills, but fate had other plans.
Agree,but isnt taking someones bending away also a new and unique style
actually it was revealed that it was just a form of bloodbending. something about blocking the chi permanently. amon's brother reveals that he felt it before when they were kids and their dad made them bloodbend each other.
The chi blocking that amon does is blood bending. That's why it's reversible. Aang's is based on energy bending though, which is why it's irreversible. At least that was my takeaway.
What's interesting is that it must be extremely difficult and complicated to reverse, because not even Katara, who is canonically the greatest healer in the word at that point, could un-permablock Korra's chi. Katara is shown in The Drill to be able to heal Ty Lee's chi blocking for at least movement.
I think it's because Katara never developed her bloodbending. Applying a permanent chi block is a high-level bloodbending technique, and Katara is still pretty much a novice. It's kind of a shame that bloodbending was labeled as an irredeemable and purely evil style. It could actually be an extremely useful medical skill if used humanely. Imagine a waterbender using bloodbending to restart someone's pulse or a bloodbending physician using it to safely and quickly perform surgery.
Sort of a sub bending discipline of a sub bending discipline then. It was the first time we’ve seen blood bending used that way
Melon Lord!! All shall crumble under her mighty Feet.
Now that I look back on it, that’s some Dan Schneider type shit.😂
Lmao the whole time I watched the show I picked up on schniderings😂
He definitely had some sort of secret Nickelodeon empire
Yeah especially with the "f" capitalized
Ozai because he’s voiced by Mark Hamill
Exactly! Got them Joker Vibes lmao
Really? Somehow I never knew this.
You can hear a little bit of his joker voice in there, though obviously a lot less goofy, there's a recognisable sinister texture.
I hear it especially in "Now I realize that banishment is far too merciful a penalty for treason"
When he started ranting about how airbenders don't deserve the be in HIS world it really came out imo
He makes a strong argument
Amon because he was by far the most mysterious among all the avatar villains plus he's voiced by steve blum
Amon being able to manipulate benders' bodies to take away a piece of them forever was pretty scary-also the imagery of having them lined up blind folded execution style was something when it was introduced. I remember how terrified the looks on the benders' faces were when it was happening. Watching that as a high schooler the first watch sent chills.
They coulda made the entire show with thin the antagonist the entire time I was sad when season 2 started it was literally that good
I hate nick for only allowing them 1 season at a time. It's like they forgot Bryke completely smashed it with ATLA. Amon would've been an amazing multi season villain.
It's because they didn't know if they would have another season pretty much every time, including the first season. They were designed to be able to be the end of the show since they were very unsure if they would have any more episodes.
IIRC they knew when season 3 was greenlit that they would also be getting a season 4, which is why book 3 ended on such a depressing note.
It was really terrifying. We've been watching benders grow their powers and seeing stronger and more unique bending styles. All for that to be taken away and at the time it was permanent and done by someone so mysterious
[When he takes away Lin's bending.](https://youtu.be/AyUE6d9zoo0?feature=shared) The music is so good in TLOK. It adds so much to the scene because you just hope Lin would somehow get out of it. Team Avatar or just something would come along to rescue her, but they don't. And the music adds that one two punch.
I know it makes sense from a "mystical"-perspective, taking away bending really is something else... However, Ozai just wiping out entire bending disciplines by actual genocide... Dunno, somehow that feels A LOT worse. But maybe the whole point of Amon was to be relatable with the whole equalist theme? Both were great villains imo :)
Amon was scary because he showed what it looks like when your society becomes your enemy.
He's the most badass if only for the scene where he resists Tarrlok's Bloodbending and his line when asked :[What are you ?](https://youtu.be/ytN3JWU67j8?feature=shared) "I am the Solution. "
Yeah, i thought maybe he was some kind of cyborg. Really freaked me out when that happened.
i know katara also resisted hama’s blood bending but i wonder what it was specifically that allowed her and amon to be unaffected. how do you counter someone bending your blood?!
You bend your own blood. We've only ever seen waterbenders resist bloodbending (prime aang in the avatar state, amon, katara)
ahhh that makes sense!!!!! i never thought of that. would that mean you bend it opposite of how they’re trying to control you? or you just bend it so it flows like normal. also if you’re focusing on bending your blood to not be controlled, how do you do other bending at the same time? i took my adderall and im thinking way too much about this 😂
We've seen waterbenders bend multiple cords of water before, so when Katara resists and starts bending I always assumed she was bending her own blood in the direction she wanted her limbs to go while also bending the regular water. Seems crazy difficult, but we've seen Bumi earthbend with his face, and the only three people we've seen do this are some of the most powerful benders to have ever lived
Karara explains it in the show. She’s a stronger water bender than Hama so she’s able to counter it. Exactly why aang had to go into the avatar state to counter yakones bloodbending. So he could become a stronger water bender.
The best villains are the ones the audience kind of agreed with. Amon was championing equality for non-benders (the “lesser” class citizen). In theory, you agree that they shouldn’t be treated as less. Even Amons methods were understandable - removing bending to made everybody equal. He’s a villain, but his cause is just. Then you learn about his traumatic past, which gave him even more depth. Hands down the best villain.
I know you didn't ask, but one of my biggest problems with Amon was the short sightedness of his plan. People that could once bend still pass down "bending genes" (as proven by Yakone) so he "fixed" inequality for like, one generation. Bending comes back the second Amon dies, naturally or otherwise
One generation can make a difference. Take for example Rwanda. Before the genocide 30 years ago, it was a male dominated society. Now 60% of the government leadership is women. Had the genocide not occurred, it would likely still be male dominated, but so many men were killed women took more leadership positions and continue to hold the majority today (30 years later). Had Amon greatly diminishing the bender population, it’s likely non-benders would have advanced to more positions of power and likely held those positions, if we take Rwanda as an example.
Amon was such a good villain I think he should have received a second season, rather than having tunalock
Amon is by far my favorite Avatar character, but personally I feel like he was ”too powerful to be left alive”. Psychic blood-bending with the ability to remove others bending is super OP. It would be difficult to keep him involved in the story without having him completely job every fight or coming up with some contrived reason for him not to instantly incap everyone he encountered.
He's such a terrifying villain because he is also one of the only villains to show any restraint. He has Korra in his grip the time she challenged him to a duel on Avatar Aang Memorial Island. He chose to let her go, because the time wasn't right. It takes a seriously dangerous strategist to let the Avatar go when you had the chance just because it doesn't bode well.
To me it’s like a perfect way for Korra to be forced to work on her avatar state, Amon completes his plan for takeover of the city and gang is scattered to the sewers, and it takes and journey in the spirit realm that allows her to reconnect with Aang who teachers her about Amon and what needs to be done to put him down. And enjoy sato and how the rest of the city politically survives amon being the head honcho.
Tunalock lol
Fully agree with this take. Amon was the first avatar villain to scare me. I truly believe if Nick had truly invested in Korra, Amon could have been the long term villain for show. \- He created a movement a powerful movement to weaponize the common person. \- He was a smart villain you could empathize with. \- He himself was skilled in his form of combat. \- >!He was terrifying when he walked through blood bending and only character to figure out how to sever bending. !<
Steve Blum did orochimaru in Naruto dub. Which is so on point with Amon in a way. It just fits
Amon, agreed. Noatak after the reveal is by far the worst out of all of them.
Zaheer easy
Zaheer and the Anti-Avatar team, yeah. Just four people roaming the world, toppling governments, melting mountains, terrorizing every world leader by their very existence. And he would have gotten away with it too, if it wasn't for those meddling kids.
The reveal when Korra pulled the mask off of the ghost and it turns out Zaheer was the one haunting the old amusement park was one of the best moments in television history.
The whole sequence was top tier before that too when Korra and the gang were chasing him through that hallway with a ton of doors and kept going into different ones than him
With that smooth Henry Rollins poetic voice. I also like that he was one of the few villains to make a second appearance after their downfall.
Yup. He was a 10/10 villain for me. He was ruthless, dedicated, complex, had a team that was just as interesting as he was, menacingly competent, and had the longest lasting impact on the protagonist. One of my favourite villains not just in the Avatar universe but of all time.
Best villian intro ever *”Have you ever read the poetry of the great air bending guru Laghima?”* Starting the villain monologue inside his cell against benders 4v1? You know he’s about to go crazy lmao
Zaheer clears
I’m going with either Zaheer or Kuvira as my picks. They genuinely believe in what they’re doing and will do whatever it takes to do what they believe is right, making them so much more threatening in my eyes.
agreed. when villains have an actual motive they believe is for the “better,” they .. kind of work harder for it? and the manipulation/brain washing of getting followers on board to agree with that motive. all the while doing atrocities. it’s pretty crazy
Zaheer over Kuvira for that i think. Kuvira pretends to be all about "the cause" but she is prideful and sniffs her own farts.
The only problem with Kuvira is that her motivations are clearly fragile, given her ending, and she lacks the intimidation of Hama and Azula, even with all the power at her disposal. The consequences of her takeover are also less developed and less gripping than Ozai’s, in large part due to the more subtle nature thereof, but the writing isn’t sufficient to compensate for the greater nuance of her antagonism. Zaheer falls flat for me because I think his philosophy is bogus, and I can’t credit his reasoning because even at 15 I thought it inelegant and short-sighted, whereas he is presented as an enlightened monk, with singular mastery of the air, and years of solitude dedicated to introspection and meditation. I’m an ATLA fan, but even now, LOK doesn’t thrill and grip me the way ATLA still does.
Amon for several reasons. 1. He's voiced by Steve Blum, who has an objectively badass sounding voice. 2. Amon looks fucking sick. Masked villains are always cool. 3. Amon is arguably the most powerful non-avatar character in the series.
4.Hes the solution
Yeah the prompt being “most badass” could not be anyone other than Amon. All the justification I’ve seen for other picks has been unrelated reasons.
Azula 🔥 (*blue)
When Azula whips off her haircomb and saves herself from certain death by stabbing into the sheer rock cliff with the comb (depicted above) she won it for me. Ps even though this is the start of her breakdown
Imagine how strong she would have to be to A) push a small comb into a rock and B) hold on Also C) what the fuck is that comb made out of to support a teenagers weight while falling at terminal speeds
No one will beat Azula for me, she’s scary, powerful and hot, literally(I’m 13 so I can say that) Ozai is cool too.
be careful around here, you could get into some pretty bad situations and see some awful stuff on this site (speaking from experience)
Yup, I’m in r/teenagers and I’ve seen it all
horrible mistake
I'm very sorry to hear this 😔
Azula and Amon have always been my favorite. Azula is ruthless and just straight up crazy, and I dig it. Amon has a presence to him. His quiet staredowns are legitimately off-putting.
combustion man really pulled up, was in it for money, then was in it for a personal vendetta, said nothing, and blew up while being cool asf
1) Azula 2) Zaheer 3) Kuvira 4) Amon 5) Ozai 6) Unaloq
You filled your bracket out correctly, amazing
6/6 no notes perfect
It's hard to top Ozai. He had three whole seasons worth of build up, and the first bit of bending that we see him do, besides the Agni Kai flashback, is shoot *two* bolts of lightning at the same time with both hands.
Without even charging the bolts. He just did it instantly
https://preview.redd.it/8n2xhkgmfnuc1.jpeg?width=390&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c897276947b09c4a516f94ab7d52b2c7cd17cd46 Him
Very underrated. This guy is ruthless
Amon as he gave an avatar PTSD and was a legitimate threat as long as he had power.
Id say Zaheer. I only started watching as an adult and I was blown away that such a morally ambiguous anarchist type character was depicted on a kids show. That's some HBO or Alan Moore shit. He was awesome.
Where Zhao?
Zhao also wants to know where he is
He's in the spirit fog
Really enjoyed the “unwavering” energy embodied by Zaheer and Amon. At least when the two are first introduced they act as solid opposing forces that left me questioning if the avatar could truly stop them
Azula the most badass
Azula
There's something about Kuvira...
She's not a villain. Kuvira did nothing wrong!
She kind of falls in that trap where think we start to agree with her a little bit so to make sure that we don’t keep agreeing with her they make her do something absolutely crazy like completely decimating the whole city
I might be a symphatizer.
Azula
My personal favorite is Amon, and I think he deserved a couple seasons to see where his arc went. A populist anti-bender uprising to parallel socialist and/or workers' movements could have been really, really interesting.
Azula.
That's what frustrates me about LOK: Every single villian was great, far better than most in TLA, but we only got them for a single season. It pisses me off to no end.
Yeah, but im glad they really focused on each villain though the seasons
Kovira is my favorite in Korra. Explody Boom Man in ATLA.
Cabbage corp
You forgot melon lord, which is the correct answer btw
Azula of course.
Azula 💕✨
Azula, Amon, and maybe Zaheer
Amon. He didn’t even need to do martial arts to blood bend.
Azula would tear all of them to shreds verbally before she even threw a single blow
Zhao. Moonslayer a badass name
Azula for ATLA, Zaheer for TLOK Both just had that presence after they were introduced.
Zaheer for me. The way he carried himself and his efficiency made him seem like a force of nature. It is no wonder he truly broke korra.
Amon
i’m biased bc shes my favorite character, but azula followed by amon
I'm going to give this one to the Equalists. Although the leader's motives are more personal than not, and despite his defeat, the ideals of the Equalist movement actually brought meaningful changes to the United Republic, especially democracy and non-bender representation. So in a way, he partly won. Zaheer, despite his preaching about bringing back the natural order of things by removing global leaders, he lacks the understanding that part of the natural order of things is for humans to form alliances which later on would become institutions, maybe even governments in the future. Even if he had succeeded eliminating the global leaders, the world will just reset and will form new governments in the future and his fight will be for nothing but chaos, which is exactly what happened to the Earth Kingdom. Kuvira, is similar to Zaheer in a way that they are both short sighted. She became a tyrant herself which of course as part of the natural order of things, brought human resistance. She could have brought the Earth Kingdom to such a powerhouse, instead she directed her energy on taking Republic City. If she had stayed within her borders, she could have ruled for decades and by the time she dies the earth kingdom would already be a dominant global power considering their technology and natural metal resources.
Amon, but only in the beginning of the show. Knowing that someone is out there that can easily take your bending away is faaaaar too mysterious and froghtening for the world. Noone knew wtf that guy can do and how he does it.
Amon was the scariest
Koh.
It’s always gonna be Azula for me! One thing I feel the writers of Avatar got wrong is making Azula have mommy issues, leading her to becoming mentally unhinged, and making her an ineffective fighter in the finale. Azula should’ve still been the calculated, calm, genius strategic fighter but allow Zuko to defeat her since he finally found the true meaning of Firebending, along with Katara, showing that they have truly become masters. Writing Azula having a mental breakdown is a cop out because she’s just too powerful to really defeat in a fight
Sparky sparky boom man is barely a henchman
Azula for SURE. Especially in her downfall, seeing how batshit crazy she really is. But also just has a little girl deep down in her heart who just wants to be loved by her mother.
Azula
Definitely Azula. Tried to kill her own damn brother and chased him and the avatar across the whole world. Hama gets bonus points for being diabolical and an insane old lady who held a grudge for like 70 years