Nickelodeon’s hit show ‘The Legend of Korra’ (2012), the sequel series to ‘Avatar: The Last Airbender’ (2005), returned from its two week break with the eighth episode, “When Extremes Meet,” on June 3, 2012.

Spoiler alert!

Seventy years after Aang and his friends defeated Fire Lord Ozai, Korra (Janet Varney) is the newest Avatar and is training in Republic City to master airbending with Aang’s son, Tenzin (J.K. Simmons). Korra is also friends with Mako (David Faustino), a Firebender, and his brother Bolin (P.J. Byrne), an Earthbender, and plays on their team, the Fire Ferrets, in a competition known as pro-bending. In this game, teams compete to knock each other out of a ring using their bending.

In previous episodes, the leader of the anti-bending movement, Amon (Steve Blum) destroyed the pro-bending arena, leaving Mako and Bolin homeless. Mako’s girlfriend and daughter of the inventor of Satomobiles, Asami Sato (Seychelle Gabriel), offered to let them stay at her mansion, but Korra, Tenzin, and Chief Lin Bei Fong (Mindy Sterling) discovered her father, Hiroshi Sato, was working for Amon. Thus, Asami rejected her father and they all have decided to stay with Korra on the air temple island.

Tenzin’s daughters and son, Ikki, Jinora, and Meelo, help the Fire Ferrets get acquainted with the island when they arrive, but unfortunately, this doesn’t go as well as Korra hoped. Ikki blurts out that Korra has a crush on Mako to Asami, and while Asami does not address this, there is now underlying tension between the two ladies.

Meanwhile, the slimy Councilman Tarrlok  (Dee Bradley Baker) has appointed a new Chief of Police after Bei Fong resigned so she could work independently to rescue the officers Amon captured in their last battle. He then gets the city council to allow him to issue a curfew for all non-benders in an effort to stop the Equalists, or people who support Amon, much to Korra and Tenzin’s frustration.

Korra is also upset because she has still been unable to airbend, but Mako, Bolin, and Asami cheer her up by offering to help her patrol Republic City. While out, they catch a group of chi-blockers and Equalists and turn them in, much to Tarrlok’s annoyance. On another night, Korra and company find out Tarrlok has shut off the power to the homes of non-benders, causing them to protest in anger. She tries to intervene, but Tarrlok’s officers take her friends hostage. She and Tenzin go to the prison the next morning, but the Chief of Police refuses to release them.

Angered, Korra bursts into Tarrlok’s office that night and demands to have her friends freed. Tarrlok offers to free them if Korra returns to working with his taskforce, but she refuses. The two engage in a brutal, heated battle. When Korra gets the upperhand, Tarrlok reveals that he can bloodbend—or control the water in Korra’s body so that she can’t move. He kidnaps her and throws her in the back of a police car, driving her outside the city limits and thus raising the stakes.

This episode is definitely one of the best of the Korra season. The drama is gripping and sometimes downright terrifying, especially when Tarrlok bloodbends Korra’s body. The tension building between the good guys and the bad guys is well executed, and the stakes are very real. Everything feels like a natural progression towards the season finale, which is only several weeks away.

However, there was one drawback that I noted and it is similar to previous complaints I have had about the show. Since ‘Korra’ is shorter than ‘Avatar’, it has to take shortcuts with certain character arcs and dramatic moments. I did not like that Ikki just blurted out that Korra likes Mako for the sake of making Asami suspicious and jealous of the two friends.

I would have preferred her to find this out on her own because Asami is the least developed character in the series so far. She is beautiful, strong and kind, but that is still about all we know about her. She is a bit of a boring character and so seeing her catch on to the little smiles and mild flirting between Korra and Mako on her own would make her seem more perceptive, and therefore, more developed.

‘The Legend of Korra’ premieres Saturdays at 11a.m. EST. Be there.

Grade: 5/5

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Nickelodeon’s hit show ‘The Legend of Korra’ (2012), the sequel series to ‘Avatar: The Last Airbender’ (2005), continued Saturday, May 19, 2012, at 11 a.m. EST with its seventh episode, “The Aftermath.”

Spoiler alert!

Seventy years after Aang and his friends defeated Fire Lord Ozai, Korra (Janet Varney) is the newest Avatar and is training in Republic City to master airbending with Aang’s son, Tenzin (J.K. Simmons). She is also friends with Mako (David Faustino), a Firebender, and his brother Bolin (P.J. Byrne), an Earthbender, and plays on their team, the Fire Ferrets, in a competition known as pro-bending. In this game, teams compete to knock each other out of a ring using their bending.

In the previous episode, directly after the pro-bending championship between the Wolfbats and the Fire Ferrets, in which the Ferrets lost due to the Wolfbats’ cheating, the leader of the anti-bending movement, Amon (Steve Blum), burst in and attacked all of the players as well as the police officers. Amon had learned a technique that removes a person’s bending permanently, and he took away the Wolfbats’ bending powers, promising that he would do more to “help” the non-benders of Republic City.

In “The Aftermath”, the arena is mostly destroyed, meaning Mako and Bolin will have to move out as it had been their home. Korra arrives to tell them they can stay with her, but it turns out Mako’s girlfriend, Asami Sato (Seychelle Gabriel), daughter of automobile titan Hiroshi Sato, has offered to let the brothers stay at her place. Korra later visits them at the mansion and learns there is a little more to Asami than her money and her looks. She can drag race and she knows self-defense.

However, Korra overhears her father on the phone and is led to believe Sato is working with the Equalists, Amon’s anti-bending group. She goes to Tenzin and the Chief of Police, Lin Bei Fong (Mindy Sterling), to tell them what she heard. Bei Fong starts an investigation on Sato’s estate, which angers both Asami and Mako. Mako tells Korra to drop the issue or they will no longer be friends, but Korra trusts her instincts and pushes onward.

They search Sato’s factories and find nothing, but then an anonymous worker tips them off to a secret underground factory beneath Sato’s mansion. Bei Fong, Tenzin, Korra, and a handful of police officers find the factory only to be caught in a trap by Sato, who has a new army of mechanical suits.

He defeats them and starts to capture them to take to Amon, but Bolin, Mako, and Asami intervene, freeing everyone except the captured officers. Bei Fong vows to resign from her post and rescue her kidnapped officers outside the law while Mako apologizes to Korra for his actions and comforts Asami.

This episode is relatively solid, but it does have a couple of noticeable flaws. First, the plot is incredibly predictable. As soon as Korra learns of Sato’s secret phone conversation, a savvy watcher will be able to tell he has set a trap for her and wants to lure Bei Fong, Korra, and Tenzin into his clutches to prove his valor to Amon.

Similarly, when Sato confronts Asami and asks him to side with him, a sharp viewer will know she will decline the offer based on the brief characterization we see of her earlier in the episode. Thus, most of the tension in the episode is minimal.

Second, the forced tension between Korra and Mako is becoming more of a problem. The writers of the show are well aware of the “shipping”, i.e. supporting two characters in a romantic relationship, that the fans engage in for the show and so they delight in poking fun at them whenever possible.

This notion was exemplified in episode five, “The Spirit of Competition”, where they basically forced a love triangle among Korra, Bolin, and Mako only so they could immediately destroy it. The romantic tension has only been building since episode two and so the characters’ interactions do not have as much weight as the characters preceding them in ‘Avatar: The Last Airbender’ where the main heroes’ relationships developed naturally over time.

Mako accuses Korra of being jealous just because he is in a relationship with Asami, and it is a predictable move by the writers to use this angle, especially when it is quickly resolved by the end of the episode. If they had not forced Mako and Korra’s possible romance in the fifth episode, it could have felt more tense if Mako did not know Korra had feelings for him, which would then compel her to decide what to do about the issue. As it stands, their relationship comes across as rushed.

On the upside, the fight sequence between the Equalists and the benders, while short, was breathtaking. This is the first time we see Tenzin cut loose and show off his airbending skills, and they are quite a sight to behold. Furthermore, there is also a rather clever Shout Out to the Cabbage Man from the previous series who is a meme in the ‘Avatar’ fandom and the joke lands with brilliant success.

Overall, the episode is predictable, but enjoyable all the same. It is yet another good stepping stone of building tension on both sides of the pro-bending and anti-bending war brewing in Republic City.

‘Korra’ premieres Saturdays at 11 a.m. on Nickelodeon. Don’t miss it.

Grade: 4/5

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Nickelodeon’s hit show ‘The Legend of Korra’ (2012), sequel to ‘Avatar: The Last Airbender’ (2005), continued with its sixth episode May 12, 2012, “And the Winner Is…”

Spoiler alert!

Seventy years after Aang and his friends defeated Fire Lord Ozai, Korra (Janet Varney) is the newest Avatar and is training in Republic City to master airbending with Aang’s son, Tenzin (J.K. Simmons). She is also friends with Mako (David Faustino), a Firebender, and his brother Bolin (P.J. Byrne), an Earthbender, and plays on their team, the Fire Ferrets, in a competition known as pro-bending.

In this game, teams compete to knock each other out of a ring using their bending. The Fire Ferrets have made to the final round and have to face the reigning champions, the Wolfbats, led by the arrogant Tahno (Rami Malek).

As Korra, Mako, and Bolin train for their upcoming match, they hear the sinister leader of the anti-bending movement, Amon (Steve Blum), interrupt the radio broadcast. He commands the city council to shut down the pro-bending championship tournament or he will make a move against them. Angry, Korra, Mako, and Bolin charge into the city council’s meeting and plead on the behalf of their tournament.

Tenzin, Tarrlok, and the other council members disagree and want to shut the tournament down to avoid adding fuel to the class war already going on in the city, but the Chief of Police, Lin Bei Fong (Mindy Sterling), comes in and offers her personal protection. The council agrees to her terms and Tenzin tries to talk her out of it, but she refuses to back down. It is here that Korra learns that Tenzin and Lin Bei Fong were once romantically involved, much to Tenzin’s chagrin.

Korra, Mako, and Bolin start the match against the Wolfbats only to discover one horrifying fact—the Wolfbats have paid off the referees and use several kinds of cheating moves without getting any fouls called on them. The Fire Ferrets struggle to defeat the Wolfbats, but all of their illegal moves overwhelm them and they lose the match.

Just after the tournament ends, Amon’s followers electrocute all the police officers, as well as Tenzin, Bei Fong, Korra, Mako, and Bolin, and enter the ring.

Amon takes away Tahno and the Wolfbats’ bending and delivers a speech saying that it is time for all non-benders to be treated as equals. Amon starts to leave but Korra and Bei Fong recover and give chase. Unfortunately, Amon slips away, leaving the pro-bending arena destroyed and many of the people worried that the Avatar cannot defeat him.

This episode’s strength is in its fight sequences. The pro-bending match is incredibly engrossing as we see Korra, Mako, and Bolin give it their all trying to defeat the Wolfbats’ dirty, and outright brutal, attacks. The stand out moments are Korra’s one-on-one tiebreaker match with Tahno, where she uses her agility to uppercut him right off the platform, and when Korra and Bei Fong fight Amon’s electricity-wielding henchmen.

‘Avatar: The Last Airbender’ was inspired by Chinese, Inuit, and Japanese cultures and so is ‘The Legend of Korra’. The fighting styles that the characters use have influences from several different kinds of martial arts to make truly thrilling fight scenes that will leave you breathless and dying for more.

In addition, the gorgeous animation only enhances the experience. The highly stylized art creates stunning colors and an amazing fluidity to the characters’ movements as they fight. These scenes are definitely worth watching more than once and can be appreciated on several levels, from a technical standpoint and from an emotional standpoint as we feel the weight of Korra’s frustration at not being able to catch Amon.

The only drawback I noted in this episode is that Tahno turned out to be a one-trick pony. He is obnoxious, self-absorbed, and downright cowardly, and some of the fans were hoping to see more out of him than what they got.

Many speculated if he would begrudgingly respect the Avatar after their match, but after losing his bending to Amon, there is no telling if his character will disappear entirely or return to the series in upcoming episodes.

‘The Legend of Korra’ premieres Saturdays at 11am EST. Make sure to check it out.

Grade: 4/5

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Nickelodeon’s smash hit ‘The Legend of Korra’ (2012), the sequel series to ‘Avatar: The Last Airbender’ (2005) continued April 28, 2012, at 11:00 a.m. EST with its fourth episode, “The Voice in the Night.”

Spoiler alert!

Seventy years after Aang and his friends defeated Fire Lord Ozai, Korra (Janet Varney) is the newest Avatar and is training in Republic City to master airbending with Aang’s son, Tenzin (J.K. Simmons). However, there is a violent anti-bending movement rising to power led by Amon (Steve Blum), who has declared that he can remove any bender’s powers permanently.

In the previous episode, Korra and her friend Mako (David Faustino) went to rescue Mako’s brother, Bolin (P.J. Byrne), from Amon’s wrath at a rally. Korra has been deeply shaken by Amon’s ability to take away a bender’s powers but has not been dealing with the fear properly. Instead, she has been having nightmares.

Meanwhile, a Republic City councilman named Tarrlok gets permission to put together a task force to stop Amon from recruiting more anti-benders. He approaches Korra and asks for her help, but she refuses. He begins showering her with gifts in an attempt to bribe her, but she continues to refuse him.

In town, Mako literally bumps into the beautiful daughter of the automobile mogul, Hiroshi Sato, named Asami (Seychelle Gabriel). As an apology for nearly running him over, she offers to take him out to dinner, and the two hit it off. Asami is a big fan of the Fire Ferrets, Mako’s pro-bending team he shares with Bolin and Korra, and offers to sponsor them for the Pro-Bending Championship. Ecstatic, Mako accepts.

Tarrlok throws a party for Korra and invites her and Tenzin’s family to join in the festivities. Tenzin suspects a larger plan is in the works, but allows Korra and his family to attend. Korra meets Asami and sparks fly as she feels a bit jealous as she has been nursing a slight crush on Mako. Tarrlok invites the press to aggressively ask Korra questions about how to stop Amon, thereby pressuring her to join his task force.

Tarrlok’s task force learns of an underground group training chi blockers for Amon’s armada, and they shut them down, leading to Korra challenging Amon to a duel. Tenzin and Tarrlock warn her not to go, but she ignores them and heads to the duel. Near dawn, Amon shows up with his men not to fight her, but to send her a message.

He admits he could have easily taken away her bending and killed her, but he says he is going to destroy all the benders first, and save her for last. Amon knocks her out, and Tenzin finds her. Korra finally confesses how afraid she is of losing her bending and not being able to stop Amon, and Tenzin comforts her, closing out the episode.

The emotional twists and turns of this episode truly make it shine. Korra is brave and strong, but she is also very vulnerable and sensitive because she has so much responsibility as the Avatar. She struggles with admitting her fear and definitely has a lot to learn before she is ready to take Amon on head-to-head.

This episode is also a great exploration of Mako’s character. He acts rather closed-off around Korra because he does not trust her completely, yet around his brother and new love interest, Asami, he is kind, personable, and even a bit shy. We learn that the scarf he wears belonged to his father, and it is the only thing Mako has left of him after his parents were murdered when he was eight years old. It adds a layer of depth and significance to his character and makes him much more accessible.

Furthermore, Amon’s threatening presence became even more solidified with his direct threat against Korra. He has proven to be a cold, cruel, calculating force that Korra will have immense difficulty overcoming in the upcoming episodes. Special mention goes to Steve Blum, an incredibly well-known actor in the animation and anime world, for adding such a convincing layer of malice to the character.

The promo for next week promised the start of the pro-bending tournament, meaning Korra fans will be getting more of the fearsome Fire Ferrets and, thus, more interactions between Korra, Mako, and Bolin. There will be plenty of awesome action sequences and friction between the hotheaded Korra and stubborn Mako, much to the Makorra shipper’s delight.

‘The Legend of Korra’ premieres Saturdays at 11 a.m. EST. Be there! You won’t regret it.

Grade: 5/5

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I hate to admit it, but Part 2 of Avatar: The Last Airbender – The Promise was something of a mixed bag.

In this issue, Aang and Katara are shunted off to a subplot, leaving Toph and Sokka as the stars. The main story revolves around Toph’s efforts to establish a school for metal-benders. Naturally, her students are a plucky band of misfits, including Ho-Tun, a chronic worrier, Penga, a spoiled brat with a crush on Sokka and ‘the Dark One,’ a boy whose eternal angst is reminiscent of Zuko’s girlfriend Mai.

A group of fire-benders have taken over Toph’s school, and if she wants to get it back, her students must duel against their fire-bending counterparts. Most of the issue is taken up with Toph’s efforts to whip her band of wanna-be metal-benders into shape. Sokka is principally there to provide comic relief, which he does quite nicely.

In the B plot, Aang and Katara (who are now officially an item) must travel to Ba Sing Se to meet with the Earth King. If you are feeling a sense of déjà vu, it is because they had to do the very same thing in season 2 of the TV show. But this time, the circumstances are quite different.

For one thing, the city is now host to a very enthusiastic ‘Official Avatar Aang Fan Club,’ staffed by a bevy of excitable young girls who have the hots for our bald hero. As they squeal in delight over him, Katara puts on her jealous face and the whole thing stirs memories of season 1’s “The Warriors of Kyoshi.”

Eventually, Katara is able to pull Aang away from his female admirers in order to meet the Earth King, Kuei. But he is a much different man from what we saw on the show. On the show, he was little more than a clueless figurehead; a puppet ruled by his ruthless adviser, Long Feng. Years of manipulation seem to have hardened Kuei so that he is now determined to get his way no matter what, even if it means acting against the Avatar’s advice.

The C plot was actually the most interesting part of the issue. Alas, it is also the most brief. Fire Lord Zuko is increasingly frustrated with the state of the world and he grudgingly seeks the counsel of the father he deposed. Their dialogues provide an interesting perspective on the nature of power, and it is cool to see Zuko struggle with his new responsibilities as Fire Lord.

Although the writers and artists have done a great job of capturing the Avatar characters (they did a great job with Sokka in particular), their decision to recycle earlier plot points made the issue feel a bit stale. In addition to the bit that was taken from “The Warriors of Kyoshi,” Penga’s crush on Sokka was similar to Meng’s crush on Aang from “The Fortuneteller.”

Not to mention the fact that the whole ‘plucky band of misfits get their act together and beat the bad guys’ storyline is about as fresh as week-old cantaloupe. The whole thing felt filler, but at least the third and final issue looks promising.

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Nickelodeon’s new animated series, ‘The Legend of Korra’ (2012), the sequel to ‘Avatar: The Last Airbender’ (2005), continued Saturday, April 21, 2012, at 11:00 A.M. EST with its third episode, “The Revelation.”

Spoiler alert!

For the new viewers out there, ‘Korra’ begins 70 years after the events of ‘Avatar: The Last Airbender’ and picks up with the new Avatar, Korra (Janet Varney). She is a Water Bender from the Southern Water Tribe who has come to Republic City to train with Tenzin (J.K. Simmons), son of Aang and Katara, to learn air bending after having mastered the other three elements (earth, water, and fire).

She meets two brothers, Mako (David Faustino), a Firebender, and Bolin (P.J. Byrne), an Earthbender, and joins their pro-bending team, the Fire Ferrets, a group who participates in competitive bending matches in an arena.

In “The Revelation,” Mako and Bolin are approached by the seedy owner of the pro-bending arena who says they have to come up with a large amount of money to pay for their expenses and stay at the arena, or they will be disqualified for the championship pro-bending game. Bolin suggests taking his pet, Pabu, out to the time square to perform for money, but Mako declines, choosing to work at a lightning bending factory.

Bolin proceeds to the square anyway and meets a shifty member of the Triple Triads, a criminal organization in Republic City. The man offers Bolin a huge amount of money for a bodyguard job, and Bolin agrees. After he comes home from work, Mako realizes Bolin is missing and seeks out Korra. The two ride into town looking for him and find out he is mixed up with the Triads, who are holding an underground meeting alongside Amon (Steve Blum), the mysterious leader of the anti-bending movement in Republic City.

Mako and Korra disguise themselves and make their way in. At the rally, Amon reveals he had been a victim of an unknown Firebender’s wrath. He wears a mask because his face has been badly burnt, but that is not the only information he leaks. Amon has figured out a way to take away a bender’s powers permanently, which he demonstrates on three different benders. He is about to do the same to the captured Bolin, but Korra and Mako work together to save him and manage to escape unscathed. Korra returns to Tenzin and tells him what she saw.

Much like the previous episodes, ‘Korra’ showcases beautiful animation, vibrant characters, and a strong plotline. The fight scenes are especially engrossing this time around because Mako, Korra, and Bolin are in real danger of losing their powers as well as their lives. The events of the episode are expertly paced and executed with plenty of tension to keep the audience’s attention.

One of the best elements of this episode is the dynamic between Mako and Korra. It has been implied that Korra is developing a crush on Mako, who butts heads with her on occasion because of his usually stoic personality. However, in this episode, some of the friction between them started to crumble.

Mako reveals how he and Bolin became orphans. An unknown Firebender killed their parents in front of him, so he feels intensely responsible for his younger brother. Despite his hard exterior, he cares deeply for his brother and learned to trust Korra as they worked to rescue Bolin. Makorra fans, those who are in favor of a relationship between the two, were ecstatic to see them sharing intimate moments that hint at a future romance.

‘The Legend of Korra’ is an outstanding show thus far and continues hinting at exciting new episodes for the future. It airs Saturdays at 11:00 A.M. EST on Nickelodeon. Be there. You won’t regret it.

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Nicktoons premiered ‘The Legend of Korra’ (2012), the animated sequel series to the beloved cartoon ‘Avatar: The Last Airbender’ (2005), on April 14. The series takes place 70 years in the future from the time of Avatar Airbender Aang and his gang of friends who saved the world from the wrath of Firelord Ozai. Sadly, most of the characters except Katara have passed away but they each have family to carry on in their place.

Spoiler alert!

The Avatar is “the physical embodiment of the world’s spirit” and is capable of bending all four elements: water, air, earth, and fire. In the first episode, “Welcome to Republic City,” we find out the new Avatar is named Korra (Janet Varney), a Waterbender from the Southern Water Tribe.

However, where Aang was a cheerful, carefree young man, Korra is high strung and impatient. Her bending skills are excellent, but she lacks restraint and does not think ahead while fighting. Having learned water, fire, and earth already, Korra is set to be taught her final element, air, by Tenzin (J.K.Simmons), the son of Aang and Katara.

However, when Tenzin visits her home he informs her that he has been called back to Republic City: a settlement several miles away where benders and non-benders live in an urban setting. Upset, Korra follows Tenzin to Republic City and is blown away by the technology, rules, and the corruption she sees on the streets.

She stops a group of men trying to extort a poor shop owner and gets herself arrested by Chief Bei Fong (Mindy Sterling), the daughter of famous Earthbender Toph, one of Aang’s friends who helped save the world years prior. Tenzin bails her out and demands that she return to her home. Korra argues that Republic City needs her help to get rid of the crime and Tenzin reluctantly agrees to train her just outside of the city limits.

In the second episode, “A Leaf in the Wind,” Korra has begun training with Tenzin to learn how to airbend. It requires a lot of meditation and patience, which Korra hates because she is passionate and loves fighting.

Friction arises between her and Tenzin because she wants to continue exploring the city but he refuses to let her go until she has learned her lessons. After hearing a radio broadcast of a probending match, where benders compete in a tournament to knock each other off a platform using their bending, Korra sneaks off to Republic City to watch a match.

She meets Bolin (P.J. Byrne), an Earthbender, and his brother Mako (David Faustino), a Firebender, and both are a popular probending team called the Fire Ferrets. Bolin is cheerful and flirtatious, inviting her to watch the match from great seats, but Mako is serious and brooding.

Mako assumes she is just another one of Bolin’s fangirls, but when Korra reveals she is the Avatar he acts a little less cold around her. The Fire Ferret’s third team member quits just before the match that would put them in the championship and Korra volunteers to take his place, much to Bolin’s delight and Mako’s disapproval.

Tenzin overhears of her appearance in the ring and shows up, demanding that she go home, but she refuses. She struggles through the matches, but then remembers the training Tenzin gave her and helps Mako and Bolin win the tournament. Tenzin is impressed by her bending abilities and apologizes for being so hard on her and she apologizes for losing her temper with him.

‘The Legend of Korra’ stands up well to its predecessor. ‘Avatar: The Last Airbender’ has been celebrated for its excellent storytelling, wonderful spread of characters, beautiful cultural inspirations, gorgeous animation, and top-notch voice acting. ‘Korra’ is no different. The new time period provides many interesting opportunities for Korra and her friends to explore as well as new threats to test their fortitude.

Whereas the villain in ‘Avatar: The Last Airbender’ was Firelord Ozai, the villain in ‘Korra’ is Amon (Steve Blum), the leader of the anti-bending movement. So far, he has only been shown in promos for future episodes and is implied to want to take over Republic City to wipe out all the benders, providing a very real threat to Korra and everyone she cares about.

In just two episodes, ‘Korra’ has already proven it has the ability to go the distance. The characters are introduced well and have their own distinct styles to them. They carry the familiar air of the characters we loved in ‘Avatar’—Aang, Katara, Sokka, Toph, Zuko, Appa, and Momo—but make their own mark in the world the generation before them made.

‘The Legend of Korra’ comes on Saturdays at 11am EST. If you loved ‘Avatar: The Last Airbender’, or if you love great stories in general, make sure to tune in.

Image Courtesy of   The Legend of Korra

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The world of Avatar: The Last Airbender follows the life of Aang, Sokka, Katara, Toph, and Zuko as they try to bring balance back to the Earth Kingdom. Earth, Wind, Fire, and Water are together the four elements present in the Earth Kingdom and various nations rule under the banner of each element.

Aang, as the Avatar, has been fighting with his friends to end the tyranny of the Fire Nation. Upon the end of the series, Zuko was crowned ruler of the Fire Nation because Aang and his friends, among them prince Zuko, defeated Zuko’s father.

The comic is excellently written by Gene Luan Yang, who has received a Members’ Choice Award Winner from the American Literary Awards, along with accurate art and cover work done by Gurihiru and lettering by Michael Heisler. Created originally by Michael Dante DiMartino and Brian Konietzko, both creators were also the executive producers for the animated series.

The story takes off where the series ends, setting the stage for a two-part epic continuation of the Avatar universe. Efforts have begun by Fire Lord Zuko to begin a Harmony Restoration Movement to remove Fire Nation colonies that have settled in Earth Nation locations. Avatar has always been a story about relationships, whether this is between elemental combat or mental combat between people.

In “The Promise-Part One,” Zuko has risen to the position of Fire Lord, Fuler of the Fire Nation, while his father Ozai languishes in prison. The first of the many complicated relationships is certainly between Ozai and Zuko, Zuko’s youth and passion waging war against his father’s cunning and treachery. Even against his own judgment, Zuko knows that he lacks experience and thus seeks his father’s counsel.

Zuko’s relationship with his position as Ruler of the Fire Nation is also featured in “The Promise” as pressure mounts for him to be a good ruler. There are many who view Zuko as a traitor to his father’s strength while other’s still question his sanity. There is a sense of paranoia in Zuko’s restlessness which is not entirely unwarranted either as he faces assassins that are in fact out to get him.

As a result of Zuko’s push for the Harmony Restoration Movement, it appears that Fire Nation is once again on the brink of war while trying to restore balance to the Earth Kingdom. The relationship between Fire Lord Zuko and Avatar Aang however, are the centerpiece of this two-part comic. The ‘Promise’ refers to one made between Zuko and Aang, on the basis that Aang becomes the safety net for Zuko if his position as Fire Lord compromises his goal to bring peace to the Earth Kingdoms.

Aang promises, on the encouragement of Katara no less, to help Zuko on the path to equalizing the Earth Kingdoms. This promise is put to the test when Zuko does indeed retract orders for the Harmony Restoration Movement, causing a fight to break out between the two friends.

The relationship between Katara and Aang is least complicated since these two are now closer than ever before. The power of the Water Tribe manifests itself in a strong protectiveness over Aang when Fire Nation soldiers attack Aang on the orders of Zuko. Her powers have grown, with her control of the water element becoming a strong asset to Aang’s own skill set. Whereas Aang is carefree and quick to anger, Katara is passionate and yet serene.

The Avatar: Last Airbender series, ending at three seasons and 61 Episodes, has won numerous awards and other accolades from various international organizations. The Last Airbender movie received mixed reviews, while the animated series has a huge following amongst animation fans.

Whereas the movie was denigrated for its actors and screenplay, the animated series has pleased fans for a very long time. “The Promise-Part One” therefore, thankfully, falls into the second category, surely pleasing fans of the series with not only exciting action sequences, but the continuation of the series greatest characters.

Avatar: The Last Airbender- The Promise Part One Trade Paperback is available for pre-order through January 25th at Dark Horse Comics here. Part two of “The Promise” won’t be available until May, but fans will surely wait for what appears to be yet another exciting continuation into the world of Avatar the Last Airbender.

This series will hopefully be able to bridge the gap between the end of Avatar The Last Airbender and The Last Airbender: Legend of Korra.

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