The Avatar Has Returned - 7 Must-Have Elements of the Expansion of the Avatarverse

Avatar The Last Airbender (ATLA) is one of the best animated series ever created. This is the hill I'm willing to die on. Its sequel, The Legend of Korra (LOK), is also incredible. As a child born in '98 that grew up on Nickelodeon, I had the pleasure of watching both of these shows while they were on air, and I can't explain the angst, horror and pure nervous tension that would swell in my chest having to wait an entire week to watch new episodes. I have revisited both shows many times in my 22 years of life, and they have stood the test of time. They are just as good, if not better, than I remember them. I even own all the graphic novels and supplementary works that were released following the end of both shows. Because of my love for the franchise, I was in cinema on that tragic night when that nightmare of a live-action movie premiered: M. Night Shyamalan's The Last Airbender. A collective fever dream the fandom has chosen to forget.

All hope was lost until Netflix announced that it would be putting its horse in the race and producing a live-action version of Avatar the Last Airbender. They'd even gotten the original creators, Michael DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko, on board. Flash forward to 2020, and both original creators dropped out of the Netflix adaptation, citing creative differences. I was devastated and also relieved. I was devastated because the fandom's hope of more (good) Avatar content was quickly extinguished and seemed like nothing more than a pipe dream. But relieved because I have always believed that Avatar's concept is better suited to animation format. There, artistic liberties, insane fight sequences and imagination can flow freely without the cringiness that live-action and CGI often inspires.

Then, two days ago, on February 24th, Nickelodeon announced the creation of Avatar Studios in collaboration with the original creators, which, among other things, is set to produce a feature-length ATLA movie and expand the Avatarverse through the creation of new animated Avatar content.

I screamed and ugly cried. I can't even explain to you how this made me feel. Amidst all the darkness and uncertainty of 2021, there is light. Today, I thought I would take you through some of my hopes for the content produced through Avatar Studios.

1) Adult GAANG

When the ATLA series ended, the GAANG were not adults yet. Through the comics, we were able to get a picture of them slightly older than they were in the TV series but still not in the prime of their lives. My hope for the Avatarverse is that it expands on their experiences as adults and outlines their difficulties balancing their responsibilities as leaders and their duty to their friends and families. Doing this would fill in some of the gaps in viewers' knowledge and better contextualize the lost adventures between ATLA and The Legend of Korra. I want to see Aang's interaction with his kids and the favouritism of Tenzin that eventually leads to Kaya and Bumi's resentment of him later on in life. My soul burns to know what the hell happened to Suki and why Legend of Korra scarcely mentioned her. Mai and Ty Lee? Who is Izumi's mother and why wasn't she referenced in LOK? How and when did Sokka die? I have so many questions, and I hope that the creators at Avatar Studios endeavour to respond to at least a few of them on this new and exciting Avatar journey.

2) Korrasami, Please

Korrasami draws a lot of criticism in the Avatar fandom. I might be in the minority here, but I love their pairing and saw the buildup since season 3. We have selective amnesia about the contentious climate surrounding LGBTQ+ rights in 2014. When the finale premiered and heavily hinted at a Korra/Asami same-sex relationship which was later confirmed in the Turf Wars and Ruins of the Empire volumes of the comics, this was groundbreaking. Gay marriage wouldn't be legalized in the US for another six months, and here was a kids' show, explicitly declaring the love of two female characters. I want to see more of this. If I'm honest, while I enjoyed the comics' Korrasami fluff, it seemed a bit superficial. There's only so much that you could stuff into a volume of comics and convey through illustration alone. Give me animation, give me a fantastic soundtrack, give me drama, give me intrigue. I want to see a more in-depth exploration of their relationship somewhere in the Avatar universe.

3) An Evil Avatar but Done Well

Contrary to the popularly held belief, I don't think season two of The Legend of Korra was that bad. There, I said it! I enjoyed it quite a bit, and the thing that drew me was the idea of an evil avatar. The avatar is meant to be a benevolent, peace-bringing person who reconciles both the human and the spirit world's conflicts. LOK briefly touched on the idea of a dark avatar with season 2's villain Unalaq but, in my opinion, this concept was not perfectly executed, and I wish they had explored this in more detail. What if there's an alternate universe where the Avatar, rather than being the bridge between the humans and the spirits, is evil? What if, as Amon suggested, benders use their powers to suppress and lord over an inferior non-bending class? What if the hero of that world isn't a bender but a regular non-bender? What would that look like? I think that'd be such an exciting direction to take the series.

4) An Avatar with a Disability

The Avatar World's representation of people with disabilities is impressive. Toph and Ming Hua are both incredible characters in their own right who kick ass and whose disabilities don't define them.

Recently, a scene of the past avatars featured in the Legend of Korra has sparked a discussion, leading many to believe that this lady was born without arms.

Personally, I don't see it. No matter how hard I look, I see someone standing rather militantly with their arms glued to their sides. That got me thinking, though, can we have an Avatar with a disability? With no illusions that it's the easiest and most manageable thing in the world? Sometimes, disabilities suck royally and do impede you from doing things that you want to do. It would be amazing if the creators showed an Avatar navigating the limitations and challenges of a disability while fulfilling their duties as the avatar. That type of representation is of tantamount importance because often disability representation in TV shows tends to operate within two extremes. Either the exposition of the character is subsumed by their disability (they are nothing more than their disability), or it's written off as unimportant to them (they've "conquered" it). We need representation that's somewhere in the middle.

5) Avatar After Korra

I'm a member of enough ATLA and LOK groups on Facebook and Reddit to know that some people heavily blame Korra for destroying the connection to the past avatars. These accusations are unfounded, unfair and ignore the external circumstances that lead to this event in the first place. That being said, I'm curious to see the avatar immediately following Korra and how they deal with this shortage of help. They'll only have Korra, and while I will concede that she has matured a great deal from the Korra at the beginning of LOK, I wonder how this will translate into a mentor role. How much would the world have changed during this transition period? Would her help still be necessary or relevant? Please show us.

6) Exploration of Sub-bending Forms

The various forms of sub-bending across the two series were a highlight of my viewing experience. We got to see: bloodbending, sandbending, seismic sense, metal bending, lavabending, astral projection and even, flying. Let's do more! In particular, let's expand sandbending and lavabending as widely used skills and perform a deep dive into airbending sub-forms. Truth be told, if air nomads weren't pacifists, they'd wipe the floor with everybody. And if bloodbending weren't illegal and this wasn't a Nickelodeon show, we'd get to see someone go all sub-zero on villains. Seriously, though, there's a realm of possibilities for expansion of the art of bending. The elements of water, earth, fire and air are present and necessary for every aspect of human life. I hope that we get to see some cool new sub-bending forms or the refining of forms to which we've already been exposed.

7) An Azula Arc

My seventh wish is a bit controversial so bear with me as I explain. I want completion of Azula's character arc. For me, this doesn't necessarily entail redemption but should include some sense of finality. Her last appearance in the animated series featured her having a mental breakdown. She was crying hysterically, tied up and shooting fire from her mouth following her loss to Katara and Zuko in the Last Agni Kai. In The Search volume of the comics, she tentatively helps Zuko locate their mother, subsequently tries to murder their mom and then runs off. We only see her many moons later in the Smoke and Shadow comics as the ringleader of a group of mental institution escapees, kidnapping young children. We need more. Azula deserves more.

Azula is one of the most complex, calculated and intricate villains of the Avatar franchise, but a lot is missing from her story. Where does she end up? Azula's fate is a loose end that needs to be tied up, in my opinion, and I hope that this is something that Avatar Studios explores in-depth.

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I'm honestly still in shock that this is actually happening. I have so many hopes and dreams for Avatar Studios that I didn't confine to this list, including but not limited to more spirit world lore, animation of Avatar Kyoshi's story and a Swampbender/Banyon Grove Tree story. If I were to outline every idea that I have, we'd be here forever, so I decided to restrict my list to the seven most important things I wish Avatar Studios would tackle. This is terrific news, and I will be first in line to consume every piece of Avatar content that leaves Avatar Studios!

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