History ComicBook / AvatarTheLastAirbenderSmokeAndShadow

Having found his mother at the end of ''The Search'', Zuko is eager to bring her and her new family back to the Fire Nation and show her how much it has changed. However, in his absence, things have continued changing, and for the worse: a group named the New Ozai Society is campaigning to discredit Zuko for his weakness and absenteeism and restore Ozai to the throne. Furthermore, beings called Kemurikage, mysterious figures thought only to exist in legend, take an interest in the rebellion and do so by abducting children much like the legends of old. Meanwhile, Mai seems to have found a new boyfriend, tearing up old wounds between himself and Mai...

* WhamShot: [[spoiler: One of the Kemikurage lightningbends at Zuko, and he realizes it's Azula.]]

Followed by ''ComicBook/AvatarTheLastAirbenderNorthAndSouth''. The oneshot ''Azula in the Spirit Temple'' also picks up after this story.

* TheCoup: The New Ozai Society finally acts, preparing an ambush for Prince Zuko when he returns home from ''[[Comicbook/AvatarTheLastAirbenderTheSearch The Search]]''.

Followed by ''ComicBook/AvatarTheLastAirbenderNorthAndSouth''. The oneshot ´´Azula in the Spirit Temple´´ also picks up after this story.

Followed by ''ComicBook/AvatarTheLastAirbenderNorthAndSouth''.

* VengefulGhost: [[spoiler: Upheld despite Azula, leader of the fake Kemurikage, not being really dead. Metaphorically, Azula and her goals represent the Fire Nation of Ozai's time, one ruled under fear and power. This is a massive contrast to Zuko's desire and plans to change the Fire Nation into a nation of peace and a nation willing to work with other nations.]]

* JurisdictionFriction: The Fire Nation Captial is supposedly under attack by the Kemurikage while the New Ozai insurgency is also involved, the former of which warrants the Avatar's attention, and Aang has some difficulty cooperating with Zuko's government over the whole issue. Once it's revealed that [[spoiler:the Kemurikage that were abducting children were humans and not the real deal]], it's no longer the Avatar's problem. Despite that, Aang refused to sit idly by and let these kidnappings happen.

* ScrewTheRulesImDoingWhatsRight: [[spoiler:Aang is told he’s officially overstayed his welcome, but Suki gives him the idea to investigate and track down Kiyi himself. She and Ty Lee both willingly agree to help Aang go off the books—without any government involvement]].

** Then you have Warlord Toz and the Kemurikage themselves. The warlord kidnapped children, causing their mothers to die of grief and become the aforementioned spirits that have haunted the Fire Islands. They’ve inspired stories that would be used to get children in the Fire Nation capital to behave, and for some strange reason, they’ve returned to the mortal realm. [[spoiler:Except, the actual spirits have mellowed out, and moved on into the Spirit World. Their legend however, inspired Azula and a bunch of female cultists to impersonate them and cause trouble ''specifically'' for Zuko]].

* GreaterScopeVillain: Ozai's shadow hangs over the entire story, with the New Ozai Society making their move to reinstate him and Ursa trying to deal with the trauma that her former husband had inflicted her. [[spoiler:Ironically, Ozai doesn't physically appear until the very last scene, where Ursa gives TheReasonYouSuckSpeech to him]].

* LockedOutOfTheLoop: Mai had no idea what Zuko had been up to, and why Zuko released Azula in the first place. Ty Lee had to clear all that up. Given that Mai was out of it for two and a half trilogies, this is not surprising.

* PoisonousFriend: The big reveal at the end is that [[spoiler:Azula]] has become one; [[spoiler:she's accepted that Zuko has the throne and now wants to make him the best Fire Lord he can be -- for her warped definition of "best". She's practically gone non-sexual {{Yandere}} for him]].

* AlasPoorVillain: Invoked by Ursa [[spoiler:when she visits Ozai at his cell. After calling him out for being an egotistical asshole and having no love for his family, she ends her TheReasonYouSuckSpeech with pitiful, almost disappointed note that [[EmptyShell Ozai's heart is so small that he couldn't even love himself]] if he tried.]]

* AlasPoorVillain: Invoked by Ursa [[spoiler:when she visits Ozai at his cell. After calling him for being an egotistical asshole and having no love for his family, she ends her TheReasonYouSuckSpeech with pitiful, almost disappointed note that [[EmptyShell Ozai's heart is so small that he couldn't even love himself]] if he tried.]]

* AdultFear:
** Tom-Tom is kidnapped by the Kemurikage at the end of Part 1. By Part 2, the Kemurikage start kidnapping other children from out of their bedrooms at night, [[spoiler: including Kiyi.]]
** The legend of the Kemurikage in general, which is about a ruthless warlord named Toz, who demanded annual tributes from villages. When one village refused, Toz punished them by having his men abduct the village's children, and the children were never seen again, causing the mothers to die of sadness. Shortly thereafter, the Kemurikage began to haunt Toz and his men. They drifted into the warlord's encampment in the middle of the night and abducted children.

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* DeconstructedTrope: This comic deconstructs TheGoodKing archetype. Zuko finds out that even with him being an objectively better Fire Lord than his father, there is still resistance to his rule, resistance that may one day need to be dealt with through overt violence.