Note: Characters who appear in the trilogy but are largely the same as their canon selves won't be listed here, as it would be mostly a rehash of their Avatar: The Last Airbender character sheet entries. Main series page is here.
Princess Azula
Princess of the Fire Nation, last seen canonically in the midst of an epic Villainous Breakdown. After spending the next several months in a catatonic state, she was "rescued" by General Azun's men and set on a path to regain her sanity- and bring her into a confrontation with her most dangerous enemy...
- Brought Down to Normal: While amnesiac, she can't firebend.
- Byronic Heroine: Oh, yes. She's got it just as bad as her brother in the canon storyline, managing to check out in all of the qualifications. Cynical and jaded? Check. Intelligent and introspective? Considering how much of a Chessmaster she is, check. Attractive? Yes. Morally complicated? Hoo boy, check.
- Easy Amnesia: After coming out of her catatonia, her memories are so jumbled and twisted they give her little help in putting her identity together, but Amnesiac Dissonance is averted - her personality is still largely the same, albeit somewhat less ruthless.
General Azun
A cousin of the Fire Nation royal family and a true fanatic to its cause, Azun genuinely believes that Fire Nation rule would be best for the world, and he'll go to almost any length to see it happen. His first goal- putting Azula, who he sees as the rightful heir, back on the throne.
- Even Evil Has Standards: Azun has no tolerance for pointless cruelty.
- Moral Myopia: Minor example-he's incredibly honorable and applies to the laws of warfare, but Patriotic Fervor doesn't begin to describe his nationalism.
- Rank Scales with Asskicking: He's not as good as Ozai, Iroh, or Azula, but he's still a lot stronger than the average firebender.
Ling and Joti
Two peasant siblings Azula falls in with while amnesiac in "Heart of Fire".
- Morality Chain: To Azula, while they're travelling together.
- Small Role, Big Impact: They are not seen again after Azula frees them, but it is their decision to take Azula in that sets her on the first steps towards redemption.
Wei Ming
A mysterious girl with a strange power over darkness and a burning hatred for the Fire Nation- and Azula in particular. She was born a peasant in the Earth Kingdom and witnessed the destruction of her village and the death of her mother before becoming a Joo Dee in Ba Sing Se. Zhan Zheng found her, pulled her back from that state, and gave her a purpose- sharing her pain with the rest of the world.
- Hero Killer: She kills other villains too.
- Shadow Archetype: Literally! Puns aside, she was created to be to Azula essentially what Azula was to the Gaang during the show itself.
- Uncanny Valley Girl: She's frequently described as very pretty but the unnatural color of her eyes and skin tend to frighten people.
Ty Lee
A member of the Kyoshi Warriors, and Azula's ex-friend and sidekick from during the show. The two team up to track down Ursa and end up reconciling.
- Easily Forgiven: She's the only one to let Azula off the hook easily- largely because it's not really in her character to hold a grudge for more than a few days.
Ursa
Azula and Zuko's mother, ex-wife of Fire Lord Ozai and a captive of the warlord Jian Chin.
- Action Mom: In this interpretation, Ursa is a firebender and while not a true warrior, she does have a degree of martial skill she will use if pressed.
- The Atoner: For killing Azulon and thereby allowing Ozai to take the throne, as well as for other things which are only hinted at.
- Healing Hands: Seems to have a firebending version of Katara's technique.
- Morality Pet: Of sorts. Until she actually saw her again, Azula's conscience would often take the form of Ursa.
- Silk Hiding Steel: Enough so that Azula is utterly surprised that her mother developed a healing technique with FIRE, of all things on the fly.
Jian Chin
The Earth Kingdom warlord who captured Ursa. Ultimately allies with Zhan Zheng to become a godlike force of destruction.
- Deal with the Devil: Ends with him dying, naturally.
- The Dragon: To Zhan Zheng.
- Meaningful Name: Jian Chin honors Chin the Conqueror.
- Unskilled, but Strong: As an earthbender, he's just shy of Toph/Bumi level even before he meets Zhan Zheng. Fortunately for the world, he's also dumber than a sack of bricks.
Ilook
A psychotic waterbender with quicksilver mood swings and a terrible temper who hires himself out as a mercenary. He first meets Azula when working for a pirate captain but ultimately takes a job with Jian Chin. A spectacularly powerful waterbending warrior, his insanity is his greatest weakness, since it makes him terrible at planning or self-control. He's ultimately beaten in a waterbending duel by Katara and killed.
- Bad Boss: Never let him have any henchmen if you want to see them again.
- Cold-Blooded Torture: By corrupting waterbending healing, he's able to create a technique that just does this but in the end, it kills him.
- An Ice Person: He favors ice-based waterbending techniques.
- It's All About Me: When he beats you, it's hilarious. When you beat him, he bitches and moans the entire time.
Zhan Zheng
A powerful spirit, the embodiment of war, who was manipulating Azun, Wei Ming, and Jian Chin for his own purpose namely, reducing the world to a state of permanent chaos and conflict. It has a particular interest in Azula both because it feels she is the most like it of all the mortals it has encountered and because Zhan Zheng was "created" when Sozin committed genocide on the Air Nomads, and as a result all of its pawns manifest some sort of fixation on her.
- Anthropomorphic Personification: Of war.
- As Long as There Is Evil: Subverted in several ways. His current state as Zhan Zheng only happened as a result of Sozin starting the war between the nations. When the war ends, he becomes fairly concerned about his continued existence. In the end, Zhan Zheng survives the final battle with Aang and Azula, only to run directly into Koh...
- Big Bad: The Greater-Scope Villain of the Azula Trilogy.
- Cruel and Unusual Death: Koh eats him and steals his face.
- Demonic Possession: How it was controlling Wei Ming and Jian Chin.
- Greater-Scope Villain: The story was published before the trope was named, but he would retroactively be in this position for the world of Avatar and the Hundred-Year War he perpetuated. Later still, the Avatar universe would canonically get a comparable character by the name of Vaatu...
- Logic Bomb: Azula's Breaking Speech is this to him. How can you be a personification of disunion and discord when you have caused everyone else to ally against you?
- Villainous Breakdown: Occurs after Azula's Breaking Speech.
- War God: Zhan Zheng is the embodiment of war and seeks to plunge the world into perpetual war in order to sustain itself.
