Aang
- Played By: Noah Ringer"My name is Aang ... and I am the Avatar. *Unhoods himself to reveal his airbending tattoos* I ran away, but I'm back now. It's time for you to stop doing this!"
The titular Last Airbender. He is the Avatar, the only one who can bend all four elements to his will.
- Adaptational Angst Upgrade: He spends most of the movie angsting and brooding about his responsibilities as the Avatar and being the last airbender. While Aang had occasional moments of this in the cartoon, he was always The Pollyanna at his core.
- Age Lift: According to the novelization. He was twelve in the show, but is thirteen in the movie.
- Big "NO!": When he discovers that Gyatso's dead.
- Blow You Away: His native element is air.
- The Chosen One: He's the Avatar.
- Composite Character: Downplayed, but he does take on some of Katara's role (like inspiring the Earthbenders to rebel).
- Elemental Powers: He's the only one with all four of them.
- Mr. Exposition: Not as much as Katara and Zhao, but he does give some exposition.
- The Quiet One: Especially compared to his cartoon counterpart, who was a keet.
- Race Lift: In the original series, the Air Nomads were heavily inspired by the culture of Tibet, and they looked East Asian to match. The movie cast Noah Ringer, an actor of mixed white and Native American ancestry, to play Aang.
- White Male Lead: Due to casting, which also makes him a Mighty Whitey in general, but especially in freeing the Earthbender camp, who egregiously lack the agency to rebel and only do so when he tells them they're surrounded by their natural element.
Katara
- Played By: Nicola Peltz"My name is Katara. And I'm the only waterbender left in the Southern Water Tribe."
The only waterbender in the South Pole, and the movie's Deuteragonist.
- Adaptational Hairstyle Change: Katara in the animation wears her hair in a long plait with two looped braids (known as her "hair loopies") either side of her face; her hair is modelled after real Inuit hairstyles, with the Southern Water Tribe as a whole being a Fantasy Counterpart Culture to the Inuit peoples. In the film, she wears her hair loose with two long braids either side of her face and a short braid holding back some of her hair; the movie style is reminiscent of the way Katara wears her hair while in the Fire Nation in the series. The reason for the change is unclear; Katara is portrayed by the white Nicola Peltz rather than being Ambiguously Brown, but the Inuit-inspired aesthetic is kept overall.
- Adaptational Wimp: Her waterbending isn't as powerful as in the cartoon, and she is Curb Stomped by Zuko instead of almost winning her fight against him.
- Additionally, she cowers against Sokka for accidentally getting him wet. In the show, she's not only laughed off such a prank, but also was not afraid to call him out on his sexism.
- Age Lift: According to the novelization, she's fifteen in the movie. In the show, she was fourteen.
- Character Narrator: She provides narration and voiceovers.
- Chickification: Where the series depicts her as a highly talented bender capable of going up against masters without formal training, the film version blunders her attempts at bending so often that it renders her nearly completely useless and a couple of her defining moments of bravery and compassion from the series has been given to Aang.
- Dull Surprise: She's not very expressive.
- Making a Splash: She's a waterbender.
- Mr. Exposition: Well, Ms. Exposition: She's one of the film's primary exposition deliverers.
- Race Lift: The Water Tribes in the animated series have ambiguous racial features (and are culturally based on the Inuit), but Nicola Peltz is very clearly white. It's made worse by the fact that background Water Tribe members are played by Inuit actors.
Sokka
- Played By: Jackson Rathbone"Okay! Everybody can help us now!"
Katara's brother, and a water tribe warrior with a serious disposition.
- Adaptational Angst Upgrade: The movie stripped away most of Cartoon Sokka's traits, like comedy and sarcasm, and put angst in their place.
- Adaptational Jerkass: Besides the above-mentioned loss of comedy and sarcasm, it's implied he's hit Katara before. They bickered plenty in the show but it never moved past the way any normal siblings act towards each other.
- Adaptation Personality Change: His characterization is greatly altered in the movie, where he loses many of his defining characteristics (his intelligence, his sense of responsibility, his humor and sarcasm) and mostly comes off as sullen and at times psychotic.
- Age Lift: Seventeen in the movie (according to the novelization), fifteen in the show.
- Badass Normal: He's a nonbender, but still a good fighter.
- Dull Surprise: Like his sister.
- Race Lift: Jackson Rathbone is white, while Cartoon Sokka had the ambiguous racial features (dark skin, brown hair, blue eyes) common to Water Tribesmen.
- Would Hit a Girl: Implied to have beaten Katara before given that she cowers when she accidentally gets him wet while he seems like he was gearing up to do something violent to her.
Prince Zuko
- Played By: Dev Patel"I am Prince Zuko... son of Fire Lord Ozai and heir to the throne! Bring me... all your elderly!"
The exiled prince of the Fire Nation, who competes with Zhao to find and capture the Avatar.
- Adaptational Attractiveness: Cartoon Zuko had a giant, disfiguring burn scar over a quarter of his face. Movie Zuko's scar is far less prominent, making him significantly more conventionally attractive.
- Adaptational Hairstyle Change: In the first season of Avatar, Zuko's head is shaved bald save for a ponytail on top of his head. In the movie, Zuko has a far less extreme-looking short hairstyle; presumably they felt it would be too difficult to recreate his hairstyle without resorting to extensive makeup, or getting the actor to both grow his hair long then get most of it shaved off.
- Adaptational Nice Guy: He's rather nicer in the movie than in the first season of the show.
- A Day in the Limelight: Zuko's Story (a prequel manga focusing on Zuko's quest of finding the Avatar up to the beginning of the film) and the video game are mainly based on his POV, especially Zuko's Story.
- Age Lift: According to the novelization, he's eighteen. According to the cartoon, he's sixteen.
- Anti-Villain: He's chasing the Avatar because he he thinks it'll make his father love him.
- Badass Normal: Even when he's not using firebending (such as when he's the Blue Spirit) he's badass.
- Blemished Beauty: His scar is not nearly as prominent as it was in the tv show, which makes this version of Zuko look more conventionally attractive. In fact, it can only be clearly seen in certain lighting conditions.
- Cool Mask: As the Blue Spirit.
- Dual Wielding: He wields dual swords.
- Playing with Fire: He's a capable firebender.
- Race Lift: Zuko is of the Fire Nation, which in the series was dominantly based on East Asia with some select groups of Southeast Asian and Mesoamerican people thrown in. Dev Patel is Indian.
- Tragic Villain: He's an abused kid who just wants his father to love him.
- Unreliable Narrator: Comes across as this in the video game, after both he and Aang escape from the Western Air Temple. while Aang waits for Zuko to recover. leaving out Aang’s tale about Kuzon and how he hopes that Zuko and he could become friends.
- Worf Had the Flu: He loses his second fight with Katara, but only because she got the drop on him while he was distracted with trying to catch Aang.
Iroh
- Played By: Shaun Toub(to Zhao) "You stand alone. And that has always been your great mistake."
Zuko's uncle, and probably the only person who actually cares about the poor kid. He doesn't really care about capturing the Avatar- he's mostly in this for Zuko.
- Cool Old Guy: Calm, wise, and the only one who actually loves Zuko.
- Cool Uncle: He's Zuko's uncle and the only one in his family who actually cares for him.
- Elemental Baggage: Is notable for not needing this, instead being able to find a source of power in his own chi, much like firebenders in the cartoon.
- Old Master: He's pretty old and the best firebender shown.
- Playing with Fire: The best firebender in the movie.
- Race Lift: He was fantasy-East Asian in the show, but he's played by an ethnically Persian actor here.
Zhao
- Played By: Aasif MandviZhao:"Sire, I have good news. As You Know, I conducted a raid on the Great Library, which most said didn't exist."Ozai: "Get on with it."Zhao: "I found scrolls in the library. We are deciphering them. But I believe they may contain information as to where the Ocean and Moon Spirits live in this world. With this information, we could bring down the Northern Water Tribe city, we could show the world the true strength of fire."
A Fire Nation commander and Zuko's main rival in the hunt for the Avatar.
- Adaptational Jerkass: In the original animated series, he secretly orders Zuko's assassination through a band of pirates and correctly assumes Ozai won't care if his son is dead. Here in this film, Ozai strictly forbids Zhao from assassinating Zuko because he has no proof that Zuko is the Blue Spirit causing trouble for the Fire Nation. Despite receiving direct confirmation that Ozai doesn't want his son dead (for now) and that going against the Fire Lord's will is treason, Zhao still orders the assassination attempt behind the Fire Lord's back. Nowhere in the animated series did we ever see him do anything treasonous against Ozai.
- As You Know: Does this several times.
- Death by Adaptation: He's drowned by some waterbenders, whereas in the show, he's carried off by the Ocean Spirit to an uncertain fatenote .
- Decomposite Character: Ozai takes over several of his roles in the show, most notably coming up with the plan to kill the moon spirit.
- Demoted to Dragon: While he was always Ozai's underling, in the show he's the main villain for season 1 and is far more independent. Movie Zhao is more subservient to Ozai, and it's not solely his idea to kill the Moon Spirit.
- Glory Hound: He hungers for glory and power, and will use every dirty trick to get it. When Ozai mentions that Zuko will be promoted as Zhao's superior if he succeeds in capturing the Avatar first, Zhao responds by ordering an assassination attempt on Zuko behind Ozai's back.
- The Heavy: He's the actual threat the heroes fight, although Ozai is the Big Bad.
- Mr. Exposition: He's another of the film's main exposition givers. Really, most of the time when he opens his mouth, it's to give a long-winded speech about things that the people he's talking to should know already.
- Playing with Fire: As in the show, he can do this, although it's not showcased as much.
- Race Lift: Yet another example of Racebending.
- Sherlock Scan: Somehow manages to deduce that the Blue Spirit is Zuko through a glimpse at his lips.
- The Sociopath: His ego is his first and only concern, to the point where he'll even disobey an order from Ozai to get the power and recognition he craves.
Ozai
- Played By: Cliff Curtis"It is our destiny ... to have found this information, Zhao. Eliminate the Spirits. Take the city and we will have thwarted the Avatar in the process."
Zuko's father, the Fire Lord. Has a far more active role in the movie than in the show.
- Abusive Parents: Just like his cartoon counterpart.
- Adaptational Jerkass:
- In tie-materials, Fire Lord Ozai actually manages to be even worse than what was shown in the film. Like in the cartoon canon, he scarred and banished his son, but in the cartoon he at least gave his son a small ship and crew, even if they were not royal guards or special forces. Zuko's Story revealed that when Zuko was banished from the palace in the film universe, he was forced to live on the streets and try to recruit a crew from bars and failed. Ultimately, Zuko had to resort to asking Azula to ask Ozai to give him a ship. And even then, Ozai only gave Zuko the ship as an excuse to get rid of Iroh.
- Also, Ozai in the animated series had zero interest in harming any of the spirits (Zhao came up with the idea of killing the moon spirit all by himself.). Here he comes up with said plan and is completely uncaring towards what the consequences are so long as it's carried out.
- Adaptational Nice Guy: Downplayed in the film. While still abusive and cruel, this Ozai does somewhat show more compassion to Zuko than his cartoon counterpart. Namely, he keeps an update on his son's whereabouts and forbids Zhao to act on his suspicions that Zuko is the Blue Spirit. This seems to be a last-minute edit in the film as the novelization and story tie-ins (like Zuko's Story) make Ozai even worse than his original counterpart, though this can be chalked up to Pragmatic Villainy in order to make Zuko as much of a monster as he is.
- Adaptational Ugliness: While Cartoon Ozai was quite handsome, this Ozai is far more average looking.
- Adaptation Personality Change: He lacks the constantly simmering emotional intensity he had in the show, mainly coming off as detached and aloof.
- Big Bad: In the show, he was a Greater-Scope Villain for Season 1. In the movie, he takes a far more active role, and helps Zhao create the plan to kill the moon.
- Composite Character: He takes on elements of Zhao's show counterpart, such as his desire to kill the Moon Spirit.
- He Who Must Not Be Seen: A truly bizarre version. In the final scene, Ozai is shot mostly behind or in silhouette, like in the show, despite him having been shown completely earlier on.
- Kick the Dog: Not only did Fire Lord Ozai scar and banish his son, he didn't even bother to give Zuko anything to help him. He did not even pretend that Zuko's quest to capture the Avatar wasn't a way to get rid of Zuko, and only gave him a ship and crew to get rid of Iroh.
- Race Lift: Ozai was East Asian in the show, but he's played by Māori actor Cliff Curtis here.
- The Sociopath: Just like his animated self, he zero regard for anything other than his desire for power, hates his own brother Iroh, and treats his own son like dirt unless he became corrupted to his own image. There is also no indication that Zhao or Azula are anything to him other than as useful tools.
- You Have Failed Me: Ozai tells Zhao that if that Zuko delivers the Avatar to him first, he would have no reservation to rank his position above Zhao. Considering from Zhao's perspective, it's worse than being executed.
Azula
- Played By: Summer Bishil"I do, Father."
Zuko's younger sister. She appears in the movie's final scene, where her father tells her to go search for the Avatar in place of Zuko.
- Adaptational Personality Change: Cartoon Azula was composed and in-control, even coming off as The Stoic at times; from what little of what we see of her, this version of the character wears her instability on her sleeve.
- Giggling Villain: From what little screen time we get of her, it appears that she'll be this.
- Playing with Fire: According to Zuko, she, like her show counterpart, is a firebending prodigy.
- Pet the Dog: After Zuko is banished and is forced to live on the streets and fails to find a crew, he resorts to asking Azula to ask Ozai to give him a ship, noticing that Ozai would listen to her because she's his favorite child. Azula agrees, and gets Zuko the ship and crew he needed.
- Race Lift: The character was the equivalent of East Asian in the show, but she's played by an actress of Mexican and Indian descent here.
- Sequel Hook: She is one.
Yue
- Played By: Seychelle Gabriel"This time we show the fire nation that we believe in our beliefs as much as they believe in theirs"
Ruler of the Northern Water Tribe in place of her father, who suffered from Death by Adaptation.
- A Child Shall Lead Them: Since her father is dead in this version, she is the leader of the Water Tribe at only age sixteen.
- Composite Character: She's mostly like Cartoon Yue, but rules the Northern Water Tribe in place of her father, Chief Arnook.
- Heroic Sacrifice: As in the show, she does this to revive the Moon Spirit. Unlike in the show, she does not become the next moon spirit.
- Mystical White Hair: As in the series. It shows that she has been healed by the Moon Spirit.
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Unfortunate Character Design: It's often claimed that the design of her hair looks like a penis when seen from the back. - Winter Royal Lady: As a princess of the Northern Water Tribe.
The Dragon Spirit
- Voiced By: John Noble
A dragon that Aang meets in the spirit world, who fills in for several characters from the cartoon.
- Composite Character: He has elements of Avatar Roku, Fang, Koh the Face Stealer, and Guru Pathik.
- Spirit Advisor: Takes on this role for Aang, in place of Roku.
