Characters / The Legend of Korra - Beifong Family

The Legend of Korra Main Character Index
New Team Avatar (Avatar Korra, Asami Sato, Mako, Bolin) | Tenzin's Family | Beifong Family | Allies (Varrick and Zhu Li) | Seasons 1 & 2 Enemies (Amon) | Seasons 3 & 4 Enemies (Zaheer, Kuvira) | Past Characters | Other Characters | Comic Characters

This is a partial character sheet for The Legend of Korra. Subjective trope and audience reactions should go on the YMMV page.

Lineage does NOT come from the father in this family.

The Beifong family is an old aristocratic house in the Earth Kingdom. Their house crest, the winged boar, is widely recognized. Its most illustrious family member in recent history is Toph Beifong, widely regarded as one of the greatest Earthbenders who ever lived for many feats: being the Earthbending sifu of Avatar Aang, her blindness- leading to her creating her own unique style of Earthbending, which then contributed to her discovering and honing the Earthbending technique subset known as Metalbending. All listed in this category descend from her, with one exception instead through marriage.

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General

• Action Girl: You do NOT wanna mess with the Beifong women; from the Cool Old Lady grandma to the sweet and caring granddaughter, they are all capable of bending your ass into next week.
• Badass Family: Being descendents of Toph, this is to be expected. Her two daughters are just as formidable earthbenders as she is, two of her grandsons are bending sport prodigies, another is an expert mech pilot, and her granddaughter is a very capable airbender.
• Big, Screwed-Up Family: Toph was a little too free-reign in parenting, Lin holds intense long-lasting grudges, Suyin is a former triad associate who is responsible for Lin's scars, Baatar Jr. is engaged to an aspiring military dictator, and Huan is an angsty artist.
• Blue Blood: The family of the Winged Boar is an old and respected one in the Earth Kingdom. True to form, both of Toph's daughters hold high political positions; a police chief in a major metropolis for Lin and a community founder/leader for Suyin.
• Dishing Out Dirt: Nearly all of them are earthbenders. Opal was a non-bender prior to Harmonic Convergence, and it's not clear if Baatar and Baatar Jr. are benders.
• Dysfunction Junction: Not amongst Suyin and her children, but between Suyin, Lin, and their mother Toph. As of Book 4, Baatar Jr. is thrown into the mix as well.
• Elemental Eye Colors: They all have green eye colors, in keeping with the family's strong connection to the art of Earthbending. Some have the same minty green that Toph had (sans the blinding cataracts).
• Extra-ore-dinary: All of the earthbenders in the family are metalbenders, too, since the matriarch invented the art.
• Heroic Lineage: Save for Baatar, they are descended from world-renowed legend Toph Beifong and fight on the side of good and are allies of Team Avatar (except Baatar Jr).
• Lineage Comes from the Father: Completely inverted. You would be hard pressed to imagine what the fathers of Lin and Suyin looked like or the kind of men they were. Even their names were unknown for most of the series. Both Suyin and Lin treat the Beifong family as their only heritage. This applies in both generations, as almost all of Suyin's children are metalbenders like her, with Huan inheriting her artistic streak. Appropriately, Baatar Jr. is the only member of either generation to resemble his father at all, with his Nerd Glasses and Gadgeteer Genius skills.
• More Deadly Than the Male: Downplayed, but present. Lin and Suyin are the prime drivers in the scenes they are in, and Opal's Character Focus shows off her airbending chops to great extent. By contrast, two of the five men (Baatar and Huan) never fight, while Baatar Jr is only ever seen fighting in a mech-suit, and Wei and Wing are usually Satellite Characters assisting their mother.
• Spin-Offspring: All from Toph, except Su's husband, of course.
• Tomboy and Girly Girl: The Beifong Sisters' fighting styles have this aspect when compared to each other. Lin has a more aggressive in-your-face style, while Su is a Dance Battler.

Toph

The living Earthbending legend and elderly matriarch of the current Beifong family. For tropes pertaining to Toph, refer to her entry.

Lin

Lin Beifong

"Show a little more backbone!"

^{Click here for her in her younger years.}

Voiced by: Mindy Sterling, Grey DeLisle (younger), Ewa Serwa-Galia (Polish)

Voiced by (German): Silke Matthias

Daughter of Toph Beifong, and the head of Republic City's Police corps. Forceful and uncompromising, Lin has a soft heart under her metal armour, and will do anything to protect the safety of Republic City.

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• 24-Hour Armor: She even wears it to parties. Also evidently the shoes are metal and worn without socks (which makes sense given Toph probably had a say in designing it). The few times she's seen without it are when she's just wearing the underclothes, in a Zaofu outfit in "Old Wounds", and a rare moment of formal attire for the wedding in the series finale.
• Amicable Exes: Tenzin seems to think so. Korra's not so sure. Later on, she seems to warm up a little. A case of time healing all wounds, as she tells Mako that she trashed Air Temple Island when they broke up.
• Anti-Hero: After losing her men in Hiroshi's ambush, she resigns from her place in the police to handle the Equalists in other ways. She ends up being reinstated in the following season.
• Appeal to Force: Believes the only way to maintain peace and stability in her city is through the use of law enforcement. Also, tried to solve the Love Triangle by Imprisoning the Hypotenuse.
• Asskicking Leads to Leadership: Episode 6 shows that there's a VERY good reason she's the head of the Metalbending Police.
• Badass Longcoat: Adopts one in Episode 9, though she's given it up by the next episode.
• Berserk Button:
  • Never imply that her relationship with Tenzin ended because of her.
  • Don't bring up the topic of her Disappeared Dad. She's... sensitive about it.
• Betty and Veronica: Pre-series, she was the rough, no-nonsense police officer "Veronica" to Pema's kind, peaceful Air Acolyte member "Betty" for Tenzin's "Archie". At first, he was with Lin but they broke up because of their different interests and he fell in love with Pema.
• Big Sister Instinct:
  • Lin's flashback in "Old Wounds" shows her trying to keep her little sister, Suyin, from going down the wrong path.
  • She protects Suyin in "Enter the Void" by shielding her from P'Li's attacks, and then putting her life on the line to distract P'Li and give Su an opening.
  • In "Operation Beifong", Lin shoves Suyin out of the way of an incoming fire blast.
  • In "The Last Stand", while infiltrating the Colossus with Suyin, Lin took on the guard attacking them, telling Su to go ahead, and then when Kuvira rips off the Colossus' arm, Lin straps in Su (who had been knocked unconscious) with metal to prevent her from being thrown out of the arm.
• Blade Below the Shoulder: Her police armor sports a pair of these. No indication on whether it's standard issue or special to hers.
• Building Swing: One utilization of her powers.
• By-the-Book Cop: As Chief of Police, she runs her department on the ideals of keeping the peace through strong and honest law enforcement. Her rare moments of bending the rules (or, as she puts it, stepping outside the law) tend to involve partaking in rescue missions for people she cares about, namely her officers or her family.
• Celibate Heroine: By the series finale, Lin doesn't marry or begin a new romantic relationship.
• Childhood Friend Romance: A failed one with Tenzin. It's stated the primary cause of the breakup was that Lin was not interested in starting a family, which Tenzin wanted.
• The Comically Serious:
  • Has been growing into this in Book 3, where she doesn't lose her stern behavior even in the face of most comedic scenarios.
  • Returns in Turf Wars where aside from being all-business she reacts more to Bolin's bad handwriting rather than learning Korra and Asami are a couple.
• Combat Tentacles: She usually shoots out her metalbending cables to wrap around people and objects in a very Spider-Man-esque way, but more complex maneuvers can take on this sort of appearance.
• Control Freak: Has a tendency to be this when she's stressed, angry, or concerned. Suyin even lampshades this after Lin yells at her for disobeying her instructions and letting Korra track down Zaheer.
• Cool Aunt: Shows signs of becoming this to Opal after Lin apologizes to her and gives her niece advice on choosing her own path.
• Cool Old Lady: She's starting to become this after Book 3, specifically when she encouraged her niece to choose her own path.
• Da Chief: Up until Episode 7, where she turns in her badge so she can track down her captive men without restraint. She is later reinstated by the beginning of Book 2.
• Dark Is Not Evil: Wears the standard black armor for Republic City's Chief of Police and is a heroine in the show.
• Deadpan Snarker: Like mother, like daughter. Her tongue is as sharp as her metal cables. Hell, her first line in Book 2 was full of snark:
  Lin: Welcome back, Avatar. Congratulations on starting a war.
• Death Glare: Gave one to Bolin in "Operation Beifong" when asking Toph about her Disappeared Dad.
• Defiant to the End: Amon offers to let her keep her bending if she sells out the Avatar. Her response is hardly a surprise.
• Defrosting Ice Queen:
  • During the course of the first season she gradually comes to respect Korra.
  • This happens in the third season when she's visiting her younger sister and her children. It makes a lot of sense, seeing as how she and Suyin have barely talked to each other in years and she's resented her for her rebellious behavior.
• De-power: In "Turning the Tides", Lin allows Amon to remove her metal-bending power to allow her friends to escape. Her bending is restored by Korra in "Endgame".
• Dishing Out Dirt: As a metalbender, this is a required base skill. She doesn't use it much.
• Distress Ball: Book 1 episode 10. Lin vs the Equalists. Throughout the fight against the Mooks she was using a combination of metal and earthbending. But when the Lieutenant, a man she knows for a fact to possess electrified kali sticks, shows up rather than using earthbending to subdue him like she did half of his underlings, she uses metalbending, wrapping her cables around his kali sticks and getting her electrocuted for her trouble.
• Double Standard: Abuse, Female on Male: Her throwing a tantrum after Tenzin broke up with her, which involves her destroying the Air Temple, and attempting to arrest an innocent woman is played for laughs. If Lin were a man and Tenzin a woman, she would surely be seen as a misogynistic domestic abuser.
• The Dutiful Daughter: In her youth, Lin was the responsible daughter of Toph, who was off doing her police work. While Su was skipping school and hanging out with the Triad.
• Dying Declaration of Love: Of the family sort, played with. She tells her sister that she loves her (after 30 years of estrangement), as she prepares to distract P'Li, which has a very real chance of Lin being killed.
• Establishing Character Moment: She directly confronts Korra in the interrogation room of the Metalbending Police HQ, knowing full well that Korra is the Avatar and has already mastered 3 elements, and still talks down to her with not a trace of fear or special treatment.
• Fair Cop: If you can look past Lin's intense scowling she's actually very pretty, even at her age.
• Family Eye Resemblance: Her eyes are a minty green like her mother's. Except without the severe cataracts that came with Toph's blindness.
• Fatal Flaw: Lin has trouble letting go of old resentments.
• Fire-Forged Friends: It took her a while to warm up to Korra, which was kicked off with the help of Tenzin.
• First Love: For years, Lin was in a relationship with Tenzin, a fitting relationship since both are the children of protagonists from Avatar: The Last Airbender and both are legal authorities in the melting pot of Republic City. Eventually, however, Tenzin broke up with her, and the two have been on poor terms ever since.
• Foolish Sibling, Responsible Sibling: In her youth, she was the Responsible to Suyin's Foolish. "Old Wounds" show that while Lin was following the rules and doing her job as a cop properly, Suyin was ditching school and hanging around people who were a bad influence.
• Force and Finesse: The force to Suyin's finesse, best exemplified in their duel. Lin strikes first, strikes hard, and shows no mercy. Her strikes are quick, powerful, and head-on. In many ways, she typifies earthbending's philosophy of taking things directly. This serves her well as a police chief, but when she comes up against Suyin, whose style of bending incorporates waterbending's adaptability and airbending's acrobatics and indirection, she is easily bested.
• Generation Xerox: She's a tough, no-nonsense master earthbender/metalbender and police chief who doesn't care about status, even the Avatar's, and goes through a defrosting period with the Avatar of their time. The only real difference between her and Toph is that she isn't blind.
• Good Is Not Nice: She rather viciously tells Korra that she hasn't done anything to deserve the gala Tarrlok throws her. While this is technically true as the party is a ploy by the councilor to butter her up and shame her into joining his task force, that's a little rough. It's later implied that she's giving Korra a hard time because she's bitter about her former relationship with Tenzin. Later on, a major part of her attitude was due to seeing her half-sister as a disgrace to their family.
• Good Scars, Evil Scars: Has two small scars on her cheek.
• Grappling-Hook Pistol: In this case, the "pistol" is her metalbending.
• Heroic Bastard: All but stated in Season 3, where we learn she has a half-sister and neither of their fathers were around when they were growing up. And while she's a rough person to like, she's still on the side of good.
• Heroic Sacrifice:
  • To save Tenzin's family, she attacks Amon's airships, bringing down one and forcing the other to withdraw. Amon captures her and tries to get her to reveal Korra's location in exchange for keeping her bending, but she refuses.
    Lin: Whatever happens to me... don't turn back!
    Meelo: That lady is my hero.
  • She does this again in "Enter the Void" where she decides to face P'Li, rather than letting Suyin do it.
• Idiot Ball:
  • In Book 2, ignoring Mako's detective work out of hand despite him having some valid points, instead trusting her obviously incompetent but actual detectives to do the job.
  • In "Night of A Thousand Stars" when the fight breaks out in the arena between Bolin and the President's would-be kidnappers. Instead of going down to the ring to help Bolin or going with the other cops to secure the President, she goes directly to Varrick's VIP box and arrests him before he can even leave his seat.
• Inspector Javert: Especially when it comes to dealing with Korra.
• Iron Lady: Lin is a very stern, authoritative woman who takes crap from no one, not even the Avatar. However, she does soften towards Korra and her friends over time, and eventually becomes a trusted ally.
• Jerkass Has a Point: Lin may not be the nicest person around, but she's not wrong about a few things.
  • Lin's first appearance has her rightfully scolding Korra when the young Avatar caused damages to Republic City.
  • As nasty as how she put it, Korra really didn't do anything to deserve the party Tarrlok threw for her.
  • Before starting a fight with Suyin, Lin made some accurate points about her little sister — one being that Suyin never did face punishment for her past crimes.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: While she's initially very disapproving of Korra's presence in Republic City, she's genuinely interested in keeping the peace. Later, she becomes very protective of Korra (and she's always been protective of Suyin).
• Knows the Ropes: With the Metalbending Police Force's metal cables.
• Lady of War: She has a refined style of earthbending and metalbending, using metal cables to bind enemies to toss them around and perform acrobatics. She also has a cool, authoritative demeanor and doesn't lose her grace and dignity even as she is de-bended by Amon.
• Lightning Bruiser: She's very fast, can get up after being electrocuted, and is one of the few characters who can destroy an Equalist Mini-Mecha on her own. Mind you, she's only a year younger than Tenzin.
• Like Mother, Like Daughter: She's just as stubborn as her mother, but coming from that is a sense of right and wrong, which leads her to resign as Chief of Police in order to track down her captured men outside the law. She also knows her mother's seismic sense technique, though it appears to be an active rather than passive power. If Book 2 is anything to go by, Lin inherited Toph's snarker quality. The first line she says in Book 2 was "congratulating" Korra on starting a war. Even when mother and daughter reunite in the show, having both been (and still are, for Lin) police chiefs, they share this brief greeting.
  Lin: Uh... hey, chief.
  Toph: Hey, chief.
• Like Mother, Unlike Daughter: Toph in the first series was an independent girl snarker who ran away from her strict home which wanted her to follow tradition. Toph's daughter Lin is a serious Iron Lady who became Da Chief in order to follow in her mother's footsteps as a cop despite Toph's own wishes against such a choice. The contrast is even more highlighted in their actions as police chiefs. Whereas Lin is a strict By-the-Book Cop who only did things not by the book after resigning from her position, Toph abused her position as she immediately covered up for her other daughter Suyin when she got arrested.
• Love Triangle: Believe it or not, she was the second girl in Tenzin and Pema's love triangle.
• Made of Iron: Puns aside, Episode 6 shows she is this. After being knocked unconscious by electricity, she gets up in time to start chasing Amon with Korra. She is repeatedly shocked again by The Lieutenant, but doesn't let it stop her even when weakened prior.
• Maiden Aunt: Has never married or had children, and her sister Suyin has quite a litter.
• Mama Bear: She goes to enormous lengths to protect Tenzin's family, to save her officers from Amon, and she also cares about Team Avatar.
• Meaningful Name: "Lin" is Chinese (林) for "forest", alluding to her earthbending abilities.
• More Expendable Than You: Lin is, first and foremost, a protector. Some people are so dear to her that she will put herself in mortal peril to ensure her charges' survival. She tells Tenzin and his family to escape without her and don't look back, because they are the last of the airbenders, and wiping them out would end airbending forever. For her troubles, she gets De Powered by Amon, which is just short of Death as an unpleasant fate for most benders. She was re-powered by Korra in the Book One denouement, however. Later in Book Three, when the plan to rescue the Airbenders captured by the Red Lotus goes horribly awry, she runs out to distract P'Li near the end of Season 3 to give her sister Suyin (who has a family to return home to and in return expects her to come back to them) an opening against their foe, knowing full well the terrible risk in facing a combustion bender. Eventually, P'li has Lin dead to rights... but Lin gave her sister the shot she needed just in the nick of time.
• A Mother to Her Men: She genuinely cares about the officers under her ranks. So, when some are captured by Equalists, she is willing to resign her position as Chief of Police in order to go after them with any means necessary. She even managed to find them, but not soon enough to save them from Amon. Even after taking a level in niceness she's direct and decidedly brusque to Tenzin and Team Avatar, but speaking to her men in "Out Of The Past", her voice and eyes are gentler.
• Mundane Utility: She can control almost all metal. She uses this power to put her armor on, and zip Bolin's fly.
• Never Mess with Granny: She can kick a lot of ass for someone in their fifties.
• No Sympathy for Grudgeholders: She gets this in "Old Wounds." While Lin has a lot of legitimate grievances with Suyin, considering Suyin was working as a Getaway Driver for the Terra Triad, resisted arrest, which led to Lin receiving the scars on her face, and refused to accept responsibility for anything, all of which she got away with thanks to Toph's influence, no one in the present day cares or bothers to ask why there's bad blood between Suyin, assuming she's just a "bitter old woman". Slightly Justified by the fact that Lin never bothered trying to explain herself either and simply took her resentment out on her niece.
• Odd Friendship: According to Tenzin, Lin and Aang actually got on famously. While Aang did know her mother, it's still kind of hard to imagine Lin getting on famously with anyone.
• Offstage Villainy: Lin destroying a temple and trying to arrest an innocent woman just because Tenzin left her is surely the worst act she has ever done, but it happens off-screen, and is only remembered as a funny anecdote.
• One-Woman Army: Best shown in "Out of the Past", where she single-handedly liberates her captured officers from the Equalist prison, with only minimal help from the rest of the group. While injured.
• Out of Focus:
  • In Book 2, she has less screentime, being relegated to Mako's B-plot. Her character arc becomes central in the middle part of Book 3, which introduces the rest of her family and some serious issues with her sister that need to be resolved.
  • This continues into Season 4, an episode of which focuses on the issues with her and her mother.
• Perpetual Frowner: Often frowns or scowls.
• Psycho Ex-Girlfriend: It's implied Lin was one to Tenzin to some level after he broke up with her, if destroying parts of Air Temple Island and trying to have Pema imprisoned for becoming Tenzin's new girlfriend at the time is any indication. She's grown out of it, but bringing up her past failed relationship in a negative light easily angers her and can stir her to violence.
• Reasonable Authority Figure: Definitely not a nice example, but she's trying to keep the peace. If you're not breaking the law, she's willing to listen. She is surprisingly cool with Mako's desk being thrown across the police station when he breaks up with Korra, saying he "got off easy" and that she did far worse when Tenzin broke up with her.
• Right for the Wrong Reasons: While interrogating the Metal Clan guards after Zaheer escaped Zaofu when he tried and nearly succeeded in kidnapping Korra, Lin begins to suspect that a higher ranking city official aided Zaheer in his inflitration and escape. She accused Suyin and ordered Aiwei, Suyin's truth seer and her personal advisor, to question her, who confirmed Suyin was neither responsible nor an accomplice for Zaheer's attack. They only find out later that, to their dismay, Aiwei himself was the traitor.
• Scars Are Forever: She got her scars 30 years ago, when she tried to arrest her sister with her metal cables. Su cut the cable, causing them to backlash and slash Lin across the cheek.
• Screw Your Ultimatum!: She all but spits in Amon's face when he offers to let her keep her bending in exchange for telling him where Korra is.
• Sibling Rivalry: She and her sister Suyin used to fight for Toph's attention. Lin has not entirely gotten over it yet, while Suyin seems to genuinely want to move on and reconcile with Lin.
• Sibling Team: Lin teams up with Suyin to fight against P'Li near the end of Book 3, and the two also fight together against Kuvira's forces in Book 4, and when sabotaging the Colossus in the finale.
• Sibling Yin-Yang: While Lin is serious, blunt and a loner, Suyin's carefree, philosophical and family-oriented.
• Silver Fox: Not to Suyin's level, but still present.
• Spin-Offspring: She's the daughter of Toph.
• Strong Family Resemblance: She looks a lot like Toph's mother Poppy.
• Sugar-and-Ice Personality: To those she trusts and is close to, she is very "sugary" but when on the job, she is ice.
• Sympathetic Inspector Antagonist: She considers Korra a threat to Republic City and wants her gone. Given that Korra is a Destructive Savior, she has a point. Subverted in later episodes when they start working together.
• Team Dad: Perhaps ironically for a woman, she's this of sorts to Team Avatar.
• Tell Me About My Father: Implied. Given her sensitivity over who her birth father is and later outburst at Toph, it's hinted that Lin has asked her mother about him.
• To Be Lawful or Good: After failing to thwart Amon not once but twice she seems to believe that the best way to help her comrades is to no longer be a police officer. She turns in her badge and picks Good.
• Tomboy and Girly Girl: Lin is the hardcore, rough-and tumble police chief Tomboy to Suyin's carefree Dance Battler Girly Girl.
• Took a Level in Jerkass: Downplayed. Lin briefly has a rougher and harsher attitude in the Book 3 episode "The Metal Clan", mainly due to lingering issues with her family. She gets over it.
• Took a Level in Kindness:
  • Acts nicer to Korra and Tenzin in "And The Winner Is...". She even saves Korra's life. In "The Aftermath" they're all working together without any apparent difficulty.
  • In Book 2 she's grumpy again, showing that though she's kinder, she still has a heart of a Drill Sergeant Nasty.
  • In "Old Wounds", after a little time (and help), she reverses the above level in jerk by apologizing to Opal.
• Turn in Your Badge: She resigns due to repeated mistakes in trying to bring down the Equalists. However, she intends to keep fighting outside the law. However, she kept the badge, although it may have been void after her resignation. She becomes reinstated as chief in Book 2, anyway.
• Unbalanced By Rival's Kid:
  • She takes out her resentment on Korra, Tenzin's live-in student, surrogate family member and the reincarnation of his father Aang, with whom, by Tenzin's account, she got along quite well.
  • Played for Laughs when she does finally interact with (one of) them in Episode 10. When Lin fights the Equalists invading the island, it's the children who come to her rescue. Lin herself says that she wouldn't have been able to beat them had it not been for the kids.
  • Played for Drama with regard to Opal, the daughter of her half-sister Suyin and thus Lin's niece. Due to Lin's deep-seated issues and rivalry with Suyin dating back 30 years, she takes out her resentment upon Opal as a result. Fortunately Lin apologized to Opal later, who fortunately didn't hold a grudge against her.
• Unusually Uninteresting Sight: Gives zero fucks upon hearing Korra and Asami revealed to be a couple, simply a "Huh, well what d'ya know?" Considering the shock of nearly everyone else upon finding this out, this is noteworthy.
• Unwitting Pawn: Was this to Tarrlok when she chose to protect the arena, but failed. It was this failure that accelerated Tarrlok's plans.
• Vibration Manipulation: Lin first displays her ability to sense vibrations through the earth in the "The Aftermath", an ability that she learned from her mother, Toph.
• "Well Done, Daughter!" Girl: Suyin, Lin's younger sister, reveals that Lin became a cop because she wanted to follow in her mother's footsteps. Lin later confided in Opal that all she wanted to do was please her mother.
• What You Are in the Dark: Amon offered to let her keep her bending, if she gave up Korra's location. She could have done so, and later lied and said she had escaped. After all, no one in the main cast would believe the word of an Equalist. But instead, she all but spat in Amon's face as she refused his offer, and faced her de-bending without a shred of fear or regret.
• When She Smiles: Sometimes, she will engage in this. Sometimes heartwarming, other times it's a light Psychotic Smirk.
• Wolverine Claws: She can turn her metalbending cables into these.
• Woman Scorned: Played for Laughs. She apparently tried to have Pema imprisoned for stealing her boyfriend. In Book 2, she implies that Air Temple Island suffered quite a bit of damage when Tenzin broke up with her.
• Working with the Ex: Does this for the first time with Tenzin in "And The Winner Is...", and they continue to work together afterward. Comes to a head in "Turning the Tides" when she sacrifices herself (and eventually her bending) to ensure that Tenzin and his family escape.
• Worth It: It was implied she wrecked Air Temple Island after Tenzin broke up with her, and the way she told Mako "You should have seen what I did to Air Temple Island", it was in a tone of satisfaction.
• You Shall Not Pass!: While fleeing Air Temple Island with Tenzin and his family, Lin stays behind to take out the pursuing Equalist airships.

Suyin

Suyin Beifong

Voiced by: Anne Heche, Jessie Flower (teenager), Izabella Bukowska-Chądzyńska (Polish)

Former Teen Rebel turned Action Mom.

^{Click here for her in her younger years.}

Toph's second daughter and Lin's half-sister. She is the leader and co-founder of Zaofu.

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• Action Mom: The mother of five children and also Kuvira's adoptive mother, all in their teens or older, and a very capable Metalbender.
• Amazonian Beauty: Downplayed example. Broad shoulders and muscular arms don't in any way detract from what a lovely woman she is.
• Ambiguously Brown: She has the same tan complexion as her grandfather, rather than her mother and sister's paler skintone.
• Annoying Younger Sibling: To Lin in their younger days, at least from her perspective.
• Arch-Enemy: Eventually becomes one to Kuvira. They eventually reconcile in Ruins of the Empire.
• The Atoner: After her reckless, criminal ways scarred Lin, she spent some time traveling the world looking for herself before coming back to the Earth Kingdom and founding a city. Said city turned out to be more prosperous and fruitful than Ba Sing Se.
• Badass in Distress: She's captured by Kuvira alongside her sons Wei and Wing in "The Battle of Zaofu." They're rescued in "Operation Beifong".
• Berserk Button: Betrayal does not sit well with her. She attacks a guard accused of betraying Zaofu, and sent Team Avatar to track down Aiwei against Lin's wishes when he escaped the city. Baatar Jr. and Kuvira going behind her back to reunite the Earth Kingdom by force also goes over poorly with her, but the last straw is when they threaten Zaofu, making Su more than willing to use potentially lethal force against her former protege.
• Beware the Nice Ones: Very mellow in the present day, but threaten her family, friends or city and she will do her level best kill you. In "Enemy At The Gates", she tells Korra to enter the Avatar State, demolish Kuvira's army, and "remove" Kuvira from power once and for all, and since she's fully aware that Kuvira won't listen to reason, she heads out to kill her herself.
• Brilliant, but Lazy: In their youth, Lin explicity called out Suyin for having so much potential, but not doing anything about it. As an adult, Suyin is actively trying to avert this trope in both herself and others.
• Brutal Honesty: She doesn't hold back when expressing her opinion on the Earth Queen.
• Bystander Syndrome: Gets accused of this by Kuvira in regard to her refusal to become the new leader of the Earth Kingdom. Suyin reasons that she didn't want to enforce her will on the citizens, while Kuvira accuses her of cowardice. Considering how Kuvira's attempts turned out, she may have had a point.
• Casting Gag: As a teenager, she's voiced by her mother's actress from the original series.
• Character Development: She goes from a rebellious, bratty teen to a Nice Girl Cool Teacher.
• Combat Pragmatist:
  • Wasted no time in encasing P'Li's head in metal just as she was about to fire a combustion blast. You can imagine how that went.
  • She also snuck up behind Kuvira and tried to crush her with a boulder.
• Cool Old Lady: Su is friendly, understanding, and a Cool Teacher. She can also kick ass and founded her own city.
• Cool Teacher: She's become the first Metalbending sifu to an Avatar; something that not even Aang learned from Toph. She also offered to teach Bolin, but he refused due to his insecurities. Despite this, she still kept a spot open for him.
• Create Your Own Villain: She imparted her ideals upon Kuvira, who then ran with them in the worst way possible.
• Cultured Badass: Suyin's a dancer and collector of rare meteorites. She can also kick as much butt as her big sister.
• Curb-Stomp Battle: In a mixture of The Worf Effect and Worf Had the Flu, the first time Suyin is seen in action, she casually brushes off anything Lin can throw at her in her dazed state and beats her within a minute.
• Dance Battler: She is the leader of a metalbending dance troupe, and it shows in her fighting style.
• Delinquent: Suyin was this in her youth, having broken rules and hanging around criminals.
• Dishing Out Dirt: She's an earthbender.
• Et Tu, Brute?: She's willing to give almost anyone a second chance, but betray that trust and it will not end well for you. She flips out at a guard Aiwei framed as a mole, and later pulls out all the stops to capture the truth seer once his betrayal is made obvious. Kuvira and Bataar Jr. then go behind her back to reunite the Earth Kingdom, then try to forcibly seize control of Zaofu, which prompts her to try and kill Kuvira.
• Extra-ore-dinary: In addition to earthbending, she has considerable skill in metalbending.
• Foolish Sibling, Responsible Sibling: In her youth, she was the Foolish to Lin's Responsible. "Old Wounds" show that while Suyin was ditching school and hanging around people who were a bad influence, Lin was following the rules and doing her job as a cop properly.
• Force and Finesse: The finesse to Lin's force, best exemplified in their duel. While Lin prefers a direct, powerful approach to earthbending, not unlike earthbenders other than her mother in the original series, Suyin clearly has a much more flexible and indirect way of fighting. Where Lin attempts to attack head-on, Suyin will often counter Lin's attacks and then hit her from different angles. And while Lin typically attacks using typical earthbending stances with some firebending incorporated, Suyin almost exclusively bends using waterbending redirection and airbending sweeps, spins, and acrobatics.
• Former Teen Rebel: While Lin followed their mother's footsteps, Suyin went in the opposite direction. (Or more precisely, the direction Toph took when she was younger.) Suyin's now a mature, kind person, yet still maintains a carefree attitude that allowed her to be successful in the long run.
• Freudian Excuse: It's implied that because she didn't have a real father figure (unless you count Lin oddly enough) and her mother was working that she fell into her criminal life. Of course, as an adult, she's grown out of her old ways and has turned over a new leaf.
• Getaway Driver: In her teen years when working with criminals.
• Good Is Not Soft: Although she's a good guy, a wife, mother and sister, that doesn't mean Suyin isn't willing to kill her opponent if that's what it takes and there are no other options available. In a darker case, in order to prevent Kuvira from taking over Zaofu, she advises Korra to enter the Avatar state and eradicate Kuvira and her army, and failing that, goes on her own to take out Kuvira personally as she sleeps.
• Good Parents: Genuinely loves her children, calling them a "blessing" and praising them for their strengths. She also adopted an 8 year-old Kuvira, welcoming her warmly to her family in Zaofu, and eventually forgiving her in Ruins of the Empire and changing her sentence to house arrest, after she redeemed herself.
• Hairstyle Inertia: Still has the lopsided wavy hair on her right side from childhood to now.
• Happily Married: She and her husband obviously love each other very much.
• Heroic Bastard: Heavily implied, as neither her sister nor she had their fathers (who were two different men) around when they were growing up. She's still a hero fighting for her family.
• Hero of Another Story: She went about Walking the Earth for years before settling down and founding Zaofu.
• Hot Teacher: To Korra, Kuvira and many others.
• Hypocrite:
  • She is very anti-authoritarian and does not like being controlled or seeing people trying to impose their will on others. Yet in her own way she's a Control Freak, since she built an entire city that reflected her ideals and is unquestionably the one in charge, she expects people to obey her rules - including family - even though she was never one to do so herself (even if those "rules" include things like "express yourself" or "don't tell people what do"), seemingly in the belief that her way is superior and that people who actually like order and structure have something wrong with them, making her a kind of a fundamentalist.
    • And for all her anti-authoritarian sentiments and talk of how obsolete and unnecessary hereditary monarchies have become, she was right there itching for Prince Wu to retake the throne.
  • Ruins of the Empire has her refusing to forgive Kuvira on the basis that she hasn't taken responsibility for her crimes. Yet Suyin has a history of not owning up to her old mistakes - her criminal past being the main example - and in the present day she happily partnered up with Varrick, a man who almost cheated Asami out of Future Industries and tried to manipulate the United Republic into joining a war solely for the sake of his own profit, crimes for which he's never shown any kind of remorse. To her credit, at the end of the story, when Kuvira pleads guilty and takes responsibility for her actions after helping with the current crisis, Suyin not only forgives Kuvira but had her live in her city under house arrest to reform her. Suyin even admitted that she wondered if she was the cause of Kuvira's actions, to which Kuvira assured Suyin that she was responsible for her own actions.
• In-Series Nickname: Prefers to be called "Su".
• Irony:
  • After years of seeing Lin's bitterness toward her criminal activities and abandonment as being unjustified, she gets to see it from the other side with her son Baatar Jr. Needless to say, she is very disappointed in what her son has become. In a manner of speaking, this was karma for her.
  • One might think that Su Beifong hiring reformed criminals to work and in live in her rich, technologically advanced city could be a serious threat for betrayal. Turns out the biggest threat to her city was a little girl she took in as her apprentice and raised like a daughter named Kuvira.
• It's Personal: Takes Kuvira's betrayal personally, blaming her for stealing her army and corrupting Bataar Jr. This leads Suyin into making some... rash decisions.
• I Was Quite a Looker: Subverted. If anything Suyin's gotten hotter with age, starting out already pretty cute as a teenager before growing up into an ashen haired sexpot.
• Just the First Citizen: Benign example. She doesn't seem to have an official title as the leader of Zaofu (through she's referred to as Matriarch), though she is clearly in control of all branches of the government. Queen would probably be the most apt description of her political position.
• Karma Houdini: Lin sees her like this at first, as Toph covered up her involvement in several crimes and sent her away from Republic City, where Suyin started a big, rich family and had a happy life.
• Karma Houdini Warranty: When Lin showed up in Zaofu, Lin refused to give her sister a second chance or the benefit of the doubt. It didn't help that Suyin didn't even apologize at first for scarring her sister. What's more, when Suyin goaded an ill Lin about her failed relationship with Tenzin, Lin went ''ballistic" and ended up destroying a portion of Zaofu while fighting Suyin. It's only because Opal intervened that more damage wasn't done.
• Lady of War: Just like her sister, her style of fighting is very refined, though hers is influenced by dance elements.
• Laser-Guided Karma: As a child, she destroyed her mother's faith in the justice system (according to Lin at least — Toph says she was disillusioned in general by how she never made change) by becoming a delinquent and undermining her authority. Suyin only got a slap on the wrist as a result. Several decades later, her son and adopted daughter undermine her authority, take over the Earth kingdom, and invade Zaofu. No one, Suyin included, gets a slap on the wrist for this.
• Lightning Bruiser: She's swift and agile, while using earthbending to chuck multiple boulders with ease.
• Like Mother, Like Daughter: It's easy to forget, but Toph used to be a devil-may-care rebel herself. Lin got Toph's stubbornness and hunger for justice, while Su got her mom's enthusiasm, hunger for life and aptitude for teaching.
• Mama Bear: To her children, obviously, but as the Team Mom, she also serves as one of sorts to her close friends and Zaofu itself. And will always protect them.
• The Mentor: Serves as one to Korra and Bolin, in teaching them how to metalbend.
• Morality Chain: She can be considered this for Kuvira, who was a loyal and heroic soldier while she served under Suyin. It's after they split ways that Kuvira started to walk down a very dark path. Becomes this again in Ruins of the Empire, when she convinces Kuvira to spare Commander Guan's life.
• Never My Fault:
  • When she was young, she drove the getaway car in a robbery with her two "friends" (Terra Triad gang members) but refused to treat it as anything other than "no big deal".
  • When Lin reappears in Zaofu, Lin at first wants nothing to do with Suyin and wants alone time. Suyin thinks that showing off her wealth and success is enough forgiveness for the fact that she scarred Lin and was a reckless criminal all those years ago. It takes her a long while for her to admit to Lin that she owes her older sister an apology.
  • She blames Kuvira completely for the division between her and Kuvira and Baatar Jr even though she was at least as guilty as both Kuvira and Jr were in the matter.
• Nice Girl: Wasn't originally, but gradually evolved into a nicer and kinder person over the years.
• Nice Job Breaking It, Hero:
  • Though no one could have foreseen it, killing P'Li inadvertently severed Zaheer's last earthly tether and gave him the ability of Flight, which led to Zaheer escaping with Korra and Korra almost dying from mercury poisoning. This in turn prevents Korra from taking down Kuvira before she became the Big Bad.
  • Her lack of action during the Earth Kingdom's collapse was the first step that eventually caused Kuvira to become the Big Bad.
  • Suyin taking her twin sons to assassinate Kuvira, when her former protege promised she wouldn't do anything if Su and Zaofu would not resort to violence, actually resulted in her family's imprisonment (sans Opal, Lin, and Toph) and Zaofu being taken.
• Not Helping Your Case: Suyin is arrogant enough to think showing off her wealth and success will get Lin to forgive her for permanently scarring her older sister and refusing to accept responsibility for her crimes. When Lin confronts her about it, rather than apologize, Su gets annoyed with Lin's refusal to accept she's mellowed out and ends up pushing Lin's Berserk Button about her failed relationship with Tenzin, triggering a massive fight.
• Older and Wiser: She's all but unrecognizable when compared to her younger self. She's still prone to making bad decisions, though.
• Overprotective Mom: Though not to quite the same extent as Toph's parents, Suyin clearly went the opposite direction compared to Toph's free-range parenting style. Part of it was because she regretted the mistakes she made in her youth. Despite Opal being more than happy with the idea of going to the Northern Air Temple to learn airbending, Suyin insists that it would better to do it in Zaofu because that's where the family is. After talking with Opal offscreen, Suyin agrees to let Opal leave.
• Parental Substitute: Suyin served as this to Kuvira when her parents abandoned her in Zaofu. It’s implied that she wanted a girl earthbender protege and saw Kuvira’s prodigious talent as a bender and leader. Opal, her only daughter, was a Muggle prior to Harmonic Convergence and it’s not like she could teach her airbending (though she’s one of a very small group of people who can say they’ve really been around airbenders) even after she got powers.
• Reasonable Authority Figure: She took Varrick in, even though he's a wanted fugitive, because she believes in giving others a second chance at redemption. This is one of the things that puts her at odds with Lin. She also doesn't like the Earth Queen, so she provided refuge to Team Avatar even though the Earth Queen declared them enemies of the crown.
• Reformed Criminal: She makes a habit of hiring them, believing strongly that everyone deserves a second chance (for instance, her household chef is a former pirate). She herself is one, having been friends with a pair of gang members that got her into trouble several times. After a felony arrest by Lin, Toph destroyed the report then sent Suyin to live with her grandparents.
• Royals Who Actually Do Something: Suyin doesn't hesitate to join a battle. She joins Lin in rescuing Korra from the Red Lotus when they infiltrate Zaofu, lend them supplies to track down Aiwei after discovering he enabled their infiltration, and organized a rescue party for the captive airbenders which she personally led. She even ends up being the one to take out P'Li, with some help from Lin.
• Screw the Rules, I Have Connections!: As a teen, Suyin worked as a Getaway Driver for the Terra Triads, and when Lin caught her in the act, she resisted arrest and ended up assaulting and scarring her. Any ordinary citizen in her position would have landed themselves in prison for years, but Su got off with a slap on the wrist because Toph was the Chief of Police and used her influence to quash the charges.
• Sheep in Sheep's Clothing: Similar to Asami 2 seasons earlier, in Suyin's first few episodes she and Zaofu are set as suspiciously perfect and idyllic, leading the viewer to believe that there's more to her than meets the eye. Turns out that, while Zaofu might have it's flaws if you scratch the surface, Suyin herself is relatively benign and she really is 100% on Korra's side, although she does have a Dark and Troubled Past so it's a bit downplayed.
• Sibling Rivalry: She and Lin used to fight for their mother's attention and have an antagonistic relationship to this day for reasons that are not yet clear. Though while Lin still holds antagonistic feelings towards her, Suyin has moved on and genuinely wants her sister to be part of her life again. As of "Old Wounds", they've reconciled, though Lin is still by-the-books with her as seen when she insists Suyin be tested herself for being Zaheer's mole in the city, even before all the other suspects have been exhausted. In addition, Suyin is not above going behind Lin's back when the latter gave clear instructions not to pursue Zaheer. Come "Enter the Void", however, they've appeared to have truly buried the hatchet.
• Sibling Team: She teams up with Lin against P'Li near the end of Book 3, and fights alongside her against Kuvira and her forces in Book 4.
• Sibling Yin-Yang: She's carefree, philosophical and family-oriented; while Lin is serious, blunt and a loner.
• Silver Fox: Gracefully aged into quite the grey haired bombshell.
• Smug Snake: Lin sees her as this.
• So Proud of You: It's clear that Su cherishes all her children from when she first introduces them.
• The Strategist: Organized the plan to rescue Korra from Zaheer during his attack on her estate (by having her and Lin drop down from above to rescue her while Bolin disables P'Li's third eye), and again to counter's Zaheer plan by having Mako, Bolin, and Asami head for the Air Temple while she, Lin, Tonraq, and the other soldiers wait at the base of the peak.
• Team Mom: She generally plays the friendly, motherly, good-willing sort in the ensembles she takes part in.
• Tomboy and Girly Girl: Suyin is the carefree Dance Battler matriarch Girly Girl, to Lin as the hardcore whip-wielding police chief Tomboy.
• Took a Level in Badass: Along with growing much kinder, more selfless, and responsible, she's certainly grown significantly more powerful and skilled in Earthbending and Metalbending as an adult. It's likely she either trained herself or Toph when she stayed in Zaofu helped refine her skills. In terms of combat skill, while in her youth, the only reason she could scar Lin was because she caught her completely off-guard with her reaction, in the present, she delivers a Curb-Stomp Battle upon a weakened Lin. Leaving aside Lin's weakened state, whenever they work together, they are constantly shown to be comparable to one another and able to synchronize effectively.
• Took a Level in Kindness: Needless to say, she clearly underwent some serious Character Development between her youth and the present day.
• Trauma Conga Line: Book 4 seems dedicated to ruining her life in the most ironic way possible. She loses her city, her life's work, her family is fractured, and her ideals are corrupted to suit the needs of a villain she helped create.
• Ugly Guy, Hot Wife: Downplayed example. While Baatar isn't hideous, he's rather average looking, especially compared to his smokin' hot Silver Fox wife.
• Unreliable Narrator:
  • Her account to Korra about what happened between her and Lin making it seem like it was just a result of Foolish Sibling, Responsible Sibling while leaving out that she was a criminal who scarred Lin while blatantly disregarding her actions.
  • She claims Kuvira was responsible for driving a wedge between Baatar Jr and the rest of the family, that Kuvira had somehow brainwashed him but it's later made clear that he left Zaofu of his own free will (in spite of Suyin forbidding it after previously claiming she won't impose her will on others) and the divide had more to do with feeling overshadowed by Baatar Sr and Suyin.
• Unwitting Instigator of Doom: She was unwilling to get involved in the re-uniting of the Earth Kingdom, since she didn't want to become a conqueror, believing that marching an army in would only lead to war, much like the Fire Nation worked in the original series, and she failed to realize that not only did Kuvira want to get involved, but so did Suyin's security force and Baatar Jr. As a result, Kuvira didn't just have the means but also the manpower to start uniting the Earth Kingdom, by force if necessary. And once it was united, Kuvira decided she liked being the head honcho and thus usurped Wu's claim to the throne.
• Walking the Earth: She traveled the world for many years before settling down and founding Zaofu.
• "Well Done, Daughter!" Girl: A lesser extent than Lin. Like her older sister, Su competed for their mother's attention.
• You Can't Go Home Again: She was sent to live with her grandparents by Toph in exchange for keeping her out of prison. While she can go back to Republic City now (and does so a few times), she's clearly happy where she is.
• Your Approval Fills Me with Shame: Is clearly upset when Kuvira claims she partially got the idea to depose Wu in favor of taking over herself from Suyin's anti-monarchy ideals.

Baatar

Baatar

Voiced by: Jim Meskimen

Suyin's husband and the city architect of Zaofu.

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• Always Someone Better: Baatar Jr. reveals he felt like he was living in his father's shadow.
• Badass Normal: Despite having no bending abilities whatsoever, he (along with Huan) bravely stands up to Kuvira, Bataar Jr., and her army, refusing to bow with the rest of the city despite knowing what will happen to him.
• Disappointed in You: He objects to Baatar Jr. working under Kuvira, and says this to his face when Kuvira manages to seize Zaofu. You can clearly see how frustrated his son got when he was told that.
• Distressed Dude: After defying Kuvira and Baatar Jr., he's thrown into prison alongside Huan.
• Funny Background Event: When escaping Republic City, he's seen plugging his ears and wincing at Wu's awful singing.
• Gadgeteer Genius: The technology he developed put Zaofu light years ahead of the rest of the Earth Kingdom. And it's implied he did it pretty much all by himself.
• Good Parents: Like Su, Baatar genuinely loves all of his children.
• Happily Married: Despite his Workaholic tendencies, his marriage to Su genuinely appears to be a very loving one.
• Kneel Before Zod: Defied - he and Huan refuses to bow down to Kuvira after she seizes Zaofu.
• Muggles: A non-bender.
• Nerd Glasses: Sports a big pair, and, given how intelligent he is, is every bit the smartie.
• Nice Guy: Baatar is a polite individual, a loving husband, and a devoted father.
• Non-Action Guy: After The Beifong Jailbreak in Season 4, he's left in Toph's auspices. Justified as he is a architect and a non-bender.
• Satellite Character: Besides being known as a brilliant architect, Suyin's husband, and the father of their five children, Baatar doesn't get too much characterization.
• Smart People Wear Glasses: Baatar wears a big pair and is behind the technology of Zaofu.
• Those Two Guys: With only a tiny amount of characterization, he gets lumped in with Huan in Season 4 as the "non-fighting members of Zaofu".
• Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?: He's afraid of heights, and it was shown in episode 10 that he's terrified of falling. After seeing the method of extraction from their suspended-in-air cell done on his three sons, he instead nervously clings to the wall and insists to just be left behind. When his more fortitudinous wife and sister-in-law force the issue, his terrified screams alert the guards.
• Workaholic: He skips dinner along with his eldest son because he made a breakthrough on the new rail system.

Baatar Jr.

Suyin's eldest son and Kuvira's fiancé. For tropes pertaining to him, refer to the "Enemies" page.

Huan

Huan

Voiced by: Jason Marsden

It's not a banana!

^{Click here for his appearance in Book 4.}

Suyin's artistic son.

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• Delinquent Hair: Following the time skip, he has a strip of his hair dyed green.
• Dishing Out Dirt: He's an earthbender, but he can't fight.
• Distressed Dude: After defying Kuvira and Baatar Jr., he's thrown into prison alongside Baatar.
• Emo Teen: Of the "pretentious artist" variety.
• Friend to All Children: Spends the entirety of "The Battle of Zaofu" with Ikki and Meelo. He decides to have them do some artwork and is rather good with them, even praising Ikki's brightly colored and happy painting, while only criticizing Meelo's painting because it doesn't reflect the "inner Meelo".
• Funny Background Event: When escaping Republic City, he can be seen covering his ears because of Wu's terrible singing.
• Goth: Doesn't wear dark clothes, but has a Skrillex like hair style and piercings.
• Ironic Name: "Huan" is Chinese for "happy, joyous". However, this Huan happens to be a Perpetual Frowner.
• Kneel Before Zod: Defied - he and his father refuse to bow to Kuvira after she seizes Zaofu.
• Non-Action Guy: The only bender of the family that is decidedly not a fighter. When the Beifong jailbreak turns into a bid to rescue the good-all-along saboteur Zhu Li, Huan is left behind while his mother, aunt, and younger brothers enter the fray. Su even mentions that Toph needs to protect Huan in addition to non-bender Baatar. Justified as he only uses his metal-bending to create art and unlike his younger brothers he never learned how to fight with it.
• Nonconformist Dyed Hair: Suyin and her family are the wealthy, powerful, and respectable leaders of Zaofu, and all have naturally dark hair due to being (fantasy) Asian. Of her children, Huan is the most artistic and expressive; he goes from long hair with an undercut in season three to long hair with green streaks in season 4.
• Perpetual Frowner: Hardly cracks a smile.
• Pretty Boy: Even the Skrillex hairdo does nothing to detract from Huan being just downright pretty.
• The Quiet One: Huan appears to be antisocial and talks the least of his family.
• True Art Is Angsty: In-universe. His art actually isn't angsty, but he is since no one appreciates it. Bolin took his bizarre metal amalgam representing Harmonic Convergence as a banana. He then thinks the same sculpture actually looks better after it got caught up in the sibling rivalry throw-down Lin and Su had.
• True Art Is Incomprehensible: In-Universe, Huan seems to firmly believe this, as he criticizes Meelo's stunningly detailed (if idealized) self-portrait for being "pedestrian", while praising Ikki's much rougher, more childish crayon scrawling.

Opal

Opal

Voiced by: Alyson Stoner, Julia Kołakowska-Bytner (Polish)

The Cutie.

^{Click here for her Book 4 appearance}

Suyin's daughter. She gained airbending through Harmonic Convergence.

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• '20s Bob Haircut: A slightly wispy one, making her resemble Paprika. After the Time Skip, it's considerably less kempt, since it'd constantly be wind-tangled by airbending-related activities.
• Back-to-Back Badasses: With Jinora in "The Battle of Zaofu", holding off Kuvira's army and with Jinora immediately contacting Meelo for help.
• Badass Adorable: Post Time Skip. She's just as cute as she ever was, but much more badass, as she's now a very capable airbender. In "The Battle of Zaofu", she and Jinora send Kuvira flying and manage to hold off her army with a large tornado. As Jinora contacts Meelo and Ikki through Astral Projection, Opal is maintaining the tornado by herself. Her bending has truly improved greatly.
• Badass Bookworm: Opal's hobby appears to be reading.
• Battle Couple: Downplayed with Bolin. While they remain a couple by the series finale and proven their skill in their respective bending (even becoming stronger by the Time Skip), they hardly fight beside one another.
• Beware the Nice Ones: Opal is a real sweetheart. But she doesn't take crap from anyone. Must be the Beifong genes in her.
• Be Yourself: She also possesses a strong belief in honesty and in a person simply being themselves.
• Big Damn Heroes: In Book 4, she and Jinora intervene in Korra's fight with Kuvira, sending Kuvira flying before she could deliver the final blow.
• Birds of a Feather: Her relationship with Bolin seems to be because of this; shes' just as kind-hearted as he is.
• Blow You Away: Gained airbending thanks to Harmonic Convergence.
• Boyish Short Hair: Inverted. Opal has a jaw length hairstyle, but is quite girly.
• Break the Cutie:
  • Her trying to get close to Lin, who is even more of a Jerkass than normal, doesn't go very well. Fortunately Lin apologizes to her later.
  • Gets worse in "The Battle of Zaofu" as her home town is conquered and her family taken prisoner. Throughout the episode she becomes more and more distraught and angry over the events.
• Character Development: After the three years preceding the fourth season, she's considerably more world-weary, more confrontational and aggressive, and far less shy and easily flustered. Kuvira's and her brother's betrayals struck her really hard.
  • Goes through this again in the Ruins of the Empire comic, learning to forgive Kuvira and accept her as part of her family—something she was unable to do as a child.
• Corrupt the Cutie: While Kuvira isn't intentionally corrupting Opal the war against her has severely jaded Opal and made her much more willing to use violence.
• Cultured Badass: Opal is used to the finer things in life, but isn't a brat. Then, she Took a Level in Badass in Book 4.
• Cute Bookworm: Her first appearance has her reading a book.
• The Cutie: Her appearances in "The Metal Clan" immediately establish her as idealistic, cheerful, and exceedingly kind, if very sheltered.
• Damsel in Distress: Ming-Hua holds her at icicle-point in "The Ultimatum" to get the rest of the airbenders to stand down.
• Darker and Edgier: Thanks to Kuvira's indirect influence, Opal has become more hot blooded and shows no problems of using violence if it means stopping Kuvira.
• Deadpan Snarker: While she normally has a much sweeter temperament than the rest of her family, even during the worst of times, Opal is shown to have inherited the Beifong snarker genes in spades when she upbraids Bolin for his support of Kuvira, which ultimately led to her family being imprisoned and then trying to reconcile with her by sending her a note claiming he'd broken his legs in order to try and trick her into going on a picnic with him. She can be pretty ruthless when she wants.
• Expository Hairstyle Change: Opal's hair initially had a well-combed style. Three years later, her hair has a more wild and untamed look, signifying her character development and becoming a skilled airbender during the Time Skip.
• Girly Run: She runs off in this manner after Lin blows her off in "The Metal Clan".
• Good Is Not Soft: Opal is a sweet, naive, all around kindhearted person. But, she is no pushover.
• Hidden Depths: Surprisingly, childhood hidden depths that are not-so-sweet, giving it a rare twist. In The Legend of Korra: Ruins of the Empire, it's revealed that she once rejected Kuvira as a sister despite Suyin attempting to integrate her into the family, calling her a stray dog at the end. However, it should be noted that Opo did not reject Kuvira out of jealousy or spite; Opal was angry that Kuvira destroyed a toy they both wanted to play with because Opal still wanted to play with it because it was still her turn, and Opal was angry that her mother was justifying Kuvira actions instead of punishing her; finally, Opal said that Kuvira was not her sister and compared her to a stray dog in private and did not mean for Kuvira to hear her. This implies that while Opal always had a strained relationship with Kuvira, it's mainly because of her character flaw of not taking responsibility for her actions; it should be noted that once Kuvira pleaded guilty and took responsibility for her actions, Opal was the first person to forgive her.
• Hostage Situation: Held captive by Ming-Hua, and later becomes part of the larger scale hostage of the Air Nation.
• Hot-Blooded: Opal is a sweetheart, no doubt about it, but she proves to have an impressive temper underneath. In dealing with Kuvira, Opal is significantly more aggressive than usual, to the point that she literally begs Korra to enter the Avatar State and lay Kuvira and her army to waste.
• Innocently Insensitive: During dinner she comments to Bolin that she doesn't think she's ever had a bad meal in her life. Bolin then tells her he's grown up on the streets and that she wouldn't believe how bad food out of a dumpster could be. Admittedly, Bolin wasn't trying to call Opal out and ends up invoking this trope, as well, when he realizes how his story sounded.
• Instant Expert: Much to her and Korra's surprise, she picks up airbending very easily, even down to matching Korra's movement even though she'd only seen her do it once.
• Ironic Name: She is named after a precious stone (albeit one associated with the element of air), and her mother, aunt and grandmother are very powerful earthbenders, but she's an airbender.
• It's Personal: When it came to Kuvira, it became a sore spot for her. Whenever Kuvira shows up, stopping her whenever possible is Opal's main priority.
• Jerkass Has a Point: As a child Opal was overly harsh in rejecting Kuvira, but she was right to tell Suyin that she was making a mistake by allowing Kuvira to use her abandonment issues to escape punishment for misbehaving.
• Love at First Sight: Downplayed. Opal didn't fall in love with Bolin when they met, but she did take a quick liking to him.
• Luminescent Blush: Has a lot of these around Bolin after they first meet.
• Meaningful Name: While she's named after a gemstone—symbolizing her Earth Kingdom roots—it's a gemstone which, in some cultures, is associated with the element of air.
• Morality Pet: Baatar Jr. becomes antagonistic in Book 4, but he's still friendly towards Opal. And though he has no problem locking up his family, he reacts with horror when he spots Opal on the test range for the spirit vine cannon. He got lucky thanks to the rest of the family knocking the weapon off target at the last second.
• Muggle Born of Mages: Though her father may or may not be a bender, her mother is, and since Opal was empowered with airbending she must have not been a bender prior.
• Nice Girl: Right off the bat she's proven herself to be an incredibly kind person to everyone she's talked to.
• No Social Skills: Her sweet personality, combined with her somewhat sheltered life has her say some often funny, yet sweet things. For example, she introduces herself twice.
  Opal: My name is Opal!... But you probably already know that.
• Odd Name Out: Opal is the only one of Su and Baatar's kids whose name—although derived from an Asian language (in her case, Sanskrit) like the rest—is clearly westernized.
• Official Couple: As of Book 4, she's in a Long-Distance Relationship with Bolin, though there is some tension related to his post with Kuvira.
• "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Gives a cutting one to Bolin for attempting to win her back with menial gestures after working for Kuvira, not listening to her warnings about her, which inadvertently led to her family's kidnapping.
  "Oh. Steam buns. My favorite. This will totally make me forget that you worked for Kuvira, the person who captured my family and is probably torturing them right now. So yeah, let's just sit down and have a great picnic because we're so in love! I'm sorry you had to see that, Pabu."
• Red Oni, Blue Oni:
  • In Book 4, she is the confrontational, Hot-Blooded Red Oni to Jinora's calm, pacifistic Blue Oni in regards to Kuvira.
  • However, she is the Blue Oni to Kai's Red Oni, which is best demonstrated in "After All These Years": when the food they had prepared to give to an impoverished village was stolen by a bandit, Kai still jumps right after the said bandit without thinking of a plan, especially after his suit was slashed - an extremely reckless move that could have cost him his life had he been alone. When he begins to lose control and is falling to his death, Opal doesn't move just yet. She waits and listens before taking action.
• Shipper on Deck:
  • She asked if there were any relationship problems between Kai and Jinora.
  • For Korra and Asami, as she was happy when they confirmed they were a couple.
• Ship Tease: With Bolin, due to them both being dorky and nice.
• Silk Hiding Steel: Don't let her sweet demeanour and soft voice fool you; this girl is no pushover, and, as Bolin learned, has very little patience for Casanova Wannabe behavior. In "Old Wounds", she even stops a battle between her mother and aunt, two powerful earth/metalbenders. By Book 4, the steel is showing more and more. She fights bandits, holds off the Earth Empire's army, and pushes for lethal force against Kuvira.
• Single Woman Seeks Good Man: Opal is more comfortable with the honest, dorky Bolin than his attempts at being The Casanova.
• Sparkling Stream of Tears: Has these after she is angrily rebuked by Lin, when she tries to have a talk with her. Lin apologizes to her later after Opal breaks up a fight between her and Suyin.
• Took a Level in Badass: Opal's shown to have gained a lot of confidence and a good understanding of combative Airbending after 3 years.
• Trademark Favorite Food: Her favorite meal is raw kale in veggie wraps.
• Uptown Girl: To Bolin. She is the daughter of the incredibly wealthy Suyin Beifong, matriarch of the famous utopian city Zaofu. One of their first conversations takes place over dinner in Opal's family's beautiful, sprawling estate, where she comments, "I don't think I've ever had a bad meal in my life," only to be heartbroken when Bolin relates the kind of meals he ate growing up on the streets. While no parents or anyone else object to their romance, Bolin is initially very nervous about pursuing his feelings for her, and it's not hard to see why.
• Vocal Evolution: Reflecting her Character Development in season four moving her away from her role as The Cutie, she speaks in a somewhat more low-pitched tone of voice than the high-pitched and bubbly tone she tended to use when she first appeared.
• "Well Done, Daughter!" Girl: Not an extreme example, but Opal didn't push the issue of training at the Northern Air Temple, even though she wanted to, because she didn't want to disappoint her mother. Lin talked her into doing what she wanted to do (and not making the same mistake Lin made in appeasing the parents), and her parents were very understanding about it.

Wei and Wing

Wei and Wing

Voiced by: Marcus Toji (both)

"We can't let Opal be the coolest!"

Suyin's twin youngest sons.

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• Alliterative Family: Both of their names begin with "W".
• Always Identical Twins: Although they differentiate their appearances as much as they can, they're still identical twins.
• Ambiguously Gay: When rescued from Kuvira, Wei clearly flirts with Bolin.
• Badass in Distress: They've been captured alongside their mother by Kuvira in "The Battle of Zaofu."
• Child Prodigy: Those two are extremely talented, able to train other earthbenders, are lightning fast and have amazing reflexes. At most, they're high-school students. Considering their forebears, this is not surprising.
• Identical Twin ID Tag: Wei's hair is parted to the left, he wears a bracelet on his left bicep, and his necklace and belt buckle are both rounded. Wing's hair is parted to the right, he wears a bracelet on his right bicep, and his necklace and belt buckle are angular.
• It Runs in the Family: Moreso than the rest of their family, they share their grandmother's love of competition and sarcastic nature, as seen when they train Korra and Bolin.
• Manly Tears: Averted. Both are seen sniveling at Opal's farewell party, much to Huan's annoyance.
• Meaningful Name: Both of their names can interpret to both of them and are Chinese origins. "Wei" means "power", "mighty", and "strength", which is an accurate description of their mastery over earthbending and metalbending; "Wing" means "glory", alluding to their Spirited Competitor attitudes.
• Momma's Boy: Positive portrayal — The boys cheer their mother on in fights, and serve as her left and right hand on dangerous missions such as responding to the Red Lotus attack on Zaofu, attempting to assassinate Kuvira or teaming up to fight with her and Lin in Zaofu and Republic City. For her part, Suyin dotes and encourages both sons.
• Number Two: During Book 4, after Kuvira leaves Zaofu, the twins serve as their mother's right hand.
• Satellite Character: The twins are there mainly as Suyin's sidekicks during most of the action she takes part in. They avidly cheer on their mother when she and Lin have their sibling rivalry throwdown, and also are sparring partners for Korra and Bolin under Suyin's metalbending tutelage. They're at her side during the botched Red Lotus infiltration into her estate, they take part in the attempted assassination of Kuvira, they're with her to cover Opal and Bolin's rescue of Zhu Li downrange of the Spirit Cannon (even extricating mom after her showdown with Kuvira went badly), and they're with her all armored up when Kuvira attacks Republic City.
• Sleeves Are for Wimps: Both sport sleeveless shirts and wear large bracelets.
• Spirited Competitor: They invented a metalbending game called Powerdisc (a sort of really dangerous-looking pinball/soccer combo) which they love to play. When sparring with Korra and Bolin using Metalbending, one thinks it's AWESOME to be sparring with (and get his butt kicked by) Korra, while the other can only take minor pleasure in toying with the incapable Bolin. Also, during "Operation Beifong", the twins despise the idea of Opal showing them up when she goes to help Bolin rescue Zhu Li. In their words, she can't be the coolest.
• Vitriolic Best Buds: Wing is perfectly fine with swiping food right out of Wei's hand. Wei is perfectly fine with retaliating with an Offhand Backhand gut punch. Their mother does nothing to break it up, and then they converse with Korra like nothing happened.