Characters / The Legend of Korra - Tenzin's 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.

Being the sole surviving Air Nomad, Avatar Aang had a need to pass on his Airbending lineage and heritage. His youngest child, Tenzin, was this continuity. These are tropes which apply generally to Tenzin's family; the direct descendants of the original Air Nomads as well as his siblings - the children of Avatar Aang and the waterbending master Katara, and also any animal/spirit familiars of such family members.

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General

• Badass Family: Naturally, being descendant from an Avatar and a master waterbender.
  • Tenzin is a master airbender like his father, Kya is a master waterbender like her mother, and Bumi is a Commander in the Republic Military and eventually an Airbender himself after Harmonic Convergence.
  • In terms of Tenzin and his family specifically; save for his wife Pema and newborn son Rohan (who Katara predicts will be a bender but is obviously too young for it now), they are the direct inheritors of Aang's native element.
• Blow You Away: Tenzin and his children, being airbenders. As of Book 3, Bumi is this as well.
• Dysfunction Junction: Tenzin's generation:
  • According to Kya, Aang was so focused on 'saving the world' that he neglected his first two children but showered the third (an airbender) with attention. The implications are not lost on Kya (waterbender) or Bumi (non-bender) - though as Tenzin points out, this came with the attendant weight of continuing an entire culture all by himself and feeling that he effectively had to be Aang.
  • Tenzin has been so focused on filling his father's shoes (something he doesn't shake until well into middle age) that he repeated his father's mistake; both his siblings and his children feel neglected.
  • Bumi has a chip on his shoulder for being a Muggle Born of Mages and he spent his childhood bullying Daddy's favorite.
  • Kya sees herself as the responsible and dutiful sibling for living with their widowed mother yet she spent years Walking the Earth beforehand and took part in the bullying.
• Elemental Eye Colors: Tenzin, Ikki, and Meelo have gray-colored eyes as airbenders tend to have (although Ikki's have appeared blue-gray and brownish-gray depending on the light). Averted with Jinora who has brown eyes.
• Jacob and Esau: While eldest child Bumi doesn't particularly take after either his parents, Kya strongly favors Katara (Water Tribe appearance, waterbending powers, and was the "mother" among her siblings like how Katara mothered her brother and teammates) while Tenzin strongly favors Aang (Air Nomad appearance and powers). It is mentioned that Aang paid much more attention to Tenzin (as the inheritor of the Air Nomad legacy) compared to his other children.
• No Hero to His Valet: While Aang might be a Universally Beloved Leader to the world at large, his three children think less of him due to his shortcomings as a father.
• Racial Remnant: Tenzin's siblings and his children are the only direct descendants of the original Air Nomads. Within that, only he and his three oldest children are airbenders, though Rohan might grow up to be one.
• Shoo Out the Clowns: While Tenzin is definitely not comic relief, in Episode 10 he and Pema escape Republic City with their children, who definitely are comic relief. It's then subverted in Episode 12 when Amon captures them offscreen.
• Spin-Offspring: Of Aang and Katara.
• Strong Family Resemblance: It's not very clear at first, but if you shaved Bumi's hair and omitted Tenzin's arrow tattoos, you'd probably never be able to tell the sons of Aang apart.

Tenzin

Tenzin

Voiced by: J. K. Simmons

"I am not a reflection of my father. I am Tenzin."

Tenzin is an airbending half-Air Nomad/half-Water Tribesman, and Aang and Katara's youngest son. He is a councilman representing the Air Acolytes for the United Republic; following the events of Avatar: The Last Airbender ("last airbender" now a misnomer), the airbenders in the United Republic now consist of him and his family, and the Air Acolytes, a group of non-airbenders who have chosen to dedicate themselves to the continuation of Air Nomad traditions. Seeing as he is the only living master airbender in the world following Aang's passing, he becomes Korra's airbending teacher.

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• Action Dad: Do not let the fact this man was raised on pacifist philosophy mean he won't fight for his children.
• Adorably Precocious Child: Implied. Katara stated that while Bumi and Kya were rambunctious, Tenzin was always serious.
• Aloof Big Brother: Inverted. He acts aloof and annoyed at Bumi's Manchild nature, but Tenzin's the younger brother.
• Ambadassador: Tenzin works as a member of the United Republic Council, representing the Air Nomads. He is also an Airbending master.
• The Baby of the Bunch: Among his siblings, however he's also the most driven and stoic of the family, probably because he has a chip on his shoulder. He gets teased by his older brother and sister for being daddy's favorite, even as an old man.
• Badass Cape: Cape with capelet to be precise. He even wears it after the Airbenders get fancy new wingsuits, making it easy to spot him when they're flying in formation against the Earth Empire Colossus.
• Badass in Distress:
  • In the Book 1 finale, he and his children are captured by Amon.
  • They are threatened again by the Red Lotus in Book 3.
  • And again in Book 4 when Jinora gets kidnapped by spirit vines.
• Badass Long Robe: His usual outfit.
• Badass Teacher: Korra's main airbending teacher and has proven to be a very deadly one.
  • He's the first person in the series to even land a hit on Amon - one which knocks Amon all the way off the stage.
  • During the Equalist attack on Republic City, Tenzin becomes the only Council member to escape capture, by easily defeating the team sent to catch him. When he and the others are forced out of the police station, he single-handedly tries to fend off the mecha-tanks before Team Avatar got there.
  • Further demonstrated in Book 3's "The Ultimatum": after nearly an entire book of Zaheer thoroughly stomping anyone in his way, Tenzin shows him what a master airbender is truly capable of, and only loses when the rest of the Red Lotus steps in to aid Zaheer. That's right: it took the entire Red Lotus -Each one of them being confirmed in-universe as a One-Man Army- to take him down.
    Zaheer: Unfortunately, you don't have a choice.
    Tenzin: Yes, I do. (effortlessly sends Zaheer, Ming-hua and Ghazan flying in one move)
• Baritone of Strength: He has a deep voice courtesy of J. K. Simmons and he's a master airbender, able to fight and even win against powerful fighters like Zaheer of the Red Lotus.
• Batman Grabs a Gun: In "Kuvira's Gambit" he supports Korra's proactive action of kidnapping Baatar Jr. to gain crucial information on the super mecha. He even joins her in the kidnapping, and being the head of a sovereign nation, effectively declares war on the Earth Empire — possibly the first time the Air Nation has ever declared war on another world power.
• Berserk Button: Do not invoke his parents in an argument. When Korra does, Tenzin says "Don't bring my mother into this!" while going bright red in the face.
• Betty and Veronica: Pre-series, he was the "Archie" for Pema's kind, peaceful Air Acolyte member "Betty" to Lin's rough, no-nonsense police officer "Veronica". At first, he was with Lin but they broke up because of their different interests and he fell in love with Pema.
• Beware the Nice Ones: Tenzin is a compassionate man, who has sworn to never instigate violence. He also is a master airbender and has proven his incredible skill whenever someone has threatened his loved ones.
• Be Yourself: The focal point of his character development for much of Book 2. Culminates in the finale when he finally understands that he'll never be what his father was, and shouldn't have to be; thanks to a pep talk from a hallucination of/spiritual visitation from Aang himself (the context leaves it ambiguous). He passes this message on to Korra when she lost Raava.
• Big Little Brother: He’s the youngest child in his family, but he’s taller than both his brother and his sister.
• Big Ol' Eyebrows: He does have them.
• Blow You Away: He's a master airbender, so it comes with the territory. Tenzin is shown riding an air ball much like his father before him, but manages to do so with precision and control, due to many years of training and refinement. This is also what allows him to defeat Zaheer in a Curb-Stomp Battle during the episode "The Ultimatum". Despite Zaheer being many years his junior, Tenzin has so much experience and skill with airbending that he practically runs circles around Zaheer in their fight, taking out the younger man in only thirty seconds. The only reason Tenzin lost the fight is because the rest of the Red Lotus ganged up on him; had the fight been allowed to keep going, Zaheer would have gotten whipped even worse.
• Boyfriend-Blocking Dad: Bolin mentioned that he wouldn't be too happy in regards to Jinora's relationship with Kai. Also, when Korra insinuates earlier on how Jinora has a "connection" to Kai, he seems rather perturbed.
  "WHAT?! Her boyfriend?! ...Kai!"
• Broken Pedestal: Downplayed. After talking it out with his siblings he realized he always saw their father as the Avatar, rather than a man who could be as flawed as any of them.
• Burning with Anger: Mild Bell Pepper. Tenzin's head will redden heavily when sufficiently angered, usually prompted by something Korra has said. He also turns purple when mortified.
• Cape Swish: With Dramatic Wind for that extra oomph.
• The Chains of Commanding: It is hinted at that he sometimes feels the chains of leading the Air Nation and being responsible for teaching everything Air Nomad to others.
• Character Development: By the latter half of Book 2, Tenzin begins to see himself as Tenzin and not in the perceived image of his father. He also begins to loosen up a lot of his strict nature by Book 4.
• Childhood Friend Romance: A failed one with Lin Beifong as, unlike Tenzin, Lin wasn't interested in having a large family.
• The Comically Serious: Frequently has these moments, particularly in his interactions with Korra and his children. Kya and Bumi joke about this, thinking Tenzin on a vacation would be a sight to behold.
• Cultured Badass: He has inherited his father Aang's knowledge of culture and tradition (especially around the still largely extinct Air Nomads) as well as his knack for diplomacy. He's also currently the world's first Master Airbender after his father, and his skills are such that he's taken on numbers of mooks and Humongous Mecha (and beat the latter back when even Korra and Lin were struggling against them) at a time, landed a huge blow on Big Bad Amon (who is largely untouchable due to his Bloodbending) in their brief encounter, led the charge against an army of Dark Spirits, held off the leader of the Red Lotus, and led the Air Nation into war for the first time in its' history.
• Curb-Stomp Battle: He was utterly demolishing Zaheer, the latter being unable to land a single blow on him while quickly pushing into a corner. However, when the entire Red Lotus team gangs up on him, this happens... but even then, Tenzin actually keeps up for a while.
• Dead Guy Junior: Somewhat of a meta example. Aang's mentor and father-figure was Monk Gyatso. Tenzin Gyatso is the name of the current Dalai Lama.
• Deadpan Snarker: Can be quite deadpan, especially when dealing with his siblings.
• Deconstructed Character Archetype: Tenzin deconstructs the Old Master trope. Everything about his appearance and introduction in the series set him up as Korra's wise mentor; he looks almost exactly like an older version of Aang, has the tattoos, maintains an Air Nomad lifestyle complete with monk robes, and is the only living master of the only element that Korra has yet to get a hang of. He is extremely dedicated to Air Nation culture and the usual Old Master virtues of patience, careful study, caution etc. However, it turns out that he is in WAY over his head, having to come to terms with realising that he is not the wise master he desperately wants to be, has made many mistakes in raising Korra to be the Avatar, and is suffering a lot of baggage from the weight of his father's, and the entire Air Nation's, legacy on his shoulders that cause him to make several bad decisions. His daughter, and later his brother, have a stronger connection to the spirits than he ever will, a fact that causes him great insecurity. He eventually has to come to terms with the fact that he will never be like his father and must allow the Air Nation to grow into a new entity, not just a repeat of the old one, as well as let go of his protective nature over his children.
• Demoted to Extra: Becomes more of a supporting character in Book 4 as opposed to the major character he was in the previous three books.
• Determinator: When Zaheer tries to threaten the new Air Nation to get Korra to surrender, Tenzin refuses to give in and attacks with everything he has. He manages to keep the upper hand on Zaheer, but then he gets tag-teamed by all four. Even then, he refuses to stay down.
  Tenzin: As long as I'm still breathing, it's not over.
• Deuteragonist: Particularly in Books Two and Three, where his storyline and character arc are given a large amount of focus and drive most of the plot.
• Dramatic Wind: He's often accompanied by gusts of wind that make his cloak wave dramatically. Unsurprising, considering the element he controls.
• Drill Sergeant Nasty: He tries this in "Original Airbenders," upon (bad) advice from Bumi. It doesn't really work.
• Fatal Flaw: Tenzin can be surprisingly naive for a middle aged man and has to learn not to compare himself to his father. This seems to be a result of him solely defining himself as the future of the entire Air Nomad people, and one of the last Airbenders in the world, leading him to be excessively focused on matters of spiritual growth, his immediate family, and the future of his people, to the exclusion of other, "less important," matters.
• First Love: To his childhood friend, Lin.
• Foil: He's one to Korra: Tenzin is a light-skinned, levelheaded man who tries to instill peaceful solutions than violence; Korra is the dark-skinned, hot-headed teenage girl who uses force rather than reason. Also, both are of mixed ancestry, Korra's is from her parents being from one of the two Water Tribes, while Tenzin's is from both parents being born into two different nations.
• Foolish Sibling, Responsible Sibling: He is the responsible to Kya and Bumi's foolish. Note he is the youngest of the three. Tenzin even refers to himself as the responsible one, though Kya disputes it.
• Good Parents: To his children, especially when he had more free time from Book 2 and onward. Despite Jinora's growing interest in boys, Ikki's Motor Mouth tendencies, and Meelo's keet nature, Tenzin loves them all dearly. And he is elated at the birth of Rohan.
• Happily Married: To Pema — They have a healthy communication with one another, he is protective of her, and she gives him advice whenever he's feeling disappointed and/or angry at himself or someone else.
• Hard Work Hardly Works: Tenzin spent the majority of his life training in the ways of the spirit world to make his father proud, but never succeeded in entering the spirit world himself. Meanwhile, his oldest daughter, Jinora, is so spiritually attuned that she can do so with no training whatsoever, and befriends spirits easily, which he initially resents, before being proud of her.
• Heroic Resolve: Out of himself, his siblings, and his daughter, he was ultimately the only one who was able to part the Fog of Lost Souls by overcoming his despair - even if his dad actually paid him a visit, all he did was provide a pep talk.
• Heroic Self-Deprecation: Considers himself a massive failure for not ever being able to enter the spiritual world.
• Heroic Wannabe: Sort of. He was very eager to enter and guide the Avatar through the Spirit World, convinced that that is what his father would have wanted, so it takes him a while to accept that it wasn't his destiny.
• Holding Your Shoulder Means Injury: Occurs in "The Ultimatum", when Zaheer and everybody gang up on Tenzin. It might be justified, considering he was just slammed into a brick wall and may have injured his right arm.
• Hypocrite: When he first starts trying to teach Korra Airbending and she has trouble, he tries to do so by describing Air as the element of freedom, only for Korra to quickly call him out on the fact that her own freedom is being extremely limited, with him not even allowing her to listen to Pro-Bending on the radio less out of duty and seemingly more out a personal dislike of the sport due to how it apparently makes a mockery of the Bending arts. He suffers this again during Book 3, where despite the aforementioned teachings of freedom, he's rather insistent on the Airbenders born from Harmonic Convergence becoming Air Nomads despite most of them having their own lives or personal habits that simply don't blend with Air Nomad teachings, with one of the first people he approaches being an farmer with a wife and children, who's actually outraged at the notion of being taken from his family to live with a bunch of strangers over something that, while he's not exactly bothered by, he never asked for in the first place.
• Ink-Suit Actor: He bears more than a slight resemblance to his voice actor, J.K. Simmons, to the point where you could describe him as "J.K. Simmons with airbending tattoos and a beard".
• Innocently Insensitive:
  • In Book 3, he's so excited over the emergence of new airbenders that he completely fails to consider that most of them already have lives and a cultural heritage of their own that they don't want to give up to become Air Nomads.
  • In Book 4, he has a few instances with this in regards to Korra.
    • While Korra is still in the South Pole, he tries to get Korra to focus on her recovery while insisting that everyone has everything under control, pretty much the last thing she wants to hear. When she threatens to water whip him, he shuts up and tries to change what he was saying with poor results.
    • In "Beyond the Wilds", he excludes Korra from important events, such as a World Leader Conference, because he believes they called her back 'too soon' which causes Korra to believe he has lost faith in her abilities, which he does a rather poor job denying.
• Insufferable Genius: Being the world's foremost authority on airbending, Tenzin unintentionally comes off as a stuffy know-it-all, teaching advanced techniques to people who have barely grasped the concept (a.k.a. Korra and the new Air Nomads). This could be an artefact of how his father was taught; being forced to learn advanced techniques in all four elements in less than a year may have given Aang (and thus his pupil, Tenzin) an unrealistic expectation of how teaching was supposed to work - the fact that his children are all prodigies, with Jinora becoming the youngest master Airbender since Aang (who was the youngest ever) probably didn't help.
• Intergenerational Friendship: A quite humorous one with his pupil, Korra. There is no blood-tie between the two of them, but the previous Avatar, Aang, is Tenzin's father. So he's teaching his father his first element in another life.
• Irony: Like Korra, he's adept at the physical aspects of bending, but struggles with the spiritual elements; this is doubly ironic as (a) airbenders are typically the most spiritual of benders and (b) given that reputation, it was expected that he would help Korra with spiritual matters in addition to teaching her airbending.
• Last of His Kind: Was this in the time between his father's death and the first manifestation of Jinora's airbending. His three children, followed by Harmonic Convergence turning a large number of non-benders into airbenders, have removed this entirely.
• Lightning Bruiser:
  • Whilst he may not look it at first, as an airbending master, he has rapid reflexes, very high agility and extremely forceful air attacks. It is thanks to this that he is the only Council member to escape capture by Amon during the initial coup and the last to go down in the first fight against the mecha-tanks.
  • He again shows this when he fights Zaheer in "The Ultimatum", showing the new airbender Zaheer what a real airbending master is capable of. Zaheer has curb-stomped everyone else he fought all season, but could not land a hit on Tenzin and was actually getting his ass kicked until P'Li blindsided Tenzin. Then the battle went in the other direction.
• Like Father, Unlike Son: Aang in the first series was often a playful happy go lucky kid. Aang's son Tenzin is often a stick in the mud who grew up to be a stern mentor figure. Despite this, Tenzin is considered the favorite in Aang's family.
• Like Parent, Like Child: As much as he tries to act the part of the serene air-bending master that he is, he is just as naturally expressive as Aang, and he has more than little of Katara's hot-bloodedness. To balance it out, he's inherited the rather sweet disposition they held in common. Deconstructed by Kya who reveals to Tenzin that he and dad would often put their jobs ahead of their families, making the children feel neglected.
• Made of Iron: Other than Korra, Tenzin probably takes the most severe beatings in the series. Not that it stops him from being an absolute badass.
• Martial Pacifist: Tenzin embodies the idea that just because Airbenders are pacifists, it doesn't mean he can't kick your ass from here to Ba Sing Se.
• Mentor Archetype: To Korra, to his children, and to the Air Acolytes.
• Momma's Boy: He's very close to his mother, though due to the nature of the Avatar Spirit, we don't really get to see onscreen how close he was to his father for comparison.
• Muggle–Mage Romance: Married to the non-bender Pema.
• My God, What Have I Done?: A humorous variation when he turns Meelo into a beastmaster over winged-lemurs.
  Tenzin: I've created a monster.
• My Greatest Failure: Despite years of training and study, he is completely incapable of connecting with the spiritual world. As both an airbender and Aang's son, he finds this particularly disappointing. It certainly doesn't help that his oldest daughter can do it effortlessly, though he comes to accept that it's her destiny to help the Avatar in this matter, not his.
• My Significance Sense Is Tingling: Sort of. His mastery of airbending allows him a minor sense of anticipation for incoming attacks — by feeling disturbances in the flow of air around him that even allow him to detect electricity. Granted, it doesn't always work.
• Named After Somebody Famous: He's named after the fourteenth and current Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso.
• New Powers as the Plot Demands: Averted. He's tried for years to enter the Spirit World, with no success. When it becomes critical that Korra do it, he's convinced that now that the Avatar needs his help, he'll finally work it out. He doesn't and Jinora actually helps Korra.
• Nice Guy: Tenzin is a sensitive and nonviolent person, who can readily admit to his mistakes when made. Unsurprisingly, he's also a great dad to his children, loving husband to Pema, and acts as a positive father figure to Korra and Team Avatar.
• No-Respect Guy: A mild version. He's quite wise, but neither the Council, Korra, or Lin tend to listen to him very often. To say nothing of the ribbing he gets from his siblings.
• No Social Skills: When it comes to dealing with his family and Lin on a personal level, especially where Meelo is concerned. When he tries to recruit new Air Nomads, he's utterly confused as to why getting to shave your head and be friends with sky bison aren't more effective selling points.
• Nostalgia Filter: Played with. When he brings up all the vacations around the world Aang took them all on, his siblings are quick to tell him Aang only took him, which suprises him. However he also turns it on them and points out those 'vacations' were breaks to de-stress from all the hard work he had to undergo to inherit the legacy of the airbenders - stress that was likely significant, considering how much of a complex he has about not being his legendary father. He admits in "Civil War Part 2" that he had been up until that point treating his father as an ideal rather than a a man as flawed as any other. and he won't do so from now on.
• Not Helping Your Case: In "Beyond the Wilds", he claims that he hasn't lost faith in Korra's abilities, but his actions in excluding her from an important meeting among other things say otherwise. However, he gets better after reluctantly allowing Korra to see Zaheer which allowed Korra to finally overcome her issues and save his daughter Jinora from the spirit vines.
• Not So Above It All: He gets this in spades.
  • Denounces pro-bending as "a mockery of the noble tradition of bending", but later on ends up cheering for Korra in an uncharacteristically enthusiastic manner during one of her matches, not unlike how his father would. Played with in that he may have been cheering her successful Die or Fly moment. After that, he reads up on the rules to be supportive of her, though still with more interest than he'd like to admit. This led to him jeering the obviously paid-off referees during the Fire Ferrets' championship match.
  • Also spends the first half of "A Leaf in the Wind" stressing to Korra that she needs to be patient, and then loses his own patience with her a short time later.
  • Then, there was his failed relationship with Lin, which was hinted to be a rather stormy affair all round (at the very least, we know that Lin flattened Air Temple Island, and attempted to arrest Pema).
  • We get this gem when Korra and Tenzin confront Lin's replacement, Saikhan:
    Korra: (grips his chin, moving his head up and down) You're officially the worst Chief of Police, ever!
    Tenzin: Calm down Korra, I'll get this sorted out. We just need to be patient. (Both turn away before Tenzin quickly turns back.) But you really are the worst! (points) Ever!
  • Turns up again in Book Two when his siblings are around to poke fun at him.
  • When he shows Korra a map of Air Nomad temples they're going to visit, there's a goofy, hand-drawn illustration of Tenzin giving a thumbs-up.
  • Also happens when he finds Ikki playing with the flying bison calves, all of whom she's given ridiculous names to. He bonds very quickly with Blueberry Spicehead.
• Not So Stoic: Comes frequently at his expense, often subtle, but sometimes dramatic. It's become a Running Gag.
• Odd Name Out: His siblings are named after Katara's mother and Aang's old friend. His name only fits with Aang's teacher, Gyatso, at a meta level.
• Oh, Crap!: A humorous variant, when he realizes that his attempts at teaching Meelo how to train lemurs has Gone Horribly Right.
  Tenzin: (in deadpan, stunned disbelief) I've created a monster.
• One-Man Army: He is the only member of the Republic City Council who successfully fends off a kidnapping attempt. Later, he holds his own, and even pushes back, the combined might of Zaheer, Ming Hua, and Ghazan, each of whom are described as powerful enough to bring down a nation. It's only due to two hits from P'Li's combusion bending that Tenzin is taken down.
• The One That Got Away: Tenzin serves as this to Lin in a Rare Male Example.
• Only Sane Man: Among the Council, he's the only one who realizes that that Tarrlok is untrustworthy and that his actions are causing far more harm than good. Unfortunately, his attempts to stop him are consistently outvoted.
• Opening Narration: Like his mother did in the original series, he provides The Legend of Korra's opening narration.
• Out of Focus: In Book 4, where he has much more of a support role compared to previous seasons.
• Papa Wolf:
  • Not just to his blood children but Team Korra as well.
  • In Book 3, when he's asking around for Jinora, one of the new airbenders says that she was with Kai. He... didn't sound all that pleased when they called the latter her "boyfriend".
  • When Zaheer threatens to use him and the other airbenders as leverage to get Korra to cooperate in "The Ultimatum", Tenzin refuses to take that lying down. He proceeds to dish out a Curb-Stomp Battle to Zaheer. It took the combined might of all four Red Lotus to turn the tide of the battle again, and these people are noted to be able to bring down the world.
• Parental Favoritism: "Civil Wars, Part 1" indicates Aang paid more attention to Tenzin than his other children, both non-airbenders - though Aang didn't have much free time to begin with, what with being the Avatar, and as Tenzin himself points out, that attention came with the attendant expectation that he would maintain and continue an entire culture. That burden left him a "Well Done, Son" Guy until well into middle age. And even then, it took a pep-talk in the spirit world from his dad (or a hallucination of him. The context is ambiguous) to finally break free of it.
• Parental Substitute:
  • While Korra's parents are still alive, they're also in the South Pole. Tenzin seems to be like an Honorary Uncle, and treats Korra much more warmly than all of the other authority figures (who either think she's a nuisance, or manipulate her). Korra also eats at the family table rather than with the Air Acolytes, and Tenzin's children treat Korra like a favorite cousin come to visit, suggesting a closer relationship than merely master/student.
  • In a way, he acts like this with Korra's friends as well during their stay at Air Temple Island. Makes sense given Mako and Bolin lost theirs to a firebender and Asami's relationship with Hiroshi speaks for itself.
  • This trope is particularly interesting for Tenzin in the case of Korra, since Korra is literally the reincarnation of his own father.
• Parents as People: He dismisses Jinora's obvious spiritual prowess mainly due to his own wounded pride, self-confidence, and perceived inadequacy as Korra's mentor. Thankfully, he gets over it.
• The Philosopher King: A philosophical pacifist and the de facto leader of the Air Nomads.
• Power Stereotype Flip: Despite being an airbender, he starts the series as Korra's stiff, humorless stick-in-the-mud mentor figure, borne down by the weight of his responsibilities.
• Power Tattoo: His arrows are proof he is a Master Airbender.
• Pre Ass Kicking One Liner: To Zaheer.
  Tenzin: I'll never let you get to Korra.
  Zaheer: Unfortunately, you don't have much of a choice.
  Tenzin: Yes I do.
  (Tenzin blows the Red Lotus away)
• Pride: Tenzin can be rather prideful and overbearing, as he hid his inability to enter the Spirit World, instead making up excuses that the people around him were preventing him from doing so. When he found out that Jinora was able to see spirits, he grew jealous of her, and kept stubbornly insisting that he should be the one to bring Korra to the Spirit World, stating that Jinora would be unable to face its dangers. Nevertheless, he softened, following his sister's persuasion and daughter's assurance, and expressed how proud he was of Jinora.
• Reasonable Authority Figure:
  • Also the most socially responsible authority figure on the Council; despite representing at most a few dozen people, out of any of the Council members he's the one with most respect for the unrepresented non-benders and their rights. Indeed, he's the only one to speak up in favor or defense of them.
  • Played with in his decision (along with Tonraq) to keep Korra locked up in the White Lotus compound for most of her life prior to the start of the series. While he and Tonraq claim to have done it for her own safety, she's not so crazy about the idea when she finds out it was their decision. In Book 3, it turns out they did it after the Red Lotus tried and failed to kidnap her shortly after she was discovered to be the Avatar.
• Retired Badass: By the start of Book Two, since the Council he served on has been replaced by an elected President.
• Sacred Hospitality: As an Air Nomad, he is obligated to let anyone who is hungry partake of his meal. Something Tarrlok abuses to get a chat with Korra.
• Screw Your Ultimatum!: He refused to give up Korra to Zaheer and his gang, and fought valiantly to the very end.
• Sensitive Guy and Manly Man: The Sensitive Guy to Bumi's Manly Man.
• Shirtless Scene: He gets one in "Rebirth" when showing off for a crowd. He's well-built for his age (with a Bruce Lee-esque wiry-ness), though it's not terribly surprising since he's a full-time trainer for his kids and the Avatar.
• Skilled, but Naive: Despite his status as the world's foremost airbender and his demeanour as an enlightened Zen master, he can be surprisingly naive for someone in their 50s.
• Sibling Team: Fights along his siblings against Dark Spirits or the Red Lotus.
• Sibling Yin-Yang: Both Tenzin and Bumi are emulations of Aang in personality. While Tenzin is more like adult Aang in all his seriousness, Bumi is goofy and carefree, more like the preteen Aang we saw in the previous series. Tenzin can have his moments, however, and Bumi did make it to a flag officer rank in the Republic Armed Forces, so he had to know when it's serious time.
• Signature Move: His "Air Wheel", similar to his father's Air Scooter in function, but even more stylish in appearance. It's a ring of air that rolls like a wheel, and he perches on the bottom inside surface to ride it.
• So Proud of You: Does this numerous times to the people he's closest to:
  • Whenever Korra makes a wise Avatar decision. In the series finale, he congratulates Korra on how much she has changed the world and how happy he is that she has become more hopeful again.
  • To Jinora when she comforted her father about guiding Korra into the Spirit World and when she receives her airbending tattoos.
  • To Bumi for leading the New Air Nation to save Kai, Jinora, and baby Sky Bison from bison rustlers.
  • To Jinora, Ikki, and Meelo for successfully finding Korra.
• The Spock: To Bumi's McCoy and Kya's Kirk. Tenzin is the most serious of his siblings and is The Stoic.
• The Stoic: Tries his best to be, but Korra and the plot often have other plans.
• Straight Man and Wise Guy: The serious, sometimes aloof Straight Man to Bumi's comical, childish Wise Guy.
• Stroke the Beard: Uncle Sokka would approve.
• Sugar-and-Ice Personality: He tries to act like an enlightened and serious Zen master, but the universe simply won't allow him to stay that way for long.
• Team Mom: In a Rare Male Example, he is this to the new Team Avatar.
• Tears of Joy: Has these after the airbenders who he and Team Avatar saved from the Earth Kingdom all decide to join him to become Air Nomads, thus finally achieving his father's dream of restoring the Air Nation.
• Travelling Salesman Montage: Has one of these in "Rebirth", when he travels to the Earth Kingdom to try and convince its brand new airbenders to then all become Air nomads. His attempts at persuading them with any advantages; (e.g. getting tattoos, becoming vegetarians, simple living) each, however, fall flat.
• Twitchy Eye: Tenzin gets one of these when particularly upset, like when he finds out that Korra has snuck out to fight in a pro-bending match. His mother would be proud.
• Unreliable Narrator: According to his siblings, Aang, while caring, wasn't actually all that great of a father. His relatively favorable opinion about Aang (as a father) was, apparently, because of Parental Favoritism meaning that he got the bulk of Aang's limited spare time.
• "Well Done, Son" Guy: Feels a great deal of pressure to live up to Aang's expectations of him, despite the man in question being dead for seventeen years.
• The Worf Effect: Despite being a master airbender and proving his badassery on several occasions, Tenzin generally winds up being the guy who gets the crap beat out of him to show the gravity of the situation. Even in "The Ultimatum", where he gets to hand a rather one-sided beatdown to Zaheer, he ends up losing to the combined might of the Red Lotus - though he still holds them off for a little while, which is more than literally any other bender manages.
• You Are Better Than You Think You Are:
  • He alongside Asami give Korra this speech during Rememberances by reminding her of how she has matured, what she accomplished, and the fact there will always be other enemies for her to fight, but she'll learn from them and become stronger.
  • Tenzin is on the receiving end of one in Season 2 when he and his siblings get lost in the Fog of Lost Souls. It turns out Tenzin has a bit of an inferiority complex about living up to Aang's legacy, and Aang's spirit appears to tell him that he's allowed to be his own person.
• Youngest Child Wins: His older siblings Kya and Bumi did not inherit Aang's Airbending like he did, though Kya is a waterbender like Katara. Couples with his physical appearance, both of his older siblings look like waterbenders (even though Bumi isn't), Tenzin was the only one to look like an airbender. He also "won" in that an Air Acolyte didn't even know Aang and Katara had two other children.

Avatar Aang

Avatar Aang was Tenzin's father, and his passing heralded the birth of the current living Avatar, Korra. For tropes pertaining to him, refer to his character page.

Katara

An accomplished master waterbender in her own right, Katara is also known as the widow of Avatar Aang and the mother of his three children. For tropes pertaining to her, refer to here.

Pema

Pema

Voiced by: Maria Bamford

"If you're going to be bending giant boulders, do it outside!"

Tenzin's loving wife and mother of his children. She shows a forceful and somewhat wry personality, and although not a bender, she is an Air Acolyte and dedicated to following the Air Nomad way of life.

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• Advice Backfire: She should really be a bit more careful when giving advice to Korra.
• Betty and Veronica: Pre-series, she was the kind, peaceful Air Acolyte member "Betty" to Lin's rough, no-nonsense police officer "Veronica" 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.
• Blatant Lies: In the beginning of "Turning The Tides", she gives a rather loud cry of pain, then assures Asami that "The baby is just kicking. Really hard." Any mildly savvy viewer will immediately put two and two together here; it's obviously a contraction.
• Deadpan Snarker: Very dry sarcasm.
• Death Glare: So far, Tenzin was the only recipient.
• Good Parents: To her children. She loves them all dearly, but is also able to scold any of them when they do something wrong.
• Happily Married: To Tenzin — They have a healthy communication with one another, he is protective of her, and she gives him advice whenever he's feeling disappointed and/or angry at himself or someone else.
• Hidden Depths:
  • She tells Korra that she won Tenzin's heart through a heartfelt confession, despite the fact that he was with another woman at the time. Then it's revealed the other woman was Lin. So non-bending Pema actually risked the ire of a jealous and very skilled bender who, according to Tenzin, tried to get her arrested.
  • In Book 4, it turns out not only she is qualified to lead a mass evacuation, she is also quite good at crowd control.
• Housewife: She looks after her and Tenzin's kids in Book 1. Somewhat averted afterwards because Tenzin is now free from his responsibilities as a councilman. Also averted in Book 3, when she appears to be in charge of Air Temple Island when Tenzin is away.
• Love Triangle: She was in one with Tenzin and Lin pre-series. In the story proper she gives Korra advice on how to deal with her own.
• Muggle: Unlike her husband or their children, she's a non-bender.
• Muggle–Mage Romance: Married to the airbender Tenzin.
• Nice Girl: A kind woman who's always willing to listen.
• Oh, Crap!:
  • Gives one as she's walking out on Mako and Asami having an issue with their relationship. And possibly because she realized that her earlier advice to Korra contributed to the issue.
  • In the same episode gives a more serious one when she starts giving birth at the worst possible time.
• Satellite Character: We hardly see her be by herself. Pema is always accompanying Tenzin or her kids. She gets a little more characterization when she handles crowd control in "Day of the Colossus".
• Second Love: Tenzin fell in love with her after his failed relationship with Lin.
• Student/Teacher Romance: Years before marrying Tenzin, she was one of his students.

Tenzin's Children

Jinora

Jinora

Voiced by: Kiernan Shipka

"I will make no such promises."

^{Click here for her Book 4 appearance.}

Jinora is Tenzin and Pema's oldest daughter. More reserved than her siblings, shown to be a polite little bookworm. However, under her sweet exterior, she is still playful and hides a witty tongue.

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• '20s Bob Haircut: She wears her hair in a straight bob with bangs swept to the left.
• The Ace: Jinora is a skilled airbender despite her age, has advanced spiritual abilities, and became the youngest Airbending master in history, outdoing even her grandfather who had Avatar-ness to his advantage. Also, see her Took a Level in Badass section, where she continues to level up from Book 2 to the series finale.
• Action Girl: Her creative use of air-bending makes her a fine fighter.
• Adorably Precocious Child: Jinora is very mature for her age.
• All Girls Want Bad Boys: Has an obvious crush on Kai, who has quite a reputation as a kleptomaniac. At least until Character Development takes effect.
• Always Someone Better: Unintentionally this to Tenzin. She can sense and see spirits easily (and is only ten), in contrast to her father, who has tried all his life, but never managed it.
• Animal Motifs:
  • Since the finale of Book 2, when she helped defeat UnaVaatu and gave her father a butterfly to lead him, Kya, and Bumi out of the Spirit World, Jinora has always been associated with butterflies.
  • She has also been compared to dragonfly-rabbit spirits since they were the first spirits she was seen with.
• Ascended Extra: She has a larger role in Book Two, possessing a natural connection with the spirit world that helps Korra in her quest to stop Vaatu. She remains more in focus than Ikki, Meelo, and Rohan from then on.
• Astral Projection: She can project herself into the Spirit World and to other places in the physical world. The latter has limited range, though enough to cover most of Ba Sing Se.
• Awesome Moment of Crowning: Her ascension to Airbending Master at the end of season three.
• Back-to-Back Badasses: With Opal in "The Battle of Zaofu", holding off Kuvira's army and immediately contacting Meelo for help.
• Badass Adorable: She sent the Lieutenant flying with a flick of her staff.
• Badass Bookworm: She is seen reading when not practicing her bending. Being well-read, Jinora has a great general knowledge, ranging from historic facts to the workings of recent technology and the habits of fauna.
• Badass in Distress: Due to Kuvira's actions in the Spirit Swamp it causes Jinora and other residents of Republic City to be trapped in the Spirit Vines. She is eventually saved by Korra.
• Badass Pacifist: Though Jinora has had her fair share of fights (in self-defense), she does managed to win fights or solve problems without violence. In Book 2, Jinora managed to help defeat UnaVaatu by using her Light 'em Up ability to help Korra find Raava.
• Badass Teacher: Jinora becomes Avatar Korra's Spirit Guide.
• Bald Mystic: She's bald after she earns her airbending tattoos, per Air Nomad tradition. After the Time Skip in Book 4, however, she's grown most of her hair back.
• Battle Couple: Downplayed with Kai. They become a couple by Book 4 and have proven to be competent airbenders, but rarely fight together. The one time they worked together, it was a covert mission, and they didn't have to engage in violence once.
• Beta Couple: She and Kai qualify probably to every other (non-married) couple, including Bolin/Opal, given that the couple have the least drama or relationship problems.
• Beware the Nice Ones: Jinora is a polite, young girl...who has helped saved the world on more than one occasion.
• Beware the Quiet Ones: As reserved as she is, Jinora is a talented airbender who has taken on and won against matches with benders who were older than her.
• Big Damn Heroes:
  • In Book 2, She materializes her spirit into the middle of Korra and Unalaq's battle and sparks Raava's regeneration from within Vaatu.
  • In Book 3, she leads the new Air Nation in creating and controlling a massive tornado to save Korra and overpower Zaheer. Thanks to spying on him earlier, she also knows how to remove the poison Zaheer used on Korra, saving her life.
  • In Book 4, she and Opal intervene in Korra's fight with Kuvira, sending Kuvira flying before she could deliver the final blow.
• Big Brother Bully: Downplayed and Big Sister. Jinora gets along quite well with her siblings, but she does like to tease them from time to time and to try and keep them in line, causing her sister to perceive her as "mean and bossy".
• Bratty Teenage Daughter: That line about her teenage years noted in Little Miss Snarker ends up coming true two seasons later. In spirit anyway, since she's still a few years shy of being a teen.
• Breakout Character: Her role increases significantly in Book 2, becoming Korra's spirit guide. Book 3 has a side-plot involving her relationship with Kai and recognition as an equal.
• Break the Cutie: Kai's apparent death sent her to tears.
• Child Prodigy: The Nick website for the series even describes Jinora as "the one kid who skipped a couple of grades". She possesses a natural connection to the spirit world, while her father, for all his studying, hasn't ever managed to enter it. In the Book 3 finale, she is anointed as an airbending master at a younger age than her grandfather, and he was the Avatar.
• The Chosen One: She was the one meant to be Korra's spiritual guide, not Tenzin or Unalaq.
• Cool Big Sis: When she's not arguing with them, especially with Ikki, Jinora is this. In Book 1, she let Meelo ride piggyback on her at one point; she also apologized to Ikki in Book 2 for making fun of her.
• Creepy Child: She's younger than a teenager and loves reading stories about heroines committing genocide and suicide.
• Cultured Badass: Jinora has an avid interest in books and knows everything about the Air Nomad culture. She also became an airbending master at only 11-years-old. Beating her grandfather's, a previous Avatar, record by a year.
• Curtains Match the Windows: The only one in her family to be this.
• Cute Bookworm: She has read about her Gran-Gran's adventures, mentions reading a historical saga, and is shown reading at the dinner table.
• Daddy's Girl: Like Ikki, Jinora is close to her daddy.
• Damsel in Distress: She is captured and used as a hostage by Unalaq in "A New Spiritual Age", then gets stuck in the Fog of Lost Souls until Tenzin gets her out. In Book 3, she finds herself at the mercy of the Dai Li and some bison rustlers, followed by the Red Lotus.
• The Dutiful Daughter: Out of her siblings, Jinora is the most responsible and mature.
• Earned Stripes: She pesters Tenzin about getting her airbending tattoos as the start of Book 3. By the end she proves herself worthy of them.
• Establishing Character Moment: In "Welcome to Republic City", her first scene shows her telling Katara that she read all about and Aang's adventures before asking what happened to Zuko's mom. She is also shown to be skating on the snow but is less rambunctious than her siblings; this shows her love of knowledge, being the most responsible of her siblings, and still having a playful nature.
• Expository Hairstyle Change: Jinora's signature hairdo has become a bob after having to shave it off at the end of book 3 to receive her Airbending Master tattoos.
• Fascinating Eyebrow: Raises one during the Grand Finale in response to Asami laying her hand on Korra's shoulder, implying that she knows about their attraction to one another.
• Foolish Sibling, Responsible Sibling: The Responsible (dutiful and serious) to Ikki's and Meelo's Foolish (both rambunctious and immature).
• Friend to All Living Things: She has a particular connection with spirits, and makes friends easily in the Spirit World. Doesn't stop them from turning against her when turned dark by Unalaq and Vaatu.
• Generation Xerox: A lot like her father, Tenzin: Both are the most spiritual of their siblings, the most mature, entered into an official relationship with someone by the series finale, and act as The Spock.
• The Gift: Has a very special connection to spirits that just comes naturally to her.
• Humble Hero: Jinora never acts arrogant or haughty because of her skills.
• Identical Granddaughter: Look closely — She's Aang with hair. When she becomes a master airbender in "Venom of the Red Lotus", she loses the hair and it's even more obvious.
• Important Haircut: Jinora shaves her head bald once she becomes a full on master of airbending and gets her airbending tattos.
• Just a Kid: Tenzin refers to her as a variation of this when she had a discussion with Kai about getting her airbending tattoos. She promptly called him out for it.
  Tenzin: Kai! What does he know about when you should get tattoos? The answer is "no"! You're just a little girl.
  Jinora: I'm not a little girl anymore. I can airbend just as well as you. I know everything about our culture and history, and I have a stronger connection with the spirits that you ever will. Lead your own class!
• Let's Get Dangerous!: In episode 10 along with Ikki and Meelo, when they saved Lin Beifong from Amon's chi blockers and the Lieutenant.
• Light 'em Up: In the Book 2 finale, she is able to release a massive burst of pure light which negates Unalaq's spirit corruption technique and illuminates Raava from within Vaatu.
• Little Miss Badass: Jinora is one of the most capable individuals in the series. In fact, she has been responsible for saving the Avatar Spirit on two separate occasions, the first being when she helped Korra find Raava during Harmonic Convergence and the second being when she led the members of the Air Nation in creating a large tornado with the intention of stopping Zaheer from killing Korra in the Avatar State.
• Little Miss Snarker:
  • Perhaps a trait inherited from her grandmother, Katara. She's usually polite, but when she snarks, she snarks good.
    Tenzin: You must promise me your teenage years won't be like this!
    [Beat]
    Jinora: [peering over her book] I will make no such promises.
  • And when Unalaq confronts her about Tenzin in the Spirit Library.
    Unalaq: ...What kind of father is he?
    Jinora: Better than you.
• Lovable Nerd: Jinora is a cutie and enjoys reading historical fiction, as well as her father's journals chronicling his adventures with her grandfather, Avatar Aang, and the adventures of Aang and his friends. She also has an interest in playing Pai Sho.
• Meaningful Name: Jinorasa was the name of a lesser-known Buddhist writer and poet. Coincidentally, Jinora is also a well-read girl, having encyclopedic knowledge on various subjects, such as being able to identify a fire ferret on the spot and recite its natural habitat.
• Moment Killer: Unintentionally interrupts Korra coming out to Mako and Bolin via Astral Projection for help in protecting the spirit portal in Turf Wars.
• Morality Pet: Acts as one to the selfish, thieving Kai (pre-character development) since he has a crush on her, as well as she does with him.
• Nerves of Steel: Although still young, Jinora displays a great amount of courage, as she was willing to exchange her soul in favor of the world's well-being when she was being used as leverage to coerce Korra into opening the Northern spirit portal, as well as prolong the separation of her soul and body in order to aid the world by finding Raava.
• New Powers as the Plot Demands: Mike and Bryan have openly admitted that they have no idea what her astral projection ability is or why she has it.
• Nice Girl: Jinora is a calm, polite, and responsible, carefree young girl.
• Nightmare Fetishist: She swoons at the thought of one of her story heroines committing genocide and suicide over being rejected by her Love Interest.
• Not So Above It All: Despite her emotional maturity, Jinora is just as prone to engaging in petty arguments and fights with Ikki.
• Official Couple: With Kai as of Book 4.
• Opposites Attract: Jinora, the polite, rule-abiding Nice Girl became an Official Couple with Kai, the sneaky, stealing (before Character Development) Jerk with a Heart of Gold.
• Pre Ass Kicking One Liner: When rescuing Lin.
  Jinora: Stay away from my dad's ex-girlfriend!
• Precocious Crush: Implied. She referred to Mako as "that cute firebending boy", but doesn't explicitly state she has a crush on him.
• Prim and Proper Bun: She wears her hair in a bun on the right side of her head, signifying the fact that she is the most mature and reserved of her siblings. She did shave her hair off temporarily in order to get her Airbending tattoos but once it grows back she's back to the bun.
• Puppy Love: She quickly warms up to Kai.
  Korra: I know you two have a connection.
  Tenzin: What do you mean, a connection?
• The Quiet One: Of Tenzin and Pema's kids, Jinora is the most reserved. But, she's still playful and carefree.
• Red Oni, Blue Oni: In Book 4, she is the calm, pacifistic Blue Oni to Opal's confrontational, Hot-Blooded Red Oni in regards to Kuvira.
• Relationship Upgrade: She and Kai are friends in Book 3 but have an obvious attraction to each other. By Book 4, they are an Official Couple.
• Shipper on Deck:
  • For Mako and Korra.
  • Her Fascinating Eyebrow and smirk when she notices Korra and Asami's attraction to each other implies she ships them together. Confirmed in Turf Wars.
• Shorter Means Smarter: Inverted among her siblings—she's the tallest, but she's also the smartest. Played straight while among the rest of Team Avatar. She may be the smallest, but she's by far the most intelligent.
• Shut Up, Hannibal!: Her response to Unalaq calling Tenzin a bad father is telling him that Tenzin's a lot better than him.
• Sibling Team: Jinora battles against Equalists and goes on missions with Ikki and Meelo.
• Sibling Yin-Yang: With Ikki and Meelo. Jinora is more serious and mellow, whereas Ikki and Meelo are more hyper and playful.
• The Smart Guy: When it involves spiritual matters or anything in her books, you count on her to know it.
• Spin-Offspring: Aang and Katara's granddaughter.
• Spirit Advisor: For Korra in the game, due to her speaking with her telepathically from an airship.
• The Spock: To Ikki's Kirk and Meelo's McCoy. She's the oldest of her siblings, the most mature, and down-to-earth.
• Tagalong Kid: Becomes to Team Avatar after she becomes Korra's spirit mentor. Averted since Jinora is more helpful and mature for her age.
• Teen Genius: At 14, she's the smartest and most experienced airbender among her siblings.
• Tell Me How You Fight: Jinora's approach to navigating an airbending training course is fairly clinical: she turns on a dime but keeps her upper body rigid.
• Thinks Like a Romance Novel: Though the romance in question seems to be more along the lines of Romance of the Three Kingdoms.
• Tomboy and Girly Girl: The studious, polite Girly Girl to Ikki's Motor Mouth, rambunctious Tomboy.
• Took a Level in Badass:
  • In the Book 2 finale, she is able to release a massive burst of pure light which negates Unalaq's spirit corruption technique and illuminates Raava from within Vaatu, allowing Korra to defeat her uncle.
  • In the Book 3 finale, she leads the New Air Nation into forming a large tornado that allows them to stop Zaheer from killing Korra. And because of that, Jinora earns her airbending tattoos. Beating her Avatar grandfather by a year.
  • In Book 4, even though she ended up captured by the spirit vines, Jinora was able to calmly and quickly send a message to Korra via her astral projection. This is a big step given how in Book 3 she needed to be in a quiet, calm area.
• True Sight: Jinora is sensitive to the spiritual world, able to see the spirits who enter material world when others cannot.
• Uptown Girl: Jinora is the daughter of the leader of the Air Nomads (making her by standards a "princess") and comes with a pedigree containing Avatar Aang himself; Kai is an orphan thief, who even stole from the family that adopted him, he does get better.
• Wise Beyond Her Years:
  • So much that she becomes Korra's guide in the spirit world, and ends up becoming a master at age eleven.
  • Her Fascinating Eyebrow in the finale implies that she knows something is going on between Korra and Asami.
• Younger Mentor, Older Disciple: Downplayed with Korra, as they only have a small age gap. Jinora's a child while Korra is a teenager/young adult but the former is the latter's spirit guide.
• Youngest Child Wins: Inverted. Jinora is the oldest of her siblings and has become the ace by the time she was 11, leveled up in skills since Book 2, shows a natural connection to the spirits, and became the youngest airbending master in history; beating her grandfather, an Avatar, by a year.

Ikki

Ikki

Voiced by: Darcy Rose Byrnes

"Are we there yet? Are we there yet?"

^{Click here for her Book 4 appearance.}

Ikki is Tenzin and Pema's younger daughter. She's incredibly hyperactive and playful, and can be quite annoying, both on purpose and by accident.

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• Annoying Younger Sibling: To Jinora. She can also be like this to Korra, and likes to tease her about Mako.
• Badass Adorable: Knocks out Equalists with a larger version of Aang's air scooter.
• Badass Pacifist: By Book 4, Ikki shows a surprising gift for befriending enemies, and she probably could've left without violence had it not been for Jinora and Meelo's interference.
• Beware the Nice Ones: Ikki is a usually polite, if rambunctious child. But, she's more cunning and skilled then what she lets on.
• Beware the Silly Ones: While she's goofy and a major motor mouth, Ikki can get serious when the chips are down.
• Big Sister Instinct: Inverted. Ikki (younger sister) saved Jinora (older sister) from a nasty fall after she and their dad narrowly missed a blast from the Colossus.
• Bratty Half-Pint: Downplayed. Ikki has a habit of asking annoying questions, either on accident or on purpose, but she's usually a polite child. Averted in Book 4, where she undergoes a healthy amount of Character Development.
• Butt-Monkey: Becomes this in Book 4, when her other siblings don't listen to her.
• Character Development: Subtle, but in Book 4, Ikki loses most of her energetic curiosity that borders on annoying. Now, she's more of an Only Sane Woman.
• The Charmer: Ikki casually manipulates the two soldiers of Kuvira's army. She even gets them to tell her Kuvira's next target.
• Cloudcuckoolander: Her advice to Korra on romance related to a couple going up into a Castle in the Sky.
• Constantly Curious: Extremely. To the point of asking rapid, sometimes inappropriate, questions.
• Cool Big Sis: To Rohan and Meelo, but for the latter it's when he's not being bratty.
• Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass: Ikki is more competent despite her Motor Mouth personality.
• Cute, but Cacophonic: Jinora definitely thinks so, at least.
• Daddy's Girl: Ikki, like Jinora, is very close to her father.
• Death Glare: To Tarrlok, after he barges into the family dinner uninvited. It is extremely similar to that of her mother.
• Establishing Character Moment: In "Welcome to Republic City", her first scene has her excitingly and repeatedly asking Tenzin if they're at the South Pole and then asking a number of questions to Katara by interrupting a conversation between her grandmother and Jinora; this shows her hyperactive Motor Mouth personality.
• Expository Hairstyle Change: By Book 4, Ikki's hair now reaches her waist.
• Foolish Sibling, Responsible Sibling:
  • At first, she's the Foolish (annoying and hyperactive) to Jinora's responsible (dutiful and serious).
  • By Book 4, she is the Responsible (Only Sane Woman) to Meelo's Foolish (Bratty Half-Pint).
• Friend to All Living Things: Her first reaction upon meeting Pabu is to call him "cute" and try to catch him. In Book 2, she befriends a trio of baby bison, and a flying squirrel in Book 4.
• The Gadfly: She seems to enjoy using her energetic personality to annoy others and bring up inappropriate questions regarding love triangles.
• Gender-Blender Name: Ikki's name is usually a male name in Japan.
• Generation Xerox: Ikki seems to take after Kya: Both are the middle children of their siblings, suffer from a unique Middle Child Syndrome, verge on being the Only Sane Woman, were quite rambunctious when they were younger, and act as The Kirk.
• Generic Girl: Ikki really doesn't show any unique feature other than her Motor Mouth tendencies, which she toned down in Book 4. Plus, her big sister is a spirit adviser who became the youngest airbending master in history and a younger brother starts off as Cloudcuckoolander turned hotblooded, Blood Knight.
• Genki Girl: Her first lines in the series were repeatedly asking "Are we there yet?" in a hyperactive tone, and is usually pretty energetic, at least up until Book 4.
• Hidden Depths:
  • Appears to be just an annoying Motor Mouth, but was able to quickly answer Bolin's series of rapid-fire questions, including how many trees are on Air Temple Island. ^note  10,552.
  • Despite her energetic personality, she can also take the time to reflect about her surroundings, concluding to insightful wisdoms about family love.
  • In Book 4, she shows amazing skill with manipulating her enemies.
• The Kirk: To Jinora's Spock and Meelo's McCoy. Ikki isn't as mature as Jinora, but is not as nearly as active as Meelo.
• Lame Comeback: To Jinora in the season premiere of Book 2. Tenzin told her, her siblings, and Korra about his vacation plans, and Ikki asked if she could get lightning bolts as tattoos. This conversation followed:
  Jinora: You can't get lightning bolts. That doesn't make any sense.
  Ikki: You don't make any sense!
• Let's Get Dangerous!: In episode 10, along with Jinora and Meelo, when they saved Lin Beifong from Amon's chi blockers and the Lieutenant.
• Little Miss Badass: Despite the fact that the Equalists could take on the entire police force with ease, eight-year old Ikki was able to kick serious Equalist butt when they attacked Air Temple Island.
• Little Miss Snarker: Shows more of this in Book 4 when she snarkily comments that Korra will be able to recognize Meelo.
• Meaningful Name:
  • "Ikki" is a Japanese male name with a few different meanings, though the most appropriate would be "radiance, shine, sparkle"; the literal meaning of the word is "riot, insurrection". Both translations attribute to Ikki's hyperactive tendencies.
  • "Ikki" also means "two" in some Turkic languages like Uzbek, which points to her being a second-born child.
• Middle Child Syndrome: In an unique example, she feels this way with her siblings. In her opinion, they don't listen to her; with Jinora not only being her older sibling but also Ikki's superior as an airbender and then Meelo because he's Meelo.
• Motor Mouth: Ikki usually speaks in a quick-paced manner, which matches her Genki Girl nature.
• Ms. Imagination: Her love advice for Korra heavily implies this:
  Ikki: "No, no, no! The best way to win a boy's heart is to brew a love potion out of rainbows and sunsets that makes true lovers sprout wings and fly to a magical castle in the sky, where they get married and eat clouds with spoons, and use stars as ice cubes in their moonlight punch, forever and ever and ever!"
• Nerves of Steel: When dealing with a couple of Kuvira's soldiers who kidnapped her, Ikki maintains a cool disposition, while casually manipulating them.
• Nice Girl: Ikki was always a kind, playful child. By Book 4, she has gone through a healthy, if subtle Character Development that shows her also to be one not to take her anger out on people or animals that don't deserve it and even make friends with enemies.
• No Indoor Voice: Her voice tends to always be on louder than needed. And she can amplify it with airbending.
• Only Sane Woman: Ikki becomes this in Book 4. When her siblings and her set off to find Korra, Meelo insists on turning their mission into a Macho Disaster Expedition and Jinora is too focused on trying to sense Korra's presence rather than actually looking for her. When Meelo throws away their food and insists that they go hunting, she reminds him that they don't eat meat. When Jinora and Meelo want to leave the swamp, Meelo was being a bit of a jerk and Jinora couldn't sense Korra here, Ikki insists that they keep looking. Basically, despite calling it a team effort, the air siblings would never had found Korra if it weren't for Ikki.
• Playful Cat Smile: One of her main characteristics is to smile like a cat when being mischievous. She even hissed and spat when Korra told her to shut up about her liking Mako in front of his current girlfriend Asami.
• Precocious Crush: At Varrick and Zhu Li's wedding, Ikki is seen pulling a less-than-enthusiastic Huan to dance.
• The Runaway: She ran off in Civil Wars part 1 after Jinora and Meelo tease her too much. It turns out that she was having a tea party with some baby sky bison, and she returns to the air temple with Tenzin.
• Shipper on Deck: Like her sister, Mako and Korra.
• Shoo Out the Clowns: In the episode before the two part Book One finale, she is Put on a Bus with the Meelo, the rest of the family, and anyone else who provided a comedic role.
• Sibling Team: Ikki battles against Equalists and goes on missions with Jinora and Meelo.
• Sibling Yin-Yang: With Jinora. Personality-wise, they're about as opposite as can be. Jinora is more serious and mellow, whereas Ikki (and Meelo) are more hyper and playful.
• Strong Family Resemblance: Out of her siblings, Ikki looks the most like Pema, especially when she does the Death Glare.
• Tagalong Kid: Averted. She and Meelo become this in Book 4, but is more than capable of any task.
• Tomboy and Girly Girl: The Motor Mouth, rambunctious Tomboy to Jinora's studious, polite Girly Girl.
• Took a Level in Badass: In Book 4, Ikki is able to effortlessly manipulate her adult enemies.

Meelo

Meelo

Voiced by: Logan Wells

"Be the leaf!"

^{Click here for his Book 4 appearance.}

Meelo is Tenzin and Pema's older son and third child. At five, he's hyperactive and more than a bit silly. He shows great skill at airbending despite his youth.

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• Annoying Younger Sibling: Becomes a bratty jerk to his sisters in Book 4.
• The Baby of the Bunch: Meelo feels he has something to prove not only as the youngest but as the only male of his Tag Along Kid trio with his two older sisters. His attempts to be seen as a man are usually played for comic relief.
• Badass Adorable: Uses Fartillery to help save Lin from the Equalists with his siblings..
• The Beastmaster: Tenzin teaches him how to train flying-lemurs in Book 2. He then trains a whole flock to fly in synchrony.
  Tenzin: I've created a monster.
• Beware the Silly Ones: Meelo is the most rambunctious of Tenzin's children. He's also a skilled airbender who can take down fully grown earthbenders.
• Big Ol' Eyebrows: Just like his dad.
• Blood Knight: In Book 4, after he develops his Drill Sergeant Nasty persona. The funniest thing is that you know, he's an Airbender. Also when he turns into Meelo the Man.
• Boisterous Bruiser: His ego was exaggerated by Book 4, but his skills are still one not to take lightly. Plus, he's still a cute 9-year-old boy.
• Bratty Half-Pint: He embraces this trope full-on in season four with his self-importance, egotism and constant rudeness to his sisters. Even Kuvira gets to suffer his obnoxiousness.
• Brutal Honesty: After he becomes quite the brat in Book 4, he doesn't know the meaning of the word "tact".
• The Chains of Commanding: Of winged-lemurs, especially Poki. As the Alpha Lemur, he cannot allow Poki to act certain ways, such as sleeping in the same bed.
  Meelo: Being alpha lemur is lonely.
  Tenzin: I know.
• Child Prodigy: Meelo has shown to be quite adept at training lemurs.
• Cheshire Cat Grin: Sports a big one whenever he's put in charge of the airbender recruits. The one in "Original Airbenders" is so big, it borders on being a Slasher Smile.
• Cloudcuckoolander: Meelo is a little kid, so you have to expect he's got a wild imagination, lots of energy and a fair number of quirks.
• Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass: Meelo is the silliest, but he's still a talented airbender, so you underestimate him at your own peril.
• Cute Bruiser: He's the most physically aggressive of his siblings (especially in Book 4)... and is still a cute 9-year-old boy.
• Drill Sergeant Nasty: Tenzin teaches him to be one when training Poki, in the next season he becomes one to the new airbenders.
  Meelo: "Look to your left! Look to your right! One of those people will not make it out of here alive!"
• Establishing Character Moment: In "Welcome to Republic City", his first scene has him chewing his father's head; this shows how much of a Cloudcuckoolander he is.
• Expository Hairstyle Change: By Book 4, Meelo now has a full head of hair.
• Extremely Protective Child: Meelo saves his father after he and Jinora narrowly missed a blast from the Colossus.
• Fartillery: Weaponizes it in Episode 10. In Book 4 he uses it again against the Swamp's vines binding Pepper.
• The Fighting Narcissist: Since Meelo Took a Level in Jerkass as of Book 4, he has become egotistical and self-centered, and always up for a fight.
• Foolish Sibling, Responsible Sibling: The Foolish (the most rambunctious and became more of a brat in Book 4) to both Jinora and Ikki's Responsible (generally more mature and level-headed than their brother, especially the former).
• Gasshole: Gets a "fartbending" scene in Episode 8.
• Generation Xerox: Shares quite a few similarities with his uncle Bumi. Both are the most rambunctious of their siblings, their actions verge on recklessness, they are pretty close to being Idiot Heroes, and act as The McCoy.
• Gonk: Those eyes, those teeth, good God! And yet he is still adorable.
• Elemental Eye Colors: Meelo is an airbender and was born with gray eyes.
• Friend to All Living Things: Meelo loves animals, like his sisters. In Book 2, he even becomes an effective trainer to flying lemurs.
• Hidden Depths:
  • When Tenzin teaches Meelo how to train flying Lemur, Meelo expands that skill into training the entire flock in synchronized flight. He generally seems to take after his uncle Bumi's skill at command and tactics, organizing the new airbenders to rescue the stole sky bisons.
  • Meelo is a surprisingly competent artist, able to hand-draw a portrait of Korra with stunning accuracy. Even Ikki is impressed when she sees it. Not just sketching either, he's able to paint a self portrait with an accuracy worthy of any Neo-classicist... Unfortunately Huan was looking for something more Expressionist.
• Ice-Cream Koan: He tells Korra to "Be the leaf!" after a demonstration of a leaf floating safely through the spinning-door contraption the airbenders use for training. He later gives the new airbenders the same instruction without the demonstration, resulting in much confusion.
  Daw: I don't even know what that means!
• Identical Grandson: Post Time Skip, he looks quite a bit like his grandfather Aang did when he had hair.
• Idiot Hero: "Idiot" may be a bit much, but besides becoming brattier by Book 4, Meelo has also became more irrational: He threw away the food that was supposed to last him and his sisters two weeks, because he wanted to live off the land.
• I Got Bigger: He's a bit bigger and he's grown his hair back. Played for laughs when he proclaims that he is no longer "Meelo the boy" but rather is now "Meelo THE MAN!!!". Also, all of his baby teeth are gone.
• Irony: Meelo becomes a Blood Knight by Book 4, despite being an Air Nomad, and is taught to be opposed to violence.
• It's All About Me: By Book 4, Meelo's ego has skyrocketed, to the point when he constantly viewed the mission to locate Korra and bring her home as solely his mission, whereas it was something he was doing with his sisters.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: As of Book 4. Meelo has taken a level in jerkass, but is still one of the good guys and does care about his family and friends, even if he refuses to directly admit it.
• Keet: He is first seen chewing on his father's head.
• Kidanova: He tries to charm Asami the moment she arrives on Air Temple Island, and Book 4 shows he's not fixated on a single lady. Despite his efforts, his record is mired by the fact he'll have to wait a few years to stop registering as "cute" to girls he's hitting on.
• Let's Get Dangerous!: In Episode 10 along with his sisters, when they saved Lin Beifong from Amon's chi blockers and Lieutenant. He also thrashes the bison poachers in the season 3 episode "The Original Airbenders" really good, being among the more effective airbenders in the attack.
• The McCoy: To Jinora's Spock and Ikki's Kirk. Meelo is the youngest sibling and the one most prone to doing or saying anything without thinking.
• Never My Fault: Becoming a brat in Book 4, has him doing this. During his and his sisters' search for Korra, Meelo continuously blamed either Ikki or Jinora for a dead end, even though it was really no one's fault.
• Nice Guy: In the first 3 Books. While he was rambunctious, he never meant any harm and was quite likable. Unfortunately, he becomes more of a jerk in Book 4.
• The One Guy: Before Rohan's birth, Meelo was Tenzin and Pema's only son among his sisters.
• Pint-Sized Powerhouse: He's the youngest of the three airbender children but is no slouch in comabt.
• Precocious Crush: On Asami. That girl he was hitting on in Book 4 was closer to his league, but still a good head taller.
• Primal Chest-Pound: Does this when he and Ikki rescue Jinora, Opal, and a defeated Korra from Kuvira and her army.
• Shoo Out the Clowns: Along with the rest of Tenzin's family, evacuates by sky bison when the Equalists attack Air Temple Island.
• Sibling Team: Meelo battles against Equalists and goes on missions with Ikki and Jinora.
• Sibling Yin-Yang: Jinora is more serious and mellow, whereas Ikki and Meelo are more hyper and playful.
• Sophisticated as Hell: When he and Ikki are playing on Korra's roadster. Ikki makes loud car noises and pretends she's in a high-speed chase, while Meelo appears to be imitating a valet.
• Spock Speak: Often uses exceedingly formal language.
• Surpassed the Teacher: After Tenzin tutors him in lemur taming, he clearly surpasses his father in the skill.
• Tagalong Kid: Averted. He and Ikki become this in Book 4, but is more than capable of any task.
• Testosterone Poisoning: After timeskip. He has (or tries to have) the attitude of a macho Action Hero... and yet he is only a cute nine year-old.
• Took a Level in Jerkass: In season four, he's a lot more abrasive and rude to his sisters due to his Drill Sergeant Nasty behavior. Pretty par on course for a nine-year old boy, though. Lampshaded by Ikki and Jinora:
  Ikki: Remember when he used to be so nice and sweet?
  Jinora: No.
• Trademark Favorite Food: Sweet buns with happy faces on them.
• Tuckerization: Christopher Moss' son's name is Milo.
• Used to Be a Sweet Child: For the first 3 books, Meelo was quite sweet and sensitive. Come Book 4, he's become more of a brat. This is lampshaded by Ikki at one point.
• Vocal Evolution: His voice seems a bit deeper and more resonant in Season 3, likely as a result of his VA growing up. Not a bad thing though, as it shows Meelo is also growing up.

Rohan

Rohan

Tenzin and Pema's fourth child (and second son), who was born in "Turning the Tides" near the end of Book One.

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• Birth-Death Juxtaposition: Zig-Zagged. The "death" in this case is not that of a person but of Republic City (as we know it, anyway). Also, in the episode where a (possible) new airbender is born, Lin loses her bending.
• Blow You Away: As he was just three and a half when the series ended, it's never confirmed if Rohan is an airbender. However, when meeting a heavily pregnant Pema, Katara says that she senses he'll be a powerful airbender. As well as this, spirituality is one of the deciding factors in whether a person is born a bender. Given Rohan is born to the remnants of the most spiritual nation, the Air Nomads, it's likely he'll have airbending.
• Living Prop: He exists because his birth was a plot point in Book One, and they couldn't very well get rid of him. He should be old enough to speak and have a personality by Book Four, but he's never given any real chance to be noticed besides the occasional baby- or toddler-related gag.
• Perpetual Smiler: He was born smiling, and is rarely seen with any other expression.
• Satellite Character: Rohan is only seen in the company of his parents, especially his mother, and his siblings.
• Three-Month-Old Newborn: The baby was born already cooing and smiling.
• Tuckerization: Named after Bryan Konietzko's nephew.

Tenzin's Siblings

Bumi II

Voiced by: Richard Riehle

"The paperwork's gone through little brother. From now on it's 24/7 Bumi time!"

The eldest child of Aang and Katara, Tenzin's older brother, and a commander in the United Forces. After the Harmonic Convergence, he — along with many others — became a bender. An airbender, to be exact.

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• All-Loving Hero: Bumi joined the United Forces to make the world a safer, better place - though he also says in Book 3 that he was forced to join by being chucked in a potato sack. It's possible that he was press-ganged and then he stuck at it to try and make the world a better, safer place.
• Annoying Younger Sibling: Inverted, with younger sibling Tenzin looking exasperated at the idea of having to host his older brother. Tenzin later laments the fact Bumi has always acted like an annoying younger brother despite being the eldest of Aang's children.
• Badass Longcoat: He still wears his coat from his time as a Commander.
• Badass Normal: The only non-bender of Aang's three children, but that didn't stop him from becoming a Commander. He even tried invoking it by reminding Tenzin and Kya that he is far from useless. It is shown he is a decent street brawler before gaining Airbending, which he still doesn't know how to use. He also has an unusual affinity for spirits even before he becomes an airbender, one only exceeded by his niece, Jinora, a Child Prodigy, successfully charming a dark spirit into friendship with a flute and not only befriends, but actually understands Bumju ("I get the gist").
• Big Brother Bully: A fairly mild example, but he definitely does enjoy picking on Tenzin alongside Kya. And Kya alongside Tenzin. And then subject to an age inversion when Kya and Tenzin gang up on him. The Children of Aang have some rivalry...
• Big Damn Heroes: After the unsuccessful attack on the Southern Portal, Bumi manages to tame a corrupted spirit using his flute and then stages a rescue. However, his gift to tame spirits doesn't really work on the rest of them, so he runs around the Water Tribe camp being chased by corrupted spirits. Three minutes later, the entire camp is destroyed because of a glitching robot suit he was riding on and manages to rescue everyone.
• Big Fun: Has put on weight between Books One and Two. Lampshaded when Meelo points to his stomach and asks if there's a baby in there. He slims back down to fighting trim during the Time Skip between Books 3 and 4.
• Bling of War: His uniform seems to befitting of this.
• Blow You Away: Post-Harmonic Convergence, he gains the ability to airbend.
• Boisterous Bruiser: Another parallel to his namesake.
• The Brigadier: He is second in command to General Iroh.
• Bunny-Ears Lawyer: Iroh II said that he was "a bit of a wild man" but still the bravest commander he has ever known, and he behaves like a deranged combination of the original Bumi and his uncle Sokka. And yet, his Big Damn Heroes moment suggests that at least some of his claims are true (and they certainly sound like Sokka-plans), despite being a minimally trained Airbender and out of shape he manages to survive fighting Ghazan by Combat Pragmatist tactics... all of it suggests he rose to a fairly senior rank on his own merit.
• Captured by Cannibals: His tales along these lines seem to be just him spinning a line. However, it turns out to be his darkest memory, revealed by the Fog of Lost Souls, is this.
• Cloudcuckoolander: He's absolutely nuts, albeit noticeably saner and more grounded than his namesake - and like said namesake, he's Crazy Is Cool.
• Combat Pragmatist: In his fight with Ghazan, he briefly gets the upper hand by sneaking up from behind and begins pulling on on his hair and even takes to biting him. Guess that means Bumi isn't one for playing fair. Justified since Bumi had not had his airbending for a long time at that point (only using it to avoid Ghazan's attacks) and realized that he wouldn't be able to win in a straight fight with Ghazan.
• Commanding Coolness: His only line is in Book One, a scream of victory and joy, cemented him as this.
• Cool Old Guy: Considering Tenzin is 51 and Bumi is older than him, he is this.
• Cool Uncle: Judging from the excitement of Tenzin's kids at the prospect of a visit from him, he is likely this.
• Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass: Bumi's a lot more capable and skilled then he looks and acts. It's testament to this that he gets tapped to go on the Bataar-sacking infiltration mission in the finale arc of the series.
• Dead Guy Junior: Named after Aang's childhood friend, King Bumi of Omashu. They even have similar personalities.
• Demoted to Extra: While not as bad as Kya in Book 4, he doesn't really get too many lines. He's mostly just in group shots with the other airbenders and Team Avatar, although he does accompany Tenzin and Korra on a stealth mission to kidnap Bataar Jr. in attempt to have leverage over Kuvira.
• Empowered Badass Normal: Harmonic Convergence gives him airbending.
• Establishing Character Moment: His Incoming Ham entrance gave the viewers all they needed to know about him despite appearing for less than ten seconds.
• Fluffy Tamer: Somehow managed to tame a dark spirit with his flute, foreshadowing his affinity for spirits in general - aside from Jinora, his Child Prodigy niece, he's literally the only person able to understand them directly.
• Foolish Sibling, Responsible Sibling: He is the foolish to Tenzin's responsible.
• Formerly Fat: In Book 4, after three years of Air Nomad training, he has lost the pot belly he used to have and looks almost as trim as Tenzin.
• Freudian Excuse: While understated compared to Kya, Bumi was hard on Tenzin because Tenzin received more attention from Aang than Bumi did. On top of this, Bumi is painfully self-conscious of the fact that he is the only non-bending child of Aang and Katara and tried to make up for it by joining the United Forces. It's to such an extent that he is always wearing his uniform even when on vacation.
• Generation Xerox:
  • Whereas Tenzin has his father's abilities and Kya has her mother's abilities, Bumi seems to take after his uncle Sokka and maybe a bit from his grandfather Hakoda.
  • On a more subtle level, Bumi really channels Aang in his happy-go-lucky problem solving approach, adaptive skill, and natural affinity for both animals and spirits during his Big Damn Heroes scene. He even regards the animals the same way Aang did, as partners. That same kooky music helps emphasize that the scene could easily have been carried out by his father.
  • As of Book 3, after the Harmonic Convergence, he does inherit Aang's airbending after all.
• Hero of Another Story: His time spent as a Commander in the United Forces and the adventures associated with it.
• Hidden Depths: Admits in front of Aang's statue that the whole reason he joined the United Forces in the first place was that, despite being a non-bender, he wanted to uphold his father's legacy of making the world a better place.
• How Do I Shot Web?: It takes him a while to figure out how to airbend intentionally, and even then he sticks to using it to boost his own mobility.
• Hidden Weapons: Keeps a throwing knife hidden in his coat.
• Incoming Ham: His scream and Tenzin's apparent dislike at the prospect of playing host to his brother.
• Instant Expert: Notably averted, and he seems to be the only one of the main characters to whom this applies - by contrast, Kai uses airbending to help him pick pockets and Zaheer uses it to break his posse out of jail, while Bumi has no idea how to airbend. It is worth noting that Kai is noted as unusually talented and is both young and highly adaptable, while Zaheer spent a lifetime as an earnest student of Airbending culture and philosophy (and still has trouble when facing anyone who knows how to fight an airbender, like Kya, and gets his ass handed to him when he goes up against a genuine Airbending Master, in Tenzin).
• Last Episode, New Character: In Book One. Admittedly we did learn a little about him beforehand thanks to All There in the Manual, and he was (briefly) mentioned by Katara in the first episode.
• MacGyvering: All his stories from his United Forces days seem to imply a lot of this (which is precisely why his siblings never seem to believe him). Going by what happened in his Big Damn Heroes moment, it's quite likely that he was actually telling the truth.
• Man Bites Man: He uses this tactic on Ghazan in "The Ultimatum".
• Manchild: He continually teases Tenzin like they were kids, and all around fun personality.
• The McCoy: To Tenzin's Spock and Kya's Kirk. Bumi doesn't hesitate to do something or speak his mind.
• Miles Gloriosus: Played with. He frequently enjoys spinning tall tales about amazing battles and adventures he was in, some of which sound quite improbable. By the Season 2 finale, however, it's implied that he wasn't entirely making all of his exploits up - just the parts where he claims it to have been his plan all along, instead of merely an Indy Ploy. Case in point, in the Season 2 finale, he sneaks into an enemy camp planning to turn the dark spirits to his side like he did the first one. Unfortunately, it turns out they're not nearly as amenable so he's left stumbling around in a blind panic, but in short order commandeers an enemy mecha-tank and inadvertently wrecks their entire base - mostly as an indirect result from simply trying to dodge incoming fire. And he succeeds in freeing the rest of Team Avatar, who were taken prisoner.
• Mistaken for Servant: When he visits the Southern Air Temple along with Tenzin's family and Kya, a female Air Acolyte mistakes him and Kya for servants.
• Muggle Born of Mages: He is the only non-bender born of Katara and Aang, though he ends up getting airbending much later.
• The Münchausen: He is prone to telling tall tales about his time in the army, but his siblings don't believe any of it. After what happened during his Big Damn Heroes moment (and on a darker note, his moment in the Fog of Lost Souls), he may have been telling the truth all along.
• Music Soothes the Savage Beast: His flute playing soothed a corrupted spirit back into a pacified state.
• Nice Guy: Great with his nieces and nephews, fun-loving, and protective of the people he loves.
• Noodle Incident: Apparently, he was involved in a lot of these during his career in the military if his stories are anything to go by.
• Noodle Implements: When trying to come up with a plan to save the captured airbenders in season 3, his necessary items include twelve tons of blast jelly and a badgermole that knows morse code.
• One of the Kids: He enjoys hanging with his nieces and nephews in their games.
• Overshadowed by Awesome: Bumi seems to be this, at least among the Air Acolytes. Some Air Acolytes are unaware that Aang and Katara had any children besides Tenzin.
• Papa Wolf: Towards his nieces and nephews.
• Plucky Comic Relief: Shares this role with Bolin and Varrick in the second season.
• Press-Ganged: He claims he was forced to join the United Forces after being kidnapped in a potato sack. It's anyone's guess how true it is. Given his tendency to tell tall tales, it could be another one of those, though considering how it's less heroic than his previous claim that he joined to protect the world, it might just be the truth. It's possible to reconcile the two: he could have been Press-Ganged initially, before deciding to stick at it to protect the world, something which fits with his just-go-with-it style and habit of claiming he planned whatever he just did all along.
• Real Men Wear Pink: He tries his hand at knitting a sweater for Bumju. Apparently, it wasn't very good.
• Refuge in Audacity: He often tells stories that have him saving the day through some truly unbelievable acts. After the stuff he pulls off in Book 2, we learn he may not be making all that up after all.
• Retired Badass: He retired from the United Forces during the Time Skip between seasons 1 and 2.
• Sad Clown: His jokey exterior hides his deep insecurities about being a disappointment to Aang and never feeling like he belonged to either of his parents' cultures.
• Sensitive Guy and Manly Man: The Manly Man to Tenzin's Sensitive Guy. Bumi was Commander in the United Forces and more rough and tumble person. However, he does have a sensitive side.
• Shell-Shocked Veteran: It's never explicitly stated that Bumi has PTSD from his military days, but the fact that his greatest fear in the Fog of Lost Souls is being Captured by Cannibals speaks for itself. Thankfully, it doesn't seem bad enough to keep him from functioning in his day to day life.
• Sibling Team: Fights along his siblings against Dark Spirits and the Red Lotus.
• Sibling Yin-Yang: Both Tenzin and Bumi are emulations of Aang in personality. While Tenzin is more like adult Aang in all his seriousness, Bumi is goofy and carefree, more like the preteen Aang we saw in the previous series. Tenzin can have his moments, however, and Bumi did make it to a flag officer rank in the Republic Armed Forces, so he had to know when it's serious time - and there are hints that at least some of his goofiness is an act to cover up his being a Shell-Shocked Veteran.
• Speaks Fluent Animal: Or spirit, rather. In fact, he's literally the only person other than his Child Prodigy niece, Jinora, who can. Specifically, he's able to interpret Bumi Junior's squeaks as actual words. When people begin to ask how, he states that he just gets the gist, but doesn't fully understand how.
• Stepford Smiler: Bumi is ashamed he wasn't born an Airbender and felt like that he had failed Aang, and its highly implied it stunted his emotional growth.
• Straight Man and Wise Guy: The comical, childish Wise Guy to Tenzin's serious, sometimes aloof Straight Man.
• Strategy, Schmategy: In favor of Indy Ploys, it seems.
• Strong Family Resemblance: If you look past the tattoos, beards and other hair, Tenzin and Bumi look a lot alike.
• The Un-Favourite: "Civil Wars Part 1" indicates Aang unintentionally favored Tenzin over his non-Airbender kids. Bumi evidently got it worst though, as Kya was clearly Katara's favorite, and the fact he wasn't a bender clearly didn't help, with Kya indicating (as she's healing him after he's tried to overcompensate for his lack of bending) that he's always tried to prove that he can do everything a bender can, despite the fact that he can't.
• "Well Done, Son" Guy: Dearly wishes to make his father proud despite not being a bender, which is why he became a Commander of the United Forces; of course Kya is there to point out there is no doubt that Aang would be proud of him.
• Wild Hair: Fitting a 'wild man' persona, his hair is all over the place.
• You Wouldn't Believe Me If I Told You: During "Harmonic Convergence" he rescues the entire group in the Big Damn Heroes moment stated above. Tenzin is amazed at his accomplishment and asks how he did it, Bumi begins to tell them but decides against it, stating they would never believe him, especially since he already spent most of the episode telling them his outrageous veteran stories from his days as a commander which Tenzin previously dismissed as lies.

Kya II

Voiced by: Lisa Edelstein

"Bumi, don't pick on Tenzin. You know he's always been sensitive."

The middle child of Aang and Katara, Tenzin's older sister, and a waterbender.

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• Awesome by Analysis:
  • Quickly saw through Zaheer's ruse the second he started acting suspicious.
  • Happens again during Turf Wars, where she picks up on Korra and Asami's body language to discern they're a couple. Bear in mind that Korra's parents were the only ones in the know at that point, and everyone else had to be told by the ladies of the relationship. Guess gaydar's a thing even in the Avatarverse - though it should be noted that Kya is gay herself.
• Big Brother Bully: She used to beat up Tenzin when they were children.
• The Bus Came Back: After being absent for Book 4 save a short scene in a flashback, she makes a return in Turf Wars and is shown helping the Republic City reconstruction efforts and giving romantic advice to Korra and Asami.
• Combat Medic: She knows Katara's healing techniques and is no slouch on the battlefield, being one of the few people prior to Tenzin to actually give Zaheer a good fight and force him to retreat (though by that point, he'd got what he wanted).
• Commitment Issues: Her worst fear, as revealed in the Fog of Lost Souls, is of being tied down and losing her freedom.
• Cool Aunt: Especially to Jinora, with whom she has a special bond.
• Crippling Overspecialization: While she's a Waterbending master taught by perhaps the greatest Waterbender in the world, she chose to specialize in healing rather than combat due to growing up in a relatively peaceful time. As a result, while she's certainly no pushover and gives him a good fight, she's unable to take down Zaheer despite the difference in bending experience, and she's no match for Ming-hua (though she puts up a better fight than more or less anyone else).
• Dead Girl Junior: She was named after Katara and Sokka's dead mother.
• The Dutiful Daughter: She considers herself this, since she was the only one who decided to move to the Southern Water Tribe to be with Katara after Aang died and she was left all alone. However, Tenzin is quick to turn this on her, pointing out that before that, she flitted about the world and never came to see their parents until after their father died.
• Foolish Sibling, Responsible Sibling: According to Katara, she, like Bumi, was the foolish to Tenzin's responsible when they were children. Now she appears to be more responsible, at least compared to Bumi (not that this is hard).
• Freudian Excuse: Kya (and Bumi to a lesser extent) has a pretty big chip on her shoulder towards Tenzin because, as a child, she and Bumi never had as much time with their father like Tenzin did. Their resentment is portrayed sympathetically given that the two of them were excluded from family vacations, and Tenzin didn't even remember them not being there (though the "family vacations" were more Tenzin being taken along on Aang's Avatar-related travels and having the weight of his father's legacy as both Avatar and the last of the Airbenders put on his shoulders, that doesn't really negate the point).
• Healing Hands: Like Katara, she is a healer.
• Identical Granddaughter:Her face resembles that of her maternal grandmother for whom she's named after
• The Kirk: To Tenzin's Spock and Bumi's McCoy. Kya enjoys laughs with Bumi, but knows when to get serious.
• Like Mother, Like Daughter: Other than bearing her grandmother's name, Kya is a healer, a Waterbender and wears a tribal betrothal necklace just like her mother.
• Making a Splash: She is a powerful waterbender, just like her mother. This also makes her the only non-airbender out of the three between her, Tenzin, and Bumi.
• Mentor Archetype: Taking over for Tenzin and as part of her comeback, she gives advice to Korra and Asami as the only other living queer person they know on romance, coming out and offering to be there for them whenever they need to talk, which both makes her not so different from Tenzin and a gesture that both women clearly appreciate.
• Mistaken for Servant: A female Air Acolyte mistakes her and Bumi for servants when they visit the Southern Air Temple along with Tenzin's family.
• Ms. Exposition: Gives a brief history of queerness in their world to Korra and Asami in Turf Wars, which is Justified as network S&P wouldn't allow such a discussion from an external perspective and internally, this is obviously news to them as bisexuals in their first same-sex relationship.
• Mythology Gag: Kya was Katara's name in the original pilot for The Last Airbender.
• Nice Girl: Kya is funny, a cool aunt (especially to Jinora), supportive, caring, and acts as a Team Mom.
• Overshadowed by Awesome: Kya seems to be this at least among the Air Acolytes. Some Air Acolytes are unaware that Aang and Katara had any children besides Tenzin.
• Put on a Bus: She is last seen in Book 4 leaving Republic City on a boat with Korra, heading back to the Southern Water Tribe.
• Shipper on Deck: In "Turf Wars", Kya is fully supportive of Korra and Asami's romance, even saying they both make a "beautiful couple".
• Sibling Team: Fights alongside her siblings against Dark Spirits and the Red Lotus.
• Silver Vixen: Kya is quite noticeably attractive for someone who appears to be in her late 50's/early 60's.
• Team Mom: To her siblings, and also to her nieces and nephews. It must run in the family.
• Took a Level in Kindness: Apparently, she was a bit of a bully in the past to Tenzin. Now, while Kya isn't above teasing Tenzin, it's friendlier.
• The Un-Favourite: "Civil Wars Part 1" indicates Aang unintentionally favored Tenzin over his non-Airbender kids.
• Walking the Earth: Until Aang's death Kya travelled the world to find herself.

Family Pets

Oogi

Oogi

Tenzin's loyal sky bison mount.

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• All Animals Are Dogs: When riding on Asami's airship yacht instead of flying on his own power, he joins Naga in leaning into the wind with mouth open and tongue out.
• Call-Back: He's named after the word Sokka used whenever Aang and Katara started getting mushy in the interquel graphic novels. A Meaningful Name, since Tenzin is an eventual result of those "oogies".
• Giant Flyer: Like Appa and all other sky bison.
• Undying Loyalty: Not quite as prominent a personality as Appa, but he still cares for Tenzin.

Poki

Poki

Voiced by: Dee Bradley Baker

The pet flying lemur Meelo befriends in Book 2 and officially keeps as a pet.

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• Morality Pet: Downplayed and a literal example. As of Book 4, while Meelo isn't anywhere near evil, he has taken a level in jerkass and Poki is the only one he's mostly nice to.
• Parrot Pet Position: Poki usually sits on Meelo's arm.
• Ridiculously Cute Critter: A flying, ring-tailed lemur. So cute!
• Undying Loyalty: Follows Meelo everywhere.

Bum-Ju

Bum-Ju

Voiced by: Dee Bradley Baker

The pet dragonfly-rabbit spirit that Bumi befriends in Book 2 and keeps him as a pet.

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• Blue Is Heroic: Bum-Ju is usually a friendly spirit whose main color is cyan (light blue).
• The Conscience: Acts as one to Bumi when he and Tenzin get into a huge fight.
• Ear Wings: What appears to be his rabbit ears turn out to be wings that allow him to fly.
• Meaningful Name: His name is a play on Bumi's.
• Parrot Pet Position: He's either on or around Bumi's shoulder.
• Sapient Pet: He functions as both a pet and The Conscience to Bumi, who understands his squeaks as words.
• Undying Loyalty: To Bumi. When his human friend was about to fall, Bum-Ju tried to lift him to safety.

Pepper

Pepper

Voiced by: Dee Bradley Baker

Jinora's pet Sky Bison that helped her and her siblings look for Korra in Book 4.

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• Giant Flyer: Sky bison, natch.
• Meaningful Name: Pepper was given her name due to the freckles on her nostril.
• Youthful Freckles: Has a lot of them on her nose.