Webcomic / The Legend of Genji

A new legend begins...^note Clockwise from front: Genji, Nami, Po, Maya, Luan, Kalsang, and Aiko Hibana.

"The future may be uncertain, but Korra's spirit lives on. I have faith that the cycle of the Avatar has begun anew."

— Jinora, "Prologue: End of an Era"

The Legend of Genji is a Fan Sequel Webcomic series set thirty-five years after the ending of The Legend of Korra. It was put together by a team of volunteer writers and artists from around the world who are fans of the series.

Fire. Air. Water. Earth.

The next Earth Avatar, a sandbender named Genji, is born into a world of political instability, social revolution, and looming war. When the White Lotus is unable to locate the next Avatar, they begin to fear the cycle may have ended forever. Watching the world fall into disarray, certain individuals decide to take matters into their own hands, creating their own perfect Avatar to bring light and hope back to the world. Genji will discover the truth about his own identity and embark on a journey to understand who he is and what it means to be a modern Avatar.

This webcomic is a rewrite of a short-lived 2017 Avatar fan comic that ran for two-and-a-half chapters on Tapas Media before being abruptly discontinued, then later deleted. The reason for this was that Macky Neal, the webcomic's creator (as well as the only person who had been working on the comic up until then), became dissatisfied with her work and brought in a new creative team to redo the series. For those interested, the original fan comic can still be found on Tumblr at the following links: Old Prologue, Chapter One part 1, and Chapter Two part 1. The old prologue and first chapter can also be found here on the creator's former DeviantArt account.

The webcomic debuted in 2022 with its first chapter, "The Avatar Returns", being divided into five parts that were published on a biweekly schedule from April 16th to June 18th. The comic is primarily hosted here on Webtoon for free. It is also available as a motion comic on YouTube.

For more information, you can see the project's official website and Tumblr page.

Previews: Prologue: End of an Era, Book 1 Trailer

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The Legend of Genji provides examples of:

• The '60s: Word of God says that the time period the comic takes place in is based off the 1960's and early 70's, with the setting's technology having the aesthetics of that era. The setting's culture is also very evocative of the 60's with the rise of mass media, celebrity culture, political unrest, and even the Avatar universe's own version of Star Trek: The Original Series.
• Adaptational Expansion:
  • The old prologue that was posted in 2017 as part of the discontinued Tapas version showed Korra's funeral being held at Air Temple Island. The new prologue released on YouTube in 2019 has the same funeral but with a few additional scenes that show how the rest of the world reacted to Korra's death.
  • Parts 1 and 2 of "The Avatar Returns" are a revised retelling of the first chapter from the discontinued Tapas comic. However, there is an additional scene not found in the original version that takes place inside the Earth Federation Royal Palace shortly after Luan's celebrated return to Ba Sing Se where he and the White Lotus members accompanying him meet with Bao Jun and the Dai Li.
• Adaptational Location Change: In the original Tapas version, the scene where Nami is introduced and Tomkin meets with Rohan took place in the Northern Water Tribe's tribal education office in Agna Qel'a. Here, Nami's introduction and meeting with Rohan instead takes place at Air Temple Island.
• Adaptation Deviation: In the original iteration of the comic, Genji tries to tell his mother about the eviction letter he received from their apartment's landlord, but she is too tired to listen and asks him to wait until tomorrow morning. Here, Genji is the one who decides to hold off on telling his mother about the letter because he can see how overworked and exhausted she already is, and doesn't want to ruin her day by adding on more stress.
• Adapted Out:
  • In the original 2017 prologue, there was a panel showing an older Ikki, Meelo, and Rohan attending the vigil being held for the late Korra on Air Temple Island. In the revamped prologue, none of the three are seen at the vigil.
  • Nami's best friend Miska from the discontinued Tapas version is noticeably absent in the Webtoon version due to Nami's backstory being changed so that she had a Friendless Background.
• Affectionate Gesture to the Head:
  • Zahra touches Shai's head while hugging her upon returning to her apartment.
  • When Genji tells his mother that she deserves a good night's sleep after her long day of work, she thanks him by affectionately ruffling his hair.
  • Right before she heads out to the Fire Nation embassy, Hitomi takes a moment to gently hold Aiko's cheek.
  • During their first visit to Air Temple Island, Tomkin pats Nami's head while talking about how gifted she is with spirits. Nami finds this gesture embarrassing and reacts by blushing while pulling on one of her braids.
• All for Nothing: Genji spends the latter half of "The Avatar Returns" desperately trying to raise money to pay off the rent for his family's apartment. He first tries his luck at an underground fight club, only to get curb-stomped by the more experienced fighters. Seeing no other option, he accepts a shady job offer to (albeit unknowingly) smuggle explosives to a group of rebel sandbenders. For his help, Genji is paid with enough cash to afford his rent and returns home... only for his apartment to get destroyed during a terrorist attack. Even worse, said attack was carried out by the aforementioned rebels using the very same bombs that he delivered to them.
• Ancestral Name:
  • Genji was actually named after his paternal grandmother, a feisty and fearless old woman who served as the matriarch of the Hami Tribe.
  • Iknik Blackstone Varrick has a son who he named Iknik Blackstone Varrick II. He also insisted that his son name his grandson "Iknik III" and was disappointed when he didn't.
  • Two of Bolin and Opal's children are named after their family members; their son San is named after Bolin and Mako's father, while their youngest daughter Toph Beifong II is named in honor of Opal's grandmother, the original Toph Beifong.
• Aside Glance: In "The Avatar Returns: Part III", two Air Nomads give an annoyed glance to the reader when their meditation is abruptly disrupted by Kalsang's loud greeting.
• Babies Ever After: Varrick and Zhu Li had a son and daughter during the 35-year time skip.
• Bait-and-Switch Compassion: Occurs in "The Avatar Returns: Part III" between Aiko and her mother. After upsetting Aiko with the news that she's cancelled their family bonding time due to a work-related emergency, Hitomi gently cups her daughter's face in a way that suggests she's about to say something to cheer her up. Instead, she just tells her daughter to stop wearing lipstick because it isn't appropriate for someone of her status.
• Bearer of Bad News: When Genji returns home after picking up his sister from school, he finds an eviction notice in his mother's mail which she hasn't read yet. When Genji's mother finally returns home later that night, he initially tries to tell her the bad news but decides to withhold it until tomorrow after seeing how she's already stressed out from being unable to work her night shift thanks to a recently enacted curfew.
• Big "NO!": Played for laughs. In "The Avatar Returns: Part II", Genji and Shai simultaneously scream "NOOOOO!" when they see their favorite probending team lose another match on TV.
• Blank White Eyes: Nami gets these twice in the first chapter; first after hearing Kalsang call her "the haunted girl", and later when she gets startled by Kalsang Suddenly Shouting during her tour of Air Temple Island.
• Boobs-and-Butt Pose: In "The Avatar Returns: Part V", Aiko strikes this pose twice during her photo shoot with Luan at the party.
• Broad Strokes: It's implied by the project's website that The Legend of Genji takes place in an Alternate Continuity that largely ignores the events of Ruins of the Empire, as the website mentions how the Earth Kingdom's first elections in Gaoling went smoothly and that the Earth Federation elected its first president later that same year. This contradicts Ruins of the Empire, which ended with the Gaoling elections being declared null due to Commander Guan's interference, and King Wu deciding to delay his abdication for a little longer so he could ease the Earth Kingdom's transition to a democracy. That being said, the webcomic still includes elements of Ruins of the Empire in its world-building such as Kuvira and Baatar Jr. being sentenced to house arrest in Zaofu.
• Bus Crash:
  • Tenzin, Bumi, Kya, Zuko, Katara, and Izumi all passed away from natural causes during the Time Skip between The Legend of Korra and The Legend of Genji.
  • According to this Tumblr post by one of the writers, Naga died during the timeskip sometime after Korra's death.
• Call a Rabbit a "Smeerp":
  • Varrick invented the Avatar universe's version of comic books, which he calls "comicals". He got the idea while trying to get his Bookworm son more interested in movers. It didn't work, but his comicals nevertheless proved to be an extremely successful business venture.
  • A "colorset" is what people in-universe call color television.
• Calling the Old Woman Out: In "The Avatar Returns: Part V", Genji gets Caught Coming Home Late by Zahra, who scolds him over how worried he made her by suddenly disappearing in the middle of the night. This causes Genji to snap and call out his mother over how she's always absent from his life and is barely around for him and Shai. Zahra is surprised by her son's outburst and claims he isn't being fair to her since she's a Struggling Single Mother who has to work everyday just to financially support their family. Genji's response is to bitterly retort that Life Isn't Fair.
• Caught Coming Home Late: In "The Avatar Returns: Part V", Genji returns home in the dead of night and stealthily climbs through the window of his apartment, only to find his mother waiting for him inside and ready to chew him out for Sneaking Out at Night during a city-wide curfew.
• Cincinnatus: During the time skip, Suyin stepped down from her position as the ruler of Zaofu (now an independent city-state) and helped set up free elections so her people could choose their own leaders.
• City on the Water: The Ocean Folk are famous for their floating cities, which they built atop ocean waters using vine and clay. They used to live in coastal villages but were driven off their lands by Earth Kingdom colonizers in ancient times.
• The Clan: The Ocean Folk are divided into different clans based on specific bending lineages and roles in the community. The only two known clans so far are the Clay Clan (consisting of earthbenders who build the Ocean Folk's floating cities) and the Boat Clan (consisting of waterbenders who use their bending to fish).
• Clothing-Concealed Injury: "The Avatar Returns: Part IV" reveals that the bandages Genji wears around his arms aren't just a fashion statement about his cultural pride in being a sandbender. They also hide the bruises on Genji's arms from fighting in the Sandbox.
• Confused Question Mark: At the beginning of "The Avatar Returns: Part III", Aiko gets a speech bubble with a question mark when she hears her mother calling her name.
• Continuity Nod:
  • Genji and his family are part of the Hami Tribe, which was the same tribe that the sandbenders who stole Appa from Aang in the Avatar: The Last Airbender episode "The Library" came from.
  • Luan was born in Gaoling, the same city that Toph and her parents were originally from.
  • Similar to Korra, the false Avatar Luan was taught how to metalbend by the Beifong family in Zaofu.
  • One of the reporters trying to interview Luan at the start of the webcomic mentions how there are student protests going on in Omashu, which was the city that Bumi (Aang's childhood friend, not his son) was from.
  • Genji and Shai are big fans of the Fire Ferrets, the very same pro-bending team that Korra, Mako, and Bolin used to be a part of.
  • Aiko is a student at the Royal Fire Nation Academy for Girls, the same one that Azula, Mai, Ty Lee, and Kyoshi's lover Rangi attended.
  • The luxury hotel that Aiko and her mother are staying at during their visit to Ba Sing Se in Chapter 1 is named after Varrick and owned by his company.
  • The spirit portal that Korra opened in Republic City in "The Last Stand" is visible in the distance during the scene where Nami and her father are disembarking from their airship after having arrived at Air Temple Island.
  • "The Avatar Returns: Part IV" opens with Genji getting easily defeated by his opponent in the Sandbox. This wouldn't be the first time we've seen an Avatar get their ass handed to them in an underground Earth Kingdom fighting club.
• Contrapposto Pose: Aiko can be seen taking up this pose in "The Avatar Returns: Part V" during the scene where Hitomi is warning her not to embarrass herself as they're about to introduce themselves to Luan.
• Create Your Own Hero: Some individuals went behind everyone's backs and tries to create an Avatar of their own in hopes to restore peace to the world.
• Curb-Stomp Battle: Genji is subjected to one when he tries to take on Quicksand in the Sandbox. While this clearly isn't his first scuffle, it's plainly obvious to any observers that Genji is outmatched by his older and more experienced opponent. Genji fails to land a single hit on Quicksand, who spends most of the match toying with him to amuse the audience. The only time he ever manages to fight back is when he kicks a wave of sand that Quicksand effortlessly takes advantage of to fuel his own Finishing Move.
• Curse Cut Short: Occurs in the first chapter when Genji banters with his boss at the repair shop he works at.
  Old Man Lao: Pfft. As if they'd let a dusty sandbender like you pass through the gates [of Ba Sing Se].
  Genji: Yeah, 'cause they'd definitely welcome your greasy old— [ducks as Lao throws a wrench past his head]
  Old Man Lao: Shut it, or instead of wages you're gettin' a fat bar of soap in your mouth!
• Dances and Balls: Throughout Chapter 1, several characters mention an upcoming formal party that Ba Sing Se's political elite are holding to celebrate the Earth Federation's recent treaty with the Fire Nation. Given that Luan is believed to be the Avatar and Aiko is the Fire Nation ambassador's daughter, both are naturally expected to be in attendance, though neither are particularly thrilled by the idea. Luan would rather spend more time practicing for his earthbending exam, while Aiko dismisses the entire event as "mak[ing] chitchat with a bunch of fat nobles and tak[ing] pictures".
• Dead Fic: The Tumblr has a post from January 2023 saying that the project was over and that the team was moving on to other things.
• Deliberate Values Dissonance: Hitomi Hibana, a noblewoman from the traditional Fire Nation aristocracy, considers it inappropriate for a lady to wear lipstick and chides Aiko for doing so.
• Democracy Is Flawed: The Earth Kingdom has successfully made the transition from a confederate monarchy to a democratic federation. However, the country was plagued throughout its history by problems of corruption and political infighting, which have carried over into the new Earth Federation. Most of the power is concentrated in the hands of the wealthy and the upper classes, resulting in a technical but heavily corrupt democratic system. Issues like expansionist politics, social inequality, and poverty are also still a problem. In addition, fringe cultures like the sandbender tribes are frequently subjected to racism and forced off their lands so the government can harvest their resources.
• Desert Bandits: This is the default view held by most outsiders towards the sandbender tribes, believing them to be nothing more than a roving pack of thieves who prey on weary travelers lost in the desert. While some sandbenders (known as sand raiders) play this straight, the majority of sandbender society actually subverts this trope and even considers raiding to be a shameful act.
• Disability Superpower: Ikki has a son named Songtai who was born hard of hearing, but was taught how to compensate for it by using soundbending to amplify his hearing. Despite this, Songtai still prefers communicating through sign language even though his vocal chords are presumably fine.
• Disappeared Dad: The only thing we really know about Genji's father is that he left his family and returned to the Si Wong Desert not long after they were forcibly relocated to Jinsha. It's implied that Genji holds some resentment towards his father for abandoning him and his mother.
• Distant Prologue: The prologue has Jinora delivering an eulogy at Korra's funeral just days after Korra's Heroic Sacrifice. The first chapter then jumps ahead seventeen years to the main story.
• Distant Sequel: The Legend of Genji is set about 35 years after The Legend of Korra, by which point most of Korra's mentors and friends are either retired, dead from old age, or have become middle-aged adults with families of their own.
• Dress-Coded for Your Convenience: The Earth Federation's soldiers wear matching green-and-black military uniforms with face masks that make them clearly stick out from the masses. Meanwhile, the Red Sands rebels wear plain sleeveless vests and tunics with a single piece of red clothing being the only thing that visually distinguishes them from the regular civilians in Jinsha.
• The Empire: The Earth Federation fits all the criteria for this trope despite technically being a democracy. It is the largest and most populated country in the world, has control over an entire continent, and consist of many different ethnicities with a single "main" ethnic group having dominance over the rest. It is militarized and expansionist, invading the territories of weaker tribes to take their natural resources and culturally assimilate them. Finally, they have a tense relationship with the United Republic, seek to make their army the strongest in the world, and the goal of their current administration is to establish a global hegemony.
• Every Year They Fizzle Out: The Fire Ferrets haven't won a single probending match for the last seventeen years. It doesn't stop Genji and Shai from being big fans of the team despite their consistent losing streak.
• Face Palm:
  • "The Avatar Returns: Part III" has Rohan doing this as a Funny Background Event in response to hearing Kalsang tell Nami how he's going to give her the "cool version" of the Air Temple Island tour.
  • Hitomi has this reaction in "The Avatar Returns: Part V" upon seeing the outfit Aiko chose to wear to the state banquet.
• Faceless Masses:
  • The cheering crowds welcoming Luan back to Ba Sing Se at the start of "The Avatar Returns" are mostly made up of black silhouettes.
  • Used during the formal party in "The Avatar Returns: Part V". Only Aiko, Hitomi, Luan, and five other extras are drawn fully colored. The rest of the partygoers in the background are depicted as poorly-detailed outlines of people.
• Fan-Created Offspring:
  • Kalsang is the son of Jinora and Kai.
  • Songtai, Rei, Lin-Ling, and Kaleo are all Ikki's children.
  • Bolin and Opal have four children named Jade, San, Samir, and Toph II.
  • Rin is the estranged daughter of Mako.
  • Izumi's daughter has a son named Kazuo, who in turn is the father of three children named Shiroi, Kasumi, and Masaru.
  • Varrick and Zhu Li had two children named Iknik II and Minli. Iknik II grew up to become a private writer while Minli would inherit her father's business empire after he retired.
• Fantastic Ableism: Prior to Book 1, Nami attended a private waterbending academy in the Northern Water Tribe where she endured bullying and harassment from her peers for her inability to waterbend.
• Fantastic Ghetto: According to these Tumblr posts, Genji and his family live in an area of Jinsha known as the Sand Quarter, which was where many sandbenders took up residence after being forced off their ancestral homes. This is a result of the Earth Federation government's ongoing efforts to culturally assimilate the displaced sandbenders by providing them with subsidized housing in nearby cities. All this really did was create urban slums where the sandbenders experienced poverty and disenfranchisement.
• Fantastic Racism:
  • Sandbenders and other fringe cultures face this from the "main" Earth Federation ethnic group, who seek to erase their cultures and assimilate them into their own.
  • Sandbenders in general are negatively stereotyped as thieves and bandits, which is why so few were willing to help them when the Earth Federation invaded their territory. In cities like Jinsha, sandbenders are a distrusted minority and public displays of sandbending are frowned upon. In "The Avatar Returns: Part II", Genji openly sandbending while playing with Shai earns him disapproving glares from several bystanders. Zahra claims in "The Avatar Returns: Part V" that the police wouldn't hesitate to throw Genji in jail just for being a sandbender if they caught him outside late at night.
  • The Earth Federation itself faces this from the United Republic, who have not forgotten Kuvira's invasion, the aftereffects of which are still felt even many decades after it happened. The United Republic has also expanded its military in order to be better prepared for any future challenges to their nation's legitimacy and many of its citizens bear a grudge, if not outright hatred, against the Earth Federation.
• Fantasy Counterpart Culture: Inheritted from the original series of course. In particular the Si Wong tribes and their plight mirror that of real world Central Asians and their oppression by China and Russia.
• Fantasy Pantheon: Similar to the Northern Water Tribe's worship of Tui and La, the Ocean Folk worship the twin spirits Di and Shui. Di is the earth and land spirit who represents feminine energies while Shui is the water and sea spirit who represents masculine energies.
• Fascists' Bed Time: In response to a series of violent student protests in Omashu, President Bao Jun declares a regional curfew forbidding anyone to be out after sunset. Said curfew isn't limited to just Omashu and extends to several other cities including Jinsha, which Genji's mother complains isn't even geographically close to Omashu.
• The Federation: After Kuvira's surrender, Avatar Korra and Prince Wu reformed the Earth Empire into the Earth Federation, breaking the huge nation into different states with elected leaders for each state.
• Fictional Document: Benderteen is a celebrity gossip magazine aimed at teens that the false Avatar Luan regularly does exclusive interviews for.
• Fictional Geneva Conventions: In the aftermath of Kuvira's invasion of Republic City, which saw the use of a railway gun powered by spirit vines, laws were put into place that strictly banned weaponizing spirit energy, not that that's stopped terrorist groups like the Red Lotus from trying. Despite this, the project's website mentions how there are rumors that spirit energy is still secretly being used to create dangerous weapons. Said rumors turn out to be true in "The Avatar Returns: Part IV", where it's revealed that Malik was somehow able to get ahold of an entire shipment of spirit energy grenades, which he had Genji deliver to a group of rebels. When Genji goes to retrieve the grenades from Malik's sand-sailer, it's shown that they were being stored in metal boxes that had Onyx Incorporated's logo on them, implying that Onyx Inc. is illegally developing spirit-vine weapons.
• Fictional Sport: According to the project's website, the Ocean Folk have a sport called eel-dolphin racing, presumably a form of animal racing, which has gained a little popularity in the other nations.
• Fictional United Nations: The Global Assembly is an international organization formed by Korra and the world leaders with the purpose of promoting peace and cooperation between all nations. The Assembly is comprised of representatives from each nation and is headquartered in Republic City, much like how the real-life U.N. has its headquarters in New York City (which Republic City was based on). One of their primary goals is to ensure that something like Kuvira's invasion never happens again.
• Fight Clubbing: The Sandbox is an illegal underground fighting ring where sandbenders are pitted against each other for cash prizes. Genji's character bio mentions how he occasionally partakes in the fights to blow off steam and earn extra money for his family.
• Foil:
  • Genji has this dynamic with Luan. Luan is a fake Avatar who spent most of his life being groomed for the position and believing that he was the real deal. Genji is the real Avatar, but grew up unaware of his true destiny and is completely unprepared for the responsibilities that come with being the Avatar. Luan comes from an upper-middle class family in Gaoling and lives near the Earth Federation Royal Palace, while Genji comes from a poor sandbender tribe and lives in a rundown apartment in Jinsha. Luan is an international celebrity with a Loved by All status in the Earth Federation, while Genji is a nobody whose sandbender heritage alone would probably earn him scorn from most of the Federation's citizens. Luan was given the best education that money and fame could buy, whereas Genji dropped out of his school. Luan strongly supports the Earth Federation and the policies of its president, whereas Genji feels nothing but contempt for both.
  • Genji and Aiko. Genji comes from a lower-class family of sandbenders in the Earth Federation while Aiko is the daughter of a Fire Nation noblewoman. Genji was raised by his biological parents while Aiko was adopted as a baby. Genji was a chronic truant who struggled in school and later dropped out to help earn extra money for his family, whereas Aiko is a top student at a prestigious royal academy and constantly strives for perfection in her schoolwork. Whereas Genji regularly struggles to raise enough money to pay his rent, Aiko is a Lonely Rich Kid who has plenty of money to burn.
• Four Lines, All Waiting: By the end of the first chapter, the reader is introduced to four separate plotlines. First, there's Genji doing his best to look after his mother and sister as he deals with the everyday struggles of being part of the lower class. Then there's Luan dealing with the mounting pressure of being the Avatar as he gets ready for his upcoming earthbending exam. Next, we have Aiko's conflict with her mother stemming from the latter's absence in the former's life. And finally, there is Nami attempting to adjust to her new life as an Air Acolyte after leaving her home in the Northern Water Tribe and moving to a foreign land.
• Frantic Object Concealment: In "The Avatar Returns: Part III", Nami does this with Po by grabbing him and hiding him behind her back so that Kalsang won't notice him. This later turned out to be unnecessary since Kalsang is unable to see spirits.
• Girly Skirt Twirl: In "The Avatar Returns: Part V", Aiko does this while showing off her new party dress to her mother.
• Gosh Dang It to Heck!: The Red Sands leader that Genji gives Malik's briefcases to in the fourth part of Chapter 1 screams "DANGIT!" when she accidentally spills one of the cases onto the ground. Seeing how the briefcases were being used to transport spirit-powered grenades, her reaction is understandable.
• Government Conspiracy: At the start of the comic, the Earth Federation government is involved in a global conspiracy to fool the world into believing that Luan is the Avatar.
• Great Offscreen War: The Foggy Swamp & Sandbender Rebellions that took place about twenty years before the start of Book 1. It was a pair of uprisings staged by the indigenous Foggy Swamp and Si Wong tribes against the larger Earth Federation after the Federation attempted to expel the natives from their homelands through military force. The Foggy Swamp Rebellion resulted in the swampbenders gaining their independence after driving away the Federation's armies with the help of Avatar Korra herself. However, the Sandbender Rebellion was not as lucky and got steamrolled by the technologically superior Earth Federation, which would place the Si Wong Desert under military occupation over the next few decades while they mined the desert's underground oil deposits.
• Hand Behind Head:
  • A flustered Luan does this in "The Avatar Returns: Part II" when Bao Jun praises him for his metalbending prowess upon the former's return to the Earth Federation Royal Palace.
  • Genji also does this later in the same chapter when he's bringing his little sister home from school and is trying to explain why he can't let her walk home alone like she wants.
• Handwraps of Awesome: Genji wears hand wraps while covertly transporting Malik's briefcases to the Red Sands agents waiting in the alley.
  • This seems to be a popular choice of clothing for sandbenders in general as every sandbender in Jinsha is seen sporting bandages wrapped around their arms with the occasional handwrap.
• Happy Ending Override: Downplayed. Korra's accomplishments aren't negated but she does die whilst only being middle-aged, causing global distress at her premature passing.
• He Knows Too Much: Desperate for rent money, Genji is convinced by Malik to accept a smuggling job for a group of rebels, but isn't told what he will be smuggling. After handing over a pair of briefcases to the rebels, one of the cases is accidentally spilled onto the ground, revealing to Genji what he had been transporting: glowing black-and-purple orbs that are implied to be grenades powered by spirit vines. Believing Genji to have seen too much, the rebel leader immediately turn on him and try to capture him. Subverted when she realizes that Genji's just a teen and is reluctant to harm him.
• Hereditary Twinhood: Just like her brothers Wei and Wing, Opal Beifong and Bolin have twin sons named San and Samir Beifong.
• Hero Secret Service: The Dai Li appear to have largely replaced the White Lotus as the Avatar's protectors. At the start of the comic, Luan is shown being escorted by the Dai Li upon his return to Ba Sing Se and he's later assigned a squad of Dai Li agents as his protection detail.
• Heroic Sacrifice: About seventeen years before the start of the comic, an unnamed group of terrorists detonated a bomb powered by spirit vines in the heart of Ba Sing Se. To save the city, Korra used her energybending to redirect the bomb's blast upward into a Pillar of Light visible from miles away. Even though she stopped the terrorists' plot and saved millions of innocent lives in the process, the strain from channeling that much spirit energy through her body killed her.
• History Repeats: The Water Tribe Avatar dies young, prompting people to seek out a successor and pick the wrong one. According to the team, this wasn’t intentional as this part of the plot was planned before the Kyoshi novels.
• Insistent Terminology: Neither Nami nor her father are pleased when Kalsang refers to her as "the haunted girl". Rohan corrects Kalsang by insisting that she's not haunted but "spiritually gifted".
• Invisible to Normals: Air Temple Island is chock-full of small spirits who freely wander the halls, hang out at the kitchen, and hover near meditating monks. Nami with her unique True Sight is apparently the only one who notices them as when she tries to ask Kalsang and Songtai about the spirits, the two merely respond with confusion.
• Kid Hero All Grown-Up: All of Tenzin's kids are now adults with each having become an airbending master. Just before he died, Tenzin divided responsibility for the four Air Temples between his children: Jinora was given the Eastern Temple, Ikki was given the Southern Temple, Meelo was given the Western Temple, and Rohan was given Air Temple Island.
• Kinder and Cleaner: While the discontinued 2017 webcomic had a single usage of "shit", the rewritten version that was released on Webtoon and YouTube contains no profanity.
• Land of One City: Zaofu is now its own sovereign city-state completely outside the Earth Federation's authority. According to the timeline, Zaofu officially seceded from the Earth Federation two decades ago. The timing of this event implies that this was done in protest of the Federation invading the Foggy Swamp and Si Wong Desert.
• The Legend of X: The webcomic is titled The Legend of Genji.
• Life Isn't Fair: Genji uses this line to cap off his argument with his mother during his Calling the Old Woman Out moment in "The Avatar Returns: Part V".
  Zahra: ...Genji, you know that isn't fair.
  Genji: Yeah? Well as we all know by now, life isn't fair.
• Life Will Kill You: Whilst Korra's team are still around, most of her mentors and the Gaang, along with their offspring, have long since passed. As powerful, skilled and badass as they were, they were still human and old age eventually caught up to them.
• Lightswitch Surprise: How Genji is Caught Coming Home Late by his mother in "The Avatar Returns: Part V". Upon returning home from his late-night excursion, Genji sneaks back inside by climbing through a window into a darkened room, only for the lights to suddenly switch on, revealing Zahra casually leaning on a nearby doorway with her finger over a lightswitch on the wall.
• Locked Out of the Loop: Those behind the fake Avatar conspiracy are careful to ensure that Luan remains unaware of the truth since the lie becomes more convincing if Luan himself actually believes it.
• Make Some Noise: The webcomic introduces a new subset of airbending called "soundbending", which involves manipulating air currents to muffle or amplify soundwaves. It was invented by Ikki during her time with the Republic City Orchestra. She also passed down the ability to her son Songtai.
• Might as Well Not Be in Prison at All: A Tumblr post by the series' creators explains that Zaheer was able to continue leading the Red Lotus from within his underground prison by meditating into the Spirit World and issuing orders to his disciples from there.
• Mirror Character: Genji and Aiko are both 17-year-olds who feel neglected by their single, working mothers because they barely spend any time with them due to working at a demanding job.
• Mix-and-Match Critters:
  • Luan's animal companion is a peacat (a fusion between a cat and a peacock) named Yin Cheng.
  • The comic's website mentions that one of the Ocean Folk's most popular sports involve racing using "eel-dolphins".
  • While asking Genji to deliver some illegal goods for him, Malik explains that the reason he can't do it himself was because the authorities were watching him and his crew like "eagle-hawks".
• Mundane Utility: In the prologue, a parade of Fire Nation soldiers, led by Iroh II, use their firebending to create torches in their hands as part of a candlelight vigil to mourn Korra's passing.
• Mutant Draft Board: Downplayed. As part of the Ocean Folk's treaty with the Earth Federation, they are required to hand over their strongest benders to be trained as agents of the Dai Li, regardless of their age. As an example, Maya got recruited when she was 10.
• Mythology Gag:
  • The trailer for Book 1 uses its own version of the iconic Opening Narration from Avatar: The Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra, narrated by a woman implied to be Jinora.
    "Fire. Air. Water. Earth. Following Avatar Korra's death, the world entered a new age of uncertainty and instability. The fate of the Avatar cycle remained a mystery, and light and peace rapidly faded from the world. Rivalries between nations intensified. Human-spirit relations deteriorated. And in the shadows, dark powers began to stir. As the world's nations found themselves at the brink of war, a choice was made. Truth was abandoned in the name of harmony, and the Avatar returned."
  • The first comic, "The Avatar Returns", shares a title with the second episode of Avatar: The Last Airbender.
  • When Malik asks Genji for his help in a smuggling operation, the latter turns him down at first, bringing up a Noodle Incident involving cabbages as the reason he is uninterested. This is a nod to the Cabbage Man, a Recurring Extra in Avatar: The Last Airbender who kept having his cabbages destroyed by the Gaang as a Running Gag.
• Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Those briefcases that Genji delivered to the Red Sands in Chapter 1 as a favor for Malik? They contained grenades powered by spirit-energy which the Red Sands use to blow up several buildings, one of which turns out to be Genji's own apartment.
• No Blood for Phlebotinum:
  • In the comic's backstory, the Earth Federation annexed the Si Wong Desert and displaced the indigenous sandbender tribes because they wanted access to the rich deposits of oil and ore below the desert.
  • It's mentioned on the comic's website that the Earth Federation also tried to invade the Foggy Swamp for its wood but were stopped by Korra, who declared the swamp protected lands. She wasn't able to do the same for the Sandbenders in the Si Wong Desert because the two events happened at the same time and she was only able to protect one of them.
• Non-Heteronormative Society:
  • The modern Air Nation under Tenzin and Jinora's leadership universally accepts all LGBTQ+ identities just like their Air Nomad ancestors.
  • The Ocean Folk are similarly said to be very accepting of LGBTQ+ people. In their society, transgender individuals are called "twice-blessed" and play important roles as spiritual advisors for their tribe. The reason behind this is that the Ocean Folk follow a ditheistic^note Believing in the existence of two gods.religion that views trans people as having been blessed by both their major deities.
• Noodle Incident: Genji initially wants nothing to do with whatever gig Malik is offering him, claiming that nothing good ever came from working with him and bringing up a past incident involving cabbages.
• Noun Verber: In-universe, there's a science fiction TV show that Kalsang really loves called Starbenders.
• Occupiers Out of Our Country: A lot of sandbenders are understandably peeved about the whole "kicked out of their homes so the government can mine their oil" thing with some turning to outright terrorism in an attempt to take back their homelands from the Earth Federation.
• Oh, Crap!: Genji at the end of "The Avatar Returns" when his argument with his mom is interrupted by the sound of a bomb exploding outside his apartment, followed by another bomb going off right next to his apartment's window.
• One Head Taller: Invoked and defied. While giving Aiko money to buy shoes for an upcoming state banquet, Hitomi stresses the importance of buying "subtle" footwear (i.e. won't make Aiko appear tall) since she plans on introducing her daughter to Avatar Luan and doesn't want to potentially embarrass the Avatar by making him feel short. Still angry that her mother had broken her promise to go shopping with her, Aiko does the exact opposite out of spite and arrives to the party wearing high heels that make her seem several inches taller than Luan.
  • At the party, a photographer also tries to invoke this by asking Aiko to bend her knees a little so Luan won't look short in the photo he's taking of them standing together. This is once again defied with Aiko refusing and Luan insisting that there's no need for that.
• Original Character:
  • Most of the comic's characters (including all of the protagonists) are fan-made with no canonical counterparts. While there are a couple of exceptions like Rohan and Jinora, they're either given the O.C. Stand-in treatment or are Demoted to Extra.
  • In addition to the four nations and United Republic, there is a sixth people in the form of the Ocean Folk. They are based on African and Polynesian people, an ethnic and cultural group not displayed in the original series, and were formed from Earth Kingdom and Water Tribe intermingling.
• Outliving One's Offspring: Tonraq and Sena are still alive, having outlived Korra due to her tragic early passing.
• Parental Fashion Veto: Downplayed in "The Avatar Returns: Part V". It's obvious that Hitomi doesn't approve of the pink dress and high heels that Aiko chose to wear to a state banquet. However, she begrudgingly lets it slide since she doesn't want to make a scene in front of the other dignitaries, but makes it clear to Aiko that they will be having "a little talk" once they return to their hotel room.
• Passing the Torch:
  • In his later years, Tenzin passed on leadership of the Air Nation to his eldest daughter Jinora.
  • After her Career-Ending Injury, Lin made the decision to retire and promoted Mako to her position as Republic City's police chief.
  • Varrick stepped down from leading Varrick Global Industries and handed control of the company over to his daughter Minli after she proved to be everything that he dreamt of in a successor.
• People's Republic of Tyranny: Downplayed with the Earth Federation, which is more akin to a somewhat democratic plutocracy. Their elections are tightly controlled by big corporations and the upper classes, while minority groups like the sandbenders are often disenfranchised.
• Percussive Maintenance: In the first chapter, Shai tells Genji that the TV in their apartment is broken and panics since she doesn't want to miss the probending match being aired. Genji fixes their TV by banging it with his fist.
• Personality Powers: Discussed on the comic's website while comparing the culture of the Earth Federation to that of the sandbender tribes.
  The Earth Federation wants sandbenders to conform to the stubborn immovability of earth, but sandbenders are as free as the sand that blows in the wind.
• Photo Montage: "The Avatar Returns: Part V" has a brief montage of Luan and Aiko striking up different Modeling Poses together for a photographer. All the while, Luan and Aiko converse with each other as the latter teases the former about the rumors surrounding him in the tabloids.
• President Evil:
  • Bao Jun is a Well-Intentioned Extremist variant of one, being the Earth Federation's president and a ruthless expansionist.
  • Jianwu, Bao Jun's predecessor, is another example. He's the one who started his country's aggressive expansionism in the first place and used his presidential powers to wage an unprovoked Resource War on the indigenous tribes of the Si Wong Desert and Foggy Swamp.
• Properly Paranoid: The United Republic expanded their military in the wake of Kuvira's invasion in order to be better prepared for any future challenges to their nation's sovereignty. Turns out they were right to do this, as the current Earth Federation president shares Kuvira's belief that the United Republic is illegitimate and formed from stolen territory he intends to reclaim.
• Protagonist Title: The title, of course, refers to the titular Genji, who is the next Avatar and the central protagonist of the webcomic.
• Pulled from Your Day Off: In "The Avatar Returns: Part III", Hitomi was planning to take the day off from her job as an ambassador so she could go clothes shopping with her daughter. However, something comes up at work that causes Hitomi to cancel their shopping trip at the last minute. This sudden change of plans dismays Aiko since all she really wanted was to spend time with her.
• Reality Has No Subtitles: The eviction notice from Zahra's landlord that Genji is shown reading at the end of "The Avatar Returns: Part II" is written using untranslated Chinese characters.
• Shirtless Scene: Genji spends a good chunk of "The Avatar Returns: Part IV" completely bare-chested while he fights in an underground sandbending tournament and bandages himself up after the match.
• Shout-Out:
  • Maya's character bio mentions that she enjoys reading comicals (the in-universe term for comic books) about a superhero called Wolfbatman in her spare time.
  • In the first chapter, one of Genji's co-workers uses the phrase "there's no place like home" while talking about how life in Jinsha isn't as bad as Genji thinks.
• Show Within a Show: Starbenders: A Journey Through Space is an in-universe sci-fi TV show which Kalsang is a diehard fan of. He's seen every episode, constantly pesters his family and friends with his Starbenders fan theories, and has even named his sky bison Aimee after one of the show's characters. Luan is also a big fan and has personally met the show's cast.
• Sibling Yin-Yang:
  • Mako and Bolin when it comes to their family lives. Mako is a divorced dad who pushed away his only daughter with his workaholic tendencies. Meanwhile, Bolin is Happily Married to Opal and maintains a healthy relationship with all four of his children.
  • Iknik II and Minli. Iknik II had little in common with his father and was an Inadequate Inheritor for his family's company, whereas Minli was a Generation Xerox of her father and proved to be everything Varrick was looking for in a successor. Iknik II is bookish and prefers to be alone, while Minli is talkative and easygoing with other people.
• Silent Scenery Panel: Both the original 2017 and revised 2022 versions of the webcomic are very prone to using these to transition between different scenes and establish where the next scene is taking place.
• Sneaking Out at Night:
  • According to this Tumblr post, Genji often sneaks out of his home at night to fight in the Sandbox to earn extra money when his family's finances get tight.
  • In "The Avatar Returns: Part IV", Genji (disguised in his sandbender garb) sneaks out of his apartment in order to carry out Malik's delivery. He gets Caught Coming Home Late by his mother in the following part.
• Snow Means Death: Korra's funeral in the prologue is marked with the imagery of snow falling at Air Temple Island, Ba Sing Se, and all three of the major spirit portals.
• Stacked Characters Poster: The poster for Book One features all six main characters stacked in a column with Genji at the bottom, Nami and Aiko in the lower-middle row, Maya and Kalsang in the upper-middle row, and finally Luan at the top.
• Stock Money Bag: "The Avatar Returns: Part IV" has Quicksand holding up a sack that contains his prize money to a cheering crowd after beating Genji in the Sandbox.
• Sunglasses at Night: "The Avatar Returns: Part V" opens with Aiko walking back to her hotel after a full day of shopping while wearing pink-tinted sunglasses, even though this scene is set during the nighttime.
• Superpowerful Genetics: Bolin had four children with Opal: Jade, San, Samir, and Toph II. Jade and San are earthbenders like their father while Samir and Toph II are airbenders like their mother. Jade has also inherited her father's ability to bend lava while San inherited metalbending from his mother's side of the family.
• Tabloid Melodrama: Discussed in "The Avatar Returns: Part V". When the paparazzi start taking photos of Luan and Aiko posing together, Luan lampshades how the two of them will probably become the subject of a "high society love story" in the papers and jokes about how people would go crazy for a Love Triangle between him, Aiko, and Jade.
• There Can Be Only One: This would be part of the premise of the comic.
• Tickertape Parade: At the start of the webcomic, Luan is thrown a tickertape parade upon returning to Ba Sing Se following the completion of his metalbending training.
• Tornado Move: The cover art for Book 1 shows Genji bending a miniature funnel cloud made of sand on the palm of his right hand. In "The Avatar Returns: Part II", Genji also sandbends a whirlwind which he uses to pick up and play with his little sister in order to cheer her up.
• The Unmasqued World: Despite Aang and Zuko keeping their promise to not tell anyone about the Sun Warriors, it eventually became impossible to keep their existence a secret from the rest of the world due to the rise in global travel and communication caused by the industrial boom that followed the end of the Hundred Year War. This meant that it was only a matter of time before someone stumbled across the Sun Warriors' hidden city and spread word of their discovery. By the present day, the public knows about the Sun Warriors and their territory is protected under Fire Nation law to prevent any outside interference.
• Veganopia: Downplayed by the modern Air Nation. According to the comic's website, most new airbenders adopted the Air Nomads' tradition of not eating meat, but it is neither required nor enforced by the Air Nation. However, "The Avatar Returns: Part III" implies that eating meat is still discouraged since Kalsang informs Nami during her tour that she won't find any meat on the Air Temple Island and claims that everyone there (himself included) practices vegetarianism.
• Wandering Culture: The sandbender tribes were traditionally nomadic traders and scavengers who wandered the Si Wong Desert atop sand-sailers. When the Earth Federation took over, they attempted to erase the sandbenders' culture by forcing them to move into urban areas where they struggled to adjust to the stationary nature of city life.
• What Happened to the Mouse?: Largely averted with the "What Happened To" posts but there are still a few characters whose fates aren't fully known.
  • Toph's "What Happened To" post states that she disappeared forever after returning to her swamp with no confirmation being given as to whether or not she died.
  • The fate of Bolin's pet Pabu is still a mystery. He has a brief cameo in an old photo of the Krew seen at Korra's funeral in the prologue, but otherwise isn't even mentioned in any of the "What Happened To" posts about Bolin and his children.
  • We still don't know what became of Tenzin's wife Pema or even if she's still alive by the time of Genji.
  • Despite covering the fates of nearly the entire Beifong family, no mention is made of Suyin's husband Baatar.
• "Where Are They Now?" Epilogue: Inverted with a "Where Are They Now?" Prologue in the form of the "What Happened To" posts released by the comic's creators on social media. These show aged-up images of the Gaang, Krew, and their families alongside small summaries that explain what became of them following the ending of The Legend of Korra.
  • Asami married Korra and mourned her when she died. She continues to lead a happy and fulfilling life as CEO of Future Industries.
  • Mako became the chief of Republic City's police force.
  • Bolin explores several different careers over the course of his life. His most recent career is producing movers and television variety shows for Varrick's media company.
  • Zuko, Katara, Tenzin, Kya, and Mai all peacefully passed away in their sleep from old age.
  • After earning his airbending master tattoos, Bumi spent his later years teaching airbending to children before succumbing to long-term illness.
  • Jinora took her father's place as the leader of the Air Nation.
  • Ikki joined an orchestra band where she met her future husband and invented soundbending.
  • Meelo briefly enlisted in the United Forces but left after deciding that the military just wasn't for him.
  • Rohan grew up to become a calm man with a deep respect for Air Nomad culture and traditions.
  • Toph spends a few more years living with her family before returning to the Foggy Swamp where she is never seen again.
  • Lin retired from the police after being badly injured during a case and moved to Zaofu where she works as a senior metalbending instructor.
  • Suyin retired from leading Zaofu and helped transition the city-state into a democracy.
  • Opal became a respected leader of the Air Nation who advocates for the development of clean energy through bending.
  • Baatar Jr. reconciled with his family and became a college lecturer.
  • Huan became a secret Eccentric Artist who randomly leaves his metal sculptures in cities.
  • After making power disc into an official sport, Wei settled down with a family while his twin brother Wing went on to become a famous athlete.
  • After Zuko's death, his dragon Druk leaves the Fire Nation to go live among the Sun Warriors.
  • Fire Lord Izumi abdicated her throne to her daughter and enjoyed a peaceful retirement with her husband until passing away at the ripe old age of 99.
  • After retiring from active service, Iroh II married his boyfriend and moved to Ember Island away from the public eye.
  • Varrick continued to expand his business with varying degrees of success while forming a rivalry with Jin Gao's Onyx Inc.
  • Zhu Li stepped down after serving a single term as the United Republic's president due to the stress of the job. She then spent a few years doing international humanitarian work before being nominated as head of the Global Assembly by Korra.
• When You Coming Home, Dad?:
  • Hitomi, spends so much time working as an ambassador for the Fire Nation that she often doesn't have time for her daughter Aiko, straining their relationship.
  • Zahra clearly loves her children, but is frequently absent from Genji and Shai's daily lives due to working several low-paying jobs. Genji is later revealed to hold some resentment towards his mother for this.
• Where No Parody Has Gone Before: The Show Within a Show Starbenders is a reference to Star Trek: The Original Series, being described as a low-budget science fiction TV show that airs during the Avatar universe's equivalent of The '60s, and features a group of heroes going on a journey through space.
• Wide Eyes and Shrunken Irises: Genji gets these in "The Avatar Returns: Part V" when he hears a bomb detonating outside his apartment.
• You Can't Go Home Again: By the end of the first chapter, the apartment that Genji and his family were living in is destroyed during a terrorist bombing, leaving them homeless.

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