Characters / The Legend of Korra - New Team Avatar

The Legend of Korra Main Character Index
New Team Avatar (Avatar Korra, Asami Sato) | Tenzin's Family | Beifong Family | Allies (Varrick and Zhu Li) | Seasons 1 & 2 Enemies | Seasons 3 & 4 Enemies (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.

Avatar Aang was not alone in his adventures up to seventy years ago, and neither is Avatar Korra today, as she realized being a hero would be too much to handle alone. This section details the titular Avatar Korra and her closest human (and animal) companions in her adventures.

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Character-Specific Pages

• Avatar Korra
• Asami Sato

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General

• The Ace: All four of them are incredibly skilled prodigies in their various fields and can rival anybody with their prowess (as explained in detail in their character pages). Even Bolin, who initially subverted this trend, becomes this in Book 4 after fully mastering Lavabending.
• All-Loving Hero: By the series finale, all of them have proven to go to any lengths to help those in need.
• Amicable Exes: Considering how horrendously messy the love quadrangle got between the four, they all eventually mature enough to put it behind them and be great friends.
• And the Adventure Continues: After defeating Kuvira and her Army, the group knows that they'll have other battles to fight in the future, but the series ends with them enjoying the peace they managed to earn.
• Badass Crew: As mentioned above individually every member of the Krew is formidable on their own, when together in a group or pair they tend to be almost unstoppable to all but the most dangerous of villains (this is especially apparent whenever their Honorary True Companions join in on a fight). They can take on threats no army or police can handle.
• Breaking the Fellowship: In Book 4, after the Time Skip; Mako and Asami are pursuing their own lives in Republic City, Bolin has signed on with Knight Templar Kuvira, and Korra is still trying to recover from the events of Book 3. Korra eventually mends her body, mind, and spirit, Bolin eventually sees Kuvira for the despot she is and bails, and Mako and Asami were still around in Republic City and welcomed the other two back with open arms.
• Break the Cutie: Each member has gone through moments that have personally damaged them and some part of their innocence, even Bolin's moments that are mostly Played for Laughs (i.e.running in tears after seeing Mako and Korra kiss), are hard to watch.
• Broken Ace: They all suffer a lot of personal heartbreaks and tragedies, both in the past and over the course of all four books, that change them as characters.
• Contrasting Sequel Main Character: They have some noticeable difference between themselves and the Gaang.
  • The Gaang formed continuously throughout all three seasons but the Krew were made by the halfway point of the first book and stayed that way for the rest of the series.
  • The Gaang all had official significant others with only minor Ship Tease between themselves and others while the members of the Krew dated one another in a Dating Do-Si-Do situation.
  • The Gaang were mostly comprised of teenagers but the Krew had older teens transitioning into young adults.
  • The Gaang's main enemy were those from the Fire Nation but the Krew had enemies from many different ethnicities and ironically their least fought enemies were from the Fire Nation.
  • Each Gaang member belonged to one specific nationality while each Krew member is of mixed ancestry.
  • The Gaang members all technically came from royalty while Avatar Aang was raised in a monastery; the Krew members weren't from royal lineage but Avatar Korra is.
  • The Gaang members had at least one living parent, except Aang, who didn't know his parents and his only Parental Substitute was killed while he was frozen; Korra's parents are alive and were active in their daughter's upbringing but each member of the Krew had lost their parents by the series finale.
• Cool People Rebel Against Authority: They just wouldn't be Team Avatar without this trope. The premise behind their formation was that they are aces who wanted to stick it to "The Man" (that man being Tarrlok), and fight injustice on their own terms. Plus, much of the authority figures they clashed with are obstructive jerks anyways, from Tarrlok to even the Earth Queen.
• Costume Evolution: In Book 4, all of them have new outfits that serve to symbolize how each of them have grown.
• Dating Do-Si-Do: In Book One Mako and Asami date, which leads to Korra and Bolin going on one date, before Mako begins two timing both Korra and Asami. With Bolin out, the Korra-Mako-Asami triangle eventually self destructs by the end of Book Two. The Grand Finale of Book Four has Korra and Asami get together instead. In contrast to the original Team Avatar (Aang and Katara, Sokka and Suki) Korra at least entertained the option of every member of her team, and Mako and Asami had a thing with each other for a time. While Bolin gave up dating within the team by Book One, he had relationships with a few different supporting characters anyway.
• Deconstructed Character Archetype: All four fit an archetype that gets hit with reality.
• Earn Your Happy Ending: They each went through their own struggles, but ultimately found happiness.
  • After four seasons of continuous struggles and suffering, Asami and Korra find happiness with each other, become an Official Couple, and decide to take a romantic vacation in the Spirit World.
  • Bolin manages to maintain his relationship with Opal despite the shaky ground they had due to his former affiliation with Kuvira.
  • While Mako does not end up in a relationship with anyone, he has become a better and more mature person, and if/when he meets his true love, he'll make use of the lessons he's learned.
• Expository Hairstyle Change: Each member gets one at the start of Book 4. Korra dispenses with the tomboyish pony/pigtails and lops off much of her hair up to neck length to go incognito during her lonesome wanderings, Asami ties it up for a power businesswoman look, and Mako and Bolin tame the pompador look for some more professional hairdos.
• Famed In-Story: The entire team. Korra is famous as the newest Avatar. Mako and Bolin both gained some fame by making it to the Pro-Bending finals, and Bolin furthered his celebrity status by landing the starring role in one of the first movers. Asami is famous as the head of Future Industries, though she started out as a Fallen Princess.
• Family of Choice: Mako and Bolin lost their parents at a young age, and Asami broke ties with her father because he wasn't the good man she believed him to be, so they have settled on Team Avatar being their true family. While the former two do discover the rest of their extended family, and Asami forgives her father before his death, this team will always remain their primary family to the extent that the ends of Books 3, 4 and Turf Wars have Korra and Asami promising to be there for each other as much as the Gaang before them has.
• Fighter, Mage, Thief: Avatar Korra is a Jack of All Trades, having access to all four elements. Bolin is the Fighter, being a strong Earthbender (the physical of the four elements and mostly close-range) who later develops the destructive Lavabending power, Mako is the Mage, using long-range Firebending and generating powerful lightning, and Asami is the Thief, being a non-bender Combat Pragmatist that relies on technology and tricks.
• Four-Temperament Ensemble:
  • Sanguine: Bolin, whose laidback, rose-tinted idealism, and fun-loving character contrasts with his older brother's serious demeanor.
  • Choleric: Korra, the Hot-Blooded, headstrong, and assertive leader of her team who is dedicated to her role as an Avatar.
  • Melancholic: Mako, the stoic, aloof, and is single-minded with his devotion to survive and later to his job as a cop, while being devoted to the team's goals all the same.
  • Phelgmatic: Asami, the modest, caring mechanic, and overall the calming influence of the group in order to temper her other teammates' strong and oftentimes extreme personalities.
• Freudian Trio: Korra is Id. She's brash, stubborn and tends to charge in without thinking (she tones it down in later seasons but it's still there). Mako is Superego, he's focused, withdrawn, tries to control his emotions and is fairly aloof. Bolin and Asami are Ego, the middle ground who try to balance self-control with a flighty attitude.
• Heroes Unlimited: Throughout the series, Team Avatar befriends numerous individuals who become Honorary True Companions who fight alongside them at different points. During Book Four, 'Team Avatar' was disbanded, and the various group members more often operate separately, in concert with other recurring allies, than they do as Team Avatar. However by the Series Finale, Team Avatar reforms, and they fight alongside the many allies they have gained for the final battle.
• Hero with Bad Publicity:
  • In Book Three, Korra takes a lot of flak for her decision to leave the Spirit Portals open at the end of Book 2.
    • By Book Four, that appears to have been subverted since Republic City has accepted the changes overtime along with Asami helping with completing construction to incorporate the changes. Republic City finally recognizes Korra as the hero she is.
  • The entire team has a bounty placed on their heads by the Earth Queen after they rescue the airbenders the Dai Li had been conscripting.
    • After Zaheer kills the Earth Queen, that makes the subject null-and-void.
• Hidden Depths: There's something more to each of them.
• I Just Want to Be Loved: The Love Dodecahedron that they all went through for the first couple seasons was essentially a combination of desperation, youthful naiveté and probably teen hormones:

  • Korra was deeply insecure and all the more so in comparing herself to Asami in pursuing Mako and it's telling that consideration for others and her own self-worth helped her get over it/him.
  • Asami had initially backed off in the first season over Mako drifting away from her to Korra, but the loneliness and desperation of her situation in Book 2 caused an embarrassing rebound until Korra returned to finally wash her hands of him. Her finding love and support in Korra is far more healthy and mature.
  • Mako didn't think twice about Korra until seeing her with Bolin then became desperate when Korra was kidnapped, broke up with her when a lack of support from her for his job was a factor in their souring relationship, rebounded back to Asami over their mutual loneliness/lack of support then went back to Korra because she didn't remember him dumping her and it was easier to live with the pretty lie than responsibly deal with the ugly truth until it finally came out.
  • Bolin wanted to get with Korra from the get-go until he caught her kissing Mako, rushed to get with Eska until he realized how nuts she was then had a hard time understanding boundaries with Ginger while needing an ego boost as an actor. Fortunately, he also grows out of it by the time Opal comes along, who mutually help each other be confident.

• Interclass Friendship: Asami is the heiress to Future Industries, Korra is The Chief's Daughter and the Avatar, and both Mako and Bolin are former Street Urchins.
• La Résistance:
  • They briefly serve as one against the Equalists after the Equalists take over Republic City.
  • Again in book Four, they serve as one after President Raiko surrenders to Kuvira.
• Love at First Sight: 3/4ths of the team get this.
  • According to Shiro Shinobi, Korra fell in love with Mako the moment she saw him.
  • Bolin explicitly tells Korra he fell for her the moment he saw her. The first time we see him was him spotting Korra across the room and smoothing back his hair, and immediately after he walks up to her he starts implying to Toza that they are a couple (which Korra is quick to correct).
  • Mako falls hard for Asami within seconds of their Crash-Into Hello, as communicated by cartoon heart bubbles.
  • Ultimately deconstructed. None of the above relationships work out by the end of the series and each pair remains platonic partners. The only relationships that do work require work to keep it that way (Bolin and Opal) or build up based on preexisting, strengthening emotions that eventually become romantic (Asami and Korra).
• Love Hurts: Specifically in the first two seasons, all of them have experienced heartbreak and multiple times at that before they all get their act together and are ultimately better for it.
• Meaningful Name: Their names reflect some part of their abilities, life, personality, and/or physical looks.
• The Promise: Two between all or part of the group:
  • Mako, Bolin and Asami promise to help Korra as the New Team Avatar in "When Extremes Meet".
  • Turf Wars has Korra and Asami promising to always watch out for each other as they're now a couple possibly dealing with a world that may not accept them as bisexual women.
• Quirky Household: Korra moves in with Tenzin's family at the start of the series. Over the next three seasons, Tenzin's siblings join them, as well as Mako and Bolin. Even Asami is welcome in the household without explicit invitation. Bolin lampshades all their archetypes over dinner including crazy kids Jinora and her siblings, brooding teenager Mako, grumpy dad Tenzin, put-upon mom Pema, and wacky uncle Bumi.
• Ragtag Bunch of Misfits: In comparison to Aang's Team Avatar, which had a prodigy waterbender taught by a master, arguably the strongest earthbender in the world who was also the world's only metalbender, and a royal firebender, all of whom were respected as powerhouses. By comparison, Korra's team has two reasonably skilled pro-benders (earth and fire) in a world where many of the skills that made the original Team Avatar strong have long since become common knowledge. Though overtime, Mako and Bolin both Took a Level in Badass. Bolin learned Lavabending. Asami is a Fallen Princess, but is still a master martial artist nonetheless. And Korra became the first Avatar with metalbending in her repertoire. Eventually, they've evolved into an ideal that inspires people.
• The Team: The core team consists of the old Fire Ferrets team and Asami, but they usually work with an extended team of allies.
  • The first group had Korra as the hotblooded Lancer to Mako, the cool leader and captain of the Fire Ferrets, and Bolin his happy go lucky younger brother and Big Guy of the team. With Tenzin in the background as Korra's mentor they were also a four element ensemble.
  • By the middle of Season 1 the shift in focus made Korra The Hero and The Leader, Mako her Lancer, Bolin remained The Big Guy and Plucky Comic Relief, and Asami joined as The Heart. As she got more character development she occasionally doubled as a Gadgeteer Genius and The Smart Guy. This is the core Team Avatar group dynamic for the rest of the series. They also have Naga as the powerful rideable Team Pet and Pabu as the small mischievous Team Pet, reprising Appa and Momo directly from the previous Team Avatar.
  • The recurring allies from Book 1 are Tenzin as Team Mom and The Mentor, Lin as Team Dad and Da Chief. Book 2 on adds Jinora as The Smart Guy and spiritually inclined, Bumi as Plucky Comic Relief, and Kya as The Medic. Starting in Book 3 they add Kai as The Sneaky Guy, and Su as Cool Old Lady. Asami gets promoted to Korra's Number Two. Book 4 makes Opal into a jaded version of The Cutie, and the aged up Ikki and Meelo as capable Tagalong Kids. The core team actually spends much more time with the allies than they do with each other by Book 4.
• Took a Level in Badass: They each level up in skill. See their specific character folders for more detail.
• True Companions: They are more than just a team—they treat each other like family, especially since three of them lost theirs.
• We Were Your Team: When Korra left and was gone longer than they expected, Team Avatar disbanded. In other words, there just wasn't a Team Avatar without the Avatar. By the time Korra came back, they transitioned back into the hero business (though with a readjustment period) in time to focus on taking down Kuvira, but with more resources and an expanded network of Honorary True Companions.

Mako

Mako

Voiced by: David Faustino, Richard Richter (German), Olivier Martret (French), Leszek Zduń (Polish)

"Don't worry about it, I'll figure something out. I always do."

^{Click here for his Book 4 appearance.}

The elder of two brothers from a mixed-ethnicity union. With Korra and his younger brother Bolin, they form a pro-bending team. Having been a street rat after his parents' death, Mako took it upon himself to care for his brother, and would do anything for him. Around strangers he shows an icy, controlled personality, but around close friends and family can show a much sweeter side.

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• The Ace: He's handsome, a skilled probender, and someone you can depend on when things get tough.
• Aesop Amnesia: The lessons about being honest and straight-forward take a long time to kick in considering he still makes the same mistakes by "Remembrances" where he simultaneously admits he should be quit lying yet immediately lies about lying again with Prince Wu, Tu and Grandma Yin calling him out on this.
• All for Nothing: His intentions were good in not wanting to hurt Korra and Asami's feelings while dating them, but did exactly just that.
• All-Loving Hero: Mako grows into one by Book 4, stating to Wu in "Remembrances" that he now dedicates his life to helping others just for the sake of doing so.
• Alone Among the Couples: At the end of the series he is the only person in the Krew to not be in a relationship. Adding extra Irony to this is that not only did he not get back together with either of his exes, they end up with each other.
• Aloof Big Brother: Mako in Book 2 has been distant and unconcerned with his brother's issues. He makes up for this in Book 3 by spending more time with his brother.
• Always Someone Better: Bolin sees Mako as this, when it comes to bending or girls.
• Amateur Sleuth: Mako proved to be a skilled detective in Book 2, despite being a beat cop at the time.
• Amazon Chaser: Mako joins his brother in that account, mentioning that Korra's strong and a good athlete in the list of good qualities in their conversation of her being girlfriend material.
• Amicable Exes: Sorta with his two ex-girlfriends. He and Asami still care about each other despite how messed up their relationship became. In Book 2, they even seem to have gotten past their problems altogether and still make an awesome team when they're helping Korra. Later, he and Korra come to this arrangement, after they break up for real. At the beginning of Book 3, while Mako is not negative towards Korra or Asami and they are still very friendly to him, he is a little awkward towards them, but they warm up as it goes on. In Book 4, he's a little annoyed to find out that the two are closer to each other than either are to him, but gets over it.
• Anti-Hero: Going with his hard edge, Mako has a wrathful side to him as well, having the capacity to kill or harm anyone who wrongs his brother and friends. This was particularly evident when he threatened an Equalist by raising a flaming fist when seeking information regarding Korra's whereabouts.
• The Atoner: Book 3-onwards, he makes up for his previous bad behavior by being supportive to both the rest of the team and others in general as summed up in "Remembrances."
• Badass Biker: In Book 2, being a motorcycle cop.
• Badass Longcoat: Well, it's more of a tail coat, but creates the same effect.
• Bad Liar: Better than Korra and Bolin, has only fooled those two, has fibbed at least Once a Season whether about romantic issues or sitting with Aiwei, and is finally called out on in "Remembrances."
• Bash Brothers: With Bolin. It's more common in Book 3, since the two are usually split up in the previous seasons.
• Battle Couple:
  • Him and Korra become this by the end of season one, with "Endgame" showing off this trope beautifully in tagteam against Amon. Although the battle comes just before the couple, the feelings were already on the table. Subverted in that they don't remain a couple, as they decide to stay as Just Friends in season 2.
  • Downplayed with Asami. Both of them show their fighting skills before (Mako) and during (Asami) their romance, but rarely fought together. Which doesn't matter in the end, since they broke up by the Book 1 finale and again in Book 2 when an amnesiac Korra returns.
• Be Careful What You Wish For:
  • In Book 2, he aspired to be a detective, but a combination of his selfishness/tactlessness and Varrick's trickery estranged him from his team and did a stint in jail to end up single and gradually making amends (after some embarrassed alone time) to atone and after that, such accomplishments caught the eye of Prince Wu, who was looking for a personal bodyguard.
  • Dating Korra and to a lesser extent, Asami. He was inexplicably under the impression that dating The Avatar, the occupation responsible for protecting the entire world and Spirit World, would be a cakewalk while said girlfriend supported him instead of such a relationship requiring him to be an advisor and sounding board, which involves traits he lacks. Instead, his tactlessness, impatience and lack of understanding leads to jokes about "it's harder being The Avatar's boyfriend" and more frequent arguing until breaking up twice with Korra. While dating Asami had relatively less on the line and could be doted on again, the fact that he still couldn't commit to her, either meant that such relationships were easier in theory than the responsibilities in actually dating such high-profile women.
• Belated Love Epiphany: In "Out Of The Past", when searching for the missing Korra, Mako realizes he's in love with her. Stated in "Endgame", several episodes later.
• Beleaguered Assistant: To Prince Wu of the Earth Kingdom in Book 4, as his personal bodyguard. He even has to follow him on most bathroom breaks.
• Belligerent Sexual Tension: Deconstructed with Korra. She and Mako have a bit of this going on in the first half of Book 1 as they constantly butt heads but admit to being attracted to each other and become an Official Couple by the Book One finale. However, by Book 2, the real-life consequences to having this kind of relationship is in full play — They have contrasting personalities but a similar stubborn and short-temperedness, differing opinions on how to handle the Water Tribe civil war, which only gets more complicated due to the different but equally important responsibilities their jobs have ultimately leads to an official break-up by the Book Two season finale and both agreeing that while they make great friends they don't really work as a couple.
  Mike: The earlier episodes had set up that Korra and Mako were kinda at each other's throats but they also kinda have a little attraction to each other.
• Better as Friends: After ending his relationships with Asami and Korra he has assured both that he still cares for them and will always be there to help. Making him essentially the Big Brother to the whole team.
• Betty and Veronica:
  • The "Archie" for Asami's "Betty" (Spoiled Sweet nonbender) and Korra's "Veronica" (Hot-Blooded Avatar). The Love Triangle is a...complicated one. Initially, Mako and Asami are a couple, but the former has a small Green-Eyed Epiphany moment when Bolin wants to seriously date Korra, leading to a confrontation between her and Mako resulting in a "Shut Up" Kiss...while he's still in a relationship with Asami. Over time, his feelings for Korra become more obvious, and that plus Asami learning of their kiss from Bolin, results in her and Mako ending their relationship. Come Book 2, Korra and Mako are dating, but are having disagreements with one another due to conflicting loyalties and temperament, leading to their break-up; and later on, he gets back together with Asami...only to tell an amnesiac Korra that she and him are still dating. At the end of Book 2, all three of them decide they are Better as Friends.
  • The "Veronica" (aloof, The Cynic) to Bolin's "Betty" (the sweet-hearted Big Fun) with Korra as "Archie". Yes, two connected love triangles. In the Book 1 finale, she is with Mako...only to break up with him by the Book 2 finale.
• Big Brother Instinct: Regardless of his rough edges, Mako loves Bolin, and he's fiercely loyal and very protective of him. He willingly took (and presently still does take) most burdens and responsibilities of their living conditions.
  • There is a shade of deconstruction to this trope as it applies to Mako. He sheltered his brother from the harsh realities and darker nature of their environment, which led to Bolin's current naiveté and dependency.
  • Even after breaking up with them Mako is still incredibly protective of both Asami and Korra. This also extends to Wu who he treats with much the same exasperation and protective nature as he did Bolin.
• Bonding over Missing Parents: During his romance with Asami, they bond over both of them losing a parent (or, in Mako's case, parents).
• Bond One-Liner: In Book 2, he keeps an entire list on hand to use when he captures criminals.
• The Bore: Something that becomes more apparent in the last two seasons. Mako is not very good at communicating with people in a lively manner, or keeping people's attention when he's asked to write a letter, act in a play or make a public announcement, often defaulting to emotionless, official expo-babble.
• Both Sides Have a Point: Mako and Korra during the Water Tribe Civil War. Korra, a member of the Tribe, is trying to get the Republic involved in the said war on the side she supports, and engages in what actually amounts to sedition (conspiring with senior officers to flout the civilian government's policy of neutrality) to do so once her legal options are exhausted. Whereas Mako, a Republic citizen and officer in the police, cannot condone this and reveals the plot to the President, who then proceeds to decisively clip the wings of the conspiracy (though Korra herself gets off with a stern warning). The results: Korra is mad at Mako and feels he has betrayed her and her people, who are struggling for their lives against oppression, while Mako is mad at Korra for putting him in an impossible situation and essentially expecting him to betray his own country for her. While Korra comes off worse as far as their personal relationship goes, both still have good reasons to act as they do, as each of them is only being loyal to his or her own people.
• Boxing Battler: His style of firebending that he developed in his pro-bending days. Critics of the sport note his use of a distinct "cool under fire" technique, which primarily involves a series of defensive weaving and dodging patterns quickly followed by successive spurts of offense. Mako once won a pro-bending match by himself using this style.
• Broken Ace: While not as bad as Korra, Mako does have shades of this trope (mostly seen in the first book). His parents were murdered right in front of him as a boy which gave Mako a very cynical outlook on life, he spend the better part of his early life pickpocketing and stealing to keep Bolin and himself alive, has difficulty interacting with other people and admits that before meeting Korra he cared more about making money then helping other people. He eventually grows out of this though, becoming more self-sacrificing and selfless to other people besides his brother, thanks to Korra's example (although he's still pretty awkward around people).
• Broke Your Arm Punching Out Cthulhu: In the Series Finale Mako shoots a continuous beam of lightning into the spirit vine core of Kuvira's Colossus in order to make it unstable and cause it to explode. While this does work the resulting feedback from the core burns Mako's arm up to his elbow and a bolt of energy knocks him unconscious (which would have killed him if Bolin hadn't returned in time to save him from the explosion). When we see him again at Varrick's party his arm is in a sling so it's unknown exactly how much damage the attack did.
  • In Turf Wars, he's been seeing Kya regularly for healing, but isn't sure if he'll be able to firebend with that arm again. At the end of the main fight, they're in the Spirit World and Korra offers to heal him herself as soon as they find some spirit water. By Ruins of the Empire, the bandages are off and it's heavily scarred, but he can firebend again.
• Brutal Honesty: Mako will tell his opinion regardless of what others might be feeling. This trait comes in handy in Book 4 when he's bodyguarding Wu; his harsh, but truthful honesty over the young prince's ineptitude and him not being ready to be King, actually allowed Wu to admit those flaws and work his way to being a good king.
• Butt-Monkey: At the start of Book 3, he's noticeably been on the receiving end of several pranks and misfortunes including but not limited to: Having a door airbended into his face, being made to act "evil" for a show and getting tossed around by Korra mid-performance, having to sleep in a trash pile (along with Bolin) and being the subject of a lot of teasing by Korra and Asami. Apart from that, he ends up getting into all sorts of trouble ever since Kai came along. Overcomes it by the end of Book 3, gaining mutual respect/understanding with Kai and demonstrating again that he is a quick-thinking force to be reckoned with in a life or death fight.
  • "Remembrances" not only takes the piss out of him over his past foibles (and as a Take That Us on a meta-level,) but also on him in the present for still trying to lie and/or deny his wrongdoing such as pretending he never dated Asami. By the end of the segment, he's smacked upside the head and left to groan in exasperation.
  • Turf Wars also has some fun at his expense over both his ex-girlfriends now dating each other.
• Bystander Syndrome: In Book 2. Too focused on his job that he doesn't help Bolin or Korra with their problems and only helps Asami with hers because it aligns with said job.
• By-the-Book Cop: When he joins the police force, he does his best to be this. He often finds himself in situations that the Book wasn't meant to cover, though, and he's not completely inflexible when that happens. However, his attitude to play by the book is what gets him in conflict with Korra's recklessness and risk-taking, which leads to their breakup.
  • Turf Wars has him go off-book shy of going full Cowboy Cop when Keum puts up too much red tape to be formally investigated, which actually does pay off.
• Cannot Spit It Out: Mako is unable to be honest about his feelings (i.e. The Love Triangle mess), causing strain in his relationships.
• The Captain: Of the pro-bending team, the Fire Ferrets. However, after Book 1, he quits when he becomes an off-duty cop.
• Cassandra Truth: The police refuse to listen to his suspicions about the Southern Water Tribe Cultural Center bombing because he's a rookie and once was a Triad.
• Celibate Hero: After all that's happened, he gives up on relationships altogether and decides it's for the best. However, Word of God states that his experiences with Asami and Korra will help him become a better partner in any future relationships.
• Character Development:
  • In "Remembrances", Mako's gets outlined, which is important given how seldom he talks about himself or his feelings. It basically shows how he has gone from a guy who cared mostly about making enough money to make his and his brother's lives better, to someone who wants to live for the sake of others, including strangers. All thanks to Korra's example, who continues to inspire him despite all the negative things that have passed between them.
  • His development also applies to his future romantic relationships post series. Word of God has confirmed that even though Mako didn't get back together with either Korra or Asami his experiences with both will make him a better partner in any new relationships he has in the future.
  • By Book 4, while Mako does keep his stoic demeanor, he's a lot less brooding and angsty than in Book 1.
• Charles Atlas Superpower: Not as big an example as Korra, but Mako has shown considerably more upper-body strength than his body type would normally allow. He grabbed an Equalist that held his brother from behind, and launched him over his head somewhere yonder and far off-screen. Then in episode five, he effortlessly carried muscled, stocky Bolin (who just ate and was flailing around) on his shoulder like a rag doll without an inkling of weight strain. And possibly took him home the distance from the noodle shop to the pro-bending arena that way.
• Chick Magnet:
  • Has obtained the affections of both Korra and Asami and more. It's also lampshaded.
    Bolin: Leave some ladies for the rest of us!
  • However, this ends up being deconstructed as he can certainly attract the ladies, but he can never maintain relationships with said ladies due to his flaws, thus the relationships are just as shallow as their interest in him.
• Chromatic Arrangement: Red, but his personality fits the typical blue more.
• Cloudcuckoo Landers Minder: In Book 4, is Prince Wu's bodyguard, and has to put up with his absolutely insane antics.
• Combat Pragmatism: If he has to win a fight Mako's not afraid to fight dirty. This is best shown in his final fight with Ming-Hua where instead of fighting the Multi-Armed and Dangerous waterbender face on he instead gets up to a vantage point above the pool of water their fighting in and immediately fires a bolt of lightning into it. Suffice it to say that things don't end well for Ming-Hua.
• Commitment Issues: Part of the whole Love Triangle debacle between him, Korra, and Asami had to deal with Mako's inability to properly decide who he wanted to be with.
• Conflict Ball: If the other tropes haven't spelled this out enough, his love life would've gone a lot smoother had he not consistently and reflexively lied and/or dithered. Whether it's Korra in "The Spirit of Competition", Asami during the latter half of Book 1 (after she even gave him an easy out!) or Korra and Asami by the end of Book 2, the Love Triangle wouldn't have been the convoluted mess it was and he might've even remained with either one had he been honest and decisive ASAP.
• Conflicting Loyalty: Mako has to choose between helping Korra or his duty as a cop. Mako ultimately chooses his job, leading to their breakup. This, decision however was motivated by the fact that Korra was acting out of line.
• Crash-Into Hello: How he meets Asami — she accidentally hits him with her moped due to his jaywalking.
• Crazy-Prepared: Book 2 reveals that he's started to write and memorize lists of one-liners that he can use after winning a fight. Some of these are context-sensitive.
• The Cynic: He tends to look at the negative side of things.
• Dark and Troubled Past: Seeing his parents killed in a mugging when he was eight, then growing up on the street and later working for the Triple Threat Triads qualifies.
• Deadpan Snarker: Can throw a few out here and there.
• Declaration of Protection: He says he's always trying to look after Bolin.
• Deconstructed Character Archetype: Of the usual Pretty Boy lead especially in a Wish-Fulfillment-loaded Betty and Veronica Love Triangle. In Book 1, he's introduced as both handsome and competent in deftly taking down an entire team by himself and spends most of the season being fawned over by two attractive yet contrasting women and ultimately ends up with the heroine with whom he's had a purely Belligerent Sexual Tension-type dynamic. It's not until Book 2 when the deconstruction hits that he and Korra don't really work well together, and that same dynamic leads to him breaking up with Korra, rebounding to Asami then back with Korra under confused circumstances, ultimately ending with him single, embarrassed and looking like a jerk to most of the cast.
• Defrosting Ice King: At the beginning of season 4, Mako is annoyed and irritated with Prince Wu and can not wait until the Prince would returns to Ba Sing Se. However, throughout the season he grows closer and more sympathetic to Prince Wu when he sees his positive traits, like how he can freely accept criticism, is genuinely grateful to Mako for his help, and sees him become a more thoughtful and mature person. The ending of the last episode shows that Mako is proud of Prince Wu and it is implied that Mako and Korra are warming up to him and becoming friends with him.
• Determinator:
  • Redirecting lightning while being electrocuted and frying one of the platinum Mini Mechas by it in episode ten also counts.
  • He's also the first person to ever get the better of Amon, which Amon himself compliments. He did this by firing lightning while being bloodbended.
  • He's able to fire off a sustained blast of lightning to overload The Colossus' energy reactor, when most firebenders would be able to fire very short bursts of lightning at best.
  • Turf Wars showed that he'll still use his broken arm to tank an explosion big enough to otherwise kill the entire squad. Bear in mind this is just days since the above example and put said arm back into the sling immediately afterwards so it was a purely emergency situation.
• The Ditherer: As Korra's Foil, he does his best to avoid conflict and will ignore problems, suppress his own feelings, or follow a You Didn't Ask policy if it means avoiding awkward conversations. His cousin Tu finally calls this out: "You're so afraid about disappointing anyone that you end up disappointing everyone."
• The Drag-Along: By Book 3, he's more reluctant to go on adventures after everything that's happened to him, and is less willing to get in any sort of trouble. All it took to convince him was for Bolin to guilt-trip him.
• Elemental Eye Colors: A Firebender with amber eyes.
• Emotions vs. Stoicism: We have headstrong, brash Korra and cheerful, earnest Bolin vs. serious, "cool under fire" Mako.
• Energy Absorption: As a variation of lightning redirection, Mako can absorb electricity like a living conductor, and then weaponize the electric energy he absorbed.
• Expository Hairstyle Change:
  • Like Bolin, in Book 4 he now has a hairstyle that is more restrained and kempt than what he wore previously, as befits his role as a bodyguard to royalty.
  • In Turf Wars, he switches back to his old look after resuming his duties as a cop.
• Fair Cop: As of Book 2, the resident Chick Magnet became a cop.
• Family Eye Resemblance: As his grandmother states, Mako has his mother's eyes.
• Fatal Flaw:
  • Downplayed. While it hasn't led to serious injury or the ultimate destruction of his relationships, Mako has often put a strain on them with his inability to properly express his feelings.
  • Additionally, while he'll immediately own up to it if pressed, but he'll immediately lie and/or blame-shift, (usually to Bolin or Korra,) before accepting responsibility.
• Fire Is Red: Downplayed. Most of his outfit is in neutral colors except for red trim, and his red scarf.
• First Love: For Asami and Korra, who, after the romantic fiasco that was Book 2, have lost all romantic interest in him. For added irony, the Second Love for both end up being each other.
• Foil: To Korra — Mako is a light-skinned native from Republic City. His and Bolin's parents were killed when they were quite young, and since then, they had to always try to make ends meet. Mako is the "cool-under-fire" guy, meaning he doesn't let his emotions cloud his judgement, making it hard to express his real feelings; Korra is the dark-skinned native from the Southern Water Tribe, and is of Mixed Ancestry because her parents were born into different Water Tribes (Mother-Southern, Father-Northern). Her parents were with her entire life, and admitted that other people (her parents and the White Lotus) were always taking care of her. Before a huge amount of Character Development, she was prone to emotional outbursts and never was afraid to let people know what she thought. In addition, Mako believes in structure and plays by the book, while Korra does things her way and leads Team Avatar as a free-for-all.
• Foolish Sibling, Responsible Sibling: The responsible to Bolin's foolish. Even more so in Book 3, where he's trying to stay out of trouble that Bolin or Kai get into.
• Four-Temperament Ensemble: Melancholic- Analytical (his detective skills), can be quite cynical, practical (verging on Only Sane Man), and yet impractical (the whole Love Triangle dilemma was largely due to his inability to express his feelings).
• The Generic Guy: Evolves into this over the course of the series. His major character arcs revolved around him supporting Bolin (who became self sufficient by Season 2, first as a movie star and later military officer) and his relationships with Korra and Asami (he breaks up with both by Season 3). By Season 4 he's just a disgruntled security guard towards Prince Wu, and good to his friends whenever they need his help. This is highlighted in the clip show episode where he was shown to be the only member of the core team without anything on the line going into the finale or any real motivation beyond loyalty to the others and goodwill towards people in general. His clips were just him casually talking about events to his family and Wu in Asami's manor in contrast to Korra in a mentoring session with Tenzin or Bolin in an exaggerated movie plot at sea with Varrick. He's easily the most regular guy of the main cast, somewhat of an aversion of the tropes usually associated with the Fire elemental of a team roster.
• Great Detective: He has amazing perception and has been able to lead Team Avatar to look beneath the surface when things seem fishy. After finding a steady job as a policeman, he very quickly rises to detective rank after Chief Beifong becomes impressed with his abilities.
• Green-Eyed Monster:
  • To his chagrin in "The Spirit of Competition", when Bolin and Korra head out on their date. Korra calls him out on it after he wrongly accuses her of using his brother for an Operation: Jealousy ploy.
  • It also serves as a small Green-Eyed Epiphany. It's implied that whatever he's feeling for Korra has been suppressed, and for good reason (his brother and Asami are core causes). It isn't until Bolin takes his interest for her seriously that Mako begins to confront what he's been denying. The ensuing mess that occurred there (which led to Bolin's heart being broken), had Mako and Korra decide to be Just Friends, at least until Book 1's end.
• Hanlon's Razor: He's the root of all the romantic problems between he, Korra and Asami though it's clearly not out of deliberate maliciousness, but of well-intentioned tactlessness.
• Harmful to Minors: He witnessed both his parents get burned to death when he was eight. He and his brother then had to fend for themselves on the streets, getting into more than their share of scuffles and gang violence.
• Heroic Willpower: In some form. Mako resists Amon's bloodbending enough to shoot an unpredictable lightning attack at him.
• Heterosexual Life-Partners: A sibling example, with Bolin. They've always had each other backs and often give each other advice, be it with their bending or with the ladies. He also, eventually, develops one with Wu in Book 4.
• Hidden Depths: Book 2 shows Mako with great detective skills. Mako is also good at reading maps, as he figured out where the Equalist rally was located by looking at the maps he and Korra obtained from the Equalist protester.
• Honest Advisor:
  • To Korra, though it causes them to break up in Book 2.
  • To Prince Wu after being assigned as his bodyguard in Book 4. When Mako gets fed up with Wu's immature behavior, he tells Wu that he's just not ready to be a King. And Wu agrees.
• Hypocrite: Mako more or less admits this to Bolin in the Book 2 episode "Harmonic Convergence", when he is unable to follow his own advice he had previously given to Bolin.
  • Also in Book 2, he didn't want to risk his career/break the law to help Korra yet wasted little time to assist Asami with her problem despite the same risk.
  • In "Remembrances," he admits Asami was right that it was time to man up... only for him to presently still continue to vainly lie and gets called out on it again by Wu, Tu and Yin.
  • Generally speaking, he's the first to wag the finger (usually to Korra) yet the last to admit his own guilt unless pressed.
• Iconic Item: His red scarf. He gives it to his grandmother in Book 3, believing she needed it more.
• I Did What I Had to Do: His justification for his past dealings with the Triple Threat Triad. He needed to provide for himself and Bolin somehow, and didn't have many options.
• Innocently Insensitive: He isn't purposefully insensitive all the time, but has had to apologize for his mistakes/behavior more than twice. Especially evident when he doesn't realize that his excessive attention on Korra when she gets kidnapped upsets Asami.
• Ironic Name: Mako's name is Japanese for "child of truth", but given his lack of truth during the Love Triangle fiasco... Yeah, Mako needs definite work with being honest about his feelings.
• It Runs in the Family: According to Mako's grandmother, his commitment issues are something he inherited from his grandfather.
• It's All About Me: Admits in "Remembrances" that he used to have this mindset, (especially in Book 2,) seeking only the cash to get he and Bolin out of the gutter before Korra inspired him to be altruistic.
• Jerkass Has a Point: Mako may not be the nicest, but he's not wrong about certain things.
  • His initial brushing off of Bolin at the start of Book 2 is cold, but since a war between the Water Tribes were going on and Mako had a busy job, it's not unusual for him to not have time to help his brother. Plus, Mako also correctly stated that Bolin had to figure out what he wanted to do on his own.
  • Mako gives a major What the Hell, Hero? moment to Korra for how her rash behavior and need for everyone to be on her side is immature and ridiculous on her part.
  • His suspicions of Kai being a trouble making thief turns out to be true, thankfully the young airbender turns over a new leaf.
  • After putting up with Wu's immature behavior, Mako rightfully tells Wu that he's not ready to be king and that while Kuvira may be an extremist, she at least has the maturity and focus to complete tasks.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: In contrast to his brother, Mako can come off rather grouchy and irritable. While Bolin is initially very friendly with Korra, Mako clashes with her. But he's capable of kindness, rather warm-hearted to those he knows well, and acknowledges when he's in the wrong as well as gives credit where credit is due.
• Justified Criminal: He once worked for the Triple Threat Triad for money. While he only ran numbers and "stuff", he's not proud of what he did and forbids Bolin from doing the same once they cut ties with them.
• The Lancer: To Korra, as both a personality foil, and as the most stalwart ally and deputy. In the finale he pledges undying loyalty to her for any future adventures.
• The Last DJ: In a sense, he's this to New Team Avatar, as he's the only person who hasn't been won over by Varrick in some way.
• The Leader: Of the Level-headed variety as Captain of the Fire Ferrets, being easily the most mature, practical and experienced member of the group.
• Lightning Bruiser: When it comes to pro-bending, as the sport calls for it. In his introduction in "A Leaf in the Wind" he defeats a pro-bending team single-handedly while demonstrating power, speed, and endurance. He was considered one of the top players in the pro-bending arena with reason.
• Long-Range Fighter: Type II. While Mako somewhat held his own when fighting the Lieutenant at close-quarters, he still got quickly overwhelmed (more so when compared to Korra and Asami). He's much more formidable when he keeps his distance and uses ranged attacks.
• Lovable Jock: Downplayed. Mako is more gruff than his brother, but will give credit to his teammates when they do a good job.
• Love at First Sight: Blushed the second he laid eyes on Asami, and then later had floating hearts surrounding his head. They dated pretty quickly after. Unfortunately, it fell into the disillusionment category.
• Love Hurts: Mako's love life is one big convoluted mess.
• Love Martyr: There isn't much he won't do for someone he loves. Unfortunately, one of those things is asking them for help or comfort. The only way he knows how to express his love is by waiting on them hand-and-foot or getting the crap kicked out of him on their behalf. Being unable to actually participate in a relationship results in breakdowns in communication, and ultimately repeated break-ups. He ends the series single.
• Master of the Mixed Message: In episodes 9-11, he keeps showing excessive concern and attention to Korra, ignoring his girlfriend Asami while still denying having feelings for Korra. Asami is not happy about it and calls him out of it.
• Meaningful Name: His name means "child of truth" and despite the occasional irony with his name, Mako isn't one to hide the hard truths (after learning what lying to his girlfriends got him) to someone (see his Brutal Honesty section).
• Morality Pet: Deconstructed. Whenever Korra tackles a situation emotionally, he often tries to remind her that her not getting her way happens for a good reason. Korra, however, just dismisses it as him taking another person's side, which upsets Mako greatly. Finally, just when Korra didn't take well the president's (well-meaning) refusal to help her, he was tired of having to worry about Korra messing up, so he decided to tell the president about what she was planning.
• Mundane Utility: He uses his lightning skill to earn money by working at a power plant.
• Named After Somebody Famous: He's named after Mako, prominent Japanese-American actor who performed the original series' role of Iroh until his death.
• Never My Fault: Another main recurring flaw with Mako. Whenever he makes a mistake in something, he downplays his wrong actions, shifting the blame to someone else. He's usually called out on it immediately.
  • When he and Korra shared their first kiss and Bolin catches them and runs away heartbroken, Mako puts all the blame on Korra. Yes, she did initiate it through a "Shut Up" Kiss, but Mako reciprocated it, making them both equally at fault.
  • And when Asami finds about their kiss, Mako's first reaction is to get angry at Bolin for telling the truth, but Asami immediately tells hims off — saying he shouldn't blame Bolin for his mistake and that Mako, himself, should've told her about the kiss.
  • This is brought up in "Remembrances" by his cousin Tu and Prince Wu, as when Mako attempts to divert responsibility for his bad actions toward both Korra and Asami, the two rightfully call him out on it.
• No Social Skills: In terms of relationship conventions. It's pretty clear that he doesn't know how to deal with people and personal feelings very well.
• Not Helping Your Case: Despite ostensibly being the de facto parent, he's burned all three of his teammates at least once:
  • His leaving Bolin to do whatever came back to bite Mako in both needing Bolin's help and proving Varrick wasn't on the level.
  • In Book 2, while he can accurately point out Korra's going off the rails, he can't be bothered to actually help her situation beyond "that's a bad idea."
  • Him guilt-tripping Korra over not writing him during the three-year Time Skip is not only unjustified because trust was a big factor in their previous relationship, but during the rescue mission, repeats all the same problems of said relationship as a reminder why not to.
  • His segment in "Remembrances" in talking about his Character Development is muddied by him still lying until pressed such as dating Asami, which the others call out on.
• Not So Above It All: Surprisingly, despite his normal stoic demeanor he has his goofy moments, such as making a list of Bond One-Liners for when he catches criminals. His first encounter with Asami leaves him a slack-jawed, love-drunk idiot emitting pink hearts. There's also when he and Bolin were shoving each other underwater in Asami's pool, the way two brothers would mess around with each other.
• Not So Stoic: The mask does slip from time to time, though, such as in his reaction to Asami and behavior when Korra is kidnapped. It's also a pretty bad idea to threaten Bolin.
• Not with Them for the Money: He isn't interested in Asami for her money. He does appreciate the luxury that comes from being her boyfriend, though. However, it didn't help his case that his interest in her started waning around the time she was cut off from said luxury.
• Official Couple: Seemingly with Asami through most of Book 1, but she turns out to be a Romantic False Lead and the real Official Couple is him and Korra. However, they break up mid-Book 2 and he's been focused on work ever since.
• Old Flame: He and Asami went on a few dates in "The Guide", but events (namely Mako going to prison until he was proven innocent, and then Mako not immediately telling Korra they had broken up) spoil that. Bolin calls them out on it at the time mere days since Korra left and then in "Remembrances," Wu, Tu and Grandma Yin call him out on trying to act as if he'd never dated Asami at all.
• One Head Taller: Than Korra.
• One-Hour Work Week: Mako may be a cop, but he's got plenty of time for adventures without it compromising his job. It's also justified due to the fact that not only is his boss Lin Beifong (usually) in on what the Avatar does, but she occasionally accompanies him on his adventures too.
• One-Man Army: Moments after we meet him, he finds himself alone against a full team in a pro-bending match, takes said third round in an impressive show of skill, and wins it by himself when he knocks all three of his opponents into the water. In about the span of about a minute or so. Simply by tiring them out while he dodged everything they threw at him... in the third zone. "This Mako's got moxie!" indeed.
• Only Friend: Mako is forced to work with and be around Prince Wu, and Team Avatar saves him. None of them bother hiding dislike at his antics and the friendliest behavior he gets from them is stone-faced tolerance. He still says they're the best friends a guy could have. Is this pure obliviousness, or has he never had friends? Despite some supporters early on he also suggests that he's never had a girlfriend. In the second half of the season however Mako start to warm up to Prince Wu when he see his positive traits when Prince Wu grow into a more mature and thoughtful person and at the end of the last episode both Mako and Korra are proud of Prince Wu and it implied they are warming up to him, and are becoming his friends.
• Only in It for the Money: Being a past Street Urchin and understandably needing cash (he and Bolin are still poor) to keep them from having to return to that life, this is Mako's main goal for competing in the pro-bending tournaments — to hit that jackpot. It's no surprise that he quits in the following season to join the police force, which doubtless pays a decent wage.
• Only Sane Man: Shares the role with Asami, being one of the more level-headed members of the team. Becomes the sole voice of reason after "The Sting", being the only one who knows Varrick is behind the sabotage of Future Industries, and now no one believes him, not even his own brother.
• Ooh, Me Accent's Slipping: In-universe example. He has only a slight Brooklyn accent around people he doesn't know personally (Korra, Butakha), but it gets heavier when he talks to Bolin or other street kids.
• Opposites Attract: With Korra. Mako is serious and collected, Korra is hotheaded and headstrong. Ultimately subverted as their opposite natures (as well as tense situations) end up pushing them apart, but they remain good friends.
• Out of Focus: In Seasons 3 and 4 he has noticeably less screentime than usual, being relegated to a comic relief subplot and disappearing for three episodes in a row in Season 4. He is also the only lead character not to have his own personal subplot in Season 4, whereas Korra, Asami and Bolin all are given their own personal obstacles to overcome as the season goes on. Mako, on the other hand, is used to further the character arc of a secondary character, Prince Wu. Of course, Tropes Are Not Bad considering the first half of the series had him rivaling Korra herself in screentime.
• Pals with Jesus: Invoked in "The Sting" where he offered to convince Korra to restore the bending of one of the Triple Threats members if they aided him.
• Playing with Fire: Mako demonstrated great skill in firebending combat. He can maintain his fire streams for a period of time for feats such as propelling himself through the air. He can perform techniques such as the breath of fire and with precise control create fire daggers. The raw strength of his firebending is also considerable, able to offset a large and point-blank explosion unharmed.
• Poor Communication Kills: He has a major problem with this, and it often causes him to look bad in front of everyone. When it came to Varrick trying to get the president to go to war, he was just too uncomfortable to let it pass, taking matters into his own hands without trying to fully explain to everyone the harsh implications of doing so.
• Power Stereotype Flip: A melancholic Firebender (when most Firebenders would be choleric).
• Pragmatic Anti Hero: When push comes to shove, if his back is to the wall, Mako isn't afraid to kill if it means defeating his enemies. Just ask Ming-Hua.
• Pretty Boy: Visually, of course, as well as outright called a "beautiful man" by the creators.
• Promotion to Parent: Mako took care of Bolin at a young age, while the two of them were living on the streets.
• Raven Hair, Ivory Skin: He has black hair and pale skin like most people of Fire Nation descent. His voice actor describes him as "tall and handsome" and the official bios consistently state that he's good-looking.
• Real Men Cook: He's shown cooking for himself and Bolin in their apartment. Unsurprising when you take in Promotion to Parent. Also, his firebending would help greatly.
• "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Delivers a quick one to Korra during their argument in "Peacekeepers":
  Mako: Enough! Look, I have a job to do! I can't constantly be worrying about keeping you from making another huge mistake!
• Red Oni, Blue Oni: The blue to Korra's red. In addition to their different temperaments, he's powerful, but more focused and technical as opposed to Korra's usual method of dealing with opponents.
• Relationship Sabotage: A minor case with trying to deflect Bolin's interest in Korra by claiming she is not girlfriend material after saying aloud to Bolin a sentence earlier that she was. And emphasizing that dating a teammate is a bad idea. Of course, this doesn't deter Bolin at all, and it could be said that a part of Mako was looking out for him in some way. It's likely the reasons he gave Bolin were also reasons he'd given himself to not explore his own attraction to Korra (especially since not dating a teammate is valid advice). So he had probably already decided to sabotage his own relationship with Korra, too, resulting in choosing to date Asami.
• Relationship Upgrade: At the end of Book 1, he becomes an Official Couple with Korra, but they eventually break up due to their conflicting personalities and priorities as well as the fact he took advantage of her memory loss when she forgot they broke up in the first place which resulted in their final break-up.
• The Reliable One: One dominant aspect about Mako is that he's someone you can count on when things get tough. However, this trope is zigzagged from Book 2 onwards as he initially too focused on his work for the others to count on him for help then in Book 3 starts as The Drag-Along though starts to commit before immediately playing it straight in Book 4.
• Romantic False Lead: At the end of the series Mako is revealed to have been this for both Korra and Asami as the two of them become each other's true Official Couple. Word of God even confirmed that, even if Korrasami wasn't made canon at the end of the series, Mako was only intended to be Korra's love interest for the end of season 1.
• Romantic Runner-Up: Based on the finale, Mako ultimately ended up being this for both Korra and Asami, who end up with each other. It's actually one of the things the girls bonded over in Book 3.
• Savvy Guy, Energetic Girl: The cool-under-fire Savvy Guy to Korra's loud, full-of-energy Energetic Girl.
• Scarf of Asskicking: His Tragic Keepsake he always wears and unlike most scarfs this one actually has been used to kick ass. Korra did it but it was still a wicked Jason Bourne-style ass-kicking.
• Sensitive Guy and Manly Man: The stoic, blunt Manly Man to Bolin's comical, In Love with Love Sensitive Guy.
• Sexual Karma: He has a problem with dithering behavior concerning his romances with Asami and Korra which ultimately ended up sinking both. He is also the only member of Team Avatar not paired up with a significant other by series end; even Bolin finds love in Opal's arms. Ironically, the two women with whom he had messy relationships ended up together in the end.
• Shipper on Deck:
  • Gives Bolin advice on how to spend time with Opal. Even before that, he initially supported Bolin with Korra... before Mako got interested in her, too.
  • Downplayed in regards to Korra and Asami. Unlike how the other shippers who were immediately excited, Mako was taken aback because his exes were now dating each other. However, he later told Korra that she and Asami were perfect for each other.
• Shock and Awe: He can both generate and redirect lightning, as well as being able to shoot long, sustained blasts as well as short bursts of lightning.
• Sibling Rivalry: Bolin and Mako fell out with each other Book 2, that Bolin decided to move out on his own. They eventually patch things up.
• Sibling Team: With Bolin, either with pro-bending or intense battles.
• Sibling Triangle: Both he and Bolin liked Korra at the beginning of season one. It came to its peek in "The Spirit of Competition" and to an end when Bolin realized that his romantic interest in Korra wasn't reciprocated.
• Sibling Yin-Yang: Mako's serious, though not quite as downcast as his clone. Life in the streets toughened him up, and he feels responsible for both himself and his younger brother, being he's the only family he has left. Bolin is the easygoing, naive one of the two. They are a bit opposite in body builds as well: Mako is more wiry while Bolin is stocky.
• Sickeningly Sweethearts: With Asami, much to Korra's dismay.
• Sleep Cute: Shared one with Korra in "The Revelation". Upon waking, he freaks out a little.
• So Proud of You:
  • Wu's suggestion that they evacuate the civilians of Republic City in advance of Kuvira's assault makes Mako feel this way about him. Subverted when we find out it was just a ploy to impress Korra.
  • Played straight in "Kuvira's Gambit" after he gives a good Rousing Speech that convinces the citizens of Republic City to calmly evacuate, both Lin and Mako give him props (especially after the latter completely botched his attempt to do the same). Mako was speechless afterwards.
  • And in the series finale, Mako again expresses praise when he hears about how level-headed Prince Wu was during the evacuation. And Korra herself expresses praise when he reveals his intent to dissolve the monarchy and let the states govern themselves. She even promises to help him make the transition as smooth as possible.
• The Spock: To Korra's McCoy and Bolin's and Asami's Kirk. He always thinks with his head and often is the voice of reason. However, this is deconstructed in Book 2, Korra needs emotional support in addition to practical solutions, but he can only point out the perspective of others and/or her own flaws.
• The Stoic: He's controlled, keeps a cool head under pressure, and masks his expression with indifference.
• The Stool Pigeon: Of the Whistleblower Wilson variety. He sold Korra (along with Varrick, Asami, and Bolin) out to the President, but he truly believed the whole plan was a terrible, amoral idea.
• Straight Man and Wise Guy: The stoic, aloof Straight Man to Bolin's silly, goofy Wise Guy. Later, after Bolin signs up with Kuvira, Prince Wu takes the place as the Wise Guy.
• The Strategist: Came up with a plan to get Bolin and escape the rally. In fact, his rationality and analytical mind are often highlighted.
• Street Urchin: Before the events of the show. Mako is still well-versed in street info and connections, knowing the location of the Triple Threat Triad headquarters after working for them, and about chi-blocking and the Equalists. He also uses this knowledge to know Kai's Street Urchin status shouldn't be overlooked.
• Strong Family Resemblance:
  • To his late mother. His paternal grandmother mentions that they both have the same eyes.
  • Although it's hard to see normally, since they use different hairstyles, color scheme and wear very different expressions, Mako and Bolin do look quite alike, as seen when Bolin does an impression of his brother and becomes nearly identical.◊
• Strong Girl, Smart Guy: Mako is a thoughtful and rational guy with an analytical mind that is often highlighted when he comes up with smart plans, while Korra is a tough-as-nails master of the four elements who almost always tries to solve any problem with fighting.
• Sugar-and-Ice Personality: To those he doesn't know or doesn't care for, he is generally cold. To people he either knows or wants to know better, like Asami's father, he is much warmer.
• Suspiciously Similar Substitute: To a small extent. The creators said he reminds them of Zuko "without the angst"; a bit of a brooder but he's "lighter". This is ironic, considering that much of the fandom compare his personality to that of Katara.
• Tall, Dark, and Handsome: A straight example. Even his voice actor described him as "tall and handsome", and his official bios are consistent in restating this fact. The show isn't shy about it either.
  Jinora: Oooh, he's cute. Korra, is that the handsome firebender boy that drives you crazy?
• Tall, Dark, and Snarky: Occasionally, such as when Naïve Newcomer Korra makes a mistake he will snark about it. Having to ferry clueless Prince Wu about brings it out as well, along with some amazing long-suffering expressions.
• Team Dad: He's the level headed one who keeps Korra from going guns a' blazing to handle a dilemma, and is a stickler about rules. This isn't even adding his whole relationship dynamic with his brother. "And The Winner Is..." had him step in defense of Korra during a round with the Wolfbats, attempting to block a three-on-one attack that almost knocked them both out the ring. He also shows concern about her going after Amon and the Equalists, telling her to be careful. Once she comes out of that fight unscathed, he runs up to her fretfully and gives her a hug, glad to see she's okay. He's certainly very protective about people he cares about.
• Technician Versus Performer: The Technician to Korra's and Bolin's Performer.
• Thou Shalt Not Kill: Averted - Mako is one of the only members of either Team Avatar to explicitly kill an opponent when he fries Ming-Hua with a blast of Lightning.
• To Be Lawful or Good: The President was increasingly suspicious of Korra's activity, and asked Mako if she was planning something. He had to remind Mako that he made an oath to his country. This is enough to tip the balance between Mako's love for Korra and his own morals and duties in favor of the later, and he tells Raiko about Korra and Varrick's plan to go directly to the military of Republic City. However, he explains he made this decision for Korra's own sake as well, because he can't constantly worry about her making a wrong decision. At the end, it all evens out because it led Korra to see what she was really up against, and he finds out Varrick isn't entirely their ally.
• Took a Level in Badass: Goes from an average probender who only cared about money and Bolin to an ace detective who has improved his bending drastically and has also become a full-on All-Loving Hero.
• Took a Level in Cheerfulness: Mako still keeps his stoic demeanor, but by Book 4 he is less sulky and angst-ridden than he was in Book 1.
• Took a Level in Idealism: In Book 1, Mako only cared about his and Bolin's well being. By Book 4, he is now putting the welfare of other people, (not just him, Bolin, or his friends) first.
• Took a Level in Kindness: As of the second season, he's less jerk, more heart of gold. He's trying his best to be supportive and understanding of Korra, at least. Took on another level in Book 3, when he starts to be more supportive of Bolin. By the series finale, Mako has fully evolved into an All-Loving Hero.
• Tragic Keepsake: His red scarf is confirmed to have belonged to his father. He gives it to his grandmother when he and Bolin meet his father's family in Ba Sing Se.
• Troubled, but Cute: Tough past? Check. Stand-offish? Check. Good-looking? Check.
• Tuckerization: Mako is named after Mako Iwamatsu, the original voice actor of Iroh in the original series who died near the end of production for Book 2.
• The Unapologetic: Combined with his blame-shifting, Mako also doesn't actually apologize for his wrongdoings against his friends.
• Unbroken Vigil: He stays by Korra's side as she lies resting after her escape from Tarrlok.
• Underestimating Badassery: Detectives Lu and Gang look down on Mako in Book 2 though they should know what he did last season.
• Undying Loyalty: To Bolin. The majority of Mako's life has been spent protecting and caring for the basic needs of his little brother, something that doesn't appear to be changing at all as they enter adulthood. In the end, he declares his loyalty to Korra, pledging to follow her anywhere.
• Unresolved Sexual Tension: Has this mechanic with Korra. As of the Book 1 finale, it's been resolved.
• Unusual Eyebrows: Of the "kinked" type. Inherited from his mother.
• Uptight Loves Wild: Deconstructed. When the reserved and stoic Mako was dating the Hot-Blooded and energetic Korra, their personalities didn’t work out. The problems that happen in Book 2 (Korra finding out her father and Tenzin lying to her about why she was kept at the compound, her uncle manipulating, the war between the Southern and Northern Water Tribes) has them both on opposing ways to deal with it – Mako remains objective and gives Korra the best answer he can think of, but Korra acts rash and impulsive, even willing to use a Republic City military vessel to carry out her plans. Unsurprisingly, they get into a heated argument over how the other one is handling the situation, leading to their break-up.
• Vitriolic Best Buds: This is pretty much his regular dynamic with Korra, and even lampshades it in "Reunions" stating that getting on each others nerves is like old times.
• Weak, but Skilled: Compared to Korra and Bolin. Korra is the Avatar with all the power that implies, while Bolin approaches being a Person of Mass Destruction by the end of the series. Mako is exceptionally talented, but lacks the firepower his bending teammates possess.
• What the Hell, Hero?: Gives this to Korra in "Peacekeepers", when she participates in insurrectionist bordering behavior in her attempts to solve the Water Tribes' civil war.
  • However, as "Remembrances" cheerfully points out, he's often on the receiving end of this trope far more often than he'd like to admit.
• Wish-Fulfillment: For the first couple seasons, specifically the first. He's a powerful Pretty Boy that has two equally beautiful yet distinctly different high-status women throwing themselves at him to the extent of offering him (and his brother) free room and board so he gets to live the high life in a mansion then on a famous island with the only catches being to be honest and committed to either girlfriend. He cheats on one, but only gets a stern talking to from her before moving on to end up with the other and then gets a second chance with the former when the latter didn't work out and then a second chance with the latter due to amnesia. The trope eventually gets Deconstructed, with both his relationships ultimately falling apart, so that by Book 3, both girlfriends have had their fill with him on a romantic level due to such constant lying and cheating while he has to get over his shame of what he did wrong.
• Working with the Ex:
  • With Asami as of the Book 1 finale after he realizes his feelings for Korra. They briefly get back together during Book 2 after his break up with Korra, but after he refuses to tell an amnesiac Korra of their break up, his and Asami's romance ends for good. Come Book 3, they are now friends, but he is still awkward around her because of their past history. He gets over it.
  • With Korra after their official break up in the Book 2 finale. Like Asami, Mako acts awkward around Korra for the same reasons but gets over it.
• Worthy Opponent: Gets this from Amon, after resisting his bloodbending and electrocuting him at point-blank range.
  Amon: I'm impressed. No one has ever gotten the better of me like that. It is almost a shame to purify someone so talented. Almost.
• Would Hit a Girl: During Book 3, he fights Ming-Hua of the Red Lotus twice, ultimately killing her with a blast of Lightning. In his defense, it was her or him.
• Yes-Man: The other failed way he tries to please Korra while they dated since Brutal Honesty wasn't working and this way didn't work either as he was still useless/unsupportive only now he was phony about it, too.

Bolin

Bolin

Voiced by: P. J. Byrne, Sebastian Fitzner (German), Alexandre Nguyen (French), Janusz Zadura (Polish)

"Maybe I just can't turn my back on people when they're down!"

^{Click here for his Book 4 appearance}

The younger of two brothers from a mixed-ethnicity union. Part of a pro-bending team along with Korra and his older brother Mako. Being younger, Bolin is a lot more playful and relaxed than his brother, and just wants a good time. He wants to take more initiative and get more respect, but his immaturity and naturally laid-back nature makes this difficult.

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• 10-Minute Retirement: Bolin several times tries to have a normal life outside of Team Avatar, but as circumstances force him to quit whatever job he tries to get, he ultimately accepts Team Avatar is his true place in life.
• 11th-Hour Superpower: Bolin spontaneously learns to lavabend in the Book 3 season finale.
• The Ace: This trope is initially inverted for Bolin since while a skilled bender in his own right he was often Over Shadowed By Awesome when compared to everyone else in the Krew. This all changed after he mastered Lavabending and suddenly became second to Korra in terms of destructive power. Hell, by the end of the series one could argue that he is now approaching Toph/Bumi levels of raw earthbending power.
• Acquired Situational Narcissism: After Varrick makes him a mover star, Bolin lets it go to his head, though he gets better after Varrick is exposed as a traitor.
• Affectionate Nickname: Is given the pet name "Feeble Turtleduck" courtesy of Eska.
• All for Nothing: Bolin's work on the Earth Empire and with Kuvira is this. He joins Kuvira because he believes that they are making lives better. Bolin strains his relationships with his brother Mako and girlfriend Opal, who disapprove of Kuvira because he idolizes her. Bolin goes so far as to lash out at Mako for not thinking she is a good leader. In "Enemy at the Gates", when he is sent to Zaofu to negotiate, he finds that Opal is angry and wants nothing to do with him. When Bolin tries to tell all the good the Earth Empire has done to improve the lives of the towns, Opal tells him that all of the towns that were forced to join the Earth Empire have turned into labor camps so Kuvira can get their resources and calls him out on never checking on those towns. Bolin refuses to believe her and snaps at her that he was certain that they were making the Earth Empire a better place to live. The tension between the couple is defused, however, when Bolin hears Kuvira issue a twenty-four hour ultimatum to surrender Zaofu, lest she would take it by force. Kuvira then confirms to Bolin that what he heard is true and threatens to send him to a reeducation camp. Painfully aware of how badly he misjudged her and how many people he's hurt in the process, Bolin goes to great lengths to help derail Kuvira's plans. Lampshade in "Remembrances":
  Bolin: How can you call me "the hero of the world"? [Looks down.] I left my friends and family to join up with a psychotic dictator who imprisoned me and now, [Looks away in shame.] I'm running back home with my tail between my legs.
• All-Loving Hero: Bolin is quick to forgive people who've done him wrong (i.e. Varrick). He can't bear to see another living thing, human or animal, be hurt. Resulting in his strong desire to do anything in his power to help.
• All There in the Manual: His rank in Kuvira's army is Corporal, according to the concept art, but isn't stated on screen.
• Always Second Best: When it comes to his brother Mako — in age and getting girls.
• Amazon Chaser:
  • Back when he had a crush on Korra.
  Bolin: You're the smartest, funniest, toughest, buffest, talented-est, incredible-est girl in the world!
  • In season 2, he begins a relationship with the aggressive Eska but it gets deconstructed as her said aggressiveness makes her a controlling, emotionally abusive girlfriend to Bolin.
  • He also starts a relationship with Opal, who won't let him off easy when he makes a huge mistake. Before that, when Bolin approached her with his usual Casanova Wannabe routine, he compliments her airbending skills.
• Amicable Exes: With Eska, if a bit awkward.
• Annoying Younger Sibling: Downplayed. Not intentionally, but Bolin's naive and blunt nature does cause some problems for his older brother, Mako. Despite this, he and Mako are still very close and are each other's best friend.
• Ascended Fanboy:
  • Toph is Bolin's hero and not only does he meet her family during Book 3, but he also begins a relationship with her only granddaughter, Opal. He gets to meet her personally in Book 4.
  • Bolin has a great admiration towards Lord Zuko and is in complete awe when they meet in person.
• The Atoner: During the second half of Book 4 once he learns the truth about Kuvira's goals and abandons her army. He's painfully aware of how badly he misjudged her and how many people he's hurt and alienated in the process, including his girlfriend Opal, and he goes to extreme lengths to help derail Kuvira's plans and regain Opal's trust.
• Audience Surrogate: He starts taking on the role in Book 2, with his prodding Mako to clean up his love life already, and goes even more into it in Book 3 with his reactions to Varrick and the Red Lotus. He's also a fan of the characters from the original series, based on his reactions to Zuko and Toph.
• Aw, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other: Despite a somewhat rocky start, at the end of Book 2 he and Eska do genuinely care for each other. A little.
• The Baby of the Bunch: Most childlike of the team. Mako is quick to admonish his little brother for his antics every now and then.
• Badass Adorable: By being both a Lightning Bruiser and The Cutie.
• Badass in a Nice Suit: Bolin foils a plot at a formal event in a nice Roaring Twenties-esque suit. Not before tearing the sleeves off first.
• Bad Liar: He usually runs at his mouth, trying to cover one lie with a more exaggerated instance. It's a hint that Bolin wasn't acting when he gives his Anguished Declaration of Love.
• Bad Powers, Good People: He learns lavabending, a strong contender for the scariest, most devastating bending technique in the show. It makes him no less goofy, fun-loving, or kind-hearted. Becomes even more pronounced after the Time Skip, where even though he is part of Kuvira's Earth Empire, he is the Token Good Teammate, joined so he could help the helpless and expresses reservations when Kuvira starts acting aggressive, all despite having the most destructive power out of all the group.
• Bait-and-Switch: In Book 3, he reveals that he always wanted to learn metalbending but years of practice failed to produce any results. After several points where it seems like metalbending would be an important skill for him to finally pick up in a pinch, he instead learns lavabending.
• Bash Brothers: With Mako. It's more common in Book 3, since the two are usually split up in the previous seasons.
• Battle Couple:
  • Downplayed with Eska. They fought together after briefly rekindling their relationship, but both decide to amicable break-up.
  • Downplayed again with Opal. While they remain a couple by the series finale and proven their skill in their respective bending (even becoming more stronger during the Time Skip), they hardly fight beside one another.
• Berserk Button: In season 4, during the first half of the season, questioning if Kuvira is a bad leader or saying his work on the Earth Empire was bad is a good way to make him mad, as his brother Mako and girlfriend Opal learn. Bolin learns the hard way that they were right and he regrets not listening to them.
• Betty and Veronica: Bolin is the "Betty" (the sweet-hearted Big Fun) to Mako's "Veronica" (aloof, The Cynic) in a Sibling Triangle for Korra's "Archie". After seeing Korra and Mako kiss, Bolin, after a hostile initial reaction, amicably bows out of the love triangle. His crush on Korra is never mentioned again.
• Beware the Nice Ones: Bolin is sweet, empathetic, and a hugger. However, he's a deadly bender when pushed, especially when Book 4 comes around.
• Beware the Silly Ones: Bolin acts like a goofball, but when it comes to earthbending or lavabending, he's no joke, and can get downright deadly.
• Big Beautiful Man: Stout, chubby, and muscular body? Check. Resident Chick Magnet and cutie? Check.
• Big Brother Instinct: He gets very excited about having a little brother figure when Kai joins the group, and keeps sticking up for him no matter how clear it gets that the kid is up to no good.
• Big Eater: He's the likeliest of the team to be munching on some snack (grapes, dumplings, popcorn, entire game hens, and so on) or another in any given random scene. Not long after the brothers' introduction, he's revealed to have taken out a loan against their winnings to do some impromptu grocery shopping. When given a look of chagrin by his brother, Bolin simply quips:
  "I'm a growing boy!"
• Big Fun: The burlier and more fun-loving sibling.
• The Big Guy: Thematically. As the avatar, Korra has more raw power, but Bolin is still the most likely to use blunt force in a fight. Book 3 plays up his precise earthbending skills, however. And then there's his lavabending.
• Big Ol' Eyebrows: They come from his father's side of the family, who all share them.
• Birds of a Feather:
  • Bolin explains to his brother Mako why he likes Avatar Korra: "Korra and I are perfect for each other. She's strong, I'm strong. She's fun, I'm fun. She's beautiful...I'm gorgeous!" Though unfortunately for Bolin, Korra doesn't feel the same way. While she does care very much about him as a friend, her affections lie firmly with Mako, who isn't so different from Korra.
  • It pays off better in Season 3 when Bolin meets Opal, Lin Beifong's niece, who's just as dorky and kind hearted as he is.
• Brains and Brawn: Provides the brawn when working with Varrick.
• Breakout Character: Got little screentime or story in season one. Fast forward to season 4, where he's more important to the story than the other Krew aside from Korra, and received the same or more screentime as her.
• Broken Ace: Bolin may not have had it as hard as Korra, but he's been through his own share of troubles. Bolin lost his parents to a firebending mugger (it's unknown if he was there with Mako), but it forced him to fend for himself, along with his brother, on the streets. As he grew up, Bolin gained a lot of insecurities whenever he compared himself to Mako-noted to be better at receiving more attention from the girls and being a better bender. He also thought of himself of a lesser earthbender because he could never metalbend. In the love department, Bolin always wanted to find that one girl, but never had much luck (e.g., Korra, Eska, and Ginger.) He does finally find his true love in Opal, but their relationship is strained because of his alliance with Kuvira. Bolin also suffers from his naive nature when he thinks someone is trying to help, but are just using him for their own selfish gain (e.g., Shady Slim, Varrick, and Kuvira) and have caused to put strain on his relationships with the people closest to him (e.g., Mako, Opal, etc.) It would be understandable if his idealism was shaken after moments like that.
• Brutal Honesty: As for telling the truth, his mouth is as blunt as most Earthbenders can get. He does this twice in the first two episodes of season 2. The first time, it impresses Varrick, the second just causes awkward silence.
• Butt-Monkey: Especially in the Book 2 premiere, when he gets pushed around a lot. Also, he easily gets taken advantage of by Korra's cousins.
• Calling the Old Man Out: Not his own father, but he does call out Hiroshi Sato for his treatment of Asami. But note that he callss him MISTER SATO. Bolin is a POLITE young man, even when he's angry.
  Bolin: You! Are! A! Horrible! Father!
• Cannot Keep a Secret: Bolin is not the best at keeping secrets, as he accidentally blabbed to Asami about Mako and Korra's kiss while she was still dating his brother.
• The Captain: Of the Fire Ferrets after Book 1. Mako and Korra have both quit.
• Captain Obvious: He tends to point out things that are obvious to everyone else. It's usually Played for Laughs, but no one appreciates it.
• The Casanova: Subverted. He is introduced as one, infamous for bringing his "crazy fangirls" with him backstage at the arena (which isn't unreasonable for a famous athlete). However, while later stories still show him quite popular with the ladies, he never displays the expected attitude, being more goofy than jaded.
• Casanova Wannabe: Anytime he tries to get girls onscreen, it never ends well with him. He takes an interest in Korra in Book 1, but it was one-sided and then he saw Korra and Mako kiss. In Book 2, he tries to impress Eska, Korra's cousin, but her domineering attitude quickly alienated him. Ginger, the woman who plays his girlfriend on the big-screen, isn't too fond of him, either, though she warmed up after he saved the president. In Book 3, he initially tries to approach Opal Beifong in this fashion, but abandons it after she convinces him to be himself. In general, Bolin seems to do a lot better when he's not making an effort.
• Character Development: It takes a while to kick in and is offscreen, but it does happen. Come Book 4, Bolin is less of the goofball we knew in the first three books. Now, he's more calm, mature, and has found his calling.
  • One big example of his growth is his relationship with Varrick. In Book 2, Bolin blindly followed and admired Varrick, despite the man's shadiness. However, in Book 4, while Bolin still listens to Varrick, it's only when the older man has a point or actually knows what he's doing, and is now able to call out Varrick for his crazy or selfish stunts.
  • Bolin also truly becomes an individual in Book 4, and not just one half of the Bending Brothers. Besides making his own decisions based on what he believes is right, his clothing also becomes very distinct from Mako's, sporting a brown leather jacket opposite Mako's plain bodyguard uniform, after both brothers having very similar costumes for the past three seasons.
  • In the romantic department, Bolin had a pretty narrow view on how to approach a girl he was interested in (e.g., he would act as the Casanova Wannabe). However, after he meets Opal, who made it clear she didn't like said approach, he quickly drops the act. They becomes an Official Couple in Book 4; they were having relationship troubles during the Book because of his involvement with Kuvira, he tells her he knows he can't win her forgiveness with romantic gestures, but he won't stop trying because he loves her.
• Characterization Marches On: One of the original aspects of Bolin's character was that he was a successful ladies' man. Aside from Mako mentioning that Bolin often brings fangirls into the gym (and one of them yelling Bolin's name during a match) in their debut episode, this has been nowhere on display for most of the series, with most of his attempts at romance (be it with Korra, Eska, Ginger or Opal) being rather lame and giving the vibe of someone with little experience.
• The Charmer: Said to always have a lady on his arm, as well as a habit of bringing "crazy fangirls" to the Fire Ferret's room before matches. We get to see Bolin in his natural environment in Book 2 where he lives up to the trope.
• Chekhov's Skill:
  • Those Nuktuk movers actually paid off when he had to get Eska to let him and Mako go and feigned an Anguished Declaration of Love about how he left her at the altar because he was afraid of his feelings, which resulted in her softening just enough to free them. Although he might not have been completely acting.
  • The precision Earthbending Bolin learned as a pro-bender came in handy for neutralizing P'Li's combustion bending, as well as allowing him to easily control a Deadly Disc made of lava with his lavabending.
• Chick Magnet: Before a pro-bending match, one of said fans can be heard in the audience screaming "I love you, Bolin!" It was also mentioned that Korra wasn't the first girl he took backstage.
• Chivalrous Pervert: Bolin really loves attention from the ladies, but deep down he wants just one girl to fall in love with.
• Chromatic Arrangement: Green.
• Chronic Hero Syndrome: Summed up in his line toward Mako in Republic City Hustle:
  Bolin: Maybe I just can't turn my back on people when they're down!
• Comfort Food: The noodles from a restaurant that serves Water Tribe food. He overindulges once he sees Korra kissing his brother.
• Comically Missing the Point: In the Book 2 premiere, he did this a lot. No one appreciates it, AT ALL. This is evident especially when he hears the story about Tonraq's banishment, pointing out that Tonraq was supposed to be chief, but instead, Unalaq became chief. On the other hand, in that specific case, he unwittingly pinpoints a significant chunk of Unalaq's motives.
• The Corruptible: Though he didn't realize at first, thanks to Varrick's "help" his morals degraded quite a bit. He was shown to care more about hot girls and his mover star career than helping his brother. He at least learned his lesson, though, and in Book 3 rejected Varrick's love advice out of hand despite being otherwise friendly with him. It happens again in Book 4 with Kuvira, who manages to talk him into helping her even after she's taken taken over the Earth Kingdom and reformed it as the Earth Empire.
• Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass: Was pegged right away as inheriting the "comic relief" role from Last Airbender's Sokka, and he's often the first character to take a fall or be comedically-injured. But the second pro-bending match in "The Spirit of Competition" demonstrates that Bolin can be just as badass as his teammates. Throughout the second and third seasons, Bolin shows many times that while he may be a complete goof, he is still a champion pro-bender and is just as competent in a fight as his brother. This is exemplified toward the end of season two when he and Mako put up a reasonably good fight against Unalaq and his children, who are by all accounts masters of bending. Later, in season three, he and Mako take a squad of Dai Lee agents to the cleaners. Bear in mind that these are benders who gave Aang and company a hard time (albeit in greater numbers), and who don't seem to have slacked off on their standards in the interim. Heck, of the New Team Avatar, he's the only one bar Korra (eventually) who actually impresses Toph, who notes with some surprise that Lavabending is a very rare gift.
• The Cuckoolander Was Right: In Book 3, Bolin tries to convince Mako to help the rest of the team find the new airbenders. He makes up a sob story about about how their grandmother (who they never met) could be in Ba Sing Se, and how sad she would be if Mako doesn't come. And then, in Ba Sing Se, Mako and Bolin stumble upon their long-lost relatives...including their grandmother. On the other hand, Bolin was always aware that Ba Sing Se was their father's birthplace, but he wasn't sure his family was still around and kicking.
• Cuddle Bug: Bolin is the most "hugsy" of the group, sometime crossing over into being The Glomp.
• The Cutie: Exhibits some shades of this. The fandom definitely sees him this way though.
• Dark and Troubled Past: Mako didn't mention Bolin being present at the time of their parents' murder, and he has been sheltered by his brother, but it doesn't negate how hard it must have been for Bolin as well.
• Deadly Disc: His pro-bending career gave him a lot of practice earthbending stone discs with startling accuracy. What pushes it into this trope in Book 4 is when he lavabends a stone disc into a Hot Blade and uses it as a Precision-Guided Boomerang.
• Deconstructed Character Archetype: Of the usual comic relief Idiot Hero. Contrary to Mako, being shielded from a Crapsack World not only leaves him feeling insecure in the presence of his brother, but also immature and Super Gullible that makes him a sucker for any sweet-talking villain, which eventually stops being cute and gets called out on in Book 4 and has to actively work to redeem himself and finally grow up.
• Defector from Decadence: After discovering that Kuvira uses her subjects as slave labor and throws dissidents into re-education camps, he and Varrick jump ship, but get captured.
• Delinquent Hair: Appears to sport a Ducktail hairstyle, which was popular with Real World greasers back in the 50's.
• Desperately Looking for a Purpose in Life: It's implied in Book 2 after Mako and Korra quit pro-bending. Gets pointed out again in Ruins of the Empire, when he's working for Zhu-Li and claims he's found his purpose in life, prompting Mako to point out he said that about pro-bending, being in movers, working for Kuvira and being a cop. And judging by Bolin's weary sigh, he's not as happy as he claims.
• Determinator: To a degree. Continues to fight despite his injured shoulder, as noticed by Shiro Shinobi.
• Didn't Think This Through
  • Bolin never thought of the full consequences of siding with Kuvira, and especially of Opal's reaction. Early in season 4, she made it clear to Bolin that she does not trust Kuvira or approve of him working with her. When Kuvira takes power and Bolin stays with her, it appears he never considered how Opal would react and thinks they still would be good. To Bolin's credit, in the episode "Enemy at the Gates", when Kuvira inducts Bolin into her "inner circle" on the basis that he would do a better job of reaching common ground with Suyin, when they arrive at Zaofu with the rest of the Earth Empire army, he points out that it would send the wrong message. Arriving in the city, Bolin and Kuvira are led by Baatar Jr. to the room where the rest of the Beifong family is awaiting them. Upon noticing Opal, he enthusiastically greets her and moves to embrace her, though he is angrily told off, as he had "chosen [his] side". Surprised about the outburst, he tells everyone that there should not be sides. The negotiations fail and when he learns the truth about Kuvira, he deserts Kuvira's army. Even so, he loses the trust and respect of his girlfriend Opal that he worked hard to regain.
  • In "Beyond the Wilds," Bolin seems to think that using menial gestures like setting up a picnic for himself and Opal will make up for his working for Kuvira and not listening to her warnings about her, which inadvertently led to her family's kidnapping. Opal is rightfully pissed and corrects him very quickly; he only wins back her respect and love by helping her rescue them.
  Opal: Oh. Steam buns. My favorite. This will totally make me forget that you worked for Kuvira, the person who captured my family and is probably torturing them right now. So yeah, let's just sit down and have a great picnic because we're so in love!
• Die or Fly: As he, Mako, Asami, and Tenzin were trying to escape from the Northern Air Temple, they were all trapped in a tunnel while molten lava was closing in on them. Bolin then figures out lavabending at the last second and saves their lives.
• Dishing Out Dirt: He's an earthbender.
• Distressed Dude: He was kidnapped by Equalists in "The Revelation".
• Dogged Nice Guy: A bit towards Korra. He's got some interest in her, in that he looks forward to her coming to practices and makes a rather romantic gesture of giving her a rose and a small cake after she and Mako saved him from Amon, but Korra doesn't display much interest back. Granted, this wasn't the best time since she was facing major confidence issues because of Amon. Later, he takes Korra out on a date, who mostly agrees to cheer herself up after being rejected by Mako, about two seconds before. After the date, Bolin brings her a bouquet of flowers only to be crushed by the sight of Korra kissing Mako.
• Dork Knight: A goofy cutie dedicated to helping people who need it.
• Drowning My Sorrows: Well, a G Rated Version involving noodles after seeing Korra and Mako kiss.
• Easily Forgiven: Korra and Mako welcome him back with open arms after turning on Kuvira. After all, his closest friend and brother will always forgive him. This is averted with Opal, who is still angry with him and says that saving her family is the best way to redeem himself.
• Endearingly Dorky: The primary source in the series. This comes of being a painfully naïve sixteen-year-old boy who is spoiled by his older brother, as well as just an absolute darlin' and the team Butt-Monkey. His pet fire ferret also helps a lot. He's also The Charmer who clearly succeeds because of his dorky nature rather than sex appeal, and to top it all off, he has a cat-like smile!
• Elemental Eye Colors: An Earthbender with green eyes.
• Epic Fail: When he was given money to bribe someone to help Tonraq's trial, he instead bribed two random people, as opposed to the judge. This is lampshaded by Asami.
• Establishing Character Moment: Bolin is first seen walking to the arena, before catching sight of Korra being grilled by Toza. He immediately slicks his hair back, and walks over and covers for her.
• Expository Hairstyle Change: Like Mako, in Book 4 he now has a hairstyle that is more restrained and kempt than what he wore previously, as befits his role as a peacekeeping soldier.
• Fair Cop: This Chick Magnet joins the police force by Turf Wars.
• Fatal Flaw: Bolin can be bit too quick to trust strangers and take their word at face value, partly because of his own core nature as an affable, immature person, and partly because Mako shielded him from the harsh realities of the world as best as he could when the brothers were growing up. Bolin's naivety especially bites him in the backside in Book 4, when he chooses to ignore his friends' warnings about Kuvira and all the red flags the woman herself is giving off, until he discovers she's a power-hungry dictator and he's pretty much trapped.
• Foil: Bolin is the silly, cheerful, immature younger brother who is never afraid to cry, fanboy, or express whatever he's feeling; Mako is the serious, cynical, aloof older brother who has problems expressing his true feelings (i.e. the whole Love Triangle fiasco could've been avoided if he was more truthful). Mako ends up a Celibate Hero, while Bolin becomes an Official Couple with Opal.
• The Fool: Although he does have bending and is far from incompetent, he's by far the most lackadaisical of the core heroes of Team Avatar. He certainly fits the characteristic of living on the edge, all the while having a cheerful (and seemingly naive) attitude, no matter how bad the situation gets. He gets more serious in Book 4, largely out of necessity.
• Foolish Sibling, Responsible Sibling: The cheerful, silly one to Mako's serious and level-headedness.
• Forceful Kiss: Plants an unwanted one on Ginger while acting out a scene in a film.
• Four-Temperament Ensemble: Sanguine- The most cheerful and forgiving of the gang, which also makes him the most gullible.
• Fourth-Date Marriage: Narrowly avoided one with Eska...and ended up with his fiancée out to get him.
• Friend to All Living Things: Bolin immediately rescued Pabu when he was about to fed to a carnivore. He also gets momentarily distracted in Book 3, when Meelo mentions baby Sky Bison.
• The Glomp: Due to his overly-strong emotions, Bolin can cross into this.
• Good Is Not Soft: Despite the ample notes of his kind and jovial behavior, Bolin is a very capable earthbender who can handle himself in many fights.
• Green-Eyed Monster: A mild example. When he sees the extravagant gift basket Tarrlok sent her, he jumps at the chance to put the man who's been bothering Korra in his place. After Korra explains that the gifts are non-romantic, he seems relieved.
• Handsome Lech: He's a skirt chaser, but he's implied to have not gotten so many Fangirls. Some girls have managed to fall for him with varying success and results, such as Eska, Ginger, Opal, etc.
• The Heart: Of the four members of Team Korra, he has the biggest heart and most able at forgiving them when they screw-up. He doesn't even begrudge his brother or Korra after the day after he saw them kiss.
• Heel Realization: While with Kuvira, Bolin learns the hard way that his own misjudgment ended up hurting many people, including those close to him.
• Hellbent For Leather: Wears a brown leather jacket during the latter half of Book 4.
• Henpecked Husband: A boyfriend variant with Eska, though Eska wanted to make him this. In "Civil Wars, Part 1" he was first seen pulling Eska and Densa in a cart. Later when Eska wants to wed him and gives him a necklace, Korra notes that this tradition is usually performed by the other gender.
• Heroic Build: Best shown when playing bare-chested hero Nuktuk◊ in Varrick's movers. He seems to have slimmed down a bit◊ by Book 4, but is no less heroic for it.
• Heroic Self-Deprecation: The reason behind Bolin's reluctance to train in metalbending is because he didn't believe that he was special enough to pick it up. He ends up mastering an even rarer form of earthbending, lavabending, instead.
• Heterosexual Life-Partners: A sibling example, with Mako. They've always had each other backs and often give each other advice, be it with their bending or with the ladies.
• Hidden Depths: Bolin has a strong business sense, as has been noted by both Asami and Varrick, and is a talented and charismatic public speaker (which is also noted, and exploited, by Varrick). He's also a much more powerful bender than is strictly obvious, holding his own against the Red Lotus, and impressing both Ghazan and Toph with his Lavabending. Bear in mind, they're the two most powerful Earthbenders in the series, and Toph is impressed by literally nothing else, noting with mild surprise that it's a very rare talent.
• Honest Advisor: This is how Bolin impresses Varrick, by innocently pointing out the industrialist has failed to levitate himself with his own mind. All of Varrick's hangers-on were indulging his delusion.
• Hopeless Suitor: Bolin doesn't realize how badly Korra's crushing on his brother when he makes his own overtures.
• Horrible Judge of Character:
  • Self-admitted in Book 2, as he failed to see how trying to court the female half of the Creepy Twins would go horribly wrong.
  • He stands by Varrick much longer than anyone else.
  • In Book 3, he keeps vouching for Kai even before Kai went through Character Development and he was planning on completely screwing over him and Mako (and even after he did screw them over repeatedly).
  • And again in Book 4, where he can't see that Kuvira's heading down an obviously dark path even though he's working for her. This example is especially egregious because by this point, Bolin has been a member of Team Avatar for several years, and after all the trouble they've had with Tarrlok, Hiroshi Sato, Unalaq, Varrick, the Earth Queen and Aiwei, he should probably know better than to blindly trust authority figures by now. At least in this case, she's also very good at manipulating him.
• Hunk: Bolin has a square jaw and a stocky, muscular frame. He's also a Chick Magnet.
• Hypocritical Humor: "Some people just don't have respect for other people's property. Now let's steal this airship!"
• The Idealist: Deconstruction. Bolin is an idealist, always motivated by a strong desire to help people and make their lives better. When the Earth Kingdom fell into chaos, he joined Kuvira and her army, believing she wanted to help others as much as he did. As a result, his idealism and naiveté prevented him from second guessing the extreme lengths Kuvira would go to in order to achieve their goals, until they were pointed out to him.
• Idiot Hero: Bolin is far from stupid, but his naivete and gullible nature has gotten him into trouble.
• Improbable Aiming Skills: He hits P'Li in the center of her forehead with a peddle, in the middle of the night, from behind a barricade.
• Inelegant Blubbering: Is prone to this in certain episodes.
• In Love with Love: Bolin truly wants a real relationship, but has a lot of trouble finding one: Korra wasn't interested, Eska was abusive, and Ginger had to spell it out to him that they were only a couple in the movers.
• In Touch with His Feminine Side: He isn't afraid to show emotion and enjoys makeovers.
• Jerkass Ball: In Book 2, Varrick making him a mover star goes straight to his head, even to point he plants an unwanted kiss on Ginger and acts flippant towards Mako. He gets over it.
• Just a Kid: Dialogue seems to suggest Mako treats Bolin as this.
• The Kirk: Also shares this role with Asami. To Mako's Spock and Korra's McCoy. He's not as stoic as Mako, but he's nowhere as impulsive as Korra.
• The Knights Who Say "Squee!": He's quite a powerful Earthbender, but he holds Toph and Zuko in very high regard.
• Ladykiller in Love:
  • Despite his status as The Charmer his interest in Korra is both strong and genuine as he describes her to Mako as his dream girl. And his dismay at seeing Korra and Mako kissing is strong enough to reduce the usually cheerful young man to an emotional wreck.
  • In Book 2, he starts pursuing a romance with Eska. He quickly regrets it. He breaks up with her by siding with Korra in a war against her father and running away on a really fast ship. However, he later admits that she simply came on too strong and he does care for her.
  • In Book 3, he is smitten by Opal Beifong, a recently empowered airbender and granddaughter of Toph Beifong. This relationship has better chances than the previous two since it's neither one-sided nor highly dysfunctional, and is still open by the end of the season. As of Book 4 and the series finale, Bolin is a Official Couple with Opal.
• Lame Comeback: To Mako in episode 5. Though, he wasn't all there when he tried to make it.
  Mako: I told you dating a teammate was a bad idea!
  Bolin: You're a bad idea!
• Lantern Jaw of Justice: Fitting his stout build, Bolin has a truly impressive jaw.
• Laser-Guided Karma: Bolin always had sympathetic reasons for joining Kuvira, as she was restoring order to the Earth Kingdom and appeared to be improving the lives of the people there, and it looked like Kuvira was a better leader then Prince Wu. But despite this, he still ignores his brother Mako and girlfriend Opal's concerns and refuses to consider he was doing anything but improving lives. He even went as far as to lash out and mock Mako for not thinking Kuvira is a good leader, saying that he will change the world while Mako will kiss Wu's feet. And it also appears that Bolin never thought of Opal's reaction to him staying with Kuvira when she took power, despite Opal making it clear that she does not trust Kuvira or approve of him working with her. So him learning the hard way that the woman he idolizes is sending the people of the territories she's conquered to labor camps and dissenters are sent to "re-education" camps, and him realizing that he strained his relationships with his loved ones for nothing, can be consider karma. Bolin is painfully aware of how badly he misjudged Kuvira and goes to great lengths to help derail her plans. Mako easily forgives him and welcomes him back with open arms. Opal, however, is rightfully angry with Bolin and only forgives him when he helps rescue her family.
• Let's Get Dangerous!: Exactly what it says on the tin. He may be laidback, but when it's time to bend, it's serious business.
• Leitmotif: A short bit of fanfare plays whenever he does (or is about to do) something heroic, like bombing the South Pole in "Harmonic Convergence", stunning P'Li in "The Terror Within", attempting to metalbend in "Long Live the Queen", discovering his ability to lavabend in "Enter the Void", battling Ghazan in "Venom of the Red Lotus", fighting the Earth Empire mechas in "Enemy at the Gates" and "Reunion", and attacking Kuvira's colossus in "Day of the Colossus".
• Lightning Bruiser: Pro-bending emphasizes both power and speed. When giving pointers to Korra, he criticizes her conventional style as being powerful but leaving her open to attack, then demonstrates his own boxing-like style which allows him to attack quickly without sacrificing defense.
• Living Emotional Crutch: To Mako, who explicitly stated to Korra in Book 1 that he wouldn't know what to do if something ever happened to his little brother.
• Looking for Love in All the Wrong Places: Bolin has had a rough time with love from initially misreading Korra's friendship with him as romantic interest, to being emotionally abused by Eska, and then ends up planting an improv and unwanted Forceful Kiss on Ginger while acting out a scene in a film. It may just be his instinct to chase so many girls or Bolin has become desperate to get into any sort of relationship. It's so bad that when Opal is obviously interested in him, he has to have it spelled out for him by Mako. And even then, he starts out approaching her as a Casanova Wannabe, turning her off until she tells him to just be himself.
• Lovable Jock: He is a good hearted young man who cares about his teammates but will call them out when they aren't pulling their weight and screwing up the chances to win.
• Love at First Sight:
  • His Establishing Character Moment no less. He starts hitting on Korra the moment he meets her, comes to her aid when she's about to be tossed out of the building by his landlord, and tells Mako that he's "got a good feeling about this one". In The Spirit of Competition he openly tells Korra he's liked her since he first met her.
  • In Book 2, he becomes interested in Eska from the moment he sees her, although he had trouble finding the difference between her and her twin brother.
  • Was on the receiving end of this from Opal in Book 3, but by this point he's so jaded by failed relationships that it takes Mako spelling it out for him to catch on.
• Love Confession: Gives one to Opal in Book 4 after she chews him out for working for Kuvira, despite her warnings:
  "All right, listen. Before you go, I just want to tell you that I understand how you feel. I know there is nothing I could do or no big gesture that could make up for all my mistakes, but that doesn't mean I'm gonna stop trying to win you back because ... I love you."
• Love Hurts:
  • He finds out Korra likes Mako the hard way. Seeing Korra and Mako kissing reduces him to an emotional wreck.
  • Then there is of course Eska, who was emotionally abusive towards him.
  • Opal ends up falling here in season 4. Bolin siding with Kuvira, someone Opal detests for betraying her mother and being a cruel dictator, puts a severe strain on their relationship. It eventually all but breaks and even after Bolin leaves Kuvira's army, it takes a while for her to forgive him.
• Lust Object: He is a G-rated version of this trope to Eska, who seems to only seek him to possess him.
• Magma Man: When trying to outrun a lava flow in "Enter the Void", he discovers the ability to lavabend.
• Magnetic Hero: Due to his career as a Pro-Bender and being a natural public speaker. Deconstructed when Varrick decided to exploit this ability by casting Bolin as the star of his propaganda films, making him the poster boy of the Southern rebellion. Reconstructed after Bolin matures a lot by Book 4 and can use his charisma in a more responsible way.
• Manchild: While not exactly a man just yet (he's sixteen), he fits the bill. Due to Mako's nurture, Bolin is childish, trusts easily, wears his heart on his sleeve, and has been relying on someone else almost his entire life. But he's beginning to reach for independence from his brother. According to his voice actor, part of Bolin's character arc is him maturing and learning that not everything is as he thought it was.
• Masculine Girl, Feminine Boy:
  • The comical, dramatic Feminine Boy to Korra's Masculine Girl.
  • The emotional, sensitive, kind of wimpy Feminine Boy to Eska's domineering, fearless, take-charge Masculine Girl.
• Meaningful Background Event: He's first shown in-series in the background of an argument between Korra and Toza; at first he's just passing through, then double-takes at Korra, slicks back his hair, and struts forward to help her out.
• Meaningful Name: According to San's letter to Yin, Bolin's name is written in Chinese as 愽林. The characters mean "forest", alluding to Bolin's earthbending abilities.
• Manly Tears: His reaction when he sees Korra kissing Mako is to sob in the most overblown way imaginable and run away. And then when Mako tries to snap him out of it, he breaks into Inelegant Blubbering.
• Morality Chain: If Bolin wasn't around, the chances that Mako would've been the decent guy he is now wouldn't have been so good.
• Morality Pet: To Varrick in Book 4; Bolin acts as his conscience and Varrick genuinely likes and respects the young earthbender.
• Motor Mouth: The most talkative of the group.
• Muscles Are Meaningful: Although that bulk isn't fat. Bolin's stockier frame is simply ripe with muscle.
• My God, What Have I Done?: Downplayed. It appears that Bolin is so focused on stopping Kuvira that he is not allowing himself to think about how he messed up by trusting her, but he is upset when he meets the innocent people Kuvira is interning in her camps, realizing that he has had a part (albeit unwittingly) in ruining their lives. Played Straight in episode "Remembrances", where he spends the episode depressed because he left his friends and family to join up with a psychotic dictator, and fears that his girlfriend Opal will never forgive him.
• My Master, Right or Wrong: Played with. Bolin clearly has some misgivings about Kuvira's decision to seize control of the Earth Kingdom/Empire, but he still sticks with her, at least for now. After learning the inner workings of her regime and realizing her true nature, he defects from her.
• New Job as the Plot Demands: Somehow whatever job he has in the books advances the plot.
• Nice Guy: As said with Lovable Jock and The Heart, he is an all around nice guy.
• Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: The biggest flaw Bolin has is his big mouth. If Bolin hadn't told his brother that he, Asami, Varrick and Korra were planning to go to General Iroh, the President would've been none the wiser. Once Korra was sold out to the President, it caused Korra and Mako to break up.
• Not What I Signed on For: Bolin wanted joined Kuvira because he wanted to do what was right, and he let himself believe that they were making lives better, but they weren't. Bolin found out that Kuvira has people placed in slave camps after they pledge their loyalty to her.
• Obliviously Evil: In season 4, he has no idea what Kuvira is really doing and just thinks she's helping people. He has no idea to the inner workings of her empire, including borderline slavery and "reeducation centers" which he thought were simply trade schools.
• Odd Friendship: With Varrick, though Varrick turns out to be a Big Bad Friend.
• Official Couple: In Book 4, Bolin is in a Long-Distance Relationship with Opal, though her strained relations with Kuvira and Baatar Jr. are something of a sore spot between them.
• Opposites Attract: With Eska in Book 2. Bolin is a happy, funny guy, while Eska is a bit of an emotionless Deadpan Snarker and a Royal Brat who sees Bolin as a means to an end. They don't work out.
• Out of Focus: Once book 1's pro-bending plot ends, Bolin has very little personal stake in the plot, and his mover plot in book 2 is ultimately less important than Mako's investigation of Varrick.
• Person of Mass Destruction: Once he masters Lavabending, which is hands down the most destructive bending technique on the show.
• Pitbull Dates Puppy: With Eska in Book 2. Bolin is nice, friendly guy and a bit of a pushover. Eska, on the other hand, is an incredibly bossy and possessive Royal Brat who treats Bolin like a slave in the short time they go "dating" and even tries to force him to marry her before he ditches her.
• Plucky Comic Relief: Gets most of the jokes, yet still remains a likable and complex character. Also helps he is friends with Varrick, another source of comedy.
• Power Stereotype Flip: A sanguine Earthbender (when most Earthbenders are melancholic).
• The Prankster: To Mako. Pabu is his partner in crime.
• Punctuated Pounding: Against Hiroshi Sato in the finale of Book 1.
• Redundant Romance Attempt: He initially attracts Opal without even realizing it and needs a genius of love like Mako to spell it out to him. And also tell him that his previous love interests were either The Ditz Ginger or Ax-Crazy Eska, so it's about time to aim for someone who is neither of those things. Bolin initially tries to act smooth which only turns Opal off. She immediately calls him out on it then advises him to Be Yourself, which greatly improves both their growing relationship and each's Character Development fitting with the franchise's Central Theme of Balance.
• Renaissance Man: As goofy as he is, Bolin has an impressive and diverse skillset. By the end of the series, he is a championship-level pro-bender, a respected actor, a veteran soldier, and the world's only surviving lavabender (that we know of). In the comic Turf Wars, he adds "cop" to his resume, joining his brother as part of Republic City's police.
• Romantic Runner-Up: He's very nice and funny, but Korra chooses his more handsome and skilled brother over him.
• Runaway Groom: He skipped town before his wedding to Eska. He later admit he was just too nervous to marry her.
• Sensitive Guy and Manly Man: The comical, In Love with Love Sensitive Guy to Mako's stoic, blunt Manly Man.
• She-Fu: Unlike most earthbenders, Bolin does not rely on a stable stance and frequently incorporates acrobatic flourishes in his attacks. This may have been a habit carried over from his pro-bending days where success frequently meant being able to dodge and attack at the same time.
• Shipper on Deck:
  • For Kai and Jinora.
  Bolin: Whoa! Tenzin's not gonna be happy about this!
  Mako: Then don't tell him.
  Bolin: How can I not? It's too juicy!
  • In Book 4, he supports Varrick and Zhu Li. So much so that he officiates their wedding.
  • When Bolin learned that Korra and Asami had become a couple, he immediately wanted them to go on a double date with him and Opal.
• Shy Finger-Twiddling: Prone to this, when nervous. He does it when Korra initially does badly in her first match as a response to his brother's accusatory look, and again when menaced by Amon.
• Sibling Rivalry: Bolin and Mako fell out with each other Book 2, that Bolin decided to move out on his own. They eventually patch things up.
• Sibling Team: With Mako, either in pro-bending or in intense battles.
• Sibling Triangle: Both he and Mako liked Korra at the beginning of season one. It came to its peek in "The Spirit of Competition" and to an end when Bolin realized that his romantic interest in Korra wasn't reciprocated.
• Sibling Yin-Yang: Bolin is the easygoing, naive one of the two. Mako's serious, though not quite as downcast as his clone. Life in the streets toughened him up, and he feels responsible for both himself and his younger brother, being he's the only family he has left. They are a bit opposite in body builds as well: Mako is more wiry while Bolin is stocky.
• Shockwave Stomp: Bolin demonstrates this in Book 4, bowling over a group of captors. And he wasn't trying to hurt them.
• Sleeves Are for Wimps: He tears off the sleeves of his fancy suit before fighting a group of waterbenders trying to kidnap President Raiko and his wife.
• Speaks Fluent Animal: Specifically, fire ferret. It's how he talks to Pabu.
• Stepford Smiler: Implied, he claims that sometimes he cries himself to sleep. The fact he mentions it while on the subject of pro-bending indicates he didn't take losing so early (and easily) at the start of Book 2 well.
• Stout Strength: He is on the bulkier side than his thinner teammates, but still shows good levels of strength.
• Straight Man and Wise Guy:
  • The goofy, silly Wise Guy to Mako's stoic, aloof Straight Man.
  • By Book 4, he's the serious, reasonable Straight Man to Varrick's eccentric, sarcastic Wise Guy.
• Street Urchin: He used to be one with his brother.
• Strong Family Resemblance:
  • He shares nearly the same physique as his late father.
  • Although it's hard to see normally, since they use different hairstyles, color scheme and wear very different expressions, Mako and Bolin do look quite alike, as seen when Bolin does an impression of his brother and becomes nearly identical.◊
• Suddenly Fluent in Gibberish: He seems to be able to understand Pabu.
• Suspiciously Similar Substitute: He is this to Avatar's Sokka, as the wisecracking, sarcastic and somewhat bumbling comic relief. They both even have a similar inferiority-complex arc in their respective third seasons.
• Technician Versus Performer: Along with Korra, is the Performer to Mako's Technician.
• Token Good Teammate: His expressive nature and loyalty has made him unknowingly fill this role to Kuvira's Big Bad. He supports the Earth Empire purely because he wants to help people, but not for any sort of power lust. He realizes the truth in "Enemy at the Gates".
• Took a Level in Badass: In "Enter the Void", just as he, Asami, Mako and Tenzin are about to be engulfed in Ghazan's lava, Bolin discovers his ability to lavabend. And it gets even better in Book 4, Bolin has spent nearly three years in Kuvira's army, his earthbending has improved drastically and he's nearly Ghazan's level when it comes to lavabending.
• Took a Level in Dumbass: In Book 2. He'd been a gullible Manchild before in trusting Shady Shin, but here, he was suddenly a mouth-breather that can't tell real from pretend or bribe the right people. Thankfully, following books fix this so that he's both learning from his mistakes (ex. don't take Varrick's romantic advice) and harder to fool (ex. Kuvira keeping him in the dark and exploiting his desire to do good.)
• Took the Bad Film Seriously: Invoked Bolin seems to genuinely believe in the movers he's making, even when other people think they're hilarious. When Varrick is telling his Abridged Series-style recap mover of Bolin's life, he's the only one upset about how it doesn't make any sense.
• Trademark Favorite Food: Dumplings according to Mako in "Revelations".
• Turn the Other Cheek: Generally, Bolin is more forgiving of people, even if they wrong him or his friends in some shape or form:
  • Forgives Korra and Mako despite his heartbreak.
  • He still respects Varrick, despite finding out that Varrick betrayed his and his friends' trust.
  • He never let go of his feelings for Eska, in spite of her abuse.
  • Quick to forgive Kai and defend him after the Artful Dodger repeatedly lies to them.
• Uncanny Family Resemblance: His cousin from Ba Sing Se looks a lot like him. In fact, many of his father's side of the family have similar snub noses and heavy eyebrows.
• Vitriolic Best Buds: Develops this with Varrick in Book 4.
• Well-Intentioned Extremist: While a member of a totalitarian regime, he was a staunch believer in the Earth Empire as the bringer of law and order, and tries to use his position to improve the lives of citizens of the former Earth Kingdom. He realized entirely too late that he badly misjudged what the real core of the Empire was like, nearly paid the price for his misjudgment, and lost his girlfriend's trust and respect for him, which he had to work hard to earn back.
• What the Hell, Hero?: One of many to call Mako out on his bad behavior, specifically in Book 2 where even a dumbass like he was could pick up Mako and Asami being on the rebound in not even a week since Korra left.
• Wrestler in All of Us: Bolin also has some skill in wrestling and grappling, which he utilized during his one-on-one tiebreaker match with an experienced Black Quarry Boar-q-pine earthbending opponent.

Naga

Naga

Voiced by: Dee Bradley Baker

"Your best friend... is a polar bear dog. Somehow that makes perfect sense." —Mako

Korra's companion and best friend, a polar bear dog.

---

• Action Pet: Charges a few times in to save her friends.
• Androcles' Lion: As a frightened cub separated from her mother, Naga was wary of Korra when they first met. Then the Avatar offered her some fish jerky, and the two have been bonded ever since.
• Badass Adorable: She is big and strong enough to topple three Equalist-mechas, but once you befriend her, she is a loving puppy.
• Bears Are Bad News: Korra is the first person to ever tame a polar-bear dog, which are fierce enough that a previous Avatar wore the hide of one to look more badass. She can and does use Naga as an intimidation tool, and Naga is fiercely protective of Korra.
• Big Damn Heroes: Like her predecessor in the "larger animal companion" category, Appa, she has a habit of extricating our heroes from dicey situations in the nick of time.
• Big Friendly Dog: Her Establishing Character Moment is licking Korra's face over and over. Her friendliness extends to those beyond Korra too, as seen when she licks a police attendant's hair. In one case, she roared viciously at an interloper only to discover it was Lin Beifong, and then proceeded to lick Lin as she still stood there petrified by the startling roar.
• Canine Companion: Well, she's halfway there, anyway.
• Canis Major: A dog-like creature the size of a bear, big enough that Korra can ride it like a horse.
• Cute Giant: She's a giant polarbear dog with a heart of gold.
• Dark and Troubled Past: As a young cub, Naga was separated from her pack and was alone for some time before meeting a young Korra.
• Demoted to Extra: By Book 4, Naga is only seen in flashbacks, her reunion with Korra, and the series finale.
• Evil-Detecting Dog:
  • She detects the presence of the dark spirits long before anyone else does.
  • She also detects the Red Lotus breaking into Korra's room when they've done nothing more than make a slight opening in the window.
• Familiar: Continues the tradition of Avatars having a particular companion animal.
• From Stray to Pet: Naga was a lost pup before being taken in by Korra.
• Heroic Dog: As Korra's companion, it is what she is.
• Horse of a Different Color: She is able to carry Korra, Mako, and Bolin with ease and good speeds. The entire crew proves to be too heavy to carry though.
• Jack Bauer Interrogation Technique: Played with — she is the technique.
• Light Is Good: A white Big Friendly Dog.
• Mama Bear:
  • A literal example; she even traveled far out of Republic City to rescue Korra.
  • Carries over to the rest of Team Avatar by the end of Book 1 when she rescues Asami, Bolin and General Iroh after they were captured trying to take out the Equalist's airbase. Later in the same episode, she takes out three Equalist mecha tanks that were attacking Bolin.
• Meaningful Name:
  • "Naga" is Inuktitut for "no." Given that Korra is the first person to have tamed a polar bear dog, and the Water Tribe is based on Inuit culture, one can imagine Korra had to yell "No!" enough that the name stuck.
  • Nāga are a type of entity or deity in Hindu mythology that are often depicted as guardian spirits. Vishnu, the great preserver god of Hinduism and manifestation of ten different avatars, has a nāga guardian.
• Mighty Roar: Delivers one of these to Jerkass Pretty Boy Tahno, in episode five, scaring him and his team away from a confrontation with Korra and Bolin.
• Mix-and-Match Critters: Naga's hind end is thinner, like a dog's, while her front has bear-like proportions. Her skull shape is more ursine, while her floppy ears and slobbery jowls are more canine.
• Non-Human Sidekick: Naga is Korra's polar bear dog companion.
• The Nose Knows: She's a scent tracker as well. The team employed her olfactory senses to track Aiwei after his duplicity was exposed and he fled Zaofu.
• Only Friend: Naga was Korra's only friend during her years at the compound in the Southern Water Tribe.
• Super-Strength: She's capable of toppling three Equalist Mecha-Tanks at once by grabbing their grapple lines and giving a hard tug. She can also batter down wrought iron prison bars.
• Suspiciously Similar Substitute: To Appa in the original Avatar series, serving the same functions as animal companion, means of transportation and occasional combat monster bailing out the heroes.
• Undying Loyalty: She adores Korra and does her best to protect her. Justified, considering that she's part dog, and Korra's spirit guide, this is a given. In "The Voice in the Night", it's shown that Korra lets Naga sleep next to her bed. When Korra was kidnapped, she tracked her down on her own.
• Unusually Uninteresting Sight: Nobody comments on the very large, potentially dangerous animal running around in Republic City. Except in the first episode, where more focus is nonetheless given to Korra's bad 'driving' than the animal itself.

Pabu

Pabu

Voiced by: Dee Bradley Baker

"See? Pabu's not just a one-trick poodle pony." —Bolin

A fire ferret. Bolin's pet and partner in crime.

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• Demoted to Extra: Pabu, along with Naga, only makes minor appearances in Book 4.
• Evil-Detecting Dog:
  • Pabu sits peacefully by the radio while music plays, but hisses and jumps away when Amon interrupts the scheduled program.
  • Scurries for cover when Desna and Eska enter the room in "Civil Wars Part 2." Of course, this may be because Desna had been handling him roughly in the previous episode.
  • Goes nuts twice in "The Terror Within," once when the bad guys are sneaking in and once while they're sneaking out.
• Fluffy Dry Cat: In "The Aftermath", after the butler dries him down with a towel.
• Frisky Ferret: Possesses a mischievous personality and occasionally plays practical jokes on Mako.
• Meaningful Name: In Korean, Pabu is a term of endearment, kind of like 'silly you', which is befitting of his antics. Even more fitting is that Pabu is Tibetan for 'puffball'.
• Mix-and-Match Critters: Ferrets, minks and red pandas.
• Nonhuman Sidekick: Pabu is primarily Bolin's fire ferret companion. Bolin has left him with Ikki in Book 4 while he serves in Kuvira's army.
• Non-Indicative Name: Despite the species name, Fire Ferrets aren't native to the Fire Nation but from central Earth Kingdom according to Jinora. It may actually refer to "fire fox", another name for the red panda.
• Parrot Pet Position: He tends to ride on people's shoulders.
• The Prankster: Helps his owner pull practical jokes on his older brother.
• Puppy-Dog Eyes: In the Republic City Hustle short showing his back story it reveals he is adept at these, as is Bolin.
• Ridiculously Cute Critter: Like his predecessor in the "Smaller Companion Animal" role, Momo. Look at him.
• Team Pet: To the Fire Ferrets.
• Timmy in a Well: Though Mako and Korra are dubious at first, it turns out Bolin's bond with him really is good enough to get across when they need a rescue.^note Contrast with Momo in the original series, who normally missed such nuances the first several times.
• Weasel Mascot: Bonus points for being their actual mascot.

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