All 11 Known Avatars In The Last Airbender Universe (Before & After Aang)

The lore of Avatar: The Last Airbender is expansive, especially concerning the reincarnation cycle of the titular Avatar that goes back generations before Aang and continues on after him. The original Avatar: The Last Airbender show centers entirely on Aang, a young monk who wakes up from being frozen in ice to realize he is the last Airbender alive, who also just so happens to be the Avatar. The Avatar is an all-powerful being who can bend all four elements in the Last Airbender universe and strives to keep balance on Earth between its peoples and other mythological aspects like the Spirit World.

With plenty of upcoming Avatar: The Last Airbender movies and shows, the series’ lore will only be further explored. The main way this will be done is by focusing on different incarnations of the Avatar; The Avatar exists on a reincarnation cycle, meaning that, upon the death of one, their spirit is reborn to continue maintaining balance in the world. As such, generations of Avatars have existed both before and after Aang, be it Korra, from the original show’s sequel, The Legend of Korra, or Roku, Aang’s direct predecessor.

In 2026, the franchise expanded with a feature-length movie, before a new TV show, Avatar: Seven Havens, releases in 2027. The latter will explore a new Avatar set after The Legend of Korra, while the former introduced more from Aang’s past than even the original show did. By the time of Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender‘s ending, and taking into account what is known of Seven Havens, there are 11 known and thousands of unknown Avatars in The Last Airbender‘s vast universe that serve as the guardians of peace and harmony.

11

Avatar Wan

Throughout Avatar: The Last Airbender, the origins of the Avatar were left unclear. It was only in the show’s sequel series, The Legend of Korra, that the beginning of the reincarnation cycle was shown. 10,000 years before the time of Aang and Korra, humans lived atop the Lion Turtles, a race of giant spiritual protectors, so that they did not come into conflict with the residents of the Spirit Wilds. Wan’s journey began as a resident of the Fire Lion Turtle.

Whenever humans from the city needed to venture into the Spirit Wilds, either for hunting or traveling, the Lion Turtle would bestow the power of Firebending upon them. Wan, after wrongfully sneaking the power of fire into the city, was banished into the Spirit Wilds, yet the benevolent Lion Turtle allowed him to keep his bending in order to survive. Eventually, Wan realized the Spirit Wilds were not as humanity believed and befriended the spirits, thus realizing that the conflicts between humans and spirits were based on misunderstandings.

Wan’s Avatar journey first began when he encountered Raava, the spirit of light and peace. After splitting up a battle between Raava and Vaatu, the spirit of darkness, Wan began traveling the globe searching for other Lion Turtles. With Raava swapping the elements for Wan, as he could not hold more than one at a time, the human mastered all four elements individually so that the two could defeat Vaatu and stop his plan to engulf the world in darkness upon Harmonic Convergence, an incredibly spiritually powerful event.

At Harmonic Convergence, Wan used the spiritual energy of the portals to the Spirit World to fuse Raava’s spirit with his own. This meant Wan could now control all four elements at the same time, becoming the first Avatar. From then on, Raava’s spirit vowed to always be with Wan’s, as the two are stronger together, and began being passed down through generations. To those worthy of fighting for light and peace in the world, Raava’s spirit traveled, beginning the Avatar Cycle and making the eponymous being a bridge between spirits and humans.

10

Avatar Sonam

Avatar Sonam was introduced in Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender. Sonam was revealed as an ancient Avatar, one who could mysteriously never be contacted by any of her successors, Aang included. It is not confirmed exactly when Sonam lived, but it is at least a few thousand years before Aang, though still long after Wan’s origins. In her time, Sonam, an Air Avatar, found a staff that could channel the powers of the Spirit World and, thus, the Lion Turtles. With her staff, Sonam was able to grant the power of Airbending to her followers.

This allowed Sonam, in a world of strife, turmoil, and conflict between the Four Nations, to create a haven for Airbenders. Sonam, in an attempt to fulfil her Avatar duties and restore balance to the world, sent her followers out to cultivate peace, earning the Airbenders their moniker as Air Nomads. However, one of her followers, Tagah, grew resentful towards the other nations and tried to use Sonam’s staff to create an Airbending Empire. Sonam stopped Tagah, imprisoning him where no one could find him, subsequently hiding herself and her staff away, explaining her lack of contact among Avatars.

In Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender, the titular character finds Tagah and is manipulated into finding Sonam’s staff. Tagah once more tries to use it for his own ill gain, leading Aang to stop him before destroying the staff for good. Sonam thanks Aang, insisting he is the true embodiment of what both the Airbenders and the Avatar should be.

9

Avatar Xian

Xian was another Avatar introduced in Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender. After hearing whispers of Sonam via Airbending relics, Aang decided to figure out who she was and what the Denied, a group of radical nonbenders, wanted from her past. Aang thus tried to reach out to her using the spirit of the Avatar, but had to do a lot of searching first. Roku, for instance, had never heard of Sonam, telling Aang to go much further back in the Avatar Cycle.

After many unfruitful conversations with several of his predecessors, Aang eventually encountered Avatar Xian. Xian, an Earthbending Avatar, was the first to tell Aang of Sonam’s tale, insisting that she cut herself off from the Avatar Cycle and hid her powers somewhere in the world. In this sense, Xian is the entire reason Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender‘s story happens, as he is the one who sets Aang off on his journey to find Sonam, leading him to Tagah.

8

Avatar Szeto

While there were countless Avatars after Wan’s tenure, little is known about any of them besides Sonam and Xian. Some have been named in wider Avatar: The Last Airbender material, yet not enough has been revealed about them to warrant any kind of exploration. As such, the next known incarnation is Avatar Szeto, the fifth Avatar before Aang. Szeto’s first appearance in Avatar: The Last Airbender came in a spirit vision during season 2, episode 1, “The Avatar State,” where Szeto was shown using the Avatar State to manipulate the lava within four volcanoes.

Concerning what is known of Szeto’s life, most of his biography was detailed in The Shadow of Kyoshi, a graphic novel centering on the titular Avatar. Szeto was revealed as hailing from the Fire Nation, born in a period of strife from the natural disasters and plagues that threatened his people to the threat of war between the nation’s noble clans. Rather than enforce his power as the Avatar to solve these issues, Szeto instead became part of the Fire Nation’s government.

Through the Fire Nation’s bureaucracy, Szeto slowly but surely began improving his nation. Eventually, Szeto became the Grand Advisor to Fire Lord Yosor, which exemplified his rise to power. Szeto continued using his influence as both the Avatar and Grand Advisor of the Fire Nation to improve his country before passing away, with his spirit being reincarnated into the Air Nomads and the next known Avatar in the franchise’s cycle.

7

Avatar Yangchen

Avatar Yangchen was the last Airbender Avatar before Aang. Yangchen appeared a few times and was mentioned at length in both Avatar: The Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra, and even appeared in a big change to the original story in Netflix’s live-action version. However, the main exploration of Yangchen’s character came in the two novels, The Dawn of Yangchen and The Legacy of Yangchen. These books explored Yangchen’s early life, from growing up in isolation in the Western Air Temple to learning the four elements at an early age.

Since then, Yangchen became dedicated to fixing the issues with the world’s governments that existed at the time. Through unconventional methods of espionage, manipulation, and even deceit, Yangchen mended several of the inherently flawed political structures of the world. From alleviating the divide between rich and poor in the city of Bin-Er to absolving the rule of Shangs, marketeers who rose to power when the Nations were in isolation from one another, Yangchen affected the world for the better. Eventually, she died as a respected, beloved Avatar whose devotion meant that an entire generation of peace followed her tenure.

6

Avatar Kuruk

The following Avatar after Yangchen was Kuruk, born to the Northern Water Tribe. Due to the long-lasting peace established by Yangchen, Kuruk’s early life was somewhat easygoing. As such, Kuruk mastered the four elements with minimal outside interference until dark spirits began attacking the world. Kuruk eventually dedicated his time to hunting down these dark spirits in secret, neglecting his duties as an Avatar. This led many to view him as a failed Avatar, as they were not aware of his sacrifices. In reality, Kuruk’s endless fight against dark spirits affected him greatly.

Kuruk’s trauma manifested in a hedonistic attitude, from seeking pleasure through drinking and women to picking fights with anyone to show off his bending skill; Kuruk fell deeper into indulgence and despair masked by his “go with the flow” persona. Kuruk eventually pinpointed a spirit named Father Glowworm as the orchestrator of dark spirit attacks and engaged in a lengthy battle with him. Glowworm’s power was immeasurable, yet Kuruk’s stubbornness saw him wound the spirit enough for him to disappear for a generation, though at the cost of a curse placed on Kuruk and several grievous injuries of his own.

Eventually, Kuruk married a woman named Ummi and settled down. At one point, Ummi was taken to the Spirit World by Koh the Face Stealer. This was both a punishment from Koh for Kuruk’s past arrogance and also a result of the latter’s curse. Kuruk spent the remainder of his life trying to save Ummi every year when the path to Koh’s lair opened and failed every time, eventually passing away aged only 33.

5

Avatar Kyoshi

Kyoshi was the Earth Kingdom Avatar born after Kuruk and appeared in both Avatar: The Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra. Much of Kyoshi’s backstory was fleshed out in the novels The Rise of Kyoshi and The Shadow of Kyoshi. Interestingly, Kyoshi grew up a homeless orphan before being taken in by a man named Kelsang. This meant Kyoshi was not recognized as the Avatar until she turned 16. Eventually, the Earth Kingdom’s de facto leader, Jianzhu, killed Kelsang, which propelled Kyoshi into a quest for revenge.

By teaming up with her parents’ old criminal organization, the Flying Opera Company, Kyoshi managed to defeat Jianzhu before struggling to keep the Earth Kingdom together amid the ensuing power vacuum. Throughout her life, Kyoshi prevented multiple uprisings and defeated Chin the Conqueror, who looked to take the Earth Kingdom for himself, all while aiding the Fire Nation in stopping a civil war and establishing the Earth Kingdom as a constitutional monarchy. As a result, Kyoshi became an effective Avatar and miraculously lived to the age of 230, keeping the peace for two centuries before her death and subsequent reincarnation.

4

Avatar Roku

Roku was the Fire Nation Avatar who immediately succeeded Kyoshi and preceded Aang. As such, he was a prominent character in Avatar: The Last Airbender, where his backstory was outlined. Born a Fire Nation noble, Roku grew up a friend of the royal family, most notably Fire Prince Sozin. After being revealed as the Avatar, Roku left the Fire Nation for decades to master all four elements and maintain international peace amid a period of technological advancement, cultural changes, and the increase in nationalist expansionist movements.

Eventually, Roku returned to the Fire Nation to rekindle his friendship with Sozin, now the Fire Lord, and marry his childhood crush, Ta Min. Later, Sozin revealed himself as a world leader who favored nationalist expansionism and stated he wished to share the Fire Nation’s prosperity with the rest of the world. Roku insisted that the Four Nations needed to remain separate, warning his best friend never to mention this idea again. Decades passed before Roku discovered Sozin had gone ahead with his plan and established Fire Nation colonies in the Earth Kingdom.

Outraged, Roku destroyed Sozin’s palace and warned him to back down, insisting he was only sparing Sozin out of respect for their past friendship. 25 more years of relative peace passed before Roku’s island was engulfed in a natural disaster in which two volcanoes exploded. Sozin initially arrived to help Roku before realizing that, without the latter, the former’s plans could go ahead. Sozin left Roku to die, beginning his conquest of the world as the next Avatar was born.

3

Avatar Aang

Image via Paramount Pictures

The Avatar after Roku is Aang, the protagonist of Avatar: The Last Airbender. Aang was born as Sozin’s threat of war expanded globally. Aang’s childhood was relatively peaceful until, at 12 years old, Aang was told about his nature as the Avatar due to the growing global unrest of Sozin’s conquest. Scared of losing his way of life and childhood, Aang fled the Southern Air Temple before being caught in a storm and using the Avatar State to trap himself in an iceberg for 100 years. In this century, Sozin used a comet to bolster his Firebenders’ power and begin his conquest.

After 100 years, Aang awakened to be told of the 100-year war and the genocide of the Air Nation. Aang then learned the four elements and defeated Fire Lord Ozai, stopping the century of conflict between the Fire Nation, Earth Kingdom, and Water Tribes. Aang, along with Fire Lord Zuko, then attempted to maintain world peace by forming the United Republic of Nations, in which citizens of all four Nations could live in peace together, with Republic City at its heart.

In Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender, Aang’s mission to protect the United Republic of Nations from threats like Tagah was outlined. After Tagah, other threats to Republic City included Yakone, a Bloodbender, whom Aang also stopped. After creating the Air Acolytes, followers of the Airbenders’ nomadic roots, and having three children, an Airbender named Tenzin, a Waterbender named Kya, and a nonbender named Bumi, Aang passed away at the age of 66, with the effects of being frozen for 100 years resulting in his relatively short lifespan.

2

Avatar Korra

The successor to Aang is Avatar Korra, introduced in The Legend of Korra. A hot-headed, strong, stubborn Southern Water Tribe girl, Korra was raised in isolation and trained to master water, earth, and fire. Korra could not Airbend at the age of 17 and also had not connected with her spiritual center. Eventually, Korra learned to Airbend and connected with her past Avatars under the tutelage of Aang’s son, Tenzin, after moving to Republic City, the capital of the United Republic of Nations.

During her time as Avatar, Korra has defeated an anti-bending establishment, the dark spirit Vaatu from Wan’s time, an anarchist group named the Red Lotus who were hellbent on killing world leaders, and a tyrannical dictator. Korra did this while opening the spirit portals for the first time since Wan, allowing humans and spirits to coexist once more. To make Korra’s story all the more interesting, her life after The Legend of Korra‘s ending will be a big part of the next show in the Avatar franchise.