Avatar Book 3 - The Plot and Ideas

Avatar: The Last Airbender is a popular cartoon show displayed regularly on the Nickelodeon channel. Created in 2005, the series is just as successful as it was back then, as is apparent in the large demand of fans requesting movies, video games, action figures, music, magazines, and other venues.

The story takes place in an Asian city, and Asian fighters use sparring styles (e.g., Tai Chi, Ba Gua, etc.) that are, of course, influenced by Asian cultures. Fascinatingly, the show has been nominated for prestigious awards (e.g., Emmy Awards, etc.), too. Thus, when Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko produced the show back in 2005 they probably had no idea that their creation would become one of the greatest animated cartoons (and fad) of the last decade.

There are three books in the Avatar series, and the central theme of the story is this: a young boy, Aang, is chosen as a the "avatar", a position he hesitantly accepts. Aang and his pet bison, Appa, run away and get trapped in an iceberg, but are eventually freed (one-hundred years into the future) by individuals whom he and Appa befriend. He and his comrades go on a quest to stop the evil Fire Lord and Fire Nation (i.e., the antagonists of the series) from polluting the world in many ways, such as ensuring that the pirates do not seize the North Pole.

Aang becomes a professional water bender and accomplishes other tasks along the way, but eventually he is seriously injured by an evil nemesis: Azula. Thus, book two ends with Aang in critical danger, and this is where the author(s) leads up to the exciting climax of Avatar Book 3.

In Avatar Book 3, readers learn that Ba Sing Se, the capitol of the Earth, has been taken over, and that Aang has awakened alive on a Fire Nation's ship. One of his friends, Sokka, decides that it is time to defeat the current Fire Lord. Thus, they carry on towards the palace of the Fire Lord, but find that the Fire Lord is not there. Eventually, Sokka comes up with a scheme to kill Azula and the Fire Lord; however, Aang, as he is harmonius and peaceful, swears not to take the life of any living being.

Aang, although peaceful, reluctantly takes on the Fire Lord, while his comrades (i.e., Sokka et al.) battle Azula. The protagonists, of course, are victorious, and Aang nearly kills the Fire Lord in his rage; however, he gets a grip on reality and stops before ending his life. With peace and order restored, Aang appoints his trusting friend, Zuko, as the new Fire Lord so that the world will not have to worry about any more destruction at the hands of a corrupt being.