Although there are dozens of characters to choose from in the Avatar: The Last Airbender cartoon, Netflix’s live-action Avatar: The Last Airbender went ahead and introduced a few new characters of its own. This makes total sense since the adaptation is more of a remix than a direct one-to-one. Not too many new characters were introduced in Netflix’s Avatar: The Last Airbender series, but here are all the characters you’ll meet for the first time in the live-action version of the story.
Suki’s Mother, Yukari, Is a New Character in the World of Avatar: The Last Airbender
One of the main new characters in Netflix’s live-action Avatar: The Last Airbender series is Suki’s mother, Yukari, played by Tamlyn Tomita. Including Yukari in the series is pretty cool because Kyoshi Island is notably full of strong women. However, in the Avatar: The Last Airbender cartoon, it seemed like a man was still in charge. But no longer. Instead, Suki’s mother, Yukari, is the leader of Kyoshi Island. We learn in the live-action series that Kyoshi Island has remained safe during the 100 years of war by “keeping to itself.” This seems to mean that Kyoshi Island shut its doors and took on an isolationist mentality to keep its inhabitants safe. Yukari continues that tradition and feels wary of Avatar Aang, Katara, and Sokka coming onto Kyoshi Island. She does not wish for them to bring the outside world and, thus, harm to the island.
However, this new Avatar: The Last Airbender character eventually understands that simply staying quiet will not keep Kyoshi Island safe forever. Yukari also realizes that the isolation isn’t very good for the people on the island, namely her daughter Suki. In the end, Yukari and the rest of Kyoshi Island’s populace stand up and fight the Fire Nation. Yukari cites Aang has given Kyoshi Island a reason to believe again. Believe in their village, in themselves, and in the Avatar.
Aang, Sokka, and Katara will likely run into Suki again in the future, and maybe Yukari will also return. We enjoyed seeing Suki with her family and the deeper story the live-action gave to her via her mother. We hope this isn’t the last we see of this new character on Avatar: The Last Airbender.
Aydo Is Sokka’s Second-in-Command in the Southern Water Tribe
We don’t spend too much time with Aydo, but this new character makes several appearances in Avatar: The Last Airbender‘s first live-action episode. Aydo is played by actor Dorian Giordano. He appears to be the next oldest member of the Southern Water Tribe after Sokka and Katara (at least as far as the young set goes). Sokka appoints Aydo as the new protector of the tribe after deciding to leave with Katara to help Aang.
In the cartoon, Sokka and Katara don’t really return to the South Pole at any point. But perhaps we’ll see this new character again as the Avatar: The Last Airbender live-action series continues. Sokka did leave Aydo in charge, after all. It would be a fun future reunion and we’d feel interested to see Sokka and Katara revisit their childhood home.
Lieutenant Jee Brings a New Story to a Familiar Avatar Character
Technically, Lieutenant Jee isn’t a new Avatar: The Last Airbender character. Lieutenant Jee does exist in the cartoon version of the story. And Jee even serves a role on Zuko’s ship in exile. However, the live-action Avatar: The Last Airbender series gives this character a new backstory. It’s so different as to be a whole new character, though he shares a name with his Avatar cartoon counterpart.
In the live-action series, like in the cartoon, Lieutenant Jee feels exasperated by the mercurial exiled prince, although he sometimes attempts to bond with Zuko. However, Zuko, of course, has no bedside manner. Despite a clear deference to Uncle Iroh, it seems that Lieutenant Jee might betray Prince Zuko to Commander Zhao. However, that changes when Uncle Iroh reveals how Jee came to serve on Zuko’s ship. Here, Lieutenant Jee’s story diverges widely from the cartoon, and he becomes a new Avatar character.
Uncle Iroh shares, during a war council, Zuko spoke up against using the Fire Nation army’s 41st Division as bait. Fire Lord Ozai took this recrimination as a massive insult and forced Zuko to face him in an Agni Kai. The Fire Lord saw Zuko’s compassion for the soldiers as a weakness that needed extinguishing. After the Agni Kai, Ozai exiled Zuko to search for the Avatar and, as punishment, ordered the men of the 41st Division to serve on his ship. Of course, it turns out Lieutenant Jee and company are part of the division that Zuko saved from certain death. Upon hearing this, Lieutenant Jee understands he misjudged Prince Zuko and becomes a loyal confidant.
We don’t know Lieutenant Jee’s fate after the Northern Water Tribe siege. We like him, so we hope this new/old Avatar: The Last Airbender character survived the fight.
Avatar Kuruk Has a Much Expanded Role in the Live-Action Series
Avatar Kuruk is also not exactly a new Avatar: The Last Airbender character. But since he only briefly appears in the cartoon series, his expanded presence feels novel. In what we deem a major difference from the cartoon, Aang can spend time with past Avatars more easily in the live-action series. Once in the Northern Water Tribe, Aang calls upon Kuruk to help him in the coming battle. But Kuruk shares he cannot help because of past tangles with the Spirit World.
We learn about this Avatar’s dark past and some of the deep pain he carries thanks to Koh, the Face Stealer, who took the face of his beloved Ummi. Previously, this information was explored largely in a canon online game called Escape from the Spirit World. But presenting it and the character of Kuruk early in the live-action story seems significant.
Although, as mentioned, Kuruk is not a character brand new to the world of Avatar: The Last Airbender, this is the first time he meaningfully interacts with Aang. We’ll be curious to see if he returns again and if he and Aang tangle further with Koh.
Could There Be More New Characters in the Live-Action Avatar: The Last Airbender Series?
The timeline of the Avatar: The Last Airbender series is changing in the live-action compared to the cartoon. The cartoon took place over the course of one year, thanks to Sozin’s Comet, but that isn’t the case with the Netflix series. Given there’s no specific timeline the live-action has to follow, the Gaang may go on all kinds of novel adventures during the span of the show. So we might also get to see a whole slew of new Avatar: The Last Airbender characters we’ve never met (or only briefly met) before.
