The Legend of Korra/WMG/the Equalists And Other Villains

For theories about other subjects, see The Legend Of Korra Wild Mass Guessing Index.

The Equalists originated from the Freedom Fighters of Jet's old gang. Amon is probably Smellerbee
Let's look at this possibility - we know the colonies will be turned into a new nation (or at least a new independent city) which won't be completely accepted by the Freedom Fighters and a lot of others (Just go read the Promise). Add to this they would be unhappy at the discrimination issues in the colonies based on bender status. So someone comes up with the idea that the whole art of bending is what led to all this mess and the solution is to stop people's bending. Oh yeah, and that's the point where they'd go fully against the Avatar as well. Of course, we know Jet and gang already fell to the principle of He Who Fights Monsters in ATLA, so by extension it won't be long before the Equalists turn the city into a Shout-Out to Old Communist Russia. The roaring 20s setting does make sense after all.

The Equalists started with the Kyoshi Warriors.
Since Ty-Lee joined them, she probably taught them her chi-blocking techniques. Some of the warriors would grow to resent their lack of power compared to benders both in combat and in social terms. These warriors would break away and become the Equalists. While the Kyoshi Warriors were all female, the Equalists would likely recruit any nonbender that supported the cause.

The rise of the Equalists is Aang's fault.
Having discovered the ability to depower benders, Aang decides to use it on every bender that threatens peace (Azula+ followers). Some of the depowered benders come to the conclusion that if they can't bend, no one deserves to bend. They start to spread anti-bending propaganda within the non-bending population to turn the people against the benders. The people Aang depowered will end up leading the anti-bending revolt (as Badass Normal Grandpas) with the goal of killing every bender that still lives.
 * I semi-support this
 * I fully support this! And to add more of an edge to Aang's "Peaceful Alternative", Bryke could use the opportunity to add some Deliberate Values Dissonance between the Humans and Spirits over it:
 * Energybending from human POV: Meh, not that bad, Ozai deserved it.
 * The same from the Spirits: O_O!! Did you see that?! The Avatar Raped and/or MURDERED that poor man!!
 * Granted, this probably won't be the case. But still, something always seemed fishy about that Energybending business to me.
 * Actually, that could be why the Spirits, assuming Amon was telling the truth, taught Amon, a nonbender and NOT the Avatar(who, according to the extras, is the only person capable of such a feat), the ability to energybend. Bear with me: Spiritbending was apparently the means of attack and defense prior to the elements and the Avatar("In the Era before the Avatar, we bent not the elements but the energy within each other."), and the Avatar, seemingly, was instituted by the Spirits to probably enable the bending of the Elements, in the process also removing most people's(aside from the Avatar, who is probably capable of the feat because of their deep-seated connection to the spirit world and the world at large) ability to bend energy. Spiritbending/Energybending/Soulbending then became something of the Avatar universe's Dangerous Forbidden Technique, and thus when the Lion Turtle taught Aang Energybending and Aang used it against Ozai, the Spirits witnessed this event and were outraged, at least some of them. And, thus, they hatched a plan to remove bending as a whole from the world as punishment, so they taught Amon energybending as a means of doing just that. Why, you ask? The spirits fear energybending, which could conceivably be used in the Spirit World, where the earthbound Elements are irrelevant and without substance, and they fear an Avatar capable of using energybending because of their simultaneous connection to the Spirit World AND the Mortal World, while a mortal man like Amon is no real threat to them, spiritbending or no.
 * One other thing to point out is that this draws a nice parallel between the two series. The conflict in ATLA could have been stopped before it started if Roku had simply killed Sozin when he could have. Having the conflict in ATLK be caused by Aang's refusal to kill anyone would be perfectly ironic.
 * Maybe that's a general pattern: one Avatar deals with the problem his predecessor has created, but in the process creates a new problem for his successor.
 * That is possible. Take Avatar Kyoshi. She dealt with Chin the Conqueror pretty early on in her life; it's possible that Chin was someone who had thwarted the previous Avatar. Or perhaps the last Avatar didn't see Chin coming.
 * OR When news gets out that Aang ended the war by removing Ozai's firebending, people get the idea that bending was the cause of the war, therefore, bending is bad.

The Equalist Movement is Republic City's fault
The four (seven counting foggy swamp, sun warriors and Omashu) nations are all centred around a specific element and live with it, with some people learning the art of bending. The anti-bending movement is unlikely to have started in either fire-, earth- or water nation because in the first two there is a ridiculous amount of benders, making sure everyone grew up alongside benders, and in the last benders don't seem to be privileged (both the northern and southern tribes were lead by non-benders). Republic city however is not aligned with any element, so there is a chance it is impossible for benders to be born there in the first place. What would be a better breeding ground for anti-bending sentiment than a nation that has little first-hand experience with benders, instead only hearing about them as foreign supersoldiers. You could even take this further. The amount of benders in the world has decreased due to republic city. There are supposed to be 4 nations, 4 elements, 4 seasons. But suddenly there are 5 nations, disturbing the connection with the spirit world. The amount of bender births as drastically decreased, with some among the already living losing all their power as a result (no chi-enhanced live for the Gaang). Bending could even fracture the border between the spirit world further, allowing creatures like Koh to enter the world at will. What is a better situation to create anti-bending sentiment than a few super-powered individuals incidentally summoning monsters?
 * Sorry, I don't buy it. The Giant Lion Turtle as much as said that there was a different balance in the past. The world does not hinge on there being 4 nations, 4 elements. After all, for a hundred years, there were only 3 nations. And even now, 70 years later, there couldn't be more than a few hundred Airbenders. So it's rather hard to say that the Air Nomads have returned. The world did not collapse into anarchy, with spirits coming out of the woodwork or screwing up bender births or other such eventualities.

The Equalists are the Avater-Verse's communists
C'mon: it's the roaring twenties and you have people declaring that they want everyone equal.

The Equalists are not just a political faction, or social movement, but a cult
And they worship/revere Koh the Facestealer, hence the masks. Amon, their charismatic leader, is his agent in the material world. After all, he did say that he and the Avatar would meet again. Alternatively, they are dedicated to the idea of bringing about a unity of the peoples of the world (and so oppose bending for its inherently divisive nature), possibly also in a spiritual sense, to take the world back to the good ol' days before the Avatar.
 * Technically, Koh met Aang again in "Escape from the Spirit World", which is considered canon.

The Equalists will have some spiritual or religious issues against benders.
In the show, bending was always shown to have deep spiritual connections. The Equalists will have something against the spirituality connected with bending, maybe the result of having alternate religious or spiritual beliefs.

The Equalists are the good guys
It's in their name, they want equality. They will probably be supported by civilians.
 * It's not good-guy-ish if you achieve equality by tearing down those superior to you.
 * That is a pretty big YMMV right there.
 * If those "superior" to you have repeatedly abused their powers and have rubbed their inherent abilities in your face for centuries? Why the hell not? Still, this seems to simplistic. I have a feeling the portrayal will be more nuanced than a simple good guy-bad guy dichotomy.
 * Or it could be...
 * Just because they have a benevolent sounding name doesn't mean they can't be all out evil. For example, North Korea, one of the most oppressive and tyrannical regimes in the world, is officially called the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

The majority of the Equalists are pacifists and genuinely want peace between benders and non-benders.
I doubt with their name they want to get rid of bending, when they're called Equalists. The Equalists are possibly in par with the Real Life Expy of the Civil Rights Movement with peaceful protests and non-violent demonstrations. The ones Korra and her friends are facing are a small number of radical fanatic extremists.

The Equalists will use a combination of steam-powered weapons, badass normals, and maybe one bender.

 * When you're fighting people that can control the elements, you'll need all the advantage you can get. Taking a cue from the creations of the Mechanist, the anti-benders will construct steam-powered weapons and gadgets, some of which can be handheld (useful for one-on-one fights) and some of which is incorporated into vehicles (like the Fire Nation tanks). This eventually will culminate with a steam-powered Powered Armor/Mini-Mecha, which Korra will have to fight in the finale.
 * The Badass Normal is no stranger to the Avatar verse, so this is kind of a no brainer. Expect some of them to take cues from Ty Lee by disabling bending, and for there to be at least one Badass Abnormal.
 * The bender is a little more of a stretch, but remember there are at least two characters who saw a form of bending as inherently evil when it wasn't. (Jeong Jeong and Aang, though Aang got over it.) This bender will have similar problems, and crippling self-esteem issues (which is why they would willingly go along with such a thing.) He/She will be a sympathetic villain for obvious reasons, and will attempt to use as little bending as possible during combat. The rest of the movement may not even know he/she's a bender, because it's a closely guarded secret. (If they do know, it's because they made an exception because of his/her usefulness.)
 * An airbender would seem logical then. Enhanced agility and speed without visual effects. Maybe a descendant of a survivor of the air nomad massacre, or Aang's second child.
 * OR Aang's Tyke Bomb grandchild.
 * The idea of an anti-bending/bender group does seem inspired by the non-canonical character "Lian, The Maker" from the first licensed game for the original TV series. And creating an army of steampunk element-bending robots was basically her primary plan for destroying all benders...
 * Then in some other time and space, I bet Lian is laughing her butt off over the fact that her plan is being realized all these years later, and that even the Avatar is in danger from it! Talk about having the last laugh...

If the Equalists use steam-powered weapons, (as many have guessed), their first real plot will be kidnapping Waterbenders.
Really, they're the biggest threat to their greatest weapon.

The Equalist will use Chi-Powered Mechs
They found a way to steal chi from benders to power their Mecha Fighting machines. Stealing waterbending & firebending aka steam power or Lightning bending aka proto-CyberPunk mechas.
 * Doesn't everyone have chi? If so then just use volunteers and get generic energy to power the mechs.
 * Well, they're trying to get rid of the bending "menace" so why not get rid of bending power while making your war machine?
 * Yeah because having the enemy power your machines can't possibly go wrong...
 * An alternate power source could be some sort of Green Rocks native the Avatar world, maybe the same kind that powers the electricity in Republic City. The Equalists will be trying to secure as much of it as they can with Team Avatar and the police getting in their way.
 * The first licensed game for Avatar: The Last Airbender did have a chi-powered mech, the Ultimation, that was able to use the energy from a Waterbender, Earthbender and Firebender to mimic the effects of all three at once.

the Equalists. will exploit Pro-Bending's image as a recruiting tool
There's some pretty blatant Unfortunate Implications to Pro-Bending. Namely, that non-benders by their nature can't compete in it, which conveys the hidden message to the masses that only benders are worthy of celebration and praise. Even if non-benders have their own fighting league, it won't be as popular as Pro-Bending. The Equalists will use the lingering resentment this inspires in young people to recruit them to their cause.
 * Confirmed. In Episode 6, Amon speaks out against pro-bending, with the reasoning that bending athletes shouldn't be treated as heroes. He also uses the cheating nature of one team to further demonize bending.

the Equalists orchestrated the Pro-bending matches.
It essentially marks the benders as easy targets for the Equalists to kill off, and the staff behind the Pro-bending matches are completely unaware of this.

The Equalists kidnapped Hasook
He didn't abandon the Fire Ferrets just because he and Mako had been arguing, but because he's currently being held captive, and is in legitimate trouble.
 * Alternate Theory: Hasook was murdered by the Equalists. Because their fighters need to practice on something. Who better than bending pros?

The Equalist Movement will escalate to a bender genocide on the level of the Holocaust.
As in hunting down benders and executing them/sending them to concentration camps. Some of the dialogue in the trailers is a bit...disturbing. "No bender is safe!" "I'm saving you for last." "The world doesn't need you anymore." Plus, there's Korra's implied breakdown. ...They probably won't go so far as to have actual death camps, but I still get that vibe.
 * And a main character nearly gets killed because of this.
 * Bolin?

The Equalists will attempt to kill off Tenzin's family in order to wipe out Airbending.
There are two reasons for this: 1) Out of all the four nations, the Air Nomads are easily the weakest. Hell, calling them a nation at this point is very generous. As such, they are a very easy target, at least in theory. 2) Non-benders only come from the other three nations, and all Air Nomads are Airbenders. As such, the Equalists probably aren't too keen on the idea of an entire nation of benders, and will try to snuff that out early. This plan would inevitably fail (seriously, about seventy-five percent of the known Airbenders are children) and would primarily serve as a gigantic Kick the Dog moment.

The Equalists will feature Psycho Rangers versions of the original Gaang
Hotheaded teen on a quest with a bad ass Grandpa as a guide and mentor. Sound familiar? To make this go even further the antagonists of the series, Antibenders/new freedom fighters, will be the counterparts to the Gaang, starting with two or three recurring troublemakers then adding members as the series goes on.
 * To take this idea further:
 * Aang's counterpart will be happy-go-lucky in a Joker-type way. He'll be constantly carefree, but also sociopathic and disconnected from the worries of others.
 * Sokka's counterpart will be sarcastic and laid-back like he is, but in a sort of "I don't care" way. Similar to Mai.
 * Katara's counterpart will retain her concern for the welfare of others, but she blames benders. The most likely candidate for a leader of the group.
 * Toph's counterpart will come in later in the season, and will be a huge man like the original design for her (and Ember Island version) was.
 * Momo and Appa will have counterparts that will be more sinister in design.
 * At the end of the series, Korra will have to seek this group's help.
 * To elaborate on this further (because we can) and offer an alternative:
 * The Aang analogue will be a Screwy Squirrel character who, like The Joker, will do horrible things for a good laugh. He, like the above example, will be a sociopath, but in a homicidal way.
 * Sokka's counterpart will be the Deadpan Snarker and the Smart Guy of the group, but he doesn't care for the Equalist cause and is only a hired gun
 * The Katara of the group will be more like Harley Quinn: she will be in love with the Aang character and give the group a feminine voice, but she will be possessive (a dark parallel to Katara's Mama Bear tendencies) and jealously "protect" her teammates by horribly maiming anyone who opposes them, and, to top it all off, she will be sensual as opposed to loving.
 * Toph's counterpart will actually be female and disabled in someway, but unlike Toph, will selfishly use her (dis)ability to get her way, and lead her targets into a false sense of security. Unlike Toph she will be refined and educated, and enjoy taking advantage of her high social status
 * Suki's analogue will be the only one loyal to the Equalist cause. She will be assertive like Suki, and will attempt to keep the others in line but will lack Suki's compassion, and she will also be ruthless and uncaring about the needs of others, only the mission at hand. However, she takes Suki's vengeful streak to the edge, and will never let grudges go.
 * The Zuko analogue will be one of the main heroes who will come over to the Equalist cause. If he is not, he will be a handsome classic, "brooding" character, much like Zuko. Unlike Zuko, he will be a sadist who gained his sadism from his father. He will be blazingly handsome, and will lack any physical scars, unlike Zuko. However, his mental scars will be greater than Zuko's, and he will take his rage out on others.
 * The Ty Lee counterpart will be a Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass that flanderizes Ty Lee's own ditzyness, but who is actually the most experienced anti-bender fighter in the group. She'll be a psychopathic womanchild in contrast to Ty Lee's perkiness.
 * Mai's counterpart...will be a ninja. Because ninja's are cool. She will be silent and stoic, but a ruthless chess master in opposition to Mai's original personality. She will be the one closest to Amon personally and the only one completely aware of his plans and will manipulate the rest of her team, and the new Team Avatar to her will. She would be based on actual historical kunoichi (alluring seductresses and assassins) instead of the popular myth.
 * The Momo character will be small and cute (like Jack the Monkey from Pirates of the Caribbean) but also mischievous and a thief.
 * The Appa analogue...will be a Cool Car.
 * All of these characters may or may not be redeemed when its all said and done.

The Equalists' True Purpose is to Fight Koh the Facestealer

 * Which may explain why all the Equalists wear masks.

The Equalists are all really ugly

 * Which may explain why all the Equalists wear masks.

The Equalists are Anonymous in the distant past

 * Think about it. Amon sounds similar to Anon (the shortened form of Anonymous) and is an Egyptian word meaning "hidden". Equalists have only been seen wearing a mask, assuming their public identities aren't known. They are working to destabilize the government (which is mostly based around bending and benders). IT MAKES SENSE!
 * I support this.
 * Hey, guys, look what I found.

The Equalists are being led by Sparks.
The Mechanist was only the first in the line of many newly born Sparks that have advanced the Avatar World's technology a thousandfold. Many benders don't appreciate this though, feeling threatened due to this new power and it's replacement of the old ways. They soon attempt to crack down on the Sparks, but this just makes the conflict escalate into the revolt mentioned in the synopsis.

The Equalists wear masks in order to honor Amon.
It fits with Amon's status as a Dark Messiah. "Our savior Amon cannot show his face. To honor him, we will sacrifice our faces as we enter his service."

The Equalist movement is a direct result of the technological advancement.
In the first series, a LOT of stuff was heavily dependent on benders. War, transportation, and various types of technology were controlled and powered by benders. As technology advanced, there was less and less need for benders. As a result, bender crime became more common because it was a power they could easily use to take advantage of non-benders. The Equalists see benders as people that are no longer needed, people who have power that doesn't help the world and can only be used to hurt. To the Equalists, there is no longer any reason these people need to have any power, and that it only places them above the non-benders. Amon directly says there's no place for benders in the world, indicating this belief.
 * This exact same WMG has already been added here months ago, see above.
 * Not to mention it's practically canon.

Amon or another prominent Equalist will be a bender.

 * Corallary: Amon was a bender, until he met Aang.

== Once Amon is defeated, the Equalists will either become a reformed group dedicated to peacefully resolving bender and non-bender conflicts, or they devolve from Well Intentioned Extremists into Complete Monsters. == Since the Equalists are heavily based around Amon's cult of personality, once he is removed from the equation, they will be forced to redefine themselves. Either they'll team up with Korra and the gang in order to help combat an even larger threat, or they become even more vicious and violent in order to avenge the defeat of their leader.

Most of the metal benders are loyal to the equalists
Look at episode 6. The metal benders did a sweep of the stadium, yet no one reported the massive numbers of equilist flags. Amon enters through the main arena entrance, but since the arena can only be entered from the bridge, he needed to already be there (and have a deal with the sweeping team) or be smuggled in later (which means he needs to fight past guards, which would surely create a lot of noise). Finally, the equalist zeppelin manages to take out five metalbender zeppelins, but doesn't appear to have any weaponry. Since even a single metalbender could do massive damage to the equalist zeppelin, the metalbender zeppelins were probably infiltrated and destroyed from the inside.

One of the Equalists will be a former bender that wanted to lose his abilities
For unknown reasons, one of the key Equalists that will be introduced will be someone who personally went up to Amon to remove his bending. The reasons can vary from disliking their destructive potential or just wanting friends and allies even at the cost of their elemental powers.

The Equalists bribed the refs to give the match to the Wolfbats.
The Wolfbats didn't do the bribing themselves, but were informed by someone posing as a rich fan that if they were to play dirty, the refs would look the other way. Naturally they jumped at the opportunity and didn't think further. Amon deliberately gave them the match to support his point about bender bullying and oppression, and incidentally so he could de-bend the winners without breaking his plan to save Korra for last.

Amon's Lieutenant is The Starscream
Promoting him to Big Bad later on, because it'd be a waste of Lance Henrickson's talent to just be voicing a nameless lackey.

Amon's sob story may be a little true,but it's still his fault
He probably did get his face taken by a firebender,and perhaps his parents were extorted,but I doubt they were killed,and/or the benders had a legitimate reason to want the money. Anyway Amon was like the Evil Counterpart to Korra and directly confronted said firebender himself.

Councilman Tarrlok is supporting the Equalists
Everything Tarrlok has done so far has had the ulterior motive of gaining power. I really started to become suspicious of him when he changed his vote on closing the pro-bending stadium after Lin said she would take full responsibility for the incident. I wouldn't past him to be supporting the Equalists in order to scare the city into giving him more power. Of course, this will come back to bite him in the ass later when he realizes that he underestimated Amon and the Equalists...
 * Or it may come to bite the Equalists in the ass. It's notable that out of all the benders on the show, Tarrlok's the only one who's displayed a fighting style that could take down Amon no matter how good he might be at dodging. After passing a series of draconic laws which leave Equalists with unprecedented levels of support Tarrlok could take out Amon, suddenly leaving non-benders without revolution or freedom.
 * People tend to forget that when Amon responded to Korra's challenge, he brought a bunch of chi-blockers to surprise attack her. Who's to say that would eventually happen to Tarrlok?

== Amon's Lieutenant is secretly manipulating things behind Amon's back. He will either be the main villain in season 2, or will turn out to be The Dragon for Tarrlok, who will become the next Big Bad. == In episode 6, when Korra defeats the Lieutenant, he falls down from the pro-bending arena dome, seemingly to his death. Yet in episode 7 he is inexplicably alive, and doesn't even seem to have suffered any injuries. The most logical explanation is that he's secretly a bender, and used his bending powers to save himself. But why would a bender join the Equalists? Obviously he has a hidden agenda, and is secretly manipulating things behind Amon's back. Like someone pointed out above, getting a well-known actor like Lance Henriksen to play such a minor role wouldn't make sense, unless there are further plans for the character.

An alternative explanation is that the Lieutenant is not working for himself, but is a mole planted by Tarrlok. That would explain why Tarrlok can anticipate the Equalists' moves so well, so he can use them to further his own goals. By the end of season 1 Tarrlok will win the war against the Equalists, with the help of his mole, and will use this victory to crown himself the king of Republic City. Tarrlok will be the main villain for season 2 (Amon and Korra will possibly even have to work together to defeat him), and the Lieutenant will be his dragon.

The Equalists will have a fully formed Five-Bad Band by the end of the Season
Now that  has officially joined the Equalists, that sets him up as the perfect Evil Genius. With Amon as the Big Bad and the Lieutenant as the Dragon then it seems likely the core Equalist group will be rounded out with a Brute and Dark Chick. Ideally, each member will have a designated counterpart in Team Avatar.
 * The Brute would most likely be Bolin's nemesis. In a neat twist, he might actually be a fairly normal, physically unimpressive guy, but an ace with . Or maybe a steampunk cyborg?
 * The Dark Chick might be
 * I don't think was ever "tempted to turn evil". In hindsight, it felt obvious her intent was to use the glove on the Equalists right from the start. The reason it took her a few moments to strike was because, you know, it's kinda hard to do what she did to . She didn't hesitate because of any sympathy for the Equalists, but because she loved . So I don't think she will become the Dark Chick either.
 * It's possible, then, that it's the  that will tempt  . Something will happen between the Equalists and the law enforcement of Republic City - perhaps involving a tough decision Korra or the Council will have to make - that will make   have to decide whether   are more important. Before she can decide, a This Is Unforgivable! situation will occur, creating a rift between   and the Krew and sending her Jumping Off the Slippery Slope.
 * Episode 8 does seem to foreshadow this a little. Not only is  Maybe what's Unforgivable is

Tarrlok is deliberately serving as a strawman for Amon.
Tarrlok secretly supports the Equalist movement, and wants to help Amon achieve his goals. How does he do it? Why, he uses his lofty position of power and his bloodbending abilities to do so. He is deliberately portraying himself as the very thing Amon is against in order to gather support around the Equalists. Amon himself may or may not actually know about this, hence the possibility that Tarrlok will be the next target on the list, provided of course that's not actually what he wants.

Airbending will become the Equalists' Weaksauce Weakness once Korra learns it.
One of the Equalists' big advantage against the more common bending forms is that they seem to have Uncanny Dodging Skills against them. But... how exactly do you dodge air?

Wan Shi Tong will return
Stuck beneath the sands, Wan Shi Tong will eventually go neurotic, since his only form of entertainment was destroyed. He will proceed to rape, kill and assimilate the scholar and the foxes, and he will break free from his prison by shooting into the sky like a deranged goose. He will then go on a rampage and assimilate everything in his path until he becomes a giant mutant owl abomination and a third level Kaiju. Republic City will have to deal with Avatarverse's Rodan.

Azula will make an appearance as a sane, kind old woman...and then promptly try to usurp Zuko's throne.
Because old habits die hard and Azula will take the first chance she gets to try and become the Fire Lord, capping off a years long plan that begun when Aang was killed by the Big Bad.
 * Er, Zuko is dead. Azula likely is too......This is highly doubtful.
 * ^Yeah, because WMG has to be plausable....
 * Zuko isn't dead. Though he's not the Fire Lord anymore, his daughter is.

The Triads will be the main villains of the second season.
After the fall (or reformation) of Amon the next season of Lo K will feature the triads as the main villains and taking down their operations as the conflict of the season. It will go deeper into the nature of each of various triads that we've been introduced to, with each triad mirroring a modern gang. These criminal syndicates will each be headed by a powerful bender who will act as a psycho rangers expy of one of the members of the Gaang from the last series.


 * The Agni-Kais will be an analogue for modern day skinheads and domestic terrorists. They will be a Fire Nation supremacist group that specializes in smuggling and protection rackets. Their members will dress in streamlined versions of the Fire Nation military uniform from the last series and will practice in secret compounds and camps set up in Republic City's industrial district. They will retain the Fire Nations' Social Darwinism and will induct members through a beat-in where only the strongest are accepted.
 * They'll be led by the Zuko expy, a disgraced Fire Nation general who was scarred when he and his forces tried to resist Zuko's reforms. Like Zuko he will be obsessed with both his honor and the restoration of the Fire Nation to it's former glory. He will also claim that he is loyal to the Fire Nation and that the current Fire Lord must be defeated to bring it back to prominence. He will also know how to redirect lightning and will use this against both Korra and Mako.


 * The Red Monsoons will be an analogue for street gangs like MS-13 and the Latin Kings. A dangerous gang of Water Tribe youths who grew up poor or came from difficult households. Each member will know Bloodbending thanks to their leader. They will specialize in human trafficking and prostitution (although the references to the latter will be heavily downplayed). They will also make an effort to recruit street urchins, promising them protection and a surrogate family. They will operate out of Republic City's slums.
 * The Monsoons will be led by the Katara expy. Like Katara she also lost her parents at a young age and was forced to take on a lot of responsibility but where Katara was merely bossy the Monsoon leader will be controlling. She will insist that she is the gangs mother and will be extremely creepy around her own "kids" and other orphans (like Mako and Bolin). She will also be a powerful waterbender who was able to discover bloodbending on her own. She'll use it to threaten or punish anyone who refuses to join or tries to leave her "family".


 * A new Earthbending triad will be introduced who will serve as an analogue for biker gangs. They'll specialize in drug-running and bootlegging and will have no particular base of operations, instead opting to frequent the various bars around republic city. They will also use Earthbending to assist in their escapes by making ramps during car chases or digging and closing off tunnels in the mountains. They will be strongly opposed to the Metalbending police force and authority in general. Both their members and their leader will insist that rules only get in the way.
 * Their leader will be a Badass Biker Toph expy. Like Toph she grew up in a controlling family, in this case a family of police officers, and struggled to assert her independence. Unlike Toph, she will rail against all forms of authority and insist that anarchy is the only way to go. She will only care about her own personal freedom and will be shown casually damaging property and injuring shop owners. She will also be a Metalbender, thanks to upbringing in a family of cops.


 * The Triple Threats will reemerge under new management as an expy for large scale organized crime. They will be the largest and strongest of the various triads thanks to their policy of acceptance. They still accept members from every ethnicity but now insist that those members downplay their individual nationalities for the sake of the gang. The Triple Threats deal in high level illegal activities, everything from money laundering to the numbers game. Their goal is the unification of the other gangs under the Triple Threat banner and they will be based near Central Station to facilitate easy access to benders of every nation.
 * The new leader of the Triple Threats will be an Aang expy. Like Aang he is also cheerful, friendly and determined to foster peace between the opposing elements. However he tries to do this by forcing those benders to assimilate into his gang. He will be a water bender but his style of bending will be radically different from the Katara expy. He will use an extremely hybridized style that borrows from all of the bending disciplines, for instance using earth bending stances to better control ice. He will also be covered in Maori style tattoos as a callback to Aang.

Expect a lot of dark echoes to the Gaang in their lines. For instance the Katara expy might tell one of her cronies "We're your family now" while Bloodbending him into her arms.
 * It seems the Katara Expy would want Korra to join because she is a waterbender from one of the Poles like her. The Aang Expy sounds like the type who wants Korra to join and be the poster child for the balance ideals.

== Due to the "technologization" of the Avatar world, and a disregard to spirituality that grows each day with the anti-bender movement, the spirits will be more hostile against humans. (Koh might be a prime villain this time around.) == The creators have openly stated that they are huge fans of the works of Miyazaki, and this is one of his preferred themes. Possibly another homage to him?

The Triple Threat Triad is lead by or was founded by a former Fire Nation Officer.
When Zuko took the throne and changed the Fire Nation's ideals towards equality, not everyone was happy with the decision. Before this the Fire Nation were the strongest people in the world, top of the food chain. Now the banished honorless prince is tearing down all they've built up over the last hundred years. One officer will have resigned in disgust, and fall into the shadows to plot how to usurp power back to the Fire Nation from the underground. Years later with Republic City being built up, the small crime gang would start recruiting Earth and Waterbenders, because there are those all over the world who seek power. Fast forward to the present day, and this small group is now an Organized Criminal syndicate with ties and power in every city in the world. So while the Triple Threat Triad may be lead by a mix of powers, at its heart, it would be the Fire Nation returning to superiority and power. The trio Korra met on her first day were simply new recruits or bottom of the rung. The senior members or higher ups will present more of a challenge.

One of the villains will be a young Corrupt Corporate Executive Magnificent Bastard with a grudge against the Avatar.
With industrialization taking place in the Avatar world, it isn't hard to see someone rise to the top through deceit, wicked planning skills, e.t.c. It would also not be hard for that villain to come to hate the Avatar, someone who was born gifted while he/she had to fight tooth an nail. Perhaps this Magnificent Bastard will use the anti-bending revolution as his catspaws to try and take out the Avatar.
 * And this person will be voiced by Clancy Brown.
 * Or possibly (s)he'll start the movement because the benders (especially the Avatar) insist on non-polluting forms of technology and/or conscientious clean-up/disposal of industrial waste, which is far less profitable than just ignoring the environment altogether. Corollary, he'll blame the Avatar/benders for the inevitable Spirit attacks.

A dark mirror of the Foamy Mouth Guy will appear as a recurring villain.
But instead of a goofy screw-up, he will instead be a fanatic berserker who is taken over by an Unstoppable Rage anytime he thinks he's seen the Avatar. The fandom will not let these similarities slip by.

The firebender that killed Mako and Bolin's parents as well as Amon's family and Asami's mother is the same person.
Because wouldn't it be awesome to have an episode where our heroes and Amon grudgingly team up to take down the one guy that ruined all of their lives?
 * Alternate Theory: Everything above holds true...with the addition that Amon was a Self-Made Orphan.

One of the future antagonists will be a Bending evangelist.
Opposite Amon's plan to get rid of Benders, this character will view the inability to bend as symptom of spiritual sickness and will aspire to turn everyone into a bender (or just be a con-artist).

The Red Monsoons are a Bloodbending gang.
The street urchin Mako paid to tell where his brother was mentioned a number of Triad names, including the Red Monsoons. Monsoon is rain, which hints towards Waterbenders, but Red Monsoon? They've developed a way to tear blood right out of their opponents bodies. Ofcourse this being a kids' show, this threat is only alluded to, not actually shown. But their leader can actually control people too, during the full moon.
 * Now that we know that, the possibility of there being bloodbenders seems more likely.

The Red Monsoons and the Agni-Kais are enemy gangs, and an analogue to the Crips and the Bloods
The Red Monsoons will mostly be bloodbenders, dress in red and hostilly attack any firebender they find in their territory. Agni-Kais will specialize in lightning bending/blue fire, dress in blue and will attempt to subdue any waterbender they meet. Korra will wind up in Agni-Kai territory and/or Mako will be caught by the Monsoons, and of course hilarity ensues.

The Triple Threat Triads and the other bending gangs mentioned are heavily involved in the distribution of cactus juice.
The turf war that Skoochy mentioned in the third episode was going down because of it.

The previous threat to Republic City 42 years ago is a Chekhov's Gun.
The council was mentioning a slight incident in the city where someone named Yakone was big enough of a threat that Aang had to deal with him personally. Possible that he is either The Man Behind the Man for Amon or will be Season 2's Big Bad that wants revenge and shows that he was the one who is behind Aang and one or more Gaang member deaths. For added flavor, Amon will suffer The Worf Effect when introducing Yakone as alive and kicking.
 * Quite possibly confirmed. In episode 8 Tarrlok

Lightning Bolt Zolt is an ancestor of Mako and Bolin.
The same style of Unusual Eyebrows can't be too common now can it? Maybe he is their grandfather, and one of his children (Mako and Bolin's father) did not want to follow their life of crime, so he put a hit out on the family, and the "mugging" angle was a cover.
 * According to the Welcome to Republic City game, he's 51.

The Spirit(s) that taught Amon his de-bending technique will indirectly serve as the Big Bads of the second season by using a bender agent to serve as their Dragon
They'll off Amon for fulfilling their purpose to mature the Avatar's personality and break down the Equalists near the end of the first season before focusing on their real goal: wiping out Republic City because its culture why most benders are turning away from the Spiritual aspects. They want it because it's straining relations between the physical and spiritual worlds and is threatening the existence of bending itself, acting as a Foil to Amon wanting to rid the world of the practice. As for the bending agent in question, they will be the Foil to everyone else abandoning/forgetting the spiritual side and will show it by outclassing multiple with his/her own.

The Firebenders that killed Amon's family, Mako and Bolin's parents, and Asami's mother
Are descendants of the Rough Rhinos (if the ones from the original series weren't still alive). The Rough Rhinos were firebenders that had a history of killing families (Jet, anyone), but after that revelation, they were pretty much never spoken of again and got away with it.
 * Only Colonel Mongke was the Firebender though, the rest were an archer, a bomber, a spearman, and a ball and chain user.

The killer of Amon's Family, Mako and Bolin's parents, and Sato's Wife are one of the same.
To relate both theories above and below, it's too much of a coincidence for them being killed by a Firebender, and not a Waterbender or a Earthbender. Major points if the Firebender was the same killer, and even better is part of a group of Ozai Loyalits. Perhaps forcing both the Benders and the Equalists in Republic City to put away their differences against a common foe.

There is a reason why so many character's parents were killed off by firebenders
Possible foreshadow for season 2 villain? Firebending may be the most destructive and emotion-fuelled bending, but it seems odd that it has caused so many deaths while there's no mention of waterbenders and earthbenders doing the same.
 * On-screen that is...
 * In a more serious manner, this might play up the ruthlessness of the firebending triads in the series when the second season starts, being outdone by the other two triad types. Earthbending and Waterbending cruelty potential (especially the latter) hasn't truly been highlighted yet.

Amon is being set up
When he's at the height of his power and even as Korra and her friends are racing to stop him in a desperate plan he'll be holding one of his routine demonstrations...and then one of the prisoners will kill him with his very first shot, free the other prisoners and set them on the equalists en masse, and Korra will arrive to find him leading an all-bender crowd. This mysterious savior will then become the season 2 villain, heading a movement to create harsh restrictions making it impossible for non-benders to do what they did again - as was his plan all along.

Yakone is still alive, and will come face to face with Korra at some point as a Badass Grandpa.
Regardless of how heinous his crimes were, It's perfectly in character for Aang to leave him alive and locked up somehwere (possibly energybended), as well as block any attempts for Republic City to institute the death penalty. Yakone will escape from prison and battle the new Avatar.

Yakone is related to Tarrlok.
The two always looked similar, in terms of facial features and clothes, but the recent revelation that both of them are/were bloodbenders, coupled with the fact that Korra had another Gaang flashback while in Tarrlok's presence in which Yakone was clearly visible, makes a familial relationship between the two quite feasible. My guess is that Tarrlok is his son, and that his actions against Korra in the present are a result of him harbouring hatred toward the Avatar for Yakone's death (assuming Aang did actually kill him, that is).

Tarrlok has mastered bloodbending to such a degree that he can even force people to speak against their will.
Don't ask me how it works, but it seemed strange that Chief Saikhan, whom we know from his bio to be utterly loyal and devoted to Lin Beifong, would just suddenly allow himself to become Tarrlok's toady and carry out his every amoral command without question. Perhaps, given that Tarrlok can somehow bloodbend without a full moon, he has become so powerful with it that he can essentially remotely control a person from a short distance away, even making them say whatever he wants.
 * It seems more likely that Saikhan's just being controlled by fear. The perceived (or explicit) threat of bloodbending torture may be enough to keep him from trying to oppose Tarrlok.
 * Saikhan seemed to be unaware of Tarrlok's bloodbending abilities and was quick to turn the whole police force on him, though he was being used by Tarrlok as a puppet and seemed to be threatened or pressured regardless.

Tarrlok is genetically related to Yakone.
It isn't too far off the possibility that he could be a relative of the late Yakone or was a deep follower of his ideals.
 * Confirmed. Tarrlok is Yakone's son.

Adding to the above, Tarrlok and Amon are Yakone's sons.
Yakone was a racist, convinced of his own superiority as a gifted waterbender and decided that people without his gifts were not deserving of the same rights he had (and possibly not even the same air he breathed). Then Amon comes along, this nonbending freak of a child, and he (and Tarrlok, who came along a few years later: both Amon and Tarrlok seem like they're more or less the same age) abuse him to the point where Amon sees that taking out bending entirely would be better than living in a world where benders could treat non-benders like shit. After Aang deals with Yakone (let's say de-powering him), the two of them react in two different ways. Amon sees Aang's power and dedicates his life to finding out how he too can take away a person's bending. Meanwhile, Tarrlok holds onto his father's ideals: hating non-benders and reflecting that hatred in his politics and demeanour, hoping to eventually control Republic City and persecute non-benders unchallenged. It explains why he had such a breakdown (seriously, half-baked or not, you do NOT attack the freakin' Avatar) when Korra compared him to Amon: the freak, everything his father ever warned him about nonbenders realized (and too messed up to see that it was because of Yakone and him that Amon is the way he is). It also draws parallels to the Fire Nation Royal Family: the abusive, monstrous father; the outcast firstborn who forges his own destiny away from his family's influence; and the extremely gifted but mentally unhinged secondborn.
 * I was just thinking about this! It would definitely add a layer to Tarrlok's anger at being compared to Amon.
 * To go even further, Amon is a rejected member of Yakone's family due to being an illegitimate son.

Tarrlok IS Yakone
Same ideas as the above entry about being a racist, but one wonders just how much use  could have. Like maybe changing one's appearance by manipulating their own body? It could explain the similarities between Tarrlok and Yakone, as well as a dislike for the Avatar.
 * But Yakone's trial was 42 years ago,Tarrlok is clearly the youngest, oh sure bloodbending can do wonders, but c'mon it has limits, I highly doubt it can make a 100 year old or whatever appear to be in the forties.
 * Jossed. Tarrlok is Yakone's son.

Tarrlok was somehow mentored by Yakone
,so what if Tarrlok learned from Yakone, like I dunno he passed it on through a book, it's highly unlikely that he was personally mentored since the trial was probably before Tarrlok was born, still it's not completely out there.
 * Confirmed. Tarrlok learned

Tarrlok has been using (or the threat of it) on the Council the whole time.
It would explain how things always get voted 4 to 1 in his favor. Being a really smooth talker and politician only gets you so far, even if you do include bribes (monetary or other). However, fear is a great motivator, and I don't think after the events of Episode 8 we can say that Tarrlok wouldn't do this to get his way.
 * Seems to be Jossed as of episode nine.

Tarrlok's real name is A. Firebender

 * And he was the one who killed Mako and Bolin's parents, Asami's mother, and Amon's family.

Tarrlok is the Hitler while Amon is the Stalin

 * Assuming they are two different people. Republic City may actually be facing an Evil Versus Evil problem. At any case, we have The Good, The Bad, And The Evil now.

Tarrlok and Yakone both are part of a larger organization of Bloodbenders
Probably called the Order of the Crescent Moon or something like that. Once he's done using Amon's revolution to get enough power they'll appear in force.

Yakone was the founder of a bending triad, namely the "Red Monsoons", and was put on trial for the crimes that he and his gang committed.
A beautifully outlined explanation for this WMG can be found here. Until episode nine confirms/denies this, it still holds a lot of water as a reasonable backstory for Yakone and Tarrlok.
 * Somewhat confirmed, though Yakone was never named as the founder of a triad, only the ruler of the city's criminal activity. And no other bloodbenders nor Katara appeared, and Sokka was still left alive after this encounter (expectedly). Other than that the WMG was pieced together fairly accurately.

Tarrlok will form a bloodbending Secret Police
Imagine the reign of terror he could usher in with that, especially since bloodbending is no longer bound to the full moon.
 * However, like the Fire Nation before it, after Tarrlok's fall, it will be reorganized into something less sinister. As horrible as bloodbending may seem, it's really effective at subduing people, and those with less malicious intent could probably learn to deal with people without killing or permanently harming them.

Tarrlok is somehow connected to the Moon Spirit

 * This is why he can bloodbend without a full moon.

Tarrlok is of the Northern Water Tribe's royal bloodline
The connection Tarrlok has to the Moon Spirit is this: he's a descendant of the Northern Water Tribe's royal family. As such, he has a deep connection with the Moon Spirit(since the royal bloodline were, and probably still are, the caretakers of both the Moon and Sea Spirits, and one of the bloodline IS the Moon Spirit now). So by family blood, he derives much more power from the Moon Spirit than any Waterbender could. Also, being part of the royal bloodline might also explain his huge political influence. A relative of the Earth King or Fire Lord would probably have similar political power within the council, and only Tenzin(the Avatar's son) is willing to oppose him at his level.
 * Worth pointing out that Tenzin is also the patriarch of the Air Nomads, which puts him on equal terms with royalty.
 * The Air Nomads have always seemed fairly egalitarian in the flashbacks; it's unlikely that they have anything resembling an absolute ruler.

Tarrlok will be the Big Bad for season 2

 * He's bad, and powerful, but also too well connected to touch. Season 2 may be about bringing him down.
 * Almost certainly Jossed. He's not shown having any connections that wouldn't be cut by his reveal of Bloodbending. Even the Chief of Police who was willing to follow his questionable orders turns on him as soon as this comes out. And now he's powerless, to boot.

Tarrlok works for the Dai Li
At the end of "When Extremes Meet" he is driving Korra to be brainwashed to either forget the encounter they had or to be a puppet for his actions.
 * Probably not.

Tarrlok hates the equalists a lot because his father, Yakone, was energybended by Aang and he hates the Equalists because he knows the consequences of losing one's bending.
Yakhone must have suffered greatly (and consequently Tarrlok) because he lost his bending and all his power - not unlike Lightning Bolt Zolt. Tarrlok is himself paranoid of the equalists for the same reason and that's why he wants to destroy them even to the point of Fantastic Racism against innocent people. It also explains his anger against Korra and why he's crazy enough to eletrocute himself and give him a serious injury and blame the Equalists when Tenzin arrives.
 * Tarrlok being Yakone's son, and Yakone being energybended by Aang, are both confirmed in "Out of the Past".

Tarrlok will be defeated by Katara coming to Korra's aid.
Knowing how dangerous it is, Katara mastered a way to counter Bloodbending/is equally as powerful with it as Tarrlok. She won't fight him with Korra, but neutralize his Bloodbending so he's forced to face Korra without it.
 * Jossed. Katara is still at the South Pole,

Korra's first use of the Avatar State will be to defeat Tarrlok.

 * Jossed.

For some reason, bloodbending can't be used to kill from the inside. Or at the very least, it is a great strain on the bender
Why else would Yakone only decide to kill Aang when he was cornered and basically alone with him? Plus, its shown that while Yakone can easily blood the whole courthouse into unconsciousness easily, he's sweating and trembling trying to kill one person. Tarrlok himself acts similarly when he knocks out the council, Lin, and the rest of team Avatar. Maybe trying to kill with only bloodbending would cause some kind of chi backlash or something. And even if it would be easy enough to just drop the person onto something sharp, pointy, and deadly, none of the bloodbenders would think about this kind of solution because they're all so confident in their abilities.