Avatar: The Last Airbender/Characters/The Fire Nation: Difference between revisions

[[File:zuko10.jpg|framethumb|200px]]

Even as the prince of the Fire Nation, Zuko has always struggled in life, particularly in matching his prodigy sister Azula and getting his father's acknowledgement. This came to a head when Ozai punished him for a percievedperceived slight by horrifically burning his face and sending him into exile, refusing to let him return until he had captured the Avatar. (This was intended as a [[Snipe Hunt]], since Aang had been missing for a century.) Determined to prove his worth to his father, Zuko hunted Aang across the world for the first season while trying to find his own destiny.

{{spoiler|Eventually, Zuko betrays Iroh and helps Azula take over Ba Sing Se. Granted amnesty for his actions, Zuko is finally allowed to come home. He has his honor restored, the adoration of a nation, the love of his life, and the respect of his father. And he finds himself lacking. After some soul-searching, Zuko finally realizes what Iroh had always tried to teach him. After giving Ozai an epic and well-deserved [[Calling the Old Man Out]], Zuko defects to join the Gaang as Aang's Firebending teacher. Though initially mistrusted, grudges dissolve into friendships and Zuko soon becomes a core member of the group. At the end of the series, Zuko becomes the new Fire Lord and strives to rebuild the world into an era of peace. And hopefully find his mother.}}

** {{spoiler|"Why am I so bad at being good!"}}

* [[Ambiguously Evil]]: Zuko is the first antagonist, but is given enough sympathy points through out the first season that it is more than a bit hazy on which side of the fence he'll wind up. {{spoiler|After trying to be evil he decides it's not for him.}}

** {{spoiler|[[Necessarily Evil]]: In [[Interquel]] [[Graphic Novel]] trilogy ''[[Avatar: The Last Airbender - The Promise]]''}}.

* {{spoiler|[[Anti-Hero]]: Type IV or V ---> Type III on the [[Sliding Scale of Anti-Heroes]].}}

** {{spoiler|He becomes Type IV or V again in ''[[Avatar: The Last Airbender - The Promise|The Promise]]''.}}

** {{spoiler|1=Arguably [[Sliding Scale of Anti-Villains|Type III and/or IV]] in ''[[Avatar: The Last Airbender - The Promise|The Promise]]''}}.

* [[Aristocrats Are Evil]]: Part of his character arc in Seasons 1 and especially 2 is Zuko growing past his sense of aristocratic entitlement, personified in his {{spoiler|treasonous Blue Spirit persona}}. He steals not only for basic necessities, but basically whenever he sees something shiny. Zuko's aristocratic nature eventually becomes a positive motivator for him, to the point where {{spoiler|he vows to see Ozai overthrown and the Fire Nation redeemed}}.

* {{spoiler|[[The Atoner]]: After his [[Heel Face Turn]] he tries to make up for two and a half seasons of being an asshat.}}

* {{spoiler|[[Authority Equals Asskicking]]: Like his predecessors in the throne, in ''[[Avatar: The Last Airbender - The Promise|The Promise]]''.}}

* {{spoiler|[[Awesome Moment of Crowning]]}}

* [[Back-to-Back Badasses]]: {{spoiler|With Aang as they face the Firebending Masters.}} Also with {{spoiler|Katara}} when they're training during the finale.

* {{spoiler|[[Big Brother Mentor]]}}

* {{spoiler|[[Calling the Old Man Out]]: Calls his father, Ozai, out for the monster and [[Abusive Parents|horrible father]] that he is and tells him that he's going [[Heel Face Turn|join the Avatar to defeat him.]] [[Offing the Offspring|Ozai does not take kindly to this.]]}}

** {{spoiler|[[Heel Face Turn]]}}

** {{spoiler|becomes great friends with the protagonist via [[The Power of Friendship]].}}

* {{spoiler|[[Defrosting Ice King]]: It takes two and a half seasons but he thaws with [[The Power of Friendship]].}}

* {{spoiler|[[Easily Forgiven]]: Averted with the Gaang, but [[Up to Eleven]] with Iroh, who will always forgive him.}}

* [[Fan Service Pack]]: His [[Character Development]] and gradual transformation into {{spoiler|a good guy}} also makes him more attractive.

* {{spoiler|[[Good Is Not Nice]]}}

* [[Happily Adopted]]: As of {{spoiler|his [[Heel Face Turn]].}}

* [[Heel Face Revolving Door]]: {{spoiler|[[Wham! Episode|Famously failed to make a]] [[Heel Face Turn]] [[Wham! Episode|in season 2]]}}, and then {{spoiler|finally settled on the Face side in Season 3.}}

** {{spoiler|And he comes back to this in ''[[Avatar: The Last Airbender - The Promise|The Promise]]''.}}

*** {{spoiler|He doesn't really go ''evil'' in ''[[Avatar: The Last Airbender - The Promise|The Promise]]''; he simply discovers that doing a decision as a ruler to help one group of people can seriously hurt another, and tries to set up some sort of stable status quo instead of uprooting innocent colonists from their homes. Like always, he could be much more tactful about it, though.}}

* {{spoiler|[[Heel Realization]]}}

* [[Hidden Heart of Gold]]: Well, from the heroes' point of view, {{spoiler|until his [[Heel Face Turn]], that is.}}

* [[Hoist by His Own Petard]]/[[Beat Them At Their Own Game]]: Has the power to inflict this on opponents using [[Shock and Awe|Lightning-redirecting]], and the only one to use this ability in the manner this trope describes. Learned from Iroh, taught to {{spoiler|Aang.}}

* {{spoiler|[[Hurting Hero]]: Post-[[Heel Face Turn]].}}

* {{spoiler|[[I Am Not My Father]]: In Season 3.}}

** {{spoiler|[[Not So Different]]: In ''[[Avatar: The Last Airbender - The Promise|The Promise]]''.}}

*** {{spoiler|This happens again in ''[[Avatar: The Last Airbender - The Promise|The Promise]]'', where his hairstyle becomes similar to Ozai}}.

* [[Duty First, Love Second]]: {{spoiler|Mai is ''pissed'' that he runs off in the middle of the night to 'fulfill his destiny''.}}

* {{spoiler|[[Luke, I Am Your Father]]: "Your mother's grandfather was Avatar Roku!"}}

* [[Mad Dictators Handsome Son]]: More [[Abusive Parents|Horrifically Abused Son]], {{spoiler|as he doesn't defect for love--in fact, his [[Heel Face Turn]] ''interferes'' with his relationship with Mai (until ''her'' [[Heel Face Turn]]). But it still boils down to "Screw you, Dad! I'mma join the heroes!"}}

* [[Momma's Boy]]: Adored his mom. {{spoiler|Asking what happened to her is his last line in the original series.}}

* [[My Greatest Failure]]: Originally, he believed it to be failing in his father's eyes and being banished. Eventually, he realizes that it was {{spoiler|betraying Iroh in Ba Sing Se}}.

* [[Noble Demon]]: Character development for him in Season 1. He goes from burning down the {{spoiler|Kyoshi Warrior's village}} in his pursuit of Aang to abandoning a later pursuit {{spoiler|to keep his soldiers safe.}}

* [[Poor Communication Kills]]: {{spoiler|A lot of [[Avatar: The Last Airbender - The Promise|The Promise's]] plot relies on Zuko's [[Could Have Avoided This Plot|poor communication skills]].}}

** {{spoiler|The red to Aang's blue (during their training).}}

* {{spoiler|[[Reformed but Rejected]]: For one episode... or four with Katara.}}

* {{spoiler|[[Sixth Ranger]]}}

* {{spoiler|[[Supporting Leader]]}}

* {{spoiler|[[Team Dad]]: [http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii175/Eternal_Light55/Bumi%20Vs%20Toph%20Comic/BvsT8.jpg Especially] in the [http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii175/Eternal_Light55/Bumi%20Vs%20Toph%20Comic/BvsT10.jpg comics].}}

* [[Took a Level in Badass]]: Remember in the first episode of Book: Earth, when he wasn't even able to land a hit on Azula? {{spoiler|After seeing the dragons Ran and Shaw with Aang, his firebending went up to par with Azula's, holding his own pretty well until he takes a lightning bolt shot at Katara}}.

* [[Victorious Childhood Friend]]: {{spoiler|Mai's had a crush on him since they were small.}}

** {{spoiler|This happens again in ''[[Avatar: The Last Airbender - The Promise|The Promise]]''.}}

* [[Warrior Therapist]]: {{spoiler|Plays [[The Lancer]] to Sokka and Katara when they need to sort out their problems (after Aang does the same to him) but the brand of therapy he gives to Katara skirted the line of a [[Poisonous Friend]] (albeit unintentionally). [[Lampshaded Trope|Mocked]] when Toph points out that everyone else got to go on a life-changing field trip with Zuko, [[Ship Tease|grabs his arm]], and proceeds to take him for a walk-and-talk... and he tells her that they need to focus on finding Aang.}}

* [["Well Done, Son" Guy]]: Earning his father's approval is his driving force. {{spoiler|Later on it's his uncle's.}}

[[File:azula 1.jpg|framethumb|200px]]

** {{spoiler|He's manipulating Zuko yet again in ''[[Avatar: The Last Airbender - The Promise|The Promise]]''.}}

* [[No Celebrities Were Harmed]]: {{Spoiler|His final solution to the Earth Kingdom is a ''literal'' [[Adolph Hitler|Holocaust]]. To make the similarities even more obvious, it's based on an earlier genocide (Hitler mentioned the armenianArmenian genocide before initiating the jewishJewish one by saying there would be no consequences for attempting it), and just like Hitler, his predecessor which barely could stand him suddenly died just after negating him supreme power (Hindenburg wins the presidential election, Azulon negates to give Ozai's precedence over his older brother Iroh)}}.

{{spoiler|The reason for her disappearance was part of a deal with her husband Ozai: in exchange for not killing Zuko, Ursa would kill Fire Lord Azulon and make it so Ozai could take the throne. Though Ozai claims that she is now banished, it's unknown what finally happened to her.}}

* {{spoiler|[[The Exile]]}}

{{quote|''"I had a pupil once who had no interest in learning discipline. He was only concerned with the power of fire - how he could use it to destroy his opponents and wipe out the obstacles in his path."'' -'''Jeong Jeong'''}}

{{quote|''"I've heard about you. They say you're good at what you do. And even better at keeping secrets. The Avatar is alive. I want you to find him. And end him."'' - '''Zuko'''