View source for Avatar

{{quote|"''There's this bald boy, who can control the wind... Oops! Wrong [[Avatar: The Last Airbender|Avatar]]...''"|'''[[That Guy With The Glasses|Chester]] [[Bum Reviews|A. Bum]]''''s [http://thatguywiththeglasses.com/videolinks/thatguywiththeglasses/bum-reviews/15043-ep036 Bum Review] of [[James Cameron]]'s ''[[Avatar (film)|Avatar]]''}}

"Avatar" is a Sanskrit word that usually implies a deliberate descent from higher spiritual realms to lower realms of existence for special purposes. It is often translated into English as "incarnation", meaning the physical incarnation of a divine or higher power. In the modern world the term has picked up a number of other meanings, and is the namesake for many fictional works. Its broadest definition is "some sort of remotely controlled entity which is present in the role of its controller".<ref>In addition to the examples below this can include remote controlled vehicles (particularly ones operated at distance with their own sensors, a representation of someone in a digital space (see below), or an incarnation of a divine being as a mortal (indeed the use of this in Hindu mythology is the [[Trope Namer]]).</ref> Naturally, that all means there are a lot of different works that use "Avatar" in their names:
== Works ==
* American cartoon ''[[Avatar: The Last Airbender]]''
** ''Avatar: [[The Legend of Korra]]'', [[Market-Based Title|in international markets]]. The American title is just ''The Legend of Korra'' to avoid conflicting with...
* ''[[Avatar (film)]]'', the 2009 feature film by [[James Cameron]].
* ''[[Ultima|Ultima IV: The Quest of the Avatar]]'', where the player seeks to become "the Avatar," basically their version of [[Crystal Dragon Jesus]].
* ''The Avatar'', a book by [[Poul Anderson]], which involves a group of explorers commandeering a space freighter. The best-known cover has three characters on the cover—two humans (presumably viewpoint characters Daniel Brodersen and Caitlín Mulryan) and a four-armed alien vaguely resembling a humanoid sea lion (Fidelio).
* ''[[Avatar (video game)]]'', an old [[Role-Playing Game]] on a multi-university computer network back in [[The Seventies]].
* ''Avatar'', the sixth book in the ''[[Indigo]]'' fantasy series.
* ''Avatar'', the first book in the [[Star Trek Deep Space Nine Relaunch]].
* [[Law & Order/Recap/S17/E02 Avatar|''Law and Order'', Season 17, Episode 2: "Avatar".]]

== Tropes ==
* [[Author Avatar]]: The [[Word of God|higher being]] is the author and they have a character in their work that represents him/herself.
* [[Digital Avatar]]: The sort you find in games as the [[Player Character]], by way of [[Cyberpunk]] (specifically [[Snow Crash]]) influence.
* [[God in Human Form]]: one of the ways it happens is through an avatar projection. See also [[A Form You Are Comfortable With]]. As mentioned above, examples from certain mythologies are the [[Trope Namer]].
* [[Fighting a Shadow]]: In general, using an avatar means that if something kills it, what had the avatar doesn't completely die.

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