| “ | A plan? The plan is to prove my father wasn't wrong to trust me with this mission. The plan is to go in and capture the Avatar once and for all. The plan is to reclaim what's rightfully mine! | „ |
| ~ Zuko to Iroh about his ultimate goal to kidnap Aang and become the heir of the Fire Lord again. |
Prince Zuko is the anti-villainous deuteragonists of Netflix's Avatar: The Last Airbender, based on the Nickelodeon cartoon of the same name. He is the son of Fire Lord Ozai and the older brother of Princess Azula, the great-grandson of Fire Lord Sozin and secretly Avatar Roku, the grandson of Azulon and Ilah, the nephew of General Iroh and his unnamed wife, and the cousin of the late Lu Ten.
Eager to return home after being banished, Zuko is given the rather difficult task of hunting down the Avatar so he can regain his honor and his father's love. This makes him a dangerous adversary for Aang and Team Avatar. However, both Aang and Zuko don't realize that their destinies are forever entwined despite them being on opposing sides.
He is played by Dallas Liu, who also portrayed Ruihua Chen in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.
History[]
Background[]
Zuko was born seventeen years prior to the series to Fire Lord Ozai and Princess Ursa and before his younger sister, Princess Azula. He had an estranged relationship with most of his family members, mainly his father and sister, Azula. Despite his stern and stoic father, Zuko often found comfort in his cousin, Lu Ten and his uncle, Iroh. He was exiled from the Fire Nation after "shaming" Ozai by disrespecting his general during a war council meeting when he spoke up against sending in a battalion of new fire Nation recruits. After this, he spent three years trying to capture the Avatar and restore his honor.
Personality[]
Zuko was once a kind, selfless, and compassionate young man, first showcased when he showed his disgust for General Li's plan to sacrifice the 41st Legion. Though Zuko put up a fight, he ultimately refused to burn his father. Ozai saw his son's compassion as a sign of weakness and blamed his mother Ursa for being the cause of it. After being forced on a mission to capture the Avatar for three years, Zuko became stoic, embittered, and enraged. He was also easily hot-tempered and would often lash out. This is best shown when he starts throwing his things around the room when he can't find his notebook and is angry upon learning that Aang stole his journal. Zuko could also be sarcastic, as he does so when he openly mocked Lieutenant Jee in front of the whole crew. Zuko is an impulsive, temperamental teenager, and is often really bad at thinking things through. For example, he thought of ways to save Aang from Zhao but didn't anticipate the rescue going south. Additionally, his arrogance gets the better of him when Katara manages to fight him off.
Despite his hot temper and obsession, Zuko still holds high views of his family. He cares for his uncle Iroh, who becomes like a second father to him. Zuko was also close with his cousin Lu Ten, who gifted Zuko with a medal that would give him strength whenever Ozai was being. Since his cousin Lu Ten's death, Zuko comforted his uncle during his son's funeral and was the only one in Iroh's family to sit by his uncle. In the Earth Kingdom, Zuko chooses between following the Avatar or saving his uncle, ultimately choosing the latter. However, Zuko's a strained relationship with his sister Azul, who does everything she can to prove that she is the better heir to their father. A major motivation for Zuko's need to capture the Avatar is to not only regain his honor but his father's love as well.
Zuko is still an honorable individual, even towards his enemies. When the two first met, Aang bargained with the Fire Prince that he would come with him if he left Wolf Cove alone. Zuko also finds hiring a bounty hunter like June to locate the Avatar to be dishonorable until Iroh tells him otherwise. Upon being told by Zhao that his mission was all for nothing and that Ozai's banishment of Zuko was meant to motivate Azula, Zuko was angered. However, on their way to escape from the Northern Water Tribe, he feels defeated and thinks that his quest was all for nothing.
Physical Appearance[]
Zuko is a seventeen year old boy with black hair, brown eyes and pale skin. He has a red burn on his left eye. The scar comes from the burn that his father gave him before he was banished. However his eyebrow remain in tact and isn't as vicious as it is in the cartoon series. As the Prince of the Fire Nation, his hair was midlength and wore a top knot. He shaved his head, save for a long ponytail bound by a red hairband. In "The North," Zuko gained serval bruises and scars after nearly being killed by Zhao's blasting jelly.
As a prince of the Fire Nation, Zuko wrote their colors, mainly black, red and orange.
Powers and Abilities[]
Firebending[]
Zuko throwing a powerful fire blast at Zhao.
Zuko is arguably one of the most powerful Firebenders in the world and has been preparing for a confrontation with the Avatar. However, he wasn't a child prodigy like his sister, who child generate a lightning bolt at just the age of fourteen. He was able to take down Katara in their first duel together due to her holding back her waterbending from the death of her mother. He would have killed her if a Kyoshi-possessed Aang hadn't shown up. Zuko later showcased his abilities during a fight with the Earth Kingdom soldiers, even managing to firebending from his feet and saving his uncle in the process.
When he and Aang were stuck together after escaping from Admiral Zhao, Zuko started to firebrand at him until Aang accidentally knocked him out and never meant to hurt him. During their second duel, Zuko found himself matched with Katara, who managed to incapacitate him by trapping him in a block of ice.
Combat and Swordsmanship[]
In addition to firebending, Zuko proved to be a skilled combatant and master swordsman, having been trained since he was a young boy presumably by Swordsmaster Piandao. When he was saving his uncle, Zuko broke his uncle's chainswith one swift kick of his steel boots. When he was rescuing Aang from the fortress, Zuko proved capable of using two broadswords simultaneously. He was also careful not to hurt Aang when Zuko pressed his swords against the boy's neck.
Possessions[]
- Dual Broadswords
- The Blue Spirit disguise
- Notebook (currently in Aang's possession)
Gallery[]
Quotes[]
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Relationships[]
Family[]
- Sozin † - Paternal Great-Grandfather
- Roku † - Maternal Great-Grandfather
- Azulon † - Paternal Grandfather
- Ozai - Father
- Usra - Mother
- Iroh - Paternal Uncle
- Azula - Sister
- Lu Ten † - Paternal Cousin
Allies[]
- His crew
- Lieutenant Jee
- Mai
- Ty Lee
Enemies[]
Differences from the source material[]
- Zuko is seventeen years old, making him one year older than his animated counterpart, who was 16. (however in the cartoons, Zuko says that over a year ago was when he met Aang in "Sozin's Comet" and he mentioned in the Season 2 premiere that it was the third anniversary of his banishment, meaning Zuko's seventeenth birthday is approaching
- This now makes him three years older than Katara (instead of 2l, five years older than Aang (instead of 4), and only one year older than Sokka , who was aged up to 16. This makes Zuko and Sokka's age gap is the only one that remains the same for Zuko.
- The anniversary of Zuko's three-year-old banishment doesn't hit until Season 2. However, by Season 1 it has already been 3 year.
- In the cartoon, Azula is seen sadistically smiling when her brother gets burned by their father. But in the Netflix series she does know such thing and instead watches impassively.
- One of the main reasons that Azula resented Zuko in the original continuity was because he was always favored by their mother Ursa. Is is unknown if that is the case in the live-action series
- In the cartoons, the relationship between Zuko and his cousin isn't explored. There, it is hinted that Lu Ten was like an older brother as Zuko did show great sadness for his cousin's death when he learned it from his mother. However, his and Lu Ten's relationship in the Netflix continuity is better fleshed out, where Lu gave a medal to Zuko so he could gain strength from it whenever his father wasn't happy or agreeable.
- Ozai despised Zuko in the original cartoon, even threatening to kill him twice before Ursa intervened. Another reason Ozai treated Zuko coldly is because he found one of Ursa's letters written to her boyfriend Ikem that claimed Zuko was his child, not Ozai. However in the series, Ozai is willing to acknowledge his determination and considers Zuko even locating Aang an accomplishment.
Trivia[]
- The scene in which a woman is seen hitting Zuko for harming an innocent child during their duel in Omashu became a popular meme.
- In addition, critics and fans alike have praised Dallas Liu for his role as Zuko, especially his sarcasm.
- Zuko faces several differences in the live-action remake.
- Unlike the cartoon, where Zuko refuses to fight his father, Zuko does put up a fight against Ozai but he hesitates to burn his father.
- While their relationship was briefly addressed, Lu Ten and Zuko's relationship is flushed out more.
- While Zuko in the cartoon is more willing to use June to track and hunt down team Avatar, he finds it to be a dishonorable tactic until Uncle Iroh convinces him to.
- After Pohuai Stronghold, Zuko and Aang's conversation is expanded, allowing more room for bonding for the two main leads.
- Additionally, unlike the series, Zuko is 17 as opposed to 16.
- Despite the lukewarm reception of the live-action series, Dallas Liu's and Gorman Cormier's portrayals s Zuko and Aang as well as their chemistry together were heavily praised, with others looking forward to their relationship on the future of the show. Additionally, the series making the 41st Division and Zuko's crew the same has been heavily praised as one of the best changes made to the series.
References[]
External links[]
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Gen I: Aang (The Last Airbender - Netflix) • Appa (Netflix) • Katara (The Last Airbender - Netflix) • Momo (Netflix) • Sokka (The Last Airbender - Netflix) • Zuko (The Last Airbender - Netflix) • Suki (Netflix) • Toph Beifong Avatars Order of the White Lotus Air Nomads Fire Nation Water Tribe Spirits Other | ||