This article is about the Nickelodeon version of the character. For other uses, see Zuko.
| “ | I used to think this scar marked me – the mark of the banished prince, cursed to chase the Avatar forever. But lately, I've realized I'm free to determine my own destiny, even if I'll never be free of my mark. | „ |
| ~ Zuko to Katara |
Zuko, also formerly known as Fire Lord Zuko and currently Lord Zuko, is one of the two deuteragonists (alongside Katara) of Nickelodeon's Avatar: The Last Airbender[1], one of the main protagonists of the comics,[2] and a supporting character in the third and fourth seasons of the sequel series The Legend of Korra.
Once an exiled prince vowing to capture the Avatar, Zuko befriended Team Avatar in their fight against his father, Fire Lord Ozai. He eventually became Aang's firebending teacher and ended up becoming lifelong best friend.
In the original series, he was voiced by Dante Basco as a teenager and Elijah Runcorn as a child.
In The Legends of Korra, Bruce Davison voiced an older version of the character.
Early History[]
Zuko was born 83 AG to Prince Ozai and Princess Ursa. However, he lacked "the spark", which all children born with firebending have. His mother, Ursa feared that Zuko would never develop firebending powers. Ozai felt disdain for Zuko since birth because a first-born non-bender was disgraceful in his eyes. He nearly cast him over the walls of the palace. However, Ursa consulted the Fire Sages, who convinced Ozai to give him a chance. When Zuko was three years old, he developed firebending powers, putting the family at ease for a while.
During a time when his family was happy, Zuko and his family often vacationed at their summer home on Ember Island. When he was three, Zuko saw an eagle hawk attacking a turtle crab while playing at the beach. The little prince immediately rushed to rescue the crab, feeling the urge to help the weak. However, when he had the animal safely in his arms, Zuko realized that the hawk would die of hunger without its prey. Unsure which side he should take, the prince was eventually surprised by a wave and carried out into the ocean. Zuko almost drowned before he was saved by his father. The little prince spent the remainder of the day in the care of his mother, recovering from the experience while vomiting seawater.[His mother often took him to see the Ember Island Players but every year they would ruin Love Amongst the Dragons. Afterward, the Royal Siblings usually reenacted the final duel of the play at the beach. To his frustration, Zuko normally had to take the role of the Dark Water Spirit, the evil antagonist. Nevertheless, Zuko happily recalled these memories many years later.
In his childhood, Zuko was also raised by his uncle, Iroh and became very close with his cousin Lu Ten. Iroh would often hold baby Zuko on the shores of the beach at Ember Island as Lu Ten built his sandcastles. Iroh became like another father to Zuko but they didn't become extremely close until Ursa's disappearance and Lu Ten's demise in Ba Sing Se. He also became good friends with Azula's friends Mai and Ty Lee, while Zuko and Mai developed a crush on each other.
In his early youth, he was schooled by Piandao in the art of fighting with dual broadswords.
When Zuko was eleven, his cousin Lu Ten was killed during his uncle's 600-day Siege of Ba Sing Se and his mother mysteriously disappeared. In truth, Ursa decided to help Ozai become the Next Fire Lord so he would spare Zuko, after Azulon ordered Ozai to kill Zuko in retaliation for him trying to usuro the position of cried Prince from Iroh as he grieved for his son. She poisoned Fire Lord Azulon. In the middle of the night, Ursa woke up Zuko and hugged him, proclaiming that everything she did was to protect him. The next morning, Zuko tried finding his mother but meets Azula, who creepily smiled and told him Azulon died last night. The young prince quickly ran away from Azula and found Ozai. Zuko demanded to know where Ursa was but was soon crestfallen when Ozai didn't answer him. At his father's ascension to the throne, Zuko noticed that his sister was smiling as Ozai was crowned Fire Lord. No amicable feelings developed between her and Zuko throughout the next few years, as Ozai apparently began to favor her increasingly over her brother during this period. Over the years Zuko learned how to master his firebending under his uncle's tutelage and how to fight with a sword by Master Piandao.
Banishment[]
When Zuko was 13 years old, he attempted to attend a war meeting called by the Fire lord but the guards wouldn't let him pass. His uncle Iroh tried convincing his nephew that the meeting would be boring but Zuko added that as the crowned Prince, he needed to understand how politics worked. Iroh understood but warned Zuko not to say anything and just observe. During the meeting, Zuko disobeyed Iroh's warnings and spoke out against a general's plan to sacrifice the 41st Division. However, questioning the general's plan disrespected the Fire Lord in Ozai's eyes. The insubordinate outburst was seen as a grave insult, and Ozai demanded the prince participate in an Agni Kai.
On the day of the Agni Kai, Zuko thought he was going to fight the general, but when the young prince turned around, he was shocked to find Ozai there instead. Zuko got on his knees, insisting for his father's forgiveness, and how he meant no disrespect and he is "[Ozai's] loyal son." Insulted by his son's cowardice, Ozai declared his refusal a sign of cowardice and another display of disrespect, affirming that "[he] will learn respect, and suffering will be [his] teacher." He burned Zuko's left side of his face, exiled him from his beloved homeland, declaring that he could return only after having found and captured the Avatar, who had disappeared nearly one hundred years prior.
Zuko spent the next two years at sea fruitlessly and desperately searching for the Avatar. His uncle and a small crew accompanied Zuko on his ship, where the Fire Prince continue to master fire bending under Iroh's instruction. They were not rush guards and only saw this as an opportunity to with with the respected General Iroh. The men weren't often unhappy under Zuko but obeyed his orders. Iroh often acted as if he considered the search an extended vacation, much to Zuko's annoyance. Iroh tried to guide him and make his nephew's journey one of self-discovery. They visited every air temple he could, even studied everything about the Avatar and began pushing his training in case he ever came face to face with the master of all four elements. At one point, the exiled Prince searched the four air temples, beginning with the Western Air Temple, where he ridiculed Iroh's warnings that he should rest so he could heal. Zuko snapped at his uncle for his lack of support in him and ridiculed Iroh's noncommitment as laziness. As Zuko swore that he would spend the rest of his life looking for the Avatar because Zuko believed it was his destiny to capture the air nomad. Iroh placed a hand on his nephew's shoulder and told Zuko that he'll find his own destiny one day before the two departed.
With the Western Temple as a bust, Zuko and his crew scoured the world, searching even the most remote locations for his prize.
Zuko clung desperately as his only hope of regaining his honor and everything he had lost even if he was a fool's errand by all accounts, but one to which he was dedicated to. At this point, Zuko still believed that, as Ozai's eldest child, it was his duty and destiny to ultimately become Fire Lord.
Zuko discovered the Avatar in late 99 AG when he saw a beam of light beyond the horizon.
In Avatar: The Last Airbender[]
Book 1: Water[]
Central antagonist
Zuko perceives a radiant light, which he identifies as an immensely potent source. Iroh, meanwhile is playing what appears to be a solitaire-like game. Zuko attempts to persuade his uncle Iroh that this light is the Avatar just as the beacon evaporates. However, Iroh remains skeptical, arguing that Zuko is simply witnessing celestial lights and advises him to relax and enjoy tea. Frustrated, Zuko rebukes his uncle and instructs his helmsman to chart a course toward the dazzling light. Later that evening, before retiring for the night, Iroh cautions Zuko that he could be wrong about the Light bringing the Avatar. He encourages his nephew to prioritize rest over his fixation on the Avatar, noting to Zuko that his father Ozai, his grandfather Azulon, and great-grandfather Sozin attempted and failed to find the lost Avatar. However, Zuko remarks that their honor doesn't hang on finding the Avatar like his. The following day, He trains harder than ever to defeat the Avatar who Zuko thinks it's an old man in his 100s. Zuko engages in rigorous firebending training from Iroh. He later forces Iroh to teach him the next set of firebending.
He later tracks the Avatar to Wolf Cove and duels Sokka. Zuko and his men are assaulted by Aang's snow blast, who later surrendered to Zuko so he would spare the Southern Water tribe. However, Aang breaks up.
Book 2: Earth[]
Secondary antagonist
Book 3: Fire[]
Deuteragonist
Role in the Avatar Comics[]
The Promise[]
One of the two main protagonists (alongside Aang)
Smoke and Shadows[]
The main protagonist of the comic
The Rift[]
North and South[]
Imbalance[]
The Search[]
The main protagonist of the comic
In Between the Series[]
Saving Avatar Korra[]
Sometime after Aang passed on, his reincarnation and successor, Korra was born, Zuko became determined to protect the next Avatar at all costs. He used to visit Korra as a child, developing a grandfatherly figure towards her. About five years after she was identified as the Red Lotus, a group of terrorists and fanatics intent on building a new order, attempted to abduct young Korra with the intent to raise her in their philosophy. Fortunately, Zuko helped Chief Sokka, Tenzin and Korra's father, Tonroq, stop the criminals and had them arrested. Unbeknownst to the former Fire Lord and his allies, Korra’s evil uncle had hatched the kidnapping plot. An icy prison was created by Zuko and Unalaq to hold P'Li and prevent her from escaping. Zuko and his allies interrogated the red Lotus for 13 years about why they were trying to kidnap young Korra. However, they never answered.
Abdication[]
In 167 AG, Zuko abdicated the throne of the Fire Nation in 167 AG to his daughter, Izumi and supported her with her own policies. He still retained the title "Lord" and choose to leave the imperial city and live on Ember Island, which he used to visit in his childhood. Zuko became the unofficial ambassador for world balance and offering advice to those who needed it.
Role in The Legend of Korra[]
Book 3: Change[]
Personality[]
Zuko is notable for his hot temper, sarcasm and sense of honor and determination. He has ruthlessly hunted the Avatar for nearly three years, but so of this is some so he can regain his honor and his father's love. It would be long before the realized his father never cared for him and that the plan to capture the Avatar was just a wild goose chase. He is still Impulsive and reckless, never once thinking things through and acting like any normal teenager. Iroh finally pointed out to Zuko that his plan to kidnap Aang during the Siege of the North was flawed because after he had Aang, Zuko had no idea where to go and started to improvise. If it wasn't for Aang and his friends, he would have frozen to death in the cold.
Despite his hot temper and supposedly uncaring demeanor, Zuko came to care about the safety of his crew during a storm, choosing them over chasing after Team Avatar. He also attempted to save Zhao by offering his hand to the admiral when the ocean spirit carried him for the role he played in Tui's death. However, Zhao refused him and was taken away, much to Zuko's shock. With his initial obsession with capturing the Avatar coming into play, Zuko still cared about his uncle Iroh. However, Zuko often lashed out at Iroh when he tried giving his nephew advice and got frustrated at his uncle's antics. However, Zuko still saved him from a group of Earth Kingdom soldiers and was deeply affected when Iroh reveals that ever since he lost his son at Ba Sing Se, he always thought of Zuko as one of his own. He also still sustained love for his mother, Ursa and is still haunted by her disappearance. However, he betrayed Katara and Iroh during the Fall of Ba Sing Se, after he sided with Team Avatar and helped them escape.
- “I've struggled for so long to do what's right; to even know what's right. [...] But asking you to end me if I went bad; was like asking you to figure out right and wrong for me. [...] I understand now. The struggle isn't something a Fire Lord can escape.'”
- ―Zuko to Aang
Even in his time in the Fire Nation, Zuko grew dissatisfied with his life when his titles were restored. He was even more conflicted when he learned that not only was he a descendant of Sozin but of the Avatar Roku through his mother. He started feeling remorse for betraying his uncle in Ba Sing Se, hiring assassins to go after the Team, and how he was treating Iroh when he was imprisoned. By season 3b, he realized the error of his ways. By then, he no longer sought his father's approval and decided to become himself. He also realized that Iroh had been his true father figure more than Ozai ever was. He later reformed and helped Aang learn firebending and helped Sokka rescue his father from the Boiling Rock prison. However, Zuko still had trouble becoming friends with Katara, who still resented him for betraying her in the past, trying to capture Aang and his past convention to the Fire Nation. However, she decides to forgive him when she is unable to forgive her mother's killer.
Zuko sarcastically saying he'll take Katara's aggression of saving her as a "thank you."
While still reckless and hot-tempered, Zuko is in more control after learning the true meaning of firebending after meeting Ran and Shaw. He became more sarcastic and initially started as socially awkward, even attempting to tell his friends advice and jokes his uncle once told him. With his friendship with Team Avatar and his relationship with Mai, Zuko became the kind boy he loved was, even showing remorse for his past actions and wanting to make up for it. After he pushes Aang that killing Ozai is the only way to ensure peace, Zuko worries about him after Aang's disappearance and takes a lightning strike meant for Katara. At his coronation, he promised to restore the Fire Nation to its true goals of uniting with the other three kingdoms
In the years that followed, Zuko became more of an ally to the Team eventually becoming one of its members. He even considered Team Avatar, his mother, stepfather, and Uncle Iroh to be his only family. However, he struggled with his inner demons. Immediately after, Zuko started visiting his father in prison and freaked that he would become like Ozai. He also made Aang promise to end him if he ever became like Ozai. However, one year later, Zuko realized it was wrong of him to ask Aang about this and apologized and that he was done living in his father's shadows. He was also prone to jealousy, which he highlighted when he saw Mai ogling her new boyfriend. Despite his intense relationship with Azula, Zuko still cared about her because she was still his sister. Over the years, he and Aang became best friends (close as brothers). He also became a proud father who raised his daughter Izumi with love and affection, thus depriving her of the unhappy childhood Zuko went through. As such, Zuko remained loyal to the next generation of Team Avatar and became a grandfatherly figure for the current one, Korra. Even years after Iroh's death, Zuko still thinks fondly of his uncle, who was more of a father to him than Ozai was.
Physical appearance[]
Zuko in book 1
Zuko is a 16-year-old boy who has an oval shaped face and pointed chin, with black/dark brown hair, light gold eyes and fair skin. His eyes are in a similar shape to his father, Ozai. However, as the series progresses, Zuko's eyes become larger, rounder, and softer. In his youth, people have noted that he resembled his father, such as similar but opposing features, as Katara mistook a baby picture of Ozai being Zuko. However, in Zuko's older years, he bears a strong resemblance to his great-grandfather, Roku.
In the first season, Zuko's hair was mainly colored black. He shaved, except leaving a ponytail growing due to losing Agni Kai. He later cut his hair off after he and his uncle Iroh were banished from the Fire Nation and labeled as traitors, letting it grow out. His formal armor is black and deep red with gold trimmings, accentuated with gold flame ornaments in their hair topknots. Zuko rarely wore his helmet and only did so out of necessity. Additionally due to becoming a refuge, Zuko appeared to have lost weight, by comparing his shirtless scenes in "The Southern Air Temple" and "The Beach." By the end of Book 2, Zuko's hair fully grew out. When he was rescuing his uncle, she wore a black tunic buttoned up but with no sleeves
During his time in the Fire Nation during the first half of Book 3, Zuko kept his hair up in a top knot, and started wearing a hairpiece that used to belong to the Crowned Prince, that both Zuko's great-grandfathers wore. However, after defecting from the Fire Nation, Zuko wore his hair down and changed from his Princely robes to a regular Fire Nation tunic boot. By his late 20s, Zuko grew his hair out and wore a top knot.
Zuko remarkably looks like Ozai, but you can still see a hint of Ursa in him (softer eyes & eyebrows, relatively rounder jawline, straight nose etc.)
Abilities[]
Firebending[]
Zuko was a Firebending prodigy when he reached adulthood though not as well as his sister, who was a firebending prodigy size. Since he was young, his mother feared that Zuko didn't have the "spark" like most Firebenders. However he later developed Firebending abilities when he was only three. His firebending was rivaled by his sister and the Avatar's. He managed to hold himself in a three-way duel with Aang and Azula.
Zuko's fire was fueled by rage and anger, which he had plenty of, but when he redeemed himself and joined Team Avatar, his rage lowered and his firebending weakened. He was confident enough to teach Aang firebending at first until he realized that he lost most of his rage and needed to find a new source of his powers, which was only successful after he met the Dragons, the original Firebenders.
Lightning Redirection[]
Zuko redirecting his father's lightning during the Day of the Black Sun
Zuko learned to redirect lightning by his uncle, Iroh. However, his inner turmoil made it impossible for him to develop lightning generation. He later absorbed lightning after the day of the Black Sun when he confronted his father. As Aang's firebending matter, Zuko taught him lightning redirection, which the Avatar immediately recognized as a waterbending technique instead. It proved useful during Aang and Zuko's respective fights with Ozai and Azula during the final battle. During the Angi Kai, Zuko absorbed lightning when Azula shot at Katara. However, Zuko was unable to properly redirect lightning due to standing in the wrong position.
Combat[]
Possessions[]
- Dual Broadswords
- Blue Spirit mask (formerly)
- Headpieces
Live-action appearances[]
2010 film adaptation[]
- Main article: Zuko (The Last Airbender)
Zuko appears in the live-action film remake, The Last Airbender, where Dev Patel portrays him. While he is still given a severe burn mark on his left eye, Zuko lacks the long ponytail he has. Another difference between the two is after he defeats Katara in combat, their reactions are different. While Zuko gloats his victory over Katara in the TV series, he gives her sympathy.
Another major difference in the movie is that Zuko's injury from facing his father in combat is known in the Fire Nation while in the TV series, most Fire Nation people (including Lieutenant Jee) thought the scar was a result of a training accident. As a result, Zuko wears a hood so no one recognizes him.
Netflix TV series[]
- Main article: Zuko (Netflix)
Zuko appears as the villainous deuteragonist in the live-action series developed by Netflix, where Dallas James Liu portrayed him. One major change in the Netflix series is Ozai is abusive but still less dismissive of his son.
Gallery[]
Relationships[]
Family[]
- Past Fire lords
- Yosor † - Ancestor
- Gonryu † - Ancestor
- Chaeryu - Ancestor
- Sulan - Ancestor
- Zoryu - Ancestor
- Chaejin - Distant Great-Uncle
- Taiso † - Paternal Great-Great-Grandfather
- Hazei † - Paternal Great-Great-Grandmother
- Sozin - Paternal Great-Grandfather
- Roku - Maternal Great-Grandfather
- Ta Min - Maternal Great-Grandmother
- Zeisan - Maternal Great-Grandaunt
- Azulon † - Paternal Grandfather
- Ilah - Paternal Grandmother
- Rina † - Maternal Grandmother
- Jinzuk † - Maternal Grandfather
- Ozai - Father
- Ursa - Mother
- Noren - Stepfather
- Iroh I - Uncle & Surrogate Father
- Azula - Younger Sister
- Kiyi - Maternal Half-Sister
- Lu Ten †- Paternal Cousin and Surrogate Brother
- Wife
- Izumi - Daughter
- Son-in-Law
- Iroh II - Grandson
- Granddaughter
Trivia[]
- Zuko is the only character in the show that has an episode with only himself.
- In addition, "Zuko Alone" was the only episode in the series to not feature the other members of Team Avatar.
- At age 16, Zuko is the second eldest members of Team Avatar. Sokka was previously the eldest at age 15, Katara was 14, and Aang was 112 (chronologically anyways) and Toph was the youngest at 12 years old.
- However, in a way, Zuko is the second eldest because technically Aang was trapped in a glacier for a century, making him 112 years old.
- Zuko's first act as Fire Lord was to send search parties for his mother.
- Zuko is the only member of Team Avatar to transition from villain to hero.
- Zuko seems to have inherited his mother's kindness and was also banished from the Fire Nation like she was.
- It is foreshadowed that Zuko eventually leaves the Fire Nation. After rescuing Aang from the stronghold Zuko immediately attacks him, but when he returns to his ship and goes to bed, he pointedly rolls over so that his back is to the Fire Nation's banner.
- He and Aang became best friends in their later years and their relationship is the opposite of fire Lord Sozin and Avatar Roku; while their predecessors transitioned from friends to enemies, Aang and Zuko transition from enemies to friends
- Until Book 3, Zuko never spoke any of Team Avatar's names. Him speaking their names also symbolizes how far he has come with the team, considering them friends.
- While he doesn't call Toph by her name in the series he does in the comics.
External Links[]
- Zuko on the Avatar Wiki
- Zuko on the Nick Wiki
- Zuko on the Villains Wiki
- Zuko on the Heroes Wiki
References[]
- ↑ Zuko started out as a major villain, mainly serving as the central antagonist of the first two seasons and becoming the deuteragonist for the third and final season.
- ↑ In the comics, Zuko is the deuteragonist of The Promise, the main protagonist of the comic The Search and Smoke and Shadow and a supporting character in North and South.
- ↑ Chan, May (writer) & Dos Santos, Joaquim (director). (July 16, 2008). "The Boiling Rock, Part 1". Avatar: The Last Airbender. Season 3. Episode 14. Nickelodeon.
- ↑ Ehasz, Elizabeth Welch (writer) & Dos Santos, Joaquim (director). (July 17, 2008). "The Southern Raiders". Avatar: The Last Airbender. Season 3. Episode 16. Nickelodeon.
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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 | ||