Aang facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

Aang is the main hero of the TV show Avatar: The Last Airbender. He was created by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko, and Zach Tyler Eisen voiced him. Aang appears in almost every episode of the show. You can also find Aang in other things like trading cards, video games, T-shirts, and web comics.

Aang is the very last Airbender. Airbenders were a special group of people who could control air. He is actually 112 years old, but he looks like a 12-year-old. This is because he was frozen in an iceberg for 96 years! He used his special "Avatar State" to protect himself and his flying bison, Appa. In the show, we learn that Aang is the living form of the Avatar. The Avatar is like the spirit of the planet in human form. As the Avatar, Aang can control all four elements. His job is to keep peace between the Four Nations. The show follows Aang's adventures as he tries to do this.

Many of Aang's habits, like being a vegetarian, come from Buddhism and Taoism. Aang is a hero who didn't really want to be one. He sometimes hesitated to join his friends to save the world from the Fire Nation. Critics have praised his "lighthearted" personality. The show's creators wanted Aang to "win enemies with his wits" and be a "trickster hero."

How Aang Was Created
Aang's Story in the Series
Aang's Personality
Aang in Other Media
Images for kids
See also

How Aang Was Created

Aang's character was first drawn by Bryan Konietzko. His first drawing showed a middle-aged man with an arrow on his head. Konietzko then changed the drawing to a child with a flying bison. At the same time, Michael Dante DiMartino was watching a documentary about explorers stuck in the South Pole. This gave them an idea:

There's an air guy along with these water people trapped in a snowy wasteland...and maybe some fire people are pressing down on them...

—Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko

This idea is very similar to the first episodes of the show. The "water people" (Katara and Sokka) find the "air guy" (Aang). They are "trapped in a snowy wasteland" (the Southern Water Tribe). And "some fire people" (the Fire Navy and Zuko) are "pressing down on them."

The creators first thought Aang would be frozen for 1000 years. He would wake up in a future world with a robot named Momo. He would also have a flying bison named Appa. But the creators changed their minds. They decided he would be frozen for 100 years instead. The robot Momo became a flying lemur. And the herd of bison became just one, Appa.

Aang's character has strong cultural beliefs. The show's creators said that Avatar is based on Buddhism and Taoism. A big part of Aang's character is that he is a vegetarian. This fits with Buddhist or Taoist beliefs. In a Buddhist book called the Brahmajala Sutra, eating only vegetables is encouraged. In the episode "The King of Omashu," Aang shows he is a vegetarian by not eating meat. Aang also doesn't like to fight and tries to avoid killing. In "The Spirit World (Winter Solstice, Part 1)," Aang meets an angry spirit destroying a village. Instead of fighting, Aang talks to the spirit to solve the problem.

Airbending, which is Aang's main element, is based on Baguazhang. This is a Chinese martial art that uses circular movements. It doesn't have many finishing moves. These movements were chosen to show how unpredictable air can be. They also show the peaceful nature of the Airbenders in the show.

In the episode "Tales of Ba Sing Se," Aang’s name was written in Chinese as 安昂 (ān áng).

Aang's Story in the Series

The creators of the show call each season a "book" and each episode a "chapter." Each book is named after an element that Aang must learn to control, except for air.

Flashbacks in the show tell us about Aang's past. In "The Storm," Aang remembers the day he learned he was the Avatar. His teacher and father-figure, Monk Gyatso, wanted Aang to grow up like a normal child. But other monks thought Gyatso was too involved. They decided to send Aang to the Eastern Air Temple. Aang didn't want to leave Gyatso. He wrote a note and flew away on his bison, Appa. During his escape, a big storm caught Aang and sent him into the ocean. Without knowing it, Aang entered the Avatar State for the first time. He created a frozen air bubble around himself and Appa. This air bubble looked like an iceberg.

The story begins 100 years later. Katara and her brother Sokka find Aang and Appa in the first episode. Soon after, they all start a journey to the Northern Water Tribe. They hope to find a waterbending master to teach Aang and Katara. During their trip, they are chased by Zuko. He is the banished prince of the Fire Nation. Zuko believes capturing the Avatar will bring back his honor.

In one episode, Aang meets a past Avatar named Roku. Roku tells Aang that he must learn all four bending arts. He also has to defeat Fire Lord Ozai before the end of summer. When "Team Avatar" reaches the Northern Water Tribe, a Waterbender named Master Pakku teaches Aang (and later Katara) waterbending.

Later, in the second season, Aang meets Toph Bei Fong. She is a blind earthbender who becomes his earthbending teacher. Aang and his friends also learn about a solar eclipse. This eclipse will happen before the end of summer. It will make all Firebenders powerless. During the end of the second season, a guru tries to teach Aang how to open his seven chakras. This would help him control the Avatar State. But Aang has a vision that Katara is in danger. He leaves before opening his last chakra, which locks it. He then battles in the underground caves of Ba Sing Se. Azula strikes him with lightning, and he is almost killed. But Katara uses her special healing water and abilities to bring him back to life.

In the third season, Aang and his friends face a new enemy. This is a killer hired by Zuko who shoots with his third eye. Aang and his friends from the Earth Kingdom attack the Fire Nation capital during the solar eclipse. But their invasion fails because Azula knew about it. In the next episode, Zuko offers to teach Aang firebending. Aang accepts, even though his friends are against it. In "The Firebending Masters," Aang learns firebending with the help of the last two dragons.

Before the final battle with Ozai, Aang is worried. He doesn't think it's right to kill Ozai. He sleepwalks into a forest and talks with four past Avatars: Roku, Kyoshi, Kuruk, and Yangchen. He asks them for advice. Each of them tells him he must kill Fire Lord Ozai, which makes him feel worse. Then he finds out the forest is on top of a giant swimming lion-turtle. The lion-turtle gives him advice. Aang then prepares to fight Fire Lord Ozai.

When Ozai arrives, Aang fights him. Aang decides not to kill Ozai. He redirects Ozai's lightning and gets cornered. Then, Aang enters the Avatar State. The Avatar State helps Aang win the battle quickly. Using a technique the lion-turtle taught him, called Energybending, Aang takes away Ozai's ability to firebend. This removes the threat completely. Later, in the Fire Nation capital, Aang is seen in monk robes. He stands beside Zuko as Zuko becomes the new Fire Lord. The series ends with Aang relaxing with his friends in Ba Sing Se and kissing Katara.

Aang's Personality

Michael Dante DiMartino, one of the show's creators, said:

We wanted Aang to solve problems and win enemies with his powerful abilities.

—Michael Dante DiMartino

Aang is a vegetarian. This is shown in "The King of Omashu" and "The Headband." He refuses to eat meat because the Air Nomads taught him that all life is special. Aang doesn't like to fight, as seen in "The Spirit World (Winter Solstice, Part 1)." He tries to talk with an angry spirit instead of fighting it. Because he is non-violent, he also didn't want to kill Fire Lord Ozai. Instead, he took away Ozai's bending. Aang has many friends from all four nations.

In "The Storm," Aang says he wishes he could have helped the Air Nomads a century ago. But he also wants to live a carefree life like a child. Many times in the show, Aang shows how much he cares for his friends. He can also act a bit immature sometimes. Once, he tried to trick his friends to keep the group together. In "Bato of the Water Tribe," Aang thought Katara and Sokka might leave to visit their father. So, Aang hid the map that showed where their father was.

In some episodes, Aang can fly using airbending. One way he does this is by making a ball of air and riding on it. He calls this the Air Scooter. He can also fly using his glider or on Appa. When Aang is in the Avatar State, he can also fly inside a ball of air.

Aang in Other Media

Aang's character appeared in the Avatar: The Last Airbender Trading Card Game. He is one of the four main characters in the Avatar: The Last Airbender video game, which is based on the first season. Two more video games were made: Avatar: The Last Airbender - The Burning Earth (based on season two) and Avatar: The Last Airbender - Into the Inferno (based on season three). You can also buy Avatar T-shirts, some with Aang's face, from the Nickelodeon Shop website. Tokyopop has published film comics (also called cine-manga) where Aang is the main character.

Aang is also in Escape from the Spirit World, an online video game on Nickelodeon's website. This game has some story parts that are not in the TV show. The show's directors, Michael DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko, say these events are part of the official story.

In 2008, film director M. Night Shyamalan chose 12-year-old Tae Kwon Do student Noah Ringer to play Aang in the movie The Last Airbender.

Images for kids

Avatar Aang's spirit with Korra in The Legend of Korra.
The Avatars (from right to left): Aang, Roku, Kyoshi, Kuruk, Yangchen, Szeto, Salai, and other previous Avatars.