Avatar: The Last Airbender – North and South facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Avatar: The Last Airbender – North and South
Avatar: The Last Airbender – North and South, Part 1 cover
Date	September 28, 2016 (Part 1) February 7, 2017 (Part 2) April 26, 2017 (Part 3)
Publisher	Dark Horse Comics
Creative team
Writers	Gene Yang
Artists	Studio Gurihiru
Pencillers	Chifuyu Sasaki
Inkers	Chifuyu Sasaki
Letterers	Michael Heisler
Colourists	Naoko Kawano
Creators	Michael Dante DiMartino Bryan Konietzko
Editors	Dave Marshall
Original publication
Published in	Avatar: The Last Airbender
ISBN	9781506700229 (Part One) 9781506701295 (Part Two) 9781506701301 (Part Three) 9781506701950 (Library edition)
Chronology
Preceded by	Smoke and Shadow (comic)
Followed by	Imbalance (comic)

Avatar: The Last Airbender – North and South is a series of three graphic novels. These books continue the story from the popular Avatar: The Last Airbender TV show. The show was created by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko.

The first comic in this series came out on September 28, 2016. The second was released on February 7, 2017, and the last one on April 26, 2017. This story happens right after the events of Smoke and Shadow. It takes place about 70 years before the next TV show, The Legend of Korra. The art for these comics was done by a team called Gurihiru. They announced that North and South would be their last Avatar story. Later, in 2018, Faith Erin Hicks became the writer for the next graphic novel series, Avatar: The Last Airbender – Imbalance.

Story of North and South

This section tells you what happens in the North and South graphic novels.

Part One: Changes in the South

Katara and Sokka go back to their home in the Southern Water Tribe. They are surprised to find it has changed a lot. It now looks like a busy city, much like the Northern Water Tribe. Their father, Hakoda, has even been chosen as the leader of the entire South.

Sokka is excited about all the new things. But Katara worries that their tribe is losing its old ways and traditions. While eating with Malina and her brother Maliq, who are Northerners helping with the changes, some thieves steal important papers from Maliq. Malina gets hurt trying to stop them.

Katara and Sokka follow the thieves to a secret hideout. There, they find a group of Southerners who are unhappy with the changes. They feel the Northern Tribe is forcing its ways on the South. They also don't like that Hakoda seems to agree with it. Their leader, Gilak, believes Malina and Maliq have secret plans.

Katara and Sokka manage to escape the group. On their way, they meet Thod, one of Gilak's helpers. Thod tells them a story about a talking snow rat who was friends with humans. But the humans drove him away when he wanted to be treated as an equal. The siblings and Maliq then go to see Malina, who is recovering. They find Malina and Hakoda in a relationship.

Part Two: Oil and Arguments

Hakoda searches the hideout of the unhappy Southerners, but it's empty. He finds a note saying he'll soon learn the truth. Meanwhile, Katara and Sokka learn from Malina and Maliq about their big plan. They want to get oil from a huge underground pool in the Southern Water Tribe. This oil would help create new machines for everyday life.

Katara still doesn't like Malina's plans. She also feels Malina sometimes says things that upset the Southerners. They learn that Malina and Maliq are working with Toph's father. Soon after, Toph herself arrives to represent her father.

Malina and Maliq throw a big festival. Katara and Sokka meet up with Aang, who has returned from helping in the Fire Nation. As Malina gives a speech about her plans, Gilak's group attacks the festival. Gilak accuses Malina and Maliq of trying to take the oil for the Northern Water Tribe. He says they want to make the Southern Tribe a "puppet state," meaning the North would control it. He shows the stolen papers as proof.

Malina admits she first planned to give the oil to the North. She worried the South couldn't handle it. But after meeting Hakoda, she changed her mind, believing the South could manage it. Maliq, however, insists on the original plan. He says the South is behind the times and can't govern itself or handle the oil.

Malina agrees to leave the project and the South Pole with her people to calm things down. But Gilak and his group attack anyway. During the fight, Thod reminds Katara of his snow rat story. He compares the North's low opinion of the South to the humans' treatment of the snow rat. He tries to get Katara to join Gilak, but she refuses.

Later, Hakoda tries to convince Gilak to stop fighting. But Gilak stabs Hakoda before he and his men are captured. That night, Sokka and Katara argue about the South's future. Sokka thinks Malina and Maliq's oil plan has good points. Katara doesn't want the South to lose its unique culture. Elsewhere, in his prison cell, Gilak gets a key from one of Hakoda's officers who agrees with him.

Part Three: The Bridge of No Return

To continue rebuilding the South, Toph brings her metalbending students to help with construction. Hakoda also invites Fire Lord Zuko and Earth King Kuei to discuss how their nations can work together. Their meeting is interrupted when Gilak and his group escape from prison. They force their way into the meeting and kidnap Earth King Kuei.

Gilak now sees Hakoda as a traitor for working with outsiders. He demands that Hakoda surrender himself in exchange for Kuei. The two groups agree to meet at the Bridge of No Return, an old rope bridge used to send away Southern Water Tribe criminals.

As part of the deal, Aang, Katara, Toph, and Zuko agree to have their chi-blocked by Gilak's group. This means they can't use their bending. Then, Hakoda and Kuei are sent across the bridge. When they are in the middle, Gilak tries to collapse the bridge to kill them both. But Malina and Toph's metalbending students stop him. They had secretly gone to the other side of the bridge before the exchange.

Aang, Katara, and Toph then stop Gilak's group on their side of the bridge. They were able to do this because Sokka and the metalbending students had designed special chainmail armor for them. This armor protected them from being chi-blocked.

With his forces defeated, Gilak destroys the bridge to try and kill Hakoda. Malina tries to stop him. Aang barely manages to carry Hakoda and Malina while flying his glider. But Gilak's attempts to kill Hakoda make him lose his grip and fall to his death. Fearing Aang can't carry both her and Hakoda, Malina tries to let go to save them. She tells Hakoda she loves him as she does so. But Katara saves her.

The next day, Katara and Sokka visit their mother Kya's grave. Katara admits that her perfect Southern Water Tribe would be one where her mother was still alive. She then says she felt her mother's spirit helping her the night before and on her past adventures. With this belief that her mother has always been with her, Katara finds it easier to accept the changes happening in the South. Finally, everyone meets at Gran-Gran's hut for a big meal with food from all their different cultures.