Sozin's Comet: The Final Battle facts for kids

Sozin's Comet: The Final Battle is the exciting final episode of the TV show Avatar: The Last Airbender on Nickelodeon. It first aired on July 19, 2008, as a special two-hour movie. This finale wraps up the story of Aang and his friends.

The story focuses on Aang, who doesn't want to kill Fire Lord Ozai, even though he has to stop him. The finale also shows what happens to Aang's friends. Sokka, Toph, and Suki try to stop the Fire Nation's airship army. Zuko and Katara face off against Zuko's sister, Azula. Meanwhile, Iroh, King Bumi, and the Order of the White Lotus work to take back the city of Ba Sing Se.

Sozin's Comet was very popular with both critics and fans. It was watched by 5.6 million people when it first aired. This was a huge jump in viewers compared to previous episodes. The special also won an award at the 2008 Annie Awards for "Best Directing in an Animated Television Production."

The Final Battle Begins

Part 1: The Phoenix King

Aang suddenly leaves his Firebending lesson with Zuko. He wants to have a fun beach party with his friends instead. This makes Zuko upset, and he attacks Aang. Aang explains that he plans to fight Fire Lord Ozai after Sozin's Comet has passed. He feels he isn't good enough at Firebending yet.

Zuko then tells the group a shocking plan. Ozai wants to use the comet's power to burn down the entire Earth Kingdom. Hearing this, Aang decides he must face Ozai before the comet arrives. Everyone tells Aang that he needs to kill Ozai to stop him. But Aang refuses because he believes in peace and doesn't want to take a life.

That night, Aang walks into a forest in his sleep and disappears. His friends can't find him anywhere. Zuko takes them to June, a tracker who might be able to find Aang using his smell. Meanwhile, Fire Lord Ozai declares himself the "Phoenix King," ruler of the world. He makes Azula the new Fire Lord. Then, he sets off to burn the world and rebuild it under his new rule.

Part 2: The Old Masters

June, the tracker, can't find Aang. But she does find Zuko's uncle, Iroh. Iroh is with a secret group called the "Order of the White Lotus." This group includes other powerful masters like Pakku, Jeong Jeong, King Bumi, and Piandao. They plan to free the Earth Kingdom capital, Ba Sing Se, from the Fire Nation.

Zuko and Katara decide to go to the Fire Nation capital to fight Azula. Sokka, Toph, and Suki plan to stop Ozai's airship fleet.

Meanwhile, Aang wakes up on a strange floating island. He's frustrated because he can't find a way to defeat Ozai without killing him. He asks four of his past lives for advice, but their answers don't help him. So, he asks the island itself for help. The island is actually a giant "lion-turtle." It gives Aang a new power called energybending. This power lets him take away someone's bending. The lion-turtle then drops Aang off on the Earth Kingdom shores.

Part 3: Into the Inferno

Sozin's Comet appears brightly in the sky. Azula's coronation (her crowning as Fire Lord) is about to happen. Azula is very paranoid and sends away almost everyone, even her trusted Dai Li agents. Her fear of betrayal makes her start to lose her mind.

Before she can be crowned, Zuko and Katara arrive. Azula challenges Zuko to an Agni Kai, a Firebending duel. Zuko accepts because he senses something is wrong with Azula and doesn't want Katara to get hurt. As Zuko is about to win, Azula suddenly shoots lightning at Katara instead of him. Zuko quickly jumps in front of Katara and tries to redirect the lightning. He saves Katara but gets badly hurt because he can't redirect it perfectly.

Meanwhile, Sokka, Toph, and Suki take over a Fire Nation airship. They use it to destroy many other airships, stopping Ozai's plan to burn the Earth Kingdom. In Ba Sing Se, the Order of the White Lotus, led by Iroh, attacks the Fire Nation forces. They successfully take back the city for the Earth King. Aang reappears and begins his duel with Fire Lord Ozai. Aang redirects Ozai's lightning, but he purposely misses Ozai. He still doesn't want to kill him. Because of Aang's peaceful nature, Ozai starts to gain the upper hand in the fight.

Part 4: Avatar Aang

Zuko is on the ground, hurt, while Katara and Azula fight. After a chase, Katara freezes Azula and chains her to the ground. Then, Katara uses her healing powers to save Zuko.

Back in the main battle, Ozai slams Aang into a rock. This hit accidentally unlocks Aang's seventh chakra, and he enters the powerful Avatar State. With the strength of all his past lives, Aang easily defeats Ozai. Even though Ozai is beaten, Aang still refuses to kill him. Instead, he traps Ozai with earth. Aang then understands what the lion-turtle meant. He uses Energybending to take away Ozai's Firebending powers. This ends Ozai's ability to fight and wage war forever. After this, Aang uses his bending to fix the damage the Fire Nation caused.

The Order of the White Lotus successfully frees Ba Sing Se for the Earth King. During his coronation, Zuko promises to help the world rebuild after the war. Later, Zuko visits Ozai in prison. He demands that Ozai tell him where his banished mother, Ursa, is. The final scene shows Aang and all his friends gathered at Iroh's new tea shop, the Jasmine Dragon. Aang and Katara share a kiss on the balcony, bringing the series to a happy end.

Behind the Scenes

The main writers for Sozin's Comet were Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko, who also created the show. Aaron Ehasz wrote Part 2. The directors were Ethan Spaulding (Part 1), Giancarlo Volpe (Part 2), and Joaquim Dos Santos (Parts 3 and 4). Dos Santos was even nominated for an Annie Award for his directing of Part 3.

The creators originally planned for Sozin's Comet to be a three-part story. But as they wrote it, they realized it was getting too long. To make sure the story flowed well, they split the final part into two, adding a few extra scenes.

Even though Avatar was made in the USA, many people felt it had a similar look to Japanese anime. One reviewer said the animation in Sozin's Comet felt like "classic anime." The music for the special was created by "The Track Team," led by Jeremy Zuckerman. For this finale, they used a live orchestra, which made the music sound even bigger and more exciting than in past episodes.

At a special event called San Diego Comic-Con, it was announced that there was a plan for Zuko to reunite with his mother, Ursa. This scene was even drawn out as a storyboard. However, the show's co-creator, Michael Dante DiMartino, decided to remove it before the finale was finished.

The voice actors for Sozin's Comet included all the main characters from Season 3. Zach Tyler Eisen voiced Aang, Mae Whitman was Katara, Jack DeSena was Sokka, and Jessie Flower was Toph. Greg Baldwin voiced Iroh, and Dante Basco was Zuko. The two main villains, Azula and Fire Lord Ozai, were voiced by Grey DeLisle and Mark Hamill. The show's creators even voiced two small characters in Part 3!

Avatar: The Last Airbender takes a lot of inspiration from East Asian art and culture. The four "bending" arts in the show are based on different styles of Chinese martial arts:

• Airbending uses moves from Baguazhang.
• Earthbending uses moves from Hung Gar and Southern Praying Mantis.
• Firebending uses moves from Northern Shaolin.
• Waterbending uses moves from Tai Chi.

The show also uses ideas from Taoism, a philosophy that talks about balance and order. The Avatar, a special person who can control all four elements, is meant to keep the world in balance.

Nickelodeon first showed Sozin's Comet on July 19, 2008. Just ten days later, on July 29, the "Book 3: Fire – Volume 4" DVD was released. This DVD included all four parts of the finale, plus two other episodes. It also had comments from the creators, cast, and crew, and a comic book.

Images for kids

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  Aang learns a new bending technique called energybending. The blue and orange lights show the big struggle between good and evil, which is a common idea in the show. The creators said this scene was very hard to make.