List of Avatar: The Last Airbender major secondary characters

This is a list of major secondary characters in the Nickelodeon animated television series Avatar: The Last Airbender. All the characters listed are not always highly focused upon (and thus cannot be considered main characters) but have made several appearances throughout the show, and have had a much larger impact on the plot and the main characters than the show's secondary recurring characters.

Jet

Jet was the teenage leader of a band of Earth Kingdom children called "The Freedom Fighters."
The young vigilante holds a deep-seated grudge against the Fire Nation for an attack headed by the Fire Nation group, "The Rough Rhinos," who killed his parents when he was eight. He and his ragtag group spend their days antagonizing Fire Nation soldiers and emigrants on the outskirts of their occupied town, living in forest tree-houses.

When Katara met him, she became infatuated with the charismatic rogue, but quickly doused these feelings after Sokka discovered and thwarted Jet's plans to use captured blasting jelly to destroy a dam and flood an Earth Kingdom town occupied by Fire Nation troops.

Jet admits to Zuko and Iroh that he did terrible things in his past he was not proud of, but that was why he and his Freedom Fighters were going to Ba Sing Se to make amends, and get a second chance.
Iroh contemplates his decision, believing that people deserve second chances and can change their lives if they want to.

Jet later talks to Zuko alone, telling him when he first saw his scar he realized that he was an outcast like himself.
Jet later offers Zuko a place in his team of Freedom Fighters, but Zuko turns him down. Jet then sees what he believes to be Iroh heating a cup of tea in his hand with Firebending, and becomes furious.
He openly challenges the two fugitives in public. As the fight goes on, the Dai Li arrive to defuse the situation, and Jet again accuses Zuko and Iroh of being Fire Nation, but all the witnesses claim Zuko and Iroh were assaulted without provocation.
Jet is arrested by the Dai Li and taken to a secret location in Ba Sing Se. He is then subjected to an Earth Kingdom brainwashing technique designed to make him forget about the war.

He later finds Katara putting up posters looking for information on Appa, and offers to help.

By appearance, his position grants him a special relationship with the Earth King, but in reality the Earth King is but a figurehead of Ba Sing Se's government and Long Feng truly holds sway over its privatizing affairs.
He utilizes the Dai Li to silence anyone who would disrupt the common peace and to anyone who mentions the war, secretly imprisoning them under Lake Laogai and using hypnotic tactics to subdue them.

He explains to the Avatar and his group the rules of the city regarding the war and states that if they mention the war to anyone, he will expel them from the city.

Later, he reveals himself to Appa, and after a swift and powerful Earthbending move, traps the bison underground.

After learning of Joo Dee's failure to control the Avatar, Long Feng attempts to trick the group to leave the city with a plan involving a brainwashed Jet, but the group encounter Smellerbee and Longshot, which prompts them to free Jet from his brainwashing.
Long Feng offers them a deal which they refuse, resulting in Long Feng using Jet's brainwashing to put him in a trance where he attacks Aang. Long Feng kills Jet when he breaks free of the trance and attacks him.

Long Feng and the Dai Li had concealed the information about the war from the Earth King. He tries to convince the Earth King that Aang and his friends are lying and that there is no war, maintaining the upper hand until the king is shown the Fire Nation drill, prompting his arrest and imprisonment.
Long Feng was later reminded that the Dai Li still remained loyal to him.

He makes a deal with Azula allowing her to temporarily command the Dai Li in order to overthrow the Earth King. This deal backfires when his attempted double cross of her fails and her superior ability to intimidate the Dai Li enables her to take control of the Dai Li.
His fate is currently unknown.

The name Lóng fèng (é¾?é³³) represents Dragon Phoenix which in Chinese traditions stand for the royal throne.

Mai

A cold, calm, and reserved young woman, and a longtime friend of Azula and , with whom she attended the Royal Fire Academy for Girls.
She is described as a depressed-looking goth teen, seemingly bored with everything. She is an extremely skilled warrior in the art of Shurikenjutsu, her primary weapon being small, fletched darts that are thrown from her wrists and ankles.

Insight into Mai's childhood is given in "The Beach", where she mentions that, growing up, her mother was very critical of her, constantly reminding her that any misbehavior would reflect badly on her father's political career.

Her crush on Zuko seems to have started from a young age.

In "Return to Omashu", Mai resides in the newly-conquered city of Omashu with her mother, younger brother Tom-Tom, and her father, the Fire Nation-appointed governor of the city-state.
Her little brother Tom-Tom wanders out of the city with a group of fleeing citizens and is subsequently assumed "kidnapped" by the resistance; Mai remains untroubled by this, and merely watches as her father organizes a trade, offering up King Bumi.
Princess Azula arrives in the city with Ty Lee to recruit Mai to assist her on a special mission. Desperate to get out of Omashu, Mai agrees, even though she has not been told what that mission is.
Before leaving, Azula appoints Mai to oversee the hostage trade, where she tests her companion's loyalty by coyly suggesting that trading a powerful Earthbender king for a two-year-old is strategically unwise. After a measured pause, Mai agrees and declares the deal off.
Then as Mai, Azula, and Ty Lee are leaving the city, Mai confirms, impassively, that their mission is to "track down" the now-fugitive Zuko and Iroh.
Azula notes that they also now have a third target (Aang) and Ty Lee pointedly states that it will be "interesting" for Mai to see Zuko again, in response to which Mai turns away and indulges in a rare smile.

Mai, Azula, and Ty Lee track Aang and his companions. Once Aang splits from Katara and Sokka, Azula sends Mai and Ty Lee to face those two while she chases down Aang.

In "The Drill", Mai is shown sitting around in the control room while Azula oversees the huge drill that the Fire Nation is using to bore a hole in the wall of Ba Sing Se.
When Azula sends Mai and Ty Lee after Sokka and Katara who were caught trying to sabotage the drill from the inside, Mai refuses to chase them into the slurry pipeline, full of "wall sludge juice".

Mai, Azula, and Ty Lee dressed up as the Kyoshi Warriors to sneak into Ba Sing Se. Later, Mai and Ty Lee were instrumental to Azula's plan, by staging a fake conversation revealing their Fire Nation status; the result was that Azula was taken to meet Long Feng, and was thus able to orchestrate her conquest of Ba Sing Se.

In "Going Home Again", a canonical comic featured within the second All-Avatar Nick Mag Presents edition, Mai and Zuko are set up on a dinner date by Azula in plan to persuade a reluctant Zuko to return home, playing off their childhood crushes on each other.

In "The Headband", the relationship of Zuko and Mai is further developed as they are seen having a romantic picnic.

In "The Beach," their relationship undergoes its first major test when Mai and Zuko's opposing personalities come into conflict.
Mai later told him that he was the one thing she cared about most; their relationship was repaired, but the breakup and reunion had allowed Mai to become more expressive and less withdrawn.

Later, when Zuko betrays the Fire Nation, he writes a letter for Mai before he leaves. Mai's Heart is broken by this and she comes to see Zuko when he is captive at the Boiling Rock, asking for an explanation. In a surprising twist, she then helps Zuko and the others by allowing them to escape. When Azula finds out she's been betrayed, she is enraged and just as she is about to kill Mai with a powerful lightning strike, Ty Lee intervenes and knocks out Azula. Mai justifies her betrayal by telling Azula "I love Zuko more than I fear you". She is taken along with Ty Lee to a place where Azula will never have to see them.

Her fate is currently unknown.

Mai is the Cantonese pronunciation of Mèi (è¢‚) and means "sleeve of a robe," which is where she hides her weapons.

Momo

Momo, a Winged Lemur discovered wandering about the ruined Southern Air Temple, was quickly named and claimed as a pet by Aang. Aang is very fond of the creature, because he represents the small hope that other fragments of Air Nomadic culture, even other Air Nomads, survive somewhere in the world. Momo is an intelligent creature, but Unlike Appa, Momo doesn't always understand human speech. When a part of an episode is shown from his point of view, he hears humans talking in unidentifiable mumbles. He is also a glutton for any available fruit. Momo's behavior is more cat-like than that of real life lemurs. Momo's wings appear to retract within the fur of his arms. Each of Momo's hands appears to have four fingers and two additional ones within the wing membrane that can be seen when he has his wings extended.

Momo is very loyal to Aang, always willing to help him with tasks and even join him in battle. He also seems to be very close to Appa, another of a species closely related to the Air Nomad culture. Appa and Momo seem capable of understanding and communicating with each other as well. Momo seems to be very compassionate to others, even if they have done him wrong.

Aang named Momo for the Japanese word for "peach", the fruit which Momo seized from Sokka shortly before being named. He had even already been drawn eating a peach only for them to later find out that 'momo' was 'peach' in Japanese. The name Momo is also a common name for pets and such in Japan, much like "Fido" or "Lucky". Momo is also short for the Japanese dwarf flying squirrel, Momonga (ãƒ¢ãƒ¢ãƒ³ã‚¬). A character from the anime Samurai Champloo has one thusly named.

In "The Tales of Ba Sing Se," Momo was written as æ¨¡æ¨¡ (MÅ? Mó) which means "imitate" in Chinese. It also can be seen as the phase in Chinese in which when a word is repeated twice it become a cute reference. So Mo meaning fur is repeated.

Avatar co-creator Bryan Konietzko has admitted that Momo is his favorite character to draw, and that a lot of his poses, mannerisms, and overall body language stem from the memories of his childhood cat, Buddy. This explains why Momo is so reminiscent of a typical housecat.

Fire Lord Ozai

Fire Lord Ozai is the ruthless Firebender ruler of the Fire Nation (currently for six or seven years), younger brother to General Iroh, son to Fire Lord Azulon and Fire Lady Ilah, father to Prince Zuko and Princess Azula, and husband of Lady Ursa.

A megalomaniac, the current Fire Lord is continuing to lead his country in a century-long war, started by his grandfather, Fire Lord Sozin, against the other three nations of the world, the ultimate goal of which is to create a planet-wide empire. Now, the war is in its final stages. By summer's end, Sozin's Comet will return, giving the Fire Nation the power needed to finish the war and conquer all that oppose them.

Ozai is second born, indicating that Iroh should have been Fire Lord by birthright.
Ozai managed to manipulate his way to the throne. After learning that his brother Iroh's son and only child, Lu Ten, was killed in battle (and that Iroh had lifted his siege of Ba Sing Se in his grief), Ozai sought an audience with his father Azulon, the then ruling Fire Lord. Ozai attempted to convince Azulon he should inherit the throne due to Iroh's failure at Ba Sing Se and the death of Lu Ten, but Ozai's request was fervently denied.
A furious Azulon ordered Ozai to kill Zuko as punishment for his disrespect, but before anything happened, Azulon mysteriously died and his wife Ursa vanished. Later, at Azulon's funeral, Ozai inherited the throne, supposedly on Azulon's dying wish.

Two years before the series began, the then 13 year-old Zuko, his eldest and least-favored, spoke out in Ozai's war room against a general's plan to sacrifice novice troops in pursuit of victory.
Angered by his impudence, Ozai demanded Zuko duel in an Agni Kai, but when Zuko refused to fight his father and begged for forgiveness, Ozai permanently scarred him and exiled Zuko from the Fire Nation, under orders not to return until he had captured the long-lost Avatar.

With the Avatar's sudden reappearance as the twelve-year-old Airbender Aang, he promoted Zuko's greatest rival, , from Commander to Admiral, possibly knowing that Zhao was fully intent on capturing the Avatar. Admiral Zhao was thwarted in his mission at the North Pole, where he was killed by the Ocean Spirit after killing the Water Tribe's patron Moon Spirit.
Ozai immediately blamed this failure on his brother Iroh. He also saw Zuko at this point as a complete failure, and decided that he did not wish for his son to embarrass him by failing so miserably. Ozai gave his daughter, Azula, the task of capturing both Zuko and Iroh.

Ozai's face was finally revealed when his son returned home. Ozai expressed great pride in his son, saying that the years of banishment had changed him into what he should be.
He congratulated Zuko for helping Azula conquer Ba Sing Se, for choosing the Fire Nation over Iroh, and most of all for his killing of the Avatar--a praise that shocked Zuko, because it had been Azula who had delivered the blow. Ozai had been misinformed by his daughter.

During the eclipse in The Day of Black Sun, Ozai evacuated the Palace City in preparation for the invasion and hid in a heavily guarded underground bunker. Zuko went to the bunker and demanded an audience with Ozai.
Zuko had a long conversation where he expressed his anger over Ozai's treatment of him and how he felt the war was unjust, as well as stating what truly happened at Ba Sing Se.
Ozai mocked him about how Iroh had influenced him, to which Zuko agreed. Saying he was done trying to earn Ozai's love, Zuko further said that Iroh had been more of a father to him than Ozai and that he would free Iroh and join the Avatar.
Ozai challenged Zuko to kill him while he was powerless, but Zuko turned to leave, stating it was not his destiny.

Ozai revealed to Zuko the truth of what had happened when he tried to be granted Iroh's birthright. Azulon had ordered him to kill Zuko as punishment for insulting Iroh's grief and Lu Ten's death (stating he should know the pain of losing a child), but Ursa found out and vowed to protect Zuko at all costs. Azulon was murdered, and his final wishes were altered to state that he wished for Ozai to inherit the throne. For this act of treason, Ursa was banished. Upon finding out, Zuko broke down in tears and asked if she was alive, to which Ozai stated it was possible.
The eclipse now over, Ozai attacked Zuko with lightning, but Zuko redirected it and by the time Ozai recovered, Zuko had fled.

Name
* The modern way to write down the official red seal that is placed on all the wanted posters is çƒˆç?«åœ‹çŽ‹æ•–è¼‰å?°å¯¶ (liè huÇ’ guó wáng áo zÇŽi yìn bÇŽo), which translates as "Fire Lord Ozai's official seal." Ozai is written as Áo zÇŽi (æ•–è¼‰) which in spoken Chinese translates as "haughtily load." However, since it is written on documents, the word è¼‰ (zÇŽi) comes to mean the word 'year' instead, thus making the translation for Ozai's name as 'haughtily year,' most likely a reference to him being the catalyst for the difficult year setting of the series. Coincidentally, whatever ways Áo zÇŽi ( æ•–è¼‰ ) is translated as, it connects well with Iroh's nickname, "The Dragon of the West," due to in Chinese mythology, the dragon is called Áo rùn/jun (æ•–é–?) which translates as 'haughty surplus/intercalary."

Avatar Roku

Avatar Roku was the previous Avatar incarnate (and the Avatar after Kyoshi), and is thus an aspect of Aang himself. Born into the Fire Nation in life, Roku is a benign force in spirit, serving as Aang's adviser and protector throughout the series.
Aang was able to communicate with Roku by visiting the Fire Temple that Roku called home 112 years ago. There, Roku explained Aang's responsibilities and why he had to defeat the Fire Lord before the end of summer.

Roku possesses a spectral animal familiar, a dragon named Fang that served him in life.
Roku came across Fang when he was just an infant, not yet hatched from his egg. Roku chose to raise the young dragon as his own, and the two soon formed an inseparable bond. Loyal to the very end, Fang chose to die at Roku's side and passed into the Spirit World with him.

In an attempt to convince Aang that all Avatars make mistakes, he speaks of a time during his Avatar training when he was attempting to master the Avatar State but was unable to concentrate, so he attempted to use the spiritual energy of the winter solstice to enter it. He succeeded, but was unable to control himself, much like Aang himself had done in "The Avatar State".

In the beginning of the third season, Roku appeared to Aang when he felt like he failed when Ba Sing Se fell. Roku said the failure was really his because he should have foreseen the war and taken steps to prevent it. He then tells Aang he believes it is his destiny to save the world and redeem him.

Roku speaks to Aang while he and his friends are visiting the island that Roku once lived and further explained his past. It is revealed that as late teens, he and Sozin were best friends, even sharing the same birthday. As they grew older, their views greatly differed and they eventually came into conflict when Sozin attempted to execute his plan to conquer the other nations. Roku stopped him and warned him to never proceed with his plans again. Many years later, Roku is awoken by a volcanic eruption on his home island. Holding off the volcano to allow the villagers to escape, he hangs his head in defeat when another volcano erupts. Sozin arrives to assist him but the volcano proves to much. Roku is incapacitated by toxic gas while they attempt to escape and Sozin leaves him to die, buried by volcanic ash with his dragon, Fang.

Perhaps of even more significance is the revelation of the royal family's bloodline; Roku is Zuko and Azula's great-grandfather through their mother's (Princess Ursa) side. Zuko's internal conflict increases in intensity after this revelation, finding it hard to cope with the fact that he is descended from the previous Avatar. Despite fully explaining to Aang his past and the history before the war, Roku failed to mention the fact that his own great-grandson was Prince Zuko, the son of Fire Lord Ozai who currently leads the assault against the other nations.

Roku's voice actor, James Garrett, narrates an interlude episode, "The Legend So Far," that recaps the first seventeen episodes of the first Avatar season and is also the voice which says "Previously... on Avatar" when it appears before an episode begins. Roku is also silhouetted in the opening sequence of every episode as the Avatar that demonstrates the use of all four elements.

The word "roku” (å…) means "six" in Japanese.

Ty Lee

Ty Lee has been a long time friend of Azula and Mai since their time at the Royal Fire Academy for Girls. She was the daughter of a nobleman. She is one of seven sisters, whom all seem to look alike. However she didn't want to be a part of a "matching set", thus she tried to have and keep her own identity and one day ran away to join the circus. Mai has mentioned once that the circus was Ty Lee's calling.

She is not a Firebender, but despite this fact she is an effective fighter. Ty Lee uses her bare hands to bring down an opponent. She hits her target's pressure points or human structure weak points or chi points (used in acupuncture) to disarm her opponents and paralyze their muscles. She can also prevent benders from bending, simply by blocking their chi. Her fighting style is similar to a real martial art called "Dim Mak." (literally, death touch)

In "Return to Omashu", Ty Lee has run away to join the circus, but Azula tracks her down and tries to recruit her to assist with the capture of the now-fugitive Zuko and Iroh. However, Ty Lee is happy at the circus and wants to stay. Azula informs Ty Lee that she will attend that night's performance before leaving. During the performance, Azula orders the Ringmaster to set ablaze the net beneath the tightrope on which Ty Lee is performing and to release all of the dangerous animals. Afterwards, Ty Lee informs Azula that there wouldn't be a show the next day, due to the fact that, "the universe is giving me strong hints that it's time for a career change". Later, when they're leaving the city, Ty Lee, much like in childhood, teases Mai about her affections for Zuko, noting that it will be "interesting" for Mai to see him again.

Ty Lee, Mai, and Azula pursue Aang and his companions, and when Sokka and Katara split from the Avatar, Ty Lee and Mai are charged with tracking down the siblings.

In "The Drill", Ty Lee (along with Mai) is with Azula as she oversees the gargantuan drill that the Fire Nation is using to breach the walls of Ba Sing Se. When a small group of elite Earthbenders is sent out to slow the drill, Azula sends Mai and Ty Lee to deal with them. Later when Aang, Katara, and Sokka are found sabotaging the drill, Azula sends Mai and Ty Lee after the fleeing siblings. Ty Lee follows them into the slurry pipeline where Mai refuses to go. However, Katara and Toph bend the water and rock mixture using it to plug up the pipeline while Ty Lee is still in it, thus thwarting her attempt to catch them. After the drill is destroyed Ty Lee is launched out of the pipeline by the build-up of pressure and slams into a rock platform.

In "Appa's Lost Days", Ty Lee appears when helping Azula attack Suki and the Kyoshi Warriors.

Towards the end of "The Earth King", the Earth King gives audience to three Kyoshi Island Warriors that are revealed to be Azula, Mai, and Ty Lee in disguise.

After a successful coup against the government of the Earth Kingdom orchestrated by Azula, Ty Lee is seen trying to teach the Earth King's bear to do a handstand, but Toph earthbends her hands and feet into the floor. She also compliments Azula a lot, saying how good her speech was to the Dai Li, and how admiring the Princess was by planning on taking over Ba Sing Se just with the three of them.

In "The Beach", Ty Lee, Zuko, Azula and Mai went to Ember Island for a weekend getaway, Ty Lee is the only one who seems excited about the prospect of sitting on a beach and doing nothing. Later, Ty Lee is seen sitting with Mai, who had just broken up with Zuko. The girls and Zuko engage in a deep discussion around the campfire about themselves and each other. When he burns a picture of his family, Ty Lee tells Zuko that she knows who he really is. When he turned the comment aside and called her a "circus freak", Ty Lee snapped and tearfully explained her reasons for running away and her fears of being "part of a matched set", finally expressing pride in the fact that she was different enough to be called a "circus freak". Mai theorizes that the lack of attention Ty Lee had in her childhood explains her desire for attention in the present. Through the rest of the conversation, Ty Lee plays no small part in bringing the others' stories to light and generally keeping them together. She finally voices the realization that they have all been "smoothed" and understand each other.

In a surprising twist in the episode "The Boiling Rock", Ty Lee betrays Azula at the end and sides with Mai. She is thus supposedly put in jail with Mai. Her current fate is unknown.

Ty Lee in Chinese is written as å¤ªæ?Ž (tài lee). The word Tai is a reference to Tai chi chuan, a Chinese Martial Art Technique where it utilizes internal strength rather than raw power.

Princess Yue

Princess Yue is the sixteen-year-old daughter of Chief Arnook, ruler of the North Pole's Northern Water Tribe. Yue was born with a terrible sickness, and her parents feared she would die. Arnook prayed to the Moon Spirit, and placed her in the Tribe's spirit oasis. The Moon Spirit gifted her with part of its own life force, curing her and turning her brown hair white as a side-effect. Thus, her parents named her Yue, after the moon.

On Yue's sixteenth birthday, the Avatar and his friends arrived at the North Pole. Sokka was smitten with her at first sight, and the two soon began to arrange meetings. An affection slowly began to form between the two, but unfortunately Yue was bound to an arranged marriage to Hahn, a shallow young warrior with more love for high status than for Princess Yue. Sokka and Yue came to realize their love for each other, but Yue could not bear to continue their meetings because they conflicted so with her duty to her tribe. Yet both of their feelings persisted, and during Admiral Zhao's siege of the Northern Water Tribe, Sokka was ordered by Arnook to act as Princess Yue's bodyguard.

Princess Yue helped Aang to enter the Spirit World by leading him and Katara to the spirit oasis. Yue watched as he entered the Spirit World, but ran to get aid when Prince Zuko appeared to abduct the Avatar. She and Sokka returned too late to prevent Zuko from succeeding, but Yue accompanied Katara and Sokka in tracking the two of them down on Appa. Upon their return to the spirit oasis, they were confronted by Zhao, who fatally struck the Moon Spirit's corporeal form, leaving all Waterbenders powerless without the moon's influence. Princess Yue once again acted to carry out her duty to her tribe, and sacrificed herself in order to give back the life the Moon Spirit had given her as a child. Her sacrifice came against Sokka's protests, but in the end the young warrior was unable to stop her. Princess Yue touched the dead spirit with her hands, and her life force left her body to restore the Spirit. Her task done, Yue's body fell into Sokka's arms, and then vanished as the spirit's mortal form returned to life. As soon as the Moon Spirit entered the water, an image of Princess Yue rose from the pond and shared one final kiss with Sokka, then vanished completely as the moon returned to the sky.

Several times following her death, Yue's influence on Sokka returned. In "The Swamp," Sokka, under the place's mystical influence, experienced a vision of her. The vision of Princess Yue despondently told Sokka that he failed to protect her, but this was merely a manifestation of his fear that she truly felt this way. In "The Desert," Sokka directly referred to the moon as Yue in the intoxicated state brought about by drinking cactus juice. Finally, when Sokka and Suki nearly kissed in "The Serpent's Pass," a waning gibbous moon was visible in the background, alluding to Princess Yue's presence, and Sokka's memories of her death prompted him to act overly protective of Suki.

In the online game, "Escape From the Spirit World," after the battle beneath Ba Sing Se, Aang met Yue in the Spirit World. She informed him of the damage that has taken place to the Avatar Spirit and how to return to his body, further instructing him to seek out the past four Avatars while avoiding Koh. Though he retained no memory of this meeting, she appeared to Aang once more in "The Awakening," to encourage him not to lose hope and to continue fighting. She then assisted him in his impressive feat of Waterbending to get himself to safety, utilizing her powers as the Moon Spirit to create an enormous wave.

*Yuè (æœˆ) means "Moon" in Chinese.

Admiral Zhao

Admiral Zhao, (formerly Commander and Captain), was a ruthless, driven leader in the Fire Navy, and a powerful Firebender. He was the main antagonist of the first book. Arrogant and hungry for power and glory, throughout the first season he was Prince Zuko's rival in the Fire Nation's quest to capture Aang, the Avatar. He harbored intense feelings of anger towards Zuko, and it is clear when he is first introduced that they have some history, though the specifics of their past are never revealed. He is a recurring character throughout Book One to the point that Sokka can accurately describe Zhao's appearance, personality ("middle-aged, big sideburns, bigger temper"), and modes of operation to the warriors of the Northern Water Tribe.

History
In his youth, Zhao studied under the now-renegade Firebending master Jeong Jeong, but stayed under his tutelage only as long as necessary to learn destructive techniques, rejecting Jeong Jeong's attempts to teach him discipline. This lack of self-control, combined with a fiery temper, resulted in a tendency to make foolish mistakes when provoked. Any endeavor Zhao took was in the name of his own ego, and own self-gratification.

As a Lieutenant serving under General Shu in the Earth Kingdom, Zhao discovered a vast hidden underground library, later revealed to be the library of the spirit Wan Shi Tong. Interested to learn the information it held, he searched through scroll after scroll until he came across a detailed illustration with the words "moon" and "ocean". It was then and there that he learned about the Moon and Ocean Spirits of the Water Tribe, and where their mortal incarnations could be found. After this, he believed it was his destiny to destroy them.

Zhao rose through the ranks over the years, from Lieutenant to Captain to Commander and then finally to Admiral. This last promotion was granted by himself. Zhao was a witness to Zuko's Agni Kai defeat and scarring at the hands of his father, and was shown taking great joy in Zuko's suffering by calling him the banished prince.

Story
Underestimating those younger than himself, Zhao was repeatedly bested by both Aang and Zuko. He once suffered defeat at Zuko's hands in an Agni Kai, which intensified their rivalry, and Aang escaped from Zhao on three separate occasions.

Shortly after the Avatar's return to the world, Zhao was commanding a number of Fire Nation ships forming a blockade between Fire Nation and Earth Kingdom waters. During this time, the Avatar tried to cross into Fire Nation territory to reach . Zhao ordered his ships to open fire upon the Avatar, without concern for hitting Prince Zuko's ship, which was in pursuit of the Avatar at the time. Aang managed to pass the blockade and, presuming Zuko to know Aang's destination, Zhao allowed Zuko to follow him. He tracked Zuko's boat to Avatar Roku's temple and, because he had been forbidden to re-enter Fire Nation territory, arrested Zuko along with the Avatar's companions. However, due to , Zhao is instead forced to flee while the temple was destroyed. Zhao managed to escape, but with no Prince or Avatar he attempted to save face by declaring all of the Fire Sages traitors, despite their protests that only one of their number had helped the Avatar.

Later, in The Blue Spirit, in a Fire Nation fortress in the Earth Kingdom, Zhao requested that Colonel Shinu, commander of the fortress, use the legendary Yu Yan Archers to help capture the Avatar. Zhao insisted Shinu was wasting their talents in using them as mere security guards, but Shinu scoffed that Zhao's hunt for the Avatar was nothing more than a vanity project. However, a message arrived from Fire Lord Ozai; promoting Zhao to Admiral, which made his request an order due to his new rank, and Shinu quickly submitted.

Zhao began to use his position to hinder his rival, Zuko, by blockading the port they anchored. Zuko began to despair of ever returning home, as Zhao's far greater resources gave him a great advantage in capturing the Avatar. The Yu Yan Archers successfully captured Aang, and brought him to the fortress. Zhao, confident that the Avatar was defeated, gave a speech to the soldiers of the fortress forecasting the ultimate Fire Nation victory. Unbeknownst to him, a blue masked warrior infiltrated the fortress and freed the Avatar. Together, they fought past the guards and escaped to the last gate, where the soldiers managed to corner the two combatants. Zhao ordered the Avatar captured alive, as otherwise he would simply reincarnate and trouble the Fire Nation in a new life, when the Blue Spirit (as the masked warrior was later known) held Aang hostage at sword point. Zhao was forced to give the order to let them pass through gate.

After hearing reports of the Avatar being seen in a Fire Nation town during a festival (The Deserter), he began searching the nearby rivers. There he confronted his old master Jeong Jeong, and proclaimed that living in the wild had reduced his old master to a savage. Jeong Jeong retorted saying that it was Zhao who had embraced savagery, representing the unrestrained destructiveness of Firebending. Jeong Jeong warned Zhao not to confront the Avatar, but Zhao ignored these warnings, arrogantly stating that he could defeat a child. Aang was surprised to learn that Zhao was the enlightened Jeong Jeong's student, and used what he learned about Zhao's temper to continually egg the Admiral on until a raging Zhao was tricked into destroying a convoy of his own ships, proving his own lack of restraint and focus was against him. Again Aang escaped, leaving a humiliated Zhao brooding over his failings.

Still chaffing from his Agni Kai defeat, Zhao discovered that Zuko was the vigilante thief, the Blue Spirit. Determined to eliminate further interference, Zhao ordered a group of pirates to engineer a (failed) assassination attempt on Prince Zuko by blowing up his ship. Afterward, he led a large invasion force in a siege of the North Pole, for the dual purposes of capturing the Avatar and destroying the Northern Water Tribe. Fully aware that the Waterbenders draw their powers from the moon at night, Zhao attacked during the day, capitalizing on the weakened state of the Waterbenders. On the second day of the siege, Zhao's forces managed to penetrate the city's walls. Having previously come across Wan Shi Tong's library, Zhao discovered an ancient scroll which detailed the mortal forms of the Moon (Tui) and Ocean (La) Spirits. Knowing that they could be killed, Zhao used the assault of his troops as a diversion while he and a small team made their way to the Spirit Oasis on the second night of the siege. Upon arriving, Zhao bagged the Moon Spirit koi fish, causing a lunar eclipse which negated Waterbending abilities. Confronted by Aang's group and Iroh, they begged him not to kill the Tui, as killing the moon spirit would upset the natural balance of the world. Despite the warnings and Iroh threatening to kill him, Zhao let his ego get the better of him and chose to eliminate Tui and fled. The slaying of the Moon aroused the ire of La, the Ocean Spirit. Merging with Aang's Avatar State, the Ocean Spirit and Aang proceeded to vanquish Zhao's entire fleet. Foiled in his escape by the appearance of Zuko, who confronted the Admiral about the attempted assassination, Zhao fought the prince until the Moon Spirit was restored by sacrifice, during which Zuko clearly gained the upper hand over Zhao. Seeing the return of its ally, the Ocean Spirit left Aang and returned to the Spirit Oasis. Before reaching the Oasis, however, La reached from one of the canals and grabbed Zhao from the surface. Unwilling to accept help from Zuko, Zhao was carried underwater by the Ocean Spirit. Zuko is the only person to have seen or know of his death.

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