Written by Christian Garcia
With the recent announcement of an Avatar film to focus on Aang and his gang, Avatar fans are excited at the thought of more projects films and shows to come! Having been a fan of the Avatar franchise since childhood, its glad to see the franchise get the attention that it deserved long ago.
It is considered to by many, including myself, as one of the best animated shows ever to come from Nickelodeon and I always felt that it was never given the love and appreciation that it deserved from the network.
When Nickelodeon announced the establishment of Avatar: Studios, I like most fans was shocked but also excited and already got my mind racing about some potential shows that the studio could and should do.
100 Year War Show
The original Avatar: The Last Airbender takes play during the 100 Year War between the 4 nations. The opening scene gives a brief history of the war and throughout the series we are given more history of the war in the season 3 episode, The Avatar and the Firelord.
Now imagine if they were to do a show that showed important moments and battles from the war, done in a style like the Star Wars show, The Clone Wars. And like Clone Wars, each episode can be its own contained story, not necessarily following an over-arching story outside of it being a battle in the war. Of course, I am confident that the writers would find ways to tie the events together.
I can already envision the pilot episode being the attack on the Air Nomads, specifically, Aang’s home of the Southern Air Temple. In the third episode, Aang returns to his home after 100 years and tragically discovers the remains of his friend and father figure, Monk Gyatso. Imagine the amount of action, drama, and tragedy that could be brought by showing fans that battle and Gyatso’s last stand.
I envision another major battle of the war that had major implications and had been alluded to numerous times throughout the show: Iroh’s Seige on Ba Sing Se which also leads into my next idea….
Iroh
Uncle Iroh is the most beloved characters in the Avatar franchise, and I know that they would watch a show to see more of his kindness and wisdom and learn where it came from.
I would have it start during his siege of Ba Sing Se but have it in a style where there are flashbacks to build up Iroh’s past with his history of military success and focus on his relationship with his son, Lu Ten to build up to his eventual loss. The loss of his son Lu Ten is the most pivotal part of Iroh’s history that sent him down the path of peace and kindness. After Lu Ten’s death, we would follow Iroh on his spiritual journey as he attempts to journey into the Spirit World to find his son, learn how he came to find the Order of the White Lotus, and find new purpose in life after abandoning his desire for the throne and military conquest.
In a world where mental health and spiritual peace are more prominent, focusing on a character’s journey for spiritual enlightenment and peace would be great inspiration for those who struggle to find and maintain inner peace. In a world where cynicism and negativity hover like dark clouds, it needs a reminder of why peace and kindness are the better route and Uncle Iroh is the character to instill that wisdom. Throw in some games of Pai Sho and some Tsungi horn lessons and you have a show that can be enlightening and funny.
The Blue Spirit
Zuko’s alter ego of the Blue Spirit was a cool addition to the show that incorporated Zuko’s fire bending capabilities with his swordsmanship skills. At the end of the season 2-episode Lake Laogai, Zuko drops the Blue Spirit mask in the water and “leaves it behind.” While this was a symbolic ending to Zuko’s association with the Blue Spirit, I feel that it leaves the door open for the Blue Spirit to return with a new character taking up the moniker.
I would love to see Avatar create a show like the Mandalorian (maybe give him a Baby Appa or something lol) where a new and mysterious character dons the Blue Spirit mask and goes on adventures as an outlaw. Along the way we learn more about the masked man, what drew him to the mask and how it shaped him. At one point, he could even meet up with Zuko and make for an interesting encounter. I always liked the mask of the Blue Spirit and see the marketing potential as the story potential to expand the universe of Avatar beyond the 4 bending nations.
Way of the Blade – Based on Sokka’s Space Sword and the teachings of Master Piandao
This idea is a little more out there but after watching Sokka’s space sword plummet to the earth during the climax of the series finale, I always wondered what could happen if someone found the sword and what kind of journey it could take them on. In the season 3 episode, Sokka’s Master we get a few lessons from Master Piandao and while it wasn’t the best episode of the series, I still enjoyed the lessons about swordsmanship.
Now I do not consider myself an anime fan as I have only watched the likes of Dragon Ball Z and Naruto in small bits but I could see this show in a style like those. A hero on a journey where they meets others them and makes friends and rivals along the way.
I feel like a dedicated show about the way of the sword could be interesting and create some cool battles. You could even have a clan of swordsmen (and women) who combine their sword skills with their bending to create a new way of fighting. Sokka could be factored into the story too. It would be cool to see him fight the wielder of his space sword and see how it would play out like an Avatar meets Cobra Kai with competing swords masters with different teaching philosophies clashing through their students. Sokka could be the Daniel LaRusso to our main hero's Johnny Lawrence.
Sokka’s skills as a swordsman I thought were a nice addition to his character and I think it would be cool to see them expanded on. I see potential in a show about the philosophies of sword fighting and think it would be a fun way to expand on the Avatar universe beyond bending.
Cabbage Merchant Shorts
After Iroh, the Cabbage Merchant is easily the best character in all of Avatar….okay just kidding but I know that fans would get a kick out seeing 2-3 minute shorts of the poor guy having his precious cabbage carts destroyed in funny and creative ways. Similar to the old Looney Tunes shorts and even the Ice Age Skrat shorts, these Cabbage Merchant moments would bring fun laughs and have us all yelling “My Cabbages!!”
Conclusion
These are just my thoughts and ideas for that I think would be cool to see and would be great at expanding the Avatar Universe into different genres and philosophies.
I know I am leaving out obvious requests like an Avatar Anthology series that looks back on the past Avatars like Roku and Kiyoshi, an ATLA sequel series, a Legend of Korra sequel series, a Zuko show where we finally find out where his mother is, the next avatar after Korra show, an origin show about the foaming mouth guy, the possibilities are endless!
Who knows what we will get from Avatar Studios and how successful it will be? I am confident that they will give us more greatness from the world of Avatar, and I cannot wait to see what we get!!
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