Azula is Avatar: The Last Airbender’s most popular villain, as her wicked personality and terrifying powers steal every scene that she is in. Here are the Fire Nation princess’ top five most savage moments that had us feeling the heat.
The Last Airbender follows a child monk named Aang who, as the Avatar, has the ability to control the elements of Water, Earth, Air, and Fire. The series follows his quest to master all four powers and bring balance to the world.
However, throughout the show, the young protagonist is relentlessly hunted down by princess Azula. While not the main antagonist, the Fire Nation royalty is simply put – a total badass. Here are her top five most ruthless moments. WARNING: the following contains MAJOR spoilers for the show, so only continue if you’ve watched all of the series in full!
Do the tides command this ship?
In what is the perfect introduction to the villain, the Fire Nation princess threatens the captain of her ship when he states that the tides of the ocean make it impossible to dock their vessel. In true Azula fashion, she sets the soldier straight with a chilling threat.
“Do the tides command this ship? And if I were to have you thrown overboard, would the tides think twice about smashing you against the rocky shores? Well then maybe you should worry less about the tides who’ve already made up their mind about killing you, and worry about me who is still mulling it over,” – oof.
The chase
After mercilessly hunting down the Avatar for days, the princess eventually ends up in a standoff between Aang, her brother Zuko, and their uncle Iroh. Outnumbered, the villain shockingly turns against her own family.
Using lightning, she shoots Iroh which causes the prince to lose his focus enough for her to escape. While it’s established early on that she’s not fond of her sibling, her quick decision to sacrifice family is as savage as it gets.
Azula is a prodigy in firebending, and is so powerful that she is the only character in the show to have fire that burns blue. She is also one of the few that is able to control lightning, making her an insanely deadly threat to whoever she faces.
You’re banished!
As Azula starts to lose it in Book 3, she no longer has patience for anyone – including her own family. During this hilarious scene, the princess decides to banish her own elder Lo for having spoken out against her.
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Seeing as she has a twin sister named Li, the two are confused as to which one of them was being kicked out of the kingdom. The solution? Azula decides that both must face each other to death in an Agni Ki.
While the villain is portrayed as cold throughout the show, she has human moments too. Especially during the episode ‘The Beach’ in which the two advisers try to help her. However, there is no love lost here apparently.
Framing Zuko
The popular villain isn’t just evil – she’s also a genius at manipulation and strategic planning. In the finale of season 2, she (MAJOR SPOILER ALERT!) shockingly puts down Aang with a lightning strike to the back.
However, instead of taking credit for “killing the Avatar,” she tells their father Fire Nation Lord Ozai that her brother pulled off the incredible feat. If you thought it was a moment of compassion, think again.
She later reveals that her act of charity was an insurance plan so that if the protagonist survived, then it would all fall on Zuko and he would lose his line to the throne permanently. Completely maniacal.
You were never even a player
In what is, in our opinion, one of the best scenes in the entire series, Azula manages to infiltrate the walls of Ba Sing Se, and bring down the Earth Kingdom by manipulating the leader of the Dai Li, Long Feng.
Not only does she strip the power-hungry man down in front of his own loyal agents, she convinces them that only she is worthy to lead because of her royal blood which gives her divine rights to rule.
Submitting, Feng states, “You’ve beaten me at my own game.” to which she replies, “Don’t flatter yourself, you were never even a player,” in a moment of pure savagery. The moment highlights why she’s a fan favorite, and one of the best villains of all time.