Avatar: The Last Airbender is undoubtedly one of the greatest animated series of all time. Fans left the finale of the show absolutely delighted at the journey they went on with Aang, Sokka, Katara, Toph, and the rest of the gang, and thoroughly satisfied with how the narrative was beautifully wrapped up, allowing the Avatar to confront his ultimate enemy in Fire Lord Ozai, while keeping the moral compass endowed on him by his fellow Air Temple monks. That being said, audiences were still heartbroken that the series they loved for three years had come to an end. Luckily, four years later, The Legend of Korra was released to fill the hole that The Last Airbender left behind in its fans.
The Legend of Korra followed up the storyline just a few decades after the events of The Last Airbender, with plenty of appearances from the original cast to keep things rooted to the first gang. Korra’s main mentor was Tenzin, son of Avatar Aang and Katara, and Korra and her friends would encounter several others throughout her journey as the new Avatar. Despite the heavy influence from the original series, The Legend of Korra didn’t fare nearly as well with viewers, earning just a 78% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes compared to ATLA’s 98%. A big reason why The Legend of Korra wasn’t as successful as its predecessor may have been the pacing of the show and, more specifically, the order in which the main villains were presented.
Power Rankings
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When presented with the raw abilities and threat-level of each of the main antagonists in The Legend of Korra’s four-season run, one would never be able to guess the order in which they appear. Normally, in a narrative structure like Legend of Korra’s, the protagonists would encounter a variety of villains ranging in power until facing off against their ultimate enemy, one who is by far more capable than their predecessors, all of whom have been cannon fodder that has allowed the hero to grow en route to their final showdown. Avatar: The Last Airbender followed this formula, both within each individual season and within the overall arc, as Aang works his way through a multitude of smaller villains before clashing with Firelord Ozai who had been looming over the gang as their inevitable nemesis.
The Legend of Korra, however, strays away from this formula, having Korra and her friends battle through a smorgasbord of different adversaries of wavering power-levels. First, there’s Amon, the leader of a revolutionary movement dubbed the Equalists, whose ultimate goal is to rid the world of bending to level the playing field. As the face of the Equalists, Amon possesses the ability to take bending away from its users, using a secret ability to blood bend. Someone with the power to neutralize all benders obviously poses a serious threat, one that could change the entire landscape of the Avatar universe. Surprisingly, Amon is Korra’s first antagonist, building up a threat level that would prove difficult to top moving forward.
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After Amon, Legend of Korra raises the stakes by delving into the Spirit World and all the forces, both good and evil, that lie within. Technically, there are two main antagonists in Book 2: Spirits: Unalaq, master water bender and Korra’s biological uncle, and Vaatu, the spiritual embodiment of darkness and chaos, a direct foil to Raava, the spirit of light and order who granted bending to the humans and bestowed the Avatars with their powers. In Book 2, Korra attempts to stop Unalaq from unleashing Vaatu, but must ultimately try to defeat him in battle after he merges with the evil spirit to become the “Dark Avatar.” Legend of Korra was surprisingly able to raise the stakes after Book 1 and Amon, but only made it even more difficult for themselves for the final two seasons, as Unalaq and Vaatu could have and likely should have been the series’ final antagonists.
Following the world-threatening events of Book 2: Spirits, Book 3: Change pivots to a more mundane threat in Zaheer, an anarchist who wishes to overthrow the power structure of the Avatar universe, including the Order of the White Lotus and the Avatar herself. Due to the Harmonic Convergence and the bridge it built between the earthly world and the spirit realm, Zaheer acquired the ability to air bend, which helped him escape his imprisonment and set forth a plan to kill Korra in the Avatar state, which would effectively end the Avatar cycle. Korra and the gang are able to take down Zaheer and his compatriots, all of whom died in the end except for Zaheer, who was taken into custody again.
Finally, in Book 4: Balance, the story fast-forwards three years, with Korra struggling to handle the ramifications of her battle with Zaheer, which left her unable to access the Avatar state due to trauma. The main antagonist in Legend of Korra’s final season is Kuvira, a metal-bending military leader who wishes to conquer the Earth Kingdom under her authoritarianism in favor of one, giant Earth Empire. Through the arc of Book 4, Korra rediscovers herself and reconnects with her Avatar state.
From a pure power level standpoint, Legend of Korra presents their main antagonists all out of order. Kuvira is probably the weakest of the bunch, followed by Zaheer and his gang that featured rarities such as a combustion bender and lava bender. Amon would be next, simply due to his ability to neutralize benders. Lastly, Unalaq, Vaatu, and their combined Dark Avatar state would have to be the preeminent villain in all the series.
Effect on Narrative Arc
It’s not like these antagonists were presented in this order without good reason, as each of their appearances in time carried the narrative structure of Legend of Korra in a specific way that fit the vision of the showrunners. Of course, some of the variance between the threat levels might have been due to the fact that The Legend of Korra was originally supposed to be a single season show, according to Screen Rant. Still, Korra’s journey was well executed and the order of the villains played a big part in that development. For example, Book 4 would have been incomplete without Korra’s trauma that was inflicted upon her when she fought Zaheer causing her to lose control of the Avatar state.
Zaheer also played an important role in Book 4, as he was freed to help Korra and the gang after expressing his disagreement with Kuvira’s vision and methods. That being said, with a few tweaks to the writing, Legend of Korra could have changed the order in which they presented their antagonists, allowing for a more natural flow and progression of threat levels.
The show could have opened up with Zaheer, simply making him a rogue airbender and removing the need for the Harmonic Convergence and Book 2 to precede his appearance. It’d be understandable that the pacifist teachings and goal of enlightenment of the Air Nation would lead Zaheer to his anti-authoritarian and anarchist beliefs. Then, they could have followed up with Kuvira in Book 2 and erased the three-year gap. Following up Zaheer and Kuvira with Amon would have made him a more sympathetic villain, as the former two villains would have shown the dangers of bending in the wrong hands. Lastly, Unalaq, Vaatu, and the Dark Avatar would have made for the perfect epic conclusion to the series.
