Zuko

From Four Nations

Current revision as of 19:52, 14 April 2008

Zuko (or Prince Zuko) is the former prince of the Fire Nation and now Aang's Firebending teacher, He is voiced by Dante Basco.

Description

Zuko is a skilled Firebender and the son of Fire Lord Ozai, ruler of the Fire Nation. Before the events of the series, he is exiled from the Fire Nation and sent to capture the Avatar; he is initially bent on capturing Aang in order to restore his honor and right to the throne in the eyes of his father. Zuko was accompanied and advised in his search by his uncle Iroh.

Although initially portrayed as an antagonist of the series, Zuko's sense of honor has caused him to go against his own nation and family. Zuko is also revealed to have an important connection to the Avatar. To that, he has realized that his real destiny is to join the Avatar, teach Aang firebending, end the war and restore balance to the world.

Zuko was born to Princess Ursa and Prince Ozai. Always favored by his mother and neglected by his father, Zuko developed a close bond with his mother. Around six years before the series takes place, Zuko learns of the death of his cousin, Lu Ten, in battle during the siege of Ba Sing Se. This results in his uncle giving up the siege in grief and Zuko's father Ozai sees this as a chance to convince Fire Lord Azulon that he should inherit the throne. Ozai's request is denied and as punishment for attempting to exploit Iroh's loss, he is ordered to kill Zuko. However, Azulon dies and Ursa disappears before anything happens. It is later learned that Ursa came up with a plan in which Ozai became Fire Lord and Zuko's life would be spared. This apparently led to Azulon's death and Ursa was banished as a result of it. The next day, Zuko demands to know where Ursa is but receives no answer. He is later present at Azulon's funeral and Ozai's crowning as Fire Lord.

Three years later, Zuko's uncle allows a thirteen year old Zuko to enter a war meeting. Zuko, upon hearing of a general's plan to sacrifice novice troops in battle, speaks out in protest. Ozai demands Zuko duel in an Agni Kai, but when the duel begins, he finds himself dueling not the general, but Ozai himself. Zuko surrenders, unable to duel his own father. Ozai, seeing this as weakness and disrespect, scars Zuko, strips him of his birthright, and exiles him, under orders not to return unless he captured the Avatar.

During the first two books Water and Earth, Zuko was the primary adversary of Team Avatar, he attempted to capture Aang many times through the series and sometimes had to betray the Fire Nation further to prevent Aang from falling into the hands of his own rivals such as Admiral Zhao.

At the beginning of Book 2: Earth, Zuko and Iroh was deemed a traitors of the Fire Nation by Ozai after the events that occured at the Northern Water Tribe. During the season he made his way to Ba Sing Se as he avoided the Fire Nation and his deadly sister Azula. Eventually he joined Azula and supposedly killed Aang at the close of Book 2 before he was welcomed home as a hero along side his sister.

In Book 3, Zuko began to question his choice about helping his sister in Ba Sing Se. During the Day of Black Sun, he made the choice that he would write his wrongs by teaching the Avatar how to firebend and end the tryany that his family had cast over the world. Up to the Firebending Masters, Zuko has been trying to earn the respect of the rest of the team.

Appearance

Zuko's distinguishing marks include an enormous facial scar radiating from his left eye over his ear. Formerly, his head was shaved but for a small queue of black hair at the back. After slicing off his ponytail as a show of his severance from his family in the episode The Avatar State, Zuko begins to let his hair grow out, until it grows over his eyes and he gets a royal trim in Nightmares and Daydreams.

Personality

While initially the series primary antagonist, over time Zuko is shown to be more of a bitter and complex young man than a truly evil character; he is initially far closer to being an anti-villain, and now becoming a hero in his own right. Zuko's good heart was, for most of the series, over-ruled by his desire to be allowed to return home; Zuko wanted more than anything to have his place as heir to the Fire Nation throne and his father's love. Zuko believed (or forced himself to believe) that capturing the Avatar will make these wishes come true, which made him Aang's most determined enemy.

Zuko believes that a person becomes strong by having to struggle and fight for what they want. He has said that he does not want to have good luck, because he feels he can control his own fate. Yet all the misfortune in his life has lead him to believe the world is set against him. This manifests as unflexible determination and an iron-will that even his foes ackwnowledge.<ref name="The Siege of the North Part 2">Template:Cite episode</ref>

Zuko has numerous contradictory traits, beliefs, and behaviors. As a result of being raised as Fire Nation royalty, his is domineering and not afraid to assert authority, and disdains working with people he believes are inferior to himself, yet he adamantly refuses to view people as expendable; it was Zuko's belief that it is wrong to sacrifice young troops as a diversionary war tactic that led to his exile when he voiced his opinion and angered his father, Ozai.<ref name="The Storm">Template:Cite episode</ref> During his banishment, Zuko displayed a near total obsession with pursuing and capturing the Avatar, using whatever means he thought necessary to gain the upper hand. Although he has said that the capture of the Avatar is a greater concern to him than the safety of his crew or even himself, he retains some compassion, choosing to rescue Iroh when he was captured, rather than pursue Aang,<ref name="The Spirit World (Winter Solstice, Part 1)">Template:Cite episode</ref> and also risked his own life to save a member of his crew during a fierce storm. Towards the end of the storm, the crew spots Aang, but rather than chase the Avatar, Zuko orders the ship and crew to safety.<ref name="The Storm">Template:Cite episode</ref>

Because the prospect of returning home and being forgiven was Zuko's sole motivation, he is marked by abject despair at having lost his chance early in the second season. He finds himself in perhaps the most dire situation possible, hunted by his ruthless and cruel sister, Azula, while attempting to survive as a penniless fugitive in the Earth Kingdom. Zuko had nothing, even less than his days of banishment, something he cannot seem to accept. At first, Zuko turns to robbery, even stealing from those who have been kind to him.<ref name="The Cave of Two Lovers">Template:Cite episode</ref> After some time, however, partially in thanks to a talk from Iroh, Zuko gains a more reasonable outlook. Although theft is still necessary from time to time, he refuses to steal from already needy people, or people who have shown him kindness. He also defended an Earth Kingdom village against a group of thugs who terrorized its people after having been appointed to protect them.<ref name="Zuko Alone">Template:Cite episode</ref> Over time, Zuko becomes more patient, kind, precise, and calculating; traits necessary to evade Azula's pursuit while staying incognito from local authorities. During "Lake Laogai", he even sets Aang's pet bison and primary mode of transportation, Appa, free from Dai Li captivity at Iroh's suggestion.<ref name="Lake Laogai">Template:Cite episode</ref>

These traits would become dominant after Zuko's fevered dreams and hallucinations in "The Earth King," as afterwards he displayed a considerably more optimistic attitude towards life and seemed quite content to settle for a peaceful life on incongreguity in Ba Sing Se.<ref name="The Guru">Template:Cite episode</ref> However, Azula - discovering him within the city - successfully tapped into and manipulated his still lingering desire for the love and approval of his father, and convinced him to betray Iroh and become her ally in "The Crossroads of Destiny." Zuko continued to insist that he had truly changed even after joining Azula, but it became clear that he was still conflicted about his choices, and is uncomfortable with his betrayal of Iroh, who had become a father figure to him.<ref name="The Crossroads of Destiny">Template:Cite episode</ref>. At The Beach on Ember Island, Zuko admits that he is angry with himself, saying he's not sure he knows right from wrong. Zuko later gets a note about revealing his destiny, which leads him to learn about his great-grandfather Sozin's history. Not finding much significance, he turns to Iroh, who tells him that Avatar Roku is his mother's grandfather, whom Sozin betrayed. Iroh claims that Zuko's inner conflict is due to his good and evil nature that he inherited from Roku and Sozin respectively.

In Nightmares and Daydreams he became upset when he wasn't informed of a war meeting in which his sister was invited, but was lifted when a servant later came and informed him that Ozai would not start the meeting without him. But later, he told Mai that even when his father saw him as the perfect prince, he still didn't feel like himself. During the events of The Day of Black Sun, Zuko comes to realize that he must restore peace to the world by joining the Avatar and fighting the tyranny of his nation. He discards his previous beliefs in the Fire Nation's greatness, proudly proclaims his Uncle as the source of this inspiration, and defiantly swears to his father that he will be defeated.

Zuko's newfound sense of humility and peace of mind does gives him the courage to ask the Avatar's forgiveness, however not the words to express it. Initially rejected by the group, he does eventually partially earns their faith by saving them from the Combustion Man, a fact which he expresses with uncharacteristic joy and enthusiasm. His past sins still haunt him however, since even though the heroes have welcomed him, he still must work to earn their trust on account of everything he had done to them, especially Katara, who has implicitly threatened to kill him should he give her any reason to think he would betray Aang. As for the Avatar himself, despite their past conflicts and fights, both are showing a rapidly developing friendship and trust. Though Zuko still has a quick temper and does act on things in a rash manner he is far more composed and receptive than before.

Other skills

As well as being a proficient Firebender, Zuko has also shown to be highly skilled in the use of the dual Dao swords, a talent he refined during his time at sea. This is best displayed in the episode "The Blue Spirit", when Zuko had to refrain from using his bending abilities and was shown defeating scores of Fire Nation soldiers.<ref name="The Blue Spirit">Template:Cite episode</ref> In Zuko Alone he easily defeats a small squadron of Earth Kingdom soldiers, and even takes on their Earthbending leader with just his swords, but he has to use Firebending to finish him off.<ref name="Zuko Alone">Template:Cite episode</ref>

Zuko's final ability is stealth. His ability to infiltrate a guarded fortress was amply demonstrated in the episodes "The Blue Spirit," "The Siege of the North," and "Lake Laogai." In each case, Zuko entered hostile territory and managed to reach his objective without being caught,<ref name="Lake Laogai">Template:Cite episode</ref> although the circumstances of each separate at this point. Also, the different natures of those fortresses show that he is adaptable to circumstances as well.<ref name="The Siege of the North Part 1">Template:Cite episode</ref> He is also skilled at the art of the ambush, laying cunning traps for his victims, both demonstrated when he briefly turned bandit<ref name="Avatar Day">Template:Cite episode</ref> and when he later set a trap for an agent of the Dai Li in order to obtain information on Appa's location.<ref name="Lake Laogai">Template:Cite episode</ref> This ability ties in well with his swordsmanship, and is a key facet of his 'Blue Spirit' persona.

Exemplifying the differences between Zuko and Azula's respective personalities are their fighting styles. Whereas Azula gains immense strength in combat through her removed and sociopathic mentality and gains the ability to master lightning, Zuko is completely emotional and finds more strength in his passions and convictions.

Zuko has grown up in the shadow of his Firebending-prodigy sister Azula and many, even Zuko himself, view him as struggling. However, this is so because Zuko has been compared to the most powerful Firebenders alive, such as his sister, father and uncle. In truth, Zuko is arguably one of the most skilled Firebenders in his own right, able to beat Firebending Masters such as Zhao in Agni Kai and in normal combat. There has been considerable suggestion in the show that Zuko's potential capabilities were being held back by various mental obstacles, such as his single-minded drive to capture the Avatar contrasting with his established relaxed and gentle nature before it was literally burned out of him by Fire Lord Ozai. As these conflicts have continued to be resolved in his mind, Zuko's abilities have increased in accordance; while he was unable to touch his sister Azula in their first encounter in the beginning of Book 2, by the end of Book 2 he was duelling on an even plane with Katara, who had held the upper hand over Azula.

Like most other Firebenders, Zuko is generally agile, as can be seen in many of his battles with Aang. He is also very strong physically. In The Beach he was able to send a random boy back several meters with a slight push of his palm. A more recent example of this is in the episode "The Western Air Temple", where Zuko descends a sheer cliff via a rope to get to the floor of the temple. He ends up having to swing in under the ceiling and down onto the floor, dropping a significant height, and landing gracefully with little effort. In "The Firebending Masters", he was easily able to bypass a large spike pit by running along the wall.

Family

Fire Lord Ozai

Though Zuko was once moved to tears by his father's upbraiding of him in the Agni Kai arena<ref name="The Storm">Template:Cite episode</ref> , his present feelings towards Fire Lord Ozai seem mixed at best. He is resentful of Ozai's favoritism towards his sister Azula,<ref name="Zuko Alone">Template:Cite episode</ref> but it is unknown how much of this anger is directed at Ozai himself. Ozai has told his son he was "lucky to be born", (as opposed to his sister being "born lucky")<ref name="The Siege of the North Part 2">Template:Cite episode</ref> and told Azula he considers Zuko "a miserable failure".<ref name="The Avatar State">Template:Cite episode</ref> Despite this, perhaps the most significant driving force behind Zuko's desire to regain his honor is that it will allow him to regain his father's love.<ref name="The Avatar State">Template:Cite episode</ref> As of the beginning of Book Three, Ozai welcomes his son home with open arms and pride in his false accomplishment: the slaying of the Avatar. During the events of "The Day of Black Sun", Zuko decides to join the Avatar in his quest to defeat Ozai. <ref name="DoBS">Template:Cite episode</ref>

Uncle Iroh

Iroh is Zuko's uncle,<ref name="The Boy In The Iceberg">Template:Cite episode</ref> mentor,<ref name="The Southern Air Temple">Template:Cite episode</ref> Firebending teacher,<ref name="Bitter Work">Template:Cite episode</ref> advisor,<ref name="Lake Laogai">Template:Cite episode</ref> caretaker and de facto father-figure.<ref name="The Siege of the North Part 1">Template:Cite episode</ref> The tolerant and even-keeled foil to Zuko's impulsiveness, Iroh tempers Zuko's anger with practical advice and a wry sense of humor. Though Iroh is a hard instructor, his merciless drilling in Firebending basics has served to improve Zuko's skill.<ref name="The Boy In The Iceberg">Template:Cite episode</ref> Iroh is sympathetic to Zuko (having likewise fallen from grace due to an infamous military failure in his days as a Fire Nation General<ref name="The Siege of the North Part 1">Template:Cite episode</ref> ) and pleads that he not be so relentless in his search. Although he often teases Zuko, who impatiently balks at his advice, they care deeply about each other. He even thinks of Zuko as his surrogate child,<ref name="The Siege of the North Part 1">Template:Cite episode</ref> (his own son having died) and worries over him accordingly. In a brief flashback during The Beach Iroh was seen with a then-infant Zuko and his own son, Lu Ten, on a beach, showing that even when he still had a son of his own he cared about his nephew. Iroh is constantly guiding Zuko, and trying to help him to make good choices.<ref name="Lake Laogai">Template:Cite episode</ref> In turn, Zuko deeply loves his uncle, and is greatly touched when Iroh indirectly praises him. When Zuko was once confronted with the choice of tracking the Avatar or saving a kidnapped Iroh, he chose the latter without hesitation.<ref name="The Spirit World (Winter Solstice, Part 1)">Template:Cite episode</ref> Both depend on each other in exile. Iroh is considered by the Fire Lord to be "a traitor," blamed for the failure of the siege of the Northern Water Tribe after he attacked Admiral Zhao for killing the mortal form of the Moon Spirit.<ref name="The Siege of the North Part 1">Template:Cite episode</ref>

In the episode "Avatar Day," Zuko separated from his uncle and both began traveling solo. This occurred after Iroh explained to Zuko that capturing the Avatar at this point would probably not immediately grant him his honor and throne. Zuko left, believing that they no longer had anything to gain from traveling together ("I need to find my own way"),<ref name="Avatar Day">Template:Cite episode</ref> though Iroh continued to follow his nephew's trail.

In the episode "The Chase," Zuko and Iroh rejoined during a battle with Azula and Aang's group. Their reunion was cut short, however, when Iroh was severely injured by Azula. Later, in the episode "Bitter Work," it is evident Zuko has been helping Iroh recover, going so far as to make tea for him though Iroh found the tea repulsive (he kept this hidden from Zuko) and tossed it out the window when Zuko wasn't looking. Then, Iroh begins to teach Zuko how to channel lightning through his body (Zuko shows open eagerness at learning how to generate lightning), but refuses to aim one at him for practice due to the risks involved.<ref name="The Chase">Template:Cite episode</ref>

In the episode "Lake Laogai", Iroh finally loses his temper, and berates Zuko for his lack of forethought in his plans--in the most recent case, discovering Appa before the rest of the main cast does. While Iroh's words are harsh, Zuko ultimately seems to respect the sentiments behind them, opting to release Appa--knowing the bison will return to Aang. At the end of the episode, at his uncle's suggestion, he drops his Blue Spirit mask into the lake, and it disappears. In the episode "The Earth King", he and Zuko arrive back at their apartment. Iroh once again congratulates him for letting Appa go, but Zuko says that he "doesn't feel right" before passing out on the floor. During Zuko's illness, Iroh gladly takes care of his nephew. However, in "The Crossroads of Destiny," Zuko sides with Azula and betrays Iroh. Later in the episode, Iroh turns his head from Zuko, signifying that he is ashamed of the choices that his nephew has made.<ref name="The Crossroads of Destiny">Template:Cite episode</ref>

Once Iroh was taken back to the Fire Nation as a prisoner, Iroh refuses to talk to Zuko, despite his frequent visits and his confusion. Iroh eventually breaks his silence in chapter six of book three, The Avatar and the Fire Lord. He does this to tell Zuko that Avatar Roku is his maternal Great-grandfather. He tells Zuko that he might be able to redeem their family and that he can restore balance in the world, signifying that although his nephew had betrayed him, he still had faith in Zuko. He then gives Zuko a crown which Sozin once gave to Roku. It is a royal artifact worn by the crown prince of the Fire Nation.

During the events of "Day of Black Sun", Zuko chooses to join the Avatar and decides to break Iroh out of prison. He would then ask for his forgiveness for his previous betrayal at Ba Sing Se. He even claims Iroh was more of a father than Ozai was. However, Iroh escaped from prison long before Zuko arrived, and Zuko was forced to leave without him. In "The Firebending masters" he also mentions his uncle had a long and complicated past, not unlike his own.

In "Zuko Alone", a flashback reveals that while Iroh's siege of Ba Sing Se was in full swing, he sent Zuko a Tantō knife bearing the inscription, "Never give up without a fight", which he obtained from the Earth Kingdom General who surrendered upon penetration of the outer wall. In "The Avatar State", we see that Zuko and Iroh use this same knife to cut off their top knots once they are officially labeled as traitors and failures. This knife both shows Iroh's faith in Zuko, and Zuko's own determination to prevail at any cost.

Princess Azula

Azula is Zuko's younger sister by about two years. Azula seems to take great pleasure in the punishment inflicted on her brother, and may hold a desire to inherit the throne. Zuko expresses resentment towards her, as she is a Firebending prodigy and the favored sibling (at least by Ozai).<ref name="Zuko Alone">Template:Cite episode</ref> At the end of the first season, Fire Lord Ozai gave Azula the task of capturing Iroh and Zuko.<ref name="The Siege of the North Part 1">Template:Cite episode</ref> In "The Avatar State," Azula attempts but fails to capture them, (now considered traitors of the Fire Nation) luring Zuko with the lie that Fire Lord Ozai wanted him back home. When he discovers this lie however he angrily attacks her, but is no match for her fire bending abilities and skills in hand to hand combat.<ref name="The Avatar State">Template:Cite episode</ref> She enjoys tormenting her brother, calling him by a disliked nickname, "Zuzu", and mentioning his inferiority in their father's eyes. In the Episode "The Earth King", it was revealed in Zuko's dream state, that Azula had a great deal of influence over him (arguably rivaling his uncle's influence).<ref name="The Earth King">Template:Cite episode</ref> This is only furthered in the episode "The Crossroads of Destiny" where Azula successfully convinces Zuko to betray their Uncle, aid her against Aang and Katara, and finally conquer Ba Sing Se.<ref name="The Crossroads of Destiny">Template:Cite episode</ref>. He also in some sense puts Azula beside Iroh in the Western Air Temple when he wonders first how Iroh would approach the problem of convincing Aang to let him join them, then wonders how Azula would approach it. In the first episodes of Book 3, Azula lies to her father and gives Zuko the credit for Aang's supposed death.

Zuko reveals to his father during the Day of Black Sun that Azula was the one who took down the Avatar and that he managed to survive the attack.

Princess Ursa

It is obvious that Zuko was his mother's favorite child, as Zuko was always kinder than Azula, and mother and son were close. Zuko's sister, Azula, stated in "The Beach" that she was well aware that Ursa always liked Zuko more than her, and that over the years she thought that Azula was growing into a monster. This is the opposite to her husband Ozai's feelings towards their children, who has stated that while Azula was "born lucky," Zuko was "lucky to be born."<ref name="The Siege of the North Part 1">Template:Cite episode</ref> In the episode "Zuko Alone," she leaves under mysterious circumstances and has not returned. This is later touched upon when Azula claims that their father, Fire Lord Ozai, is going to have to kill Zuko after angering the then Fire Lord Azulon. Before Ursa leaves, she tells Zuko that everything she has done has been to protect him.<ref name="Zuko Alone">Template:Cite episode</ref> Ursa disappeared on the same night that Azulon died, and it is confirmed that she was part of a plot to overthrow him and get her husband named Fire Lord, all in an effort to save Zuko from his father's wrath. Zuko certainly seemed to believe that she is dead; in the season 2 finale "The Crossroads of Destiny", he tells Katara that he too has lost his mother to the Fire Nation.<ref name="The Crossroads of Destiny">Template:Cite episode</ref> In "The Earth King" he is plagued by dreams where his mother was pleading to have him help her. During this dream, the blue dragon, which has Azula's voice, tells Zuko to "sleep, just like Mother!"<ref name="The Earth King">Template:Cite episode</ref> It could be hinted that Azula might have something to do with Ursa's disappearance, or that Zuko subconsciously believes she does. Fire Lady Ursa is Avatar Roku's granddaughter, as Iroh revealed to Zuko in The Avatar and the Fire Lord. On The Day of Black Sun, Fire Lord Ozai tells Zuko that Ursa was actually banished from the Fire Nation on account of treachery for her role in killing Fire Lord Azulon and that she is quite possibly still alive. This shocking revelation gave Zuko renewed hope in seeing his mother again.

Avatar Roku

Avatar Roku is Zuko's maternal great-grandfather. Iroh reveals this to Zuko and attributes his nephew's inner conflict to the blood of both Sozin and Roku flowing within him. Because of this heritage, Iroh believes Zuko to be crucial to restoring balance to the world. Being a descendant of the previous Avatar makes Zuko spiritually related to Aang, his former nemesis and current Firebending student.

Other

Fire Lord Sozin is Zuko's paternal great-grandfather, Fire Lord Azulon and his wife Ilah are Zuko's paternal grandparents, and Lu Ten, Iroh's late son, is Zuko's first cousin. Only Azulon is shown interacting with Zuko in any way. It is apparent that Azulon had a lack of regard for Zuko, as it was confirmed by Ozai in the "Day of Black Sun" that Azulon did order Ozai to kill him. Also, because Zuko's flashbacks about Lu Ten's fate are triggered by his exposure to Lee's troubles regarding his brother's fate in the war, it is subtly implied that Zuko and Lu Ten perhaps had a brotherly bond.