The Legend of Korra

Created by Bryan Konietzko and Michael Dante DiMartino, The Legend of Korra is Nickelodeon’s sequel to Avatar: The Last Airbender. It ran from 2012 to 2014 across four books: Air, Spirits, Change, and Balance. The series stars Korra, the next Avatar after Aang’s death, introduced as a headstrong Southern Water Tribe teenager who has already mastered water, earth, and fire. In Book One: Air, she travels to Republic City, the multi-ethnic metropolis founded by Aang and Fire Lord Zuko, to train in airbending with Tenzin. The season’s 1920s-inspired steampunk conflict pits the bending underworld against Amon, leader of the Equalists, who claims he can remove bending forever. Korra joins the pro-bending team Fire Ferrets with brothers Mako and Bolin, and conflicts with Councilman Tarrlok and police chief Lin Beifong, the latter tying the show to Toph Beifong. Amon is exposed as Noatak, Yakone’s bloodbending son; after stripping Korra’s powers, he is undone when Korra unexpectedly unlocks airbending and he flees.

Book Two: Spirits moves the story into the Spirit World. Korra turns against her father Tonraq’s caution and accepts Unalaq, the Northern Water Tribe chief, as her spiritual teacher. Unalaq seizes control, opens the spirit portals, and fuses with Vaatu during the Harmonic Convergence to become the Dark Avatar. The season also tells the story of Wan, the first Avatar, and develops Tenzin’s siblings Kya and Bumi and Jinora’s unusual spiritual attunement. It ends with Korra losing her connection to the past Avatars but deliberately leaving the portals open.

Book Three: Change escalates the politics. The anarchist Red Lotus, led by airbending fugitive Zaheer, includes lavabender Ghazan, armless waterbender Ming-Hua, and combustionbender P’Li. They assassinate the Earth Queen, spread new airbenders across the world, and try to end the Avatar Cycle by poisoning Korra with mercury and killing her in the Avatar State. She survives but suffers traumatic paralysis. The season introduces Zaofu, Suyin Beifong’s metal city, and air acolytes Kai and Opal. The final book, Balance, brings Kuvira, a former Zaofu officer calling herself the “Great Uniter,” who unites the Earth Kingdom as a militarized state and builds a spirit-vine superweapon. Korra returns to stop Kuvira’s mech attack on Republic City, opens a second spirit portal, and ultimately prevents the city’s destruction. The finale ends with Korra and Asami Sato entering the Spirit World together, cementing the pair as a landmark same-sex couple in Western animation over four seasons.