Prince Zuko | ATLA

Zuko was a Fire Nation royal and firebending master who reigned as Fire Lord from 100 AG until his abdication in 167 AG. He was the eldest child and only son of Princess Ursa and Fire Lord Ozai. Originally the primary enemy of Team Avatar, Zuko devoted three years to trying to capture the long-lost Avatar to end his banishment and regain his honor as Crown Prince of the Fire Nation. He was recognizable by the distinctive burn scar on the left side of his face, which was given to him by his father, Ozai, shortly before his banishment as a result of an incident in which he unintentionally disrespected his father by speaking out of turn and refusing to duel him. Born in 83 AG,[6] Zuko was the firstborn child of Prince Ozai and Princess Ursa. From a young age, he was disdained by his father due to lacking the "spark in [his] eyes" typical for firebenders.[25] Indeed, Zuko would struggle to become a strong bender;[26] however, he displayed a strong sense of empathy and morality from a very early age.[25] Zuko's early years were the only ones when his family was ever "actually happy". They frequently vacationed on Ember Island,[27][28] and often watched the play Love amongst the Dragons at the Ember Island Theater. At this point, he and Azula still had a positive relationship.[25] Zuko was schooled by Kunyo in firebending[25] and by Piandao in the art of fighting with dual broadswords.[29] However, as they got older, Zuko and Azula eventually grew apart, and he became the object of his sister's manipulation, ridicule, and deception. Their mother, however, loved both but favored him over his sister, causing further jealousy and strife.[25][26] Meanwhile, the relationship between Ursa and Ozai also became increasingly strained, causing the latter to lash out at Zuko more and more. The young prince increasingly faced emotional abuse from both his father and his younger sister.[25] In contrast to these dysfunctional relationships, Zuko grew close to his uncle, and the two often spent time together.[30][31] When Zuko was eleven years old, his cousin, Lu Ten, died in battle. General Iroh, devastated by the loss of his only child, abandoned his 600-day siege of the Earth Kingdom capital city, Ba Sing Se. This caused a series of events which resulted in the death of Fire Lord Azulon, the enthronement of Ozai, and the disappearance of Ursa. As they had been very close, the loss of his mother was traumatic to Zuko.[26] Though he was now the new Crown Prince,[32] Zuko was also left largely isolated in his family and at the mercy of both Ozai and Azula. Upon his return from the frontlines, however, Iroh tried to support his nephew as well as he could. Personality: During his exile, Zuko became a bitter, impatient, and complex young man, akin to a tragic villain. More than anything, he wanted his place as heir to the Fire Nation throne and his father's love.[64] Zuko convinced himself that capturing the Avatar would make these wishes come true, making him one of Aang's most determined enemies. Zuko believed one became strong by struggling and fighting for what they want. However, he expressed contradicting mindsets; he did not want good luck because he felt he could control his fate, but also believed he was marked unlucky and that the world was against him.[44] His reaction to the perception of the world always set against him was iron-willed defiance and inflexible determination. He was clever yet hot-headed, often letting his temper get the best of him. He was averse to the thought of harming others without any motive or benefit, having consented to Aang's request to spare the Southern Water Tribe in exchange for himself as his prisoner, and left the village unharmed.[11] He rarely thought his situations through,[12] causing him to get in trouble; he captured Aang at the North Pole but chose to make his getaway through the perilous tundra,[44] and he casually took the sunstone off its pedestal in the Sun Warriors' temple only to fall into a trap.[15] Said traits were criticized by his uncle,[53][102] urging Zuko to try to control himself and think things through more often, which he managed to do over time.[67] Zuko had other contradictory traits, beliefs, and behaviors. He was domineering and controlling, a result of his upbringing as Fire Nation royalty, and disdained to work with people he believed were inferior; yet he adamantly refused to view people as expendable. He believed it was wrong to sacrifice able-bodied and willing troops as a diversionary tactic. During his banishment, he displayed zeal in pursuing the Avatar, using whatever means he thought necessary. Although he had said capturing the Avatar was a greater concern to him than the safety of his crew or himself, he showed compassion to those close to him, as evidenced when he chose to rescue Iroh when he was captured[38] rather than pursue Aang and by risking his own life to save a member of his crew during a fierce storm. When the crew spotted Aang, he ordered the ship and crew to safety instead of chasing the Avatar.[18] Even after all the hardship that he suffered at the hands of his sister, Azula, Zuko was still willing to vouch for her, giving her several chances for them to work together in order to find their mother. He even went as far as to show brotherly affection for her, inspired by Sokka's actions toward Katara.[2] He was prone to commit brash actions against his sister, however, despite his best efforts to stop fighting her, even going as far as almost throwing her off a cliff.[25] Zuko was able to show mercy, even to his enemies. When fighting an Agni Kai with Zhao, he decided to spare him unscathed, though Zhao had expressed every intention to hurt Zuko.[33] Even after Zhao had arranged for Zuko to be murdered, Zuko offered his hand in an attempt to save Zhao's life when the Ocean Spirit was about to drown him. Abilities: While growing up in the Fire Nation, Zuko showed no extraordinary skill in firebending. In his teen years, however, his ability began to develop significantly under his Uncle Iroh's tutelage, most noticeably during the last year of the Hundred Year War. He became able to fight on par with much more experienced firebenders, showing himself to be a late bloomer. He refined his skills to the point that he became a firebending master, but despite his skill and fast development as a firebender, he noted on more than one occasion that he was not as skilled or as powerful as his younger sister, Azula. As a child, Zuko could only create small bursts of flame and was by no means focused or controlled in his bending,[26] but by the time he was thirteen, he was confident enough in his abilities to readily accept a challenge of Agni Kai against General Bujing.[18] Around the time of Aang's discovery at the South Pole, Zuko was still learning the basics from Iroh yet was skilled enough to momentarily knock Aang off his ship, but he was defeated when Aang went into the Avatar State.[34] He utilized what he had been taught to defeat Zhao, an older and more experienced master firebender.[33] Throughout his pursuit of Aang, he demonstrated his skill often; he defeated multiple foes on two occasions.[38][37] Later, his skill grew. He fared well in a duel against Aang, delivering multiple fire blasts for a sustained period without tiring, but was defeated when he was paralyzed by June's confused shirshu.[41] He created a shield of fire to protect himself from a massive explosion on his ship.[42] During the Siege of the North, he fought Katara while the moon was nearly full. He held his own against her while she was strengthened by the moon but needed the power of the sun to gain the upper hand and defeat her with one fire blast.[43] He also landed a decisive victory in a rematch against Zhao.[44] After the Siege of the North, Zuko's firebending became more advanced and powerful. At first, he was unable to land any blows against Azula and was defeated rather easily.[45] He fought somewhat better during the Confrontation at Tu Zin; in a three-way battle with Azula and Aang, he exchanged several fire blasts with his sister and kept the Avatar on the defensive.[48] As his travels in the Earth Kingdom continued, however, he learned more advanced firebending techniques from Iroh, such as lightning redirection, becoming more efficient and refined.[49] During a battle with the Rough Rhinos, he sent a small bolt of fire through Vachir's bow, breaking the string.[104] He demonstrated the ability to fire multiple small blasts through two fingers rather than his whole fist.[4] During the battle in the Crystal Catacombs, he demonstrated how far he had progressed as a firebender. His fire blasts were more powerful, and he charged his attacks before releasing them, creating devastating bodies of enormous flame. He also demonstrated the ability to create two fire-whips capable of smashing through crystal pillars. He battled evenly with Aang, even though Aang skillfully used airbending and earthbending. After switching opponents with Azula, he battled evenly with Katara, a waterbending master who had the upper hand against Azula. Aside from his bending, Zuko became a master swordsman, specializing in dual-wielding dao blades. He learned these skills under the swordmaster Piandao.[29] He would use these skills as his primary tactics whenever he was in his Blue Spirit disguise,[47][40][105] unable to firebend, or when he needed to fight but also needed to conceal his firebending.[26] He was able to defeat multiple foes using only his swords, including experienced firebending soldiers.[40] He also dueled evenly with Jet and his dual hook swords until the fight was broken up by the Dai Li.[52] Zuko was able to defeat several Earth Kingdom soldiers with minimal effort by employing his swordsmanship skills in combination with unarmed combat and, in the same confrontation, demonstrated the ability to combine his sword skills with his firebending, allowing him to deliver more powerful and destructive attacks.[26] His skill was such that his father, Fire Lord Ozai, opted not to face him during an eclipse when neither of them could firebend.[64] He also defeated Sokka, a very proficient swordsman in his own right and a fellow student of Piandao, with ease in multiple sparring matches. He also had some experience with knives, being able to pierce a small object, like a horn, from a distance. In addition to his firebending and swordsmanship skills, Zuko was highly skilled in unarmed combat, able to break apart oncoming spears with his hands and legs[11] and disarm, subdue, or defeat opponents. Zuko was able to defeat several armed Earth Kingdom soldiers in rapid succession. Zuko was very physically capable, able to send a person flying with a single hand and smash through iron shackles with a single kick. He was also quite fast and agile, able to perform great acrobatic feats, such as running across walls,[15] doing mid-air twirls, scaling vertical faces with great efficiency and climbing speed, and jumping large distances to avoid enemy attacks with noticeable agility and free-running skills.[19] Zuko was stealthy and skilled in the art of infiltration, able to sneak into heavily defended fortresses and conceal himself effectively for long periods of time.[43][66][40] His skills served him well while he was disguised as the Blue Spirit. Zuko was also a skilled tracker; he was able to track the airborne Avatar all across the world, something that his friends later acknowledged in their search for a missing Aang. While not as naturally adept at strategy and academics as his sister, Zuko was quite intelligent. Throughout his travels, he proved himself to be a skilled strategist, able to exploit any situation to his advantage. For example, Zuko used his ship's damages as a smokescreen to conceal his movements from Zhao.[6] He was also able to form alliances with people with special skills, such as June,[41] and use them to his advantage.[39] As he matured, Zuko developed greater strategic skills and foresight, planning ahead to avoid landing himself in compromising predicaments. When he and Aang needed to enter a specific room in the Sun Warrior ruins, Zuko was able to outsmart the celestial calendar by using his dual dao swords to reflect the sun's rays on the sunstone at the correct angle, activating the mechanism to open the doors.[15] He also displayed good military, organizational, and leadership skills when he became Fire Lord, which he demonstrated when he re-organized the Fire Nation Army into a more compact and effective force and later commanded it in the battle for Yu Dao. His time being a "bad guy", as he put it, also gave him insight into certain situations. In the South Pole, Earth King Kuei was used as leverage by Gilak to capture Hakoda. Upon hearing the demands, Zuko correctly deduced that the man did not intend to keep either party alive and was able to warn his friends against complying.[79] As a leader, Zuko also displayed charisma and good public speaking. His speech to redeem the name of the Fire Nation at his coronation was warmly embraced, not only by his own people but by people of the other nations as well.[13] Despite a very tumultuous start, Zuko eventually came to be regarded as an excellent, benevolent Fire Lord, with his actions in helping create Republic City being recognized for many years. As a teacher, Zuko pulled from many traditions encompassing his own history of learning and the myriad teachers he had. He could be harsh when needed, and also understanding and patient, calling on the lessons of his uncle. Zuko wanted his students to understand that they needed to own, apologize, and make up for their own errors, and that taking in the whole of the world and all its differences and complexity would help them find their own balance. Appearance: black long Lucious hair, white and Asian, golden eyes, large burn on right side of face, attractive, 6’2, muscular.