Avatar Roku (voiced by James Garrett[1][2] and by Andrew Caldwell (in the younger days)) is Aang's immediate past life, a firebender Avatar, serving as his spiritual advisor.[3] In Book Three, it is revealed that Roku's aiding Aang is motivated by his guilt over failing to stop his childhood friend Sozin (with whom he happened to share a birthday), later the Fire Lord of Roku's time, from his campaign of war. Roku is also the grandfather of Azula and Zuko's mother Ursa and the great-grandfather of Zuko, Azula and their younger half-sister, Kiyi.[4] In the live-action film, Roku's role as Aang's guide is assumed by the Dragon Spirit (John Noble).
Roku is also Aang's predecessor as the Avatar and Kyoshi's successor as the Avatar.
Biography[]
Roku was the Fire Nation-born Avatar immediately succeeding Avatar Kyoshi and preceding Avatar Aang. Roku's memory served as a guiding force for Aang throughout his quest to end the Hundred Year War.
Roku was a wise and merciful Avatar with good intentions. Living in an period of change, technological revolution, and nationalist expansion, he worked tirelessly to maintain peace between the four nations during a time of complex political issues and tense diplomatic relations.[5] However, he himself acknowledged that he was too indecisive during his lifetime. Roku's long friendship with Fire Lord Sozin resulted in his reluctance to end his friend's life and thus his imperial ambitions. This ultimately led to Roku's death, preventing him from stopping a war which would last for one hundred years, something which weighed heavily on him in his afterlife. Aang inherited Roku's burden of healing the war-torn world, and Roku firmly believed Aang was destined to amend his mistakes.
Appearances[]
Appearances in Aang's life[]
A century after Roku's death, during a winter solstice, Aang was able to communicate with him by visiting the sanctuary of the temple that Roku had inhabited 112 years prior. There, Roku informed Aang of the impending return of Sozin's Comet and described Fire Lord Ozai's plan to harness the comet's energy and gain victory in the War. He entrusted the young Avatar with the task of mastering the four elements and defeating the Fire Lord before the comet's arrival, before the summer's end. Roku also helped Aang defeat a group of firebenders along with their leader, Admiral Zhao, who waited outside of the sanctuary to capture the young airbender by manifesting himself in Aang's place, seizing control of the fire bent at him and sent it back in a powerful wave that knocked back all opposition and melted the chains of those captured. Furious over the treachery of the Fire Sages, except Shyu, he used lavabending to awaken the dormant volcano directly underneath the temple, destroying the structure before the solstice ended during which he disappeared after the completion of his task.[6]
Roku aided Aang several times after this, appearing to Jeong Jeong to persuade him to teach his successor firebending after the deserter refused to teach the art. During the Siege of the North, he offered critical wisdom in the ways of the Spirit World, informing Aang of how he could save the Moon Spirit and defeat the invading Fire Navy. Later, after Aang entered the Avatar State without control after "losing" Katara due to General Fong, he revealed to Aang the nature of the Avatar State, including the fact that, if he was ever killed in the such a state, the Avatar Cycle would be broken and cease to exist.[7][8][9] Thus, he acted as somewhat of a mentor and spiritual guide for Aang.
Roku appeared to Aang in the Spirit World after the Air Nomad was struck by lightning from Azula during the Coup of Ba Sing Se, although the Avatar was revived by Katara who used spirit water to heal his spirit. He offered encouragement and shared his own experience in mastering the Avatar State.[10]
Shortly after, Roku showed himself to the young airbender once more, when the latter was feeling disheartened over his perceived failure in Ba Sing Se. Roku, however, blamed himself for the entire tragedy, saying that he should have foreseen the War and taken steps to prevent it. He proceeded to tell Aang that he believed it was his destiny to save the world and redeem him.[11] Shortly afterward, Roku appeared to Aang in a dream and said that the young Avatar should visit his homeland, where he would learn about the origins of the War. Aang entered the Spirit World and Roku guided Aang through his life, from his friendship with Sozin to his eventual death.[12]
Aang also communicated with Roku immediately prior to the arrival of Sozin's Comet. He told Roku that he felt insecure about killing Phoenix King Ozai, as he was taught by the Air Nomads to respect all life. While understanding Aang's discomfort, Roku insisted that Aang must kill Ozai in order to save the world. He told Aang that it was his reluctance to end Sozin's life that initially started the Hundred Year War, and that Aang must not make the same mistake by showing mercy to Fire Lord Ozai.[13]
A year after the Hundred Year War, Aang again called on Roku regarding the behavior of Fire Lord Zuko, Roku's great-grandson. Aang had promised to Zuko that he would end his life if he ever developed ridiculous plans just as his father had; the young Fire Lord appeared to be in such a mental state when he withdrew his support of the Harmony Restoration Movement. Roku again told Aang he needed to be decisive, as the former again expressed his regret for not ending Fire Lord Sozin's life when he had the chance.[14]
When discord erupted between the Fire Nation and the Earth Kingdom concerning the city of Yu Dao, Aang sought Roku's advice, who advocated him to uphold his promise with Zuko and kill him to keep the world in balance. Aang later arrived at Yu Dao to separate the two battling armies, but at the last moment chose to spare Zuko's life. A few days later, at Iroh's tea shop in Ba Sing Se, Roku berated Aang for his mercy in allowing Zuko to live and his failure to keep the four nations separate. Aang retorted that Roku's doctrine no longer applied in the post-war era. Stating that Roku could not teach him anymore in this era, Aang burned his fire amulet into ash, breaking the connection to his past life, a tear rolling down his cheek as he did so.[15] This later proved to have great repercussions when Yangchen explained to Aang that by severing his connection with Roku, he damaged his connection with all the Avatars before him as well, leaving Aang unable to contact his other past lives at will.[16]
With Aang needing to get in contact with Yangchen due to General Old Iron's approach, he re-established his connection with Roku by re-crafting the fire medallion for his meditation beads from stone with his earthbending. Roku appeared before his apologetic successor and offered him a hug. As they embraced, he told the young Avatar that his past lives could only advise him from their own perspectives and that he had to find balance, not just between human and spirit, but also the past and present. He pointed Aang to his most recent past lives leading up to Yangchen and added that he remember this advice as he looked for a solution to his current dilemma.[17]
Appearances in Korra's life[]
Roku appeared, along with Aang, Kuruk, Yangchen, Kyoshi, and all previous Avatars, before Korra when her bending was removed by Amon. He and every other Avatar present entered the Avatar State to restore her bending, and disappeared when this task was completed.[18] He also appeared when Korra was suffering from amnesia, taking over from Avatar Aang, and told her that in order to recover her identity, she needed to reconnect with her Avatar Spirit.[19]
While Unalaq was attacking Raava, Korra envisioned Roku among the Avatar lineup she had seen prior to regaining her bending; however, his connection to Korra was severed due to Unalaq's assault on and subsequent destruction of the light spirit.[20]
Personality[]
Roku was a warm hearted, wise, disciplined, and merciful Avatar. In his youth, he was a cheerful young man who wore his heart on his sleeve and easily befriended people around him, including Gyatso, Sud, and Sozin.[12] His affectionate nature remained even after his death as he offered his successor, Aang, a warm hug despite the young airbender damaging his connection to Roku and his other past lives.[17]
Even though he had a noble upbringing, his journey around the world to master the four elements made him realize what his privilege had afforded him, and he understood what it was like for those who lived in poverty. These experiences allowed him to understand his duty as the Avatar.[5] He appreciated novelty and individuality. Traveling extensively, he knew that the world was full of beautiful unique things. He believed that people were stronger when their talents were valued, and took time to listen what others had to say.[21]
Roku believed that friendship could transcend a single lifetime and showed immense devotion to his friends and loved ones. When recalling his youth with Prince Sozin, he did so with fondness and without any bitterness about how things later soured between them because of Sozin's ambition. However, this devotion also proved to be a weakness because upon having a chance to stop Sozin's mad conquest later in life, Roku spared him in honour of their friendship.[12] His traumatic death and the war that followed caused Roku's spirit to regret sparing his old friend and he advised Aang against making the same mistake, telling him that it would be best to kill Fire Lord Ozai.[22] This was also shown when Aang was in a predicament about whether to kill Zuko as per the promise he made to him if he ever acted like his father. After Aang refused to do so, Roku criticized him for his indecision.[23]
Roku was a wise and experienced man, and exuded competence and skill to others after he became a fully-realized Avatar.[21] Maintaining the peace between the four nations, Roku did everything in his power to negotiate, calm, and guide potentially volatile situations.[21] However, Roku was also aware of the limits of a single man's perception, telling Aang that he did not have all the answers and could only advise him from his own point of view.[17] He was self-critical, believing himself to be an indecisive man and acknowledging that Sozin had used his own merciful nature against him as Roku could have prevented the Hundred Year War if he had been decisive enough to kill the Fire Lord.[13] Roku was not above intimidating people in order to maintain balance in the world but rarely followed through with his threats, something he regretted after his death.[12][7]
Behind the scenes[]
- Avatar Roku's first appearance in the series was in the opening sequence.
- Avatar Roku first appeared as a statue within a shrine;[24] Aang mentioned that although he never met him, he felt a particular connection to his previous incarnation.
- Roku's voice actor, James Garrett, narrated an interlude episode called "The Legend So Far" that recapped the first seventeen episodes of the first season and was also the voice that said "Previously on Avatar ..." when it appeared before an episode began. Roku was also silhouetted in the opening sequence of every episode as the Avatar that demonstrated the use of all four elements.
- Roku was the only named Avatar to appear as an elderly man when called upon by the current Avatar; all the others are represented during their primes.
- Roku destroyed the Fire Nation Palace once and the Fire Temple twice.
- In both the opening sequence and "The Avatar and the Fire Lord", Roku bent all four elements in the pattern of the Avatar Cycle, and both times he bent them in exactly the same way, first water, followed by earth, fire, and air.
- Roku, Kyoshi, Aang, and Korra are all known to have defied the leaders of their respective nations. Roku nearly killed Fire Lord Sozin in an attempt to stop his imperialistic actions. Kyoshi, at first, refused to aid the 46th Earth King when he asked her to aid in the peasant uprising in Ba Sing Se. Aang did not move to the Eastern Air Temple as ordered by the monks and instead ran away. Korra aided the Southern Water Tribe rebels against the then chief of both Water Tribes, Unalaq, and later killed him when he became the Dark Avatar.
- Both Avatar Roku and Avatar Aang had to combat a volcanic eruption. Roku fatally did so against the volcano on his island, and Aang against Mt. Makapu in Makapu Village.
- Roku is shown as the firebender in the opening sequence of The Legend of Korra.
- Roku seemed to utilize airbending more than any other element while fighting the volcano on his home island.[12]
- Roku was the last Avatar to learn of his Avatar status and master the elements in the traditional manner; he was told of his status at the age of 16 and traveled to the other nations to learn the other elements. His immediate successor, Aang, was informed of his status at the age of 12, while the last known Avatar, Korra, was discovered to be the Avatar at the age of 4 and taught the other elements at a secluded compound in the South Pole.
- In the Polish translation of the series, "Roku" is renamed "Roko" so as to avoid calling him "Awatar Roku", which translates directly into "Avatar of the year". However, in the Czech translation, he is named Roku even through "Avatar Roku" can still translate into "Avatar of the year".[25]
References[]
- ↑ "James Garrett", Hollywood.com, November 21, 2008.
- ↑ "James Garrett from Avatar: The Last Airbender". Film.com (October 28, 2008).
- ↑ Director: Ethan Spaulding; Writer: Elizabeth Welch Ehasz (October 26, 2007). "Avatar Roku (Winter Solstice Part 2)". Avatar: The Last Airbender. Season 1. Episode 8. Nickelodeon.Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css must have content model "Sanitized CSS" for TemplateStyles (current model is "Scribunto").
- ↑ Director: Giancarlo Volpe; Writer: Michael Dante DiMartino (April 15, 2005). "The Avatar and the Firelord". Avatar: The Last Airbender. Season 3. Episode 7. Nickelodeon.Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css must have content model "Sanitized CSS" for TemplateStyles (current model is "Scribunto").
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Avatar Legends: The Roleplaying Game. Core Book, Version 1.0, 2022, p. 44.
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- ↑ 21.0 21.1 21.2 Avatar Legends: The Roleplaying Game. Core Book, Version 1.0, 2022, p. 292.
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- ↑ "Translation of the name "Awatar Roku"". Google.