Did you know that Avatar-The Last Airbender were comics written in Nickelodean Magazine? They also became

Nickelodean cartoons and then an M. Night Shyamalan movie? Long-time Airbender fans, know this, but those who are just now being introduced to this fantastic story friendship, humility and triumph do not know this. So to fine what is called ‘back end’ stories, you have to look to the comics.

The widely successful Nickelodean ended with Aang defeating the Fire Lord after he mastered, water, earth and fire. The Avatar did not want to ‘end’ the Fire Lord because it went against his belief as a monk that all live is sacred. So instead, he took away the Fire Lord’s bending so he could no longer use it to hurt people.

Zuko, his son, then became the new Fire Lord and the series ended with Aang and Zuko becoming friends and vowing to usher in an era of peace among the four nations. Katara and Aang finally expressed their love for each other with a passionate kiss (well, as passionate as it can get for a kid’s cartoon), at the end. So we are left with a sense that all is right.

Then Nickelodean announces and Legend of Korra. Korra is the new Avatar and picks up where Aang left off. Avatar Aang’s spirit is reincarnated into Korra, a very stubborn teenage girl from the Southern Water tribe. Before Aang died, he made provisions for the Order of the White Lotus to search for, find the new Avatar and keep her safe until she mastered all the elements. The series starts with Tenzin, Aang and Katara’s son, narrating and explaining how team Avatar set up Republic City where all benders and non-benders alike can live in harmony. Tenzin and his family are the only Airbenders on the earth, since the Fire Nation killed all of the Airbenders in hopes of keeping the new Avatar from being reborn into the Air Nomads. So Avatar Korra can only learn airbending from Tenzin who is the only airbending master on the planet. Tenzin was supposed to travel to the Southern Water Tribe where his mother Katara and the Order of the White Lotus were teaching and keeping Korra safe until she mastered all bending forms. However, Republic City is under attack and Tenzin travels to the Southern Water Tribe to tell his mother and Korra that Korra’s airbending training will have to wait. Korra disapproves of this and with Katara’s blessing, runs away to Republic City and Air Temple Island to find Tenzin so he can teach her, war or no war.

So What Happned In Between and How Did Republic City Get Established?

In the Legend of Korra, we are shown bits and pieces what Aang and team Avatar were like after Sozin’s Comet-the final battle. But many Airbender fans loved Aang so much that they wanted to find out what happended to him. Korra is great and all, but she’s no Aang. I personally don’t think any Avatar that comes after Aang will compare to him. That’s probably because since he was trapped in the iceberg for 100 years, he was still a 12-year-old kid when he began his mission, and the audience was learning along with him. So he’s more like a fellow student or colleague and so the fellowship is great with airbending fans with Aang that with any other Avatar. So they want to know more about him and what happened after he defeated the Fire Lord and helped Zuko take his rightful place on the throne.

We can guess, that Aang and Katara got married since they have three children (Tenzin, Bumi and Kya) from what we see in the Legend of Korra, We can also see that Toph got married and had a daughter, Lin, who is the chief of police for Republic City. Toph also perfected metal bending which is the main bending from for Lin’s police officers. As for Sokka, we only see bits and pieces of him in Korra. I gather with season 2 of Korra, we’ll see more flashbacks and find out what happened to team Avatar.

However, there are a few back story comics that tell of the journey of team Avatar after the Final Battle. These comics are entitled, The Promise (Parts 1, 2 and 3) and The Search (Part 1 and 2).

The videos below are The Promise. Fire Lord Zuko made Avatar Aang promise to ‘end’ him if he turns bad like his father. Aang reluctantly made the promise even though it goes against his beliefs as a monk. The Promise also to shows you how and why Republic City was established. It’s a must read and a must to add to your collection. All Avatar fans should have the original comics, it’s just a must! Here’s ‘The Promise.’

NOTE: The comics are on Youtube but you should respect the artists and the work that goes into creating Avatar-The Last Airbender and purchase the comics. You can both The Promise and The Search from Amazon.

‘The Promise’ (Part 2)

‘The Promise’ (Part 3)

The Promise picks up about a year after The Final Battle shows the development of Aang and Katara’s relationship, Show’s how Toph’s metal bending school began and we also see that uncle Iroh went back to Ba Sing Se and established that tea shop he always wanted. Aang also finds out that Fire Lord Zuko is Avatar Rouku’s grandson. Zuko wanted to find the good side of his family wants to go on a mission to find out what happened to his mother. This mission is depicted in ‘The Search.’

For those who love team Avatar, the Promise and The Search good places to look if you want to find out what happened after Sozin’s Comet-The Final Battle.