At this point, Avatar: The Last Airbender has been labeled as the pinnacle of children’s television. With a well-plotted story, strong and influential characters, and a powerful message, this well-animated show captured the hearts of kids, teens, and adults alike. The detailed world of the Four Nations and its complex lore served as a wonderful backdrop to a tale of forgiveness, friendship, and balance. Aang and his friends gave us a lot of entertaining and heartfelt moments that are still talked about today. While Aang is the official main character, there was one of the gang that stood out; Katara.
When we first meet Katara, she and Sokka are fighting out in the ice. She is a self-taught waterbender with potential and skill. Over her journey with Aang, Katara continued to work on growing her waterbending until she was skilled enough to teach Aang, the Avatar himself. Katara has been undefeated in battle; she keeps her cool in battle and is an excellent tactician. Her motherly role in the group makes her seem like a goody two shoes, but Katara is not afraid to break the rules if necessary. Katara is a true master of waterbending and is one of the people closest to the Avatar. While she does want to protect her friends and be with Aang, Katara’s goals never solely revolve around men and nor does she ever advance without effort. Katara is awesome – what other secrets is she hiding? Let us know if you knew all these facts.
24 Hot And Cold
While Katara seems calm and collected, it turns out that she has a temper. Many episodes see her fighting with a teammate or generally being salty. Not only that, but Katara has a tendency to hold grudges. We first saw a glimpse of this with Jet, who Katara had a thing for until he betrayed her. After that, Katara treated him with contempt, mistrust, and outright hostility. Zuko received the same treatment and even a threat to his life should he step out of line. Tough girl.
23 Fast Learner
While the story focuses on Aang’s looming deadline of learning all four elements in one summer, Katara’s bending journey cannot be ignored. Katara went from being a basic self-taught waterbender to a powerful master unbeaten in battle in less than a year. Katara mastered waterbending itself and its two main subsets; healing and bloodbending. Healing was discovered accidentally when Aang burned her and bloodbending was forced upon her by the evil Hama; nonetheless, Katara adapted and practiced hard until she could teach Aang herself.
22 World Famous
If Katara was powerful and masterful as a teenager, imagine how amazing she would be at her craft as an older woman. Luckily, we do not have to imagine as she appears in Avatar: The Legend Of Korra. In Korra, Katara has become a world-famous healer and fighter in her own right, with her fame enhanced by her marriage to Aang the Avatar. Unfortunately, she did not get to show-off much in Korra, but Katara did take Korra on as her pupil.
21 What’s In A Name?
Katara is such a well-known character that, on hearing the name Katara, many people will think of her. That being said, Katara was not going to be given this name. During the pitch stage of Avatar: The Last Airbender’s development, Katara was called Kya. However, this was changed as a popular video game protagonist was called this. Another name that was considered was Kanna, but ultimately the writers went with Katara. However, they still paid homage to her development by naming her mother and Gran Gran Kanna and Kya respectively.
20 Out Of The Closet
Not only is Katara a loving mother but she is also a supportive one. In the comics, Aang and Katara go on to have three children, one of whom is a daughter named Kya. Kya is gay came out to her parents at a young age. As can be expected, Aang and Katara are both very supportive and happy to meet any young lady she brings home. Kya does feature in Korra and this is touched on, but it is not as obvious as it is in the comics.
19 Sitting In A Tree
Everyone remembers their first crush; unfortunately for Katara, her first crush, Jet, was a lot to deal with. First, Jet seemed like a rebel with a cause, then he turned out to be a jerk, then he became a brainwashed good guy before passing on – talk about a bad time. However, it was left unconfirmed within the show whether Jet and Katara actually kissed in the forest. Lucky for Jet/Katara fans, it was confirmed by the team externally that they did indeed kiss that one time.
18 Good Girls And Bad Boys
It’s a tale as old as time; the good girl falling for the bad boy. It’s all over TV shows, music, and movies. With Katara being a good girl with a rebellious streak, it is no wonder she likes edgy bad boys. Think about the guys she has had crushes on; Jet, the rebel with a cause and Zuko the disgraced prince. This clear preference caused Aang much angst within the show and made him jealous. Luckily, Aang is chosen by Katara in the end.
17 See You On The Other Side
Living in wartime usually decreases peoples’ general life expectancy. However, in a time of peace and prosperity, human lifespans increase. While we do not have a general figure of how long people can expect to live after the Fire Nation’s defeat, we know that Katara shot past whatever the average is. In Avatar: The Legend Of Korra, Katara is a much older woman than we remember seeing last time. Her wisdom and skill have earned her much respect and admiration, as she deserves. Even with white hair, we all know she is still the same Katara.
16 A Legendary Teacher
In Avatar: The Legend Of Korra, it is known throughout the Four Nations that Katara is the ultimate waterbender and Master Healer. However, she became a master long before peace ruled the land. In fact, Katara has taught two Avatars, Aang and Korra, and met four Avatars. While she has met Aang and Korra in person, Katara has also met Kyoshi and Roku while they were possessing Aang’s body. Not many people can say they did these things, making Katara even more impressive.
15 A Martial Arts Master
Katara has fully mastered waterbending, art designed to sap your opponent’s energy until you create the perfect moment to strike. Waterbending is arguably the most powerful bending style, depending on who you ask. However, mastering a style of bending also means mastering a martial art. It is well known that the bending styles are each based on a unique form of martial art; waterbending is based on Tai Chi, the art of flowing and manipulating the body's energy that is devastating when mastered.
14 Smooth Moves
Being a martial artist and bender demands your body to be in peak physical condition. Martial arts teaches your body fluidity, precision, and dexterity; all qualities that are useful in dancing. Is it any wonder, then, that Aang and Katara busted out some amazing moves in that Fire Nation cave party? Their moves were as fluid, confident, and beautiful as their bending and fighting moves. If being an Avatar and Master Healer had not worked out, perhaps Aang and Katara would have been suited to performing.
13 Calm Down
Being in the Avatar state causes the Avatar to be at their most powerful whilst simultaneously being at their most vulnerable. This is why Avatars do their best to not enter this state if possible, yet it does happen. For Aang, it usually happens when he is in mortal danger or if he is deeply emotional. In the beginning, Aang had a hard time controlling his Avatar state. One person who could control Aang in this state is Katara; her presence and words soothed Aang and helped bring him back to consciousness.
12 A Reliable Narrator?
Everyone who watched the original Avatar series remembers the opening; ‘Water. Earth. Fire. Air. Long ago, the Four Nations lived together in harmony. Then everything changed when the fire nation attacked…’ The voice sounds familiar, but no-one really pays attention to it. However, the person narrating the opening to every episode is Katara; the entire series is from her perspective. This brings the whole show into question; is she a reliable narrator? Are the events told correctly? Did all of this even happen? Who knows?
11 Not Afraid To Get Dirty
While Katara is a moral person with high standards, she is not afraid to get dirty if she has to. Katara will happily enter a fight and battle opponents. She is also willing to break the rules to get what she wants, like with the pirates’ waterbending scroll. Katara will also steal food or water where necessary to ensure that they all remain alive and well on their journey. Now that is a strong woman and a great friend.
10 Rules Are Made To Be Broken
When visiting the Northern Water Tribe, Katara wanted to learn how to waterbend like a master but was turned away due to her gender. Not satisfied with the rejection, Katara fought the master verbally and physically until she finally got to learn. Katara has even broken her own personal rule of not bloodbending to save Aang and Sokka when their lives were in danger. She does not break the rules often, but when she does it usually leads to some interesting situations.
9 K.O.
Being the strongest waterbender in the world is no easy feat, but one that Katara earned with hard work and dedication. Out of the original trio, Katara is without a doubt the strongest fighter. Besides Toph, Katara is the strongest fighter in the group as a whole and also the most consistent. She never loses a battle and always keeps her cool while in battle. Katara has always worked on her skills, improving and learning from others where possible until she gained this impressive title.
8 Keep Your Cool
When fighting someone in any situation, it can be difficult to remain calm. Not only that but if you are fighting for your life it can be even harder to concentrate. Throughout the series, the gang have to avoid being captured or losing their lives while in battle with enemies. For an adult, this would be hard, but it is almost impossible to imagine children and young teens keeping their cool in the heat of a fight to the end. Katara has always been the best at maintaining her composure while fighting an opponent. In fact, this is when she seems the calmest at times.
7 Hard Work Makes The Dream Work
Often in fantasy and adventure stories, power and skill are thrust upon you all at once or gained with minimal effort. Thankfully, Avatar: The Last Airbender managed to stay away from this formula for the most part. All benders have to work at their craft to get better and learn new techniques; even Aang has to work at it. Katara is one of the most dedicated workers in this sense, as we constantly see her practicing and honing her waterbending technique. She even learns two subsets on waterbending without necessarily having to.
6 It's Raining…Or Is It?
Water is in every single living thing. It is this indisputable fact that separates waterbenders from other benders. We know that it is possible for Katara to obtain water from unusual sources; she makes her sweat into a weapon in the wooden prison and even pulls water from plants around her. However, when hunting the man who harmed her mother, Katara uses a different tactic. Instead, she stops the rain in the sky, forms icy blades, and throws them at him with alarming accuracy. Controlling the weather is truly something else.
5 An Unstoppable Force Meets An Immovable Object
The final battle of Avatar: The Last Airbender was incredibly intense; viewers were following Aang’s battle with Phoenix King Ozai and also watching Zuko’s Agni Kai against his sister, Fire Lord Azula. The Agni Kai was particularly intense due to Azula’s unpredictable mindset and Incredible power. After Zuko was hit with a lightning bolt, Katara tricked Azula into getting close to a body of water and chains. From there, Katara froze them both at the right moment, unfreezing the water around her to let her restrain Azula before letting the water go. It was a true display of mastery in a life-threatening moment.