No, I've learned everything! And I've had to learn it on my own! Growing up, we were taught that the Fire Nation was the greatest civilization in history. And somehow, the War was our way of sharing our greatness with the rest of the world. What an amazing lie that was. The people of the world are terrified by the Fire Nation. They don't see our greatness. They hate us! And we deserve it! We've created an era of fear in the world. And if we don't want the world to destroy itself, we need to replace it with an era of peace and kindness.
„
~ Zuko explains the true purpose of the Fire Nation while confronting his father.noicon
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Sokka: My first girlfriend turned into the moon. Zuko: ...That's rough buddy.
„
~ Zuko trying to sympathize with Sokka and his most famous quote.noicon
Fire Lord Zuko, formerly known as Prince Zuko, is one of the two tritagonists (alongside Katara) of Nickelodeon's Avatar Legends franchise.
He was the Crown Prince of the Fire Nation, who was banished by his father, Fire Lord Ozai, and sought to capture Avatar Aang to redeem himself, initially serving as one of the main enemies of Team Avatar. After some time, he realized that what he and the Fire Nation were doing was wrong and joined Aang and his companions, serving as Aang's firebending instructor. He became Fire Lord after he defeated his sister Azula, with the help of Katara, on the day that would have marked the coronation of her as Fire Lord.
In The original series, he is voiced by Dante Basco who also played Rufio in Hook, Jake Long in American Dragon, Azymondias in The Dragon Prince, and Iroh in The Legend of Korra.
In The Legend of Korra, he was voiced by Bruce Davison.
In The Last Airbender movie, he was portrayed by Dev Patel
In the Netflix adaptation, he is portrayed by Dallas Liu
In Avatar: The Last Airbender - Quest for Balance & Nickelodeon Kart Racers 3: Slime Speedway, he was voiced by Vincent Tong, who also voiced Kai in Ninjago, Prince Nicholas in Barbie: Princess Charm School, Flash Sentry in My Little Pony: Equestria Girls film series, Sandbar in the My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic TV series, and Eugene Wong in Dragons: The Nine Realms.
In the upcoming Aang: The Last Airbender movie, he will be voiced by Steven Yeun who also portrayed Glenn Rhee in The Walking Dead, and voiced Little Cato in Final Space, Wan in The Legend of Korra, Nathan "Wingspan" Park in Stretch Armstrong and the Flex Fighters, Steve Palchuk in the Tales of Arcadia franchise, Keith in Voltron: Legendary Defender, and Invincible from the TV series of the same name.
Overview
Zuko is a firebending master, born as a prince in the Fire Nation Royal Family, who held the throne to the Fire Nation from 100 AG to 167 AG. His story often paralleled that of Avatar Aang. Initially Team Avatar's primary enemy, Zuko's life revolved around trying to capture the long-lost Avatar to end his banishment and regain his honor as Crown Prince of the Fire Nation.
Zuko is easily recognized by the distinctive scar on the left side of his face. It was given to him by his father, Fire Lord 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.
With support from his uncle, General Iroh, and after much internal struggle and turmoil, Zuko rejected Ozai and his model of the Fire Nation. He instead joined the Avatar's group to become Aang's friend and firebending teacher and was determined to end the war and restore both his and the Fire Nation's honor. While Aang defeated Ozai, Zuko, with the help of Katara, defeated his prodigious younger sister, Princess Azula, and took his place as Fire Lord, declaring the end of the Hundred Year War and the start of an era of love and peace.
At the beginning of his reign, Zuko had to overcome great difficulties and solve several crises, especially those caused by the Harmony Restoration Movement. Nevertheless, he succeeded in maintaining peace and eventually became one of the founders of the United Republic of Nations. Zuko retired from his position as Fire Lord in 167 AG and became an ambassador of peace, relinquishing the throne to his daughter.
Personality
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I'M ANGRY AT MYSELF!
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~ Zuko confessing his self-hatred to Azula, Mai, and Ty Lee.noicon
Prince Zuko has always been obsessed with pride and honor, as is emphasized within the Fire Nation culture and his family in particular. Throughout the series, especially Book 1, he's seen as a serious and headstrong teenager, stopping at nothing to find the Avatar in order to "regain his honor" as well as his place back home. Despite being an antagonist as well as acting rude and cold to almost everyone around him for the majority of the series, he's been shown to have his own morals and principles, such as when he spares Zhao after their Agni Kai or when he upholds his promise to Aang to not harm anyone from the Water Tribe if he came with him. Also despite claiming he didn't care for his crewmates' wellbeing and that capturing the Avatar was more important, he ends up putting their safety first when they end up caught in a storm, willingly letting Aang slip away in the process. He greatly values Iroh and sees him as his own father. Even if he doesn't openly show it most times, he does love him and takes his advice to heart.
As a child, while still living with his family, Zuko was an upbeat young boy who had a loving relationship with his mother and is shown to be happier and more openly caring than his present self. Before being banished, he also stood up for the Fire Nation's soldiers when a plan was proposed to sacrifice them in order to win a battle. After his banishment, although he's hardened and rude due to the trauma he faced, he still has that same kindness and selflessness from when he was a boy inside him, which is shown more and more as the show progresses, especially in Book 2 onwards, such as when he protects a boy named Lee and his village from a group of Earth Kingdom Soldiers who were abusing their power, calling them out for it in the process. As he interacts with others in his free time, it's evident he's on the quieter side and is socially awkward, which is especially highlighted when he goes on a date with Jin, not knowing what to talk about with her and angrily telling a waiter that she's not his girlfriend when he calls her that or when he hesitantly lies about being able juggle, embarassing himself and making a mess when he tries to do so. Even then, he displays a softer side when he willingly lights a fountain for Jin by using his Firebending, knowingly risking his identity getting exposed. Despite his development and his slow realization about how much the Fire Nation's actions have hurt others however, when he's given the opportunity to return home by fighting with Azula, he sides with her, betraying Iroh in the process, although he does show instant regret after the battle is over.
In Book 3, after returning home and officially "regaining his honor", Zuko's shown to feel guilt, remorse, and confusion instead of happiness like he expected. He visits Iroh in prison on multiple occasions, seeking his guidance and wisdom, showing he still cares about him and values his opinions and input. His conflicting emotions finally explode when he goes on a beach trip with Azula, Mai, and Ty Lee, admitting he's angry with himself because he's not sure he knows the difference between right and wrong anymore. Later, when Team Avatar retreats after a failed attack on the Fire Lord, he fully redeems himself by making the choice to go join them and train Aang, apologizing to them for all the trouble he's caused, admitting that he's realized restoring your honor isn't something that's given to you, but something you earn for yourself. After officially joining the team, he still acts grumpy, but has considerably mellowed out compared to when he first started his hunt for Aang, looking to get along with everyone in the group and even socializing and joking with them, something he would never have done before. By the end of the series, he's evolved from the fierce Prince of the Fire Nation to the peaceful Fire Lord, announcing his intent to bring in an era of love with the help of Aang.
Powers and Abilities
Firebending
Zuko's firebending limit, enhanced by Sozin's comet.
Zuko is a very skilled firebender who controls his fire quite well, though not at the same level as his gifted sister, Azula, who can create both blue fire and lightning.
When challenged to Agni Kai by Admiral Zhao, Zuko was able to beat him fairly easily, thanks to all his training. Zuko's fire was fueled by rage and anger, which he had plenty of, but when he redeemed himself and joined Team Avatar, his rage lowered and his firebending weakened. It was later when he realized that Firebending was not fueled by anger, but determination, where his fire bending grew once again due to his determination to take his spot at the throne and help Aang defeat his father.
Lightning Redirection
Zuko redirects Ozai's lightning.
Zuko attempted to learn lightning bending from Iroh after his and Iroh's lives were threatened by Azula. He failed to master it at every attempt, however, as he had not faced his "inner turmoil", as a lightening bender must know precisely what they truly want, and Zuko had always been borderline between his father's expectations and his own free will. When he finally seemed to decide on free will, Zuko took a shocking turn back into his fathers expectations when he was given the ultimate chance to kill the Avatar.
In the end, Zuko didn't learn how to bend Lightning. Instead, Iroh taught him how to absorb and redirect lightning, something neither Azula nor Ozai were knowledgeable of. He later employed this technique against his father (when he left the Nation) and Azula (to protect Katara). In the latter engagement, Zuko redirected the blast in an improper stance, as he had jumped into the lightning's path, and so failed to redirect it completely and resulted in serious injury. Though he seems to have overcome his inner turmoil, he does not create lightning for the remainder of the series.
Physical Abilities
Zuko's swordsmanship.
In addition to his firebending, Zuko is highly skilled in unarmed combat, able to break apart oncoming spears with his hands and legs, and disarm, subdue or defeat opponents. He is also equally masterful with his dual dao blades, the latter skill he picked up after being trained by the sword master Piandao. He would use these two skills as his primary tactics whenever he was in his Blue Spirit disguise, unable to firebend, or when he needed to fight but also needed to conceal his firebending. He was able to defeat multiple foes using only his swords. He also dueled evenly with Jet and his dual hook swords until the fight was broken up by the Dai Li and Jet was arrested. Zuko defeated several Earth Kingdom soldiers with his Dao swords and minimum effort, only resorting to firebending when faced with a powerful earthbender; even then he was able to hold off the earthbender's attacks for several moments with only his blades. His skill was such that his father, Fire Lord Ozai, opted not to face him during an eclipse, when neither of them could firebend.
Zuko shows his agility, as he bypasses the trap by running across the adjoining wall in The Firebending Masters.
Zuko is very physically capable, able to almost nonchalantly launch a person with a single hand and smash through iron shackles with a single kick. He is also quite fast and agile, able to perform great acrobatic feats, such as running across walls, 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. Zuko is skilled at infiltration and stealth; able to sneak into heavily-defended fortresses and conceal himself effectively for long periods of time. All of these skills would serve him while he was disguised as the Blue Spirit. Zuko was also a skilled tracker, able to track the airborne Avatar all across the world, something that his friends later acknowledged in hopes of finding Aang when he disappeared.
While not as naturally adept at strategy and academics as his sister, Zuko is quite intelligent. Throughout the series, he demonstrated himself to be a skilled strategist, able to exploit any situation to his advantage. Zuko used his ship's damages as a smokescreen to conceal his movements from Zhao. He is also able to form alliances with people with special skills, such as June, and use them to his advantage. However, Zuko tended to have a hot-headed nature that caused him to never fully think his actions through. For example, he was able to his exploit advantages in the Northern Water Tribe, and get into the Spirit Oasis to capture Aang, but he did not figure a way back out ahead of time which caused him to almost freeze to death. Zuko began to think things out more toward the end of the series, and he started to plan things out and think ahead to solve problems more often. When he and Aang needed to get in a specific room in the Sun Warrior ruins, Zuko was able to outsmart the Celestial Calendar, as it would only allow the room to open during a solstice. Zuko is also a gifted tsungi horn player, although it is clear that it is not his favorite instrument.
Enhanced Strength
It’s been shown that Zuko’s kicks are strong enough to break through steel chains.
Quotes
Avatar: The Last Airbender
“
Finally!
„
~ Zuko's first words in the series as he spots the beam of light.
“
'I don't need any calming tea! I need to capture the Avatar!'
„
~ Zuko's first outburst
“
The sages tell us that the Avatar is the last airbender. He must be over a hundred years old by now. He's had a century to master the four elements! I'll need more than basic firebending to defeat him. Youwill teach me the advanced set!
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~ Zuko to Iroh during one of his training sessions.
That "kid", Uncle, just did this. I won't underestimate him again. Dig the ship out and follow them!... As soon as you're done with that
„
~ Zuko after Aang and his compatriots escape from him the first time.
“
Next time you get in my way, I promise, I won't hold back.
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~ Zuko to Zhao after defeating him in an Agni Kai.
“
You can't sacrifice an entire division like that! Those soldiers love and defend our nation, how can you betray them!
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~ Zuko disapproving of a general's plans for cannon fodder, unaware of the consequences that would befall him.
“
Zuko: Please, Father. I only had the Fire Nation's best interest at heart. I'm sorry I spoke out of turn!
Ozai: You will fight for your honor. Zuko: I meant you no disrespect. I am your loyal son. Ozai:Rise and fight, Prince Zuko! Zuko: I won't fight you. Ozai: You will learn respect, and suffering will be your teacher.
„
~ Zuko pleading to his father during their Agni Kai, before he gets scarred for life.
“
How, Uncle? With Zhao's resources, it's just a matter of time before he captures the Avatar. My honor, my throne, my country, I'm about to lose them all.
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~ Zuko feeling hopeless after hearing of Zhao's promotion to admiral.
Katara: No. Zuko:Yes, hand him over and I won't have to hurt you.
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~ Zuko arriving in the spirit oasis before fighting Katara to get to an unconscious Aang.
“
You little peasant. You found a master, haven't you?
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~ Zuko to Katara after she traps him in ice.
“
You rise with the moon... I rise with the sun.
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~ Zuko to an unconscious Katara after beating her and taking Aang.
“
I finally have you, but I can't get you home because of this blizzard. There's always something. Not that you would understand. You're like my sister. Everything always came easy to her. She's a Firebending prodigy, and everyone adores her. My father says she was born lucky. He says I was lucky to be born. I don't need luck, though. I don't want it. I've always had to struggle and fight and that's made me strong. It's made me who I am.
~ Zuko revealing he's alive to Zhao before battling him one last time
“
Three years ago today, I was banished. I lost it all. I want it back. I want the Avatar, I want my honor, my throne. I want my father not to think I'm worthless.
„
~ A grumpy Zuko when he's reminded that today in the anniversary of his banishment.
“
Earth kingdom it is
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~ Zuko agreeing to settle in the Earth Kingdom.
“
You've always thrown everything you could at me! Well I can take It, and now I can give it back!
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~ Zuko's breakdown during a lightning storm.
“
My name is Zuko, son of Ursa and Fire Lord Ozai, prince of the Fire Nation, and heir to the throne.
„
~ Zuko announcing who he is to the earth kingdom village.
I used to think this scar marked me—the mark of the banished prince, cursed to chase the Avatar forever. But lately, I've realized I'm free to determine my own destiny, even if I'll never be free of my mark.
„
~ Zuko's inner turmoil to Katara.
“
I've heard about you. They say you're good at what you do, and even better at keeping secrets. The Avatar is alive. I want you to find him, and end him.
„
~ Zuko hiring Combustion Man to finish Aang for good.
“
Zuko: For so long, all I wanted was for you to love me, to accept me. I thought it was my honor that I wanted, but really, I was just trying to please you. You, my father, who banished me just for talking out of turn! My father, who challenged me, a thirteen-year-old boy, to an Agni Kai! How can you possibly justify a duel with a child? Ozai: It was to teach you respect! Zuko: It was cruel! And it was wrong. Ozai: Then you have learned nothing!
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~ Zuko confronting his father Ozai and calling him out for all the terrible things he has done to him.
“
Ozai: Your uncle has gotten to you, hasn't he? Zuko: ...Yes. He has.
„
~ Zuko admitting to Ozai that he really has gotten close to Iroh, the one who's been the real dad to him.
“
Uggh! Why am I so bad at being good?!
„
~ Zuko after accidentally setting Toph's feet on fire.
“
Listen, I know I didn't explain myself very well yesterday, I've been through a lot in the last few years, and it's been hard. But I'm realizing that I had to go through all those things to learn the truth. I thought I had lost my honor, and that somehow my father could return it to me. But I know now that no one can give you your honor. It's something you earn for yourself, by choosing to do what's right. All I want to do now is play my part in ending this war, and I know my destiny is to help you restore balance to the world. I'm sorry for what I did to you. It was an accident. Fire can be dangerous and wild, so as a firebender, I need to be more careful and control my bending, so I don't hurt people unintentionally.
„
~ Zuko explains to Team Avatar of how much he's been going through his entire life changing himself for the better.
“
Uncle... I know you must have mixed feelings about seeing me, but I want you to know... that I am so, so sorry, uncle. I am so sorry and ashamed of what I did. I don't know how I can ever make it up to you, but I-
„
~ Zuko tearfully apologizing to Iroh before being pulled into a hug by him.
“
Zuko: How can you forgive me so easily? I thought you would be furious with me?!
Iroh: I was never angry with you. I was sad because I was afraid you had lost your way. Zuko: I did lose my way. Iroh: But you found it again. And you did it by yourself. And I am so happy you found your way here. Zuko: It wasn't that hard, Uncle. You have a pretty strong scent.
„
~ Zuko happy to learn that Iroh truly never gave up hope on him as they reunite.
“
Katara, how would you like to help me put Azula in her place?
„
~ Zuko asking Katara to help him bring Azula down for good.
“
Sorry, but you're not gonna become firelord today, I AM.
„
~ Zuko as he and Katara arrive to finish Azula once and for all.
“
No you're not.
„
~ Zuko before engaging in one final Agni Kai for the fire nation throne.
“
Today, this war is finally over! I promised my uncle that I would restore the honor of the Fire Nation. And I will. The road ahead of us is challenging, a hundred years of fighting has left the world scarred and divided. But with the Avatar's help, we can get it back on the right path, and begin a new era of love and peace.
„
~ Zuko's coronation speech to the other heroes and nations following the end of the Hundred Year War.
Comics
“
I know this is risky, but I'm going to tell you the truth. I feel disconnected from the good in my own family... and in my own nation. For a whole host of reasons, I believe finding my mother would help me reconnect. I've had conversation over conversation with Ozai and it's gone nowhere. He refuses to reveal what happened to her. So I've come to an uncomfortable conclusion. You are the only person in the world who can coax the information I need out of Ozai. Tell me, then... what do you want in return for helping me find mother?
„
~ Zuko asking a mentally-unstable Azula to help them find their mom.
The Legend of Korra
“
Do you have any idea the power these criminals possess? Individually, they can take down any bender. Put them all together, they could take down the entire world. And now you're telling me that their leader is an airbender?
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~ Zuko talking about the abilities of the Red Lotus as they are almost all free.
“
We built this place secretly with your father to hold a very special prisoner. She's a powerful firebender named P'Li who can create explosions with her mind... Ironically, I hired a guy with a similar ability to kill the Avatar myself once... Didn't work.
„
~ Zuko about P'Li's bending abilities and the prison she's in.
“
Don't know for sure. The airbenders might have been closest to Aang's heart, but, as the Avatar, he was concerned with people of all nations. No one knew better than Aang that in times of turmoil, the world needs its Avatar the most
Even with Zaheer locked up again, we still don't know how many Red Lotus members might be out there, hiding.
„
~ Zuko following Zaheer's defeat and Korra's broken state.
Trivia
At Emerald City ComiCon 2017, Gene Luen Yang implied that Zuko and Mai rekindled their relationship three years after their break-up in The Promise Part Two, though official confirmation of this happening has not yet occurred.
Zuko's hair is black in all of his appearances in Book One: Water, differing from the dark brown used throughout the rest of the franchise.
Zuko's first act as Fire Lord was to send search parties for his mother.
He's the only character in the show that has an episode with only himself. In addition, "Zuko Alone" was the only episode in the series to not feature Team Avatar.
Zuko's name was listed on a Fire Nation wanted poster as 祖寇, which translates as "ancestors robber". Later, in "The Tales of Ba Sing Se", his name was written as 蘇科 on his segment's title card, which is the phonetic transcription based on the official guide for foreign names, and which can also be translated as "awaken rank". In The Search Part One, however, when Ursa writes a letter to Ikem, she writes Zuko's name as 豎髙 (verb "erect"; lit. "vertical high/tall") with the second character being a variant of "高".
The name Zuko is phonetically similar to suko, a Cebuano word meaning "angry". This derivation corresponds to Zuko's ill-tempered personality portrayed in all three books.
Iroh opined that Zuko is a bad tea maker, though he seemed to have gotten better by the time of "The Boiling Rock, Part 1", as he was seen serving tea to the members of Team Avatar and they drank it with no sign of distaste.
Zuko had above-average abilities that helped him survive certain situations. In "The Waterbending Master" with Avatar Extras bonus commentary, when the pirates infiltrated Zuko's ship, one of the commentary bubbles said that Zuko had above average hearing abilities, waking up when he heard one of the pirates opening a rusty door. In "The Siege of the North, Part 1" with Avatar Extras bonus commentary, when swimming through the underwater tunnels, one of the commentary bubbles said that Zuko could hold his breath for an unusually long amount of time. In addition, it is stated by Uncle Iroh in "The Avatar State" that they had survived for three weeks without food or water.
In the pilot episode, it is shown that Zuko was originally supposed to have a pet hawk, but it did not make it into the show. A pet hawk did make it into the show as Hawky in the form of one owned by Sokka, though it only appeared for one episode.
Zuko is the first main antagonist in the show to be turned into one of the main protagonists to defeat the evil threat.
Zuko was a part of all three Agni Kais shown in the series.
When trying to figure out what advice Iroh would give him, Zuko unintentionally references his spiritual journey up till the conquering of Ba Sing Se, mentioning his true self emerging after looking within to save it.
According to the Avatar Extras bonus in "The Cave of Two Lovers", Zuko's story throughout the series is similar to that of the Buddha.
Zuko was originally going to switch sides and join Team Avatar in "The Crossroads of Destiny", but head writer Aaron Ehasz felt that he "still wasn't ready".
Zuko is the only known person from the Fire Nation known to use dao swords to firebend.
According to the Avatar Extras for "The Waterbending Master", Zuko was gifted in playing the tsungi horn, in contrast to Aang, who enjoyed playing but was terrible at it.
Zuko was intended to have a bigger scar that takes up much of the left-half of his face, extending down to his mouth. The creators ultimately decided against it after they realized that it would be tricky for the animators to draw when his mouth is moving and decided to make his scar smaller in order to prevent constant retakes from the animation department. Additionally, his ponytail was intended to be thinner, as opposed to the top-knot that flowed downward he has in the show.
Zuko was planned to reunite with his mother Ursa in the final episode of The Last Airbender, in an epilogue sequence that was fully storyboarded. It was scrapped in favor of pitching a television movie that would tell the entire story, but Nickelodeon rejected it. It would be the subject of a quick The Un-Reveal gag in the first episode of Korra before it was decided to tackle the storyline as part of the comics.
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