Zuco – Prince Zuko from Avatar: The Last Airbender
https://wiki.wizard101central.com/wiki/NPC:Zuco
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avatar:_The_Last_Airbender
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zuko
Zuco is a Kurghan Pet Snack Vendor in Catmandu. His business is named Flaming Flakes. His fire-themed snacks are a reference to his namesake being a firebender.
Avatar: The Last Airbender, also known as Avatar: The Legend of Aang in some regions, is an American animated fantasy action television series created by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko and produced by Nickelodeon Animation Studio.
Avatar is set in a largely Asian-inspired world in which some people can telekinetically manipulate one of the four elements—water, earth, fire or air—through practices known as “bending”, inspired by Chinese martial arts. The only individual who can bend all four elements, the “Avatar”, is responsible for maintaining harmony among the world’s four nations, and serves as the link between the physical world and the spirit world. The series follows the journey of twelve-year-old Aang, the current Avatar and last survivor of his nation, the Air Nomads, along with his friends Katara, Sokka, and Toph, as they strive to end the Fire Nation’s war against the other nations and defeat Fire Lord Ozai before he conquers the world. The series also follows Zuko—the exiled prince of the Fire Nation, seeking to restore his lost honor by capturing Aang, accompanied by his uncle Iroh—and later, his sister Azula. Avatar is presented in a style that combines anime with American cartoons and relies on the imagery of primarily Chinese culture, with various other influences from different East Asian, Southeast Asian, South Asian, North Asian, and Native American cultures.
Prince (later Fire Lord and Lord) Zuko, also known as the Blue Spirit, is a fictional character in Nickelodeon’s animated television series Avatar: The Last Airbender. Created by Eric Coleman and designed by series creators Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko, the character is voiced by Dante Basco in Avatar: The Last Airbender and Bruce Davison in The Legend of Korra, and portrayed by Dev Patel in M. Night Shyamalan’s 2010 film The Last Airbender and Dallas Liu in the 2024 Netflix live-action remake series.
Zuko is the Crown Prince of the Fire Nation, the eldest child of his father Fire Lord Ozai and mother Ursa, and the older brother of Princess Azula and half-sister Kiyi. Before the events of the series, Zuko is permanently scarred and then banished from the Fire Nation by his tyrannical father. In order to restore his honor and right to the Fire Nation throne, Zuko is ordered to capture the Avatar, a spiritually powerful individual capable of bending all four elements (Water, Earth, Fire, and Air) and whom could end the Hundred Year War started by the Fire Nation’s genocide of all airbenders and conquest for world domination. Zuko is accompanied and advised in his search for Avatar Aang by his wise uncle, former General Iroh.
At the beginning of the series, he is the primary antagonist, opposing Avatar Aang and his allies as he seeks redemption for his father since he has been banished from the Fire Nation. Over time, however, Zuko loses faith in the Fire Nation’s war, feels guilt for his crimes, and begins to sympathize with those the Fire Nation has oppressed through the time he has been in the Earth Kingdom along with his uncle, Iroh. In the later part of the animated series, Zuko redeems himself, and eventually joins Aang, helping him learn firebending and fight his father in order to restore peace in the four nations. Zuko also comes to realize that Iroh has been more of a father to him than Ozai; through Iroh’s teachings Zuko truly found his own path. He learned that his honor was never lost and by embracing his true self he chose to fight for what is right rather than what was expected of him.
The current list of all the (known) Novus references are located here.
Although I am well versed in Pop Culture references but I do not claim to have caught them all. Let me know your favorites in the comments and if I’ve missed one you caught, let me know so I can add it to the list.
Text for this article is excerpted from the linked wiki pages
Zuco image is from Wizard101, and is copyright of KingsIsle Entertainment.
All Avatar: The Last Airbender images are copyright Nickelodeon.
Image usage qualifies as fair use under US copyright law.
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