Netflix is once again trying its hand at live-action adaptations with the official release of Avatar: The Last Airbender. The latest attempt from the streamer to undo the sins of its past doesn’t quite match up to the best of the genre, but audiences are enjoying it quite a bit more than the bulk of critics.
It’s still early, and things could change as more fans of the original set their sights on the series, but for now it seems Netflix did much better than usual this time around. The show is debuting to admirable ratings from longtime fans of its animated predecessor, and praise for its actors, visuals, and fight scenes are largely drowning out complaints about deviations from the source material and occasionally inadequate CGI.
A lineup of fan-favorite characters from the original series are making the transition from animation to live-action in the first season of Avatar: The Last Airbender, including several that don’t debut nearly as early in the 2005 series. We aren’t likely to get a glimpse to the first ever Avatar in season 1 of the live-action — particularly considering he isn’t introduced until the franchise’s sequel series, The Legend of Korra — but he’s a vital element of each and every story set in the Avatar universe.
The first Avatar lived thousands of years before Aang
Ten thousand years before Aang was born, the very first Avatar was walking the earth. Avatar Wan wasn’t born into his Avatar status, like Aang and Korra were, but instead attained his Avatar abilities through work and connectivity with the spirit realm.
A gorgeous episode of The Legend of Korra digs into Wan’s background in wonderful detail, so I recommend anyone with a real interest in understanding the Avatar world start there. For those who plan to tackle the whole animated The Last Airbender before plunging into Korra, however, I can tide you over until you find the time.
Wan lived long, long before any of the Avatar stories we’ve seen so far take place. He was a nomad, following expulsion from his home, and found a connection in his wanderings with the denizens of the spirit world. That connection ultimately urged Wan to seek a way to balance the two worlds, and in the process the first Avatar was born.
Wan gradually collected control over each of the four elements over years of travel, and carefully convincing the element’s guardians — four powerful lion turtles — that he was both capable and respectful enough to be trusted with them. He dedicated his life to eliminating darkness from humanity and bringing balance between the physical and spiritual world, but never quite succeeded.
By the time he reached the end of his life, however, Wan had made incredible progress in that goal. He defeated Vaatu — the spirit of darkness and chaos — and bonded with Raava to create the Bridge Between Worlds. Thus, the Avatar was born, and when Wan passed it allowed his spirit to remain, initiating the Avatar Cycle for the very first time.