Korra (The Legend of Korra)

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Avatar: The Last Airbender/The Legend of Korra character
Korra with her arms cross
First appearance "Welcome to Republic City"
Created by Michael Dante DiMartino
Bryan Konietzko
Voiced by
Janet Varney (Adult Korra (The Legend of Korra))
Cora Baker (Young Korra (The Legend of Korra))
Full name Avatar Korra
Aliases Raava
Species Human (waterbender)
Gender Female
Occupation Avatar (keeper of peace and order)
Title The Avatar
Family Tonraq (father)
Senna (mother)
Unalaq (Uncle)
Desna (First Cousin)
Eska (First Cousin)
Significant other(s) Naga (animal guide)
Raava (spiritual entity/deity)
Wan (distant past life)
Aang (immediate predecessor, deceased)
Children None
Relatives Unalaq (paternal uncle, deceased)
Desna (first cousin, twin)
Eska (first cousin, twin)
Religion Water Tribe
Nationality Southern Water Tribe
Age Pre-series: born in 153 ASC
The Legend of Korra: 17 in 170 ASC
Bending Element Water (native)
Hair color Brown
Eye color Baby blue
Position Protagonist

Korra is the titular character and protagonist in Nickelodeon's animated television series The Legend of Korra, a sequel to Avatar: The Last Airbender. The character was created by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko and is voiced by Janet Varney.

Creation and conception[edit]

Janet Varney voices Korra

Korra's character was inspired by various female MMA fighters, as Bryan Konietzko is a fan of mixed martial arts. In addition, she was indirectly inspired by one of Bryan Konietzko's sisters. Korra was also designed to be an inversion of Aang, the title character of the preceding story Avatar: The Last Airbender. Instead of the young, spiritual Aang, Korra is a more physical character who has trouble grasping the spiritual side of being the Avatar, while Aang takes a while to master each of the elements, but connects with the spirit world instantaneously.[1]

Korra's name was settled long after her character was imagined. Konietzko and DiMartino couldn't agree to a name for her until they learned "Cora", the name of an hotel operator's dog. The name was kept, and only changed in spelling.[2]

Personality and characteristics[edit]

Unlike her predecessor Aang, Korra is described by her creators as "very tough, very headstrong, and not scared to get into a fight." [3] Although she is talented, her stubborn and hot-headed personality prevents her from easily learning Airbending or connecting with the Spirit World.[4] The Avatar traditionally has the greatest difficulty mastering the element diametrically opposed to the Avatar's personality and native bending ability. For instance, Avatar Roku -- a Firebender -- took longer to learn Waterbending and Aang -- an Airbender -- took longer to learn Earthbending. Korra's forceful, sharp-tongued personality is detested by the teachings of Airbending which encourage calm mindedness, free-spirituality, and evasiveness.

Her best friend and animal guide is a polar bear-dog named Naga, whose strength helps Korra out of many dangerous situations. Although wild polar bear dogs were originally feared and hunted by Water Tribes, Korra is the first person to ever tame one.[5] Korra is also friends with brothers Mako (love interest) and Bolin, Asami Sato, as well as the rest of Tenzin's family.

Korra's character developed and matured during episodes 11 through 12 of the first season when she was confronted with detachment from her main three bending skills, leaving her with Airbending, which she had unlocked in order to save Mako from Amon. Later, she connected to her spiritual self through Aang. Once the connection to her Avatar predecessors was established, Aang was able to bestow Energybending upon Korra (as well as her main three bending skills lost earlier). Though Korra is now able to bend all four elements while being capable of entering the Avatar State, Korra is still in the process of perfecting her Airbending skills as well as having a true connection and understanding of her spiritual self in order to complete her training as a fully realized Avatar. This will be further explored in Book 2: Spirits as Korra will learn further into the history and mythology of the distant Avatar lineage and the Spirit World.


Book One: Air[edit]

It is revealed in the plot that Korra was able to easily bend both fire and earth in addition to her native element at the age of four, thus proving her early prowess and status as the current Avatar to the Order of the White Lotus. At the age of seventeen, teenage Korra has officially mastered waterbending, earthbending, and firebending and hopes to learn airbending from the only airbending master alive, Tenzin. The elders of the Order of the White Lotus believe that Korra "lacks restraint" and should first master the spiritual side of being the Avatar, but Korra's teacher and Waterbending Master Katara reasons that, if anyone can teach the young Avatar spirituality, it is Tenzin. Tenzin and his family arrive at the White Lotus compound two weeks later, but Korra soon learns that Tenzin will not be able to stay in the Southern Water Tribe to teach her, because of the unstable conditions in Republic City.

Impatient to begin airbending training, Korra instead sneaks off to Republic City, and is eventually taken in by Tenzin after a confrontation with a bending gang and Republic City's metalbending police force. She meets the Earthbender Bolin and his Firebender brother Mako, who are a part of a pro-bending team called the Fire Ferrets, after sneaking out to see a pro-bending match. When the Fire Ferrets' waterbender doesn't show up before another match, though, Korra decides to fill in the spot. When Tenzin later sees that the spiral movements required in pro-bending helps train her in airbending, he gives permission for her to participate.

Not long into their careers, Bolin is captured by the Equalists, led by the mysterious Amon. To save Bolin, Korra and Mako sneak into an Equalist rally, and witness Amon permanently remove the bending of three members of a bending gang. After Bolin is saved, the three continue to practice and play Pro-Bending until the champion games. During the champion games, Equalists raid the bending arena, strip the opposing team of their bending, and destroy the playing field. Now no longer a member of the Fire Ferrets, as all Pro-Bending has ended, Korra focuses on the battle against Amon and the Equalists. However, she wants to avoid increasing tensions with peaceful non-benders, who are already being treated as criminals by Republic City.

Amon eventually declares full scale war against Republic City, captures the city council and easily defeats the Republic City police. Outmatched, Korra is forced to wait, along with Mako, Bolin, and Asami, until the united forces can send military aid. The aid does arrive, led by General Iroh II (Dante Basco). The five team up, and battle against Amon on different fronts. Iroh, Bolin, and Asami try to find and sabotage the Equalists' airfield and other bases of operation while Korra and Mako work together to infiltrate Republic City, which is under Amon's rule, and learn that Amon is actually an incredibly skilled waterbender and bloodbender named Noatak. Korra is, thus, unable to defeat him in a straight fight, and has her bending abilities removed by him. This loss of her three bending elements finally unlocked her dormant airbending abilities, which allows her to catch Amon off guard and defeat him by revealing his true nature as a waterbender and bloodbender to the public.

The conflict against Amon now over, Korra is terribly upset over the costs of the war and the loss of her bending. At the Southern Water Tribe, she runs away when she learns that Katara is unable to restore her bending. Her bending abilities are fully restored to her by the spirit of Aang, along with the spirits of the previous Avatars before him. She is also given the ability of Energybending. Using this newly acquired ability, she is able to undo Amon's removal of people's bending.

Book Two: Spirits[edit]

In Book Two: Spirits, taking place six months after the Anti-bending Revolution, Korra is shown racing with Tenzin's three children and wins by using the mighty, powerful Avatar State which Ikki considers to be cheating. Soon after, she, Tenzin, Mako and their respective families travel to the Southern Water Tribe for the Glacial Spirits Festival. There, she greets her uncle and chief of the Northern Water Tribe, Unalaq and her first cousins, Desna and Eska, both of whom unnerve her due to their detached nature and their general dislike of her. Later during the night, Korra is attacked by a Dark Spirit, and though she, her father, Mako and Bolin try to stop it, all of them are defeated. It is only thanks to Unalaq that the spirit is bested, which he manages through use of waterbending designed to calm angry spirits. Frustrated with Tenzin and her father Tonraq for keeping her in the compound of The Order of the White Lotus when Aang wanted otherwise, she chooses Unalaq as her new spiritual teacher, saddening Tenzin greatly. After Tenzin leaves for the Southern Air Temple, Unalaq says he has much he will teach her.

In "The Southern Lights", Korra, Bolin, Mako and Unalaq, accompanied by Desna, Eska and Tonraq head for the South Pole to restore the Spirit World portal that exists there since the Portal was locked during the Hundred Year War and never restored. On the way, after battling angry spirits and much anger and persistence from Korra, Tonraq reveals he is the other reason the Spirits are angry . Twenty years before, during a battle with Barbarian Raiders, Tonraq destroyed the sacred forest in the North Pole in order to defeat the enemy hiding there, angering the spirits who dwelt there and nearly destroying the tribe when they retaliated, causing his banishment and disinheritance. Korra is furious at him for not telling her, and asks him to leave the mission. Korra then proceeds to enter the frozen forest where the Dark Spirits dwell, and after several attempts, uses the Avatar State to restore the forest and the portal to the Spirit World. As they return to the Southern Water Tribe, Korra sees Unalaq's warship fleet docking, and realizes he is going to use his military might to try to force the Southern Water Tribe to finally embrace their spiritual side.



  1. ^ "‘The Legend of Korra’ Creators Answer Your Questions". 2012-06-22. Retrieved 2012-06-25. 
  2. ^ "'Legend of Korra' Creators: 5 Things You Didn't Know About the New 'Avatar' (Guest Blog)". 2012-04-13. Retrieved 2012-06-25. 
  3. ^ Farley, Christopher. "‘The Last Airbender: Legend of Korra’: The Creators Speak". Speakeasy. The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 1 May 2012. 
  4. ^ "Korra / Avatar". The Legend of Korra. Nickelodeon. 
  5. ^ "The Legend of Korra: Welcome to Republic City". The Legend of Korra. Nickelodeon. Retrieved 5 May 2012. 

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