Avatar Korra, commonly simply known as Korra, is the title lead character in

Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (often shortened to Nick) is an American pay television television channel, channel which launched on April 1, 1979, as the first cable channel for children. It is run by Paramount Global through its List of assets owned by Param ...

animated television series An animated series is a set of Animation, animated works with a common series title, usually related to one another. These episodes should typically share the same main characters, some different secondary characters and a basic theme. Series can ...

The Legend of Korra ''The Legend of Korra'' (abbreviated as TLOK), also known as ''Avatar: The Legend of Korra'' or simply ''Korra'', is an American anime-influenced animated television series created by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko for Nickelode ...

'' (a spin-off of '' Avatar: The Last Airbender''), in which she is depicted as the current incarnation of Raava's Avatar—the spiritual embodiment of balance and change—responsible for maintaining peace and harmony in the world. She is the immediate

reincarnation Reincarnation, also known as rebirth or transmigration, is the philosophical or religious concept that the non-physical essence of a living being begins a new life in a different physical form or body after biological death. Resurrection is a ...

Avatar Aang Avatar Aang ( zh, c=安昂, p=Ān Áng) is the title character and protagonist of Nickelodeon's animated television series ''Avatar: The Last Airbender'' (created by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko), voiced by Zach Tyler Eisen. Aang ...

(title character and main protagonist from the original series). The character was created by

Michael Dante DiMartino Michael Dante DiMartino (born July 18, 1974) is an American animator, producer, writer, and director. He is best known, together with Bryan Konietzko, as the co-creator of the animated TV series ''Avatar: The Last Airbender'' and ''The Legend of ...

and Bryan Konietzko and was voiced by Janet Varney, and by Cora Baker as a child. Korra debuted in the first episode of ''The Legend of Korra'', " Welcome to Republic City", originally airing on Nickelodeon on April 14, 2012. At the start of the series, she meets

Bolin Bolin is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bert Bolin (1925–2007), Swedish meteorologist * Bob Bolin (born 1939), American Major League Baseball pitcher * Charles E. Bolin (1843–1924), American politician * Jane Bolin (1908� ...

and Mako after arriving in Republic City, where she first experiences independence after living a secluded life of training, led by the Order of the White Lotus. The series' final scene, indicating the beginning of a romantic relationship between Korra and

Asami Sato is a major character in the Nickelodeon List of animated television series, animated television series ''The Legend of Korra'', which aired from 2012 to 2014. The character and the series, a sequel to ''Avatar: The Last Airbender'', were create ...

, was unprecedented in its

LGBT ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term is a ...

representation in western children's television.

Appearances

''The Legend of Korra'' television series

After the death of

Aang Avatar Aang ( zh, c=安昂, p=Ān Áng) is the title character and protagonist of Nickelodeon's animated television series ''Avatar: The Last Airbender'' (created by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko), voiced by Zach Tyler Eisen. Aang ...

, Korra is born among the Southern Water Tribe, her bending abilities over

Water Water (chemical formula ) is an inorganic, transparent, tasteless, odorless, and nearly colorless chemical substance, which is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known living organisms (in which it acts as a ...

Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surfa ...

and

Fire Fire is the rapid oxidation of a material (the fuel) in the exothermic chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction Product (chemistry), products. At a certain point in the combustion reaction, called the ignition ...

manifesting by age 4.

Book One: ''Air''

In Book One: ''Air'', Korra, now seventeen, and having mastered three of the elements, needs to learn airbending from the only living airbending master, Aang's son, Tenzin. Korra moves to Republic City to go after him following a brief encounter with Katara, being taken in by Tenzin and meeting both Mako and

before joining their pro-bending team. After saving Bolin and having her first sighting of

Amon Amon may refer to: Mythology * Amun, an Ancient Egyptian deity, also known as Amon and Amon-Ra * Aamon, a Goetic demon People Momonym * Amon of Judah ( 664– 640 BC), king of Judah Given name * Amon G. Carter (1879–1955), American pu ...

, Korra's romantic struggles lead to difficulty with the pro-bending team, which the group recovers from to successfully win their match and make it to the finals, where they are defeated and Amon strikes with his group of followers, the Equalists. Korra afterward discovers Hiroshi Sato's ties to the Equalists, then allowing

, Bolin and Mako to live with her, forming a team with the group that Councilman Tarrlok breaks up by arresting the others and revealing himself as a bloodbender in an encounter with Korra where he subdues her. She is locked in a secluded cabin that holds her for a short time before she breaks out once it is ambushed by Amon and his Equalists, the group launching an assault on Republic City that Korra and the others are overpowered in, forcing them to retreat until General Iroh and the United Forces come to the city as reinforcements, who are also overwhelmed. Following saving Tenzin and his children and seemingly losing her bending of three of the elements to Amon, Korra engages in a battle with Amon where she emerges victorious thanks to her newly acquired airbending, having the other elements restored by Aang and in doing so gaining the power to restore bending as well.

Book Two: ''Spirits''

In Book Two: ''Spirits'', taking place six months after the Anti-bending Revolution, Korra learns from her uncle Unalaq of her seclusion being set by both Tenzin and her father, causing her to break off with Tenzin and have Unalaq become her mentor. During her training, Korra has to mend fences between both factions of the Water Tribe and after learning that her father had nothing to do with an attempted kidnapping of Unalaq, she participates in freeing him. Her actions prompt a civil war between the Southern and Northern Water Tribes, Korra afterward making a move to have General Iroh's assistance without President Raiko's authority, which Mako reveals to Raiko. Korra loses consciousness after an attack by her cousins Desna and Eska and a dark spirit swallowing her. She was left without her memory, learning the origins of Wan, the first Avatar, and entering the Spirit World to prevent Vaatu's escape with the aid of Jinora. After the two are separated, Korra reverts to her child self and meets

Iroh Uncle Iroh (), also referred to as General Iroh and credited simply as Uncle, is a fictional character in Nickelodeon's animated television series ''Avatar: The Last Airbender''. Created by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko, the charact ...

, then meets her again before opening the Northern spirit portal per Unalaq's request in exchange for Jinora's soul not being destroyed by him. Korra escapes but is unable to bring Jinora with her, returning to the physical world where she makes plans to counter Unalaq, engaging him in battle where she is not only bested, but has her connections to her past lives disconnected with the destruction of the Light Spirit. In another confrontation not long after, Korra destroys Unalaq by purifying him, ending the Civil War and ushering the coexistence of humans and spirits.

Book Three: ''Change''

Two weeks later, marking the beginning of Book Three: ''Change'', Korra leaves Republic City to offer training to new airbenders across the Earth Kingdom after further straining her relations with President Raiko, recruiting Kai and freeing airbenders who Earth Queen Hou-Ting had been training underground to join her army. She traveled to Zaofu next, meeting Suyin Beifong, who taught her metalbending, nearly being kidnapped after, by Zaheer, Ghazan, P'Li and Ming-Hua though she is saved by her allies. With it being discovered Aiwei was part of the conspiracy to kidnap her, Korra sets out to find him, staking out his room and entering the Spirit World after him, where she learns Zaheer and his followers are part of the Red Lotus from the latter. Though managing to escape the Red Lotus, she is captured by Earth Kingdom soldiers, the Earth Queen having declared Korra an enemy. Korra and Asami succeed in escaping, but Korra is forced to give herself up so Zaheer will not harm the captive airbenders. Zaheer double-crosses Korra, taking her unconscious body with him, poisoning her with

mercury Mercury commonly refers to: * Mercury (planet), the nearest planet to the Sun * Mercury (element), a metallic chemical element with the symbol Hg * Mercury (mythology), a Roman god Mercury or The Mercury may also refer to: Companies * Merc ...

so she can enter the Avatar State and be killed in it to end the Avatar Cycle. She breaks free and is able to combat Zaheer while battling the poison, though succumbs to it before Suyin attempts to bend it out of her, Korra being left in a fragile emotional state and being confined to a wheelchair as well.

Book Four: ''Balance''

In the final season, Book Four: ''Balance'', Korra returns to the Southern Water Tribe to recuperate under Katara's care, regaining her ability to walk but losing her ability to enter the Avatar State. She then travels the world though is haunted by a spirit of herself, even losing to it in battle. With the help of Toph Beifong, she removes the mercury from her body and reconnects with the world. Initially planning to reach a peace agreement with

Kuvira , also known as The Great Uniter and later Kuvira Beifong, is a fictional major character in the 2014 third and fourth seasons of the Nickelodeon animated television series ''The Legend of Korra'', created by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Ko ...

, Korra duels her and loses her advantage when being haunted once more, being saved by Jinora and Opal. She is then reunited with Asami and Mako when they as a group of three are successful in recovering a kidnapped Prince Wu, though Korra soon begins doubting her effectiveness as Avatar prior to Asami and Tenzin encouraging her. Korra has a reunion with Zaheer who aids her in rescuing trapped souls in the Spirit World, preparing afterward for a showdown with Kuvira by requesting the aid of spirits in the conflict and tries to interrogate Baatar Jr., Kuvira's fiancé, nearly being killed when the Future Industries factory is destroyed by Kuvira. After convincing Kuvira to surrender following showing sympathy with her motivations, she begins a romantic relationship with Asami.

''The Legend of Korra'' comic series

''Turf Wars''

Avatar Korra and Asami spend time in the Spirit World exploring their romantic feelings for each other. The pair travel to the Southern Water Tribe to reveal their relationship to Korra's parents. Upon returning to Republic City, Korra attempts to stop tycoon Wongyong Keum's plans to form an amusement park.

''Ruins of the Empire''

Avatar Korra agrees to travel to Gaoling with the Earth King Wu, along with Asami Sato, Mako, Bolin, and the now-imprisoned Kuvira, who had offered to try and talk her former subordinate Guan down from disrupting the upcoming democratic elections of state governors as part of Wu's efforts to reform the nation.

''Patterns in Time''

In other media

Korra is featured in ''

'' video game, which takes place in between the second and third seasons of the series. She has her bending abilities taken away from her at the beginning of the game and she has to regain them as it progresses. She is the only ''The Legend of Korra'' character, besides Naga and Jinora, to make an appearance in the game's story mode, which earned it criticism. In March 2015, Bryan Konietzko posted artwork of Korra and Asami embracing, entitled ''Turtle-duck Date Night''. The art was announced to be sold as an exclusive print for ''The Legend of Korra / Avatar: The Last Airbender Tribute Exhibition'' at Gallery Nucleus with its proceeds donated by Konietzko to an LGBTQ suicide prevention hotline. After same-sex marriage was declared legal in all 50 states of the U.S., Konietzko posted a rainbow version of the artwork. Korra and her predecessor Aang were featured on a print available for attendees of the 2015 San Diego Comic-Con. Korra appears in ''The Legend of Korra'' books ''Revolution'' and ''Endgame'', two novels that together adapt the first season of the series. Korra is also a playable character in ''Super Brawl Universe'', a playable character in '' Nickelodeon Kart Racers 2: Grand Prix'' and '' 3: Slime Speedway'', and a skin for Skadi in ''

Smite ''Smite'' is a 2014 free-to-play, third-person multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) video game developed and published by Hi-Rez Studios for Microsoft Windows, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and Nintendo Switch, and Amazon Luna.Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl'' and its sequel. She was added to '' Fortnite Battle Royale'' in 2024. Korra appears in the

epilogue An epilogue or epilog (from Greek ἐπίλογος ''epílogos'', "conclusion" from ἐπί ''epi'', "in addition" and λόγος ''logos'', "word") is a piece of writing at the end of a work of literature, usually used to bring closure to the w ...

of RE:Anime

fan film A fan film is a film or video inspired by a film, television program, comic book, book, or video game created by fans rather than by the source's copyright holders or creators. Fan filmmakers have traditionally been amateurs, but some of the more ...

'' Avatar: The Last Airbender: Agni Kai'' in a silent

cameo appearance A cameo role, also called a cameo appearance and often shortened to just cameo (), is a brief appearance of a well-known person in a work of the performing arts. These roles are generally small, many of them non-speaking ones, and are commonly eit ...

, portrayed by Katrina Rosita, partially adapting the events of "

Sozin's Comet "Sozin's Comet" is the four-part series finale of the American animated Nickelodeon television series ''Avatar: The Last Airbender''. It was directed by Ethan Spaulding, Giancarlo Volpe, and Joaquim Dos Santos, and written by Michael Dante DiMa ...

" with the difference of Katara accidentally killing Azula, as explained to Korra by an older Katara.

Creation and conception

Bryan Konietzko's interest in martial arts influenced him to draw inspirations from various female MMA fighters for the design of Korra's character, one inspiration being Gina Carano. In addition, she was indirectly inspired by one of Bryan Konietzko's sisters. Korra was also designed to be an inversion of

, 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 being able to already bend three elements at the age of four. In contrast, Aang takes a while to master each of the elements, but connects with the spirit world instantaneously. Korra's name was settled long after her character was imagined. Konietzko and DiMartino could not agree to a name for her until they learned "Cora", the name of a hotel operator's dog. The name was kept, and only changed in spelling. The creators felt the second season was built around Korra becoming more in-tuned with her spiritual side, reinforcing their belief that a giant spirit version of herself would be the "ultimate manifestation". DiMartino wrote that Korra's lack of usage of the Avatar State during the third season was purposefully done to show her connection with Raava as being full-fledged, her developed understanding that type of power should be reserved for the "most extreme circumstances." Along with Asami Sato, Korra is half of the first major acknowledged LGBT couple in western children's animation. Regarding Korra's sexuality, Konietzko admitted that the idea of a romantic relationship between Korra and Asami had been discussed by the creators during production of season one, but had not been given much weight due to assumptions that the show would not be permitted to openly depict a same-sex relationship. As development of the last two seasons went on and Korra and Asami's friendship progressed, "the more the idea of a romance between them organically blossomed for

he creators He or HE may refer to: Language * He (pronoun), an English pronoun * He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ * He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets * He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' in ...

" and so the show started hinting at the possibility of such a relationship. In the end, Konietzko and DiMartino chose to openly depict Korra and Asami's relationship in the series finale because they didn't want to regret not doing so after the series ended. While still having limits on what could be shown, Nickelodeon was supportive of the relationship when approached.

Design

Before drawing the character, Konietzko and DiMartino discussed her athleticism and physicality which factored into the earliest illustrations of Korra. It took the pair and Joaquim Dos Santos's combined efforts to finalize her character design. In the pilot (2012) episode " Welcome to Republic City", Korra is introduced as a teenager wearing Fire Nation attire over her traditional Water Tribe garb. She is briefly seen wearing it again during a flashback in the fourth season. Konietzko thought it was "fun to play with" the familiar Water Tribe outfit. After her defeat of Amon, she underwent an outfit change, gaining an asymmetrical top and sleeves. Korra for the first three seasons is depicted with long hair that is usually kept in a ponytail, though she has it down on several occasions such as when attending festivities, during her final battle with Unalaq, while entering the Avatar State after being poisoned by the Red Lotus, and during her final battle with Zaheer shortly afterward. Korra is so rarely seen with her hair down that DiMartino wrote that whenever the character had her hair down, "you know something bad has happened." She maintains the hairstyle for the next three years as she recovers until shortly after regaining her mobility, at which point she cuts it. The hairstyle change was revealed in September 2014 by Konietzko, who wrote that the character was returning to her roots by sporting a bob cut similar to the one she was given by Dos Santos in his original concept for her, Konietzko adding that the alteration was carrying on a tradition in the ''Avatar'' franchise to have hairstyle changes over the course of a series. Korra's initial clothing in the fourth season is purposely designed to mirror that of her Water Tribe attire in the previous seasons, consisting of a sleeveless shirt and baggy pants, DiMartino finding it paramount that it resemble her prior clothing due to the duration for which she wore it. Korra gains another outfit midway through the fourth season. This outfit's boots are based on an existing pair of faux suede flat winter buckle boots.

Voice

Janet Varney was the original voice actress for Korra during the show's run. Varney stated that she loved the character, describing her as being "complicated" while reasoning that this was due to her age and responsibilities, and summarized her experience voicing Korra as having been "such a privilege to be a part of". Varney understood the criticism of her character and felt it was one of the compelling aspects of the series, as Korra was someone that "you're not always looking up to" and mentioned

Superman Superman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, and debuted in the comic book ''Action Comics'' #1 (cover-dated June 1938 and publi ...

while saying that a character is more interesting to her when they are flawed. Responding to being questioned about negative reception for the series in general, Varney admitted to preferring to live in a world of "unicorns and rainbows" and only pay attention to the positive feedback she received since she believed she would not "do a better job on the show if my feelings are crushed by someone who's just angry at me for no reason." Friends with

Grey DeLisle Grey DeLisle (; born Erin Grey Van Oosbree; August 24, 1973), sometimes credited as Grey Griffin, is an American voice actress, comedian and singer-songwriter. DeLisle is known for various roles in animated productions and video games. On Sept ...

, who voiced Azula in the original series, Varney remembered her advice about the fandom where DeLisle told her to be ready for her "life to change." During a panel at MCM London Comic Con with

Zuko Prince (later Fire 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 ...

's voice actor, Dante Basco in 2022, amidst racial tensions in the United States, Varney, who is caucasian, confirmed that she will no longer be reprising Korra in the future after a decade of voicing the character in the years since the show's conclusion and expressed hope that a woman of color would assume the role. Basco then supported Varney's decision to step down from voicing her. The actress's final time voicing Korra was in the racing title, '' Nickelodeon Kart Racers 3: Slime Speedway'' that fall. She would be subsequently voiced by Jacqueline Grace Lopez in ''

Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2 ''Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2'' is an upcoming crossover fighting game developed by Ludosity and Fair Play Labs, and published by GameMill Entertainment. It is the sequel to ''Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl'' (2021) and an entry in the ''Nickelodeo ...

'' the following year.

Characterization

Personality and characteristics

Unlike her predecessor Aang, Korra is described by her creators as "very tough, very headstrong, and not scared to get into a fight." Her stubborn and hot-headed personality detracts from her talents, preventing her from easily learning airbending or connecting with the Spirit World. The Avatar traditionally has the greatest difficulty mastering the element diametrically opposed to the Avatar's personality. For instance, Avatar Roku—a firebender—took longer to learn waterbending and Aang—an airbender—took longer to learn earthbending. The waterbender Korra, on the other hand, had little difficulty with firebending but had considerable trouble with airbending, a situation noted to be spiritual and not elemental. 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. Korra is good friends with her pro-bending teammates, the brothers Mako (her

romantic interest Romance or romantic love is a feeling of love for, or a strong attraction towards another person, and the courtship behaviors undertaken by an individual to express those overall feelings and resultant emotions. The ''Wiley Blackwell Encycl ...

in seasons 1 and 2) and

. She also develops a strong friendship, and later romance, with

, a wealthy industrialist. Korra has strong relationships with the family of her previous life: Having learned waterbending from Katara and then airbending from

Tenzin Tenzin ( bo, བསྟན་འཛིན) is a Tibetan given name, meaning "the holder of Buddha Dharma". Tenzin can alternatively be spelled as Tenzing and Stanzin as well. Stanzin is generally used by the Ladakhi people, since Ladakhi language ...

, Tenzin's children Jinora, Ikki, and Meelo look up to her as an older sister, and Kya and Bumi regard her as a friend. Korra is generally on good terms with her own parents, but has little contact with her uncle or cousins, whom she considers weird (and her father considers dangerous). Korra is unusual amongst her past lives in that she is technically royalty: her father Tonraq was in line to be the chief of the Northern Water Tribe before being banished and relocating to the South. Korra's character develops and matures during episodes 11 through 12 of the first season when she is confronted with detachment from her main three bending skills, leaving her only with airbending, which she had unlocked to save Mako from Amon. Later, she connects to her spiritual self through Aang. Once the connection to her Avatar predecessors is established, Aang is able to bestow energybending upon Korra (as well as her main three bending skills lost earlier). Although Korra is 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 to complete her training as a fully realized Avatar. Combined with the events of seasons 2 and 3 placing her in life and death situations, the former having her no longer able to contact her past lives for advice, Korra begins to suffer post-traumatic stress by the events of ''Book Four: Balance'' while doubting her abilities as the Avatar to maintain balance after those she faced have each disrupted the order she was struggling to protect in massive ways. But ultimately, once able to let go of the pain she went through and realizing the significance to her past suffering, Korra returns to her usual self while becoming a more kind, mature, compassionate, levelheaded, thoughtful and intelligent (and a bit more sarcastic) person from her ordeals.

Martial arts mastery

Korra has impeccable

athleticism Athletics is a term encompassing the human competitive sports and games requiring physical skill, and the systems of training that prepare athletes for competition performance. Athletic sports or contests are competitions which are primarily based ...

and

acrobatics Acrobatics () is the performance of human feats of balance, agility, and motor coordination. Acrobatic skills are used in performing arts, sporting events, and martial arts. Extensive use of acrobatic skills are most often performed in acro ...

, shown being capable of simultaneously lifting Tenzin and his children with relative ease. She has surprising speed that go along with her agility and reflexes, which make her a skilled combatant in and of themselves. Her physical strength and stamina makes her capable of swimming across large bodies of water for days, or lift and throw significantly larger opponents. She can punch with enough force to break iron pipes or shatter large chunks of ice launched at her. Her dexterity and balance allows her to skillfully dodge a large barrage of projectiles and easily leap across long distances and over high obstacles from a stationary position. She is shown to be quite flexible, able to bend and twist effectively enough to attack from various angles or squeeze through tight spaces. The series' creators consulted a professional martial artist in the design of the show's fighting system. Under the White Lotus' watchful protection, Korra was educated in all known academic fields, and trained by the best martial arts instructors. She was a fast-learner and considerable prodigy, seemingly ''driven''. Eventually, she sought out training from Aang's original teachers—Katara, Zuko, and Toph—but had great difficulty under the mentorship of Aang's son, Tenzin. Her predecessor lived with personal grief over the

genocide Genocide is the intentional destruction of a people—usually defined as an ethnic, national, racial, or religious group—in whole or in part. Raphael Lemkin coined the term in 1944, combining the Greek word (, "race, people") with the Latin ...

of his people, and his personal failure as The Avatar in his inability to prevent the century long

world war A world war is an international conflict which involves all or most of the world's major powers. Conventionally, the term is reserved for two major international conflicts that occurred during the first half of the 20th century, World WarI (1914 ...

that destroyed millions of lives. He had vowed "never-again" would he allow himself to be unprepared in his subsequent live(s), and Korra unconsciously channels this oath in her insatiable quest to master every known

martial arts Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defense; military and law enforcement applications; combat sport, competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; a ...

that exists in her world, including: *

Mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, inc ...

* Jeet Kune Do * Aikido * '' Baguazhang'' * Yang-style tai chi * Yin-style ''baguazhang'' * Hung Ga * Southern Praying Mantis * Southern Dragon kung fu * ''

Changquan Chángquán () refers to a family of external (as opposed to internal) martial arts (kung fu) styles from northern China. The forms of the Long Fist style emphasize fully extended kicks and striking techniques, and by appearance would be consi ...

'' * '' Xingyiquan'' * Wing Chun

Bending the elements

As the Avatar, Korra is capable of bending all four elements (air, water, earth and fire). Even as a young child, she was already a

child prodigy A child prodigy is defined in psychology research literature as a person under the age of ten who produces meaningful output in some domain at the level of an adult expert. The term is also applied more broadly to young people who are extraor ...

, able to bend them with ease since and displayed a level of proficiency that would have rivaled her predecessor, Avatar Aang. At the start of the series, Korra is proficient in water, earth and fire, but struggles with airbending due to the difficulties of embracing her spiritual side. She utilizes all elements equally, but favors each one for different strategies: airbending mostly for crowd control and non-lethal purposes, such as gliding and evasive manoeuvres; waterbending for both defensive and offensive manoeuvres; earthbending for strong attacks; firebending for raw "all-in" aggression. She learned metalbending, being the first metalbending Avatar. She also tends to use firebending when she is angered or acts with hostility towards an opponent, as she demonstrated when threatening the Red Lotus when expressing outrage to Zaheer for attempting to murder her father. ;Energybending After learning energybending thanks to Aang's spirit, she becomes capable of restoring bending to those who had blocked their abilities. Her duties as Avatar and her personal feelings towards people did come into play with the restoring power, as she did not grant bending abilities back to individuals with backgrounds in crime. During Harmonic Convergence she was able to use energybending to connect with her inner spirit and gain cosmic energy from the universe to project her giant spirit. ;Spirituality As the Avatar, Korra is as a bridge between " Material World" and the "

Spirit World Spirit world may refer to: In religion *Spirit world (Spiritualism) * Spirit world (Latter Day Saints) *Goloka, or Vaikuntha, often referred to as the "spiritual sky" or "spiritual world" in Hare Krishna contexts *Guinee, a spirit world in Vodou * ...

", the plane of existence where the universe's disembodied spirits dwell. As her training under Tenzin progressed, she had slowly reconnected with her spirituality, seeing visions and accessing various memories from her past lives. Korra is able to purify "dark spirits" by balancing the energy within them. She learned to enter the Spirit World through the guidance of Jinora, her spiritual guide. Due to some residual traces of mercury in her body and mental pain after Zaheer poisoned her, Korra temporarily lost the ability to contact Raava and was unable to enter the Spirit World for three years, but regained these spiritual powers in the last season. ;The Avatar State As her predecessors, her most powerful ability is the Avatar State, in which she receives a massive boost in raw power from the cosmic energy, enabling her to easily overcome any opponent that tries to fight her head on. In the series it was revealed the Avatar State, and the Avatar itself, were created after the spirit of light Raava and the firebender Wan merged forever. In addition, this state allows her to access bending techniques she would not have learned during her own lifetime but throughout that of her past lives. If she is killed in this state, then this would cause the Avatar to cease being reincarnated. After the events of second season, Korra's Avatar State isn't able to access to the knowledge of her predecessors since she lost her connection to them indefinitely. However, she can communicate with Raava directly instead, something her predecessors were generally unable to do.

Reception

Korra has been widely praised as a realistic, well-developed and sophisticated character by critics and viewers alike. Her position as a female protagonist, unusual for American animation, caused Nickelodeon to originally suspend production on the series. According to co-creator Bryan Koniezko, this was because the executives believed that "girls will watch shows about boys, but boys won't watch shows about girls". Production resumed though when ''Korra'' performed well during

test screening A test screening is a preview screening of a movie or television show before its general release to gauge audience reaction. Preview audiences are selected from a cross-section of the population and are usually asked to complete a questionnaire or ...

s, with young boys saying they "didn't care that Korra was a girl," only that "she was awesome." Common Sense Media praised Korra as a good role model, citing her dedication to her goals and open-mindedness towards new ideas. Noel Kirkpatrick felt the character had become unlikeable during the second season, though applauded the show for putting her at the center of its narrative as we saw the character "without a moderating influence, like

". Korra's experience with

post traumatic stress disorder Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental and behavioral disorder that can develop because of exposure to a traumatic event, such as sexual assault, warfare, traffic collisions, child abuse, domestic violence, or other threats on a ...

during Book Four has been highly praised as a realistic approach to the subject. Max Nicholson of

IGN ''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...

wrote that it was "heartbreaking" to see Korra following her battle with

Zaheer Zaheer is a character in Nickelodeon's animated television series ''The Legend of Korra'' (a sequel to ''Avatar: The Last Airbender''). He serves as the main antagonist of '' Book Three: Change'', and his actions have lingering effects on Ava ...

"in such a vulnerable, weakened state." Janet Varney's acting received particular praise, with ''

The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an American online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was cre ...

'' describing it as "an exceptional performance that fully captures the Avatar's pain, fear, and sadness. arney'svoice work is essential to bringing a sense of reality to Korra's struggle". Following the conclusion of the series, Zach Blumenfeld of '' Paste'' ranked Korra as the second-best character from the ''Avatar'' universe, concluding that Korra was more interesting, relatable and inspiring than her predecessor, Avatar

. ''

Screen Rant ''Screen Rant'' is an entertainment website that offers news in the fields of television, films, video games, and film theories. ''Screen Rant'' was launched by Vic Holtreman in 2003, and originally had its primary office in Ogden, Utah. ''Scr ...

'' ranked Korra #8 on its "30 Best Animated TV Characters Of All Time" list.

Relationship with Asami Sato

Korra's position as a bisexual protagonist, as well as her eventual relationship with Asami Sato have been the subject of many very positive reviews from the media. In light of the finale, ''Vanity Fair'' called the show "one of the most powerful, subversive shows of 2014", saying that the show "challenged expectations and bravely explored content outside the scope of children's television". ''

'' commended the action-packed and emotional finale, noting that ending was one that "fans will be talking about for a long time". ''

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also re ...

'' predicted that, in the future, Korra holding Asami's hand and leaping into the Spirit World "will become one of the hallmarks of this series". Megan Farokhmanesh of ''

Polygon In geometry, a polygon () is a plane figure that is described by a finite number of straight line segments connected to form a closed ''polygonal chain'' (or ''polygonal circuit''). The bounded plane region, the bounding circuit, or the two toge ...

'' wrote that by portraying Korra and Asami as

bisexual Bisexuality is a romantic or sexual attraction or behavior toward both males and females, or to more than one gender. It may also be defined to include romantic or sexual attraction to people regardless of their sex or gender identity, whi ...

, the series even avoided the error of assuming

sexual orientation Sexual orientation is an enduring pattern of romantic or sexual attraction (or a combination of these) to persons of the opposite sex or gender, the same sex or gender, or to both sexes or more than one gender. These attractions are generall ...

, as many other TV series did, to be a strict divide between "gay" and "straight". Reviewers have noted that the two characters complement each other well as a couple, with Korra's brashness balancing Asami's levelheadedness. Korra and Asami's relationship has also been noted for being a "landmark moment for American and family animation." ''

The Advocate An advocate is a professional in the field of law. The Advocate, The Advocates or Advocate may also refer to: Magazines * ''The Advocate'' (LGBT magazine), an LGBT magazine based in the United States *''The Harvard Advocate'', a literary magazin ...

'' included Korra and Asami in their 2017 list of "35 LGBT Characters Who Redefined Family TV", noting that the series "ended on a note that changed family television forever." In 2018, '' io9'' ranked the series finale's reveal of Korra and Asami's relationship #55 on its list of "The 100 Most Important Pop Culture Moments of the Last 10 Years". Among the critics who viewed the pairing negatively, Daniel Rodrigues-Martin of ''Geeks Under Grace'' agreed that the pairing was a detriment to the characters and the story, opining that there was no foreshadowing of a romantic relationship between the two characters until the series' final moments. In response to criticism that Korra and Asami's relationship was thrown in to appeal to fans who " shipped" the two of them together, Konietzko pointed out that any decision they made regarding Korra's romantic life could be interpreted as caving to a specific group of fans who supported Korra being paired with a certain character, and claimed that at the end of the day, the creators went for the relationship that felt right to them. He also suggested that anyone who felt the relationship was not adequately foreshadowed had watched the last two seasons only expecting to see heterosexual relationships.

Family tree

References

External links

Official TV Show Website
at

Nick.com Nick.com is a website owned and developed by Nickelodeon. The website previously served as an online portal for Nickelodeon content, and offered online games, video streaming, radio streaming and individual websites for each show it broadcasts. I ...

Korra
at

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