“ | Then, everything changed when the Fire Nation attacked. | „ |
~ Katara's memetic line about the Fire Nation in the intro of Avatar: The Last Airbender. |
“ | The people of the Fire Nation have desire and will, and the energy and drive to achieve what they want. | „ |
~ Iroh to Zuko on the nature of the Fire Nation. |
“ | Our nation is enjoying an unprecedented time of peace and wealth. Our people are happy, and we're so fortunate in so many ways. I've been thinking, we should share this prosperity with the rest of the world. In our hands is the most successful empire in history. It's time we expanded it. | „ |
~ Fire Lord Sozin's plans to expand Fire Nation influence on the other three nations. |
The Fire Nation (in Chinese: 烈火國) are the major characters in Nickelodeon's Avatar: The Last Airbender franchise.
It is one of the four elemental nations. As the name suggests, inhabitants of the Fire Nation have the talent of Firebending. One hundred years before the beginning of the Avatar: The Last Airbender story, Fire Lord Sozin declared war on the other three nations in the name of colonialism and under the pretense that it was an attempt to unite them and bring peace to the world. The Fire Nation's attacks were brutal, with a deliberate campaign of extermination against the Air Nomads, in an attempt to destroy the young Avatar Aang. Because of their actions, it was up to Aang and his friends to stop them before Sozin's comet hit, which would only make the Fire Nation even more powerful and dangerous.
Members of the Fire Nation have black or dark brown hair, amber/gold, dark brown or dark gray eyes, and pale skin. The men in older years sport beards and mustaches, and almost all Fire Nation citizens have topknots. Members of the army wear red and black uniforms that may have yellow touches to them. Civilians wear red and white or red-tinted outfits. Nobles and politicians wear a two-pronged flamed topknot piece, and the Fire Lord wears a gold flame topknot piece. Their clothing and architecture seem to reflect Chinese and Japanese influences.
History[]
Past[]
The lion turtles granted the element of fire to predecessors of the Fire Nation. The power was granted through energy bending. The lion turtles gave the power to them when they would go into the Spirit Wilds to gather food and resources so they could protect themselves. When the people started to leave the lion turtles cities in order to startup communities some went to the western hemisphere along the equator where they settled and became the ancestors of the first citizens in the Fire Nation.
The era of the Warlords[]
Coming soon.
Organization[]
Government[]
The Fire Nation is an absolute monarchy. The Fire Lord is the head of state and government, and the Fire Sages are the religious authority.
Members[]
Leadership[]
- Sozin's father - Fire Lord - (?? - 58 BG)
- Sozin - Fire Lord (58 BG - 20 AG)
- Azulon - Fire Lord (20 - 95 AG)
- Fire Lord Ozai (Live-Action) - Fire Lord (95 - 100 AG) / Phoenix King (Two days in 100 AG)
- Azula (Live-Action) - Princess Regent (briefly)
- Zuko (Live-Action) - Fire Lord (100 - 167 AG)
- Izumi - Fire Lord (167 AG - present)
Officers[]
- Bujing - General
- Iroh - General (retired)
- Shinu - General
- Shu - General
- Mak - General
- Mung - General
- Mongke - Colonel
- Shinu - Colonel
- Chey - Captain (deserted)
- Unnamed guard captain
- Chan - Admiral
- Jeong Jeong - Admiral (deserted)
- Liang - Admiral
- Admiral Zhao (Live-Action) - Admiral
- Unnamed commander of the Southern Raiders
- Yon Rha - Commander (retired)
- Azula's ship captain
- Li - Captain
- Jee - Lieutenant
- Qin - War minister
Others[]
- Fire Sages
- High Sage
- Great Sage
- Kaja
- Shyu
- Combustion Man
- Elua
- Fat
- Piandao (former)
- Ukano - Governor
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- The Fire Nation archipelago resembles a flame flipped sideways as well as a human skull.
- The Fire Nation is based primarily off Imperial Japan as well as possessing some aspects of Chinese culture. In addition, the Sun Warrior civilization is based off Mesoamerican and Southeast Asian cultures.
- The Fire Nation's atrocities were inspired by the war crimes committed by Imperial Japan during World War II and the Chinese annexation of Tibet.
- Some fans theorize that the Fire Nation's colonization of the other three nations parallels those of European colonial powers, despite it being based off Imperial Japan, which happened to be a highly industrialized and modernized colonial empire that expanded its territory into neighboring countries, such as China and Korea. However, the Fire Nation does share some similarities with the European colonial nations, such as the British and French empires, as they conquered much of the world to expand their influence on other nations.
- Fire Lord Sozin's plans to colonize the rest of the world to share his ambitious ideologies parallels the ideologies of Emperor Meiji, who also believed that his country should share its prosperity with other nations. Sozin's justification for his atrocities was also used by French scholar Joseph Ernest Renan, who justified the acts of western colonialism as a means of "civilizing" other nations.
- The Fire Nation's genocide of the Air Nomads also resembles the genocides of indigenous peoples such as Native Americans and Aboriginal Australians, whereas its colonization of the Earth Kingdom is analogous to the Scramble for Africa and British colonial rule in India.
- The Fire Nation's acts of environmental destruction such as scorching down Hei Bai's forest, polluting the fishing village of Jang Hui, and the hunting campaign against dragons parallels the western powers' acts of environmental destruction that led to the near extinctions of various species in their colonies. The dragon hunts in particular mirror the Europeans' romantic hunting mentality of shooting lions and tigers in the name of glory. The deforestation of Hei Bai's forest also draws analogies to the near extinctions of elephants in Burma and bison in the Great Plains, both of which were revered by the regions' respective indigenous peoples.
- Before the end of the Hundred Year War, the Fire Nation school that Aang attended downplayed the Fire Nation's atrocities and demonized the Air Nomads to justify their genocide. Likewise, Japan's education system whitewashes Imperial Japan's war crimes and holds racist views against other Asian groups, while also advocating for the reestablishment of its military and the reintroduction of the Meiji constitution.
- Ironically, the reign of Fire Lords from Sozin to Izumi is strikingly analogous to the reign of Japanese emperors from Meiji to Reiwa.
- Sozin draws parallels with Emperor Meiji (Mustuhito), as both of them established a colonial regime within their nation with the goal of "sharing their prosperity" with the rest of the world. One major difference is that Sozin ruled his imperialist regime for twenty years, while Meiji ruled his nation for 45 years.
- Azulon draws parallels with Emperor Taishō (Yoshihito), as both were preceded by the first ruler and succeeded by the last ruler of their colonial regimes. One major difference is that Azulon oversaw most of the Fire Nation's conquests, while Taishō only ruled Imperial Japan for fourteen years.
- Ozai draws parallels with Emperor Shōwa (Hirohito), as both radicalized their imperialist policies and served as the last rulers of their colonial regimes. One major difference is that Ozai was stripped of his rule and never redeemed himself, while Shōwa retained the throne and felt immense guilt for his nation's war crimes.
- Zuko draws parallels with Emperor Akihito (to be posthumously known as Heisei), as both would continue to reform the policies of their nation and eventually abdicate the throne for their children, Izumi and Naruhito (to be posthumously known as Reiwa). One major difference is that Zuko reigned for over sixty years, while Akihito reigned for thirty years. In addition, Zuko's successor is a daughter, while Akihito's successor is a son.
External links[]
- Fire Nation on the Avatar Wiki.