| “ | It's been a long time since I've added a child's face to my collection. | „ |
| ~ Koh reveals his nature as the face-stealer. |
Koh, also known as the Face-Stealer, is an ancient spirit and minor antagonist in the animated fantasy action television series Avatar: The Last Airbender, first appearing in the Book One: Water finale "The Siege of the North: Part 2". Within the series, he resides in the Spirit World and preys on anyone who displays emotion in his presence, stealing their faces and adding them to his collection.
He is one of the oldest known spirits and is portrayed as knowledgeable, manipulative, and malevolent. Although he plays a relatively small role in the story, he provides Aang with crucial information about the ocean and moon spirits and is responsible for a major loss suffered by one of Aang's past lives.
Koh first appears when Aang travels to his lair in the Spirit World with guidance from Roku.
He is voiced by Erik Todd Dellums, who also voices Aaravos in The Dragon Prince.
Physical Appearance[]
Koh's body resembles a massive centipede-like creature, with a long segmented form that moves sinuously through his lair. His face is dominated by a single eye set within a white mask that can display the visage of any person who has met him and subsequently lost their face to his powers. In its default state, the mask is smooth and pale with red lips, giving him an unsettlingly expressionless appearance. Because his face is mutable, his apparent hair and eye color change with each stolen visage and are not consistent.
History[]
Past[]
Koh is the nemesis of Avatar Kuruk, a Water Tribe Avatar and the third Avatar preceding Aang. Because Avatar Yangchen's tenure brought about generations of peace, Kuruk inherited a relatively stable world and became complacent, living a casual, self-indulgent life that fostered arrogance.
Kuruk eventually fell in love with a woman named Ummi, who planned to marry him. As punishment for Kuruk's arrogance and neglect of his duties, Koh stole Ummi's face. Devastated, Kuruk spent the rest of his life hunting the spirit and continued to pursue him into the afterlife. He ultimately could not bring himself to kill Koh, realizing that destroying the spirit would also mean losing any chance of restoring Ummi.
Confrontation with Aang[]
When Aang first meditated into the Spirit World, he sought information about Tui and La, the Ocean and Moon spirits. Roku told him about Koh, explaining that the spirit was old enough to have known Tui and La before their crossing into the mortal world and warning Aang not to show any emotion in Koh's presence because of his malevolent nature. During their encounter, Koh refused to give direct answers, instead emphasizing that Tui and La were opposites—"push and pull"—and hinting that Aang had already met them.
When Aang realized that the spirits were the koi fish in the Spirit Oasis, Koh attempted to steal his face, but narrowly failed when Aang suppressed a brief flicker of emotion. Before Aang departed, Koh told him that they would meet again.
Years later, after Aang was struck by Azula's lightning during the coup of Ba Sing Se, Koh attempted once more to steal his face, but ultimately failed when Katara revived Aang using spirit water. After this, Koh did not encounter Aang again in his current life or his later incarnation as Korra.
Gallery[]
External links[]
- Koh on the Avatar Wiki
