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| “ | Let me make something clear. Our mission is vital to the future of the Fire Nation, and so we will find the Avatar. We will prove ourselves worthy, and we will see our homes and families again... or we will die trying. | „ |
| ~ Zuko to his crew in the 41st. |
Prince Zuko is a major antagonist in the 2024 Netflix adventure fantasy series Avatar: The Last Airbender, which is based on the 2005-2008 Nickelodeon animated television series of the same name.
He is a Crown Prince of the Fire Nation, who is banished by his father Fire Lord Ozai to capture the Avatar and bring him to the Fire Nation to restore his honor and father's love while being accompanied with his uncle Iroh during his journey. Later during the Fire Nation's attack on the Northern Water Tribe, he was devastated to discover that his mission was all for nothing after Zhao reveals that Ozai was only setting him up as a motivation for his younger sister Azula to become a better heir than him.
He is portrayed by Dallas Liu.
Biography[]
Background[]
Zuko was born to the Fire Nation royal family as the eldest child of Fire Lord Ozai and Ursa, the latter is mentioned as a "soft" woman. A few years later, Zuko's younger sister Azula was born. He was also a great-grandson of Fire Lord Sozin and grandson of Fire Lord Azulon. As the next Fire Lord, Zuko underwent different lessons, where his teachers were very strict. When one of his studies wasn't going well, Ozai wasn't pleased. Li Ten, Zuko's older cousin, and Iroh's only son gave him a medal when he won for finishing first in his officer class. It was said that the medal belonged to someone destined to do great things, which Zuko believed gave him strength. At some point, in his life, Zuko's mother Ursa was absentee by the time he was a teenager.
Unfortunately, when Zuko was a young teenager, he lost his beloved cousin Lu Ten during Iroh's 600-day siege of Ba Sing Se. At Lu Ten's funeral, Zuko also went to comfort Iroh by giving back a medal in honor of his death. He then sat beside him while Iroh shed his tears.
Three years before the events of the series, Zuko was invited to his first war meeting. When he couldn't come up with the plans, Zuko later became disgusted by overhearing General Li's plans to sacrifice the batch of the 41st Division he called his plans terrible, which enraged Ozai so much that he challenged him to duel in Agni Kai. Though he tries to settle down by refusing to duel with him, he eventually relents and agrees to fight against his father. Refusing to hurt his father, led to Zuko's right shoulder getting injured and his left face was scarred. Before he was banished, Ozai stated that "compassion is a sign of weakness" and told him he would never return to the Fire Nation unless he captured the Avatar. After he was banished from the Fire Nation, Iroh chose to accompany Zuko on his journey to capture the Avatar.
Season 1[]
Aang[]
Three years following his banishment from the Fire Nation, Zuko witnessed the beam of light from far away when Aang was finally released from an iceberg, he became excited that he's finally found the Avatar he's been longing to search. He went to his uncle Iroh and told him about it, which he dismissed as celestial glimmers in the winter sky. Despite Iroh trying to tell him how it's impossible to get his hopes up to get his father's attention and a position as an heir of the Fire Nation, Zuko refuses to believe and says that capturing the Avatar is his destiny.
After Lieutenant Jee and the soldiers are joking around, Zuko arrives and announces they'll prove themselves worthy once they capture the Avatar. He was later seen training so he would be able to match the Avatar while confidently rejecting Iroh's offer of a cup of jasmine tea. Zuko and his army later arrive at the Southern Water Tribe and demand them to hand over the Avatar, which Sokka almost accepted his offer until Katara convinced him to stop. Sokka then challenged him to a one-on-one fight, in which Zuko easily outmatched him and almost burned him alive until Aang stepped in to protect him. While they fought, the people of Southern Water Tribe attacked the Fire Nation which enraged Zuko so much that he almost burned the village until Aang surrendered himself to protect them. While Aang is taken away, Zuko takes away his glider staff.
When Aang escaped from his ship, Zuko and the soldiers caught him and tried to stop him from escaping. He managed to shoot Aang which almost got him to fall until Katara and Sokka went to save him. Angered, he unleashed a stream of fire at them, but Katara used waterbending to protect themselves from that. Zuko cannot help but watch them escape from his grasp. He then draws a picture of Aang and puts it on the wall as a part of his plan to capture him.
Warriors[]
While an angry Zuko desperately finds his missing notebook that was stolen by Aang, Iroh later calmed him down by showing him the map that tracks down the Avatar's movement. At the Fire Nation port where the headquarters of the regional Fire Nation Commander is, he told Iroh it was a bad idea to go there because it would be over if the others would look for the Avatar. Later that night, they asked the Fire Nation officer for the surveillance reports and a map and met Commander Zhao for the first time.
The next morning, he and Iroh noticed Zhao and his men were heading to Kyoshi Island and they were racing towards them. Rather than following Zhao to the village, Zuko went to the Kyoshi temple to capture Aang, but only for him to fight against Katara and almost kill her until Aang (possessed by Kyoshi) went to save her. After leaving Kyoshi Island, Zuko convinces Zhao not to tell anyone about the Avatar and reluctantly agrees with their partnership on Iroh's behalf. Unfortunately, Zhao goes behind their backs by informing Ozai about it.
Omashu[]
At the ship, he, Iroh, and Zhao have found out that the Team Avatar is headed to Omashu. Zhao suggests he should send two of his men in a search, but Zuko insists he and Iroh should go alone. While they're at Omashu, they discover the bombing incident here. When Katara went off to see what the Freedom Fighters were up to, Zuko recognized her as one of Aang's companions and he and Iroh followed her. While Team Avatar is on their way to stop the explosion, Zuko and Iroh interfere. Aang sends Katara and Sokka to stop the revision while He remains behind to fight Inc. Without using firebending, he can fight the Avatar with hand-to-hand combat and chase him around the marketplace. When Aang accidentally lets it slip that he's been chasing him for three years, an enraged Zuko begins to realize he's the one who stole his notebook and friends at him, causing massive panic around the city. When the Earth Kingdom soldiers are on their way to arrest them, Zuko is forced to flee the city while Iroh stays behind to fight against them.
Into the Dark[]
Rather than leaving him behind, Zuko went to rescue Iroh from being held captive by the Earth Kingdom. Later that night, he ambushed one of Earth Kingdom's soldiers and took his uniform to disguise himself as one. He snuck into the Earth Kingdom prison where he learns that Iroh was moved to "the Pit" by the next morning. The next morning, Zuko followed Iroh's trail by finding his White Lotus Pai Sho tile on the ground he left for him to find, which later helped him find Iroh and save him from the Earth Kingdom soldiers. When one of the soldiers injured Iroh, Zuko immediately attacked him in retaliation and called him out for showing compassion. Later that night, while on the boat, Zuko spotted Appa from above, but only to brush it off.
Spirited Away[]
At the ship, Zuko heard from Lieutenant Jee that some officer heard that Katara attacked the soldiers with ice by using waterbending against them, realizing the Avatar was somewhere. He and Iroh were at the Earth Kingdom village where they couldn't find the reports about waterbending but to no avail, so Iroh decided to enlist a bounty hunter June for their help instead, much to Zuko's dismay.
Masks[]
Discovering that Lieutenant Jee is heading off course, Zuko realizes that Zhao has been promoted to admiral, meaning that the rest of Zuko's army is under his control. When he and Iroh finally captured Aang after June captured him for them, they reluctantly gave up the Avatar to Zhao's hands. Despite Iroh's warning, Zuko takes his identity as the Blue Spirit and snuck into the Pohuai Stronghold to rescue Aang from being held captive. Though they finally escape, the Blue Spirit is eventually injured by one of the Yuyan Archers, revealing his true identity to Aang. Instead of leaving him behind, Aang rescued Zuko from the Fire Nation and they hid inside a barn. When Aang suggests he doesn't need to be like the Fire Nation, Zuko angrily rejects an attempt to attack him before he is knocked out by Aang's airbending. Before parting their ways, Aang asked Zuko if they could ever be friends, but only for the Fire Nation prince to reject by firebrand him. Zuko returns to his ship where he discovers his crew are bowing at him in respect before he can go back to bed.
The North[]
While Zuko and Iroh are in the former's cabin, Lieutenant Jee warns them that Admiral Zhao has ordered Zuko's arrest, under suspension of treason. Zuko escapes with a small row boat until he discovers a blasting jelly there before it later explodes with him, but he manages to survive. The next morning, Zuko disguises as one of the Fire Nation soldiers so they won't suspect his survival and talks to Iroh about how Zhao already has the advantage with someone working for him.
Legends[]
Before parting ways with Iroh, Zuko told him how Lu Ten would've been proud to have him as his father. Later that night, he managed to break into Anga Qel'a and breaking into Kuruk's temple. He found and cornered Aang and Katara on their way to the Spirit Oasis in Kuruk's temple. Zuko dismissed Aang's warning that Zhao was going to kill the Moon Spirit,Tui. Katara stayed behind to fight Zuko while Aang went off to stop Zhao from killing the Moon Spirit. During their girl, the Prince mocked Katara for her power growth but found himself equally matched in a high with her.
After Zhao killed the Moon Spirit, Zuko ceased his attack on Katara when the moon went dark and her waterbending diminished. One of the fiery cannons from the naval ships hit the roof of Kuruk's temple and Zuko and Katara were trapped under a pile of rumble. Iroh found Zuko who was in shock watching Aang in the form of Koizilla before his uncle convinced him to escape the Northern Water Tribe. However, they later spotted Zhao who tried to run away, Zuko was enraged at the sight of his rival for being the cause of his failure to capture the Avatar. He attacked Zhao, shocking his would be killer that the former was still alive. The two engaged on an Agni Kai in the devastating city, where Zuko overpowered him. Zhao mocks him by revealing that Ozai was only using him to test his sister, which Zuko starts breaking down as everything he worked for was all for nothing. Zuko spares Zhao and walls away but the admiral tried to fire and kill Zuko from behind. However, Iroh killed Zhao with his fire, thus saving his nephew's life. Following the aftermath of the battle, Zuko and Iroh later escape from the Northern Water Tribe on a rowboat where the younger Firebender is exhausted and unsure what to do now that the mission was all for nothing.
Personality[]
Zuko was once a kind, selfless, and compassionate young man, first showcased when he showed his appallment for General Li's plan to sacrifice the 41st Legion. Though Zuko put up a fight, he ultimately refused to burn his father. Ozai saw his son's compassion as a sign of weakness and blamed his mother Ursa for being the cause of it. After being forced on a mission to capture the Avatar for three years, Zuko became stoic, embittered, and enraged. He was also easily hot-tempered and would often lash out. This is best shown when he starts throwing his things around the room when he can't find his notebook and is angry upon learning that Aang stole his journal. Zuko could also be sarcastic, as he does so when he openly mocked Lieutenant Jee in front of the whole crew. Zuko is an impulsive, temperamental teenager, and is often really bad at thinking things through. For example, he thought of ways to save Aang from Zhao but didn't anticipate the rescue going south. Additionally, his arrogance gets the better of him when Katara manages to fight him off.
Despite his hot temper and obsession, Zuko still holds high views of his family. He cares for his uncle Iroh, who becomes like a second father to him. Zuko was also close with his cousin Lu Ten, who gifted Zuko with a medal that would give him strength whenever Ozai was being. Since his cousin Lu Ten's death, Zuko comforted his uncle during his son's funeral and was the only one in Iroh's family to sit by his uncle. In the Earth Kingdom, Zuko chooses between following the Avatar or saving his uncle, ultimately choosing the latter. However, Zuko's a strained relationship with his sister Azul, who does everything she can to prove that she is the better heir to their father. A major motivation for Zuko's need to capture the Avatar is to not only regain his honor but his father's love as well.
Zuko is still an honorable individual, even towards his enemies. When the two first met, Aang bargained with the Fire Prince that he would come with him if he left Wolf Cove alone. Zuko also finds hiring a bounty hunter like June to locate the Avatar to be dishonorable until Iroh tells him otherwise. Upon being told by Zhao that his mission was all for nothing and that Ozai's banishment of Zuko was meant to motivate Azula, Zuko was angered. However, on their way to escape from the Northern Water Tribe, he feels defeated.
Powers and Abilities[]
Firebending[]
Like his animated counterpart, Zuko is arguably one of the most powerful Firebenders in the world and has been preparing for a confrontation with the Avatar. He was able to take down Katara in their first duel together due to her holding back her waterbending from the death of her mother. He would have killed her if a Kyoshi-possessed Aang hadn't shown up. Zuko later showcased his abilities during a fight with the Earth Kingdom soldiers, even managing to firebending from his feet and saving his uncle in the process. When he and Aang were stuck together after escaping from Admiral Zhao, Zuko started to firebrand at him until Aang accidentally knocked him out and never meant to hurt him. During their second duel, Zuko found himself matched with Katara, who managed to incapacitate him by trapping him in a block of ice.
Combat and Swordsmanship[]
In addition to firebending, Zuko proved to be a skilled combatant and Master swordsman. When he was rescuing Aang from the fortress, Zuko proved capable of using two broadswords simultaneously.
Trivia[]
- The scene in which a woman is seen hitting Zuko for harming an innocent child during their duel in Omashu became popular. In addition, critics and fans alike have praised Dallas Liu for his role as Zuko, especially his sarcasm.
- Zuko faces several differences in the live-action remake.
- Unlike the cartoon, where Zuko refuses to fight his father, Zuko does put up a fight against Ozai but he hesitates to burn his father.
- While their relationship was briefly addressed, Lu Ten and Zuko's relationship is flushed out more.
- While Zuko in the cartoon is more willing to use June to track and hunt down team Avatar, he finds it to be a dishonorable tactic until Uncle Iroh convinces him to.
- After Pohuai Stronghold, Zuko and Aang's conversation is expanded.
- Additionally, unlike the series, Zuko is 17 as opposed to 16.
- Despite the lukewarm reception of the live-action series, the series making the 41st Division and Zuko's crew the same has been heavily praised as one of the best changes made to the series.
Gallery[]
Images[]
Promotional images[]
Season One[]
Videos[]
