The Fate of the Airbenders: Unraveling the Mystery

Article Key Points

It is possible that the notion of the Fire Nation completely annihilating the Air Nomads may not accurately reflect the entire truth. There are subtle hints suggesting that they might have managed to escape or find sanctuary in other nations.

The Fire Nation's claims of triumph over the peaceful Air Nomads may merely be propaganda, potentially inflating their alleged victory against a nation devoid of military might.

The occurrence of the Harmonic Convergence in The Legend of Korra could imply that the descendants of the Air Nomads were always linked to their airbending heritage, necessitating a trigger to unlock their latent abilities.

The title Avatar: The Last Airbender may have been misleading. The series begins with Avatar Aang emerging from an ice sphere and being informed that he is the last airbender. Throughout the series, Team Avatar travels to various locations, including all of the air temples, to confirm this statement. According to history, it is believed that the airbenders were victims of a genocide carried out by the Fire Nation in their search for the next Avatar.

However, Avatar: The Last Airbender reveals that many truths were actually fictional. By examining the facts and considering the likelihood of the Air Nomads being massacred by the Fire Nation, one could come to a different conclusion. Although it has not been officially confirmed whether the Air Nomads survived the Fire Nation's attacks, there are a few indications that suggest they may have.

Was Aang Really The Last Airbender?

The dragons that instructed early humans in the art of firebending were rumored to be completely wiped out. It was widely believed that General Iroh was responsible for the extinction of the last remaining dragons. However, this turned out to be inaccurate. Fire Nation propaganda spread the false claim, elevating General Iroh's status and further fueling the Fire Nation's confidence in their war efforts. Uncle Iroh's deception ultimately saved the dragons from being wiped out and boosted the morale of his troops during the Hundred Years War. As Uncle Iroh aptly remarked, history does not always treat its subjects with kindness.

The evidence of the Air Nomads' deaths during the Fire Nation's attack on the air temples is most substantiated at the Southern Air Temple, where Avatar Aang resided and where Monk Gyatso's remains were found. Despite being peaceful, the Air Nomads managed to seemingly overpower many of the Fire Nation soldiers, who were augmented by Fire Lord Sozin's Comet. This defeat was undoubtedly humiliating for the Fire Nation, especially considering that the Air Nomads were pacifists and lacked a conventional army. However, the Fire Nation chose to present a different narrative, claiming that their forces had triumphed over the airbender army. This appears to be nothing more than typical wartime propaganda, similar to Iroh's supposed eradication of the dragons. Regardless of any disadvantages in terms of power or combat skills, the Air Nomads possessed something that the Fire Nation lacked, which could have contributed to their survival.

How the Air Nomads Could Have Escaped Annihilation

Contrary to the firebenders, the airbenders had the ability to soar through the skies using various techniques. Perched atop lofty mountains, the Fire Nation's access to the temples was limited to a single route. Conversely, the Air Nomads had the freedom to simply glide down the mountainside and evade capture. The Fire Nation's airships were only developed much later, leaving them with no means of chasing after the airborne airbenders. Even if some airbenders lacked the ability to fly, the Air Nomads still had the assistance of sky bisons. One of the rare firebenders who could fly using firebending was the villainous Fire Lord Ozai. Just consider the irony of an invincible army unable to conquer a pacifist nation without an army, and how an individual monk managed to defeat many of them. It is certainly not a tale that would instill confidence in a nation determined to achieve global dominance. However, the lingering question remains: if the Air Nomads did manage to survive the assault by the Fire Nation, what became of them?

Avatar: The Last Airbender can be streamed on Paramount Plus.

Similar to the presence of dragons, it is conceivable that the Air Nomads sought sanctuary elsewhere, perhaps in a location beyond the reach of the Fire Nation's footsteps. Alternatively, they could have followed the path of Aang, hiding among the Fire Nation, or chosen to dwell in foreign lands as exiles. Regrettably, the latter option would have jeopardized the preservation of Air Nomad culture. Their unique practices, such as bending abilities and distinctive tattooing, would have inevitably been lost, sacrificed in the process of assimilation into the culture of their new home. Consequently, the inheritance of airbending skills and the inherent affinity for it would have gradually faded away over the span of a hundred years, as each new generation born into the other nations of the Avatar: The Last Airbender universe would have lacked this profound connection.

It is possible that the Fire Nation's propaganda contains elements of both truth and fiction. If it is indeed true that the Air Nomads sought refuge in other nations, such as the Northern Water Tribe and Ba Sing Se of the Earth Kingdom, both of which remained unconquered at that time, then the Fire Nation's victory lies not in the physical annihilation of the Air Nomads, but rather in the eradication of their culture and close-knit community. Consequently, it would be more accurate to claim that Aang was the sole remaining practicing airbender at the start of the series.

This hypothesis would lend greater significance to the Harmonic Convergence portrayed in The Legend of Korra, as it bestowed, whether selectively or randomly, the ability to airbend upon non-benders. Alternatively, one could argue that these "non-benders" are actually descendants of airbenders who, through the Harmonic Convergence, were reconnected with their ancestral heritage and subsequently gained the ability to airbend. It is plausible that this event triggered a shift, allowing their latent airbending gene or elemental affinity to manifest. Similar to the Avatar's connection with their past lives in Avatar: The Last Airbender, this forgotten tribe of airbenders may have always possessed an inherent link to their airbending roots; they simply required a slight nudge to awaken it.

Avatar: The Last Airbender

Release Date February 21, 2005Studio Nickelodeon Animation StudioCreator Michael Dante DiMartino

Editor's P/S

As a passionate fan of Avatar: The Last Airbender, I have always been intrigued by the possibility that some Air Nomads may have survived the genocide. The show hints at this possibility in several ways. For example, in the episode "The Storm," Aang has a vision of a group of Air Nomads flying away from the Fire Nation soldiers. Additionally, in the episode "The Southern Air Temple," Aang finds a secret room in the temple that contains a painting of Air Nomads escaping on flying bison.

I believe that it is possible that a small group of Air Nomads did indeed escape the genocide and went into hiding. This would explain why there are no Air Nomads in the present day, but it would also leave open the possibility that they could return in the future. I would love to see a future Avatar series that explores this possibility.