If anyone knows me, they know I’m a big fan of Avatar: The Last Airbender. I’m pretty sure I’ve written more about this show than I’ve written anything in my entire life. It was honesty what raised me as a kid and a big reason as to why I like anime so much now, thanks to its impressive storytelling and wonderful animation that is almost reminiscent of anime of the past.
However, you want to know what this cartoon and anime also have in common? Excellent villains, in both Avatar: The Last Airbender and in The Legend of Korra. Keep in mind, there are plenty of villains in both of these shows, but today, we’re only going to go over the ones that truly terrified me as a kid – and honestly still do as an adult, ranked by how scary they are. Let’s get into it.
10. Admiral Zhao
Okay, so first off, let’s start by saying that Zuko is not going to be counted on this list at all. He was never really scary to me, and his redemption arc really saved him, so in my mind, he’s more of an antihero than a villain. But, you want to know who’s not an antihero? Admiral Zhao.
One of the generals of the Fire Nation army, Admiral Zhao was an absolute jerk and would stop at nothing in his quest for power. While he’s not as terrifying as some of the other picks on this list, he certainly is up there with his pure lust for power. I was quite glad when he ended up getting trapped in the spirit world. Talk about vengeance.
9. The Dai Lee
You know that the enemy is hard when the only person who can defeat them partially is Uncle Iroh. The Dai Lee, otherwise known as the Secret Police of Ba Sing Se run by Long Feng, was a corrupt Earthbending brigade that basically ordered the king around to do whatever they wanted.
They brainwashed people of the cities, used their power for their own advantage, and did anything you would expect evil people to do. Not only that, but they were expert level benders, so they were quite scary, too.
8. Combustion Man
I know, the name sounds silly, but this man could shoot explosives from his head.
From. His. Head.
Do you know how terrifying that was to ten-year-old me? While in hindsight, this power isn’t really that strong and one mess up could have you dead in seconds – as we see in Avatar: The Last Airbender – but if you’re an expert at this power, you can blow some stuff up – literally.
7. Ming-Hua
Arguably one of the best Waterbenders in the game and a great female bender, Ming-Hua may not have been the villain we all focused on, but she is freaking terrifying, because she is able to bend water without arms. Somehow, she is able to use water as basically tentacles to do her bidding.
That alone makes me want to shrivel up and die thinking about the mechanics of how that would even work, but it also doesn’t help that she is an excellent bender, as well as having that creepy as heck smile. Certainly one of the scarier villains in The Legend of Korra series.
6. Zaheer
I had to put Zaheer above Ming-Hua because this dude was not afraid to commit mass murder. When he was given the rare chance to suddenly Airbend after the merging of the physical world and spiritual world in the sequel show, The Legend of Korra, he uses this to his full advantage, using it to get out of prison, assemble his team, and wreak havoc.
I mean, he literally suffocated the Earth Queen with his powers. He stole the air right out of her body. This was the first time we ever saw an Airbender, like Aang, be ruthless in the way he used his powers, and it was shocking.
5. Kuvira
I feel like Kuvira is one of those characters that isn't talked about as much as she should have been. Not only was she a cold and calculating villain, who was able to keep up with Korra in more ways than one, she was an expert Metalbender, and taught it to many of her soldiers in order to succeed in her plans.
While she does seek redemption later on in the comics that came out after, there is something about her as a villain that I love, and I truly wish we had gotten to see more of her. Such a great bad guy.
4. Hama
I stand by the fact that the episode in which Katara learns Bloodbending from Hama in Avatar: The Last Airbender is one of the darkest moments of the children's series.
Hama was a Waterbender who was imprisoned by the Fire Nation and learned to bend the water in people’s bloodstreams in order to escape – essentially, controlling their movements. It’s like the Imperius curse in the Harry Potter franchise.
Katara is forced to use this method on Hama herself when Hama goes to hurt her friends during the episode, “The Puppetmaster,” in which we see Katara cry after using it, knowing how dark it is. But Hama, while only there for an episode, was truly terrifying.
3. Amon (And His Brother)
Remember when I brought up Bloodbending in the last section? Wanna see me do it again?
Amon, later revealed to be Noatak from the Northern Water Tribe, was the leader of an anti-bending group in The Legend of Korra, and looked as if he could steal people’s bending abilities away just by using a touch.
In reality, it was a high-level version of Bloodbending that he used, and alongside his brother, Tarrlock, they were used as tools against the Avatar by their father, Yakone.
However, it doesn’t change the fact that the ways in which they used this rare ability were absolutely powerful and scary at the same time, and truly made me shiver in fear.
2. Fire Lord Ozai
Fire Lord Ozai, voiced by the talented Mark Hamil, was truly a legendary villain. He was the main bad guy we followed throughout all of Avatar: The Last Airbender. We didn’t even get to see his face until way down the line, because the show wanted to keep him in an air of mystery.
Obviously, we do later see just how scary he can be during Sozin’s Comet, showing his powerful bending. Even before that, though, we saw he could easily conjure lightning, as well as having no qualms about harming his son for his own disciplinary reasons. Truly evil – but someone outdoes him in terms of scariness.
1. Azula
Yeah, she beats her own father for one reason – Azula has absolutely no filter.
Azula is the younger sister of Zuko and truly terrifying in every way. Not only is she a better Firebender than her brother, she really has no boundaries when it comes to getting what she wants. She is willing to even kill her own family in order to prove to her father that she is worthy of inheriting the Fire Nation throne – which she does do later down the line, but grows mad from the pressure.
Even then, when she faces off against Zuko in the Agni Kai, she is still so incredibly powerful, which is why she needs to be number one – even at her most unhinged, Azula is just that girl – scary.
Who are your favorite villains from Avatar: The Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra? I know that there might be some other small ones here that I didn’t talk about, but these are the ones I can’t forget about – and probably never will thanks to the nightmares they gave me.
