The Avatar Cycle, Explained

The Avatar franchise’s titular hero is defined by more than just their ability to wield the abilities of all four elements; beyond their martial and spiritual prowess is a transcendental link to previous inheritors of the mantle stretching across thousands of years of history. But as we prepare for the news of a new Avatar show—and with it, the next incarnation of the Avatar—we’ve learned that they’re going to be facing a very different world and reputation, as well as a ramification that has changed the cycle of their ancestors forever. The First Avatar While it’s never been explicitly acknowledged just how many Avatars there have been—the young female protagonist of Seven Havens will be just the 10th we know of by name, but the implication is that there have been over a hundred—we do know that the first, Wan, ascended to the Avatar state roughly 10,000 years before the events of The Last Airbender. Wan did so at the climax of an untold conflict between two spiritual forces: Vaatu, ... Read full article.