Being at New York Comic Con has removed any doubt in my mind that Avatar: The Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra will go down in history as tremendous, beloved shows.
After getting into panel after panel with ease on Thursday, I remained convinced that The Legend of Korra’s would be much more difficult to attend. Before the Korra panel was set to begin, the creators of The Walking Dead were using the room to host a Q&A. To avoid missing the panel for which I had my heart set, I entered the hall for The Walking Dead panel, despite never having read a book or watched an episode of the series. It turned out that I was not alone.
Looking around the conference room, one could notice something was a little off. Many of the attendees were otherwise occupied, playing on their iPads and 3DSes rather than listening to the creators of one of the highest-rated shows in the country.
Many of the author’s jokes were met with silence, and a surprising number of people were dressed in Avatar cosplay. When the panel was nearly finished, a mile-long line of Korra fans was standing in the center aisle, waiting for people to leave their seats. The only problem? Almost nobody moved. At least one-third — and likely half — of the attendees in the enormous conference room were only there to wait for Korra.
When the creators and voice actors of The Legend of Korra were introduced, they were treated like rock stars, as men and women, young and old, shrieked in awe.
The panelists wasted no time sharing the next episode of their beloved show with the clamorous crowd. But first, the show runners, Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko, expressed their feelings about this episode, declaring it the most emotional, powerful, and serious one they’ve ever done across seven seasons of their popular franchise.
And that was not hyperbole. The episode recounts the last three years of the Avatar’s life, as she struggled to recover from the battle with Zaheer at the end of season 3. Zaheer left Korra poisoned, crippled, and unable to connect to her spiritual half, Rava.
In the run of the show, Korra was only in a wheelchair for a few minutes, and viewers had already seen that the Avatar would regain her mobility. Yet even so, the fans in that conference hall were completely invested in Korra’s journey back, with the hall erupting from Korra finding the strength just to move her big toe. Applause broke out upon seeing Korra walk again. Every single person in that hall wanted to see Korra succeed.
The fans’ investment in the characters was not limited to Korra, with Tenzin drawing a round of applause and the antics of Mako and Bolin bringing the crowd alive with laughter.
Katara made her first appearance in a long time as well, appeasing the Avatar fans in the crowd, but it was another Last Airbender alumnus who truly stole the show.
In the final moments of the episode, with Korra struggling to confront her past, an old friend — and an incredibly popular character — returned to the Avatar world in a touching moment. Toph, the blind, smart-mouthed inventor of metal bending, addressed Korra, smiling, and saying that, in a past life, they were the best of friends.
“Nice to see you again, Twinkletoes.”
I, like the rest of the room, cheered wildly at seeing a character who hasn’t appeared on a new show in years.
The time spent in the packed conference room proved to me once again the strength of the Avatar franchise. The strong characters, historical and political allegory, and incredible animation style make the show stand out above the rest.
