View source for Avatar:References to the Avatar franchise in popular culture

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{{DISPLAYTITLE:References to the ''Avatar'' franchise in popular culture}}
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The ''Avatar'' franchise has been immensely popular since its debut, captivating multiple generations of audiences. Its rich storytelling, unique world-building, and deep character development have made it a cultural phenomenon. The series '''has been referenced across various forms of popular culture''', including television, movies, and video games.

== Television ==
=== ''Cold Case'' ===
In the episode "[[:w:c:coldcase:Blood on the Tracks|Blood on the Tracks]]", Sean, Stillman's grandson, has an [[Aang]] toy, and states that he can bend air.

===''The Casagrandes''===
In the episode, "Skatey Cat" when Nikki, Casey and Sameer knock over some cabbages, a store employee cries, "MY CABBAGES!", this is a reference to the recurring cabbage vendor.

=== ''Community'' ===
In the episode "[[IMDb:tt1640860|Intro to Political Science]]", the Secret Service agents find a bootleg copy of ''{{Film|The Last Airbender}}'' in Abed's room.

=== ''The Dragon Prince'' ===
In the first episode "[[w:c:dragonprince:Echoes of Thunder|Echoes of Thunder]]", Claudia can be seen reading a book titled ''[[Love amongst the Dragons]]''. The series is co-created by [[Aaron Ehasz]], who was the former head writer for ''Avatar: The Last Airbender''.

In the third season episode "[[w:c:dragonprince:The Midnight Desert|The Midnight Desert]]", Callum inspects Nyx's boomerangs and notes that something seems familiar; the character shares his voice actor, [[Jack DeSena]], with [[Sokka]].

In the fourth season episode "[[w:c:dragonprince:Beneath the Surface|Beneath the Surface]]", Soren commands a small dragon to take flight by using the words "yip-yip", the same words that are used for [[flying bison]]. Later, in the eighth episode of the same book, "[[w:c:dragonprince:Rex Igneous (Episode)|Rex Igneous]]", an [[airbender staff]] and [[Sokka's weapons#Boomerang|Sokka's boomerang]] can be seen among the treasures of the Archdragon.

In the fifth season episode "[[w:c:dragonprince:Infantis Sanguine|Infantis Sanguine]]", a creature called [[purple pentapus]] is used for a magic poison. The animal looks similar yet bigger than its ''Avatar'' world's counterpart. In the end credits of the same episode, there is a drawing of the purple pentapus as it appears in ''Avatar: The Last Airbender'' alongside its counterpart in ''The Dragon Prince''.

=== ''Ebert Presents at the Movies'' ===
In [[IMDb:tt1976741|episode #1.25]], a clip is shown from ''The Last Airbender'' as Christy says the film looked lousy after being converted from 2D to 3D.

=== ''The Hard Times of RJ Berger'' ===
In the episode "[[IMDb:tt1949985|The Better Man]]", Robin states, "''He might be dumber than the dialogue in 'The Last Airbender', but he's pretty.''"

=== ''The Loud House'' ===
In the episode "[[w:c:theloudhouse:Linc or Swim|Linc or Swim]]", the design of one of the seniors at the community pool is based on [[Iroh]].<ref name="TLH">{{Cite web |url=https://theloudhouse.fandom.com/wiki/File:S1E08A_I_just_replaced_this_hip.png |title=''The Loud House Encyclopedia'' - "Linc or Swim" |accessdate=July 11, 2021 }}</ref>

=== ''MAD'' ===
In the episode "[[IMDb:tt1929746|The Social Netjerk / Smallville: Turn Off the Clark]]", there is a skit called "Airbender Technical Institute", a clear parody of ''Avatar: The Last Airbender''.

In a later episode "[[IMDb:tt2325700|Average-ers / Legend of Dora]]", there is a skit called "Legend of Dora", a clear parody of ''The Legend of Korra''.

=== ''Monkie Kid'' ===
In the second season episode "[[w:c:legomonkiekid:Minor Scale|Minor Scale]]", while showing off his skills with the Golden Staff, MK makes the staff tiny and spins it in his hands, doing the same pose as Aang during his marble trick. The character shares his voice actor, Jack DeSena, with Sokka.

In the third season episode "[[w:c:legomonkiekid:Benched|Benched]]", a cut scene shows one of the Lantern City talent show attendees foaming at the mouth before falling over, a reference to the [[foaming mouth guy]].

In the fourth season episode "[[w:c:legomonkiekid:Pig-Napped!|Pig-Napped!]]", Pigsy rises into the air and forms energy, broth, and food ingredients into a sphere surrounded by three rings around himself, similar to Aang's form in the battle against [[Ozai]].

=== ''Moon Knight'' ===
In the episode "[[IMDb:tt10234724|The Goldfish Problem]]", Steven Grant is cornered by Arthur Harrow. Harrow talks about the "avatar" of the Egyptian Goddess [[w:c:mythus:Ammit|Ammit]]. Steven responds that he loves the [[w:c:james-camerons-avatar:Avatar (film)|film about the blue people]]. Harrow wants to clarify what he means by "avatar", but Steven interrupts him and asks if he means the "anime", referencing ''Avatar: The Last Airbender''.

=== ''The Owl House'' ===
In the episode "[[w:c:theowlhouse:Separate Tides|Separate Tides]]", Luz vents her frustrations about feeling like a burden to Eda, and the demon sitting next to her replies with "[[The Boiling Rock, Part 1|That's rough, buddy]]".

Starting in "[[w:c:theowlhouse:Eclipse Lake|Eclipse Lake]]", Amity carries a jar of abomination goo which she uses in combat the exact same way [[Katara]] uses her [[water skin]]. Amity and Katara are both voiced by [[Mae Whitman]].

=== ''Robot Chicken'' ===
In the episode "[[IMDb:tt8530662|He's Not Even Aiming at the Toilet]]" from season 9, Roger Ebert dreams he is in ''The Last Airbender'' and uses his criticism power to defeat {{Film|Ozai}} and his [[Fire Nation]] [[Military of the Fire Nation|soldiers]].

In the episode "[[IMDb:tt15421794|May Cause Numb Butthole]]" from season 11, there is an ''Avatar'' skit featuring Aang and [[Zuko]] (voiced by his original voice actor) fighting against the [[cabbage merchant]], who now has cabbage-bending abilities.

=== ''The Santa Clauses'' ===
In the sixth episode of the [[IMDb:tt17047510|series]], one of Santa's reindeer is called "Airbender".

=== ''The Simpsons'' ===
In the episode "[[IMDb:tt1628663|Treehouse of Horror XXI]]", "The Last Chairbender" is listed among the opening credits.

[[File:Simpsons Avatar reference.png|thumb|right|200px|The four elemental symbols can been seen in the "Fake Classroom" as a reference on ''The Simpsons''.]]

Also, in the episode "500 Keys", the four [[bending arts]] symbols can be seen on the wall of the fake classroom, albeit in the wrong order.

In the episode "Murder, She Boat", a group of people playing volleyball are seen dressed as Na'vi from James Cameron's ''Avatar'' and characters from ''Avatar: The Last Airbender''.

=== ''South Park'' ===
In the season 17 episode "[[w:c:southpark:Titties and Dragons|Titties and Dragons]]", there is a scene in which Cartman's anime form bears a strong resemblance to Iroh's design.

=== ''Star vs. the Forces of Evil'' ===
In the season 3 episodes "[[w:c:starvstheforcesofevil:Divide|Divide]]" and "[[w:c:starvstheforcesofevil:Conquer|Conquer]]", Tom Lucitor wears armor similar to that worn by [[Heir to the Fire Lord|Prince]] Zuko in [[Book One: Water]].

=== ''The Tonight Show with Jay Leno'' ===
In [[IMDb:tt1694491|episode #18.94]], clips are shown from ''The Last Airbender'' before Jay has civilians reenact scenes from the film.

=== ''Unfabulous'' ===
In the episode "[[IMDb:tt0874750|The Two Timer]]", Mary Ferry accuses Addie of making fun of her ''Avatar: The Last Airbender'' themed birthday party. She even goes on to say that Addie will be sorry for missing out on the party when she hears how much fun they had playing "pin the tail on [[Monarch of Omashu|King]] [[Bumi (King of Omashu)|Bumi]] in the Land of [[Omashu]]."

===''Warped!''===
Throughout the show, various merchandise within the comic book shop can be seen for Avatar: The Last Airbender.

== Film ==
=== ''Gulliver's Travels (2010)'' ===
In [[IMDb:tt1320261|''Gulliver's Travels'']], when referring to one of his made-up adventures, Horatio says to Gulliver: "When you became the Avatar...".

=== ''The Happening'' ===
Toward the end of the film [[IMDb:tt0949731|''The Happening'']], Jess is shown putting on an ''Avatar: The Last Airbender'' backpack. The film was directed by {{Film|M. Night Shyamalan}} who also directed ''The Last Airbender''.

=== ''Spoof Movie No Jutsu!'' ===
In [[IMDb:tt1971532|''Spoof Movie No Jutsu!'']], ''Avatar: The Last Airbender'' is mentioned in dialogue.

== Music ==
=== Rap ===
References to ''Avatar: The Last Airbender'' have appeared in several rap songs, notably by including direct references to characters or bending. Examples include:
* "Wasted" by Juice Wrld featuring Lil Uzi Vert, wherein the featured artist states "tats in the middle my head like I'm Avatar" and "ride on my Appas".
* "Sumo | Zumo" and "Envy Me" by Denzel Curry, the first mentioning "Prince Zuko" by name, and the latter of which mentions "water whipping" performed by the "Avatar or Katara".
* "Megaman", by Tay-K, which references Aang and his arrow tattoo directly.
* "Nuketown" by Ski Mask the Slump God featuring Juice Wrld, where the main artist references the bending art "waterbending" and "Aang".
* "Backseat Freestyle" by Kendrick Lamar, which official music video includes a clip of Katara from the episode "[[The Chase]]".<ref name="Backseat">{{Cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EZW7et3tPuQ |title=Kendrick Lamar - Backseat Freestyle|accessdate=2020-08-31 |date=January 7, 2013 |publisher=YouTube}}</ref>
* "Gym Class" by Lil Peep contains a reference to the franchise by saying "I could make the grounds move like I'm Avatar".
* "No Frauds" by Lil Wayne, Drake, and Nicki Minaj, which lyrics contain a reference to the show: "Lil' Tune out a cartoon or Avatar".
* "Avatar" by Lil Loaded and King Von references the four elements, where the main artist says "Avatar, I got the elements. That fire gon' leave that boy melon lit. That water gon' wash up the evidence. I got the wind, I like to blow. That's what's gon' keep the boys from telling it. Oh, I forgot the last element. The earth is where I'm finna bury him."

== Comics ==
=== ''Champions'' ===
In issue #9 of ''Champions'', the heroes are watching "[[The Cave of Two Lovers]]". One of the characters also references [[cactus juice]].

=== ''Marvel's Voices: Pride'' ===
In issue #1 of ''Marvel's Voices: Pride'', Teddy Altman consoles Svaðilfari, a scorned lover of Loki who thought their love was true, by telling him "That's rough, buddy".

== Webcomics ==
=== ''Penny Arcade'' ===
The comic strip [https://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2009/06/24/heresies ''Heresies''] pokes fun at the controversy surrounding the casting of the live action film, in particular the actor playing Aang, and suggests that M. Night Shyamalan has cast Morgan Freeman as [[Appa]], with the veteran actor not wearing a suit and "just flying around".

=== ''Sister Claire'' ===
In chapter five, Sokka's club can be seen hanging on the wall.<ref name="sisterclaire">{{Cite web |url=https://www.sisterclaire.com/index.php?id=75 |title=Book 1: Chapter 5|pages= 73 |accessdate=2014-01-03 |author=Elena Barbarich}}</ref> In chapter eight, there is a jury of school girls, among whom are Azula, Ty Lee, and Mai.<ref name="sisterclaire2">{{Cite web |url=https://www.sisterclaire.com/index.php?id=162 |title=Book 1: Chapter 8 |pages= 158 |accessdate=2014-01-03 |author=Elena Barbarich}}</ref>

== Video games ==
=== ''Baldur's Gate 3'' ===
There is a cabbage vendor named [[w:c:forgottenrealms:Geezer Loryss|Geezer Loryss]] standing by the eastern wall of Sorcerous Sundries in the Lower City, beside an overturned crate of spoiled cabbage. He would cry out, "My cabbages! My beautiful cabbages...", "My poor, sweet vegetables, they deserved better..." as players pass by. If the party talks to him with a Monk character, he has a special line where he recognizes "that stoic stance, calming presence" and identifies the player as a "monastic type", warning them to "stay clear of cabbages" as "your sort have done enough damage as it is". This is a clear reference to [[Cabbage merchant|Cai]].

=== ''High School Story'' ===
In this app, the quest "Class Act" has a reference to ''The Last Airbender'' as Payton states she was the one who stopped M. Night Shyamalan from making a sequel to the ''Avatar'' movie. The "Rumble of the Clans" quest also has the main character stating, "I am the Avatar", as they compete in a video game using bending-like powers. When in need for a team name in another question, the characters chose [[Future Industries Fire Ferrets|Fire Ferrets]]. The game's voting system, The Dish, also asks the player what element they would wield if they could bend and which Nickelodeon character is their favorite, with [[Korra]] being an option.

=== ''Transformice'' ===
In ''[[w:c:transformice:Transformice|Transformice]]'', Toph's hair appears in the [[w:c:transformice:Shop|shop]] as a [[w:c:transformice:Shop/Hair style|hair style]]. There is also a [[Momo]] skin in the [[w:c:transformice:Shop/Fur|fur]] section.

=== ''World of Warcraft'' ===
Male [[w:c:wowwiki:Pandaren|Pandaren]] have a hair style option called "The Sokka", which resembles Sokka's hair from the first season.

A cabbage vendor appears during a horse chase in the quest "[https://wow.gamepedia.com/Hot_Pursuit Hot Pursuit]". If the player fails to jump over his cart, the cabbage vendor will drop to his knees and yell "My cabbages!" as his cabbages are destroyed.

=== ''Undertale'' ===
When confuting Asgore, Undyne tells him "That's rough, buddy", a famous quote from Zuko.

== Notable internet media ==
=== ''A Very Potter Musical'' ===
In [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XVtJBBwP8Ao Act 2, Part 1], Ginny says to Harry, "We kissed at the Yule Ball and ... well ... I thought we were going to be together forever, but we're not". This is similar to Aang's confession to Katara in "[[The Ember Island Players]]".

In [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1n_2uL2YjN8 Act 2, Part 5], Ron asks Hermione, "What if we don't come back?" to which she replies, "Ron! Don't say that! You-" but is interrupted by Ron kissing her. This is a direct parallel to "[[The Day of Black Sun, Part 1: The Invasion]]", during which Aang asks Katara, "What if- What if I don't come back?". She replies, "Aang, don't say that. Of course you'll-" but is interrupted when Aang kisses her.

In [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jxd6y8c3r1Q Act 2, Part 7], before Voldemort kills Harry, he tells Harry, "You're weak ... weak just like your parents. They did not deserve to live in this world, in my world! Prepare to join them! Prepare to die!". This is a direct quote of the series, spoken originally by Ozai in "[[Sozin's Comet, Part 3: Into the Inferno]]".

In [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AgNoGRA0Adw Act 2, Part 1] of the follow-up, ''A Very Potter Sequel'', Ron says to Harry, "That's rough, buddy", a word-for-word quote spoken by Zuko to Sokka in "[[The Boiling Rock, Part 1]]".

In [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NH7D_MIPHus Act 2, Part 11], Lucius and Draco's conversation about Draco's real father includes the following dialogue: "Coward! ... Don't you want to know who your real father is?" [...] "So he's still alive?" "Perhaps. But now I see that banishment is far too merciful a penalty. Yours shall be far steeper!". This is a direct parallel to Zuko's conversation with Ozai during "[[The Day of Black Sun, Part 2: The Eclipse]]".

In [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3met1wtmFg Act 2, Part 13], Hermione tells Draco, "No, I can't forgive him. But I think it's about time that I forgave you", which is similar to when Katara tells Aang, "But I didn't forgive him. I'll never forgive him", before telling Zuko, "But I am ready to forgive you", in "[[The Southern Raiders]]".

=== ''Death Battle'' ===
Three episodes feature [[Toph Beifong|Toph]], [[Aang]], and [[Zuko]] (voiced by his original voice actor) battling Gaara from ''Naruto'', Edward Elric from ''Fullmetal Alchemist'' and Shoto Todoroki from ''My Hero Academia'', respectively. Another episode features Korra fighting Storm from the ''X-Men'' series.

=== ''The Nostalgia Critic'' ===
Both the Nostalgia Critic character and his true real-life identity, Doug Walker, have a long history with the ''Avatar'' franchise.

In the episode "[[IMDb:tt1644203|Red Sonja]]", [[Mako Iwamatsu]]'s work was stated, including ''Avatar: The Last Airbender''. The Critic also mentioned Mako in the episode "[[IMDb:tt1644246|Top 11 Nostalgia Critic F*ckups]]", in which he apologized for joking in his review of the 2007 ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' film that "[Mako playing Splinter] sounds like Mr. Miyagi if he smoked a pack of Marlboros", not knowing at the time that Mako had died of oesophageal cancer.

In his review of [[w:c:sailormoon:Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon (anime series)|''Sailor Moon'']], the Nostalgia Critic states Katara's line, "Then everything changed when the Fire Nation attacked", as a joke to the similarly narrated opening of the anime.

He has used the running gags of "my cabbages" and "[[foaming mouth guy]]" in multiple reviews.

His [[IMDb:tt3093600|review]] of ''The Last Airbender'' features a parody of M. Night Shyamalan based heavily on [[Amon]]. This parody of Shyamalan also appears in his reviews of [[IMDb:tt3217556|''Devil'']] and [[IMDb:tt3746444|''After Earth'']], which were produced and directed by M. Night. He shows up again as a cameo in the critics review of ''Pixels'', and has appeared in several other videos since. In the same review, his two co-actors, Malcolm Ray and Rachel Tietz, make several appearances dressed as comedic parodies of Sokka and Katara.

[[File:Manuel Rodriguez cover.png|thumb|left|200px|[[Manuel Rodriguez]] appears on the cover of a "How To [[Earthbending|Earthbend]]" guide.]]

[[Dante Basco]] makes his first appearance at the end of [[IMDb:tt3904440|Top 11 Worst Avatar Episodes]], in which he is informed of the critic's list and parodizes General [[Iroh (United Forces general)|Iroh]]'s first appearance in ''[[The Legend of Korra]]''. The following weeks, Basco appears as an over-the-top parody of his animated counterpart Zuko in the episode "[[IMDb:tt4004478|Top 11 Avatar The Last Airbender Episodes]]", chasing the critic through a Barnes and Noble screaming the word "honor". In the same episode, the critic also makes a reference to [[Kisu]] and [[Manuel Rodriguez]], who are seen on book covers, distracts Dante with a copy of ''The Search'' trilogy, and mistakes Dante as Zuko for {{Film|Dev Patel}}, who portrayed Zuko in the film. Malcolm Ray also reprises his role as Sokka in order to distract Basco, and Rachel's replacement, Tamara Chambers, makes an appearance dressed as Toph.

In his review of [[IMDb:tt4549854|''Demolition Man'']], he can be seen petting a plush toy of Appa. The same plush would later appear as the adorable pet mascot for the Token Troop, a group he put together in order to review the movie ''Monster Squad''.

== Other ==
=== Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics ===
Dutch athlete Kiran Badloe won the gold medal for men's RS:X windsurfing while sporting dyed blue hair in the shape of an arrow to mimic [[Body markings in the World of Avatar#Airbending master tattoos|airbending master tattoos]].<ref name="MailOnline">{{Cite web |url= https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/olympics/article-9843611/Dutch-windsurfer-Kiran-Badloe-claims-Avatar-Aang-hairstyle-won-gold-medal-Tokyo-Olympics.html|title= Dutch Olympic windsufer wins a legion of new fans by sporting a new blue-arrow haircut inspired by a cartoon character who can control the wind! |publisher=Mail Online |accessdate=2021-8-04 |author= Talbot, Alastair |date= July 30, 2021}}</ref>

Mexican synchronized swimmers Nuria Diosdado and Joana Betzabe Jiménez wore costumes featuring [[Tui]] and [[La]] patterned with the markings found on [[Raava]] and [[Vaatu]] on the front of their swimming costumes, and the elemental symbols of the four elements patterned on the back.<ref name="ElPais">{{Cite web |url= https://elpais.com/mexico/2021-08-04/las-mexicanas-nuria-diosdado-y-joana-jimenez-terminan-decimosegundas-en-natacion-artistica.html/|title= La dupla mexicana de Nuria Diosdado y Joana Jiménez termina en el decimosegundo lugar en Tokio 2020 |publisher=El País |accessdate=2021-8-04 |author= Mancera, Diego |date= August 4, 2021}}</ref>

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== See also ==
* [[Influences on the Avatar franchise|Influences on the ''Avatar'' franchise]]
[[Category:A to Z]]
[[Category:Real world]]