Avatar:Combustion Man
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"I've heard about you. They say you're good at what you do, and even better at keeping secrets. The Avatar is alive. I want you to find him, and end him."
Combustion Man, given his nickname by Sokka, was a firebending assassin and silent bounty hunter hired by Prince Zuko to track down and eliminate Avatar Aang.[1] Following Team Avatar through the Fire Nation, he terrorized them with his unique combustionbending abilities, which allowed him to project and detonate large explosions at will from his third-eye tattoo.
After three nearly successful attempts at ending Aang's life, Combustion Man tracked Team Avatar down at the Western Air Temple. Unwilling to let the Avatar escape again, the assassin overcame all defenses, causing enormous destruction in the process. However, his third eye was hit by Sokka's boomerang during the ferocious battle, and he unintentionally unleashed a massive point-blank explosion that killed him and destroyed the surrounding area.
History
Early life
This Fire Nation assassin discovered his ability as a young child, but was initially unable to control it and accidentally blew off his right arm and leg, which he replaced with his trademark metal prosthetic limbs.[3] He went on to acquire a status of infamy in a series of quick successful Agni Kai matches.[5]
Assassination attempts on Aang
First attempt
Combustion Man was hired by Zuko to kill Aang, since the prince believed there was a chance that the Avatar might have survived Azula's attack at Ba Sing Se, an outcome which would jeopardize the newfound respect his father, Fire Lord Ozai, had for him. This news drove the firebending assassin to utilize any means possible in eliminating such a potential threat.[1]
Combustion Man eliminated or intercepted any evidence that could compromise his mission. When Aang was spotted by two Fire Nation soldiers, the assassin's raven eagle intercepted the soldiers' dragon hawk, enabling him to read and subsequently destroy the message. That night, he stealthily approached Aang and his friends' campsite, but his metallic footsteps were detected by Toph Beifong. Abandoning stealth, Combustion Man attacked, his powerful bolts countering both Katara's waterbending and Toph's earthbending, forcing them to take cover. He followed Aang as the Avatar led him away from the others. Following a running battle, Combustion Man's attacks were countered by Aang's airbending and earthbending, and he eventually halted his pursuit as the Avatar escaped on Appa with the group.[6]
Second attempt
In his second attempt, Combustion Man operated more subtly by setting up a trap in Fire Fountain City via a wanted poster to capture Katara and Toph. He locked them in a wooden cell, depriving them of both earth and water to bend, and used them as bait to lure Aang — a plan that proved successful. After Katara inventively used her sweat to waterbend and escape, the two girls arrived just in time to help Aang and Sokka, who had narrowly avoided the ambush because Aang heard the assassin inhaling. Katara momentarily impeded him by freezing his head in a block of ice, allowing the group to escape. Toph launched a boulder at him to cover the escape, prompting him to destroy it. As the rock exploded, a single pebble flew off and struck him directly on his third-eye tattoo, blocking his chi. He attempted another blast, only for the energy to detonate around him and hurl him into a nearby wall, allowing the group to escape.
It was during this attack that Sokka stated that "Sparky Sparky Boom Man" was an unfitting name for the assassin and dubbed him "Combustion Man" instead.[7]
Third attempt
After tracking them to a train station, Combustion Man targeted Aang while he and Sokka were accompanying a little girl named Sho on a train. During the ride, the assassin attacked the Avatar, preventing his escape by threatening the lives of the other passengers. The explosions caused the train to speed up and knocked out the engineer. After a short hand-to-hand confrontation, Aang convinced Combustion Man to face him atop the train, giving Sokka time to fix the engine. After Sokka stopped the train, Aang used water from a nearby lake to waterbend Combustion Man into the water below.[8]
Last attempt and death
Combustion Man located the group during their stay at the Western Air Temple, where Zuko interfered with his surprise attack and ordered him to stop. After shoving the prince aside and launching another assault, Combustion Man ignored Zuko's warnings about payment. Zuko's antics nonetheless created a useful distraction, allowing the group to take cover. When Combustion Man resorted to blowing up pylons supporting the temple, Sokka struck his third-eye tattoo with his boomerang, briefly stunning him and blocking his chi. Ignoring the injury, he attempted to fire again, causing a massive point-blank explosion that killed him and destroyed much of the area.[9] His metal claw was seen falling into the misty abyss.[2]
Legacy
An actor played Combustion Man in the play titled The Boy in the Iceberg.[10]
During the verdict of Yakone's trial, Sokka referenced Combustion Man as a unique bender who could firebend with his mind, whom he had "bested with [his] trusty boomerang".[11]
Sometime after the Hundred Year War, Combustion Man's technique was replicated by the firebender P'Li, who also bore a third-eye tattoo but used a more refined form of the ability. While attempting to secure P'Li's prison, an elderly Zuko told Desna and Eska of how he once sent Combustion Man after Avatar Aang.[12]
Personality
Combustion Man was an unusually silent individual who never seemed to speak,[13] though he did make occasional grunts in reaction to pain. He was an assassin who could do any dirty job with no questions asked, earning him a reputation for being "good at what [he does] and even better at keeping secrets".[1] When Zuko hired Combustion Man to kill Aang, he was was willing to do anything to ensure the completion of his mission, even if it meant endangering an entire train full of passengers in the process.[8] He was so dedicated to his profession that he ignored Zuko's offer to pay him twice Aang's original bounty in exchange for sparing the boy's life. He even blasted Zuko away to resume his attack on Aang,[2] thinking that Fire Lord Ozai would be grateful to him for killing the Avatar.[14]
Abilities
Firebending
Combustion Man's primary ability was combustionbending, a rare style of firebending that allowed him to trigger explosions through his third-eye tattoo. This was done by channeling chi energy from his stomach and focusing it into the tattoo on his forehead.[3] The resulting energy formed thin, transparent bolts that sparked like firecrackers as they traveled, exploding violently upon impact. The ability required only inhalation and mental focus, making his fighting style far less dynamic than standard firebending while still allowing long-range, highly accurate attacks.[6] Each bolt was powerful enough to disintegrate large boulders or evaporate bodies of water with ease. He was also capable of normal firebending, as he burned a stolen message without forming a combustion bolt,[6] though in combat he always relied on his combustionbending.
Combustion Man showed no apparent physical weaknesses and was nearly impossible to approach, constantly firing explosive bolts. Ironically, his greatest strength was also his only known vulnerability: striking the third-eye tattoo — even with a pebble — could stun him and cause his blasts to backfire due to blocked chi.[7] This occurred when Sokka hit him with a boomerang, the resulting explosion destroying much of the Western Air Temple and killing him,[9] leaving only his metal arm.[2]
Other skills
Combustion Man's vast size granted him considerable physical strength, easily overpowering Zuko with one hand even while looking away. His metal prosthetics also served as lethal weapons.[2][8] Despite his huge frame and metal limbs, he was surprisingly agile, using his clawed hand and foot to break falls from great heights.[7][2]
His durability and quick thinking enabled him to charge through Aang's tornadoes unfazed and block Katara's "icicle-striking" attack using his metal arm and leg. He demonstrated considerable stamina as well, exemplified when he maintained an extended combustion blast at Zuko's fire shield.[2]
Combustion Man proved to be a skilled tracker and quite cunning, as he set a trap for Team Avatar by bribing Fire Fountain City's town authority into helping him capture Katara and Toph to use them as bait for Aang. However, his insight into his actions was somewhat poor. When Sokka threw his boomerang at Combustion Man's third-eye tattoo, it blocked his chi and caused him to unintentionally attack himself with his own combustionbending.[7] When this happened a second time, he still tried to attack Aang, which backfired and resulted in his accidental self-detonation. Ultimately, Combustion Man triggered his own downfall by failing to learn from his previous experiences.[2]
Appearances
Avatar: The Last Airbender
Book Three: Fire (火)
Avatar comics
Book Three: Fire (火)
Trivia
- Combustion Man's third-eye tattoo resembles that of the Hindu god Shiva, associated with destruction, transformation, and rebirth.
- A rumor stated that Combustion Man was a Fire Nation soldier injured in battle and healed using experimental techniques that granted him mental firebending abilities.[13]
- Although Zuko appeared to know his real name, he never said it.[2]
- Sokka initially referred to him as "Sparky Sparky Boom Man" before settling on "Combustion Man". Aang was the only other companion shown to use the former nickname.[7]
- In Combustion Man's first attack,[6] he fought Aang in a remote field of tall spires. Aang would later duel Fire Lord Ozai in terrain featuring similar pillars.
- Combustion Man is one of the tallest figures in the series and the only human character confirmed to stand over seven feet tall.[5]
- His forehead weakness parallels the Biblical giant Goliath, who was felled by a stone strike to the forehead.
- An early draft gave him Ruon-Jian's hair, as he was based on a friend of Bryan Konietzko, but Aaron Ehasz preferred a shaved head.[5]
- Combustion Man served as the secondary villain of Book Three, similar to Admiral Zhao in Book One: Water and Long Feng in Book Two: Earth.
- Combustion Man was the third known character with a physical disability, following Teo and Toph Beifong.
- Combustion Man and P'Li were the first two combustionbenders depicted in release order and shared several traits: extreme height, willingness to attack innocents, attempts to kill the Avatar, and death by their own technique near an air temple.
References
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de:Verbrutzelmann es:Hombre Combustión fi:Polttovoimamies fr:Homme Explosif he:האיש המתלקח nl:Explosie Man pl:Człowiek Spalina pt-br:Homem Combustão ru:Огненный убийца uk:Вибуховий Чоловік