Avatar:Panzo
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"Here, we honor tradition and protect our own. We take pride in delivering justice. And as soon as a boy starts firebending, we train him up and, when he's old enough, we deputize him. Our firebenders are the law [...] I take my job very seriously and if one of my citizens has a problem, I'll deal with it."
— Panzo about his own perception of his rule over Penquan Island.[1]
Panzo was the sheriff, de facto leader, and self-appointed "fire warlord" of Penquan Island, an isolationist community in the eastern Fire Nation. As a reactionary ultranationalist, Panzo enforced a ruthless and xenophobic regime on the island during the rule of Fire Lords Zuko and Izumi, viewing Penquan Island as the last remnant of the old, imperialist Fire Nation. To prevent outsiders from changing the island, he killed critics and largely prevented trade, tourism, as well as migration. His regime was eventually toppled by Mako, Bolin, and Hisa in the mid-170s AG.
History
Ruling Penquan Island
Panzo was born on Penquan Island, a remote location in the eastern Fire Islands. Once a center of tourism due to the popular Hakizashi Geyser, Penquan Island became a rural backwater after the Hundred Year War and eventually fell under the control of isolationist, reactionary elements. Growing up, Panzo joined the local police force, rose to sheriff, and eventually seized de facto control of the island's government.[1]
Believing himself to be the last "fire warlord" and a "faithful keeper of traditional Fire Nation culture", Panzo effectively set up a dictatorship and promoted a culture considered extreme even relative to the old imperialist Fire Nation. All the firebending boys were trained to fight for the sheriff as his deputies, while women and girls were banned from firebending. The sheriff made sure anyone who tried to change things would disappear. Migration was forbidden and contact to the rest of the world, including the Fire Nation government, was kept to a minimum. Through this isolationism and his reporting of low crime rates to the central government, Panzo ensured that few people were aware or cared about what was going on at Penquan Island.[1]
One person who regularly annoyed Panzo was Naoki, a local woman who defied his chauvinistic rule. Eventually, she managed to escape along other people who were smuggled off the island. Panzo spent years searching for the individual who ran the underground migration network, and eventually discovered that Naoki was one of its members, operating from Republic City. Furious that she had not just defied him but was still undermining his regime, Panzo subsequently contacted a friend who was part of the Agni Kai Triad, paying the mob to murder Naoki in 160 AG.[1]
Downfall
Panzo's ruthless dictatorship continued until the mid-170s AG, when his child died, leaving his grandchildren Jian, Ming Ming, and Kibi as orphans. The old man demanded that Jian train firebending to eventually join his police force, but the children disliked their tyrannical grandfather just as their parents had. They thus sought refuge with a family friend, Hisa, who smuggled them off the island to Republic City. Determined to regain control of his family, Panzo redoubled his efforts to identify the smuggling network's head and finally learned that it was organized by a fisherman named Hai Jun. The sheriff managed to organize Hai Jun's kidnapping, subsequently threatening Hisa into returning his grandchildren to Penquan Island. Following her return, he threw Hisa into an underground cave prison alongside Hai Jun. Jian, Ming Ming, and Kibi were confined to their old family house.[1]
To Panzo's annoyance, Hisa was followed by a Republic City Police detective, Mako, and his brother Bolin. The two were investigating the disappearance of Hai Jun from Republic City as well as seeking information on their deceased mother. When they arrived at the island's police station, Panzo claimed that he did not know Hai Jun, extolled his island's allegedly good governance, commitment to tradition, and low crime rates, before insultingly telling them to go back to the United Republic of Nations. The brothers defied his request, however, and continued their search.[1]
Later that day, the island's Hakizashi Geyser erupted at an unusual time, alerting Panzo and his deputies. Blaming Mako and Bolin's arrival for the event, he subsequently ordered his police to arrest them. He justified this by telling the other locals that the "two Republic City boys [...] brought bad tidings" to their community. Mako and Bolin evaded Panzo's forces, eventually breaking into the underground prison to save Hisa and Hai Jun. Realizing what was happening, Panzo arrived at the prison as the brothers talked with Hai Jun about their family, with the sheriff thus learning that their mother had been Naoki. Reinforced by several deputies and assuming that he had cornered his opponents, Panzo subsequently gloated that he was responsible for Naoki's death.[1]
A furious battle erupted, with the sheriff dueling Mako. For a moment, Panzo appeared to have the upper hand and ranted how he was going to kill the detective just like his mother. Yet he was distracted by an earthbending attack of Bolin, allowing Mako to counterattack and drive Panzo back. Using lightning generation much to the sheriff's shock, Mako then broke part of the prison's cave ceiling and trapped Panzo under rubble. As the defeated officer angrily ranted that a "half-breed brat" should not be capable of lightning generation, Mako dismissively told him that he was not a warlord but "a pathetic relic of a bygone era" and now deposed. Meanwhile, Hisa and Bolin had defeated the other policemen.[1]
Afterward, Panzo and his followers were tied up and led out of the prison into Penquan Island's main settlement, where the sheriff unsuccessfully attempted to rally the islanders to free him. Hisa convinced the locals to stand down as well as deliver Panzo's group to face justice in the Fire Nation Capital, effectively ending his regime.[1]
Personality
Panzo was a sadistic, power-hungry, and racist ultranationalist who revered a past which had never truly existed. He extolled imperialist Fire Lords such as Taiso, Sozin, Azulon, and Ozai, setting up their portraits inside the police station and putting a depiction of Ozai as Phoenix King into a position of pride behind the reception desk. Despite being a mere sheriff of a backwater island, Panzo saw himself as the continuation of these Fire Lords, styling himself as a "fire warlord" and defender of Fire Nation culture. In reality, Panzo's view of the old Fire Nation was warped, as he was committed to chauvinism despite the largely gender-equal traditions of his home country.[1]
He was also petty and cruel, murdering people for speaking out against him, detaining those who asked too many questions, ordering Naoki's death just for helping other Penquan Island migrants, and gloating over his crimes when confronting Mako and Bolin.[1]
Relatives
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