References to the Avatar franchise in popular culture

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 "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 "Intro to Political Science", the Secret Service agents find a bootleg copy of The Last Airbender in Abed's room.

The Dragon Prince

In the first episode "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 "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 "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, "Rex Igneous", an airbender staff and Sokka's boomerang can be seen among the treasures of the Archdragon.

In the fifth season episode "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 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 "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 "Linc or Swim", the design of one of the seniors at the community pool is based on Iroh.

MAD

In the episode "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 "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 "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 "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 "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 "The Goldfish Problem", Steven Grant is cornered by Arthur Harrow. Harrow talks about the "avatar" of the Egyptian Goddess Ammit. Steven responds that he loves the 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 "Separate Tides", Luz vents her frustrations about feeling like a burden to Eda, and the demon sitting next to her replies with "That's rough, buddy".

Starting in "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 "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 Ozai and his Fire Nation soldiers.

In the episode "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 series, one of Santa's reindeer is called "Airbender".

The Simpsons

In the episode "Treehouse of Horror XXI", "The Last Chairbender" is listed among the opening credits.

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 "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 "Divide" and "Conquer", Tom Lucitor wears armor similar to that worn by Prince Zuko in Book One: Water.

The Tonight Show with Jay Leno

In episode #18.94, clips are shown from The Last Airbender before Jay has civilians reenact scenes from the film.

Unfabulous

In the episode "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 King 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 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 The Happening, Jess is shown putting on an Avatar: The Last Airbender backpack. The film was directed by M. Night Shyamalan who also directed The Last Airbender.

Spoof Movie No Jutsu!

In 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".
• "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 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. In chapter eight, there is a jury of school girls, among whom are Azula, Ty Lee, and Mai.

Video games

Baldur's Gate 3

There is a cabbage vendor named 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 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 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 Transformice, Toph's hair appears in the shop as a hair style. There is also a Momo skin in the fur section.

World of Warcraft

Male 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 "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 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 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 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 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 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 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, 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 "Red Sonja", Mako Iwamatsu's work was stated, including Avatar: The Last Airbender. The Critic also mentioned Mako in the episode "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 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 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 Devil and 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.

Manuel Rodriguez appears on the cover of a "How To Earthbend" guide.

Dante Basco makes his first appearance at the end of Top 11 Worst Avatar Episodes, in which he is informed of the critic's list and parodizes 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 "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 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 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 airbending master tattoos.

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.

See also

• Influences on the Avatar franchise