The world of Avatar: The Last Airbender is full of colorful characters, not the least being the series’ main cast. The show has been praised for its immersive character arcs, consistent personalities, and even a realistic redemption storyline. But ATLA is also full of unsung heroes: the background characters.
From one-episode appearances to recurring jokes, ATLA's background characters are less important to the plot but extremely important to world-building. Each one is memorable in their own right. Here are twelve of ATLA’s zaniest, most legendary, and most memorable background characters.
12. Dock/Xu/Bushi
While traveling through the Fire Nation, the Gaang arrives in a pollution-ridden river town, where they meet Dock, an eccentric ferryman. Dock’s “twin brother,” Xu, works in the fish market and looks just like him, except with a different hat. Soon a third brother, Bushi, arrives on the scene, revealing that the three brothers are actually just one, with multiple personalities. Despite the reveal, Dock/Xu/Bushi still insists that they are three brothers, defying all rationality, much to Sokka’s annoyance.
11. Hahn
In the Book One finale, romance blooms between Sokka and Princess Yue. Unfortunately for them, Yue is already engaged to someone else: Hahn, a Northern Water Tribe warrior whose bravery is matched only by his arrogant foolishness. Rude, demeaning, and arrogant, Hahn maintains a haughty personality, one that becomes his downfall while going undercover to attack a Fire Nation ship. Following his challenge to Admiral Zhao, Hahn is immediately thrown overboard, nothing more than a momentary distraction as Zhao continues his casual conversation. Though Hahn only appears in two episodes before his defeat, his challenge and immediate failure makes for a hilariously satisfying end to Yue's engagement.
10. Lo and Li
As the elderly advisers to the formidable and sociopathic Princess Azula, Lo and Li are nonetheless fun-loving Fire Nation twins. First introduced in Book Two’s opener, the advisers appear occasionally to deliver wisdom and one-liners in equal measure. In the Book Three villain-focused episode, “The Beach,” Lo and Li demonstrate that they’re never too old for partying. They also double as Azula’s firebending mentors despite not being firebenders, a confusing but humorous situation. Though technically villains, Lo and Li are fun to have on screen, even though one of them (no one knows which) is banished from the Fire Nation in the series finale.
9. The Pirates
First introduced as colorful but scary scallywags in Book One, the pirates prefer the term “high-risk traders" and make for fun opponents for the Gaang, as well as a legitimate threat for Zuko. In the lead-up to Book One’s finale, they nearly kill Zuko when they are hired by Zhao to blow up his ship. Though their appearance is eclectic and tend to make others see them as more humorous hooligans than a dangerous threat, they are fun to watch and prove themselves to be quite vicious. Even their iguana parrot is a competent fighter.
8. The Helmsman
Due to the meddling of Admiral Zhao, Zuko unfortunately doesn’t get much time to interact with his ship’s crew in Book One, but one crewmate in particular appears to make an impression on him. The Helmsman is never clearly in frame, but Zuko is often seen yelling at him to set or change course. In the episode “The Storm,” lightning strikes the ship, knocking the Helmsman from the ship’s tower and prompting Zuko to save his his life, showing that Zuko cares for his crew. Though the Helmsman doesn’t say much, the way that he only appears in the story when Zuko yells, “Helmsman!” is a funny occurrence that a viewer may not notice the first time through.
7. Foofoocuddlypoops
During their travels through the Earth Kingdom, the Gaang focuses on Aang’s earthbending lessons, leaving Sokka to go hunt for food. What he finds is a baby saber-tooth moose lion cub, an adorable little wild “meat creature” who foils Sokka’s hunting attempts without even trying. The cub keeps Sokka company while he’s trapped in a crevice in the earth, bringing him apples, sitting on his head, and overall demonstrating his cuteness. Eventually, Foofoocuddlypoops wins Sokka over, as Sokka declares himself a vegetarian (though the switch is short-lived). While Foofoocuddlypoops is cute and cuddly now, the appearance of his mother provides a frightening glimpse into the threatening creature that he’ll grow into. For now, though, the baby saber-tooth moose lion cub remains one of the cutest critters in ATLA.
6. June
When Zuko finds Katara’s lost necklace in Book One, he and Iroh go in search of someone who can track by smell. They find the bounty hunter, June, in a rowdy bar, winning arm wrestling competitions against men twice her size. Enticed by the promise of gold, June agrees to help the villains with her shirshu, Nyla, a giant mole-like creature who can paralyze others with its tongue. June returns in Book Three to aid Team Avatar as they approach the series finale, first searching for Aang and then finding Iroh. Though her allegiance isn’t to any one nation but to anyone with enough money for her services, June is an important background character, entertaining not only for her sarcastic barbs but also for her unrivaled tracking abilities.
5. Sparky Sparky Boom Man
Silent and mysterious, the Fire Nation assassin hired by Zuko in Book Three makes it his personal mission to hunt down and kill Aang, using a subset of firebending known as combustionbending. Armed with metal prosthetics and the ability to shoot fire with his mind, the mercenary is dubbed Sparky Sparky Boom Man by Sokka and is later renamed Combustion Man to better match his menacing presence. Though he doesn’t say much, Sparky Sparky Boom Man leaves a lasting impression due to his unusual firebending, his unsettling silence, and his unrelenting attacks despite being called off by Zuko later on. The assassin ultimately self-destructs following a blow to the forehead by Sokka’s boomerang, a fitting end considering his explosive nature.
4. Foaming at the Mouth Guy
During the Gaang’s visit to Kyoshi Island early in Book One, Aang displays his airbending as proof of being the Avatar. One of the islanders, however, gets a little too excited. Foaming at the Mouth Guy is so in awe of the Avatar’s abilities that he loses his mind, foaming at the mouth and screaming with excitement until he faints. Though he starts off as a one-off joke, Foaming at the Mouth Guy makes his glorious return in Book Two when Katara and Sokka revisit Kyoshi Island. Sadly, his second scream session, while identical to the first, is all for nothing, as he soon realizes that the Avatar didn’t make the trip this time.
3. The Boulder
In Book Two, Team Avatar is introduced to one of the most popular characters in the series, the hard-headed earthbender Toph. But during her introduction scene, one other character makes his debut first: the Boulder, a pro-wrestling earthbender loosely based on Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. The Boulder makes his matches endlessly entertaining by passionately yelling scripted one-liners, smashing his opponents, and referring to himself in the third person. Though he is quickly defeated by Toph, the Boulder remains one of the most popular background characters, due to his “conflicted feelings” and his reappearance on the Day of the Black Sun in Book Three, having changed his image from wrestler thug to Earth Kingdom ally.
2. Chan and Ruon-Jian
The Book Three villain episode “The Beach” features the raddest Fire Nation rich kids on Ember Island. Chan and Ruon-Jian introduce themselves as a pair to Mai and Ty Lee, displaying their ignorance when they fail to recognize or invite the Fire Nation prince and princess to their beachside party. While Ruon-Jian hits on the fire prince’s girlfriend and ends up getting thrown into a wall, Chan rejects the fire princess, both of them displaying their own brand of empty-headedness. Still, they didn’t deserve to get their house ransacked and set on fire by a group of jaded villains. Chan and Ruon-Jian will always be top-tier ATLA background characters, if not for their hilariously dopey presence, then at least for prompting the most memorable line in the episode: Azula’s flirtatious “sharp outfit” line.
1. The Cabbage Merchant
The most iconic background character in Avatar: The Last Airbender is undoubtedly the cabbage merchant. He's the most hardworking, diligent, and stressed small business owner in the Earth Kingdom, peddling his cart of cabbages from Omashu to Ba Sing Se. Despite the recurring joke that his ill-fated cabbages are always destroyed, the cabbage merchant never loses his drive. He is so determined to see his business soar that he rolls up his sleeves and gets it done. In ATLA’s sequel series, Legend of Korra, it’s revealed that the cabbage merchant grew his small one-cart business into the majorly successful Cabbage Corp., a true testament to the drive of one man who just loves cabbages.