| Morlock19 wrote: |
| i feel that all of this is suspect. the avatar is supposed to *be* the balance of energy in the world. he balances the spirit and material world, the four nations... there is no reason to have a "dark avatar." if nothing else, THEY would just fight all the time, with no avail (see any justice league episode, or super hero comic). theres no reason to think that anything is actually trapped in the comet, the comet is what gives the firebenders their power, like another sun. if there was true balence, there much be something that gives the other three bending arts power also. shadow bending? guh fuh? unless they actually pulled it off in some awsome spetacular way, then an "anti-avatar" would be what makes the show jump the shark. that or sokka learning how to waterbend. |
You are thinking in a straightforward way, you have to think abstract.
In the forgotten past, the Avatar Spirit was split for some reason into two Avatars, divided on the one thing that could be split equally, negative and positive Chi, Yin and Yang. As a result, one Avatar became the personification of the good in humanity, the one that was accepted by the people as the "true" Avatar. The other, however, represented the personifaction of the worst in humanity, the Dark or "anti" Avatar. Such nearly pure forms created new bending disciplines, Shadow and Lightbending, which is derived from the direct manipulation of negative and positive energy, which is visualized in artistic abstract by the manipulation of light and shadow. The "true" Avatar knew that Lightbending is too much of a good thing, it eventually destroys the user. The Dark Avatar used his Shadowbending to attempt to conquer the world, creating shadowbenders that he could bend to his will by manipulating the negative energy corrupting their hearts. The Dark Avatar became such a threat that the four Nations patron Spirits joined the "true" Avatar to seal away the Dark Avatar Spirit in a prison made up of the four elements, and cast it into the void, becoming a comet that passes every 100 years.
Over countless generations (you saw all the statues in the Souther Air Temple), the Comet's true purpose was forgotten, and Sozen (or someone else, we don't really know who tapped the Comet first) decided to try and tap the Comet, and fell under the influence of the Dark Avatar Spirit. The catch is that the seal was not damaged enough to allow the Spirit to escape, so the plan was set into motion to weaken the worlds resistance against the DA's eventual return, by attempting to break or control the Avatar Cycle, weaken the other Nations, and kill/nullify their patron Spirits if possible.
SO, the way this fits into the series is the DA is basically a back up villain for post season 3. If we only get 3 seasons, the Firelord is defeated the DA remains sealed. If we get more than 3, the DA is freed, possesses someone and Aang must find a way (Lightbending) to defeat the DA and his Shadowbenders, which the world has no immediate defense against, instilling fear and giving the DA and his Shadowbenders mythic status. Also, political storylines may develop as the once seperate nations must band together for survival. This creates problems for those Fire Nation citizens who did not fall under the DA's influence with his return, being at the mercy of the people they had oppressed and attempted to conquer/destroy for a century. This gives Zuko a chance to develop as a leader for his people and gives Aang's friends to work together to knit the remaining Nations into an alliance of sorts. There are a great deal of positive messages to be sent in this.
