Netflix’s Avatar: The Last Airbender Makes a Very Good Change to Aang’s Backstory

Avatar: The Last Airbender has a brand new spin with Netflix’s live-action adaptation, and the re-telling has thrown in some curveballs for fans of the source material. Leading up to the series, the showrunners haven’t been shy about the fact that this live-action series will be making big changes from the original Nickelodeon series. In one particular change, Aang is given a story beat that benefits the character in ways that animation fans didn’t experience in the initial animated series.

In an interview last year, Avatar showrunner Albert Kim hinted at the changes that were being made from the source material, “We don’t start the show the way the animated series starts. That was a conscious decision to show people this is not the animated series. We had to sometimes unravel storylines and remix them in a new way to make sense for a serialized drama so I’m very curious to see what’ll happen in terms of reaction to that.” One of the biggest changes to the new live-action series was the inclusion of the Air Tribe’s story and its fight against the Fire Nation, which gave Aang a big moment that did not take place originally.

Aang Gets a Live-Action Break

Thanks to giving more time to the Airbender Gyatso, Aang is confronted with the idea that the loss of the Air Tribe wasn’t his fault. Even if the Avatar was to stand up to the Fire Nation before he was frozen in a ball of ice, Gyatso assures him that he would have ultimately failed to save his friends. It’s a big change for the live-action series, giving Aang relief that he didn’t have in the animated series.

Currently, Netflix’s Avatar: The Last Airbender has yet to confirm if a second season is on the way, but the streaming service will have plenty of material to adapt should it return. “Book 2” of the animated series saw Aang and his friends further exploring the Earth Kingdom, running into the blind Earth-bender Toph. Since Aang and company’s live-action series hit the top spot for Netflix with its debut, there’s a decent enough chance that we’ll see the live-action Avatar return.

What do you think of this big change for the live-action Avatar: The Last Airbender? Feel free to let us know in the comments or hit me up directly @EVComedy to talk all things comics, anime, and the world of Aang.