Avatar: The Last Airbender Is Ready to Tell Roku's Story at Last
The story of Roku, the Avatar who held the role immediately before Aang, is preparing to be told this summer.
Avatar: The Last Airbender has found serious success once again thanks to its live-action adaptation on Netflix. The first season became one of the platform's biggest new series, making it easy for the streaming service to confirm not one more season, but two. This summer, fans will have the chance to explore one of Aang's predecessors as an official tale following Avatar Roku will arrive for fans to experience a new chapter of the bending universe.
Avatar: The Last Airbender novels are nothing new to the beloved franchise. In the past, the series of books have followed Kyoshi and Yangchen, two very different Avatars that held the title before Aang took the reins. Kyoshi's novels were The Rise of Kyoshi and The Shadow of Kyoshi, while Yangchen's novels included The Dawn of Yangchen and The Legacy of Yangchen. The Reckoning of Roku will hit the stands on July 23rd this summer, promising to explore Roku's younger years as the Avatar.
Roku Rises
Here's how The Reckoning of Roku: Avatar The Last Airbender describes its story, "A young Avatar Roku has only just commenced his training at the Southern Air Temple when his erstwhile friend Prince Sozin requests his aid in preventing the Earth Kingdom from claiming a remote Fire Nation island. Despite his inexperience, Avatar Roku slips away with the help of an irritating young Airbender named Gyatso."
The description continues, "As the reluctant companions delve deeper into their wayward mission, they begin to realize that even greater threats lie ahead. Plagued by self-doubt but eager to prove himself, Roku fights for his life and the lives of others while ensuring that the hidden secret of the island doesn't fall into the wrong hands. This searing fifth installment in the Chronicles of the Avatar series explores the beginning of Roku's journey from privileged Fire Nation noble to the powerful but indecisive Avatar whose hesitancy may ultimately pave the way for the Hundred Year War."
Roku made an appearance in the recent live-action series, played by actor Charles Seung-hee Lee. If the Netflix series continues to follow the source material, Avatar fans should expect Roku to make a comeback.
Do you hope we'll see Roku one day receive the animated treatment? 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 bending.