Katara
| Character | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Katara |
| Occupation: | Companion to the Avatar |
| Relationships: | Sokka (brother), Gran Gran (grandmother), Hakoda (father), Aang (friend, student, later husband), Zuko (enemy, later friend), Suki (friend), Toph (friend) |
| Fandom: | Avatar: The Last Airbender |
| Other: |  [1] by lycorislilit |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
Katara is one of the primary characters of the animated series Avatar: The Last Airbender.
Canon
Katara grew up the only waterbender remaining the Southern Water Tribe. Her mother was killed in a Fire Nation raid when she was 8, and her father left with all the men of the village to fight the fire nation when she was 12, so Katara and her brother Sokka were mostly raised by their paternal grandmother, Kanna. Two years later, the siblings discover Aang, the Avatar and the last surviving airbender, frozen in ice near their home. They decide to accompany him on his quest to master the four elements, defeat the Fire Nation, and restore balance to the world. Katara agrees to teach him what she knows of waterbending and seek a waterbending teacher along with him to become a master waterbender herself.
Katara is independent, strong-willed,and caring, and frequently finds herself filling a mother-like role for the group. She is also quick to stand against injustice, and as she finds bending teachers and improves her skills across the series she grows to be a truly formidable opponent.
Katara also appears as an old woman in the sequel series The Legend of Korra. Years after the death of her husband and many of her friends from the original series, she has retired to the South Pole where she teaches Korra waterbending.
Fandom
While Katara is an overall well-liked character, she has been a victim of character bashing, with some calling her a Mary Sue or boring.
Shipping
Katara was the common character in the two relationships involved in the Kataang vs Zutara ship war.
There are a number of less popular pairings for katara as well, including:
- Katara/Azula — Azutara
- Katara/Haru — Harutara
- Katara/Jiang — Jiangtara
- Katara/Jet — Jetara
- Katara/Suki — Sukitara
- Katara/Toph — Katoph
(For more, see List of ATLA and LoK Relationship Names)
Response to Legend Of Korra
Some fans were unconvinced by the portrayal that Katara would seclude herself and not get involved in fighting once Aang died, as they viewed her as a more proactive character.
Events
- Katara Week on Tumblr; active 2021-2023
Fanworks
| Examples Wanted: Editors are encouraged to add more examples or a wider variety of examples. |
Fanart
by lycorislilit
by lycorislilit
The Fire Lord and Southern Water Tribe Ambassador by eca.works
Fanfic
Cosplay
Fanvids
Meta
- Katara meta by quentyl, Archived version, discussing Katara's relationship to her culture, bending, motherly roles, response to sexism of the northern water tribe, the lasting trauma from both the Fire Nation and Hama, and how these shape her character and journey.
- Meta by lazy8blog about Katara and Hakoda's relationship, particularly their confrontation and how Hakoda responds to Katara's hurt in Book 3 Episode 1 "The Awakening".
- by chitsangenthusiast, short meta about the parallel between Katara and Hakoda
- Katara Analysis Katara Analysis, Archived version, a tumblr blog devoted to in-depth episode-by-episode analysis of Katara.
- Katara: Consumed by Destiny, Archived version, a meta series analyzing Katara's role and characterization in The Legend of Korra, working backwards through the series. (full "Consumed by Destiny" series, Archived version)
Archives and Fannish Links
- Katara character filter on fanfiction.net
- Works tagged Katara (Avatar) on AO3