If, like me, you grew up watching Avatar: The Last Airbender, you probably remember the show very fondly. After all, it had everything you could ask for in a cartoon: a cool storyline, beautiful artwork and music, supernatural elements, and, most importantly, amazing characters. The Last Airbender featured a cast of rich, diverse characters. Of course, you probably had your favorite among the members of Team Avatar, as Aang's crew is called. Maybe it was Aang himself, for his goofiness and peaceful disposition. Maybe you liked Toph better because she was strong and didn't let anyꦫone push her around. Or maybe you liked Zuko's redemption arc or Katara's fierce independence. And maybe your favorite character was Sokka, Katara's wisecracking older brother.

Soওkka was a warrior from the Southern Water Tribe; he and his sister were the ones to free Avatar Aang from the ice, giving hope back to a world torn by war. He was originally supposed to be a minor character, but thanks to his voice actor, Jack De Sena, he became much more than that. De Sena added a humorous dimension to the character, and Sokka quickly became a fan favorite thanks to his comedic timing.

However, there's still quite a lot of misconceptions about Sokka, and I'll readily admit that even I didn't realize just how complex he was until I started doing research for this article. This is why I'm writing about 25 things that people get wrong about Sokka. He's an amazing, underrated character, and he d💜eserves recognition!

25 ♎ He’s More Than Just A Warrior

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You may remember ꧅Sokka as a great warrior, and it’s true he wa🎐s trained in the Southern Water Tribe, and by a great swordmaster later on.

But more than a warrior, Sokka is also an amazing strategist, a skill he hones and develops over the course of the show.

He’s incredibly smart and was invited to join the elite Order of The White Lotus, a secret society of scholars from all of the four Nations. He’s also the mastermind behind the final attaꦰck on Fire Lord Ozai, and a big part of the reason Team Avatar was able to restore peace to the world🐟.

24 He’s Not A B💙ender ༺

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He may be fr🐬om the Southern Water Tribe, but, unlike his younger sister Katara, Sokka isn’t a bender. At the beginning of the show, he’s shown to resent benders, and dismisses his sister’s abilities as “magic water.” Later on, he warms up to bending, though it’s still obvious he’s not quite comfortable with firebending in particular. O🦂ver the course of the show, Sokka is depicted as a formidable warrior, and the fact that he is a non-bender shows the importance of skill, intelligence, and dedication.

23 🐼 But He’s Just As Important As The Rest Of Team Avatar

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Because he’s a non-bender, Sokka tends to be “dismissed” as comic relief, or “the meat and sarcasm guy” as he refers to himself. But as I stated earlier, he was instrumental to Team Avatar’s victory over the fire-lord, and he’s 🍌indispensable to the rest of the team. He may not have supernatural abilities like the rest of his friends, but it would be a foolish mistake to underestimate him! He’s a central character—and, apa𒆙rt from Katara’s voiceover, he’s actually the first character to speak.

22 𝔍 𒀰 He Was The Leader Of Team Avatar

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While Aang is technically the main character of the series, he’s not the leader of Team Avatar—Sokka is. Aang may be over a hundred y💃ears old, but Sokka is more serious and more mature. Aang focuses on his role as the Avatar, and on mastering the four elements, and Sokka is the one who plans out the team’s moves a♋nd tries to keep an eye on his younger friends; and his sister of course, of whom he’s very protective.

21 ♉ He’s Younger Than You Think

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Did you know that Sokka was originally meant to be 13 years old? While his leadership role and his somewhat bossy personality might make you think he’s almost an adult, he’s actually only 15 in The Last Airbender. Katara and he were left to take care of their tribe, and think of themselves as adults, as is shown in the first episode, when Katara says “when I was a kid” and Aang replies “You still are a kid!” Despite all this, Sokka ൩is still very young.

20 But He’s Definitely Not An Immatuไre child💟

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He may be stubborn and sometimes goofy, but he’s far from immature. You could argue that Sokka stoppe🥀d being a child when his mother was tragically taken from him during a Fire Nation raid. Then, when his father and all the men of the tribe left to fight the Fire Nation and he was left to take care of his tribe, effectively making him the leader, he definiജtely grew up faster than he should have, which explains his bossiness and no-nonsense attitude.

19 He’s Not Just T🧔here For Comic Relief 🔯

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Sure, Sokka has some really funny scenes—like the e𒅌pisode where he and Momo hallucinate because of cactus juice in the desert. I’ll admit it, I used to dismiss him as just a funny side-character.

But writing this article made me realize just how complex he is as a character.

He’s both funny and serious, sarcastic and earnest, tough and vulnerable, etc. A lot of people dismiss h🌜im and just one thing or the other, but he really is more than just “the guy with the boomerang, here for comic relieꦆf.

18 He Is Less Serious Than The Movi🐠e Adaptation Makes You Think 🎃

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The live-action remake of Avatar: The Last Airbender got a lot of things wrong, but it really got Sokka wrong—to the point where Jackson Rathbone, who played him in the movie, got a Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Supporting Actor. Not only is Rathbone white while Sokka and the Southern Water tribe are inspired by the Inuits, he was also, well, boring. And as I just pointed out, Sokka is a complex character; he’s meant to be interesting, and he’s meant to ಞbe funny. Someone who just saw the live-action remake would have a completely wrong impression of him!

17 ♋ Brains And Brawns: 🌟He’s Really Good At Poetry

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Sokka’s intellectual brilliance shines in the episode The Tale of Ba Sing Se, where he finds himself unintentionally competing in a haiku competitio🍰n. To everyone’s surprise, he turns out to be really good! He does lose the match because of an extra syllable at the end of his haiku, however. If anything, this goes to show that Sokka really is more than just a warrior: not only is he a gifted strategist, he’s gifted with words in general. It’s not something you’d expect from him, so many people get that aspect of his personality wrong.

16 But He’s A Terrible Artist 🔯

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Sokka may be good at poetry, but he’s a terrible artist—something you might not expect knowing his determination and his ♊precision. Sokka’s actually ambidextrous and is shown using both his right and his left hand to paint, but in either case, his paintings turn out kind of ter💟rible.

There’s a running gag in the show about how proud Sokka is of his mediocre artwork.

Surprisingly, a lot of people don’t remember that. It made for some 🐼funny situatioꦅns, and it shows that no matter how hard he tries to be an adult, Sokka’s not always perfect!