From the very first episode of Avatar: The Last Airbender, Zuko was a character that intrigued us. A noticeably large scar marred his features, and his drive to find the Avatar was all-consuming. He was a villain that we as viewers could enjoy. But as the next episodes rolled out, we𒅌 found that perhaps Zuko was not as villainous as he appeared to be. With the help of his Uncle Iroh, Zuko was on a wavering path that could lead either to heroism or infamy.

We cheered at every moment that he appeared even slightly good. He had a temper, but his flaws made h🍰is better attributes shine through. His troubled past made him an empathetic character. We couldn't relate as much to Aang; for the most part, none of us were raised by monks. But we could all understand what it feels like to have a father who is disappointed by you or a sibling who is better than you. Granted, we never experienced the extremes in each of those scenarios like Zuko did, but we could more or less grasp at the current of feeling that sparked Zuko into action every time he was on our TV screen.

Like it or lump it, Zuko is a character with a troubled past. We would go so far as to say that this is what makes him so captivating as a character. He's an unwilling hero who makes plenty of mistakes along the way. As such, his story is riddled with disturbing elements. In this list, we pick out some of the darker 𒁃aspects of Zuko's history. Whether this makes him a more interesting character or not, is entirely up to you.

20 ဣ Death By Lightning

Zuko is not the most cautious of persons. His temper is partiaꦍlly to blame for that, but underneath his rage is a sadness that runs deeper and stems from his troubled past. This might sound like we're stating the obvious, but on at least several occasions, Zuko's disregard for his own life has called into question how much he v💟alues remaining among the living.

When he first separated himself from his Uncle Iroh, he placed himself in a very uncertain situation. Food wasn't easy to com🍨e by, and that placed Zuko on the edge of starvation. During the Harmony Restoration Movement while he reigned as Fire Lord, Zuko overworked himself to the point where he collapsed and did not wake up for four days. And we all remember when🦹 Zuko was barely learning to redirect lightning and he rushed to a storm-clustered mountaintop to encourage lightning to strike him. Zuko has a streak of self-harming behavior that he carries with him, even when he became Fire Lord. Luckily for us fans, we never get to see him fulfill that hidden wish.

19 Hid🔥den Half-Sister ᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚ

Zuko's mother, Ursa, married his father, Ozai, unwillingly. Back in her home village, she was in love with a man named Ikem, and they were the happiest of couples together. But when Fire Lord Azulon and his son, Ozai, came c♐alling for h🦩er hand, Ursa had little to no choice but to accept and marry Prince Ozai. So eventually, when Ursa was banished, she took that opportunity to rekindle the romance she once shared with Ikem. After that, it was only a matter of time before little Kiyi came along.

When Zuko goes on a quest to find his mother, he discovers her, and her new life, and finds little Kiyi as well. He reacts so admirably in finding out that she is his half-sister. Even prior to finding out Kiyi was related to him, he treated her well. Still, it can't be easy finding out that while you have been agonizing over the fate of your missing mother, she has createꦅd a whole new family, complete with a well-adjusted replacement child.

18 Zuko... I'm Not Your Father

Aft✅er marrying Ozai unwillingly, Ursa attempted to continue a correspondence with the family she had left behind. However, none of her letters made it to them because her servant secretly worked for her new husband. When she became suspicious of this, Ursa wrote a letter to Ikem, her former lover, claiming that Zuko was his son. When Ozai angrily confronted Ursa with this knowledge, Ursa had the evidence she needed to prove her servant was under Ozai's orders.

Of course, this letter reaches Zuko's hands while he's searching for his mother, and it gives him the completely wrong idea about his leg♔itimacy. He actually appears relieved at the idea that he might not be responsible for ta꧑king on the mantle of Fire Lord. When he does find his mother and she explains things to him, his hopes are shattered, but that's the way we prefer it. As much as he might try to deny it, we all know that Zuko was meant to be Fire Lord.

17 ꦍ That Uncontrollable Anger

From the very first episode, we are introduced to a villain that thrives on rage. As the series progresses, it becomes clear that rage is a flaw that our anti-hero must deal with constantly. He explodes at his Uncle Iroh willy nilly. He fumes at the smallest mishaps that occur along his way. While this is used in a comedic mann༒er occasionally, Zuko's fury is a deep-rooted problem that often gets in the way of him achieving his goals, whether that's to capture the Avatar or to become a good person.

Zuko's temper was forged through the most tumultuous childhood a kid's TV show can offer. One of his parents was a steely-eyed dictator who physically abused his child with fire, while his other, loving parent disappears and is never seen for the rest of his growing years. Plus, he has a psychopath for a sister. Zuko's wrathful attitude is the culmination of a dysfunctional family life, and he can't be blamed fℱor that. His struggle to master it is a noble 🅺pursuit, and another reason why we love him.

16 ♐ Look At Them Parenting Skills ♛

One of the darker stories from Zuko's past is the story of how he got his scar (cue Joker impersonation). While attending a war meeting at a young age, Zuko spoke out against a gen🧸eral's plan that would involve the sacrifice of a whole division of fresh soldiers. His father, presiding over the meeting as Fire Lord, demanded that Zuko participate in an Agni Kai, a duel of honor. Zuko agreed, but to his dismay, found🙈 that instead of fighting the general, he would be fighting his father.

As any normal kid would do, Zuko cried and begged for h𝐆is father's forgiveness. But Fire Lord Ozai was having n🐻one of that. He looked into his son's tear-filled eyes, aimed a fist full of fire at him, and scorched half of his son's face. Decency prevents us from calling him any words less milder than "jerk."

15 Where In The World Is𒊎 Ursa?

It's always the ones left behind who suffer the most. After his mother left the palace and her children on a dark niಌght (for reasons we'll detail later on out list), Zuko was left with huge abandonment issues. This could partially explain why for the majority of the first season, Zuko rarely acknowledges his close relationship with his uncle. Iroh was there for🧔 him after his mother left and after Zuko himself was banished. But for the first season, Zuko remains stubbornly antagonistic towards him.

This distancing, seen through his mother's departure, is a defense mechanism that Zuko 🍷puts up. His mother was his only real close relation that he had while he was at the palace. His relationship with his sister, Azula, was strained because she was a blossoming psychopath. After losing his mother for unexplained reasons, Zuko loses his ability to trust that a person he is close to will stay by his side. Lucky for us and for him that he gets over this.

14 Crimina𒈔l Associates

The dark path that Zuko's narrow-minded goal of capturing ﷽the Avatar led him down is actually darker than most would suspect. While searching for the Avatar, Zuko comes across some pirates that are infuriated with Aang and the 💞gang after they stole a waterbending scroll from them. The scroll, however, had been stolen by the pirates from the Northern Water Tribe. Regardless, Zuko teams up with them to find and capture the Avatar.

Conspiring with thieves doesn't sound like a hefty accusation, but how about conspiring with murderers? While not explicitly stated in the show, when we're next introduced to this group of pirates, it is revealed that they accepted a large amount of coin to kill Prince Zuko from the reprehensible Admiral Zhao. Clearly this is a pursuit that the pirates 𒉰have partaken i♒n before. Zuko's drive to find the Avatar led him to ally himself with less than savory characters.

13 Your Firstborn Chil🎐d

The beleaguered Prince Zuko also has to contend with the knowledge that his grandfather, Fire Lord Azulon, ordered his death as a punishment for Ozai. We doubt Ozai considered this a great punishment. Azulon's firstborn son, Iroh, had recently lost his only child, which left the heir to the throne childless. Seizing this opportunity, Oz♎ai, the secondborn son of Azulon, argued to his father that he should receive the throne instead of Iroh because he had children to carry on his lineage.

This angered Azulon greatly, and as a punishment, he ordered Ozai to kill his firstborn, namely Zuko. Azula overheard all of this, and being the sadistic little brat that she was, she immediately tells Zuko that their dad wants to kill him. Zuko shuts her down at first, stating that she's lying, but you can see on his cartoon face that he believꦿed her. What kind of childhood is that, where if you hear that your father wants to end you, it's believable?

12 🧔 ♛ Two Years Is A Long Time

Two years doesn't seem like that long of a ღtime, especially when those two years transpired before we ever got a look at them. But looking at it from Zuko's perspective, two years saw the passing of 730 days. That's how long Zuko spent scouring the globe in search of the Avatar without finding even a clue of his whereabouts. He found him in the end, so you might say those two years don't matter, but those two years whittled Zuko's good nature to a splinter.

Immediately after receiving his infamous scar൲ from his father, Zuko took off on his banishment, accompanied by his Uncle Iroh. His only hope of ever returning was if he found the Avatar. But he had been sent on what most considered a fool's errand. And for two whole years, Zuko had no guarantee that he would ever reclaim his honor.

11 𝓀A Parricidal Mother ꦰ

The whole reason that Ursa disappeared was because she crafted the poison used to murder the Fire Lord. Rewinding for a second, remember how Fire Lord Azulon wanted to punish Ozai for his impudence by having him kill Zuko? Well, while the cruel, eavesdropping Azula tortured Zuko with her retelling of this, Ursa walked in. Zuko immediately told his mom what Azula was saying to him. Ursa sent Azula to bed, then went to confront Ozai. Ozai confirmed ev🌠erything that Azula said was true.

Desperate to save Zuko's life, Ursa told Ozai that she would make an odorless, colorless poison to kill Azulon so that Ozai could take the throne for himself. Ozai agreed, but stipulated that after making the poison, Ursa would have to leave the palace forever without taking either of the children with her. Because she was a loving mother who cared that her son lived🔜, Ursa agreed. Zuko found all this out after the fact.