Shrouded in mystery, the Dragon of the West known as uncle Iroh was an iconic character on Avatar: The Last Airbender. The sometimes chubby and always positive uncle was the foil to his nephew Zuko. Iroh loved to eat, drink tea, play Pai Sho, and relax — but when appropriate, he was a Firebending beast and expert strategist. Spouting off proverbs and words of wisdom, he lived what he taught. Iroh’s life wasn’t always tea and wise sayings, as he had a past which to this day is still mostly untold. Avatar: The Last Airbender and Legend of Korra addressed some of his past, but the fact🧔s oft☂en led to more questions than answers.
The late Oscar-and Tony-nominated Japanese-born American actor Mako Iwamatsu, voiced Iroh for Book One and a majority of Book Two before he passed on from cancer. Known in the community as simply Mako, his voice helped create the beloved character Iroh in conjunction with skilled writing and illustration. Mako’s understudy Greg Baldwin stepped in for a tribute to the late voice actor in the episode “The Tale of Iroh.” He honored and replicated Mako’s unique accent and pronunciation for spots in Book Two and all of Book Three. The producers and creators would honor Iwamatsu and have his name be remembered for all of time in the Legend of Korra with the character Mako.
Iroh’s name was first mentioned in “The Southern Air Temple” episode, but was always called “Uncle” through most of the series. Despite his popularity in both series’, much of Iroh’s life and his antidotes have been forgotten over the years. In honor of the wise Dragon of the West, here are all the crazy things you never knew about Iroh from Avatar: The Last Airbender.
20 He Lied About Killing Ran And Shaw
Dragons first taught the ancient civilizations how to Firebend. As time passed and humanity grew stronger, the Fire Nation sought to wipe out the dragons by killing them for glory and sport. Iroh discovered two ancient dragons named 🎃Ran and Shaw, who lived among an ancient tribe called the Sun Warriors.
Iroh earned the respect of Ran and Shaw, prompting them to teach him the true essence of Firebending. Upon returning to the Fire Nation, Iroh lied about the last known dragons by claiming to have killed them. This lie would prove beneficial to Team Avatar when 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Aa🦂ng and Zuko would seek the Sun Warriors and the origins of Firebending.
If Iroh hadn’t lied about killing Ran and Shaw, Fire Lord Sozin or another power hungry manic may have wiped them out forever. Instead, a peaceful arrangement was met which would lead to Zuko riding a dragon in Legend of Korra.
19 He Could See Things Related To The Spirit World
In Book 1, Episode 20: “The Siege of the North Part 2” — Zhao says a very important line that fans of Avatar: The Last Airbender might have missed. “Yes, yes, I know you fear the spirits, Iroh. I've heard rumors about your journey into the spirit world.” Iroh was a deeply spiritual individual. This allowed him to experienওce and see what others couldn’t.
An excellent example of this would be when Aang rides Roku's dragon in the Spirit World. No one sees him except for Iroh. Much of the Avatar story takes pieces of Buddhism and applies it to a fictional world. In Buddhism, Siddhi are magical and spiritual powers achieved through enlightenment and meditation. Clear🐽ly, this application applies to Iroh’s character. Having this Siddhi is what separates Iroh from other modern-day Firebenders.
18 He Helped Toph Find Her Way Back To Team Avatar
During a temporary leave of absence from Team Avatar, Toph would ironically run into Iroh by accident. Suspecting that she wasn’t alone in the woods, Toph launched an attack against an unsuspecting Iroh. Once determining that he meant her no harm, th💛e two shared tea next to a fire.
168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Toph was clearly upset about issues she was having which led Iroh to do what he does best — listen and advise. Toph opened up about her resentment regarding following rules and being told what to do within Team Avatar. Iroh compared her struggles to Zuko stating, “There’s nothing wrong with letting people who love you help you.”
Toph would take Iroh’s message to heart and rejoin Team Avatar. When asked about their conversation Toph replied, “I met him in the woods once and knocked him down. Then he gave me tea and some very good advice.”
17 A Majority Of His Life Was Spent Preparing To Be Fire Lord
Prior to the “Uncle Iroh” days, Avatar: The Last Airbender’s ꦯfavorite tea driꦇnking guru was General Iroh — rightful heir and successor to the Fire Lord position. Iroh was the eldest son of Azulon and Ilah, making him the grandson of Fire Lord Sozin. He was the Crown Prince of the Fire Nation, destined to become Fire Lord one day.
Azulon, Iroh’s father and a famed general, was the ruler of the Fire Nation from 20 AG to 95 AG. He helped the Fire Nation become a dominant war machine, c🥀onquering territories and known for almost completely wiping out the Southern Water Tribe. Azulon was killed by Princess Ursa (Zuko’s mother) after he had given orders to Ozai to eliminate his only son. Ozai would use Azulon’s death to become Fire Lord himself over Iroh.
16 The Death Of His Son Radically Changed Everything
In combination with Azulon’s death was a failed campaign led by Iroh. Acting on a vision from his younger days, General Iroh led an attack on Ba Sing Se which lasted 600 days. He would end up breaching the outer wall which had never been accomplished. But before his army could take the inner wall, his son Lu Ten would be killed while fighting on the front line. Iroh lost his will to fight following Lu Ten’s death and retr💜eated.
This event would shame him amongst the royalty of the Fire Nation and allow his brother to usurp him in claiming the position o𓃲f Fire Lord for himself. Ironically, these events didn’t bother Iroh as most would assume they should, as his drive to become Fire Lord was gone.
15 He Was A lady’s Man As He Traveled The World
The time frame in which Iroh traveled in the Spirit Realm or to meet Ran and Shaw isn’t specified in any of the Avatar: The Last Airbender content. Based on interactions with various females throughout the series though, it’s fairly obvious that Iroh was a true ladies ﷽man.
Despite being up there in age, Iroh could be found flirting with various women throughout his travels. The age of these ladies ranged from the elderly to women in their prime. The bounty hunter June took an instant liking to his flirtatious behavior as did an Earth Kingdom🐽 peasant. You’ll also notice that Iroh is addre🔥ssed as handsome multiple times throughout the series by random women.
Iroh is a perfect example of how one can bꦅe a ladies man even if he doesn’t have the hot Earth Kingdom look. It’s what’s on the inside along with confidence tಌhat matters.
14 He Created His Own Bending Technique
Iro🅺h was one of the most powerful Firebenders during and after the 100 Year War. Don’t let his soft and charming personality fool you though. Iroh was capable of much more than the Avatar series let on. After all, Iroh was Plan B if Aang could not defeat Firelord Ozai. Because Iroh’s bending style was based off teachings from the dragons, he didn’t resort to using anger, lust, or hate to effectively Firebend.
A technique which he himself invented was the redirection and absorption of lightning. Learning through the techniques required in Waterbending moves, Iroh was able to incorporate his own variation of generating lightning. 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Waterbenders can redirect chi, which he used to redirect natural and man-made lightning. He could even channel man-ꦫmade lightning before it was used for an attack.
13 He Inadvertently Tipped The Scales With Zuko
Sometime after the death of his son Lu Ten, 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Iroh unofficially adopted Zuko. His initial reasons weren’t inspired by a greatness to change the world, but rather save another young man from the fate that took his son’s life at such a young age. Iroh continually asked Zuko what he wa꧙nted from this life while encouraging him to not make decisions based on what others wanted him to do. He wanted Zuko to be independent and a free thinker, giving him a chance to choose his own destiny.
What Iroh didn’t know when he first took Zuko under his wing, but would later discover, is that his teachings would dramatically change🌌 the outcome of the 100 Year War. As an enemy and more so as an ally, Zuko played a large part in ending the war and an ev🏅en bigger part in the aftermath of it.
12 He Almost Had His Hands Crushed By Earthbenders
During the winter of 99 AG, Zuko and Iroh were in pursuit of Aang when Iroh felt it was a good idea to take a break🌺 along the coast of the Earth Kingdom. Here, Iroh found an area of hot springs to relax and heal is old bones. He became so relaxed that he endౠed up passing out in the spring only to wake up as a prisoner due to an ambush of Earthbending soldiers.
The captain of the group instantly recognized Iroh from the Ba Sing Se battle. He bound Iroh in chains and was determined to have him punished as a war criminal. Iroh tried to escape, but failed. The 168澳洲幸运5开奖⭕网:captain took matte꧒rs into his own hands and was attempting to crush Iroh’s hands with two huge boulders before Zuko jumped in fo�ꩵ�r the rescue.
11 He Was A Talented Musician
Iroh was a powerful bender, an expert on teas and a masterful strategist⭕, but he was also a talented musician. Adept at playing the pipa (a four string guitar) and the tsungi horn (similar is design to a French🍃 horn), Iroh could play and sing on the same level with the best of the best.
During his time on Zuko’s ship, he helped lead music night in which he would play the pipa and sing the song Four Seasons. He is also shown strumming a song🔥 in the streets of Ba Sing Se to calm a crying baby.
Zuko had musical tꦦale🦋nt too as he was skilled at playing the tsungi horn. Caught up in his personal struggles however, he never played during the music nights on his ship.