After much too long of a hiatus, The Legend of Korra is back with as much butt-kicking action and emotionally charged drama as the last season. In case you don’t know anything about the show, here’s a brief rundown:
Korra burst into the scene with a new protagonist and a new era in the universe that Avatar fanatics such as myself have adored for the past eight years. Two years ago, Book One (Air) of The Legend of Korra aired on Nickelodeon. Korra tackled a complex foe in Amon and the Equalists. Amon’s forces sought to equalize the world through the removal of bending, first from abusers of their powers and then the world. It quickly became a huge hit, opening to the biggest audience for an animated show on Nickelodeon in three years.
Now, Korra and the rest of the Krew are back. In the new season for Book 2 (Spirits), which premiered on September 13, Korra is just as determined and defiant as ever before as she fends off a new foe a little closer to home. The season began with Dark Spirits attacking her home of the Southern Water Tribe, with an unclear path to their demise. Korra chooses to take a stand instead of retreat, leaving an intense dynamic between her aggressive, physical response to attacks and an intangible opponent: a spirit.
Korra continues to break barriers in this season that the previous Avatar Aang wouldn’t stand a chance against, even with all the power of the Avatar State under his belt. With the ability to bend all four elements – earth, water, fire, and air – and a connection to the Spirit World, the Avatar is the most powerful bender in the world, and seen as the ultimate means of keeping balance in the world. We saw in the original series of Avatar that there have been quite a few female Avatars before, and equally strong-willed at that (hello, Kyoshi).
Korra is the only female avatar, a showstopping protagonist of an animated action series devoted entirely to her adventures seventy years after Aang’s era. And, while I can appreciate the buzz around movies like The Amazing Spiderman and Iron Man, which are examples of the film industry’s hallmark action films, I resent that few action films have female protagonists that are even slightly comparable to Korra’s role. I understand that Gwen Stacy and Pepper Potts are badass in their own right. But they are not the title characters in their respective films.
The incredibly popular action film, The Avengers, gets closer to empowering a female role with the inclusion of the fantastic Black Widow, but it lacks an equal man to woman superhero ratio on the team of Avengers. Scarlett Johansson’s character is an anomaly in yet another male-dominated group against a villain who is – you guessed it – a man. While all of these women have their role in their separate films, they have only a role in support to the title hero.
Meanwhile, not only is Korra the show’s leading lady, but she also isn’t portrayed as meek, mild, or mediocre as supporting women often are shown in action films. On the contrary, Korra is passionate, stubborn, and powerful. She holds a level of uncertainty as both a teenager and a person with unrivaled power and little guidance. Her disconnection with the Spirit World cuts her off from a valuable source of information: the spirits of the past Avatars who are able to offer their wisdom to the current Avatar. She is still learning, which leaves Korra to appear more relatable and realistic rather than cartoon-like in her appearance. Despite this confusion, Korra still makes her own decisions and doesn’t back down, taking the consequences personally when she makes a mistake. She embodies a balance of independence and insecurity that many of the show’s female viewers strive to embody in themselves.
For me, the idea of a sequel to one of my favorite shows was what drew me to The Legend of Korra. Korra as a character kept me watching. Her core strength and determination are unique for a female lead, especially one who is meant to be the protector of peace in the Avatar World.
We longtime fans couldn’t have asked for anything better. Not only does this new series give us more time with our beloved characters and information about their life after the end of the original series, but it also gives us an entirely new cast of characters to love. Television shows like Korra demonstrate that women can be just as strong (and just as badass when saving the world) as any of the multitude of male superheroes we have been exposed to over the years.
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