Zuko's Story is a manga/graphic novel written by Dave Roman and Benjamin Wilgus and drawn by Nina Mastumoto. It is set before the events of The Last Airbender and centers around the character of Zuko immediately following his banishment.
Plot[]
An hour after the Agni Kai with Ozai, Prince Zuko wakes up in an infirmary. The manga starts with him running to his room, chased by Iroh. He dreams about the Agni Kai, crying violently when he hears a knock on the door. He believes the guest to be Ozai, but it is actually his eleven-year-old sister, Azula, who has come to taunt him about his banishment. Through later events, she manages to procure a ship and crew for Zuko and convinces Iroh to go with him. Zuko scours the Western Air Temple, and visits Fire Sage Shyu, looking for information on the Avatar. In the colonies, a man in a red mask steals from him, later teaching him to rely on swords rather than firebending to become the Blue Spirit. After that incident, Zuko travels to the Eastern Air Temple and mistakes Pathik for the Avatar due to his age. After a fight, Zuko demands Pathik to airbend but discovers that he is not the Avatar. That night, Avatar Yangchen gives Pathik a vision of Zuko and the Avatar together, facing the world. Three years have passed since his journey began, with his intentions becoming less sinister. However, as he sees a light come from a distant iceberg in the South Pole, the need to restore his honor returns to him. He smiles and says, "Finally".
Series continuity[]
- Iroh is shown to stop to pick every jasmine tea leaf he sees. This involves his love for it.
- Mai and Ty Lee are seen behind Azula and Zhao when Zuko is banished.
- Zuko becomes the Blue Spirit for the first time, inspired by the Red Spirit.
- Pathik's vision is the scene from "Sozin's Comet, Part 4: Avatar Aang". In the vision, Aang and Zuko are seen as Avatar and Fire Lord at Zuko's coronation.
- The end is a scene from "The Boy in the Iceberg".
- The book foreshadows many other scenes from Books One, Two, and Three.
- Agni Kai is spelled as "Agni Ki" in this manga, though in the original sketches by Nina Matsumoto, she spelled it "Agni Kai". This change matches the pronunciation in the movie.
- The Blue Spirit mask is suggested to be an off-the-shelf mask, explaining how easily Zuko found a replacement in "The Swamp".
- Avatar Yangchen is revealed to have built a hermitage near the Eastern Air Temple and spent her later years there in seclusion.