Appa is a fictional character on the Nickelodeon animated television series Avatar: The Last Airbender. In the show, Appa is the only known living Sky Bison, a race of animals that can naturally fly. He is voiced by Dee Bradley Baker. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Air Temple Sanctuary door. ... For other uses, see Sidekick (disambiguation). ... List of Avatar: The Last Airbender episodes The Boy in the Iceberg is the first half of the two-part series premiere of Avatar: The Last Airbender, which first aired on February 21, 2005 on Nickelodeon. ... Dee Bradley Baker (b. ... This article is about the TV channel. ... An animated series or cartoon series is a television series produced by means of animation. ... Dee Bradley Baker (b. ...

Creation and conception

In a flashback on Appa's Lost Days, Appa's herd flies down to an Air Nomad Temple where Aang and other young Airbenders are waiting. Aang brings Appa an apple as a sign of friendship, which Appa accepts, sealing their bond as well as giving Appa his name, after the word apple.^[1] List of Avatar: The Last Airbender episodes Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Appas Lost Days Appas Lost Days is an episode from the animated television series Avatar: The Last Airbender, which airs on Nickelodeon. ...

According to an interview with the artists involved with creating Avatar, found on the Avatar Season One Box Set, Appa's design was based on the Catbus from the movie My Neighbor Totoro as they found it difficult to create a six-legged mammal.^[2] Catbus, or Nekobasu with Satsuki The Catbus (or Nekobasu) is one of the two most recognizable characters in the Studio Ghibli film My Neighbor Totoro (Tonari no Totoro), directed by Hayao Miyazaki. ... My Neighbor Totoro ), or My Neighbour Totoro on UK DVD box titles, is a 1988 film written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki and produced by Studio Ghibli. ... Subclasses & Infraclasses Subclass †Allotheria* Subclass Prototheria Subclass Theria Infraclass †Trituberculata Infraclass Metatheria Infraclass Eutheria Mammals (class Mammalia) are warm-blooded, vertebrate animals characterized by the presence of sweat glands, including milk producing sweat glands, and by the presence of: hair, three middle ear bones used in hearing, and a neocortex...

On a DVD extra segment, the show's creators, Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko, have described Appa's appearance as a cross between a buffalo and a manatee.^[2] Appa, like all flying bison, is covered in thick white fur with brown arrow markings that is remarked to be extremely itchy^[3] and is known to shed at the end of winter.^[4] The arrows on flying bison's back have inspired the tattoos that Airbenders receive as a sign of their mastery. In recent episodes, he also wears a suit of leather and metal armor crafted for him by Sokka. The introduction to this article provides insufficient context for those unfamiliar with the subject matter. ... Avatar: The Last Airbender (known as Avatar: The Legend of Aang in the UK, Brazil and India) is an American animated television series airing on Nickelodeon since February 21, 2005; recently it has also become available on iTunes. ... Species †B. antiquus B. bison B. bonasus †B. latifrons †B. occidentalis †B. priscus Bison in winter. ... For other uses, see Manatee (disambiguation). ... Airbenders is a collective term for a fictional order of people in the 2005 animated television series Avatar: The Last Airbender. ...

Plot overview

History

Appa assisting the group in battle against the Shirsu as seen in "Bato of the Water Tribe".

Aang and Appa's first meeting is seen during a flashback sequence in Appa's Lost Days.^[1] It is tradition with Air Nomads that each young Airbender is given a flying bison calf once they come of age to be the Airbender's life-long animal companion. This is similar to the Fire Nation ritual of giving a dragon to young Firebenders for a similar purpose.^[5] Almost immediately, the two became friends and would remain close, Appa being the one thing from Aang's home that Aang took with him when he fled the Southern Air Temple.^[6] In fact, their bond is so deep they appear to share some form of energy bond, as revealed by Guru Pathik.^[1] Image File history File links Metadata No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links Metadata No higher resolution available. ... List of Avatar: The Last Airbender episodes Bato of the Water Tribe is an episode from the animated television series Avatar: The Last Airbender, which airs on Nickelodeon. ... List of Avatar: The Last Airbender episodes Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Appas Lost Days Appas Lost Days is an episode from the animated television series Avatar: The Last Airbender, which airs on Nickelodeon. ... Air Temple Sanctuary door. ... Airbender is a collective term for an order of people in the fictional universe of the Nickelodeon animated television series Avatar: The Last Airbender. ... The Fire Nation is a collective term for a nation of people in the fictional universe of the Nickelodeon animated television series Avatar: The Last Airbender. ... For other uses, see Dragon (disambiguation). ... Firebenders is a collective term for a fictional order of people in the 2005 animated television series Avatar: The Last Airbender. ... This page lists and profiles the numerous minor secondary characters of the Asian-influenced American animated television series, Avatar: The Last Airbender. ...

Aforementioned, Appa was stuck in suspended animation along with Aang for 100 years until their discovery by Katara and Sokka.^[7] Since then, Appa has been the group's main form of transportation in their quest, as well as occasionally assisting in battle.^[8] In "The Library" Appa was a consistent part of the group throughout the series until his capture by the Sandbenders.^[9] However, Appa has been returned to group as of the Season 2 episode Lake Laogai.^[10] Katara (name changed from Kya, as featured in the unaired pilot episode) is a fictional character and heroine voiced by Mae Whitman on the Nickelodeon animated television series Avatar: The Last Airbender. ... Sokka is a fictional character voiced by Jack DeSena in the Nickelodeon animated television series Avatar: The Last Airbender. ... The Bibliotheke was renowned as the chief work of Apollodorus of Athens, a 2nd-century B.C. Greek historian and scholar. ... This article is about an episode of Avatar: The Last Airbender. ...

Lost Days

Appa became lost for a short while, when the group was traveling in the Earth Kingdom. He was kidnapped by Sandbenders in the middle of the vast Si Wong desert, while Aang, Katara, Sokka, and Momo were trapped in a vast underground library.^[9] It is later revealed that he was eventually sold to a Fire Nation circus where a sadistic animal tamer attempted to make him part of the show.^[1] Appa later escaped and journeyed throughout the Earth Kingdom until he encountered the Kyoshi Island Warriors, who attempted to heal the various wounds he had sustained in his travels and escort him back to Aang.^[1] Appa was forced to leave after an attack by Azula and her allies, ushered away by Suki while the warriors tried to delay the three Fire Nation women.^[1] On his journey he encountered Guru Pathik at the Eastern Air Temple. The Guru was able to tell Appa of Aang's location by reading his energy.^[1] Consequently, Appa flew to Ba Sing Se, where he was captured by Long Feng.^[1] Earth Kingdom Avatar Temple. ... Earth Kingdom Avatar Temple. ... The Fire Nation is a collective term for a nation of people in the fictional universe of the Nickelodeon animated television series Avatar: The Last Airbender. ... Earth Kingdom Avatar Temple. ... Earth Kingdom Avatar Temple. ... Princess Azula is a fictional character voiced by Grey DeLisle in the Nickelodeon animated television series Avatar: The Last Airbender. ... Air Temple Sanctuary door. ... The City of Ba Sing Se. ...

Appa was kept in a secret location at Lake Laogai until his rescue by Zuko, who was initially planning on utilizing him to capture the Avatar.^[10] Appa eventually returns to the main group in the last scenes of Lake Laogai.^[10] Aang was particularly overjoyed to see his old companion again.^[10] The City of Ba Sing Se. ... Zuko (or Prince Zuko) is a fictional character on the Nickelodeon animated television series Avatar: The Last Airbender. ... This article is about an episode of Avatar: The Last Airbender. ... Aang is a fictional character and the main protagonist for Nickelodeons animated television series Avatar: The Last Airbender. ...

Journey into the Fire Nation

Appa still accompanies Aang and his group even after they enter the Fire Nation. However, in order to make sure that he doesn't give away Aang's identity when flying, Aang covers Appa with clouds as a disguise while in flight.^[11] After the invasion fails during the events of "Day of Black Sun", Appa took Aang and all of his friends out of the Fire Nation to the Western Air Temple so that the group could seek refuge.^[12] There, he was among the first members of the group to accept Zuko as Aang's firebending teacher, as he is still grateful for Zuko freeing him in Ba Sing Se.^[10] He also flew Aang and Zuko to the Sun Warrior Temple in order to learn the origin of firebending.^[13] List of Avatar: The Last Airbender episodes The Day of Black Sun is a two-part episode from the animated television series Avatar: The Last Airbender, which airs on Nickelodeon. ... The City of Ba Sing Se. ...

Personality

As Appa generally lacks the ability to communicate with the rest of the group, little is known about his personality. Appa has shown the ability to understand humans on several occasions. He is known to lick people that he likes, such as Sokka, Aang, and Zuko.

Despite his inability to directly communicate with humans, Appa has shown several distinct traits, the most prominent of which are his trusting nature and fears of fire^[1] and the underground.^[14] His trusting nature has been exhibited several times throughout the series, as he almost immediately took the apple from Aang when they first met and took an instant liking to Katara and Sokka in The Boy in the Iceberg.^[7] However, as of Appa's Lost Days, he appears to have somewhat lost his trust because of his experiences with the ringmaster in a circus.^[1] Still he is shown to be trusting of Zuko in The Western Air Temple^[12] since Zuko freed Appa in Lake Laogai.^[10] Overall, Appa's mannerisms and qualities mostly seem to reflect those associated with a dog, such loyalty, playfulness, and intelligence. List of Avatar: The Last Airbender episodes The Boy in the Iceberg is the first half of the two-part series premiere of Avatar: The Last Airbender, which first aired on February 21, 2005 on Nickelodeon. ... List of Avatar: The Last Airbender episodes Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Appas Lost Days Appas Lost Days is an episode from the animated television series Avatar: The Last Airbender, which airs on Nickelodeon. ...

It is unknown if Appa's fears of fire and going underground are unique to Appa or if he shares these tendencies with all flying bison, It has been theorized that his fear of fire could be a result of traumatic experiences with the ringmaster in Appa's Lost Days.^[1] It is also possible that because of their affinity for flying, sky bison are naturally averse to being in places where they cannot fly, which would explain Appa's phobia of being underground. List of Avatar: The Last Airbender episodes Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Appas Lost Days Appas Lost Days is an episode from the animated television series Avatar: The Last Airbender, which airs on Nickelodeon. ...

Character reception

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Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ...

Abilities

Appa possesses the ability to fly, hence the name Sky Bison. He utilizes his Airbending for this purpose; his tail appears to be the main driving force behind his bending but has shown to also be able to accomplish it with his mouth. Due to his size and mass, it takes a lot of energy for him to stay aloft. As a result, Appa cannot fly for an extended time and periodically requires stopping and resting.^[4] He has also shown to be a fairly adept swimmer as well,^[7] although he is more frequently seen flying or walking than swimming. Despite the tranquility related to his personality as well as his species, Appa has shown himself to be very capable of fighting when necessary. With his bending, Appa can create powerful gusts of air with just a flick of his tail and can gain advantage over his opponent by hovering. Being a bison, he is also naturally capable of brute strength and endurance. The best demonstration of this was in "Bato of the Water Tribe" where he endured multiple strikes from a Shirshu tongue before finally succumbing to the paralyzing venom,^[8] and "Appa's Lost Days" where he fought a rather large boarcupine, and was impaled by many painful quills.^[1] During larger battles, Appa serves as a mount for Aang. Appa and Aang are usually integral in large conflicts because their enemies rarely had effective counters to Appa's strength and maneuverability in the air. Only in the "Day of the Black Sun" was Appa's air supremacy truly challenged. During that episode, Sokka outfitted Appa with battle armor, serving to make Appa an even stronger force to be reckoned with.^[11] List of Avatar: The Last Airbender episodes Bato of the Water Tribe is an episode from the animated television series Avatar: The Last Airbender, which airs on Nickelodeon. ... List of Avatar: The Last Airbender episodes Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Appas Lost Days Appas Lost Days is an episode from the animated television series Avatar: The Last Airbender, which airs on Nickelodeon. ... REDIREC Day of the Black Sun ... Air supremacy is the most favorable state of control of the air. ...

Trivia

"Appa" in Korean is similar to the word meaning "father" or "dad". This may be intentional, and rightly so, as the group rely on Appa to carry them around the world, and to protect them when everything else fails. This is exemplified in Lake Laogai where Appa appears to protect the group against a seemingly unstoppable Dai Li Agents.

References