A new look at Avatar: Seven Havens has dropped! And with it, also many questions. While fans would think that the newest piece of the puzzle would provide a clearer image as to what the newest instalment to the series will bring, it actually paints a somewhat even blurrier image as to what it means for the series as a whole. They say a picture’s worth a thousand words, but in analyzing the latest look at the series, those words seem to just scramble themselves into even more questions.
Time waits for no one, even in the world within Avatar. From the sweeping alien landscape to the character designs, the latest instalment of the Avatar series seems to show a visual evolution that reflects how the world and storylines within the series have evolved to reflect the new era. But what exactly awaits audiences in this new series? While the jury’s still out on knowing all answers yet, with the newest image, I for one definitely have more questions to speculate on!
1) Who Is the New Avatar?
The gist of the new series follows the aftermath of the finale of The Legend of Korra, which plunged the world into calamity, and the spirit and physical worlds began merging into one. Now, as the earth is left a desolate, post-apocalyptic wasteland with the four, once-powerful nations gone, seven havens have replaced them as the last few cities where humans can survive in a land crawling with supernatural monsters. Regarding the newest Avatar protagonist, while the title of being the Avatar once inspired hope as humanity’s savior, now the world cowers in fear of such a figure being instead humanity’s harbinger of destruction. Reuniting with her long-lost twin, the newest Earthbending Avatar incarnation faces enemies both human and spirit in her journey to discover her own origins and save the last remnants of humanity before the world collapses completely.
While there’s speculation what the new protagonist’s name even is since there hasn’t been any definitive confirmation, though we know the following:
- She’s an Earthbender depicted as an amputee with a prosthetic leg.
- She has a long-lost twin.
- She’s the new Avatar incarnate (obviously).
Beyond this, there’s not much else that has really been revealed about who she really is. What is her personality really like? Does she have any friends besides her mentor and pet? It’s speculated that she lives on the streets or perhaps not even in the city, given the depiction, but how does she get by in her day-to-day life, especially as a young child? How young is she? What’s her definite age? There’s still so much to be revealed about the new Avatar herself!
2) How Will the New Avatar Learn the Elements?
The new Avatar looks pretty young, but just how young? Though we’ve yet to know her exact age, how will it affect how the world views her as the Avatar and how she learns and grows in her bender training? As an Earthbender herself, Toph had a disability but used her feet a lot in order to gain an advantage to overcome her disadvantage to the point of becoming even more skilled than many other Earthbenders. With the new Earthbender protagonist in Avatar: Seven Havens, though she seems to have functioning eyes, she is lacking one leg, as opposed to Toph.
How will this affect not just her Earthbending, but also her learning every other element, too? She may start out with what looks like a humble wooden peg leg as depicted, but maybe that will leave room for some more rad prosthetics in the future, perhaps even assisting in her bending abilities (think Ed from Fullmetal Alchemist and how his prosthetics affected his alchemical abilities). Taking up the rear of the group is another character, supposedly the Avatar’s mentor. But just who is the mentor? Will the mentor also be an Earthbender? Or another type of bender? Or maybe not even a bender at all, but teaches anyway, running off pure energy and vibes like Sokka?
3) What will the Avatar’s New Companion Bring to the Table?
As depicted, the Avatar’s new animal companion looks like a lynx-lemur hybrid with primarily a cat-like body and head and primate-like prehensile tail and paws. Though not many animal companions can even come close to how iconic Appa and Momo were, Naga as Korra’s polar bear dog was enjoyable, and Pabu the fire ferret was cute. So what will this new adorable pet be like? Chill but curious like a cat? Mischievous and playful with more of a lemur demeanor? It’s surmised that the Avatar’s twin may receive a similar companion with inverted colors and markings. What kind of roles will these companions really have to their human counterparts and within the story as a whole?
Are they even typical creatures, or are they themselves also somewhat merged with or tied to the spiritual world? Will they be able to bend elements akin to the badgermoles? Are they supposed to be a somewhat similar representation reminiscent of the black and white, yin and yang koi fish from the original series? One thing’s for certain: the companion to the Avatar is sure to have a more prominent role than just looking absolutely adorable!
4) How Does the New World Really Differ?
Though the post-apocalyptic landscape may look fairly desolate, there are some compelling-looking features to pick apart, along with more to question and speculate about. The walled city in the background looks somewhat akin to Ba Sing Se, but perhaps if such a city had been placed in the Si Wong Desert, it would likely appear much more alien and futuristic with sharp, geometric structures.
What is the city really like in Avatar: Seven Havens? What are the citizens like? Is this the city where the protagonist will reunite with her long-lost twin? Crystals and plant life (?) can be seen popping out of the foreground with an aurora-like phenomenon overhead. Just how has merging with the spirit world affected the physical world, and to what extent? Just how alien will the landscape be compared to the deserts, swamps, arctic, etc., of yore?
5) What Role will the Spirit World Play?
While the Spirit World has always played a huge role in the Avatar’s journey, it’s never been as prominent as it will supposedly be in the new series. Though there’s some depiction of changes in the landscape presumably due to the Spirit World leaking over into the physical, there are also many more questions on just how deeply this merge will affect, well, everything.
Will the Spirit World affect the creatures of the physical world in Avatar: Seven Havens? Will it affect the elements themselves? Will there be new spiritual elements to discover? Will the Avatar team up with any spirit characters? Heck, will any previous characters or even previous Avatars reprise their roles? The rabbit hole surrounding all the possibilities that the new series will bring just keeps getting deeper, even with new revealed info and images!
Let us know your theories, questions, speculations, and more down in the comments!
