Although Avatar: The Last Airbender is about the titular air nomad Aang, previous Avatars play a prominent role in the series. And few have as big an impact on the storyline as Aang’s predecessor, Roku.
A Fire Nation born Avatar, Roku lived in a time of peace and prosperity, especially for his homeland. Under the stewardship of Roku’s close friend, Fire Lord Sozin, their country became the most technologically advanced of the four nations, while also having power increasingly centralized under the Fire Lord.
However, this all led to Sozin becoming filled with hubris and imperialistic ambition. Roku, aware of the need for balance in the world, managed to hold off his friend’s colonizing dreams, but as we can see from the events of Avatar: The Last Airbender, once Roku passed Sozin was able to bring forward his plans for domination.
Thankfully, through Aang’s connection to his past lives, Roku was able to guide the young airbender in his quest to end the war, and in the animated series his spirit appears regularly. But who was Roku? And who plays his character in the new live action Avatar: The Last Airbender? We have all that information and more below!
Who was Avatar Roku?
The successor to Kyoshi, Roku was born into a wealthy noble family from the Fire Nation who had close ties to the royal family. Unlike his hard-nosed and occasionally unforgiving predecessor, Roku was laidback and friendly, even as a child. As mentioned, he was also born during a time of immense progress and affluence, especially for the Fire Nation.
He became best friends with Prince Sozin (and some in the fandom have speculated it might have been more), and the two grew older together, aided by the fact they also shared a birthday. When the pair turned 16, Roku was informed of his Avatar status and went off to train in the other elements. As a mark of their relationship, Sozin offered the new Avatar his Crown Prince headpiece, which Roku wore for the rest of his life.
By the time Roku had managed to master the four elements the world had changed massively. Although there was still a lot of progress, political strife in the Earth Kingdom meant that there was much more intrigue between various worldly powers. During this time he also became close with Gyatso, who would later mentor Aang. Additionally, he was able to see through his own privilege as he traveled the world, and he gained a greater appreciation for the diversity that existed on the planet. This was in stark contrast to Sozin, who continued to believe in Fire Nation supremacy.
His Avatar training came to a head with a disastrous attempt to control the Avatar State, which led to a volcano eruption. It was during this time that Roku mastered the art of patience and keeping himself balanced.
He used his newfound inner sense of calm to broker ceasefires between warring nations, but he wasn’t just about peace and love. Alongside a group of Air Nomad elders, he founded a group of airbenders who would help him in his duties. Rising tensions across the world meant he was called into action more and more, especially with the fight over the raw materials to drive industrialization. There were also issues in the spirit world that he had to deal with, driven by this extraction of natural resources and the newfound Fire Nation sport of dragon hunting.
Roku returned to the Fire Nation and married his childhood sweetheart (who would later give birth to Zuko and Azula’s grandmother, Rina). Sozin, best man at the ceremony, later informed Roku of his plans to unite the world under the Fire Nation banner, only to be rebuffed by his best friend, who believed the four nations needed to maintain their separate identities for balance.
Almost two decades after that conversation, Roku learned that Sozin had ignored him and set up colonies in the Earth Kingdom. The Avatar confronted the Fire Lord which led to a bust up, in which Roku could have ended Sozin’s life but chose not to. He demanded that Sozin stop any more expansion, but didn’t make him give up the colonies he’d already settled.
Roku lived another 25 years, but his life came to an end thanks to a volcanic eruption on his home island. The eruption was so large that Sozin could feel it from his palace, and initially went to help his former best friend. The pair managed to do a good job of saving others and seemed like they were about to also escape with their lives, but Roku was hit with a plume of toxic gas. Instead of saving him, Sozin realized that with Roku gone he could finally fulfil his imperialistic ambitions, letting the Avatar die.
Why is Roku important in Avatar: The Last Airbender?
Roku is one of the most important former Avatars in Avatar: The Last Airbender. Not only does he tell Aang about the return of Sozin’s Comet, but he is also a guide to the young Avatar, and a lot friendlier than the aggressive Kyoshi. In terms of screen time in the original series, he gets the most out of all the former Avatars.
Later on in the series he also teaches Aang about the Avatar State, and reveals that if he dies while in the state, it would mean the Avatar spirit is removed from the world. Additionally, while in the spirit world Roku showed Aang the most important parts of his life, thus giving the young airbender vital context as to how the war started. Finally, he tried to convince Aang that the only way to end the war was to take Ozai’s life, lamenting that if he had only been strong enough to kill Sozin when he had the chance the war would have never happened.
Who plays Roku in Netflix’s live-action Avatar: The Last Airbender?
In Netflix’s live action Avatar: The Last Airbender, Roku is played by Charlie Seunghee Lee, known professionally as C.S Lee. Lee is most famous for his role in Dexter, but his wide-ranging filmography also includes great shows like Family Guy, True Detective, and Silicone Valley. In the animated series Roku was voiced by veteran vocal performer James Garrett.