The events of the TV show are, therefore, the consequences of invasion and slaughter. The series begins in 99 AG (“after the genocide”) at at the tail end of a hundred years' war.

The calendar itself is based on a genocide (!) of the Air Nomads, with 0 being the year of genocide-when the Fire Nation, believing the next Avatar incarnation (and so greatest threat to the empire) was to be born therein, invades and slaughters an entire people. Part of what gives the series that more adult tonality are its setting and history. The pair also wanted the series and its characters, even if they were written for children, to feel consequential and perilous. So it might be baffling to learn that Avatar: the Last Airbender, created by Michale DeMartino and Bryan Konietzko and pitched to Nickelodeon, grew from a source material more historical than literary no, Avatar is not based on a book or graphic novel.ĭeMartino and Konietzko wanted to create a world that felt mythological and included diverse peoples and locations (though the sketch art was initially inspired by polar explorations of the Irish explorer, Shackleton). For escapist fictional settings, creators turn to source material and their strategy is adaptation. The challenges of world-building plague TV and film.

The Four Nations are set in fictional lands, but are inspired by various moments in Chinese and Japanese history.The series follows a group of kids journeying across the Four Nations.Avatar: The Last Airbender is now on Netflix.

Avatar the last airbender armor