But once the two ideas melded together and gave Konietzko and DiMartino a solid starting point, the rest of the award-winning show came together in a masterfully created and produced work of children’s animation. Each Nation in the Show Compared to its Real Life Inspiration. The Avatar and his friends embark on their journey to save the world from the Fire Nation, ultimately facing the task of liberating populations from the construction of a global death world. They just introduce, bending, the evil fire nation, and the avatar thats all it needs. And Konietzko’s original concept for Aang, Appa, and Momo is very different from the finalized versions. thus, Aang remains as the last Airbender. In Avatar’s pilot, “The Boy in the Iceberg,” Katara and Sokka discover Aang, who had – against all odds – survived being trapped in an iceberg for a hundred years, not unlike Shackleton’s men who survived the cold and unforgiving Antarctic.Īvatar’s characters, story, world, and concept resonate as much with audiences today as they did when Avatar first aired, but imagining the idea of Avatar: The Last Airbendercoming from an actual historical event seems strange – especially an event that likely wouldn’t interest children. Konietzko was brainstorming when he was at yoga “drenched in sweat,” as he recalls in Avatar Spirits, “and I thought of combining his Shackleton idea with this kid.” The connection between Ernest Shackleton’s Antarctic voyage and Avatar is most prominently reflected in the inciting event of the series.

DiMartino and Konietzko were intrigued by the idea that humans could manage to survive the harshest climates on Earth.

Map of avatar the last airbender world in real life