Avatar Gave Sokka The Pet That Zuko Was Supposed To Have

Sokka and Zuko go from foes to friends over the course of Avatar: The Last Airbender‘s three seasons, but Sokka wins any residual rivalry when he finds a pet that Zuko had been missing for quite a while. Avatar: The Last Airbender follows Aang, a young airbending monk, as he endeavors to end the Fire Nation’s Hundred Year War in his capacity as the Avatar. Along the way, he is accompanied by recurring characters, both friendly and antagonistic. Two of the earliest such people that he meets upon being unfrozen are Sokka of the Southern Water Tribe and Prince Zuko of the Fire Nation.

Beyond the political strife between their two countries that initially casts them as enemies, a personal rivalry between Sokka and Zuko is established in the very first episode when Sokka attempts to defend his village from Zuko’s warship. After much turmoil, their differences are eventually put aside when Zuko joins Team Avatar in season 3. The two share something of an implicit bond from thereon out, being roughly the same age and, consequently, the seniors of the group.

As with many series, Avatar: The Last Airbender made a number of aesthetic and narrative changes in the time between its unaired pilot and its first episode – among these was the removal of a trained hawk kept by Zuko. A comparatively minor element, this was seemingly intended to give the prince a counterpart to Aang’s lemur, as emphasized by an aerial fight between the bird and Momo. No real analogue to this pet appears in the series, but a bird bearing a striking resemblance to the creature is purchased by Sokka in “The Runaway”, wherein it is given the name Hawky.

Having a fierce animal companion would certainly have allowed Zuko to participate in an established pseudo-Disney-villain trope. But it also may have given Zuko too much of a reliable presence in his life, whereas, in the series, a point is made of the fact that, for much of his journey, Uncle Iroh is his only anchor, making their bond all the more special. For Sokka, Hawky’s brief appearance serves a different purpose, touching on his longing for specific purpose and identity, and subtly foreshadowing his forging of the space sword in “Sokka’s Master”.

It’s unclear why Zuko lost his hawk in the transition from pilot to series, but it could simply have been a very justifiable trimming down of excess story elements by the creators, a philosophy that persisted in the series proper as well; after all, Hawky didn’t appear until season 3, and he only remained with the group for one episode. However, much like the serpent from “The Serpent’s Pass”, by being removed after the pilot, Zuko’s hawk did provide another opportunity to compliment Avatar: The Last Airbender‘s many winking pop culture references with a reference to the show itself, albeit an earlier version – and such meta silliness is just cheeky enough to be appropriate for Sokka.