Avatar: How Aang Rebuilt The Air Nation After The Last Airbender

Avatar Aang might be the only remaining airbender in Avatar: The Last Airbender, but he was able to start rebuilding the Air Nation with the help of his fan club, the Air Acolytes. After the Air Nomads were wiped out by the Fire Nation in the Hundred Year War, Aang had to accept that he was the only survivor of the genocide. He passed down his knowledge of the traditions and culture of the Air Nomads to his airbending son, Tenzin, but had to find another way to begin rebuilding the Air Nation.

Without any new airbenders, Aang was still able to preserve the culture and traditions of the Air Nomads through his son. After the Air Nation was wiped out by the Fire Nation, Aang was the only survivor left. However, he found a new way to rebuild the Air Nation when he discovered that he had a devoted fan club in the comic book trilogy “The Rift.” Although his new followers weren’t actually airbenders, passing down the traditions of the Air Nation helped Aang start to rebuild.

Initially, Aang was reluctant to share his knowledge with his new followers. Many of them had shaved their heads and gotten arrow tattoos, which upset Aang, who considered that an appropriation of his culture and a misuse of the Airbender arrow tattoos that are only meant for airbending masters. After they apologized and covered the tattoos, Aang forgave them, and recruited them as Air Acolytes: the first members of the new Air Nation. Over time, the Acolytes became an order of monks that resided in all four Air Temples and on Air Temple Island. They were guided by Aang (and later by Tenzin) in practicing the culture of the Air Nomads, although none of them were airbenders themselves.

When airbenders began returning in Legend of Korra as a result of the Harmonic Convergence, the Air Acolytes were key in training the new airbenders and folding them into the new Air Nation. With Tenzin’s help, the Air Acolytes taught the new recruits their culture and some of the Acolytes became airbenders as well. The new Air Nation, which began under Avatar Aang and continued under Tenzin’s leadership, went back to their nomadic roots and pledged themselves to fighting corruption across the world instead of staying sequestered in the Air Temples.

Aang’s willingness to accept and teach the Air Acolytes is what eventually led to the new Air Nation. The Air Acolytes were devoted to preserving and upholding the cultures of the Air Nomads, and helped Aang rebuild the Air Nation under his leadership. By recruiting the Air Acolytes to help after they proved they were willing to learn and respect the tradition of the Air Nomads, Aang was finally able to rebuild the Air Nation after the genocide in Avatar: The Last Airbender.

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