Avatar: The Last Airbender’s SpongeBob Reference Explained

Nickelodeon’s Avatar: The Last Airbender created a richly textured world that was fully developed and entirely unique, but it still snuck in a reference to another Nickelodeon animated series: SpongeBob SquarePants. Avatar: The Last Airbender follows Avatar Aang and his friends as he learns to master bending all four elements and tries to defeat Fire Lord Ozai. Along the way, Aang, Katara, Sokka, and Toph must travel the world together looking for masters who can teach Aang how to use his power.

Season 1 follows Aang, Katara, and Sokka as they travel to the Northern Water Tribe to find a waterbending master. They settle on Master Pakku, a serious and skilled waterbending instructor who was once regarded as the best waterbender in the world. Pakku is happy to train Aang but not Katara, since teaching women how to fight goes against the traditions of the Northern Water Tribe, but he ultimately makes an exception for her after discovering she is the granddaughter of his ex-fiancé.

Avatar: The Last Airbender makes a sly reference to SpongeBob SquarePants in season 1, episode 19 “The Siege Of The North: Part 1” when Aang and his friends arrive in the Northern Water Tribe. When Pakku’s pupil Sangok loses to Katara while sparring, Pakku remarks to him that “a couple of more years and you might be ready to fight a sea sponge.” The throwaway line is supposed to be a dry, sarcastic comment that implies Sangok has a lot to learn before he can become a waterbending master before Pakku releases him from the ice.

Fans of Avatar: The Last Airbender, however, have interpreted the comment as a deliberate reference to SpongeBob SquarePants. Although Avatar: The Last Airbender doesn’t confirm that the line is a reference to SpongeBob SquarePants, both shows were airing on Nickelodeon at the time. SpongeBob SquarePants is one of Nickelodeon’s most popular shows, and is on its twelfth season – and it would make sense for the Avatar: The Last Airbender writers to sneak in a reference to the series, which had the same demographic.

One of the best parts of Avatar: The Last Airbender was how the show created a fully realized world. However, Avatar: The Last Airbender hadn’t yet attained its cult status when season 1, episode 19 “The Siege of the North: Part 1” aired, and referencing Nickelodeon’s most popular cartoon would have been a great Easter egg for fans of the show. At the very least, if SpongeBob SquarePants does actually exist in the universe of Avatar: The Last Airbender, he doesn’t stand a chance against Master Pakku.

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