Ozai

Ozai was the Fire Lord and absolute ruler of the Fire Nation during the final years of the Hundred Year War. He was the second son of Azulon and Ilah, the younger brother of Iroh, uncle of Lu Ten, husband to Ursa, the father of Prince Zuko and Princess Azula,[3] and grandfather to Izumi.[4] Ozai was a firebending master and, prior to the ending of the War, was believed to have been one of the most powerful firebenders in the world.

After Iroh's only son, Lu Ten, died, Ozai usurped his brother's birthright to the throne,[5] in a scheme that resulted in his father's death and Ursa's banishment.[6]

Ozai's rule saw a mass buildup of industry and significant technological advancements. Like his father and grandfather before him, Ozai sought to conquer the other nations and become the supreme ruler of the world. To do this, he planned to utilize Sozin's Comet to burn down the Earth Kingdom, renouncing the title of Fire Lord and declaring himself the Phoenix King, ruler of the world.[7] Before his plans could come to fruition, he was defeated by Avatar Aang, who used energybending to remove his firebending abilities permanently.[8]

After the end of the war and Zuko's crowning, Ozai was sentenced to life in prison for several war crimes.[8] However, he was able to maintain a degree of influence on world politics through some of his loyal followers creating the "New Ozai Society" and his son, who occasionally sought advice from Ozai. As a result, the former Fire Lord was indirectly responsible for the failure of the Harmony Restoration Movement.

Youth and engagement
When Ozai was a baby, a portrait was painted of him while he was playing on a beach.[7] When he was older, he, like his father and grandfather before him, attempted to find and capture the Avatar, but failed as they all did.[10] Unlike his grandfather, father, and brother, Ozai was never a general, and so he has not known great military accomplishments aside from being leader of the Fire Nation later in his life.

Ozai and his father sought to add Avatar Roku's lineage to the royal family, as the Fire Sages predicted that doing so would yield a more powerful bloodline. The two traveled to Hira'a and tracked down Ursa, the granddaughter of the past Avatar. After a short introduction by his father, Ozai proposed to Ursa and she agreed. However, when they prepared to travel back to the capital city, a commoner blocked their way, demanding to release Ursa. Azulon ordered their bodyguards to deal with him, but after a short struggle, Ursa pleaded with Ozai to call off his soldiers' attack, securing the man's safety, and let her talk to the man to get him to go home. After being called "My Love" by his future wife, the prince complied to the request. After the man was told off, the group continued their journey back to the capital.[9]

Marriage and early family life
Ozai and Ursa were later married, and during the following banquet the prince told his wife about her new duties. Much to her shock, he explained that she had to sever all ties to her past life in accordance with the old traditions, including family and friends, in order to completely devote herself to her new duties and the royal family. Ozai happily kissed Ursa, saying that she now belonged to him. After their wedding, they had two children together: Zuko and Azula.[9] However, when Zuko was born, his parents were not sure if he was a firebender, as he lacked "that spark in [his] eyes". Considering what a "shame" it would be for a prince of the Fire Nation to have a nonbender as firstborn, Ozai planned to cast his infant son from the palace. However, Ursa and the Fire Sages pleaded with Ozai to give Zuko a chance, and the prince eventually gave in.

The young family made frequent vacations to Ember Island in order to relax. On a vacation around 87 AG, Zuko nearly drowned in an attempt to help a turtle crab. When the tides were pulling his son further into the sea, Ozai dove in the water and rescued Zuko, who spent the remainder of the day in the care of his mother, recovering from the experience. Ozai would later muse that he had attempted to be a good father in his children's early years.[9]

Deteriorating relationship with Ursa
Aware of his wife's longing for her previous life, he had ordered her servant, Elua, to file away all the letters Ursa secretly attempted to have someone smuggle outside the palace. However, one day when he was training, the elderly woman came to him with a letter that she felt needed the prince's attention. After he read it, he yelled out the impossibility of the secret the writing contained, and crumpled the letter in his hand.[12]

Consumed by the information he had learned from Ursa's letter, he grew even more bitter toward his wife and oldest child. He called a Yuyan Archer, Vachir, to the palace and ordered him to travel to Hira'a in order to kill Ikem, Ursa's former boyfriend.

Months later, during a family dinner, Ozai listened to Azula's animated recollection of how she showed up her firebending teacher, Master Kunyo, much to the latter's displeasure. He sided with his daughter when she posed that Kunyo was wrong about how one creates the biggest fire blast, noting that he would send the firebending teacher to the colonies. When Zuko tried to speak in Kunyo's defense, however, Ozai snapped at his son, telling him he had no right lecturing Azula about firebending, considering that even though she was a year younger, she was already more advanced in the bending art. Ozai went on, telling him that he was not even sure that Zuko had been a bender at first, and that he had been lucky his mother and the Fire Sages had come to his rescue, as he had been planning to cast him over the palace wall for being a nonbending disgrace to him. He finished by telling Zuko that Azula "never [had needed] that kind of luck", and that "[he had been] lucky to be born". At that moment, a palace servant alerted Ozai to the return of Vachir, and Ozai promptly left the room.

Ozai met Vachir on one of the palace balconies and listened to the Yuyan Archer's recollection of his adventures. The prince was informed that Vachir had failed to track down Ikem, as the man had disappeared in Forgetful Valley, where he was assumed to have perished on his own. Ozai, however, was not satisfied with this, deeming it all to be conjecture. He dismissed the archer, commanding him to resign from the Yuyan Archers, as his failure made him unsuitable to be part of the elite fighting group.

Afterward, Ozai went down to Ursa's quarters and confronted her about the letters she had sent Ikem, reminding her that she was supposed to forget her old life and that any communication with her past life was treasonous. Even though he deemed Zuko to be evidence of her treacherous act, he stated he would not kill the boy, proclaiming himself to be merciful. However, he took pleasure in informing his wife that he had sent an assassin after Ikem and that he had been successful, breaking her heart.[11] When Ursa told Ozai that Zuko was indeed their son, Ozai replied that he had already known that, as he had sent spies to keep an eye on Ursa months before their wedding, but was angry as to why she would write such an obvious lie. When Ursa replied that she wished for Zuko not to turn out like Ozai, the prince said he would be sure to treat their son like that "of a treacherous dog", and every time he would wound Zuko with harsh words, he would be "fulfilling his mother's wish".

Coronation
About eight years before Avatar Aang was found in the iceberg, Ozai's older brother Iroh began the six-hundred-day Siege of Ba Sing Se, the Earth Kingdom capital, which ended when Iroh's only son, Lu Ten, died in battle. This led Ozai to request that his father, Fire Lord Azulon, revoke Iroh's birthright as crown prince, allowing Ozai to inherit the throne instead of Iroh. Ozai explained that without an heir, the line of Fire Lords would end with Iroh, while Ozai still had two children. Azulon became furious, refusing to betray his firstborn son's right to the throne. As punishment, Azulon ordered Ozai to kill his own son, Zuko, so he would understand Iroh's pain.

Princess Ursa found this out through her daughter Azula, and pleaded with Ozai to spare Zuko's life. Knowing that Ozai would do anything, even kill his own son to become Fire Lord, she offered him a plan that would ensure his rise to the throne and spare the life of Zuko. The princess concocted an untraceable color- and odorless poison and turned it over to Ozai to do "whatever [he wished]". Ozai agreed to this on the condition that his wife would leave the palace, believing he too might otherwise be poisoned one day. Ursa tried to take Zuko and Azula with her, but Ozai assured her they would be safe in his hands as long as she kept her word, and threatened to hunt them all down should she try taking their children. Shortly thereafter, Ursa made the poison and turned it over to him, and he sneaked into Azulon's room that same night to end his father's life with it.

The next morning, Azulon was found dead in his bed. His cremation took place a little later, and while Ozai and his two children were present, the Fire Sages announced Azulon's alleged dying wish; that Ozai would be his successor. The High Sage subsequently crowned the former prince Fire Lord, whereupon those present hailed him as their new ruler and bowed to him.[5]

New plans
Despite familial ties, Zuko bore the brunt of his father's cruelty. Two years prior to Aang's discovery at the South Pole, thirteen-year-old Zuko, his eldest and least favored child, spoke out in Ozai's war room against a general's plan to sacrifice novice troops in pursuit of victory. Angered by his impudence, Ozai demanded Zuko duel in an Agni Kai, not with the general whom Zuko had disrespected, but with Ozai himself. Seeing the Fire Lord in the arena, Zuko fell to his knees, pleading for forgiveness and refusing to duel his own father. For this perceived cowardice and disrespect, Ozai badly burned the left side of Zuko's face, permanently scarring him. He subsequently exiled Zuko from the Fire Nation, under orders not to return until he had done the impossible: capture the long-lost Avatar, who had been missing for nearly a hundred years.[5] This was meant to be an easy way of getting rid of Zuko, as all previous Fire Lords failed to find the Avatar. With the Avatar's sudden reappearance as the twelve-year-old airbender Aang,[10] Ozai became more aggressive in his pursuit of victory. Distrusting his son's competence, he promoted Zuko's rival Zhao from Commander to Admiral to increase his chances of capturing the Avatar.[14] Admiral Zhao was thwarted in his mission by Ozai's brother Iroh, who committed treason in an effort to stop Zhao from killing the Water Tribe's patron Moon Spirit. Ozai expressed distaste at what he saw as his brother's treachery and son's failure by giving his daughter, Azula, the task of capturing both Zuko and Iroh.[15]

After the successful Coup of Ba Sing Se,[16] Ozai had almost successfully taken control of the world. Eventually, he spoke with his son Zuko, who had regained his honor by supposedly "killing" the Avatar, and helping Azula to conquer Ba Sing Se.[17] This was the first and only time when Ozai felt proud of his son.[18]

Drastic measures
In a war meeting with his generals, the day before the eclipse, Ozai learned from Zuko that even though the Earth Kingdom had been officially conquered, its citizens would not accept defeat as long as they had hope. Following Azula's recommendation, Ozai concluded that the only way to end Earth Kingdom resistance was to use the power of Sozin's Comet to completely burn it to the ground, as had been done with the Air Nomads one hundred years before.[7]

During the eclipse on the Day of Black Sun, Ozai evacuated the Capital City[19] in preparation for the invasion and hid in a heavily guarded underground bunker. Zuko showed up and demanded permission to speak to his father. Ozai granted his request, amused that Zuko chose the eclipse to confront him. Zuko revealed that Azula shot down the Avatar and that she claimed he did it because the Avatar was in fact still alive. Ozai was infuriated and attempted to attack Zuko, but stopped when Zuko pulled out his dual dao swords against his father's disabled firebending. Zuko told him that he was done trying to earn his love, knowing that the very man who banished him and scarred him was not worthy of his love. Ozai said that it was to teach him respect, but Zuko denied this, saying it was cruel and wrong. Having had to learn everything on his own, Zuko now realized that the Fire Nation was unfit to rule the world and needed to return to harmony with the other nations. Ozai laughed at this declaration, remarking that Iroh had gotten through to him. Zuko went on to say that he would free Uncle Iroh from jail and help the Avatar defeat Ozai, prompting him to declare Zuko a full-blown traitor. Zuko refused to fight Ozai because he knew that fighting the Fire Lord was the Avatar's destiny, not his. Ozai, however, distracted Zuko by offering to tell him what really happened to his mother.[6]

Ozai revealed to Zuko that his father, Fire Lord Azulon, had indeed commanded Ozai to kill him, and that he would have done it had Zuko's mother not found out and interfered. She had proposed a plan to have Ozai spare Zuko's life by giving the throne over to Ozai through Azulon's downfall. However, Ursa "committed vicious, treasonous things that night" and was not killed, but banished as a result, making Zuko realize that she may still be alive. Ozai decided that "banishment [was] far too merciful a penalty for treason" and, sensing the eclipse outside had ended, tried to kill Zuko with a powerful display of lightning generation. However, he was not aware of Zuko's ability to redirect lightning, which Zuko used to send the bolt right back at Ozai, slamming him against the wall and leaving him to seethe in anger as Zuko fled the Fire Nation to join the Avatar.[6]

Phoenix King (100 AG)
When Sozin's Comet arrived, Ozai crowned himself Phoenix King, the ruler of the world, and left Azula as his successor as Fire Lord.[7] He later departed with his fleet of Fire Nation airships for the Earth Kingdom to carry out his plans. When he reached the Earth Kingdom, he began his attack but was quickly repelled by Avatar Aang, who destroyed his airship.

Battle at Wulong Forest
Ozai prepared to battle with the Avatar for control of the world, declaring that the universe had delivered Aang to him "as an act of providence", while his father, grandfather, and son had all failed to capture the Avatar. Aang asked Ozai to stop the Hundred Year War, but instead, Ozai began his attack.[1]

For much of the battle, Ozai had an advantage due to the power of Sozin's Comet enhancing his already powerful firebending. Aang was at a great disadvantage due to his unwillingness to harm or kill the Fire Lord. Eventually, Ozai overwhelmed and cornered Aang, whom he proceeded to mock for having such a peaceful nature and for being the last of his race.

Determined to finish off the Avatar, Ozai accidentally unblocked Aang's seventh and final chakra, prompting him to enter the Avatar State. While in this state, Aang easily gained the upper hand. Using a combination of all four bending arts, Aang went on the offensive. Though he tried to defend himself, Ozai quickly realized he no longer had the upper hand, and was forced into a fighting retreat. Eventually, Aang caught up with him and pinned him down before preparing to deliver the final blow. Before it could be delivered, Aang regained control and voluntarily left the Avatar State, still not willing to kill Ozai to win. Instead, Aang used an ancient type of bending power, energybending, to strip Ozai of his firebending forever, ending the fight peacefully without any casualties. Sokka, Toph, and Suki later arrived and taunted Ozai, powerless and weary from Aang's new ability, calling him the "Loser Lord", "Phoenix-King-of-Getting-His-Butt-Whooped", and "King of the ... Guys ... Who Don't Win?", respectively.[8]

Imprisoned
With the war over and Zuko crowned the new Fire Lord, Ozai was transported to the Capital City Prison, located near the Royal Palace, where Iroh was once held. Zuko later visited him, saying that his banishment set him on the right path, and that Ozai could use his time in prison to reflect on his actions, let go of his pride, and allow remorse to show him the path that Zuko spoke of. Fire Lord Zuko promptly demanded that Ozai state Ursa's whereabouts,[8] but he did not answer this question. Instead, he taunted Zuko about the stresses a Fire Lord could face while in office, and he expected Zuko to return soon to seek his help.[20] Following his imprisonment, most of Ozai's loyalists were removed from their offices by Zuko, minimizing his influence within the nation. However, some revisionists actively sought to reinstate Ozai as Fire Lord, including the "New Ozai Society",[21] though ultimately, these attempts failed.[22]

A year after the Hundred Year War, Ozai's prediction proved correct as Zuko returned to him seeking advice on how to rule the Fire Nation and still be able to sleep peacefully.[20] Enjoying the fact that his son came groveling back to him, Ozai told a story about Zuko's childhood where his son's indecisiveness over which animal he would save, a turtle crab from being eaten or a hawk from starvation, caused him to get into trouble when a wave washed him to sea. When Zuko did not understand why his father told him the story, Ozai simply dismissed the Fire Lord and ordered him to come back the next day with more tea.

When Zuko returned with more tea, Ozai explained to him that the lesson to be learned from the memory was that there was no wrong or right in the world, as whatever the Fire Lord decided to do, was right by definition. When Zuko refused to see this and was set on going through with the peace talks with the Earth King, Ozai predicted that they would fail as the previously weak Earth King would be set on showing the world that he could be a strong and decisive ruler by leading his armies to the gates of Yu Dao. Zuko rejected Ozai's predictions again, which led the former firebender to the conclusion that Zuko trusted the Avatar more than he trusted himself. Sickened by this display of weakness from his own son, he demanded that Zuko leave his presence.

After the solution of the Yu Dao crisis and the collapse of the Harmony Restoration Movement, Zuko again began his pursuit of information about Ursa's whereabouts. Because of Ozai's uncooperative behavior in this regard, Zuko requested help from his sister. Subsequently, Azula was placed in adjoining cells with her father, though they did not speak with each other for half an hour. When Zuko noticed that, he came to bring them tea, in an attempt to make the situation more enjoyable. Azula grabbed hold of the tray with her teeth, however, and subsequently made Zuko fall over. This scene caused Ozai to grin satisfied, but nevertheless, he remained silent. After a short struggle, Azula told her brother that she wanted her and their father to have a dignified conversation in private. To Ozai's surprise, Zuko gave in to this request. During their following conversation, Ozai told his daughter of his past with Ursa, and, even more importantly, of his former wife's letters, information that could serve as an opportunity for Azula to take the throne from Zuko.[12]

Personality

 * "There is no right or wrong apart from what you decide. Who you choose to defend deserves to be defended simply because you chose them. You are the Fire Lord. What you choose, by definition, is right."
 * ―Ozai explaining his philosophy to his son.

Ozai was easily angered, domineering, and insatiably power-hungry. It was implied that Ozai's deep-seated anger stemmed from a failed relationship with his own father, Fire Lord Azulon, though his indifference, militarism, and cruelty are nearly identical to Azulon's. Iroh noted several times that his brother was "not the understanding type",[23] and that he had never known Ozai to regret, forgive, or change his mind about anything.[24] Ozai believed in harsh and brutal discipline, and no one was safe from his anger and aggression when he was displeased, not even his own children.

When his son, Zuko, was thirteen, Ozai burned his face and banished him from his country, simply because Zuko spoke out of turn during a war meeting.[25] Although Ozai seemed to think of this as a lesson in respect, Zuko later condemned the action as simple cruelty.[6]He tortured Zuko with his perceived inferiority, saying that Azula was "born lucky", while he was "lucky to be born".[15] He only acknowledged Zuko when he helped his sister conquer Ba Sing Se, and when he "killed" the Avatar.[17] However, despite his behavior toward his children, Ozai appeared to be remarkably forgiving of failure for certain people, such as War Minister Qin[6][26][27] and Zhao, who retained their positions and, in Zhao's case, was repeatedly promoted,[14] despite repeated failures and bungles, that on some occasions bordered on incompetence. Nonetheless, he saw his subordinates as expendable and replaceable, having no tolerance for those who failed to impress him, such as Kunyo or Vachir.[11]

Ozai's ultimate aspiration in life was to conquer the entire world. However, his desires may not have been solely for control, but for wholesale destruction to crush all resistance,[7] as demonstrated when he tried to destroy the Earth Kingdom for refusing to submit to his rule. He was willing to sacrifice his own family when asked just to stay in the grace of those above him. When ordered by his father Azulon to kill Zuko so that Ozai would know the pain of losing a son,[5] Ozai admitted to Zuko that he would have gladly carried out the murder had Ursa not interfered.[6] He also attempted to kill Zuko once again when the latter announced his intent to join the Avatar.

Ozai seemed to show little (if any) love or care for his own people. The day Zuko was banished, Ozai seemed to support the idea of sacrificing new recruits to defeat a powerful Earth Kingdom battalion so he could get closer to controlling Ba Sing Se. When Ozai decided that he would use the power of Sozin's Comet to destroy the Earth Kingdom, he showed no realization or care that a great number of his people lived in the Fire Nation colonies in the west where the attack would begin. Apparently Ozai viewed the deaths of his own people as minor sacrifices to become King of the World. However, he later told Zuko that a Fire Lord's duty was to protect his people, not out of any love or loyalty to them but because they were extensions of his divine will as Fire Lord. By attacking them, an opponent attacked him. In short, Ozai would defend his people from outside attack only because he viewed them as extensions of himself, and would casually discard them or destroy them himself if that served his purpose.

Ozai was described by his former wife, Ursa, as a "wretched man". When Ozai questioned Ursa about the letter to Ikem, she implied to Ozai that she wished Zuko was not his son, but rather Ikem's. To get back at Ursa, Ozai told Ursa to watch carefully, that every time he spoke harshly and wounded Zuko, he would be fulfilling Ursa's wish that Zuko was not his son.[13]

Ozai was psychologically abusive toward both of his children and physically abusive toward his son, though he did try and be a good husband and father when Zuko was younger. Ozai also mentioned that when Zuko was only three years old and was swept away by the ocean, he dove in and saved him.[9] However, his anger and lust for power degraded his relationship with his family. He believed skill and accomplishment determine worth. This allowed the naturally cunning and talented Azula to rise to the position of his favorite child. He expected nothing less than the best from her, thinking her a firebending prodigy.[5] This expectation put a great amount of stress on Azula, forcing her to become a perfectionist.[24] Ultimately it was the environment in which Ozai raised Azula, without a mother-figure and where fear, power, and perfection were the only reliable truths, that set the groundwork for her total mental collapse.[1]

After being stripped of both his bending and his throne, Ozai apparently still retained his domineering personality, as he casually lectured Fire Lord Zuko when he came to visit Ozai in jail. However, he would develop a calmer, more logical attitude toward life as he thought that Aang's belief of maintaining the four separate nations would only halt progress. This is apparently true as Yu Dao, a city that combined the effort from citizens of both the Fire Nation and the Earth Kingdom, grew from a small village to a very developed area. As Zuko sought out Ozai for advice, through their discussions, it was revealed that Ozai believed that good and evil, and even strength and weakness, were meaningless concepts. He believed that the only right and wrong were what he, or more accurately, the Fire Lord, decided, due to his divine right to rule. Any choice he made was the right one, simply by virtue of it being his choice, and that indecisiveness and attempts to guide oneself by moral principles were signs of weakness, traits he despised in Zuko.[9]

Firebending
Fire Lord Ozai was a powerful and skilled firebender; it was stated by Zuko that if the Avatar were unable to defeat him, the only other individual capable of doing so would be Iroh, who even expressed uncertainty in being able to defeat his brother in an Agni Kai.[28]His fighting style was extremely liberal and stressed overbearing, infernal force. It was clearly fueled by anger, hatred, and personal gain.

Before he was crowned Fire Lord, he practiced his bending by attacking a series of dummies, firing relatively potent, yet normal blasts of fire.[12] He later ferociously attacked his son with a two-handed lightning strike, which he performed with great speed and ease with the sun still being at its lowest point after not yet having emerged fully from the eclipse.[6]

In his final battle with the Avatar, under the influence of the comet, the former Fire Lord revealed the extent of his firebending powers, creating some of the largest known plumes of fire. During this battle he also assaulted Aang with lightning and demonstrated great mastery as well as an unorthodox use of firebending for high-speed propulsion and flight.[1] He went toe-to-toe against Aang, who had the four elements at his disposal and also benefited from the comet's firebending-enhancing energies. However, despite a fierce struggle from Ozai, he was outmatched and overpowered by an Avatar State-empowered Aang, who proceeded to remove his bending powers forever as an alternative to killing him.[8]

Other skills
Despite his extremely ruthless and domineering attitude, Ozai was implied on a few occasions to be a respected if not loved Fire Lord to his people, displaying great leadership, intelligence, charisma and courage. This was most notably demonstrated when Mayor Morishita of Yu Dao compared Ozai with his son one year after the end of the war, concluding that Ozai was a better, more patriotic leader.

Even during his imprisonment, Ozai displayed a knack for manipulation, as he attempted to take advantage of Zuko's doubts over the pressure of being Fire Lord and goad him into following in his footsteps. Ozai gained a calmer, more logical attitude in prison, displaying great wisdom and a way of thinking ahead of his time, being one of the first to note that the concept of separate nations was halting progress, and was in favor of a union of the various nations.

Aside from his bending, Ozai also possessed strong physical abilities. During his final battle against Aang, he managed to endure an Avatar State-enhanced wind blast that sent him flying into a stone pillar with enough force to crack it, and recovered from the attack to continue the fight. He also had quick reflexes and a fast reaction time, as he managed to evade and defend himself against the Avatar's barrage of elemental attacks, despite its overwhelming speed, range, and power.