| Avatar: The Last Airbender character | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Sokka | |
| Nationality | Water Tribe (Southern Tribe) |
| Gender | Male |
| Hair color | Brown |
| Eye color | Blue |
| Age | 15 |
| Position | Warrior, Swordsman |
| First appearance | "The Boy in the Iceberg" |
| Voiced by | Jack DeSena |
Sokka is a fictional character voiced by Jack DeSena in the Nickelodeon animated television series Avatar: The Last Airbender. The fifteen-year-old is a warrior of the South Pole's Southern Water Tribe who, along with his younger sister Katara, discovers Aang, the long-lost Avatar, and accompanies him on his quest to defeat the Fire Nation and bring peace to the war-torn nations.[1]
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[edit] Concept and creation
It is provided in the Avatar Nick Mag Presents: First Edition issue by the co-creators that Sokka was originally designed to be much more low-key, but when his comedian voice actor Jack DeSena came in and brought liveliness to his character, they began writing towards that strength.[2] Much of Sokka's dialog and actions are derived from improvisations and intentional exaggerations on DeSana's part that the writers chose to include within scripts. Furthermore, DeSena has stated that he is inspired by fellow comedian Jim Carrey, which would explain a majority of Sokka's mannerisms expressed on the show.
As a result his design, Sokka's character has come to serve as a source of comic relief throughout the series, often a victim of visual slapstick. Among various running gags involving Sokka are his affinity for being covered in viscous substances, such as raw sewage, slurry, and Appa's phelgm or saliva, and forgetting that Toph is blind. Sokka also has a tendency to produce or at times laugh at jokes that nobody else gets, a trait he shares with his father.[3]
[edit] History
Sokka grew up in his village as an aspiring warrior-in-training of the Southern Water Tribe. Forced to mature quickly when his mother was killed in a Fire Nation raid, he cultivated his warrior skills with a militant zeal, while his sister Katara did chores and practiced Waterbending.[4] When he was thirteen, his father and the other village men left to fight alongside the Earth Kingdom in the war against the Fire Nation, leaving him and his sister to look after their tribe with their grandmother, Gran Gran.[5] Apparently the oldest male left at the South Pole, by the time he was fifteen he seems to have developed a semi-leadership role (or at least assumed one for himself), trying to train children to be a new generation of defenders.
While on a spearfishing expedition, Katara and Sokka found Aang in suspended animation inside an iceberg. When Katara freed him, Sokka initially believed that the Airbender might be a Fire Navy spy, and he eventually grew xenophobic enough to banish him from the village. Upon discovering that Aang was the Avatar, destined to master all four elements and bring peace to the world, Sokka relented, realizing that they had a common enemy -- the Fire Nation. He then set off with Katara and Aang on their journey to find a waterbending instructor at the North Pole, determined to hone his warrior skills by way of fighting a few Firebenders along the way.[1]
In Sokka's Master, Sokka expresses self-doubt and worry that he is not contributing as much to the group as his bender companions are. Inspired by his friends' encouragement, he seeks out a master from whom he could learn the art of the sword. Rather than fighting with brute force and flawless technique, Sokka's creativity and thinking-outside-the-box approach to things are the cornerstones of his technique, and his master notes that in time Sokka will be a superior swordsman.
[edit] Name
In "The Tales of Ba Sing Se", Sokka's name was written as 索 卡 (Suǒ Kǎ). The second character, Kǎ, is the first character in Katara's name.
[edit] Personality
Skeptical, abrasive, and sharp-witted, Sokka is detached from Katara's and Aang's pursuit of the bending arts--but in Sokka's Master he voices his 'Bender Envy'; not gifted with bending abilities himself, Sokka instead prefers the ways of the warrior and the scientist, and he takes his responsibility as protector very seriously.[1] He is also very intelligent and good at coming up with ideas--even if said ideas are not always very good.
Patriotic and long to hold a grudge, he strongly wants to exact vengeance for the Fire Nation's decimation of the Water Tribe and the death of his mother. He holds little interest in the mysticism surrounding bending and prefers to solve problems using his strength and his wits.[6] [7] He tends to be rash, however, and his pride often leads to embarrassment. Despite his obvious cleverness, Sokka sometimes acts very silly and stupid. He occasionally creates ridiculous plans that are next impossible to carry out. His sarcastic and strange behavior can sometimes carry over into important decisions.
A passionate carnivore, Sokka has demonstrated his love of meat on multiple occasions and is the main hunter in the group.[8] [9] Sokka also has a habit of using sarcasm. In the episode "Bitter Work," Sokka shouts at karma in the heavens vowing to give up both meat and sarcasm for assistance, agreeing to consider himself no longer "Sokka, the meat and sarcasm guy", but willing to be "Sokka the veggies and straight-talk fellow". By the end of the episode, however, he has given up neither meat nor sarcasm.
Under the guidance of swordsmaster Piando, Sokka expresses various unorthodox procedures when undergoing his training. In one exercise, when told to stamp his identity onto a sheet of paper, rather than simply writing his name, Sokka smears ink all over his face and presses it onto the paper. As he presents Sokka with his blade, Piando relates that though his skills were hardly impressive, he displayed much creativity, versatility, and intelligence. All were traits that go beyond mere skills and defined a great swordsman.
Sokka writes with his right hand, but draws with his left hand.[10] [11] He is possibly ambidextrous, although his left-handed art is ugly and rudimentary.
[edit] Innovations and abilities
For an inhabitant of a mystical world, Sokka shows a remarkable proclivity towards science. He seems naturally adept at creating weapons out of practically anything at any time.[12] He learned how to construct amateur explosives from his father, which he once used to simulate Firebending.[13] In another instance, Sokka used trickery and optical illusions to help his sister Katara fake the ability to Earthbend.[14] He has even worked with a fellow technologist, the Mechanist, to engineer a working hot air balloon and to develop a system that detects natural gas leaks with rotten eggs. Sokka also has a variety of weapons (a club, a machete, on one occasion a spear, his trademark boomerang) and the newest addition, a sword, and he is proficient in all of them.
In addition to his engineering skill, Sokka has shown a remarkable talent for poetry. In The Tales of Ba Sing Se, he stumbles into a poetry reading and goes toe-to-toe with the instructor in a haiku contest, and holds his own. However, his hubris gets the best of him and he gets thrown out for accidentally adding an extra syllable to the end of a haiku.
As the only non-bender in Aang's group, Sokka is often overshadowed by the bending skills of his friends.[15] However, it is usually Sokka who comes up with a plan for victory. He has assumed the important role of gathering intelligence for the group, collecting data and maps that could help them defeat the Fire Nation, often becoming the navigator and choosing the route to follow despite other's objections.[10] His skills as a fighter have also noticeably improved as the series progresses, though it is usually his persistence rather than skill that often allows him to get a shot in against opponents of superior skill, such as Zuko in "The Avatar Returns" (in that fight Sokka was unable to even touch him) and Ty Lee, in "The Chase." Sokka employs the element of surprise in defeating larger enemies in "The Library" when he knocked out Wan Shi Tong by attacking him from above. In that particular encounter, Sokka's wit succeeded where Aang and Katara's bending failed. It was also Sokka who found out about a solar eclipse's ability to incapacitate firebenders and his idea to inform the Earth King in Ba Sing Se.
Sokka has come to learn the art of swordsmanship in order to improve his contribution to the team. Under the tutelage of the Fire Nation swordmaster Piando, Sokka undergoes various activities, including sparring matches with the butler Fat to hone his swordwielding skills as well as arts such as painting, calligraphy and rock gardening to sharpen to his mind. Eventually, when instructed to make his own sword, he uses fragments of a meteorite that fell the night before to collect the metal needed to forge his blade. Sokka's sword, like his master's, is patterned on a Qing Dynasty jian, but unique in that due to the properties of the alien material used for its creation, the blade retains an unusual all-black appearance. The sword is also able to slice through the toughest materials, including regular metal.[16] Although Sokka proves unable to defeat his master in heated battle and must leave to continue his training on his own, Piando states the belief that Sokka retains traits which one day could very well come to make him an even greater swordsman than he is.
[edit] Family
[edit] Katara
Despite constant bickering in the course of their travels, the siblings love each other dearly. Sokka feels obligated to protect his younger sister, as urged by his father before his departure to the Fire Nation. Sokka takes this very seriously and, at times, can become somewhat overprotective. He proves to be very loyal to her in the third episode of season three; when Katara decides to defend the fishing village against the fire nation army, he puts his anger aside in order to help her.
[edit] Mother
The death of Sokka's mother in a Fire Nation raid is the primary fuel for Sokka's deep grudge against the Fire Nation forces. Though his anger has faded somewhat, her loss remains a very sore point. Her name is yet to be given.
[edit] Hakoda
Sokka idolizes his father, Hakoda, hoping to become a great warrior and fight the Fire Nation just as valiantly. Deeply saddened by his father's departure, Sokka eagerly awaits the day he can meet him again. He once seriously considered leaving Aang behind in order to meet him at a military rendezvous point, briefly acting on this desire during an argument with him. Sokka's primary weapon (and most prized possession) is his metal boomerang, given to him by his father before going off to war. In "Bato of the Water Tribe", it was mentioned that Hakoda was heading to Ba Sing Se. Sokka reunites with his father in "The Guru", where Hakoda recognizes his son as a man. Sadly, this reunion is cut short, as Aang comes with news about Katara's capture in Ba Sing Se.
It has been shown throughout the series that Sokka strives to be like his father, and shares many personalitiy traits with Hakoda, such as planning, leadership, bravery, inventive ingenuity, and sense of humor. Bato remarked upon this, saying, "You're definitely your father's son," after only Sokka laughed at Hakoda's attempt at wit in naming his bomb the 'stink and sink'.
[edit] Gran Gran Kanna
Sokka's grandmother, Kanna, is the oldest survivor of the Fire Nation raid on the Southern Water Tribe. Being such, she looks after the tribe. Like Sokka, she is cautious and wary of change and tends to be cynical. When she believes Aang's actions have endangered the village, she takes Sokka's side in the argument. However, she comes to see that it is her grandchildren's destiny to journey with the Avatar and sees them off, telling her grandson to take care of his sister and not to make fun of her.
[edit] Relationships
[edit] Aang
In regards to Aang, Sokka did not embrace him as quickly as his sister did. In the early episodes of the series, he seemed skeptical of Aang's powers and occasionally frustrated with Aang's cavalier attitude. He has shown fierce anger when Aang's carelessness gets Katara hurt in "The Deserter" and when Aang purposely deceives them in "Bato of the Water Tribe," though he forgives him fully afterwards. As the series goes on, Sokka begins to show more marvel at Aang's strength. Sokka eventually even openly admits that Aang is "part of the family" in "Bato of The Water Tribe". The two can also be seen goofing around on occasions (as seen in "The Chase""City of Walls and Secrets"and"The Painted Lady"). Even though Sokka and Aang have their differences, they have since reached better terms with one another, and they can talk to each other easily.
[edit] Toph
Because of Toph's young age and blindness, Sokka was at first skeptical of her Earthbending prowess. Upon witnessing her skills, however, he is astonished to the point of fainting. Like Katara and Aang, Sokka gladly welcomes Toph when she joins their group, and he was the only member of the group to not deride Toph's apparently selfish attitude during "The Chase". However, during "The Chase," when everyone was preparing to fight the approaching tank, Toph discounted Sokka because he could not bend an element, much to his annoyance. A recurring joke seems to involve Sokka occasionally forgetting that Toph is blind (for example, Toph commenting that she likes Sokka's drawing, and his apparent joy before realizing she couldn't actually see it), and she frequently uses this to annoy him.
In "The Serpent's Pass," after Toph saves Sokka's life while they cross the dangerous path, he is intently focused on whether or not Suki is okay and forgets thanking Toph, which seems to cause her a small amount of annoyance. Later in the episode, Suki saves Toph from drowning and Toph, thinking Suki to be Sokka, gives her a kiss on the cheek. In "The Painted Lady", Sokka and Toph work together to figure out Katara's secret identity. While Sokka is away from the team developing his swordsmanship, Toph expresses as much dismay as rest to his absence. Later when he returns, both Aang and Katara enthusiastically welcome Sokka back and proclaim how much they've missed him, while Toph somberly states that she didn't really care, but then turns away to hide her blushing. Toph nonetheless is excited when Sokka gives her a piece of the meteorite he used to make his sword with, which she promptly begins bending into a spiral, a star, and a splatter (the Nickelodeon logo) and subsequently transformed into a bracelet that she now wears.
[edit] Suki
Sokka once nursed a sexist streak (the Water Tribes seem to be fairly traditional with gender roles), but his associations with two particular young women have drastically changed his views. His presumption that women were incompetent fighters was tested when he met Suki, a young female warrior on Kyoshi Island. Humbled by her skill, he turned to her for instruction. The two bonded over sparring matches, and, before parting, shared what was presumably Sokka's first kiss.
Some time later, he and his sister Katara go back to Kyoshi Island to help Aang out of a predicament. Sokka then asks where Suki is and discovers that she and the other female warriors of Kyoshi had gone off to fight in the war, inspired by him, Aang, and Katara during their earlier visit to the village.
The two are reunited when Sokka and the others are on their way to Ba Sing Se in "The Serpent's Pass," where she and her warriors operate as sentries for the Ba Sing Se ferry. He was extremely overprotective of Suki during the beginning of the trip, and continued to be overbearingly cautious after she confronted him about it. During the night on the Serpent's Pass, Sokka and Suki talk and he explains to her how hard it is to lose someone you care for, and that he does not want to lose anyone else. As they talk, the moon is visible behind them, implying the presence of Princess Yue, the first girl he ever really fell in love with and whose death he blames on himself. Suki expresses how important Sokka is to her and the two almost kiss, but Sokka draws back reluctantly. However, the next day when she bids him good-bye, she apologizes about the night before and he kisses her twice before she finally leaves.
In "The Crossroads of Destiny", when Ty Lee flirts with Sokka, he states that he is already involved with Suki, showing signs of commitment.
[edit] Jet
Unlike Katara and Aang, Sokka did not trust Jet when they first met. He initially saw Jet as a rival and a threat, as Jet had stolen his thunder in a fight against a group of Fire Nation soldiers. He stood with his instinctive views even when his two companions opposed it. Although not friendly to each other, the two were very similar in nature, and both had loved ones killed by the Fire Nation. However, Jet took more extreme measures in his revenge, planning to wipe out an entire Earth Kingdom village in an attempt to get rid of the Fire Nation soldiers stationed there, without remorse for the innocents living there. Sokka is the first to learn this, and despite Jet and his group capturing him, he manages to escape and then evacuate all the people in the village. Jet calls him a traitor, but Sokka replies saying that Jet became the traitor when he stopped protecting innocent people.
Unlike his sister, in "Lake Laogai" he was willing to accept Jet's help to find Appa. He was the first to surmise that Jet was brainwashed, and tried to help Jet regain his memory by sticking his trademark chewing straw in his mouth (this did not work, however).
[edit] Princess Yue
Love found Sokka again when he became smitten with Princess Yue of the Northern Water Tribe. Sokka's attempts to court Yue were first reciprocated; however, Yue eventually said she could not see him anymore, because she was already engaged to a young man named Hahn, though in reality it was a political union and she did not love him. She explained that she liked Sokka, but could not abandon her people and their customs. The relationship came to a tragic end when Yue sacrificed her mortal form to give the Waterbenders' patron Moon Spirit new life. Sokka's former love now exists as a reincarnation of Tui, the Moon Spirit.
While Yue promised to remain with him always in spirit and parted with one last kiss, her loss still deeply affects Sokka. In "The Swamp," he has a vision of her confronting him and asking why he was unable to protect her, something that her father Chief Arnook had asked him to do. Also, in "The Serpent's Pass", Sokka is seen sitting in seclusion while staring at the moon; presumably reminiscing about her. When Suki sees Sokka staring at the moon, she comments, "It's a beautiful moon tonight." Sokka responds in all seriousness, "Yeah, it really is." This is a repeated line from "The Waterbending Master" when Sokka first saw Yue, showing that he is still in love with her and still thinks about her all the time (as he stated in "The Swamp"). Sokka also seemed to have a problem kissing Suki in front of the moon, as it is Princess Yue.
[edit] Ty Lee
In "The Chase," after she and Mai were defeated after combating Katara and Sokka, Ty Lee mentioned that Sokka was "kinda cute." Later, in "The Drill," she addressed him and gave him a flirtatious look when they encountered one another within the Drill, to which Sokka replied with a bashful "hey" and a small wave. They come face to face yet again in "The Crossroads of Destiny," where she calls him a "cutie." As they do battle in the Earth King's throne room, she flirts with him remarking that "it's like we're dancing together." However, in this battle, Sokka expresses less interest with her than he did in their previous encounter, explaining that he is already involved with Suki.
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