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{{Short description|Character in Avatar: The Last Airbender}}
{{Infobox character
| name        = Azula
| image       = Azula.png
| caption     = Azula in ''[[Avatar: The Last Airbender]]''.
| series      = [[Avatar: The Last Airbender]]
| creator     = [[Michael Dante DiMartino]]<br>[[Bryan Konietzko]]
| first       = {{Plainlist|
* '''Original series''':
* "[[The Storm (Avatar: The Last Airbender)|The Storm]]" (2005)
* '''Live-action series''':
* "[[Omashu (Avatar: The Last Airbender episode)|Omashu]]" (2024)}}
| last        = {{Plainlist|
* '''Original series''':
* ''[[Avatar: The Last Airbender (comics)#Azula in the Spirit Temple|Azula in the Spirit Temple]]'' (2023)}}
| lbl1        = Voiced by
| data1       = {{ubl|[[Grey DeLisle]] (2006–2009)|[[Megan Shipman]] (''[[Smite (video game)|Smite]]'')|[[Suzie Yeung]] (2023–present)}}
| lbl2        = Portrayed by
| data2       = [[Summer Bishil]] ([[The Last Airbender (film)|2010 film]])<br>[[Elizabeth Yu]] ([[Avatar: The Last Airbender (2024 TV series)|2024 television series]])
| gender      = Female
| family      = {{ubl|[[Fire Lord Ozai|Ozai]] (father)|[[List of Avatar: The Last Airbender characters#Ursa|Ursa]] (mother)|[[Zuko]] (brother)|[[List of Avatar: The Last Airbender characters#Kiyi|Kiyi]] (maternal half-sister)|[[Iroh]] (paternal uncle)|[[List of Avatar: The Last Airbender characters#Fire Lord Izumi|Izumi]] (niece)|[[List of Avatar: The Last Airbender characters#Azulon|Azulon]] (grandfather)}}
| nationality = [[World of Avatar: The Last Airbender|Fire Nation]]
| lbl21       = Bending element
| data21      = [[Fire (classical element)|Firebending]]
| lbl22       = Age
| data22      = 14 (in ''[[Avatar: The Last Airbender]]'')
}}
'''Princess Azula''' ({{Lang-zh|c=阿祖拉|hp=Ā Zǔ Lā}}) is a fictional character and the secondary antagonist in [[Nickelodeon]]'s animated television series ''[[Avatar: The Last Airbender]]'', created by [[Michael Dante DiMartino]] and [[Bryan Konietzko]], and voiced by [[Grey DeLisle]].
In the show, Azula is the [[crown prince]]ss of the [[Fire Nation]] and an extremely powerful firebending prodigy.<ref name="NickMagScan04">{{cite journal|last=Pittarese|first=Frank|title=Nation Exploration|journal=Nickelodeon Magazine|pages=2|year=2006|issue=Winter 2006}}</ref> Upon Fire Lord Ozai's orders, she begins a quest with her childhood friends [[Mai (Avatar: The Last Airbender)|Mai]] and [[Ty Lee]] to retrieve her banished brother Prince [[Zuko]] and his mentor, their uncle [[Iroh]], while also attempting to capture Avatar [[Aang]], considered the Fire Nation's greatest threat to victory in the war. Azula is known for being a skilled strategist and manipulator.<ref name=":0" /> As her brother Zuko states, she "always lies."<ref name="Zuko Alone">{{cite episode|title=Zuko Alone|url=http://www.avatarspiritmedia.net/episode_guide.php?ep=207|airdate=2006-05-12|season=2|number=7|transcript=Avatar: The Last Airbender. Episode Transcript|transcript-url=http://www.avatarspiritmedia.net/transcripts.php?ep=207|credits=Director: Lauren MacMullan; Writer: Elizabeth Welch Ehasz|series=Avatar: The Last Airbender|series-link=Avatar: The Last Airbender|network=Nickelodeon}}</ref> Throughout the original series and the sequel comics, she is shown to be capable of highly advanced firebending, producing hotter blue flames as well as lightning.{{citation needed|date=September 2024}}
==Appearances==
===''Avatar: The Last Airbender'' television series===
====Book One: ''Water''====
Since she is the shadowed firebender in the series' opening sequence (though she is depicted bending red fire instead of her signature blue), Azula appears at the beginning of every episode of ''[[Avatar: The Last Airbender]]''. In the first season, she makes her first appearance in a flashback during 13-year-old Zuko's Agni Kai (firebending duel) against their father, Fire Lord Ozai. Azula smirks as Zuko's face is burned after he refuses to fight Ozai, who takes this as a sign of weakness and disrespect. The Fire Lord then banishes the permanently scarred Zuko and tasks him with finding the long-lost avatar.<ref name="The Storm">{{cite episode|title=The Storm|url=http://www.avatarspiritmedia.net/episode_guide.php?ep=112|airdate=2005-06-03|season=1|number=12|transcript=Avatar: The Last Airbender. Episode Transcript|transcript-url=http://www.avatarspiritmedia.net/transcripts.php?ep=112|credits=Director: Lauren MacMullan; Writer: Aaron Ehasz|series=Avatar: The Last Airbender|series-link=Avatar: The Last Airbender|network=Nickelodeon}}</ref> Azula makes a second brief appearance at the end of the first season when Ozai tasks her with repatriating Zuko and Iroh, who accompanied his nephew into exile and briefly cooperated with the series' protagonists.<ref name="The Siege of the North Part 2">{{cite episode|title=The Siege of the North, Part II|url=http://www.avatarspiritmedia.net/episode_guide.php?ep=120|airdate=2005-12-02|season=1|number=20|transcript=Avatar: The Last Airbender. Episode Transcript|transcript-url=http://www.avatarspiritmedia.net/transcripts.php?ep=120|credits=Director: Dave Filoni; Writer: Aaron Ehasz|series=Avatar: The Last Airbender|series-link=Avatar: The Last Airbender|network=Nickelodeon}}</ref>
====Book Two: ''Earth''====
After her first attempt to capture Zuko and Iroh is accidentally thwarted by her ship's captain, Azula enlists the help of her childhood friends, [[Mai (Avatar: The Last Airbender)|Mai]] and [[Ty Lee]].<ref name=" Return To Omashu">{{cite episode|title=Return to Omashu|url=http://www.avatarspiritmedia.net/episode_guide.php?ep=203|airdate=2006-04-07|season=2|number=3|transcript=Avatar: The Last Airbender. Episode Transcript|transcript-url=http://www.avatarspiritmedia.net/transcripts.php?ep=203|credits=Director: Ethan Spaulding; Writer: Elizabeth Welch Ehasz|series=Avatar: The Last Airbender|series-link=Avatar: The Last Airbender|network=Nickelodeon}}</ref> She eventually encounters [[Aang|the Avatar]] in Omashu and continues to pursue him, Zuko, and Iroh for the rest of the season. Following her initial failure to enter the Earth Kingdom capital Ba Sing Se using a giant drill to breach the city's strong outer wall, Azula comes in contact with the Kyoshi Warriors, esteemed fighters who, despite their lack of ability to bend any element, dress as and utilize the fighting style of Kyoshi, a past Avatar.<ref>Ehasz, Elizabeth Welch (writer) & Volpe, Giancarlo (director). (October 13, 2006). "Appa's Lost Days". ''Avatar: The Last Airbender''. Season 2. Episode 16. Nickelodeon.</ref> Azula, Mai and Ty Lee then proceed to defeat and impersonate them.<ref name="The Earth King">{{cite episode|title=The Earth King|url=http://www.avatarspiritmedia.net/episode_guide.php?ep=218|airdate=2006-11-16|season=2|number=18|transcript=Avatar: The Last Airbender. Episode Transcript|transcript-url=http://www.avatarspiritmedia.net/transcripts.php?ep=218|credits=Director: Ethan Spaulding; Writer: John O'Bryan|series=Avatar: The Last Airbender|series-link=Avatar: The Last Airbender|network=Nickelodeon}}</ref>
Posing as Kyoshi Warriors, Azula and her friends infiltrate Ba Sing Se and befriend Earth King [[List of Avatar: The Last Airbender characters#Earth Kingdom|Kuei]], who tells them about the planned invasion of the Fire Nation during an upcoming solar eclipse. Azula also comes to understand that the secret police and intelligence agency known as the Dai Li is the key to power in the capital. She is discovered as an infiltrator by Dai Li agents and brought before their imprisoned leader, [[List of Avatar: The Last Airbender characters#Earth Kingdom|Long Feng]]. Having in fact intentionally exposed herself, Azula lulls him into a false sense of control and accepts his offer to help stage a [[coup d'état]] against the Earth King and the loyalist Council of Five.<ref>DiMartino, Michael Dante, Konietzko, Bryan (writers) & Volpe, Giancarlo (director). (December 1, 2006). "The Guru". ''Avatar: The Last Airbender''. Season 2. Episode 19. Nickelodeon.</ref> Immediately after her seizure of power, Azula betrays Long Feng and assumes permanent leadership of the Dai Li. She also encounters Zuko in the city and convinces him to join her in order to redeem himself. During their showdown, Azula strikes Aang with a bolt of lightning while he is in the Avatar State, though he is later revived by Katara. Azula then orders the Dai Li to tear down the walls of Ba Sing Se, exposing the city to an invasion and occupation by the Fire Nation.<ref>Ehasz, Aaron (writer) & DiMartino, Michael Dante (director). (December 1, 2006). "The Crossroads of Destiny". Avatar: The Last Airbender. Season 2. Episode 20. Nickelodeon.</ref>
====Book Three: ''Fire''====
In the early episodes of this season, Azula bonds with her brother and friends after their victorious return to the Fire Nation with Iroh as a prisoner. However, Azula lies to Ozai by claiming that Zuko killed Aang, as she has a hunch that Aang survived and knows that all the blame would now fall on Zuko if this were true. During the two-part episode "The Day of Black Sun," Aang assembles an elite invasion force and attacks the capital, taking advantage of a solar eclipse that renders the firebenders powerless. Having been warned by Azula, Ozai is evacuated to an underground bunker prior to the invasion. Azula and her Dai Li agents stall Aang and his friends [[Sokka]] and [[Toph Beifong|Toph]] from finding Ozai before the eclipse, which lasts only eight minutes, allowing the firebenders to retaliate with full force once they regain their bending, causing the invasion to fail. However, Zuko defects to Team Avatar after confronting Ozai during the eclipse.<ref name="The Eclipse">{{cite episode|title=The Day of Black Sun Part 2: The Eclipse|url=http://www.avatarspiritmedia.net/episode_guide.php?ep=311|airdate=2007-11-26|season=3|number=11|transcript=Avatar: The Last Airbender. Episode Transcript|transcript-url=http://www.avatarspiritmedia.net/transcripts.php?ep=311|credits=Director: Joaquim dos Santos; Writer: Aaron Ehasz|series=Avatar: The Last Airbender|series-link=Avatar: The Last Airbender|network=Nickelodeon}}</ref>
Later, Azula, accompanied by Mai and Ty Lee, visits The Boiling Rock, the top security Fire Nation prison where Zuko has been captured in an attempt to infiltrate the prison and rescue the captured forces of the failed invasion. However, Zuko, Sokka, Suki (leader of the Kyoshi Warriors, who had been captured in the aftermath of their battle with Azula) and Sokka's father Hakoda manage to escape. Mai betrays Azula by aiding the group's escape, proclaiming that she is doing so out of her love for Zuko. Enraged, Azula attempts to attack Mai but is stopped by Ty Lee, who renders her incapable of bending by blocking her chi (''the energy within one which one would use for bending''). After having Mai and Ty Lee imprisoned for betraying her,<ref>Hamilton, Joshua (writer) & Spaulding, Ethan (director). (July 16, 2008). "The Boiling Rock, Part 2". ''Avatar: The Last Airbender''. Season 3. Episode 15. Nickelodeon.</ref> Azula follows Zuko and Sokka's group to the Western Air Temple, where she attempts to kill them. The fight ends in a draw, with Azula narrowly escaping death after falling from one of the airships while the protagonists manage to flee.<ref>Ehasz, Elizabeth Welch (writer) & Dos Santos, Joaquim (director). (July 17, 2008). "The Southern Raiders". ''Avatar: The Last Airbender''. Season 3. Episode 16. Nickelodeon.</ref>
In the [[Sozin's Comet|finale]], Azula intends to join Ozai as he sets out to conquer the world. Instead, he leaves Azula behind in the Fire Nation and names her as his successor to the Fire Lord position, though he does so only because he declares himself king of the world, effectively rendering the title of Fire Lord meaningless. Distraught by her father's abandonment and Mai and Ty Lee's betrayal, Azula sinks into [[psychosis]], hallucinates about her long-lost mother, and deposes nearly all of her servants and advisers in fear of similar betrayal. Before she is crowned as Fire Lord, Zuko and [[Katara (Avatar: The Last Airbender)|Katara]] interrupt the ceremony, whereupon Azula challenges Zuko to single combat in an Agni Kai. However, Azula's attacks, while powerful, are wild and emotional while Zuko's are calm and disciplined; and when his attacks begin to overpower her, she sends a bolt of lightning toward Katara, but ends up striking down Zuko, who attempts to redirect it.<ref>DiMartino, Michael Dante, Konietzko, Bryan (writers) & Dos Santos, Joaquim (director). (July 19, 2008). "Sozin's Comet, Part 3: Into the Inferno". ''Avatar: The Last Airbender''. Season 3. Episode 20. Nickelodeon.</ref> She is ultimately defeated by Katara who freezes her in a block of ice, then handcuffing her to the ground before unfreezing her, causing her to have a mental breakdown.<ref>DiMartino, Michael Dante, Konietzko, Bryan (writers) & Dos Santos, Joaquim (director). (July 19, 2008). "Sozin's Comet, Part 4: Avatar Aang". Avatar: The Last Airbender. Season 3. Episode 21. Nickelodeon.</ref>
===''Avatar: The Last Airbender'' comic series===
====''The Promise''====
{{main|Avatar: The Last Airbender – The Promise}}
Following the end of the war, Azula is admitted to a psychiatric institution, where she is closely monitored.<ref>From older Avatar: The Last Airbender official site, originally on Nick.com. No longer updated.</ref> One year after the war's end, Zuko visits Azula to request her assistance in gaining information from Ozai on the whereabouts of their long-lost mother Ursa, and Azula accepts without asking for anything in return.<ref>''Avatar: The Last Airbender'', ''The Promise'' Part 3</ref>
====''The Search''====
{{main|Avatar: The Last Airbender – The Search}}
When Azula visits Ozai in his prison, they are watched by Fire Lord Zuko before she asks him to leave when their father remains silent in her presence. Azula, having learned of the letters Ursa sent which falsely claims that Fire Lord Zuko is not Ozai's biological son, dodges her brother's questions while distracting him with her bending long enough to access the letters and burn them. She uses this as leverage as she convinces Zuko to allow her to join his quest to find Ursa in return for the letters' information, though she intends to use the letters' content to dethrone her brother while also murdering their mother.<ref>''Avatar: The Last Airbender, The Search'' Part 1</ref> Her request is granted, and she becomes a protagonist by joining Team Avatar.<ref>''Avatar: The Last Airbender, The Search'' Part 2</ref> The team eventually finds that Ursa lost her memory and assumed the identity of Noriko, starting a new family in her home village. Although Azula nearly kills Ursa, she becomes emotionally confused after her mother apologizes for not showing her enough motherly love and even more after Fire Lord Zuko reveals that he still loves his sister, despite their strained relationship. This results in a confused Azula running off into the wilderness. For several weeks, Zuko searches for Azula but fails to find her.<ref>''Avatar: The Last Airbender, The Search'' Part 3</ref>
====''Smoke and Shadow''====
{{main|Avatar: The Last Airbender – Smoke and Shadow}}
After several weeks, Azula helps her followers from the mental institution she was held in escape. They resurface under the guise of kemurikage (dark spirits).<ref name=smokeandshadow3>''Avatar: The Last Airbender, Smoke and Shadow'' Part 3</ref> The "kemurikage" kidnap many children.<ref>''Avatar: The Last Airbender, Smoke and Shadow'', Part 2</ref> After Zuko frees the children, Azula tells him that her motivation is to make him more like their father by relying on fear to maintain control. Azula then escapes and is last seen observing Zuko apologizing to his people for his recent actions before leaving. As Azula directly tells Zuko about her supposed intentions and seems to take his speech seriously, she is possibly acting as a stealth mentor by using reverse psychology on Zuko.<ref name=smokeandshadow3 />
====''Suki, Alone''====
Shortly after Azula and her friends defeated the Kyoshi Warriors and before they infiltrated Ba Sing Se, Azula decides to separate a captured Suki from her Kyoshi Warrior sisters by sending her to the Boiling Rock prison to break her spirit by her forced isolation, and after trying to taunt her about capturing her friends as well, she sends her off with a group of prisoners.
====''Azula in the Spirit Temple''====
After an attempt from Azula and her Fire Warriors to attack a granary resulted in one of them being captured by Ty Lee and the royal guards, and in Azula being abandoned by her warriors after her lack of concern over their captured teammate. Azula finds a mysterious temple in middle of the forest where she's greeted by a supposed monk, who tries to make her comfortable by showing her illusory visions of her family and friends loving her, which led Azula to confront her feelings about being misunderstood and abandoned by her mother and friends, however despite the temple's monk, who was revealed to be a spirit in disguise wanting to help her to change and redeem herself, Azula rejects the spirit's attempts to convince her to seek redemption and attacks the temple with lightning, returning Azula to the forest, who soon finds her former Fire Warriors happy without her and having rescued their captured teammate, but despite her previous desire for revenge, Azula decides to leave them alone and walks off, seeking someone else to lead.
===In other media===
Princess Azula appears in the video games ''[[Avatar: The Last Airbender – The Burning Earth]]''<ref>''[[Avatar: The Last Airbender – The Burning Earth]]''</ref> and ''[[Avatar: The Last Airbender – Into the Inferno]]''.<ref>''[[Avatar: The Last Airbender – Into the Inferno]]''</ref> [[Summer Bishil]] makes a cameo appearance as Azula at the end of the live-action adaptation ''[[The Last Airbender (film)|The Last Airbender]]'', when Fire Lord Ozai orders her to defeat the Avatar.  Writer and director [[M. Night Shyamalan]] envisioned Azula as the primary antagonist of the unmade sequel to the film.<ref>{{Cite web |title='Last Airbender 2' Will Be 'Darker,' M. Night Shyamalan Says |url=https://www.mtv.com/news/23ewpz/last-airbender-2-will-be-darker-m-night-shyamalan-says |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221028164101/https://www.mtv.com/news/23ewpz/last-airbender-2-will-be-darker-m-night-shyamalan-says |url-status=dead |archive-date=October 28, 2022 |access-date=2022-11-17 |website=MTV |language=en}}</ref> Azula also appears as a playable character in the crossover fighting game ''[[Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.pcgamer.com/watch-the-powerful-firebender-azula-kick-the-crap-out-of-stimpy-in-the-final-nickelodeon-all-star-brawl-2-character-reveal/|title=Watch the powerful firebender Azula kick the crap out of Stimpy in the final Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2 character reveal|last=Chalk|first=Andy|website=PC Gamer|date=October 6, 2023|access-date=October 6, 2023|archive-date=October 6, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231006142401/https://www.pcgamer.com/watch-the-powerful-firebender-azula-kick-the-crap-out-of-stimpy-in-the-final-nickelodeon-all-star-brawl-2-character-reveal/|url-status=live}}</ref>
==Conception and creation==
Konietzko notes that Azula's design when compared to other main characters "came together relatively quickly." Azula was originally going to wear a heavily phoenix-themed armor, though the idea was eventually abandoned. Azula's blue firebending was meant to symbolize that she was more powerful than Zuko as well as a firebending prodigy, and also to easily distinguish her attacks from his in their fights.<ref name=artbook /> She was initially intended to have an arranged marriage during the third season.<ref name="avatarspirit.net">{{Cite web |url = http://www.avatarspiritmedia.net/interviews.php?id=19|title=An Avatar Spring Break with Mike and Bryan (part 2 of 3) |date = 2007-04-06 |publisher = avatarspirit.net}}</ref> Both creators hold the character in high regard; Konietzko believes she is "by far the most complex, interesting, and dangerous villain in the series" while DiMartino wrote that she was his favorite villain in the series.<ref name=artbook>''Avatar: The Last Airbender: The Art of the Animated Series'', pg. 87.</ref>
===Voice===
[[File:DSC 7678 (49645907452).jpg|thumb|right|Grey DeLisle, Azula's voice actress, pictured in 2020]]
[[Grey DeLisle]] was the original voice actress for Azula. DeLisle recounts that she had studied her "whole life" for well-written characters like Azula who were hard to come by.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ontd-lok.livejournal.com/83519.html|title=An Interview with Princess Azula of the Fire Nation (Grey DeLisle)|date=October 1, 2012|access-date=July 14, 2016|archive-date=March 26, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190326233656/https://ontd-lok.livejournal.com/83519.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> Overall, DeLisle felt her life had changed positively from the role, and association with the series, relaying this to [[Janet Varney]] who would voice [[Korra]] in the [[The Legend of Korra|sequel series]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.avclub.com/article/ithe-legend-of-korra-ilead-janet-varney-talks-fun--81654|first=Emily|last=Guendelsberger|date=June 22, 2012|title=The Legend Of Korra lead Janet Varney talks fun with fandom and strong female leads|newspaper=The A.V. Club}}</ref>
Due to [[Nickelodeon]]'s behest of [[List of changes made due to the George Floyd protests#Voice acting|authentic castings]] relating to the Avatar Universe in the wake the [[George Floyd protests]], DeLisle later stepped down from voicing Azula in 2023 as [[Suzie Yeung]] later assumed the role starting with the ''Generations'' mobile game, and both ''Quest for Balance'' and ''Nickelodeon All Star Brawl 2'' that same year.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://suzieyeungvo.com/credits/ | title=Credits – Suzie Yeung }}</ref><ref>{{cite video game|title=Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2|developer=Fair Play Labs|scene=Credits}}</ref><ref>{{cite video game|title=Avatar: The Last Airbender - Quest for Balance|developer=Bamtag Games|scene=Credits}}</ref>
==Characterization==
{{Original research section|date=September 2024}}
Although Azula's age is never stated in the series itself, the ''Avatar'' website, as well as the book ''The Earth Kingdom Chronicles'', gives her age as fourteen. She is [[List of Avatar: The Last Airbender characters#Sozin|Fire Lord Sozin]]'s great-granddaughter through Ozai, and Avatar Roku's through her mother, Ursa.<ref name="The Avatar And The Firelord">{{cite episode|title=The Avatar and the Firelord|url=http://www.avatarspiritmedia.net/episode_guide.php?ep=306|airdate=2007-10-24|season=3|number=6|transcript=Avatar: The Last Airbender. Episode Transcript|transcript-url=http://www.avatarspiritmedia.net/transcripts.php?ep=306|credits=Director: Ethan Spaulding; Writer: Elizabeth Welch Ehasz|series=Avatar: The Last Airbender|series-link=Avatar: The Last Airbender|network=Nickelodeon}}</ref> In another flashback, it is revealed that she is named after her paternal grandfather Azulon, Ozai's father.<ref name="Zuko Alone"/> Even as a child, Azula demonstrated her natural talents early in life, along with her tendency for malice and perfectionism. Her sharp wit and the skill she displayed towards Firebending gained her much attention and acclaim, often at Zuko's expense. Even when young, Azula suggests that her father would make a better Fire Lord than the [[heir apparent]], her uncle Iroh, whom she dubbed "a quitter and a loser" for abandoning his siege of the Earth Kingdom's capital Ba Sing Se, which would have secured the Fire Nation's victory in the war, after the death of his son Lu Ten.<ref name="Zuko Alone"/>
Azula was heavily influenced by her father, who favored her over Zuko due to her superior firebending abilities.<ref name="Zuko Alone" /> However, Azula's father was a ruthless man incapable of true love. Azula was also constantly scolded by her mother due to her cruel nature. This shaped Azula's fears that she could not count on love from anyone, no matter how close they seemed. Unable to trust others, she instead began to control them using fear.
Although a skilled strategist and capable of predicting her enemies' moves, she is awkward in [[social ineptitude|social situations]], and later admits to jealousy of Ty Lee's ability to attract potential sweethearts during "The Beach" episode. She ends up seducing Chan with Ty Lee's advice to act dumb; however, she scares him away when she shows her true personality.
From childhood, Azula believed her mother favored Zuko and thought her monstrous, which she admitted to be true but hurt her deeply. After she was betrayed by Mai and Ty Lee, her mental state gradually collapsed, as her attacks became far more vicious and she was seemingly obsessed with killing Zuko. After her defeat, it is revealed in the graphic novel ''The Promise'' that she was admitted into a mental institution in the Fire Nation due to her deteriorated mental state, implied to be [[schizophrenia]]. In both the series and the comics, she is shown to be disturbed by frequent hallucinations of her mother although as the comic progresses she is seen to regain her previous mental fortitude and capabilities.
Azula often acts cold-hearted towards her uncle and her brother, but she appears to show some genuine concern for Zuko in the season 2 finale and early episodes of season 3. Although she seems to care about her friends, she frequently manipulates them; her attitude is due to her negative childhood and manipulations and teaching from her father Ozai, as seen when she threatens Ty Lee into leaving the circus in Book 2. There has been only one known occurrence of Azula showing remorse by apologizing after unintentionally insulting Ty Lee.
===Firebending===
Azula is highly skilled in firebending, which utilizes [[Chinese martial arts]] techniques of [[changquan]], [[Shaolin kung fu]], [[Southern Dragon kung fu]] and [[xingyiquan]].<ref name="Return To Omashu"/><ref name="avatar2/index.jhtml">{{cite web| url = http://www.nick.com/shows/avatar| title = Nickelodeon's Official Avatar: The Last Airbender Flash Site| access-date = December 2, 2006| publisher = Nick.com}}</ref><ref>The Lost Scrolls: Fire, page 159 of The Lost Scrolls Collection.</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.kungfumagazine.com/ezine/article.php?article=1038 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120415153727/http://www.kungfumagazine.com/ezine/article.php?article=1038 |archive-date=2012-04-15 |title=Kung Fu Magazine Articles}}</ref> The series' creators consulted a professional martial artist in the design of the show's fighting style.<ref name="Kisu">{{cite web | title=Kisu - Filmography by TV Series | url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0457467/filmoseries?ref_=nm_flmg_msc_1#tt0417299 |publisher=IMDb | access-date=2013-10-21}}</ref> Azula is one of the most skilled firebenders in the show and she's a very difficult person to defeat in single combat. Her excellent firebending abilities, hand-to-hand combat skills, intelligence, speed, flexibility, agility and charisma make her a formidable opponent.
====Blue flames====
[[File:Azula's Blue Flames.png|thumb|right|Azula and her characteristic blue flames.]]
Azula is the only firebender who can produce blue flames, which are hotter and contain more energy (according to [[Planck's law]]) than those of other firebenders who bend normal orange flames. Her name is derived from ''azul'', the Spanish, Galician and Portuguese word for blue. However, Azula could not produce blue fire as a young child, as shown in flashbacks. Similarly, her grandfather Azulon was never shown to wield blue flames despite his name implying otherwise. Azula can also use her firebending in previously unseen ways, such as jets of flames and whirling disks. She often firebends using only two fingers, rather than a closed fist or open hand common to other firebenders.<ref name="Return To Omashu"/> Azula can fight for long periods of time without tiring. She is also able to generate powerful shields of swirling flames, which she uses to withstand the simultaneous combined attacks of Aang, Katara, Zuko and Toph.<ref name="The Chase">{{cite episode|title=The Chase|url=http://www.avatarspiritmedia.net/episode_guide.php?ep=208|airdate=2006-05-26|season=2|number=8|transcript=Avatar: The Last Airbender. Episode Transcript|transcript-url=http://www.avatarspiritmedia.net/transcripts.php?ep=208|credits=Director: Giancarlo Volpe; Writer: Joshua Hamilton|series=Avatar: The Last Airbender|series-link=Avatar: The Last Airbender|network=Nickelodeon}}</ref> She is even able to charge up her fire before releasing it, as was seen during one fight with Aang.<ref name="The Drill">{{cite episode|title=The Drill|url=http://www.avatarspiritmedia.net/episode_guide.php?ep=213|airdate=2006-09-15|season=2|number=13|transcript=Avatar: The Last Airbender. Episode Transcript|transcript-url=http://www.avatarspiritmedia.net/transcripts.php?ep=213|credits=Director: Giancarlo Volpe; Writers: Michael Dante DiMartino, Bryan Konietzko|series=Avatar: The Last Airbender|series-link=Avatar: The Last Airbender|network=Nickelodeon}}</ref>
Azula is able to propel herself, using her flames, in a manner similar to a rocket. This ability has also been extended as a means to fly for short periods of time as seen in "The Boiling Rock".<ref name="The Crossroads of Destiny">{{cite episode|title=The Crossroads of Destiny|url=http://www.avatarspiritmedia.net/episode_guide.php?ep=220|airdate=2006-12-01|season=2|number=20|transcript=Avatar: The Last Airbender. Episode Transcript|transcript-url=http://www.avatarspiritmedia.net/transcripts.php?ep=220|credits=Director: Michael Dante DiMartino; Writer: Aaron Ehasz|series=Avatar: The Last Airbender|series-link=Avatar: The Last Airbender|network=Nickelodeon}}</ref> She can also breathe fire, as shown when she is defeated by Katara and Zuko.
====Lightning generation====
{{blockquote|"Lightning is a pure expression of firebending without aggression. It is not fueled by rage or emotion the way other firebending is. Some call lightning the cold-blooded fire. It is precise and deadly like Azula. To perform the technique requires peace of mind."|[[Iroh|General Iroh]] (''[[Avatar: The Last Airbender]]'')|source=}}
Azula is capable of lightning generation, one of the rarest types of firebending; Iroh notes that it isn't really possible to teach lightning generation, it's just something particularly powerful firebenders are capable of.<ref name="The Avatar State">{{cite episode|title=The Avatar State|url=http://www.avatarspiritmedia.net/episode_guide.php?ep=201|airdate=2006-03-17|season=2|number=1|transcript=Avatar: The Last Airbender. Episode Transcript|transcript-url=http://www.avatarspiritmedia.net/transcripts.php?ep=201|credits=Director: Giancarlo Volpe; Writers: Aaron Ehasz, Elizabeth Welch Ehasz, Tim Hedrick, John O'Bryan|series=Avatar: The Last Airbender|series-link=Avatar: The Last Airbender|network=Nickelodeon}}</ref>
===Other skills===
Azula is a skilled unarmed fighter and acrobat. In "[[The Avatar State]]," she bests Zuko in combat without resorting to firebending, and in "[[Avatar: The Last Airbender (season 3)|The Day of Black Sun]]," she avoids the combined forces of Aang, Toph, and Sokka for several minutes without her bending to aid her. In "[[Appa's Lost Days]]," when Suki makes a [[Stabbing|stab]] attack at Azula with her [[Japanese war fan|fan]], Azula jumps horizontally and knocks Suki's sword out of her hand and onto a tree.<ref name="The Eclipse"/> In "[[The Boiling Rock]]," Azula is able to fall and land on her hands, holding her body up horizontally, with ease.
Azula is an expert in persuasion. She is capable of using [[psychological warfare]], intimidation, and mistruths to con other people into obeying her. She also has the ability to lie easily without causing any change in her breathing and heart rate, making it nearly impossible to detect if she's lying, which she demonstrates in "The Day of Black Sun." She is also an accomplished strategist, as she is able to conquer Ba Sing Se, a city thought to be impenetrable while usurping the Earth King and hierarchy of the [[Earth Kingdom]] capital all in one swift move.<ref name="The Crossroads of Destiny" /><ref name="The Awakening">{{cite episode|title=The Awakening|url=http://www.avatarspiritmedia.net/episode_guide.php?ep=301|airdate=2007-09-21|season=3|number=1|transcript=Avatar: The Last Airbender. Episode Transcript|transcript-url=http://www.avatarspiritmedia.net/transcripts.php?ep=301|credits=Director: Giancarlo Volpe; Writer: Aaron Ehasz|series=Avatar: The Last Airbender|series-link=Avatar: The Last Airbender|network=Nickelodeon}}</ref>
==Reception==
Critical response to Azula's character has generally been positive. [[Paste (magazine)|''Paste'' Magazine]] ranked Azula as the ninth best character from the ''Avatar'' universe.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2016/06/the-20-best-characters-from-the-avatar-universe.html|title=The 20 Best Characters From The Avatar Universe|date=June 21, 2016|access-date=June 20, 2021|publisher=[[Paste (magazine)|Paste Magazine]]|first=Zach|last=Blumenfeld|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180129141020/https://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2016/06/the-20-best-characters-from-the-avatar-universe.html|archive-date=January 29, 2018|df=mdy-all}}</ref> [[Hollywood.com]] included Azula among the "9 Villains You Should Root For", commenting that Azula "proved to be as cunning and vicious a villain as ever appeared on children's television." She was also the only female animated character to be featured in the list.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hollywood.com/movies/9-villains-you-should-root-for-57189966/|title=9 Villains You Should Root For|website=[[Hollywood.com]]|date=9 July 2010|access-date=June 20, 2021|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150725054814/http://www.hollywood.com/movies/9-villains-you-should-root-for-57189966/|archive-date=July 25, 2015|df=mdy-all}}</ref> [[ComicsAlliance]] ranked Azula second in the website's "Top 10 Cartoon Bad Guys" list.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://comicsalliance.com/top-10-cartoon-bad-guys/|title=Top 10 Cartoon Bad Guys|website=[[ComicsAlliance]]|first=Kim|last=Bezner|date=30 October 2015 |access-date=June 20, 2021|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170731235731/http://comicsalliance.com/top-10-cartoon-bad-guys/|archive-date=July 31, 2017|df=mdy-all}}</ref> Ranking the character third for "The Seven Best Animated Female Villains", [[Dan Abrams#The Mary Sue|The Mary Sue]] wrote, "Gleefully evil and efficient right up until the end. You're a thorny, flaming rose, Azula, and you were fascinating to watch."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.themarysue.com/seven-best-animated-female-fillans/|title=Bad and Drawn That Way: The Seven Best Animated Female Villains|website=[[Dan Abrams#The Mary Sue|The Mary Sue]]|first=Sara|last=Goodwin|date=September 17, 2015|access-date=June 20, 2021|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170113115834/https://www.themarysue.com/seven-best-animated-female-fillans/|archive-date=January 13, 2017|df=mdy-all}}</ref> [[Moviepilot]] ranked Azula first in the "Grey Griffin's 6 Greatest Villain Roles" with writer Mara Mullikin describing her "a perfectionist", while also complimenting her "tactful mind, agility, ruthlessness, manipulative nature and fire bending prowess cemented her as probably being the series' best antagonist."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://moviepilot.com/posts/2797316|title=Grey Griffin's 6 Greatest Villain Roles|publisher=[[Moviepilot]]|first=Mara|last=Mullikin|access-date=June 20, 2021|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160411022238/https://moviepilot.com/posts/2797316|archive-date=April 11, 2016|df=mdy-all}}</ref> The same website ranked her the fifth greatest female villain, writing that Azula is "a fantastic strategist, an excellent manipulator, and perhaps the greatest firebender the world had ever seen."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://moviepilot.com/posts/3956544|title=The Mistresses Of All Evil! TV's 10 Greatest Female Villains|publisher=[[Moviepilot]]|first=Jeremiah|last=Paul|access-date=June 20, 2021|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160609115718/https://moviepilot.com/posts/3956544|archive-date=June 9, 2016|df=mdy-all}}</ref> Website Comicbookmovie ranked her the second best animated villains.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.comicbookmovie.com/animated_features/the-top-ten-animated-villains-a114957|title=The Top Ten Animated Villains!|website=Comicsbookmovie.com|date=8 February 2015|access-date=June 20, 2021|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180209161844/https://www.comicbookmovie.com/animated_features/the-top-ten-animated-villains-a114957|archive-date=February 9, 2018|df=mdy-all}}</ref> The character was ranked 11th on [[Screen Rant]]'s list of hottest superheroes and villains characters.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://screenrant.com/hottest-superheroes-villains-ranked/|title=16 Hottest Superheroes And Villains, Ranked|website=[[Screen Rant]]|first=Bernardo|last=Sim|date=July 6, 2017|access-date=June 20, 2021|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180113215645/https://screenrant.com/hottest-superheroes-villains-ranked/|archive-date=January 13, 2018|df=mdy-all}}</ref>
==Family tree==
{{Fire Nation Royal Family tree}}
==References==
{{Reflist}}
<!-- Do NOT add any fanfic or fanart websites -->
==External links==
{{Commons category|Azula}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20121112121858/http://nicktoons.nick.com/shows/avatar/characters/azula.html Azula] at [[Nick.com]]
{{Avatar: The Last Airbender}}
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