What if Aang had died instead of freezing himself?

[u/rbreezy21]

Would the world have been better off with a new avatar instead of being left without one for 100 years?

[u/Mr_Squeaky_Voice]

The new avatar would’ve been a water bender, either from the north or south. If they were from the south they would be captured very soon as the fire nation would probably be attacking them. The north would be harder for the fire nation, but they would still succeed. They wouldn’t kill the avatar because then the next one is an earth bender and has a possibility of being in ba sing se which the fire nation probably wouldn’t risk. If they find the avatar early, they might even attempt to brainwash the avatar into attacking for them.

[u/Prudent_Solid_3132 → u/Mr_Squeaky_Voice]

I think the avatar would be safe during their early years

From what we could tell during the series, the northern water tribe was only attacked once 85 years before the events  of the series based on the fact that they have very out of date uniforms.

The southern raids didn’t start according to Hama until 40AG(60 years before the series).

Sozin believed Aang was alive and spent the last of his remaining days looking for them.

Aang dying here isn’t really gonna change those events I don’t think so the new avatar would be able to grow up, though they’d have to be kept secret once their identity is confirmed

[u/Jdawg_mck1996 → u/Prudent_Solid_3132]

Wouldn't the fire nation know about a new avatar because of their sages? Those guys seemed to be pretty convinced they could tell that a new avatar in the cycle had not yet been born.

[u/numbersthen0987431 → u/Jdawg_mck1996]

I don't remember them having insight into that.

[u/rbreezy21 → u/Prudent_Solid_3132]

Based on that timeline then, the new avatar would have been 15 or older, plus an extremely powerful waterbender by that point. Granted they never learn air bending, but they would have been much stronger than aang by the time they started being hinted

[u/MagicSugarWater → u/Mr_Squeaky_Voice]

If they find the avatar early, they might even attempt to brainwash the avatar into attacking for them.

It'd be interesting to see a story where the Fire Nation indoctrinated an Avatar who was told his past lives are evil spirits and he shouldn't give in to temptation, wrestling with nightmares and the traitor Roku. Imagine how the Avatar state would work for him with Roku's involvement.

Imagine him alongside someone like Azulon who seemed to hold people to very strict standards and the spectacle of Fire Nation aesthetics while living an ascetic life free of temptation.

[u/Appropriate_Boss8139 → u/Mr_Squeaky_Voice]

It took several decades at minimum to wipe out waterbendiny in the south, so I think they’d be fine. They’d reach their 20s and eventually master the avatar state, winning the war

[u/Jonathan-02 → u/Mr_Squeaky_Voice]

So it’s possible that Katara could’ve been the new avatar? Or would it happen sooner after Aang died

[u/numbersthen0987431 → u/Mr_Squeaky_Voice]

I think if they were born in the north they would have been fine

It took the Fire Nation 100 years to attack the north, and it took them 85 years to eliminate waterbending in the south. The next Avatar would have had decades to master water and earth bending, and they would have been able to join the war efforts in order to keep the fire nation suppressed.

Firebending would have been hard to find a master, but not impossible.

[u/ParagonRebel]

Good question.

For Aang to freeze himself, he had to go into the Avatar State. If he had died before he could do that, the next Avatar would’ve been born. If he died while frozen, then there would be no next Avatar.

The Fire Nation would’ve ripped though the rest of the world with ease (maybe not Ba Sing Se) if it was confirmed that the Avatar had ceased to exist entirely.

If the world had a new Avatar, they would immediately be disadvantaged in their training because by the time they become of age, there are effectively no airbenders left to teach Air Bending. There is also a chance The Fire Nation gets to them before anyone else does and they train a super weapon to help them.

[u/OrlinWolf]

No, they hunted down and were killing off water benders because they assumed the air avatar had died. Big chance the water avatar would have been captured or killed.

[u/Specialist_Hat_4588]

We would have not gotten our beloved ATLA show

[u/learningtheworld22]

Then fire nation would succeed. Water tribe would’ve had a waterbending avatar who would likely only know water and maybe Earth.

[u/Miserable-Abroad9256]

I keep seeing theory’s that the avatar would’ve ended up being katara and that’s how destiny brought them together. And like I can kind of get behind that tbh

[u/Rohml]

Bang, the new avatar has to save the world. If he fails, it would be Cang who takes up the mantle.