Mysterious, radical and undeniably charismatic,
Amon started a revolution that could have rid the world
of benders. All the while hiding and exploiting the fact
that he was secretly a bloodbending master.
Now it's time to dive into Amon's journey and explore
how his bending evolved to make him
one of the most powerful and terrifying villains ever.
Let's go back to where it started
in Republic City.
Amon was the son of a crime boss named Yakone,
notorious for using the illegal practice
of bloodbending.
Now up to this point, we've only ever seen it used
during the full moon
as explained by the waterbender, Hama.
I control every muscle, every vein in your body.
Upon his guilty verdict, however, Yakone mystified
the entire courtroom, bloodbending everyone inside
while handcuffed and without the need
for a full moon.
[screaming]
[groaning]
Even after catching up to Yakone,
Aang couldn't defend himself from this kind of power
without going into the Avatar State.
[groaning]
I'm taking away your bending for good.
[groaning]
While Yakone was put in jail after Aang's energybending,
he managed to escape.
And with the help of a surgeon's change in appearance,
and we need a real doctor
to analyze what's going on there,
but that new face seems expensive.
Yakone then sought refuge
in the Northern Water Tribe before he met his wife
and had two children, Amon, who at the time they named Noatak
and three years later, another son named Tarrlok.
As soon as the boys were only a few years old,
Yakone discovered that his children had inherited
his extraordinarily powerful waterbending.
Tarrlok! You'd better shape up, or you'll be out here
in the cold all night until you get it right.
I'm trying but--
Try harder!
Yakone later explained that their family
had the strongest line of bloodbenders in history,
and he was intent on training his sons to seek revenge.
You two will become bloodbenders of the highest order.
When the time is right,
you will claim Republic City, and you will destroy the Avatar.
You must avenge me. That is your purpose in life.
Yikes. Seems like Noatak
and Amon thought they were just going
on a fun camping trip.
Well, it turns out that every full moon after that,
Yakone would secretly teach his sons bloodbending.
While his younger brother, Tarrlok,
was a promising bender, Noatak was the true prodigy
of the family and mastered psychic bloodbending
without the use of his hands by the age of 14.
[music playing]
[whimpering]
[music playing]
[whimpering]
[gasping]
[whimpering]
[music playing]
Eventually twisted by his desire for revenge,
Yakone forced his sons to bloodbend each other.
[groaning]
Excellent.
When Tarrlok refused to bloodbend Noatak,
Yakone became furious
and threatened his youngest child.
But Noatak stepped in bloodbending his father,
who was helpless to resist after facing the Avatar.
You always say bloodbending is
the most powerful thing in the world,
but it isn't. The Avatar is.
He took your bending away.
What could be more powerful than that?
Noatak ran away for good that night,
and his family assumed he perished in a snowstorm.
But in the years that followed,
the idea of the Avatar being unstoppable
nevertheless shaped Noatak
into who his father wanted him to be.
By the age of 40, he held a true belief
that ridding the world of benders
would be for its benefit.
Noatak, then assumed the alias of Amon,
and created the Equalists
to start a full on anti-bending revolution.
When we see his trademark mask on a sign in Republic City,
Amon had already come into his own
as a skilled political and military strategist.
The Equalists had a growing army, secret bases
and possibly most important, a propaganda machine
swaying public support against benders.
When Mako and Korra snuck
into the Equalists' anti-bending rally,
they found an underground auditorium
with a stage, lights, and even a hype man stirring up
a massive crowd.
Your hero, your savior, Amon!
[cheering]
While terrifying, it's undeniable that Amon
was a gifted public speaker
and knew how to put on a show.
Pandering to the crowds' prejudice,
Amon developed a perfectly crafted backstory
for his cause, claiming a firebender killed his family
and disfigured his face.
Amon then continued to boast that the spirits
had granted him the ability to remove someone's bending.
And the Equalists' leader decided to demonstrate this
with a duel.
[music playing]
[gasping]
[groaning]
While it was actually just
a specialized form of chi blocking,
Amon had still unlocked the power
only previously possessed by an Avatar.
These chi blocking effects were seemingly permanent
and irreversible.
Wh... What did you do to me?
Your firebending is gone forever.
[gasping]
As possibly the greatest threat she could ever face,
Avatar Korra looked on in terror as the crowd cheered for Amon.
While she, Mako and Bolin were able to escape,
Amon further showed off his strategic planning
by deliberately stopping his horses for following her,
knowing that a fearful Avatar
would promote his agenda to the public.
Let her go.
She's the perfect messenger to tell the city of my power.
A few days later, another one of Amon's abilities
unveiled itself as the memory of the rally
began to plague Korra with nightmares.
[groaning]
[footsteps approaching]
After I take your bending away, you will be nothing.
[screaming, gasping]
Amon's fear tactics had invaded Korra's mind,
and it started causing her to become reckless.
Korra challenged Amon at a press conference
and played right into his hand
when he and his chi blockers ambushed her
on Air Temple Island.
While Amon promised their eventual fight,
he knew better than to stop Korra too early
and continued to use her as a pawn in his political game.
Although it would be the simplest thing
for me to take away your bending right now...
I won't.
You'd only become a martyr.
[groaning]
Soon after, we learn that it was directly related
to Korra's involvement in pro-bending
when Amon threatened to attack the finals
over a hijacked radio broadcast.
The Republic City Council underestimated
the Equalists' resources, and ignored the threat
which again, Amon predicted.
Perfect. Everything is going according to plan.
Aside from Amon's brilliant strategies,
he was also aware that his nonbenders,
his forces needed the most advanced technology
to complete their goal.
Using electrified weaponry, the Equalists could fight
on an even playing field with benders.
And with the element of surprise
they took over the pro-bending arena
in a matter of seconds.
It's also during this fight that we get to see
how skilled Amon is in hand to hand combat.
As three powerful benders assault him with full force,
Amon easily dodges every single attack.
It's worth speculating,
was he suddenly using bloodbending
to enhance his agility?
With an even more public demonstration
of his chi blocking,
we learn Amon's real desire was to spread fear,
not just through Republic City, but to every bender
around the world.
[music playing]
My followers and I will not rest
until the entire city achieves equality.
And once that goal is achieved,
we will equalize the rest of the world.
The Revolution has begun!
Soon after, we learned that Amon's brother,
Tarrlok, who is now a Republic City councilman,
had also been trying to undermine Avatar Korra.
When she confronted him, Tarrlok struck first
with the extraordinarily powerful waterbending
he inherited from his father.
We rarely got to see Amon actually waterbend,
but his brother's spite gives us
a pretty good indicator of their shared abilities.
Amon likely mastered each
of these advanced waterbending techniques and then some.
Tarrlok's bloodbending
had certainly grown more powerful,
but he still had to use his hands to deliver a blow
that Amon could likely accomplish solely with his mind.
[groaning]
This was perfectly on display
when Amon later confronted Tarrlok,
showcasing his ability to resist bloodbending
while chi blocking at the same time.
Huh?
[grunting]
What?
What are you?
I am the solution.
[fighting]
[screaming]
Also, let's not forget that Amon's skill
to forge alliances; like aligning himself
with the industrial tycoon [unintelligible] Sato,
gave his forces their electrified weapons,
mecha suits, airships and more.
The advanced tech might have been the equalists
single greatest asset.
I've dreamed of this day for so long.
Yes, the time has come for the Equalists
to claim Republic City as their own.
After successfully taking over much of Republic City
and removing the chief of police as a threat,
Amon revealed the next phase of his plan,
systematically mass chi blocking any and all benders
his forces captured.
[groaning]
You will now be cleansed of your impurity.
[groaning]
Next.
We never learn where or how
Amon masters his near irreversible chi blocking.
Normally, a chi blocker has to attack every limb
on a bender to stop their abilities,
and it's only temporary.
All Amon has to do is touch someone's forehead.
Was he actually using some form of bloodbending to do this?
And with his psychic bloodbending,
could he have eventually unlocked
chi blocking someone only with his mind?
Now that's a horrifying thought.
By the time Korra learned the truth
of Amon's past and confronted him,
the seize already prepared a convincing makeup effect.
to further his narrative as martyr.
This is what a firebender did to me.
When the fight finally broke out
Amon's superb agility was on display again.
But his most terrifying power
was shown facing off against Mako and Korra
when he rendered them completely powerless.
[screaming]
[groaning]
Let her go!
[groaning]
- No! - Korra!
[gasping]
When the lieutenant arrived, Amon didn't seem to exert
any extra effort to fling him like a rag doll across the room.
In this brief moment, however,
Amon was possibly just distracted enough
for Mako to free his fingers loose enough
to fire off a lightning bolt.
After an attack that might hospitalize
someone else, we see Amon's incredible resilience.
He seems completely unharmed
when he quickly catches up to Mako and Korra.
I'm impressed.
No one has ever gotten the better of me like that.
If not for the twist of fate
that Korra could unlock her airbending
unaffected by chi blocking,
the Equalists still might have won their war.
[music playing]
[gasping]
When Amon was knocked unconscious underwater,
for the first time, we got to see
his true control of waterbending
as he instinctively bent himself to safety
with a master level water spout.
[music playing]
As Amon's makeup washed away,
so did the perfect deception he spent years to create,
and the public saw him for who he truly was.
While Amon escaped easily dodging Mako's attacks,
he turned to the one person he had left in the world.
Freeing Tarrlok, he asked for a second chance,
and after many years apart, it seemed like maybe
they could make a better life for themselves together.
But shortly into the trip, it became apparent
that Amon could never escape his father's legacy.
And Tarrlok took their fate into his own hands.
This dark decision could be interpreted
in a number of ways.
But perhaps Tarrlok simply realized that the power
of their bloodline would be better left
where it could do no more harm at the bottom of the sea.
From a brilliant revolutionist,
one of the most powerful bloodbenders of all time,
tell us what you think is the strongest
of all of Amon's many skill evolutions.
Comment below and keep watching
for more of your favorite Avatar moments.