So yeah, I was busy finishing uni work for the year and completely forgot about free comic book day. DX I went to the store today and couldn’t find a copy of it, though I don’t think they actually had it in the first place. *Shrug* Luckily, some lovely people have provided scans online, so thank you to them! 8D
The comic improved my opinion about Mai somewhat, though I believe her acting coldly toward Tom Tom was mostly due to her knowing her enemies wouldn’t hurt him/Azula being Azula and Mai knowing this.
Am I the only person bothered by the harsh comments about the artwork? It was a free comic, what do people really expect? The artwork wasn’t THAT bad anyway, it was a nice deviation from the usual style (though I DO love that style).
A similar problem arose with Cheeks’ artwork for Teen Titans Go back when I was a fan many eons ago, and they were in issues that had to be paid for too instead of a freebie like this one. It may not stick entirely true to the original, and you may not like it, but it’s the artist’s style and it should be respected. “This artwork is crap” is a shallow and petty remark. This artist may not even have been PAID to produce the work, so have some respect.
Ozai definitely saw the letter Azula had stuffed in her boot. So that letter was indeed written by Ursa, but that doesn’t make the content in that letter the absolute gospel truth. Ursa had clearly written so many letters to Ikem, and she knew him so well that if Old Biddy (can’t remember her…
Your last sentence is perfection.
Wow, thank you! Never thought anyone would actually read this. haha
So what’s your opinion on the whole thing?
Tracking the Ursa tag, that’s how. ;)
Basically, after giving it more thought, my line of thought is very close to yours.
There’s nothing in the show that directly contradicts the idea of Zuko being Ozai’s son, not even a hint that opens it to interpretation (and, no, just because Zuko doesn’t resemble Ozai to any great degree means they aren’t actually related — that sort of thing is commonplace in real-life, too), and everything to support that he is Ozai’s. My biggest contention of Zuko supposedly being Ikem’s son rather than Ozai’s comes through the fact that Azula’s claim to the throne would’ve been invalidated for years because everyone believed Zuko was of royal blood and therefore fit to inherit. Without that link to Sozin’s bloodline, Zuko’s inheritance wouldn’t have existed at all — but it did, and it was treated as valid by everyone. The idea that he would’ve come before a blood heir while not being one himself is just plain unacceptable. That, and it makes no sense for Ozai to regard Zuko as his own if he truly wasn’t. Knowing him, he would’ve booted Zuko out of the Fire Nation the first chance he had, and tradition would’ve supported him.
I really should be tracking that tag, she’s one of my favourite characters. lol
Hmm, you say that Ozai and Zuko don’t physically resemble each other. I never thought of this in grew detail either until I saw some posters comparing older Zuko in the poster to Ozai. They’re almost the spitting image, if you ask me.
*Nod* Zuko not being of royal blood, and his entire character development being invalidated are my main issues with this being possibly true. But until The Search is over and done with, I don’t see the point in half the fanbase panicking like they are. We won’t know how we’ll all feel by the end of this little comic series and we’ve got two comics to go before everything’s revealed/set in stone/whatever.
All I’m really worried about it whether we’ll actually see Ursa in present tense but even then, there’s no guarantee (though omg, I really hope my intuition is wrong on this one lol). I didn’t expect a lot from this comic as I wasn’t too fond of how they handled a lot of The Promise, that way I wasn’t at all disappointed. I am very fond of Ursa’s characterisation and effect within the story so far, and that’s all that truly mattered to me when I bought the comic.
Ozai definitely saw the letter Azula had stuffed in her boot. So that letter was indeed written by Ursa, but that doesn’t make the content in that letter the absolute gospel truth. Ursa had clearly written so many letters to Ikem, and she knew him so well that if Old Biddy (can’t remember her name) or Ozai HAD written letters back she would have known they were forgeries, or if they just hadn’t even bothered with that step then of COURSE something was amiss.
I am adamant on Zuko still being Ozai’s son, because of Iroh. Iroh had Roku’s headpiece with him, something tells me that Ursa entrusted him with it. And like I said a few posts back, either Ursa withheld the truth from Iroh OR entrused Iroh with the information that Zuko was, indeed, Ozai’s son. Maybe Ozai never told Iroh or Azulon of the whole Ikem situation, we don’t know, but why else would Iroh have Roku’s headpiece with him?
I believe that letter was a lie to get to Ozai and/or some desperate attempt to leave the palace, but also the reason Ozai began to treat Zuko differently. Whether Ozai confronted Ursa over the issue we don’t know yet, but either way this whole theory puts Ursa in a pretty unfavourable light. Of course she didn’t mean for anyone BUT Ozai to find the letter neither did she mean for him to shun Zuko for it, but inevitably it’s no wonder Azula may think so poorly of her. Ursa could very well have caused the family to break apart through her own impulsive actions.
It’s sad to think, but hey… it’s not too different to how her son acted at the end of Book 2. Zuko made a lot of terrible mistakes but he clearly thought he was doing the right thing, even if it was for selfish reasons. I’ve always thought Zuko inherited both the best and the worst in Ursa, and this is truly no exception.
It’s been my head canon (an quite a few others from what I gathered) that Ozai, who preferred espionage to his brother’s high war tactics arranged for Lu Ten’s death by exchanging information about the siege with the Dai Li.
On page,31 of the search, there is a Dai Li, or at least Earth Army…
OH GOD YEAH, and look at Gyatso’s clothing on the wall there! (Is it Gyatso’s?) Shit dude, I like this theory.
Well a history of spies would better explain how Sozin committed the genocide of the air nomads on one day; if a guy on the inside had informed the Fire Nation all the wandering nomads would be home at the temples for the airbender religion’s ritual of the comet’s arrival… than genocide in twelve hours make much more sense.
You know, I had wondered about that myself. Didn’t the Quickstrike card game have a traitor in it, a monk who was disclosing info to the Fire Nation or something like that?
It’s been my head canon (an quite a few others from what I gathered) that Ozai, who preferred espionage to his brother’s high war tactics arranged for Lu Ten’s death by exchanging information about the siege with the Dai Li.
On page,31 of the search, there is a Dai Li, or at least Earth Army…
OH GOD YEAH, and look at Gyatso’s clothing on the wall there! (Is it Gyatso’s?) Shit dude, I like this theory.
Knowing how Ursa felt about her position as Ozai’s wife it just makes me feel that Ozai would have had to force himself on Ursa whether it be aggressively or passive aggressively to conceive any children. Especially a second one.
Despite the fact that as a princess of the…
It could have been Zuko too, we’re not actually 100% sure on the fact that Zuko is Ikem’s son if you really think about how manipulative Azula and Ozai are and how little we still know about what Ursa was up to during her time at the palace when Ozai wasn’t around, but you may already know this (though not enough seem to judging by the majority of the reactions on here lol) and I see your point. Sad day for Urzai.
OZAI ISN’T ZUKO’S FATHER WHICH COMPLETELY THROWS OUT ZUKO AS A LEGITIMATE HEIR TO THE THRONE AND THE ENTIRE ARC OF ZUKO HAVING TWO WARRING BLOODLINES INSIDE HIM TO HAVE TO CHOOSE BETWEEN AND ANYONE WHO TRIES TO PULL “WELL OZAI RAISED HIM” WITH ME GETS THE DUNGEON FOR 3948758456 YEARS BECAUSE OZAI WAS AN ABUSIVE FUCK AND IROH WAS ZUKO’S REAL FATHER IN ANY SENSE OF THE WORD THAT MATTERS AND MIKE AND BRYAN AND GENE YANG ARE IN A TIME OUT NOW THEY ARE GROUNDED FOREVER
THEY TRASHED ZUKO’S DEVELOPMENT AND HIS CHARACTER AND THE STRUGGLES HE WENT THROUGH BY MAKING HIM SOMEONE ELSE’S SON
LITERALLY HIS ENTIRE ARC WAS BASED OFF OF OZAI’S ABUSE AND NEGLECT TOWARDS HIM AND HIM BEING A CHILD WHO JUST WANTED HIS FATHER TO LOVE HIM
THIS IS THE WORST NARRATIVE BETRAYAL IN THE HISTORY OF BETRAYALS
THIS IS SHITTIER THAN THE ENTIRETY OF THE LAST AIRBENDER MOVIE WHICH AT LEAST MADE ME LAUGH AT ITS STUPIDITY
I AM IN A RAGE
THIS IS PROBABLY MADDER ABOUT FICTIONAL COMICS CHARACTERS THAN I HAVE EVER BEEN
HOW DARE THEY.
FUCKING
FUUUUUUUUC<KINGNNGNNGGGGG
ARE YOU SHITTING ME
This is what happens when you Bryke doesn’t have their writing team, who wrote most of AtLA.
My God… you are all so gullible.
This is clearly a clever cliff hanger made by these writers so you would all flip out and be crazy for the next volume. I’m certain that Ursa was smart enough not to trust anyone in the Fire Nation palace since she would have been under constant surveillance.
(1) She wrote that as part of some plan against Ozai.
(2) Ozai, knowing that the note is fake, has conspired with Azula, who also knows it’s fake, to use the note so Zuko gets confused and abdicates the throne.
whistles in amazement
THANK YOU. I knew there was something off about that apparent element of trust between her and the old biddy.
My guess was that Ursa just thinks of Zuko as being as good as Ikem’s son or whatever, but I like this better.
Well done, I never actually thought of that myself.
My copy of ATLA: The Promise Library Edition is finally here!
Though they could’ve done with blowing up the final output of each comic page; I understand that they wanted to make room for commentary, and may have marred the quality of the artwork by doing so.
Loving the little concept art feature, too. =D
If The Search’s Library Edition (presuming they make it) is as large as this and if the writing steps up a bit, I am so ready for it. :)
Okay, so please excuse my poor attempt at fashion design art but when I saw this dress going around, just- Katara. In it. Yes? I’m not the only one who IMMEDIATELY saw this? No? Okay. Good.
i don’t know…. Zuko can pull it off pretty well…
Better?
Now I just see them posing together, giving “BLUE STEEL” face or something.
He’s beautiful. :3
That is a nice dress though, omg.
