The Legend of Korra/Characters/Republic City
This is a partial character sheet for The Legend of Korra. Visit here for the main character index. Subjective trope and audience reactions should go on the YMMV page.
Lin Beifong
Chief Lin Beifong
![](../../../I/m/Tumblr_m173eero2s1rqni07o6_250_9342.jpg)
Voiced by Mindy Sterling
Daughter of Toph Beifong, and the head of Republic City's SWAT-like Metalbending Police. Forceful and uncompromising, Lin has a soft heart under her metal armour, and will do anything to protect the safety of Republic City.
- Appeal to Force: Believes the only way to maintain peace and stability in her city is through the use of law enforcement. Also, tried to solve the Love Triangle by Imprisoning The Hypotenuse.
- Amicable Exes: Tenzin seems to think so. Korra's not so sure.
- Later on, she seems to warm up a little.
- Anti-Hero: Type III. Especially cemented in "The Aftermath" when she decides to handle things outside the law and take back her Metalbending officers.
- Authority Equals Asskicking: Episode 6 shows that there's a VERY good reason she's the head of the Metalbending Police.
- Badass: Apparently runs in the family. Everything she does in episode 6 proves she's worthy of the title. Episode 7 continues this. She rips apart a mecha. With her hands. Then, in Episode 9... she frees her officers from an Equalist base. Tenzin, Bolin, Mako, and Asami were there but she never really needed their help. She could have saved her officers on her own. Oh, and did I mention that she does all this while she's injured? She truly is a One Woman Army. How much more Badass can she get?
- Badass Longcoat: As of Episode 9, she's taken to wearing a trench coat over her armor.
- Badbutt: "That's ancient history. And it's got diddly-squat to do with the mess you're in right now!"
- Blade Below the Shoulder: Can use metalbending to make these.
- Building Swing: One utilization of her powers.
- Childhood Friend Romance: A failed one with Tenzin.
- Da Chief: Up until episode 7, where she turns in her badge so she can track down her captive men without restraint.
- Dishing Out Dirt: As a metalbender, this is a required base skill. She doesn't use it much.
- Extra Ore Dinary: Her metalbending power.
- Establishing Character Moment: She directly confronts Korra in the interrogation room of the Metalbending Police HQ, knowing full well that Korra is the Avatar and has already mastered 3 elements, and still talks down to her with not a trace of fear or special treatment.
- Fan Nickname: She is often called Spider-Lin due to the way she uses metalbending as a Grappling Hook Pistol.
- Good Is Not Nice: She rather viciously tells Korra that she hasn't done anything to deserve the gala Tarrlok throws her. While this is technically true as the party is a ploy by the councilor to butter her up and shame her into joining his task force, that's a little rough, Chief. It's later implied that she's giving Korra a hard time because she's bitter about her former relationship with Tenzin.
- Good Scars, Evil Scars: Has two small scars on her cheek.
- Grandma, What Massive Hotness You Have!: Lin is very fit and good looking for a woman in her fifties. If not for her graying hair, we would never imagine her age.
- Grappling Hook Pistol: In this case, the "pistol" is her metalbending.
- Green Eyes: A minty green like her mother's. Except without the severe cataracts that came with Toph's blindness.
- Elemental Eye Colors: See above.
- Iron Lady: Pun intended.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: While she's initially very disapproving of Korra's presence in Republic City, she's genuinely interested in keeping the peace.
- Lady of War: She continues to steal the show in most combat scenes. And she does it with a refined style.
- Like Mother, Like Daughter: She is just as stubborn as her mother, but coming from that is a sense of right and wrong, which leads her to resign as Chief of Police in order to track down her captured men outside the law. She is also seen using the same "Earth Sonar" we saw her mother use which allows her to sense Hiroshi Sato's secret basement.
- Love Triangle: Believe it or not, she was the second girl in Tenzin and Pema's love triangle.
- Made of Iron: Puns aside, Episode 6 shows she is this. After being knocked unconscious by electricity, she gets up in time to start chasing Amon with Korra. She is repeatedly shocked again by The Lieutenant, but doesn't let it stop her even when weakened prior.
- A Mother To Her Men: She genuinely cares about the officers under her ranks. So, when some are captured by Equalists, she is willing to resign her position as Chief of Police in order to go after them with any means necessary. She even managed to find them, but not soon enough to save them from Amon. Even after taking a level in niceness she's direct and decidedly brusque to Tenzin and Team Avatar, but speaking to her men in Out Of The Past, her voice and eyes are gentler.
- Mundane Utility: She can control all metal. She uses this power to put her armor on, and zip Bolin's fly.
- Not So Different: Tenzin implies that Lin was a lot like Korra at her age.
- On a more meta-ish level, her initial characterization seemed to be opposite that of her mother. An enforcer of the law, not a rebel. However as of episode 7 looks as if the apple really didn't fall that far from the tree, her outside the law line at the end sums it all up.
- One Woman Army: Best shown in episode 9, where she pretty much single-handedly liberates her captured officers from the Equalist's prison, with only minimal help from the rest of the group. While injured.
- Reasonable Authority Figure: Definitely not a nice example, but she's trying to keep the peace. If you're not breaking the law, she's willing to listen.
- Spin Offspring: She's the daughter of Toph.
- Strong Family Resemblance: Looks a lot like Toph's mother Poppy.
- Sugar and Ice Personality: To those she trusts and is close to, she is very "sugary" but when on the job, she is ice.
- Sympathetic Inspector Antagonist: She considers Korra a threat to Republic City and wants her gone. Given that Korra is a Destructive Savior, she has a point. Arguably subverted in later episodes when they start working together.
- Tall, Dark and Bishoujo: In addition to having black (though graying) hair and dark armor, Lin stands nearly eye to eye with the tall and reedy Tenzin.
- To Be Lawful or Good: After failing to thwart Amon not once but twice she seems to believe that the best way to help her comrades is to no longer be a police officer. She turns in her badge and picks Good.
- Took a Level In Kindness: Acts nicer to Korra and Tenzin in "And The Winner Is...". She even saves Korra's life. In "The Aftermath" they're all working together without any apparent difficulty.
- Turn in Your Badge: She resigns due to repeated mistakes in trying to bring down the Equalists. However, she intends to keep fighting outside the law.
- 24-Hour Armor: She even wears it to parties.
- Unbalanced by Rival's Kid: Played With, Lin Beifong has yet to interact with the children of her ex-boyfriend, Tenzin, but takes out her resentment on Korra, his live-in student, surrogate family member and the Reincarnation of his father Aang, with whom, by Tenzin's account, she got along quite well.
- Whip It Good: Uses whiplike metal cables, like the rest of the force. Heck, she invented the technique.
- Wolverine Claws: She can turn her metalbending cables into these.
- Woman Scorned: Played for Laughs. She apparently tried to have Pema imprisoned for stealing her boyfriend.
- Working with the Ex: Does this with Tenzin in "And The Winner Is..."
- She's continuing to work with him in "The Aftermath" and "Out of the Past". They seem quite amicable.
Hiroshi Sato
Hiroshi Sato
![](../../../I/m/Screen_Shot_2012-04-28_at_3_49_17_PM_7077.png)
Voiced by Daniel Dae Kim
Descended from the first Fire Nation colonists, Hiroshi came from a poor background but rocketed himself to riches through investment in and development of the consumer automobile (or the "satomobile"). His wife was murdered by a Firebender when Asami was young. Her murder prompted him to join the Equalists, as he believed they could make a better world for non-benders like himself and his daughter. He is responsible for their technological advantages, supplying them with taser gloves, weaponry, and platinum Mini-Mecha tanks.
- Archnemesis Dad: To Asami.
- Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: His true thoughts about Mako's and Asami's relationship are downright hateful.
- Boomerang Bigot: He is disgusted that Asami is dating a 'street rat', showing a surprising level of classism for someone who used to be as dirt poor as Mako, if not more so. Part of it is also the fact that Mako's a firebender, though.
- Brutal Honesty:
Hiroshi: (To Mako) So, I hear you're dirt poor!
- Cool Old Guy: As a front.
- Even Evil Has Loved Ones: For all his faults, his love for Asami is genuine.
- Evil Old Folks
- Evil All Along: He sponsored the Fire Ferrets specifically with the intention of diverting suspicion away from him.
- Evil Genius: He is responsible for the Equalists's technological advantage.
- Evil Parents Want Good Kids: The reason he kept his involvement with the Equalists secret from Asami. This backfires on him when he tries his We Can Rule Together speech.
- Expository Hairstyle Change: He keeps up his appearance in public. After he's revealed as an Equalist supporter, he gets knocked around inside one of his Mini-Mecha, messing up his hair and knocking off his glasses. The result is far more fitting for his new demeanor.
- Fantastic Racism: He hates benders. A Firebender took his wife, and the loved ones of other characters.
- Freudian Excuse: An Agni Kai Gang firebender killed his wife 12 years ago.
- Honest Corporate Executive: Built his company up from a small loan.
- Corrupt Corporate Executive: He supplies the Equalists with weapons on the side, then framed Cabbage Corp for manufacturing them after the Equalists first revealed their electrical weapons.
- The Lost Lenore: He deeply loved his wife, who was murdered by a Firebender.
- Love Makes You Evil
- Mini-Mecha: He designed them, and piloted one.
- Muggle
- No Celebrities Were Harmed: He is a fantasy equivalent to Henry Ford, with some parallels to Japanese shipping magnate Iwasaki Yataro, who would later found Mitsubishi. Further parallels come up in his association with the Equalists. Ford was a notorious anti-Semite and Nazi sympathizer, and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries was one of the largest suppliers of military vehicles to Imperial Japan in World War II.
- Rags to Riches: His back-story.
- Self-Made Man: Born to a poor family from the city's Dragon Flats district, he worked hard to make ends meet. His company, Future Industries, started out selling Satomobiles, the first cars marketed to the common man. By twenty-five, he'd made his first million yuans.
- Shock and Awe: Designed and uses the Equalist chi-blocking lightning gloves.
- Start of Darkness: His wife's murder.
- Uncle Pennybags: Agrees to sponsor the Fire Ferrets on the spot when told that they need the financial aid, the only condition being that they wear his logo. While it is arguably good press, especially if they win, he does it because he got his big start in the same way. It later turns out that he did so merely to deflect suspicion of any Equalist ties.
- Villain with Good Publicity: At first, though he's since been exposed.
- Walking Spoiler: The Seventh-Episode Twist hit him hard.
- We Can Rule Together: To Asami. It goes badly for him.
- Well-Intentioned Extremist: Believes that the world would be a better place without benders.
- Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds: Well, considering the loss of his beloved wife was the main reason why he's a hate-filled wreck right now, he pretty much applies. However, given his attitude and downright spiteful actions towards people who did nothing to him, this can fall flat.
Toza
Toza
![](../../../I/m/Tumblr_m367s76WEa1qaq54a_1422.png)
Voiced by George Coe
Toza is a former pro-bender, an elderly man who trains Mako and Bolin and gave them a place to stay when they began competing.
- Big Ol' Eyebrows
- Dishing Out Dirt
- Go Nagai Sideburns
- Grumpy Old Man
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: He may be a grump, but he gave Mako and Bolin a place to stay, and trained them in pro-bending, which qualifies him for "Heart of Gold" status.
- Meaningful Name: The Tosa Inu is a Japanese dog used in dog fighting matches.
- The Mentor
- Perpetual Frowner
Tahno
Tahno
![](../../../I/m/Korra_tahno_260.png)
Voiced by Rami Malek
A rival pro-bender of the Fire Ferrets. The captain of the Wolfbats.
- Agent Peacock: He looks like The Dandy, but he actually is a powerful and quite brutal waterbending champion.
- Arrogant Kung Fu Guy
- Badass Baritone: His thin, refined, effeminate appearance clashes with his deep voice.
- Break the Haughty: He ends up being attacked and de-bended by Amon. The next time Korra sees him, he's a broken man.
- The Casanova: He is already with two women before he hits on Korra.
- Cheaters Never Prosper: Played with. They win the tournament through cheating, but get their bending taken away because they were cheating.
- Chekhov's Gunman: Makes a brief appearance in a newspaper photo in "A Leaf in the Wind".
- Dance Battler: He and his teammates have an especially extravangent fighting style with a lot of flips and mid-air twirls, to go along with their status as high grade show fighters.
- The Dandy: Close-up shots of his face make him look like he's wearing eye-liner, he has a minor rose motif, and his fashion choices and way of carrying himself have a rather effeminate swank.
- De-Power: Tahno gets debended in "And The Winner Is" by Amon, just after he wins the tournament.
- Early-Bird Cameo: In "A Leaf in the Wind", you can see a picture of Tahno on the newspaper Korra reads.
- Eerie Pale-Skinned Brunette: Especially notable because those features aren't generally associated with waterbenders.
- Expository Hairstyle Change: After Amon takes his bending, his hair becomes "floppy" to emphasize how broken he is about it.
- Expy: According to Word of God, Tahno's design is based on top Japanese kickboxer Kizaemon Saiga, known for his flamboyant appearance and "ridiculous antics".
- The Fighting Narcissist: Like you wouldn't believe.
- Heel Face Turn: After being de-bended, he's become a lot nicer to Korra.
- Hellish Pupils
- An Ice Person/Making a Splash: Formerly.
- Jerkass
- Laser-Guided Karma: Bribes the referee so his team can cheat to win the tournament, gets his bending taken away by Amon precisely because he's a cheater.
- Opposing Sports Team: Part of one.
- Peek-a-Bangs
- Phenotype Stereotype: Averted. Tahno is a good representation of Republic City's multicultural nature in that he is a waterbender who, much like Hama from the previous series, doesn't have any of the traditional Water Tribe features. Instead, his pale complexion and black hair suggest Fire Nation heritage, or even Earth Kingdom blood considering the Foggy Swamp Tribe, which was paler than the more isolated Northern and Southern tribes.
- Pretty Boy: Called such by Korra herself, in "The Spirit of Competition".
- Pyrrhic Villainy: By rigging the match in his favor, he manages to beat the Fire Ferrets and win the pro-bending tournament. Minutes later, he's beaten and de-bended by Amon, who singled him out specifically because he's a cheating jerk.
- The Rival: He and his fellow Wolfbats are this to Korra and the Fire Ferrets.
- Screams Like a Little Girl: Despite his baritone, he does let out a high-pitched shriek when Naga scares him.
- Screw the Rules, I Have Money: He bribes the referee so his team can use illegal moves in pro-bending. Later, he attempts to bribe Amon to leave him alone, to no avail.
- She Fu: Male example, his fighting style has a large number of high jumps and flashy acrobatics.
- Smug Snake: Until his Break the Haughty experience.
- Tempting Fate: Not a bright idea to flaunt your cheated victory by declaring if anyone else would like the chance to challenge your team.
- Took a Level In Kindness: After being de-bended by Amon. If he gets over his depression over being de-powered, Amon may actually have done him some good.
- Villainous Breakdown: Twice. First, when Korra humiliates him in a tie-breaker fight by beating him in one shot. Later and more seriously, when Amon takes his bending.
Tarrlok
Tarrlok
![](../../../I/m/Screen_Shot_2012-04-28_at_3_33_24_PM_2946.png)
Voiced by Dee Bradley Baker
A member of the United Republic Council, representing the Northern Water Tribe. Ambitious and manipulative, he is Tenzin's primary political rival. He is in fact the son of Yakone, a criminal from the past of Republic City, and has inherited his father's bloodbending abilities.
- Ambadassador
- Anticlimax Boss: Shortly after Team Avatar discovers his villainy, he is captured and de-bended by Amon. The worst part of it is that while Tarrlok is, indeed, a strong bloodbender... Amon was somehow immune, or at the least so strong that it barely affected him.
- Ass in Ambassador
- Authority Equals Asskicking: He is the Northern Water Tribe's council representative, and possibly the most powerful waterbender ever shown onscreen in either series. He gave Korra a run for her money in episode 8, and though she had him beat in pure power, he won thanks to his bloodbending... which he did without a full moon.
- Badass Bureaucrat: His manners at the council suggest a Desk Jockey, but he quickly proves to be a competent martial organizer.
- Badass Long Hair: Ikki mocks his strange triple-ponytail hairstyle, calling him "Ponytail Man", but when he is battling later the movement of the ponytails is vaguely squidlike -- appropriate for a waterbender.
- Bad Powers, Bad People: He's a particularly evil bloodbender, just like his father.
- Berserk Button: Hearing he was just as bad as Amon did not go well with him.
- Big Bad Ensemble: As of episode 8, Tarrlok has descended into flat-out villainy, making him a Big Bad along with Amon.
- Big Bad Wannabe: Until the next episode, when Amon defeats and debends him.
- Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: To the public, he's considered a fair-minded and likable guy. Behind closed doors, well...
- Braids, Beads, and Buckskins: Heavily Downplayed Trope; the most prominent signifier of his roots is his elaborately triple tailed, beaded hair.
- Chekhov's Gunman: Makes a brief appearance in a newspaper photo in episode 2.
- The Chessmaster: The preview clip for episode 9 reveals that he framed the Equalists for kidnapping Korra, planting appropriate evidence and electrocuting himself to make it stick. He also sends Tenzin and Lin on a Snipe Hunt for Korra while he's at it. He qualifies. Big time.
- Clasp Your Hands If You Deceive: Steeples his fingers over his desk when Korra confronts him in his office.
- Color Coded for Your Convenience/Good Colors, Evil Colors: His clothes are the palest shade of blue among waterbenders seen in the Avatarverse, almost silver in tone, which fits well with his Bitch in Sheep's Clothing personality.
- Control Freak: Especially evident in how frustrated he gets at Korra when she leaves his task force.
- The Dandy: He is mocked by Ikki for "smelling like a lady" when he joins Tenzin's family for dinner.
- De-Power: And richly deserved.
- Devil in Plain Sight: As everyone panics over Amon, they ignore the ambitious, amoral politician who's been using that threat to further his own agenda.
- Does This Remind You of Anything?: His actions of arresting non-benders under the pretense of them being Equalists, simply because they were protesting having their power cut off, are highly reminiscent of Joseph McCarthy and the Communist phobia that infected North America during the 1950's.
- His rise to power mirrors that of Mussolini, persuading the democratic and monarchial power structures to give him more and more power, supposedly in order to counter the threat of the Equalists/Communists.
- And of course, the whole shtick of taking over a nominally democratic republic through fearmongering, then then using that resulting power to grab people off the streets and imprison them... I wonder if he was a lousy painter in his youth?
- Evil Overlord: By all accounts, Tarrlok's in charge of Republic City, with the police in his pocket and the rest of the Council (sans Tenzin) basically being his Yes Men, which was his goal all along. Then the Council learns he's a bloodbender. Then Amon debends him.
- Expository Hairstyle Change: Much like Hiroshi, his meticulously coiffed hairdo is disheveled after his revelation as a bona fide villain and a tangle with Korra, which he won only because of bloodbending. In the preview for episode 9, he is far less unkempt when speaking to the police, even though he's pretending to have been attacked by the Equalists, only further emphasizing this trope.
- Faux Affably Evil: Whenever he seems to act polite, it's usually accompanied with a smug voice tone, so take his "friendliness" with a grain of salt.
- I Am Not Left-Handed: Who needs water when you've got blood?
- I Am Not My Father: While they were both Bloodbenders, Yakone ruled the underbelly of the city as a crime lord, and that's where Tarrlok saw that he failed. Tarrlok decided to take Republic City as a sleazy politician, instead.
- An Ice Person/Making a Splash
- Blood Magic: Especially notable as he can do this whenever he wants; bloodbending is supposed to be limited to during a full moon, when a waterbender is at their strongest.
- In the Blood: Ha ha ha, but no really, the only thing separating Tarrlok from his dad is he chose to be a politician, not a crime lord.
- Jerkass Has a Point: It's practically his hat.
- In Episode 4, Tarrlok is using his task force to score political points, but the Equalists are a militant revolutionary group openly advocating the violent overthrow of their country's government and the extermination of bending. Some sort of official response is necessary to that existential threat and Tarrlok is the only council member offering a plan.
- In Episode 7, Tarrlok's opening narration is politically self-serving yet accurate: the Equalists are warring on benders under the guise of fighting for equality, Chief Beifong did utterly fail to protect Republic City during the arena attack, and new leadership was needed for the police considering how ineffective Chief Beifong had proved against the Equalists. Lin herself even comes to agree with the latter two points.
- In episode 8, he brings up how Korra is only a "half-baked Avatar in training" because she has yet to master airbending. When Korra later barges into his place trying to intimidate him into releasing her friends, she accuses him of oppressing people exactly like Amon says benders do, and he points out that she's used force to oppress and intimidate people before, so in that respect they're Not So Different.
- Jerk with a Heart of Jerk: At first, it seems that Tarrlok wants to close down the Pro-Bending arena to spare innocent lives. But when Lin Beifong enters the picture, he realizes someone else can take the responsibility (and the rap) of others, thus relinquishing him from any blame if anything happened. Then, when Korra approaches him about abusing his power to arrest innocent civilians, he kidnaps her using bloodbending.
- Knight Templar: While personal paranoia is a major factor, Tarrlok definitely invokes this with his rhetoric, claiming that his actions are a righteous crusade against Amon.
- It turns out he's trying to avenge his father, Yakone, by taking over Republic City.
- Lamarck Was Right / In the Blood: Seems to have inherited his bloodbending powers from his father...though he could have been taught them.
- Laser-Guided Karma: If he hadn't imprisoned Korra in that little metal box, and/or he hadn't been so heavy-handed in his position of power that she called him out on it to begin with, maybe he wouldn't have lost his bending to Amon in such an anticlimactic fashion.
- There's more. In the previous episode, he went after everyone who wasn't a bender, using a "if-you're-not-one-of-us-you're-against-us" philosophy. And now he's been reduced to a non-bender, himself.
- Let's Get Dangerous: His demeanor makes him out to be just an Attention Whore, but his waterbending isn't half bad. Then there's his bloodbending...
- Manipulative Bastard: Very good at manipulating others into furthering his goals. Even knowing that he's up to something won't help you. Goes into the realm of physical manipulation, since he's a bloodbender.
- Meaningful Name: "Tarlock" is a name of Irish origin that means "instigator" or "abettor," which is certainly fitting for his status as a Manipulative Bastard.
- Not So Different:
- His approach to dealing with dangerous non-benders is, if anything, more indiscriminate than the Equalists' actions toward elitist benders. Korra calls him on this, likening him to Amon.
- According to him in a Hannibal Lecture, he and Korra aren't all that different, because they both go to extremes in order to get what they want.
- Not-So-Harmless Villain: He appeared to be a power-hungry politician. Cue Episode 8 where he is far more ruthless, making laws to suppress non-benders, beating Korra in a fight with bloodbending without needing the full moon (even sending her flying to a wall), and shipping her out of Republic City.
- Not So Stoic: "When Extremes Meet" shows that he has a pretty short fuse. Control Freak above explains more on that.
- Opening Narration: Replaces Shiro Shinobi in the "Previously On..." recap for "The Aftermath", giving a speech about Lin's failure to stop the Equalists in the previous episode and calling for her to be replaced.
- Overlord, Jr.: He's the son of Yakone, the master crimelord of Republic City during Aang's time as the Avatar.
- People Puppets/The Power of Blood: It is revealed during his fight with Korra in "When Extremes Meet" that he is a bloodbender, one good enough that he can do so on a whim, rather than only during a full moon.
- Personality Powers: The power hungry politician can control people? What a shock!
- Psychopathic Manchild: Has shades of Type C in episode 8. He has a lot of power in the city but comes off as a spoiled brat who will do anything to get what he wants and won't listen when others try to reason with him.
- The Rival: To Tenzin, in the political arena, and to Korra in dealing with the Equalists.
- Sleazy Politician: Everything he does is for his own personal agenda.
- Smug Snake: His regular attitude gives off this vibe. Though the episode ultimately ended in a Cliff Hanger, "When Extremes Meet" sees Korra finally wipe the smug off his face.
- Tyrant Takes the Helm: He implements a city-wide curfew to all non-benders and a law that makes it illegal to even be associated with Equalists (i.e. Hiroshi Sato, which is what Tarrlok uses to rationalize arresting his daughter). He shuts down the power to their homes, which forces them to break that curfew by going outside to protest, and arrests all those that don't follow his new law, claiming that they're Equalists for not doing so.
- Villainous Breakdown: Starting with episode 8, he's really starting to lose his calm demeanor.
- Villain with Good Publicity: Finally averted in episode 9, when he's exposed as the man who kidnapped Korra.
- Well-Intentioned Extremist: Seems like it at first, with his heavy-handed but arguably reasonable responses to the Equalist threat. His later actions indicate there's more to it than that.
- Turns out he's not well-intentioned at all, being out to finish the job his father, Yakone, started.
- The Worf Effect: As if we needed another reason to find Amon terrifying. Tarrlok's bloodbending, which is demonstrably strong enough to incapacitate at least eight people simultaneously, has only a limited effect on Amon, and Tarrlok is taken out in seconds.
Hasook
Hasook
![](../../../I/m/Screen_Shot_2012-04-29_at_3_06_08_PM_8196.png)
Voiced by Sean Gantka
Hasook is the original waterbender on the Fire Ferrets pro-bending team. He became incompetent during the match with the Tigerdillos, nearly caused the Fire Ferrets to lose, and then almost got them disqualified by not showing up to the match. Korra replaces him and joins Mako and Bolin on the Fire Ferrets.
- Emo Teen
- Jerkass
- Making a Splash
- Meaningful Name: "Hasook" is Korean for "lodging" or "boarding house," both types of temporary accommodation. This alludes to his being only a short-term member of the Fire Ferrets.
- One-Scene Wonder: Despite only appearing in one episode, he has received at least one meme.
- The Pete Best
- What Happened to the Mouse?: Is never seen again after he leaves the probending match in anger during "A Leaf in the Wind".
Gommu
Gommu
![](../../../I/m/Screen_Shot_2012-04-29_at_11_26_42_AM_108.png)
Voiced by Stephen Root
Gommu is a vagabond living in a bush in Republic City Park. He spies Korra eating fish, and asks her for one. He then explains to Korra that Republic City is worse than it seems, before diving back into his bush when a policeman sees them.
- Fan Nickname: "Sparkly Sparkly Bush Man"
- Perpetual Poverty
- The Tramp
- Wild Hair
Skoochy
Skoochy
Voiced by Zach Callison
Skoochy is a crafty and cunning homeless kid who has his ears to the street and is happy to give anyone information, as long as his price is paid. He met Mako and Bolin a few years ago, when they were living on the street as well, soon after he had just escaped from his second orphanage and vowed never to go back. He usually hangs around the Central City Station and picks the pockets of unsuspecting tourists.
- The Artful Dodger
- Dishing Out Dirt: Word of God is he's an earth bender.
- Five-Finger Discount
- The Informant: Willing to give Mako info, for some money.
- Street Urchin
Shiro Shinobi
Shiro Shinobi
![](../../../I/m/Korra_shinobi_3829.png)
Voiced by Jeff Bennett
The non-bender radio commentator for pro-bending broadcasts, with a stereotypical overexcited "newsreel" tone of voice.
- Awesome McCoolname: It translates as "White Ninja".
- Alliterative Name
- Combat Commentator
- Dead Line News: Even as the pro-bending arena is being attacked, and an enemy comes storming into the announcer's room, Shirobi continues commenting on the attack for all the listeners at home. He was just knocked unconscious, not killed.
- Determinator: Nothing short of unconsciousness will stop him from describing everything going on in the arena. Even if the area is in chaos, and he's about to be electrocuted.
- Dissonant Serenity: When the Equalists attack the arena in episode 6, he continues narrating in the same tone of voice right up to the point where he's knocked out.
- Large Ham Radio: Comes hand-in-hand with commenting on Pro Bending matches.
- Intrepid Reporter: Was one according to the "Welcome To Republic City" game before becoming the announcer for the Pro-Bending arena, but gave it up after too many years covering the Triads' crimes.
- Muggle
- Opening Narration: Provides the narration for the show's "Previously On..." segments -- except in "The Aftermath" where he's replaced with a speech from Tarrlok. He's back in the following episode.
- Retired Badass: Was an Intrepid Reporter before becoming a commentator.
- Shoo Out the Clowns: Briefly, when the series hits its midpoint and Wham! Episode.
Saikhan
Saikhan
Voiced by Richard Epcar
The captain of the Metalbender Corps working in Republic City under Chief Beifong. He becomes the new chief after Lin resigns.
- The Captain
- Chekhov's Gunman: In the first episode, he's the one that attempts to arrest Korra for property damage.
- Extra Ore Dinary
- Inspector Javert: Goes along with Tarrlock's more extreme policies, and answers directly to him, and thus opposes the heroes, despite being on the same side. When Tarrlock is revealed as evil, Saikan turns against him.
- Oh Crap: He gets one after seeing Councilman Tenzin in the lobby after he and Tarrlok detained dozens of non-benders and 3/4ths of new Team Avatar when they tried to stop the detaining.
- Puppet King: May be chief, but answers directly to Tarrlok. Though once Tarrlok's nature as a bloodbender is revealed, he sends the officers after him.
Yakone
Yakone
![](../../../I/m/Yakone_7981.png)
Voiced by Clancy Brown
A man who threatened Republic City during Avatar Aang's adulthood. According to Tarrlok, he was such a serious threat that Aang had to deal with him decisively. He was capable of performing bloodbending at any time, and used his powers to rule Republic City's criminal underworld. He was eventually caught and then depowered by Aang. He is also Tarrlok's father.
- Bad Powers, Bad People: A particularly evil bloodbender.
- Chekhov's Gunman: Namedropped by Tarrlok early on, and later appears in Korra's visions before we finally learn who he is. He's Tarrlok's father.
- De-Power: Aang, seeing how dangerous he was, took away his bending for good to defeat him.
- The Don: Was the king of the Republic City criminal underworld.
- Evil Laugh: Chuckles evilly as he bloodbends Sokka and Toph.
- Evil Sounds Deep
- Making a Splash/An Ice Person: One must be a waterbender before they can bloodbend.
- Meaningful Name: His name means "blood in the snow" in an Inuktitut dialect, hinting at his bloodbending ability.
- People Puppets: His bloodbending is so powerful that he can restrain dozens of people by thought alone.
- The Power of Blood: Not only is he a bloodbender, he doesn't even need a full moon to do it.
- Predecessor Villain:
- Tarrlok establishes him as Amon's predecessor as Big Bad of Republic City. Whether or not he and Amon have anything to do with one another, however, is unclear.
- Episode 9 reveals he's Tarrlok's father.
- Refuge in Audacity: He was able to use his bloodbending to gain power without being arrested because the idea that he could bloodbend outside of a full moon was considered impossible, even being Invoked by his attorney as a defense tactic. It worked until he bit off more than he could chew, leaving enough witnesses that the overwhelming testimony swayed the jury in spite of the lack of evidence.
- Smug Snake: He doesn't have a problem with confidence, that's for sure.
- The Sociopath: A picture perfect example.
- We Will Meet Again: Threatens this after his plan falls through. Unfortunately for him, that plan also fell through when Aang proved to be too much for him to handle.
- To be fair, he was correct in that they would meet again. Just that it was far sooner than he expected it to be.