General Iroh's Entire Backstory Explained

Above all else, Avatar: The Last Airbender has depth. The world of Avatar is, in fact, a world: Each character we encounter has their own story, their own problems, and their own way of getting through the day. The wars they wage, the communities they build, and the futures they fight for are hugely rich as a result, and unlike any other all-ages fantasy series around.

In the world of Avatar, everyone from Prince Zuko, villain for much of the series, to orphaned freedom fighters boasts a deep backstory. But even within this complex collection of characters, General Iroh stands out as an especially impressive creation. The one-time Fire Nation general has, by the time we meet him, committed to a life of balance and peace — but getting there wasn't easy. Though he provides a calm counterbalance to Prince Zuko's brashness, Iroh's pacifism and wisdom arrived after years of loss and struggle. Learning why and how Iroh soured on his homeland years before he set sail with his nephew is one of the great pleasures of this spectacular series. We're here to celebrate the man who wouldn't be Fire Lord: The one and only General Iroh.

Like his formidable forefathers, Iroh proved to be a masterful tactician. His time as a general was marked by a series of grand conquests and martial victories which furthered the Fire Nation's goals considerably. At this time, Iroh committed himself to total war, just as his ancestors had. Battle wasn't just something he was good at — it was his highest ideal.

Indeed, for a time, Iroh even believed himself to be divinely ordained in his quest to bring the entire world under Fire Nation rule. Years after his change of heart, he spoke of a vision he had as a young man: Himself, conquering Ba Sing Se, the capital of the Earth Kingdom. The idea of sacking that city was ambitious, even by the standards of his expansionist homeland. Ba Sing Se, which translates to "impenetrable city," is a vast city-state surrounded by three formidable walls. The city had never fallen to an invading force — but Iroh believed he'd be the one to change that. This vision set him on a path that would  change his life forever.

Iroh's power-hungry younger brother Ozai saw an opportunity in Iroh's tragedy. Ozai met with their father, Fire Lord Azulon, and argued that he should be made next in line for the throne. After all, Iroh no longer had any heirs, while Ozai had young Zuko and Azula — and besides, Iroh's shameful retreat rendered him unfit for leadership. Azulon was so offended by his son's lack of compassion that he ordered Ozai to kill his own firstborn son, so that he might know Iroh's pain. To protect Zuko, Ozai's wife, Ursa, hatched a plan to kill Azulon and place Ozai on the throne. After it was carried out, she was banished for treason. Ozai became Fire Lord, and Iroh accepted his new role without a fight. 

Rather than return to a capital where he was no longer needed, Iroh traveled the world in search of greater meaning. Upon confronting the hardships of the world, many of them wrought by the Fire Nation, Iroh began to see the humanity in those he had long considered enemies. He began to absorb the teachings of the other nations, incorporating them into his own philosophy of harmonious living. He returned to the Fire Nation a changed man ... only to find his nephew walking the same violent path he himself had once traveled.

Believing that he was going to face the general, Zuko eagerly agreed to enter into an Agni Kai. When he arrived in the dueling arena, however, he was shocked to find his father facing him. Zuko might have criticized the general, but by doing so in Fire Lord Ozai's war room, he had most grievously insulted his father. Terrified, the prince refused to fight. Ozai viewed this as further disrespect, branding his son a coward before burning his face and banishing him from the Fire Nation. 

Ozai told Zuko that he could return to the Fire Nation on one condition: That he find and capture the long-lost Avatar. Iroh, grasping the sheer cruelty of his brother's actions, offered to go along to help his nephew on this seemingly impossible quest. Iroh spent the next several years urging Zuko to cool his heels, rightfully noting that Zuko had the rest of his life to search for the Avatar. Zuko viewed Iroh's casual demeanor and repeated requests to relax as utter laziness, and continued to endanger his crew and himself in a headlong sprint across the world.

Having escaped the Earth Kingdom soldiers, Iroh and Zuko were free to pursue the Avatar to the Northern Water Tribe. But the war that met them there saw them reduced to fugitives from their own country.

The crux of the conflagration lay between Admiral Zhao, a well-respected Fire Nation figure, and Prince Zuko. The pair had clashed several times, neither one gaining the upper hand. Eventually, Zhao attempted to assassinate Zuko — but Zuko was able to escape, and stowed away on Zhao's ship. Iroh, aware of Zuko's survival, played the bereaved uncle and traveled with Zhao to the Northern Water Tribe. During the attack on the North, however, Zhao very nearly threw the entire world into chaos when he killed the mortal embodiment of the moon spirit. As waterbenders become more powerful at night when they are aided by the moon, Zhao decided that destroying the moon spirit would end this advantage forever.

Believing that Zhao had doomed the world, Iroh attacked him and his crew. Still a warrior of legendary skill, Iroh was able to incapacitate all of Zhao's soldiers. Though the moon spirit was restored by the actions of Princess Yue and the Fire Nation forces were turned back by a massive show of Aang's power, word spread of Iroh's attack upon his own countrymen, making him just as unwelcome in the Fire Nation as his nephew. 

Zuko did cross paths with the Avatar in Ba Sing Se, nearly stealing Appa, Aang's sky bison, in order to lure him into a trap. But ultimately, he let Appa go. At last, Zuko was beginning to understand that honor was not something to be bestowed upon him by his father, but a quality to determine on his own. Iroh was immensely proud.

Unfortunately, Zuko's sister, Azula, managed to track down Zuko, Iroh and the Avatar in Ba Sing Se. Well aware of her brother's insecurities, she tempted Zuko into attacking the Avatar with the promise of their father's love — a temptation Zuko could not ignore. As Zuko fought alongside his sister, Iroh guarded Aang, allowing Team Avatar the time to make their escape. Azula took Iroh into custody and brought him back to the Fire Nation while giving her brother total credit for the defeat of the Avatar. The Fire Nation received both siblings back with celebration: The Avatar was dead, Ba Sing Se had finally fallen to the Fire Nation, and Iroh, the traitor, was behind bars. 

But Iroh wasn't out of ideas. Locked away, he began a workout regime that would allow him to escape. He also nudged Zuko, who furtively visited his uncle in an attempt to assuage his own guilt, into studying his own ancestry. Slowly, Zuko pieced together the complex history of his country — and the truth of his own destiny as a peace-maker.

Iroh's time in the Earth Kingdom was far from peaceful. Beyond the fact that he was a fugitive from the world's most powerful army (and persona non grata in many of the places he attacked as a Fire Nation general), he was being personally tracked by his terrifying and methodical niece Azula. The heir to the Fire Nation throne was a sadist, and she carried her father's cunning and ambitious personality. She took great pleasure in embarrassing her brother and striking fear into other people, so she threw herself into finding Iroh and Zuko to bring them to justice. 

While Zuko and Iroh fled across the Earth Kingdom they were closely pursued by the wild-eyed princess, and occasionally had to clash with her. Azula nearly tricked them into boarding a ship back to the Fire Nation, but a loose-lipped crew member gave the game away by referring to the pair as "prisoners." Iroh and Zuko realized they were being captured and managed to escape. 

In another fight with Azula and the Avatar, Zuko was very nearly beaten. Iroh stepped in between his niece and nephew and was badly wounded before Team Avatar and Zuko worked together to repel Azula's attack.    

Iroh settled into his more peaceful life as Zuko worked on setting the world to rights. Though he frequently wanted the advice of his longtime mentor, Zuko felt it was best to leave Iroh alone. His uncle had finally attained the peaceful life he'd spent decades striving for, and Zuko felt that bringing Iroh back into the politics of the Fire Nation would be selfish. 

However, Zuko taking the entirety of the Fire Lord mantle on himself did not sit well with the still-young ruler. He exhausted himself and was brought to Iroh to recover. Iroh schooled his nephew on how stubborn and foolish he was being, telling Zuko that he would always be welcome in his uncle's home, no matter what his reason for calling. 

Zuko eventually called in that favor to an extreme degree. When the Fire Lord set out to find his long-lost mother, he asked Iroh to serve as interim Fire Lord in his stead. Iroh's first action as Fire Lord was instituting a nationwide Tea Appreciation Day. He would continue to help Zuko throughout his reign, serving as a decoy for the Fire Lord when secret societies plotted against the new leader and acting as a Fire Nation envoy when the homeland was too hectic for Zuko to feel comfortable leaving his royal seat.