This article is about the character in the animated series. For the character in Netflix's live-action series, see Jet. For the episode, see Jet (episode). For other similar uses, see Jet (disambiguation).

When Jet was only eight years old, he witnessed his parents' deaths at the hands of the Fire Nation soldiers known as the Rough Rhinos.^[7] Jet grew up to become a hook sword-wielding vigilante, possessing a burning hatred for the Fire Nation and going to extreme lengths to exact his revenge, even to the point of endangering civilian lives in a raid on a small Fire Nation-occupied Earth Kingdom town.^[5]

Jet disbanded the Freedom Fighters after an encounter with Team Avatar and, together with Longshot and Smellerbee, decided to start a new life in Ba Sing Se.^[8] When he tried to expose Prince Zuko and Iroh as firebenders, the Dai Li arrested and brainwashed him into submission.^[1]

A second encounter with the Avatar and his friends revealed to Jet the truth about the Dai Li, and he helped them find Appa by leading them to Lake Laogai, the Dai Li headquarters. There, Jet was fatally wounded by Long Feng when he overcame the hypnosis placed upon him.^[7]

Quick Answers

What is the backstory of Jet in Avatar?

Jet is a character from the animated series 'Avatar: The Last Airbender'. He was a young vigilante from the Earth Kingdom who held a deep-seated grudge against the Fire Nation. This grudge was born from a tragic event in his past when the Fire Nation's Rough Rhinos attacked his village, killing his parents and leaving his home in ruins. From that day forward, Jet was driven by a desire for revenge against the Fire Nation, leading him to become a leader among the Freedom Fighters.

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Who were the Freedom Fighters led by Jet in Avatar?

The Freedom Fighters were a group of Earth Kingdom refugee teenagers and children led by Jet in Avatar. They were revolutionaries who aimed to rid the world of firebenders, even if it meant killing innocent people. They were skilled woodsmen and conducted their operations with the ultimate goal of liberating the Earth Kingdom from Fire Nation occupation. Their methods included ambushing Fire Nation troops and cutting off supply lines to towns under Fire Nation control.

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What is Jet's history with Zuko?

Jet and Zuko initially met one another on the ferry to Ba Sing Se, the latter disguised as an Earth Kingdom refugee with his uncle, Iroh. The two of them worked together to steal food from the captain's stores and deliver it to the passengers, with Jet later suggesting Zuko would make a good Freedom Fighter. However, after deducing Zuko and Iroh were firebenders, Jet resolved to gather evidence against them, breaking into their apartment and later bursting into their tea shop to accuse them of being firebenders. After a brief fight in which Jet tried to goad Zuko into firebending, he was arrested by Dai Li agents and taken away. Zuko would later learn of Jet's death after watching a play about the Avatar on Ember Island.

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What is the significance of Jet's character in the storyline of Avatar?

Jet is a significant character in the storyline of Avatar: The Last Airbender. He is a young vigilante who holds a deep-seated grudge against the Fire Nation due to a traumatic event in his past where the Fire Nation's Rough Rhinos attacked his village, killing his parents and burning his home to the ground. This event marked him with an almost pathological hatred of the Fire Nation. Jet's character is also notable for his leadership skills, as he leads a group known as the Freedom Fighters. His character arc includes a controversial moment where it's unclear whether he dies or not, which is later referenced in a play attended by Team Avatar. His character adds depth to the narrative, providing a perspective of someone deeply affected by the war with the Fire Nation.

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What events led to Jet's death in "Avatar: The Last Airbender"?

Jet met his tragic end after suffering serious internal injuries during a fight with Long Feng. After breaking the hypnosis placed upon him by the Dai Li, Jet turned on Long Feng but the earthbender was too quick for the young Freedom Fighter and dealt a fatal blow in retaliation. As he lay dying, he was comforted by his close friends, Smellerbee and Longshot.

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History

Early life

The young vigilante Jet held a deep-seated grudge against the Fire Nation because of an attack by the Rough Rhinos, who killed his parents and burned his village, Bihou, to the ground.^[7][2] He was eight at the time.^[9] From that day on, he despised the Fire Nation and dedicated his life to stopping them any way he could, even at the cost of innocent lives.^[5]

At first, he sought some way to kill the Rough Rhinos, most importantly the unit's leader Colonel Mongke. Yet he found little outside support for his revenge plans. With no one to support him, Jet initially sought out and confronted Mongke alone with a knife while he was tending to his rhino mount at an occupied village. Jet called him a murderer and, while attacking, accused Mongke of burning down his village. Mongke replied that he was not sure which specific village. Jet mentioned Bihou and his parents' deaths in the fire. Mongke picked him up by the throat and pinned him against the wall of the barn. Jet further mentioned he lost all his loved ones and was shocked Mongke could not remember the incident. Mongke, still holding him, replied that killing lots of people and destroying many villages was part of going to war for one's country. Jet retorted how no one in his village was a soldier.^[2]

Founding the Freedom Fighters

Sometime after this incident, Jet began to gather young Earth Kingdom refugees who had been displaced by the Fire Nation. All of them were lost and alone, seeking a place to belong. Jet provided them with a sense of community and purpose but also did not let go of his ultimate aim of fighting the Fire Nation.^[2]

He first recruited Smellerbee and Longshot; he was intrigued by Smellerbee and followed her by jumping across many roofs throughout the same town he confronted Mongke. He watched her enter where both she and Longshot were staying. Afterward, Smellerbee was confronted by a gang of young Earth Kingdom individuals who knew her and desired something she had. Jet hopped down from the roof and tried to break up the fight. He proclaimed to everyone they should all be focused on a real enemy to fight, the Fire Nation, instead of attacking one another. After seeing Smellerbee launch an attack and the others still not getting along, he took Smellerbee's and Longshot's side. Five minutes later, the gang left the scene. Jet entered their home, and Smellerbee was thankful for the food he had brought. Jet introduced himself and asked Smellerbee if Longshot ever spoke. She explained that Longshot had a lot to say if he listened, Jet complimented Smellerbee's fighting skills and assumed Longshot would be a great fighter if he did get to use both his bow and arrow.^[2]

One morning, Jet by himself saw Mongke and the Rough Rhinos leaving town; he was concerned they would get away, so he returned to Smellerbee and Longshot. Jet told them they all should leave, and Smellerbee asked him why. Jet, thinking for a very short moment, replied his goal was to find more kids like them to recruit. He highlighted how the three of them protected one another from the Fire Nation and had each other's backs. Jet went on to express concern for kids who did not have anyone looking out for them. Afterward, he stated his new goal was to find enough individuals to build something together just for them so everyone can protect one another. Most especially, having a real home once again, just like it was before the Fire Nation attack. Smellerbee asked him where this home would be; Jet replied it had to be a place untouched by the Fire Nation, unlike their current town. Jet asked them what they thought of the idea.^[2]

They agreed;^[2] as a result, Jet recruited more kids and organized his band of refugees into a rebel group he dubbed the "Freedom Fighters". He and his group spent their days antagonizing Fire Nation soldiers and emigrants on the outskirts of Gaipan, living in forest treehouses. Wanting to liberate the forest of Fire Nation presence, he formulated a plan to destroy a dam, flooding the occupied town.^[5]

Encountering the Avatar

One day in late 99 AG, while the Freedom Fighters were waiting for a distraction so they could ambush a camp of Fire Nation soldiers, Aang, Katara, and Sokka accidentally walked into the camp. Just as the soldiers were about to arrest them, Longshot knocked out the captain with a poisoned arrow, and the Freedom Fighters, led by Jet, began fighting the soldiers. The rest of his group followed suit, as did Team Avatar. At one point in the fight, Jet took out a soldier Sokka was fighting, and told him that he had to be quicker when Sokka protested. When the fight ended, the two groups introduced themselves to each other. Katara became infatuated with the charismatic rogue and Aang was happy to make new friends, but Sokka did not like him. The Duke found barrels full of blasting jelly and Pipsqueak found crates filled with jelly candy, both of which Jet called great scores and advised his group not to get the two mixed up. He invited Aang, Sokka, and Katara to dinner at his tree house base. At dinner, Jet gave a humorous account of the battle to his followers. While Aang and Katara quickly grew to like the Freedom Fighter, Sokka's dislike and distrust of Jet worsened.^[5]

That same night, Jet invited Team Avatar to stay with him for a while and help liberate the valley. Katara and Aang wanted to accept, but Sokka insisted that they should continue to the North Pole. However, Jet invited Sokka to go with him on a scouting mission, to which Sokka reluctantly agreed. The next morning, Sokka, Jet, Pipsqueak, and Smellerbee waited in trees alongside a road. Eventually, an old Fire Nation civilian came walking toward the village. Jet and the fighters ambushed the man while Sokka watched in shock. Jet cruelly interrogated the old man and was about to hurt him when Sokka stopped him. He objected to the poor treatment of harmless civilians, but Jet said that it must be done. The Freedom Fighters robbed the old man and left, Sokka reluctantly going with them.^[5]

Sokka told his friends of the incident and accused Jet of robbery. Jet pointed out to Aang and Katara that the old man was Fire Nation which Sokka did not mention. Jet revealed a poison knife the old man supposedly had and believed the man was sent to assassinate him. Sokka was convinced that despite the man being Fire Nation he was still harmless, there was no knife present, and Jet was just a thug. Katara and Aang were still convinced by Jet, especially upon asking for their help in combating a forest fire planned by the Fire Nation, and decided to stay.^[5]

That night, Jet and the Freedom Fighters went to the dam overlooking the village of Gaipan to discuss their plan to destroy it, ridding the valley of the Fire Nation. When The Duke initially objected to killing the innocent people in the town, Jet told him that it had to be done to get rid of the Fire Nation's forces. Smellerbee and Pipsqueak discovered Sokka eavesdropping on them. Sokka was horrified by Jet's plan and mentioned all the people living there especially mothers, fathers, and children. Jet explained how you can not win without sacrifices. Sokka accused him of lying to Aang and Katara to which Jet responded they did not know the demands of war compared to both of them. Sokka told him he now understood that he would do anything to get what he wanted. Jet was surprised Sokka did not have an open mind, and ordered Smellerbee and Pipsqueak to take him on a long walk to prevent him from warning Aang and Katara.^[5]

In the morning, Jet met Aang and Katara, who still did not know about his actual plan. They apologized for Sokka's behavior, but Jet told them that he already apologized and that he was on a mission to help the Freedom Fighters. He took Aang and Katara to the river and told them to use their waterbending on the underground geysers to flood the river. He left to help the others set up the blasting jelly on the dam.^[5]

Aang and Katara finished their task earlier than expected and went to find Jet. When they got to a cliff, they discovered Jet's true plan to destroy the dam and hurt innocent civilians. Aang was about to go to stop him, but Jet swooped out of a tree and stole Aang's glider. Jet tried to convince Aang and Katara that he was doing the right thing. He highlighted especially to Katara what the Fire Nation did to her mother and his goal was to prevent that from happening again. Jet mentioned he thought Sokka would understand. Katara realized her brother was potentially in danger and asked where he was before becoming visibly sad and heartbroken. Jet tried to comfort her, but Katara angrily attacked him with water. Aang tried to get his glider back, but Jet defended himself with his hook swords. A fight ensued with both jumping into the forest, across the treetops, and fighting on tree branches. After some time Jet dropped Aang's glider when he was hit with airbending. Upon Aang's attempt to retrieve it, Jet jumped down and propelled himself towards a branch, aligning his body to kick Aang from behind. Aang was knocked into another branch and fell completely to the ground. When Jet approached him, Katara caught him off guard and froze him in ice leaving his head exposed. Jet whistled a signal to his group, and Longshot fired a flaming arrow to ignite the barrels of blasting jelly at the dam, Aang and Katara watched helplessly as the dam was destroyed and Gaipan was flooded.^[5]

Katara called Jet a monster, but Jet defiantly told them that the sacrifices were necessary to ensure the safety of the valley. Suddenly, Sokka, having escaped captivity, rode in on Appa and revealed, with the help of the old man they robbed before, that he warned the villagers of Jet's attack and that they were all safe. Jet angrily called Sokka a traitor, but Sokka calmly replied that Jet was the traitor for not protecting innocent people. Jet made one last plea to Katara, but she coldly said goodbye. The group flew off, leaving Jet frozen and defeated.^[5] Soon after this clash, the Freedom Fighters largely fell apart and split up.^[10]

A second chance

Remorseful of his actions, Jet, along with Longshot, and Smellerbee, traveled to Ba Sing Se on a ferry for a new start in life in spring 100 AG. Among the many passengers were Zuko and Iroh. Shortly after the boat took off, he overheard Zuko complaining about the disgusting food; he offered to help Zuko steal better food from the captain, who ate like a "king". Zuko and the Freedom Fighters successfully stole the captain's food supply and gave it out to the passengers. Jet admitted to Zuko and Iroh that he did terrible things in his past that he was not proud of, but that was why he and his Freedom Fighters were going to Ba Sing Se to make amends and get a second chance. Iroh contemplated his decision, believing that people deserve second chances and can change their lives if they want.^[8]

Jet later talked to Zuko alone, telling him that when he first saw his scar he realized that he was an outcast like himself and that he got his scar from a firebender. Zuko affirmed these claims, whereupon Jet emphasized their similarities and proposed that they should watch out for each other when they get to Ba Sing Se, because no one else would. Zuko replied that he realized that being alone was not the best path. Jet later offered Zuko a place in his team of Freedom Fighters, but Zuko politely turned down the offer. The former Freedom Fighter subsequently noticed that Iroh was served a cold cup of tea, but a few instances later, it was suddenly steaming hot. He deduced that Iroh was a firebender and became enraged.^[11] He became intent on confirming that Zuko and Iroh were from the Fire Nation, forgetting his promise to Longshot and Smellerbee to start over, although he later assured Smellerbee that he only intended to gather enough evidence that Iroh and Zuko were Fire Nation citizens to turn them in to the proper authorities.^[1]

Later, he made many surreptitious attempts to expose their firebending, such as stealing Iroh's spark rocks, but to no avail, allowing his anger to cloud his judgment once again. He focused his efforts on Iroh, as he had only seen evidence of Iroh's ability to firebend, but deduced Zuko was native to the Fire Nation by relation.^[1]

Ignoring Smellerbee and Longshot's concerns, he openly challenged the two fugitives in public. As Jet was an extremely skilled swordsman, he believed that Zuko and Iroh would have no choice but to firebend in order to save themselves. Zuko gladly accepted Jet's challenge and fought Jet on even terms with dual broadswords he snatched from a nearby policeman, ignoring Jet's attempts to goad him into firebending. The fight dragged out until both fighters lost one of their blades (and Jet's trademark sprig of wheat was cut in half). As the fight went on, the Dai Li arrived to diffuse the situation, and Jet again accused Zuko and Iroh of being Fire Nation, but all the witnesses claimed Zuko and Iroh were assaulted without provocation. A struggling Jet was arrested by the Dai Li and taken to a secret location in Ba Sing Se, later revealed to be their secret headquarters under Lake Laogai.^[1][12] He was subjected to an Earth Kingdom brainwashing technique designed to make him forget about the War.^[1]

Answers and death

Some time after being brainwashed, he found Katara putting up posters when the group was looking for information on Appa, and offered to help. Katara did not believe him at first, and preemptively attacked. He briefly defended himself before throwing down his swords and claiming that he simply wanted to help. He said that he overheard talk of Appa being kept in a city storeroom and led the gang there. His story was seemingly confirmed when the gang found a clump of Appa's fur on the premises, and an old janitor claimed that the bison had been moved just the day before to a distant island. However, when the group went outside, they ran into Longshot and Smellerbee, who were relieved to see Jet. When they questioned him about his capture by the Dai Li he claimed that it never happened and was confused when Smellerbee insisted on it. Toph's seismic sense told her that Jet and Smellerbee were telling the truth.^[7]

Sokka realized the only explanation was that Jet had been brainwashed and used as a plot by the Dai Li to quietly draw the divisive Avatar and his friends away from Ba Sing Se. With his conditioning broken and true memory returning, Jet was able to lead the group to the secret base in Lake Laogai where he had been brainwashed, and where Appa was being kept. They were discovered and fought against a large group of Dai Li agents and Long Feng, the leader of the Dai Li, who proclaimed that Aang and his friends were now enemies of the state. The group managed to fight off the Dai Li, and Jet and Aang chased a fleeing Long Feng into another room. However, there the cunning Long Feng used a new trap against Aang; he spoke a verbal trigger worked into Jet's brainwashing that made him fight and attempt to kill Aang.^[7]

After a few minutes of frantically dodging Jet's attacks, Aang managed to remind Jet of his past as a Freedom Fighter and bring him back to his senses. Jet regained his senses and attacked Long Feng, who dodged and retaliated with a fatal blow. When the rest of the gang as well as Smellerbee and Longshot showed up, Katara checked his injuries and said that it did not look too good. Smellerbee told them to leave to find Appa. They refused to leave them, but Longshot spoke up, saying that they would stay with him since he was their leader. Jet insisted to Katara that he would be all right, but Toph sensed that he was lying. Smellerbee remained by Jet's side, crying, while Longshot notched an arrow and aimed it at the entrance of the room, ready to prevent any more attacks. Jet subsequently died from his serious internal injuries.^[7][13]

After his death, Smellerbee and Longshot created a sling using Dai Li uniforms they found hanging in the storage rooms of the base to remove his body.^[14] This allowed them to transport the body up a shaft and into the inner wall of the city. Jet was buried in the Spring Overlook section of Ba Sing Se, known to locals as the "Weeping Hills".^[15] Shortly after, a tribute to Jet consisting of a wooden whistle in the shape of a bird, oranges, three buns, and a frog squirrel incense holder was laid at the grave by Smellerbee and Longshot, Jin also helping to assist them in the vigil.^[13]

Legacy

Although the team reunited with Appa, they were deeply saddened at the price of Jet's death. Months after his death, in the summer of 100 AG, Zuko and Katara went on a mission to find the man who killed Katara's mother, with Katara clearly intent on getting revenge. Aang recognized her rage and remarked that she was acting like Jet. Katara vehemently denied this, claiming that it was different because she was out to get a monster, while Jet was out to kill innocents. She evidently had not forgotten his crimes despite his heroic "death", suggesting there may have been a part of her still angry with Jet for his past actions.^[16]

Meanwhile, Jet's memory continued to inspire Smellerbee and Longshot to keep fighting against the Fire Nation and oppressive governments. The two joined up with a revolutionary network in Ba Sing Se and reestablished the Freedom Fighters after the Hundred Year War.^[15][13][17]

Jet was also a featured character in the theater play titled The Boy in the Iceberg. The play was once watched by Team Avatar. Zuko, more than anyone else, was shocked when he saw the scene in which Jet was killed by a prop boulder falling on him, asking if Jet had actually died. Sokka replied that it was "really unclear".^[18]

Personality

Ever since the Fire Nation destroyed his village and killed his parents,^[7] Jet was marked by his almost pathological hatred of the Fire Nation. To him, all citizens of the Fire Nation were guilty, regardless of their involvement with the War.^[5]

Jet possessed a high opinion of his Freedom Fighters, convinced that they were a serious threat and that the Fire Nation was sending assassins after him. This blinded him to the fact that, when compared to the scope of the War, his group's acts of guerrilla warfare and terrorism were relatively small.^[5]

He could be obsessive and paranoid about the Fire Nation. As mentioned, he was convinced they were trying to assassinate and silence him.^[5] He became obsessed with exposing Zuko and Iroh as firebenders, eventually attacking them when he was unable to come across concrete evidence.^[1]

Despite these traits, Jet was recognized for his charisma, and he had a roguishly charming, magnetic, and friendly personality. He was sympathetic to people who were desperate, or who had suffered at the hand of the Fire Nation. This drew many people into his group of Freedom Fighters, and secured their loyalty to him. In return, he showed his loyalty to them.^[5]

Due to his traumatic past, Jet exhibited signs of repressed memories, heightened aggression, and pronounced paranoia, particularly when confronted with individuals or symbols associated with the Fire Nation. His experiences played a significant role in shaping his identity and motivations, contributing to a strong sense of resolve that enabled him to resist the Dai Li's brainwashing despite being subjected to it.^[7]

Abilities

Swordsmanship

Though Jet used knives and throwing darts on occasion, his primary weapons of choice were a set of twin tiger hook swords. He possessed masterful skill with his hook swords, able to defeat a master bender, duel evenly with a master swordsman of Zuko's caliber, and hold his own against multiple opponents, overwhelming them.

Stealth

To communicate with his Freedom Fighters without being overt, Jet was able to mimic a variety of bird calls and mere whistles for different meanings. He used this to give Longshot the signal to destroy the dam and prepare the Freedom Fighters for battle.^[5]

Leadership

A skilled strategist and a charismatic leader, Jet was able to draw a somewhat large amount of followers. He was capable of producing inspirational speeches as part of rallies for the Freedom Fighters, and would call his group together to initiate action against the Fire Nation.

Other skills

Aside from his swordsmanship skills, he was also a capable unarmed fighter, as on two occasions he was able to defeat two Fire Nation soldiers simultaneously by kicking them in the back, knocking them out. He was also agile, able to leap from tree to tree as a way to get around and to ambush his foes. The warrior was also a capable liar, as he could formulate convincing stories with almost no effort.

Appearances

Trivia

Avatar Wiki has 29 images related to Jet.

• Bryan Konietzko, Michael Dante DiMartino, and Tim Hedrick indicated in the commentary for "Lake Laogai" that Jet's death scene went through several iterations and storyboard revisions, likely due to the implications of showing a character being fatally wounded or outright killed in a children's show, especially by a violent attack. Konietzko and Hedrick further implied that Toph sensing Jet's lie about how he would be okay was how they chose to confirm it for the viewers.^[19] Also, in the Avatar Extras for "The Ember Island Players", a commentary bubble stated, "For the record: Jet is dead".
  • Gene Luen Yang originally included Jet as a protester alongside Smellerbee, Longshot, and Sneers in The Promise Part One, having believed the character's supposed death to have been ambiguous enough for him to still be alive. However, this draft idea was scrapped when Yang was informed that Jet was, in fact, deceased.^[20]
• Jet's original character design was created by Ki Hyun Ryu.^[21][22][19]
  • In this design, Jet had red hair instead of brown.^[21]
• Katara seemed to have a crush on Jet the first time she met him; later, Toph sensed that Katara was lying when she denied Jet as her boyfriend.^[7]
• Jet was the first person Katara was known to have a crush on.
• According to Avatar Extras, Jet was the first boy Katara kissed, though this was never shown on-screen.
• In the book How to Draw Avatar: The Last Airbender Jet was depicted with green and orange clothing instead of the blue and red theme of his show counterpart.
• In the Legends of the Arena online game, Jet's torso armor is an item and has been renamed as "ragtag armor."
• Several aspects of Jet's character and the episode he was introduced appear to be tributes to the works of Shinichiro Watanabe, specifically Cowboy Bebop^[21] and Samurai Champloo, both of which were influential to the series. Jet's charisma, skill in combat, and physical appearance bear resemblance to Spike Spiegel, the primary protagonist of Cowboy Bebop. Jet's hairstyle particularly reckons to Spike, and he shares the name of Spike's partner, Bebop's secondary protagonist. Additionally, both Jet and Spike have difficulty forgetting the past. Jet also seems to share some of his appearance and mannerisms with Samurai Champloo character Mugen, especially in his habit of chewing a blade of wheat grass, and Jet's fight with Aang in Book One mirrors the strongly detailed fight choreography of the Champloo series.

References

External links

• Jet sketches by Ki Hyun Ryu on his Deviant Art account