I don't talk about TV shows much on here, but honestly, I could. And one of the ones that I could talk about for a super long time is the classic Avatar: The Last Airbender. When I first saw it, I was blown away with the cool fights and sweet elementally-powered kung fu, but what really got me into the show itself was the world and the characters that took part in it.
And of course, once I surfaced from the show, the Internet was there to show me that the funniest jokes the show made possible were ones that the fandom itself could make up. Well, with the exception of a few things, that is. But there's a ton of hilarious memes out there that people have made, and that's why you're looking at this bad boy on whatever day this got published. The fandom always comes up with a way to keep a show funny and entertaining well past its run on TV. It's been 13 years, and we've still got memes going on today. Let me share some with you!
Sit back, grab some cabbages, and sip on some cactus juice (actually, please drink some cactus juice - it's been scientifically proven that you think listicles are funnier when you've recently drank cactus juice), because you're in for the spiciest memes this side of Ember Island.
30 Smashin' That Cold Boi
Oh look! The smack that started it all. The one moment that set all of the events of Avatar into motion. And here it is being turned into a meme that's pretty good.
Of course, I didn't actually start watching Avatar until the show had been on the air for a couple years. So I was pretty surprised when the show I had been watching re-aired the first episode and the intro was different. It made sense in retrospect, because it would have spoiled this whole moment, even though it probably had been spoiled in the previews beforehand. Still, it was really cool to see after all of the times I'd seen the original. And for a throwaway intro they only used once, it was pretty well-produced.
29 Save Him From Himself
This is me. This is me when I try to make fanart. Every single time. There's a reason I'm an writer and not an artist. So while I can totally have a giggle at this, I also let out a small sigh, knowing that the truth is far too much for me to bear.
Let's just take a minute and appreciate how much this looks like Sloth from The Goonies.
The smile of the original picture has been transformed into a grimace of an agony that has lasted long years, and the left eye has somehow fallen by noticeable inches on Aang's face. His ears have somehow been replaced by odd little croissants, and his outfit has morphed into some odd bow tie. It's hideous, but it's also kinda of beautiful.
28 Aang Sees Avatar
A lot of times, people complain when you give guff to a film that you've never seen before, but I would like those who would still follow that line of thinking to consider this: Why would anyone willingly open a box of spiders when they were promised cereal?
Let me explain. There's a new cereal out. It's supposed to get the kids excited because it's based on their favorite TV show. Said cereal has been running commercials, telling the kids when it's coming out. So when it finally comes out, parents everywhere are dragged by their screaming kids to the grocery store to get a box of this wonderful cereal that has been promised them for so long.
And once they get it home and open it, they realize they have literally been sold a box of spiders. The poor families are left with infestations of spiders in their beds and all the corners of their house. Who would willingly buy that?
27 Good? Bad? I'm Just A Guy with A Boomerang.
You gotta give it to Sokka. He's the only non-bender in the central core of Team Avatar, but he still ends up being completely irreplaceable. Because for all of the wild power and unbridled force that Toph, Katara, and Aang possess, none of them can tell a joke to save their life. And for all the heavy stuff that they have to deal with to save the planet, they could use a couple yuks.
Sokka represents the world that Team Avatar is fighting to bring back: a world without worry, that can find a balance even in the most trying times, a world that never gives up hope. And maybe, just maybe, a world that's pretty good with a boomerang.
26 Boomerangs Have A Comeback for Everything
Everybody loves Sokka. And the only thing Sokka loves more than Suki, his girlfriend the moon, or a sword forged out of a meteorite is his trusty boomerang. It has pulled his fat out of the fire several times, and his love for it grows each time. So of course, it's only natural that there'd be some boomerang jokes made. Sokka is a huge joker, after all. And this one is one of the best ones out there.
It's one of those jokes that would make Sokka proud, and if he had thought of it, this would be the perfect face he makes when he says it. I can just hear him saying this caption with this face.
25 The Best OTP In The Entire Fandom
A tale as old as time. One man. One cart. Untold cabbages. A love that endured the worst trials and travails of the Hundred Year War. One man, who withstood the ravages of an oddly-omnipresent group of snotty teenagers. He is alone. He is himself.
He is the Cabbage Vendor. And his love for his cabbages will be the stuff of Internet legends for decades to come.
And no Avatar article is worth anything if it doesn't mention him at least once. I believe this qualifies, and now that that's out of the way, please go see my new film, "Cabbage Vendor: Green with Envy," currently available on Amazon. It's a story as old as time, and as flatulent as Cabbage Soup Tuesday at your local Old Folks' Home.
24 Youngman Versus Juicy Boiz
I don't know why I love this meme so much, but I love it so frickin' much, you guys. It's so stupid, it reminds me of the little arguments my friends and I would have as we talked about our favorite characters and who exactly would whip whose behind in battle. And the Internet of this has made things weird enough that this meme is its own thing now, and it's something that we should be laughing at for at least a few more years.
If you need to mention the Cabbage Man at least once in an Avatar article, you need to mention cactus juice at least once as well. This article has more cactus juice than Cabbage Man spots here. I think it was the right thing to do.
23 Charles Bender, CPA
I think it goes without saying that Aang totally looks like Charlie Brown in an odd sort of way. And this creator here took it forward and ended up bringing the Airbender into a lame office workplace. However, it works for the joke -
Everyone knows of some co-worker that will attempt to dodge actually having to do something or actually being responsible for their own actions.
Heck, how many of us have called a customer service department only to get transferred about a dozen times because no one knows how to help you? I know every time I call my cable provider I get the same dang runaround. So it's just nice to see this kind of joke in a palatable Avatar form.
22 Zuko Is Dumb Sometimes
I tell you guys, Zuko is by far one of the most interesting characters in A:TLA. At the very least, he's the one with the most complete character arc and personality change, either right up there with or surpassing Aang himself. Yet, where Aang himself was likable pretty much from the start, Zuko had the personality of a fart and ended up being the tsundere that everyone loved to hate. Or hated to love. Case in point:
Zuko was a whole lot dumber in the early days.
This comic is based upon when Zuko was a fart, and totally got what was coming to him. He was really hard to like in those first few seasons, and when Katara just absolutely one-shotted him here, it was hard not to stand up and cheer.
21 Don't EVER Listen To "They"
Just the term "Fire Nation Navy" seems a little oxymoronic. However, it's totally a thing that ends up destroying a good portion of the Water Tribe. So when somebody decided to bring a meme like this to bear, it's pretty dang good. This moment, when a fire nation ship ended up getting beached in the middle of the ocean, was pretty much one of the coolest moves of the first season. After all,
No one suspects surprise icebergs!
Once you get a fire nation boat stuck on the ice, it's not like they're going to be able to use their bending abilities to actually get themselves out of the water or ice quickly. Unless they're good enough to where they can fire bend themselves some arm jetpacks like Firelord Ozai.
