Firelord Ozai from Avatar: The Last Airbender is the classic big bad villain in a fantasy story. He’s the evil dictator who is always a looming threat to Aang and his friends, and in order for Aang to truly save the world, he has to defeat Ozai. However, Ozai isn’t really a major figure in the series in the most typical sense. He’s mostly seen in the shadows, and it’s the mystery and threats of him that’s more terrifying than the reality for the first two seasons.
While other villains, such as Azula, interact more with Team Avatar throughout the three seasons, Ozai is still the final boss that has to be defeated. And, even if he might not be in all that many scenes, he’s still a terrifying specter that does a lot of scary things. However, a few of his most evil moments happen off-screen.
Challenging His Own Son To An Agni Kai
Many of the worst things that Ozai ever did have to do with how he treated his family. It’s clear that the Fire Nation royalty has become obsessed with power, and this extends to their cruel treatment of each other. While we don’t exactly see the actual moment when Ozai meanly challenges his own 13-year-old son to an Agni Kai, the fact that he’s so willing to punish his own children for even small slights is upsetting.
Sending Azula To Capture Iroh And Zuko
For most of the first season, it’s Zuko, and Admiral Zhao, who are the main antagonists. Then, Azula takes over for most of season two. One of both Ozai and Azula’s more terrifying moments is when we see Ozai, direct Azula to bring home Iroh and Zuko back as prisoners. It’s another moment where we see how twisted the family actually is.
Making Ursa Kill Azulon
The family story of the Fire Nation royals is truly disturbing on many levels. Ursa never really loved Ozai and mainly married him because she felt she couldn’t turn down the Firelord, and it’s clear she cared about her children while Ozai did not care about them. When Azulon sentenced Ozai to kill Zuko, it was Ursa who stepped in to save Zuko’s life. She had to do so by poisoning Azulon, and it just illustrates how heartless Ozai was to everyone around him.
Burning Zuko’s Face And Banishing Him
This is by far one of the worst things that Ozai ever does, but it’s not higher on this list because it happens in the past before the events of the series. However, it does impact many things that happen in the story, and viewers can see this clearly by the large scar on Zuko’s face.
After Zuko was challenged by his father to a duel by speaking out of turn, Zuko refuses to fight his own father. To further punish him, Ozai burns Zuko’s face and then banishes him with the impossible task of finding the Avatar to regain his honor.
When Zuko Confronted Him
Ozai’s actions towards Zuko were clearly extremely abusive, and Azula seemed to also live her life doing everything she could to not anger her father. However, one of the more inspiring Zuko moments is when he finally confronts his father before leaving the Fire Nation to join Team Avatar. While this is a triumphant moment, it’s still rather scary. Fans really worried for Zuko’s safety here even though neither character could bend because of the eclipse.
Declaring Himself The Phoenix King
While the title of Firelord is a rather ominous one, Ozai wants to be more than just the ruler of the Fire Nation. He wants to continue the goal of the Hundred Year War set up by his father and grandfather. He declares himself Phoenix King and announces his plans to burn the Earth Kingdom down. He then declares Azula the new Firelord, and it’s clear that Ozai will stop at nothing to be a cruel dictator of the world.
Lighting Up The Earth With Raging Fire
While the Day of Black Sun might have briefly taken Ozai’s bending powers away, Sozin’s comet made them even more powerful. Ozai is at the height of his strength during this cosmic event, and he uses this opportunity to further his plan for world domination.
He is easily able to start torching the earth with his immense fire bending powers, and the fire quickly catches and grows into a wildfire blaze. It’s a terrifying scene that illustrates what Ozai intends to do to the entire world.
Suggesting That Iroh Shouldn’t Be Firelord After Lu Ten’s Death
While Ozai has many scary moments, especially during the end of season three, where he shows his far-reaching power, this one is upsetting in a different way. While we don’t see this scene in great detail, viewers see glimpses of what happens. After Iroh is devastated when his only son dies, Ozai sees his grief as a way to try to get the throne over his older brother. It’s extremely cruel, and it shows that Ozai has no loyalty, not even to his grieving brother.
When He Seemed Like He Was Going To Beat Aang
The final battle between Aang and Ozai is one of the most intense and beautifully animated sequences in the entire series. While Aang is able to beat Ozai in the end, there are moments where it seems he will lose. He’s unable to access the Avatar State, and Ozai is making quick work of him. These scenes are extremely tense and terrifying, but all turns out well in the end.
