Musicians - Uncle Iroh

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General "Uncle" Iroh is a fictional character, both villain and anti-hero, voiced by Mako on the 2005 animated television series Avatar: The Last Airbender. The elder Iroh is a Firebender, a retired General of the Fire Nation, and brother of Fire Lord Ozai, who accompanies his exiled nephew Prince Zuko in his quest to capture Aang, the long-lost Avatar, in order to restore the young prince's honor and right to the throne.

History

Two years ago,an indulgent Iroh allowed his beloved nephew to observe a meeting of his father's war room, a mistake he would soon come to regret. In the council, Zuko spoke out against a General who planned to sacrifice an entire division of novice troops in battle as a diversionary tactic. Though Iroh silently agreed with young Zuko's assessment, the Fire Lord demanded that Zuko participate in a fire duel, the Agni Kai, for his insubordination. Zuko accepted, under the mistaken impression he would be dueling the General he'd insulted. However, because Zuko had spoken out in his father's war room, it was his father whom he had disrespected. Iroh bore witness in the audience when Zuko fell to his knees in the arena, pleading for forgiveness and refusing to duel his own father. When Iroh's brother badly burned his own son's face, permanently scarring him as punishment for his cowardice and disrespect, Iroh looked away, unable to stand the sight.

Zuko was afterward stripped of his birthright and exiled from the Fire Nation. However, there was one possible condition to restore his honor and throne and return home. Zuko was given a mission: find and capture the Avatar. The Avatar was a perpetually reincarnated spirit of the planet manifested in human form, master of all four elements and maintainer of balance between the Four Nations. This powerful being was the only threat to the Fire Nation's victory in its imperialist war against the other nations. Yet he had vanished a century ago, shortly before the Fire Nation's first strike. Three generations had conducted fruitless searches, and now it was Zuko's turn to be sent on a quest that seemed little more than a fool's errand.

Undeterred, Zuko sought to do the impossible, and Iroh accompanied him. The pair spent two years at sea, searching in vain for any sign of the centenarian Airbender the Fire Sages had described. Though Iroh was resigned to the futility of their mission, and wiled away his days with games, there finally came a day when a strange beacon lit the skies off the coast of the South Pole. When Zuko investigated, he discovered that the Avatar had reappeared at last. Improbably, the long-sought old man was actually Aang, a twelve-year-old boy recently woken from a hundred years of suspended animation. Thrown off-guard, Zuko underestimated the boy, who managed to escape his grasp. Zuko and Iroh have been in hot pursuit ever since, tracking the Avatar and his friends across the globe.

As of Season 2, Iroh and Zuko have been branded traitors of the Fire Nation. They cut their hair to symbolize their new life as fugitives. It could be possible that the two may now fight against the Fire Nation to regain Zuko's place on the throne by force.

Personality

Easygoing and dryly good-humored, Iroh tends to treat his self-imposed exile as though it were an extended vacation. Something of a hedonist in his old age, he's more focused on the pursuit of relaxation, food, drink and amusements than on pursuit of the Avatar. He's particularly fond of a good cup of tea, the strategy game Pai Sho, and pleasant music. He actually founded a music night for the ship's crew, (among whom he is popular) where he both sings and plays instruments. His morals are slightly lax, however (he once pocketed perfumes from an abbey). Yet this placid exterior disguises a wise, still-formidable warrior, a crafty and brutal strategist and great firebending master. So impressive is his skill that he has displayed mastery of electricity, and has defeated multiple Earthbenders and Firebenders with little effort.

The Veteran

In his younger days, Iroh was a great General and war hero, once known among his enemies as the "Dragon of the West." Though he still commands a great deal of respect, he fell from grace with his one great failure. In a bid for final victory against the Earth Kingdom, he and his men laid siege to the capital city of Ba Sing Se for six hundred days, until finally giving up the assault.

In addition, Iroh has endured other trials, including a journey to the Spirit World which has left him with respect for the other world and the ability to see spirits, and the death of his son, which may have initially motivated the pilgrimage.

Family

Prince Zuko

To his nephew, Iroh is a mentor, firebending teacher, advisor, caretaker, and most simply, "Uncle." The tolerant and even-keeled foil to Zuko's impulsiveness and disrespect, Iroh tempers Zuko's anger with practical advice and a wry sense of humor. Though Iroh is a hard instructor, his merciless drilling in firebending basics has served to improve Zuko's skill. Due to his own status as a failure in the eyes of his country, Iroh has much sympathy for Zuko, and pleads that he not be so relentless in his search. Although he often teases his nephew, who impatiently balks at his advice, they care deeply about each other. Iroh even thinks of Zuko as his surrogate child in place of his lost son, and worries over him accordingly. In turn, Zuko deeply loves his uncle, and is greatly touched when Iroh indirectly praises him. When Zuko was once confronted with the choice of tracking the Avatar or saving a kidnapped Iroh, he chose the latter without hesitation. Both depend on each other in exile, and as such, are practically inseparable.

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