The briefly seen waterbender was already impressive, but the more Avatar fans find out about Taqukaq, the more powerful he seems.
Even though avatar the last airbender Primarily dealing with the adventures of Aang and his friends, the series occasionally included information about past Avatars and their adventures that fueled fans’ imaginations. One of the most intriguing figures glimpsed in Avatar Roku’s past was his waterbending master, briefly seen engaging in an enormously powerful duel while training the Avatar. However, until now, the expert waterbender didn’t even have a name.
Now with the release of Avatar Legends’ core book and expansion Wan Shi Tong Adventure Guidefans have learned not only his name, but that he may be one of the most powerful waterbenders in the entire franchise.
The waterbender revealed to be named Taqukaq was first seen in the season 3 episode “The Avatar and the Fire Lord”. Without even speaking during the brief glimpse of his training with Roku, Taqukaq proved to be a formidable foe as he rose up and attacked with a massive torrent of water that split the glacier in which the two dueled. In return, Roku sent his own tidal wave that swept Taqukaq into the city behind them shortly before the waterbending master shrugged.
This quick exchange stood out as one of the most powerful displays of waterbending in the franchise, and as we learn more about Taqukaq’s background, it appears that this was not a one-off display. avatar legends delves into the Northern Water Tribe member’s past, where even from childhood, he felt a connection to the Spirit World. That connection allowed Taqukaq to discern the secrets of waterbending from the Moon and Ocean Spirits Tui and La, allowing him a unique perspective on waterbending that few masters can boast.
In addition to his strong skills base, Taqukaq gained experience as a spy by conducting espionage missions abroad. To help him on his missions, he developed a unique ability rarely seen in the game. Avatar world: the ability to bend clouds of vapor that could obscure his actions. Vaporizing water wasn’t something even Katara learned to do until he’d fully mastered his abilities, and even then, he’d never performed the feat so skillfully that he’d become dazed in the middle of the action.
Those talents are combined with Taqukaq’s ability to create deadly water knives or ice slides that allow him to navigate his surroundings with ease. None of these abilities are seen anywhere else in the series demonstrated by anyone other than masters, and aside from the already demonstrably powerful column of water he attacked with in his duel with Roku, it’s entirely possible that the Norther Water Tribesman is one of the most powerful. waterbenders in canon.
He certainly would have to be to train Roku to be as powerful as the Avatar, and that wasn’t a mentorship that was easily earned. Taqukaq only agreed to be Roku’s mentor after the Avatar had spent years devoting himself to the Northern Water Tribe way of life; a demonstration of how valuable Taqukaq training must have been to demand such a commitment.
Like Avatar Studios and other expansions of avatar legends Delve deeper into the life of the waterbender, there may be even more exploits to behold as his story unfolds. As it stands, though, there’s certainly a strong argument to be made that he’s one of the best waterbenders the franchise has seen to date, and yet most Avatar fans may not yet know that he has a Name.
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