Many disguises and alternate personas were seen over the course of Avatar: The Last Airbender. The nature of many characters’ journeys and quests made it vital that they often keep their true identities secret, usually to prevent capture, avoid unwanted attention, and/or gain access they wouldn’t have been able to otherwise.
While the covert nature of their disguises was often essential, this didn’t stop the characters from having fun with it, too. This could involve elaborate make-up, costuming, or even boisterous personalities that served to overwhelm people and distract them from any perceived oddities.
10 Azula Keeps Hers & Zuko’s Royal Identity Secret (The Beach)
At the beach, Azula, Zuko, Mai, and Ty Lee are invited to Chan’s party that evening. Instead of formally introducing their group, Azula mentions she wants to see how the implication that they are normal everyday people will affect their treatment.
While they experience a normal reception, Azula hilariously cannot rein in her lethal personality and Zuko is ejected after starting a fight. The temporary erasure of their privileged treatment shows just how socially awkward and dysfunctional the Fire Nation siblings are in situations with normal people.
9 Toph & Katara Masquerade As Earth Kingdom Nobles (City Of Walls & Secrets)
To gain access to the Earth King’s party, Katara and Toph dress up as Earth Kingdom noble ladies. Toph even cites herself and Katara as the best choices for the job and derides Sokka and Aang’s attempts to copy high-class mannerisms. But while Katara and Toph definitely look the part, they still find their progress blocked since they have no tickets.
Not even Toph’s official seal of the Beifong family can get them inside. Toph and Katara must rely on Long Feng’s influence to gain entry. But even then, Long Feng sees through their disguises and detains them, alongside Sokka and Aang who sneaked in as busboys, before they can reach the Earth King.
8 Toph Adopts The Blind Bandit Persona To Give Herself Freedom (The Blind Bandit)
Born and raised in the prestigious Beifong family, Toph finds herself sheltered and stifled by her parents because of her blindness. She is only taught basic earthbending despite her skill and her existence is even kept secret from the public, ostensibly to protect her.
Toph’s tenacious and independent personality leads her to periodically sneak out of her family’s home and moonlight as The Blind Bandit, a champion earthbender who regularly brawls and wins at Earth Rumble.
7 Aang Enters Omashu As Bonzu Pipinpadaloxicopolis (The King Of Omashu)
Aang, Sokka, and Katara visit the Earth Kingdom city of Omashu where Aang once spent time with his friend Bumi. To make sure his Avatar identity remains undiscovered, Aang uses Appa’s fur to fashion himself a new look and then raucously introduces himself as a crotchety and cranky elderly man named Bonzu Pipinpadaloxicopolis III.
Katara easily slides into her own improvised role as his “whippersnapper” granddaughter June and the Omashu guard grants them access to the city after instructing June to monitor her “grandfather’s” behavior and telling Sokka to carry his “elder’s” belongings out of respect.
6 Zuko & Iroh Blend In As Refugees (The Serpent’s Pass)
Zuko and Iroh flee into Earth Kingdom roles after Azula almost captures them. Eventually, they travel to Ba Sing Se, pretending to be one of many refugees displaced by the war with the Fire Nation. While Zuko is dismayed by what he views as his continued shame, Iroh is excited by the prospect of seeing the city once again, only this time as a tourist.
Even though Jet detects their real identity through Iroh stupidly heating his tea with firebending, the duo successfully suppresses their Fire Nation selves for the most part and finds some stability with Iroh. Iroh even opens his own tea shop and Zuko begins to question his true desires.
5 Team Avatar Goes Incognito In The Fire Nation (The Headband)
After Azula nearly kills Aang in Ba Sing Se, the latter wakes at the beginning of Book 3: Fire with the world believing him to be dead. While he feels he is abandoning everyone, Aang is eventually convinced that this status is a boon in their favor since it allows them to stay off the Fire Nation’s radar.
Since the Day of Black Sun is oncoming, the group goes undercover in the Fire Nation. They steal Fire Nation civilian clothing which they wear for the majority of the season and in spite of some snags, such as Aang being mistaken for a school student, the disguises go off without a hitch.
4 Katara Takes On The Painted Lady Persona To Help A Village (The Painted Lady)
Team Avatar comes across a village full of sick people which is caused by a military factory polluting their river water. Affected by so much suffering, Katara uses her waterbending to heal people at night while dressed up to resemble the Painted Lady, the village’s spirit patron.
Katara’s supernatural abilities add to the costume, letting her travel across the river like a spirit and providing medical assistance. In the end, it seems the outfit only holds up from a distance, however, since Aang recognizes her up close. Even the villagers can tell she is not the Painted Lady once they see her face.
3 Zuko Attempts To Grab Aang As The Blue Spirit (The Blue Spirit)
While Aang is captured by Zhao, he is rescued by a silent figure in a blue mask who seems intent on helping him escape. When Zhao catches them, the Blue Spirit threatens to kill Aang unless he lets them go, knowing Zhao does not want the Avatar reborn since it will begin the hunt all over again.
Zhao is forced to release them but orders an arrow fired outside that knocks out the Blue Spirit, revealed to be Zuko. One of the show’s most remembered alter egos, Zuko continues to use this disguise for future occasions where obscuring his identity is ideal.
2 Azula & Team Take The Kyoshi Warriors’ Uniforms For Themselves (The Earth King)
As Team Avatar splits up to pursue different priorities for the Day of Black Sun, they receive word that the Kyoshi Warriors have arrived in Ba Sing Se. Going off the Gaang’s immediate vouching for the group, Earth King Kuei welcomes them promptly.
Unfortunately, the women wearing the uniforms are shown to be no other than Azula, Mai, and Ty Lee, who have infiltrated the city and defeated the real Kyoshi Warriors. Thanks to most of Team Avatar departing and Katara taking a while to see them, Azula’s group are able to learn about the Day of Black Sun, align with Long Feng, and plan the coup d’etat that conquers Ba Sing Se.
1 Katara & Sokka Pretend To Be Aang’s Fire Nation Parents (The Headband)
Aang is accidentally pulled into attending a Fire Nation school after he steals civilian clothing that turns out to be a school uniform. When he gets into trouble in the schoolyard, the headmaster requests a meeting with his parents.
What follows is one of the show’s most comical scenes in which Sokka and Katara play his parents, with Sokka adopting the moniker “Wang Fire” and threatening Aang with physical punishment to the headmaster’s delight. Katara is introduced as “Sapphire Fire,” complete with a fake pregnant belly. Sokka’s bombastic personality and Katara’s impression of an aghast mother make this one of the best-remembered and most entertaining disguises.
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