Could Zaheer and Aang be related?

Avatar: The Last Airbender has a vast and complex world. When such an expansive story is created, it is only natural that some plot holes are left uncovered. On the other hand, sometimes fans try to find connections in places that the creators would have never thought of, changing how the fandom looks at the series.

Aang and Sokka in Avatar: The Last Airbender
The Legend of Korra, although a spin-off of the 2005 series, stands on its own and has very few connections to the original series. However, fans believe that they have found a very big connection between the two shows.

Could it be possible that one of the most beloved villains from TLoK could be related to the Last Avatar? Is Aang the father of Zaheer?

Zaheer — The Anarchist

Making his first appearance in “A Breath of Fresh Air”, the first episode of Book Three of The Legend of Korra, Zaheer is one of the most beloved villains from the entire Avatar franchise. One that conflicted viewers to their very core, making them question who to root for. As many fans would argue, the airbender was not wrong, his methods were simply flawed.

He believed that it was unfair that some people had the ability to bend and the rest of the world didn’t. He did not agree with how the rest of the world was forced to listen to the powerful and wished for the beauty of the chaos that comes with anarchy.

Zaheer in The Legend of Korra
His bending method brought back a central airbender into the world again, however it was with a twist. Unlike the softness and beauty that audiences were used to, he is deliberate, relentless, and aggressive when he bends. This new approach was almost jarring for views and combined with his ideology, made them fall in love with it.

However, his past and the path that led him to his ways, have always been open to interpretation. This has prompted many to come up with theories for the same.

Aang — The Avatar’s Legacy Stained

Many fans have proposed a theory suggesting that Zaheer is the son of Aang, the protagonist from Avatar: The Last Airbender. As bizarre as this theory sounds, it has quite a lot of proof to back it and the perfect backstory that would support the hypothesis. They believe the antagonist to be the first son of the Avatar. Him being the child that Aang was trying to pass the Air Nomad culture and their history to.
Aang in The Legend of Korra
It was established that Zaheer knew a lot about the history and culture of the Nomads, even though he only got his powers after the Harmonic Convergence. The theory suggests that he always had his airbendering powers.

However, as he was growing up, he started to misinterpret the teachings and philosophies of the Air Nomads. He was more violent and aggressive with his powers, something that was unheard of in their culture.

Seeing what his child was turning into in front of his eyes, Aang could take it no longer. Like what he did with Fire Lord Ozai, he took away his son’s powers to prevent his pull towards darkness. According to the theory, Zaheer stayed this way for a very long time, until Korra participated in the Harmonic Convergence and accidentally triggered his powers.