Over the years, we have witnessed multiple iconic female villains in many franchises. From Cersei Lannister to Bellatrix Lestrange, a lot of fictional female villains have made a huge impact on the entertainment industry as a whole. However, not all female antagonists are able to get the respect that they really deserve and a similar thing happened to The Legend of Korra‘s iconic antagonist, Kuvira.
The creators of The Legend of Korra open up about how they laid the groundwork for Kuvira
Avatar: The Last Airbender was an animated series created by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko that aired from 2005 to 2008. The series revolved around the story of Avatar Aang, the last Airbender, who would bring an end to 100 years of war and establish an era of peace.
After the end of Avatar: The Last Airbender, Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko decided to make a sequel to the series. The Legend of Korra revolves around the story of Avatar Korra, a reincarnation of Aang who is now responsible for establishing and maintaining peace after the death of her predecessor.
Kuvira was a master metalbender who served as the primary antagonist of The Legend of Korra and was really a lot different from any other female villains that we have witnessed so far. As a metalbender, Kuvira had almost flawless control over all metals, and in her final invasion of the United Republic of Nations, she used the giant robot Colossus which was hinted at much earlier in the series.
The creators of the show, Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko once opened up about how they decided to settle on Kuvria as the final villain of The Legend of Korra in an interview with Polygon. Bryan Konietzko said,
“The idea of the giant mech was something we had kicked around a little bit for Hiroshi Sato in Book 1, but I’m glad we waited and built up to it for the series’ end. In a lot of cases, once we figure out an antagonist then that character tells us where the story needs to go.
About midway through production on the series we knew we wanted to have a military dictator as our final villain, so we started aiming towards that, laying the foundation for Kuvira in Book 3.”
Kuvira will certainly go down as one of the best villains of all time in an animated series.
Bryan Konietzko praises Kuvira for getting the best out of Korra
Although there have been a lot of iconic female villains in multiple franchises, Kuvira was a fresh take on female villains. Unlike most female antagonists who are either outright psychotic or heavily s*xualized, Kuvira had a tragic past and solid reasons for her actions in the series.
Kuvira was also praised for bringing out the best version of Avatar Korra, who was shown as a stubborn, rude, and even hot-headed individual at times. Bryan Konietzo once opened up about the same in an interview with Polygon, and said,
“She not only provided a stark contrast to Zaheer for variety’s sake, but she was also a great foil for a version of Korra that could have come to be — one who was consumed with her power. It helped show how much Korra had grown as an Avatar.
But even if Aang and Korra chose a more peaceful path towards conflict resolution, they still had massive conflicts to resolve, which makes for exciting finales. The emotion behind a fight will always be the thing that resonates the most, so we try to focus on that.”
The Legend of Korra was a massive critical success when it was first released back in 2012. The show even averaged a viewership of almost 4.5 million on its premiere. Other than being praised for its writing and storyline, The Legend of Korra was also appreciated for addressing various socio-political issues throughout the show.
The Legend of Korra is streaming on Netflix.
