Avatar: The Rift - Toph's Issue With Her Parents

[espanolbot]

In the new season of Legend of Korra (which is VASTLY improved over the previous two, by the by), they're exploring the family of Toph Bei Fong, and as such, I thought that I'd post some stuff from the recent Rift mini-series from the interquel comics from between Airbender and Korra.

Spoilers for the Rift and Korra season three

In the first section, we have Aang taking some of his Air Acolytes (converts to his religion and culture, who he initially was mad at for cultural appropriation, but got over it when he found they were sincere in wanting him to teach them) to some land which was sacred to his people after the last Air Nomad Avatar appeared to him and tried to tell him something.

Aang accidentally also gives her the definition of what a "trigger" is in regards to Toph's horrible childhood.









For those new to the series, Toph was born without the ability to see, which lead to her already strict, traditionalist family being even more rigid in how they dealt with her as a means of keeping her "safe". When it's revealled that she trained herself how to earthbend to the point where even her teacher admitted she was one of the most powerful earthbenders in the world... he decided that this meant they'd let her have too much freedom, and tries to actively lock her up to keep her from being alone in the future.

Naturally, Toph decided to just leave at this point and runs off with Aang and his friends to teach him earthbending, which Toph's dad assumed was actually a case of Aang (who he knew was the Avatar, the incarnation of the spirit of order and harmony) had kidnapped her. So naturally had sent two bountyhunters to go and bring her back.

Now, two years on, a 13 year old Toph bumps into her dad working as co-owner of a mine and factory on the aforementioned formerly Air Nomad land. He takes his daughter's reappearance... not entirely well.





Yeah, I can see why older Toph would get the idea that never marrying and letting her two kids just do what they liked would be preferable to her own family life. Yeah, Toph never married, and had two kids by two different dads, though whether this was because she just didn't see the need to get married (pretty likely considering her upbringing and the enormous wealth and power she'd later independantly claim) or something horrible happened to the dads.

Personally I think it's more the former than the latter, with Toph just not wanting to get married. Oh yeah, and they confirmed that she's still alive in the Korra Era, rockin'.

Comments

[icon_uk]

Grammy Toph had bloody well better show up at some point.

[dewinged]

Personal theory: Granny Badass Toph didn't leave the Metal Clan City to seek enlightenment.

She really, really wants the belt back.

[shadowpsykie]

my dream is to see Korra and company fighting the bad guys and having them be pretty much down for the count. Korra struggles to get back up but is too weak, then suddenly the ground starts shaking, and the earth tears open between Korra and the bad guys, then out of the sky Flames turn turn the stones to Magma, and the water in the air begins to freeze as the attackers arms and legs are forced to act against thier will. Korra turns around to see Zuko on his dragon, Katarra holding her hands out like a pupetteer, and an old blind looking woman with a walking stick made of earth giggling saying "Get up twinkletoes, I thought i taught you better than this."

[akodo_rokku]

Should... I actually watch book 3 then? I gave up after the first couple episodes of book 2.

[crinos]

Big yes on that.

[espanolbot]

What Crinos said, it's for serious as good as the old show at its best at the moment. No annoying dating subplots, consistant character development from Korra, expanded plotpoints from the old show, great animation... all good stuff. :D

You may need to read a summary of what happened though to understand some of the plotpoints. Such as what the Harmonic Convergence was, and who Varrick is.

[nate_abril96]

Wait, Toph is still alive in Legend of Korra? Hm, I might have to watch Legend of Korra now if Toph appears. Also, seeing what happens between Toph and her father is so sad. Toph was my favorite character in Avatar, and seeing this really hurts. Of course, given the fact that she lied to her parents and ran away I can kind of see how it led to this; even if she did help save the world from being conquered by the Fire Nation! You're welcome jerk dad!

[thezmage]

We don't technically know whether or not Toph is alive. We're told she left the metal city awhile ago to seek enlightenment, and she hasn't been seen since. But we have seen Katara and Zuko, so there is a good chance she's still alive.

[espanolbot]

To be fair to Toph, she ran away from home because of years of emotional abuse from her well meaning but still terrible parents to help save the world, and her dad's response was to send bounty hunters after her.

Besides the letter that Toph asked Katara to write to her folks in season three to let them know how she was, this is actually the first time she's seen her dad in at least two years (she ran away from home at the age of 11, she's now 13 or so in the comics).

[icon_uk]

As someone else who gave up on LoK during Season 2, I will have to catch up on Season 3.

And seeing how Toph handled her first metalbending students in "The Promise", I can see where parenting might not be her best area.

[shadowpsykie]

it's seriously bloody BRILLIANT.

it got better second half of season 2, but season 3 us LEAPS and BOUNDS beyond that.

[skemono]

Yeah, Toph never married, and had two kids by two different dads

Aw, really? I always figured that Lin didn't have a father, and that when Toph decided she wanted to have a child she just started yelling at her womb that it was a slacker until she conceived.

[shadowpsykie]

*cough, cough, cough.* i hope you are happy, i spit my lunch all over my computer screen.

[damar148]

Did Toph even visit her family ever again before this?

[shadowpsykie]

she tried, but turned out it was a trap.

[espanolbot]

She got Katara a letter in a season three episode, but this is the first time she's seen either of her folks in the past two years.

[beoweasel]

I'm not sure if I'm amused or annoyed at the balls of this guard.

Are you really going to threaten the Avatar? You're talking to both the world's most powerful EarthBender and the Avatar, the guy who crushed fricken Fire Lord Ozai, the strongest of Firebenders...while Ozai was empowered by Sozin's comet. And you think you can threaten him? Holy shit, man, how do you walk with those kind of balls?

[icon_uk]

It's possible he's just an idiot, or ignorant that this IS the Avatar (his boss has just called one of the group "a confused young woman" and has no reason to disbelieve him, so might assume the others are also just weirdos.

[espanolbot]

The thing is, the dude actually attacked Aang before, at least once. As I'm pretty sure he's a former member of the Rhino Riders... those dudes who attacked the Gaang in the Avatar Day episode in addition to implictly killing Jet's parents.

[shadowpsykie]

I posted thos on my tumblr and on TMS. but i figured i would post this on here because i would like to hear other people's thoughts on this:

I posted this on my tumblr, but felt like sharing this here:

Okay. So. I have a few thoughts on the Legend of Korra so far.

This is by far just a collection of thoughts, this is by no means an in depth analysis.

I have picked up on a thread that seems to be carried through in the last few seasons. Namely the theme of Parents and Family. A lot of people seemed to criticize Aang early on, calling him a bad parent. Neglecting his other kids in favor of Tenzin because he was an Airbender. A lot of people, at least from what I have seen, seem to think Aang wouldn’t do this…. except I think he would. One of Aang’s major flaws is that he blames himself for the loss of the Air Nomad culture, despite being only a child, and despite others telling him what happened was meant to happen. We have seen that whenever it comes to air nomad culture, Aang can be pretty myopic and obsessive. Case in point, Season 1 The Northern Air Temple. On the one hand, I could see why he would be upset about his former home being so drastically changed. However, it’s been 100 years. These people were surviving the best way they could. The Mechanistic was inspired by the Air Nomads, but he adapted an abandoned place to house his people. Secondly, in the PROMISE comic series Aang practically bites the head off his original air acolytes for “disrespecting” his culture, when all they were tying to do was honor it. In both cases Aang learned from his mistakes. So. All that said, it’s not hard to see Aang, unknowingly, neglect Bumi and Kaya in favor of Tenzin because he wanted to pass on his people’s legacy to the first new Airbender in more than 100 years. He seems to have recovered from that, but it left it’s mark on all his kids. Including Tenzin.

Now. On to Toph. Today’s recent revelation (other than she MIGHT still be alive! ) there are those That might think these revelations mean she was a bad mother. However, I think she did the best that she could. She did the exact opposite of her parents. Instead of controlling them she tried to give them the freedom she never had. But that didn’t work out. Think of this…. The Runaway’s daughter STILL ran away despite her best Efforts. It was probably this neglect that lead Lin to not want children, which lead to Tenzin breaking up with her BECAUSE he felt HE needed to have children to continue the airbender tradition.

I think what they are doing now, showing the flaws in the Gaang that, if we are honest, were already there, is kinda brilliant.

I mean, think of the pressure these kids had growing up with their parents as living legends? And honestly, it’s NONE of thier faults. Not the parents, not the kids. None of them are perfect. The kids lived in thier parents shadows, the parents lived in the shadows of thier past. They did the best they could, and they raised AMAZING, human, caring, flawed kids.

I find this character study on family dynamics VERY interesting

[md84]

From what little we've seen of Katara it seems like she was a decent parent. Then again, she had a lot of practice. She was a mother figure to her brother Sokka after their mother's death and later she was Team Mom.

I think Zuko might have been okay as a parent too. I can imagine him trying his hardest to be the complete opposite of his father. Which, unlike in Toph's case, is fine since his father had no redeeming qualities as a parent (burning your own son's face in public to "teach him respect" is rather beyond the pale).

[seisachtheia]

Yes, thank you, I think you've nailed it. So many people on tumblr seem to equate "flawed parents" with "terrible parenting".

I suspect part of the thing is that tumblr skews pretty young. I think as you get older, you get more comfortable with the idea of loving and feeling gratitude towards your parents, while also recognizing the ways they are flawed and may have messed up sometimes.

[amaniwolf]

I've been enjoying this new season of Korra, mostly because of...well....anything other then Korra. Not saying i hate her as she has gotten better, but i find the other stuff way more interesting. My only problem is with the big bad, how does someone who wasn't an Air Bender suddenly start bending like a pro and whipping people who've been Benders for years and years? Seems too much for someone new to their ability. I seriously hope we see Toph, i miss her.

[shadowpsykie]

popular opinion is that he was an air acolyte who felt rejected by Aang when Tenzin was born.

[shadowpsykie]

one more thing.... somthign that that Satrou says.... "I thought you didn't have a family" not "I thought you didn't have children."....

anyone else feeling that after Toph left, her mother left her father?

[thezmage]

My first thought, when Lynne blamed her sister for ruining their family, was that she was the product of an affair on Toph's part.