Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender

Thirteen years after the end of the Hundred Year War, Avatar Aang and his friends continue in their mission to rebuild the world by establishing Republic City as a home for people of all nations. While returning artifacts to the desolate Southern Air Temple, Aang is ambushed and injured by the Denied, a group of non-bending warriors searching for a relic tied to the mysterious Avatar Sonam. Although Aang repels their attack and saves the temple, the Denied escape with a map recovered from the Sonam relic. Aang travels to Republic City to warn his girlfriend and appointed Council Representative, Katara.

Concerned about the future of the Air Nomads as the last surviving airbender, Aang consults his past lives. Avatar Xian reveals to Aang that Sonam was a forgotten Avatar whose staff could channel the energy of the Spirit World and grant its wielder immense power. Believing the Denied seek the staff, Aang takes off and asks Katara via letter to gather their friends—Sokka, now living in the Southern Water Tribe; Toph, who trains earthbenders; and Fire Lord Zuko, ruler of the Fire Nation—and meet him at the staff's last known location atop Mount Baihu.

At the top of the mountain, Aang discovers the frozen body of an airbender. After rescuing him, the group learns he is Tagah, a former non-bender whom Sonam granted airbending through her staff. Tagah persuades the group to accompany him to an island surrounded by a cyclone where the staff is said to rest. As Aang is taught a forgotten airbending technique by Tagah, he begins to hope that the Air Nomads can one day be restored. Although Tagah shares this vision, he expresses resentment toward the other bending nations. The Denied launch a surprise attack on the group's airship and Tagah retaliates, nearly killing them. As they fly through the cyclone, Aang and Tagah airbend a path through the storm and the rest of the group work to fix the airship. Noting Tagah's ruthless methods and the dangerous mission, Katara pleads with Aang to abandon his pursuit of the staff, but he dismisses her concerns, prioritizing his desire for the staff over the safety of his friends.

On the island, Aang retrieves the staff by wielding all four elements. Tagah follows but is stopped and confronted by Katara. Revealing his true intentions, he attacks and kills the group, including Aang, and steals the staff and Appa with the plan to use its power to restore what he believes to be Air Nomad supremacy. After Tagah departs, Sonam's spirit appears to Aang in an alternate realm and reveals that she hid the staff and imprisoned Tagah after he became consumed by trauma and hatred for non-airbenders. Landing in a pool of spirit water, Katara revives herself from Tagah's assault and then revives the others, allowing the group to pursue him through the Spirit World to Republic City.

The group finds Republic City under attack by the Denied, whom Tagah granted airbending through the staff. While his friends battle the invaders, Aang confronts Tagah and reclaims the staff. Enraged by Tagah's accusations that he failed to protect the Air Nomads, Aang briefly succumbs to a corrupted Avatar State that threatens to consume him. Before delivering a fatal blow, memories of Monk Gyatso restores Aang's resolve and he instead destroys Sonam's staff. Its destruction strips the Denied of their airbending and causes Tagah to fade away. Before disappearing, Tagah is persuaded by Aang to forgive himself, which leads Aang to forgive himself as well.

In the aftermath, Aang begins building a new Air Temple near Republic City. Speaking with Sonam's spirit, he concludes that the true legacy of the Air Nomads lies not in power but in their values, which can be passed on to future generations. Aang and his friends welcome a new group of Air Acolytes, including Kallik, a former member of the Denied. Together, they discover a surviving herd of sky bison, which Aang recognizes as the "original airbenders".