There are few shows with as many lovable characters as Avatar: The Last Airbender. From Aang to Sokka to Zuko to Katara to Toph to Iroh, the cast is filled with some of the most enjoyable heroes in any animated series. Each character is granted an arc of their own that really helps define and develop them into the heroes they are.
Yet, some characters aren't nearly as lovable. In fact, some deserve derision as opposed to respect. Given their atrocious actions and despicable goals, many fans deem them unredeemable. That's why fans on the site Ranker put together a list of the most hatable characters in Avatar: The Last Airbender.
Warden
The warden of the Boiling Rock prison facility, there are few more despicable and certainly few more hated by the fans. Having imprisoned beloved heroes like Zuko, Suki, and Sokka, he earned disdain, but that alone wouldn't make fans hate him. After all, someone has to run a prison.
But it's the warden's arrogance and iration of his own facility that pushes him over the line. His insistence that none can escape Boiling Rock moves him from villain to sheer annoyance. After enough instances, most fans were hoping the heroes would escape just to prove him wrong, and rightfully so.
Warden Poon
The warden of the Capital City Prison and the man in charge of keeping Iroh imprisoned, fans have little love for Poon. A man who did little besides insult Iroh — a character with Avatar — Poon earned as little respect as he offered his prisoners.
Poon was also largely incompetent, having not noticed that Iroh was more than just a bumbling old fool. Iroh was conditioning himself the whole while, while Poon was mocking him. It's what helps make it such a good moment when Iroh absolutely demolishes Poon in a fight, proving once and for all who the stronger fighter really is.
Yon Rha
The man who killed the mother of Sokka and Katara, Yon Rha is a man who was willing to orphan two children just to rid the Southern Water Tribe of all waterbenders. Setting aside that he was trying to destroy all traces of a major part of the Tribe's culture, the fact that he was allowed to peacefully retire is something most fans consider deeply unfair.
To make matters worse, Yon Rha was willing to sacrifice his own mother in the hopes that Katara wouldn't kill him, even after she decided not to take revenge. It's a deplorable act from a pathetic man, and it's a major reason why fans think of Yon Rha as a truly hatable character.
Fire Lord Sozin
The man who helped kill Avatar Roku and who started the One Hundred Year War by slaughtering the Air Nomads, Fire Lord Sozin is one of the most hated characters in Avatar. Though fans don't get the chance to see much from Sozin, each scene he appears in only makes him more hatable than the last.
Though his earliest flashbacks show him as a kind man who s his friend, the Avatar, those scenes only make his later actions more despicable. To betray a friend that dear to him that easily, just so he can commit the worst action in the history of the show? There isn't any coming back from that, and it's why the fans hate Sozin so much.
General Fong
A man determined to win the war at any cost, General Fong was willing to use any means necessary to stop the Fire Nation's advance. Unfortunately, with the Avatar in his custody, that meant resorting to some unsavory methods to get Aang to grow as powerful as he possibly could.
Given that the episode Fong attacked Aang was one of the saddest moments in Avatar, fans have few positive things to say about General Fong. Having been convinced that Katara was dead, Aang slipped into the Avatar State in a fit of pure grief and rage. He could have seriously hurt someone, if not for Katara's intervention, and that's a fact that makes fans utterly despise Fong.
Ozai
The monster who intended to raze the Earth Kingdom, Ozai was both Fire Lord of the Fire Nation and the Phoenix King. A horrible father, a worse husband, and an even worse ruler, Ozai sought to conquer the whole of the world to bring it under the rule of the Fire Nation.
In his most terrifying moments, Ozai seemed like he would actually get his way. By scarring his son, usurping the throne, and nearly killing Avatar Aang, he earned the absolute ire of Avatar fans everywhere. But it's his treatment of his wife — forcing her to kill Azulon and then banishing her — that truly set him over the edge, compared to other villains in the series. Not to mention that his parenting drove Azula to the brink.
iral Zhao
The man who killed the moon, iral Zhao was a dedicated member of the Fire Nation who sought to capture the Avatar and bring glory to his nation. Having made himself a personal enemy of Zuko, he featured often early on in the series and showed his cruel nature and disregard for civilians along the way.
Having attempted to rid the world of waterbending entirely, Zhao planned to utterly destroy an entire people's culture and way of life. With little care for the Water Tribes or for the Spirit World, he was willing to do whatever it took to win the war, even if it made him a monster for all eternity. It makes him one of the worst people in the show's history, and he certainly left his mark on the fanbase.
Long Feng
Just as there is no war in Ba Sing Se, there is no man more hated there than Long Feng. The leader of the Dai Li, and a man more powerful than the Earth King, Long Feng is known for his manipulative nature, oppressive politics, and cruelty to the people of Ba Sing Se.
One of the best villains in Avatar, Long Feng truly earned the hatred of every Avatar fan by holding Appa captive and offering Aang to Azula. His betrayal of the Earth King's trust led to the fall of Ba Sing Se and the conversion of the Dai Li to Azula's side. Not to mention that he often brainwashed people, which made him an even more disgusting figure.
Haru's Betrayer
After Haru's village was conquered by the Fire Nation, many villagers were swiftly imprisoned — except the undiscovered Haru, who secretly practiced one of Avatar's most powerful bending techniques: earthbending. He managed to keep his abilities a secret until he saved an old man from a rock slide. Though he saved the man's life, he found himself betrayed as the old man reported him to the Fire Nation.
It takes a special kind of monster to retaliate against a man that saved their life, and it's why so many fans hold such vitriol against this old man. It led to Haru's arrest and kidnapping, and the old man should never have done it. Without Haru's help, he would have died in that rock slide, but he betrayed him anyway in an utterly appalling show of betrayal.
Circus Trainer
While most animated shows depict circuses as upbeat places filled with fond memories and colorful characters, Avatar took a very different route. Instead, the Fire Nation's traveling circus features a firebender who delighted in tormenting and breaking down each of the animals in his care.
After Appa was captured, the unnamed circus trainer whipped and starved the flying bison, rather than showing him the love and care that he had grown used to from Aang. It was a traumatic experience for Appa, and it's one that made most fans absolutely despise the circus trainer. After all, hurting animals is a line even villains just shouldn't cross — especially animals as lovable as Appa.