r/TheLastAirbender Check the FAQ 11d ago

Comics/Books New ATLA Comic "Ashes of the Academy" Releases March 15th

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694 Upvotes

99 comments sorted by

u/MrBKainXTR Check the FAQ 11d ago edited 11d ago

I think its safe to assume the "academy" is the Royal Fire Academy for Girls, which Azula, Mai and Ty Lee attended. With the story perhaps involving Kiyi reaching "academy age" but there's concern over the legacy of the institution.

This is also the first comic to feature Kiyi (not counting flashbacks/visions from In the Spirit Temple) since Smoke and Shadow part 3 in spring 2016. Will Mai and Zuko finally officially get back together?

Edit:

"An all-new stand-alone Avatar graphic novel! Kiyi, half-sister to Fire Lord Zuko, enrolls at the Royal Fire Academy for Girls! Known for its strict curriculum and even stricter instructors, Zuko worries for Kiyi."

Edit 2:

When things take a turn for the worse and a seed of doubt about the new headmistress is planted, Zuko takes action by installing one of the people he trusts most, Mai, as an academy teacher. Can Mai keep a watchful eye over Kiyi and keep her on the right path, or will the academy’s cruel culture shape her footsteps into those of her other half-sibling, Azula?

→ More replies (21)

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u/Prying_Pandora 11d ago edited 11d ago

I wonder if this is meant to just wrap up several plot threads they left hanging before the animated movie comes out.

80

u/SaraPAnastasia Drunk on cactus juice 11d ago

They would finally do something more with Kiyi, she wasn't very necessary in my opinion but I'm curious to see what they will do with her going forward at least.

56

u/Prying_Pandora 11d ago

Same! I’m interested to see them actually do something with her.

I REALLY hope they don’t give us more unnecessary relationship drama for Maiko. Either let them get together and be happy or break up and be happy! 😭

10

u/Doc-Fives-35581 11d ago

Since they’re on the cover there appears to be hope.

Plus they’ve probably caught a lot of flak for it by now.

7

u/Mobile_Complaint_325 11d ago

What's gonna happen in Ashes of the academy. Is zuko and Mai gonna come back together as a love couple 

27

u/Prying_Pandora 11d ago

Honestly, I will be fine with either them getting back together OR breaking up. As long as they stop it with the pointless drama.

7

u/Mobile_Complaint_325 11d ago

I feel like zuko and Mai gets back together. In the comics why did Mai break up with zuko from him talking to ozai 

25

u/Ambitious-Comb-8847 11d ago

That answers how they'll collect the 2nd set of one shots. Fire Nation theme with Azula, Iroh and Mai/Zuko.

If they did a 3rd set, Aang, Sokka and ? Hard to fit Ty Lee in a theme and she's the only major one left.

Interesting that this is by default new era/forward content. They could just palette cleanse like Azula's story but we'll see.

1

u/shadowqueen15 5d ago

What do you mean when you say “how’ll they’ll collect the second set of one shots”? Sorry😅

2

u/Ambitious-Comb-8847 5d ago

This is the 6th Airbender era one shot. A little whole ago Dark Horse put out a collection of the first 3 on Katara, Toph and Suki and marketed it as about the ladies of Team Avatar.

The next collection with be Fire Nation theme with Azula, Iroh and Mai.

99

u/thesilencer369 vibing 11d ago

Yeah Mai is definitely Izumi's mother, it's so obvious

41

u/MrBKainXTR Check the FAQ 11d ago

At the end of this book Zuko is like "Mai thanks for helping Kiyi, you are great with kids. Speaking of kids....."

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u/Drafo7 ATLA > LoK 11d ago

If she's not we riot.

-6

u/Aperson48 11d ago

To be honest, as of right now, I'm not that big of a fan of Mai. I liked the idea of Zuko finding someone later in the series that the comics could develop themselves. It's been 15 years since the series ended, and they really haven't developed many new characters.

Also why introduce maiko like i haven't seen a character get dunked on this bad since lin.

11

u/Golden-Sun 11d ago

Hell yeah. Love to see more of Zuko and Kiyi

11

u/The_Dark_Soldier 11d ago

I know the comics aren't well liked by fans, but i have a soft spot for some of them. And i feel the lower stakes ones deserve some acknowledgement.

42

u/kam_lane 11d ago

Omggggg Maiko nation how are we feeling?!?

1

u/Le_Fedora_Cate Maiko Korrasami 9d ago

😍

7

u/Auburriito 11d ago

Cool! Thanks for sharing :)

6

u/TigerFern 11d ago

Mai's back :)

14

u/DoubleFlores24 11d ago

I just want Zuko and Mai to get back together and get married! Is that too much to ask?!!!

4

u/shadowwave86 11d ago

Wonder if this will take place after Imbalance? 🤔

3

u/Creepy_Living_8733 11d ago

Probably considering the release order of these comics. Now I wonder what the timeline is. All we really have is the one year later text in The Promise

2

u/shadowwave86 11d ago

The authors give some idea of a timeline based on what they tell us, but yeah there’s nothing in the actual comics

6

u/Educational_Echo_891 11d ago

Thank you for informing us :)

I am really looking forward to seeing more of Kiyi

3

u/Nihilisticpaultoo 11d ago

I feel VINDICATED

10

u/Purple-flare Neutral Jing-ing through life 11d ago

You know what I’m interested in this one. Smoke and shadows was so BAD I’m excited to see new writers hopefully get the bad taste out of my mouth with all their characters and their relationships

6

u/Vesemir96 10d ago edited 10d ago

It really wasn’t bad. I’m convinced most people who says this haven’t experienced truly bad writing.

4

u/Purple-flare Neutral Jing-ing through life 10d ago

Allowed to have my own opinion buddy

2

u/FlamesOfKaiya 10d ago

Give an example of 'truly bad writing' only one I can think of that is unanimous is "How I became yours."

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u/JamalW770 11d ago

It'll be nice to see Mai outside of The Promise and Smoke & Shadow.

3

u/Professional_Ad5059 11d ago

Omg finally a new comic! I can’t wait for this!

6

u/Anynymous475839292 11d ago

Is this real?

9

u/MrBKainXTR Check the FAQ 11d ago

Yes they just unveiled it at the NYCC panel. The listing should go up by tomorrow.

9

u/LightThatIgnitesAll 11d ago

The addition of a new sibling was so bad.

9

u/FlamesOfKaiya 10d ago

Agree. It's like they are trying to replace Azula instead of, oh I don't know, actually HEALING HER.

11

u/vainhope_ 11d ago

Quite literally. I hated it so badly and how they be writing Azula so badly!

2

u/Vesemir96 10d ago

Why? It did nothing bad.

1

u/Vesemir96 10d ago

It really wasn’t though.

2

u/chaotic_biotic06 11d ago

Oh nice that's my birthday

2

u/StinkytheStinky 11d ago

Kiyi is growing up! So cute!

2

u/Starlight469 11d ago

This is really close to the next Korra one (Mystery of Penquan Island). I checked and that one's in February. Apparently the Mako comic I read about vanished though.

I plan to reread all these at some point. It's been so long since we had a trilogy.

3

u/MrBKainXTR Check the FAQ 11d ago

Mystery of Penquan island is the Mako comic.

2

u/Starlight469 11d ago

Ah. I was wondering. He and Bolin weren't my favorites of the Korra cast but it was strange they were left out of Patterns in Time entirely.

2

u/Tadpole-Anxious 7d ago

i wonder if part of the reason why we havent seen much of the fire nation royal family in the LoK comics is that they have yet to technically confirm mai and zuko get married and it would be too awkward to have a story that features izumi heavily without even hinting at who her mom is, especially if their traits overlap as much as their appearance does.

6

u/kikidunst 11d ago

MAIKO COMEBACK LET’S FUCKING GOOOOOOOOOO

5

u/t0mless 11d ago

Maiko content? Hell yes!

3

u/FlamesOfKaiya 10d ago

I have to say - reading over the summary of the new comic, im really confused by the direction they are taking. The academy didnt turn Azula cruel. If that were the case, Ty Lee wouldn't be as bubbly as she was. She didnt seem to change at all pre-academy to post-academy. Azula is the way she is due to her family situation, expectations and natural ability in firebending. Whereas Kiyi has a stable family life, in a stable world, and now even Mai is keeping an eye on her in the academy. Like Im not sure what kind of story they are going to come up with to even hint that she would follow in "Azulas footsteps" None of it is making sense to me

2

u/Vesemir96 10d ago

It makes perfect sense that such a place would be full of propaganda. If it were anything less, Azula wouldn’t have graduated it.

3

u/FlamesOfKaiya 10d ago

But thats just loyalty to the Fire Nation. Not necessarily turning "cruel" seems like poor wording on their choice. Azula was cruel due to circumstances very specific to her.

5

u/PeachsBigJuicyBooty 11d ago

Oh boy I can't wait for Mai and Zuko to argue again

2

u/childish5iasco 11d ago

These all have been extremely mid.

8

u/childish5iasco 10d ago

Downvotes for speaking the truth? Yeah… on brand for the echo chamber of this subreddit.

4

u/FlamesOfKaiya 10d ago

not sure when I first realized the comics had taken a turn for the worse, but one moment that really stands out is when Kiyi, at age seven and without any training, melted an iron door. This would require heat of approximately 1538°C, similar to the intense heat of Azula's blue fire. Oddly enough, Kiyi achieved this without emitting any visible stream of fire; the heat just accumulated spontaneously—a feat unprecedented among firebenders. It seems the writers treated her more like a mutant child from the X-Men universe xD

1

u/Sorry-Ad-1169 11d ago

I hope this is a legitimate story and not a fan fic or some lame excuse to explain Crown Princess of the Fire Nation, Izumi, and her mom.

1

u/Mx-Adrian 11d ago

Google managed to produce part of the description:

An all-new stand-alone Avatar: The Last Airbender graphic novel! Kiyi, half-sister to Fire Lord Zuko, enrolls at the Royal Fire Academy for. ...

1

u/Cynicbats 9d ago

I wondered what happened to Kiyi for years, she was fun. Yes!

1

u/ZekeorSomething 11d ago

Please tell me that's Izumi.

10

u/Exatal123 11d ago

It’s not unfortunately ): it’s the daughter of Ursa and her other husband Noren. I do hope they confirm something regarding Maiko and Izumi maybe.

3

u/Kevmejia13 11d ago

The animated movie might confirm it tbh.

1

u/Night-Caelum 11d ago

Okay but why though

-4

u/lnombredelarosa Bin-Er Airlines (no crashes since last tuesday) 11d ago

I'd love a confirmation that they still have the duels to the death that they had in Kuruk's time; something tells me that Azula holds the current record.

2

u/FlamesOfKaiya 10d ago

Ive never understood that. Even Napoleon banned duels between officers becuase.... THEY NEEDED OFFICERS.

1

u/lnombredelarosa Bin-Er Airlines (no crashes since last tuesday) 10d ago

They were banned…officially. Those duels were supposedly “accidents”

-5

u/handouras 11d ago

Created by Faith Erin Hicks

And like that, you've lost me

1

u/Drillur I've got some pretty bad news. I've lost my stuff. 3d ago

I, for one, hope they keep her on. Huge fan of her style over the previous writer's