Netflix’s Avatar: The Last Airbender is finally here, and the show has been met with a resounding ‘meh’ from fans. It’s an adaptation, so it’s obviously going to directly take scenes from the original cartoon. However, you wouldn’t expect it to crib scenes from the 2011 DCEU film Man of Steel, but some Reddit users noticed that’s exactly what it did. See for yourself in the video below.
A side-by-side comparison of Netflix’s Avatar: The Last Airbender adaptation and Man of Steel show’s Aang talking to his mentor, Monk Gyatso, and a young Clark Kent talking to his adoptive Earth father, Jonathan Kent. Both conversations involve the father figure talking about how the kid has a “burden” to bear due to their power and the kid asking why they have to be different.
But the weirdest part is when Clark Kent asks, “can’t I keep pretending I’m your son,” and Aang asks, “can’t I keep pretending I’m your friend?”
Why The Copy Makes No Sense
Clark Kent’s question makes sense because Jonathan Kent is his adoptive father, and they’re hiding Clark’s abilities from the world. Aang’s question makes no sense at all because Aang, at least in the cartoon, was friends with Gyatso and was never under the impression that they were ‘pretending’ to be friends. Netflix’s Avatar: The Last Airbender adaptation has been accused of being a little clunky by fans, and this dialogue exchange is definitely a good example of this.
When Netflix announced its live-action adaptation of Avatar: The Last Airbender, skepticism was high, and expectations were extremely low. After the disaster of M. Night Shyamalan’s terrible film adaptation, fans were already feeling burned by any live-action attempts at the beloved franchise. Fans became especially wary when the creators of the original cartoon left Netflix’s project over creative differences.
While the production value of Netflix’s Avatar: The Last Airbender definitely brings the world of the franchise to life, fans and critics have expressed that the show does little to justify its existence
However, fans were hopeful when Netflix debuted a promising trailer for Avatar: The Last Airbender. The casting announcements were also solid, and the actors all seemed to fit their roles pretty well. But now the show is officially out in the ether, and reactions have been mixed at best.
While the production value of Netflix’s Avatar: The Last Airbender definitely brings the world of the franchise to life, fans and critics have expressed that the show does little to justify its existence. The cartoon is already perfect, so why should we make the effort to watch the live-action adaptation? It’s a valid question and one that is always posed anytime a live-action adaptation is announced.
The fact is that animation is an incredible medium, and the idea that cartoons and anime live-action adaptations are necessary is a little silly. While they can definitely be fun, they almost never live up to the original film or TV series. Sure, they can definitely be fun, like Netflix’s successful One Piece adaptation, but is the adaptation really better than watching the anime or reading the manga?
Will Netflix Give Avatar The Axe?
It’s hard to say if Netflix will give the green light for Season 2 of Avatar: The Last Airbender after this middling reception. Of course, like all Netflix shows, that decision will likely hinge on how many viewers the series gets. We’ll have to wait and see, but hopefully, there won’t be any more Man of Steel scenes in it if there is a Season 2.
