Sokka is a fictional character in Nickelodeon's animated television series Avatar: The Last Airbender and its sequel series The Legend of Korra, and is part of the Avatar: The Last Airbender world. The character, created by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko, is voiced by Jack DeSena in the original series and by Chris Hardwick in the sequel series. He is a warrior of the Water Tribe and the son of Chief Hakoda and Kya. In the live-action film adaptation, he is portrayed by Jackson Rathbone, while in the live-action television series adaptation, he is portrayed by Ian Ousley. In the original series, fifteen-year-old Sokka is a warrior of the Southern Water Tribe, a nation where some people are able to telekinetically manipulate, or "bend", water. He, along with his younger sister Katara, discovers an Airbender named Aang, the long-lost Avatar, and accompanies him to defeat the imperialistic Fire Nation and bring peace to the war-torn nations. Unlike his companions, Sokka is a non-bender, but as the show progresses, he masters swordplay and proves himself to be a worthy and intelligent strategist. Being a non-bender, Sokka uses different weapons such as his boomerang and machete; and eventually a jian sword to combat enemies.
Conception and creation In the Avatar Nick Mag Presents: First Edition issue by co-creators Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko, stated that Sokka was originally designed as a minor figure, but when his comedian voice actor Jack DeSena brought liveliness to his character, they began to emphasize this quality. As a result of his design, Sokka's character is a source of comic relief throughout the series, often a victim of visual comedy. Among various running gags involving Sokka are his immersion in viscous substances, such as raw sewage, slurry, phlegm, prickly pear cactus juice, or saliva; and forgetting that Toph is blind. Sokka also has a tendency to produce or at times laugh at jokes shared by no other character. In "Tales of Ba Sing Se", Sokka's name was written as 索卡, whereof Suǒ (索) means 'to search', 'to demand', 'to ask', 'exact', or 'isolated' and Kǎ (卡) means 'to check', to block', or 'card'. The character for Kǎ also appears in Katara's name.
Personality According to his sister Katara, Sokka was initially skeptical, abrasive, sexist, and immature but was always sharp-witted. Incapable of bending abilities himself, Sokka instead pursues martial arts, sciences, and engineering. He is intelligent, resourceful, and at times he even proves to be quite scholarly. Sokka’s father, the chief of the southern water tribe, was absent for much of his childhood, which left Sokka with a sense of responsibility and a desire to prove himself. However, he is often clumsy and sometimes mistaken. Despite his flaws, he is loving, brotherly, and protective. He holds little interest in the mysticism of bending and prefers to rely on his strength and wits. He tends to be rash, and his arrogance often leads to embarrassment, as during a haiku contest when, in his last verse of his song, he included too many syllables. Even though Sokka finds himself a victim of embarrassment, he has the capability to apologize and seek resolution to prevent further moments of embarrassment from occurring. This capability is evident from his sincere apology to the Kyoshi Warriors, an all-female group, for his chauvinistic opinions in the fourth episode of Book One. As an advocate of human carnivorism, Sokka is the main hunter in the group; often makes dry-witted jokes or abrasive remarks; and accordingly once describes himself as "the meat and sarcasm guy". Once stuck in a pit created by himself (proving Aunt Wu's prediction true), he claims to give up that skill and calls himself the "vegetarian and straight-talk fellow". Under the guidance of swordmaster Piandao, Sokka displays various unorthodox procedures when undergoing his training; such that Piandao relates that though Sokka's skills were unimpressive, he displayed much creativity, versatility, and intelligence. These traits led Piandao to consider Sokka a worthy swordsman despite his lack of traditional skill, stating that it was Sokka’s creativity and adaptability that truly defined him. As part of his unconventional approach, Sokka substituted traditional calligraphy practice with painting his face and imprinting onto parchment to express his “identity on the page.” As a rule, most or all of the foregoing characteristics appear as sources of comic relief. After the failure of his Fire Nation invasion plan, Sokka attempted to restore his honor by risking his life to rescue his father from a highly secure prison known as 'the Boiling Rock'.
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