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Cabbage Merchant

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Cabbage Merchant
Biographical information
Nationality Earth Kingdom
Physical description
Gender Male
Hair color Gray
Eye color Green
Personal Information
Enemies Team Avatar, people who destroy his cart
Chronological and political information
Profession

Merchant of cabbage

First Appearance

The King of Omashu

Voiced By James Sie

The Cabbage Merchant is an unlucky, recurring joke who can be found throughout the Earth Kingdom.

[edit] History

The Merchant's cart being destroyed

This unfortunate character is something of a recurring joke. He appears in many Earth Kingdom locales with his cart full of cabbages, which inevitably gets destroyed, usually by Aang when he's fleeing from a foe or some other situation, which causes him to yell the catchphrase "Agh! My cabbages!" His first appearance was in "The King of Omashu," when his cart was destroyed by a troop of overzealous Earthbending guards, only to be destroyed again by the Avatar and his companions when riding on the mail system and one final time in that episode by King Bumi and Aang while riding the mail system (once again).[1] Later, he is seen when his cart was destroyed by Aang when pirates were chasing him and his friends. He yells "This place is worse than Omashu!"[2] He is seen among the refugees fleeing to Ba Sing Se; while waiting to get on the ferry to the city, the ferry's security told him he couldn't bring his cabbages due to the risk of a Cabbage Slug infestation; and the cart was destroyed by a Platypus Bear. [3] He was last seen in Ba Sing Se, when a Rabbaroo ate his cabbages, to which he responded by exasperatedly saying "My cabba....Oh forget it," and walking off. He can later be seen in the background crying. [4] He is mentioned by Sokka in "The Ember Island Players" as a surprisingly knowledgeable merchant of cabbage, a source of information to the play. [5]

[edit] Trivia

  • The martial arts consultant of Avatar, Sifu Kisu, was originally going to be the Cabbage Merchant as his counterpart in the show. But eventually, the creators decided that the Cabbage Merchant was too tall.
  • In the episode "The King of Omashu" with "Avatar Extras" bonus commentary, one of the commentary bubbles stated that the Cabbage Merchant was meant to be a one time character. Meant only to appear in that episode. In that same episode with bonus commentary it was pointed out that the Merchant's Cabbages were destroyed at the front gate, but he was later seen with a cart full of cabbages, which were destroyed by Aang and his friends riding down the delivery chutes (although they could simply be different cabbages).
  • In "The Ember Island Players", Sokka mentions "a surprisingly knowledgeable merchant of cabbage" as a source on a poster for the play. This is a clear reference to the Cabbage Merchant, and his feelings towards Team Avatar's repeated "vandalism" of his cabbage cart.
  • In the episode "The Serpent's Pass", when the platypus bear destroys the cart, it is said by the creators that a Cabbage Slug can be seen if you slow the tape down between 05:10 and 05:11.
  • A cabbage stand can be seen destroyed in the unnamed Earth Kingdom town, in the flood initiated by Jet and his freedom fighters.


[edit] Footnotes