| "HA! Obviously, you can't handle it when things get a little too hot!'" |
| — Aang alluding to the way in which Katara avoids speaking about their kiss. |
Template:Comic infobox"Love Is a Battlefield" is a comic book that takes place in Book Three: Fire, originally released by Nickelodeon Magazine and later released by Dark Horse Comics in Avatar: The Last Airbender — The Lost Adventures.
Overview
At the Western Air Temple, Aang wishes to speak to Katara about the kiss the two had shared during the Day of Black Sun, but she is hesitant and pretends to have no idea what he is talking about.
Synopsis
Katara, who walked up to him from behind, makes her presence known to Aang just as he finishes drawing a heart in the dirt that symbolizes his love for Katara. He stands up abruptly and hides his sketch from the waterbender, saying he had not been doing anything until she appeared. When Katara mentions that there is something she wants to talk about, Aang responds that he has something important to say as well, though she quickly turns the tables by telling him to think fast and hurling a ball of water at him; she laughs heartily despite Aang's obvious irritation at her ruse. When Katara cuts him off, her word choice reminds him of their kiss during the invasion of the Fire Nation.
Since Aang stands in a daze while recalling this event, Katara takes her chance to douse Aang once more in an effort to make him practice his firebending, but he snaps out of his trance just in time to earthbend a fortress of rock around him that insulates him from the water. Katara berates Aang for doing so, reasoning that he is supposed to be practicing firebending for his battle with the Fire Lord, not playing games. Aang takes this offensively, returning that she is the one "playing games" and that he had hoped she wanted to talk about "what happened before the invasion". Katara pretends not to understand what he said and tells him to come out of his fortress and bring the heat. Upon another rebuttal from Aang concerning their relationship, the waterbender fumbles her words in an attempt to convey that Aang should be focused on defeating Ozai right now, not her.
Aang answers Katara's demand to see fire with a large blast out of his earthen fortress.
Finally, wishing for Katara to stop badgering him and to leave him alone, Aang explodes from his fortress with a fiery explosion akin to a volcanic eruption. Once he has cooled down, Aang sees that Katara has hidden herself behind a pillar to defend from the flaming rocks. He asks her if she is okay, to which she answers that she is fine and that she wants him to attempt that "'volcano' move" again so they can show it to Zuko later. Aang leaves her there without a word, prompting her to ask him if he is afraid of burning her again. He responds that he is more fearful that he will be the one who gets burned this time, and slashes through the heart he drew in the dirt with his foot.
Production notes
Transcript
- Main article: Transcript:Love Is a Battlefield
Series continuity
- Aang's worry about having burned Katara with his firebending refers to a similar incident in "The Deserter", when he accidentally burned Katara's hands the first time he tried to firebend.
- The kiss Aang remembers occurred in "The Day of Black Sun, Part 1: The Invasion".
- Katara's reminder for Aang to practice his firebending references Zuko's instructions from "The Boiling Rock, Part 1", which involved a series of exercises for Aang to work on while he and Sokka journeyed to the Boiling Rock.
- Katara saying that Aang should not focus on her when he needs to be worried about the Fire Lord is the same excuse she uses in "The Ember Island Players", when she says that since there is a war going on, they cannot be together.
Trivia
- A "Not The End" notice appears in the final panel, instead of the conventional "The End" notice seen in other comics.