One of the many reasons “Avatar: The Last Airbender” became so popular is its colorful collection of memorable characters. With its blend of episodic and serialized storytelling, we not only get incredible character arcs that build over several episodes or even across seasons, but also a myriad of smaller characters who appear briefly, but make incredibly long-lasting impressions. Characters like the Cabbage Merchant, whose single line was so popular that he became a recurring gag, or the bard group whose hot single “Secret Tunnel” became a fan favorite.
Netflix’s live-action remake of “Avatar: The Last Airbender” suffers from many issues. Key amongst them is trying to hit every single memorable moment and character from the cartoon — even if they happen at the wrong time and end up failing important stories from the original. Often, the inclusion of small characters slows down momentum and comes across as distracting. But sometimes, the show does justice to the original, and perfectly captures characters so cartoony they should not work in live-action.
Such is the case of the funniest character from “Avatar: The Last Airbender,” known simply as The Boulder.
We meet the Boulder (played by Kelemete Misipeka) in the second episode of Season 2 when Team Avatar goes seeking for an Earthbending teacher for Aang. They come across a wrestling arena where The Boulder is obliterating his enemies — until he is utterly humiliated by Toph (Miya Cech). He is huge, he refers to himself in the third person, and he is utterly hilarious. He is the Boulder, and he’s the best thing about “Avatar: The Last Airbender” Season 2.
The Boulder is still a legend in the ring in Avatar: The Last Airbender
“Avatar: The Last Airbender” is a very cartoony show. It grabs inspiration not only from the physical comedy of classic “Looney Tunes” cartoons, but also anime, with the characters’ eyes growing comically big, their arms becoming rubber, and their faces capable of doing impossible expressions. But the Boulder is something else entirely.
Clearly inspired by Dwayne Johnson’s time as The Rock, the Boulder is a professional wrestler who always refers to himself in the third person (as Johnson used to do back in the day), but with the bravado and absurd confidence of ’80s Hulk Hogan. The Boulder serves an important narrative function, of course, as he is meant to represent hubris and also showcase the different ways a person can flex their power through bending. The Boulder is a big, hulking guy who uses bending as sheer strength, a showman and an athlete. But the moment he meets Toph, the Boulder is simply unable to keep up with her incredible yet more subtle bending.
The producers of “Avatar: The Last Airbender” reportedly tried to get the real Rock to voice the character (via the Bending the Elements podcast). When that didn’t pan out, the character was voiced by Mick Foley, also known as Cactus Jack, a wrestling legend. According to Foley, it helped that he could do a pretty decent imitation of the Rock.
The Boulder’s initial appearance is hilarious because it brings wrestling to the world of “Avatar.” There’s a theatricality to the Boulder that we don’t see in any of the other characters. It elevates the silly dialogue and makes it almost larger-than-life — before he is immediately taken down a notch or three by Toph.
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