Okay this might just be the most far-fetched theory I’ve ever come up with and there’s no actual proof that this happened but just…hear me out okay?
Let’s present the facts before I present the actual theory:
We know that Iroh is fairly old, definitely older than Ozai as indicated both by his hair color and the fact that he’s the first-born son and should have been the heir to the throne.
Speaking of that throne, the Fire Nation royal family looks like this:
Sozin —> Azulon (Father of Ozai/Iroh) —> Ozai and Iroh —> Zuko and Azula
Meaning that Sozin, the man who started the war, is only two generations ahead of Iroh. He’s Iroh’s grandfather.
We also know that Sozin was in his eighties the first time the comet came around. I’m just saying — he was old. So it stands to reason that his son, Azulon, would have been an adult during this time. Meaning it’s entirely possible that his wife couldhave been old enough to give birth to Iroh during this time.
Now that would make Iroh 100 years old during the series which seems completely insane but remember something important: People grow to insanely old ages in Avatar!
Proof:
Kyoshi: Died at 150
Bumi: Is 112 and still a badass
Sozin: Died at 102
Guru Pathik: His age is unknown but he was a Gyatso’s friend/confidant so he has to be over 100.
We also know that Iroh was fit both physically, mentally, and spiritually so yeah this guy could have definitely been 100 years old during the series.
Okay so we’ve established the fact that Iroh could have theoretically been born 100 years before the series began. Who cares?
I do. Because I don’t just think that he was born roughly 100 years before the series began. I think that Iroh was born during a very specific moment.
And before I outright state the theory, I want to remind you all of the most important factor here: The World of Avatar is centered around the theme of reincarnation.
So hear me out:
Nobody likes thinking about what happened during the Fire Nation’s invasions of the Air Temples (unless you’re @tashiandnima in which case you write an entire amazing comic about it; seriously go read it). But as painful as it is, we have to think about the invasion for this theory.
We know that there was one fateful day when a comet shot across the sky and Sozin used the resulting power to send his armies to the Air Temples in order to wipe the airbenders out. So just imagine that.
Imagine the monks all fighting to the best of their ability (they’re pacifists after all; they didn’t have an army).
Imagine Gyatso taking down dozens of soldiers but eventually being killed himself.
And imagine, hundreds of miles away, at that exact moment, Prince Azulon’s son is born.
Yep.
My theory is that
This kind, spiritual, and lovable teacher/father-figure:
Was reincarnated into this kind, spiritual, and lovable teacher/father-figure:
(Hey, Bryke originally wanted Gyatso to be reincarnated into Momo and I frankly think this does his character a lot more justice.)
Which suddenly puts a whole new spin on this scene:
