Despite being afranchiseabout element-bending teenagers fighting to end wars, bothAvatar: The Last Airbender as well asThe Legend of Korraput a fair amount of emphasis on families. Fathers, in particular, play a prominent role in the storyline, often influencing their children for better or for worse. However, the franchise boasts an abnormally huge roster of fathers that just dropped the ball when itcame to how they handled their children.

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Below are ten of the worst fathers in thefranchise who not only remained ignorant of their child's emotions during a crucial time of their youthful development, but even exercised violence against their children, scarring their bodies just as much as their minds.

Hakoda wasn't a terrible guy. After leaving his family to lead the Southern Water Tribe'sfight against the Fire Nation, he embodies sacrifice. Unfortunately for him, part of being a good father is being aware of your child's feelings, and as Book 3's first episode showed, he wasn'tawareof the tensionthat existed between he and Katara until she blatantly spelled it out for him.

Most fans can easily understand Katara's frustration: Hakoda left his children for years without even returning home for a visit, nor did he even write home.Nobody can blame Hakoda for leaving, but he could've made more of an effort to remain in his daughter's life.

Lao Beifong meant well for Toph, but he put her in a box that she was forced to conform to by only viewing her through the lens of her inability to see. He stated that she was weak and helpless, which meant that despite being her father, he never picked up on the fact that his daughter was one of the greatest Earthbenders of all time.

He restricted her freedoms and kept her hidden from the world, which was why she didn't think twice about traveling the world with Aang, Katara, and Sokka. Sure,Lao only wanted to protect her at the end of the day, but overprotective parents never lead to a child with a healthy social life.

After Tonraq's past, as well as the Red Lotus's previous attempt on Korra's life, it makes sense that her father would remain so protective of his only child. Still, due to Tonraq deciding for her, Korra was forced to remain in the Southern Water Tribe for her Avatar training instead of traveling the world like other Avatars before her, depriving her of the autonomy that a young woman like her, especially one who's destined to serve as a bridge between two worlds, should possess.

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After their falling out throughout Book 2, he did his best to become one of Korra's most reliable supporters, aiding her in battles against the Red Lotus and remainingastable emotional pillar for herafter her fight with Zaheer.

The Mechanist did everything he could to give his son, Teo, a good life, but he did so at the cost of deceiving him, along with everyone else who lived with him at the Northern Air Temple by giving his inventions to the Fire Nation. Compared to some other names on her though, The Mechanist is a saint.

InThe Legend of Korra's Book 2, after being introduced to his oldest child, Bumi, and his only daughter, Kya, fans, as well as Tenzin, were forced to face the harsh truth that Aang wasn't a perfect father. After the Hundred Year War's conclusion, Aang still remained the only Airbender in existence, so it makes sense that an Airbending child would quickly become his top priority, since this washis part to play toin order to rebuild his culture. Tenzin was his only Airbending child, and Bumi and Kya revealed that Aang barely spent time with them while he essentially spoiled Tenzin with years of quality time and world travel.

Aang wasn't malicious to his other children; he merely showed more affection to the one that was the most similar to him. This was a hard pill to swallow for everyone involved and definitely made a lot of fans look at the selfless monk they'd met back inAvatara bit differently. Aang might be one of the greatest Avatars tohave ever lived, but it's clear that he fell short when it came to being a dad.

At first glance, Hiroshi Sato seemed like he'd be a great ally toTeam Avatar. WhentheFire Ferrets found themselves lacking the cash they needed to compete in Republic City's Pro-bending Tournament, he graciously sponsored them, butall this was negated when his more hateful, vengeful side was revealed. He was an Equalist who used hisbrillianceto aid Amon's movement and was justly locked up for the damage to Republic City he caused.

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He redeemed himself in everyone's eyesaftersacrificing himself to carve an opening into Kuvira's giant mecha suit, giving Korra, Bolin, Mako, Lin, and Suyin the opening they needed to get inside anddo some real damage, proving that at the end of the day, Sato truly did want the best world for his daughter, whether he was in it or not.

Not much of Azulon was seen in the series, but that doesn't erase how terrifying he was in the scenes that he was featured in. Like any other Fire Lord before him, he was just as powerful as he was foreboding.

When Ozai attempted to usurp Iroh's birthright in a brazengrab for power, Azulon ordered Ozai to murder Zuko. Onlysomeone with a twistedmoral view would order his own son to kill his grandson, so it's no surprise why Ozai became such awicked, heartless man as well.

After Aang deprived Yakone of his Waterbending, he settled down in the Northern Water Tribe where he trained his sons in the art of Bloodbending. It became clear that he only saw his children as objects of his own personal revenge, and barely cared about the damage his training was doing to their psyches. He forced his own sons to Bloodbend one another, a feeling that no good father would ever want his children to experience.

He constantly put Tarrlok down due to his hesitance to Bloodbend at such a young age,showing that his respect for his sons only went as far as their Bloodbending prowess.While he gave up his quest for revenge after his oldest son ran away from home,the damage done to them remained long after he died.

Fire Lord Ozaitreated Zuko with contempt for much of his younger life, and instead gave Azula all his praise.When Zuko spoke out against a Fire Nation general's plans, Ozai's way of teaching him respect was to challenge him to a one-sided Agni Kai. Even if Zuko did stand and face his father, he wouldn't have won the battle. Despite his son pleading for forgiveness,Ozai didn't hesitate to permanently scar Zuko and banish him from the only place he called home.

It's because of Ozai that Zuko was filled withso much rage for most of the series.Fortunately for everyone, Ozai rightfully rotted in a cell not only for his role in the Hundred Year War, butalso for the terrible job he did as a father, especially given that his other child, Azula, turned out to be nothing short of a monster.

Unalaq makes everyone else on this list look like a saint. His attempt to become the Dark Avatar was a grasp for power that would've left his own children living in a world of darkness.Like Yakone, Unalaq only saw his children as tools to aid him in his exploits.

Whileattempting to open the Northern spirit portal,Eska was wounded by an unexpected backlash of energy.Although Desnawarned thathe needed a healer immediately, Unalaq didn't so much as look back at his son's injuries.And this was before a powerful spirit of darkness possessed him!

NEXT: Legend Of Korra: 10 Worst Things Korra Ever Did

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Lavell Nero is a lover of good films and stories that seek to challenge how we view the world around us. His goal is to go the extra mile and write articles that include extra tidbits of information that other sites often gloss over. When he's not watching his favorite TV shows and movies, he's either working as an active member of New York's TV scene, or playing the latest PS4 release.

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10 Worst Fathers In Avatar: The Last Airbender And The Legend of Korra - Screen Rant