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I need you with me. And I need you to be strong, right now. Strong heart! Strong heart...
Jake to Neytiri.

Jake Sully (Na'vi name: Tsyeyk Suli)[2] is the protagonist of the first Avatar film and a major character in Avatar: The Way of Water. He is a 22 year old paraplegic Marine veteran at the start of the first film on Earth. Jake became one of the 20 known avatar drivers and later became a renegade after defecting to the Na'vi species after witnessing the RDA's greed and brutality against the Na'vi during the destruction of the Hometree. He was a war leader during the First and Second Pandoran Wars.

After his twin brother Tom was murdered, Jake replaced him in Grace Augustine's Avatar Program on Pandora, in which humans remotely control human/Na'vi hybrids to safely navigate the planet. Initially a SecOps guard for Grace's crew, he was later assigned to gather intel that would help Parker Selfridge and Colonel Quaritch force the Na'vi to leave Hometree, or destroy it if necessary, as the Na'vi occupation of Hometree was blocking the RDA's access to a very large deposit of unobtanium underneath. Jake learned the ways of the Na'vi hunters from Neytiri and fell in love with her. He was accepted into the Omatikaya clan and became Neytiri's mate. After bonding with the Na'vi, Jake abandoned his mission and no longer allied with the RDA. After becoming the sixth Toruk Makto, he led the Na'vi against the RDA during the Battle of Ayram Alusìng. After driving off most humans, Jake became a clan leader to honor Tsu'tey's dying wish.

Jake and Neytiri became the parents of three biological children (Neteyam, Lo'ak and Tuktirey), as well as an adopted daughter Kiri and an adopted human son Spider. However, the RDA returned and was determined to kill Jake due to him being a major war leader of The Resistance, which would greatly destroy Resistance morale and interrupt their plans. After the Omatikaya relocated to High Camp, Quaritch returned as a Recom and nearly killed Jake's children. For the safety of the clan and the children, Jake and his family left to take refuge with the Metkayina clan, learning their ways. Due to the kidnapping of their children, Jake and Neytiri fought side by side with the Metkayina against the RDA, eventually joining the Metkayina clan.

Biography[]

On Earth[]

Jake Sully was born on August 24, 2126[3][4] and raised on Earth. He grew up hearing about Pandora, a small moon orbiting the gas giant Polyphemus in the Alpha Centauri System and lived his childhood with his twin brother, Tommy. While Tommy was into studying, Jake was the more outgoing sibling. The brothers both enjoyed learning about myths and legends about heroes, with Jake being interested in Alexander the Great. Jake apparently did not have a fondness for high school, chemistry, or both, as he mentions he would ditch his high school chemistry classes.

He joined the Marines as an adult for the hardship involved and a cause to fight for. While in the Marines, Jake was promoted to the rank of Corporal and became an elite Recon Marine. He was then assigned to the Marine Corps First Reconnaissance Battalion, but later suffered a spinal injury in an unnamed war while fighting in Venezuela. The injury was severe, leaving him paralyzed from the waist down. While recovering in the VA hospital, he would often have strange recurring dreams of flying over a jungle, feeling free.

Jake's Apartment

Jake in his one-room apartment

By the year 2148, Earth's population was about 20 billion and its resources rapidly depleting, with pollution, famine, poverty and war. Jake lived in a cell-like dilapidated apartment in which his bedroom, bathroom and kitchen were one room. Jake's city recommended its citizens to wear masks to combat its air pollution; he also remarked that simply buying a basic cup of coffee has become ridiculously expensive. Since his veteran benefits were not enough to pay for the surgery to repair his spine due to a highly inflated economy, he was forced to use a wheelchair.

Lying in the alley

Jake lying in the rainy alleyway

After a night of drinking, Jake started a bar fight with a man who struck a woman. After breaking up the fight, the bouncers throw him out into their rainy alleyway and chuck his wheelchair at him. While staring up at the sky filled with the holograms and watching an aerial subway train pass by, he is approached by two RDA agents who confirm his identity and inform him that his identical twin brother, Tom, had been killed in a mugging.

At the municipal crematorium, Jake identifies his brother and laments his brother is gone forever due to someone wanting paper in his wallet. The agents explain his brother was one of the selected few scientists chosen to participate in the Avatar Program and one of even fewer avatar "drivers." Tom had trained on Earth for three years in preparation for a tour on Pandora and represented a significant investment on the part of the RDA due to the inherent link between the pilot and the avatar he controls, as well as the enormous cost of creating an avatar. Since Jake is genetically identical to his brother, he can link with the avatar, thereby saving the company the cost of creating a new one. After being offered significant compensation, he apprehensively agrees to take over his brother's contract and is put in cryosleep for the trip to Pandora.

Arrival on Pandora[]

Isvjakewakes

3D Version: red/cyancross-eyedJake wakes up from cryo on the ISV Venture Star

In 2154, after five years, nine months, and twenty-two days of travel, Jake awakens from cryosleep aboard the ISV Venture Star as it orbited above Pandora. Along with the other new arrivals, Jake disembarked from a Valkyrie shuttle at Hell's Gate, where he had his first contact with Pandora's hostile climate. Upon landing, Jake and the other passengers were briefed on the use of exopacks: personal rebreather units that filter the toxic Pandoran atmosphere. Exopacks were required for survival outside of internally pressurized RDA facilities.

When he entered the RDA facility, Jake meets Colonel Miles Quaritch, a seasoned ex-military officer who was in charge of Pandora's entire paramilitary defense force. In a security briefing for the newcomers, he explained to them all the dangers of Pandora, stressing that the biggest threat was an indigenous population of humanoids called the Na'vi. He made it clear that he was unwilling to tolerate any resistance from the Na'vi and had very little patience for the scientists working on the avatar project.

The Avatar Program[]

A1561

3D Version: red/cyancross-eyedJake sees his avatar for the first time

Jake met Norm Spellman, a biologist who arrived on the same rotation as he did and was also a friend of his brother. Jake was later introduced to Dr. Grace Augustine, a botanist as well as the leader of the Avatar Program. However, Grace was displeased with RDA administrator Parker Selfridge's decision to use Jake to replace his brother's avatar position, as she would have to spend time training him in Na’vi culture and language as well as teaching him how to control his avatar. Quaritch, however, saw this as a valuable opportunity and decided to take advantage of Jake's military training, giving him the task of finding out all he can about the Na'vi, pretending to be in league with the avatar team, and reporting his findings to the RDA. In return, Quaritch told Jake that if he succeeds, he will see to it that Jake gets the surgery needed to regain the use of his legs.

Returning to the link room with Norm, Jake was prepped by Grace to link with his avatar for the first time. When Jake first entered his avatar, he began to move about, trying to get a feel for his avatar. Realizing that he finally had the use of his legs for the first time in years, he immediately got up and starts trying to walk, much to the dismay and annoyance of the lab team. He was told to sit back down or he would be sedated, but he refused and headed for the exit. He ran from the lab, enjoying his first chance to do so since being paralyzed. He ended up at the Avatar Compound, where he met Grace's avatar. Grace was impressed by his motor reflexes, which were far above the standards expected of a first time avatar driver.

First Contact With Pandora[]

Jake and Thanator

3D Version: red/cyancross-eyedJake escaping from a thanator

Grace brought Norm and Jake (as security) on an expedition to retrieve samples of Pandoran flora. Trudy Chacón is their assigned pilot for the expedition along with Lyle Wainfleet serving as additional non-avatar security. Jake, Grace and Norm visited Grace's closed school. Upon seeing bullet holes in a wall, Jake asked Grace what happened, but she changed the subject and the three continued on with the expedition. While Grace and Norm study the wildlife, Jake wanders away and, while playing around with some nearby helicoradians, stumbles across a group of hammerhead titanotheres, a rhinoceros-like animal. One of the hammerhead titanotheres threatens to charge at Jake, but is startled by an approaching thanator, the apex terrestrial predator of the region. The creature starts chasing Jake who runs for his life, having his backpack snatched from his back and losing his weapon in the process. He narrowly escapes death from the thanator by leaping from the top of a cliff into a river below. After failing to locate Jake, the avatar team is forced to abandon the search for him as night operations were deemed too dangerous by Quaritch.

As Jake travels through the forest of Pandora alone, a Na'vi named Neytiri discovers his presence and prepares to kill him with her bow. However, a woodsprite, a pure spirit from the Tree of Souls, lands on the tip of her arrow. Taking this as a sign from Eywa, the godlike spirit of the forest and deity of the Na'vi, she lets Jake live and continues to follow him until darkness falls. Jake creates a torch using a makeshift spear, his coat, and sap from the trees. When he lights his torch, he discovers he is surrounded by a pack of viperwolves. Jake fights until he is pinned, at which point Neytiri saves him, having to kill several viperwolves in Jake's defense. Jake tries to communicate with Neytiri as she speaks over the dead viperwolf, but she seems to ignore him and walks away.

Woodsprites

3D Version: red/cyancross-eyedSeeds of the Tree of Souls approach Jake

Jake pursues Neytiri and tries to thank her for killing the viperwolves, which angers Neytiri. She tells him that the unnecessary killing of the creatures is not something to be grateful for. Jake asks Neytiri why she saved him. She replies that Jake has a strong heart and no fear. Jake follows her but she rejects him and was told to go back since he shouldn't be here at first, as he is one of the Sky People (the Na'vi term for humans) and cannot go with her. Suddenly, dozens of woodsprites appear and land on Jake's body. Neytiri, amazed, recognizes the woodsprites' actions as a sign and decides to take Jake to her village to allow Mo'at, the Omatikaya clan's Tsahìk (spiritual leader), to interpret the will of Eywa and decide what should be done with Jake.

Becoming one of "The People"[]

Jekemeetingmoat

Jake meeting Neytiri's family

When Jake and Neytiri arrive at Hometree, the massive tree that the Omatikaya clan lives in, Jake meets with Eytukan and Mo'at, the leaders of the clan and parents of Neytiri. Jake also meets with the finest warrior and leader of the Omatikaya clan's hunters, Tsu'tey, who is betrothed to Neytiri and chosen to one day become the future clan leader. Jake presents himself as a warrior with the intention to learn from them. Tsu'tey insists on killing Jake but Eytukan wishes to find out more about the warriors of the Sky People. Mo'at, as the spiritual leader, orders Neytiri to teach Jake how to be one of The People. Reluctantly, Neytiri submits to her mother's command and teaches Jake about the Na'vi culture and language.

Back at Hell's Gate, Jake reports to Selfridge and Quaritch on information about the natives. Impressed, Quaritch claims that he wished that he "had ten more like you (Jake)". Grace becomes aware of their interest in Jake's information and arranges for the avatar team to be transferred to a remote camp in the floating Hallelujah Mountains in order to continue their program without military involvement. Jake knows that Grace disapproves of Quaritch and Selfridge's interference and that is why she moved the team. Jake continues to check in remotely with Quaritch over the next three months, though check ins become less and less frequent.

Jake's first hunting

3D Version: red/cyancross-eyedJake hunting with a bow

It is during this time that Jake receives instruction. He is taught the Na'vi language by Norm and Neytiri. While learning how to ride Pale, a direhorse, he fails with Tsu'tey and another hunter watching. He is taught how to walk and hunt silently. Jake's relationship with Grace also improves and the two become friends, and Grace comes to the point of even putting Jake into his bunk after a late night video-log contribution and forces Jake to eat, even if he does not want to. Grace tells Jake about the slaughter at her school where many young Na'vi were killed by RDA soldiers, including Neytiri's sister, Sylwanin, and the pain that it brought her. Jake and Neytiri's relationship grows and an attraction develops. Following a successful hunt in which Jake makes his first clean kill after stalking a hexapede and performing a ritual, Neytiri, greatly impressed, tells Jake that he is ready to choose his own banshee (ikran).

Jakes first flight experience

3D Version: red/cyancross-eyedJake's first flight with his ikran Bob

Led by Tsu'tey, he and two other Na'vi hunters undertake the ritual of Iknimaya and climb the path to the banshee's nest. There, Jake learns how to bond with (tsaheylu) and control his banshee Bob. Once Jake masters his banshee, he joins Tsu'tey and the other young hunters, along with Neytiri, on several flights. He participates in a hunt for sturmbeest and elegantly kills one of them with his bow, proving himself as a "stone cold aerial hunter". Later, he and Neytiri fly together and, on a hunt, are attacked by a great leonopteryx, known to the Na'vi as toruk ("last shadow"), and narrowly escape. That evening, Neytiri explains the significance of the toruk and tells him of her great-great-grandfather, the mighty Toruk Makto (Rider of Last Shadow). She talks about how he was the last of only five Toruk Makto in the history of their clan, how he delivered The People from the time of Great Sorrow, and how much she admired him.

500x avatar 03

Jake becoming one of The People

At the end of the three months, Jake reports back to Quaritch as ordered. The Colonel informs Jake that his assignment is over and he is to be transferred immediately back to Earth to receive his promised surgery to restore the use of his legs. However, Jake is now more concerned with the welfare of the Omatikaya and especially the welfare of Neytiri, whom he has fallen in love with, than his desire to walk again. He is now reluctant and wary of his fellow humans trying to exploit the moon's resources. He convinces Quaritch to give him more time in order to convince the clan to relocate peacefully. He tells the Colonel that once he completes that night's ceremony, he will be made part of The People (an honor never granted to an avatar before) and that they will trust him. That night, Jake undergoes the ceremony where Eytukan makes him one of their own and forever a part of The People, with Grace and Neytiri proudly looking on.

PDVD 3292

Jake and Neytiri become lovers

Neytiri takes Jake to one of the clan's most sacred places, the Tree of Voices, a holy place where he can connect to the trees and hear the voices of all the spirits of deceased Na'vi. Neytiri tells Jake that now that he is one of the Omatikaya people, he can carve his bow from the wood of Hometree and he can choose a mate, and suggests a few different Na'vi women. Jake tells her that he has chosen her but Neytiri must also choose him. She informs him that she already has and becomes his mate. Once they are mated to each other, they are mated for life. After Jake returns to his human body, he realizes the predicament he put himself in.

The Destruction of The Hometree[]

Hell truck damage

Jake destroys one of the bulldozer's cameras

After spending the night with Jake, Neytiri is awakened by a huge bulldozer. She watches it destroy the Trees of Voices. Neytiri tries to wake Jake, but he is in his human body preparing to enter his avatar. Neytiri drags his avatar body while pleading with him to wake up. When Jake finally awakens, he tries to stop the bulldozer by standing in front of it. It stops momentarily but starts up again when Parker orders the driver to keep going. When it starts again, Jake grabs a rock, climbs to the top of the bulldozer and smashes the array of cameras, disabling the vehicle and narrowly avoiding the gunfire from the patrols.

Jake and Neytiri return to Hometree, where Eytukan and Tsu'tey are preparing a war party to avenge the loss of the sacred trees. Jake is confronted by Tsu'tey when he realizes that Jake and Neytiri have mated. Tsu'tey attacks Jake in a fit of rage, attempting to kill him. Jake is able to subdue him and is about to explain his original mission to the Omatikaya, but before he can, Jake and Grace's avatars collapse when they are suddenly sent back to their human bodies by Quaritch, who learned from the Hell Truck's video log that it was Jake who destroyed the cameras. Tsu'tey angrily reminds the clan that Jake is one of the Sky People, but Neytiri stops him from killing Jake's avatar.

When they are brought back to Hell's Gate, Grace tells an unbelieving Parker that the trees and plant life make up a huge network like the synapses of a human brain, and that the Na'vi can access all the information within this network, and so the trees must not be destroyed. After some extensive persuasion, Jake and Grace are allowed by Parker to return to their avatars for one hour to try and get the Na'vi to evacuate. Jake and Grace beg the clan to leave because the Sky People are coming to destroy Hometree, but when Jake reveals his mission, and that he knew that the RDA would attack, the clan is outraged. Neytiri, heartbroken at Jake's revelation, furiously rejects him by saying that he will never be part of the people both in the Na'vi language and in English. Eytukan orders them to be bound and prepares the Omatikaya warriors for the defense of the Hometree.

Jake Grace binded

Mo'at releasing a bound Jake

A large strike force led by Quaritch drives the Na'vi from their home with gas and incendiary rounds, consuming Hometree in flames. A desperate Mo'at releases Jake and Grace from their bindings and pleads with them to save her clan. As the Na'vi begin to flee, Quaritch orders his strike team to switch to high-explosive missiles and to open fire on the roots of Hometree, causing it to collapse onto many of the fleeing Na'vi. Eytukan, who was evacuating the Na'vi that were still inside the burning Hometree, is impaled by a piece of wood sent flying by the rocket explosions. Neytiri finds him, and Eytukan gives her his bow, telling her to defend the clan before succumbing to his wound. Jake finds them and tries to comfort a devastated Neytiri, but she angrily rejects him again by demanding him to go away. She pushed him back, yells at him to never return and she leaves with the surviving Omatikaya.

While leaving the ruins of Hometree, Jake and Grace are forcefully returned to their real bodies and placed under arrest for treason along with Norm, who assaulted one of the marines who was trying to disable the link units. Trudy and Dr. Max Patel rescue the avatar team from prison. Before they get outside, Jake asks Dr. Patel to stay behind and be his man on the inside. Trudy hijacks her Samson and flies them to safety, but not before being fired upon by Quaritch. He fails in stopping the avatar team from escaping, but shoots Grace in the stomach. The team flies the camp container holding the avatar link units from Site 26 into hiding near the Tree of Souls, where the remaining Omatikaya have fled to safety.

Torukmakto

3D Version: red/cyancross-eyedJake after taming a toruk

Jake returns to his avatar form at the ruins of Hometree. His banshee finds him amidst the ashes and Jake decides that the only way to regain the trust of the Na'vi and save Grace is to "take it to a whole new level". They fly at high altitude until they find the great leonopteryx, at which point Jake leaps from his ikran onto the back of the leonopteryx and bonds with it, becoming the sixth Toruk Makto. After bonding with the creature, he persuades it to form a temporary partnership with him to save Pandora. They confront an RDA soldier in a Scorpion Gunship before heading out to find the Omatikaya clan.[5] To the initial panic and astonishment of the Na'vi, he lands at the Tree of Souls, where the amazed Omatikaya people, including Tsu'tey, recognize him as Toruk Makto. When Neytiri sees him, she knows who Jake has sided with, and is grateful to see him return. Jake reaffirms his love for her and says "I see you", a Na'vi greeting.

Jake carrying Grace

Jake carrying Grace Augustine

After earning the respect of Tsu'tey, now the clan leader, who agrees to help him stop the Sky People, Jake then makes a plea to Mo’at to save Grace from dying. The Na'vi attempt to place Grace's spirit within her avatar body permanently, but her wounds are too great and she passes on. Before she passes, she tells Jake that she can see Eywa and that she is with her now. Having earned back the clan's trust, Jake asks for Tsu'tey's permission to speak and that it would honor him if he could translate his words into Na'vi. Jake encourages them to fight back against the Sky People.

Battle of Ayram Alusìng[]

Jake gathers the clans

3D Version: red/cyancross-eyedJake gathers all of the Na'vi clans

Jake rallies the Omatikaya clan, and they ride with him as he flies out to gather all the clans for a final attack, just as the previous Toruk Makto did. Jake later makes tsaheylu with the Tree of Souls and asks Eywa to look into Grace's memories and see how humans destroyed Earth, and to intervene to keep them from destroying Pandora as well. Neytiri overhears him and tells him that Eywa does not take sides, she only maintains the balance of life on Pandora.

Surveying the Na'vi with satellites, Quaritch learns that other clans have converged with the Omatikaya at the Tree of Souls and decides to destroy them and their holy ground to put an end to their defiance once and for all. A huge military fleet commandeered by Quaritch approaches the Tree of Souls, using the Valkyrie shuttle as a makeshift bomber and mining explosives as "daisy cutter" munitions to destroy the tree. Thousands of Na'vi warriors led by Jake and Tsu'tey take to the skies and attack the fleet, while Norm rides with the cavalry on the ground. The Na'vi forces on the ground are easily defeated by human infantry and their powerful AMP suits and suffer heavy losses. In the skies, a massive air battle ensues between the human air fleet and Na'vi hunters riding banshees. The Na'vi inflict some casualties on the humans with their initial strike, managing to take down several human gunships. However, the humans' superior firepower sees them inflict heavier casualties on the Na'vi, and they look to resume their bombing run.

Quaritch, flying in his Dragon Gunship, notices Jake's toruk and gives chase. Before Quaritch manages to shoot him down, Trudy dives in with her Samson and strafes the Dragon. Quaritch turns his attention to her, which allows Jake to escape. Trudy fights back, but her Samson is no match for Quaritch's gunship, and she is shot down and killed. Tsu'tey boards the Valkyrie in the hope of preventing it from dropping its payload, but after killing or incapacitating several humans inside the Valkyrie's cargo bay, he is gunned down by a human soldier and falls from the shuttle. Jake calls both Tsu'tey and Trudy but neither answer. He makes contact with Neytiri, who, with her ikran dead, is getting ready to attack the RDA ground forces single-handedly. Jake pleads with her over the communication collar not to, but before she tries; a stampede of hammerhead titanotheres attacks the RDA ground forces, trampling infantry and smashing AMP suits, followed by viperwolves. Neytiri is further surprised when one of Pandora's deadliest creatures, a thanator, allows her to make tsaheylu with it and ride it. The human ground forces break and retreat in panic. In the skies, swarms of wild ikran descend on the surviving RDA gunships, pulling the craft off balance and ripping door gunners out of their stations until only the Valkyrie and Quaritch's Dragon Gunship remain.

The Valkyrie, approaching the Tree of Souls, prepares to drop its payload, but in the ensuing confusion created by the wild ikran attack, Jake leaps onto the Valkyrie, throwing a grenade into one of its engines before it can drop its payload of mining explosives. The grenade detonates, causing the Valkyrie to collide with a nearby rock, shearing of the left wing and sending the it into a steep dive. The pilots are unable to compensate for the lost of thrust and the ship crashes into the ground and explodes. With all RDA ships except Quaritch's destroyed or in retreat, Jake attempts to destroy the Dragon Gunship the same way he destroyed the Valkyrie. Seeing Jake land on the gunship before he manages to throw his two grenades, Quaritch turns the ship sharply to starboard, nearly throwing Jake off. One grenade is lodged in a small air vent and detonates, ripping a hole in the Dragon's armor, resulting in a few hydraulic-based control failures and exposes the interior crew to Pandoran atmosphere. The falling Jake manages to grab onto one of the Dragon's missile racks. Jake pulls a missile off of the rack and heaves it into the rotor blades of the Dragon's front starboard engine. The resulting explosion destroys the engine and sends the Dragon into an uncontrollable spin. Jake falls from the ship and lands safely in the jungle, breaking his fall with the huge leaves on the trees. Quaritch also escapes his gunship, manning his personal AMP suit and jumping from the ship's cargo bay, fully intent on making a one-man assault on the Tree of Souls.

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3D Version: red/cyancross-eyedJake turns against Quaritch

Stumbling upon the camp containing the avatar link units by chance, Quaritch attempts to destroy Jake's human body, but before he can do so, Neytiri and her thanator attack him, successfully destroying the GAU-90 cannon for Quaritch's AMP suit. However, Quaritch overpowers and kills the thanator with his AMP suit knife. As he prepares to kill Neytiri, pinned under the thanator's body, Jake arrives to challenge him. The two fight fiercely in close quarters. Jake uses the rifle bayonet for the GAU-90 to fend off the blows of Quaritch's AMP suit. Jake manages to break the AMP suit knife and destroys the AMP's glass canopy, but Quaritch puts on an exopack. The Colonel taunts Jake, asking him how it feels to betray his own race, before turning and attacking the avatar link unit with the suit. Jake manages to fend off Quaritch before he can fully break open the camp, but a window is broken, which allows Pandoran air into the link units. His human body struggling, Jake is easy prey for Quaritch, who is preparing to slit Jake's throat with his own knife when Neytiri kills Quaritch with two shots from her father's bow.

Neytirisaves

3D Version: red/cyancross-eyedNeytiri seeing Jake in his human body for the first time

She then tries to wake Jake's avatar, to no avail, while Jake struggles inside the link unit to grab an emergency rebreather. Finally remembering that he is a human, she rushes into the link unit and places an exopack on Jake's now-unconscious human body, saving him again. As Jake wakes up, he says "I See you" to Neytiri and gently strokes her cheek. Neytiri repeats it back to him; the greeting now takes on new meaning as she is seeing and talking to Jake's human body for the first time.

After reconnecting to his avatar, Jake and Neytiri are brought to Tsu'tey, mortally wounded, by a group of surviving Na'vi warriors. Tsu'tey passes leadership of the Omatikaya clan to Jake and requests that he end his suffering. Jake is reluctant, but is assured by Tsu'tey that he will be remembered, as Toruk Makto will be his last shadow, and honors Jake by calling him a brother. Jake remorsefully euthanizes Tsu'tey and recites a prayer for him.

Jake stays on Pandora forever

3D Version: red/cyancross-eyedMo'at transferring Jake's mind into his avatar

Having put an end to the RDA's occupation of Pandora, Jake makes his last log entry on August 24, 2154, explaining that the humans were sent back to Earth by the Na'vi, except for a few (the scientists of the avatar program), and that he has decided to stay in his avatar form permanently. Returning to the Tree of Souls, he undergoes the consciousness transfer from his human body to his avatar body, and awakens to a new life as a Na'vi, marking August 24th as his "birthday", the day where he truly becomes a Na'vi, a part of The People.

Actions As Olo'eyktan (Avatar: The Next Shadow)[]

Jake's human body is soon given a traditional Na'vi burial and Jake moves the Omatikaya clan near Hell's Gate to be close to the human allies who were allowed to stay on Pandora. Jake befriends a Na'vi hunter named Ka'ani, who later proves to be a loyal ally to him, and Katherine Hale, a former RDA captain trying to keep Hell's Gate running. Jake also becomes acquainted with the Tayrangi Clan, which he finds to be the neediest when not frequently communicated with.

Two weeks after the transfer, Jake visits his former body's burial site to dig up his body, although he accidentally cuts himself on a plant in the process. Neytiri approaches him, concerned over him spending time near his old body. She informs him she must visit the Olangi Clan due to them suffering the most casualties from the war and needing the most help. Jake agrees with her, thinking about how the other clan's belief in him is getting shaky despite having been Toruk Makto, and sees her off.

Jake Katherine

Jake orders Katherine to be conservative with her group's mining efforts

Following Neytiri's departure, Jake gets a radio alert from Norm telling him about a fight between Katherine and some of his clan members. Jake arrives by direhorse to find a standoff between Hale and Ka'ani, which he calls off. Katherine informs him they need a new mine since the RDA destroyed the old one before departing Pandora and Jake advises her to strip the old mining equipment and vehicles for the material. Jake also reminds Ka'ani that the remaining Sky People are not like the ones before. Ka'ani assures Jake of his loyalty and sympathizes with the burden of carrying two worlds on his shoulders but reminds Jake that he should be prioritizing the Na'vi.

Shortly after settling the dispute, Jake is with Mo'at overseeing the healing process for injured Na'vi with the remaining medical human doctors, including the fearful Yeyongo and her child. Jake confides in Mo'at about his lack of self-confidence as clan leader and the guilt he is still facing for Hometree's destruction, but Mo'at assures Jake he is stronger than he thinks, and that their new home and him becoming Olo'eyktan was Eywa's will. Tsu'tey's mother, Artsut, becomes angry and argues with Mo'at just before her other son, Arvok, arrives with his father and challenges Jake's position as Olo'eyktan by invoking First Blood. Mo'at warns Jake that the ritual is dangerous, but Jake agrees to fight Arvok regardless.

After the clan is gathered, the battle begins, and Jake easily defeats Arvok by cutting him on the arm and drawing blood. Jake remains in a good mood, which angers Arvok into throwing his knife at Jake. He catches the knife and cuts his hand on it, inadvertently being poisoned and collapsing into a coma. Arvok realizes that his parents had poisoned his knife without his knowledge and runs into the jungle as the clan calls for him to explain, while his parents declare themselves the new clan leaders. However, when realizing Jake is still alive, their authority is moot and Jake is taken to the Tree of Souls to recover.

Jake weeps

Jake weeps due to his intense emotions and guilt in his vision

In his coma, Jake has nightmares where he is tormented by his brother, Miles Quaritch and the deceased Tsu'tey who attempt to guilt trip him, claiming his actions resulted in the deaths and suffering of many. This ends when Jake unintentionally makes tsaheylu with the Tree of Souls and is transported into the Pandoran Neural Network. He is visited by the manifested spirits of Eytukan and Tsu'tey who urge him to forgive himself for his mistakes and offer guidance. Artsut and Ateyo's plan is revealed by Tsu'tey after which he explains to Jake that although their actions were wrong, they had the interests of the Omatikaya at heart, concluding that they needed to be punished for their wrongdoings, but Jake could be merciful towards them in doing so.

Jake burial

Jake's remains being given the traditional Omatikaya burial

Katherine and her team soon deliver an ingredient of an antidote to the tree at Mo'at's request, who then crafts it into a cure for Jake's coma; he wakes up as Artsut and her mate are returning with Arvok. With their plot to overthrow Jake exposed to the rest of the clan, they are brought before Jake for punishment. Jake chooses to exile the family and Arvok states that there is a clan they can join who will shelter them despite their crimes. After they leave, Jake promises the gathered Omatikaya that he'll do his best to lead them to a better future. Jake later visits the grave of his human body again as Neytiri returns from her visit to the Olangi after hearing what happened in her absence. They embrace each other and Neytiri asks Jake if he's okay. Jake downplays the situation to her and she comments that he doesn't seem like himself, but he replies that on the contrary, he's never felt more like himself as he finally leaves his human body behind.

Creating a family and the RDA's return (Avatar: The High Ground & Avatar: The Way of Water)[]

The Sully family together

Jake with his family

After years of peace, Jake has settled down with Neytiri and raised a family with three biological children, Neteyam, Lo'ak and Tuktirey and an adoptive daughter Kiri born to Grace's avatar. A human boy named Miles Socorro, always called by his nickname Spider, preferred to spend much of his time with the Sully children. Jake describes him like a stray cat who follows the family around. While Jake seemed to accept him, but for Neytiri believed he should be among his own kind, because he is also the son of Colonel Quaritch.

Jake mentions that not a single day has passed without him in grief over the losses and the deaths that happened during the battle over Hometree and the Tree of Souls, and he feels that those tragic times almost feel as if they happened to someone completely different. Jake also now sports much thicker dreadlocks, making his hairstyle resemble Neytiri's more. Jake has always feared that the RDA will return to Pandora because of Earth's dying resources, viewing their temporary absence as only a matter of time. Almost a decade later since the humans were forced to leave Pandora, they have begun to return with an armada of heavily armed starships.

During Lo'ak's ikran training session, Jake worries although Neytiri insists the danger is part of the trial. When Lo'ak failed to tame the creature and fell off a cliff, Jake tells him he'll try again next time. Later, Jake and Neytiri have a discussion about the danger of the trial. Though they sympathize with each other's viewpoints, Neytiri mentions Jake has been breaking the Three Laws of Eywa by teaching their hunters to use guns made of metal. Jake insists even though he is not human, he still feels he is a marine and that he is still like the Sky People. In Lo'ak's second attempt to tame the ikran, he finally succeeds with Jake feeling very proud of his son and the whole family flying together.

The clan celebrates Lo'ak's success, but Jake still finds it hard to fully enjoy his life because he believes the Sky People will return eventually. When the Omatikaya receives a new hometree at the council of elders, Jake tries to talk to Pentyaru about the matter, but Neytiri insists they just enjoy themselves for tonight. Neytiri also tries to convince Jake that their people need hope, although Jake feels as if he is lying to his people. He reluctantly accepted the Omatikaya's decision to move into the new Hometree and tried to convince the clan to stay hidden, as once the humans returned, they would surely attack them first and could destroy their home again.

Jake and Neytiri sleep under the stars

Jake notices the "new star" in the sky

After the two put their kids to sleep, Jake and Neytiri go on a night date, riding their ikrans across the floating mountains. As they rest on the ground, Jake looks up and sees a massive light in the sky, making him realize the RDA is back.

The Conflict in Outer Space (Avatar: The High Ground)[]

Later, Jake holds a group meeting with the Na'vi where he insists they must fight the Sky People again to drive them away. For now, Jake insists everyone move to the Hallelujah Mountains which causes controversy. Meanwhile, one member of the RDA is tasked with killing Jake. Jake and Norm go to Hell's Gate where they discover there are 10 RDA ships. The Na'vi begin training in zero gravity, although Jake refuses to let one of his boys fight in the upcoming battle.

In a council meeting, Jake insists the Na'vi fight and tries to convince Yeyatley to agree, but Yeyatley instead insists the Na'vi offer peace instead. Akwey supports Jake's choice, though before the group can continue debating, they notice Jake's children are gone with the exception of Neteyam. They eventually find the children. Jake blames Lo'ak, though Spider admits he also deserves some blame. Neytiri agrees that Spider is at fault and orders him to stay away from Kiri, claiming they will never see each other again

WE STICK TO THE PLAN

Jake trying to convince the humans to fight

A widespread message from General Frances Ardmore is heard, offering amnesty for those "illegally" occupying Hell's Gate. This causes many of the humans to panic and feel defeated. Jake tries to motivate the humans, but Mary expresses her concerns on why they should probably surrender. Jake says those who wish to fight to come with him for now to evacuate. Jake and Neytiri talk about their upcoming plan to fight the RDA in space. Neteyam does not wish to remain at High Camp, instead wishing to fight, though Jake again declines the offer. As the Sully family prepares to go their own ways, Kiri cannot be found. Jake and Neytiri find Kiri and Spider talking to Nash McCosker. Although Jake and Neytiri think Spider is best with his foster family, Kiri is upset and flees.

Jake chest torture

Jake giving himself chest torture

Jake and Neytiri "purify" their spirits with Mo'at by inflicting pain on themselves because they believe it should be done before they betray Eywa by using steel weapons and breaking the Three Laws of Eywa. Jake visits a tree and uses it to string himself up and inflict great pain on his body; the pain makes him remember the suffering of his deceased allies, and he reflects on how much he values Neytiri and his children. They depart on their space shuttle and Ardmore contacts them via a video message. Jake's team tries to blackmail the RDA by threatening destroy Hell's Gate and several other structures on Pandora that the RDA desire to reclaim. Ardmore's team agrees they will talk physically. As the Na'vi are in their shuttle, Jake and Neytiri are displeased to see that Neteyam has sneaked on board.

Confronting Ardmore

Jake and Neytiri confronting Ardmore

The Na'vi meet the RDA on their ship, though interactions between the two groups prove tense. Jake and Neytiri meet with Ardmore and Jake reveals that there is 3.2 trillion dollars worth of unobtanium stashed away on a derelict ship in space which is also rigged with explosive. He suggests that the RDA take this material and go, but General Ardmore remains adamant. In response to this, Jake orders his ground team to blow the refinery on Pandora, which they do. The RDA turns hostile but Jake reveals other buildings are still intact. Though Jake briefly attempts a treaty, he then goes onto say that the RDA would just break it again.

Back at Hell's Gate, Jake's ally Meg Elkins is murdered by McCosker who then appears on a radio message saying the explosives on Pandora are disarmed and the Sully children have been captured. Jake and Neytiri are horrified that their plan seems to have failed by this unexpected turn of events. Jake orders Norm to use an explosion on the RDA ship. The commotion lets Jake and Neytiri separate and, with Josh Winslow, they decide to find the ship's auxiliary weapons to threaten the other RDA ships. It works, but Winslow ends up dying. After a large battle in space, Jake and Neytiri manage to get away, though Ardmore refuses to give up and proceeds to follow.

Spider running

The group fleeing the RDA

The ship carrying Jake, Neytiri and Neteyam descends back to Earth, with RDA ships chasing after them. Jake and Neytiri fly to Hell's Gate on their banshees to rescue the children with Neteyam following after them. Jake and Neytiri catch up with their children in the forest and the whole family reunites. Jake sends a radio message to Wu Mingxia for backup. After the slaughter of some RDA members, the Sully family makes it to a beanstalk where a Samson corners them. Ming arrives in a shuttle to fight off the Samson and opens a hatch for the family to jump into. The Samson fires missiles at the shuttle while they are over the ocean, causing its engines to fail and everyone prepares for a rough landing. Their shuttle must land somewhere, making the ocean the safest place. Water then begins to fill their room, leaving the family to flee outside. The group uses a beacon and Norm rescues them in a Samson.

Moving to the Metkayina Clan (Avatar: The Way of Water)[]

Sometime after the RDA returns, several of their ships, including the ISV Manifest Destiny, descend downwards through the moon's atmosphere rather than staying in orbit. Their high engines' thrust send firestorms right down to the ground and into the jungle, causing a region of the forest to be burned down and the local fauna that were evacuating from the firestorms were burned to death as a result. When the RDA dropped their Landing Module onto the scorched land, they started removing the remains of the animals and vegetation of the forest with their bulldozers.

Jake and Neytiri reached safely to higher ground along with the surviving animals and started watching the fires from afar. After seeing the burning, Jake cradles a distraught Neytiri as she started weeping due to the horror of the sight of the burned forest along with the rest of the animals as the destruction lead to the Omatikaya's land becoming torn apart due to the ongoing actions of the RDA.

One year later in 2170, Jake leads a guerrilla operation against a Mag-Lev transporting resources to the new Bridgehead base, destroying the railway. Jake had assigned his sons as lookouts. Lo'ak, however, wanted to engage in direct combat, disobeying orders with Neteyam who tried to stop him. A kestrel gunship appeared and began attacking them, with Neteyam missing and Jake initially fearing that his son was dead, but eventually found him slightly injured.

Neytiri comforts Jake Empire

Jake and Neytiri discuss becoming refugees

Jake helps Neteyam out of the battlefield, and after returning to the High Camp, he berates his sons for disobeying his orders and punishes Lo'ak for a month without flying. That night, while tending to his own wounds, Neytiri calmly reminds Jake to be not too hard on his sons, to which Jake expresses his fear of losing them and his need to be strict on them. Meanwhile, the attack on the RDA supply lines does not sit well with Ardmore who sends Quaritch's Recom squad on a search mission to kill Jake for his interfence and, in their eyes, terrorism.

A few days later, Jake was called by Lo'ak about suspicious armed blue people at the abandoned Site 26. Jake orders Lo'ak, his sisters and Spider to leave quickly and quietly. Jake, Neytiri and Neteyam fly on their ikrans to rescue the children. After a brief fight, the Sully family manages to escape, but Spider is kidnapped. Knowing the danger Spider's knowledge poses to their safety, and also to avoid further persecution of the Omatikaya clan, Jake convinces Neytiri to banish themselves and retreat to the Metkayina clan's waterworld.

Jake leaving the Omatikaya

Jake's family leaving the Omatikaya

But this results in an argument with Neytiri who refuses to leave her clan, saying that the forest is all the children know, and she herself cannot leave her people since her father entrusted her with protecting the clan. Jake explains that the children are in mortal danger, especially since Spider was captured by Quaritch and may end up giving their location away, as well as the latter being in the area and already had their children literally under the edge of his knife. Jake convinces her leaving the clan will keep their immediate family safer, feeling their children's safety should be prioritized over the war. Although devastated, Neytiri finally accepts the idea. Jake gives up his position as Olo'eyktan and hands leadership of the clan over to his trusted ally Tarsem, a young but extremely wise Na'vi.

Asking for help and protection

Jake requests uturu from the Metkayina clan

After migrating across the sea to the reef clan, Jake asks uturu from the clan leader, Tonowari. However, his mate Ronal is incredibly skeptical, even criticizing his cowardice, causing Neytiri to defend Jake as the one who helped resist the Sky People. Jake's request ends up being accepted, though Tonowari insists they learn sea life and pull their own weight. He assigns his children Aonung and Tsireya to train the Sully children. The family gets their own marui and Jake calls everyone in for a family chat. He asks the children to be respectful, not to cause trouble, and to diligently learn the customs. Tuktirey breaks down in tears and says she wants to go home, to which Jake says this is their home now.

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Jake learns to ride a skimwing

During the tutoring, Tonowari teaches Jake how to ride a skimwing, a mount resembling a large flying-fish that can dive underwater or flit just above the surface. Tonowari offered Jake to ride an ilu, fearing he wouldn't be able to cope with such a difficult animal to tame, but Jake insisted on the skimwing. When he first rides the creature, he fails on the first try, but manages to finally ride one.

When Lo'ak and Neteyam get into a fight with Aonung and other boys for bullying Kiri, Jake harshly reprimands them, pointing out that they ignored his order to stay out of trouble. He tells Lo'ak to apologize to Aonung for hitting him. Jake asks Neteyam if the other boys looked worse, to which Neteyam replies that they look much worse than them.

Jake, Lo'ak and Neytiri

Jake telling Lo'ak he has brought shame upon their family

Later, Jake asks Kiri her why she seems upset. She confesses that she feels different; that she can feel a connection to Eywa and can feel her heartbeat, which she describes as "mighty" and Jake assures her that she's not crazy. Their conversation is interrupted when Neteyam arrives, dragging Aonung away to tell his father that he tricked Lo'ak into hunting beyond the village reef and left him there. With the help of the clan, Jake searches for his son and finally finds him and takes him home, unaware that a tulkun had taken him back after saving him. Although Jake understood from Tonowari that Aonung was at fault, Lo'ak decides to cover it up and says that hunting off the reef was his idea, prompting Jake to admonish his son and say that he has shamed his family.

Norm arrives

Jake and Norm discuss Kiri's seizure

After Kiri suffers a seizure from connecting to the Spirit Tree, Jake contacts Norm and Max and they fly to help Kiri. Later, Ronal steps in to help her. While the Tsahìk performs a medical ritual on Kiri, Jake argues with Norm and Max about what happened. He tells them about Kiri's mysterious abilities and how she can sense Eywa, but to his chagrin, Norm dismisses the problem with a scientific diagnosis, considering them to be typical symptoms of epilepsy, and warns him to prevent Kiri from reconnecting with the Spirit Tree because it might kill her on the second try. Ronal was finally able to wake Kiri from her coma. The RDA manages to track down Norm's and Max's Samson and clues them in that Jake and his family are somewhere by the sea, causing Quaritch's Recom squad to fly nearby.

Jake - I'll deal with this one

Jake scolds his son

As Jake and his family pack up, they hear an alarm, and Tsireya tells them that the tulkuns have come home. Riding his skimwing with Neytiri, Jake watches the tulkuns and points out a mother with her calf to Neytiri. Later, Jake received word from Tonowari that the Sky People have attacked the local clans and are looking for him. Neytiri thinks they should find Quaritch and kill him, though Jake is reluctant and thinks it's a reckless move, saying it would give away their location. Shortly after, Jake learns of Lo'ak's friendship with Payakan, the tulkun who saved Lo'ak's life. Jake and Neytiri listen to Tonowari explain to Lo'ak the Tulkun Way and why Payakan is an outcast, although Lo'ak did not accept Tonowari's words. Jake silenced Lo'ak and told Tonowari he would deal with him.

Skirmish at the Three Brothers[]

When they discover the corpse of Ro'a, Ronal's spiritual sister, murdered by tulkun hunters, Jake discovers a tracking device embedded in her body. Jake immediately realizes that Quaritch has tracked down his hideout and is looking for him in the archipelago, and that the device must lead the Colonel to him. Tonowari convenes a council of war in which he urges revenge on the Sky People, to which the clansmen react approvingly. Jake tries to talk them out of this idea by convincing them not to attack humans. He shows them the red device, explains how it works, and asks them to persuade their tulkuns to run as far away from the village as possible instead of attacking them, and to call him if they find any tulkuns with tracking tags, as it is a death sentence and the Metkayina accept his suggestion.

Avatar The Way of Water Press Kit Stills 05

Jake fights the RDA

Jake soon hears from Lo'ak's communicator that the children are in danger out in the ocean, prompting the entire clan to take offenses against the RDA. Jake, Neytiri and the Metkayina clan arrive at the Three Brothers on their skimwings to confront the RDA fleet, seeing the kids cuffed to the deck railing. Before the battle, Quaritch contacts Jake by radio and gives him an ultimatum to surrender or risk having his children killed. Ronal admonishes Jake for being the reason that the battle has reached the Metkayina. Realizing that the battle was always between himself and Quaritch, Jake decides to surrender to avoid further bloodshed on Pandora. However, seeing his friend Lo'ak imperiled, Payakan slams onto the ship, giving the clan a chance to attack. Jake manages to destroy two of the boats, exploding one and causing the other to violently run aground.

The Way of Water Fire Still

Jake encouraging Neytiri to be strong so they can save Kiri and Tuk

After much of the fighting, the SeaDragon is left to crash and sink. Neteyam loses his life after being shot. Grief-stricken, Jake decides to face Quaritch once and for all, when the latter radios to reveal that he has recaptured Tuk and Kiri. Jake and Neytiri stealthily climb to the top deck of the SeaDragon, with Spider leading them due to his knowledge of the vessel. Jake uses a grenade to detonate the crashed Seawasp, killing many of the remaining RDA troops and evacuees. In the chaos, Jake and Neytiri attack the survivors on the top deck, killing Recoms Prager and Zdinarsik before working their way down to the moon pool where Tuk and Kiri are held.

Knifefight

Jake struggling against Quaritch's knife

Wainfleet commands Recom Mansk and the remaining soldiers on the lower deck, but Jake beats both Recombinants unconscious and knocks Wainfleet into the sea. Jake cuts off Kiri and Tuk's cuffs before engaging Quaritch in a fistfight that ends with the Recom snatching Kiri at knifepoint. However, Neytiri intercedes, similarly holding Spider at knifepoint. At first, Quaritch claims his son is inconsequential, but he ultimately releases Kiri when Neytiri cuts Spider's chest. Quaritch and Jake resume fighting, and Jake gets the upper hand. Jake strangles Quaritch into unconsciousness and is almost drowned himself. However, he is rescued by Lo'ak who teaches him the way of water, and the two are helped by Payakan. The family embraces in the ocean and Jake tells Lo'ak he sees him.

The Way of Water Jake Scar Still

Jake bearing facial wounds at Neteyam's funeral

In the aftermath, Jake and his family sorrowfully conduct Neteyam's funeral according to Metkayina customs and lay his body to rest in the Cove of the Ancestors where it is absorbed by the Spirit Tree. Jake then proceeds to inform Tonowari and Ronal of his decision to leave the reef and move far away. Tonowari, however, respectfully identifies him as part of the Metkayina clan and welcomes his family to stay. Humbled, Jake vows that he and his family will defend Awa'atlu, their new home.

JakeCrying

Jake cries while visiting Neteyam's memory

Neteyam's spirit was visited within Eywa by his parents at the Spirit Tree. Neteyam's spirit is unaware of his death and wonders why Jake is weeping. Wishing for Neteyam's spirit to remain at peace forever, Jake only replies that he is simply happy to see him. Jake then has an epiphany about how he can no longer run away from the RDA and must fight.

Personality and traits[]

Jake bar fight

Jake fighting the man in the bar, desperate for reasons to live for

Much of Jake's time on Earth is unknown, although he may be interpreted as a lonely young man because no mention is ever made of his friends or family on Earth apart from his brother Tom, and he never speaks of other people he has known on Earth. There is also a possibility the brothers' parents are deceased and they were orphans. Although he is seen entertaining a crowd in a bar, once he is thrown outside, no one bothers to check on his welfare afterwards in the alleyway. Before he left for Pandora, Jake felt directionless in life and he could be interpreted as suffering from mild depression as he said all he ever wanted was "a single thing worth fighting for."

Helicoradians2

Jake playing with helicoradian

Although Jake was a Marine and he has enough perspective to know "the world's a cold-ass bitch", his experiences have not fully hardened him, with Neytiri commenting his heart is similar to a child's. He was also not a Marine for very long in his life either, having being discharged after his injury. It is implied Jake is considered "pure of heart". The first instance is when Eywa's woodsprites landed on him and Neytiri commented they are very pure spirits. Secondly, it is said that only people with "pure souls" can become Toruk Makto. Jake is shown to be kind, trying to protect the vulnerable Omatikaya.

He is shown to be a mischievous joker, such as telling the Na'vi he is from the Jarhead clan and telling Norm he has a date with Neytiri's sister Sylwanin, to which Grace promptly replies, "She's dead." He seems to enjoy pushing people's buttons a bit as well, such as continuing sprinting when Norm tells him to stop running, although it can be interpretted he was enjoying the sensation of being able to run again. He can also be seen playing with Pandora's bioluminescent botany. Jake also has a healthy degree of attitude towards others when they attempt to patronize or condescend on him, as seen during his interactions with Grace, once bantering with her, "Kiss the darkest part of my lily white--" before she cut him off.

Jake is also remarkably intelligent in some ways. He is not book smart which makes some scientists such as Grace initially perceive him as being on the dumber side and so they write him off as being useless. Despite this, Max Patel comments Jake has a gorgeous brain with nice activity. For example, Jake is bodily-kinesthetic intelligent, able to make quick decisions in the heat of combat, shown when he evaded a thanator, and he also successfully became Toruk Makto due to a theory he developed. He is linguistically intelligent, able to pick up the Na'vi language as an adult to the degree he can hold basic conversations with them in under three months of Neytiri's tutorship. While Jake still needed Tsu'tey to translate his full speech into Na'vi, he was able to fully pick up the language even when his children were young.

Jake also develops emotional intelligence and becomes more in touch with his emotions throughout his journey as he gets to know those around him. For example, in the beginning, Jake was shown to be quite emotionally resilient, not tearing up upon seeing his deceased brother, perhaps hinting he has had a rough life, evidenced by him saying he's had a "sorry-ass life". There are only two times he is seen crying; during his vision where he felt utterly lost in life and he faced his horrible guilt, as well as being reunited with Neteyam in the Spirit Tree.

Jake's youthful nature does have some flaws, however; while he is shown to be courageous, determined, passionate, and possesses exceptional strength of character, this is sometimes to the fault of dangerous recklessness. He has also been accused of being arrogant. Sometimes, it takes him a while to finally listen to other people. Being only 22 years old at the start of the first film (psychologically speaking and excluding his time in cryosleep), Jake still possesses a lot of youthful energy, though it only really shows in his avatar form. He can be rash, impulsive, clumsy and easily distracted sometimes, resulting in him disobeying orders. For example, he enjoyed his new avatar body so much that he left the room of scientists before they could tranquilize him because he could not sit still. However, another part of it has to do with Jake despising being underestimated, once telling Grace he is sick of being pitied and being told by doctors what he is unable to achieve.

I See You Gesture

Jake in his avatar

Jake thrives off adventure and has a strong desire to feel free, having enjoyed mythological stories of heroes when he was young. He had frequent dreams flying during his hospitalization. However, his city life on Earth, mixed in with him being forced to rely on his wheelchair, was not able to satisfy his yearning for freedom. Jake also greatly enjoys being challenged and pushing himself to his limits; he once tried to convince himself that he could pass any test a man can pass. He later also proves that he can pass many of the Na'vi's trials, even being one of the few to bond with a great leonopteryx and the only avatar to ever accomplish the feat. He became a Marine for the tough and challenging lifestyle and "be hammered on the anvil of life" as he calls it. Jake initially has very little knowledge of Pandora or its inhabitants. However, he is a fast learner and quickly adapts to the Na'vi way of life, becoming a member of the Omatikaya clan in only three months. Though he notes that it is "learn fast or die" with Neytiri, he relishes the challenges she provides him with and refuses to give up on them no matter how hard they are.

At first, he seems callous and sarcastically indifferent, potentially as a way for him to cope with many of his stressful unfortunate life experiences. However, as he becomes familiar with someone, he begins to trust and respect them, taking his relationships very seriously; despite being a human born, he falls in love with Neytiri who feels he has a "good heart" that holds little fear. He also holds a strong sense of justice, as seen in the bar prologue and when he rebels against the RDA when he feels they are being overtly greedy, and harbors guilt for any who suffer or die as a result of his actions.

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Jake horrified by what the RDA is capable of

Although Jake initially calls the Na'vi's beliefs "tree-hugging crap", he begins to care about nature, the Na'vi way of life, and the Omatikaya people. When Eytukan is killed during the RDA's assault on Hometree, Jake is saddened and tries to comfort Neytiri despite having been rejected as a traitor. When Grace is shot by Quaritch during the avatar team's escape from Hell's Gate, Jake does everything he can to ensure that she does not die. However, when Grace succumbs to her wounds, Jake feels pain and sorrow but uses these emotions to solidify his determination to stop the RDA. He also prevents Quaritch from killing Neytiri during the final battle and fights against the Colonel despite Quaritch being in an AMP suit at the time.

The Omatikaya's trust in Jake is shattered when they learn about his initial mission. Jake regains their trust by risking his life to tame a toruk. He displays leadership skills and charisma when he unites the Na'vi clans and leads them into battle against the RDA. However, when Tsu'tey is gravely wounded in the final battle and wishes for Jake to take the title of Olo'eyktan, Jake is hesitant to accept, feeling that he was not "officer material", and is unwilling to kill Tsu'tey despite urging Jake to end his pain. Jake does so with much sadness and wishes his spirit to go with Eywa.

Struggling with trauma[]

Jake digging up his body

Jake digging up his own corpse

Two weeks following the war, Jake's mental health turns for the worse as he begins to struggle with his festering dark emotions and guilt, due to the lives lost throughout the war. He exhibits symptoms of post-traumatic growth and body dysmorphic disorder, struggling to accept he will remain inside a blue alien body for the rest of his life. He is shown to have become more distant from Neytiri, spending more time alone in the forest viewing the remains of his former human body, even digging up the remains of his own corpse to stare at it, and he becomes uncertain about his future. Guilt-ridden and tormented, he becomes very reckless about his own life, seen when he is willing to engage in a battle to the death with Arvok, suggesting he may have survivor's guilt.

While in his near-death experience coma, he is seen facing his own regrets, tormenting himself over the possibility that if he had only spoke up to the Na'vi more about RDA's intentions sooner, then he could have potentially saved many human and Na'vi lives such as Trudy, Grace, Eytukan and Tsu'tey. He grows fears over whether or not his existence will continue to bring pain, suffering and death onto others. After he hears from Eytukan that he is not beyond redemption, that he ultimately never intended to hurt anyone, that he does not deserve to die, and that he must learn how to forgive himself, Jake is able to begin his own path of self-healing from his traumatic experiences.

Jake saved by his son

Jake decides to try to survive after Lo'ak's encouragement

Years after the war, Jake is trying to adapt to becoming a father. Although he insisted on fighting the RDA upon their return, Jake gradually began to grow more strict and fearful when the RDA began gaining the advantage; while his previous recklessness can be interpreted due to Jake not really having much to live for before he met Neytiri, Jake now has a family he wishes to protect from harm, and he wishes to do whatever he can to prevent any more of his allies from dying to prevent more regret. Unfortunately, Jake has to deal with the loss of his first-born son Neteyam, and this event is shown to be so devastating that he gives up on living while in the sinking SeaDragon, although Lo'ak is able to persuade Jake.

Abilities[]

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Jake in outer space after months of training in zero gravity

Jake is a skilled and resourceful warrior who adapts to his environment, owing to his former occupation as a Recon Marine. He is agile and quickly becomes acute to the bow and arrow. His skills are best displayed during his fight with Colonel Quaritch, where he takes an AMP suit GAU-90 bayonet and uses it against him. Jake appears to be a skilled hand-to-hand combatant: in his human body, he manages to physically beat a bullying bar patron despite his spinal cord injury, and in his avatar body, he uses his skills as a Marine to catch Tsu'tey off guard when the latter tries to kill him in a blind rage. His resourcefulness is displayed when he successfully destroys both the Valkyrie shuttle by throwing a grenade into one of its engines and the Dragon Assault Ship via a grenade and a detached missile during the Assault on the Tree of Souls.

Jake also quickly adapts to flying an ikran. While hunting sturmbeest from the back of his ikran, he succeeds in killing one of the creatures. He manages to escape from a toruk along with Neytiri on their respective ikran, guiding Neytiri to safety in the process. Later, Jake rides a toruk skillfully during the final battle with the RDA. Despite his flying skills, Jake is initially not very good at riding direhorses and keeps falling off of them, though he's later demonstrated riding the animal well.

Relationships[]

Family[]

Neytiri[]

Neytiri is Jake's mate who he gradually falls in love with after she saves him from a pack of viperwolves. At the time, she is angry with him, since the viperwolves would not have had to die if Jake had been more careful and quiet.

In the weeks following Mo'at's assignment to Neytiri to teach him the Na'vi culture and language, their relationship improves. During their lessons, Jake and Neytiri grow close to one another and begin to fall in love. After Jake successfully tames his own ikran and is accepted into the clan, Neytiri takes Jake to the Trees of Voices where they choose each other as their mate for life.

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Jake and Neytiri take a moment to look at each other before the war begins

Neytiri ferociously defends her mate when Tsu'tey tries to kill Jake's avatar after he is disconnected while attempting to reveal his true mission to the clan. When Jake eventually does so after he returns to his avatar body, Neytiri is distraught and horrified by the revelation, and rejects him. When the Hometree is destroyed, Neytiri is devastated because of her father's death. When Jake finds a grieving Neytiri and tries to comfort her, she angrily tells him never to return. However, her faith in him is restored when he proves his loyalty to the Na'vi by becoming the sixth Toruk Makto. Jake proves his strong connection to Eywa by becoming Toruk Makto and Neytiri realizes that he is not a traitor to the Na'vi, but instead has risked his life to ally himself with them. She supports him in gathering the clans and fights under his command against the RDA forces.

Neytiri kissing Jakes eyes

Neytiri kissing Jake's closed eyes during his death in his human body

Jake loves Neytiri very deeply and is willing to put himself in perilous situations for her if he has to. This is proven when he saves Neytiri from Colonel Quaritch as he is about to kill her which would have cost him his life if Neytiri hadn't intervened at the last moment. Neytiri saves Jake's life three times in the final battle against the RDA forces. The first time, she attacks Quaritch when he is about to destroy the module containing Jake's human body. The second time, she saves Jake's avatar from Quaritch's AMP suit by killing the Colonel. The third time, she places an exopack on his human body after the module was deliberately breached by Quaritch. After Jake regains consciousness, he says to Neytiri, "I see you", the traditional Na'vi greeting, meaning "I see who you truly are". Neytiri says it back to him and begins to shed tears of joy. These words mark the true depth of their relationship due to Jake being in human form. Neytiri watches over both Jake's human and avatar bodies as he goes through the consciousness transfer up until the point where he wakes up to his new life as a Na'vi.

Jake and Neytiri embrace

Jake and Neytiri embracing each other

Jake and Neytiri's bond is further solidified when, after receiving news that Jake had been poisoned by Tsu'tey's parents, Neytiri immediately abandons her mission with the other clans to return home and assist him, and is greatly relieved to see he has survived.

Neytiri eventually welcomes three children with Jake - two sons named Neteyam and Lo'ak and a daughter called Tuk. The two also adopt Kiri, a Na'vi baby mysteriously born from Grace Augustine's inactive avatar body. Neytiri is a caring, protective mother and is happiest when all her family is safe and happy around her. Neytiri is incredibly conflicted when Jake informs her they must leave the clan in order to protect the People as well as their children from the re-emerging RDA forces. She argues that their place is within the Omatikaya and the forest is their home. Despite this, she eventually agrees and tearfully leaves her home alongside her family, ultimately seeking refuge with the Metkayina clan.

Neytiri heartboken

Jake trying to comfort Neytiri

Upon arriving at the home of the Metkayina, Neytiri immediately clashes with Ronal, the Tsahik of the clan, and finds it hard to adjust to the new ocean-centric lifestyle but she supports her husband in encouraging the children to try their best to fit in. Following Neteyam's death, a hysterical Neytiri is comforted by Jake who urges her to have a 'strong heart' and stand by him as they attempt to rescue their kidnapped daughters from Quaritch and the RDA. She launches into a murderous fury and, together, they rescue both Kiri and Tuk and reunite after the SeaDragon sinks and they all escape. Neytiri is seen laying Neteyam to rest with Jake and the rest of the clan and connecting to Ewya alongside Jake, where they both share a tender memory of Neteyam.

Lo'ak and Neteyam[]

As a parent, Jake tends to take the tough love approach with his two sons. Often giving them consequences to their actions, especially with Lo'ak, whose personality is similar to his father when he was young. Lo'ak comes across as obstinate and stubborn. He often tries to prove himself to his father, many times not thinking of the outcome, which lands him in hot water on more than one occasion.

Neteyam, being the older son, and firstborn, is more favored by Jake. Because of this, Jakes appears to favor Neteyam more than Lo'ak. His overall mood towards them is sometimes seen as a double standard, due to the forms of reprimanding he uses with his sons. For example, when Neteyam disobeyed to fight the Recombinants and ended up saving Neytiri's life, Jake was never seen reprimanding Neteyam for his disobedience due to the generally positive outcome (excluding Spider's abduction). However, when Lo'ak disobeyed to fight on the frontlines and Neteyam almost died, Jake punishes Lo'ak and grounds him due to the negative outcome. While these are two completely different circumstances, it bears mentioning that as the oldest, more is expected from Neteyam in regards to keeping an out for Lo'ak and his sisters.

As a parent, Jake is very protective, going to far as to keep both of his sons as far from the fighting as possible. This causes both boys to think he does not value their independence, or ability to makes choices. Lo'ak expressed on more than one occasion that he believes that his father does not think him capable; when in reality, it was Jake's fear of losing his children that drove him to limit their choices to fight as much as possible. As their father, he feels it is his duty to protect them at all costs, even going so far as to move them away from the forest without first consulting them. As a result of Jake's inability to let his sons make their own life choices, they often rebel and disobey and a chain of consequences occur as a result.

Despite this, Jake deeply loves his children, attempting to teach them patience and discipline in order to protect and keep them away from war for as long as possible. The reasoning for his way of parenting is due to the fear of them not being able to protect themselves if something were to happen to him. Jake's initial fear of losing his family would become a reality, when Neteyam is unfortunately killed. Jake was visibly devastated and sad, but did not wish to process the loss due to Kiri and Tuk being in danger. However, Jake initially blamed Lo'ak for Neteyam's death, even verbally expressing his blame of Lo'ak by telling him he has done enough, instead of examining the chain of events that led to the skirmish with the RDA.

Avatar The Way of Water 13

Jake embracing Lo'ak and Spider

Jake's own life is saved as a result of Lo'ak's disobedience, which helps Jake to see the value in letting his own children be their own independent people capable of making their own life choices, however questionable and risky they may seem. It is revealed Jake desires a better relationship with Lo'ak and he shows this by embracing him and telling that he "sees" him.

Kiri[]

Jake is very concerned about Kiri's welfare, listening carefully to her concerns about Eywa. Jake often show his affection by calling her "baby girl". Although it is hard for him to understand his daughter at times, Jake does his best to support her and encourage her connection with the world of Pandora. After he saw that Kiri may be trapped in a coma, Jake called Norm and Max over to the village which ended up putting the entire clan in danger. He did not hesitate to risk his own life to save Kiri, fighting several RDA members and eventually handcuffing himself at Quaritch's request.

Tuktirey[]

Jake is very protective of Tuk. When she and her older siblings were held captive, he checked on them to see if they were okay. When he noticed that she was crying, he hugged her and said that she was going to be alright. When they arrived at the Metkayina village, he was seen carrying her and when they arrived at their new house, she started crying from homesickness. Jake and her mother reminded Tuk and her older siblings of the phrase that Jake always says: "Sullys stick together". After Tuk and Neytiri got out of the sinking ship after being rescued by her older sister Kiri, she cried out to him as they were swimming toward Payakan and hugged her brother and father as she was relieved to see them alive.

Tom Sully[]

Jake's relationship with his brother is unknown, and when Jake sees Tom's recently deceased body, he appears disturbed but shows little emotion. Jake takes Tom's place as an avatar driver on Pandora. When Grace tells Jake that she needs his brother upon their first meeting, Jake bluntly replies that he is dead and sarcastically refers to his death as a "big inconvenience", perhaps mocking the how the RDA only viewed Tom as an asset and not a person. Whenever Jake spoke of Tom, he would refer to him as "Tommy", even after his brother died.

Jake described the two of them as having the same appearance but very different personalities, with Jake being more outgoing and Tom being more studious. One thing that they both bonded over was a book Tom had about myths and legends about heroic figures on Earth, with Jake's favorite part of the book being a tale about Alexander the Great.

Allies[]

Grace Augustine[]

Jake and Grace

Grace opening up to Jake

At first, Grace takes Jake's role in the Avatar Program as a massive insult since she needed his brother, "The PhD who trained three years for this mission." and referred to Jake as a "jarhead dropout". After arguing with Selfridge, she reluctantly agreed to take him on as a security escort. When Jake is taken in by the Omatikaya clan, she ensured Jake had the best equipment and support so nothing went wrong during his time with the Na'vi. She takes Jake, Norm and Trudy to an isolated avatar uplink site in the Hallelujah Mountains to keep Jake from reporting his findings to Colonel Quaritch. Over time she begins to treat Jake like the son she probably never had, even putting him to bed when he falls asleep during a video log. Jake feels a mutual feeling towards Grace as he convinces Mo'at to allow Grace back into the clan.

When Jake is finally accepted as one of The People, a true Na'vi, Grace looks on in her avatar with pride. She is with Jake when he is trying to convince the Omatikaya that they have to leave Hometree or the RDA will kill them. She later escapes imprisonment by the RDA with Jake, but is wounded by Quaritch. When the Na'vi try to transfer her consciousness into her avatar, she tells Jake that she is with Eywa. However, the transfer is unsuccessful as she succumbs to her wounds and passes on. When she dies, Jake becomes extremely upset and her death inspires the campaign of retribution against the Sky People. Jake, while praying, asks Eywa to look into Grace's memories to see how the Sky People treat their planet. It is unknown if Eywa did so but she seems to react by having the wild animals on Pandora join in on the final battle.

Norm Spellman[]

Jake and Norm in Sampson 16

3D Version: red/cyancross-eyedNorm and Jake as they commence their first mission on Pandora

Jake first meets Norm on Pandora after the meeting with Colonel Quaritch. He tells Jake that he knew Jake's brother and that they will be working together for the next six years. Norm knows a lot of the Na'vi language, which he learned while training for the Avatar Program back on Earth and even has a short conversation with Dr. Grace Augustine in Na'vi. Norm rides with the Na'vi cavalry in the final battle against the RDA. Norm was initially jealous of Jake and grew bitter around him, as he had trained for five years, and yet Jake, with no training, was accepted into the Omatikaya clan.

He later comes around when they begin working together, and he even takes it upon himself to go significantly out of his way to help the avatar team. This is best exemplified when Norm, out of his usual non-threatening nature, attacks a Marine who was trying to bring Jake and Grace out of link after the destruction of the Hometree. Norm fights alongside Jake in the final battle and was one of the few humans who were allowed to remain on Pandora. Over a decade after the conflict, Norm and Jake remain close friends and Norm flew all the way to the ocean to help Kiri, the two embracing in a warm hug.

Tsu'tey[]

I will fly with you HD

3D Version: red/cyancross-eyedJake encountering Tsu'tey after becoming Toruk Makto

Jake's relationship with Tsu'tey was never easy. When they first met, Tsu'tey wanted to kill Jake for being one of the Sky People. Their rivalry grows after Jake and Neytiri begin to fall in love with one another, despite the fact that Tsu'tey and Neytiri were betrothed to mate and lead the Omatikaya clan together. When Jake and Neytiri eventually mate, both of her parents show disappointment while Tsu'tey is enraged and tries to kill Jake. When Jake reveals his mission to the clan, Tsu'tey and his warriors bind Jake and Grace for his betrayal. However, when Jake becomes the sixth Toruk Makto and pledges allegiance to the Omatikaya people, Tsu'tey lets go of his grudge against Jake and comes to respect him. Tsu'tey and Jake fight side by side in the final battle. Tsu'tey is fatally wounded in the battle. After the Na'vi defeat the RDA forces, Jake finds a dying Tsu'tey, who admits that he was proud to fight with Jake and considered him a brother. With great reluctance, Jake grants Tsu'tey a merciful death at his request.

Mo'at[]

Mo'at is partially the reason that Jake is accepted into the Omatikaya clan. She is curious about him, because he is the first warrior to go into an avatar body. Mo'at encouraged Jake's learning of the Na'vi culture and even allowed Grace into the village at his request because of his progress. She is initially displeased that Jake and Neytiri mate, but later comes to feel better about it. When the RDA attacks Hometree, Mo'at frees Jake and Grace from their bonds and begs them to save the clan. When Jake becomes Toruk Makto, she is amazed, and she realizes he was a good mating choice for Neytiri. Mo'at also performs the ritual that allows Jake to be permanently transferred into his avatar body.

Trudy Chacón[]

Jake sees Trudy as both an ally and a good friend, another former marine looking for a new lease on life. She is the pilot who brings Jake and the avatar team to the Hallelujah Mountains to separate themselves from the main RDA facility. She is a pilot at the attack on the Hometree, but can't bring herself to fire and returns to the base. With assistance from Max Patel, she frees Jake, Norm and Grace from RDA captivity and helps them relocate the camp in the Hallelujah Mountains to a site near the Tree of Souls. She flies her Samson, adorned with war paint, in the final battle with the RDA under the call sign "Rogue 1". She distracts Quaritch's Dragon Assault Ship away from Jake and manages to damage the Dragon before being disabled and then ultimately killed by Quaritch.

Max Patel[]

Max is one of the few humans on Pandora that Jake truly trusts. Max was the scientist who told Grace of Quaritch's intentions for Jake, causing the team to move locations. Over time, Max becomes Jake's friend. Max, along with Trudy, helps Jake, Norm, and Grace escape from Hell's Gate. He is then appointed Jake's inside man. After the final battle, Max is one of the few humans allowed to stay on Pandora.

Eytukan[]

Eytukan appears to Jake

Eytukan appears to Jake within Eywa, telling him he does not deserve to die

Jake seems to respect Eytukan who conducts his initiation ceremony into the clan and appears honored to accept Jake as one of the Omatikaya people. Eytukan also seems to return Jake's respect and listens attentively when Jake tries to warn the Na'vi that the RDA is planning to destroy Hometree, but when Jake is thought to be a traitor after revealing his mission, Eytukan, infuriated, orders both Jake and Grace to be bound as he and the clan's warriors prepare to defend Hometree against the RDA. When Eytukan dies in the assault, Jake feels sadness and tries to comfort Neytiri, only to be rejected by her until he proves where his loyalties lie upon taming a toruk. Two weeks after the assault on the Tree of Souls, Eytukan appeared in Jake's dream during his comatose state. Eytukan no longer held any rage against Jake after realizing that Jake had been chosen by Eywa and risked his life to save his clan.

Spider Socorro[]

Jake is very accepting and welcoming towards Spider, as he knows what it is like to be human and how difficult it is to keep up with the Na'vi physically and culturally. He also defends Spider in situations where Neytiri is angry with him. Despite Neytiri's resentment of Spider, Jake never pushed him aside. Jake has always tried to make Spider feel welcome around his family, even when Neytiri objects to his presence and says that as a human, he "belongs with his own kind." It is likely that Jake did not want to deem Spider as being part of the family due to Spider already having a foster family at Hell's Gate, combined with Neytiri being uncomfortable.

After Neteyam's death, Jake is relieved to see Spider return, embracing him and Lo'ak together while saying "a son for a son". While some believe this is the moment when Jake actually adopts Spider into the family, this is yet to be confirmed at this time.

Bob[]

Jake chose Bob as his banshee during his Iknimaya and seemed to treat his mount well and affectionately.

Rivals[]

Miles Quaritch[]

Jake and Quaritch - discussion

Quaritch trying to find out which species Jake is loyal to

Jake originally sees Colonel Quaritch as an ally when he first arrives on Pandora. He is a foil to Dr. Augustine in Jake's relationships. In exchange for the promise of neuroregeneration surgery that would return the use of his legs, Jake agrees to acquire military intelligence for the Colonel in case military action against the Na'vi should ever become necessary. Quaritch also seems initially fond of Jake, saying that "I wish I had ten more like you". However, as he becomes closer to Neytiri and the Na'vi, he breaks his ties with Quaritch. In the battle of the mountains, Quaritch tries to kill Jake but is stopped when Neytiri kills Quaritch with her father's bow, saving Jake's life. Even when Quaritch is revived as a Recom, he remains hostile and wishes to eliminate Jake.

Parker Selfridge[]

Jake originally sees Parker Selfridge as a boss whom he can trust and Parker views him likewise as a capable asset. However, as Jake begins to trust Grace Augustine and get closer to the Na'vi, he breaks his ties with Parker, viewing him as a cold and greedy businessman. Even when this occurs, Jake sees Parker as someone who could be negotiated out of predicaments. This is best seen when Jake convinces Parker to let him and Grace go back into their avatar bodies to try to evacuate the Na'vi. Parker is amongst the humans whom Jake and the Na'vi exile from Pandora.

Frances Ardmore[]

Ardmore versus Jake

Jake arguing with Ardmore before the two engage in battle

Even before the RDA returned to Pandora, Ardmore wanted Jake dead. When Jake first laid eyes on Ardmore during her radio broadcast, he was immediately distrustful of her intentions and wished to fight the RDA, believing she would break any treaty made with him. When Jake confronted her physically in outer space, he reiterated this belief, and told her the only reason was talking to her now is because he used to serve in the army himself. He threatened her that any humans she deployed on Pandora would be killed, though Ardmore instead threatened him back, saying him and the Na'vi are outgunned. Despite that Ardmore was concerned about safeguarding the unobtanium, Jake used it as leverage against her and even exploded one of the refineries anyway, causing Ardmore to turn hostile and attempt to kill Jake and his team.

In the Games[]

Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora[]

In Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora, Jake is sometimes mentioned by people, notes and audio logs. It is mentioned he left Alma Cortez in charge of the Resistance for the Western Frontier.

Avatar: Reckoning[]

In the MMORPG Avatar: Reckoning, Jake is mentioned at least twice but not by name. In a conversation between Raven and Ro'até, Raven mentions that a Sky Person helped the Omatikaya, using Jake as an example that not all Sky People are the same. Later on, a Na'vi can be heard mentioning that Toruk Makto is uniting all the clans to prepare against the RDA's return.

Avatar: The Mobile Game (non-canon)[]

Jake Sully The Mobile Game

Jake in the mobile game

Jake is the playable protagonist of the mobile game, which is a non-canon retelling of the first film. In the game, Jake is sent into the jungle in search of new unobtanium deposits by Quaritch, but after meeting Neytiri and surviving the Dream Hunt, he refuses to cooperate with the RDA and asks Grace Augustine to take care of his human body, then leaves with the Na'vi forever.

Avatar: Pandora Rising (non-canon)[]

On the side of the RDA[]

Jake-RDA side

Jake in Avatar: Pandora Rising

Commander Information[]

When playing as the RDA, Jake was available as a controllable Commander under the name of "Sully". He was a Legendary Commander and therefore much harder to obtain and considerably more powerful. On the RDA side, Jake was only available in early versions of the game; he was later removed and replaced by Smith. Different artwork of him, where he is riding the great leonopteryx, exists in the game's files, but was never implemented before the game's cancellation.

Biography[]

"When Jake Sully took his first steps into the body of an avatar, he was both amazed and delighted. Released from his wheelchair, he returned to the life of a Marine, which he had to give up when he was paralyzed on Earth. A skinhead is always a skinhead, so Jake is drawn to the powerful and charismatic personality of Colonel Miles Quaritch, and sees the most experienced and veteran military man as a true leader."

On the side of the Na'vi[]

Jake-Na'vi side
Commander Information[]

When playing on the Na'vi side, Jake was also available, under the name of "Jake". He was identical to his RDA version in rarity and overall stats, although he gave boosts to different Troops.

Biography[]

"Jakesully is like a newborn Ikran, unfolding it's wings for the first time and unsteadily learning how to fly. His latent skills and talents are readily apparent to someone keen enough to observe them, but he needs to be trained and his senses sharpened. Jakesully uses the skills he learned on Earth as part of the Jarhead Clan to further his Na'vi training and to show to his teacher Neytiri that he is able to follow the Na'vi way."

Reception and criticism[]

Avatar[]

Jake has been received controversially by many viewers. Some dislike Jake because they view him as betraying the human race, often with the false claim he only did so because he wanted alien sex with Neytiri, with people trying to portray him as a lustful, vapid and shallow character.[citation needed] However, it is clear that Jake begins to develop an emotional connection with Neytiri instead of merely a physical attraction, and that he wanted to protect the Na'vi from the RDA's greed. This misconception might have been fueled by a scene in the first film where Quaritch asks Jake, "You find yourself some local tail, and you just completely forget what team you're playing for?" In the original script, Quaritch's "tail" is replaced with "pussy". Jake is silent, although viewers may mistake his silence as confirmation. Jake is unable to articulate a decent counter-argument, instead letting Grace do the talking.

Jake shooting humans

Jake shooting up human soldiers during the Pandoran War

In the time of Avatar which is 2154, it is not specified that the RDA was fighting for humanity's survival at this point, or that Pandora was viewed as a second hope to save the human race. This is only mentioned in The Way of Water which is set in 2170. Defenders of Jake argue he did not betray humanity at the time; he fought against the RDA in the war, and it could be argued the RDA betrayed the Na'vi and humanity first. Jake is still allies with many humans who defected from the RDA after the end of Avatar.[6]

Some of Jake's detractors go so far as to blame him for the entire Pandoran War and not the RDA, claiming his actions killed hundreds of people,[7] even though Jake and Grace are seen admitting that they are unable to get the Na'vi to relocate, and during the attack on Hometree, the Na'vi refuse to leave as well despite Jake and Grace's pleading. Jake also did not know the Tree of Voices was going to be bulldozed, and he did not order the retaliation which was caused by Tsu'tey and Eytukan. Admittedly, however, Jake still comes up with the idea to rally the clans, and the RDA noticing the Na'vi in the skies was used as justification for the assault on the Tree of Souls.

While he did not choose to be born white in-universe and only is due to chance, Jake is still accused of being a "white messiah" trope from an out-of-universe perspective.[8] While meaning no offense to Sam Worthington, some wish Jake was portrayed by an actor of color. The known actors considered for Jake's role are also white, although it is unclear if only white actors were being considered. James Cameron mentioned the film can be taken as an allusion for a white man making amends,[9] although some viewers still view Avatar as a "white savior" movie. They also point out that while there are exceptions such as Black Panther and Aladdin, the majority of main protagonists in major top-grossing movies are white (Elsa/Anna from Frozen, Belle from Beauty and the Beast, Jack/Rose from Titanic, Ken/Barbie from Barbie, Mario/Peach from The Super Mario Bros. Movie, the lead cast of Harry Potter, members of The Incredibles family, etc). To alleviate the white messiah criticism, James Cameron had Jake give away his positions of power in The Way of Water, pointing out he becomes a simple father seeking protection from Tonowari. Lo'ak also has more screentime than Jake.

Avatar: The Way of Water[]

A major point of contention some viewers have against Jake is his desire to flee the clan. Some interpret this being a selfish and illogical decision, unable to see Jake's perspective.[10] However, Jake instead views this as a protection, believing if the RDA found out the clan was harboring him, as he is viewed as terrorist war leader by the RDA, then the RDA would have justification to execute the entire clan. Spider's abduction and knowledge of where the clan is, as well as Quaritch being close to High Camp, puts the clan's safety in jeopardy, and so Jake flees with his family because he does not want his children in a war zone, preferring to only return when the war is over. As seen during The Way of Water, the plan went smoothly for quite a while, and it only was the incident with Kiri's seizure (Jake calling Norm and Max) which ruined it. A misconception that fuels the contention is the idea that the Resistance were supposedly winning the war, merely because they successfully derailed a train and stole supplies. However, this is not explicitly said, and with the RDA's rapid technological development and ability to bypass Eywa's immune response with their Recombinants, Jake sees the increasing danger.

Some view Jake as being a bad father who neglects Lo'ak and plays favorites in the family.[11] The soundtrack of The Way of Water also has a track called "Bad Parents" suggesting that both Jake and Neytiri are intended to be flawed parents.

One scene has been misinterpreted by viewers. When Jake is rescued by Lo'ak in the SeaDragon, he confuses Lo'ak for being Neteyam due to being oxygen-deprived and likely believing he is already dead and is in the afterlife. Lo'ak says, "No, dad, it's Lo'ak" and Jake replies "Oh, no..." Jake does not say "Oh no..." because he wishes Lo'ak died instead of Neteyam, but rather, because he realizes he and his family are still in danger, and realizing that Neteyam is truly deceased.

Trivia[]

  • Jake Sully is shown to exist as a character in the animated show Family Guy.
  • Jake Sully was originally named "Josh Sully" in James Cameron's first concept for Avatar (Project 880). He played a similar role, differing only in details; he is attacked in the jungle by a Medusa rather than a Manticore, releases Colonel Quaritch (rather than Neytiri killing him) whereafter the Colonel is eaten by a pack of viperwolves, and delivers a message to Earth after the final battle warning them of the "Pandora virus" which is deadly to humans.
    • In this script, he came from Charlotte, North Carolina.
  • In 2006, temporary actor Daniel Bess played the role of Jake in a prototype to demonstrate the new technology.
  • Jake was originally supposed to have a novel, written by James Cameron himself, which explored his life on Earth, and presumably his childhood with Tommy, him becoming paralyzed, etc. However, it is unclear if this will ever be explored someday, such as in one of the Dark Horse graphic novels.
  • Jake is somewhat abnormal for being the protagonist of a major series, due to rather little being known about his life, only glimpses being shown in the Avatar: Extended Collector's Edition. For example, it is unclear who his parents are and if he even has any.
  • After waking from cryosleep aboard the ISV Venture Star, Jake's locker can be seen still labeled as "Sully, T."; it was originally assigned to Jake's dead twin brother Tom.
  • Jake, although chronologically 28 when he arrives at Pandora, did not age in cryo, so he is still 22 earth years when he arrives on Pandora, and 23 when he permanently becomes Navi.
  • Jake's avatar body is estimated to be 17 years old biologically. It is, however, less than six years old chronologically, having been grown during the ISV Venture Star's journey to Pandora.
  • In the script, Neytiri becomes pregnant with Jake's child; however, the idea was not included in the final release. This is among the deleted scenes (New Life) from the Extended Collector's Edition. The idea later appeared in The Way of Water.
  • Jake has a "Born Loser" tattoo on his back. It is not shown in the film, but it can be found in the script and in a making of video of the Extended Collector's Edition.
  • "Jake" is the short form of the name "Jacob", which means "to seize by the heel, supplanting". "Sully" means "south meadow", while the word "sully" means "to damage the purity"
  • His radio code name in The Way of Water and The High Ground is "Devil Dog".
  • James Cameron questioned the idea of Jake Sully still being an avatar at the end of the first film, saying, "Certainly I don't want to call it Avatar 2. He's not an avatar anymore, is he? Maybe we'll call it Na'vi."[12] In The Way of Water, he tells Ronal that he is Na'vi. Despite this, Jake's species is listed as "Avatar" in Avatar: The Way of Water: The Visual Dictionary.
  • Sam Worthington succeeded over other actors James Cameron was considering for the role:
    • Chris Pratt - Auditioned but felt "there was literally nothing about my audition that was compelling at all."[13]
    • Chris Pine - Auditioned but stopped during the middle of the audition because he felt it was not good and "How dare I put that poor casting director through the experience of watching me?"[13]
    • Jake Gyllenhaal - Wished to focus on Prince of Persia instead[13]
    • Matt Damon - Wished to focus on The Bourne Ultimatum instead.[13] He later regretted it, calling it, "the dumbest thing an actor ever did in the history of acting."
    • Chris Evans and Channing Tatum - James Cameron: "I really liked Channing’s appeal. I liked Chris’ appeal. They were both great guys. But Sam had a quality of voice and a quality of intensity. Everybody did about the same on all the material through the script, except for the final speech where he stands up and says, ‘This is our land, ride now, go as fast as the wind can carry you.’ That whole thing. I would have followed him into battle. And I wouldn’t have followed the other guys. They’ve since gone onto fantastic careers and all that, but Sam was ready. He was ready."[14]
  • Sam won the role based on his delivery of the crucial speech to the Na'vi at the Tree of Souls.[15] This screen test can be watched here.
  • Sam Worthington won a Saturn Award for his portrayal of Jake in the first film.

Memorable Quotes[]

Avatar[]

  • All I ever wanted in my sorry-ass life was a single thing worth fighting for.
  • It doesn't feel like 6 years; more like a fifth of tequila and an ass-kicking. - about cryosleep
  • There's no such thing as an ex-Marine. You may be out, but you never lose the attitude.
  • Damn, they got big. - seeing his avatar for the first time
  • So here I am, doing... science.
  • Yeah, come on! What you got! Oh yeah, who's bad? That's right. Yeah, that's what I'm talkin' about, bitch. That's right, get your punk ass back to mommy. - gloating after "scaring" a group of Hammerhead Titanotheres
  • Outstanding. - to Neytiri after learning that an ikran will choose its rider by trying to kill them
  • Get rid of this shit, then you can lecture me. - taking Grace's cigarette from her after she talks to him about his health
  • Everything is backwards now. Like out there is the true world... and in here is the dream. - Jake regarding his life on Pandora
  • I can barely remember my old life. I'm not sure who I am anymore.
  • I've already chosen, but this woman must also choose me. - choosing Neytiri to be his mate
  • I was a warrior who dreamed he could bring peace. Sooner or later though, you always have to wake up. - after the destruction of the Hometree
  • Outcast, Betrayer, Alien; I was in the place the eye does not see. - being outcasted by the Omatikaya
  • Sometimes your whole life boils down to one insane move. - planning to tame the great leonopteryx
  • The Sky People have sent us a message- that they can take whatever they want, and no one can stop them. Well, we will send them a message. You ride out as fast as the wind can carry you. You tell the other clans to come. You tell them that Toruk Makto calls to them! You fly now, with me, my brothers, sisters, and we will show the Sky People that they cannot take whatever they want! And that this, this is our land! - addressing the Omatikaya after Grace's death and before gathering the Na'vi clans for battle
  • I'm probably just talking to a tree right now. But if you're there, I need to give you a heads-up. If Grace is with you, look into her memories. See the world we come from. There's no green there. They killed their Mother. And they're gonna do the same here. More Sky People are gonna come. They're gonna come like a rain that never ends unless we stop them. Look, you chose me for something. I will stand and fight. You know I will. But I need a little help here. - trying to convince Eywa to help the Na'vi

Avatar: The High Ground[]

  • Pandora. What Earth once was -- she is. I would die to protect her.
  • Look, I was taught that the most powerful weapon in the world is a marine and his rifle, in that order. I may not be human anymore, but I'll always be a marine!
  • He's an orphan. Can't you cut him some slack? There's a saying on Earth: the sins of the father should not be visited on the son. - defending Spider from Neytiri
  • Pain of the flesh reminds us that every round we fire takes a bit from our soul. Pain connects us to why we fight. So we never forget what they did to us. What was lost forever. And what they can never take away.

Avatar: The Way of Water[]

  • Happiness is simple, like date night, time away from the kids. But the thing about happiness... it can vanish in a heartbeat.
  • What are you doing here, boy? What the hell were you thinking?! - finding Neteyam injured on the battlefield
  • Fall in. You’re supposed to be spotters! You spot bogies and you call them in, FROM A DISTANCE! Does any of this sound familiar? Get here! Jesus, I let you two geniuses fly a mission and you disobey direct orders! - Jake chastising his sons Neteyam and Lo'ak about disobeying him
  • Get that crap off your face. - about Lo'ak's war paint
  • I thought we lost them... - explaining to Neytiri why he is tough on Lo'ak and Neteyam
  • But I know one thing, wherever we go, this family is our fortress. - Jake trying to convince Neytiri to leave the Omatikaya
  • I don't want to hear it. You brought shame to this family. - Jake to Lo'ak
  • You gotta understand how the Sky People think. They don't care about the great balance! - Jake in regards to humanity
  • Listen to me, they have our daughters! They have our daughters. I need you... with me. And I need you to be strong! Right now! Strong heart! Strong heart... let's go get our daughters. - Jake motivating Neytiri
  • You've done enough. - to Lo'ak after Neteyam's death
  • I see you, son. - Jake to Lo'ak on how he finally "sees" him.
  • A father protects. It's what gives him meaning.
  • Sullys’ stick together. That was our greatest weakness and our great strength.
  • I see now. I can't save my family by running. This is our home. This is our fortress. This is where we make our stand.

Appearances[]

(3 films)

(4 games)

(4 comics)

References[]

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