Water, Earth, Fire, or Air. Whichever element speaks most to you, Avatar: The Last Airbender continues to make an impact 20 years after it first premiered on Nickelodeon. At FAN EXPO Chicago 2025, Zach Tyler Eisen, Jack De Sena, Greg Baldwin, Dante Basco, Michaela Jill Murphy, and Mae Whitman reunited for a “Mastering the Elements with the Cast of Avatar” panel on Friday. The cast reminisced about recording sessions for the show, reflected on their characters, answered fan questions, and more.
Michaela Jill Murphy’s Continued Appreciation for Toph
Michaela Jill Murphy voiced Toph in seasons 2 and 3 of Avatar: The Last Airbender. During the panel at FAN EXPO Chicago, she explained how her love for the character has evolved.
“As I’ve gotten older, I have definitely learned to appreciate Toph a lot, lot more,” Murphy said.
Murphy reflected on how, as a young girl whose family didn’t have cable growing up, she thought more characters like Toph that existed — “bad*ss little tomboy chicks.” But there weren’t. However, through the years, fans would tell her how much Toph meant to them. She said some fans liked Toph because they could relate to being not girly, mess,y and loud. Others related to Top because of her disability, and Murphy learned how Toph’s disability was her superpower.
“I didn’t realize that she had so much power,” Murphy said during the FAN EXPO Chicago panel. “I knew she was powerful, but I didn’t know how powerful she was just on her own for so many different reasons.”
The “Bender Babies” Group Chat
One of the most wholesome discoveries from the Avatar: The Last Airbender at FAN EXPO Chicago 2025 was the “Bender Babies” group chat.
“We have a text thread where we talk about baby stuff,” Whitman said of herself, Basco, and De Sena. “It’s very cool, because it’s great when you have friends where you can be like, ‘Can I copy your parenting? What do I do here?’”
The topic came up when Whitman, who gave birth to her first child last year, was asked what it’s like to be a mother. She highlighted how motherhood requires constant pivoting and is a “lifelong process of growth and change and adaptability.” During the panel, she also admitted she, as a mother, will sometimes channel Katara and use her character’s tone. But she also noted how it was nice to play the type-A Katara because that personality differs from her own.
Basco, however, still finds it difficult to believe Whitman is a mother.
“I’ve known her since she was a proper child!” he joked about his costar.
The Bean: Chicago’s Own Sky Bison?
The first Avatar: The Last Airbender panel at FAN EXPO Chicago 2025 featured lots of fun moments and laughter, but one of the most amusing tidbits came during the fan questions portion of the discussion. One of the submitted questions asked the cast members about what their characters would do if they ever saw “The Bean.” Formally known as “Cloud Gate,” the outdoor art installation is a popular tourist attraction in downtown Chicago’s Millennium Park.
Zach Tyler Eisen captured the youthful joy of Aang and his love for Appa, the sky bison, with his answer. He drew plenty of laughs when he claimed the airbender would hop on The Bean and yell, “Yip yip!”
Avatar: The Last Airbender in Today’s Media Landscape
Greg Baldwin voiced the fan favorite, tea-loving Uncle Iroh in the third season of the Avatar: The Last Airbender animated series. But he wasn’t afraid to be blunt about the harsh realities of the show’s narrative, pointing out how the show opens with the Air Nomad Genocide. It’s why he thinks the show wouldn’t be made today.
“For a kids’ show, this is really grueling, and I also think that’s the power of the show,” Baldwin said. “They never dumbed it down for kids.”
