An Avatar Comic Shows What Happened To Jake's Human Body Before The Way Of Water

While actor Sam Worthington has headlined several projects throughout his time in Hollywood (via Rotten Tomatoes), it's no surprise that the most successful by far has ultimately been the Academy Award-winning film "Avatar." The actor has attempted to lead other franchises since his first days on Pandora, with a "Clash of the Titans" remake and a stint in the "Terminator" franchise, but all of these projects didn't have anywhere close to the same impact as "Avatar" with audiences. 

However, his efforts in the lead role for the hugely anticipated second chapter in the "Avatar" franchise, "Avatar: The Way of Water," verify that if there is one thing the man excels at, it's going full Na'vi. Worthington's turn as Jake Sully in the 2009 feature saw the character make the full jump from human to Na'vi, permanently separating himself from his flesh-and-bone counterpart. That has left some fans wondering what exactly happened to the leftovers in between the events of both films.

In "Avatar: the Way of the Water," it has been over 10 years since the events of the first film, with Jake Sully now not only leading the Omatikaya but also raising a family with Neytiri (Zoe Saldana). He has been a Na'vi for some time and has pretty much left most of his human heritage behind.

After almost being killed in the last movie from Colonel Miles Quaritch's (Stephen Lang) attack and Pandora's poisonous atmosphere toward humans, the lovestruck ex-marine-turned-freedom-fighter — feeling that his destiny lies with Neytiri — decides to take his talents away from the human race and help rebuild Pandora as one of its blue residents. In the final moments of the 2009 blockbuster, viewers witnessed Jake's human body laid out under the Tree of Souls, where his mind was successfully transferred into the Avatar body, thus making the change permanent. 

The sequel doesn't address what happened to Jake's human body, but there is follow-up material within the franchise that sheds some light on this curiosity.

A follow-up comic series from Dark Horse Comics was released that filled some of the gaps between the first two films. "Avatar: The Next Shadow" was written by Jeremy Barlow, with Josh Hood serving as the artist and Wes Dzioba as the colorist. The first issue of the series was published on January 6, 2021, and chronicles the struggles Jake Sully, Neytiri, and the rest of Na'vi endure after the epic battle at the end of the first film, and more importantly, how the character continues to adjust to his new permanent Avatar body. "Just as a fan, I wanted to know, like when Jake wakes up at the end in the body, the Na'vi body, what's next," Jeremy Barlow said during a live panel (via YouTube). And the comic does just that and more, including specifically addressing what happened to the human body that Jake left behind after he wakes up as a Na'vi.

In the story, Jake visits his gravesite to see that his body was given a traditional Na'vi burial. Plant life, flowers, and vines have already started to consume the corpse at this point, so much so that Na'vi Jake cuts his hand trying to dig it up to view, triggering the realization he is still unsure about his choices. While Jake may still be struggling with his new identity in this issue, fans will no longer have to struggle with the truth as to what happened to his human self. His body is a part of Pandora forever, and his Na'vi alter-ego will continue to be part of it for the foreseeable future, as there are several sequels on the way after "Avatar: The Way of Water."