The Hidden Easter Egg You Missed In Avatar: The Last Airbender

Easter eggs aren't exactly a new phenomenon in television and film. Creators have always included small details and surprises to reward those with a keen eye. These visual cues can enhance a story, refer back to previous plot points, or simply incentivize fans to watch more closely. Then there's this one recently discovered Easter egg from Avatar: The Last Airbender, which is something else entirely.

Avatar first aired on Nickelodeon from 2005 to 2008. With its expert storytelling and broad appeal, the series quickly became one of the channel's most popular. Even though the show ended over a decade ago, the fans continue to mine those animated frames for undiscovered details. With the show's recent streaming debut on Netflix, that fanbase has only expanded. A whole new group of viewers has now discovered Avatar: the Last Airbender for the first time, and that means more pairs of eyes hunting for Easter eggs.

A Twitter user posting under the handle @FilmEasterEggs recently shared an interesting still frame from an episode that aired all the way back in 2007. The frame comes from a scene wherein earthbender extraordinaire Toph Beifong (voiced by Jessie Flower) first gets her metalbending hands on a piece of meteorite material that eventually yields both Toph's iconic bracelet and Sokka's (Jack De Sena) sword. 

On the season 5 episode entitled "The Beach," Toph quickly spins out a pretty familiar symbol with earthbending panache. During that episode, Sokka gives her a small piece of a meteorite so she can practice bending with metal from space. At this point in the series, Toph is the world's only metalbender. She taught herself the technique during season 2 after getting herself stuck in a difficult situation. She first uses her metalbending to escape from an iron cage with a bit of struggle, but by the time Sokka hands over the meteorite, she's basically mastered the technique. While shuffling through a few complicated forms, Toph actually molds the meteor material into the famous Nickelodeon Splat logo (pictured above). This is truly a blink-and-you'll-miss-it moment.

Nickelodeon used the orange Splat for well over three decades. In 2009 it was finally retired, and a simpler design introduced in its stead. It was time for an update, but much like Avatar, the Splat remains an iconic piece of cartoon history. The Last Airbender's entire run was associated with the now-retro logo. Every episode ran with the Splat superimposed in the bottom corner of the screen. This bit of earthbending flair is a neat callback to the show's origins, as well as an homage to a much different era in Nickelodeon history.