Avatar: The Means of Water launched an all-new clan of Na’vi generally known as the Metkayina — and there are a variety of variations between these oceanic Na’vi and Avatar’s tree-dwelling Omatikaya. These water-based Na’vi reside in a totally totally different setting from the Omitakaya, the Na’vi clan to which Jake, Neytiri, and their youngsters belong. Which means the Metkayina need to survive towards every kind of water-based threats and wildlife on the harmful planet of Avatar‘s Pandora. Whereas they might appear fairly comparable at first look, there are a variety of organic variations between the Metkayina and the Omitakaya in Avatar: The Means of Water.
Avatar: The Means of Water follows Jake Sully and his household as they flee their dwelling to be able to evade the returning RDA troopers, together with the reincarnated Avatar of Colonel Quaritch. The small group of Omatikaya journey eastward, the place they run into the Metkayina clan, a bunch of Na’vi which have based mostly their society round Pandora’s huge oceans. Though the Omatikaya initially conflict with the Metkayina, Jake Sully and his household ultimately study to reside in concord with the sea-dwelling Na’vi, determining the best way to reside alongside the brand new clan, regardless of their many cultural and organic variations.
Inexperienced Pores and skin
Probably the most obvious distinction within the Metkayina Na’vi is their teal-green pores and skin. Whereas the Omatikaya are identified for his or her vibrant blue pores and skin, the Metkayina’s inexperienced pores and skin permits them to outlive significantly better of their setting. Primarily, their teal-green pores and skin shade permits them to completely mix in with the greenish-blueish oceans of Pandora, giving them the flexibility to cover from predators whereas swimming.
Apart from the organic motive, there’s additionally a sensible motive why Avatar: The Means of Water modified the Metkayina’s pores and skin colour. Having inexperienced pores and skin permits the viewers to visually inform which Na’vi is a part of which clan, because the pores and skin colour is way more immediately recognizable than the opposite variations between the clans. Comparatively, the Omitakaya are fish out of water among the many Metkayina, and having totally different colours permits the movie to visually make this distinction.
Finned Arms
One other main distinction that the Metkayina Na’vi have are their thick, finned arms. The Metkayina’s broad forearms act nearly as paddles, permitting them to swim by Pandora’s oceans with nice power. Their arms additionally enable the Metkayina to hit more durable whereas concurrently being large enough to make use of defensively, blocking incoming hits. All through Avatar: The Means of Water, the Metkayina make enjoyable of Jake and Neytiri’s children, with their comparatively skinny arms being the butt of many jokes.
Greater Tails
Together with their arms, the Metkayina even have a lot greater tails than the Omatikaya. Whereas the Omitakaya have skinny, prehensile tails (which means tails which might be able to greedy issues), Avatar‘s Metkayina have thick and flat tails. Within the water, the Omatikaya use their tales like rudders, giving them higher steering potential within the water. The tails may also be utilized in fight, with Avatar: The Means of Water displaying the Metkayina utilizing their tails to comb the legs of different Na’vi and hit them with their highly effective swings at a distance.
Clear Eyelids
Maybe essentially the most refined distinction between the Metkayina and the Omitakya is the Metkayina’s eyelids. Though they’ve common eyelids, the Metkayina even have a second set of eyelids beneath their major ones. These eyelids are translucent, permitting the Metkayina to see underwater with out damaging their eyes. The Metkayina’s translucent eyelids in Avatar 2 are literally an actual factor current in lots of marine animals, similar to mackerel, milkfish, and jacks. Often called adipose eyelids, this small element in all probability went unnoticed by many, making it one other instance of the meticulous world-building of Avatar: The Means of Water.
Looser Hair
Some of the distinctive qualities of the Na’vi is their hair, with the Omatikaya sometimes sporting their thick hair in lengthy, black braids. Though the Metkayina all have black hair as properly, their hair is far much less thick than their tree-dwelling counterparts. Due to this, the Metkayina put on their hair in several hairstyles, preferring looser hairstyles that enable their hair to move. The totally different hairstyles current within the Metkayina clan is one other instance of the numerous cultural variations between Pandora’s varied Na’vi clans, including one other layer of element to the world of Avatar.
The Metkayina’s unfastened hair additionally has a survival benefit for the clan. Within the water, the Metkayina’s hair poofs out, displaying off the unbelievable water and hair physics of the brand new Avatar movie. It additionally makes the Metkayina look greater, presumably heading off the predators of Pandora’s ocean. Many real-life animals instinctively poof their hair out to appear greater to predators, and it solely is smart that the Na’vi would have developed this survival intuition as properly.
Smaller Ears
One other minor distinction between the Omatikaya and the Metkayina are the Metkayina’s smaller ears. When in comparison with Jake Sully and his household, the Metkayina’s ears appear a lot smaller, with their ears additionally that includes a lot smaller ear canals. Though it is not sure precisely why the Metkayina have this distinction, it’s most certainly an adaptation that permits the Na’vi to absorb much less water by their ears whereas swimming. On prime of that, the Metkayina in all probability want to listen to lower than the Omatikaya. Whereas the Omatikaya have to listen to predators over the fixed crunching of leaves, the Metkayina reside on pretty flat seashores, making their listening to much less essential.
Greater Chests & Skinnier Abdomens
One last distinction between the 2 clans of Na’vi is that the Metkayina have totally different chest and stomach proportions. In Avatar: The Means of Water, the Metkayina on common appear to have broader chests, whereas additionally having skinnier abdomens. For the reason that Metkayina cannot breathe water, this adaptation most certainly happened on account of their want to remain underwater for lengthy intervals of time. By the finish of Avatar: The Means of Water, the Omatikaya Na’vi have been in a number of conditions the place they’ve almost run out of breath – one thing that the Metkayina are by no means proven battling.
It’s theorized that the Metkayina’s greater chests enable them to have extra room for bigger lungs. This potential for elevated lung capability explains why they will keep underwater for therefore lengthy with out developing for air. Their skinnier abdomens might imply that the remainder of their organs are smaller, permitting the Metkayina to be about the identical measurement as the opposite Na’vi whereas nonetheless making them appropriate for his or her environments. Small particulars like this are why the world of Pandora in Avatar: The Means of Water is such a beloved and sophisticated place.
Avatar 3 Will Introduce New Na’vi Cultures
Evaluating the Metkayina vs Omaticaya in Avatar 2 reveals quite a bit, however that’s just the start of the clans of Pandora. It has been confirmed that Avatar 3 will introduce new Na’vi cultures a lot totally different from those audiences have already been launched to. In truth, producer Jon Landau has hinted that every new Avatar film will add to the cultures of those earlier than it, “Every film, we introduce new biomes and new cultures. And since we’re introducing new cultures, we have now new characters.” Landau additionally defined that these new cultures would not exchange others however reasonably construct on the world.
Landau revealed that Avatar 3 would characteristic a minimum of two new Na’vi cultures in its story. Certainly one of these cultures is thought to be the so-called Ash Folks in Avatar 3. Whereas the Na’vi have been proven in a optimistic mild up till this level within the franchise, this new tribe will subvert that with a extra ruthless and violent tribe. This hints that the brand new tribes to be launched will proceed to have enormous impacts on the franchise’s story past Avatar: The Means of Water.
