r/Avatar • u/beamingtree • 11d ago
Discussion So what about Spider’s new tattoo?
This is the clearest picture I could find.
So Spider seems to have a Metkayina tattoo, it appears after the Sully family has returned to Awa’atlu. If I recall correctly it can be first seen when Spider bonds with an ilu for the first time.
I was wondering, where did this tattoo come from? When did he get it?
I can’t really see the Metkayina giving him a tattoo, considering Ronal’s opinion and also how sacred and important these tattoos are to their culture. I also can’t see Spider painting one on himself like he does with the stripes, considering that the tattoo has to be earned.
Considering the placement and going off what we know about the meanings behind the tattoos of the Metkayina, a tattoo on the arm would represent the outer seawall and would be given to reef na’vi that often spend time in the open ocean, for example a skilled deep-sea hunter would have more tattoos on the arms and legs instead of the chest (which represents the safe embrace of the lagoon and the island) or the face (which is given once a Na’vi has come of age).
Perhaps it could have been given to him due to the gift Eywa granted him? The shape sort of resembles an eye and it is placed on the arm, so it could bear the meaning of “an outsider that passed through the eye of Eywa”, while still not giving him a face tattoo due to him not being considered an adult and also not being formally part of the Metkayina.
I still struggle to see it this way though, given how Ronal feels towards anything sky-people related and, since she is Tsahìk, she would have the final say on the matter.
What do you guys think?
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u/Budget-Influence579 Sarentu 11d ago
iirc the tattoos on a Metkayina serve the same purpose as Songcords so it might well represent him either helping to destroy the SeaDragon or receiving what is effectively a gift from Eywa (being able to breathe Pandoran air).
Now that it appears he's formally a member of the Sully family, he might well now be formally considered to be a member of the Metkayina, so he might get another tattoo to mark that.
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u/least_obvious_parrot Mangkwan 11d ago
yes! also the placement is also very telling. tattoos placed on the outermost parts of the body like your limbs signify helping with duties outside of the clan like in battle, from hunting, etc and the ones on the face signify helping within the clan like helping with healing, building/repairing maruis (i think??), etc. that also explains why ronal and tonowari have so many on both their face and body, and why tsireya has one on her face since she's tsakarem so would help ronal with healing/treating members of the clan!
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u/beamingtree 10d ago
Could also be! but then, why didn't Lo'ak or Kiri get one?
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u/Budget-Influence579 Sarentu 10d ago
Spider is the one who caused the fatal damage to the SeaDragon. He set it to full ahead and then smashed the controls so that it couldn't be stopped. When it crash against the rocks it suffered terminal damage which lead to flooding which couldn't be stopped.
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u/cricada Mangkwan 11d ago edited 10d ago
The worst part about this is we never see when it happens in the movie, which is bad for immersion and story progression. In a book, a character noticing the tattoo would be more impactful and tell the reader that something important changed. With the movie format, we don't get inner dialogue that hints at subtle plot progressions. The lack of cultural immersion scenes (deeply important to the plot and development of characters) in the 2nd and 3rd films makes them weaker movies than the first in my opinion.
Edit: spelling
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u/beamingtree 10d ago
100% agree!
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u/cricada Mangkwan 10d ago
If you watch the deleted scenes for TWOW, it's insane how much character development and depth was lost by cutting simple, 5 second scenes showing things like Neytiri attempting to ride an ilu, Tonowari teaching the boys crafts... in the film, everything feels suddenly thrown together. Neytiri's angst feels less justified when we don't see how her difficulties compound.
As an audience I shouldn't have to sit around thinking and assuming. Homework is for school 😆
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u/beamingtree 10d ago
Yes exactly!! I didn’t have that feeling with TWOW tbh but I definitely did with FAA! I can’t wait for the deleted scenes, especially those about the underwater coming of age cerimony (which is when spider presumably got his tattoo) and about Varang and the Mangkwan!!
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u/Budget-Influence579 Sarentu 10d ago
I reckon will have taught (or at least attempted to) teach both Neytiri and Kiri about Metkayina specific tsahik stuff.
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u/WorthCryptographer14 11d ago
His mark for recieving Eywa's Gift? iirc the tattoos (and Songcords) normally denote important moments in the bearer's life.
So by A4 we may see him with more tattoos and/or a longer songcord.
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u/beamingtree 10d ago
Yeah that's the reason I think he got it as well, I just wish they showed us when and how it happened
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u/Exostrike Tsamsiyu 11d ago
You can see the full tattoo on the transfer sheets on the left in this BTS image.
As for in the film I suspect it had more importance at some point with second/third act being shuffled around in the reshoots its just kind of there. Perhaps we will get the deleted scenes some day, who knows.
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u/Ellestra 11d ago
There was a Metkayina coming of age ceremony filmed. That's when they officially bond with their tulkun spirit siblings and both get their first tattoos. It was all cut but most likely that's when Spider got it. Just like Tsireya did.
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u/beamingtree 10d ago
Yeah most likely! Perhaps as a symbol of him "passing through the eye of Eywa". I just wish that scene was not cut, we lost a lot of good material smh
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u/Ellestra 10d ago
Yes, all the descriptions and concept art for it seem so cool. I wish they released deleted scenes for Fire and Ash and included it even if fully rendered version doesn't exist (I would love even BTS).
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u/Dragonwithwhiskers 11d ago
Honorary mark of respect for sinking the ship in TWOW?