The Rough Rhinos

The Rough Rhinos are a vagabond group of freelance elite mercenary Calvary troops for the Fire Nation led by Colonel Mongke and are made up of the following elite members with various specialties, they are also a very capable singing group (according to Uncle Iroh), they were also responsible for the destruction of Jet’s city and murder of his parents:
Members of the Rough Rhinos
The Rough Rhinos had a different member for each specialty of the Fire Nation Army, see more about them below:
Colonol Mongke – The ruthless leader of the Rough Rhinos, Mongke is a Firebender who served under Iroh in the Firenation army.
His name comes from Genghis Khan’s Grandson and means Eternal.
Yeh-Lu – An explosives expert Yeh-Lu is a dangerous elite Fire Nation Soldier. He was first bested by Sokka in Avatar Day when Sokka distracted Vachir who fired his arrows hitting Yeh-Lus Explosives by accident.
Yeh-Lu also pursued Iroh and Zuko by throwing explosives at them, but ultimately failed to catch them.
“Yeh-Lu” comes from Yeh-lu Chu’tsai the Magician, a great statesman and Genghis Khan’s chief of the secretariat.
Vachir – a skilled archer and probable past member of the Yu Yan Archers, Vachir fires flaming arrows at his prey.
When Vachir attacked Zuko, Zuko broke his arrow in mid-air and shot a fire blast straight at Vachir, destroying his weapon.
Ogodei – A master of the Bogo (Chains). When he attacked Katara she was able to wrap the chains around Ogodei and sent his Rhino running off with him bound.Ogodei also attacked Iroh and had his chains wrapped around his partner Kahchi’s Rhino who subsequently drug both of them out of the fray.
Kahchi – The Guan Dao (Halberd) Wielding member of the Rough Rhinos.
Was bested by Aang as Aang used Kyoshis fans to deflect his attacks and then blew Kahchi off of his mount.
Appearances of the Rough Rhinos
- Jet (Indirect Mention)
- Avatar Day (First appearance)
- The Desert
- Lake Laogai (Flashback only)
Notes and Trivia
- Their Name and legacy is based on the Rough Riders, a horse Calvary group started by Theodore Roosevelt
- The riders names are based off of Mongolion Warriors from Genghis Khans era.
- Uncle Iroh states that they are a very “capable singing group”
- Kahchi, due to his crescent blade pike and long beard, may be a reference to the legendary general, Guan Yu in early Chinese history.
- The riders specialties represent different groups of the Firenation Army. Mongke is a Firebender, Ogodei is an engineer, Yeh-Lu is a bombardier, Kahchi is a regular infantry and Vachir is a Yu Yan Archer.
Tell us who your favorite Rough Rhino is!
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Awesome post, they are a cool group with each having a unique talent. I do really wish we could have seen Rough Rhinos vs Freedom Fighters, that would have been amazing.
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I’ve always wanted to know more about them… And hear them sing!
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Airspeed Prime Reply:June 15th, 2011 at 6:31 pm
I need to see a sing off between these guys, Iroh and the crew of Zuko’s ship, Chong and his nomads and Due and Tho. With Bumi as judge.
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Steve Reply:June 15th, 2011 at 9:13 pm
That would be epic!
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Admin / Jordash Reply:June 15th, 2011 at 7:50 pm
Yeah we will most definitely need to see their singing skills one of these days.
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Tracy Reply:January 15th, 2012 at 10:06 am
Avatar’s version of American Idol. The Rough Rhinos vs. Chong and The Nomads.
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Julla Reply:July 28th, 2012 at 10:20 pm
That would be awesome!!
Another good article, I always liked the Vachir Yu Yan plausible connection
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Yea excellent. I wanted to see more of them too and hear their singing…which I have a hard time imagining them doing lol.
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Admin / Jordash Reply:January 14th, 2012 at 6:16 pm
Haha, yeah that’d be way funny to see them sing.
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The rough rhinos are sooooo badass
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Excellent article!! This site is always so informative!!
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