"Avatar" Part I Trivia Quiz

Answer: He is killed while being robbed.

Tom Sully's life is brought to a premature end by a senseless act of violence on the eve of his scheduled departure for Pandora. His brother, Jake, describes his passing matter-of-factly in the following manner: "A week before he was going to ship out, a guy with a gun ends his journey for the paper in his wallet." Tom's death poses an inconvenience to the RDA, the powerful quasi-governmental conglomerate that had invested a lot of resources in developing an avatar for Tom for his work on Pandora.

An avatar is a hybrid being that is made by combining the genetic material of a human driver with that of the Na'vi, Pandora's indigenous alien species. By matching each human driver with his or her genetically compatible avatar, the driver is able to remotely control a body that is perfectly adapted to the harsh Pandoran environment, while remaining out of harm's way in a link bed in the Bio Lab on the RDA's base. With Tom dead, his avatar is driver-less. Luckily for the RDA, Jake's genome is identical to Tom's, so he is able to step into his brother's shoes in the Avatar Program as the driver of his avatar.

Answer: A cigarette

Grace seems to be in dire need of a smoke in this scene, in which she chastises her staff for not moving fast enough for her liking. "Guys," she implores, after emerging from the coffin-shaped link bed, "What's wrong with this picture?" She is quickly handed a cigarette, but it doesn't do much to improve her mood. Grace's no-nonsense attitude is undoubtedly an asset in her role as the head of the Avatar Program on Pandora, but her propensity for constantly speaking her mind, frequently puts her at odds with the RDA's chief administrator because she usually disagrees with his methods. Interestingly, her demeanor and mood seem to improve dramatically whenever she is in her avatar form, as her previous work on Pandora has endeared her greatly to the Na'vi and their way of life. Another possibility is that the Pandoran atmosphere is already so full of toxins that she doesn't feel the need for a nicotine fix while in her avatar body.

The character of Grace Augustine was originally named Grace Shipley, but the filmmakers changed the name after Sigourney Weaver signed on to play the part, as "Shipley" was too similar to "Ripley", the name of her character in the "Alien" series of films.

Answer: "Maybe I was sick of doctors telling me what I couldn't do."

Jake is referring, of course, to the fact that he is paralyzed from the waist-down and spends his days confined to a wheelchair. He joins the Avatar Program despite his lack of training for the job, because he believes that he can "pass any test a man can pass" and he sees the experience as a chance for a fresh start. Jake is also attracted to the fact that his non-functioning legs are not an issue while he is driving his avatar. Indeed, one of the first things he does in his avatar body is to burst out of the lab and run as fast as he can past the base's obstacle course, stopping only to enjoy the sensation of the Pandoran soil around his toes. Although Grace is unimpressed with Jake initially, she gradually comes to appreciate his commitment and determination, and eventually accepts him as a valuable member of her team.

Jake Sully is portrayed by Sam Worthington, who was previously seen starring alongside Christian Bale in the movie "Terminator: Salvation".

Answer: Feed him intelligence about the Na'vi

Quaritch feels that Jake's involvement in the Avatar Program presents a golden opportunity for him to gather crucial intelligence about the Na'vi. He tasks Jake to use his avatar to gain the Na'vi's trust, in order to "learn these savages from the inside" and to "learn their ways". He needs the information so that he can force the Na'vi to cooperate with the RDA, or defeat them if it comes down to a fight. Quaritch makes a deal with Jake that in exchange for usable intelligence on the Na'vi, Quaritch will see to it that Jake will get the expensive medical procedure for him to regain the use of his legs.

Colonel Quaritch is portrayed by Stephen Lang, a respected actor of both the stage and silver screen. He originated the role of Colonel Nathan Jessup on Broadway in the original stage production of "A Few Good Men", a role that Jack Nicholson would later earn an Oscar nomination for playing in the successful film adaptation.

Answer: She blames him for the deaths of the viperwolves.

When Jake thanks Neytiri for fighting off the coyote-like creatures, he is surprised by her reaction. "Don't thank. You don't thank for this," she tells him. "This is sad, very sad only. All this is your fault. They did not have to die." Neytiri is also openly disgusted with Jake's clumsy ways and his unfamiliarity with the Pandoran wilderness. "You're like a baby," she tells him. "Make a lot of noise. Don't know what to do." When he asks her why she bothered saving his life at all, he gets the closest thing to a compliment from Neytiri. "You have a strong heart," she says. "No fear. But stupid. Ignorant, like a child." Instead of being insulted, Jake is encouraged by Neytiri's remarks and pursues her through the forest in an attempt to get her to help him.

Neytiri is portrayed by actress Zoe Saldana, who was previously seen in the role of Uhura in the 2009 re-launch of the "Star Trek" film franchise.

Answer: The seeds of the sacred tree appear and come to rest on Jake.

The Na'vi worship a deity known as Eywa - the god of all living things. Their most important connection to Eywa is the Tree of Souls, and the seeds of this sacred tree, known as woodsprites, are considered good omens by the Na'vi. Before Jake encounters the viperwolves, Neytiri chances upon him in the forest.

She takes aim at him with her bow, but decides against killing him after a woodsprite appears and hovers at the tip of her arrow. Later, when she is trying to convince Jake to leave her alone, several dozen woodsprites suddenly appear and land on Jake, covering his head, arms and upper body. Neytiri interprets this as a clear sign from Eywa that there is more to Jake than meets the eye.

She tells Jake that the woodsprites are "seeds of the sacred tree" and "very pure spirits", and decides to take him back with her to Hometree, the home of the Omaticaya clan.

Answer: Dreamwalkers

Jake is greeted with trepidation when he enters Hometree because he is instantly recognizable as an avatar - apart from his human clothes, Jake also possesses five digits on each hand; one more than the four digits on the hands of the Na'vi. Eytukan, the leader of the Omaticaya, asks his daughter why she has brought Jake here, when he had previously said that Dreamwalkers were forbidden from entering Hometree. When Neytiri speaks of the sign from Eywa, Jake's fate is left to Mo'at, the tribe's spiritual leader or Tsahik - the one in charge of interpreting the will of Eywa. Jake informs her that he wishes to learn from them, but Mo'at has her doubts. "We have tried to teach other Sky People," she says, in reference to the humans who have come before him. "It is hard to fill a cup that is already full." Nevertheless, she decides that Jake can stay. Even Eytukan is attracted to the prospect that they may gain some knowledge from the "first warrior Dreamwalker". To Neytiri's dismay, she is tasked by Mo'at to teach Jake the ways of the Omaticaya clan.

Eytukan is portrayed by Wes Studi and Mo'at is portrayed by CCH Pounder.

Answer: It will try to kill the hunter.

Like all of the Na'vi, the Omaticaya have a deep connection with nature, and one of the clearest examples of this is when they achieve "tsahaylu" (the bond) with another living creature. Tsahaylu occurs when an Omaticaya hunter connects his neural queue (located at the end of the ponytail-like protrusion on the back of his head) to the neural queue of another Pandoran creature, enabling the hunter to control the movements of the creature as if it were an extension of his own body. In the case of the Ikran, a bond made with an Omaticaya hunter is for life. As Neytiri explains to Jake, "Once tsahaylu is made, Ikran will fly with only one hunter in the whole life."

On the day that he goes through the time-honored ritual, Jake is schooled in the procedure by Neytiri. "Now you choose your Ikran," she tells him. "This you must feel inside. If he also chooses you, move quick like I showed. You will have one chance, Jake." When he asks how he will know if the Ikran chooses him, Neytiri responds, "He will try to kill you." Jake appears unnerved by the information, responding with a single word: "Outstanding."

After a close call where he is nearly flung off the side of the mountain, Jake manages to make the bond with his Ikran, and he immediately heads off for his first flight in one of the film's many thrilling flying sequences. "I may not be much of a horse guy," he says, recalling his previous failed attempts to ride a Direhorse, "but I was born to do this." Jake's aptitude for flying is nicely foreshadowed by the narration at the start of the film where Jake speaks about being injured and lying in the VA Hospital, and having a dream in which he is flying.

Answer: "She already has."

Jake becomes a "Son of the Omaticaya" in a ceremony presided over by Eytukan. Jake stands in the middle of Hometree, his face and body decorated with white markings, as the entire clan gather around him. "Every Na'vi is born twice," Jake explains. "The second time, you earn your place among the people forever." After the ceremony, Jake is taken by Neytiri to the Tree of Voices - a sacred site in the forest where the Omaticaya can connect and communicate with their ancestors, or as Neytiri describes it, "a place for prayers to be heard... and sometimes answered".

Here, she explains to him the significance of becoming one of the Omaticaya. "You may make your bow from the wood of Hometree, and you may choose a woman," she tells him. "I have already chosen," he says, "but this woman must also choose me." Neytiri answers Jake with the quoted line, and they spend the night in the clearing.

Their happiness is short-lived, however, as the morning brings with it the RDA bulldozers, who arrive to clear a path through the forest, and in the process destroy the Tree of Voices.

Unfortunately, this is only the beginning, as the RDA has plans to target Hometree next.

Answer: No

Jake and Grace regain control of their avatar forms in order to bring a warning to the Omaticaya about the impending attack. "A great evil is upon us," Jake announces, with a heavy heart. "The Sky People are coming to destroy Hometree." He explains that he was tasked with learning the ways of the Na'vi, so that when the time came for him to give them this message, he would be believed. "What are you saying Jake?" Neytiri asks, realizing the implications of his words. "You knew this would happen?" Jake answers affirmatively, but tries to explain that his loyalties have changed. "At first it was just orders.

But I fell in love with the forest, with the people, with you," he tells Neytiri. Unfortunately, she is too distraught in this moment to look past Jake's betrayal. "I trusted you," she cries, pushing him away from her. "You will never be one of the people." Jake and Grace are restrained, while the Omaticaya clan prepare a war party to defend Hometree.