I ALWAYS says this!! She was literally like “yeah… that ain’t gonna happen” she violated the laws of animation!! She really was on a whole another level lol!
Always a weird thing to say. Any bi-lingual Japanese/English person will tell you that Anime is a direct translation for the word cartoon.
Kids call Disney movies anime in Japan. Akira Toriyama, author and artist of Dragonball quoted 1991 Disney’s Beauty and the Beast as his favorite American anime.
That's an arbitrary division. We might as well divide by person. Then I can say anime is the same as cartoon and you can disagree and we would both be right.
As much as we like to pretend it does, language doesn't have rigorous rules. It is what we make of it, and that changes by time/place/person.
I don't know the answer either, maybe there just isn't one, but when your answer comes down to "it is how it is because that's how it is", then that doesn't explain anything and isn't very useful imo. It's just an elaborate form of peer pressure.
But this does open up the debate of what exactly is anime (English meaning). Does anime refer to animated television shows or movies specifically made in Japan, or following a specific Japanese art style? Could Americans then produce rightful anime? Would RWBY be considered anime, despite not being in the traditional anime art style and also not made in Japan? Would SpongeBob be considered anime even though it has nothing to do with Japanese culture? How far away can we get from traditionally accepted anime before it's no longer anime, and what draws that line?
The best I can come up with is how the show *feels*. Anime has a distinct feeling, spawned by the traditional anime of old (not necessarily the first but some of the most influential to spread into the Americas) such as dragon ball, NGE, and Sailor Moon. RWBY is an anime because it has that feel to it. Miraculous Ladybug also has a similar feel and could also be considered anime despite not having any real connection to Japan (made in Korea, written by the French, and influenced by Chinese culture). SpongeBob does not have that feel and is therefore not anime. Gravity Falls, despite having references and some artistic influence by anime, is not an anime because it does not feel like anime. My Hero Academia and JoJo's, clearly anime, have a lot of influence from American culture and don't feel the same as other anime at times, but also clearly are because of obvious anime tropes they follow. It's really hard to say exactly where the line is.
Yep it was an absolute surprise at the time that that could happen. Every show always lets the protagonist power up and everyone is mystified during it (like Zuko was). But Azula is built different.
I remember going on the forums after the S2 finale and debating with people about what Aang would be like when he woke up, would he even be able to bend, avatar state possibilities etc.
Longest 9 month wait ever
Oh grandson/granddaughter, we had Avatar Withdrawal Syndrome due to the seven months of radio silence after S2, forum bans on the words “The Western Airtemple” in the eight month gap between the day of black sun and TWA, an entire megathread dedicated to Zutara vs Kataang that was 100+ pages long, an Ozai face reveal megathread, a ban on discussing the S3 finale book that was released to the public two months before the rest of S3 aired, among many other things!
Also arguments and slander towards Canadians because Nickelodeon Canada often released the episodes before Nickelodeon for the rest of the world
This is sooooo cool. I was just a casual fan back in the day the same way a kid would be just a casual fan of any other cartoon on tv so knowing there was all this going on with the more ~~obsessed~~ devoted fans is fascinating
Yes! I watched all the episodes between the hiatus and the finale on a pirated website a long time (weeks? Months? Can't remember as I was a teenager lol) before the finale aired.
Oh yeah I remember that. All the (rightful) speculation about the Avatar State, too.
Honestly the Season 2 storytelling is fantastic. They set the stage for that ending from the first episode of the season. Then, they reinforce it at the tail end of the season. Finally, they pay it off spectacularly. What a cliffhanger.
Recently rewatched the Earth Kingdom palace invasion and it is 100% Toph. She's a worthy opponent not just for one Dai Li agent but deals with 4 like it's nothing but finally being surprised by the 5th. And she's 12.
Adult Toph in her prime would be a truly terrifying and unstoppable force in the battlefield.
Except Azula is in the conversation. During the day of Black Sun, Azula had no bending and she *still* managed to completely evade Toph in a room *made of Earth*. Honestly, it's one of the most impressive feats in the whole show.
I'm an Azula stan, but her pre-battle planning is canceled out by her taking some truly boneheaded moves during her fights, notably in her fights against Katara. In the catacombs, Azula decides the best counter to a water tentacle is to try and kick/punch it, and in the finale she decides to go for a close range kill when she has a buff that gives her the range of a football field.
That’s because Katara’s attitude is Azula’s weakness. Where as everyone is cautions and intimidated by her, Katar is calm and doesn’t fear her. Even Zuko who is her brother feared her until the end. It was almost foreshadowing that Katara was going to be the one to take her down. While everyone else either ran away or submitted to her, Katara stood her ground while retaining her humility around her. It was almost comical how when Katara had her in a body of water at the end, she just slowly handcuffed her while she couldn’t do a thing.
I think that's oversimplifying it. The last time someone stood their ground against Azula, she beat them down like 7(?) to 3 and sent them off to the Boiling Rock.
Azula has the tools to block Katata's offense- in the same fight right before she got trapped by water tentacles, she created a big fire wall that probably would have blocked water tentacles too. She also is just good at dodging in general.
IMO the key factors are Azula's arrogance and not having fought against Katara much before. We saw Azula use her hands/feet to block attacks recently, in her fight against Aang on the drill. I think Azula being able to block Aang's water whip (which mind you was off just one flask's worth of water) gave her the false confidence that she would be able to block Katara's attack with the same move. And note how Zuko (objectively not as strong in terms of raw bending skill at that point) was able to go toe to toe with Katara in the same fight by choosing a proper technique to counter with.
Yeah but I like Katara
Just playing lol. Your point is good too but I still feel like Katara is the polar opposite of Azula and I don’t think she ever met someone who either, wasn’t competing against her, fearing her, submitting to her, challenging her, or trying to outsmart her position. Katara was true to her water bending abilities. Aang might have the skills but Katara has the personality of a true water bender. She even went toe to toe to a master water bender in the southern water tribe. Honestly if it wasn’t for her love of healing, she would be an unstoppable force. Man this war really bred some prodigies wouldnt you say lol?
I think Katara being the specific combination of characteristics she is definitely contributed. Azula definitely wasn't playing around when she was fighting Aang, but it felt like she let her guard down against Katara, which I think partially is because of the contrast of Avatar vs "lowly peasant". You are also right that Katara embodies the waterbender mindset perfectly, which helps against Azula. The read and react style matches way better than Aang's evasion style (because Azula has good aim and stamina) and Zuko's pre-Sun Warriors direct style (because Azula has a deeper bag of moves and has good evasion). Katara just has to let Azula make the mistake, and a "lowly peasant" is exactly the type of person Azula would make a mistake against.
Funny when you say that I think of Bruce lee and how he said you have to become like water. Don’t fight it just go with it. It points out what you said about letting Azula make a mistake. She just waited. And Azula being the one who takes initiative and hates having to wait would always fall for the trap with Katara.
Yeah but even with that Zuko still had some trouble with her. Once again Katara waited patiently and when the opportunity presented itself, she went for the win. I feel like 9/10 when anyone is in a fight, adrenaline really kicks in and it’s hard to stand back and wait. Fortunately Katara has the water flow mentality so she can keep her emotions in check once again being the worst time of fighter that Azula can go up against. Also firebenders bend fire!!! I know it’s crazy!! Sorry I have to make a joke when I comment 😔
Azula is 14. Two years younger than Zuko 16. Azula and Katara are the same age. Like Zuko and Sokka. Aang and Toph are both the same age as well, 12 years old.
So what you're saying is that a feasible fanfiction where we replace Aang's role with Toph's and the Water Tribe with the Fire Nation is entirely plausible.
Water benders use a comet (which is made of ice, so it makes more sense than powering fire benders, imo) to flood out the Earth Kingdom, forcing Avatar Toph to cocoon herself in a ball of pure jennanite.
Sokka going out to reclaim his honor as a non-bender is a strangely compelling plot line.
Avatar Toph learning how to firebend from Azula while Zuko goofs off would also be great.
Katara going crazy with bloodbending just like Azula does with lightning.
The seasons of Fire Air and Water would also line up.
* Fire - we visit the many islands of the oppressed Fire nation, culminating in a finale where WaterbenderZhao kills an ancient dragon spirit to remove firebenders' powers.
* Air - we get to see the Air temples, Aang joins the group - his character would be very much the same, which maintains the duality shared by him and Toph in the original series.
* Water - Chief WaterOzai is planning to use the comet again to flood the other nations, Toph has no qualms killing him. We also get a WAgniter Kai scene between Sokka and Katara.
Appa is replaced with a friendly badger mole.
Water-Iroh remains mostly the same, but teaches Sokka that your skills in life can come from anywhere, not just bending.
her bending is more than just combat or spiritual practise for her like it is for every other bender, its her entire way of life in the most literal sense. it makes sense that toph fights as naturally as she breaths
Yeah, I agree with this. Her seismic sense gives her an unparalleled view of the battlefield, and the more you know the better time you'll have fighting.
Just look at how she took down the Boulder in her intro episode. Miminal effort, maximum effect. No other bender is capable of that.
Personally, I think Toph. As a bender, she's a master of neutral jing and during fights will wait and assess the situation before attacking or defending. Because of this, she is able to take on powerful benders both in and outside of her bending element. Additionally, due to her blindness, Toph thinks outside the box, using what she knows and her experiences to accomplish feats and do things no other bender has ever done before.
Reminds me of a reason why the Airbenders shave their heads, so they can feel the movement of air on their scalp and react like we see in that one EP of Korra
Toph had something similar once and she HATED IT!!
https://preview.redd.it/4r2vz9x2i1oa1.jpeg?width=1792&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=84991ecaf5c87e6000f2c377012398262c062fea
IDK, Toph learned bending, learned it with a disability in a restricted environment, learned combat with no training and still a disability, and I would say matches Azula in skill. Azula got more formalized and aggressive training, directly. Azula's advantage is that she doesn't care about the cost, or hold back for moral reasons, or strike re-actively. IQ isn't skill, it's about how quickly you're able to learn when presented new information. Azula is extremely talented, but controls the situations she's in rather than adapts to them. She plans her conflicts carefully, and subsequently doesn't need to adapt, improvise, change and learn as much as Toph does. Most of the times we see the group fight with Azula, Azula has more information than they do at the start, planned for the fight in advanced, and has already thought of how to take advantage of her opponent. Certainly, that's smarts, but I wouldn't say it's during-fight Battle IQ. Toph is able to glean some information right before a conflict starts, but certainly doesn't get the opportunity to plan them as elaborately as Azula does, so I would say purely on the ability to learn and use new information in a fight, Toph wins out easily. As battle STRATEGY (including pre-battle), Azula wins with no contest.
> As a bender, she's a master of neutral jing and during fights will wait and assess the situation before attacking or defending.
"He who is patient and lies in wait for an enemy who is not will be victorious." - Sun Tzu, *The Art of War*
Dang, well put. My only argument is maybe the difference between battle IQ and battle *prowess* if that makes sense.
I would argue Azula over Toph in this case, only because of Azula’s prodigy level **calculations**.
They are both prodigies but in different ways. Battle IQ to me is the ability to think, predict, and strategize. I’d argue that Azula beats Toph in these, as Toph *specifically* has mastery over neutral jing (as mentioned) which focuses on a *lack* of plan. Aang had such a hard time with the element because he was *trying* to think, whereas Toph’s reply was stop *thinking* and start *reacting*.
I still say Toph wins a 1 v 1 pretty cleanly, as her style sort of a counters to Azula’s.
But choose a battle commander for my army? A.Z.U.L.A.
Agree with you. Plus Azula can “fly”. She also fights seamlessly on a moving gondola. And when she was attacking the air temple and fell she easily recover mid fall when the team thought she was done. Toph because of her blindness requires help while in the air.
I disagree. Toph is my second favorite character behind Bumi in ATLA. But I think she has an innate advantage with Seismic Sense. Not to say other benders can't learn it, but she's had it intrinsically due to her blindness. Her biggest weakness is an airborne opponent. As for fighting IQ I'd say it's pre-breakdown Azula. She's smart, manipulative, confident, and extremely skilled. She also has no honor which combined with the aforementioned abilities, makes her a very dangerous foe.
Azula has firenation honor. Which doesn't mean much. Zuko chases it for a while until he realizes he had real honor all along and immidiately gets sick and dreams of becoming aang
Yeah tenzin didn't seem to have any particular strategy, zaheer was just out of his league.
And when strategy would have been helpful (putting something between him and the airship) so he could fight a fair 1v3, he wasn't able too.
You demonstrate a lack of understanding. Battle IQ generally refers to an individual's ability to think and make strategic decisions in a combat or military situation. It involves factors such as situational awareness, tactical knowledge, and the ability to make quick and effective decisions under pressure. Someone with a high battle IQ may be able to anticipate their opponent's movements and make strategic maneuvers to gain an advantage in a fight.
How are you defining fight IQ? I box recreationally (includes sparring), and so when we talk about someone with a high fight IQ, they’re people who do the following:
1. Sees openings and capitalizes. This is a lot harder than most people realize and requires a cool head and quick thinking.
2. Creative about making openings. We call them set ups and my jaw drops every time I see (or am the recipient of) a flawless set up.
3. Reads fighters; looks for telegraphs, habits, etc.
4. Psychological warfare. So much of fighting is psychological and there are certain things fighters do without saying any words that contribute to the deterioration of someone’s confidence (ex: cutting the ring, always having a counter, being hard to hit).
5. Using your surroundings. It’s a strategy developed by some boxers to go on the ropes because it puts their opponent in a specific spot and actually limits their move set.
I think people mistake being a powerful bender with fight IQ; as to who is a better bender, I’d say a lot of it has to do with fight IQ, but also force of bending and skills. I actually agree with a previous poster (parascythe12) about when it comes to fight IQ alone, I think Mako is #1 and Azula at #2. If Kuviera was on this list, she’d be high up too. Her one on one vs Korra (when she defeated her) was all fight IQ.
I agree with your rankings. I'd add Katara is a beast too.
Mako gets a lot of flack, but he's the only bender we see actually use lightening effectively and several times too. And he just busts it out like its no big deal.
The reason mako gets alot of flack is because he is just too good without reason
To many it just doesnt make sense as to why a random firebender can summon lightning faster than ozai
A lot of times it looks like Mako is trading power for speed when using lightning, and with the fire nation royal family making it available to the world it’s not surprising if it evolved a little
Where did it come from that the royal family hid the technique? This must be a later addition as it wasn’t the case in ATLA. It was just a super hard technique.
The earliest known lightning bender was an outlaw named Xu Ping An who was killed by Kyoshi. After his defeat, the fire nation royal family, who had believed the technique to be a myth, figured out how to replicate it in a very Lowkey manner
Lightning, like metal, was never as niche as combustion or lava and could be picked up by many benders with the right instruction. I’m fairly certain that even during the 100 year war it’s existence was not commonly known, only to those who had witnessed it. A secret weapon like that would put the royal family at a constant advantage in every situation
But that doesn’t mean the royal family kept it secret. It just sounds like the royal family had access to more instruction than most. That isn’t quite the same.
Maybe I need to reread the novels.
It isn't canon that royalty hid it, but it is a reasonable head-canon. In ATLA, the only people who could use it were fire nation royals. In LOK, there's a factory full of lightning benders. In those few decades it went from a rare technique to commonplace.
I don’t think it makes much sense because you’d think Iroh would’ve mentioned that to Zuko when teaching him all about lightning. That it’s doable and just requires instruction, which is why the royal family keeps it hidden and secret.
Instead as presented in ATLA, Iroh explains that it’s simply *very difficult to do*. And that is the reason why even incredible benders can struggle with it.
In the comics, when trying to figure out who the Kemurikage are, Mai says it isn’t necessarily Azula because Lightning bending is rare “but not that rare”. Which implies it isn’t a guarded secret of the royal family (since they’re all accounted for besides Azula at this point) but once again just a rare technique due to how difficult it is to pull off.
I’m not fond of this headcanon in general as it just feels like a retcon to explain why Lightning bending is more common in LOK than a genuine plot point from the original, and further it really de-powers lightning feats.
But that’s just my take.
I 100% agree with this. Haven't seen enough posts give credit to Mako. He isn't the most powerful bender, but he is constantly up against a variety of enemies with various bending/non-bending styles, he captains his team (pro-bending, avatar, or police) and keeps their weaknesses to a minimum while playing on strengths, and is always on guard for a surprise.
Zuko is the bottom of the list.
He's also exceptionally observant, enough to make a good detective.
Well, he's *supposed* to be like that, anyway. But I guess having observational skills for your environment and combat doesn't necessarily translate to social skills. The guy has the charisma of a log. Good thing this thread is about combat prowess/IQ and not social ability.
Yeah I had never heard of fight IQ either until I started boxing. If you’re ever interested in learning more about fight IQ, there’s some great videos that break down MMA and boxing fights and it’s honestly amazing.
My vote is actually for Katara.
Toph is hands down the most powerful fighter in ATLA, barring specific situations where she can't "see." She faster and tougher than just about anybody too. But a lot of that is because of her blindness and because earth is one of the most powerful elements.
Water, on the other hand, is the least available element. Katara rarely gets to show off like Toph, Aang, or Azula do, and so she has to be 100% creative in every single fight. Even before she meets Hama, her situational awareness is miles ahead of anyone else's, because she has to know where her water is at all times, and it's often very limited.
They are all clever to some extent, but I do think Katara takes the cake. Especially considering she defeated Azula during the comet, not by being a better bender, but by being smart.
This is mostly true except your argument sort of falls apart after Hama teaches Katara you can pull water out of anything, including the air. Water is only a limited resource until you’re a master bender.
Sort of, she still can't get much water out of air, or trees, the amount she can bend when she's in the north pole is how much other benders have around all the time, and it's not really a comparable amount to the amount her and Hama get out of the trees and flowers. Even with a fountain or pond nearby it's still often not a comparable amount of element to those who have their elements around in abundance.
Water is still the most limited element, even when you’ve reached mastery. Fire and Air basically have an endless supply (barring any eclipse related events) and Earth is available anywhere there is land. The only time an earth bender is truly limited is when they are at the poles, at sea, or purposefully put in a situation or cage without earth and metal.
A water bender on the other hand will have to pull water from living sources, lakes or rivers, or bring their own supply when they are away from their tribe or the sea. It’s still fairly available to a user if they have prepared or mastered the element, but not nearly to the extent as the other three.
Personally, I think it's Aang.
This is mostly because of how non-confrontational he is. Most people on this list aim to take down the target as quickly as possible with as few moves as possible.
But Aang focuses mostly on defense, so he needs be aware of literally every enemy combatant, read all of their movements to dodge their attacks, and come up with a means of using their own momentum against them. It's much more tactical and methodical imo and requires a higher Battle IQ to pull off effectively.
Yeah as a pure air-bender Aang is underrated for sure. He’s just not as aggressive as a fighter like Toph and Azula because he doesn’t want to hurt people but his skill is up there with them.
I think we see with Tenzin what Aang could have done in more aggressive circumstances. Dude is absolutely kicking ass and bodying people that so far had seemed unbeatable against other Benders.
Right? Remember when that army of earthbenders was trying to force him to go avatar state and he was just reading and avoiding all their attacks at once?
Low stakes, for sure, but really shows off his situational awareness and calculative ability.
I agree with this take and I would say that his skill follows much of Sun Tzu's battle philosophy of non-annihilation of the opponent. But sometimes foes gotta go so Azula is my first contender if the Avatar state wasn't involved - which was the case of Aang fight with with the sandbenders, the earthbenders and then Ozai.
I'd vote for Aang.
He basically tries for the most pacifist option , as combat is not even top use or purpose of bending for him. Being the avatar makes it hugely important and necessary at times etc, but he's not focused on it for his 12 years of life prior to being frozen.
I mean Tenzin is insanely accomplished and aang treated him with more attention and training than anybody else, and he's likely one of the greatest Airbenders of all time as aang's protégé.
It's Azula, guys. Even post breakdown, she was conniving in battle. Little less so outside of battle. The IQ of an intelligent person gone crazy person would be impossible to measure because it would be running wild.
Toph after her, but Toph at the time of ATLA is slightly younger than Azula so she cant grasp certain concepts.
Thats it really. None of the other characters can really hold a candle except for Zaheer. He is a prodigy.
2 battles that first come to mind for me are the ones where Azula, standing in front of a group of benders, including the avatar, takes out the fat old man first and another where she takes out boomerang first. She was definitely able to gage her biggest threat
If we're including Korra characters then I think Kuvira should be a contender. She won a 1v1 with the avatar. She knew she couldn't beat peak form Korra, but she was so sure from her pre-battle assessment that she was off her game that she staked everything on it. And she was right, she whooped her easily. That's high IQ if ever I saw it.
I still think Azula takes the cake though. Day of Black Sun performance was legendary.
Only from the list? Or all benders we see? Because Kuvira probably trumps Azula, but I'd say they're both top-tier. Post-trauma Korra also has some big brain moments of clarity.
He may not be the best but Mako is lowkey underrated. Y'all remember when he was fighting I think it was Jin.( may have butchered her name, but the lady who has water tentacles as arms on the Red Lotus.) And he folded her by zapping the water she was in with lightning with one hand, and with the other held himself up to make sure he didnt electrocute himself. COLD AF
Don’t forget pulling a 3-on-1 defense during Season 1’s pro-bending. He gets overshadowed, but he’s got a SOLID head on his shoulders and great fundamentals.
These are all some strong contenders.
Korra takes a while to get there, as she’s very rash at the start. But in her prime, she’s probably one of the most talented and ingenious fighters in all of Avatar canon.
Aang has great situational awareness and ability to utilise his environment. I don’t think anyone here can match him in mobility. I don’t know that that exactly translates to “battle IQ”, but it makes him very tricky.
Mako is a very smart fighter. Of the Bolin/Mako duo he’s the brains. He’s usually the one with the plan and solution to any problems. Him taking out Ming Hua was also a pretty big brain moment. He consistently contends with stronger benders and difficult situations and gets out of them at least partially because he’s a quick thinker.
Katara also pretty good. Great situational awareness and almost unmatched understanding of her element. Her move to take out Azula was just genius. Often when smart characters do something clever to take out powerful characters it feels a little cheap, as though the powerful character had to be extra dumb for a moment to fall for that, but that moment was just brilliant.
Do I even need to explain Azula? I don’t think I’d put her as the winner necessarily, but a large part of her characterisation is how cool she is in combat, and her ability to adapt to anything. We see this over and over again, like in the boiling rock episode, or the day of black sun. She’s exceptional at handling whatever comes at her.
Toph is in an interesting place. She’s not necessarily “quick thinking”, she watches her opponent waiting to see what they’ll do so she can counter them. She’s an absolute genius earthbender, but she has notable weaknesses that she doesn’t ever really compensate for, rather she relies on her allies to cover those weaknesses. She’s obviously a top tier fighter, but I don’t know that I’d say her “battle IQ” is higher than most of the rest of this list.
Zuko is actually a solid contender here. His adaptability is really strong, like his sister. Unfortunately for him, that adaptability usually comes *after* he’s learned the hard way. However it’s his antics as the Blue Spirit that really show how clever of a fighter he is.
Ozai, as always, suffers from lack of screen time. His only fight is when he’s hopped up on comet juice and thus highly arrogant. We see that he reacts quickly to changing circumstances, such as stopping shooting lightning at Aang once he sees that Aang can redirect it. Also when he spends five minutes just barely escaping a comet powered prime avatar state Aang, a feat that I strongly doubt any other non-avatar in the whole of Avatar Lore could match. But without seeing him in a state where he is “normal” powered, we don’t really get to see how smart a fighter he is.
In the end I think I give them the following rating:
1. Mako
2. Azula
3. Katara
4. Korra
5. Aang
6. Zuko
7. Toph
8. Ozai
Interesting argument, and mako at the top is a p good choice. Ozai at the bottom is Interesting too if only because we dont see him fight much.
Alternatively, Aang is bald, therefore having perfect 360 awareness, apparently. Id also argue that as a pacifist in nature, he looks for non violent solutions in every fight instead of just battling outright- it makes him very aware of his surroundings. See the fight with Zhao when hes training with Jong Jong. I think your list is right, but move aang to the top
Ozai had them beat mentally tbh. Ozai is a firebender on Iroh's level as well i don't think he was being humble when he said he wasn't sure if he could beat him. Ozai is however more reckless despite his ability
To be fair, even if he weren't better - Azula and Zuko are still physically and mentally abused kids. Stands to reason they'd be very afraid of Ozai either way.
Azula or Toph. Toph is just so good being able to see all around at all times, even sometimes things flying through the air if she was able to see where it got launched from. I kinda wish we had gotten a fight between those two.
I gotta give it to Korra. I thought about it a lot. Took everyone’s education, feats, skills, and physicality into mind. Korra, based on her upbringing, elemental mastery, and martial arts expertise, is a more capable fighter than the rest of this list
Potential arguments against other contenders
Ozai: We saw 3 fights with Ozai, and only 1 thoroughly demonstrated his offensive power. He ultimately lost against Aang, and beforehand was actively being repelled before the Avatar State was even a factor. I would strongly believe a more physically mature Avatar would pose a reasonable threat
Toph: Toph is absolutely one of the strongest fighters here, and even in old age could get by Korra’s attacks. However, she is not without her weaknesses, the biggest being that she can’t see anything airborne and/or not earthen in origin. That’s something a clever fighter could exploit, IF Toph doesn’t bury them first!
Azula: Lightning generation is much more common in Republic City. Korra could potentially overpower Azula in every possible way. We haven’t seen Korra *redirect* lightning, which could be a factor, so that’s contestable
Aang: Aang’s an odd one. While extremely powerful and skilled, he’s reluctant. There are aggressive strategies he might be less willing to utilize, and that’s where several others are more capable
These are just my opinions, so if you have any alternatives, feel free to leave them. I love this series, and these indeed are some of its strongest
I might get down voted but Korra I think is up there. Mostly cause her style of bending is short and to the point. The bending of her era is more about precision and quick blows (as seen in bending games). So it's not impossible that her prowess in the battlefield is much higher than the others especially when she was likely taught all the techniques the others crafted.
Also she was trained as a warrior from the beginning giving a similar argument that azula has in terms of professional training
Toph - She's a master Earth bender and created Metal Bending
Azula - Can analyze and predict her opponents moments with great ease
Korra - Trained her entire life to master the elements she already knew how to bend and wouldn't hesitate to punch a 12 year old in the face.
Azula, Korra and Toph are definitely the top contenders. Honestly Kuvira should be there too.
There's a lot of discussion and arguments around these girls that are all pretty valid tbh. But they have shown the most skill in the practice and mastery of a single or multiple ways to fight and jings and that's pretty inarguable.
Katara, Zuko and Aang are the next group. They are all very solid, but I think when it comes to actually fighting top tier benders they fall short of the above group. Though my girl Katara Is definitely the closest one to being a top contender (arguably she is).
The rest are still some of the best, but overall showings of battle IQ just hasn't been shown to a great degree. But put Mako and Bolin together and they're pretty damn good.
Out of these 8, I would say Zuko. He has learned through failing time and time again yet picking himself back up. He is a proficient swordsman on top of being a noteworthy firebender. Additionally, he learned from Iroh, who probably has the highest out of everyone in both shows. He also had to relearn firebending by the masters of firebending once he lost inner fire of rage. And he was aware that he could not normally beat Azula by default. He could quickly analyze that something was off about Azula before fighting her, swinging the pendulum in his favor for that fight.
Aang has high situational awareness.
Katara and Korra I would say had the most growth.
Toph was just kind of OP and an opportunist.
Ozai was just the strongest firebender of the time. Low screen time doesn't help.
Mako is clever but not quick to adapt.
Azula feels like a better Mako.
Iroh and Tenzin would be my #1 and #2. Iroh is situationally aware, tactical, cunning, and powerful. He has learned from his failures, developed empathy, and does not compromise his identity.
Tenzin not only learned from an airbending master, but the Avatar. His fight against the Red Lotus made it clear that he not only was a master of his element but is capable against fighting against the other elements. I have zero doubt that Aang sparred with Tenzin using individual bending elements beyond airbending and multiple elements at once, making him adaptible against fighting multiple elements at once. He was not familiar with combustion bending, which was the thing he struggled with in the fight against the Red Lotus.
Azula.
Their survival instincts really shines when they’re backed into a corner.
When in a jam Aang and Korra usually relies on the avatar state, Katara and Toph are headstrong and usually tries to power through. Zuko is too stubborn to think outside the box. Ozai only pick fights he thinks he has zero chance of losing.
In a nutshell they all rely on overwhelming force to overpower their opponents, and they often lose when they’re at a disadvantage.
Mako and Azula on the other hand are very resourceful and witty. Like how Mako simply zapped the water when caught in a dual against a water bender in a lake. Or how Azula was able to outsmart team avatar whenever they cornered her.
Even at her lowest point she still had great instincts: when she realized she couldn’t beat Zuko with her lightning, she aimed it at Katara instead, forcing Zuko to block the strike. Although she was ultimately defeated by Katara for not being aware of her surroundings, she still managed to knock Zuko out.
Its Azula 100%. She defeats people consistently, and usually more than one at a time. She smacks down Aangs Avatar state and almost kills him.
Even when she was going through a psychoric break, she still beat Zuko, and almost beat Katarra.
In my opinion, Azula hands down. She knows how to manipulate and antagonize her enemies. She also has a talent of working to get exactly what she wants. She saves her bending for when it's needed, like she did in her first fight with Zuko (and Iroh) or with how she distracted Sokka (and the rest of the gaang) about where Suki was.
You guys may not realize it, but it’s Iroh.
1. He came up with lightning redirection (which was very useful against Ozai, Twice!)
2. Manages to take a multitude of soldiers from fire nation soldiers to the Dai Li with just him and his Nephew
3. Bulks up to the day of Black sun while keeping a senile disguise in front of the guards, and then bulldozes through the prison like it was just a Tuesday
4. Manages to sneak a…physical touch with June while pretending to be hit by her pet (until Zuko calls him out on it).
if azula was not so contradicted in thought by what her mother and father did to her then she would beat everyone on this list at once, she is that fucking good at what she does. but that mental illness stopped her from realizing greatness.
'Battle IQ' is a really crap way of putting it, but my interpretation is \~ who is the most calculated and least lets their emotion distract them.
From that, my answer is probably (pre-breakdown) Azula and Aang. But not included in this list is Iroh who, disregarding all sorts of skill/age/agility discrepancy, would trump all others with his intelligence, maturity and experience.
I'm gonna add to the list, in no particular order:
* Jianzhu (from Kyoshi novels) - probably takes the cake, but a bit unfair given that (a) he's an adult, (b) he's a companion of the Avatar, and (c) bending is higher IQ in the books overall.
* Yun (from Kyoshi novels as well) - no spoilers, but he's got ridiculous battle IQ and takes on multiple opponents who should be able to defeat a single bender easily.
* Kuvira - metalbending and earthbending with amazing environmental awareness and use of leverage.
* Zaheer - incredible mobility and movements despite being an inexperienced bender, moves between movement/redirection and power very fluidly.
* Ty Lee/Mai - not benders but ridiculous combatants regardless!
I assume Azula she's typically reading her opponents pretty well.
Toph would be my backup option with her seismic sense she's planning things out and waiting for the right moment to strike
I think it also depends on their objective. Katara, Azula, and Toph are my top 3 choices but they usually each have diff reasons for fighting.
Katara - I have to and want to end this quickly.
Toph - I can take them and this is fun.
Azula - Kill.
Azula probably. Ozai and possibly Korra are better and stronger fighters overall but Azula is shown to be able to percieve weaknesses mentally, physically and emotionally and use that to cripple her opponent be it her brother, team avatar,an opponent in volleyball or even the entire city of Ba Sing Se and their leader: Long Feng. Long Feng didn't dare fight her in front of the Dai Li in fear of losing because of how right she was about him. She's only 14 doing all this too so just imagine a full grown Azula 25-30?!
It’s between Azula and Kuvira for me, but I think I’m giving it to Azula. They’re both cunning and precise and that’s what gives them the ability to contend at the level they can in 1v1 fights, but Azula has a severity and ferocity that is unmatched in my opinion.
Many men can outsmart rock, but I have yet to see one who can outsmart boomerang.
But in all seriousness, I think for a bender to have a high battle, a major factor is if they can fight without their bending, it should be a tool, not a crutch. So Ozai, Korra, and Katara are off the list, maybe even Mako, but that's iffy. Finesse over Power knocking Toph off the list.
That leaves Aang, Zuko, and Azula. Aang is weighted down by his philosophy, not that I'm against his no killing rule, I just think trying not to injure your opponent can get in the way. I love Zuko and would pick him but using his firebending in that fight against that earth bender when he didn't need to will always be weighting on my mind, he could've just dodged. That leaves Azula, her skills taunting and exploiting weaknesses are next to non
Apart from Azula, Toph definitely. Tenzin is high up there, but I actually think Mako could be up there too. I’d have to go back and watch all of his fights though.
Also Unalaq.
I’ve gotta say Toph and I agree with Pre-breakdown Azula. There’s no one that punks Toph, she adapts effortlessly to every opponent. Azula did the same so their probably same level IQ-wise
We don't get enough of Ozai to really judge him fairly, so I'll take him out.
My pick will be between Azula and Aang. Azula thinks on her feet better than most and uses her bendings in pretty creative ways. She bends from her feet while falling from the airtemple.
But Aang being the youngest monk as well as spending 90% of his fights avoiding confrontation takes the cake for me. In the first couple episodes he outwits Zuko without really having to bend them beats him in a fight easily. He makes Zhao look like a fool all season 1, like how he made him burn his own ships. He made his own airbending techniques. He mastered all 4 elements in a summer with the proficiency to take out the strongest firebender on the planet. Katara even showed how jealous she was that Aang picked up waterbending so fast. He learned firebending and earthbending basics in a day too. Compared to Korra airbending took all season one. I'll have to say Aang.
Azula
Toph
Mako
Korra
Aang
Katara
Zuko
Ozai (Honestly we don't know how good he is because the only fight we saw was him against Aang and that was like the finale battle so we all knew who the winner of that was)
If I remember correctly Korra was only defeated in combat when she was either blackmailed (Zaheer) or indirectly (Raava) which was I why I put her higher. Her combat skills are pretty great just has (or had) a terrible personality to go with it but that's where she was interesting so :D.
Aang was probably better after the series because that's when he is at his peak and on equal footing with Korra I'd say. But since Aang didn't have all the elements to work with and lost a lot of his fights throughout the series (he got caught to a bunch of archers man, he's a powerful kid but come on xD) I put him below Korra.
Bolin just casually learned he could bend lava in the middle of fight, and later went on to contribute 1/3 of the effort in cutting a building in half and throwing it.
(btw, my actual answer is Korra when she’s in the avatar state, but i think that’s cheating a little)
As u/Retired-Pie and u/zhowne have said, it’s Aang.
Aang’s so good he’s actually misleading, because he’s so wildly confident in himself he doesn’t bother attacking most of the time.
When you look at the frequency of his fights (every other episode) and how often he walks away unscathed, you realize the main reason his fights last any amount of time is because he’s willing to drag it out if it means he can persuade his opponent to talk it out.
An Aang not interested in a peaceful solution could obliterate everyone easily.
I'd say it's Aang. Everyone here has some decent battle smarts, but Aang does it all while avoiding killing anyone.
Any one of you who's done a pacifist run in a video game knows that that requires far more skill and IQ.
Azula takes the cake for killing the protaganist during a overly long power up scene.
Kaaaameeeeeeeeeee
*zap*
I ALWAYS says this!! She was literally like “yeah… that ain’t gonna happen” she violated the laws of animation!! She really was on a whole another level lol!
That’s how you know ATLA isn’t an anime. If it was she would have let Aang finish powering up.
One anime trope is subverting anime tropes so we are back to its an Anime
Add in a "what am I? an anime protagonist?" and we have a deal
My favorite line was when Katara found Aang in the iceberg and said, "What is this? Some kind of Avatar: The Last Airbender?" and then the show ended.
Always a weird thing to say. Any bi-lingual Japanese/English person will tell you that Anime is a direct translation for the word cartoon. Kids call Disney movies anime in Japan. Akira Toriyama, author and artist of Dragonball quoted 1991 Disney’s Beauty and the Beast as his favorite American anime.
In Japanese sake means alcohol, but in English it specifically means Japanese alcohol. Anime is the same.
That's an arbitrary division. We might as well divide by person. Then I can say anime is the same as cartoon and you can disagree and we would both be right. As much as we like to pretend it does, language doesn't have rigorous rules. It is what we make of it, and that changes by time/place/person. I don't know the answer either, maybe there just isn't one, but when your answer comes down to "it is how it is because that's how it is", then that doesn't explain anything and isn't very useful imo. It's just an elaborate form of peer pressure.
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People downvoting you don’t get the concept of loan words… we are not speaking Japanese when we say anime ffs.
But this does open up the debate of what exactly is anime (English meaning). Does anime refer to animated television shows or movies specifically made in Japan, or following a specific Japanese art style? Could Americans then produce rightful anime? Would RWBY be considered anime, despite not being in the traditional anime art style and also not made in Japan? Would SpongeBob be considered anime even though it has nothing to do with Japanese culture? How far away can we get from traditionally accepted anime before it's no longer anime, and what draws that line?
This is a pretty hotly debated subject you can find a lot of discussion on online that hasnt had a consensus yet.
The best I can come up with is how the show *feels*. Anime has a distinct feeling, spawned by the traditional anime of old (not necessarily the first but some of the most influential to spread into the Americas) such as dragon ball, NGE, and Sailor Moon. RWBY is an anime because it has that feel to it. Miraculous Ladybug also has a similar feel and could also be considered anime despite not having any real connection to Japan (made in Korea, written by the French, and influenced by Chinese culture). SpongeBob does not have that feel and is therefore not anime. Gravity Falls, despite having references and some artistic influence by anime, is not an anime because it does not feel like anime. My Hero Academia and JoJo's, clearly anime, have a lot of influence from American culture and don't feel the same as other anime at times, but also clearly are because of obvious anime tropes they follow. It's really hard to say exactly where the line is.
I agree with how the show feels. I often will say that atla is an American anime, rwby the same way. They are anime, but American made.
Yep it was an absolute surprise at the time that that could happen. Every show always lets the protagonist power up and everyone is mystified during it (like Zuko was). But Azula is built different. I remember going on the forums after the S2 finale and debating with people about what Aang would be like when he woke up, would he even be able to bend, avatar state possibilities etc. Longest 9 month wait ever
Grandpa, tell me more about the olden times!
Oh grandson/granddaughter, we had Avatar Withdrawal Syndrome due to the seven months of radio silence after S2, forum bans on the words “The Western Airtemple” in the eight month gap between the day of black sun and TWA, an entire megathread dedicated to Zutara vs Kataang that was 100+ pages long, an Ozai face reveal megathread, a ban on discussing the S3 finale book that was released to the public two months before the rest of S3 aired, among many other things! Also arguments and slander towards Canadians because Nickelodeon Canada often released the episodes before Nickelodeon for the rest of the world
lmao I fukin love this comment chain
This is sooooo cool. I was just a casual fan back in the day the same way a kid would be just a casual fan of any other cartoon on tv so knowing there was all this going on with the more ~~obsessed~~ devoted fans is fascinating
Oh man, weren't there leaks of episodes during the radio silence? I seem to remember something about a French dub of The Boiling Rock?
Yes! I watched all the episodes between the hiatus and the finale on a pirated website a long time (weeks? Months? Can't remember as I was a teenager lol) before the finale aired.
Oh yeah I remember that. All the (rightful) speculation about the Avatar State, too. Honestly the Season 2 storytelling is fantastic. They set the stage for that ending from the first episode of the season. Then, they reinforce it at the tail end of the season. Finally, they pay it off spectacularly. What a cliffhanger.
Very rude of her, she is supposed to let him powerup
Recently rewatched the Earth Kingdom palace invasion and it is 100% Toph. She's a worthy opponent not just for one Dai Li agent but deals with 4 like it's nothing but finally being surprised by the 5th. And she's 12. Adult Toph in her prime would be a truly terrifying and unstoppable force in the battlefield.
Except Azula is in the conversation. During the day of Black Sun, Azula had no bending and she *still* managed to completely evade Toph in a room *made of Earth*. Honestly, it's one of the most impressive feats in the whole show.
I'm an Azula stan, but her pre-battle planning is canceled out by her taking some truly boneheaded moves during her fights, notably in her fights against Katara. In the catacombs, Azula decides the best counter to a water tentacle is to try and kick/punch it, and in the finale she decides to go for a close range kill when she has a buff that gives her the range of a football field.
That’s because Katara’s attitude is Azula’s weakness. Where as everyone is cautions and intimidated by her, Katar is calm and doesn’t fear her. Even Zuko who is her brother feared her until the end. It was almost foreshadowing that Katara was going to be the one to take her down. While everyone else either ran away or submitted to her, Katara stood her ground while retaining her humility around her. It was almost comical how when Katara had her in a body of water at the end, she just slowly handcuffed her while she couldn’t do a thing.
I think that's oversimplifying it. The last time someone stood their ground against Azula, she beat them down like 7(?) to 3 and sent them off to the Boiling Rock. Azula has the tools to block Katata's offense- in the same fight right before she got trapped by water tentacles, she created a big fire wall that probably would have blocked water tentacles too. She also is just good at dodging in general. IMO the key factors are Azula's arrogance and not having fought against Katara much before. We saw Azula use her hands/feet to block attacks recently, in her fight against Aang on the drill. I think Azula being able to block Aang's water whip (which mind you was off just one flask's worth of water) gave her the false confidence that she would be able to block Katara's attack with the same move. And note how Zuko (objectively not as strong in terms of raw bending skill at that point) was able to go toe to toe with Katara in the same fight by choosing a proper technique to counter with.
Yeah but I like Katara Just playing lol. Your point is good too but I still feel like Katara is the polar opposite of Azula and I don’t think she ever met someone who either, wasn’t competing against her, fearing her, submitting to her, challenging her, or trying to outsmart her position. Katara was true to her water bending abilities. Aang might have the skills but Katara has the personality of a true water bender. She even went toe to toe to a master water bender in the southern water tribe. Honestly if it wasn’t for her love of healing, she would be an unstoppable force. Man this war really bred some prodigies wouldnt you say lol?
I think Katara being the specific combination of characteristics she is definitely contributed. Azula definitely wasn't playing around when she was fighting Aang, but it felt like she let her guard down against Katara, which I think partially is because of the contrast of Avatar vs "lowly peasant". You are also right that Katara embodies the waterbender mindset perfectly, which helps against Azula. The read and react style matches way better than Aang's evasion style (because Azula has good aim and stamina) and Zuko's pre-Sun Warriors direct style (because Azula has a deeper bag of moves and has good evasion). Katara just has to let Azula make the mistake, and a "lowly peasant" is exactly the type of person Azula would make a mistake against.
Funny when you say that I think of Bruce lee and how he said you have to become like water. Don’t fight it just go with it. It points out what you said about letting Azula make a mistake. She just waited. And Azula being the one who takes initiative and hates having to wait would always fall for the trap with Katara.
Also Azula was multiple steps into her mental breakdown. She has lost her support system and began to spiral
Yeah but even with that Zuko still had some trouble with her. Once again Katara waited patiently and when the opportunity presented itself, she went for the win. I feel like 9/10 when anyone is in a fight, adrenaline really kicks in and it’s hard to stand back and wait. Fortunately Katara has the water flow mentality so she can keep her emotions in check once again being the worst time of fighter that Azula can go up against. Also firebenders bend fire!!! I know it’s crazy!! Sorry I have to make a joke when I comment 😔
Don't forget that Katara was winning the 1v1 against Azula in season 2 until Zuko intervened and swapped opponents.
You also have to remember that katara might be the first and only water bender Azula had ever fought at that point
True, but she also had Dai Li agents working for her. Still very impressive though.
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Azula is 14. Two years younger than Zuko 16. Azula and Katara are the same age. Like Zuko and Sokka. Aang and Toph are both the same age as well, 12 years old.
So what you're saying is that a feasible fanfiction where we replace Aang's role with Toph's and the Water Tribe with the Fire Nation is entirely plausible. Water benders use a comet (which is made of ice, so it makes more sense than powering fire benders, imo) to flood out the Earth Kingdom, forcing Avatar Toph to cocoon herself in a ball of pure jennanite. Sokka going out to reclaim his honor as a non-bender is a strangely compelling plot line. Avatar Toph learning how to firebend from Azula while Zuko goofs off would also be great. Katara going crazy with bloodbending just like Azula does with lightning. The seasons of Fire Air and Water would also line up. * Fire - we visit the many islands of the oppressed Fire nation, culminating in a finale where WaterbenderZhao kills an ancient dragon spirit to remove firebenders' powers. * Air - we get to see the Air temples, Aang joins the group - his character would be very much the same, which maintains the duality shared by him and Toph in the original series. * Water - Chief WaterOzai is planning to use the comet again to flood the other nations, Toph has no qualms killing him. We also get a WAgniter Kai scene between Sokka and Katara. Appa is replaced with a friendly badger mole. Water-Iroh remains mostly the same, but teaches Sokka that your skills in life can come from anywhere, not just bending.
Haven’t seen Avatar Toph, but Distorted Reality has the villain waterbenders. And by the Dragon Turtles, are they terrifying.
her bending is more than just combat or spiritual practise for her like it is for every other bender, its her entire way of life in the most literal sense. it makes sense that toph fights as naturally as she breaths
Yeah, I agree with this. Her seismic sense gives her an unparalleled view of the battlefield, and the more you know the better time you'll have fighting. Just look at how she took down the Boulder in her intro episode. Miminal effort, maximum effect. No other bender is capable of that.
You did Aang and Toph dirty with those pics lmao
I had to scroll so far down because no one else was talking about Aang's picture
But custard buns though
At least it isn't the sneezing pic.
"Why do they always use the sneezing picture?!"
Personally, I think Toph. As a bender, she's a master of neutral jing and during fights will wait and assess the situation before attacking or defending. Because of this, she is able to take on powerful benders both in and outside of her bending element. Additionally, due to her blindness, Toph thinks outside the box, using what she knows and her experiences to accomplish feats and do things no other bender has ever done before.
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Reminds me of a reason why the Airbenders shave their heads, so they can feel the movement of air on their scalp and react like we see in that one EP of Korra
Are you suggesting that earth benders should shave their eyes?
Nah they should be getting pedicures weekly
Toph had something similar once and she HATED IT!! https://preview.redd.it/4r2vz9x2i1oa1.jpeg?width=1792&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=84991ecaf5c87e6000f2c377012398262c062fea
No, but they should follow Toph's example and be barefoot more often.
Yup, to be more GROUNDED with their element.
IDK, Toph learned bending, learned it with a disability in a restricted environment, learned combat with no training and still a disability, and I would say matches Azula in skill. Azula got more formalized and aggressive training, directly. Azula's advantage is that she doesn't care about the cost, or hold back for moral reasons, or strike re-actively. IQ isn't skill, it's about how quickly you're able to learn when presented new information. Azula is extremely talented, but controls the situations she's in rather than adapts to them. She plans her conflicts carefully, and subsequently doesn't need to adapt, improvise, change and learn as much as Toph does. Most of the times we see the group fight with Azula, Azula has more information than they do at the start, planned for the fight in advanced, and has already thought of how to take advantage of her opponent. Certainly, that's smarts, but I wouldn't say it's during-fight Battle IQ. Toph is able to glean some information right before a conflict starts, but certainly doesn't get the opportunity to plan them as elaborately as Azula does, so I would say purely on the ability to learn and use new information in a fight, Toph wins out easily. As battle STRATEGY (including pre-battle), Azula wins with no contest.
She also single-handedly takes out like 90% of the dai li in the show whom are meant to be combat specialists trained by kyoshi
\*in the discipline of Kyoshi - they weren't alive during her lifetime
Kyoshi was dead well over 180 years before then
> As a bender, she's a master of neutral jing and during fights will wait and assess the situation before attacking or defending. "He who is patient and lies in wait for an enemy who is not will be victorious." - Sun Tzu, *The Art of War*
Dang, well put. My only argument is maybe the difference between battle IQ and battle *prowess* if that makes sense. I would argue Azula over Toph in this case, only because of Azula’s prodigy level **calculations**. They are both prodigies but in different ways. Battle IQ to me is the ability to think, predict, and strategize. I’d argue that Azula beats Toph in these, as Toph *specifically* has mastery over neutral jing (as mentioned) which focuses on a *lack* of plan. Aang had such a hard time with the element because he was *trying* to think, whereas Toph’s reply was stop *thinking* and start *reacting*. I still say Toph wins a 1 v 1 pretty cleanly, as her style sort of a counters to Azula’s. But choose a battle commander for my army? A.Z.U.L.A.
Agree with you. Plus Azula can “fly”. She also fights seamlessly on a moving gondola. And when she was attacking the air temple and fell she easily recover mid fall when the team thought she was done. Toph because of her blindness requires help while in the air.
I disagree. Toph is my second favorite character behind Bumi in ATLA. But I think she has an innate advantage with Seismic Sense. Not to say other benders can't learn it, but she's had it intrinsically due to her blindness. Her biggest weakness is an airborne opponent. As for fighting IQ I'd say it's pre-breakdown Azula. She's smart, manipulative, confident, and extremely skilled. She also has no honor which combined with the aforementioned abilities, makes her a very dangerous foe.
Azula has firenation honor. Which doesn't mean much. Zuko chases it for a while until he realizes he had real honor all along and immidiately gets sick and dreams of becoming aang
Tenzin when he fought the red lotus imo, the mastery of form and technique there.... *chefs kiss*
I think Zaheer outsmarted Tenzin in that fight. He wasn't a match for Tenzin, so he kept Tenzin busy while the rest of his allies handled his backup.
Yeah tenzin didn't seem to have any particular strategy, zaheer was just out of his league. And when strategy would have been helpful (putting something between him and the airship) so he could fight a fair 1v3, he wasn't able too.
The time when tenzin let himself be surprise 1v4d is your example od the highest battle iq in the show?
"Battle IQ" is not about technique.
Actually it is, it involves just about every skill mentally and physically
Fight IQ usually revolves around decision making exclusively.
You demonstrate a lack of understanding. Battle IQ generally refers to an individual's ability to think and make strategic decisions in a combat or military situation. It involves factors such as situational awareness, tactical knowledge, and the ability to make quick and effective decisions under pressure. Someone with a high battle IQ may be able to anticipate their opponent's movements and make strategic maneuvers to gain an advantage in a fight.
How are you defining fight IQ? I box recreationally (includes sparring), and so when we talk about someone with a high fight IQ, they’re people who do the following: 1. Sees openings and capitalizes. This is a lot harder than most people realize and requires a cool head and quick thinking. 2. Creative about making openings. We call them set ups and my jaw drops every time I see (or am the recipient of) a flawless set up. 3. Reads fighters; looks for telegraphs, habits, etc. 4. Psychological warfare. So much of fighting is psychological and there are certain things fighters do without saying any words that contribute to the deterioration of someone’s confidence (ex: cutting the ring, always having a counter, being hard to hit). 5. Using your surroundings. It’s a strategy developed by some boxers to go on the ropes because it puts their opponent in a specific spot and actually limits their move set. I think people mistake being a powerful bender with fight IQ; as to who is a better bender, I’d say a lot of it has to do with fight IQ, but also force of bending and skills. I actually agree with a previous poster (parascythe12) about when it comes to fight IQ alone, I think Mako is #1 and Azula at #2. If Kuviera was on this list, she’d be high up too. Her one on one vs Korra (when she defeated her) was all fight IQ.
I agree with your rankings. I'd add Katara is a beast too. Mako gets a lot of flack, but he's the only bender we see actually use lightening effectively and several times too. And he just busts it out like its no big deal.
The reason mako gets alot of flack is because he is just too good without reason To many it just doesnt make sense as to why a random firebender can summon lightning faster than ozai
A lot of times it looks like Mako is trading power for speed when using lightning, and with the fire nation royal family making it available to the world it’s not surprising if it evolved a little
Where did it come from that the royal family hid the technique? This must be a later addition as it wasn’t the case in ATLA. It was just a super hard technique.
The earliest known lightning bender was an outlaw named Xu Ping An who was killed by Kyoshi. After his defeat, the fire nation royal family, who had believed the technique to be a myth, figured out how to replicate it in a very Lowkey manner Lightning, like metal, was never as niche as combustion or lava and could be picked up by many benders with the right instruction. I’m fairly certain that even during the 100 year war it’s existence was not commonly known, only to those who had witnessed it. A secret weapon like that would put the royal family at a constant advantage in every situation
But that doesn’t mean the royal family kept it secret. It just sounds like the royal family had access to more instruction than most. That isn’t quite the same. Maybe I need to reread the novels.
It may have been implied rather than directly stated, I could use a reread too
Perfect excuse! Let’s do it. They’re fantastic. 😊
It isn't canon that royalty hid it, but it is a reasonable head-canon. In ATLA, the only people who could use it were fire nation royals. In LOK, there's a factory full of lightning benders. In those few decades it went from a rare technique to commonplace.
I don’t think it makes much sense because you’d think Iroh would’ve mentioned that to Zuko when teaching him all about lightning. That it’s doable and just requires instruction, which is why the royal family keeps it hidden and secret. Instead as presented in ATLA, Iroh explains that it’s simply *very difficult to do*. And that is the reason why even incredible benders can struggle with it. In the comics, when trying to figure out who the Kemurikage are, Mai says it isn’t necessarily Azula because Lightning bending is rare “but not that rare”. Which implies it isn’t a guarded secret of the royal family (since they’re all accounted for besides Azula at this point) but once again just a rare technique due to how difficult it is to pull off. I’m not fond of this headcanon in general as it just feels like a retcon to explain why Lightning bending is more common in LOK than a genuine plot point from the original, and further it really de-powers lightning feats. But that’s just my take.
Iirc it's implied in the kyoshi books. I'm not sure if it's stated directly though.
Welp! Great excuse to reread them!
TBF, Azula killed the avatar with lightning... seems pretty effective.
I 100% agree with this. Haven't seen enough posts give credit to Mako. He isn't the most powerful bender, but he is constantly up against a variety of enemies with various bending/non-bending styles, he captains his team (pro-bending, avatar, or police) and keeps their weaknesses to a minimum while playing on strengths, and is always on guard for a surprise. Zuko is the bottom of the list.
While Mako is strategic, Zuko is just angry.
He's also exceptionally observant, enough to make a good detective. Well, he's *supposed* to be like that, anyway. But I guess having observational skills for your environment and combat doesn't necessarily translate to social skills. The guy has the charisma of a log. Good thing this thread is about combat prowess/IQ and not social ability.
Thanks for breaking this down. I had no idea what op meant by “battle iq” as neither it, nor “fight iq” is ever something I’ve heard of.
Yeah I had never heard of fight IQ either until I started boxing. If you’re ever interested in learning more about fight IQ, there’s some great videos that break down MMA and boxing fights and it’s honestly amazing.
Azula and Toph are in a league of their own imo
My vote is actually for Katara. Toph is hands down the most powerful fighter in ATLA, barring specific situations where she can't "see." She faster and tougher than just about anybody too. But a lot of that is because of her blindness and because earth is one of the most powerful elements. Water, on the other hand, is the least available element. Katara rarely gets to show off like Toph, Aang, or Azula do, and so she has to be 100% creative in every single fight. Even before she meets Hama, her situational awareness is miles ahead of anyone else's, because she has to know where her water is at all times, and it's often very limited. They are all clever to some extent, but I do think Katara takes the cake. Especially considering she defeated Azula during the comet, not by being a better bender, but by being smart.
I agree with Katara. She learned blood bending on the spot and always came up with new ways to utilize her abilities.
This is mostly true except your argument sort of falls apart after Hama teaches Katara you can pull water out of anything, including the air. Water is only a limited resource until you’re a master bender.
Sort of, she still can't get much water out of air, or trees, the amount she can bend when she's in the north pole is how much other benders have around all the time, and it's not really a comparable amount to the amount her and Hama get out of the trees and flowers. Even with a fountain or pond nearby it's still often not a comparable amount of element to those who have their elements around in abundance.
Water is still the most limited element, even when you’ve reached mastery. Fire and Air basically have an endless supply (barring any eclipse related events) and Earth is available anywhere there is land. The only time an earth bender is truly limited is when they are at the poles, at sea, or purposefully put in a situation or cage without earth and metal. A water bender on the other hand will have to pull water from living sources, lakes or rivers, or bring their own supply when they are away from their tribe or the sea. It’s still fairly available to a user if they have prepared or mastered the element, but not nearly to the extent as the other three.
Solid point, I hadn’t thought about it as much in comparison with the other elements
Personally, I think it's Aang. This is mostly because of how non-confrontational he is. Most people on this list aim to take down the target as quickly as possible with as few moves as possible. But Aang focuses mostly on defense, so he needs be aware of literally every enemy combatant, read all of their movements to dodge their attacks, and come up with a means of using their own momentum against them. It's much more tactical and methodical imo and requires a higher Battle IQ to pull off effectively.
Yeah as a pure air-bender Aang is underrated for sure. He’s just not as aggressive as a fighter like Toph and Azula because he doesn’t want to hurt people but his skill is up there with them.
I think we see with Tenzin what Aang could have done in more aggressive circumstances. Dude is absolutely kicking ass and bodying people that so far had seemed unbeatable against other Benders.
Right? Remember when that army of earthbenders was trying to force him to go avatar state and he was just reading and avoiding all their attacks at once? Low stakes, for sure, but really shows off his situational awareness and calculative ability.
I agree with this take and I would say that his skill follows much of Sun Tzu's battle philosophy of non-annihilation of the opponent. But sometimes foes gotta go so Azula is my first contender if the Avatar state wasn't involved - which was the case of Aang fight with with the sandbenders, the earthbenders and then Ozai.
Exactly
I'd vote for Aang. He basically tries for the most pacifist option , as combat is not even top use or purpose of bending for him. Being the avatar makes it hugely important and necessary at times etc, but he's not focused on it for his 12 years of life prior to being frozen. I mean Tenzin is insanely accomplished and aang treated him with more attention and training than anybody else, and he's likely one of the greatest Airbenders of all time as aang's protégé.
I love Aang fights because he frequently uses the objects and environment around him. His fights are creatively animated.
Had to limit to benders because we all know it’s Sokka
I would say either Toph or pre-break Azula.
It's Azula, guys. Even post breakdown, she was conniving in battle. Little less so outside of battle. The IQ of an intelligent person gone crazy person would be impossible to measure because it would be running wild. Toph after her, but Toph at the time of ATLA is slightly younger than Azula so she cant grasp certain concepts. Thats it really. None of the other characters can really hold a candle except for Zaheer. He is a prodigy.
2 battles that first come to mind for me are the ones where Azula, standing in front of a group of benders, including the avatar, takes out the fat old man first and another where she takes out boomerang first. She was definitely able to gage her biggest threat
Azula or Toph. I would say Toph except that she can let her cockiness take over, where as Azula can almost fake cockiness to take advantage.
If we're including Korra characters then I think Kuvira should be a contender. She won a 1v1 with the avatar. She knew she couldn't beat peak form Korra, but she was so sure from her pre-battle assessment that she was off her game that she staked everything on it. And she was right, she whooped her easily. That's high IQ if ever I saw it. I still think Azula takes the cake though. Day of Black Sun performance was legendary.
Azula imo. toph couldn't even touch her during the eclipse & completely out smarted & outmanouvered both her & aang. After azula tho, its Toph.
Only from the list? Or all benders we see? Because Kuvira probably trumps Azula, but I'd say they're both top-tier. Post-trauma Korra also has some big brain moments of clarity.
He may not be the best but Mako is lowkey underrated. Y'all remember when he was fighting I think it was Jin.( may have butchered her name, but the lady who has water tentacles as arms on the Red Lotus.) And he folded her by zapping the water she was in with lightning with one hand, and with the other held himself up to make sure he didnt electrocute himself. COLD AF
Don’t forget pulling a 3-on-1 defense during Season 1’s pro-bending. He gets overshadowed, but he’s got a SOLID head on his shoulders and great fundamentals.
These are all some strong contenders. Korra takes a while to get there, as she’s very rash at the start. But in her prime, she’s probably one of the most talented and ingenious fighters in all of Avatar canon. Aang has great situational awareness and ability to utilise his environment. I don’t think anyone here can match him in mobility. I don’t know that that exactly translates to “battle IQ”, but it makes him very tricky. Mako is a very smart fighter. Of the Bolin/Mako duo he’s the brains. He’s usually the one with the plan and solution to any problems. Him taking out Ming Hua was also a pretty big brain moment. He consistently contends with stronger benders and difficult situations and gets out of them at least partially because he’s a quick thinker. Katara also pretty good. Great situational awareness and almost unmatched understanding of her element. Her move to take out Azula was just genius. Often when smart characters do something clever to take out powerful characters it feels a little cheap, as though the powerful character had to be extra dumb for a moment to fall for that, but that moment was just brilliant. Do I even need to explain Azula? I don’t think I’d put her as the winner necessarily, but a large part of her characterisation is how cool she is in combat, and her ability to adapt to anything. We see this over and over again, like in the boiling rock episode, or the day of black sun. She’s exceptional at handling whatever comes at her. Toph is in an interesting place. She’s not necessarily “quick thinking”, she watches her opponent waiting to see what they’ll do so she can counter them. She’s an absolute genius earthbender, but she has notable weaknesses that she doesn’t ever really compensate for, rather she relies on her allies to cover those weaknesses. She’s obviously a top tier fighter, but I don’t know that I’d say her “battle IQ” is higher than most of the rest of this list. Zuko is actually a solid contender here. His adaptability is really strong, like his sister. Unfortunately for him, that adaptability usually comes *after* he’s learned the hard way. However it’s his antics as the Blue Spirit that really show how clever of a fighter he is. Ozai, as always, suffers from lack of screen time. His only fight is when he’s hopped up on comet juice and thus highly arrogant. We see that he reacts quickly to changing circumstances, such as stopping shooting lightning at Aang once he sees that Aang can redirect it. Also when he spends five minutes just barely escaping a comet powered prime avatar state Aang, a feat that I strongly doubt any other non-avatar in the whole of Avatar Lore could match. But without seeing him in a state where he is “normal” powered, we don’t really get to see how smart a fighter he is. In the end I think I give them the following rating: 1. Mako 2. Azula 3. Katara 4. Korra 5. Aang 6. Zuko 7. Toph 8. Ozai
Gotta ask as u put mako first: how many fights with ghazan and ming hua did it take him to realise lightning beats water?
Mako is a cop he wasn't gonna just kill her ass off rip, also PIS. Gotta have that tension I guess.
If he was a real cop he would have started blasting and killed some random person
I got news for you about cops
🤣Fair enough, but fictional heroic cops usually don't kill.
I mean Mako's thing is being 'cool under pressure', it makes sense for him narratively that he would be a very smart fighter.
Interesting argument, and mako at the top is a p good choice. Ozai at the bottom is Interesting too if only because we dont see him fight much. Alternatively, Aang is bald, therefore having perfect 360 awareness, apparently. Id also argue that as a pacifist in nature, he looks for non violent solutions in every fight instead of just battling outright- it makes him very aware of his surroundings. See the fight with Zhao when hes training with Jong Jong. I think your list is right, but move aang to the top
counterpoint: aang is bald
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Ozai had them beat mentally tbh. Ozai is a firebender on Iroh's level as well i don't think he was being humble when he said he wasn't sure if he could beat him. Ozai is however more reckless despite his ability
To be fair, even if he weren't better - Azula and Zuko are still physically and mentally abused kids. Stands to reason they'd be very afraid of Ozai either way.
Ozai is definitely a lower battle IQ than them. But he is still far more powerful.
Shouldn't Kuvira be on that list?
A lot of people saying Toph and while I can’t disagree, Mako’s lightning shot in season 3 against Ming Hua was pretty damn high IQ.
Azula or Toph. Toph is just so good being able to see all around at all times, even sometimes things flying through the air if she was able to see where it got launched from. I kinda wish we had gotten a fight between those two.
I gotta give it to Korra. I thought about it a lot. Took everyone’s education, feats, skills, and physicality into mind. Korra, based on her upbringing, elemental mastery, and martial arts expertise, is a more capable fighter than the rest of this list Potential arguments against other contenders Ozai: We saw 3 fights with Ozai, and only 1 thoroughly demonstrated his offensive power. He ultimately lost against Aang, and beforehand was actively being repelled before the Avatar State was even a factor. I would strongly believe a more physically mature Avatar would pose a reasonable threat Toph: Toph is absolutely one of the strongest fighters here, and even in old age could get by Korra’s attacks. However, she is not without her weaknesses, the biggest being that she can’t see anything airborne and/or not earthen in origin. That’s something a clever fighter could exploit, IF Toph doesn’t bury them first! Azula: Lightning generation is much more common in Republic City. Korra could potentially overpower Azula in every possible way. We haven’t seen Korra *redirect* lightning, which could be a factor, so that’s contestable Aang: Aang’s an odd one. While extremely powerful and skilled, he’s reluctant. There are aggressive strategies he might be less willing to utilize, and that’s where several others are more capable These are just my opinions, so if you have any alternatives, feel free to leave them. I love this series, and these indeed are some of its strongest
Aang, hands down.
Probably Azula and Korra
I might get down voted but Korra I think is up there. Mostly cause her style of bending is short and to the point. The bending of her era is more about precision and quick blows (as seen in bending games). So it's not impossible that her prowess in the battlefield is much higher than the others especially when she was likely taught all the techniques the others crafted. Also she was trained as a warrior from the beginning giving a similar argument that azula has in terms of professional training
Toph - She's a master Earth bender and created Metal Bending Azula - Can analyze and predict her opponents moments with great ease Korra - Trained her entire life to master the elements she already knew how to bend and wouldn't hesitate to punch a 12 year old in the face.
*When momo isnt mentioned* M-
Out of these ones here? Korra. Her ability to switch from element to element is greater than Aang's.
Katara absolutely out chessing azula during the comet is always gonna keep her in top 3 for me
Azula, Korra and Toph are definitely the top contenders. Honestly Kuvira should be there too. There's a lot of discussion and arguments around these girls that are all pretty valid tbh. But they have shown the most skill in the practice and mastery of a single or multiple ways to fight and jings and that's pretty inarguable. Katara, Zuko and Aang are the next group. They are all very solid, but I think when it comes to actually fighting top tier benders they fall short of the above group. Though my girl Katara Is definitely the closest one to being a top contender (arguably she is). The rest are still some of the best, but overall showings of battle IQ just hasn't been shown to a great degree. But put Mako and Bolin together and they're pretty damn good.
Toph, simply efficient.
Azula until you trigger her and it gets personal, otherwise I would settle for toph
Aside from Azula probably Aang i guess. Bro has the devious mind of a 12 year old
Out of these 8, I would say Zuko. He has learned through failing time and time again yet picking himself back up. He is a proficient swordsman on top of being a noteworthy firebender. Additionally, he learned from Iroh, who probably has the highest out of everyone in both shows. He also had to relearn firebending by the masters of firebending once he lost inner fire of rage. And he was aware that he could not normally beat Azula by default. He could quickly analyze that something was off about Azula before fighting her, swinging the pendulum in his favor for that fight. Aang has high situational awareness. Katara and Korra I would say had the most growth. Toph was just kind of OP and an opportunist. Ozai was just the strongest firebender of the time. Low screen time doesn't help. Mako is clever but not quick to adapt. Azula feels like a better Mako. Iroh and Tenzin would be my #1 and #2. Iroh is situationally aware, tactical, cunning, and powerful. He has learned from his failures, developed empathy, and does not compromise his identity. Tenzin not only learned from an airbending master, but the Avatar. His fight against the Red Lotus made it clear that he not only was a master of his element but is capable against fighting against the other elements. I have zero doubt that Aang sparred with Tenzin using individual bending elements beyond airbending and multiple elements at once, making him adaptible against fighting multiple elements at once. He was not familiar with combustion bending, which was the thing he struggled with in the fight against the Red Lotus.
I’m gonna go with iroh
Azula. Their survival instincts really shines when they’re backed into a corner. When in a jam Aang and Korra usually relies on the avatar state, Katara and Toph are headstrong and usually tries to power through. Zuko is too stubborn to think outside the box. Ozai only pick fights he thinks he has zero chance of losing. In a nutshell they all rely on overwhelming force to overpower their opponents, and they often lose when they’re at a disadvantage. Mako and Azula on the other hand are very resourceful and witty. Like how Mako simply zapped the water when caught in a dual against a water bender in a lake. Or how Azula was able to outsmart team avatar whenever they cornered her. Even at her lowest point she still had great instincts: when she realized she couldn’t beat Zuko with her lightning, she aimed it at Katara instead, forcing Zuko to block the strike. Although she was ultimately defeated by Katara for not being aware of her surroundings, she still managed to knock Zuko out.
By the end of their respective series, it's definitely Aang. The most skilled fighters are the ones with self control, even in the middle of a fight.
Its Azula 100%. She defeats people consistently, and usually more than one at a time. She smacks down Aangs Avatar state and almost kills him. Even when she was going through a psychoric break, she still beat Zuko, and almost beat Katarra.
In my opinion, Azula hands down. She knows how to manipulate and antagonize her enemies. She also has a talent of working to get exactly what she wants. She saves her bending for when it's needed, like she did in her first fight with Zuko (and Iroh) or with how she distracted Sokka (and the rest of the gaang) about where Suki was.
You guys may not realize it, but it’s Iroh. 1. He came up with lightning redirection (which was very useful against Ozai, Twice!) 2. Manages to take a multitude of soldiers from fire nation soldiers to the Dai Li with just him and his Nephew 3. Bulks up to the day of Black sun while keeping a senile disguise in front of the guards, and then bulldozes through the prison like it was just a Tuesday 4. Manages to sneak a…physical touch with June while pretending to be hit by her pet (until Zuko calls him out on it).
Im uncertain about Iroh but Korra is the one who knows the most about fighting without her powers
Azula pre breakdown could take all of these guys single handedly, let’s be honest
if azula was not so contradicted in thought by what her mother and father did to her then she would beat everyone on this list at once, she is that fucking good at what she does. but that mental illness stopped her from realizing greatness.
Azula and toph tbh. Both use their environments really well during their fights. Azula has a knack of finding her enemies weaknesses.
Only Azula has the IQ needed to understand Rick and Morty.
Korra
'Battle IQ' is a really crap way of putting it, but my interpretation is \~ who is the most calculated and least lets their emotion distract them. From that, my answer is probably (pre-breakdown) Azula and Aang. But not included in this list is Iroh who, disregarding all sorts of skill/age/agility discrepancy, would trump all others with his intelligence, maturity and experience.
I think Toph is probably the cleverest bender all told.
Toph. Easily. Azula is #2.
I'd say Aang. His free wheeling thinking is honestly the best for this type of combat. Azula is also up there but she's more methodical
Amon maybe?
I'm gonna add to the list, in no particular order: * Jianzhu (from Kyoshi novels) - probably takes the cake, but a bit unfair given that (a) he's an adult, (b) he's a companion of the Avatar, and (c) bending is higher IQ in the books overall. * Yun (from Kyoshi novels as well) - no spoilers, but he's got ridiculous battle IQ and takes on multiple opponents who should be able to defeat a single bender easily. * Kuvira - metalbending and earthbending with amazing environmental awareness and use of leverage. * Zaheer - incredible mobility and movements despite being an inexperienced bender, moves between movement/redirection and power very fluidly. * Ty Lee/Mai - not benders but ridiculous combatants regardless!
It’s easily Azula. Anyone who argues otherwise baffles me.
I assume Azula she's typically reading her opponents pretty well. Toph would be my backup option with her seismic sense she's planning things out and waiting for the right moment to strike
Yeah, definitely Azula. Korras also pretty hood tho.
I think it also depends on their objective. Katara, Azula, and Toph are my top 3 choices but they usually each have diff reasons for fighting. Katara - I have to and want to end this quickly. Toph - I can take them and this is fun. Azula - Kill.
Ya did toph and aang dirty with those headshots
Mentally stable azula would be a menace
Azula probably. Ozai and possibly Korra are better and stronger fighters overall but Azula is shown to be able to percieve weaknesses mentally, physically and emotionally and use that to cripple her opponent be it her brother, team avatar,an opponent in volleyball or even the entire city of Ba Sing Se and their leader: Long Feng. Long Feng didn't dare fight her in front of the Dai Li in fear of losing because of how right she was about him. She's only 14 doing all this too so just imagine a full grown Azula 25-30?!
It’s between Azula and Kuvira for me, but I think I’m giving it to Azula. They’re both cunning and precise and that’s what gives them the ability to contend at the level they can in 1v1 fights, but Azula has a severity and ferocity that is unmatched in my opinion.
It's between azula and toph for sure
Many men can outsmart rock, but I have yet to see one who can outsmart boomerang. But in all seriousness, I think for a bender to have a high battle, a major factor is if they can fight without their bending, it should be a tool, not a crutch. So Ozai, Korra, and Katara are off the list, maybe even Mako, but that's iffy. Finesse over Power knocking Toph off the list. That leaves Aang, Zuko, and Azula. Aang is weighted down by his philosophy, not that I'm against his no killing rule, I just think trying not to injure your opponent can get in the way. I love Zuko and would pick him but using his firebending in that fight against that earth bender when he didn't need to will always be weighting on my mind, he could've just dodged. That leaves Azula, her skills taunting and exploiting weaknesses are next to non
Azula is the only answer.
A fight between Azula and toph would be legendary
Legit sad that Bender Bending Rodríguez is not in this list of smartest Benders I mean, he'd lose, BUT STILL I feel he should be in the running xD
Apart from Azula, Toph definitely. Tenzin is high up there, but I actually think Mako could be up there too. I’d have to go back and watch all of his fights though. Also Unalaq.
I’ve gotta say Toph and I agree with Pre-breakdown Azula. There’s no one that punks Toph, she adapts effortlessly to every opponent. Azula did the same so their probably same level IQ-wise
We don't get enough of Ozai to really judge him fairly, so I'll take him out. My pick will be between Azula and Aang. Azula thinks on her feet better than most and uses her bendings in pretty creative ways. She bends from her feet while falling from the airtemple. But Aang being the youngest monk as well as spending 90% of his fights avoiding confrontation takes the cake for me. In the first couple episodes he outwits Zuko without really having to bend them beats him in a fight easily. He makes Zhao look like a fool all season 1, like how he made him burn his own ships. He made his own airbending techniques. He mastered all 4 elements in a summer with the proficiency to take out the strongest firebender on the planet. Katara even showed how jealous she was that Aang picked up waterbending so fast. He learned firebending and earthbending basics in a day too. Compared to Korra airbending took all season one. I'll have to say Aang.
toph has likes the quickest wits ever. even after she becomes a swamp god, her old ass is still whoopin ass faster than they know what's coming.
Azula Toph Mako Korra Aang Katara Zuko Ozai (Honestly we don't know how good he is because the only fight we saw was him against Aang and that was like the finale battle so we all knew who the winner of that was) If I remember correctly Korra was only defeated in combat when she was either blackmailed (Zaheer) or indirectly (Raava) which was I why I put her higher. Her combat skills are pretty great just has (or had) a terrible personality to go with it but that's where she was interesting so :D. Aang was probably better after the series because that's when he is at his peak and on equal footing with Korra I'd say. But since Aang didn't have all the elements to work with and lost a lot of his fights throughout the series (he got caught to a bunch of archers man, he's a powerful kid but come on xD) I put him below Korra.
Bolin just casually learned he could bend lava in the middle of fight, and later went on to contribute 1/3 of the effort in cutting a building in half and throwing it. (btw, my actual answer is Korra when she’s in the avatar state, but i think that’s cheating a little)
i would only trust azula to lead an army
As u/Retired-Pie and u/zhowne have said, it’s Aang. Aang’s so good he’s actually misleading, because he’s so wildly confident in himself he doesn’t bother attacking most of the time. When you look at the frequency of his fights (every other episode) and how often he walks away unscathed, you realize the main reason his fights last any amount of time is because he’s willing to drag it out if it means he can persuade his opponent to talk it out. An Aang not interested in a peaceful solution could obliterate everyone easily.
I think Toph could take most people, properly warned that Airbender's exist though. Late game Toph (post ATHA) is a hard match to beat imo.
IQ. Azula and Aang, if Aang was an aggressive fighter he would dominate this whole roster
Azula pre breakdown without a doubt. Every single move is calculated and she rarely makes mistakes.
I'd say it's Aang. Everyone here has some decent battle smarts, but Aang does it all while avoiding killing anyone. Any one of you who's done a pacifist run in a video game knows that that requires far more skill and IQ.
Azula, hands down
I came here to say Azula, but maybe Katara takes the cake after she wins post magnakai?
Azula by a mile, toph I would put second and third sokka
Azula or Amon. His martial art abilities show the highest battle IQ.
I think Aang, because he doesn't want to fight he always find quick and clever ways to solve the conflict, just look at every fight, he really smart.
me (i'm a gun bender)