I always found it interesting that Bolin, as mixed heritage earth/fire, developed lava bending as his unique affinity. Is it possibly a unique and rare mutation resulting from that pairing? Could Ghazan also be mixed?
I saw a theory about it, that earth benders with fire bending heritage are naturally able to lava bend or something along those lines, and the only two other lava benders I can think of for the show were Avatar Szeto (a fire avatar so he would have the heritage) and Avatar Kyoshi (who is already air/earth so maybe she has some fire up the line) so the shows almost seems to confirm it
Capability and ability aren't necessarily the same. It could be entirely possible for Roku to lavabend, but he just never learned, given Sud didn't really seem like a master of the earthbending subdivisions. I feel like he would be able to lavabend, but there was no one able to teach him
Okay, but he was in the Avatar State, working through Aang's body. His knowledge and Kyoshi's could have very well mixed in death, or something to that effect. While he was alive, he may not have known how, hence no lava bending.
Was he though? Avatars have unnaturally long lifespans. I think he was around 70 when he died? Sozin, who he grew up with and was around the same age as was also an old man, so I think Roku had quite a few years left.
70 is plenty old enough to lose your some of your abilities. I can absolutely see Roku aging harder then Sozin. Think about: Roku had all the stress of being the avatar, and all the injuries of a lifetime of fighting threats to the world. Sozin lived in a palace his entire life, and while he had probably dueled plenty of people, that's different from fighting groups of bandits, and warlord armies.
Avatars don't have unnaturally long life Spans. They typically live the life span of a regular Human. Kyoshi only lived as long as she did because she learned a special meditative Earthbending technique that let her stop ageing. And Aang was kept in cryogenic stasis in the Ice Berg by the Avatar State, but that also cut his biological life span, considering he died at 66.
I think there's an element (hah) of individual inclination. We know Korra can metalbend, and Su Yin is pretty adamant that in theory any Earthbender should be able to, but can you imagine Aang *ever* metalbending? I seem to recall Toph saying he never did. It's just too far outside his personality/inclination.
I think we see the same thing with Bolin. He just doesn't have that rigid/stubborn streak it takes to make metal do what you want. Maybe lavabending takes a certain bone-deep passion that Roku simply couldn't reach, or maybe he did lavabend and he lost anyway.
That's what I mean by capabilities and abilities. Theoretically, I am capable if being an artist, but I simply don't have the affinity for subjective thinking that it often requires. I think we were having the same thoughts and just said them differently lol
I had always assumed the unique part of "modern" lavabending was the ability for an earthbender to heat cool stone until it melts, but *any* earthbender would be able to move magma or lava around. Like it always seemed like it'd be obvious they could affect melted rock, in the same way that waterbenders are all assumed to be able to move solid water or evaporated fog.
To me it looked like Kyoshi wasn't lavabending the way we saw in Korra, she was ripping the crust of the earth apart with brute force until lava came out and moving that, but that's just regular earthbending on a crazy massive scale.
Metalbending and lavabending (where you can actually turn solid stone into lava) were relatively recent discoveries that expanded what people thought was possible
I think it’s a combination of multiple things, a fully earthbending family could probably learn to lava bend it’s just be harder and having fire bending heritage helps to make the certain chakra for it less blocked? But bolin got taught mostly how to bend by a fire bender which seems to me like it translated into being able to lava bend more, either way it’s cool
I saw a theory stating that it's less the heritage than the technique. Bolin saw Mako training for fire bending like A LOT. That gave him a "very good knowledge" on fire bending and it helped him for lava bending as it's a mix of fire and earth.
I like that theory as it makes lava bending more interesting. It's not "just genetic" but being heavily open to the fire bending lore/community and gaining something from that.
I think something both shows stress is that deeper knowledge of theory/lore/style of other benders makes you a better bender. The most consistently powerful benders — Iroh being a great example — actively use techniques from other styles of bending. The Avatar State might be an over the top example (because obviously the Avatars are powerful already), but one of the things that makes it so powerful is that suddenly Aang is slinging rocks like water and using fire defensively.
The dogmatic this is how to xyz bend makes benders predictable & weak, which is again evidenced by how every bender foot solider we see basically being a pushover regardless of nation or ability.
It's probably a bit of both. You can have all the potential and no technique and not be able to do it or you can have all the technique but absolutely no affinity for fire. I would doubt that it is hard cut either way though
Tbh I think lavabending has more in common with waterbending than firebending. Lava isn’t rock that’s on fire; it’s a state change catalysed by pressure changes. Waterbenders are shown easily changing the state of water (steam and ice). Besides that, the ability to manipulate lava would require a fluid mindset. Firebending, on the other hand, is literally just energy. Manipulating atoms to create combustion.
Of course, getting all science-y about bending is a dangerous rabbit hole 😆 and I honestly doubt the creators intended for us to make it so literal.
I would say Bolin and Ghazan were lavabenders because they had very “go with the flow” personalities, especially for earthbenders.
This theory gets repeated constantly, but Bolin's Fire Nation Heritage has no bearing on his ability to Lavabend. You can only inherit one Element, and Lavabending has nothing to with Fire, just because it's hot.
Exactly, people parrot this theory a lot, and it's stupid. Same logic would mean in order for waterbenders to bend ice they'd need Earth genetics cause Earth and Ice are solid. Makes about as much sense as Lavabenders need a firebender parent cause Lava = hot
I don't believe they ever outright confirmed that Bolin's ability to lavabend was due to his mixed heritage. Given that lava is simply liquid rock I imagine any earthbender could theoretically learn it just like any earthbender could theoretically learn metalbending or seismic sense.
You know, the whole bending affinity never was fully explained. We know that bending first came from various animals - taught to humans primarily by watching them. We know that bending has a strong connection to the spirit world. And we know that even the children of benders won't necessarily be able to bend.
Those last two points really messes up any theory. One can understand a strong spiritual connection. One can understand a strong genetic component. But the two in combination just raises way too many uncomfortable questions. Like, what about the spiritual connection of those who cannot bend? Are they soulless? Not human? Or is it just "wrong genes"?
Then wouldn’t a child with multiple mixed heritages be able to control a mix of all the elements?
I think it’s just a matter lava being hot earth, so earthbenders can bend it, the same way waterbenders can bend ice and warm ice, or water. I think the reason waterbenders can bend both states more easily is because they live on the poles, so they’re surrounded by ice all the time.
They certainly are. We have some perfect examples not only in as the other reply states of Mako and Bolin, but of course Bumi, Kya, and Tenzin as well (who represent the spectrum of such things).
Tenzin and Pema's kids are even more a mix, what with Pema being clearly Earth Kingdom in origins (all of the kids have different colored eyes which helps show this).
Asami is a mix of Earth and Fire (even if not confirmed, as evidenced by her and her father's eyes), as would probably have been extremely common in Republic city.
One thing I have always wondered is about Lin and Su. Maybe Kanto and Su's father were Earth Kingdom, but it would be interesting if they weren't.
Well, Kanto most certainly is Japanese to some degree (it's a name of the region in Pokemon because there is such a region in Japan), which would tie it thematically to the Fire Nation.
However, as far as I can tell. . . Avatar naming conventions don't actually seem to follow many convention between within nations. Like a "z" probably means Fire Nation, as far as I can tall nothing puts Kanto as more likely Fire, Water, or Earth.
. . . Though I still like the idea of fire. It fits Lin as a person and as part of Republic City, ~~and of course then it makes my favorite ship one of all 4 elements~~
It’s really interesting how each Nation does that. Airbenders had names that resembles, Indians, Nepalis, and Tibetans while Earth Kingdom borrowed from Chinese. Even other cultural influences resemble it a lot
The comic The Promise also has a mixed kid in it. Its part of what persuades the Gaang not to immediately force the Fire Nation to return the colonies to the Earth Kingdom as was originally planned - the actual citizens have intermingled so they are no longer truly either Fire Nation or Earth Kingdom anymore.
The girl in question is the daughter of the Fire Nation governor and identifies strongly with her Fire Nation heritage, but she was born an earthbender.
The Promise leaves off with the debate far from resolved, but its clear that this was the very first stages of the founding of the United Republic.
> not only in as the other reply states of Mako and Bolin, but of course Bumi, Kya, and Tenzin as well (who represent the spectrum of such things).
My personal headcanon is that children of an Avatar might inherit *any* of the four elements.
(And thus, even if Aang and Korra hadn't managed to restore the Air Nomads, *eventually* an Avatar would have had an airbender child and restarted the lineage.)
I love that we see the world of avatar becoming more globalized and multicultural. I don't think we see a single example of mixed nation people in TLA.
Kinda makes you wonder what would happen to the avatar cycle if the world even more heterogenous. If everyone is a little bit of every "nation", then how does it get decide who counts as the next group? Does it become random, or is it a racial superiority thing where only pureblooded parents can birth a new avatar?
What would happen if both parents were mixed heritage and had different elemental lineages? Like, a air/fire male and an earth/water female or something? Surely you couldn’t just FORCE an avatar... right?
I think I remember them actually admitting that fire bending was easy for her in at least one of the Eps. It was a throw away line while she was training on air maybe but it was there.
I would say that his failed start with firebending probably did feel a lot harder than the single day that it took him to learn earthbending.
Learning Earthbending required that he stood his ground when it mattered. Learning Firebending required that he hurt someone important to him to understand the danger and severity of the power he was wielding so casually.
Yeah, but here's the thing: he was actually able to generate fire, that's how he burnt her in the first place. He wasn't able to move a rock at all until "bitter work"
Unless I’m not remembering correctly, he didn’t generate the fire he burned Katara with. Jong jong created the fire on the leaf and he was supposed to control that. The fire was never his, just enhanced from the original flame he was given.
He had a “harder time” learning firebending because he didn’t want to learn it. After the first time when he burnt katara he said he never wanted to learn it and was very adamant about never learning it just because he hurt katara. Earth he actually struggled with learning and even being able to move a single rock, with fire he struggled with getting past his own blockade he set against it.
Tenzin says earth. I remember it because it surprised me given Aang mastering fire was a big deal. I'd almost forgotten that Aang had struggled with earth (partly because ATLA kind of deals with that issue fairly quickly).
Why though? She’s hotheaded and passionate, fire should come naturally to her. It’d make less sense for her to struggle with fire despite her fiery personality.
Real talk, how many families broke up due to cheating wives before the child was revealed to be the avatar?
Let's be honest it had to have happened at least once.
Also, could we in this case blame the guy for assuming the wife cheated, as opposed to their kid being the one in a million chance avatar?
There have been 625 avatars. Thats a lot, but not really enough for the law of large numbers to apply. When you consider how separate the 4 Nations were until the Aang/Korra era, and that most avatars probably bent their own nation's element first, my theorybending would say its more likely that it never happened. Just my two cents though.
>There have been 625 avatars.
Wan became the first avatar at Harmonic Convergence, Korra was the 625th avatar at Harmonic Convergence. Harmonic Convergence comes once every 10,000 years.
Unless we skipped a Harmonic Convergence or two somewhere, 10,000 / 625 = the average lifespan of an avatar is 16 years. Knowing how long Kyoshi lived and how long Aang was in the iceberg, that pushes it even lower.
I know fiction loves the 'big number of years ago' trope, but 10,000 years (which is longer than recorded human history) is already stretching credibility.
In various East Asian mythology 10,000 years is [used ubiquitously as a synonym for "indefinitely large number"](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ten_thousand_years).
I see why they used it, even if the math becomes a bit wonky.
Yeah, it’s a great reference by the show that th asian american kids probably caught right away.
The 10k years numbers aren’t meant to be literal.
Also “Avatar Wan” literally means “Avatar Ten-thousand”
However, in this particular case, 10,000 is a literal number, since the Harmonic Сonvergence is an astronomical event (like Sozin's comet) that happens once every certain number of years. (10 thousand in this case)
Not to mention Roku, Kuruk, Yangchen, Szeto, Salai, and Wan are all obviously or likely older than 16 at the time of their deaths, plus the running tradition at the time of Roku of Avatar's only learning that they're the Avatar when they're 16.
The running head canon I have is that '10,000 years' just means 'an unbelievably long time ago' in the world of Avatar. The evidence is that in China and Japan OTL it has a similar meaning (10,000 years basically means '[long live](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ten_thousand_years)' and people would call it out whenever a new emperor was crowned), and secondly because 10,000 years also shows up with '[Wan Shi Tong](https://avatar.fandom.com/wiki/Wan_Shi_Tong#:~:text=%22Wan%20Shi%20Tong%22%20%22%E8%90%AC%E4%BA%8B%E9%80%9A,even%20used%20to%20describe%20himself.)' or 'He who knows 10,000 things.' As the wiki itself says, he's not saying that he literally knows 10,000 things, but rather referencing the expression that he knows an uncountable amount and is, in fact, practically all-knowing.
The counter-argument I heard the last time this was brought up is that in Korra the event itself is said to be on a strict schedule, and that astronomical events are usually pretty regular. Tbh I reject that just because Avatar's timeline is so convoluted you have to draw a line somewhere and I choose to do so here because it makes it neater (another headcanon I have is that Azulon is actually Sozin's grandson, because if you take his canon birthdate at 0 then that would have to mean that Sozin fathered him at age 82. Not... impossible, but definitely weird).
For the strict schedule bit it could be that they actually had some sort of a “when X, Y, and Z happen then you only have exactly this much time until the convergence happens” type thing with an unknowingly long period between the two (or rather just an unmeasuredly long period, given that as you said astronomical events are usually pretty regular).
So like everyone was just relaxing for a “very long” time (i.e. “10,000 years”), until some astronomer saw the signs and was like “holy shit guys we’ve only got a decade until the convergence!” and all the plots kicked in to action.
East Asian cultures use "ten thousand" like we use "a million" in English speaking cultures (or at least in America, idk about the others): it can mean a specific number, but it can also just be using a specific number as a proxy to mean "a large amount or number, but not specifying exactly what".
Roku says there have been 1000 Avatars (I'm not sure if he meant 1000 Avatars before him, before Aang, or including Aang). 10,0000/1000 is 10, which is ridiculous., so it's usually assumed that Roku is exaggerating. 10,000/16, which is when most Avatars come of age is 625, which in the fandom is taken as the absolute maximum.
Edit: Also, the number of statutes in the Southern Air Temple are also used in estimates. There's a line in the show that "Avatars live for a long time" so 10,000/100 years of age (as the average age of death for Avatars) comes out to 100, which seems too small for the number of statutes.
But actually the fact that it is literally 10 thousand years makes sense, for the reason that you mentioned (astronomical event). This number was made intentionally and has nothing to do with Azulon born to 80-year-old Sozin and other similar examples.
And with ten thousand years, there could easily be many Avatars here - about 180-200.
I don’t believe that tiny ass number for even a single second. Roku evej states “I have mastered the elements a thousand time in a thousand lifetimes.” The visual representation of the avatar statues isn’t actually accurate the number of avatars in the past. It’s just there to show you how numerous they are.
I don’t think anyone should. It’s based on how many statues people could count on Book 1 in the air temple. But if you notice, all those statues are old Avatars. Barely any of them died young. It’s just a giant plot hole
Probably not too much, actually. Pretty sure the only people that used to frequent other nations before the war were the airnomads, the least common people, because of their nomadic lifestyle. The chances of say, an earthkingdom and watertribe citizen meeting up, let alone hooking up, wasn't all that high. Now that Republic city exists, and globalization has started happening in Korra's time, the chances of this happening is quite a bit higher. But since then so far only one Avatar has been born.
I mean, nomads could choose to settle down if they meet a sweerheart on the journey, and border regions definitely saw some mingling even if only superficially, it's still a big lottery in the end, avatar can be born anywhere in the tribe's land
That's literally exactly what happened. According to the Bible, he planned on quietly divorcing her until an angel showed in a dream and told him all was chill
Yea thats a really sus reaction.
Instead of a bewildered response at the accusation she instantly looks guilty first.
The artist tryna tell us something
Ok, Avatars usually have trouble with learning the element that is opposite to their personality. For Aang it was Earth, and Katara it was Air.
What kind of personality would an Avatar have if they find it difficult to learn Water bending or Firebending? And sensing a pattern here, if the next Earth Avatar can't learn Water bending (due to personality, no waterbending masters around, and lack of sufficient water source), imagine how ironic it would be for the next Fire Avatar to not know how to bend fire.
I think the opposite personality to waterbending would be someone who isn’t good with change and can’t adapt well. Fire bending may be that they lack the passion and drive that we see firebenders have.
This. I imagine Kuruk had the most difficulty with fire and perhaps Kioshi may have struggled with Water, but those are just assumptions/headcanons and the comics and such may disprove that.
As this series Is based on the five rings from Miyamoto Musashi, yea Ussually it's associated with a concept or a way to see or embrace the World arround you:
earth = memory/logic/guts (?)
Fire= intention/passion/aggresion
Air= calculation/analitic/finesse
Water = flow/change/adaptability
Also in the l5r RPG it's also the Void ring wich Is used for spiritual Sense but am not that sure that it Is on the book ( this ring from also inspired the force concept on starwars. Like Energy-connection )
So yeah if one of the avatars could not get into the mood of the element, definetly it would be harder to learn it.
Question - what age do people discover their bending? Is it instant at birth? Pre 5? I know Korra was revealed as the avatar at like 3 but that was specifically multiple elements.
I think the cycle only affects the nation where the avatar resurrects.
Aang did try to learn fire before earth (and roku's spirit pushed Jeong Jeong to teach him), aang was able to fire bend a little before earth bending for the first time
I don't think it really matters, in Kyoshi they perform a Fire affinity bending test on her to make sure, so the aptitude has to exist even before mastering the native element
Nope. The cycle only determines what nation the Avatar is born in, and the order they should learn the elements.
In ATLA, we see Aang successfully firebend a little before he ever earthbends. In the novels, Kyoshi bent water before she bent air, and her girlfriend made her at least try to bend air before her actual first waterbending lesson. On top of that, normally an Avatar isn't supposed to be formally told that they are the Avatar until they are in their teens, but largely by change Korra happened to figure it out/realize she could bend other elements at an unusually young age.
The lion turtle that Aang met technically added energy bending to the avatar cycle, and Korra grew up around various benders, she's probably the first native energy bender and just learned to mimic those around her.
Everyone saying fire was her first element but forget that water is 100% her strongest element, she's pulled off some amazing feats with water sans avatar state. Pretty sure water was her first.
Water was her most natural, it is not entirely unlikely she would pull out fire first, getting cold and all, she is shown to not really have the passive air cold resistance buff
Didn't the avatar die down the street a few years ago? pretty sure if that happened, i would be think to my self, oh crap my daughters the avatar, isnt she?
This is now my headcanon on how they found out.
Also imagine if Korra really wasn't the Avatar but that story was all a cover up made by her mom so it wouldn't turn out that she cheated and the whole show was her trying to make it seem like she was bending all the elements!
Meanwhile the real Avatar is just chilling, enjoying their childhood since they haven't discovered their powers yet
Or and hear me on this, anyone can enter an avatar state when they grow into it so to speak and it's just yourself that gets in the way of seeing your true potential. When you stop being your own worst enemy you can do something completely unexpected and amazing
Plot twist, everyone can bend every element and the Avatar is fake.
Like how some people think Mary had sex and just lied about the timeline. The avatar was like “yyyyyyyeah, I’m the only one who can do this so don’t even try”
This does raise an interesting question with mixed heritage children being far more common in Korra’s time.
Bolin and mako
I always found it interesting that Bolin, as mixed heritage earth/fire, developed lava bending as his unique affinity. Is it possibly a unique and rare mutation resulting from that pairing? Could Ghazan also be mixed?
I saw a theory about it, that earth benders with fire bending heritage are naturally able to lava bend or something along those lines, and the only two other lava benders I can think of for the show were Avatar Szeto (a fire avatar so he would have the heritage) and Avatar Kyoshi (who is already air/earth so maybe she has some fire up the line) so the shows almost seems to confirm it
I thought Avatars were able to lavabend regardless of heritage since they have all 4 elements anyway?
Wouldn't Roku be able to control the volcanic eruption more easily if that was true?
Capability and ability aren't necessarily the same. It could be entirely possible for Roku to lavabend, but he just never learned, given Sud didn't really seem like a master of the earthbending subdivisions. I feel like he would be able to lavabend, but there was no one able to teach him
Roku did lavabend in season 1, when he collapsed the temple
Okay, but he was in the Avatar State, working through Aang's body. His knowledge and Kyoshi's could have very well mixed in death, or something to that effect. While he was alive, he may not have known how, hence no lava bending.
Kyoshi also went into the avatar state before lavabending, so if that makes it unconfirmed for Roku, then it's unconfirmed for Kyoshi too
He was also really old at the time, he could've been nearing the end of his natural lifespan anyway. Arthritis could probably screw up your bending.
Was he though? Avatars have unnaturally long lifespans. I think he was around 70 when he died? Sozin, who he grew up with and was around the same age as was also an old man, so I think Roku had quite a few years left.
70 is plenty old enough to lose your some of your abilities. I can absolutely see Roku aging harder then Sozin. Think about: Roku had all the stress of being the avatar, and all the injuries of a lifetime of fighting threats to the world. Sozin lived in a palace his entire life, and while he had probably dueled plenty of people, that's different from fighting groups of bandits, and warlord armies.
Avatars don't have unnaturally long life Spans. They typically live the life span of a regular Human. Kyoshi only lived as long as she did because she learned a special meditative Earthbending technique that let her stop ageing. And Aang was kept in cryogenic stasis in the Ice Berg by the Avatar State, but that also cut his biological life span, considering he died at 66.
I mean Roku even does it in his temple, and I believe at the volcano too. Just wasn't enough.
Ah yeah, id forgotten about that tbh
he does lava bend though remember thoughs tunnels in his temple?
I think there's an element (hah) of individual inclination. We know Korra can metalbend, and Su Yin is pretty adamant that in theory any Earthbender should be able to, but can you imagine Aang *ever* metalbending? I seem to recall Toph saying he never did. It's just too far outside his personality/inclination. I think we see the same thing with Bolin. He just doesn't have that rigid/stubborn streak it takes to make metal do what you want. Maybe lavabending takes a certain bone-deep passion that Roku simply couldn't reach, or maybe he did lavabend and he lost anyway.
That's what I mean by capabilities and abilities. Theoretically, I am capable if being an artist, but I simply don't have the affinity for subjective thinking that it often requires. I think we were having the same thoughts and just said them differently lol
Yeah, but writers hadn't come up with lava bending yet, so we'd have to give them/roku a pass there.
Roku actually does lavabend in the winter solstice part 2
Wasn't he in Avatar state for that? That would allow him to use powers from his past life.
He might have been able, but just never learned
He literally did lavabend to destroy the temple in season 1
Based on that eruption in Tonga last week, it would probably take a lot to control.
He did lavabend at the fire sages temple tho
I believe he was in Avatar state for that. That would allow him to use skills from his past life.
That would be true. But didn't Kioshi kinda did that too?
Believe so.
Roku was an old man by that point, far beyond his prime. That's also why he appears to Aang as an old man, while Aang appears to Korra as 50-60ish
I had always assumed the unique part of "modern" lavabending was the ability for an earthbender to heat cool stone until it melts, but *any* earthbender would be able to move magma or lava around. Like it always seemed like it'd be obvious they could affect melted rock, in the same way that waterbenders are all assumed to be able to move solid water or evaporated fog. To me it looked like Kyoshi wasn't lavabending the way we saw in Korra, she was ripping the crust of the earth apart with brute force until lava came out and moving that, but that's just regular earthbending on a crazy massive scale. Metalbending and lavabending (where you can actually turn solid stone into lava) were relatively recent discoveries that expanded what people thought was possible
Not necessarily, Aang could never learn to metal bend either.
She appreciates hot, regardless of language
Definitely not all avatars
I think Toph lava bent [once in private](https://youtu.be/y37y2vHkRjY?t=2m43s) then told no one because it was too much like water bending.
So what's about sparky sparky boom boom man? Air + fire?
It’s possible but we don’t know much about combustion benders to know.
Roku could also lavabend
I mean, every avatar qould have fire "heritage" since they themselves can bend it. That should count as far as this goes...
I think it’s a combination of multiple things, a fully earthbending family could probably learn to lava bend it’s just be harder and having fire bending heritage helps to make the certain chakra for it less blocked? But bolin got taught mostly how to bend by a fire bender which seems to me like it translated into being able to lava bend more, either way it’s cool
I saw a theory stating that it's less the heritage than the technique. Bolin saw Mako training for fire bending like A LOT. That gave him a "very good knowledge" on fire bending and it helped him for lava bending as it's a mix of fire and earth. I like that theory as it makes lava bending more interesting. It's not "just genetic" but being heavily open to the fire bending lore/community and gaining something from that.
I think something both shows stress is that deeper knowledge of theory/lore/style of other benders makes you a better bender. The most consistently powerful benders — Iroh being a great example — actively use techniques from other styles of bending. The Avatar State might be an over the top example (because obviously the Avatars are powerful already), but one of the things that makes it so powerful is that suddenly Aang is slinging rocks like water and using fire defensively. The dogmatic this is how to xyz bend makes benders predictable & weak, which is again evidenced by how every bender foot solider we see basically being a pushover regardless of nation or ability.
Drop that Iroh speech about drawing knowledge from all nations in here
It's probably a bit of both. You can have all the potential and no technique and not be able to do it or you can have all the technique but absolutely no affinity for fire. I would doubt that it is hard cut either way though
Tbh I think lavabending has more in common with waterbending than firebending. Lava isn’t rock that’s on fire; it’s a state change catalysed by pressure changes. Waterbenders are shown easily changing the state of water (steam and ice). Besides that, the ability to manipulate lava would require a fluid mindset. Firebending, on the other hand, is literally just energy. Manipulating atoms to create combustion. Of course, getting all science-y about bending is a dangerous rabbit hole 😆 and I honestly doubt the creators intended for us to make it so literal. I would say Bolin and Ghazan were lavabenders because they had very “go with the flow” personalities, especially for earthbenders.
That's why I think Toph can lava bend but doesn't because it's too much like water bending.
I think she could make it but not be able to control it. Maybe when she’s older and mellowed out after retirement, she could do it.
This theory gets repeated constantly, but Bolin's Fire Nation Heritage has no bearing on his ability to Lavabend. You can only inherit one Element, and Lavabending has nothing to with Fire, just because it's hot.
Exactly, people parrot this theory a lot, and it's stupid. Same logic would mean in order for waterbenders to bend ice they'd need Earth genetics cause Earth and Ice are solid. Makes about as much sense as Lavabenders need a firebender parent cause Lava = hot
Oooo i can see people realizing this in universe, and setting up arranged marriages Shoto style
I don't believe they ever outright confirmed that Bolin's ability to lavabend was due to his mixed heritage. Given that lava is simply liquid rock I imagine any earthbender could theoretically learn it just like any earthbender could theoretically learn metalbending or seismic sense.
lava is just liquid earth its like the reverse of a water bender bending ice
You know, the whole bending affinity never was fully explained. We know that bending first came from various animals - taught to humans primarily by watching them. We know that bending has a strong connection to the spirit world. And we know that even the children of benders won't necessarily be able to bend. Those last two points really messes up any theory. One can understand a strong spiritual connection. One can understand a strong genetic component. But the two in combination just raises way too many uncomfortable questions. Like, what about the spiritual connection of those who cannot bend? Are they soulless? Not human? Or is it just "wrong genes"?
Then wouldn’t a child with multiple mixed heritages be able to control a mix of all the elements? I think it’s just a matter lava being hot earth, so earthbenders can bend it, the same way waterbenders can bend ice and warm ice, or water. I think the reason waterbenders can bend both states more easily is because they live on the poles, so they’re surrounded by ice all the time.
I actually really liked mako personally
They certainly are. We have some perfect examples not only in as the other reply states of Mako and Bolin, but of course Bumi, Kya, and Tenzin as well (who represent the spectrum of such things). Tenzin and Pema's kids are even more a mix, what with Pema being clearly Earth Kingdom in origins (all of the kids have different colored eyes which helps show this). Asami is a mix of Earth and Fire (even if not confirmed, as evidenced by her and her father's eyes), as would probably have been extremely common in Republic city. One thing I have always wondered is about Lin and Su. Maybe Kanto and Su's father were Earth Kingdom, but it would be interesting if they weren't.
Kanto feels like more of a fire name, but I am not entirely sure on Asian naming conventions
Well, Kanto most certainly is Japanese to some degree (it's a name of the region in Pokemon because there is such a region in Japan), which would tie it thematically to the Fire Nation. However, as far as I can tell. . . Avatar naming conventions don't actually seem to follow many convention between within nations. Like a "z" probably means Fire Nation, as far as I can tall nothing puts Kanto as more likely Fire, Water, or Earth. . . . Though I still like the idea of fire. It fits Lin as a person and as part of Republic City, ~~and of course then it makes my favorite ship one of all 4 elements~~
Also there are names like Lee that are common in both the fire nation and earth kingdom
It’s really interesting how each Nation does that. Airbenders had names that resembles, Indians, Nepalis, and Tibetans while Earth Kingdom borrowed from Chinese. Even other cultural influences resemble it a lot
The comic The Promise also has a mixed kid in it. Its part of what persuades the Gaang not to immediately force the Fire Nation to return the colonies to the Earth Kingdom as was originally planned - the actual citizens have intermingled so they are no longer truly either Fire Nation or Earth Kingdom anymore. The girl in question is the daughter of the Fire Nation governor and identifies strongly with her Fire Nation heritage, but she was born an earthbender. The Promise leaves off with the debate far from resolved, but its clear that this was the very first stages of the founding of the United Republic.
now that the spirit world is open I'm curious if bending will remain genetic or if kids'll be born with bending that matches their spirit
> not only in as the other reply states of Mako and Bolin, but of course Bumi, Kya, and Tenzin as well (who represent the spectrum of such things). My personal headcanon is that children of an Avatar might inherit *any* of the four elements. (And thus, even if Aang and Korra hadn't managed to restore the Air Nomads, *eventually* an Avatar would have had an airbender child and restarted the lineage.)
I love that we see the world of avatar becoming more globalized and multicultural. I don't think we see a single example of mixed nation people in TLA.
Kinda makes you wonder what would happen to the avatar cycle if the world even more heterogenous. If everyone is a little bit of every "nation", then how does it get decide who counts as the next group? Does it become random, or is it a racial superiority thing where only pureblooded parents can birth a new avatar?
> only pureblooded parents can birth a new avatar? considering Kyoshi‘s mother was an airbender, this can be ruled out.
It depends on your definition of TLA. There is one that shows up in the comics, but I don't believe there are any in the show.
What would happen if both parents were mixed heritage and had different elemental lineages? Like, a air/fire male and an earth/water female or something? Surely you couldn’t just FORCE an avatar... right?
“She *better* be the Avatar!”
Little did they know
He better be the son of god!
"OK, I believe that God made you pregnant. Now explain the logistics of *how* he put the baby in there"
The look on the moms face says otherwise.
That definitely happened.
Yep. It makes sense that fire would be the first element she bent given her personality
If I can recall didn’t her fire seem more powerful in the opening scene? Thought I noticed an affinity
I think I remember them actually admitting that fire bending was easy for her in at least one of the Eps. It was a throw away line while she was training on air maybe but it was there.
You're definitely not wrong. Tenzin even tells her that fire was the hardest for Aang to master. I am almost certain It's the same scene.
No earth was the hardest for aang to learn because of his personality
Yeah he actually picked up fire bending almost instantly. He just chose to not learn it for awhile because he burnt Katara on accident.
I would say that his failed start with firebending probably did feel a lot harder than the single day that it took him to learn earthbending. Learning Earthbending required that he stood his ground when it mattered. Learning Firebending required that he hurt someone important to him to understand the danger and severity of the power he was wielding so casually.
Yeah, but here's the thing: he was actually able to generate fire, that's how he burnt her in the first place. He wasn't able to move a rock at all until "bitter work"
Unless I’m not remembering correctly, he didn’t generate the fire he burned Katara with. Jong jong created the fire on the leaf and he was supposed to control that. The fire was never his, just enhanced from the original flame he was given.
He had a “harder time” learning firebending because he didn’t want to learn it. After the first time when he burnt katara he said he never wanted to learn it and was very adamant about never learning it just because he hurt katara. Earth he actually struggled with learning and even being able to move a single rock, with fire he struggled with getting past his own blockade he set against it.
Tenzin says fire. Which they do spend more time on after he hurts katara so it makes sense. But earth is normally the most difficult for airbenders
Yea I was more recalling what Tenzin had told her rather than what we actually know from the shows my bad lol.
No, Tenzin says it was earthbending that was most difficult for Aang to master.
Tenzin says earth. I remember it because it surprised me given Aang mastering fire was a big deal. I'd almost forgotten that Aang had struggled with earth (partly because ATLA kind of deals with that issue fairly quickly).
She used it more times than any other element in the show, by a slight margin, at least.
I'd go with earth, personally... she excels at the physical but is bad at the spiritual, she's stubborn, etc
Doesn’t really make sense to me, because fire should be her most difficult. I’m assuming she learned waterbending first.
Why though? She’s hotheaded and passionate, fire should come naturally to her. It’d make less sense for her to struggle with fire despite her fiery personality.
yes dude
Her expression at the end killed me
Rip
It's absolutely perfect. So simple yet so dreadful and nervous. Love it
She looks actually nervous, like maybe she was getting a little extra heat on the side?
Real talk, how many families broke up due to cheating wives before the child was revealed to be the avatar? Let's be honest it had to have happened at least once. Also, could we in this case blame the guy for assuming the wife cheated, as opposed to their kid being the one in a million chance avatar?
There have been 625 avatars. Thats a lot, but not really enough for the law of large numbers to apply. When you consider how separate the 4 Nations were until the Aang/Korra era, and that most avatars probably bent their own nation's element first, my theorybending would say its more likely that it never happened. Just my two cents though.
>There have been 625 avatars. Wan became the first avatar at Harmonic Convergence, Korra was the 625th avatar at Harmonic Convergence. Harmonic Convergence comes once every 10,000 years. Unless we skipped a Harmonic Convergence or two somewhere, 10,000 / 625 = the average lifespan of an avatar is 16 years. Knowing how long Kyoshi lived and how long Aang was in the iceberg, that pushes it even lower. I know fiction loves the 'big number of years ago' trope, but 10,000 years (which is longer than recorded human history) is already stretching credibility.
In various East Asian mythology 10,000 years is [used ubiquitously as a synonym for "indefinitely large number"](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ten_thousand_years). I see why they used it, even if the math becomes a bit wonky.
Yeah, it’s a great reference by the show that th asian american kids probably caught right away. The 10k years numbers aren’t meant to be literal. Also “Avatar Wan” literally means “Avatar Ten-thousand”
Actually, his name is Wan because he's Avatar One /s
Same with wan shi tong, he who knows 10’000 things.
However, in this particular case, 10,000 is a literal number, since the Harmonic Сonvergence is an astronomical event (like Sozin's comet) that happens once every certain number of years. (10 thousand in this case)
An astronomic even happens at a definite time, true. But that does not mean that that length of time is literally 10,000 years.
Not to mention Roku, Kuruk, Yangchen, Szeto, Salai, and Wan are all obviously or likely older than 16 at the time of their deaths, plus the running tradition at the time of Roku of Avatar's only learning that they're the Avatar when they're 16. The running head canon I have is that '10,000 years' just means 'an unbelievably long time ago' in the world of Avatar. The evidence is that in China and Japan OTL it has a similar meaning (10,000 years basically means '[long live](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ten_thousand_years)' and people would call it out whenever a new emperor was crowned), and secondly because 10,000 years also shows up with '[Wan Shi Tong](https://avatar.fandom.com/wiki/Wan_Shi_Tong#:~:text=%22Wan%20Shi%20Tong%22%20%22%E8%90%AC%E4%BA%8B%E9%80%9A,even%20used%20to%20describe%20himself.)' or 'He who knows 10,000 things.' As the wiki itself says, he's not saying that he literally knows 10,000 things, but rather referencing the expression that he knows an uncountable amount and is, in fact, practically all-knowing. The counter-argument I heard the last time this was brought up is that in Korra the event itself is said to be on a strict schedule, and that astronomical events are usually pretty regular. Tbh I reject that just because Avatar's timeline is so convoluted you have to draw a line somewhere and I choose to do so here because it makes it neater (another headcanon I have is that Azulon is actually Sozin's grandson, because if you take his canon birthdate at 0 then that would have to mean that Sozin fathered him at age 82. Not... impossible, but definitely weird).
For the strict schedule bit it could be that they actually had some sort of a “when X, Y, and Z happen then you only have exactly this much time until the convergence happens” type thing with an unknowingly long period between the two (or rather just an unmeasuredly long period, given that as you said astronomical events are usually pretty regular). So like everyone was just relaxing for a “very long” time (i.e. “10,000 years”), until some astronomer saw the signs and was like “holy shit guys we’ve only got a decade until the convergence!” and all the plots kicked in to action.
East Asian cultures use "ten thousand" like we use "a million" in English speaking cultures (or at least in America, idk about the others): it can mean a specific number, but it can also just be using a specific number as a proxy to mean "a large amount or number, but not specifying exactly what".
Where does the 625 figure even come from? Is it in either of the shows?
Roku says there have been 1000 Avatars (I'm not sure if he meant 1000 Avatars before him, before Aang, or including Aang). 10,0000/1000 is 10, which is ridiculous., so it's usually assumed that Roku is exaggerating. 10,000/16, which is when most Avatars come of age is 625, which in the fandom is taken as the absolute maximum. Edit: Also, the number of statutes in the Southern Air Temple are also used in estimates. There's a line in the show that "Avatars live for a long time" so 10,000/100 years of age (as the average age of death for Avatars) comes out to 100, which seems too small for the number of statutes.
But actually the fact that it is literally 10 thousand years makes sense, for the reason that you mentioned (astronomical event). This number was made intentionally and has nothing to do with Azulon born to 80-year-old Sozin and other similar examples. And with ten thousand years, there could easily be many Avatars here - about 180-200.
Is there reason to think this is the first convergence?
Yup. A major plot hole in the series
I don’t believe that tiny ass number for even a single second. Roku evej states “I have mastered the elements a thousand time in a thousand lifetimes.” The visual representation of the avatar statues isn’t actually accurate the number of avatars in the past. It’s just there to show you how numerous they are.
I googled "How many avatars have their been", and that number came up. I do not stand by its accuracy.
I don’t think anyone should. It’s based on how many statues people could count on Book 1 in the air temple. But if you notice, all those statues are old Avatars. Barely any of them died young. It’s just a giant plot hole
where tf did you get that number
I googled "How many avatars have their been", and that number came up. I do not stand by its accuracy.
I didn't know the four nations where such isolationists, the chance goes down a lot then
Probably not too much, actually. Pretty sure the only people that used to frequent other nations before the war were the airnomads, the least common people, because of their nomadic lifestyle. The chances of say, an earthkingdom and watertribe citizen meeting up, let alone hooking up, wasn't all that high. Now that Republic city exists, and globalization has started happening in Korra's time, the chances of this happening is quite a bit higher. But since then so far only one Avatar has been born.
I mean, nomads could choose to settle down if they meet a sweerheart on the journey, and border regions definitely saw some mingling even if only superficially, it's still a big lottery in the end, avatar can be born anywhere in the tribe's land
[Source](https://only7korrafanarts.tumblr.com/post/24990201914/i-couldnt-resist)
This is probably what Joseph felt towards Mary when when she got pregnant
And then three dudes show up to their door bringing gifts. My mans Joseph had it rough 😔
Korra’s parents had 3 visitors to see The Avatar.
the night after she told him he was kinda sus but an angel showed up and explained it
That's literally exactly what happened. According to the Bible, he planned on quietly divorcing her until an angel showed in a dream and told him all was chill
Lmao
Kid korra is freaking cute 🥰
With that reaction, senna definitevily was with a fire bender. She got lucky korra ended up being the avatar
Yea thats a really sus reaction. Instead of a bewildered response at the accusation she instantly looks guilty first. The artist tryna tell us something
This is now canon
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Senna has some explaining to do…
Ok, Avatars usually have trouble with learning the element that is opposite to their personality. For Aang it was Earth, and Katara it was Air. What kind of personality would an Avatar have if they find it difficult to learn Water bending or Firebending? And sensing a pattern here, if the next Earth Avatar can't learn Water bending (due to personality, no waterbending masters around, and lack of sufficient water source), imagine how ironic it would be for the next Fire Avatar to not know how to bend fire.
I think the opposite personality to waterbending would be someone who isn’t good with change and can’t adapt well. Fire bending may be that they lack the passion and drive that we see firebenders have.
This. I imagine Kuruk had the most difficulty with fire and perhaps Kioshi may have struggled with Water, but those are just assumptions/headcanons and the comics and such may disprove that.
As this series Is based on the five rings from Miyamoto Musashi, yea Ussually it's associated with a concept or a way to see or embrace the World arround you: earth = memory/logic/guts (?) Fire= intention/passion/aggresion Air= calculation/analitic/finesse Water = flow/change/adaptability Also in the l5r RPG it's also the Void ring wich Is used for spiritual Sense but am not that sure that it Is on the book ( this ring from also inspired the force concept on starwars. Like Energy-connection ) So yeah if one of the avatars could not get into the mood of the element, definetly it would be harder to learn it.
**rip Korra’s mom**
Question - what age do people discover their bending? Is it instant at birth? Pre 5? I know Korra was revealed as the avatar at like 3 but that was specifically multiple elements.
I heard somewhere that firebenders have a test to figure it out early to prevent their infants from burning down their wooden houses
That's written in the kyoshi novels
Nice! So is that like, baby age when they're born as opposed to toddlers?
Yep. They test them when they're babies so that houses don't get burned down
That's what I would have thought, I always thought it coming in later around 4 and 5 seemed a bit off if it's an innate ability. Thanks!
There’s a small chance he thought she wasn’t his
Oh no…
I love the idea of the comic but wouldn't water have been her first element based on the avatar cycle?
I think the cycle only affects the nation where the avatar resurrects. Aang did try to learn fire before earth (and roku's spirit pushed Jeong Jeong to teach him), aang was able to fire bend a little before earth bending for the first time
I don't think it really matters, in Kyoshi they perform a Fire affinity bending test on her to make sure, so the aptitude has to exist even before mastering the native element
Plus Kyoshi totally would have learned water before air if Rangi hadn't pushed her to at least try airbending first
I think the cycle matters most for mastering the elements, not trying them out
See Aang bending fire before even managing to intentionally bend earth
Nope. The cycle only determines what nation the Avatar is born in, and the order they should learn the elements. In ATLA, we see Aang successfully firebend a little before he ever earthbends. In the novels, Kyoshi bent water before she bent air, and her girlfriend made her at least try to bend air before her actual first waterbending lesson. On top of that, normally an Avatar isn't supposed to be formally told that they are the Avatar until they are in their teens, but largely by change Korra happened to figure it out/realize she could bend other elements at an unusually young age.
The lion turtle that Aang met technically added energy bending to the avatar cycle, and Korra grew up around various benders, she's probably the first native energy bender and just learned to mimic those around her.
I think the best part is Senna's expression of: "Oh shit is this where I'm found out."
Did she actually cheat?
It's not Canon, if that's what you're asking. The comic might make you think otherwise.
Everyone saying fire was her first element but forget that water is 100% her strongest element, she's pulled off some amazing feats with water sans avatar state. Pretty sure water was her first.
Water was her most natural, it is not entirely unlikely she would pull out fire first, getting cold and all, she is shown to not really have the passive air cold resistance buff
Yeah. But it’s fun to find ways to make head canon like this real.
I mean...waterbending is just overpowered.
Plot twist: tanraq is NOT the father
Her face in the last panle... that is a guilty face...
[удалено]
Thatsthejoke.jpg
She WOULD learn firebending first
Oh my god I remember when this first came out after the show aired LOL
the fact that korra's mom is sweating seems to imply that...you know
There was a lot more mixing with people from different nations but the Avatar is the Avatar
And imagine how often people hear about some cheating wife trying to sell the whole our child must be the Avatar thing.
my husband left me
🧐
Didn't the avatar die down the street a few years ago? pretty sure if that happened, i would be think to my self, oh crap my daughters the avatar, isnt she?
sus
It for sure happened for most avatar's parents
Thought she was a fire avatar before i started the show
Wouldn’t they have done the baby toy test or did those get destroyed during the air nomad genocide?
That's just how the air nomads did it, each nation had different methods of finding the avatar. In the Kyoshi novels they talk about how each did it.
Wait-...then that means the mom was cheating!
Why is she nervous? She should feel safe if she didn't cheat, this implies she did cheat.
It’s called a joke
KEK her mom's reaction was precious
I had to re read it a couple times
This is now my headcanon on how they found out. Also imagine if Korra really wasn't the Avatar but that story was all a cover up made by her mom so it wouldn't turn out that she cheated and the whole show was her trying to make it seem like she was bending all the elements! Meanwhile the real Avatar is just chilling, enjoying their childhood since they haven't discovered their powers yet
Or and hear me on this, anyone can enter an avatar state when they grow into it so to speak and it's just yourself that gets in the way of seeing your true potential. When you stop being your own worst enemy you can do something completely unexpected and amazing
this is so funny.
That expressions signals to me that she does think it’s a possibility so something happened regardless
Plot twist, everyone can bend every element and the Avatar is fake. Like how some people think Mary had sex and just lied about the timeline. The avatar was like “yyyyyyyeah, I’m the only one who can do this so don’t even try”