| Waterbending: I seriously think Katara is the best waterbender, or at least she has the potential to be... Even when she didn't have training, she put up an awesome fight with Master Pakku (even though he was holding back, she still made it a fantastic battle to watch) and she has always been such a quick learner Even Master Pakku said she was the best student he'd ever had, (or that she's progressed quicker than any student he'd ever had, can't remember) and she can't have been training for more than 2 weeks. Hell, it took Hama years to fully master Bloodbending, it took Katara no more than 5 seconds. Although Master Pakku would probably never go all out on Katara (especially now that he is her to-be Grandfather), by the end of the show, I think it's safe to say she would take him to the limit. Also, Katara is the only known Waterbender that is able to do all kinds of waterbending... She could obviously control water, ice/snow and steam/fog/mist (she could also control clouds before her training with help form Aang) from the beginning, but she can also heal, plantbend (Well, I think she can? whatever you would call bending the water out of trees) and bloodbend now. We haven't seen any other Waterbender in the show to be able to do all these things (to the best of my knowledge). I would place Pakku second, Hama third (many people don't think she's that strong, but let's face it, she CREATED Bloodbending, possibly the most dangerous and lethal thing that can be practiced by any of the bending arts), and finally, Huu fourth (The man that controls plants and trees and lives in the swamp... Come on, who else could create a giant plant monster like that?)... The Moon and Ocean spirits own all though lol. Earthbending: This one is tricky... I'm honestly going to have to say Toph... She is arguably the most powerfull Earthbender in my opinion. Not taking anything away from King Bumi (Bumi's awesome), I think his Earthbending skills are greatness, but Toph is only TWELVE (Eleven? No she's twelve =P), and she has already defeated the majority of the Dai Li (in episode Lake Lougai... Weren't they originally trained by Avatar Kyoshi? I read that somewhere =S), is already the true creator of Metalbending (probably the most powerful form of Earthbending), has beaten SOME of the greatest Earthbenders in the world (see The Blind Bandit... That's what one of those boys referred to them as anyway) etc. I think as she grows older, she will be able to trump Bumi (Who in my opinion is her only true competition, and is already the oldest guy on the show). As for now, I am instead going to have to say Toph and Bumi are joint-first, with The Dai Li coming second, Long Feng third (He killed Jet, he's pretty vicious and he's smart too), General Fong fourth (The man in "The Avatar State" episode), Xin Fu or Master Yu fifth, The Boulder sixth, and someone like Hippo seventh. Haru and his father Tyro both seem to be powerful benders, but I wouldn't put either of them on my list. Do Badger Moles count? If so, I would put them between Toph/Bumi and The Dai Li. Firebending: This one is the toughest one... Ozai is undoubtedly the first... The small amount of time he took to generate lightning was amazing, and he just seems to find every single form of firebending easier than everyone else. Being the Firelord and the show's biggest threat from the beginning, he just seemed like the baddest man in their world. Also, the amount of fire he was able to shoot down from his one hand from the air, down to the Earth Kingdom in the finale, was perfect. He (literally) single-handedly created a gigantic forest fire within seconds. Also, the amount and size of lightning he can generate in just one move is almost as impressive as the small amount of time he takes to generate lightning... With Iroh and Azula, it takes both of them a good few seconds just to generate small-medium amounts of lightning, but he can create lightning with such speed and accuracy. He has a great deal of speed and strength. Iroh is the man though. I think if Iroh was younger, and in better condition (as in the Iroh we saw in the flashback with his young, now deceased son, Lu Ten, in the episode "Bitter Work", or even the Iroh we saw in book 3 while he was in prison, seriously working out (By the end of that workout he was built, muscled and in great condition.)) he would have a better chance against Ozai... The reason I say he would be better if he was in better condition, is (annoyingly) by the end of the show, he is still quite chubby, as opposed to the great form he was in while he was in prison... Its like they were building him up while he was in prison, and episode after episode he became more muscled, healthy and built, and then by the finale, he was almost the same weight he was when the series began... Kinda annoyed me... But if he was to get back into his prison-time condition (and he probably could), or if he was the young man we saw in the "Bitter Work" flashback, then that would be more of a match. He's not even sure whether or not he is capable of beating Ozai. Anyways, Ozai is the first, Iroh is second, And I honestly think I will have to put Azula third... Even though Jeong Jeong is much older than Azula, who's only Katara's age (14 years old), and obviously has much, much more experience than her (as he will of been a firebending master since before she was even born), Azula just has the tricky, MANIPULATIVE, conniving, intelligent way of getting things done. What can we say about her? She's simply the PERFECT villain. Like Katara and Toph, she is still only a young teenager (although she acts like a grown woman), and she is already a firebending prodigy. She is very wise and has great strategy in almost anything. She would find a way. I will still put Jeong Jeong fourth though. Azula is enough to get past Jeong Jeong, but Zuko isn't. Zuko doesn't have that intelligence and manipulative, smart strategy that Azula has to trump Jeong Jeong. He has been descibed as a legend and master, knows people by the time they've walked into a room, and as someone mentioned before, he was even smarter than Avatar Roku in The Deserter. Zuko is coming in at fifth. He is a very skilled bender, and is one of the only people (the others being Aang and Iroh, as far as we know) to know the true form of firbending. He is also one of the only people (again, the others being Aang and Iroh, I think?) to have re-directed lightning. He even beat Zhao at the beginning (someone with way more experience than him) and re-directed lightning for the first time against OZAI. He also should get props for being able to slightly re-direct lightning in mid-air (to save Katara against Azula.) Do Dragons count? I don't think they are the best anyways though, because many Firebenders killed them 100 years ago. They are OBVIOUSLY not easy prey, but they were extinct because of how much they were killed by people, making them appear as not so powerful. =S Airbending: Aang is the only one left... But Monk Gyatso (I know... deceased) was the greatest airbender in the world when he was alive, especially considering the amount of Firebenders he took down during the comet, before his death. Sky Bison are cool, but like The Dragons in Firebending, I don't think they are that great in battle. Apart from their tales... I shall stop now lol. =D |
