Avatar: The Last Airbender is a beloved series for multiple reasons, one of them being an abundance of epic battle sequences that take place between the expertly written characters throughout the series. The main conceit of the series is that the world is populated with individuals who can telekinetically manipulate the four classical elements — earth, fire, water, and air. Every element is different, and the show gives fans a look at some real masters of their craft. This begs the question: who are the most powerful benders in Avatar: The Last Airbender?
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With some of these strongest benders in Avatar: The Last Airbender featuring in Netflix’s recently released live-action adaptation, it’s the perfect time to delve back into the thrilling world of the massively popular anime series.
Avatar: The Last Airbender
In a war-torn world of elemental magic, a young boy reawakens to undertake a dangerous mystic quest to fulfill his destiny as the Avatar, and bring peace to the world.
Release Date February 21, 2005
Seasons 3
Watch on Netflix
12 Admiral Zhao
Fighting Style: Firebending
Being one of the main antagonists of Season 1, Admiral Zhao is a feared leader of the Fire Nation and a man to be reckoned with. However, for as much trouble as he causes throughout the season, Zhao’s bending chops don’t come close to anyone else in the series.
Zhao is defeated by Zuko in an Agni-Kai and Aang’s airbending-style evasion techniques lead him to eventually set fire to all of his own ships, leaving Aang with nothing but a tiny burn. Despite that though, he is still a skilled bender and a tactful military leader, but he is far from being a one-man army. It’s worth noting that it was he who created the plan to wipe out the Northern Water Tribe by destroying the moon spirit. Luckily Yue came through on that front.
11 Zuko
Fighting Styles: Firebending and Swordsmanship
As well-loved as Zuko is, everyone has to come to terms with the fact that his bending is nothing to write home about. He is a decent bender, and he’s definitely better than Zhao, but compared to everyone else in his family, Zuko is mediocre at best in Avatar. It’s a difficult thing to accept, but don’t shoot the messenger.
Still, in the grand scheme of the show, Zuko is an extremely powerful bender. It’s just really hard to get validation when your sister is Azula. For character development and a good redemptive arc, Zuko gets an A+, for his bending abilities he’s sitting at a B. At least he’s skilled with those broadswords.
10 Pakku
Fighting Style: Waterbending
Image via Nickelodeon
First appearing in the episode “The Waterbending Master,” Pakku is the titular character who starts off as unlikable, thanks to his sarcastic tone and outdated beliefs about women and waterbending. It can’t be denied that he’s a powerful waterbender, though, and is believed to once have been the most powerful among them.
Of course, there’s not much evidence to support this claim, aside from the fact that he does eventually teach Katara some crucial skills. He’s also briefly shown participating in the liberation of Ba Sing Se, as he’s part of the Order of the White Lotus. More screen time could have proven the extent of this character’s abilities.
9 Jeong Jeong
Fighting Style: Firebending
While only appearing in a couple of episodes, Jeong Jeong can still be considered one of the most powerful benders in the series. Going beyond the fact that he disappears into a ball of fire to escape Zhao in the first season, his part in retaking Ba Sing Se from the Fire Nation is absolutely glorious.
Jeong Jeong doesn’t really get the chance to show his bending skills until the incredible series finale, but it’s well worth the wait. His walls of fire keep the enemy soldiers at bay and allow the Ba Sing Se civilians to escape to a safe location. He was also able to survive as an outlaw from the Fire Nation after he deserted, despite his wanted posters plastered all over the place.
8 Hama
Fighting Style: Waterbending and Bloodbending
Hama only appears in one episode, but considering the fact that she invented bloodbending, it can safely be stated she is one of the most powerful characters in the series. Hama not only survived a Fire Nation attack and imprisonment, but she has also been secretly living in Fire Nation territory for over 50 years with no one the wiser.
Hama’s exceptional waterbending skills led her to discover bloodbending, a way to control a person’s blood inside their body and therefore control their movements like a puppet. Creepy? Yes. Extremely invasive? Absolutely. Impressive? Also, yes. It makes you wonder what Hama could have accomplished if she had decided to join Team Avatar instead of fighting them.
7 Katara
Fighting Style: Waterbending and Bloodbending
If there was an award for most improved bending skills, it would be hers. Katara starts as a waterbender who is barely able to make a tide, and by the end of the series, she becomes one of Avatar’s strongest benders and defeats Azula in battle and saves Zuko’s life.
Besides being a gifted warrior, Katara’s waterbending abilities also allow her to heal wounds, a technique she uses over and over again throughout the series, saving Aang’s life in the Season 2 finale and Zuko’s in the series finale. She even mastered bloodbending from her experience with Hama, although she’s too good-natured to use it, mostly.
6 Bumi
Fighting Style: Earthbending
All earthbenders are tough, but Bumi is just plain ripped. An old man he may be, and more than a little over-the-top, but he is a powerful earthbender. His battle with Aang in the first season is legendary, and Bumi was just trolling him. We get to really see what he’s made of when he escapes imprisonment from the Fire Nation.
Taken captive after the fall of Omashu, Bumi waits patiently for the perfect moment to break out and liberate his city. That moment comes with the eclipse, and he is able to take back his city entirely on his own. Bumi, you’re a mad genius, and most would likely (wisely) steer clear of this bender when he’s in a mood.
5 Ozai
Fighting Style: Firebending and Lightning Generation
For all the terror Ozai instills in the protagonists’ hearts, he doesn’t actually have a lot of screen time, and rarely does he get to show off his bending chops, at least until the series finale. That being said, his one epic fight scene is intense enough to earn him a high place on this list.
Beyond being a powerful bender, Ozai is a terrifying dictator, being a terrifying but great TV villain that outsmart his enemies every step of the way. Ozai’s full talent for firebending is shown in his epic showdown against Aang, with their fight having the series’ best choreography. His plan to wipe out the Earth Kingdom and take over the world might just have actually worked if it weren’t for those darn kids.
4 Toph
Fighting Style: Earthbending and Metalbending
Toph is a fantastic female character who deserves her own series for a couple of reasons. Firstly, she is only 12 years old, so her already epic bending abilities are only going to get better as she grows older. Secondly, she’s blind, and she actually turns that into an earthbending advantage instead of an obstacle.
Last but not least, she invented metalbending. Even Bumi is only ever seen bending plain old dirt. It also shouldn’t be forgotten that she kept an entire underground library from sinking deeper into the earth, thereby saving the lives of every single member of the group. Frankly, a novel could be written on all the awesome things Toph does with her bending throughout the show’s run.
3 Azula
Fighting Style: Firebending and Lightning Generation
You don’t have to like her, but you do have to admit that she is a firebending prodigy, and the strongest firebender on the show. Azula might be number one in the show when talking about raw power, but she is missing a significant amount of wisdom that the other members of her family may have.
Still, she single-handedly went up against Iroh, Toph, Sokka, Katara, Aang, and Zuko and still managed to get away unscathed. She was also responsible for infiltrating the Dai Li and bringing about the fall of Ba Sing Se. To quote Iroh, “she’s crazy, and she needs to go down.”
2 Iroh
Fighting Style:
Firebending and Lightning Generation
The wise, tea-loving Fire Nation has a heartbreaking story in the series and a lovable personality. Iroh’s strength comes not just from his bending, but his years of experience and profound wisdom. He learned how to redirect lightning by watching the waterbenders, and he was an integral force in Zuko’s redemptive arc.
Iroh also led the White Lotus in the liberation of Ba Sing Se from the Fire Nation, and he was one of the few firebenders to meet Ran and Shaw, the ancient firebending dragons. Not to mention the fact that he used a Fire Nation prison as his own at-home gym and broke out of a fully guarded facility before Zuko had time to release him. Tragically, we never got an Angi-Kai with him and Ozai, but it’s probably better for Ozai.
1 Aang
Fighting Style: Airbending, Waterbending, Earthbending, Firebending, and Energybending
Image via Nickelodeon Animation Studios
As the titular avatar in the series, it’s not surprising that Aang is the stronger bender in Avatar: The Last Airbender. He may be physically a young boy and has mostly been frozen with the adorable Appa, but after he’s freed, he achieves incredible things that no other character could have possibly accomplished.
Aside from the sea turtle’s gift of energybending and his ability to control all elements, the extent of Aang’s true power is obvious when he enters the Avatar State, a truly terrifying feat. Even more impressive is his ability to control this state and hold back, using his skill to take away another’s bending powers to end the war, instead.
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