The essence of being the Avatar is not simply the comprehension of all four bending disciplines, but training rigorously enough to simultaneously become the greatest Airbender, Waterbender, Earthbender, and Firebender in the world. In Avatar: The Last Airbender, Aang finds himself in the unique position of having to pick up three of these styles in less than a year, with the added burden of being a playful pre-teen boy.

The young Airbender is initially hesitant to accept his role. Who wouldn't be in the face of Fire Lord Sozin's incandescent might? Fortunately, with the help of his new friends, Aang slowly (if grudgingly) begins to master Water, Earth, and Fire, bringing himself full-circle as the Avatar. Besides, Aang knows full well what would happen if he fails to do so before the arrival of Sozin's Comet.

Updated on March 6, 2024 by Jenny Melzer: With the release of Netflix's live-action adaptation of Avatar: The Last Airbender at the end of February, fans old and new are returning to 2005 anime to find out all they can about Aang and his journey. The order in which he mastered each element is an important part of Aang's growth as a protagonist, especially considering how young he was at the start. This article has been updated to include more information about Aang's mastery over the elements, as well as to reflect CBR's most current standards in formatting.

Aang Mastered Airbending Before the Start of His Story

I laugh at gravity all the time. Hahaha gravity! -Aang, Season 1, Episode 17, "The Northern Air Temple"

By the start of the show, Aang had already become an Airbending Master, as evidenced by the blue arrow tattoos across his arms, legs, back, and scalp. Even before he is identified as the Avatar, he displayed a colossal talent for his native style, figuring out 35/36 tiers needed for him to obtain his esteemed status. In fact, he is the only Airbender in ten thousand years to have gotten his body markings without completing his full training. This can be credited to his invention of the Air Scooter: the sphere of flowing wind that can be used as a mount to travel across all surfaces, regardless of stability or geometry.

Aang obtains most of his instruction from Monk Gyatso, but it's likely that the council of monks at the Southern Air Temple were also deeply involved in his education. At his peak, Aang's Airbending is capable of producing massive whirlwinds, although he has a habit of relying on evasive maneuvers and defensive techniques according to the peaceful philosophical outlook of the Air Nomads. This doesn't mean that he can't destroy things with it though, especially after seeing his incredible prowess during the battle with Fire Lord Ozai.

Aang Took to Waterbending Next, With Unnatural Ease That Surprised Katara

Katara pleasantly agrees to train Aang in the fluid art of Waterbending, but is quite annoyed (read: envious) to discover that the finesse and potency of his usage far surpasses her own. Over time, she takes back the mantle of best Waterbender in Team Avatar, after both of them are tutored by the phenomenal Master Pakku of the Northern Water Tribe. The Avatar State is another matter, though, because Aang is capable of effortlessly defeating half of Zuko's Fire Nation crew with a single water spout, not to mention the overwhelming majesty of his fusion with the Ocean Spirit, La, which comes into being after Admiral Zhao mercilessly destroys Tui, the Moon Spirit.

Under Katara's able guidance, Aang develops his own brand of Waterbending, which uses in a rather different way. For instance, instead of toting about a flask of water like she does, he mostly extracts the liquid from his surroundings. This puts him at a slight disadvantage in certain environments, but with enough water, Aang can do some pretty spectacular bending. One example of this is when he dries up the sea bed in order to strand the Fire Navy ships that had accompanied Ozai on his invasion of the Earth Kingdom, and that too without having to trigger the Avatar State.

Earthbending Followed, but It Didn't Come as Easily to Aang as Airbending & Waterbending

Aang and Katara Both Learned Earthbending from Toph Before Becoming Avatars

Aang has some starting trouble with the concept of Earthbending, which is totally normal since it happens to be the diametric opposite of Airbending (just as fire is to water.) More importantly, the problem lay in the fact that his preferred modes of fighting did not involve a lot of physical contact, whereas this style was absolutely dependent on the sense of touch. Bumi refuses to teach him, not because he isn't able or because he doesn't believe Aang is ready; but because he wants his old friend to learn from someone of his age, but who also knows how to "wait and listen."

Toph Beifong finds the prospect of being an educator quite exciting, although her rough-and-tumble approach has a contradictory effect in the beginning. It takes Aang a moment of intense pressure — and the realization that Sokka is in imminent danger of being trampled by a furious mother moose lion — to gather the poise and emotional foothold required to successfully Earthbend. Hilarious as it might seem, Toph remains unimpressed by his expertise long after he proves himself several times over.

Firebending Brought Out an Uncharacteristically Aggressive but Necessary Side of Aang

The Most Powerful Firebenders

• Uncle Iroh
• Zukoh
• The Avatar

The Avatar cycle is more or less set in stone: it starts with Fire, after the first Avatar, Wan, and goes on to Air, Water, and Earth, in that specific order. Aang tries to break this system by begging the incomparably brilliant Jeong Jeong to accept him as his student, which the Firebending Master only agrees to after Roku admonishes him for thinking so little of the Avatar. As expected, this fails horribly when Aang negligently brings Katara into the path of danger, following which he promises never to manipulate fire again. Obviously, this does not work out for him, and Zuko finally gets to be his personal trainer after proving that he has truly changed for the better.

Unfortunately, the Fire Nation prince has become weak at Firebending, having lost his ire-based incentives, so both of them travel to the Sun Warrior ruins to meet with Ran and Shaw. The dragon pair imbue them with the vibrant heart of this bending discipline, at which point Aang finds that he's instantly capable of some pretty cool moves. He embodies the spirit of Firebending, using it with an uncharacteristic, yet necessary, aggression, when he blows Fire Nation airships out of the sky, much to the dismay of Fire Lord Ozai. Further, Aang also picks up the extremely rare technique of Lightning Redirection from Zuko, who had recently himself learned it from its creator, Iroh.