The fantasy animated series Avatar: the Last Airbender is a classic action series with many eye-popping battle sequences, most of them fueled by the mystic art of bending. Avatar Aang is an airbender who must learn the four elements, and his companions Katara and Toph are benders themselves.
Katara has been by Aang's side since the start, and that means she has helped him fight the Fire Nation's forces, rogues, bounty hunters, spirits and more on the quest to save the world. By now, Katara is a veteran warrior and well-trained waterbender who has delivered the best fight scenes in Avatar.
10 Katara & Group Vs Pirates
In Book One: Water, Katara happened upon an incredible treasure. It was a rare waterbending scroll that could teach her all sorts of new moves, but the price was far beyond her budget. Later, she decided to swipe it from the pirates who had dishonestly obtained it in the first place.
All this, plus Zuko's involvement, led to an intense three-way battle by the river, including Katara and Aang's expert waterbending and cool pirate action. It wasn't the most consequential battle, but it was a lot of fun.
9 Katara & Group Vs June & Zuko
At some point in Book One, Zuko decided to enlist some specialized aid in hunting the avatar. The bounty hunter June was ideal for the job, and she and her shirshu helped him corner Aang at an abbey. The fight was on.
The shirshu boasted an incredible sense of smell and a paralysis-inducing tongue, so to blind that creature, Katara got creative and knocked over some jars of perfume, spreading the contents with her bending. The shirshu's sharp nose was overwhelmed, and that turned the tide of battle.
8 Katara & Sokka Vs Mai & Ty Lee
In Book Two: Earth, Azula became the new primary antagonist, and she had Ty Lee and Mai to back her up. These three girls caught up to Aang's group in Omashu, and while Aang clashed with Azula, Katara and Sokka faced Mai and Ty Lee.
Mai's expert knife throwing and Ty Lee's chi blocking were potent weapons, and Katara had her bending temporarily shut down. But she fought on, and she and Sokka showed real grit and managed to find a way to escape. Even with her waterbending knocked offline, Katara's still a fighter.
7 Katara Vs Zuko
In the climax of Book One, Katara escorted Aang to the spirit oasis in the Northern Water Tribe, and sure enough, Zuko came along to try and capture Aang while he was vulnerable. At once, Katara came to Aang's defense.
This battle took place at night in the Northern Water Tribe, so Katara enjoyed a serious edge and made the most of it. She showed the full height of her waterbending prowess, and trapped Zuko against the wall and froze him there. This bought Aang time all the way until sunrise.
6 Katara Vs Pakku
This particular duel was a clash of ideology. The Northern Water Tribe is a powerful but conservative place, and girls there may only bend water for healing, not fighting. Katara took issue with that, and challenged Aang's waterbender teacher, Pakku.
Katara lost this duel, but given the huge gap between her and Pakku's experience, it's impressive that she lasted that long. Pakku was deeply impressed, and he soon accepted Katara as his student right alongside Aang.
5 Katara & Group Vs Hama
This battle took place during one of the eeriest episodes in the entire series. In the heart of the Fire Nation, a rogue waterbender named Hama had established a life for herself, and she had learned to bend the blood of the living.
She taught Katara some secret forms of waterbending, and when Hama turned on Aang's group under the full moon, Katara realized her own bloodbendng potential and took down Hama with it. But unlike Hama, Katara isn't willing to abuse this power.
4 Katara's Group Vs Azula's Group
In Book Two, Azula commandeered a giant drill machine that was boring its way through Ba Sing Se's walls, and Aang's group intercepted it. Azula, Mai and Ty Lee were all on board, and once again, Aang fought Azula while his fellows fought the rest of the hostile forces.
Katara and Toph, in particular, really took the fight to the Fire Nation that day, outmaneuvering Mai and Ty Lee and trapping them in a watery rock slurry from the drill. Katara and Aang both overloaded the drill and destroyed it, scoring a major victory against Azula.
3 Katara & Army Vs Fire Nation Defenders
This was a historic day, and even though the Fire Nation invasion ended in failure, it was a well-fought battle all the same. Katara did her part, using her bending to move some of the invasion force's submarines and getting them in position for an amphibious assault.
She also fought well on the ground, backing up the many earthbenders on her side as the army pushed its way deeper into Fire Nation defensive lines. She and Sokka also rescued their father, Hakoda, when he took a serious injury fighting Fire Nation troops.
2 Katara & Iroh Vs Zuko & Azula
During the climax of Book Two, Katara and Aang found themselves in the catacombs underneath Ba Sing Se, and Azula was on one side while Iroh was on the other. Zuko had to choose one, and he sided with Azula in the end.
Thus, Katara and Iroh faced off against both of them, and Katara gave it her all, including forming a defensive octopus of water to fend off her enemies' attacks. She was able to retrieve the badly injured Aang and get him out of there, far away from Azula and Zuko's grip.
1 Katara Vs Azula
In the series finale, the united defenders of the world faced the Fire Nation one more time, and Zuko nearly defeated Azula in an Agni Kai. But then he took a devastating lightning blow, and Katara had to face Azula alone.
Despite water being weak against lightning, Katara handled Azula with grace and finesse on the battlefield. She maneuvered Azula close to some water drainage pipes, then threw up all the water and froze Azula in place. From there, she was able to gather some chains and restrain her opponent, and when the water melted, Azula was restrained. At last, Azula was defeated for good.