In the world of Avatar: The Last Airbender, non-benders bring an exceptionally unique perspective when focused on by the show. Either a totally casual observer or helper, non-benders are generally the innocent victims of Fire Nation soldiers or other benders who use their powers for evil. Still, when a non-bender is a skilled fighter, they can be powerful masters of a special skill, ability, or strategy.
In the battle for the best non-bender, while many can argue other selections, Mai and Suki are arguably two of the most significant. Mentally sharp and disciplined, both are also exceptionally deep characters with significant skills as well as romances in the show. Suki is the Kyoshi warrior capable of running through an entire prison riot to reach the heavily protected warden. Conversely, Mai is the knife-wielding ranged weapons expert whose mastery, and sarcastic quips, have put Team Avatar into panic and exceptional difficulty time and time again. While Mai versus Ty Lee has already been debated, it is now time to debate Suki or Mai.
11 Mai Is The Best - Speed
Mai is an exceptionally quick and nimble opponent. Able to leap over large distances and to almost float and hover thanks to her billowing robes, Mai's speed is a great challenge to Team Avatar. Her speed and reflexes mean that she can keep up in battle against benders like Aang, who can move incredible distances.
Mai's abilities, however, are best shown against slower opponents like Toph or Katara. Although they can use their bending to block Mai's stilettos and knives, they can still suddenly find her on the opposite side, or even behind them.
10 Suki Is the Best - Hand To Hand Combat
Suki is arguably the best hand-to-hand combatant in the show. Able to use a variety of locks, acrobatic maneuvers, and metal fans to defend and attack, Suki is a devastating warrior. Even her ability to move through large crowds is amazing, as she did in the Avatar The Last Airbender's "The Boiling Rock" episode when Suki reached the prison's warden and promptly disabled his guards and took him hostage.
Suki has been known to beat up other opponents, such as Sokka or even multiple Fire Nation soldiers in combat.
9 Mai Is The Best - Deadly Accuracy
The accuracy of Mai's blades and shurikens is almost reminiscent of the Yu-Yan Archers. Capable of hitting her opponents in the most difficult spaces, even Aang has trouble against Mai's deadly accuracy. Being able to use giant rocks, ice, fire, and wind gusts, one would imagine that Mai would become quite useless against benders; however, her speed and never-ending will to hit her opponents' soft spots make her so dangerous.
Mai's accuracy is capable of pinning her opponents or seriously hurting them. She can be quick and her moves are so well-planned that even large rocks utilized by Toph to block attacks are not as useful as they would be against less skilled opponents.
8 Suki Is The Best - Chi-Blocking
After Ty Lee joins the Kyoshi Warriors, the art of Chi-blocking is made available to the great ladies of the old Avatar's island. Suki's ability to Chi-block opens up a new avenue of skills and abilities for the hand-to-hand combatant.
Usually able to use her fans to defend herself from fire blasts, Suki is now able to run in and immobilize the enemy, opening herself up to better rates of victory in battle with notoriously powerful benders. Suki is already a close-quarters combat master, and with Chi-blocking she can easily immobilize her powerful bending opponents and then finish them off with an array of melee moves.
7 Mai Is The Best - Infiltration Specialist
Ba Sing Se was notoriously known as the impenetrable city, and during the Hundred Year's War, its famed impregnability made it a rallying point for those allied against the Fire Nation. However, as shown in the aftermath of the Siege, the city is taken thanks to Azula's brilliance and the infiltration skills of Mai and Ty Lee.
Able to quickly disable and imprison the Kyoshi Warriors and then go in disguised as them, Mai is able to trick the Earth King and the Dai Lee Agents. They are even able to briefly fool Team Avatar too, despite their close bond with the Kyoshi Warriors.
6 Suki Is the Best - Leadership
Suki is a talented leader. Her ability to command multiple troops to victory is a big reason why Kyoshi Island has not been taken over by mercenaries or the Fire Nation. Able to quickly train and move her warriors, the Kyoshi Warriors defeated the Fire Nation invaders by jumping off roofs in coordinated attacks.
They have been able to use their shields and fans to work as fighters together. Even against Azula, Mai, and Ty Lee, Suki doesn't back down from Azula's relentless attack. When Appa tries to go back for Suki, she chases him off, knowing that he must go and find Aang without them.
5 Mai Is The Best - Hidden Weapons
Mai's amazing arsenal of weaponry range from daggers and stilettos in her coat to a large sai and arrows. This consistent weapon selection makes her dangerous and unpredictable.
Mai's weapons are sharp enough to pierce through ice, wood, and rock, and often force enemies to protect themselves as she runs in for another attack. This lethal spray of weapons makes her a deadly opponent and someone that is hard to be prepared to fight against.
4 Suki Is the Best - Resourcefulness
Able to use sacks and ropes to quickly disable Aang, Katara, Momo, and Sokka when they first arrive on Kyoshi Island, Suki is extremely resourceful. Even during the Phoenix King Saga, it is thanks to Suki that Toph and Sokka are rescued when overwhelmed by Fire Nation troops on a giant airship.
Suki's resourcefulness even extended to her quick agility and intelligence, as she used stealth to defeat many opponents.
3 Mai Is The Best - Pinning Opponents
Mai is able to throw her weapons with such accuracy that, despite her ability to kill and use deadly force, she only uses them to pin targets down. A pinned bender would then have to try and free their hands or legs from Mai's well-planned attack to even try and get at her again.
Mai has been known to quickly throw a spray of darts and arrows that could immobilize multiple opponents, pinning their shirt cuffs against walls and stopping a potential attack.
2 Suki Is the Best - Exceptional Acrobatics
Suki's exceptional agility and acrobatics enable her to leap from tall buildings and even climb sentry towers during a prison riot. This enabled her to be one of the only prisoners to ever escape the Boiling Rock prison and frequently plays a huge part in Suki's successes in battles against slower and stupider benders.
In her fights against the Fire Nation, Suki has flipped, slid, and leaped on top of her opponents, quickly stopping them with a deadly strike or submission maneuver.
1 Suki Is The Winner
Despite Mai's proficiency with weapons and quick movements, in a battle, Suki's acrobatic mastery, hand-to-hand combat expertise, and resourcefulness would get her close enough to chi-block and then defeat Mai. While the fight would no doubt be a long and arduous one, Suki would win.
Make no mistake, the battle would be close, but Suki's armor, acrobatics, and metal fans would help her dodge Mai's attacks and would eventually get her close enough for a disabling strike. Suki's resourcefulness would allow her to utilize her surroundings to get an advantage and score a narrow victory over Mai.