Some of the greatest and most popular stories in history achieve their success because of the way they engage with fans. A great story can make fans want to live in its world and experience its society. Avatar: The Last Airbender fans dream of becoming a bender and fantasize about what element they'd be attuned to. Some even imagine being blessed enough to be born as the Avatar.
Most of the greatest benders have been Avatars, capable of wielding all four elements, but being an Avatar does not automatically make you the best. For example, though Korra is an impressive bender in her own right, there are plenty of benders who outperform her in some way or another.
10 Jinora Is The Master Of Spiritual Projection
Jinora may be an airbending master, but fans could obviously guess that she'd stand no chance in a battle against Korra. That said, bending is not just about combat. Bending is a way of life. It's informed by philosophy and character.
Jinora may not be as adept at fighting as Korra, but she is the only person in the anime capable of spiritual projection. In some regard, this means that Jinora is a more advanced airbender than Korra, even if only in one specific way.
9 Zaheer Became An Airbending Master In Weeks
Zaheer was one of Korra's most challenging opponents, both physically and mentally. He opposed Korra's very existence as the Avatar and provided compelling arguments for a radical shift in the way the Avatar world works. Despite being an airbender for only a fraction of the time Korra was, he was able to achieve things she never could, such as flight.
Zaheer practiced airbending philosophy even before he was a bender, embodying what that lifestyle means in a way Korra never did. This helped him in their eventual combat, putting him above her strength even without the necessary experience.
8 Azula Was One Of The Few Lightning Benders
Azula made no appearances during The Legend of Korra, but one could extrapolate based on her showcase in the original series that Azula may have been a better bender than Korra. Azula was one of the rare firebenders capable of generating lightning, a feat even Zuko struggled to achieve.
On top of that, Azula is a master strategist and could easily devise a tactic for overcoming Korra even in the Avatar state. While Azula was not stronger than Aang, she was able to outmaneuver and defeat him at the end of Season 2.
7 Tenzin Is The Leader Of The Airbenders
Tenzin is the most powerful living airbender in the world. After the death of his father, Avatar Aang, Tenzin was the only living airbender until his children were born. He carried the airbending tradition and became a leader of their culture. But his accomplishments don't just end at leading.
Tenzin was also a proficient fighter, capable of taking on Zaheer and potentially beating him if Zaheer had not been assisted by his various allies. His technical skills and philosophical background more than qualify him as a better bender than Korra.
6 Bumi Could Earthbend With His Eyebrows
Bumi is one of the most powerful benders in the entire Avatar universe. During the events of The Last Airbender, Bumi was over 100 years old and yet was a key part of the final battle. As a member of the White Lotus, he was the strongest and most important earthbender other than Toph.
When he was captured by the Fire Nation, Bumi showcased that he could proficiently bend earth with just the muscles in his face. With the twitch of an eyebrow, he did more than the average bender could even dream of.
5 Katara Was The World's Best Bloodbender
Katara's power fluctuates a lot depending on where a viewer is in the story. At the beginning of Avatar: The Last Airbender, she was a weak waterbender who had never been taught by a real mentor.
As time went on and the show reached its end, she developed more and more skills and became powerful enough to contend with even Azula. But her biggest claim to strength is in a subtype of waterbending known as bloodbending. Katara is one of the strongest and scariest users of the powerful bending type.
4 Ozai Ruled All Four Nations With His Might
Ozai was a powerful enough bender to subjugate the world and lead the Fire Nation during the events of the 100-Year War. Though he did not start the war, he was more than capable of continuing it and was easily the most powerful bender in the world outside of Aang.
With the assistance of Sozin's Comet by his side, he even outmatched Aang in their final confrontation. Aang had only gained the upper hand on him when he tapped back into the Avatar State and stole Ozai's bending away.
3 Toph Can Seismic Sense The Whole Planet
Toph was always an expert earthbender for as long as fans knew her. Introduced halfway through the show, Toph would go on to become Aang's primary earthbending teacher despite being younger than the rest of their group. She became the first person in history to bend metal, which would go on to become the basis of industrial culture in the Avatar universe.
But her real feat of strength occurred in The Legend of Korra, when Toph revealed that her seismic sense range had vastly increased. She supposedly could monitor her two children despite being miles and miles away.
2 Kyoshi Split An Island To Defend Her People
Kyoshi was the Avatar long before fans ever fell in love with this series. Despite that, she has played a somewhat significant role in the Avatar universe as a source of guidance for Aang, second only to Avatar Roku. Kyoshi has become a fan favorite for her stoic personality and huge feats of power.
Her biggest showcase came early in Avatar: The Last Airbender when Kyoshi herself explained how she separated an entire landmass and created Kyoshi Island. She is the closest thing to a mythological hero in the Avatar universe.
1 Aang Was History's Greatest Avatar
Without question, Avatar Aang is one of the most accomplished and impressive characters in the entire Avatar universe. With the might of his bending, Aang ended the 100-Year War and defeated Ozai, who had been powered by the strength of Sozin's Comet.
At just 12 years old, Aang was the strongest bender alive. One could only speculate that as the decades passed and Aang developed his abilities further, his power levels would've increased dramatically. It's hard to imagine any bender being able to live up to the strength of Avatar Aang.