In the hit animated series The Legend of Korra, we return to the world avatar Aang once lived in, but this time, 70 years later. Peace has returned and the world is much more advanced. There are still air benders around, such as Aang's son Tenzin and his four children. They carry on the legacy of the Air Nation, and so Tenzin bears a great burden.
Tenzin may not be the avatar like his father was, but he is fully trained in the philosophy, lifestyle, and of course, the bending arts of the Air Nation. A doting father and master monk, Tenzin shows us what an air bender is really capable of. He's fought some major villains before, but some of them proved too powerful. Based on Tenzin's battles and capabilities, who are five enemies he could take on, and which five would get the best of him?
Update August 14th, 2020 by Louis Kemner: Now that Avatar: The Last Airbender is on Netflix and is welcoming many new viewers to the universe, fans can meet classics such as Aang, Toph, and Zuko, among others. And once they're done, The Legend of Korra is next, which features updated visuals and even bigger and better battle scenes. Tenzin is the new master airbender, and he can challenge a variety of characters, but some would definitely beat him. But which ones are which?
15 Can't Defeat: Unalaq (With Vaatu)
Ordinarily, Tenzin would stand a decent chance at defeating Unalaq, the Northern Water Tribe's chief, in single combat. But later in Book Two: Spirits, Unalaq made history by fusing his essence with that of Vaatu, the ultimate dark spirit.
Now Unalaq's powers are nearly infinite, and his advanced waterbending is trite compared to his newfound spirit abilities. It took a massive energybending Korra to stop him, so it's clear that Tenzin would lose to this monster.
14 Can Defeat: Bumi
This is Bumi, Tenzin's brother and the first child of Aang and Katara. He was born as a nonbender and thus joined the United Forces so he could go on adventures and help people. Later, in Book Three: Change, he gained airbending.
Bumi has years of military experience, and he slowly but surely got used to airbending and became a fine member of the new Air Nation. There is no way, though, that he could defeat his younger brother in combat, who has been airbending since a young age.
13 Can't Defeat: P'Li
This would be a close one; Tenzin is a powerful airbender, after all, and he was able to challenge Zaheer, the leader of the Red Lotus. But P'Li's firebending is exceptionally rare. She can bend explosions, like Combustion Man a few generations before her.
Tenzin can toss P'Li around, but he can't easily block her unique firebending, and one solid explosion is all she needs to take out Tenzin. An earthbender could block her ability, but not an airbender.
12 Can Defeat: Asami Sato
Asami Sato is not a bender, but she did learn self-defense from her father, Hiroshi Sato, in the event anyone tried to kidnap or assassinate her. She is an advanced martial artist who typically carries around an Equalist glove that can shock a target on contact.
These are useful assets against many opponents, but Tenzin is no ordinary foe. His airbending can easily keep Asami at arm's length, and she has no chance to punch or zap Tenzin when strong gales are pushing her back. She has no choice but to give in.
11 Can't Defeat: Avatar Wan
If Tenzin actually did meet avatar Wan, he would be delighted, and Wan would be happy to chat with him. But then Wan would challenge him to a friendly duel, and he'd prove to Tenzin why he was worthy of carrying Raava the light spirit.
Wan bends the four elements, and is the first human to wield them all at once. He trained long and hard to bend these elements, and with Raava fueling him, he could most certainly take on a mono-element bender like Tenzin and come out on top.
10 Can defeat: Bolin
He is a pro athlete and a fine earth bender, and he even learned to bend lava near the end of season 3. However, Bolin cannot bend metal, as much as he wants to, and thus falls short of his idol, Toph Beifong.
Bolin is a creative and quick fighter, being a pro bender who knows how to stay light on his feet and keep an opponent on their toes. But it's not going to stop Tenzin, who could blow away his rock projectiles and knock Bolin against the wall to incapacitate him. And even if Bolin makes lava, Tenzin can use air scooters to avoid a fiery death.
9 Can't defeat: Amon
Tenzin does not match up well against the four major villains of The Legend of Korra, and that includes the very first one, the deadly blood bender Amon. Born as Noatak in the southern water tribe, he learned blood bending at the hands of his disgraced father, Yakon.
With expert water bending and blood bending, Tenzin would be stumped in a duel. He might not even get a chance to retreat; Amon could lock him in place with that blood bending, then remove his bending for good!
8 Can defeat: Eska and Desna
Pictured is Eska, the princess of the northern water tribe and a fine water bender. She and her brother, prince Desna, are often seen together, and they bend water to back up their father's will in season 2. They're quite the duo.
But they'd have to be quick to defeat Tenzin, who is as flexible and nimble a bender as they are! He's also much older and better trained, and unless the ice bender siblings get lucky and catch Tenzin in ice, he could outmaneuver them and blast them away.
7 Can't defeat: Korra
Korra is the new avatar, and for the most part, Tenzin would rather train her and lecture her (or even scold her) than fight her in a serious duel. For a time, Korra struggled with air bending, but she soon learned the art and worked it into her repertoire.
In a real fight, Tenzin would have no route to victory. He is tricky and crafty, unlike the blunt Korra, and that would help him last longer. But he's up against the four elements and the avatar state, meaning he will lose any battle of attrition.
6 Can defeat: the Lieutenant
This poor guy. He earnestly believes in Amon's vision, only to feel betrayed when Amon is outed as a blood bender. He's also the punching bag of team avatar. Despite his cool outfit and position of authority, he often comes up short.
He wouldn't last long against Tenzin, either. Let's hope that he can get the drop on this bearded air bender, because if not, Tenzin would throw him around like a toy! Those zap sticks don't mean much when you're a rag doll in a man-made hurricane.
5 Can't defeat: Toph Beifong
Toph may be in her 80s by now, and her stamina may be a shadow of its former self, but she is still the queen of metal bending! As we saw in season 4, this tough old grandmother can bend metal with decades of experience backing her up, and she is a quick thinker who can find a route to victory in even the worst situations.
Tenzin wouldn't fare well unless he could draw things out in a battle of attrition to wear out his elderly opponent. But more likely, Toph would catch Tenzin by surprise with some metal cables or plates, and render him immobile. If she can restrain Tenzin like that, then he's got no cards left to play.
4 Can defeat: Gazan
Now, this would be a close one. There is a reason why Ghazan, like Zaheer, was locked away in a specialized prison! He is a master earth bender, and he was the first to show us what lava bending can do.
But like Bolin, he would have a tough time against Tenzin's light, crafty fighting style. That lava is meaningless if Tenzin can stay airborne, and Tenzin can blast away any rock that Ghazan throws. Most likely, Tenzin would send Ghazan flying right into his own lava and vaporize him. Ouch!
3 Can't defeat: Princess Azula
Let's expand the field to include characters from the original series, Avatar: The Last Airbender. It's the same franchise, after all, and the past has some scary benders for Tenzin to fight. One of them is princess Azula, a fire bender prodigy.
She is a mere teenager, but her acrobatic abilities, devastating fire blasts, lightning, and ruthless attitude would push even a master like Tenzin to the limit. She would take a bruising from those air blasts, but her lightning would certainly finish the job.
2 Can defeat: Admiral Zhao
Admiral Zhao, like prince Zuko, was fixated on capturing Aang so he could win glory for the Fire Nation. He was also a student of Jeong Jeong but failed to fully grasp what fire bending really is.
The result is a bender who uses fire bending as a shallow tool of destruction, and his blunt, obvious techniques are no match for an elegant bender like Tenzin. A hurricane would blast away Zhao's flames, and some well-placed air jets would throw Zhao against a hard surface and knock him out cold.
1 Can't defeat: Pakku
Remember him? He was the water bender master who instructed both Aang and Katara in the northern water tribe (Katara was the first girl he ever took on as a student, in fact). He has been bending for decades and knows his way around the battlefield.
Eska and Desna are mere youths, and even together, they couldn't give Tenzin a fight the way Pakku could. This old man could outmaneuver even Aang and Katara, and he would match Tenzin step for step until he froze the air bender solid to win a bloodless victory. Score one for the Water Tribe.