Avatar the Last Airbender

[Partysan]

As far as I know its the opposite of what some people said: Bending type is genetic, but whethersomeone becomes a bender depends on spirituality. I might be misremembering though.

[thubby]

I got the impression that all Waterbenders could Heal, it's just that not all of them were taught how.

aang never learned to, and unlike blood bending he had a reason to.

but supposing any water bender is physically capable, i get the impression it requires a level of expertise many simply do not have. even katara, one of the strongest water benders of her time, takes time and significant concentration to mend relatively minor wounds.

much how not everyone that can wield a scalpel can learn to be a doctor.

[John Cribati]

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[Grey_Wolf_c]

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Nice graph. Is it canonical? I.e. what is its source? The airbender wiki didn't have information on Bumi or Kya, and it is the first time that I hear that Bumi wasn't a bender at all.

Also, is it just me, or shouldn't there be a last line connecting Korra to Aang labeled "past life"?

GW

[Douglas]

If that's correct about Kya and Bumi, then there are (including Korra) precisely 5 airbenders in the entire world. Oh, and Tenzin seems to be doing a much better job of repopulating the Air Nomads than Aang did.

[Nerd-o-rama]

aang never learned to, and unlike blood bending he had a reason to.

I got the impression, when people got into the specialist Bending subschools like lightning, healing, metalbending, and bloodbending, that Aang didn't learn the specialties because it takes dedication to a specific element to do that, and that's not the Avatar's job. Sort of like how only a Specialist Wizard can take Focused Specialist in D&D 3.5, and Aang is a Generalist.

Also out of all those examples he lacked the personality for any of them.


As for Bending, I think the capacity for Bending is pretty much random. A certain proportion of each "nation" is born with the ability to bend that nation's element - the smaller the population, the higher the proportion, probably because larger and more developed nations are less spiritually connected to their element. Or just game balance. Who is randomly born as a Bender might be hereditary, or it might be truly random, I'm not sure. That said, when someone is "of" more than one nation, whether through genetics or culture - as Aang and Katara's kids, and Bo Lin and Mako are - there's a random chance that they'll develop one element or another. I think Republic City might be a preview of the future of the Avatar world, where mixed cultures and genetic heritage mean there are more and more mixed-Bending families.

Now, of course, once you have the capacity to Bend, you have to learn it like any other martial art, whether it's the equivalent of six weeks down at the Y for Joe Schmo Earthbender elevator operator, or years or decades of dedicated practice for Bending masters.

[Grey_Wolf_c]

If that's correct about Kya and Bumi, then there are (including Korra) precisely 5 airbenders in the entire world. Oh, and Tenzin seems to be doing a much better job of repopulating the Air Nomads than Aang did.

Well, Tenzin isn't diluting his genetic material potential by marrying a water bender.

Speaking of which, I don't think we really have canonical or even word-of-God support for the idea that bending has a genetical component - or even a spiritual one, for that matter. In the soothsayer episode there were identical twins, only one of which could bend. That throws the genetical angle off. Korra singlehandedly throws the spiritual part out, since she clearly learnt bending with no spiritual element to the learning at all.

IMnphO, at the end of the day, these are martial arts. IRL 99.9% of humanity could learn a martial art if they set themselves to it. By every account they provide you with big advantages - longer lifespan, a modicum of self-protection, healthier lives, coolness factor for those that think like Korra. And yet very few people actually learn any of them. I suspect that in the in-show world, the reasons why people don't become benders are the same: no time, no interest, can't dedicate the effort, it provides little benefit to your chosen path. To the average earthbending national, it would be something like "I want to be a cabbage salesman. Bending would require too much time and too much dedication for no gain. I have to put food on my plate and I don't have the time or the energy to spend learning how to levitate rock".

Fire nation, on the other hand, was militaristic, and thus probably forced many to become soldiers, and a large subset of those to train as firebenders. Air nomads devote themselves in Monk-like fashion to their discipline, explaining why they all can airbend. Etc.

Grey Wolf

[Nerd-o-rama]

Eh, I still think it's like the Force. It requires luck of the genetic lottery to get started, then you can develop it as much as you put your mind to it.

[Pink]

Watched the first two episodes, enjoyed them greatly. My one worry is how common and refined metal bending became. Before it was bending and exploiting impurities within the metal to allow crude movement and bending, now it feels like they have complete control. Also, for what was supposed to be the highest form of earth bending, we have three generic people capable of doing it, with the implication that there is a much larger force. I liked the idea that this was something only Toph could do because she spent her entire life seeing purely through earth bending. I could totally buy if her daughter and a small cadre of elite students inherited it, but with the way it's presented now, seems like anyone can learn to do it. It's like having a large portion of lightning benders, it takes away the prestige of it.

[Grey_Wolf_c]

Watched the first two episodes, enjoyed them greatly. My one worry is how common and refined metal bending became. Before it was bending and exploiting impurities within the metal to allow crude movement and bending, now it feels like they have complete control. Also, for what was supposed to be the highest form of earth bending, we have three generic people capable of doing it, with the implication that there is a much larger force. I liked the idea that this was something only Toph could do because she spent her entire life seeing purely through earth bending. I could totally buy if her daughter and a small cadre of elite students inherited it, but with the way it's presented now, seems like anyone can learn to do it. It's like having a large portion of lightning benders, it takes away the prestige of it.

I think you are over-estimating both Toph's discovery and the number of metalbenders. In the comic, Toph has already started her metalbending school a mere couple of years after the war, and has three students. Yes, Toph's initial command of it was crude, but she and her successors have had 60 years to improve and perfect the technique. Metalbending is no more difficult than healing or lightning, just requiring a deep understanding of earthbending to start with.

Also, the metalbending cops are an elite unit - probably no more than a couple dozen. The local equivalent to the SWAT team. We saw that they have regular truncheon-wielding, a bit fat around the belly cops in the park scene.

Grey Wolf

[Morty]

I think I recall one of the authors saying something about bending not being genetic. Don't quote me on that, though. It's definetly an inborn ability, though. IIRC, Piandao's backstory is that he was born a non-bender from two Firebenders and abandoned because of that but again, don't quote me on this.

[Flickerdart]

I wonder if Korra could combine metalbending and lightning to make a super tazer gun?

[Seerow]

I wonder if Korra could combine metalbending and lightning to make a super tazer gun?

I don't think the firebending lightning works that way.

[BRC]

I think you are over-estimating both Toph's discovery and the number of metalbenders. In the comic, Toph has already started her metalbending school a mere couple of years after the war, and has three students. Yes, Toph's initial command of it was crude, but she and her successors have had 60 years to improve and perfect the technique. Metalbending is no more difficult than healing or lightning, just requiring a deep understanding of earthbending to start with.

It's also possible that the Metalbending cops are using some sort of special Alloy that's designed to be especially Bendable.

Also, Toph metalbended by using the impurities in the metal (Kind of like moving a box by having somebody inside the box push against one of the walls, but whose to say they can't bend the Metal itself, it comes from the same places as Stone and Dirt. Firebenders can throw around Lightning, and it's not like Lightning and Fire are the same thing (I mean, they're both hot I guess). It's not inconceivable that they figured out how to bend Metal.

[Dusk Eclipse]

I am pretty sure it the lightning bending was just generating the actual lighting and giving him a general direction like a fire and forget missile.

Actually that got me thinking, what was the secondary ability of Airbenders? I mean Waterbernders have healing, Firebender have Lightning and Earthbenders have metalbending. Or flying is said secondary ability?

[Flickerdart]

Waterbenders also have Bloodbending, so that makes two.

We'll probably see Tenzin pull out some crazy Airbending tricks as time goes by, though circumstances would have to get pretty dire for him to do anything other than stroll in a dignified manner.

[Seerow]

I am pretty sure it the lightning bending was just generating the actual lighting and giving him a general direction like a fire and forget missile.

Actually that got me thinking, what was the secondary ability of Airbenders? I mean Waterbernders have healing, Firebender have Lightning and Earthbenders have metalbending. Or flying is said secondary ability?

I'd have guessed spirit/chakra/whatever but apparently that's an Avatar only thing so... Airbenders are SoL I guess?

Though I could see an argument for Flying, or their absurd running speed.

[Kobold-Bard]

It's also possible that the Metalbending cops are using some sort of special Alloy that's designed to be especially Bendable.

...

Possibly based on her meteor bracelet?

...

Actually that got me thinking, what was the secondary ability of Airbenders? I mean Waterbernders have healing, Firebender have Lightning and Earthbenders have metalbending. Or flying is said secondary ability?

I say flight. Airbending is how Sky Bison can fly, and since the first Airbenders learned from them, I'd say it's their unique ability (cheating hang gliders & turbo-charged Fire Lord's not withstanding). And flight is better than Soundbending or vaccuumbending or whatever else people come up with.

[Dusk Eclipse]

I see how you can make an argument for flying. I didn't count bloodbending as the principle behind it is quite similar to the plant bending done by the swamp tribe...which I guess can also be considered another ability.

Ok now that I think so, it seems that water-bending got the best out of the deal, I mean they have the a lot of versatility in their bending, they can use water to defend and attack equally well, they have restraining techniques (ice) and some mid range attacks.

[Lord Raziere]

thats cause water is like everywhere. on any fantasy world where you explore the fullest logical extent of water magic, your eventually going to give water magic more power than the other elements. unless you develop a world that significantly diverges from our ecology on the most basic levels, water is going to be the god element, because the worlds ecology is based on water.

[Pokonic]

thats cause water is like everywhere. on any fantasy world where you explore the fullest logical extent of water magic, your eventually going to give water magic more power than the other elements. unless you develop a world that significantly diverges from our ecology on the most basic levels, water is going to be the god element, because the worlds ecology is based on water.

Indeed. Lets hope no bender figures out a way to extract water from a living being.

[Madara]

Wait, so the Avatar, master of all 4 elements, had a non-bender kid? I think that kills the pure genetics theory.

[Scowling Dragon]

This is airbendings bloodbending shtik:

Choking.

Trap the guy in a airless bubble.

What are they gonna do?

[Grey_Wolf_c]

Actually that got me thinking, what was the secondary ability of Airbenders? I mean Waterbernders have healing, Firebender have Lightning and Earthbenders have metalbending. Or flying is said secondary ability?

According to the avatar wiki, they are the ones not having displayed any subtypes of bending. Running fast, jumping high, flying with the glider or even the airball are not specialised enough to warrant their own subtype, I'd argue.

Indeed. Lets hope no bender figures out a way to extract water from a living being.

Too late. They already did.

Grey Wolf

[Dusk Eclipse]

Even if the ecosystem is based on water I don't see how making it overpowered when balance is a central theme.

Edit: How do you call it when the conversation changes while you are typing a post.

[Grey_Wolf_c]

Even if the ecosystem is based on water I don't see how making it overpowered when balance is a central theme.

I don't think waterbending is that overpowered. They are nowhere as combat effective as earthbenders or firebenders, and they can "disarmed" - it is difficult to imagine a situation in which an earthbender is away from earth, and firebenders generate fire. But waterbenders must have a source of water to work with. And their most powerful abilities only work during full moons.

Edit: How do you call it when the conversation changes while you are typing a post.

Nothing, as far as I know. "Life", maybe.

Grey Wolf

[Madara]

Edit: How do you call it when the conversation changes while you are typing a post.

Monk'ed


Also, I really hope we get to see some cool airbending moves, but seeing as aang didn't have any subtypes, meh, good luck with that Tenzin..

And yes, I would agree that water probably gets the best deal.

[Kobold-Bard]

Wait, so the Avatar, master of all 4 elements, had a non-bender kid? I think that kills the pure genetics theory.

Or it's genetic, but Avatarness doesn't affect it, being a purely spiritual thing passed on from one to the next, rather than through family lines.

This is airbendings bloodbending shtik:

Choking.

Trap the guy in a airless bubble.

What are they gonna do?

Doesn't really seem like a very "Airbender" type of thing to do.

[Grey_Wolf_c]

Also, I really hope we get to see some cool airbending moves, but seeing as aang didn't have any subtypes, meh, good luck with that Tenzin.

Actually, this is a good point. The Avatar doesn't have the dedication to a single element to learn a subtype, Aang even less since he only had a few years worth of education, when he was whisked around the world to meet other benders (Bumi and the "hotman" fire boy). Any airbender subtypes were probably lost when the air nomads where wiped out.

GW

[Pokonic]

Too late. They already did.

Grey Wolf

Well, I was thinking more along the lines of other humans, but ehhhh.