Legend Of Korra: Will It Bend!

[Grey_Wolf_c]

i find it more likely whoever married her had to accept her name just because she's the dominant person in any relationship she'll put up with.

Or more likely, they are using the japanese naming convention that whomever owns the dojo keeps the surname. At least, that's the reason I was given as to why Ranma Saotome would eventually change to Ranma Tendo once he married Akane.

Grey Wolf

[Rockphed]

You can download the first two episodes from Itunes, in HD, for free.

You should do so, as the quality of the download is fantastic.

I think that offer is past. My wife looked on I-tunes before I asked and couldn't find it.

Nick.com currently has it online.

This, however, works nicely.

[BRC]

I can think of several reasons why they would keep the Beifong name.

1: Toph, being the dominant personality, wouldn't give up her Surname.

2: When your resume includes "Invented Metalbending" and "Saved the World", you get to keep your own name.
3: When your wife or mother's resume includes "Invented Metalbending" and "Saved the World", you want to be associated with them.
4: The Beifongs, as one of the wealthiest families in the Earth Kingdom, have very high social status, so their name overrides whatever Commoner (By comparison to the Beifongs, just about everybody is a commoner) Toph ends up marrying (If, as is pointed out, she gets married at all.)
5: The Beifongs are the only family in the world with a last name.

[Rockphed]

You can download the first two episodes from Itunes, in HD, for free.

You should do so, as the quality of the download is fantastic.

I think that offer is past. My wife looked on I-tunes before I asked and couldn't find it.

Nick.com currently has it online.

This, however, works nicely.

[Soras Teva Gee]

I can think of several reasons why they would keep the Beifong name.

1: Toph, being the dominant personality, wouldn't give up her Surname.

2: When your resume includes "Invented Metalbending" and "Saved the World", you get to keep your own name.
3: When your wife or mother's resume includes "Invented Metalbending" and "Saved the World", you want to be associated with them.
4: The Beifongs, as one of the wealthiest families in the Earth Kingdom, have very high social status, so their name overrides whatever Commoner (By comparison to the Beifongs, just about everybody is a commoner) Toph ends up marrying (If, as is pointed out, she gets married at all.)
5: The Beifongs are the only family in the world with a last name.

There's also:

6: Toph married someone with the same last name, either a cousin of some degree or simply had the same name but wasn't from THE Beifongs.

[Brother Oni]

4: The Beifongs, as one of the wealthiest families in the Earth Kingdom, have very high social status, so their name overrides whatever Commoner (By comparison to the Beifongs, just about everybody is a commoner) Toph ends up marrying (If, as is pointed out, she gets married at all.)

This one and while Grey_Wolf_c is correct that the person with the lower social status will be marrying into the Beifong family, it's Chinese, rather than Japanese convention here.

For all we know, the Beifongs could be nobility, thus their name and title follow the same rules as landed gentry titles.

[golentan]

I don't know. I like the idea that Toph was a single mom. I have this mental image of a stuttering fellow who she shoves into the closet when she decides it's motherhood time. Or she's bored.

[Kobold-Bard]

Do you think anyone ever found Xin Fu and Master Yu after Toph Metalbent them into her cage? Or did they die, trapped and standing in a puddle of Yu's urine (since he needed to go when he trapped them)?

[John Cribati]

Do you think anyone ever found Xin Fu and Master Yu after Toph Metalbent them into her cage? Or did they die, trapped and standing in a puddle of Yu's urine (since he needed to go when he trapped them)?

They were on a road that lead to and from the most populous city in the Earth Kingdom, if not the world (at the time anyway, though I'm not entirely sure that Republic City beats it out). I'm thinking a two or three day maximum that they were stuck.

Besides, humans are capable of some incredible things when their lives are in danger (see: Guy who hacked off his own arm because it was stuck behind a rock and he wouldn't be able to move) so I like to think they just forced their way out eventually.

[Brother Oni]

I don't know. I like the idea that Toph was a single mom. I have this mental image of a stuttering fellow who she shoves into the closet when she decides it's motherhood time. Or she's bored.

Oh Toph was most certainly the dominant partner, no doubt, just that I suspect in Earth Kingdom culture (if it's anything like Chinese), there's a lot of pressure to do things properly, or at least seen to be done properly.

Note that this does not preclude Toph shoving her husband into a closet when she's decided she's bored/wants a child.

[Zevox]

Oh Toph was most certainly the dominant partner, no doubt, just that I suspect in Earth Kingdom culture (if it's anything like Chinese), there's a lot of pressure to do things properly, or at least seen to be done properly.

I do believe we all know what Toph thinks of "doing things properly" when she doesn't feel like it, no?

Zevox

[Anarion]

I do believe we all know what Toph thinks of "doing things properly" when she doesn't feel like it, no?

Zevox

To be fair though, Toph very clearly knows how to do things properly. She doesn't care in 99% of circumstances (and only put her knowledge to use in the show when they needed a disguise to sneak into the palace), but I could see for a wedding or ceremonies for her own children being willing to go through some of the proper customs for the sake of her parents and family. She's not totally unreasonable about such things.

[Zevox]

To be fair though, Toph very clearly knows how to do things properly. She doesn't care in 99% of circumstances (and only put her knowledge to use in the show when they needed a disguise to sneak into the palace), but I could see for a wedding or ceremonies for her own children being willing to go through some of the proper customs for the sake of her parents and family. She's not totally unreasonable about such things.

Participate in ceremonies, sure, I could see that. Change her name? I could easily see her just flat-out refusing to do that.

Zevox

[LordVader]

I am looking forward to the no doubt imminent trolling about who Toph's husband actually is.

It's no doubt someone wholly inconsequential, but I can't imagine that they won't troll shippers over that.

Also, we had better meet some of Sokka's children before the end of S1. We've already seen Katara, Aang's, and Toph's; Sokka better not get gypped.

RE: trapping the guys in the cage; it's a well traveled road, somebody would have freed them.

That said, Team Avatar certainly does kill its fair share of people.

[Silverraptor]

I am looking forward to the no doubt imminent trolling about who Toph's husband actually is.

It's no doubt someone wholly inconsequential, but I can't imagine that they won't troll shippers over that.

Also, we had better meet some of Sokka's children before the end of S1. We've already seen Katara, Aang's, and Toph's; Sokka better not get gypped.

RE: trapping the guys in the cage; it's a well traveled road, somebody would have freed them.

That said, Team Avatar certainly does kill its fair share of people.

On the note of this, does anyone else feel like they are looking at a female Sokka when looking at Korra? (Or atleast a number of Sokka's traits.)

[Xondoure]

On the note of this, does anyone else feel like they are looking at a female Sokka when looking at Korra? (Or atleast a number of Sokka's traits.)

Actually Tenzin reminds me the most of Sokka so far, beard and all.

And I've never really seen the argument for Team Avatar killing people. Fire nation soldiers can swim after all.

[Nerd-o-rama]

On the note of this, does anyone else feel like they are looking at a female Sokka when looking at Korra? (Or atleast a number of Sokka's traits.)

She's pretty much how Sokka would be if he was the Avatar and naturally hypercompetent instead of having to struggle and work for every moment of usefulness. Which also accounts for why she doesn't really share his cleverness and ability to plan, I guess.

That said, I can see the resemblance of Tenzin to "Sokka when he's trying to be serious" too. The wet-blanket genes are clearly all from his mother's side, and not just for the sake of the stupid pun either.

[Xondoure]

She's pretty much how Sokka would be if he was the Avatar and naturally hypercompetent instead of having to struggle and work for every moment of usefulness. Which also accounts for why she doesn't really share his cleverness and ability to plan, I guess.

That said, I can see the resemblance of Tenzin to "Sokka when he's trying to be serious" too. The wet-blanket genes are clearly all from his mother's side, and not just for the sake of the stupid pun either.

That and his quick temper are what instantly pegged him as old man Sokka to me. There's a bit of Aang too, and oddly very little of Katara.

[LordVader]

Actually Tenzin reminds me the most of Sokka so far, beard and all.

And I've never really seen the argument for Team Avatar killing people. Fire nation soldiers can swim after all.

Yeah, but can they fly? Katara and Aang both puncture war balloons at multiple points, and I distinctly remember Katara knocking enemies off of a cliff or wall.

There's also the matter that while yes, Fire Nation warriors can swim, it's not so easy to swim to safety when you're in freezing ocean water, you have heavy metal armor on, and there's no land for quite some distance.

That's to say nothing of Koizilla Aang chopping battleships in half or swamping them with tidal waves, either.

There's also precedent for members of Team Avatar fighting to kill; Katara does so against Azula in S2, and Sokka does so to Sparky Sparky Boom Man.

Please note that this is not something I wish the show would address, as I like that Avatar is not grimdark. I just find it interesting.

[Grey_Wolf_c]

There's also the matter that while yes, Fire Nation warriors can swim, it's not so easy to swim to safety when you're in freezing ocean water, you have heavy metal armor on, and there's no land for quite some distance.

I'd have to check, but IIRC they were very close to land. The fight that follows is where Sokka looses his sword, and that was over land. Those super-zeps are also shown to be extremely slow, so they wouldn't have gone far in the time in between.

That's to say nothing of Koizilla Aang chopping battleships in half or swamping them with tidal waves, either.

That wasn't Aang, that was the avatar state combined with the spirit of the sea. We know that the Avatar as a whole can be bloodthirsty - indeed, the previous air Avatar was quite willing to kill.

The other killing actions by the rest of the team I'll grant you: Sokka and Katara certainly aren't as pacifist as Aang. Not so sure about Aang dropping the normal zeps, though - he merely punctures them, they might have had enough air for a semi-controlled fall similar to that of the Boiling Rock (compared to Katara's sliced-the-bag-in-half move).

A better example was mentioned earlier: the tanks that he dislodges during the Air Temple attack would not have been in any way designed to drop, unlike aerial vehicles which could have had something off-screen. I suspect, though, that if shown, they would all hit conveniently deep snow drifts.

Grey Wolf

[BRC]

The Show is generally pretty good about using the magic of Offscreen to avoid getting it's protagonists hand's bloody. Mooks tend to drop after a good airblast or water whip and just kind of not get up, Sokka manages to never get blood on his machete, Toph hits people with enough force to send them flying, ect.
Heck, the most aggressive global power uses living flamethrowers as frontline troops, yet Zuko is the only person in the world who looks like he's ever been burned. People hit with Fireblasts just kind of get knocked back, Arrows are used to pin people's clothing, you've got Zuko running around with swords that he never uses to cut people, Mai throwing knives that never stab people,ect.

[LordVader]

I do find it simultaneously hilarious and scary that Mai is that good that she can incapacitate people with throwing knives without actually killing them.

[Silverraptor]

I think I remember when in the north pole while in the avatar states, Aang killed Admiral Jaoh Zaoh How? grrr... "Mr. I want to kill the moon because my ego is three times the size of a fire land's super blimp." (Didn't know how to spell his name. To lazy to look it up.)

Admittedly, Zuko tried to save him, but his own pride got in the way and he prefered to be dragged to the bottom of the ocean from the Aang/Ocean spirit monster that was saving the day.

[John Cribati]

I think I remember when in the north pole while in the avatar states, Aang killed Admiral Jaoh Zaoh How? grrr... "Mr. I want to kill the moon because my ego is three times the size of a fire land's super blimp." (Didn't know how to spell his name. To lazy to look it up.)

The Ocean Spirit had already released Aang before going after Zhao.

[Nerd-o-rama]

I think Firebending fire, because this is a kid's show, is like D&D fireball - lots of BOOM to knock people around and do vague damage, not a lot of actual burning.

[LordVader]

It is important to keep in mind that Aang is still responsible for all of the Fire Nation deaths that occur at the hand of Koizilla. He might not be in direct control, but he knowingly unleashed the Avatar; their blood is on his hands.

This doesn't translate directly to killing them, of course, but it's still something which should be noted.

I think Firebending fire, because this is a kid's show, is like D&D fireball - lots of BOOM to knock people around and do vague damage, not a lot of actual burning.

It really varies; for example, Zuko burns Toph's feet on contact with his fire, and Aang burns Katara.

People are very rarely actually hit by Firebending fire, remember; Team Avatar and other benders usually deflect it or jump out of the way. When people get taken down by firebenders, it's often due to fire blasts on the armor or, as is the case in the end of S2, the explosions from intercepting fireblasts stunning the defending bender.

[Nerd-o-rama]

It is important to keep in mind that Aang is still responsible for all of the Fire Nation deaths that occur at the hand of Koizilla. He might not be in direct control, but he knowingly unleashed the Avatar; their blood is on his hands.

This doesn't translate directly to killing them, of course, but it's still something which should be noted.

And he is extremely upset about this at the start of S2 (and I think he brings it up to the guru as well).

[Morph Bark]

Actually Tenzin reminds me the most of Sokka so far, beard and all.

That's not Sokka you're thinking of. That's WANG FIRE.

I think I remember when in the north pole while in the avatar states, Aang killed Admiral Jaoh Zaoh How? grrr... "Mr. I want to kill the moon because my ego is three times the size of a fire land's super blimp." (Didn't know how to spell his name. To lazy to look it up.)

Zhao. So you were close.

[Grey_Wolf_c]

It is important to keep in mind that Aang is still responsible for all of the Fire Nation deaths that occur at the hand of Koizilla. He might not be in direct control, but he knowingly unleashed the Avatar; their blood is on his hands.

This doesn't translate directly to killing them, of course, but it's still something which should be noted.

I disagree. Aang is but the current embodiment of the spirit of the Avatar. Blaming Aang for the Avatar's and Ocean Spirit's work is not ethically correct. You might as well blame Zhao, who caused the Ocean Spirit to get angry. Or Firelord Ozai, for allowing all those mooks to go to the North Pole. Aang was involved in the chain of events, but he was not the one making the decisions. Had he been in control, he'd have probably acted differently: ice-locking the ships, for example, rather than outright sinking them. He was far less aware of the consequences than Zhao was when he killed the Moon Spirit, and I don't see how anyone's blood can be placed on his hands in that scene.

Grey Wolf

[Anarion]

Part of the issue with firebending is that we only see it getting used against relatively skilled and powerful people. When Zuko and Zhao used it indiscriminately such as on Kiyoshi island or against Zhao's own ships, it caused large conflagrations and was extremely damaging. However, benders are clearly able to deflect or absorb other elements and even non-benders of adequate skill seem to be very good at some combination of weapon blocks and dodges that prevent the bulk of any damage caused.

Of course, part of this is just that kid's TV isn't allowed to be as graphic as it might otherwise like to be, and I suspect that showing Aang get shot by lighting was about as edgy as they were allowed to get.