Aang and Korra are some of the most powerful Avatars to ever walk the Earth. However, neither of them has been able to completely master all of the subsets of element bending. It is the responsibility of every Avatar to master the elements of water, earth, fire, and air; though very few Avatars have gone beyond those four.
Only a few Avatars have ever been able to learn one of the sub-elements, including Roku and Kyoshi. Aang and Korra have had opportunities to learn, but both of their runs as Avatar saw continual problems arise, keeping them from further element training. A fully realized Avatar capable of bending the primary elements as well as the subsets would truly be an unstoppable force no matter the circumstances.
10 Did Learn: Seismic Sense for Blindly Detecting Things
Aang was able to learn this technique directly from the earthbender who invented it, Toph Beifong. Due to her blindness, she was able to develop an entirely new way of seeing, thanks to her relationship with the badger moles that taught her how to earthbend.
Seismic sense is an incredibly useful technique when looking for things that cannot be seen with the naked eye. Some key instances of this were when Toph was able to locate the secret underground bunker during the Day of Black Sun invasion or when Lin was able to detect the suspended subterranean prison holding her family at Kuvira's base.
9 Should Have Learned: Sandbending Given Their Time in the Si Wong Desert
Both Aang and Korra had at least one exciting adventure in the Si Wong Desert, so it's a bit surprising that neither of them took the time to learn sandbending. As a subset of earthbending, Aang may not have wanted to learn since he had so much trouble with earth.
Korra, however, was shown to be a natural bender at an astonishingly early age for three of the four elements, including earth. Sandbending would have been especially useful when the Gaang found Wan Shi Tong's Library or during Korra's run-in with a massive Sand Shark.
8 Did Learn: Crystalbending (or Mineralbending)
Aang managed to use this technique a few times against Azula and Zuko in the Crystal Catacombs beneath Ba Sing Se. He managed to create a full bodysuit made out of the local crystals during his early fight with Azula. Once Zuko joined the fray, Aang used the crystals as a means of blocking Zuko's attacks.
Korra, on the other hand, didn't show any indication that she could bend crystals or minerals. While she did spend time under Ba Sing Se liberating the new airbenders, she didn't come across many crystals during her rescue.
7 Should Have Learned: Plantbending Given Their Time in the Foggy Swamp
Both Avatar Aang and Avatar Korra take a meaningful journey to the Foggy Swamp, so it would have made sense for them to at least try plantbending while they were there. Being a relatively unknown form of waterbending, it would have been an excellent weapon in the Avatar's arsenal and likely would have surprised a few Fire Nation soldiers.
Aang and the gang were overwhelmed at first by the power of one of the native Foggy Swamp benders when he was able to create a massive humanoid suit made entirely out of vines and foliage. While Korra didn't think to learn plantbending either, she does learn how to further develop her metalbending in the Foggy Swamp with the help of an old and retired Toph.
6 Did Learn: Lightning Redirection to Fight Azula & Ozai
This technique was originally created by Iroh after he studied waterbenders. It was through incorporating waterbending movements that Iroh was able to develop the technique successfully. During Aang's time, there were only a handful of known lightningbenders in the whole world. However, he may have had direct contact with all of them so it made sense for Aang to learn it, especially when two of them were aiming their lightning at him.
During Korra's reign as Avatar the lightningbending technique had become so common that some everyday firebenders made a living at power plants by generating lightning. Despite the frequency during her time, Korra is never shown bending or redirecting lightning.
5 Should Have Learned: Actual Lightningbending Rather than Just Redirection
While redirecting lightning is quite effective when fighting the likes of Ozai and Azula, actual lightningbending would have been much more effective from an offensive perspective. Aang likely wouldn't haven't utilized this technique during a fight though as he was depicted as more of a pacifist.
However, given Korra's propensity to firebending, it would have made sense for her to learn and master lightningbending. Despite being from the Southern Water Tribe she had exquisite fire blasts; Korra could have been a phenomenal lightningbender. Although, when one has an incredible lightningbender like Mako as part of the team, learning it oneself doesn't become a priority.
4 Did Learn: Metalbending, All Thanks to Toph
While Aang never showed any metalbending ability, Korra was quite the natural once she was introduced to the technique. Korra initially learns metalbending from one of Toph's children and later refines her ability with Toph herself and thanks to that training Korra is able to finally rid herself of the final drops of the Red Lotus' mercury poison.
Aang never showed any metalbending skill or desire, and given his hardships with earth, it would make sense for him to focus on elements he was naturally gifted with. While Aang never learned metalbending, it was Toph that taught him earthbending which in turn may have made Korra's metalbending lesson with Toph all the easier.
3 Should Have Learned: Lavabending Would Have Come in Handy, A Lot
Lava is one of the few sub-elements fans have actually seen an Avatar bend. During a flashback with Roku and Fire Lord Sozin, they attempt to save Roku's home island from an erupting volcano. Many fans assumed this was a firebending technique since Avatar Roku was of the Fire Nation, but Legend of Korra reveals that this technique is reserved for powerful earthbenders.
Aang didn't know it existed at the time, at least during the show, but it would have been an extraordinarily useful tool in countless instances. Korra ended up with an immensely powerful lavabender as part of her team in Bolin so she didn't really need to learn it herself. She was also a natural at metalbending, and it has yet to be confirmed if they are mutually exclusive subsets or if a truly gifted earthbender can learn both.
2 Did Learn: Energybending for Removing & Restoring Bending
Aang was able to use this technique after it was gifted to him by what may well have been the last giant lion turtle in existence. Despite all of his friends and past lives, Aang avoided killing Fire Lord Ozai and managed to quell his threat to the world by taking away his bending, permanently.
Aang then spiritually passed this gift on to Korra when he restored her bending abilities after Amon's reign of terror. Korra in turn is able to use this newly acquired gift to restore the bending of those who Amon had taken it from, such as Police Cheif Lin Beifong.
1 Should Have Learned: Bloodbending as a Last Resort
While bloodbending may have been outlawed in Aang's time, it was only outlawed because of its potential for evil. Amon was able to utilize an incredibly rare form of bloodbending that blocked people's chi pathways, similar to Ty Lee's technique. But unlike Ty Lee's temporary block, this move blocked the pathways until they were manually unlocked again. This took away people's ability to bend, and at the time everyone thought it was permanent.
Under the control of the Avatar, bloodbending would have made an excellent last-ditch effort against incredibly powerful foes such as other bloodbenders like Hama and Yakone. The Avatar State is typically the last line of defense for an Avatar, but fans know that being in the Avatar State can leave the Avatar quite vulnerable. Despite its negative connotation, bloodbending would have been an invaluable tool in taking down powerful villains.
0 Comments