One of the most entertaining aspects of both Avatar: The Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra is, naturally, bending. Each form of bending has its own unique characteristics, as well as a certain way one has to think about and approach it if they truly want to be a master. This is part of what makes Aang's journey to learn and master all four elements so compelling; it's as if he has to unlock a different side of himself every time.
The first time bending is shown on-screen, it's in the form of Katara fishing for food for the Water Tribe alongside Sokka. By the end of the series, she's an incredibly capable — and at times downright terrifying — fighter. But she's also got incredibly fierce competition in the follow-up series from Ming-Hua, an escaped fugitive with deadly mastery over her craft and little remorse.
10 Katara: She's An Unparalleled Healer Alongside Her Powerful Combat Abilities
One of the things that helps waterbending stand out as the most versatile of the elements is its ability to heal alongside deal damage. Katara is the best example ever shown of this, after unlocking her unknown abilities after Aang accidentally burns her.
Especially after training in the Northern Water Tribe, Katara's abilities skyrocket to an entirely new level. Not only is she able to heal others from near-death injuries with shockingly quick recovery time, but she even manages to bring Aang back to life using the help of spirit water.
9 Ming-Hua: Her Self-Crafted Water Arms Can Also Serve As Deadly Weapons
Ming-Hua is an incredibly unique waterbender, in that she makes up for her lack of physical appendages by instead creating them using waterbending. Her tentacle-like arms are incredibly fluid and stable, and they never lose form or break even when using them as weapons.
She's not only able to bend them to be more versatile than typical arms, but she can also freeze the ends into deadly points. This combination can be incredibly dangerous, as shown when she holds Jinora hostage using a combination of these tactics.
8 Katara: She's The First Character Shown Breaking Free Of Bloodbending And Is Naturally Gifted At It
Bloodbending is by far the scariest aspect of waterbending, and potentially even the scariest aspect of bending as a whole. It allows the user to take control of the water inside a target's body to control them, typically in a lethal fashion.
Katara is not only the first-ever character shown breaking free of a bloodbender's grasp, but she's naturally gifted at the art as well. Although she prefers not to use it due to its dark nature, she still makes use of it on the man who killed her mother.
7 Ming-Hua: She Can Create Up To Eight Water Whips At Once To Do Her Bidding
Ming-Hua generally maintains two water appendages that resemble arms, but she can actually create up to eight at once. The mere fact that she's able to keep her prosthetics stable while using them to perform other waterbending feats is incredibly impressive.
These extra appendages give her an incredible combat advantage, as all of them can be used as whip-like weapons on their own while also executing other abilities. They also grant her virtually unmatched mobility, to the point where she's even seen outclassing Desna and Eska.
6 Katara: She Makes Use Of Her Environment To Fight By Converting Water Vapor And Rain Drops
Waterbenders are only able to use the water that's in their immediate vicinity to fight. And while Katara eventually counteracts this by making sure she always carries a small amount of water with her in case of emergencies, this also prompts her to learn how to use her environment in unique ways.
She can condense water vapor into ice shards and launch them in an offensive assault at her enemies. She can also freeze rain drops to convert them into weapons as well, and she's even seen using her own sweat as a catalyst for waterbending.
5 Ming-Hua: She's Able To Use Her Entire Body As A Weapon, As She's Seen Turning Herself Into An Ice Drill
Thanks to the use of multiple water-borne appendages, Ming-Hua's agility is basically unmatched on-screen. She's able to easily outclass the likes of Desna and Eska, and those two are able to keep up with Team Avatar while they're escaping on a speedboat.
Ming-Hua's speed is on another level entirely, as she can use her water whips to generate the momentum needed to turn her entire body into an ice drill capable of tunneling underground. She's also seen dodging attacks and obstacles with ease thanks to her enhanced agility.
4 Katara: She's Able To Master Basic Waterbending Forms As A Child Without Anyone Teaching Her
Although her skills only continue to shoot up in terms of mastery and complication throughout the series, Katara is already well-versed in basic waterbending when she meets Aang. This is made even more impressive by the fact that she had no teacher at the time.
Being the last remaining waterbender in the Southern Water Tribe, it falls to Katara to teach herself to the best of her abilities. This shows how innate her bending prowess really is, as she's able to start tapping into her powers without any outside assistance.
3 Ming-Hua: She Can Use Water To Cut Through Or Force Open Tough Structures
Ming-Hua's water appendages aren't just good for mobility and combat. She's also able to use them to perform feats of destruction that would be impossible, or close to it, with human equivalents.
Once she had access to water in her cell, she was able to use pressurized water to force it open. She's also seen using her water whips to break through heavy construction materials, going as far as to use them to pierce through the ground itself.
2 Katara: She Can Create Her Own Forms Of Waterbending Techniques
Katara's mastery of waterbending doesn't just stop at the fundamentals she teaches herself or the more complex skills she eventually learns from other teachers. She's even able to create some of her very own waterbending techniques, which shows just how innovative and creative she is.
With a bit of help from Aang, she's able to manipulate clouds, as they're made up of air and water. She's also able to create her own slightly different version of the water whip technique that she learns from the stolen scroll.
1 Ming-Hua: She Makes Use Of Waterbending Not Just As A Weapon, But A Pure Extension Of Herself
Ming-Hua is similar to Toph, in that she's had her disability since birth and thus had ample time to learn how to use bending to make life easier. She doesn't only view bending as a powerful tool for combat or mobility, but a pure extension of her own body.
This is the main reason why she's so powerful, as her tentacle-like appendages are her actual arms and she's had a lifetime to practice using them. Not only can they be used as weapons or tools for dodging, but she can manipulate the ends into actual hand-like shapes, using them to grab onto objects with great dexterity or even operate a car.
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