The world of Avatar: the Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra has its own magic system known as “bending,” and this Asian-inspired setting features the four Greek elements: fire, water, earth, and wind. Among these four, fire bending is the most aggressive and arguably the most flashy, and the lore largely uses fire benders as villains. But just as fire is mistaken for a simple destruction art, some benders of fire prove themselves deeper and more human than they first seem.
But what does it really mean to be a fire bender? The practitioners of this art embrace their passion and vitality of life, and fire bending is not the wicked art some in-universe people may take it for. In many ways, fire is what helps shape the world into something better.
Fire Represents Life
Fire bending is certainly capable of destruction, as it can burn down a wooden ship or a forest, melt glass, and blast something apart with a fireball. But fire bending is not so shallow as that. As the ancient Sun Warrior culture proved, fire is the essence of life itself and the warmth that makes life thrive. While water bending is a reflection of the water in all living things, fire stands for the energy found in all life. When Prince Zuko met the Sun Warriors and held a bit of fire in his palm, he felt a heartbeat. It was then he realized the real depths of this element.
Dragons Are the Original Fire Benders
Like in most fantasy lore, dragons breathe fire in the Avatar world. Here, they rank among the sky bison, the badger-moles, and the moon itself as the original benders, and they could bend flames with their breath. But the Fire Nation eventually lost respect for the dragons’ contribution to bending, and Fire Nation warriors hunted them down close to extinction for the sake of sport. The elegant fire dances of the dragons nearly died with them, but fortunately, Iroh lied to protect the world’s last two dragons in time for Zuko and Aang to learn from them. Iroh saved the spirit of fire, in a sense.
Fire is the Bending Art of Aggression
Of course, fire still has its destructive side, and this bending style forgoes any pretense of defense in favor of sheer offensive power. This makes it the natural opposite of water, which is flexible and defensive in nature. Instead of water bending’s elegant, flowing moves, fire bending favors sharp and rapid kicks, punches, jabs, and roundhouse kicks to deliver fireballs, flame whips, and much more. When the sun is up, or during summer, fire bending’s offensive power is cranked up even more to make for some truly impressive bending.
Fire Benders Generate Their Own Element
Fire bending is unique in that its practitioners do not use nearby materials to bend. Air benders can perform their art anywhere that is not underwater, while water benders need water, ice, or living things to bend. Earth benders need soil or rock, and metal benders need impure metal to bend. But fire benders generate flames from the energy of their own body, meaning they can start bending anywhere, anytime. In the lore, some benders are rendered powerless when separated from their element, such as an earthbender in a wooden prison cell or a water bender held in a volcanic cage. Fire benders don’t have that problem unless exposed to extreme cold for a long time.
The Breath is the Key to Fire Bending
Air benders aren’t the only ones who are concerned with human breathing. Air benders may use controlled breathing to calm their mind and focus (like in real meditation), but fire benders aren’t too different. This makes sense, since fire bending comes from within, and breathing is what makes life possible. Controlled breathing makes fire bending happen, and this is something Aang learned at the hands of Jeong-Jeong (not that Aang was the best of students). And don’t forget how fire benders can emit jets of flame from their mouths, like dragons. Iroh demonstrated this clearly to Azula’s enforcers to buy time for escape.
Lightning Bending
Like the other elements, fire bending has a secret, rarer alternate form: lightning bending. Doing this requires a great deal of concentration and perfect inner balance, and getting it wrong can result in deadly mishaps. Zuko failed to master it, due to internal conflicts in The Last Airbender, but he did learn from Iroh how to redirect it with proper inner energy flows. In fact, the idea came from water benders, according to Iroh. And by Korra’s time, lightning benders have plenty of industrial application, such as Mako working in a Future Industries assembly line with other lightning benders.
Fire Lets You Fly
Air benders aren’t the only ones who can take to the sky. While a fire bender can’t actually soar like an eagle the way an air bender with a glider can, their fire bending can come close. As Azula demonstrated often, a fire bender can emit jets of flame from their hands and feet, and use them as rocket boosters to go in a straight line. In this way, a fire bender can chase down a fleeing target, or escape a crumbling building. It may not be easy to bring along a passenger, though, with all that weight.
The Avatar Cycle Began With Fire
Fire bending has the distinction of being the first Avatar’s native element. Some 10,000 years ago, the young man known as Wan hailed from the fire lion-turtle, and the beast allowed him to keep fire bending when he was exiled to the spirit wilds. From there, Wan mastered the art of fire, using it to chase off spirit hunters. And from there, Wan learned to bend air, water, and earth in that order, establishing the order of future Avatar births. After the Fire Nation native Avatar Roku died, for example, the Air Nation Avatar Aang was born. And Avatar Korra, despite being a Water Tribe native, seems to favor fire bending over her own water bending. Fire suits her fierce personality, after all.
Fire and Sozin’s Comet
Another unique aspect to fire bending is that it’s boosted by an intermittent outside source called Sozin’s Comet. This comet arrives and passes the Avatar world once per century, and while it’s close by, all fire benders receive a huge boost in their bending. The comet got its name when Fire Lord Sozin used its power to demolish the Air Nation, launching the 100 Year War. And when the Comet arrived again, Fire Lord Ozai aimed to borrow its power and wipe out the Earth Kingdom, too. Fortunately, Avatar Aang got a similar boost to his own fire bending, and that and the Avatar State put an end to Ozai’s rampage.
The Solar Eclipse
Not only do astronomical phenomena bolster fire bending, but they can weaken it, too. Just as Sozin’s Comet kicks fire bending into overdrive, a solar eclipse will snuff it out entirely. Granted, a solar eclipse only lasts a few moments before the moon passes, but the effect is absolute. Sokka of Team Avatar put this knowledge to good use, planning an entire invasion of the Fire Nation around it. Not even Azula or Ozai could make a spark of flame during the eclipse.
