Throughout theAvatar: The Last Airbenderfranchise, earthbending is shown to have a lot of diversity in forms. Metalbending, sandbending, and lavabending are only a few ofthe best earthbending techniqueswe get to see inAvatar: The Last AirbenderandThe Legend of Korra. The next show in the franchise, titledAvatar: Seven Havens, is set to feature a new earthbending Avatar, opening up new opportunities to explore what earthbending is like.
So far, bothAvatar: The Last AirbenderandThe Legend of Korrahave introduced new forms of bending, so it seems reasonable to expectAvatar: Seven Havensto do the same. With this next Avatar being an earthbender,there’s a lot of opportunity to explore the growth of earthbending culture and its styles of bending.
The Strong Earthbenders Of The Previous Series Set A Difficult Example To Follow
Over the course ofAvatar: The Last AirbenderandThe Legend of Korra, strong benders of all types are introduced, butearthbending might have some of the strongest benders.As Toph invented metalbending, she’s called the greatest earthbender in the world for a reason, but she’s not the only strong earthbender introduced in this series. King Bumi’s perfectly timed escape shows just how powerful his earthbending is as well. In other generations of earthbenders, Avatar Kyoshi is incredibly powerful, and evenThe Legend of Korra’s Bolin is able to lavabend.
It will be interesting to see how the new series builds upon prior knowledge of earthbending. With all the techniques that have been shown to be used by earthbenders,there are a lot of different earthbending skills the new Avatar could potentially master. AsAvatar: Seven Havenstakes place generations afterAvatar: The Last Airbender’s ending, there are also opportunities for new styles of bending to be explored. It remains to be seen whether the new Avatar will join the ranks ofAvatar: The Last Airbender’sbest earthbenders.
Avatar: The Last Airbender Had The Perfect Ending, But I’m Happy That We’re Getting More
Avatar: The Last Airbender makes a promise about its ending in season 1 and follows through in season 3, making the story the perfect length.
Knowledge of bending in general has expanded a lot since the beginning of the franchise as variousbenders inAvatarandLegend of Korrahave learned unique skills, andthere’s a chance thatAvatar: Seven Havenswill introduce new ways to earthbend. If the new Avatar’s background as an earthbender is put into focus, she’ll have to measure up to the legacy of iconic characters like Toph.
The New Avatar Being Feared Suggests That She Could Follow In Kyoshi’s Footsteps
The Previous Earth Avatar Was Both Intimidating And Powerful
While we don’t have much information aboutAvatar: Seven Havens’new Avatar yet, we do know that she’s going to be feared as adestroyer of worlds, potentially ruining Korra’s legacy. Part of what makes the Avatar special is their access to more than just a single form of bending, sothe Avatar’s powerful bending could play a role in people’s fear of her. If so, that could bring up comparisons not only to characters like Toph, but also to the last Earth Avatar, Kyoshi.
Aang was shocked and horrified to learn about some of the decisions that Kyoshi made, and the repercussions of some of those decisions still impacted the world even multiple Avatar cycles later.
While the Avatar Cycle was broken inThe Legend of Korra,there’s still a lot of potential for parallels to be made between this new Avatar and Kyoshi. Aang was shocked and horrified to learn about some of the decisions that Kyoshi made, and the repercussions of some of those decisions still impacted the world even multiple Avatar cycles later.
Kyoshi was known for her harsh delivery of justice, and fromwhat we know so far about the next AvatarinAvatar: Seven Havens,the citizens of the world ofAvatar: The Last Airbendermight expect an Avatar even harsher and more dangerous than Kyoshi. It’s impossible not to compare this Earth Avatar to the previous one when Kyoshi had so much impact on the world.
