Avatar: The 10 Youngest Benders In The Franchise

Avatar: The Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra show just how difficult it is to gain skill as a bender. While anyone born with the ability to bend water, fire, air, and earth can manipulate their respective element at a young age, it takes years of hard training and discipline to become a bending master. While some of the strongest and most innovative forms of bending are often displayed by older characters in the series, the franchise boasts a wide range of characters who’ve demonstrated tremendous amounts of talent at a young age.

Here, we’ll be taking a look at the youngest benders we’ve seen across both series, and we’ll be looking at how old these characters were at the time of the final episodes in the series that they were introduced in, meaning that any extra aging they did in graphic novels, or even in The Legend of Korra, won’t be taken into account here.

10 Desna / Eska (19)

When Desna and Eska were first introduced, they were 16, and already both were Waterbending masters. When they teamed up, they were enough to force Korra to get serious, and could travel across the sea at high speeds without the need for a vessel.

While Ming Hua of the Red Lotus defeated them before they could land a single strike on her, it won’t be long before the two become the strongest Northern Water Tribe leaders to have ever existed.

9 Zuko (16)

Sure, Zuko made a few appearances in The Legend of Korra as a 90-year-old man, but he originally made his mark as one of the strongest Firebenders in history at the age of 16 in Avatar: The Last Airbender.

While Aang never really had too much trouble taking care of him whenever the two met in battle, his constant hardships strengthened his resolve and his abilities, and he quickly developed his own style that allowed him to finally compete with Azula. After “The Firebending Masters”, he learned of fire’s true nature, which only strengthened his bending and made him a lot more formidable on the battlefield.

8 Katara (14)

Unlike most benders on this list, Katara didn’t really have anyone to teach her the fundamentals of Waterbending during her youth; in the beginning of the series, she struggled with controlling her abilities. As the series progressed, she not only learned how to use her powers to heal her allies, but she could also fight on the frontlines whenever she was needed. By Book 3, she was able to manipulate water across all of its states, and as seen in “The Southern Raiders”, she could even use her bending to temporarily stop the rain.

After adding Bloodbending to her arsenal, she became a threat to any unfortunate soul who managed to piss her off during a full moon. Though she might not have been as strong as a full-fledged Waterbending master like Pakku, she was a force to be reckoned with, and showed fans why the Fire Nation made sure to rid the Southern Water Tribe of its Waterbenders.

7 Azula (14)

Azula’s raw talent makes her one of the most skilled benders in the entire franchise. She performed many complex maneuvers with the fluidity and confidence that one wouldn’t expect a 14-year-old to have. Despite Zuko being two years older than her, she was always better than him, and had she been in her right frame of mind during their Agni Kai, she might’ve been able to beat him without resorting to dirty tricks.

While it might be easy to praise her prowess, it’s also sad to think that such a young girl will most likely spend years of her life in therapy after becoming so invested in a conflict that was started by her forefathers, whose wishes only robbed her of her innocence.

6 Kai (~14)

Kai’s age isn’t explicitly stated, but due to the fact that he was Jinora’s romance interest, it’s safe to say that he’d be around her age, give or take a year or two. Besides Zaheer, Kai was the most skilled Airbender who’d been given powers after Harmonic Convergence.

Since he had an affinity for evading others and slipping into places unnoticed as the little thief he was, Airbending became natural for him, and it even helped him become a much better thief. It didn’t take long for him to grasp the fundamentals of Airbending, and in Book 4, he’d come to truly understand what it meant to live an honorable lifestyle, much like the Air Nomads that came before him.

5 Jinora (14)

When Jinora became a master, she was only 11, officially making her the youngest Airbending master in history, surpassing Aang by just one year. Jinora inherited a natural talent for bending, demonstrating great precision and restraint when using her bending. She also possesses the wisdom to make decisions that have played a key role in supporting Korra during some of her most perilous moments.

It was her idea to round up all of the Airbenders and create a powerful tornado that trapped Zaheer, leading to his defeat, a strategy that no one else would’ve been able to think of. Despite being so young, she can travel into the spirit world with less difficulty than someone like Tenzin, a grown man who studied all his life to do the same. She’s definitely talented beyond her years, and it’s clear that given a few more, she’ll become one of the wisest, more spiritual Airbenders that ever lived.

4 Aang (12)

As the Avatar, Aang was always destined to become one of the greatest benders of his time, but unlike many other Avatars, he was forced to master three elements over the course of a year. This normally takes a lifetime, but Aang successfully pulling this off speaks to his discipline and natural talent, making him the strongest bender on this list despite not exactly being the youngest.

Of course, his high levels of energy as a young preteen definitely helped him during this monumental task, since someone twice his age wouldn’t be able to keep up with the rigorous demands that the world required of him.

3 Toph (12)

Toph is not only one of the most talented Earthbenders to have ever lived, but she’s also the youngest Earthbending master that fans have ever met across the entire franchise. Given the fact that Earthbenders were stereotyped as big men with bulging muscles, Toph broke the conventions of what an Earthbender should be.

From the moment she joined Team Avatar, her abilities only improved, and at her young age, she became the first person to ever bend metal, which changed the Avatar world in ways that no one could’ve imagined. It’s often hard to believe that she’s so young given that she’s one of the strongest characters in Avatar, and it’s no wonder Aang was such a good Earthbender with Toph as his teacher.

2 Ikki (11)

As the middle child (at least before the birth of Rohan, Tenzin’s final kid) Ikki didn’t get as much of the spotlight as her older sister Jinora or her younger brother Meelo, but this doesn’t diminish her title as one of the most skilled Airbenders alive. As Aang’s granddaughter, she, like her siblings, inherited Aang’s natural talent for Airbending, and in particular, Ikki inherited his kind spirit.

When she was captured by Kuvira’s men in Book 4, she successfully bonded with them despite the fact that they were technically her enemies. Although she’s nowhere near Jinora’s level, it’s only a matter of time before she becomes the next individual in Aang’s bloodline to be dubbed an Airbending master.

1 Meelo (9)

At the start of The Legend of Korra, Meelo was only 5, making him the youngest Airbender fans had ever seen. What separates him from other 5-year-old benders was his mastery over his element. When Equalists attacked Air Temple Island, he was able to use his powers to effectively fend them off, and at the age of 9, he was able to generate quick blasts of air strong enough to hold Kuvira’s mecha suits back.

While he has a long way to go before he’s as strong as Tenzin or Jinora, he’s well on his way to becoming one of the greatest Airbenders that ever lived.

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