Aang vs Korra is an often debated topic. For some reason, the fanbase always loves to put these two Avatars together to find out similarities, differences in power levels, and such.
Both Avatar Aang in The Last Airbender and Avatar Korra in the Legend of Korra both displayed mastery of the elements in such unbelievable ways and demonstrated unseen levels of power in bending. If these two came in a head-to-head battle, who is the more powerful Avatar?
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On both of these television series, it was drawn that “bending” majorly speaks of the ability to telekinetically control and master the element of one’s nation of birth. These nations are four in number which include Water, Earth, Fire, or Air.
In each of these nations, they are taught how to bend one of these elements as a discipline of martial arts. The Avatar is unique by being the only individual with the capability to command every element, which both Aang and Korra learn to do on their respective shows.
The Aang vs Korra Debate
The debate of who the stronger Avatar never stops. There is an argument that usually comes up when this topic comes into discussion. This is that Korra is the stronger Avatar between the two of them. Some attribute it to her being more naturally physical than Aang.
This argument is backed up by the fact that following Aang’s training to become skilled in every element but his native one of air, Korra was already well ahead of Aang in this side of Avatar training. In her very first scene on The Legend of Korra, the young Avatar was in complete control of three out of four of the elements while she was still a small child, with air being the only element Korra could not yet bend. This is because this is her natural opposite.
Just like any Avatar working with their direct opposite, Airbending proved to be a real challenge for Korra. When she was taken under the apprenticeship of Aang’s son, Tenzin, she experienced how almost impossible it was to master the element.
She was naturally hot-blooded which is the direct opposite of her predecessor, Avatar Aang. Airbending required a calm mind and a strong affinity for the spiritual arts. This is why Airbending monks spend years trying to detach themselves from the world and attain spiritual enlightenment. Despite her accomplishment, this is something she never truly excelled at compared to Avatar Aang.
Although Korra would come to master Airbending during her training with Tenzin. She also showed that she was much more prone to frustration and letting her temper get the best of her than Aang was.
At the same time, Aang grew up as a Southern Air Temple monk, and while not incapable of losing his own temper, he had the ability to keep his emotions in check that Korra lacked.
However, the deciding factor for this aspect lies in Aang and Korra’s proficiency with the spiritual component of being the Avatar. In this part, what Korra excelled at and why makes her the lesser of the two in this section of spirituality. Aang was unquestionably the better of the two. While she relies on brute force and strength, she failed in aspects where Avatar Aang excelled. Aang vs Korra debate becomes tied at one and one.
Regardless of what we say, becoming skilled with every element is an essential step when aiming to become a fully realized Avatar.
Understanding The Depths of The Avatar Role
The spiritual core of being the Avatar is where one’s power is truly based. Strengthening one’s spiritual core is what makes them truly powerful. This can also be fine-tuned by bending mastery amongst other things. With the Avatar, channeling the Spirit of Light, Raava, along with his or her past lives, Aang was gifted with a far greater understanding of this than Korra ever was.
This leads back to being spiritually enlightened as an Avatar which Korra never was. He recognized that this was the foundation of his being an Avatar than Korra did.
As earlier stated, this also goes back to Aang’s upbringing in the Southern Air Temple, which gave him an ideal basis to learn the ropes of being the Avatar. While “Bitter work” as Roku phrases it in terms of training is forty percent of the journey, the rest of the sixty percent strongly relies on an Avatar’s mastery of the spirit world.
What strongly disqualifies her for this category is that Korra was more likely than Aang to fall victim to being blinded by anger in difficult circumstances. She made a lot of mistakes this way due to her blind assumptions and anger. This would prove to be a challenge for her that went very close with her inability of mastering Airbending easily at first. This mastery and the strong affinity is the Avatar’s spiritual essence.
Also, due to the immense control Avatar Aang had on his spiritual side, he was much more adept. Aang was in his Avatar’s spirit’s strongest as we could see in his final battle with Fire Lord Ozai. He had undergone all the Chakra opening processes and could easily go in and out of the state, compared to Korra who entered the state a lot of the time by accident or when she was in grave danger.
Aang vs Korra: Who Gets The Upperhand?
Despite being in the Avatar State, driven by his countless past lives and fully preparing to slay Ozai, Aang nevertheless had the self-control to stop himself from doing so. This showed a level of mastery that was something to be admired.
It is no doubt that both Aang and Korra are very skilled as both Avatars and fighters. When we are discussing Avatar Korra, her stronger and better quality is having far more natural talent as a warrior than Aang.
However, while Aang took his time throughout Avatar: The Last Airbender to attain mastery with each element, he also had a better understanding of the spiritual nature of the Avatar as being its foundation than Korra did in The Legend of Korra. Seeing as the Avatar is solely fueled by mastery of their spiritual self, this fact alone makes Aang the more powerful one of the two Avatars.