Aang vs Korra: Who Would Win in an Avatar Fight?

Aang and Korra are on a very similar level but we still think that Aang, at his peak, would win. At his peak, Aang was a tad stronger than Korra at hers and that is why we think that Aang would win, although it would definitely be a close fight.

Speaking of Aang and Korra, there’s still a lot to be said. Throughout the rest of this article, we will look at their powers in more detail and see how the fight between Aang and Korra will play out.  

Aang and his powers

Aang is a fictional character and the protagonist of the animated series Avatar: The Last Airbender. Aang is a one-hundred-and-twelve-year-old monk (although he is effectively just 12 years old, because he spent a whole century frozen in ice) belonging to the nation of the Air Nomads.

As it turns out, he is also an Avatar, i.e., the only character with the power to dominate all the four elements (Air, Water, Earth, and Fire) and to stop the bloody war initiated by the Fire Nation.

Aang is an Airbender, meaning that he possesses the ability of bending Air as he pleases. He can generate currents, shock waves, air currents, and swirls by mentally controlling the wind and the air in the atmosphere around him. Being an Avatar, Aang has also managed to create some completely new Airbending techniques.

Thanks to the natural proneness and ingenuity with which he he has demonstrated his Airbending capabilities, Aang managed to become the youngest Airbender to obtain the rank of master, being only twelve years old at the time.

By taking advantage of his powers, he is also able to spin (not fly), parry falls, lift objects and run at wind speed. Since Aang was determined to be the Avatar, he was also able to control even Water, Earth, and Fire with time, being the only character capable of controlling all the elements. Being the Avatar, Aang can communicate with his past lives, from which he can ask for advice and guidance.

Thanks to a chance encounter, Aang also learned the ancient art of the domination of energy. With this power, Aang is able to control the spiritual energy itself that flows within an individual.

However, in order for Aang to remove a dominion, he must clash his own energy with that of his enemy, putting himself in jeopardy if his opponent’s spiritual strength proves more powerful, more “indomitable” than his is. This hasn’t happened that often, but is a realistic danger.

This ability, as always shown by Aang in The Legend of Korra, also allows you to restore dominion to someone who has lost it. Training at the Temple of the Air Nomads has made Aang a true expert in martial arts (Baguazhang style), which combined with superhuman agility make him a fearsome fighter.

Aang can make superhuman leaps, climb like a monkey and even run on walls. In combat Aang often uses a wooden stick, which accompanied by the domination of the air can help him generate tornadoes or deliver deadly blows; this stick can also be transformed into a glider, to which Aang clings and which, by exploiting the air currents, allows him to fly.

At the beginning of the third season, as too damaged, Aang burns what remains of it on a volcano, obtaining another during the siege of the Fire Nation on the day of the Black Sun.

Korra and her powers

Korra is a fictional character and the protagonist of the American animated series The Legend of Korra, created by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko. She is a 17-year-old girl from the Southern Water Tribe. She replaces Avatar Aang, who died at 166 (biologically 66) but was repeatedly featured in the series as a spirit to help her or her son Tenzin.

Korra is in impeccable physical shape and has acrobatic skills, proving to be able to simultaneously lift Tenzin and his children with relative ease. She has amazing speed which, combined with her agility and her reflexes, make her an expert fighter.

Her physical strength and stamina make her capable of swimming in large expanses of water for days or lifting and throwing larger opponents away. She can hit hard enough to break iron pipes or shatter large chunks of ice. Her dexterity and poise allow her to deftly dodge and easily jump long distances and over elevated obstacles.

She is quite flexible and able to bend and twist effectively to attack from different angles or in tight spaces. Korra is a natural Waterbender, an element that thanks to her status as Avatar she has learned to control very well from an early age even if her movements are not fluid and wide like those of most other Waterbenders but shorter and aimed at attack precisely.

Always from an early age, Korra has also been able to juggle the Domains of Earth and Fire. However, her materialistic mentality has delayed the fulfillment of some objectives several times in the series, such as the mastery of the Air Domain or the reconnection to the spiritual world.

She has never shown particular problems in controlling the Avatar State except after debilitating traumas such as mercury poisoning, immediately demonstrating mastery of this power, which Aang did not have, although she has not yet fully mastered it.

However, it should be noted that Korra was able to activate this power for the first time only after her Dominion was restored by Aang, binding, at that moment, also with her past lives. Always unlike Aang, Korra often uses all four elements (when available) to fight based on what she wants to do.

The Air domain for quick and/or sudden attacks, the Water one for attacking with blows, specifically to defend oneself, that of the Earth for disruptive attacks, while that of Fire for impetuous and ferocious attacks.

Korra also has the ability to heal thanks to Waterbending, an ability she has often used after Sports Domination encounters to soothe the blows received by Mako and Bolin. With the help of Lin Beifong, Korra is the first Avatar to learn the domain of Metal, and thanks to the connection with the spirit of Aang through the state of the avatar she is also able to use the domain of Energy.

Due to her albeit temporary separation from Raava and consequent loss of the bond with her previous lives, and therefore with Aang, Korra proves that she no longer knows how to control the spiritual energy of others.

However, especially in the third and fourth seasons, she still demonstrates to know how to dominate and control one’s own energy as well as that generated by spirits and that of the Spirit World itself.

Comparing the powers of Aang and Korra

Our second section will contain a comparison of the two characters’ powers. This section will be a direct comparison and not as much as a listing of their powers abilities, as we have done before, and is going to serve as a basis for our analysis in section three of our article. Now, let us begin.

Aang and Korra are two almost identical characters. They are both Avatars and therefore possess almost the same powers, with some layers between them as to how they control them and whatnot. But, when talking about them, we’re really talking about how they utilize the same powers more than anything.

In terms of their Avatar skills, both have been able to control all four elements without any problems. Aang was initially an Airbender while Korra was a Waterbender, yet both managed to dominate the three remaining elements. Aang also discovered how to bend Energy, a skill he taught to Korra, while Korra was able to master the control over Metal, something Aang never did.

Now, it’s relatively strange to talk about who the tougher one is, because they’re both so similar. Aang was a more elegant Avatar, while Korra’s technique was less fluid, but more powerful. Also, Korra seems to have mastered her abilities earlier and quicker than Aang, but, on the other hand, her dominion over Energy was never as proficient as Aang’s.

The fact remains that at his peak, Aang was a much stronger Avatar than Korra ever was. It’s not an enormous difference, really, but Korra was never able to reach Aang’s level, despite being enormously powerful. This is why we’d give this point to Aang, although it was a very, very close call.

As for their fighting and martial arts skills, their approach was likewise different. Aang was a true artist. He had elegance and he combined his powers with his skills as much as he could. He was never a fighter in the true sense of the word, but he used his artistry to get the job done and he did it properly.

Korra, on the other hand, is a true fighter. What she lacked in elegance, she replaced with sheer power. She was exceptionally tough and it made her a truly formidable foe, especially if you take into consideration the fact that she is an Avatar. On top of that, she has immense durability and almost never succumbs to her opponents.

Aang’s biggest “flaw” in this aspect was his lack of brute strength, something Korra always had, but she also had a big problem – her temperament. She was a very emotional person and would have trouble controlling herself, which also made her quite vulnerable. Aang, on the other hand, was able to approach almost any challenge calmly and rationally.

So, who takes the points here? We’d give them to Korra in this case but as it was the case with the previous category, the difference between them isn’t really that large, so it was a very close call.

Ultimately, Aang and Korra, however similar they might be, are two very different personalities. Aang is a Wiseman, a true monk that will sit atop a mountain and share his wisdom and knowledge with others; he seems weak, but he is actually very powerful because of his wisdom.

Korra is a fighter. Korra is a natural-born leader and she has a completely different approach to life and whatnot than Aang. She is a practical person, albeit not superficial; her backstory, especially her LGBT background, made her one of the best characters in recent years.

It all comes down to the approach and preferences, ultimately. While there are some details that shift the scales to one side or the other, there is absolutely no straightforward winner here, which is why we’ll have to elaborate on our verdict in more detail.

Aang vs Korra: Who would win?

And now for the most important and interesting section of our article – the analysis. Here, we are going to use what we have found out about these two characters and analyze how all these facts would (or would not) help them in a fight against each other. Let us continue.

Everything written so far has led us to the conclusion that there would be no clear winner in this fight. And while that might be partially true, we still think that there is one detail that can help us determine the winner in this clash.

Namely, Aang and Korra are two different personalities. Where Korra aims to be more powerful, Aang aims to understand things. Sure, brawns can beat brains if the difference is large, but the difference in power between the two was never that big. This is where Aang’s wisdom comes in.

Namely, Aang was, as we said, more powerful at his peak than Korra was at hers. Aang’s profound understanding of the elements, as well as other powers that come from being an Avatar gave him an advantage Korra never had. Korra was powerful, but she was never a sage.

She was a fighter, but in this scenario, we think that brains triumph over brawns and that Aang would be able to come up with a way to defeat Korra in battle. This is a very close call and we’re aware that not everyone will agree, but this is our line of thinking and the reason why we’re giving this one to Aang.