Top 10 Most Epic Bending Moments in The Legend of Korra

Zaheer proves to be a formidable foe for Korra in the show’s third season. And by using the Airbenders as bait, he manages to lure her into a trap. But the Avatar isn’t known for giving up easily. Korra gives it her all despite being bound in chains, sending blasts of fire and earth flying towards the villain. But the fight reaches its peak when Korra’s father Tonraq joins the fray. We’ve seen them both fight before, but this is their first on-screen team up. Tonraq’s water tendrils and Korra’s earth fissures seem a good match against Zaheer. That is, until Tonraq runs out of water.

Throughout the show’s first season, Korra struggles with the spiritual side of being the Avatar. Luckily, she still has Aang to help her through it. Following Amon’s defeat, Korra feels lost with most of her bending taken away. But with some advice from a past life, Korra unlocks the Avatar State and regains access to her three missing elements. It’s a stunning moment, accompanied by gorgeous animation and a swelling score that honestly gives us goosebumps. And for a bonus piece of epic, Korra also learns energybending. Which she then uses to give Lin Beifong her earthbending back.

Before Amon can be defeated, Korra needs to uncover his secret. Through meditation, Korra taps into memories of her past life, Aang. She saw how he stopped Yakone, a crime lord who once terrorized Republic City. Yakone was an exceedingly rare type of Waterbender, able to bloodbend multiple people at once without the need of a Full Moon. We’ve seen this powerful skill in “Avatar,” but it’s even more horrific here. The twisted forms of the helpless citizens make for one of the darker moments of the show up to that point. Luckily, Aang was able to put a stop to Yakone for good. And we’ll never get tired of seeing him take away the bending of someone who violently misuses it.

Bolin is always more of the comedic relief character, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t an incredibly talented bender. During the attack on Air Temple Island, Red Lotus member Ghazan traps Bolin, Mako, Asami, and an injured Tenzin behind a floor of lava. Bolin does his best to earthbend them a path to safety, but the lava keeps closing in on them. With nowhere left to run, Bolin steps in front of his friends and uses lavabending for the first time. It’s a truly heroic moment that is preceded by an arc of never being able to metalbend. And considering lavabending is even rarer, we were all beaming with pride for Bolin.

Although President Raiko gives in to Kuvira’s demands, there’s no way Team Avatar is going to let the dictator take Republic City. Nearly every ally plays an important role in bringing the giant mecha down. From the team of airbenders who blind and batter it to Bolin’s lava trap to Korra bending an entire river and freezing it in place. Also, although she has minions inside to help her, Kuvira is still bending a giant, platinum-armored mecha, which is extremely impressive. But through some excellent teamwork, and a heroic sacrifice by Hiroshi, the Team is able to get in and sabotage it from the inside.

Bolin isn’t the only one to learn a new skill in this intense Season 3 episode. Throughout the season, it seems like Zaheer is always one step ahead of Team Avatar. Though there’s no way they could have seen this coming. After witnessing the death of his love P’li at the hands of Suyin, Zaheer is able to untether himself from all earthly desires and gain flight. It calls back to his obsession over Guru Laghima’s teachings, an Air Nomad who learned to fly thousands of years ago. While plenty of Airbenders have used tools like gliders to fly, actual flight is incredibly rare. And it just shows how gifted Zaheer is despite having only recently gained his bending abilities.

The show’s second season gives fans a healthy helping of lore by telling the story of the very first Avatar. But Wan definitely doesn’t have an easy go of it. After accidentally freeing Vaatu, a spirit of darkness and chaos, Wan teams up with Raava, the spirit of light and peace. In order to stop Vaatu from destroying the human and spirit worlds, Wan and Raava fuse together, becoming the first in the Avatar line. It’s a historic moment, backed by fantastic animation unique to the duo of episodes. And seeing Wan use a bending style similar to Aang’s while he’s in the Avatar State is the cherry on top.

The show’s finale has plenty of stand-out moments from Korra and Kuvira’s confined duel to the confirmation of ‘Korrasami.’ But the moment of pure bending epicness came when Korra saves the villain’s life. Following the destruction of the mecha, Korra chases Kuvira into some nearby woods. But with the mecha’s spirit vine-powered cannon on the fritz, it looks like Kuvira’s final moments. However, Korra goes into the Avatar State and uses energybending to deflect the beam. Not only is it remarkable considering the beam’s immense power, but it also creates a new spirit portal in the heart of Republic City. It’s a beautiful scene that showcases Korra’s awe-inspiring strength.

We really didn’t think Korra was going to win this one. In the penultimate episode of Season 2, Unalaq fuses with Vaatu to become a Dark Avatar. He also tragically severes Korra’s connection to her past lives by destroying Raava. It looks pretty dire, but that also makes what happens next extremely triumphant. While meditating, Korra connects with her inner spirit and taps into the energy of the world, creating a giant astral projection of herself. What follows is an awesome fight of two titans clashing into one another. Jinora’s appearance to bring Raava back is especially nice. However, it’s Korra’s use of her Uncle’s spiritbending technique to win that’s the most poetic.

Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.

Jinora’s Spirit Projection, Various
Aang Would Be So Proud

The Beifong Family vs. Kuvira’s Army, “Operation Beifong”
Metalbending At Its Finest

Mako & Bolin vs. Ming-Hua & Ghazan, “Venom of the Red Lotus”
Not Too Shabby for the Fire Ferret Brothers

Korra & Lin vs. Chi Blockers, “And The Winner Is…”
Korra & Lin Finally Start Working Together

Tenzin vs. Zaheer, “The Ultimatum”
Aang’s Peaceful Son Gets Aggressive

After managing to kidnap Korra, the members of the Red Lotus poison her in an attempt to bring out the Avatar State and end the line for good. But they don’t restrain her nearly well enough. In an enormous feat of strength, Korra is able to break free. And the ensuing fight with Zaheer is climactic in every sense of the word. Despite being poisoned with mercury, Korra uses firebending to fly, hurl massive chunks of earth towards Zaheer, and keep getting up no matter how hard she falls. It’s all Zaheer can do to not get caught in her rampage. And when the poison takes its toll, Korra’s Airbending allies are there with a massive tornado assist.