Summary
In 2005,Avatar: The Last Airbenderpremiered on Nickelodeon, and it quickly became one of the network’s most popular animated shows. It may have been aimed toward kids, but the series explored mature subject matter that made it suitable for all ages. The series was so popular that it earned a sequel series and twolive-action adaptations.The franchise features many characters who can control/bend the elements.
The Air Nomads were a peaceful society, and they used airbending in their everyday lives. Airbending is the most dynamic of the four bending arts, and for the most part, it is used for defensive purposes. Air represents freedom, and to be a true airbender, one must detach themselves from the world’s problems and embrace both peace and freedom. Fans have met a few airbenders over the years, but some are stronger than others.
Updated May 31, 2025 by George Voutiritsas:The Air Nomadswere pacifists, but they would fight if there was no other choice. When airbenders did fight, they would typically blast their opponents with concentrated air blasts. Many airbenders were able to perform offensive and defensive maneuvers because they were skilled acrobats. With enough training, an airbender can create air shields to defend themselves. They could also produce powerful tornadoes.
Now that Netflix’s live-action adaptation of Avatar: The Last Airbender has been released, it seems like a good time to revisit some of the Avatar franchise’s strongest airbenders. Most fans know who the strongest airbenders are, but there are a few more characters who deserve to be recognized.
Alive
Logan Wells
Meelo is Aang’s oldest grandson, and he has displayed many skills despite being very young. He is a gifted acrobat who can levitate himself with an air spout, and he mastered the Air Scooter technique by the time he was five.
When the Equalists attacked Air Temple Island, Meelo was able to defeat six of them with powerful air blasts. He was also able to fight them off with his own flatulence. Up until now, Meelo is the only known airbender who can increase the effects of his flatulence with bending.
Darcy Rose Byrnes
Ikki is Aang’s youngest granddaughter. She may not be abending prodigylike Jinora, but she is still a proficient airbender. Ikki mastered the Air Scooter technique as well, but she was more proficient with it - to the point that she could outrun her siblings and Avatar Korra.
During the raid on Air Temple Island, Ikki was able to defeat multiple Equalists with her airbending. Ikki’s control over air currents was especially fine. She could concentrate her bending into a specialized horn - which she could play very well. Only a highly skilled airbender could play this type of horn in such a way.
Bumi is the eldest son ofAvatar Aang, and for most of his life, everyone believed that he was an ordinary human. Before his retirement, Bumi was a military commander who served the United Republic of Nations - a sovereign state that was founded by his father.
He became an Airbender shortly after the Harmonic Convergence, and his abilities first manifested when he was in danger. After just a few weeks of training, Bumi could produce air blasts at will. He was even able to outmaneuver a lavabending master like Ghazan.
Deceased
None
Laghima was an Air Nomad guru who lived more than 3,000 years ago, and he was first introduced inTheLegend of Korra’s third season. He was known for his poetry and philosophical views, and his writings were so influential that countless generations of Air Nomads studied them.
He was a talented airbender as well, and when he discovered the secret to weightlessness, he unlocked the ability of flight. Laghima spent the last 40 years of his life in the air, without ever once setting foot on the ground.
Alyson Stoner
The New Air Nation was born after the Harmonic Convergence caused a massive energy shift. This shift gave Opal and many others the ability to airbend. Opal is Suyin’s daughter and Toph’s granddaughter, which means that she comes from a family of talented earthbenders.
She may be a relatively new airbender, but she has shown considerable skill that some consider her to be a natural. Early on, she was able to create multiple air blasts, and she could produce surprisingly strong waves of air. As her skills improved, she was able to maintain a large defensive whirlwind by herself.
Skyler Brigmann
Before the Harmonic Convergence turned him into an airbender, Kai was an orphan and thief who lived in the Earth Kingdom capital of Ba Sing Se. He was saved by Tenzin, and he agreed to study airbending at the Northern Air Temple.
Kai had a unique style of combat airbending because he trained in martial arts before being orphaned. He was also briefly trained by the Dai Li. Thanks to Tenzin’s training, Kai can now perform precise airbending attacks, and he can use a glider to fly and attack at the same time. He can also produce an air shield that can withstand one of P’Li’s combustion blasts.
Kiernan Shipka
Jinora is Avatar Aang’s granddaughter and Tenzin’s eldest child. Other than being aloving older sisterto her three siblings, she is a talented airbender who earned her airbending tattoos when she was just 11 years old. This made her the first new airbending master in generations.
She was able to fend off the Equalists when they attacked Air Temple Island. Her airbending enhanced her fighting style, which relied on the element of surprise. Spiritual projection is anadvanced bending technique, and Jinora was able to use it by combining her spiritual energy with her bending. With it, she could phase through objects and travel large distances within seconds.
Imprisoned
Henry Rollins
As the leader of the Red Lotus, Zaheer is one oftheAvatarfranchise’s best villains. Some consider hisactions to be justifiedbecause he wished to bring true balance back to the world but to achieve this, he needed to dismantle the world’s governments and eliminate the Avatar.
He was imprisoned for 13 years for attempting to kidnap Korra when she was a child, but he broke out after the Harmonic Convergence turned him into an airbender. He may have been a self-taught bender, but he quickly mastered the art, to the point that he could fight Tenzin. He was also capable of flight, and he was able to take Korra to her limit while she was in the Avatar State.
J. K. Simmons
Tenzin is Aang’s youngest child, and when he was growing up, he was the only one of his siblings who could airbend. He was personally trained by his father and became the first new airbending master in over a century. He then trained his three children, as well as Avatar Korra.
Tenzin was a pacifist at heart, but he was a talented fighter nonetheless. He was the first person to land a direct hit on Amon, and he was able to fend off the Equalists. Even while restrained, Tenzin can produce powerful tornadoes. He is one ofThe Legend of Korra’s strongest characters, as evidenced by the fact that it took all four members of the Red Lotus to beat him.
Sab Shimono
Before the Hundred Year War, monk Gyatso was Aang’s guardian and mentor. When he was younger, he was friends with Avatar Roku. He was a member of the Council of Elders, making him one of the leaders of the Air Nomads, and he was considered to be the strongest airbender in the world at the time.
Fans never got to see Gyatso fight, but his strength and skill are quite evident. When the Fire Nation assaulted the Southern Air Temple, Gyatso was able to fight and kill several firebenders whose powers were all enhanced by Sozin’s Comet.
