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The world of Avataris split into four nations, and each nation specializes in a form of elemental bending. Firebending is the only bending art that allows the user to generate the element from nothing, and it is known for its aggressive and intense fighting style. Fans of the franchise have seen a number of firebenders, but some are far stronger than others.
Updated December 3, 2022 by George Voutiritsas: Avatar: The Last Airbender continues to have a loyal following despite Aang’s story ending more than a decade ago, and The Legend of Korra did a good job of expanding the lore. Both series featured a good amount of action, and many of the fights involved firebenders. Fire is the most dangerous of the four elements, and firebending masters can use it to deal a lot of damage.
Fans of the franchise have seen a number of powerful and skilled firebenders, and most of them were shown to be quite formidable in battle. If most fans were asked to name the strongest firebenders, many of them would likely give the same names, but there are other firebenders who deserve to be mentioned as well.
15 Mako
Mako was a fairly skilled firebender, but most Avatar fans will remember him for being Korra and Asami’s former boyfriend. He and his younger brother grew up as orphans in Republic City, where he came in contact with a criminal organization before becoming a Pro-bender.
Mako specialized in a more modern form of firebending, especially during combat, but he was well-versed in the traditional style as well. He was known for using defensive weaving and dodging patterns, which he then followed up with offensive flurries. He was also able to create and redirect lightning.
14 Admiral Zhao
Admiral Zhao was the first real villain that Avatar Aang dealt with, and he was nearly responsible for the complete destruction of the Northern Water Tribe. During his invasion, he managed to get to the Moon Spirit, and he was able to kill it with his firebending.
He was trained by Jeong Jeong, and he went on to become one of the Fire Nation’s strongest fighters. Contrary to Jeong Jeong’s teachings, Zhao focused on the destructive side of firebending, which allowed him to develop powerful moves, and he was proficient in defense.
13 Zolt
The Triple Threat Triad was a criminal organization in Republic City that was known for committing crimes against non-benders. Zolt was the organization’s leader, and he was known for being a very skilled firebender. Lightning bending is an extremely powerful specialized form of firebending, and Zolt mastered it.
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His nickname was “Lightning Bolt” Zolt, and he was the one who taught Lightning bending to Mako. He was one of the only firebenders who could rapidly generate lightning in consecutive bursts, and he could switch between fire and lighting effortlessly.
12 Combustion Man
Combustion Man was the nickname given to the firebending assassin and bounty hunter that Prince Zuko hired. He was supposed to kill Avatar Aang, and he nearly succeeded thanks to his combustion-bending abilities. This is a telekinetic form of firebending which produces powerful explosive beams of energy from the user’s forehead.
The intricate third-eye tattoo is what allowed him to channel his chi into his forehead, and unlike normal firebending, all he needed to do was inhale and concentrate on a target. His blasts could disintegrate large boulders with ease, and he could singlehandedly evaporate large bodies of water.
11 P’Li
P’Li was a member of the Red Lotus, a militant group that wished to bring balance to the world by eliminating the Avatar and all of the world’s governments. She and her friends attempted to kidnap Avatar Korra, but they were thwarted, and she was imprisoned at the North Pole for 13 years.
Other than Combustion Man, she is the only known firebender who is capable of combustion bending, and she uses the same third-eye tattoo. She could fire multiple shots in quick succession, and unlike Combustion Man, she could curve her blasts to hit her target from different angles and directions.
10 Zuko
Zuko was permanently scarred and banished by his father, and he hunted the Avatar in hopes of regaining his honor as Crown Prince of the Fire Nation. He started off as an enemy of Team Avatar, but after seeing the error of his ways, he joins the team and becomes Aang’s firebending teacher.
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It took time, but Zuko became a firebending master. He could redirect lightning, but in terms of actual combat, he was not as skilled as his younger sister, in fact, he was only able to defeat her with help from Katara and her water abilities. In The Legend of Korra, he is in his late 80s, but he is still a capable fighter.
9 Jeong Jeong
Jeong Jeong was a firebending master and prodigy who preferred to use his bending for defensive purposes. He was an honored Fire Nation admiral, but he defected from the military after realizing what his nation and bending were doing to the world.
He was able to fend off Admiral Zhao and his men when they came for Aang, and he helped to liberate Ba Sing Se by creating immense walls of flames. He was Aang’s first firebending master, but things did not go well because Aang lacked discipline at the time. That being said, Jeong Jeong proved to be a good teacher.
8 Fire Lord Azulon
Fire Lord Azulon ruled for most of the Hundred Year War, and he was Zuko and Azula’s paternal grandfather. He was 95 when he was assassinated, but he was still powerful despite his advanced age. In fact, his killers needed to resort to poison instead of fighting him outright.
Azulon was a firebending prodigy, but he was also a master strategist. He was directly responsible for the Southern Water Tribe’s near annihilation. He also led his forces to victory in the Earth Kingdom by conquering Garsai and the Hu Xin Provinces.
7 Fire Lord Sozin
When he was younger, Sozin was best friends with Avatar Roku, but when he became Fire Lord, he thought about expanding the Fire Nation so that it could encompass the entire world. He often sparred with Roku when they were younger, and he would go on to become a powerful firebending master
When Roku ordered him to stay out of Earth Kingdom territory, he unleashed a powerful attack, but Roku was able to overcome this thanks to the Avatar State and his mastery of all four elements. When the volcano on Roku’s Island erupted, Sozin was able to absorb and redirect the heat, which is something even Roku could not do.
6 Azula
Azula was a Fire Nation Princess and Zuko’s younger sister, and to this day she is the only firebender capable of producing blue blames. She was a true prodigy, and during her time, she was considered to be one of the strongest and most skilled firebenders alive.
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She was capable of using lightning, an advanced form of firebending, and she used it to critically injure Aang while he was in the Avatar State. Unlike most firebenders, she could fight for long periods of time without tiring. She could even use fire to propel herself through the air like a jet.
5 Iroh
Iroh was a Fire Nation General and the Crown Prince, but he lost the will to fight in the Hundred Year War after his only son died on the front lines. His younger brother then usurped the throne. He was able to breathe fire like a dragon, which was seen as an advanced skill, and he is the one who invented the lightning redirection technique.
Unlike other members of his family, Iroh believed in a balance between the four elements, and he incorporated aspects of each bending style into his own. When Sozin’s Comet came, his true strength was revealed when he was able to break through the impregnable inner wall of Ba Sing Se.
4 Fire Lord Ozai
Ozai was Zuko and Azula’s father, and Iroh’s younger brother, and he is arguably the franchise’s best villain. Like other Fire Lords, he was a firebending master, and at the time of his rule, he was considered to be the world’s strongest firebender.
It was believed that only the Avatar was strong enough to actually beat Ozai in combat, but Aang was only able to do it after successfully reentering the Avatar State. Prior to that, Ozai overpowered Aang with relative ease and nearly killed him.
3 Avatar Wan
Wan was the original Avatar, but he technically started out as a firebender because he was originally given the bending art by an Island Turtle who unlocked it through Energybending. He honed his skills by training with a dragon, and he eventually became the first human firebending master.
When he fused with Rava during the Harmonic Convergence, he could use all four elements at once, but firebending was still his preferred form of bending. Wan is responsible for developing high-level firebending techniques like jet propulsion and flame deflection.
2 Avatar Szeto
Szeto was the firebending Avatar before Roku, and he spent the majority of his life helping the Fire Nation. As the Avatar, his job was to maintain peace throughout the world, but he was born during a time when the Fire Nation dealt with multiple plagues, natural disasters, and civil unrest.
Instead of using force to set his Nation on the right path, Szeto chose to become a minister and a diplomat instead, and he was able to lead the Fire Nation back to a form of prosperity. As the Avatar, and a natural-born firebender, Szeto was the strongest and most skilled firebender of his time
1 Avatar Roku
The franchise’s strongest firebender was not a Fire Lord or a member of the royal family. He was much more than a firebender. Avatar Roku was the Avatar before Aang, and if he had survived the volcanic eruption on his island, he would have stopped the Hundred Year War before it even started.
As a fully-realized Avatar, Roku was a master of every element, including fire. He was so skilled with firebending, that he used it to calm the lava flow of the volcano. The Avatar is meant to be the strongest being in the world, and Roku is the only Avatar from the Fire Nation that fans actually got to meet.
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