With more recent casting news and new story information revealed for the Netflix adaptation of Avatar: The Last Airbender, fans are more eager than ever to see their favorite characters brought to life by a live-action cast. From Fire Nation royalty to Earth Kingdom warriors, Avatar is highly complimented for its well-rounded, lovable cast of characters.
Characters of Avatar are known for significant depth in their personalities, abilities, and actions. Fans highly anticipate how the Netflix adaptation can emphasize and recreate some of the most significant displays of power from Avatar - but which characters are considered the most powerful, and why? Fans on Ranker have voted and narrowed down ten of the most powerful individuals in the series.
Note: Ranker lists are live and continue to accrue votes, so some rankings may have changed after this publishing.
Ozai
Fire Lord Ozai is well known to fans as the main antagonist of the series. Although he was not seen as an integral part of the story until the third season, Ozai did an exceptional job as a villain.
Ozai is a character that needed very little introduction for viewers to understand his level of power. Capable of advanced firebending techniques, such as lightning redirection, as well as amplified power due to Sozin's comet, Ozai was Aang's toughest opponent to overcome in the final battle. Ozai was not only a powerful firebender, but also an incredibly powerful individual in status and personality. As Fire Lord, Ozai's reign was cruel and harsh - even going as far as permanently scarring his son, Zuko, in an Agni Kai, before banishing him from the Fire Nation.
Monk Gyatso
Gyatso was introduced to viewers as Aang's father figure and ex-mentor in the years before Aang was frozen. Gyatso was a wise and powerful airbender of the Southern Air Temple, and according to Aang, he was the greatest airbender in the world during his time.
Gyatso was unfortunately one of the many slain during the mass genocide of the Air Nomads at the hand of Fire Lord Sozin's invasion. Though Gyatso lost his life in battle, it was revealed that he managed to single-handedly take out dozens of the power-enhanced Fire Nation soldiers during his final moments. Gyatso may have been a calm, peaceful teacher to Aang, but his true power was undeniable.
Zuko
Zuko is a character that has always made a powerful impact throughout the series. As Prince of the Fire Nation's Royal Family and son to Ozai, Zuko's firebending skills are among the best, and this was evident from his debut fight against Aang.
The unique aspect of Zuko was his journey from an antagonist to a protagonist. As Zuko began to take charge of his own life and identity, becoming a stronger person - his physical powers would grow alongside him. During a confrontation with Fire Lord Ozai, Zuko demonstrates his new level of power by absorbing and redirecting the vicious lightning attack thrown at him, and more impressively defeats his sister Azula during the emotional final Agni Kai.
Katara
Katara is a core member of Team Avatar who originates from the Southern Water Tribe alongside her brother, Sokka. Katara is a strong character with impressive waterbending skills that were, for the most part, self-taught. Katara first began to make a significant display of talent when she impressed master Pakku with her skills, and changed his traditionalist views and skewed opinions on female waterbenders.
Katara was able to design and execute many offensive attacks, and was also capable of healing her comrades and provided medical assistance with her waterbending. However, Katara's greatest display of power was when she mastered the technique of bloodbending under the influence of a full moon. Although she refrains from using this technique due to moral obligation, this was more than enough to emphasize her high degree of skill to viewers.
King Bumi
King Bumi is the elderly king of Omashu, who was also a close childhood friend of Avatar Aang, and is considered one of the most underrated characters in ATLA. Though Bumi was introduced to viewers with a very wacky and eccentric personality, many questioning his power - he was quick to prove his exceptional strength as an earthbending master.
Despite his old age, Bumi was revealed to have maintained a muscular physique and executed extremely technical earthbending abilities, involving turning dirt into quicksand, levitating entire houses and large boulders, and propelling himself into the air for mobility. Most impressively, King Bumi was able to earthbend while restrained by using only his facial muscles, and single-handedly took back the captured city of Omashu.
Azula
As the younger sister of Zuko and Princess of the Fire Nation, Azula was recognized for her talents at a young age and hand-trained to become the perfect heir to Ozai's throne. Azula's physical strength outweighed her opponents for most of the series, and this was demonstrated when Azula's lightning strike nearly killed Aang during a transformation into the Avatar State.
Azula was not only a formidable foe in of combat, but also a threat due to her dangerously powerful intellect. Azula managed to infiltrate the Earth Kingdom capital of Ba Sing Se, take control of the Dai Li, and orchestrate a coup of the 52nd Earth King - all as a young teenager. Unfortunately for Azula, her brute strength and exceptional combat techniques could not outweigh the unresolved emotional issues and psychological state that she was so clearly struggling with by the end of the finale.
Avatar Kyoshi
Avatar Kiyoshi is one of the most popular side characters in the Avatar franchise. She was not only an important mentor to Aang, but was perhaps one of the most powerful and independent Avatars in history.
Kiyoshi was an incredibly talented fighter who had no trouble killing her enemies to maintain peace. Kiyoshi prevented the reawakening of the Yellow Neck Uprising, stopped Fire Lord Zoryu from slaughtering the Saowon Clan, defeated Chin the Conqueror, and prevented an attempted overthrow of the Earth Kingdom. Kiyoshi was also capable of controlling the Avatar State at age 16, which she used to separate her home peninsula from the Earth Kingdom and push to sea. This created Kiyoshi Island, where she founded the Kiyoshi Warriors to help keep her homeland safe. It comes as no surprise that Avatar fans are always eager for more Kiyoshi.
Iroh
Iroh is well-known as the elderly, spiritual uncle to Zuko and Azula, but during his early adulthood, Iroh was a Fire Nation General responsible for many victorious battles during the Hundred Year War. One of Iroh's most powerful moments was when he breached Bai Sing Se's Outer Wall during the Siege of the city. Sadly, this Siege also ended in the death of Iroh's son, and led to Iroh taking a pacifistic and peaceful route for the rest of his life.
Though a proponent of peace, Iroh was victorious in many small fights throughout the series. His most significant display of power was when he used his intelligence to act weak and senile during his time being held prisoner within the Fire Nation, secretly buffing and maximizing his strength. Iroh would later defeat the prison guards and escape captivity, showing such a display of power that one of the surviving guards referred to him as a 'one-man army'.
Aang
As the Avatar, Aang possessed many skills between the four forms of bending, and even combined these skills with his allies for powerful attacks during many impressive fight scenes against the Fire Nation. Aang was capable of extreme power when within the Avatar State, though this was often fueled by his own intensified emotions and rage.
Aang was the hero of the show, who in the end defeated Fire Lord Ozai and removed his bending abilities so he could never harm someone again. After Ozai's defeat, Aang managed to restore a sense of balance and peace between the four nations that would not have been possible if he had not had the strength to defeat the Fire Lord.
Toph
Toph Beifong is one of the main characters in the series and has been regarded as one of the strongest female characters in ATLA. Though born blind, Toph's incredible earthbending skills allow her to identify her surroundings by feeling vibrations in the ground with her feet.
Toph was able to emerge victorious from numerous underground tournaments against fully grown adults, despite only being a child. However, Toph's most impressive moment of power was when she singlehandedly invented metalbending by bending and manipulating the metal of a cage she was being held in - similar to how she would manipulate the earth.