Avatar: The 10 Oldest Benders In The Franchise

Avatar: The Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra tell epic tales of benders and their abilities. Some of the oldest ones are still very powerful!

You Are Reading :Avatar The 10 Oldest Benders In The Franchise

More often than not, young benders like Aang, Katara, Toph, and Korra have to step up to plate to put an end to the conflicts threatening their world, but without the help of their elder allies, they would all be lost. Throughout both Avatar: The Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra, there have been a number of powerful benders that, despite being at an age where they most likely dream of a nice retirement somewhere on Ember Island, have demonstrated their infinite wisdom and innovative spirits that have made them just as much an asset as their younger counterparts. These benders are not only some of the most powerful in the series, but they’ve all passed something onto the next generation, whether it be a complex technique or a powerful mantra.

In this list, we’ll be paying our respects to benders that we first saw in their respective series who were already at a ripe old age. This means that characters like Toph, Zuko, and Katara, who made appearances in The Legend of Korra, won’t be included in this list, since they were first introduced in Avatar: The Last Airbender as wrinkle-free teenagers.

10 Tenzin (55)

Tenzin is one of the youngest old benders out there. He’s able to utilize Airbending in a more offensive manner than his father did in Avatar: The Last Airbender, given the fact that he lives in a time rife with conflict. Since he doesn’t possess the flexibility awarded to a younger Airbender, it’s impossible for him to twist his body and leap around every direction during battles.

Nevertheless, Tenzin embodies the values of the old Airbending masters of Aang’s time. Despite nearing his father’s age, he’s proved that he can keep up with younger bender while still having energy to spare, even giving Zaheer a challenge, despite the latter’s age advantage.

9 Kya (58)

Despite pushing 60, Aang’s second child hasn’t shown a single wrinkle. While she did possess her mother’s powerful healing techniques, her battle skills weren’t anything to write home about.

She couldn’t keep up with Zaheer or Ming Hua, potentially a sign that her age was catching up with her, which, as Tenzin implied, might have been one of the reasons she finally decided to settle down in the South Pole instead of traveling the world like she’d done for most of her life.

8 Iroh (Late 50s To Early 60s)

While Uncle Iroh’s age hasn’t been stated explicitly, it’s clear that by the end of Avatar, he’s still got a few more years left before he’s walking around with a cane. With his hair completely gray, it’s safe to say that he’s getting closer to that age where he can legally be considered a senior citizen, but he’s not quite there yet.

Iroh has lived a full life, having spent years as another run of the mill Fire Nation general, before turning his life around after the death of his son. He spent many years traveling the world, observing countless cultures. He even invented his own lightning redirection technique after incorporating the movements of Waterbenders into his own Firebending, a skill that only someone who had the privilege of traveling the world for many years could ever hope to develop.

7 Roku (60)

It’s almost ironic that Roku served as Aang’s spiritual mentor for a large part of his youth, and yet Aang managed to outlive Roku by a few years. When fans first met Roku, his flowing white hair spoke volumes to his wisdom and experience, and he would’ve undoubtedly lived more years had it not been for his untimely death at the hands of a volcano.

Roku possessed a level of control only possible in a Firebender who’d been practicing for decades; in “The Winter Solstice: Part 2”, he famously used his Firebending to melt the chains binding Sokka, Katara, Zuko, and the Fire Sage Shyu, without burning any of them. Even younger Avatars like Aang and Korra lack the experience to pull off such a complex technique.

6 Jeong Jeong (61)

At first glance, Jeong Jeong embodied the typical old man: he was cranky, stubborn, and rude, but he also possessed a depth of knowledge that came with age and meditation.

He understood the true nature of fire, as well as the other elements, which was why he remained hesitant to teach Firebending to Aang before the young Avatar mastered Earthbending and Waterbending. Even without Sozin’s Comet, he was one of the strongest Firebenders out there, able to generate huge walls of fire with ease and hover in midair using jets of flame that only Ozai showed the capacity to do.

5 Bumi (63)

Bumi is the only person on this list who wasn’t born a bender, although it’s quite a coincidence that Aang’s oldest son became an Airbender after all. When Bumi first used Airbending, he was 60, so it was almost comical to see someone who’d normally be an Airbending master struggle with the basics.

In Book 4, years of training had made him a competent Airbender, and he was able to glide around without any mishaps. His experiences as a military commander definitely gave him a level of resourcefulness that saved his life during his fight with Ghazan, despite Ghazan being an Earthbending prodigy and Bumi remaining an Airbending novice. Though he’s nearing his father’s age, he still has a long way to go before he can ever hope to rock those signature blue tattoos.

4 Monk Gyatso (~70)

Monk Gyatso’s age has never been specified, but given the fact that he and Roku studied Airbending in the same cohort, they’re more likely to be the same age, and since Monk Gyatso went on to live another decade after Roku’s death, he’s most likely in his 70s.

When Aang discovered his skeleton, it was surrounded by empty suits of Fire Nation soldier armor, meaning that Monk Gyatso didn’t just roll over and die like someone his age might be expected to. Instead, he went down fighting like the young Airbender he was at heart.

3 Pakku (~80)

Pakku’s age isn’t specified, but since Kanna, Katara and Sokka’s 80-year-old grandmother, was his bride-to-be, it’s safe to say that he’s somewhere near her age. Like Jeong Jeong, Pakku embraced the grumpy grandpa attitude, but the precision in his style speaks to how long he’s practiced Waterbending.

Despite being so old, he possessed the reflexes needed to keep up with Katara during their fight, but the fact that he remained so hesitant to teach her in the first place speaks to the fact that he is only a product of an older, more biased time.

2 Hama (~80)

Hama’s age isn’t specified, but it was revealed that she was a good friend of Kanna’s, meaning that she’s at least 80 years of age. After being captured during a Fire Nation raid on the Southern Water Tribe, she developed Bloodbending, and lived the rest of her days in the Fire Nation where she proceeded to use her powers to torment innocent civilians.

Though Bloodbending is a dark, twisted technique, Hama would’ve died in captivity had she not had the mind to even attempt to manipulate the water inside of other living things. She was merely a byproduct of the Fire Nation’s tyranny, and would’ve been an otherwise virtuous Waterbending master like Pakku had she not been stolen from her home.

1 King Bumi (112)

Watching Bumi in action is always a bit anxiety-inducing; with the knowledge that he was over a century old, he was more likely than any other bender in the series to break a bone or suffer from a heart attack in battle, and yet Bumi’s proven himself to be one of the strongest Earthbenders in the franchise, with many fans debating whether or not Toph would even be able to beat him.

He’s so powerful that he took Omashu back from the Fire Nation all by himself, not to mention that despite his often sporadic, unpredictable behavior, he understands what it means to be patient, which is why he’s never acted as rash as some of the younger Earthbenders in the franchise.

Link Source : https://screenrant.com/avatar-oldest-benders-franchise/