r/AvatarMemes • u/shneed_my_weiss • May 04 '24

General We have to be better

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“Korra is a Mary Sue who they made too strong of a bender”

“Then can she win against Aang?”

“No.”

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u/ValitoryBank May 05 '24

The avatar/ avatar states power is based on culmination of knowledge and experience. It’s what makes them the peak of bending. Korra’s not beating the avatar who has 1000+ years of bending experience/ knowledge when she has none.

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u/ASpaceOstrich May 05 '24

But she does have thousands of years of knowledge. That's what generational progress ultimately is. And in fact, the last hundred years is the most people have ever improved. You seem to think the avatar states power comes from knowledge. It does not. It comes from Raava.

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u/ValitoryBank May 05 '24

Raava enables the reincarnation of knowledge but the transfer of knowledge is the power. It’s clearly shown in the entire series. I’ll give you a example:

In the Episode: “The Avatar State”

Fong forces Aang into the avatar state by threatening to kill Katara. Aang once in the avatar state is shown to be capable of earthbending despite never earth bending before. That’s cause this is use of the avatar states pool of knowledge.

TLOK

In the legend of Korra at the end of Korra volume 1 she achieves the avatar state and we see a feat that reflects this. However, after losing Raava and more importantly the avatar cycle, Korra’s use of the state never comes close in terms of technique and bending ability. Sure it’s bigger but she’s still using nothing but her own skill and most of her own skill boils down to boxing bending. She hasn’t nothing to draw on but what the current era has taught her. But she’s 16. She doesn’t have 1000 years of avatar bending techniques in her head.

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u/ASpaceOstrich May 05 '24

The avatar state retains its monstrous power without the past lives. More importantly than that though, korra is a better bender than previous avatars by virtue of being born in a time where bending is better. The Earth avatar after her will be better again. That's just how things workm

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u/ValitoryBank May 05 '24

The monstrous power doesn’t mean much when the technique is what made it powerful. It’s why she continues to lose against people despite being in the avatar state.

By your logic I’m a better basketball player then Michael Jordan by virtue of being born in a different time of basketball. We both know that’s ridiculous cause just like bending, basketball is a thing based on skill. Now Korra does have access to the newest techniques but that doesn’t make her better as having access isn’t the same as knowing.

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u/ASpaceOstrich May 05 '24

No. She can lose in the avatar state because she personally does not like the avatar state (exactly the same way aang feared it) and people are way way better at bending in her time. You put her in Aangs time period and she stomps, because the random street criminals she fought in episode 1 are better than most benders during the hundred years war.

And no, Michael Jordan isn't long enough ago. The time period of Republic city is a massive leap forward in progress, while the hundred years war was a regression in many ways.

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u/ValitoryBank May 05 '24

Disliking it isn’t a reason to lose in it. Considering toph is capable of taking down Kuvira despite her age it’s pretty clearly bs that Korra is all that much better. She’s above average as a bender and just does mediocrely better in the past cause of it.

Korra is 17 when we first meet her. That means 17 years after Aang died. Michael Jordan as an example is actually older in comparison to the time difference of Aang dying and Korra being born.

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u/ASpaceOstrich May 05 '24

Michael Jordan didn't live through the greatest advancement in his sport of all time. And more importantly you aren't a basketballer.

To be clear. Every villain in Korra could have wiped the floor with Aang and Ozai. That's just how forward progress works. Nobody ever thinks a medieval Knight would lose to the same Knight with worse techniques, nutrition, and equipment. But they do make that argument here.

The next generation is usually better than the previous unless something has gone horribly wrong.