The first episode of The Legend of Korra was released on April 14, 2012, a little over 7 years from when Avatar the Last Airbender was first released. Unlike its predecessor, The Legend of Korra was not about freeing the world from the Fire Nation or any specific overarching bad guy. In fact, The Legend of Korra (other than Korra’s own narrative) had no overarching conflict.
The Legend of Korra is separated into four books, each with their own main antagonist: Amon, Unalaq, Zaheer, and then Kuvira. In the fourth book, however, it is arguable that Korra’s true enemy was herself. Each of these enemies had a truth that could be found within Korra herself, letting the Avatar grow and mature with her battles and enemies.
Differentiating itself even more from Avatar the Last Airbender, the characters in the Legend of Korra are much more equal in their bending prowess. The gap between one bender and another among the re-occurring characters tend to be near negligible. There are, of course, characters which are obviously stronger than others, but others not so much. Mako and Bolin, for example, are relatively equal in power and thus are only separated by their potential or alternative areas of strength.
So, with that lead-in, here are 20 Legend of Korra Characters Officially Ranked!
20. Ikki
Tenzin’s youngest daughter, Ikki is quite the active child. Not as much so as Meelo but she certainly has her ups and downs. She is, however, shown to be constantly getting picked on by her siblings. After Harmonic Convergence, she runs away to go hang out with some of her spirit friends because she can’t stand being with Meelo and Jinora.
While Ikki’s character is fun loving, determined, and always trying to be full of joy, her strength was never depicted as being anything more than average. Ikki’s abilities tended to lay elsewhere, away from combat.
19. Bumi
Commander of the United Force’s Second Division, Bumi’s strength was more in strategy and leadership than it was in straight fisticuffs. As a non-bender as well, Bumi was perhaps the weakest in of combat among his siblings, Tenzin and Kya.
Fortunately, Bumi does develop the ability to bend air after Harmonic Convergence, but because he was so late in learning his skills it was realistically more difficult for him to pick up. Although he was shown to have developed his bending abilities quite well after the time jump, he’s still quite a distance from consistently winning against most of Legend of Korra’s main cast.
18. Meelo
The one and only true creator of fart bending, Meelo’s character arc mainly revolves around being the comic relief whenever the child is in play. That, however, should not take away from the skill he demonstrated in the Legend of Korra. Having grown up with an airbender father and two airbender older sisters, airbending is a part of Meelo’s very identity as opposed to a simple ability. Even at the age of five, Meelo is able to take on a handful of Amon’s Equalist soldiers, screaming “Taste my fury!”
Nothing will knock you out harder than getting hit in the face by a talented far-, er, airbender!
17. Kai
Before the time jump, Kai wasn’t exactly powerful but he had always been clever. Smart. And, let’s be honest, a little bit of a brat. Though it was lucky Kai still clung to that street kid/petty thief mentality that resulted in him trapping Mako and Bolin in the Earth Kingdom’s outer ring. Without that the two brothers would have never discovered and then saved their long lost relative!
However as he met Jinora and settled in with the others in the Air Temple, Kai not only gained a better perspective on life but also becomes more efficient in his airbending. Even in his younger years, he was one of the most talented airbenders forced into the Earth Queen’s “army.”
16. Kya
The middle child of Katara and Aang, Kya is the only daughter and only waterbender of the siblings taking after her mom. Although Kya isn’t going to go down in history as one of the strongest waterbenders in history like Katara, she was no slouch when it came to combat even managing to go toe to toe with Red Lotus (despite ultimately losing the battle).
With her forceful determination, full heart, and an obvious need to protect those she deems family, Kya fights for what she believes in until she can’t stand any longer. This strength of will was best depicted during the Air Temple fight where she, Bumi, and Tenzin fight tooth and nail to protect the new airbenders.
15. Suyin Beifong
Everyone has heard of Toph Beifong, the strongest earthbender in the world and the first metal bender in existence. As she grew older, Toph had two daughters, both from different fathers. Suyin Beifong was the young and chose not to follow in the steps of her mother, deciding instead to found her own city. Zaofu. But her experiences were vast even before the creation of Zaofu, her younger personality being one of rebellion and joy seeking, eventually resulting in her having ties with the Terra Triad.
Culminated together, however, sheds light on how Suyin could have accumulated her skills and prowess in metal bending. Not to mention she was probably highly trained by Toph herself, considering Toph is her mother.
14. Unalaq
An experienced waterbender and chief of the Northern Watertribe, Unalaq was dead set on bringing the world out of its era of relative peace and into one of absolute chaos with the freeing of Vaatu. He may have been Korra’s uncle and had the skill to show for it, but Unalaq’s goals and personality were as opposite from Korra’s as they could get.
It’s possible that Unalaq himself may have held more strength and weight as a character than shown, but under the shadow of the spirit Vaatu he was held up to be nothing more than a pawn. A vessel for a stronger being. Which, unlike Amon, Kuvira, and Zaheer who fought on their own for their own beliefs with their own strength, made it so that most of his “power” was reliant on another.
13. Esna & Desna
The fraternal twins of Unalaq, Esna, and Desna took the seat of the chief, or in this case chiefs, of the Northern Watertribe when their father was defeated by Korra. But before that, they had been tasked with finding Korra though they believed her to be gone after their fight was interrupted by a giant spirit. Later, they also fought Mako and Bolin as the two brothers attempted to cross into the spirit world to go aid Korra in her fight against Vaatu.
The twins may not have been the strongest or most well-liked characters in the Legend of Korra and individually they were perhaps not that powerful, but the two of them fought like one. Acted like one. Ruled like one. The power of twins is nothing to scoff at.
12. Tonraq
Chief of the Southern Water Tribe and elder brother to Unalaq, Tonraq is a powerful waterbender that was born as the heir of to the Northern Water Tribe chiefdom. Not to mention he’s the father of the avatar. Once Tonraq was really put into play, viewers quickly saw where Korra got her stubbornness and ferocity from.
While his pure bending skills may or may not have been on par with Unalaq, his heart and leadership qualities far outweigh anything that Unalaq brought to the table. Stubborn in his beliefs, Tonraq always stood up to defend his tribe and family. Even if it would cost him his life, always trying to find the best solution for his people.
11. Jinora
The eldest of Tenzin’s kids and Avatar Aang’s first grandchild, Jinora is the first of her siblings to be awarded the arrow of a master airbender. Even in the first season of Legend of Korra Jinora was already helping Tenzin teach Korra the basics of airbending. Unlike Tenzin however, Jinora has an extremely close link to the spirit world. A connection which has helped save Korra. the group, and the world many times.
Combining her affinity to the spirit world and her early mastering of airbending, Jinora is a force to be reckoned with. Especially after the three-year gap, gaining all the experience from traveling around and saving people with Opal and the others of the Air Nation.
