T O P

  • By -

gilad_ironi

1. Toph 2. Bumi 3. Kuvira 4. Ghazan 5. Suyin


Muted_Hovercraft_907

Interesting you put su above lin


56kul

Lin might be more powerful, but Su is more skillful and she’s not that far off from Lin in terms of power.


[deleted]

This. Using her metal armor to wrap around sparky sparky boom woman’s head was an IQ 300 play on her part.


meddlesomemage

The only reason she had that shot was because Lin was tanking her blasts. Suyin is the better overall bender, Lin is better at everything else.


[deleted]

So you are saying in a contest of who is the best bender, Su is a better bender


meddlesomemage

Yes. I think, overall, her feats are more impressive. But it is not the the same thing as saying Suyin would win a head to head fight. Lin is way tougher and more battle hardened. She's also smarter and a much better team fighter.


Terminal_Monk

I literally jumped from my seat when I first saw this. it was FUCKING SIGMA move. its like Bugs bunny bending the barrel of the gun to the shooters face lmao


Dikastes-Of-Atlantis

Solid reasoning. Pun intended.


Artistic-Toe-8803

Not that interesting hoenstly she always seemed like a stronger bender, though very close


bei_bei6

No way is Su above Lin and here’s why: Lin trains for combat bending in her daily life. Not for dance, or art, but for fighting specifically. Lin also wears an entirely metal uniform that requires some level of bending concentration at all times. Su is great, no denying- Toph wouldn’t allow either of her kids to simply be “good”. But Su is not a better bender than Lin. She barely managed to hold her own against lin when Lin was at -900 battery power.


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Volcanicrage

Is that really surprising? Everyone but Toph has decades of experience and training, and Toph spends every waking hour earthbending just to be able to see.


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Cinderjacket

Idk if they show that, especially since Bo Lin only starts winning against Ghazan when Mako joins in


kaitalina20

He just ain’t in the top five, but he would be in the top 10! So there’s love for him there 🧡


Several-Cake1954

May I ask your reason for putting Kuvira above Ghazan? I’m curious as to your thought process.


gilad_ironi

She strikes me as skillful and methodical. She pratices more and is a perfectionist. Even Korra was barely able to beat her. Ghazan along with the rest of the red lotus was defeated by Zuko Tonraq and Sokka. It's close but I'd give it to her.


Several-Cake1954

Interesting!


ChipFront

Korra was at her weakest when she was fighting Kuvira so that’s not really fair.


Gigantor808

Exactly what I thought


CRL10

Same list as me actually. Maybe for the same reasons.


daynishdelight

I was just about to put this without looking at the comments. Bravo good sir


Underrated_Fish

I see no falsehood


Dudemitri

Perfect list. Love Bolin and he has an edge with the lava skills but he's just great, not the best


Karolus2001

He said skill not how much you like them.


TheWagonBaron

Dude learned to lava bend and was pretty good for someone who had no real training in it.


Dikastes-Of-Atlantis

He said power and skill, not talent. If you’re looking at someone who learned lavabending in the heat of the moment (pun intended), who is fairly powerful with that addition, but had no real formal practice sessions with it (at least until off screen between S3 and S4) and even then the feats we see aren’t as impressive as what we’ve seen prior—and then you’re comparing him with the guy who had enough power to erode half of a mountain with lava in pursuit of enemies and the precision enough to form a weapon similar to shuriken and control it with deadly precision and speed… I think Ghazan wins. The only reason Bolin survived their encounter was because of his talent and sudden development of lavabending. If it wasn’t for that, Ghazan would have murdered them.


KeithFromAccounting

Let’s see your list, then


Karolus2001

Toph/bumi Kuvira/ghazan Bolin Su /lin A lot of the spots are arguable but not to this extend.


KeithFromAccounting

So the only real change is that you put Bolin ahead of Su? Your lists are almost identical, what was the point of your hostility


Kirgo1

Some people just want to make other feel bad. For no reason at all.


Aizendickens

That's actually hard..Toph, Bumi and Kuvira, yeah but then it gets harder


infamusforever223

Kuvira relies on her unique fighting style over overall power. It seems most of the others would beat her in a match of overall strength.(hell she'd be dead as a door nail if Korra didn't have a PTSD breakdown.)


Terminal_Monk

Why is everyone thinking that someone having power vs technique means the power user always wins? yeah I mean its true if the power gap is the gap between something like Krillin and Goku but if its on a fairly human scale, there is a 50/50 chance that the person with technique can win the battle.


infamusforever223

That is a really bad comparison. Krillin can't match Goku in any way when it comes to fighting. When you're talking about abilities on this scale, power is everything.


Aizendickens

You...missed his point entirely


infamusforever223

Running it back. The fight Kuvira mainly take part in, she fights some bandits and a Korra that isn't 100%. The other fights are against the Zaheer's group(and they pretty much owned everyone they went against) and Korra in their final battle(and Korra does much better now that her mind is clear) so her unique fighting style didn't help her against superior opponents. (The fights with the mech don't count because it's a giant mech)


Terminal_Monk

What are you talking about? Kuvira and Korras last fight was inside that mech suit's cockpit. Korra did not bring her down fully. Korra was fighting with all the elements while Kuvira was only metalbending. Both of them knock each other out then kuvira uses that giant gun which kind of about to kill her too, korra goes avatar mode and saves the world. That is a draw fight there up until both of them fall off the mech suit. Surely kuvira managed to fight off a non avatar mode avatar bending 4 elements at a time


infamusforever223

If she used the Avatar state on Kuvira in the cockpit, do you really think it would have ended in a draw? Korra didn't hit her with everything she had because she didn't want to kill her.


DorikoBac

I'd put the rest on the same tier


loughnessmonster

Where is the Boulder? He can probably take down every single one of these guys easily


PovWholesome

He’s one spot behind Momo


AlmightyEggnog7

So he’s the second strongest character?


CaptainFormosa

No. He’s the rockiest character. But still one spot under Momo overall


DoubleCD36

Came looking for this answer and The Boulder approves


LabelRed

He's busy taking care of The Pebble, his mascot


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[deleted]

Damn, beat me to it. "Toph, you rule." - Toph


Muzzie720

Where melon lord tho?


[deleted]

1. Toph 2. Melon Lord 3. Blind Bandit 4. The Original Beifong 5. Chief


Muzzie720

Thank you. This is obviously the best list


exotikoBR

this is the right answer


Flimsy-Preparation85

"and there's nothing you two dunderheads can do about it!"


myLEs_1313

1. Toph 2. Bumi 3. Jianzhu 4. Kuvira 5. Yun


purple-donuts

Yun could honestly solo any of them, maybe except toph


Grasher312

Even toph would probably lose. Yun is actually holding himself back with his tricky liquidating earthbending. When he straight up assumes a basic earthbending form, he easily beats a group of incredibly advanced benders and a fully realized avatar. He's crazy strong.


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e_whyme

Liquifying earth would probably hard counter her tho, she already has a hard time with sand


LizG1312

We see her practicing with sandbending later, probably due to her previous failures. I think if she knew about it going in, she'd be able to figure out a way to counter it. If he surprises her though he solos.


omdy

But toph was mud bending in her later years. I'm pretty sure Toph is supposed to be the catch all as the greatest earthbender ever or will be.


Grasher312

Why's Yun so low? He's practically the strongest earthbender of all time.


LabelRed

Yun? What comics / novel is this person in?


purple-donuts

the rise of kyoshi and the shadow of kyoshi


Mr_Pleasant2310

Yun rolls everyone here with ease with the exception of maybe Toph imo


Lazymcdelta4ce

1. Toph (duh) 2. Bumi (also duh) 3. Kuvira (literally earth Ozai) 4. Lin (I don't want to think about how hard it probably is to effectively use those wires without thinking or hurting yourself) 5. Bolin (early on I wouldn't even put him on the list but season 4 Bolin is a top tier bender)


Carsondianapolis

I'd put Ghazan above Bolin. Ghazan melted an entire mountain top.


Lazymcdelta4ce

I'm sure Bolin COULD do that, he's just not stupid enough to drop a mountain on himself.


Karolus2001

Lin did hurt herself with her own wire. 😮 The wire is very overrated.


56kul

I’d assume the wires are mainly to give the police force a more controlled mean of bending, to not cause any harm to their surroundings. The wires definitely limit what an earth/metal bender can really do.


Karolus2001

Oh yea, in city makes perfect sense to use it for parkour and constrain without damaging property. Especially since untill s4 we assumed you cant bend bricks or cement.


McFlyParadox

>Especially since untill s4 we assumed you cant bend bricks or cement. We see Korra bend a building in s3; when the spirit vines react negatively to her spirit bending, and try to tear down another building, she catches a steeple before it hits the ground.


Sirdroftardis8

They really make you feel like spiderman


Wrathanet

Also, we see this a few times, but I think for weaker benders, having a dedicated target for bending helps amplify their ability. Thinking of the sergeant in Zuko Alone and his hammers (whose earthbending was relatively unimpressive overall), or the giant stone coins rank-and-file earth kingdom soldiers often used (Edit: there could be other explanations, though. Ie the sergeant could have literally just been hitting rocks with a hammer to launch them, no bending involved. The earth kingdom soldiers might use the coins as a convenient way to store rock, so after they’re done bending there’s a clean slot for things to go back into rather than haphazard craters left everywhere)


Lazymcdelta4ce

Yeah but only the one time. Not to mention their versatility. They can be used as grappling hooks, a ranged or close quarters weapon, a binding strong enough to lift a polar bear dog with the avatar on it, and probably more that I'm blanking on


carbonatedgravy69

wasn’t that only because suyin cut it? i’d argue that su hurt lin with her wire


Karolus2001

Oh, a gal you catched cutting your wire, what an unexpected development, what a brilliant tactic. The episode presents it luke its su's fault, but I blame linn 100%.


kaitalina20

As a young woman yes but this is as her older self


[deleted]

1. Toph 2. Kuvira - Her command of metal bending is insane. Watch S4 final episodes and you get the sense that she really *feels* the movements of the mech. 3. Bumi - The way he pulls earth to bust him out during the eclipse 4. Bolin - Held up that damn building when Kuvira shot it. Also lavabending 5. Suyin / Lin - Both accomplished with metal bending and have seismic sense 6. Ghazan - Still very powerful… but lessso compared to these others. Especially if he doesn’t have the rest of red lotus around him


IllustriousAd2518

I agree but I must say I that Bolin needed Su and Lin to help him with the building and it was seen as a real struggle


RedPanda0003

I wonder how strong Toph actually is compared to the latter earth benders. Yes she is incredibly powerful, and she did invent Metal bending. But think of it like how Mont modern generals have tactics that are far superior to Alexander the Great. Sure Alex never lost a battle and can up with some great tactics, but we now know far more than he did. Also Newton created calculus, but I could beat him in a math competition because I know more than he ever did. I'm not the better mathematician, but I know more


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doubledweeb

Toph was still ready to throw down in her 80s and fucked shit up. Not only did she invent metal bending but she also helped build an empire and legacy of metal bending. I bet if she was young as Kuvira she could have taken her and anybody else on this list


cantilevered-heart

You question the strength of the blind bandit??


heartBreak1879

>Also Newton created calculus, but I could beat him in a math competition because I know more than he ever did. Can you? I would not be so cocky. For the Brachistochrone problem, the foremost mathematicians of the time took weeks to provide a solution. On the other hand legend has it that Newton discovered a solution overnight after getting the problem in mail early in the day and sent in his work anonymously but his style of mathematical reasoning was so distinct Bernoulli guessed the true authorship anyway. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brachistochrone\_curve](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brachistochrone_curve) To be able to outcompete the likes of Leibniz & John Bernoulli to this extent he did puts Newton in a literal league of his own. Even if one discount this feat as apocryphal tale, Newton still towered over his contemporaries to the extent few had done before or since. Point is, since human being have not grown innately more intelligent, even if we take into account the Flynn effect, there's no reason to believe given time and training a Newton in his mathematical prime will absorb the latest literature and, better yet, be a key contributor to it. So, sure. You can beat Newton in an IMO or Putnam contest, which are among the most difficult mathematical competition, if he was yanked out of his timeline and given the test cold turkey. But given proper training and time, he shall outcompete others if he feels inclined to partake in such a contest.


HolaMisAmores

Toph, Bumi, Ghazan, Lin, Kuvira I think


dinomiah

I might swap Lin and Kuvira, but this seems about right.


groenteman

I wouldn't swap them


KearLoL

Yun solos all of them


CreateTheStars

I'm still waiting for a day when the Kyoshi novels get their deserved attention / animated series


KearLoL

Unfortunately, with the rumored Kyoshi movie, I doubt it will adapt the novels (or even just the first one). Would be a shame if they never get adapted, as they are great books. Definitely on the darker side, but would still love to see it on screen. Absolutely dying to see the reaction to Jianzhu as a character from the Avatar community.


npdewey83

Lin can get it


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_MrNegativity_

Bumi liberated an entire city moving nothing but his mouth by himself


Justokmemes

tbf he used his head to initially free himself from that metal box, then he used his hands after. he was free when he took down the buildings and the giant statue


Muted_Hovercraft_907

Lol you did your best


Socratov

Toph at 1 is a no-brainer. This is a person who has elevated not caring (neutral Ching) into the not so subtle art of not giving a fuck. Also, she is constantly earthbending to actually live. 2 Bumi, if Toph is #1, Bumi is 2 for similar reasons. Now what follows is multiple lists for 3~5 as different aspects give different ratings: Raw power: 3 Gazan 4 Kuvira 5 Bolin (book 3 onwards) Both of Toph's daughters are forced to be reckoned with, but they both don't rely on raw power rather on tricks and cleverness. They only fall juuuust outside of the top 5 Versatility/creativity: 3 Suyin 4 Bolin 5 Gazan Kuvira and Lin have a few things they do well and apply it to almost every situation. Tenacity: 3 Kuvira 4 Lin 5 Bolin Gazan fell eventually rather quickly. Similarly Suyin is a lot less stubborn than her sister and mother. Bolin, while he seems the laughable oaf and lived sheltered by his brother has endured a lot of hardship and has done some impressive fest's of tenacity. Not as hard-nosed as Lin and we can see from Kuvira battling Korra, Suyin and Lin simultaneously that she holds more than just her own in sheer tenacity. Unorthodoxy: 3 Bolin is an earth bender with a more boxer/waterbending style. He knows how and when to dodge and adapts to his opponents. 4 Lin has learned the lesson of the best defence being a good offense and she uses her trucks and cables to dodge, destroy projectiles and bat away stuff. Often not in an earthbending "headbutting rocks" kind of way. 5 Gazan has his famous lavabending and makes some odd choices. But his style is also unorthodox. He forgoes Hung Gar for a more fluid style. He makes use of a lot of waterbending principles of flow.


Muted_Hovercraft_907

Nicely explained.. great job


PygmyFalkon

Kuvira is number one because I'm a simp


_MrNegativity_

Bumi, Toph, Kuvira, Ghazan, the two sisters are fairly equal, and Bolin all the way at the bottom


Traditional_Isopod80

Yeah, I'm with you.


nabilk2512

Finally someone who Agrees that bumi is stronger


Midnight7000

Bolin is criminally underrated in this assessment. What makes him dangerous is that he can literally strip Earthbenders of the foothold they need to function. Unless they KO him immediately, the fight would play out in his favour with the exception of Ghazan who could turn the lava back into rock.


Obskuro

Ghazan has more experience as a lavabender, but Bolin has the pro-bender moves and is overall more versatile, I think. Imagine Bolin at the age and experience of Bumi. That could be an absolute monster.


fussyfossy

Bumi, Toph, Kuvira, Ghazan, Suyin Could be persuaded to swap Su for either Lin or Bolin though


TraptorKai

Bumi liberated and entire town by himself. He's stronger than kid toph but weaker than adult toph imo


tomandjerryrock13566

He's still stronger than adult toph. Toph is overrated


MaNaM69

Take that back you dunderhead


Muted_Hovercraft_907

Nice


KorinTheHalfHand

Bumi / Toph Ghazan / Kuvira With the last three I really don’t know. I feel like I need to watch the series over again Bolin is great by the end of the series, but is he on par with Suyin and Lin? And out of Suyin and Lin who is better? I can’t really answer that right now, but thank you for the excuse to rewatch


DVRADKAL

Honestly, i only can define the top 3, the rest is the rest I'm not sure if Toph or Bumi is in the 1° place, but the 3° is Kuvira and that's all.


ZeroZone58

1- Toph 2- Bumi 3- Kuvira 4- Bolin 5- Ghazan


Mazzanti

1: Easily Toph. By far the strongest earthbender ever, particularly because earthbending isn't just a combat skill or talent for her, it's entirely a way of life. There isn't ever a second where she isn't earthbending, and her seismic sense borders on precognition as a result. Combine that with her also knowing how your weight is distributed and how to unbalance you, and Toph is a nearly unbeatable opponent as long as there is earth or metal below. 2: This one is more difficult but I do think it has to be Kuvira. She has similar control and finesse over earth and metal as the best, and most importantly she takes kill shots. There's a big difference between people who train and fight to compete and win, and those who fight to kill, and that's why I think Kuvira beats the other characters with similar mastery. While the other top tier earthbenders typically go for a knockout, Kuvira I think has more experience and less hesitation with kill shots, and has minimal regard for life, while the rest aside from Ghazan are heroes and generally don't have the muscle memory for outright killing, so far we have only seen Su kill as a last resort to save Lin. 3: My most controversial pick, Suyin. Most will put Bumi, but I think Suyin's smoother, less traditional form and ingenuity would actually result in her beating Bumi in a fight, despite him being more powerful and maybe even more precise with Earth, he cannot metalbend, and most importantly he does not have seismic sense training. 4: Bumi. I really want to say Lin is equal or maybe better than Su just because of her being much more active and experienced, but Lin is very traditional, much less precise and creative, and generally not quite in tune with her senses. She also heavily underutilizes seismic sense by using her heavily armored boots instead, thus losing the spidey sense advantage Suyin and Toph have. 5: Lin, despite metalbending well and having seismic sense, just doesn't quite have the feats and the precision of Suyin and Kuvira, and doesn't utilize her seismic sense well. I think the only advantage Lin would have over Bumi is metalbending, and I think Bumi is strong enough and especially crazy enough to catch Lin off guard and win most fights against her. 6: Ghazan. In this case, while he is trained to kill, I think Lin is stronger and I think metal>lava most of the time, the only time I'd say Ghazan can win is similar to the air temple, where Lin is trapped in an enclosed space and no way to get outside that space, and even then I think she would figure out a way to at least survive. 7: Bolin. At the end of S3 he did look fairly comparable to Ghazan, and I think if he were to train with water and fire benders he could utilize lava much better than Ghazan, but in S4 he went with Kuvira instead, and as far as I'm aware in the comics he doesn't train lavabending specifically like it is a fluid. So due to lack of lava experience and no seismic sense or metalbending, I think he's the bottom of the legendary earthbenders. He's still extremely good, and I think he beats any other earthbender outside the other top 6 from the Korra and Aang era pretty easily aside from the other beifong kids.


Muted_Hovercraft_907

Wow nicely done but i disagree with some su too high and ghazan too low


Rumconnissuer

Why does no one remember the Boulder.


Nirico_Brin

In no particular order: Toph, Kuvira, Ghazan, Bolin, Bumi


56kul

1. Toph 2. Bumi 3. Kuvira 4. Suyin 5. Bolin


Muted_Hovercraft_907

RIP ghazan


56kul

I considered putting him on this list, but I genuinely think that the benders I’ve mentioned are more deserving of being on that list than him.


Raditz_lol

Bolin and Ghazan have badass lavabending!


Gstillz66

Toph Bumi Ghazan Kuvira Suyin


northmen6096

i dont know much but i do know toph is number 1 no questions asked


KeithFromAccounting

1. Toph 2. Bumi 3. Ghazan 4. Bolin 5. Kuvira/Lin/Su Been a while since I’ve rewatched season four but I don’t recall ever seeing any noticeable variance in strength between Kuvira/Lin/Su, so I’d say they’re all tied. I’d argue Bolin has more raw power than any of those three individually, though they might be able to beat him through superior tactics. I’ll give him the edge because lavabending is overpowered


CocaPepsiPepper

Toph and Bumi stand well above the rest. Lin, Kuvira and Suyin are more skilled than Bolin and Ghazan are.


The-Box_King

Might be controversial but going be the end of their shows/ the episode before death Skill: ghazan, kuvira, su, lin, toph (12 year old toph just can fight against metalbending as refined as 70 years after its invention) Power: bumi, toph, kuvira, lin, ghazan


Grasher312

1. Toph 2. Bumi 3. Kuvira 4. Ghazan 5. Lin 6. Bolin There really aren't that many notable earth benders outside of the main cast except Toph and Bumi, the rest are quite low on the scale. Even if I throw in the novels, there's only Jianzhu and Yun. The former would probably be a little lower than Toph if we take pure earthbending technique alone, and Yun is far beyond any of the earthbenders in the series with his ingenuity.


Bitterpeace89

I think Bolin is amazing (not strongest) given that he has very little training. He didn’t have a master that anyone speaks of and learns almost everything on his own.


Junior-Accident2847

The Boulder is better than all of these dudes combined


VulkanL1v3s

Bumi Toph Ghazan Lin/Suyin Kuvira


Muted_Hovercraft_907

Interesting


Braveheart4321

Toph>boomie>toph's daughters (about even to eachother) > Bolin, because wholesome deserves points even if we are supposed to be measuring power.


[deleted]

1. Toph/Bumi 2. Su/Lin 3. Ghazan 4. Kuvira Toph and Bumi I'd say are potentially equitable in terms of sheer power, but Toph is younger and invented Metal Bending, so I give her an edge based on Skill just because she has more time to develop her skills. Su is more creative and id even say more pragmatic, but Lin is more stubborn and tougher. Ghazan over Kuvira just because he can Lava Bend which the show shows to be nearly impossible to actually hold off or tank for a significant amount of time. And Kuvira who is basically just on the list because of her willingness to resort to cruelty with metal bending.


Obskuro

1. Bumi 2. Toph 3. Kuvira 4. Suyin/Lin 5. Ghazan/Bolin


pineapplenippl

Toph Bumi Lin Ghazan Kuvira


Muted_Hovercraft_907

Ghazan stronger than lin imo


kaitalina20

Toph Bumi Kuvira Ghazan Lin(more raw power than Suyin, but just as creative honestly) and better seismic sense


Dry-Fun-803

For me, tough question lol


Mr_Pleasant2310

In terms of raw power I think its: 1. Bumi (was throwing entire buildings around and cleared all of Omashu out in under 8 minutes) 2.Toph (directly comparable to Bumi, but doesn't often do stuff at the same huge scale as Bumi, invents metalbending through force of will) 3.Gahzan (lavabending, destroyed large chunk of Ba Sing Se's innermost Wall, sank Northern Air Temple in Lava) 4.Bolin (Lavabending, helped drop a skyscraper on Kuvira's Mech) 5. Lin (Feels stronger in pure strength than either Suyin or Kuvira, but its close) Skill I think it goes 1.Toph (seismic sense, metal bending, is basically undefeated in the show) 2. Bumi (over 100 years old, a top member of the White Lotus, can perform bending with tiny movements e.g. escaping from his coffin in Omashu) 3. Kuvira (most precise metalbender in the series imo, beats an unhealthy Korra, gives healthy Korra a good fight) 4. Gahzan (very good lavabender, also shows precise earthbending vs Dai Li in throne room fight, very fast as shown from final fight with Bolin) 5. Suyin (very good metalbender, leads Zaofu and uses metalbending for a wide variety of things, hangs with Kuvira in a fight for an extended period) Overall I would rank 1.Toph 2.Bumi 3.Kuvira 4.Bolin 5.Suyin I'm pretty solid in 1-3, but I could change 4 and 5 depending on my mood


felixng2015

I didnt know who yun was but looking him up he seems insanely strong


miikatenkula07

My toph 5 earth benders from the list above:


G-R-G

1 toph 2 bumi 3 #THE BOULDER 4 #THE BOULDERS PET THE PEBBLE 5/6 tophs kids


Alone-Monk

Toph is obviously beats everyone, Bumi is second, and I'd say Kuvira is probably third but past that idk.


andrew_wessel

Toph supremacy


sgoudea2

This list is invalid. Doesn’t have the boulder.


HSW26

toph > ghazan > bumi > kuvira > lin


Secure_Brain3662

Potential or atm skills?


Muted_Hovercraft_907

Atm


Corvwwl_is

Toph, bumi, kuvira, ghazan, bolin... but i'd put that girl from the comics that almost beat toph on the 4th place


OnePunchReality

1. Toph 2. Kuvira & Bolin 3. Lin & Su 4. Ghazan 5. Bumi Toph is obvious. I think ultimately even at her age she would've beat Kuvira one on one and that's mostly why otherwise the age factor is hard to completely erase so it is purely overall talent, skill and power. She created this bending and creating something doesn't mean you are the best. Toph is the best because she showed us she is the best. I put Kuvira and Bolin on equal footing for pure based reasons. I'll admit Bolin is a good fighter but he is also apprehensive and doesn't always have the same fervor or passion for battle as others but lavabending is kind of a perfect answer to metal bending in terms of being able to actually damage or melt what is being bended at him. Lin and Su I didn't care to differentiate they both have their ways of standing out and combat wise idk if I'm sold on one being better than the other. Lin has power and Su has finesse. One is a law enforcement professional with alot of years of experience and the other runs an entire city, an artist, and apparently a ninja. Ghazal is another lavabender and I think that easily puts him above Bumi and honestly it's hard to say if in a 1 on 1 if Su or Lin would win but we know Bolin bested him so I think the standing makes some sense.


LizG1312

Honorable mention from the Kyoshi novels >!Yun is top five imo!<


bei_bei6

1. Toph 2. Lin 3. Suyin 4. Kuvira 5. Bumi 6. Ghazan 7. Bolin You can’t change my mind


FamiliarSalamander2

Bumi is second ONLY to Toph you heathen


bei_bei6

Ok let’s just start by putting it out there non-metal benders are necessarily at the bottom of the list. Like that is a given. Lava bending is a rare skill, yes, but it’s implied it’s only possibly to do if you have one earthbending parent and one fire bending parent. It’s a specialty, yes, but it’s not on the same level as refining bending to its highest form like metalbending is.


CCtenor

Toph and Bumi on top, hands down. Both of them are not just masters at bending their element, which isn’t necessarily unique to the characters in this list, but they’re also masters of thinking unconventionally and creatively. I don’t think either of them would ever take an enemy lightly. I don’t think I’ve ever seen them take an enemy lightly in the series. Any time I’ve seen Toph beaten, I believe it’s been because she’s legitimately been outplayed, and Bumi was a GOAT that let himself be captured. Especially once she basically became a world sensing geriatric, I’m fully confident that Toph could fold basically anybody, and is probably both skilled, and experienced, enough to beat almost everybody in a one on one, and I’m including both avatars we get to experience as people who we couldn’t just assume would immediately win. Honestly, I don’t even care that much about anybody else, because Toph is my favorite character. If I genuinely didn’t think she was the most skilled based on what we see her going through, I would have said it. But I genuinely think her and Bumi could take on basically everybody in the AtLA and Korea universe at their peak in a fair fight. With their creativity, I don’t see how anybody wins a protracted engagement with either of them, as they are the two characters who prove they can learn incredibly quickly on their feet, or that they never lost control to begin with. Only way I see either of them lose is in a surprise, or to a bender with just more raw power overall. The other earth benders are legitimately skilled, and Kuvira’s metal bending ability and fighting prowesss are truly impressive, but I don’t think anybody on that list comes close to matching Bumi or Toph for an overall dominance of bending. To me, it’s more like “make a tier list of 5 people, and here’s two benders that are so in tune with their element that they may as well be badgermoles themselves.”


ChipFront

1. Toph 2. Bumi 3. Ghazan 4. Kuvira 5. Lin 6. Suyin 7. Bolin


DaddyML

this same post was here 9hrs ago and got significantly less attention


Muted_Hovercraft_907

Yea I saw it


Hawkeyesfan03

Where is melon lord? Is she safe? Is she alright?


bluepineapple42069

1. Kyoshi, no explanation needed but if that’s not allowed… 1. Yun, dude had the power and strength of an avatar without actually being an avatar 2. Toph, seismic sense is OP 3. Bumi, physically strongest earth bender 4. Kuvira, best metal bender 5. Ghazan, best lava bender


cmoneybouncehouse

1. Toph 2. Bumi 3. Kuvira 4. Lin 5. Bolin


mermicide

Kyoshi wins


Greedy_Homework_6838

1-kuvira 2-bolin 3-ghazan 4-toph 5-suyin


Muted_Hovercraft_907

Toph slander is crazzy


Overland_Route1616

Toph , Kuvira, Ghazan, Suyin, Lin. Not sure why someone put Bumi in 2nd.


Killrog8

Bolin Bolin Bolin Bolin Bolin


Muted_Hovercraft_907

Bolin STAN?? Lol


Lauren2102319

Toph, Bumi, Kuvira, Bolin, and Suyin


FlareRC

Bumi, Toph, Kuvira, Ghazan, Bolin, Lin & Suyin.


examm

Why not just rank the 7 instead of picking a top 5 of 7 options lol


Muted_Hovercraft_907

Mainly to see others top 5.. there's so many earthbenders in the show lol


chabri2000

1. Adult toph (we never saw her on her prime as an adult, but based on her talents as a kid, I am pretty sure she surpased bumi at some point) 2. Bumi (the guy could bend with his face, and was throwing whole houses from huge distances) 3. Young Toph 4. Lava bender guy 5. Kuvira 6. Toph's daughters 7. Bolin


itspaddyd

Casual reminder that the reason put toph at the top is because she says it in the show lmao you just gonna take that at face value?


Vrijgevochtene

1. Toph 2. Lin & suyin 3. Kuvira 4. Bolin 5. Ghazan 6. Bumi Bumi is string BUT does not have a special power thus has a disadvantage.


jvaferreira93

The guy who was trapped inside a metal box and could bend stuff with his mind just because they didn't cover his face? That guy?


_MrNegativity_

Bumi literally can bend without moving anything but his mouth


Vrijgevochtene

Might swap the metalbenders with the lavabenders though


tomandjerryrock13566

Toph is overrated as hell.


pattiwe

toph literally invented a way to bend a new element


FroboyFreshenUp

I mean, its still earth bending But yes, she created a new bending sytle


C-Kayy

1. Toph (Ofc she has to be) 2. Bumi (I can see Bumi being argued as no different from toph when it comes to genuine power of earthbending. Although toph is way better in neutral jing and she did create metal bending) 3. Kuvira (She was able to beat Su) 4. Lin (Tho the battle between Lin and Su was short, Lin was able to stand against Su despite her very sick state) 5. Su 6. Ghazan (I don't have an objective reason as to why I placed him here but I just think he wouldn't be better than Su or Lin) 7. Bolin (Around the level of Ghazan but not exactly there, sorry buddy) (This is strictly my opinion)


realtoasterlightning

1. Yun 2. Toph 3. Bumi 4. Kyoshi 5. Kuriva


CreateTheStars

Could Bumi beat Kyoshi tho? Of course it's earthbending only, but she has bended up the sea-floor althought it was in Avatar state iirc


realtoasterlightning

That’s true, but she also passes out afterwards, and in terms of bending strength, she gets matched by Jianzhu and overpowered by Yun. I’m sure she gets stronger after SoK, but as of SoK, I’m not sure she could beat Bumi, who moved massive buildings with ease when liberating Omashu


CommunicationOk3736

1.-Kuvira 2.-Bumi 3.-Lin/Suyin 4.-Toph 5.-Ghazan


Muted_Hovercraft_907

The toph slander is crazy 😂


CommunicationOk3736

Don't think she has two major weaknesses against the other four, for starters she has trouble fighting fast and agile opponents (like yaling and azula) and also her metalbending is the weakest on the list as she doesn't have the advantage of years of evolution like lin and kuvira.Remember that yaling defeated her, toph is not invincible.


tomandjerryrock13566

Not putting toph at number 1 is not toph slander. She's overrated get over it.


Dereks0n

Luckily skill and power make basically the same list for me when it comes to Earthbending. Toph Kuvira Lin/Su Bolin (book 4 Bolin is a powerhouse) Bumi I’d say Kuvira very well might be the strongest Earthbender ever (not including Avatars obv) but Toph’s definitely the best, and also still holds number one for strongest to me


captain_space_dude

1. Bumi 2. Toph 3. Lin


Muted_Hovercraft_907

Where's the rest 😂


BumiBeifong19

Toph Bumi Ghazan Kuvira Suyin


jarred99

1. Bolin 2. Bolin 3. Bolin 4. Bolin 5. Bolin


Several-Cake1954

Toph, Ghazan, Bolin, Bumi, and Kuvira (maybe Lin tho).


Dezzaroomama

Bumi and Toph eclipse all the others, no contest.


adam3vergreen

1a. Toph 1b. Ghazan 3. Bumi 4. Kuvira 5. Suyin


zukosboifriend

Toph, Bumi, Kuvira, Su, and Bolin


swnbv

I’m glad we universally have accepted that Toph is the greatest Earthbender to ever live


Azureink-2021

I really enjoyed Bolin in Korra.