Strongest Avatar: The Last Airbender Firebenders, Ranked (2024)

Avatar: The Last Airbender's combat system is based on the manipulation of fire, water, earth, and air, and some elemental benders are truly gifted. Each element has its own superstars, with Toph Beifong being the best earthbender and Pakku ranking among the most proficient waterbenders. As for firebending, Avatar's cartoon depicts plenty of skilled benders, many of whom have years of training and natural talent to push them to the next level.

Firebending is all about aggression and direct attacks, which made it the optimal element to launch the Hundred-Year War. Skilled firebenders have come and gone, with Roku and Sozin being the top firebenders of their time. During the main events of Avatar: The Last Airbender, several other firebenders rose to the top as the story's strongest fighters of all. Some of them even created memorable variations of firebending in their fighting style or used firebending in ways no one else could have imagined.

10 Admiral Zhao Has Power But No Control

In Book One: Water, Captain turned Commander turned Admiral Zhao was a rising star within the Fire Nation navy. He commanded an entire invasion fleet to the Northern Water Tribe and even captured Aang, but despite his accomplishments and genuine power, Admiral Zhao was actually a poor firebender. He definitely ranks last among the series' ten strongest firebenders.

Zhao had power, but no discipline or control to manage it, leading to sloppy results. Zhao never even finished his training with his mentor Jeong Jeong, and he foolishly burned down his own flotilla when he tried to capture Aang. He even lost in an Agni Kai to Prince Zuko, who was only half his age at most.

9 Avatar Aang Only Trained With Firebending For a Short Time

In terms of overall power, Avatar Aang is vastly stronger than most firebenders found in Avatar: The Last Airbender. He learned all four elements in order, but he didn't spend much time on firebending. He did train with Zuko in the weeks leading up to Sozin's Comet and even learned the dancing dragon routine, but that still didn't make him a top-rate firebender.

At most, Aang was a passable firebender who simply needed but didn't get more time for proper training. Still, no one can blame Aang, seeing how few friendly firebenders there were. On the plus side, Aang benefitted from the overwhelming power of Sozin's Comet like all other firebenders, giving him the destructive power needed to take down Ozai's personal zeppelin.

8 Prince Zuko Has Passion, But Tends to Fumble in His Fights

Prince Zuko had access to the best firebender tutors growing up, but even so, he remained the weakest known firebender in his royal family tree. It didn't help that Zuko always felt insecure and conflicted as a bender and as a person, which held back his true potential. That contrasted him with his sister, who was laser-focused on power and dominance.

Zuko was still competent enough to chase after the Avatar, at least, and he posed a real threat to Team Avatar all throughout Book One: Water while competing with Admiral Zhao. However, he never learned to bend lightning, so instead, he learned to redirect another firebender's lightning, a vital lesson that Iroh taught him.

7 Combustion Man Can Bend Fire With His Mind Alone

The unnamed assassin known only as Combustion Man was a secondary antagonist in Book Three: Fire. Little is known of his background or how he became such an unusual firebender, but there is no denying Combustion Man's battlefield talents. Combustion Man can use his forehead tattoo and willpower to create powerful explosions from a distance, an attack that's difficult to dodge or block.

Combustion Man posed a serious threat to Aang's team a few times in Book Three: Fire and it was all the Gaang could do just to flee his wrath, let alone fight back. Eventually, though, a small drone struck Combustion Man's forehead, making his firebending go haywire, and that sealed his doom.

6 Jeong Jeong Knows How Dangerous His Own Bending Can Be

Jeong Jeong only appeared twice in Avatar: The Last Airbender, but it was evident that he wielded great power as a firebender. He was strong and savvy enough to defect from the Fire Nation military and live, which was a remarkable feat, and he was trusted to train the talented yet brash Zhao. Unlike most firebenders, though, Jeong Jeong fears that firebenders don't have enough control over their element.

Jeong Jeong briefly trained Aang, only to see the young Avatar lose control of his fire. Then, fans saw Jeong Jeong hold off Zhao with his immense firebending talents, and finally, fans saw Jeong Jeong use the power of Sozin's Comet to devastate his enemies as a White Lotus member.

5 Fire Lord Sozin Challenged the Avatar With His Firebending

See Also

20 Most Powerful (& 10 Weakest) Benders In Avatar: The Last Airbender And The Legend Of Korra, Ranked

Over a century ago, a young Sozin began his training as a firebender and as the future Fire Lord. During his relatively innocent youth, Sozin was quite the firebender, and as a middle-aged man, he could even stand up to the Avatar, albeit briefly. That makes Sozin rank in the middle among the series' most capable firebenders.

Sozin may have been a mighty firebender, but he is best remembered for the dreadful Hundred-Year War that he launched. Once the comet arrived, Sozin led the assault on the Air Nomads, wiping out all of them aside from Aang. Sozin continued to fight and colonize the rest of the world until his death, after which his son Azulon took over. Also, the comet was named after him to become Sozin's Comet, which would return in another century.

4 Avatar Roku Wielded All Elements But Was a Firebender First

Avatar Roku trained with all four elements to become a full-fledged Avatar when he was a grown man, but he could never forget his Fire Nation heritage. For many years, he and Sozin were good friends, but after Sozin insisted on colonizing the world, Roku and Sozin came to blows, and Roku defeated his Fire Lord friend.

Roku's last act was to hold off a volcanic eruption long enough to help his wife and other villagers flee, and he even gave his life to help Sozin escape as well. After his death, Avatar Roku guided Aang from beyond the grave and warned Aang that time was running out to end the war that his old friend Sozin had started.

3 Iroh Can Bend Fire and Redirect Lightning in Battle

Growing up, Iroh had it all as the Fire Nation prince and a gifted bender. He trained to become an incredible firebender, like his brother, including lightningbending. Iroh almost became Fire Lord and nearly captured Ba Sing Se, but after his son's death, Iroh changed the trajectory of his life.

Iroh remained a top-tier bender, but he started using his bending more defensively rather than for conquest and personal gain. He was also the one who learned how to redirect lightning, a skill he taught to his nephew Zuko, and he is also known for his many wise quotes.

2 Princess Azula Was Born an Exceptional Firebender

Zuko's younger sister Azula was born lucky, as Oza once put it, thanks to her outstanding firebending talent and her sharp mind. Azula shared her father's hunger for power and dominance which, combined with her unshakable confidence, made her a devastating firebender. By age 14, she became one of the world's most powerful firebenders of all.

Azula was so gifted, that she could use blue flames, setting her apart from all other benders, including her family. Many times, she nearly captured or killed Aang in battle, including the time she zapped him in the back with her deadly lightning. However, the intense pressure to succeed eventually broke Azula, meaning all her power and talent was for nothing in the end.

1 Fire Lord Ozai is at the Apex of His Element

Aang knew early on that Fire Lord Ozai was his ultimate enemy, the world's most powerful firebender and the current prosecutor of the Hundred-Year War. Ozai's well-earned reputation frightened Aang so much, that the Avatar had nightmares about it right before the eclipse invasion. Then, when Sozin's Comet arrived, Ozai became more powerful than any nightmare.

Even without the benefit of Sozin's Comet, Ozai still stands as Avatar's most formidable firebender of all. He combined his fearsome natural talent with extensive training and unshakable confidence, making him a quintessential war-era Fire Lord, just like his father and grandfather before him. He may not have had blue flames like his daughter, but he did have more experience than Azula during the main events of Avatar and just as much power, so he was definitely the stronger of the two.

Avatar: The Last Airbender

TV-Y7-FV

Animation

Action

Adventure

Fantasy

In a war-torn world of elemental magic, a young boy reawakens to undertake a dangerous mystic quest to fulfill his destiny as the Avatar, and bring peace to the world.

Release Date

February 21, 2005

Cast

Dee Bradley Baker , Mae Whitman , Jack De Sena , Dante Basco

Main Genre

Animation

Seasons

3

Studio

Nickelodeon Animation Studio

Franchise

Avatar: The Last Airbender

Creator

Michael Dante DiMartino, Bryan Konietzko

Number of Episodes

61

Network

Nickelodeon