Lin Beifong

"earth"

- Come on, show a little more backbone. It's time the benders of this city displayed some strength and unity against these Equalists.

Lin Beifong, the daughter of Toph Beifong, is the former Chief of Republic City's Metalbending Police Force. Although her mother taught Avatar Korra's previous incarnation how to earthbend, Lin had no special affection for the new Avatar when she first arrived. According to Lin, Korra's reckless ways left one of Republic City's streets in ruin, making her one of the biggest threats the city had faced in recent times. However, this changed when Amon and his Equalists made their public appearance and openly challenged the benders of the world.

Early life
Born to Toph Beifong two decades after the Hundred Year War, Lin Beifong inherited the earthbending prowess of her mother, eventually mastering the art and its subskill, metalbending. As an adult, she became the Chief of Police of Republic City, where she stood at the head of the Metalbending Police Force.

Since her mother was friends with Avatar Aang, Lin and Tenzin knew each other since childhood. According to Tenzin, she got along "famously" with his father. Earlier in her life, she dated Tenzin, but the two eventually drifted apart. The relationship was broken completely after Pema confessed her love for the airbender. According to Tenzin, Lin then unsuccessfully tried to throw Pema in jail.

Korra's arrival


When Korra arrived in Republic City, she was subsequently arrested and brought before Chief Lin Beifong. Tenzin eventually came to exempt the young Avatar of the charges; however, Lin made it clear that she wanted Korra out of the city. The next day, she attended a press conference during which Korra announced herself as the Avatar to Republic City. At that time, the new Avatar was also asked if she would be working with Chief Beifong, a question to which she did not reply.

Lin later encountered Korra again at a party hosted by Councilman Tarrlok, where she remained unimpressed with the Avatar, stating that Korra had done absolutely nothing to deserve the city's praise.

The Championship Finals


When the United Republic Council was planning to shut down the Pro-bending Arena after Amon's threat, Lin entered the City Hall and agreed with Korra, demanding that the Council show backbone. In exchange for keeping the arena open, the chief agreed to provide heavy security for the event. This agreement convinced the Council to leave the arena open. Tenzin encountered Lin later and tried to provide her protection, but she demanded that she not be babysat, insisting she could take care of herself. She then ignored Korra's thanks for agreeing with her in the Council meeting and walked away.

Lin worked on establishing detailed security for the event, and finally agreed to bury an old hatchet and work together with Tenzin. The two exchanged some conversation during the match as the Wolfbats won a controversial victory, mostly after Korra won her tie-breaker match with Tahno. Lin remarked that she could not believe that sweet-tempered Aang was reincarnated into Korra, whom she described to be "tough as nails". Tenzin then commented that Korra reminded him of Lin at that age, and that he believed they would get along if she would give her a chance.



Unfortunately, the Equalists came prepared, and Lin's security proved to be useless. After the match, the Equalists attacked the two with electrified gloves, rendering them unconscious. When they came to, Amon was escaping the arena with Korra in pursuit. Seeing the Avatar fall after her waterbending lift came up short, Lin jumped into action and used her cables to save Korra. She then flung her up to the roof of the arena, allowing Korra to fight the Equalists.

Once she joined the Avatar on the roof, Lin was electrocuted again by the Lieutenant, but managed to recover and contend with the Equalists. Just as the chief attached her cables to the Equalists' airship, however, Korra fell through the Pro-bending Arena's glass ceiling, prompting Lin to let go of the airship and use the cables to once again save Korra. Korra thanked her, and then the police chief expressed her regret for allowing Amon to play her for a fool.

Investigating the Sato factory
After the Equalist attack, Lin received notoriety for failing to capture Amon. Tarrlok even proposed in a press conference that she be replaced as the Chief of Police. She start conducting numerous investigations with Tenzin, interrogating the witnesses of the incident in the arena. She later received intelligence that Cabbage Corp manufactured the weapons the Equalists used, so the Metalbending Police Force proceeded to shut down the company and arrest the owner.

When Lin and Tenzin were alerted by Korra of a possible connection between Hiroshi Sato and the Equalists, the metalbender at first doubted about its veracity but then agreed with Tenzin that he would have the means and the motive. The chief and the airbender then went to the Sato estate to ask him some more questions, to which the businessman excused saying it was all a misunderstanding. He then agreed to have his factory searched by Lin's officers. However, the chief and her men were not able to find anything to incriminate Sato.



However, a worker in the factory slipped Korra a note telling her to meet him underneath the Silk Road Bridge. The Avatar, Lin, and Tenzin met the worker, who explained that Sato was an Equalist, and he had indeed manufactured the weapons used during the arena attack, and he was working on an even more powerful weapon, for which he had a secret factory under his mansion.

Lin, Korra, and Tenzin, escorted by some metalbending officers, conducted a second search of the Sato estate, discovering a massive factory with Equalist propaganda and several weapons, including new massive mecha tanks. However, they soon found out it was a trap as Hiroshi Sato sealed the factory off and began to engage Lin, Korra, Tenzin, and the officers with the new robot-like machines. While the group was able to fend off Sato, he and the Equalists eventually overpowered the benders and rendered them unconscious. Sato ordered his men to bind and bring them to Amon.

Meanwhile, Mako and Bolin managed to sneak into the factory undetected, and began carrying Korra, Tenzin, and Lin out, but when Sato discovered them and prepared to attack the brothers, Asami appeared from behind and used an electrified glove to knock out her father and the Lieutenant, giving time for the rest of the group and herself to escape via airship. They, however, were forced to leave Lin's officers behind.

While on the airship heading back to the city, Lin, still in pain from the attack, told Tenzin that she feared for the fate of her men and, since she had failed as police chief, was planning to resign in the morning. Tenzin told her to not give up the fight, but the metalbender stated she was resigning so that she could find her men and take down Amon without the restraints of the law.

Lin officially turned in her resignation the next morning and turned the chief's position over to Saikhan.

Searching for the Avatar


Some days later, Lin awoke to a radio broadcast announcing that Korra had been kidnapped by the Equalists. She went to the prison and quickly freed Asami, Mako, and Bolin, who had been imprisoned by the Metalbending Police Force under Tarrlok's orders. Uncovering a network of tunnels under the city, the four, including Tenzin, discovered and infiltrated the Equalist hideout. Lin also found the officers who she was forced to abandon underneath Hiroshi Sato's mansion; however, once she discovered that Amon had already taken their bending away, she expressed regret and apologized for arriving too late. Several minutes later, a chi-blocker they had captured then told them under duress that the Equalists had never kidnapped Korra and that Tarrlok had been lying. With the help of Lin's earthbending and metalbending, they escaped from their pursuers via tram, the group making its way out of the underground tunnels to the surface. From there, they traveled towards City Hall to confront Tarrlok.

Once they arrived, the group challenged Tarrlok's story of what had happened the previous night, telling him they knew he was lying and had Korra. His assistant then revealed that he was a bloodbender, and he had, in fact, kidnapped the Avatar. Lin and Tenzin readied themselves for combat, but Tarrlok knocked the entire group unconscious by bloodbending them. After they woke up, resumed their search for Korra.

Later, when Lin and the others heard Naga howl, they traveled to the source of the sound and found the polar bear dog with Korra on her back. Lin attempted to find out from Korra where Tarrlok was, but Mako pushed her aside, demanding that they all gave Korra some space.

Defending Air Temple Island
Some time later, Lin was living at Air Temple Island, and she promised to watch over the family. When the Equalists came, she tried to defend her self, but she was electrocuted. Jinora, Ikki, and Meelo came to her rescue and defeated the group of attackers in a small battle with surprising ease. As more airships started coming, Tenzin hatched a plan to take his family to a safer location away from Republic City.

Lin knew they would need protection and went with them, taking it upon herself to protect the last airbenders in existence. As she and Tenzin's family fled, two Equalist airships pursued them. As the enemy approached, Lin made the difficult decision to attack the airships, telling Tenzin, "Whatever happens to me, don't turn back." One of the airships launched a net to capture the sky bison, which Lin used as a way to get onto the airship. Once on top, she ripped a hole in the metal and tore the top of the airship in two. She launched to the second one to do the same, but was ambushed by the Equalists and electrocuted.

Apparently satisfied with their capture, the Equalists turned back and stopped following Tenzin and his family. Lin's sacrifice prompted Meelo to say, "That lady is my hero," a statement with which Tenzin solemnly agreed.

Lin was brought back to Air Temple Island to face Amon. He inquired about Korra's whereabouts, telling her that if she complied, he would not remove her bending. Lin, tied up and defenseless, chose to remain silent and willingly sacrifice her bending in order to protect the Avatar. Amon removes her bending and she collapses to the ground.

Personality


Lin was a tough and uncompromising police chief, Tenzin himself describing her as "challenging". She makes it clear when she is irritated or dislikes someone, being abrasive, especially toward Tenzin. Though, she can show her soft side at times. When she was chief of police, she apprehended anyone who broke the law, regardless of their intent, as she was quick to condemn the actions of Korra when the Avatar destroyed public and private property in an attempt to thwart the actions of the Triple Threat Triad. She believes that the only way to maintain peace and stability in Republic City is through the use of military might, and worked hard to enforce the city's laws, and felt that Korra could potentially compromise all of this. However, she and Korra both worked together in trying to defeat Amon, proving that she now trusts Korra to a certain extent.

Lin has many traits that at first appear to be different from those of her mother, Toph. While her mother, at least in her young years, was freewheeling and laid back where rules were concerned, Lin has a no-nonsense attitude and takes the rules that were set in Republic City very seriously. However, Lin is also shown to be willing to work outside the law to free her officers, displaying Toph-like attitude. Moreover, it is likely that as chief of police, adult Toph also displayed law-upholding attitude.

Lin has inherited her mother's habit of not giving special treatment to others based on titles, as seen through her treatment of Korra. Despite her indifferent and somewhat cold exterior, Lin also cares deeply for the safety of Republic City, and takes responsibility for those who serve under her, as demonstrated when she decided to resign from her job so she could work outside the law and its limitations to save her officers taken captive by the Equalists.

Abilities
Like her renowned mother, Lin has mastered earthbending in all its forms, able to easily manipulate large stone structures and launch herself high up into the air. She is also equally proficient in both traditional earthbending and her mother's style. As head of the Metalbending Police Force, Lin is especially proficient in the advanced art of metalbending, able to easily manipulate, rip metal beams or floors from their post and tear apart an airship by herself. For more general use, Lin will use her standard retractable metal wires, which are highly versatile in battle. With them, she is able to perform considerable acrobatics, easily moving around the Pro-bending Arena to reach its roof. She can also fashion them as wrist blades for close-range battle. Lin has performed intricate and otherwise delicate metalbending as well, from unlocking metal handcuffs from a distance to wrapping her armor around herself, and even closing up Bolin's fly. However, she is incapable, like all metalbenders, of bending metal of exceedingly high purity like solid platinum.

Lin has also demonstrated a great mastery of seismic sense, which allows her to locate a secret tunnel leading to Hiroshi's Equalist factory, and determine who is within the area. For example, she was able to locate her captured officers within an Equalist hideout but also knew Korra was not there. She can also determine the unique shape locked door without seeing it to effectively open it with her bending. Like Toph, Lin's ability is limited without direct skin-contact, requiring her to either user her hands or retract the soles on her boots.

Also, despite being middle-aged, Lin is very agile, quickly recovering from a chi-blocker attack and in the same move, somersaulting upright and taking down two chi-blockers. Like her mother, Lin is also considerably strong, able to launch Korra to the roof of the Pro-bending Arena with one arm's metal wire while using the other to swing in the air. She has also shown considerable aim, able to snap Tarrlok's gavel from across a large room with one of her metal wires.

Unfortunately, she has her earthbending and metalbending abilities taken away when she refuses to tell Amon where Korra is located.

Relatives

 * Unidentified father
 * Toph Beifong (mother)
 * Lao Beifong (maternal grandfather)
 * Poppy Beifong (maternal grandmother)

Trivia

 * She was first announced on July 23, 2011 at San Diego Comic-Con, and is the second named child of a member of Team Avatar, the first being Tenzin.
 * Chief Beifong's appearance bears a greater resemblance to her grandmother Poppy Beifong than to her mother, at least as seen in the Avatar: The Last Airbender series.
 * Lin Beifong has two scars on the right side of her face.
 * Lin was responsible for updating the metal cables on the police uniform from being in their belts to being in spools on their backs.
 * Lin Beifong's character design, but not her personality, was partially inspired by Han Young Ja, the general manager at Studio Mir, and longtime friend and colleague of Bryan Konietzko and Michael Dante DiMartino.
 * When Korra was frustrated with her inability to airbend, she tried directing an airbending attack at a newspaper hanging on a line with an image of Lin on the front page. When she failed to blast it away, she set fire to it instead.
 * Lin is the first person in The Legend of Korra to use seismic sense, but the third in both series. The first one to use this was Toph, who then taught it to Aang. Lin then learned it from Toph.
 * Despite her being an earthbending master, Lin appears to heavily favor metalbending.
 * Lin's method of equipping herself with armor resembles that of many heroic characters throughout media history, such as Iron Man.
 * Lin is the first female to have her bending taken away in the Avatar Universe.