Anti-bending Revolution

"URN"

- My followers and I will not rest until the entire city achieves equality, and once that goal is achieved we will equalize the rest of the world! The revolution has begun!

The Anti-bending Revolution is an anti-bender movement currently occurring in Republic City as of 170 ASC.

Prelude
When a masked man named Amon rose to power by exploiting the absence of the Avatar, as well as the increasing tensions between benders and non-benders, he, including his rank-and-file Equalists, orchestrated a revolt against all benders alike. The Equalists' main revolt occurred in Republic City, where they fought benders utilizing chi blocking and an impressive array of weaponry to oppose the Metalbending Police Force and Avatar Korra. At the same time, Tarrlok saw the revolution as an opportunity to win Republic City, as his father Yakone had failed to do forty-two years prior.

The Revelation


Soon after Avatar Korra's arrival in Republic City, Amon held a large rally in which he explained that he possessed the ability to permanently remove bending. To prove this, the Equalist leader promptly held a demonstration in which he removed the bending of three Triple Threat Triad members. Captured by the Equalists while in the company of said gang members, Bolin was the remaining bender who was to have his bending stripped from him, but due to a distraction caused by the Avatar, Mako was able to rescue him from this fate.

A successful task force
Eventually, when the news of Amon's ability to remove bending surfaced in the city, Councilman Tarrlok set up a task force in order to combat the Equalist threat. After recruiting Avatar Korra to the team, the force raided a chi blocker training facility, defeating and capturing all the Equalists there.

Attack on the Pro-bending Arena
Before the Pro-bending Tournament's final match, Amon threatened the United Republic Council via radio to shut down the arena and cancel the event or there would be "severe consequences". However, the Council decided to ignore the warning and let the match be played. Metalbending police officers were ordered to patrol the area under Chief Beifong's watch. In actuality, it was Amon's plan that the game would continue as scheduled. This way, the Equalists could carry out an ambush of the arena. After the match's end, several Equalists who had posed as ordinary spectators incapacitated the officers and some of the other benders with electrified gloves, creating a distraction that gave Amon and his underlings their chance to enter the ring. The raid allowed Amon to demonstrate his abilities to the public by "cleansing" the Wolfbats of their bending and then giving a speech about the revolution and its purpose, effectively declaring war on all benders. Disregarding a run in with the Avatar and the Chief of Police on the arena's roof, they successfully escaped via an airship.

Battle at the Equalist factory
Following the attack on the arena, the pro-bending venue was shut down. The Metalbending Police Force then began an investigation on who supplied the Equalists with weaponry. It at first appeared to be Cabbage Corp who had done so, but further investigation yielded evidence that Hiroshi Sato manufactured the weapons. A short battle followed, and Sato's new mecha tanks proved to be successful in defeating Tenzin, Chief Beifong, and Korra. However, Mako and Bolin entered the factory to assist the group, and with the help of Asami, they were able to escape.

Internal power stuggles
When Chief Beifong resigned from her duties, Tarrlok took advantage of this and convinced her successor Saikhan to place the Metalbending Police Force under Tarrlok's command to combat the Equalist. Korra and Tenzin knew that Tarrlok's manipulations gave the councilman greater powers and control over Republic City, and confronted him. Tarrlok asked Korra to rejoin his task force which she refused, and Tarrlok advised her to not get in his way. Instead, she formed a new Team Avatar with Mako, Bolin, and Asami, and began patrolling Republic City. Team Avatar became involved in a skirmish with some Equalists and incapacitated them before Tarrlok's task force arrived, much to the councilman's anger.

Tarrlok implemented a law that was effectively a curfew and arrested innocent non-benders in the Dragon Flats district on false charges. Team Avatar attempted to release them, but all their members, execpt for Korra, were arrested in their place. Korra later tried to intimidate Tarrlok at City Hall to release her friends and the innocent non-benders, but Tarrlok's remarks about both going to extreme lengths to get what they want and Korra's rebuttal that Tarrlok was "just as bad as Amon", culminated into a fierce duel. A heavily scratched Korra managed to cut off Tarrlok's water source and was just about to defeat him until Tarrlok incapacitated the Avatar with bloodbending. Tarrlok immediately tied Korra up and took her to a mountain hideout. The Councilman would later claim that the Equalists attacked and kidnapped Korra.

Capture and cleansing of Councilman Tarrlok
After Tarrlok kidnapped Avatar Korra and put her in a cage, his "bloodbending secret" was revealed. He returned to his hideout in the mountains, where Korra was locked up, and told her that he was making a new life for himself and taking her as hostage. He returned to the main floor of the building, and was greeted by Amon, the Lieutenant, and a few chi blockers. A short battle took place in which Tarrlok subsequently bloodbended all of the chi blockers and the Lieutenant to the ground. Amon, however, was able to resist the bloodbending for the most part, so he proceeded to remove Tarrlok's bending abilities. The Lieutenant and the chi blockers went to Korra's cage and electrified it, with the goal of knocking Korra out by means of electrocution. The plan failed and Korra used her bending to easily escape down the side of the mountain. Tarrlok was then thrown into the back of an Equalist truck by Amon.

Attack on Republic City
Soon after Korra was rescued, the Equalists launched an aerial attack on Republic City. Using a fleet of airships, the Equalists bombed many parts of the metropolis. Eventually the fleet headed towards Air Temple Island, prompting Tenzin and his family to flee on Oogi. Air Temple Island was captured, along with much of the city. It was at this point that General Iroh and the United Forces began their approach on the city, hoping to defeat the Equalists.

List of known major engagements

 * Attack on the Pro-bending Arena
 * Battle at the Equalist factory
 * Attack on Republic City

Trivia

 * The Anti-bending Revolution seems to represent the political revolutions set during the 1920s, mainly the Russian Revolution. It also shows similarities to the equal rights movements of the 1920s and 1960s in the United States as well as similarities to extremist groups like the Black Panther Party. Furthermore, the Anti-bending Revolution also shares several similar traits with Mao Zedong's Cultural Revolution in the People's Republic of China and his Communist take over of the Republic of China in 1949. Nonetheless, the revolt stresses equality and the leveling of society in the status sense. Unlike the Communist revolution, which sought for monetary equality, the Anti-bending Revolution is more similar the Civil Rights Movement in the United States because of its interest in societal equality (being born as bender vs. being born as a non-bender). They also reselbe the nazi party in their view of that all benders should be removed.