Korra


 * This article is about the character. For the series, see The Legend of Korra.

"water"

- Well I got news for you. You need me, but I don't need you. I'm the Avatar.

Avatar Korra, born in the Southern Water Tribe, is the Avatar succeeding Aang. A talented and eager-to-learn bender, Korra has already mastered waterbending, earthbending, and firebending, but has yet to master the art of airbending. Hotheaded and rebellious, Korra fully accepts and relishes her role as the Avatar, and believes that being a powerful bender is all that it takes to be a great Avatar. While she initially had no spiritual connection to her past lives, including Aang, she has begun to overcome her spiritual block. However, she has yet to overcome her airbending block.

Background
Korra was born to Tonraq and Senna in the Southern Water Tribe after the death of Avatar Aang. At the age of four, she discovered that she was the Avatar, a fact she proudly announced to the Order of the White Lotus when they came on her family's request. After performing waterbending, earthbending, and firebending before them, her identity as the Avatar was established, and her training to become a fully realized Avatar began in earnest under the Order's watchful eye. Over the next thirteen years, Korra mastered waterbending and earthbending, and by 170 ASC, her firebending training was almost complete.

Arrival in Republic City
By the age of seventeen, Korra demonstrated her firebending prowess to the Order of the White Lotus and Katara, her waterbending teacher. Although expressing concern over her lack of restraint and ignorance of spiritual matters, the leader of the White Lotus decided that she had successfully mastered fire, her third element, and was ready to commence her airbending training under Tenzin's tutelage. However, Korra's airbending training was put on hold when Tenzin announced that the imbalance in Republic City was preventing him from leaving the city to relocate to the Southern Water Tribe as planned. Unhappy, she decided that if Tenzin could not come to her, she would go to him. With Katara's blessing, she stowed away on a cargo ship heading for the city with Naga, her polar bear dog and animal guide.



Upon their arrival in Republic City, Korra and Naga roamed the city, discovering for themselves just how out of balance it really was with its unequal division of wealth and rampant street crime. In the park, Korra comes across an Equalist protester trying to bring together non-benders to join Amon and the Equalists. After she calls bending "the coolest thing in the world" and openly considering to waterbend the protester off of his platform, the non-benders get riled up against her. After successfully thwarting members of the Triple Threat Triad, Korra found herself apprehended by the Metalbending Police Force on charges of destruction of private and city property. After an unsuccessful runaway attempt, she was brought to the police headquarters, where she was interrogated by a displeased Chief Lin Beifong. Although Tenzin managed to persuade her to drop all the charges against Korra, Lin made it very clear that she would keep an eye on the young Avatar.

Even though Tenzin had promised to send Korra back home again, she managed to persuade him to let her stay, as he now realized that Republic City needed its Avatar. She was allowed to stay and commence her airbending training on Air Temple Island under Tenzin's tutelage. Her decision to take residence at Air Temple Island was publicly announced during a press conference in front of City Hall in Republic City, during which she stated that "Avatar Aang meant for this city to be the center of peace and balance in the world," and that she would strive to obtain that goal.

Pro-bending


Korra found herself struggling with mastering the "element of freedom", eventually destroying a priceless Air Nomad training tool with firebending in a fit of rage, turning her anger on Tenzin. She continually found herself frustrated at her inability to airbend, and by the fact that Tenzin would not allow her to attend a pro-bending match, something she wanted to watch since childhood. Unwilling to sit idle on the island, she snuck off at night so she could finally attend a match at the arena. Upon arriving, she was caught exploring the arena's gym by Toza, but was bailed out by Bolin, who stated she was "with him". Following her rescuer, she was guided to the playing area where she was introduced to Bolin's brother, Mako. Initially, Mako scarcely acknowledged Korra, assuming she was just another one of Bolin's "fangirls". This caused the two of them to get off on the wrong foot; however, he later impressed Korra when he single-handedly defeated the Golden Temple Tigerdillos in the third round of a pro-bending match. Still, he seemed indifferent to Korra's presence even after he learned that she was the Avatar. She hung around for the match and became enthralled with the sport and the Fire Ferret team. After the match, Bolin taught her some basics, and Korra proved herself to be a natural.

When the Fire Ferrets' waterbender, Hasook, appeared to be a "no-show" for the final match, Korra jumped at the chance to take his spot and compete. Early on, her inexperience showed when she committed two quick fouls, prior to revealing herself as the Avatar by earthbending. The official ruled she could continue to compete but had to stick with waterbending. When Tenzin ordered her to return to the island immediately, she justified her stay by stating that it was important for her as the Avatar to learn modern-style bending, something pro-bending could help her with. Struggling with the rules and the pace of the game, Korra slowly got the feel of it. Korra started applying some of her airbending lessons by moving around in her zone like "a leaf in the wind", proving to Tenzin who was still watching that his teachings were not all lost to her. This sudden change of tactics from Korra won the match for the Fire Ferrets. This victory gained the team access to the official pro-bending championship tournament, and Korra was accepted to permanently replace Hasook as the waterbender on the team.

Meeting Amon


When Korra was practicing airbending at Air Temple Island with Jinora and Ikki, Mako arrived to ask her about Bolin's location. After her insistence to help find Bolin, she and Mako decided to go looking for him through the city. In Central City Station, they met Skoochy, who told them he had been recruited to the Triple Threat Triad. When Mako and Korra made it to the gang's headquarters, they learned that Bolin had been captured by the Equalists in a raid and immediately set out to rescue him. They traveled to Republic City Park to find the protestor, who told them that Bolin was likely taken to the Equalist rally called "The Revelation". At the rally, they discovered that Amon possessed the power to permanently remove one's bending powers, a skill thus far believed only to be obtainable by Avatars. During Amon's demonstration on the captured benders, among whom Bolin, Korra released a large sheet of steam from containers hanging from the sides of warehouse, which created panic and distracted the Equalists long enough to allow Mako to rescue Bolin. When the brothers were overpowered by the Lieutenant, Korra arrived just in time to save them with her earthbending, and they made their escape on Naga. As soon as Korra got back to Air Temple Island, she informed Tenzin and consequently the United Republic Council of Amon's power.

The encounter with the Equalists and their leader left a profound impression on Korra, as she had nightmares about being immobilized by their chi blocking and subsequently being stripped of her bending by Amon. For the first time in her life, Korra found herself afraid of something, although she refused to admit it. This fear held her back in her daily life, and when Councilman Tarrlok approached her with the offer to lead a special task force with him to take down Amon, she politely refused with the excuse that she needed to focus on her airbending training. However, Tarrlok did not give up and he threw a gala in her honor. He tricked her into a press conference, during which Korra buckled under the accusing questions of the journalists and shouted that she would join Tarrlok's task force to help fight Amon, if that was what the city needed.



Eager to prove to everyone, including herself, that she was not afraid of anyone, Korra successfully apprehended several Equalists, with the help of Tarrlok's special task force, and publicly challenged Amon to a midnight duel at Aang Memorial Island, without any back-up of the task force or chi blockers. However, Amon did not show up alone, and his henchmen quickly overpowered her. When Amon emerged from the shadows, Korra was terrified that he was going to take her bending away. However, he did not, and instead revealed that he had a plan to rid the world of benders and that he was saving her for last in order to prevent her from becoming a martyr. Following Amon's monologue, he knocked her unconscious where she experienced several flashbacks surrounding Avatar Aang, Sokka, Toph, and a mysterious man in what appeared to be a congress room or council meeting. When she regained consciousness, Tenzin was running toward her. After telling him what happened, Korra broke down and finally admitted that she was terrified of Amon and the Equalists and that she did not know what to do.

Romantic issues
After the horrifying encounter, Korra settled down, taking a break from Tarrlok's task force to prepare for the upcoming Pro-bending Tournament. However, her feelings for Mako continued to impact her, showing jealousy in the presence of Asami. She refused Bolin's advances to her, declining his requests to spend time together, rather electing to return to Air Temple Island for further training with Tenzin.

She later spoke with Jinora and Ikki, hoping for advice on how to approach Mako. Pema overheard the conversation and gave Korra the advice to just be honest with Mako.



After Korra and the Fire Ferrets earned a convincing victory in the first round of the tournament, she followed Pema's advice and confessed her true feelings to Mako. However, he turned her down, telling her he was with Asami and did not see her in the same way. Seeing her downbeat, Bolin again invited Korra for a night out, and this time, she accepted, much to Mako's annoyance. The two enjoyed a dinner at Narook's Seaweed Noodlery, but were interrupted by Tahno, who attempted to provoke them into a fight. Bolin urged Korra to ignore Tahno's approach, warning her that harming him outside of the arena would disqualify the Fire Ferrets from the tournament. Heeding the warning, Korra called on Naga instead, who intimidated Tahno with a loud roar. After this little interruption, the two continued their night out together, enjoying drinks in a bar and the panoramic view of Republic City at night from atop a tower.

When Korra returned to the Pro-bending Arena the following night, Mako was waiting for her, inquiring what kind of game she was playing with Bolin to get back at him. Korra immediately saw through his attitude and called his reaction jealousy. However, when she asked Mako to be honest and admit that he liked her, the two got into an argument, which nearly cost them the next match against the Boarcupines.



Korra was approached by Mako after the match, who admitted that he had not been honest with her. He explained that he did have feelings for her, but was confused due to his relationship with Asami. Korra impulsively kissed Mako, and was kissed back in return. When she broke it off, she noticed Bolin standing nearby and looked away in shame, and was blamed by Mako for breaking Bolin's heart.

The next day, the semifinals began against the Buzzard Wasps. The romantic struggles presented a serious problem during the match and further divided the team. Frustrated, Korra excessively roughed up the opposing firebender with waterbending and even assaulted an official. At the start of round three, having lost the first two rounds convincingly, Korra tried to motivate her dejected teammates to not give up, albeit to no avail. Stubbornly refusing to give up herself, Korra fought the match of her life by herself, and secured a spot in the final by knocking all the Buzzard Wasps off the field with one powerful attack. Afterwards, the team made amends, putting their romantic differences aside to let friendship prevail. Korra was later complimented by Asami for her hat trick victory, and returned this kind gesture by sincerely thanking her and her father for their financial aid.

The Pro-bending Championship


The day of the final match of the Championship Tournament, Korra, along with Bolin and Mako, was training when they heard a radio broadcast from Amon. After hearing him threaten with "severe consequences" if the United Republic Council would not shut down the Pro-bending Arena, the three friends rode to City Hall to convince them not to cancel the final. Korra pointed out that they could not give in to Amon's threats, however, to no avail as the Council had already unanimously agreed to do so. She found an unlikely ally in Chief Lin Beifong, and due to her interference, the Council changed their minds and let the match be played. Korra wanted to thank Lin for her help, but was completely ignored. When she complained to Tenzin about Lin's hostile attitude, she came to the conclusion that Lin's issues were with Tenzin rather than with her.

In the match for the championship, the Fire Ferrets faced off against the White Falls Wolfbats. With cheating and some help of the bribed referees, the Wolfbats almost won the match in the first round with a knockout, but Korra managed to keep her team in play by holding onto the edge of the field. However, she fell in the water when she threw Mako back in play. The second round was to be decided with a tiebreaker, and Korra immediately took the chance to face off with Tahno, which resulted in an easy victory for the Avatar. However, despite this success, the Wolfbats defeated the Fire Ferrets in the third round with an illegal knockout.



When the match ended, Amon and the Equalists ambushed the Pro-bending Arena, and Korra, who was still in the pool under the ring, was quickly immobilized by the Lieutenant when he touched the water with his electrified kali sticks. Falling unconscious, Korra had another vision of Aang fighting someone in the Avatar State with Toph also alongside him. When she came to, she and her teammates were tied to one of the support beams of the arena, but they were soon freed by Pabu who saved them by bitting the ropes. Korra immediately created a waterspout to give chase to Amon and the Equalists who were escaping through the roof. With the help of Lin Beifong, she managed to reach the Equalist airship and knocked off the Lieutenant and an Equalist before being knocked off herself. A battle between the four Equalists and Korra, assisted by Lin, soon ensued in which Korra mainly focused on the Lieutenant, whom she managed to overpower and knock off the roof. However, the strain of the fight was too much for the arena's glass dome and Korra fell through, but was saved by Lin. After she thanked the police chief for the rescue, Mako, Bolin, and Tenzin joined them and together they watched the Equalists get away, realizing that they were now officially at war with them.

Equalist ties
During the shutdown of the Pro-bending Arena, Korra visited Mako and Bolin in the attic of the building. She told the brothers that they did not have to worry about living on the streets again, as Tenzin had agreed to letting them live on Air Temple Island. They were humbled by the offer, but they told her that Asami had already offered them a place to stay at the Sato estate. Korra, though uncomfortable about this, did not say anything and made up an excuse to leave. Asami stopped her and invited the Avatar to visit the estate the next day, to which Korra at first refused saying she had "Avatar stuff" to do, but was then convinced by Bolin to do so.



When Korra visited the Sato estate the following day, she found Mako, Bolin, Asami, and Pabu having fun in the pool. The hostess then took the group to a racetrack and offered to take Korra "for a spin", to which the Avatar agreed enthusiastically. Korra sat in the backseat of a car with Asami at the wheel and they competed against other driver, finally winning the race.

Back at the mansion, Korra overheard Hiroshi Sato talking on the phone about the Cabbage Corp investigation and an upcoming "strike". She immediately left the mansion and contacted Tenzin and Lin Beifong, theorizing that Hiroshi could be working with the Equalists. The three of them went back to the estate and questioned the businessman. After getting permission from Hiroshi to search all of Future Industries' factories, Chief Beifong had her officers search for any evidence that could link Hiroshi to the Equalists, however, no evidence was found. During a search in one the warehouses, Korra received a tip by a worker asking to meet underneath Silk Road Bridge. She immediately informed Tenzin and Lin, who accompanied her at the bridge, where the worker informed them that Hiroshi had manufactured the weapons the Equalists had used during the attack on the arena, and was creating more new weapons for them in a hidden factory under his mansion.



Korra, Tenzin, Lin, and a number of police officers went back to Sato's home via airship, eventually finding a tunnel that led to the underground factory. There, the group discovered that the new weapons were large mecha tanks, that suddenly began to move while Hiroshi's voice could be heard coming from one of them, and Korra realized that the informant was nothing more than a setup. Controlled by Sato and various other Equalists, the tanks attacked the intruders, easily overpowering and knocking them unconscious. As the Equalists were loading the captured officers into their trucks, Mako and Bolin found their way into the factory and started carrying Korra and her accompaniment out, but were stopped by Hiroshi. Asami then arrived at the factory and confronted her father and the Lieutenant, allowing the group to escape safely.

While heading back toward Republic City, Korra told Mako that he, Bolin, and Asami were all welcome to live on Air Temple Island with her and Tenzin's family.

Confronting Tarrlok
After her friends moved to Air Temple Island, Tenzin and Korra left for Saikhan's inauguration as the new chief of police. While there, the Avatar and the airbender confronted Tarrlok, questioning his actions, but the Councilman requested Korra to re-join his task force, to which she refused. Tarrlok then alluded to the Avatar's lack of progress on her airbending, which caused her to worry about her airbending and spiritual block. She later spoke with Tenzin about the matter, mentioning that she was confused about the visions she had had. Tenzin advised her to meditate on these visions, believing Aang's spirit was trying to contact her.



When she was crying while looking out at Aang's statue, her friends found her and cheered her up by assuring her they had her back. As the new Team Avatar, they decided to patrol Republic City in order to protect it from the Equalists. After arresting several escaped Equalist prisoners, Tarrlok confronted the team and warned them to stay out of his way. Later on, at a supposed Equalist rally in the Dragon Flats district, Korra and her friends spotted a significant power outage in the area, which turned out to be caused by Tarrlok and several metalbending officers in accordance with a new law against non-benders. The non-benders pleaded for Korra's help, who confronted Tarrlok but without success. She decided to intervene and attempt free the innocent non-benders, much to the Councilman's displeasure, who then took all of Korra's friends into custody. Later that night, Korra and Tenzin spoke with Saikhan at the police headquarters, requesting that he release her friends and the non-benders, but the chief refused.



Later that evening, Korra left the island on Naga and went to City Hall, where she confronted Tarrlok regarding his radical actions. He proposed that if she agreed to work for him, her friends would be released, but the Avatar refused and compared him to Amon, which infuriated the Councilman and caused him to attack her, ensuing a duel between the two. Korra appeared to have won the duel when she knocked the Councilman out of his office and down to the Council's meeting room with a large earthbending attack, leaving Tarrlok without a source of water. However, just as she prepared two send fire blasts in his direction to end the duel, Tarrlok used bloodbending to control Korra's body and throw her across the room, knocking her unconscious as she had another vision of Aang, Sokka, Toph, and the same unknown man, who bloodbent the entire room while Aang tried to stop him. As Korra awoke, she found herself tied up in the back of a police car, while Tarrlok told her she would never see Republic City again, for he was going to take her where no one could ever find her.

Imprisoned and isolated


Tarrlok took Korra to the mountains, a place of seclusion, and locked her in a metal container in the basement of a small building. In the containment, Korra decided to meditate on her previous visions and finally connected with Aang's spirit, as she had additional visions of Aang dealing with a powerful, criminal bloodbender named Yakone. During a trial where he was found guilty, he bloodbent the entire court into submission, knocking Aang unconscious and forcing Toph to release him from his restraints. Yakone escaped, but Aang entered the Avatar State and chased down Yakone, where he fought, cornered, and stripped the bloodbender of his bending abilities. Korra then realized that Aang was trying to warn her about Tarrlock and his relation to Yakone. The Councilman then returned to the "prison", where Korra told him about her visions, pressing him to tell her the truth and admit his wrongdoing. He finally admitted that Yakone was his father and that he would now leave Republic City forever with Korra as his hostage.

Before anything else could happen however, the prison was raided by the Equalists, led by Amon. Korra overheard Tarrlok being stripped of his bending, and Amon ordering his chi blockers to subdue Korra by electrocuting the box in which Korra was trapped. Korra ingeniously took one of her arm bands and wrapped one end around one of the metal bars at the top of the box and held onto the fabric, where she received a very mild electric shock and remained conscious. She escaped the box, injuring a few other men, eluding the other Equalists and escaping from Amon. She slid down a snowy hill and tripped over a branch, hurtling towards a tree. The blow knocked her unconscious, but Naga who tracked her from Republic City, discovered her and carried her home.



They wandered through the forest until they reached Republic City, where Naga roamed the streets. Team Avatar – along with Lin and Tenzin – eventually found her, having heard Naga's howls whilst searching for Korra on Oogi. Mako, visibly worried about Korra beforehand, told everyone to, "give her some space" shoving his way past Lin and Tenzin who were crowding around Korra, and picked her up off Naga, cradling the Avatar in his arms. Mako, after retrieving Korra from Naga's back, laid her down on Oogi, brushing hair from her face assuring her, "You're safe now." She smiled in return, happy to be near him again. Team Avatar, Lin, and Tenzin then flew her home on Oogi, relieved that the Avatar was safe and sound.

Republic City falls
After being found unharmed, Korra was taken back to Air Temple Island by the rest of Team Avatar, Lin, and Tenzin. As Korra attempts to recover from the ordeal, Mako remains at her bedside and even held Korra's hand, while Asami watched secretly at the door. Soon after, Team Avatar, Lin, and Tenzin enjoy a meal with Pema and the Airbender kids. After eating for a bit, Korra admitted that Pema's food was starting to "make [her] feel like [herself] again." Tenzin then encouraged her to tell her harrowing tale. Korra explained that Tarrlok was Yakone's son, surprising both Lin and Tenzin. When asked how she escaped and where Tarrlok was, Korra responded that Amon had shown up out of nowhere, took Tarrlok's bending, and captured him. She also told of how she was almost captured as well. Tenzin then expressed his fear of Amon becoming emboldened and that taking out a councilman and nearly capturing the Avatar was increasingly worrisome. He then told the group that he was afraid that "Amon [was] entering his endgame."



The next day, the Equalists began their attack on Republic City, starting with the capture of all council members, with the exception of Tenzin, who was able to fend off his attackers. Seeing the devastation from the island, Korra and her friends traveled to the city in hopes of aiding the battle against the Equalists. Using Asami's Satomobile, they drove to the police headquarters where Tenzin was under attack by the Equalists. The gang, along with Tenzin, defeated the mecha tanks, preventing the airbending master's capture. Upon seeing an Equalist airship close in on Air Temple Island, they traveled on Oogi and arrived on the island. Successful at repelling the attackers, Tenzin orders the evacuation of the island knowing that more airships will arrive soon. Tenzin tells Korra to hide and leave the city for now, promising her that when the United Forces arrives, they will return and turn the tide against the Equalists. Korra agrees and vacates the island on Naga with Mako, Bolin, and Asami. They then flee to Republic City, where she and the rest of Team Avatar go to a secluded water pipeline. There, she sadly gazes at the destroyed Air Temple until Mako tells her to get going. He then wraps his arm around Korra as they continue to walk down the water pipeline.

Soon after, the wire Tenzin had sent to the United Forces was received, reporting that the city had fallen under the Equalists' control. A large force had been dispatched to aid the city, led by General Iroh. Iroh told his subordinate to respond that his forces would arrive in three days time, and that together they would take back the city.

Personality
Korra is fiery, hot-headed, tomboyish, and pugnacious. Her personality is in many ways the opposite of the previous Avatar. Aang was a peaceful, diffident, nomadic airbender, whereas Korra is tough, impatient, headstrong, sarcastic, and assertive. She has a poor grasp of the damage her powerful bending can cause and her immaturity and lack of forethought often lead her to disrespect those around her. However, like Aang, she also has a good sense of humor and enthusiasm, and a vulnerable teenage charm.

Korra's lack of spiritual grasp has proven to be a stumbling block in her training; she admitted that her personality is the opposite of the typical airbender's, and as Tenzin noted, Avatars tend to struggle with the bending art most opposite to their personality. Because of this lack of a spiritual center in her life, Korra is impulsive and therefore has a hard time hiding her true feelings; this can be seen when in her reaction to learning that Asami Sato was Mako's date during the gala Tarrlok threw in her honor, where she immediately expressed her jealousy by being rather hostile toward Asami and short with Mako.

Due to her concentration on the physical side of bending, Korra was initially quite worried when she saw "the revelation" of Amon's true abilities during his demonstration, a fear which expressed itself in Amon's words in the nightmare she had soon afterwards, "Once I take your bending away, you will be nothing." This and her later encounter with Amon revealed this fear. She tried repressing these fears for the good of Republic City when she joined Tarrlok's task force, but had trouble staying her usual upbeat self and became rather reclusive, and eventually made the rash decision to call Amon out on a one-on-one duel. This indicates that she is ruled by her emotions even when she tried to pretend they did not exist, leaving her vunerable to Amon as shown by the results of that "duel".

Like her immediate predecessor Aang, Korra places a high priority on her position as the Avatar. Yet Korra is unlike Avatar Aang in their approach to being the Avatar. Aang showed an unrelenting determination to follow his own path as the Avatar, despite what others dictated he should do (contrary to his usual laid-back personality), Korra, on the other hand, seems genuinely concerned with what others think her path should be as the Avatar, showing one aspect of her character which is not entirely confident.

Bending


As the Avatar, Korra has the unique ability to use all four elements, and has the potential to become most powerful bender in the world. Furthermore, since she was young, Korra has always had an affinity for the physical aspect of bending, though she struggles with its spiritual aspects. Despite this initial struggle, she has slowly begun to obtain spirituality to see visions of her past life in Aang.

Waterbending
Korra's waterbending abilities manifested at a young age, before she had even been recognized as the Avatar by the Order of the White Lotus. Subsequently trained formally in the art for over a decade by Katara, arguably one of the greatest waterbending masters alive, Korra has obtained complete mastery in this art in addition to its various techniques and skills. She is capable of creating large walls of ice and powerful water whips. She used her waterbending abilities to procure herself a spot on the Fire Ferrets pro-bending team, referring to herself as a "top-notch waterbender".

Healing


Korra learned the waterbending technique of healing from Katara, whom Korra described as the best healer there is. She first demonstrated the ability by healing the wound on Bolin's shoulder after he was injured in a pro-bending match, able to easily soothe away the pain.

Earthbending
Korra's earthbending abilities also manifested early, and her training in the art only strengthened her technique. Spending over a decade of intense training, Korra has gained complete mastery in this art. She has demonstrated her adept skill and power in earthbending on several occasions, notably launching a member of the Triple Threat Triad several stories into the air. Korra's earthbending is also able to affect a considerable radius, upturning and demolishing everything in the area.

Firebending


As with earth and water, fire too manifested at a young age, and it became the element Korra most prominently utilizes. Her firebending training was finished when she passed the test at the age of seventeen, gaining complete mastery in this art, including various advanced techniques such as breath of fire. Contrary to the usual difficulty an Avatar has with learning the opposite of his/her native element, firebending has become second nature to her. This unusual combination has been noted to be due to her innate personality being quite fit for the art thanks to her natural assertiveness and fiery spirit.

Airbending
Unlike the prior three elements, airbending did not come easily to Korra, and she has yet to manifest the power at all. Tenzin explained that she found difficulty with the bending technique due to the same reasons that his father, Avatar Aang, had difficulties with earthbending, as they are the elements most opposite their respective personalities. Korra herself admitted that she was "as opposite an airbender as you could get".

While initially having found difficulty with airbending's fighting style and battle tactics even after she begun training with Tenzin, during her first pro-bending match after joining the Fire Ferrets, she managed to employ the basic evasive movements of airbending, ultimately tiring out the opposing team to win the match with Mako and Bolin. As her training has progressed, she has shown better understanding of its moveset while practicing at Air Temple Island, able to quickly and gracefully maneuver through the gates and ultimately learned of its physical maneuvers. She later proved able to apply these evasion tactics against the Lieutenant, effectively dodging all his attacks. In Endgame, Korra is able to unlock her airbending abilities after having her bending taken by Amon. With it unlocked, she is able to save Mako and expose Amon to his followers.

Other skills


In addition to bending, Korra also has considerable physical prowess. Her impressive raw strength can easily lift Tenzin and his kids at the same time, as well as effectively traversing various terrains and surfaces with great speed to hoist herself easily up and off a rooftop. She can easily throw a much larger and heavier opponent against a set of pipes with enough force to break them, and can shatter large chunks of ice launched at her with a single punch each. In addition, she is a capable unarmed fighter, able to knock out opponents with a single kick and subdue them with only Mako's scarf. Even against an expert weapon-wielder like the Lieutenant, Korra skillfully parried and countered his close-range assault. Furthermore, with a combination of bending attacks, she was able to create openings and land powerful physical blows, ultimately defeating him. She is quite fast and agile, able to skillfully dodge a much larger opponent's assault in a narrow area. Korra is also quite nimble; she is able to jump considerably high, do noticeable acrobatic flips and mid-air twirls to further aid her in battle, and skillfully dodge large barrages of ice projectiles nearly unscathed.

Korra has keen instincts under pressure, demonstrating capable tactical and escape skills, such as using her armband as an insulator against the Lieutenant's electrical assault, and faking unconsciousness in order to catch the Equalists by surprise. In the last episode it is revealed that Korra had indeed airbend and survive bloodbending.

Relatives

 * Tonraq and Senna (parents)
 * Aang (immediate predecessor)

Appearances
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Book One: Air (气)
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Trivia

 * Her name follows a longstanding tradition in the polar Water Tribes, where often people include one or two "K"s and/or have an "AH" sound in their name (Katara, Hakoda, Sokka, Pakku, Kuruk, Kanna, Arnook, etc.)
 * Korra is the third known female Avatar. The first two were Avatars Kyoshi and Yangchen.
 * Korra is the second Avatar to be bloodbent by an enemy, the first one was her predecessor Avatar Aang.
 * The creators could not find a name that they agreed on that followed the tradition of the Water Tribe names, but when they were staying in an eco-lodge, the owner introduced them to his dog, Cora. The creators agreed on the name, and with a spelling tweak, it fit into the established culture.
 * Korra's situation appears to be the opposite of that of Aang; Aang had mastered airbending and had to travel the world to learn the other three elements. Korra has mastered waterbending, earthbending, and firebending, and has yet to learn airbending. In addition, while Aang was very in tune with the spiritual side of bending and had to work to achieve the physical side of it, Korra is talented with the physical side of bending, but has very little aptitude for the spiritual side.
 * When anglicized, Greek "Kore" reforms as "Cora", with both names meaning "maiden". Kore is also another name for Persephone, Greek goddess of the underworld, who is described by Homer as a "formidable and powerful young queen".
 * Corra means "run" in the imperative mood in Portuguese and Spanish, possibly relating to her athletic skill.
 * In the Ethiopian language of Amharic to be korra is to be over satisfied.
 * Korra is the name of a village in the Tibetan Autonomous Region of China.
 * Korra's name bears resemblance to Cora Baker's given name. Baker is the voice actress who voiced the young, four year old Korra.
 * Korra is the first Avatar to hail from the two Water Tribes since Kuruk from 489 years ago, although he is from the Northern Water Tribe whereas Korra is from the Southern Water Tribe.
 * Korra is the second known Avatar shown to know of her status as the Avatar before her sixteenth birthday, Aang being the first, though she knew of her status at a significantly younger age.
 * Despite being born a waterbender, meaning firebending is her polar opposite, Avatar Korra has trouble with airbending instead due to her headstrong nature and lack of spirituality.
 * Korra is the only known Avatar to have both biological parents featured in the series.
 * Korra is the only known Avatar to have their bending blocked with chi blocking.
 * Korra is the only known Avatar to have used waterbending for healing purposes.
 * Korra favors the "I'm looking for the bathroom" excuse whenever someone confronts her on what she is doing, when she should not be there.
 * Unlike Katara and a waterbender from Triple Threat Triad, Korra does not carry a water skin. Instead, she relies on her firebending skills when there is no water around.
 * The opening animation with her as the waterbender also depicts her headstrong personality, compared to Pakku in the previous series with his graceful control and smooth motion releasing a clean ball of water; Korra's form spills excess water and forms a rough water whip which torrents onto the screen.
 * Whereas Aang relied very heavily on his native element and preferred to use it before making use of any other, Korra does not seem to have any real preference over using her own native element; as noted, she does not bother to carry a water skin. In fact, she relies more on firebending than any of the other elements; most likely due to the fact that it is the most lethal of the bending arts and requires no natural resources (neither does airbending, which Korra has yet to master).
 * Korra is the first known person to ever have tamed a polar bear dog.
 * Korra is the waterbender shown in the opening sequence of The Legend of Korra.