Talk:Fire Nation/@comment-173.9.222.134-20120814175429/@comment-96.8.11.10-20121005094320

That's completely incorrect. Aang, Katara and Sokka were thouroughly spanked through out the first season. They just simply always got away by being clever. At the end of the first season when Katara and Aang became masters of waterbending is when the tides started to turn. Not to mention the fact that Sokka is a genius. He invented submarines and airships. Plus, Aang was already a master. Airbenders don't get their tatts until they master airbending. You also have to remember that Zuko was NOT a master when he fought Aang in the beginning of the series. It's constantly stated the the element doesn't matter but ones skill, which is why Aang always won in those confrontations. Furthermore if you go back and watch the series, Aang never beat Azula. Not once. Every fight they had, Azula was clearly the victor.

As for them waging a century long war, dude fire is the most destructive and dangerous element. Fire fighters don't try to save buildings, they try to stop the fire from spreading. It could be assumed that the Fire Nation not only used intimidation and psychological warfare, but also used attrition warfare and simply dwindled their oppenents supplies by just burning everything. Remember Iroh laid siege to Ba Sing Se for 600 days. That's about a year and half of just burning crap. The modern Fire Nation in the series never faced opponents like Aang (the avatar), Toph (a prodigy), Katara (a headstrong waterbending master), & Sokka (a friggin genius).