Talk:Airbending/@comment-110.33.12.96-20111218141713/@comment-75.101.1.190-20120207091826

Let me make this clear; those giant fireballs are NOT rocks. Not even made of smaller rocks, and I don't know why you said that, because I certainly never did. I already watched that particular scene your mentioned in winter solstice. It's what convinced me that the mass in question wasn't a boulder, as it looked nothing like one. And even if Aang's kick can shatter stone, it still wouldn't have disintegrated into dust like that! And no, in that scene in "Return" he clearly doesn't "disintegrate" them, we see them flying off intact in another direction. So no, Aang CANNOT blow up boulders the size of Appa with a single move. And no, the reason he didn't do it against Bumi wasn't because the writers hadn't thought of it yet - they figured out how the world worked years before, especially the bending - it was because Aang can't, and is never seen doing it.

"By your logic, why did earthbender guards use “surface-to-air rocks” against the Avatar and Toph in ‘the Earth King’?"

I could list the ways in which that scene is completely incomparable with the Fire Nations' attacking the Earth Kingdom, but will focus on the most obvious; the guards, from their point of view, weren't attacking Aang and the others, they were defending the Royal Palace from several intruders, using whatever they had available. They had no preparation whatsoever. The Fire Nation, on the other hand, knowingly and willingly invaded the Earth Kingdom, and prepared for it years in advance. And you honestly believe that the Fire Nation thought that the best way to attack a kingdom where a least a third of the population can control earth and stone was to throw rocks at them? That would be like attacking the Water Tribes with fire hoses!

And the point I was trying to make was that no, the fireballs wouldn't have "Splattered everywhere" (your exact words, I believe) for the same reason that Aang can defect a fireball in episode two and it crashes into an iceberg instead of just getting snuffed out. And the argument that "It makes a solid noise" when Aang deflects a fireball is REALLY flimsy. At the most, it proves that Fire Nation fireballs are more solid then regular fireballs - which we both already know. It's not that the fireballs don't have mass, it' s that they have nowhere NEAR the mass of solid rock.

"Who knows why Aang fights the way he fights and when and where he does so?" What does that even... yes, yes we DO know why Aang fights the way he does. And when. And where. The show makes that very clear. This is just you badly dismissing something that goes against your theory. So no, as I've been striving to help you understand, Air does not have the force that the other bending arts do, as was demonstrated in the show time and time again.

I guarantee you that the Buzzard-wasp WAS cleaved in two. No,there was nothing unclear about the animation, and I find it hilarious that you insist your so-called evidence all came from the show itself - unless it proves you wrong, then it was a mistake. You're right, it's badly out of character for Aang, who normally values all life. That is the POINT of that scene, demonstrating how furious and unhinged Aang had become. That is part of the reason why he feels so awful in the next episode. And no, it's not hypocritical to kill an unthinking animal in a fit of rage (and feel horrible about it later) and then not want to purposefully murder another thinking, feeling human being in cold blood.

I brought up waterbending's cutting potential to illustrate how much stronger it's offense was compared to airbending. Yes, airbending can do things the other arts can't, but blowing up a giant rock is not one of them. Yes, he smashed a few skimmers and, in Seige of the North, a catapult, proving that airbending has at least some offense, which I never debated. Also, note that Aang did all these things, including slicing the wasp, with his staff, providing evidence that Aang can't normally bend that strongly without a tool to augment his bending. And on a more minor point, those weren't explosions, they were air blasts. Air does not explode.

"As for the telekinesis thing, I “bothered” to bring that up because Aang could just as easily lift a rock and smash it into something as an earthbender could." Again, no he can't. While we saw him levitate things, they were pebbles, not rocks. He cannot lift huge rocks with the same ease Earthbenders can - of COURSE he can't, because that's earthbending's thing, it wouldn't make any sense for airbending to do it just as well.

And no, the Azula chase wasn't a plot hole. Maybe you misread my explanation, but the problem wasn't that he couldn't keep up - the problem was that he couldn't speed up AND attack Azula at the same time. he was trying to make her tell where Ozai was, not beat her in a race. I know a lot of people cried foul on this scene, but it always made sense to me. And yes, the creators did have to make sure the fight scenes where exciting - which is one of the reasons why they made it so airbending do NOT have much power behind it.

You NEVER gave any proof. You list a bunch of speculation and try to pass it off as proof, and when I pointed out that your irrefutable proof was in fact easily refutable, you respond by throwing a hissy fit, because I guess that's easier then admitting that you might be wrong. Oh, and the wiki is edited by anyone who stops by, which means a lot of it's information was written down by ignorant people who didn't know any better. That edit was probably done by someone with the same wrong opinion as you, and needs to be corrected. The main website was PART of the source material, and while it's true that the show's cannon should be taken first, it's a moot point because the show doesn't contradict anything the website said.

And once again, lack of a substyle is NOT a weakness. Weakness isn't lacking something the other styles have, it's having disadvantages that the other fighting styles don't have. And according to you, Airbending has several advantages (superior speed, flight, it's element is everywhere) and NO disadvantages whatsoever! And when all the fighting styles have their own advantages and disadvantages, except for one style that has no disadvantages at all, than that style is, by definition, stronger then the rest - which is expressly against the competitive balance that was set up between the four elements. No, airbending does not have the power behind it that the other bending styles have - for that matter it doesn't have the defensive power the others have either, hence the emphases on avoiding attacks and making precise strikes. Why would Aang even BOTHER with the other elements if airbending was really so invincible!

And no, cutting a couple of vines and thin wooden planks is not proof of incredible power. And for the record he didn't cut the planks down in "return" he just knocked them down. You basically mention every time Aang uses airbending to attack someone to try and prove how Airbending has the same power as the others, when all it actually proves is that airbending can be used to attack, which was NEVER the issue. We never see airbending blow up walls or create explosions like we see firebenders do, or cut through stone and steel like we see water benders do, and no, we do NOT see airbending destroy large rocks, which earthbenders can easily do.

On the last part we agree though; this is a waste of time. It's obvious that you're so set in your opinion that you stoutly refuse to listen to any opinions to the contrary, as can be seen when you bring up the same points over and over again and insisting they're "solid proof" even after they've already been proven wrong. I also hope that other Avatar fans enjoyed our little conversation, and I pray that they're not as stubborn and pig-headed as you. So long!