Ming-Hua

"water"

- I never thought I'd be so happy to see your ugly mugs again.

Ming-Hua is an armless waterbending fugitive, previously held in a maximum security facility monitored by the Order of the White Lotus until she escaped with the assistance of Zaheer and Ghazan in 171 AG.

History
In 158 AG, Ming-Hua was involved in an attempt to kidnap Avatar Korra, which led to her detainment in a cell situated above a volcano that deprived her of any sources of water. Thirteen years later, she was liberated following an attack on the prison by Zaheer and Ghazan, during which she was given enough water to create tentacle-like prosthetic arms to allow for her escape. After using pressurized water to open her cell, Ming-Hua used her prosthesis to assist Zaheer and Ghazan in defeating the remaining sentries. Once the guards were all immobilized, Ming-Hua thanked her companions for freeing her, stating she was flattered to have been liberated before P'Li. The threesome subsequently set out toward the Northern Water Tribe to free the last member of their group.

Shortly after arriving at P'Li's prison under the cover of a snowstorm, Ming-Hua began to dash toward the facility while swiftly avoiding a series of ice bullets from Desna and Eska. The twins attempted to trap Ming-Hua by conjuring a barrage of iceberg spikes, though she navigated through them with ease by using her arm-like water projections before trapping the two waterbenders in columns of ice. She proceeded to leap into the air to gather enough momentum to turn herself into an ice drill, which she subsequently used to tunnel underground in order to reach P'Li's cell. After defeating the sentries posted outside the firebender's cell, Ming-Hua froze the door, making it brittle enough to open with waterbending. She promptly released P'Li from her restraints and the two headed back to the surface, where they defeated the rest of their opponents before fleeing the scene with Zaheer and Ghazan.



The four made their way to Republic City, where they sought refuge in an apartment complex located in one of the several districts overran with spirit vines. Ming-Hua was involved in devising a plan to attack President Raiko, which was inevitably abandoned after Zaheer was discovered infiltrating Air Temple Island, compromising the four criminals. In order to leave the city, the four ambushed a delivery man, whom Ming-Hua threatened to hurt with an icicle if he refused to cooperate. The four headed out of the city via Kyoshi Bridge, which was barricaded by officers in search of Ming-Hua and her associates. While questioned by the officers, the truck driver Ming-Hua held hostage wavered in his response, prompting the officers to force him outside of the vehicle to open the back of the truck. Having been discovered, Zaheer used airbending to temporarily fend off the police, while Ming-Hua drove the truck out of the city using her water prosthesis.

Following their escape, the four criminals temporarily camped in a forest outside of the city to discuss a way to find the Avatar. Ming-Hua expressed her regret over not having taken one of the officers hostage, as she believed that the police would have known about Korra's whereabouts. Shortly after being reassured by P'Li that they would find her in due time, Ming-Hua was startled to hear Zaheer exclaim that the Avatar was with the Metal Clan in Zaofu. With the help of Aiwei, Ming-Hua and the others were able to infiltrate the city of Zaofu and the four eventually made their way to the guesthouses near Suyin Beifong's estate. Ming-Hua used ice to cut a small circle from Korra's bedroom window, which allowed Zaheer to sedate the young Avatar and her polar bear dog, Naga, with shirshu-spit darts.



Having captured the Avatar, the four prepared to leave the city, but were inevitably discovered by Bolin and Mako, who began to attack the group with bending. Ming-Hua used her water tendrils to deflect a boulder from Bolin, before fleeing with the others when the guards began to sound the alarms. The four were eventually discovered, with Ming-Hua remarking that their attempt to use the element of surprise failed. Ming-Hua and the others were subsequently trapped in a makeshift metal prison by Lin Beifong and members of the Metal Clan, who ordered the group to release Korra and surrender. As a safeguard, Ghazan created a lava moat around the group to prevent the guards from approaching, but they remained under fire, inciting Ming-Hua and the others to defend themselves with bending.

In the ensuing battle, Lin and Suyin Beifong managed to drop down from metal cables and recapture Avatar Korra, prompting Ming-Hua to ensnare Lin's leg with a water tendril. However, her attempts to pull the metalbender down proved unsuccessful, as Mako was able to break her tendril with a fire blade. Having failed in their attempt to capture the Avatar, the group retreated under the cover of a smokescreen conjured by Zaheer.

Personality


Ming-Hua is a relatively laid-back individual who possesses a sarcastic humor, which she has demonstrated in several occasions. Regardless of the situation, Ming-Hua is also able to remain calm and collected, as she did not panic when she and her group were discovered infiltrating Zaofu. While she retains her composed demeanor in battle, Ming-Hua is an aggressive waterbender who prefers the use of highly debilitating techniques in order to incapacitate and severely injure her opponents. Despite her disability, Ming-Hua is highly self-sufficient and takes pride in her waterbending abilities, even opting to carry P'Li out of her prison herself instead of taking an elevator. She is also fiercely protective of her friends, as she demonstrated when she repeatedly defended P'Li from Bolin and Mako's bending barrages during their attempted kidnapping of Avatar Korra.

Abilities
Despite her lack of arms to perform complex fluid motions necessary in waterbending, Ming-Hua makes use of her body to create two tentacle-like arms strong enough to support her body weight when used as makeshift cables. The ease and fluidity with which she maneuvers her body allows her to maintain projections at great lengths without jeopardizing strength or control, to the extent where she can bend the tips of her tentacle-like arms to bear appendages capable of grabbing someone by the neck from a distance and tossing him across the room without breaking. Essentially, Ming-Hua's use of water tendrils as makeshift prosthesis allows her to overcome her disability and perform otherwise impossible feats, such as driving a truck.



As a testament to her skill, Ming-Hua is able to locally freeze portions of her prosthesis, in effect fashioning the tips of her makeshift arms into an assortment of weapons which she utilizes in combat. The extent of her resourcefulness as a bender is also evident by her use of the body as a weapon in general, as she is able to gather enough momentum to turn herself into an ice drill capable of tunnelling underground. Ming-Hua is also very agile, capable of evading a series of ice bullets with ease and navigating through numerous iceberg spikes with little difficulty.

Trivia

 * Ming-Hua is the third known bender to have a physical disability, the others being Toph Beifong and Combustion Man.
 * Ming-Hua is also the second known female handicap whose bending fills her handicap void.
 * Ming-Hua's design was based on one of Bryan Konietzko's friends, who gained inspiration for her character from "a gruesome joke".