Lightning generation



Lightning generation is a technique within Firebending, with which Firebenders are able to produce and direct a bolt of lightning from their fingertips. The generation of lightning was first shown by Princess Azula, during Book 2: Earth season premiere "The Avatar State", while she was being overseen by Lo and Li.

History


Generating lightning involves a circular motion with the arms. Mentally, it involves a complete absence of emotion and peace of mind, and physically it requires separating the energies of yin and yang (also an interpretation of positive and negative electric charge). When the forces collide, the bender only guides, rather than controls, the lightning's direction. Because of this complexity, a lightning attack usually takes much longer to initiate than standard fire attacks. However, Fire Lord Ozai, being an extremely powerful Firebender, was able to generate the most powerful lightning seen in the series so far with great speed, proving not only that lightning can be generated very quickly, but also that it can be sustained, or be shot in a continuous bolt of lightning and held until the user stops producing it. The fact the sun was still mostly covered by the end of the eclipse suggests that his usual lightnings are stronger. With Sozin's Comet, his abilities were vastly enhanced, as he was able to shoot various lightnings repeatedly.

Based on the events of "The Crossroads of Destiny" and their aftereffects, it appears that if it is not blocked or redirected in some way, lightning is a one-shot kill against any human being. Zuko and Aang have both survived Azula's lightning strikes due to Katara's healing abilities: Aang had to be resurrected by the spirit water due to the fatality of his wound, and carried the wound for the remainder of the series. Zuko had to be healed because he failed to do the stomach detour when redirecting the lightning, although he may have done so but not had time to finish the move resulting in some of the energy remaining in his body, which left him incapacitated and unable to keep fighting Azula.



Lightning, also known as the "cold-blooded fire", is very dangerous, even among Firebenders, and only a few powerful Firebenders are capable of generating it; so far the only Firebenders in the series who have demonstrated the ability to actively generate lightning are Azula, Iroh and Fire Lord Ozai. Zuko has expressed a desire to learn these abilities, but his emotional turmoil is preventing him from successfully creating lightning. Creating lightning was first demonstrated by Azula in "The Avatar State", although a similar technique had been previously used by Iroh in "The Storm". Lightning looks visually similar to, but is distinct from, the blue fire that Azula uses in combat.



Despite Iroh's initial claim that generating lightning requires peace of mind, Azula was still somehow able to conjure it during "Avatar Aang" in her frenzy, suggesting that she may still be able to due to her expertise in using it or the presence of Sozin's Comet allowed her to do it. Although it could be argued she was still single minded on killing Zuko allowing her a certain clarity of mind.

As shown during his performances in "The Day of Black Sun, Part 2: The Eclipse" and "Sozin's Comet, Part 3: Into The Inferno", Ozai is the quickest Firebender in terms of generating lightning.