<div class="quote"><i> <p>SorcererSupreme21 wrote: It has been confirmed that bending is hereditary, so I guess this thread will quickly turn into one about dominant and recessive genes etc. So here's a joke - </p><p>How do you tell the difference between a male chromosome and a female chromosome? </p><p>You pull down its genes! </p> </i></div>
<p>Go home. </p>

<div class="quote"><i>SorcererSupreme21 wrote:
It has been confirmed that bending is hereditary, so I guess this thread will quickly turn into one about dominant and recessive genes etc. So here's a joke - <p>How do you tell the difference between a male chromosome and a female chromosome? </p><p>You pull down its genes! </p> </i></div>
<p>Actually, bending is not heriditary, and I don't think the thread will be about genes because bending is in no way genetic, it's spiritual. You don't have to come from a bender family to be a bender. It's all about chance.  </p>

<div class="quote"><i> <p>Mrnewwanderer wrote: Actually, bending is not heriditary, and I don't think the thread will be about genes because bending is in no way genetic, it's spiritual. You don't have to come from a bender family to be a bender. It's all about chance.  </p> </i></div>
<p>How so? Until the people of different nations started living together, any benders born in a nation only had one kind of bending. </p><p>I think genetics at least plays a factor. </p>

<p>Bending was granted spritually, and became a hereditary trait, just like eye color or hair type. It can be dominant or recessive, depending on the person. This is like Force sensitivity in Star Wars, explaining how some people are Force-sensitive and others aren't. But there are obviously no midi-chlorians involved in this. </p><p>I think that in most cases, bending is a recessive gene. This would explain why bending is not that common, as in all nations except the Air Nomads (because bending was granted to all of them back in the Era of Raava) nonbenders represent the majority of the other nations' populations. </p><p>Another parallel that this resembles is the mutant gene in the Marvel multiverse, in which (at least in its mainstream universe, Earth-616) mutant genes were given to humanity by the Eternals, an ancient cosmic race of essentially gods. This is similiar to how bending was granted unto humanity by the lion-turtles. I won't forget to mention that the mutant gene also seems to be recessive or simply rare, as a very small percent of humanity are mutants. </p><p>My point is, Kiyi could be a firebender, but it is highly unikely, as she has never displayed any signs of so, nor has it been mentioned nor implied. Genetically, it is also very unlikely, as bending is seemingly a rare or at least recessive gene, and as she had two nonbending parents, making it all the more unlikely that she is a firebender. But who know, I could be wrong. But I still believe she is a nonbender just like her parents. </p>

<p>Ah, okay. Makes more sense now. </p><p>This makes me wonder, though... at what age does bending usually show up? </p><p>We see Korra could use three elements at a pretty young age, but it seems she's the exception, not the rule. Ozai also mentions in the comics that Zuko didn't have the "look" of a bender when he was an infant. (Though since it's Ozai, he could've totally made that up to mess with Zuko.) </p>

<p>I assume it is still like Force sensitivity; at a relatively young age, though there could be some late bloomers as well. </p>

<p>Nevermind, Kiyi is a bender. </p>

<div class="quote"><i> <p>SorcererSupreme21 wrote: Nevermind, Kiyi is a bender. </p> </i></div>
<p>Yeah, she is. That was a fun moment. :) </p><p>I didn't want to say anything directly, since putting "spoiler" at the top of my post kind of would have made it obvious what the spoiler was. </p><p>It's interesting, though, that neither of Kiyi's parents suspected that she was a bender. If she never had much interaction with other firebenders, it might have been quite a while before anyone figured it out. </p>

<p>The dominance of a gene is not the best predictor of the amount of people who will express it (or vice versa). If you have a population in which 90% of the alleles are the recessive gene & 10% are the dominant gene, then through random mating, you would expect roughly 80% of the population to have the recessive trait & 20% to have the dominant trait. This would remain the case unless the allele frequencies changed, & the dominant gene would actually be more vulnerable to extinction, due to its rarity & the fact that it's not as beneficial. </p><p>But it probably would not be that simple, as most traits are controlled by multiple genes, plus the environment. Other than that, I basically agree with that explanation. </p>

<p>There was an original draft of 9 pages by the creators which stated that a person could be a bender in Avatar Universe irrespective of their parents being benders or not. But bending depends on the heritage of their parents. It is highly likely this concept was dissolved through the Legend of Korra Series just like they dissolved the concept of the Avatar being the <i>"Spirit of the Planet"</i>. </p>