<p>I've heard some people saying firebending in Korra is significantly nerfed, that they don't see those epic jets of flames, fire blasts, and such. I think these are valid observations. But also consider this theory that is derived based upon the observations in ATLA and LOK.
</p><p>I entertain the following question: What if firebending in ATLA was disproportionately intense because Sozin Comet's was only a year away? All the firebending we saw in ATLA (except flashbacks from Roku's past) was like "Firebending + Sozin's Comet T minus 1 year". Shouldn't the comet influence firebending as it gets closer to the world, and when it arrives, it exerts the peakest influence possible on firebending?
</p><p>Whereas in LOK, Sozin's Comet is now 40 years away. Based upon the above reasoning, its influence on firebending must be much less potent. If that's the case, it might help explain why firebending 'looks' nerfed in the series. Yet in reality, the firebending we see in LOK might be more like "base firebending," relying on its base power source, Sun.
</p><p>There's a mathematical logic behind how much Sozin's comet could influence firebending with respect to its approximate distance to the world of avatar. The base effect of sun on firebending is constant. Whereas the added effect of Sozin's comet is variable relative to its distance (Of course, whether or not Mike and Bryan thought about this is anyone's guess).
</p><p>In summary, there appears to be a greater insight we can derive from this. Fire is the element of power, requires intense focus and discipline of breathing and self-control, otherwise, has a tendency to destroy things quickly (Jeong Jeong). But its plausible that its influence appears to wax and wane with the comet. This effect might be instrumental in keeping the world in balance by preventing fire to be strongest element for all the time.
</p><p>Thoughts?
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(Edited by administrators)