Current Events > Exactly how powerful was Azula in her right mind? (A:TLA spoilers)

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She's a master strategist and cunning manipulator, and it was shown multiple times throughout the series how she could outwit most of her opponents with agility alone. And, of course, she's an extremely skilled firebender. She even took down Aang while he was in the Avatar state. But, at top form, how would she fare against the other characters in a 1v1 duel?

-Obviously she could take down Zuko without much effort.

-Iroh, I'm not too sure. He was a military general, the Dragon of the West, a master firebender who also knew how to redirect lightning, and had the the mysticism of the Spirit World to boot. He was even shown to best her on few occasions, though usually only to help Zuko out of a pickle, and never really fought her directly.

-Toph, she could pretty much annhilate if she remained airborne. And lying was no sweat.

-Ozai? Maybe? She seemed smarter than him. Although he might've been more powerful.

-Ty Lee was capable of taking her down if she caught her off guard. But in a 1v1 fight? They both seemed to be tied for agility, with Ty Lee perhaps a smidgen more. If anything Ty Lee would likely just be dodging fireballs and lightning the entire time.

-Mai, Sokka and Suki she could wipe the floor with.

-Katara would probably be her most interesting match-up. In her mental breakdown, Katara was able to defeat her, but not easily. But with both at peak form? It's a tough call. The battleground would be a major deciding factor on who has the edge. Katara quickly became a master waterbender, and Azula would have a real tough time if it were under a full moon, at night, or in a wintry climate. With no water, Katara would be at a major disadvantage. Although if worse came to worse, Katara could bloodbend the shit out of her. And Katara was able to best her in the crystal caverns. But Azula is so nimble and can read her opponents inside-out, it's really hard to say. Thoughts CE?
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I agree with all of what you said except for Ty Lee. I think she'd also fuck Ty Lee up.

Did Korra ever learn to redirect lightning? I feel like unless you master that skill, a master lightning-bending firebender is almost undefeatable.
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It's been a while since I saw it, but if I recall, I think the only Firebenders above her at the time were Ozai, Iroh, and Jeong Jeong. And they were all very powerful, experienced Firebending masters.

We know she could beat Zuko. At first, pretty easily, but he seemed to be gradually, slowly catching up with her as time went on. If nothing else, he can neutralize her lightning. I think late season 3 Zuko could fight her to a draw, but I don't think he could win.

I think Katara can take her reliably as long as she has an adequate source of water nearby. If it's a full moon and Katara feels like bloodbending, she could probably take anyone on the show other than Aang in the Avatar state.

I think Aang could also take her pretty reliably by the end of season 3.

Toph would be a cool fight, but I see Azula winning it reliably.

There is basically nothing Sokka, Suki, Mai, or Ty Lee can do to stop her. Sucks being a non-bender who isn't Piandao.
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