Avatar: The Last Airbender was — and still is, to a degree — a monument in animated storytelling. It had a wealth of well-written characters with believable struggles and a world perfectly molded around them, and I haven’t encountered many who don’t agree it’s one of the greats.
But, even with a collective seven seasons and way more books, there’s still so much we don’t know about the world of Avatar: The Last Airbender. In fact, despite the Avatar Cycle being established almost 10,000 years before the series begins, did you know we only have concrete info on ten total avatars?
It’s kinda crazy to think about, but that won’t stop us from ranking the ones we do know about in a tier list, because everything’s a power-scaling competition. We’ll be basing our ranking decisions on several factors, including but not limited to if we know literally anything about them aside from their name. So, without further ado, let’s blow this cabbage stand. Here’s our strongest avatar tier list.
Top 10 Strongest Avatars (ATLA) — Tier List
| Rank: | Avatar/s: |
| S | Aang, Kyoshi |
| A | Wan, Korra |
| B | Roku |
| C | Kuruk, Szeto, Yangchen |
| ??? | Gun, Salai |
S-Rank
It would be a disservice to the “original” Team Avatar not to award Aang a cushy spot in S-Rank. I mean, the boy somehow managed to master all four elements — for the most part, anyway — in just a year. Sure, it was by necessity given the presence of Sozin’s Comet, but it’s still impressive. Then, he goes on to play a critical role in the establishment of Republic City, the backdrop for his successor Korra’s series.
I don’t know about y’all, but any time Kyoshi is on screen in the animated series, she exudes dominance. Thinking back to “Avatar Day,” we learn that not only did Kyoshi (indirectly) kill a warlord, but did so by breaking her village’s peninsula and separating it from the mainland (thus creating Kyoshi Village), which is one of the most metal things we’ve seen an avatar do.
A-Rank
I remember thinking that Wan was my favorite avatar, if for no other reason than he is the only one we’ve seen (aside from maybe Korra) who is just an ordinary person burdened with higher purpose. I think it also helps that he set the standard for the next 10,000 years of avatars to follow. But, despite that, he still doesn’t clear Aang or Kyoshi, so into A-Rank Wan goes.
I feel the fact that Korra existed in a generally peaceful time doesn’t do her any favors in this ranking. But, don’t get it twisted; she fended off a sociopathic bloodbender, a primordial spirit monster, and a rogue airbender terrorist before toppling an earthbending fascist, so she deserves credit where it’s due. I just struggle to believe she’d be able to also take down Aang and/or Kyoshi. [Editor’s Note: She’s the only avatar to metalbend and is S-tier in my heart. – Eric]
B-Rank
I feel this might be a controversial choice, but Roku has never really impressed me as an avatar, and I believe that’s because his story is so heavily predicated on his loyalties to Fire Lord Sozin. Roku, and his defeat at the hands of Sozin, is the primary reason the Hundred Year War, and the Air Temple Genocide, was able to happen at all. I feel that alone bumps Roku down a few notches in my book.
C-Rank
Szeto, Kuruk, and Yangchen are avatars we don’t know a whole lot about (aside from what’s revealed in the books) so I put all three into C-Rank. Based on what we know about Szeto, he was too focused on the Fire Nation due to it being in a state of nigh-collapse, but despite that I feel like if you’re the avatar, you have a duty to the entire world, not just your home nation. Kuruk also seemed somewhat distracted by the Spirit World, and you could make the argument that he was searching for his wife, but still. And Yangchen has a lot going on in the books, though she only appeared sparingly in the original series, so based on that alone, she joins Szeto and Kuruk here in C-Rank.
???-Rank
To be honest, we know an uncomfortable amount less about Gun and Salai for me to properly rank them, so they have their own special spot here in ???-Rank.
So, what do you think about this list? Do you agree with it, or disagree? Let us know in the comments, and tell us where you’d place the avatars if you had to make your own tier list!
