Besides being one of the best animated shows of all time, YES WE SAID IT, ALL TIME FOLKS, The Legend of Korra excelled in having some incredible action sequences. Over the four seasons, the creators and animators came up with some intense and unique ways of incorporating the bending of elements into their fights, so we had to choose some of our favorite ones.
(18) Avatar Korra vs. the Chi-Blockers: Book One – “The Revelation”
Okay so what I love most about this fight (& honestly chi-blockers in general) is the idea of average humans going head up with benders & serving them consistent, embarrassing fades. So inspiring, in fact, that it encouraged months of me attempting to chi-block unsuspecting family & friends (I regret nothing) while helping cement my fascination with the series. The fight itself ended kinda “meh” for my taste, but it served notice that all the throwing fire & uprooting earth meant nothing when #DemPaws got laid on you, breh. – Chace
(17) Bolin and The Rebels vs The Earth Kingdom Mechs: Book Four – “Reunion”
Bolin should now be known as Rocka Lava Flames from this moment forth. We been waiting to see him put the burner on folks and fresh on the run with Varrick from Kuvira’s camp he finds himself teaming with rebels then having to save their lives & redeem himself at the same damn time when them mechs with the upgrades come up. This is in-the-trenches-Bolin, back on his street shit, taking off the military stripes and seeing who the fuck want what with his suped up flame game. – Omar
(16) Tonraq vs. Unalaq: Book Two – “Night of a Thousand Stars”
This was a straight up family affair. We had Tonraq having to put the hands on his own niece & nephew then take it to his brother. This was a short fight but you can’t tell me seeing Tonraq run the ice gauntlet against Unaloq wasn’t colder than Bobby Drake eatin’ Baskin Robbins. Tonraq was going American Ninja meets wipe out just before being able to grasp Unalaq but that bullet time leap left his ass wide open for Unalaq to summon all that gawd on him. – Omar
(15) Avatar Korra vs. Kuvira [Round 2]: Book Four – “The Last Stand”
Much of Korra’s most meaningful battles are rematches in a sense. She takes an “L,” survives and then adapts to emerge victorious the next time they fight. Korra almost got that sleepy time tea from Kuvira the first time when she was still suffering from PTSD and was generally out of fighting shape in the Battle for Zaofu. This battle right here gave you everything you needed to see in Korra minus the obligatory training montage, swallowing raw eggs and jogging at 5am in these Republic City streets. Kuvira gets a couple hits in (literally, like two), but Korra put them embiggen bender paws on Kuvira this time and it was probably a blessing for the self-proclaimed empress that the fight was stopped by their ride getting blown in half. – William
(14) Avatar Korra & Asami Sato vs. The Earth Kingdom Raiders: Book Three – “The Earth Queen”
This fight was so fun to watch! I chugged down a bottle of MOTHER-EFFING-GIRLPOWER while watching and felt so very refreshed. Korra and Asami (My fellow Korrasami shippers hello there) hanging out and trouble comes their way. Some people do Hoodrat things with their hoodrat friends, Some prefer to do Cosplay things with their Cosplay friends, but in the Avatar Universe? The current Avatar who is female and her best pal who is a non-bender but lethal in every way possible—kick ass and take names. Best team up since Bey and Nikki teamed up for that “Flawless” remix. Extraordinary bending from Korra both defensive and offensive with beautiful acrobatics and that lovely electrifying glove that sends God knows how many watts through your body from Asami. – Carrie
(13) Avatar Wan vs. Vaatu: Book Two – “Beginnings, Part 2”
Avatar Wan is someone I feel that doesn’t get his just due which is a shame seeing how this man single-handedly launched more careers than Dr Dre. Before Wan who you know was out in the streets pulling African Prince Scams on the Lion Turtles to keep his firebending? Before Wan who you know was outchea parlaying with the spirits? Before Wan who you know was outchea mixing that earth with that wind and that fire like Maurice White in ’69. (Do your Googles!) Wan is essentially the Sugar Hill Gang of the Avatar Universe and we gotta pay homage. At the end of his character arc we witnessed a deceitful and reckless boy grow into a diplomatic and courageous man who was willing to lay his life on the line for his beliefs. Fusing together with Raava, we witnessed Wan access his Avatar state for the first time in a final effort to the defeat dark spirit Vaatu proving that as long as there is an Avatar, harmony and balance will always be restored. – Taj
(12) Ming Hua & Ghazan vs. Mako & Bolin [Round 1]: Book Three – “The Stakeout”
The Red Lotus was a menace fam. They were the older cats that traveled from the other side of town, won their first game on the Winner’s court and then smashed everybody else waiting who had next for the rest of the day. Whether it was dominating Tonraq, the Twins and Lord Zuko (LORD FREAKIN’ ZUKO for crying out loud) during P’Li’s prison break or holding their ground in Zaofu during the failed kidnapping of Korra, it was evident that cats had not gathered enough XP in the side quests to even touch them. So what chance did our young gawds Mako and Bolin stand against them? In this first meeting, not much. They held them off for a little bit and ultimately accomplished the goal of letting Avatar Korra and Asami escape, but them cats got the brakes beat off them God of War style complete with a continue screen asking if they wanted to switch to easy mode. – William
(11) Avatar Korra vs. UnaVaatu: Book Two – “Darkness Falls”
The significance of this fight could really be summed up in four words: Avatar Vs. Dark Avatar. Or how about First Of Its Kind, or even Ahhhh! Holy holy shit!!!. Seriously, witnessing two superior benders with every element at their disposal going head up for the fate of the next 10,000 years was such an incredible scrap it deserves a 7 game series. Unavaatu snatching the Holy Ghost up out Korra like that??! Top 5 fade in Korra lore (idc idc idc) with ramifications rippling on FOR-EV-ER (cut her connection to past Avatars permanently & even Raava herself temporarily, reconnected material world to spirit world, ultimately brought back the Air Nation). – Chace
(10) Korra vs. Kuvira [Round 1]: Book Four – “Battle of Zaofu”
First things first, Ku’ the realest! Queen Of The Combo & Goddess of Whogoncheckmeboo, Kuvira absolutely WASHED Korra (the ever-loving Avatar) using little more than roof shingles, timely earthbending, & a Muhammad Ali counter game that curled my face into the same shape it takes when a center gets dunked on by a point guard. In all fairness, yes, Korra was still struggle-bussing through PZSD (Post Zaheer Stress Disorder) & was certainly not 100%, but Kuvira wasn’t some chi-master bloodbender or Vaatu-fused demigod- she was just strategic as a cobra & not for the games. Color me impressed. – Chace
(9) Suyin Beifong & Lin Beifong vs. P’Li: Book Three – “Enter the Void”
After rescuing her from becoming a warlords personal weapon, Zaheer and P’Li began to fall in love and even though the two were separated due to incarceration for 13 years their love for each other never faltered. Before traveling to Laghima’s Peak to capture the then surrendering Korra, P’Li and Zaheer took a moment to began confessing their love for one another. It was a sweet tender moment which ultimately made the scene after kind of hard to watch. P’Li was about to land the final blow on Lin at the edge of a cliff when Suyin DA GAWDESS snuck her, wrapping her armor around her head. Zaheer calling out to P’Li one final time is one of the most heartbreaking scenes in the whole series. – Taj
(8) Avatar Korra & Lin Beifong vs. the Chi Blockers – Book One: “And the Winner is…”
One of the best episodes of Book One included the Pro-Bending Championships when Amon chose that stage to show how much power he had over benders. Wu-Equalists Ain’t Nothin’ to Fuck With. After making The Wolf-Bats impotent for the whole stadium to see, Korra tries to ride that tidal wave up to the escaping chi blockers, but has to be bailed out by Lin. The first time. Aside from the great fight scenes, this is really about building the legend of Lin Beifong as a straight up superhero. – William
(7) Tenzin vs. Zaheer: Book Three – “The Ultimatum”
With all the time he spends being “the grownup” in his family, it’s easy to forget that Master Tenzin is a). the oldest living airbender and b). the son of the previous Avatar. Meanwhile, Zaheer had busted out of the pen and soloed everyone from Korra herself down to the White Lotus interns on Air Temple Island. No, seriously…it’s important that we put a fine point on that. Zaheer reduced virtually every single character on this show to the first guy you fight in Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out (bonus points if you can even remember his name). Well, when he paid a visit to the newly reformed Air Nation with the Red Lotus handing out those Guru Laghima leaflets, Tenzin finally had enough. He’d heard the legend…and he was not impressed. The Son of Aang then proceeded to upload the Deluxe Mayweather package all over Zaheer to let him know, “These tats aren’t decoration, brother. I’ve BEEN holding it down.” Granted, Tenzin lost but we all know it’s because Zaheer had some tag team specials hidden in his pocket. Still, I think we know who Da Gawd really is. – Oz
(6) Avatar Korra vs Tarrlock: Book One – “When Extremes Meet”
This fight was maybe the first time we saw Korra try to use reason before just losing her shit. She’s like “Tarrlock, come on, let’s talk this through,” and then Tarrlock threw it back in her face like “You ain’t tryna talk about shit, you better tool up or get off my corner.” Korra chose the former and thus began the epic throw down. Korra spit dragonfire at Tarrlock for like 5 seconds showing off some marathon-level Avatar stamina, and Tarrlock made himself a force field à la Magneto in the 90’s. In a move that is the epitome of stubborn Season-1-Korra, our homegirl punches the daggers, I repeat, she punches the daggers, as they flew towards her. You knew it was over so you grabbed your coat and left the stadium to avoid traffic. In the the most sudden comeback of all time, Korra froze up stiffer than the Tin Man, and Tarrlock revealed he was basically playing with one hand tied behind his back. Game over. – Jordan
(5) Suyin Beifong vs. Lin Beifong: Book Three – “Old Wounds”
To call Lin Beifong a hard case is an understatement similar to calling Kanye West “a bit difficult.” Book 3 came with the revelation that Republic City’s top cop comes from a family with more issues than Sports Illustrated. Team Avatar’s visit to Metal City revealed that Toph’s daughters still had a few things to get off their chests. In truth, they could have left it with some nasty comments traded and that would have been that. But Suyin had to go and use what we in the business call “fighting words.”
“No wonder Tenzin ended things with you years ago.”
….and it all went downhill from there. The Battle of the Beifongs let that metal fly like a Gwar reunion tour. And you thought YOUR family had drama. – Oz
(4) Suyin Beifong vs. Kuvira: Book Four – “Operation Beifong”
This has to be the best per-second action scene in the history of bending. Suyin was in the middle of owning dozens of nameless soldiers with her sister before she looked out, saw Kuriva in the distance, and left the basketball court like Kobe saying, “y’all ain’t doing nothing for me.” She stepped to Kuvira — who had not only captured her ass, but also just owned the Avatar toe-to-toe — with absolutely no hesitation, like Kuvira’s still the snot-nosed brat she would bend over her knee. She threw a shipping container, y’all. A shipping container. What was in it? We don’t even know — machine parts, dead bodies, the collective dignity of those who fucked with Kuvira in the past — it didn’t matter to Suyin. She got tossed and had to fall back but that wasn’t the point. That fight was a message. Aye, Great Uniter! Real recognize real and now you know… I ain’t scared. – Jordan
(3) Avatar Korra & Tonraq vs. Zaheer: Book Three – “Enter The Void”
If I compare this fight to Muhammad Ali and daughter Laila taking on an opponent, who the HELL IS ZAHEER SUPPOSED TO BE?! This fight? Desperation. But calm desperation from Tonraq. There’s this man, Zaheer trying to take away and snuff the life out of his daughter, his seed and he ain’t having it. Not without putting up a fight. And eff your damsel in distress trope —Korra Da Gawd handcuffed in platinum handcuffs, jumps in this double dutch match to put in work too. Korra and her Pops working so well together and it’s BEAUTIFUL . It’s poetry until Zaheer gets the upper hand, of course and knocks Tonraq out. And by out I mean off the mountain they were all on. – Carrie
(2) Team Avatar vs Kuvira in the Giant Mech: Book Four – “Day of the Colossus
Remember the Gundamn commercials with cats saying the level of the Gundam and how long it took them? Level 5 was the highest until Kuvira came on the scene sayin, “Level 9,000 Gundam. 3 years.”. Team Avatar was straight up fighting a platinum colossal titan. Meelo had the first seal team 6 diversionary paint tactic, then came the most electrifying earth benders in Zafou entertainment dropping a god damn building on it, Korra having to stock up to level 3 and dump out the avatar hyper combo, ON TOP of Asami, Varick, Zhu-Li and Mr. Sato going illuminati think tank trying to cut into the mech! Woooo, Kuvira pointed her spirit gun more times than your favorite trap rapper doing gun signs in their video. The mech put up that good fight but all Team avatar needed was that opening and it was straight up, “Squad Up” rolling in for the kill. – Omar
(1) Avatar Korra vs. Zaheer – Book Three: “Venom of the Red Lotus”
Ever since Zaheer gave those White Lotus guards that time and half work from his mountain top cell, we were building for this shit. By the time this fight happens, Korra got a body full of poison and a heart full of hate hate hate.
Show Comments
Travis Fleming
I think Korra catching a beat down by spirit Korra in the swamp before she met Toph was awesome.