Summary
Waterbending is a significant aspect ofAvatarnot only because it forms an essential part of the four main elements, but it is also the very first Bending technique that viewers get to explore in Book 1 ofAvatar, the Last Airbender. Furthermore, the second installment to the series features a native-born Waterbender as Aang’sAvatarsuccessor, solidifying the significance of the aqueous manipulation techniques.
The art of Waterbending is generally evaluated according to four major subcategories, namely: Functional, Combative, Healing and Bloodbending. As the name suggests, Bloodbending is usually left for the morally deficient characters and is not a prerequisite for mastering Waterbending (unless Yakone happens to be the teacher).
Updated July 27, 2025, by George Voutiritsas:In the Avatar franchise,Waterbendingis the element of change, and it is considered the most graceful and fluid of the fighting styles. In general, Waterbenders focus on defense, but they can seamlessly transition into offense. Waterbending masters can manipulate water and ice with minimal difficulty, and they can move across a battlefield with impressive speed. Some Waterbenders are even capable of defeating Firebenders, who have been enhanced by Sozin’s Comet. Fans of the Avatar franchise know who the strongest Waterbenders are, but there are other Waterbenders from both Avatar: the Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra who also deserve recognition.
Alive
Johanna Braddy
This is more of an honorable mention than anything else because, at the end of the day, Waterbending would not be possible without the Moon and Ocean Spirits! Some argue that the Moon is the ultimate Waterbender, constantly pushing and pulling the tides of the Ocean and essentially connecting the Southern and Northern Water Tribes.
Princess Yue was also not technically a Bender herself, however, she sacrifices her life to take Tui’s place as the Moon Spirit, subsequently fueling countless Waterbenders in her wake. The persistent Yue continues to do whatever shecan to help Team Avatarfrom the spirit world with her words of wisdom and newfound Lunar powers.
Tress MacNeille
Hama is an iconic character who stems from the Southern Water Tribe and turns the creep factor to the max when she introducesAvatarfans to the malicious concept of Bloodbending. During the full moon, Hama learned how to become the ultimate puppet master by manipulating the blood within people’s bodies, forcing them to do her bidding.
Hama also has an uncanny ability to locate hard-to-find water sources, finding ways of drawing water straight from the air molecules themselves. Much like Ming Hua, this old crone was forced to use Waterbending to her full potential as a survival tactic.
Deceased
Dee Bradley Baker
Tarrlok did was a Bloodbender, but he was not as skilled as his father and brother. This Republic City Councilman is a highly skilled Waterbender with a level of precision and technique that is almost unmatched. Tarrlok takes Korra on single-handedly in an epic battle that displays his full range of combative talents from tapping into his Northern Water Tribe roots.
The power-hungry leader’s skillssufficiently overpowered the Avatar, allowing Tarrlok to kidnap Korra and hold her hostage. He proves capable of Bloodbending large groups simultaneously and is only thwarted once his resistant brother, Amon arrives at the scene.
Desna and Eska are Korra’s cousins, and when their father died, they became the leaders of the Northern Water Tribe. They were originally on their father’s side, but they turned on him when it became clear he was evil. They both show very little emotion, and they are not fond of most people, places, or things. Desna is more sarcastic, while Eska is seemingly more possessive.
Individually, they are both highly skilled Waterbenders who use an aggressive bending style during combat. They are both quite agile, and they can avoid certain attacks with well-timed flips. Their Waterbending is much stronger when they work together. As a team, they can hurl entire icebergs at their opponents and fill an entire battlefield with spikes of ice.
Lisa Edelstein
Kya is the only Waterbending child ofAvatar Aang and Katara. She traveled the world and used her healing skills to help others, but she relocated to the Southern Water Tribe after her father’s death. Kya is a free-spirit, but she can also be serious and responsible - especially when her family needs help.
Kya was trained by Katara, so she was able to become a true Waterbedning master. She can use a variety of advanced techniques with ease, and she can control running water with little difficulty. Ming-Hua was a deadly Waterbender, but Kya was able to counter many of her moves for a time, and she fight Zaheer on her own.
Mae Whitman
When fans first meet Katara, she is the only Bender left in the Southern Water Tribe, subsequently forcing her to be self-taught without much success. She also managed to extend her combative knowledge after stumbling across a Waterbending scroll, but for a while,Katara’s Waterbending capabilities were as temperamentalas her emotions.
Master Pakku gave Katara a Waterbending crash course and, together with Aang, she became a force to be reckoned with. One of Katara’s strongest techniques is her Icebending, which quickly becomes her signature move. Her most valuable and efficient skill however, is her natural talent for healing. Many owe Katara a great deal of gratitude for her restorative touch. By the end ofAvatar: The Last Airbender,Katara was able to briefly fight on par with a comet-enhanced firebending master like Azula.
Tonraq is the father ofAvatar Korra, and he is the leader of the Southern Water Tribe - which becomes an economic power in the decades since the Hundred-Year War. He can be brazen and hotheaded at times, but he and Korra are incredibly close.
Tonraq is physically strong, and he became a waterbending master when he was fairly young. He prefers to use an aggressive form of Waterbending instead of the classical style. In doing so, Tonraq can infuse his brute strength into his bending. That being said, he can still use his Waterbending to move around the battlefield with impressive speed. Tonraq can take out several Northern Water Tribe soldiers at once, and he can briefly hold his own against Zaheer.
Victor Brandt
Katara and Aang wouldn’t be half the Waterbenders they are today without the assistance of Master Pakku, who was once regarded as the greatest Bender of the Northern Water Tribe, if not the world. His skills are an invaluable addition to the Order of White Lotus, who facilitated the liberation of Ba Sing Se, and he was a key component of the North Pole’s defense against enemy forces.
Master Pakku eventually reunites with his true love in the Southern Water Tribe and is lucky enoughofficially join Katara and Sokka’s family. This Waterbender’s old age seems to have not impeded his agility in the slightest, and he is still capable enough to take on multiple adversaries simultaneously.
Clancy Brown
Seeing that Bloodbending is not brutal enough for the crime boss of Republic City, Yakone takes things to the next level by developing the ability to manipulate blood without needing the moon to do so. To make matters worse, his new and improved skills allow Yakone to control entire hoards of people at a time, in broad daylight, without the use of any hand gestures. If it was not for the Avatar State, even Aang would not have survived Yakone’s bloodbending.
Fortunately, Aang was able to strip Yakone of all his powers, forcing the ruthless crime boss to go into hiding. After re-establishing himself within the Northern Water Tribe, the Bloodbender ensures to pass on his skills to his sons, Noatok and Tarrlok, creatingpowerful adversaries for Avatar Korrain the process.
Grey DeLisle
As arguably themost ingenuitive Waterbender inAvatar, Ming-Hua uses her lack of arms to her advantage by creating potent water appendages as substitutes. These watery limbs give Ming-Hua greater maneuverability, in fact her speed is almost unparalleled. She could alternate between water and ice attacks seamlessly.
Ming-Hua defeated Desna and Eska as if they were children, and she defeated Kya with similar ease. As a member of the Order of the Red Lotus, Ming-Hua is one of the most formidable Waterbending enemies that Korra and her friends had to face.
