[AVATAR] The Last Airbender S3 E9 - 12 Reaction and Thoughts

thats the best explanation ive ever read, holy

I love your reactions so much, I just wanted to say that

Aimine

There's a lot of varying explanations as to why Firebenders can bend lightning. What I find most compelling is that it's based on the Hindu god "Agni" (The influence is definitely there since a battle between firebenders is literally called an "Agni Kai") The god is described as existing in three forms: fire on earth, lightning in the atmosphere, and the sun in the sky. Which is probably also why firebenders are strengthened by the sun, and completely lose their powers when the sun is blocked out. There's also explanations as to how it relates to plasma as an element, and perhaps firebenders are actually plasmabenders, with fire just being a weaker combustion reaction and the lightning (plasma) being the "pure expression" of firebending. This would also kinda explain how Combustion Man does his combustion bending. He's probably utilizing the same technique of lightning bending, much like how Iroh utilized waterbending techniques to create lightning redirection, to separate the energies in the air and then have it finally combust at the point of contact.

InvisibleTacoMan

To answer your question of how electricity relates to firebending, Uncle Iroh explained it in S2 E9 when he was teaching it to Zuko: "Lightning is a pure expression of firebending, without aggression. It is not fueled by rage or emotion the way other firebending is. Some call lightning the cold-blooded fire.....There is energy all around us. The energy is both yin and yang. A positive energy and a negative energy. Only a select few firebenders can separate these energies. This creates an imbalance. The energy wants to restore balance, and in the moment the positive and negative energy come crashing back together, you provide release and guidance creating lightning." Zuko couldn't learn it, so Uncle taught him how to redirect instead, which is what we saw here, and it totally caught his dad by surprise. Definitely one of my favorite moments.

Mario Jr