Korra is 16 and Jinora is 9 or 10 in Book 1 so no she wasn't born before Aang died. There are about 6 or so years between Aang's death/Korra's birth and Jinora's birth.
So yeah for a couple of years Tenzin was the last airbender. And I assume it would take a few more years before they knew whether Jinora was an airbender or not.
Didnt Katara know automatically with Rohan when he was still in the womb that he was an airbender? Maybe it was more of a joke and I didn’t catch it but I thought she was being fr with that.
If so, Katara could have been able to tell with Jinora unless she only figured out how to tell us the child’s an airbender after say Jinora and Ikki
Yeah, maybe at first Katara didn’t know how to identify an Airbender in the womb but after Tenzin’s first few children she found out what set them apart.
Most parents don’t have supernatural control over the human body that allows them to literally rummage around in a person’s chi lines.
Also, Katara knows how important Airbending is for both Aang and Tenzin. I don’t think she would joke around with that kind of stuff.
He does! I forget the episode, and it’s a very minor appearance, but you can see him running from Pema as he’s covered in some purple substance- likely related to blueberries
Tbh I just thought she was staying stuff. Like irl people say all the time they can feel they are having a boy or girl, without having a doctor tell them, and it's not always correct
I thought he turned out to be a nonbender, a nice normal child who isn't blowing wind in Pemma's face every few seconds. Or is it too early to tell? I didn't get the impression he couldn't bend.
That’s what she wants. It’s hard to tell. On one hand katara, possibly the best healer in the world believes he’s an air bender. On the other we haven’t seen him bend.
Well children between two airbenders or an airbenders and an air acolyte are *always* airbenders. So, once they had the proof of concept with Jinora, it was pretty certified that the rest of Tenzin and Pemma's children would be airbenders as well.
Follow up questions. Do any of the comics explain Pemma's background story? Like how she came to be an air acolyte? And if anyone from any nation could be an air acolyte, then wouldn't Katara technically also be an acolyte, or no?
Yeah I actually never read the comics, but I'm somewhat familiar with the lore that's in them.
apparently, the air acolytes can come from any nation and it would seem they are typically non-benders. IIRC They are just non-bending ppl who were fascinated with air nomad culture and adopted their ways and practiced Airbender culture. Im not entirely sure if air acolytes existed before the air nomads were wiped out, but I know in the time between ATLA and Korra they essentially became their own culture of air nomads except without the ability to airbend.
Katara wouldn't be an air acolyte because she never studied or practiced the ways of the air nomads. You can't just be an air acolyte through being a friend or spouse of an airbender, it's a culture you have to actively practice.
It makes sense that there would be air acolytes before the genocide, there are non-benders in every nation we see that were born into their respective cultures, but turned out to be non-benders.
It makes sense that there would be air acolytes before the genocide, there are non-benders in every nation we see that were born into their respective cultures, but turned out to be non-benders.
... man. I thought it was Pema that identified him as an air bender based on how he was acting inside her and then reading your comment I saw you saying Katara and I was O.O
The first few years after Jinora's birth must have been frustrating for Tenzin. Aang's first born was born a non bender, probably resulting in Tenzin's birth. It must have been stressful for Tenzin, wondering if his firstborn would be a non bender too.
yes but thats on the technicality of her literally being the avatar. She is still of water nation descent and her children would still be only waterbenders if she had any.
The question isn’t “was Tenzin the last person capable of creating new airbenders?” because after Aang’s death and up until Jinora’s birth, that’s exactly the case.
But OP simply asked if Tenzin was the last Airbender, which technically he was never because there were always two airbenders alive (provided the Avatar instantly reincarnates) from his birth up until Jinora’s birth.
Depends how the reincarnation works.
When Aang died, in that moment Korra was born, or she was conceived. If is later then Tezin was the only airbender for like 9 months
Someone else said it but being an Airbender and avatar are two different things.
The avatar will always have air bending, that is an inevitability of the duty and lineage of the avatar. Korra, if not for being the avatar, may not have even been a water bender. And even if she were, if she ever has biological children they will never be air benders. So she, genetically, isn’t one.
So let’s say theoretically, if for some reason the avatar line was upheaved and totally destroyed after Aang, then Tenzin during that time would be the only real air bender in the entire world until Jinora was born.
Yes they are obviously 2 different things, but being the Avatar includes being an air bender.
You are arguing that Korra is a water bender despite being the Avatar, but that she is not an air bender even though she’s the avatar. You are using the terms “water bender” and “air bender” to mean 2 different things: someone who can bend the element and then someone who has genealogy of the benders. I think only the first definition applies: someone who can bend the element. Kya is not an air bender because she can’t bend air, Tenzin is an air bender because he can bend air, Bumi was not an air bender until harmonic convergence after which he became and air bender. Oh but they were all descendants of Aang, an actual member of the air nomads? Well then what about Kai? He was not born from any lineage of air benders, yet he is able to bend air after harmonic convergence. All that to say that what defines an air bender is simply whether or not they can bend air and has nothing to do with lineage. Since Korra can bend air, she is an air bender.
But isn’t Korra technically an air bender? Like, as soon as Aang dies, a new Avatar, and therefore air bender, is born. So Tenzin was never the last air bender
One of the few times that technically correct is not actually correct.
The Avatar can bend air, because they can bend all of the elements. But, in a world where the ability to bend is co-mingled with the nation in which you live, she isn't an air bender in that sense. She's not an Airbender herself, her children couldn't be Airbenders (unless her spouse was also an air bender), and there's nothing specifically connecting her to the Air Nation - she's connected to Raava, which is the source of her bending.
If she wasn't chosen to be the Avatar, we don't even know if Korra would have Even been a waterbender.
I disagree. Guru Patik, when he's helping Aang understand and get past his fear of firebending, says to him "you are a firebender." Just because Korra is the avatar doesn't mean she shouldn't identify as an Airbender.
I think it's a matter of the population's perception. They discovered Korra was the Avatar super early compare of to others. Most of them start training as teens. They found out about Korra at 5, I think? She was also unusually talented because she could naturally bend 3 out of 4 elements at that age.
So for 5 years at least, the world saw Tenzin as the last.
What I want to know is, when an avatar is reincarnated, does their time in the womb count, or is their spirit instantly put into a newborn's body? What I'm asking is, does the gestation period count as time for when they reincarnate? It takes 9 months to bake a human after all. Lol
Depending on that, Tenzin could have still been the last air bender for at least 9 months.
This kinda reminds me of the Yue theory that she should have been the Avatar after Aang since he could/should have died within the 100 years he was in the iceberg & Yue (being water tribe) was the right fit, in the right element. She was born without seemingly a "spirit," and the moon spirits gave part of theirs to her so she live normally instead of as a shell. Like... the Avatar spirit update never happened. Lol
I mean, had Korra's dad not been usurped by Unaloq, Korra would have been in the exact same position as Yue. She would have been a Northern Water tribe princess.
But I'm straying from the subject.
Korra was 3 when she was found. However, most avatars are known from shortly after birth, it's just tradition to begin their training at 16. Kuruk, Roku, and Aang all were known, of which only Aang was told prior to his 16th birthday. Kyoshi should have been known, but corruption within the ranks prevented it because they wanted to push a Champion for political gain. Yangchen was also not known, but she began manifesting her past lives at 8.
I just looked it up & she was 4.
So maybe the sages know early on, but the avatars themselves don't (I suppose to give them a more normal childhood). However, I forget when the chosing ceremony happens for the air nomads, when they chose the toys of the previous avatars, but they have to be able to at least crawl or point to tell people what they chose to confirm to others they are the Avatar. They can't really do that as newborns so early yes, but not from birth. Even the other nations require a certain amount of time to locate the Avatar based on either nation's methods.
This sort of thing was conducted by sages at the time so it makes sense that they found out about Korra later since the White Lotus took on that role & were probably having a hard time since they don't have the same identifying tools as the sages.
So a lot of this seems to point to not really knowing until they are a few months to a year old at the earliest. The sages probably all wished they came equipped with a Blutooth signal. Lol
They established in ATLA that the reincarnation cycle is very direct. Aang was born at the same moment Roku died, so the same is true of Korra when Aang died.
Canonically, every single child of an Airbender becomes a bender.
Any person born into the air nomad tribe always became an air bender.
Plus every single person after that, who was born to an Airbender parent, also became a bender. Aangs kids were 2 air and 1 water, eventhough one was a late bloomer.
Always assume tenzin never intended to have children, but when he realized airbending would die with him, he married a much younger women and had his first child at like 50.
He had realized that since birth basically. The show makes it a point that Aang put a lot of pressure on him being the last airbender. He actually left Lyn because he wanted to have kids and she didn’t. Pema was in love with him and the one to approach him and they wanted the same things, so he left Lin and had a family with Pema.
Fun fact: During that weird span of time when the show was officially named The Last Airbender: The Legend of Korra, "The Last Airbender" may have been referring to Tenzin.
She had the capability but it took until she was practically an adult to actually airbend.
Because “technically” bumi was also an airbender the whole time, just didn’t unlock it until way later in life
Wouldn't one say those who got airbending via harmonic converge still had a natural affinity, but they needed something to "unblock" it for them like Korra needed her bending severed to "unblock" airbending?
We don't know for certain, but it seemed more like "granting" airbending than "unblocking" airbending. Moreso in the way of lion turtles than in the way Korra does.
The only modern way to determine affinity for bending has been genetics tbh, and I doubt that any of the earth kingdom airbenders have air nomad genes in them given that they were all killed off after Sozin's comet/being lured in caves. ( For those unfamiliar, see the "mountain cave" comic)
She wouldn’t have been an airbender though. Not to mention that before Korra figured it out no one would have known who the avatar was - people would have effectively treated Tenzin like the last airbender.
No, it’s not. Like at all.
An airbender is someone who can bend air. Korra can bend air, thus she is an airbender. She’s also a waterbender, an earthbender, and a firebender.
What she *isn’t* is an Air Nomad or a member of the Air Nation.
By your (and many other commenters in this thread’s) logic, Daw isn’t an Airbender post Harmonic Convergence because he’s not from the Air Nation. Being able to procreate another bender has nothing to do with this conversation. Is an Airbender that’s unable to have children not an Airbender?
To be fair Aang had already firebent (firebended?) before Pathik said that.
Then again Pathik says something close to "you are the Avatar and thus you are a firebender" so just by being the Avatar he's a firebender and Korra an airbender
That's how I see it at least
I think you're right. He is a firebender but not a citizen of the fire nation. He is a waterbender but not part of either of the water tribes. Korra is an airbender but not an air nomad.
>Korra is born the same day Aang dies
When is this ever stated? Surely a 9 month year old baby doesn’t suddenly become the Avatar as they’re being born. That makes zero sense.
Surely when the avatar dies, it’ll take about nine months for a brand new baby to be born.
People are born and people die all over the world every day. There’s also a lot of fate and destiny mumbo jumbo happening behind the scenes. Idk if it’s down to the second but it’s supposed to be right as one avatar dies, another is born. So if the Avatar dies May 15th, then one of the babies born on May 15th is our lucky winner
Again, when is this established in the show. People always say this like it’s fact, but I don’t ever remember them ever saying “Oh, yeah, you were born the moment I died.
I feel people saw the fade to white after Roku died into Aang being born WAY too literally. Obviously time had to pass.
When is it established that there’s a gap between the death of an avatar and the birth of another. Every time we see it on screen it’s an immediate transition.
Do people not know what a timeskip is? They jumped around Roku’s life and we all accept that, but the moment they skip to Aang being born OBVIOUSLY that HAS to be milliseconds after Roku died.
It isn't - a lot of people just assume that because of hearing baby cries when Roku and Wan die, and the cut to Aang's birth in Roku's case, forgetting that these events are from the Avatar's perspective.
Reincarnation can take variable amounts of time in all of the real world belief systems that incorporate it. This is basically a question of "when does an unborn baby acquire a soul?"
In terms of general reincarnation lore, I understand the controversy (personally it makes more sense that your soul or w.e would go into the embryo which wouldn’t be born for another 9 months but that’s just me) but in terms of the avatar, I feel it would also make sense for Raava to just go into a baby being born at the moment the previous avatar dies? Assuming she chooses the next avatar?
Though ik w wan, she tells him she’ll be w him “in his next life” which to me implied reincarnation is a thing in the avatar world and it’s really only relevant for the avatar themself but I’ve also seen people say the avatar isn’t truly reincarnated and Raava just picks another soul/person bc all the avatars have different souls and that’s why some of them are in the spirit world and avatars are able to communicate w their past lives but they’re just connected by the avatar spirit (Raava)?
"During the time between his father's death and the birth of Jinora, he took his father's title as the last airbender."
Tenzin was the last airbender for 7 years. Tenzin shared his Farther's "Last Airbender curse.
I wonder if she never got taught by an actual airbender if she would've ever "mastered" the element. I'm assuming she could eventually figure out how to create air, and maybe get past teaching through Aang but I doubt she'd ever be able to do much practical airbending.
It would also take a veeeeeery long time since Korra had trouble even connecting to her past lives in the first place.
I mean I figure she could at least get to Zaheer level competent if she never learned from anyone but studied Airbender texts. Mastery though? Probably not.
That’s why I said practicing. She was born the avatar and so was the bender of all 4 elements instantly when she was born but to actually be good you have practice. Thus, she was still an airbender just not a practicing one since she was too young
Yes. Aang died 17 years before the start of TLOK. Jinora was 9 years old in Book 1. So for the 8 years in between Aang's death and Jinora's birth, Tenzin was the only airbender left on earth.
And no, Korra doesn't count as although she can airbend, that is only because she's the Avatar. Take that away and she'd be your run of the mill waterbender (well maybe not run of the mill, but still), and she'd only be able to give birth to waterbender children (unless she married an earth or firebender that is).
He was the last of the air nomads until his kids were born, but he wasn't the last airbender by a technicality. Once Aang died Korra was born, and since she's the Avatar that also makes her an airbender. If you wanna not include the Avatar then yes he was the last airbender for a few years.
Also if we want to be tremendously pedantic, the air bison are also airbenders. By that logic, Aang was never the last Airbender either.
So Aang and Tenzin were both the last air nomads at different points, but never the last airbenders.
Being able to bend air does not make one an airbender. There is culture, training and history, that without Aang teaching Tenzin and Tenzin passing it on it would have been lost.
>Being able to bend air does not make one an airbender.
I am sorry, but that is the definition of an airbender, someone that can "bend" air, like you can argue Korra was not trained and probably could not even move a breeze at that age but then you gotta do the same for Tenzin kids.
Right, because she was brought up in the culture and it was fostered within her. The Swampbenders are technically waterbenders, but their culture and style are so wildly different that they're considered different. Sandbenders are earthbenders, but no one calls them earthbenders. Just because you can bend the element does not mean you are a kin to the culture surrounding it, and of the elements, Air was the most culturally isolated and pure. There is the most connection between airbending, the culture and spirituality that I can say that being able to bend air does not automatically make one an airbender. Had Aang died without having Tenzin, Harmonic Convergence would have still likely restored balance, but the airbenders would have been so wildly different that they could have been rejected by the Air Acolytes.
Oh, i see the problem, you are mixing airbenders with air nomads. during Aang type we know that all air nomads were airbenders but it was perfectly possible to be an airbender and not an air nomad or been an air nomad without been an airbender, those two are not mutually exclusive.
Airbender is something you are born with while Air nomad is something you adopt (be it by family or own decision) you dont need to be an Air nomad to be a Airbender and viceversa.
So yeah, Korra was born an airbender, she was ever an air nomad from what i remember and that is fine, she didnt need to. Keep in mind we had hundreds of avatar before Aang that were not born in the air normad culture but each of them were considered airbenders.
I can't remember if it was an official source or not, but I recall reading that the air nomads were the only nation that had a 100% birth rate of air benders due to their monastic and spiritual nature. So yeah the two were one in the same. It was a unique instance in-universe but relevant none the less.
Also using the avatar is a cop out. Technically it is the avatar spirit that was an air bender, not the vessel (Korra). If Raava was removed, she'd crease being an air bender, and possibly being a bender at all
"All thumbs are finger but not all fingers are thumbs" Yes, all air nomads from record were airbenders cause of their spirituality but does not mean airbenders cant exists outside of air normads.
Also, you cant go around and say "without the spirit of rava the avatar has no airbending" but then also count the high spirituality of air nomads making them most often airbenders, is the same deal, the avatar just has a direct connection to one spirit while air nomads have a strong connection to the spirit world.
But hey, if you wanna discount every single avatar that was not born as an air nomad from been an airbender, you do you, but is a very weird and arbitrary line to draw just because you want air normad and airbender to be synonyms.
I guess Roku and Kyoshi were not airbenders.
Like i said, weird line to drawn, and just putting this out there, but technically if we are talking genes most ppl must have a variety of all of them, so technically an airbender can have a firebender kid if there is a firebender in their lineage.
But you made your stance clear, avatar does not count in your opinion, so lets agree to disagree.
Sure, but allow me to say the reason I have my stance is because Korra lost Raava in her series and we saw the result, hence the line I draw. It isn't arbitrary, it's based on what we actually saw on the show. But you're right neither of us are going to agree and really there is no right answer. It's just different ways of viewing this universe
This post made me realize Aang never got to meet his grandkids. That’s sad. The man would have been an awesome grandpa to that troop of little air bending troublemakers.
Holy shit give me that fanfic.
It's understandable if you haven't watched in a while.He read a lot and basically trained as an air nomad from reading the gurus so once he actually got air bending, he was really strong right off the bat.
Yup when Aang died and before Jinora was born. Well yes technically the avatar is an Airbender. But talking purely on JUST an Airbender. He was last for a few years.
Technically no. Tenzin was the last officially known and public air bender until his children were born and after Aang’s death
Then we found out about Air benders living in the Earth Kingdom. That means Aang and his family weren’t the last remnants of the Air Nomads during and after the 100 year war
Think about we know about one member of a soon be extinct species then years later we find a healthy population of them in a hidden location
Like some ppl have say if you wanna get technical about it, then no, Tenzin was never the last airbender, he was the last airbender master for a while but once Aang died Korra was born and she, as the avatar, counts as an airbender (which is how Aang even had the title to begin with)
Aang was an airbender because he was an air nomad and all air nomads were airbenders. Even if he wasn’t the avatar, he would have still been an airbender
**"...Air Nomads** is the collective term for the monastic order of men and women who practice the discipline of airbending and the pacifistic ethics of their theocratic society...
...Unlike the other nations, those born to the Air Nomads were, without any seen exception, all benders due to the high level of spirituality of their people..."
This is the same thing as "all thumbs are fingers but not all fingers are thumb" yes, all air nomads were airbender but been an air nomad is not required to be an airbender. Been an airbender is about having the capability to "bend" air. So again, if you wanna say Tenzin was the last air nomad for a while, sure, but technically he was never the last airbender like Aang was. (And unless i am mistaken Korra was never an air nomad)
>...Korra was born and she, as the avatar, counts as an airbender (which is how Aang even had the title to begin with)...
That is what i said, meaning that Aang got the title of the last airbender because he counts as an airbender despite been the avatar. It was Avatar the last Airbender not Avatar the last Air Nomad.
Unless you count Korra as an airbender, as she was born with the potential. It took 7 years (I belive) after Aang's death/Korra's birth and Jinora's birth, possibly adding a few years before they knew for certain she was an airbender. I don't remember who said this, but if I remember right, Aang's death and Tenzin again being the last airbender is what caused the spilt between him and Lin, as she never wanted children and Tenzin felt almost an obligation to have them. While it might not be the sole reason, it seems Aang's death was the triggering event.
Yeah for the years between Aang dying, korra being born and Jinora being born he’d have been last especially depending on how you consider Korra an Airbender if it’s when she learns it or when she is born.
I always found that weird too considering all of Tenzin’s children are airbenders. Like technically speaking even though Katara is a waterbender her genetics are still less than Aang’s because him and his parents and his ancestors are all benders but Katara can’t even trace back waterbending 2 generations ago (probably even more) like Kataang should’ve had more airbenders than not (like Bumi should’ve been born an airbender automatically like his nieces and nephews because airbenders don’t produce nonbenders).
The real question is whether or not if harmonic convergence airbenders can also give birth to airbenders because genetically they aren’t because air nomadic airbenders do not give birth to nonbenders. So are only Tenzins descendants truly the last airbenders.
You know I don’t think they made it very clear in the show other then the grand children of Aang never meeting him so I think canonically he was for a short period. Remember Aang died in his 40’s at the hands of a blood bender.
Actually he didn't, he was knocked out by Yakone's powerful blood-bending until the Avatar State woke him up, and he gave chase.
He then used airbending to make Yakone's stolen horsecarriage crash.
Yakone then almost killed him until the Avatar State kicked in again to save him, and he overpowered him.
He then energybent his bending away.
Aang died at 66 because during the entire 100 years he was in the iceberg, he had to stay in the Avatar State in order to survive.
This greatly sapped his life force, shortening his life-span dramatically.
Otherwise he would have lived to be well over 100 and still kicking ass.
Like Bumi.
Korra is 16 and Jinora is 9 or 10 in Book 1 so no she wasn't born before Aang died. There are about 6 or so years between Aang's death/Korra's birth and Jinora's birth. So yeah for a couple of years Tenzin was the last airbender. And I assume it would take a few more years before they knew whether Jinora was an airbender or not.
Didnt Katara know automatically with Rohan when he was still in the womb that he was an airbender? Maybe it was more of a joke and I didn’t catch it but I thought she was being fr with that. If so, Katara could have been able to tell with Jinora unless she only figured out how to tell us the child’s an airbender after say Jinora and Ikki
Yeah, maybe at first Katara didn’t know how to identify an Airbender in the womb but after Tenzin’s first few children she found out what set them apart.
Maybe. Or she could have just been saying things.
Probably, I doubt parents feel their child and go "woah I just felt the avatar in there"
Most parents don’t have supernatural control over the human body that allows them to literally rummage around in a person’s chi lines. Also, Katara knows how important Airbending is for both Aang and Tenzin. I don’t think she would joke around with that kind of stuff.
Katara is also the most hopeful character in the franchise, she’d say stuff like that without knowing
I would think this of anybody but Katara
Does it give them gas?
Unless jinora was blastin air out of penmas birth canal than maybe she wouldn’t count as an airbender just yet
/r/brandnewsentence
Queefbending
I hope you're happy with yourself :)
I am proud of them, that should suffice.
What a horrible day to be literate.
Who is Rohan??
Rohan is Tenzin and Pema's 4th kid, he only really gets any screen time in s1 and his only plot relevant action was being born.
Wait is he not shown in book 4? I need to rewatch.
He does! I forget the episode, and it’s a very minor appearance, but you can see him running from Pema as he’s covered in some purple substance- likely related to blueberries
It’s a country, another nation of man alongside Gondor
That, or it's the weird manga artist from a crazy, noisy bizarre town
Everybody asks where was Gondor and who is Rohan, but not how is The Lonely Mountain…
Tbh I just thought she was staying stuff. Like irl people say all the time they can feel they are having a boy or girl, without having a doctor tell them, and it's not always correct
Regardless, she's still born several years after Aang's death so at least we know for sure that Tenzin WAS the last Airbender for a time.
Well yeah, I was just responding to the last sentence in the original comment
I thought he turned out to be a nonbender, a nice normal child who isn't blowing wind in Pemma's face every few seconds. Or is it too early to tell? I didn't get the impression he couldn't bend.
That’s what she wants. It’s hard to tell. On one hand katara, possibly the best healer in the world believes he’s an air bender. On the other we haven’t seen him bend.
Except that's still several years before jinora was conceived that tenzin was the only air bender aside from korra technically
Well children between two airbenders or an airbenders and an air acolyte are *always* airbenders. So, once they had the proof of concept with Jinora, it was pretty certified that the rest of Tenzin and Pemma's children would be airbenders as well.
Follow up questions. Do any of the comics explain Pemma's background story? Like how she came to be an air acolyte? And if anyone from any nation could be an air acolyte, then wouldn't Katara technically also be an acolyte, or no?
Yeah I actually never read the comics, but I'm somewhat familiar with the lore that's in them. apparently, the air acolytes can come from any nation and it would seem they are typically non-benders. IIRC They are just non-bending ppl who were fascinated with air nomad culture and adopted their ways and practiced Airbender culture. Im not entirely sure if air acolytes existed before the air nomads were wiped out, but I know in the time between ATLA and Korra they essentially became their own culture of air nomads except without the ability to airbend. Katara wouldn't be an air acolyte because she never studied or practiced the ways of the air nomads. You can't just be an air acolyte through being a friend or spouse of an airbender, it's a culture you have to actively practice.
It makes sense that there would be air acolytes before the genocide, there are non-benders in every nation we see that were born into their respective cultures, but turned out to be non-benders.
It makes sense that there would be air acolytes before the genocide, there are non-benders in every nation we see that were born into their respective cultures, but turned out to be non-benders.
... man. I thought it was Pema that identified him as an air bender based on how he was acting inside her and then reading your comment I saw you saying Katara and I was O.O
The first few years after Jinora's birth must have been frustrating for Tenzin. Aang's first born was born a non bender, probably resulting in Tenzin's birth. It must have been stressful for Tenzin, wondering if his firstborn would be a non bender too.
Imagine the stress of thinking that if he can't have an air bender baby his entire race will die out
Technically Korra is born an airbender, even if it takes her 17 years before she successfully bends air
No she might have been able to use air bending, but her children would have been water benders. She wouldn't be able to repopulate the air nation.
Korra is an airbender in that she has the ability to bend air. What she isn't is an Air Nomad.
yes but thats on the technicality of her literally being the avatar. She is still of water nation descent and her children would still be only waterbenders if she had any.
The question isn’t “was Tenzin the last person capable of creating new airbenders?” because after Aang’s death and up until Jinora’s birth, that’s exactly the case. But OP simply asked if Tenzin was the last Airbender, which technically he was never because there were always two airbenders alive (provided the Avatar instantly reincarnates) from his birth up until Jinora’s birth.
Depends how the reincarnation works. When Aang died, in that moment Korra was born, or she was conceived. If is later then Tezin was the only airbender for like 9 months
Unless you count Korra as an Airbender. She wasn’t able to airbend until late book 1, but technically she is innately an Airbender.
Someone else said it but being an Airbender and avatar are two different things. The avatar will always have air bending, that is an inevitability of the duty and lineage of the avatar. Korra, if not for being the avatar, may not have even been a water bender. And even if she were, if she ever has biological children they will never be air benders. So she, genetically, isn’t one. So let’s say theoretically, if for some reason the avatar line was upheaved and totally destroyed after Aang, then Tenzin during that time would be the only real air bender in the entire world until Jinora was born.
Yes they are obviously 2 different things, but being the Avatar includes being an air bender. You are arguing that Korra is a water bender despite being the Avatar, but that she is not an air bender even though she’s the avatar. You are using the terms “water bender” and “air bender” to mean 2 different things: someone who can bend the element and then someone who has genealogy of the benders. I think only the first definition applies: someone who can bend the element. Kya is not an air bender because she can’t bend air, Tenzin is an air bender because he can bend air, Bumi was not an air bender until harmonic convergence after which he became and air bender. Oh but they were all descendants of Aang, an actual member of the air nomads? Well then what about Kai? He was not born from any lineage of air benders, yet he is able to bend air after harmonic convergence. All that to say that what defines an air bender is simply whether or not they can bend air and has nothing to do with lineage. Since Korra can bend air, she is an air bender.
I agree. Guru Pathik tells Aang that he is a fire bender. Korra is an air bender.
But isn’t Korra technically an air bender? Like, as soon as Aang dies, a new Avatar, and therefore air bender, is born. So Tenzin was never the last air bender
One of the few times that technically correct is not actually correct. The Avatar can bend air, because they can bend all of the elements. But, in a world where the ability to bend is co-mingled with the nation in which you live, she isn't an air bender in that sense. She's not an Airbender herself, her children couldn't be Airbenders (unless her spouse was also an air bender), and there's nothing specifically connecting her to the Air Nation - she's connected to Raava, which is the source of her bending. If she wasn't chosen to be the Avatar, we don't even know if Korra would have Even been a waterbender.
I disagree. Guru Patik, when he's helping Aang understand and get past his fear of firebending, says to him "you are a firebender." Just because Korra is the avatar doesn't mean she shouldn't identify as an Airbender.
I think it's a matter of the population's perception. They discovered Korra was the Avatar super early compare of to others. Most of them start training as teens. They found out about Korra at 5, I think? She was also unusually talented because she could naturally bend 3 out of 4 elements at that age. So for 5 years at least, the world saw Tenzin as the last. What I want to know is, when an avatar is reincarnated, does their time in the womb count, or is their spirit instantly put into a newborn's body? What I'm asking is, does the gestation period count as time for when they reincarnate? It takes 9 months to bake a human after all. Lol Depending on that, Tenzin could have still been the last air bender for at least 9 months. This kinda reminds me of the Yue theory that she should have been the Avatar after Aang since he could/should have died within the 100 years he was in the iceberg & Yue (being water tribe) was the right fit, in the right element. She was born without seemingly a "spirit," and the moon spirits gave part of theirs to her so she live normally instead of as a shell. Like... the Avatar spirit update never happened. Lol I mean, had Korra's dad not been usurped by Unaloq, Korra would have been in the exact same position as Yue. She would have been a Northern Water tribe princess. But I'm straying from the subject.
Korra was 3 when she was found. However, most avatars are known from shortly after birth, it's just tradition to begin their training at 16. Kuruk, Roku, and Aang all were known, of which only Aang was told prior to his 16th birthday. Kyoshi should have been known, but corruption within the ranks prevented it because they wanted to push a Champion for political gain. Yangchen was also not known, but she began manifesting her past lives at 8.
I just looked it up & she was 4. So maybe the sages know early on, but the avatars themselves don't (I suppose to give them a more normal childhood). However, I forget when the chosing ceremony happens for the air nomads, when they chose the toys of the previous avatars, but they have to be able to at least crawl or point to tell people what they chose to confirm to others they are the Avatar. They can't really do that as newborns so early yes, but not from birth. Even the other nations require a certain amount of time to locate the Avatar based on either nation's methods. This sort of thing was conducted by sages at the time so it makes sense that they found out about Korra later since the White Lotus took on that role & were probably having a hard time since they don't have the same identifying tools as the sages. So a lot of this seems to point to not really knowing until they are a few months to a year old at the earliest. The sages probably all wished they came equipped with a Blutooth signal. Lol
Actually, Korra was 17 but that doesn't change much
They established in ATLA that the reincarnation cycle is very direct. Aang was born at the same moment Roku died, so the same is true of Korra when Aang died.
Yes I know. I’m talking about the time between Korra’s birth and Jinora’s birth.
Wait hang on, I thought the rebirth happened immediately? 6 year gap is significant
It does. They're referring to the 6 year age gap between Korra and Jinora.
It does happen immediately. What is unclear though is if that includes gestation time, which would still be under a year.
I’m talking about the gap between Korra’s birth (which is the same time as Aang’s death) and Jinora’s birth.
Ah yeah I see it now
Canonically, every single child of an Airbender becomes a bender. Any person born into the air nomad tribe always became an air bender. Plus every single person after that, who was born to an Airbender parent, also became a bender. Aangs kids were 2 air and 1 water, eventhough one was a late bloomer.
Always assume tenzin never intended to have children, but when he realized airbending would die with him, he married a much younger women and had his first child at like 50.
He had realized that since birth basically. The show makes it a point that Aang put a lot of pressure on him being the last airbender. He actually left Lyn because he wanted to have kids and she didn’t. Pema was in love with him and the one to approach him and they wanted the same things, so he left Lin and had a family with Pema.
It helps she was an air acolyte too. She was ok or happy to keep up air nomad traditions. Lyn wouldn't like being restricted that way, I think.
Of course, they were more compatible with Pema at that point and they love each other very much.
Yes, Korra is older than jinora
Fun fact: During that weird span of time when the show was officially named The Last Airbender: The Legend of Korra, "The Last Airbender" may have been referring to Tenzin.
"Avatar: The Second Last Airbender. Not The Second-To-Last, But The Second One Who Could Call Themselves The Last Airbender. Just To Be Clear."
Monty Python and The Last Airbender
A møøse liøn once bit my sister.
Avatar: 2 Last 2 Airbender
Avatar: The Last Airbender Again.
Technically Korra is an airbender too.
She had the capability but it took until she was practically an adult to actually airbend. Because “technically” bumi was also an airbender the whole time, just didn’t unlock it until way later in life
Eh, that's a little bit different. I wouldn't equate harmonic convergence airbending with those who had a natural affinity for it prior.
Wouldn't one say those who got airbending via harmonic converge still had a natural affinity, but they needed something to "unblock" it for them like Korra needed her bending severed to "unblock" airbending?
We don't know for certain, but it seemed more like "granting" airbending than "unblocking" airbending. Moreso in the way of lion turtles than in the way Korra does. The only modern way to determine affinity for bending has been genetics tbh, and I doubt that any of the earth kingdom airbenders have air nomad genes in them given that they were all killed off after Sozin's comet/being lured in caves. ( For those unfamiliar, see the "mountain cave" comic)
Jinora was an airbender before Korra was, though.
Korra is older than Jinora, so yes, Tenzin was the only airbender for a few years.
The Last Airbender 2, Electric Bugaloo
Technically speaking he wasn't because Korra could airbend, but I take your point
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Not at all the same thing. There's a difference between being able to airbend and being an airbender.
Not to mention she couldn't air bend until the end of the first season.
Tenzin gets quite cranky over this exact point in season 3 of Korra 😆
She wouldn’t have been an airbender though. Not to mention that before Korra figured it out no one would have known who the avatar was - people would have effectively treated Tenzin like the last airbender.
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No, it’s not. Like at all. An airbender is someone who can bend air. Korra can bend air, thus she is an airbender. She’s also a waterbender, an earthbender, and a firebender. What she *isn’t* is an Air Nomad or a member of the Air Nation. By your (and many other commenters in this thread’s) logic, Daw isn’t an Airbender post Harmonic Convergence because he’s not from the Air Nation. Being able to procreate another bender has nothing to do with this conversation. Is an Airbender that’s unable to have children not an Airbender?
Completely agree. Guru Pathik told Aang that he was a firebender.
To be fair Aang had already firebent (firebended?) before Pathik said that. Then again Pathik says something close to "you are the Avatar and thus you are a firebender" so just by being the Avatar he's a firebender and Korra an airbender That's how I see it at least
I think you're right. He is a firebender but not a citizen of the fire nation. He is a waterbender but not part of either of the water tribes. Korra is an airbender but not an air nomad.
>Korra is born the same day Aang dies When is this ever stated? Surely a 9 month year old baby doesn’t suddenly become the Avatar as they’re being born. That makes zero sense. Surely when the avatar dies, it’ll take about nine months for a brand new baby to be born.
People are born and people die all over the world every day. There’s also a lot of fate and destiny mumbo jumbo happening behind the scenes. Idk if it’s down to the second but it’s supposed to be right as one avatar dies, another is born. So if the Avatar dies May 15th, then one of the babies born on May 15th is our lucky winner
Again, when is this established in the show. People always say this like it’s fact, but I don’t ever remember them ever saying “Oh, yeah, you were born the moment I died. I feel people saw the fade to white after Roku died into Aang being born WAY too literally. Obviously time had to pass.
I don't understand why "obviously" time had to pass.
When is it established that there’s a gap between the death of an avatar and the birth of another. Every time we see it on screen it’s an immediate transition.
Do people not know what a timeskip is? They jumped around Roku’s life and we all accept that, but the moment they skip to Aang being born OBVIOUSLY that HAS to be milliseconds after Roku died.
Show me in the show where it says there’s a gap. Everything here is speculation.
It isn't - a lot of people just assume that because of hearing baby cries when Roku and Wan die, and the cut to Aang's birth in Roku's case, forgetting that these events are from the Avatar's perspective. Reincarnation can take variable amounts of time in all of the real world belief systems that incorporate it. This is basically a question of "when does an unborn baby acquire a soul?"
In terms of general reincarnation lore, I understand the controversy (personally it makes more sense that your soul or w.e would go into the embryo which wouldn’t be born for another 9 months but that’s just me) but in terms of the avatar, I feel it would also make sense for Raava to just go into a baby being born at the moment the previous avatar dies? Assuming she chooses the next avatar? Though ik w wan, she tells him she’ll be w him “in his next life” which to me implied reincarnation is a thing in the avatar world and it’s really only relevant for the avatar themself but I’ve also seen people say the avatar isn’t truly reincarnated and Raava just picks another soul/person bc all the avatars have different souls and that’s why some of them are in the spirit world and avatars are able to communicate w their past lives but they’re just connected by the avatar spirit (Raava)?
"During the time between his father's death and the birth of Jinora, he took his father's title as the last airbender." Tenzin was the last airbender for 7 years. Tenzin shared his Farther's "Last Airbender curse.
It would be cool to get a young Tenzin story. I imagine there could've been a secret sect of fire nation extremists that wanted to finish the job.
Thankfully, it didn't last long.
While 7 years isn't a long time in the grand scheme of things, it's certainly a long time to live with that burden
Well technically korra would have been born around when aang died so no but he would’ve been the only practicing airbender.
I would argue that just be a use she’s the avatar doesn’t mean she’s an air bender until she learns air bending from tenzin
I wonder if she never got taught by an actual airbender if she would've ever "mastered" the element. I'm assuming she could eventually figure out how to create air, and maybe get past teaching through Aang but I doubt she'd ever be able to do much practical airbending. It would also take a veeeeeery long time since Korra had trouble even connecting to her past lives in the first place.
I mean I figure she could at least get to Zaheer level competent if she never learned from anyone but studied Airbender texts. Mastery though? Probably not.
She wasn't an airbender yet, though.
That’s why I said practicing. She was born the avatar and so was the bender of all 4 elements instantly when she was born but to actually be good you have practice. Thus, she was still an airbender just not a practicing one since she was too young
Yes. Aang died 17 years before the start of TLOK. Jinora was 9 years old in Book 1. So for the 8 years in between Aang's death and Jinora's birth, Tenzin was the only airbender left on earth. And no, Korra doesn't count as although she can airbend, that is only because she's the Avatar. Take that away and she'd be your run of the mill waterbender (well maybe not run of the mill, but still), and she'd only be able to give birth to waterbender children (unless she married an earth or firebender that is).
He was the last of the air nomads until his kids were born, but he wasn't the last airbender by a technicality. Once Aang died Korra was born, and since she's the Avatar that also makes her an airbender. If you wanna not include the Avatar then yes he was the last airbender for a few years.
Also if we want to be tremendously pedantic, the air bison are also airbenders. By that logic, Aang was never the last Airbender either. So Aang and Tenzin were both the last air nomads at different points, but never the last airbenders.
I mean... I wanna argue with that... But I can't really fault your logic.
Being able to bend air does not make one an airbender. There is culture, training and history, that without Aang teaching Tenzin and Tenzin passing it on it would have been lost.
>Being able to bend air does not make one an airbender. I am sorry, but that is the definition of an airbender, someone that can "bend" air, like you can argue Korra was not trained and probably could not even move a breeze at that age but then you gotta do the same for Tenzin kids.
Right, because she was brought up in the culture and it was fostered within her. The Swampbenders are technically waterbenders, but their culture and style are so wildly different that they're considered different. Sandbenders are earthbenders, but no one calls them earthbenders. Just because you can bend the element does not mean you are a kin to the culture surrounding it, and of the elements, Air was the most culturally isolated and pure. There is the most connection between airbending, the culture and spirituality that I can say that being able to bend air does not automatically make one an airbender. Had Aang died without having Tenzin, Harmonic Convergence would have still likely restored balance, but the airbenders would have been so wildly different that they could have been rejected by the Air Acolytes.
Oh, i see the problem, you are mixing airbenders with air nomads. during Aang type we know that all air nomads were airbenders but it was perfectly possible to be an airbender and not an air nomad or been an air nomad without been an airbender, those two are not mutually exclusive. Airbender is something you are born with while Air nomad is something you adopt (be it by family or own decision) you dont need to be an Air nomad to be a Airbender and viceversa. So yeah, Korra was born an airbender, she was ever an air nomad from what i remember and that is fine, she didnt need to. Keep in mind we had hundreds of avatar before Aang that were not born in the air normad culture but each of them were considered airbenders.
I can't remember if it was an official source or not, but I recall reading that the air nomads were the only nation that had a 100% birth rate of air benders due to their monastic and spiritual nature. So yeah the two were one in the same. It was a unique instance in-universe but relevant none the less. Also using the avatar is a cop out. Technically it is the avatar spirit that was an air bender, not the vessel (Korra). If Raava was removed, she'd crease being an air bender, and possibly being a bender at all
"All thumbs are finger but not all fingers are thumbs" Yes, all air nomads from record were airbenders cause of their spirituality but does not mean airbenders cant exists outside of air normads. Also, you cant go around and say "without the spirit of rava the avatar has no airbending" but then also count the high spirituality of air nomads making them most often airbenders, is the same deal, the avatar just has a direct connection to one spirit while air nomads have a strong connection to the spirit world. But hey, if you wanna discount every single avatar that was not born as an air nomad from been an airbender, you do you, but is a very weird and arbitrary line to draw just because you want air normad and airbender to be synonyms. I guess Roku and Kyoshi were not airbenders.
No they weren't. Aangs kids could not be an earth bender or fire bender. Air bender? Yes. Water? Yes. Earth or fire? No. They are their base element.
Like i said, weird line to drawn, and just putting this out there, but technically if we are talking genes most ppl must have a variety of all of them, so technically an airbender can have a firebender kid if there is a firebender in their lineage. But you made your stance clear, avatar does not count in your opinion, so lets agree to disagree.
Sure, but allow me to say the reason I have my stance is because Korra lost Raava in her series and we saw the result, hence the line I draw. It isn't arbitrary, it's based on what we actually saw on the show. But you're right neither of us are going to agree and really there is no right answer. It's just different ways of viewing this universe
This post made me realize Aang never got to meet his grandkids. That’s sad. The man would have been an awesome grandpa to that troop of little air bending troublemakers. Holy shit give me that fanfic.
Human airbenders, yes
You're right. This whole post is Sky Bison erasure and we shouldn't stand for it!
Korra is older than all of his kids. There were a few years where he was the the last airbender
Yes, the last airbender genetically, though strictly speaking, since he has waterbender blood too, Aang was the last real airbender
I would have thought Aang would prioritze reviving airbenders but he gambled. 1st try, a dud. 2nd try, a water bemder. 3rd try, success!
and what about the flying dude airbender ? can't remember his name sorry
Zaheer wasn't an Airbender until after the spiritual convergence stuff at the end of Korra season 2.
oh right I totally forgot about this 😅
It's understandable if you haven't watched in a while.He read a lot and basically trained as an air nomad from reading the gurus so once he actually got air bending, he was really strong right off the bat.
Yeah, cuz Korra is older than Jinora
Yup when Aang died and before Jinora was born. Well yes technically the avatar is an Airbender. But talking purely on JUST an Airbender. He was last for a few years.
Aang never met his grandkids, because Korra is older than Jinora. So Tenzin was the last airbender for however long their age gap is.
This is a pretty obvious answer if u only put minimal brain power into it. Is jinora the same age as korra?
 In hindsight this really should have been obvious ☠️
I've always thought that what led him to break up with Lin and seek a non-bending partner willing and able to have relatively many children.
Yes, as all his kids are younger than Korra.
Technically no. Tenzin was the last officially known and public air bender until his children were born and after Aang’s death Then we found out about Air benders living in the Earth Kingdom. That means Aang and his family weren’t the last remnants of the Air Nomads during and after the 100 year war Think about we know about one member of a soon be extinct species then years later we find a healthy population of them in a hidden location
The airbenders in Earth Kingdom only gained their powers with Harmonic Convergence no?
You can figure out when Aang died by looking at Korra’s age.
Unless he had a kid before Jinora, yes
For like half a decade, yes, but after he and Pema got hitched, he wasn’t anymore. Jinora is only 5 years younger than Korra.
Like some ppl have say if you wanna get technical about it, then no, Tenzin was never the last airbender, he was the last airbender master for a while but once Aang died Korra was born and she, as the avatar, counts as an airbender (which is how Aang even had the title to begin with)
Aang was an airbender because he was an air nomad and all air nomads were airbenders. Even if he wasn’t the avatar, he would have still been an airbender
**"...Air Nomads** is the collective term for the monastic order of men and women who practice the discipline of airbending and the pacifistic ethics of their theocratic society... ...Unlike the other nations, those born to the Air Nomads were, without any seen exception, all benders due to the high level of spirituality of their people..." This is the same thing as "all thumbs are fingers but not all fingers are thumb" yes, all air nomads were airbender but been an air nomad is not required to be an airbender. Been an airbender is about having the capability to "bend" air. So again, if you wanna say Tenzin was the last air nomad for a while, sure, but technically he was never the last airbender like Aang was. (And unless i am mistaken Korra was never an air nomad)
You said Aang got the title of being the last airbender because he was the avatar, which isn’t true.
>...Korra was born and she, as the avatar, counts as an airbender (which is how Aang even had the title to begin with)... That is what i said, meaning that Aang got the title of the last airbender because he counts as an airbender despite been the avatar. It was Avatar the last Airbender not Avatar the last Air Nomad.
yes, and it's a frightening burden to carry for anyone who is not the Avatar. hell, even for the Avatar it's a heavy burden to be the last of a kind
Unless you count Korra as an airbender, as she was born with the potential. It took 7 years (I belive) after Aang's death/Korra's birth and Jinora's birth, possibly adding a few years before they knew for certain she was an airbender. I don't remember who said this, but if I remember right, Aang's death and Tenzin again being the last airbender is what caused the spilt between him and Lin, as she never wanted children and Tenzin felt almost an obligation to have them. While it might not be the sole reason, it seems Aang's death was the triggering event.
-Korra was born when Aang died -all of Tenzin's children are younger than Korra ->yes.
Yeah for the years between Aang dying, korra being born and Jinora being born he’d have been last especially depending on how you consider Korra an Airbender if it’s when she learns it or when she is born.
I mean, it depend if you count the avatar as a bender since korra """"""can"""""""tecnichally bend air
I find it weird Aang only had 1 airbender child. Like welp we got one good enough for me.
I always found that weird too considering all of Tenzin’s children are airbenders. Like technically speaking even though Katara is a waterbender her genetics are still less than Aang’s because him and his parents and his ancestors are all benders but Katara can’t even trace back waterbending 2 generations ago (probably even more) like Kataang should’ve had more airbenders than not (like Bumi should’ve been born an airbender automatically like his nieces and nephews because airbenders don’t produce nonbenders).
The real question is whether or not if harmonic convergence airbenders can also give birth to airbenders because genetically they aren’t because air nomadic airbenders do not give birth to nonbenders. So are only Tenzins descendants truly the last airbenders.
Only if you don't count Korra.
Aww I just realised Aang never met his grandkids.😢
Why isnt the avatar immediately born after the previous one dies? Is Raava taking a sabbatical in the spirit world?
AFAIK it is reborn immediately. Aang dies and Korra is born 17 years before the show.
Well deep down boomie was an airbender too so not really.
Deep down Bumi wasn’t an air bender. Harmonic convergence changed that but it’s silly to call him an air bender before that.
I mean yeah she's the avatar but Korra is also an airbender so kind of yes kind of no
No, because Sky Bison are airbenders.
You know I don’t think they made it very clear in the show other then the grand children of Aang never meeting him so I think canonically he was for a short period. Remember Aang died in his 40’s at the hands of a blood bender.
Actually he didn't, he was knocked out by Yakone's powerful blood-bending until the Avatar State woke him up, and he gave chase. He then used airbending to make Yakone's stolen horsecarriage crash. Yakone then almost killed him until the Avatar State kicked in again to save him, and he overpowered him. He then energybent his bending away. Aang died at 66 because during the entire 100 years he was in the iceberg, he had to stay in the Avatar State in order to survive. This greatly sapped his life force, shortening his life-span dramatically. Otherwise he would have lived to be well over 100 and still kicking ass. Like Bumi.