First, we need to be clear here. Whatever else the man might be, he's definitely a hypocrite as he is most certainly a bender himself. He deliberately left out the words "spirit bending" in his little speech because he wanted the masses to think his ability to remove bending was some form of advanced chi blocking instead of an advanced form of bending. To me, that also means he's likely an air bender as well, since my assumption from before was that spirit bending is the "advanced" form of air bending ala metal and lightning bending being advanced forms of earth and fire respectively.
His status as a bender has several implications. First and foremost it puts his motivation immediately into suspicious territory. We really have no idea who he is, he could already be one of the ruling elite and his intention may be to destabilize the city to the point where he can sweep in without his mask on and take control by "quelling" the violence/anarchy through a suspension of his activities as Amon. In addition we don't really have any understanding about the nature of spirit bending itself. It seems plausible to me that the bending ability he removes is some form of spirit energy that he can utilize himself and make himself more powerful somehow. It could even mean that, by stealing the abilities of others, he could steal all four bending (or the three he doesn't already have) abilities and plans on ruling as the "real" Avatar once he steals the abilities from Korra and exposes her as a "fake" who was using hidden benders to simulate being the Avatar.
TL;DR: TLoK is amazing and I want to have its babies.
Wait. How exactly do people become benders? I've always thought it was just hereditary...
They're born with it IIRC. Like mutants in X-men or wizards in Harry Potter.
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Dark Raven XLaugh hard, run fast,be kindRegistered Userregular
edited April 2012
I don't think spiritbending (energybending sounds cooler. ;D) is a part of air or any other element. If I remember the Lion Turtle properly, it's something that predates elemental bending entirely. Given how Aang just got it given to him by having it 'unlocked' (I assume the Lion Turtle used it on him to adjust his spirit to allow for him to do it) it's a thing that can be acquired, you don't need to be born with it. So I guess Amon was born a non-bender and just acquired energybending somehow.
It should also be pointed out that Mako and Bolin aren't poor because they can't get work. It's because they can't get work/sponsors in the field they want to be in. Assuming Mako's work gets them the 30k in two weeks they could be living well on that work alone. It's just not as glamorous.
Why assume that though? Bolin pretty clearly felt the need to get money by whatever means he could to supplement Mako, I doubt he would have been that desperate if Mako's other job would easily provide them the money.
Bolin didn't know about Mako's job. Mako had only that day gotten it.
Unlocking just means teaching. The avatar has the ability to do it because he's the avatar and can bend everything. We have no idea if spirit bending is tied to any other the other bending abilities at all other than we know the Lion Turtle is the natural inspiration for it the same way dragons are for firebending. For all we know Amon is Aang's secret student who's gone darkside to take control utilizing his power in the most effective way he could devise.
Everything we know about spiritbending beyond that it removes abilities is pure speculation at this point aside from one fact: we now know that non-Avatars can perform it. To me that means its either tied to an element or is its own element. Either way, he's a bender and a hypocrite.
First, we need to be clear here. Whatever else the man might be, he's definitely a hypocrite as he is most certainly a bender himself. He deliberately left out the words "spirit bending" in his little speech because he wanted the masses to think his ability to remove bending was some form of advanced chi blocking instead of an advanced form of bending. To me, that also means he's likely an air bender as well, since my assumption from before was that spirit bending is the "advanced" form of air bending ala metal and lightning bending being advanced forms of earth and fire respectively.
His status as a bender has several implications. First and foremost it puts his motivation immediately into suspicious territory. We really have no idea who he is, he could already be one of the ruling elite and his intention may be to destabilize the city to the point where he can sweep in without his mask on and take control by "quelling" the violence/anarchy through a suspension of his activities as Amon. In addition we don't really have any understanding about the nature of spirit bending itself. It seems plausible to me that the bending ability he removes is some form of spirit energy that he can utilize himself and make himself more powerful somehow. It could even mean that, by stealing the abilities of others, he could steal all four bending (or the three he doesn't already have) abilities and plans on ruling as the "real" Avatar once he steals the abilities from Korra and exposes her as a "fake" who was using hidden benders to simulate being the Avatar.
TL;DR: TLoK is amazing and I want to have its babies.
I really don't see it as hypocritical. While he is technically bending his bending only has meaning to other benders. If he were to remove all their power he would also render himself powerless.
First, we need to be clear here. Whatever else the man might be, he's definitely a hypocrite as he is most certainly a bender himself. He deliberately left out the words "spirit bending" in his little speech because he wanted the masses to think his ability to remove bending was some form of advanced chi blocking instead of an advanced form of bending. To me, that also means he's likely an air bender as well, since my assumption from before was that spirit bending is the "advanced" form of air bending ala metal and lightning bending being advanced forms of earth and fire respectively.
His status as a bender has several implications. First and foremost it puts his motivation immediately into suspicious territory. We really have no idea who he is, he could already be one of the ruling elite and his intention may be to destabilize the city to the point where he can sweep in without his mask on and take control by "quelling" the violence/anarchy through a suspension of his activities as Amon. In addition we don't really have any understanding about the nature of spirit bending itself. It seems plausible to me that the bending ability he removes is some form of spirit energy that he can utilize himself and make himself more powerful somehow. It could even mean that, by stealing the abilities of others, he could steal all four bending (or the three he doesn't already have) abilities and plans on ruling as the "real" Avatar once he steals the abilities from Korra and exposes her as a "fake" who was using hidden benders to simulate being the Avatar.
TL;DR: TLoK is amazing and I want to have its babies.
Of course. Amon is Palpatine. :twisted:
Haha well it fits! I mean, the mask is being worn for a reason. You don't wear it to inspire confidence, you do so because you have to. So we either take the word of a hypocrite who is misleading the masses or we assume his face is well known and he needs to hide it to prevent his plans from being ruined.
Wait. How exactly do people become benders? I've always thought it was just hereditary...
They're born with it IIRC. Like mutants in X-men or wizards in Harry Potter.
But how come there are no earthbenders born in the fire nation? And vice-versa and whatnot?
That I don't know. I've been theorizing that every bender's default state is fluid. They have the potential to learn any bending style in this stage. However, once they learn a specific style they're "mode locked" into that style permanently. The only exception for this is the Avatar. This is why there are many benders from the same style in the separate nations. Each have a monopoly on their own style and why Water Benders can't learn Fire Bending unless they're surrounded by Fire Benders. Pure speculation, of course.
Wait. How exactly do people become benders? I've always thought it was just hereditary...
They're born with it IIRC. Like mutants in X-men or wizards in Harry Potter.
But how come there are no earthbenders born in the fire nation? And vice-versa and whatnot?
Because heredity somehow determines what element you have the potential to bend and something undefined determines if you can bend.
You need an ancestor from the Water Tribes to waterbend, but not every descendant of the Water Tribe can bend 9see the Swamp Benders ).
Mixed nation couples can have children who bend different elements as can be seen with Mako and Bolin as well as Aang and Katara's kids.
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21stCenturyCall me Pixel, or Pix for short![They/Them]Registered Userregular
i don't think Amon was energybending at all, he was just blocking chi at two important points. IIRC, Energybending is a battle of wills and it's very flashy and such. also, it used the Heart and Third Eye chakras, right?
Wait. How exactly do people become benders? I've always thought it was just hereditary...
They're born with it IIRC. Like mutants in X-men or wizards in Harry Potter.
But how come there are no earthbenders born in the fire nation? And vice-versa and whatnot?
Because heredity somehow determines what element you have the potential to bend and something undefined determines if you can bend.
You need an ancestor from the Water Tribes to waterbend, but not every descendant of the Water Tribe can bend 9see the Swamp Benders ).
Mixed nation couples can have children who bend different elements as can be seen with Mako and Bolin as well as Aang and Katara's kids.
Was it ever actually said that you needed a specific bending ancestor in order to bend? I assumed that bending was a product of having a spirit that is in alignment with the element in question. The various nations came into being as people recognized the utility of bending and developed their cultures to specifically encourage one particular type of bending. During the last series, the dichotomy between the nations was so severe that anyone who might have been a bender in an element that wasn't aligned with their country wouldn't have received the spiritual development in the proper direction for it to be nurtured.
Of course, if there's no ancestral element, then there's really no reason for Tenzin and his children to be the only existing Airbenders. So I'm probably wrong. Or, most likely of all, the writers don't know themselves and are keeping it deliberately vague so as to allow the plot to dictate.
It is not at all clear that Amon was energybending.
If you look at the moves he does, they're different from what Aang did. It seems like it's just an advanced form of Chi-blocking. It's certainly not clear that there is real (tm) bending magic involved. It's not even clear that it's permanent.
I also don't know why you'd take him at his word about the spirit stuff.
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Dark Raven XLaugh hard, run fast,be kindRegistered Userregular
Amon is still touching 2 points, just a different 2 from Aang and the turtle - they used the chest and the head, he uses the back of the neck and the same point on the head, with the same hand placement, just reversed.
The lack of flashy lights could be down to that being artistic license for the benefit of the viewer, a visually representation of their battle of wills, and what it actually looked like is what Amon did to Zolt.
It could indeed all be a clever ruse / misdirect, but for now I can totally buy that he just did what Aang did to Ozai.
So far I think the most likely explanation of Amon's power is that he was a student of Aang's. Perhaps Aang tried to spiritbend him into an Airbender and something screwed up, or perhaps he was trained specifically to handle another Ozai situation.
If Amon is using spirit-bending, I don't think he can use it to take away Korra's powers. He would almost certainly lose a battle of wills against the Avatar.
An interesting question though that came up talking with a friend about the show, is what the actual socio-economic situation is in Republic city. Clearly something is motivating the Equalist movement. But how well off are benders, really? Being street muscle for a triad is not usually all that prestigious. It's apparently profitable, from the couple we've seen. But that itself is a bit of a mystery. So far the only criminal activity we've seen them doing is protection. And that doesn't seem like it could be profitable enough for what we see. Are they involved in some kind of drug trade? Illegal gambling? And furthermore, Mako was able to find a job instantly. So what is convincing these guys to become thugs instead of getting a job?
While racing light mechs, your Urbanmech comes in second place, but only because it ran out of ammo.
So far I think the most likely explanation of Amon's power is that he was a student of Aang's. Perhaps Aang tried to spiritbend him into an Airbender and something screwed up, or perhaps he was trained specifically to handle another Ozai situation.
If that was the case, Tenzin would know about him.
I can't see Aang trying to Energybend people into Airbenders; it just doesn't seem like something he'd do.
So far I think the most likely explanation of Amon's power is that he was a student of Aang's. Perhaps Aang tried to spiritbend him into an Airbender and something screwed up, or perhaps he was trained specifically to handle another Ozai situation.
If that was the case, Tenzin would know about him.
I can't see Aang trying to Energybend people into Airbenders; it just doesn't seem like something he'd do.
While I'm not sure I agree Aang would do if, tenzin definitely acted shifty upon hearing about it.
So far I think the most likely explanation of Amon's power is that he was a student of Aang's. Perhaps Aang tried to spiritbend him into an Airbender and something screwed up, or perhaps he was trained specifically to handle another Ozai situation.
If that was the case, Tenzin would know about him.
I can't see Aang trying to Energybend people into Airbenders; it just doesn't seem like something he'd do.
It's logical Tenzin is keeping (or kept) Amon's presence a secret from Korra. Which is a wise choice given that she's very impulsive, inexperienced and naive in how the world works. Perhaps he planned to reveal what he knows to her once she was in her peak with the abilities to shut him down properly. That's why he wanted her to keep out of Republic City until after he trained her in Air Bending.
So far I think the most likely explanation of Amon's power is that he was a student of Aang's. Perhaps Aang tried to spiritbend him into an Airbender and something screwed up, or perhaps he was trained specifically to handle another Ozai situation.
If that was the case, Tenzin would know about him.
I can't see Aang trying to Energybend people into Airbenders; it just doesn't seem like something he'd do.
It's logical Tenzin is keeping (or kept) Amon's presence a secret from Korra. Which is a wise choice given that she's very impulsive, inexperienced and naive in how the world works. Perhaps he planned to reveal what he knows to her once she was in her peak with the abilities to shut him down properly. That's why he wanted her to keep out of Republic City until after he trained her in Air Bending.
This would also set the stage for a Kenobi-style "from a certain point of view" speech from Tenzin. And he could even do a Yoda "unfortunate that you rushed off to face him, that incomplete was your Avatar training" speech right afterwards.
So far I think the most likely explanation of Amon's power is that he was a student of Aang's. Perhaps Aang tried to spiritbend him into an Airbender and something screwed up, or perhaps he was trained specifically to handle another Ozai situation.
If that was the case, Tenzin would know about him.
I can't see Aang trying to Energybend people into Airbenders; it just doesn't seem like something he'd do.
It's logical Tenzin is keeping (or kept) Amon's presence a secret from Korra. Which is a wise choice given that she's very impulsive, inexperienced and naive in how the world works. Perhaps he planned to reveal what he knows to her once she was in her peak with the abilities to shut him down properly. That's why he wanted her to keep out of Republic City until after he trained her in Air Bending.
Oh, I don't doubt that Tenzin knew about Amon; what I meant is that Tenzin would know if Amon is a failed student of Aang's, and he'd certainly know if Aang tried to pass on Energybending.
I just don't see why Aang would have any motivation to teach Energybending to a student; there's no reason for him to do so, and given the incredible power of Energybending, I can't imagine that he'd want to share it.
So far I think the most likely explanation of Amon's power is that he was a student of Aang's. Perhaps Aang tried to spiritbend him into an Airbender and something screwed up, or perhaps he was trained specifically to handle another Ozai situation.
If that was the case, Tenzin would know about him.
I can't see Aang trying to Energybend people into Airbenders; it just doesn't seem like something he'd do.
It's logical Tenzin is keeping (or kept) Amon's presence a secret from Korra. Which is a wise choice given that she's very impulsive, inexperienced and naive in how the world works. Perhaps he planned to reveal what he knows to her once she was in her peak with the abilities to shut him down properly. That's why he wanted her to keep out of Republic City until after he trained her in Air Bending.
Oh, I don't doubt that Tenzin knew about Amon; what I meant is that Tenzin would know if Amon is a failed student of Aang's, and he'd certainly know if Aang tried to pass on Energybending.
I just don't see why Aang would have any motivation to teach Energybending to a student; there's no reason for him to do so, and given the incredible power of Energybending, I can't imagine that he'd want to share it.
You're talking about the kid who wanted to gluebend Ozai's hands and legs and show him baby pictures until he turned good again.
I'm thinking he trained someone to be Korra's "Guru" just like Pathik was to him, someone to teach Korra everything she needs to know about the Avatar State, energybending, and the spiritual hokum not covered in Airbending 101. And he probably kept that kinda thing on the DL, just in case there was another Sozin situation.
So far I think the most likely explanation of Amon's power is that he was a student of Aang's. Perhaps Aang tried to spiritbend him into an Airbender and something screwed up, or perhaps he was trained specifically to handle another Ozai situation.
If that was the case, Tenzin would know about him.
I can't see Aang trying to Energybend people into Airbenders; it just doesn't seem like something he'd do.
It's logical Tenzin is keeping (or kept) Amon's presence a secret from Korra. Which is a wise choice given that she's very impulsive, inexperienced and naive in how the world works. Perhaps he planned to reveal what he knows to her once she was in her peak with the abilities to shut him down properly. That's why he wanted her to keep out of Republic City until after he trained her in Air Bending.
Oh, I don't doubt that Tenzin knew about Amon; what I meant is that Tenzin would know if Amon is a failed student of Aang's, and he'd certainly know if Aang tried to pass on Energybending.
Maybe that's still the plan, even after she discovers Amon's existence. If Amon's true identity is revealed Korra could make it worse by doing something stupid with that knowledge.
I just don't see why Aang would have any motivation to teach Energybending to a student; there's no reason for him to do so, and given the incredible power of Energybending, I can't imagine that he'd want to share it.
Maybe he wanted others to have the same ability so he could share that responsibility with a select few he trusted were he busy elsewhere.
So far I think the most likely explanation of Amon's power is that he was a student of Aang's. Perhaps Aang tried to spiritbend him into an Airbender and something screwed up, or perhaps he was trained specifically to handle another Ozai situation.
If that was the case, Tenzin would know about him.
I can't see Aang trying to Energybend people into Airbenders; it just doesn't seem like something he'd do.
It's logical Tenzin is keeping (or kept) Amon's presence a secret from Korra. Which is a wise choice given that she's very impulsive, inexperienced and naive in how the world works. Perhaps he planned to reveal what he knows to her once she was in her peak with the abilities to shut him down properly. That's why he wanted her to keep out of Republic City until after he trained her in Air Bending.
Oh, I don't doubt that Tenzin knew about Amon; what I meant is that Tenzin would know if Amon is a failed student of Aang's, and he'd certainly know if Aang tried to pass on Energybending.
I just don't see why Aang would have any motivation to teach Energybending to a student; there's no reason for him to do so, and given the incredible power of Energybending, I can't imagine that he'd want to share it.
You're talking about the kid who wanted to gluebend Ozai's hands and legs and show him baby pictures until he turned good again.
I'm thinking he trained someone to be Korra's "Guru" just like Pathik was to him, someone to teach Korra everything she needs to know about the Avatar State, energybending, and the spiritual hokum not covered in Airbending 101. And he probably kept that kinda thing on the DL, just in case there was another Sozin situation.
There's a whole world of difference between 12-year-old Aang and adult Aang with the weight of the world on his shoulders for the past several decades, I think.
Additionally, why wouldn't he just have Katara or one of his offspring be this new mentor for Korra in spiritual matters? Tenzin certainly would've fit the role, as would Katara, and as they're both going to be teaching the Avatar anyways you might as well have it be one of them; they're people Aang can and would trust implicitly.
That said, I'm certain that Amon will not have ties to Aang, for the very simple reason that this is a new setting with a new cast of characters. While many of the old characters still have indirect stakes in what's going on, the creators are going to want to establish Korra as a very different show, and having the main villain be tied directly to multiple plot points of the original series is not the way to accomplish this.
None of the primary protagonists (Korra, Bolin, Mako) are related to/involved with the Aang Gang in any way, with the exception of the inevitable Spirit Aang; I'd expect the same for the main villain.
There's also the matter that Amon does not seem to be Energybending, at least as we knew it.
If Amon is not Cabbage Man's son, he could also be the Cabbage Man himself, sent back from the dead by the cabbage spirits.
My biggest question about Amon and the equalists is, who is funding these dudes? They seem to have the most advanced tech in the city.
They probably aren't being funded by benders, for obvious reasons. But who does that leave? Almost everyone wealthy/powerful in the original series was a bender. There's the Kyoshi warriors, there's the sword master Fire Nation guy, there's Azula's old friends who I'm guessing come from wealthy families.
All of those seem unlikely. Maybe there's a new economic force at work. Or maybe they are being funded by benders. One group that comes to mind would be the metalbending cops. It probably helps them to have equalists taking bender criminals off the street. Plus Toph's family was super-rich.
Or maybe Cabbage Man is behind the funding. We never saw him sell his cabbages, and he somehow had the funds to continue refilling his cart.
What about the circus girl from the original series and her family? As far as I remember she was the only one that knew how to hit people in that special way that stopped bending (sorry for not knowing the names of anything, I'm a huge fan of the show's, but I'm terrible with names of things).
It should also be pointed out that Mako and Bolin aren't poor because they can't get work. It's because they can't get work/sponsors in the field they want to be in. Assuming Mako's work gets them the 30k in two weeks they could be living well on that work alone. It's just not as glamorous.
This could just as easily be an analogy to anyone who is physically fit and/or intelligent, generally they could find work, just maybe not what they want to do or where they want to do it at.
My oldest brother could easily have been a very good accountant and made rather decent money. But he wanted to be a writer instead...
As to non-benders in power, well, we do have the Earth King (though who knows what the earth Kingdom looks like now). And we aren't even sure of what most of the earth kingdom's nobles were. We have Toph's family, who were not benders, and we don't see much of the earth nobility using earthbending.
Primarily what we do see is a prevalence of benders in positions where physical combat capability is of the greatest utility, which is really no difference in our world that someone being physically fit. You don't see many cripples on the front lines.
So far I think the most likely explanation of Amon's power is that he was a student of Aang's. Perhaps Aang tried to spiritbend him into an Airbender and something screwed up, or perhaps he was trained specifically to handle another Ozai situation.
If that was the case, Tenzin would know about him.
I can't see Aang trying to Energybend people into Airbenders; it just doesn't seem like something he'd do.
It's logical Tenzin is keeping (or kept) Amon's presence a secret from Korra. Which is a wise choice given that she's very impulsive, inexperienced and naive in how the world works. Perhaps he planned to reveal what he knows to her once she was in her peak with the abilities to shut him down properly. That's why he wanted her to keep out of Republic City until after he trained her in Air Bending.
Oh, I don't doubt that Tenzin knew about Amon; what I meant is that Tenzin would know if Amon is a failed student of Aang's, and he'd certainly know if Aang tried to pass on Energybending.
I just don't see why Aang would have any motivation to teach Energybending to a student; there's no reason for him to do so, and given the incredible power of Energybending, I can't imagine that he'd want to share it.
You're talking about the kid who wanted to gluebend Ozai's hands and legs and show him baby pictures until he turned good again.
I'm thinking he trained someone to be Korra's "Guru" just like Pathik was to him, someone to teach Korra everything she needs to know about the Avatar State, energybending, and the spiritual hokum not covered in Airbending 101. And he probably kept that kinda thing on the DL, just in case there was another Sozin situation.
There's a whole world of difference between 12-year-old Aang and adult Aang with the weight of the world on his shoulders for the past several decades, I think.
Additionally, why wouldn't he just have Katara or one of his offspring be this new mentor for Korra in spiritual matters? Tenzin certainly would've fit the role, as would Katara, and as they're both going to be teaching the Avatar anyways you might as well have it be one of them; they're people Aang can and would trust implicitly.
That said, I'm certain that Amon will not have ties to Aang, for the very simple reason that this is a new setting with a new cast of characters. While many of the old characters still have indirect stakes in what's going on, the creators are going to want to establish Korra as a very different show, and having the main villain be tied directly to multiple plot points of the original series is not the way to accomplish this.
None of the primary protagonists (Korra, Bolin, Mako) are related to/involved with the Aang Gang in any way, with the exception of the inevitable Spirit Aang; I'd expect the same for the main villain.
There's also the matter that Amon does not seem to be Energybending, at least as we knew it.
That's the likeliest possibility they're going with Amon.
If Amon is not Cabbage Man's son, he could also be the Cabbage Man himself, sent back from the dead by the cabbage spirits.
My biggest question about Amon and the equalists is, who is funding these dudes? They seem to have the most advanced tech in the city.
They probably aren't being funded by benders, for obvious reasons. But who does that leave? Almost everyone wealthy/powerful in the original series was a bender. There's the Kyoshi warriors, there's the sword master Fire Nation guy, there's Azula's old friends who I'm guessing come from wealthy families.
All of those seem unlikely. Maybe there's a new economic force at work. Or maybe they are being funded by benders. One group that comes to mind would be the metalbending cops. It probably helps them to have equalists taking bender criminals off the street. Plus Toph's family was super-rich.
Or maybe Cabbage Man is behind the funding. We never saw him sell his cabbages, and he somehow had the funds to continue refilling his cart.
What about the circus girl from the original series and her family? As far as I remember she was the only one that knew how to hit people in that special way that stopped bending (sorry for not knowing the names of anything, I'm a huge fan of the show's, but I'm terrible with names of things).
That we know of. Just because we didn't see anyone else use it doesn't mean there weren't other people with that skill. She also had to learn it from somewhere, as well.
Give it a hundred years, and the fact that the Kyoshi Warriors, as non-benders, would certainly want to learn how to chi-block, and it's not surprising that chi-blocking is widespread.
It's the best way for non-benders to protect themselves against benders, after all.
De-bending everyone can't be Amon's ultimate goal. It makes no sense. Not only would it completely shut down the economy, their entire society is built on using benders for the manual labor. Do they even have the infrastructure to survive without benders.
Also, never underestimate the power of Pro Bending. Once people realize that Amon is going take that away, god help him.
Amon is definitely lying about his past. If not outright, he's pulling a serious Obi-wan. Besides the fact that having the antagonist literally get on a stage and briefly lay out his backstory is bad storytelling, the dude isn't angry. He's extremely level-headed and obviously intelligent. That backstory is too stupid for him, but it's the kind of thing a crowd of angry people would like. I can't guess exactly what he's up to right now, but his motivation is certainly either self-interest or duty.
Also, he isn't going to faux-spiritbend Korra. The second he does that the jig is up and it's not real. It's like a cliffhanger where the hero "dies."
De-bending everyone can't be Amon's ultimate goal. It makes no sense. Not only would it completely shut down the economy, their entire society is built on using benders for the manual labor. Do they even have the infrastructure to survive without benders.
The Equalists want everything to be equal. For that to occur they'd have restructure society from the ground up once bending no longer exists. Amon's agenda might be different.
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Mr_Rose83 Blue Ridge Protects the HolyRegistered Userregular
On bending and heredity: it makes more sense to me that the capacity to bend is genetic and what you can bend is dependant on your environment, possibly with some kind of "spiritual imprint" that locks you in to a single element when you start out. Explains sandbenders too, since they are almost bending two elements….
I've actually thought that in some of the future episodes Amon will take away Korra's bending, for realz, and Korra will have to find a way to get it back, possibly via spiritual journey.
After all, this show seems determined to give Korra challenges she can't just overcome by hucking random elements at it, not to mention learn how to develop patience and her spiritual side.
On bending and heredity: it makes more sense to me that the capacity to bend is genetic and what you can bend is dependant on your environment, possibly with some kind of "spiritual imprint" that locks you in to a single element when you start out. Explains sandbenders too, since they are almost bending two elements….
If this were the case, then there would be more airbenders. It also doesn't explain siblings who were raised together bending two different elements. It could be a recessive trait (explains nonbending parents) but the element you can bend seems to be genetic and mutually exclusive.
It should also be pointed out that Mako and Bolin aren't poor because they can't get work. It's because they can't get work/sponsors in the field they want to be in. Assuming Mako's work gets them the 30k in two weeks they could be living well on that work alone. It's just not as glamorous.
This could just as easily be an analogy to anyone who is physically fit and/or intelligent, generally they could find work, just maybe not what they want to do or where they want to do it at.
My oldest brother could easily have been a very good accountant and made rather decent money. But he wanted to be a writer instead...
As to non-benders in power, well, we do have the Earth King (though who knows what the earth Kingdom looks like now). And we aren't even sure of what most of the earth kingdom's nobles were. We have Toph's family, who were not benders, and we don't see much of the earth nobility using earthbending.
Primarily what we do see is a prevalence of benders in positions where physical combat capability is of the greatest utility, which is really no difference in our world that someone being physically fit. You don't see many cripples on the front lines.
Except a most people can achieve physical fitness. A person can not achieve bending no matter how much they train. And bending bestows people an automatic bonus to sheer, raw power.
Here's what we know about bending heredity:
It is not dominant
It is closely tied to parental nationality
It is not mitochondrial
It is not X-linked
It sure as hell isn't y-linked
It can run in families
Raw power when bending is present can run in families
Power can vary between siblings
Skill can run in families and vary between siblings
Training and disposition can increase skill and possibly power
Large numbers of people can have small scale power in cultures where bending is stressed and likely institutionally trained, even if the culture is confirmed by word of god to have reduced bending receptivity.
I'll also give one very suggestive fact (if memory holds): Katara's grandmother was a highly powerful and/or skilled bender. Katara was a highly powerful and/or naturally skilled bender.
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First, we need to be clear here. Whatever else the man might be, he's definitely a hypocrite as he is most certainly a bender himself. He deliberately left out the words "spirit bending" in his little speech because he wanted the masses to think his ability to remove bending was some form of advanced chi blocking instead of an advanced form of bending. To me, that also means he's likely an air bender as well, since my assumption from before was that spirit bending is the "advanced" form of air bending ala metal and lightning bending being advanced forms of earth and fire respectively.
His status as a bender has several implications. First and foremost it puts his motivation immediately into suspicious territory. We really have no idea who he is, he could already be one of the ruling elite and his intention may be to destabilize the city to the point where he can sweep in without his mask on and take control by "quelling" the violence/anarchy through a suspension of his activities as Amon. In addition we don't really have any understanding about the nature of spirit bending itself. It seems plausible to me that the bending ability he removes is some form of spirit energy that he can utilize himself and make himself more powerful somehow. It could even mean that, by stealing the abilities of others, he could steal all four bending (or the three he doesn't already have) abilities and plans on ruling as the "real" Avatar once he steals the abilities from Korra and exposes her as a "fake" who was using hidden benders to simulate being the Avatar.
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They're born with it IIRC. Like mutants in X-men or wizards in Harry Potter.
Bolin didn't know about Mako's job. Mako had only that day gotten it.
Everything we know about spiritbending beyond that it removes abilities is pure speculation at this point aside from one fact: we now know that non-Avatars can perform it. To me that means its either tied to an element or is its own element. Either way, he's a bender and a hypocrite.
Of course. Amon is Palpatine. :twisted:
Haha well it fits! I mean, the mask is being worn for a reason. You don't wear it to inspire confidence, you do so because you have to. So we either take the word of a hypocrite who is misleading the masses or we assume his face is well known and he needs to hide it to prevent his plans from being ruined.
Combination of spirit and culture and hand waving.
That I don't know. I've been theorizing that every bender's default state is fluid. They have the potential to learn any bending style in this stage. However, once they learn a specific style they're "mode locked" into that style permanently. The only exception for this is the Avatar. This is why there are many benders from the same style in the separate nations. Each have a monopoly on their own style and why Water Benders can't learn Fire Bending unless they're surrounded by Fire Benders. Pure speculation, of course.
You need an ancestor from the Water Tribes to waterbend, but not every descendant of the Water Tribe can bend 9see the Swamp Benders ).
Mixed nation couples can have children who bend different elements as can be seen with Mako and Bolin as well as Aang and Katara's kids.
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Was it ever actually said that you needed a specific bending ancestor in order to bend? I assumed that bending was a product of having a spirit that is in alignment with the element in question. The various nations came into being as people recognized the utility of bending and developed their cultures to specifically encourage one particular type of bending. During the last series, the dichotomy between the nations was so severe that anyone who might have been a bender in an element that wasn't aligned with their country wouldn't have received the spiritual development in the proper direction for it to be nurtured.
Of course, if there's no ancestral element, then there's really no reason for Tenzin and his children to be the only existing Airbenders. So I'm probably wrong. Or, most likely of all, the writers don't know themselves and are keeping it deliberately vague so as to allow the plot to dictate.
If you look at the moves he does, they're different from what Aang did. It seems like it's just an advanced form of Chi-blocking. It's certainly not clear that there is real (tm) bending magic involved. It's not even clear that it's permanent.
I also don't know why you'd take him at his word about the spirit stuff.
The lack of flashy lights could be down to that being artistic license for the benefit of the viewer, a visually representation of their battle of wills, and what it actually looked like is what Amon did to Zolt.
It could indeed all be a clever ruse / misdirect, but for now I can totally buy that he just did what Aang did to Ozai.
An interesting question though that came up talking with a friend about the show, is what the actual socio-economic situation is in Republic city. Clearly something is motivating the Equalist movement. But how well off are benders, really? Being street muscle for a triad is not usually all that prestigious. It's apparently profitable, from the couple we've seen. But that itself is a bit of a mystery. So far the only criminal activity we've seen them doing is protection. And that doesn't seem like it could be profitable enough for what we see. Are they involved in some kind of drug trade? Illegal gambling? And furthermore, Mako was able to find a job instantly. So what is convincing these guys to become thugs instead of getting a job?
If that was the case, Tenzin would know about him.
I can't see Aang trying to Energybend people into Airbenders; it just doesn't seem like something he'd do.
It's logical Tenzin is keeping (or kept) Amon's presence a secret from Korra. Which is a wise choice given that she's very impulsive, inexperienced and naive in how the world works. Perhaps he planned to reveal what he knows to her once she was in her peak with the abilities to shut him down properly. That's why he wanted her to keep out of Republic City until after he trained her in Air Bending.
This would also set the stage for a Kenobi-style "from a certain point of view" speech from Tenzin. And he could even do a Yoda "unfortunate that you rushed off to face him, that incomplete was your Avatar training" speech right afterwards.
Oh, I don't doubt that Tenzin knew about Amon; what I meant is that Tenzin would know if Amon is a failed student of Aang's, and he'd certainly know if Aang tried to pass on Energybending.
I just don't see why Aang would have any motivation to teach Energybending to a student; there's no reason for him to do so, and given the incredible power of Energybending, I can't imagine that he'd want to share it.
You're talking about the kid who wanted to gluebend Ozai's hands and legs and show him baby pictures until he turned good again.
I'm thinking he trained someone to be Korra's "Guru" just like Pathik was to him, someone to teach Korra everything she needs to know about the Avatar State, energybending, and the spiritual hokum not covered in Airbending 101. And he probably kept that kinda thing on the DL, just in case there was another Sozin situation.
Maybe that's still the plan, even after she discovers Amon's existence. If Amon's true identity is revealed Korra could make it worse by doing something stupid with that knowledge.
Maybe he wanted others to have the same ability so he could share that responsibility with a select few he trusted were he busy elsewhere.
There's a whole world of difference between 12-year-old Aang and adult Aang with the weight of the world on his shoulders for the past several decades, I think.
Additionally, why wouldn't he just have Katara or one of his offspring be this new mentor for Korra in spiritual matters? Tenzin certainly would've fit the role, as would Katara, and as they're both going to be teaching the Avatar anyways you might as well have it be one of them; they're people Aang can and would trust implicitly.
That said, I'm certain that Amon will not have ties to Aang, for the very simple reason that this is a new setting with a new cast of characters. While many of the old characters still have indirect stakes in what's going on, the creators are going to want to establish Korra as a very different show, and having the main villain be tied directly to multiple plot points of the original series is not the way to accomplish this.
None of the primary protagonists (Korra, Bolin, Mako) are related to/involved with the Aang Gang in any way, with the exception of the inevitable Spirit Aang; I'd expect the same for the main villain.
There's also the matter that Amon does not seem to be Energybending, at least as we knew it.
What about the circus girl from the original series and her family? As far as I remember she was the only one that knew how to hit people in that special way that stopped bending (sorry for not knowing the names of anything, I'm a huge fan of the show's, but I'm terrible with names of things).
My oldest brother could easily have been a very good accountant and made rather decent money. But he wanted to be a writer instead...
As to non-benders in power, well, we do have the Earth King (though who knows what the earth Kingdom looks like now). And we aren't even sure of what most of the earth kingdom's nobles were. We have Toph's family, who were not benders, and we don't see much of the earth nobility using earthbending.
Primarily what we do see is a prevalence of benders in positions where physical combat capability is of the greatest utility, which is really no difference in our world that someone being physically fit. You don't see many cripples on the front lines.
That's the likeliest possibility they're going with Amon.
That we know of. Just because we didn't see anyone else use it doesn't mean there weren't other people with that skill. She also had to learn it from somewhere, as well.
It's the best way for non-benders to protect themselves against benders, after all.
Also, never underestimate the power of Pro Bending. Once people realize that Amon is going take that away, god help him.
Also, he isn't going to faux-spiritbend Korra. The second he does that the jig is up and it's not real. It's like a cliffhanger where the hero "dies."
The Equalists want everything to be equal. For that to occur they'd have restructure society from the ground up once bending no longer exists. Amon's agenda might be different.
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After all, this show seems determined to give Korra challenges she can't just overcome by hucking random elements at it, not to mention learn how to develop patience and her spiritual side.
If this were the case, then there would be more airbenders. It also doesn't explain siblings who were raised together bending two different elements. It could be a recessive trait (explains nonbending parents) but the element you can bend seems to be genetic and mutually exclusive.
Except a most people can achieve physical fitness. A person can not achieve bending no matter how much they train. And bending bestows people an automatic bonus to sheer, raw power.
It is not dominant
It is closely tied to parental nationality
It is not mitochondrial
It is not X-linked
It sure as hell isn't y-linked
It can run in families
Raw power when bending is present can run in families
Power can vary between siblings
Skill can run in families and vary between siblings
Training and disposition can increase skill and possibly power
Large numbers of people can have small scale power in cultures where bending is stressed and likely institutionally trained, even if the culture is confirmed by word of god to have reduced bending receptivity.
I'll also give one very suggestive fact (if memory holds): Katara's grandmother was a highly powerful and/or skilled bender. Katara was a highly powerful and/or naturally skilled bender.