Avatar: the Last Airbender Superlatives

dac213 hands out senior awards at Airbender High with a just hand, only slightly inspired by the possibility of airbender wrath. –Sparkitors

With all the end-of-school superlatives going around lately, I couldn’t help but wonder why there were no hypothetical superlatives. So, I decided to list the winners of an imaginary Avatar: The Last Airbender superlatives contest, inspired by its believable, dynamic characters and complicated plot lines. (I'm NOT talking about the live-action movie here.) So without further ado, the winners of the 2011 Airbender bests (ladies first):

Most likely to succeed: Suki

She’s already the leader of the Kyoshi warriors, and they continued to trust and follow her even after being thrown in Fire Nation jail. Her smarts, resourcefulness, and ability to correct and then make out with chauvinistic Water Tribe warriors will no doubt get her far. Plus, she has all the attributes of a high school golden girl: the lovable boyfriend, the daring fashion sense, the leadership capability, and the ability to win in a fight.

Best Bender: Toph Bei Fong

I know, I know, Katara was declared a waterbending master after, like, a week, and Azula, despite being evil, is a firebending prodigy. But Toph invented metalbending, that and the fact that she’s way younger than the others and already a master makes her the best female bender in my book.

Best dressed: Suki

I might change this to “most outfit changes,” but you have to admit that this girl can rock anything, from traditional Kyoshi warrior garb to Fire Nation typical teen wear to the Earth Kingdom equivalent of an evening gown. And she does it all without once changing her hairstyle.

Most athletic: Ty Lee

Remember kids, she turns good in the end—or at least she turns against Azula, which is more than a start. This was a tough call for me, and I know you’re all going to scream “Suki!” in unison, but I can’t give one girl too many awards (unless she's Katara, who was literally designed to be as close to perfect as possible without being annoying). Plus, remember that Ty Lee was a circus acrobat for a while. Her acrobatic skills are pretty handy in battle, as we all remember from just about every time she shows up.

Most popular: Azula

She fits the definition of a stereotypical high school queen bee: evil, pretty, full of diabolical plots, and in possession of an entourage. Not to mention everyone at Avatar High would be too scared not to vote for her.

Class clown: Ty Lee

Sure she’s creepy, with her near-deadly skills and constant smile, but she’s a fun creeper. And need I remind you she worked for a circus?

Biggest flirt: Ty Lee

Anyone remember that episode that focused on Azula & co. talking about why each of them is the way they are? Well, Ty Lee’s bubbly personality and natural flirtatiousness made her the center of the boys’ attention, while Azula was uncharacteristically floundering. It was fun to watch.

Most evil: Azula

The girl’s constantly plotting, she threw her best friends in jail after intimidating one of them into joining her, she never hesitates to attack, and she tried to kill her own brother for pity’s sake!

“Outstanding moral fiber”: Princess Yue

What’s a Sparklife post without a Harry Potter reference? Yue gets this coveted, Harry-inspired award because she sacrificed herself to save the moon spirit and thus waterbending, ensuring that the Fire Nation didn’t capture the North Pole.

Now for the guys...

Most likely to succeed: Sokka

Sokka’s resourcefulness, leadership ability, sense of humor, and ability to come up with elaborate and creative battle plans will no doubt get him far.

Best bender: Aang (but only when he’s in the avatar state, which is to say Aang + all other avatars)

Yes, Aang’s a great bender, yes he mastered all four elements, but let’s not forget that during his final battle he couldn’t defeat Ozai until he’d gone into the avatar state.

Most athletic: Zuko

Did you see those Blue Spirit episodes? Being able to pull off those Parkour-type moves pretty much makes Zu-Zu a lock for Most Athletic Avatar: The Last Airbender boy.

Most popular: Aang

Everyone who’s not evil eventually loves the last airbender.

Class clown: Momo

About all the lemur’s good for is companionship, finding food, finding useless junk, sounding the alarm, and a laugh. So it was him or Sokka, who I personally don't think is as funny as he thinks he is.

Biggest flirt: Sokka

He has not one, but two love interests throughout the series, and he once charmed a whole poetry club with his on-the-fly haikus.

Most evil: Ozai

He causes his mourning brother to be disinherited, banishes his wife and then wishes he’d had her executed instead, literally burns and then banishes his son, uses his unstable daughter as a distraction, and then tries to take over the world by burning it. Heard enough?

“Outstanding moral fiber”: Iroh

He’s one of five good firebenders, and one of the two who’s good the whole time (the other being Roku). Iroh actually cares about the world beyond the Fire Nation, he’s responsible for ensuring that dragons don’t go extinct, and is even nice enough to make sure his favorite prison guard isn’t around to get in trouble when he escapes. The coup de gras is the fact that he didn’t hesitate to forgive Zuko after he betrayed him, turned evil again, and had him thrown in jail.

Best couple: Tie between Sokka and Suki and Aang and Katara

Sokka’n’Suki are both smart, resourceful, useful in a fight, and great leaders. They could probably take over the Avatar world if they tried hard enough. However, Aang and Katara are both powerful benders, and Aang’s the avatar for pity’s sake, so I’ll call it a draw so that neither couple will kill me.

Which series' characters would you want to award superlatives to?

Related post: My Crush is a Classic TV Character

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