Highlights
- Toph is a self-taught earthbender with impressive skills, including metalbending and sandbending.
- King Bumi's earthbending strength is unmatched, and his near-psychic abilities make him a formidable opponent.
- While Toph may be the greatest earthbender in terms of skill and mastery, King Bumi is the most powerful due to his immense strength and earthbending prowess.
Avatar: The Last Airbender is home to a growing list of great earthbenders, but the title of most powerful earthbender is up for debate. The two contenders that rank the highest on the list of most fans are Toph and King Bumi.
Toph is a blind earthbender whose size makes her the most underestimated earthbender of all. King of Omashu, Bumi, however, though an elder, is one of the most agile and muscular benders in the series. Both Toph and Bumi are undoubtedly master earthbenders. But, for the claim of Avatar: The Last Airbender's most powerful earthbender, these two masters need to be examined further.
Is Toph Really The Greatest Earthbender?
Toph Beifong has many achievements to claim as an earthbender. Being the series' first known metalbender and master of it in a short amount of time makes her an earthbending prodigy and genius. Toph's fighting hinges on not only her seismic sense, but also her ability to predict her opponents' moves and bending attacks in order to evade. Dodging, for instance, Avatar Korra's airbending techniques means Toph understands the technique and trajectory of it despite never seeing it. In order to achieve this level of defense, Toph has to familiarize herself with various bending techniques beyond earthbending and memorize them to be able to swiftly anticipate and defend against an opponents' attack.
“I am the greatest earthbender in the world. Don’t you two dunderheads ever forget it!”
Toph is mostly a self-taught earthbender. Her sub-earthbending forms include:
- Metalbending
- Sandbending
- Mudbending
Even sandbending, though difficult to control at first, proved to be another sub-earthbending art form she mastered, having created a sand replica of Ba Sing Se. Toph's mastery over earthbending likely stems from having learned from the blind badgermoles to feel the earth, as well as her deep connection to the earth. That connection is so deep she prefers to walk and fight barefoot while most other Earth Kingdom earthbenders wear soles.
As a highly intelligent and skilled earthbender, Toph's bragging claim to be the greatest earthbender is definitely not bravado. She even defeated Avatar Korra with both hands behind her back as an elderly, but ever agile, woman. Avatar: The Last Airbender's Toph is indeed a formidable master of earthbending. But, how the term "greatest earthbender" is defined will determine the veracity of Toph's claim to the title.
King Bumi Is Better Than Toph For One Reason
King Bumi has his own feats that make him one of the best earthbenders in Avatar: The Last Airbender. His strength as an earthbender is by far unmatched. Unlike Toph, he has only been shown to bend earth and jennamite crystals. His other high-level earthbending techniques include:
- Earth levitation of massive objects
- Earth tunneling and skating to travel
- Seismic sense
- Quicksand and earth softening
- Remote earthbending
Capable of catapulting tanks and toppling large statues with relative ease in his old age, Bumi's earthbending is on a different level from all others, including Toph. When fighting Avatar Aang, he stated:
"You thought I was a frail old man. But I am the most powerful earthbender you'll ever see."
The reason Bumi is on a higher level than Toph as an earthbender has to do with his ability to earthbend as a near-psychic bender. While psychic benders can bend elements by solely telekinetically bending their chi to manipulate the element, near-psychic benders manipulate elements with minimal movement of their limbs and muscles. While being held captive by the Fire Nation, King Bumi's near-psychic earthbending was illustrated by him remote earthbending with just his face.
Though Bumi's range of earthbending skills seem to fall short of Toph's, the quantity of bending techniques is not as important as the extent of the power and impact of a bender's techniques. This is where Avatar: The Last Airbender's Bumi surpasses Toph as both a near-psychic earthbender, and by the sheer power of his techniques. Still, it is important to note that the title of "the greatest" earthbender and "the most powerful" earthbender are not necessarily the same.
The Difference Between The Greatest and Most Powerful Earthbender
A reasonable debate regarding the greatest or most powerful earthbender cannot be had without mentioning earthbending Avatars as contenders for the title. That said, it may also be considered an unfair contest, since they possess the power of Raava and past Avatars through the Avatar State, which enhances their earthbending prowess. The glassbending and lavabending Avatar Kyoshi is certainly among the strongest known earthbenders, regardless. But, this debate will be confined to non-Avatar earthbenders to be fair.
There is a difference between "the greatest" and the "most powerful" earthbender. The greatest can be defined as the most skilled in a variety of earthbending styles or techniques, and possess a high level of mastery in each. In that respect, Toph can indeed keep her self-proclaimed title as the franchise's greatest earthbender.
The most powerful earthbender, on the other hand, may be considered one who possesses Avatar-level earthbending power regardless of quantity of skills. King Bumi's near-psychic earthbending, ability to levitate mountainous-size objects, and cause wide-scale earthquakes in his old age would qualify him as the series' most powerful earthbender. Only the Avatar, such as Kyoshi and Aang, have been shown to do the same by activating their Avatar State. While Toph has not displayed the same level of power, King Bumi's earthbending skills are not as vast as Toph's either. They are both among the best earthbenders in Avatar: The Last Airbender, and are therefore excused for their accurate yet not-so-humorable brags.
