Avatar Wan runs the firebending gauntlet

For this battle Wan can only use firebending and (EDIT) airbending for flight. He cannot go more than 10 feet above the ground, and he cannot use the Avatar State

Fight takes place at noon in the place where Zuko and Azula had their Agni Kai

Wan had all wounds healed and a day of rest between each round.

All participants have morals on but are determined to win

Round 1: Admiral Zhao

Round 2: Mako

Round 3: Zuko

Round 4: Azula (sane)

Round 5: Combustion Man

Round 6: Iroh

Can Wan clear it?

@arcus:

Assuming all of these opponents are at their peak, I think it could stop at 3.

@spartankobe: They're at their peak as we've seen them in their shows (so no adult Zuko, not that we really have any feats for him). Why do you think Zuko wins?

If he gets past Zuko (which he probably will), he might stop at combustion man.

@watertaco: How well do you think Wan would hold up if he got hit by Combustion Man?

He stops at Zuko. But I think he can win Combustion Man.

He'd probably be blown to pieces. :P

@wbr17: Why does Zuko win but Combustion Man lose?

@watertaco: Probably...he was taking repeated blasts from Vaatu and didn't seem to be injured at all though

getting past Zhao would be pretty amazing. Wan was said to be the first to use fire as an extension of himself. pretty standard amongst every bender after his generation. Zhao is the prodigy of Iroh and undefeated in the Avatar only losing to the Moon spirit or something.

getting past Mako would be extremely difficult as he uses a fighting style that isn't common for anyone else on this list. Korra being trained by the White Lotus her entire life never seen how Mako fights. overpowering(Korra uncle and his kids froze them) him or chi blocking(soon able to take on multiple chi-blockers) been the best ways to deal with him and his brother.

I don't see Wan winning any round and don't think anyone could run that gauntlet. Mako would be my number 1.

@arcus: We don't even know what those blasts were made of. I assumed that they were just concussive forces. Wan died on a battlefield, remember?

@kasino: Zhao got beaten by season 1 Zuko twice. He was trained by Jeong Jeong, who said that he had no control. He wasn't that good. Wan was the first fire bender to learn from the dragons

Most likely stops at Azula

@watertaco: They were concussive force, but so are explosions. That being said, I doubt Wan could get blasted directly by Combustion Man and be ok

He did die on a battlefield, but we don't know the circumstances of his death. Maybe old age got to him, or a heart attack, or sickness.

@norrinboltagonprime21: How do you think Wan would do with Azula's lightning?

@arcus: Zuko is a master bender, as a pretty strong, fast and agile opponent. He also learned the dancing dragon style as Wan did. Plus Zuko knows the modern techniques of fire bending. He can attack Wan with Fire and physically.

Combustion Man is limited to explosion and is too slow. I think Wan can out maneuver him. And can tank some explosion. He take some shots of Vaatu IIRC

Just firebending?

Wan was never that good.

@wbr17: Wan was also pretty fast and agile, maybe not quite Zuko's level though. Wan also seemed to be a lot more durable than Zuko

He should stop at 4 or 5. I would imagine that he could get past zuko because Wan was also trained by the Dragons (original firebenders) for presumable a longer time then Zuko was (several years vs 1 day).

Azula would give him trouble and probably beat him because she consistently outplayed team avatar, which had multiple benders and even their own avatar who could bend all of the elements. She could also shoot lighting, which i dont think Wan ever did, and seeing as he has never faced that before and cannot redirect it, it would tilt the fight in Azula's favor, especially if wan is restricted to firebending only. Even during the solar eclipse when Azula couldnt firebend, she still managed to outsmart team avatar through her own wit and ability to manipulate people into doing stupid things.

Combustion man would probably be too much for wan. He has no way of blocking Combustion man's explosions. Every time a "combustion bender" has lost a fight, it was always due to a blunt force hitting them squarely in the head (and 2/3 of those times, it was caused by a rock hitting them in that specific place). It is unlikely that wan could find out his weakness in time

your right about who he was trained by but the angi kai defeat is Iroh telling Zuko what to do. what was the second battle?

true but we never seen what that meant in capabilities. he just was seen dying. iroh youth wasn't explored and zuko/aang firebender wasn't much different after learning from the two last dragons.

@shiryu: You think so? He did learn from the dragons, and I seem to remember him having some good power, like his blasts when separating Raava and Vaatu.

@arcus: Wan would probably be able take it fine if he gets hit.

@kasino: Second fight was during the siege at the North Pole. Zuko beat him despite being cold and tired.

Zuko got a lot better after the dragons, he could hold his own against Azula. As for Aang he didn't really firebend before the dragons except when he burnt Katara

Wan trained with the dragons soon after he decided to live with the spirits, that's when the hunter guy said he used fire like an extension of himself, something no one had ever done before

@arcus: Yes, but i think that Zuko is overall more skilled, so will hit more times and block/evade more than Wan can.

It's been a while since I watched Beginnings, so that comment was admittedly based off of my residual memory. I forgot all about the aforementioned instance.

Still, I honestly don't think he can beat Mako. People don't like Mako, but there's no doubting the kid is decently powerful. I'd even take him over Iroh II.

All Mako really needs is jet propulsion and he'll be a complete beast. Imagine him during Sozin's Comet...

But, I digress. Besides his godly durability when compared to the other characters in the Avatarverse, I don't remember too many great feats from Wan.

Then again, that may be my lack of memory about the episode talking.

@wbr17: I could see that happening. How do you think Wan's power/blast size compared to Zuko's?

This isn't right.

Zhao lost to Zuko at the very beginning of Season 1. Aang was able to make Zhao torch his entire fleet. Iroh embarassed Zhao afte rhe tried to cheapshot Zuko and Zhao fled from Iroh at the north Pole knowing he would lose.

@arcus: I really don't have a thought about that lol

@shiryu: Mako is pretty good, I'm just not sure his power is up there with some of the others. He needs more showings against good benders.

I feel like Wan had some good feats, but I don't remember them in enough detail right now

stops at 3, but he's not getting past azula, others before could be draw.

@wbr17: Ok

@lunacyde: Exactly

2 could go either way in my opinion, but just going on feats I think Mako should take the majority. Wan is just lacking due to number of appearances. He doesn't get past 3. Zuko, after learning from the dragons just had more skill and experience against other firebenders than Wan can overcome due to his lack of feats.

I'll need to re-watch beginnings, because I seem to remember Wan making almost Sozin's comet level blasts, but I could be wrong

So most people don't think that Wan's durability will compensate for lack of showings?

@shiryu: ..Well he did learn from a dragon.

Sozin level fire blasts? Nah.

@watertaco: What about when he separated Raava and Vaatu? Maybe not Sozin level but stronger than normal...

I remember some pretty powerful blasts, but he doesn't have the refined skill or versatility a lot of the others have shown.

The blasts were negative spirit energy, and they seem relatively powerful, more so than anything we've seen from Zuko. UnaVaatu effortlessly destroyed an airship (something that only Aang in Sozin's Comet has done.

Look at 24:47 onwards.

Look at the scale of the energy blast compared to the mountain(s). Wan took a few.

He's probably the most durable character in Avatar, lol.

@lunacyde: Iroh gave Zuko the "how to" to defeat Zhao with Zhao about to win. Aang didn't battle Zhao but the blowing up of his ships shamed him, as this was what his former master thought of him. Iroh is Iroh but Zhao wanted the shot because Iroh coached Zukoduring their Angi Kai.

nope Zuko didn't beat him at all. What stopped the fight is the Moon Spirit coming from the water and grabbing him. Zhao refused his help and went to his death(later found in the fog)

hold his own with Azula shouldn't be an accomplishment in the proportion you want to use for Wan. I'm sure prime Zuko/Iroh might be the strongest on the list but not from what shown.

no Wan trained later. His beard was grown by the time he worked with dragons they said he was one with fire with no facial hair.

@lunacyde: A couple skill feats I remember were the way he redirected the blasts from the hunters (kinda like waterbending) and him creating a walk of fire around himself when attacking the Chus, but it's true that he doesn't have as many skill showings. I think he also used jet propulsion in the fight against Vaatu

How to? Literally all I remember him yelling was to break the root. It was firebending basics. The point is that Zhao was a master, and decently powerful, but not nearly unbeatable.

@kasino: Zuko might not have completely beaten Zhao but he was definitely winning. Considering that Zuko usually got destroyed by Azula until after the dragons it shows a significant skill increase. I forget when exactly Wan trained, sometime while he was living with the spirits at that pond, before he met Raava

What if Wan had another element, like airbending? Would that make it a better fight in the later rounds?

Bump. Edited to allow Wan to use airbending for flight only. Who wins?

@arcus: Wan wins. He could tank lightning and spam huge waves of flame from above.

Do you think its more fair now or less fair?

Bump. Note the op change, Wan has limited flight to try and make things more interesting