Avatar: The Legend of Korra

[Thakowsaizmu]

My money is on Amon being Mako and Bolin's father.

That would at least explain why the brothers don't bend the same element.

Yeah, what's with that? They look related, but I was thinking maybe one was adopted.

[BedLlama]

I figured the brothers having different bending styles was because Republic City is a multicultural hub. During the previous series the creators stated that the reason the Fire Nation had the least number of benders per capita while the Air Nomads were all benders was because the Nomads were a highly spiritual people while the Fire Nation had largely lost that aspect of their culture. This indicates to me that bending ability is at least partially dictated by societal factors, and this is implicitly supported by the existance of 'varient' benders like plant benders, sand benders, and Combustion Man, none of whom seemed to be able to use 'normal' water, earth, or fire bending (respectively). I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that two siblings having two different bending styles in Republic City is- while likely unusual- is not an oddity.

[Jameson]

Aang and Katara had 3 kids, one was a Waterbender, one an Airbender, and the middle child was a non-bender. Tenzin married a non-bender and has 3 air bending kids, with a fourth on the way; his wife hoping that the child will be a non-bender. I am guessing that Mako and Bolin had both Earthbending and Fire bending parents which lends to their own differing abilities. At this point we don't have any indication that bending doesn't run along genetic lines (excepting the Avatar's "extra" bending), but only time will tell for certain.

[Mercutio]

I actually hadn't thought about that, but it does make a lot more sense. Just me trying to overthink it, I guess.

[Thakowsaizmu]

It may be genetic, but it may not. I don't remember the episode name, but there was one in the first series with twins, one was an earth bender and one was not.

[Mr Mole]

I totally agree with Jameson's assessment...

I haven't seen any indicators that element bending is anything but hereditary...

The Avatar is, to my knowledge, the only exception, in that he/she bends multiple elements...

I don't know of any benders who don't have one or more bender parents with the same element as the child...

In cases where the parents have differing elements, the bender children have inherited the element of one parent or the other... Either that, or the child was a non-bender... Mixed bender/non-benders couples seem to follow the same pattern...

In the case of Mako and Bolin, I would expect either 1) they have one fire-bending parent and one earth-bending parent or 2) they're half-brothers, rather than full brothers, one with a fire-bending parent and one with an earth-bending parent... As no one in the show seems at all confused that the two could be brothers, I lean toward the first possibility...

[darktouch]

The only thing I would add is that while it isn't unheard of, the fact that the announcer refers to them as 'The Fabulous Bender Brothers', it probably isn't a particularly common phenomena either. At least not within the pro-bending arena.

[JetstreamGW]

The only thing I would add is that while it isn't unheard of, the fact that the announcer refers to them as 'The Fabulous Bender Brothers', it probably isn't a particularly common phenomena either. At least not within the pro-bending arena.

Huuuh. Yeah, that's gonna send the UK audience into paroxysms of laughter if they don't change it for that audience... "Fabulous Bender Brothers" huh?

[Mr Mole]

The only thing I would add is that while it isn't unheard of, the fact that the announcer refers to them as 'The Fabulous Bender Brothers', it probably isn't a particularly common phenomena either. At least not within the pro-bending arena.

Huuuh. Yeah, that's gonna send the UK audience into paroxysms of laughter if they don't change it for that audience... "Fabulous Bender Brothers" huh?

And the word "paroxysms" will likely leave most Americans scratching their heads in confusion...

[danelsan]

There is only one problem so far with this series, that also accompanied The Last Airbender: I basically can't visit forums dedicated to it because the fandom is obsessed with freaking shipping, which I hate. And the cartoon itself is not making it any easier, what with the love..triangle? Rhombus? Whatever.

Other than that, continues to be an excellent cartoon, managing to balance character development, drama, comedy and action, wrapped-up with top notch animation and artwork.

[Arkrite]

Rhombus?

::Barry White impersonation:: Beware the Rhombus of love, baby! ;~)

[HenshinFanatic]

I only just started watching this yesterday as it's not being aired in my country, but thankfully the nickelodeon website has the episodes available for viewing so hopefully I'll be able to watch the entire series that way. It definitely looks like it has the potential to surpass its precursor and I'm loving the Pro-Bending shown in the series. The Fire Ferrets have a lot of work ahead of them if they want to take on the vicious Wolfbats. Definitely looking forward to the new episode.

[danelsan]

Somewhat expected, but I liked the twist in episode 07 and how it unfolded. Also satisfied that pro-bending was not too big a part of the plot of the series as a whole. It is important in the story and ties well with the overall plot of the equalist revolution, and I even like the idea of pro-bending, but wouldn't want the cartoon caught up to much in it.

[insert already known praise to animation, pacing, comedy/action/drama balance and so on, and on, and on...]

This show quickly got to being a 10 out of 10 in my estimation, and seems it will continue there!

[Mercutio]

Yeah, that was my feeling, too. When that guy agreed to sponsor the Fire Ferrets, I knew there had to be something nefarious going on. I didn't think his daughter would be innocent, though, but she does fill in as part of the new Team Avatar now, which is good. That city council guy (name escapes my mind) has to be part of the Equalists, too.

[Jimmy Russell]

I don't believe Tarrlok (the councilman) is part of the Equalists; he's just very self-serving. To play devil's advocate, however, I can see how it makes sense. After Episode 7, it's looking like Tarrlok will be the new person in charge of the police (at the very least, he'll push for it). Between the police and his task force, he could go around harassing anyone by using the fight against the Equalists as an excuse for his actions. "Oh, you're playing chess in the park? GET ON THE GROUND, EQUALIST SCUM." By harassing nonbenders, he could purposely be trying to spur people to join the revolution.