Written for Korra Appreciation Week. Screen caps are all from screencapped.net

Korra has many major traits that stick out in the grand sense of who she is, but one of the largest through the show is her competitive nature. From the first glimpse of teenage Korra working to pass her firebending test down to her work to beat Kuvira, Korra loves to compete.

Once she makes it to Republic City, the first thing that sparks her interest is pro-bending. It is far more interesting and relevant to her personality than Tenzin’s meditation sessions. I really appreciated that they used the competitive arena of pro-bending as a venue for Korra to start practicing her air bending forms. It was a method that made sense for Korra. Trying to beat a bunch of wooden boards was not as motivating to Korra as being a floating leaf was to avoid blows.

Pro-bending is one of Korra’s main outlets in Book 1. She uses the competition as her release and her chance to just be Korra rather than Avatar Korra. Nothing in the time before she came to Republic City prepared Korra for being both herself and The Avatar. I am not sure she even knew that there was a difference until she came to Republic City. But in the ring, she is just another pro-bender and bound to the same rules as everyone else.

Being plugged into the competition also helps Korra learn discipline. During her first match, Korra is wild and lacks an understanding of the game. This is very similar to her mode of approaching many problems early on in the series, rushing in and worrying about the consequences later. She masters control in the ring first before she masters it in competition with her enemies.

With people who challenge her, Korra also thrives on competition. She loves situations where she has an adversary. Sometimes even her friends become people she competes with. Tenzin is often a person Korra sets herself against to prove a point. Much of their relationship is a tussle to be right. Korra and Mako also fall into this arena.



When it comes to competitive situations, Korra hates to give up or back down. This theme returns again and again throughout books 1-3. Whether she is facing Tarrlok, Amon, Unalaq or Zaheer and the Red Lotus. She plants herself firmly against them, sometimes against seemingly insurmountable odds and doesn’t back down. Tarrlok imprisoning her doesn’t stop Korra. Amon stealing her bending doesn’t stop Korra. Facing down Unalaq and Vatu when they have ripped Rava and all of her past lives from her body, she still finds away to persevere and through Zaheer’s poison.

The need to win disparages slightly after the events of book 3. Being left physically and mentally broken takes a toll on Korra’s competitive sprit. Her confidence in herself and her abilities pulled her through many of those situations, as did her extended family network. Without being able to trust her body and her mind, her ferocious competitive spirit dies down a bit. She is not always looking for a fight.

Despite that, when we first find that Korra has gone missing, were we find her is in the Earth Kingdom competing in earth bending competitions. Her need to compete and hone her body as Korra and not as the avatar has not changed that much since book 1. She is shakier and is very much in competition with drugged Avatar Korra in her mind as well as the people she is facing in the ring.

Against Kuvira, Korra is still very much competing with herself for control, which makes her hesitate about facing down Kuvira. Korra now has a much better understanding of her limits and her skills, and those sets are very different from Book 1. Korra’s competitive nature has been tempered by an understanding of the things she can’t know or even necessarily execute. While others, particularly Opal, criticized her for her hesitation at the Battle of Zafou, Korra had a better understanding of her role as avatar and her abilities.

Once beaten by Kuvira, Korra does not give up and works to improve herself and fight her own demons so that when she finally faces Kuvira, she can win. But even in winning, by the end of Book 4, Korra’s competitive nature and need to win has been tempered by compassion. Kuvira shares Korra’s competitive nature and both women have a strong desire to win at all costs. In dealing with her own darkness and the dark avatar state that haunts her throughout Book 4, Korra becomes a better leader and a compassionate competitor, which does not take away from her fierceness. She shows mercy to Kuvira in the end because she understands that she has already won regardless and in Kuvira’s struggles to back down she sees herself.

Also, in Book 4 we find Korra slowing down and using her mind to compete. She tries to find a middle ground between Kuvira and Su Yin to prevent bloodshed. Rather than rushing to face the colossus with Team Avatar as she would have once done, Korra rushes back to Republic City to warn the people and come up with a new strategy. Once they take Bataar Jr. It is Korra’s quick thinking that gets them the information they need rather than her old friend brute strength (which she does try first).

In all, Korra’s competitive spirt drives much of her choices and therefore the action of the entire series. The evolution of this facet of her personality allows for the deep character growth that we see throughout the four books of Korra’s story. The need for competition makes her a dynamic and powerful character with much room to change while remaining true to herself.

In short, lovely, remain true to your competitive, badass self.