Lava

[MrBlack103]

Basic Firebender: Manipulates flames.
Intermediate Firebender: Create and manipulate flames from intense heat source (ie. burning coal,lava, sozin's comet).
Master Firebender: Manipulates the intense heat source itself. (ie. lava, burning coal).

Had similar thoughts... here's my reasoning on the subject:

Example 1: "The Drill" - Katara and Toph bend the slag.
Here we have both katara and Toph being able to manipulate the slag because it contains their element. Both are bending it together, but do not need the other type of bending to do it alone.

Example 2: Bloodbending
Waterbenders can bend creatures + people because they contain water. There's a multitude of other materials in there, but only waterbending is needed to bend them.

Example 3: "The Avatar and the Firelord" - Sozin removes the heat from the lava, freezing it.
This, I believe, is the major clue as to how lavabending works. Sozin is clearly not bending fire, but the heat. He's transferring it to the air, then through his body (like redirecting lightning) then out into the air again. I believe this means that firebending is not literally firebending, but heatbending. Fire in our world is simply the glow of the heated gases and air rising from whatever it is that is burning. In other words, when a firebender throws fire, the fire is simply a result of the heat that he is projecting forward.

What does all this mean? Since lava contains massive amounts of heat, firebenders can control it. Obviously, earthbenders can control it as well, but skilled firebenders (Avatar state) can manipulate it.

[Classicseaturtle]

Either it, at least in my opinion, would be something only the avatar could bend, or both could.
As people had spoken about before, plenty of things have a mixture of elements, so each could possibly pick at each element in lava seperatly, otherwise it would only be an avatar thing, to where if you don't bend the two elements together, at the same time, it just would be too stubborn to do anything.

On another note, I think they might have been thinking of lava as a solid/plasma form of fire. Fire and water are opposites of each other, but I think like yin and yang, they would have to be balanced out, and since water can be bent as a solid, liquid or gas, fire would have to have both solid and gas, and the opposite of liquid, which would have to be plasma. That would also end up balancing out earth and air, because each could only bend it in one state.
Also, along with that, if earth (solid) and air (gas), are opposite of each other, what's left for water (usually known in a liqid state), other than fire (which would just end up being plasma)?

In other words, it just makes things easier.

[dagn96]

I think both

[Classicseaturtle]

Today I was watching the Avatar State extras (they played it on Nicktoons again just an hour or two ago), and when it showed the previous avatars bending their elements and lavabending came up, the extras said lavabending is a mixture of earthbending and firebending. Was that there before? Maybe I just didn't notice it? If I did though, what are the chances everyone else did, too?
Too bad I can't show y'all. T^T

[graciejvk]

I am new, but have been reading the dsicussions for some time and since I first read this thread i have kept thinking about a theory i want to post. I think that either Earth or Fire benders can bend lava because i think the "rules" for bending are more flexible than we think.

Basically i think a persons ability to bend is linked to their belief in their ability to bend. Since all bending originally was just energy bending according to the lion turtle, it is all one thing that is focused n differnt ways. In other words if a person grows up in the water tribe and they have the ability to affect the elements then becuse they beleive they will be a water bender adn not a fire, earth, or air bender then they will be a water bender. The same goes for how adn what you can bend within your own element, and the more creative and focused a person is the more ways they can come up with to use the energy they control. An example of this would be Toph learning to bend metal. Before she was trapped in the metal cage she didnt think that metal bending was possible so never tried, however as soon as she started to think about it and opened started to focus on trying she was able to. This is also reflected in all of the people in the show that have created unusial forms of bending i.e the swamp benders, the sand benders, and the bloodbender. Their environments caused them to think outside the box (if you will forgive the cliche) and they were able to do things that seem impossible to others.

Even the stories about how each nation learned bending in the 1st place seems to support my theory. When the earthbenders saw that badgermoles bend earth they were able to copy them, and as they becase mroe creative they were able to change the basic movements of the badgermoles into the elaborate movements shown in the series. It is presumably the same for all of the other elements as well. And the environments in which the nations are set probably play a large part in why they bend the elements that they do.

So for the question of who can bend lava i feel that it depends on if the bender in question beleives that they can and if they have the creativity to try something unusual.

If this doesn't make any sense please let me know, or if this is something that everyone already knows i am sorry, i havnt seen it anywhere myself.

Also sorry it is so long, as i said i have been thinking about it for a while.

[AfikoAir]

I like Graciejvk's theory, and I have one similar, or maybe the same and I am re-wording it or I didn't completely understand his, to his/hers. All the people in the Avatarverse were all regular like us. No energybending or anything!


Energybending Theory

The later learned to control the energy in there body, later becoming energybending. After that, the people started to move on to different locations.

Firebending Theory

People that moved to the Lava Islands saw dragons and were in awe. They wanted to be able to control fire and be one with the dragons. After they did that they learned to control the heat in their body and learn to control the heat around them. They later used the heat around them making it it to fire, they learned Firebending.

Waterbending theory

A small group of people dared to go travel in the icy tundras. They needed a way to survive. They watched the moon and saw how it pushed and pulled the ocean and wanted to mimic it. The concentrated on their chi and learned to send it out of their body into the water letting them take control. That allowed them to Waterbend.

Airbending Theory

Groups of women and men wanted to be like the wind and not have a place to stay forever, they became nomadic people. They later came across giant animals in the sky and wanted to fly with them. They created gliders to fly but found out it didn't allow them to stay in the air, just fly downwards slowly. They saw how the giant Sky Bisons controlled the air currents allowing them to fly. The nomads started to see how they controlled it and learned to do it themselves, Airbending.

Earthbending Theory

Most of the people stayed on the mainland. This will go straight to Oma and Shu. Oma and Shu saw the badgermoles and studied how they moved the cave walls. They learned to control the energy in their body and sending it out to the earth making their energy one with the earth and making them take total control of it. They well learned Earthbending. not much for this one

and there you have it The Theory of Bending! I would like my trophy now. Now, all these people are and still are capable of bending all the elements but only the Avatar can go in the Avatar State.

Also this is the way I am learning to do it. My friend and I believe in bending. We believe in using your energy. She can control a single flame and I can control some waves and limited air currents. We can also control the energy in our bodies. Now don't write things saying this is unreal and fake, Im lying and what not! Please leave those comments to yourself.

Should I make a thread of my theory of bending? Does it deserve its own thread?

[Classicseaturtle]

I am new, but have been reading the dsicussions for some time and since I first read this thread i have kept thinking about a theory i want to post. I think that either Earth or Fire benders can bend lava because i think the "rules" for bending are more flexible than we think...

Yeah, I had a theory close to that, and don't worry, it makes sense (to me).

[vanja1995]

Also this is the way I am learning to do it. My friend and I believe in bending. We believe in using your energy. She can control a single flame and I can control some waves and limited air currents. We can also control the energy in our bodies. Now don't write things saying this is unreal and fake, Im lying and what not! Please leave those comments to yourself.

No.

[TEGtheAvatar]

I think both types could bend lava in the same way that both Katara and Toph can bend mud or slurry. There's enough water in it for Katara to bend, and there's enough dirt (earth) for Toph to bend.

So lava, being firey, molten rock is enough earth for an earthbender to bend, while it's hot/firey enough for a firebender to bend.

And I think the Avatar would have the easiest time bending it because of the avatar's ability to bend all four elements. But I think someone like Toph and/or Zuko could bend lava as well.

[JackalKiller]

I may be wrong but I saw reference to Mike and Bryan answering this question by stating only the Avatar can bend lava.

In any case I believe lava constitutes fire despite real-world reality... Lightning is hardly fire, yet many early cultures and symbolism still consider it as such, including some Asian. This is why firebenders can bend lightning, not because it makes any sort of sense but because it's a cultural and symbolic belief. I see no reason why lava can't be considered the same.