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In Avatar the Last airbender, there is that episode where Avatar Roku was battling the volcano then FireLord sozin came to help.

He (FireLord Sozin) did this whirling thing with his hands and the poisonous gases seemed to enter through his fingers on one side and out the other hand - just like someone is redirecting lightning.

Lightning is understandable since it's energy, a force; but how does gases behave that way? What exactly is he doing there?

Check picture below:

enter image description here

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    I've always wondered this myself. My assumption has always been that, since Firebenders are really more like heat-benders, he was draining the heat from the air and then shooting it out in a concentrated form. But it really does look like he's smoke-bending... Looking forward to seeing if anyone has an answer.
    – Nerrolken
    Commented Apr 24, 2015 at 19:27

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FireLord Sozin was not smoke bending, he was heat-bending. Note the volcano becoming quiescent and dark after he redirects the heat energy.

  • The heat transfer starts around 3:30... the lava behind him grows dark and cool. All fire-bending is basically a mastery and control of heat energy. He is, in essence, fire-bending in reverse, taking the heat FROM a source rather than creating heat and then explosively releasing it as fire or flame bursts.

enter image description here

  • In this case, I think this is what we call "creative representation." Imagine if Souzin had drawn the heat out of the lava and there was no representation. It would appear as if he were just posing there and the lava grew cool. Since it is supposed to be a show for younger audiences, they wanted to show SOMETHING was happening AND Souzin was responsible for it. Not an ideal representation but it was something nonetheless. I accept it and expect the betrayal afterward wiped the event from anyone's mind...
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  • Heat bending? Never heard of that. Is it another subset of fire bending?
    – Parto
    Commented Apr 24, 2015 at 19:35
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    @Parto Check out my answer here for a discussion of heat-bending. The short answer: it isn't a subset of Firebending, it's what Firebending really is, in more specific terms. That's why Firebenders don't need fire nearby in order to bend, but they do need a source of heat/warmth.
    – Nerrolken
    Commented Apr 24, 2015 at 19:36
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    All firebending is basically a mastery and control of heat energy. He is in essence, fire-bending in reverse, taking the heat FROM a source rather than creating heat and then explosively releasing it as fire or flame bursts.
    – Thaddeus Howze
    Commented Apr 24, 2015 at 19:38
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    In this case, I think this is what we call "creative representation." Imagine if he had drawn the heat out of the lava and there was no representation. It would appear as if he were just posing there and the lava grew cool. Since it is supposed to be a show for younger audiences, they wanted to show SOMETHING was happening AND Souzin was responsible for it. Not an ideal representation but it was something nonetheless. I accept it and expect the betrayal afterward wiped the event from anyone's mind...
    – Thaddeus Howze
    Commented Apr 24, 2015 at 19:43
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    @Thaddeus So it isn't steam or smoke, it's the animators' way of drawing the ambient heat. I like it. :) And, come to think of it, if I were to draw a heat haze in a cartoon, it would probably look a lot like that.
    – Nerrolken
    Commented Apr 24, 2015 at 19:47

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