Avatar: The Last Airbender was an extremely popular series and one that created dozens upon dozens of fan theories. So many that we can actually make a list talking about individual characters.
For example, Toph was introduced later in the series (relatively speaking), yet she had several fan theories focused on her and her alone.
The crazier part is how many fan theories about her actually ended up being true. Here are ten theories about Toph that were later proven to be completely spot on.
Toph’s Not So Secret Crush
Right from Toph’s introduction, fans were trying to predict who she’d fall for, and who she’d end up with. Not all of the theories were correct, that just isn’t possible. But one prominent theory was quickly proven to be right: Toph’s crush.
Throughout the later parts of Avatar: The Last Airbender, Toph’s crush on Sokka was one of the worst kept secrets. Basically, everybody but Sokka knew it by the end. Some fans were hoping that the two would somehow end up together, but that part of the theory didn’t work out.
Short Term Love
We should probably clarify the above at least a little bit. Toph and Sokka didn’t end up together and stay together. We know that much, thanks to Legend of Korra. But we also know something else; these two did get together for at least a short period of time. If Toph’s kids have anything to say about it, at least.
The lineage left by Toph certainly look like Toph…but they also look like Sokka as well. Lending credence to the shippers that waited so long to see something happen.
Vision Quest
Earlier on in the series, Aang saw Toph during one of his visions. These visions implied heavily about love and loss. This led many fans to incorrectly believe that Toph and Aang would end up together.
Other fans interpreted this as an indicator for what Toph represented to Aang: the ability to eventually bring things full circle, by learning Earthbending from her. And honestly, we can’t argue with this logic at all. So while this one has technically not been confirmed, we’re taking it at canon.
Toph’s Continued Appearance
Once the newest Avatar series, the Legend of Korra was announced, fans went into a frenzy trying to predict what classic characters would be making appearances in this one. Two of the top contenders were Katara and Toph. And both sets of theories ended up being completely accurate.
Though it’s unlikely that any theory out there was able to guess the specifics of Toph’s presence in Korra’s tale.
One of the Greatest
When Toph’s backstory was revealed; that she was a blind Earthbender who learned how to bend in a totally unique way, fans began to predict that she would be one of the most powerful Earthbenders or benders in general, that we have ever seen. And they were right. Toph has been groundbreaking, both in the series and out.
She created a new form of bending on her own, trained the Avatar, and created rules and policies that would linger for ages. It’s amazing to see how far Toph has come, though many fans were likely hoping to see more of her in the newest series. But we’ll take what we can get, right?
She Would Become a Leader
Toph may have a bit of an abrasive personality, but that didn’t stop fans from predicting her ability to become a leader later. After all, the Earth Nation is always in need of rulers. It’s fairly sizable, all things considered.
And once again, they were right. Though perhaps not in the most literal sense. After the conclusion of Avatar: the Last Airbender, Toph became the Chief of Police in Republic City. The first Chief of Police ever, actually. She formed her own Metalbending Police Force even, which is crazy to think about.
A Teacher Once Again
While we’re on the subject; fans believed that Toph’s teaching would come full circle once again. She started as a teacher to Aang, though there were some struggles there. Later, when Toph learned how to Metalbend, fans predicted that she once again would become a teacher.
And she did. How else could an entire division of the police force learn a new ability that up until now, only Toph had figured out? The answer is easy: she trained them all. It’s a shame that we didn’t get to see her try and teach this to Aang. That would have been interesting…if a bit painful for Aang.
Pushing the Boundaries
When Toph learned how to Metalbend, fans immediately started wondering at just how far Toph could push things. After all, we’ve seen Waterbenders bend plants and blood, so what could a newly formed Metalbender do?
Fans believed that Toph could find her own equivalents here, especially given her unique ability to perceive the world around her. And they were right. Later, in both the comics and the Legend of Korra series, it was revealed that Toph can sense metal in a person’s body. One substance mentioned was Mercury, though likely she could detect (and bend) any significant enough quantity inside. Rather terrifying, isn’t it?
Working With The Avatar
Fans believed that like Katara, Toph would appear in the Legend of Korra. They also believed that once again, her training would come full circle. Fans ardently believed that Toph would once again train the young Avatar – this time teaching both Earth and Metalbending. The details were quite right, from what we’ve seen. But enough of the theory was accurate to make it worth mentioning here.
Graned, Toph ended up passing on a lot more than just the ability to bend. During her time, Toph has gained a lot of insight. And since her emotions ran closer to Korra’s than many of her other mentors, these rare gems were actually quite significant to the Avatar, even if she didn’t realize it at the time.
1. Metalbending
The biggest theory that ended up being proven true was Toph learning how to Metalbend. It was a theory that fans had been working on from the moment the series introduced all of the variant bending concepts (mostly shown in Waterbending up until then). Fans were hoping to see Metalbending, of course. And Toph seemed like the most likely candidate (being the only Earthbending main character, of course).
The dramatic moment when Toph learned how to Metalbend all on her own absolutely blew up all of the Avatar forums, and with good reason. It was certainly the highest point in Toph’s little fandom.
