While Toph might not be part of the original Team Avatar, she makes the perfect addition to round out the group when she joins as Aang’s earth bending teacher in season two. Toph is a headstrong, talented, and powerful person and bender, and her personality makes her stand out.
It’s no wonder that so many fans love her character and find her to be one of the strongest characters from Avatar: The Last Airbender. Toph has many strengths, but she also has her flaws.
Weakness: She struggled to be vulnerable
When Toph is a child, her parents assume she is weak and helpless because she is blind. While Toph knows that she is not, her parents don’t allow her to express herself or really do anything for herself at all.
Because of this, Toph sometimes has a hard time showing her more vulnerable and sensitive sides after joining up with the Gaang. It makes sense that she would want to appear tough, but everybody has their vulnerabilities.
Strength: Her independent streak
While Toph’s parents tried to keep her caged up in a misguided but unhealthy effort to protect her, Toph was always independent. She would sneak out so that she could fight in the Earth Rumble tournaments, and she even left her parents behind to help Aang.
This independent streak allowed her to reach her full potential and not be stuck in a miserable situation.
Weakness: She had issues with being told what to do
A lot of Toph’s issues and weaknesses are connected back to how she was raised. This just goes to show how well-written she is as a character because it’s easy to see her reasons and motivations for how she acts.
Because Toph was told what to do for so long, she definitely resists any kind of control even when others, like Katara, are actively trying to help her.
Strength: She had a good sense of humor
The Last Airbender has a lot of hilarious moments and many characters with a good sense of humor. Because characters like Sokka are more obviously the comic relief, Toph’s own love of a good laugh is often somewhat ignored.
However, despite being a total badass and having her more intense and serious sides, Toph enjoyed relaxing and having a good time. She was often joking around and could be really funny.
Weakness: She had a tendency to distance herself from others
Toph isn’t someone who is particularly driven by her emotions in the same way that characters like Aang and Katara are. This doesn’t mean she doesn’t have them, but she’s more withdrawn and to herself.
While this independence can be a good thing, she sometimes had a difficult time relating to others and accepting their affection. We also see that in adulthood she had a tendency to pull away when conflict happened.
Strength: She tried to do the right thing
Characters like Aang and Katara really exemplify hope and good deeds, and they are more obviously focused on helping others. But, this doesn’t mean that Toph wasn’t also committed to doing the right thing.
She might have had a more rough and tough personality, but she also committed and risked a lot to take down the Fire Nation and was loyal to her friends.
Weakness: She had a mean streak
Toph isn’t someone to mince words or to be particularly gentle, and this is why she clashes with Aang especially at first. This isn’t a bad thing all of the time as being honest and upfront can be a strength. However, sometimes Toph could enjoy teasing and making fun of people a little too much.
She could be a bit mean in certain moments, and while she definitely wasn’t a cruel or hateful person, she didn’t always think about how her words might impact others around her in the long-term.
Strength: Her one-of-a-kind earth bending skills
While many of the points on this list have to do with Toph’s personality traits, she is such an amazing earth bender that it’s worth pointing out her skill.
Toph invents metal bending, and she is arguably one of the strongest benders from the franchise. While she was only a young kid at the time of the series, she was already able to best benders who were much, much older than she was.
Weakness: She could be too stubborn
Toph’s personality definitely mirrors the fact that she’s an earth bender as she is persistent, stable, and unyielding. These are all positive attributes, but on the flip side, these things can become a weakness when taken too far.
Toph could be quite stubborn, and when applied to the right things, this was a strength. However, she also needed to learn how to listen to others.
Strength: Her willingness to stand her ground
The overall greatest strength that Toph had as both an individual and as a bender was how strong she was. She didn’t back down from a fight, and she wasn’t weak in any sense of the word.
Whether it was battling the Fire Nation to help her friends or sticking to her guns in arguments, she was always willing to stand her ground.