Death Battle: Avatar Korra vs. Jonathan Joestar

Layne: That’s it! We’ve analyzed the combatants’ weapons, tactics, and skills! Let’s get this fight underway!

Xander: It’s time for a Death Battle!

A ship arrived in the harbor in Republic City. It was a passenger ship, carrying a number of tourists and immigrants to the city. One young man on that ship, in particular, had a very good reason for being on said ship.

He stepped off on to the docks, surveying the city he found himself in.

“So, this is the Republic City I’ve heard so much about…” he said to himself, taking note of all the machinery and modern buildings, “Far from what I would have thought to be a place to learn new Hamon techniques…” He chuckled lightly, “Then again, who am I to judge?”

He was a giant of a man, despite his age, with the body of an Olympic power-lifter. His hair was dark and spiked upward, and his face almost looked as if it had been chiseled from marble. His attire was also unusual, to say the least. It consisted of a navy blue tank top which was almost form-fitting, highlighting his incredible muscle, which had capped sleeves and leather shoulder pads. He also wore open-fingered gloves which were studded at the knuckles. He also wore navy blue dress pants that were covered from the shin down by a pair of brown leather boots.

He walked to the passport reception area.

“Next!” the clerk called, and the young man walked up, handing the clerk his passport. “Mr. Jonathan Joestar, is that right?”

“That is correct.” Jonathan replied.

“Alright. Move along. Next!”

Jonathan entered the city proper, taking in the sheer scale of the buildings. Many seemed to go so high that they could touch the clouds. The streets were alive with pedestrians, many on their way to their jobs, and others perusing the various shops that dotted the city. Smokestacks spoke to a brilliant age of industry. Jonathan even saw what could only be some kind of stadium and, judging by the cacophonous roar of the audience inside, there was an event on, and the audience was loving it.

That the Chinamen had come so far was impressive. Jonathan wondered, however, where he might be able to learn of these new Hamon techniques he’d heard of. "Bending," it was called, if he was remembering correctly.

He turned down an alley, but his path forward was blocked.

“And where might you be going, big guy?” the man asked.

“Nowhere in particular. I just arrived in town.” Jonathan responded, dropping his satchel. He knew where this was going.

“Then maybe you need a lesson as to who runs this town.”

“And if I say I don’t what will you do?”

The man chuckled and snapped his fingers. Two other men appeared, both carrying weapons, one a knife and the other a length of chain. “In that case, we’ll smash your face in!”

“Alright… Come on. Let’s get this overwith.”

The three charged Jonathan at once, and Jonathan first focused the one with the chain, catching and pulling on said chain as it was whipped his way and delivering a jab to his face, knocking him away with ease. The apparent leader of the group tried to wrap his arms around Jonathan’s neck from behind to hold him still, but Jonathan’s sheer size and musculature saw to that. He threw the man off with little trouble, causing him to collide with his cohort. The man with the knife swiftly rose, charging Jonathan, knife brandished. Jonathan easily caught the man’s hand, disarming him and taking the knife in to his own hand before sending the man flying in to some garbage cans with an over the shoulder toss.

“Hey! What’s going on here?!” a woman’s voice intoned from behind Jonathan.

Jonathan swiftly looked back to where the voice had come from. A young woman sat atop an animal that looked like a cross-breed between a polar bear and a dog. She was dark-skinned, and her hair was done in a ponytail with two other tails that hung beside her face. She donned a blue tank top, vastly different from Jonathan’s, which disappeared in to a tanned leather kilt wrapped around navy blue pants and tanned leather boots similar to her kilt.

“Avatar Korra!” the leader of the group called, running over to her, “Thank goodness you’re here! This guy has just arrived in town, so we offered to show him around! All of a sudden, out of nowhere, he beats on me and my friends! Thank goodness you came when you did, I was worried what he was going to do with that knife!”

“Seriously?!” Korra asked Jonathan, who looked at the knife in his hand.

“That’s not true! He’s lying!” he replied, pointing at the man.

Korra turned her piercing gaze to the accuser.

“Me?” he asked, “Lie to the Avatar? I don’t have a death wish!”

Korra turned her gaze back to Jonathan, dismounting herself. As she did, Jonathan could see that she was carrying some kind of staff on her back. “Get your friends and go.” She said to the man, who looked at Jonathan with a smug smile on his face, swiftly helping up his cohort and running as fast as he could.

“I don’t know who you are…” Korra began, “But nobody causes trouble on my watch!” After several firm motions, she punched the walls on both sides of her. Jonathan was almost caught between two columns of stone that came from the walls to his sides.

He swiftly ducked, rolling forward so as not to simply rise in to the stone. As he stood, though, he saw that Korra had shot a ball of fire at him. He sidestepped, but he managed to catch a glimpse of Korra sending a jet of water his way. He leapt over it, but Korra sent a massive gust of air flying his way. Good though Jonathan was, he couldn’t dodge the gust in midair.

Jonathan was sent flying out of the alley and rolling in to the street, scattering passersby. Jonathan stood up as quickly as his body would allow him. Korra stood opposite him, in a combat stance. She clearly wasn’t going to let this go, nor was she about to listen. Jonathan readied himself. All he could think in that one instance was a single sardonic sentence:

Welcome to Republic City…

Jonathan exhaled loudly, and his body began to glow. He wanted to end this as soon as possible. He charged his fist with Hamon, slamming it in to the ground with a cry of “SENDO HAMON OVERDRIVE!” A mass of energy traveled through the ground to Korra, who, unsure of what to make of what she’d just seen, could only watch and wonder what it was. As it reached her feet, she was forcefully sent airborne. As if that wasn’t bad enough, she turned herself in midair to look and see what Jonathan was doing, she saw his arm extend, his fist making a b-line towards her.

“ZOOM PUNCH!” he shouted. At the last possible instant, Korra used her Airbending to gain extra altitude, forcing Jonathan to miss. Before he could react, Korra sent a jet of flame his way, but by charging Hamon energy through his other hand, it became engulfed in the flame.

“SCARLET OVERDRIVE!” he shouted, aiming to deliver an uppercut with the flaming hand. But, using her Firebending, Korra was able to remove the flame from his hand, but the uppercut still made contact.

Korra and Jonathan landed, staring each-other down. Korra wiped the forcefully-expelled saliva from her chin and readied herself once more. It was clear to each that the other knew what they were doing. They’d have to adapt…

Korra produced the staff which she had been carrying on her back. Jonathan, in turn, produced the Sword of Luck & Pluck from the holster on his back. Both assumed a combat stance, preparing for a tussle.

The two slowly circled each-other, like a pair of lions waiting to pounce on each-other. Neither one wanted to make the first move. But one would have to, and they both knew it.

It was Korra who made the first move, sending several small boulders Jonathan’s way with Earthbending. Jonathan reacted almost instantly, knocking the first few to the side with his free hand, shattering another two with both his free fist and with his fist clutching Luck & Pluck. As one final boulder approached, Jonathan cut it in half with the blade, but as the two halves of the boulder flew to either side of him, Korra was seen behind it, readying her staff for a downward strike.

Jonathan’s reflexes allowed him to block the staff with Luck & Pluck. With a twist of his wrist, the staff slid harmlessly away and Jonathan prepared to cut Korra with the blade. But she lifted her staff just in time, catching the blade. Now it was her turn! Korra swept at Jonathan’s feet, requiring him to leap to avoid it. Korra took advantage of this, unleashing her skill with the staff in the form of multiple blows, one after another in a whirlwind of strikes. Though Jonathan blocked most of them, some still found their mark, creating bruises on his chiseled face.

Korra lifted the staff, preparing for one final downward strike. Jonathan caught the staff, holding it at bay. Korra, releasing one hand from the staff, attempted to use Waterbending to get Jonathan to back off. It worked, as Jonathan retreated. What happened next, though…

Jonathan had withdrawn, yes, but he was far from retreating. Exhaling loudly, his hand again began to glow. The water Korra was bending was caught by Jonathan and engulfed his hand. He exhaled again and shot the water back at her with a massive amount of force with a cry of “TURQUOISE BLUE OVERDRIVE!”

Korra attempted to bend the water again, but she only managed to slow its approach. It still collided with her torso at a high velocity, sending her skidding backwards into a wall. Jonathan immediately took advantage, closing in on Korra, looking to run her through with Luck & Pluck. In a maneuver that was more instinctive than anything else, Korra brought up her staff to block the stab. Luck & Pluck’s blade pierced the staff, embedding itself within.

Jonathan exhaled once again, and this time, not only did he himself glow, but so did Luck & Pluck.

“METAL SILVER OVERDRIVE!” he shouted, and Hamon energy flooded the blade, entering the staff. An instant later, the staff shattered, splinters flying everywhere. Korra was forced to shield her eyes to avoid having splinters fly into them. Jonathan retracted Luck & Pluck, making one more stabbing motion. Korra quickly bent the stone in the wall to create a wall between her and the blade. But, once more, Jonathan exhaled, and he and the sword began to glow. With another shout of “METAL SILVER OVERDRIVE!” Jonathan sent Hamon energy into the blade and, by extension, into Korra’s earthen barrier, which shattered the same as the staff.

What Jonathan wasn’t expecting was for him to be slammed by an out-of-nowhere column of stone. Jonathan was sent flying backwards, only just managing to land on his feet and ready himself again. But Korra was already on him, striking at him, each strike accompanied by a gust of air. Jonathan, after blocking several blows, noticed a gap in Korra’s offense. He stabbed with Luck & Pluck, hoping to exploit it.

But this was exactly what Korra wanted. She immediately closed the gap, snaring Jonathan’s arm. She then grabbed on to Luck & Pluck and, using Metalbending, snapped the blade like a twig before roundhousing Jonathan away. She briefly waved the broken blade in her hand, taunting him, before snapping it in to even more pieces and casting them aside.

This made Jonathan more than a little upset. He could accept that she’d broken Luck & Pluck, he’d seen less believable things before, but it was just bad form to rub it in his face like that. But Jonathan knew he had to keep his head. The moment he got angry was the moment he started losing.

Korra sent more boulders at Jonathan, but this time they were smaller and in greater number. Jonathan had only one option if he wanted to avoid being on the wrong end.

Jonathan exhaled once more, and his body began to glow. Concentrating the majority of it in to his hands, he began punching the boulders out of the air with a shout of “OVERDRIVE BARRAGE!”
Korra quickly saw that the boulders were getting her nowhere. She switched it up, now using Firebending. The fire engulfed Jonathan’s hands… and only his hands. Jonathan swiftly closed the distance between him and Korra, striking at the fire that she sent his way, causing the flames around his fist to grow even larger. And when he was close enough…

Jonathan delivered an uppercut to Korra with a shout of “SCARLET OVERDRIVE!” But he wasn’t done. Next, he began unloading on Korra with one Hamon-charged punch after another, shouting “OVERDRIVE BARRAGE!” Even that, however, was not the end of it. Spinning himself around, the flames still engulfing his hand, and with a grunt-like shout of “Spin…!” Jonathan planted both fists in Korra’s abdomen, sending her flying, crashing through a wall, and, finally, in to the pond of a nearby park.

Believing the fight to be over, Jonathan turned to leave.

A massive volume of water in a shape that could only be described as “snake-like” appeared from the pond, grabbing Jonathan and pulling him to the water. Jonathan managed to take a deep breath as he was pulled under, trapped underwater by Korra.

Keeping herself in a bubble, Korra said only one thing, though Jonathan could barely hear it:
“Big mistake, fighting me in water!” She knew she had it won. Waterbending was her bread and butter. She’d simply drown the sucker!

Jonathan focused the Hamon energy from his single breath into his hands, outstretching his fists towards Korra.

He was underwater, so his words were slightly garbled, but his message was clear, and Korra heard it:

“UNDERWATER TURQUOISE BLUE OVERDRIVE!”

A massive torrent of water sped towards Korra who, shocked at the amount of fight Jonathan still had in him, could put up no defense as she was forcefully sent flying out of the lake and in to the park proper. Jonathan emerged seconds after. He’d thankfully made it out before his inability to breathe underwater became an issue.

Now it was Korra’s turn to get angry. Jonathan was really beginning to try her patience. She threw a multitude of boulders at him, expecting to overwhelm him. Jonathan was swift in his defensive response. He’d noticed a multitude of leaves littering the ground.

“LIFE MAGNETISM OVERDRIVE!” Jonathan shouted, outstretching his arms. The leaves scattered about the ground immediately formed a massive barrier in front of him, blocking the onslaught of boulders. Korra saw this after only a few seconds and knew the perfect counter! She sent forth fireballs…

Jonathan held his barrier up long enough to see it go up in flames. But, thinking quickly, he charged his hand with Hamon once again, allowing it to be engulfed in the flames. With a shout of “SCARLET OVERDRIVE!” Jonathan made to deliver a flaming uppercut to Korra. But, having already seen the maneuver twice, Korra now believed she had a way to counter it. Bending the water from the pond, she splashed Jonathan with it, dousing the flame in his hand.

Korra deflected the uppercut, and used Airbending to create some distance from him. She swept at his feet with Firebending, but he leapt in to the air to avoid it… Except that Korra then used Earthbending to create a stone column that slammed Jonathan in the gut, knocking the wind out of him and sending him flying for at least a city block. She observed the JoJo as he flew over the top of a building, crash landing on the other side of it, smiling all the while. “And it’s good!” she shouted to herself. Then the though occurred to her that she should go and see if he was down for the count. She bent the air around her to create a ball of air beneath her and, leaping on top of it, she sped off in the direction that Jonathan had been flying.

Jonathan, having landed, slowly lifted himself to a seated position to survey the damage. He’d had the wind forcefully knocked out of him, but that was easily fixed with a few deep breaths. Next, he surveyed his body itself. He counted several bruises across his body, a dislocated jaw, a few jammed fingers, a sprained ankle and no less than three broken ribs. All things considered, it wasn’t so bad. Exhaling deeply, he felt his bones begin to set and heal. He was back to being combat ready!

Korra arrived, riding down from the side of the building Jonathan had flown over. Seeing Jonathan in his near-unharmed state, save for several bruises, shocked her. He had been knocked in the gut with a massive column of solid rock, sent flying over a building, and landed on concrete and all he had was a few bruises?! Oh, it was on now!

“SENDO HAMON OVERDRIVE!” Jonathan shouted, slamming his fist in to the ground, sending energy rippling along the ground to Korra. But she remembered what happened last time, and rolled to avoid it, bending some water his way. “TURQUOISE BLUE OVERDRIVE!” Jonathan shouted, redirecting the water Korra’s way in response. Korra froze the water and bent it right back at Jonathan. Jonathan, rather than use more of his Hamon, simply knocked it aside, only to see a storm of icicles flying right at him, courtesy of Korra.

He knew that there was no way he could tank them all, so he went with the only other option:
“OVERDRIVE BARRAGE!” Jonathan shouted, beginning to punch at high speeds, either shattering the icicles or knocking them harmlessly away. Korra mixed it up, sending out boulders in addition to the ice, forcing Jonathan to redouble his efforts.

This stalemate continued for about thirty seconds, but to Jonathan and Korra, it was a small eternity. Korra finally decided to try and break it, sending Jonathan a fireball as big as he was.
Jonathan knew from looking at it that it was too big to rely on Hamon for. Instead, he ducked away, beginning to charge Korra. It was clear what he had to do to bring this fight to an end, as Hamon was getting him nowhere fast.

Korra didn’t know what she was in for, but she knew she had to avoid it! She began throwing all she could at Jonathan, but it proved to be no use:

Water and fire were sidestepped.

Air was pushed through.

Earth was deflected.

Before Korra knew it, Jonathan was upon her. She attempted to use hand-to-hand to get him to back off, but Jonathan won out in the end, planting a kick to Korra’s gut and sending her careening in to a wall. She crashed in to it, winded and most certainly hurting. She slowly opened one eye to see Jonathan turning and leaving. “Where are you going?!” she shouted.

“There’s no need to fight anymore. So I’m not.”

This infuriated Korra. He’d been fighting like a man possessed this whole time, and now he was insulting the whole thing by walking away before it was done?! Korra was having none of that! Her eyes began to glow white…

Jonathan noticed a brilliant light coming from behind him. Stopping and turning to see, he noticed Korra, now standing straight up, her eyes glowing white. Dumbstruck, he didn’t notice the column of stone coming up from in front of him and knocking him even farther than before.

Korra had entered the Avatar State.

He crashed through the roof of an old, abandoned warehouse. He was still trying to process what had just happened. Korra flew in through the same hole that Jonathan’s body had made, and the JoJo swiftly realized that he had not time to dwell on it.

He charged forth, cocking his fist back to deck Korra in the face. He hated doing such a thing, hitting a woman in the face, but it was clear that Korra was entirely serious. Jonathan’s fist was intercepted by a large slab of stone created by Korra. He winced in pain, but that felt like nothing by comparison when a column of stone protruded from it and nailed him in the face, knocking him back and busting his nose open. The earthen wall shattered, and its pieces began orbiting around Korra.

Jonathan swiftly shook it off, charging Korra once more, this time for a kick. As Jonathan lifted his leg, he noticed that it felt like something was wrapped around his other ankle… His suspicion was confirmed when he was lifted in to the air by one leg by a tendril of water, obviously Korra’s doing. Despite Jonathan’s attempts to free himself, he, no surprise, couldn’t get a grip on the liquid tendril. After a second, Jonathan was slammed against the metal wall to one side, and then the other. Finally, he was forcefully thrown through the first wall, making a hole and tumbling on the ground. The water, like the stone and earth from a moment ago, began orbiting Korra in a ring shape.

Jonathan weakly stood up, ignoring the massive pain he was in. He stood, clutching his ribs. He charged Korra again, now knowing to keep more of an eye out for water and earth than before. Korra, at first, did nothing but stand there, unmoving. He got within several inches of Korra before she ducked to the side, Jonathan’s momentum not allowing him to stop. She spun around behind him and used Airbending to force him to collide with the wall, face first, slowly falling to the ground. It would’ve been comical, had this not been such a fierce fight. The air itself began to form a sphere around Korra, and she began hovering over the ground.

Jonathan began to stand up, slowly and weakly, giving Korra a defiant look.

“You are strong enough to survive such an onslaught with relatively minor injuries…” Korra said, her voice sounding like a multitude of voices speaking in almost perfect unison, “and you are also defiant enough to continue to stand, no matter how much you may fall. Someone as powerful and willful as you can only end up becoming a threat to the world’s balance.” She began to float closer and closer, her hands alight with flame. “As the Avatar, it falls to me to destroy you and maintain balance.”

Korra sent a jet of flame at Jonathan, the blast almost as big as the warehouse. Jonathan was only able to stand and watch as the flames engulfed him body, causing him to scream bloody murder. From within the flame, Jonathan began to wonder what Korra had been talking about. But, more than anything, he found himself thinking of his friends and family… Speedwagon… His late father… The late Will Zeppeli… Erina…

That’s when Jonathan realized… He had too much to fight for, too much left unsettled, to die here!

From within the flame, Korra noticed a bright glow, brighter than even the flame. As the fire dissipated, the glow became ever brighter, and Jonathan was standing, firm, and without even the bruises from before. The fire had managed to burn away his upper body attire, showcasing his rock-solid muscle, and his pants and boots were singed, but, from all appearances otherwise, he hadn’t been in the fire, or in any kind of fight for that matter.

“The man who accused me of wrongdoing…” Jonathan began, “He called you ‘Korra,’ right? Am I to assume that that’s your name?”

Korra was taken aback. He was asking her name now, of all times? Nonetheless, she responded. “Yes. I am Korra.”

“Very well then, Korra…” Jonathan replied, “I understand that you have a task to accomplish. But so do I! And for that reason, I cannot be defeated here! You are not pulling your punches… So neither will I! HAVE AT YOU! KOOOOOOOOOOOORRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

Korra, unsure of what to make of this, began throwing all she had at him. Jonathan ducked and weaved, calling on his boxing skill. Korra raised herself in to the air, using a column of stone, sending fire and water raining down on Jonathan. Jonathan closed in on the pillar, planting his fist in to it.

“SENDO HAMON OVERDRIVE!” Jonathan shouted, the pillar beginning to shake, crack, and finally shatter, sending Korra plummeting. She avoided a hard landing by using Airbending to cushion her landing.

Unfortunately for her, Jonathan was ready for that, already upon her. She sent boulders, but Jonathan shattered them with a flurry of punches. She sent all the water she had at her disposal, but it was all evaporated away by the heat of the Hamon coursing through Jonathan’s body. Korra use fire once more, but, somehow, Jonathan was able to take it all into both of his hands, making to uppercut Korra with a cry of “SCARLET OVERDRIVE!” Korra was forced to back out of the way, but she still felt the sheer heat, even from within the sphere of swirling air.

Jonathan charged with a raw shout that was equal parts determination, pride, valor, and raw fighting spirit. Korra knew she had to cease his charge. She sent as massive a jetstream as she could summon his way, creating a gust with such force that the debris, some of it as large as three of Jonathan, were blown away like they weighed nothing. But Jonathan pushed back, hard, continuing to run against the wind, slowly beginning to make progress towards Korra.

Korra redoubled her efforts, increasing the force of the winds which buffeted Jonathan.

But, with a roar that could be heard even over the roar of the crowd in the arena, Jonathan redoubled his, digging deep within himself and pushing himself past what should’ve been physically possible for any human, even one with Hamon training.

He drew his fist back as it began to glow. Korra could’ve sworn it was on fire, but, on closer inspection, the light and heat was coming from Jonathan’s fist and nothing else!

This distraction allowed Jonathan to push through the winds, driving his other fist, glowing in a similar fashion, in to Korra’s face, stunning her and ceasing the blowing winds. Jonathan, rather than stop, simply wrapped his arms around Korra, as if to tackle her, but instead only continued charging as if Korra wasn’t there!

He ran through a wall, then another, then another, and still another, and not a single bruise showed on his body. Finally, he crashed in to a wall, finally releasing his grip on Korra, who could only weakly lean against the wall. Unsurprising, considering the punishment she had taken.

As she began to regain her composure, Jonathan planted the toe of his boot in Korra’s gut.

“MY HEART IS SHIVERING!” Jonathan shouted, his body glowing even brighter.

“WITH ENOUGH HEAT TO BURN!” Jonathan planted a hook to Korra’s cheek, his fist glowing as if literally on fire. His body glowed even brighter.

“IT’S TICKING! THE BEAT OF MY BLOOD!” Jonathan swiftly landed another two jabs, a haymaker, and a swift uppercut, almost lifting Korra off of her feet. His body glowed even brighter.

“SUNLIGHT YELLOW…!” Jonathan opened his fist, curling his fingers inward, as if struggling to make a fist, suddenly clinching it as tight as his body would permit, “OVERDRIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIVE!!!!!!!” Joanthan began a barrage of Hamon-charged punches, his fists glowing with a light like the sun.

With one final punch, Jonathan sent Korra flying through, not one, but BOTH of the building’s walls. As she exited the second wall, she rolled, coming to a stop, her clothes and body smoldering. Jonathan ran over, prepared to fight more, if necessary. But when Korra didn’t move, he knew it was over. He knelt beside her and held her. She slowly opened her eyes.

“I’m sorry…” Jonathan said, sadness in his voice. He was aware of what he’d just done. True, he was acting in his own defense, but the fight itself could have been avoided…

“You don’t need to be…” Korra weakly replied, her voice and eyes back to normal. She was no longer in the Avatar State. She wanted it that way. Not only did she not want the Avatar Cycle to be broken, but she wanted to speak to Jonathan as herself.

“But I do! You know as well as I do what I’ve just done! I--!”

“I do know…” Korra interrupted, “And, honestly? I brought a lot of it on myself.”

A brief pause.

“It wasn’t you causing trouble… Was it?” Korra asked.

“No…”

“Figures. Nobody who’s capable of bad things could ever fight like you…”

Tears began rolling down Jonathan’s cheek.

“It’s kind of… funny…” Korra mused, “In any other circumstance… I’d guarantee you that we’d have become friends…”

Another brief pause…

“I have a favor to ask…”

“What is it?” Jonathan replied, his voice beginning to shake ever so slightly.

“If you could find someone and tell her something for me…”

“Of course…”

“Find a woman named Asami Sato… Tell her…” A brief pause from Korra… “Tell her... Tell her that I’ll be back soon. So… Until then… She just needs to… Deal with it…” She gave a weak chuckle. “She’ll know what I mean…”

“I’ll find her and tell her, I promise…”

“Thank you…”

Korra closed her eyes and went limp in Jonathan’s arms. Though the tears flowed, Jonathan managed to keep his composure. The man whose actions had forced him to do this was going to pay dearly! But first…

Jonathan arranged Korra’s body, crossing her hands over her chest. He slowly walked away, aiming to find the woman she’d mentioned, Asami Sato. It might take a while, but he’d made a promise.

Xander: I DON’T KNOW IF I CAN KEEP DOING THIS, MAN!

Layne: In what may be the closest Death Battle to date, Jonathan Joestar was able to eke out a victory against Avatar Korra. For one thing, much of Korra’s bending played right in to Jonathan’s Overdrives. Fire to the Scarlet Overdrive, water to the Turquoise Blue Overdrives, and earth to the Sendo Hamon Overdrive.

Xander: *sniff* The only… *ahem* The only one that didn’t was Airbending, but that wasn’t very useful, given that it is meant to draw a fight out instead of end it.

Layne: On top of that, Korra's staff played right in to the Metal Silver Overdrive, being partially made of metal.

Xander: *sniff* Granted, had Korra known things like Bloodbending and how to create lightning, that would’ve been trouble for Jonathan.

Layne: But, she doesn’t so…

Xander: *sniff*

Layne: Almost done, man. Then there’s the issue of Jonathan’s sheer durability and raw strength. Even before training in the Hamon, Jonathan was durable enough to endure performing athletic feats like midair backflips after being impaled through the shoulder with a spear, something that would ordinarily be impossible, more on that later, as well as being strong enough to kill a man with a single kick, provided Mr. Robert Edward O. Speedwagon is to be believed.

Xander: Earthbending helps in regard to strength, but not enough.

Layne: While Korra's bending and it's versatility are impressive, Hamon is arguably even more so, not being restricted to four elements of nature, making it even more potent.

Xander: Korra also lacked the ability to easily heal herself. Even though Waterbending allows for that, she need water on hand. All Jonathan had to do was breathe.

Layne: And, yes, Korra has the ability to shatter mountains and solid rock, due to Earthbending, but Jonathan is capable of the same relatively unassisted. Hamon doesn't help in the same way Earthbending does. Earthbending's whole point to move and destroy stone, while Hamon simply removes limiters present in the human body, meaning that it was still all Jonathan destroying the stone.

Xander: Then there's skill... While Korra arguably has the better amount of skill thanks to her years of training, Jonathan arguably has the better quality as he took down Dio, whom not even two Ripple Masters, Daiya and Will Zeppeli, could beat.

Layne: Energybending might have helped, if it weren't for the fact that Hamon isn't like bending energy, since it's inherent in all living things. Whether it would've made it difficult to utilize... Is unclear at best. It's likely that it wouldn't, though, as, again, it's a matter of accessing the power, not it simply being there. Benders can access their power as soon as they awaken, while all of humanity has Hamon energy, it's just that they don't know it. Knowing this, it's unlikely that Korra would've recognized it as the source of Jonathan's power, as Benders, being humans, have the same kind of energy Jonathan does. The difference is, Jonathan can access it.

Xander: In the Avatar universe, Bending is hereditary, but is more genetic than anything. As Hamon is in all living things, regardless of genetic heritage, this makes it, to a degree, fundamentally different.

Layne: Finally, and fatally, Jonathan is better able to stand or outright ignore pain, as evidenced when he pulled himself up over a banister with an impaled and bleeding shoulder. Using Hamon, this becomes much easier as it acts as a natural anesthetic, evidenced by the Zoom Punch. But, look, we can throw achievements, feats, weapons, skills, tactics, and numbers around all we want, but they’ll never do justice to what Jonathan and Korra are capable of. They are heroes in every sense, paradigms of humanity. They’re flawed, yes, but they overcome their flaws through inner strength and a never-say-die attitude. So, whatever you, the reader, viewer, and listener take away from this, let it be that, no matter the result, we take nothing away from the competitors. The winner… Is Jonathan Joestar.

Xander: DAMMIT MAN!

Layne: Alright, come on… Bring it in.