Ghazan is the first character to demonstrate lavabending in The Legend of Korra. The Red Lotus earthbender reveals the rare technique during the team’s escape from Zaofu in Book Three, “The Terror Within.”
Ghazan can heat and liquefy earth, then control the resulting lava as an earthbender. His skill makes him especially dangerous because he can create barriers, traps, and rivers of lava rather than simply throwing rocks. He later uses the technique to destroy Ba Sing Se’s walls and collapse a cave complex.
Bolin is the most common mix-up. He does not display lavabending until the climax of Book Three, when the ability emerges unexpectedly while he is trying to save Korra and the airbenders. Ghazan’s earlier demonstration establishes him as the first non-Avatar lavabender shown in the series. Avatars such as Roku and Kyoshi had previously been depicted manipulating lava, but they are not the intended answer among these Korra characters.