[Illusion]

My theories on Amon

His bending takes away ability:
Chakras in our bodies (in the avatar world), are just THERE, they aren’t open, aren’t closed. But you CAN open them with spiritual guidance. From a monk, and can be taught how to open them by a monk. the problem. is, is that you can also be taught how to close them
I don’t know how he learned to do it. but if you watch the first episode where he took someones bending away, you can see he holds the back of the throat, and the forehead
he is blocking the chakras of light and sound, therefore, creating lies, and illusion
when the first bender was "equalized", all benders became afraid of amon, believing
that he had the power to take away bending
yes, their bending IS gone. But only because they THINK its gone
That’s the problem they can’t bend that’s the issue but they really can
But yeah. All these benders still have their irreversible chi and power to bend the elements. It is lies, illusion and deceit, that increases every day (because they think that it’s gone), that keeps their actual power completely out of reach
Amon did SOMETHING to them, he blocked their chakras. People just need to learn how to open them
Therefore. Korra will learn. And she will find her spiritual side, and therefore, everyone will MOST likely retrieve their power again

When it comes to WHO he is. my theory, is that he wears the mask, because when his parents were killed by firebenders, he asked the spirits for help. he got Koh. The face-stealer. Amon asked Koh to give him the power to resist bending (therefore, the bloodbending resist), and teach him how to block chakras. and in exchange, Koh got his face. and Amon is simply doing the biddings of Koh, and ridding the world of the Avatar, and all bending. as Koh said himself, the avatar (a bender) tried to kill him, and a bender was responsible for the death of the moon spirit, which probably angered him, after Avatar Aang said they would be fine. Koh put his trust into a bender, and he failed.