History Main / ClassicalElementsEnsemble

A Classical Element Ensemble is a team or group of people in which each character is associated to one of the classical elements. The classical elements are a specific subset of the NaturalElements, typically composed of '''fire''', '''water''', '''earth''', or '''air'''. So the standard ensemble is a team of four with each person aligned with either fire, water, earth, or air.

** The Witches 5 from the [[Anime/SailorMoon first anime]]'s ''S'' season also follow this theme. Eudial is Fire, with her red outfit, hair, and eyes, and she fights with a flamethrower. Mimete uses sonicwaves to attack linking her to air. Tellu is Earth, with her green hair, eyes, and transformation outfit; she uses plants and vines to extract hearts and attacks. Viluy is Water: she has icy blue hair, eyes, and uniform when she transforms and uses a weapon that dissolves her enemites. Finally Cyprine, with her SpaceMaster ability to teleport people into a pocket dimension, reflects ElementNumberFive.

** ''Anime/SailorMoon'': The Witches 5 from the first anime's ''S'' season also follow this theme. Eudial is Fire, with her red outfit, hair, and eyes, and she fights with a flamethrower. Mimete uses sonicwaves to attack linking her to air. Tellu is Earth, with her green hair, eyes, and transformation outfit; she uses plants and vines to extract hearts and attacks. Viluy is Water: she has icy blue hair, eyes, and uniform when she transforms and uses a weapon that dissolves her enemites. Finally Cyprine, with her SpaceMaster ability to teleport people into a pocket dimension, reflects ElementNumberFive.

** In addition to the CosmicMotifs, the series gives the original lineup of Sailor Senshi power over a different element. Sailor Mars is Fire and has fire-based abilities. Sailor Mercury takes Water, which manifests in bubble based attacks. Though predominantly using lightning-based attacks, Sailor Jupiter also has a FlowerMotif with attacks based on roses, vines, and thorns which is associated with nature and earth. Sailor Moon is the most subtle since her attacks are almost all associated with the moon, light, and rainbows, however Usagi herself is a ditzy airhead, which associates her with air.When Sailor Venus joins the crew to turn the group into a FiveManBand, she ends up has LightEmUp and HeartBeatDown abilities, in line with ElementNumberFive.

* ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamWing'': According to an [[AllThereInTheManual artbook]] by mecha designer Kunio Okawara, the five Gundams each had an elemental association with them during the design process. The quick and stealthy Deathscythe represents air, the walking arsenal Heavyarms represents fire, the desert-themed and heavily armored Sandrock represents earth, and the martial arts-themed Shenlong represents water. The book doesn't list an elemental association for Wing, but since it's the JackOfAllStats among the five it aligns with the quintessence.
* In ''Manga/SoulHunter'', the Four Saints of Kuryuujima have elemental Paopei invoking the four classical elements: Kongenjuu (Coalescence Bead) summon and manipulate seawater, Hekichijuu (Earth-splitting Bead) can move and shape massive amounts of dirt, Bankojuu (Yellow Strikes Bead) allows the user to fly freely in the air, dodge any incoming attack and shoot light beams, while the Kaitenjuu (Heaven-opening Bead) can cause fiery explosions.
* ''Anime/{{Symphogear}} GX'': The four autoscorers of the Alchemic Cult each have an associated music/dance, suit from the Turkish deck of cards, and element from the classical elements, on top of being color-coded in line with that element. Garie Tuman was the autoscorer of water, wore all blue, and could use both water and ice based abilities. Pharah Suyuf was the autoscorer of wind, wore all green, and could use wind alchemy. Leir Darahim was the autoscorer of earth, wore all yellow, and could use earth alchemy that manifested in her fighting with bars and coins of gold. Micha Jawkan was the autoscorer of fire, wore all red, and used fire alchemy.

* ''Fanfic/SkyBladeAcademy'': Of the four main characters' actual [[ElementalPowers Metria]], we have Nagito as Terra/Earth, Shiki as Ventus/Wind, Kaiba as Pyro/Fire, and Atsuya as Aqua/Water.

* ''Webcomic/EightBitTheater'': Played with when the Dark Warriors find the [[PlotCoupon elemental orbs of light]] and divide them amongst themselves. Two were clear cut (the Earth Orb for the elf and Water Orb for the pirate), but the other two were just given to whoever.

!This trope is [[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=16866572500.24781200 under discussion]] in the Administrivia/TropeRepairShop.

Despite the idea of the four ClassicalElements being obsolete, writers love to play with the idea in fiction. Sometimes, a writer will merely use the idea of the "four elements" for an ElementalRockPaperScissors system. Other times, however, writers will base not a character, but an entire ensemble on the classical elements.

This can sometimes be used literally by giving each member of the ensemble [[ElementalPowers power over the particular element]]. Other times, however, it can be used on a more [[ElementalMotifs symbolic level]], by giving each person [[PersonalityPowers personalities associated with the element in question]] or by using ThemeNaming to assign each person an element.

Per ClassicalElements, this four elements used will almost always be [[DishingOutDirt earth]], [[BlowYouAway air]], [[PlayingWithFire fire]], and [[MakingASplash water]]. This also tends to correspond with the FourTemperamentEnsemble, though [[PowerStereotypeFlip there are other interpretations.]] Sometimes the water will be [[WaterIsWomanly the only woman]]. Sometimes works that absolutely need a FiveManBand will possibly add another. Depending on which tradition they follow, this can be [[HeartIsAnAwesomePower Heart]], [[LightEmUp light]], PureEnergy, [[ShockAndAwe lightning]], the power of the cosmos, PowerOfTheVoid, or SpaceMaster. Because LightIsGood, if it's one of those first three, it will likely end up in the hands of TheHero. See ElementNumberFive.

A subtrope of NaturalElements. Related to ElementalPowers, ElementalMotifs. See also SuperheroSpeciation.

* ''Manga/FairyTail'' has the enemy team of Element 4: Aria of the Wind, Totomaru of the Fire, Juvia of the Rain, and Sol of the Earth.

* ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamWing'': According to an [[AllThereInTheManual artbook]] by mecha designer Kunio Okawara, the five Gundams each had an elemental association with them during the design process. The quick and stealthy Deathscythe represents air, the walking arsenal Heavyarms represents fire, the desert-themed and heavily armored Sandrock represents earth, and the martial arts-themed Shenlong represents water. The book doesn't list an elemental association for Wing, but since it's the JackOfAllStats among the five it most likely corresponds to [[PowerOfTheVoid void]].
* In the ''Franchise/{{Naruto}}'' universe, there are five dominant chakra elements: Fire, Wind, Water, Earth, and Lightning. Each has an established Shinobi Village to represent them, though a mixture of the elements can exist within techniques. Unfortunately, all of the villages have had some degree of bad history, from the Hidden Mist's violent in-fighting, to the Hidden Stone's treacherous scheming.
** With the Hidden Cloud Village having Lightning as its dominant element. They are by default the odd-ones-out, being unique mostly for having the most Black (or at least African-American influenced) characters in the show. Hell, even their leader is typically a ScaryBlackMan.
* In ''Manga/NegimaMagisterNegiMagi'', a flashback shows the first generation of Cosmo Entelecheia had an earth mage (who was also Fate's predecessor), a fire mage, a water mage, and a wind/lightning mage. Later on, more Averruncus models appear and each controls an element; Fate is Earth, Quartum is Fire, Quintum is Wind, and Sextum is Water.
* While the end result varies, Ash from ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'' usually ends up with a Pokemon team that follows this route. Oftentimes the starters he ends up obtaining represent the Water, Fire, and Earth elements (In Pokemon, [[GreenThumb Grass]] often fulfill the traditional role of Earth). He also obtains a flying type to fulfill the Air role. Occasionally, Ash may also obtain an actual Ground or Rock types and sometimes he may get a Pokemon that fulfills two roles, such as Palpitoad (Water and Earth), Talonflame (Air and Fire) and Rowlet (Air and Earth).

** The series gives the original lineup of Sailor Senshi power over a different element. Sailor Mars is Fire, Mercury takes Water, Jupiter swaps Earth for Lightning [[note]]In the [[Manga/SailorMoon manga]] she had Earth as well and this carries over to ''Series/PrettyGuardianSailorMoon''[[/note]] and Moon of course takes Air. When Sailor Venus joins them she of course [[LightEmUp has Light]].
** The Witches 5 from the first [[Anime/SailorMoon anime]]'s ''S'' season have this too. Eudial is Fire, Tellu is Earth, Viluy is Water/Ice and Cyprine is Air. Mimete appears to be the odd one out as her attacks involve shooting stars from her guns.

* The four generals in ''Anime/TengenToppaGurrenLagann'' are not only generals of their respective element, but half of their ThemeNaming comes from a traditional ElementalEmbodiment. There's Thymilph for fire, Adiane for water, Guame for earth, and Cytomander for air. Oddly, the embodiments Thymilph and Cytomander are named after are swapped in regards to their elements.
* ''Music/{{Tsukipro}}'' is these as idols -- [=SolidS=] is Fire, Quell is Water, SOARA is Air, Growth is Earth. The units' music reflects their elements -- [=SolidS=] is heated, sexy, and always changing; Quell is calm and soothing yet also dark and deep; SOARA is light and youthful; Growth is the one that subverts expectations -- their interpretation of "earth" is that they're world-traveling (or [[TheMultiverse multiverse]]-traveling) princely flowers, and their music is fantasy-tinged BaroquePop.

** ''ComicBook/FantasticFour'':
*** The Four's powers, while not all are ElementalPowers, they are still evocative of the elements. Reed is Water. Like liquid, he is able to change his shape and fit through obstacles that solid objects can't. Ben is Earth. In addition to being [[SuperStrength super-strong]] and [[SuperToughness resilient]] like rock, his appearance is similar to that of a golem. Johnny is Fire. He has the power to self-ignite, so it's fairly obvious. Sue is Air. She has the power to become invisible and can make the air exert force, like the wind.
*** John Byrne's very first ''Fantastic Four'' story as writer and artist has Diablo create elemental beings with earth, air, fire, and water powers, and sent each of them to attack Sue, Johnny, Reed, and Ben respectively. Once the team traded partners to fight the opponents who more closely matched their powers, the elementals were easily outmatched.
** The supervillain team Force of Nature consists of Firewall, Aqueduct, Terraformer, and Skybreaker.
** ''ComicBook/SpiderMan'': Four members of Spidey's RoguesGallery fall into this category: Cyclone (wind), Hydro-Man (water), Sand-Man (earth), and Molten Man (fire).

* ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/16378289/chapters/38331902 Moving House]]'' describes the [[Franchise/{{Transformers}} Cybertronian]] equivalent of the four elements -- Metal (Earth), Smoke (Air), Lightning (Fire) and Oil (Water). Every Cybertronian or creature is aspected towards one of the four elements, with Jazz being Lightning aspected.

* ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/7509661/1/Unmentionable Unmentionable]]'', a ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'' fic, has elemental auras as a subplot and how they work with each other; Tara is Earth and Willow is Air, while Buffy is Fire and Spike is Water.
* ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/9030904/1/Yu-Gi-Oh-GSTART Yu-Gi-Oh! GSTART]]'' has the Sykonetyks, a strange street gang who dress in thematic jumpsuits and wield Decks of their corresponding Attribute. Their nicknames are even the Greek-derived prefixes of their elements: Hydro, Aero, Geo, Pyro.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Hercules}}'': The four Titans fit each element: Lythos the rock Titan (earth), Hydros the ice Titan (water), Pyros the lava Titan (fire), Stratos the tornado Titan (air). As the climax reveals, the combination of the four is quite... [[ExplosionsInSpace explosive]].

* ''Film/TheAvengers2012'': A subtle one:
** ''Film/IronMan'' is surrounded by fire in the first movie (captured in the desert, spends time in a cave lit by flames and forges his armor in the heat), fires and manufactures weapons, gets blasted through many flaming explosions, has a lit fireplace constantly in the background of his Malibu house, and paints his costume red and gold.
** ''Film/CaptainAmericaTheFirstAvenger'' has water and ice as his motifs; discovered frozen in ice, created via injection with blue liquid, film subtly tinted blue with scenes of rain and shots of snowy mountains throughout, chases a starter villain into the water in his first scene as Captain America, falls into the ocean at the end of the sequel, and his costume is colored primarily blue.
** ''Film/{{Thor}}'' naturally has air and thunder, being the God of it and all. In addition, he lives in the elevated land of Asgard, first arrives in a tornado-like thunderstorm, flies by twirling his hammer to create a gust of wind, first appears in The Avengers flying through the sky, onto an airplane; can summon his hammer through the air, wears a winged helmet, and his costume is colored grey.
** ''Film/{{The Incredible Hulk|2008}}'' and earth; not only are the Hulk’s powers derived from physical strength, commonly associated with earth, but he's also frequently underground, being grounded or on the run in verdant lands, and is colored green.
* ''Film/TheCraft'': Nancy represents Fire -- she is the most passionate and dangerous of the girls, Sarah represents Earth -- the most grounded and mature of them, Bonnie represents Air -- she is the most in tune with her surroundings, and Rochelle Represents Water -- she is a swimmer.

* ''Film/GodzillaKingOfTheMonsters2019'' plays its four headliner {{Kaiju}} this way.
** Water: Godzilla himself, whose [[GiantSwimmer aquatic nature]] is heavily emphasized. He is also associated with the colour blue.
** Air: King Ghidorah. A GiantFlyer whose [[MultipleHeadCase three heads]] spit chains of [[BrightIsNotGood garishly golden]] lightning. Ghidorah is also associated with cold (often linked to the classical Air element), as he's spent the last few millennia [[SealedEvilInACan sealed in South Pole ice]], making the lifeless MysteriousAntarctica a kind of EmpathicEnvironment for him -- and [[HostileTerraforming what he'll turn the rest of the world into]] if he wins.
** Earth: Mothra. Although another GiantFlyer like Ghidorah, Mothra is connected to nature, healing, and life itself. Notably, we first meet her in an ancient Chinese temple overgrown with foliage, and she tends to glow with a warm green light.
** Fire: Rodan. The most overt example, Rodan is first introduced emerging from an erupting volcano, looks almost like he's made of molten rock and lava, and seems to be the most consistently, instinctively aggressive and HotBlooded (literally) of all the movie's monsters. We're also told that he appears in ancient folklore as "The Fire Demon", linking him to AppeaseTheVolcanoGod traditions, and he's associated with the colours red and orange.
* ''Film/HellboyIITheGoldenArmy'' has four characters trying to save the world; Abe Sapien (an aquatic [[FishPeople Fish Man]]), Liz (a woman with pyrokinetic powers), Dr. Krauss (a ghost made of smoke-like ectoplasm) and Hellboy himself who has a hand made of stone. Therefore we have water, fire, air, and earth.
* ''Film/HomeAlone3'': This may be completely unintentional, but the AmusingInjuries the four spies suffer on the film cover are related to the four elements. Unger is electrocuted, which makes his suit (and [[FartsOnFire farts]]) burn (''fire''); Jernigan is ice-covered after falling into a frozen pool (''water''); Alice is covered in dirt after several incidents in mud (''earth''); and Beaupre has black paint in his face, coming from a gas-powered spray can (''air'').
* In ''Film/TheLionTheWitchAndTheWardrobe'', Aslan's speech during the coronation refers to the four elements:
** Water: "To the glistening eastern sea, I give you Queen Lucy the Valiant."
** Earth: "To the great western wood, King Edmund the Just."
** Fire: "To the radiant southern sun, Queen Susan the Gentle."
** Air: "And to the clear northern sky, I give you King Peter the Magnificent."
* ''Film/MidnightSpecial'' has each time Alton uses his powers corresponding with one of the elements. He first wrecks a house in an earthquake (earth), then brings a satellite down from the sky (air), [[spoiler: controls his powers by]] watching the sun rise (fire) and [[spoiler: crosses dimensions]] while standing in an everglade (water).
* ''Film/SherlockHolmes2009'': The four murders planned by Blackwood correspond to the four classical elements:
** Earth: [[spoiler:Reordan]] is buried in Blackwood's dirt-filled coffin after being killed.
** Water: [[spoiler:Sir Thomas is [[DeadlyBath drowned in his bath]]]] when Blackwood sneaks a paralytic chemical into it.
** Fire: [[spoiler:Standish]] is [[KillItWithFire burned to death]] when his pistol backfires.
** Air: [[spoiler:Everyone in Parliament]] is nearly [[DeadlyGas killed by poison gas]]. Instead, [[spoiler:Blackwood]] ends up hanging himself from a very high place.
** [[ViewersAreGeniuses This is never mentioned, at all]]. Presumably, they wanted to be careful around [[Film/AngelsAndDemons another recent movie that had coincidentally pulled exactly the same trick]].
** Additionally, [[spoiler:the elements are paired with their opposites for each murder]].
*** Earth: [[spoiler:Reordan]] is BuriedAlive and dies from a lack of air.
*** Water: [[spoiler:Sir Thomas]] dies submerged in water that is heated by fire.
*** Fire: [[spoiler:Standish]] is immolated by fire, hastened by the fact that he was soaked in a chemical he took to be water.
*** Air: [[spoiler:Parliament]] would have been killed by poison gas pumped in from beneath the earth. Blackwood dies from a fall, denied the safety of solid ground.
* In ''Film/SuckerPunch'' each of Baby Doll's fantasies when she's dancing is based around a different element. The first takes place in a snowstorm (water/ice), the second in the trenches of World War I (earth), the third involves getting something from a dragon (fire) and the last takes place on a monorail in the sky -- as well as trouble arising when a jet pack doesn't work (air).

* In ''Literature/AccelWorld'', the Elements, the four elite members of Nega Nebulus, are this, since each one has one of the four elements. Sky Raker, who was the duel avatar closest to achieving {{flight}} before [[TheHero Silver Crow]], represents air. Ardor Maiden, a powerful long-range type, represents fire. Aqua Current, as the name implies, has water-related abilities and represents water. Graphite Edge represents earth. Kuroyukihime had planned for the four of them to take on TheFourGods guarding the Imperial Palace in the Unlimited Neural Field, with each member challenging the Enemy with the same element, so that they would have some protection from that foe's ability (e.g. Maiden had to fight Suzaku).
* ''Literature/AngelsAndDemons'' uses the theme of the four elements in the murders of four Catholic Cardinals and in the clues to the location of the Illuminati's meeting place.
* In Shannon Hale's ''Literature/BooksOfBayern'', the four female leads could qualify. Isi is a wind ie. air speaker, Enna is a fire speaker, Dasha is a water speaker and Rin is a tree speaker, which could be reinterpreted as earth
* ''Literature/ACertainMagicalIndex'': God's Right Seat follows this trope with Vento of the Front, Terra of the Left, Acqua of the Back, and Fiamma of the Right.
* ''Franchise/CthulhuMythos'': According to Creator/AugustDerleth some of the deities are associate with one of the four classic elements. The most prominent are Cthulhu with Water, Ithaqua with Air, Cthugha with Fire, and Shub-Niggurath with Earth. Cthugha was created specifically to round out the cast since there wasn't already a character associated with fire.

* ''Literature/HarryPotter'':
** Creator/JKRowling has stated that the four Hogwarts houses are based on the four elements. Gryffindor is fire, Hufflepuff is earth, Ravenclaw is air, and Slytherin is water. This can be subtly seen in some of the Houses' more prominent members: Slytherin is headed by Snape, a Potions professor who spends most of his time brewing liquid concoctions; Hufflepuff is headed by Sprout, an Herbology professor who spends most of her time potting plants in her greenhouse; Ravenclaw is headed by Flitwick, a Charms professor who is first seen teaching the students how to magically levitate feathers; the most prominent (adult) Gryffindor in the series is Hagrid, who is infamous for his obsession with dragons, and is most often seen in a cabin with a roaring fireplace.
** Their dormitories also reflect on it: The Slytherin dormitories are in the dungeons, close to the lake. The Ravenclaw dormitories are in the highest tower. The Hufflepuff dormitories are underground. The Gryffindor dormitories are not located anywhere specifically related to fire, but the common room has a prominent fireplace.
** According to WordOfGod, the Triwizard Tournament was [[WhatCouldHaveBeen originally]] going to have four tasks with each one based on a classical element. However, Rowling had difficulty coming up with tasks for all of them. In the end, the First Task combines air and fire while the Second Task is water and the Third Task is earth, giving the Tournament a LandSeaSky motif instead.

* ''Literature/TheSecretsOfTheImmortalNicholasFlamel'' has the Four Swords of Power. Clarent is the sword of Fire, Excalibur of Ice/Water, Durendal as Earth, and Joyeuse as Air. The twins also intend to learn each of the four Elemental magics though only Sophie ends up learning them all and Josh only learns Fire, Water, and Air.
* ''Literature/SerwaBoateng'': Asase Yaa gives Serwa's friends the powers of the four elements. Mateo is air, Gavin is water, Roxy is earth, and Eunju is fire.
* ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'', as hinted at in the title, plays a lot with elemental motifs. Though they're all over the series, Martin seems to have been particularly inspired by Ice and Fire, the defining elemental forces of Myth/NorseMythology. To elaborate:
** The primary supernatural factions in the mythos (which generally stay separate from the political human factions) are all associated with different elements. There's Children of the Forest (Earth), the Others (Ice), and the Dragons (Fire).
** Westeros's various religions and deities, both old and new, have their own elemental associations. There are the Old Gods (Earth), the Drowned God (Water), the Seven (Air), and R'hllor (Fire). The Old Gods are classic pagan spirits who are said to be present in nature, and their worshipers communicate with them through trees; the Drowned God is a mysterious figure who is said to dwell under the sea; the Seven are distant figures who are said to dwell in the sky, and act as personifications of human virtues; and R'hllor is a fierce deity who commands his followers to burn heretics alive and built pyres for false idols.
** As the series rolls on, it gradually becomes clear that the two main protagonists of the MythArc are Daenerys Targaryen and Jon Snow. Daenerys is associated with Fire, as she comes to command a trio of dragons, and plans to invade Westeros to take back her ancestral throne. Jon, her {{foil}}, is instead associated with Ice; he hails from the frozen North, he spends his days battling [[EvilIsDeathlyCold the icy Others]], his animal companion is a snow-white direwolf, and he's instead devoted to ''defending'' Westeros from invasion.
** Most of the major houses of Westeros are associated with the classical elements, which is pretty handy for keeping them all straight. The Starks of Winterfell are Ice, the ousted Targaryens (who have a dragon sigil) are Fire, the Arryns of the Eyrie (who have a bird sigil) are Air, the Greyjoys of the Iron Islands and the Tullys of Riverrun (who have a kraken sigil and a fish sigil, respectively) are Water, and the Tyrells of Highgarden (who have a rose sigil) are Earth. Even the Lannisters of Casterly Rock, who frequently use gold motifs (being the wealthiest house in Westeros), roughly correspond to the element of Metal.

[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
* ''Series/Charmed1998'' naturally features this, being a show about witches:
** Paige's past life, the Evil Enchantress had the power to conjure the elements. She can conjure up a strong gust of wind to represent air, she can set fire to Paige's apartment, Paige is seen counteracting fire with a blue light possibly representing water, and she possibly controls the iron portcullis with earth.
** Another episode has the sisters using the four elements in a spell to reveal the Eternal Spring. They use dirt from the garden, a fan to create wind, matches to create fire, and some water from the tap.
** The house itself is built on a spiritual nexus, surrounded by notable elemental points. Oddly this episode used the five Taoist elements instead of the classic ones. Wood was used instead of Earth and the fifth element was Metal.
* ''Series/GameOfThrones'':
** Houses: Targaryen, Lannister, and Martell (Fire), Greyjoy and Tully (Water), Arryn and Baelish (Air), Stark (Ice), Baratheon, Tyrell and Clegane (Earth)
** Creatures: Dragons (Fire), Children of the Forest (Earth), White Walkers (Ice).
** Gods: The Drowned God (Water [[note]]of course[[/note]]), The Lord of Light (Fire [[note]]is said to communicate with its priestess through fire and its followers burn the infidels, among other things[[/note]]), The Old Gods (Earth [[note]]they are said to live in the trees and are represented by faces carved in them[[/note]]), the Seven (Air [[note]]they are said to live in the skies[[/note]])
* ''Series/TheMysticKnightsOfTirNaNog'': "Fire within me! Earth beneath me! Air above me! Water around me!"
** "[[SixthRanger Forest before me!]]"
* ''Series/NowhereBoys'': Intentionally, and stated in-script.
** Felix represents [[PlayingWithFire fire]].
** Andy represents [[MakingASplash water]].
** Sam represents [[BlowYouAway air]].
** Jake represents [[DishingOutDirt earth]].
* ''Franchise/SuperSentai'' and ''Franchise/PowerRangers'' often use this setup with their {{Five Man Band}}s, though with a fifth member it's a little loose with who the resident "Earth" Ranger is: the combination of elements is usually Fire/Water/Air/Earth/Wood (''Kakuranger'', ''Shinkenger''/''Samurai'') or Fire/Water/Air/Wood/Lightning (''Gingaman'', ''Magiranger''/''Mystic Force'').

[[folder:Myths & Religion]]
* Wiccans and other magic practitioners summons for their rituals and spells the help and/or protection of the four guardians of the Elements; Djin for Fire, Neksa for Water, Paraldas for Air, and Ghob for Earth (the names may vary depending on the tradition). Some summons the elemental themselves, generally Salamanders for Fire, Ondines for Water, Fairies or Elves for Air, and Gnomes for Earth.
* The ritual of the Kabbalistic Cross, a protection ritual in Ceremonial Magick, uses the four archangels each with an element associate; Uriel for Air, Raphael for Earth, Gabriel for Water, and Michael for Fire.
* Eliphas Levi linked each of the Tarot's symbols on the Minor Arcana to a specific element as; Batons for Fire, Cups for Water, Swords for Air, and Pentacles for Earth.
* The Four Classic Elements are sacred for Zoroastrians as they are thought to be the purest manifestation of the Creator. Therefore they don’t bury their dead as such thing would contaminate earth, don’t cremate them as that would contaminate both fire and air, and do not toss dead bodies on water as that would contaminate water. They left the bodies in especial towers for the vultures to feed on them. This could be seen as horrible for some cultures but for them is not only the only way not to pollute the elements but also a way to give life from dead.

[[folder:Music]]
* In Mozart's Magic Flute the hero and heroine undergo ordeals of Earth, Fire, and Water; Air seems to be missing until you realize that the Flute itself is a wind instrument.
* Music/SpiceGirls
** In Holler:
*** Melanie B -- [[PlayingWithFire Fire]]
*** Melanie C -- [[DishingOutDirt Ear]][[GreenThumb th]]
*** Emma -- [[MakingASplash Water]]
*** Victoria -- [[BlowYouAway Wind]]
** In Let Love Lead The Way:
*** Emma -- [[DishingOutDirt Ear]][[GreenThumb th]]
*** Victoria -- [[PlayingWithFire Fire]]
*** Melanie B -- [[BlowYouAway Wind]]
*** Melanie C -- [[MakingASplash Water]]
[[/folder]]

* ''TabletopGame/CriticalRoleTaldoreiCampaignSetting'': The Ashari are a collection of four tribes dedicated to guarding four portals to different dimensions, one for each classical element. In keeping with that theme, each tribe has developed elemental magic corresponding the portal they guard, as reflected in the stat-block each Ashari has at the end of the book.
** The Zephrah Ashari are known as Skydancers and can fly using artificial wings known as a sky sail.
** The Terrah Ashari are known as Stoneguards and have a special ability to turn their skin to stone as a reaction, halving all non-magical damage against them.
** The Pyrah Ashari are known as Fire Tamers and can actually grow into ten-foot-tall behemoths made of fire.
** The Vesrah Ashari are known as Wave Riders and can transform into sharks or octopi in addition to being able to talk to marine life.
* ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' had the Elemental Princes of Evil: Cryonax (cold), Imix (fire), Ogremoch (earth), Olhydra (water), and Yan-C-Bin (air) and their Good counterparts. But neither set ever teams up.
* ''TabletopGame/PrometheanTheCreated'': The original five Promethean Lineages were associated with an element that corresponded to this, but it's drifted away from it somewhat in subsequent editions: the Frankensteins' corresponded to fire (with the caveat that fire is extremely lethal to Prometheans, so they got Lightning as "symbolic" fire), Galateans air, Tammuz earth, Osirians water, and Ulgan's were ElementNumberFive as ''ectoplasm''. Then subsequent books introduced the Zeka (radiation), Unfleshed (Oil), and Extempore (can be of any element). It also introduced the Amirani, the extinct fire-associated lineage predating the Frankensteins, and since the fire-bad rule still applied they were instead created with forged metal in their bodies, representing the heat of the forge.

* ''VideoGame/BattleRealms'': The four clans can be seen as this. The Dragon clan are water, as they are about meditation and discipline, the Serpent clan are fire, as they freely use gunpowder, and fire, the Wolf clan are earth, as they have a close connection with nature, and use stone and shale as weapons and armor, and the Lotus clan are wind, as their warlocks cast bolts of lightning, and are quick on their feet.

* ''VideoGame/{{Blackout}}'': The PlayerCharacter's SplitPersonality manifests as four distinct personalities, each of them associated with an element. Depending on which actions the player makes him do, he will tend to identify with one over the three others.

* The ''VideoGame/BloonsTowerDefense'' series has four of the five Boss Bloons -- Bloonarius for Water, Vortex for Air, Dreadbloon for Earth, and Blastapopulos for Fire. They also have powers associated with their element:
** Bloonarius spawns [[FlunkyBoss massive tides and deluges of bloons]] every time it loses enough health.
** Vortex uses air currents to speed up Bloons and emits a radial air blast (in ''Bloons Monkey City'') or lightning blast (in ''[=BTD 6=]'') to stun towers around it. It can also use a storm barrier that deflects slower-moving projectiles aimed at it.
** Dreadbloon has lead armor properties that make it immune to many unbuffed attacks, and can also grow rock armor on itself for extra health. In ''[=BTD 6=]'', it can also summon rock bloons to DrawAggro from your towers.
** Blastapopulos throws fireballs at your towers to stun them.
* ''VideoGame/{{Boktai}}'' gives you access to earth, fire, water, and wind type elements each with their own properties[[note]]Earth revives plants, fire melts ice and burns wood, water extinguishes flames, and wind smashes rocks[[/note]]. You also get solar as the default attack, lunar which expends no energy but inflicts no damage, and dark which is reserved for the NewGamePlus. It only gets more complicated in the sequels.
* In ''VideoGame/BraveFrontier'', four of the six elements (Fire, Water, Earth, and Thunder), forms a variant of this ensemble, where they form an [[ElementalRockPaperScissors elemental wheel]].
* ''VideoGame/BreathOfFireIV'': Nina uses wind, [[TheLancer Cray]] uses earth, [[TheSmartGuy Scias]] uses water, and [[TheBigGuy Ursula]] uses fire. There are, however, two more characters in the party, with [[RobotBuddy Ershin]] getting the most powerful spells of all elements but have little {{mana}} to use them regularly, and [[TheHero Ryu's]] dragon forms focusing on fire but also having access to wind and earth.
* In ''VideoGame/BrutalLegend'', the elements of the world of HeavyMetal are Fire, Noise, Blood, and Metal. Fittingly, this fits with the four classical elements; Fire is obvious, but Noise is Air, Blood is Water, and Metal is Earth, they've just been rebranded for Heavy Metal aesthetics.
* ''VideoGame/CrossCode'' uses a FireIceLightning trio augmented with Wave, which seems to represent both water and sound. Each one primarily gets juxtaposed against its opposite: Heat with Cold, and Shock with Wave. Strangely enough, the god representing Cold also holds dominion over rock, apparently making it the earth representative in the elemental quartet.
* ''VideoGame/DragonQuestVII'' has the heroes awaken and round up the four Elemental Spirits. They're also {{Optional Boss}}es.
* In ''VideoGame/EarthAndSky'', Austin and Emily have earth and air-themed powers, and the final chapter of the series reveals that their parents have fire and water powers from the same source.
* ''VideoGame/EscapeLala'': In the second game, Lala has gods for each of the four elements: water, earth, fire, and air. They are represented by stone faces placed around the map. There is a glass bottle that you must fill with each element and put in the corresponding stone face to open a door.
* The [[TheProblemWithLicensedGames much maligned]] ''Fantasia'' for the Sega Genesis has four levels, each based around a classic element using [[Westernanimation/{{Fantasia}} the movie's segments]]: the first is Water (mostly "The Sorcerer's Apprentice", which had the brooms creating a flood), the second Earth (the dinosaur parts of "Rite of Spring"), the third Air (the various flying creatures from "The Pastoral Symphony" and "The Dance of Hours") and the fourth Fire (the FireAndBrimstoneHell of "Night on Bald Mountain").
* ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'' frequently has four elemental crystals -- Fire, Water, Air and Earth. Often there's the [[FourIsDeath Four Fiends]] to go with them. Both pop up in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyI'', ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIV'', and ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyMysticQuest''. ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIX'' brought the Four Fiends back but not the crystals, and ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIII'' has the crystals but not the Fiends.
** ''Final Fantasy IV'' has the FireIceLightning trio of Ifrit, Shiva, and Ramuh, with the Earth-elemental Titan as slightly stronger, but remakes and the sequel bump Titan down to their level of power and importance for a four-summon ensemble.

*** Note that [[Videogame/FinalFantasyVIIRemake its remake]] does not use the four classical elements, instead having Fire, Ice, Thunder and Wind as its elements, some of which are less fitting for each character (for instance, Ice fits Cloud more than it does Tifa, and Thunder does not fit Aerith at all).
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX'' actually reduces the traditional series of elements down to just four (there had always been about eight or nine in previous games). Lightning and Ice replace Earth and Air. It also mixes up the strengths/weaknesses a little, with lightning and water being opposed to each other, and the same with fire and ice. There's also the fifth Holy element (Which is good against most things, but especially undead), but it's very rare and hardly ever used.

* In both ''VideoGame/GoldenSun'' games, each of your party members maps to a specific element, and the characters of each element in the original and the sequel even ''look'' alike. [[spoiler: But when you get access to the first game's characters in the sequel, you can put together parties of whatever you like]]. Continued in ''VideoGame/GoldenSunDarkDawn'', where you eventually end up with two party members for each element as in ''The Lost Age''.
* ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsCoded'' has Fire, Ice, Wind, and Thunder variants for a lot of commands, and each of the four elements goes beyond the usual third-tier of spells into advanced commands that parallel each other.
* In ''VideoGame/LaStatuetteMauditeDeLOncleErnest'', eight of the insecto-robot's forms are based on fire, water, air and earth, with each elements having two forms.
* In ''VideoGame/LeagueOfLegends'', the main map has a set of dragons that periodically appear and [[OptionalBoss can be fought as set of neutral objectives]]. Introduced in 2016, dragons were directly based on this scheme, each one providing different buffs (including [[EleventhHourSuperpower an extreme "Dragon Soul" gained from slaying four dragons]]), and different [[GeoEffects terrain-altering effects]]: the Infernal Drake increases damage and scorches apart terrain, the Mountain Drake increases defense and ''creates'' terrain, the Cloud Drake increases speed and creates large fields to speed up navigation, and the Ocean Drake increases regenerative stats and forms additional brush and [[HealingPotion honeyfruits]]. 2022 saw the addition of two new {{Magitek}}-themed dragons that broke from the formula: the Hextech Drake (which attacks with [[ShockAndAwe lightning]]) and the Chemtech Drake (which attacks with [[PoisonousPerson poisonous gas]]).
* ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'':
** Since the series often relies on RuleOfThree, the elemental setpieces in each game merge wind with either fire or earth (depending on the game) while representing the remaining two autonomously. ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime'', for example, has the Spiritual Stones (the Kokiri Emerald, spiriual stone of the Forest (Air/Earth); the Goron Ruby, spiritual stone of Fire, and the Zora Sapphire, spiritual stone of Water). ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheWindWaker'' has the Goddess Pearls (Valoo and Din's Pearl representing jointly fire and sky, Great Deku Tree and Farore's Pearl representing Earth, and Jabun and Nayru's Pearl representing water). Both ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaFourSwords'' and ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheMinishCap'' do represent the four elements equitably with the four Element jewels and (especially in the latter) the dungeons where they're found, however.
** The four villains trying to revive Ganon in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOracleGames'' consist of Koume (who uses fire magic), Kotake (who uses ice magic), Onox (who can summon tornadoes and can turn himself into one), and Veran (who forces the people of Labrynna to build the Black Tower and smothers the surrounding area in dust as a result).
** In ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess'', the four pieces of the Mirror of Twilight can be found in the Arbiter's Grounds (which contains many lamps and torches), Snowpeak Ruins (which is filled with ice and snow), the Temple of Time (which is a stone building located inside a Forest), and the City in the Sky (which is suspended in the sky and contains air geysers).
** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkBetweenWorlds'' has this with the four {{Magic Wand}}s Link can purchase from Ravio over the course of his adventure: Ice Rod (frozen water), Fire Rod, Tornado Rod, and Sand Rod.
** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild'' has the four Divine Beasts, each representing a classical element, and each is plagued with a Blight Ganon that makes use of that element. Vah Rudania is the fire one, Vah Ruta is the water one, and Vah Medoh is the air/wind one. Vah Naboris is primarily themed around lightning (and its boss is Thunderblight Ganon with electrical attacks), but it is also associated with earth.
* In ''VideoGame/LuxarenAllure'', there are the Fire, Ice, Bolt, and Nature elements.

* In ''VideoGame/MonsterSanctuary'', every attack falls under one of the classical elements, or is NonElemental. Fire is self-explanatory, but water encompasses [[AnIcePerson ice]], earth encompasses [[GreenThumb plants]] and [[PoisonousPerson poison]], and air encompasses [[ShockAndAwe electricity]].
* ''VideoGame/MortalKombatMythologiesSubZero'' has four temples and four gods based on the typical four elements. While three of the gods would never be seen again after the game, the one representing air, Fujin, would reappear in later games as a playable fighter.

* ''VideoGame/OriAndTheBlindForest'' has the Elements of Waters, Winds, and Warmth, plus the [[WorldTree Spirit Tree]] serving as the Earth element.

* ''VideoGame/RaymanOrigins'' has the Four Kings: [[ManEatingPlant Carnivora]], [[FeatheredFiend Mocking Bird]], [[OurDragonsAreDifferent El Stomacho]], and [[SeaMonster Creveton]].
* ''VideoGame/RingFitAdventure'': Played with. The player's moves are classified into different exercise types -- arms, legs and thighs, core (torso), and yoga. Enemies are more vulnerable to certain types, so using the correct exercise for each encounter is important.

** ''[[VideoGame/RomancingSaga3 Romancing [=SaGa=] 3]]'' has the main antagonists, The Four Sinistrals. They're a quartet of elemental demons that rule over [[EldritchLocation The Abyss]]: Alloces the Sinistral of Earth, Forneus the Sinistral of Water, Aunas the Sinistral of Fire, and Buné the Sinistral of Wind.
* ''VideoGame/ShounenKinindenTsumuji'' has the five dark ninjas represented by an element in their boss fights. (Fire, Water, Earth, Wind, and Metal).

* ''VideoGame/VengefulGuardianMoonrider'': Four of the Guardians are themed around this with elemental powers to match -- [[MakingASplash Hydromancer]], [[DishingOutDirt Geocrusher]], [[PlayingWithFire Flamestalker]] and [[BlowYouAway Stormdiver]]. The other four are [[LightEmUp Photondrifter]], [[CastingAShadow Darkchaser]], [[PlayerCharacter Moonrider]] and [[spoiler:Sunseeker]].

* ''VideoGame/WrathUnleashed'': The four factions and their leaders Aenna water demigoddess, Epothos fire demigod, Durlock earth demigod, and Helamis air demigoddess.
* ''VideoGame/ZorkNemesis'': Each of the four alchemists are initiates of the Classical Elements: Bishop François Malveaux (Fire), Madame Sophia Hamilton (Water), General Thaddius Kaine (Earth) and Doctor Erasmus Sartorius (Air).

* ''Webcomic/BlondeSunrise'': The four witches, who control earth, wind, water, and fire. The Earth and Wind Witches are met over the course of the story ([[spoiler:With the former getting killed by the latter]]), the Water Witch was killed several years beforehand, and the Fire Witch remains at large.

* ''Webcomic/SleeplessDomain'': The {{magical girl}}s of Team Alchemical each have ElementalPowers over one of the classical elements of Air, Earth, Fire, and Water. Their [[ElementNumberFive fifth member]] and [[TheLeader team leader]] Alchemical Aether has control over PureEnergy.

* In the hybrid webcomic/browser game ''Webcomic/DemonThesis'', the four main characters find themselves gifted with these powers after a mysterious entity from another dimension starts interfering in our world. There is one exception though: Sam's powers are actually over [[AnIcePerson ice]] rather than water.
* From the FictionalVideoGame in which ''Franchise/{{Noob}}'' is set:
** The Phoenixes that serve the setting's [[PhysicalGod Source]] of life are a group of four women affiliated respectively with fire, water, air, and earth. Pironess, the fire one, is a recurring QuestGiver in the later part of the webseries, while the three others have made various appearances in the novels and movies taken together.
** The possible specializations of the elementalist class, which according to the novels and webseries, include swearing fealty to one of the Phoenixes. Water makes you a CombatMedic, fire a PlayingWithFire SquishyWizard, earth a StoneWall, and air a FragileSpeedster.
* The WebVideo/SandersSides form one, with [[SmallNameBigEgo Roman]] as [[PlayingWithFire Fire]], [[EmoTeen Virgil]] as [[MakingASplash Water]], [[TheHeart Patton]] as [[BlowYouAway Air]] and [[TheSpock Logan]] as [[DishingOutDirt Earth]] -- which all has a lot of [[http://hearts-rogue.tumblr.com/post/168354404731/an-elemental-observation-of-the-sanders-sides implications]] [[http://hearts-rogue.tumblr.com/post/173003561436/tsfanart-rawtaytilacigol-theoryheadcanon on astrological level]]. Additionally, Thomas can be regarded as ElementNumberFive.

* ''WesternAnimation/ActionLeagueNow'': The Flesh represents Earth (has strength far surpassing an ordinary Chuck-o-mation character), Thunder Girl represents Air (her super ability is flight), Stinky Diver represents Water (he's a scuba diver, no doubt), and Meltman represents Fire (what else but fire, or Heat, to have giving him his melted form?).
* ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTime'' has an [[BizarroElements alternate]] selection of elements from tradition, and this is represented in their [[{{Reincarnation}} present-day]] Elementals: Flame Princess is the Fire elemental, Patience is the Ice Elemental, Princess Bubblegum is the Candy elemental and Slime Princess is the Slime elemental. It is later revealed there is the fifth element, Lumps.
* ''WesternAnimation/AdventuresOfTheGalaxyRangers'': Zach: Earth (very connected to his family, very literally grounded, augmented strength, LawfulGood leader), Shane: Water (shapeshifter, friends with dolphins, names his horse after a sea god), Niko: Fire (FieryRedhead, psionic blasts), Doc: Air (Air is the element of ideas, communication, and bullshit -- and he's well-stocked on all three)

** The heroes are made up of a FiveManBand (in the second half of the third season), though one of them, Sokka, is NonElemental. Sokka jokes about it in the finale:

** The four nations themselves are based around the elements they control, the Water Tribes, the Earth Kingdom, the Fire Nation, and the Air Nomads.

* In ''WesternAnimation/Ben10UltimateAlien'', four of the new alien forms Ben obtains have these powers: Water Hazard (water), Terraspin (wind), [=NRG=] (fire), and Armadrillo (earth). [[ElementNumberFive The fifth one]], Ampfibian has lighting, though this one is a case of LightningCanDoAnything.

* In ''WesternAnimation/CodeLyoko'', the sectors reflect the elements. The desert sector is fire, the ice sector is water, the mountain sector is air and the forest sector is earth. In fact, sector 5 could be considered the aether.
* In ''WesternAnimation/JackieChanAdventures'', Shendu and three of his siblings have these elemental powers while the other four derive their power from [[ShockAndAwe thunder]], [[AttackOfTheFiftyFootWhatever mountain]], [[GiantFlyer sky]], and [[GravityMaster moon]].

* The original four-ninja team of ''WesternAnimation/{{Ninjago}}'' control the main Elements of Creation that correspond to the Golden Weapons used to create their world: Kai (fire), Jay (lightning), Zane (ice), and Cole (earth). Water and Wind serve as secondary elements instead, among many others.
* The Cluster's Alliance in ''WesternAnimation/ShadowRaiders'' is made of four planets; Fire, Ice, Bone, and (reluctantly) Rock. Planet Water was destroyed at the beginning of the series.
* The four kings that make up the elements in ''WesternAnimation/{{Tigtone}}'' are Metal, Blood, Lightning and Pain.
* The Xiaolin Monks of ''WesternAnimation/XiaolinShowdown'' each control one of the four elements, Omi (water), Raimundo (wind), Kimiko (fire), Clay (earth).

[[folder:Real Life]]
* Electromagnetism, gravity, and strong and weak nuclear forces are the four fundamental forces in particle physics.
* States of matter. Earth, water, air, fire? Solid, liquid, gas, plasma. (Fire is sometimes plasma, sometimes not. It's complicated. But many people consider it to be plasma because strong fires can be affected by magnetic fields.)
* Sources of renewable energy: Geothermal (Earth), Hydroelectric (Water), Wind (Air), and Solar (Fire). Probably the closest thing to ElementalPowers in Real Life.
* On the other side of the same coin, natural disasters. Eruptions, earthquakes, avalanches, and mudslides (Earth), floods and tsunamis (Water), tornadoes, hurricanes, and windstorms (Air), and droughts (sun -> Fire) as well as... ''Fires''.
* Four things plants need to feed and grow: nutrients from the earth, CO[[subscript:2]] from the air, the sun (representing fire), and water.
[[/folder]]

* ''ComicBook/{{WITCH}}'' has the four elements for Irma (water), Taranee (fire), Cornelia (earth), and Hay Lin (wind), plus Energy for Will.

** ''ComicBook/FantasticFour'': The Four's powers, while not all are ElementalPowers, they are still evocative of the elements.
*** Reed: Water. Like liquid, he is able to change his shape and fit through obstacles that solid objects can't.
*** Ben: Earth. In addition to being [[SuperStrength super-strong]] and [[SuperToughness resilient]] like rock, his appearance is similar to that of a golem.
*** Johnny: Fire. He has the power to self-ignite, so it's fairly obvious.
*** Sue: Air. She has the power to become invisible and can make the air exert force, like the wind.

* ''Literature/ACertainMagicalIndex'': God's Right Seat follows this trope with Vento of the Front, Terra of the Left, Acqua of the Back, and Fiamma of the Right.

%%Administrivia/ZeroContextExample* In ''Manga/NegimaMagisterNegiMagi'', disciples of [[RedBaron Mage of]] [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast the Beginning]] comes in this flavour ([[AndZoidberg plus]] [[CastingAShadow Dynamis]]).
* ''Franchise/SailorMoon'':
** The series gives the original lineup of Sailor Senshi power over a different element. Sailor Mars is Fire, Mercury takes Water, Jupiter swaps Earth for Lightning [[note]]In the [[Manga/SailorMoon manga]] she had Earth as well and this carries over to ''Series/PrettyGuardianSailorMoon''[[/note]] and Moon of course takes Air. When Sailor Venus joins them she of course [[LightEmUp has Light]].
** The Witches 5 from the first [[Anime/SailorMoon anime]]'s ''S'' season have this too. Eudial is Fire, Tellu is Earth, Viluy is Water/Ice and Cyprine is Air. Mimete appears to be the odd one out as her attacks involve shooting stars from her guns.
* The four generals in ''Anime/TengenToppaGurrenLagann'' are not only generals of their respective element, but half of their ThemeNaming comes from a traditional ElementalEmbodiment. There's Thymilph for fire, Adiane for water, Guame for earth, and Cytomander for air. Oddly, the embodiments Thymilph and Cytomander are named after are swapped in regards to their elements.
* ''Music/{{Tsukipro}}'' is these as idols -- [=SolidS=] is Fire, Quell is Water, SOARA is Air, Growth is Earth. The units' music reflects their elements -- [=SolidS=] is heated, sexy, and always changing; Quell is calm and soothing yet also dark and deep; SOARA is light and youthful; Growth is the one that subverts expectations -- their interpretation of "earth" is that they're world-traveling (or [[TheMultiverse multiverse]]-traveling) princely flowers, and their music is fantasy-tinged BaroquePop.

* In ''Literature/AccelWorld'', the Elements, the four elite members of Nega Nebulus, are this, since each one has one of the four elements. Sky Raker, who was the duel avatar closest to achieving {{flight}} before [[TheHero Silver Crow]], represents air. Ardor Maiden, a powerful long-range type, represents fire. Aqua Current, as the name implies, has water-related abilities and represents water. Graphite Edge represents earth. Kuroyukihime had planned for the four of them to take on TheFourGods guarding the Imperial Palace in the Unlimited Neural Field, with each member challenging the Enemy with the same element, so that they would have some protection from that foe's ability (e.g. Maiden had to fight Suzaku).

* In the ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'' universe, there are five dominant chakra elements: Fire, Wind, Water, Earth, and Lightning. Each has an established Shinobi Village to represent them, though a mixture of the elements can exist within techniques. Unfortunately, all of the villages have had some degree of bad history, from the Hidden Mist's violent in-fighting, to the Hidden Stone's treacherous scheming.
** With the Hidden Cloud Village having Lightning as its dominant element. They are by default the odd-ones-out, being unique mostly for having the most Black (or at least African-American influenced) characters in the show. Hell, even their leader is typically a ScaryBlackMan.

* ''Fanfic/SkyBladeAcademy'': Of the four main characters' actual [[ElementalPowers Metria]], we have Nagito as Terra/Earth, Shiki as Ventus/Wind, Kaiba as Pyro/Fire, and Atsuya as Aqua/Water.
* ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/16378289/chapters/38331902 Moving House]]'' describes the [[Franchise/{{Transformers}} Cybertronian]] equivalent of the four elements -- Metal (Earth), Smoke (Air), Lightning (Fire) and Oil (Water). Every Cybertronian or creature is aspected towards one of the four elements, with Jazz being Lightning aspected.

* ''WesternAnimation/FrozenII'' has this as its plotline. The elements are [[ElementalEmbodiment four nature spirits]]: a gust of wind named Gale (wind), [[spoiler:a [[FierySalamander literal fire salamander]] named Bruni]] (fire), the horse-like Nokk (water), and the colossal Earth Giants (earth). A fifth spirit is said to exist, but it's not an element, but a bridge between magic and humanity. [[spoiler:As it turns out, it's Elsa and Anna]].

* ''Film/TheCraft'': Nancy represents Fire -- she is the most passionate and dangerous of the girls, Sarah represents Earth -- the most grounded and mature of them, Bonnie represents Air -- she is the most in tune with her surroundings, and Rochelle Represents Water -- she is a swimmer.

* ''Film/MidnightSpecial'' has each time Alton uses his powers corresponding with one of the elements. He first wrecks a house in an earthquake (earth), then brings a satellite down from the sky (air), [[spoiler: controls his powers by]] watching the sun rise (fire) and [[spoiler: crosses dimensions]] while standing in an everglade (water).
* ''Film/HellboyIITheGoldenArmy'' has four characters trying to save the world; Abe Sapien (an aquatic [[FishPeople Fish Man]]), Liz (a woman with pyrokinetic powers), Dr. Krauss (a ghost made of smoke-like ectoplasm) and Hellboy himself who has a hand made of stone. Therefore we have water, fire, air, and earth.
* In ''Film/TheLionTheWitchAndTheWardrobe'', Aslan's speech during the coronation refers to the four elements:
** Water: "To the glistening eastern sea, I give you Queen Lucy the Valiant."
** Earth: "To the great western wood, King Edmund the Just."
** Fire: "To the radiant southern sun, Queen Susan the Gentle."
** Air: "And to the clear northern sky, I give you King Peter the Magnificent."
* ''Film/GodzillaKingOfTheMonsters2019'' plays its four headliner {{Kaiju}} this way.
** Water: Godzilla himself, whose [[GiantSwimmer aquatic nature]] is heavily emphasized. He is also associated with the colour blue.
** Air: King Ghidorah. A GiantFlyer whose [[MultipleHeadCase three heads]] spit chains of [[BrightIsNotGood garishly golden]] lightning. Ghidorah is also associated with cold (often linked to the classical Air element), as he's spent the last few millennia [[SealedEvilInACan sealed in South Pole ice]], making the lifeless MysteriousAntarctica a kind of EmpathicEnvironment for him -- and [[HostileTerraforming what he'll turn the rest of the world into]] if he wins.
** Earth: Mothra. Although another GiantFlyer like Ghidorah, Mothra is connected to nature, healing, and life itself. Notably, we first meet her in an ancient Chinese temple overgrown with foliage, and she tends to glow with a warm green light.
** Fire: Rodan. The most overt example, Rodan is first introduced emerging from an erupting volcano, looks almost like he's made of molten rock and lava, and seems to be the most consistently, instinctively aggressive and HotBlooded (literally) of all the movie's monsters. We're also told that he appears in ancient folklore as "The Fire Demon", linking him to AppeaseTheVolcanoGod traditions, and he's associated with the colours red and orange.

* ''Franchise/CthulhuMythos'': According to Creator/AugustDerleth some of the deities are associate with one of the four classic elements. The most prominent are Cthulhu with Water, Ithaqua with Air, Cthugha with Fire, and Shub-Niggurath with Earth. Cthugha was created specifically to round out the cast since there wasn't already a character associated with fire.

* ''Literature/EastOfTheSunAndWestOfTheMoon'': Mercer Mayer's retelling has the role of the four winds filled by [[FierySalamander the Salamander]] (fire), [[PlantPerson Father Forest]] (earth), [[SeaMonster the Great Fish of the Sea]] (water) and finally [[TheOldNorthWind the North Wind]] (air).
* ''Literature/RetiredWitchesMysteries'': Covens are traditionally made up of witches who represent any combination of the four classical elements, usually three out of four (though having all four together makes spells more powerful), drawing strength from the presence of their respective elements. Molly is water, Olivia and Brian are air and Elsie is fire, while Dorothy is earth when they discover her.
* ''Literature/SerwaBoateng'': Asase Yaa gives Serwa's friends the powers of the four elements. Mateo is air, Gavin is water, Roxy is earth, and Eunju is fire.

%%* ''VideoGame/StarFox'': The main characters seem to fit this trope well despite being {{Averted}}. Fox [=McCloud=] (Fire), Falco Lombardi (Air), Slippy Toad (water) & Peppy Hare (Earth).%%Paradoxical description. If it's averted, it's not an example; if it fits, it isn't averted.

%%* ''VideoGame/SuperPrincessPeach'': The four Vibes. Calm = Earth, Gloom = Water, Joy = Wind, Rage = Fire.%%ZCE

* ''VideoGame/SuperMetroid'': The four Space Pirate leader bosses are associated with the four elements. They are the following; Draygon (water), Kraid (earth), Phantoon (air), and Ridley (fire). Draygon is fought [[UnderwaterBossFight underwater]], Kraid is the only of them who is fighting from the ground and he spits rocks at you, and while both Phantoon and Ridley are airborne and attack with fireballs, Phantoon can turn invisible, and Ridley has his lair inside the fiery [[LethalLavaLand Norfair]].

* ''VideoGame/{{Bayonetta}}'': There are the Auditio, also known as the Cardinal Virtues, which are angelic physical representations of Divine Will, but also are each associated with one of the four Western elements. They act as major antagonists in the game, working in ensemble with the BigBad, and include; Fortitudo, Cardinal Virtue of Fortitude and the [[PlayingWithFire Bringer of Flame]], Temperantia, Cardinal Virtue of Temperance and [[BlowYouAway Manipulator of Wind]], Sapientia, Cardinal Virtue of Prudence and [[MakingASplash Controller of Seas]], and Iustitia, Cardinal Virtue of Justice and [[LifeEnergy Giver of Life]] ([[AllThereInTheManual who represents Earth]]).
* In ''VideoGame/LuxarenAllure'', there are the Fire, Ice, Bolt, and Nature elements.
* ''VideoGame/OriAndTheBlindForest'' has the Elements of Waters, Winds, and Warmth, plus the [[WorldTree Spirit Tree]] serving as the Earth element.
* ''VideoGame/CrossCode'' uses a FireIceLightning trio augmented with Wave, which seems to represent both water and sound. Each one primarily gets juxtaposed against its opposite: Heat with Cold, and Shock with Wave. Strangely enough, the god representing Cold also holds dominion over rock, apparently making it the earth representative in the elemental quartet.
* ''VideoGame/RaymanOrigins'' has the Four Kings: [[ManEatingPlant Carnivora]], [[FeatheredFiend Mocking Bird]], [[OurDragonsAreDifferent El Stomacho]], and [[SeaMonster Creveton]].
* ''VideoGame/RingFitAdventure'': Played with. The player's moves are classified into different exercise types -- arms, legs and thighs, core (torso), and yoga. Enemies are more vulnerable to certain types, so using the correct exercise for each encounter is important.
* ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'': The four Elemental Lords -- Ragnaros (fire), Al'Akir (air), Neptulon (water), and Therazane (earth). All four of them served the Old Gods in the past, but in ''Cataclysm'', Ragnaros and Al'Akir are the enemy, while Therazane and Neptulon become hesitant allies of the protagonists. There's also the [[WolfpackBoss Ascendant Council]] in the Bastion of Twilight, with Ignacious (fire), Feludius (water), Terrastra (earth), and Arion(air), all of whom are Twilight Hammer members who have turned into elementals.
* ''VideoGame/MortalKombatMythologiesSubZero'' has four temples and four gods based on the typical four elements. While three of the gods would never be seen again after the game, the one representing air, Fujin, would reappear in later games as a playable fighter.
* ''VideoGame/EscapeLala'': In the second game, Lala has gods for each of the four elements: water, earth, fire, and air. They are represented by stone faces placed around the map. There is a glass bottle that you must fill with each element and put in the corresponding stone face to open a door.
* ''VideoGame/PuyoPuyon'': There are four characters who join your party and use the powers of one of the four elements. They are the DraconicHumanoid Draco Centauros (fire), the mermaid Serilly (water), the witch named... Witch (wind), and a tribal-looking girl named Chico (earth).
* In ''VideoGame/LaStatuetteMauditeDeLOncleErnest'', eight of the insecto-robot's forms are based on fire, water, air and earth, with each elements having two forms.
* ''VideoGame/StellaGlow'': Four of the Witches inherit respectively the attributes of the four classic elements: Lisette (water, and later ice too), Popo (wind, and later lightning too), Sakuya (fire), and Mordimort (earth). The fifth Witch is Hilda, who has control over time and space instead [[spoiler:and later joins the good guys' side when she's revealed to have been GoodAllAlong]].
* ''VideoGame/VengefulGuardianMoonrider'': Four of the Guardians are themed around this with elemental powers to match -- [[MakingASplash Hydromancer]], [[DishingOutDirt Geocrusher]], [[PlayingWithFire Flamestalker]] and [[BlowYouAway Stormdiver]]. The other four are [[LightEmUp Photondrifter]], [[CastingAShadow Darkchaser]], [[PlayerCharacter Moonrider]] and [[spoiler:Sunseeker]].
* ''VideoGame/{{Zork Nemesis}}'': Each of the four alchemists are initiates of the Classical Elements: Bishop François Malveaux (Fire), Madame Sophia Hamilton (Water), General Thaddius Kaine (Earth) and Doctor Erasmus Sartorius (Air).

* ''Webcomic/EightBitTheater'': Played with when the Dark Warriors find the [[PlotCoupon elemental orbs of light]] and divide them amongst themselves. Two were clear cut (the Earth Orb for the elf and Water Orb for the pirate), but the other two were just given to whoever.

* ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTime'' has an [[BizarroElements alternate]] selection of elements from tradition, and this is represented in their [[{{Reincarnation}} present-day]] Elementals: Flame Princess is the Fire elemental, Patience is the Ice Elemental, Princess Bubblegum is the Candy elemental and Slime Princess is the Slime elemental. It is later revealed there is the fifth element, Lumps.

* The Xiaolin Monks of ''WesternAnimation/XiaolinShowdown'' each control one of the four elements, Omi (water), Raimundo (wind), Kimiko (fire), Clay (earth).
* ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice'': [[MadScientist T.O. Morrow]] created his "Reds" to have powers over the four elements: Red Torpedo (water), Red Inferno (fire), Red Tornado (air) and Red Volcano (earth).
* The Cluster's Alliance in ''WesternAnimation/ShadowRaiders'' is made of four planets; Fire, Ice, Bone, and (reluctantly) Rock. Planet Water was destroyed at the beginning of the series.

* In ''WesternAnimation/Ben10UltimateAlien'', four of the new alien forms Ben obtains have these powers: Water Hazard (water), Terraspin (wind), [=NRG=] (fire), and Armadrillo (earth). [[ElementNumberFive The fifth one]], Ampfibian has lighting, though this one is a case of LightningCanDoAnything.
* The original four-ninja team of ''WesternAnimation/{{Ninjago}}'' control the main Elements of Creation that correspond to the Golden Weapons used to create their world: Kai (fire), Jay (lightning), Zane (ice), and Cole (earth). Water and Wind serve as secondary elements instead, among many others.

A subtrope of ElementalPowers and NaturalElements. See also SuperheroSpeciation.

A SubTrope of ElementalPowers, but more specific or "classic" form.

Despite the idea of the "four elements" being obsolete, writers love to play with the idea in fiction. Sometimes, a writer will merely use the idea of the "four elements" for an ElementalRockPaperScissors system. Other times, however, writers will base not a character, but an entire ensemble on the classical elements.

The classical [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_Elements Western set]] is commonly used in the band. The set is made up of [[DishingOutDirt earth]], [[BlowYouAway air]], [[PlayingWithFire fire]], and [[MakingASplash water]]. This also tends to correspond with the FourTemperamentEnsemble, though [[PowerStereotypeFlip there are other interpretations.]] Sometimes the water will be [[WaterIsWomanly the only woman]].

If you pick four characters randomly, there is an approximately 9% chance of this happening. %% 4! / 4^4

Usually, there will be four elements represented, but shows/games that absolutely need a FiveManBand will possibly add another: western creations prefer something like [[HeartIsAnAwesomePower Heart]] and eastern creations will use [[LightEmUp light]] or [[ShockAndAwe lightning]], which will probably end up in the hands of TheHero. See ElementNumberFive.

** Dreadbloon has lead armor properties that make it immune to many unbuffed attacks, and can also grow rock armor on itself for extra health

* ''LightNovel/ACertainMagicalIndex'': God's Right Seat follows this trope with Vento of the Front, Terra of the Left, Acqua of the Back, and Fiamma of the Right.

** In ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'' the party tends to shift over time, but the core group is Korra (water), Mako (fire), Bolin (Earth), Tenzin and his family (air), and Asami (technology/BadassNormal). The Red Lotus in Book 3 is a villianous counterpart.

* ''VideoGame/DragonQuestVII'' has the heroes awaken and round up the four Elemental Spirits. They're also {{Bonus Boss}}es.

* In ''VideoGame/LeagueOfLegends'', the main map has a set of dragons that periodically appear and [[BonusBoss can be fought as set of neutral objectives]]. Introduced in 2016, dragons were directly based on this scheme, each one providing different buffs (including [[EleventhHourSuperpower an extreme "Dragon Soul" gained from slaying four dragons]]), and different [[GeoEffects terrain-altering effects]]: the Infernal Drake increases damage and scorches apart terrain, the Mountain Drake increases defense and ''creates'' terrain, the Cloud Drake increases speed and creates large fields to speed up navigation, and the Ocean Drake increases regenerative stats and forms additional brush and [[HealingPotion honeyfruits]]. 2022 saw the addition of two new {{Magitek}}-themed dragons that broke from the formula: the Hextech Drake (which attacks with [[ShockAndAwe lightning]]) and the Chemtech Drake (which attacks with [[PoisonousPerson poisonous gas]]).

* ''VideoGame/QuestForGlory'': Used throughout the series, especially in the second game, where Shapeir is threatened by four Elementals representing the four elements. Four of the five games in the series (discounting ''III'', which was made at the last minute and thus is the OddNameOut) also represent the four elements, with ''I'' representing earth, ''II'' fire, ''IV'' air, and ''V'' water. There is a fifth "pizza" element, used mostly as a joke, though the AGD FanRemake of II includes a Pizza Elemental as a BonusBoss.

* ''Film/GhostRider'' uses this to justify villain Blackheart's QuirkyMinibossSquad's theming of Air, Water, and Earth -- with the Rider himself handling Fire.

* ''VideoGame/BreathOfFireIV'': [[TheChick Nina]] uses wind, [[TheLancer Cray]] uses earth, [[TheSmartGuy Scias]] uses water, and [[TheBigGuy Ursula]] uses fire. There are, however, two more characters in the party, with [[RobotBuddy Ershin]] getting the most powerful spells of all elements but have little {{mana}} to use them regularly, and [[TheHero Ryu's]] dragon forms focusing on fire but also having access to wind and earth.

* In ''LightNovel/AccelWorld'', the Elements, the four elite members of Nega Nebulus, are this, since each one has one of the four elements. Sky Raker, who was the duel avatar closest to achieving {{flight}} before [[TheHero Silver Crow]], represents air. Ardor Maiden, a powerful long-range type, represents fire. Aqua Current, as the name implies, has water-related abilities and represents water. Graphite Edge represents earth. Kuroyukihime had planned for the four of them to take on TheFourGods guarding the Imperial Palace in the Unlimited Neural Field, with each member challenging the Enemy with the same element, so that they would have some protection from that foe's ability (e.g. Maiden had to fight Suzaku).

* ''Anime/GoPrincessPrettyCure'' starts out with the trio of Cure Flora, Cure Mermaid and Cure Twinkle representing, respectively, [[LandSeaSky land, sea and sky]], and halfway through the story adds Cure Scarlet, representing fire.

* While the end result varies, Ash from ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'' usually ends up with a Pokemon team that follows this route. Oftentimes the starters he ends up obtaining represent the Water, Fire and Earth elements (In Pokemon, [[GreenThumb Grass]] often fulfill the traditional role of Earth). He also obtains a flying type to fulfill the Air role. Occasionally, Ash may also obtain an actual Ground or Rock types and sometimes he may get a Pokemon that fulfills two roles, such as Palpitoad (Water and Earth), Talonflame (Air and Fire) and Rowlet (Air and Earth).

* In ''Manga/SoulHunter'', the Four Saints of Kuryuujima have elemental Paopei invoking the four classical elements: Kongenjuu (Coalescence Bead) summon and manipulates seawater, Hekichijuu (Earth-splitting Bead) can move and shape massive amounts of dirt, Bankojuu (Yellow Strikes Bead) allows the user to fly freely in the air, dodge any incoming attack and shoot light beams, while the Kaitenjuu (Heaven-opening Bead) can cause fiery explosions.
* In the ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'' universe, there are five dominant chakra elements: Fire, Wind, Water, Earth and Lightning. Each have an established Shinobi Village to represent them, though a mixture of the elements can exist within techniques. Unfortunately, all of the villages have had some degree of bad history, from the Hidden Mist's violent in-fighting, to the Hidden Stone's treacherous scheming.
** With the Hidden Cloud Village having Lightning as it's dominant element. They are by default the odd-ones-out, being unique mostly for having the most Black (or at least African-American influenced) characters in the show. Hell even their leader is typically a [[ScaryBlackMan Scary Black Man]].

** ''ComicBook/BatmanAndTheOutsiders'': The villain team the Masters of Disaster features characters with water, earth, air, heat and cold powers.
** ''ComicBook/WonderWomanAndTheStarRiders'': The four star riders who aren't Franchise/WonderWoman have elemental powers relating to the four traditional elements. Ice (water), Solara (fire), Star Lily (earth) and Dolphine (air).
** ''Batman/Superman: World's Finest'' features a group of medieval Chinese heroes who posess the powers of earth, air, fire and water.

** ''ComicBook/FantasticFour'': The Four's powers, while not all are ElementalPowers, they are sill evocative of the elements.

*** John Byrne's very first ''Fantastic Four'' story as writer and artist has Diablo create elemental beings with earth, air, fire and water powers, and sent each of them to attack Sue, Johnny, Reed and Ben respectively. Once the team traded partners to fight the opponents who more closely matched their powers, the elementals were easily outmatched.

* ''ComicBook/{{WITCH}}'' has the four elements for Irma (water), Taranee (fire), Cornelia (earth) and Hay Lin (wind), plus Energy for Will.

* ''Film/HellboyIITheGoldenArmy'' has four characters trying to save the world; Abe Sapien (an aquatic [[FishPeople Fish Man]]), Liz (a woman with pyrokinetic powers), Dr. Krauss (a ghost made of smoke-like ectoplasm) and Hellboy himself who has a hand made of stone. Therefore we have water, fire, air and earth.

** Fire: Rodan. The most overt example, Rodan is first introduced emerging from an erupting volcano, and looks almost like he's made of molten rock and lava, and seems to be the most consistently, instinctively aggressive and HotBlooded (literally) of all the movie's monsters. We're also told that he appears in ancient folklore as "The Fire Demon", linking him to AppeaseTheVolcanoGod traditions, and he's associated with the colours red and orange.

* In Shannon Hale's ''Literature/BooksOfBayern'', the four female leads could qualify. Isi is a wind ie. air speaker, Enna is a fire speaker, Dasha is a water speaker and Rin is a tree speaker, which could be reinturperated as earth

** Creator/JKRowling has stated that the four Hogwarts houses are based off the four elements. Gryffindor is fire, Hufflepuff is earth, Ravenclaw is air, and Slytherin is water. This can be subtly seen in some of the Houses' more prominent members: Slytherin is headed by Snape, a Potions professor who spends most of his time brewing liquid concoctions; Hufflepuff is headed by Sprout, an Herbology professor who spends most of her time potting plants in her greenhouse; Ravenclaw is headed by Flitwick, a Charms professor who is first seen teaching the students how to magically levitate feathers; the most prominent (adult) Gryffindor in the series is Hagrid, who is infamous for his obsession with dragons, and is most often seen in a cabin with a roaring fireplace.

* ''Literature/TheSecretsOfTheImmortalNicholasFlamel'' has the Four Swords of Power. Clarent is the sword of Fire, Excalibur of Ice/Water, Durendal as Earth and Joyeuse as Air. The twins also intend to learn each of the four Elemental magics though only Sophie ends up learning them all and Josh only learns Fire, Water and Air.
* ''Franchise/CthulhuMythos'': According to Creator/AugustDerleth some of the deities are associate with one of the four classic elements. The most prominent are Cthulhu with Water, Ithaqua with Air, Cthugha with Fire and Shub-Niggurath with Earth. Cthugha was created specifically to round out the cast, since there wasn't already a character associated with fire.

** Another episode has the sisters using the four elements in a spell to reveal the Eternal Spring. They use dirt from the garden, a fan to create wind, matches to create fire and some water from the tap.

** Houses: Targaryen, Lannister and Martell (Fire), Greyjoy and Tully (Water), Arryn and Baelish (Air), Stark (Ice), Baratheon, Tyrell and Clegane (Earth)

* Wiccans and other magic practitioners summons for their rituals and spells the help and/or protection of the four guardians of the Elements; Djin for Fire, Neksa for Water, Paraldas for Air and Ghob for Earth (the names may vary depending on the tradition). Some summons the elemental themselves, generally Salamanders for Fire, Ondines for Water, Fairies or Elves for Air and Gnomes for Earth.

* Eliphas Levi linked each of the Tarot's symbols on the Minor Arcana to an specific element as; Batons for Fire, Cups for Water, Swords for Air and Pentacles for Earth.
* The Four Classic Elements are sacred for Zoroastrians as they are thought to be the purest manifestation of the Creator. Therefore they don’t bury their dead as such thing would contaminate earth, don’t cremate them as that would contaminate both fire and air and do not toss dead bodies on water as that would contaminate water. They left the bodies in especial towers for the vultures to feed on them. This could be seem as horrible for some cultures but for them is not only the only way not to pollute the elements but also a way to give life from dead.

* In Mozart's Magic Flute the hero and heroine undergo ordeals of Earth, Fire, and Water; Air seems to be missing, until you realize that the Flute itself is a wind instrument.

* ''TabletopGame/{{Champions}}'' adventure "The Coriolis Effect": Donnah Hannah and three anonymous {{NPC}}'s are transformed into elemental themed villains (Earth, Air, Fire and Water) by the Black Enchantress.
* ''TabletopGame/CriticalRoleTaldoreiCampaignSetting'': The Ashari are a collection of four tribes dedicated to guarding four portals to different dimensions, one for each classical element. In keeping with that theme, each tribe has developed elemental magic corresponding the portal they guard, as reflected in the stat-block each Ashari has in the end of the book.

** The Pyrah Ashari are known as Fire Tamers and can actually grow into ten-feet tall behemoths made of fire.

* ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' had the Elemental Princes of Evil: Cryonax (cold), Imix (fire), Ogremoch (earth), Olhydra (water) and Yan-C-Bin (air) and their Good counterparts. But neither set ever teams up.

* ''VideoGame/{{Blackout}}'': The PlayerCharacter's SplitPersonality manifests as four distinct personalities, each of them assoicated with an element. Depending on which actions the player makes him do, he will tend to identify with one over the three others.

** The fire personality is characterised by his [[TheCynic extremely cynical world-view]], and his voice is fully of [[TranquilFury ice-cold fury]]. He also has a latent {{sadist}}ic streak, and is obsessed with getting revenge on those he feels have wronged him, as well as casually inflicting cruelty upon others just for the hell of it.
** The earth personality is quiet, distant, shy, and modest and believes he is not very interesting. He does, however, have some clear hints of being ObsessivelyNormal, especially in how he tries to downplay the severity of the Player Character's DarkAndTroubledPast.

* The ''VideoGame/BloonsTowerDefense'' series has the four of the five Boss Bloons -- Bloonarius for Water, Vortex for Air, Dreadbloon for Earth and Blastapopulos for Fire. They also have powers associated with their element:

* In ''VideoGame/BraveFrontier'', four of the six elements (Fire, Water, Earth and Thunder), forms a variant of this ensemble, where they form an [[ElementalRockPaperScissors elemental wheel]].

* In ''VideoGame/BrutalLegend'', the elements of the world of HeavyMetal are Fire, Noise, Blood and Metal. Fittingly, this fits with the four classical elements; Fire is obvious, but Noise is Air, Blood is Water, and Metal is Earth, they've just been rebranded for Heavy Metal aesthetics.

* In ''VideoGame/EarthAndSky'', Austin and Emily have earth and air themed powers, and the final chapter of the series reveals that their parents have fire and water powers from the same source.

** ''Final Fantasy IV'' has the FireIceLightning trio of Ifrit, Shiva and Ramuh, with the Earth-elemental Titan as slightly stronger, but remakes and the sequel bump Titan down to their level of power and importance for a four-summon ensemble.

*** Cloud -- Wind. Wind-related name, uses a sword (associated with Air in tarot), wind-themed attacks, compelled to wander, introspective and strategic, acts detached and looks down on others.

* ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsCoded'' has Fire, Ice, Wind and Thunder variants for a lot of commands, and each of the four elements go beyond the usual third-tier of spells into advanced commands that each parallel each other.

** The four villains trying to revive Ganon in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOracleGames'' consist of Koume (who uses fire magic), Kotake (who uses ice magic), Onox (who can summon tornadoes and can turn himself into one) and Veran (who forces the people of Labrynna to build the Black Tower and smothers the surrounding area in dust as a result).

** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkBetweenWorlds'' has this with the four {{Magic Wand}}s Link can purchase from Ravio over the course of his adventure: Ice Rod (frozen water), Fire Rod, Tornado Rod and Sand Rod.

* In ''VideoGame/MonsterSanctuary'', every attack falls under one of the classical elements, or is NonElemental. Fire is self-explanitory, but water encompasses [[AnIcePerson ice]], earth encompasses [[GreenThumb plants]] and [[PoisonousPerson poison]], and air encompasses [[ShockAndAwe electricity]].

* ''VideoGame/QuestForGlory'': Used throughout the series, especially in the second game, where Shapeir is threatened by four Elementals representing the four elements. Four of the five games in the series (discounting ''III'', which was made at the last minute and thus is the OddNameOut) also represent the four elements, with ''I'' representing earth, ''II'' fire, ''IV'' air and ''V'' water. There is a fifth "pizza" element, used mostly as a joke, though the AGD FanRemake of II includes a Pizza Elemental as a BonusBoss.

* ''VideoGame/SuperRobotWars'': The Elemental Lords/Masou Kishin robots use the classic formation of Earth-Wind-Water-Fire. There's Cybuster (Wind), Granveil (Fire), Goddess (Water) and Zamzeed (Earth). These are the highest order of the elemental robots, there's tons more lesser robots corresponding to those elements too.

* ''VideoGame/TotalAnnihilationKingdoms'': The four factions and their monarch are base on the four elements they have control over. Elsin of Aramon-earth, Kirenna of Veruna-water, Lokken of Taros-fire, Thirsha of Zhon-air.

* ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'': The four Elemental Lords -- Ragnaros (fire), Al'Akir (air), Neptulon (water) and Therazane (earth). All four of them served the Old Gods in the past, but in ''Cataclysm'', Ragnaros and Al'Akir are the enemy, while Therazane and Neptulon become hesitant allies of the protagonists. There's also the [[WolfpackBoss Ascendant Council]] in the Bastion of Twilight, with Ignacious (fire), Feludius (water), Terrastra(earth) and Arion(air), all of whom are Twilight Hammer members who have turned into elementals.
* ''VideoGame/MortalKombatMythologiesSubZero'' has four temples and four gods based off the typical four elements. While three of the gods would never be seen again after the game, the one representing air, Fujin, would reappear in later games as a playable fighter.

* ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'': In the Remnant fairy tale "The Story of the Seasons", four sisters become the Four Maidens after a old wizard is so moved by their kindness and compassion that he gifts them with his magic so that they can better help others. Spring, who is intimately connected to the earth, can create and control plants; Summer gains the gift of fire, Fall gains the gift of wind, and Winter can freeze water into ice. [[spoiler: A subverted and invoked trope. When introduced, the real Maidens turn out to be able to use all ElementalPowers. The fairy tale was created by [[BigGood the real "Old Wizard"]] to hide their existence from the world; each season is a code-name for each Maiden, and each Maiden is responsible for protecting one of the [[ArtifactOfPower four divine Relics]].]]

** The Phoenixes that serve the setting's [[PhysicalGod Source]] of life are a group of four women affiliated respectively with fire, water, air and earth. Pironess, the fire one, is a recurring QuestGiver in the later part of the webseries, while the three others have made various appearances in the novels and movies taken together.
** The possible specializations of the elementalist class, which according the novels and webseries include swearing fealty to one of the Phoenixes. Water make you a CombatMedic, fire a PlayingWithFire SquishyWizard, earth a StoneWall and air a FragileSpeedster.

* ''WesternAnimation/ActionLeagueNow'': The Flesh represents Earth (has strength far surpassing an ordinary Chuck-o-mation character), Thunder Girl represents Air (her super ability is flight), Stinky Diver represents Water (he's a scubadiver, no doubt), and Meltman represents Fire (what else but fire, or Heat, to have giving him his melted form?).

* ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTime'' has an [[BizarroElements alternate]] selection of elements from tradition, and this is represented in their [[{{Reincarnation}} present-day]] Elementals: Flame Princess is the Fire elemental, Patience is the Ice Elemental, Princess Bubblegum is the Candy elemental and Slime Princess is the Slime elemental. It is later revelaed there is fifth element, Lumps.

** The heroes are made up of a FiveManBand (in the second half of the third season), though one of them, Sokka, is NonElemental. Sokka jokes about it in the finale.

* The Cluster's Alliance in ''WesternAnimation/ShadowRaiders'' is made of four planets; Fire, Ice, Bone and (reluctanly) Rock. Planet Water was destroyed at the beginning of the series.

* Among the many unicorns in ''WesternAnimation/MiaAndMe'' are the four Element Unicorns, the Water Unicorn, the Wind Unicorn, the Earth Unicorn and the Fire Unicorn.

* Four things plants need to feed and grow: nutrients from the earth, CO[[subscript:2]] from the air, the sun (representing fire) and water.

* ''VideoGame/{{Zork Nemesis}}'': Each of the four alchemists are initiates of the Classical Elements: Bishop François Malveaux (Fire), Madame Sophia Hamilton (Water), General Thaddius Kaine (Earth) and Doctor Erasmus Sartorius (Air)]]

* ''VideoGame/Zork Nemesis'': Each of the four elements are initiates of the Classical Elements: Bishop François Malveaux (Fire), Madame Sophia Hamilton (Water), General Thaddius Kaine (Earth) and Doctor Erasmus Sartorius (Air)]].