History Main / ElementalEmbodiment

** The four children of Grandienne in ''Series/KyukyuSentaiGoGoV'' are all based on and named after Paracelsus's elementals: initial [[TheHeavy Heavy]] Zylpheeza being derived from Sylphid, his successor Salamandes being based on a Salamander, the only daughter Denus being based on an Undine, and lastlymiddle son Cobolda bucking the trend and being based on a Kobold instead, but still representing the element of earth.

** Basco, one of the villains of ''Series/KaizokuSentaiGokaiger'' is able to create elemental based monsters by opening a hatch on the belly of his monkey assistant Sally.

** ''VideoGame/HeroesOfMightAndMagic'': The elementals first appear in ''Heroes of Might and Magic 2'' as natural creature with traditional Air/Earth/Fire/Water. In 3's ''Armageddon's Blade'' expansion pack, they are part of new ''Conflux'' town and new ''Psychic'' was added as new elemetal. They have upgrade form as Storm/Magma/Energy/Ice and Magic. While Psychic elemental was removed from later games, the tradition four remain.

** The elemental forces of the world sometimes choose humans as their champions, said mortals becoming living embodiments of their respective element. ComicBook/SwampThing is the best known of these, being the plant elemental; the idea that the hero ComicBook/{{Firestorm}} is the fire elemental has been used during the character's history. The ComicBook/RedTornado is also a wind elemental that is simply embodied in a robot.

* ''Manga/{{Berserk}}'' has the original four embodiments by Paracelcus. Isidro's [[FlamingSword Salamander Dagger]], for example, gets its power from spirits shaped like... well, [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin salamanders]]. Serpico's Wind Sword utilizes the power of sylphs to [[RazorWind cut enemies from distance.]] (Apparently [[FairyCompanion Puck]] [[http://www.mangareader.net/96-1144-125/berserk/chapter-24.html is also a sort of wind spirit.]]) Elemental spirits rule over the elementals that represent the elements, and then there are also the Four Elemental Kings that rule over the lesser spirits.

* In ''TabletopGame/{{Ironclaw}}'' Elemental wizards can communicate with any Elemental creatures they encounter. They can't summon them but can bind one to an amulet and release them in combat later.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Hercules}}'': The Titans are colossal entities made out of inanimate matter and just barely humanoid -- while the ice and rock titans are recognizable human-like, if respectively extremely skeletal and hulking and ape-like, another titan is a pile of magma with no legs and small, stumpy arms and head, and the fourth is simply an enormous living tornado with baleful red eyes.

** The first temple, where the green gem of wit is charged, is in a vast forest, representing Earth.
** The second temple, where the blue gem of heart is charged, is in Amphibia's frozen north, representing Water.
** The third temple, where the pink gem of strength is charged, is in a volcanic atmosphere, representing Fire.

* Season 15 of WesternAnimation/{{Ninjago}} ends with [[spoiler:Nya becoming the living embodiment of the ocean.]]

* In ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'', dragons are the original [[ElementalPowers fire]][[PlayingWithFire benders]], "sky-bison" (flying white striped buffalo) are the original [[BlowYouAway airbenders]], and "badger-moles" (huge blind digging badgers) are the oldest [[DishingOutDirt earthbenders]]. Water is unique in the fact that the original [[MakingASplash waterbender]] was the moon, but the embodiment of the ocean is a Koi fish named La (translated as Pull). The moon also has a Koi fish embodiment, Tui. [[spoiler:When Tui is killed, Yue must replace it in order to preserve the balance of nature.]]

* ''WesternAnimation/{{WITCH}}'': The characters become this in the last episode of season 2. Also counts as a DeadlyUpgrade as they lose their humanity in the process.

* In ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'', dragons are the original [[ElementalPowers fire]][[PlayingWithFire benders]], "sky-bison" (flying white striped buffalo) are the original [[BlowYouAway airbenders]], and "badger-moles" (huge blind digging badgers) are the oldest [[DishingOutDirt earthbenders]]. Water is unique in the fact that the original [[MakingASplash waterbender]] was the moon, but the embodiment of the ocean is a Koi fish named La (translated as Pull). The moon also has a Koi fish embodiment. [[spoiler:When Tui is killed, Yue must replace it in order to preserve the balance of nature.]]

* ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering'': Elementals are a creature type ranging from the [[http://ww2.wizards.com/gatherer/CardDetails.aspx?&id=20198 generic]] to the [[http://ww2.wizards.com/gatherer/CardDetails.aspx?&id=48174 more exotic]] to [[http://ww2.wizards.com/gatherer/CardDetails.aspx?&id=74237 the really exotic]] [[note]]Note that the last one is from a deliberately parodic set[[/note]]. In general, they tend to represent the basic forces and building blocks of nature given life and form, are most associated with Red, Green and Blue {{mana}}, the colors most associated with the elements of nature. They usually embody the elements most associated with their color -- i.e., Red has elementals of rock, fire, lava and lighting, Blue tends to have elementals of air, water, storms, ice and more esoteric concepts like thought, and Green mostly has elementals of wood and plants.
** Elementals of the four classical elements -- [[https://scryfall.com/card/xln/45/air-elemental air]], [[https://scryfall.com/card/bbd/174/earth-elemental earth]], [[https://scryfall.com/card/m20/138/fire-elemental fire]] and [[https://scryfall.com/card/me4/70/water-elemental water]] -- have appeared since early sets and are still reprinted from time to time.

* ''VideoGame/DragonFable'' has various elementals, not just limited to the four classic western elements.

* ''VideoGame/{{Drakengard}}'' ally characters have elemental summons: Leonard has a fairy (sylph), Arioch has Undine and Salamander, and Seere has... a golem. They do, however, mention a stonecrafting race that makes (different) golems, they [[WildMassGuessing might be gnomes]].

* ''VideoGame/EnchantedArms'': The {{Golem}}s are made up of all sorts of material, but the [[BigBad Queen of Ice]] and her [[TheDragon dragons]] are explicitly god-level elementals.

* ''TabletopGame/{{Rift}}'': The bahmi are part air elemental.

* ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles1'': The nebulas are living clouds of ether energy that resemble their namesake. They come in six different colors, each representing one of the game's elements (Fire, water, electricity, ice, wind, and earth), and generally appear in areas and/or weather conditions related to those elements. They also make for annoying opponents, due to being highly resistant to physical attacks, applying status effects whenever they're struck, and having a tendency to self-destruct and deprive you of loot when low on HP.

* ''Manga/MahouSenseiNegima'' Rakan mentions fighting The Ultimate Spirit of Lightning. The Ultimate Spirit Of Lightning (along with other elemental spirits) makes an actual appearance in the sequel series, ''Manga/UQHolder''

** ''Comicbook/{{Superman}}'': In the story arc "For Tomorrow", four elemental giants attack the Man of Steel, ultimately threatening to wipe out humanity if he doesn't leave the planet. Superman responds by saying he'll rip the Earth to pieces and move on if they do. Incidentally, the earth elemental took the form of ''Mount frigging Rushmore''.
** The elemental forces of the world sometimes choose humans as their champions, said mortals becoming living embodiments of their respective element. Comicbook/SwampThing is the best known of these, being the plant elemental; the idea that the hero ComicBook/{{Firestorm}} is the fire elemental has been used during the character's history. The ComicBook/RedTornado is also a wind elemental that is simply embodied in a robot.

* ''FanFic/ADarknessSoftlyCreeping'': A darkness elemental -- a being of physical darkness, icy cold and crushing despair -- has leaked into the physical world and taken residence in a house.

* ''FanFic/ItsADangerousBusinessGoingOutYourDoor'': Fire elementals are briefly noted to exist, and to be on occasion summoned by the greatest kudu pyromancers.
* ''FanFic/ThePalaververse'': The Four Winds and the High King in ''Thunderstorm and the Four Winds'' were vast, powerful air elementals that ruled the winds and sky before the pegasi did.

* ''TabletopGame/{{Shadowrun}}'' has standard elementals that are summonable by hermetic mages but also Spirits of Land, Sky, Water and Man which are summoned by shamans (and have subdivisions dependent on terrain, like lake or swamp spirits). Third Edition introduces Spirits of the Elements (different from elementals), referred to as gnomes (earth), salamanders (fire), sylphs (air), undines (water) and manitou (wood).

* ''TabletopGame/{{Pathfinder}}'' inherits ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons''[='=] four-element system with accompanying elementals, which as usually reside in the four Elemental Planes:
** The typical air, water, earth and fire elementals are the most archetypal elementals in-game -- air elemental typically take the form of flying creatures or are simply living whirlwinds, water elementals model themselves after aquatic creatures, earth elementals tend to be humanoid and fire elementals favor serpentine forms. "Hybrid" elementals arise where two elemental planes touch -- ice elementals on the air/water boundary, mud elementals where earth meets water and magma elementals where earth mixes with fire. Lightning elementals also occur in the Plane of Air, and aether elementals on the borders between the elemental planes and the Ethereal Plane.
** Each element has an associated species of genie, which in ''Pathfinder'' cosmology are the most humanlike elementals around and the rulers of the elemental planes. Jinn embody air, marids water, shaitan earth and efreet fire. The elemental planes are also home to numerous varieties of mephits, implike creatures associated with air, ice, dust, steam, smoke, fire, magma, earth, salt, mud and water. Each elemental plane is also home to a species of dragon tied to its element -- cloud dragons, brine dragons, crystal dragons and magma dragons, respectively.
** Weirder elemental creatures include belkers and mihstus (two different kinds of living, predatory clouds of smoke), thoqquas (wormlike masses of living magma), crysmals (scorpion-like creatures made out of gemstones, which reproduce by assembling gems and crystals into new crysmals) and rasts (flying bags of colorful flesh with simple faces and insectoid limbs, which embody fire's tendency to consume everything in reach and spread out of control).

* ''VideoGame/MightAndMagic'':
** The traditional four have been important to the series right from the very first game -- manipulating elemental energy was a cornerstone in [[{{Precursor}} Ancient]] world-creating/destroying technologies, and that meant dealing with the four Elemental Lords. The game in which they are most important is ''VIII'', as the plot involves gates to the Elemental Planes being opened (and causing havoc in doing so), the elementals planning an invasion of the mundane world, and excursions to the planes as part of a plan to stop the invasion.
** ''VideoGame/HeroesOfMightAndMagic'': The elementals first appear in ''Heroes of Might and Magic 2'' as natural creature with traditional Air/Earth/Fire/Water. In 3's ''Armageddon's Blade'' expansion pack, they are part of new ''Conflux'' town and new ''Psychic'' was added as new elemetal. They have upgrade form as Storm/Magma/Energy/Ice and Magic. While Psychic elemental was removed from later games, the tradition four remain.
* ''VideoGame/KingdomOfLoathing'' includes a Grass Elemental, a Spaghetti Elemental and a BASIC Elemental. (The programming language.)

* ''VideoGame/PaperMarioTheOrigamiKing'': Over the course of the game, Mario must find and defeat the four Vellumentals, powerful spirits that embody and rule over an element of nature. These are the Earth Vellumental, a turtle-like beast with power over rock and soil, the Water Vellumental, a dragon-like creature that fights with tidal waves and waterspouts, the Fire Vellumental, a phoenix-like bird constantly WreathedInFlames, and the Ice Vellumental, a towering polar bear that will try to freeze Mario solid.

* ''VideoGame/{{Xenoblade}}'': The nebulas are living clouds of ether energy that resemble their namesake. They come in six different colors, each representing one of the game's elements (Fire, water, electricity, ice, wind, and earth), and generally appear in areas and/or weather conditions related to those elements. They also make for annoying opponents, due to being highly resistant to physical attacks, applying status effects whenever they're struck, and having a tendency to self-destruct and deprive you of loot when low on HP.

[[folder:Web Comics]]

* ''WesternAnimation/MasterRaindrop'' part of the premise that, when the Golden Dragon was killed, he divided himself into five personified elements and they need to reunite to revive the Dragon.

** The four children of Grandienne in ''Series/KyuukyuuSentaiGoGoV'' are all based on and named after Paracelsus's elementals: initial [[TheHeavy Heavy]] Zylpheeza being derived from Sylphid, his successor Salamandes being based on a Salamander, the only daughter Denus being based on an Undine, and lastlymiddle son Cobolda bucking the trend and being based on a Kobold instead, but still representing the element of earth.

* ''TabletopGame/{{Rift}}'': The bahmi are part air elemental. Oddly enough, they're [[FiveRaces stouts]].

* The Trolls of ''Literature/Discworld''. According to Pratchett's ''THUD!'', every troll takes on the properties of the nearest stone/mineral/gem material to the place they are 'born'. Brick becomes a dirty red, Mr. Shine is iridescent like diamonds, etc..

Compare with AnthropomorphicPersonification and ElementalShapeshifter. See also MadeOfEvil, for when the element is... well, ''Evil,'' and their SuperTrope, MadeOfMagic. Compare and Contrast with ElementalMotifs, where the character or thing is often just associated with the element, not ''made'' of it.

* ''VideoGame/{{Chantelise}}'': Chante, with Elise's help, can use SummonMagic to temporarily acquire spirits of the four elements to use to aid in combat -- [[MakingASplash Aqua]], [[DishingOutDirt Golem]], [[FireIsRed Salamander]] and [[WindIsGreen Slyphie]].

* ''Fanfic/HalfPastAdventure'': A pretty straight example pulled directly from [[WesternAnimation/HalfPastAdventure the source material]] is the Fire Elemental, Flame Princess (now going by Flame King Phoebe), although there's also a (much less cosmically important) water-based OC in the form of HeroicWannabe Cragg Ambrosia.

** The ''{{TabletopGame/Ravenloft}}'' campaign setting features elemntals of grave, mist, blood,and pyre, which are corrupted versions of earth, air, fire, and water respectively.

** The ''TabletopGame/Ravenloft'' campaign setting features elemntals of grave, mist, blood,and pyre, which are corrupted versions of earth, air, fire, and water respectively.

** The 174th edition of ''Dragon'' magazine describes several types of unusual natives of the Quasielemental Plane of Mineral (formed by Earth and Positive Energy mixing), including glomus (floating clusters of quartz-like crystals), shards (living, flying double-ended crystals that move in swarms), chamrols (tentacled tree-like beings made out of dense metal, usually lead but rarely gold), trilling crysmals (which resemble [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bacteriophage bacteriophage viruses]] made of out of gems), and Crystalle, the quasi-elemental Prince of Minerals and ruler of the plane.

*** Undines/Nereids for Water.

* ''Upright Magic'' by Vadim Korostylyov has EvilLivingFlames, the Underground Fire, and a gentle personification of the underground waters, PluckyGirl Clear Trickle – constantly at odds with each other and aiding the villains and the heroes, respectively, on their way. They are also present in the film adaptation, with the “underground” part removed, so they control fire in general and water in general instead.