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10[[quoteright:350:[[Anime/PokemonOrigins https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/pkmn_generations_elite_four.png]]]]
11[[caption-width-right:350:Four trainers. [[BossBonanza No breaks.]][[labelnote:Clockwise from bottom]][[BareFistedMonk Bruno]], [[AnIcePerson Lorelei]], [[DragonTamer Lance]], and [[SoulPower Agatha]].[[/labelnote]]]]
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13->''"The final four monsters always win. Even the ultimate masters are sent down to defeat. Prepare your excuse for losing!"''
14-->-- '''Dedar''', ''VideoGame/WariosWoods''
15
16Historically, the name 四天王 (''shitennō''), meaning "Four Heavenly Kings", was applied to a samurai lord's four best men, which is the root of the "four subordinates to a powerful leader" trend in many Japanese stories. The Four Heavenly Kings themselves are Buddhist guardian gods of the four cardinal directions. In western works, four may be a nod to the Four HorsemenOfTheApocalypse to similar effect.
17
18Pop culture has taken both types of groups and expanded the concept to just mean an extremely powerful[=/=]competent group of four, sometimes in the service of one even more impressive master. Because that technically makes five in total, this could also overlap with FiveManBand. Bear in mind there is a slight but noteworthy difference between a team of five with an internal leader, and a team of four with an external master, so while they may overlap they aren't one and the same.
19
20The Elite Four are usually antagonists but they don't have to be evil. Occasionally even good guys will employ an Elite Four.
21
22The Elite Four also tends to overlap with QuirkyMinibossSquad, ClassicalElementsEnsemble, and PraetorianGuard. They may function as a RoguesGallery such that each member gets a fair amount of screentime and development. Or you could just have to RunTheGauntlet and face them all at once. Normally unrelated to FourIsDeath; examples should never be listed under both unless the association with death is ''extremely'' unambiguous.
23
24Website/LegendsOfLocalization has a full article detailing the nuances behind the term [[https://legendsoflocalization.com/tricky-translations-2-the-four-heavenly-kings/ shitennō,]] complete with its own example list and other possible translations used over the years.
25----
26!!Examples:
27[[foldercontrol]]
28
29[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
30* ''Manga/{{Beelzebub}}'': The Tohoshinki ([[NamedAfterSomeoneFamous named after]] real-life KoreanPopMusic BoyBand Music/{{Dong Bang Shin Ki}}) are the collective title of Ishiyama High's most influential delinquents and each of them has their own gang. Each Kanji of Tohoshinki represents the name of each member and they maintain the BalanceOfPower in their school and keep the other delinquents in check. Oga becomes effectively the school's banchou after defeating each of them in the first arc and they have become more or less his TrueCompanions.
31* The God Hand in ''Manga/{{Berserk}}'' consist of four hyper-powerful demons that can only manifest in the physical realm every 216 years. Subverted in that while they start as four, the show's WhamEpisode revolves around them adding a fifth member, Femto ([[spoiler:Griffith]]), though he often does not interact with the other four.
32* In ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'', the Schutzstaffel are Yhwach's elite guard and consist of four exceptionally powerful Quincy: Pernida Parnkgjas, Askin Nakk le Vaar, Gerard Valkyrie, and Lille Barro. [[spoiler:After Yhwach powers them up by conducting [[ThePurge Auswählen]] on the lower ranks,]] they are strong enough to take down the Zero Squad themselves, bar Hyosube Ichibei, who is confronted by Yhwach himself, who themselves are stated to be mightier than the entire Gotei 13 collective. They all have the distinction of having bizarre and unfathomable abilities along with being nigh-unkillable, and become the last lines of defense from reaching Yhwach.
33* ''Manga/BoboboboBobobo'' features the Chrome Dome Big Four, the four top soldiers of Czar Baldy Bald. The group consists of Captain Battleship, an EvilCounterpart to Bo-bobo with a giant [[DelinquentHair pompadour]], Kitty-Poo, a cat-themed [[Anime/DragonBallZ Freeza parody]] who is [[ZeroEffortBoss quickly defeated by Don Patch]], OVER, a man with [[ShearMenace giant scissors]] who [[SharingABody turns into]] [[SomethingPerson Torpedo Girl]] when angered too much, and Halekulani, the money obsessed owner of the Holy Guacamole Land amusement park.
34* ''Manga/BoysOverFlowers'' features the [=F4=], a clique of four extremely popular boys in Eitoku Academy who encourages people to bully students they've personally targeted with a red card.
35* In ''Literature/ACertainMagicalIndex'' the [[AnimeCatholicism Roman Catholic Church]] has a secret group known as God's Right Seat, which is made of up of four members, each representing a direction and an element: Vento of the Front, Terra of the Left, Acqua of the Back, and Fiamma of the Right. They serve as the major opponents for Touma in the second half of the original ''Index'' light novels, with Fiamma's defeat being in the final novel.
36* In ''Anime/CodeGeass'', the Japanese Liberation Front have the Shi Seiken, or "Four Holy Swords", a group of four highly skilled [[{{Mecha}} Knightmare]] pilots: Nagisa Chiba, Shougo Asahina, Ryouga Senba, and Kousetsu Urabe. They are all under the command of [[TheAce Kyoushirou Tohdoh]].
37* In ''Literature/TheDevilIsAPartTimer'', the titular EvilOverlord appoints [[FriendlyEnemy Emi]], [[MuggleAndMagicalLoveTriangle Chiho]], [[ToBeLawfulOrGood Suzuno]] along with his other two surviving subordinates as new Four generals of the demon army. Yeah, all five of them.
38* ''Franchise/{{Digimon}}'':
39** ''Anime/DigimonAdventure'': The four Dark Masters (Mugendramon, Metalseadramon, Pinochimon and Piemon) are the bad guys of the final arc [[spoiler:before Apocalymon shows up]]. We find out [[Anime/DigimonAdventureZeroTwo in the next series]] that they are in fact the {{Evil Counterpart}}s of [[TheFourGods the Four Digimon Sovereigns]].
40** ''Anime/DigimonDataSquad'': Of the heroes' Digimon, only Agumon, Lalamon, Gaomon and Falcomon are able to reach Mega level. They are also the only ones who can use [[SuperMode Burst Mode]].
41** ''Anime/DigimonTamers'': Takato, Rika, Henry and Ryo are the only four Tamers who can [[FusionDance biomerge with their digimon]] to reach mega level and do the majority of the fighting against the [[EldritchAbomination D-Reaper]].
42* ''Manga/FairyTail'':
43** The Phantom Lord guild has the Element 4, each of whom has mastery over [[ClassicalElementsEnsemble a different element]]: [[PlayingWithFire Totomaru]], [[DishingOutDirt Sol]], [[BlowYouAway Aria]], and [[MakingASplash Juvia]]. They serve as the enforcers to the guild's leader, Jose. They are not the most powerful guild members, however- that's [[ExtraOreDinary Gajeel]].
44** The top four members of the [[TheArchmage Ten Wizard Saints]]--[[ElementalPowers God Serena]], [[OurVampiresAreDifferent Hyberion]], [[HulkingOut Wolfheim]], and [[GreenThumb Warrod Sequen]]--are known as the Four Emperors of Ishgal, and are widely viewed as the mightiest wizards on the continent. The latter three are firmly on the side of good, but God Serena winds up [[FaceHeelTurn defecting to the Alvarez Empire]], leaving the fifth strongest, [[DishingOutDirt Jura Neekis]], to take the fourth spot. Unfortunately for them, God Serena alone is capable of [[CurbStompBattle wiping the floor with all four of them]].
45* In ''Manga/GetBackers'':
46** Ginji led a gang called VOLTS, and his direct subordinates were known as the Shitennō: [[RazorFloss Kazuki]] [[EvenTheGuysWantHim Fuuchouin]], [[TheBeastmaster Shido]] [[FriendToAllLivingThings Fuyuki]], [[TheChessmaster Makube]] [[LetXBeTheUnknown X]], and [[LightIsNotGood Masaki]] [[HiddenAgendaVillain Kurusu]]. They inspire equal amounts of terror and admiration among the population of Lower Town, and in the series proper are re-introduced to him and Ban as antagonists. According to one of them, Shido, the title "Shitennō" is for someone who has cheated death countless times.
47** Makubex attempts to duplicate their success with his "New Four Kings." After his HeelFaceTurn, [[PsychoForHire Takuma]] [[CombatClairvoyance Fudou]] dies and [[HiddenAgendaVillain Kyoji]] [[ImprobableWeaponUser Kagami]] just vanishes, leaving him with [[TheComicallySerious Juubei]] [[DisabilitySuperpower Kakei]] and [[TheIdiotFromOsaka Haruki Emishi]], plus his TeamMom Sakura Kakei.
48** Ironically, Kazuki, the least hostile of the four, has his own set of four subordinates who mirror the situation between Ginji and the Shitennō--including the aforementioned Comically Serious in Shido's place as the angry-but-ultimately-forgiving one. The aforementioned TeamMom mirrors Kazuki himself: clearly working against her former leader, but not directly threatening him.
49** Shido's Maryuudo tribe also boasts the four Shiki clans, which correspond to the four seasons. Their mortal enemies, the Kiryuudo, greatly fear the reunion of the four leaders, because it literally ''does'' mean death for them. Shido has the power to awaken hidden abilities to their fullest potential, and the other three have the powers of putting everything to sleep, healing, and instantly killing everything. They massacre the entire population of Kiryuudo pretty much in the blink of an eye.
50* ''Manga/{{Gintama}}'':
51** In the Yagyuu arc, we have the top four of the Yagyuu clan, who are charged with protecting the main family: Toujou Ayumu, Nishino Tsukamu, Minamito Sui, and Kitaouji Itsuki. Although once the arc is over, only Toujou becomes a recurring character.
52** The ruler of Kabukichou district is a group of four influential figures, fittingly named the Shitennou. The members are: [[OldSoldier "Demon Mademoiselle" Saigou]], the leader of the ''okama'' and is also a former warrior; [[ManipulativeBitch "Peacock Princess" Kada]], the owner of the largest casino in Kabukichou; "Grand Gentleman" Jirouchou, the leader of the {{yakuza}}; and [[CoolOldLady "Empress" Otose]], who is the landlady of the protagonists.
53** Being the strongest warriors of their generation during the Joui War, Gintoki, Katsura, Takasugi and Sakamoto were once renowned as the Joui Four. Even years after going their separate ways, they are still as deadly as during their veteran days.
54* In ''Manga/GTOTheEarlyYears'', supporting character Tsuyoshi Tsukai was a member of the "Four Heavenly Kings" of Enoshima Junior High School before joining the Oni-Baku gang. We don't see the other three, though.
55* ''Franchise/{{Gundam}}'':
56** ''Anime/MobileSuitGundam'': Degwin Zabi has four children -- Gihren, Dozle, Kycilia and Garma -- who are all high-ranking commanders in the Zeon military and who the show cycles through as the antagonists.
57** ''[[Anime/MobileFighterGGundam G Gundam]]'' uses this trope in a similar way as ''Franchise/SailorMoon'', with the Dark/Devil Gundam having four principal minions known as the Four Heavenly Kings, with three acting as leaders for the Devil Gundam's various forces (Grand Gundam leads the army, Gundam Heaven's Sword leads the air force, and Walter Gundam leads the navy) with Master Gundam as the overall leader.
58** The Four Heavenly Kings have [[{{Expy}} Expies]] in ''Anime/SDGundamForce'' in the form of the Kibao Hoarde, the four elite generals of the villainous samurai lord Kibaomaru.
59** The Gundam Meisters themselves in ''[[Anime/MobileSuitGundam00 Gundam 00]]'' were a group that would wreck havok on all sides of every major armed confilct until they centered the hatred and military might of the whole world on themselves.
60* ''Manga/HoshinEngi'': The Shisei (Four Saints) of Kuryuu Island are Bunchu's four most trusted men and possess powerful ElementalPowers. They are the one sent to stop the heroes from reaching the capital of the west.
61* In ''Anime/JewelpetKiraDeco'', the Decoranain contains a group of four antagonists appopriately called the Shitennou. They are comprised of token human/right-hand man Kaiser, the Spanish thief Tour, the suave charmer Kohaku, and the lazy yet cunning Dian.
62* In ''Anime/JuuniSenshiBakuretsuEtoRanger'', the fittingly-named Jyarei Four are BigBad Nyanma's main subordinates and four of the most powerful opponents in the series. [[BishonenLine They're far more humanoid than the rest of the Jyarei Monsters, but individually are a bigger threat than most of them combined]].
63* ''Manga/KaguyaSamaLoveIsWar'':
64** "The Four Ramen Emperors of Tokyo", [[SeriousBusiness the four greatest ramen eaters in the city]]. [[HeroOfAnotherStory They have absolutely nothing to do with the main story]].
65** The Impossible Girls (Kobachi Osaragi, Tsubame Koyasu, Momo Ryuju, and Koromo Shiranui), who are the four most beautiful non-student council members in school who are said to be impossible to date for different reasons. In keeping with the story's overall references to ''Literature/TheTaleOfTheBambooCutter'', each of them represents one of Princess Kaguya's five {{Impossible Task}}s and has some sort of close relationship with whatever student council member is based off of their item's respective suitor. [[spoiler:Although only Osaragi, Tsubame, and Ryuju actually follow the pattern. Shiranui's suitor counterpart never joins the student council and is never shown to have any connection to her, while Fujiwara's task counterpart is a boy who doesn't even attend Shuchi'in.]]
66* In ''Anime/KillLaKill'', Satsuki Kiryuin had an Elite Four who oversaw the organization of all of the clubs ([[MightyGlacier Ira]] [[PrinciplesZealot Gamagoori]], [[InstrumentOfMurder Nonon]] [[CuteButCacophonic Jakuzure]], [[BlindWeaponmaster Uzu]] [[ArrogantKungFuGuy Sanageyama]] and [[AwesomenessByAnalysis Houka]] [[TheSmartGuy Inumuta]]). These four have the highest ranked [[ClothesMakeTheSuperman Goku Uniforms]] after [[TheHero Ryuko]] and [[TheRival Satsuki]]. At one point, Ryuko has to fight through them all to get to Satsuki, just like the Trope Namer- though her attempt is stopped on the final one, Uzu, when [[TheDragon Nui Harime]] intervenes and deals with him herself so she can fight Ryuko.
67* The QuirkyMinibossSquad in ''Anime/MonsterRancher'', made by Pixie, Gali, Gray Wolf and Naga, calls themselves the Big Bad Four. They all eventually turn good; Pixie via DefeatMeansFriendship, while the other three are reborn as good monsters after Moo's defeat.
68* Jokingly mentioned in ''Manga/MyMonsterSecret''. According to Mikan, Nagisa, Shiho, Karen and Youko are known as the 'Complacent Four'. They even have their own RedBaron names, with Shiho being 'the Pervert' and [[TheComicallySerious Nagisa]] being 'the Runaway Train'.
69* ''Franchise/{{Naruto}}'': BigBad {{Orochi}}maru sends his followers the Sound Four (made of Jirobo, Kidomaru, Tayuya and Zakon) to retrieve Sasuke for him. The pursuit team of good guys sent after them, by contrast, are a five-man squad (Which conveniently allows everyone on the team to face down a Sound Four member, with Naruto himself facing Sasuke). Later played with as it's revealed the Sound Four was defeated by Kimimaro, who became their leader and renamed themselves as the Sound Five; however, Kimimaro was terminally ill and thus only joins the battle to try to stall Naruto, before fighting Rock Lee and dying while fighting Gaara.
70* ''Manga/OnePiece'':
71** Among the Straw Hats, [[RubberMan Luffy]], [[MasterSwordsman Zoro]], [[ChefOfIron Sanji]], and [[FriendlySniper Usopp]] were the ones who saved the East Blue from the Arlong Pirates and destroyed his fortress. They're also the only original members of the crew who can use [[KiManipulation Haki]], though Usopp was swapped with [[CombatMedic Chopper]] at least once in Water 7.
72** The four strongest pirates in the world, who rule over the second half of the Grand Line (a.k.a. the New World) are called the Four Emperors. The original four were "Red Haired" Shanks, Kaido "of the Beasts", Charlotte "Big Mom" Linlin, and Edward "Whitebeard" Newgate. Later in the story, [[spoiler:Marshall D. "Blackbeard" Teach]] kills [[spoiler:Whitebeard]] and replaces him. Even later, [[spoiler:Luffy's act of surviving a battle against Big Mom]] causes news outlets to declare him the Fifth Emperor, though the other four don't seem to consider him a real part of the group. [[spoiler:Following the defeat of Big Mom and Kaido, Luffy and [[FakeUltimateHero Buggy the Clown]] officially enter the ranks, taking the places of the former two.]]
73** In Skypiea, there exist the Four Holy Priests of Skypiea that directly serve the BigBad God Eneru. They're named after terms in Buddhist myth: Satori, Gedatsu, Shura, and Ohm/Omu.
74** The Thriller Bark Pirates have the Mysterious Four as the leading commanders, which consist of Absalom, Perona, Doktor Hogback, and their captain, Gecko Moria. These four are also the only members not to be zombies.
75** The Donquixote Pirates has this built into their organization structure; they have four top executives who answer directly to captain Doflamingo, and each top executive handles different matters and has 3-4 lower-ranked officers under their command. The four are [[PlayingCardMotifs named after the card suits:]] Diamante (diamond), Trebol (club), Pica (spade), and Corazon (heart), with Doflamingo using "Joker" as his alias.
76** The Revolutionary Army has four army commanders, each operating in one of the four cardinal seas, who serve under Dragon and his chief-of-staff. They are Morley (West), Belo Betty (East), Lindbergh (South), and Karasu (North).
77** The four strongest enforcers of the Big Mom Pirates were known as the Sweet 4 Generals: Cracker, Smoothie, Katakuri, and Snack. However, shortly before the Straw Hats arrived in Big Mom's territory, Snack suffered a humiliating defeat offscreen, resulting in him being demoted and the group renamed into [[TerribleTrio the Sweet 3 Generals]]. Not that it made the group any less dangerous.
78* In ''Anime/PokemonTheSeries'', occasionally members of the Elite Four from the games will appear. Ash has a few off-the-job matches with members such as Lorelei, Drake and Bertha that almost always result in a CurbStompBattle in their favor. But he never officially goes through a set of four in row, unlike the games. Indeed, in ''Anime/PokemonJourneysTheSeries'', [[spoiler:Ash's path to becoming the World Champion has him defeating only one Elite Four member, Drasna, and simply skipping straight to the other regional Champions, namely Steven, Cynthia and Leon.]]
79* In ''Anime/RoninWarriors'', there are the Dark Warlords -- Anubis, Sekhmet, Kale, and Dais -- who serve as [[BigBad Talpa's]] generals.
80* In ''Manga/RurouniKenshin'', Enishi's [[TheStarscream right-hand man]]'s elite bodyguards are quadruplets explicitly named for the Four Heavenly Kings.
81* ''Franchise/SailorMoon'':
82** The series manages a set of four [[QuirkyMinibossSquad lesser villains]] per story arc. The Amazon Trio are an exception, eventually followed by the more traditional Amazones Quartet. (In the manga, the Amazon Trio were MonsterOfTheWeek class and dealt with very quickly. The TV versions who get more screentime and characterization are in fact {{Ascended Extra}}s.) The first set was explicitly called the "Shitennō".
83** There's another MonsterOfTheWeek promotion that gave one group ''two'' sets of these: First, the Four Phantom Sisters were the elite warriors of main villain Rubeus. However, Rubeus screws up enough times that the others reveal themselves: Rubeus, Esmeraude, Saphir, and their leader Prince Diamande are attacking Earth at the behest of the season's final BigBad, their TreacherousAdvisor Wiseman.
84** It is also shown in flashbacks to the Moon Kingdom, Princess Serenity[=/=]Sailor Moon and the four Sailor Soldiers were a "leader and four elite subordinates" group. Season two reveals that [[spoiler:in the future, the ''current'' incarnation of the gang will be this for Crystal Tokyo, once an AfterTheEnd world is pulled BackFromTheBrink and into prosperity by them; a happy ending even if they can't avert the disaster that will befall Earth as we know it in a few years.]]
85** In ''Anime/SailorMoonCrystal,'' (as in the manga, the original material for the franchise) it's revealed that back during the days of the Moon Kingdom, Tuxedo Mask, then Prince Endymion, was served by his own elite four, who became brainwashed into being Queen Beryl's Shitennou.
86** Sailor Chibi-Moon will eventually have her own Elite Four as well, Sailor Ceres, Sailor Pallas, Sailor Juno, and Sailor Vesta. [[spoiler:They were abducted by the BigBad of the fourth season before they could awaken, and corrupted into the aforementioned Amazoness Quartet: individually known as Cere-Cere, Palla-Palla, Jun-Jun, and Ves-Ves]].
87* ''Literature/ScrappedPrincess'' has Cz, Steyr, Socom, and Galil, who make up the Peacemakers, a group of four incredibly powerful entities tasked with [[spoiler:periodically wiping out the majority of the human race, in order to prevent humanity from developing past a medieval era]]. They are ''very'' good at [[PersonOfMassDestruction what they do]].
88* Parodied in the 4th ''Anime/{{Slayers}}'' movie, Slayers Gorgeous. Marlene call her elite guard the Shitennou because it sound cool, but there is actually only two of them, or three including Naga after she agree to help her.
89* In ''Anime/TengenToppaGurrenLagann'', the Spiral King had four elite generals who led his army. Each of them were based on TheFourGods and their names are a mashup of {{Nature Spirit}}s and DNA nucleotides; each of them oversaw the oppression of the Human race in different war domains (land, sea, sky, and home defense). The first one the heroes fight actually manages to kill off a major character- though at least he winds up dying in a MutualKill. The other three don’t fare nearly as well.
90* In ''Manga/{{Toriko}}'', the title character is one of the Four Heavenly Kings, the world's best Gourmet Hunters. The others are Coco, Sunny, and Zebra. They also each represent the five senses, with Toriko representing [[TheNoseKnows smell]], Coco representing [[AuraVision vision]], Sunny representing [[PrehensileHair touch]], and Zebra representing [[SuperScream hearing]]. [[TheHeart Komatsu]] the chef completes the group, representing [[SupremeChef taste]].
91* In ''Manga/UchiNoMaouKamimasenYo'', Demon King Satan is the boss of the territory the characters live in. To challenge him for territory control, one must first defeat all of the Four Devas under him. Only one Deva has been revealed so far, Bifro the Zombie.
92* ''Manga/ViolinistOfHameln'' has the four Mazoku Generals as acting {{Big Bad}}s.
93* ''Franchise/YuGiOh'':
94** Only in [[Anime/YuGiOhFirstAnimeSeries Toei's anime series]], Kaiba has a quartet of game masters under his employ whom he mobilizes against Yugi after their first match: Ridley Sheldon, an elderly British doll collector and ventriloquist; Ryuichi Fuha, a high school student who was BornLucky; Aileen Rao, a Canadian-Indian dancer skilled in tactical gaming; and Daimon, Kaiba's caring butler preserved on life support who plays a zombie deck.
95** ''Anime/YuGiOh5Ds'': In the BadFuture, the four last humans known as Yliaster's Four Stars of Destruction plan to change history and prevent the apocalypse from happening. All four of them serve as the biggest villains after the end of the Dark Signer arc, and against three of them, it takes the combined power of multiple duelist to defeat them. The one member who is defeated by the power of a single person is the TokenGoodTeammate of the four who pulls off a MentorOccupationalHazard.
96** ''Anime/YuGiOhArcV'': The Four Heavenly Dragons are this, each of them being owned by Yuya and his three counterparts. The dragons are central to their owners' overall strategy and each dragon has a couple of upgraded forms. They are much more dangerous when they combine their powers, either by just being present and playing with their individual strengths or by becoming one (either two dragons become one powerful dragon or all four become the ultimate dragon). Zarc combines himself with all Four Heavenly Dragons to become said ultimate dragon, Supreme King Dragon Z-ARC. While Z-ARC is already incredibly powerful, he also owns corrupted and powerful Servant versions of the Four Heavenly Dragons, who provide him incredible offensive options and protection while he also protects them by his mere presence alone.
97* In ''Manga/YuYuHakusho'', the villains of the Maze City arc are the four rulers of Demon City, the Saint Beasts: Genbu the Stone Beast, Byakko the White Tiger, Seiryu the Blue Dragon, and Suzaku the Crimson Sparrow. They closely follow the symbolism of the cardinal directions: North (black / tortoise), West (white / tiger), East (blue / dragon), and South (red / phoenix).
98[[/folder]]
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100[[folder:Comic Books]]
101* ''Creator/DCComics'':
102** During the ''ComicBook/{{Knightfall}}'' storyline, [[BigBad Bane's]] gang consisted of Bane himself and three henchmen: his loyal NumberTwo and former mentor Trogg; the [[SharpDressedMan sharply-dressed]] and BaldOfEvil Zombie; and the [[TheCharmer smooth-talking]] falconer Bird. While initially it seemed that the gang had an uncommon UndyingLoyalty to each other, as it turned out Bane himself wasn't nearly as loyal to his henchmen as they were to him.
103** ComicBook/{{Superman}} once had to contend with The Elite, a group of four self-styled AntiHero types who took it upon themselves to "rid the Earth of scum." Ruthless telekinetic/telepath Manchester Black was the team leader, PsychoElectro Coldcast was TheBrute, Rampotatek aka "The Hat" was the team's BlackMage, and the {{Shapeshifting}} Menagerie was the rounded out the group. They later reformed as the heroic Justice League Elite under the leadership of Manchester's sister Vera, though with more than four members.
104* The ComicBook/DisneyKingdoms take on ''Franchise/TheHauntedMansion'' has a rule that ghosts of people who died within the Mansion's walls have a measure of control over the magic contained within, with this power being split up among four characters: Constance Hatchaway the black widow bride, Madame Leota, the Hatbox Ghost and Captain Gore the Pirate Ghost. While the first three are well known to fans of the ride, Captain Gore is a case of WhatCouldHaveBeen: he was planned for the ride but ultimately scrapped.
105* The four Dark Judges in ''ComicBook/JudgeDredd'', who take the role of HangingJudge to the ultimate extreme by declaring ''life'' illegal. They're composed of Judge Mortis, Judge Fire, Judge Fear, and Judge Death, and are also close analogues for the Four Horsemen: Famine (Mortis), Conquest (Fire), War (Fear), and Death (of course, Death).
106* ''Creator/MarvelComics'':
107** The ComicBook/FantasticFour are four humans that made a daring venture into space, where exposure to cosmic radiation gave them superpowers. Reed Richards, "Mister Fantastic," is the team leader and also TheSmartGuy; Ben Grimm, "The Thing," is TheBigGuy; Johnny Storm, "The Human Torch," is the LoveableRogue and [[PlayingWithFire pyrokinetic]] wildcard of the group; and Susan Richards, "The Invisible Woman," used to be TheHeart, until Creator/JohnByrne's run on the series promoted her to TheLancer.
108** The frightful Four are an EvilKnockoff of the above team created by F4 foe The Wizard specifically to be a counter to Marvel's First Family. While their membership has varied and at times included members much stronger than any individual member of the F4 like Sandman, Hydro-Man and even ComicBook/{{Deadpool}} (!), the Wizard's poor leadership and unrelenting obsession with besting the F4 rather than actually accomplishing anything productive has led to the team being defeated again and again and again.
109** ''ComicBook/XMen'' villain [[ComicBook/{{Apocalypse}} En Sabah Nur/Apocalypse]] has his [[HorsemenOfTheApocalypse Four Horsemen]], a group with varying membership due to replacing dead or [[HeelFaceTurn defecting]] members. Depending on the story they range from mere EliteMooks to CoDragons. A common thread across nearly every continuity is that Warren Worthington (Angel/Archangel) will spend some time as the Horseman Death.
110* ''Franchise/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles'':
111** In the original Mirage Comics, Splinter explicitly trained the four turtles to be elite assassins so he could exact his revenge on Shredder for killing Yoshi. In future adaptations, he trains them for self-defense from Muggles and in case the legacy of Shredder comes back to haunt them. Still, even after training April, and other regulars come on board like Casey Jones, the four turtles are set apart as the best and most central members of their team.
112** In some incarnations Shredder has his [[EliteMook Elite Guard]] comprised of four foot ninja in special robes, wide straw hats, and unique weapons. In one of the games from the 03 series they faced off against the turtles with the weapon most similar to theirs. Leo fought the sword user, Don fought the lance, Raph fought the trident, and Mike fought the ax since they were the only two left.
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114
115[[folder:Fan Works]]
116* In ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13886679/1/Sora-s-Adventure-in-Rogueport-Remake Sora's Adventure in Rogueport Remake]]'', Rawk Hawk has his own Elite Four that have to be beaten before he can be challenged. The first one is [[VideoGame/PokemonSunAndMoon Incineroar]] who's beaten by Mario who takes advantage of the Heel Pokémon's showboating to ring him out. [[VideoGame/PunchOut Little Mac]] is the second member who is beaten by Luigi using his lightning abilities and a Misfired Luigi Missle. The third one is [[VideoGame/PokemonSwordAndShield Bea]] who [[CurbStompBattle beats Sora to a pulp]] before willingly turning the battle into a draw. The final member is [[VideoGame/FZero Captain Falcon]] [[MakesJustAsMuchSenseInContext who is initially disguised as Crash Bandicoot before Vivian burns his costume off]]. He's triple-teamed by Vivian, Mario and Luigi with Vivian ultimately using a Firey Jinx before Mario and Luigi finish him off with a double Super Jump Punch.
117[[/folder]]
118
119[[folder:Films -- Animation]]
120* Hades from Disney's ''WesternAnimation/{{Hercules}}'' looses the Titans from their prison deep within the Earth, using their vengeance against Zeus to engineer a ''coup d'etat''. Four Titans: Lythos (earth/rock), Hydros (water/ice), Pyros (fire/lava) and Stratos (air/wind) advance upon Mount Olympus, while a fifth Titan, Arges (a giant cyclops with no elemental affiliation) keeps Hercules busy. Apparently poor Arges isn't ''coup d'etat'' material (and the other four have to be pointed towards Olympus).
121[[/folder]]
122
123[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
124* In ''Film/KillBill'', the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad originally consisted of five members, the Bride being one of them, but by the time the events of the movies kick off, she has been ousted, leaving the team as an elite foursome of assassins, plus their leader, Bill. They are Elle Driver, Budd, O-Ren Ishii, and Vernita Green.
125* ''Film/XMenApocalypse'': The [[HorsemenOfTheApocalypse Horsemen of Apocalypse]], who have two incarnations.
126** In the opening scene, [[https://marvelmovies.wikia.com/wiki/File:HorsemenXMenApocalypse.png Four Ancient Horsemen]] known by the Biblical names: Pestilence (a [[UndeathlyPallor pale]] [[ScaryTeeth pointy-toothed]] man who can [[MakeThemRot disintegrate organic matter]]), Famine (a woman who [[PlayingWithFire controls fire]]), War (superstrong [[RedAndBlackAndEvilAllOver red man]] [[RedRightHand with differently-colored eyes]]), and Death (the last one to die, a woman with [[MindOverMatter telekinesis]] who [[BarrierWarrior creates the barrier]] that saves Apocalypse).
127** Once awakened in 1983, Apocalypse makes four psychologically vulnerable mutants (Angel, Magneto, Psylocke, and Storm) his new lieutenants. He apparently has a history of doing this in every generation where he's active. According to Creator/BryanSinger, each of the Horsemen represent aspects that a cult needs to be successful. As a [[BrokenAce polarizing historical figure]], Magneto symbolizes the political faction. A former cage fighter, Angel is [[TheBrute the military faction]]. Psylocke stands for [[TheVamp the sex appeal]], and intrigue that tends to surround the movement. Storm represents the [[TheBabyOfTheBunch young impressionable minds that follow the cult.]]
128[[/folder]]
129
130[[folder:Literature]]
131* In ''Literature/TheWonderfulWizardOfOz'', there are four witches. The ones in north and south are good, while the ones in east and west are wicked. In one of the sequels, however, it is further explained that there were originally four wicked witches who took over Oz. The ones in north and south were overthrown by the good witches before the events of ''Wonderful Wizard''.
132* Non-villainous example: in ''Literature/TheZombieKnight'', the Rainlords of Sair have four members that are tied for strongest: [[LightEmUp Rayen Merlo]], [[ChromeChampion Melchor "Darktide" Blackburn]], [[SuperSmoke Xuan "Seadevil" Sebolt]] and [[PlayingwithFire Octavia "Red Lady" Redwater]].
133* ''Franchise/HarryPotter'': Hogwarts was said to have been a group of four of "the greatest wizards and witches of their age": Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff, Rowena Ravenclaw, and Salazar Slytherin.
134[[/folder]]
135
136[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
137* ''Franchise/KamenRider''
138** ''Series/KamenRiderSuper1'' has the four field commanders of Jin Dogma and Marshal Demon's CoDragons in the second half: [[WickedWitch Staff Officer Witch]], [[TheBrute Commander Onibi]], [[AbsentMindedProfessor Dr. Ghost]] and [[CuteMonsterGirl Princess Yokai]].
139** ''Series/KamenRider555'' has a group of four elite Orphnochs known as Lucky Clover. However, they don’t follow the ''Sailor Moon'' villain formula because one (Mr. J, the Crocodile Orphnoch) is beaten early on and the fourth (Kitazaki, the Dragon Orphnoch) doesn't arrive until much later. As such, the BigBad (the president of Smart Brain) and the ''three'' Lucky Clover members that are active at any given time are the four main villains of the series.
140** ''Series/KamenRiderKiva'' has the same head writer and a similar setup with its villains. The Checkmate Four are the head honchos of the Fangire, and are the BigBad and his three elite warriors. We even have the last to arrive being a BloodKnight who treats it all like a game, though Rook isn't quite the same flavor as Faiz's Kitazaki.
141** The antagonists of the second arc in ''Series/KamenRiderGaim'' are the four New Generation Riders. [[KnightOfCerebus Their arrival]] is marked with things going downhill for the heroes.
142** There tend to be four Roidmude executives present at any given time in ''Series/KamenRiderDrive''. At the start we have Heart, Brain, Medic and Mashin Chaser, with the latter being replaced by Freeze not long after he defects. It's also revealed much later that the Roidmudes' ultimate plan, a ritual known as the "Promised Number", requires four Roidmudes who've achieved "Super Evolution" states, making this something of an invoked trope in-universe.
143** ''Series/KamenRiderBuild'': The Hokuto Three Crows and their boss, Kamen Rider Grease, together form a quartet of elite super soldiers who serve the government of Hokuto.
144** ''Series/KamenRiderZeroOne'' has [=Metsuboujinrai.NET=], four prototype [=HumaGears=] with the highest level of intelligence, selected and hacked by the [[BigBad Ark]] to serve it. Though, the last two members don't appear until late in the series, with Jin and Horobi being much more proactive.
145** The Four Sages in ''Series/KamenRiderSaber'' are four of the best warriors in the [[AncientTradition Sword of Logos]] and act as advisors to its leader. [[spoiler:Although they're dead by the time we hear of them, having been killed by the traitorous current [[MoleInCharge Master Logos]] to keep them from interfering with his plans. They later get reanimated by Storious to act as his minions in the FinalBattle]].
146* ''Series/MetalHeroes''
147** ''Series/KyojuuTokusouJuspion'' has the Evil Four Deva Kings, a four man team of infamous space mercenaries hired on by Mad Gallant to act as his enforcers.
148** ''Series/JikuuSenshiSpielban'': Power in the [[PlanetLooters Waller Empire]] is divided between four commanders - Queen Pandora, who conveys messages from [[JerkassGods Waller]] and acts as DragonInChief, General Deathzero, who commands Waller's machine army and armed forces, Doctor Bio, Waller's chief scientist and the head of its Bio Army, and Rikki, who leads Waller's spy force.
149** The Victorious Saints in ''Series/ChoujinkiMetalder'' are the four highest-ranked lieutenants of God Neros, each commanding one of the Four Armies of the Neros Empire.
150* This happens in several ''Franchise/SuperSentai'' series:
151** The four leading generals of the Black Cross Army in ''Series/HimitsuSentaiGoranger'' - Sun Halo Mask, Iron Man Mask General Temujin, Volcano Mask General Magman and Commander-In-Chief Golden Mask, although they take turns acting as the Dragon to the Black Cross Fuhrer rather than appearing at once.
152** The Crime Big Four in the {{crossover}} between ''Series/JAKQDengekitai'' and ''Goranger'' are a group of four warlords assisting Iron Claw in his plan, and who [[FusionDance fuse together]] to fight the two Sentai teams in the climax.
153** The Zero Girls in ''Series/TaiyouSentaiSunVulcan'' are a four-woman group of spies/assassins who personally serve Führer Hell Saturn.
154** The [[QuirkyMinibossSquad Alien Hunters]] in ''Series/ChoushinseiFlashman'' are comprised of Sir Cowler and his four trusted men. There's technically a fifth, but he doesn't show up [[spoiler:until the other four are dead]].
155** During the midpoint of ''Series/GoseiSentaiDairanger'', the BigBad summons his four greatest warriors, who are even called the Gorma Shitennõ. These are a team of four powerful magicians, capable of fusing into a four-headed monster. These characters do not appear in ''Series/MightyMorphinPowerRangers'', though their fused form does appear as a simple MonsterOfTheWeek.
156** Similar to ''Goranger'', Captain Zahab in ''Series/SeijuuSentaiGingaman'' has four top lieutentants - Sambash, Budoh, Iliess and Battobas, each of whom commands a different monster group in the [[SpacePirates Balban]].
157** ''Series/NinpuuSentaiHurricaneger'': The Jakanja actually has ''Seven'' Dark Spears but only four of them are ninja corps commanders. Of the other three, Manmaruba is the BigBad's personal seer and Furabiijo and Wendinu are a BumblingHenchmenDuo.
158** The Four Hell Kings from ''Series/MahouSentaiMagiranger'', who ended up being so powerful that the heroes needed to gain their [[SuperMode Legend forms]] just to be able to defeat two of them, though the other two they handled on their own. In ''Series/PowerRangersMysticForce'', these villains are called the Barbarian Beasts.
159** The Deboth Army in ''Series/ZyudenSentaiKyoryuger'' is led by Hundred-Faced High Priest Chaos at the start of the series (though he's just an acting leader for their boss, who is [[SealedEvilInACan sealed]]) and his four minions: Raging Knight Dogold, Joyful Knight Candelilla, Sorrowful Knight Aigaron and Fun-filled Spy Luckyuro.
160* ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'':
161** The four archangels were the very first angels created by God and are appropriately far more powerful than any other angel in Heaven. Like in Judeo-Christian mythology, they consist of Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael, with the fourth archangel being [[{{Satan}} Lucifer]] instead of Uriel. All four of them together with God were able to weaken and seal away TheAntiGod. They are also [[LikeFatherLikeSon reflections of different aspects of God's own personality]].
162** At the very top of the demonic hierarchy sits the four [[DemonLordsAndArchdevils Princes of Hell]], personally created by Lucifer to lead Hell's armies (obviously, his answer to the four Archangels of Heaven, which ironically he himself used to be a part of). They're all yellow-eyed demons and can easily go head-to-head with powerful angels. Only Azazel has any interest in actually following Lucifer's will, though. Ramiel, Dagon, and Asmodeus are content with [[RetiredMonster simply living as they see fit on Earth]].
163* ''Franchise/UltraSeries'':
164** ''Series/UltramanMebius'': The Four Heavenly Kings are major villains in the series who act as CoDragons to the BigBad, Alien Empera. Their ranks include an [[Series/{{Ultraman}} Alien Mefilas]], two new aliens named Grozam and Deathrem, and [[Series/UltramanAce Yapool]], the last one replaced a defector former member: Ark Bogarl. They serve as the prelude to Alien Empera's return and the {{Arc Villain}}s of the first half of the final arc in the series.
165** ''Film/UltramanMebiusAndTheUltraBrothers'' has a group known as the Alien Union composed of an [[Series/{{Ultraman}} Alien Zarab]], [[Series/{{Ultraseven}} Alien Guts]], [[Series/ReturnOfUltraman Alien Nackle]] and [[Series/UltramanTaro Alien Temperor]] who serve as Yapool's minions and seek to free him and his creation, U-Killersaurus, from the prison that the Ultras sealed him in.
166[[/folder]]
167
168[[folder:Myths]]
169* In Myth/GreekMythology there were the four Titan Lords who were of higher rank than the other Titans and presided over the four corners of the earth. They consisted of: [[StarPower Krios]], Titan of the South and the stars, [[AnIcePerson Koios]], Titan of the north and wisdom, [[LightEmUp Hyperion]], Titan of the east and the sun, and [[CastingAShadow Iapetus]], Titan of the west and mortality. They were under the command of the King of the Titans, [[TimeMaster Kronos]].
170[[/folder]]
171
172[[folder:Professional Wrestling]]
173* An out-of-{{kayfabe}} example was Wrestling/AllJapanProWrestling's "Four Pillars of Heaven". Not a faction, but the four top men who carried the entire promotion on their backs in the 90s and early 2000s- Wrestling/KentaKobashi, Wrestling/MitsuharuMisawa, Wrestling/ToshiakiKawada and Akira Taue.
174* Wrestling/AllEliteWrestling invoked AJPW's Four Pillars with their own set of "Four Pillars", although rather than their top current attractions, they were positioned as the four top young stars who would carry them forward into the future—Wrestling/{{MJF}} (who, despite being the only {{heel}} of the four, was the one who cut the promo that named the Pillars), Wrestling/DarbyAllin, Jungle Boy (now working under his real name of Jack Perry) and Sammy Guevara, all considered incredibly talented wrestlers AEW could build its entire main event scene around in the future despite only being in their 20s. Though in their epic promo shootout in November 2021, Wrestling/CMPunk suggested to MJF that he had been replaced in the Four Pillars by Wrestling/BrittBaker (30 at the time), while a lot of fans in 2022 decided to replace Sammy with Wheeler Yuta, due to the former's lukewarmly received angle with Tay Conti and the latter's rising prominence and acclaimed matches.
175* Wrestling/{{WWE}}:
176** Wrestling/BrockLesnar, Wrestling/RandyOrton, Wrestling/JohnCena, and Wrestling/{{Batista}} are officially dubbed as the "OVW[[note]]Ohio Valley Wrestling, WWE's primary developmental territory for most of the 2000s[[/note]] 4". They aren't a faction (though Batista and Orton were part of [[Wrestling/{{Evolution}} a four-man stable]]), but rather wrestlers who all debuted early in the 21st century (2002 to be exact) and dominated the main event since.
177** Wrestling/SashaBanks, Wrestling/{{Bayley}}, Wrestling/CharlotteFlair, and Wrestling/BeckyLynch are dubbed as "The Four Horsewomen". They aren't a faction (save for Banks and Bayley who were a TagTeam), but they are credited for reviving WWE's women's division during the middle of the 2010s and elevating it to greater heights than ever before. Incidentally (or perhaps not), the name is derived from Wrestling/TheFourHorsemen which was led by [[Wrestling/RicFlair Charlotte's father]].
178[[/folder]]
179
180[[folder:Religion]]
181* The [[UsefulNotes/{{Buddhism}} Four Heavenly Kings]] are a group under Sakra, the lord of the devas in Trayastrimsa. They serve to protect the domain from the Asuras and to protect the Buddha, his followers and the Dharma from danger.
182* Abrahamic traditions have a few groups:
183** The Four HorsemenOfTheApocalypse are harbringers of doom and destruction. They are fated to be unleashed at the beginning of the End Times. They are AnthropomorphicPersonifications of Conquest[[note]]often replaced by Pestilence[[/note]], War, Famine, and Death and are named appropriately.
184** Hayyoth, or the Living Beings, are the four throne-bearing cherubs most prominently referrenced in the Book of Ezekiel. In some Abrahamic schools of thought, they are the angels closest to God.
185** Groups of angels are more emphasized outside of the canonical holy texts, which do not group individually named angels. In exegetical and other popular interpretationsthough, its fairly common to put together named angels: [[ArchangelMichael Michael]] and [[ArchangelGabriel Gabriel]] are always there, as they are the most consistently named and agreed upon; many denominations of Christianity and Islam agree on [[ArchangelRaphael Raphael]][[note]]and some Christian denominations acually have Abaddon as the third guy[[/note]], but the books that mention him (Tobit and Enoch) aren't canon in Judaism; and only Islam and some denominations of Christianity usually have [[ArchangelUriel Uriel]] as the 4th, and he's not named in any of the canonical texts.
186[[/folder]]
187
188[[folder:Video Games]]
189* The "Four Wings of Sand Island" in ''VideoGame/AceCombat5TheUnsungWar'', the four pilots of Wardog Squadron who manage to grow from rookie trainees to Osea's finest pilots who play a crucial role in the Circum-Pacific War. [[spoiler:After Chopper's death, the squadron is temporarily reduced to three pilots before they're joined by Captain Marcus 'Swordsman' Snow, bringing the squadron back up to four members again.]] They're also been given a nickname as the '[[RedBaron Demons/Ghosts of Razgriz]]' for their prowess in battle.
190* ''VideoGame/{{Bayonetta}}'' has the Auditio, the four Cardinal Virtues personified as gigantic angels: the two-headed dragon [[PlayingWithFire Fortitudo]], the golem-like [[BlowYouAway Temperantia]], the tentacled abomination [[PoisonousPerson Iustitia]], and the mechanical dragon [[MakingASplash Sapientia]]. All of them are grotesque, ornate, and monstrous, and they cause massive destruction with their mere presence.
191* The Vicious Ones, the main antagonists of ''VideoGame/BeyondTheBeyond'', have four members (winged archer Dagoot, grotesque magician Yeon, and BigBad BlackMagic duo Ramue and Shutat).
192* Many enemies from ''VideoGame/DarkSouls'' have a four theme:
193** ''VideoGame/DemonsSouls'', the ''Dark Souls'' spiritual predecessor, has the four Archdemons (Maiden Astraea, the Old Monk, the Dragon God, and the Storm King) you must confront before King Allant.
194** ''VideoGame/DarkSoulsI'' has the Four Lords, Gwyn's Four Great Knights, the corrupted monsters the [[WolfpackBoss Four Kings]]. Four Lord Soul fragments open the way to the final boss.
195** ''VideoGame/DarkSoulsII'' has four Great Old Ones whose souls open the path to Drangleic Castle. [[spoiler:They even drop the souls of the original Lords on NewGamePlus.]]
196** ''VideoGame/DarkSoulsIII'' has ''five'' Lords of Cinder to bring to their thrones, but since [[FreeSamplePlotCoupon one already came there voluntarily]], you have four of them to kill.
197* ''VideoGame/DragonQuestIV'' has Psaro's four henchmen: Aamon, Rashalavak, Barbatos, and Pruslas.
198* In ''VideoGame/EternalSonata'', Count Waltz has four agents working directly under him: his right-hand man [[BeleagueredAssistant Legato]], the big lug [[GeneralRipper Tuba]], the cruel and calculating [[TheEvilGenius Fugue]], and the DualWielding assassin [[AnIcePerson Rondo]]. He actually has two other agents, [[spoiler:Claves and Serenade]], but both are spies and don't work directly under him.
199* The ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'' series has a recurring group of enemies often referred to as the Four Fiends, sometimes the Four Elemental Fiends or Archfiends. They usually double as a ClassicalElementsEnsemble, since the individual members are often associated with the elements of Fire, Water, Earth, and Air. The characters themselves vary, but some variant of the same "Four Fiends" team has appeared in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasy'', ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIV'' (and its direct sequel, ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIVTheAfterYears''), ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIX'', ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV Endwalker'', ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyTacticsAdvance'', ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyMysticQuest'', ''VideoGame/BravelyDefault'' (a SpiritualSuccessor to ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyThe4HeroesOfLight''), ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyDimensions'', ''VideoGame/DissidiaFinalFantasy'', and ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyAllTheBravest''.
200* ''Franchise/FireEmblem''
201** ''VideoGame/FireEmblemTheBlazingBlade'' features the Four Fangs, who are most elite members of the Black Fang, each with their own RedBaron titles -- [[LadyOfBlackMagic Ursula "the Blue Crow"]], [[TheStoic Lloyd Reed "the White Wolf"]], [[HotBlooded Linus Reed "the Mad Dog"]], and [[{{Tykebomb}} Jaffar "the Angel of Death"]], all of whom report to Brandon Reed, the boss of the Black Fang. Furthermore, the game shows that membership in the Four Fangs is not static, as former Four Fangs members [[PsychoForHire Jerme "the Death Kite"]] (demoted due to Jaffar being a better assassin) and [[TheSociopath Pascal Grentzer "the Crazed Beast"]] ([[EvenEvilHasStandards ousted due to being too ruthless]]) make appearances, as well.
202** In ''VideoGame/FireEmblemPathOfRadiance'', Daein's most elite generals are the Four Riders of Daein, [[BadBoss Petrine]], [[DeathSeeker Bertram]], the BlackKnight, and [[MyCountryRightOrWrong Bryce]], all of whom report to the Ashnard "the Mad King." They are the successors to the Great Riders of Daein, who were themselves another Elite Four, and consisted of [[MasterSwordsman Gawain]], [[DefectorFromDecadence Tauroneo]], Lanvega, and the very same [[UndyingLoyalty Bryce]].
203** Walhart from ''VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening'' has Excellus, Pheros, Yen'fay, and Cervantes.
204** In ''VideoGame/FireEmblemFates'', both Hoshido and Nohr have Corrin's four siblings as the primary antagonists. When Corrin chooses to side with one set against the others, they become a heroic [[FiveManBand group of five core members instead]]. Plus [[SixthRanger Azura]].
205** In ''VideoGame/TokyoMirageSessionsFE'', [[spoiler:the Shadow Dragon Medeus revives four enemy Mirages Itsuki and his friends fought before: Garrick, Aversa, Gangrel, and Excellus.]]
206** In ''VideoGame/FireEmblemEngage'', the Four Hounds act as commanders of the Fell Dragon's forces and are some of his most powerful subordinates. They consist of [[DragonsAreDemonic Zephia]], [[CombatSadomasochist Griss]], [[LittleMissBadass Marni]], and [[NobleDemon Mauvier]].
207* ''VideoGame/GodHand'': The 4 Devas are a group of baddies who's out to resurrect their master, the ancient demon Angra Mainyu, to take over the world. They are Belze (he has the highest pecking order of the four), Azel (the EvilCounterpart), Elvis and Shannon. Played with when there's the "5th Deva" in form of Dr. Ion; he's actually merely the 4 Devas' ally.
208* The Millenion crime gang in ''VideoGame/{{Gungrave}}'' has the Big Four, the elite members who answers directly from their leader, Harry [=McDowell=]. They are [[FatBastard Bob Poundmax]], Balladbird Lee, [[ScaryBlackMan Bear Walken]] and [[NobleDemon Bunji Kugashira]]. Brandon Heat, our protagonist, was once a part of the group until he died (and resurrected as Beyond the Grave) and Bunji, his apprentice, took his place.
209* ''VideoGame/HalfMinuteHero'': DiscussedTrope (and EnforcedTrope) in Evil Lord 30 Mode, as the Evil Lord believes that he is not complete without a Fabulous Foursome and goes out to recruit them.
210* ''VideoGame/HalfMinuteHero 2: The Second Coming'': The Four Ultimate Kings are the strongest commanders of the Ultimate Evil Lord Metsvolos.
211* ''VideoGame/HyperdimensionNeptuniamk2'': here, 四天王 is the Japanese name of four giant monsters, leaders of Arfoire Syndicate of International Crime, an organization planning to revive Deity of Sin Arfoire. In English translation they are named Four Felons. [[spoiler:In the end it turns out they've been vessels of Arfoire's power and once they all die, Deity of Sin is going to fully revive.]]
212* ''VideoGame/{{Inscryption}}'': The four Scrybes- [[spoiler:[[{{Druid}} Leshy]], [[{{Necromancer}} Grimora]], [[ArtAttacker Magnificus]], and [[TVHeadRobot P03]]]]- are the masters of the titular card game, each having dominion over one of the four card types (Beasts, Undead, Magickal, and Technology), and in Act 2 are the main bosses the challenger must defeat ToBeAMaster. Though unlike the ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'' Elite Four of which they are inspired, you fight each in a separate location akin to Gym Leaders, and the "champion" is simply whichever Scrybe you decide to replace after beating them all once. [[spoiler:They're also the BigBadEnsemble competing for control of the game world.]]
213* The Four Heavenly Kings of Orochi in ''Franchise/TheKingOfFighters'', each with control over a different element. Orochi also has Four Earthly Kings, who are weaker and less prominent than the Heavenly ones; together, they form the Eight Heads of Orochi. The Hizoku (a ninja clan with suspicious motives) has its own set of Heavenly Kings - [[PoisonousPerson Lin]], [[UseYourHead Sai]], [[PlayingWithFire Ran]] and {{C|reepyChild}}hat.
214* ''Franchise/{{Kirby}}'':
215** ''VideoGame/KirbySuperStar Ultra'' has The True Arena, a successor to the original ''Super Star'''s Arena. There are 10 fights in total with upgraded versions of the original game's bosses which always ends with a fixed set of "Last 4" bosses. The first three are the bosses of the new subgames added to the remake: Masked Dedede, Wham Bam Jewel, and Galacta Knight. The fourth is exclusive to this mode, and thus could be considered a TrueFinalBoss: Marx Soul.
216** Much like in ''Kirby Super Star Ultra'', The True Arena in ''VideoGame/KirbyTripleDeluxe'' ends with the "Nightmare Four," consisting of battles against [[spoiler:Queen Sectonia DX, Shadow Dedede, Dark Meta Knight's Revenge and Soul of Sectonia]] in a fixed order, compared to the randomized order of the prior battles.
217** The four parallel bosses in the "Heroes in Another Dimension" mode of ''VideoGame/KirbyStarAllies'' (Parallel Woods, Parallel Kracko, Parallel Meta Knight and Parallel Dedede) are referred to as the "Otherworldly Four Heavenly Kings" in the Japanese, Chinese and Korean versions.
218* The main villains throughout the ''VideoGame/{{Lufia}}'' series are the four "Sinistrals", also known as "divine beings" or simply gods. They are Gades, Amon, Erim and Daos, and apparently represent the evils of Destruction, Chaos, Death and Terror, respectively. They are ruled by another being known as Arek, who never interferes, and it's plausible that other divine beings may exist, but they never appear.
219* ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'':
220** In ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaMajorasMask'', before taking on the final boss, Link must first defeat the Four Guardians, each of which is a boss that yields a PlotCoupon mask after its defeat, freeing the spirit of one of the Four Giants. Once all of the Giants are free, Link must summon them to hold up the moon and keep it from [[ColonyDrop crashing into Termina]]. The Four Giants clearly take their inspiration from the Buddhist Four Heavenly Kings, each guarding one of the four directions to which Link must travel to free them--the Southern Swamp, the Northern Mountain, the Western Ocean, and the Eastern Canyon.
221** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild'' has the four Divine Beasts running wild in the corners of the map, wreaking havoc on nearby settlements. Although defeating them isn't necessary to take on Calamity Ganon, doing so aids Link in the final battle. The Blight Ganons controlling them, however, are required, as any of them that Link has ''not'' defeated will appear at Hyrule Castle to defend the Calamity if Link goes to fight the latter first.
222* ''Franchise/MegaMan''
223** ''VideoGame/MegaManZero'': BigBad Copy X has his Four Guardians (literally called Shitennou in Japanese), his 4 personal guards as well as generals of their own armies: Harpuia (the air force), Fefnir (the army), Leviathan (the navy) and Phantom (the espionage and intel unit).
224** Averted, due to resource limitations, in ''VideoGame/MegaManX2''. The X-Hunters were supposed to have a fourth, female member, but neither she nor Violen's second form made it into the game.
225* ''VideoGame/MetalGearRisingRevengeance'' has the four Winds of Destruction that Raiden must defeat: Mistral, Monsoon, Jetstream, and Sundowner. DLC reveals that there used to be a fifth, Khamsin, but he's dead by the time of the game.
226* In ''Monster Girl Quest'', the Monster Lord's four lieutenants are each connected to one of the [[ClassicalElementsEnsemble four elements]]. They are Alma Elma the Succubus Queen (Wind), Tamamo the Nine-Tailed Fox (Earth), Eruberite the Slime Queen (Water), and Granberia the Dragon Knight (Fire, though she technically has a mastery of all four elements). The English translation unusually renders their title as the "Four Heavenly Knights" rather than "Kings", apparently to emphasize that the Monster Lord is the actual ''ruler''.
227* ''VideoGame/MonsterHunter'':
228** ''VideoGame/MonsterHunterGenerations'' has the Fated Four, the game's four [[{{Mascot}} flagship monsters]] (Astalos, Gammoth, Mizutsune, and Glavenus) that all get their own specially-animated cutscenes and a lot of importance in-game.
229** ''VideoGame/MonsterHunterWorld'': before facing the final boss of the main story you have to take down four Elder Dragons, significantly stronger and physiologically different enemies compared to all the previous wyverns you hunted. Each has their own thematic powers: Kushala Daora rules over winds, Teostra is a dragon of fire, Vaal Hazak represents death and decay, and Nergigante smashes you in the face really, really hard.
230* ''VideoGame/NinjaGaiden'':
231** The Malice Four in the NES game.
232** Archfiend Vazdah, the BigBad of ''Ninja Gaiden 2'', has a sect of four Fiend generals known as the Four Greater Fiends serving under him: Elizébet, [[ThePowerOfBlood Ruler of Blood]]; Alexei, [[ShockAndAwe Ruler of Lightning]]; Volf, [[BlowYouAway Ruler of Storms]]; and Zedonius, [[PlayingWithFire Ruler of Flame]].
233* ''VideoGame/NintendoWars'':
234** ''Advance Wars: Black Hole Rising'': When Sturm returns, he brings with him four [=COs=]: Flak, Adder, Lash, and Hawke, and tasks each of them with invading a different nation in the Wars World.
235** ''Advance Wars: Dual Strike'': The Bolt Guard are a team of four [=COs=]: Von Bolt (the leader himself), Jugger, Koal, and Kindle, who take control of Black Hole after Sturm's defeat in ''Black Hole Rising''.
236* Zigzagged in ''VideoGame/NoMoreHeroesIII''. FU refers to the four aliens ranked under him as “the big four”, but Travis only fights Midori Midorikawa in a proper battle. Sniping Lee is killed off by another character before Travis can fight him, Paradox Bandit is killed by FU in a rage after he’s caught taking a nap on the job, and although Travis does fight Sonic Juice, when he concedes the fight, FU decides to kill him too.
237* The four Knights of Danika in ''VideoGame/OgreBattle64''. You can also get a maximum of four Black Knights.
238* The Four Devas in the original ''VideoGame/OgreBattle''.
239* The English version of ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'' is the {{Trope Namer|s}}, a localization of "Shitennou" or "Four Heavenly Kings".
240** Each and every game (except ''[[VideoGame/PokemonSwordAndShield Sword and Shield]]'') has the player's journey to the league end with beating the Elite Four, a group of four powerful trainers, second only to the Champion in terms of skill. After beating them you [[YourPrincessIsInAnotherCastle unexpectedly]] get to face the resident Champion himself or herself and take the title, ending the plot.
241** In ''[[VideoGame/PokemonDiamondAndPearl Platinum]]'', Cyrus has four Commanders under him, though only the three that existed in ''Diamond'' and ''Pearl'' are actually battled.
242** There are also four Team Rocket Executives in ''[[VideoGame/PokemonGoldAndSilver HeartGold and SoulSilver]]'', and earlier a group of Four Rocket Brothers in ''[[VideoGame/PokemonRedAndBlue Red and Blue]]''. The ''[[VideoGame/PokemonLetsGoPikachuAndLetsGoEevee Let's Go!]]'' games have four Rocket Sisters, though they're not located in the same place and only claim to be a team in their pre-battle dialog.
243** In ''VideoGame/PokemonXAndY'', Team Flare leader Lysandre has four female scientists.
244** The Fighting Dojo in ''Red and Blue'' and its remakes has four flunkie trainers arranged symmetrically under their Karate Master boss. It's possible to skip some of them with clever movement, though.
245** The Orre region doesn't have a Pokémon League, but ''VideoGame/PokemonColosseum'' has the four admins of the evil organization Cipher: [[DiscoDan Miror B.]], [[TheBrute Dakim]], [[TheSmurfettePrinciple Venus]], and [[MadScientist Ein]]. They're fought as bosses throughout the game and rematched in the final dungeon and post-game.
246* In ''VideoGame/ResidentEvilVillage'', the titular village is ruled by four "Lords" under the authority of a figure known as Mother Miranda. Ethan has to contend with each of them in order of [[OurVampiresAreDifferent Lady Dimetrescu]], [[EvilPuppeteer Lady Beneviento]], [[FishPeople Lord Moreau]] and [[MadScientist Lord Heisenberg]].
247* ''VideoGame/RingFitAdventure'' has the Four Masters, a quartet of fitness gurus who each specialize in one of the game's four types of exercise (arms, core, legs, and yoga).
248* ''VideoGame/RiverCityRansom'' has the Zombies, a faction of the Plague comprised exactly of four members. In the Japanese version, they were known as the Shitennō.
249* ''[[VideoGame/SagaRPG [=SaGa=]]]''
250** ''VideoGame/RomancingSaGa'' has 4 Elemental Lords; beings that embody the elements: Pyrix (Fire), Adyllis (Earth), Strom (Water), and Avi (Air). Fighting them is optional; however, [[spoiler:failing their Ecology Quests forces you to fight a corrupted yet stronger version of them]].
251** ''VideoGame/RomancingSaga3'' 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.
252** ''VideoGame/SagaFrontier'' has the Four Emperors of [[NebulousEvilOrganisation [=BlackX=]]], each one representing a race of the setting: monsters (Berva), [[TheFairFolk Mystics]] ([[spoiler:Cindy Campbell]]), mechs (Metal Black), and humans (Dr Klein).
253* In ''VideoGame/StreetFighterII'', after beating all the other characters, the player then got to challenge Balrog, Vega, Sagat, and M. Bison, who form the "Four Devas" of Shadaloo. The series introduced more members to the organization later, but the only change to the four is F.A.N.G. taking Sagat's place when the latter left.
254* In ''VideoGame/{{Summoner}}'' the role of Emperor Murod's [[TheDragon Dragon]] is filled by the Four Riders: The Serpent Rider, the Tiger Rider, the Ghost Rider and the Phoenix Rider.
255* ''VideoGame/SuperMetroid'' calls attention to its four strongest bosses (excepting BigBad Mother Brain) with a golden statue of the four clustered together that blocks the entrance to the final level. While the group is not explicitly given a name in the game, some sources refer to them as the Four Guardians (Kraid, Phantoon, Draygon, and Ridley).
256* In ''VideoGame/TalesOfXillia'', King Gaius has a group of four elite generals known as the Chimeriad, all of whom are faced as bosses at various points in the game. They are Jiao, Wingul, Presa, and [[spoiler:Agria]]. They also double as a ClassicalElementsEnsemble, since Jiao specializes in [[DishingOutDirt earth]], Presa specializes in [[MakingASplash water]] and [[AnIcePerson ice]], Wingul specializes in [[BlowYouAway air]] and [[ShockAndAwe electricity]] (and dabbles in [[PlayingWithFire fire]]), and [[spoiler:Agria]] specializes in [[PlayingWithFire fire]].
257* ''VideoGame/TokyoXtremeRacer'' features the Four Devas (who, for bonus points, are called the Four Heavenly Kings in Japan) and their [[MirrorCharacter Mirrors]], the Four Devils. They are, by that point in time, the fastest racers through-out the Tokyo Metropolis.
258* ''Franchise/TouhouProject'':
259** "Four Devas of the Mountains", a group of four powerful {{oni}} who used to rule the Youkai Mountain, and then went their separate ways when they left the Outside World for Gensokyo. [[VideoGame/TouhouSuimusouImmaterialAndMissingPower Suika Ibuki]] and [[VideoGame/TouhouChireidenSubterraneanAnimism Yuugi Hoshiguma]] are confirmed to be two of the Devas, while [[Manga/TouhouIbarakasenWildAndHornedHermit Kasen Ibaraki]] is strongly implied [[spoiler:and later confirmed]] to be the third.
260** In ''VideoGame/TouhouKikeijuuWilyBeastAndWeakestCreature'', the Animal Realm is ruled by four factions. The Kiketsu Family is led by the stage 4 boss, Yachie Kicchou, and the Keiga Family is led by Saki Kurokoma, the OptionalBoss. The Gouyaku Alliance's leader, Toutetsu, is mentioned but does not make an appearance. The last, unnamed faction, has no named leader. The appearance of Keiki and her idol as a new faction is what kicks off the plot of the game.
261* The SNES version of ''VideoGame/WariosWoods'' has the elf Dedar claim that the final four opponents Toad faces -- himself, the knight Carlton, the rabbit Harry H, and Wario himself -- never lose. It’s up to you and Toad to beat them all.
262* In ''VideoGame/WildArms1'', the leaders of the Demon army are called the Quarter Knights. ''VideoGame/WildArms2'' follows this up with a four-member RecurringBoss squad known as Cocytus, who become the party's main antagonists for the first half of the game.
263* This trope popped up a few times in the ''Burning Crusade'' expansion of ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'':
264** High King Maulgar is accompained by four ogre spellcasters (a Mage, a Priest, a Warlock and a Shaman).
265** Kael'thas' boss enocunter in Tempest Keep has him make you fight against his four advisors, first one by one, then all at once after being revived.
266** The second-to-last boss in the Black Temple is the Illidari Council, a group of four Blood Elves (a Paladin, a Rogue, a Mage and a Priest).
267[[/folder]]
268
269[[folder:VisualNovels]]
270* In ''VisualNovel/FullMetalDaemonMuramasa'', the main character [[DiscussedTrope considers]] that the Four Generals of Kanto fit this trope to a T.
271[[/folder]]
272
273[[folder:Webcomics]]
274* In ''Webcomic/{{Brutus}}'', the shadowy BigBad acts mainly through four lieutenants (Italia, Illyricum, Oriens, and Gallia), who are also a ClassicalElementsEnsemble.
275[[/folder]]
276
277[[folder:Western Animation]]
278* CardCarryingVillain Optimatus from ''WesternAnimation/LoonaticsUnleashed'' freed four select villains in the Loonatics' RoguesGallery from prison capsules, to occupy / overrun the Loonatics while Optimatus engineers a ''coup d'etat'' on planet Blanc. The four Optimatus selects are [[TheBigGuy Massive]], [[TheSmartGuy Mallory Mastermind]], [[TheBerserker Weathervane]], and [[AllYourPowersCombined Sypher]].
279* ''WesternAnimation/MummiesAlive'': The eponymous mummies are four warriors from Ancient Egypt who in life were guardians of the young Prince Rapses. In the modern day, they serve as guardians to Presley, the current incarnation of their original charge.
280* ''WesternAnimation/StarVsTheForcesOfEvil'': [[Characters/StarVsTheForcesOfEvilTheMagicHighCommission The Magic High Commission]] are a group of powerful magical beings at the head of the Bureaucracy of Magic, created by Glossaryck to protect the magic of the universe. The comisssion consists of Heckapoo, Rhombulus, Ommnitraxus Prime, and Lekmet.
281* The Foot Clan in ''WesternAnimation/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles2003'' has the Foot Elite, a group of four Foot Ninja who are much stronger than their regular counterparts. In their first appearance, they almost managed to kill Leonardo.
282[[/folder]]
283
284[[folder:Real Life]]
285* The first instance of ''shitennō'' in Japan dated back in the Heian period, where famous samurai popularized as a [[DemonSlaying Demon Slayer]] Minamoto no Yorimitsu was constantly accompanied by four retainers that helped him in his tales of demon-slaying (and for good measure, attaches TheFourGods in it): Sakata Kintoki (Suzaku), Usui Sadamitsu (Genbu), Urabe no Suetake (Seiryuu) and Watanabe no Tsuna (Byakko).
286* During the UsefulNotes/SengokuPeriod, UsefulNotes/TokugawaIeyasu is known to have four top retainers, known with their fierceness in battle and their UndyingLoyalty, which saved his bacon so many times and helped him a lot in his journey to unify Japan (sort of, he did enjoy the fruits of unification created by [[UsefulNotes/OdaNobunaga his]] [[UsefulNotes/ToyotomiHideyoshi predecessors]]), and also dubbed them ''shitennō'' in the same vein of Yorimitsu above. These include: UsefulNotes/HondaTadakatsu, Sakai Tadatsugu, Sakakibara Yasumasa and Ii Naomasa.
287* The "Great Offices of State" are the top four positions in the British Government. In rough order of precedence they are: the Prime Minister, the Chancellor of the Exchequer[[note]]NumberTwo, runs the economy[[/note]], the Home Secretary[[note]]responsible for national security, policing and immigration policy[[/note]] and the Foreign Secretary.
288[[/folder]]

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