Line #108 Main/BallOfLightTransformation


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6	The Ball of Light Transformation is a peculiar form of VoluntaryShapeshifting, where a character becomes not another creature but a flying orb, mote, speck, flame or tiny star made of light. Size, color and brightness can vary.
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8	Such a form is often invulnerable, light being intangible, or at the very least very hard to hit thanks to its small size and mobility. Some can even goes through walls, or slip through tiny spaces. Although many will just use this form as an alternate means of {{Flight}}.
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10	This is a power commonly associated with fairies and similar creatures. Can be a variant of ElementalShapeshifter, with light or PureEnergy substituted to other elements.
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12	Contrasting with this transformation as a standard power, it can also be a one-time event when a character is [[{{Metamorphosis}} metamorphosed]], [[BackFromTheDead resurrected]], [[AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence ascended to a higher plane of existence]] or other life-changing event.
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14	The popularity of this trope in film or live-action TV can be linked to it being a very easy special effect.
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16	Compare with EnergyBeings, SparkFairy and WillOTheWisp, for things that have this shape permanently.
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18	----
19	!!Examples:
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21	[[foldercontrol]]
22
23	[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
24	* Mikujin, the RobotBuddy sidekick from ''Anime/DoraemonNobitasDorabianNights'' has the ability to turn himself into a fiery orb of fire at will. Earlier on Mikujin (who seemingly ditched Doraemon and gang) comes back and rescues the heroes when their sleeping pods are flung into a storm by the villains, and Suneo said they were rescued by a ball of flames, which everyone scoffed at and said he's dreaming. That ball of flames turns out to be none other than Mikujin, much later in the story.
25	* ''Anime/EtoRangers'': The [[MonsterOfTheWeek Jyarei Monsters]], the [[EliteFour Jyarei Elite]] and even [[BigBad Jyarei Queen Nyanma herself]] are all capable of turning into balls of light. For the Monsters and the Elite, they do this to invade the Novel Worlds; in Nyanma's case, she uses it when she goes to Mugen on certain occasions.
26	* The first season finale of ''Anime/HellGirl'' sees this used as an alternate form of flight. Ai becomes a ball of purple light when escaping [[spoiler:the spider]] so that she can take her revenge on [[spoiler:Hajime and Tsugumi]] in the world of the living. Her minions do the same, albeit in colors corresponding to their straw doll forms, to follow her in hopes of talking her down.
27	* ''Manga/NatsumesBookOfFriends'': When the gods Fuzuki and Houzuki decide to leave Mount Misumi, they and their followers transform into balls of light to depart from the mountain.
28	[[/folder]]
29
30	[[folder:Comic Books]]
31	* ''ComicBook/{{Melusine}}'': Fairies like Mélisande can turn into a small ball of light. Mélisande mostly uses it when needing to fly faster than with her fairy wings. Notably, on her first appearance in the comic, Mélusine confuses her for a firefly and catches her in a glass jar. Also of note, when Mélisande uses it to sneak into Mister Haaselblatt's office after being egged on by the other witch's school students.
32	* ''ComicBook/SpiderMan'': Will O' the Wisp can fly by making himself lighter than air and expelling a trail of excess molecules behind him. He gives off so much light when he does this that he looks like an ethereal glowing sphere.
33	[[/folder]]
34
35	[[folder:Films -- Animation]]
36	* In the ''Franchise/DisneyFairies'' movies, Clarion the Queen Fairy often shows up first as a trio of floating lights that then coalesces into her physical form.
37	* ''WesternAnimation/DuckTalesTheMovieTreasureOfTheLostLamp'': Unlike other genies who would rather [[SuperSmoke turn into smoke]], the genie in this movie (and anybody he brings inside the lamp with him) becomes a small cloud of sparks or a mote of light to enter/exit the lamp.
38	* The Blue Fairy from ''WesternAnimation/{{Pinocchio}}'' first appears as a bright light that looks like a star before taking the form of a beautiful woman. Then she departs in the same way.
39	[[/folder]]
40
41	[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
42	* ''Film/TheChroniclesOfNarnia: Film/TheVoyageOfTheDawnTreader'' has Lilliandil, Ramandu's daughter, falling from the sky as a blue star before taking human form. Then she rises up again in the same shape. It's implied, though, that the star is her true form and that she could take any she wish.
43	-->'''Lilliandil:''' If [my beauty] is a distraction, I can change form.
44	* Helena Ravenclaw, being a ghost, has this power in the second part of the film adaptation of the seventh book of the ''Franchise/HarryPotter'' series, ''Film/HarryPotterAndTheDeathlyHallows''.
45	* ''Film/{{Legend\|1985}}''. The fairy Oona can change into a small ball of light and fly around. She does so in Darkness's dungeon to escape a prison cell and obtain the key to the cell.
46	* The Principal from ''Film/{{Sky High\|2005}}'' can transform into something similar to a mini-star. It gives her the ability to fly at a very high speed with drastic changes in direction and angle.
47	* Glinda the good witch turns into a pinkish orb to fly around in ''Film/TheWizardOfOz''.
48	[[/folder]]
49
50	[[folder:Literature]]
51	* ''Literature/HaruhiSuzumiya'': The [[PsychicPowers espers]] are depicted as turning into balls of red light when in Closed Space.
52	* This is the true form of the Terrestrials in Creator/EricFrankRussell's "Metamorphosite". The apparent captives turn into blindingly bright light at the end of the story -- their humanoid appearance was simply AFormYouAreComfortableWith.
53	* ''Literature/TheStormlightArchive'': This is the power of the ''nex-im'' brand of Fused. The Fused spirit can eject from its body as a ribbon of reddish light, leaving behind a hollow husk of carapace. The Fused then flies with extreme speed in its ribbon form before recreating its body at the destination point. The only way to kill a Fused of this brand ([[ResurrectiveImmortality inasmuch as you can ever kill a Fused, anyway]]) is to either kill it so quickly that it has no chance to eject, or to bait it into using four bodies in a row to fight you instead of retreating to replenish its Voidlight on the fourth jump.
54	[[/folder]]
55
56	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
57	* ''Series/BabylonFive''. "[[Recap/BabylonFiveS04E22TheDeconstructionOfFallingStars The Deconstruction of Falling Stars]]" has a being who's watching the events of the episode do this to reveal that he's in the future, and that humanity has evolved into EnergyBeings much like the Vorlons before them.
58	* In ''Series/{{Charmed\|1998}}'' this is an ability of the Whitelighters, called orbing, and their primary means of transportation. Although the "ball" shape is probably based on episode budget, because it isn't used every time. Their transformation looks more like ''Franchise/StarTrek'' teleportation.
59	* Kamen Rider Meteor from ''Series/KamenRiderFourze'' transforms by being enveloped in a SphereOfPower that flies away, performing a DynamicEntry upon landing as an explosion of energy and revealing his Rider form once it has faded.
60	* ''Series/{{Merlin\|2008}}'':
61	** The Sidhe, [[OurFairiesAreDifferent which in this series are small blue-skinned fairies]], often appears as small, blue balls of light flying around.
62	** In the episode "[[Recap/MerlinS03E03GoblinsGold Goblin's Gold]]", the title goblin can turn into a mote of light. He uses it to escape pursuit and fly through walls, but also to enter a human's body and attempt [[DemonicPossession possession]], successfully with Gaius.
63	* In the SeriesFauxnale for ''Series/MysteryScienceTheater3000'', as the Satellite of Love crew approaches the edge of the universe, they become balls of light corresponding to the main colors of the characters (Mike=Blue, Crow=Yellow, Servo=Red, Cambot=White, Gypsy=Purple). Of course, when the series was {{Uncancelled}}, [[StatusQuoIsGod they reverted back to their regular forms]].
64	* From ''Series/PowerRangersSPD'', Sam/SPD Omega Ranger can turn into a ball of light from time travel... changing his body into light energy, or somesuch.
65	* The hero of ''Series/SpaceSheriffGavan'' starts using an energy form to fly and fight enemies as the series goes on. He once meets an opponent with a similar power, San Dorva; when he turns into a ball of light, Gavan responds in kind and they tussle for a while in the air as red and blue balls of light, respectively.
66	* In ''Series/StargateSG1'' and the rest of the Franchise/StargateVerse, people who AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence take the form not of a ball of light, but of a luminous blob with waving tendrils. Ascended Ancients can then take this form at will, but they're pretty much EnergyBeings all the time by this point -- though they can also resume a material form if they wish.
67	* This is the true form of the Organians in the ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'' episode "[[Recap/StarTrekS1E26ErrandOfMercy Errand of Mercy]]". The amiable old men turn into blindingly bright light at the end of the episode -- their humanoid appearance was simply AFormYouAreComfortableWith.
68	* The various Ultras from the ''Franchise/UltraSeries'' have demonstrated abilities to transform themselves into balls of energy for interstellar travel. The pilot of ''Series/{{Ultraman}}'' in fact has Ultraman in the form of a glowing red orb pursuing the space monster, Bemular, in the form of a blue orb, both of them who ends up crashing in the mountains of Japan.
69	[[/folder]]
70
71	[[folder:Myths & Religion]]
72	* Caribbean legends speak of a kind of evil hag known in different parts as soucoyant, loogaroo, asema, or Ole-Higue. Whatever the name, she appears as an old woman by day, but by night transforms into a ball of ghostly fire (leaving her skin behind) and flies off to suck the blood from people. The way to destroy her is to find the discarded skin and [[WeakToSalt salt it]]; depending on the legend, she then either becomes poisoned by the salt when she puts the skin back on, or is unable to put it on at all and perishes without it.
73	[[/folder]]
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75	[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
76	* ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'':
77	** The boggart is the immature form of a WillOWisp. It is a VoluntaryShapeshifter that can change its form between that of a small demihuman/humanoid and that of a will-o'-wisp (ball of light).
78	** Most types of Eladrin (fairy-like outsiders from the ChaoticGood planes) can turn into a ball of light, depriving them of most of their abilities but allowing them to become incorporeal, fly and shoot energy blasts.
79	** Arcane casters can duplicate this with the 3.5[[superscript:th]] Edition ''eladrin form'' spell (from the ''Book of Exalted Deeds'').
80	[[/folder]]
81
82	[[folder:Toys]]
83	* In ''Toys/{{Bionicle}}'', Umbra has this ability and uses it offensively.
84	[[/folder]]
85
86	[[folder:Video Games]]
87	* As with the tabletop examples above, ''VideoGame/DungeonsAndDragonsOnline'' features [[http://ddowiki.com/page/Ghaele_Eladrin_race Ghaele Eladrin]] that can take the shape of a lantern archon.
88	* The [[TelepathicSpacemen Empyrean]] Channelers from ''VideoGame/IronMarines'' use their PsychicPowers to turn into a ball of energy for ridiculously quick movement. This makes them the fastest deployable squad units in the game.
89	* In ''VideoGame/KirbyAndTheForgottenLand'', [[spoiler:after you seem to have defeated Chaos Elfilin, its soul flies out as a giant white sphere with a blood-red outline. On top of that, the original bosses form gets turned into blobs of flesh that orbit it. NightmareFuel indeed.]]
90	* In ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfKyrandia: Fables and Fiends'', the purple spell from the amulet allows you to transform into a WillOWisp (a group of purple, floating lights). You can float over things that have no ground, can travel in cavern rooms indefinitely (you light your own room, so cannot be hurt by the beings that lurk in the dark).
91	* Seen in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime'' when Link uses the Ocarina to warp to the various temples. The Sages also seem to be able to do this as well.
92	* ''VideoGame/MegaManZero'': Cyber Elves are beings of data that are contained in floating balls of light. The previous hero VideoGame/MegaManX, now having become a cyber-elf himself, can take on either this form or a holographic version of himself.
93	* In the ''VideoGame/MetroidPrimeTrilogy'', Samus takes this form inside the [[BeTheBall Morph Ball]], a process that the SpacePirates are unable to replicate.
94	* ''VideoGame/Psychonauts2'' has this in reverse, as the mind of a BrainInAJar begins in a Ball of Light form, gains an eye soon after, sprouts a nose, ears, a hand, and lips, [[spoiler: and then transforms back into his presumed-dead human form.]]
95	* ''VideoGame/ShantaeHalfGenieHero'': Hypno Baron's Castle has CuteGhostGirl [[https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1236620800/shantae-half-genie-hero/posts/1390081 Ikki]] who's invulnerable to damage when using her ball-of-light form to [[TravelTransformation travel]] around the room and not attacking, having to detransform to attack.
96	* In ''VideoGame/TheSims3: Supernatural'', fairies can transform into a ball of light.
97	* Tikal of ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure'' often appears in the form of a light ball as the Hint Orbs you can find in stages.
98	* ''Franchise/SuperMarioBros'':
99	** Geno's true form in ''[[VideoGame/SuperMarioRPG Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars]]'' is a small star that looks like a point of light. Most of the time he's in the form of a wooden doll that said star is possessing.
100	** Magikoopas in ''VideoGame/SuperMarioGalaxy'' warp around by turning into a flying ball of light.
101	* In the ''Franchise/{{Tekken}}'' franchise, Angel (the closest thing to a BigGood within the series, though she only appears in the second game and the non-canon Tag games) possesses this ability, as yet another way to show LightIsGood.
102	* ''VideoGame/AVeryLongRopeToTheTopOfTheSky'': Saecelium teleportation applies such a transformation to the traveler, that travels to their destination then turns back.
103	* ''VideoGame/YsIIAncientYsVanishedTheFinalChapter'':
104	** At the beginning, Adol assumes this form during his flight from Darm Tower to Ys.
105	** The goddesses do this when they AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence at the end, leaving their physical forms behind as statues.
106	[[/folder]]
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108	[[folder:Webcomics]]
109	* In ''Webcomic/ChampionsOfFaraus'', Monstrovs with Light, Arcane, or [[InvertedTrope Shadow]] power sets, as opposed to ones without them, get a third form in addition to their [[VoluntaryShapeshifter humanoid and monster forms]], referred to as "amorphous" forms, that are more-or-less ball-shaped forms made of the respective magic type. The amorphous form [[NoSell No-Sells]] non-magic and non-elemental based attacks, and can fly in the air, and through most objects, giving Monstrovs without air or lighting power sets the ability to fly, but the form actively drains their energy.
110	* In ''Webcomic/SuperTemps'', superhero High Voltage (which, as is easy to guess from his name, has [[ShockAndAwe electric powers]]) can use a "travel form" to fly, which is a ball of energy surrounded by lightning bolts.
111	* ''Webcomic/{{XRS}}'': When flying at speeds above mach 3 the XRS is engulfed in radiation, becoming a being made of pure energy. When in this form, the suit is virtually invulnerable to any physical attack and capable of destroying any man made object on impact. It can reach tested speeds of at least Mach 30 or 22,836 miles per hour.
112	[[/folder]]
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114	[[folder:Western Animation]]
115	* ''WesternAnimation/CodeLyoko'': Unlike other, rather than taking the form of a humanoid DigitalAvatar, Franz Hopper is permanently virtualized on Lyoko under the shape of a brilliant ball of light.
116	* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'':
117	** At the end of "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS3E13MagicalMysteryCure Magical Mystery Cure]]", Twilight Sparkle returns from the astral plane as a mote of light in the shape of her own cutie mark, before [[spoiler:rematerializing as an [[WingedUnicorn alicorn]]]].
118	** In "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS4E26TwilightsKingdomPart2 Twilight's Kingdom – Part 2]]", the Mane Six appear to go through a phase of this type during their SuperMode TransformationSequence.
119	[[/folder]]

Context Main / BallOfLightTransformation