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Magical or advanced scientific phenomena can manifest all manner of visuals in fiction. One of the most recurring is a ring or rings made of light, energy or some kind of glowing substance. This is used in processes such as Teleportation, futuristic vehicle propulsion, Transformation Sequences and use of Psychic Powers. This is likely influenced by the fact that illustrations of certain processes such as transmission of signals or vibrations are drawn as waves of expanding rings.

Super-Trope to Energy Ring Attack. See Instant Runes, which often incorporate rings. See also When Things Spin, Science Happens, as the spinning bits are usually ring-shaped. Compare with Kirby Dots. Not to be confused with Ring of Power or Rings of Death. Machines or devices with physical rings as part of them do not count. Compare and contrast Heavenly Concentric Circles, concentric rings are used to signal the appearance of heavenly planes or beings.


Examples:

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    Anime & Manga 
  • Bayonetta: Bloody Fate: The Irenic has a lightning attack fired from a golden ring of light that manifests around its face.
  • Digimon:
    • Digimon Adventure 02:
      • Gatomon and Patamon's Armor Digivolution sequences both feature them briefly becoming an upward-travelling beam of glowing rings as they fuse with their respective armor eggs.
      • The DNA Digivolution sequences feature the Digivices creating a ring of data and code from which the resulting Digimon fusion emerges.
    • Digimon Tamers: The Biomerge Digivolution sequence involves rings of light manifesting around the tamers as they merge with their Digimon. These rings are still present when the perspective switches to the kids within the Digimon.
    • Digimon Frontier: Fractal Code is the data that Digimon's bodies are comprised of and typically appears as a glowing ring of light when manifested. The Digidestined's tranformation sequence has a ring of fractal code manifest around their hands as they scan it with their D-Tector.
    • Digimon Adventure tri.: The evolution sequences have been updated to involve rings manifesting around the Digimon's bodies. A large single ring passes upwards of them in champion evolution, multiple, smaller rings manifest across their form in super evolution and four glowing rings are featured in ultimate evolution.
    • Digimon Adventure: (2020): Agumon and Gabumon's evolution sequences feature rings of light.
      • During their champion evolutions, Agumon and Gabumon are hit with a beam of data surrounded by rings. The beam then transforms into a sphere around them, with the sphere itself surrounded by rings matching Agumon and Gabumon's respective signature colors.
      • The sphere surrounded by rings appears at the end of their super evolution sequences, exploding to reveal their ultimate forms.
      • In their ultimate evolutions, the rings surrounding the sphere interlock and explode as they take their mega forms.
    • Digimon Ghost Game: Digital phenomena are typically accompanied by rings glowing bar code stripes.
  • Platinum End: Whenever God candidates summon their Arrows to their hands, rings of light manifest around their hands as the Arrows appear.
  • Pokémon: The Aqua Ring move (see below in the video games section) has been featured in a few episodes and just like the games, it features rings of water materializing around the Pokemon.
  • Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Legend of the Supermutants: The Turtles' merging into Turtle Saint is completed by a beam of purple rings materializing as Turtle Saint appears.
  • Yu-Gi-Oh!:
    • Yu-Gi-Oh! 5Ds: When a Synchro Summon occurs, the tuner monster breaks up into a number of green rings equal to its level. The non-tuners break up into a number of energy balls equal to their combined levels and line themselves up through the rings. The energy balls then explode into a pillar of light and bring forth the Synchro Monster.
    • Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS: Unlike previous series, Duel Disks in this show don't have visible slots for the Duelists to play their cards, being more wristbands with a touchscreen interface. Whenever the Duelist needs to interact the Main Deck, Graveyard or Extra Deck, the disk produces a white ring of energy around their wrist.

    Comic Books 
  • The Authority: While searching for survivors in the third issue of the original series, The Doctor casts a spell to move some rubble out of the way. When this happens a ring of mystical symbols materializes around his arms.
  • Firestorm (DC Comics): Whenever Firestorm uses his powers, Rutherford's model of the atom sometimes manifests around his hands.
  • Marvel Universe:
    • Devil's Reign: In issue #1 of the Superior Four tie-in series Dr. Octopus is hit with a magic spell that manifests golden rings of light around his tentacles, causing him to temporarily lose control of them. The end of the issue reveals that the person behind this attack was another Dr. Octopus who wielded the armor and magic of Dr. Doom. He also has golden rings manifesting around his wrists when he uses his magic.
    • She-Hulk (2004):
      • In issue #12 of volume 2, Mr. Zix's transformation into his true form of Zeta 9 causes several yellow rings of light to appear around him. When he changes She-Hulk's clothing into her cosmic judge uniform, rings of pink light appear around her.
      • Issue #13 has She-Hulk and Starfox venturing into Thanos' mind where they witness memories of his previous battles. One of these is when the original Captain Marvel destroyed the Cosmic Cube, which the comic depicts as generating a blast of light shaped like Rutherford's model of the atom.
      • Colonel John Jameson generates rings of light when he teleports to Jen's location using his Stargod powers.
      • Issue #15: Talisman creates circles or half-circles of violet light anytime she uses her magic.
    • X-Men: Emperor Vulcan: Vulcan tries to kill Alex by throwing him into the vacuum of space. Alex survives by drawing power from a star, which grants him a Battle Aura composed of rings of blue light.
  • Sonic the Hedgehog (Archie Comics):
    • Amy uses the Mystic Melody in #282 to locate the shards of the Master Emerald. This process causes a ring of golden light to form around her head like a halo.
    • Sonic's Ultra Sonic form surrounds him in an atom cloud.
    • Sonic Universe #32: The Zone Cops' teleportation beams are visualized as golden-orange rings.
  • Sonic the Hedgehog (IDW): Starline's glove can hypnotize people, a process which involves generating ring-shaped waves.

    Films — Animation 

    Films — Live-Action 
  • Metropolis: When Rotwang activates his Robot Woman and has her take on the appearance of Maria, the transformation is accompanied by glowing rings that surround her, and travel up and down her body.
  • Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie: When the Rangers use their new powers to revive Zordon, the reactivation of the force field that houses his giant head form is accompanied by three rings that coalesce into a solid beam structure.
  • Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (2022): While trying to rescue Sonic, Tails and Tom, Rachel and Maddie are confronted by a GUN agent. Maddie whips out an anti-gravity device from Tails' backpack which generates a beam of rings as it launches the agent into the air.
  • Spider-Man: No Way Home:
    • When Dr. Strange casts the spell that will erase the world's memory of Spider-Man's identity, the spell is represented by a bunch of spinning, intertwined rings surrounding Peter and Strange.
    • Strange enchants one of Peter's web-shooters into a magical gauntlet that sends any of the multiverse visitors to the Sanctum in one shot. The gauntlet's manifesting around Peter's arm is accompanied by three glowing rings.
  • Star Trek (2009): The teleportation effect in this movie takes the form of numerous white rings of light surrounding the individual before they are transported.

    Literature 

    Live-Action TV 
  • Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons: The Mysterons can create copies of their murder victims by casting twin green rings of light over their corpses.
  • Kamen Rider:
  • Kamen Rider Dragon Knight: Transforming into a Kamen Rider is accompanied by two large rings intertwining across the body before vanishing in a flash of light, leaving the Rider in their armor.
  • Superman & Lois: In "Girl... You'll Be A Woman, Soon", Clark places Bizarro in a force field surrounded by intertwining rings to keep him contained.
  • Lois & Clark: When the assassin Tez is sent to Earth in "Big Girls Don't Fly" he arrives via a teleportation beam that consists of two rings.
  • Super Sentai/Power Rangers:
    • Kyūkyū Sentai GoGoV/Power Rangers Lightspeed Rescue:
      • Kinkyu Gattai Victory Robo/Lightspeed Megazord's Finishing Move involves generating a ring of fire with its sword and then slashing through it to generate a fiery Sword Beam.
      • In the finale of Lightspeed Rescue, the villains attempt to use a ceremony involving a solar eclipse to open a portal to the demon world and bring forth all its denizens to Earth. The eclipse sends down a beam of fiery sun rings which strike a tomb that acts as the portal until the Rangers defeat Bansheera and close the tomb.
    • Power Rangers Time Force:
      • When Wes puts on the Red Chrono Morpher for the first time, a red ring of light materializes and passes down his person as it scans and accepts his DNA imprint.
      • Eric's morphing sequence has a beam of yellow rings surround him before his Ranger suit materializes around him.
    • Mahou Sentai Magiranger/Power Rangers Mystic Force: The combination sequence of the MagiFirebird/Mystic Firebird and MagiLion/Mystic Lion involves the lion jumping through three rings of fire, the third of which is generated by the firebird's wings, triggering the combination.

    Video Games 
  • Arc Angle: Enemies and bosses signal an attack with an energy ring (or multiple) that shrinks inwards, giving the player ample warning.
  • Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy: Warped: Crash and Coco are teleported into the Time Twister in beams of yellow rings.
  • Mega Man X8:
    • Teleportation machines generate four rings around the target.
    • Optic Sunflower has an ability called "Change Space", which allows him to change the position of the scaffolding in the room. This ability is accompanied by a series of shining rings materializing around Optic Sunflower.
  • Metroid Dread: Samus is surrounded by rings while using a save room.
  • NieR: Automata: Both self-destruct and recovery are accompanied with rings of light. Self-destruct produces two red rings while recovery produces a single golden ring.
  • Pokémon:
    • Aqua Ring is a move that restores HP. It is visualized by a "veil" of three or more rings of water materializing around the Pokemon.
    • The Hypnosis move is often visualized as a wave of rings.
  • Sonic and the Secret Rings: When Sharha is brought back to life, her body is surrounded by a ring of shiny gold dust that materializes around her until she is fully restored.

    Western Animation 
  • Avatar: The Last Airbender: Invoked in the finale; During the battle with Ozai, Aang regains the ability to use the Avatar State. Aang then displays his mastery of his fully realized powers by bending an orb of air around himself and surrounding it with rings made of rock, fire and water.
  • The Avengers: United They Stand: Whenever Vision turns intangible or extra dense, a red ring materializes around and passes up or down his body.
  • Danny Phantom:
    • Danny Fenton's transformation into Danny Phantom is accompanied by one or two white rings materializing around his body as he is converted into ghost form. Vlad Masters/Plasmius and Dani Fenton/Dani Phantom transform in a similar way.
    • Youngblood manifests a white ring of light whenever he teleports.
  • Gerry Anderson's New Captain Scarlet: Like in the original series, the creation of Mysteron duplicates is accompanied by twin glowing rings of green light.
  • He-Man and the Masters of the Universe (2021): Duncan's transformation sequence involves him passing through three large glowing hoops before his Powered Armor materializes around him.
  • The Jetsons: Propulsion from jet packs or flying cars is depicted as white rings expanding from the exhaust.
  • Justice League Unlimited: The Atom is surrounded by yellow rings resembling the one found in the Rutherford model of the atom whenever he shrinks or grows.
  • Samurai Jack: The spell Aku uses to send Jack to the future has him firing a beam of white rings which transform into a pillar of light that sucks up the samurai. Ashi creates a time portal using a the same spell in the series finale where she and Jack return to the past to kill Aku.
  • Sonic Boom: Sonic and friends compete in a race in "If You Build It, They Will Race". To beat Eggman, Sonic uses a pedal-powered boost function. We see a visual of Sonic's car engine surrounded by white rings of energy and the car itself is encased in a blue force field surrounded by similar white rings.
  • Sonic the Hedgehog (SatAM): In "Sonic and Sally", Robotnik captures Sally and places her in a containment tube identical to one housing an android. Pink rings pass over both Sally and the android as the latter is transformed into a perfect replica of Sally.
  • SpongeBob SquarePants: Like Aquaman, Mermaid Man's telepathic communication is visualized as ring waves.
  • Superfriends: Aquaman's telepathic communication with sea creatures is visualized with ring waves vibrating across the water.
  • Super Robot Monkey Team Hyper Force Go:
    • Chiro's Transformation Sequence involves a green energy materializing around him as he changes into his superhero uniform.
    • In the first episode, both of Antauri's are surrounded by green rings of light before he forms his Ghost Claws. This effect is never used again afterwards.
  • W.I.T.C.H.: Whenever Nerissa activates or undoes a Glamour on someone, a ring of green light passes across the person's form.
  • X-Men: The Animated Series:
    • Xavier and Jean's telepathic waves sometimes manifested in the form of a concentric circle pattern.
    • The opening title sequence has Magneto generating magnetic waves in a similar form.


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