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Elemental Manipulation

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"The crack of lightning, the roar of flame,
The rumble of earth, the grip of ice,
The rush of water, the howl of wind.
At their center I stand.
Alone and omnipotent."
― Adrammelech (Final Fantasy XIV)
"BURN AND DROWN AND CRUSH AND SUFFOCATE!!"
― Cho'gall (World of Warcraft: Cataclysm)
"I'm the Avatar, master of all four elements!"
"Really? I'm Mendeleev, master of all 118+. [swoosh] That was polonium-bending. You probably didn't feel anything, but the symptoms of radiation poisoning will set in shortly."
― xkcd #965: Elements

The power to manipulate elements. Sub-power of Matter Manipulation. Not to be confused with Periodic Table Powers and Classical Element Manipulation.

Also Called

  • Elemental Control/Force
  • Elementalism
  • Elementumkinesis

Capabilities

Users can create, shape and manipulate elements. Elements are the rudimentary, simplest or and essential parts of which any material thing consists. Elements are irreducible in nature and compose other (usually physical) things. Various combinations of elements can be used to create other things. For example, Ice could be thought of as a combination of Water and Air to produce a solid. The exact details of how elements combine, what each element does, and even which things are elements is canon/paradigm specific.

Regardless of the specific elemental paradigm in use, users of Elemental Manipulation may be able to affect things composed in part of their element. For example, Toph from Avatar: The Last Airbender learns to control metal using earthen impurities within it.

Elements in Mythology and Folkore

In fiction the elements are usually based on historical beliefs. Sometimes, however, they are instead based on chemical elements such as you would find on the periodic table.

The most commonly used elements in fiction are the four classical elements - , Earth , Air , Fire , and Water. These four can be seen commonly in the ancient Western world. Some philosophies include a fifth element, called either Aether or Void. In Aristotelian thought Aether is the quintessential substance that makes up the space beyond earth, while in Hindu thought Akasha represents both the space outside of the Earth and also is the basis of sound. In different traditions the elements may comes in certain specific orders or have further associations. For example, in Aristotelian elementalism all of the four classical elements have two 'sensible qualities' from the list of hot, dry, wet, and cold. In Indian thought the five elements mapped to the senses. The elements and sensible qualities also map to the four humors - Black Bile (Earth), Yellow Bile (Fire), Phlegm (Water), and Blood (Air) - which were thought to compose the human form and which were kept balanced to maintain health.

Not all forms of elemental philosophy revolve around the concept of the four or five used in Aristotelian thought, however. Buddhist belief include eight elements - the classical four, as well as the four secondary properties of cohesion, solidity, expansion/vibration, and heat/energy content. These eight together serve as essences in various combinations to form kalapas, the smallest unit of matter in some forms of Buddhist thought. Further removed yet are the ancient Chinese elements, called wu xing, which differ greatly from the Western convention. The five wu xing are Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water. These five wu xing relate to the five cycles (Inter-Promoting, Weakening, Inter-Regulating, Overacting, and Counteracting) in a somewhat similar fashion to how the four classical elements relate to the four humors. Similarly to how the four humors are connected to many aspects of life, these five cycles and elements relate to direction, color, music, martial arts, and medicine. The Japanese Buddhist concept of gogyo, which stems from Chinese wuxing, is distinguishable from godai by the fact that the functional phases of wood and metal within gogyo are replaced by the formative elements of void and the wind (air) in godai. The Five Godai are Fire, Water, Earth, Wind, and Void.

Elements in Science

In the scientific sense, elements most likely refers to the chemical elements such as you would find on the periodic table. The term element here is a bit of a misnomer, since these elements can be further reduced to particles such as electrons and neutrons, and these particles can be further reduced to sub-atomic particles. At the time of writing, there are 118 known chemical elements. Of these, 94 are naturally ocurring while the other 24 are produced synthetically by nuclear reactions. New elements are sometimes discovered or synthesized, however.

The Chemical Elements are determined by the number of protons in an atom. For example, all atoms with 6 protons will be a form of Carbon. Additionally, all chemical elements have a 'period' which determines the number of electron shells that they have.

Aside from the chemical elements, there are also elementary particles. There are 17 elementary particles, and these are, according to current knowledge, possibly irreducible. Particle physics is a very new field, ostensibly starting in the 1930's, and much is still not known about quantum physics. Quantum physics shows up frequently in fiction, and is usually used in a way that is similar to magic while borrowing some of the more popular principles from particle physics.

Elements in Modern Fictions

Elements can be present in modern fiction worlds. Furthermore, there are plenty universes in modern games which is present the concept of elements. It can run from fire, air, earth to even exotic elements like arcane or psychic. It is common topic in fantasy and also fiction games involving elemental dragons, elemental robots and so on. Also, in the expanded universes like MCU and Arrowverse the concept of elements are very spread, creating species called meta-humans, mutants and also magicians. In the MCU particularly, there are many concepts which equals the concept of elements which are the Infinity Gems (Power, Mind, Soul, Time, Space, Reality). There is also extra elements if you consider so, that are the Universal incarnations (which turns each one into deities, and also one forms Galactus) and also extra-dimensional forces like the Phoenix Force. About the universe of DC, there are as examples of elements the electromagnetic spectrum of emotions which the lantern corps evolve their powers (green, red, orange, yellow, blue, indigo, violet, white, and black), each one having a emotion as representative. On both DC and Marvel universes, for example, there will be of course meta-humans/magicians/mutants with powers like fire, air, weather, etc.

Applications

Solids

Liquids

Gases

Plasmas

Organic

Other

Techniques

Variations

Associations

Limitations

  • Distance, mass, precision, etc. depend upon of the knowledge, skill, and strength of the user, and their power's natural limits.
  • Under this current definition exists several different abilities, which may or may not be affected by varying counter powers.
    • Element Drain is an ability focused on removing periodic elements from living bodies, and is highly unlikely to affect more classical or esoteric variants such as Fire Manipulation or Vacuum Manipulation.
    • Elemental Negation is focused on negating those same types of classical elements, and may not be able to affect periodic abilities.
    • The more exotic types of Elemental Manipulation listed under this definition, such as Spatial Manipulation, may not count as such depending on the setting and therefore be unaffected by such counters.
  • Users may be unable creating elements, being limited to manipulating already existing one.
  • User may be limited to specific elements.
  • Users may be limited to specific types of elements.
  • Users may only be able to manipulate what they touch.
  • Users may be limited on the amount of elements that can control.

Known Users

See Also: Elemental Powers.

Anime/Manga/Manhwa/Manhua

  • Elemental Mages (Black Clover)
  • Denki Arashi (Black Gryphon); via electricity
  • Inasa Hariken/Whirlpool (Black Gryphon); via wind/air
  • Kori Kojima/Iceman (Black Gryphon); via ice/snow
  • Astro (Black Gryphon); via cosmic energy
  • Tamaki Ryokan/Flameon (Black Gryphon); via fire
  • Nanami Shindo/Sapphire (Black Gryphon); via water
  • Ryu Sugawara/Destruction King (Black Gryphon); via darkness
  • Toru Danjuro/Amethyst (Black Gryphon); via gravity
  • Kenji Yagima/Warpgate (Black Gryphon); via spatial energy
  • Various Characters (Bleach)
  • Correctors (Corrector Yui)
  • Yui Kasuga (Corrector Yui); via Element Suits
  • Hei (Darker than Black)
  • Bai (Darker than Black)
  • Dinosaurs (Dinosaur King)
  • Shadow Dragons (Dragon Ball GT)
  • Witch (Edens Zero)
  • Elemental Mages (Fairy Tail)
  • Alchemists (Fullmetal Alchemist)
  • Hatoko Kushikawa (Inō-Batoru wa Nichijō-kei no Naka de)
  • Nature ÄRM users (Marchen Awakens Romance)
  • Toichiro Suzuki (Mob Psycho 100)
  • Nature Transformation Shinobi (Naruto)
  • Aruka Schild(Needless)
  • Logia Devil Fruit Users (One Piece)
  • Charlotte Linlin/Big Mom (One Piece); via Prometheus and Zeus
  • Cronus (Saint Seiya: Knights of the Zodiac)
  • Five Grand Elemental Spirits (Shaman King)
  • Elemental Sacred Arts users (Sword Art Online)

Cartoons/Comics

  • Avatars (Avatar: The Last Airbender/The Legend of Korra)
  • Anodites (Ben 10)
  • Aggregor (Ben 10: Ultimate Alien)
  • Ultimate Kevin (Ben 10: Ultimate Alien)
  • Boboiboy (BoBoiBoy)
  • Captain Planet (Captain Planet)
  • Danny Fenton/Phantom (Danny Phantom)
  • Various Metahumans (DC Comics)
  • Isis (DC Comics)
  • Firestorm (DC Comics)
  • Metamorpho (DC Comics)
  • Chaos (Disney's Aladdin)
  • Spawn (Image Comics)
  • Elemental Masters (Lego Ninjago: Masters of Spinjitzu)
  • Ororo Munroe/Storm (Marvel Comics)
  • The Phoenix Force (Marvel Comics)
  • Crystal (Marvel Comics)
  • Hiro Sokuto (Marvel Comics)
  • Black Bolt (Marvel Comics)
  • Ahura Boltagon (Marvel Comics)
  • Wanda Maximoff (Marvel Comics)
  • Nathaniel Grey/X-Man (Marvel Comics)
  • Mister M (Marvel Comics)
  • Doctor Voodoo (Marvel Comics)
  • Molecule Man (Marvel Comics)
  • Ultimate Elementor (Max Steel 2013 TV Series)
  • Mega Elementor (Max Steel 2013 TV Series)
  • Elementors (Max Steel 2013 TV Series)
  • Jennifer Shope (Supernoobs)
  • Guardians of the Veil (W.I.T.C.H.)
  • C.H.Y.K.N. (W.I.T.C.H)
  • Nerissa (W.I.T.C.H.)
  • Valtor (Winx Club); via Spell of the Elements
  • Daphne (Winx Club)

Literature

  • Zoey Redbird (House of Night)
  • Liren (Lorien Legacies)
  • Number Six (Lorien Legacies)
  • Lord Sparr (Secrets of Droon);via the Red Eye of Dawn
  • Elementals (Skulduggery Pleasant)
  • RaKais (Super/Roulette)
  • Sisters of the Dark (Sword of Truth)
  • Nicci (Sword of Truth)
  • Sisters of the Light (Sword of Truth)
  • Additive Wizards/Sorceresses (Sword of Truth)
  • Zeddicus Zu'l Zorander (Sword of Truth Series)
  • Richard Rahl (Sword of Truth Series)
  • Leena Duchannes (The Caster Chronicles)
  • Serafine Duchannes (The Caster Chronicles)
  • Josh and Sophie Newman (The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel)
  • Benjamin (Twilight)
  • Moroi (Vampire Academy)

Live Television/Movies

  • The Evil Enchantress (Charmed)
  • Kat Gardener (Eastwick)
  • Eleanor Rougemont (Eastwick)
  • Gormitis (Gormiti)
  • Diego Forlan (Grachi)
  • KIM (Grachi)
  • Malina (Heroes Reborn)
  • Nicci (Legend of the Seeker)
  • Aldrich Killian (Marvel Cinematic Universe)
  • Danny Rand/Iron Fist (Marvel Cinematic Universe)
  • Thor (Marvel Cinematic Universe)
  • Odin (Marvel Cinematic Universe)
  • Hela (Marvel Cinematic Universe)
  • Elementor (Max Steel)
  • Aruka Schild (Needless)
  • Elemental Slugs (Slugterra)
  • Rosmarie Carver (The Last Keepers)
  • Rhea Carver (The Last Keepers)
  • Tegan (The Nowhere Boys)
  • Witches and Warlocks (The Vampire Diaries/The Originals/Legacies)

Video Games

  • Users of Storm/Valkyrie-type Javelin (Anthem)
    • The Freelancer
    • Armas Brom
    • Vara Brom/The Spear
  • Various Characters (Bionicle)
  • Bomberman (Bomberman 64 The Second Attack)
  • Angel of Light and Darkness (Bomberman 64 The Second Attack)
  • God of Chaos (Bomberman 64 The Second Attack)
  • Aisha (Elsword)
  • Mages (Final Fantasy)
  • The Breath (From Dust)
  • Allogenes/Genshin (Genshin Impact)
  • Archons (Genshin Impact)
  • Aether (Genshin Impact)
  • Lumine (Genshin Impact)
  • Cole MacGrath (inFamous 2)
  • John White/ The Beast (inFamous 2)
  • Nature Guardian (Legacy of Kain)
    • Bane The Druid (Legacy of Kain)
    • Kain (Legacy of Kain)
  • Raziel (Legacy of Kain)
  • Wizards (Magical Vacation)
  • Wizards (Magical Starsign)
  • ElementMan.EXE (Mega Man Battle Network)
  • Cetrion (Mortal Kombat 11)
  • Many Pokémon (Pokémon)
  • Robloxians (ROBLOX)
  • Kaos (Skylanders)
  • All Skylanders (Skylanders)
  • Purple Dragons (Skylanders)
  • Many enemies (Skylanders)
  • Hydra (Skylanders)
  • The New Kid (South Park: The Fractured But Whole); via the Elementalist and Blaster Classes
  • Wonder Tweek (South Park: The Fractured But Whole)
  • Patchouli Knowledge (Touhou Project)
  • Kratos (God of War)
  • Elementalist (Valkyrie Crusade)
  • Elemental Queen (Valkyrie Crusade)
  • Various Warframes (Warframe)

Others

  • Elemental Users (Nature Wolf Spirits)
    • Skylander Lazulite; Poison
    • Thunderbolt Galaxy; Electricity
    • Fleet Galaxy; Air/Wind
    • Electric Galaxy; Energy
    • Spike Galaxy; Fire
    • Rai Galaxy; Space
    • Skylar Galaxy; Crystals
    • Breeze Galaxy; Life
    • Dalfon Galaxy; Water
    • Star and Flashy Lazulite; Ice
    • Palinouros Galaxy; Earth
    • Yuki Galaxy; Darkness
    • Zeus, Akash, Ramiel Galaxy; Earth
    • Cloud Galaxy; Nature
  • Maidens (RWBY)
  • SCP-3396 - The Empyrean Parasite (SCP Foundation)

Known Objects

  • Element Stones (Dinosaur King)
  • Visions (Genshin Impact)
    • Pyro
    • Hydro
    • Electro
    • Geo
    • Anemo
    • Cryo
    • Dendro
  • Gnosis (Genshin Impact)
  • Logia Devil Fruits (One Piece)

Known Powers/Techniques

  • Bending Arts (Avatar: The Last Airbender/The Legend of Korra)
    • Firebending
      • Lightningbending
    • Waterbending
      • Bloodbending
      • Plantbending
    • Airbending
      • Cloudbending
    • Earthbending
      • Metalbending
      • Lavabending
      • Sandbending
      • Mudbending
      • Glassbending
      • Pigementbending
    • Energybending
  • Elemental Magic Attributes (Black Clover)
  • Elemental Magic (Fairy Tail)
  • Sturma (Lorien Legacies)
  • Elemental Magic (Mashle: Magic and Muscles)
  • Nature Transformation (Naruto/Boruto: Naruto Next Generations)
    • Fire Release
    • Water Release
    • Lightning Release
    • Earth Release
    • Wind Release
    • Ice Release
    • Wood Release
    • Lava Release
    • Storm Release
    • Boil Release
    • Dust Release
    • Explosion Release
    • Scorch Release
    • Magnet Release
  • Elemental Magecraft (Nasuverse)

Gallery

Anime/Manga/Manhwa/Manhua

Cartoons/Comics

Live Television/Movies

Video Games

Web Animation/Comics/Series

Examples

Videos

Categories
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