| abstract | - In different digital worlds there are many different elements. Some of them have certain powers or traits, which may enable digimon to evolve or other miracles may happen.
- A lot belong to one of six main elements, represented by different colors.
- In the past, it was thought that all of matter could be classified into easily viewable "elements" that one can observe with the naked eye. Thus, all of the world was made up of natural forces such as "earth, air, fire, water" et al. The discovery of the atom mostly disproved that, but the idea was so deeply rooted in mankind's mind, that it's still used in nearly every supernatural fictional setting (note that the classical elements actually correspond to a different scientific concept: the phases of matter, provided you count plasma as a fourth phase & not just as a subset of gas. Alternately, fire corresponds to energy, particularly the heat energy that moves matter from one state to another). The most common use is to give characters some superpower over an aspect of nature -- like a character who can conjure or control fire or water, given the right conditions. This usually goes hand in hand with Personality Powers -- you're not likely to find a calm and collected guy who can shoot fire, for instance. These "elements" are probably the source of the association of colors with personality traits. A character with elemental power in animation will often have the fitting eye color. It also makes for easy Super-Hero Speciation. May involve the capability to summon Elementals, the living embodiment of the elements themselves. Just what the "classical elements" are varies from culture to culture. In Greek (and by extension most European), Hindu, and Buddhist mythology, it's usually Fire, Air, Water, and Earth -- with Aether (which can be "souls", "heart", "spirits", or Pure Energy) occasionally mixed in. In classical Chinese mythology, it's typically Fire, Water, Earth, Wood (which includes control over plants as well as the wind), and Metal. The classical Japanese elements are Earth, Water, Fire, Air/Wind, and Void. In some alchemical texts, there are salt, sulphur, mercury, and quintessence, with salt representing the physical, sulphur representing the spirit of life, mercury representing volatility or fluidity and the "passive principle", quintessence was supposed to be the constituent matter of the heavenly bodies, and also sometimes was included with the more common 4 elements. (Indeed, quintessence quite literally means "the fifth element".) Usually, there will be an effort to make all powers equally important -- the elemental powers used in such settings usually employ some form of Elemental Rock-Paper-Scissors, in order to avoid that any one power is clearly more powerful than the others. If some are more important/intrinsically more potent, then the Inverse Law of Complexity to Power may come into play or What Kind of Lame Power Is Heart, Anyway? may result. Depending on your mileage, you might also have any natural force counted as an element -- Darkness (evil black Death energy), Light (glowing holy life energy), regular Light (as in lasers and holograms), Ice, Electricity, Magnetism, Time, Space, Moon, Sun, Stars, Pizza, Gravity, Void (which is usually like a cross between Space, Dark, and Aether), Acid, Sky (Wind with storm and weather added), and Sound as alternative elements. A lot of cultural baggage has become attached to the elements over the ages, making some of them "bad" and assigning personality traits to them and their practitioners much like a Four-Temperament Ensemble. Fiction exploring elemental powers tends to use these as tropes and character traits:
* Earth: Stable and resilient, earth is the element of solidity and support. It is the strongest element, but also the slowest. Earth characters are frequently dependable, strong, and, if female, motherly. However, they can also be stubborn and far too stuck in their ways. It is aligned with the melancholic temperament. Generally represented as by either the color Green, Brown, or Yellow (the latter two more often used if this element is based purely on actual earth rather than plants or other stuff).
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* Main article: Dishing Out Dirt
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* Character most likely to use Earth: The Big Guy, Mighty Glacier, Barrier Warrior, Cute Bruiser, The Leader, Boisterous Bruiser
* Fire: Carries positive connotations like warmth, light, purification, and even rebirth. On the flipside, it's very, very easy to Flanderize it into an antagonistic element by emphasizing its wild, destructive, and unpredictable nature. Most series with an elemental motif will usually assign it to the hero or "Red Ranger". As it is aligned with the choleric temperament, fire characters have a habit of being impulsive, hotheaded, and brash. Most CRPGs featuring a young vigorous sword-wielding male teenage hero (which means, nearly all CRPGs) have him associated with fire, if the characters have elemental associations or attributes. Usually represented by the color Red, even though it is naturally more Orange in color, if not outright Gold/Yellow (of course, they aren't the only possible fire colors).
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* Main article: Playing with Fire
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* Character most likely to use Fire: The Hero, The Ace, The Lancer, Pyromaniac, Glass Cannon, Hot-Blooded, Fiery Redhead
* Air/Wind: The element of change and movement; unpredictably calm one moment and flying into a tempest the next. The quickest of the elements, but sometimes seen as the weakest (unless it is referred to as "sky" or "heaven"), therefore, what it lacks in raw power it makes up for in offensive and defensive maneuvers. It can also include weather manipulation. Aligned with the sanguine temperament, air characters are often cheerful, energetic, free spirits. Noise, when used as an elemental attack, is sometimes depicted and treated as an air-like attack. Green is often used to represent it in eastern products, but it's also fairly common to see Yellow, Light Blues, Purples, or White.
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* Main article: Blow You Away
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* Character most likely to use Air: The Trickster, Fragile Speedster, The Smart Guy, now The Hero become more common lately, Cute Bruiser or female Big Guys
* Water: The element of change and adaptability; capable of taking any form. Water is pretty much always seen positively, symbolizing healing, adaptability, and calm. While earth is strong and solid and air is weak but fluid, water is both strong and fluid, but not to the same extent as the other two. Aligned with the phlegmatic temperament, water characters are usually laid-back and "go with the flow". Usually depicted as Blue or Cyan.
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* Main article: Making a Splash
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* Character(s) most likely to use water: The Chick, White Magician Girl, The Medic, Father Neptune, Only Sane Man, The Heart. Some shows that absolutely need a Five-Man Band will come up with a fifth element in addition to the classical western ones, and find a way to make it a team attack that uses All Your Colors Combined. Anime usually employs Light or Lightning, but Western Animation prefers to make something up like Energy or Spirit or possibly heart. Video Games and RPG's will often add more to the list. Common additions include:
* Lightning/Electricity is sometimes paired with air or fire, but more often is considered a separate form of power. In most games, it forms the basic trio of available powers. Lightning usually carries the same connotations as fire, but may also include speed (i.e.: "moves like lightning") or mild insanity (from having fried his brain too many times), or even more. Usually depicted as either very yellow or very blue, although in real life it's actually more often white.
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* Main article: Shock and Awe
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* Character(s) most likely to use Lightning: The Hero (if not Fire), The Lancer (if the hero uses Fire), The Smart Guy, The Psycho for Hire, Psycho Electro
* Ice/Snow: may or may not be combined with water. As a separate element, it carries connotations of coolness, detachment, harshness, and even death. However, snow is almost the same but carries connotations of fun, softness, cheerfulness, and even love.
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* Main article: An Ice Person
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* Character(s) most likely to use Ice: The Lancer, The Dragon, The Baroness, the Winter Royal Lady, the Big Bad.
* Light/Holy: Light can be for healing or destruction. Commonly used by angels, priests, and the forces of heaven (even if they're not the good guys). Light is, however, usually associated with absolute good. Sometimes mixed with Lightning or Fire. May also be portrayed as Sunlight.
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* Main articles: Light'Em Up, Holy Hand Grenade, Frickin' Laser Beams, Hard Light
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* Character(s) most likely to use Light: The Hero (if not Fire or Lightning), White Magician Girl, Sixth Ranger, Knight Templar
* Darkness/Shadow: Even if Dark Is Not Evil, the vast majority of bad guys will use this. Often causes Standard Status Effects or Instant Death. Usually the opposite of and weak to Light. Occasionally manifests as gravity-based powers (as in black hole).
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* Main Article: Casting a Shadow
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* Character(s) most likely to use Darkness: the Big Bad, The Dragon, Sixth Ranger, Black Magician Girl, Evil Twin, Evil Counterpart, Rival Turned Evil (the last three if the hero is using Light), the Evil Sorcerer. The Anti-Hero may also use it.
* Life/Nature/Wood: May or may not be combined with Light, or may be concerned more with healing and/or Plant life. Also tends to cause Standard Status Effects, usually positive ones or poison. Often combined with Wind in Asian settings or Earth in Western settings, often creating Petal Power attacks.
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* Main Articles: Green Thumb, Petal Power
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* Character(s) most likely to use Life: The Chick, White Magician Girl, Friend to All Living Things, The High Queen (especially if she is really a goddess)
* Paper: Made from Wood, and is versatile in use, from bandages to weapons/familiars based on the user's imagination.
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* Main Articles: Paper Master
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* Character (s) most likely to use Paper: Badass Bookworm, The Smart Guy, The Chick, The Dark Chick, Hot Librarian, Cute Bookworm, Scary Librarian
* Death: Just as Life may get combined with Light in some settings, Death often gets lumped in with Darkness. As its own element, death magic is usually focused on destruction, defilement, and summoning spirits from the less-than-pleasant parts of the afterlife. Expect practitioners of Death magic to have made some sort of infernal pact or sacrifice in order to obtain their power. Ironically, it can sometimes be used to revive someone just like Life magic, as long as you're not concerned about them coming back intact. That said, if Dark Is Not Evil, then Death doesn't have to be, either. After all, natural death is just as much a part of life as anything else.
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* Main Articles: Necromancy, Black Magic, Blood Magic
* Heart/Love: The element of emotions and spirit. May involve empathic abilities, The Power of Friendship and/or love, or healing. On the other hand, it may involve focusing that power into a coherent beam of destruction (in which case it may be conflated with Light or Life). Usually turns out to be either the most powerful element of all, or the most useless. Sometimes they claim it's the former when it's really the latter.
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* Main Article: Heart Beat-Down, The Power of Love
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* Characters most likely to use Heart: The Heart, The Messiah, The Chick, The Hero (especially in a Magical Girl show), The Empath, the Love Freak, the Token Mini-Moe, and Ma-Ti
* Metal/Steel: Either a subset of Earth (including metals and non-metals) or contrasted against Earth (metal alloys as opposed to non-metal rocks). Metal is used for either ridiculously high defensive capabilities (clang) or offensive capabilities (stabby). It has associations with strength, technology, civilization, rigidity, craftsmanship, and determination. Even though it's like a stronger version of Earth, it's also sterile, inflexible, cold, and can't bear life like Earth can. Often opposed by Nature or Wood. The easiest of the elemental powers to produce Magitek from. Metal is rarely seen as a classical element or power outside of Asia (and China in particular).
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* Main Article: Extra Ore Dinary
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* Character(s) most likely to use Metal: Gadgeteer Genius, the Badass, the Master Swordsman, the Wrench Wench, The Blacksmith, the Implacable Man, the Big Bad (of a technological theme).
* Soul/Spirit/Aura: The ability to manipulate spiritual energy, or spirits themselves. This is occasionally involved with religion, too. People possessing this power can probably talk to the dead, as well. Sometimes related to necromancy, Psychic Powers, Cold Flames, and especially Ki Attacks. This can be either a villainous or heroic power, depending on how it's portrayed.
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* Main Article: Soul Power
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* Character(s) most likely to use Soul: The Stoic, the Creepy Child, and the Well-Intentioned Extremist.
* (Pure) Energy/Magic: Pure magical power or energy as Non-Elemental power. Might involve runes or glyphs. Thematically relates to either the mind or wisdom, or to the primal form of energy you get when you stick all the others together. Generally of neutral alignment to other elemental types, sort of a Jack of All Stats of elemental powers. If it is opposed, expect it to be against Heart (rationalism vs emotionalism). May be functionally interchangeable with Psychic Powers or a dumping ground for a setting's magical effects which can't be tied into any standard element.
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* Main Articles: Pure Energy, Mind Over Matter, Psychic Powers
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* Characters most likely to use Energy: Squishy Wizard, The Smart Guy, the Evil Sorcerer, the Badass Bookworm
* Beast/Creature: Powers relating to animals of nature and harnessing their abilities.
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* Main Article: The Beast Master, Animorphism
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* Characters most likely to use Beast: Nature Hero, Friend to All Living Things, Not Good with People, Speaks Fluent Animal
* Poison: Powers relating to poison, acid, and disease. Can be classified as an element and/or status effect depending on the work.
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* Main Article: Poisonous Person, Plaguemaster
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* Character(s) most likely to use Poison: Deadpan Snarker, Walking Wasteland, Mad Scientist, Nietzsche Wannabe, Complete Monster
* Lava: May overlap with fire due to both being hot substances, even though it's molten rock, so if anything it should be part of earth. Usually stresses the more negative connotations of fire, and may be considered "hellish".
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* Main article: Magma Man
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* Character(s) most likely to use it: Pyromaniac, The Brute, The Lancer
* Sol/Sun: Power relating to the sun. It's usually something of a mix of Fire and Light. May involve gravity, as well.
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* Main Article: The Power of the Sun
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* Characters most likely to use Sun: The Hero and Knight Templars.
* Luna/Moon: Power relating to the moon. Can be considered evil, but not always. Usually relates to werewolves, and by extension insanity or confusion. May involve power in exchange for sanity. It may also involve water, since the moon's gravity controls the ocean's tides.
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* Main article: Lunacy
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* Characters most likely to use Moon: White Magician Girl, and The Big Bad.
* Sound: Using sound as a method of attacking and/or battling with an instrument falls under this section.
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* Main Articles: Make Me Wanna Shout, The Power of Rock, Musical Assassin
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* Characters most likely to use Sound: The Hero (In a Band Land setting), the Badass Bookworm
* Radiation: Generally of the gamma kind, the kind related to reactors, bombs, and fallout. You're probably not going to see this very often at all, for obvious reasons, and when you do it'll generally be either Bad Powers, Bad People or serious Blessed with Suck. Has the potential to be Darker and Edgier than dark. May overlap with light, if portrayed negatively, since radiation is often associated with light (i.e. the Sun itself, that gives us light and skin cancer).
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* Main article: I Love Nuclear Power
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* Characters most likely to use Radiation: The Smart Guy, Anti-Hero, Mad Scientist, Big Bad, Complete Monster
* Time: Controlling the flow of time. People who can control time can stop it, slow time down, speed it up, and do other stuff.
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* Main article: Time Master
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* Characters most likely to use Time: The Smart Guy, Tricksters, and Time Police (but not the Time Lord).
* Space/Gravity: The ability to control the fabric of space. Teleportation, causing objects to phase in and out, or the ability to control gravity is usually included.
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* Main articles: Space Master, Gravity Master, Reality Warper
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* Characters most likely to use Space: The Smart Guy, The Big Bad, Tricksters, and Space Police.
* Void: This is generally considered to be even Darker and Edgier than Darkness. Generally involves erasing things from existence, whether via black hole, draining Life Energy, or simply making them Cease To Be. Rarely has an opposing element.
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* Main Article: Power of the Void
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* Character(s) most likely to use Void: Omnicidal Maniac, Nietzsche Wannabe, Eldritch Abomination, anyone capable of a Yin-Yang Bomb. In the latter case, is just as likely to end up in the hands of heroes as villains. Any setting with magic in it will inevitably have elemental spells. Finally, it's worth noting that possessing specific elemental powers can make a character vulnerable against a specific element. Fire-elemental beings, for example, don't take too well to Water-elemental attacks. Similarly, Elemental Powers (especially the core four/five) are very competitive if not stronger than abstract elements because of the Inverse Law of Complexity to Power. Those with these powers may also have the ability of Elemental Absorption. Fire, Ice, Lightning and Elemental Shapeshifter are subtropes. See also Four-Element Ensemble, Element Number Five, Infinity+1 Element. Elemental Baggage is when a character requires some (usually not much) element laying around in order to work with. Examples of Elemental Powers include:
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