Energy Beings: Difference between revisions
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{{quote|''"You can't beat the Drej. They're [[Pure Energy]]!"''
|'''Korso'''
|''[[Titan A.E.]]''}}
Creatures that dispense with the need to have a body altogether.
Even cheaper and simpler to pull off than [[Rubber Forehead Aliens]], which explains why
Never mind that being [[Pure Energy|"made of energy"]] makes as much sense as being "made of heavy." Their continued appearance shows the unpopularity of philosophical materialism among science fiction writers (see [[Transhumanism]] and [[No Transhumanism Allowed]]). You could also argue that Energy Beings are basically used as a materialist/secularist version of religious transfiguration or afterlife.
It is also considered nonsensical as the
Of course, Energy Beings share many characteristics with concepts such as spirits and souls, often making them an example of [[Sufficiently Analyzed Magic]].
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{{examples}}
== [[Anime]] and [[Manga]] ==
* Atomsk from ''[[FLCL]]'' is a Phoenix
* The Rynax in ''[[Kurau Phantom Memory]]'' are even being used as an energy source, leading to a lot of misery for them.
* The Getter Rays from ''[[Getter Robo]]'' are an energy being, though they rely on possessing [[Humongous Mecha]] for various reasons.
* The Angels from ''[[Neon Genesis Evangelion]]'', despite their typically rather imposing physical presence, are said to have both "waveform"
* Some versions of ''[[Ghost in the Shell]]'' involve something akin to the typical "ascension" story, but instead of some nebulously defined "[[Pure Energy]]", they're made of [[Brain Uploading|computer data]], which is marginally less silly.
** ''[[Suzumiya Haruhi]]'' has something similar with the Data Entity, a non-physical being which created Yuki Nagato in order to be able to communicate with humans.
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** The [[Big Bad|Anti]]-[[Scary Dogmatic Aliens|Spiral]] is also this, being [[Hive Mind|the gestalt mind]] of a hibernating species of [[Well-Intentioned Extremist]]s.
* In ''Pokémon: Destiny Deoxys'', Tory's Energy Being friend is eventually revealed to be a second Deoxys.
* Several characters with Logia powers from ''[[One Piece]]''. Namely: Ace, Kizaru, and Enel.
* Kain from ''[[Tenchi Universe]]''
== [[Comic Books]] ==
* Stardust, who became one of
** Galactus himself is ''made'' of the Power Cosmic, and may in fact be the source of it. While he seems to be solid and humanoid to mortals, they simply [[You Cannot Grasp the True Form|cannot grasp his true form.]]
* The Celestials in the [[Marvel Universe]] are composed of a very intense and powerful form of energy—which is intangible and can't do much of anything on its own. It makes a very handy source of energy for the [[Humongous Mecha]] that they essentially "wear".
* Quite a few appear in [[Marvel Comics]]. Two notables are Living Laser, a photonic being made of light, and Klaw, who is composed of solidified sound. Both were human supervillains who got an upgrade into energy beings.
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** And Wonder Man, too (technically he's made of ionized matter, which ''contains'' a lot of energy).
* [[Superman]] [[Dork Age|briefly became]] an energy being for a reason vaguely explained as [[Superpower Meltdown|overdosing on sunlight]]. Being Superman, his new energy powers were just as off the charts as his [[Flying Brick]] powers. He once magnetized the Moon to keep it from crashing into Earth. He could turn into a solid being though, which was handy for Clark Kent.
** [[All Star DC Comics|All Star Superman]] features a brief appearance by things that look like energy beings, but it turns out they actually have some physical presence. Their energy patterns are contained inside some kind of biogenic
* A subset of this trope, especially in comic books, is the idea of the "man in the can"—the energy being that needs to be kept in a containment suit, lest he lose all coherency and [[Superpower Meltdown|possibly wipe out Detroit]]. Examples include:
** Wildfire from ''[[The Legion of Super Heroes]]''.
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* In the [[Doctor Who Magazine]] comics, the Mondas Cybermen eventually evolve into these.
* In ''[[All Fall Down]]'', {{spoiler|Siphon}} briefly becomes one of these before the end.
* In ''[[Kingdom Come]]'', [[The Flash]] (Wally West) has become one with the Speed Force, his body composed entirely of Speed Force energy.
* In ''[[DC One Million]]'', [[Superman]] has become a being of solar energy, which has always been the source of his power, forming a symbiotic bond to [[Celestial Body|the sun itself.]]
== [[Fan Works]] ==
* The Azturi, the unique species created for ''Kingdom Hearts Keyblade Masters'', are an entire race of energy beings. They all look like Genie from Aladdin, except different colors. They're a dying breed, with Gummi (the mentor of the Keyblade Masters) and Genie being the only two Azturi left in the physical world.
==
* The evil Drej from ''[[Titan A.E.]]'' appear to be solid beings, but are actually composed of plasma-like energy. This ends up proving handy when {{spoiler|they are lured into a trap that siphons away their energy to power the ''Titan'', a ship built to [[Terraform|recreate Earth]] after the Drej had destroyed it years before after an apparently [[Self-Fulfilling Prophecy]] warned them that humanity would destroy THEM}}.
* The upcoming{{when}} film ''[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lf9RIKbKpIo The Darkest Hour]'' is about invisible energy beings trying to suck all energy from planet
==
▲* The upcoming film [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lf9RIKbKpIo The Darkest Hour] is about invisible energy beings trying to suck all energy from planet earth.
* The eponymous Angels in ''[[A Madness of Angels]]'' '''used''' to be these, back when they were living in the telephone wires. Then [[First-Episode Resurrection|Mathew]] got better and they're stuck [[Willing Channeler|with him]].
* In ''[[The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy]]'' series (the books, radio show, towel...), Douglas Adams makes one or two throwaway references to "super-intelligent shades of the colour blue". Color being a form of light, it makes this an "energy being" concept if anything even more bizarre than that suggested for most regular instances of the trope (which may well have been the whole point). [[Starfish Aliens]] indeed.
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* In ''[[The Space Trilogy]]'' by [[C. S. Lewis]], the ''eldils'' are essentially Judeo-Christian angels, or their cousins. They are imperceptible energy beings whose forms exist on a radically different wavelength than ours—for them, gaseous matter doesn't exist, and liquids and solids are gaseous, so the planets of the Solar system are just clouds. To them, light itself is the water through which they swim, and the Sun is their wellspring. "Visiting" a planet means moving into one of those moving clouds and then keeping pace with its orbit to maintain the appearance of standing still, while using some sort of projection to interact with wispy, ephemeral creatures they cannot fully see (ie: ''us'').
* ''[[His Dark Materials]]'' presents its [[Our Angels Are Different|angels]] as something akin to Energy Beings, being made of a sentient particle known as Dust, which is analogous to RL's dark matter/energy, instead of organic materials. Needless to say that, lacking a truly solid form, they are usually very prone to die.
* In [[Andrew M. Greeley]]'s ''Angel'' trilogy, the eponymous angels are immense creatures of (mostly) energy who stand somewhere between humans and God on the evolutionary scale, and willingly act as agents for God.
* The [[Precursors]] from [[Arthur C. Clarke]]'s ''[[2001: A Space Odyssey]]'' fit into the description, having somehow [[Ascend to a Higher Plane of Existence|woven themselves]] into the very fabric of space-time. {{spoiler|The protagonist of the first novel/film also becomes one of these due to the aliens' interference.}}
* The eponymous homicidal Catepillar (no, not ''that'' kind) in ''Killdozer'' was possessed by an energy being.
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* Skewered in ''The Biology of [[Star Trek]]'', which points out at least three ways in which these could not exist: their time perception would have problems due to existing at the speed of light, there wouldn't be anything that could hold any kind of genetic code, and any form of sentience would have significant difficulties because all the brains we've encountered have been material.
* In ''[[The Dresden Files]]'', Bob, Harry's resident arcane supercomputer and magical database, is a spiritual entity composed purely of energy and thought, to the point that simply being exposed to sunlight (which weakens magical enchantments) can kill him outright.
* In "The Star Dwellers" and its sequel "Mission to the Heart Stars," by James Blish, humans
*
* ''[[Macroscope]]'' by [[Piers Anthony]] features an unusual take on the energy being. Near the end of the book, it is revealed that {{spoiler|an ancient civilization's members had long ago transferred their consciousness into the interference patterns produced by the reflection the alien signal makes against normal matter. In effect, they aren't even energy, but instead just a pattern floating above an energy field.}}
* The Isaac Asimov short story,
* The obscure short story "The Waveries" features probably the most realistic take on this trope, [[Unbuilt Trope|decades before]] ''[[Star Trek]]''. The eponymous waveries are literally living waves on the electromagnetic spectrum, and because they are waves, they interfere with technology (making electronics impossible) and are not sentient beings.
* Terry Carr's ''The Dance of the Changer and the Three'' describes a race of intelligent energy beings through the eyes of a human translator who tried to understand and describe their culture. "''I was ambassador to a planetful of things that would tell me with a straight face that two and two are orange.''"
== [[Live-Action TV]] ==
* In the ''[[Doctor Who]]'' serial ''The Mutants'', the natives of the planet Solos have a very unusual cycle of evolution, or something. A year on Solos is 2000 Earth years, and each change in its seasons every half-millennium (with aid from a crystal enthused with thaesium) massively altered the Solonians. Each spring, they were akin to humanoids, while when it turned to summer, the Solonians underwent metamorphosis into energy beings.
** So far, though, the trope has been seemingly averted in the new series. The Gelth may look like your typical Energy Beings, but at least they're made of ''gas''.
** It was stated in "The End of Time" that the Time Lords planned to become this.
* ''[[Star Trek]]'' has had a bunch of these, including a few which simulated physical bodies—like the Q, the Organians, Trelane, the Calamarain—and at least one group who wanted to get back ''into'' physical bodies.
* The Vorlons from ''[[Babylon 5]]'' appear to be mostly energy beings, although they apparently still have some degree of physicality left, too. In "Mindquake", super-psychic Jason Ironheart, having undergone a [[Deadly Upgrade]], gives up corporeal existence to become pure psychic energy. According to the episode "The Deconstruction of Falling Stars
* On ''[[Stargate SG-1]]'' the [[Sufficiently Advanced Alien|Sufficiently Advanced]] species [[Precursors|"The Ancients"]] have "Ascended" to a higher plane of existence, resulting in their existing on this plane only as Energy Beings. Daniel Jackson also 'dies', but actually 'ascends' secretly. {{spoiler|Twice.}}
** His ascension was only a secret if you call "turning into a glowing ghost-octopus in front of the entire main cast" a "secret".
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*** Ironically this later turns out to be exactly the case with Anubis.
* In ''[[Stargate Atlantis]]'' some Replicators try to dispense with their nanite bodies and become energy in an effort to simulate ascension. It doesn't work.
* The aliens of ''[[Tracker]]'', or at the very least, Cole and Zin. It's never clarified for sure with the others.
* A recurring element of ''[[Andromeda]]'' is that various celestial bodies have [[Anthropomorphic Personification|sentient avatars]], energy beings who can manifest in humanoid form or as data.
* ''[[Mystery Science Theater 3000]]'' parodied this with the Observers, who repeatedly claimed to be brains without bodies... despite the fact that they used their bodies to carry around their brains.
** Mike, Crow, Servo, & Gypsy became energy beings at the end of the series finale on its original network...[[Status Quo Is God|then changed back again when the show was picked up by the Sci Fi Channel]].
* In "Counterweight
** Another ''[[Outer Limits]]'' energy being is the "vacuum cleaner monster" from "It Crawled Out of the Woodwork".
* In ''[[Power Rangers]]'', Zordon was this in his last two years of life as a consequence of the method he used to free himself from [[Sealed Good in a Can|his can]]. He was still ''in'' the can, as it was all that was holding his energy body together, but at least he could have people move the can around for him, rather than being stuck broadcasting to a fixed point.
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* The angels in ''[[Supernatural (TV series)|Supernatural]]''. For energy beings, they do act very human, though.
* All [[Ultra Series|Ultras]] fall under this category.
* In ''[[The Journey of Allen Strange]]'', this is the title character's true form.
== [[Oral Tradition]], [[Folklore]], Myths and Legends ==
* Showing that this Trope is [[Older Than They Think]], [[The Quran]] says that Allah created angels out of light and jinn out of "smokeless fire".
== [[Radio]] ==
* In the [[Big Finish Doctor Who]] audio ''...ish'', the Doctor encounters two sentient bits of ''language''—the Ish, which serves as a singularity of linguistic meaning so strong it warps and destroys all meaning around it, and the Omniverbum, the hypothetical longest word in the cosmos which does the same for ''reality itself''. At one point the Omniverbum ''chases the Doctor down a hallway'' despite being fully abstract.
== [[Tabletop Games]] ==
* ''[[Warhammer 40,000]]'''s [[The Legions of Hell|Daemons of Chaos]] are Energy Beings in the Warp, where they [[Hyperspace Is a Scary Place|attempt to break into spaceships traveling through it and devour the souls of everyone inside.]]
** The C'Tan star gods are immense energy beings that sustain themselves by draining energy from the stars. The Necrontyr race gave them physical bodies of living metal. They proceeded to turn the Necrontyr into the robotic Necrons and wage war against all living.
* Technically, pure-elemental creatures based on fire or electricity could qualify. Such energy elementals are found in dozens of fantasy games.
* ''[[Mortasheen]]'' has several, including [http://www.bogleech.com/mortasheen/lobotomask.htm a creature made of mental energy that sucks it out of others], [http://www.bogleech.com/mortasheen/psychodrome.htm a semi-sentient television signal] and [http://www.bogleech.com/mortasheen/arkhex.htm a creature that's like] [[Pokémon|Pokerus]] [[X Meets Y|meets]] [[H.P. Lovecraft|The Colour Out Of Space]].
== [[Video Games]] ==
* The ''[[Final Fantasy]]'' series, starting with ''[[Final Fantasy VI]]'', generally presents Ultima Weapon as an [[Energy Being]]. In VI, its self-introduction includes the phrase, "... I do not bleed, for I am but strength given form...", and its Summon Profile in ''[[Dissidia Final Fantasy|Dissidia]]'' says that "[i]t neither harbors nor represents life, but is rather a manifestation of [[Pure Energy|pure power]]."
* The Naaru from ''[[World of Warcraft]]'', although they do appear somewhat crystallized. They're also the [[Our Angels Are Different|closest thing in the Warcraft universe to angels.]]
** The Ethereals, who are essentially [[Honest John's Dealership|goblins]] [[Recycled in Space|from space]], embody this trope a bit more; their material shapes are created by wearing mummy-style wrappings and other elements of clothing.
* The wisps in the ''[[Ultima]]'' series are composed of energy and spend their existence gathering knowledge across the various planes of reality. In Ultima Underworld I, one can give you a truly devastating spell, {{spoiler|Armageddon, which destroys absolutely everything in the game. Including doors and stairways, so that you cannot escape the room.}}
* ''[[Commander Keen
* Every alien character in ''[[Mega Man Star Force]]'' is a sentient pack of radio waves. By combining with a human, the fusion also becomes a radio being. This describes the eponymous Mega Man as well as every single boss, as apparently mere waves are no match for radio humans.
* Ditto the cyber-elves from ''[[Mega Man Zero]]''.
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* Kheldians in ''[[City of Heroes]]''. However, they cannot survive for more than a decade as pure energy though so they inhabit organic hosts. Peacebringers and Warshades (reformed Nictus) do this with the consent of the host, the Nictus just take over whichever body they please.
** Kheldians (and as a result Nictus) can't take over a body unwillingly though, because the host can eventually just kick them out. However, Nictus get around this by kidnapping them and breaking their will in various ways so that they will become compliant hosts.
* Zorthan the Irritable from ''[[Ratchet and Clank
** The Zoni are also revealed to be this in [[All There in the Manual|a piece of Galactic Trivia that displays in ''A Crack Time''{{'}}s loading screens]]. The parts that seem robotic are just special suits required for them to survive outside of their home dimension.
* The Pkunk in ''[[Star Control]]'' claim that the Ilwrath used to be perfect beings of shining light, which would seem to fit this bill, before they became ''too'' perfect and wrapped around to pure evil spider beings. It's never actually established whether this is actually ''true'', like [[The Cuckoolander Was Right|most of their other bizarre claims]] or just random [[Phony Psychic]] posturing, though.
* The Archons and Dark Archons from ''[[StarCraft]]''. Affectionately called blue and red balloons respectively by some players, they are made up of [[Applied Phlebotinum|psionic energy]] and are created when two high or dark templar, [[Alliteration|powerful psychic protoss]], merge together. As they lack substance, they're tragically fragile without their energy shields, meaning they may be less useful than the sum of their parts if you're facing an enemy that can deplete shields. Generic archons are made from two high templar, two dark templar make a dark archon, and, in ''Starcraft 2'', two of either templar can come together to make a <s>Twilight Archon</s> regular archon. Interestingly, at least one dark templar, Ulrezaj, knows of a way to become an especially potent dark archon consisting of multiple templar. The result was probably one of the most powerful beings in the Starcraft universe.
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* [[All There in the Manual|According to the]] ''[[Metroid]]'' manuals, the eponymous creatures are energy beings, presumably made of the same [[Life Energy]] they feed on. The Chozo can also be assumed to be this after they [[Ascended to A Higher Plane of Existence]]
* Subverted in ''[[Jak and Daxter]]'': the first time we see a Precursor, it appears to be made out of glowing blue-white fire. {{spoiler|It later turns out that they're instead fuzzy orange mustelids. Daxter was overjoyed.}}
* In ''[[OtherSpace]]'', the Riftwalkers seem to act as Orz-like 'fingers', as they're extradimensional puppets made purely of psionic energy. Fortunately, they use telekinesis to hold up a shell of dust particles so we can have [[A Form You Are Comfortable With]].
* A slight subversion with the Celareons in ''[[Conquest: Frontier Wars]]''. While they are indeed energy beings, they cannot survive outside containment suits, which are crafted for them at "birth". They, essentially, spend their entire lives in metal suits. Their early stories claim that they were created by an [[Precursor|ancient race]], who also taught them how to make the containment suits.
== [[Web Comics]] ==
* ''[[Last Res0rt]]'' doesn't state this explicitly, but Efreet are basically Djinn who've sacrificed their bodies for the sake of gaining more elemental powers. They still like running around in their "original" bodies, though...
* ''Spontaneous Combustion'' has
* ''[[Vexxarr]]'' met [http://www.vexxarr.com/archive.php?seldate=030306 one of these]. And quickly figured out the downside.
== [[Web Original]] ==
* In ''[[The Gamers Alliance]]'', the Dwellers are beings of pure energy which may occasionally look vaguely like glowing overgrown spiders. They often prefer taking over host bodies from other races in order to interact in the Land of the Living, not caring whether the host body is actually alive or dead.
* Star from the ''[[Metro City Chronicles]]'' is usually content with hurling stellar-fire at people. However, he can also temporarily go full cosmic and turn into an energy being.
* ''[[Tech Infantry]]'' has the Caal, the disembodied souls of along-extinct alien race who [[Demonic Possession|possess other life forms]] as part of their quest to [[Omnicidal Maniac|destroy all other life as revenge for their own extinction]].
* Photon of the Supreme Six, a superhero team in the ''[[Global Guardians PBEM Universe]]'' is an [[Energy Being]] whose body is made of [[Light'Em Up|pure light]]. He retains human form mainly because it makes things easier to interact with his teammates.
* [[The Mercury Men]] are apparently beings of solid light.
== [[Western Animation]] ==
* As an Alien trope, you know there is a ''[[Ben 10]]'' example: the Anodites. It's discovered that {{spoiler|Gwen herself}} can become an Anodite in ''[[Ben 10: Alien Force|Ben 10 Alien Force]]''.
** ''[[Ben 10:
** [[Eldritch Abomination|Diagon]] may look like a Cthulhu-expy, but he's actually an Energy Being. {{spoiler|Vilgax defeats (possibly even ''kills'') him by tricking him into attacking an energy draining machine.}}
* In ''[[Futurama]]'' Amy Wong once tried to set up Leela with M-5438, an entity of pure energy from another dimension that, according to Bender, is "[[Ambiguously Gay|big on musical theater]], if you know what I mean".
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* In one of the Zan-and-Jayna episodes of ''[[Superfriends]]'', alien bad guys report to their boss, over [[Subspace Ansible|interstellar picturephone]], that the Super Friends are foiling their plans. Their boss casually replies, "I'll teleport you an energy creature." (Said energy creature is less like an Organian and more like a walking molten lava monster, however.)
== [[Real Life]] ==
* Many in the UFO community believe that UFOs and aliens are physical manifestations of interdimensional energy beings.
* ''All of us'' are Energy Beings. It's just that said energy is locked up in the form of matter. (Thank you, Einstein).
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