Top 10 Best Elemental Powers

Elemental powers, the ability to manipulate nature's fundamental aspects, have always held a prominent place in our collective imagination. From tales told around ancient campfires to the captivating narratives of modern media, elemental forces often become the basis for powerful abilities wielded by heroes and villains alike. Are you fascinated by the fiery might of a volcano, the tranquil strength of a flowing river, the tenacity of a mountain, or the ever-changing form of the wind? Maybe you're drawn to the electrifying potency of lightning or the freezing chill of ice?

Elemental powers, whether they're based on the traditional quartet of Fire, Water, Earth, and Air, or expanded to include Electricity, Ice, and more, carry an allure that transcends cultures and centuries. Their appeal lies not just in their dramatic potential, but also in their embodiment of nature's primal forces and our desire to harness and wield such power.
The Top Ten
Air

I think air is the most underestimated element. It is obviously powerful and convenient but is often seen as trivial. I would definitely choose to control air.

With fire, the most I would probably use it for is lighting a candle. With earth, I have no idea what I would do. With water, I would probably go to my neighbor's pool and have fun there. But with air, you can use it for so many things, such as levitating objects toward you, flying, jumping higher, running faster, and improving at sports like tennis and netball.

When you look at the media, for instance, Avatar: The Last Airbender, air is literally in the name, and there is so much proof that air is the most powerful. There is also a reason the Ancient Greeks gave their most powerful god control over the sky.

I do not want to turn this into a rant because I am known in my friendship group for that, but air is 100% the most powerful and can be used anywhere and for everyday things.

Water

Water is essentially the fundamental structure of ice/frost, so it should be in 3rd place. Water can do all sorts of things. Since there is water inside our bodies, we can manipulate the water inside other people and potentially control them like slaves and kill them at any time.

Water, if frozen, can create dangerous weapons and can do other hazardous things as well. If you were to freeze somebody, they would start slowing down and eventually die of hypothermia. And/or you could solidify them into place by creating ice shards around them, making it impossible to move around.

If you were fighting against a person with an elemental power, we would win. We could block lightning with a solid ice structure. We could counteract fire. We could use water molecules in a rainstorm to kill air. And we could freeze the ground, causing earth to be useless.

With water, we could make mist which will hide our presence. And we could use water dummies, for instance, since water can reflect our images, we could use our reflections to trick our enemies. And we could potentially fly with water by freezing it on our bodies and allowing us to fly with the water molecules because of the ice shards that are on our bodies. And if you freeze water, we could condense that water into a giant ball and freeze it, causing a massive boulder of ice to rain down on our enemies.

Fire

Here is the reason why I believe fire is the best element. Fire destroys anything in its path. With intensive training, fire can evaporate water. It is also a form of explosion, rendering earth users ineffective.

Fire is generally stronger than wind due to the chemical reaction needed for fire to heat or burn. It requires oxygen. If there is a lot of oxygen, the fire will be bigger and stronger, which causes wind users to perish.

Additionally, fire is also a form of electricity. Electricity is overpowering. It cannot be blown away nor can it be easily blocked as it is invisible. Consider a water user fighting a lightning user. The water user is at a severe disadvantage. With one shot, water will be electrocuted, and anyone in it will perish. Lightning can easily overcome any earth defenses or offenses. Wind users cannot blow away electricity, and while they may oppose it with the right moves, lightning is shown to have immense power over the main elements.

Therefore, fire is the strongest element.

Electricity

Assume lightning is the power to harness electricity, or to manipulate electrons, electricity, and lightning itself. Lightning is a force that, unlike all other basic elements - fire, water, earth, even air or nature - cannot be thwarted.

Fire is an unpredictable element but still weak compared to all others, even air, which is intended to power it, can extinguish fire. Water is versatile, but that does not mean it isn't just as easily stopped. And air is supposedly the strongest element, and yet, to become so, the wielder would need to be the most powerful in the universe. It is an invincible force wielding unimaginably dangerous power.

Electricity, even in the smallest amounts, can pass a current so powerful it is commonly associated with death. Lightning itself can contain one billion volts of electricity. Air may gather resistance, but air resistance can be easily disregarded by this element. Even more resistance, to the point of humans falling like slips of paper, would do nothing. The electricity can travel through air itself. Any defense created by air is entirely bypassed and serves only to make the situation worse. No more needs to be said.

Earth

With earth, you could literally control the whole planet. You could destroy it and everything on it as a result. With earth, you could basically control everything around you. Water wouldn't be able to do anything because earth is sturdier, and the planet is at your command. Fire wouldn't either, because fire can be put out with earth. Wind is powerful, but against earth, there is not much it can do. Lightning is also a good power, but remember, with earth, you could basically control planets.

Ice

One of the most underrated powers, in my opinion, is ice. Elsa is a prime example of the sheer force of this, as she created an "eternal winter" which only she could remove. Now, imagine that mastered. Imagine being able to recreate ice ages, change the weather, and create anything you'd like.

Also, you could propel yourself through the air by creating an ice path, making it amazing for travel. Getting weapons is useful too, as you can sharpen your ice as much as you'd like. Also, if you become immune to cold weather, you could be almost unstoppable, able to live in a free luxury house made purely of ice.

Dark

Darkness is the most powerful. You can escape guards by turning yourself into a shadow. You can create life forms and other living things like a shadow wolf, dragon, etc. You can easily steal or break into the most secure place in the world. You can even see the secret recipe in Coca-Cola unnoticed.

You can manipulate black holes, create dark matter and energy, which means you can manipulate space and even time. The only thing faster than light is darkness. It is existent but also non-existent, so practically it is very hard to kill. You can create anything with shadow powers, even extra lives!

Life

With life, you can do anything and basically have the same powers as God. You can create animals, bring back extinct species, and delete or create anything. You can make trees, plants, flowers, grass, and dirt. You basically have every single power in the universe. You can even make more humans and control events.

You could create and control life itself. You could heal others by enhancing their vitality or kill them by absorbing it. You could also create sentient life or empower yourself by absorbing the lifeforce around you to enhance your own. Additionally, you could see the life force of others, which acts like pseudo-thermal vision.

Time

Time is, well, time is just broken, no two ways about it. If we're judging these powers based on fighting ability, then you have to realize that being able to react before your enemy is just busted, lol. Example! Ahem... How to Win a Fight when you can control time! Step 1: Stop Time. Step 2: Stab someone in the eye with literally anything! Step 3: Grab popcorn and then unfreeze time.

I know that was kind of graphic and cruel, but that's the really scary thing about time control. Traceless crime. Stop time, rewind it at will or upon death, traveling through time - if someone has that ability and you don't, you lose. The only way you win is if they let you beat them, or they decide that killing you is either not worth the energy or, if they're a sadist, has gotten boring.

Energy

I actually created a character who controls energy as an element. At first, he is only able to control psi energy, but he can convert other types of energy into psi and manipulate them that way.

When he has a near-death experience in Limbo with Nature, he gains extra divine powers. Now, he can tap into the universe's limitless stores of cosmic energy. He can generate force fields, levitate by altering gravitational potential energy, use telekinesis by altering kinetic energy, and drain the chi out of others to kill them. He is basically overpowered! I love the element of energy for that because of its limitless possibilities. You can even absorb energy into your own body and become immortal!

The Newcomers

? Cosmic
? Aether
The Contenders
Light

Light has many different properties that can be utilized in various ways. Scientifically speaking, you can manipulate part of the electromagnetic spectrum, which means several things: you can listen in on people using devices that tap into this spectrum, like radio waves. Blind people. Ignite fires. Fly. Move at the speed of light. And if you could "harden" light - like what Green Lantern does - you'd have an arsenal of kinetic weapons and armor you could summon at will.

But let's be real here: blinding people pretty much hinders a great deal of individuals who still rely on eyesight to use their abilities effectively, and is probably the most effective, albeit crude, usage of this ability. On a fantasy note, light is the obvious counter to darkness-based abilities. Also, fire users are at a disadvantage against you since you can manipulate their power if they try to set you or something else on fire, due to how photons work.

Telekinesis/Mind Control

This really sounds like a cool element. I would choose this because you can literally bring stuff from a far distance with your mind. You also can control people and make them do weird stuff, either for payback or as a prank. This element takes a lot of skill and practice, and it takes a long time to get the hang of it. I would also know the answers to every test question just from reading a teacher's mind.

If it was anything, I would have this element! But if it was between this and 100 trillion dollars, then no, I'd pick the 100 trillion dollars. I like that more!

Death

Our form of death refers to the end of a lifeform. You could become immortal by erasing your death, resurrect others by doing the same, and even instantly kill anyone. At a conceptual level, death could signify the end of everything. This includes the end of life, time, and all existence. You could erase anything from a person, a building, or a planet to time, a chance of failure, and the entirety of existence.

Honestly, any form of element manipulation is dangerous. Just because you control fire doesn't mean you are immune to it. Powers close to omnipotence are always too dangerous.

You stop time and you basically stop air from flowing into your lungs, stop light from entering your eyes, and electricity from running. You create a big black void and not expect to be sucked into it? Also, it would possibly be highly dependent on how far you can see.

Lightning would be like detonating a huge bomb right beside you, loud enough to make you deaf, bright enough to blind you, and that's not even considering what is needed to cause lightning. I could go on like this for ages, but I advise you to carefully consider science before using any superpower.

Space

Space equals time.

So, then you could freeze time.

You could also have the power to manipulate space, supernovae, hypernovae, meteors, gravity, wormholes, black holes, white holes, energy, fire, water, earth, air, etc.

Everything in space is what you can control.

You could create nothing and destroy all atoms or you could create strange matter.

When I think of the best element, I think of the best element in the long term, not just for fun, but you can do other stuff as well.

There is a known planet that is made out of water, except for its core. You could manipulate gravity and use that to your advantage.

You could teleport anywhere or turn invisible (by making the stuff you are made out of thinner) or fly (using air).

Think of every single thing in the known universe, and you could use it to your advantage.

BUT!

Elements that might be stronger:

Mind: You could lose consciousness and not be able to summon stuff.

Luck: You could keep on missing.

Fate: It controls the future, and YOU (yourself) are forever in the present. But you are in the future for other people.

Gravity

You could increase or decrease the gravity of a certain area, fly, move things with your mind, and shoot gravity blasts. You could even condense gravity to create a black hole.

In my opinion, gravity has to be one of the best. You can increase or decrease a person's weight, create black holes, and, because gravity can alter spacetime, you can speed up or slow down your enemies, or even yourself. You can also fly (technically).

I suppose that would just be falling, just not downwards.

You can control gravity. So you can fly. So it is kind of like the Force. You can raise an enemy army over 100 feet and bring them crashing down.

Sound

Sound is actually pretty cool! In physics, sound is a vibration through matter in the form of a sound wave. It can travel through air, water, and solids. Ever feel the bass of loud music? That's a sound wave traveling through you! Most of the jolting that happens in earthquakes is from a massive sound wave traveling through the earth.

Sound is also key to communication. Speech is just a complex pattern of air pressure waves. So, having sound as an ability, you'd be able to distinguish multiple air pressure patterns in speech to understand and possibly mimic it to communicate back. Additionally, many animals can growl at such low frequencies, not as a warning but to instill fear in prey momentarily. There is such a thing as a sound wave that triggers the emotion of fear!

Sound can also be destructive. Consider how it can travel through land and is a vibration. Rocket launch pads are flooded with water after launches, not to subdue the flames and heat, but to absorb the sound so it won't travel and destroy the rocket, such as with the Saturn V launch. Also, consider shock waves. Sound can literally flatten things and cause objects to move, suggesting a form of levitation.

Shadow Magic
Magnetism

I think magnetism would be an amazing elemental power because you could control the magnetic field and control metal. It's like a mixture of Metal and Gravity.

Evangeline Samos is all I have to say. If you don't know who she is, please read Red Queen or look her up.

We can control any metal. We are able to create any weapon.

Weather

Thunder is already in sound/electricity. Sorry, but thunder is only sound. Also, note that thunder is the sound lightning makes. It's completely in sound with an electrical background.

For me, thunder is the superior form of lightning because it can destroy, such as a country, when it gains too many electrons.

Lightning, air, water, ice - no matter what element, all of the ones that can be weather you can control.

BAdd New Item