History Main / EnergyBeings

* In ''VideoGame/{{Portal2}}'' one of the alternate Cave Johnson's in the perpetual testing initiative states that Aperture's experiments inadvertently turned all of mankind into energy beings. He is enthusiastic about this because it brings them one step closer to humanity's ultimate goal... becoming pillar of salt beings.

* [[PhysicalGod Primus and Unicron]] from the various ''Franchise/{{Transformers}}'' series were originally Energy Beings before being [[SealedGoodInACan sealed]] [[SealedEvilInACan into]] planets, which they later took on as bodies. As the [[MechanicalLifeforms Transformers]] themselves are descended of Primus, they could be also considered such, but their bodies are usually much more important to them.

* In ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim'', the Augur of Dunlain was a brilliant student of the College of Winterhold, who liked to experiment with very deep magic. But one of these experiments went wrong, causing him to transform into an energy being.

* Technically, pure-elemental creatures based on fire or electricity could qualify. Such energy elementals are found in dozens of fantasy games.

* Technically speaking, all known lifeforms are actually energy beings, since atoms, the basic building blocks of the physical universe, are mostly energy (99.99999% energy vs 0.00001% matter).
** In a naive sense, the equation E = MC^2 implies that mass is energy and vice versa.

** All of them are possessing human bodies (except one who possesses a dog). Cole extracts their "essense" and stores it in crystals. It's safe to say that all creatures from that area of space are energy beings in one way or another. In fact, Cole is the only one who manifested his own body based on an underwear ad. The rest took the bodies of people on a train. It's possible that nothing material can pass through a wormhole, so this may have required all the escapees to be turned into energy.

* In StarWars, it is possible for certain Jedi to achieve immortality as "Force Ghosts", that's blue glowy energy beings, after they die, their bodies dematerializing instantly in the process. The spiritual techniques necessary for that transformation were discovered by the Jedi Knight Qui-Gon Jinn. The Sith and other darksiders, on the other hand, go for the more ordinary undead ghost forms.

* The IsaacAsimov short story, ''Eyes Do More Than See'', features energy beings.

** Comicbook/GreenLantern Dkrtzy Rrr is described as a "bio-sentient mathematical equation". Why, yes, it's an AlanMoore creation. Why'd you ask?

* In ''TheElderScrollsVSkyrim'', the Augur of Dunlain was a brilliant student of the College of Winterhold, who liked to experiment with very deep magic. But one of these experiments went wrong, causing him to transform into an energy being.

* The Nebulas in ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles'' are beings made of pure ether, the sustance that builds the world. They tend to be a pain in the ass to fight, having high physical defense and the nasty habit of self destructing once their health gets low.

EnergyBeings are frequently [[SufficientlyAdvancedAlien Sufficiently Advanced]] or {{Precursors}}; in fact, non-physicality is a common prerequisite, though they may take on AFormYouAreComfortableWith. Often times this means that when they [[TouchedByVorlons "Touch"]] a corporeal being it has interesting side effects. Other times they are the result of when a species AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence.

Even cheaper and simpler to pull off than RubberForeheadAliens, which explains why EnergyBeings and HumanAliens so often dominate the demographics of TheFinalFrontier.

** The origin story reveals [[spoiler:they're fragments of LifeEnergy from a truly massive EldritchAbomination. The one who defeated it severed the beast's chakra into nine parts and then imposed the image of a beast on each fragment, likely so they wouldn't merge of their own will]]. So while they ''are'' EnergyBeings, they're forced to maintain a physical form.

** ComicBook/{{X-Men}}'s Phoenix, originally just Jean Grey with a GodMode power upgrade, was famously [[RetCon retconned]] into an alien EnergyBeing after they wanted to bring back Jean but have her not be guilty of mass murder.

** Venus Dee Milo of [[{{X-Force}} X-Statix]] is another EnergyBeing in a bag, though not having a body doesn't stop her from becoming an international sex symbol.

* ''HisDarkMaterials'' presents its [[OurAngelsAreDifferent angels]] as something akin to EnergyBeings, 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.

* PiersAnthony used a race of these in ''OX'', mostly as an excuse to toss in references to [[TheGameOfLife Conway's Game of Life]]. No rationale for why a cluster of disembodied energy nodes would work like Conway's cellular automata is provided, but give Piers his credit: at least he ''tried'' to base his EnergyBeings on something coherent, which is more than other users of this trope seem inclined to do.

* Several races in ''TheHistoryOfTheGalaxy'' either originally were or evolved to EnergyBeing level. One such being is implied to be the origin of biological life in the galaxy (maybe even the universe) via accidental {{Panspermia}}. The novel quite clearly refers to the entity as "God", even though it's most definitely not immortal and can only exist in powerful magnetic fields of gas giants (in fact, according to the novel, many copies of the being have been created on various gas giants). Another similar race, the Evolgs, similarly evolved when disorganized magnetic fields of a planet became something more coherent. The Emulotti were HumanAliens until they were under threat of extermination by the Shvergs. The Evolgs helped the Emulotti by showing them how to AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence. At least one human was forcibly turned into energy by an Emulotti machine.

** So far, though, the trope has been seemingly averted in the new series. The Gelth may look like your typical EnergyBeings, but at least they're made of ''gas''.

* On ''Series/StargateSG1'' the [[SufficientlyAdvancedAlien Sufficiently Advanced]] species [[{{Precursors}} "The Ancients"]] have "Ascended" to a higher plane of existence, resulting in their existing on this plane only as EnergyBeings. Daniel Jackson also 'dies', but actually 'ascends' secretly. [[spoiler:Twice.]]

* ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}'''s [[TheLegionsOfHell Daemons of Chaos]] are EnergyBeings in the Warp, where they [[HyperspaceIsAScaryPlace attempt to break into spaceships traveling through it and devour the souls of everyone inside.]]

* The ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'' series, starting with ''Videogame/FinalFantasyVI'', generally presents Ultima Weapon as an EnergyBeing. In VI, its self-introduction includes the phrase, "... I do not bleed, for I am but strength given form...", and its Summon Profile in ''[[DissidiaFinalFantasy Dissidia]]'' says that "[i]t neither harbors nor represents life, but is rather a manifestation of [[PureEnergy pure power]]."

* Photon of the Supreme Six, a superhero team in the ''GlobalGuardiansPBEMUniverse'' is an EnergyBeing whose body is made of [[LightEmUp pure light]]. He retains human form mainly because it makes things easier to interact with his teammates.

** ''WesternAnimation/Ben10UltimateAlien'' has a radioactive EnergyBeing in P'andor. But considering he apparently has DNA to scan (where Anodites don't), it's called into question whether he's ''really'' "PureEnergy" or not.

* [[PhysicalGod Primus and Unicron]] from the various ''Franchise/{{Transformers}}'' series were originally EnergyBeings before being [[SealedGoodInACan sealed]] [[SealedEvilInACan into]] planets, which they later took on as bodies. As the [[MechanicalLifeforms Transformers]] themselves are descended of Primus, they could be also considered such, but their bodies are usually much more important to them.

* The obscure short story "The Waveries" features probably the most realistic take on this trope, [[UnbuiltTrope decades before]] ''Franchise/StarTrek''. 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.
** That's a Frederic Brown story - it hurts me to see him go uncredited.

* The eponymous homicidal Catepillar (no, not ''that'' kind) in ''{{Killdozer}}'' was possessed by an energy being.

* As an Alien trope, you know there is a ''WesternAnimation/{{Ben 10}}'' example: the Anodites. It's discovered that [[spoiler:Gwen herself]] can become an Anodite in ''WesternAnimation/Ben10AlienForce''.

* All the title creatures of the ''UltraSeries'' fall under this category.

** AllStarSuperman 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 crystaline structure filled with a conductive gas. In layman's terms, they're living neon signs.

** For that matter, Antibody from the NewUniverse title ''ComicBook/DP7'' had basically the same ability.

* The Rynax in ''KurauPhantomMemory'' are even being used as an energy source, leading to a lot of misery for them.