History Main / EnergyBeings

* Gosh the Butterfly of Iron in ''Webcomic/TheInexplicableAdventuresOfBob'' is [[http://bobadventures.comicgenesis.com/d/20150331.html described]] as a "living space warp" made of a different form of energy than matter.

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Even cheaper and simpler to pull off than RubberForeheadAliens — they're usually just a blurry blob of light superimposed onto the screen, or maybe a cloud of colored smoke, or they may be outright ''invisible'' – which explains why Energy Beings and HumanAliens so often dominate the demographics of the Final Frontier. The AngelicAliens and StarfishAliens especially may appear in this form.

* The President in ''Anime/WishUponThePleiades'' is this, but takes on the form of an imagined alien he finds in Nanako's mind.

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

* The Angels from ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'', despite their typically rather imposing physical presence are said to have both "waveform" & particle properties, not unlike light. [[ItRunsOnNonsensoleum This despite the fact that, genetically, they're supposedly closer to humans than chimps are]]. Metaphysically, some are essentially....literally, beings made of Light or...other abstract concepts that the human mind cannot mathematically comprehend.

* ''Franchise/{{Digimon}}'' can be seen as this, being sentient computer programs, though they still need physical bodies to exist in the Real World. Those bodies are assembled out of nearby elements in a process called ''bio-emergence''. Similarly, humans and any other physical matter is automatically converted to data upon entering the Digital World.

* In ''Anime/PokemonDestinyDeoxys'', Tory's Energy Being friend is eventually revealed to be a second Deoxys.
* Several characters with Logia powers from ''Manga/OnePiece''. Take for example, [[PlayingWithFire Ace]], [[LightIsNotGood Kizaru]], and [[PsychoElectro Enel]].
* Kain from ''Anime/TenchiUniverse''
* The spirit forms of the Clow Cards in ''Manga/CardcaptorSakura'', though they usually take the form of humanoids (often, though not always, beautiful women) or animals. Of special mention is the Illusion Card.
* The Protodeviln of ''Anime/Macross7'' started out as such. They came from a universe in which no matter exists, and everything is energy. When they were pulled into this universe to serve as a power supply for the Protoculture's Ehvil series of living superweapons, they possessed said superweapons to use as bodies. The Protoculture had not considered the possibility that the energy they were pulling from that other universe could be ''intelligent''.

* Stardust, one of the recent additions to ComicBook/{{Galactus}}' ever growing list of Heralds, already was an energy being before being imbued with the Power Cosmic. In fact, he and his kin were invisible to the naked eye.
* The Celestials in the MarvelUniverse 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 HumongousMecha that they essentially "wear".
* Quite a few appear in Creator/MarvelComics. 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.
** ComicBook/XMen's Phoenix, originally just Jean Grey with a GodMode power upgrade, was famously [[RetCon retconned]] into an alien Energy Being after they wanted to bring back Jean but have her not be guilty of mass murder.
** And ComicBook/WonderMan, too (technically he's made of ionized matter, which ''contains'' a lot of energy).
* ''Franchise/{{Superman}}'':
** Superman briefly became an energy being for a reason vaguely explained as [[SuperPowerMeltdown overdosing on sunlight]]. Being Superman, his new energy powers were just as off the charts as his FlyingBrick 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.
** ''ComicBook/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.
** In ''ComicBook/TheImmortalSuperman'', Kal-El travels to the year 101,970 and faces a synthetic electrical life-form spawned by a strange kind of pulsating energy.
** Cyborg Superman became an Energy Being with the power to possess machines (his preferred form being a cyborg clone of Superman) after exposure to cosmic energy. He's effectively immortal since energy is indestructible. The driving force behind his villainy is his weariness with life and his inability to die. Most of his heinous acts were merely attempts to [[SuicideByCop goad powerful superheroes like Green Lantern and Superman into finding a way to kill him]]. He once even joined forces with a OmnicidalManiac cosmic superbeing because it promised Hank it would kill him afterwards.
** In ''ComicBook/SupermanDoomsdayHunterPrey'', Doomsday was once defeated by a species whose royal family sacrificed themselves to become a being of pure energy called the Radiant, which Doomsday was entirely defenseless against. Unfortunately, they didn't destroy his body, and when it was recovered and woke up, Doomsday was now immune to energy attacks as well, as the former victors discovered to their horror.

* Dr. Manhattan from ''Comicbook/{{Watchmen}}'' sometimes behaves as though he were an energy being, even though he has a perfectly physical body. On the other hand, he doesn't seem to need it too much, since he quickly makes himself a new one after being disintegrated ''again'' at the end of the story.
** He can teleport, turn intangible, has telekinesis, and can manipulate his own size and color. As the page description says, the definition of "energy being" is pretty complicated, but if this guy doesn't qualify, what does?
* ''ComicBook/EMan'' is about an energy being alien who comes to Earth and can turn himself into whatever he wants. HilarityEnsues.
* In the Magazine/DoctorWhoMagazine comics, the Mondas Cybermen eventually evolve into these.
* In ''ComicBook/AllFallDown'', [[spoiler:Siphon]] briefly becomes one of these before the end.
* Super Sonic in ''ComicBook/SonicTheComic'' is made of pure Evil Chaos Energy.

** The Elder God of Chaos and Dark Magic, Chthon, also functions as this - or at least, the fragment of him active in Book I does.

* In ''Franchise/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 Id Monster energy being from ''Film/ForbiddenPlanet'' is invisible except for the brief scene where it's limned in the crackling energy of a force field it's trying to break through. Note that, at that time, this was neither a cheap nor a simple effect – and it looks ''awesome'' – but for the rest of the film, it is [[NothingIsScarier invisible.]]

* The eponymous Angels in ''[[Literature/MatthewSwift A Madness of Angels]]'' '''used''' to be these, back when they were living in the telephone wires. Then [[FirstEpisodeResurrection Mathew]] got better and they're stuck [[WillingChanneler with him]].
* The high spirits from Adam R. Brown's ''Literature/AstralDawn'' are eternal beings with vast power, composed of astral energy. The high spirits evolved from the normal non-corporeal state all humans and other living things assume when their bodies stop functioning or are destroyed. As the energy that once occupied a physical body, they retain the thoughts and experiences gained in that life.
* In ''Literature/{{Eragon}}'' strange beings called "spirits" crop up occasionally. They are weird little floating balls of...something...that float around and are most plot-relevant when they are fueling evil Shades.
* In ''Franchise/TheHitchhikersGuideToTheGalaxy'' 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). StarfishAliens indeed.
* Peter F. Hamilton's ''Literature/NightsDawnTrilogy'' features the energy-based hive mind Ly-Cilph, whose evolutionary history the author spends a few pages summarizing. The antagonists of the series, [[spoiler: body-snatching souls invading from TheNothingAfterDeath]], also seem to be made of energy.
* The eponymous character of Stephan King's ''Literature/{{It}}'' generally is portrayed as YouCannotGraspTheTrueForm. The closest the human mind can come appears in the climax, as [[spoiler: a giant Spider.]] When [[spoiler: Stuttering Bill initiates the Ritual of Chud, "It" flings him through It's mind into a "Darkness beyond the universe", towards where It's true form resides as a swirling mass of Orange Light.]]
* In ''Literature/TheSpaceTrilogy'' by Creator/CSLewis, 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 (i.e.: ''us'').
* ''Literature/HisDarkMaterials'' presents its [[OurAngelsAreDifferent 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 eponymous homicidal Catepillar (no, not ''that'' kind) in ''Film/{{Killdozer}}'' was possessed by an energy being.
* Creator/PiersAnthony used a race of these in ''OX'', mostly as an excuse to toss in references to [[VideoGame/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 Energy Beings on something coherent, which is more than other users of this trope seem inclined to do.
* OlderThanTelevision: The creature in Creator/HPLovecraft's 1927 ''Literature/TheColourOutOfSpace'' is a bodiless ''something'' that's released from the inexplicably colored bubbles in a meteorite and possesses and gradually drains all the life from a farm and its inhabitants. Eventually, the creature gains enough strength to fire itself out of a well and back into space, appearing as a geyser of shimmering alien light as it does so. But then the hero sees a second, weaker entity trying to escape as well, only to tumble back down again. And then the abandoned farm's turned into a city reservoir...
* Skewered in ''The Biology of Franchise/StarTrek'', 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 ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles'', 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 Creator/JamesBlish, humans makes contact with energy beings that are created in the births of stars and look like globes of orange light. We dub them "angels," and as the stories go on, the name feels more and more uncomfortably appropriate.
* The "Rakasha" from Creator/RogerZelazny's ''Literature/LordOfLight'' are the prior native race of the planet that had discovered a technique for "strengthening the flames of the mind that they may burn independently of the body." They can manipulate electricity, among other abilities, and still interact with the material world.
* ''Macroscope'' by Creator/PiersAnthony 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 Creator/FredricBrown 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.
* Yet another sci-fi trope pioneered by Edward E. "Doc" Smith, whose ''Literature/SkylarkSeries'' included the "free minds" One through Seven, who've spent the megayears since their transformation wandering the universe in search of interesting new experiences. Their power is immense - One converts a human into Freemind Eight, then changes its mind and casually conjures him a new body and a starship, accurate to the last cell and circuit, just to get rid of him.
* ''Literature/LukeSkywalkerAndTheShadowsOfMindor'' has an unusual take on this trope in the Melters, who do appear to have matter bodies or a matter medium - a mineral called meltmassif, which is electroconductive - and which perceive the electrical activity in human bodies to be like themselves. Problem is, the meltmassif is completely undifferentiated and doing just about anything to it does not hurt the Melters, and Melters always seek to mix their meltmassif so their individual signals merge. They have no concept of how it's different for others. In the end they are freed from the meltmassif and become proper energy beings... or die. It's Franchise/StarWars and everyone is a "luminous being" functioning in a shell of matter already.

* In the sequel to ''Literature/ThoseThatWake'', this is what people in the neuropleth become.
* The Feyori from ''Literature/TheirsNotToReasonWhy'', who live for thousands of years and play intricate games using matter-based sentients as pieces.
* In the short story ''Literature/TheLibrarian'' (2015) this is Nick's true form, though it takes on a humanoid shape.

* The Lyth in ''Literature/TheLicaniusTrilogy'' painfully had all of their physical material stripped away when a massive weapon malfunctioned. They live on (immortally) as beings made entirely of Essence.

* The Vorlons from ''Series/BabylonFive'' 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 DeadlyUpgrade, gives up corporeal existence to become pure psychic energy. According to the episode "The Deconstruction of Falling Stars", at least part of humanity appears to be [[HollywoodEvolution destined to go this way]], too, within the next one million years. Note that the far-future human seen in this episode looks like an ordinary man at first, then turns into a cloud of glowing particles which fly into a human-shaped encounter-suit. Similarily, [[{{Precursors}} precursor being]] Lorien is a quite physical humanoid when he feels like it, but can turn into a glowing cloud (possibly his true form) for travelling through space. This suggests that all these beings are basically physical creatures that have gained the ability to turn into a more or less gaseous/plasma/energy form at will.

* In ''Series/EarthFinalConflict'' there are the Taelons and the Kimera. The first seem to be primarily energy based but not entirely in the [[Series/StargateSG1 glowing squid]] squad as yet. The Kimera however look to be entirely energy - except when they feel like it and pretend to be some matter based life form. And the entire being based on energy thing is a key part of the Taelons' story line.
* ''Series/{{Farscape}}'': Stark's true form is pure energy that he can shape into the form of a humanoid body so he can interact with others. In one episode he's executed by disintegration which just returns him to PureEnergy. He returns two episodes later having reconsituted his physical form.

** In ''Series/StargateAtlantis'' some Replicators try to dispense with their nanite bodies and become energy in an effort to simulate ascension. It doesn't work - or at least, not very well. They become digital, living data, but that's about it. This makes them similar to an entity encountered by the SGC on one of the Milky Way planets that possessed Carter.

* [[DiscussedTrope Discussed]] in TabletopGame/{{GURPS}} Space. It poses the idea of plasma-based life that lives inside stars, [[AttackOfThe50FootWhatever many miles tall]]

* Easily created in ''TabletopGame/RocketAge'' by adding the Immaterial trait to a creature.

* The ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'' series, starting with ''Videogame/FinalFantasyVI'', 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 ''[[VideoGame/DissidiaFinalFantasy Dissidia]]'' says that "[i]t neither harbors nor represents life, but is rather a manifestation of [[PureEnergy pure power]]."
* The Naaru from ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'', although they do appear somewhat crystallized. They're also the [[OurAngelsAreDifferent closest thing in the Warcraft universe to angels.]]
** The Ethereals, who are essentially [[ProudMerchantRace Azerothian goblins]] [[RecycledINSPACE from space]], embody this trope a bit more; their material shapes are created by wearing mummy-style wrappings and other elements of clothing.
* [[WillOTheWisp The wisps]] in the ''VideoGame/{{Ultima}}'' series are composed of energy and spend their existence gathering knowledge across the various planes of reality. In ''VideoGame/UltimaUnderworld'', 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.]]

* Every alien character in ''VideoGame/MegaManStarForce'' 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 ''VideoGame/MegaManZero''.

* Kheldians in ''VideoGame/CityOfHeroes''. 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 ''VideoGame/RatchetAndClankFutureToolsOfDestruction''.
** The Zoni are also revealed to be this in [[AllThereInTheManual 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 ''Videogame/StarControl'' 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 [[TheCuckoolanderWasRight most of their other bizarre claims]] or just random PhonyPsychic posturing, though.
* The Archons and Dark Archons from ''VideoGame/{{Starcraft}}''. Affectionately called blue and red balloons respectively by some players, they are made up of [[AppliedPhlebotinum psionic energy]] and are created when two high or dark templar, 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 ''VideoGame/StarcraftII'', two of either templar can come together to make a [[strike:Twilight Archon]] 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.
** [[spoiler:Tassadar apparently became an immortal being made of pure light after his HeroicSacrifice at the end of the first game.]]
** Ulrezaj was a dark templar scholar who found a crystal containing the knowledge to make a powerful Dark Archon. Presumably, he destroyed the crystal after reading it.

* Subverted in ''VideoGame/JakAndDaxter'': 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.]]

* A slight subversion with the Celareons in ''VideoGame/ConquestFrontierWars''. 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 artificially evolved to their present state by an [[{{Precursors}} ancient race]], who also taught them how to make the containment suits.
* The Nebulas in ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles1'' are beings made of pure ether, the substance 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.
* Xerath from ''VideoGame/LeagueOfLegends'' was once a man, then ascended to a being of pure arcane energy, then was imprisoned within a sarcophagus for his reckless abuse of magic. Now he is mobile once again, but still not entirely free due to the remaining enchantments placed upon him.
* Lambda in ''VideoGame/TalesOfGraces''. His actual nature is left quite vague. Basically he's immortal, incorporeal, and [[spoiler: living in Richard's head. Or Asbel's, eventually.]]
* ''Franchise/TheElderScrolls''
** The Ideal Masters are immortal beings who [[WasOnceAMan were once powerful mortal sorcerers]] during the Merethic Era. After finding their mortal forms to be too weak and limiting, they entered Oblivion as beings of pure energy and settled an area of "chaotic creatia", forming the [[SpiritWorld Soul Cairn]]. The Ideal Masters are most infamous for their [[YourSoulIsMine trafficking in souls]], especially "Black" sapient souls. All souls trapped in soul gems end up in the Soul Cairn and are considered property of the Ideal Masters. The Ideal Masters do not usually manifest within the Soul Cairn, but have been known to take the form of giant soul gems through which individuals can communicate with them, and through which they can drain the souls of approaching mortals.
** ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim Skyrim]]'':
*** 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.
*** In the ''Dawnguard'' DLC, you can travel to the aforementioned Soul Cairn and meet the Ideal Masters in the...well, not ''flesh''...but crystalline soul gem form.
* Io in ''VideoGame/DotA2'' is the very essence of the fundamental forces that hold the world together. In a more meta example, Io's in-game model is purely made of particle effects.
* 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.
* The Zoltan from ''VideoGame/FTLFasterThanLight'' are green humanoids made of energy. They even [[LivingBattery provide one bar of energy]] to the system they stand in, making them useful as support, but have less health than other races, which makes them bad at combat. They also [[ActionBomb explode on death]] in the Advanced Edition.

* In ''Videogame/CookieClicker'', building 15 Prisms unlocks the Rainbow Grandma upgrade, which turns some of the grandmas into photonic beings.
* ''VideoGame/TheBureauXCOMDeclassified'' features [[spoiler:Ethereals]] as energy beings. [[spoiler:They are somewhat different than their ''VideoGame/XCOMEnemyUnknown'' cousins but still possess impressive PsychicPowers. In fact, it's revealed near the end that the PlayerCharacter is not William Carter but Asaru, the Ethereal controlling him. The BigBad also has an Ethereal under his control, but Carter manages to capture her. For some reason, they turn out to be vulnerable to ballistic fire, as Carter shoots and kills Shamash, the other Ethereal, with a regular pistol after she suggests destroying Earth]].
* ''VideoGame/XCOMEnemyUnknown'' has the Outsiders, beings of "almost pure energy" that materialize out of glowing orange crystals.
* In ''Videogame/{{Xenogears}}'', [[spoiler:the Wave Existence is an energy being from another dimension that was trapped in the Zohar Engine that powers Deus. Most of the 10,000 year long history of the world was shaped by the Wave Existence's attempts to free itself via its Contact 'Abel' and his reincarnations (Fei being the latest) and Deus' attempts to keep it imprisoned while cultivating humanity so they could become the new spare parts it needs to repair itself.]]
* In ''VideoGame/{{Stellaris}}'', the big risk that comes with toying with Jump Drive technology is the risk of opening a portal to another dimension, populated by strange beings known simply as The Unbidden. And they see a galaxy full of living things filled with energy themselves as a gigantic all-you-can-eat buffet.
-->''"... prey..."''

* In ''VideoGame/{{Evolve}}'' [[spoiler: this is the original and true nature of the monsters, who lack physical form in their home dimension. After humanity started destroying their dimension by accident, they pushed into our dimension and formed physical bodies. Since they had no concept of bodies, they mimicked existing things like animals and inorganic materials for the base and used widespread mental impressions from humans to put the pieces together into something considered frightening.]]
* ''VideoGame/AtlasReactor'' has three examples of beings made of not-entirely-meat: Aurora is a human who was disintegrated and learned to mimic the Reactor's powers of ResurrectiveImmortality. Orion was a human who performed an experiment on himself that infused his body with Reactor energy. Finally, Quark seems to be the Reactor's 'offspring' and doesn't resemble any kind of biological life. The degree to which these characters are still human also seems to be proportional to their relative sanity: Aurora is a megalomaniac, Orion is [[AGodAmI convinced he's a god]], and [[CloudCuckooLander Quark's mentality and moral code doesn't resemble that of a human in the slightest]].
* ''VideoGame/BluePlanet'': The Vishnans. The protagonist says they could be called Energy Beings, but to do so would be to miss the point. They do not have corporeal bodies as we know them. Instead they "possess" inanimate matter of their own creation to serve as an instrument of their will in the physical universe. The Shivans are similar, except that while the Vishnans exist outside of local time-space, the Shivans are innately part of local time-space. One character says that "The Shivans were not made. They were calculated." when discussing their origins.
* ''VideoGame/{{Warframe}}'': One of the theories in-universe trying to explain how a single Tenno can use and occupy several Warframes of different builds and genders was that they were some sort of energy beings, able to [[BodySurf travel between bodies]] and change them at will. Gets subverted during ''The Second Dream'', when we find out that [[spoiler:the Tenno are actually flesh-and-blood humans whose mind is remotely projected onto a Warframe body]]. And then double subverted during The War Within, where we learn that [[spoiler:Tenno [[LiminalBeing exist in a "border" state between the physical world and the Void]] which grants them their innate powers, including the ability to dash-teleport as well as phase in and physically posses other bodies, including their Warframes]]. So, while they are not pure energy beings, they are not completely corporeal either.
* ''VideoGame/IronMarines'': One of the villain factions is the Raad, who are sentient unstable plasma from another dimension. They wear containment suits in order to survive in our galaxy, and said suits also channel their energy into ElementalPowers. Destroying their suits tends to have... [[ActionBomb explosive results]]. [[spoiler:The HeroUnit Fate also turns out to have been a Raad, but [[DefectorFromDecadence defected to the humans]] for personal reasons]].

* While Alpha-152 from ''Videogame/DeadOrAlive'' is never stated to be anything other than a superpowered clone who went through weird genetic experiments, she is still depicted as a typical energy being, with a shiny and shimmery body seemingly made out of liquid or gel.
* ''VideoGame/NuclearThrone'': Called Guardians, these are EliteMooks found mostly late in the game, coming in various forms. There's also a friendly playable version, called Horror, unlocked by [[spoiler:[[DefeatMeansFriendship defeating it in battle]]]]. Due to their nature, they drop lots of [[ILoveNuclearPower rads]], the game's form of [[ExperiencePoints XP]].

* ''Webcomic/KillSixBillionDemons'' has two varieties living in the VoidBetweenTheWorlds: the [[OurAngelsAreDifferent Angels]], axiomatic immortal spirits of cold white flame, who require enchanted stone armour to exist in the physical world; and [[OurDemonsAreDifferent Devils]], whose individual identities are bound to their {{Mask|OfPower}}s and their powers to their [[IKnowYourTrueName Names]], and who revert to chaotic black fire if their masks are destroyed. Unusually, within the Void, they're much more solid than most visiting humans who [[AstralProjection project their souls]] there.
* Gosh the Butterfly of Iron in ''Webcomic/TheInexplicableAdventuresOfBob'' is [[http://bobadventures.comicgenesis.com/d/20150331.html described]] as a "living space warp" made of a different form of energy than matter.
--> "Okay, so... if matter is a form of energy, think of a ''different'' form your physicists haven't..."
* ''WebComic/SaturdayMorningBreakfastCereal'': In [[https://www.smbc-comics.com/comic/good-genes "Good Genes"]], a guy complains that his sister got all the good genes in the family. Since it turns out she's a superintelligent Energy Being, it's a bit hard to argue.

* WebVideo/TheMercuryMen are apparently beings of solid light.
* ''Literature/ChakonaSpace'' has the Deities worshiped by the Rakshani, who are an elder race that [[AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence ascended to a higher plane of existence]] and like to meddle occasionally with the younger races, most notably by granting Boyce Kline inter-fertility with all mammalian species, and giving the transporter on the [[CoolStarship Folly]] the ability to perform a FountainOfYouth /healing effect.
* ''{{WebOriginal/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]] [[Franchise/{{Pokemon}} Pokerus]] [[JustForFun/XMeetsY meets]] [[Creator/HPLovecraft The Colour Out Of Space]].

* The members (read: entire species) of the evil Brotherhood of Makuta from ''Toys/{{Bionicle}}'' have [[EvolutionaryLevels evolved past]] the need of physical bodies. They still need a shell or armor of some kind however, or said energy will disperse, killing them. Still, being made of energy gives them plenty of abilities, like being able to move into other bodies; and mind-control people with their energies. They have also padded their armor with Protosteel, since there's no body that needs space anymore. This made a painful experience for the Makuta Icarax, as he [[spoiler:was devolved into his biomechanical form again by the Mask of Life, making his armor way too small to fit his reformed organs.]]
** One of the latest books mentions the Avohkah, basically sentient lightning living in the universe's core. The Toa Mata drive these things out shortly after being created.
* [[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 (a Transformer's true self is its "[[OurSoulsAreDifferent spark]]," and those can be removed and manipulated), but their bodies are usually much more important to them, with destruction of their body causing their spark to fade.
** The Vok from ''WesternAnimation/BeastWars'' also qualify.
* In one episode of ''WesternAnimation/MyLifeAsATeenageRobot'', an "energy vampire" called Gigawatt threatens to absorb all of the electricity on Earth. He claims to be a lifeform of pure energy, but after Jenny shorts him out with water from a fire hydrant, he shrinks down until all that's left is his lightbulb-shaped head.

* ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans'' villain Overload is an electric monster controlled by a circuit board. In the final battle, Killowat absorbs the energy and the chip is frozen.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheNewAdventuresOfSuperman'' episode "The Wisp Of Wickedness". A demon has a laboratory accident that results in a tremendous explosion. As a result he's reduced to a ball of energy with the ability to possess other creatures and make them do evil deeds.
* In one of the Zan-and-Jayna episodes of ''WesternAnimation/{{Superfriends}}'', alien bad guys report to their boss, over [[SubspaceAnsible 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.)
* Bill Cipher from ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls''. He is an EldritchAbomination who resides in another dimension, and has been stated to be "a being of PureEnergy".

* [[AllThereInTheManual According to the]] ''VideoGame/{{Metroid}}'' manuals, the eponymous creatures are energy beings, presumably made of the same LifeEnergy they feed on. The Chozo can also be assumed to be this after they AscendedToAHigherPlaneOfExistence

* The Drej from ''WesternAnimation/TitanAE'' are stated to be made of energy. This becomes a plot point at the climax, [[spoiler: they're harvested to power the emponymous spaceship[=/=][[GenesisEffect Genesis Engine]].]] They look like slightly more family friendly Xenomorphs made out of blue glass, and use HardLight and DeflectorShields in all their construction.

* The Infi-nut from ''VideoGame/PlantsVsZombies 2''. It's a HardLight Wall-Nut spawned from a projector which can periodically regenerate itself as long as the projector exists.

* A slight subversion with the Celareons in ''VideoGame/ConquestFrontierWars''. 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 artificially evolved to their present state by an [[{{Precursor}} ancient race]], who also taught them how to make the containment suits.

* Franchise/{{Superman}} briefly became an energy being for a reason vaguely explained as [[SuperPowerMeltdown overdosing on sunlight]]. Being Superman, his new energy powers were just as off the charts as his FlyingBrick 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.

** His enemy Hank Henshaw became an Energy Being with the power to possess machines (his preferred form being a cyborg clone of Superman) after exposure to cosmic energy. He's effectively immortal since energy is indestructible. The driving force behind his villainy is his weariness with life and his inability to die. Most of his heinous acts were merely attempts to [[SuicideByCop goad powerful superheroes like Green Lantern and Superman into finding a way to kill him]]. He once even joined forces with a OmnicidalManiac cosmic superbeing because it promised Hank it would kill him afterwards.

* Comicbook/GreenLantern villain Parallax is made of... fear, anyway it acts just like an energy being as does Ion (made of Willpower) and The Predator ([[PowerOfLove made of love]]).
** Comicbook/GreenLantern Dkrtzy Rrr is described as a "bio-sentient mathematical equation". Why, yes, it's an Creator/AlanMoore creation. Why'd you ask?

* The Archons and Dark Archons from ''VideoGame/{{Starcraft}}''. Affectionately called blue and red balloons respectively by some players, they are made up of [[AppliedPhlebotinum psionic energy]] and are created when two high or dark templar, [[AddedAlliterativeAppeal 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 ''VideoGame/StarcraftII'', two of either templar can come together to make a [[strike:Twilight Archon]] 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.

* The Nebulas in ''VideoGame/{{Xenoblade}}'' are beings made of pure ether, the substance 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.

** Some of their enemies qualify. Two notable examples are {{Big Bad}}s Yapool from ''Series/UltramanAce'' and Chaos Header from ''Series/UltramanCosmos''.

** In ''Series/StargateAtlantis'' some Replicators try to dispense with their nanite bodies and become energy in an effort to simulate ascension. It doesn't work - or at least, not very well. They become digital, living data, but that's about it.

* ''Franchise/StarTrek'' 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.

%%** "Literature/EyesDoMoreThanSee":

* The Gems in ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'' have bodies made of HardLight that appear as technicolor humanoid women. The only part of a Gem's body made of matter is their gemstone, which serves as a HeartDrive and renders them functionally immortal as long as it's not shattered. When a Gem's physical form sustains heavy damage or has the gemstone removed, they will "poof", that is, release their physical forms and retreat into their gemstones to regenerate a new body, which can take anywhere between hours to weeks. The only exception to all of this is Steven, who is a HalfHumanHybrid, and as such has a half-organic body. When his gem is removed he barely has the energy to stand, while his gem forms a HardLight projection of himself that it uses to return to him.

** The Ethereals, who are essentially [[HonestJohnsDealership goblins]] [[RecycledINSPACE from space]], embody this trope a bit more; their material shapes are created by wearing mummy-style wrappings and other elements of clothing.

* ''VideoGame/{{Starbound}}'' has the Novakids, a race of humanoids made from superheated stellar gas (thankfully contained in a magnietic field). Their origin and purpose are largely unknown, and nobody know exactly how they work, not even themselves.

* The Azturi, the unique species created for ''Kingdom Hearts Keyblade Masters'', are an entire race of energy beings. They all look like Genie from Disney/{{Aladdin}}, except different colors. They're a [[DyingRace dying breed]], with Gummi (the mentor of the Keyblade Masters) and Genie being the only two Azturi left in the physical world.

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

* ''Anime/TengenToppaGurrenLagann'': The Super Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann]] from ''[[TheMovie Lagann-hen]]''. It's only physical parts are the Kamina-esque shades. The [[BigBad Anti]]-[[ScaryDogmaticAliens Spiral]] is also this, being [[HiveMind the gestalt mind]] of a hibernating species of [[WellIntentionedExtremist Well-Intentioned Extremists]].

* The President in ''Anime/HoukagoNoPleiades'' is this, but takes on the form of an imagined alien he finds in Nanako's mind.

* The [[Anime/TengenToppaGurrenLagann Super Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann]] from ''[[TheMovie Lagann-hen]]''. It's only physical parts are the Kamina-esque shades. The [[BigBad Anti]]-[[ScaryDogmaticAliens Spiral]] is also this, being [[HiveMind the gestalt mind]] of a hibernating species of [[WellIntentionedExtremist Well-Intentioned Extremists]].

* The Protodeviln of ''Anime/{{Macross 7}}'' started out as such. They came from a universe in which no matter exists, and everything is energy. When they were pulled into this universe to serve as a power supply for the Protoculture's Ehvil series of living superweapons, they possessed said superweapons to use as bodies. The Protoculture had not considered the possibility that the energy they were pulling from that other universe could be ''intelligent''.

* Many aliens in the ''WesternAnimation/ThreeBelow'' installment of ''WesternAnimation/TalesOfArcadia'' are, like Gems from the above example, HardLight around a Core that serves as a HeartDrive. However, unlike Gems, all the aliens in ‘’3Below’’ actually age.