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Elementals (DC Comics)
Encyclopedia
The Elementals are a fictional team of superheroes published by DC Comics
. They first appeared in Super Friends
#14 (October 1978), and were created by E. Nelson Bridwell
and Ramona Fradon
.
central station, an emerald appeared atop Metropolis'
Galaxy Communications Building, a diamond appeared outside New York City's United Nations
building, and a sapphire appeared on a beach near the Aquacave, Aquaman's headquarters.
Superman
fought a hooded man in brown who called himself the Gnome
. Aquaman
fought a woman in a green fishlike costume who called herself the Undine
. Elsewhere Wonder Woman
fought a blonde woman in blue who called herself the Sylph
. Additionally, Batman
fought a fiery woman in a red reptilian costume who called herself the Salamander
. Strangely, their costumes proved to be ill-fitted for their powers; despite this, the Elementals put the heroes in grave danger.
The veteran heroes manage to subdue the Elementals with the help of Robin
, the Wonder Twins
and Gleek
.
Back at the Super Friends' Hall of Justice
in Gotham City, Batman identified the four Elementals as self made local socialites. The Gnome was really Grant Arden, a chemical engineer
and founder of Arden Chemicals; Sylph was actually the famous vocalist named Jeannine Gale, who first appeared in Super Friends #4; Undine was really Crystal Marr, best-selling author
; and Salamander was Ginger O'Shea, who first appeared in Super Friends #6, an established fashion designer
and the owner of the Chez O'Shea fashion boutique.
Bruce Wayne had met all four the previous evening at the Carousel restaurant in the Wayne building. It turns out that another Gotham socialite by the name of Sandor Fane had secretly shown the future Elementals a manuscript that he believed had been written by the legendary alchemist
Paracelsus
. Fane uses the manuscript to summon elemental spirits which he binds to his victims, making them the unwilling hosts of four primal elementals: an actual Gnome, Undine, Sylph and Salamander. The elemental spirits now shared the bodies of the four humans. The spirits are not evil; in fact, they must perform good acts so they can gain true souls. Fane tricked them into believing the Super Friends were evil. He also gave them their costumes, apparently not knowing their powers very well.
The spirits and their human hosts come to an understanding, and become four new heroes pledged to assist the League in their fight against Sandor Fane (whom the League previously knew only as the world conquering Overlord
.) Ginger O'Shea designed new costumes for them using special new materials created by Grant Arden, which work better with their powers. From their descriptions what Grant creates seems to be the DCU equivalent of Unstable Molecules
(with two of the costumes made out of "air" and "water"). Meanwhile the Overlord unleashed four simultaneous element-themed attacks: in Texas
, he went after a Wayne Petroleum Complex
, the city of Poseidonis
was threatened Greek Fire
, Paradise Island
was threated by a meteor shower, and the JLA satellite was threatened by solar winds. All four attacks were thwarted with the help of the Elementals.
Meanwhile, Batman and the Wonder Twins discover the Overlord's castle lair and defeat Sandor Fane. This was the only recorded appearance of the Elementals.
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
. They first appeared in Super Friends
Super Friends
Super Friends is an American animated television series about a team of superheroes, which ran from 1973 to 1986 on ABC as part of its Saturday morning cartoon lineup...
#14 (October 1978), and were created by E. Nelson Bridwell
E. Nelson Bridwell
Edward Nelson Bridwell was a writer for Mad magazine and various comic books published by DC Comics. One of the writers for the Batman comic strip and Super Friends, he also wrote The Inferior Five, among other comics...
and Ramona Fradon
Ramona Fradon
Ramona Fradon is an American comic book and comic strip artist, known for her work illustrating Aquaman and Brenda Starr, and co-creating the superhero Metamorpho. Her career began in 1950, when it was even more unusual for women to illustrate superhero comics.-Career:Fradon entered cartooning...
.
Team history
The Elementals first appear inside four giant translucent jewels located in four different cities: a ruby appeared near the Gotham City Police Department'sGotham City Police Department
The Gotham City Police Department is a fictional police department servicing Gotham City, as depicted in comic books published by DC Comics, in particular those tied into the Batman books.-History of GCPD:...
central station, an emerald appeared atop Metropolis'
Metropolis (comics)
Metropolis is a fictional city that appears in comic books published by DC Comics, and is the home of Superman. Metropolis first appeared by name in Action Comics #16 ....
Galaxy Communications Building, a diamond appeared outside New York City's United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
building, and a sapphire appeared on a beach near the Aquacave, Aquaman's headquarters.
Superman
Superman
Superman is a fictional comic book superhero appearing in publications by DC Comics, widely considered to be an American cultural icon. Created by American writer Jerry Siegel and Canadian-born American artist Joe Shuster in 1932 while both were living in Cleveland, Ohio, and sold to Detective...
fought a hooded man in brown who called himself the Gnome
Gnome
A gnome is a diminutive spirit in Renaissance magic and alchemy, first introduced by Paracelsus and later adopted by more recent authors including those of modern fantasy literature...
. Aquaman
Aquaman
Aquaman is a fictional superhero who appears in comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Paul Norris and Mort Weisinger, the character debuted in More Fun Comics #73 . Initially a backup feature in DC's anthology titles, Aquaman later starred in several volumes of a solo title...
fought a woman in a green fishlike costume who called herself the Undine
Ondine (mythology)
Undines , also called ondines, are elementals, enumerated as the water elementals in works of alchemy by Paracelsus. They also appear in European folklore as fairy-like creatures; the name may be used interchangeably with those of other water spirits. Undines are said to be able to gain a soul by...
. Elsewhere Wonder Woman
Wonder Woman
Wonder Woman is a DC Comics superheroine created by William Moulton Marston. She first appeared in All Star Comics #8 . The Wonder Woman title has been published by DC Comics almost continuously except for a brief hiatus in 1986....
fought a blonde woman in blue who called herself the Sylph
Sylph
Sylph is a mythological creature in the Western tradition. The term originates in Paracelsus, who describes sylphs as invisible beings of the air, his elementals of air...
. Additionally, Batman
Batman
Batman is a fictional character created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger. A comic book superhero, Batman first appeared in Detective Comics #27 , and since then has appeared primarily in publications by DC Comics...
fought a fiery woman in a red reptilian costume who called herself the Salamander
Salamander (legendary creature)
The salamander is an amphibian of the order Urodela. As with many real creatures, pre-modern authors often ascribed fantastic qualities to it , and in recent times some have come to identify a legendary salamander as a distinct concept from the real organism. This idea is most highly developed in...
. Strangely, their costumes proved to be ill-fitted for their powers; despite this, the Elementals put the heroes in grave danger.
Robin (comics)
Robin is the name of several fictional characters appearing in comic books published by DC Comics, originally created by Bob Kane, Bill Finger and Jerry Robinson, as a junior counterpart to DC Comics superhero Batman...
, the Wonder Twins
Wonder Twins
The Wonder Twins, Zan and Jayna, are fictional extraterrestrial comic book superheroes published by DC Comics. Their first comic book appearance was in Super Friends #7 , by E. Nelson Bridwell and Ramona Fradon...
and Gleek
Gleek (Super Friends)
Gleek is a fictional character appearing in the animated series Super Friends and its related spinoffs. He debuted in The All New Superfriends Hour, which first aired September 10, 1977. Gleek's vocalizations were provided by Michael Bell....
.
Back at the Super Friends' Hall of Justice
Hall of Justice
A Hall of Justice is an occasional term for a city's police headquarters, and exists in cities across the United States. In some cases, the facility may also house courts as well as jails...
in Gotham City, Batman identified the four Elementals as self made local socialites. The Gnome was really Grant Arden, a chemical engineer
Chemical engineer
In the field of engineering, a chemical engineer is the profession in which one works principally in the chemical industry to convert basic raw materials into a variety of products, and deals with the design and operation of plants and equipment to perform such work...
and founder of Arden Chemicals; Sylph was actually the famous vocalist named Jeannine Gale, who first appeared in Super Friends #4; Undine was really Crystal Marr, best-selling author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
; and Salamander was Ginger O'Shea, who first appeared in Super Friends #6, an established fashion designer
Fashion design
Fashion design is the art of the application of design and aesthetics or natural beauty to clothing and accessories. Fashion design is influenced by cultural and social latitudes, and has varied over time and place. Fashion designers work in a number of ways in designing clothing and accessories....
and the owner of the Chez O'Shea fashion boutique.
Bruce Wayne had met all four the previous evening at the Carousel restaurant in the Wayne building. It turns out that another Gotham socialite by the name of Sandor Fane had secretly shown the future Elementals a manuscript that he believed had been written by the legendary alchemist
Alchemy
Alchemy is an influential philosophical tradition whose early practitioners’ claims to profound powers were known from antiquity. The defining objectives of alchemy are varied; these include the creation of the fabled philosopher's stone possessing powers including the capability of turning base...
Paracelsus
Paracelsus
Paracelsus was a German-Swiss Renaissance physician, botanist, alchemist, astrologer, and general occultist....
. Fane uses the manuscript to summon elemental spirits which he binds to his victims, making them the unwilling hosts of four primal elementals: an actual Gnome, Undine, Sylph and Salamander. The elemental spirits now shared the bodies of the four humans. The spirits are not evil; in fact, they must perform good acts so they can gain true souls. Fane tricked them into believing the Super Friends were evil. He also gave them their costumes, apparently not knowing their powers very well.
The spirits and their human hosts come to an understanding, and become four new heroes pledged to assist the League in their fight against Sandor Fane (whom the League previously knew only as the world conquering Overlord
Overlord (comics)
Overlord is a comic-book supervillain created by Erik Larsen, first appearing in Larsen's Savage Dragon series and serving as that title's first principal villain. Like many of Larsen's characters, Overlord was based on a character that Larsen had created during his childhood...
.) Ginger O'Shea designed new costumes for them using special new materials created by Grant Arden, which work better with their powers. From their descriptions what Grant creates seems to be the DCU equivalent of Unstable Molecules
Unstable molecules
Unstable molecules are a piece of fictional technology featured in Marvel Comics. They exist as a configuration of unknown atomic nuclei and electrons that are responsive to certain energized matter around them...
(with two of the costumes made out of "air" and "water"). Meanwhile the Overlord unleashed four simultaneous element-themed attacks: in Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, he went after a Wayne Petroleum Complex
Wayne Enterprises
Wayne Enterprises is a company in the DC Universe, owned by Bruce Wayne and run by his business manager, Lucius Fox. It was founded by merchant ancestors of the Wayne family in the 17th century as a merchant house, although the company changed when the heir of Judge Solomon Wayne, Alan, utilized...
, the city of Poseidonis
Aquaman
Aquaman is a fictional superhero who appears in comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Paul Norris and Mort Weisinger, the character debuted in More Fun Comics #73 . Initially a backup feature in DC's anthology titles, Aquaman later starred in several volumes of a solo title...
was threatened Greek Fire
Greek fire
Greek fire was an incendiary weapon used by the Byzantine Empire. The Byzantines typically used it in naval battles to great effect as it could continue burning while floating on water....
, Paradise Island
Themyscira
Themyscira is a fictional island nation in the DC Comics universe that is the place of origin of Wonder Woman and her sister Amazons. Known as Paradise Island since Wonder Woman and the island's first appearance in All Star Comics #8 , it was renamed "Themyscira" with the character's February...
was threated by a meteor shower, and the JLA satellite was threatened by solar winds. All four attacks were thwarted with the help of the Elementals.
Meanwhile, Batman and the Wonder Twins discover the Overlord's castle lair and defeat Sandor Fane. This was the only recorded appearance of the Elementals.
Membership
- Gnome (Grant Arden) - Grant has considerable superstrength and durability, magnetokinesis, is able to phase through earth based matter, and he can transmute earth based matter to other natural states, such as kryptoniteKryptoniteKryptonite is a fictional material from the Superman mythos —the ore form of a radioactive element from Superman's home planet of Krypton. It is famous for being the ultimate physical weakness of Superman, and the word kryptonite has since become synonymous with an Achilles' heel —the one weakness...
. - Salamander (Ginger O'Shea) - Ginger has the powers of pyrogenesis and pyrokinesisPyrokinesisPyrokinesis, derived from the Greek words and , was the name coined by horror novelist Stephen King for the ability to create or to control fire with the mind that he gave to the protagonist Charlie McGee in Firestarter...
. She can emit flames from any part of her body. She can also transform into pure flame, and in that state she can expand, becoming a giant. - Sylph (Jeanie Gale) - Jeanie has the power of flight, and aerokinesis, she also can apparently throw bolts of lightning possibly by ionizing the air between her and her target, and can become intangible.
- Undine (Crystal Marr) - Crystal has the gift of hydrokinesis, she can also shapeshiftShapeshiftingShapeshifting is a common theme in mythology, folklore, and fairy tales. It is also found in epic poems, science fiction literature, fantasy literature, children's literature, Shakespearean comedy, ballet, film, television, comics, and video games...
into various animals.