Like a Rolling Stone

Prism Break was once a fearsome rock golem who kept to himself in an underground lair, but everything came crashing down on him when a cave-in trapped him in an earthly prison. After a century in solitude, he was finally discovered during a mining expedition. The years he spent underground somehow transformed his crude, rocky arms into brilliant gems that could fire majestic bolts of energy. He was also blessed with the new ability to make gems to erupt from the ground. Using gems as weapons is outrageous – truly, truly, truly outrageous. His exterior was hardened by his accident, but his years alone had the opposite affect on his heart. Prism Break was so grateful to have his freedom that he decided to dedicate himself to protecting the Skylands. The grumpy golem of yore was gone.

A member of a secret organization known as “Those from the Past,” Mukai seeks strong opponents to test his strength. He’s careful not to underestimate his enemies, but his ability to control the earth makes him a formidable foe. He can create rocks out of nowhere and modify them into any shape. Whether he’s throwing rocks at his rivals or crushing them with elaborate pillars, Mukai is dangerous from any distance. If his opponents somehow manage to get close enough to attack him, Mukai can simply deflect their advances by covering his entire body with stone. It’s probably not a good idea to get too close to him, since Mukai also has the ability to petrify his opponents simply by touching them. Like most bosses in SNK games, Mukai is so overpowered that he effectively destroys any semblance of competitive balance.

The inFamous series revolves around a sub-species called Conduits who possess superhuman abilities. As director of the Department of Unified Protection, Brooke Augustine labels Conduits as bioterrorists and makes it her mission to imprison them. Ironically, Brooke is a Conduit herself. Brooke’s powers manifest themselves as a form of terrakinesis that allows her to shape concrete. She creates concrete lances, constructs concrete tombs, and fuses concrete shards into the skeletons of her enemies as a means of torture. She can also levitate rocks of different sizes, which allows her to create floating shields or makeshift modes of transportation. Although she slings mud at Conduits, she has their best interests in mind. Incidentally, she believes that Conduits would be safest if they were locked away from people who hate them.

Malphite looks like a monster, but he’s actually a distinguished creature who was summoned to the world of Runeterra against his will. Overwhelmed by fear and apprehension as he was cut off from his brethren, Malphite was stuck between a rock and a hard place. He was eventually able to move past the painful transition with the realization that he was summoned for the respectable goal of restoring order to Runeterra. To that end, Malphite enjoys initiating attacks and dishing out damage. He rolls rocks into his enemies, creates shockwaves by pounding the ground, and becomes an unstoppable force immune to crowd control when he dashes toward his targets. Malphite is effective as a tank due to his high durability, and his granite exterior acts as a permanent shield that automatically reduces damage.

It almost feels like Atlas owns the earth below him. He can’t be knocked down as long as his feet are on the ground, and his rock-solid physique and stone fists makes him an ideal brawler. In battle, Atlas can turn himself into a literal landslide with sliding punches that result in eruptions of rock. He creates stone walls to improve his defenses, but he can also send the walls crashing down onto the enemy in the form of rolling boulders. One of his most impressive techniques allows him to petrify his opponents by bombarding them with cones of sand. Anyone unfortunate enough to be caught within his hardened gaze will stagger, slow, and eventually be turned into stone. As though he weren’t dangerous enough on his own, Atlas has the ability to summon two elemental golems that can be detonated on command.

There are two types of Pokémon that would be ideal for this list. Rock-type Pokémon tend to attack with rocks and other minerals while Ground-type Pokémon are more attuned to the earth below them. Groudon falls into the latter category and is also classified in a group of incredibly rare and powerful Pokémon known as Legendaries. The massive, Godzilla-like creature is normally found in the depths of the earth where it slumbers in magma, but this is not to suggest that it’s lazy. Legend has it that Groudon raised lands and expanded continents in ancient times. Groudon attacks his opponents with sandstorms, earthquakes, and rock smashes, but its trivial to talk about someone’s fighting moves when they have “creator of the Pokémon world” on their resume. Groudon is the personification of the land itself.

The silent protagonist of the Golden Sun series is a magic-attuned swordsman who sets out on a globetrotting adventure to stop a pair of warriors from restoring the powers of Alchemy to the world. Alchemy would apparently allow the fundamental building blocks of the world to be manipulated, and Isaac was thrust into the role of savior due to his strong will and his aptitude to command the earth around him through a form of magic called Psynergy. Isaac’s Psynergy allows him to create earthquakes and causes rocks to rain from the skies, but his earth-manipulation isn’t limited to inorganic materials. Unlike most of the characters on this list, Isaac can also control plants. Swords and shields are all for show when you control the ground beneath your feet. Isaac’s unique style makes him one of the most requested Smash Bros. characters online.

Tremor had a small role in Mortal Kombat: Special Forces, but Mortal Kombat X felt like his true coming-out party. A member of the Black Dragon clan with dominion over the earth elemental, Tremor throws boulders, causes earthquakes by punching the ground, and creates stalagmites to impale his opponents. He has even been known to trap his opponents’ feet in stone before commanding walls to close in on them. Tremor’s powers are effective from a defensive standpoint too, and he can encase his body with various materials from the Earth. Not content with regular rocks and stones, Tremor makes use of crystals, precious metals, and even burning lava. You have to admire his versatility, if nothing else. I never knew how much I needed another Mortal Kombat ninja until Tremor was introduced into the series.

Aganos was originally composed entirely out of bronze, but a number of his body parts were replaced with stones after thousands of years of wear-and-tear. After spending its entire existence as an instrument of war, Aganos was finally liberated by a king who commanded him to think. Aganos towers over every other Killer Instinct character and is one of the most inventive fighters on the roster. One minute; he’ll be creating stone walls to trap his enemies: The next; he’ll be using one of these walls as a makeshift club. One of his most unique traits is his ability to fortify his body with chunks of earth. His mobility is reduced as he takes on more weight, but the additional armor allows him to stand up to any onslaught. As an added bonus, Aganos can discharge the chunks of earth as projectiles when he wants to regain his speed.

Titan might not be the most obvious choice for the number one position, but the legendary giant has been a part of the Final Fantasy series from the beginning and has appeared in more games than anyone else on this list. He most often appears as a summoned monster, but the mighty behemoth occasionally shows up as a boss. Titan is so colossal that he can create landslides simply by walking, and the very earth heaves under his mountainous mass. Despite his monolithic proportions, Titan is compassionate and gentle in most situations. When pushed to the brink of anger, Titan’s unstoppable fury will render the earth asunder. He has numerous ways to rock his opponents, but he’s best known for his trademark Earth Fury attack which creates chasms in the ground that can swallow up armies of soldiers.