The Elementals reportedly originated in another universe. They were exiled long ago and arrived on Earth c. 3500 BC. They used their powers to carve themselves a Kingdom. Gifted with extremely long lives and incredible energy powers, they posed as gods. Until they attempted to annex Egypt into their domain. Dan the warrior and Garrett the wizard (Dan Garrett, a reference to Blue Beetle) opposed them. Creating the mystically powerful Ruby Scarab. The Elementals were stripped of their powers and forced to leave Earth, exiled once again.
 
In the 20th century, the Elementals returned to Earth. They had regained their powers and sought to claim the Scarab for themselves. They quickly placed N'Kantu under mind-control and guided him to attack the current owner of the Ruby Scarab, Living Pharaoh/Ahmet Abdol. In the resulting conflict, Asp/Richard Harper stole the Scarab. 
 
The Elementals easily tracked down the Asp. But they were not prepared to phase physical attacks by the two-fisted adventurer. Magnum and Hellfire were knocked out before having a chance to use their powers. But Hydron dehydrated the Asp in time. 
 
The Elementals soon took over Cairo, effortlessly slaying the Egyptian armed forces which attacked them. Hellfire then transported himself to the Suez canal, attacking nearby Israeli forces. Forcing them to evacuate the Sinai area. The Middle Eastern states were helpless against them. The rest of the members of the United Nations were afraid to get involved in a war in thew area. The Avengers were not given clearance to intervene.
 
The Elementals though soon conflict from within. Zephyr, the lady of the group, had tired of being treated as inferior to the others. She turned on them and allied with their enemies. The conflict between them had barely started when Alexei Skarab managed to transport all combatants to an other-dimensional location. Both sides discovered they had access to the Scarab's energies. But the remaining elementals were three while their opponents were many. The powers of the Scarab were used against them, leaving them lost in a dimensional vortex.
 
In "Ms. Marvel" vol. 1 #11-12 (February-April, 1975). The three Elementals were returned to Earth as agents of Hecate, the latest would-be user of the Scarab. They helped her locate the Scarab but then claimed it for themselves. They then had to face both Hecate and Ms. Marvel. The latter trapped Hellfire in a vacuum chamber, where there was no oxygen to produce flames. She soon knocked him out.