A God Am I: Difference between revisions
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|''[[The Bible]]'', '''Ezekiel 28:2'''}}
When a character or villain gains superhuman abilities thanks to [[Green Rocks]], [[I Love Nuclear Power|nuclear power,]] [[Cybernetics Eat Your Soul|Transhumanism]], going [[One-Winged Angel]], being [[Touched by Vorlons]], or [[Ambition Is Evil|just achieving whatever his dream is]], [[With Great Power Comes Great Insanity|he is left less than sane and often gains delusions]] (or, in some cases, [[
He will often give an [[Large Ham|over-the-top]] speech emphasizing just how far beyond ordinary humanity [[Goal-Oriented Evolution|he has evolved]], and how [[What Measure Is a Non Super|lowly they are compared to him.]] Cue the villain becoming a [[Narcissist]] who is [[Drunk on the Dark Side]] or declaring that they will [[Take Over the World]].
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The character may declare that he has transcended morality as well, and is [[Above Good and Evil]], but the [[trope]]s do not have to coincide.
Aiming for godhood by ''rewriting the rules of the world'' is [[In Their Own Image]]. Another alternate version is the [[End of the World Special]]. See [[Physical God]] for those who don't have to try so hard, and [[Apotheosis]] for those who actually succeed. May, but [[Did You Just Punch Out Cthulhu?|does not always]] result in a [[God Mode Sue]]. Having a sovereign ruler do this makes the character a [[God-Emperor]]. Also, see [[It's All About Me]] for a similar trope, minus the declaration of godhood.
See also [[One-Winged Angel]], [[Smug Super]] and [[Dark Messiah]]. Not to be confused with [[God Guise]]. Contrast with [[A God I Am Not]], where a genuinely godlike being refuses the label to avoid the implications; [[Stop Worshipping Me!]], where a deity doesn't want to be venerated as such; and [[Pro-Human Transhuman]], where a post human remains sympathetic to humanity. Also see [[Like a God to Me]], which is when a character declares someone else godlike but only out of flattery, not as a statement of serious worship.
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{{examples}}
== [[Anime]] and [[Manga]] ==
* In ''[[Death Note]]'', Light Yagami believes himself a god who brings his own form of justice to the world by killing criminals with a supernatural notebook (all thoughts that concern this usually being accompanied by [[Glowing Eyes of Doom]] in the anime). He proclaims his godhood ''in the first episode'' and is generally consistent in this. It's like an [[Action Prologue]]. Eventually, people also start worshipping him as one too, especially Teru Mikami, who always calls him "God". Near eventually [[Shut UP, Hannibal|calls him out]] on this:
{{quote|''"You yielded to the power of the shinigami and the notebook and confused yourself with a god."''<ref>A similar line is found in the earlier anime, ''[[Bubblegum Crisis]]''.</ref>}}
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** {{spoiler|He's proven wrong quite dramatically at the end, where he actually does declare himself an "omnipotent god" before being interrupted by Lain. In a single [[Hannibal Lecture]] she hints at the existence of a real God, mocks Eiri for thinking himself anything more than a puny human and destroys him effortlessly when he tries to attack her in a rage. A God I'm Not...}}
*** {{spoiler|He's declaring this to a girl who is omnipotent, omniscient and omnipresent. And probably immortal. Oh the irony...}}
* ''[[One Piece]]''.
** Eneru, the villain of the Skypeia arc, who declares himself God. This is subverted in that, according to Gan Fall, the prior God of Skypeia, "God" is merely the title for the Skypeian leader. However, Eneru believes himself a true god by virtue of his lightning-based Devil Fruit abilities and power to read others' conscious thoughts. And the fact that the word for ''god'' (kami) is similar to the word for ''thunder'' (kaminari) in Japanese. A fact he puns on by introducing himself with "Ore wa Kaminari" which can mean both 'I am Lightning' or 'I have become God'
** Woefully subverted by the Celestial Dragons, a bunch of [[Upper Class Twit]]s who claim to be gods descended from those who created the world. They are not divine in the least, their only true "powers" being political influence as figureheads. In fact, the only Celestial Dragons to show any redeeming qualities - Homing and Mjosgard of the Donquixote family - are the ones who publicly admitted [[A God I Am Not|they were only human.]]
* Subverted in ''[[Magic Knight Rayearth]]'': The Pillar of Cephiro ''has'' limitless power, as it is her will which [[Fisher King|gives shape to the entire world]]. When {{spoiler|Hikaru achieves this state, in both anime and manga, she relinquishes it ''immediately'' and gives it willingly to the inhabitants of Cephiro, so ''they'', rather than a single person, are responsible for their own world.}}
* In ''[[Super Dimension Fortress Macross|Macross]]'' {{spoiler|''[[Macross Frontier|Frontier]]'', the ultimate goal of the [[Big Bad]] is to unite the entire galaxy in a galaxy-spanning [[Hive Mind|collective consciousness]] (whether it wants to or not) with the [[Big Bad]] personally at the very top}}.
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* Rex Godwin in ''[[Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's]]''. He tries to [[Take a Third Option]] in the Signer vs Dark Signer war that has been going on for millennia by losing to a Dark Signer on purpose to become a Dark Signer himself, then grafts his brother's amputated arm with the fifth Signer mark onto his own stump of an arm. The end result is that he becomes a Signer and a Dark Signer at once, planning to use the Dark Signer's power to destroy the world, then use the Signer's power to remake the world in his own image.
** ZONE in the most recent season is apparently also a "God of Destiny" ( {{spoiler|being able to change the past and all that}}).
{{quote|'''ZONE:''' Yusei Fudo, though you may have come this far with [[Screw Destiny|the intention to cut open the future with your own power]]...[[
* ''[[Fushigi Yuugi]]'': {{spoiler|Nakago.}}
* ''[[Ayashi no Ceres]]'': {{spoiler|Shiso.}} Sort of.
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* Still in ''[[A Certain Magical Index]]'', Kamijou Touma is considered so powerful by the magic side that Fiamma of the Right himself wants the right hand of Touma, assuming he is "La persona superiore a dio" or "person superior to God". Touma may be so powerful that even [[Aleister Crowley]] wants his hand.
* ''[[Katekyo Hitman Reborn]]'': Byakuran can also be placed here, going as far as to {{spoiler|kidnap Uni for her soul so he can activate the tre-ni-sette to create a new world under his rule.}}
* ''[[Rosario
* ''[[Yu Yu Hakusho]]'': Yusuke Urameshi had a moment like this when it turned out that {{spoiler|[[Tomato in the Mirror|he's really an]] [[Super Weight|uber-powerful]] [[Youkai]]}}, shouting "Kneel down and worship me, you insects!". Subverted in that he immediately reveals it to be [[It Amused Me|an immature prank]] and says that they should have seen their faces. Which was itself a strong indication that he hadn't changed.
* ''[[Full Metal Panic!]]'': Happens twice in the novels, after {{spoiler|Kaname Chidori}} becomes possessed by {{spoiler|Sophia}}, the original Whispered. The first time, in ''Semaru Nick of Time'', just before {{spoiler|Sophia}} takes over, she resonates with {{spoiler|Kaname}} and she claims that: "If a God exists, then we are that existence. You are the entirety of the three Moirae. Clotho, Lachesis, Atropos." The second time it happens in the second part of ''Zutto Stand By Me'', when {{spoiler|Sophia/Kaname}} thinks that there is no God, no help coming from anywhere, only herself and {{spoiler|the machine she had created to change the world}}.
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* {{spoiler|Zeus}} in ''[[King of Thorn]]'', who manipulated the Medusa in {{spoiler|Shizuku}}, and gave himself some nifty abilities in the process. {{spoiler|He also orchestrated a lot of things in the plot}}, and is [[Giggling Villain|a giggling]] [[Complete Monster|asshat]].
== [[Comic Books]] ==▼
▲== Comic Books ==
* Explored in ''[[Doctor Solar|Solar Man of the Atom]]''.
* This is common in [[Superhero]] comics, as [[With Great Power Comes Great Insanity]]. Perhaps the single best-known example is Jean Grey of the [[X-Men (Comic Book)|X-Men]], who, as Dark Phoenix, goes to star-eating levels before committing suicide. (Though later [[retcon]]s serve to [[Continuity Snarl|confuse the issue]].) [[Doctor Doom]] is also a frequent offender.
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* Two words. [[Reality Warper|Emperor]]. [[The Joker|Joker]].
== [[Fan Works]] ==
* ''[[Thousand Shinji]]'' ends with {{spoiler|Shinji, Asuka, Rei and Misato ascending to becoming the new Chaos gods}}, leading after a [[Time Skip]] into ''[[The Open Door]]''.
* ''Until the End of Time'': [[Dragonball Z|Super Saiyan]] [[Those Wacky Nazis|Hitler]]. Complete with a [[Shout-Out]] to the ''[[Street Fighter (film)|Street Fighter]]'' movie.
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* ''[[Ponies Make War]]'': Ignoring the fact that most of the main villains and one of the protagonists are ''actual'' gods, the story ultimately has a subversion of this trope in the case of {{spoiler|Twilight Sparkle. After tapping into the full power of the Elements of Harmony, she becomes a [[Physical God]] so powerful that only [[Big Bad|Titan]] himself is able to knock her down -- and she is ''horrified'' by it, deciding that ''nopony'' should have that much power.}}
==
* ''[[The Man Who Would Be King]]'' is practically the [[Trope Codifier]].
* In ''[[The Matrix Reloaded]]'', the Train Man is a [[Physical God]] while in his subway:
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'''Train Man:''' ''*punches Neo into the back wall*''
'''Train Man:''' "Down here[[Beat|.]][[Dramatic Ellipsis|..]] I'm God. }}
* ''[[Frankenstein (1931 film)|Frankenstein]]'' (1931): [[Ur Example|One of the earliest examples]]. After Henry's famous [[Large Ham|"It's alliiive!"]], when he goes on to say [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xos2MnVxe-c "Now I know what it feels like to be God!"] Originally, that part of the line was cut because the censors said it was blasphemous (which it is). It was cut off by a thunderbolt; the full line wasn't restored until ''1999'', 12 years after most of the other excised scenes were restored in full.
* ''[[Batman Forever]]'': Neatly subverted, as The Riddler makes a deep dark speech involving the titular line, finished with a [[Power Echoes|deep, echoing invocation]] of "I", then asks, "[[Large Ham|Was that over the top? I can never tell!]]"
* ''[[Aladdin (Disney film)|Aladdin]]'': Jafar does a textbook example of the rundown of this trope, wishing to become an all-powerful genie. In his following exultations, he mentions how the universe is now his to control, even going so far as to create a small solar system between his hands just for the hell of it. This is until Aladdin reminds him what the other half of "phenomenal cosmic power" is... "itty bitty living space".
* Skeletor has one of these speeches at the climax of the ''[[Masters of the Universe (film)|Masters of the Universe]]'' live-action movie, right down to the line "I am a god!"
* ''[[The Lawnmower Man]]'' (has [[In Name Only|nothing but the title in common]] with the [[Stephen King]] short story), where Jobe declares his intention to be the "Cyberchrist." His defining line (referring to [[Cyberspace]]): "[[Punctuated! For! Emphasis!|I am God here!]]"
* ''[[Groundhog Day]]''. After reliving the same day over and over again, and attempting suicide in a vast number of different ways,
* ''[[Street Fighter (film)|Street Fighter]]'': At the climax, [[Raul Julia|Bison]] (now mad with power) delivers the following line as he goes [[One-Winged Angel]] on [[Jean-Claude Van Damme|Guile]].
{{quote|"Something wrong, Colonel?? You came here expecting to fight a madman, and instead you find [[Large Ham|a god]]?}}
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{{quote|''"For the crime of being human, when we could have been gods! Guilty"''.}}
* Loki invokes this in ''[[The Avengers (film)|The Avengers]]'' (in fairness, he ''is'' a Norse god, but in the Marvelverse the Norse gods were [[Sufficiently Advanced Aliens]].) [[Incredible Hulk|Hulk]] [[Curb Stomp Battle|disagrees.]]
{{quote|'''Hulk:''' ''
* Divine from ''[[Pink Flamingos]]''. When asked if she believes in God, she replies "I ''am'' God!"
== [[Literature]] ==▼
* In a Low German folktale collected by [[The Brothers Grimm (creator)|The Brothers Grimm]], "The Fisherman and His Wife", the eponymous lady, having been made successively King, Emperor, and Pope by a magic flounder, demands to be made equal to God. The couple end up as they began, living "in piety" (a phrase used to mean "in poverty" at the time of the writing).▼
** The equivalent Russian tale, as recorded and remade as a poem by [[Alexander Pushkin]], doesn't have the wife want to be the big-G God. Here she wants merely to be "the lady of the seas", something like a small-g goddess. The fish nevertheless gets pissed off, probably because that's what is the fish herself.▼
▲== Literature ==
* Issus in ''[[John Carter of Mars|The Gods of Mars]]''. Almost universally worshipped as a goddess by all the Martian races, {{spoiler|but actually just a manipulative old Black Martian crone with delusions of grandeur.}}
* The Authority in ''[[His Dark Materials]]'', who is actually the oldest angel.
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* [[Orson Scott Card]]'s ''Homecoming'' series: The Keeper of Earth is never outright stated to be God (or even Gaia), but with the stunts She (as The Keeper is usually called) pulls off (sending an image of Nafai's face to a Digger girl 1,000 years before he was born, chasing the bulk of humanity off with a spontaneous Ice Age), She might as well be.
* [[Simon R. Green]]'s ''[[Deathstalker]]'' series, in many cases - though the most notable one involves a [[Stable Time Loop]] combined with a HUGE [[Ass Pull]] at the very end of the Owen-centric series.
** If you want a
* Frank Herbert's ''[[Dune]]'', the protagonist, Paul Atreides becomes the [[Messianic Archetype|Kwisatz Haderach]], the universe's [[Ubermensch|super being]]. His consciousness can be in many places at once and can see things before they happen. He is worshipped as a messiah and god.
** An important point that [[The Film of the Book]] apparently missed: Paul is not a god (the limitations of his power are repeatedly shown), and doesn't consider himself so. He is a man playing on superstitions to appear as a god to his followers.
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* Inverted in [[Piers Anthony]]'s ''[[Incarnations of Immortality]]'' series. {{spoiler|Since the original God is too caught up in this trope's attitude to bother with Earthly affairs, another more humble individual must be manipulated into becoming God}}.
* "For though he was master of the world, he was not quite sure what to do next. But he would think of something."—The Star Child in ''[[2001: A Space Odyssey]]''
* ''[[Discworld]]'':
*
** Coin, from another of his novels, ''[[
** Also, in ''[[
* Sun Wukong, the Monkey King from ''[[Journey to the West]]''. After taking the Ruyi-Jingu-Bang from the palace of the Dragon King of the West, he was given a position in the Jade Emperor's court to satiate his desire for acknowledgement. However, once Wukong realized that his position was a janitorial position, he set up a plot to, and succeeded in, taking over Heaven, declaring himself "The Sage Greater than Heaven." It wasn't until the Jade Emperor asked Buddha himself to do something that Wukong was ousted.
** Ironically, after he was freed and assisted Xuangzang in his journey, he DID become worshipped as a god, and in Buddhism is proclaimed the Buddha of Courage (not a godly position entirely, but as close as someone can get to godhood in a religion which itself has no real gods).
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* Twisted by {{spoiler|Elof}} in Michael Scott Rohan's ''The Winter of the World'' trilogy: he '''doesn't''' become a god, he realizes at the climax, and [[God Was My Co-Pilot|reveals to his closest friends]] at the end, that {{spoiler|he '''was''' a god who put aside his divine power, [[Memory Gambit|and the memories that went with it]], in the hopes that being a mortal man (although a high-powered mage-smith) would help him understand humanity}}. It did, sort of. Then he vanishes.
▲== Live Action TV ==
* Gary Mitchell in ''[[Star Trek: The Original Series]]'', "Where No Man Has Gone Before".
** In the episode "Return to Tomorrow", [[Energy Beings|Sargon]] explains that his civilization destroyed itself when it became so advanced and arrogant that "we dared think of ourselves as gods".
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* In one episode of the ''[[Twilight Zone]]'', a pair of space-farers found themselves stranded on an apparently desolate planet. One of these men found a civilization of microscopic people, and quickly set himself up as their god. Though his fellow tried to talk him out of it, the newly deified pilot decided to stay as the god of these tiny people. This being the ''[[Twilight Zone]]'', [[It Got Worse|things went south quickly for him]].
** Craig's boast, "'''I'M THE GOD! I'M THE GOD!'''" became a catchphrase on ''[[Mystery Science Theater 3000]]''.
* There was an episode of ''[[Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's The
* ''[[Boss]]'': The villain in episode 2.
* In the ''[[Coupling]]'' episode "Faithless", Jane learns that James, who she's attracted to, hosts a religion program. In the course of [[Digging Herself Deeper]], she comes out with:
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* One episode of '70s show ''Search'' had a millionaire with a grudge kidnap that episode's main character Nick Bianco to an island he'd set up as a [[Death Course]]. While the bad guy is explaining how [[Hunting the Most Dangerous Game|he's going to take his time about killing Bianco]], and there's no escape because he's modified Nick's [[Comm Links|communications implant]] so he can use it to monitor Bianco anywhere he goes, Nick says sarcastically, "Oh, I get it. You're God!" The millionaire smiles calmly and replies, "On this island, I am."
== [[Music]] ==▼
▲== Music ==
* In the [[Queen]] song [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P1j-6vRykFs "The Seven Seas of Rhye"], the lyrics are essentially Freddie Mercury stating this.
** "Princes of the Universe" too:
{{quote|
''I have inside me blood of kings!
''I have no rival
''No man can be my equal!
*** "Princes of the Universe" was written specifically for the ''[[Highlander]]'' movie, so it's fitting.
* Jay-Z's nickname Hova/Hov comes from Jehovah, a name for God in the Hebrew Scriptures.
** Rakim was calling himself (and being called by others) God long before him. Canibus also claimed that the fact that he wasn't worshiped seemed absurd to him.
* In [[The Who]]'s ''[[Tommy]]'', the title character doesn't so much believe he's God as believe that he's the Messiah, and the trope is subverted in that {{spoiler|his followers ultimately reject him}}, but "Sensation" contains the following lyrics:
{{quote|
''Mesmerized by just the sight,
''The few I touched now are disciples
''Love as One
''I am the Light
* ''[http://brazilian-songs-blog.blogspot.com/2008/05/raul-seixas-gita.html Gita]'' by Brazilian rock star Raul Seixas:
{{quote|
''The mother, the father and the grandfather
''The son who's yet to come
''The beginning, the end and the middle
''I am the beginning, the end and the middle
* "Experiments in Mass Appeal" by Frost*:
{{quote|''Forever, immortally
''Endeavor, a god I'll be
''Remember reality
''Forever, immortally }}
* Glinda and Elphaba call ''each other'' out in this in "Defying Gravity":
{{quote|'''ELPHABA:''' ''I hope you're proud how you would
''Grovel in submission▼
''To feed your own ambition▼
▲Grovel in submission
'''GLINDA:''' ''Can't I make you understand?▼
▲To feed your own ambition
''You're having delusions of grandeur }}▼
▲Can't I make you understand?
▲You're having delusions of grandeur }}
* A couple of songs by Innerpartysysten invoke this trope;
** ''Don't Stop'':
{{quote|''The road I walk is paved in gold
''To glorify my platinum soul
''I am the closest thing to God
''So worship me and never stop }}
** ''American Trash'':
{{quote|''I've got this planet in my hands
''You know I'll waste it if I can }}
* Justified in the ''[[The Bible]]'' (New Testament): [[Jesus]] actually ''is'' [[God]], and well knows it. Played straight with Lucifer in pop culture (the following never actually occurs in the Bible). Created as one of the greatest of the angels, [[Blasphemous Boast|he declared himself "above the Most High"]] and [[Face Heel Turn|attempted to make himself the ruler of all creation]]. Needless to say, that [[Fallen Angel|did not turn out well]].▼
** Speaking of the Bible, the [[Trope Namer]] comes from the Book of Ezekiel.▼
* Several mortal characters in [[Greek Mythology]] became gods or otherwise immortal, including Apollo's son Asclepius, who became the god of healing and medicine; Ino, who raised Dionysius for Zeus and became a minor goddess of the sea, who helped Odysseus return home; the Diomedes who appeared in ''[[The Iliad]]'', raised to godhood by Athena; and most famously Hercules, AKA Herakles, who in return for saving the gods of Olympus from the Giants and for his many heroic deeds, became a god after his death. On the other hand, a mortal man fixed pots and pans to his chariot, [[Tempting Fate|claimed to be "Zeus the Thunderbearer"]], and got his fool self struck with lightning for the effort. Yeah. Zeus has a temper.▼
* Subverted in The Apocolocyntosis (Pumpkin-ification) of the Divine Claudius, written by Seneca. The gods decide not to deify Claudius, but instead is sent to Hades to work for Caligula.▼
* The Nation of Gods and Earths, also known as the Five Percenters believe that the Original Asiatic Blackman is God, and that each black woman is the Earth. They vehemently deny the existence of any supernatural "mystery God" and break the word Allah down as Arm Leg Leg Arm Head, meaning humanity. The possibility of women being God is controversial, and many Gods (and Earths) disagree as to who has the right to call themselves God. Some even see the potential for white Five Percenters to prove themselves to be God, despite Caucasians traditionally being seen as "devils by nature".▼
==
* ''[[Blackthorn Corporation]]'': {{spoiler|General Alan Jericho and Jean-Baptiste, respectively the messiah and a high priest of a demonic cult.}}
* ''[[Shadowside]]'': Whenever someone says this, suffice it to say there's trouble.
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** [[Xanatos Gambit|Xan.]]
== [[Oral Tradition]], [[Folklore]], Myths and Legends ==
== Professional Wrestling ==▼
▲* In a Low German folktale collected by [[The Brothers Grimm (creator)|The Brothers Grimm]], "The Fisherman and His Wife", the eponymous lady, having been made successively King, Emperor, and Pope by a magic flounder, demands to be made equal to God. The couple end up as they began, living "in piety" (a phrase used to mean "in poverty" at the time of the writing).
▲** The equivalent Russian tale, as recorded and remade as a poem by [[Alexander Pushkin]], doesn't have the wife want to be the big-G God. Here she wants merely to be "the lady of the seas", something like a small-g goddess. The fish nevertheless gets pissed off, probably because that's what is the fish herself.
▲* Justified in the ''[[The Bible]]'' (New Testament): [[Jesus]] actually ''is'' [[God]], and well knows it. Played straight with Lucifer in pop culture (the following never actually occurs in the Bible). Created as one of the greatest of the angels, [[Blasphemous Boast|he declared himself "above the Most High"]] and [[Face Heel Turn|attempted to make himself the ruler of all creation]]. Needless to say, that [[Fallen Angel|did not turn out well]].
▲** Speaking of the Bible, the [[Trope Namer]] comes from the Book of Ezekiel.
▲* Several mortal characters in [[Greek Mythology]] became gods or otherwise immortal, including Apollo's son Asclepius, who became the god of healing and medicine; Ino, who raised Dionysius for Zeus and became a minor goddess of the sea, who helped Odysseus return home; the Diomedes who appeared in ''[[The Iliad]]'', raised to godhood by Athena; and most famously Hercules, AKA Herakles, who in return for saving the gods of Olympus from the Giants and for his many heroic deeds, became a god after his death. On the other hand, a mortal man fixed pots and pans to his chariot, [[Tempting Fate|claimed to be "Zeus the Thunderbearer"]], and got his fool self struck with lightning for the effort. Yeah. Zeus has a temper.
▲* Subverted in The Apocolocyntosis (Pumpkin-ification) of the Divine Claudius, written by Seneca. The gods decide not to deify Claudius, but instead is sent to Hades to work for Caligula.
▲* The Nation of Gods and Earths, also known as the Five Percenters believe that the Original Asiatic Blackman is God, and that each black woman is the Earth. They vehemently deny the existence of any supernatural "mystery God" and break the word Allah down as Arm Leg Leg Arm Head, meaning humanity. The possibility of women being God is controversial, and many Gods (and Earths) disagree as to who has the right to call themselves God. Some even see the potential for white Five Percenters to prove themselves to be God, despite Caucasians traditionally being seen as "devils by nature".
▲== [[Professional Wrestling]] ==
* Parodied somewhat when [[John Bradshaw Layfield]] would occasionally taunt his opponents that he's a "Wrestling God" (even if he's a whiny cowardly Heel).
* Also played straight when [[Vince McMahon]] briefly declared himself a god in 2006. Also sometime in the nineties he stated he was above us all before some wrestler beat sense back into him
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{{quote|"[[Implied Death Threat|This right here, is gonna put him away! You'll never see Sting again!]] [[It's All About Me|I'm the man!]] [[Punctuated! For! Emphasis!|I…AM…]]'''[[Punctuated! For! Emphasis!|GOD!!!]]'''}}
== [[Tabletop Games]] ==▼
▲== Tabletop Games ==
* The accurate assessment version of the trope appears in ''[[Nobilis]]'', where everyone of significance is equivalent in power to what a human would call a god. A great deal of the game's drama comes from dealing with this fact.
* The [[God-Emperor]] of the Imperium of Man for ''[[Warhammer 40,000]]'' [[Subverted Trope|subverts this.]] He explicitly doesn't consider himself one, but considering [[Physical God|his immerse power]] and <s>[[Treachery Cover-Up|after he was maimed fighting his favoured son and put on life-support]]</s> [[Horus Heresy|he ascended the Golden Throne]], much of humanity believes ''he is''.
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* Some humans in ''[[Kult]]''. {{spoiler|They're actually ''right'', but it's far from easy to walk that way.}}
== [[Video Games]] ==▼
▲== Video Games ==
* The ''[[Baldur's Gate]]'' series starts several years after Bhaal, the god murder, was killed. The entire series is all about people fighting about a claim on his divine power.
** In ''Baldur's Gate'', the [[Big Bad]] {{spoiler|Sarevok}} orchestrates for himself becoming the leader of the Iron Throne trade company and one of the lords of the City of Baldur's Gate and at the same time creates a heated conflict between Baldur's Gate and the nation of Amn. The entire point of his plan is to create a war as brutal and violent as possible, as a sacrifice for a ritual that makes him the new God of Murder.
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* Durandal, the resident [[Magnificent Bastard]] AI from ''[[Marathon Trilogy|Marathon]]'' frequently claims that "Escape will make me God," and has many a [[Gambit Roulette]] in place to escape from the humans, and later the ''entire physical universe,'' just in time to watch it collapse 15 billion years later, no doubt. {{spoiler|He (probably) failed. But he understood the entire universe before it ceased to exist.}} Oh, and he even comes back to life for seemingly no reason at least once in the series (though there are a couple other instances that would probably count as well). Hey, [[Faux Symbolism]]...and yes, that would seem to make Tycho the devil.
** While we are at it, pick a media with a smart AI in it. Seems that [[A.I. Is a Crapshoot|AI is such a Crapshoot]] that making one automatically gives it a god complex.
* ''[[Deus Ex]]'' plays with this trope and the aforementioned AI variant. Bob Page plans to become the {{spoiler|[[Physical God]] of the entire world}} by {{spoiler|merging his own mind with the AI Helios (who coincidentally is the [[Everything Is Online|Internet and other assorted global communications networks]], a [[
* Both ''[[Summoner]]'' and its sequel apply. In the first, {{spoiler|Joseph, the Summoner, must become Urath Reborn,}} and the second takes it a step further when Maya, named in the blurb as the Goddess Laharah, is {{spoiler|revealed as Aosi, creation itself, far beyond any mere god.}}
* Albert Wesker of the ''[[Resident Evil]]'' series certainly falls into this trope in ''[[Resident Evil 5]]'', in the form of an [[Evilutionary Biologist]]. His vaguely Darwinist plot involves wiping out ''almost'' the entire human race by dumping his specially created virus out of a plane, and the survivors are the ones his virus has supposedly "chosen."
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*** And you're going to judge them? Do you get all your ideas from comic book villains?
**** Mocked and parodied in [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8vkma81nL3M&feature=related this video] when [[Doctor Strange|The Dread Dormammu]], an ''actual'' comic book villain, and an [[Eldritch Abomination]] [[Dimension Lord]] who wields ''actual'' godlike, nigh-omnipotent power, makes fun of Wesker for thinking that injecting himself with viruses or any of his other plans makes him anything like an actual god.
** His sister Alex - the [[Big Bad]] of ''[[Resident Evil Revelations]]'' - was just as evil as he was and she had the same mad ambitions to obtain godhood and immortality.
* In ''[[Psi-Ops: The Mindgate Conspiracy]]'', the insane psychic agent Nicholas Wrightson styles himself as the "True God of the Ether." Even though his real and decidedly emaciated body is hooked up to a life support machine, his mind roams freely across the world, [[Body Surf|taking over different bodies according to his needs.]] This, coupled with his ability to tame [[Eldritch Abomination|Creatures from Beyond]] was all the evidence he needed. Interestingly enough, after you defeat him, he appears to [[Ascend to a Higher Plane of Existence]].
** The formerly powerless [[Big Bad]] of the story achieves something close to godhood in the final level, though he's more of a [[Physical God]] than Wrightson- and just to prove his point, he spends the boss battle [[Playing with Fire|hurling fireballs at you]], [[Mind Over Matter|levitating car-sized chunks of debris in your direction]], and [[Power Floats|hovering far above you just to rub his apparent omnipotence in your face.]] Unlike Wrightson, though, he doesn't have the luxury of ascending once he's defeated.
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* In ''[[Solatorobo]]'', {{spoiler|Baion}} believes himself to be a god compared to everyone else, as they are all imperfect and he is was [[Creating Life|created with perfection in mind]].
* This is {{spoiler|Colonel Redips'}} plan in ''[[Mega Man X Command Mission]]''.
* The reward for completing Melbourne House's ''Starion'' is ([[Captain Obvious|in-universe]]) Godhood: The plot involves repairing temporal paradoxes while on a one-way trip backwards in time. Once they're all fixed, Starion arrives at a point before the beginning of the universe and, as the only thing that exists, must "by default" assume the title of Creator of all that follows. [[Fridge|Which definitely won't create any more paradoxes, now will it?]]
== [[Web Comics]] ==▼
▲== Web Comics ==
* ''[[Schlock Mercenary]]'': Deconstructed with {{spoiler|Petey}}.
{{quote|'''Reverend Theo''': Wow, you really ''do'' think you've become a god.
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* Damien, [[Big Bad]] of ''[[El Goonish Shive]]'s'' ''Painted Black'' arc, created in a lab but believing himself to be the fulfillment of a prophecy.
** When he realises {{spoiler|that he may in fact ''not'' be god [[Heel Realization|it occurs to him]] that all the evil things he has done were, well...evil. Instead of a [[Heel Face Turn]] he decides that life as a mortal is not worth living, and that he will [[Taking You with Me|take Grace with him]].}}
* ''[[Umlaut House]] 2'': [
{{quote|'''Saundra:''' Do you ever worry that we're playing God?
'''Dr Pegasus:''' Not really. At some point, we definitely stopped playing. }}
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{{quote|[http://www.faans.com/index.php?p{{=}}957 "See, even the concept that the General could lose was more than he could deal with. The General isn't these people's leader, she's their god. And I've read enough fantasy to know how gods die."]}}
* In ''[[Fafnir the Dragon]]'', [[Twilight (novel)|Edward Catheter]] invokes this trope after drinking the blood of the titular dragon. However, {{spoiler|since he was supposed to ''bathe'' in it, not ''drink'' it, the firey blood of Fafnir helped to kill him.}}
* In ''[[Zodiac (webcomic)|Zodiac]]'', Nightmare considers herself and other superpowered whasnames to be gods because of their powers.
* In ''[[The Beast Legion]]'', Dragos proclaims himself as a God the will purge the light at the end of Issue 2.
== [[Web Original]] ==
* ''[[Mitadake High]]''
** This will happen in if Kira can create a cult of Kira-worshippers. Which is creepy.
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* The [[Mary Sue]]s and [[Marty Stu|Gary Stus]] in the [[Anti Cliche and Mary Sue Elimination Society]] have fanatical belief in their own superiority when compared to the rest of the Multiverse's residents. Willowe and Runoa, however, want to take this a step further and make it ''fact''.
== [[Western Animation]] ==▼
▲== Western Animation ==
* In the ''[[Justice League]]'' episode "Tabula Rasa", after beating all the members of the League and gaining their powers, the antagonist android AMAZO decides there's no challenge left for him on Earth and simply leaves to travel the universe. He eventually returns to Earth in ''Justice League Unlimited'' and helps the League on several occasions.
** Amazo's godlike nature was also directly referenced by the other characters. [[Lex Luthor]] is openly dismissive of the idea, but Superman notes that if Amazo comes back, Luthor will be "doing a lot of praying".
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* One episode in ''[[Family Guy]]'' has Peter proclaiming that he has divine healing powers that cured Chris of his cancer (the two of them are in cahoots). This causes the townspeople to believe Peter to be a god and Peter then starts acting like he is God until the real God starts to punish the family until Peter stops with his shenanigans.
== [[Other Media]] ==▼
▲== Other ==
* According to the immense [[wikipedia:The Apotheosis of Washington|fresco]] on the ceiling of the [[The United States|United States]] Capitol Building, [[George Washington]] became a god. No doubt if he was alive, he would have had something very negative to say.
* In ''[[Bionicle]]'', the Barraki's goal when they dwelled on land was to conquer all the universe and overthrow the Great Spirit Mata Nui. While they failed, Makuta was inspired by it and began formulating a [[Gambit Roulette]] to do it himself on an even grander scale. {{spoiler|''And he succeeds,'' committing [[Grand Theft Me]] against a [[Physical God]] and banishing Mata Nui's spirit into space in a [[Soul Jar]].}}
** On a smaller scale, [[The Starscream|Hakann and Thok]] pull off the "get superpowers and subsequently have delusions of godhood" deal after they steal Brutaka's power via improvised [[Power Copying]]. Despite razing half of Voya Nui and [[Curb Stomp Battle|effortlessly flattening the rest of the]] [[Quirky Miniboss Squad|Piraka]] [[Curb Stomp Battle|and the Toa Inika]] ''[[Curb Stomp Battle|twice]]'', it doesn't last.
== [[Real Life]] ==▼
▲== Real Life ==
Examples of ''rulers'' who were considered deities either on their own initiative or by that of their subjects (which has been very common throughout history) should be placed over at [[God-Emperor]]. For other examples, see below.
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* Linus Torvalds, introducing himself at the 1998 Linux Expo, Durham, NC: ''"[[Large Ham|My name is Linus Torvalds, and I am your God.]]"''
* Basketball player Josh Childress said that during his experience for playing with Greece (more specifically, the Olympiakos), he ended up being treated as a God towards the country. When Josh decided to leave Greece to return to the Americas (as a member for the Phoenix Suns), some citizens got a little bit hot-blooded.
* [[wikipedia:Apollo Quiboloy|Pastor Apollo C. Quiboloy.]] To quote: "Pastor Apollo C. Quiboloy is the Appointed '''Son of God''' in this last days." Since the Son of God ([[Jesus Christ]]) is God the Son, this cult leader essentially considers himself God.▼
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20150922000803/http://thechurchofgoogle.org/ Google] seems to be invoking this trope.
* Quote of Cleverbot:
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* During their bout at Madison Square Garden on March 8, 1971, Muhammad Ali repeatedly taunted Joe Frazier by asking "Don't you know I'm God?" Frazier replied, [[Crowning Moment of Awesome|accurately, in the event]], [[Shut UP, Hannibal|"Well, God, you gonna get whupped tonight!"]]
* Some people with mental illness may develop and believe in allusions that they are a biblical figure or a god/deity reincarnated. A few examples include:
** Jim Jones, founder of The Peoples' Temple which essentially became a cult with him as the ringleader. He claimed to be the reincarnation of [[Jesus]], [[Buddha]], Akhenatan, [[Vladimir Lenin]], and Father Divine. He organized a mass suicide at Jonestown in Guyana by forcing his followers to drink Flavor-Aid laced with cyanide; it claimed the lives of 918 people.
** David Koresh, leader of a Branch Davidians sect believed to be the final prophet AKA Jesus himself. A raid on his ranch in Waco, Texas in 1993 eventually started a fire. The aftermath left 52
** Charles Manson, mastermind behind the Tate-Bianca murders claimed to be [[Jesus]]. He also claimed to be [[Satan]].
▲** Filipino pastor-turned-wanted fugitive [[wikipedia:Apollo Quiboloy|
*** The above
** As mentioned before, some people with mental illnesses such as schizophrenia become convinced that they are the Second Christ, Buddha, Mohammed, or God himself.
* [http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/gallery/hollywood-craziest-lawsuits-court-cases-267628#12 Christopher Roller] sued David Copperfield and David Blaine in 2005 on the rather ludicrous grounds that they were infringing on God's powers, and that Roller himself is God.
* It should come as no surprise that [[Adolph Hitler]] allegedly wanted to do this, in one of his craziest schemes.
{{reflist}}
[[Category:Narrative Devices]]
[[Category:Tropes of Legend]]
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[[Category:Ego Tropes]]
[[Category:Villains]]
▲[[Category:A God Am I]]
[[Category:Power]]
[[Category:God Tropes]]
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