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{{trope}}
[[
▲[[caption-width-right:350:More like "Apocalypse [[Moe]][[A Worldwide Punomenon|den]]"<ref>[[Catch Phrase|Take it easy!]]</ref>
In most stories, the [[Big Bad]] is the one who wants to bring about [[The End of the World
You can understand why [[The Hero]] will get very confused when he finds out it's actually their [[Love Interest]], their younger or older sister, his childhood friend (either [[Unlucky Childhood Friend|Unlucky]], [[Victorious Childhood Friend|Victorious]] or [[Forgotten Childhood Friend|Forgotten]]) or another member of the [[Five
Needless to say, the villains (and [[Well
Sadly, because [[You Can't Fight Fate]] these attempts to prevent the cataclysm may become [[Self
[[Prophetic Fallacy]] may also be a cause for the villain's alarm, or maybe [[The Powers That Be]] were merciful.
This is more of a plot than a character (it could be either). Much like [[Barrier Maiden]], this trope is open to both genders. See also/contrast [[Big Bad Friend]], [[Save This Person Save the World]] and [[Barrier Maiden]]. May well become an [[Anti
This trope is inspired by if not outright based on the Harlot from the [[The Bible
Subtrope of the [[MacGuffin Girl]].
{{examples|Examples:}}▼
== [[Anime]] and [[Manga]] ==
* Rei Ayanami from ''[[Neon Genesis Evangelion]]'', as part of an [[Assimilation Plot]]. (She was the FORMER PAGE IMAGE!) She is unusual in that {{spoiler|she actually ''succeeds'' in obliterating all life on Earth}}. [[Assimilation Plot|Sort of]]. [[Mind Screw|Maybe]]. [[Gainax Ending|We think]].
** NGE also gives us a rare male example: [[White
*** And even then, Rei encourages Shinji not to go through with it, but he is adamant about wanting her to cause Instrumentality [[Break the Cutie|due to everything that happened to him]] [[It Got Worse|up until then]].
*** Which ironically, implies that Shinji is the Anti-Christ. Makes a weird spin on the whole [[Everybody Is Jesus in Purgatory]] thing.
* In ''[[Naruto]]''; there are the two male versions of this; [[The Chosen One|Chosen Children]] [[Messiah|Naruto]] and [[Dark Messiah|Nagato]] who were destined to bring a new golden age to the world.....or bring it into complete and utter ruin; the latter took the second road at least until before he [[Redemption Equals Death|died]] while the former still remains the saviour...for now.
* In ''[[Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann]]'', {{spoiler|Nia turns out to be a virtual lifeform that acts as an agent for the [[Big Bad|Anti-Spirals]]}}. Played at its straightest when {{spoiler|she puts herself between the heroes in their [[Giant Mecha]] and the keyhole that will allow them to take control of the moon and keep it from crashing into the Earth (said keyhole having a key that also happens to be a [[This Is a Drill|giant drill]])}}.
** This is, not incidentally, the point where most first-time watchers start baying for the blood of the show's ultimate [[Big Bad|antagonists]]. Not because of [[The End of the World
** {{spoiler|Cruelly played with in the ending where after [[Storm the Castle|overcoming imposible odds and saving the entire galaxy]] from the Anti Spirals Nia [[Tear Jerker|fades away on her and Simon's wedding day]] - as a virtual lifeform created by the Anti Spirals, [[No Ontological Inertia|she can't exist without them]]}}.
* Played with in ''[[
* Hotaru Tomoe (Sailor Saturn) from ''[[Sailor Moon]]''. The Outer Senshi misunderstand her job thinking it is a bad thing (And confuse her with Mistress 9 who's possessing her and is [[The Antichrist]]) and try to prevent her from awakening. They fail and she explains her job is to serve as a reset button in the event that the bad guys win, allowing Moon to restore the world into its' proper form. She doesn't get to destroy the world in the anime (she defeats the [[Big Bad]] with Moon's help, then is reborn as a baby), but does in the manga; Sailor Moon restores it moments later.
* One of the main characters of ''[[Blue Seed]]'' gets this status near the end of the series...
* ''[[Mahou Sensei Negima]]'' appears to be falling into this with the recent chapters. {{spoiler|[[Big Bad]] Fate Averruncus wants to erase Mundus Magicus and put its inhabitants into a [[Lotus Eater Machine]] to keep them from disappearing when Mundus Magicus collapses on its own. And it turns out that he needs Asuna's [[Anti
* A major theme in ''[[Mythical Detective Loki Ragnarok]]'', the reason most of the gods are trying to kill Loki is simply [[Because Destiny Says So]] that he will destroy the world.
* ''[[Scrapped Princess]]'' is the obvious example - there, the main character, who is also the eponymous character, basically lives this trope. 99% of the world wants to kill her because she's destined to bring about [[The End of the World
** Unlike the other series, the [[The End of the World
* ''[[Slayers]]'', more specifically the second season (NEXT), may have fallen into this. When the team is facing the [[Big Bad]], Lina wonders if she should fight it because a) she doesn't think think she can possibly win and b) the only way she can win is with a [[Dangerous Forbidden Technique]] called Giga Slave that has a high chance of wiping out all existence. At this point, some of the members have to warn her that under certain circumstances, they may have to fight her. Turns out that the [[Man Behind the Man|true]] [[Big Bad]] wants her to use the technique and tries to force her into it, because the ultimate goal of demons is to return the universe to empty blackness.
* ''[[Sonic X]]'': {{spoiler|Cosmo}} turns out {{spoiler|to have been implanted with an audio and visual tracking device allowing the [[Big Bad]] to see every single move she makes, thus leading them right to the good guys the whole time, basically dooming their every effort. [[The Woobie|Cosmo angsts about this considerably]], [[Well
* Hayate Yagami of ''[[Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha]] A's'', the latest friend of Nanoha's group during that season who also happened to be the latest master of the [[Artifact of Doom|Book of Darkness]], a rather hazardous title considering how all previous masters died blowing up their worlds after the book possessed them and [[Omnicidal Maniac|went omnicidal]]. Much discussions about the cruelty of fate were had.
* Elie {{spoiler|alias Resha Valentine}} in ''[[Rave Master]]''.
* Lucy from ''[[Elfen Lied]]'' definitely fits this, [[Enemy Within|inner demon]] style. Eventually, {{spoiler|her Lucy/Kaede and Nyu personalities [[I Cannot Self
* In the second season of ''[[Darker
* In a rather weird example, ''[[
* In ''[[Gate Keepers]]'', {{spoiler|Ruriko Ikusawa}} is briefly turned into this by the enemy when she becomes [[Brainwashed and Crazy]] by the [[Big Bad]]. {{spoiler|Shun Ukiya manages to talk her out of it, though}}.
* Mayo Sakaki from the 3rd ''[[Fushigi Yuugi]]'' OVA. She very nearly destroys the entire Universe of the Four Gods just to get a fairy-tale ending with Tamahome. {{spoiler|Little does she know it's a sort of [[Batman Gambit]] deployed by Miaka to save the Universe of the Four Gods!}}
* In [[
** To clarify, {{spoiler|Fuuma is destined to fill the empty seat left when Kamui picks his side. If Kamui were to join the Dragons of the Earth, Fuuma would go to the Dragons of the Heaven. But Kamui chooses to join the Heavens, so Fuuma goes to the Earth. Either way, destiny is skewed toward the Dragons of the Earth winning. Meaning that there will be a catastrophe that wipes out mankind, but other life goes on. The only version where this really means that Fuuma is a [[Slasher Smile]] maniac is the animated movie, though. Otherwise, he's still as [[Gray and Black Morality]] as everyone else in the series}}.
* {{spoiler|The main character, Juliet}} in ''[[Romeo X Juliet]]''.
* In ''[[Record of Lodoss War]]'', it is revealed that {{spoiler|Little Neese, the girl that spends most of the first part of the show sleeping in the arms of several of the older characters, or as an [[Shrinking Violet|extremely shy]] [[Mystical Waif|teenage priestess]] in the second}} is one of the three key objects for a ritual that will destroy the entire continent. As there's no place where she would be safe from being kidnapped by the evil sorcerer ''and'' she has known her condition as an
* {{spoiler|Brief}} in ''[[Panty
* Played brutally and tragically straight with Chise from ''[[Saikano]]''.
* ''[[Macross Frontier]]'' has {{spoiler|Sheryl and then Ranka}} engineered to affect the Vajra with their singing and keep them off the [[Big Bad]] until she can use {{spoiler|Ranka}} to pull off an [[Assimilation Plot]] for the entire galaxy. Also, Ranka's pet Ai-kun counts to some extent since the cute little critter is {{spoiler|eventually revealed to be a larval Vajra which takes Ranka back to the Vajra homeworld for use by the [[Big Bad]]}}.
* Miharu from ''[[Gasaraki]]'' seems to be one. {{spoiler|In the end, the ''real'' one is Yuushiro's sister Misuzu}}.
* ''[[
* ''[[
* In the ''[[Ah
== [[Fan Works]] ==
* [[Lucky Star|The Hiiragi twins]] in ''[[
▲* [[Lucky Star|The Hiiragi twins]] in ''[[Stars Above (Fanfic)|Stars Above]]''. {{spoiler|They're the focal points of the multiverse, so if anything happens to them, all universes collapse.}}
== [[Comic Books]] ==
* The eponymous character of ''[[Hellboy (
* Raven from ''[[Teen Titans (Comic Book)|Teen Titans]]'' of course.
* ''[[X-Men (Comic Book)|Uncanny X-Men]] #137'', "The Fate of the Phoenix". The Phoenix Force, pretending to be Jean Grey, was so powerful she could no longer control it, and became the Dark Phoenix, risking the destruction of the universe. She eventually made a [[Heroic Sacrifice]] to end the threat. It gets retconned back and forth all the time whether it was actually Jean or the Phoenix Force pretending to be Jean who did this, but it fits the trope either way.
* Also done with Colossus in Whedon's run on ''Astonishing X-Men: the [[Mad Oracle|Augurs]]'' of a [[Planet of Hats|Planet Of]] [[Blood Knight
* Alan Moore's ''[[Promethea]]'' is all ''over'' this.
* [[Captain Atom]] in ''Captain Atom: Armageddon'' discovers that ''he'' is going to destroy the Wildstorm universe if he stays there, and that he also can't leave, ''and'' that if he dies, the destruction will happen instantly. {{spoiler|In the end, [[Deus Ex Machina|Nikola cures him]] and sends him home. Then ''she'' destroys the universe. But then she remakes it}}.
* Played with in [[
==
* In ''[[Night Watch (
* ''[[The Haunting of Molly Hartley]]''.
* This is the entire plot of the movie ''[[End of Days]].''
* ''[[Ghostbusters
* The 1968 horror flick ''[[
== [[Literature]] ==
* [[Tyke Bomb|Coin]], from [[
* Cyradis in ''The Malloreon''
* In ''[[Percy Jackson
* In ''[[His Dark Materials|The Amber Spyglass]]'' the priests send an assassin to whack smartass kid Lyra because it is prophecied that she will be '''the new Eve''' and bring about a new fall of Man. Just one of the many reasons why there won't be any sequels to ''[[The Golden Compass]]''...
* In Nick Kyme's ''[[Warhammer
* Garth of ''The Lords of Dûs'' trilogy was destined to bring about the Age of Destruction by taking up the sword of Bheleu. By doing so, he also started the clock on the Age of Death, said to be the end of Time itself. Turns out {{spoiler|[[Death of the Old Gods|it was only the God of Time dying; the world went on without him]].}}
== [[Live
* ''[[Supernatural (TV series)|Supernatural]]'', with Gordon (and associates) trying to kill Sam before he can go bad and lead demon armies to conquer the world.
** Gordon isn't the only one who has it in for Sam. His own Dad was afraid killing Sam might be necessary some day (which might go a long way in explaining the guy's obsession and control issues).
** Even Sam thinks his own death might someday be necessary. He made Dean promise to kill him if he ever went bad, and in Season Five he even swore to {{spoiler|Lucifer}} that he'd kill himself before giving in. {{spoiler|[[Back
*** But then the angel {{spoiler|Anna}} says no problem, they'll just {{spoiler|kill Sam and prevent Lucifer from bringing him back to life by scattering Sam's molecules throughout the entire universe. [[I Cannot Self
** And in an actual ''literal'' example, {{spoiler|Lilith}} is literally the final seal to release the apocalypse. Of course, Sam doesn't find this out until he realizes that maybe [[Idiot Ball|the tortured demonic soul of a former witch who got him hooked on demon blood might not be entirely invested in his best interests]].
*** In his defense, he thought it was okay to believe Ruby about Lilith since even the {{spoiler|[[Light Is Not Good|ANGELS]]}} said that they agreed with her.
* Dawn in ''[[
* In ''[[
* This appeared to be Sofie's role in ''[[Carnivale]]'', but the show ended before they could really explore it.
* ''[[Stargate SG-1]]'' had this as well. When Hanka is wiped out by Nirrti, the team finds a sole survivor: a little girl by the name of Cassandra. Later it turns out that [[Why Am I Ticking?|her body contains a globule of naquadah that has attracted all the potassium in her body]] and can cause cardiac arrest if someone attempts to remove it. Why is that a problem? Stargates contain over 29 tons of Naquadah. Naquadah reacts to potassium violently. And I mean [[Nuke
* [[Star Trek:
* In ''[[Kamen Rider Decade]]'', {{spoiler|it is revealed that the existence of the eponymous main character is forcefully merging the parallel worlds of [[The Multiverse]].}}
* In [[Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon]], {{spoiler|Usagi}} of all people.
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* A major theme in Luca Turilli's album ''Prophet of the Last Eclipse'', particularly the song ''Demonheart''.
==
* Shiva is said to dance the dance that creates, sustains, and destroys the universe all the time. However, it is specifically noted that he does this when his wife, Sati, sets herself on fire after being insulted (by her father) for marrying Shiva in the first place. It took Vishnu's discus cutting up Sati's body to stop Shiva from completely destroying the world. Similarly, Shiva acts as a [[Barrier Maiden]] when his wife in another form, Kali, goes on rampages.
* Oddly enough, ''[[Jesus]]'' according to Christian belief. His Second Coming in the [[
** There isn't really a reference to an entity called [[The Antichrist]] in the Book of Revelations, or to anything indicating that the End of Days would be anything but a part of the original divine plan. The Beast, so often interpreted as [[The Antichrist]] appears as a part of the prophecy, not its cause.
== [[Video Games]] ==
* Princess Elise in ''[[Sonic the Hedgehog (2006
* Another example might be ''[[
* {{spoiler|Shana}} from ''[[Legend of Dragoon]]'', along with {{spoiler|all the moon children that Rose continued to kill every time one was born}}. The prophecy didn't come to pass because {{spoiler|[[Big Bad]] Melbu Frahma [[Nice Job Fixing It, Villain|made himself the next moon child]], effectively saving Shana from her role in destroying the world}}.
* Bastila in ''[[Knights of the Old Republic]]'' possesses great skill with battle meditation, which allows her to tilt large-scale battles in favor of either side. Needless to say, she is a much-sought-after resource for both sides of the central conflict.
** Her link with {{spoiler|Revan}} is also important, as she could theoretically serve as a [[Morality Chain]] to turn him to either the Dark or the Light. Fortunately for Lightside!{{spoiler|Revan}}, it works both ways.
* In ''[[Loom (
* In ''[[Castlevania]]: [[Castlevania: Chronicles of Sorrow
** Oddly, this is a twisted example. Celia's cult, unlike Graham's from ''Aria of Sorrow'', worships ''God'', and they fear for the Light [[Balance of Good and Evil|if there is no Darkness]]. Hence, they wish for a new Dark Lord only to cover their own asses.
* The reason why Richter's after Marta in ''[[Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World]]''. {{spoiler|He should have been more concerned with Emil}}.
* {{spoiler|Estelle}} in ''[[
* Shirley from ''[[
* ''[[Lufia]]'' has {{spoiler|Erim, the Sinistral of Death. Her very existence enables her fellow Sinistrals to keep coming back no matter how often they're defeated; unfortunately, this isn't exactly a power she has any ''control'' over. Oh, and she usually shows up in each game as a mysterious girl... including Lufia herself in the original game}}.
* ''[[Persona 3]]'' plays with this. {{spoiler|Ryoji, a human-Shadow hybrid who acts as a beacon to summon [[Eldritch Abomination|Nyx, the Queen of the Shadows]], to bring about [[The End of the World
* In ''[[
* In ''[[Dawn of Mana]]'', [[Unlucky Childhood Friend]] Ritzia accidentally becomes this because she gets [[Grand Theft Me|possessed]] by [[Sealed Evil in
* In ''[[Silent Hill 3]]'', the Apocalpse Maiden is {{spoiler|the protagonist, Heather, whose memories and [[Reality Warper]] powers as Alessa are awakening and threatening to destroy the world by giving birth to the cult's twisted version of "God"}}. The heroes consider the possibility that the only way to save the world might be to kill her; one of them simply can't bring himself to do it, while another mistakenly thinks he's found [[Take a Third Option|a third option]] that'll solve the problem. In the end, {{spoiler|the villain saves them the trouble by gruesomely taking on the role herself, and then getting consumed by the creation an imperfect "God" that can be defeated}}.
* In ''[[Final Fantasy XIII]]'', generally anyone who has been branded a "Pulse l'Cie" will be given a Focus to become an Apocalypse Maiden (Ragnarok). Once branded they either have the choice of carrying out their Focus (destroy the world) or becoming a mindless monster if they refuse.
* In ''[[Fire Emblem]]: Sacred Stones'' Lyon the prince of Grado gets possessed by the demon king, an evil monster who was about to spread darkness over the world but was [[Sealed Evil in
* Most of the ''[[
* In the ''[[
** It's a little more complicated than that. {{spoiler|The Bhaalspawn exist to bring back Bhaal (he sired them in response to a prophecy of his own death, which has since come true), and the current prophecy deals with the doom involved in any of the Spawn resurrecting or replacing their father. The protagonist is trying to avert this end... [[You Can't Fight Fate|''which is also discussed in the prophecy'']],}} making them both the possible agent of the apocalypse and the potential means to avert it.
* In ''[[Lunar]]'', {{spoiler|Luna AKA The Goddess Althena}} nearly destroys the world after being brainwashed by the Magic Emperor.
** In ''Lunar 2: Eternal Blue'', this same role falls to {{spoiler|Althena's younger sister Lucia}}, whose job it is to destroy Lunar to prevent Zophar's rise to power. She chooses not to. However, this allows Zophar to capture {{spoiler|her}}.
* Furiae in ''[[Drakengard]]''. Her body is one of the few seals that prevent the end of the world- Thus it's her brother Caim's job to protect her. {{spoiler|So when she dies... Hoo boy}}.
* Kachi is treated as one of these by the villains in ''[[Sin and Punishment|Sin & Punishment: Star Successor]]''.
* In ''[[
* The Dark Elf of the ''[[
=== [[Visual Novels]] ===▼
* {{spoiler|Sakura}} in the Heaven's Feel path of ''[[Fate/stay
▲== [[Visual Novels]] ==
▲* {{spoiler|Sakura}} in the Heaven's Feel path of ''[[Fate Stay Night (Visual Novel)|Fate Stay Night]]''.
** {{spoiler|Ilya}} too, for related yet mutually distinct reasons.
*** The holocaust at the end of the previous Heaven's Feel demonstrates just how much. {{spoiler|It would've been worse if Kiritsugu hadn't destroyed Ilya's mother Irisviel}}.
== [[Web Comics]] ==
* Gwynn from ''[[Sluggy Freelance]]'' during the period(s) when she was possessed by the demon K'Z'K.
* In ''[[
** Her last name is also Megido, a name derived from the mountain connected to the end of the world (Armegeddon is a shortened form of Har Megidon), and her title is Maid of Time.
** More directly and on the evil side, there's Snowman, a member of the Felt whose life is tied to the life of the universe. {{spoiler|It's actually ''her heart''.}} She mostly uses this to mess with Spades Slick without him being able to fight back. {{spoiler|Eventually he does shoot her, destroying their universe.}}
== [[Web Original]] ==
* In the ''[[Global Guardians PBEM Universe]]'', Esmeree is a sorceress and a member of the evil Circle of Black Thorns. She became a black magician after her mother (an oracle) produced a prophecy that said that Esmeree would become great in the knowledge of the Black Arts, and would in the fullness of time overthrow heaven and destroy the world. It hasn't happened, yet...
* [[The Protagonist|Conor]] in the Podcast Novel [https://web.archive.org/web/20131103113019/http://podiobooks.com/title/shadowmagic/ Shadowmagic]. {{spoiler|The prophecy ends up being true, it just refers to someone else}}.
* A lot of people in the ''[[Whateley Universe]]'' believe Carmilla is going to be this. Right now, the protagonists are treating her as their best friend, to the point that Bladedancer is trying to find out who is trying to kill Carmilla. This could turn out really badly somewhere down the line.
* In ''[[The Gamers Alliance
== [[Western Animation]] ==
* {{spoiler|Raven}} in ''[[Teen Titans (
** Of course, it was a [[Self
** {{spoiler|That, and that her friends would die in their attempt to fight off Trigon's minions...}}
{{reflist}}
[[Category:Unisex Tropes]]
[[Category:Characters As Device]]
[[Category:Women Are Delicate]]
▲[[Category:Trope]]
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