Messianic Archetype: Difference between revisions

In media, the [[Messianic Archetype]] is a character whose role in the story (but not necessarily personality) echoes that of Christ. They are portrayed as a savior, whether the thing they are saving is a person, a lot of people or the whole of humanity. They endure a sizable [[Heroic Sacrifice|sacrifice]] as the means of bringing that salvation about for others, a fate they do not deserve up to and including death or a [[Fate Worse Than Death]]. Other elements may be mixed and matched as required but the [[Messianic Archetype]] will include one or more of them, not limited to: being the [[Chosen One]], gaining a group of devoted followers, being betrayed by one of these followers, persecution by non-believers, parallels to the [[Passion Play]], obvious [[Crucified Hero Shot]], a figurative or literal resurrection, and even a [[Second Coming]]. Bonus points if the character has the initials J. C. in their name.

Some takes on what makes a [[Messianic Archetype]] include [[The Messiah]], the [[Dark Messiah]] (the extreme [[Anti-Hero]] version), [[The Antichrist]], and The [[Anti-Anti-Christ]]. However, keep in mind that [[The Messiah]] and the [[Messianic Archetype]] ''are not synonymous''. [[The Messiah]] is about a character type with certain personality traits, the [[Messianic Archetype]] is about the role the character has in the events of the plot, and can have any personality, even overtly villainous ones. Even spawns of The Devil themselves can be Messianic Archetypes (such as the more messianic versions of the [[Anti-Anti-Christ]]).

It's also not necessary for the archetypal character to be even remotely Christian. The [[Ur Example|Ur Examples]] include Osiris (Egyptian) and Inanna (ancient Mesopotamia and the actual city of Ur) making this trope [[Older Than They Think]].

* Lelouch Lamperouge in ''[[Code Geass]]'' can be seen as a [[Messianic Archetype]] at the end of the series. Or more accurately, a [[Dark Messiah]]. {{spoiler|He died to take the world's hatred upon him so that world peace may ensue.}}

* In the prologue of ''[[Princess Tutu]]'', we're told a fairytale about a good Prince and an evil Raven who were locked in a furious battle. The fairytale was unfinished because the writer had died in the middle of writing the tale, but the Prince and Raven escaped the story so as to finish their battle. In the end, the Prince used forbidden magic to stab himself in the heart and shatter it, which [[Sealed Evil in a Can|sealed away]] the Raven at the cost of the Prince's personality and emotions. The story revolves around the Prince--Mytho--having his heart restored piece by piece by the titular magical girl.

* This is being rather horrifically subverted in the ''[[Berserk]]'' manga; the people of Midland are suffering. The plague is decimating the populace. Bandits groups -- the remnants of mercenaries left without livelihood because of the end of the Hundred Years War -- are preying on the people. The heart of Midland, the great capital city of Wyndham, itself has been assailed by the horrible demonic Kushan Empire. The Demon Emperor Ganeshka of the Kushan Empire has the Princess Charlotte captive, and intends to marry her to legitimize his conquest. ''However'', a dream is had in common every night by the entire nation, of the Hawk of Light, the White Hawk which burns away the darkness, and is acknowledged as a miracle and an omen even by the [[Crystal Dragon Jesus|Holy See]]. When the White Hawk finally does arrive, he is both beautiful and powerful, rescuing the princess from the Demon Emperor of the Kushan Empire, and saving the forces of the Holy See from being utterly annihilated with his great Band of the Hawk, which consists of both Apostles, superhuman soldiers which can each destroy legions single-handedly, and of the common men. The heroes and the common people both support him, for his deeds are both kind and miraculous. One problem though; the messiah is really {{spoiler|''Griffith'', now named Femto, a ''demonic demigod'', the aforementioned Apostles are demons as well, and it was established earlier in the manga that he is going to save the world just to ''drop it even further into darkness'' (if that is even possible). To make it even worse, it's implied that he is the ''[[God Is Evil|legitimate]]'' Messiah as well.}}

** Arguably Galt is an ''inversion'' of at least some components of the trope. His plan of {{spoiler|going on strike in order to bring economic activity to a halt, and thus causing civilization to collapse and rebuild itself}} involves ''witholding'' a "salvation" and forcing society to confront the actual consequences of its morality of Comtean altruism (the morality which is basically at the core of the [[Messianic Archetype]]). Applying [[Fridge Logic]] to his plan's obvious consequences (i.e. lots of people die as a result of {{spoiler|civilization's collapse}}) had led to some readers seeing Galt as a [[Dark Messiah]] instead of a [[Messianic Archetype]].

* Father Zosima in ''[[The Brothers Karamazov]]'' is a mix of the [[Messianic Archetype]] and [[The Obi-Wan]].

* Jim Casy from ''[[The Grapes of Wrath]]'' -- a preacher whose name abbreviates to J.C. His last words are: "You don't know what you're doing."

* Jordan Collier in ''[[The 4400]]'' believes he is sent to guide his people, dies and is resurrected. His initials are, unsurprisingly, J.C. His temporary replacement, Shawn, also demonstrates Christ-like qualities, as he heals the sick and befriends drug-addicts. In a slight subversion, Collier is presented as more sinister than most [[Messianic Archetype|Messianic archetypes]], and is not above using terrorist tactics in his quest to improve the world. Is it any wonder he's a [[Dark Messiah]]? It is also worth noting he really was chosen to guide humanity by what are implied to be the closest thing to good guys from the future to save the world, and for all his sinisterness, the alternative is apparently worse in the long run.

* Laura Roslin on ''[[Battlestar Galactica]]'' could very well fall into this category -- she is believed to be the "dying leader" destined to bring her people to Earth, and it doesn't get too much more messianic (specifically, Moses-like) than that. However, she tends more towards the morally grey end of the spectrum than most other [[The Messiah|messiahs]], and that's ''before'' the recent revelation that {{spoiler|her prophetic dreams are being shared by Cylons}}.

* An episode of ''[[Kingdom Hospital]]'' involved the Reverend Jimmy being found crucified, followed by a series of miracles re-enacting those of the New Testament. Unusual in that his [[Messianic Archetype]] status only becomes evident ''after'' he's died.

** The RTD era is a subversion as Waters of Mars thoroughly demonstrates that {{spoiler|once the Doctor starts thinking of himself as a saviour or god, he becomes more of a [[Dark Messiah]]}} and that, ultimately, all the messiah metaphors scattered throughout seasons 1-4 aren't meant to indicate anything good. So far Moffat seems to be playing the [[Messianic Archetype]] straight.

* [[Crystal Dragon Jesus|Abel]] in [[Anima: Beyond Fantasy]], who's an [[Captain Ersatz|Manga/Anime Ersatz]] of Jesus <ref> albeit ''far'' more violent than him (having forged several [[BFS|magical swords]] that need [[Blood Bath|blood from supernatural entities]] in order to maintain their magical properties) and with a more than strong dislike of the supernatural</ref> complete with Apostles and even a crucifixion.

* In Time Squad, the online [[Web Animation]] movie of the Blockhead series, the titular character varies between this and being a [[Seemingly-Profound Fool]]. He is shown to provide simple wisdom and inspiration to the other characters during their [[Darkest Hour|Darkest Hours]] and is shown as the only character that the [[Mad Scientist]] villain seems to consider his [[Worthy Opponent]] and the [[Red Oni, Blue Oni|Red Oni to his Blue Oni]] since they somehow share a history together (Blockhead somehow existing in 15th century Romania and a collaborator in his mad schemes).