Don't Fear the Reaper: Difference between revisions

See also [[Psychopomp]] and [[The Grim Reaper]]. Compare with [[Everybody Hates Hades]], when authors do almost the complete opposite with death-related deities. Distant cousin to [[The Devil Is a Loser]]. Compare [[Not Afraid to Die]] and [[We All Die Someday]], which is about not fearing death itself rather than its personification.

 

{{examples}}

== Advertising ==

* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w3MFSnrZorw This] advert for Grolsch beer features the Grim Reaper taking a brief break from work. He appears to be quite fun guy to hang out with.

 

* ''[[Yu Yu Hakusho]]'' has Botan who plays death in the first few episodes. She wears a pink robe and is a [[Genki Girl]]. Yusuke even does [[Lampshade Hanging]].

* Meroko and Takuto from ''[[Full Moon o Sagashite]]''.

* In the end of [[Puella Magi Madoka Magica]], {{spoiler|Madoka herself}} is seen appearing before {{spoiler|magical girls whose soul gems are about to be corrupted and taking the gems with her}}, enabling them to die peacefully and go to the afterlife {{spoiler|without becoming witches}}.

* Death in [[Gregory Horror Show]] is the only character shown to be completely friendly to the trapped guests, speaking kindly and offering to help where he can.

 

== Art ==

* Hugo Simberg, a Finnish symbolist painter, liked this theme. He made several iterations of [[wikipedia:File:Hugo Simberg Garden of Death.jpg|The Garden of Death]], possibly his most famous work. He even went so far as to [[Word of God|publicly explain his own interpretation of the scene]].

 

== Comic Books ==

** In another X-Men related example, New Mutant Dani Moonstar once tried to fight off an incarnation of Death from taking one of her (non-mutant) friends. She eventually allowed Death to do her job, after she explained why her 'gift' was not to be feared by those who were suffering.

* Although Cernunnos, the Elder God of Death from Joseph Michael Linsner's ''Dawn'' series can definitely take terrifying form if he so chooses (if, for example, he needs to curb-stomp a group of angels and demons who've decided to trespass on Earth with their bickering), the one time we see him welcoming a soul to the afterlife, he takes a much more attractive form and greets her...very warmly.

 

== Fan Works ==

* Invoked in one installment of the [[Mega Crossover]] storyline on the (currently defunct) [[Anime Add-Venture]] called ''No Tendo'' -- when members of [[Stargate SG-1|Stargate Command]] see a painting of [[Sailor Moon|Hotaru "Sailor Saturn" Tomoe]] in the midst of destruction yet somehow appearing gentle and beckoning, they name it "Don't Fear the Reaper".

 

== Film ==

* The movie ''[[Death Takes a Holiday]]'' (from 1934, starring Frederick March and Evelyn Venable), sees Death become progressively nicer during [[Death Takes a Holiday|his stint in human form]]. It was remade in 1971, and again in 1998 as ''[[Meet Joe Black]]''.

* In ''[[Bill and Teds Excellent Adventure|Bill And Ted's Bogus Journey]]'', the Grim Reaper appears as someone with kind of a bad attitude - but turns out to become a [[Sour Supporter|useful ally]]. In fact, he later on joins the Wyld Stallyns. The [[Trope Namer]] is even quoted, when the [[Grim Reaper]] finally agrees to help Bill and Ted out.

* In ''[[Tim Burton]]'s [[Corpse Bride]]'', the land of the dead is a fun, colorful place full of [[Dark Is Not Evil|corpses and skeletons who are perfectly friendly and laid back]], if a little "[[Cloudcuckoolander|off]]". This makes a refreshing contrast to the dull, stifling land of the living.

* In ''[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JATr3vNOIYA& The Lady and the Reaper]'', Death is a [["No Respect" Guy]] [[Determinator]] willing to go well above and beyond the call of duty to deliver an old lady's soul to meet her husband in the afterlife.

 

== Literature ==

* Obligatory [[The Dresden Files|Dresden Files]] example: in ''Ghost Story'', when {{spoiler|Father Forthill}}'s life is in jeopardy, Dresden has a conversation with an angel of death waiting nearby. Dresden assumes he'll need to battle the angel to prevent his friend's death, but the angel assures him that (a) she is there only to guard the soul, should it be released from the body, on its way to [[Fluffy Cloud Heaven|a final reward]], and (b) it was {{spoiler|Forthill's}} choice to enter the conflict, the angel had no part in it (indeed, they don't have free will as humans do). And (c) she would [[Curb Stomp Battle|utterly stomp Harry if he raised a finger against her]].

* In ''[[Cerberon]]'', Edu, the goddess of death, is described as loving and merciful in her duty to provide rest and comfort after death. She's in charge of keeping the dead from bothering the living, but doesn't seem very proactive in this regard, considering all the zombies, ghouls, vampires and ghosts hanging around, although she does promptly respond to her priests' calls to take them away.

 

== Live-Action TV ==

'''''Will You Stop Screaming!''''' }}

* Subverted in an episode of ''Mysterious Ways''. Declan starts worrying that his teaching assistant, a not at all scary looking young woman, is the Angel of Death and she has come for him. Throughout the course of the episode, and in dealing with his own potential illness, it is revealed that she is actually the Angel of Comfort (the same one who visited him when his dad died.)

 

== Music ==

* Death is also revered in Mexico in the form of Santa Muerte("Saint Death"), who is worshiped as an unrecognized saint. While still taking the form of a grinning skull, she is revered as a patron of the downtrodden and those forsaken by society at large. She is also worshiped by criminals as the one saint who will never forsake them.

* Some scholars of ''[[The Bible]]'' take "Angel of Death" to be an allegory for [[The Messiah|Jesus]].

 

== Poetry ==

== Professional Wrestling ==

* [[The Undertaker]], at least since his 2004 return to his "undead" gimmick. He's still depicted as intensely scary and having supernatural powers, but he usually battles against villains - most famously at the 2007 Royal Rumble, when he arrived as the 30th entrant to save [[Shawn Michaels]], [[Edge]], [[Randy Orton]], and Montel Vontavious Porter from The Great Khali.

 

== Tabletop Games ==

* Gods of death in many [[Dungeons & Dragons]] settings are evil. Not so in the ''[[Forgotten Realms]]'', where Kelemvor is the poster boy for this trope and canonically [[Lawful Neutral]]. He and his worshipers work to comfort the living and ensure that the dead rest in peace.

** Also in this category is the Mulhorandi god Osiris, who is a god of the dead that is ''[[Lawful Good]]''.

 

== Video Games ==

** On the other the hand, the actual Reaper of ''[[Neverwinter Nights|Hordes of the Underdark]]'' is benign as well, and merely opens many doors for you to take once you reach his realm, provided you have the means of paying him to be resurrected... {{spoiler|This is later used against you once it is revealed that his true name was discovered by the [[Big Bad]] Mephistopheles. Said archdevil used him until the perfect moment so that the hero would be trapped in Cania (read: Hell) and so that the Reaper would not be able to help them escape.}}

* Similarly to the ''[[Dark Waters]]'' example, Death in ''[[Adventure Quest]]'' always tells you he has filled his quota of souls for the day, and sends you back saying you owe him one. For whatever reason, he never calls in the favor. Again, played for laughs.

 

== Web Comics ==

** [https://web.archive.org/web/20120713052026/http://skary.com/blog/an-elephants-memory/ An Elephant's Memory].

** [https://web.archive.org/web/20120713051918/http://skary.com/blog/a-parting-gift/ A Parting Gift].

 

== Western Animation ==