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Ubermensch: Difference between revisions
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In 1883, [[Friedrich Nietzsche]] published a book called ''Also Sprach Zarathustra'' in which he elaborated his ethical ideal, the ''Übermensch.'' The name came from the concept about ordinary humanity believing there would be no morals or reasons to live if there was no Other to define morality and reason. Transcending this illusion makes one an "over-man".
This was a person, or for us, a character, who rejects the norms of society and lives by his own moral code.
Depending upon [[Protagonist-Centered Morality|the character's role in the story]] and [[Sliding Scale of Idealism Versus Cynicism|how cynical the story is]], [[The Ubermensch]] may be characterised as either [[The Fettered]] or [[The Unfettered]].
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* Arguably, Char Aznable and Paptimus Scirocco from ''[[Mobile Suit Gundam]]'' and ''[[Zeta Gundam]]''.
* Dewey Novak from ''[[Eureka Seven]]''.
* Claire Stanfield of ''[[Baccano!]]'' is an interesting take on this. When a villain tries to give him a [[Hannibal Lecture]] about how mercy is a weakness, he admits that this is completely true—which is why only the strong can ''afford'' to be merciful. Also, he's a solipsist who thinks he's God.
* Lelouch, Schneizel and Emperor Charles in ''[[Code Geass]]'' are all examples, having their own ideas of how to supplant the status quo with their own ideals. The status of Lelouch as a Ubermensch could be in question due to the two of his first motivations being ressentiment and pity (two qualities Nietzsche detracted), but that doesn't mean he is the Last Man. Instead, The Last Man are the masses who are content with Britannian policies and prefer to live in slavery rather than take action. E.g. the Japanese guy who gets beaten up by an aristocrat and doesn't even think of fighting back. Or those faux-Japanese gangsters on whom Lelouch abuses his Geass in ''R2''. Perhaps the most obvious example would be from the very first episode, after Kallen's truck crashes and Britannians (!) all around just stand there, take pictures with their cellphones, and lazily ask if someone called an ambulance. And cheer passively when a single person (guess who?) actually gets down there to help the driver.
* Aion from ''[[Chrono Crusade]]'' (an uberdevil).
* Light Yagami from ''[[Death Note]]''.
** The Live Action film even has him reading one of Nietzsche's books.
** Certainly Near as well. “Even if there was a god and I had his teachings in front of me I would decide for myself what is good and what is evil.”
*** ''Especially'' Near. Near has created a purpose for his life—that is, to succeed L and defeat Kira.
* Arguably, The Major from ''[[Hellsing]]''. He has the antisocial behavior, presenting himself as a cheerfully sadistic fat man. And when questioned by Integra on what his goals are, he replies; "To put it into the simplest possible terms Fraulein, our purpose... is a total absence of purpose". His love of war serves its purpose as a twisted value; he even says that he loves war regardless of which side is winning. As for moral restraints, when conversing with Doc, he says that while the prospect of becoming a vampire is enticing, (as he could go one fighting forever) he refuses, wishing to remain human and retain his sense of self.
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* [[Captain Harlock]], the [[Space Pirate]] who has sworn to fight only for what he believes in. The rest of humanity in the various versions of the franchise are somewhere between the Last Man and [[Vichy Earth]]; the original anime is ridiculously [[Anvilicious]] about the corruption of humanity.
* Kuze, from ''[[Stand Alone Complex]]''. {{spoiler|He intends to build a superstructure of human cognition, with plans to radically alter human social institutions to adopt a more egalitarian means of solving social issues.}}
* ''[[One Piece]]''
** Blackbeard from is a brutal, [[Above Good and Evil|amoral]] pirate who wants to rule the world through his superhuman strength and [[Affably Evil|gives inspiring speeches about the power of dreams and fate]]. It is implied that most pirates live by their own code, and because of that they're called pirates.
** Luffy himself seems created to be one Ubermensch, but in contrast with Blackbeard he does have a strong moral. However, he's often seen by his own friends and everyone who gets to know him as a very egocentric person, and he fights only for what he feels is worth, not caring about the damage it can cause. Hell, he even went and {{spoiler|literally kicked god's ass, wich also had a good amount of symbolism}}, {{spoiler|declared war against the World Gobernment just to save his nakama}}, and is willing to {{spoiler|alow several [[Complete Monster|level 6 prisioners]] rampage over the world}} just to save his brother.
* Shou Hazama/Niikura from ''[[Akumetsu]]'' uses this trope.
* Pain of ''[[Naruto]]'' [[A God Am I|believes himself to be a God]], and wishes to show the world the path to true peace by showing them what 'true suffering' is with his power. And he showed he had the power to do so.
** Orochimaru might also qualify. He rejects all the ideals of the Leaf, and he rejects Akatsuki in favour of his own plans, ambitions and ideals. He is constantly seeking to improve himself by learning every jutsu (albeit via gruesome self-experimentation and "drowning himself in drugs"), and also spends a lot of time creating new jutsu. The one thing that might undermine him is his unusual goal to "find out the meaning of the world", as an Ubermensch would deny the existence of that kind of meaning and instead would seek to create his own- though, to the extent that that search allows, that is exactly what Oro has done.
** Naruto, in a rather big way. As soon as he is confronted by the harsh realities of the ninja system, he rejects them and the choices they offer him, and chooses to live by his own, personal ninja way. This is so prominent that a part of him that he is supposed to lead a revolution in the near-future.
* Kamina of ''[[Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann]]'' is a heroic example of this. He ignores all conventional morality and designs his own value set that throws aside the self-complacency of the world around him (the fact that the old values literally collapsed the moment the roof of the village did also helped). He never actually tries to lead anyone, his charisma is just so intense that he leads by example without trying. He claims his intent is to break through heaven and not just change his own destiny, but to entirely destroy the idea of "destiny." In the end, the entire universe ends up following his lead. Also, he actually is quite antisocial - he never actually tries to make friends with anyone, he's a [[Jerk with a Heart of Gold|complete jerk]].
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== [[Comic Books]] ==
* ''[[Miracleman]]'': [[Miracleman He]] was actually developed by an ex-[[Mad Scientist|Nazi scientist]], as it happens.
* Magneto from ''[[X-Men (Comic Book)|X-Men]]'', as written by Chris Claremont. He actually describes himself as one in a supplemental story.
* ''[[Superman]]'': Lex Luthor. Superman is loaded with Nietzschean subtext, albeit in a very anti-Nietzschean way. Indeed, Luthor may have been purposefully designed to be this, though probably sometime after his creation. The original Superman story was ''Reign of the Superman'' and concerned a ''[[Lawnmower Man]]'' style plot about a dimwit who is given superintelligence and psychic powers, and used them to try and [[Take Over the World]]. The writers were very critical of Nietzsche and the story was intended as a [[Take That]] to his writings, even though it ultimately transformed into a series about a benevolent alien superhero. Upon gaining his powers the dimwit lost his hair and strongly resembled the future Luthor in appearance.
* [[Fantastic Four (Comic Book)|Doctor Doom]]. A genius who runs his own nation and believes in no authority but that of '''[[Third Person Person|DOOM]]'''. His willpower is so absurdly strong that he was able to resist the Purple Man (whose power is to make you do whatever he wants) at point-blank range when the guy's abilities had been augmented to planetary scale. His biggest weakness is his crippling desire to prove his superiority over Reed Richards - rather like Luthor and Supes, Reed isn't interested in proving anything.
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* If one follows the Nietzschean line of interpretation (which is backed up as a legitimate strand by [[Word of God]] ) to understand the meaning of [[2001: A Space Odyssey]], the [[Goo-Goo Godlike|Star Child]] is a visual metaphor for the birth of the Übermensch.
* [[The Dark Knight]]: Both Batman and the Joker follow ideals completely separate from the laws that govern the city of Gotham and the codes of the criminal underworld, with Batman following his own ideas of justice and order, and the Joker completely adhering to the destruction and anarchy of chaos. At one point, the Joker mentions the dynamic between them as an "Unstoppable force meeting an immovable object".
* Anton Chigurh of ''[[No Country for Old Men]]''. From what little we can tell about his moral code, a person needs to earn the right to live and he sees himself as the perfect person to carry out that test.
* [http://www.barbariankeep.com/ctbds.html David C. Smith makes a strong argument] for Conan the Barbarian as a prime example of the self actualized overman.
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* [[Ayn Rand]] liked this trope.
** ''[[Atlas Shrugged]]'' features John Galt. The Last Man would be Robert Stadler, who allows his research and good name to be appropriated by [[Strawman Political]] interests.
** Howard Roark in ''The Fountainhead''. His progress as an architect is contrasted with that of Peter Keating, who becomes an abject sell-out. Rand also [[Deconstruction|deconstructs]] [[The Theme Park Version|the most commonly held popular interpretation]] of Nietzsche's philosophy through the character of Gail Wynand (whether or not this most common interpretation is a correct one is another subject entirely).
* Leto Atreides II from ''[[Dune]]'', fits this trope even more than his father, taking his father's Ubermensch qualities to their logical end {{spoiler|by essentially becoming [[A God Am I|a god]] }}.
* Anasarimbor Kellhus from ''[[Second Apocalypse]]'', as well as all the rest of the Danyain.
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{{quote|''[[Above Good and Evil|Notions of good and evil]] fell by the wayside next to such power as dwelled in the warp, for they were [[Good Is Old-Fashioned|the antiquated concepts]] of a religious society, long cast aside.''}}
* Lord Asriel in ''[[His Dark Materials]]'' is this {{spoiler|but it is interestingly averted when he throws himself into the abyss to allow for others to supplant God and create the Republic of Heaven}}
* In ''[[Discworld]]'':
** Commander Samuel Vimes of Ankh-Morpork. He is intensely charismatic, albeit in a rough and straightforward way, has helped change the city into the relatively stable metropolis it is now, and strictly follows his own code of ethics. As one character says in ''Night Watch'', "In a world where we all move in curves he proceeds in a straight line. And going straight in a world of curves makes things happen."
** The villains in ''[[Discworld]]'' books are frequently Last Men who do whatever they want because they know that the universe doesn't care about human notions of "good" and "evil" - and the heroes are frequently people who also knows that, but who have decided that the universe might not care, but ''they'' do.
** Surely Vetinari is a better Ubermensch than Vimes? Indeed, he (and Captain Carrot, who may or may not be another contender, though he is more of a catalyst for change) rescued Sam from his fate as a Last Man by encouraging and promoting him to take charge of all policing in the city-state, and creating his modern police force. Vetinari himself is the capable leader whose reign is characterised this and a number of other revolutionary ideas, many orchestated by him (like an efficient post office).
* The Sith philosophy as elaborated in the [[Star Wars Expanded Universe]], even though it actually represents the conventional morality for the Sith, basically calls for its adherents to become the Ubermensch - which is seen as involving giving in to the [[Dark Side]] and becoming [[The Unfettered]]. Its ideas seem to be based on the corruption of the Dark Side and thus be delusional, but it sometimes seems those who ''really'' achieve the goal of becoming the Ubermensch are so good at being evil that for them the illusion becomes reality, and they have no weakness. [[Knights of the Old Republic|Darth Revan]] is a good example of a Sith Ubermensch - immensely charismatic, the best at ''everything'', and seemingly able to keep from slipping so far into the Dark Side it would destroy him or even compromise his rationality while embracing its corruption fully. Even more so, there is the Sith'ari, a prophesized "perfect being" by Sith standards. In ''Darth Bane: The Path of Destruction'', {{spoiler|Bane gradually becomes the Sith'ari, first simply learning by harsh experience to think he can trust no-one but himself, then gradually absorbing more of the Sith philosophy and the Dark Side until he becomes completely unhindered by human emotions such as compassion and any sane moral code, though he is still entirely dedicated to upholding the purity of the Sith. He also fulfils the very Ubermensch-appropriate role of the Sith'ari in prophecy of making the Sith stronger by destroying them; his Last Man is the entire Sith order at that point, and especially its leader Lord Kaan, who have sought to eliminate conflict from the order by making it one of apparent equals; the very opposite of what Bane believes to be the nature of the Sith. Darth Bane hands Kaan an intangible [[Artifact of Doom]] that he knows will destroy all the Sith when they try to use it in their final stand against the Jedi, and before the dust that was once hundreds of Sith and Jedi has settled, goes out to look for an [[Bastard Understudy|apprentice]] to apply his new [[Rule of Two]] with.}}
** Emperor Palpatine certainly talked the talk (stating that Jedi were weakly chained to a failing set of ideals and rotting from the inside, while converting various others, especially Anikan, to his goals) however if he truly was one, or if he was just saying what others needed to hear for him to seize power is more debatable.
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* In ''[[Everworld]]'', {{spoiler|Senna Wales}} has some definite traits of this, notably including strong loner/antisocial tendencies and a reliance on her own code, rather than other's notions of morality. Oh, and she wants to [[Take Over the World|overthrow all the powers of Everworld and turn it into her own personal universe]] to rule over as a [[Dimension Lord]].
* Winston Smith in ''[[Nineteen Eighty-Four]]'' is the Last Man in Europe.
** Although [[Your Mileage May Vary]] on that one. From a Nietzschean perspective, Winston is ''definitely'' the Last Man, due to his primary motivation being hedonism with freedom and enlightenment added in, yet still doesn't carry enough Will to Power to stick to his individuality {{spoiler|and overcome [[Room 101]]}}. {{spoiler|Heck, he even chooses to love Big Brother because it's the greater of two pleasures, which is against the Ubermensch concept}}. But the actual "Ubermensch" in the book is disputed. Maybe it's Big Brother (who ironically is the God of the book), maybe it's the Party as a whole with their [[Blue and Orange Morality]] and their obsession with the Will To Power, but Inner Party member O'Brien in particular, as an individual, is less of a Ubermensch and more of a [[Nietzsche Wannabe]], since he believes that the only vision of the future is "a boot stamping on a human face forever".
* The vampire artist Mikhail Efimov in [[Oleg Divov]] 's ''[[Night Watcher]]'' has some pretensions about this, being a more literal version of [[Nietzsche Wannabe]]; he claims that "proper" vampires (the ones that drink blood and receive, among other things, dramatically enhanced senses - and, at least according to Mikhail, emotions and understanding), or the Nocturnals as he likes to call them, are so far above mere humans in every regard as to be justified in doing whatever they want to them, as human lives are so drab and pathetic compared to those of Nocturnals as to be "less than a parody". He also has some things to say about the worldview and way of life of perfect beings, which seems pretty close to this trope. Mikhail tries to position Igor Dolinsky, [[The Fettered|a vampire that has successfully resisted his bloodthirst]], as the Last Man, but Dolinsky is quick to point out that the Nocturnals tend to degenerate into mindless animals within a few years if they even live that long; eventually Mikhail realizes that Igor is right and turns himself in for an experimental treatment, though he doesn't abandon his rhetoric to the end, [[Shut UP, Hannibal|leading to]] [[Break the Haughty|some humiliating moments]] at the hands of the local vampire hunters.
* C.S. Friedman's In Conquest Born provides an interesting case. It revolves around a pair of archrival generals (with a hefty does of [[Foe Yay]]) on opposite sides of a war. [[Proud Warrior Race Guy]] Zatar comes from a culture essentially created to forge its nobility into Ubermenchen. The other, Azea, is the wunderkind of an experimental psychic program. Throughout the series, Zatar is actively trying to be an Ubermensch, outsting his father, making very public displays of going beyond human limits, etc. while Azea is much more singlemindedly committed to her goal (destroying the Braxi for killing her family), in the process she almost incidentally realizes a stronger form of psychic practice and uses it to enslave her teachers, revolutionizes faster-than-light combat, infiltrates and manipulates two other societies, and ''awakens the hidden psychic talents of her enemy Zatar''. At that point, it becomes apparent that she was the real Ubermench all along: Zatar was trying to be one in the tradition of his society, while Azea rejected all other values and as such has been able to cope with her abnormally strong abilities while Zatar is destroyed by them.
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== Theater ==
* Elphaba in ''[[Wicked]]''. She creates her own morality, and ignores the views of [[All of the Other Reindeer]], even if they call her [[Title Drop|wicked]]. Her insistence on treating sentient animals as equals [[Audience Surrogate|certainly seems obvious in our world]], but still [[Blue and Orange Morality|foreign to everyone in Oz]]. She's also presented as [[The Grotesque]], but still manages to attract [[Bile Fascination]] wherever she goes. Fiyero and Galinda can both qualify as The Last Man; interestingly enough, she redeems them both to her viewpoint.
* Gabe from [[Next to Normal]] has an inhuman charisma, makes his own rules and pretty much gets what he wants {{spoiler|despite, or because of being, [[Dead All Along]]}}. Natalie is pretty much The Last Man no matter what she does. ''[[Lampshade Hanging|Superboy And The Invisible Girl]]'', indeed.
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* ''[[Metal Gear]]'''s Big Boss didn't start out this way, according to the prequel, but he became one in the first and second games to the point of wanting to start an eternal world war.
** To a certain extent this would make {{spoiler|Zero}} the Last Man. Where as betrayal and disappointment made Big Boss's ideals stronger and more radical {{spoiler|Zero}} abandoned his own, fell into despair and gave his legacy to a set of emotionless AIs out of the belief that humanity would be happier under their solid, predicable guidance.
** His predecessor, The Boss, is another example. Her will and the effect she had on those around her pretty much kicked the entire series off.
* Hikawa from ''[[Shin Megami Tensei Nocturne|Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne]]'' wants to destroy the world and then rebuild it into a silent paradise of order and harmony. {{spoiler|He succeeds at the first part within the first few scenes of the game, so it's up to you to stop the second part... or not. Your choice.}}
** For that matter, all three Reasons are representative of the trope: the Reason of Shijima (presented by Hikawa) is just the most [[Nietzsche Wannabe|nihilistic one]] (naturally; the organization sponsoring it is [[Exactly What It Says on the Tin|the Assembly of Nihilo]]. But the Reason of Musubi and the Reason of Yosuga also present their own revolutionary ideologies for the [[Dark Messiah|Demifiend]] (the player character) to support.
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*** Which means that {{spoiler|Venat}} was the true Ubermensch all along, rejecting the views of {{spoiler|her fellow Occuria}} that the people of Ivalice were weak and needed the guidance of higher powers. And in the end, {{spoiler|Venat won.}}
* {{spoiler|The Fal'Cie}} from ''[[Final Fantasy XIII]]''. They believe the current state of the world is an absolute mess and are perfectly willing to {{spoiler|sacrifice all of humanity and themselves}} to bring back their creator in the hopes that it can fix everything. The player characters are The Last Men trying to preserve the status quo {{spoiler|by protecting Cocoon}}. In the end, {{spoiler|neither of them get everything they want. The Fal'Cie do succeed in destroying Cocoon and themselves, but Vanille and Fang's [[Heroic Sacrifice]] saves the human population and prevents the Maker's return.}}
* Zurvan from [[Prince of Persia]]: The Two Thrones. Before reaching his goal {{spoiler|of transforming into a "god" with the sands' power,}} he first restorts to treason {{spoiler|to take over India by killing the Maharaja and using his army to take over a Persia, using the power of the sands to transform everything in their path.}} Then in the final battle, {{spoiler|He starts using the "such is the price paid for progress" kind of lines when questioned by the Prince about the murder of the King, the guard and the hundreds of [[Innocent Bystander|InnocentBystanders]].}}
* Link, specifically in [[The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask]], is more this than a Knight of Faith, per [[The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time]]. Termina is a world consumed by [[Wangst]] and nihlism because {{spoiler|the moon is crashing into Termina in three days}}. His status as [[Heroic Mime]] drives him to always act, never succumbing to fear or sadness. Link rejects the hopelessness of the herd, in order to save them through sheer force of will. The nature of his task and {{spoiler|his ability to control time}} put him [[Above Good and Evil]]; ergo rendering all his actions just, even at their most selfish, because his selfishness benefits all. Including the time {{spoiler|in one timeline when he doomed a man to die in a child's body without the love of his fiance by taking the fiance's love letter and giving it to a man in need of toilet paper for a piece of heart; [[I Did What I Had to Do|what a dick]]}}. After curing everyone of their hopelessness through his actions, he literally {{spoiler|kills a god}} to change the world's fate and allow people to make their own future. [[Friedrich Nietzsche]] would be proud.
* [[Well-Intentioned Extremist|N]] of ''[[Pokémon Black and White]]'' wants to change the very nature of the Pokémon world's society, and possesses a superhuman will and drive. The main character is the Last Man/Woman and {{spoiler|defeats N in their final battle, where N rejects his ideology in favor of the protagonist...only for [[Big Bad|N's father Ghetsis]] to reveal that he ''deliberately manufactured'' N to be an Ubermensch since birth and manipulated him the whole time. This may indicate that Ghetsis is the true Ubermensch.}}
* ''[[Gothic]]'' has the "necromancer" Xardas, a former priest of Innos, who spends most of the three games in a plan to kill the thee gods of the realm (Innos, Adanos and Beliar), so people may be free of their influence. {{spoiler|He succeeds by the end of the third game}}. Interestingly, [[Dark Is Not Evil|he and the protagonist are on the same side]].
== [[Web Comics]] ==
* In ''[[The Inexplicable Adventures of Bob]]'', Galatea [http://bobadventures.comicgenesis.com/d/20080301.html identifies herself] as a post-human Ubermensch. As of this writing, though, it looks like she may be growing disenchanted with the idea and gaining some sense of humility.
** She has a schoolgirl crush on Napoleon Bonaparte, too.
* General Tarquin, from [[Order of the Stick]]. He rejects conventional morality and wants to make the Western Continent free of power struggles and endless warfare.
** Redcloak also rejects conventional morality and seeks to lead the goblins into becoming a sovereign race with equal rights as other humanoid species.
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== [[Web Original]] ==
* The [[Global Guardians PBEM Universe]] had two notable examples:
** Lord Doom wants to make the world a Utopia without war and hatred, and he doesn't care how many people die in the process of making his vision of a peaceful earth a reality.
** Abyss wants to rid the world of pollution and return nature to a clean, balanced, pristine state... and if this means wiping humanity off the face of the planet, so be it.
* [[Memetic Mutation|Courage Wolf.]]
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* Huey Freeman from ''[[The Boondocks]]'': Deconstructed. Initially, Huey is the picture perfect example or was one in progress. However, as the series progresses, he has his faith challenged that force him to accept that there are forces he can't understand and sometimes he can't make a difference. As the series progresses, Huey starts become more hopeless to eventually giving up on society and accepting that his Blue and Orange Morality is not enough.
* David Xanatos in ''[[Gargoyles]]'' is most certainly this. He owns a corporation that spans several nations. This naturally makes him rich and powerful. He possesses huge amounts of charisma, which affects the characters and even the viewers watching the show. He wrote the book on how a [[Xanatos Gambit]] is done. He does not hold grudges or fall into the "sucker's game" of revenge, which already causes him to be so much better than Lex Luthor ever was. He also has a butler, who is {{spoiler|Puck, a member of the Fair Folk, and quite the trickster}}. If he could have someone like that serving him, how could he not be an Ubermensch? The Manhattan Clan seem to be the Last Man. At least, Goliath realizes that Xanatos has it all and Goliath has next to nothing.
** Of course, while Xanatos is too smart to hold grudges, it takes Fox for him to develop any motivation besides his own profit or amusement, whereas the gargoyles risk their lives to protect others with no thought of personal gain. The fact that Xanatos's accomplishments won't stop him from growing old and dying like everyone else seriously scares him, and his attempts to gain immortality only get him a lecture from the older, wiser Hudson.
** Fox could be an Ubermensch as well. She proves to be a match for Xanatos in terms of coming up with schemes - as well as beating him in chess games. In one episode, she is reading a book on philosophy (Sartre, for those of you without instant-pause reflexes) and she is asked why she reads that stuff. Her response is this: "Because Nietzsche's too butch, and Kafka reminds me of your little friends over there!" (The person she's talking to is [[Genius Bonus|shooting cockroaches with a rubber-band slingshot]]) She clearly knows some things about philosophy.
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