History Main / GodIsDead

* ''LightNovel/ThatTimeIGotReincarnatedAsASlime'': [[DragonsAreDivine True Dragon]] [[TheMaker Veldanava]] died over 2,000 years before the start of the story. Normally, this wouldn't be cause for alarm since True Dragons have ResurrectiveImmortality, but Veldanava for some reason has ''never'' revived since then. The consequences of this have been far-reaching, from [[spoiler:his [[CrystalDragonJesus daughter]] Milim Nava growing up without her parents and becoming a Demon Lord, his younger sibling True Dragons being alone and having to find their own ways, the [[FallenAngel fall]] of some of his finest angels, the rest of the angels taking their grudge out on the mortal races of the world for his death, and one of his [[PowersAsPrograms bequeathed Ultimate Skills]] [[GrewBeyondTheirProgramming gaining sentience]] and deciding it's going to [[WellIntentionedExtremist bring him back to life no matter the cost]]...[[OmnicidalManiac even if that means killing everyone in the world]]. And it would actually ''prefer'' that to come to pass.]]

* ''LightNovel/ThatTimeIGotReincarnatedAsASlime'': [[DragonsAreDivine True Dragon]] [[TheMaker Veldanava]] died over 2,000 years before the start of the story. Normally, this wouldn't be cause for alarm since True Dragons have ResurrectiveImmortality, but Veldanava for some reason has ''never'' revived since then. The consequences of this have been far-reaching, from [[spoiler:his [[CrystalDragonJesus daughter]] Milim Nava growing up without her parents and becoming a Demon Lord, his younger sibling True Dragons being alone and having to find their own ways, the [[FallenAngel fall]] of some of his finest angels, the rest of the angels taking their grudge out on the mortal races of the world for his death, and one of his [[PowersAsPrograms bequeathed Ultimate Skills]] [[GrewBeyondTheirProgramming gaining sentience]] and deciding it's going to [[WellIntentionedExtremist bring him back to life no matter the cost...even if that means killing everyone in the world]]. And it would actually ''prefer'' that option.]]

* Contrary to popular belief, Friedrich Nietzsche is not the {{Trope Namer|s}}. Long before him Literature/TheBible had passages assuring its readers that God in fact, was not dead. Nietzsche's dialog had little to do with theology anyway. Rather, it was his view that when knowledge of the universe expanded, belief in God faded, with the faith people had for religious authority shifting to ideologies that were secular which he liked no better (such as German nationalism and antisemitism, precursors to the Nazi Party). His idea of the {{Ubermensch}} was meant to replace this, although Nietzsche fell ill and [[AuthorExistenceFailure died]] before he could go into much detail on that.

[[quoteright:283:[[Comicbook/{{Galactus}} https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/god_is_dead_20.png]]]]

* ''ComicBook/{{Ruins}}'', a Creator/MarvelComics graphic novel, shows a newspaper headline with a photo of Comicbook/{{Galactus}}' corpse and the headline reading: [[https://i.pinimg.com/originals/b5/ca/19/b5ca19b2b3f99d39546e955d3db32723.jpg "God Found Dead In Space"]].

* ''TableTopGame/GrimHollow'', a third-party ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' setting, has this as a core part of its backstory: most of the pantheon died fighting [[EldritchAbomination the Aether Kindred]], and the rest were driven insane and murdered each other in a war to see who should be the TopGod, leaving a literally-godless world behind. Their chief lieutenants, Arch Seraphs and Arch Daemons, have stepped up to try and fill the void they left behind and hold the world together, but they're limited compared to their predecessors, or possibly just corrupt. For instance, with the goddess of protection gone, Mykla, an archangel of healing, took her place, but since she's only an angel of ''healing'', she's powerless to stop bad things from happening, and can only comfort the victims afterwards. Meanwhile, the god of commerce has been replaced by a demon of greed named Gorodyn, who drives the wealthy to abuse and extort the less fortunate to insane degrees.

** In the climax of Season 15, [[spoiler: [[Nephilim Jack]] transforms God into a mortal human, meaning he will eventually die like a human]]

* In ''Clay'' by David Almond, upon going insane, [[spoiler:Stephen Rose]] claims that God is dead, and died sometime in the 60's.

** In ''Anime/DragonBallSuper'' all of the gods of the entire {{multiverse}} in Future Trunks's timeline are dead. Most of them were killed by Goku Black and Zamasu, but the Supreme Kai of Universe 7 (that is, the main universe of the setting) was shown in the [[Manga/DragonBallSuper manga]] to have been killed by Dabura when he and Trunks stopped Buu from being released.

* In ''LightNovel/HighSchoolDXD'', [[spoiler:Kokabiel reveals to the protagonists during their fight that God died long ago along with the Four Great Satans, and Archangel Michael is the one running heaven in his place. But don't feel too disappointed; he [[DyingMomentOfAwesome went out like a total badass]] using the last of his strength to seal away a being of such power that it could destroy the entire universe if left unchecked.]]

* ''ComicBook/{{Ruins}}'', a Creator/MarvelComics graphic novel, shows a newspaper headline with a photo of Comicbook/{{Galactus}}' corpse and the headline reading: [[http://images.comicbookresources.com/solicits/marvelcomics/200901/RUINS_cov.jpg "God Found Dead In Space"]].

* At the end of ''Comicbook/{{Preacher}}'', [[spoiler:God meets his end at the hands of the Saint of Killers.]]

* In ''[[{{Comicbook/Hellboy}} Hellboy In Hell]]'', Hellboy's arrival in Hell sparks an upheaval in the demonic hierarchy, with many former slaves turning on and killing their masters. Eventually it is revealed that Satan himself is dead, [[spoiler: murdered by Hellboy during a gap in his memory, [[YouCantFightFate in apparent fulfilment of his destiny.]]]]
* Both exaggerated and downplayed in ComicBook/TheMightyThor with The Gods Butcher issues. Gods aren't really the true creators of the universe, but they are cosmically powerful entities, devoted to good, evil, or their own interest. Gorr the Gods Butcher dedicates himself to tracking and [[KillEmAll torturing to death every one of them]] [[spoiler: and at the end of the first book, he has nearly achieved his goal : only an old, tired Thor is left alive. Because Gorr wants to keep him alive for the end.]]

* God (aka "The Authority") died in ''The Amber Spyglass''. In the Literature/HisDarkMaterials [[TheVerse verse]], God was simply the first and most powerful angel. By the time Lyra and Will show up, he is senile and tortured by [[WhoWantsToLiveForever his eternal life]]. They simply let him out of his protective enclosure and he is freed, [[spoiler: but he's too fragile to live in the world from sheer age, so he disintegrates from a slight breeze.]] Oh, the vicious irony.

** In ''Literature/MonstrousRegiment'', the Borogravian god Nuggan died some time ago. Since gods live or die based on their worshippers' belief. It is revealed that [[spoiler: Nuggan died because everyone came to believe in his numerous abominations more than Nuggan himself. Getting assaulted by an irate follower in ''Literature/TheLastHero'' certainly helped speed the process along.]]

** In ''Literature/SmallGods'', the Great God Om [[spoiler: narrowly avoids this fate.]]

* In the book ''Literature/{{IT}}'', by Creator/StephenKing, the Turtle created the universe (because of a stomach ache). Later, [[spoiler:it's revealed that the Turtle died in the thirty-year time gap of the novel.]]

* In Arthur Miller's ''Theatre/TheCrucible'', Proctor invokes this trope when accused of witchcraft. "I say... I say... God is dead! A fire, a fire is burning! I hear the boot of Lucifer, I see his filthy face! And it is my face, and yours, Danforth! For them that quail to bring men out of ignorance, as I have quailed, and you quail now when you know in all your black hearts that this be fraud - God damns our kind especially, and we will burn, we will burn together!"

** Except [[spoiler: Cultivation, the third of Roshar's shard gods, is still around (although we haven't met her yet)]], and since the setting is actually part of [[spoiler: the Cosmere, all the other shard gods are still running around on other worlds (apart from the ones Odium has Splintered, like Aona and Skai)]]. Plus, [[spoiler:it would be more accurate to say Tanavast, the man who became Honor, is dead, as Honor's power is still out there and it is possible another person may take up his shard.]] Got all that?

* Similar to ''The Way of Kings'', in ''Literature/MistbornTheOriginalTrilogy'', the benevolent god [[spoiler: Preservation]] is actually, by it's own account, [[spoiler: already effectively dead at the start of the series. This happened as a result of his own decision to give up his mind to betray and trap the dark god Ruin after they created the world. He fully dies halfway through the third book in the series.]] The main goal of that series is to [[spoiler: [[KillTheGod finish off Ruin in turn]]]]. On the other hand, as of ''Literature/TheAlloyOfLaw'', [[spoiler: Harmony, once known as Sazed]], is alive and active.

* In the ''Literature/MalazanBookOfTheFallen'' war god Fener is first pulled from godhood in ''Literature/DeadhouseGates'' and as such becomes effectively dead for his followers, but remains alive somehwere on the planet, in semi-human form. [[spoiler: Then his death comes true at the very end of the series, when Karsa Orlong kills Fener for good, which has repercussions for the series' end battle halfway across the world]].

** In season five, the ArchangelRaphael claims that the reason Castiel cannot find God is because He is dead. Later episodes suggest that He is alive, but uninterested in the Apocalypse. The season finale implies that [[spoiler: that not only God is alive, but Raphael was the one ''protecting'' Him all along, as he was in the form of a certain human called Chuck Shurley. Whether Raphael was ignorant or blatantly lying is up for debate.]]

* In Myth/MesopotamianMythology, the god Dumuzid, AKA Tammuz, dies every summer solstice, which is the reason for the decrease in daylight hours and the oppressive summer heat and drought (he gets better). Ritual mourning for Tammuz was widespread in the Ancient Near East and is even mentioned in the [[Literature/TheBible Book of Ezekiel]].

* {{Averted}} in Creator/HenryWadsworthLongfellow's "Christmas Bells":

* In ''TabletopGame/{{Kult}}'', [[spoiler: God is dead, and the Devil is the only one who wants him back. Also, god is dying retroactively, being dead further and further back in history.]] It's mostly a good thing (as far as anything can be good in this CrapsackWorld).

* In ''TabletopGame/{{Exalted}}'', this can (depending on your ST's preference for where to take the story) happen in the Endgame chapter of ''Return of the Scarlet Emperor'' with [[spoiler:Infernal Exalted, possibly backed up by demons or even Abyssals, breaking into the Jade Pleasure Dome through a long-forgotten 'back door' and assassinating the Unconquered Sun, who lacked his usual invulnerability because he was addicted to the Games of Divinity. The Ebon Dragon never expected the [[OhCrap massive power boost every Solar Exalt in Creation got]] when their patron Incarnae was killed.]]

** Subverted in [[VideoGame/TearsToTiara2 the sequel]] when the goddess of war is given a mortal form and leads a rebellion against the empire. There's a panetheon and Tarte has a mother. It's implied that either Watos never existed or was an invader compared to the pantheon.

* In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI'', [[spoiler:all four gods are killed in the end by the Returners. [[NamesTorunAwayFromReallyFast Fiend/Doom. Demon/Poltergeist.]] Goddess. [[BigBad Kefka.]] [[KilledOffForReal They are all dead.]] [[GodIsEvil Fortunately.]]]]

** Taken UpToEleven in ''VideoGame/DarkSoulsIII'', [[spoiler:where you not only kill basically all the remaining Gods, you also kill all the remaining demons and the deific incarnations of the very things the gods draw their power from that also act as near immutable laws of the universe!]]

* In ''VideoGame/DivinityOriginalSinII'', The Divine, the god of the setting, is dead, and there needs to be a new god lest the void destroy all of creation. [[spoiler:The various player characters you can choose, as well as the big bad, are all godswoken, candidates for becoming the new divine]].
** [[spoiler:Turns out he's not dead... [[KillTheGod yet]]. His actions cause the other Seven Gods to starve and incur a VillainousBreakdown, [[SoulEating revealing their hideous atrocities on their own believers]], [[RageAgainstTheHeavens and motivating the party to devour their own gods]]]]. What happens next depends on the main character; [[spoiler:they can seize godhood, give it to someone else, spread its power to everyone, or negotiate a permanent peace treaty with the Void]].

-->Udmildhe [[GameplayAndStoryIntegration suffered -5 Hope]]... [[VillainousBreakdown permanently]].\\

* ''Webcomic/{{Digger}}'' uses TWO versions of this: firstly, “The good man” a [[CrystalDragonJesus Jesus analogue]], is widely believed to have been attacked by jealous mortals and wounded, so his mother helps him to travel over the sea, swearing [[HaveYouSeenMyGod to one day come back]]. However, many refugee children living in the city at the centre of this cult believe that the world is so cruel that he MUST have died, murdered by his mother who went mad with envy when he said he was leaving, and she now roams the under-city as a vengeful goddess. Due to the universe’s ClapYourHandsIfYouBelieve, both of these stories are true. As mentioned above, this is based on a RealLife version of Catholicism that [[http://www.miaminewtimes.com/1997-06-05/news/myths-over-miami/ sprung up amongst Miami’s street children.]] The Digger universe also has [[spoiler: a dead god kept on life-support against his will, so that whilst he lives, so does the daemon possessing him.]]
* ''Webcomic/{{Blue Eyes}}'' This story hits you right off with a double whammy. In the prologue the goddess Renosana [[http://blue-eyes.smackjeeves.com/comics/2284132/prologue-pg-2 dies to rebuild her dying world]] , shortly after several of her [[http://blue-eyes.smackjeeves.com/comics/2290748/prologue-pg-8/ demigod children kill their older sister to inherit her right to rule]].

* In ''Literature/TheSalvationWar'' Satan's already dead [[spoiler:via anti-ship missile to the face, Jesus appears to have been nuked (in reality, he's fine and later becomes TheManBehindTheMan for Heaven itself after the War),]] and Yahweh's [[spoiler:been killed by [[TheStarscream Michael-Lan]].]]

-->''Then pealed the bells, more loud and deep,''
-->''"God is not dead, nor doth He sleep...."''

* ''ComicBook/{{Lobo}}: A Contract on Gawd'' has him graphically murdering "Gawd" and his brother Dave (the Devil {{Expy}}).

** In ''Anime/DragonBallZ'', the universe is ruled in a hierarchy; Kaiōs each rule over a quarter of the living world, and the Kaiōshins each rule over a quarter of the entire universe (including the afterlife), with the Dai-Kaiōshin ruling over them. Sounds impressive, until you realize that Kaiō (the ruler of the north quadrant of the universe) is not even as strong as the first set of villains, and even the Kaiōshin is surpassed in strength by all three of the main heroes at the point where we first see him. As such, there are no fewer than six 'gods' killed in the course of the series; the God of Earth indirectly by Nappa, Kaiō by Cell's self-destruction, and the Kaiōshins of North, South, West and Dai-Kaiōshin by Majin Buu. Although given that the Kaiōs live in the afterlife to begin with, for some of them dying just means a halo appears over their head. On the other hand, being [[TheAssimilator absorbed into Buu]] results in them permanently being fused with his being.
** In ''Anime/DragonBallSuper'' all of the gods of the entire {{multiverse}} in Future Trunks's timeline are dead. Most of them were killed by Goku Black and Zamasu, but the Kaiōshin of Universe 7 (that is, the main universe of the setting) was shown in the [[Manga/DragonBallSuper manga]] to have been killed by Dabura when he and Trunks stopped Buu from being released.

** In ''Discworld/MonstrousRegiment'', the Borogravian god Nuggan died some time ago. Since gods live or die based on their worshippers' belief. It is revealed that [[spoiler: Nuggan died because everyone came to believe in his numerous abominations more than Nuggan himself. Getting assaulted by an irate follower in ''Discworld/TheLastHero'' certainly helped speed the process along.]]

** In ''Discworld/SmallGods'', the Great God Om [[spoiler: narrowly avoids this fate.]]

** In ''Anime/DragonBallZ'', the universe is ruled in a hierarchy; Kaious each rule over a quarter of a galaxy, and the Kaioushins each rule over a quarter of the universe, with the Dai-Kaioushin ruling over them. Sounds impressive, until you realize that Kaiou (The ruler of the North quadrant of the Milky Way) is not even as strong as the first set of villains, and even the Kaioushin is surpassed in strength by all 3 of the main heroes at the point where we first see him. As such, there are no fewer than 6 'gods' killed in the course of the series; the God of Earth indirectly by Nappa, Kaiou by Cell's self-destruction, and the Kaioushins of North, South, West and Dai-Kaioushin by Majin Buu. Although given that the Kaious live in the afterlife to begin with, for some of them dying just means a halo appears over their head. On the other hand, being [[TheAssimilator absorbed into Buu]] results in them permanently being fused with his being.
** In ''Anime/DragonBallSuper'' all of the gods of the entire multiverse in Future Trunks's timeline are dead. Most of them were killed by Goku Black and Zamasu, but the Supreme Kai of Universe 7 (that is, the main universe of the setting) was shown in the [[Manga/DragonBallSuper manga]] to have been killed by Dabura when he and Trunks stopped Buu from being released.
* ''Manga/AngelSanctuary'': The very first sentence: GodIsDead. [[spoiler:He's not actually dead until the very end. [[HaveYouSeenMyGod He's just been absent from Heaven for so long that a lot of the angels think he's dead.]] [[GodIsEvil He turns out to be kind of an evil dick]], so it's not a big loss when he gets killed.]]

[[folder:Web Comics]]

''[[CryForTheDevil May the Scribes have mercy]]

* Happened recursively in ''Webcomic/KillSixBillionDemons''. The Holy Suicide of [[AC:Yisun]] gave birth to the two gods of Existence and Non-Existence, who destroyed themselves to create the pantheon of 777 777 gods, each of whom created a universe through self-annihilation. That doesn't stop people from worshiping them, or from [[AC:Yisun]], gods, and mortals interacting in the lore. However, a fundamental tenet of the religion is to embrace paradox. Meanwhile, the city of Throne is where the gods died, and it's a bit weird; all their corpses are just sitting there, and people used them for housing.

* Rather creatively done in ''WebComic/KillSixBillionDemons''. Yisun, the first and true God, was all. Because it was ''all'', there wasn't anything else, so it grew bored rather quick. Eventually it committed a sort of ritual suicide, splitting itself into two equal parts. Rinse and repeat until there were 77 777 pieces of god going around, who then eventually died out, forming the multiverse.
** This also happens to Demiurges on occasion. Demiurges are those who have somehow managed to get their "hands" on one of the names of god, represented in a key that can be used to access the multiverse. By the time of the comic, only 7 demiurges remain, each possessing a key with 11 111 names.

** If you believe WordOfGod, this is the ultimate goal of the [[ANaziByAnyOtherName Thalmor]] in ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim Skyim]]''. By outlawing the worship of [[WarriorGod Talos]], [[DeityOfHumanOrigin the ascended form of the human Tiber Septim]], they hope to deprive him of worship, [[GodsNeedPrayerBadly unmaking him completely]]. This would have very bad consequences for reality, as Talos is one of the very few remaining locks that support Mundus, the others being the Heart of Lorkhan (destroyed during the events of Morrowind) and the Dragonfires (gone out in Oblivion).

** In the setting of ''WebComic/MyBestFriendMarneao'', the job of God is taken by an angel chosen by a [[CouncilOfAngels council of judges]], with a powerful angel as its right hand. 500 years before the events of the series, God died and was replaced by another angel, [[AmbitionIsEvil who went mad with power]], creating portals to gain control of the universe with dark matter, with this sustance turning anyone it touches into a zombie-like abomination. He enslaved the [[{{Hell}} Inferni]] citizens to work on these portals. This [[GodIsEvil God's]] [[TheDragon right hand]] is Baraquiel, a [[HairTriggerTemper constantly angry]] BadBoss with a severe LackOfEmpathy, and the main BigBad.