History Main / GodJob

* In ''Supernatural'' Dean is temporarily made into a reaper to do Death's job for one day as part of a deal, if he wins then Death will retrieve Sam's soul [[spoiler:he fails]].

* In ''Supernatural'' Dean is temporarily made into a reaper to do Death's job for one day as part of a deal, if he wins then Death will retrieve Sam's soul [spoiler: he fails].

* {{Discworld}}:

* While note, strictly speaking, Gods (though many mortals worship them), being an Archetype of UnknownArmies is definitely a GodJob. To qualify, you need to be a supremely empathic person with a strong soul, and behave in strict accordance with a specific idea of what a human being can be, like TheFool, TheTrickster, or [[TheHecateSisters The Mother]]. Archetypes can be deposed by other people who walk a similar (but not identical) path to theirs and symbolically demonstrate their superiority to the reigning Archetype. Alternately, if most of humanity stops imagining an Archetype, then that Archetype disappears and whatever mortal held that office is cast down. The latter doesn't happen often, though; for an Archetype to exist in the first place, it has to be universally ingrained in the collective unconscious of humanity as a "thing," and ideas like that don't disappear easily.

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* This might be {{Wild Mass Guessing}} but in ''{{The Sandman}}'' it's theorized that the Endless work this way. The main example being Despair; the mortal person who killed the first Despair [[AndThenJohnWasAZombie became Despair as punishment.]] [[spoiler: Dream does something kind of similar, as the son of the person who killed him becomes the second Dream, although he had been groomed for the role for quite some time]].

* The Santa variant of this trope is seen in ''TheSantaClause''. Whoever puts on Santa's clothes following the previous Santa's death becomes the new Santa, with all the abilities, appearance quirks and duties this implies.
** They do, however, keep certain characteristics of their old self. The third movie deals with what would have happened if someone ''evil'' got the suit- a crass commercial greedy Santa.

** In ''Discworld/ThiefOfTime'', the Anthropomorphic Personification of Time retires and is replaced by her son.
** Death is a role that must be filled, and when no one is around to do it, things get... weird. Nowadays his mostly-human granddaughter usually covers for him when he feels like [[DeathTakesAHoliday taking a holiday]]- not out of her own will, but because if he goes too long without doing the Duty, she starts displaying more Death-like traits and has no choice in the matter. She's generally quite indignant about the whole thing.

* Once in ''XenaWarriorPrincess,'' Ares loses his powers and it turns out that the god of war is a title; without someone in the position, violent urges in humans run rampant.

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* While note, strictly speaking, Gods (though many mortals worship them), being an Archetype of UnknownArmies is definitely a GodJob. To qualify, you need to be a supremely empathic person with a strong soul, and behave in strict accordance with a specific idea of what a human being can be, like TheFool, TheTrickster, or [[TheHecateSisters The Mother]]. Archetypes can be deposed by other people who walk a similar (but not identical) path to theirs and symbolically demonstrate their superiority to the reigning Archetype. Alternately, if most of humanity stops imagining an Archetype, then that Archetype disappears and whatever mortal held that office is cast down. The latter doesn't happen often, though; for an Archetype to exist in the first place, it has to be universally ingrained in the collective unconscious of humanity as a "thing," and ideas like that don't disappear easily.

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** Also, from ''TheElderScrolls'', according to popular myth (and an encounter in ''{{Morrowind}}''), the god Talos was once the mortal Tiber Septim. Then there's the whole PhysicalGod business of the tribunal.

** Your daughter has to be pretty evil (high in sin) for this to happen, and it's mentioned in the ending that the job passes to the most "suitable candidate". Namely, your by now very evil daughter. If a less sinful daughter had killed Lucifon, things wouldn't have ended so badly (Though some other sinful person would have to take the job.)
* This is how Kratos became the ''VideoGame/GodOfWar''.
* In ''VideoGame/{{The World Ends with You}}'', anyone powerful enough to kill the [[PhysicalGod Composer]] can become the new Composer themselves, granting them the authority to judge the souls of the dead.

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*** In ''Discworld/{{Mort}}'' it's implied that taking an apprentice was Death's XanatosGambit to retire for good after conning a replacement to do the job for him. It didn't work out, and ultimately Death's sense of Duty (capital 'D' necessary) was too great to seriously try again.
**** Nope. Death just wanted to marry off his adopted daughter, knowing that Mort will screw eventually up and she will have to help him set things right. Death just didn't anticipate how much Mort will manage to screw up and how hard it will be on him (Death) to say away.

* While note, strictly speaking, Gods (though many mortals worship them), being an Archetype of UnknownArmies is definitely a GodJob. To qualify, you need to be a supremely empathic person with a strong soul, and behave in strict accordance with a specific idea of what a human being can be, like TheFool, TheTrickster, or [[TheHecateSisters TheMother]]. Archetypes can be deposed by other people who walk a similar (but not identical) path to theirs and symbolically demonstrate their superiority to the reigning Archetype. Alternately, if most of humanity stops imagining an Archetype, then that Archetype disappears and whatever mortal held that office is cast down. The latter doesn't happen often, though; for an Archetype to exist in the first place, it has to be universally ingrained in the collective unconscious of humanity as a "thing," and ideas like that don't disappear easily.

* The whole point of ''BruceAlmighty''.

* This is how Kratos became the ''GodOfWar''.

** Immortality is more than stretching it for Time (who retains his office for precisely as long as he lived before gaining it, since [[spoiler: he lives BACKWARDS in time, and 'dies' at the moment of his birth]]).

* In ''{{The World Ends with You}}'', anyone powerful enough to kill the [[PhysicalGod Composer]] can become the new Composer themselves, granting them the authority to judge the souls of the dead.

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* Used in one ending of ''PrincessMaker''. Your daughter finds a way to defeat the ultimate evil (Lucifon) once and for all, only to get a TomatoSurprise since noone had an idea that YouKillItYouBoughtIt was in effect. (This is of course, another "do not mess with the 'natural' order" type trope.)

* Gods in the ''ForgottenRealms'' work this way: Being a god is a matter of having a god's portfolio (essentially a god's authority over a specific domain). Many if not most of the gods of the realms used to be mortals at some points.

* The Guardians of Earth from ''DragonBallZ''. Literally called "Kami," which means "God."

* Common in Chinese myth, where a good official on Earth might be promoted to godhood.

There's all sorts of odd jobs in the world, and some odd jobs require to be a god, making them {{God Job}}s.

* The Guardians of Earth from DragonBallZ. Literally called "Kami," which means "God."
* The basic premise of ''IncarnationsOfImmortality'' is this: Various concepts (Death, War, Time, Nature, Fate, Evil, Good and Night/Secrets) are held by god-like beings who are in fact mortals charged with these offices, gaining immortality and supreme power over their respective domains in the process.
* Gods in the ForgottenRealms work this way: Being a god is a matter of having a god's portfolio (essentially a god's authority over a specific domain). Many if not most of the gods of the realms used to be mortals at some points.
* The Santa variant of this trope is seen in "TheSantaClause". Whoever puts on Santa's clothes following the previous Santa's death becomes the new Santa, with all the abilities, appearance quirks and duties this implies.

* This might be {{Wild Mass Guessing}} but in {{The Sandman}} it's theorized that the Endless work this way. The main example being Despair; the mortal person who killed the first Despair [[AndThenJohnWasAZombie became Despair as punishment.]] [[spoiler: Dream does something kind of similar, as the son of the person who killed him becomes the second Dream, although he had been groomed for the role for quite some time]].
** Wait. We never found out who Despair was before she was Despair. We know that the person who killed the first Despair was punished horribly. Where does it say that the current Despair was the person who killed the first Despair? One of us is confused here.
*** That's why it's ''WildMassGuessing''.
* At the end of TheElderScrollsFour: Oblivion[[ColonCancer : The Shivering Isles]], [[spoiler:the PlayerCharacter becomes Sheogorath, the God of Madness.]]
** Also, from ''TheElderScrolls'', according to popular myth (and an encounter in ''{{Morrowind}}''), the god Talos was once the mortal Tiber Septim. Then there's the whole PhysicalGod business of the tribunal.
* Used in one ending of ''PrincessMaker''. Your daughter finds a way to defeat the ultimate evil (Lucifon) once and for all, only to get a TomatoSurprise since noone had an idea that YouKillItYouBoughtIt was in effect. (This is of course, another "do not mess with the 'natural' order" type trope.)
** Your daughter has to be pretty evil (high in sin) for this to happen, and it's mentioned in the ending that the job passes to the most "suitable candidate". Namely, your by now very evil daughter. If a less sinful daughter had killed Lucifon, things wouldn't have ended so badly (Though some other sinful person would have to take the job.)
* This is how Kratos became the ''GodOfWar''.
* The reapers of ''DeadLikeMe'' work like this. The last person they reap before moving on gets the job.

** In Discworld/ThiefOfTime, the Anthropomorphic Personification of Time retires and is replaced by her son.

* In the Mythology of the Modern World stories on BanterLatte, some of the {{Anthropomorphic Personification}}s (such as the Neighborhood Coordinator) work this way, while others are supernatural beings that were never mortal.
* In ''FamilyGuy'', Peter has to become Death when the reaper twists his ankle. It's also told in another episode that Death inherited the job from his father.
* In ''SluggyFreelance'' all holiday figures (Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, Tom Turkey, etc.) can die and be replaced, with the person killing them having the "right of caste" to claim the role for themselves. With Santa Claus, however, [[YouKillItYouBoughtIt taking on the job after killing him is mandatory]].
* The Skypeia Arc of ''OnePiece'' takes place in the White Sea, which distinctly resembles FluffyCloudHeaven, and is ruled by someone who holds the office of "God." Not quite an example, since it's just a title; although the title ''did'' get transferred through a kind of KlingonPromotion: the current God got it by defeating the previous one, ''and'' he was not that far off, power-wise: NighInvulnerable AND capable of avoiding attacks by predicting an enemy's moves AND [[MagicalDefibrillator restarting his own heart]], capable of hearing anything said in his domain, plus enough [[ShockAndAwe offensive power]] to qualify as a PersonOfMassDestruction.

* [[spoiler:''{{Tasakeru}}'' explores the various complications of an outcast being selected to fulfill the role of a God.]]

* ''{{Lost}}'': The protector of the island gets all sorts of cool powers, gets to set the rules for the island, and never ages. However, he can be killed by conventional means, so he must perpetually seek a replacement. Also, [[spoiler:the finale implies that what's being protected is, at least in part, the afterlife, which the protector can never experience until he finds a successor and dies.]]

* The Skypeia Arc of ''OnePiece'' takes place in the White Sea, which distinctly resembles FluffyCloudHeaven, and is ruled by someone who holds the office of "God." Not quite an example, since it's just a title; although the title ''did'' get transferred through a kind of KlingonPromotion: the current God got it by defeating the previous one, ''and'' he was not that far off, power-wise: NighInvulnerable AND capable of avoiding attacks by predicting an enemy's moves AND [[MagicalDefibrillator restarting his own heart]], capable of hearing anything said in his domain, plus enough [[ShockAndAwe offensive power]] to qualify as a PersonOfMassDestruction.

* In FamilyGuy, Peter has to become Death when the reaper twists his ankle. It's also told in another episode that Death inherited the job from his father.