History Main / Gotterdammerung

[[folder:Anime and Manga]]

* The {{MMORPG}} ''VideoGame/RagnarokOnline'' had this as part of its backstory--in that the cataclysmic battle of Ragnarok divided gods, demons, and mortals from each other--owing to its origins as part of the overall story of the manwha ''Manhwa/Ragnarok1997''. The published sequel, ''VideoGame/RagnarokIILegendOfTheSecond'', takes place long after the manhwa's story concluded with a ''second'' Ragnarok-like event called the Day of Despair.

* ''VideoGame/LegacyOfKain'': The era in which ''Blood Omen'' is set in. The Circle of Nine, a collective of FisherKing sorcerers who maintain the land and the Pillars of Nosgoth, have been stricken with a curse of insanity, causing the decay of their mental state and of the rest of the land. The protagonist is a slain nobleman recruited by one member of the Circle to kill the rest, in order to purify the Pillars and make way for a new Circle.

* The {{MMORPG}} ''VideoGame/RagnarokOnline'' had this as part of its backstory--in that the cataclysmic battle of Ragnarok divided gods, demons, and mortals from each other--owing to its origins as part of the overall story of the manwha ''Manhwa/{{Ragnarok}}''. The published sequel, ''VideoGame/RagnarokIILegendOfTheSecond'', takes place long after the manhwa's story concluded with a ''second'' Ragnarok-like event called the Day of Despair.

* ''VideoGame/{{Metroid}}'' plays with this trope. The [[{{Precursors}} Chozo]] are a race of advanced bird-like beings who wield LostTechnology and left behind ruins that incorporated OrganicTechnology all over the galaxy. In fact, as stated in the Lore of the second two Prime games, each endangered/extinct civilization {{Samus|IsAGirl}} visits (Tallon IV, Aether, Bryyo, Elysia) had some connections to the Chozo race, and they often left behind ''[[UpgradeArtifact relics in the form of Power Suit Upgrades]]''. Also mentioned in the Lore of the Prime series is the decline and/or extinction of the Chozo (hence the Gotterdammerung) at the hands of a mysterious "star-borne terror" revealed to be [[spoiler:a Leviathan Seed, ''[[{{ToxicPhlebotinum}} the source of all]] [[PsychoSerum Phazon]]'']]. All of the {{Malevolent|Architecture}}/{{Foreboding|Architecture}} [[EternalEngine Architecture]] and LostTechnology the Chozo left behind tend to be very important whenever Samus has a case of the BagOfSpilling.

** Some researchers suggest that Ragnarök is a much later introduction due to Christian influence and may not have been part of the original cosmology at all. Others believe it to be a sign of the cyclical time-view of the Germanic pagans. The old German poem ''Muspilli'' is theorized to be a straight [[HijackedByJesus Christianized version]] of Ragnarök with Surtr replaced by the Antichrist whom Elias--replacing Thor--fights, Loki by the old friend. Since the end of that poem has been lost and the last remaining part is kind of a GainaxEnding, it is hard to tell if it is indeed a Christianized or a straight Christian poem, but as the battle in the poem is described as a "''battle without victory''" one can assume it does [[DownerEnding not end well]].

The term was popularized by Music/RichardWagner in his ''Theatre/DerRingDesNibelungen'' opera cycle. This is a German translation of the Old Norse "''Ragnarökkr''" ("twilight of the gods"), which was itself a poetic alternate name for the [[Myth/NorseMythology Norse]] term ''Ragnarök'': The "ragna" part (nominative: ''regin'') means "gods" or "the powers" and "rök" has several meanings like "fate," "development," "relation," "cause," and, surprisingly, "origin."

* ''WesternAnimation/TheTransformersTheMovie'' can be analogous to a Ragnarök in that it represented the end of the original status quo of the series. It begins with a surprise invasion of Autobot City by the Decepticons and the mortal wounding of the Autobot leader, [[BigGood Optimus Prime]]. He passes the responsibilities of leadership, represented by the [[{{MacGuffin}} the Matrix of Leadership]], to Ultra Magnus, but he proves unworthy of it. Meanwhile, [[BigBad Megatron]] is abandoned by his power-hungry minions before being resurrected into Galvitron by EldritchAbomination PlanetEater Unicron and becoming his agent to destroy the Matrix, which is the only thing that can kill him. The remaining heroes are scattered across worlds until finally converging in an UltimateShowdownOfUltimateDestiny between Hot Rod and Galvitron over the Matrix in the center of Unicron's head. This is when Hot Rod realizes his potential as Prime's true successor and defeats both of them, and leads the Autobots into a brighter future.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheTransformersTheMovie'' can be analogous to a Ragnarök in that it represented the end of the original status quo of the series. It begins with a surprise invasion of Autobot City by the Decepticons and the mortal wounding of the Autobot leader [[BigGood Optimus Prime]]. He passes the responsibilities of leadership, represented by the {{MacGuffin}}, the Matrix of Leadership, to Ultra Magnus, but he proves unworthy of it. Meanwhile, [[BigBad Megatron]] is abandoned by his power-hunger minions before being resurrected into Galvitron by EldritchAbomination PlanetEater Unicron and becoming his agent to destroy the Matrix, which is the only thing that can kill him. The remaining heroes are scattered across worlds until finally converge in an UltimateShowdownOfUltimateDestiny between Hot Rod and Galvitron over the Matrix in the center of Unicron's head, where Hot Rod realizes his potential as Prime's true successor and defeats both of them, and leads the Autobots into a brighter future.

* A variant appears in the first trilogy for ''Literature/{{Dragonlance}}''; the gods of old are gone, and with them all their magic, but not because of any war. They devastated the world with a terrible Cataclysm, stole away all of their healing magic, and then turned their back on mortals because mortals would not accept that they were to blame for all this. [[StrawmanHasAPoint A lot of readers sympathise with the viewpoint that the gods can go screw themselves]]. The first trilogy ends with the gods coming back. Though actual Gotterdammerungs are the focus of later trilogies, as well.

* One of the ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'' novels revolves around the "Apotheosis". Apparently in response to [[DeathOfTheOldGods many older gods dying]], newer ones pop into existence from out of mankind's imagination, then begin to compete with each other by accruing worshippers and fighting to the death, either forming a new generation or ensuring they don't go out quietly. It's happened multiple times in history, with the Titanomachy and Ragnarok being name dropped.

*** The protagonists run into an AlternateTimeline where this ''should've'' happened as per Norse mythology but it went horribly wrong halfway through and permanently stalled, resulting in its removal from history by the world. [[spoiler:The key factor in the PointOfDivergence was Surtr, incredibly angry that his sole purpose was to end the Norse Age of Gods and then simply die, deciding to embark on a SuicidalCosmicTemperTantrum and destroy ''everything'' instead. His consuming Fenrir before it could kill Odin allowed him to assimilate its ice power, making Surtr far too powerful for the Norse Pantheon to stop, with the end result being him killing all of the gods except for Skadi, who became the sole remaining goddess after Odin fused her with the Lostbelt version of Scathach, before sacrificing himself to seal Surtr away.]] The protagonists end up having to finish the job and wipe out the Norse pantheon for good so they can eliminate the timeline from its parasitic fixture on Earth, while the remaining Norse deities try their damnedest to stop them. [[spoiler:The protagonists end up inadvertently unsealing Surtr, who intends to finish the job on this timeline and burn all the other ones to ash [[LoveMakesYouCrazy out of love for the Crypter Ophelia]], forcing both sides to work together to put a stop to him because that would be ''even worse'' than the current situation before they go at it for the final clash between themselves.]]

** [[https://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20181219 Something pretty similar]] happened to a group of prehistoric [[GodEmperor God-Queen]]s who ruled long ago. The majority of them were slaughtered save for a handful, at the hands of someone with incompehensibly advanced technology ([[spoiler:that somebody being Lucrezia, the Other]]).

* ''VideoGame/EldenRing'' takes place in the aftermath of a cataclysm known as the Shattering. It began with the theft of the Rune of Death from the titular [[CosmicKeystone Elden Ring]], the metaphysical codification of the world's natural laws, and its use to murder several of the immortal demigods, starting with the beloved Godwyn the Golden. Then the Elden Ring itself was somehow shattered, simultaneous with the disappearance of the "one true god" [[GodEmperor Queen Marika the Eternal]]. This led to a power vacuum in which the surviving demigods fought a vicious civil war, mostly over the shards of the Elden Ring, which devastated the land and left ''nobody'' victorious. By the time the player character steps in, civilization is almost nonexistent, and the last demigods have diminished in power and sanity to the point that you alone can slay them and claim the shards of the Elden Ring they hold yourself. Depending on your choices, you may repair the Elden Ring (with or without certain changes) and become the land's new ruler, or you could join the rogue demigod Ranni and usher in a new, stranger age.

* ''VideoGame/EldenRing'' takes place in the aftermath of a cataclysm known as the Shattering. It began with the theft of the Rune of Death from the titular Elden Ring, the metaphysical codification of the world's natural laws, and which was used to murder several of the immortal demigods. Then the Elden Ring itself was somehow shattered, simultaneous with the disappearance of the "one true god" [[GodEmperor Queen Marika]]. This led to a power vacuum in which the surviving demigods fought a vicious civil war, mostly over the shards of the Elden Ring, which devastated the land and left ''nobody'' victorious. By the time the player character steps in, civilization is almost nonexistent, and the last demigods have diminished in power and sanity to the point that you alone can slay them and claim the shards of the Elden Ring they hold yourself. Depending on your choices, you may repair the Elden Ring (with or without certain changes) and become the land's new ruler, or you could join the rogue demigod Ranni and usher in a new, stranger age.

** ''VideoGame/GodOfWarPS4'' opens with Kratos and his son living in [[Myth/NorseMythology Midgard.]] As usual, the major players in Norse mythology are all aware of Ragnarök and how they'll die in it: Odin, in particular, will cross any line to prevent it coming to pass. However, Kratos killing [[spoiler:Baldur]] at the end of the game (to prevent him killing his own mother; the guy had it coming) triggers Ragnarök a few hundred years early and catches everyone off guard. Cue ''VideoGame/GodOfWarRagnarok'', which is ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin: [[spoiler:but not really. It turns out the prophecy of Ragnarök was a lie told to trick Odin; the ''real'' prophecy doesn't foretell the destruction of all the Nine Realms, but the destruction of Asgard alone beneath an alliance of all the other realms.]]

** ''VideoGame/GodOfWarPS4'' opens with Kratos and his son living in [[Myth/NorseMythology Midgard.]] As usual, the major players in Norse mythology are all aware of Ragnarök and how they'll die in it: Odin, in particular, will cross any line to prevent it coming to pass. However, Kratos killing [[spoiler:Baldur]] at the end of the game (to prevent him killing his own mother; the guy had it coming) triggers Ragnarök a few hundred years early and catches everyone off guard. Cue ''VideoGame/GodOfWarRagnarok'', which is ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin.

* {{Referenced}} in ''Franchise/DotHack'': the "Twilight of the New Gods" was a two-year period when internet access became unavailable to the general public due to the Pluto's Kiss virus attack on December 25, 2005. The "New Gods" refers to technology in general. It is also during this period that the prototype of the MMORPG known as "''The World''" was in development.

** The original ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaI Legend Of Zelda]]'' is this for the Zelda timeline. The Hero of Time was slain, Ganon's hordes destroyed the world, the Triforce has long since been shattered. All that remains of Hyrule are a few old men and women cowering in caves. [[BackFromTheBrink And then a wanderer appears,]] garbed in a familiar green tunic.
** Despite the game's ending being [[DawnOfAnEra quite the opposite]], the Lanayru region in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaSkywardSword'' certainly elicits the feel. Derelict MagiTek artifacts lay rusted everywhere, though they can be temporarily brought back to life with some time-flux hijinks.

*** The protagonists run into an AlternateTimeline where this ''should've'' happened as per Norse mythology but it went horribly wrong halfway through and permanently stalled, resulting in its removal from history by the world. [[spoiler:The key factor was Surtr consuming Fenrir before it could kill Odin, making Surtr far too powerful and him killing pretty much all the gods except for Skadi, who became the sole remaining goddess while Odin sacrificed himself to seal Surtr away.]] The protagonists end up having to finish the job and wipe out the Norse pantheon for good so they can eliminate the timeline from its parasitic fixture on Earth, while the remaining Norse deities try their damnedest to stop them. [[spoiler:The protagonists end up inadvertently unsealing Surtr, who intends to finish the job on this timeline and burn all the other ones to ash [[LoveMakesYouCrazy out of love for the Crypter Ophelia]], forcing both sides to work together to put a stop to him because that would be ''even worse'' than the current situation before they go at it for the final clash between themselves.]]

** ''VideoGame/GodOfWar2018'' opens with Kratos and his son living in [[Myth/NorseMythology Midgard.]] As usual, the major players in Norse mythology are all aware of Ragnarök and how they'll die in it: Odin, in particular, will cross any line to prevent it coming to pass. However, Kratos killing [[spoiler:Baldur]] at the end of the game (to prevent him killing his own mother; the guy had it coming) triggers Ragnarök a few hundred years early and catches everyone off guard. Cue ''VideoGame/GodOfWarRagnarok'', which is ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin.

* ''VideoGame/TheBannerSaga'' has this, as should come to know surprise considering how much the game borrows from Norse mythology. The gods are dead, the sun frozen in place in the sky, and a seemingly invincible army known as the Dredge is tearing a path through the North... in ''fear'', as they're hysterically fleeing from an encroaching wall of radioactive darkness that mutates anyone it touches into violent, eldritch monsters. The player's goal is not safety, but survival.