History Main / OurGodsAreGreater

%% Do note that the word "god" is never capitalized unless it's a proper noun referring to someone who is named "God".

[[quoteright:279:[[Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/OrderOfTheStick_Gods_5142.JPG]]]]
[[caption-width-right:279:[-They dispute over [[{{Psychopomp}} the souls of the dead]], sometimes.-] ]]

->''And when they heard these sayings, they were full of wrath, and cried out, saying, Great is Diana of the Ephesians.''
-->-- '''Acts 19:28''', Literature/TheBible

Gods. [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ignosticism What is meant by that word?]]

In fiction? A whole lot. There really aren't many similarities between gods. Lots of tropes go with gods and religion. A god might be the classical {{God}} of Ethical Monotheism: [[TheOmnipotent omnipotent]], [[TheOmniscient omniscient]] and infinitely good. That's on one scale. On the other side she might be an [[Anime/{{Kamichu}} easily embarrassed teenage girl]]. Or he might be a Superhero that, despite his godhood, gets beaten up by [[Franchise/MarvelUniverse people empowered by radioactive slime]].

A general minimum requirement for a character to be considered divine, though, is that regardless of their power level and number and conviction of their followers (if any) the ''narrative'' should acknowledge them as an actual god at some point. Without that, "mere" {{sufficiently advanced alien}}s, {{eldritch abomination}}s, {{physical god}}s of "lesser" pedigree, and of course mortal pretenders to the title do not usually qualify.

Another trait almost universally associated with gods is having a divine portfolio or sphere of influence -- that is, the thing(s) they are the gods ''of''. (The main exception would be in the case of a monotheist capital-G {{God}}, who can go without an explicit job description by virtue of lacking competition and generally already being the "god of ''everything''" anyway.)

In some settings, gods are omnipotent, strange, or scary; in others, they are basically just people, and sometimes not even particularly powerful ones. In some, [[EldritchAbomination just thinking about them can drive you mad]].

Basically, gods can be distinguished based on several criteria:

'''Power'''\\
How powerful is the god? What can he or she achieve? This ranges from ...
* [[TheOmnipotent Omnipotence]]: Can do anything, although Aquinas would usually put in the limit "anything that it is possible to do."
* Omnipotence, but with some kind of rules in place; might even be [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omnipotence_paradox self-imposed]], but the point is that the god won't break them.
* Scarily powerful but still capable of being outwitted or even defeated using some kind of [[MacGuffin magical artifact]].
* Above the power-level of "normal" people in whatever universe, but still capable of being [[DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu defeated in mundane ways]] (generally the way of {{Physical God}}s)
* Just an ordinary guy of the setting, who happens to be a god.
* Powers are useless or so very restricted that they are functionally useless: Many OddJobGods are like this.

'''Immortality'''\\
Gods are almost always immortal. However, the meaning of "immortal" changes from context to context.
* Absolute Immortality with [[TheAgeless Agelessness]] and instant {{healing|Factor}}/[[NighInvulnerability invulnerability]]: can never die, is not affected by age, and either recovers instantly from anything, or is invincible.
* Absolute Immortality: can never die, under any circumstances, ever. However, [[AgeWithoutYouth sometimes get old]].
* Advanced Immortality: cannot die of old age. However, can be killed under certain circumstances. Such as, beheading them with a sacred sword, during a certain cosmic event might kill them, but not fire, bullets, or being stabbed.
* Simple Immortality: don't die of old age, but can be killed by anyone with enough strength to bypass their defenses.
* Dependence: immortality requires something to be sustained, perhaps a special food or drink, or prayers from mortal worshipers.

'''Needs'''\\
Gods have been known to need or not need certain things.
* Completely independent: does not need food, drink, sleep, air, or anything else to function.
* Sleep: requires sleep to function
* Sustenance and Sleep: requires food and drink(perhaps special food and drink), as well as sleep.
* Sustenance: needs food and drink to function, but not sleep.
* [[GodsNeedPrayerBadly Prayers]]: requires prayers from mortal worshipers to survive.
* Sustenance and Prayers
* Prayers and Sleep
* Sustenance, Sleep, and Prayers: pretty much the bottom of the barrel. Needs them all.

'''Anthropomorphism'''\\
How "Human" is the god? This deals more with emotion and personality rather than power. An omnipotent god can remain scarily human (such as LightNovel/HaruhiSuzumiya). A few possible variations:
* Overarching Cosmic Principle: Does not have a "mind" or "personality" as such, but is still somehow responsible for operating things. Might need an avatar (or some kind of lesser god) to communicate with people.
* Ineffable: God has a mind or personality but it is simply impossible for human beings to grasp or comprehend.
* Disembodied Mind: They have a mind and a personality, but not a ''body''. They are just spirits — powerful spirits.
* PhysicalGod: Human, but bigger in size, perhaps somewhat smarter, with big powers. Or with a greater knowledge of the universe. Have personality traits, anyway.
* More than human: God is mostly human but still possesses some traits that are distinctly inhuman. (As far as personality and not power, etc. goes, that is.) Usually this god is an avatar of some kind of principle and has a personality that matches.
* Just a guy: [[GodJob A god that is essentially a human being doing a job.]]
* Subhuman God: The god is more like an animal than a human being.

'''Morality'''\\
Gods can be moral or immoral or neither.
* Above Morality: The god is simply [[AboveGoodAndEvil above that kind of stuff]], or simply [[BlueAndOrangeMorality can't understand it]].
* Paragon: God is the embodiment of [[GodIsGood Good]] and/or [[GodIsEvil Evil]]. A common variation is that a Good God of this type cannot understand or fathom Evil.
* Exemplar: A god is strongly tied to morality in some fashion, but does not strictly embody it.
* Human: A god is essentially a [[LargeAndInCharge bigger, badder]] human with no special morality status.

'''Numbers'''\\
How many gods are there?
* Monotheism: There is one definite discrete God entity. And only one. She/He/They/It may or may not have agents around, who may or may not qualify for godhood in any other setting, but the god is definitely the only god.
* Dualism : there are two completely equal divine forces, usually one Good and the other Evil, but a male and a female god is relatively common as well. Other systems might also exist (trialism?).
* Henotheism: There are multiple gods, but one god is greater than the others. (usually the Creator God who is usually inaccessible) sometimes this is taken in such a way that there are distinct aspects of gods that are all aspects of one single god, but for all practical purposes they act as independent entities.
* Monolatrism: There are many gods, but we only worship one. This is either a form of henotheism (you guys can worship your lesser gods, but we worship the Big Guy) or polytheism (you have your god, we have ours).
* Polytheism: There are multiple gods, usually arranged in some kind of pantheon. There might be rankings between them, and one is usually considered the head of the pantheon, but he is only different in status and not in nature and might be overthrown.
* Animism: There are zillions of gods. Indeed, everything probably has a god, including individual blades of grass. The more gods there are the less powerful each individual god seems to be, [[ConservationOfNinjutsu for some reason]].
* Pantheism: overlaps with and occasionally reverts back to monotheism. God is singular and totally pervasive. All that exists is God, God is all that exists.

'''Place in the Universe'''\\
Where do gods come from and what do they do?
This is a catch-all category for what gods do. Questions that can be raised are:
* Did the gods create the universe?
* Do the GodsNeedPrayerBadly?
* What do they actually ''do''?
* [[GodJob Can mortals ascend to godhood]]?

Etc. Etc.

For related tropes, see GodTropes and TropesOfTheDivine.

----
!!Examples:

[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder:Anime and Manga]]
* The Truth in ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist''. It bears the knowledged of everything and imitates the voice and a bit of the appearance of the person it speaks to.
* The ''{{Digimon}}'' multiverse have different godlike characters, and how all-powerful they are or aren't varies; as ''all'' {{Digimon}} are data in our computer networks and play by the same rules, none of them are completely untouchable. ''Adventure'' and ''Tamers'' have Digimon versions of TheFourGods. Interestingly, the Adventure version has it that the {{Cosmic Keystone}}s that are important to them are something that exists in ''every'' world, and the multiverse-destroying consequences of their destruction would be the same whether you broke the Digital World's "Destiny Stones," the Kyoto temples analogous to them in our world, or their counterparts in any other universe. ''Frontier'' has a trio of Mega-level angel Digimon; Seraphimon, Ophanimon, and Cherubimon. Their ''Adventure'' counterparts are the highest forms of Patamon and Kokomon, respectively (Ophanimon doesn't appear prior to Frontier) and they're ''so'' not gods; the rules are just different in the ''Frontier''-verse. Also, before them, the position was held by the Ten Legendary Warriors that the heroes' Digimon forms are actually avatars of. Before ''them,'' the position was held by Lucemon, but he made a FaceHeelTurn and they were who kicked him out. We've seen great feats of power from everyone on that list. Multiple unrelated continuities have Yggdrasil/King Drasil, who isn't a Digimon but the computer that runs the digital world. Or rather, it's the persona taken on by the computer that runs the Digital World. So, within one franchise, the power level and nature of the characters treated as gods by others can vary. Of course, the true creators of the Digital World are ''humans,'' but for some reason nobody ever worships them.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Comic Books]]
* In ''ComicBook/{{Watchmen}}'', [[strike:the superman]] [[AGodAmI God exists, and he's American]]. For those who haven't read the book, it's Dr. Manhattan.
** However Dr. Manhattan doesn't believe he's a God, and in fact doesn't believe in God at all.
--> "''I don't think there is a god. And if there is, I'm nothing like him''"
** Then again, [[spoiler: at the end he undergoes a shift in philosophy, realizing the "miracle" of every individual life and it's value, and decides to go off elsewhere to create some on his own]]
* Marvel and DC tend to take the Henotheistic route, with one supreme God occasionally referred too (and more rarely, seen) with a number of gods, demons and entities fulfilling various roles beneath him.
** Gods in the Franchise/MarvelUniverse tend to be fairly powerful, and may or may not be powered by belief DependingOnTheWriter.
*** Asgardians, Olympians, Heliopolitans and others are extra-dimensional superhumans who exist as the gods of various Earth pantheons (Norse, Greek, Egyptian etc.). The average god is immortal (with subtle differences in mechanics depending on the pantheon), far stronger, faster and more durable than humans, and possesses greater magical potential. The more notable ones like Thor and Hercules are incredibly strong even by their races standards, while gods like Loki (who is actually a very small Frost Giant) and Set (the Egyptian one, different from the Elder God, see below) gain power through other means like magic and stealing power from other gods. Death Gods are members of each pantheon who have made a pact with the abstract cosmic entity Death that gives them the rights to claim souls according to certain conditions (eg. they worship a god/gods of the given pantheon, or died in the pantheons realm); the Death God rules a portion of the Splinter Realms (a shattered netherworld that used to be Hell) that represents their pantheon; the more souls a Death God rules, the stronger they become. Above all are the Skyfathers, the chieftains like Zeus and Odin, who wield nigh-omnipotent power that goes with their station, Odin being the strongest of them all with his Odinforce.
**** Things are made ''even'' more complicated by the Abrahamic God, who tends to appear mainly in ''Series/GhostRider'', though it's implied he coordinates with the Skyfathers as well as being more powerful than them, including Odin.
**** Some writers occasionally show a more metaphysical side to Earth's gods. Different stories have implied they were formed by mankind's beliefs, that as long as humans belief in them they can come back from death (though they don't need it to exist), to having some sort of link with Earth or the civilizations that worshiped them. Other writers treat them as just superpowered beings from another dimension (this tends to be the canon, and the former contradicts a few details, like some gods being around before humanity even existed).
**** Current (at least 2010-) Loki stories paint a very {{meta|fiction}} picture: That gods are ''trope based lifeforms'', literal living myth and metaphor. So they are immortal because ideas don't really die (worst case scenario: they remember themselves, but many have libraries for a reason). Also [[TheoryOfNarrativeCausality they are defined by their stories]], and are [[RewritingReality literally rewritable/tellable if someone can find the right texts and tools]] (the manuscript of their authorized biography, or a legendary prophecy counts more than fanfic on the internet etc.). Take this FictionIdentityPostulate and MST3KMantra and go in piece!
*** The Elder Gods are magical entities born on Earth who, with two heroic exceptions, degenerated into demons as they began cannibalising each other. They are extraordinarily powerful creatures and Earth has numerous magical spells and barriers set up to prevent them returning, though they still exert influence where they can. The Elder Gods, along with various other demons like Dormammu and Shuma-Gorath, are all nigh-omnipotent, especially in their own dimensions, and are themselves worshipped as gods in their own right, as are magical entities like Cyttorak. Other demons like Mephisto who rule the other portions of the Splinter Realms are called Hell Lords; they likewise have a pact with Death, and all gain more power the more souls are in their death realm.
*** Most are still lower on the totem-pole than the various entities that govern the universe- Comicbook/{{Galactus}}, Eternity, Death, Infinity, Oblivion, etc.- who are abstract beings that represent fundamental aspects of existence, e.g. Eternity personifies Time, Infinity personifies Space etc, and they are all aspects of beings that personify them across the multiverse, with each verse having it's counterpart for them [[note]] Eternity has claimed that Chthon is a threat to him; Dormammu's power fluctuates and on a good day he can at least give any these guys a serious fight; and Shuma-Gorath may be stronger than everyone listed so-far as he rules more than a ''hundred'' universes. Galactus's power also tends to fluctuate (depending on how well-fed he is) and he has sometimes been so weak he can be defeated by teams of human heroes, and both gods and mortals can increase their power to the level of an Abstract or beyond with the use of certain {{Amplifier Artifact}}s, such as the Infinity Gauntlet / Gems, the Heart of the Universe and others, or in the case of certain beings might actually have particular superpowers on-par with these entities, or even beyond.[[/note]]. The Phoenix Force, which is also worshipped in some places, guards the M'Krann Crystal and hence the Multiverse, and is stronger than Galactus, whose existence is necessary to keep imprisoning OmnicidalManiac Abraxas, a nigh-omnipotent being that threatens the multiverse. Celestials and the Watchers are {{Sufficiently Advanced Alien}}s that wield godlike power, the former so much that even supposed omnipotents feel beneath them. Random all-powerful beings like the Beyonder and the Stranger pop up from time to time. And of course, the Living Tribunal. The One Above All, however, is essentially analogous to God and is above and in charge of everyone and everything else else. Appropriately enough, he looks like Jack Kirby, and hints that he has a writing partner presumed to be Stan Lee.
*** This trope was put to a more literal test during ''Comicbook/SecretInvasion'', when a strike team of Earth gods went to kill the Skrull gods.
*** Also ComicBook/NickFury's God [[ComicBook/TheMightyThor has a hammer]].
* In Franchise/TheDCU gods tend to range from being incredibly powerful superhuman individuals more akin to physical gods (Most of the New Gods, Onimar Syn, the classical gods, Lobo, etc.) to nigh omnipotent but still human minded individuals (Anansi and several classical gods, etc.) to basically omnipotent cosmic forces (The Endless, Lucifer, Comicbook/TheSpectre, Michael, etc.) right up to a single Omnipotent God who may or may not be split into several aspects (The Presence, The Source, etc.). Then of course you have entities who are essentially Omnipotent for all purposes but are at best physical gods since they aren't really religious or worshipped individuals (Mr. Mxyzptlk and other denizens of the 5th dimension).\\
\\
Creator/JackKirby's ComicBook/NewGods started as fairly similar to the Marvel gods (no surprise since he helped create most of them), but {{retcon}} has suggested that the aspects of them that mere mortals can see and interact with are only the tip of a vast metaphysical iceberg. ComicBook/{{Darkseid}}, in particular, is so powerful he is TopGod in comparison to all the other New Gods he either rules or seeks to enslave or destroy. He achieved this power through various methods, including slaughtering the pantheons of other worlds and stealing the power of those gods for himself- he basically has the power of a hundred or so gods within himself.
* ComicBook/CliveBarkersNextTestament has Wick[[spoiler:, Christ the Reconciler, and his Holy Spirit]] who have an AmazingTechnicolorPopulation thing going for them.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Literature]]
* The high spirits in Adam R. Brown's fantasy series, ''Literature/AstralDawn'', are powerful beings who served as the gods of the various pantheons throughout human history.
** The high spirits implanted the idea of themselves in the minds of a few people who later spread it to many others, creating polytheism.
** Using the psychic energy generated by worship, the high spirits who participated in the God Age became even more powerful.
** Simon and others developed a means of staying linked to a specific period of space-time. This allowed the gods and legends to retain their psychic connection and the power it brought them no matter where (or when) they were in space or time.
** The Aash Ra are also considered god-like beings. Even the spirits think of them as the original angels and demons.
* The [[EldritchAbomination "gods"]] of the Creator/HPLovecraft's Franchise/CthulhuMythos come in several varieties.
** The Great Old Ones - Cthulhu, Hastur, Tsathoggua, Ghatanothoa, etc, are more or less {{Sufficiently Advanced Alien}}s. They are usually immortal, of monstrous size and [[StarfishAliens appearance]], capable of producing swarms of spawn, and are powerfully psychic, but their influence is usually limited to a single planet and they are often consigned to hibernate through cosmic cycles for thousands or millions of years.
** The Outer Gods, of which Yog-Sothoth, Nyarlathotep and Azathoth are chief, are more literal gods, who seem to rarely have any concern for human affairs. They are immensely powerful, though occasionally limited by the barriers between universes (Yog-Sothoth, though a four-dimensional being who lives beyond time, is still usually locked out of the mundane universe). Azathoth, for example, is a mindless demiurge responsible for creation of all of cosmos (which is far greater than our known universe). While Yog-Sothoth is locked out of the universe, it's also coterminous with all points of space and time, being the Living Multiverse.
** In no way anthropomorphic, often with frightening bizarre alien anatomy; amorphous swarming tentacles, animate slime, and glossy inter-dimensional bubbles of energy. They are often viewed as cosmic organisms, rather than traditional gods in any respect. A few Outer Gods may adopt quasi-human avatars to interact with us, or use mutated followers to the same effect.
** Both varieties are completely amoral, often animalistic forces of nature, though sometimes with very vaguely defined personalities. Some, like Yog-Sothoth and Shub-Niggurath, seem willing to reward followers who help them towards their inscrutable goals, while others, like Nyarlathotep, seem to exhibit deliberate malice for all civilized races. For the most part, however, [[InsignificantLittleBluePlanet humanity and earth has no real relevance to them]].
** The Outer Gods seem to have always been, and often even have their own universes that they created and dwell in, while others were the creation of even greater outer gods. The Great Old ones are hinted to have evolved naturally, each on his own or with the help of a precursor species, though some writers have them reproducing like a single unified family. Some Great Old Ones (especially those with a family tree) can have an Outer God or two among their forebears, though whether such claims are factual or the delusions of crazed cultists is ambiguous.
** The Elder Gods, usually considered August Derleth's [[CanonDiscontinuity discontinuous insertion]], have sometimes been {{Retcon}}'ed as a second group of Outer Gods who oppose the originals, but a less immediate threat to humanity.
** The Lovecraft story ''The Cats of Ulthar'' seems to hint at the existence of entities resembling the gods of ancient Egypt...in the Dreamlands where Ulthar is located according to ''The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath'', anyway.
** A number of stories also feature the "mild gods of Earth," suggested to be old standbys such as Zeus or Isis, but seldom referenced individually. They are ''also'' dangerous and unknowable, albeit slightly less so.
* The gods in ''Literature/TheBelgariad'' are powerful immortal beings, they are however still bound by the Purpose of the Universe and cannot directly go against it. (It is usually handwaved as two gods confronting each other directly would annihilate the universe.)
** no, that's the two Purposes. The gods would only destroy the planet.
* Gods of ''Literature/DoraWilkSeries'' vary greatly. On one end of the scale you have fellows like Anubis who is "simply" immortal being with animal head and some powers, and on the other you've got God and Goddess, who can warp the reality, invade your dreams and don't have a material forms at all. Somewhere in the middle there are Badb and Loki, who look disturbingly inhuman and has some great superpowers, but are nowhere close to God's level of awesome. As a matter of fact, multiple, multiple gods of this series has powers and abilities that are reflection of how humans perceived them through the history.
* In ''Literature/ElConquistador'' every civilization in the novel thinks this of their own gods. Note that there are many similarities noted by Quetza between the gods that he despises in his own culture, and the gods in the other continent.
* The gods of ''Literature/TheElenium'' have wildly varied personalities, but they all appear to Need Prayer Badly. Aphriel assures herself a steady diet by always appearing as a cute child, so that she always gets love. The Elene God is much more stodgy and refuses to give out even his name, but is respected by other gods for his PopularityPower (which he never uses). Like The Belgariad, the Gods of this universe were created by, and can be bound by, even higher powers.
* In the ''Literature/YoungWizards'' series the One made the PowersThatBe and [[DivineDelegation tasked them with creating reality]]. While most of them got busy with their task, one stood aloof, wishing to come up with a contribution that none of the others could have thought of. After all of the others had finished, It made Its unique contribution: Entropy and Death. It was cast out of Heaven for this, and came to be known as [[{{Satan}} The Lone Power]].
** The One is assumed to be all-powerful, but rarely does anything directly, possibly because acting directly would destroy reality (His name alone is so powerful that, if it were whole rather than kept in pieces, it would destroy ''universes''). The Powers aren't all-powerful since, when acting inside of a physical universe, they are constrained by that universe's laws, which includes entropy, which means that the amount of energy they have available to expend is finite. However, the amount of power that they ''do'' have is still unimaginable by mere humans.
** Not much is known about the mind of the One, other than that He has a tacky sense of humor. The most powerful of the Powers [[TimeDissonance exist mainly outside of time, inserting multiple fragments of themselves into the timestream]], so the totality of their minds can't be comprehended by mere mortals; however, the inside-of-time fragments that the mortal characters interact with give the appearance of having human-like minds. The Powers which are small enough to fit inside of a single universe appear to have human like minds.
** The One is entirely good. Among the Powers all but the Lone Power are good (as the "Lone" in Its name suggests), though not all of the Bright Powers are still "active status" do-gooders: some of them became so attached to the things that they created that they retired so they could dwell amongst their work. There are morally ambiguous Powers as well; the Morrigan is mentioned as one in ''A Wizard Abroad''.
* Creator/BrandonSanderson has [[WordOfGod admitted up front]] that the idea of godhood fascinates him. As such, all of his major works feature some sort of gods.
** The Elantrians from ''Literature/{{Elantris}}'' are mortal wizards who are so powerful they are revered as divine in their home nation.
** The Lord Ruler from ''Literature/MistbornTheOriginalTrilogy'' is an immortal, seemingly invincible EvilOverlord worshipped in TheEmpire.
** The Returned from ''Literature/{{Warbreaker}}'' are humans who died in some significant manner and are returned to life with superhuman magical abilities. It's worth noting that Returned only have a few powers not available to mere mortal [[MagicAIsMagicA magic-users with enough power]], they can heal a person [[CastFromLifespan at the cost of their lives]], they can [[spoiler: shapeshift, though the majority of them aren't aware of it]], and as hinted in the story, and confirmed by WordOfGod, they get glimpses of the future.
** And then there's the Stormfather, in ''Literature/TheStormlightArchive'': has the unforgiving mood of the Old Testament God, his physical form is a vast face in the clouds, he's responsible for the weather, spirits who help people do his bidding, and he sends visions of the future to a ChosenOne. Sounds exactly like God, right? [[spoiler: He denies being God when asked, and he is the biggest and oldest of those spirits and maybe their father but not actually a creator-figure for anyone else. As for the visions, the ''actual'' God required him to send them to the ChosenOne when the circumstances were right.]]
** But none of these are the real gods. Long ago, a single god-like entity/force/power known as Adonalsium was "shattered." Its fragments, called Shards, are universal principles that form the bedrock of the books' magic systems. The Shards became bound to humans known as Shardbearers; the Shardbearers function as the personification of their Shard. Confirmed Shards are Ruin and Preservation from ''Franchise/Mistborn'', the being who creates ''Literature/{{Warbreaker}}'''s Returned (named in WordOfGod as Endowment), Cultivation, Honor (The Almighty's Shard), and Odium from ''Literature/TheStormlightArchive'', and Devotion and Domination, the Shards held by Aona and Skai and named by WordOfGod, in ''Literature/{{Elantris}}.''. Needless to say, all of these works are part of the same universe.
* There are several levels of divine powers in Creator/JRRTolkien's Middle-earth 'verse, elaborated on in ''Literature/TheSilmarillion''. There is one single, all-powerful creator god: [[{{God}} Eru Ilúvatar]]. He created other divine incorporeal spirits, the Ainur, which could be classified as angels or minor gods. The Ainur who entered the world are split into two categories: 1) the 14 Valar (a term that literally means "Powers" but can also be translated as little-g gods or archangels) and the (not-included in the counting) Vala [[{{Satan}} Melkor Morgoth]]; and 2) the Maiar (approx. lesser angels or gods), whose ranks include such notables as Sauron, the five wizards, the Balrogs, and the Sun and Moon.
** The scope of a Ainu's power reflects their part in the great song that created the world. Manwe (whose aspect is air) and Ulmo (whose aspect is water) are particularly powerful because of how pervasive their domains are throughout the whole of creation. Lesser Ainur might represent clouds, or surf... powerful beings, but vastly less so than the greates Valar. Melkor has his hand in just about everything, which is why he is so powerful and capable on his own.
* The Literature/{{Dragonlance}} universe has a fairly large pantheon with [[strike:eighteen]] sixteen gods divided evenly between Light, Dark, and Neutral. Formerly, there was a tribunal of chief gods, Paladine, Takhisis, and Gilean, but then Paladine and Takhisis were made mortal [[spoiler:and Takhisis died.]] Now it's a power struggle for who gets to rule the gods, as Gilean just sits with his nose in a book all day. There are also two beings as high above gods as the gods are above mortals, the High God and Chaos. These two are usually at war. However, the High God manipulated events such that Chaos would be taken out of the picture.
* [[Literature/TheDresdenFiles Harry Dresden]] lives in a FantasyKitchenSink world, and he states at one point that many if not all gods and godlike beings from myth are all out there as well. Faith has a sort of magical power and ''something'' like the Christian God exists, but Harry has also met Odin, and the Faerie Queens and the Erlking are very nearly godlike in power. It's theoretically possible to [[AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence ascend to nigh-godlike power]], but that might have never actually happened. Because of their strong magic, gods (and beings powerful enough to pose as gods, such as the Red King and the "Lords of Outer Night") are also defined by an "aura" or "willpower" that can force mortals to their knees in pain with a thought.
** However, in "Changes" we see that, when the Knights of the Cross are on a direct mission from the Christian God, they can [[spoiler:ignore their 'willpower' and slaughter the Lords of the Outer Night]]. This makes very clear that whatever being is like the Christian God is far more powerful than at least those gods.
** For some perspective on the sheer power of "the White God" compared to the other godlike beings, Harry believes that one of his archangels, Uriel, could "probably take apart all the planets. Like, all of them. Everywhere."
** Harry himself seems to distinguish between the Judeo-Christian God and the other deities. In ''Literature/ProvenGuilty'', Charity, Knight of the Cross Michael Carpenter's wife, objects to Harry calling the other deities gods, and he explains that he's referring to them as "little-g" gods. Harry also refers to the Judeo-Christian God as the [[TheOmnipotent "Almighty"]], despite not being one of His followers. Finally, according to Volume 2 of the guidebook to [[TabletopGame/TheDresdenFiles the tabletop game]], which had Jim Butcher as one of its co-authors, the Almighty is in the highest tier of power, a tier He alone occupies. The Faerie Mothers and the archangels occupy the tier below him.
*** The more famous of the Pagan Gods seem to be somewhere between the above two levels. Butcher has mentioned [[AllThereInTheManual in his various interviews and AMAs]] that the majority of the Pagan Gods agreed to stop interfering in the mortal world a long time ago. One major exception was Odin [[spoiler: aka Donar Vadderung aka Kringle]], who, according to Butcher, had to give up the majority of his power in order to do so. Even so, he's still one of the most powerful characters in the series, being explicitly ranked at the [[PhysicalGod same level]] as the Faerie Queens!
* ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' gods [[RuleOfFunny run the gamut]]. However, it's shown as gods need (and are shaped by) belief: The more belief, the stronger the god. If you only have one believer, well you might be able to summon a minor thunderstorm over one person's head. The other end is Death, whom ''everything'' believes in. One god seems to get by believing in his own work. There are other cosmic forces at work, like the Auditors, but they are not the subject of worship and have no need for it.
* In the Literature/{{Nightside}}, an entire street is devoted to beings that can be worshiped, and worship is a path to power. That said, worship isn't the only way to gain power - Razor Eddie tolerates no worshipers of John Taylor, but the latter could end the world. God in an Abrahamic sense (and specifically Christian) also exists akin to the Dresden Files - sympathetically portrayed, but relatively indirect in acting (His angels are a different story).
* The entire point of ''Literature/AmericanGods''. All gods are fueled and in-part defined-by belief in them and sacrifices made in their name. It's basically the new gods (of Media, the Internet, Cars, etc. all the things modern people put their faith in and "worship") and the old Gods (from Asian, European, Native American, and African pantheons), or rather, American versions of them created by the belief of settlers and immigrants. Odin appears as does, Anansi, Kali, Czernobog, Jesus (mentioned in passing, though not appearing in the book itself), Anubis, Thoth and a whole lot of others. Oh yes and [[spoiler: Loki. Who is, along with Odin, the BigBad planning on getting all the old and new gods killed in their names in order to reap the power of a massive divine sacrifice]]. There are also indications of someone (relatively benign and unthreatening) who is much much older than any of the gods still remembered today. It seems unconcerned with the conflict(s) of the book, viewing even the old gods as mayflies.
* ''Literature/TheBookOfAllHours'' - the Unkin. [[spoiler: humans that experienced a unique event in their life that allowed them to touch the Vellum underneath reality.]] In the multiverse inscribed on the surface of the Vellum, these meta-humans have long since [[OurAngelsAreDifferent taken up different roles]], presenting themselves to mortal humans [[OurDemonsAreDifferent in different ways]] in pursuit of power.
* In Fred Saberhagen's ''Empire of the East'' and ''Literature/BookOfSwords'' trilogies, there are several different levels of beings who are worshiped at various points:
** ARDNEH, who is initially worshiped by the [[TheResistance West]] and is later worshiped as a god of justice, healing, mercy, and redemption throughout the world, although he was actually [[spoiler: a very [[DeusEstMachina advanced and powerful artificial intelligence]] and denied that he was a god or should be worshiped, and [[ThanatosGambit died]] at the end of]] ''Empire.''
** Orcus, [[GodOfEvil King of all Demons]], who founded TheEmpire of the East, and was ARDNEH's archenemy. In reality, [[spoiler: he was just the most powerful demon, and like all demons was really a nuclear bomb that had been altered by ARDNEH.]]
** Draffut, who was eventually worshiped as a god of healing, even though he denied being a god, and was actually a [[spoiler:highly evolved dog]], although his healing powers were quite real. He was powerful enough to face Mars, god of war, in single combat, twice, and win once.
** The gods, who made the Swords and played the Game. They were very powerful, and could defeat demons with ease. They were, however [[spoiler: not really gods, but actually [[GodsNeedPrayerBadly the product of the dreams of men]], and could be killed by the Swords they had made. They all eventually died when men stopped believing in them.]]
** The Emperor, a mysterious man who is believed by many to be a myth, and by others to be a simple clown or wandering jester, or perhaps a con-man or mountebank. A few know him to be a very powerful wizard. In reality [[spoiler:he is the real {{God}}]].
* In Robert Jordan's Literature/TheWheelOfTime series there are two godlike creatures. The Creator and The Dark One respectively. They both seem to exist outside of known reality and it is implied that they might be incarnations of Order and Chaos. However it is shown that in this universe human beings are capable of reaching this level of power as well through the proper tools.
* Geoph Essex's ''Jackrabbit Messiah'' appears to run on this trope: the few gods we get to see in action appear just as desperate and fallible as the humans. Several characters discuss the possibility that the gods are actually ''less'' powerful, in certain ways, than mortals.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Live Action Television]]
* In ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'', Glorificus ("Glory" for short), was one of three gods who ruled a hell dimension, but was cast out by the other two when it appeared she'd become more powerful than them both. On Earth, [[SealedInsideAPersonShapedCan she was trapped in the body of a human male]], and had to exist in human form even when she was manifested; she also had to periodically [[LiquidAssets drain people's sanity]] to keep from going more nuts. Her main superhuman attributes were immense strength and NighInvulnerability. We also heard vaguely about "Higher Powers" and "Spirit Guides", who may be the same as ''Series/{{Angel}}'''s Powers That Be.
* ''Series/{{Angel}}'' featured the nebulous "PowersThatBe", who were never seen, but who used various means to pass information to Team Angel, most notably painful visions. They were apparently on the side of good, but were often referred to as the [[OmniscientMoralityLicense "Powers That Screw You"]].
** One exception to the "unseen" rule was the rogue Power Jasmine. Jasmine herself is never referred to as a god, but her former role suggests that status, and she mind-controls anyone she encounters into worshipping her. She's also super-strong, but has to [[ImAHumanitarian eat people]] to survive.
** In the last half of season 5 we were introduced to Illyria, an [[EldritchAbomination Old One]] in human form, who frequently refers to her/itself as a god (and once, "God to a god"). Initially she could manipulate the flow of time and was {{Nigh Invulnerab|ility}}le as well as super-strong, and could [[WhatKindOfLamePowerIsHeartAnyway talk to plants]], but her powers nearly killed her and had to be greatly reduced. It was never made clear precisely what relationship the various "gods", "Powers", and "Old Ones" had to each other, although Glorificus was explicitly said not to be a demon.
*** Then there's Wolfram & Hart's "Senior Partners", who may or may not be the same as "the Wolf, the Ram, and the Hart", who were bit players on the cosmic scene in Illyria's day.
**** [[spoiler: They are another throw away line says they were bit players because they feed off dark human emotions and when Illyria was around humans had not existed yet. Truly we are their all you can eat buffet]]
* ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'' seems to be based on Henotheism - there are multiple pagan gods (who are scarily powerful but can still be defeated and killed), with the Judeo-Christian Creator God as the one that is actually omnipotent but [[HaveYouSeenMyGod inaccessible]]. Appropriately enough "WordOfGod" confirms ''Literature/AmericanGods'', mentioned above, was a major influence on Supernatural, so it likely works on similar rules. Therefore, Kali and Ganesh were simply versions of the gods brought over by settlers. In America, a largely Christian country, an Judeo-Christian angel is more powerful. Had the fight taken place in India, it would have been a different result.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Multimedia]]
* ''Franchise/{{Transformers}}'' has two canonically existing deities. [[DeusEstMachina Primus]] is the god of the Transformers, and embodies [[LawfulGood goodness and order]]; his body is the planet Cybertron. Unicron is his EvilCounterpart, a PlanetEater who embodies [[ChaoticEvil evil, chaos, and destruction]]. The two previously existed as The One, who made up the "sentient core of the universe". Other gods are present, but rarely mentioned; one of the known ones is the Chronarchitect, who exists outside of time and occasionally intervenes in order to steer events toward a Grand Plan.
** Also, each retelling of the Primus and Unicron story downplays the idea of others like them a bit more; Primus goes from one of a pantheon, to the last of his pantheon, to him and Unicron being all there is. What "The One" is and how it relates to Primus and Unicron varies with the retelling (it did create ''at least'' one of them, though.) The Chronarchitect is one of Primus and Unicron's kin... if they have kin. [[ContinuitySnarl Confused yet]]?
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Myths & Religion]]
* Myth/GreekMythology has three levels of gods. The Protogenoi are the consciousnesses of substances and abstract concepts, such as sky (Oranos), light (Aether), earth (Gaia), and destiny (Aithir). From the Protogenoi were born the Titans, who in turn were overthrown by their own offspring, the Olympians.
* Myth/NorseMythology is rather vague on what the difference between a god and a giant is. The main rule of thumb appears to have been that gods were associated with the Aesir or Vanir familial groups, while non-god giants[[note]]There were at least two cases where giants ''became'' gods through the simple expedients of getting adopted as a brother and marriage, respectively[[/note]] weren't. It gets better: some sources list [[OurElvesAreBetter the elves]] and even [[OurDwarvesAreAllTheSame the dwarves]] as families of the same sort of beings as the Aesir, Vanir and Jötnar (giants). One triptych goes: the Aesir have power, the Álfar (elves) have skill and the Vanir have knowledge.
* Yahweh/Jehovah of Literature/TheBible, who spends a large chunk of the DoorStopper trying to convince everyone and their mother that not only is he greater than all other gods, but that almost all of the "gods" he competes for worship with don't even exist in the first place.
-->"You are my witnesses," is the utterance of Jehovah, "even my servant whom I have chosen, in order that you may know and have faith in me, and that you may understand that I am the same One. Before me there was no God formed, and after me there continued to be none. I—I am Jehovah, and besides me there is no savior." - Isaiah 43:10-11
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Standup Comedy]]
* Creator/GeorgeCarlin boils down religious strife to one sentence.
-->'''George Carlin:''' My God has a bigger dick than your God!
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
* In ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' the status of gods vary depending on world: Most of them Need Prayer Badly in some fashion, although not all. Gods are powerful but killable either by MacGuffin or by the sufficiently powerful (still no easy task though). In some campaign settings like the ''TabletopGame/ForgottenRealms'' there is also an Overgod who oversees the pantheon, and appoints people to the various divine positions when necessary.
* The Classic D&D game, conversely, avoided the terms "god" or "deity" to placate MoralGuardians and set it apart from [=AD&D=]. Its "Immortals" were nearly all former mortals who'd managed to AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence, and senior Immortals who didn't admit to such a past were [[TimeAbyss so mind-bogglingly ancient]] that it was implied they just couldn't remember their mortal days. Once Immortal, they didn't technically need to be worshipped, but having devoted followers increased their influence over the world and status among their own kind, and some needed believers to ''become'' Immortal in the first place. Notably, the CD&D rules allowed for ''player character'' Immortals, so their powers and limitations were laid out explicitly by experience level.
** An even higher rank of beings were implied to exist, and to be as far beyond Immortals as they are beyond mortals. Their existence was never confirmed in-universe, only speculated about by Immortals who wondered why some of the greatest among their own number had gone away.
*** The final scenario of the ''Wrath of the Immortals'' campaign featured one of those beings actually ''showing up'' very briefly. But there were never any game rules for them; there was theoretically a process for becoming one and thereby effectively "winning the game" after all (by going all the way from first-level mortal to highest-possible Immortal level ''twice'' with the same character), but the playing time requirements for actually doing so would have been prohibitive and the chance of success fairly low due to the obvious risk involved. Not to forget that as far as the Immortals know in-universe the only two of them who ever managed that feat anyway were promptly [[DeaderThanDead annihilated by blackballs]]...
* In ''TabletopGame/{{Exalted}}'', the gods were a slave race created by the even more powerful and ancient Primordials to keep Creation running while they played games. The gods were extremely unhappy with this arrangement, but were unable to attack the Primordials, so they granted power to mortals (the titular "Exalted") to fight them instead. The most powerful of gods, the Incarnae, represent celestial bodies -- the Unconquered Sun, Luna, and the Five Maidens (Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn). But there are gods for everything, including individual grains of rice, and a lot of them are low-level bureaucrats trying to gather enough worship to live.
* The Great Gods of Chaos from ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer}}'' and ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}'' are omnipotent in their own plane of existence (the Warp), but their influence on the mortal realm is somewhat more limited. Mostly because they are in fact so powerful that they cannot manifest themselves in the limited dimensions of real-space, or the Materium, as it is referred in-universe. Despite this, they are still capable of leaving their mark on the world of men and are perhaps the most powerful beings in the setting to be given the divine moniker.
** Their description varies from enormous sentient vortices of Warp energy to actual physical beings who live in their realms in the Warp, sit on their thrones and generally act like up-scaled humans. It's mentioned that since it's impossible for mortals to truly perceive the Warp (what they see is an analogy created by their mind and different from person to person), both and neither of these descriptions are true.
** Each Chaos God represents (and gains power from) certain types of emotion (usually referred as anger, lust, despair and hope, but it's actually a bit more complex). While most people in the setting (well, everybody not worshiping them, really) regard them as evil, what with their followers usually trying to destroy civilization, from their point of view, they're not really evil, just chaotic and uncaring of mortals unless they can either be used to increase their power or are a threat to their power.
** The reason that the Chaos Gods are so evil is because each one represents pure emotion, totally unfettered and unrestrained. Consider Tzeentch, who amongst other things (Change, Sorcery, Knowledge and Ambition) is primarily the God of Hope. A "good guy", you would think? Hoping without any form of inhibition, without any restrictions. No upper limits - pure, uncontrolled hope for everything. No caring for others, no empathy or compassion, pure, undistilled hope. Hope without even the limit of attainment - actually achieving his goal is totally inimical to Tzeentch, for the end of a goal means the end of hope. Tzeentch is pure, unfettered ambition, with uncountable, interwoven schemes to the point of being mutually unattainable - one of his plans succeeding means that half a dozen fail, meaning half a dozen other succeed... Hope, as we think of it, is a positive emotion because it is ''limited''. What we hope for is restricted by our morality, our own physical limitations and, more importantly, the fear of repercussion. We may want to punch some bloke's lights out, but we won't due to the fear of getting hit back. We think of other things. Tzeentch doesn't. He is nothing but a constant schemer, uninhibited by any form of morality, without even the restrictions of the laws of physics. But, most importantly at all, he has no fear of repercussion. He is a chaos god, and extra-dimensional, insubstantial being of unparalleled power. There is no fear of repercussion. '''THAT''' is how the God of Hope is evil.
** There are four main Chaos Gods (i.e., the Great Gods), but also a multitude of lesser gods, which are much weaker than the big 4 but may still have their own realm and daemonic servants.
** The gods were created by mortal emotions shaping the Warp, creating vortices of Warp energy that eventually gained sentience and became the the Chaos Gods. They gain power from the emotions associated with them and from souls (either those of their dead followers or those sacrificed to them), although it's likely that they are powerful enough to be self-sufficient (they would become a lot weaker without mortals to feed them, though).
** It may be possible for mortals to become lesser gods: Large group of people with similar mindsets may commit mass suicide and have their souls might fuse together in the warp to create a small-scale version of whatever the Chaos Gods are. It's hinted that the Emperor of Mankind was born this way, by many powerful psykers committing mass suicide and having their souls transferred into a human body.
* Meanwhile in ''WarhammerFantasy'', the Chaos Gods are the most active (and powerful) ones but not the only ones.
** ''WarhammerFantasy'' also has the [[http://whfb.lexicanum.com/wiki/Necoho Chaos God of Atheism]], who gets weaker the more believers he has.
** There's also the gods of law/order; [[LightIsNotGood their victory is about as undesirable as that of the forces of chaos]]. Other deities also exist, generally siding against chaos.
* In the Brazilian setting ''Tormenta'', there are essentially 3 kinds of "gods": the first ones, Nothingness and Hollowness, which aren't considered gods, but created the world and possess great power. Below them is The Pantheon, composed by 20 deities considered the "true" gods. Each of them has a private plane in which they are invincible, but they can also create an avatar in other planes. Bellow them are "minor deities", who can be anyone with enough power (level 20+) and enough worshippers (there is actually a minor NPC who aims to become one by creating his own church). Both True and Minor gods [[GodsNeedPrayerBadly need prayer]] to maintain they powers, and after a genocidal war the Elven Goddess ended up falling to minor deity status.
* In the Creator/WhiteWolf game line of ''TabletopGame/{{Scion}}'' the parents of the [=PCs=] (and eventually the [=PCs=] themselves) are literally gods of various pantheons. They have removed themselves from the world of mortals and placed heavy rules regarding their involvement with it, for the sole reason that the more they spent time doing crazy shit that broke the rules of reality, the more they were bound into specific roles and personalities; the more power they used, the more people thought of them a certain way, the more they became that certain way. Also, those gods are now under siege by the Titans, vast incomprehensible realms of sheer conceptual power (such as Light, or Water, or Chaos) that are so immensely powerful and alien, they must manifest themselves in significantly less powerful (but still capable of laying siege to multiple pantheons of gods) avatars, just to have some kind of mind that could understand things like "winning" or "goals" or "death." (As a side note, killing an avatar of a titan is a BAD idea. When Odin killed Ymir, the titan of winter, the Ice Age ended instantly and most of the earth got flooded.).
* In the TabletopGame/RuneQuest setting of Glorantha, the gods are/were powerful beings who arose before Time. After a massive war which created Death, killed many gods, let Chaos loose, and nearly destroyed the world, the Great Compromise created Time, which sealed away the gods and allowed mortal races to flourish. Mortals can gain magic from the gods, and even ritually "hero quest" through the acts of the gods prior to the Dawn of Time. Unless you're a monotheist from the west, in which case the Kingdom of Logic fell apart under the onslaught of Chaos, and the Prophet Malkion unified with the Creator to create Time and restore the universe. Unfortunately, Malkion's followers ended up in the same world as the pagans and their false gods. Or unless you're a dwarf, in which case Mostal the World Machine was destroyed ... you get the idea. [[AllMythsAreTrue Glorantha's that sort of place.]]
* In ''TabletopGame/{{Nobilis}}'', ''you'' play as a god. There are also several classes and categories of things that might be considered gods.
** Imperators (which come in a variety of classes, be it Angels, The Fallen, Aaron's Serpents or some other extremely powerful being), are powerful entities which carry different aspects of Creation with them. Their nature makes them the embodiment of parts of the universe that they have "domains" or control over.
** Nobles, who are ordinary mortals who have had a shard of an Imperator's soul imbued into their own. They have more limited control over certain domains, but that's still enough to let them reshape the world. The {{P|layerCharacter}}Cs will generally play as these.
* ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering''
** There are a handful of beings that are mentioned as being "gods", such as Karona and the [[EldritchAbomination Eldrazi]], as well as avatars from Lorwyn/Shadowmoor and occasionally angels.
** Yawgmoth, known as The Ineffable by his followers, was also known as the God of Phyrexia.
** Old planeswalkers were nothing short of {{Physical God}}s themselves. Some, such as Serra, were worshiped by their followers as such.
** The Myth/GreekMythology inspired ''Theros'' expansion features a pantheon of 15 gods; 1 major god for each color and 1 minor god for each color pair, including [[http://magiccards.info/ths/en/85.html Erebos, God of the Dead]] and [[http://magiccards.info/ths/en/66.html Thassa, God of the Sea]]. They are noted for featuring GodsNeedPrayerBadly as a game mechanic.
** [[http://mtgsalvation.gamepedia.com/Maro-Sorcerers Maro-Sorcerers]], each the embodiment of a forest in Dominaria, are frequently worshipped as deities (Titania of Argoth being an early example), although they are subservient to Gaea, the world soul of Dominaria, who would be more fitting [[HaveYouSeenMyGod were she present]].
* ''TabletopGame/AnimaBeyondFantasy'' has on the top C'iel and Gaira, the goddess of light and the god of darkness respectively and below them fourteen entities, seven of them spirits of light (Beryls), who serve C'iel, and the other seven spirits of darkness (Shajads), who serve Gaira. WordOfGod, however, estates that all of them are above what is a god there, existing minor, god-like, powers in the setting[[note]]Chased by the [[AncientConspiracy Powers in the Shadows]][[/note]] and being unclear what's a god in Anima.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Video Games]]
* ''VideoGame/PuzzleAndDragons'': Some of the {{mon}}s are literally gods, which you may defeat and capture. Because of how the game works, though, you don't get much backstory on them besides 'they are gods'. Mons in the God category tend to be powerful but hard to level and maintain, and it's advised that when you get a God monster that you treat it with a 'grind now, profit later' mindset. Many of the god monsters in this game are named and modeled after actual classical gods, from the Roman, Egyptian, and Hindu pantheons, among others.
* Franchise/TheElderScrolls Series contains several varieties, from the Aedra (Mysterious to the point of people wondering if they even exist, with wildly divergent worship within various different cultures), the Daedra (Much more visible and human-like, interfering with the mortal realm in accordance with their aspects) to the Tribunal of ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIIIMorrowind Morrowind]]'' (PhysicalGod like former mortals who took their divinity with profane tools.) There is even some in-universe debate over whether certain gods with overlapping roles in different pantheons are, in fact, different aspects of the same deities or not.
* In ''VideoGame/{{Touhou}}'' the word "God" (well, OK, "[[ImprobablyFemaleCast Goddess]]") doesn't carry too much weight. Thanks to the fact that monsters and even humans are practically {{Physical God}}s, anyway, the OddJobGods are little more than {{Butt Monkey}}s of the game universe. Even the truly powerful goddesses can merely go toe-to-toe with some of the more powerful {{youkai}}, and Reimu canonically kicks in the door of TheRival Moriya Shrine, defeats its [[{{Miko}} Shrine Maiden]], and its [[PalsWithJesus Live-in Goddesses]]. You'd think that would hurt the ol' donation drive, to have your deity publicly beaten in her own temple by a rival deity's priestess? That said, this seems to mostly apply to the "lower gods"; the ones that inhabit the Earth and are part of the Myriad Gods. Yorihime is such an overpowered character because she's capable of summoning gods of far greater power than previously shown, which allowed her to effortlessly defeat every single character that went against her (including Reimu). Also, one must bear in my that the Spell Card rules that everyone follows specifically limits how much power the character can use in a fight, and it's always non-lethal.
* Huge variable in ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft''. Troll Gods tend to be primal forces of nature made manifest and evil sort of things. The Old Gods are straight up EldritchAbomination with some dead, some near dead like C'thun, and others more powerful. You can kill 2 of the 4 remaining ones, but it's hinted that the life force of the world is linked to them in a fundamental way that the entire world is now doomed. Dragon Aspects have god like powers, but are not gods. The Titans are more or less gods, with heavy Norse aspects. The BigBad Saergas was their greatest warrior and led their mission of Ordering until he broke off. The GoodVersusEvil is now becoming OrderVersusChaos suggesting they are not so different. The list of different gods could go on for a few more pages. Pretty much every species has a few of them, and there are a heck of a lot of them. Except humans and dwarves, who worship the Light, and Night elves who worship a single moon goddess.
** and then there are the Demigods...
** Night Elves actually believe in a spirit for every aspect of nature (think Shinto), Elune is just the spirit of the moon and is considered the most powerful one. Night Elf druids worship Cenarius and High/Blood Elves revere the sun god, probably named Belore.
** The RPG has Elune as by far the most powerful character in the setting, with a challenge rating set over 80. Since specifics about Elune are unknown, it's a mystery whether she has influence in any other part of the universe.
* Sinnoh's pantheon in ''{{Pokemon}}'' fits the description for henotheism to a T; Arceus is said to have created the region, afterward splitting into aspects representing time (Dialga), space (Palkia), antimatter (Giratina), will (Azelf), emotion (Mesprit), and knowledge (Uxie).
** Not just Sinnoh, but every region's legendary Pokemon. You have the gods of the seasons (Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres), land, sea, and sky (Groudon, Kyogre, and Rayquaza), the new moon and the full moon (Darkrai and Cresselia), volcanos (Heatran), victory (Victini), wind, storms, and fertility (Tornadus, Thundurus, and Landorus), balance (Reshiram, Zekrom, and Kyurem), life, death, and order (Xerneas, Yveltal, and Zygarde).
* In ''VideoGame/GodOfWar'' the Gods are superpowered individuals that are not ''quite'' immortal, as Kratos is quite willing to prove. In a way this is consistent with Myth/ClassicalMythology, in which the god's immortality was [[ContinuitySnarl dependent on who was telling the story]].
* In the ''VideoGame/{{Disciples}}'' series, each major race has their own deity. For humans, it's a little more complex, as they were created by [[TheDevil Bethrezen]], the favored [[OurAngelsAreDifferent angel]] of [[{{God}} Highfather]]. However, after the fall of Bethrezen (he was set up by other angels), Highfather took over as the deity of humans. He is more often referred to as the Celestial Lord in ''Disciples [=III=]''. The [[OurDwarvesAreAllTheSame dwarves]] were created by and worship [[Myth/NorseMythology Wotan]], who gets pissed off at the drop of a horned helmet and teaches his "children" SteamPunk-level technology and runic magic. The [[OurElvesAreDifferent elves]] were created by Gallean, and they used to worship him and his girlfriend Solonielle, who also created the merfolk. That is, until Wotan killed Gallean, and Solonielle's attempts to save her lover resulted in her becoming the goddess of the undead. Bethrezen, driven mad by the hate and imprisonment, created [[OurDemonsAreDifferent demons]] and sent them to destroy the world. Other lesser gods are mentioned, such as the creator of the [[OurOrcsAreDifferent greenskins]].
* In the ''VideoGame/{{Civilization}} IV'' mod ''VideoGame/FallFromHeaven II'', there is only one {{God}} responsible for the creation of Erebus (the world). However, he is absent for the most part, letting his angels run around, call themselves gods, and generally screw up he lives of mortals in their endless wars with one another. There are, however, other religions which worship, for example, octopi. Oh, and TheDevil is a former angel.
* In the VideoGame/{{Mardek}}verse, there are several classes of god (their names are always written in all caps, by the way). They are nonphysical entities who keep the balance and make sure the universe works out. They tend to take AFormYouAreComfortableWith.
** Higher Creator Deities, such as YALORT, who create planets and invent lifeforms. YALORT[[note]]the Omnidragon[[/note]] is the creator of Belfan and Anshar, among others.
** Midlevel Elemental Deities, who each control one of the eight elements: KROGHMM[[note]]the Stalwart Titan[[/note]] for earth, CRYSOOSUNA[[note]]the Graceful Mermaid[[/note]] for water, HWOUK[[note]]the Zephyr of Change[[/note]] for air, VOLKOS[[note]]the Everburning Flame[[/note]] for fire, ONEIROS[[note]]the Dreamweaver[[/note]] for aether, an unknown one for fig[[note]]As in figment, figurative, figure etc.[[/note]], AREINDEEN for light and SHUMBRA[[note]]the Caliginous Warlock[[/note]] for dark. They forge the Elemental Crystals that a Higher Creator requires to form a planet.
** The Lesser Archetype Deities represent the acme of a profession, skill, or facet of personality. They include AACIUPHI[[note]]the Darling Heartsaint[[/note]], goddess of love, friendship and joy, LUTINUET[[note]]the Bard of Stars[[/note]], the deity of music, and PLOMHARG[[note]]the Friendly Wheatherd[[/note]], the farmers' god.
** Overseer Deities such as GALARIS[[note]]the [[GrimReaper Evereaper]][[/note]], who is the god of death and who runs the Antilife[[note]]the black void where guilt-laden souls stay and repent until they come to terms with themselves[[/note]], or SOLAK, the god of suns and stars.
** To create a world, a Higher Creation Deity must get the cooperation of SOLAK (for the star) and all of the Elemental Deities (for the Great Crystals; however, the Moral and Spiritual Element Crystals are unnecessary for non-life-bearing planets).
** There are no penalties for not worshipping any god, but the gods do appreciate prayer, and reward sincere followers with good fortune, natural skill and even magical abilities.
*** ''Extra'' magical abilities.
*** One amusing reference: ABOMONOTOROS[[note]]the Unconditional Abhorrer[[/note]], goddess of hatred and dislike, is used as an interjection of extreme dislike, as in "May ABOMONOTOROS glare at you!"
* ''VideoGame/DragonAgeOrigins'' has The Maker, the supreme deity that married the mortal [[CrystalDragonJesus Andraste]], and allegedly "cast down the false gods". Other deities are also present, mainly the Old Gods, [[OurDragonsAreDifferent dragon]] gods that were worshiped by the [[TheEmpire Tevinter Imperium,]] trapped in the Deep Roads, but are currently zombified and leading the Darkspawn Horde.
** Notably, the game's theology is quite ambiguous. The Church of Andraste doesn't have any more genuine evidence for the existence of their deity than the religions of RealLife, leaving room for religious faith rather than any sort of certainty. The Old Gods are definitely real, but their true nature is unknown, and it's unclear whether they really deserve the title of gods or not. The same goes for the Dalish pantheon that may or may not somehow relate to the Old Gods, which seem to parallel the Dalish Forgotten Ones.
** The DLC for ''VideoGame/DragonAgeII'' reveals that the Golden City was real - and the powerful Tevinter Magisters were probably tricked into entering it by their Dragon god pals. Whether or not the Maker is real is up for debate, but SOMETHING imprisoned those intelligent blood magic using dragons. However the same DLC says that the "Golden City" was the Black City before the Magisters got there, which contradicts the standard mythology as much as it confirms and casts serious doubt on the normal interpretation of the Maker. In short, religion in the ''Dragon Age'' world is scary as hell.
* ''VideoGame/{{Okami}}'s'' gods are a pantheon, with protagonist Amaterasu as the chief goddess of the sun. They don't age, and if they are killed, they can be still reincarnated a hundred years after if a wood sprite offers their power or a divine weapon (judging from the introduction, it could be either). They take the form of the [[EasternZodiac twelve animals from the Chinese Zodiac]] plus a cat, all of them white with red markings. Their power is [[GodsNeedPrayerBadly tied directly to prayer]], and Amaterasu can use some of the abilities of any of the other gods. As of the DS Sequel ''VideoGame/{{Okamiden}}'', the replacement/reincarnation is changed into all of the gods having children. Chibiterasu, the protagonist who is stated to be the kid of Amaterasu is much weaker and smaller (even lacking freedom like swimming and wall jumping) than his mother despite Amaterasu [[FridgeLogic not being any smaller than Shiranui "at birth"]].
* ''VideoGame/HyperdimensionNeptunia'' has its residents from the four worlds worship their goddesses fervently. The catch? Three of the goddesses are caricatures of [[PlayStation3 the]] [[XBox360 three]] [[{{Wii}} consoles]] and the fourth one is a Sega console that never got released (Sega Neptune).
* ''Franchise/ShinMegamiTensei'': Like ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' and ''Literature/AmericanGods'', all supernatural beings seem to exist on and draw power from the principals of ClapYourHandsIfYouBelieve and GodsNeedPrayerBadly. That said, most if not all can be taken down [[DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu with a good old-fashioned ass-beating]], though the belief of their followers [[DeathIsCheap can still bring them back]]. Certain evidence likewise implies that [[GodIsEvil YHVH]] and [[{{Satan}} Lucifer]] are the paragons of [[OrderVersusChaos Law and Chaos]] insofar as they don't need worship explicitly to exist - neither can truly die [[AsLongAsThereIsEvil as long as there are people who yearn for salvation or freedom]].
** In the ''VideoGame/{{Persona}}'' sub-series, the greatest true gods seem to be Philemon and Nyarlathotep, and [[HumansAreSpecial both are born from the human collective unconscious]]. Specifically, Philemon is the embodiment of all humanity's creative, exalting, and positive urges; while Nyarlathotep is the embodiment of humanity's most violent, degrading, and self-destructive urges. Their physical incarnations can be defeated but they can never be truly slain, merely weakened and discorporated for a time. Meanwhile, ''VideoGame/{{Persona 3}}'' and ''VideoGame/{{Persona 4}}'' kind of muddy the theological waters with other gods being behind the main conflicts, despite WordOfGod maintaining that Philemon (and presumably Nyarlathotep) is still around and watching over the characters.
* ''VideoGame/TearsToTiara2'': Expanded on from [[VisualNovel/TearsToTiara the first game]]. Powerful lineages of the precursor races are worshiped as gods by humans. The people of Hispania mainly, tho not exclusively, worship the gods of [[Myth/HebrewMythology Ba'al]], of which Ashtarte is one. They appear on earth to teach and guide the people. [[GodsNeedPrayerBadly They need prayer to be powerful]]. [[{{God}} Watos]] [[HaveYouSeenMyGod is still missing]].
* Master Hand and Crazy Hand from the ''SuperSmashBros.'' series are said to be the personifications of humanity's creativity (Master Hand) and destructiveness (Crazy Hand). Though any fighter in the roster can beat them in combat if the player is good enough. There's also Master Core which is some kind of true form of Master Hand and Tabuu who is some kind of god of another dimension who defeated and imprisoned Master Hand.
** And with [[KidIcarus Palutena]] and [[SuperMarioBros Rosalina]] there are two physical goddesses in the rooster. They are not stronger than any other character.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Web Comics]]
* In ''Webcomic/SluggyFreelance'', the most prominent are the gods of the Mokhadunese, ancestors of the Egyptians, who after a {{Gotterdammerung}} that Gwynn witness in a time travel arc, reinvent themselves into various figures previously seen in the present day, not least of them [[spoiler:Bun-bun, the name under which the audience had known the [[TitleDrop now freelance Sluggy]]]]. There's also a reference in the backstory of an ArtifactOfDoom to Zeus reigning in Greek times. Finally, the Dimension of Pain has a Goddess of Goodness, a PhysicalGod powered by the amount of goodness in the world she's in. Too bad she lives in a world populated entirely by [[AlwaysChaoticEvil incredibly sadistic demons]].
* ''Webcomic/VanadysTalesOfAFallenGoddess'' has a fallen goddess as its titular caracter. While she is immortal, older than the world itself, and has great power, her status as a "fallen" means she's not as great or powerful as the other gods, some of whom she has a rather antagonistic relationship with. Apart from the outcast Vanadys, the gods have a distinct hierachy: The humanoid gods, who each have their area of responsibility (God of the Sun, Goddess of the Sea, Goddess of Wisdom and Knowledge, and so on) are all subject to the two highest gods, the Dragon and the Serpent. They themselves are subject to the being called "The Light," who is the creator of the gods and whom nobody knows much about.
* The backstory of the quest in ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'' is that the world was created by four pantheons of equal power but wildly different viewpoints. When they couldn't agree on the various ways that [[OurMonstersAreDifferent their monsters would be different]], their divine powers accidentally created the [[SealedEvilInACan Snarl]], a being of pure divine anger (which wiped out one of the pantheons). Afterwards, the three remaining groups set up strict rules on what parts of the world they could each directly affect, resulting in the Northern, Southern, and Western Gods. To be specific, the pantheons were the [[Myth/NorseMythology Aesir, North]], [[Myth/MesopotamianMythology Babylonian Pantheon, West]], [[Myth/ClassicalMythology Olympians, East]] (the ones wiped out by the Snarl) and [[EasternZodiac Twelve Earthly Branches, South]].
** On the other hand, other gods can be created, and [[GodsNeedPrayerBadly gain power proportionate to their believers]]. As an example, Elan's puppet god Banjo gains enough power from his one believer to [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0080.html create a small thundercloud and harmless lightning bolt]].
* The gods of ''Webcomic/{{Wildlife}}'' are determined to destroy or [[SealedEvilInACan seal away]] the EldritchAbomination A'zi, who just happens to be the protagonist of the story.
* The Old Gods of Webcomic/CthulhuSlippers are vastly powerful and have taken over the world despite being terrible morons. They are actively worshipped as gods by their employees at Cthulhu Corp.
* Several gods have been mentioned in ''Webcomic/BeachesAndBasilisks'', ranging from [[http://bandb.sevensoupcans.com/index.php?id=261 Drooch, god of alcohol]] to [[http://bandb.sevensoupcans.com/index.php?id=18 Krysavi]] the dragon-god who created the islands in which the story takes place and who [[spoiler: is revealed to be a giant robot]].
* The [[Webcomic/DHSComix LaRaGa]] setting is ruled first by the "creation triad" of Luna, Sola, and Gaea, whose interactions with mortals are mostly limited to the forms their names suggest, but the former two have lines of empowered mortals fighting an eternal war, and the third's own magic persists in a number of forms separate from the magic gods. After them come the nine/eight magic gods, creations of Gaea: the three elemental gods, Phoenix (fire), Ceraph (wind), and Leviathan (water); the three movement gods, Emelia (time), Clyde (change), and Altair (travel and death); and the three perception gods, Marie (truth), Jude (knowledge), and Jake (lies). The lattermost is anathema to all the others, and his worship is a capital offense in most of the mortal world. Beneath them are a number of lesser gods, most prominently the twin Fels (luck), and the deities, a distinct category of being from gods, who serve the gods.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: WesternAnimation]]
* In ''MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic,'' the two seemingly-immortal WingedUnicorn princesses who raise the sun by day and the moon by night, respectively, and have ruled Equestria since time out of mind, are treated as gods ''and'' as royalty at various times by the other ponies; they have chariots and royal guards and a castle... and we get phrases like "Thank Celestia!" or "For Celestia's sake!" It gets better: Tartarus exists, and when Cerberus went missing once, Princess Celestia sent lost dog flyers. However, there was definitely a time before their rule, they're not all-knowing or all-powerful, and season premiere/finale villains are always more than they can dispose of with a wave of their horn, even if they're who [[SealedEvilInACan put them in the can]] thousands of years ago.
* In ''{{Gargoyles}}'' it seems AllMythsAreTrue. The most powerful of TheFairFolk are absolute rulers of the others with RealityWarper abilities but aren't quite worshipped, and a ''lot'' of mythological creatures who are unrelated in RealLife mythology are "Oberon's Children" in this show. However, once, a man figured out how to summon ''Anubis'' in hopes of getting his dead son back. We avert EverybodyHatesHades here; Anubis is a neutral {{Psychopomp}} figure. He's also ''everyone's'' lord of the dead; apparently, the Egyptians just happened to be the only people to get his name and look right.
[[/folder]]
----

* Monotheism: There is one definite discrete God entity. And only one. She/He/It may or may not have agents around, who may or may not qualify for godhood in any other setting, but the god is definitely the only god.

**** Current (at least 2010-) SelfDemonstrating/{{Loki}} stories paint a very {{meta|fiction}} picture: That gods are ''trope based lifeforms'', literal living myth and metaphor. So they are immortal because ideas don't really die (worst case scenario: they remember themselves, but many have libraries for a reason). Also [[TheoryOfNarrativeCausality they are defined by their stories]], and are [[RewritingReality literally rewritable/tellable if someone can find the right texts and tools]] (the manuscript of their authorized biography, or a legendary prophecy counts more than fanfic on the internet etc.). Take this FictionIdentityPostulate and MST3KMantra and go in piece!

* Just scarily powerful but capable of still being outwitted or even defeated using some kind of [[MacGuffin Plot Device]].

* Absolute Immortality with [[TheAgeless Agelessness]] and instant {{healing|Factor}}/[[NighInvulnerability invulnerability]]: can never die, is not affected by age, and either recover instantly from anything, or are invincible.