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* [[http://pbfcomics.com/111/ This strip]] by ''ComicStrip/PerryBibleFellowship, in which a spaceship finds a reset button in the middle of space, which starts evolution all over again.
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* [[http://pbfcomics.com/111/ This strip]] by ''ComicStrip/PerryBibleFellowship, in which a spaceship finds a reset button in the middle of space, which starts evolution all over again.
again and creating a StableTimeLoop.
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[[AC:NewspaperComics]]
* [[http://pbfcomics.com/111/ This strip]] by ''ComicStrip/PerryBibleFellowship, in which a spaceship finds a reset button in the middle of space, which starts evolution all over again.
* [[http://pbfcomics.com/111/ This strip]] by ''ComicStrip/PerryBibleFellowship, in which a spaceship finds a reset button in the middle of space, which starts evolution all over again.
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* [[http://pbfcomics.com/111/ This strip]] by ''Webcomic/PerryBibleFellowship, in which a spaceship finds a reset button in the middle of space, which starts evolution all over again.
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* [[http://pbfcomics.com/111/ This strip]] by ''Webcomic/PerryBibleFellowship, in which a spaceship finds a reset button in the middle of space, which starts evolution all over again.
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** The Wiki/SCPFoundation also has [[http://www.scp-wiki.net/scp-001-j SCP-001-J]], an homage to the ''WesternAnimation/RenAndStimpy'' episode (see below0.
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** The Wiki/SCPFoundation also has [[http://www.scp-wiki.net/scp-001-j SCP-001-J]], an homage to the ''WesternAnimation/RenAndStimpy'' episode (see below0.
below).
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** The SCPFoundation also has [[http://www.scp-wiki.net/scp-001-j SCP-001-J]], an homage to the ''WesternAnimation/RenAndStimpy'' episode (see below0.
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** The SCPFoundation Wiki/SCPFoundation also has [[http://www.scp-wiki.net/scp-001-j SCP-001-J]], an homage to the ''WesternAnimation/RenAndStimpy'' episode (see below0.
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** The SCPFoundation also has [[http://www.scp-wiki.net/scp-001-j SCP-001-J]], an homage to the ''WesternAnimation/RenAndStimpy'' episode (see below0.
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[[AC: WesternAnimation]]
* In the ''WesternAnimation/RenAndStimpy'' episode, "Space Madness", Stimpy is charged with guarding a literal red reset button ("The beautiful, shiny button! The jolly, candy-like button!") that would erase history if pressed. HilarityEnsues.
* In the ''WesternAnimation/RenAndStimpy'' episode, "Space Madness", Stimpy is charged with guarding a literal red reset button ("The beautiful, shiny button! The jolly, candy-like button!") that would erase history if pressed. HilarityEnsues.
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[[AC: WebOriginal]]
*[[Wiki/SCPFoundation SCP-]][[http://www.scp-wiki.net/scp-2000 2000]] serves as one of these for the human race, though it's less of a deliberate restart and more of a backup file in case the Foundation is unable to prevent an apocalypse. [[spoiler: It's been activated at LEAST twice already, who know how many times it's ''actually'' been activated, and apparently setting the restart point too far back will screw up history too much (it's hinted going too far back once caused World War II to happen).]]
*[[Wiki/SCPFoundation SCP-]][[http://www.scp-wiki.net/scp-2000 2000]] serves as one of these for the human race, though it's less of a deliberate restart and more of a backup file in case the Foundation is unable to prevent an apocalypse. [[spoiler: It's been activated at LEAST twice already, who know how many times it's ''actually'' been activated, and apparently setting the restart point too far back will screw up history too much (it's hinted going too far back once caused World War II to happen).]]
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* In ''ShinMegamiTenseiIIINocturne'' Hikawa triggers the Conception, a cataclysm that reduces the world to an egg-like state from which a new world can be born. His goal is for the new world to conform to his philosophy of Shijima, a WorldOfSilence in which human ambition is neutralised and all beings are in harmony with nature.
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* In ''ShinMegamiTenseiIIINocturne'' Hikawa triggers the Conception, a cataclysm that reduces the world to an egg-like state from which a new world can be born. His goal is for the new world to conform to his philosophy of Shijima, a WorldOfSilence in which human ambition humanity is neutralised and all beings are in harmony unified with nature.all that is in a single, great mind (sort of an universal Enlightenment). In fact, the entire proposal of the Conception hinges on giving up in the old world and convincing God ItIsBeyondSaving so it can all be torn down so a new cycle can begin.
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A subtrope of OmnicidalManiac. Compare BurnBabyBurn (which is this on a very small scale), ApocalypseHow (Class 2).
to:
Often the goal of a MadScientist, DiabolicalMastermind, GeneralRipper, or a group of [[BombThrowingAnarchists anarchists]]. A subtrope of OmnicidalManiac. Compare BurnBabyBurn (which is this on a very small scale), ApocalypseHow (Class 2).
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When a MadScientist, DiabolicalMastermind, GeneralRipper, or a group of [[BombThrowingAnarchists anarchists]] or idealists (can also be the motivation of a StrawNihilist) decide [[CrapsackWorld the world has just gone too far]] [[ItIsBeyondSaving to go on any longer like it is]], they may decide to [[NukeEm drop the bomb]] or otherwise destroy everything, LetThePastBurn and rebuild from scratch AfterTheEnd, believing UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans.
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** ''VideoGame/PokemonXandY'': Lysandre and Team Flare wish to use the Ultimate Weapon powered by the box legends in order to kill every non-Flare human and all Pokémon in order to start the world anew.
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** ''VideoGame/PokemonXandY'': ''VideoGame/PokemonXAndY'': Lysandre and Team Flare wish to use the Ultimate Weapon powered by the box legends in order to kill every non-Flare human and all Pokémon in order to start the world anew.
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* Alexander Pierce of ''Film/CaptainAmericaTheWinterSoldier'' expresses a motive of this. Through [[BigBrotherIsWatchingYou Project Insight]], he hopes to make a new world that is safe from evil because potential terrorists can be [[DeathFromAbove killed before they can act]]. However, it later turns out that [[spoiler:the new world will be run by [[ANaziByAnyOtherName HYDRA]], and that those terrorists were funded by them in the first place specifically so HYDRA could sow chaos and fool the public in approving mass surveillance. In short, the old corrupt world became corrupt ''because'' HYDRA and Pierce made it so.]]
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* Alexander Pierce of ''Film/CaptainAmericaTheWinterSoldier'' expresses a motive of this. Through [[BigBrotherIsWatchingYou [[BigBrotherIsWatching Project Insight]], he hopes to make a new world that is safe from evil because potential terrorists can be [[DeathFromAbove killed before they can act]]. However, it later turns out that [[spoiler:the new world will be run by [[ANaziByAnyOtherName HYDRA]], and that those terrorists were funded by them in the first place specifically so HYDRA could sow chaos and fool the public in approving mass surveillance. In short, the old corrupt world became corrupt ''because'' HYDRA and Pierce made it so.]]
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-->-- Alexander Pierce, ''Film/CaptainAmericaTheWinterSoldier''
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-->-- Alexander Pierce, '''Alexander Pierce''', ''Film/CaptainAmericaTheWinterSoldier''
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* ''Film/JamesBond
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* ''Film/JamesBond ''Film/JamesBond''
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* ''Series/DeepSpaceNine'' has one in Julian's JamesBond-esque holonovel named [[MeaningfulName Dr. Noah]], who wants to obliterate mankind with a global flood and use his mountain palace of geniuses to repopulate.
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* ''Series/DeepSpaceNine'' has one in Julian's JamesBond-esque ''Film/JamesBond''-esque holonovel named [[MeaningfulName Dr. Noah]], who wants to obliterate mankind with a global flood and use his mountain palace of geniuses to repopulate.
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* JamesBond film ''Film/TheSpyWhoLovedMe''. DiabolicalMastermind Karl Stromberg plans to start a nuclear war between the U.S. and U.S.S.R. by launching a nuclear missile against each nation simultaneously. His justification?
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* JamesBond film ''Film/TheSpyWhoLovedMe''. ''Film/JamesBond
** In ''Film/TheSpyWhoLovedMe'', DiabolicalMastermind Karl Stromberg plans to start a nuclear war between the U.S. and U.S.S.R. by launching a nuclear missile against each nation simultaneously. His justification?
** In ''Film/TheSpyWhoLovedMe'', DiabolicalMastermind Karl Stromberg plans to start a nuclear war between the U.S. and U.S.S.R. by launching a nuclear missile against each nation simultaneously. His justification?
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* In the JamesBond film ''Film/{{Moonraker}}'', the BigBad decides to destroy mankind with a nerve toxin, and then repopulate with his own super race preserved on a space station.
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* Downplayed in ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick''; The Dark wants to use the threat posed by [[EldritchAbomination the Snarl]] to coerce the other gods into giving the goblins equality with the other races. If that fails, though, his backup plan is to let the Snarl unmake the world, so he can use his influence as a [[DeityOfHumanOrigin Deity Of Goblin Origin]] to make sure the goblins have a better place in the next world that the gods create.
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* Downplayed in ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick''; The Dark One wants to use the threat posed by [[EldritchAbomination the Snarl]] to coerce the other gods into giving the goblins equality with the other races. If that fails, though, his backup plan is to let the Snarl unmake the world, so he can use his influence as a [[DeityOfHumanOrigin Deity Of Goblin Origin]] to make sure the goblins have a better place in the next world that the gods create.
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* ''VideoGame/PokemonDiamondAndPearl'': Cyrus, the leader of Team Galactic, plans to reset the universe to his liking with the power of legendary Pokemon.
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* ''VideoGame/PokemonDiamondAndPearl'': {{Franchise/Pokemon}}
**''VideoGame/PokemonDiamondAndPearl'': Cyrus, the leader of Team Galactic, plans to reset the universe to his liking with the power of legendaryPokemon. Pokemon.
** ''VideoGame/PokemonXandY'': Lysandre and Team Flare wish to use the Ultimate Weapon powered by the box legends in order to kill every non-Flare human and all Pokémon in order to start the world anew.
**''VideoGame/PokemonDiamondAndPearl'': Cyrus, the leader of Team Galactic, plans to reset the universe to his liking with the power of legendary
** ''VideoGame/PokemonXandY'': Lysandre and Team Flare wish to use the Ultimate Weapon powered by the box legends in order to kill every non-Flare human and all Pokémon in order to start the world anew.
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I don\'t think the Devil Gundam counted. Looks to me like it wanted to destroy all of humanity, with no one left to start over with.
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** In ''Anime/MobileFighterGGundam'', the Devil Gundam's goal was healing the world. However, [[AIIsACrapshoot as it saw it, the problem with the world was humanity]], and eliminating mankind became its number one priority.
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** The Devil Gundam's goal was healing the world. However, [[AIIsACrapshoot as it saw it, the problem with the world was humanity]], and eliminating mankind became its number one priority.
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** The In ''Anime/MobileFighterGGundam'', the Devil Gundam's goal was healing the world. However, [[AIIsACrapshoot as it saw it, the problem with the world was humanity]], and eliminating mankind became its number one priority.
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* The Dark One's plan in ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'' is to use the threat posed by [[EldritchAbomination the Snarl]] to coerce the gods into giving the goblins equality with the other races. If that fails, though, he's content to let the Snarl unmake the world, then use his influence as a god to make sure the goblins have a better place in the next world that the gods create.
to:
* Downplayed in ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick''; The Dark One's plan in ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'' is wants to use the threat posed by [[EldritchAbomination the Snarl]] to coerce the other gods into giving the goblins equality with the other races. If that fails, though, he's content his backup plan is to let the Snarl unmake the world, then so he can use his influence as a god [[DeityOfHumanOrigin Deity Of Goblin Origin]] to make sure the goblins have a better place in the next world that the gods create.
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* Ecoterrorist ComicBook/RasAlGhul has this as a standard plot.
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* Ecoterrorist ComicBook/RasAlGhul has this as a standard plot.plot in all his incarnations.
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* The League of Shadows from the ''Franchise/DarkKnightTrilogy'' wanted to subject Gotham City to this, believing that it could not be saved from the corruption that had permeated it. Bruce Wayne, their newest disciple, saw things differently.
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* The League of Shadows from the ''Franchise/DarkKnightTrilogy'' ''Film/TheDarkKnightSaga'' wanted to subject Gotham City to this, believing that it could not be saved from the corruption that had permeated it. Bruce Wayne, their newest disciple, saw things differently.
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Destroying an empire != not the same thing. Lelouch described his intent of avoiding civilians, even though he understood there would be collateral damage.
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* In ''Anime/CodeGeass'', this is the intention of Lelouch Lamperouge (and he's the ''good'' guy): to destroy the world power known as the Holy Britannian Empire and create a new world from its ashes.
-->"Yes, I... destroy the world, and ... create it... anew."
-->"Yes, I... destroy the world, and ... create it... anew."
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* In ''Anime/CodeGeass'', this This is the intention main plot of Lelouch Lamperouge (and he's the ''good'' guy): to destroy the world power known as the Holy Britannian Empire Dartz and create a new world Rafael from its ashes.
-->"Yes, I... destroythe world, and ... create it... anew."
[[FillerArc anime only]] Doma arc of ''Anime/YuGiOh''.
-->"Yes, I... destroy
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--> "When a forest grows too wild a purging fire is inevitable and natural. Tomorrow, the world will watch in horror as its greatest city destroys itself. The movement back to harmony will be unstoppable this time."
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--> "When a forest grows too wild a purging fire is inevitable and natural. Tomorrow, the Our world is not for everyone. Only those who prove their worth will watch in horror as its greatest city destroys itself. enter it. The movement back to harmony rest will be unstoppable this time."purged... and if nine hundred and ninety-nine must perish for every one who lives... so be it! - (Comicbook/{{Azrael}} Vol. 2 #18)
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* In ''Comicbook/{{Hellboy}}'' and ''Comicbook/{{BPRD}}'', this is a very common motivation for the various individuals and {{Apocalypse Cult}}s trying to summon the Ogdru Jahad and end the world--they all think a new paradise will grow from the ashes. Some think civilization is corrupt and needs to be destroyed. Others think the apocalypse is inevitable, but if they are the ones to cause it, at least they can mitigate the destruction and guide the rebuilding afterwards.
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* Sephiroth's ultimate goal in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'' was to destroy the world and then remake it as its new God.
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* The League of Shadows from the ''Franchise/DarkKnightTrilogy'' wanted to subject Gotham City to this, believing that it could not be saved from the corruption that had permeated it. Bruce Wayne, their newest disciple, saw things differently.
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[[quoteright:228:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/earth_reset_4899.jpg]]
->''"To build a better world sometimes means tearing the old one down."''
-->-- Alexander Pierce, ''Film/CaptainAmericaTheWinterSoldier''
When a MadScientist, DiabolicalMastermind, GeneralRipper, or a group of [[BombThrowingAnarchists anarchists]] or idealists (can also be the motivation of a StrawNihilist) decide [[CrapsackWorld the world has just gone too far]] [[ItIsBeyondSaving to go on any longer like it is]], they may decide to [[NukeEm drop the bomb]] or otherwise destroy everything, LetThePastBurn and rebuild from scratch AfterTheEnd, believing UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans.
Often accomplished by a DepopulationBomb or DoomsdayDevice. Sometimes will include [[TheArk an ark]] or [[CityInABottle vault]] of some sort to keep the chosen alive. Often intended to lead to an AdamAndEvePlot in a NewEden.
A subtrope of OmnicidalManiac. Compare BurnBabyBurn (which is this on a very small scale), ApocalypseHow (Class 2).
----
!!Examples
[[AC:AnimeAndManga]]
* ''Franchise/{{Gundam}}''
** The Devil Gundam's goal was healing the world. However, [[AIIsACrapshoot as it saw it, the problem with the world was humanity]], and eliminating mankind became its number one priority.
** Wang Liu Mei and others want to use Celestial Being to destroy and remake the world in ''Anime/MobileSuitGundam00''.
** This is the ultimate goal of the BigBad in ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamAGE''.
* In ''Anime/CodeGeass'', this is the intention of Lelouch Lamperouge (and he's the ''good'' guy): to destroy the world power known as the Holy Britannian Empire and create a new world from its ashes.
-->"Yes, I... destroy the world, and ... create it... anew."
[[AC:ComicBooks]]
* Ecoterrorist ComicBook/RasAlGhul has this as a standard plot.
--> "When a forest grows too wild a purging fire is inevitable and natural. Tomorrow, the world will watch in horror as its greatest city destroys itself. The movement back to harmony will be unstoppable this time."
[[AC:ConspiracyTheories]]
* According to some, one of the goals of the [[OneWorldOrder New World Order]] conspiracy is to radically depopulate the Earth.
[[AC:{{Film}}]]
* JamesBond film ''Film/TheSpyWhoLovedMe''. DiabolicalMastermind Karl Stromberg plans to start a nuclear war between the U.S. and U.S.S.R. by launching a nuclear missile against each nation simultaneously. His justification?
-->Today civilization as we know it is corrupt and decadent. Inevitably, it will destroy itself. I'm merely accelerating the process.
-->I intend to change the face of history [snip] by creating a world. A new and beautiful world beneath the sea.
* In the JamesBond film ''Film/{{Moonraker}}'', the BigBad decides to destroy mankind with a nerve toxin, and then repopulate with his own super race preserved on a space station.
* In ''Film/StarTrekIIITheSearchForSpock'', the Klingons believed the Genesis device was meant to be used for this weaponized purpose - destroying life on inhabited worlds and remaking them favorable to human life - rather than its stated purpose of creating life on lifeless worlds.
* ''Film/EscapeFromLA'' ends with a technological version of this. Snake Plissken is once again forced into a mission for the government as he was in ''Film/EscapeFromNewYork'', but this time he becomes convinced that both the US Government, (which has seemingly absorbed the worst of both the American left and right wing, and which is holding DoomsdayDevice that will destroy all technology over the head of the rest of the world) and [[TheRevolutionWillNotBeCivilized the enemies of it]] are too corrupt and flawed to be worth backing or working with. He winds up using the super weapon himself to destroy all the advanced technology all over the world in the hope that when people rebuild the world, maybe they'll get it right.
* The 2014 film ''Film/{{Noah}}'' has this as "[[InsistentTerminology The Creator's]]" plan: flood the Earth to end the children of Cain, using Noah and his family to save the land dwelling animals and birds. There's a twist though: Noah doesn't think the Creator ''wanted'' humanity to start over, but for his new, pristine world to exist without the stain of humans. He took this from a DespairEventHorizon over seeing the Cainites go cannibalistic. The latter part of the movie deals with him condemning his family (and humanity) by not bringing wives for his sons and later threatening to kill any granddaughters Illa may give birth to. In the end [[spoiler:he chooses not to kill his granddaughters and allow humanity to repopulate, Illa's reasoning being the Creator left that choice to Noah.]]
* Alexander Pierce of ''Film/CaptainAmericaTheWinterSoldier'' expresses a motive of this. Through [[BigBrotherIsWatchingYou Project Insight]], he hopes to make a new world that is safe from evil because potential terrorists can be [[DeathFromAbove killed before they can act]]. However, it later turns out that [[spoiler:the new world will be run by [[ANaziByAnyOtherName HYDRA]], and that those terrorists were funded by them in the first place specifically so HYDRA could sow chaos and fool the public in approving mass surveillance. In short, the old corrupt world became corrupt ''because'' HYDRA and Pierce made it so.]]
[[AC:{{Literature}}]]
* In the Creator/TomClancy novel ''Literature/RainbowSix'', eco-terrorists plan on releasing an Ebola virus at the Olympics, sickening thousands, and then sickening the rest of the world with their "vaccine", planning to kill virtually all of humanity to save the planet.
* [[DiscussedTrope Discussed]] in Creator/IsaacAsimov's ''Literature/{{Nightfall}}'', where a planet with six suns goes through a total eclipse once every 2049 years. When this happens the population GoesMadFromTheRevelation of all the stars in the sky and burn down their civilization, leaving the survivors to start over from scratch. There is archaeological evidence that this has happened multiple times in the past, but the one time we witness it the records of the previous event are considered a myth only believed in by a few crazy cultists. The cultists believe it is the wrath of their god, destroying their civilization and starting over.
[[AC:LiveActionTV]]
* ''Series/DeepSpaceNine'' has one in Julian's JamesBond-esque holonovel named [[MeaningfulName Dr. Noah]], who wants to obliterate mankind with a global flood and use his mountain palace of geniuses to repopulate.
* In the ''Series/DoctorWho'' episode "Invasion of the Dinosaurs" the scientist wanted to do this to the world (while telling the colonists they were actually going to a new world rather than resetting Earth).
* In ''Series/StargateSG1'', Anubis wants to destroy all life in the Milky Way and rebuild in his image. Being half-ascended, he can survive the superweapon.
* On ''Series/{{Arrow}}'' both the Dark Archer and Brother Blood have this as their motivation. The Dark Archer wants to destroy the crime-ridden neighborhood of The Glades so Starling City can flourish without it. Brother Blood wants to send all of Starling City into chaos so he can gain absolute power over the city and rebuild it to fit his vision.
* Essentially the motivation of The Shadows in ''Series/{{Babylon 5}}''. They appear every thousand years and provoke all the races of the galaxy into a giant Darwinian war. The "unworthy" races are driven to extinction, leaving the surviving races to rebuild from the ashes.
[[AC:{{Music}}]]
* The Music/DoctorSteel song "Ode to Revenge" basically advocates the anarchist version of this trope.
--> This is the only way\\
To build a better day\\
So let me hear you say\\
Let’s burn it all down.
[[AC:MythologyAndReligion]]
* In ''Literature/TheBible'', God Himself decides mankind has become too sinful to continue, and decides to destroy the world in a flood, saving a small group to repopulate afterward.
** The Literature/BookOfRevelation, the final book of the Bible, ends with the old heaven and earth being destroyed and a new heaven and new earth being built in their place.
[[AC:VideoGames]]
* ''VideoGame/MegaManZx Advent''
** Master Albert's grand plan revolves around using the completed [[ArtifactOfDoom Model W]] to "reset" the world, with him at the reins.
** In TheStinger exclusive to Hard Mode, [[spoiler:it turns out that Master Thomas, while disliking Albert's method, agrees with him that the world needs to be reset.]]
* Same thing also happens in ''VideoGame/MegaManX8''. BigBad [[spoiler:Lumine]] aims to create a world only for New Generation Reploids like him, with the Jacob SpaceElevator project being used to migrate everything they need to the moon before he exterminates all Old-Gen Reploids on earth and rebuild the world after that. He also states that, with the already broken and corrupt state of the world, it needs to be rebuilt from scratch anyways.
* Colonel Sloan in ''Videogame/FarCry3BloodDragon'' intends to nuke human civilisation out of existence, then build a new world around the principles of MightMakesRight and [[SocialDarwinist Social Darwinism]].
* ''VideoGame/PokemonDiamondAndPearl'': Cyrus, the leader of Team Galactic, plans to reset the universe to his liking with the power of legendary Pokemon.
* In ''VideoGame/SuperPaperMario'' Count Bleck wants to do this so he can make a new world without sadness [[spoiler: but Dimento just wants to make it in his own twisted image]]
* In ''ShinMegamiTenseiIIINocturne'' Hikawa triggers the Conception, a cataclysm that reduces the world to an egg-like state from which a new world can be born. His goal is for the new world to conform to his philosophy of Shijima, a WorldOfSilence in which human ambition is neutralised and all beings are in harmony with nature.
* The reason the Burning Legion exists in the ''VideoGame/{{Warcraft}}'' universe. The creator of the Legion, Sargeras, was originally the champion of the titans whose dury was to protect the universe from demons and other horrors. After spending aeons fighting the forces of evil he concluded that the universe itself was flawed and tainted, and the only way to rid it of evil was to destroy it and remake it without the flaws. So he united the demons he had been fighting against into an army whose sole purpose was to burn down the universe.
** Algalon the Observer, a BonusBoss from ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'', represents the Titans, the creators of Azeroth. His job is to assess the world in order to determine whether or not the world is too corrupted to be allowed to continue existing in its current form. If it is, the Titans are to destroy Azeroth and create it anew. Due to the [[CrapsackWorld crapsack nature of Azeroth]], and in particular the corruption of the Old Gods, Algalon is set to deliver an unfavorable report to his masters when you meet the guy, and you have to take him down to prevent the world and all life upon it from being destroyed. Considering this guy's FanNickname is "Algalon the Raid Destroyer", taking him down will NOT be easy.
* This is the motivation of [[spoiler: The Engineer]] in ''VideoGame/AmnesiaAMachineForPigs.'' [[spoiler: He saw horrific visions of the 20th century, which included the Holocaust and the two world wars (in which Mandus's children die)]], and came to the conclusion that the best way to prevent it from happening was to destroy humanity and start over.
[[AC:WebComics]]
* The Dark One's plan in ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'' is to use the threat posed by [[EldritchAbomination the Snarl]] to coerce the gods into giving the goblins equality with the other races. If that fails, though, he's content to let the Snarl unmake the world, then use his influence as a god to make sure the goblins have a better place in the next world that the gods create.
[[AC:RealLife]]
* According to legend, the Roman emperor Nero wanted to do a small-scale version of this. He had a vision of a "new Rome", but decided that in order to build it, the old city needed to be razed, so he had fires set. And then famously fiddled [[WhileRomeBurns while Rome burned]]. When public opinion turned against this act, he blamed it on [[TheScapegoat the Christians]].
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->''"To build a better world sometimes means tearing the old one down."''
-->-- Alexander Pierce, ''Film/CaptainAmericaTheWinterSoldier''
When a MadScientist, DiabolicalMastermind, GeneralRipper, or a group of [[BombThrowingAnarchists anarchists]] or idealists (can also be the motivation of a StrawNihilist) decide [[CrapsackWorld the world has just gone too far]] [[ItIsBeyondSaving to go on any longer like it is]], they may decide to [[NukeEm drop the bomb]] or otherwise destroy everything, LetThePastBurn and rebuild from scratch AfterTheEnd, believing UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans.
Often accomplished by a DepopulationBomb or DoomsdayDevice. Sometimes will include [[TheArk an ark]] or [[CityInABottle vault]] of some sort to keep the chosen alive. Often intended to lead to an AdamAndEvePlot in a NewEden.
A subtrope of OmnicidalManiac. Compare BurnBabyBurn (which is this on a very small scale), ApocalypseHow (Class 2).
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!!Examples
[[AC:AnimeAndManga]]
* ''Franchise/{{Gundam}}''
** The Devil Gundam's goal was healing the world. However, [[AIIsACrapshoot as it saw it, the problem with the world was humanity]], and eliminating mankind became its number one priority.
** Wang Liu Mei and others want to use Celestial Being to destroy and remake the world in ''Anime/MobileSuitGundam00''.
** This is the ultimate goal of the BigBad in ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamAGE''.
* In ''Anime/CodeGeass'', this is the intention of Lelouch Lamperouge (and he's the ''good'' guy): to destroy the world power known as the Holy Britannian Empire and create a new world from its ashes.
-->"Yes, I... destroy the world, and ... create it... anew."
[[AC:ComicBooks]]
* Ecoterrorist ComicBook/RasAlGhul has this as a standard plot.
--> "When a forest grows too wild a purging fire is inevitable and natural. Tomorrow, the world will watch in horror as its greatest city destroys itself. The movement back to harmony will be unstoppable this time."
[[AC:ConspiracyTheories]]
* According to some, one of the goals of the [[OneWorldOrder New World Order]] conspiracy is to radically depopulate the Earth.
[[AC:{{Film}}]]
* JamesBond film ''Film/TheSpyWhoLovedMe''. DiabolicalMastermind Karl Stromberg plans to start a nuclear war between the U.S. and U.S.S.R. by launching a nuclear missile against each nation simultaneously. His justification?
-->Today civilization as we know it is corrupt and decadent. Inevitably, it will destroy itself. I'm merely accelerating the process.
-->I intend to change the face of history [snip] by creating a world. A new and beautiful world beneath the sea.
* In the JamesBond film ''Film/{{Moonraker}}'', the BigBad decides to destroy mankind with a nerve toxin, and then repopulate with his own super race preserved on a space station.
* In ''Film/StarTrekIIITheSearchForSpock'', the Klingons believed the Genesis device was meant to be used for this weaponized purpose - destroying life on inhabited worlds and remaking them favorable to human life - rather than its stated purpose of creating life on lifeless worlds.
* ''Film/EscapeFromLA'' ends with a technological version of this. Snake Plissken is once again forced into a mission for the government as he was in ''Film/EscapeFromNewYork'', but this time he becomes convinced that both the US Government, (which has seemingly absorbed the worst of both the American left and right wing, and which is holding DoomsdayDevice that will destroy all technology over the head of the rest of the world) and [[TheRevolutionWillNotBeCivilized the enemies of it]] are too corrupt and flawed to be worth backing or working with. He winds up using the super weapon himself to destroy all the advanced technology all over the world in the hope that when people rebuild the world, maybe they'll get it right.
* The 2014 film ''Film/{{Noah}}'' has this as "[[InsistentTerminology The Creator's]]" plan: flood the Earth to end the children of Cain, using Noah and his family to save the land dwelling animals and birds. There's a twist though: Noah doesn't think the Creator ''wanted'' humanity to start over, but for his new, pristine world to exist without the stain of humans. He took this from a DespairEventHorizon over seeing the Cainites go cannibalistic. The latter part of the movie deals with him condemning his family (and humanity) by not bringing wives for his sons and later threatening to kill any granddaughters Illa may give birth to. In the end [[spoiler:he chooses not to kill his granddaughters and allow humanity to repopulate, Illa's reasoning being the Creator left that choice to Noah.]]
* Alexander Pierce of ''Film/CaptainAmericaTheWinterSoldier'' expresses a motive of this. Through [[BigBrotherIsWatchingYou Project Insight]], he hopes to make a new world that is safe from evil because potential terrorists can be [[DeathFromAbove killed before they can act]]. However, it later turns out that [[spoiler:the new world will be run by [[ANaziByAnyOtherName HYDRA]], and that those terrorists were funded by them in the first place specifically so HYDRA could sow chaos and fool the public in approving mass surveillance. In short, the old corrupt world became corrupt ''because'' HYDRA and Pierce made it so.]]
[[AC:{{Literature}}]]
* In the Creator/TomClancy novel ''Literature/RainbowSix'', eco-terrorists plan on releasing an Ebola virus at the Olympics, sickening thousands, and then sickening the rest of the world with their "vaccine", planning to kill virtually all of humanity to save the planet.
* [[DiscussedTrope Discussed]] in Creator/IsaacAsimov's ''Literature/{{Nightfall}}'', where a planet with six suns goes through a total eclipse once every 2049 years. When this happens the population GoesMadFromTheRevelation of all the stars in the sky and burn down their civilization, leaving the survivors to start over from scratch. There is archaeological evidence that this has happened multiple times in the past, but the one time we witness it the records of the previous event are considered a myth only believed in by a few crazy cultists. The cultists believe it is the wrath of their god, destroying their civilization and starting over.
[[AC:LiveActionTV]]
* ''Series/DeepSpaceNine'' has one in Julian's JamesBond-esque holonovel named [[MeaningfulName Dr. Noah]], who wants to obliterate mankind with a global flood and use his mountain palace of geniuses to repopulate.
* In the ''Series/DoctorWho'' episode "Invasion of the Dinosaurs" the scientist wanted to do this to the world (while telling the colonists they were actually going to a new world rather than resetting Earth).
* In ''Series/StargateSG1'', Anubis wants to destroy all life in the Milky Way and rebuild in his image. Being half-ascended, he can survive the superweapon.
* On ''Series/{{Arrow}}'' both the Dark Archer and Brother Blood have this as their motivation. The Dark Archer wants to destroy the crime-ridden neighborhood of The Glades so Starling City can flourish without it. Brother Blood wants to send all of Starling City into chaos so he can gain absolute power over the city and rebuild it to fit his vision.
* Essentially the motivation of The Shadows in ''Series/{{Babylon 5}}''. They appear every thousand years and provoke all the races of the galaxy into a giant Darwinian war. The "unworthy" races are driven to extinction, leaving the surviving races to rebuild from the ashes.
[[AC:{{Music}}]]
* The Music/DoctorSteel song "Ode to Revenge" basically advocates the anarchist version of this trope.
--> This is the only way\\
To build a better day\\
So let me hear you say\\
Let’s burn it all down.
[[AC:MythologyAndReligion]]
* In ''Literature/TheBible'', God Himself decides mankind has become too sinful to continue, and decides to destroy the world in a flood, saving a small group to repopulate afterward.
** The Literature/BookOfRevelation, the final book of the Bible, ends with the old heaven and earth being destroyed and a new heaven and new earth being built in their place.
[[AC:VideoGames]]
* ''VideoGame/MegaManZx Advent''
** Master Albert's grand plan revolves around using the completed [[ArtifactOfDoom Model W]] to "reset" the world, with him at the reins.
** In TheStinger exclusive to Hard Mode, [[spoiler:it turns out that Master Thomas, while disliking Albert's method, agrees with him that the world needs to be reset.]]
* Same thing also happens in ''VideoGame/MegaManX8''. BigBad [[spoiler:Lumine]] aims to create a world only for New Generation Reploids like him, with the Jacob SpaceElevator project being used to migrate everything they need to the moon before he exterminates all Old-Gen Reploids on earth and rebuild the world after that. He also states that, with the already broken and corrupt state of the world, it needs to be rebuilt from scratch anyways.
* Colonel Sloan in ''Videogame/FarCry3BloodDragon'' intends to nuke human civilisation out of existence, then build a new world around the principles of MightMakesRight and [[SocialDarwinist Social Darwinism]].
* ''VideoGame/PokemonDiamondAndPearl'': Cyrus, the leader of Team Galactic, plans to reset the universe to his liking with the power of legendary Pokemon.
* In ''VideoGame/SuperPaperMario'' Count Bleck wants to do this so he can make a new world without sadness [[spoiler: but Dimento just wants to make it in his own twisted image]]
* In ''ShinMegamiTenseiIIINocturne'' Hikawa triggers the Conception, a cataclysm that reduces the world to an egg-like state from which a new world can be born. His goal is for the new world to conform to his philosophy of Shijima, a WorldOfSilence in which human ambition is neutralised and all beings are in harmony with nature.
* The reason the Burning Legion exists in the ''VideoGame/{{Warcraft}}'' universe. The creator of the Legion, Sargeras, was originally the champion of the titans whose dury was to protect the universe from demons and other horrors. After spending aeons fighting the forces of evil he concluded that the universe itself was flawed and tainted, and the only way to rid it of evil was to destroy it and remake it without the flaws. So he united the demons he had been fighting against into an army whose sole purpose was to burn down the universe.
** Algalon the Observer, a BonusBoss from ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'', represents the Titans, the creators of Azeroth. His job is to assess the world in order to determine whether or not the world is too corrupted to be allowed to continue existing in its current form. If it is, the Titans are to destroy Azeroth and create it anew. Due to the [[CrapsackWorld crapsack nature of Azeroth]], and in particular the corruption of the Old Gods, Algalon is set to deliver an unfavorable report to his masters when you meet the guy, and you have to take him down to prevent the world and all life upon it from being destroyed. Considering this guy's FanNickname is "Algalon the Raid Destroyer", taking him down will NOT be easy.
* This is the motivation of [[spoiler: The Engineer]] in ''VideoGame/AmnesiaAMachineForPigs.'' [[spoiler: He saw horrific visions of the 20th century, which included the Holocaust and the two world wars (in which Mandus's children die)]], and came to the conclusion that the best way to prevent it from happening was to destroy humanity and start over.
[[AC:WebComics]]
* The Dark One's plan in ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'' is to use the threat posed by [[EldritchAbomination the Snarl]] to coerce the gods into giving the goblins equality with the other races. If that fails, though, he's content to let the Snarl unmake the world, then use his influence as a god to make sure the goblins have a better place in the next world that the gods create.
[[AC:RealLife]]
* According to legend, the Roman emperor Nero wanted to do a small-scale version of this. He had a vision of a "new Rome", but decided that in order to build it, the old city needed to be razed, so he had fires set. And then famously fiddled [[WhileRomeBurns while Rome burned]]. When public opinion turned against this act, he blamed it on [[TheScapegoat the Christians]].
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