History Main / TopGod

* ''Manga/YuGiOh'': The Sangenshin/Three Egyptian Gods have a pyramid hierarchy. The Winged Dragon of Ra/Sun Dragon of Ra/Ra no Yokushinryuu stands on the top of the pyramid, while Obelisk the Tormentor/Giant God Soldier of Obelisk/Obelisk no Kyoushinhei and Slifer the Sky Dragon/Saint Dragon God of Osiris/Osiris no Tenkuuryuu are on the bottom.
* ''Manga/YuGiOhR'': The Three Wicked Gods have the same pyramid hierarchy. The Wicked Avatar stands on the top, while The Wicked Roots and The Wicked Eraser are on the bottom.
* ''Anime/YuGiOh5Ds'': Odin, Father of the Aesir is the leader of the three North Polar Gods, standing above Thor and Loki.
* ''Manga/FushigiYuugi'' has the creator of the Universe of the Four Gods, Taiitsukun (or Tai-Yi-Jun, depending on your translation), who is above TheFourGods and other spirits/deities such as the Nyan-Nyan/Lai-Lai and [[SatanicArchetype Tenkou]]. She represents the Jade Emperor of Chinese mythology.

** ''Anime/DragonBallSuper'' reveals that there ''is'' a king of the {{multiverse}} named Zen'o, and ''his mere presence'' causes Gods of Destruction to ''freak out.'' [[spoiler:He also has the power to destroy ''the whole multiverse'' and kill beings with CompleteImmortality, which he later proves]]. According to WordOfGod, the only being more powerful than Zen'o is Robotoriyama, Creator/AkiraToriyama's AuthorAvatar.

** The status of who is the top god is subject to constant retcon. The first divine being that Goku meets is Korin. He, along with Popo, is later revealed to be an attendant from the Afterlife who advises the God of Earth, Kami, like many other planetary gods. Kami is later shown to be deferential to King Yemma, a deity who runs the afterlife, but we're told he's inferior to another god. We then meet said god, Kami's boss, King Kai, the highest of the gods. At the end of the Frieza arc, it's revealed that King Kai is only the NORTH Kai, and thus presumably there are in total four Kais (Kings of Worlds) that rule over the four galaxies. At the end of the Cell arc, this still seems to be the case, as King Kai refers to himself as the most important person in the universe. Then the early Buu arc reveals that ''they'' have a boss, the Grand Kai that leads the four Kais. Then later in the Buu arc (as in later in the same conversation), it's revealed that above him are the four Supreme Kais (God-Kings of Worlds) that rule over the four quadrants of the Universe '''and''' the afterlife. They have their own attendants, such as Kibito to Shin, the East Supreme Kai; it's not clear where they rank compared to the Kais, though they're known to be a lot stronger. Finally, the boss of the four Supreme Kais revealed at the very end of the arc is the Grand Supreme Kai, making this dude a King of Gods of Gods of Gods.

** The status of who is the top god is subject to constant retcon. The first divine being that Goku meets is Korin. He, along with Popo, is later revealed to be an attendant from the Afterlife who advises the God of Earth, Kami, like many other planetary gods. Kami is later shown to be deferential to King Yemma, a deity who runs the afterlife, but we're told he's inferior to another god. We then meet said god, Kami's boss, King Kai, the highest of the gods. In the Buu arc, it's revealed that King Kai is only the NORTH Kai and that there are four Kais (Kings of Worlds) that rule over the four galaxies. Their boss is the Grand Kai that leads the four Kais. Then later in the Buu arc, it's revealed that above him are the four Supreme Kais (God-Kings of Worlds) that rule over the four quadrants of the Universe '''and''' the afterlife. They have their own attendants, such as Kibito to Shin, the East Supreme Kai; it's not clear where they rank compared to the Kais, though they're known to be a lot stronger. Finally, the boss of the four Supreme Kais revealed at the very end of the arc is the Grand Supreme Kai, making this dude a King of Gods of Gods of Gods.

** Fik’iri, the Goddess of War and Love, and Zinabi, the God of Storms and Wind, co-led the Abyssinian Pantheon and were its strongest members. However, they were also JerkassGods who treated their worshipers rather callously, and refused to help protect their followers from the Storm King out of spite. This act got them overthrown by the benevolent members of the Pantheon, with Fik'iri losing her position and most of her power to Wibeti, the Goddess of Beauty and Romance, while Zinabi was overthrown by Jegina, the God of Courage and Heroism. Unlike most {{Top God}}s, however, Jegina and Wibeti aren't romantically involved since the latter is dating Moufette, the leader of the Great Skunk pantheon.

** In the setting of ''Three More Things!'', the two most powerful deities in existence are The Creator, who can will things into existence, and Beast Ragnarok, who can likewise will the destruction of things. Being equally powerful, they're locked into eternal combat without the possibility of either winning. One of the duties of the Jade Council, the alliance of all the other gods (Good, Dark, and Wild), is to ensure that no other beings with such power ever come into existence, as they might ally with either of the other two against its foe; if that happened, the entire balance of the universe would be destroyed and everything thrown into chaos.

* The Nex in ''FanFic/TheAgeOfDusk'' is the latter version of this to the Chaos Gods.

* ''FanFic/ChroniclesOfHarmonysEnd'': Array and Discord represent order and chaos respectively, with [[TrueNeutral Harmony]] above them. [[spoiler:It's unknown how strong he was, only that he couldn't fight the two of them at once]].

* ''Fanfic/CodexEquus'' has ''a lot'' of {{Fantasy Pantheon}}s, so naturally there are divines who lead these groups, usually because they have the experience, skill, and power necessary enough to back up their position.

* In ''Fanfic/ImaginarySeas'', Zeus is still the king of the gods and the most powerful among them, having usurped their Authorities and very beings to defeat Sefar 14,000 years ago. Percy even admits that as much as he might disagree with Zeus's personality, policies, or actions, the one thing he'd never dispute is that Zeus could tear him apart in a one-on-one fight. This even extends to his Klironomia. While the nanomachines are able to operate independently alone, Percy can feel the Zeus Klironomia enforcing a strict hierarchy upon the others after he steals it from Lostbelt Chiron.
* Fate and Destiny in [[http://www.mediaminer.org/fanfic/view_st.php/19769 The Legend of Link: Lucky Number 13.]] They ''created'' the lesser gods and control their very destinies on a level few of them truly understand. However, they are not invincible - they were unable to kill [[LegionsOfHell the Originals]] or their descendant Hadrian, and are eventually surpassed by another god.

* In the ''FanFic/PonyPOVSeries'':

* Naruto and Xanna in ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/10917821/1/The-questionable-burdens-of-leadership-of-a-troll-Emperor The (Questionable) Burdens of Leadership of a Troll Emperor]]'' both claim and prove to be at least as far beyond the [[Franchise/StargateVerse Ascended]] as the Ascended are beyond mortals. That they allow mortals to worship them, which much like with the Ascended, further empowers them, only makes the gap wider. Naruto and Xanna prove on multiple occasions that they can freely remove an Ascended's powers, block them temporarily, or even descend the lot of them with no visible effort, even when enforcing their will upon all of the Ascended at once.

* In ''TabletopGame/{{Nobilis}}'', one god or another incarnates literally ''every single conceivable idea''[[note]]though many incarnate 2-6 concepts. [[SerendipityWritesThePlot This is convenieniently the size of a player group, whose members are each deputized to govern a single concept]][[/note]], so there are naturally quite a passel of them. However, Cneph the Creator is on a vastly higher order than any of them-- albeit so completely non-interventionist that a few heretics think It may actually be a myth.
* On the plane of Theros in ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering'', There is a pantheon, whose mono-white-aligned deity (an {{Expy}} of Zeus without the libido) styles himself the leader.
-->'''Heliod:''' ''I'' am the lord of the pantheon. ''I'' am the greatest of these.

* In ''Egypt: Old Kingdom'' by Creator/ClarusVictoria, it gets a little complicated (as fits Myth/EgyptianMythology). Horus is the patron deity of Egypt's ruling clans in both Upper and Lower Egypt, and later of the Pharaohs of the united empire. However, the patron deity of the city of Memphis is chosen by the player from Ptah, Horus, and Set[[note]]Ptah is the historical choice[[/note]], and if Ptah or Set is chosen, they actually become more important to the functioning of the empire than Horus. Finally, as the game progresses, the game's lore unfolds and [[BuildLikeAnEgyptian pyramids are built]], the Horus cult diminishes in importance in comparison to the funereal cult of Osiris.

not even if you worked yourselves to death.\\
But whenever I'd set my mind to drag you up,\\
in deadly earnest, I'd hoist you all with ease,\\
you and the earth, you and the sea, all together,\\
then loop that golden cable round a horn of Olympus,\\
bind it fast and leave the whole world dangling in mid-air—\\
''That'' is how far I tower over the gods, '''I tower over men.'''"''

Sometimes, there may be both types in the same setting. In that case, the one (or several, if there are multiple pantheons) King of the Gods is still below the God of Gods. A SubTrope to StockGods.

* ''Fanfic/{{Mad World|Invader Zim}}'' strongly implies at the end that [[spoiler: [[HumanoidAbomination Miss Bitters]]]] is this, with the reveal that she's the mother of both God and Satan.

* In the Franchise/MarvelUniverse some particularly powerful demons and magical entities are worshipped as gods, or even God, by other beings who are themselves worshipped as deities and have the power to back it up. Shuma-Gorath, for instance, has relied on numerous gods and demons to do its bidding and has a massive power difference to back it up. Mephisto and Sataanish, demons who in their own realms are nigh-omnipotent, are said to be like "mice in a great temple" compared to even one of Shuma-Gorath's ''weaker'' forms. It is the ruler of literally hundreds of universes and worshipped in thousands more, so the fact that it is a GodOfEvil makes its power particularly worrying.
** It got worse when it's revealed in ''ComicBook/TheThanosImperative'' that Shuma-Gorath is merely one member of an ''entire pantheon'' of these things called the Many-Angled Ones.

* Voodoo works similarly. People often call the loa gods but the theology states there is only one God. Loa are powerful forces who are served by people and serve people in a mutualistic relationship that helps both groups reach paradise with God.

* The [[ScaryDogmaticAliens Yuuzhan Vong]] pantheon in the ''Literature/NewJediOrder'' has Yun-Yuuzhan the Creator, who is somewhere between a King of Gods and God of Gods - he created the lesser gods [[TrulySingleParent from his own body]] and directly rules over them, but isn't so much more powerful that the lesser gods can't go against his will if they really want to. Since Yun-Yuuzhan is supposed to be largely distant from the affairs of mortals, however, as a matter of course the Yuuzhan Vong direct most of their worship to the most powerful lesser gods - twin brother and sister [[WarGod Yun-Yammka]] and [[TheTrickster Yun-Harla]].

* Cagn king god to the San people of Southern Africa. He is also TheTrickster in his pantheon.

* Film/MonsterVerse: The kaiju operate according to a zoological version of the King of the Gods type, where the strongest alpha kaiju acts as the pack alpha via AuthorityEqualsAsskicking and commands all the lesser Titans. Godzilla is the default and reigning alpha, but in ''Film/GodzillaKingOfTheMonsters2019'', King Ghidorah temporarily usurps Godzilla before the latter reclaims his title.

* ''Manga/ShuumatsuNoWalkureRecordOfRagnarok'' portrays [[Myth/ClassicalMythology Zeus]] as not only the king of the Olympian gods, but also the supreme god ''every known deity'', even having authority over other traditionally supreme gods like [[Myth/NorseMythology Odin]] and [[Myth/HinduMythology Shiva]].

* The Franchise/DCUniverse follows a similar route with he Presence.

* Ala, embodiment dry land, is very much the same in the Odinani religion of the Igbo people of southern Nigeria. The supreme eternal god appointed her ruler of everything else. She will live and rule until dry land is no longer needed.

** The religion of Djelibeybi in ''Literature/{{Pyramids}}'' has accrued an enormous pantheon over seven thousand years and come to acknowledge eight supreme gods in addition to Io. This references the evolving roles of deities in the long history of ancient Egypt, of which Djelibeybi is a FantasyCounterpartCulture.

** Blind Io is generally seen as the chief of the gods, although it's unclear what, if any, power this position gives him. In ''Literature/SmallGods'', he clearly assumes not even another god would dare to challenge him, but a god [[GodsNeedPrayerBadly fueled by a temporary surge of especially powerful belief]] is actually able to physically overpower him, perhaps partly due to the RefugeInAudacity of even trying. (It's also mentioned that hardly anyone believes in lightning gods these days.) On the other hand, when Offler the Crocodile God hurls a BoltOfDivineRetribution at Io's High Priest in ''Literature/FeetOfClay'', it gets deflected and goes off at a right angle.

** The status of who is the TopGod is subject to constant retcon. The first divine being that Goku meets is Korin. He, along with Popo, is later revealed to be an attendant from the Afterlife who advises the God of Earth, Kami, like many other planetary gods. Kami is later shown to be deferential to King Yemma, a deity who runs the afterlife, but we're told he's inferior to another god. We then meet said god, Kami's boss, King Kai, the highest of the gods. In the Buu arc, it's revealed that King Kai is only the NORTH Kai and that there are four Kais (Kings of Worlds) that rule over the four galaxies. Their boss is the Grand Kai that leads the four Kais. Then later in the Buu arc, it's revealed that above him are the four Supreme Kais (God-Kings of Worlds) that rule over the four quadrants of the Universe '''and''' the afterlife. They have their own attendants, such as Kibito to Shin, the East Supreme Kai; it's not clear where they rank compared to the Kais, though they're known to be a lot stronger. Finally, the boss of the four Supreme Kais revealed at the very end of the arc is the Grand Supreme Kai, making this dude a King of Gods of Gods of Gods.

*** By the end of ''Super'' the Gods of Destruction's terror is fully justified. Zen'o may be TopGod, and generally a nice enough sort, but he's also emotionally an ''8-year-old child.'' It's shown that he has a complete lack of understanding of the value of mortal, or immortal, life, for example playing marbles with ''inhabited planets.'' This includes forcing multiple entire universes to have an InvoluntaryBattleToTheDeath, killing ''Trillions.'' Having said that, it's also revealed at the end of the tournament in the anime (though not [[Manga/DragonBallSuper the manga]]) that [[spoiler:a selfish wish at the end of the Tournament of Power would have resulted in him intervening, but he also knew that the winner wouldn't have made it in the first place.]]

** Celestia and Luna are {{Physical God}}s, with their TopGod being [[spoiler:their mother Harmony]], the Nexus of Light Magic. Ironically, they actually don't know about her and are more guided by her indirectly than anything.

** Empress Blackrose and Emperor Blackrose are each the TopGod of their respective courts. Blackrose spawned the Spring Court, while Blackthorn spawned the Summer Court.

** The Church of the Stars, while technically a pantheon, is actually a religion started by Queen Dazzleglow, a Sparkle Pony Alicorn Queen from the Second Age, making her its leader. However, she credits her father for coming up with the original idea that she expanded on, technically making her father the ''true'' TopGod of the Church of the Stars.

** ''Something'' above even the Elders is mentioned by Havoc in passing that created the four main Elders and only referred to with female pronouns, no name. However, she's explicitly not involved in the story and it's unclear if anyone other than the Elders is even ''aware'' of her existence, making them the TopGod level deities as far as the story is concerned.

** The four Chaos Gods are forever battling to establish dominance, though none of them stay at the top for long (and don't ''want'' to, permanent victory would leave them with nothing to do). As they're basically emotion incarnate, this is done both by beating the other gods' followers and by the amount of sentient beings experiencing rage (Khorne), hope (Tzeentch), love/despair (Nurgle) or desire (Slaanesh) in the galaxy. Due to the amount of bloodshed constantly going on, Khorne is usually TopGod by default. Tzeentch was TopGod at one point in the backstory, leading the other three to (temporarily) stop fighting each other and bring him down. JustAsPlanned...

** The four Chaos Gods are forever battling to establish dominance, though none of them stay at the top for long (and don't ''want'' to, permanent victory would leave them with nothing to do). As they're basically emotion incarnate, this is done both by beating the other gods' followers and by the amount of sentient beings experiencing rage (Khorne), hope (Tzeentch), love/despair (Nurgle) or desire (Slaanesh) in the galaxy. Due to the amount of bloodshed constantly going on, Khorne is usually TopGod by default.
** Tzeentch was TopGod at one point in the backstory, leading the other three to (temporarily) stop fighting each other and bring him down. JustAsPlanned...