History Main / Ubermensch

** The Superman we know and love was inspired by UsefulNotes/WorldWarII and intended to be the antithesis to UsefulNotes/AdolfHitler's interpretation of Nietzsche's writings by his Jewish creators Creator/JerrySiegelAndJoeShuster, as a statement that if there ''were'' an ubermensch he would [[HopeBringer bring others up]] instead of [[DarkMessiah tearing them down]]. Ironically, Nietzsche himself [[TheAntiNihilist would have agreed on some level]] as he himself considered [[JesusWasWayCool Jesus to be the first example of this trope]].

* Salvor Hardin from Isaac Asimov's ''Literature/{{Foundation}}'' claims that "one should never let morality prevent one from doing what is right".

* A central and recurring theme throughout the ''VisualNovel/ShinzaBanshoSeries'' is that of characters forming their own beliefs and moral codes that breaks not only the the social norms, but the norms of the universe itself and then imposing that belief upon the world. The hegemonic gods are those that has managed to take this all the way, to make their beliefs the new reality.

* Zaheer from ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'' is a good candidate, he is an admirer of the culture of air nomads and much of his philosophy is inspired by that of an airbender monk, yet he has rejected the pacifism of air nomads and has become an WellIntentionedExtremist who believes that the world will only know true freedom if all hierarchy and authority figure is abolished, even if it is through violence.

* Nietzsche himself considered [[JesusWasWayCool Jesus Christ]] to be close to this if not the TropeMaker, having said "the last Christian died on the Cross." While he dismissed mainstream UsefulNotes/{{Christianity}} as conducive to "slave morality", he admired Jesus for taking it upon Himself to be a source of objective morality and radically changing the views of society. Having performed extensive [[Literature/TheBible Biblical]] analysis through his upbringing in a family of Protestant ministers, he saw Jesus' message as an exhortation to the weak and poor to come to terms with and accept their suffering as [[TheAntiNihilist simply a fact of the human condition rather than a fundamental injustice]] in order to rise above it. Nietzsche had an overall positive view of Christ, although considered His teachings [[WideEyedIdealist too idealistic to be properly applied to the modern world]].

* Website/SCPFoundation: A curious example is that of [[http://www.scp-wiki.net/ethics-committee-orientation the Ethics Committee]], which is considered by the rest of the members of the Foundation as a joke and a useless organization, but in reality it is perhaps the most powerful group within the organization, since that they know EVERYTHING the Foundation does, and it is they who authorize or not any of its actions. In short, it is a committee whose members must establish new parameters of what is right and what is wrong, all in order to protect Humanity, thus becoming -- without wanting it -- Übermenschen.

* Raskolnikov from Creator/FyodorDostoevsky's ''Literature/CrimeAndPunishment'' is a VillainProtagonist who wants to be an Übermensch, and spends most of the book wondering if he is one or not. It is perhaps worth noting that the novel was published before ''Also sprach Zarathustra'' and that Raskolnikov considers Napoleon to be the archetypical Ubermensch, showing that the idea at the very least predates Nietzsche.

-->'''Echo''': We're not gods!\\
'''Alpha''': Fine, Ubermensch. Nietzsche predicted our rise. Perfected, objective, something new.\\
'''Echo''': Right, new superior people, with a little [[UsefulNotes/NaziGermany German]] thrown in. [[WhatCouldPossiblyGoWrong What could possibly go wrong?]]

* Khan Noonien Singh from ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'' (and of course TheMovie ''[[Film/StarTrekIITheWrathOfKhan The Wrath of Khan]]''. From Website/TheOtherWiki: Professor William J. Devlin and co-author Shai Biderman examined Khan's character compared to the Ubermensch and found that Khan's blind pursuit of revenge is in fact against Nietzsche's ideals of transcendence and self-creation of a meaningful life. Instead, the authors offer Spock's self-sacrifice in ''The Wrath of Khan'' as a better example of the Ubermensch.

* {{Subverted|Trope}} in Music/MarilynManson's ConceptAlbum ''Antichrist Superstar''. The story is told from the perspective of Wormboy, part of the servant caste of a world ruled over by morally and physically superior beings -- the Ubermenschian TheBeautifulElite. He sets out to overthrow their stifling plutocracy and exercise his will to power (in the classic Nietzschean sense), but becomes increasingly disenfranchised with the mindless, adoring masses, who merely transfer their adoration from them to him, instead. Passing the DespairEventHorizon, he [[AboveGoodAndEvil sheds his outdated morality]] but does not replace it with a new moral framework, evolving into the titular [[TitleDrop Antichrist Superstar]] -- also known as [[OmnicidalManiac The Disintegrator]]. Concluding that people do not deserve to be liberated, he spirals into nihilism, using his newfound power to usher in [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt the apocalypse]]. The album finishes with a ''serious'' DownerEnding, the desolate anthem "Man That You Fear".

* In ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering'', Phyrexian mythology depicts Yawgmoth as an Ubermensch and Rebbec as the Last Man.
** On the color wheel, Black’s philosophy is the one most closely tied to that of the Ubermensch, by rejecting traditional values of morality such as good and evil and exalting the value of the individual. Other aspects of the Ubermensch are fulfilled by Red’s emphasis on emotion, self-expression and its shared values with Black towards individuality, and Blue's rejection of tradition alongside Black and its desire to innovate and improve. Therefore, the Black/Red pair (also called Rakdos), the Blue/Black pair (Dimir), the Red/Blue pair (Izzet) and the Blue/Black/Red trio (Grixis) are the most fit to represent the Ubermensch.

** These ubermensch traits even extend to his friendships. He encourages his companions to follow their own path even if they resort to actions he doesn't approve of.

* ''VideoGame/HorizonZeroDawn'' sees two Ubermenschen:

** Awakening a Persona in ''VideoGame/Persona5'', as the Phantom Thieves and [[spoiler:Goro Akechi]] do, essentially entails becoming an Ubermensch. Because the Phantom Thieves got sick of the corruption of powerful people in modern Japan (which unfortunately screwed the lives of most of them), they rise to reform society by HeelFaceBrainwashing most of their targets, not caring what normal citizens think (despite a fansite tracking their public approval). Speaking of which, The Last Men in this case are the ApatheticCitizens of Tokyo and [[spoiler:Yaldabaoth, moreso because Tokyo's collective palace means they're conforming with a society which can screw individual people and not caring in the slightest, unwittingly keeping themselves in a ultra-secure prison of their own making]].

* Website/SCPFoundation: A curious example is that of [[http://www.scp-wiki.net/ethics-committee-orientation the Ethics Committee]], which is considered by the rest of the members of the Foundation as a joke and a useless organization, but in reality it is perhaps the most powerful group within the organization, since that they know EVERYTHING the Foundation does, and it is they who authorize or not any of its actions. In short, it is a committee whose members must establish new parameters of what is right and what is wrong, all in order to protect Humanity, thus becoming -- without wanting it -- Ubermenschs.
-->'''Remember this''': the Foundation is not evil. We do not torture people "just because". We are against unnecessary cruelty. Which means somebody has to decide when cruelty is necessary. And that somebody is us.

This was a person, or for us, a character, who rejects the norms of society ("slave morality") and lives by his own created and unique code of morals, [[EvilVirtues virtues]] or laws. They are often portrayed as megalomaniacal villains with [[AGodAmI God complexes]] out to remake Human Civilization InTheirOwnImage (see also: the DarkMessiah), but sometimes, they can also be heroes - in fact, HeroicWillpower is one of Nietzsche's main criteria for qualifying as a Übermensch. Depending upon [[ProtagonistCenteredMorality the character's role in the story]] and [[SlidingScaleOfIdealismVersusCynicism how cynical the story is]], the Übermensch may be characterised as either TheFettered or TheUnfettered.

* Harry in ''WebVideo/FrenchBaguetteIntelligence'' believes that morality doesn't have any real meaning, and only really cares about long-term benefits of actions - no matter how severe the short-term harm.

* Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog is another heroic example. With a moral code consisting of being "free like the wind" and doing what feels good, he stops his arch-enemy Dr. Eggman's plans both [[ThrillSeeker for the fun it brings]] and because he dislikes the idea of others being oppressed. His character profiles state that he has no regard for authority, and his {{Image Song}}s and ''[[VideoGame/SonicStorybookSeries Sonic and the Black Knight]]'' make references to how he doesn't care about who's right or wrong and follows his own path, always fighting for what he believes in. In the latter he declares that he doesn't mind if this makes him "the bad guy" in front of the rest of the world. ''Anime/SonicX'' examines this trait of his, with Rouge explaining to the President that even though he helped the government fight Eggman in the past, he was never on their side -- he just did what he felt like doing, and would turn on the law without hesitation the very instant this one started conflicting with his goals.

** David Xanatos is most certainly this. He owns a corporation that spans several nations. This naturally makes him rich and powerful. He possesses huge amounts of charisma, which affects the characters and even the viewers watching the show. He wrote the book on how a XanatosGambit is done. He does not hold grudges or fall into the "sucker's game" of revenge, which already causes him to be so much better than Lex Luthor ever was. He also has a butler, who is [[spoiler: Puck, a member of the Fair Folk, and quite the trickster]]. If he could have someone like that serving him, how could he not be an Übermensch? The Manhattan Clan seem to be the Last Man. At least, Goliath realizes that Xanatos has it all and Goliath has next to nothing. Of course, while Xanatos is too smart to hold grudges, it takes Fox for him to develop any motivation besides his own profit or amusement, whereas the gargoyles risk their lives to protect others with no thought of personal gain. The fact that Xanatos's accomplishments won't stop him from growing old and dying like everyone else seriously scares him, and his attempts to gain immortality only get him a lecture from the older, wiser Hudson.

* ''Anime/CaptainHarlock'', the SpacePirate who has sworn to fight only for what he believes in. The rest of humanity in the various versions of the franchise are somewhere between the Last Man and VichyEarth; the original anime is ridiculously {{Anvilicious}} about the corruption of humanity.

* Nietzsche himself considered [[JesusWasWayCool Jesus Christ]] to be close to this if not the TropeMaker, having said "the last Christian died on the Cross." While he dismissed mainstream UsefulNotes/{{Christianity}} as conducive to "slave morality", he admired Jesus for taking it upon Himself to be a source of objective morality and radically changing the views of society. Having performed extensive [[Literature/TheBible Biblical]] analysis through his upbringing in a family of Protestant ministers, he saw Jesus' message as an exhortation to the weak and poor to come to terms with and accept their suffering as [[TheAntiNihilist simply a fact of the human condition rather than a fundamental injustice]] in order to rise above it. Nietzsche had an overall positive view of Christ, although considered Him [[WideEyedIdealist too optimistic for His own good]].

* This trope is basically wahat Laveyan Satanism is about.

%%zce** Awakening a Persona in ''VideoGame/Persona5'', as the Phantom Thieves and [[spoiler:Goro Akechi]] do, essentially entails becoming an Ubermensch. The Last Men in this case are the ApatheticCitizens of Tokyo and [[spoiler:Yaldabaoth]].
** A notable example of this is shown in the UpdatedRerelease ''Persona 5: Royal.'' During the newly-added third semester, the new palace ruler uses their power to warp reality and [[spoiler: [[LotusEaterMachine create a paradise where everyone's deepest desires are fulfilled]]]]. While the Phantom Thieves all reject this new reality, it is most deftly shown in [[spoiler: Goro Akechi, who rejects the reality not just because it's fake, but because they explicitly believe a reality without challenge and suffering is a boring and stagnant one. He holds fast to this even when presented with the possibility that he could be a figment of the new reality created from Joker's memories, saying he wouldn't be honest with himself if forsook his ideals just to keep existing.]]

* ''VideoGame/PhoenixPoint'': Tobias West, no matter your judgement of the man's morality, is a man who believes deeply in the supremacy of human will over the animalistic instinct of the Pandorans, and that his organization is an extension of that will and the means by which he imposes it on the world. He has a clear vision of what he wants and how to achieve it, and will stop at nothing to do so.

* Claire Stanfield of ''LightNovel/{{Baccano}}'' is an interesting take on this. When a villain tries to give him a HannibalLecture about how mercy is a weakness, he admits that this is completely true -- which is why only the strong can ''afford'' to be merciful. Also, he's a solipsist who thinks he's God (or more specifically, he believes that he can create God simply by thinking Him into existence).

* ''LightNovel/ACertainMagicalIndex'':

* Vassago Casals[=/=][=PoH=] from ''LightNovel/SwordArtOnline''. He has the antisocial behavior, presenting himself as a cheerfully sadistic man who believes that the virtual world reveals people's true colors and that people should give in to their murderous impulses and murder each other to their heart's content, which was why he founded the [[PlayerKilling Laughing Coffin Guild]] so he can murder other players ForTheEvulz and influence others into doing the same. His love of killing and violence serves its purpose as a twisted value; he doesn't care which side was winning, such as [[spoiler:when he leaked the Laughing Coffin guild's location to the raiders or tried to make the Chinese and Korean players kill each other when they start to find out about his scheme]], because all he cared about was watching people kill each other. Understandably, most people see his philosophy as little more than murder and sadism ForTheEvulz, but he was able to influence several of the Laughing Coffin members to his ideals, such as [=XaXa=] and Johnny Black. Kirito here would be the Last Man.

TheAntiNihilist is the more benign, kinder and less [[{{Narcissist}} narcissistic]]/[[TheSociopath sociopathic]] version. Both the Übermensch and the Anti-Nihilist are similar answers to the question of life's meaninglessness or the futility of objective morality, but while the Übermensch is ruthless in pursuit of his goals, the Anti-Nihilist prefers to be kind and benevolent throughout. Compare with AboveGoodAndEvil, BlueAndOrangeMorality, ByronicHero, MoralSociopathy, PureIsNotGood, WellIntentionedExtremist, TheSocialDarwinist and WhatIsEvil. Contrast with the StrawNihilist, who ''believes'' themselves to be this trope.

This was a person, or for us, a character, who rejects the norms of society ("slave morality") and lives by his own created and unique code of morals, [[EvilVirtues virtues]] or laws. They are often portrayed as megalomaniacal villains with [[AGodAmI God complexes]] out to remake Human Civilization InTheirOwnImage (see also: the DarkMessiah), but sometimes, they can also be heroes - in fact, HeroicWillpower is one of Nietzsche's main criterions for qualifying as a Übermensch. Depending upon [[ProtagonistCenteredMorality the character's role in the story]] and [[SlidingScaleOfIdealismVersusCynicism how cynical the story is]], the Übermensch may be characterised as either TheFettered or TheUnfettered.

This was a person, or for us, a character, who rejects the norms of society ("slave morality") and lives by his own created and unique code of morals, [[EvilVirtues virtues]] or laws. They are often portrayed as megalomaniacal villains out to remake Human civilization InTheirOwnImage (see also: the DarkMessiah), but sometimes, they can also be heroes - in fact, HeroicWillpower is one of Nietzsche's main criterions for qualifying as a Übermensch. Depending upon [[ProtagonistCenteredMorality the character's role in the story]] and [[SlidingScaleOfIdealismVersusCynicism how cynical the story is]], the Übermensch may be characterised as either TheFettered or TheUnfettered.

This was a person, or for us, a character, who rejects the norms of society ("slave morality") and lives by his own created and unique code of morals, [[EvilVirtues virtues]] or laws. They are often portrayed as megalomaniacal villains out to remake Human civilization InTheirOwnImage (see also: the DarkMessiah), but sometimes, they can also be heroes. Depending upon [[ProtagonistCenteredMorality the character's role in the story]] and [[SlidingScaleOfIdealismVersusCynicism how cynical the story is]], the Übermensch may be characterised as either TheFettered or TheUnfettered.

TheAntiNihilist is the more benign, kinder and less [[{{Narcissist}} narcissistic]]/[[TheSociopath sociopathic]] version. Both the Übermensch and the Anti-Nihilist are similar asnwers to the question of life's meaninglessness or the futility of objective morality, but while the Übermensch is ruthless in pursuit of his goals, the Anti-Nihilist prefers to be kind and benevolent throughout. Compare with AboveGoodAndEvil, BlueAndOrangeMorality, ByronicHero, MoralSociopathy, PureIsNotGood, WellIntentionedExtremist, TheSocialDarwinist and WhatIsEvil. Contrast with the StrawNihilist, who ''believes'' themselves to be this trope.

TheAntiNihilist is the more benign, kinder and less [[{{Narcissist}} narcissistic]]/[[TheSociopath sociopathic]] version. Compare with AboveGoodAndEvil, BlueAndOrangeMorality, ByronicHero, MoralSociopathy, PureIsNotGood, WellIntentionedExtremist, TheSocialDarwinist and WhatIsEvil. Contrast with the StrawNihilist, who ''believes'' themselves to be this trope.

In 1883, Creator/FriedrichNietzsche published a book called ''Literature/AlsoSprachZarathustra'', in which he elaborated his ethical ideal, the ''Übermensch.'' The name came from the concept about ordinary humanity believing there would be no morals or reasons to live if there was no objective Other (such as God, society or even science) to define morality, reason and one's purpose in life. Transcending this illusion, achieving independence and creating one's own values (which Nietzsche called "Transvaluation") makes one an "over-man".

This was a person, or for us, a character, who rejects the norms of society and lives by his own created moral code. They are often portrayed as villains, but sometimes, they can be heroes. Depending upon [[ProtagonistCenteredMorality the character's role in the story]] and [[SlidingScaleOfIdealismVersusCynicism how cynical the story is]], the Übermensch may be characterised as either TheFettered or TheUnfettered.

TheAntiNihilist is the more benign, kinder and less [[{{Narcissist}} narcissistic]]/[[TheSociopath sociopathic]] version. Compare with AboveGoodAndEvil, BlueAndOrangeMorality, ByronicHero, MoralSociopathy, PureIsNotGood and WellIntentionedExtremist. Compare and contrast with DarkMessiah, TheSocialDarwinist, TheSociopath and WhatIsEvil. Contrast with the StrawNihilist, who ''believes'' themselves to be this trope.

In 1883, Creator/FriedrichNietzsche published a book called ''Literature/AlsoSprachZarathustra'', in which he elaborated his ethical ideal, the ''Übermensch.'' The name came from the concept about ordinary humanity believing there would be no morals or reasons to live if there was no Other to define morality and reason. Transcending this illusion makes one an "over-man".

This was a person, or for us, a character, who rejects the norms of society and lives by his own moral code.

Depending upon [[ProtagonistCenteredMorality the character's role in the story]] and [[SlidingScaleOfIdealismVersusCynicism how cynical the story is]], the Übermensch may be characterised as either TheFettered or TheUnfettered.

Compare with AboveGoodAndEvil, TheAntiNihilist, BlueAndOrangeMorality, ByronicHero, MoralSociopathy, PureIsNotGood and WellIntentionedExtremist. Compare and contrast with DarkMessiah, TheSocialDarwinist, TheSociopath and WhatIsEvil. Contrast with the StrawNihilist, who ''believes'' themselves to be this trope. This trope zig-zags with PsychopathicManchild, if the person is socially immature or compromised.