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* ''VideoGame/{{Xenoblade}}'': [[spoiler:Lady Meyneth and Zanza are the soul of Mechonis and Bionis are assumed to be the gods of the world. In reality, Alvis is revealed to be the true Monado and the true god of the ''Xenoblade'' universe.]]
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* ''VideoGame/{{Xenoblade}}'': ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles1'': [[spoiler:Lady Meyneth and Zanza are the soul of Mechonis and Bionis are assumed to be the gods of the world. In reality, Alvis is revealed to be the true Monado and the true god of the ''Xenoblade'' universe.]]
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* ''VideoGame/PoseidonMasterOfAtlantis'': One mission has you run into Mayans, whose TopGod is named "Hef" and is good at forging things. It's quickly revealed this is actually Hephaestus (who is nowhere near the TopGod in the Greek pantheon), and revealing this causes him to attack you throughout the level.
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* ''VideoGame/AsurasWrath'': The Eight Guardian Generals are specifically referred to as Demigods, and when [[MeaningfulName Deus]], their commander, betrays one of their kind, Asura, and uses him as a scapegoat to institute his OneWorldOrder, the following WrittenByTheWinners history specifically calls the remaining demigods the "Seven Deities", with Deus as their leader. [[spoiler:After Asura has finished murdering 5 of the 7, including Deus, converting one of them to his side in the process, not to mention beaten the snot out of the threat that the OneWorldOrder was supposed to combat]], the remaining 7th deity takes his daughter hostage to use in [[spoiler:her revenge.. and is then immediately and effortlessly killed by the actual God, Chakravatin, who reveals that The entire 12000 year plot, including all of the suffering perpetrated by the OneWorldOrder, was set in motion to choose an heir. Asura... [[GodIsEvil doesn't take this well]], and responds [[KillTheGod how a rage-powered demigod would]].]]
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An entity appears that states or is thought to be God. Not just any deity, but [[TopGod the supreme deity]], potentially [[{{God}} God with a capital-G]]. They're legitimately divine, so they seem like the real deal. Until it's revealed that there's AlwaysABiggerFish; the ''real'' supreme deity shows up and "God" is shown not to be on top of the DivineRanks as people thought. While a deity, they aren't ''the'' deity.
Why the mistake? It could be that "God" was the most powerful being in the world/universe as we know it, but there's a higher realm that the true TopGod was the master of, which people didn't know about(possibly even the assumed top god). Maybe [[HaveYouSeenMyGod God God was absent]] or [[TheGodsMustBeLazy lazy]] and the lesser God was just filling in their role, or the God God retired and the lesser God inherited the role. Or maybe the lesser God [[AGodAmI is on an ego trip]] and assumes he's superior to all gods, and managed to convince everyone he was.
While the Not Quite God's attitude could be a case AGodAmI depending on the power gap, that's usually reserved for mortals who think their gods. The Not Quite God ''is'' a god, just not the mightiest of them all. If the Not Quite God proves to be TheOmnipotent, the God God is EvenMoreOmnipotent. Sub-trope of AlwaysABiggerFish. When they ''are'' the real supreme being but have an equal and opposite, the latter's a case of TheAntiGod. Compare DivineRanks, which deals with the chain of command of deities in general, and GodGuise, where a mortal is posing as a deity. Compare ActuallyThatsMyAssistant for the more mundane version.
----
!!Examples
[[foldercontrol]]
[[folder:Anime and Manga]]
* ''Franchise/{{Dragonball}}'': The highest god rank revealed is initially the Supreme Kai, the gods of creation, of whom Shin is the only survivor (and later Old Kai [[SealedGoodInACan when he's released from the Z-Sword]]. However ''Anime/DragonballZBattleOfGods'' reveals they are just the counterparts to Beerus [[DestroyerDeity the god of destruction]], who is ''far'' stronger than any Supreme Kai or character to date, with his attendant Whis being far stronger than even him. The sequel series ''Anime/DragonballSuper'' further reveals that while they are the supreme gods of the universe, said universe is only the 7th of 12 universes, all of which are subject to [[KingOfAllCosmos Zen'o the Omni-King]], [[TheDreaded who even Beerus is terrified of]].
* ''Anime/TenchiMuyo'': The Chousin are a trio of sister deities who created the multiverse, and are super-dimensional deities that are TheOmnipotent to the mortal world. However they theorized that there might be a being superior to even then. [[spoiler:They're ultimately proven right in the Supreme Being or "Kami Tenchi" Tenchi's inner power which is as omnipotent to the Chousin as they are to mortal beings.]]
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Comic Books]]
* ''ComicBook/TheSandman'': The [[AnthropomorphicPersonification Endless]] are not gods, they existed before humanity dreamed of gods and will still exist after the last god is dead. However they still pale in comparison to their parents Time and Night, [[{{Satan}} Lucifer]] is strong enough to intimidate Dream of the Endless, and [[{{God}} The Presence]] is greater than them all.
* ''ComicBook/{{Spawn}}'': God and Satan are introduced as siblings who are the most powerful beings in the universe. Eventually it's revealed they're only the ''second'' most powerful beings. It's their creator, The Man Of Miracles, who's the ''true'' {{God}} of the setting.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Literature]]
* ''Literature/HisDarkMaterials'': [[spoiler:The Authority, presumed to be God, is actually the oldest and (originally) the most powerful of the Angels, who falsely claims to be the creator the universe. The actual creative force is a more abstract thing that manifests as the "Dust".]]
* ''Literature/JobAComedyOfJustice'': [[spoiler:God and Satan are revealed to be brothers who are merely juniors in a vast CelestialBureaucracy. Earth is essentially a school project between the two.]]
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Live Action Series]]
* An in-universe example occurs in ''Series/Preacher2016''. {{God}}, [[TheGodsMustBeLazy in order to shirk His responsibilities]], had Mark Harelik killed and sent to Heaven to serve as an actor who'd play the role of God so nobody knows He's messing. The actual God [[KingOfAllCosmos goes off to wander the Earth in a dalmatian suit]].
* [[DownplayedTrope Downplayed]] with God/Chuck Shurley in ''Series/{{Supernatural}}''. While he is the legitimate {{God}} of the Supernatural universe, Season 11 reveals he is not the most powerful entity in it. Rather, [[TheAntiGod the Anti-Goddess]] Amara/the Darkness is his StrongerSibling, who required both God and the archangels to seal her away in the first place. Subverted in that they ultimately prove equal in strength. Played straight in Season 13, however, with the reveal that [[AlwaysABiggerFish neither are the be all and end all]] with the introduction of the Cosmic Entity, a being of nothingness in charge of [[TheNothingAfterDeath the Empty]] who predates both of them and whom neither of them have any authority in its domain.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Mythology And Religion]]
* ''UsefulNotes/{{Gnosticism}}'': The Demiurge is meant to represent the Old Testament God from ''Literature/TheBible'', and is the creator of the physical universe. However the physical universe is actually the ''lowest'' of realms, and he is ignorant to the fact he was created by Sophia, [[AGodAmI assuming he's the unsurpassed supreme deity]]. Sophia herself is the farthest aeon from the Monad, the real highest being.
* ''Myth/ClassicalMythology'': While Zeus is the TopGod and treated as such in Ancient Greece, he isn't the most powerful deity(though he is close); even he fears the power of [[ScalesOfJustice Nemesis]] or her mother Nyx, [[TheSacredDarkness primordial goddess of darkness]]. He(and the rest of the gods) are also subject to Ananke, [[YouCantFightFate the deity of fate]], though these higher deities aren't worshipped.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Video Games]]
* ''Franchise/MortalKombat'': ''VideoGame/MortalKombat4'' are introduced as the [[TopGod most powerful deities]] in the Mortal Kombat universe, [[TheGodsMustBeLazy inattentive beings]] who set up the rules of combat in the first place. ''VideoGame/MortalKombatDeception'' ends up revealing that they fought and split up the real God figure, the One Being, into the different realms in the first place. [[spoiler:And VideoGame/MortalKombat11 implies he's merely a lesser threat to Kronika, who belongs to a race of Titans and holds control over timelines.]]
* ''Franchise/ShinMegamiTensei'': YHVH is meant to represent the Abrahamic God, and as the supreme being of the Law philosophy is considered to be God ([[GodIsEvil albeit malevolent]]). However he is actually the [[FightingAShadow the Avatar]] of the Axiom or Great Will, a SentientCosmicForce that created and rules over the multiverse.
* ''VideoGame/{{Xenoblade}}'': [[spoiler:Lady Meyneth and Zanza are the soul of Mechonis and Bionis are assumed to be the gods of the world. In reality, Alvis is revealed to be the true Monado and the true god of the ''Xenoblade'' universe.]]
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Web Animation]]
* ''WebAnimation/DarkMatter2525'': In "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ODetOE6cbbc God's God]]", Jeffrey chides [[{{God}} Yahweh]] for being a {{Hypocrite}} over mocking atheists non-belief in a deity by pointing out that if He believes he doesn't have a creator, then He is an atheist as well. They end up killing each other and end up in TheAfterafterlife, where Yahweh's God judges his actions with similar judgement he gave to non-believers. This leads to Yahweh [[MoralMyopia complaining about unfair judgement]], and HilarityEnsues when the different Gods keep killing each other and going to higher afterlives until they're encountered by a man, who states he made up the gods and they fade out of existence.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Western Animation]]
* ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'': A [[PlayedForLaughs comical]] inversion occurs in ''[[Recap/FamilyGuyS5E15BoysDoCry Boys Do Cry]]''. It's revealed that the Devil is not the true threat to salvation. Rather it's the Super Devil, who rides a motorcycle and holds a jar of marmalade that forces people to commit adultery.
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'': [[DiscussedTrope Discussed]] in ''[[Recap/FuturamaS3E20Godfellas Godfellas]]'' with the Galactic Entity. When Bender encounters it he wonders if the being is {{God}}, but wonders if he is actually the result of a space probe that collided with {{God}}. The Galactic Entity says "perhaps", [[MaybeMagicMaybeMundane and it's left ambiguous on whether it is God or a god-like entity]].
[[/folder]]
Why the mistake? It could be that "God" was the most powerful being in the world/universe as we know it, but there's a higher realm that the true TopGod was the master of, which people didn't know about(possibly even the assumed top god). Maybe [[HaveYouSeenMyGod God God was absent]] or [[TheGodsMustBeLazy lazy]] and the lesser God was just filling in their role, or the God God retired and the lesser God inherited the role. Or maybe the lesser God [[AGodAmI is on an ego trip]] and assumes he's superior to all gods, and managed to convince everyone he was.
While the Not Quite God's attitude could be a case AGodAmI depending on the power gap, that's usually reserved for mortals who think their gods. The Not Quite God ''is'' a god, just not the mightiest of them all. If the Not Quite God proves to be TheOmnipotent, the God God is EvenMoreOmnipotent. Sub-trope of AlwaysABiggerFish. When they ''are'' the real supreme being but have an equal and opposite, the latter's a case of TheAntiGod. Compare DivineRanks, which deals with the chain of command of deities in general, and GodGuise, where a mortal is posing as a deity. Compare ActuallyThatsMyAssistant for the more mundane version.
----
!!Examples
[[foldercontrol]]
[[folder:Anime and Manga]]
* ''Franchise/{{Dragonball}}'': The highest god rank revealed is initially the Supreme Kai, the gods of creation, of whom Shin is the only survivor (and later Old Kai [[SealedGoodInACan when he's released from the Z-Sword]]. However ''Anime/DragonballZBattleOfGods'' reveals they are just the counterparts to Beerus [[DestroyerDeity the god of destruction]], who is ''far'' stronger than any Supreme Kai or character to date, with his attendant Whis being far stronger than even him. The sequel series ''Anime/DragonballSuper'' further reveals that while they are the supreme gods of the universe, said universe is only the 7th of 12 universes, all of which are subject to [[KingOfAllCosmos Zen'o the Omni-King]], [[TheDreaded who even Beerus is terrified of]].
* ''Anime/TenchiMuyo'': The Chousin are a trio of sister deities who created the multiverse, and are super-dimensional deities that are TheOmnipotent to the mortal world. However they theorized that there might be a being superior to even then. [[spoiler:They're ultimately proven right in the Supreme Being or "Kami Tenchi" Tenchi's inner power which is as omnipotent to the Chousin as they are to mortal beings.]]
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Comic Books]]
* ''ComicBook/TheSandman'': The [[AnthropomorphicPersonification Endless]] are not gods, they existed before humanity dreamed of gods and will still exist after the last god is dead. However they still pale in comparison to their parents Time and Night, [[{{Satan}} Lucifer]] is strong enough to intimidate Dream of the Endless, and [[{{God}} The Presence]] is greater than them all.
* ''ComicBook/{{Spawn}}'': God and Satan are introduced as siblings who are the most powerful beings in the universe. Eventually it's revealed they're only the ''second'' most powerful beings. It's their creator, The Man Of Miracles, who's the ''true'' {{God}} of the setting.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Literature]]
* ''Literature/HisDarkMaterials'': [[spoiler:The Authority, presumed to be God, is actually the oldest and (originally) the most powerful of the Angels, who falsely claims to be the creator the universe. The actual creative force is a more abstract thing that manifests as the "Dust".]]
* ''Literature/JobAComedyOfJustice'': [[spoiler:God and Satan are revealed to be brothers who are merely juniors in a vast CelestialBureaucracy. Earth is essentially a school project between the two.]]
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Live Action Series]]
* An in-universe example occurs in ''Series/Preacher2016''. {{God}}, [[TheGodsMustBeLazy in order to shirk His responsibilities]], had Mark Harelik killed and sent to Heaven to serve as an actor who'd play the role of God so nobody knows He's messing. The actual God [[KingOfAllCosmos goes off to wander the Earth in a dalmatian suit]].
* [[DownplayedTrope Downplayed]] with God/Chuck Shurley in ''Series/{{Supernatural}}''. While he is the legitimate {{God}} of the Supernatural universe, Season 11 reveals he is not the most powerful entity in it. Rather, [[TheAntiGod the Anti-Goddess]] Amara/the Darkness is his StrongerSibling, who required both God and the archangels to seal her away in the first place. Subverted in that they ultimately prove equal in strength. Played straight in Season 13, however, with the reveal that [[AlwaysABiggerFish neither are the be all and end all]] with the introduction of the Cosmic Entity, a being of nothingness in charge of [[TheNothingAfterDeath the Empty]] who predates both of them and whom neither of them have any authority in its domain.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Mythology And Religion]]
* ''UsefulNotes/{{Gnosticism}}'': The Demiurge is meant to represent the Old Testament God from ''Literature/TheBible'', and is the creator of the physical universe. However the physical universe is actually the ''lowest'' of realms, and he is ignorant to the fact he was created by Sophia, [[AGodAmI assuming he's the unsurpassed supreme deity]]. Sophia herself is the farthest aeon from the Monad, the real highest being.
* ''Myth/ClassicalMythology'': While Zeus is the TopGod and treated as such in Ancient Greece, he isn't the most powerful deity(though he is close); even he fears the power of [[ScalesOfJustice Nemesis]] or her mother Nyx, [[TheSacredDarkness primordial goddess of darkness]]. He(and the rest of the gods) are also subject to Ananke, [[YouCantFightFate the deity of fate]], though these higher deities aren't worshipped.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Video Games]]
* ''Franchise/MortalKombat'': ''VideoGame/MortalKombat4'' are introduced as the [[TopGod most powerful deities]] in the Mortal Kombat universe, [[TheGodsMustBeLazy inattentive beings]] who set up the rules of combat in the first place. ''VideoGame/MortalKombatDeception'' ends up revealing that they fought and split up the real God figure, the One Being, into the different realms in the first place. [[spoiler:And VideoGame/MortalKombat11 implies he's merely a lesser threat to Kronika, who belongs to a race of Titans and holds control over timelines.]]
* ''Franchise/ShinMegamiTensei'': YHVH is meant to represent the Abrahamic God, and as the supreme being of the Law philosophy is considered to be God ([[GodIsEvil albeit malevolent]]). However he is actually the [[FightingAShadow the Avatar]] of the Axiom or Great Will, a SentientCosmicForce that created and rules over the multiverse.
* ''VideoGame/{{Xenoblade}}'': [[spoiler:Lady Meyneth and Zanza are the soul of Mechonis and Bionis are assumed to be the gods of the world. In reality, Alvis is revealed to be the true Monado and the true god of the ''Xenoblade'' universe.]]
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Web Animation]]
* ''WebAnimation/DarkMatter2525'': In "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ODetOE6cbbc God's God]]", Jeffrey chides [[{{God}} Yahweh]] for being a {{Hypocrite}} over mocking atheists non-belief in a deity by pointing out that if He believes he doesn't have a creator, then He is an atheist as well. They end up killing each other and end up in TheAfterafterlife, where Yahweh's God judges his actions with similar judgement he gave to non-believers. This leads to Yahweh [[MoralMyopia complaining about unfair judgement]], and HilarityEnsues when the different Gods keep killing each other and going to higher afterlives until they're encountered by a man, who states he made up the gods and they fade out of existence.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Western Animation]]
* ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'': A [[PlayedForLaughs comical]] inversion occurs in ''[[Recap/FamilyGuyS5E15BoysDoCry Boys Do Cry]]''. It's revealed that the Devil is not the true threat to salvation. Rather it's the Super Devil, who rides a motorcycle and holds a jar of marmalade that forces people to commit adultery.
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'': [[DiscussedTrope Discussed]] in ''[[Recap/FuturamaS3E20Godfellas Godfellas]]'' with the Galactic Entity. When Bender encounters it he wonders if the being is {{God}}, but wonders if he is actually the result of a space probe that collided with {{God}}. The Galactic Entity says "perhaps", [[MaybeMagicMaybeMundane and it's left ambiguous on whether it is God or a god-like entity]].
[[/folder]]
