Line #61 Main/ManyFacedDivinity


1	[[quoteright:1000:[[ComicBook/AvatarTheLastAirbenderTheSearch https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mother_of_faces_6192.png]]]]
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3	Expressing (or referencing) godhood and divinity by making a character have several simultaneous faces. These characters may or may not be explicit Gods, but multiple faces are being used as an aesthetic connection to godhood.
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5	Bonus points if all the faces are attached to the same neck, which usually takes direct inspiration from the Hindu Brahma (rendering this trope OlderThanFeudalism). If they want to take that particular inspiration further, expect the being in question to also be MultiArmedAndDangerous.
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7	Sometimes this is used to suggest that the entity has [[DividedDeity many aspects to themselves]] which they are attempting to represent simultaneously. There might also be an implication of omniscience by seeing in all directions.
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9	Masks are a common motif that can be used instead of literal faces, with FloatingMask and having a "collection" of masks being 2 specific variations that show up.
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11	Compare TwoFaced (which doesn't always represent divine inspiration) and MultipleHeadCase (if each face has a different personality). Possibly a justification for VoiceOfTheLegion.
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13	Common in {{Angelic Abomination}}s in reference to the four-faced entities seen in Ezekiel's Vision of the Chariot.
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15	See also OurHydrasAreDifferent and {{Cerberus}}.
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17	'''Note: this is for entities with ''literal'' multiple faces. For a god with multiple aspects, see DividedDeity.'''
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19	!! Examples
20	[[foldercontrol]]
21	[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
22	* ''Anime/{{Naruto}}'': The DarkMessiah Pain can have his Asura Path shapeshift into a multi-faced, multi-armed form.
23	[[/folder]]
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25	[[folder:Comic Books]]
26	* ''ComicBook/AvatarTheLastAirbenderTheSearch'': The Mother of Faces (pictured above) is naturally a spirit with many faces, all attached to the same neck. She also can create new faces that take the form of masks.
27	* ''ComicBook/BlackMoonChronicles'': The Oracle is a many-faced God who lives inside a temple on Earth, in order to emphasize that the Oracle is [[TheOmniscient all-knowing]]. [[spoiler:Subverted when ''she'' sheds her EldritchAbomination form and is revealed to be a {{Hot God}}dess with a single head.]]
28	* Franchise/MarvelUniverse:
29	** [[Characters/MarvelComicsCosmicEntities The Living Tribunal]], the supreme arbiter of the multiverse, has three hooded faces: one bare-faced, one with its hood covering its eyes, and one fully veiled.
30	** After [[Characters/MarvelComicsCosmicEntities Lord Chaos and Master Order]] forcibly fused themselves with the In-Betweener, they became Logos, resembling a three-faced head floating within a ring of arms and wings. Logos usurped the Tribunal's position as the law of the universe, but was eventually defeated by the [[ComicBook/TheUltimates2015 Ultimates]] and separated into his components once more.
31	[[/folder]]
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33	[[folder:Literature]]
34	* ''Literature/PercyJacksonAndTheOlympians'': Several ''Myth/ClassicalMythology'' gods reprise their multi-faced appearance here, particularly Janus.
35	* ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'': The Many-Faced God's name invokes this, although he seems to be a variation that swaps between faces, rather than having several at once. Its followers also literally use many faces as masks to shift their identity.
36	[[/folder]]
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38	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
39	* ''Series/{{Krypton}}'': The Voice of Rao (Krypton's equivalent of the pope) wore a mask at all times in public. The mask had multiple faces going around the wearer's head, suggesting that Kryptonians believe this is what Rao looks like.
40	* ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'': Although angels' [[AngelicAbomination multi-dimensional truest forms]] are never shown to the audience, partly on account of the show working around its budget constraints, [[Characters/SupernaturalAngels the angel Zachariah]] comments at one point that his true form has four faces including a lion's face.
41	[[/folder]]
42
43	[[folder:Myths & Religion]]
44	* ''Myth/AztecMythology'': Coatlicue is a goddess with 2 snakes for her head.
45	* ''Literature/BookOfEzekiel'': In Ezekiel's vision of Heaven, he sees four "living creatures", each with four faces -- man in front, lion to the right, ox to the left, and eagle on the back, to represent the four orders of higher creatures (humankind, wild beasts, domestic beasts, and birds).
46	* ''Myth/EgyptianMythology'': A rare depiction of the god ‘Ash with many faces’ has three heads: a lion, a snake and a vulture. He can be seen at [[https://brightonmuseums.org.uk/brighton-museum-art-gallery/what-to-see/ancient-egypt/ Brighton Museum]].
47	* ''Myth/ClassicalMythology'': There are several cases of polycephaly. Most notably Hecate, the three-headed godess of magic, and Janus, the TwoFaced Roman god of gateways.
48	* ''Myth/HinduMythology'': Possibly the TropeCodifier. Most popular depictions of the creator deity Brahma have many faces, as well as several other deity. The Hindu Asura also have quite a cultural legacy, although their multiface form comes from depictions in Buddhism.
49	[[/folder]]
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51	[[folder:Video Games]]
52	* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIV'': The Asura summon is directly inspired by Asura demons from Hinduism, albeit with an added MultipleHeadCase which each give different abilities.
53	* ''VideoGame/{{Hades}}'': [[PrimordialChaos Chaos]] is depicted with several horrific faces growing from their writhing body.
54	* ''VideoGame/HollowKnight'': Played with. The Dreamers are depicted as three masks fused together above the temple of the Black Egg. However, the Dreamers themselves are not divine (or even a unified creature). The symbolism actually represents [[spoiler:that what they are ''sealing'' is divine]].
55	* ''VideoGame/HonkaiStarRail'':
56	** Xipe, the Aeon of Harmony is represented as triple-faced, all connected on the same neck.
57	** Aha is represented as a frenetic mess of theater masks, each with a different expression.
58	* ''VideoGame/{{Inscryption}}'': Downplayed. [[spoiler: Leshy's final boss fight has his ritualistic masks float and cycle around his body magically to represent his godlike power as the dungeon master]].
59	[[/folder]]
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61	[[folder:Visual Novel]]
62	* ''VisualNovel/SlayThePrincess'': This is the true form of the princess' 'goddess', [[spoiler:a hive mind of alternate versions of the princess and the avatar of Change and Death. She also has thousands of other princess-shaped bodies surrounding her lower torso, which are technically a part of her. If you accidentally mutate the Princess, she'll also turn multi-headed; they piece together that they are technically a demigod since they are loosely connected to the goddess.]]
63	[[/folder]]
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65	[[folder:Web Animation]]
66	* ''WebAnimation/HelluvaBoss'': Asmodeus is the AnthropomorphicPersonification of lust, and has a primary head with two secondary faces on either side.
67	[[/folder]]
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69	[[folder:Webcomics]]
70	* ''Webcomic/KillSixBillionDemons'': The creator god Yisun draws inspiration from Vedic imagery of deities having many faces and exaggerates it by having [[https://killsixbilliondemons.com/comic/ksbd-2-30/ entire alternate bodies radiating out from their center]]. This is to signify that Yisun was an infinite being who contained all possibilities (and impossibilities) within themself.
71	[[/folder]]
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73	[[folder:Western Animation]]
74	* ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTime'':
75	** Grob Gob Glob Grod was a guardian deity on Mars, with four faces on a floating head, each one a different entity. These four faces are later revealed to be individual sphere-shaped entities that simply control a shared body.
76	** Life is depicted with 2 serpent faces who speak in unison.
77	* ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'': Koh the face-stealer is a variation where he swaps between the different faces he's [[FaceStealer stolen]] while being one of the most ancient spirits around.
78	* ''WesternAnimation/Ben10AlienForce'': The omnipotent Alien X has three aspects within himself, with two of the aspects represented as floating masks.
79	* ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'': The Crystal Temple depicts the form of [[spoiler:Obsidian]], who in addition to Brahma-like multiple arms has multiple faces.
80	[[/folder]]

Context Main / ManyFacedDivinity