Because you are haughty of heart, you say, 'A god am I! I occupy a godly throne in the heart of the sea!'
When a character or villain gains superhuman abilities thanks to
Green Rocks,
nuclear power, Transhumanism, going
One-Winged Angel, being
Touched by Vorlons,
having the power of Creating Life, or
just achieving whatever his most desired dream is,
he is left less than sane and often gains delusions (or, in some cases,
perfectly accurate assessments) of godhood at the same time.
He will often give an
over-the-top speech emphasizing just how far beyond ordinary humanity
he has evolved, and how
lowly they are compared to him. Cue the villain becoming a
Narcissist who is
Drunk on the Dark Side and/or declaring that they will
Take Over the World.
But you know what they say...
Pride cometh before the fall.
If he's declaring himself as a god right in front of a real God, then he's definitely screwed.
The character may declare that he has transcended morality as well, and is
Above Good and Evil, but the
tropes do not have to coincide.
There is an alternate form of this trope, in which the
protogod character gives a speech that is insightful,
cryptic, or both, expressing his discovery of his benevolent and
distant new place in the order of things. He then
vanishes entirely from human ken, never to be seen again.
Aiming for godhood by
rewriting the rules of the world is
In Their Own Image. Another alternate version is the
"End of the World" Special. See
Physical God for those who don't have to try so hard. May, but
does not always result in a
God Mode Sue. Also, see
It's All About Me for a similar trope, minus the declaration of godhood.
Ancient sovereigns liked this trope; see also
God Emperor for those examples. See also
One-Winged Angel,
Smug Super and
Dark Messiah. Also see
Like a God to Me, which is when a character declares someone else godlike but only out of flattery, not as a statement of serious worship. Not to be confused with
God Guise, where a character merely pretends to be a god as part of a con.
Contrast with
A God I Am Not, where a genuinely godlike being refuses the label to avoid the implications;
Stop Worshipping Me, where a deity doesn't want to be venerated as such;
Pro Human Transhuman, where a post human remains sympathetic to humanity; and
Unwanted False Faith, where a human (or transhuman, or other sapient) who
is worshiped as a god would rather not be.
Note that this trope requires a self-proclamation of godhood, not just sheer cockiness and/or overconfidence. Possessing or gaining
godlike powers by itself doesn’t count, nor is it a requirement to possess such powers to qualify for this trope.
Examples:
