Any war described in universe as being final, whether or not it actually is. May come under different names, but they are all clearly intended to end the current conflict and prevent future conflict in one fell swoop.
Examples:
Anime & Manga
Comic Books
- As of now it really is final but really, what are the odds that the DC multiverse won't have a crisis after Final Crisis?
- If Flashpoint is any indication, the Crisis events will function as they did before, but won't have Crisis in the title.
Literature
- Frank Herbert's Dune series. Children of Dune mentions Kralizec: in the oldest Fremen beliefs it is the Typhoon Struggle, the war at the end of the universe.
- Honor Harrington provides Another non final Final War, on Earth.
- The war between Manticore and Haven was initially supposed to be this, too. Time and again, David Weber reminds us that the only possible outcomes are either the end of the Star Kingdom of Manticore, or the end of the People's Republic of Haven.
- The Last Battle in Narnia
- The Prophecy of the Stones seems to be leading up to a Final War but the ending reminds us that evil cannot be permanently defeated.
- In Mark S Geston's novel Out of the Mouth of the Dragon armies are constantly battling to determine whether good or evil will ultimately triumph. To everybody's dismay, however, none of the battles are ever final or decisive, and the world ends with a protracted whimper.
- The Nine Years War in Brave New World, which happened approximately 500 years before the novel sets.
- The war between the the Draka and the Alliance for Democracy in S.M. Stirling's The Stone Dogs is called "The Final War", as afterwards there is no power left on Earth capable of challenging Drakan dominance. From the ashes of the Final War emerges the Final Society, as the Draka genetically engineer themselves and their serfs into two codependent post-human races. Afterwards, the Draka still find themselves in conflict with the descendants of defeated Americans who fled the Solar System to found a colony on Alpha Centauri.
- In Keith Laumer's Bolo series, the Final War really is. Both interstellar empires are annihilated, each sterilizing all known worlds of the other. The few overlooked colonies have neither the desire nor the ability to keep fighting.
Mythology and Religion
- Ragnarok was expected by the Norse to be the final battle between the gods and their opponents (the giants, Fenrir, etc.)
- The End Time/End Times/End of Days of Christianity.
Video Games
Real Life
- WW 1 was said to be this by some. Obviously, not quite.
- From a Certain Point of View, WW 2 itself was a final war. Before then a new conflict between at least two of the major powers would pop off every few decades, but since the war two major political organizations- the EU and the UN- have come into existence to ensure that economic ties are too close for another war and diplomacy is maintained, respectively. The world isn't at peace, and proxy wars have happened, but the major powers and all of Western Europe have avoided war for nearly 70 years.
