Follow TV Tropes

Following

Pantheon / Court of the Gods

Go To

The Court of the Gods

Often called The Court or The High Court, the Court of the Gods is easily one of the most intimidating buildings in the entire multiverse. A recent construction, The Court was created for one specific purpose: the trial of gods. Whether it be the stripping of a title or outright banishment from the Pantheon into the Phantom Zone, ascension into the Main House, or some other large movement, The Court is where that decision is made.note 

The Court as a whole cares not about alignment, but about what you did. Hence, being Evil is not considered a legal offense in and of itself. The highest penalty awarded is to declare a god to be banished into the Phantom Zone. Other punishments range from being added to an alignment change or drop in influence, to fines and favors owed.

A good majority of the Court's documented sessions include the ascensions of deities under violent, illegal or unorthodox methods. Depending on the scenario or if the defendant embodys a vacant trope well enough, judgement by the Court may be rewarding (ascension to the Pantheon) or harsh (the Phantom Zone).

A trial in The High Court functions much like one would expect, except the decision passes or fails based on the majority votes from a jury composed of four peers of the defendant and one representative of each of the five elder Alignment Alliances.note 

Please note that, unlike the House of Law and Justice, this is a court.

There are many gods serving in many positions in the court; among the best defense attorneys, four names come up regularly: Phoenix Wright, Matthew Murdock, Jennifer Walters, and Atticus Finch.


    open/close all folders 

Jurists of the Court of the Gods

    Eiki Shiki 
Eiki Shiki, Yamaxanadu, Enforcer of Black-and-White Judgement
  • Greater Goddess
  • Symbol: A par of scales. One bowl is black, the other white.
  • Alignment: Lawful Good (but when she is on the job, she must judge as Lawful Neutral)
  • Portfolio: Judgement, Nagging, Workaholisim
  • Domains: Law, Inquisition, Death, Repose
  • Allies: Komachi Onozuka (Direct subordinate) King Yama and Koenma (Fellow Yamas)note 
  • Enemies: YHVH
  • The Yama of the Paradise land of Gensokyo, and the representative of Yamas within the Pantheon. Her job is to judge the dead to be "White" or "Black". That is, good or evil. As the Yama, she has the singular power to unerringly judge any person or deed to be "White" or "Black". Once a soul has been judged by the Yama, there can be no appeal; no tournabout. The judgement is final.
  • However, despite her professionalism when she is on the job, she spends her time off lecturing the still-living on how to correct their lives. It is her opinion that Hell exists so that no-one sins, not to punish sinners, so she does what she can to make sure as many souls as possible can be judged "White" when the time comes.
  • The authority of the Yama is absolute. Everyone, from the lowest insect to the highest of gods, are judged by the Yama when their time comes. No life is truly eternal; no person can avoid their destined appointment with the Yama.
  • Despite this, she has immense trouble keeping her own ferryman Shinigami in line.
  • While she carries the title of "Highest Judge", she only judges dead souls. Her power to see the true nature of any soul means that no prosecution of defense is necessary in her cases. Her only job is to judge a soul's nature and usher them to their final destination.
  • There have been rumors of the Yama making unjust judgements on a whim, out of jealousy. There is however no evidence of this whatsoever, and those rumors have never been confirmed.

    The Judge 
The Judge, God of Non-Violent Judgment and Chief Justice of the Court (His Honor, Udjey, the Bearded Gentleman, Judge Fickle, The Great Judgini)
  • Demigod (His verdicts, however, carry the authority of a Greater God)
  • Symbol: A gavel
  • Theme Song: Court is Now in Session
  • Alignment: Lawful Neutral
  • Portfolio: A Justice of the Peace, slamming his gavel, eccentric, but skilled in his field, upholding the law, adoring cute things, never using his name, Reasonable Authority Figure.
  • Domains: Law, Judgment, Truth
  • Herald: His inexplicably Canadian brother, who also never uses his name.
  • Followers: Justine Courtney
  • Allies: Phoenix Wright, Maya Fey, Miles Edgeworth, Jack McCoy, the Cutie Mark Crusaders
  • Likely one of the biggest upsets within the House of Judgment, Johnson of the Big Five was sued by the Junkyard Dog for his blatant abuse of authority within the Pantheon. Johnson was found guilty and stripped of his powers and godhood. With no one to fill the void, the most unusual person suggested a replacement. Twilight Sparkle used a summoning spell to call on "the greatest judge in existence". This called forth the justice of the peace most familiar to Phoenix Wright.
  • Many of the cases the judge presides have been around the validity of potential gods within their domain. Whether a god should be returned to mortality or be forced to share the title with another have often come to him to decide their fate.
  • By no means a violent man himself, the judge can however be pushed to his limits, and channel all of his godhood into a single powerful strike with his mighty gavel. Any remarks from his victim in this situation is shut down with a powerful "Objection Overruled!"
  • After any trials he gives verdicts to, he will often have the accused submitted to Yamaxanadu's higher judgment for a final sentencing.
  • Many times he has been proven to be gullible and persuadable, but at the end of the day, not even the Holy Trinity can detour the Judge from trying to find the truth from even the smallest of circumstances.
  • Finds the Cutie Mark Crusaders to be the "most adorable things in the world". Has a complete soft spot for Applebloom in this regard (seeing as she was a witness for a trial he preceded over) and gave her the suggestion to be a "CUTIE MARK CRUSADER LAWYER!!!". Phoenix...didn't know how to react.

    Steve Rogers/Captain America 
Steven Grant Rogers, God of Pride for One's Nation, and Head of Defense (Captain America, The Captain, Cap, Capsicle, Weapon I, Commander Steve Rogers, The Star Spangled Man With A Plan, The Sentinel of Liberty)

Manager of the Divine Ranks

A new position established by the Progenitors, the Gods who manage the Divine Ranks of deities. He is responsible for adjusting the ranks of Gods in the Pantheon if it is determined they are either to attain a higher rank, or descend to a lower rank.

    Ugo 
Uraltugo Noi Nueph, Manager of Divine Ranks (Ugo)
  • Overdeity (has power over the ranking system)
  • Symbol: Rukh
  • Alignment: Lawful Good
  • Portfolio: Divine Ranks, The Archmage, Beware the Nice Ones, Imagination-Based Superpower, Older Than They Look, Paralyzing Fear of Sexuality, Top God
  • Domains: The Divine Ranks, Magic
  • Appointed to the newly-created position of "Manager of Divine Ranks" after learning he was able to exchange the hierarchy of Gods in his own Universe, and decided he was a perfect fit for regulating the ranks of entities in the Pantheon. Ugo very happily agreed with the decision, because now he had a whole range of new people he could make friends with. He is currently employed in the Court of the Gods.
    • Extra care has been taken by the Holy Trinity to ensure that Ugo's knowledge of how to switch places in the divine hierarchy does not spread to other Gods, for fear that evil-aligned Gods may use it to give themselves more power in the Pantheon, as David was able to accomplish in Ugo's world. However, Tzeentch may already know...
  • Ugo has garnered the ire of a number of evil deities, both because Ugo was able to do what so many of them failed to do (usurp their Universes's gods and become Gods themselves), and because of the apparent hypocrisy in Ugo's treatment compared to them. It is believed that Ren Gyokuen/Arba was the one who first started the complaints.
  • Ugo holds great respect for The Truth as a guardian of the Gate of Truth, and the purveyor of justice and karma. The Truth may have had a guiding hand in David and Sinbad usurping the Sacred Palace from Ugo, but the implication is that David is the one The Truth wants punished. Truth may be the only other being outside of the Holy Trinity with whom Ugo's knowledge was shared.
  • Ugo was also very happy and surprised to meet Aladdin in the Pantheon, and the two frequently talk about the other characters and worlds as Aladdin shows Ugo around the Pantheon. Aladdin is also helping Ugo readjust to being outside of the Sacred Palace, since being in there for 1x10^51 years made him a little insane, and making sure that no evil deities try to trick him into doing something by projecting an illusion of Solomon. Aizen Sousuke in particular is high on the list of people to keep Ugo away from.
  • Ugo's expertise in magic is considered to be unparalleled in his home Universe, enough so that it was his mastery of magic that created the Djinn, the Universe in which Aladdin and his friends currently live in, and the source of his ability to re-order the divine hierarchy.

Pantheon Prosecution Service

    Jack McCoy and Adam Schiff 
John James McCoy and Adam Schiff, Co-Gods of Closing Morally Ambiguous Quips (McCoy: Jack)
  • Demigods
  • Symbol: The Law & Order font
  • Alignment: Lawful Good
  • Portfolios: Team Dad, Parental Substitute
  • Domains: Law, Good, City, Protection
  • Lennie was happy to make his return to the Pantheon and has been hard at work trying to bring back his colleagues. He found his chance to bring back Jack McCoy for his ability to make closing quip. This was complicated by the fact that Jack refused entry without recognizing Schiff, his long-time mentor. The two decided to make their case to let both of them into the Pantheon. Their prosecutor was none other than Manfred von Karma, the person Jack initially took the God of Prosecutors title from him. Their lawyer? The legendary Perry Mason. In an intense case, the Court of the Gods sided with Jack, granting the two of them equal status in the Pantheon.
  • Is longtime friends with Miles Edgeworth, who has been his apprentice for many years. Edgeworth was instrumental in helping Jack ascend the first time, wrest Manfred of his first title. To his surprise, Miles himself has ascended by the time he arrived a second time. The two now help each other putting perps behind bars.
    • Is not exactly as chummy with Edgeworth's friend Phoenix Wright as the later is a defense attorney. Still, he knows that the two are generally on the same side in delivering justice.
  • That doesn't mean there aren't defense attorneys they respect. The two looked into the case of one Atticus Finch and were impressed with his work in the face of racism.
  • As with in their mortal lives, both rely on an array of psychologists and detectives to get the job done. Fraiser is probably the only psychologist he currently trusts, but there are a vast number of detectives he depend on, all with their skills and drawbacks.
  • There was a time when McCoy thought he had the right man behind bars and had the evidence to lock him up. All it took now was the jury to make their decision. Yet one juror thought something else was up. That juror managed to convince the others that the person was actually innocent. A quick going over on the case proved the man was innocent after all. Now back in the Pantheon, both McCoy and Schiff were shocked to see that the juror now has a temple of his own. The two shook hands with Juror #8 and thanked him for realizing their mistake.
  • Then there are the ones who disappoint, as with the case of Harvey Dent. His demeanor was rough on the edges, but he had a great determination to lock up criminals. His tenure looked promising... until he had half his body burned off and was driven insane. The prosecutors see Dent's case as a tragedy for what happened to him.
  • When it comes to examining evidence, the duo go over to Gil in order to find any clues they can use in court. Results may vary as some people point out how unrealistic some of the methods of finding evidence can be. Abby can be seen alongside him for assistance.
  • Gibbs is often tasked in helping them find suspects and bringing them in. They like his dependability and his ability to strike fear into the eyes of perps.
  • Jack won his original godly title from Manfred Von Karma, the former God of Prosecutors, in an epic struggle within the (old) Courthouse of the Gods (in the Justice House), which ended when McCoy shot Von Karma in the shoulder despite being repeatedly tasered. Rumors say that Von Karma's daughter is currently plotting "revenge".
  • Both function as representatives of the Prosecution, Plaintiff, or the Council's puppet central authority of the Pantheon when the Court of the Gods is in session.

    Godot 
Godot, God of Coffee (Diego Armando)

    Harvey Dent 
Harvey Dent, Divine District Attorney and The Two-Faced God of Deciding Lives With Chance (Harvey, Two-Face, Big Bad Harv, Apollo, The Judge, Gotham's White Knight)
  • Demigod
  • Symbol: The head facing of a U.S. silver dollar with deep scratches running through it
  • Alignment: Luck-based, which translates to Lawful Neutral and Chaotic Evil (used to be Lawful Good)
  • Portfolio: Insanity Defense, Joker Jury, Justice by Other Legal Means
  • Domains: Evil and/or Good, Law, Luck
  • After dying for his own sins, Harvey Dent was rewarded for his unyielding commitment to the proper administration of law with ascension to the divine court. Nominally a servant of councilor McCoy, Dent only serves in that role half the time. However, whereas McCoy is more prone to using The Perry Mason Method and the Chewbacca Defense, Dent is more traditional in using Plan B and other courtroom trickery.
  • Half the time, Dent serves as the Divine District Attorney, appointed by the God of Prosecution and serving at his pleasure. The other half, he serves on the defense, a scarred alter ego defending costumed madmen.
    • And before you ask, yes, this has resulted in at least one court case where he was both the legal prosecutor and the defense attorney at the same time. Harvey won easily.

    Ichigo Momomiya/Mew Ichigo 
Ichigo Momomiya, Goddess of Catgirls (Mew Ichigo, Momomiya-san, Zoey Hanson)
  • Intermediate Goddess
  • Symbol: The Strawberbell
  • Alignment: Lawful Good
  • Portfolio: Cat Girls, Magical Girls, Sleepyhead, Pink Means Feminine, Heart-Themed Powers, Rose-Haired Sweetie, Cute Clumsy Girl
  • Domains: Animal, Good, Law, Radiance, Spell
  • Ichigo is one of a group of humans called Mew Mews; in fact, she's their leader. Mew Mews, at least in the setting Ichigo comes from, are human females with unique DNA patterns that incorporate DNA from endangered animals; this unusual trait gives each Mew Mew powers corresponding to said animal and allows them to become Magical Girls. She herself has the DNA of the Iriomote Cat.
  • Ichigo serves as an enforcer for the Court, restraining those who can’t keep their cool and are trying to attack. She also serves as the representative for the Magical Girl Sisterhood.
  • She is currently filing a restraining order with the Court against Adam Taurus, for his creepy obsession with protecting her. No word has come out whether or not it went through.

    Manfred von Karma 
Manfred von Karma, God of Amoral Attorneys (Gou Karuma, God of Prosecution)

    Miles Edgeworth 
Miles Edgeworth, God of Cravats (Reiji Mitsurugi, Demon Prosecutor, Edgey, Edgey-poo)

    The Protectors of the Plot Continuum 
The Protectors of the Plot Continuum, Divine Organization of Mary Sue Hunters
  • The organization as a whole are Overdeities and it's necessary in order to keep Sues under control. Most individual members range from Demideities to Intermediate.
  • Symbol: The PPC logo.
  • Alignment: Lawful Good as a whole, though at their worst they may slip into Chaotic Neutral due to losing their sanity over time during their careers.
  • Portfolio: Mary Sue Hunters, Running The Risk Of Becoming Like What They Are Hunting, Using any means necessary, Preparation Varies, The World as Myth, Massive Multiplayer Crossover, Requiring a bit of knowledge in source materials, Deconstruction of fanworks, Not giving up in their mission, Genre Roulette, Using technology powered by stabilized plot holes, Metafiction
  • Domains: Hunting, Creativity, Canon Protection and Restoration.
  • The PPC is a strong organization of multiple Agents, tasked with the capture and extermination of Mary Sues. Their work over the years granted them a position in the Pantheon.
    • Every agent packs a Mary Sue Litmus Device, which detects whether or not the person is a Sue note note note note note note note .
  • Their role in the Court is as pursuers of alleged Sues. In essence: They investigate potential Sues, and Ichigo prosecutes them with the help of the Senior Attorneys. donk-donk.

Hallowed Defense Practitioners

    Atticus Finch 
Atticus Finch, God of Kindly Alabamans (One-Shot)
  • Lesser God
  • Symbol: A pair of spectacles, one lens much thicker than the other
  • Alignment: Lawful Good
  • Portfolio: Badass Bookworm, Crusading Lawyer, Deadpan Snarker, Determined Defeatist, based on Harper Lee’s father, Gentleman and a Scholar, The Hero, Nice Guy, a real estate lawyer appointed to defend Tom Robinson, Papa Wolf, Retired Badass, Smart People Wear Glasses, Stoic Spectacles
  • Domains: Good, Law, Respect
  • The oldest prominent lawyer in the Pantheon, Atticus Finch represents the moral ideal of both a lawyer and a human being: he is brutally honest, highly moral, a tireless crusader for good causes (even hopeless ones), and a virtual pacifist. He has the most dignity of any god in the courtroom, and other gods respond by settling down a bit while in his presence. Unlike other lawyer gods, he doesn't see the courtroom as a battle between himself and the prosecution, and has never so much as raised his voice. "Never ask a witness a question whose answer you don't know," he's said before.
  • His two children run about and cause minor mischief in the rest of the Pantheon, but most gods are rather reluctant to do much about it other than tell Atticus and let him decide what to do. It's hard to say why they do this; even as a god, he is just a detached, quiet middle-aged man who happens to be a good but reluctant shot. It might have something to do with half of the Good or Lawful gods looking up to him, it might be because his kids sometimes play with Adam Young and Haruhi Suzumiya.
  • Though he doesn’t reside in the House of Justice, he can be found working on several cases there. Among those in the house who work well with him are fellow lawyers Phoenix Wright and Perry Mason, who respect him for his actions in the court.
    • From Phoenix, he met up with Miles Edgeworth, who was given odd looks as he noticed his resemblance to his father Gregory. Perhaps it’s because of this that the two were able to work together in several cases.

    Jean-Luc Picard 
Jean-Luc Picard, God of Exasperation (Locutus of Borg, The Picard, Johnny, Kamin, Galen)

    Jennifer Walters/She-Hulk 
Jennifer Walters, Goddess of Superhuman Transfusions (She-Hulk, Jen, Shulkie, The Second Strongest One There Is, The Strong Arm of Justice)
  • Intermediate God
  • Symbol: A Muscular Green Arm.
  • Alignment: Neutral Good (She's strayed away from Lawful recently, much to the consternation of the bar exam)
  • Portfolio: Amazonian Beauties, Action Girls, The Benefits of Gamma Radiation, Fistfights, Boisterous Bruiser, Nigh-Invulnerability, Conscientious Clothing, Leotards, Being Cursed with Awesome and Loving it
  • Domains: Law, Protection, Good, Strength
  • Once a mild-mannered lawyer, she was severely wounded by a crime boss. With no other blood type around, She got a blood transfusion from her cousin Bruce Banner with an unusual side effect. She is now able to transform to the voracious bombshell known as the Savage She-Hulk. She proved to be more versatile with her transformations, being able to change at will as well as keep control of her alter ego.
  • As much screening as she does, most of her clients are actually guilty, and since they usually get unruly, she often beats them up. She doesn't think in terms of winning or losing a case. Justice was served! Time to go by the House of Defense and fight evil!
  • Is lawyer buddies with Matt Murdock who share similar goals. That friendship ends when they compete for clients... and especially when they are on opposite sides of the law.
    • When she first entered the scene, people were already calling her 'female Phoenix Wright'. She usually called an ambulance after that. But once the Crusading Lawyer made an appearance in the Pantheon, things took an interesting turn. Jennifer was insistent that he become her rival in the courtroom, an idea Phoenix Wright initially balked at. But when she started poaching clients, Mr. Wright decided to play along. Those hoping that these two fight will be disappointed; both lawyers knew it would be a Curb-Stomp Battle.

    Matt Murdock/Daredevil 
Matt Murdock, God of Disability Superpowers (Daredevil, The Devil of Hell's Kitchen, The Man Without Fear, The Most Emo Superhero Ever)
  • Lesser God
  • Symbol: Two Red Ds
  • Allignment: Lawful Good
  • Portfolio: Disability Superpowers, Empowered Badass Normals, Being Blessed with Suck, Those With Doomed Love Interests, Blind Upholder of the Law, Never managing to hold on to happiness for very long, Has a really, REALLY shitty life
  • Domains: Law, Protection, Heroism, Justice, Misery
  • Matt has a fair amount of dignity and restraint, but he can still get carried away during an exciting case. While Wright takes quirky cases, Walters takes cases where she sometimes has to beat up her client, and Finch takes serious, outwardly boring cases, Matt can cover all three. He does have a dual identity, but at least half of the gods know that this blind lawyer also dresses in tight red and beats up evildoers.
  • Can also be found in the House of Justice working together with Phoenix Wright and She-Hulk in his civilian identity.
  • While not a state attorney, he holds a lot of respect for Atticus Finch. Someone who does that kind of work in that time period has to have a lot of guts.
  • A member of the Blind Trinity: Those who are blinded.

    Perry Mason 
Perry Mason, God of Confessions

    Phoenix Wright 
Phoenix Wright, God of Crusading Lawyers (Ryuichi Naruhodo, Nick, Trite, Feenie, Hobo-Phoenix, The Turnabout Terror, the Comeback King, the Fighting Phoenix)

    Shuichi Kitaoka/Kamen Rider Zolda 
Shuichi Kitaoka, God of Handguns (Kamen Rider Zolda, The (Self-Proclaimed) Super Lawyer, Mido-Rider)


Top