History Main / AllAreEqualInDeath

* In ''Literature/TheDarkProfitSaga'' the god of Death, [[https://www.jzacharypike.com/blog/2018/12/mordo-ogg/ Mordo Ogg]], gives nobody special treatment, not even his few clerics.

{{We all die someday}}, and we will all be treated equally by and in it. It doesn't matter if you're a master or a slave, a sinner or a saint, man or woman, a bishop or knave, white or black--everyone is all treated the same. Hence death is often called "The Great Leveler", for all and their distinctions are levelled. Either the [[FuneralTropes funerals]] or the [[AfterlifeTropes afterlife]] (if any) must be the same for everyone, whichever is used last in the work.

It's an old theme in medieval art with the Danse Macabre, which reminded the living that death comes to all and that all earthly glories will vanish, but it can also take other expressions.

Note that this goes one step further than that everyone is going to die--everyone must be treated the same as well. Even a statement that everybody is judged the same way implies a weakening of this trope. If everyone has the same funeral, but then go to different afterlives, then the trope is subverted. Put another way, this is AnAesop that all differences among people are erased upon death.

* A Greek Prover says "the grim ripper will put enemies and frineds at the same table"

->''"You can be a king or a street sweeper,\\
but everyone dances with the Grim Reaper."''
-->-- '''Robert Alton Harris'''

-->-- '''Robert Alton Harris''',

See also CessationOfExistence, NoAnimosityInTheAfterlife, and OnlyOneAfterlife. Not to be confused with TogetherInDeath. Contrast SpeciesSpecificAfterlife for one situation where different types of people are treated quite differently after death. Contrast also {{Immortality}} and, in particular, ImmortalitySeeker.

* This is what makes Death a sympathetic character in the ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' novels; he isn't cruel or sadistic, he's just good at his job, and he applies it without favour (mostly).

* This is what makes Death a sympathetic character in the ''Literature/{{Discworld}}''; he isn't cruel or sadistic, he's just good at his job, and he applies it without favour (mostly).

* Invoked by Thanos in ''Film/AvengersInfinityWar'' when he explains to Doctor Strange the rationale behind his plan to kill half the universe's population. The process would have been completely random and indiscriminate, free of bias towards race, gender, rich or poor, weak or powerful, and therefore in Thanos's mind, fair. [[spoiler:When he succeeds, those who die at the end are crumbling into dust in the same way]].

{{We all die someday}}, and we will all be treated equally by and in it. It doesn't matter if you're a master or a slave, a sinner or a saint, man or woman, a bishop or knave, white or black--everyone is all treated the same. Hence why death is often called "The Great Leveler", for all and their distinctions are levelled. Either the [[FuneralTropes funerals]] or the [[AfterlifeTropes afterlife]] (if any) must be the same for everyone, whichever is used last in the work.

all are taken before the Grim Reaper."''
-->-- '''Anonymous''',

* The god [[http://oglaf.com/sithrak/ Sithrak]] in ''Webcomic/{{Oglaf}}'' will supposedly treat everyone equally, by torturing them forever.

* In the fairy tale "Literature/GodfatherDeath", a poor man looks for a godfather for his newborn; having rejected God's offer because God favors the rich and neglects the poor, he happily accepts Death as a godfather, because Death "makes everyone equal" and "takes rich and poor alike, without distinction".

* Death in ''WebAnimation/Purgatony'' might be a BadBoss and an asshole, but when Tony calls him unfair he replies that he's the fairest of all. Since no matter who you are or what you've done with your life, everybody is guaranteed exactly one death....except those stupid immortal jellyfish

[[folder: Webcomics ]]
* The god [[http://oglaf.com/sithrak/ Sithrak]] in ''Webcomic/{{Oglaf}}'' will supposedly treat everyone equally, by torturing them forever.

* When a Roman general would celebrate victories, [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auriga_(slave) a slave called an "aurgia"]] [[https://www.thevintagenews.com/2017/01/23/in-ancient-rome-a-slave-would-continuously-whisper-remember-you-are-mortal-in-the-ears-of-victorious-generals-as-they-were-paraded-through-the-streets-after-coming-home-triumphant-from-battle/ would be positioned by him to whisper]], "Remember, you are mortal."

* When a Roman general would celebrate victories, [[https://www.thevintagenews.com/2017/01/23/in-ancient-rome-a-slave-would-continuously-whisper-remember-you-are-mortal-in-the-ears-of-victorious-generals-as-they-were-paraded-through-the-streets-after-coming-home-triumphant-from-battle/ a slave would be positioned by him to whisper]], "Remember, you are mortal."

* ''Film/BarryLyndon'':
-->'''Narrator:''' It was in the reign of George III that the aforesaid personages lived and quarreled; good or bad, handsome or ugly, rich or poor they are all equal now.

See also CessationOfExistence, NoAnimosityInTheAfterlife, and OnlyOneAfterlife. Not to be confused with TogetherInDeath. Contrast SpeciesSpecificAfterlife for one situation where different types of people are treated quite differently after death.

See also CessationOfExistence and OnlyOneAfterlife. Not to be confused with TogetherInDeath. Contrast SpeciesSpecificAfterlife for one situation where different types of people are treated quite differently after death.

** The Detarr Ur'Mayan's Head of Marketing pitches the phrase as a recruiting slogan for the undead horde, but the focus group points out that undead are not created equal. The horde has a de facto caste system with basic skeletons and zombies at the bottom, ghouls, wraiths, and vampires above them, and Detarr the liche on top. That also gets them thinking about what type of undead Tyren, Detarr's right-hand skeleton, really is, particularly whether he might have risen as a revenant for attempting to desert since they knew him while alive.

-->Bring away the beggar, bring away the king,\\

Come to death and follow me.\\