History Main / DuelingMessiahs

* ''Anime/CodeGeass'' deals with {{childhood|friends}} {{best friend}}s [[TheChessmaster Lelouch]] [[DarkMessiah Lamperouge]] and [[TheQuisling Suzaku]] [[HonorBeforeReason Kururugi]], both of whom agree on one thing - that the current regime, the Britannian empire, is horrible. However, their methods of changing it differ drastically - Lelouch has enough of a DarkAndTroubledPast to want to overthrow his father the Emperor, and will settle for nothing less than the complete destruction of the monarchy (of which he is a part of - except, of course, for his beloved little sister and long-lost younger half sister he still cares for). Suzaku, on the other hand, rejects an offer to join Lelouch more than once and enlists in the Britannian military (despite being Japanese) because he believes the Britannian empire can be changed from the inside. There is, of course, [[DeathSeeker more than]] [[SelfMadeOrphan meets the eye]].

* ''Fanfic/ASupeOfAMan'': Type 2 with Superman and Homelander. They're both powerful Supes with significant influence in their respective groups and fan bases, they both want to shake off the shackles that Vought has on them and buck the status quo, but their motivations and ultimate goals couldn't be more different--Clark is an Ideal Hero who aims to end the Vicious Cycle of corruption and death Vought has created with the Supes and its toxic insular culture, and hopefully forge a better, freer future; John is a borderline Classic Villain who's only in it for his own personal autonomy, and longs for a world where he can do anything he wants--including rape and mass-murder--and suffer no consequences for it.

* ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'': Qrow and General James Ironwood in Volume 3. While both serve under [[BigGood Ozpin]], James is uptight, formal and likes getting straight to the point, while Qrow is frequently drunk, grumpy, and enjoys winding people up. Putting them together in a room causes fireworks; they both want to help Ozpin fight [[BigBad Salem]] but they can't agree on how. James approaches problems with open (and often excessive) displays of brute physical force while Qrow operates more like a spy for Ozpin, and thus focuses on intelligence gathering, working from the shadows, and having their side keep their cards close to their chest. Also both Ozpin and Qrow favor the approach of teaching and using huntsmen, highly talented and trained individuals with astounding capabilities who can both protect and inspire the populace, while Ironwood favors using large armies to fight the [[AnimalisticAbomination the Grimm]] and Salem's forces. Although their constant arguing in Volume 3 over Ironwood's decision to bring an army to Vale gives Ozpin a massive headache, things don't truly fall apart between them until Volume 7, when searching for the best way to protect Mantle drives a more serious wedge between them. [[spoiler:Volume 7 leads Ironwood away from this trope; throughout the course of the prior Volumes Ironwood had been [[SlowlySlippingIntoEvil increasingly falling into paranoia]] and ControlFreak tendencies, but at the end of Volume 7 he goes JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope towards full on villainy, determined to save people of Atlas alone, even if he has to sacrifice the whole of Remnant, including Mantle, to achieve it. By the end of Volume 7, Oscar concludes that Ironwood has now become as dangerous a threat as Salem herself.]]

** Naruto fights [[WellIntentionedExtremist Pain]]. Pain wanted to bring peace by creating a [[WeaponOfMassDestruction horrifically destructive jutsu]] (which would get used), thereby horrifying/scaring everyone into peace for a long time. Once time lets people get over it, they will use it again, after this there will be a very long period of peace, rinse and repeat till the end of time. Naruto wanted to achieve peace in a much more moral yet still unexplained way that he still probably hasn't come up with.

* ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'': Qrow and Ironwood in Volume 3. While both serve under Ozpin, James is uptight, formal and likes getting straight to the point, while Qrow is drunk, grumpy and enjoys winding people up. Putting them together in a room causes fireworks; they both want to help [[BigGood Ozpin]] fight [[BigBad Salem]] but they can't agree on how. James approaches problems with open, physical and excessive displays of force while Qrow prefers intelligence gathering, working from the shadows and playing their cards close to their chest. While both men are aggressive, James focuses on macho, physical aggression that's backed up by verbal arguments while Qrow prefers sarcastic, verbal attacks that's backed up by physical actions. Although their constant arguing in Volume 3 over Ironwood's decision to bring an army to Vale gives Ozpin a massive headache, things don't truly fall apart between them until Volume 7, when searching for the best way to protect Mantle drives a more serious wedge between them. [[spoiler:Volume 7 leads Ironwood away from this trope as he SlidesDownTheSlipperySlope into full villainy, determined to save people of Atlas alone, even if he has to sacrifice the whole of Remnant, including Mantle, to achieve it. By the end of Volume 7, Oscar concludes that Ironwood has now become as dangerous a threat as Salem herself.]]

** Aleph and Daleth are both declared the Messiah in ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiII'', and fight over the title. Their rivalry has nothing to do with their views on how the world should be saved; it's all over who gets to save it [[spoiler:because they're actually working for the same people. It turns out that this was invoked by the Messians; they created both Aleph and Daleth in a gambit to create the Messiah. Aleph was designed to be the real Messiah, and Daleth was supposed to be a strawman for Aleph to triumph over.]]

* Just about everybody in ''TabletopGame/WarhammerFantasy'' has their own idea of what's best for the world, unfortunately these ideas tend to clash with reality. The Slann rearranged entire continents to better suit the Old Ones' plan (that the dwarves were kind living in those continents was of no concern to them) or believe that the only way to get said plan to fruition is to get all three elven factions back into Ulthuan (they ''hate'' each other), while the vampire von Carstein has a way to forever prevent the powers of Chaos from getting new victims... by turning the world's population into zombies. Each of the revived Khemri tomb kings believes himself the rightful ruler of Khemri and will wage war on all enemies of the kingdom, inside and out.

* In the original ''Manga/SaintSeiya'' the reason behind the ForeverWar that flared up every few centuries between Poseidon and Athena was based on Poseidon wanting to pull a Noah's flood to fix the world, while Athena wanted to protect it and allow humans to develop on their own terms.
* Negi and [[spoiler:Fate]] in ''Manga/NegimaMagisterNegiMagi'', in a similar manner to [[spoiler:the ''Manga/FateKaleidLinerPrismaIllya'' example above]]. [[spoiler:Negi and the gang eventually discover that Fate and the [[AncientConspiracy Cosmo Entelechia]] are trying to save the human inhabitants of the Magical World, which is about to collapse and in turn cause the humans to be stranded on Mars, the landscape of which was used to create the Magical World. Negi opposes their plan to send the humans to a [[LotusEaterMachine never-ending dream world]] by sacrificing Asuna and the Magical World's non-human inhabitants, and tries to get them to help him find [[TakeAThirdOption another way]].]]
* ''Anime/SaintSeiyaOmega'' is interesting since it has not one, but ''two'' Messiah's and one DarkMessiah. Athena wants to protect the world from evil forces, and Mars wants to destroy, remake, and refine it because his StartOfDarkness (and DarkIsEvil based powers) influenced him to think only the strong should rule in order to stop senseless suffering. Caught between them is Aria, who would ''like'' to be like Athena, but Mars is using her as a figurehead to fool others and enact his evil plan.
* ''Anime/CodeGeass'' deals with childhood best friends [[TheChessmaster Lelouch]] [[DarkMessiah Lamperouge]] and [[TheQuisling Suzaku]] [[HonorBeforeReason Kururugi]], both of whom agree on one thing - that the current regime, the Britannian empire, is horrible. However, their methods of changing it differ drastically - Lelouch has enough of a DarkAndTroubledPast to want to overthrow his father the Emperor, and will settle for nothing less than the complete destruction of the monarchy (of which he is a part of - except, of course, for his beloved little sister and long-lost younger half sister he still cares for). Suzaku, on the other hand, rejects an offer to join Lelouch more than once and enlists in the Britannian military (despite being Japanese) because he believes the Britannian empire can be changed from the inside. There is, of course, [[DeathSeeker more than]] [[SelfMadeOrphan meets the eye]].
* ''Manga/{{X 1999}}'': Actually invoked by Fuuma and Kamui's dynamic; Kamui is a stock MessianicArchetype, a boy destined to either save the world or destroy it, depending on whether he thinks it's worth saving or not. Fuuma himself is destined to become Kamui's EvilCounterpart of sorts; he's supposed to fight for whatever side Kamui doesn't pick. Because of NoEnding, it remains to be seen how this dynamic will play out.
* Big Mama vs Sacher Torte in ''Manga/SorcererHunters''. Both believe that the world is not a nice place anymore, but while Big Mama strives to heal it, Sacher Torte wants to destroy it and rebuild it from scratch, believing it too far gone for redemption. Big Mama's dedication to maintaining the world is so absolute, she even [[spoiler:attempted to KILL Carrot so he wouldn't turn into the God of Destruction]].

* ''Anime/CControl'' ends up with partisans of two rival economic ideologies fighting for control; one messiah wants to mortgage the future to preserve Japan in the present (a metaphor for supporting a failing economy with more government debt), and the other wants to sacrifice the present and destroy Japan's status as a financial center to rebuild the future (which is supposed to represent financial austerity). As this is [[AuthorTract a pro-austerity propaganda piece]], the second hero wins.
* Asta and Lucius Zogratis in ''Manga/BlackClover''. [[AllLovingHero Asta]] wants to become the Wizard King to reform Clover society and end the country's discrimination. [[DarkMessiah Lucius]] has the goal of remaking humanity into equals and higher beings to create true peace, and to ensure no further mistakes are made rule the world as the Wizard Emperor. Lucius sees himself as the world's savior and Asta as its flaw. For being the only human without magic whose [[AntiMagic anti-magic]] defies Lucius's invincible magic and prevents his soul from being remade, Asta is a threat to Lucius's vision of equality that he won't let live in his perfect world.

* ComicBook/CaptainAmerica vs ComicBook/IronMan in ''ComicBook/CivilWar''. After the tragedy at Stanford results in civilian casualties during a supervillain attack, the government puts into motion the [[SuperRegistrationAct Superhuman Registration Act]]. Iron Man takes the "Lawful" side of the [[ToBeLawfulOrGood conflict]], while Cap takes the "Good" side.

* In Dynamite's ''ComicBook/TheShadow'' the Light arc, the Shadow vs the eponymous character. Both think they are fighting the good fight, but they have their differences: The Shadow knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men and judges them not by their thoughts or desires but only when they put that evil into action. The Light seeks to purge all who have tainted souls, even if they are innocent of actual wrongdoing.

* This is indicated to have occurred in the backstory of ''Fanfic/ChildOfTheStorm,'' as per canon, between Xavier and Magneto. However, Magneto has since pulled a HeelFaceTurn. While he is still absolutely terrifying if you cross him, he prefers mutant separation to domination, and if you don't go after his people, he (probably) won't go after yours. He and Xavier have settled into something like FriendlyEnemies.

* In ''Literature/HarryPotter'' there was a legendary duel between Albus Dumbledore and Gellert Grindelwald because the dark wizard, Grindelwald, wanted to lead the wizards out of hiding and have them subjugate muggles, while Dumbeldore had become the champion for those without magic. However, what finally pushed Dumbledore into acting was the fact that Grindelwald started a massive war with countless casualties in order to have his way.
* Discussed in ''Literature/TheBrothersKaramazov''. Ivan Karamazov writes a narrative poem in which Jesus returns to Earth in the Middle Ages... and the Catholic Inquisition arrests him. The Grand Inquisitor tells Jesus to his face that the Church has improved on his message, and they really don't need Jesus any more.
* Invoked by Demandred in the last book of ''Literature/TheWheelOfTime'', setting himself up as "the Wyld", a figure from [[spoiler: Sharan]] prophecy in opposition to "the Dragon" aka Rand al'Thor, the main character and MessianicArchetype of the series and reincarnation of Demandred's hated rival. Demandred repeatedly describes himself as a savior, says of Rand that "he is false and I am true" and challenges Rand to come and fight him to prove who is the ''real'' messiah. [[spoiler: Rather amusingly, Demandred never actually ''meets'' Rand on-page; he's killed off by Lan, a perfectly ordinary mortal (albeit one of the greatest swordsmen of all time) and because of his assumed messianic role, his death utterly breaks the morale of his troops]].
** Prior to Demandred, were the false Dragons, Taim and an unnamed one, who were both engaged in battle when Rand was declared Dragon by fulfilling the prophecy. They were knocked from their horses. Taim was captured, but the other one wasn't so lucky. It was explained that with the true Dragon revealed, [[BecauseDestinySaysSo the Pattern rejected any false ones]].
* In A Whisper Of Wings by Paul Kidd we end up with not just dueling messiahs but dueling sisters, as the elder seeks to end the stagnant, calcified rule of the royal and religious casts (of which she's a member of the royals) by stirring her mountain-dwelling people into bloody war on the plains people below while the younger seeks to do things more peacefully (and only ends up opposing her in the first place primarily due to the older sister handing her over to the priesthood and killing her unborn child).

* ''Literature/TheBookOfTheNewSun'': though it may not be apparent to the protagonist, there are two apparent candidates for the messiah figure known as the Conciliator, namely [[spoiler:Baldanders and Serverian himself]]. Naturally they end up fighting - the trigger being the science-driven former destroying a relic belonging to the faith-driven latter.
* In ''Literature/TheGreatTreeOfAvalon'', a prophecy mentions two figures: a messianic Heir of Merlin, who will save Avalon, and the Child of the Dark Prophecy, who will try to destroy it. However, a lesser-known prophecy implies that the latter would be "like a brother" to the Heir of Merlin, and thus might not be as evil as he seems. Sure enough two adopted brothers, Tamwyn and Scree, seem to be the two figures, though it's not clear which is which. Eventually it turns out that [[spoiler:Tamwyn is ''both'']].

* Also from Creator/BioWare, ''VideoGame/DragonAgeOrigins'' has the [[PlayerCharacter Grey Warden]] and [[FallenHero Teryn]] [[WellIntentionedExtremist Loghain]]. Loghain truly believes that he is the only one capable of saving Ferelden from the Blight and acts accordingly, but misunderstands certain crucial facts with disastrous results (and to be fair, some of those facts were deliberately kept secret). Under different circumstances, he might well have remained the hero he was in the past. Towards the end of the game he can be made aware how badly he's screwed things up, causing him to either [[spoiler: FaceDeathWithDignity, knowing that he's leaving Ferelden in the Warden's capable hands]] or [[spoiler: join the Wardens himself]].

* This trope is a recurring motif in the ''Franchise/{{Persona}}'' spin-off series of SMT, from the third game onwards. All of the true villains are gods manifested or affected by humanity's collective unconscious, and they almost always insist they are helping mankind by fulfilling the most primal wants that people are too afraid to voice ([[VideoGame/Persona3 Desire for death]], [[VideoGame/Persona4 desire for ignorance]], [[VideoGame/Persona5 desire for safety and leadership]], etc.) Even the human TrueFinalBoss of ''[[UpdatedRerelease Persona 5 Royal]]'' is an altruistic and compassionate man who only wants for everyone in the world to be their happiest [[spoiler:even if it requires a planet-spanning LotusEaterMachine]]. Each of them are opposed by teenagers who believe in ThePowerOfFriendship and that self-determination is more meaningful than unconscious yearnings.

* In ''VideoGame/PokemonBlackAndWhite'', the hero and N Harmonia take the roles of the heroes of Unova - one representing truth, one representing ideals. If N wins, then humans and Pokemon will be separated [[spoiler:and Ghetsis Harmonia will take control of the entire region]], but if you win then the region will stay as it is [[spoiler:and Ghetsis's plans will fall apart.]]
* The core premise of ''VideoGame/SidMeiersAlphaCentauri'' is that each faction leader on Planet is a visionary with his or her own scheme for how human (or alien, for some of the ''Alien Crossfire'' expansion factions) society should be ordered to best ensure the preservation of the species, many of which are mutually incompatible. Since their differences are irreconcilable, they each strike out with their followers to implement their own visions of utopia to prove once and for all which path is truly superior.

* There are many religions in the world. They have the goal of bringing humanity to a state of non-suffering, be it in a distant paradise or as peace of self. Some of those religions don't get along very well. [[Administrivia/RuleOfCautiousEditingJudgement Enough said.]]

[[folder:Anime And Manga]]

* ''Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica'' takes this to [[GoingCosmic transcendental level]]. On one side, you have an AllLovingHero [[spoiler:Kaname Madoka]] who would take all the [[spoiler:magical girls turning into Witches]] to her personal valhalla before they can turn into monsters. On the other side, you have DarkMessiah [[spoiler:Kriemhild Gretchen]], one of said monsters, who will take the entire world (if not the entire ''universe'') into her, [[AssimilationPlot a paradise where no one suffers]]. [[spoiler:Both of them are the same ExtremeDoormat person, even!]]
** And in the end of ''[[Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagicaTheMovieRebellion The Rebellion Story]]'', we have the same AllLovingHero as the series opposed this time by DarkMessiah [[spoiler:Akemi Homura]] in a glorious demonstration of the [[LoveMakesYouCrazy corrupting potential]] [[LoveMakesYouEvil of love]].

* Asta and Lucius Zogratis in ''Manga/BlackClover''. [[AllLovingHero Asta]] wants to become the Wizard King to reform Clover society and end the country's discrimination. [[DarkMessiah Lucius]] has the goal of remaking humanity into equals and higher beings to create true peace, and to ensure no further mistakes are made rule over humans as the Wizard Emperor. Lucius sees himself as the world's savior and Asta as its flaw. For being the only human without magic whose [[AntiMagic anti-magic]] defies Lucius's invincible magic and prevents his soul from being remade, Asta is a threat to Lucius's vision of equality that he won't let live in his perfect world.

* Asta and Lucius Zogratis in ''Manga/BlackClover''. [[AllLovingHero Asta]] wants to become the Wizard King to reform Clover society and end the country's discrimination. [[DarkMessiah Lucius]] has the goal of remaking humanity into equals and higher beings to create true peace, and to ensure no further mistakes are made rule over humans as the Wizard Emperor. For being the only human without magic whose [[AntiMagic anti-magic]] defies Lucius's invincible magic and prevents his soul from being remade, Asta is a threat to Lucius's vision of equality that he won't let live in his perfect world.

* Asta and Lucius Zogratis in ''Manga/BlackClover''. [[AllLovingHero Asta]] wants to become the Wizard King to reform Clover society and end the country's discrimination. [[DarkMessiah Lucius]] has the goal of remaking humanity into equals and higher beings to create true peace, and to ensure no further mistakes are made rule over humans as the Wizard Emperor. For being the only human without magic, Asta is a threat to Lucius's vision of equality that he won't let live in his perfect world.

* In Dynamite's ''Radio/TheShadow'' the Light arc, the Shadow vs the eponymous character. Both think they are fighting the good fight, but they have their differences: The Shadow knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men and judges them not by their thoughts or desires but only when they put that evil into action. The Light seeks to purge all who have tainted souls, even if they are innocent of actual wrongdoing.

** DarkMessiah Madara and WideEyedIdealist Hashirama came to believe in conflicting ideas on how to bring lasting peace to the world, culminating in their battle at the Valley of the End. [[spoiler:After Hashirama's death, Madara continued to work on his plan and passed it on to [[BigBad Obito]]. Naruto's emergence as the HopeBringer has set him as the new messiah opposing [[HopeCrusher Obito]].

* Negi and [[spoiler:Fate]] in ''Manga/NegimaMagisterNegiMagi'', in a similar manner to [[spoiler:the ''Manga/FateKaleidLinerPrismaIllya'' example above]]. [[spoiler:Negi and the gang eventually discover that Fate and the [[AncientConspiracy Cosmo Entelechia]] are trying to save the human inhabitants of the Magical World, which is about to collapse and in turn cause the humans to be stranded on Mars, the landscape of which was used to create the Magical World. Negi opposes their plan to send the humans to a [[LotusEaterMachine never-ending dream world]] by sacrificing Asuna and the Magical World's non-human inhabitants, and tries to get them to help him find [[TookAThirdOption another way]].]]

* The core premise of ''VideoGame/SidMeiersAlphaCentauri'' is that each faction leader is a visionary with his or her own scheme for how human (or alien, for some of the ''Alien Crossfire'' expansion factions) society should be ordered, many of which are mutually incompatible. Since their differences are irreconcilable, they each strike out with their followers to implement their own visions of utopia to prove once and for all which path is truly superior.