History Main / GodJob

* The God of Earth from ''Manga/DragonBall'' is an old Namekian who has forgotten his own name, who took over from the previous God. After Goku defeats Piccolo Jr., the reincarnation of God's evil half, God offers his position to Goku, though as he just got engaged to Chi-Chi, he declines. God would later be replaced by Dende, another Namekian, because the heroes needed someone to fill the job after God fused with Piccolo. Much, much later, in ''Battle of Gods'', after the battle with Beerus the God of Destruction, his attendant Whis offers to make Goku Beerus's successor (as even Beerus isn't immortal and will die someday). Again, Goku turns it down (though he is still a god now, having become the Super Saiyan God).

* Used in one ending of ''PrincessMaker''. Your daughter finds a way to defeat the ultimate evil (Lucifon) once and for all, only to get a TomatoSurprise since no one had an idea that YouKillItYouBoughtIt was in effect. (This is of course, another "do not mess with the 'natural' order" type trope.)

In certain settings, the various god(s) and other mythical beings are not a single entity, but rather someone (who was at one point mortal, or even a {{muggle}}) who holds a job or a title. Something like a mix between AnthropomorphicPersonification and LegacyCharacter, where said personification is not an entity but a job being filled. May come with literal ContractualImmortality for as long as the mortal still holds the office. Occasionally the original holder of the job was a literal AnthropomorphicPersonification; circumstances (or [[YouKillItYouBoughtIt its death]]) forced it to pass on its powers to a (deserving) mortal, who now occupies the office.

* The Captain of the Flying Dutchman in ''Film/PiratesOfTheCaribbean'' is like a sea version of the grim reaper, in charge of bringing the souls of those who died at sea back to the afterlife. The Job is held by a mortal (or someone who's on the verge of dying) who becomes pretty much immortal as long as they keep the job.

-->-- '''Kami-sama''', offering his job to Goku in ''Manga/DragonBall''

* The Guardian of Earth from ''Anime/DragonBallZ'' is an old Namekian who calls himself Kami, literally meaning "god" (as he has long forgotten his real name), who took over from the previous Guardian. After Goku defeats Piccolo Jr., the reincarnation of Kami's evil half, Kami offers the job of Guardian to Goku, though as he just got engaged to Chi-Chi, he declines. Kami would later be replaced by Dende, another Namekian, because the heroes needed someone to fill the job after Kami fused with Piccolo. Much, much later, in ''Battle of Gods'', after the battle with Beerus the God of Destruction, his attendant Whis offers to make Goku Beerus's successor (as even Beerus isn't immortal and will die someday). Again, Goku turns it down (though he is still a god now, having become the Super Saiyan God).
* The Skypeia Arc of ''Manga/OnePiece'' takes place in the White Sea, which distinctly resembles FluffyCloudHeaven, and is ruled by someone who holds the office of "God." Not quite an example, since it's just a title; although the title ''did'' get transferred through a kind of KlingonPromotion: the current God got it by defeating the previous one, ''and'' he was not that far off, power-wise: NighInvulnerable AND capable of avoiding attacks by predicting an enemy's moves AND [[MagicalDefibrillator restarting his own heart]], capable of hearing anything said in his domain, plus enough [[ShockAndAwe offensive power]] to qualify as a PersonOfMassDestruction.

* ''Manga/DeathNote'': This is how Light Yagami views his acquisition of the titular ArtifactOfDoom and his mission to [[UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans murder the world's entire population of criminals]]. Of course, Light isn't actually in the position of a god, nor is he any form of TheChosenOne - [[AGodAmI he just likes to think so.]]

* The Guardian of Earth from ''Anime/DragonBallZ'' is an old Namekian who calls himself Kami, literally meaning "god" (as he has long forgotten his real name), who took over from the previous Guardian. After Goku defeats Piccolo Jr., the reincarnation of Kami's evil half, Kami offers the job of Guardian to Goku, though as he just got engaged to Chi-Chi, he declines. Much, much later, in ''Battle of Gods'', after the battle with Beerus the God of Destruction, his attendant Whis offers to make Goku Beerus's successor (as even Beerus isn't immortal and will die someday). Again, Goku turns it down (though he is still a god now, having become the Super Saiyan God).
* The Skypeia Arc of ''OnePiece'' takes place in the White Sea, which distinctly resembles FluffyCloudHeaven, and is ruled by someone who holds the office of "God." Not quite an example, since it's just a title; although the title ''did'' get transferred through a kind of KlingonPromotion: the current God got it by defeating the previous one, ''and'' he was not that far off, power-wise: NighInvulnerable AND capable of avoiding attacks by predicting an enemy's moves AND [[MagicalDefibrillator restarting his own heart]], capable of hearing anything said in his domain, plus enough [[ShockAndAwe offensive power]] to qualify as a PersonOfMassDestruction.

* ''ErnestSavesChristmas'' deals with this plot too, as Santa is looking for his successor to the job.
* The Captain of the Flying Dutchman in ''PiratesOfTheCaribbean'' is like a sea version of the grim reaper, in charge of bringing the souls of those who died at sea back to the afterlife. The Job is held by a mortal (or someone who's on the verge of dying) who becomes pretty much immortal as long as they keep the job.

* The Santa variant of this trope is seen in ''TheSantaClause''. Whoever puts on Santa's clothes following the previous Santa's death becomes the new Santa, with all the abilities, appearance quirks and duties this implies.

* This is how [[AGodAmI Light Yagami]] of ''Manga/DeathNote'' views his acquisition of the titular ArtifactOfDoom and his mission to [[UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans murder the world's entire population of criminals]]. Of course, Light isn't actually in the position of a god, nor is he any form of TheChosenOne - he just likes to think so.

** Death is a role that must be filled, and when no one is around to do it, things get... weird. Nowadays his mostly-human granddaughter usually covers for him when he feels like [[DeathTakesAHoliday taking a holiday]]- not out of her own will, but because if he goes too long without doing the Duty, she starts displaying more Death-like traits and has no choice in the matter. She's generally quite indignant about the whole thing.
*** Nowadays it's heavily implied that the post of Death will ''eventually'' get passed on to Susan (the key word there being "eventually"), just as the post of Time was passed onto Time's son. There has been a lot of the OldGuard passing their jobs and duties onto the new though, or at the very least changing with the times (Kaos, anyone?)

* The basic premise of ''IncarnationsOfImmortality'' is this: Various concepts (Death, War, Time, Nature, Fate, Evil, Good and Night/Secrets) are held by god-like beings who are in fact mortals charged with these offices, gaining immortality and supreme power over their respective domains in the process.

* ''{{Tasakeru}}'' explores the various complications of [[spoiler:an outcast being selected to fulfill the role of a God.]]

* Common in Chinese myth, where a good official on Earth might be promoted to godhood. There is a story in ''StrangeStoriesFromAChineseStudio'' about just this happening, although the official gets a delay of nine years so can look after his aging mother until she dies.

* Common in Chinese myth, where a good official on Earth might be promoted to godhood. There is a story in ''StrangeTalesFromAChineseStudio'' about just this happening, although the official gets a delay of nine years so can look after his aging mother until she dies.

* New 52 WonderWoman becomes the God of War by killing Ares. The only reason she did this was to stop a madman from doing it and acquiring Ares' power for himself.

* The Guardian of Earth from ''Manga/DragonBall Z'' is an old Namekian who calls himself Kami, literally meaning "god" (as he has long forgotten his real name), who took over from the previous Guardian. After Goku defeats Piccolo Jr., the reincarnation of Kami's evil half, Kami offers the job of Guardian to Goku, though as he just got engaged to Chi-Chi, he declines. Much, much later, in ''Battle of Gods'', after the battle with Beerus the God of Destruction, his attendant Whis offers to make Goku Beerus's successor (as even Beerus isn't immortal and will die someday). Again, Goku turns it down (though he is still a god now, having become the Super Saiyan God).

* The position of God is more akin to a job in ''Manga/MiraiNikki''. The plot happens because the current God (Deus ex Machina) wishes to choose a successor [[spoiler:because he is dying]]. Anyone who inherits the position will also gain the vast powers that Deus commands.

* The Guardian of Earth from ''Manga/DragonBall Z'' is an old Namekian who calls himself Kami, literally meaning "god" (as he has long forgotten his real name), who took over from the previous Guardian. After Goku defeats Piccolo Jr., the reincarnation of Kami's evil half, Kami offers the job of Guardian to Goku, though as he just got engaged to Chi-Chi, he declines. Much, much later, in ''Battle of Gods'', after the battle with Beerus the God of Destruction, his attendant Whis offers the role to Goku after Beerus eventually dies. Again, Goku turns it down (though he is still a god now, having become the Super Saiyan God).

-->-- '''Kami-sama''', attempting to retire in ''Manga/DragonBall''

* The Guardians of Earth from ''Manga/DragonBall Z''. Literally called "Kami," which means "spirit" or "God". In the ''[[Anime/DragonBallZBattleOfGods Battle of the Gods]]'' movie, Whis offers Goku the position of "God of Destruction" after the fight with Beerus, but Goku declines.

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* In ''FamilyGuy'', Peter has to become Death when the reaper twists his ankle. It's also told in another episode that Death inherited the job from his father.

* This is the plot of Chinese classic novel FengshenYanyi, which is about how various heroes of AncientChina became gods during the legendary period during the rise and fall of the Shang Dynasty.

* In ''SluggyFreelance'' all holiday figures (Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, Tom Turkey, etc.) can die and be replaced, with the person killing them having the "right of caste" to claim the role for themselves. With Santa Claus, however, [[YouKillItYouBoughtIt taking on the job after killing him is mandatory]].

-> My dear Son Goku... Won't you take my place? The two of you will be very happy in heaven as god and goddess.
-->-- Kami-sama, attempting to retire in ''Manga/DragonBall''

* The reapers of ''DeadLikeMe'' work like this. The last person they reap before moving on gets the job.
* ''{{Lost}}'': The protector of the island gets all sorts of cool powers, gets to set the rules for the island, and never ages. However, he can be killed by conventional means, so he must perpetually seek a replacement. Also, [[spoiler:the finale implies that what's being protected is, at least in part, the afterlife, which the protector can never experience until he finds a successor and dies.]]
* Once in ''XenaWarriorPrincess,'' Ares loses his powers and it turns out that the god of war is a title; without someone in the position, violent urges in humans run rampant.
* In ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'' Dean is temporarily made into a reaper to do Death's job for one day as part of a deal, if he wins then Death will retrieve Sam's soul. [[spoiler: He fails, but Death decides that he learned the right Aesop anyway and holds up his end of the bargain.]]

** Immortality is more than stretching it for Time (who retains his office for precisely as long as he lived before gaining it, since [[spoiler: he lives BACKWARDS in time, and 'dies' at the moment of his birth (or conception, this is never clarified and other Incarnations say they aren't sure which)]]).

* Gods in the ''ForgottenRealms'' work this way: Being a god is a matter of having a god's portfolio (essentially a god's authority over a specific domain). Many if not most of the gods of the realms used to be mortals at some points. On occasion, they even switch portfolios around or murder other deities to take over their job as well.
** A prime example is Cyric, who was a mortal who allied himself with the god of thieves, who had assumed the physical form of a sword. With it he killed the god of murder and the godess of illusion and took over both jobs.

* ''{{Exalted}}'': It is theoretically possible for a mortal to get a god's job. It would require the mortal to already have divine power, either from having a divine ancestor or by being endowed with power from a god (which few gods think is worth the effort). Such god-blooded mortals have the potential to ascend into small gods themselves. Of course, Heaven is filled with unemployed gods, and if a position opens in the Celestial Bureaucracy, it is highly unlikely that that job would go to a former mortal. Being a god in Exalted doesn't necessarily mean being the god ''of'' something.

* In the brazilian film "God Is Brazilian", God decides to go on vacation and comes to Earth because one guy, who lives in the middle of nowhere, has the moral requirements for the job. He spends the whole movie trying to find this specific man, who turn out to be an atheist ([[NayTheist as in "God proves, in various ways, that he is, indeed, God, but the man flat out states "I don't believe in you, I'm an atheist"]]) and rejects the offer.

* The Guardians of Earth from ''Manga/DragonBall Z''. Literally called "Kami," which means "spirit" or "God". In the ''Battle of the Gods'' movie, Whis offers Goku the position of "God of Destruction" after the fight with Beerus, but Goku declines.