History Main / GodOfTheDead

** ''Franchise/TheFlash'': The Black Flash is the personification of death for speedsters, created by the Speed Force to capture them at the end of their lives so that they can become one with the Speed Force.

** ''ComicBook/TheSandman'': Death of the Endless is the AnthropomorphicPersonification of death who comes for ''everyone'' when their time is up. While the series features other gods of death, like Anubis, Hades, and Persephone, and the SpinOff ''ComicBook/TheThessaliad'' features Pluto, Thoth, and Morrigan, their influence is limited to those who believe in them.
** ''Franchise/WonderWoman'': Hades occassionally appears in the Wonder Woman comics as either an antagonist or uneasy ally.

[[caption-width-right:350:[[Creator/ManOnTheInternet "You like what I've don with the place? I find redecoration helps bring out the very best in the god of the damned!"]]]]

[[quoteright:350:[[Literature/TheCampHalfBloodSeries https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/hades_cb.png]]]]

Less commonly, however, gods of death may be portrayed as malicious or evil figures who actively spread death and relish their power over mortals. In extreme cases, these figures may be outright {{Omnicidal Maniac}}s seeking to end all life and bring all mortal souls within their domain. Less extreme or proactive examples may still enjoy lording their power over mortals, gloating over each soul that slips into their grasp, and raging at perceived thefts when a mortal literally or figuratively cheats death. These sorts, unlike the first kind, tend to have a much more favorable view of the undead and often use them as minions and enforcers.

* '''WesternAnimation/ClassOfTheTitans'': Hades and Persephone both appear - we group them together because they're SickeninglySweethearts through the whole series. Being Olympian gods, they're on the side of good.

** In the episode "Cronus Vanquished", the BigBad Cronus [[spoiler: takes over the underworld fir himself]] until the heroes defeat him.

* ''Literature/PercyJacksonAndTheOlympians'': Hades/Pluto appears in the series. He is depicted as asocial, bitter and distant but ''not'' evil.

* Myth/HinduMythology: Yama is the Hindu god of death. He wields a noose with which he seizes those who are about to die.

* ''Literature/HisDarkMaterials'': The {{Witch|Species}}es believe in the death goddess Yambe-Akka, who comes to the dying to [[DontFearTheReaper welcome them with good cheer and open arms]]. She isn't among the supernatural entities who make an appearance, but Serafina steps into the role of Yambe-Akka to grant a witch's wish for a MercyKill.

* ''Franchise/MarvelUniverse'': ''ComicBook/{{Black Cat|Marvel}}'': Issue #5 introduces the Gilded Saint, a god of wealth and death from another dimension. He is the patron god of the New York Thieves Guild. In return for ten percent of what they steal, the Gilded Saint grants them immortality.

* Myth/JapaneseMythology: Izanami was one of the original two deities in creation, alongside her male partner Izanagi. She perished in childbirth, however, and went to Yomi (the underworld), where she became a rotting corpse riddled with maggots. She vowed to Izanagi that, in punishment for leaving her there, she would claim 1,000 living people every day, explaining why people died. Izanagi replied that he would have 1,500 be born every day.
* Myth/NorseMythology:
** Hel, a daughter of Loki who is living on one half of her body and dead on the other, rules the realm also called Hel, where those who die of old age or disease are stored until Ragnarok. Her name is related to the English word "Hell".

* ''Franchise/MarvelUniverse'': ''ComicBook/BlackCat2019'': Issue #5 introduces the Gilded Saint, a god of wealth and death from another dimension. He is the patron god of the New York Thieves Guild. In return for ten percent of what they steal, the Gilded Saint grants them immortality.

* The ''TabletopGame/{{GURPS}}'' "Dungeon Fantasy" sub-line features classic dungeon fantasy-style clerics and holy warriors, and allows for the possibility of them worshiping a range of deities. ''GURPS Dungeon Fantasy 5: Allies'' distinguishes deities by their "elements" (which determine the powers of any supernatural servitors they send to aid their worshipers), and "Death" is one such element. ''GURPS Dungeon Fantasy 7: Clerics'' offers different spell lists and special powers for different types of deity served, and again, "Death Gods" are an option.

* ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'': The ''Shadowlands'' expansion, which introduces the eponymous afterlife realm, features a number of death gods, known together as the Eternal Ones. Four of them (that we know of, there may be more) rule over their respective parts of the afterlife and tend to the spirits of the dead, while the fifth one, the Arbiter, is the [[JudgementOfTheDead judge of the dead]], who sorts out souls and gives them over to the other four. These five are generally decent figures who mostly just want to preserve the cycle of life and death and take care of their own afterlives, but some have become increasingly corrupt, distant, or arrogant over the eons. There is also Zovaal the Jailer, the original Arbiter and formerly the TopGod among the Eternal Ones, who is much ''less'' accepting of the status quo and wants the cycle of life and death ''broken'' (presumably so that [[OmnicidalManiac killing everyone will die]] and serve him in the afterlife). Needless to say, he's the BigBad.

** Hades was the god of the dead and lord of the underworld, ruling over the bleak fields where the shades of the dead wander forever. He was a grim and uncompromising figure, refusing to allow the dead to escape their fate when their time came to pass into death. His wife, Persephone, was Queen of the Underworld half the time and goddess of spring the other half.

* Myth/ChineseMythology: Yanluo Wang plays this role. He is often syncretized with Yama.

** ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}'': Among followers of plague god Nurgle, there's the belief that all that dies eventually ends up in His domain. Coupled with the belief that everything dies someday, this bestows him the title of "Lord of All".

* ''Literature/HisDarkMaterials'': The {{Witch|Species}}es believe in the death goddess Yambe-Akka, who comes to the dying to [[DontFearTheReaper welcome them with good cheer and open arms]]. She isn't among the supernatural entities who makes an appearance, but Serafina steps into the role of Yambe-Akka to grant a witch's wish for a MercyKill.