History Main / SatanIsGood

* ''VideoGame/{{Ultrakill}}'': [[spoiler:[[AdaptationalHeroism Unlike]] his [[Literature/TheDivineComedy poem counterpart]], Lucifer never betrayed {{God}} nor bring evil and suffering to the world. Instead, [[TheEvilsOfFreeWill sin is a natural consequence of free will]] and Lucifer merely questions God about the creation of {{Hell}} out of sympathy for the human sinners. In a state of terror, God casted Lucifer into Hell, a tragic mistake that God Himself [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone immediately regrets]] once He came to His senses.]] Interestingly, [[spoiler: it is ''[[GeniusLoci Hell itself]]'' that serves as the game's SatanicArchetype.]]

* ''VideoGame/{{Ultrakill}}'': [[spoiler:[[AdaptationalHeroism Unlike]] his [[Literature/TheDivineComedy poem counterpart]], Lucifer never betrayed {{God}} nor bring evil and suffering to the world. Instead, [[TheEvilsOfFreeWill sin is a natural consequence of free will]] and Lucifer merely questions God about the creation of {{Hell}} out of sympathy for the human sinners. In a state of terror, God casted Lucifer into Hell, a tragic mistake that God himself [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone immediately regrets]] once he came to his senses.]] Interestingly, [[spoiler:it seems that it is ''[[BigBad Hell itself]]'' that serves as the closest thing the game has to a classic SatanicArchetype.]]

* ''VideoGame/{{Ultrakill}}'': [[spoiler:[[AdaptationalHeroism Unlike]] his [[Literature/TheDivineComedy poem counterpart]], Lucifer never betrayed {{God}} nor bring evil and suffering to the world. Instead, [[TheEvilsOfFreeWill sin is a natural consequence of free will]] and Lucifer merely questions God about the creation of {{Hell}} out of sympathy for the human sinners. In a state of terror, God casted Lucifer into Hell, a tragic mistake that God himself [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone immediately regrets]] once he came to his senses.]] Interestingly, [[spoiler:it seems that the SatanicArchetype role is given to ''[[BigBad Hell itself]]'' instead.]]

* ''VideoGame/{{Undertale}}'': While he is never explicitly stated as such, [[spoiler:[[DiscOneFinalBoss King Asgore]], with his goat-like body, pitchfork weapon, fire spells, and penchant for collecting souls, definitely gives off a superficially Devil-ish vibe. He is also one of the nicest, {{gentle|Giant}}st characters in the game, who only wants to collect your soul so that he can free his people, who were unjustly sealed away in the underworld by the humans who feared them]]. Interestingly, [[spoiler:the game also has [[BigBadDuumvirate Flowey and Chara]] as more straightforward {{Satanic Archetype}}s]].

*** Perhaps "easily one of the most upstanding, honorable, caring guys" would be a better way to put it. He can be nice, but even more than nice he cares deeply for others, and sometimes that involves showing some teeth. And after all, he is the [[PapaWolf father figure]] (or actual father) to every main protagonist and even the not-so-main protagonists in the series.

->''"An apology for the Devil -- it must be remembered that we have only heard one side of the case. God has written all of the books."''
-->-- '''Samuel Butler'''

--''"Milton's Devil, as a moral being, is as far superior to his God, as one who perseveres in a purpose which he has conceived to be excellent, in spite of adversity and torture, is to one who in the cold security of undoubted triumph inflicts the most horrible revenge upon his enemy—not from any mistaken notion of bringing him to repent of a perseverance in enmity, but with the open and alleged design of exasperating him to deserve new torments."''

* ''Anime/{{Voltes V}}'': Downplayed with Jangal Rui, [[AlienPrincess Prince Heinel]]'s strategist. He resembles a BigRedDevil, though that's where his connection with Satan ends. He is a brute who fights for the [[AliensAreBastards Boazanian Empire]], but as far as personalities go, he's a nice guy. He holds no ill will towards Heinel for ''torturing and imprisoning'' him in episode 5, protects him from assassination attempts, has a horrified expression on his face when Heinel orders the execution of Giligan and [[spoiler: informs Kenichi where his missing father is before he commits {{Seppuku}}]]. He genuinely respects the Voltes Team and would even make a great ally for them had they not been on opposing sides.

* [[LaResistance The Other Light faction]] in the Literature/LeftBehind book ''Kingdom Come'' sees GodIsEvil because He won't let "naturals" in the Millennial Kingdom [[DeathsHourglass live past 100 years of age]] as unbelievers, and claim in their ''If It's True'' manifesto that God has unfairly treated one of His angels (referring to Lucifer) and befouled his name and reputation by casting him out of His presence. To that end, the Other Light worked hard to pass their teachings to the next generation of converts so that the generation that gets to [[FinalBattle confront God and Jesus at the end of the Millennium]] will be "assured victory" when [[SealedEvilInACan Lucifer is released.]] [[CurbStompBattle Unfortunately for them,]] [[YouCantFightFate it didn't go as they hoped.]]

* ''WesternAnimation/StarVsTheForcesOfEvil'' has SatanicArchetype Globgor, who is a BigRedDevil seen as a satanic figure to the Spiderbites, [[spoiler:but gets shown to have a softer side and being TheAtoner]].
* Rose Quartz from ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'' was once a super-soldier created to serve powerful immortal [[PhysicalGod godlike beings]] known as the Diamond Authority before she developed a fondness for the organic life on Earth and waged a rebellion against them. While she technically lost the war for Earth, the Diamonds having turned the rebel gems except for Garnet, Pearl and herself into [[OurDemonsAreDifferent twisted monstrous versions of themselves]] with a FantasticNuke, the Earth has since remained unfinished as a colony where Rose lived relatively in peace. [[spoiler: That is until it was revealed that she was one of those "gods" Pink Diamond in disguise as a quartz, having orchestrated the war after having a change of heart over colonizing the Earth, later faking her own death with the assumption that it would make Yellow, Blue and White Diamond cease colonization.]]

** Before that, in VideoGame/MegamiTenseiII, Lucifer is imprisoned in ice for the first half of the game for battling against YHWH, and recruiting him using the similarly maligned Baal is necessary to get the good ending of the game. Ironically, the separate character Satan was responsible for the apocalypse (On YHWH's orders no less) but managed to blame Lucifer for it.

* In UsefulNotes/{{Judaism}}, Satan (know here as Mastema) is not a fallen angel, the serpent in the Garden, or Lucifer. He's a regular angel submissive to God's will, though his job is still to spread sin, which he heavily implies he does not enjoy. He distinguishes himself by being critical of humanity's capacity for evil, and specifically proposes a test of faith for Job. His name comes from the word for "adversary" or "accuser" and his role is more like that of God's prosecuting attorney, the "devil's advocate." In fact, the title of Adversary does not necessarily belong to one angel; it could be the title of whichever angel is being argumentative at the moment.

-->'''Satan''': Thanks, God. I forgot how clear you made things.\\
'''God''': It was good to see you again, Satan.

* In ''WesternAnimation/Ben10'' [[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/4267279/1/Hero-High-Sphinx-Academy Hero High: Sphinx Academy]], the character [[GodIsEvil Lord]] often {{lampshade|Hanging}}s this trope. Once commenting on how he was the good guy since he has turned people to salt, fed them to whales and caused a flood to wipe out humanity. Then states Satan is evil because he punishes people who are evil. After finishing that sentence he openly asks "which one of us is the ''bad'' one again?"

* [[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12942137/1/Attero-Dominatus This story]], in which he reveals to a rebel Israelite soldier that he was never the evil being God portrays him to be.
* Michael Aquino's ''[[http://www.xeper.org/maquino/nm/Morlindale.pdf Morlindale]]'' is a retelling of some of the backstory of ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'' that paints Melkor and Sauron as ultimately heroic figures. Col. Aquino used to be the equivalent of an archbishop in the ''Church of Satan.'' Satan Is Good, indeed. As an additional note, Eru Ilúvatar, the traditional analogue of God in the Tolkien mythos, is ''[[AvertedTrope not]]'' [[GodIsEvil evil]]; rather, he is a TrueNeutral embodiment of the natural order of Arda (although in the view of Melkor and Sauron ([[spoiler: and eventually Pallando]]), this order is inherently unjust and something to be struggled against). [[FantasyPantheon The Valar]], [[JerkassGods on the other hand...]]

* Ghost, from Radio/TrueCapitalist, gets a few calls from Satanists, which made him sarcastically remark "Satan is good, Satan is my pal." Of course, this resulted in more than one StupidStatementDanceMix.[[/folder]]

[[folder: Anime & Manga]]
* [[SheIsTheKing The Demon King]] from ''LightNovel/{{Maoyu}}'' just wants to end the war in such a way that everybody wins, bringing peaceful coexistence between humans and demons, and is perfectly happy to work with [[TheHero Yuusha]] for that purpose.
* Akuto Sai from ''LightNovel/DemonKingDaimao'' is the Demon King (apparently via {{reincarnation}}) and is a nice guy with noble ideals.

* In ''LightNovel/{{Slayers}}: Next'' the Lord of Nightmares, the ultimate Creator beyond good and evil, maker of both with a purpose for each, ostensibly the source of all chaos in the universe and god-boss of all Mazoku (demons), doesn't quite live up to her bad hype, as she [[spoiler:not only makes short work of the BigBad (though admittedly in a very cruel manner) but also returns Lina to life when pressed by Gourry (instead of, say, smiting him)]]. Xellos, the series' resident DevilInPlainSight, chalks it up to her sense of humor. The bad reputation is presumably firstly due to the fact that a being that doesn't take sides is easier to put in the bad camp, and secondly because she is extremely destructive when invoked; people who see Giga Slave and know what it can do out of control undoubtedly have a hard time in [[BadPowersBadPeople considering its originator as anything but evil.]]

* Turns out Demon Overlord Satan in ''LightNovel/TheDevilIsAPartTimer'' is actually a pretty decent and hardworking person who cares for his underlings. On Ente Isla its implied that he spent most of his time running the demon empire far away from the front lines and didn't know much about the massive atrocities his generals committed during the war, though he admits he probably wouldn't have cared at the time. Once he ends up in Japan working at [[BlandNameProduct MgRonalds]] and is forced to interact with humans he comes to see them as people, too. Not that any of this tempers his desire to TakeOverTheWorld.

* If you can look past the FanService and gratuitous nudity (no small feat, mind), ''LightNovel/HighSchoolDxD'' shows that Devils really aren't all that evil. No more evil than anyone else in the world is capable of being. In the series, the Four Great Satans (Lucifer, Leviathan, Asmodeus, and Beelzebub) are titles given to the leaders of the Devils, with the current Satan Lucifer (the main leader of the Devils) being a ReasonableAuthorityFigure and [[spoiler:Rias' older brother]]. It turns out that while Angels have been fighting Devils for ages, the Holy Bible is merely just the largest piece of propaganda that God ever created. Angels and followers of God maliciously attack them because they were told that they are evil and must be destroyed (They don't show any mercy to normal humans either, which is how the whole series starts). There are magics in play for each side though. For example, a Devil reading or reciting the Bible will experience pain for trying. The devils usually just try to get by with using their magics to curry favors from clients. They use their magics to fulfill some type of reasonable desire or request, and are paid for their services, but not with people's souls or anything like that. All in all, Devils, and Satan, are just ordinary people trying to live their lives. It's just propaganda that makes the Angels and Fallen Angels give them trouble. However, it should also be noted that just like Devils, Angels and Fallen Angels can be perfectly civil and kind. The ArchangelMichael is pretty much the [[AllLovingHero nicest guy you'll ever meet]], and the leader of the Fallen Angels is pretty reasonable as well. The only thing that really separates the three races from humans is the fact that they have magic powers.

* ''LightNovel/TheTestamentOfSisterNewDevil'': Season 2 reveals that while most combat demons are dicks, [[spoiler:a vast majority of demons are just ordinary citizens who have MUCH more in common with human citizens than any other faction in existence. They've managed to balance out their economy with the environment (as seen by their pollution-free cities and lack of slums) and have little desire to rebel against the demon lords, who they pay tribute to but don't actually need]]. Suddenly, the former demon lord's desire for demons to invade the human world seems like the most rational option.

* The title character of ''Series/{{Lucifer}}'' may be amoral, as self-centered as a gyroscope, and constantly trying to get the female lead into bed with him, but he's very dedicated to punishing wrongdoers and saving innocents (even when he doesn't believe he's doing it), and some wrongdoings disgust him deeply. For example, one villain murdered an innocent woman just to get his prize client indebted to him. When said villain referred to the girl as "that bitch", Lucifer furiously shoved him through a window.
** [[spoiler:Not to mention he literally and selflessly died for the female lead, ''twice''.]]
** And in the SeriesFinale [[spoiler:he returns to Hell to become a ''therapist'' for the damned so that they can move past their guilt and reach Heaven.]]

[[folder:Web Comics]]

* Zigzagged in ''WebComic/ItHurts'': sure, Satan is a colossal jerk (but then again who ''isn't'' in this comic) but he gives Pasqualo some good advice about Pasqualo's place in the universe and told him that [[spoiler:Pasqualo's mother plans on killing God]] and gave Pasqualo a means to stop that from happening. Also it's implied [[spoiler:he and God are ''lovers''.]]
* Satan in ''WebComic/RoosterTeethComics'' is a pretty mellow guy and BenevolentBoss to his demons, and happily honors his promise to allow Matt to come back to life after Matt covers for him when his wife calls. Though he isn't above committing murder for hire (he's saving up for an air hockey table). And technically he's not in charge of Hell anymore: since God [[EasyRoadToHell sends all Mac users to hell]], Apple bought it to use as tech support.

* Possible example: In ''WesternAnimation/StarTrekTheAnimatedSeries'', the crew meets an alien who looks like the devil, and other aliens claim that he did form the basis of humans' conception of the devil long ago, but what we see him do now is purely benevolent. Supposedly, he had a HeelFaceTurn.

* In ''Anime/GhostSweeperMikami'', God and Satan are ''both'' good guys; the former is in charge of maintaining order, the latter in charge of maintaining chaos/change. The closest we have to a leader-of-all-wicked-things is [[BigBad Ashtaroth]] (it's implied that he only recently gained the ability to do that).

* In UsefulNotes/{{Christianity}}, Satan ''was'' good would be correct. He was God's servant and his title of Satan (lit. The Adversary/Accuser) meant that he was the adversary of liars, hypocrites, and frauds, and his purpose was to put those chosen by God through their paces and make sure that they were truly devout and could not be swayed from the path of God. His part in the book of Job was that God was telling him about how faithful and righteous Job was and Satan was not buying it and said that of course he is, after all with all of the benefits that you are giving him he would have to be insane to not worship you.\\\

* The [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yazidi Yazidis]], a religious minority in western Iraq, call the chief angel in charge of running the world on God's orders the Peacock Angel, Melek Tawuse. They consider him an intermediary between humanity and God. They don't even believe in {{Fallen Angel}}s, considering evil to be entirely the result of human misbehavior. However, owing to a Yazidi faith about Melek Tawuse that closely resembles the Muslim faith of Iblis/Shaitan's rebellion against God[[note]]In the Muslim faith, God orders Iblis to bow down to Adam, and he refuses, starting the Rebellion of the fallen Djinn. In the Yazidi faith, God orders Melek Tawuse never to bow to anyone except God, then tests his obedience by ordering all the angels to bow to Adam. Only Tawuse passes the test by ''not'' bowing to a being less than God, earning him his place as the lead angel.[[/note]], they are very frequently [[SadlyMythtaken accused of]] [[ReligionOfEvil worshipping Satan]] by people with a OneMythToExplainThemAll mentality.