History Main / SecondComing

This trope is normally associated with characters whose prophesied (or at the very least, expected) return indicates a salvation of some sort, similar to the Second Coming of JesusChrist. The character in question may or may not be fully aware of the MessianicArchetype role he or she is supposed to fulfill with his or her return to a society in desperate need of a hero to either set right what once was wrong in his or her absence or to bring them to ThePromisedLand. The reasons for the character's absence in that society can include going on a long journey or going into self-imposed exile from the society that doesn't see any need for him or her or even accidental TimeTravel into what turns out to be a CrapsackWorld future. Sometimes it may even involve the death of the original hero and that his or her return would come in the form of some future incarnation, like a CloneJesus. In any case, the return of said character with whatever power he or she may display to provide deliverance will validate the faith of those patiently waiting for the character's return as they have elevated him or her to messianic status during the absence.

* Lucy of ''LucyTheDaughterOfTheDevil'' hangs out with an indie DJ who just so happens to be the second coming of Jesus Christ. Ironically, most of the time, she gets "JC" to help her dad out without meaning to. Meanwhile, they are all pursued by a ChurchMilitant faction of priests and nuns.

* In SergeyLukyanenko ''Literature/SeekersOfTheSky'', several characters wonder if [[spoiler:Marcus]] really is the second coming of the [[MessianicArchetype Redeemer]] or the Tempter, who is to come before the Redeemer and lead the world astray.

** What the ''LeftBehind'' book series and pretty much any Christian-related end-times fiction is based on.

* The [[TropeNamers TropeNamer]] is Literature/TheBible, with its prediction of Jesus Christ's return. How it happens varies within the sects of Christianity, as some sects see it as a literal return that's yet to happen, and others see it as only a "spiritual return" that either happened in 70 A.D. with the destruction of Jerusalem or has yet to happen with the church's mandate of preaching the gospel to every creature and making disciples of all nations being interpreted as a mandate to "make the whole world Christian" by whatever means are necessary.

* Literature/TheBible, with its prediction of Jesus Christ's return. How it happens varies within the sects of Christianity, as some sects see it as a literal return that's yet to happen, and others see it as only a "spiritual return" that either happened in 70 A.D. with the destruction of Jerusalem or has yet to happen with the church's mandate of preaching the gospel to every creature and making disciples of all nations being interpreted as a mandate to "make the whole world Christian" by whatever means are necessary.

* In ''ComicBook/TheChroniclesOfWormwood'', Wormwood's friend Jay is the Second Coming of Christ, although he's [[strike:not often]] entirely lucid for all of a minute at the climax of the series. Because he has severe brain damage as the result of a cop caving in the side of his head with a nightstick. Lift the dreadlocks on his right temple and you can see a three-inch scar. His daddy sent him to Earth in the freaking sixties. PoliceBrutality at its finest.[[/folder]]

* ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' had a Klingon religious caste try to use [[CloneJesus cloning]] and [[FakeMemories memory construction]] to recreate their local Messiah Kahless, so that they (with him as their puppet) could take over the Klingon Empire and "[[GloryDays restore it to greatness]]". The episode ended with the truth being revealed, and both the clone and Klingon society took it remarkably well: as a compromise, Kahless II ends up becoming the figurehead Emperor (a previously vacant position).

* Gordon Freeman in ''VideoGame/HalfLife2'' does one better. He is seen basically as the second coming (the little bible references like Judith Mossman betraying him (Judith is the female form of Judas) don't help stopping it).

* On the ''{{Misfits}}'' Christmas Episode, an [[SinisterMinister evil Priest]] manages to acquire an array of flashy superpowers, including the ability to walk on water, in order to convince the local population that he is the second coming of Jesus (so he can steal vast quantities of money from the poor and sexually abuse women without repercussions).

* In ''LightNovel/ZeroNoTsukaima'' or ''[[LightNovel/ZeroNoTsukaima The Familiar Of Zero]]'', the eponymous familiar, Saito Chevalier de Hiraga, is considered a wash at first, with no redeeming abilities at all, until you find out that [[spoiler:he is actually the second coming of a legendary familiar capable of wielding any weapon, from the magic world or his own, real, world, with great expertise]].
* In the SailorMoon anime, when the Senshi travel to [[TheFuture Crystal Tokyo]], King Endymion explains to them that in the early 21st century, Earth fell into an Ice Age that only ended when ''Franchise/SailorMoon'' woke up from a thousand-year slumber and became Neo Queen Serenity.

* One of the main problems the Imperium faces in ''Warhammer40K'' is the GodEmperor's current state. Some believe he will someday return to his full power, others believe the Golden Throne keeping him "alive" must be unplugged so that he can be returned (which could very well doom the Imperium as a whole if they're wrong, as currently the only hing He's capable of doing is projecting a psychic beacon without which FTLTravel is impossible for Imperials), still others are looking to jump-start him by finding all the demigods he sired during his millenia of WalkingTheEarth and sacrificing them simultaneously... and naturally each faction believes their interpretation is correct and the others are dangerous heretics who must be corrected with fire.

* ''TheSecondComing'' by William Butler Yeats.

* The film ''BlessTheChild'' was touching enough for some people in a MisaimedFandom sort of way to take it for gospel, believing that the girl exists and is the second coming.
* In ''JesusChristVampireHunter'', Jesus' second coming happens in part because God wants him to fight sunlight-immune vampires that prey on lesbians.

* KingArthur, {{Merlin}} and the reincarnated Knights of the Round Table in ''ComicBook/{{Camelot 3000}}'' as they reemerge in an overpopulated future world of 3000 A.D. to fight off an alien invasion masterminded by Arthur's old nemesis, Morgan Le Fay. Arthur is awakened accidentally from his resting place beneath Glastonbury Tor by a young archeology student, Tom Prentice.

* When the Senshi travel to [[TheFuture Crystal Tokyo]], King Endymion explains to them that in the early 21st century, Earth fell into an Ice Age that only ended when ''Franchise/SailorMoon'' woke up from a thousand-year slumber and became Neo Queen Serenity.

Examples:

** "People Get Ready, Jesus Is Coming"

* In an episode of ''Series/TheFlash'', Barry Allen is accidentally thrust 10 years into a future where Central City has been taken over by his brother's killer, Nicholas Pike, and where an underground group of citizens were waiting for the Flash to return in order to [[SetRightWhatOnceWentWrong set things right]].

** "Joy To The World", although a ChristmasSong, was originally written with this trope in mind.

--> ''Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, '''I will come again''', and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.
---> '''Jesus''', John 14:1-3