History Main / StrawNihilist

The Straw Nihilist is a specific type of ThePhilosopher who likes expositing about {{Despair Speech}}es and {{Breaking Lecture}}s about Life, The Universe, and Everything... or at least how meaningless fighting for all of them are. If someone's rationale for being an OmnicidalManiac, or at least TheHedonist, is "[[BlueAndOrangeMorality morality is too subjective]] while we're all gonna die in an InsignificantLittleBluePlanet anyway", he can surely be this guy. Often AboveGoodAndEvil, due to the Straw Nihilist's {{Armor Piercing Question}}s about "WhatIsEvil"

These are one of the inhabitants of the "cynicism" side of the SlidingScaleOfIdealismVsCynicism. Their ability to play [[MindScrew existential mind games]] and [[WhatYouAreInTheDark force the audience into ethical dilemmas]] make them a popular sage in the OntologicalMystery genre and amoral {{Crapsack World}}s. Sometimes they serve as MrExposition, while other times, everything they say is a FauxlosophicNarration or even a RedHerring, or they're a mix of all of them. But if done badly, they can end up looking like a gratuitous scene of {{Wangst}}.

In more straightforward ScienceFiction and {{Fantasy}} stories, they are usually villains [[OmnicidalManiac who are always plotting destruction]], and can get really [[LargeHam over the top]] in their behavior.

-->'''Dr. Weil:''' Justice!? Freedom!? Worthless ideals! [[FantasticRacism You Reploids are just machines]], but you started a war a long time ago in the name of freedom! And humans! Look what they did to me! Driving me away while spouting the word "justice!" Zero, would you insist on saving them!? Controlling the Reploids is nothing! The destruction of all mankind is only fleeting! Not quite alive... Not quite dead... Forever, by my side! I'll make you suffer a fate far greater than anything ever experienced before![...]Risou Dato... ZAREGETTO DA!!! (Ideals and stuff... IS UTTER NONSENSE!!!/Ideals?! WHAT A LIE!!!)

* In ''TalesOfTheAbyss'' there's Sync. [[spoiler:He's a [[CloningBlues failed Clone]] of a CreepyChild (according to the manga: Sync's original likes keeping people as pets) that was thrown alive into a volcano. ''He Lived.'']] His response? Essentially, [[SuicidalCosmicTemperTantrum he wants to die, and take the whole, meaningless world with him.]]

* Johan Libert from ''Manga/{{Monster}}'' likes to ''create'' these but isn't really one himself as he does believe in something bigger. [[CompleteMonster Unfortunately, what Johan believes in is]] '''[[ForTheEvulz evil]]'''.

* Cronal, BigBad of the StarWarsExpandedUniverse novel ''Luke Skywalker and the Shadows of Mindor''. He was raised by a cult of darksiders called the Sorcerers of Rhand, who believe that the will of the universe is that entropy and destruction are the only constants, and work to bring this about. At one point Cronal mentally disparages [[LawfulEvil Palpatine]] for attempting to create when he should have destroyed. All of which means that yes, there are people out there in the galaxy who are [[CompleteMonster nastier than the Sith]].
* In the Literature/{{Discworld}} book ''Night Watch'', the [[CompleteMonster bad guy]] Carcer is said not to be insane but rather too sane, in that he can do whatever the hell he wants because he knows that laws and things are just arbitrary lines the normal folk draw in the sand to pretend they're safe. Needless to say, [[LawfulGood Vimes]] [[BerserkButton does not]] [[CrowningMomentOfAwesome take this well]].

* Luca Blight from ''SuikodenII''. Being the [[CompleteMonster genocidal psychopath]] that he is, he could very well carry out his plan to [[OmnicidalManiac eradicate humanity]] by himself.
** To be fair, he's [[JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope jumped off the slippery slope]] some time before the game began.

The StrawNihilist is a specific type of ThePhilosopher who likes expositing about {{Despair Speech}}es and {{Breaking Lecture}}s about Life, The Universe, and Everything... or at least how meaningless fighting for all of them are. If someone's rationale for being an OmnicidalManiac, or at least TheHedonist, is "[[BlueAndOrangeMorality morality is too subjective]] while we're all gonna die in an InsignificantLittleBluePlanet anyway", he can surely be this guy. Often AboveGoodAndEvil, due to the Straw Nihilist's {{Armor Piercing Question}}s about "WhatIsEvil"

** [[BiggerBad Madara Uchiha]] is probably the biggest example in the series. He's the one who made [[BigBad Obito]] this way.

The StrawNihilist is a specific type of ThePhilosopher who likes expositing about {{Despair Speech}}es and {{Breaking Lecture}}s about Life, The Universe, and Everything... or at least how meaningless fighting for all of them are. If someone's rationale for being an OmnicidalManiac, or at least TheHedonist, is "[[BlueAndOrangeMorality morality is too subjective]] while we're all gonna die in an InsignificantLittleBluePlanet anyway", it can surely be this guy. Sometimes AboveGoodAndEvil, due to the Straw Nihilist's {{Armor Piercing Question}}s about WhatIsEvil.

** If you think about it, [[CrapsackWorld Warhammer 40k]] just begs to have Nietzsche Wannabes.

These are one of the inhabitants of the "cynicism" side of the SlidingScaleOfIdealismVsCynicism. Their ability to play [[MindScrew existential mind games]] and [[WhatYouAreInTheDark force the audience in ethical dilemmas]] make them a popular sage in the OntologicalMystery genre and amoral {{Crapsack World}}s. Sometimes they serve as MrExposition, while other times, everything they say is a FauxlosophicNarration or even a RedHerring, or they're a mix of all of them. But if done badly, they can end up looking like a gratuitous scene of {{Wangst}}.

A nihilistic [[ThePhilosopher philosopher]] who always lectures about how morality, hope, or the general goodness and value of life are meaningless.

These are one of the inhabitants of the "cynicism" side of the SlidingScaleOfIdealismVsCynicism. Most {{ontological myster|y}}ies have one, because their lectures are perfect tools for playing [[MindScrew existential mind games]] with the audience. Sometimes they serve as MrExposition, while other times, everything they say is a FauxlosophicNarration or even a RedHerring, or they're a mix of all of them.

In more straightforward ScienceFiction and {{Fantasy}} stories, they are usually villains [[OmnicidalManiac who are always plotting destruction]], and can get really [[LargeHam over the top]] in their behavior. This character is the polar opposite of TheAntiNihilist, who also thinks life has no inherent meaning yet reaches inverse conclusions about morality and the value of life.

* The Stunticon [[MeaningfulName Dead End]] got to be like this at times during the course of [[TransformersGeneration1 the original]] ''{{Transformers}}'' cartoon. It becomes a bit of a joke when you read his character biography, and learn that [[HypocriticalHumour he is quite vain about his appearance and constantly stays polished and detailed.]]

** Although in the world of Spira, the difference between the living & the dead isn't readily apparent (more than one character in the games is actually an Unsent...), & the dead hold onto their memories & ability to interact with the world. So killing everyone to end all suffering makes a certain amount of sense, in that context, as it would be far from oblivion (at least until being dead make you crazy you turn into a Fiend).

* Connor from ''{{Angel}}'' reached his peak of {{Nietzsche Wannabe}}-ness in the Season 4 finale, and gave a rant that still sends chills down this editor's spine.

* ''TheBigO'': Schwarzwald rants about the insignificance of the human race in a world without a past. He gloats about how only he knows what a cosmic fraud we all live in. Even [[spoiler: after he dies]], he still manages to show up and narrate all the real big MindScrew episodes. It turns out that [[spoiler: he was right. Everyone is living in a crappy play that's full of {{Plot Hole}}s.]]

* ''{{Gundam}}''
** Rau Le Creuset, the chief antagonist in ''GundamSEED''. It sends him into OmnicidalManiac territory.
** In ''GundamSeedDestiny'', [[BigBad Chairman]] [[DarkMessiah Durandal]] and [[TheDragon Rey]] [[ManipulativeBastard Za Burrell]] are interesting variants of this. They're both convinced the world is cold, terrible place, but are terrified of ending up like Rau. Instead, they become a pair of {{Well Intentioned Extremist}}s, out to inject meaning into the world [[UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans no matter what the cost]].
* Neji Hyuuga from ''{{Naruto}}'' is a good example: he constantly talks about how pointless everyone is any how [[YouCantFightFate anyone who tries to fight his own fate is doomed to fail]]. Even more notable, he says this while ''[[ScrewDestiny trying to fight his own fate]]'', as Naruto points out. This trait disappeared following his HeelFaceTurn. Apparently, Naruto [[DefeatMeansFriendship beat it out of him]].

*** Possibly taking things one step too far, the series BigBad [[spoiler:Tobi/Obito Uchiha]] revealed in chapter 467 that his ultimate plan is [[spoiler:[[{{Instrumentality}} basically to brainwash the entire world]]]] because "There is no such thing as hope!"
**** [[BiggerBad Madara Uchiha]] is probably the biggest example in the series. He's the one who made [[BigBad Obito]] this way.

* Legato Bluesummers from ''{{Trigun}}'' is a personification of this concept.

* Diva from ''BloodPlus'' wants to turn every human on earth into a Chiropterans (monsters, pretty much), because humans treat her as nothing more than a monster.
* Rokudo Mukuro from ''KatekyoHitmanReborn'' is very jaded like this. Which makes it all the funnier that he actually [[spoiler: [[RivalsTeamUp ends up being one of Tsuna's guardians]]]].
* Creed from ''Manga/BlackCat'' is definitely this. His whole goal is pretty much to cleanse the world of [[PunyEarthlings weak people that don't have superpowers]] and rule the remaining people as King with Train as his [[strike:Queen]] partner.

* Vicious from ''Anime/CowboyBebop'' is a slightly less over the top and more realistic version of this trope than many, being a nihilistic, ruthless, sociopathic {{Yakuza}} who holds that there is nothing in this world to believe in.

* To an extent, Sousuke from ''LightNovel/FullMetalPanic'' (at least [[DefrostingIceQueen before he meets Kaname]]). Especially noticeable during TSR, after he [[spoiler:thinks that Kaname is dead]] and starts going on a ''very'' NietzscheWannabe-ish rant, saying that humans are just meatbags that die.

* Johan Libert from ''Anime/{{Monster}}'' likes to ''create'' these but isn't really one himself as he does believe in something bigger. [[CompleteMonster Unfortunately, what Johan believes in is]] '''[[ForTheEvulz evil]]'''.

* Ulquiorra Cifer from ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'' is a personification of this way of thinking. Throughout the series, he is outspoken in his belief that the bonds and emotions of humans are meaningless, and that nothing can come of their struggling. This philosophy becomes the center of his conflicts with both Ichigo Kurosaki and Inoue Orihime. His character poem in the twenty-second tankoban of the series is themed on the belief that the world and all things living on it are without significance. [[spoiler: Also, when Barragan identifies the "ways of death" over which each member of the Espada govern, it is revealed that Ulquiorra is the avatar of nihilism. He subverts this trope with his final epiphany in chapters 353 and 354]]

* Revy from ''BlackLagoon'' is a genuine nihilist in that she denies the existence of meaning, at least academically. For practical purposes, however, she'll preach the virtues of money and guns over God and love, since this is what she has been able to rely on in her life. She initially has great difficulty dealing with Rock's idealism, threatening to kill him if he ever moralises to her again. Revy herself elaborates that "nothing's worse than being treated like some whore by your companions", but in recent chapters, it is suggested by one character that she attacks idealists because their ideology contradicts her assertion that the world is a terrible place. By the end of the (anime) series, Rock himself confesses to be a nihilist, just with a positive attitude where the NietzscheWannabe is characterized by its decidedly negative attitude, here speaking of saving an innocent girl's life:

* ''MahouSenseiNegima'' has [[spoiler: The Lifemaker, the BigBad that Nagi faced off against. Nagi's response? "'''SHUT THE HELL UP!'''"]]

* ''SoulEater'' has a resident MadScientist, Franken Stein, who had apparently been one of these for a while -- we even got a flashback of Stein telling Spirit "God is dead". It is up for debate if he got better, as Spirit did seem to renew some faith in the human race, [[AxCrazy but]]...
* In the ''NeonGenesisEvangelion'' movie ''The End Of Evangelion'', Shinji Ikari got a taste of this trope (Rei even gave him a chance to be an OmnicidalManiac), but rejects it by rejecting [[AssimilationPlot Instrumentality]].
* ''ErgoProxy'': DarkMessiah Raul Creed becomes this as he loses his sanity over the course of the show.
* Genkaku from ''{{Deadman Wonderland}}'' believes that he's saving people by killing them.

* Kefka from ''FinalFantasyVI'' [[WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity evolved]] from a MonsterClown with nihilistic tendencies into a fully fledged NietzscheWannabe upon [[spoiler:[[OneWingedAngel becoming the most powerful physical being on the planet]] halfway through the game]].

* Seymour from ''FinalFantasyX'', unloved and alone since his mother's death, wants to harness Sin and annihilate all life on Spira to put an end to pointless suffering. Two years later Shuyin from ''Final Fantasy X-2'', eternally enraged and bitter at the world that let his one true love die, wants to harness Vegnagun and annihilate all life on Spira to end the existence of a world that he now sees as a pointless mockery. Clearly a lot of baddies on Spira didn't get enough hugs.

* Sargeras in the ''{{Warcraft}}'' universe was driven insane by the depthless evil of the demons he fought, and because of this he began to believe that the Titans' mission of creating new worlds was utterly pointless, and that chaos is the natural state of the universe. He created the Burning Legion, a massive demonic army, to revert the universe from an ordered one to a chaotic one. Even after Sargeras was apparently killed (officially he's "absent"), [[WordOfGod Chris Metzen]] has stated that the Legion's current commander, Kil'jaeden the Deceiver, still follows his master's philosophy.

* The Reason of Shijima in ''ShinMegamiTenseiNocturne'' is the ultimate representation of this trope. Sponsored by the [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Assembly of Nihilo]], with the {{Ubermensch}} Hikawa as its leader, it seeks to destroy and reconstruct the world as a place of utter, absolute stillness. It is a reality where mankind is subsumed into infinite peace and unity, with no passion, no conflict, and the total eradication of human consciousness and individuality. Should the Demifiend (the player) choose to support this Reason, the game ends with [[spoiler:Hikawa congratulating him on an infinite, barren plain of complete silence and the bluest sky you have ever seen]].
* Jin Kisaragi is revealed to have this kind of view in ''BlazBlue: Continuum Shift''; one translation of his words to Tsubaki in his Arcade mode story contains the line "The only truth in this world is death".

*** Possibly taking things one step too far, the series BigBad [[spoiler:Tobi]] revealed in chapter 467 that his ultimate plan is [[spoiler:[[{{Instrumentality}} basically to brainwash the entire world]]]] because "There is no such thing as hope!"

*** Possibly taking things one step too far, the series BigBad [[spoiler:Uchiha Madara]] revealed in chapter 467 that his ultimate plan is [[spoiler:[[{{Instrumentality}} basically to brainwash the entire world]]]] because "There is no such thing as hope!"

[[folder: Real Life ]]
* MarkTwain got quite depressed after two of his daughters and his wife died in tragic circumstances. [[ItGotWorse He also accidentally walked in on his father's autopsy]], and lost his [[DeadLittleSister little brother]] when the steamboat he had gotten him a job on blew up, and believed himself to be responsible for the death of his son Langdon, not to mention the fact that his daughter Jean died in a household accident on Christmas Eve. It's no wonder he wound up as cynical as he did, praising death as 'the most precious of all gifts' and calling the GrimReaper 'the only immortal who treats us all the alike, whose pity and whose peace and whose refuge are for all'.
[[/folder]]

* The Comicbook/{{Batman}} graphic novel ''The Killing Joke'' created the characterization of the Joker as NietzscheWannabe who will do anything to prove to Batman that life is one big joke and that the only sensible response to it is give into madness.
* In the MarvelUniverse, The "Mad Titan" Thanos usually pulls this archetype off with a spectacular amount of wit and style.

* ''The Cube'' seems to be about the {{gorn}} but is really an exposition on different roles that people play representing different philosophies in society. The protagonist's big secret [[spoiler: is that he is a nihilist]]

* Dora from ''The Moth Diaries'' is not just a Nietzsche Wannabe, she's writing a book about a dialogue between the man himself and Brahms. She gets into a few arguments over the former's teachings with Ernessa. As to whether the book is completed [[spoiler: before her death]] or not, we never find out. Please correct me if I'm wrong on this detail.

** The famous novella ''Notes from the Underground'' features a protagonist who rants against the Nihilists, the {{Nietzsche Wannabe}}s of the time, yet fits the trope pretty well himself.

* Mephiles the Dark from Sonic the Hedgehog 2006 qualifies, especially in the Showdown with Mephiles cutscene, where he, in a manner similar to Agent Smith in The Matrix Revolutions, questions why Shadow even attempts to oppose him and defend humanity when he will inevitably be persecuted.

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