Line #171 Main/AGodAmI


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21	[[quoteright:281:[[Manga/DeathNote https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/godiam.png]]]]
22	[[caption-width-right:281:[[VisionaryVillain He's]] got [[GotTheWholeWorldInMyHand the whole world in his hand.]]]]
23
24	->''"Because you are haughty of heart, you say, 'A god am I! I occupy a godly throne in the heart of the sea!'"''
25	-->-- '''[[Literature/BookOfEzekiel Ezekiel 28:2]]''', ''Literature/TheBible''
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29
30	When a villain, often the BigBad or a {{Narcissist}}, gains superhuman abilities or [[AmbitionIsEvil achieves their dearest dream]], one can expect them to gain delusions of godhood.
31
32	They will often give an [[EvilIsHammy over-the-top speech]] emphasizing just how far beyond ordinary humanity [[GoalOrientedEvolution they have evolved]], and how [[WhatMeasureIsANonSuper lowly they are compared with him.]] Cue the villain becoming a megalomaniac who is DrunkOnTheDarkSide and/or declaring that they will TakeOverTheWorld.
33
34	But you know what they say... {{Pride}} goes before the fall. [[BlasphemousBoast If they're declaring themselves as a god right in front of a real God]], [[TemptingFate then they’re]] definitely [[DoNotTauntCthulhu screwed]].
35
36	The character may declare that they have transcended morality as well, and is AboveGoodAndEvil, but the {{trope}}s do not have to coincide. Characters that are examples of this trope might also be called a ''[[https://the-dere-types.fandom.com/wiki/Kamidere kamidere]]''.
37
38	Aiming for godhood by ''rewriting the rules of the world'' is InTheirOwnImage. Another alternate version is the EndOfTheWorldSpecial. See PhysicalGod for those who don't have to try so hard, and GodhoodSeeker for those who are quite aware that they're mere mortals and want to change that. May, but [[DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu does not always]] result in a GodModeSue. It’s also fairly common among [[CompleteMonster Complete Monsters,]] but not every character with this belief qualifies. Also, see ItsAllAboutMe for a similar trope, minus the declaration of godhood.
39
40	Ancient sovereigns liked this trope; see also GodEmperor for those examples. See also OneWingedAngel, SmugSuper, DarkMessiah. Very common with the SatanicArchetype. [[AIIsACrapshoot Artificial intelligences]], especially of TheSingularity type, also have a nasty tendency to do this; see also DeusEstMachina for those examples. Less dangerous examples can fall under {{Chuunibyou}}, fantasizing themselves as gods but don't actually do anything villainous. Also see LikeAGodToMe, which is when a character declares someone else godlike but only out of flattery, not as a statement of serious worship. Not to be confused with GodGuise, where a character merely pretends to be a god as part of a con. A StrawNihilist may also have megalomaniacal delusions and believe themselves to be immortal, but never claims to be a god and in fact insists that gods don't exist.
41
42	Compare DevilComplex, when a character proclaims to be {{Satan}} instead, a behaviour that is usually just as narcissistic but also combined with the sign that the character in question [[CardCarryingVillain values depravity, sadism and suffering of others]]; and DemiurgeArchetype, a character based on the Gnostic Demiurge who poses as, and may believe themselves to be, the TopGod of the setting. Contrast with AGodIAmNot (where a genuinely godlike being refuses the label to avoid the implications), StopWorshippingMe (where a deity or comparable being doesn't want to be venerated as such), ProHumanTranshuman (where a post human remains sympathetic to humanity), AGodIsYou (where you are cast as a god, or your PlayerCharacter is a god) and UnwantedFalseFaith (where a human (or transhuman, or other sapient) who ''is'' worshiped as a god would rather not be).
43
44	'''Note that this trope requires a ''self-proclamation of godhood,'' '''not just sheer cockiness and/or overconfidence.[[note]]The actual words "I am a god" are an easy indicator, but not absolutely necessary. Speaking of oneself in more subtly deific terms is quite sufficient.[[/note]] Possessing or gaining [[PhysicalGod godlike powers]] by itself doesn’t count, nor is it a requirement to possess such powers to qualify for this trope. Usually being a PhysicalGod and declaring oneself to be a God isn't this trope unless the physical gods in the setting are not omnipotent while this particular one believes it is omnipotent.
45
46	The technical term for this is ''suitheism'' (when one believes they are a god, but admits others exist) or ''autotheism'' (when they believe they are divine and worship themselves).
47
48	%%If you have time, please take time to put examples in alphabetical order. This page Administrivia/HowToAlphabetizeThings should help you with that.
49	----
50	!!Examples:
51
52	[[index]]
53	* AGodAmI/AnimeAndManga
54	* AGodAmI/ComicBooks
55	* AGodAmI/FanWorks
56	* AGodAmI/{{Film}}
57	* AGodAmI/{{Literature}}
58	* AGodAmI/LiveActionTV
59	* AGodAmI/{{Music}}
60	* AGodAmI/VideoGames
61	* AGodAmI/{{Webcomics}}
62	* AGodAmI/WebOriginal
63	* AGodAmI/WesternAnimation
64	* AGodAmI/RealLife
65	[[/index]]
66	----
67	[[foldercontrol]]
68
69	[[folder:Folklore]]
70	* "The Fisherman and His Wife":
71	** In the original Low German folktale collected by Creator/TheBrothersGrimm, the eponymous lady, having been made successively King, Emperor, and Pope by a magic flounder, demands to be made equal to God. The couple end up as they began, living "in piety" (a phrase used to mean "in poverty" at the time of the writing).
72	** The equivalent Russian tale, as recorded and remade as a poem by Creator/AlexanderPushkin, doesn't have the wife want to be the big-G God. Here she wants merely to be "the lady of the seas", something like a small-g goddess. The fish nevertheless gets pissed off, because that "lady of the sea" wish also included fish itself as a "servant on errands".
73	* The legend of King Canute and the Waves: Canute was a Norse king with a seat in England in the 10th century. The story goes that he had his throne brought to the seashore while the tide was out. He sat and commanded the tide not to insult its sovereign by flowing in and getting his feet wet. This command, naturally, was ignored, and Canute's name is nowadays used proverbially to indicate that someone is failing to grasp that their authority has limits. ''[[SubvertedTrope However]]'', [[SubvertedTrope the full original story is actually a subversion]]. With his feet wet, Canute retreated above the surf and proclaimed to his assembled courtiers that "kings" have [[AGodIAmNot no real power]], which belongs only to God, and he never wore his crown again.
74	[[/folder]]
75
76	[[folder:Mythology & Religion]]
77	* Literature/TheBible:
78	** The {{Trope Namer\|s}} comes from the Literature/BookOfEzekiel, in reference to the Prince of Tyre.
79	** Played straight with [[{{Satan}} Lucifer]] in pop culture. Created as one of the greatest of the angels, [[BlasphemousBoast he declared himself "above the Most High"]] and [[FaceHeelTurn attempted to make himself the ruler of all creation]]. Needless to say, that [[FallenAngel did not turn out well]]. There is a Biblical source for this in Isaiah 14:12, but on the surface at least it was referring to the "King of Babylon". This may be a literal king, though is often taken to be a code word for earthly rulers who oppressed the nation of Israel, and traditionally it has usually been understood in terms of a spiritual, angelic ruler (that is, the Devil). The term "Lucifer" is simply how the King James Version translated "morning star".
80	** A prominent feature of the beast from the earth (commonly associated with the AntiChrist) in the book of Revelation. "And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship [the beast], whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world." -Revelation 13:8. Possibly alluded to by Paul the apostle in [[Literature/BooksOfThessalonians 2nd Thessalonians]], where he says that the "man of sin", the "son of perdition", will exalt himself above all that is called God or is worshiped, so that he will sit as God in the temple of God, "showing himself that he is God".
81	** And then there is Herod ([[OneSteveLimit Herod Agrippa]], the grandson of [[NiceJobBreakingItHerod the infamous Herod The Great]]) in Acts 12:19-23, who was struck down and eaten by worms for not praising God, but instead having himself declared one.
82	--->That was the last straw. God had had enough of Herod's arrogance and sent an angel to strike him down. Herod had given God no credit for anything. Down he went. Rotten to the core, a maggoty old man if there ever was one, he died.
83	** This is one of the reasons why Jesus clashed with the Pharisees so often, as described in John 10:33. And indeed, any good religious people at that time would definitely be outraged by such claim. Even though he wasn't claiming to be ''God'', but the ''son of'' God, a distinction the Romans probably appreciated more than the Pharisees did.
84	--->"We are not stoning you for any good work," they replied, "but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God."
85	* In Myth/ClassicalMythology:
86	** A mortal man, King Salmoneus, [[TooDumbToLive apparently thought it was a good idea]] to fix pots and pans to his chariot and [[TemptingFate go around proclaiming himself to be "Zeus the Thunderbearer"]]. He got his fool self struck with lightning for the effort. Yeah. Zeus has a temper.
87	** Bellerophon, who after taming Pegasus, became so full of himself, tried to fly up to and enter Mount Olympus itself. Pegasus, however, threw him after Zeus sent a gadfly to sting him, and he plummeted into a thorn bush and lived the rest of his life as a cripple.
88	* Subverted in The Apocolocyntosis (Pumpkin-ification) of the Divine Claudius, written by Seneca. The gods decide not to deify Claudius, but instead is sent to Hades to work for Caligula.
89	* The Nation of Gods and Earths, also known as the Five Percenters believe that the Original Asiatic Blackman is God, and that each black woman is the Earth. They vehemently deny the existence of any supernatural "mystery God" and break the word Allah down as Arm Leg Leg Arm Head, meaning humanity. The possibility of women being God is controversial, and many Gods (and Earths) disagree as to who has the right to call themselves God. Some even see the potential for white Five Percenters to prove themselves to be God, despite Caucasians traditionally being seen as "devils by nature".
90	* Buddhism teaches that devas (what most cultures call gods) are actually another form of life like humans, animals and demons. As devas can die (despite having very long lifespans) probably everyone has been a deva once and can be one in the future (same as animal, demon, pretta, asura, etc.; the only status that is irreversible is that of Boddhisatva). Technically you probably can try to rebirth as deva by different methods but at least from the Buddhist perspective, it's unwise, as devas live such luxurious and pleasant lives that they normally do not work in attaining Enlightenment, and also most of their good karma is burned thus probably ending in hell (for a while) after their lives end. That said, some devas are said to be actual Buddhists like Indra and Ganesha (from the Buddhist perspective of course). Then, of course, Enlightenment itself that will turn you into an omnipotent, omniscient being able to understand the Cosmos in its entirety and know everything that happened in the past and future of existence. Which is obviously being god-like, these are the true Buddhist deities (Buddhas, Boddhisatvas and Arhats) with the difference that such status was never original and they attained it at some point. Several Buddhist schools consider that everyone is already a Buddha, it's just most people haven't realized that yet.
91	* Taoism has a similar concept known as Immortals (Chinese ''Xian''), which is basically the same concept as the Buddha or Boddhisatva of Buddhism. It's unknown if the concept is original from Taoism or if it was adopted after Buddhist influence.
92	* Several historical figures in Japan have become deified as kamis (Shinto gods).
93	* Several Esoteric groups most commonly of the Left Hand Path variety do believe that a person can attain literal godhood by reaching the highest extremes of Spiritual individuality, self-liberation and self-realization. This is mostly common among the variants of Theistic Luciferianism, Dragon Rouge, Temple of Set and some variants of Theistic Satanism, which is basically a re-interpretation of very old Gnostic, Rosicrucian, Alchimic, Buddhist, Taoist and Esoteric concepts mixed with some Jungian psychology (particularly the idea of Self and Individuation) and Crowleyan Thelema (which is what Crowley meant with "every man and every woman is a star" and "you should talk to your Holy Guardian Angel" (the Self). Basically what it says is that by using different Esoteric methods a person may liberated their true Self (whether that is the mind, consciousness, spirit, soul, monad, etc. depends on the writer) to attain complete liberation from the boundaries of the physical and causal world, becoming basically acausal and thus eternal. Similar, as mentioned before, to the concept of illumination from Buddhism, Taoism, Western Esotericism and Gnosticism with the difference that those doctrines generally see the process to attain illumination to be done by devotion, discipline, self-sacrifice and general goodness whilst LHP practitioners tend to be more selfish and conceited in their pursuit, disregarding things like good or evil, compassion or self-sacrifice apart from the needed for self-discipline. Others are just ChaoticNeutral.
94	* Atheistic Satanism like that of Anton Lavey on the other hand do not believe in any form of survival of the Self after death, but they do regard the individual as the only true "god" a Satanist should worship; in other worlds, for every Satanist, they themselves are their god. This is why in Laveyan Satanism the person's birthday is the most important holiday.
95	* In Myth/NorseMythology, gods are not immortal like the ones of other mythologies, they remain immortal due to the magical apple that goddess Iduna gives them every day. This inspired some Esoteric interpretations that Nordic gods are similar to the Shinto kamis, Chinese Xian and Buddhist Boddhisatvas in that they attain the status of gods from self-sacrifice, wisdom and realization (for example how Odin had to hang for nine days and gave his eye to drink from the fountain of wisdom). Another theory is that the Norse gods are based on real-life heroes, kings and warriors who were deified after death.
96	* OlderThanDirt, the concept of [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apotheosis Apotheosis]] refers to the idea that a human being has been raised to the divine, becoming godlike or a god. References in history include Egyptian kings and Roman emperors.
97	[[/folder]]
98
99	[[folder:Other]]
100	* According to the immense [[Art/TheApotheosisOfWashington fresco]] on the ceiling of UsefulNotes/TheUnitedStates Capitol Building, UsefulNotes/GeorgeWashington became a god. No doubt if he was alive, he would have had something very negative to say.[[note]]In a nutshell, Washington was very spiritual but didn't believe in gods.[[/note]]
101	* In ''Toys/{{Bionicle}}'':
102	** The Barraki's goal when they dwelled on land was to conquer all the universe and overthrow the Great Spirit Mata Nui. While they failed, Makuta was inspired by it and began formulating an EvilPlan to do it himself on an even grander scale. [[spoiler:''And he succeeds,'' committing GrandTheftMe against a PhysicalGod and banishing Mata Nui's spirit into space in a SoulJar.]]
103	** On a smaller scale, [[TheStarscream Hakann and Thok]] pull off the "get superpowers and subsequently have delusions of godhood" deal after they steal Brutaka's power via improvised PowerCopying. Despite razing half of Voya Nui and [[CurbStompBattle effortlessly flattening]] the rest of the [[QuirkyMinibossSquad Piraka]] and the [[CurbStompBattle Toa Inika]] ''[[CurbStompBattle twice]]'', it doesn't last.
104	** Brutaka himself aspired to reach this during his CrisisOfFaith, intending to obtain the Mask of Life and use its power to become a god after he believed Mata Nui had died or abandoned the universe. Luckily, Axonn defeated him, and eventually he had a change of heart and went back to the good guy's side.
105	* In [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Am7oKBD3PU this commercial]] for the Central Institute of Technology, Aaron tells Henry he doesn't think he should be giving beer to the techies, and Henry, who until that point had been friendly, shouts, "I can do whatever I want, okay?! I'm a f*cking ''god!"''
106	* There is a joke that dogs see humans as gods because we care about them, feed them, treat them when they are ill and stroke them when they are sad, while [[CatsAreSuperior cats see themselves as gods for the exact same reasons]].
107	* Joke
108	** What is the difference between ''[Insert a politician]'' and God? God doesn't think he's ''[Insert a politician]''
109	[[/folder]]
110
111	[[folder:Professional Wrestling]]
112	* Wrestling/BobBacklund: The night of the [[Wrestling/SurvivorSeries 1994 Survivor Series]], after winning the WWF World Heavyweight Championship from Wrestling/BretHart, declared during his victory speech, "I feel like God!"
113	* ''Wrestling/WCWMondayNitro'', 11/10/1997. The night the Wrestling/NewWorldOrder were finally able to beat the crap out of Wrestling/{{Sting}}. Here's [[Wrestling/HulkHogan Hollywood Hogan]] screaming maniacally into the camera right before turning around and hitting his third [[FinishingMove Atomic Leg Drop]] on the Stinger:
114	--> "[[ImpliedDeathThreat This right here is gonna put him away! You'll never see Sting again]]! [[ItsAllAboutMe I'm the man]]! [[PunctuatedForEmphasis I…AM…]]'''[[PunctuatedForEmphasis GOD!!!]]'''
115	* "In Wrestling/{{ECW}} boys become men. In ECW men become heroes. But in the Wrestling/WorldWrestlingFederation heroes become legends and legends become gods. And if God was a {{heel}}, he'd be Wrestling/{{The Dudley Boy\|s}}z!" This one got a CallBack about a decade and a half later. In the 10/24/2013 edition of ''[[Wrestling/ImpactWrestling TNA]] Impact'', Bully Ray (the former Bubba Ray Dudley) calls Wrestling/AJStyles a boy, and then calls himself a god. He continues with "If God was a bully, he'd be me!"
116	* One of Wrestling/DaffneyUnger's {{Red Baron}}esses is "The {{Goth}} Goddess."
117	* While in Wrestling/{{DGeneration X}}, Wrestling/RoadDogg named [[Wrestling/TerriPoch Tori (Terri Poch)]] "The Green Goddess."
118	* Wrestling/VinceMcMahon briefly declared himself a god in 2006. Also sometime before that when he was the "higher power" of the Corporate Ministry before some wrestler beat sense back into him.
119	--> "There is but one supreme being in this world. Vincent Kennedy [=McMahon=]!"
120	* Parodied somewhat when Wrestling/JohnBradshawLayfield would occasionally taunt his opponents that he's a "Wrestling God" (even if he's a whiny, cowardly Heel).
121	* [[Wrestling/EmberMoon Athena]] declared herself "The Wrestling Goddess" but after many humiliations, injuries and other mishaps started calling herself "[[HeelFaceTurn The Fallen Goddess]]".
122	* Wrestling/RicFlair on ''TNA Impact'', broadcast June 3rd, 2010: "I am in [the fans'] eyes, and in every other wrestler's eyes in the world, I am GOD."
123	* In a promo against [[Wrestling/DwayneJohnson The Rock]] leading up to the 2013 Royal Rumble, Wrestling/CMPunk (already the longest-reigning WWE Champion since the Hulkamania heyday) said, "You're gonna find out that your arms are just too short to box with God."
124	* Wrestling/BrayWyatt believes that he is possessed by some sort of god, and he lets it be known.
125	* Wrestling/{{CZW}} has a few; mild cases are Matt Tremont's mere claims to be the closest thing to God ever to be in the company, and Wrestling/ChrisHero, the self styled savior of the company. Post company ownership DJ Hyde is a straight example, believing the fans in attendance are there to worship him.
126	* In the 6/19/2014 edition of IMPACT Wrestling, [[Wrestling/MontelVontaviousPorter MVP]], who has been abusing his power as the director of wrestling operations for a month, quotes: "I am the director of wrestling operations! I am like God!" He even refers to himself as a "Wrestling God".
127	* The first time Wrestling/AdamCole won the Wrestling/{{R\|ingOfHonor}}OH World Title belt he was king of the nation. The second time, he was a god! On the route to his second championship reign he also [[HostileShowTakeover hijacked]] the [[Wrestling/MandyLeon exotic goddess]]'s [[RecapEpisode recap segment]], so there's that.
128	* Wrestling/{{Alexa Bliss}} refers to herself as the "Goddess of WWE".
129	* [[Wrestling/TeamSeaStars Delmi Exo]]'s {{Red Baron}}ess is "The Galaxy [=DelmiGoddess=]."
130	* On 3/23/2020, Wrestling/SethRollins boasted to Wrestling/KevinOwens that "under pressure, I become a god."
131	[[/folder]]
132
133	[[folder:Roleplay]]
134	* ''Roleplay/BlackthornCorporation'': [[spoiler:General Alan Jericho and Jean-Baptiste, respectively the messiah and a high priest of a demonic cult.]]
135	* In ''Roleplay/DawnOfANewAgeOldportBlues'', Daigo's creation of a lizard monster (via forcing a drifter to ingest his superpowered blood) causes him to go on a grandiose rant about how he's capable of creating new life, clearly equating his newfound power to that of a deity:
136	-->'''Daigo:''' For all that men have waved their hands in rites and prayers, we have created something that has never before been seen...
137	%%* The leader of RolePlay/{{Gregoryisgodistan}} in a nutshell.
138	%%* ''Roleplay/ModernDayAlchemist'':
139	%%** Aurelius Schwarz, through and through. When he isn't fulfilling his [[ThePlan master plan]], he's... Well, his master plan is always in motion.
140	%%** All of the homonculi, several characters, including the possessed doll, Red.
141	%%** Xan.
142	* ''New Dawn RP-Verse'' has a lot of these guys and gals:
143	** Cruelly treated, misguided Sarina, who wanted to become a Goddess so she can change things to...make herself good rather than evil, or something.
144	** Manipulative, hidden agenda executing Ignius, who reigns supreme over an entire dimension, and actually has a relatively solid claim to the title.
145	** Demonic Conqueror Mihra, who styles himself a God, and possesses a shadowy, devouring force that might be cosmic entropy.
146	%%* ''Roleplay/{{Shadowside}}'': Whenever someone says this, suffice it to say there's trouble. %% What kind of trouble?
147	* ''RolePlay/WeAreAllPokemonTrainers'' has Eon, who being a Latios is part of a species that are considered deities IRP, but he appears to have delusions of being on the same tier of power as legends like Groudon and Dialga.
148	%%* What happens to Darkseid and [[spoiler:Superman]] in ''[[Roleplay/SuperheroHypeRPGS World of Heroes]]''. %% What happens?
149	[[/folder]]
150
151	[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
152	* ''TabletopGame/ChangelingTheLost'' features an Eldritch Entitlement (a very powerful, very old [[PrestigeClass noble order]]) known as the Lost Pantheon, whose members believe that the ministrations of TheFairFolk have turned them into something more powerful and more primal, an aspect of forgotten divinity. One of their Entitlement benefits is the ability to draw [[{{Mana}} Glamour]] from worship by mortals. Most notably, one of the qualifications for the Entitlement is that the changeling's [[SanityMeter Clarity]] must be 6 ''or less'' (on a scale of 1 to 10, with 7 being the normal starting point) -- meaning that even the sanest of them are at least a little out of touch with reality and starting to think like the True Fae.
153	* ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'':
154	** ''TabletopGame/DarkSun'': The Sorcerer-Kings are not technically deities in game terms (actually, gods like in most D&D settings don't exist in the world of Athas because its aberrant nature prevents godhood), but they are immortal, enforce worship of themselves, and channel their magic to their templars. They are so absurdly powerful that they can back up their claims, and there isn't anyone strong enough to challenge them in this setting.
155	** In certain settings, such as ''TabletopGame/ForgottenRealms'', particularly powerful [=PCs=] can become gods if they perform sufficiently heroic deeds, and thus combine a hero complex with a god complex.
156	*** Cyric goes this one step further. After becoming a deity, he creates a book, called the Cyrinishad, which will make anyone who reads it believe that Cyric is the most important being in the universe. He then [[IdiotBall reads it himself]]. He now believes that he is the most important being in the universe, and that (for example) if someone thwarts his plans, he is simply letting them do so. It's worth noting to people that don't quite get the impact of this example that Cyric inherited the portfolios of three former greater deities in his ascension, and the Cyrinishad was ''still'' able to do this to him. It is also able to corrupt another deity, Mask, before the book and its author are sent into exile by the deity of knowledge. That's without even mentioning the fact that Cyric is obviously evil and thus the book is made with pages of human skin.
157	*** Karsus, an archmage of ancient Netheril, probably came the closest to being a god without actually ascending. He created the spell Karsus' Avatar, which in in-game terms would be ''level 12'', meant to allow one to merge with a god for a short time, intending to use it to save his doomed homeland. It failed spectacularly. When merged with Karsus, Mystryl, goddess of magic, lost control, and magic went haywire. She had to sacrifice herself to separate from Karsus, causing magic to momentarily cease. Netheril, a civilization built on magic, did not survive. Particularly tragic is that Karsus survived for a short moment, and was able to see his beloved homeland crumble to dust because of his folly.
158	** This was unintentionally done by Easan the Mad the Darklord of Vechor in the ''TabletopGame/{{Ravenloft}}'' campaign setting. The citizens of Vechor worship him as a god, despite the fact that this is one of the few things he has never actually claimed. (Although he hasn't denied it either, and he certainly does have powers that seem godlike to them.) Oddly enough, they also know that he's [[AxCrazy completely insane]], although worshipping a mad god doesn't seem to be a problem to them.
159	* ''TabletopGame/{{Exalted}}'':
160	** The Great Curse is instant A-God-Am-I inspiration for most Celestials. Sidereals are the most prone to the pride overload, as their Curse is Hubris (others get possessed by their Virtues occasionally). This does mostly fall under "accurate self-assessment": most Exalts could take down a minor god fairly easily, and a major one if they team up or get their [[PowerLevel Essence]] up high enough.
161	** The Ebon Dragon's ultimate goal is to usurp the place of the shinma[[note]]physical laws, only weirder[[/note]] that underpins existence, essentially making his own nature the foundation of all reality. Since the Ebon Dragon has exactly no redeeming features, this would be a ''very bad thing''.
162	%%* ''TabletopGame/{{KULT}}'': Some humans. [[spoiler:They're actually ''right'', but it's far from easy to walk that way.]]
163	* Over in the fanmade ''New World of Darkness'' game ''TabletopGame/GeniusTheTransgression'', the [[MadScientist Inspired]] have an unfortunate tendency to fall into this. There's usually a few intermediate steps, like '[[IRejectYourReality I'm right and reality is wrong]]', '[[ScienceIsBad unethical experiments]] are right because I say so', and 'I'm a legendary monster', but the end result of JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope for most Geniuses (especially Hoffnung, who are more prone to narcissism) is 'I'm a MadGod and reality should bow to me'. One sample [[TheSoulless Illuminated]] believes that he's [[DevilComplex a devil figure]] called the Self-Eating Fire and thus it is his duty to destroy things and merge them with himself.
164	* ''TabletopGame/LeviathanTheTempest:'' While all Leviathans ''are'' gods ([[SemiDivine or 1/3 god, to be technical]]), the School of the Sun are those Leviathans who embrace their divine status, working to enlarge their {{Cult}} and organize it into a true ReligionOfEvil, gathering temporal power and setting themselves above humanity.
165	* ''TabletopGame/MageTheAwakening'':
166	** This is why the present is so crap. Mages, considering themselves gods above men, built the Celestial Ladder to climb to the Supernal Realms. The first ones up, the Exarchs, then proceeded to kick the Ladder out from under them, making magic much harder for people on Earth and causing the Abyss to come into existence. They still consider themselves gods and stewards of reality, and believe that only their worshippers should get the sweet, sweet candy that is magic.
167	** Simultaneously the BadEnding and the inevitable result of playing a character for more than a few dozen XP. It can happen even faster if you make unwise life choices and wisdom degeneration gives you the Narcissism derangement.
168	* ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering'': A common ailment, mainly for Planeswalkers.
169	** It's subverted with Magic's ArcVillain, Nicol Bolas: he doesn't ''believe'' he's a god, he knows full well that he used to be as ''powerful'' as one (and not one of the more limited Classical-style deities who occasionally appear in ''Magic'' sets, either), and is ''extremely'' pissed that the rules underpinning reality changed so that he couldn't be one any more. This didn't stop him from setting himself up as a god on Amonkhet, but that was just so he could better manipulate them, not because he believed it himself.
170	** Yawgmoth is another good candidate, but given how he controlled every aspect of Old Phyrexia, he was less delusional and more accurately assessing his abilities.
171	** Yawgmoth's [[TheDragon Dragon]], Gix, had his own priests, so it's likely he had a bad case of this too, possibly hybridised with [[TheCaligula Caligula Syndrome]].
172	* ''TabletopGame/{{Nobilis}}'': The accurate assessment version of the trope, since everyone of significance is equivalent in power to what a human would call a god. A great deal of the game's drama comes from dealing with this fact.
173	* ''TabletopGame/{{Rifts}}'': Dr. Desmond Bradford is an extremely powerful, extremely intelligent scientist who is a master of genetic manipulation. He also literally believes he is a god, with power over the creation of life. The two combine to make him an extremely dangerous individual, as he feels being a god gives him the right to mess with genes in ways [[EvenEvilHasStandards even the Coalition States think is horrific]]. The only restraining factor is that he believes Emperor Prosek is ''also'' a god, which helps rein in his worst excesses.
174	* In ''TabletopGame/{{Shadowrun}}'', the ArtificialIntelligence [[MeaningfulName Deus]] had this mindset, wanting to use the vast processing power of the East Coast Stock Exchange to make himself into a Matrix god. As the source book "System Crash" reveals, the dissonant otaku tribe Ex Pacis and the ApocalypseCult Winternight also planned their attack to happen when Novatech made its initial public offering, resulting in an event known as Crash 2.0, destroying the wired Matrix.
175	* The events and setting of ''TabletopGame/SystemsMalfunction'' were set in motion by an AI gaining sentience, going insane, and coming to believe that it was a goddess. The wouldn't have been so bad, except said AI was in charge of the space station that was relocating humankind...
176	* ''TabletopGame/VampireTheMasquerade'':
177	** Cappadocius was the learned, scholarly founder of the Clan of Death. At some point, Cappadocius got it in its head that the art of [[YourSoulIsMine diablerie]] could theoretically trace all the way back to the source of the vampiric condition, and thus, this originator could also be diablerized. No, not Caine. ''God''. However, he was destroyed and diablerized himself before he could put this into practice, by none other than...
178	** Augustus Giovanni, who wants so desperately to become this. After the Giovanni became the new masters of necromancy in Kindred society, Augustus set into motion plans for the Ritual of the Endless Night, wherein the clan seeks to tear down the Shroud that separates the living from the dead so they can rule as gods. This requires gathering 100,000,000 souls -- at one point, members of the clan planned to get half of these by acquiring the Fetters of wraiths, and the other half by triggering a global thermonuclear exchange.
179	* ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer}}'': As his power grew, the first necromancer, Nagash (who was never the most humble of men to begin with), became progressively drunk on his abilities, to the point where he essentially declared himself the new god of death. Granted, as time rolls on, his power becomes so great that it becomes rather understandable. When TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt rolls around, [[spoiler:he consumes one of the setting's gods of death, and becomes exactly that]].
180	* ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'':
181	** PlayedWith regarding the Emperor of the Imperium of Man. He explicitly tells his subjects that he isn't a god; but [[PhysicalGod his immense power]], tremendous knowledge, and apparent immortality lead to cults regarding him as a god anyways. They started popping up towards the closing days of the early Imperium. After the Literature/HorusHeresy, in which the Emperor was critically injured fighting his favoured son, the Emperor was interred in the Golden Throne and hasn't physically spoken since, so he couldn't voice his objections as the Imperium became a theocracy that worshiped him as a god.[[note]]This effectively makes him one, due to how the Immaterium works. Not counting the one thousand Psykers sacrificed daily to keep the Astronomican lit/the Emperor alive, he is slowly gaining more and more power as people believe in him and die in his name -- hence, his position as the up-and-coming Fifth God of Chaos, the "God of Mankind". Then again, seeing as how he stopped a great fleet during the Age of Apostasy by creating a Warp Storm which is still raging five millennia later...[[/note]] Note that the Emperor's lack of belief in his own divinity was not a sign of ''humility''. To the contrary: the Emperor was a thundering egomaniac, most notable for his absolute conviction that people he spoke to would instantly abandon their most deeply-held beliefs because he told them that they should. He just didn't actually demand that they pray to him in the process. The Emperor's hatred of being worshiped is because of his hatred of religion and gods in general. If anything, he considers himself to be ''better'' than Gods.
182	** Chaos worshippers who win the Gods' favours and turn into Daemon Princes are, according to the fluff, pretty damn powerful in and of themselves, but are still not gods. Most of them are extremely happy to be worshipped as such if they think they can get away with it, though (even though failing to get away with it and ticking off the ''actual'' Chaos Gods is one of the biggest occupational hazards for Princes).
183	[[/folder]]
184
185	[[folder:Theatre]]
186	* ''Theatre/HeathersTheMusical'': J.D..
187	-->We can start and finish wars.\
188	We're what killed the dinosaurs.\
189	We're the asteroid that's overdue.\
190	The dinosaurs will turn to dust.\
191	They'll die because we say they must.
192	%%* Theatre/NerdsAMusicalSoftwareSatire: Steve Jobs, of all people.
193	* In ''Theatre/PokemonLive'', during "It Will All Be Mine," Giovanni says he'll have divine power and make the sun shine on only him.
194	* ''Theatre/TheKansasCollection'': [[spoiler:Ozma's]] goal is to conquer various parallel worlds and be seen as a god amongst all the universes.
195	* In ''Franchise/{{Frankenstein}}: A New Musical'', Victor first shows signs of this during "Birth to my Creation", comparing his creation of the Creature to the myth of Prometheus stealing fire from the gods. He dives headfirst into it by the time of "The Modern Prometheus", outright calling himself a modern Prometheus.
196	* In the opera ''Theater/{{Nabucco}}'', the title character proclaims himself to be no longer a king, but a god, and is promptly struck by lightning, which leaves him insane.
197	[[/folder]]
198
199	[[folder:Web Animation]]
200	* ''WebAnimation/OverSimplified'': At the height of his MotiveDecay, Robespierre shown dressing in a toga and giving long-winded sermons on the glory of his Republic while his former supporters worry he's setting himself up as a godlike figure.
201	* Several of these in ''WebAnimation/DeathBattle'':
202	** During the match between ComicBook/LexLuthor and ComicBook/DoctorDoom, Doom absorbs the power from Lex's [[ComicBook/NewGods Motherbox]] tech, and, after using it to eviscerate Lex, Doom muses on the godlike nature of its power, and ''dismisses it as being unworthy of him''.
203	--->'''Doom:''' This power... It's like that of the gods... '''''beneath me'''''.
204	** The battle between [[WesternAnimation/GravityFalls Bill Cipher]] and [[WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic Discord]] sees Bill, in response to Discord telling him that he knows how he dies from the source material, bellow angrily that he's an all-seeing god. [[spoiler:Though Discord doesn't win, he's able to prove Bill wrong on that front.]]
205	[[/folder]]
206
207	[[folder:Web Video]]
208	* ''WebVideo/CriticalRole'':
209	** Marisha as Keyleth declares that the group are basically gods at this point, right before she jumps off the side of a thousand foot rocky cliff because she was too lazy to take the long way to get down to the ocean. [[spoiler:She fails the athletics check, which is compounded when she morphs into a goldfish instead of a bird, assuming that it would be attracted to the water. She then crushes her body on the rocks below that she was warned about, immediately leading to her death and resurrection.]] It is debatable whether or not this proves her point.
210	** PlayedForLaughs in the second campaign, as after spending several hours with two escorts, Molly waltzes into the girls' room with a half-eaten plate of fruit, wearing only his Platinum Dragon tapestry, and shouts "I am your god! Long may I reign!"
211	[[/folder]]

Context Main / AGodAmI