History Main / AmnesiacGod

[[folder:Fanfiction]]

[[folder:Film — Live-Action]]

* In ''Literature/CreaturesOfLightAndDarkness'', one of the main characters, [[spoiler: Anubis's champion, Wakim]], is unaware that he is really [[spoiler: the God Set.]]
* ''The Book of Ptah'' by Creator/AEVanVogt.
* ''Literature/MidnightAtTheWellOfSouls'' by Creator/JackLChalker: The protagonist, Nathan Brazil, is not completely amnesic, but is so old he doesn't remember where he comes from. When he reaches the Well of Souls, the ancient mechanism that keeps the universe running, it recognizes him as one of the {{Precursors}} that created it, restores his memories, and grants him reality-manipulating powers that he uses to wrap up the plot.
* [[spoiler:Lobsang and Jeremy]] in Creator/TerryPratchett's ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' novel ''Literature/ThiefOfTime''.
* [[spoiler:Shadow, aka Balder]] in Creator/NeilGaiman's novel ''Literature/AmericanGods''. In this case, it's not so much amnesia as it is being a reincarnation in a human body, with no memory of his previous existence.
* ''Literature/ArchersGoon'' by Creator/DianaWynneJones.

* In the Raven Duology by Creator/PatriciaBriggs we have Hennea, who appears to be an ordinary bearer of the Order of Raven and a mortal Traveler... until the second book reveals her to be [[spoiler:Raven, herself, one of the six deities that helped create the world.]] She, herself, is unaware of this until the rest of the characters learn it.
* A variation occurs in Creator/DavidEddings' ''Literature/{{Belgariad}}'' and ''Literature/{{Malloreon}}'' series. The child "Errand" is initially thought to be a random innocent kid, who happens to get along with the resident EmpathicWeapon. As he grows up he gradually manifests weird powers, starting with surprising insight for a child, and ramping up to NighInvulnerability. It turns out he's really one of the world's seven [[PhysicalGod Physical Gods]], and simultaneously knew and was unaware of his identity. It's kind of complicated.

* Khayman, from ''The Queen of the Damned'', of ''[[Literature/TheVampireChronicles Vampire Chronicles]]'' lore. [[spoiler:Turns out he's more or less the third-oldest vampire in the world, not counting the King and Queen, and therefore one of the most powerful. Ever.]]
* [[spoiler:Mina]] in the ''Literature/{{Dragonlance}}'' novels.
* The children in Creator/JohnCWright's ''Literature/ChroniclesOfChaos''
* [[spoiler:[[TheAgeless Mirar]]]] in Trudi Canavan's ''Literature/TheAgeOfTheFive'' had to [[MemoryGambit brainwash himself]] to survive after suffering extremely serious wounds because of an assassination attempt. ([[spoiler:They collapsed his temple while he and numerous Dreamweavers were in it]]) He ended up, a hundred years later, as a [[spoiler:simple Dreamweaver named Leiard]].
* ''Literature/TheLastDragonChronicles'': Actually it'd be [[spoiler: Amnesiac Fain,]] but for all intents and purposes, [[spoiler: David and Alexa]] would be very nearly as powerful.

* Turns out to be the big reveal and the key to the mystery in Jean Ray's ''Malpertuis'': [[spoiler: half of the characters are in fact [[GodsNeedPrayersBadly dying]] Greek gods trapped in human bodies - or rather in human-shaped balloons - by an old sorcerer and a mad taxidermist. Some do remember who they used to be, while others had human identites forced onto them - but they have relapses when they regain their old identities and abilities for a short time.]]

* Creator/RogerZelazny:
** In ''[[Literature/TheChroniclesOfAmber Nine Princes in Amber]]'': As a member of a BigScrewedUpFamily, even with amnesia, BlackSheep Corwin keeps things close to the vest.
** In ''Literature/CreaturesOfLightAndDarkness'', one of the main characters, [[spoiler: Anubis's champion, Wakim]], is unaware that he is really [[spoiler: the God Set.]]

* In ''Podcast/{{Malevolent}}'' we learn that [[spoiler:John is actually a [[PiecesOfGod a piece of the King in Yellow that had been bound to a book as the result of an imperfect ritual]], who had forgotten his true identity until he was reminded at the end of season 1]]. Later on at the start of season 2, [[spoiler:Arthur makes a deal with Kayne to bring John back to him, on the condition that he remembers nothing. Unfortunately, Arthur decides to tell the new voice everything that happened up until that point, causing the new voice (dubbed Yellow) to reject the humanity John had gained]].

* Five of the seven gods in ''VideoGame/MythicOcean'' are unaware of their true nature due to the universe being in a cycle of death of rebirth. The only exceptions are Elil, who explains that he's a fallen god, and Gnosis, who is able to recall some details of the previous cycles.

* LightNovel/HaruhiSuzumiya isn't so much amnesiac as completely unaware from the start that she's an all-powerful RealityWarper who can (and possibly already has) changed the laws of the universe on a whim. It doesn't help that everyone around her who's in the know is doing everything they can to keep it from her.

* ''VideoGame/BreathOfFireIV's'' protagonist is a god split across several thousand years. He has no memories, but during the course of his journey he learns his other half saved the world and is now learning that HumansAreTheRealMonsters and plans to KillEmAll once they can [[SplitPersonalityMerge merge.]]

** Malon's husband Ingo, who came out of nowhere early in the story and [[{{Foreshadowing}} is referred to as looking a lot like Link]], turns out to be [[spoiler:Hadrian, Link's grandfather, with his memories and power temporarily suppressed after a run-in with the Originals.]]

* [[spoiler:Shadow, aka Balder]] in Creator/NeilGaiman's novel ''Literature/AmericanGods''. In this case, it's not so much amnesia as it is being raised like a human and not understanding how to use their powers.

* ''VideoGame/{{Utawarerumono}}''

* Variation in ''ComicBook/TheTransformersMoreThanMeetsTheEye'', where it's revealed that ''several'' characters are members of the Guiding Hand, basically the gods and archangels of Cybertronian myth, but events in the early days of Cybertronian history stripped them of those memories and caused them to believe they were just ordinary Transformers, living out lives ranging from the relatively understated to the grand and exceptional. As a result, while they are amnesiac gods, even they don't realise they ''are'' amnesiac beyond the memory degradation that afflicts all older Cybertronians until circumstances conspire to restore their memories. [[spoiler:Tyrest, the KnightTemplar who's the ArcVillain of "Remain in Light", is Solomus, the god of wisdom. Censere, the Necrobot, who has devoted his life to running around tracking the deaths of Cybertronians, is Mortilus, the god of death, who was [[EveryoneHatesHades unjustly blamed for the whole thing]]. And Rung - understated, forgettable Rung, TheShrink for the main characters? That Rung? He's the main Transformers god, Primus.]]

* [[Literature/{{Dragons}} The Last Dragon Chronicles]]: Actually it'd be [[spoiler: Amnesiac Fain,]] but for all intents and purposes, [[spoiler: David and Alexa]] would be very nearly as powerful.

The main character begins the story with LaserGuidedAmnesia and is immediately swept into strange events. Gradually it becomes apparent that the character is not a normal person like they thought, but a PhysicalGod or something very close to it. Among the things they [[HowDoIShotWeb forgot were their powers and how to activate them.]] When the character finally regains their full set of memories, the only thing that can stand against their StoryBreakerPower and prevent the plot from being solved in short order is another character with the same powers.

* In ''Webcomic/ElGoonishShive'', "immortals" generally work like this--they are beings of almost unlimited magical ability, but if they don't "die" every so often and forget almost everything, they go insane with power.

* In ''[[Literature/NightWatch Day Watch]]'', Vitaly (the protagonist) starts as an amnesiac. He is actually a "mirror", a human warped by the Twilight to keep [[BalanceBetweenGoodAndEvil The Balance Between Light And Dark]].

* [[spoiler:[[ButtMonkey Vincent]] [[TheWoobie Law]] is]] ''Anime/ErgoProxy'' [[spoiler: a "proxy" for gods AfterTheEnd.]]
* ''LightNovel/HaruhiSuzumiya'' isn't so much amnesiac as completely unaware from the start that she's an all-powerful RealityWarper who can (and possibly already has) changed the laws of the universe on a whim. It doesn't help that everyone around her who's in the know is doing everything they can to keep it from her.
* In ''{{Anime/K}}'', [[spoiler: Yashiro Isana]] remembers that he is actually Adolf K. Weismann, the [[FromASingleCell immortal]] Silver King, who "created" the other kings, and who some refer to as a living god.
* In ''Anime/TenchiMuyo'', [[spoiler:Washu]] is one of the three goddesses who created the universe. She reincarnated herself as an (immortal) human, with her memories sealed away and her powers locked into a trio of simple red gems. She eventually regains her memories. It's later revealed that an even higher-level god (possibly ''the'' God) exists, and he has been reborn as [[spoiler:Tenchi Masaki]]. He finds out about this at the end of the 3rd OVA series, but still has no memory from before becoming human.
* ''Anime/YuGiOh'': [[TheHero Yami Yugi]] is the spirit of the Ancient Egyptian Pharaoh Atem: the one who sealed away the Shadow Games in the [[{{MacGuffin}} Millenium Items]] 3000 years before the start of the series (5000 years in the dub). [[UsefulNotes/AncientEgypt As the Pharaohs]] [[UsefulNotes/EgyptianMythology were considered gods in Egyptian mythology, this technically counts]].

* ''VideoGame/DragonAgeInquisition'': Ending/Trespasser spoilers: [[spoiler: There is an overwhelming amount of evidence to suggest that Sera is inhabited by a weakened form of the Elven God Anduil, just like Flemeth was by Mythal, but she and possibly Anduil don't remember [[http://shispan.tumblr.com/post/106752987253/spoilers-sera-is-a-vessel-speculation-more documented here]], and almost stated outright in her party banter with Solas.]]

* ''Franchise/ShinMegamiTenseiPersona'':

* ''Anime/YuGiOh'': [[TheHero Yami Yugi]] is the spirit of the Ancient Egyptian Pharaoh Atem: the one who sealed away the Shadow Games in the [[{{MacGuffin}} Millenium Items]] 3000 years before the start of the series (5000 years in the dub). [[UsefulNotes/AncientEgypt As the Pharaohs were considered gods in Egyptian mythology, this technically counts]].

* ''Anime/YuGiOh'': [[TheHero Yami Yugi]] is the spirit of the Ancient Egyptian Pharaoh Atem: the one who sealed away the Shadow Games in the [{{MacGuffin}} Millenium Items] 3000 years before the start of the series (5000 years in the dub). [[UsefulNotes/AncientEgypt As the Pharaohs were considered gods in Egyptian mythology, this technically counts]].

* [[spoiler:Lobsang and Jeremy]] in Creator/TerryPratchett's Literature/{{Discworld}} novel ''Discworld/ThiefOfTime''.