History Main / DevilButNoGod

* Inverted in the ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'' series games and [[Anime/{{Pokemon}} anime]] where there is a counterpart for God called Arceus, but there is no counterpart for the Devil. Played straight in the ''VideoGame/PokemonMysteryDungeonExplorers'' games however, where Arceus is nowhere to be seen, and that only one Pokémon, [[spoiler:Darkrai]] is the true evil one. There is one who carries a striking resemblance to good'ol Lucifer in it's backstory. Giratina was one of the first Pokémon Arceus created, along with Dialga and Palkia. While Dialga was given domain over time and Palkia over space, Giratina control matter and antimatter. However, while Dialga and Palkia were nice enough, Giratina had some bad behaviour, which led Arceus to exiling it to the Distortion Realm, the world opposite of ours. Giratina is the only living thing there, and has complete control over that realm.

* ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'' takes this to an extreme. The Chaos Gods are the [[TheHeartless sentient manifestations of the negative emotions]] of the galaxy (as well as the positive ones [[KnightTemplar warped ]] [[HotBlooded into the]] [[{{Yandere}} most extreme]] and [[LoveMakesYouCrazy twisted manner]] possible), but there is a [[BlackAndGrayMorality distinct lack]] of any positive alternatives. Even the surviving gods of the non-chaos factions tend to be genocidal jerkasses, and the worst gods are the C'Tan, who are trying to [[OmnicidalManiac exterminate every living thing in the universe]] then eat their souls afterward (and one of them is possibly the god of an Imperial faction, though they don't know it). Based on information from [[Wiki/{{Wikipedia}} The Other Wiki]], there may be two surviving non-evil gods... one is implied to be a C'tan (and therefore is one of the omnicidal gods out to ''eat'' souls [[spoiler: though in fairness, it may be due to their trickster natures, so it would be unsurprising that the two are separate entities that ''impersonate'' each other]]), and the other is being [[ColdBloodedTorture tortured]] by Nurgle (who is, incidentally, [[AffablyEvil one of the more likeable deities]]).

** ComicBook/IncredibleHulk:

-->'''Blue Fangs:''' "God is not here. This is an empty box."
-->'''Blue Fangs:''' "[[TakeThat Your life's work makes Him puke]]."
-->'''Blue Fangs:''' "Your God's love is not unconditional. He does not love [[TheLegionsOfHell us]]. And He does not love [[NotSoDifferentRemark you]]."

** It's worth noticing that at least some Graeco-Roman and Egyptian deities exist in some form in the Buffyverse, with appeal to Hecate, Janus and Osiris resulting in, variously, [[BalefulPolymorph transformation into a rat]], everybody [[BecomingTheCostume transforming into their costumes]], and [[BackFromTheDead resurrection]]. These may just be sufficiently advanced demons. Glory is also referred to as a God, though one of the evil ones.

* While the ''book'' of ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'' averts this trope (see below), this is the impression of someone who only watched [[Film/TheLordOfTheRings the movies]] and never read any of the books or especially the backstory. It's possible to watch the movies without ever learning that Gandalf is a maia (or even what a [[OurAngelsAreDifferent maia]] is), or the existence of the [[CouncilOfAngels Valar]] or [[{{God}} Eru]], or know about the downfall or [[AndManGrewProud Númenor]]. ''Something'' [[InMysteriousWays subtly]] influences everyone's fate and sends [[DeusExMachina Gandalf back from the dead]], but it is sufficiently abstract and distant when compared to [[{{Satan}} Sauron]] as to qualify for this trope.
** Then again, Sauron is a being who has somehow seized control of armies of orcs and a mighty wizard before even getting an eye. By the end of the movie the most he has is a symbolic mouth, and that's only in the extended edition.
[[note]]However, Sauron isn't the Devil either. He's just Morgoth's most trusted lieutenant. In other words, ''a'' devil but not ''the'' devil (or you could say he's the ''de facto'' devil, since the genuine article's currently a SealedEvilInACan).[[/note]]

* While the ''book'' of ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'' averts this trope (see below), this is the impression of someone who only watched [[Film/TheLordOfTheRings the movies]] and never read any of the book or backstory. It's possible to watch the movies without ever learning that Gandalf is a maia (or even what a [[OurAngelsAreDifferent maia]] is), or the existence of the [[CouncilOfAngels Valar]] or [[{{God}} Eru]], or know about the downfall or [[AndManGrewProud Númenor]]. ''Something'' [[InMysteriousWays subtly]] influences everyone's fate and sends [[DeusExMachina Gandalf back from the dead]], but it is sufficiently abstract and distant when compared to [[{{Satan}} Sauron]] as to qualify for this trope.

** However, Sauron isn't the Devil either. He's just Morgoth's most trusted lieutenant.
** In other words, he's ''a'' devil but not ''the'' devil (or you could say he's the ''de facto'' devil, since the genuine article's currently a SealedEvilInACan).

* The voice of God has been heard in certain Franchise/TheDCU, usually talking to Comicbook/TheSpectre, who works as its Agent of Vengeance. However it has never been actually seen, and only seems to interfere on VERY rare occasions, even when Franchise/TheDCU is threatened with destruction.

*** The Voice (who talks to Comicbook/TheSpectre)

*** The Source (the universal creative force, mostly appears in works related to Creator/JackKirby's [[Comicbook/NewGods Fourth World]] mythos)
*** The Entity (the "white light of creation" from the ''Comicbook/BlackestNight'' arc)

** By contrast to this, various devils often show up in the DC Universe, most notably Neron, whose shtick is making Deal With The Devil type bargains with unwitting mortals. Demons seem to pop up far more often in the series then their heavenly counterparts, even though some (like Comicbook/{{Etrigan}}) aren't all bad. Comicbook/{{Lucifer}} even had his own ongoing title under the Creator/{{Vertigo|Comics}} imprint.

* In Franchise/MarvelUniverse, Satan was a recurring character in the Son of Satan series. God, Jesus or the Angels never appeared or interfered. Later, it was {{retcon}}ned that Satan was being impersonated by demons such as ComicBook/{{Mephisto}}, and that the true Devil had NEVER appeared in a Marvel story.[[note]]It has since been revealed that there are several Netherrealms claiming to be Hell, and that its rulers ''inspired'' legends of the Devil rather than directly being him, and the only souls they lay claim to are those who made bargains with them.[[/note]] In Comicbook/GhostRider, angels and Heaven have shown up. Well, Blaze had a guy helping him against Satan who was at some points implied to be Jesus.
** ''Comicbook/JourneyIntoMystery'' (ComicBook/TheMightyThor comic)[[note]]NOT the original comic that launched The Mighty Thor, but rather the mid 2010's comic which featured the EnsembleDarkHorse ComicBook/{{Loki}}[[/note]] gave us a council of those various hell lords like Nightmare, Satannish, and the Son-of-Satan-father Satan.[[note]]In the past he's claimed he just ''named'' himself after the biblical figure.[[/note]] The evil demonic beings meet up and all have their own throne. There is one empty in the middle, for the true Satan ruler of all hells. It has never been used, but they're all ''terrified'' to sit on it and "claim" it, not only for the competition from the other Hell Lords vying for it, but of the possibility that he might ''be real and come back''.

** Comicbook/IncredibleHulk:

* The character King Peacock in Creator/AlanMoore 's ''Comicbook/TopTen'', at one point, is described as being a devil worshipper, as he is a member of the Yazidi sect. He describes it as God creating the universe and then taking off, leaving Melek Taus (the devil) in charge. Both God and Melek Taus are benevolent according to the Yazidi, though.
* ''Comicbook/{{Bone}}'' sort of seems to have The Lord of the [[spoiler: [[ChekhovsGun Locusts]]]] as an example of the trope because he is a formless being who appears to have a lot of powers and influence on the real world, and [[DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu he actually]] ''[[DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu killed]]'' [[DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu the closest thing they had to a God]]. Sort of. ''[[{{Prequel}} Rose]]'' implies that the God figure was responsible for her own death, not the Satan figure. Either way, she's dead for the majority of the story. It is also briefly implied that the two beings are actually two aspects of the same being, who is both creator and destroyer, good and evil.

** Also, in the [[Film/{{Ghostbusters 1984}} original film]] there are hints by some characters that Gozer is the harbinger of the Biblical Apocalypse, and not just its own brand of doom.

* While the ''book'' of ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'' averts this trope (see below), this is the impression of someone who only watched [[Film/TheLordOfTheRings the movies]] and never read any of the book or backstory. It's possible to watch the movies without ever learning that Gandalf is a maia (or even what a [[OurAngelsAreDifferent maia]] is), or the existence of the [[CouncilofAngels Valar]] or [[{{God}} Eru]], or know about the downfall or [[AndManGrewProud Númenor]]. ''Something'' [[InMysteriousWays subtly]] influences everyone's fate and sends [[DeusExMachina Gandalf back from the dead]], but it is sufficiently abstract and distant when compared to [[{{Satan}} Sauron]] as to qualify for this trope.

* ''Literature/GoodOmens'' creates a world where Heaven and Hell are not the final arbiters of the supernatural; while the Forces of Evil appear to get a lot more face-time in the book, Heaven is represented only by the distant Metatron - explicity not God himself but "the voice of God, like a Presidential spokesman".[[note]] A GeniusBonus applies: according to Christian mysticism and esoteric doctrine, the Metatron represents that part of the Second Person of God which did not incarnate on Earth as Jesus Christ, but remained in Heaven to keep the throne warm. Therefore the cold, chilly, aspect with no empathy for human beings is completely in character, and Gaiman/Pratchett got to insert an aspect of Jesus without mentioning him, directly, once.[[/note]]. as the book develops, it is revealed that the '''ultimate''' truth is that a third force exists, the Ineffable, who stands behind Good and Evil and is very probably manipulating both agencies.

* [[ShellShockedVeteran Roméo Dallaire]] [[DefiedTrope defies]] this trope in his book ''Literature/ShakeHandsWithTheDevil''. He believes that the [[WarIsHell atrocities]] of the [[UsefulNotes/{{Rwanda}} Rwandan]] Genocide prove that the Devil exists, and that means God also exists.

* ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}'' takes this to an extreme. The Chaos Gods are the [[TheHeartless sentient manifestations of the negative emotions]] of the galaxy (as well as the positive ones [[KnightTemplar warped ]] [[HotBlooded into the]] [[{{Yandere}} most extreme]] and [[LoveMakesYouCrazy twisted manner]] possible), but there is a [[BlackAndGrayMorality distinct lack]] of any positive alternatives. Even the surviving gods of the non-chaos factions tend to be genocidal jerkasses, and the worst gods are the C'Tan, who are trying to [[OmnicidalManiac exterminate every living thing in the universe]] then eat their souls afterward (and one of them is possibly the god of an Imperial faction, though they don't know it). Based on information from [[Wiki/{{Wikipedia}} The Other Wiki]], there may be two surviving non-evil gods... one is implied to be a C'tan (and therefore is one of the omnicidal gods out to ''eat'' souls [[spoiler: though in fairness, it may be due to their trickster natures, so it would be unsurprising that the two are separate entities that ''impersonate'' each other]]), and the other is being [[ColdBloodedTorture tortured]] by Nurgle (who is, incidentally, [[AffablyEvil one of the more likeable deities]]).

* In ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'', the [[TableTopGame/{{Greyhawk}} World Of Greyhawk]] has Tharizdun, ultimate dark god, SealedEvilInACan since he's an OmnicidalManiac horror. There is no counterbalancing ultimate ''good'' god.

* ZigZaggingTrope in ''VideoGame/{{Touhou}}'', which is mainly based on ''UsefulNotes/{{Shinto}}''; ''Touhou'' has many God characters and a Lucifer-analogue in Shinki (though her canonicity, along with all other characters from before the 6th game, is highly questionable). Oddly, Shinki is generally seen as a rather nice person, [[BewareTheNiceOnes if zealous and prone to violent outbursts when annoyed]]. On the other hand, while various God characters show up (many of which are almost pathetically weak), none of them are stated to be an "absolutely good" God. The one God stated to have this role, The Great Dragon, has never been seen and nobody knows what it looks like beyond "it's supposedly a dragon" and there is no confirmation that it even exists. Even main character Reimu Hakurei, who is supposed to be its High Priestess, has no connection to it and in fact for a long didn't even know what deity the Hakurei shrine is supposed to house and hence who she is supposed to serve.

* Trigon in ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans'' is built up as the series' parallel to Satan in almost every way, but there doesn't seem to be a contrasting "God" figure at all.

* In Franchise/MarvelUniverse, Satan was a recurring character in the Son of Satan series. God, Jesus or the Angels never appeared or interfered. Later, it was {{retcon}}ned that Satan was being impersonated by demons such as ComicBook/{{Mephisto}}, and that the true Devil had NEVER appeared in a Marvel story [[note]]It has since been revealed that there are several Netherrealms claiming to be Hell, and that its rulers ''inspired'' legends of the Devil rather than directly being him, and the only souls they lay claim to are those who made bargains with them.[[/note]]. In Comicbook/GhostRider, angels and Heaven have shown up. Well, Blaze had a guy helping him against Satan who was at some points implied to be Jesus.
** ''Comicbook/JourneyIntoMystery'' (ComicBook/TheMightyThor comic)[[note]]NOT the original comic that launched The Mighty Thor, but rather the mid 2010's comic which featured the EnsembleDarkHorse ComicBook/{{Loki}}[[/note]] gave us a council of those various hell lords like Nightmare, Satannish, and the Son-of-Satan-father Satan[[note]]Who's in the past already claimed he just ''named'' himself after the biblical figure[[/note]]. The evil demonic beings meet up and all have their own throne. There is one empty in the middle, for the true Satan ruler of all hells. It has never been used, but they're all ''terrified'' to sit on it and "claim" it, not only for the competition from the other Hell Lords vying for it, but of the possibility that he might ''be real and come back''.

* A [[Series/MysteryScienceTheater3000 MST3K]] film ''Film/TouchOfSatan'' is pretty much this.

** ''VideoGame/DmCDevilMayCry'' rebooted Dante into being a half-angel half-demon. The story tells us that at many points in Earth's history demons and angels went to war against each other, and Mundus has a pathological hatred for angels as a result of this rivalry. Sparda's decision to mate with Eva (who is an angel in this universe) made Mundus angry enough to exile Sparda to his eternal torment. Also, we're told that nephilim, a hybrid subspecies born of demons and angels, were so powerful that they endangered the supremacy of both sides -- this being the one exception where demons and angels actually fought together against a common enemy. As for where God is in this picture is unclear, nor are we told why the angels seem okay with Mundus ruling over the Earth as an emperor in the shadows.

* This seems to be the case in the ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry'' series, featuring TheLegionsOfHell and their leader Mundus, but nothing supporting the existence of God. Similarly, angels have been mentioned in passing a few times, but the series has yet to explore their existence in depth.

** Most of the religion in the ''Devil May Cry'' series revolves around worshiping demons that are friendly to humans, with Dante's father being a good demon messiah. Also, there are demons that appear to be angels. It seems as if in this universe, that instead of demons being fallen angels - [[AscendedDemon angels are demons who fell up.]] However in a speech near the end of ''4'', Nero makes an explicit reference to God, and in ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry5'' references are made to Creator/WilliamBlake, confirming that UsefulNotes/{{Christianity}} does indeed exist in the universe. How valid it is is left in question however, as according to WordOfGod [[TheUnderworld there is no Heaven]].
** ''VideoGame/DmCDevilMayCry'' rebooted Dante into being a half-angel half-demon. The story tells us that at many points in Earth's history demons and angels went to war against each other, and Mundus' has a pathological hatred for angels as a result of this rivalry. Sparda's decision to mate with Eva (who is an angel in this universe) made Mundus angry enough to exhile Sparda to his eternal torment. Also, we're told that nephilim, a hybrid subspecies born of demons and angels, were so powerful that they endangered the supremacy of both sides -- this being the one exception where demons and angels actually fought together against a common enemy. As for where God is in this picture is unclear, nor are we told why the angels seem okay with Mundus ruling over the Earth as an emperor in the shadows.

** Most of the religion in the ''Devil May Cry'' series revolves around worshiping demons that are friendly to humans, with Dante's father being a good demon messiah. Also, there are demons that appear to be angels. It seems as if in this universe, that instead of demons being fallen angels - [[AscendedDemon angels are demons who fell up.]]
** In a speech near the end of ''4'', Nero makes an explicit reference to God, although it's anyone's guess if it's ''God'' God, or the PowersThatBe.

** God is mentioned in the DMC Anime off hand. Issac, a man who frequents Dante's favorite diner, discovers Dante is a demon after spying on him for weeks. After Dante shows Issac that he's not a bad guy by saving his life, Issac asks Dante what he is, before realizing that sounds rude and dehumanizing and asks Dante who he is. Dante snidely throws it up in the air, saying that Issac should ask God.

* In ''Film/{{Krampus}}'', the titular demon freely terrorizes Max and his family, but FatherChristmas is nowhere to be seen. This may be because this version of Krampus targets those who have lost their faith in Christmas. Hence, if nobody has faith, then Santa will not come, but Krampus will. Basically, "Krampus, but No Santa".

* ''Film/{{Krampus}}'' has a variant, in that the titular demon freely terrorizes Max and his family, but FatherChristmas is nowhere to be seen, essentially "Krampus, But No Santa". This may be because this version of Krampus targets those who have lost their faith in Christmas. [[spoiler:However, the ending, among other things, has led some viewers to believe that Santa '''is''' Krampus!]]

[[quoteright:330:[[Webcomic/{{xkcd}} https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Redwall_3876.png]]]]

* ''Franchise/{{Castlevania}}'': A rare Inverted example. God’s presence is made obvious and His church is benevolent 9 times out of 10, but the Devil is nowhere to be seen and is almost never mentioned. The closest we have is {{Dracula}}, a powerful vampire-turned-Demon-Lord who is frequently seen commanding TheLegionsOfHell.

* In the ''Castlevania''-inspired ''VideoGame/BloodstainedRitualOfTheNight'', [[spoiler:Dominique Baldwin explains why she became the BigBad of the game: the incident ten years ago unleashed demons upon the countryside and harmed the people, and God did nothing to stop it. Thus, she decided to stop devoting her life to such an irrelevant force and instead sought power from the supernatural beings that were actually around. Eventually subverted when Dominque affirms God’s existence and her belief in Him, because she intends to try and dethrone Him.]]

* ''Film/{{Spawn}}'': The movie centers around a character who's been to Hell and several demons, yet no angels or indicators of heaven appear in the movie apart from one character lamenting that God gets all the capable dead. During this Spawn never discusses or even considers the possibility of trying the other side. While Spawn was sent to Hell, keep in mind it was punishment for murdering innocents and being an abusive husband, so he brought it on himself.

* This is the leitmotif of ''Literature/616TodoEsInfierno'', which reveals there are good reasons for this to happen: [[spoiler:Satan actually won the War in Heaven and is only letting us to think otherwise for fun.]]

*** That being said, ''[[ComicBook/ImmortalHulk The Immortal Hulk]]'' seems to have introduced a supreme Devil in the form of [[EldritchAbomination the One-Below-All]], although its precise nature isn’t entirely clear.

* ''Manga/{{Berserk}}'' has the "God Hand", a group of five powerful demons as the closest thing to gods. The only other set of deities, the Four Elemental Kings, are said to be loving and protective of humanity, but only seem to help out if consciously summoned. [[spoiler: The Idea of Evil]], who the Godhand answer to, seems to be the closest thing to a God in the ''Berserk'' universe, but it's only (so far) been seen in a semi-canon chapter that was cut for spoilering the plot. However, it's both {{God|OfEvil}} [[GodIsEvil AND the devil]]. [[spoiler:It stated it basically existed because humans want a supernatural explanation for why they live in a CrapsackWorld, and obliges by making the world an even shittier place.]] It, however is only God in the sense that it influences and controls people. It is not the creator of the universe itself and only seems to have a limited (if any) control over physical reality itself and it can only influence the physical through humanity (it can't summon storms or cause earthquakes).

---> "What about all that hoo-hah with the Devil a while ago, in that movie? Nobody had any trouble believing that the Devil was real and existed inside that little girl. All she had to do was throw up some pea soup, wet the rug and everybody believed. The ''Devil'' you could believe, but not God?"

** In the sequel ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaDawnOfSorrow'', Dracula (or rather, whoever holds Dracula's title as "Dark Lord") is outright said to be the opposite of God, which if true would make him the local equivalent of Satan. It's not entirely clear if this ''is'' true, however, as the only people who seem to be sure of it are a [[ReligionOfEvil cult with dubious motivations.]]

* In the ''Castlevania''-inspired ''VideoGame/BloodstainedRitualOfTheNight'', [[spoiler:Dominique Baldwin explains why she became the BigBad of the game: the incident ten years ago unleashed demons upon the countryside and harmed the people, and God did nothing to stop it. Thus, she decided to stop devoting her life to such an irrelevant force and instead sought power from the supernatural beings that were actually around.]]

* Although [[OurDemonsAreDifferent devils]] in ''Manga/ChainsawMan'' are {{Anthropomorphic Personification}}s [[DemonOfHumanOrigin of human fear]] rather than outright Satanic beings, they are generally very malicious toward humanity, come from hell (albeit a "hell" that doesn't seem to be an afterlife for humans), and have no benevolent counterparts. The closest thing is an [[OxymoronicBeing "angel devil"]] that is simply [[NonMaliciousMonster benign]].

** Oddly enough through, demons are commonplace and while several angels appear in the story, all have fallen to the side of evil. (Significantly, this includes [[TheGrimReaper the angel of death]].)