History Main / GodOfEvil

SKULLS FOR THE SKULL THRONE! LET THE GALAXY BUUUUUUUUUUUURN!!!"]]

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Teen Titans Go! & DC Super Hero Girls: Mayhem in the Multiverse}}'': Cythonna, the Kryptonian goddess of darkness, plague and suffering, and the BigBad of the film. She is portrayed as [[TheCorrupter the corrupter]] capable by stuffing the hearts of her victims with evil in order to become stronger, control the minds of her victims and turn them their servants, and can possess people and make them her hosts.

* ''Roleplay/RecordOfLodossWar'': That would be Kardis, goddess of destruction and madness, patron deity of the [[TheEmpire forces of Marmo.]]

* ''Anime/{{Slayers}}'': Ruby-Eye Shabranigdo, along with three other Dark Lords that exist in TheMultiverse it features. Before the world as everyone knows it existed, Shabranigdo started a war against the Lords of Light. The war almost destroyed existence itself, but the Lords of Light prevailed and the world was created.

** Molag Bal, the Daedric Prince of Domination and Corruption (spheres which include Enslavement, Violation, Defilement, and Rape), is without a doubt the most evil of them all. His realm, Coldharbour, is the closest thing to Hell in the Elder Scrolls universe. While all the other Daedra have at least a few redeeming qualities or rule over things that are beneficial to mortals, Molag Bal is entirely evil and does nothing with his powers but cause strife and pain. Other than vampires (which in this universe came to be because of a rape committed by Bal and whose souls he owns), the only people in Tamriel who see Molag Bal as anything other than a being of pure evil that must be avoided are the Dunmer, and even in their mythology, he isn't seen as benevolent, but a creator and manipulator of obstacles that they must learn to overcome, and never to be trusted.
** Mehrunes Dagon, the Daedric Prince of [[DestroyerDeity Destruction]], often gets this label in-universe (due to his actions typically resulting in the death or ruin of many mortals) and incorrectly by the series' fandom. It is an easy mistake to make given that Dagon has served as the BigBad or GreaterScopeVillain of several games in the series. However, Dagon ultimately subverts the trope. While he is highly destructive, he cannot be considered any more truly "evil" than a destructive act of nature like a flood or an earthquake. Dagon also has several redeeming qualities within his sphere, such as governing over Change, which a functioning world requires to exist. (If the old is never "destroyed", there can be no room for anything new.)

*** Bane, who was god of tyranny before and after Cyric was seen as ''the'' God of Evil in Faerun before Cyric ascended, and regained the role after Cyric was imprisoned for his role in the Spellplague, having always viewed the Mad God as an upstart pretender. (Notably, Zhentil Keep's ReligionOfEvil was originally the Church of Bane, then the Church of Cyric after Bane's apparent death in the Time of Troubles, but following Bane's resurgence, Cyric-worshippers found in the city will be put to death -- the ''only'' evil deity they won't even tolerate as a minority faith.)

** ''TabletopGames/ForgottenRealms:

** A very interesting case with a certain archangel who was designated to be The Archangel of Lies by [[MadGod Cyric]]. The twist is how the archangel was put under a [[CannotTellALie geas to only tell truths.]] When he complained to his god how could he be the archangel of lies when all he can say is truth, Cyric simply said that's ''[[CassandraTruth exactly]]'' [[CassandraTruth why he's perfect for the role.]]

SKULLS FOR THE SKULL THRONE!"]]

Here are a few popular variants: Standard Gods Of Evil can [[SatanicArchetype take after Satan]], [[TheParagonAlwaysRebels being rebels]] from [[LightIsGood The Light]] or GodOfGood and tempting peasant and king alike. Kind of a non-denominational counterpart of CrystalDragonJesus. However, most aren't futile rebels; they are very real and threats often motivated by goals other than rebellion for its own sake. TheGrimReaper is at times [[EverybodyHatesHades represented as a God of Evil]], wanting nothing but the death of every living thing, and [[EnemiesWithDeath the protagonist in particular.]] War too may be shown this way, desiring to bring about a world where AsskickingEqualsAuthority and the weak are killed just for being weak... which does raise the question of whether or not it's ironic for heroes to vanquish them by fighting. If they have any philosophy, ethos, or commandment, it's usually that MightMakesRight, that ethics and morality are mere shackles for TheFettered masses of {{Muggles}}, and that Evil represents the path to power.

** ''Literature/MistbornTheOriginalTrilogy'': Ruin is the Shard of death, decay, and destruction. Apparently Ati, Ruin's Vessel, was originally quite selfless and generous, and even as Ruin there are some shades of that shining through, as he talks about the beauty of destruction and how [[MonoNoAware an eventual end is what gives meaning to life]]. [[spoiler:He even helped create Scadrial, the world where ''Mistborn'' takes place, although part of the agreement is that he eventually gets to destroy the world]]. He's not exactly evil, but he is actively trying to destroy the world simply because he's literally not capable of doing anything else. He enjoys killing and destruction immensely and the only times he doesn't decide to destroy something immediately is if he believes that doing so will cause more destruction later. He doesn't seem to be malicious, however, and genuinely seems to see death and destruction as a positive force. ''Secret History'' expands on this, revealing that part of what Ruin represents is [[WeAllDieSomeday being at peace with the idea that everything must end]], and that Preservation would freeze all of Scadrial in time to prevent anything from changing if Ruin wasn't there to stop him.

** ''Literature/MistbornTheOriginalTrilogy'': Ruin is the Shard of death, decay, and destruction. Apparently Ati, Ruin's Vessel, was originally quite selfless and generous, and even as Ruin there are some shades of that shining through, as he talks about the beauty of destruction and how an eventual end is what gives meaning to life. [[spoiler:He even helped create Scadrial, the world where ''Mistborn'' takes place, although part of the agreement is that he eventually gets to destroy the world]]. He's not exactly evil, but he is actively trying to destroy the world simply because he's literally not capable of doing anything else. He enjoys killing and destruction immensely and the only times he doesn't decide to destroy something immediately is if he believes that doing so will cause more destruction later. He doesn't seem to be malicious, however, and genuinely seems to see death and destruction as a positive force. ''Secret History'' expands on this, revealing that part of what Ruin represents is [[WeAllDieSomeday being at peace with the idea that everything must end]].

** The setting as a whole features "Shards", each of which contains 1/16th of the original godlike being Adonalsium's power. Adonalsium's power was split and sixteen regular people picked up the Shards, each with a specific Intent the Shard was supposed to accomplish (EG: Preservation, Cultivation, Honor, Autonomy). Combined, the powers were somewhat in balance, and an individual's personality persists somewhat after taking a Shard, but over time the holder becomes totally focused on fulfilling their Intent, to the extent that they are literally incapable of acting against it. As a result the better of the shards are somewhere in BlueAndOrangeMorality and the worst are almost entirely evil.
** ''Literature/MistbornTheOriginalTrilogy'': Ruin is the Shard of death, decay, and destruction. Apparently Ati (man picked up the shard) was actually quite selfless and generous, and even as Ruin there are some shades of that shining through, as he talks about the beauty of destruction and how an eventual end is what gives meaning to life. [[spoiler:He even helped create Scadrial, the world where ''Mistborn'' takes place, although part of the agreement is that he eventually gets to destroy the world]]. He's not exactly evil, but he is actively trying to destroy the world simply because he's literally not capable of doing anything else. He enjoys killing and destruction immensely and the only times he doesn't decide to destroy something immediately is so that he can keep it around to destroy more later. He doesn't seem to be malicious, however, and genuinely seems to see death and destruction as a positive force.

*** Odium is the Shard of Hatred. He seems to be shaping up to become the GreaterScopeVillain of ''The Cosmere'', and is at least the BigBad of ''Literature/TheStormlightArchive''. He is, essentially, a force of living hatred, and has already begun [[spoiler:murdering all his fellow Shards in order to become the supreme deity of the entire Cosmere]]. His pastimes include creating [[EldritchAbomination cosmic horrors]] and roving about the Cosmere, causing chaos everywhere he goes. According to Odium himself, he's actually the Shard of ''passion and emotion'', not just hatred, and he's the only Shard that actually understands and cares for mortals. Evidence suggests he's wrong if not intentionally lying, as other Shards have shown considerable concern for mortals, in their own strange ways, and do at least somewhat understand them, if incompletely. According to Hoid, when he was a mortal he was already a selfish asshole, and then he deliberately picked up the Shard of Hatred and got worse.
*** In ''Literature/RhythmOfWar'' we see him from the perspective of one of the Unmade, who believes that he is correct: His Shard ''is'' passion and emotion, not merely hatred. But Rayse, the man who picked up the Shard uses primarily its negative aspects due to his personality. It's also noted that Hoid is more concerned about the Vessel when he arguably should be paying more attention to the Shard.
*** Later in ''Rhythm'', [[spoiler:Taravangian manages to kill Rayse and steal the Shard. He does discover that yes, it is all emotions... but hatred most of all. It doesn't take long for it to amplify his existing flaws as WellIntentionedExtremist into a desire to conquer the entire Cosmere for the greater good]].

** ''Literature/MistbornTheOriginalTrilogy'': Ruin is the Shard of death, decay, and destruction. Apparently Ati (man picked up the shard) was actually quite selfless and generous, and even as Ruin there are some shades of that shining through, as he talks about the beauty of destruction and how an eventual end is what gives meaning to life. [[spoiler:He even helped create Scadrial, the world where ''Mistborn'' takes place, although part of the agreement is that he eventually gets to destroy the world]]. He's not exactly evil, but he is actively trying to destroy the world simply because he's literally no capable of doing anything else. He enjoys killing and destruction immensely and the only times he doesn't decide to destroy something immediately is so that he can keep it around to destroy more later. He doesn't seem to be malicious, however, and genuinely seems to see death and destruction as a positive force.

* ''WesternAnimation/MightyMax'': Lockjaw, who is specifically the god of violence and one of the [[UltimateEvil Ultimate Evils]], so much that his mere presence fills the mind of everyone near him with extreme rage.

** However, TheAntichrist is depicted as a more evil and more powerful offspring of Satan, and while no being in the universe has the power to combat God, the Antichrist still has an effective plan for crippling His kingdom by converting all humanity into his slaves. He is said to be the one who will be responsible for the apocalypse and destruction of Earth.

** Ares, the WarGod, was often depicted as little more than a bully and a violent thug and generally represented the worst aspects of brutality and warfare, in contrast to his more civilised sister Athena who was more about tactics, discipline and strategy. Zeus himself once told Ares that he hates him the most out of all the gods of Olympus, and Zeus is his ''dad''.
** While she may be the archetypal LoveGoddess and was generally viewed favourably, Aphrodite was also known across the Greek world as [[NamesToRunAwayFromVeryFast Black One, Dark One, Killer of Men, Unholy and Gravedigger]] as she was ''also'' associated with sexual violence and literal bloodlust, and was depicted as the lover of Ares (despite being married) as he excited her; she was further prayed to by narcissists, adulterers, rapists, pedophiles and sex slavers for success in their endeavours.

* ''VisualNovel/FateStayNight'': Played with. During the Third Holy Grail War the Einzberns tried to guarantee a victory by summoning [[spoiler:the [[SuperRinger Zoroastrian god of evil, Angra Mainyu]]]]. It turns out that [[spoiler: Angra Mainyu never actually existed]], so the Grail grabbed the next-closest thing it could find: [[spoiler:an ancient villager who was sacrificed by his people as the ''[[TheScapegoat representation]]'' of all their sins, who eventually became known in legend as Angra Mainyu. Having no special abilities he was quickly killed and absorbed by the Grail. But because this man represented the ''wish'' of those ancient villagers for there to exist a singular source of evil, the Grail [[BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor attempted to grant that wish]]. Had there been a victor in either the [[LightNovel/FateZero Fourth]] or [[VisualNovel/FateStayNight Fifth]] Grail Wars, he would have become a PhysicalGod]].

* In ''Film/Ghostbusters1984'', Gozer the Gozerian comes to New York for the sole purpose of destroying humanity.

Their followers include {{Cult}}s, the ReligionOfEvil and PathOfInspiration. {{Necromancer}}s and Infernalists usually get their powers by worshipping them. Expect them to forge many an ArtifactOfDoom as a source/repository of their power. When they or their agents are actively recruiting, expect them to be TheCorrupter. They're a CardCarryingVillain by definition and sometimes the God of Evil is also [[MadeOfEvil literally Evil.]] Likely candidate for UltimateEvil and AsLongAsThereIsEvil. A [[TheTheocracy theocracy]] to one of these is probably TheEmpire. May be creator of an AlwaysChaoticEvil race. May have a [[DecadentCourt court]] of DemonLordsAndArchdevils, or if they exist at all these may be upstarts or otherwise in opposition. Gods of evil may have TheLegionsOfHell at their command.

There are some examples in real-world pantheons, but sometimes more morally-ambiguous or outright decent gods get depicted as Gods Of Evil in SadlyMythtaken fiction just because they are [[DarkIsNotEvil dark]] or [[ProudWarriorRaceGuy associated with violence]]. For various reasons, this happens often enough with [[EverybodyHatesHades death gods]] to create a subtrope. Its worth to note that evil gods from real world religions (i.e. [[UsefulNotes/{{Zoroastrianism}} Angra Mainyu]], [[Myth/AboriginalAustralianMyths Marmoo]], [[Myth/EgyptianMythology Apep]]) were never worshipped, in the latter's case even worshipped ''against''. So the concept of a ReligionOfEvil is relatively unrealistic ([[Administrivia/TropesAreTools not that fiction needs to be]]).

** However, the Antichrist is depicted as a more evil and more powerful offspring of Satan, and while no being in the universe has the power to combat God, the Antichrist still has an effective plan for crippling his kingdom by converting all humanity into his slaves. He is said to be the one who will be responsible for the apocalypse and destruction of Earth.

** Marmoo is the evil spirit to the Gamilaraay[=/=]Kamilaroi. His claim to fame was a CosmicTemperTantrum when the other gods created the world, prompting him to create insects and spiders to kill everything.

** Meta-subversion. {{Satan}} is [[TheAntiGod often portrayed this way in Western media]], as a direct EvilCounterpart of {{God}}. This is the result of WordOfDante however and in contrast to most Christian doctrine, where Satan [[TheDevilIsALoser is recognized as being a far lesser power than God and has no chance of succeeding in his cosmic takeover bid]]. He's never described as being a ''representation'' of evil, merely [[FallenAngel an evil angel]]. However, while angels are nothing compared to YHWH, that's because He's an [[TheOmnipotent omnipotent]] CosmicEntity beyond all space-time, and angels still have god-like power (in the lesser sense). A comparison would be that Zoroastrianism portrays Ahriman as an EvilOverlord of a hostile empire, while Christianity portrays Satan as a terrorist.
** The word ''satan'' literally just means adversary. One interpretation is that in the early Jewish writings, Satan wasn't evil, but a sort of divine prosecutor, testing Creation. Thus in the book of Job, he plays the role of adversary testing Job's fidelity to see if it's genuine. The contrasting interpretation is that Satan's actions in Job were actually evil, and note that there was a difference between ''satan'', which was used to describe any sort of adversary, and ''ha satan'' (using the definite article), which was used specifically to refer to the FallenAngel who made himself the adversary of God.

* ''Manga/{{Berserk}}'': [[spoiler: The Idea of Evil]] and the God Hand. The former is interesting in that is was [[spoiler:made [[GodsNeedPrayerBadly from our need]] for there to be a God of Evil.]]