History Main / HellOnEarth

%%
%% This list of examples has been alphabetized. Please add your example in the proper place. Thanks!
%%
%%
%%
%%
%%
%%
%% Image selected per Image Pickin' thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1586558976057692200
%% Previous thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1301474996065067700
%% Please do not change or remove without starting a new thread.
%%
[[quoteright:350:[[VideoGame/HellgateLondon https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/hellgate_london.png]]]]
%%

* An issue of ''[[Franchise/JusticeLeagueOfAmerica JLA]]'' had an interesting variation - a gang of renegade angels (not strictly demons, but they were rebelling against God, so make of that what you will) were planning on destroying humanity by bringing ''heaven'' to earth. If you're wondering how that would work, it's explained that simply seeing things from heaven in all their glory would be enough to kill mortal men instantly.

* ''ComicBook/BlackMoonChronicles'': Haazheel's [[spoiler:and his father Lucifer's]] plan is to destroy the Empire of Lhynn and turn it into a demon-worshipping theocracy so that God will leave the Earth in disgust. Then the true invasion through the {{Hellgate}} can commence, as TheLegionsOfHell destroy all of humanity to turn the Earth into a new Hell.
* Past the ''Prehistoric Avengers'' victory over a diseased Celestial in 2018's ''ComicBook/TheAvengers'', ComicBook/{{Mephisto}} had been steadily expanding his influence throughout the world. [[ComicBook/MoonKnight Khonshu]] tried to prevent this by taking most of the powers of the Prehistoric Avengers and killing the many alternate versions of Mephisto who came to assassinate him. After Khonshu is defeated and banished, a horrified Tony Stark sees the dead Mephistos and realize it's only the beginning and that Hell isn't coming for just the Earth, they are going for the entire universe.

* ''Film/KullTheConqueror'': When Kull tells Akivasha the Red Witch to go to hell after she tells him [[WeCanRuleTogether they can rule together]], she retorts that he shouldn't be in a hurry--she's already planning to bring hell to her kingdom instead.
* The Satan-like monster, Zaigorg, from ''Film/UltramanXTheMovieHereComesOurUltraman'', who intends to resurrect an army of Demaarga "Hell-Demon Beasts" on earth, and have his Demaarga army wipe out most of the world as Zaigorg himself rules over his army. He actually succeed in resurrecting five of his monsters in five major cities - Shanghai, Lucerne, Cairo, Buenos Aries and Chicago - and would've succeeded in wiping out the rest of the world, if not for the Ultramen's intervention.

* In the episode "Isis" from ''Series/{{Smallville}}'', the goddess of the same name possesses Lois Lane and tries to reassemble and ressurect her husband Osiris, because the latter was condemned to rule the underworld for all eternity. Raising him would also mean raising his kingdom.
* During the GrandFinale of ''Series/AshVsEvilDead'', the [[GreaterScopeVillain Dark Ones]] unleash mass possessions around the world, leading to chaos as Deadites start running amok everywhere.

* In ''TabletopGame/{{Exalted}}'', the [[EldritchAbomination Yozis]] are trying to cause an unusually literal form of this trope. Thanks to their surrender oaths, they're [[MagicallyBindingContract physically incapable]] of leaving {{Hell}}...so their big plan is to have [[DealWithTheDevil their agents]] corrupt all Creation until it's indistinguishable from {{Hell}}, thus rendering the distinction moot. (Or at least, on paper. The ''real'' plan [[ChronicBackstabbingDisorder the mastermind of the above plan]] has is to sneak out alone and shut the door behind him... He'll still do Hell On Earth, of course, but just for his amusement.)

* ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'': The 5e sourcebook "Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes" likens demons to a virus that infects reality itself, and suggests that they create the risk of this trope any time they find themselves anywhere other than their home plane, the Abyss. Even a lone demon can, in theory, [[WalkingWasteland corrupt the area around it with chaotic energy that manifests as bizarre and destructive phenomena]], eventually ripping open a HellGate which brings more demons into the plane, who in turn bring more chaotic energy to spread the corruption faster and strengthen the portal. This vicious cycle continues until the HellGate becomes stable enough to allow one of the [[DemonLordsAndArchdevils Demon Lords]] to enter the plane, mark it as their territory and incorporate it as a new layer of the Abyss. Thankfully, doing enough damage to the landscape to open a HellGate would require the demon to stay in one spot for several years, and most demons are too easily bored to care about that.

* Infernals and Hell terrain the ''VideoGame/FallFromHeaven'' mod for ''VideoGame/{{Civilization}} 4''.

* In ''VideoGame/TheSecretWorld'', areas near hellgates.

* ''VideoGame/HeroesOfMightAndMagicAshan'' has the Inferno faction consisting of the demon followers of the Chaos Dragon Urgash sealed within the prison dimension of Sheogh. The Demon Sovereign Kha-Beleth schemes to break free and invade Ashan. The seal periodically weakens enough for demons to invade, but Kha-Beleth wants to break it ''permanently''. This drives the plot of ''Heroes V'' and its expansions and the spinoff game ''Videogame/DarkMessiah''.
* In ''Videogame/TheElderScrollsIVOblivion'' the main quest consists of trying to prevent an invasion from the Realm of Oblivion led by the Daedric Prince of Destruction Mehrunes Dagon. [[spoiler:You ultimately fail to prevent the invasion, leading to Martin Septim sacrificing himself to become an avatar of the Aedra Akatosh who defeats Dagon and seals Tamriel away from Oblivion. Centuries later in ''Videogame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim'' the seal is still holding strong, hence the reduced presence of Daedra in the game.]]
* Since every Demon in ''Videogame/NexusClash'' is a player character and the Earthlike world of Valhalla is the most popular plane in the meta, most demonic forces are ''much'' more interested in invading Valhalla than remaining in their hellish home plane of Stygia. Since Valhalla is the battleground upon which the fate of the universe depends, their [[GodOfEvil patron deities]] in-universe couldn't agree more with these priorities.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'':
** In the episode where Homer thinks that the Apocalypse is occurring after watching a parody of the ''Film/LeftBehind'' films, no one actually believes him, and as a result one night, Homer actually imagines himself going to Heaven and notice this happening to Earth on one of God's monitors.
** Before that, there is also the episode where the family falls asleep through church and dreams themselves into biblical stories- when they awake, they find everyone else has left, and are embarrassed, but Homer shrugs it off saying "[[TemptingFate its not the end of the world]]." As soon as they open the door, they find that- yes, it is.

* In ''WesternAnimation/Castlevania2017'', Dracula summons an army of night creatures from Hell to destroy humanity in revenge for burning his wife Lisa at the stake. One of his devilforge masters, Issac, sees it as his duty to create as many night creatures as possible not only to fulfill Dracula's desires, but out of a religious interpretation of the prophet Mohamed.

* Past the ''Prehistoric Avengers'' victory over a diseased Celestial in 2018's ''ComicBook/TheAvengers'', ComicBook/{{Mephisto}} had been steadily expanding his influence throughout the world. [[ComicBook/MoonKnight Khonshu]] tried to prevent this by taking most of the powers of the Prehistoric Avengers and killing the many alternate versions of Mephisto who came to assasinate him. After Khonshu is defeated and banished, a horrified Tony Stark sees the dead Mephistos and realize it's only the beginning and that Hell isn't coming for just the Earth, they are going for the entire universe.

** Before that, there is also the episode where the family falls asleep through church and dreams themselves into biblical stories- when they awake, they find everyone else has left, and are embarrased, but Homer shrugs it off saying "[[TemptingFate its not the end of the world]]." As soon as they open the door, they find that- yes, it is.

** The original ''VideoGame/{{Doom}}'' ends with this, with you returning to Earth only to find it overrun by Hellspawn. The sequel ''VideoGame/DoomIIHellOnEarth'' involves you dealing with said demonic invasion [[OneManArmy the only way you know how]].

** ''VideoGame/DoomEternal'' returns to this setting as a follow-up to [[VideoGame/Doom2016 the 2016 remake's]] Mars setting. (Naturally, it's a modernized remake of ''Doom II'', much as the 2016 game is a remake of the original ''Doom''.) The {{tagline}} is even "[[FunWithHomophones Raze]] Hell".

* ''Manga/OnePiece'' has a [[TheAlcatraz prison called Impel Down]] where all prisoners are tortured with various methods. It's referred to as hell thanks to all the (mostly true) rumors floating around. The Hells are based on various interpretations of hell from the sharp and pointy crimson hell on level 1, the vicious beasts of level 2, the desert heat and drought while starving on level 3, the conventional interpretation of hell as hot with fire, brimstone and boiling lakes of blood on level 4 and freezing to death by frostbite in level 5, level 6 and anything that may or may not be in there is falsely propagated as nonexistent and removed from history by the government as punishment for their especially heinous actions -- all you have there is utter isolation and waiting for death. The HangingJudge of Enies Lobby considers death sentence a compromise -- looking at Impel Down, it makes sense.

* ''Manga/OnePiece'' has a [[TheAlcatraz prison called Impel Down]] where all prisoners are tortured with various methods. It's referred to as hell thanks to all the (mostly true) rumors floating around. The Hells are based on various interpretations of hell from the sharp and pointy crimson hell on level 1, the vicious beasts of level 2, the desert heat and drought while starving on level 3, the conventional interpretation of hell as hot with fire, brimstone and boiling lakes of blood on level 4 and freezing to death by frostbite in level 5, level 6 and anything that may or may not be in there doesn't exist and is removed from history by the government for their actions -- all you have there is utter isolation and waiting for death. The HangingJudge of Enies Lobby considers death sentence a compromise -- looking at Impel Down, it makes sense.

* ''VideoGame/TalesOfMonkeyIsland'': [[spoiler:More like "Hell on the Caribbean" in Chapter 5, since [=LeChuck=] has regained his voodoo powers after [[HeroKiller killing Guybrush]] and has captured Elaine. And since Guybrush isn't around to stop him, the villain not only pillages and plunders the islands in the Gulf of Melange, but he also destroys Spinner Cay, damages Flotsam (where Guybrush has fallen, though his decaying body survives intact in Club 41), slaughters many people and some Vaycaylians (and a few animal species), and sets fire to many islands, creating his own VillainWorld that is right between [[ApocalypseHow Class 0 and Class 1]]. ([[FromBadToWorse It gets a bit worse]] when [[NiceJobBreakingItHero the Crossroads are opened]], and he becomes a [[AGodAmI Demon Pirate God]].) Thankfully, [[NoOntologicalInertia the entire Gulf of Melange starts getting better]] once Guybrush comes BackFromTheDead and destroys him once and for all.]]

* This is the plot of the final series of ''Literature/WarriorCats'', as Tigerstar has [[HellHasNewManagment claimed authority over the Place With No Stars]] and has launched a invasion of the mortal realm with every other villain at his beck and call.

* Past the ''Prehistoric Avengers'' victory over a diseased Celestial in 2018's ''ComicBook/TheAvengers'', Mephisto had been steadily expanding his influence throughout the world. [[ComicBook/MoonKnight Khonshu]] tried to prevent this by taking most of the powers of the Prehistoric Avengers and killing the many alternate versions of Mephisto who came to assasinate him. After Khonshu is defeated and banished, a horrified Tony Stark sees the dead Mephistos and realize it's only the beginning and that Hell isn't coming for just the Earth, they are going for the entire universe.

* Past the ''Prehistoric Avengers'' victory over a diseased Celestial in 2018's ''ComicBook/TheAvengers'', Mephisto had been expanding his influence throughout the world. [[ComicBook/MoonKnight Khonshu]] tried to prevent this by taking most of the powers of the Prehistoric Avengers and killing the many alternate versions of Mephisto who came to assasinate him. After Khonshu is defeated and banished, a horrified Tony Stark sees the dead Mephistos and realize it's only the beginning and that Hell isn't coming for just the Earth, they are going for the entire universe.

** The original ''VideoGame/{{Doom}}'' ends with this, with you returning to Earth only to find it overrun by Hellspawn. The sequel ''VideoGame/DoomIIHellOnEarth'' involves you dealing with said demonic invasion [[KillEmAll the only way you know how]].

* ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'': The 5e sourcebook "Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes" likens demons to a virus that infects reality itself, and suggests that they create the risk of this trope any time they find themselves anywhere other than their home plane, the Abyss. Even a lone demon can, in theory, corrupt the area around it with chaotic energy that manifests as bizarre and destructive phenomena, eventually ripping open a HellGate which brings more demons into the plane, who in turn bring more chaotic energy to spread the corruption faster and strengthen the portal. This vicious cycle continues until the HellGate becomes stable enough to allow one of the [[DemonLordsAndArchdevils Demon Lords]] to enter the plane, mark it as their territory and incorporate it as a new layer of the Abyss.

* ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'': The 5e sourcebook "Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes" likens demons to a virus that infects reality itself, and suggests that they create the risk of this trope any time they find themselves anywhere other than their home plane, the Abyss. Even a lone demon can corrupt the area around it with chaotic energy that manifests as bizarre and destructive phenomena, eventually ripping open a HellGate which brings more demons into the plane, who in turn bring more chaotic energy to spread the corruption faster and strengthen the portal. This vicious cycle continues until the HellGate becomes stable enough to allow one of the [[DemonLordsAndArchdevils Demon Lords]] to enter the plane, mark it as their territory and incorporate it as a new layer of the Abyss.

* ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'': The 5e sourcebook "Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes" likens demons to a virus that infects reality itself, and suggests that they create the risk of this trope any time they find themselves anywhere other than their home plane, the Abyss. Even a lone demon can corrupt the area around it with chaotic energy that manifests as bizarre and destructive phenomena, eventually ripping open a HellGate which brings more demons into the plane, who in turn bring more chaotic energy to spread the corruption faster and strengthen the portal. This vicious cycle continues until the HellGate becomes stable enough to allow one of the [[DemonsLordsAndArchdevils Demon Lords]] to enter the plane, mark it as their territory and incorporate it as a new layer of the Abyss.

** The original ''VideoGame/{{Doom}}'' ends with this, with you returning to Earth only to find it overrun by Hellspawn. Sequel ''Doom II: Hell on Earth'' involves you dealing with said demonic invasion [[KillEmAll the only way you know how]].

* On one episode of Disney's ''WesternAnimation/HerculesTheSeries'', Hades tricks Poseidon into diverting the river Styx so that Athens becomes part of the Underworld, and turns Herc's school into an IronicHell.

* On one episode of Disney's ''Disney/{{Hercules}}'', Hades tricks Poseidon into diverting the river Styx so that Athens becomes part of the Underworld, and turns Herc's school into an IronicHell.

%% Image replaced per Image Pickin' thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1301474996065067700

[[quoteright:330:[[VideoGame/HeroesOfMightAndMagic https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/hellonearth01_4025.png]]]]
[[caption-width-right:330:If Hell is a [[SealedEvilInACan can]], this is what happens when that can is opened.]]

* Pictured above: ''VideoGame/HeroesOfMightAndMagicAshan'' has the Inferno faction consisting of the demon followers of the Chaos Dragon Urgash sealed within the prison dimension of Sheogh. The Demon Sovereign Kha-Beleth schemes to break free and invade Ashan. The seal periodically weakens enough for demons to invade, but Kha-Beleth wants to break it ''permanently''. This drives the plot of ''Heroes V'' and its expansions and the spinoff game ''Videogame/DarkMessiah''.

* The original ''VideoGame/{{Doom}}'' ends with this, with you returning to Earth only to find it overrun by Hellspawn. The sequel game, ''Doom II'', which has the trope name right in the title, involves you dealing with the demonic invasion [[KillEmAll the only way you know how]].
* [[BigBad Dr. Betruger]]'s ultimate plan in ''VideoGame/{{Doom 3}}'' involves bringing the demons that he unleashed on Mars to Earth.
* ''VideoGame/DoomEternal'' returns to this setting as a follow-up to [[VideoGame/Doom2016 the 2016 remake's]] Mars setting. (Naturally, it's a modernized remake of ''Doom II'', much as the 2016 game is a remake of the original ''Doom''.) The {{tagline}} is even "[[FunWithHomophones Raze]] Hell".

* VideoGame/DoomEternal returns to this setting as a follow-up to [[VideoGame/Doom2016 the 2016 remake's]] Mars setting. (Naturally, it's a modernized remake of ''Doom II'', much as the 2016 game is a remake of the original ''Doom''.)

See HellInvadesHeaven for the one thing worse than this. Not to be confused with {{Mordor}}, which is usually just metaphorically Hell on Earth.

* The Legion expansion to ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'' entails a large portal being opened from Azeroth, enabling the Burning Legion to invade. Your main mission is to get [[GottaCatchEmAll all of the]] [[MacGuffin Pillars of Creation]] to seal the portal, [[spoiler: but then Illidan and Velen take everything off the rails and decide sealing the portal isn't enough, and they want to go on the offensive and ''[[CrowningMomentOfAwesome end the Burning Legion once and for all]]''!]]