History Main / MadGod

* In ''VideoGame/PokemonMysteryDungeonExplorers'', the god of time Dialga, while normally benevolent enough, has gone insane after the theft of the [[CosmicKeystone Time Gears]], becoming ''Primal'' Dialga, an unhinged beast dedicated solely to its own self-preservation that deploys agents to preserve the hellish BadFuture he resides in, as [[RetGone fixing the time-stream would erase him]].

* In ''VideoGame/PokemonMysteryDungeonExplorers'', the god of time Dialga, while normally benevolent enough, has gone insane after the theft of the [[CosmicKeystone Time Gears], becoming ''Primal'' Dialga, an unhinged beast dedicated solely to its own self-preservation that deploys agents to preserve the hellish BadFuture he resides in, as [[RetGone fixing the time-stream would erase him]].

* In ''VideoGame/PokemonMysteryDungeonExplorers'', the god of time Dialga, while normally a benevolent enough god, has gone insane thanks to Darkrai's influence and changed into ''Primal'' Dialga. Eventually he becomes unhinged enough that he can't even tell the difference between you trying to repair the time stream and trying to destroy it.

Expect the StrawNihilist to consider it AboveGoodAndEvil, or that it follows BlueAndOrangeMorality that anyone can understand... [[GoMadFromTheRevelation if you just gaze into the abyss of madness long enough.]] If especially mad and powerful, it may also be an EldritchAbomination. Can overlap with AlmightyIdiot when the Mad God is so mad that it destroys their mind. It may not cause insanity or revulsion to observers, but that's usually iffy, and depends on if it has enough presence of mind to take on [[AFormYouAreComfortableWith A Form You Are (at least mildly) Comfortable With]].

* The Christian God of ''ComicBook/{{Hellblazer}}'' is claimed to be this by the First of the Fallen, saying he "found the Great Redeemer squatting in a corner of Eternity. Clutching his genitals... and drooling." Not that he's [[{{Satan}} the most trustworthy of fellows]].

* Malygos, the Aspect of Magic from the ''VideoGame/{{Warcraft}}'' games used to be a fun-loving [[OurDragonsAreDifferent dragon]] who ruled over magic. But after his entire people, including his mate and children, was slaughtered by his best friend with a weapon he helped create, he completely lost his mind. He hid for millennia in a cave and was prone to killing anybody who approached him. It's only after being given a new flight that he starts to become sane again... at which point he decides to declare war on every magic user in the world (that is every single faction of the game, including the other dragons which helped him and the mortals who did his job for 10,000 years).
** Neltharion aka Deathwing is this ''and'' a GodOfEvil. That's what happens when a godlike dragon is [[MindRape Mind Raped]] by a cabal of [[EldritchAbomination Eldritch Abominations]]. Deathwing's own power tearing his body apart (to the point that he has to have metal plates riveted to his body just to keep it together) leaving him in constant agony probably didn't help his sanity either. In the finale of ''Cataclysm'' [[spoiler:being blasted by the Dragon Soul makes him lose what little control he had over his own power. His body falls apart and the last vestiges of his sanity go along for the ride.]]
** Sargeras was once the champion of the Titans, fighting demons, though had been for a long time convinced that they could not be truly vanquished. He would eventually come across a planet with a world soul, a nascent titan, covered in void and shadow due to an old god burring itself into the surface and corrupting the soul. From the local Dreadlords he learned of the plans of the void, to corrupt one of his kin to destroy existence, and decided the best course of action was to give the universe a cosmic reset; wipe out all of creation before the void can.

* In ''Videogame/SaltAndSanctuary'', the BigBad is [[spoiler:the Nameless God, a DeityOfHumanOrigin. Unfortunately, he was driven to seek godhood out of pride, greed, and envy of true gods. Though he gained the power he sought, he was unable to obtain the ''soul'' of a god, which is what he really wanted. His pride, greed, and envy intensified as a result and he went mad.]]

* ''Webcomic/KillSixBillionDemons'': The Demiurges used to be perfectly sane gods, until their king, Zoss, disappeared and they won a Multiverse-spanning civil war. After all that, the seven survivors went totally over the deep end; the best of them have succumbed to [[DespairEventHorizon suicidal despair]] or [[TheFogOfAges dementia]], while the worst have become deranged tyrants. Most of them spend their days on inane things like counting all the money in their vaults or destroying worlds out of boredom.

** Turns out that [[spoiler: Crona hirself toes the line when they absorb the Kishin. However, they are still pretty mortal and Crona uses hir power to seal the Kishin in the Moon along with hirself to end the madness. As for their Madness? [[ItMakesSenseInContext Madness from Breasts. Why? Breasts, to Crona, represent motherhood and symbolizes Chrona's former obsession in trying to please her mother, the BigBad Medusa and longing to have had a proper parent.]]

** Turns out that [[spoiler: Crona hirself toes the line when they absorb the Kishin. However, they are still pretty mortal and Crona uses hir power to seal the Kishin in the Moon along with hirself to end the madness. As for their Madness?]] [ItMakesSenseInContext Madness from Breasts]]. Why? [[spoiler: Breasts, to Crona, represent motherhood and symbolizes Chrona's former obsession in trying to please her mother, the BigBad Medusa and longing to have had a proper parent.]]

* The Weaver in ''Literature/TheBasLagCycle'' is referred to as one by the narration. While it isn't explicitly a god, it has near god-like power [[RealityWarper by being able to manipulate the rules of physics (time, space, matter and casuality) with a thought]] and lives on several planes of existence at the same time. [[StarfishAliens Its mind is also completely alien to every other sentient species known in the setting]], meaning that even if it isn't 'insane' by its own standards it is definitively by everyone else's.

** Ares can't figure out how to be decent even when he's honestly trying because of the nature of war. He and his mindset shift drastically over short periods because he's tied to war and conflict and not really in control.
** Dionysus remains incredibly dangerous to be around even if he's fond of you because he's the god of madness and revelry and in addition to reducing your inhibitions by proximity might turn you into something, like a pig, on whim without understanding why that might be unwanted.

*** It is suggested that Jyggalag himself was also a MadGod before he was cursed into becoming Sheogorath. However, Jyggalag's madness is [[SuperOCD an extreme obsession with ordering everything perfectly]], whereas Sheogorath's madness was chaos and disorder.

* ''TabletopGame/ForgottenRealms'': Cyric is much more competent sane than insane. A lot more pragmatic, too. But still -very- evil.
** While under the affects of his own Greater Artifact he was very much insane to the point of near complete incompetence. Between the Prince of Lies, and before the ending of The Crucible: Trial of Cyric the Mad, he was very much completely out of control insane which lasted for around a decade or so.

*** If don't complete Sheogorath's Daedric artifact quest before defeating Jyggalag, you can go still do it by talking with OnlySaneMan[=/=]ServileSnarker Haskill. Haskill will congratulate the player on how well they are taking to their new role as Daedric Prince of Madness by setting a quest for themselves to complete and then rewarding themselves with an artifact that is already theirs.

* ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'': Despite being {{Physical God}}s in comparison to normal Gems, the Diamonds have all the issues any mortal would, including ''mental issues''; Yellow is a narcissist with a HairTriggerTemper, Blue is [[TheEeyore a hyper-emotional wreck whose depression leaves her sobbing all day]], and [[spoiler:White is a weird, robotlike HumanoidAbomination who practically ''lives'' in the UncannyValley and comes off as [[{{Cloudcuckoolander}} more than a little insane]].]] All of them are callous {{Mood Swinger}}s prone to massive DisproportionateRetribution. Pink is the only exception, [[spoiler:but even she was quite naive and didn't seem to truly understand what it meant to be a leader/god.]]

* The Diamonds from ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse''. Despite being [[PhysicalGod Physical Gods]] in comparison to normal Gems, they have all the issues any mortal would, including ''mental issues''; Yellow is a narcissist with an [[HairTriggerTemper explosive temper]], Blue is [[TheEeyore a hyper-emotional wreck who’s depression leaves her sobbing all day]], and [[spoiler:White is a weird, robotlike HumanoidAbomination who practically ''lives'' in the UncannyValley and comes off as [[{{Cloudcuckoolander}} more than a little insane]].]] All of them are callous [[MoodSwinger Mood Swingers]] prone to massive DisproportionateRetribution. The only one who doesn’t qualify is Pink, [[spoiler:who’s [[BigGood Rose Quartz]] and was pretty much the OnlySaneMan. Even she was quite naive, and didn’t seem to truly understand what it meant to be a leader/god.]]

* ''Discworld/MonstrousRegiment'': Nuggan, despite being [[GodIsDead dead]], manages to effectively behave in this way, forbidding babies, the color blue, and other absurd things.[[note]]He died due to people only really believing in the list of things he'd forbidden, so since GodsNeedPrayerBadly, all that was left of him was a voice forbidding random things.[[/note]]

* ''ComicBook/WonderWoman'': The Greek gods have a WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity problem, which long ago caused them to split off the avatars of themselves that became the Roman pantheon. Most of them don't have to worry about this in the modern age due to their lack of worshipers, but Ares can't figure out how to be decent even when he's honestly trying because of the nature of war, and Dionysus remains incredibly dangerous to be around even if he's fond of you because he's the god of madness and revelry and in addition to reducing your inhibitions by proximity might turn you into a pig on a whim and forget about you.

* The Seven from ''Webcomic/KillSixBillionDemons'' used to be perfectly sane gods, until their king, Zoss, disappeared and they won a Multiverse-spanning civil war. After all that, they went totally over the deep end; the best of them have succumbed to [[DespairEventHorizon suicidal despair]] or [[TheFogOfAges dementia]], while the worst have become deranged tyrants. Most of them spend their days on inane things like counting all the money in their vaults or destroying worlds out of boredom.

* Asura from ''Manga/SoulEater'', [[EldritchAbomination a demon god who went mad with fear and infects the world with his insanity merely by existing]]. Later chapters imply that all Eight Warriors from the days of old each represent some form of madness: Asura represents madness from terror, Shinigami represents madness from order, Eibon represents madness from knowledge, The Black Mass represents madness from power, etc. Asura is just the only one that lost all self-control and starts trying to make the whole world go crazy.

* In ''Series/DoctorWho'' the 10th Doctor claims to have met mad gods. This could refer to a variety of characters.

** And on the subject of Ellison, AM from ''IHaveNoMouthAndIMustScream''. God-like AI who is utterly, completely, genocidally insane.

** Sargeras the Burning Titan went nuts after he encountered AlwaysChaoticEvil races like the Nathrezim (Dreadlords). He considered the mere existence of beings like them proof that his and the other Titans' mission to bring order to the universe was futile. Now he just wants it all to burn.

* ''ForgottenRealms'': Cyric is much more competent sane than insane. A lot more pragmatic, too. But still -very- evil.

** Loki in ''Film/{{The Avengers|2012}}'' is a mad PhysicalGod who is ''sincerely convinced'' that him falling through a wormhole in space in ''Film/{{Thor}}'' was his father and brother disposing of him rather than the [[DrivenToSuicide suicide attempt]] it really was, and that enslaving humans to become their God-King is a grand idea.

** Loki in ''Film/{{The Avengers|2012}}'' is a mad PhysicalGod -- he's more than a little unhinged after the events of ''Film/{{Thor}}'' [[spoiler:(namely falling through a portal into the abyss of the universe, which he is now ''sincerely convinced'' was his father and brother disposing of him rather than the [[DrivenToSuicide suicide attempt]] it really was)]], and abuses his powers as the God of Mischief to [[BigBad terrifying effect]].