History Main / MessiahCreep

* In ''WesternAnimation/HeyArnold'', at the beginning of the series, our protagonist was an honest but down-to-earth, regular kid who did the right thing at the end, despite sometimes letting himself get carried away (just like regular children). However, in later seasons, he becomes an incorruptibly pure kid, whose friends always consult his wisdom in whatever subject was discussed and was willing to "do the right thing", no matter the consequences.

* According to Alex Ross, Franchise/{{Superman}} started out in UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfComicBooks as a strongman akin to Samson. By the [[UsefulNotes/TheSilverAgeOfComicBooks Silver Age]] Curt Swan era, he had come to be much more representative of a heavenly savior. And, of course, he [[BackFromTheDead died and came back]] in the '90s. In ''ComicBook/KingdomCome'', Superman also fulfils the SecondComing aspect.

* ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'' saw this happen with the title Princess. Zelda's a LegacyCharacter, but with each game her role as a literal divine savior grew to overshadow Link's role in the story. This comes to its logical extreme in Skyward Sword, where Zelda is the {{Reincarnation}} of a heretofore unknown goddess named Hylia. Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom would follow the same trend, with Ganondorf transferring his traditional grudge against Link to her as well.

* In ''WesternAnimation/HeyArnold'', In the beginning of the series, our protagonist was an honest but down-to-earth, regular kid who did the right thing at the end despite sometimes letting himself get carried away (just like regular children). However, in later seasons he becomes an incorruptibly pure kid, whose friends always consult his wisdom in whatever subject was discussed and was willing to "do the right thing" no matter the consequences.

* In terms of characterization, [[Franchise/{{Transformers}} Optimus Prime]] has been going through a gradual one. While his nature as the heroic BigGood and the leader of the Autobots, more modern series have slowly been making him more of a straight-up Messiah figure. Where the [[WesternAnimation/TheTransformers G1 version]] played basketball in his down time and often cracked jokes, later incarnations (save for the ''WesternAnimation/TransformersAnimated'' ClassicalAntiHero take, whose identity exists entirely to move ''away'' from Prime's messianic shift) such as the Film/TransformersFilmSeries have shown him to be a stoic and entirely serious figure (yet one that still had it in him to make one-liners). The Aligned version starts out somewhat similarly in [[VideoGame/TransformersWarForCybertron his video game series]], but over time, he becomes the somber, stoic yet [[ColdHam suitably dramatic]] figure in ''WesternAnimation/TransformersPrime'', which climaxes in a [[HeroicSacrifice scene where he willingly becomes one with the Allspark to create a new generation of Cybertronian life]].

* In terms of characterization, [[Franchise/{{Transformers}} Optimus Prime]] has been going through a gradual one. While his nature as the heroic BigGood and the leader of the Autobots, more modern series have slowly been making him more of a straight-up Messiah figure. Where the [[WestenrnAnimation/TheTransformers G1 version]] played basketball in his down time and often cracked jokes, later incarnations (save for the ''WesternAnimation/TransformersAnimated'' ClassicalAntiHero take, whose identity exists entirely to move ''away'' from Prime's messianic shift) such as the Film/TransformersFilmSeries have shown him to be a stoic and entirely serious figure (yet one that still had it in him to make one-liners). The Aligned version starts out somewhat similarly in [[VideoGame/TransformersWarForCybertron his video game series]], but over time, he becomes the somber, stoic yet [[ColdHam suitably dramatic]] figure in ''WesternAnimation/TransformersPrime'', which climaxes in a [[HeroicSacrifice scene where he willingly becomes one with the Allspark to create a new generation of Cybertronian life]].

* In terms of characterization, one could argue [[Franchise/{{Transformers}} Optimus Prime]] has been going through a gradual Messianic creep, While his nature as the heroic BigGood and the leader of the Autobots, more modern series have slowly been making him more of a straight-up messianic figure, where the G1 take still had the time to play Basketball, later incarnations (excluding the [[ClassicalAntiHero Transformers Animated]] take, whose rebooted identity exists entirely to move ''away'' from Prime's messianic shift) such as the Transformers film series have shown him to be a sad, and entirely serious figure, yet one that still had it in him to make one liners. The Aligned version starts out somewhat similarly in [[VideoGame/TransformersWarForCybertron his video game series]], but over time, becomes the somber, stoic yet [[ColdHam suitably dramatic]] figure in ''WesternAnimation/TransformersPrime'', finally climaxing in a [[HeroicSacrifice scene where he willingly becomes one with the Allspark to give create a new generation of Cybertronian life]].

* ''Franchise/TheLegendofZelda'' saw this happen with the title Princess. Zelda's a LegacyCharacter, but with each game her role as a literal divine savior grew to overshadow Link's role in the story. This comes to its logical extreme in Skyward Sword, where Zelda is the {{Reincarnation}} of a heretofore unknown goddess named Hylia. Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom would follow the same trend, with Ganondorf transferring his traditional grudge against Link to her as well.

* Sora, from Franchise/KingdomHearts, was always a save-the-world kind of hero. But as the series went on, he went from being a kid who, through a mix of skill and coincidence, ended up saving the multiverse to a kid so heroic that he was saving people's lives [[VideoGame/KingdomHeartsBirthBySleep minutes after being born]] and the only one who can bring back all of the sleeping doomed heroes of the games he doesn't appear in.

* In ''Fanfic/MyLifeIsAGoddamnMess'', Minato slowly evolves from an EmoTeen with the story's title as a CatchPhrase into MessianicArchetype.

* From 1997-2004, Music/{{Eminem}}'s stage persona was a repellent AntiRoleModel brat [[TheVirus turning the children of the world into him with his music]], although his good heart and social conscience appeared more commonly as time went on. He then succumbed to a [[CreatorBreakdown drug addiction]] that almost killed him, got clean, and (after a brief deviation into {{Horrorcore}} to purge himself of his bad-taste material) [[CareerResurrection emerged]] as a RecoveredAddict [[TheParagon paragon]], saved from death by the love of his fans, and granting his strength to them to save themselves. He began incorporating [[CrucifiedHeroShot messianic imagery]] in his music and visuals, depicting himself praying and wearing crucifixes, and writing songs like "Walk On Water" and "Rap God" (which became his [[RedBaron honorific]]). However, the transformation is complicated by the fact that becoming messianic didn't make his sense of humour any less childish or [[VulgarHumor disgusting]], which led to backlash both from the perspective that he [[WeWantOurJerkBack got too nice]] and [[JustJokingJustification wasn't doing the work to be nice enough]]. [[AudienceAlienatingEra This backlash]] led him to [[DiscontinuityNod ask his fans to forget about his niceguy persona]] in his 2018 single "Fall", before unleashing a salvo of [[TakeThatCritics petty and homophobic attacks on people he dislikes]]. Since then, while he still makes inspirational songs (and even had a Billboard Gospel Charts Number 1 single), his persona has gone in a more impish, GothicHorror-themed direction influenced by the image of the HorrorHost. It should be noted that [[FranchiseOriginalSin the seeds of Eminem's holiness was there from the beginning]]: a lot of Eminem's early major-label music suggests he's on a MissionFromGod to [[TheGadfly annoy the world]].