History Main / MessianicArchetype

* ''Fanfic/AllForLuz'': Julia and the Pastor compare Luz to this, with her PowerPalms feeding into this, as they give her the appearance of a stigmata. Her enemies with FantasticRacism views, on the other hand, see her as a DarkMessiah due to her being a PersonOfMassDestruction with a body count consisting of her enemies.

* Paul "Muad'dib" Atreides in ''Literature/{{Dune}}'' plays on this by manipulating people into thinking he's a Messiah to achieve his own goals. He genuinely ''does'' have several amazing powers, but the one that really [[Literature/DuneMessiah ruins his whole life]] is his clairvoyance.

%%* ''Manga/DeathNote'':
%%Administrivia/PartialContextExample**[[spoiler:L gets this when Light is about to kill him]].
%%Administrivia/PartialContextExample** [[DarkMessiah Light]] [[spoiler:is a failed Messiah. His death causes everything he's worked for to collapse.]] The lyrics to the first OP (full version) even include the line "Am I a broken Messiah?"

* In R. Scott Bakker's ''Literature/TheSecondApocalypse'', "Inrithism" is a CrystalDragonJesus version of Christianity. Anasûrimbor Kellhus learns to exploit the tropes of the religion to become exactly what Inrithi followers would see as a messiah. He preaches to the people and attracts thousands of followers until the people in charge feel threatened and convict him of heresy. He's hung up to die in a manner called "circumfixion," but comes back even stronger, now with the circumfix as his symbol. It's all just a means to an end for Kellhus, however.

* Blue from ''WesternAnimation/BluesClues'' (yes you read that correctly). She is a special puppy, and that has nothing to do with being blue. She is the target of a prophecy, born during an important cosmic event, announced by a divine winged being (Moona), appeared on Christmas Day, is a RealityWarper born and raised around common puppies, is constantly accompanied by her TrueCompanions, is an [[TheEmpath empath]] and is an AllLovingHeroine who gives advice to people close to her.

%% This page has been alphabetized. Please add new examples in the correct order. Thanks!

While the word "messiah" has different meanings in different cultures and there have been [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_messiah_claimants dozens of claimants to the title]] according to Website/{{Wikipedia}}, for most Western intents and purposes, the term has been HijackedByJesus, with Jesus becoming the {{Trope Maker|s}}.

** Played far straighter with his mother, Lisa Tepes of Lupu. She is by far the most unambiguously good person in the show, and she is prosecuted by a corrupt religious authority, a prosecution which is overlooked and authorized (though not directly supported) by the political authority in the region. While burning at the stake, she even yells out "Do not hurt them, they don't know what they are doing", just to drive the point home. Amazingly, the priest overlooking the execution does not pick up on the paralells.

* As above, Superman in the ''WesternAnimation/LegionOfSuperheroes'' cartoon fits the trope more than ever, as the GrandFinale even comes with its own Judas: [[spoiler:Brainiac 5's Brainiac 1-induced FaceHeelTurn leads to him giving Supes a crown of Kryptonite. Though declared dead, Superman rises again later.]]

** Not necessarily. Creator/StevenSpielberg himself had denied the connections, claiming his Jewish mother would've been enraged at him for directing a Christian allegory.

** Daenerys Targaryen definitely invokes some Christ parallels. The Dothraki think she will give birth to the Stallion that Mounts the World and this seems to connect to a prophecy that she herself believes, which marks her as the Dragon of the Targaryens, which seems to be confirmed when she successfully hatches three dragons. It's not clear yet if the prophesies surrounding her involve the good kind of messiah or the bad one. Jorah Mormont seems to think this. Out of everyone who's vying for the Iron Throne, he believes Daenerys is the only claimant with a good heart and the inner strength that would win her the love of her subjects and the fear of her enemies. On the other hand, he's probably a little biased. It's taken even further in Season 3, where she's responsible for freeing the Army of the Unsullied from slavery, as well as liberating the slaves of Astapor and Yunkai. In all instances, the former slaves pledge their UndyingLoyalty to her and come to revere her as their saviour, and in Seasons 5 and 6, it is revealed that many of the Red Priests of Volantis consider her their religion's ChosenOne, in place of Stannis.

%%Administrivia/PartialContextExample* Franchise/SpiderMan becomes this in ''ComicBook/UltimateMarvel'', [[spoiler: especially when he dies]].
* From the DC Universe, Franchise/{{Superman}}. He is also Moses.

* In Myth/HinduMythology, Vishnu's Avatars take various forms, but the one thing that they have in common is that they all appear when the world and its balance is in incredible danger in order to save it. The most fitting of this trope, however, is Kalki, the prophecized 'Final Avatar' of Vishnu that will appear at TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt to deliver it from evil.

** King Minos has a crown of thorns covering his eyes, his character is defined by kindness and altruism, he doesn't to try fight back as he's about to be executed, and he is cherished by many after his death.

** King Minos has a crown of thorns covering his eyes, his character is defined by kindness and altruism, he does not try fight back as he's about to be executed, and he is cherished by many after his death.

** And just for the record, the low-born, persecuted Shadow was the First Coming. Oh, come on. You saw him in that stasis field, in the Crucifix position, blamed for something he had nothing to do with and despite being one of the protectors of humanity. And even then he told Mephiles where to shove it.
** And in a certain point of view, Sonic represents all of Christ. [[spoiler:He died for your sins and rose from the dead!]]

** King Minos has a crown of thorns covering his eyes, not even fighting back as he's about to be executed and is cherished by many after his death.
** King Sisyphus has a dark complexion with long hair and beard, his land is a desert, he was persecuted by zealots for blashpeming with his radical views, and his corpse looks like it was crucified.

* ''Franchise/KingdomHearts'': [[TheHero Sora]], who has always been an AllLovingHero, but is heading this way as of the [[WhamEpisode secret ending]] to ''Birth by Sleep''. By ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsIII'', his role as a Messiah in the KH universe is pretty much set in stone: he purifies two people from darkness, restores three people back to life, convinces the main villain to give up his evil ways, and last but not least, [[spoiler:performs a HeroicSacrifice]].

* Two of them in ''Videogame/Ultrakill'', although ironically both messianic figures are actually kings of Hell's layers[[note]]Lust for King Minos and Greed for King Sisyphus[[/note]], and those that struck them down were ''angels''.

* Yoh Asakura from ''Manga/ShamanKing'' is practically Jesus Christ in human form. He is extremely kind, has a heart of pure gold, believes in the goodness of everyone, and always puts EVERYONE above himself, even his enemies. His example is so strong that he literally changes practically every villain in the show, no matter how evil, into a good guy.

** Yusei Fudo from ''Anime/YuGiOh5Ds'' is an even more clear example. With the goal of bringing a better future to [[WretchedHive Satellite]] (being even seen as their savior), Yusei is constantly prosecuted by the authorities of [[MegaCity Neo Domino City]] for being a Satellite, being marked as a criminal, which grants him a bad reputation with the Neo Domino citizens, but despite that, he still manages to gather very loyal followers thanks to his [[TheDeterminator determination]], [[TheAce Duel Monsters skills]] and [[HopeBringer idealistic mindset]], managing to free Aki from [[CompleteMonster Divine]]'s influence and being the catalyst to the CharacterDevelopment of his fellow Signers. Additionally, his [[SignatureMon ace monster]] Stardust Dragon has the effect of sacrificing itself to negate the destruction of cards with destruction effects and reviving itself after activating this effect at the end of the turn, and he's also the only Yu Gi Oh protagonist to [[IncorruptiblePurePureness never fall to darkness]].

* In Peter Hamilton's ''Literature/NightsDawnTrilogy'', Joshua Calvert has impossibly "good luck" and defies the possessed at every turn. In the end, he [[spoiler: successfully petitions the Sleeping God and remakes the galaxy for the benefit of humanity.]]

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Amphibia}}'': Anne Boonchuy is a girl of humble beginnings who fits this to a degree. She starts off the series in a town that initially treats her with scorn and disgust, but gains the respect of the people when she stands up for them. [[spoiler: She is betrayed by her friends Marcy, Sasha, as well as Hop Pop, and Andrias, all of whom repent for doing so and who receive her forgiveness. And in the series finale, she sacrifices herself to save the titular setting and its inhabitants from the show's robotic SatanicArchetype, essentially dying for Amphibia's sins, but she does get resurrected, and returns from the dead a changed person to her friends and FoundFamily, having met a deity-like entity.]] Like most Christ-like figures, she still humbles herself and doesn't think much about having power or becoming a ruler. That said, she'd rather live life without the high expectations cast upon her, [[spoiler:so she adopts the humble profession of being a herpetologist. Sure enough, she is worshipped by Amphibia as a savior.]]

** Aang. He's a PhysicalGod, he [[AllLovingHero has a love of all life, even his enemies]], and [[spoiler:is temporarily killed at the hands of Azula]].
** Katara, who is sorta like Aang's [[TeamMom mother figure]], [[spoiler: carries his lifeless body in PietaPlagiarism style after Azula's attack. Further emphasizing his messianic status.]]
** Korra in ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'' fills a similar function to Aang, as she's the next Avatar after him. She, too, goes through tremendous dangers and [[spoiler:is at one point purposely pushed into the Avatar State to try and kill her and end the Avatar cycle permanently. Luckily, she survives.]]

* Prince Callum in ''WesternAnimation/TheDragonPrince'' certainly qualifies. He commits to a journey aimed at bringing peace to warring nations. He is helped by TrueCompanions, two of whom (Claudia and Soren) betray him. At one point he does appear to have "died" before being reborn to perform a miracle--becoming the first human in history to do magic. Throughout his journey, he learns to have [[AllLovingHero faith in love above all else]]. To drive this point home, he even performs a CrucifiedHeroShot when he learns to fly.

* WesternAnimation/SamuraiJack is the closest thing we can get of this trope in his setting. His heroic and tireless resistance against [[EvilOverlord Aku's]] tyranny inspired all the oppressed people of Earth to stand up against it and to make a better world. By Season 5, he rather appropriately LooksLikeJesus but has lost much of his drive to keep on fighting due to crossing the DespairEventHorizon.
* In the ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'' episode "Margaritaville", Kyle is portrayed as a Christ-like savior who makes a tremendous sacrifice to save the economy and pay off everyone's debt. A dinner he has with his friends is portrayed as the Last Supper, with Cartman taking on the role of Judas, the disciple who betrayed Jesus, while some of the South Park residents form a council against the "[[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything young Jew spreading lies about the Economy]]". [[PlayedForLaughs Played, to no one's surprise, for laughs]].
* Steven from ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'' bares many of the criteria for this trope. He is the son of a human (Greg) and a transcendent otherworldly being (Rose Quartz) who comes into his own and learn how to control his otherworldly power, including the power to create food (grow plant life), heal the injured (healing spit) and ultimately revive the virtuous ([[spoiler:brings Lars back to life]]). He befriends and converts followers of his celestial parent's doctrines (Peridot and Lapis Lazuli) and is willing to sacrifice himself to his people's enemy (the Diamonds) and save his world in the process. This is especially telling in the episode "[[Recap/StevenUniverseS4E9ThreeGemsAndABaby Three Gems and a Baby]]", where three ancient beings (Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl) come bearing gifts for Steven and his weathered human parent (Greg) in a place that is not their own (Vidalia's house) set in December.
** Rose Quartz as a whole is this through a unique SatanIsGood lens: she's a rebel to the social order that champions freedom, love, and nature and inspires a sense of reverence in her followers and {{Demonization}} from her enemies. [[spoiler:Then she's revealed to be a "Fallen" member of "Heaven" Pink Diamond, who staged a rebellion against her fellow Diamonds and was technically "banished" to Earth, her fellow gems corrupted into monstrous shadows of their former selves.]]
* And in ''WesternAnimation/SupermanTheAnimatedSeries'', Superman is tempted by [[{{Satan}} Darkseid]] atop a mountain.

* In ''Manga/{{Trigun}}'', Vash the Stampede is obviously a clear-cut Christ-analogue, being an AllLovingHero FriendToAllChildren BadassPacifist. Vash's sole mission in the series apart from fighting his EvilTwin is spreading "[[{{Catchphrase}} Love and Peace]]" across the CrapSackWorld he lives in. Thanks to the guidance of his surrogate mother, Vash refuses to kill, refuses to let people get hurt, and does his best to bring joy back to the downtrodden town he walks through. Hell, by the end of the series, Vash is carrying a huge [[https://static.inaturalist.org/attachments/users/icons/680789/original.png?1508804125 cross on his back]].

* The titular character from the film version of ''Manga/NausicaaOfTheValleyOfTheWind'', who starts out as a NiceGirl and eventually becomes an ardently pacifistic crusader who just wants everyone to get along instead of allowing humanity's destructive nature to unleash a GaiasVengeance nobody can survive. [[spoiler:The climax even has her sacrificing herself to protect her people, followed by her resurrection and a new era of peace.]] This is averted in the manga, where, while still heroic, Nausicaa is a considerably more flawed and morally complex character.