History Main / TwilightOfTheSupers

* In ''Manga/MyHeroAcademia'', the aftermath of the Paranormal Liberation War serves as the DarkestHour for Hero Society. In addition to several Pro Heroes being killed during said war ([[spoiler:including Midnight]]), [[WarIsHell the horror of it all]] demoralized several more, leading them to retire. Also, the collateral damage resulting from the fighting (coupled with [[spoiler:Dabi releasing video footage revealing Endeavor and Hawks' dark secrets]]) caused the majority of the public to turn against Pro Heroes, driving even more to hang up their costumes. On top of that, [[spoiler:a clone of Re-Destro had taken out several members of the Public Heroes Commission, destabilizing it and leaving them unable to be of much help]].

* In ''Manga/MyHeroAcademia'', the aftermath of the Paranormal Liberation War serves as the DarkestHour for Hero Society. In addition to several Pro Heroes being killed during said war, [[WarIsHell the horror of it all]] demoralized several more, leading them to retire. Also, the collateral damage resulting from the fighting (coupled with [[spoiler:Dabi releasing video footage revealing Endeavor and Hawks' dark secrets]]) caused the majority of the public to turn against Pro Heroes, driving even more to hang up their costumes. On top of that, [[spoiler:a clone of Re-Destro had taken out several members of the Public Heroes Commission, destabilizing it and leaving them unable to be of much help]].

In a universe [[EveryoneIsASuper populated by numerous super-powered individuals]], some cataclysmic event causes them to "go away". Perhaps they are "de-powered", maybe they are removed from the world, or they can even be outright killed. Regardless of how it happens, the number of these individuals is drastically reduced, typically leaving chaos in its wake.

** The DC Elseworlds miniseries ''ComicBook/JLAActOfGod'' begins with a mysterious depowering of all of the non-tech-based superheroes and villains on Earth[[note]]that [[RiddleForTheAges never gets explained]][[/note]], causing a tremendous amount of mayhem as they either try to adapt as Batman-style vigilantes (some even getting training from Batman) or wallow in the misery of no longer being {{Physical God}}s.

** ''ComicBook/EarthX'' features a Marvel Universe where everyone got superpowers, and consequently our heroes became obsolete and faded, for the most part, into retirement. Until a major threat breaks out, and the heroes have to remember who exactly they are.

Compare to TheMagicGoesAway and HereThereWereDragons, similar tropes about the disappearance of magic in fantasy settings. Can sometimes be the result of a SuperRegistrationAct.

In a universe populated by numerous super-powered individuals, some cataclysmic event causes them to "go away". Perhaps they are "de-powered", maybe they are removed from the world, or they can even be outright killed. Regardless of how it happens, the number of these individuals is drastically reduced, typically leaving chaos in its wake.

Often concludes the Late Stage of SuperheroPrevalenceStages. In some cases the world might be shaken so badly by the events that the world [[AfterTheEnd experiences an apocalypse]].

** In ''Script/TheTwilightOfTheSuperheroes'', a proposed crossover by author Alan Moore that never got off the ground, John Constantine travels back in time to the "present day" DC Universe (the mid-1980s status quo) to avoid the destructive end of the superheroes. In Constantine's future, the major superheroes divided themselves in many dynastic houses and arrange alliances among them; secret factions that oppose the heroic houses are an alliance of supervillains, an alliance of non-powered heroes led by Batman, and an alliance of alien races (Green Lanterns, Martians and Thanagarians). Constantine's narration concludes with a massive battle between the different factions that results in the death of the superheroes. Moore's vision also proposed that Constantine's mission (joined by time traveler Rip Hunter) would ''ensure'' that his future would come to pass, to lead to a version of Earth ''freed'' from the existence of superheroes.

* In one arc of ''ComicBook/{{PS238}}'' Tyler is called before the cosmic entities in charge of empowering the people of Earth and asked to decide whether humanity should continue to produce superheroes and villains. [[spoiler:Despite all he's been through as the sole unpowered member of his family and school, he decides to let them persist, becoming the first person to choose to do so in history.]] They explain that humanity has had past "heroic ages", and in another arc we see that the author's other comic ''ComicStrip/{{Nodwick}}'' takes place in ''PS 238's'' distant past.
* In ''ComicBook/{{Wanted}}'', the supervillains all banded together in the 1980's and killed off every superhero on Earth, then remade the world in their image.

* ''Series/TheGifted'' takes place in the X-Men universe, but in a timeline where the X-Men and the Brotherhood disappeared a year prior during a cataclysmic event now known as 7/15. This has left mutant-human relations even more strained, with the government rounding up any mutants they can and the those who evade capture living underground. Downplayed, since mutants do still exist in this universe.

* ''WesternAnimation/StaticShock'': The SeriesFinale "Power Outage" begins with a cure for the [[MassSuperEmpoweringEvent Big Bang]] being released into the atmosphere above Dakota, promising to cure all the metahuman bang babies in the city. While this is good news for many, heroes Static and Gear and villains Ebon and Hotstreak are distraught that their powers are waning. Gear in particular thinks it unfair they have no choice in getting cured, since they have done a lot of good for the city as heroes. Downplayed, since Dakota exists in the wider DCAU where other superheroes like Superman and The Flash still exist. Then [[spoiler:Static and Gear get exposed to a stronger concentration of the Big Bang gas after Ebon and Hotstreak steal some from the doctor who invented the cure, giving Static and Gear even greater power but [[GoneHorriblyRight turning Ebon and Hotstreak into a horrific hybrid abomination]].]]

[[folder:Film -- Animated]]
* In ''WesternAnimation/TheIncredibles'', a wave of lawsuits led to the super relocation program where supers hung up their capes and assumed completely civilian lives. It later turns out that Syndrome killed off most of the retired supers.

Compare to TheMagicGoesAway and HereThereWereDragons, similar tropes about the disappearance of magic in fantasy settings.

* In ''Script/TheTwilightOfTheSuperheroes'', a proposed crossover by author Alan Moore that never got off the ground, John Constantine travels back in time to the "present day" DC Universe (the mid-1980s status quo) to avoid the destructive end of the superheroes. In Constantine's future, the major superheroes divided themselves in many dynastic houses and arrange alliances among them; secret factions that oppose the heroic houses are an alliance of supervillains, an alliance of non-powered heroes led by Batman, and an alliance of alien races (Green Lanterns, Martians and Thanagarians). Constantine's narration concludes with a massive battle between the different factions that results in the death of the superheroes. Moore's vision also proposed that Constantine's mission (joined by time traveler Rip Hunter) would ''ensure'' that his future would come to pass, to lead to a version of Earth ''freed'' from the existence of superheroes.

* In ''Manga/MyHeroAcademia'', the aftermath of the Paranormal Liberation War serves as the DarkestHour for Hero Society. In addition to several Pro Heroes being killed during said war, [[WarIsHell the horror of it all]] demoralized several more, leading them to retire. Also, the collateral damage resulting from the fighting (coupled with Dabi releasing video footage revealing Endeavor and Hawks' dark secrets) caused the majority of the public to turn against Pro Heroes, driving even more to hang up their costumes. On top of that, a clone of Re-Destro had taken out several members of the Public Heroes Commission, destabilizing it and leaving them unable to be of much help.

* In ''Manga/MyHeroAcademia'', the aftermath of the Paranormal Liberation War serves as the DarkestHour for Hero Society. In addition to several Pro Heroes being killed during said war, the horror of it all demoralized several more, leading them to retire. Also, the collateral damage resulting from the fighting (coupled with Dabi releasing video footage revealing Endeavor and Hawks' dark secrets) caused the majority of the public to turn against Pro Heroes, driving even more to hang up their costumes. On top of that, a clone of Re-Destro had taken out several members of the Public Heroes Commission, destabilizing it and leaving them unable to be of much help.

* In ''Manga/MyHeroAcademia'', the aftermath of the Paranormal Liberation War serves as the DarkestHour for Hero Society. In addition to several Pro Heroes being killed during said war, the horror of it all demoralized several more, leading them to retire. Also, the collateral damage resulting from the fighting (coupled with Dabi releasing video footage revealing Endeavor and Hawks' dark secrets) caused the majority of the public turning against Pro Heroes, driving even more to hang up their costumes. On top of that, a clone of Re-Destro had taken out several members of the Public Heroes Commission, destabilizing it and leaving them unable to be of much help.

* In ''Manga/MyHeroAcademia'', the aftermath of the Paramount Liberation War serves as the DarkestHour for Hero Society. In addition to several Pro Heroes being killed during said war, the horror of it all demoralized several more, leading them to retire. Also, the collateral damage resulting from the fighting (coupled with Dabi releasing video footage revealing Endeavor and Hawks' dark secrets) caused the majority of the public turning against Pro Heroes, driving even more to hang up their costumes. On top of that, a clone of Re-Destro had taken out several members of the Public Heroes Commission, destabilizing it and leaving them unable to be of much help.

** ''ComicBook/XMen'': When Bishop debuted in the early 1990s, his backstory ''at the time'' established two major events: the X-Men were betrayed and killed by one of their own (no word on the other X-teams); and the Sentinels rounded up all mutants in ghettos. The mutants lived like this until the Summers Rebellion, which united humans and mutants against the Sentinels, and led to the foundation of the mutant-policing force X.S.E (Xavier's Security Enforcers).

Roughly coincides with UsefulNotes/TheDarkAgeOfComicB

Roughly coincides with UsefulNotes/TheDarkAgeOfComicBooks.

!!!'''Examples''':

Around the 1980s there were enough superheroes inhabiting shared universe settings that writers found themselves with limited options for shaking up the setting. If one superhero was killed off others could take their place. But what if all the superheroes and villains were killed off at once? This led to a number of stories about the end of superheroics.

** Author Creator/PeterDavid, in the early 1990s, introduced a Bad Future in the mini-series ''ComicBook/TheIncredibleHulkFutureImperfect'': a global nuclear war eradicated most of the Marvel superheroes "of the present" (which was the early-90s status quo), leaving the remnants of humanity to be ruled by a tyrannical Maestro, another form of the Hulk. In the first issue, Hulk visists a sort of museum/memorial to the fallen heroes.

** During ''ComicBook/TheNew52'' reboot (2011-2016), DC Comics published the annual maxi-series ''ComicBook/TheNew52FuturesEnd'', offering a glimpse into the future of the then-current status quo. Its initial setting is that, some 30 years in the future, artificial intelligence and satellite Brother Eye (created in this continuity by Mr. Terrific and Batman) goes rogue and begins to assimilate and roboticize the superhero population, turning them into mechanical abominations. Bruce Wayne, one of the few remaining heroes, sends Terry [=McGinnis=] (yes, Batman Beyond) to the past to avoid their bad future.

** Author Peter David, in the early 1990s, introduced us to a Bad Future in the mini-series ''ComicBook/TheIncredibleHulkFutureImperfect'': a global nuclear war eradicated most of the Marvel superheroes "of the present" (which was the early-90s status quo), leaving the remnants of humanity to be ruled by a tyrannical Maestro, another form of the Hulk. In the first issue, Hulk is even taken by future inhabitant Janis to a sort of museum housing the derelict masks and assorted accessories of the modern day vigilantes, as some sort of tribute to the fallen heroes of yesteryear.

* In the 1991 Crossover Event ''ComicBook/{{Armageddon 2001}}'', Wave Rider's internal narration at the beginning of issue #1 muses about the DC heroes, and how one day they all died (in 2001), by the hand of one of their own. The future world of 2030, in the absence of all heroes (of the 1991 status quo), is ruled by a benevolent despot named Monarch. In an abstract battle inside Rider's mind, Monarch gloats that he was the only one willing to take down the "giants" (the DC heroes of "present time") and install a world of order.

* The DC Elseworlds miniseries ''ComicBook/JLAActOfGod'' begins with a mysterious depowering of all of the non-tech-based superheroes and villains on Earth[[note]]that [[RiddleForTheAges never gets explained]][[/note]], causing a tremendous amount of mayhem as they either try to adapt as Batman-style vigilantes (some even getting training from Batman) or wallow in the misery of no longer being {{Physical God}}s.

*** Generation M delves into the human interest/social consequences of mutants losing their powers.

* During ''ComicBook/TheNew52'' reboot (2011-2016), DC Comics published the annual maxi-series ''ComicBook/TheNew52FuturesEnd'', offering a glimpse into the future of the then-current status quo. Its initial setting is that, some 30 years in the future, artificial intelligence and satellite Brother Eye (created in this continuity by Mr. Terrific and Batman) goes rogue and begins to assimilate and roboticize the superhero population, turning them into mechanical abominations. Bruce Wayne, one of the few remaining heroes, sends Terry [=McGinnis=] (yes, Batman Beyond) to the past to avoid their bad future.

[[folder:Anime and Manga]]

** In ''ComicBook/OldManLogan'' the supervillains suddenly organized long enough to kill almost all of the heroes, then started killing off each other while carving up the USA into their own little kingdoms. The only superheroes left alive are Hawkeye, who was left alone when he went blind, and Wolverine, who's become a pacifist after [[spoiler: Mysterio tricked him into killing the other X-Men.]]

[[folder:Film - Animated]]

[[folder:Film - Live Action]]

* ''WesternAnimation/StaticShock'': The SeriesFinale "Power Outage" begins with a cure for the [[MassSuperEmpoweringEvent Big Bang]] being released into the atmosphere above Dakota, promising to cure all the metahuman bang babies in the city. While this is good news for many, heroes Static and Gear and villains Ebon and Hotstreak are distraught that their powers are waning. Gear in particular thinks it unfair they have no choice in getting cured, since they have done a lot of good for the city as heroes. Downplayed, since Dakota exists in the wider DCAU where other superheroes like Superman and The Flash still exist. Then [[spoiler: Static and Gear get exposed to a stronger concentration of the Big Bang gas after Ebon and Hotstreak steal some from the doctor who invented the cure, giving Static and Gear even greater power but [[GoneHorriblyRight turning Ebon and Hotstreak into a horrific hybrid abomination]].]]

* ''WesternAnimation/StaticShock'': The SeriesFinale "Power Outage" begins with a cure for the [[SuperMassEmpoweringEvent Big Bang]] being released into the atmosphere above Dakota, promising to cure all the metahuman bang babies in the city. While this is good news for many, heroes Static and Gear and villains Ebon and Hotstreak are distraught that their powers are waning. Gear in particular thinks it unfair they have no choice in getting cured, since they have done a lot of good for the city as heroes. Downplayed, since Dakota exists in the wider DCAU where other superheroes like Superman and The Flash still exist. Then [[spoiler: Static and Gear get exposed to a stronger concentration of the Big Bang gas after Ebon and Hotstreak steal some from the doctor who invented the cure, giving Static and Gear even greater power but [[GoneHorriblyRight turning Ebon and Hotstreak into a horrific hybrid abomination]].]]

* ''WesternAnimation/StaticShock'': The SeriesFinale "Power Outage" begins with a cure for the [[SuperMassEmpoweringEvent Big Bang]] being released into the atmosphere above Dakota, promising to cure all the metahuman bang babies in the city. While this is good news for many, heroes Static and Gear and villains Ebon and Hotstreak are distraught that their powers are waning. Gear in particular thinks it unfair they have no choice in getting cured, since they have done a lot of good for the city as heroes. Downplayed, since Dakota exists in the wider DCAU where other superheroes like Superman and The Flash still exist. Partly subverted when [[spoiler: Static and Gear get exposed to a stronger concentration of the Big Bang gas after Ebon and Hotstreak steal some from the doctor who invented the cure, giving Static and Gear even greater power but [[GoneHorriblyRight turning Ebon and Hotstreak into a horrific hybrid abomination]].]]

** At the conclusion of the ''[[ComicBook/{{HouseOfM}} House of M]]'', the Scarlet Witch casts a spell that depowers near 90-95% of the mutants on Earth, as a huge middle finger to her father Magneto. This reduces the remaining mutant population to about 198. In order to better manage the survivors, the American government unveils the O*N*E initiative: to band and oversee all mutants on the X-Mansion's grounds using the human-piloted Sentinel Squad. But following the "Mutant Messiah Trilogy" (''[[ComicBook/{{XMenMessiahComplex}} Messiah CompleX]]'', ''Messiah War'' and ''[[ComicBook/{{XMenSecondComing}} Second Coming]]''), new mutants begin to appear, a few at first (the Lights, as shown in ''[[ComicBook/{{GenerationHope}} Generation Hope]]''), and finally a whole new generation after ''[[ComicBook/{{AvengersVsXMen}} Avengers VS. X-Men]]''.

* In one arc of ''ComicBook/{{PS238}}'' Tyler is called before the cosmic entities in charge of empowering the people of Earth and asked to decide whether humanity should continue to produce superheroes and villains. [[spoiler:Despite all he's been through as the sole unpowered member of his family and school, he decides to let them persist.]] They explain that humanity has had past "heroic ages", and in another arc we see that the author's other comic ''ComicStrip/{{Nodwick}}'' takes place in ''PS 238's'' distant past.