Basic Trope: A character has godlike power, but prefers not to be called/treated like a god.
- Straight: Bob is an immensely powerful Reality Warper, but prefers not to be called a god.
- Exaggerated: Bob is nearly omnipotent. He has used his power to make it impossible to think of him in a manner similar to that of a god.
- Downplayed: Bob is a Person of Mass Destruction, any polytheists witnessing him cut loose mistake him for a local war-deity.
- Justified:
- Bob gets his power by channeling a real god, and doesn't want to put on airs.
- Bob doesn't want to accept the responsibility of godhood, even though he has the power to deal with it.
- Bob saw someone with similar powers go A God Am I and use it to do things Bob finds reprehensible. Bob figures that accepting the whole virtual godhood idea would make him no better.
- Bob is a religious man with a deep respect for his God (or Gods); so comparing himself to Him/Her/It/Them would be blasphemous from his perspective.
- Bob's ego is so big, that he considers himself even superior than the gods, and finds the title of a god to be insulting.
- Despite Bob's immense power, he is still mortal and/or has at least some human needs and he's perfectly aware of that.
- Bob really isn't special or powerful, everyone is just misled into thinking he is, and he wants to stop the misinformation.
- Inverted: A God Am I
- Subverted:
- Bob seems humble before his ascension, and his power isn't too amazing. However, when people start describing him as a god he doesn't press the point.
- Bob insists he is not a god... but it turns out he's "merely" a prophet-messiah for the deranged cult he has assembled around himself.
- Double Subverted: He was just being polite, and when he realizes that they aren't going to stop he asks them to.
- Parodied:
- Bob hates being called a god because he finds the term politically incorrect. He prefers being called "omnipotent being" instead.
- Bob happens to be a staunch atheist, and in fact, smites people whenever they call him a god.
- Zig Zagged:
- Bob can't seem to decide whether he minds being called a god.
- Bob the Archmage replies to someone asking him if he is a god "Am I a god? Depends on what a god is. Is a god someone who can reshape reality according to his merest whims? As a mage, I am a god. You'll find that in this academy you'll find dozens of gods just going in the main dining area. Is a god someone who has power above an arbitrarily defined threshold? Then the answer depends on where you place that threshold. If all it takes for someone to qualify as a god is enough power to wipe out a whole infantry division all by himself? Then I am a god. Place that threshold at powerful enough to cure incurable wounds or diseases or even bring someone Back from the Dead? I am no god. Or is a god someone who gains power through being worshiped and can empower others to act as a deputy? Then maybe I could become a god, maybe not. Maybe I already am. I will not pretend I understand even one percent of the mysteries of interactions between worship, gods, priest and priests, as that would be untrue, so who knows? Not me. So what do you define as a god? Depending on the answer to that question, I may or may not fit it."
- Averted: Bob doesn't mind. Or the issue never comes up.
- Enforced: The writers want to show that Bob is at least making an effort to be humble, despite his great power.
- Lampshaded:Bob: "You say that I'm a God, but I don't like being called such since I'm still just as human as you are and fighting my own Pride to hold myself accountable."
- Invoked: Alice convinces Bob that he shouldn't accept the title of god.
- Exploited: Alice convinces everyone else to help her defeat Bob because he can't be too powerful or he would accept the title happily.
- Defied:
- Bob refuses to order his followers to stop calling him a god, despite the fact that he finds it annoying.
- Bob, rather than put up with this, used his godlike powers to make them no longer worship him by making them permanently apathetic, beyond time. Bob can relax without any of them go back to normal.
- Discussed: "Bob Almighty..." "Oh, come on. Stop Worshiping Me!"
- Conversed: "Dude, we're squishy mortals. Bob and Chuck are both crazy-powerful and godlike beings. The fact Bob doesn't want to smite us or dominate us and Chuck does clearly means we're better off with Bob."
- Implied: In spite of being on par or superior to other characters who insist on being called gods, whenever the gods are listed off by name, Bob's name is conspicuously absent.
- Deconstructed: The problem is that Bob really is a deity. And even though he hates it, he can't keep denying it or the responsibility he has. The more he denies it, the more people will be hurt or worse because he refuses to intervene.
- Reconstructed: Bob is forced into accepting his status as deity, but his reluctance to abuse his followers or his power means he turns out to be a much more benevolent and wise deity than others who jumped at the power.
- Played For Laughs: Bob constantly insists that he isn't a god. Everyone ignores him, much to his annoyance.
- Played For Drama: The unwanted worship was merely uncomfortable for Bob, but now there are doctrinal schisms and dangerously aggressive "evangelism" going on in his name. Is there any way to make his displeasure known without reinforcing the cause of the problem?
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