Given enough runtime, the protagonist will likely become either the All-Loving Hero or the Messianic Archetype, overriding any prior characterization.
This seems likely to happen to a character who was previously The Ditz or The Fool, or otherwise fell into the This Loser Is You category. More cynically, it may occur because characters otherwise lacking any genuine positive qualities can only compensate with the "kindness of their heart." It can also occur as a result of exclusively positive Character Development. A character actually learns their Aesop and overcomes flaws in their personality, but creators are loath to have them develop new flaws, so they end up perfect. This also tends to happen with sufficiently long-running video games, as by their very nature the Player Character has to win every time to advance the plot, the plot gives them higher challenges to overcome, and their constant gameplay victories get recognized in the story.
Note that not all characters fitting the Messianic Archetype are victims of Messiah Creep; it's about the archetype overriding previous characterization. If a character fell into the archetype from the beginning, it is Not an Example.
Often overlaps with "Save the World" Climax; as their goals escalate to the scale of Saving the World, their personality evolves to match.
This does not mean a creepy Messiah. Although that also happens.
Examples:
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Anime & Manga
- Kenji from 20th Century Boys starts as The Everyman, but becomes a full-fledged rock and roll messiah.
- The original Sailor Moon anime is a clear example: Usagi Tsukino was initially the Girly Girl, but became, and was even called, the Messiah by the third season. This, coupled with Minako's Flanderization, caused them to swap roles, promoting Usagi to The Hero and reducing Minako to the Girly Girl.
- Kira Yamato in Mobile Suit Gundam SEED essentially became one of these in the sequel series Destiny.
- Setsuna F. Seiei becomes one in Mobile Suit Gundam 00 after transforming into the first Innovator, and Flit Asuno becomes one in the final episode of Mobile Suit Gundam AGE. It seems to be a recurring theme in modern Gundam series.
- Kei Kurono in Gantz does this, starting out as a Jerkass. However, it's less about drawing on the "kindness of their heart" and more about tattooing "What would Kato do?" to the inside of his eyelids as part of his Character Development.
- Naruto starts as a lonely brat, annoying to most, but evolves into someone who can easily empathize with and win anyone's support. This is somewhat lampshaded as he even refers to HIMSELF as a "savior." Then it turned out that he was actually The Chosen One of prophecy, destined to Save the World, and the reincarnation of one of the two sons of the Sage of the Six Paths.
- Ash Ketchum from Pokémon the Series was originally characterized as a short-fused, bratty Idiot Hero in Kanto. After much Character Development and multiple Retools, his XY series self is written as a Wide-Eyed Idealist All-Loving Hero that mentors and inspires those around him. This is most prevalent during the "Save the World" Climax at the end of the series, where Ash leads the entire region, including two Champions, in the battle against Lysandre.
- Shibuya Yuuri of Kyo Kara Maoh! starts as an ordinary idiot with superpowers when he gets extremely angry. Over the course of the series, he overcomes racism, defeats a Sealed Evil in a Can, purifies a corrupted deity, and evolves into a competent monarch, though he remains alive thanks to his loyal advisors.
- Through all of his massive Character Development, it seems Guts from Berserk is finally coming around to this. Slowly, but surely.
- Linebarrels of Iron features a Jerk with a Heart of Jerk protagonist who initially sides with the good guys, aiming to become a Destructive Savior. However, after experiencing the consequences of his power-fueled actions and the resulting civilian casualties, he undergoes significant Character Development and ultimately embodies this trope. Lampshaded: "The people needed a hero, wanted him to become a hero, so he ended up becoming a hero."
- In Dragon Ball, despite Toriyama's claim that Goku can be a selfish person who will put a good fight ahead of everything, Goku demonstrates this even in the original manga. As a child, he was selfish, only protecting those he personally bonded with, and he had no problem causing great physical harm or killing his enemies if provoked. As he grows older, he becomes more protective of humanity in general, even going out of his way to revive the Dragon Balls during the Cell Games after Cell murdered the World Army. He's also more discerning about who he kills, to the point of trying to spare monsters like Frieza and attempting to defeat his enemies with minimal force.
Comic Books
- According to Alex Ross, Superman (Clark Kent) initially appeared in The Golden Age of Comic Books as a strongman, similar to Samson. By the Silver Age of Curt Swan, he had become a more representative heavenly savior. Of course, he died and came back in the '90s. In Kingdom Come, Superman also fulfills the Second Coming aspect.
- X-Men:
- Jean Grey started out as simply the token female to the original X-Men. Then the Phoenix Saga happened; even following her return, her raw power remained far closer to Phoenix levels, her compassion became perhaps her most defining heroic trait as she was The Heart of the X-Men alongside Nightcrawler (it was the point of X-Men: Red - Nightcrawler was also on that team), and she was elevated to The Paragon, becoming the White Phoenix of the Crown and saviour of the multiverse in Grant Morrison's X-Men run. Her epitaph even said "She Will Rise Again." And she did. Repeatedly.
- This trope was deconstructed with Teen Jean, who was understandably not thrilled to be cast as either a Messianic Archetype or The Antichrist in-waiting (never mind all the other messes her past/future self had gotten into), and the ghost form of Adult Jean, who was decidedly annoyed at both her situation and her younger self. They got on much better once Adult Jean had her own body back and Teen Jean had bullied the Phoenix, which had killed her, into bringing her back too. Yet, even Teen Jean pulled a supposedly impossible messianic resurrection, twice - by hijacking the entire Poison Hive Mind with her remaining consciousness, absorbing enough psychic energy to recreate her body from a few pieces of DNA, conveniently saving the world in the process and by essentially bullying the Phoenix into bringing her back.
- Much like her mother, Rachel Summers underwent this—from concentration camp survivor to Phoenix host and savior of the multiverse, being considered the One True Phoenix, starting a quasi-Jedi religion in the future, and organizing the raising of mutantkind's chief Messianic Archetype, Cable.
- Cable is an odd example—though he wasn't initially conceived as a Messiah, The Reveal of his origin made him one. He began as a grizzled, minor telekinetic soldier and ideological counterpoint to Xavier, eventually becoming a Messiah who fought an eternal war against the Satanic Archetype Apocalypse (though their relationship has been complicated for a long time). He intentionally leaned into the imagery during his 'Saviour Cable' period, intending to invoke a Genghis Gambit through fear of his power and martyr himself in a Heroic Sacrifice to show people a better way.
- Jean Grey started out as simply the token female to the original X-Men. Then the Phoenix Saga happened; even following her return, her raw power remained far closer to Phoenix levels, her compassion became perhaps her most defining heroic trait as she was The Heart of the X-Men alongside Nightcrawler (it was the point of X-Men: Red - Nightcrawler was also on that team), and she was elevated to The Paragon, becoming the White Phoenix of the Crown and saviour of the multiverse in Grant Morrison's X-Men run. Her epitaph even said "She Will Rise Again." And she did. Repeatedly.
Fan Works
- In Shinji and Warhammer40k, despite his best efforts, Shinji appears to be turning into the God-Emperor of Mankind.
- Fairly English Story: Considering who we are talking about, it makes sense, but the exploration of it in Minato's Character Development is very interesting, especially given the gradual changes to his personality throughout the story.
- In My Life Is A Goddamn Mess, Minato slowly evolves from an emo teen using the story's title as a catchphrase into a Messianic Archetype.
- This appears to be the case for Jensen and company in Mass Effect: Human Revolution. They might be the only ones capable of bringing about at least temporary salvation to the galaxy. Otherwise, they will die trying to fix what is irredeemably broken.
Films — Live-Action
Literature
- Doc Savage is a skilled doctor (creating antibiotics for plagues) who becomes a truly exceptional doctor (making the blind see, the lame walk, and raising the dead from 3000 years ago) after only a decade of experience. He then falls from grace after fracturing his skull and goes to Hell to fight the devil.
- This happens to Harry Potter within the first book, as he transitions from an abused, snarky, insecure, and vindictive child to a heroic savior, a trend that continues throughout the series, culminating in literally allowing himself to be killed and returning to life.
- The Space Trilogy: Dr. Elwin Ransom experiences this shift throughout the series. In the first book, Ransom is a typical Everyman, experiencing personal but ultimately minor adventures on Mars. The second book sees him entrusted with saving Perelandra from malevolent cosmic forces. By the third book, he has become the Pendragon, leader of the new Round Table, atones for humanity's sins, regains humanity's ancestral dominion over animals, and departs for another world, vowing to return at the end of time to save mankind.
- Appears in Malazan Book of the Fallen, where Seerdomin slowly realizes he is becoming a figure of salvation to the followers of the deity known as The Redeemer, as his daily visits to their god's barrow keep undesirables at bay. He is deeply conflicted about this, since while his deeds may seem heroic to outsiders, he is mainly in it for personal reasons.
Live-Action TV
- Heavily invoked in Babylon 5 with G'Kar. After a lifetime as a Narn resistance leader and soldier, filled with hate for the Centauri, he experiences a revelation that causes him to completely rethink his own beliefs and values. After the Shadow War, he becomes something of a teacher and philosopher to the Narn colonists on board; his private writings were even taken and published (entirely against his will) as a new holy book, which sweeps through the masses. More and more, to G'Kar's irritation, the Narns look to him for spiritual answers rather than seeking them out for themselves. He wants to teach them, but is very uncomfortable taking on a Messianic role where his every word is dissected for some deeper meaning. Eventually, he leaves the station to travel the galaxy, both to find those deeper answers for himself and to give his people the chance to do the same without his interference.
- Community: Troy went from a surprisingly talented air conditioner repair student to "the Truest Repairman," the Chosen One foretold in ancient prophecy. The Vice-Dean helps Troy take down a dictatorial regime solely to get him into the school, and isolates him from his friends in order to teach him all the ancient ways of the secret order of Air Condition Repair Men. Troy, for his part, finds the cultish attitudes of the Air Conditioner Repair Annex to be weird and confusing, and repeatedly tells them to stop taking it so seriously, since it's just a two-year degree.
Troy: Yeah, I told the Air-Conditioning Repair School that they had to start acting like a normal school. I can do that, cuz I'm their Messiah.
- Doctor Who: The Doctor started as a selfish, irritable old man fleeing his own species. He saved people, but it was more out of happenstance than any higher calling. Around the time of the Fourth Doctor's tenure, religious subtext began to emerge, though it was subtle and deployed with weight when it did. He was still mostly an "intergalactic bumbler". By the time of the Tenth Doctor's tenure, he was striking crucifix poses and being revived by prayer. It should be noted that the ending phase of the Tenth's adventures involved deliberate deconstruction of his heroism creeping into the storylines. With the Eleventh and Twelfth Doctors, the deconstruction was in full swing. The Doctor still tries to be heroic, but the prideful implications of Chronic Hero Syndrome are increasingly examined. Companions and even random people call him out far more often for his vain or questionable moments. When he claims in a fit of anger on two occasions that he's "answerable to no one", his companions at the time look at him with instant distrust and outright tell him he's being arrogant and scary.
- This is examined at length in "Twice Upon a Time", the Twelfth Doctor's final episode, in which he meets and works with the First Doctor shortly before both are due to regenerate. The First Doctor is not thrilled by the Twelfth Doctor's bold actions and declarations that he protects Earth from beings like the Testimony, and is frightened to learn about the conflicts his future selves will be involved in, and the reputation he will gain as "The Doctor of War" (among other names). The Twelfth Doctor is humbled by the First Doctor's cooler, calmer approach to the crisis, which allows him to notice things the Twelfth Doctor does not, and the Novelization has the Twelfth Doctor additionally realize that the First Doctor is the only Doctor who never got carried away in his heroics to his and others' detriment. Conversely, the First Doctor's more cynical view of the universe, particularly his belief in Good Is Impotent, and his inability to realize that he is already a Hope Bringer is questioned by the Twelfth Doctor's companion when she asks him what he set out from Gallifrey to find in the first place. Later, the climax and denouement have the Twelfth Doctor showing the First Doctor that being "The Doctor of War" is as much about hope and healing as it is fighting and sorrow, which helps the First Doctor accept regeneration at last.
- Fonzie from Happy Days was originally a juvenile delinquent who dropped out of school who wasn't above threatening and even hurting teens who considered him a friend. As the series went on and his popularity skyrocketed, he eventually turned into an all-around protector of the other characters, and his skills as a Percussive Maintenance fixer are exaggerated to a point they're supernatural. By the last season, he's a teacher, community leader and sports a Jesus-like beard.
- Daniel Jackson in Stargate SG-1 starts as a TV Genius, naturally assumes the role of The Smart Guy when the title team SG-1 is assembled, but by season four, becomes The Messiah while the role of The Smart Guy is almost completely delegated to Samantha Carter. It certainly doesn't help that he later actually ascends. Well, for one season. And then does it again, but only for one episode.
Music
- From 1997-2004, Eminem's stage persona was a repellent Anti-Role Model brat 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 drug addiction that almost killed him, got clean, and (after a brief deviation into Horrorcore to purge himself of his bad-taste material) emerged as a Recovered Addict paragon, saved from death by the love of his fans, and granting his strength to them to save themselves. He began incorporating 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 honorific). However, the transformation is complicated by the fact that becoming messianic didn't make his sense of humour any less childish or disgusting, which led to backlash both from the perspective that he got too nice and wasn't doing the work to be nice enough. This backlash led him to ask his fans to forget about his niceguy persona in his 2018 single "Fall", before unleashing a salvo of 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, Gothic Horror-themed direction. It should be noted that the seed of Eminem's holiness was there from the beginning: a lot of Eminem's early major-label music suggests he's on a Mission from God to annoy the world.
Video Games
- Stocke from Radiant Historia starts out cold and aloof from his subordinates, but becomes more willing to form lasting emotional connections with other people over the course of the story. He remains somewhat stoic, but is completely dedicated to their well-being, and his desire to protect them eventually extends to the rest of Vainqueur's inhabitants as well. By the end of the game, he actually sacrifices himself in the Ritual in order to protect all the races from the continent's desertification.
- If the player does enough, the protagonist of any of the Persona games becomes a Messiah by the end of the game.
- Invoked in Persona 3 as the player gradually goes from being a depressed loner to a straight Messianic Archetype, with their ultimate Persona actually being The Messiah.
- In Persona 4, Yu can solve everyone's problems and become everyone's best friend, be top of the class, become the best fisherman of all time, be The Leader of the group of meddling kids who save the world, and even befriend Adachi, the murderer himself. This is subverted if the player seduces all the potential love interests (and breaks their hearts on Valentine's Day in the Vita remake) or gets either of the bad endings (either by being party to the murder of an innocent man who was framed as the murderer, or by outright becoming Adachi's accomplice).
- The trend continues in Persona 5 with the Phantom Thieves starting out as flawed characters seeking to change society for justice, revenge, or fame using morally questionable means; and end up being treated as genuine heroes by saving the world from a controlling god born from the masses, still using the same questionable methods.
- BlazBlue, from beginning to end, is the story of how a grumpy, anti-social wanted criminal who adopts the "Grim Reaper" as a moniker to frighten people eventually becomes the literal god of death and saves all mankind and reality itself from destruction.
- The Legend of Zelda saw this happen with the title Princess. Zelda, a Legacy Character, has seen her role as a literal divine savior grow with each game, overshadowing Link's role in the story. This reaches its logical extreme in Skyward Sword, where Zelda is the Reincarnation of a previously unknown goddess named Hylia. Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom follow the same trend, with Ganondorf transferring his traditional grudge against Link to her.
Web Comics
- Torg from Sluggy Freelance has gotten a bit of this treatment as the series has gone on (particularly during "That Which Redeems"), but his Cloudcuckoolander status always reasserts itself eventually.
Web Original
- Sparadrap from Noob starts out as a mix of The Fool and Kindhearted Simpleton and takes the All-Loving Hero road. He did gain hate for a couple of people along the way, but about half of the people he considers friends remain either jerks or non-friendly recurring enemies.
Western Animation
- Avatar Aang in Avatar: The Last Airbender starts as The Fool, evolving into a Messianic Archetype. Although this was what he was originally supposed to do, he ran away and was frozen for a century.
- The Flash from Justice League, although this is a slightly unusual example, as he is one of seven equally main characters and therefore not technically the hero, no more so than the other six. He initially appears as the immature rookie of the group, with an idealistic approach and a tendency to hit on people. However, this is followed by implications that his influence keeps the League out of Knight Templar territory, and a recurring tendency to try and help everyone, eventually leading to him being marked as a Messianic Archetype.
- Transformers: In terms of characterization, Optimus Prime has been undergoing a gradual shift. While his nature as a heroic Big Good and The Leader of the Autobots has remained consistent, more modern series have slowly portrayed him as a more direct Messiah figure. Whereas the G1 version played basketball in his downtime and often cracked jokes, later incarnations (save for the Transformers: Animated Classical Anti-Hero take, whose identity exists to move away from Prime's messianic shift) such as the live-action films have depicted him as a stoic and entirely serious figure (yet one that still managed to deliver one-liners). The Aligned version starts similarly in his video game series, but over time, he becomes the somber, stoic, and suitably dramatic figure in Transformers: Prime, culminating in a scene where he willingly becomes one with the Allspark to create a new generation of Cybertronian life.
- In Hey Arnold!, at the beginning of the series, our protagonist Arnold Shortman was an honest but down-to-earth, regular kid who did the right thing in the end, despite sometimes letting himself get carried away, just like any other child. However, in later seasons, his character was given a dose of pure-heartedness, with his friends always consulting him for his wisdom, no matter the subject, and he was willing to "do the right thing" regardless of the consequences.
- As the eponymous character of Steven Universe grows up, the other characters become entirely reliant on him to solve their problems and keep their neuroses in check...even though he's a teenager and they're thousands of years old.
- This is deconstructed in Steven Universe: Future, which clearly demonstrates that solving everyone else's problems has left Steven unable to address his own. He doesn't know how to rely on or ask for help, views himself as a burden if he can't assist others, and has no sense of self when he isn't helping people. Years of trauma, which he had only just begun to address, resurface, ultimately leading to a full-blown psychotic breakdown.
