Harbingers for Rebirth are a subcategory of Cataclysms and Harbingers in which the villains are not content with just destroying entire worlds, universes or realms but to "revitalize" them (i.e. to "have a fresh start"). They usually believe that humanity (or current populations such as the rats in Flushed Away) as a whole are beyond redemption and thus deserve nothing but destruction, or more commonly, enslavement. These villains overlap or may be confused with Nihilists and Social Darwinists due to oft-shared beliefs of destroying a general area and remaking it entirely.

The motives for initiating rebirth are far and wide such as obtaining absolute power or molding something in their own images and their own liking (Cyrus, Elizar Kane, Obake, Apocalypse, Ego, Unalaq, and Dodge), dooming any species for all time (Sephiran, PAL, Hugo Drax, DOR-15, and Ronan the Accuser) or a twisted hope for or shot at redemption (Colonel Shunack, Zeref Dragneel, and Steppenwolf).