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. These villains are at the pinnacle of the power pyramid, and if they decide to make a universe of pure torture (especially if it's the worst stuff imaginable such as rape, mutilation, and slavery), they've reached the maximum amount of heinousness a villain can possibly have, and are very likely to be Pure Evil (even though there are plenty of Pure Evils with way less resources).

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, Agent Smith, 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, The Green Knight, Zeref Dragneel, and Steppenwolf).