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This Article Contains Spoilers -
WARNING: This article contains major spoilers. If you do not wish to know vital information on plot / character elements in a story, you may not wish to read beyond this warning: We hold no responsibility for any negative effects these facts may have on your enjoyment of said media should you continue. That is all. |
| “ | Hohoho... I see... Ragnarok, huh... quite an interesting proposal. Well said. Your proposal was an absolute fucking UNIT! Besides, don't you think, it's been quite a long time since we have seen THE MIGHT OF GODS! EVERYBODY, WHAT DO YOU THINK? SHALL WE HOLD A SHOWDOWN BETWEEN THE GODS AND THE MANKIND?! | „ |
| ~ Zeus marks the beginning of Ragnarok at the end of the Gods' Council of the XXI Century. |
The Gods' Council (in Japanese: 神々の評議会, Kamigami no hyōgi-kai) are the overarching antagonists of the manga/anime series Record of Ragnarok and the main antagonists of its manga spin-off Record of Ragnarok Forbidden Legend - Apocalypse of The Gods.
It is the assembly that meets every thousand years and brings together all the Gods of all the existing Pantheons. Their job is to assess the progress of mortal species on Earth, and determine if they are still worthy of survival or if they should be exterminated. The Gods Fighters are composed mostly of the most powerful Gods of the Gods' Council.
Overview[]
The Gods of all the Pantheons gather every thousand years and decide whether the dominant species of the Earth, which for seven million years has been Humanity, should continue to exist through a collection of votes.
If the majority of votes are against it, it means that their existence must end, although the dominant species can nullify the result of the vote by winning the Ragnarok Tournament. If the decision for the destruction of the dominant species is not agreed upon by the majority, the Gods may still choose to punish them by destroying key elements of civilization. Should exceptional cases such as the Ragnarok Tournament occur, the Gods' Council also meets to determine how to proceed during these events.
Zeus is the current Chairman of the Council. However, it seems that the Gods are not entirely loyal to him, as 49 members of the Gods' Council sided with Adamas when he attempted a coup against Zeus.
Plot[]
The Gods' Council is the meeting attended by all the Gods of all the existing Pantheons and which, every thousand years, determines whether the dominant species of the Earth is still worthy of salvation or not. Most likely the Gods' Council was born before the Big Bang together with some of the main Gods. It was a Gods' Council that established the birth of Humanity, and the Gods' Council established that, for the peaceful coexistence of all Gods, any battle between Gods would be prohibited, thus making it a taboo.
On one occasion Ra-Horakhty attempted to exterminate Humanity without the authorization of the Gods' Council. The latter eventually manage to stop Ra, but his actions still lead to making Egypt a perpetual desert. From that moment on, Ra got the title of Unstoppable God. When Adamas organizes a coup to oust Zeus, who has become the new King of the Universe and consequently Chairman of the Gods' Council, he manages to convince 49 members of the Gods' Council to side with his part, but in the end everything closes in a stalemate as Poseidon stops him and causes him to be erased from history.
At Gods' Council of the 2000 B.C., a new vote is called to determine whether or not Humans, Earth's dominant species, are worthy of salvation, and the majority choose to spare them with 74% of the vote. Nonetheless, Aphrodite still suggests that they be punished for becoming arrogant, especially those of Thebes, a suggestion also approved by Loki, who remarks that the Tower of Babel was destroyed for a similar decision. Shiva intervenes to volunteer and attack Thebes, but Ares blocks him claiming that Thebes is in his area of expertise. Eventually Alcides manages to stop Ares' army from destroying Thebes and makes a pact with Zeus: he would become a God (renaming himself Heracles), and in exchange the Gods would no longer interfere with the affairs of the Humans. Zeus accepts the agreement and from that moment the Gods stop interacting with the Humans.
In the Gods' Council held in the XXI Century, Zeus asks all the Gods whether or not they are in favor of exterminating Humanity: Shiva and Aphrodite are the first to support the extermination, because they argue that they have become too arrogant and violent and are destroying the Earth. This convinces all the other Gods who unanimously vote for the extermination of Humanity, but before Zeus can decree the end of Humans Brunhilde intervenes and, despite the opposition of Odin and Huginn & Muninn, proposes an alternative way to test if Humans are worthy of salvation: the Ragnarok Tournament. Initially the Gods claim it is a waste of time because no Human could ever defeat the Gods, but then Brunhilde pricks their pride by assuming they are afraid to face them, and so Zeus, claiming that it has been a long time since they showed Humans the power of the Gods, accepts and sanctions the beginning of the Ragnarok Tournament. Cú Chulainn, who witnessed everything, rebukes the Gods for their behavior.
Shortly thereafter, Zeus organizes another meeting of the Gods' Council during which he shows all the Gods twelve of the thirteen Gods he has chosen to be part of the Gods Fighters and represent the Gods during the Ragnarok Tournament. Many Gods are furious at not seeing their name on the list and Ahura Mazda asks if there is a mistake, but Zeus confirms that there are none and this upsets everyone, including Morrígan who threatens to attack Zeus directly. Sun Wukong stops everyone, pointing out that there is a name missing from the list of Gods Fighters, and Zeus takes advantage of this clarification to announce that, given that it is a party for the Gods, he breaks the taboo according to which the Gods must not face each other to organize the Apocalypse Tournament, selecting 16 Gods among the members of the Gods' Council present there to take part. The winner of the Tournament would take the last place in the Gods Fighters and gain the chance to create a new law for the Constitution of Valhalla.
Powers and Abilities[]
Divine Physiology, Strength and Stamina: Being the Gods' Council composed only of Gods, they all possess Divine characteristics that allow them to never age and not being able to die of old age or at the hands of deadly weapons. However, they can be injured and killed by physical attacks with superhuman strength or by Divine Weapons. They also possess abilities superior to those of ordinary Humans, such as attack, defense and speed much higher than normal. Even the animals of the Gods are part of the Gods' Council, and like their masters they never age and are unable to die of old age.
Divine Weapons: Most Gods' Council Gods use Divine Weapons in battle. They are similar to normal Human weapons, however they possess very high power and are indestructible unless hit by Divine Powers or other Divine Weapons. All have different abilities, but all amplify the powers of the Gods who wield them and are very powerful weapons.
Miscellaneous Abilities: Some of them are also able to use other unusual abilities, such as manipulating time to their liking, controlling water in all its forms and using the acceleration of the heartbeat to set fire to their bodies.
Members[]
Greek Pantheon[]
- Hydra
- Other Greek Gods
Norse Pantheon[]
- Surtur
- Other Norse Gods
Abrahamic Pantheon[]
- Leviathan
- Belial
- Other Abrahamic Gods
Hindu Pantheon[]
- Other Hindu Gods
Egyptian Pantheon[]
- Other Egyptian Gods
Shinto Pantheon[]
- Shinigami
- Sengo Muramasa
- Other Shinto Gods
Buddhist Pantheon[]
- Enma
- Other Buddhist Gods
Celtic Pantheon[]
- Other Celtic Gods
Chinese Pantheon[]
- Other Chinese Gods
Zoroastrian Pantheon[]
- Other Zoroastrian Gods
Other Pantheons[]
- Other Gods of other Pantheons
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- Even if they have not been shown, it is certain that the other Gods of all the Pantheons that appeared in the Record of Ragnarok series are also part of the Gods' Council, and that they have not been shown because at the time of the various meetings their designs had not yet been revealed.
- The only exceptions that are almost certainly not part of the Gods' Council are the Demigods, as the Valkyries were not present during the meeting of the XXI Century and the said meeting's vote to exterminate Humanity passed unanimously, signaling that some Demigods like Buddha and Heracles who were against the decision could not vote. This doesn't seem to apply to some Demigods, however, as Cú Chulainn is part of the Gods' Council.
- Strangely, there is also a Human in the Gods' Council: Sengo Muramasa.
