Prophecies Are Always Right

""That's the funny thing... I made it up and it all came true anyway.""

- Robert James Lees, From Hell

Prophecies never lie. In fiction, especially Fantasy, a prophecy is equivalent to destiny. Prophecy is never wrong, oracles are never false, prophets never turn out to be deluded and "predictions" never turn out to be political allegories of the time they were written in. If they weren't, why even bring them up in the first place? Prophecies, furthermore, are always believed, except by those who simply don't like what is predicted, or The Chosen One who can't accept his fate. They may twist, they may have loopholes, they can even be misleading, but in the end, the prophecy is fate, and you can't fight it.

Philip K. Dick wrote a short fantasy story subverting this trope once, but no one would publish it until he changed the ending to fulfill the prophecy. Dick wrote, bitterly, "I guess the term False Prophet is an oxymoron, then."

In fantastic stories with prophecies in them, writers are so wedded to this trope that even a fake prophecy, or anything that even vaguely sounds like a prophecy, will turn out to be true.

See also Self-Fulfilling Prophecy, where the knowledge of a prophecy spurs the actions that (whether intentionally or not) ultimately fulfill it.

Sub-Trope of All Myths Are True; Super-Trope of Because Destiny Says So.

Anime and Manga

 * Parodied in one Project A-ko OAV. A prophecy is discovered at the beginning, and seems to be progressing towards fulfillment as the story goes on. At the end, the professor who discovered the prophecy gravely pronounces it to be... a complete coincidence.
 * Mai-Otome: The legend of the Tragic Meister had almost nothing to do with the actual events that led to Mai Tokiha's disappearance; the real story was considerably less tragic, to say the least. However, the same series includes a straight example of this trope (although if the characters knew the circumstances under which the legend of the Guiding Star was fulfilled, it would definitely have quite a few eyebrows raised).
 * in Baccano. In reality, it's what happens when let someone as Axe Crazy as  hear about it and then give him a reason to act it out. Certain comments reveal that the reason the story about   is so accurate is because.
 * Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha: Carim's annual prophecies are always correct. Now, if only they were written in a less flowery form and in a language that isn't dead so people could interpret what its saying a lot easier.
 * Scrapped Princess: Played straight -- all of the prophecies of the Oracle of Grendel are true, until a minor character does some research and finds out that 3 of the 5110 prophecies so far have been wrong. Then subverted when we find out that the 5111th prophecy that drives the plot of the show was partially made up to push a specific political agenda.

Fan Fiction

 * Discussed in gubgub434's Dramatic Reading of Naruto Veangance Revelaitons, when Ronan protests that the prophecy that states that he will destroy the world cannot be true. The author says people such as Oedipus, Harry Potter and others refused to accept that their prophecies would come true, but the prophecies were proven correct.

Film

 * The Matrix is a subversion. The oracle lies to Neo to get him to do what he needs to do. Other than that, every prophecy turns out to be true, including one that was a dream Neo had, and
 * YMMV on the subversion. Her statements about him not being The One could be taken as literally true. He's not The One yet when they speak together, because, like being in love, he has to know he is before he actually is (as opposed to just thinking he is because people kept telling him so). She predicts that he's got the necessary talents, but may be waiting for his next life. Later,
 * Star Wars: Double subverted with the "Chosen One" prophecy. Word of God has it that it isn't a subversion because Vader brought balance to the force by killing Palpatine, the last Sith, and leaving only the Light Side with Luke as the last Jedi, although that didn't stop Yoda from admitting that the prophecy had been misinterpreted in Revenge of the Sith..
 * In Return of the Jedi, Palpatine spends about half the movie with lines such as "Everything is going exactly as I have prophesized" and "I have forseen it" before the complete opposite happens and he is killed off.
 * Also, in The Empire Strikes Back, Yoda foresaw Han, Leia, and Chewie getting tortured in Cloud City (true) but also warned that if Luke got involved, "it would destroy all which they have fought and suffered" (not true). That didn't really end up happening. Luke's involvement saved Leia and Chewie and was what kick started Vader's gradual return to the Light Side. Then the Rebels end up winning in the next movie. If Luke had stayed put, things would have probably gotten worse.
 * Another one occurred in "Empire" when Vader tells Luke that he had foreseen the two of them ruling the galaxy as father and son but it might have been a lie to try to get Luke to join him.
 * In The Phantom Menace, Qui-Gon tells Obi-Wan that he has foreseen him becoming a great Jedi knight which is pretty much the only prophecy in the films to actually be 100% true.
 * This is actually somewhat averted in The Beastmaster, although it might not have been the writer's intent for it to be so. Basically, at the beginning of the film it is prophesied that the Big Bad will "die at the hands of Zed's unborn son", which of course results in the Big Bad trying to kill Zed's unborn son, failing, and unwittingly giving the young man a motive to kill the guy when he grows up. About 3/4ths of the way through the film, the hero does end up shanking the Big Bad in the stomach, but this doesn't actually kill him. Instead he gets back up and tries to stab the hero in the back, but suddenly gets tackled by a ferret and falls into a pit of fire without the hero lifting a finger or even realizing the guy is still alive.
 * Seems to be the case so far in the Kung Fu Panda series. In the first film, it was said that the Dragon Warrior would save the Valley of Peace. And it happens by the end of the film. In the sequel, Lord Shen is told that he will be defeated by "a warrior of black and white". Lord Shen tries to keep this from happening by killing all the pandas, but Po survives and ends up defeating him by the end of the film.

Literature

 * In A Song of Ice and Fire this trope normally holds true but is subverted by . But it leads to.
 * In William King's Warhammer 40000 Space Wolf novel Wolfblade, Ranek invokes this to defend Ragnar, who threw their prized relic The Spear of Rus into a Chaos warp gate, despite the prophecy that their primarch would take it up when he returned. The Spear would doubtlessly return in good time to fulfill the prophecy, if it is a true prophecy. One of those who wish to punish Ragnar sneers at Ranek's faith -- a sad misstep on his part.
 * Chronicles of Thomas Covenant: The prophecy is an interesting case -- right from the start, it's clear in the prophecy that it could go in two different directions -- he could "save or destroy" the Land, and he definitely will do one or the other. Knowing Thomas, it initially seems like a bit of a free kick that the Land is stuffed.
 * Gregor the Overlander: Subverted hard. The series revolved around the prophecies of Sandwich (no, really), who wrote numbers of them in his tenure in the Underland some time before. At first, these prophecies seem to be always turning true (the first two books for example), but the third and fourth books become increasingly stretched to fit the prophecy. It all comes to a head when it is revealed that in the last prophecy, . After going into the final battle, Gregor , and not all of the prophecy comes true, as is noted by several characters throughout the book such as  . However, they still manage to con the people and creatures of the Underland that the prophecy is true
 * In The Belgariad and The Malloreon, David Eddings plays with many of the standard conventions of prophecy. In particular, there is not one, but two prophecies that control the outcome of the universe. The two are diametrically opposed, born of a tremendous accident that occurred long ago. The writings of their prophets are carefully hidden such that only the people they are intended for can make use of them, and they actively intervene from time to time to make sure events stay on track.
 * Moreover, the primary people whose destiny it is to fulfill the prophecies are aware of what they are doing and are actively collaborating with them. This is said to be necessary because of the way the prophecies were divided in the first place; great care must be taken to avoid another accident which, if it were to happen, could potentially unmake the universe.
 * Alternatively, it could lead to new potentials and prophecies, meaning that the original two would less less likely than they currently were (50%) of winning. Although a real and immutably accurate prophecy does exist, Belgarath in his seven thousand years has had plenty of time to encounter many self-deluded "prophets" who are simply mad, and knows how to tell the difference.
 * Played absolutely straight in Meredith Ann Pierce's Firebringer Trilogy. There are three prophecies regarding the unicorns' promised hero the Firebringer, each delivered by a different dreamer. The first describes his coloration; the seconds describes "burning blood, sparking hooves and a tongue of flame: a colt born at moondark out of a wyvern's belly and sired by the summer stars"; and the third claims he would be a Renegade outside the Law and "would storm out of heaven in a torrent of fire, and his advent would mark the ending of the world." The unicorns think only the first prophet was correct and the last two were insane.
 * Percy Jackson and The Olympians: Played perfectly straight. You cannot fight fate, in part because prophecies always take into account the future--meaning that if you trigger them by trying to avert them, it's because you learned of them, and guess what? That was taken into account. On the other hand, the prophecies are worded in a fashion that leaves them open to multiple interpretations, with few parts being obvious and unambiguous. Of course, this is based on Greek mythology, so this is only natural.
 * Dune, by Frank Herbert, makes some interesting uses of prophets and prophecies. The Bene Gesserit, the supreme Chessmasters of the galaxy, set up religions to suit their needs and seed them with messianic prophecies that they can later manipulate to their advantage. At the same time, they are seeking to breed a human with oracular powers. Unfortunately, an error causes the breeding program to produce this "Kwisatz Haderach" one generation too soon. Paul Atreides takes their prophecies and runs with them, setting himself up as The Messiah and Emperor of the galaxy, and his son, Leto II, is even stronger, locking humanity into a singular course for close to ten thousand years. What makes this an interesting example, however, is the question the books ask: does the oracle predict the future, or create it?
 * Harry Potter: Both of Trelawney's prophecies in the series come true, although Divination is otherwise treated as a very imprecise art. Also, Dumbledore is quick to point out in the sixth book that not all of the prophecies studied by the Department of Mysteries have or will come true, saying by way of example that had the prophecy regarding Harry and Voldemort not been overheard and relayed to Voldemort, it would have never meant anything.
 * Interestingly, Trelawney made several smaller predictions aside from her big two that were actually right. They were simply dismissed or misinterpreted by Trelawney herself. Only in hindsight can their true meaning be seen.
 * Hers wasn't the only one, either. While outright lying about seeing a vision, he claimed to see Buckbeak flying free and alive, which he did.
 * Subverted in Karl Edward Wagner's Darkness Weaves (part of his Kane series): Roget, Lages and M'Cori each have their fortunes told. Roget is told he will find great glory in battle, Lages will become king and M'Cori will marry her true love and bear seven sons.
 * In Hilari Bell's The Prophecy, a prince finds a prophecy with instructions for how to slay a dragon. It turns out the whole thing was made up by the prophet for his own ends, but the prince kills the dragon anyway.
 * In Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett's Good Omens, prophet Agnes Nutter was completely accurate about everything she predicted. Her priorities as to what she prophesied, though, were somewhat odd. For example, for the day Kennedy was assassinated she wrote a warning about a falling brick in her hometown. She even set up a scheme to deliver a second volume of her prophecies to the main character after all of her early prophecies had been fulfilled.
 * Though as Anathema points out, Agnes was mostly concerned with her descendants: as they lived in Smalltown, England, there was a chance they might get hit by a falling brick in Kings Lynn and very little chance of being hit by a stray bullet in Dallas.
 * Given the laughter of her ghost when the new book was destroyed (which she undoubtedly saw coming), plus the way it appeared out of nowhere when how she got the first printed was a subplot, this was probably just an elaborate prank on her part.
 * Taken to an extreme in The Elvenbane--the prophecy of a Chosen One who will end elven rule was made up by rebels as a metaphorical thumb in the eye of their rulers, and absolutely nobody believes it's true. The main character happens to perfectly fit the description of this Chosen One, and by coincidence and inclination begins to fulfill the prophecy anyway.
 * Sword of Truth: Prophecies are always true in the series, and several of the books start out by having the characters learning of one that holds dire consequences for them, or suggests they'll act entirely contrary to their goals and character. The trick is, while they're always true, they're also always vague, and almost never to be taken literally. Even the ones that are literal are so only on the surface level, and the reasons why the characters end up doing the crazy things eventually make sense.
 * In Susan Cooper's The Dark Is Rising series, the series of prophecies that guide the Light come true exactly as written. It's stated that the Dark has its own set of prophecies, but we aren't told anything else about them.
 * In Yoda: Dark Rendezvous the young Padawan Whie Malreaux regularly dreams about what he'll be doing in the future. Details seem to be obscured -- he once knows that someone will beat him but not who or how, even though when it was actually happening her name was stated - but the gist always happens. He knows that a Jedi will kill him and it will surprise him; he thinks this means he'll turn to the Dark Side and be hunted down, but really Anakin Skywalker does it while on his murderous rampage. Despite the future always being in motion, some things are apparently set.
 * Lord of the Rings
 * Gandalf forsees that Gollum's fate is bound up with that of the Ring, and the Ring cannot be destroyed unless Gollum is kept alive. Naturally, this comes true, as Frodo is unable to destroy the Ring in the end, and Gollum is one who destroys it.
 * Gandalf also forsees that Merry and Pippin are more vital to the quest than even Glorfindel, and that they should be included in the Fellowship instead. Needless to say, they prove vital by getting the Ents involved in the war, and by killing the Witch-king, as well as keeping Denethor alive long enough to reveal his vision in the palantir that results in the decision to march on Mordor-- all of which were vital to the quest.
 * Sam Gamgee also has a vision in the beginning, that he "has something to do before the end," and that he "must see it through." Of course, this comes true.
 * It is speculative whether this is prophecy or more like sudden moment of wisdom.
 * Glorfindel prophesied that the Witch-King would not fall by the hand of any man; and he is indeed killed instead by a woman.
 * Arwen also prophesied that Aragorn would be among those who would destroy Sauron.
 * These could be somehow justified as Tolkien pretty much stated that fate of world was pre-created during Great Music (aka creation). It does not apply 100% (though it seem to be the case for whole time up to end of Third Age, maybe because stories tend to be too "large" to affect by one or few person who don't act as expected), but does work for most, if not all of above mentioned.
 * In Macbeth, it is prophesied that no one born by a woman could harm Macbeth, which he took to mean that he was invincible; and he is killed by McDuff, who it turns out was born not by woman, but by C-section.
 * In Moby Dick, a New Bedford street-prophet prophecies several things that will happen heralding the death of everyone on the Pequod-- save one: call him "Ishmael."
 * Jack Chalker's Dancing Gods series states that prophecies from the better oracles are always true: the only problems are that you usually don't know what the specifics mean right away, and the prophecies don't state what the outcome will be, only what is needed to have a chance of getting the outcome you want.
 * Played with in the Wheel of Time series. The Dragon is a reincarnated hero who appears throughout time to battle the Dark One. Numerous prophesies have been written regarding how this will play out. The thing is, The Dragon doesn't exactly know what to do once he realizes who and what he is and there have been numerous "False Dragons". Rather than be lead around by people trying to manipulate him, he decides to use the prophesies as a sort of PR tool. Even if he doesn't believe that they predict the future, fulfilling them convinces other people that he's the real deal.
 * Justified Trope in John Scalzi's The Android's Dream since the Church of the Evolved Lamb has several members who recognize that its founding was a total scam but are devoted to making its prophecies come true anyway.
 * Subverted at least once in The Dresden Files: Harry is told that if he sticks his nose into the problem du jour, he'll die, but if he doesn't, his friends will die. Naturally, he sticks his nose into it and
 * In Dog and Dragon a kingdom has been in a perpetual state of war for many generations and the hope of the common people is the prophecy of the Defender who will come, bring peace to the land and anoint a new king. The prophecy was made up by a powerful mage who intends to use his magic to keep himself alive for as long as it takes for him to find his son who was lost in another dimension. Once he is reunited with his son or his descendants, he will declare a convenient patsy to be the Defender, use his magic to make it seem like the prophecy is fulfilled and then have his son anointed as the new king. His plan is thwarted when Meg, a powerful but untrained female mage arrives from another dimension and accidentally starts to fulfill parts of the prophecy. At the end it is revealed that

Live Action TV

 * In Angel, the prophecy that  turns out to be a demonic fake. The demon in question spent the last few hundred years perverting it so that the real prophecy wouldn't come true. Both versions end up happening.
 * Slightly subverted on Buffy the Vampire Slayer though; the prophecy about Buffy says she's going to die to free The Master - she does, she recovers, and is more or less prophecy-free from there on out.
 * Well, as far as they know. Still, a Slayer coming Back From the Dead had to have a prophecy connected to it, even if we never see it.
 * Near the beginning of Farscape, Aeryn mutters, of Rygel, "One day, your greatest fear will be realized: you will be killed by a Peacekeeper." Aeryn is one of a very few characters in the show to never show any signs of precognitive ability, but the prophecy still gets fulfilled
 * Similarly, Babylon 5 is full of prophecies, and Narns are the only species with no telepaths. When Narn Ambassador G'Kar yells in the first season that one night, the Centauri will awaken to find the Narn's teeth at their throat, it's clearly just ambassadorial bluster...that also happens to come true,.
 * Played straighter with all the other prophecies-- whether via Centauri death-dream, Vorlon vagueness, Stable Time Loop, or whatever Lorien's deal was, they all get taken utterly seriously, met with trepidation and some degree of fatalism by all parties involved.
 * In Star Trek:Deep Space Nine, the "prophets" of Bajor turn out to be the aliens who created the Wormhole, who exist outside of linear time, and who can therefore forsee prophecies by simply reading the future. Even when people use the prophecies to try to avoid them, the attempt only ends up fulfilling them.
 * Abed from Community makes several predictions weeks to hours in advance about actions, conversations, and menstruation cycles of the rest of the study group. Every last one is shown on screen or implied to be correct.
 * In Lexx the time prophets could see into the distant past and because time is cyclic in the two universes it meant they could effectively predict the future. One of them predicted that His Divine Shadow would wipe out the Brunnen-G and then one of them would end his reign. Sure enough, the Shadow destroyed the Brunnen-G and reanimated one warrior as an undead assassin, only for said warrior to regain his free will and fulfill his destiny 2,008 years later.

Tabletop RPG

 * Werewolf: The Apocalypse has a subversion in one of the playable archetypes: The tribe of the character is known for its oracles and she utters quite a few prophecies. However, she never learnt the rite for receiving them and just makes them up as she goes to lend her own plans more weight than they'd be afforded otherwise since she is a Metis (shameful and near-outcast offspring of two werewolves mating with each other).
 * Inverted by Pathfinder, as the default setting takes place during the Age of Lost Omens, which was kicked off when major prophecies suddenly stopped being right.
 * Warhammer40000 gives us Orikan the Diviner, Necron astromancer. His prophesies are always right because he is willing and able to use time travel to retroactively change anything he didn't anticipate and ensure his original prophecy comes to pass.

Video Games

 * Arcanum: This trope is subverted rather beautifully. The game starts with your protagonist being declared the reincarnation of one Nasrudin, and a lot of the game is played under the pretext of fulfilling his prophecy. As it turns out,.
 * Double subversion in Final Fantasy Mystic Quest. There is a prophecy wherein a hero will save the world... Once you defeat the final boss, you discover that the old man you had been running into
 * Vampire The Masquerade: Bloodlines: Rosa and a Malkavian PC makes a number of mad prophesies and foretellings about the plot of the game.
 * Super Paper Mario includes two mutually contradictory prophecies. The heroes attempt to fulfill the one they like. The villain attempts to fulfill the one he likes.  Only the good one comes true, through.
 * Subverted in Might and Magic IX, via the False Prophet version. The overall plot of the game involves your party receiving a Writ of Fate from the Oracle prophesying that your destiny is to stop the warlord Temur Lang from conquering the world. However, when you finally run into Temur Lang, you learn that he's trying to conquer the world because he received a Writ of Fate from the Oracle prophesying that it's his destiny to do so. After comparing notes, you join up to go against the Oracle, who's the real Big Bad, basically making up false prophecies for shit and giggles.
 * Tales of the Abyss: This is a major plot point. The heroes and the Big Bad are both trying to eliminate the Score, a Self-Fulfilling Prophecy (maybe) that apparently eliminates free will.
 * Persona 4: Igor tells you that you are going to be involved in a 'great mystery'. Guess what happens only a day after you arrive? Yup.
 * There is a legend in Pokémon Black and White that a hero will rise and be acknowledged by one of the mythical dragons of truth and ideals that helped create Unova.
 * All the characters in Odin Sphere knew of the forthcoming Armageddon and the events that will unfold. Eventually it did happen as foretold. If the player chooses not to follow the prophecies, you will get the bad ending.
 * All the characters in Odin Sphere knew of the forthcoming Armageddon and the events that will unfold. Eventually it did happen as foretold. If the player chooses not to follow the prophecies, you will get the bad ending.

Webcomics

 * Order of the Stick: The kobold oracle has so far been 100% accurate, even to the point of setting up arrangements in advance for allied clerics to teleport in and raise him from the dead minutes after his murder. The oracle has no fourth wall either and erases the minds of everyone after leaving his valley except the specific prophecy they ask for. He'll make snarky comments on the events to come as well as talk directly to the audience. When he's really snarky he'll give the most cryptic answer he can to screw with the audience. 'The Right four words for the wrong reasons' caused years of crazy fan work about every four words until a strip was called The Wrong Reasons.
 * Dominic Deegan, Oracle for Hire: This trope is subverted. Most of Dominic's prophesies are only possibilities, and he has been known to become a Chessmaster and manipulate everyone so that the most desirable possibility comes true. The one time he does get a vision that is unavoidable, the Fated Fatal, it only tells him that someone will die, with no clue as to who, when, or how.
 * In Hitmen for Destiny there is an organization called Destiny and it's job is to ensure that various prophecies are fulfilled . The point of this is discussed in spoilerific detail here.
 * In The Ultimate Showdown of Ultimate Destiny, it's prophesied that "only one will survive--" and it comes true:
 * Due to all the many, many ways to see the future in Homestuck, and the massive case of You Can't Fight Fate the series runs on, this trope is in full effect. The only exceptions are Terezi's prophecies, which are a case of Self Defesting Prophecies.

Western Animation
"Sokka: But the fortuneteller was wrong! You didn't have a safe journey, you were almost killed!
 * Avatar: The Last Airbender: In 14th episode "The Fortuneteller", Aunt Wu proclaims that the village will not be destroyed by the volcano this year. Sokka and Aang later ascend the volcano and discover that its just about to erupt. After saving the village Sokka happily tells the villagers that Aunt Wu was wrong, but the man they encountered at the start of the episode says that the village wasn't destroyed, as Aunt Wu predicted; she never claimed the volcano wouldn't erupt, only that it wouldn't destroy the village, to which Sokka flatly replies: I hate you...
 * Also this line, from the old man above, after saving his life:

Old Man: But I wasn't! Alright, have a good one..."


 * Thundarr the Barbarian play this trope in the last episode, "Prophecy Of Peril", which reveal three women would defeat a evil wizard--one of them from the old pre-Cataclysm world who will "be found by her foe." --and the wizard falls for the bait much like any other 1980s cartoon villain.
 * Justice League: The Legion of Superheroes transport three Leaguers into the future, knowing that "incomplete records" indicate that one of the three won't make it back alive. The subversion comes in when all three heroes ''do" survive the mission, but one of them chooses to stay in the future of her own volition.
 * Winx Club: Subversion:
 * American Dragon Jake Long: Executive Meddling actually prevented the fulfillment of at least one aspect of a prophecy in the finale. See Executive Meddling for details.
 * Double Subverted in Kim Possible, when foreign exchange student/heir to his country's throne, Prince Wally, is almost killed in an assassination attempt to fulfill an ancient prophecy that the country's monarchy will end with Prince Wally. The characters pat themselves on the back for a good job averting the prophecy, when Wally, impressed with Democracy, claims he will Abdicate the Throne. Thus fulfilling the prophecy.
 * In My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic, Twilight Sparkle reads about The Mare in the Moon, and how the legends state that "on the longest day of the thousandth year, the stars will aid in her escape and she will bring about nighttime eternal." Since that's only two days away, she warns the princess, who tells her to get her nose out of the books and make some friends. However, as the next day dawns, or rather, fails to, guess who shows up gloating about a never-ending night? It later turns out that.