In 2018’s God of War, the designers gave Kratos a more Nordic look, including a full beard. They also changed his main weapon to a magical battle axe to make the combat more grounded. Unlike previous games, players can change and upgrade Kratos’ three different armor pieces, one of the game’s various RPG elements. This all comes to a head when Ares sends Kratos to a village worshipping Athena, ordering him to slaughter all who lay within — naturally, Kratos obliges, but finds himself wracked with guilt and horror at having murdered his own wife and child in the haze of violence.
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Later on, Kratos encountered Artemis’ champion, Pothia, and killed her as well, with her army also falling victim to the Spartans, although Artemis did not retaliate. In fear that Kratos would defeat his champion, Alrik, the Barbarian King, Hades sent a torrent of fire through the sky. Although he failed to kill Kratos, he succeeded in killing many of Kratos’ men, including Captain Nikos. As he found the Ambrosia, Kratos encountered Cereyon, the Helios’ champion, and killed him as well.
Ares
Fighting through Morpheus’ minions, Kratos entered the temple of the Sun God and, after learning of the events that transpired, was tasked by Eos, the sister of Helios, to awaken her brother’s Fire Steeds, which would take Kratos to where Helios was being held prisoner. Shortly after her birth, Calliope contracted a plague, causing the Spartan authorities to deem her weak. Determined to save his daughter, Kratos set out on a journey for the Ambrosia after hearing from an elder of its exceptional healing capabilities. But unbeknownst to Kratos, Ares had chosen him to be his champion in the wager of the Gods, a contest with the ultimate goal being the capture of the Ambrosia; the victor would have statues erected in their honor all throughout Greece. A battalion of Spartans accompanied Kratos on his quest, including Captain Nikos.
Easily besting his undead warriors, Hercules himself joined the fray, using the Cestus he acquired from his conquest of the Nemean Lion to fight Kratos while ordering his legions to swarm him, allowing Hercules a clean hit. After a long and brutal fight, Kratos grabbed Hercules and carried him to the beds of spikes lining the forum walls, throwing him into them and tearing off all of his armor. This only served to provoke Hercules, who then killed all of his legions with an earthquake punch and engaged Kratos one on one. As the fight went on, Hercules grew increasingly impatient and clanged both of his Cestus together, temporarily stunning Kratos.
What is KRATOS is also the main character in novelizations of the game series by Matthew Stover, Robert E. Vardeman, and James M. Barlog. The novels are a retelling of the games and offer deeper insights into their stories. The first novel was written by Stover and Vardeman together, titled God of War, and was published in May 2010. The second was written solely by Vardeman, titled God of War II, and was published in February 2013. The third novel, titled God of War – The Official Novelization, was written by Barlog and released in August 2018.
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With this selfish motive, he again agreed, and after finding and using Pandora’s Box, he was successful. Despite being freed of Ares’ influence, including the Blades of Chaos, Kratos was forgiven but was not relieved of his nightmares. A dissatisfied and despairing Kratos tried to commit suicide but was saved by Athena, who guided him to Olympus.
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He is usually called upon by other gods in times of need, usually for a battle where he fights alongside his siblings Bia and Nike, and sometimes with Dike, a god of justice. Although Kratos wasn’t always called to the battlefield, this was usually the case given his association with extreme violence. Ragnarök sees Kratos and Atreyus three years deep into a Fimbulwinter, which according to prophecy, comes right before the cataclysmic battle known as Ragnarök.
Lastly, in God of War III, when Kratos drops to the Underworld from the Labyrinth. Also in God of War III during his psyche journey, he drops the hope lantern and casts himself into the Pool of Blood. In God of War IV, Kratos, along with his son and Mimir cast themselves off the edge off the path in the Realm between Realms to find the Jötunheim tower. He is forced to reluctantly kill his mother Callisto in Ghost of Sparta, and brutally killed his father Zeus in God of War III. By technicality, Kratos managed to free himself from his past in Chains of Olympus.
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The Frog and Scorpion is a more overt example as both Kratos and Faye compared the gods to the titular scorpion. As Freya is an altruistic mother who willingly tried to let Baldur kill her, only for Kratos to kill him to save her. Despite everything she’s done for Kratos and Atreus, she lost her son in the process and cursed Kratos by saying he’s just an animal who will never change.
Who was Kratos?
Before Baldur could inflict damage on her, https://cryptolisting.org/ understands that even if he kills her, he will never find peace. Baldur says that he’ll deal with him once he’s done killing Freya, but Kratos pushes him back, which escalates into a fight with Freya trying to stop it by restraining both Kratos and Baldur. A few seconds into the fight, Freya restrains Kratos with Atreus attempting to free him. Baldur advises Atreus to step aside, but Atreus instead stands in front to protect his father, to which Baldur punches Atreus, only for the mistletoe arrow strapped to his quiver piercing his hand. Kratos, free from his bonds, tends to Atreus, to his surprise, is alright and not suffering any wounds. Baldur is astonished by the arrow and starts to feel excitement upon the broken spell, before being restrained by Freya again, this time, in control of the reanimated corpse of Thamur.
Traditionally depicted as a pure white horse with wings, the Pegasus of Greek mythology was said to have been the child of Poseidon, god of the sea and tamer of horses, and the Gorgon Medusa. There is perhaps no more famous character in British legend than that of King Arthur. For centuries, people have been reading tales of King Arthur and his knight’s exploits. In a desperate attempt to finally get to Jotunheim, Mimir suggests the trio reclaim his missing Bifrost eye, which was hidden in a statue of Thor that Jormungandr devoured earlier in the game.
Another reason that supports this notion is that the original Eurybiades historically survived the Greco-Persian Wars, while the character from Chains of Olympus is shown unconscious and severely injured. In the series, when Kratos encounters any of his half-siblings or cousins, he initially does not intend to battle them but is ultimately forced to when they either provoke him or challenge him. During flashbacks in God of War III to the events of God of War, the character model for Kratos in God of War III is used instead. According to Cory Barlog, in a fight between old Kratos from the Norse era and his younger self from the Greek era, old Kratos would win without question. “The cycle ends here, we must be better than this.” Kratos’ last words to Baldur before killing him.
- He tried to persuade Kratos by reminding him that he, too, used to be a father.
- Athena, disappointed with Kratos, removed the Blade and departed as Kratos collapsed next to the Blade of Olympus.
- From that day forward, Kratos became known as the Ghost of Sparta; his skin now ‘pale as the moon’ from the ashes that coated him.
- Kratos insists that he has never wronged Hephaestus, but the Smith God tells him that by opening Pandora’s box in his quest to destroy Ares, Zeus became infected with Fear and surmised that Hephaestus was hiding something from him.
After a vicious fight, Ares traps Kratos in a psychological void where demonic incarnations of himself attempt to kill phantom versions of his family. Kratos successfully fights them off but watches helplessly as Ares strips him of his Blades of Chaos and used them to kill his family again. Kratos, now distraught and vulnerable, nearly met his end at the hands of Ares, but soon took notice of the Blade of the Gods and finally kills Ares with it. For breaking his oath, Ares ordered The Furies to hunt down the Ghost of Sparta and force him to once again serve the God of War.
Role in the God of War series
He was forced to abandon his daughter and Kratos killed Persephone for both threatening to put his daughter in harm’s way and for making him give up the only chance he had to be with her. Hades aided Kratos when he was attempting to acquire Pandora’s Box by giving him the magic army of Hades. After being infected by the evils of Pandora’s Box this made him hate Kratos for killing his wife and queen Persephone. When Hades fought Kratos, he tried to kill him and vowed to make him suffer for all the pain he caused him but the tables were turned when Kratos stole his weapons, the claws of Hades, and stole his soul instead, and killed Hades. Kratos was aware of Theseus as Theseus was aware of Kratos losing his divine status as the god of war and mocked him for it as well as his journey to reach the Sisters of fate. Kratos had some respect for Theseus as he was the last person that Kratos believed would serve the Sisters of fate and would have let Theseus lived had he not decided to fight and kill Kratos.
To cure him, Kratos must recover his old weapons, the Blades of Chaos, in order to battle the beings of Helheim as the Leviathan Axe is useless there. Kratos journeys to Hel and retrieves the cure by killing the troll that guards the realm. The pair also receive assistance from a witch, later revealed to be the Vanir goddess Freya, the mother of Baldur who had cast a spell of immortality on Baldur which protects him, but also causes him to no longer feel anything physically, which he resented her for. Kratos decides to let Baldur go, but Baldur attempts to kill Freya, forcing Kratos to kill him. Freya swears revenge against Kratos for killing her son and taunts Kratos for not revealing his troubled past to Atreus.
At the advice of her father Oceanus, Styx was the first one to join his forces, bringing with herself her four children. Zeus repaid her by declaring that, from then on, all gods will swear their oaths by her sacred waters and that Styx’ four children will live with him forevermore. Many times through his adventure with Atreus, he reminds his son of the danger of the gods, that there are no good gods, or that gods do not simply care for mortals.
Realizing the key to pacifying the Dragon Flame and reaching Pandora’s Box is Pandora herself, Kratos came to care for Pandora, who reminded him of his lost daughter Calliope. Finding the box empty, and driven berserk by Zeus’ mockery, Kratos engaged his father in another fierce battle. Although Gaia interrupted and tried to kill Kratos and Zeus, she was destroyed by Kratos, who then apparently defeated Zeus.