God of War 3 features some of the series' most epic (and violent) boss fights with Kratos dethroning the entire Olympic pantheon. Few boss fights in God of War 3 are as grand as Kratos versus Poseidon in the game's introduction, with one fan somehow perfectly capturing the battle in piece of art.
Way before his adventure with his son through Norse mythology, Kratos had a fight to pick with the Olympians who had wronged him time and time again. From ascending to the literal title of God of War by killing Ares, to dying by the hands of his own father, Zeus, Kratos never had it easy while existing in Greek mythology. God of War 3 released on the PS3 in 2010 and brought that Kratos' Greek mythology story to a close, ending on a cliffhanger that set up the 2018 reboot. The game to this day features some truly spectacular set pieces, with the opening being one of the particular standouts—Kratos fighting Poseidon while riding the Titan, Gaia's, back.
Artist Bookumuni shared a beautiful depiction of Kratos versus Poseidon to the God of War subreddit. From Kratos power stance in the bottom of frame, to the water steeds chasing him, and the looming Poseidon himself in the back, the piece manages to convey the sheer intensity of the in-game fight. Artistically, Kratos and his flaming Blades of Chaos provide a brilliant and sharp contrast to the mostly blue palette of the rest of the image, in a way reflecting the odds of the encounter, a failed demigod versus the God of the Sea.
In God of War 3, the Poseidon boss battle happens very early into the game, setting the stage for the rest of the game. The Titans are climbing Mount Olympus, with Kratos riding Gaia, and the Gods send out Poseidon to try and stop them, him saying to Kratos, "You challenge me, mortal?! A God of Olympus?!" What ensues is a specacular fight as the massive Poseidon unleashes barrage after barrage of attacks at Kratos, while he (and the player) move around Gaia's body looking for openings. It naturally ends in gory fashion, as the camera jumps into Poseidon's point of view so that players can see what it would be like to be beat to death by Kratos.
For bookumuni to convey the grandeur of the fight in their artwork is quite an accomplishment. A tricky aspect of art design is maintaining perspective and scale, how big and far away things are to one another, and in this piece, it is very clear what is happening. The level of detail on Kratos in the foreground versus the size and shading on Poseidon in the background indicate just how large he is compared to Kratos, with the water steeds helping balance the scale in the middle. It would be interesting to see how bookumuni would depict some of the other intense God of War boss fights.
God of War 3 is available on PS3 and PS4.