The God of War series spans eight games and a wide array of tie-in material and remasters. The series has proven its enduring popularity over the years by exploring Greek, and later Norse, mythology. At the helm of this grand adventure is Kratos, God of War's complex anti-hero. Given the nickname "Ghost of Sparta", the Spartan warrior is instantly recognizable by his ash-white skin and distinctive tattoos, and the character has had such popularity that he's popped up in a variety of other games. Often sullen and stoic, the overall transformation of Kratos throughout the series, paired with his enduring popularity, emphasizes how both prevalent constructions of masculinity and interpretations of myths have changed over the years.

Throughout the Greek saga of God of War, Kratos is violent, aggressive, and embodies an explosion of rage and frustration at the cruel gods. Like the ancient myths, the God of War series has never shied away from the more brutal stories about the gods, and Kratos was very much a pawn to their whims. However, as the original games explored Greek mythology, there were some nuances teased for the intimidating Kratos. The 2018 God of War game seems, on surface, to represent a major shift in Kratos, from the violent unrestrained soldier to a father. However, fatherhood has always played a role in Kratos' characterization, and his softening as a character may have more to do with changing ideas around masculinity and fatherhood rather than the shift to Norse mythology.

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Kratos Beginnings

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The main God of War trilogy explores Kratos' quest for vengeance against Ares, and later Zeus, as well as discovering various truths about his own lineage along the way. Kratos' backstory is explored through various games, and although Kratos only discovers this later, he is the child of Zeus and a human woman. During his childhood in Sparta, he is trained into the fierce warrior he is in the games. However, Zeus hears a prophecy that one of his sons, a "marked warrior", will kill him, and so he sends Ares and Athena to dispose of the child. Ares finds Kratos' brother, Deimos, who has a strange birthmark. He captures Deimos, delivering him to Thanatos, the god of death. Following this, Kratos gets his distinctive tattoos which mirror his brother's birthmarks and grows to become a respected soldier with a wife, Lysandra, and a child, Calliope.

On the brink of defeat during battle, Kratos calls on the god Ares, who gives him the blades of chaos in exchange for his service. Ares eventually tricks Kratos into killing his wife and child in a dark attempt to free him from restraints to become the perfect warrior. The first game begins ten years into Kratos' service of the gods after the death of his family. Kratos' primary motivation for the first games is to avenge his wife and daughter, and his brutality is portrayed as a result of their death. Athena promises Kratos will be forgiven for murdering his family if he kills Ares by acquiring Pandora's box.

Throughout his journeys, Kratos makes enemies of various gods while slaying anything that comes in his path, and by the end of the first game, he succeeds in defeating Ares. While he is indeed forgiven, the Spartan warrior is not free from the nightmares of his past and tries to commit suicide. Kratos is stopped by Athena, who then makes him the new god of war. Kratos' entire personality in the first few games is defined by the loss of his family and his haunting guilt. His status as a demigod with Zeus as his father, as well as how often the gods manipulate or use him, makes Kratos a very typical character for Greek mythology, and - at least at first - he was defined by this mythology.

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Kratos as the God of War and Defeating Zeus

God of War Trilogy Remakes

At the beginning of God of War 2, Kratos is the god of war and continues to be haunted by his past. He has become a destructive god and ignores warnings that the other gods plot against him. Zeus intervenes, fighting Kratos, stripping him of his godhood, and sending him to the Underworld. Kratos then aligns himself with the banished Titan gods, and with their help, attempts to dethrone Zeus and kills the gods of Olympus. It's at this point that, as the games become more popular, there is an increased exploration of his character.

Significantly, between the second and third game, God of War: Chains of Olympus is released. This spin-off game is set before the original game and during Kratos' time serving the gods. Kratos is actually briefly reunited with his daughter Calliope in this game while trying to stop Persephone from seeking her own vengeance on Zeus. However, in order to stop Persephone (and in turn save all the souls in the Underworld), Kratos must reject his daughter. The sequence in the game involves button mashing to physically detach Calliope from Kratos, emphasizing Kratos' difficulty and turmoil at that moment.

Another spin-off game, God of War: Ghost of Sparta, explores Kratos relationship with his brother and further explains his anger at the gods. The spin-off games focus on Kratos' more human traits, as well as going back in time to explain more of his character (in particular, his rage at the gods). While the first game mainly focuses on Kratos as a pawn of the cruel and indifferent gods, as the games go on his character is developed mainly through his relationship with (and loss of) his family.

In the third God of War game, Kratos does succeed in defeating Zeus, but the role of Pandora in this game is essential in emphasizing how Kratos' characterization has shifted. When Kratos kills Hephaestus, he learns that Pandora has been imprisoned since he opened her box in the first game. Kratos bonds with Pandora due to her reminding him of his daughter, which further proves the increased emphasis on Kratos as a father. Pandora eventually sacrifices herself, and after Kratos has finally defeated Zeus, he also sacrifices himself to keep power from the gods.

The game's finale also reveals that, although evil has escaped Pandora's box and corrupted the gods, there was also hope in the box which Kratos was imbued with. The concept of hope in this respect refers to Kratos' humanity and his love for his family. Of course, Kratos survives his mortal wound and later travels to the Norse realm, where he begins a new family and attempts to move on from his past. While the 2018 soft reboot of the God of War games made Kratos being a father front and foremost in the narrative, the previous games have always viewed him as a father motivated by his feelings for his family. Initially, this makes him a tortured character, but the most recent game seems to be giving the character another chance at fatherhood. Hopefully, it will end less tragically this time.

God of War: Ragnarok is set to release later this year for PS4 and PS5.

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