History Characters / GodOfWarSeriesBaldur

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[-''Protagonists:'' [[Characters/GodOfWarSeriesKratos Kratos]] | [[Characters/GodOfWarSeriesAtreus Atreus]]\\
''Greek Era:'' [[Characters/GodOfWarSeriesGreekGods Gods]] ([[Characters/GodOfWarSeriesZeus Zeus]]) | [[Characters/GodOfWarSeriesTitans Titans]] | [[Characters/GodOfWarSeriesMythologysHeroes Mythology's Heroes]] | [[Characters/GodOfWarOtherBeings Other Beings]] | [[Characters/GodOfWarSeriesNormalHumans Normal Humans]] | [[Characters/GodOfWarSeriesComicBookCharacters Characters from Comics]]\\
''Norse Era:'' [[Characters/GodOfWarSeriesNorseGods Gods]] ([[Characters/GodOfWarSeriesOdin Odin]] | [[Characters/GodOfWarSeriesThor Thor]] | [[Characters/GodOfWarSeriesMimir Mimir]] | '''Baldur''' | [[Characters/GodOfWarSeriesHeimdall Heimdall]] | [[Characters/GodOfWarSeriesFreya Freya]]) | [[Characters/GodOfWarSeriesJotnar Jotnar]] | [[Characters/GodOfWarSeriesOtherCharacters Other Characters]] ([[Characters/GodOfWarSeriesSindriAndBrok Sindri and Brok]]) | [[Characters/GodOfWarSeriesNorseMonsters Monsters]]-]]]]]
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!!Baldur/The Stranger
[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/baldur001.png]]
[[caption-width-right:300:''"Long way from home, aren't you?"'']]
!!!'''Voiced by:''' Creator/JeremyDavies (English), Tooru Sakurai (Japanese)[[labelnote:additional [=VAs=]]]Silvio Giraldi (Brazilian Portuguese), Dmitry Krivoshchapov (Russian)[[/labelnote]]

->''"Throw whatever you have at me, I'll keep coming! That old body will give out. But before I end this, I want you to know one thing: I can't feel '''any''' of this!"''

A mysterious stranger that knocks on Kratos's door, seeking answers. However, his aggressive attitude quickly turns the encounter into a fight, more difficult than Kratos expects as the man is exceptionally strong, and shrugs off and heals every wound.

It turns out he's none other than the Norse god Baldur, "[[BlessedWithSuck blessed]]" with immortality and a [[HealingFactor Healing Factor]] that renders him virtually invulnerable to all threats, [[MemeticMutation physical or magical]]. Said blessing has also stripped him of all physical sensations from pain to even feeling the ground under his feet. Driven completely mad by a century's-worth of sensory deprivation and desperate for a cure, Baldur stalks after Kratos and his son for reasons unknown and serves as the most frequent and dangerous obstacle throughout their journey.
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[[folder:A - I]]
* AchillesHeel: [[spoiler: Mistletoe is what removes his immortality.]] Before that, subjecting him to a NeckSnap was the only thing that'll take him out of commission for a significant amount of time, anything else would be just shrugged off. He ''can'' be stunned and pushed back briefly if Kratos smacks him in the head enough times, since, even if he cannot feel the pain, that doesn't completely protect his brain from getting rattled around and disorienting him. Accordingly, Kratos subjects him to several {{No Holds Barred Beatdown}}s that would have reduced pretty much anybody else's face into hamburger meat, because that's the only way he has to force him down for a minute before he recovers and resumes fighting.
* AdaptationalAngstUpgrade: In the Eddas, Baldur was greatly sorrowful about the prophetic dreams of his own death, and the fact that his mother made almost every object vow to never harm him wasn't told to bother him, as it seemingly ensured he wouldn't suffer his fated demise, even letting the other gods have fun throwing their weapons at him only for them to bounce off. Here, his invulnerability is reinterpreted as a case of harmful parental overprotectiveness and it causes him to not feel anything anymore, which Baldur didn't have to be concerned about in the myths. Thus, he feels utterly miserable for his condition and greatly resents his mother for it. He was also LovedByAll in myth, whereas in the games his nephews comment about how he hadn't been the same for a long time due to his decaying state of mind and were mostly only working with him because their father Thor still trusted him.
* AdaptationalBadass: In myth, he was essentially a pretty boy who had a prophetic dream of his own death and fell into a depression, so his mom made everything (with one exception) swear not to harm him. When Loki discovered this, he arranged the death of Baldur. He didn't even die in battle, which sent him straight to Hel. Here, he's a rugged man covered in runic tattoos who can match Kratos blow for blow, someone who killed an entire pantheon up to and including the resident TopGod. He's blindingly fast, incredibly strong (enough to knock out ''Jörmungandr'', who fought Thor wielding [[WeaponOfMassDestruction Mjolnir]] to a stalemate, though due to the circumstances the serpent couldn't defend himself), takes full advantage of his invulnerability, and has ElementalPowers. [[spoiler:Even when he gets stabbed with mistletoe, his weakness, it doesn't really hurt him so much as break the spell. Even then, he's insanely durable, dying at last only after a long and exhausting battle.]]
* AdaptationalDyeJob: In the Gesta Danorum, he was was said to have hair so blond it was nearly white. Here, his hair is much darker.
* AdaptationalSuperpowerChange: Baldur is the God of Light in Norse myth, but doesn't really display any light abilities throughout any of his battles with Kratos (beyond his SuperSpeed to maneuver and dodge him with and manifesting trail of exploding ball of light), instead relying mostly on brute strength. His tattoos do glow when he uses these abilities, however, so the Light aspect of his godhood remains mildly intact.
* AdaptationalUgliness: This version of Baldur is a scruffy, emaciated and disheveled guy with an unflattering haircut and tattoos all over his body, while the mythical one was said to be the most beautiful of the gods. Granted, his personal grooming is probably the last thing on his mind considering what he's [[SenseLossSadness living through]].
* AdaptationalVillainy: His real identity is that of Baldur, a.k.a. the nicest, wisest, and most merciful of the Aesir in ''recorded'' myth. A far cry from the AxCrazy guy we see in the game. There are hints that he ''used'' to be a lot nicer before he became indestructible, and his subsequent [[SenseLossSadness loss of all physical sensations]] drove him mad.
* AlasPoorVillain: [[spoiler:His death by Kratos's own hands is treated as an extremely solemn affair. One that Kratos really wished he could have avoided. Freya cries over her inability to protect him.]]
* AllForNothing: In ''Ragnarök'', the journal entry Kratos writes about him outlines that he feels this way about having to [[spoiler:kill him despite Freya's pleas to spare him and willingness to die if that would sate his animosity and antagonism towards Kratos and Atreus. He notes that even if he had allowed Baldur to kill his mother, the crazed god had made it clear he would be coming after them next, which would have resulted in Kratos killing him ''anyway'', so by killing him before he murdered Freya, despite knowing it would turn her vengeful towards him, Kratos [[ShootTheDog did what he could]] to avoid anymore needless death]].
* AndIMustScream: Freya's spell gave him [[CompleteImmortality Complete Immortality]]... and completely robbed him of the ability to feel ''anything'' whatsoever; pain, sexual pleasure, the wind on his face, not even something as trivial as room temperature or tasting a meal. By the time Baldur shows up at Kratos's door, he's been living like this for ''over a century'', and the effects it's had on his psyche [[SanitySlippage are VERY evident]]. [[spoiler: Even when this is subverted and the spell is removed by mistletoe, [[AxCrazy the damage has already been done]]]].
--> '''Baldur:''' "You... you had no right."
--> '''Freya:''' "I had every right, I am your mother."
--> '''Baldur:''' "''You had NO RIGHT, witch!'' I can't taste. I can't smell, I can't even feel the temperature of this... this room. Feasting, drinking, women... it's all gone. ''Gone''."
--> '''Freya:''' "But you will never have to feel pain again. Death has no power over you now! You would rather die?"
--> '''Baldur:''' "Then never feel again? Yes. YES. ''I would rather die''."
* AndYourLittleDogToo: Towards Atreus, though indirectly, as he notes that Kratos's house has ''two'' beds and threatens to get whoever he's hiding to talk if Kratos won't. This triggers [[PapaWolf Kratos's]] [[UnstoppableRage Spartan Rage]].
* AnIcePerson: [[spoiler:In his final boss fight, he absorbs the Leviathan Axe's frost powers after Kratos embeds it in him, gaining ice powers, including shooting ice blasts. He even becomes immune to the Leviathan Axe, forcing Kratos to use the Blades of Chaos when he is channelling ice.]]
* AntagonisticOffspring: Toward his mother. It's his main goal to kill her.
* ApocalypseMaiden: His [[spoiler:death marks the coming of [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt Ragnarök]]. Kratos killing him ends up kick-starting Ragnarök at least a hundred years ahead of schedule.]]
* ArcVillain: For the first game set in the Norse Mythology; he's the most consistent and dangerous obstacle Kratos and Atreus face on their journey. What keeps him from being a BigBad is that he's ultimately a PlotIrrelevantVillain tracking the protagonists for reasons that don't become clear until the end of the game, and he's taking orders from [[GreaterScopeVillain Odin]].
* AxCrazy: Although he's relatively composed when you meet him, when the punches start flying he turns into a gleeful savage that won't stop until his opponent is dead. As the game goes on he reveals himself to be an [[PsychopathicManchild immature]] SenseFreak with some extreme MommyIssues. In fairness, you'd probably be unhinged after going through sensory deprivation for a century too.
* BareFistedMonk: Uses nothing but kicks and punches and the occasional [[WrestlerInAllOfUs wrestling hold]]; they're all he needs.
* BarrierChangeBoss: [[spoiler:In the final fight against him, he'll change between using fire and ice magic, thus requiring Kratos to switch between the Leviathan Axe and the Blades of Chaos to counter his current state]].
* BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor: [[spoiler:Once his immortality is undone, Baldur is the happiest he's ever been in the last hundred years. But, by this point he's gotten himself in hot water with a God of War and his son, and his sudden mortality means he can actually ''lose'' at this point...which he does.]]
* BeardOfEvil: He sports a typical Norse beard that's also styled with beads.
* BelievingTheirOwnLies:In the middle of their first duel, Baldur rants about how Kratos' acting proud started their fight, and how he was "not (his) brother", completely ignoring that he started the fight provoking Kratos to hit him. Justified; Baldur's sanity has become so fragile and his mood so mercurial he clearly believes that Kratos started the fight.
* BerserkButton: Of all words Freya could have used to convey empathy to him, saying [[spoiler: she knows how he 'feels']] was the worst one.
* BeyondRedemption: After [[spoiler:soundly defeating him, Kratos opts to spare his life, warning him to not lay a hand on him, his son, or Freya. Immediately afterwards, Baldur turns on Freya, refusing to forgive her for placing the curse on him and attempting to choke her to death. Realizing he's too far gone to be reasoned with, Kratos steps in and [[MercyKill snaps]] [[ShootTheDog Baldur's]] [[NeckSnap neck]].]]
-->'''Kratos''': [[CallBack The cycle ends here.]] We must be better than ''this''.
* BlessedWithSuck: He was blessed by his mother with invulnerability to all threats -- physical or magical. In fact, any injury will heal itself near instantaneously too. However, because of this, he cannot feel even the most mundane stimulus, and the loss of his ability to feel anything for a hundred years turned him [[AxCrazy batshit insane]] hell bent on [[spoiler:killing his own mother. Regaining the ability to feel due to a mistletoe arrowhead turns him into a SenseFreak.]]
* BloodKnight: The guy seems to enjoy battle as much as Kratos used to in his younger days.
* BlueIsHeroic: Inverted; he's the main antagonist, but he's got blue eyes and blue colored tattoos.
* BraidsOfBarbarism: Baldur's thick beard is tied into thin braids here and there.
* BroughtDownToBadass: [[spoiler:When he inadvertently stabs himself with the mistletoe arrowhead on Atreus' quiver, he loses his invulnerability and HealingFactor. However, he still retains all of his other powers and is still very hard to injure. In fact, he seems to fight even ''harder'' than before now that he can actually feel the pain of his opponent's attacks once more after going without sensation for ''an entire century''.]]
* BubbleBoy: A magical variant and a {{Deconstruction}} combined. Baldur was cursed with invulnerability because Freya learned that he was destined to die a needless death and she overcorrected the problem by removing all of his senses. Because of Freya, Baldur can't feel anything (not the taste of alcohol, the pleasure of sex, not even simply walking on the ground) and it drives him into a rage-filled depression and madness. He's been estranged from Freya for over 100 years and was exploited by Odin to serve him in exchange for a flimsy promise of curing his condition.
* BullyingADragon: Subverted; initially seeming like a scrawny drunken guy with a death wish picking on Kratos, once the fists start flying he gives Kratos the first real fight the Spartan's had in a long, long time.
* BunnyEarsLawyer: Baldur is seen this way by his own family; Modi claims that his uncle "hasn't seen straight" in years (which Magni doesn't disagree with), and Odin considers his mind "gone". That said, none of them dismiss or ignore his skills; Magni and Modi follow his instructions without question, Mimir flat-out states that he is the best tracker in the Nine Realms bar-none, and Odin himself remarks that Baldur reliably acted as his "closer".
* CharacterTics: Has a tendency to lean backward when talking to other people.
* CloudCuckooLander: Played for Drama and Horror; Balder is barely clinging to sanity, which results in both his behavior and body language appearing very "off". His nervous twitching, his habit of agitated shadow-boxing during moments of downtime, his audibly talking to himself, and his frequent, violent mood swings communicate to the audience that Baldur is both uninterested in observing social norms and ''dangerously, homicidally unstable''.
* CombatSadomasochist: He's obsessed with pain due to being deprived of every sensation, to the point he willingly smacks around Kratos to goad him to hit back [[spoiler:even though he (incorrectly) believes Kratos is a Jotunn, one of Asgard's greatest enemies]]. [[spoiler:Later on, when a mistletoe arrow jabbed into his hand removes his invulnerability and returns his ability to feel, the sensory influx drives Baldur into psychotic glee even as Kratos continues to pummel him.]]
* CompleteImmortality: As revealed over the course of the game, there's nothing that can kill him. He survives being crushed by a massive stone and Kratos snapping his neck, and any damage inflicted on him rapidly heals. The downside is that it robs him of all his senses. [[spoiler:The only thing that can harm him is mistletoe, which breaks the curse and renders him mortal.]]
* DeathSeeker: While still under the effect's of Freya's spell, he makes clear more than once that he's willing for Kratos to kill him if he is able. He only fights back when he realizes Kratos can't do anything. Also, his torment in Hel shows in the past, he made it clear to Freya he'd rather die than still be under her spell. [[spoiler:In the end, when Kratos' hands are around his neck, Baldur encourages him to finish it and is disappointed when he is released.]]
* DetrimentalDetermination: He wouldn't have died if he was willing to go back to Odin and say "Look, these clearly aren't the giants you're looking for, maybe send someone else to talk to them if you're that interested." Instead, because he utterly refuses to back down from kidnapping Atreus and Kratos is eventually forced to kill him because there's no other way to make him stand down.
* DiesDifferentlyInAdaptation: For as much as this game can be considered an "adaptation" of Norse Mythology, [[spoiler:Baldur's death in the source is ''very'' different. Depending in the account, he was either stabbed by a mistletoe knife or shot with a mistletoe arrow by Loki, or Loki tricked Hodr into either shooting him with the arrow or hurling a mistletoe-laced spear at him, which caused Baldur to immediately drop dead. In this game while Loki (as Atreus) and a mistletoe arrowhead are involved, Baldur punched the arrowhead and all it resulted in was his immortality getting removed. He then has a knockdown, drag-out brawl with Kratos and Atreus that ends with Kratos trying to show him mercy, Baldur immediately using it to try and kill his mother, and then Kratos snapping his neck in retaliation.]]
* DirtyCoward: He believes ''himself'' to be a coward after seeing his past self in Helheim refusing to kill Freya. Subverted as before and after his spell was broken, he wanted to keep fighting Kratos and Atreus even if it cost him his life.
* DragonRider: Baldur uses his dragon Dagsetr as his mount. According to Heimdall, this is unique to Baldur himself; he was able to tame Dagetsr because he didn't have to worry about the dragon killing him.
* DragonWithAnAgenda: He's only after Kratos and Atreus because Odin promised to remove the spell if he succeeded. However, Odin may have revoked the promise or lied about it.
* DrunkenMaster: He talks and moves as if he's inebriated at all times. Brok suggests maybe he's just like that because he's "slow," or else his invulnerability has addled his senses (or, on the third hand, maybe he really ''is'' drunk all the time; he is a Norse deity, after all).
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Baldur is first introduced [[BullyingADragon talking down to Kratos, goading him into a fight, and predictably getting knocked down with a single punch]]. He then [[TooDumbToLive get's back up, decides to go for another round]]... and then '''''[[PunchedAcrossTheRoom punches Kratos hard enough to send the former god of war flying over his house]]''''', at which point his three phase boss fight begins. This shows that [[SmugSnake the Stranger tends to think very highly of himself]] [[SmugSuper but is fully capable of backing up his boasts in a fight]].
* EvenEvilCanBeLoved:
** Psychopathic and murderous as he may be, he's still unconditionally loved by his mother, even though he'd rather kill her. [[spoiler:So much that she is willing to go on a rampage against Kratos in ''Ragnarök''.]]
** [[spoiler: Thor is also shown to be saddened by his death and wants to avenge him alongside his sons. He also bitterly remarks that Odin used to talk about what a good team he and Baldur made, hinting that deep-down he blames him for sending his brother to his death.]]
* EvenEvilHasStandards: He takes it in stride, but after seeing [[spoiler:Atreus shoot Kratos on purpose with a shock arrow]] he retorts "and here I thought ''my'' family was fucked up" suggesting that not even the Aesir royal family would pettily attack each other. Then again, this is coming from the guy who, [[spoiler:when given the chance to kill his own [[MyBelovedSmother mother]] after a hundred years, [[{{Hypocrite}} immediately guns for it]].]]
** Even earlier than that he digs at his family when he tells Kratos that he's not his brother and that had he just told him what he wanted at the start of the game there wouldn't have been a fight. Given that his brother is [[spoiler:none other than Thor]], someone who's portrayed as a ill-tempered, violent, battle-crazed lunatic with a tendency to murder someone for the smallest of sleights for the entire narrative, it's kinda telling that even Baldur backhandedly speaks poorly of his behavior.[[spoiler: Though ironically, Thor gets redeemed while Baldur does not.]]
* EvilCounterpart: Resembles a twisted Norse version of Kratos. The similarities become stronger when it's revealed that he seeks revenge against his own mother just like Kratos did in the past against Zeus (the difference is that his mother Freya was trying to protect him). Kratos actually tries to talk sense into him, but Baldur is too blinded by hate to see otherwise.
* EvilCannotComprehendGood: When he and Kratos come to blows a second time, he cries out "Don't you know when to give up!?" even though [[spoiler:he's literally trying to kidnap the guy's son ''right in front of him'']]. During their final battle, he's utterly confounded that Kratos and Atreus would even care about [[spoiler: stopping him from killing Freya. This is to the point where when Kratos has him in a neck lock, by the end of it all, he even screams out "Why do you even care!? You could have just walked away!"]]
* ExposedToTheElements: He's even worse about this than Kratos; at least Kratos has a shoulder guard while Baldur is completely topless in Scandinavian weather.[[spoiler: He's even shirtless and completely unbothered in ''Helheim'']]. Justified by his curse; he's immune to heatstroke and frostbite and being incapable of even feeling temperature means there's no reason for him to wear clothes except for modesty.
* FantasticRacism: When he first encounters Kratos, he mocks him by saying, "And here I thought your kind was supposed to be so enlightened. So much better than us. So much smarter." At first you think he's being insulting towards Greeks/Olympians, [[spoiler: but then at the end of the game, you realize he's actually talking about the Giants]].
* FatalFlaw: As the Norns say in ''Ragnarok'', what sealed his fate more than anything else was his thirst for revenge. [[spoiler:He had broken his curse and could have gone on with his life feeling all the things he'd been deprived of, but he ''needed'' to make Freya suffer, so he ignored Kratos' warning and started to strangle her before Kratos was even out of earshot. Kratos kills him before he can finish the job, fulfilling the prophecy of him dying a needless death.]]
* FateWorseThanDeath: He considers his invincibility as this since said invincibility makes him unable to feel anything like pain, the taste of food/drink or sexual pleasure. Enduring a century of this is what drove him over the edge.
* FeelNoPain: During his first fight against Kratos, he claims to be incapable of feeling anything from Kratos' attacks, coupled with having an exceptional HealingFactor that immediately regenerates his injuries during the battle, including getting hit hard enough to ''crash through solid rock and keep going''. Atreus deduces his identity as the Norse god Baldur, son of Odin and Freya, from this. When Freya heard a prophecy that Baldur would die "a needless death", she reacted by casting a spell that removed his ability to feel anything, however, in addition to pain, it also prevents feeling things like touch, taste, smell, and pleasure. By the time the story begins, Baldur has been living like this for at least '''100 years''' according to himself. [[spoiler:Similarly, just like the myth, getting stabbed with mistletoe (in-universe, the broken-off tip of a mistletoe arrow that he accidentally strikes when attacking Atreus) removes his invulnerability and returns his ability to feel. The resulting influx of sensory ability, after having been starved of it for ''an entire century'' quickly drives Baldur into fits of psychotic glee as he sustains injury after injury in the ensuing battle with Kratos.]]
* FinalBoss: [[spoiler:He is the final obstacle standing in the way of Kratos and Atreus scattering Faye's ashes.]]
* FireWaterJuxtaposition: [[spoiler:In his third fight, he shifts between fire and ice, requiring Kratos to shift between the Leviathan Axe and the Blades of Chaos, depending on his state.]]
* {{Foreshadowing}}: When Kratos/the player sees him for the first time through the doorway of Kratos' house, his profile is briefly outlined by blinding white light, hinting towards his identity as the god of light. More overtly, his intense HealingFactor can clue in those knowledgeable about Norse myth to his identity.
* FirstInjuryReaction: When Baldur is [[spoiler:stabbed by the mistletoe arrowhead and feels the pain]], he stops fighting to laugh in glee [[spoiler:at the return of his senses]].
* FreezeFrameBonus: After getting his neck broken for the first time by Kratos, he's thrown over the side and deep into the crevice. Through mods, you can see Baldur [[NotQuiteDead flipping the bird as he falls]], affirming that he's not finished yet with Kratos.
* FreudianExcuse: Freya [[BlessedWithSuck "blessing"]] him with immortality has clearly done more than just made him resent his mother.
* GoodOldFisticuffs: Yes, the guy's half a head smaller than Kratos and only uses his fists against him, but that's all he needs to give the Spartan a very hard time. The only other characters who fought Kratos with their fists alone were '''Zeus''', and Hercules (and the latter had no choice as Kratos had just taken his Nemean Cestus).
* HandicappedBadass: Baldur's lack of sensations would be treated as a minor setback. However, his condition drove him to madness. In spite of losing his sensations, Baldur is an unparalleled tracker.
* HatesTheirParent: During the second visit to Helheim, Kratos and Atreus discover that [[spoiler:Freya]] is Baldur's mother, and that she was responsible for the invincibility spell that cost him the ability to feel any pain or pleasure of any sort. Since he has suffered this FateWorseThanDeath for over 100 years, he is completely psychopathic and depressed and wishes nothing more than to have violent revenge on her like Kratos had on Zeus in the Greek Pantheon.
* HealingFactor: Boasts this ability during his boss fight. Bruises and even deep cuts from the Leviathan Axe disappear in seconds.
* TheHeavy: In ''VideoGame/GodOfWarPS4'', he serves as most direct and recurring antagonist to Kratos and Atreus, while [[GreaterScopeVillain Odin]] remains in the background. That said, he has nothing to do with Faye's death and serves mostly as an unrelated obstacle to hinder their quest.
* HumanNotepad: His torso and arms are covered in tattoos and Nordic runes.
* {{Hypocrite}}:
** During his first fight with Kratos, he chastises Kratos by saying he was "acting all proud" and starting the fight when he wanted answers, but it was really him that started the fight and the whole time he keeps boasting about how he is better than Kratos and how he can't feel anything.
** When Atreus attacks Kratos during their second fight, he states "and here I thought my family was fucked up" stating that they weren't petty enough to fight or attack each other, but he tries to kill his own mother because he wants revenge for putting the invulnerable spell on him.
** Calls Kratos a coward for being in Midgard away from major conflict (and thinking he's a giant) when he then later calls himself a coward for not killing his mother in the past even pulling a SpitefulSpit at his past self when witnessing it in Helheim only stating the word "Coward".
* ImmunityDisability: He's immortal and invulnerable... and his inability to be harmed extends to being able to feel ''anything'' whatsoever. [[SenseLossSadness He's]] ''[[SenseLossSadness not]]'' happy about it and tells his mother point-blank that he would rather die than be unable to feel again.
* ImplacableMan: He's an absolutely relentless foe capable of fighting Kratos (who also qualifies for this trope himself) to a standstill and tanking all of his mightiest strikes. Keep in mind, Kratos was someone who punched Hercules and Zeus (the world's strongest man and the King of Olympus, respectively) to death, and Baldur ''survived this''. As if that wasn't enough, he [[GoodThingYouCanHeal heals himself during his boss fight]] and can even survive being crushed when a huge rock is dropped on him. Getting his neck snapped and his temporarily lifeless corpse being tossed into a chasm is the only thing that takes him out of the fight for a significant amount of time and the second time they meet, Kratos and Atreus have to give him the slip. [[spoiler:Even after having his invulnerability taken from him, Baldur still puts up one hell of a fight]].
* InkSuitActor: Because of motion capture technology, Baldur resembles Jeremy Davies quite a bit.
* IShallTauntYou: During their first fight, he constantly rubs in how ineffectual Kratos' attempts at stopping him are, though it's less out of a petty need to insult his opponent and more out of disappointment at how Kratos ''can't'' hurt him.
* ItsAllAboutMe: All Baldur wants is to be rid of his curse, he doesn't care about the deaths of his nephews, Magni and Modi, and is confused/frustrated when Kratos returns to save Freya.
* IsThatTheBestYouCanDo: His reaction to his first fight with Kratos is to grumble irritably about how disappointing he is, though as noted above it's more about how Kratos can't hurt him than anything else.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:J - Y]]
* {{Jerkass}}: His first appearance establishes himself as one; though he goes on about how Kratos started the fight through "pride", he very obviously did it himself (Kratos repeatedly told him to walk away) and spends his time taunting, mocking, and making threats to Kratos for the entirety of their first fight. He doesn't improve in later encounters.
* JerkassHasAPoint: Regardless of the reasoning behind it, he ultimately does have good reasons for hating his mother. Considering it was his mom making him immortal and taking away [[SenseLossSadness even his most basic of senses]] that had made his existence [[FateWorseThanDeath miserable]] and ironically enough a DeathSeeker.
* KickTheDog: When Mimir tries to beg him to stop hunting down Kratos and Atreus, he responds by viciously kicking the poor, helpless head unconscious.
* KryptoniteFactor: [[spoiler:Mistletoe takes away his immortality and his inability to physically feel anything and leaves him vulnerable]].
* LackOfEmpathy: Doesn't mourn Magni and Modi when they were killed by Kratos and Atreus and even attacks Atreus who is only a child not caring about what he is as long as his goal is in his reach.
* LargeHam: Definitely not as hammy as [[NoIndoorVoice Kratos used to be]], but he's still prone to exaggerated movements, delivers his dialogue in slurred yet bombastic fashion, and ''really'' likes to [[IShallTauntYou rub in how utterly pointless Kratos's attempts]] at fighting [[FeelsNoPain him]] are. [[spoiler:This only gets worse once his immortality is undone, as he's so ''happy'' to have regained his senses at this point that he indulges in LaughingMad and starts screaming his lungs out endlessly.]]
* LaughingMad: [[spoiler: After having his curse removed, Baldur's sense of reason drowns in an abyss of sensory-induced euphoria and he starts laughing in mixed bliss and joy like a madman as the fight rages on.]]
* LeanAndMean: Downplayed. He's of a reasonably slim stature, but when standing next to the [[HeroicBuild brick wall of muscle]] that is Kratos, he can appear outright skinny. And just watching him in action, he's very mean.
* {{Leitmotif}}: "Deliverance" is a melody that plays in all of his boss fights.
* ALighterShadeOfBlack: Baldur is depicted as a more sympathetic figure than the background villains like the Aesir. Unlike Odin and Thor, Baldur is given a FreudianExcuse and is shown to at least try talking his enemies into giving him what he wants which he directly contrasts to Thor's immediate propensity for violence.[[spoiler: Of course, it turns out Thor ''also'' has a FreudianExcuse, as Odin has browbeat him into believing that he can do nothing but hurt people, even when he ''wants'' to be a loving father, and Thor ''can'' be reasoned with while Baldur cannot. Odin is still worse than both, though.]]
* LightningBruiser: The Stranger not only can move [[FlashStep so fast he appears to teleport]], but also can send Kratos flying with just one punch.
* LightIsNotGood: Baldur is the God of Light, has glowing tattoos, and is an AxCrazy PsychopathicManchild with major parental issues.
* LivingIsMoreThanSurviving: Upon his birth, Baldur's mother learned he was destined to die "a needless death" and did everything she could to prevent that prophecy. Her plan to save Baldur was to make him immortal at the cost of his most basic senses (touch, smell, taste, and pain, along with his fertility come adulthood). The loss of Baldur's senses caused him 100 years of misery and depression due to being unable to feel pleasure. He did return to Freya in a failed attempt to remove the spell and the two become estranged when she refused to help.
* LogicalWeakness: His curse prevents him from being injured, but it does nothing to increase his mass or change how he can move, so he can still be tossed around, disoriented, and restrained, though that's easier said than done given his super strength and skill at unarmed combat. Kratos wins the first two fights against him by grabbing him and tossing him somewhere he can't immediately return from; a ravine in the first fight, and Helheim in the second.
* MadeOfIron: His invulnerability alone makes it impossible to leave lasting damage in him. [[spoiler:And even when it's removed, it takes Kratos and Atreus every trick in their arsenal to even just wear him down, as he quickly regenerates from all the arrows and axe wounds piled onto him.]]
* MarathonBoss: Both his first and last fights have multiple phases.
* {{Matricide}}: The one thing he wants more than anything else is murdering his mother for making him immortal and leaving him unable to feel anything. [[spoiler:He is killed to prevent this trope from passing.]]
* MercyKill: [[spoiler:Kratos had no earnest desire to kill Baldur in the end, only resorting to fighting him out of self-defense and [[RevengeBeforeReason knowing from personal experience]] that he won't stop his mad quest for revenge until he's ''forced'' to stop. Even after Kratos and Atreus have beaten him within an inch of his life and give him one last chance, he still tries to kill his mother Freya a moment later, forcing Kratos to do the deed.]]
* MirrorCharacter:
** It's possible that Kratos sees a lot of his younger self in Baldur as a completely psychopathic and unreasonable murder machine that won't be swayed from his path no matter what. [[spoiler:Kratos attempts to talk him out of killing his own mother, mentioning that VengeanceFeelsEmpty since he didn't find peace after killing Zeus -- especially since unlike his own father, Freya is a legitimately loving parent that wanted what was best for Baldur. When forced to [[ShootTheDog pull him out of his misery]], Kratos repeats the same words Zeus told him in ''II'' before killing him -- "the cycle ends here" -- and says that the gods must become better than ''this'']].
** He's not too different from Atreus and is what Atreus would become if Kratos didn't mature or tell him of his godhood. Both Atreus and Baldur have blue eyes and have issues with a parent who did more harm than good in an effort to protect them. [[spoiler:With the ending revelation that Atreus is ''Loki'', then both Atreus and Baldur are [[ApocalypseMaiden key figures in Ragnarök.]]]]
* MistakenIdentity: Baldur had the right man, but the wrong backstory. [[spoiler: Baldur's dialogue frames it such that he knows Kratos is the Greek God of War and that he never should've come to Midgard, going out of his way to antagonize him. The truth of the matter as Kratos realizes in the ending is that Baldur thinks Kratos is a ''Frost Giant'' (Faye was one, so he assumes another one would be her lover), he thinks Kratos never should've never left ''Jotunheim'' (Kratos is from Sparta), and thinks Kratos is going out of his way to hide Faye from him (he was hiding ''Atreus'', and Faye has been dead for a long time). Baldur has no idea who Kratos really is outside of "that guy who loved Faye" and consequently spends the whole story MuggingTheMonster.]]
* MoralMyopia: In his first fight with Kratos, he complains that Kratos caused the fight by refusing to answer his questions and give him what he wanted. The fact that he could have just as easily left Kratos alone, like the Spartan wanted, seems to elude him.
* MusclesAreMeaningless: While not necessarily a weakling, he's significantly less muscled and shorter than Kratos, yet packs a hell of a MegatonPunch.
* {{Narcissist}}: Constantly boasts to Kratos during their fights on how he is better than him or how he is unstoppable.
* NeckSnap: Kratos seemingly kills him this way before [[DisneyVillainDeath throwing his corpse down a chasm]]. [[spoiler:Kratos later kills him for real with this after he tries to choke his mother to death.]]
* NeverMyFault: During their first fight, he gripes about Kratos acting "all proud" and starting the fight when he just wanted answers, when in reality, Kratos [[DontMakeMeDestroyYou repeatedly warned him to walk away]] while Baldur was actively provoking him, and [[PoorCommunicationKills refused to just ask directly for the information he wanted]].
* NighInvulnerability: His mother placed a spell on him that renders him pretty much invulnerable as well as giving him a HealingFactor to boot. [[spoiler:The nigh part to this comes when it's revealed that mistletoe is the only thing that can still hurt him and being injured by it will break the spell]].
* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: Fans have pointed out that Baldur bears a strong resemblance to UFC fighter Conor [=McGregor=].
* NormalFishInATinyPond: He's a relatively minor member of the Aesir and still manages to give Kratos a spectacular fight. He also mentions that he's not quite as belligerent and brutal as his brother. [[spoiler:And from what we see of his brother in TheStinger, ''THE'' heavy hitter of Norse legend...]]
** Mimir also explicitly mentions that his specialty is tracking, not fighting. Although being immune to everything [[spoiler:save mistletoe]] is something unique to him that gives him an obvious edge compared to the Greek gods.
* NoSell: This is his blessing. Or rather, his curse. The only sign he shows of being hit are simple physical action/reaction; he is completely impervious to the damage it causes him. For instance, he shrugs off Kratos's punches, being rammed through a boulders, and slashes from an axe like they were nothing, and constantly screams his head off about ''how much'' his lack of feeling any of this upsets him. Just about the only thing that gives him pause for any length of time is [[NoHoldsBarredBeatdown repeated and intense blows]] to the head which seem to briefly stun him, and getting his neck broken, though in that case it's more a case of taking a ''little'' longer to recover from that. This ultimately bites him in the ass once [[spoiler:his invulnerability is removed. As he can is now capable of sensing the pain from attacks, Balder [[SenseFreak delights in it]], and keeps fighting recklessly without modifying his fighting style to be more defensive, even though his body now has a limit to how much abuse it can endure. As a result, the damage eventually stacks up on him and results in his loss]].
* NotHyperbole: When he says he was ExpectingSomeoneTaller in his first confrontation with Kratos, he wasn't just trying to insult the guy, he was ''genuinely'' expecting Kratos (who's about a head taller than Baldur) to be bigger, [[spoiler:due to thinking Kratos was a Frost Giant]].
* OlderHeroVsYoungerVillain: Baldur chides Kratos for being so old and slow during their first fight.
* OneDialogueTwoConversations: His first confrontation with Kratos. Kratos believes he's someone from his past in Greece coming back for revenge; Baldur thinks that Kratos [[spoiler:is a Frost Giant who wants revenge against the Aesir and might know the secret of how to break his curse or kill him]].
* PintsizedPowerhouse: Downplayed in that he's of average size, but noticably smaller than other powerhouses among the Aesir, including his nephews Magni and Modi, and when they appear in the sequel, Thor and Tyr. Even his mother Freya has several inches on him. Despite all that, he's capable of matching Kratos in terms of brute strength.
* PlayingWithFire: [[spoiler:In the final boss fight, after Kratos impales him with the Blades of Chaos and he cops a Shatter Crystal explosion to the face, he gains the power to channel fire and lava. His moveset becomes fire-themed, and he becomes immune to the Blades of Chaos, forcing Kratos to use the Leviathan Axe when he is channeling fire.]]
* PlotIrrelevantVillain: What he ultimately comes down to as the story is about a father and son trying to bond as they embark on a journey together with Baldur popping up on occasionally to cause problems. [[spoiler:At the end, their final confrontation has nothing to do with their quest or Baldur's own mission, but over something completely unrelated such as protecting his mother Freya from him]].
* PlotTriggeringDeath: [[spoiler:His death by Kratos would be a big mistake as it would trigger Ragnarök, which kickstarts the sequel ''VideoGame/GodOfWarRagnarok''.]]
* PoorCommunicationKills: His idea of getting information from Kratos is to walk up to his house, taunt him a bit, pick a fight, and threaten his son. Then he blames ''Kratos'' for the ensuing beatdown.[[spoiler: It turns out basically all their encounters were entirely unnecessary; he was looking the last Frost Giant; i.e. Faye, but he was so vague Kratos assumed that he was someone after the Ghost of Sparta.]]
* PsychopathicManchild: His behavior makes it apparent that beneath his godly exterior is an angry child lashing out at his mother for making him immortal yet unable to physically feel anything. [[spoiler: When his immortality is removed, he starts laughing like a psychopath and demands more when he gets hurt. And yet, he ''still'' wants to kill his mother. Then he gets angry and starts to become more vicious when Kratos activates the Rage of Sparta, screaming like a madman.]]
* RasputinianDeath: [[spoiler: Kratos and Atreus repeatedly beat, stab and slash him to a pulp, pump him full of arrows, and then gets Jörmungandr to ram him, and even after that he still gets up - seemingly more out-of-breath than anything - and tries to kill his mother, only stopping when Kratos intervenes once more and breaks the guy's neck, and even then he still takes several seconds to finally perish from his injuries. And all this was ''after'' his immortality was taken away.]]
* RecurringBoss: He's fought three times- once as the Stranger at Kratos's house, once when they try to use the Jotunheim gateway, and finally at the Lake of Nine.
* RedemptionRejection: After his boss fight, Kratos explicitly spares him on the condition that he not harm Kratos, Atreus, or Freya, and it's made clear that he ''could'' just walk away [[spoiler:and enjoy his returned senses]], but instead [[spoiler:he immediately tries to strangle Freya, and Kratos kills him to break the cycle.]]
* RelatedInTheAdaptation: Baldur, in the myths, is a son of Frigg, not Freya. However, Mimir informs Atreus later on that Odin used "Frigg" (meaning "beloved") as a pet name for Freya, and later attributed Freya's accomplishments to the fictional Frigg, all because he couldn't allow a Vanir goddess to be renowned among realms dominated by the Aesir.
* RevengeBeforeReason: Even after he [[spoiler: finally has the curse Freya placed on him lifted, and moments after Kratos warned him to not lay a finger on Freya, logic and self-preservation would dictate that he should settle for leaving Freya to suffer her banishment by Odin and the knowledge that he won't ever forgive her and go and enjoy his newly acquired ability to feel, or at least make a tactical retreat until Kratos and Atreus have left and kill Freya when they are not there to intervene, he instead opts for trying to strangle her right then and there in front of them.]]
* RevengeIsNotJustice: [[spoiler: Even though he has a good reason to despise Freya, Kratos tries to tell him that killing her won't achieve anything and he'll find no peace. Baldur doesn't listen and Kratos is eventually forced to kill him against Freya's wishes since Baldur won't stop at his rampage with Freya.]]
* RewatchBonus: The context of his first interaction with Kratos becomes very different when you watch it after beating the game and realize [[spoiler:he and Kratos have completely different interpretations of what he's saying]].
* ResurrectiveImmortality: Despite temporarily dying from a snapped neck in his first confrontation with Kratos, he bounces back from it thanks to his immortality.
* SanitySlippage: A hundred years of being denied any and all sensation, pleasant or otherwise, has driven Baldur utterly mad, making him violent, cruel, and thoroughly unbalanced, as well as crippling his sense of self-preservation. [[spoiler:In Helheim, seeing a memory of his last encounter with Freya play out has Baldur break down, screaming at his past self to kill her and calling himself weak and worthless when it doesn't happen. And any sanity he had left is violently obliterated once his invulnerability is done away with, rendering him a screaming madman reveling in every single sensation he receives during his final fight with Kratos and Atreus.]]
* ScarilyCompetentTracker: Despite his lack of senses, he's Odin's best tracker. [[spoiler:In the sequel, Odin uses this as a pretext to negotiate 'pace talks' with Kratos, noting that of the three gods slain at the duo's hands, he considers Magni and Modi 'kinda useless', but despite his instability, Balder's tracking abilities made him useful to the TopGod, and so Kratos owes the pantheon a Blood Debt, something that they're willing to uphold unless Kratos agrees to a truce, since the same losses mean Odin is aware [[BullyingADragon unwisely antagonising him]] could be more costly than its worth]].
* ScreamingWarrior: [[spoiler: In the final fight, he's screaming with pure ecstasy when he's rendered mortal. Frequently yelling his excitement, cursing Kratos and Atreus and reciting how he's going to kill Freya.]]
* SelfFulfillingProphecy: [[spoiler:Freya cursed Baldur with immortality in order to prevent a prophecy saying he would die a needless death from coming true. This does not stop it from becoming fulfilled as his thirst for revenge ended up causing the needless death anyway.]]
* SenseFreak: Reveals that he's unable to "feel anything", specifically pain from his injuries like how Kratos feels. [[spoiler: When he's robbed of his invulnerability, he's actually pretty happy to just feel things, like the cold wind, the pain from Kratos's strikes to the point of being a CombatSadomasochist and his last thoughts when Kratos performs a NeckSnap on him is to the feeling of cold snow]].
* SenseLossSadness: Essentially why he's so unhinged and pissed off. Baldur constantly gripes that he's unable to feel ''anything''. The reason he sought Kratos out in the first place was hoping that, [[WrongGenreSavvy because Kratos doesn't use Norse magic]], it would be different. It isn't. [[spoiler:Except, the actual reason is that Odin convinced him a Giant might know of a way to break his enchantment]].
* SensoryOverload: [[spoiler: A lifetime of sensory deprivation leaves his brain incapable of adapting to all the sensory input it receives once the curse is broken, sending him on a euphoric high in his final fight with Kratos without considering the consequences of suffering too much pain upon his body, demanding for more despite the danger of death involved with his desires.]]
* SiblingTeam: [[spoiler:In ''Ragnarök'', while working together, Thor tells Atreus that he and Baldur used to team up to do Odin's bidding, sadly commenting that the brothers made a good team.]]
* ShadowArchetype:
** He's pretty much what Kratos used to be in the Greek era, seeking retribution against his parents for the misery they inflicted on him, and being unnecessarily cruel to everything and everyone around him. The key difference is that [[spoiler:his mother Freya genuinely loved him and was trying to protect him at all costs, even if her methods were completely misguided, unlike Zeus who tried to kill Kratos because he was fueled by paranoia that he would overthrow him just like he did to his father Cronos]].
** He's also one to Atreus. [[spoiler: While Baldur's psychosis stems from receiving too much love from his mother, Atreus was similarly in danger of becoming emotionally damaged from too ''little'' love from his father's extreme discipline.]]
* ShootTheDog: [[spoiler:His final death is treated as this. Kratos doesn't ''want'' to kill him, but is forced to do this because he's just too insane to reason with at this point]].
* SiblingYinYang: Baldur is lean, short-haired, claims to be more reasonable than Thor, and is regarded as Odin's best tracker. Thor, on the other hand, is long-haired, bulky, quick-tempered, and is universally regarded as Odin's deadliest warrior.
* SpitefulSpit: He does one at his past self and hisses "''Coward!''" in Helheim when viewing the moment that he restrained himself from killing his mother in vengeance for her actions.
* StoryBreakerPower: He can't feel pain, which already grants him a massive advantage on the battlefield, but it's later on revealed that the spell preventing him from feeling pain also granted him CompleteImmortality...at the cost of all his other senses. [[spoiler:The only reason Kratos and Atreus defeat him by the very end of the game is because Atreus happened to have a mistletoe arrow keeping his quiver together -- mistletoe being Baldur's only weakness.]]
* StrongAndSkilled: He is one of the strongest of the Aesir, being one of Odin's sons, and for all his insanity, he is so skilled in combat (unarmed at that) that he gives Kratos one of the hardest fights he's ever had.
* StupidEvil: Justified in that he's ''really'' not in a stable state of mind and is utterly confident he can brute force all threats with his invincibility, but his bloodthirst can lead to him making decisions that are ''really'' boneheaded in hindsight.
** His mission at the start of the game didn't ''actually'' require any violence; had he bothered to ''talk'' to Kratos, he would've easily learned that Kratos wasn't a Jotunn, didn't know anything about them, and his target was Faye, who had died. Because he picked a fight, he ended up with nothing that he actually wanted and inadvertently got Magni and Modi killed because they were sent with him to subdue Kratos- albeit that bringing the two probably wasn't Baldur's decision.
** When Kratos let him go on the condition that he not harm Freya, he doesn't even ''pretend'' to obey it long enough for Kratos to leave the immediate vicinity, instead opting to ''immediately'' try to strangle his mother... while Kratos, who had just told him not to do that if he wanted to live, was ''right there''. This time, he doesn't have his invulnerability as a crutch and he dies for good.
* SuperStrength: On par with Kratos. His punches and kicks are powerful enough they can easily send the Spartan flying and would likely splat your average human. He's so strong that he doesn't even need to use weapons; his fists are all he needs.
* SuspectIsHatless: His description of Kratos to Mimir is simply 'tattooed man, traveling with a child'. Thing is, in the Nine Realms, ''everyone'' has tattoos (including Baldur himself), and he fails to mention things like what the tattoos looked like, or other distinguishing features like his unnaturally-white skin.
* TeethClenchedTeamwork: He isn't fond of working with Magni and Modi and is noticeably absent in Thamur's Corpse. The simplest explanation is that he got irritated by their constant bickering and opted to hunt Kratos alone.
* TheyLookJustLikeEveryoneElse: One of the most notable things about The Stranger is in just how plain he looks, especially in comparison to other bosses throughout the series. Though he's distinguishable thanks to his [[HumanNotepad many glowing tattoos]], it's counterbalanced by his rather rugged looks, the lack of any BlingOfWar on him, and his lean frame. In any other game, he'd look like a regular background NPC and no one would bat an eye, which makes the reveal that [[spoiler:he's in truth the God of Light Baldur]] even more jarring.
* TragicVillain: Yes, he's a vicious madman who WouldHurtAChild. But the curse Freya put him under was essentially a form of ''torture'', and he's been living like that for ''100 years'' at least. It's no wonder he's unstable and hates her with a burning passion.[[spoiler: References to him in ''Ragnarok'' indicate that he UsedToBeASweetKid and had a genuinely loving relationship with his brother Thor, but living with a father who was a complete narcissist who only saw him as an asset (Odin) and a mother who was so overprotective that she outright ''tortured'' him while claiming it was for his own good (Freya) sent him right off the deep end.]]
* TrashTalk: He's almost as bad as Hermes in terms of insulting his enemies. But then again, flyting is a Old Norse art-form.
* UsedToBeASweetKid:
** Freya's affection for Baldur may be just her overbearing motherly love talking, but evidence suggests he was a more noble guy before Freya cursed him; as his visions in Helheim show, even ''after'' the curse he couldn't initially bring himself to hurt her. A hundred years later, we see that Baldur's gone completely mad over the [[SenseLossSadness loss of his senses]] and any kindness he once had is gone, and when given the chance to kill Freya a second time, he guns for it with everything he's got.
** Official cosplay guide reveals that Freya's sword, beaded necklace, and bracelet are in fact gifts from young Baldur, showing how close they were before she cast the curse.
** According to Freya in ''Ragnarök'', as a boy, Baldur was very much like Atreus: friendly, inquisitive, and happy to explore. However, his innocence was ground into dust by years of seeking the approval of, and subsequently doing the dirty work of, his father [[AbusiveParents Odin]] (and, implicitly, the curse that prevents him from feeling).
* VillainousBreakdown: He fully believes he'll kill Kratos and Atreus in their final fight with him, and even thanks them for [[spoiler:removing his immortality. When Kratos activates his Spartan Rage and turns the tables on him, it suddenly dawns on Baldur that he could actually ''lose'' after having nothing new to throw at them, reducing him to [[WhyWontYouDie screaming at the two of them]].]]
-->'''Baldur''': '''''[[PunctuatedForEmphasis WHY! WON'T! YOU! DIE?!]]'''''
* VillainousLegacy: [[spoiler: Following his death, "Ragnarök" is set in motion. This prompts Thor, already enraged by his sons' killings, to seek revenge against Kratos by attacking him at his residence. Meanwhile, Freya seeks to kill Kratos as revenge for Baldur's death. This also creates an inescapable confrontation between Odin, the Aesir, and the duo of Atreus and Kratos.]]
* WakeUpCallBoss: The first fight with him. If you haven't learned the importance of blocking, evading, and fighting in a considerably more methodical manner than in the original trilogy, this guy will mess you up.
* WalkingShirtlessScene: He's completely shirtless in the snow, boasting his tattoo markings all over his body. Justified because he's Baldur, whose invincibility means even the cold wind doesn't faze him and thus has no need for a shirt.
* WeaksauceWeakness: His immortality and inability to feel pain are completely undone [[spoiler:the second his hand is pierced by a mistletoe arrowhead, in line with Baldur's mortal weakness in Norse myth]].
* WellDoneSonGuy: Freya mentions to Kratos and Mimir that Baldur ''desperately'' wanted Odin's approval and affection, but never received it. [[spoiler:Even after Baldur is dead, the only compliment he gets from Odin is of his usefulness as a minion, rather than anything close to a father's love and affection.]]
* WhoWantsToLiveForever: Baldur is immortal and immune to any form pain with the exception of mistletoe. While this was done with the best of intentions, Baldur can't feel the most mundane sensations, like the temperature or the weather. Unsurprisingly, this drove him to madness and to develop an unquenchable wrath towards his own mother; he even states outright that he'd much rather die than be unable to feel anything. [[spoiler:He gets his wish.]]
* WhiteSheep: Not anymore, but it's implied that he used to take after his mother, with an preference towards passivity and negotiation over violence, but this all changed with his years of mind-shattering insensitivity. He still seems to detest his family's barbarity, especially Thor's.
-->'''Baldur''': ''"I'm not [[Characters/GodOfWarSeriesThor my brother]], and if you'd given me what I wanted, it wouldn't have ended this way. But no!"''
* WhyWontYouDie: Says this verbatim to Kratos and Atreus during their final battle, as while he still has incredible power, [[spoiler:his newfound mortality coupled with Kratos's [[SuperMode Spartan Rage]] means that he might actually ''lose'' a fight for once]].
* WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds: Being deprived from feeling anything has driven him mad for centuries, becoming utterly unhinged and destructive as a result.
* WorfHadTheFlu: [[spoiler:When Atreus inadvertently removes Baldur's immortality, Baldur's so overwhelmed by SensoryOverload that he literally doesn't notice Kratos ''destroying'' chunks of his life bar. Likewise, his impatience with their tenacity causes him to be wild and reckless by the end of the fight, allowing the more disciplined father and son to beat him down without nearly as much issue as they had mere hours before.]]
* WorthyOpponent: He genuinely thanks Kratos and Atreus for [[spoiler:figuring out the way to remove his invulnerability]]. Doesn't mean he's going to stop fighting them, though.
* WouldHurtAChild: If threatening Kratos's son will push Kratos to fight will all his rage, then so be it. During a cutscene, Atreus stabs him with a knife. He just giggles, takes the knife and stabs Atreus back, in the shoulder. Later, he gives Atreus a punch strong enough to [[PunchedAcrossTheRoom send the boy flying backwards gasping for breath.]]
* WrestlerInAllOfUs: In their first fight, he subjects Kratos to a German Suplex at one point, and even uses a Double Axe Handle to knock Kratos back after the latter pins him to a wall and a [[Wrestling/KeijiMutoh Shining Wizard knee strike]] during the fight on a dragon's back. This isn't surprising given that [[ShownTheirWork wrestling and martial arts were not at all foreign to the Nords]], but slowly phased out of their culture come the Christianization of Scandinavia. [[spoiler: Baldur's brother Thor is even the god of, among other things, wrestling.]]
* YouHaveFailedMe: [[spoiler: His comments before reuniting with Freya, as well as Mimir's comment after the fight, suggest that Odin promised him that he'd remove the spell. After Baldur failed twice at this point and after the sequential deaths of Magni and Modi, Odin revoked his promise or revealed that he couldn't actually remove the spell.]]
* YouTalkTooMuch: He likes to run his mouth during battle, much to Kratos's irritation. In their first fight, Kratos's response to his taunts is to grunt "You talk too much" and resume punching him.
[[/folder]]
----

-->'''Baldur''': ''"I'm not my brother, and if you'd given me what I wanted, it wouldn't have ended this way. But no!"''

* VillainousLegacy: [[spoiler: Following his death, "Ragnarök" is set in motion. This prompts Thor, already enraged by his son's passing, to seek revenge against Kratos by attacking him at his residence. Meanwhile, Freya also decides to take matters into her own hands and attempts to murder both Kratos and Atreus. This also creates an inescapable confrontation between Odin, the Aesir, and the father-son duo.]]

* VillainousLegacy: [[spoiler:His death kickstarts ''Ragnarök'' with Thor, already mad about his son's death, swearing revenge on Kratos and attacking him at his home, as well as Freya deciding to kill both Kratos and Atreus.]]

* RasputinianDeath: [[spoiler: Kratos and Atreus repeatedly beat, stab and slash him to a pulp, pump him full of arrows, and then gets Jörmungandr to ram him, and even after that he still gets up and tries to kill his mother, only stopping when Kratos intervenes once more and breaks the guy’s neck, and even then he still takes several seconds to finally perish from his injuries. And all this was ''after'' his immortality was taken away.]]