History Characters / GodOfWarSeriesBaldur

* 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.]]

* 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. She also rendered him sterile as an adult through her spells). 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 subjected to holds, 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.

** 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".

* BlueIsHeroic: Inverted, he's the main antagonist, but his actions were caused by his descent into madness after he became [[SenseLossSadness deprived of his senses.]] He's got blue eyes and blue colored tattoos.

* BrawlerLock: During a cutscene, both he and Kratos become locked into one with their physical strength so equally matched that their struggle starts [[DramaticShattering shattering the ground around them]].
* BridalCarry: [[spoiler: Effectively transitions into ''Paternal Carry''. His mother Freya carries his lifeless body away after Kratos was forced to execute a NeckSnap to end his threat once and for all.]]

* 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''.

* CompleteImmortality: As revealed over the course of the game. [[spoiler: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. The only thing that can harm him is mistletoe, which breaks the curse and renders him mortal.]]

* DirtyCoward: What he believes himself to be 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.
* DoubleMeaning: He's introduced banging on Kratos' door claiming to know who, and more importantly, ''what'' he is. He later adds that he [[ExpectingSomeoneTaller expected Kratos to be bigger]], how he is "a long way from home" and thinking that Kratos' people were "better and more enlightened", leading to the idea that he's a man from Kratos' past, or at least, knew of him. [[spoiler: It turns out that he had no idea Kratos is a Greek god, and was under the assumption that Kratos was a Giant.]]

* EntertaininglyWrong: See DoubleMeaning for the specifics, but he assumes that Kratos is [[spoiler:a Giant]] hiding from Asgard, but the way he says it makes Kratos think [[spoiler:Baldur knows that Kratos is a Greek god in exile, even though Baldur has literally no idea about that.]]

* ExpectingSomeoneTaller: The very first thing he tells Kratos is that he thought he’d be taller. [[HypocriticalHumor He's half a head smaller than Kratos]]. [[spoiler:Turns out to be {{Foreshadowing}}, as he doesn't actually know who Kratos is and was expecting a giant.]]

* 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-perseveration 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 wait 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]].

* 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, Baldur's insanity kicks UpToEleven as the sensory influx drives him into psychotic glee even as Kratos continues to pummel him.]]

* BridalCarry: [[spoiler: Effectively transitions into ''Paternal Carry''. His dead body is cradled like this by Freya who carries him away after the final battle of ''2018 game''.]]
* BroughtDownToBadass: [[spoiler:When stung with mistletoe, he loses his invulnerability and the ability to regenerate his wounds. 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, because the fight now means something to him]].
* BubbleBoy: Deconstructed and the magical variant, 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 (from sexual pleasure to the very ground he walks on), he's infertile, and he's driven mad by rage, deprivation, and depression. He's been estranged from Freya for over 100 years and was corrupted by Odin's need to hurt Freya.
* BullyingADragon: Subverted once he actually does fight; it looked like he's a scrawny drunken guy with a death wish picking on Kratos, but once the fists start flying he gives Kratos the fight of his life.
* 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, and Odin, [[spoiler:after Baldur's death]], describes his son as his "closer" and best tracker.
* CharacterTics: Likes to lean backward when speaking to 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 adgitated shadow-boxing during moments of downtime, his audibly talking to himself, and his frequent, violent mood swings comminicate 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, such as pleasure. [[spoiler:When Kratos removes his immortality and kills him, he's relieved by the pain and by the feel of snow.]]

* StupidEvil: 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 he decides that instead of settling for leaving Freya to suffer her banishment by Odin and the knowledge that he won’t forgive her and go and enjoy his newly acquired ability to feel, or at least waiting 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]].

* StupidEvil: 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 he decides that instead of settling for leaving Freya to suffer her banishment by Odin and the knowledge that he won’t forgive her and go and enjoy his newly acquired ability to feel, or at least waiting 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 right in front of them]].

* 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.

* 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!?"]]

* CompleteImmortality: As revealed over the course of the game. [[spoiler: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. The only thing that can harm him is mistletoe, which also breaks the curse and renders him mortal.]]

* CompleteImmortality: As revealed over the course of the game. [[spoiler:He survives being crushed by a massive stone and Kratos snapping his neck, and any damage inflicted on him rapidly heals. The only thing that can harm him is mistletoe, which also breaks the curse and renders him mortal.]]

* 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 [[spoiler: 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.]]

* BubbleBoy: Deconstructed and the magical variant, [[spoiler: 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 (from sexual pleasure to the very ground he walks on), he's infertile, and he's driven mad by rage, deprivation, and depression. He's been estranged from Freya for over 100 years and was corrupted by Odin's need to hurt Freya.]]

* CombatSadomasochist: [[spoiler:He's obsessed with pain since Freya had unintentionally deprived him of every sensation, such as pleasure. When Kratos removes his immortality and kills him, he's relieved by the pain and by the feel of snow.]]

* DeathSeeker: [[spoiler: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. At the end, when Kratos' hands are around his neck, Baldur encourages him to finish it and is disappointed when he is released.]]

* DragonWithAnAgenda: [[spoiler: 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.]]

* EvilCounterpart: Resembles a twisted Norse version of Kratos. The similarities become stronger when it's revealed that [[spoiler: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]].

* 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. [[spoiler: 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. Even after having his invulnerability taken from him, Baldur still puts up one hell of a fight]].

* JerkassHasAPoint: [[spoiler: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.]]

* 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, as other entries on this page attest, he's very mean.

* LightIsNotGood: [[spoiler:Baldur is the God of Light, has glowing tattoos, and is an AxCrazy PsychopathicManchild with major parental issues]].

* 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 [[spoiler: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]].

* 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.

* SpitefulSpit: He does one at his past self and hisses "''Coward!''" in Helheim when viewing the moment that he [[spoiler:restrained himself from killing his mother in vengeance for her actions]].

* SuperStrength: On par with Kratos. His punches and kicks are powerful enough they can easily send the Spartan flying and likely would have killed normal humans. He's so strong that he doesn't even need to use weapons, his fists are all he needs.

* WalkingShirtlessScene: He's completely shirtless in the snow, boasting his tattoo markings all over his body. [[spoiler: Justified because he's Baldur, whose mother Freya made invincible by making nearly everything swear not to harm him. Thus even the cold wind doesn't faze him and he has no need for a shirt]].

* 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), instead using elemental attacks and 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.

* AnIcePerson: He can channel ice during his boss fight, summoning waves of frost by slamming the ground. [[spoiler:In his final boss fight, he absorbs the Leviathan Axe's frost powers after Kratos embeds it in him, gaining even greater 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.]]

* BareFistedMonk: Uses nothing but kicks and punches (and the occasional [[WrestlerInAllOfUs wrestling hold]]; they're all he needs.

* DragonRider: Baldur uses his dragon Dagsetr as his mount. According to Heimdall, this seems to be a specific trait of his, as different from the other Aesir, Baldur didn't need to be concerned with burns.

* EvilCounterpart: Resembles a twisted Norse version of Kratos. The similarities become stronger when it's revealed that [[spoiler: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). He actually tries to talk sense into him, but Baldur is too blinded by hate to see otherwise]].

* 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.

* DoesNotLikeShoes: He doesn't wear shoes. Then again, since he is invincible and lacks the sense of touch, he cannot know how hot or cold his feet are.

* 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]].

* TragicVillain: He was driven to madness due to sensory deprivation by his mother's attempts to keep him alive at all costs, and the flashback depicting this realization has him crying in despair as he airs his grievances. His death is treated tragically as well. [[spoiler:Thor's portrayal in ''God of War: Ragnarök'', as well as comments from Freya about Baldur's childhood, implies that living under an abusive, controlling tyrant like Odin played a role in how Baldur turned out as well, as, like Thor, Baldur sought his father's approval and love, but never received it.]]