History Characters / GodOfWarSeriesKratos

* AnIcePerson: Faye's Leviathan Axe was bequeathed to him after her death, and allows Kratos to utilize cryokinesis to freeze and decimate foes. It's said to be infused with the "echoing screams of 20 Frost Trolls".

* EmergingFromTheShadows: How he's introduced in the trailer for the 2018 game.

* WouldNotHurtAChild: As cold and stern and authoritarian as he is, he would never attack his son. The closest he ever comes to corporal punishment is grabbing Atreus firmly by the wrist. When he loses his temper and shoves Atreus to the ground at one point, he immediately tries to stammer out a horrified apology.

In the aftermath of his slaughter of the Olympian pantheon, Kratos moved north to the Norse realm of Midgard. Ashamed of his past and determined to grow beyond his self-destructive behavior, he would live a quiet, normal life masquerading as a mortal. He found love again with a woman named Faye and fathered a son with her, Atreus. When Faye dies, Kratos and Atreus attempt to carry out her final wish -- to scatter her ashes from the highest mountain in the nine realms. However, on their journey they come into conflict with various supernatural creatures, particularly a mysterious Stranger who cannot be killed and may be acting under orders from the All-Father of the Norse gods himself, Odin. As events unfold, Kratos is forced to dig up remnants his past, in more ways than one, to defend his son from those that hunt them and see his wife's request through to the end. But despite his desire to move on from the man he once was, it seems he may have no choice but to once again go to war with the gods.

** In the ''Valhalla'' DLC, this applies to the [[[spoiler:Blade of Olympus. Kratos originally used the weapon for a short time frame, and it was at least 100 years ago, but he still swings it with the same skill and elegance as when he first held it.]]

** Dialogue in ''Ragnarök,'' reveals that he's talented in playing the lyre, and his knowledge of Oedipus implies that may have watched Greek plays in his spare time.

* AnimalMotifs:
** In the steel book version of the game, the translated version of the runes on the cover regards Kratos as a bear. The Norse translation is "This is the story of a bear and a wolf, who wandered the realms of nine to fulfill a promise of one before; they walk the twilight path, destined to discover the truth that is to come."
** Like bears, Kratos is a solitary figure and, as his enemies learn, the most dangerous position for them to be in is between Kratos and Atreus.

* TragicVillain: While it doesn't excuse the countless combatants or even civilians he directly slaughtered, Kratos essentially lost his family ''twice over'' because of the Olympians. In ''II'', he's described right from the beginning narration as having "no need for the love of petty gods," and expressly tells Athena he "owes her nothing," after she brings up concerns that his warmongering throughout Greece is causing unrest among the Olympians. This is after she literally made him the God of War. ''Ghost of Sparta'' actually contextualizes this: his hatred of the gods intensified once Kratos discovered that his long-lost brother Deimos was still alive, trapped in the Domain of Death under the suspicion that he would one day fulfill a prophecy in which he would bring Olympus' destruction. Realizing that Athena herself had aided the gods in kidnapping Deimos, Kratos ventured forth to free his brother, refusing to heed any of Athena's warnings; sadly, Kratos lost both his brother and his mother in the process, and blamed the gods for it. It was actually one of the few instances where he lost a loved one through ''no fault'' of his own. Not to mention the whole 'making him the God of War' is, in context, just one more kick to the ribs for Kratos: forget being denied death, [[DeathSeeker which he had hoped for when he learned he would always be haunted by his nightmares and guilt.]] He's now condemned to live forever, in the throne of the god who had ''destroyed his life''.

** Also in ''Ragnarök'' -- [[BystanderSyndrome inaction]]. He's learned his lesson about going on pantheon-murdering rampages, but his self-hatred and fears that he'll fall back into old habits means that he adamantly ''refuses'' to get involved with the Aesir, even when it becomes clear that a) Odin is a tyrant who's hurt basically everyone in the Nine Realms and will continue to do so until he's stopped, and b)the Aesir fully intend to get involved with him whether he wants it or not. This drives a major wedge between him and Atreus, who's much more interested in the idea of stopping Odin, and much like [[Literature/TheIlliad Achilles]] before him, it takes Odin crossing a [[ItsPersonal very personal line]] by [[spoiler:murdering Brok]] for him to acquiesce to becoming the general of Ragnarok, and even then it's clear it's not so much that he wants to do it as he's resigned himself to having no other options than being a destroyer like he once was. [[spoiler:He only realizes that he was wrong and his CharacterDevelopment ''has'' stuck when he's confronted with Midgardian casualties and realizes he's not willing to let them die just for being in his way.]]

* VariableLengthChain: His chain blades can stretch quite far. Justified as the blades are explicitly stated to be magical.