God of War Series – Norse Gods / Characters

The Norse Pantheon is the dominant race that rules over the Nine Realms of northern Europe. Unlike the Greek gods, they are divided into two tribes (most likely representing the duality of nature) - the pacifistic Vanir and the warmongering Aesir. While most Norse deities are from either (or both) of these tribes, some are hybrids and/or descendants from other sapient races as well (giants, humans, etc). The Norse pantheon appears in God of War (PS4) and God of War Ragnarök.

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Aesir

In General

Adaptational Villainy: While we don't see much of the Vanir save for Freya and Freyr, the Aesir are hit heavy with this. Even though the morality and mindset of the ancient Norse people were different than ours, their gods were mostly on the side of humanity. Here however they are warmongering tyrants with genocidal tendencies who are either ignorant of mortals or outright treat them as livestock. This is actually Justified in-universe, as this take on the mythology follows a Written by the Winners theme, wherein the gods make themselves out to be significantly more heroic than they actually are. But even then, how far this goes is pretty ambiguous, as so far most of what we know about them is told from the perspective of their enemies or people who don't like them. Ragnarök shows that this is ultimately downplayed; Odin is pretty awful, but it's clear that many of them aren't actually his supporters, and even some of the villainous ones like Thor have sympathetic traits. On the other hand, unlike the Greek gods who were basically stated to have been corrupted into twisted versions of themselves with the opening of Pandora's box, there's no such justification for Odin and the Aesir.
Assimilation Plot: Odin believes that he should be the only one to contain the knowledge and goes as far as to kill anyone who might pose a threat to his rule. He caused Niflheim to fall into ruin because he believed Ivaldi's technology would be a threat to Asgard and the Asgardians caused the Alfheim war because they were too lazy to organize the light elves and dark elves.
Attack on One Is an Attack on All: They aren't happy when someone attacks one of their own.
Big, Screwed-Up Family: Baldur implies that the whole family is this way. Modi was abused being the unfavorite child of Thor and was brutalised by his own father, Thor, for letting Magni die. Odin also used Baldur as a pawn to get revenge on Freya for "betraying" him all those years ago, and Odin only sees his family as assets to rule over the nine realms.
Baldur: [chuckling] And here I thought my family was fucked up.
Blood Knight: They love a good fight and encouraged mortals to die with honour and glory in order to be placed in Valhalla to fight for Odin.
Contrasting Sequel Antagonist: To the Greek Gods.
- Both the Olympians and the Titans alike would often present themselves in a far more aristocratic and regal manner to set themselves apart from mortals, and would utilize rather haughty airs of dialogue whenever they're speaking with Kratos. The Aesir meanwhile, and in particular Odin and Thor, are far more informal, blunt and plain-spoken and even show an openness towards and casual usage of profanity, if no less threatening and arrogant.
- Unlike the Greek pantheon, who are acknowledged as having been quite terrible even without the corrupting effects of the evils in Pandora's Box being unleashed, the Aesir have several truly good members, and even a couple of morally grey ones, too. Even the worst are given moments of sympathy in death, and Odin and Heimdall, perhaps two of the most irredeemable, are treated as pathetic figures by the end for their utter self-delusion and destructive natures.
Crippling Overspecialization: As detailed below, the magic of Norse gods fall rather short of the more fantastical arsenal of their Mediterranean counterparts. Even Freya, a Vanir goddess who once taught Odin, was shocked to hear about Kratos' trip through time in II, as temporal magic is something neither Aesir nor Vanir could do on such a scale. It would seem that Odin's obsessive hoarding of magic and knowledge caused a stunting of growth in the Nine Realms, as opposed to Zeus' more hands-off approach which allowed for more experimentation.
Defiant to the End: They believe dying in battle is honorable and glorious. They consider dying outside of battle, i.e old age, disease, etc, to be dishonorable and outright disgraceful. When Thor assumes Modi abandoned Magni or discovered that he fled from the battle, he nearly beats Modi to death for this.
Divine Conflict: The Aesir and Vanir were locked in a Forever War with one anoher, and were so evenly matched that both sides suffered more losses than either claim victory or surrender. It took a peace treaty and a marriage between their leaders Odin and Freya to finally end the war.
Family Extermination: Unintentional, but it happens to the Aesir over the course of both games. Magni, Modi, and Baldur are killed in 2018, while Odin and Thor are killed in Ragnarök, meaning that the only known survivors of the royal family are Sif and Thrúd, the latter of whom is the last of Odin's line. Other gods such as Forseti, Nanna, or Idunn are not mentioned to have died in either of the games, making their status a part of Uncertain Doom.
Fantastic Racism: The Aesir are at best disinterested, and at worst outright xenophobic, to other races. Most examples stem from Odin's all-consuming paranoia that anyone would ever seek the power to dethrone him.
- Like the Greek pantheon, they remain isolated to the Nine Realms and show indifference to any deities or empires beyond; part of what made Týr so unusual was that he sought out the wisdom of different cultures simply for the sake of learning, which Odin — vast in knowledge but limited in scope — saw as a threat to his rule. That being said, they are aware of the legends of the "Ghost of Sparta" and his past as a god-slayer, for very good reason, though only Freya and Mimir make the connection at first.
- Despite having all descended from the proto-giant Ymir, they have persecuted and waged war on the Jötnar for centuries, with Thor in particular seeming to enjoy killing them, just so Odin's power can go unchecked and unchallenged. This culminated in the Aesir launching a final genocide against them after learning the secret of travel to Jötunheim, and the remaining few fleeing to an unknown place beyond the Realms.
- When naming the realms, they were unable to distinguish between Dark Elves and Dwarves, despite the two races having almost no similarities whatsoever, and named the Dwarves' realm "Svartalfheim". Mimir explains that Dark Elves, like their light counterparts, are actually from Alfheim, and the Dwarves themselves call their realm "Nidavellir".
  Atreus: They don't look like Dark Elves.
  Mimir: Don't you think so? Then you are vastly more perceptive than the Aesir. They're the ones who apparently can't tell the difference.
- The blighted realm of Niflheim is an indirect example of Aesir prejudice. When Ivaldi decided to establish a workshop in the land and found a way to harness the power of its mist, Odin feared the idea of a dwarf gaining power through magic and mechanical skill; he intervened with Ivaldi's creations, to which the Dwarf furiously retaliated. As the situation escalated, Ivaldi began to meddle with forces he shouldn't have and ended up cursing the fog itself, altering its mist to poison anyone who breathed it — a curse of which Ivaldi was the first victim.
The Ghost: In the first Norse game most of them are only referenced or mentioned, be it in-game or in the supplementary materials (or at best, are seen in drawings and murals). The number of Norse gods that physically appear and interact with Kratos and Atreus can be counted on just one hand (Mimir, Freya, Magni, Modi, and Baldur), or two hands if one also counts Atreus being Loki and Thor's brief appearance in the secret ending. While obviously more of them will appear and play a bigger role in the sequels, this does also have a justified reason in the story. After the events of God of War III, Kratos goes north and settles down to start a new life, no longer wishing to deal with any gods whatsoever and avoiding them at any cost. Unfortunately for him and his son, fate has other plans with Faye's magical protective barrier revealing their previously concealed location, causing the death of Baldur thus triggering Ragnarök and Atreus revealed to be Loki, who will turn into the biggest enemy of the Aesir and Vanir. This is mostly averted in the follow-up game, where nearly every living member makes a physical appearance to participate in the story.
Good Thing You Can Heal: Zig-Zagged. While there are at least two cases of people regenerating new limbs (Týr in his backstory and Heimdall during his boss fight in Ragnarök), there are also a bunch of Aesir who have old scars they either cannot or just haven't bothered to get rid of.
- Baldur is a justified example - he's been "blessed" (or from his view, cursed) with complete immortality.
- Thor tanks a hit from Kratos's axe at the beginning of Ragnarök, but the wound is never shown to heal. He also still has some scars around one of his eyes from an earlier event in his backstory.
- Odin is missing an eye after he lost it to either a Mimir-induced Mushroom Samba or peeking into a Eldrich Location and it's shown to be a hindrance to him, suggesting he can't heal it.
Horny Vikings: Surprisingly averted. All the Norse gods showed so far either wear realistic helmets or nothing on their heads.
Jerkass Gods: From what we've seen and heard so far the Norse pantheon isn't any better than the Greek and are just as bad. Though it's worth mentioning that there are some legitimate reasons for this that stay true to the original Norse myth. According to the Aesir (and by proxy all Norse people's belief), it's more honorable to die fighting than from old age, disease or a mishap. Furthermore, the gods despite their immense power are paranoid due to most of them being prophesied to die at Ragnarök. Odin, however, is actively trying to make sure this doesn't happen. It turns out to be mostly a subversion with the rest of the pantheon in Ragnarök, which introduces multiple genuinely sympathetic Aesir and reveals that most of their reprehensible behavior is due to Odin's influence and encouragement of their worse natures. The only outright evil Aesir are Odin and Heimdall, ironically enough because of their firm belief that You Can't Fight Fate excuses them from the consequences of their choices. When Sif takes over in the post-game, they're happy to follow her lead in making peace with the Vanir.
A Lighter Shade of Black: Zigzagged in comparison to the Greek Pantheon. On one hand Ragnarök shows that many of the Norse gods are fundamentally decent people, and even those that are antagonistic or villainous often are shown to have far more sympathetic and humanizing traits than the Greek gods. That being said, the Greek gods only became as bad as they did due to Pandora's box corrupting them with the evils held within, while the Norse gods only have Odin's manipulation to excuse their horrible behavior, and Odin himself, unlike Zeus, has nothing redeeming or excusing him; he's just a bastard because he wants to be.
Love Across Battlelines: Even amidst all of the hatred and racism, the Aesir do manage to once in a while find some romance with the Vanir or even the Jötnar. Some of their relationships have even produced children.
Might Makes Right: They believe power is the only way to rule to the realms and they believe it's better to die in war than survive it.
Minor Major Character: The Norse gods were the center of the vikings and pagan Germanic people's cosmology. But due to being cast as the antagonists, here they instead serve as obstacles in Kratos and Atreus's story.
Murder by Inaction: They caused a long-lasting war between Dark Elves and Light Elves because they were convinced that Dwarves and Dark Elves are of the same species, despite both species having no physical similarities and Dark Elves already living on Alfheim. This caused the elves to assume the other is an invading species intent on conquering the other, with the war eventually outliving the reason itself and nobody knowing the real reason anymore. Centuries of war and bloodshed were caused by Aesir apathy.
Never My Fault: The Aesir-Vanir war was started because of a group of minor Aesir (notably, not Odin for once; he's smarter than that) couldn't get the hang of Seidr, and instead of acknowledging that they messed up, they blamed their teacher Freyr and set him on fire.
Noble Demon: Subverted; the Aesir see themselves as performing a necessary evil to prevent the end of the world and prevent the nine realms from going to war. Mimir explains they have actually rejected any and all offers of peace and carelessly caused discord within the realms because of how desperate they are for control. Ragnarok reveals that most Aesir actually do fit the bill; the real Not-So-Well-Intentioned Extremist is Odin, but he's convinced the other Aesir that he's doing the right thing, so they follow his lead.
Non-Human Humanoid Hybrid: Characters like Thor and Magni are a cross between Aesir and Jotunn. Odin also tried to court the giantess Skadi so he can have strong sons.
Not Always Evil: It is revealed in Ragnarök that many Aesir, like Thrúd, either aren't aware of or believe that Odin's plans are morally justified due to his manipulation, and many of the evil ones had their worse qualities encouraged by Odin and mostly turned out the way they did for his benefit. Case in point, after Odin's defeat in Ragnarök, the remaining Aesir get in peace with the Vanir and start to build a new home in Vanaheim.
Obliviously Evil: As it turns out, many of the Aesir are fundamentally decent people. But thanks to Odin changing the history books, they think that all the things Asgard has done were for justified reasons and that all good things done in the nine realms were done by Aesir hands. Even Heimdall was unaware that Asgard's wall was built by a giant.
Our Gods Are Different:
- In the previous games, the Greek Pantheon can change size, communicate through statues, and their deaths ended either in a nuclear bomb-level explosion or their death causes a world-wide calamity (floods, plagues, etc). The Norse Gods appear to be human-sized and for them dying appears to be normal as seen with Mimir, Magni, Modi, and Baldur. However, it still causes Fimbulwinter which triggers Ragnarök years earlier than it has been prophesized. Ragnarök covers this a bit more closely as a difference between beliefs in the realms.
- Mimir notes that the Greek Gods tended to wield far more fantastical powers than the Aesir, such as using the elements themselves as weapons. This does contrast with the Aesir who tend to use far more mundane weapons such as swords (Magni, Thrud and Heimdall), a hammer (Thor), a mace (Modi), or their bare fists (Baldur and Thor again). Only Odin (who's a god of magic) makes use magic as his primary means of combat, and even he wields a spear in combat.
- Notably, according to Heimdall, not all Aesir are gods, as he is incredulous when Atreus asks if everyone in Asgard is a god.
The Peter Principle: They are brilliant warriors and they live and breathe for combat, however, they are poor diplomats because they believe in Darwinian superiority. To them, a show of strength is enough to make everyone cower into subservience and that a threat can only be destroyed, not reasoned with.
Physical God: Rather than omniscient, omnipotent, immortal and invincible beings, the gods in this series are more like superpowered individuals that are just really difficult to kill. This is more-or-less accurate to the source material, in which the gods weren't even strictly immortal (as most were fated to die during Ragnarok and relied on Idun's golden apples to keep from aging).
Proud Warrior Race Guy: Aesir culture emphasises strength, martial prowess, and fighting to an honourable death. The result of this is that most all of them have this trope applying to them.
Revenge Myopia: Most of the Aesir have come to see Kratos and Atreus/"Loki" as enemies for murdering their kin (Baldur, Magni, Móði and Heimdall) when it was all done in self-defense, all of them having been sent by Odin to preemptively snuff out what he saw was a threat to his power. On some level they know that Odin is to blame for all of it, but they are unable to go after him directly for being their pantheon's patriarch, while Atreus is a giant and therefor their sworn enemy.
Sif: [Magni and Móði] were thrown at the All-Father's problems like brittle knives to a mountain face. And for what? What if Thrúd's next?
Sadly Mythtaken: Most of them diverge greatly from their mythological counterparts; Odin, Thor, Baldur and Freya are the standouts, being gigantic, self-centered assholes while their enemies are portrayed as victims instead of villains. This is internally justified within the setting, as the Aesir (Odin especially) have a nasty tendency to frame themselves as the heroic party when recording historical events.
Sir Swears Alot: Compared to the Greeks who were on the melodramatic side but relatively held back on the profanity, the Norse are less shouty but have a surprisingly colorful vocabulary. Then again, flyting is an Old Norse art-form.
Straw Hypocrite: They created Valhalla and deem anyone who dies outside of battle a disgrace to Norse culture. Yet, Magni is, so far, the only one of the Aesir who can access Valhalla due to dying in battle against Kratos. While Odin is trying to save himself from dying in Ragnarök instead of facing a warrior's death.
Superior Successor: They effectively serve as this compared to the Greek Pantheon. Baldur was described in the official novelization as the strongest foe Kratos had faced until that point in God of War (2018), with Odin topping his son as the most powerful god Kratos has ever fought according to Word of God. Even Freya is described as being Kratos' equal in combat, and Thor actually KILLS him in their first fight. Compared to Kratos' slaughter of the Greek pantheon, most of whom were defeated in singular duels without any assistance or powerful weapons, the Norse pantheon present a much greater threat on both a physical and emotional level.
Very Loosely Based on a True Story: The Jotnar shrines depict the battles between the Aesir and Jotnar as the couragous and noble Aesir defeating the vile and evil Jotnar. In reality, the Jotunns were either murdered, killed while they were surrendering, or were tricked. The shrines were also depicting moments from the original version of Ragnarök, not the new version on the tapestry in Jotunnheim.
Virtue Is Weakness: Specifically the virtue of "mercy". It takes a lot for any of them to stand down and accept Kratos' decision to spare any of them, and this only applies to some of them. The others blindly charge towards their own deaths by provoking either Kratos or Atreus into killing them.
Weak, but Skilled: In comparison to the Greek gods. Aesir don't have the same command over the world as the Olympians, and aside from Heimdall (who's cheating with precognition) they don't require any special weapon to kill. But unlike the Olympians, the Aesir are a Proud Warrior Race (and know most of them are going to die in battle), so they keep their fighting skills sharp, while the Olympians generally go unchallenged (especially since they're immortal without Pandora's Box getting involved and if they do die their death unleashes disasters so very few want to try) and aren't skilled fighters.
Written by the Winners: They used cheap tricks and ploys to kill the Jötnar while depicting themselves as heroic in tapestries.

Týr

Voiced by: Ben Prendergast (English), Daisuke Hirakawa (Japanese)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/e_4on2gxiaizaem.jpeg

"War will not give you the purpose you seek."

"Your love of this place. I can feel it. Smell it in the breeze. Anyone can. That love makes you strong."

Týr is the Norse God of War, Law, and Honor.

However, after an epiphany, he renounced his title as the God of War and set off on a pilgrimage of self-reflection, and became an advocate of peace. After his return to the Nine Realms, Týr was betrayed by Odin who imprisoned him and attacked the Giants.

He is considered long dead by the events of Kratos and Atreus' first adventure. However, Týr becomes an inspiration to Atreus through the tales and legends of his exploits; leading to Atreus believing he could very well still be alive somewhere. After Fimbulwinter's arrival, Atreus and Kratos venture throughout the Nine Realms to seek Týr's aid in preventing the war of the gods.

Abled in the Adaptation: In the original myth, Týr sacrificed his hand to bind Fenrir. Here, Týr is depicted with both of his hands in the murals and in his direct appearances, with only a visual nod in the cautious way he holds his right hand in his character poster. Mimir mentions in an in-game discussion that Týr did lose a hand capturing Garm, so technically the myth still happened, Garm just wasn't Fenrir yet. As for the hand, it grew back, the Egyptian hieroglyphics on the arm imply that he may have had some help from the gods of Egypt.
Adaptational Expansion: The whole idea of Týr being a god of war is essentially based off a creative interpretation of a single line in Lokasenna down the centuries, where Loki accuses Týr of being incapable of righting two things at once, which could very easily have just referred to the fact that he couldn't hold two things due to his being one-handed. He might have actually been a sky-god in real life, based on his name being a cognate to the Greek Zeus and the Roman Jupiter.
Adaptational Heroism: Most of Odin's more benevolent wanderings are attributed to Týr in this story. His attempts to bring about cooperation and understanding between the realms is somewhat ironic since the mythological Loki accused Týr of being incapable of creating peace and reconciliation between men in Lokasenna. Becomes hilarious when Atreus/Loki starts to admire Týr over the course of the game.
Advertised Extra:
- Despite being prominently featured in trailers including having his own character poster, the "Tyr" that appeared in the main story turned out to be Odin in disguise. The real Týr in contrast only appears in the post-game, having missed Ragnarök entirely and doesn't even have any meaningful interactions with the main cast besides a few small conversations upon meeting him in different realms.
- This becomes Inverted in the Valhalla DLC, as despite being completely absent from the marketing, upon reaching the end of the challenges, Týr is revealed to be the one who invited Kratos and Mimir to the realm after recognising Kratos' Character Development and desiring to provide him some advise from his own experiences. He reveals that he too once struggled with similar self-doubt and questions as Kratos did, managing to achieve self-enlightenment after passing through Valhalla's trials and entering the final door at the end, and offers Kratos the opportunity to do the same... after a Trial by Combat against the Norse God of War.
Aesop Enforcer: In Valhalla, Tyr is the one guiding Kratos through Valhalla, and after each duel against him, he provides a lesson on Kratos's past.
Agent Peacock: According to "The Art of God of War", Týr actually has a bit of an ostentatious streak, with a passion for foreign architecture and cultures. The other Aesir were not fond of him for this, as his gifts made him look extravagant and opulent. In the postgame of Ragnarök, after being rescued he can be found practicing Tai Chi in Vanaheim.
All-Loving Hero: Týr got along with pretty much everyone across Norse myth, from his fellow Aesir to the Vanir, the dwarves, and even the Giants. And he didn’t stop there as he visited other lands on diplomatic missions, including Japan, Egypt, Mesoamerica, and even Kratos’s homeland of Greece. Týr seemed to like/love everyone and they often felt the same way for him.
Animal Motifs: Wolves, since Týr is involved with two specific ones. In the myths, Týr sacrifices a hand in order to bind Fenrir, and in Ragnarök, he dies in a Mutual Kill with Garmr, a wolf/dog from Hel. In the game, he carries the motif posthumously. In Týr's Temple, you have to solve a puzzle based on Sköll and Hati. Týr's armor set for Kratos is decorated with a pair of wolves, referencing Sköll and Hati.
Back from the Dead: Implied. Týr is fought multiple times as a Trial by Combat for Kratos in Valhalla, serving as the last obstacle between him and the final door at the end of the gauntlet. A plot point is made that Freya and the other Valkyries cannot enter to aid Kratos because unlike him and Mimir, they didn't physically die before, which is a prerequisite for entering the gates. Týr's presence within the realm implies that he has and successfully bounced back from it, just like his Greek counterpart. No hints if he's matched Kratos' record though. He later reveals when Mimir brings it up, that he didn't actually die but the process he underwent to regain his arm after Garm bit it off tangentially involved the underworld, and that appears to count, as far as Valhalla is concerned, to permit him entry.
Badass Bookworm: Was knowledgeable of the other Pantheons due to various travels, and his Vault is basically a traphouse to prevent Odin or anyone else from finding out about the pathway to Joutenheim. The badass part is showcased by the fact he's the Norse God of War, even if he uses his position to prevent conflict instead, and gets to demonstrate the asskicking part of the role in a Boss Fight in Valhalla. He proves to be Kratos' equal in handling a spear and a shield together as well as skill in weapons from other cultures, encouraging his performance throughout the fighting while seriously pressuring him with his own attacks, and when Kratos ends the fight with a button prompt, which normally results in him seriously damaging the target, he pulls an unflinching Punch Catch on Kratos that stops his attack cold, making it clear that he could fight even harder if he wanted to... but he doesn't want or need to, being satisfied with Kratos' showing.
Befriending the Enemy:
- Týr was friends with the Frost Giants, the enemies of Asgard. In fact, the giants came to trust him with a secret passage leading to their realm.
- He seems to take this position in regards to Kratos, whom he clearly hates, derisively calling him "god killer." This only applies however to the Odin disguised as Týr, as the real Týr has no personal grudge against Kratos since he has no present recollection of who he exactly is with imprisonment, and given how long he might have had been imprisoned, probably has no idea that Kratos actually butchered the entire Greek Pantheon given how long it might have been since he actually visited Greece. Not to mention by the time he could have maybe remembered who Kratos was, he would clearly be able to tell he is a far cry from the infamous "Ghost of Sparta" due to his sheer Character Development by the time they actually meet after Ragnarök is concluded and thus has no reason to potentially resent him since they are ideologically closer to one another by that point.
Beware the Nice Ones: The true Týr is a beloved, kind, helpful, and serene man, but he's not the god of war without merit, as Kratos finds out when sparring with him in the Valhalla DLC.
Broken Ace: Týr was a favorite for most people in the Nine Realms (save Odin). By the time Kratos and Atreus find him, he's rendered a broken man who has given up on hope and freedom, stricken with fear when he recognizes Kratos as the "god-killer"… or so Odin makes them believe. The real Týr is actually quite put together despite his imprisonment.
Call-Back: In the 2018 game, murals in Týr's temple implied he had visited other cultures with their own pantheons of gods, and he had been to Japan, Egypt, Central America, and even Greece. In Valhalla, it is confirmed he indeed visited those places when he wields weapons from them in battle.
Can't Kill You, Still Need You: After all the zig-zagging about his fate, it turns out the real Týr is very much alive but imprisoned, while the "Tyr" Kratos and Atreus free is Odin in disguise. While pondering why Odin would even let him live in the first place, Freya theorizes that Odin needed Týr alive for the disguise magic to work.
Carry a Big Stick: He battles Kratos using a Mesoamerican macuahuitl in the second session of his Valhalla boss gauntlet.
Character Exaggeration: In-Universe; Odin exaggerates Týr's peaceful tendencies while in disguise as him, making him out to be a Suicidal Pacifist who refuses to lead the Nine Realms to war and who barely stands up for himself, making him look more like a doormat than a diplomat. As it turns out, the real Týr is pretty mellow overall, but in a much more confident way that makes him out to be a Martial Pacifist. Whereas the imposter Tyr chastised Freya for wanting to go to war against Odin, the real Týr commends her for taking charge in defeating Odin at least, and his words imply that he would've gladly fought beside them, recognizing that Odin had long since lost his mind and needed to be stopped. Come the Valhalla DLC, it becomes clear that Týr is not only willing to fight, but holds a deep respect for the art of combat, using it as a means to test Kratos' ability to face his past, though these fights deal no permenent damage to either party.
Collector of the Strange: His vault is full of ancient items from all around the world. Among the least notable is a jar of Lemnian wine and a Pharaoh's hat, but he's been given many treasures by the Dwarves and a secret travel rune to Jötunheim by the Frost Giants. The DLC also reveals he personally packs weapons from all over the world, from Mesoamerica to Japan.
Death by Adaptation: Zig-Zagged, he is Dead All Along in Ragnarök. Odin is impersonating him. Except it turns out he isn't. Kratos and Freya can find the real Týr alive in the post game.
Dual Wielding: During the third session of his Recurring Boss run in Valhalla, he wields an Egyptian khopesh in each hand.
Eye Beam: Týr weaponizes his Bifröst eyes by grabbing Kratos and coating the Spartan in it, all before tossing him across the arena to cause a delayed explosion from the impact. He can also create an area-of-effect shockwave by looking skyward, then looking downwards and clasping his hands together.
- While there are similarities to Mimir’s usage of his own Bifröst eyes, Týr can seemingly create the energy on his own without absorbing it from an external source.
Foil: To Ares from the original trilogy. Both hold the title of War God to their respective pantheons and were considered weird and unpopular by them, with the Top God conspiring against them to keep their influence from growing out of control. While Ares was a meathead who aspired only to kill and destroy, Týr only wanted to foster peace and diplomacy. The Olympians set up Kratos to replace Ares because his warmongering made him treacherous and a threat to civilization, while the Aesir saw Týr as a coward for his pacifism and Odin had him imprisoned under the belief that his cosmopolitanism made him a threat to their way of life. While Ares wanted to make Kratos the ultimate killing machine in his image and succeeded in spades, Týr helps Kratos move past such a bad self-image just has he had in the past.
- He's also one to Odin. Both value knowledge and wisdom, but where Odin seeks to use everything he learns to reinforce his control over his life and the lives of others and strengthen his power, Týr seeks to use the knowledge he gains to unify all people under one banner of coexistence. Týr is beloved by everyone he comes across, while Odin is feared and in many cases hated even by those closest to him and only follow him because they have seemingly no other options.
Gentle Giant: He's 8'5"(~257 cm) tall according to Santa Monica and utterly looms over every other character he encounters, and is also a advocate for peace and harmony throughout the Nine Realms and beyond despite also being a War God prophesied to lead the armies at Ragnarök.
God Is Good: One of the few straight examples from this series, to the point where he is beloved and was even thought of fondly by the Aesir, save for Odin.
Good Counterpart:
- Both he and Ares were gods of war who were born among their pantheon; they also both rebelled against their fellow gods. However, unlike Ares, who rebelled against his fellow gods for himself, Týr did it for noble intentions such as protecting the giants and helping the mortals.
- Týr is, essentially, everything Kratos isn't. Or was; a large part of Valhalla is Týr helping Kratos to become the God the Ghost of Sparta was meant to be. It even extends to their fighting styles. Once you progress far enough into the game, Týr is as close to fighting like Kratos in the entire series as detailed under Mirror Boss.
Good Is Not Soft: Make no mistake, while Týr seeks to bring peace to the world, he’s more than willing to defend the innocent and fight anyone who threatens them. He carries a variety of mythical weapons, too, and his strength and skill in combat rival even that of Kratos. Odin disguised as Týr, however, inverts this trope, as he portrays him as a coward who does little more than run away when faced with danger.
Good Old Fisticuffs: Subverted. Týr does show skill in hand-to-hand combat, using grappling moves to toss Kratos around the arena via subtle shifting his centre of balance, but this is regulated to small cutscenes, and he attacks through the various summoned weapons he wields rather than just punching Kratos. His Punch Catch against his Greek counterpart shows he can match Kratos' own strength without issue, making it clear that he just prefers skilful use of fighting technique in battle, as opposed to Thor's own use of immense, overwhelming brute force to challenge Kratos' limits amongst the Norse pantheon.
Greater-Scope Paragon: Most of the second half of the plot revolves around him, his temple, backstory, and finding a way to get to Jötunheim despite being long dead. In fact, flipping his temple is the correct way to gain a crucial McGuffin in order to get there as well.
Hero of Another Story: Týr had all sorts of adventures over many different realms that could have made for a game of their own long before Kratos and Atreus learned more about him. The Valhalla DLC has him admit that he also was facing doubts about his position as a god, having gone through a similar journey of self-reflection as Kratos does in this story.
Hope Bringer: Týr was inspirational to many species due to his diplomacy skills and through him, there was hope for peace within the realms, but Odin believed that Týr was conspiring against him and killed him. He also brought hope to Kratos by inspiring Atreus to find his equilibrium about unity and how murder and violence aren't always the first answer. And in the Valhalla DLC, he personally brings hope to Kratos that he may move on beyond the murderous Spartan he once was, complete with bringing up Pandora's Box to make his point.
Inconsistent Spelling: The subtitles in Ragnarök can't decide whether it's "Tyr" or "Týr" with an accent mark, to the point of both spellings being used in the same subtitle. There's a reason for this–they are two different people, and there is very much a rule on how the naming works; "Tyr" is only used by the speaker indicator when the false Tyr is speaking, everything else in the game spells his name as Týr, including the real Týr's speaker indicator.
Impersonation-Exclusive Character: Downplayed, as most of the interactions with him are with an disguised Odin, but the first game's lore and Ragnarök's post-game interactions with him are about the real deal.
Katanas Are Just Better: In the fourth and final phase of his Recurring Boss gauntlet for Valhalla, Týr battles Kratos with a katana in addition to the other weapons from previous phases. In fitting with his Mirror Boss fighting style, it seems to be reflective for Kratos' new Iconic Item, the Leviathan Axe, as opposed to his old Blades of Chaos, and features the most difficult fight against Týr up to that point.
Mellow Fellow: Týr is a nonchalant, peaceful, and serene philosopher who often acts with calm and composure. The only times he raises his voice happen when he is actually being impersonated by Odin, and even then, they are generally unique situations, such as Garm being freed from his chains.
Magic Knight: Týr pairs his myriad weapon arsenal with powerful magic during his Recurring Boss run in Valhalla, such as Blood Magic and flame with his macuahuitl and ice with his katana.
Martial Pacifist: Despite his title, Týr sought friendship with every culture he met and was well-traveled. In his mind, it was the only real way to stop all wars.
Messianic Archetype: An All-Loving Hero, a certified Hope Bringer for lands across the world, a wise philosopher, humble to a fault, and probably the best god seen in the series thus far. Bonus points for even Looking like Jesus.
Mirror Boss: Of a sort in Valhalla. Just like Kratos, Týr wields multiple weapons that he switches between for different attack patterns, and he can imbue them with fire, ice, or light, just as each of Kratos' weapons match such elements. Týr's weapons of choice can even be seen as parallels to Kratos' plus his bare-handed fighting style; a large club in place of the Blade of Olympus (which Kratos gains access to as a Rage of Sparta option, complete with a different fighting style unique to it), a shield, a large single-bladed weapon, a pair of twin swords, and a spear. He even shows skill in hand-to-hand combat, though he showcases a preference for grappling techniques that allow him to toss Kratos around with "a subtle shift in weight", showcasing his preference for skilled control as opposed to Kratos' flaming haymakers to the face — and even then, his Punch Catch demonstrates that his physical strength can match Kratos' own if needed, he just prefers not to.
Multi-Melee Master: In Valhalla, he battles Kratos wielding a variety of weapons he acquired in his travels to other worlds. This includes a (identical to those on his statue, right down to the spiraling on the spear shaft and rune on the shield) Norse shield and spear, a Mesoamerican Macuahuitl, a pair of Egyptian Khopeshes, and a Japanese Katana. He proves himself highly skilled with all of them. He's also shown to be a skilled grappler, wrestling with Kratos and hurling him across the room with a "subtle shift in weight".
Nice Guy: Despite his status as a War God, Týr was known to be a valiant and kind man in his travels across the realms. The true Týr is as serene, helpful, and kind as the stories about him, and he even makes it his goal to help Kratos sort out his past issues in the Valhalla DLC.
Not Quite Dead: Ragnarök reveals that he was actually imprisoned by Odin and is freed early on. Then it's revealed that version of Tyr was actually Odin in disguise, leading others to think that the real Týr is truly dead... Until the postgame, where a mission can lead Kratos and Freya into freeing the real Týr.
Not So Above It All: In Valhalla, Týr shows immense amounts of humility and ability to reflect on himself and others that helps him try to be the Warrior Therapist that Kratos needs to face himself... but even he quickly grows exasperated with Helios and his constant bitterness towards Kratos and his crimes against the Greek Pantheon.
"Not So Different" Remark: Upon inviting Kratos to Valhalla, Týr explains that he, too, had once been unsure of his position as God of War, so he traveled in search of answers, the process helping him become the wise god most know him as today.
Pacifism Is Cowardice: Týr was looked down upon by the other Aesir because he wasn't as combative and eager to fight. When he appears in Ragnarök, Tyr spends his time trying to dissuade the others from fighting back because he doesn't want prophecy to control his choices. However, Tyr was actually Odin in disguise and he was deliberately exaggerating Týr's pacifism to demoralize the rebellion. The real Týr was actually proud of Freya for going to war against Odin because he knew any chance at a diplomatic solution had long since passed. Tyr's fighting prowess showcased in Valhalla further drives how how demeaning Odin's portrayal of his pacifism was, as he proves capable of matching Kratos in a spar, and even pulls a Punch Catch that stops his Greek counterpart's charge cold to end the match, showing that he's capable of fighting even harder if he needed to...but he has no need or want to.
The Paragon: Týr was an acclaimed peacemaker and sought friendship and knowledge with every culture he encountered. His temple is filled to the brim with gifts from such cultures as the Celts and Greeks. The only reason Odin killed him was that Odin accused him of conspiracy and executed him for it.
Passing the Torch: When he's revealed as the one who sent the invitation in the Valhalla DLC, Týr notes that he endorses Kratos taking up the position of god of war in his place. According to him, his own legend had diminished among the mortals during his time imprisoned, where Kratos is a much fresher and more notable hero to Midgard.
Posthumous Character: In the previous game, Týr was assumed by Mimir to have been killed by Odin, Ragnarök reveals that he was actually imprisoned by Odin, or so it seemed. He actually is alive, albeit imprisoned, and can be found in the post-game.
Power Glows: In Valhalla, as Kratos continually challenges him Týr's hands start glowing (Khopesh moveset) and eventually he has a glowing arrow on his head (Katana moveset).
Properly Paranoid: Týr's vault is protected by all manner of traps, riddles, and monster guardians. Mimir takes this paranoia as justified since Odin was after the contents of his vault.
Punch Catch: In Valhalla, upon being satisfied with Kratos' performance in their Trial by Combat, he ends the sparring, and his opponent's charge, stone cold with one of these. Repeat: He stops Kratos' punch completely, the blow strong enough to cause a shockwave, and Týr's body language makes it clear that he's still restraining himself from long-time experience and self-mastery of similar rage issues Kratos struggles with.
The Reliable One: He was a trusted friend of the jötnar and was the only person they could trust with their secrets.
Reports of My Death Were Greatly Exaggerated: Played with. Everyone assumes Týr is dead, only for Atreus to find evidence he's alive. He and Kratos find Tyr imprisoned. Only for "Tyr" to be revealed to be Odin in disguise much later. Thus everyone assumes Týr was Dead All Along. Then in the post-game, Kratos and Freya can stumble on a destroyed prison in Niflheim... containing the real Týr, alive. Having missed Ragnarök entirely.
Recurring Boss: In the Valhalla DLC, Kratos faces him multiple times, and he serves as the Final Boss too.
Sadly Mythtaken: Outside the context of the game, his status as God of War is solely down to the creative interpretation of a throwaway line in Lokasenna by Saxo Grammaticus. On the other hand, there is a reference to him as a bringer of victory in Sigrdrífumál. Still, he's nowhere near as important as a war god in Norse Mythology as Odin is. It should also be noted that even if Týr was a war-god, the game's depiction of him as actively trying to avoid wars and settle matters peaceably would have made him come off as a coward to pagan Germanics (particularly the Norse) to whom physical combat was among the most celebrated pursuits, and any attempts to avoid battle was seen as being unmanly.
Shell-Shocked Veteran:
- When first released by Kratos and Atreus, he's fearful, broken, and suffering from hallucinations, to where he believes that Mimir's talking head is all in his mind and flees in terror from Mimir's "murderers". It takes Kratos — who has likely seen more than his share of battle-broken warriors — to snap him back by reminding him of his former status as a general and leader of men. This is later subverted when Odin's impersonation is revealed; his apparent psychological problems were a cruel parody of the All-Father's captive that allowed him to earn the heroes' trust. The actual Týr, upon being freed, is understandably a bit shaken after the centuries of imprisonment and torture, and needs "space" to meditate and contemplate how the world has changed in his absence, but is otherwise a peaceful and unburdened soul.
- Valhalla reveals that, once he's adjusted to the changed status Quo, the actual Týr plays the "veteran" part very straight, but is more of an Old Master, even setting up a Trial by Combat with Kratos as a means of getting him in the correct headspace to resolve his long-standing doubts and rage problems. Despite that, his dialogue and actions throughout indicates that he too was once in a similar position to Kratos himself until he reached self-enlightenment through Valhalla's trials, meaning his changed demeanour is from having long since overcome his personal demons, rather than being consumed by them.
Slept Through the Apocalypse: Twice over, it seems. The real Týr is imprisoned in Niflheim and is only freed by Kratos and Freya in the post-game, after Ragnarök has already happened. He commends Freya for rising to the occasion and doing what she could while all he could do was scratch tally marks on a wall. When he meets Kratos for the first time, he does recognize the god's name but seemingly has no idea the Greek pantheon is gone.
Spared By Adaptation: In the Norse myths, according to the Prose Edda, Týr fights against the monstrous dog/wolf Garmr in Ragnarök and each becomes the other's slayer. In the games, Týr is still alive and well after Ragnarök happened and Garm was defeated.
Spirited Competitor: The real Týr the closest thing the Valhalla DLC has to The Antagonist, but he's not challenging Kratos for any malevolent reason, just to help him work through his problems - and to actually see what his counterpart War God is like in a fight, being quite pleased with what he finds.
Story-Breaker Power: Valhalla reveals this is the reason why Týr had to be kept away from the main story, not only is he just as powerful and skilled as Kratos but he has the one ability that would have screwed over half of Odin's plans: he is a really good therapist and could have helped work out most of the cast problems before Ragnarok.
Strong and Skilled: In the Valhalla DLC, Týr proves himself to be both strong and skilled enough to go toe to toe with Kratos. He's a Multi-Melee Master capable of wielding a broad variety of weapons with superlative skill, and is strong enough to perform a Punch Catch that stops Kratos' punch cold.
Technical Pacifist: In Ragnarok, while he doesn't want to fight, he will shove enemies off cliffs and acknowledges that his pacifism doesn't apply to Hel-Walkers. In the Valhalla DLC the real Týr is not afraid to engage Kratos in a bit of martial therapy to aid him for Valhalla's tests.
Token Good Teammate: Most Aesir are seen as bloodthirsty and brutal rulers who have little care for their subjects and inflict war for selfish reasons, but Týr, alongside Mimir, is one of the few who go in the opposite direction, standing out as a pacifist god who befriended every culture he met and was beloved and respected by all, even by the enemies of the Aesir.
Too Good for This Sinful Earth: Subverted, he was one of two people who could have truly prevented Ragnarök through unity, but a paranoid Odin seemingly killed him for suspicion of conspiring against him. However, it seems to be Subverted in Ragnarök when it turns out he's been imprisoned by Odin... only for it later to be revealed to be actually Odin impersonating the long dead God to undermine his opponents. Only for it to then turn out that he WAS imprisoned.
Unseen No More: After only being referenced in God of War (PS4), he appears in Ragnarök.
Violence is the Only Option: Although known as one of the most peaceful and honorable of the Aesir, Týr understands that violence is necessary when used as a last resort. Odin-Tyr tried to avoid war at all costs and came across as a spineless appeaser who would rather allow 8 realms to suffer from Odin's rule than stand up to him and be a prophecized hero. After Ragnarök, Kratos and Freya actually meet the real Týr and he actually praises Freya for finally breaking free of the marriage and standing up to Odin to save the realms.
Vocal Dissonance: Despite literally towering over Kratos, Týr's speaking voice is noticeably high and nasally, similar to Baldur.
Walking Spoiler: Everything regarding Týr in the later stages of the game becomes this, not only due to the fact that the Týr that accompanied the heroes in the main story turned out to be Odin in disguise but that the real Týr is even alive in the first place after being led to believe that he's been Dead All Along.
Walking the Earth: In the postgame, the real Týr will travel around the Eight Realms and can be visited in various locales after being freed.
War God: The Norse God of War; unlike past examples in this series, Týr sees war as a last resort to injustice and prefers seeking pacifistic measures before all else. Valhalla would expand on the real his character as more of a balanced version of a Technical Pacifist in that while he would prefer peace, he absolutely isn't afraid to show he is a God of War when push comes to shove and might be, in some ways, even better than Kratos at it as he shows during their sparring matches.
Warrior Therapist: Acts as one in the Valhalla DLC; he's the one that lures Kratos to Valhalla, and engages him in friendly duels. By doing this, he encourages Kratos to reconsider his past actions so that he sees them in a less dire light, and therefore preparing him to face his past head on.
" A man at war with himself places a deficit upon his focus. He is impatient, emotional, easily surprised. A man at one with himself has a clearer mind, sharper instincts. That man is ready to win. That man is ready to progress."
Willfully Weak: Týr in the Valhalla DLC is holding back much of his true power as he serves as the Final Boss of each run in his pursuit to help Kratos come to terms with himself, as he proves to be able to match Kratos evenly and give him one hell of a fight to earn his understanding—but after being beaten by Kratos, he shows he's still holding a lot back as he's able to Punch Catch Kratos and stop it cold whenever he yields which implies that if it came down to an actual life-or-death battle between the two, Týr would be far harder an opponent than to be expected even for Kratos's ability.
Worthy Opponent: In Valhalla, Týr challenges Kratos to a series of friendly duels, each one ending with Kratos offering a hand to pull Týr to his feet, which Týr graciously accepts. This, alongside various pieces of midfight dialogue where Týr offers compliments and encouragement to Kratos makes it clear that Týr sees his fellow War God as this.
White Sheep: While Ragnarök shows that not all of the Aesir are warmongering psychos, the whole pantheon is under the thumb of Odin and his machinations. What made Týr different was that he actually made an effort to foster peace and cooperation among the Nine Realms, making him more popular than any of his fellow gods. Unfortunately, Odin saw this as mutiny and had him imprisoned and his name besmirched in Asgard.

Heimdall

Voiced by: Scott Porter (English)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/hei.png

"I find the hues and shades of your shortcomings almost moving."

^{Click here to see his appearance in God of War (2018)}

"Real power, you see, does not need to flaunt. It emerges when the time is right. Don't you agree?"

The Norse God of Foresight and the vigilant watchman of the Aesir.

Serving as Odin's left-hand and the guardian of Asgard, Heimdall zealously assists the All-Father in whatever methods need execution. He also possesses the Gjallarhorn, the tool with which he is prophesized to herald the beginning of Ragnarök. His precognition abilities and prestigious title have long gone to his head, leading to a sadistic sense of entitlement and a cruel, spiteful personality.

Heimdall first appears in the flesh in God of War Ragnarök, meeting Atreus outside the walls of Asgard after the young Giant visits the realm to find answers. A virulent hatred quickly brews between the two, and though Odin is quick to take Atreus in, Heimdall's suspicions and intentions with the boy only worsen over time...

0% Approval Rating: Combined with Hated by All, Heimdall is so arrogant that being around him just makes the other Aesir gods and all the citizens of Asgard want to knock his teeth out. When Kratos kills him, no one mourns his death—Sif only uses his death to try and get rid of Atreus, but doesn't actually care about him, while Atreus flat out tells Odin that no one liked Heimdall, to which Odin agrees.
Adaptational Villainy: In myth Heimdall is usually portrayed as one of the noblest and steadfast of the Aesir. Here he's a smug Jerkass who antagonizes literally everyone he meets.
Age Lift: While he doesn't get many physical descriptions in mythology, Heimdall as he is usually depicted looks a lot older due to his beard and muscles. Heimdall in the game looks more like a late teen or young adult by comparison.
Ain't Too Proud to Beg: Both played straight and subverted when when Kratos pins his arm to the wall with a spear and violently wrenches it upwards, Heimdall shrieks at the top of his lungs "OKAY, STOP, STOP!", his pride slipping for just a second as he experiences a pain and terror he's likely never felt before... until he reads Kratos through eye-contact and interprets his pity, getting so offended that he starts taunting the Spartan by threatening Atreus instead. He continues to goad Kratos into killing him against his own wishes out of spite, right up to the moment the light leaves his eyes.
Always Someone Better: Heimdall's resentment for Atreus and Thor stems from the fact that they are both closer to Odin than he is. Although Heimdall is Odin's left-hand man, he thinks he can do better than Thor at serving the all-father and has Gjallarhorn designed with rams to parallel the goat imagery on Thor's hammer. With Atreus, Heimdall hates how Atreus is getting special treatment from the all-father, voices his excitement over embarrassing Atreus in front of Odin for releasing Garm, bullies Atreus because he knows Atreus is weaker than him, and plans to kill Atreus out of spite towards Kratos as well as out of jealousy over the all-father's attention.
Animal Motif: Rams, Lunda compares him to a ram in the cosplay guide while examining Gjallarhorn and takes note of the ram imagery on the item. Like sheep, Heimdall is a conformist to Odin's ideas and is operating under the belief that he must protect Asgard from Atreus, who he sees destroying his home realm in his visions, like how a ram would protect its flock from danger. Lunda specifically notes that Heimdall is just as aggressive and stubborn as the animal.
Lunda: A ram - that tracks for being stubborn and aggressive.
Brok: Now don't be giving rams a bad name.
A Mind Is a Terrible Thing to Read: An optional conversation with Atreus reveals this aspect to him. His foresight abilities are a massive advantage to a fighter and a watchman that guards the realm from intruders, but Heimdall admits light envy towards Odin for being able to “see the best in people.” His powers enable him to see when people are lying to him, or when they're lying to themselves, leaving him overall contemptuous towards them, and especially those whom have hypocritical traits. This informs much of his condescending nature and tendency to verbally tear down those he interacts with, diagnosing their flaws and stripping away their comforting lies, whereas he himself makes no such pretentious about being anything less than what he is, even if that's a massive Jerkass. Ironically, Heimdall is still fiercely loyal to Odin regardless of this power, either because Odin's Compulsive Liar tendencies means that he honestly thinks of his actions and choices in the best light regardless of how heinous they are, or because Heimdall just doesn't give a crap.
An Arm and a Leg: Kratos stabs Heimdall in his right arm with his spear, which he later detonates after Heimdall threatened to gut Atreus. Heimdall then creates an Artificial Limb made out of Bifrost in order to continue his fight with Kratos.
Arch-Enemy: As in myth, to Atreus/Loki. Every conversation between the two is positively dripping with venom and contempt, and that's before Heimdall starts entertaining the idea of murdering the boy.
Arrogant Kung-Fu Guy: Like you wouldn't believe. Heimdall's arrogance is his defining character trait, and it is well earned for him; as the Foresight God he has prescience and the ability to read the minds of others that allows him to foresee and dodge or counter any attack thrown his way. As such, he has a massively inflated ego, believing himself to be far more powerful and important than he actually is because of both his role for Ragnarök and his seeming imperviousness. Like any good example of this trope, his Fatal Flaw is being pitied or perceived by others as helpless or weak. When Kratos manages to pin him to a wall during their fight he assumes that Kratos will simply kill him, but Kratos deciding to spare him instead sends him into a frothing fury at the idea of being pitied, and he manages to Turn Red by regrowing his freshly detached arm with Bifrost, but completely ignores his precognition in exchange for pure battle-rage, allowing Kratos to get the upper hand and ultimately strangle him to death.
Arrow Catch: As if simply dodging an arrow point blank is not enough, Heimdall easily catches arrows Atreus and Freya loose at him, with just one hand too. He also does it with the Draupnir Spear Kratos throws at him but this time it works against him as Kratos then detonates the spear right as Heimdall is holding it. It doesn't hurt him, but it contributes to weakening his precognitive abilities.
Asshole Victim: His sadism and overbearing narcissism combined with his planning to kill Atreus lend him little sympathy when Kratos rips him to pieces. Brok even derisively calls him "a prize-winning taint stain with a capital stank" if Kratos tells him of Heimdall's death.
Ax-Crazy: After Kratos tries to spare him, Heimdall reads that he’s being pitied, flies into a psychotic rage and restarts the fight, spending the rest of the battle as a snarling lunatic.
Bad People Abuse Animals: Considers his mount, Gulltoppr, a status symbol of his ability to tame beasts, and treats it as nothing more than fodder to wear Kratos down and injure him in their fight, sarcastically pleading, "what did [he] ever do to you?!" when Kratos fights back. After the graðungr's throat is slit, Heimdall looks at it with disappointment before muttering "ah, well" and kicking its body.
Berserk Button: Being pitied or looked down on seems to be a huge one for him, as when Kratos tried to spare him out of pity, Heimdall flew off the rails and tried to kill him.
Big Bad Wannabe: Although he's the watchman of the Aesir, he leaves his post to fight Kratos in Vanaheim because he wants to prove himself to Odin. It's also implied by Sindri and by interactions with Thor that Heimdall is jealous of Thor and wants to be closer to Odin.
Blessed with Suck: Heimdall's powers will show him a person's intent but he can't switch it off and it's implied to have affected his ability to form close relationships with anyone in Asgard. He drops all pretences of amiability towards others because he believes he can see a person for who they really are and he hates how everyone lies to each other about what they really want, and refuses to believe that intentions can change over time.
Heimdall: You don't really know quite what you're doing here anymore. Sometimes I envy the All-Father. He always sees the best in people. While all I see is what people really are. Nobody ever says what they mean. Some lie to the world; some lie to themselves and don't even know it... And then there is you. You don't know what you want. You don't even know who you are. But I hope you do know this: I will be watching.
Blinded by Rage: In the final part of his boss fight, Heimdall is enraged about the fact that Kratos can not only hit him, but conclusively won the fight and tried to spare Heimdall's life. In this final phase, Heimdall's attacks thus become much faster and stronger, but also more wild and unfocused, losing his ability to dodge.
Braggart Boss: Because of Heimdall's abilities as the Foresight God, he is able to see incoming attacks to him long before they are even made. This manifests itself in the fight against him as Atreus, which is a Hopeless Boss Fight since Atreus can't land a single blow. However, Heimdall's attitude has evolved into arrogance — since he has never before been hit, Heimdall assumes he simply can't be hit. So once Kratos does hit him, Heimdall gets rightly worried because he has little else to fall back on.
Break the Haughty: Heimdall's entire fight with Kratos entails the Foresight God using his precognition abilities to dodge Kratos' attacks, only to have Kratos use the Draupnir Spear to overwhelm Heimdall's precognition and eventually outmaneuver Heimdall to finally punch him in the face. Once that happens, it starts the second phase of the boss fight, in which Heimdall becomes significantly easier to hit. The third phase of the fight breaks him further, with Heimdall becoming enraged that Kratos not only conclusively won the fight, but tried to spare Heimdall. In this form, Heimdall is Blinded by Rage, with his attacks being much stronger but losing his ability to dodge.
You... actually HIT ME!
Bright Is Not Good: Heimdall is associated with white and gold and is devoted to Odin. Heimdall is completely psychopathic as he bullies Thrud and Atreus and is willing to kill the latter out of jealousy.
Brilliant, but Lazy: Heimdall's foresight abilities do give him pinpoint observational skills up to the point where he knows what someone is going to do before they even do it. His capabilities in an actual fight, though, leave something to be desired. When Kratos dampens his foresight power just enough that Heimdall has to fight back instead of dodging and toying with Kratos forever, he is rather sloppy and barely uses his sword because he wasn't prepared for a situation where he can't rely on his foresight for a tactical advantage. One of his lines during the battle even says that he can't remember the last time he used his sword, implying he's inexperienced with a sword or was out of practice by the time he fought Kratos, although it might have been an attempt to massage his ego and reassert dominance.
The Bully: While Heimdall is legitimately a formidable warrior he predominantly feels comfortable targeting those beneath him. Tellingly he enjoys pushing Atreus and Thor's daughter Thrud around, who are at best young teenagers, but he quickly backs off when Thor threatens him and once he's up against Kratos he's rather swiftly torn apart.
Bullying a Dragon:
- Engages in this by proxy with his bullying of Atreus, and eventually he decides to take on Kratos himself, fully aware of his history, while not only repeatedly voicing his desire to brutalize Atreus after he’s done with him, but also having the gall to reject an attempt by a furious Kratos to spare him and resuming the battle. Heimdall continues running his mouth one time too many and loses an arm for it from Kratos using his exploding spear - and then he keeps going, landing him the resounding accomplishment of being the only enemy in the Norse Saga to bring out The Ghost of Sparta in Kratos, who promptly smacks Heimdall to the floor, tenderizes the ground with his face, then strangles him to death. Basically, he arrogantly made it so the only possible option Kratos had was killing him.
- He also likes to antagonize Thor, often mocking his drinking and brawling. However, it's clear that Heimdall only does this because he knows Odin won't let Thor actually kill him. The one time he attempts to square up to the Thunder God after he's stopped from harassing Atreus, Thor simply tells him to look into his eyes to see what he'll do if Heimdall keeps pushing his luck. Heimdall does so, calls him revolting, but ultimately backs off.
Cassandra Truth: Heimdall can see a person's intentions and partially see the future, however, his vision of the future is vague and non-specific. He claims that he sees cities burning when he looks at Atreus, not understanding what could cause these visions. Atreus does destroy Asgard, but he only did it to bring Odin to justice for killing Brok and the other things he's done.
Co-Dragons: To Odin, alongside Thor. Heimdall is mentioned in the codex as Odin's left hand, while Thor is mentioned as Odin's right hand earlier in the game.
Color Motif: White and gold, Heimdall is associated with the colors as shown by his outfit, his teeth, and Gulltoppr is a white beast with gold armor. These colors are to demonstrate Heimdall's ego as he believes he's untouchable because of his foresight and clairvoyance. White stains easily and shows grime, whereas, gold shines when it remains clean so his uniform is always clean and immaculate because he's never been struck or harmed in any form of conflict.
Combat Clairvoyance: Heimdall's powers allow him to see what a person is about to do before they do it and he's gained infamy for being untouchable in battle.
Contrasting Sequel Antagonist: Serves as one to Baldur. Both are seemingly unbeatable, Lean and Mean servants of Odin who pursue Kratos and Atreus on behalf of their master, but that's about where their similarities end. Baldur was a messy, unkempt, drunken-sounding-and-looking bruiser who could tank all damage due to his invulnerablity to all threats, physical or magical, whereas Heimdall is a clean-shaven, well-dressed and groomed man who fights with precision and uses his precognition to dodge all incoming attacks. Both are ultimately undone by their emotional flaws (Baldur attacking his mother after Kratos told him not to and Heimdall having a Villainous Breakdown after getting hit), but while the critical hit on Baldur was pure chance and he puts up a strong fight as the Final Boss after his invulnerability breaks, Heimdall was hit because he got cocky and completely unraveled afterwards, turning into a mere Climax Boss. Finally, whilst Baldur was a dangerous foe he was ultimately too pitiable to truly hate whereas Heimdall is completely detes table.
Corrupted Character Copy: Of Loki from the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which is especially ironic considering who is the target of much of Heimdall's contempt. They are both arrogant yet insecure deities who desperately seek Odin's favor, and would viciously torment others weaker than them in order to assert their superiority. Like Loki, Heimdall stands out from the rest of the Aesir for his lean physique and propensity to wear ostentatious clothing, and his design even bears a vague resemblance to Loki's actor Tom Hiddleston. What sets them apart is that Heimdall lacks Loki's charm and charisma to balance out his unpleasant traits, leaving only an unlikeable and vindictive bully. And while Loki ultimately learns to become a better person after several humbling experiences, Heimdall remains the same detestable jerk even after he's beaten by Kratos. They even die in a similar manner — getting the life choked out of them. But while Loki dies a hero's death in defiance against his former master Thanos, Heimdall dies pitiably at Kratos's hands and only because of his own ego and suicidal bull-headedness refusing Kratos' mercy.
Curb-Stomp Battle:
- Atreus's first meeting with Heimdall results in a short, one-sided battle where Atreus can't land a single blow on him. Atreus only survives because Odin calls Heimdall off.
- When Thrud has enough of Heimdall's insults, she tries to shut him up. Like Atreus, she can’t land any blows on him either.
The Cynic: As a result of constantly seeing a person's intentions, he always assumes the worst and has major trust issues towards others. Which makes him one of the most hated members of the Aesir.
The Dandy: Compared to other members of the Aesir, Heimdall appears the most sophisticated and he's dressed the most sumptuously due to his white and gold attire.
''(Blocking a hit from Kratos) "Hey! Careful! These are new bracers!"
Deadpan Snarker: You can count on Heimdall to come up with a snide comment on almost anything any character says or does. It's usually delivered as Trash Talk or a devastating roast.
Death by Irony: Kratos had just decided he wasn't going to go hunt down and kill Heimdall... Only for Heimdall to attack Kratos anyway and then refuse Kratos' attempts to end the fight.
Defiant to the End: He refuses Kratos' pity by making it clear he will kill Atreus and when Kratos is strangling him he tries to do the same with his fading Bifrost arm. Played more pathetically than usual, as the implication is that he was only like that because his fragile ego couldn't stand the possibility of Kratos pitying him.
Desperately Craves Affection: It's implied that Heimdall's power has left him with major trust issues because he always sees a person's intentions. The reason Heimdall is so devoted to Odin is that Odin somehow managed to bypass Heimdall's powers and look like he's pure intentions for the realms.
Didn't See That Coming: While he has very good foresight abilities, he fails to account for a weapon that could endlessly multiply itself, such as the Draupnir Spear.
Didn't Think This Through: Heimdall's abilities allow him to see a person's intentions at first glance and he always acts on first impulse without thinking about the consequences of doing so. When he meets Atreus, he orchestrates an ambush because he sees Atreus destroying Asgard in his visions, not thinking about how Odin might feel about Heimdall killing his guest. This is what also leads to his own death and the destruction of Asgard, had Heimdall actually thought through the consequences of killing Atreus, Kratos wouldn't have felt the need to kill Heimdall to protect his son, which allows him to take Gjallarhorn from his body.
Odin: He's a lot. I know. Very perceptive, but sometimes he just forgets to think, you know?
Dirty Coward: Acts high and mighty whenever he has the advantage or goes against someone weaker than him but if the tide turns on him then he will pathetically beg for mercy such as when Kratos stabbed him with the spear. Subverted when he becomes enraged by perceiving Kratos’s warnings as “pity”; so much that he continues to engage in battle with animalistic fury; not caring that he might die.
Dies Differently in Adaptation: Funnily enough, not unlike his counterpart in actual mythology, he is "fated" to confront Loki and eventually kill him (although in actual myth, it ends up being a Mutual Kill between the two of them) as the Norns themselves declare to Kratos as the god's intent to do to Atreus to stop him from being a potential Spanner in the Works, however, by repeatedly triggering the Papa Wolf that is Kratos Heimdall instead never gets his intended fate and dies at the hands of the Ghost of Sparta after pushed into a blind rage.
Disproportionate Retribution: The reason Heimdall hates Atreus is that Odin is giving Atreus more attention and he visibly excited to shame Atreus in front of Odin when Garm is released.
Don't You Dare Pity Me!: After being impaled by his right arm against the wall, Kratos decides to walk away; enraging Heimdall thinking that he's no longer a direct threat to the Ghost of Sparta anymore.
Dope Slap: When dodging and toying with his foes, his primary attack is to just slap them upside the head.
Dragon with an Agenda: He's zealously devoted to Odin's plan to maintain control over the 9 realms but is not aware of Odin's cooperation with Atreus to repair a mask that would allow him to see into a dimensional rift. Because of this, Heimdall tries to kill Atreus because Heimdall's visions show Atreus destroying Asgard.
Drunk with Power: By the time we meet him, Heimdall has very clearly gotten high off of his own foresight abilities, becoming an insufferably arrogant bully because he believes he can see everything coming.
Ear Notch: Lúnda theorizes that this is why he wears a highlight on only one ear; to hide an old wound.
Establishing Character Moment: When first introduced confronting Atreus while guarding the Wall, Heimdall seems very willing to let him fall to his death, and even taunts him with a dropping apple before deciding not to kill him on the chance that Odin might want to speak with him. On the ride there, he gives an insulting yet not totally inaccurate summation of Atreus's flaws, telling him to his face that he sees the destruction of Asgard in him, while repeatedly insulting and belittling him; he never misses a chance to boast of the Aesir's superiority, scoffs at the "revisionist tale" that Hrimthur built the Wall as if it's the first time he's hearing it, and says that Odin doesn't need to be "puff[ed] up like some mortal chieftain" before adding that the All-Father built the Great Lodge with his own hands. All of it shows Heimdall to be a smug, arrogant, cruel little pissant that takes great pride in his abilities and position, but doesn't have the perspective to recognize his own indoctrination, or the understanding to acknowledge the flaws in himself and his idols.
Evil Cannot Comprehend Good: Like many other Norse Gods, Heimdall looks down upon the Greek concept of Last-Second Chance when he was offered one by Kratos.
Evil Counterpart: Heimdall is Atreus's evil counterpart and what would have happened if Atreus never had his ego reigned in by Kratos. Like Atreus during his arrogant state, Heimdall believes he's better than everyone else and uses his godly status to be a preening, arrogant sadist who thinks he's above everyone else and can do whatever he wants.
Evil Has a Bad Sense of Humor: Heimdall mocks Atreus by comparing him to a goose, even going as far as to start honking.
Extreme Mêlée Revenge: Heimdall threatens Atreus one time too many, even after Kratos kept giving Heimdall a chance to walk away. When it's clear that this isn't going to end any other way, Kratos kills Heimdall by slugging him across the face, knocking him to the ground. Once Heimdall is down, he slams Heimdall's face into the rocks a few times before strangling him to death with his bare hands.
Facepalm Of Doom: During his third phase he gains an unblockable attack where he lunges at Kratos with his spectral arm. If it connects Heimdall grabs Kratos by the head and discharges a blast of bifrost energy into his face.
Fantastic Racism: He is bigoted towards giants and mixed-race people as he calls Atreus a half-breed multiple times due to Atreus' heritage.
Fatal Flaw:
- Pride. Heimdall's ego is massive, and while he's not incapable of backing up his boasts, any affront to his pride severely ticks him off. It's Kratos' attempt to spare Heimdall's life in the fight that convinces Heimdall to make a final, fatal attempt to kill him after interpreting the Spartan's goodwill gesture as a sign of pity. Even more present earlier in the boss fight, where Heimdall repeatedly foregoes more lethal attacks to merely lightly kick Kratos with his boot, or thwack him with the blunt sheath of his sword due to his Suicidal Overconfidence. If Heimdall simply had went for the kill before Kratos got the chance to use the Draupnir Spear, the fight could've gone much differently.
- Impulsiveness and lack of foresight. Ironically, Heimdall actually lacks any degree of foresight and, as Odin points out, doesn't think about the consequences of his actions. As a result of his mind-reading and clairvoyance, Heimdall always prejudges someone by evaluating them on their intentions rather than waiting to see the consequences of their actions. Because Heimdall can see a person's intentions, he assumes he knows better and will immediately do what's necessary to stop them if he thinks they're evil or chaotic.
  - For example, Heimdall's vision shows Atreus destroying Asgard; Heimdall tries to kill Atreus because it means Asgard's protection is absolute. However, Heimdall doesn't think about how people are going to react if Atreus is harmed or how Odin will react if Heimdall kills his guest.
  - While attacking Vanaheim, Heimdall breaks away to fight Kratos rather than assisting with the assault, which results in his death, Kratos receiving Gjallarhorn from his corpse, and indirectly leading to the destruction of Asgard. Had he left Gjallarhorn in Asgard and not overestimated himself, Kratos wouldn't have gotten such a prized possession of Odin's.
- Complacency. Heimdall was blessed with telepathy and clairvoyance and it's kept him safe for all his life because he's never been hit or struck. However, he's become so reliant on these powers that he's vastly unprepared for a situation where someone might actually kill him. During the fight against Kratos, Heimdall is overwhelmed with animalistic rage after Kratos bypasses his abilities by disorientating him and he only starts taking the fight seriously after Kratos tries to spare him after pinning him to wall.
First Injury Reaction: By the time the game proper starts, Heimdall has gotten so good with his precognition that he's begun to assume that he simply can't be hurt. And as shown by the battle against Atreus being one where Atreus can't land a single blow on Heimdall, this attitude isn't entirely unwarranted. So when Kratos actually does hit Heimdall during the boss battle against him, Heimdall completely loses his cool, trying to convince himself that Kratos landing a blow was just luck and attempting to play it off.
Five-Second Foreshadowing: Twice.
- In the cutscene after Atreus' fight against Heimdall, Atreus' arrow in the cutscene gets some mud flecks over Heimdall, causing him to lose his cool after a moment. This small moment can be easily missed but it already shows a way to beat Heimdall as he can see when Atreus is firing an arrow despite facing away from him but he can't see the consequences of catching said arrow.
- This is what Heimdall's powers are in a nutshell, he can only see things very briefly or as long as a person performs a specific action. He can see in his mind that Atreus will fire one of his arrows, but he can't see how he might get mud flecks on him from catching an arrow. He can see when Kratos is throwing a spear, but can't see how the duplicate will explode–only that Kratos will, for some reason, stomp the spear to the ground when Heimdall catches it.
Foil: To Thor. Both of them are Odin's top enforcers and are staunchly loyal to him. However, as Ragnarök reveals, while Thor secretly hates himself and feels awful about hurting others, desperately craving Odin's approval, Heimdall couldn't care less and thinks very highly of himself, and does what Odin asks without question. By the time of their deaths, Thor stood up to Odin and defied him, realizing how truly awful he was, while Heimdall remained loyal to Odin and believed he was just.
Gameplay and Story Integration: Once you hit him for the first time, his Stun bar is immediately filled and never depletes, showing how he wasn't able to recover enough from the shock of being made vulnerable- and correspondingly, he never recovers his ability to dodge all attacks.
The Ghost: He doesn't appear in the first game, but the "Horn of Heimdall" talisman is named in his honor. He later appears in the second as a really obnoxious antagonist.
Atreus: What are these?
Sindri: Braided mistletoe arrows. Straighter than Heimdall and perfectly weighted.
The Gadfly: Heimdall is insufferably smug and loves provoking people so he can get a reaction from them. In a conversation with Atreus, Heimdall reveals that the reason he taunts people is that his powers allow him to a person's intentions, something they themselves may not know about. Because Heimdall can see a person's intentions, he believes everyone is lying to themselves and lying to each other about what they want and so he chooses to speak without a filter because it means he's the only one being honest about who he is.
"I can feel your frustration! It is IMMENSELY satisfying!"
Give Me a Reason: Right from first meeting him he's willing to sadistically drop Atreus off the top of the great wall and is demonstrably unhappy that being Odin's guest means he's under his protection and thus he can't kill him. He cautions Odin several times that having Atreus around is a bad idea, and he'd be better off killing the young giant before he causes them great harm via spying or sabotage. This antagonisment of Atreus is why the Norns predict that he's 'fated' to ultimately kill him, despite The Reveal that everybody has free will — Heimdall just really, really wants to kill him, and won't be dissuaded from it by persuasion or violent beatings by Kratos' hands. In fact, Kratos' attempts to spare him just make him double down on his desire to kill him no matter what out of spite for both father and son.
Gold and White Are Divine: A villainous example, Heimdall's outfit is decorated white and gold to reflect his abilities and he's the most outwardly mystical as his clairvoyance always gave him an advantage over his opponents.
Good Cop/Bad Cop: He essentially (if unwittingly) plays the Bad Cop to Odin's Good Cop, as he repeatedly threatens to kill Atreus while Odin welcomes him as a guest and rebukes Heimdall. Knowing how manipulative Odin is, it's quite likely that he was deliberately stationed there so Atreus would meet Heimdall first, allowing Odin to make a good first impression by swooping in to save him.
Green-Eyed Monster: Implied, it appears that one of the reasons Heimdall hates Atreus is because Atreus is getting special treatment from the All-Father and Heimdall feels begrudged and pulled down by Atreus. Heimdall is more than eager to point out Atreus's flaws and overexcited about seeing Atreus explain to Odin how he and Thrud released Garm. The fact that he doesn't think about killing Atreus until he's pinned to the wall can paint the idea that he was more focused on proving himself to the All-Father than killing Atreus.
Hated by All: There's not a single person alive who can tolerate Heimdall for more than a single word for his arrogant, cocksure behavior. Case in point? Even Odin, who isn't exactly loved himself by his own tendencies doesn't refute that he had his own death coming, and is more concerned about losing Gjallarhorn than he is losing Heimdall. When listing his attributes ("never loses" and "sees everything coming"), Sindri adds "unpopular at parties". Atreus straight up points out to Odin when he asks who killed him that Heimdall was disliked by basically everyone. Odin doesn't refute this.
Hate Sink: This portrayal of Heimdall is depicted as a snobbish and bigoted jerk who likes to bully others and call everyone he meets cruel names. His behavior towards people like Atreus is what makes this version extremely despicable and he can quickly get on a lot of players' nerves. Thor and Baldur were ultimately tragic figures, Odin has a Faux Affably Evil charm to him, and even Magni and Modi got some pity for their wretched upbringing. Heimdall? Heimdall just sucks.
Haughty Help: Although he's devoted to Odin, he's incredibly arrogant and patronizing to everyone else as he outright bullies Thrud and Atreus.
His Own Worst Enemy: He's basically a case study in how people create their own dooms with their choices. Heimdall's clairvoyance means the only way to beat him is to taunt him into doing something stupid... and, due to his fragile ego, that's remarkably easy. He even ultimately forces his own death because he'll never betray Odin, never stop pursuing Atreus, and never allow himself to be defeated non-lethally; Kratos tries, but Heimdall then proceeds to attack him again and threaten to kill both Kratos and Atreus, resulting in Kratos strangling him.
Hobbes Was Right: During a conversation with Atreus, Heimdall says that he only sees the worst in people because his powers always show their intentions and he believes people aren't being honest with each other. Despite this, he's completely devoted to Odin despite the threat Odin imposes on the rest of the realms. Either Odin managed to bypass Heimdall's foresight or Heimdall is so cynical and loyal to Odin that he genuinely believes that Odin's rule is best for everyone.
Hopeless Boss Fight: When Atreus faces Heimdall, the fight is unwinnable because Heimdall will dodge or parry any attacks against him.
Horrible Judge of Character: As proud as Heimdall may be of his ability to read people's true intentions and inner selves, he, out of all the Aesir, is the most zealously devoted to Odin, a transparently selfish man who makes little secret of the fact that he sees everyone around him as pawns. It's implied that this is either due to Heimdall not truly caring about whether or not Odin's intentions are for the betterment of all, or if Odin's tendency to think of everything he does in the best terms possible, no matter the reality, means that ironically his extreme perceptiveness actually renders him more vulnerable to Odin's manipulations than others, because he can see Odin's 'true' thoughts.
Hypercompetent Sidekick: Although he isn't as smart as Odin, his clairvoyance makes him untouchable because he can always foresee his opponent's next move.
Hypocrite:
- He mocks Atreus for what he sees as "flaunt[ing]" his abilities, and states that true power lies hidden until the time is right. Not only does he fail to see just how egotistical he and many of the Aesir are, and never misses a chance to brag about what he can do or is doing at the moment, but he even projects this supposed arrogance onto Kratos, a stoic and reserved warrior who fits that description of power to a tee.
- He dismisses Baldur taming a dragon due to his invincibility, considering it "unfair". Despite not being invulnerable himself, Heimdall's own foresight and swiftness still gave him an absurd edge in breaking Gulltoppr.
Ignored Expert: Due to his foresight abilities, he could see Atreus's intentions immediately and tried to have him killed in an ambush. Afterward, Odin dismisses his warnings and insists that he already knows that Atreus is planning to betray him.
Inferiority Superiority Complex: He shows hints of this beneath his seemingly self-assured and smug facade.
- When Atreus is impressed by the sight of Heimdall's tamed battle mount Gulltoppr he notes it's almost as impressive as Baldur's dragon. Heimdall immediately snaps that Baldur could only tame such a beast because he was invulnerable, whereas he had to do so "fair and square".
- When Thor stares him down during their confrontation it's made clear that Heimdall ultimately isn't willing to take his chances in combat with the God of Thunder, and he backs down. When he later pushes Thrud around he makes a point of specifically denying that he's scared of her father.
- During his fight with Kratos, once the Spartan starts actually hitting him Heimdall desperately tries to downplay whats happening even as the battle spirals out of his control, claiming that pain isn't as bad as he remembers anyway and that him being struck is nothing but pure luck.
- What makes him completely lose it is the notion that Kratos is trying to spare his life out of pity, implying he is Not Worth Killing.
Jerkass Has a Point: Unbearable to be around for more than a minute? Absolutely. But he's also absolutely right when he says letting Atreus into Asgard is a very bad idea, since it eventually leads to Odin's death.
- In general, his foresight abilities mean that he's incredibly perceptive towards those around him, capable of accurately diagnosing the unflattering truths about them that not even they're aware of, and unafraid to rub this in their faces. It's just that his attitude means that his good points and opinions about them are only used to further his enjoyment of mocking them. One example would be him calling out Atreus for picking up some hacksilver once he's invited inside Asgard's walls to meet Odin, calling him out for stealing anything not nailed down despite being a guest, but in a tone that makes it clear he just wants to needle him without really caring about it.
- When he returns to Atreus and Thrúd in Helheim, he actually seems to be seething with anger as he realizes the two freed Garm, asking if the two had any idea who Garm is and what he's capable of.
Jerkass to One: While he is generally hated by everyone in Asgard, something even Odin can't deny, he has a special hatred for Atreus. His reasons range from Atreus being a jotunn, Atreus planning to betray Odin, and possibly some jealousy as Odin gives Atreus special treatment and Heimdall is overly eager to see Atreus explain how he and Thrud released Garm and he's quick to belittle Atreus while having a drink.
Just Toying with Them: Since Heimdall is so confident no enemy could ever strike him, he allows them to attack him while weaving around their attacks. He uses his sword more frequently to block attacks than strike his enemies. Once Kratos finally does hit him, Heimdall gets more serious but still has an attack where he mockingly strikes Kratos with his sword still sheathed. After losing his arm, he stops messing around.
Karmic Death: After his constant torment of Atreus, it’s fitting that Heimdall gets beaten by his archenemy’s father, followed by Kratos choking the life out of Heimdall. Bonus points for Kratos pummeling Heimdall’s face into the ground, repeatedly, the same way Heimdall threatened to do to Atreus.
Kick the Dog: Literally. After Kratos kills his steed Gulltoppr, Heimdall's only response is slightly punting the corpse in disappointment before getting back to Kratos.
Knight Templar: All sins aside, Heimdall genuinely believes he's defending Asgard from external threats and sees Atreus as a "twisted little soul" and a threat to Asgard, something that's dismissed by Odin and actively ignored. Heimdall even sounds horrified as he describes his visions to Atreus.
Heimdall: You are chaos in a spiffy Archer suit. I watch your mouth move and see cities burning.
Know When to Fold 'Em: As arrogant as Heimdall is even he knows better then to pick a fight with Thor, backing down pretty quickly when he gets between him and Atreus.
Lack of Empathy: Unless you're Odin, then he doesn't give a damn about your wellbeing.
Laughably Evil: Justifiably loathsome as he is, the sheer ham he puts into his dickishness combined with his Boss Banter ultimately make for a deliciously entertaining antagonist who will have players laughing and hating him in equal measure.
Heimdall: Did you know your son sounds like a goose when he gets hurt?
[Makes goose noises]
Light 'em Up: Has the power to manipulate Bifrost energy, which he can use to attack and create armor. In the final phase of the fight, he also uses it to create a replacement for his lost arm.
Locked Out of the Loop: He's not aware of what Odin has planned for Atreus as he is immediately distrustful of Atreus at their first meeting.
Logical Weakness:
- Just because Heimdall can see what's coming does not mean he can react in time. The longer the boss fight against him wears on, Kratos starts to throw quicker and tighter punches, giving Heimdall less time and room to dodge properly; as Heimdall blocks one jab with his arm and dodges upward, Kratos is already turning his own body into the next blow, and gives Heimdall a punch that connects enough to cut him across the cheek.
- His Foresight seems to work based upon the intentions of the target, which allows him to dodge attacks because he can tell where they are aimed. Draupnir works around this by having the spears explode after they are thrown, as while Heimdall can sense the intention for Kratos to detonate them, Heimdall can't see the potential blast radius.
  - Foreshadowed at the end of his fight with Atreus. If you watch closely, when he pulls an Arrow Catch right before Thor shows up, his face is slightly spattered with mud. He even fails to notice for a few seconds before ceasing his laughter at Atreus and turning to attack him only to be stopped by Thor.
- His dodging abilities are dependent on him having the state of mind necessary to properly avoid the attack, fitting with his usual modus operandi of using the bare minimum effort to expertly avoid whatever comes his way. After becoming enraged at what he saw as Kratos attempting to spare his life out of pity, Heimdall abandons dodging entirely in favor of relentless aggression, and so can be hit by any weapon.
- Fitting as a weakness to his foresight powers and Super-Senses, Heimdall is also vulnerable to Sensory Overload. As Brok puts it, Kratos will have to overpopulate his senses. As seen during his boss fight with Kratos, who needs to utilise the Draupnir spear's Bottomless Magazines to attack Heimdall with multiple attacks from different angles.
Magic Knight: After his foresight power his biggest asset is his control of bifrost magic. He would probably be better just keeping his distance and using his magic and even gets some good hits in on Kratos, but his cockiness makes him get close and physical instead.
Narcissist: Loves to flaunt his god abilities and thinks he is the strongest warrior of the Aesir, arrogantly thinking that because of his own mind reading powers that he is unstoppable.
Nazi Nobleman: Implied. In the cosplay guide, Lunda says that Mimir described the tunic symbol as "reserved for the High House of powered aesir". This suggests that Heimdall may be of high social standing and is possibly wealthy due to his clothing and fixation on clothing.
The Nicknamer: Has a penchant for giving sardonic, insulting nicknames to people. Refers to Kratos as "Sunshine", Atreus as "half-breed", Freya as "Queen Mistletoe", Mimir as "old goat", Freyr as "Sizzles", and Thrúd as "Guppy".
No-Holds-Barred Beatdown: Kratos delivers an absolutely brutal but satisfying one to Heimdall, smacking him down to the ground before subsequently smashing his face to a pulp then choking the remaining life out of him.
Nonchalant Dodge: He is able to dodge any attacks coming his way with frightening ease, doing nothing but the bare minimum to step out of the way. Atreus and Thrud can't do anything to hit him, and even Kratos has to work to connect a single blow before he uses the Draupnir Spear, which is mandatory to defeat him. However, the fact that he's so used to coming close to getting hit rather than keeping a safe distance means that once he slows down and Kratos adapts to his movements, it becomes easier to repeatedly hurt him because Heimdall doesn't put enough distance between them, and he's no longer capable of accurately predicting how to fully dodge Kratos' swings with his senses overpopulated.
Oh, Crap!: When Kratos finally lands a hit on him during their battle, Heimdall's expression quickly goes from his overconfident smirk to confusion to realization as he comprehends that he's actually been struck. He quickly tries to play it off with Boss Banter like "I don't remember the last time anyone hit me!" and "You know... pain is not as bad as I remember!" during his second phase, but the tone in Heimdall's voice makes it clear that he's starting to panic.
Heimdall: You... ACTUALLY HIT ME!
Older Than They Look: The Aesir don't age in the same ways as mortals, which was shown by how Baldur was over 100 years old despite looking 30+ years old. That being said, Heimdall looks like a late teen or young adult in comparison and behaves like a boy who's trying to prove himself a man by groveling to his elders. Since he doesn't have a beard (he does have a noticeable five o'clock shadow though), he may have just aged more gracefully and taken better care of his personal grooming.
Only Sane Man: Yes, him. He's the only one to realize that allowing Atreus into Asgard is a bad idea, while Odin is smart enough to realize it but blinded by the possibility of Atreus helping him with the mask.
Pick on Someone Your Own Size: Despite his ego, he knows well enough to not challenge Thor to a fight but he's more than happy to assert dominance over Atreus and Thrúd, both of whom are teenagers and the latter being his niece.
Power Incontinence: An interaction with Atreus suggests that the reason why Heimdall is so cruel to everyone is that his powers prevent him from forming any close relationships. He always knows a person's intentions and can see if they are a threat in some way, which puts Heimdall on edge because he's the only one who can see these visions and he hates it when that person lies to him about their intentions.
Powerful, but Incompetent: His foresight is a big Superpower Lottery win and makes him one of the most powerful Aesir. The reason he's not the most powerful Aesir is that he's also an arrogant little twit who rests on his laurels, unlike Odin and Thor (or Kratos, for that matter) who pair overwhelming power with the training to make good use of it and the desire to constantly improve themselves. Heimdall is an average fighter at best (made worse by rarely ever fighting seriously), and when put against someone (Kratos) who can neutralize his one trick, he quickly freaks out and loses what technique he had.
Professional Butt-Kisser: He's so loyal to Odin that he's actually jealous of Atreus and Thor because of their closer relationship to Odin, even though Odin only cares about himself.
Properly Paranoid: He's naturally distrustful of Atreus because he's able to read the boy and understand that he's in Asgard on his own agenda. Odin himself acknowledges this and states that he plans to win Atreus' trust. Heimdall is later surprised during an optional conversation with Atreus when his powers let him know that this is actually working despite his distrust of Atreus, noting that he envies Odin for being able to 'see the best in people when his powers mean he instead sees the opposite.
Psycho Pink: According to the cosplay guide, his eyes turn pink when he uses his clairvoyance abilities, coinciding with his brutal and fanatical attitude.
Psychopathic Manchild: He's an older relative of Thrúd's but is immature enough to bully her and Atreus and acts like an arrogant teenager. When Kratos manages to bypass his precognitive powers and give him a taste of his own medicine, his indignant and furious reaction is reminiscent of a spoiled child finally being told “No” for once in his life.
Puzzle Boss: He's this in the first phase - Kratos cannot harm him normally as Heimdall just dodges everything. Instead you need to throw your spear at him and detonate it when he catches it, stunning him and opening him up for an attack. He still dodges the first close-up assault though and wisens up, no longer catching your spears, so instead you need to throw them at the ground and detonate when he's next to those.
"The Reason You Suck" Speech: Within minutes of meeting Atreus he casually dissects his flaws, pointing out that among other things he's stifling under the presence of an overbearing father figure, disrespectful, entitled, impulsive and selfish. Atreus is deeply unnerved by how well he nails him.
The Resenter: Heimdall really hates Atreus for getting more attention from Odin than him and is particularly giddy with excitement when he tells Atreus that he's going to tell Odin how Atreus has released Garm.
The Rival: To Atreus, Heimdall is jealous of Atreus getting special attention from the all-father and takes every opportunity he can to assert his power over the young god.
Sadist: Loves to bully Atreus and Thrud, and even taunts Kratos about wanting to torture and murder Atreus in the most brutal fashion. In the past, he even branded Durlin.
Sanity Slippage: Heimdall loses his mind after having his arm blown off by Kratos and attacks viciously in the final stage because he refuses to be pitied and spared by an enemy.
Seer: He has the ability to see the future and see a person's intentions, however, his powers have left him deeply cynical and mistrusting.
Smug Snake: He thinks very highly of himself and sees himself as untouchable but often cowers when confronted by someone stronger than him.
Smug Super: He's unbearably condescending but deservingly so as, thanks to his precognitive abilities, he's virtually untouchable. In fact, said smugness is primarily the reason Kratos can work around his foresight abilities, as rather than pragmatically dodging any projectiles shot at him, Heimdall goes the extra mile to demonstrate his superiority and always catches the missile to taunt his opponents. When said projectile is the Draupnir Spear, however, it allows Kratos to quite literally blow this tactic up in his face to get the drop on him. When Kratos finally manages to get the upper hand on him, he does not take it well.
Sour Grapes: After Kratos lands a hit, he keeps trash-talking to try and massage his ego, even though it's clear he's rattled that he couldn't match his opponent and is facing the first true challenge of his skills — let alone threat — in ages.
"You know? Pain is not as bad as I remember!"
[Panicked] "LUCK! THAT'S ALL THIS IS!"
Story-Breaker Power: His foresight abilities mean that whilst he's not the strongest god around, he's technically the hardest to beat because he can anticipate any of his opponent's attacks. It proves to be a Deconstructed Trope however, since it is practically all he has going for himself and the only reason he has any standing among the higher Aesir. Plus, having spent so long relying on his power and the swell head he got from it, Heimdall vastly overestimates himself, believing himself capable of taking on anyone he's not personally familiar with. He has also long since fallen into Crippling Overspecialisation, so he can't properly compensate when his foresight fails him against the Draupnir Spear, or against Kratos gauging him with a series of attacks. Too used to fighting casually, he uses basically no technique, or restraint for that matter, so easily gives in to self-sabotaging anger. Furthermore, the fact that his power is so infamous, and thus so well known, is what gives Kratos and his allies plenty of time to actually make the Draupnir Spear needed to beat him in the first place. Every aspect of Heimdall's unbeatable power ironically proved his undoing.
Stupid Evil: Heimdall relies too much on his foresight abilities and, as Odin points out to Atreus, doesn't always think through his actions. He tries to kill Atreus despite being told that Odin is expecting him and he chooses to toy with Kratos in the first stage of their duel instead of outright killing him.
Subordinate Excuse: Heimdall is described as a "true believer" by Mimir and speaks very highly of Odin. Heimdall will fulfill any order given to him by Odin and it's implied by both the game and the Cosplay guide that he wants to have a closer relationship with Odin. He believes he can serve Odin better than Thor and it's also suggested that he's jealous of Atreus for having a closer working relationship with Odin than him.
Suicidal Overconfidence: Downplayed. Heimdall's initial confidence in his ability to beat Kratos (the Destroyer Deity known for killing off his entire original pantheon) actually is pretty justified, given that Kratos has to get a new magic weapon forged by a mermaid from the blood of a god and one of Odin's treasures to even hope to land a hit on him. Continuing to be smug and still toying with Kratos (like hitting him with his sheathed blade) after Kratos has proven himself able to overcome his foresight, on the other hand, is very much this trope. If he'd taken Kratos seriously from the start, he might not have lost.
Super-Senses: In myths, he can hear and see everything in the world. While it's not confirmed that he can do the same here, he can see into peoples' minds and predict the future to an extent.
Super-Strength: Par the course for an Aesir god (but nowhere near Thor or Baldur). He is able to push Thrud off balance with a light tap on her shoulder and knock the wind out of her with a single punch to her gut, despite her visibly possessing physical strength and durability at the very least near to her brother Magni. During Heimdall's fight with Kratos, a punch from his left non-Bifrost arm will send Kratos flying across the arena into the nearest wall if it is not blocked/parried.
Super-Speed: When Heimdall isn't lazily dodging attacks mere millimeters from his face/body, he will dash at superhuman speeds to either put some distance between him and his opponent, or dash towards them if they themselves are moving too far away from him.
Suspiciously Similar Substitute: Heimdall possesses an arrogant boastful personality along with Super-Speed that makes him similar to Hermes from God of War III. Both Gods wind up losing at least one of their limbs to Kratos when they try to fight him. Also like Hermes, Heimdall is a merely average fighter who heavily relies on an extremely overpowered ability (foresight for Heimdall, Super-Speed for Hermes) and ends up getting decimated in a fight once Kratos figures out how to counter it.
Technicolor Eyes: His eyes are weird with dark sclera and irises that actually change colour with time or depending on the angle you're looking at them, varying between red, violet and purple hues.
Thin-Skinned Bully: Heimdall always toys with his enemies before killing them and goes as far as to slap them instead of using a sword. He's happy to bully Atreus and Thrud but quickly backs off when Thor turns up and begs for mercy when Kratos has him pinned to a wall.
Time Master: Mild case from the second phase onward - Heimdall occasionally slows down time (while moving at a normal speed himself) to open up Kratos for an attack. It's still possible to dodge them because of how slow and telegraphed those attacks are, and afterwards Heimdall is wide open too.
Token Evil Teammate: Heimdall is basically the only Aesir not portrayed with any positive or humanizing light. Baldur and Thor are both given Freudian Excuses for how they turned out, and Thor is given several moments to redeem himself. Even Odin is given a measure of humanization - Atreus is clearly saddened at having to kill him and his acts are explained by his obsession with fate. Meanwhile Heimdall is just a sadistic asshole even to his own allies and is only kept in check by his respect for Odin and some outright threats by Thor.
Too Dumb to Live: After being pitied by Kratos after literally begging him to stop, he thinks it was a good idea to continually taunt Kratos about murdering Atreus which causes Kratos to completely lose his temper and kill him with no mercy.
Triple Shifter: He almost never leaves his post.
Troll: He abuses his precog abilities by provoking those he deems inferior to him (basically everyone except Odin) to anger; and when they react, he immediately incapacitates them - all to bask in how much of an advantage he has over them.
Unrelated in the Adaptation: Although a son of Odin in Norse mythology, Heimdall is never addressed as a son of Odin or a brother of Thor and Baldur. He's simply referred to as Odin's most trusted ally and a "high house" aesir in the Official Cosplay Guide.
Unskilled, but Strong: Although his foresight abilities make him a force to be reckoned with, Heimdall never actually learned how to fight an opponent who could bypass his abilities or prepare himself in the event that he can't rely on his abilities. In the fight against Kratos, he's not taking the fight seriously and is more focused on toying with Kratos than actually killing him. He's slow to strike, retreats to the back of the arena, and needlessly makes the fight a spectacle instead of a duel. In the final phase of his boss battle, Heimdall loses his arm and fights wildly because he can't comprehend that someone beat him and was ashamed of the fact that Kratos would spare him.
Unwitting Instigator of Doom: He's only the Herald of Ragnarok in the sense that he inadvertently gets the ball rolling by running off like a dumbass to challenge Kratos and getting himself killed. Sif confronting Odin over his death at the absolute worst possible time ultimately leads to Odin losing any chance he had at gaining the mask legitimately, which leads to him trying to get it through trickery as Tyr, which led to him killing Brok when the dwarf called him out, which ultimately pissed off Kratos and company enough to actively move to start Ragnarok.
Vague Age: He appears as one of the youngest Aesir and looks like an older teenager/young adult compared to Thor, Týr, and Baldur. Granted, he possesses a light stubble and the Aesir don't age in the same way as a mortal, as Baldur was well over 100 years old by the time he fought Kratos. At the same time, however, Heimdall is only slightly taller than Atreus and Thrud, and he acts like a spoiled and violent teenager.
Villain-Beating Artifact: Sindri and Brok adapt the Draupnir Ring, a joke gift that endlessly duplicates, into a Spear, and harness its duplicative power to Kratos's command. It still handily is stowed in its original Ring form. With it, Kratos can spawn so many throwable spears and detonate them to overwhelm Heimdall's precognitive abilities.
Villain Cred: Implied, Heimdall is hated by pretty much everyone, even by his fellow Aesir for his arrogance. According to Mimir, Heimdall is the one who branded Durlin as punishment for an attempted coup.
Villain Has a Point: He may be an asshole. but Heimdall's antagonism towards Atreus is in large part because his precognitive abilities have shown him destroying Asgard, and he thinks Odin isn't taking the threat seriously and inviting disaster to their doorstep by letting Atreus roam Asgard. And he's ultimately right that inviting Atreus into Asgard leads to its destruction; if he hadn't helped Odin with the mask he wouldn't have taken it with him when escaping Thor, and Odin wouldn't have exposed himself as Tyr and killed Brok, which was what made Kratos and Atreus fully commit themselves to Ragnarok.
Heimdall: You are here to help yourself. To manipulate and lie to whoever you have to to get what you want...You are chaos in a spiffy archer suit. I watch your mouth move and I see cities burning. Nothing good is going to come from you being in Asgard.
Villainous Breakdown: His duel with Kratos is a drawn-out one, with his phases reflecting what stage he's in. Initially, Heimdall is still the Smug Super he was as before, and a Puzzle Boss who must be hit by luring him over Draupnir traps. Once Kratos manages to land a solid hit, Heimdall's health bar depletes conventionally with Spear attacks since he's rattled by Kratos's punch connecting and drawing blood. Heimdall is still trying to keep composed in this second phase, but the tone in his voice shows that he's starting to panic. In his final phase, Heimdall completely loses it, becoming far more aggressive but also ignoring his precognitive powers, allowing Kratos to strike with any of his weapons.
Heimdall: You think you get to just walk away?! No. That is not how this works. (Creates an artificial arm out of Bifrost) You do not get to decide my fate!
Villainous Gold Tooth: He is a smug Jerkass who antagonizes literally everyone he meets. There's not a single person alive who can tolerate him for more than a single word. His teeth are solid gold, which is both accurate to the little description he has in the original myths and also reflects his haughty, bragging nature.
White Hair, Black Heart: Dirty blonde and, personality-wise, the biggest asshole among the cast.
White Is Pure: Heimdall is famous in the pantheon for never being hit or struck due to his foresight abilities. He wears white and gold to reflect his divinity and it also reflects his abilities. White makes stains easier to spot and gold is reflective when clean, so it shows that his clothes have never been dirty or stained because of how untouchable he is.
Why Are You Not My Son?: Inverted, it's implied through the cosplay guide that Heimdall thinks so highly of Odin that he's trying to emulate and supplant Thor as evidenced by the ram imagery on Gjallerhorn. In the game, Heimdall has an inflated sense of self-importance because Odin trusts him with the Gjallarhorn and relies on him for security, decisions that were made out of pragmatism not favoritism as Heimdall thinks. Although Heimdall thinks the world of Odin, Odin couldn't care less and treats his death as if Kratos broke a treasured possession and he feels the need to break Kratos's prized possession to even it out.
Sindri: (while examining Gjallarhorn in the cosplay guide) Similar to Thor's ram motif, coincidence?
Wicked Cultured: He knows Asgard's history off by heart and expresses patriotism while escorting Atreus to Odin's cabin.
You Fight Like a Cow: Incessantly throws taunts of this caliber at both Atreus and Kratos in their respective fights with him, though only Atreus humors him in retorting back. With Kratos, one of these potential insults is literally almost the trope name, word for word ("You strike like a sloppy cow!").
You Have to Believe Me!: His foresight abilities always a show person's intentions and this is the reason why he's the watchman of the aesir. When Atreus arrives in Asgard, Heimdall knows that his presence signifies the destruction of Asgard and he sets up an ambush to kill Atreus before he fulfills his vision. When Odin arrives, Heimdall confidently tells him that Atreus plans to betray him but is quickly dismissed by Odin, who tells Heimdall he already knows that Atreus intends to betray him at the first opportunity and intends to win him over instead. In the end, he's right that Atreus's presence in Asgard means its end, but it isn't actually Atreus's fault; in fact, Heimdall himself is as much to blame, as it's Heimdall's death that prompts Sif to convince Thor to attack Atreus, and Atreus's escape from Thor with the completed mask ultimately leads to Brok's death, and Kratos and Atreus committing to Ragnarok.
You Monster!: His final word is calling Kratos a monster as he strangles Heimdall to death. Since his eyes are glowing pink when he says this, it's implied that his clairvoyance is showing him Kratos as the Ghost of Sparta.

Magni and Móði

Voiced by: Troy Baker (English, Magni), Nolan North (English, Modi), Masafumi Kimura (Japanese, Magni), Masanori Takeda (Japanese, Modi)^{additional VAs}

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/maxresdefault_1_copy.jpg

Magni

Modi

Two minor Aesir who tag along with The Stranger in order to find Kratos. They are also the sons of Thor.

Abusive Parents: Both were raised by their parents, Thor and Sif, who were said to be cruel and sadistic alcoholics while raising them. Though it's shown in Ragnarök that Thor does ultimately love all his children, including Modi, his worst behavior being the result of his alcoholism which is in turn caused by Odin's abuse.
Accents Aren't Hereditary: Both the brothers have British accents while Thor and Sif do not.
Achievements in Ignorance: They only found Kratos and Atreus when Magni wrestled an ogre off a cliff edge and landed right in front of them.
Adaptational Angst Upgrade: Any stories about Modi in the original texts have been lost to history, with the only indication of Modi's existence being the Ragnarök event. In the original texts, Modi survives Ragnarök with the help of Magni. Whereas in-game, Modi is jealous towards Magni for being Thor's favourite child.
Adaptational Badass: In the game, Magni and Modi share the legend of saving Thor from Hrungnir's body. Both brothers share the power of electrokinesis, a power that wasn't alluded to in the legends, and they were also part of the Aesir-Vanir war and were able to kill the Vanir goddess, Nerthus.
Adaptation Personality Change: According the myths, Modi was a warrior poet who survives Ragnarök and shares Mjolnir with Magni after the death of their father. In the game, Modi is presented as the belittled son of Thor and the overshadowed half-brother of Magni. Modi is seen as a coward by Aesir standards and he yearns to make a name for himself in Asgard's hall of fame after Magni was given sole credit for freeing Thor from Hrungnir's body.
Adaptational Superpower Change: Due to their lineage with Thor, both have the power of electrokinesis. Modi is also said by Mimir to have lifted Hrugnir's body with Magni, implying he is just as strong as Magni or not as strong as his brother. In the myths, only Magni is said to be incredibly strong and neither brother was said to have the power of lightning.
Adaptational Sympathy: In this version of Norse mythology, Magni and Modi were abused by their parents and were ultimately sacrificed by their grandfather, who called them "useless" after they had died for him. Modi is also treated as the most pitiful of the two because he was overshadowed by Magni and had such a deep inferiority complex that he died believing his family hated him. In Valhalla, Kratos says they didn't have a choice in becoming the way they were because they were disrespected by their father, sent to die by their uncle, and belittled in death by their grandfather.
Adaptational Wimp: In the myths, Magni proved himself to be even stronger than his father Thor. Here, Magni is depicted as a lesser Aesir and explicitly far less mighty than his father (he still puts up a good fight with Kratos though). According to Sindri, they're only demigods.
Adaptational Villainy: Móði has very little to no characterization in the actual Norse mythology. According to the Prose Edda, Móði was a Warrior Poet who survived Ragnarök with Magni's aid. In the game, he's depicted as a Dirty Coward desperate to prove himself to Thor, by fighting those weaker than himself.
Age Lift: They took part in the Aesir-Vanir war, which resulted in Baldur's conception and birth. This means that Magni and Modi are actually older than their uncle Baldur in this adaptation of the Norse myths.
Alas, Poor Villain:
- In his final moments, Modi sincerely believed that his family hated him and that his father only loved Magni. In Ragnarök, it's revealed that Sif and Thor loved him just as much as Magni and Thrud. Modi's death haunts Thor more than Magni's because he's indirectly responsible for it after beating him to a point where he couldn't defend himself from Atreus and was killed after being stabbed in the neck.
- Even Atreus and Kratos have some pity for him, Kratos makes it clear that there was nothing personal about Modi's death and points out to Thor that Modi hunted them because was so afraid of his father and that he would have died of his injuries even if Atreus didn't kill him. Although an older Atreus doesn't regret killing Modi, he is ashamed of the needlessness of his death because Atreus killed Modi out of hubris after learning that he was a God and believing he could get away with anything.
Aloof Big Brother: Magni is Thor's favourite child and is proven to be superior to Modi in every way. The brothers do care for each other but their competition for Thor's hammer overshadows this.
Always Second Best: Móði was always overshadowed by Magni, causing a bitter, envious rivalry that continued to their adulthood. When Magni is slain by Kratos, Móði hides his grief by vengefully trying to kill Kratos and abduct Atreus. Once Móði returns, Thor beats Móði to near-death and casts him out of Asgard for his cowardice.
Animal Motifs: Móði's armour is made from bear fur and it reflects the ideology of Norse berserkers. Who frequently wore bear hide to battle so it would grant them courage and strength on the battlefield.
Antagonist in Mourning: After Magni's death, Modi became incredibly vengeful and swore to kill Atreus and Kratos for what they did.
Ambition Is Evil: Both aspire to best the other in their competition for Thor's hammer. Modi, in particular, desires to step out of Magni's shadow for once take the glory for himself.
Ascended Extra: Móði's characterisation from the original sources is scarce. At best, he's described as a Warrior Poet who survives Ragnarök with his brother Magni and inherits Thor's hammer. In the game, Modi is described by Mimir as having similar abilities to Magni. As it was Modi and Magni who freed Thor from Hrungnir's body, but Magni got all the praise and attention. Causing Modi to bitterly fall under Magni's shadow. Resulting in Modi developing a severe case of envy towards Magni and desperation for Thor's affection.
Asshole Victim: Deconstructed, while Modi was indeed a horrible person for how he bullied and eagerly tried to kill Atreus, Ragnarök showed how his death affected his family. Atreus's nightmare reveals that Atreus regretted the way he killed Modi as he outright murdered him because Atreus believed he could get away with anything. While Thor admits that Modi had "some problems", he was still Thor's son and he still wants to kill Atreus for murdering his son. While Thrud insults him while greeting Atreus, she does touch his shield sentimentally as if to imply that she still loved her brother and her words were more a result of Aesir culture and possibly Odin's indoctrination.
Bash Brothers: They are paternal half-brothers and are known to be dangerous and formidable together.
Beard of Evil: They are assisting their uncle hunt Kratos and Atreus and both of them have different styles of facial hair; Magni has a braided old dutch beard, while Modi has a french fork beard.
BFS: Magni wields a huge sword, which is hardened by "cyclonic thunder".
Bilingual Bonus: Their snowblind combo is announced in old Norse as "ÓÐR BRÓÐIR BLINDR!".
- ÓÐR means mental faculties or voice in old Norse. BRÓÐIR means brother, and BLINDR means blind. This either translates to "brother's blinding voice" or "brother's voice of blinding".
- ÓÐR often translates to "frenzy" or "fury" when used as an adjective. With this in mind, the chant can mean "brother's blind frenzy" or "brother's blind fury". The snowblind acts as a divide and conquer strategy. Where you'd seperate your enemies to prevent cooperation and pick them off individually. Or create enough dissent between your enemies to create self-destructive paranoia. In this case, the brothers wanted to separate Kratos and Atreus so they can kill them off individually while they were disorientated by the storm.
Blinded by the Light: Their combination move, the Snowblind. Magni strikes his sword against Modi's shield, creating a huge wave of light blinding enemies. They can then attack Kratos from all angles.
Blood Knight: When Magni orders Kratos to surrender, Kratos naturally refuses and Magni smiles as he pulls out his sword saying "Good". It's almost like he was hoping he'd resist so they could have a fight.
Braids of Barbarism: They sport them like most Norsemen.
Break Them by Talking: Modi repeatedly insults Atreus during the battle and makes sexual remarks about Faye.
The Brute: Being lesser deities, they both serve the role of muscle to the All-Father, though Magni stands out due to being very tall compared to Kratos or his own brother and using a large sword.
The Bully: Móði just can't stop taunting Atreus and acts really eager about the idea of beating up a child long before they meet, which even Magni finds off-putting. Along with the fact he -unlike Magni- carries a shield and runs for fear of his life whenever the tables are turned on him it compounds the idea he is the weaker and more cowardly of the brothers.
The Bus Came Back: Both return as Kratos' memories in the Valhalla DLC as bosses, though are fought separately.
Cassandra Truth: Played tragically with Móði, when Magni is killed, Thor blames Móði since no mortal should have the ability to kill a god and Thor promptly beats Móði to a pulp for allegedly leaving Magni to die. Kratos isn't mortal, but Móði didn't know that.
C-List Fodder:
- In the main myths, they only have 1 or 2 stories to their names. Magni lifting Hrungnir's body to free Thor, and Modi surviving Ragnarök with Magni. In the game, both are there to escalate the drama and establish how big a threat Kratos is to the Aesir.
- It's actually deconstructed in Ragnarök, because while they're C-List Fodder to the audience, Thor and Sif just lost two children because Odin is so callous as to apply the trope to his own family and sent them out on a dangerous mission they weren't qualified for because he genuinely didn't care if they died since they had no special use to him. Their deaths are the reason why Sif has begun to turn against Odin and doubt his authority, because, in her words, "They were thrown at the All-Father's problems like brittle knives to a mountain face."
Childish Older Sibling: Despite seemingly being several hundred years older than Thrudd, Modi's behavior is more immature and has childish sadism compared to Magni, who, at least, appears more mission-focused than Modi.
Co-Dragons: Odin enlisted their services to Baldur after he lost the fight with Kratos. Baldur isn't too fond of working with them and is quickly annoyed by their attempts to scare Mimir into talking, their bickering may have been another factor to why he wasn't with them at Thamur's corpse. They initially didn't believe Baldur when he told them about the fight and said he "hasn't seen straight in years".
Combat Compliment: While fighting Kratos and Atreus, Magni will periodically compliment them by calling them "an actual challenge" and chastises Modi for not taking Baldur at his word about Kratos' skills.
Curb-Stomp Battle: Magni slays an Ogre without breaking a sweat.
Death by Adaptation: Unlike myth, they don’t necessarily both survive through Ragnarök. In their case, not even up until its beginning.
Defiant to the End: When Modi is found bloodied and beaten by Thor. He knew that he was unable to retreat and gave one final insult to Atreus before being promptly stabbed in the neck and kicked off the edge.
Despair Event Horizon: Móði doesn't take Magni's death well. Neither does Thor; assuming Móði just up and left his brother to die in the fight, Thor pretty much manhandles him to the point where when Kratos and Atreus encounter him for the last time, he can barely stand. At this point, one can easily infer that all the trauma he's faced has caught up to him and that his act of taunting Atreus with another cheap shot at Faye is pretty much him either wanting to die or just not caring if he does.
Didn't Think This Through: In a fit of vengeful grief Móði decided to attack Kratos and Atreus. He has Kratos stunned with electricity. Rather than smash Kratos' head in with his mace, he opts to rant and taunt Atreus despite knowing that Kratos is a god slayer and doesn't bow down to anyone. Which leads to Atreus using his spartan rage and causing Kratos to overpower Móði by using his protective rage. Both of them also didn't think to just attack Kratos at the same time during the Snowblind, at different angles.
Dirty Coward: Móði flees for his life as soon as Kratos kills Magni, and tries to ambush the duo later on rather than fight them directly. It bites him in the ass since because of his cowardice, Thor assumes that Móði left his own brother to die and beats him up as the result.
Disappointing Older Sibling: In Ragnarok, Thrudd says to Atreus that they are better off without Modi but she still touches his shield sentimentally. Which suggests that she still loves her brother despite her words.
Disinherited Child: For failing to avenge his brother and to kill both Atreus and Kratos, Modi is beaten to near-death by Thor and dumped in Midgard until he proves his worth to Asgard.
Disney Villain Death: Móði is kicked into a ravine after Atreus stabs him in the neck.
Divide and Conquer: The Snowblind operates like this. It blinds targets with a flash of light, which then blankets the arena with smoke and lightning. The Snowblind was supposed to separate Kratos and Atreus so the brothers can either kill them individually or have one of them kill the other. Kratos instead has Atreus stand behind him and use a counter-strategy of waiting for them to come to him.
The Drag-Along: Both Magni and Móði are only with Baldur at Thor's urging. Móði can't really believe that a man like Kratos can survive such a fight.
Dual Boss: They fight together as one against Kratos and Atreus.
Dude, Where's My Respect?: Modi was always in Magni's shadow, ever since they freed Thor from Hrugnir's corpse as children. Modi resents his father and brother for this but chooses to swallow his anger and remain loyal to them in the hopes of becoming Thor's successor.
Dumb Muscle: Both are regarded as Thor's idiot sons and are referred to as "fools" by Kratos due to their competition for Thor's approval. Magni seems to be the most rational of the two, as he recognises Kratos as a threat and tries to warn Modi about underestimating him.
The Dutiful Son: Magni puts his faith in Thor's judgement and doesn't want to fail him. Móði, on the other hand, is unenthusiastic and doubtful. It doesn't help that Thor always plays favourites with Magni.
Dying for Symbolism: Móði's death is a catalyst for Atreus' behaviour, as it escalates Kratos' fear of Atreus becoming worse than him.
Dynamic Entry: Magni makes his appearance by wrestling an ogre off of a cliff and landing in front of Atreus and Kratos.
Enemy Chatter: During the battle, Magni and Modi will speak to each other about Kratos and Atreus. Magni somewhat respects the protagonists while Modi spends his time insulting them. Before initiating the snowblind, the brothers will share some dialogue with each other if they are far enough away.
Modi: Brother—the Snowblind!
Magni: Right! Get ready!
Modi: Ready brother?
Magni: Always, brother!
Modi: Let's finish this, Magni!
Magni: Time to die, freak.
Establishing Character Moment: Magni, in particular, makes a hell of an entrance by literally dropping in front of the leads and snapping an ogre's neck with his hands before casually throwing its corpse away.
Even Evil Can Be Loved:
- Despite their rivalry: Magni and Modi did indeed care for each other, and Modi is devastated by Magni's death. Thor favored Magni and was grief-stricken by his sudden death, blaming Modi for being somehow responsible for his brother's death.
- Despite the abuse they dished out, both Thor and Sif ultimately loved Magni and Modi, and mourn their deaths in Ragnarök, with Thor being especially motivated against Kratos and Atreus because of it and descending into depression and grief.
- Played with regarding their sister Thrud, who doesn't mention Magni, but claims the Aesir to be better off without Modi... after she touches a shield left in Modi's quarters sentimentally, implying that, despite her words, she does care about and miss her half-brothers.
Even Evil Has Standards: Magni doesn’t approve of and actively voices his disgust of Modi’s sadistic interest in Atreus.
Magni: (after Modi asks him if he can keep Atreus for himself) What is the matter with you?
Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Although Móði is jealous of Magni being the favorite, he is horrified when Kratos kills him. He's also heartbroken by the accusation that it's his fault that Magni died in the first place.
Evil Brit: Both brothers are portrayed with British accents.
Evil Counterpart: Modi is one to Atreus; both have issues with a parent, use the power of lightning and wear animal pelts as armour (Atreus wears a wolf pelt, whereas, Modi wears bear fur). When Atreus learns of his godhood, he shares Modi's arrogance and personal belief that he's too powerful to face the consequences of his actions. Curiously, after Atreus kills Modi, Modi's theme plays while Atreus is justifying himself to Kratos. Showing how Atreus is starting to become Modi by belittling everyone around him and attacking anyone out of hubris.
Eye Scream: Modi threatens to gouge out Mimir's remaining eye for insulting them.
Facial Horror: Magni is killed when Kratos embeds the Leviathan Axe into the middle of his face.
Facial Markings: Magni has Norse tattoos across his face.
Fastball Special: A variant. Magni can occasionally throw Modi in the air, who in turn beats the ground with his shield, creating a shockwave of lightning.
Fatal Flaw:
- Magni saw great pride in his own strength, and always targeted the strongest opponent in any fight so he could prove himself. In battle, he targets Kratos, but Kratos kills him.
- Modi, by contrast, always targeted the weakest opponents in a fight, so he could guarantee his own survival while also defeating more opponents than his brother. In the battle, he targets Atreus since the latter was deemed the weaker of the pair, but keeping his distance from Kratos and endlessly taunting the boy with insults about his mother kills them both; Modi is left unable to defend Magni from the death blows of the Leviathan Axe, and is brutally beaten by Thor for his failure, leaving him unable to defend himself when Atreus later takes revenge and slays him.
Fearless Fool: Their desperation for Thor's approval lead them to dangerous and life-threatening situations, such as their fight with Kratos and Atreus. This was a mistake. And given Móði's utter shock at Magni's demise, they likely didn't even consider that Kratos and Atreus could have been actual threats to their lives.
Flat Character: Magni has the least characterisation of the main cast of the first game. Magni's role in the story is to die in battle against Kratos and establish the rest of the drama in the Norse chapter of the series. In Ragnarok, he is seldom mentioned by his family, with the greater focus being on Modi.
Follow in My Footsteps: Their behavior is a result of Thor's psychopathy and blind loyalty to Odin's plan for Ragnarök. It actually seems they inherited this from Thor, who is an Extreme Doormat for Odin and never questioned his orders out of his blind loyalty and desperation to be loved.
Foolish Sibling, Responsible Sibling: Magni is the responsible to Móði's foolish. Magni appears to be the more mission-focused of the two and is said to be capable and eager for a fight. Whereas Móði is the more sadistic and cowardly as he mainly targets Atreus and flees as soon as Magni is killed.
Freudian Excuse: They were both raised in an environment they were encouraged to be warriors and as a result, they were raised by a pair of abusive alcoholics. Modi, in particular, spent his life being compared to Magni and felt overshadowed after Magni was given sole credit for freeing Thor from Hrungnir.
Freudian Excuse Is No Excuse: Invoked by Kratos; after asking Mimir about Magni and Modi, Atreus became sympathetic to the pair because they were products of Thor's abusive parenting. However, Kratos intervenes by saying Magni and Modi are adults now and have no such excuses for their actions. By the time of Ragnarok, Kratos does come to pity Magni and Modi as their fates were ultimately a result of being abused and objectified by their family, but he still doesn't excuse their actions.
Atreus: Those were the guys who were with Baldur. His nephews?
Mimir: Aye. Magni and Modi— the sons of Thor.
Atreus: Mother always said the Aesir were the worst of the gods, and Thor was the worst of the Aesir. Guess he's a terrible father, too.
Kratos: They are no longer children. They have no excuse.
Generation Xerox: Both are just as psychopathic as their father and just as vengeful. Modi, in particular, strongly resembles his father in appearance.
Glory Hound: They both desire the esteem of being Thor's successor, Modi wishes to outshine his brother by performing feats that would earn his father's respect and admiration.
Green-Eyed Monster: According to Mimir, Modi is resentfully competitive with Magni ever since they were infants. It all started when both brothers were able to free Thor from Hrungnir's corpse but Magni was given the credit, causing Móði to jealously develop a competitive streak for Thor's affections. He also realises that Magni's death will only result in him getting Mjolnir by default instead of him earning it for doing something grand.
Half-Sibling Angst: Modi and Magni are half-brothers and Magni is Thor's favourite son due to his strength. Modi and Magni have had a long-lasting feud with each other over Thor's hammer and because Modi always felt overshadowed by Magni.
Hate Sink: While Modi isn't anywhere close to being as bad as say Ares from the Greek Trilogy, he's still pretty unlikable due to his cowardice, profane words towards Faye, and being the reason why Atreus becomes ill while Kratos has to unbury his past by retrieving his Blades of Chaos.
Honor Thy Abuser: Both Modi and Magni would go to Hel and back for Thor's approval if it meant they could prove themselves as a worthy successor. Even though, Thor is renowned for his anger and temperamental attitude. Modi is completely heartbroken by the fact that Thor blamed him for Magni's death and shamed him for being a coward after beating him to a pulp.
Hot Blooded Sideburns: Magni's beard is a pair of mutton chops that connect through his chin, with his mustache being shaved off. As a character, Magni shares his father's love for fighting and he took part in the Aesir-Vanir war with Modi.
Hypocrite: They bully Atreus for being a half-breed when they themselves are demigods and lesser Aesir at best. This points to the original agenda against Kratos, they thought he was the last Jotunn and that Atreus was the child of a Jotunn and a mortal mother, making him a half-breed.
I Am X, Son of Y: Both Magni and Modi are dismissively called "The Sons of Thor".
I Just Want to Be Loved: Modi spent his entire life in the shadow of his father and brother, his rivalry with Magni stems from the fact that Magni unwittingly stole the glory of freeing Thor from Hrugnir's body. With Ragnorok being prophecized, Modi wants to inherit Mjolnir so he can finally step out of Magni's shadow and prove his worth to Thor.
Impromptu Tracheotomy: How Modi is killed, when he appears to Atreus and Kratos he's too weak to defend himself. Atreus defied Kratos' orders by stabbing Modi in the neck and then kicking him off of the edge.
Insufferable Imbecile: It's implied by Mimir that Magni and Modi are seen as idiots by the Nine Realms, even by their fellow Aesir if Odin and Baldur are to be believed. Of the two, Magni can think things through and is wise enough to know that Kratos is not to be underestimated.
Irony: Magni's beard lacks a mustache, a gesture seen by most cultures as a symbol of non-violence and pacifism. Mustaches are strongly associated with military services and thus removing them was considered a symbolic gesture of rejecting militarism. Magni is characterized as a warrior who's eager to fight and show off his strength.
Ironic Name: Móði's name means "the brave". Here, he's a Dirty Coward who flees from Kratos as soon as his brother is slain.
Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Both brothers do actually care about each other and Magni even implores Modi to take the fight with Kratos seriously since he survived the fight with Baldur and walked away without any serious injuries. After Magni dies, Modi makes an effort to avenge his brother (though he claims to be doing it to prove himself as a worthy heir). In the fight against the protagonists, Magni makes it clear that he respects Kratos and Atreus for their skills and it's indicated he is only hunting them at Thor's urging. Both brothers are still the antagonists of the game, part of the villainous Aesir, and you have to fight them in self-defense.
Jerkass: Both taunt Kratos and Atreus throughout their battle, with Modi insulting the latter's dead mother throughout. Magni is much less so, however, partly due to how he dies early in the game.
Jerkass Has a Point: While with Sindri, you can hear them arguing about their quest with Magni rebuking his brother and saying they should be cautious of Kratos and trust in their father's judgement.
Magni: Will you focus on your damn job and quit that shit.
Móði: You quit that shit.
Magni: I mean it! He went to war with Uncle and walked away.
Móði: Maybe. Uncle hasn't seen straight in years.
Magni: Well, as long as father believes him, so do we. So you will stop talking, focus, and help me find them.
Móði: Can't disappoint father!.
Magni: Oh, I'll smack you boy. No, we cannot disappoint father. Now keep looking!
Kin Slaying Is A Special Kind Of Evil: Downplayed, after Magni is slain by Kratos, Thor blames Modi for his death and beats his son so badly that he cannot stand during his final encounter with Atreus and Kratos.
Last Villain Stand: Móði tries one but is too injured from Thor's beating to stand. Kratos tries to deny Móði a warriors death but Atreus ignores him by stabbing Móði in the neck and kicking him into the chasm. Móði's last words were one final insult towards Faye.
Legacy Seeker: Modi ultimately desires to be Thor's successor and desires to outshine Magni for once after spending his entire life in his half-brother's shadow. In the legend of Hrungnir, Magni and Modi were the ones who freed their father from his body. Due to Magni's jotunn genetics, Thor saw him first and gave him the sole credit, embittering Modi beyond relief and giving driving force for his resentful nature.
Lightning Bruiser: No pun intended, Móði is faster than Magni and shares the same amount of health. He uses projectile balls of lightning and is more threatening due to using his powers for ground-based electric attacks.
Like Father, Like Son: They are as dumb, psychopathic and ruthless as their father.
Luckily, My Shield Will Protect Me: Móði also fight with a shield in hand.
Magic Knight: Both use weapons and don't use their lightning powers to their full potential. Magni utilises his strength to wield his greatsword and only uses his lightning abilities to damage those within his radius. Modi uses his powers to lob balls of lightning and periodically throw lightning bolts. However, he still prefers to use a mace and shield method.
Middle Child Syndrome: Modi is the older half-brother of Thrud and the half-brother of Magni. Modi is seen as the least favorite of Thor's children because a drunken Thor credited Magni for freeing him from Hrungnir.
Mighty Glacier: Magni is known for his strength and he's the slowest out of the pair but he makes up for it with electrical attacks, he will also charge at Kratos at random points.
Noble Demon: Although Magni enjoys fighting and is eager to fight Kratos when he rejects his demand to surrender, Magni still asks Kratos to surrender rather than immediately attacking him.
Not Afraid to Die: When Magni is killed, Modi is as shocked as he is deeply confused, which forces him to flee from the battle. After failing to kill Kratos, Modi is beaten to near-death by Thor and was dumped in Midgard until he avenges his better-received brother. When he meets Kratos and Atreus for the final time, he fearlessly insults Faye because he knew he couldn't run away this time and because he knew Atreus was steadfast in desiring to kill him.
Not Worth Killing: When Kratos and Atreus find Móði again beaten up and disgraced for his cowardice, Kratos says he isn't even worth killing. However, Atreus disobeys him and stabs him in the neck due to all the insults he threw at Faye.
Oh, Crap!: The death of Magni is a horrific moment for Móði and Thor. Mimir is in dread of Thor's vengeful response but on the other hand, Brok and Sindri are more surprised by this and are more concerned for the protagonists about Thor's reaction.
One-Handed Zweihänder: Magni wields his greatsword with one hand and only uses both of his hands when charges at the enemy. However, he doesn't wield it effectively as he just drags it against the ground, swings it haphazardly, and he appears to be knocking himself off-balance when he uses a two-handed attack.
Overlord Jr.: Both Magni and Móði are the sons of Thor. Magni, in particular, is Thor's favourite and is in line to be his successor. For this reason, nobody dares to fight either of them, lest they incur the wrath of Thor. After the brothers' deaths, everyone is concerned over what will happen to Kratos and Atreus once Thor comes into the picture.
Pelts of the Barbarian: Modi's armour is decorated with bear fur and is the most sadistic of the pair.
Pick on Someone Your Own Size: Modi takes a sadistic interest in Atreus because he deems him the weakest of the two and is too enthusiastic about the idea of fighting him.
Magni: (after Modi asks him if he can "get" Atreus) What is the matter with you?
Powerful, but Incompetent: Both brothers, especially Magni, are on par with their father in terms of power but they spend more time bickering and trying to gain Thor's approval. Their strategy relies more on strength than actual skill.
Pride Before a Fall: Both are very arrogant due to their divine heritage.
Princeling Rivalry: Both are competing against each other to be Thor's successor and they aim to do this by proving how they are a better warrior than the other. When Magni dies, Modi realises he will only inherit Thor's hammer by default and tries to prove his worth by killing Kratos.
Psycho Electro: Both have abilities over lightning and are on the hunt for Kratos and Atreus. Móði, in particular, is a dishonourable sadist who targets those he deems the weakest.
Real Men Hate Affection: Móði is never straightforward about it, but he is much more traumatized by Magni's death than he'll ever admit, going so far as to threaten to abduct Atreus to be his replacement sibling in his second encounter with the duo.
The Resenter: Modi has held a grudge against Magni and Thor ever since Magni and Modi lifted Hrungnir's body, as Thor accredited the deed to Magni alone.
Reverse Grip: Magni wields and swing his sword in this fashion, but switches to a regular grip when grasping the sword with both hands.
Roaring Rampage of Revenge: According to Sindri, Modi went on a rampage across Midgard after fleeing from the battle against Kratos, swearing to avenge Magni by brutally killing Kratos. He would have succeeded if he didn't piss off Kratos by gloating about Atreus using his Spartan Rage for the first time.
Rich Sibling, Poor Sibling: Implied. Magni's character design is more refined than Modi's design as he wears jewellery that may have been made from bronze, a valuable trinket in the Norse era that was mainly used for the creation of weapons. The rune on Magni's belt "Othala" represents ancestral heritage, reflecting his title as Thor's favorite child and Magni's own desire to be Thor's successor.
The Scapegoat: Modi is blamed for Magni's death and gets assaulted by a grief-stricken Thor. He then gets sent back to Midgard until he avenges his better-received brother.
Screen Shake: This happens whenever either Magni or Modi break into a full sprint. Magni's effect is more visible, likely due to him being exponentially larger than Modi.
Shock and Awe: Being the sons of Thor, they naturally wield the power of lightning.
Shock Stick: Modi can channel lightning through his mace.
Shoddy Knockoff Product: Implied, Sindri comments that Modi's mace is a "cheap knock-off" of Thor's hammer.
Sibling Rivalry: Despite being Bash Brothers capable of fighting in unison, they compete against each other to see who gets their father's approval.
Sibling Yin-Yang: Their designs and personalities are in contrast to each other. Their individual strategies reflect this: Magni fights opponents stronger than himself so he can prove his strength, whereas, Modi fights opponents who are weaker than himself so his survival is guaranteed.
The Slacker: Modi is implied to be lazy, as he is dismissive of Baldur's fight with Kratos and responds with sarcasm when Magni tells him to help him find Kratos and Atreus. In Modi's eyes, this is a pointless chore because Magni will just get the credit from Thor. His personality does a complete 180 once Magni is killed during the battle. Since Baldur wasn't bluffing and he's in danger of being killed by Kratos and Atreus.
Small Name, Big Ego: Both are largely overshadowed by their father, Thor, and their title reflects this. Their title of "The Sons of Thor" is dismissive, shallow and unimpressive, since they're more famous for being Thor's sons than for their other deeds, i.e freeing Thor from Hrungnir's corpse and surviving the Aesir-Vanir war. Modi, in particular, has less esteem than Magni since he's always overshadowed by his stronger half-brother, he was even rejected as an infant as Thor accredited the deed of freeing him solely to Magni.
Small Role, Big Impact: Magni himself doesn't have that big of a role in the story but the aftermath of his death sets up everything else in the Norse saga. It causes Modi's vengeful drive to kill Kratos for killing him in battle, it results in Modi's death after Thor drunkenly blames him for Magni's death, it causes Thor to fall into a deep depression, and causes Sif to lose faith in Odin because he sacrificed Magni and Modi on a whim and later disregarded their deaths by calling them "useless" to their father.
The So-Called Coward: Modi is deemed a coward by his fellow asgardians for running away after Magni's death. Modi is shown to be more tactful as he does ambush Kratos and he will electrocute him to death if the player fails the quick time event. Modi also makes his final words an insult towards Faye when Atreus shows his desire to kill the fallen god.
Sour Outside, Sad Inside: Despite their feud, Modi loved his half-brother and is grief-stricken and enraged by Magni's death. He tries to hide his grief by stating his death denied him the prestige of earning Thor's hammer but it's clear that he was traumatized by Magni's sudden and unprecedented death.
Strong Family Resemblance:
- Modi has the strongest resemblance to Thor due to hair colour, beard and eyes, they even wear a similar outfit.
- Despite not being her biological child, Magni does have a strong resemblance to his stepmother due to his blond hair and braids.
Successful Sibling Syndrome: Modi has always been in Magni's shadow ever since they freed their father from Hrugnir's body. Thor accredited the deed to Magni and it's implied that it's not the only time Thor has done this. Their competition for Thor's hammer is fuelled by Modi's desire to finally get out of Magni's shadow for once.
Suicidal Overconfidence: Their desperation for Thor's approval drives them to perform all kinds of feats to prove themselves as Thor's successor.
Superpowerful Genetics: Magni has the strength of a jotunn and has Thor's electrokinesis, because of these traits he's branded as Thor's favourite son.
Super-Strength: Mimir tells a story of when the brothers would flip Hrungnir's corpse, which was crushing Thor and was too heavy for all of Odin's warriors. They were little boys at the time.
Sword and Sorcerer: Magni utilises his strength in the battle and rarely uses his lightning abilities. Whereas, Móði is physically weaker and focuses on his electrokinetic abilities.
Tattooed Crook: Both are covered in Norse tattoos and markings.
Technician Versus Performer: Their strategies are more theatrical than practical. The Snowblind is the best example of this, as they use psyche outs to get Kratos and Atreus to drop their guard. When it would have been more practical to attack them at the same time and at different angles.
Trash Talk: Throughout the fight, Modi taunts Atreus and insults Faye in an attempt to make Atreus angry enough to break formation and lose focus. He does succeed for a moment when Magni charges them during the snowblind but Kratos is able to overpower and kill Magni.
Trauma Conga Line: In the span of a day, Móði witnesses the death of his brother, gets beaten to near-death by his own father for a crime he didn't commit, gets banished for it and he's left at the mercy of his brother's killers.
Turn Out Like His Father: Both Magni and Modi embody Thor's worst attributes; Magni embodies Thor's lust for violence and strength, whereas Modi embodies Thor's insecurities and desire for validation from his father. Modi has the strongest physical resemblance to Thor and Thor even shares a similar death with Modi, with both being stabbed in the neck and betrayed by a family member.
Underestimating Badassery: Móði is hesitant to believe that his uncle lost a fight to a mortal and makes it clear that he'd rather be back in Asgard. In preparation for the fight, he targets Atreus believing he's the weakest. However, when Móði returns to Midgard after a beating from Thor. Atreus is the one who defies Kratos' orders and seemingly kills him out of hubris and vengeance.
The Unfavorite: Magni has always been Thor's favourite while Móði is always ignored. When Magni is killed, Thor beats Móði within an inch of his life for presumably murdering his superior brother. In the sequel Kratos points out to Thor that he always put Móði second, and Móði only approached them after Thor had beaten him, outright saying that Thor's mistreatment of Móði led to the latter's death.
Unskilled, but Strong: It's obvious with the fight against the two of them that they mostly rely on their god-based powers and strength than any actual combat technique. Magni swings his large sword haphazardly a lot and loses his balance from it while Móði only gives half-hearted swings of his mace and blasts of power from a distance. Needless to say, Kratos, while not as his peak god-tier strength yet, still has decades of Spartan warrior discipline and training behind him, giving him more than enough edge to kill Magni.
Villainous Breakdown: The death of Magni has had a devastating effect on Móði. In a fit of grief, he makes a surprise attack on Kratos and Atreus. Rather than kill Kratos on the spot, he kept blabbering about how he wouldn't be able to rightfully earn Thor's hammer and how he plans to kidnap Atreus to replace Magni. When Kratos sends him away, Móði is on the verge of tears. When Móði is met for the final time he dies defiantly by insulting Faye, at this point Móði doesn't care anymore. Thor has deemed him a coward and he's been tortured for it.
Villainous Legacy: Their deaths, mostly in self-defense by Kratos and Atreus, ultimately contribute to kickstarting not only Fimbulwinter, but Ragnarök as well, even though they were meant to survive it. Another concern is attracting the attention of Odin and the Aesir as a result.
Weapon Specialization: Magni fights with a greatsword to emphasise his strength and jotunn heritage, while Modi fights with a mace in order to replicate Mjölnir and his father's strategy. Modi also carries a shield to show how he's more cautious than his brother.
We Hardly Knew Ye: Magni is in the game for a single boss fight before Kratos splits his head open with the Leviathan Axe. That just sets up Modi and Thor's revenge.
"Well Done, Son" Guy: Modi craves Thor's affection because he was overshadowed all his life by Magni. Their rivalry is rooted in Modi's desire to outshine his brother for once and be seen as worthy of being Thor's successor. He also goes as far as to copy Thor's hairstyle and beard style, which only emphasises the resemblance between the two.
Would Hurt a Child: Móði is a little too enthusiastic about hurting/killing a child, which disgusts Magni.
You Should Have Died Instead: Implied, Modi was brutalised by Thor because the latter blamed him for Magni's death.
Your Mom: Móði specifically loves provoking Atreus by insulting his mother. Atreus being a kid, he gets understandably pissed off but Kratos ignores it and tells him to focus. These are also his last words before an increasingly ruthless Atreus kills him by stabbing him in the throat and kicking him into a ravine.

Ullr

The son of Sif and stepson of Thor, he's the god of justice, hunting, and dueling.

Disappeared Dad: He is specifically described as Thor's stepson; the identity of his father is unknown.
Hero of Another Story: Faye often told Atreus stories of Ullr's adventures with Týr, hinting that he was also one of the few genuinely good gods of the Norse pantheon.
What Happened to the Mouse?: Despite being the stepson of Thor and biological son of Sif, he is never mentioned once by any of his family members. Because of his relationship with Týr, it can be assumed Odin had him surreptitiously killed, and he became a Persona Non Grata.

Vili and Vé

The younger brothers of Odin, who helped him in forging the world out of Ymir's remains.

Adaptation Name Change: Possibly. In the Völuspá they are called Hœnir and Lóðurr, but the website refers to them by their other names.
All There in the Manual: They are mentioned in "The Lost Pages of Norse Myth".

Bragi

The god of music and poetry, a son of Odin and the giantess Gunnlod, and the husband of Idunn.

All There in the Manual: He has no discernible appearance in the games, but gets mentioned in "The Lost Pages of Norse Myth".
The Bard: He's essentially the god of all bards.
Magic Music: His songs and melodies are said to have special properties. Being the god of poetry and music, this is to be expected.

Idunn

Bragi's wife, the goddess of youth and spring, and the keeper of the golden apples that the gods use to maintain their immortality. The Aesir's only clear agriculture deity (through Thor and Sif are suggested to have been associated with it as well). Some of her apples of youth can be found locked inside Nornir chests across the nine realms.

Fountain of Youth: The Norse gods are somewhat unique in that they are not innately immortal but need to eat Idunn's apples to stay young. As for Kratos, his lifebar gets extended whenever he finds enough (out of a total of nine in the first game, fifteen in the second game).
The Ghost: She is never seen in the games, but her apples of youth can be found in the Nornir chests across the nine realms and used to extend Kratos' lifebar.
Tempting Apple: Subverted. Her apples aren't an object of temptation per se, however they are sacred objects that due to being able to prolong one's life, are being hidden away and locked in secret treasure chests away from anyone tempted to steal and (ab)use their power.

Sif

Voiced by: Emily Rose (English)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/sif_7.png

"You said no more Aesir blood would be spilled. You said family comes first. You don’t think that this is retribution for him being here? He's put your granddaughter in danger. He's made your son miserable."

The golden-haired wife of Thor, mother of Thrud and stepmother to Magni and Modi. Unlike her husband, Sif sees Odin for who he truly is and tries to help Thor stand up to him. She later becomes the de-facto leader of the Asgardians after Ragnarök occurs.

Abusive Mom: According to Mimir, Sif was a fierce warrior and had a such severe drinking problem that she and Thor were rarely sober around each other. Mimir speaks with the utmost pity for Magni and Modi when he talks about how brutal she and Thor were in raising them and tries to give Atreus a perspective on his own rough childhood. Both Atreus and Mimir speculate that Modi's death was the moment when she realized how cruel she had been to them and why she and Thor needed to change for the better.
Alcoholic Parent: She and Thor were violent alcoholics who abused Magni and Modi all their lives until their deaths at the hands of Atreus and Thor. Thor and Sif vowed to go sober and do better with Thrud so they can have another chance at being good parents. Sif has actually done so well in her recovery that Mimir was surprised to hear that this was the same Sif he knew in Asgard. This comes in handy when Sif becomes the de-facto leader of the Asgardians at the end and discussing the future with Hildsvini.
Ambadassador: When she's introduced, Odin mentions to Atreus that she's his diplomat. Sure enough, Sif handles most diplomatic duties of the Aesir.
Antagonist in Mourning: She's still mourning the deaths of Magni and Modi and it's the primary reason why she's so against Atreus being in Asgard.
The Atoner: She was abusive and negligent towards Magni and Modi and allowed Odin to use them as he pleased, which lead to their deaths. After that, she cleaned up her act and became a protective mother to her remaining child Thrud, utterly determined to keep her from the same fate.
Brutal Honesty: Sif isn't afraid to raise objections or call out on things she doesn't like, which makes sense gives her status as Odin's diplomat. Her daughter Thrúd seems to have inherited this from her as well.
Commonality Connection: As they work to house the homeless Asgardians in Vaneheim, she and Hildisvíni get to swap stories about how much they're annoyed by Mimir.
Hildisvíni: "A hundred winters of Mimir bleating in court? I think I'd rather be exiled."
Sif: "Indeed. The stories I have..."
Hildisvíni: "Really? Do tell."
Mimir: "Welll, everything appears to be in order here-diplomacy administered and all's well. Let's Leave."
Defector from Decadence: While she hasn't completely betrayed the Aesir yet, she blames Odin for the deaths of Magni and Modi because he gave them the order to fight Atreus and Kratos. She also hates Atreus and Kratos for killing her sons and is infuriated by how Odin just lets Atreus roam free around Asgard despite knowing what he's done and how his presence is affecting Thor. She fully turns against Odin during Ragnarök as she realizes that Odin has tricked the Midgardians into sacrificing themselves in the fight to defend Asgard, like how Odin made Magni and Modi die for him in the fight against Atreus and Kratos.
Everyone Loves Blondes: Or at least Thor does.
The Ghost: On the way to Jötunheim, she gets referenced by Brok. She appears in full in Ragnarök.
Brok: By Lady Sif's soft, perfect sloshers!
Good Stepmother: She's not Magni and Modi's birth mother but regarded them as her sons nonetheless and she reminiscences fondly with Thor of how they would laugh and play together with the boys when they were young. Mimir states that Sif was just as abusive as Thor in raising them and only realised how bad a mother she was after seeing Thor beat Modi to a pulp and cause his death, but this is framed more as being caused by misguided cultural values and generational baggage encouraging the Aesir to raise their children as warriors through abusively harsh training rather than malice.
Sif: Magni... Modi... Our boys...
Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: Unlike her husband, Sif at least tries to be a good person. She's the only Aesir who shows any reservations about Odin's actions, hoping that Thor will stand up to him at some point and cleaning up her act to be a better mother for her daughter.
Happily Married: Despite their troubles, Sif and Thor have a very loving marriage and care deeply for the other. Their only dispute is Odin's treatment of Thor and the safety of Thrud, but even then the worst that's ever been seen is the two raising their voices.
Heel–Face Turn: According to Mimir, Sif was just as bad as Thor and abusive towards Magni and Modi. Both Atreus and Mimir theorize that Modi's death was the catalyst that made her and Thor realize they need to change for the better and redeem themselves through Thrúd. During Ragnarök, Sif cements it by revealing the truth of Odin's cruel deeds to Thrúd, and after Asgard is destroyed, Sif is shown working with the heroes to help resettle the survivors of Ragnarök.
Hero Antagonist: She does not like Atreus in Asgard, but given how her hated father-in-law is quite clearly conspiring with someone who killed Baldur and her stepsons whom she raised and loved, it's more than justified.
Huge Guy, Tiny Girl: She's incredibly tall by human standards but Thor still towers over her. Granted, Thor towers over everyone.
Lady Drunk: She's actually a recovered alcoholic and was apparently a violent drunk before Magni and Modi were killed.
Long Hair Is Feminine: Her hair is so long that she has to drape it over her left shoulder in an incredibly elaborate ponytail with several sub-braids to prevent it dragging on the floor.
Mama Bear: He overwhelming priority is to protect Thrúd. This is why she won't let her daughter join the Valkyries. Because she suspects Odin will send her on missions that will get her killed, as he did with Magni and Modi when he sent them after Kratos and Atreus. This pushes her to convince Thor to turn on Atreus despite Odin's orders. It's also the main source of conflict between her and Odin, as she's convinced his letting Atreus in their house is going to get Thrúd killed.
Morality Pet: Encourages Thor to be a better father for their daughter, and to avenge his sons. She otherwise disapproves of his serving Odin as she recognizes his manipulation of Thor.
Obnoxious In-Laws: Odin considers his Sif to be this, who likewise thinks the same of him. Odin mentions that Thor needs to stop letting Sif "think for him" and gets annoyed whenever she uses her authority or just proves herself as one of the more morally upstanding gods in the pantheon. Though in actuality it's Odin who's the problematic one, as Sif can recognize his abuse of his family and constant gaslighting and manipulation of her husband.
Oh, My Gods!: Used as an exclamation phrase by Brok.
Only Sane Woman: After the deaths of Magni and Modi, Sif has caught onto Odin and knows how callous and selfish he really is. Although she can't outright punish Odin for causing Magni and Modi's deaths, she is trying to stop Thrud from being further gaslit into subservience and is actively trying to convince Thor to leave Odin's service and be a better parent.
Outliving One's Offspring: Both Magni and Modi were treated as her own children and their deaths still haunt her enough to become afraid of Thrúd becoming a Valkyrie and fighting.
Parents as People: Sif is ultimately afraid of Thrud sharing the same fate as Magni and Modi, who were both adult men and veterans of the Aesir-Vanir war. She tries to protect Thrud from Odin's manipulations, and spare her from the abuse she and Thor gave Magni and Modi, but is struggling between that and caring for her husband too. According to the Director, Sif and Thor were ultimately too young and immature to be parents when they raised Magni and Modi and their deaths made them realize how bad they were as parents, and they now see Thrud as an opportunity for a do-over.
Parenting the Husband: Played for drama. As a result of Thor's depression and alcoholism, Sif often has to care for him and Thrud by providing emotional support while trying to keep Thrud from becoming a valkyrie as it means that Odin has another solider to sacrifice.
Pet the Dog: Even being an abusive parent before she changed didn’t deter her from having happy moments with her sons as she and Thor fondly reminisce on playing with Magni and Modi when they were children.
Recovered Addict: According to Mimir, Sif and Thor were both severe alcoholics who abused their sons and were rarely sober around each other. After Thor beat up Modi and caused his death, Sif used his death as an ultimatum so they'd both be better parents for Thrud and spare her from their abuse. In the last 3 years ^note, Sif has managed to stay sober and Mimir barely recognizes her as the alcoholic warrior he once knew.
Spanner in the Works: Sif showing up in Nilfheim and convincing Thor to turn on Atreus basically shatters Odin's plan. Atreus uses Sindri's escape mechanism in a panic to save his own life, vanishing with the mask before Odin can make a move to seize it. Odin realizes that there's no chance Atreus will return willingly, so he's forced to, as "Tyr", try to engineer a reason for them to go to Asgard. Which leads to him suggesting they sneak into there to use the mask using hidden paths into Asgard only Tyr knows and conveniently never mentioned until now. This in turn is what makes Brok start to Pull the Thread, which leads to his murder and "Tyr" being revealed to be Odin. Odin fails to steal the mask, and Brok's murder finally drives Kratos and the others to start Ragnarök.
Statuesque Stunner: She's at least taller than most humans and seems to be roughly equal in height to Kratos. She's visibly taller than Odin.
Strong Family Resemblance: Played With; despite only being his stepmother, Magni does share her blond hair and braids.
Time to Step Up, Commander: At the end of the game, the only known surviving members of the Asgard royal family are Sif and Thrud, and Sif finds herself as the de-facto leader of the remaining Asgardians.
Ugly Guy, Hot Wife: Thor has definitely let himself go as a result of his depression and alcoholism. Sif, on the other hand? Hot doesn't even begin to describe her as the strapless dress and belt show her beauty in more ways than one.
You Are in Command Now: With the demise of the majority of Asgard's royal family, Sif becomes the leader of the relocating Asgardians as she now holds the most authority with Thrud, Odin's granddaughter, being too young.

Thrúd

Voiced by: Mina Sundwall (English)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/untitled_5511.png

Daughter of Thor and Sif, half-sister of Magni and Móði, granddaughter of Odin and niece to Baldur.

Action Girl: Between her proficiency with a sword and mace, the lightning powers she inherited from Thor, and her desire to become a valkyrie, it quickly becomes clear that she's just as fierce of a warrior as her father and brothers.
Adaptational Badass: She was only implied to be a valkyrie in the myths and the only myth to her name involves her as a dwarf's hostage. In the game, she's not only a capable warrior but she's also doing so in the hopes that she would become a valkyrie. Her compassion toward Atreus and her father, as well as her capabilities as a warrior, eventually led to her becoming Thor's successor after she wields Mjolnir.
Adaptational Expansion: In Norse Mythology, Thrud was known for one myth where she had to be saved by Thor from a dwarf that tried to force her into marrying him and there were some debates on whether or not she was a valkyrie. In the game, she aspires to be a valkyrie in the future but her parents haven't accepted it because of what happened to her brothers. For the time being, she doubles as a warrior and Thor's moral compass.
Adaptational Superpower Change: She has some power over electricity, a power she never had in the myths.
Alliterative Name: Likes introducing herself as Thrud Thorsdottir.
Amazonian Beauty: Her muscular physique does nothing to deter boys like Skjoldr from finding her attractive.
Ancestral Weapon: She takes up Mjolnir after Thor's death during the post-game.
A Twinkle in the Sky: Odin smacks her with Mjolnir when she tries to go to her recently murdered father, flinging her over the horizon. She's seen none the worst physically later with her mother.
Big Beautiful Woman: She has a stocky figure (although her armor might be making her look bigger) but that doesn't stop Skjoldr from being quite smitten by her.
Big "NO!": When Thor is killed by Odin, she lets out one of these.
Composite Character: Takes up some of her brothers' mythological traits as Thor's child who survives him and inherits Mjolnir.
Daddy's Girl: As his only surviving child, Thor dotes on Thrúd, and she thinks the world of him in return. She's also trying her hardest to help him combat his depression and recurring alcoholism, with the two showing very vulnerable sides to themselves that aren't displayed otherwise, and Thor is incredibly ashamed of himself when he disappoints her.
Dual Wielding: She wields a broadsword and a mace in combat.
Fangirl: Has a tapestry/poster of the valkyrie Sigrun which covers an entire wall in her room, where she can often be found abusing a practice dummy as part of her own Valkyrie training.
Fantasy-Forbidding Father: Wants to be a Valkyrie, but her parents won't let her. During Ragnarök, Sif finally explains that their real issue wasn't about her becoming a Valkyrie, but becoming a Valkyrie under Odin's command, because Odin is such a Bad Boss and doesn't care about his family. After Odin's death, it's implied that she will train to join the reformed Shieldmaidens under Freya with her mother's blessing.
Fiery Red Head: She has a huge mane of ginger hair — mostly strawberry blonde due to being Sif's daughter, but with a streak of her dad's pure-red locks — and is also very strong-willed and assertive.
Foreshadowing: Atreus mentions to Mimir he's tried convincing Thrúd about how evil Odin is, to no avail. Mimir says that anyone can have a blind spot to family, and some only learn the truth the hard way. Thrúd realizes it after witnessing Odin's atrocities during the battle in Asgard, and witnessing Odin execute her father.
Goo-Goo-Godlike: Downplayed; unlike her grown half-siblings, who were hundreds of years old but acted like cocky young men, Thrúd appears to be around Atreus's age, and shares his inexperience. Notably, Mimir doesn't recognize her, meaning that she was born and grew of age sometime during the 109 years he spent exiled in Midgard.
Guest-Star Party Member: Teams up with Atreus for a mission into Helheim. As you'd expect, she's a close-range fighter with some Shock and Awe powers, and is also capable of prying open certain doors with her Super-Strength (though Atreus needs to shoot targets to keep them open).
Harmful to Minors: She's visibly a teenager and is forced to look after Thor, who is suffering from alcoholism and repeatedly drinks to live with himself. This is best shown when she collects him from the bar and he drunkenly starts a bar fight that leads to the bar being destroyed, the bar owner being killed, and many severely injured bar patrons who could have killed her and Atreus. And then she has to see her grandfather murder her father because of his love for her.
Hartman Hips: Her hips are wider than her shoulders. Granted, there may be some added width due to the tassets on her outfit but the visual effect is the same.
It's All About Me: She can appear as self-centered and dismissive about Atreus, especially when she gets to show off her strength or how she talks about their common assignments purely from the angle of how this benefits her. Downplayed, as that's not all there is about her character as she does come to genuinely appreciate Atreus and even stands up to Heimdall for him, plus she has sympathetic reasons for coming off like that.
Morality Pet: She acts as one to Thor, who genuinely tries to better himself for her sake while she's critical of his worst impulses. Kratos uses her as an argument why Thor can be a better man, much like Kratos improved himself for Atreus' sake.
Nice Girl: Despite Atreus killing her brothers, she's still quickly friendly to him and defends him against Heimdall's bullying and even her own mother's accusations.
Shock and Awe: Like her half-brothers and her father, she can generate lightning. Even more so once she inherits Mjolnir.
Strong Family Resemblance: She's a redhead like her father, but she bears her mother's facial features. She's also often brutally honest about her feelings and isn't afraid to speak her mind, much like Sif.
Super-Strength: Her weapons are incredibly heavy, Atreus tries to lift her sword at one point, and he can't even budge it, but she swings them around like they weigh nothing. She also takes up Mjolnir in the epilogue, a weapon famous for the incredible strength required to even lift it.
Tomboy: Especially when compared to the other girl her age, Angrboda, Thrúd is noteworthy as being very physically-powerful, rebellious and assertive in nature. And considering she grew up in a family full of fighters, namely her father and brothers, it's easy to see where her interests came from.

Forseti

The Norse god of Justice and Reconciliation.

Ambiguous Situation: Foresetti was said to be the son of Baldur and Nanna, despite the former being rendered sterile as a result of the immortality spell. The most likely explanation is that Forseti was born before Baldur's curse and was now 100 years old.
The Ghost: He's mentioned several times in Ragnarök, but never actually seen. Thrúd points out his room to Atreus but tells him he shouldn't enter it and disturb Forseti. Forseti is later put in charge of investigating Heimdall's death, which he apparently proves to be Kratos' handiwork, according to Sif.
The Paranoiac: Atreus can listen in on some Asgardian coversations, in which Forseti is described as "more paranoid than usual" by them.
Satellite Character: He's only mentioned a few times but never shown in the game. In the game, it's implied by Thrud that Forseti is quite solitary and gets so focused on his work that he's annoyed by disturbances. After Heimdall's death, he's put in charge of the investigation where he figures out that it was Kratos who killed him. After that, he isn't mentioned again and it's not specifically said if he was one of the many Aesir refugees after Ragnarök.
Small Role, Big Impact: Despite Forseti never appearing, his investigation of Heimdall's death is what sends Sif after Atreus at the worst possible time for Odin, triggering a chain of events that quickly leads to the death of Brok and the protagonists deciding to wage an all-out assault on Asgard to put an end to Odin's reign of terror. It's fitting that Forseti, a god of justice, is ultimately indirectly responsible for Odin himself being brought to justice.
Uncertain Doom: It's never mentioned if Forseti managed to escape the destruction of Asgard, as Sif and Thrúd did.
What Happened to the Mouse?: Despite being the one who uncovered that Kratos killed Heimdall, Forseti is not mentioned after Sif's conversation with Odin in Helheim.

Vanir

Ingrid

A sentient divine sword that befriends Atreus during his stay in Asgard.

Big Damn Heroes: On two occassions, Ingrid clashes with Mjolnir; the second time, it's to stop Thor smashing Atreus to pieces in Niflheim.
Canon Character All Along: Near the end of the game it is revealed to be Freyr's sword.
Cool Sword: She is a divine sword that can fly, shoot energy blasts, and conjure energy barriers.
Empathic Weapon: She is a sentient divine sword that originally belonged to Freyr, though Odin lends her to Atreus when he goes to Asgard.
Flying Weapon: Rather than being wielded by Atreus, Ingrid can move under her own power and floats alongside him.
Guest-Star Party Member: She joins up with Atreus when he goes to Asgard, but Odin takes her back when Atreus leaves. During Ragnarök, she returns to her original wielder Freyr and dies being wielded by him.
Heroic Sacrifice: Ingrid perishes alongside Freyr while holding back Ragnarök's attack on Asgard.
Named by the Adaptation: Despite being a fairly notable weapon in Norse myths, it doesn't have a woman's name. Some myths have named it Sumarbrandr, or the Sword of Summer.
Sword Beam: One of her attacks fires crescents of divine energy from her blade.
The Voiceless: She speaks in warbling notes, with only Atreus and Freyr being able to understand her.

Njörd

The Norse god of seas and winds, the leader of the Vanir gods, as well as the father of Freya and Freyr.

Blow You Away: God of the winds.
The Ghost: Njörd gets mentioned by Mimir in the 2018 game while in the boat on the way to Thamur's corpse and Freya, Freyr, and Hildisvini talk about him a few times in Ragnarök, but he doesn't make an appearance.
The Good King: Compared to Odin, he's a benevolent ruler and god.
Making a Splash: He's also the god of the seas, calming it down for the fishers of the town that venerated him.
Parental Neglect: Near the end of Ragnarök, an optional conversation between Freya, Freyr, and Hildisvini reveals that despite being a benevolent god, he was barely present in his children's lives, opting to roam the realms instead of raising them. Hildisvini ended up being their surrogate father instead.
Time Master: Mimir says Vanir magic can affect time itself, and the village that once worshipped him has a building with a platform that can be lifted through an enchantment that reverses time. He had to stop when it was realized that messing with time stopped the sun and the moon, but didn't slow down Sköll and Hati, the wolves always trying to eat them.

Nerthus

A Vanir goddess slain by Magni and Móði during the Aesir-Vanir War.

Bit Character: What you see here is all that is known about her.
Death by Adaptation: Unlike the myths, here she's long dead before Ragnarök.
Disposable Woman: Her demise (along with others') is used to start the war between the Aesir and Vanir.
Posthumous Character: By the time of the game's events, the only things left of Nerthus are her name and the story of her death, written down by the Giants as a memorial of the brutality of the war.

Skirnir

A Vanir intellectual killed by the Aesir.

Both Sides Have a Point: His insistence on thinking this is about every situation what got him killed when it alienated him from both the Aesir and the Vanir.
Demoted to Extra: While Skirnir wasn't a major character in the myths, he was a serious case of Small Role, Big Impact, as he was the one to whom Freyr traded away his sword. In Ragnarök, it's shown that Freyr's sword is instead in the possession of Odin, and Skirnir has been dead for a long time.
Posthumous Character: He is long dead, with only his crest left behind.

Characters / God of War Series – Norse Gods
aka: God Of War Series Heimdall

Aesir

Voiced by: Ben Prendergast (English), Daisuke Hirakawa (Japanese)