Kratos (God of War)
Kratos is a character and the protagonist of Santa Monica Studio's video game series God of War, which is based on Greek mythology and, later, Norse mythology. Kratos first appeared in the 2005 video game God of War, which led to the development of eight more titles featuring the character as the protagonist. Kratos also appears as the protagonist of two God of War comic book series and in three novels that retell the events of three of the games. The character was voiced by Terrence C. Carson during the Greek era from 2005 to 2013, and by Christopher Judge, who took over the role for the Norse era in 2018. Antony Del Rio voiced a young Kratos in God of War: Ghost of Sparta. Ryan Hurst is set to play the live-action version of the character in the upcoming television adaptation.
Throughout the Greek era of the series, Kratos is portrayed as a Spartan warrior who becomes known as the "Ghost of Sparta" after Ares, his former mentor, tricks him into murdering his family. Kratos later avenges their deaths, kills Ares, and becomes the new God of War. Kratos is eventually revealed to be a demigod and the son of Zeus, who later betrays him. Kratos embarks on several adventures in attempts to avert disaster or to change his fate, and is generally portrayed as a tragic figure. Vengeance is a central theme of the Greek era; installments focus on Kratos's origins, and his relationships with his family and the Olympian gods. In the Norse era, Kratos finds himself controlling his rage and learning how to be a father and mentor to his son, Atreus, whom he helps to come to terms with his divinity. During their journey, Kratos and Atreus combat monsters and gods of the Norse realm, which leads to the catastrophic battle of Ragnarök. Redemption is a main theme of the Norse era and Kratos comes to terms with his godhood, eventually becoming the Norse God of War and championing the ideals of hope.
The God of War franchise is a flagship title for the PlayStation brand and Kratos is one of its most popular characters. The character has been well received by critics, becoming a video game icon, and has had several cameos in games outside the God of War series. Judge's performance as Kratos in the two Norse-based games was highly praised, and received numerous awards and nominations.
Concept and design
When designing Kratos, God of War creator and game director David Jaffe attempted to create a brutal-looking character that did not resemble a typical traditional Greek hero. Jaffe wanted the character to be individualistic so Kratos would not wear traditional armor. Use of a fully masked character was initially approved but the concept was abandoned because the design seemed "soulless" and lacked a "defined personality". Some models included unconventional elements, such as Kratos carrying an infant on his back, while others had excessive detail, such as long hair and other "flowing things".Charlie Wen, the director of visual development on God of War and God of War II, was responsible for designing Kratos. Wen said his direction for the design was influenced by similarly themed films and by pop culture. Wen made concept drawings of Kratos on napkins at a restaurant, having forgotten his sketchbook; he introduced the idea of the character's double-chained blades and eventually produced Kratos's iconic design. Double-chained blades were chosen as Kratos's signature weapon because they emphasized the character's animalistic nature while allowing combat to remain fluid. Wen visualized the double-chained blades simultaneously activating as Kratos threw them with a balance of ferocity and accuracy. Jaffe said of the final version of the character:
may not totally feel at home in Ancient Greece from a costume standpoint, I think he achieves the greater purpose which is to give players a character who they can play who really does just let them go nuts and unleash the nasty fantasies that they have in their head.
Wen gave Kratos his most-noticeable feature, his ashen complexion, a story development that earns Kratos the title Ghost of Sparta. The character's other distinctive features include a scar across his right eye and a large, red tattoo that threads from his left eye, circles the left side of his torso, and ends at his left shoulder. The tattoo was originally blue but was changed to red late in production. In the series lore, the scar is eventually to be the result of a childhood encounter with the Olympian god Ares, while the tattoo is a tribute to his dead brother Deimos, who had similar birth markings. Other changes that occur during the Greek era of the series include the temporary addition of divine armor when Kratos is the God of War, an abdominal scar, ability-enhancing armor, such as an epaulet called the Golden Fleece—all in God of War II—and the Boots of Hermes in God of War III. According to an early God of War script, the character is tall, but this was changed when Santa Monica Studios and Gnomon School investigated the animation-and-rigging history of the games, showing the Greek Kratos to be tall, and Norse Kratos to be tall and weighing about. The designers of 2018's God of War gave Kratos a Nordic look that includes a full beard and changed his main weapon to a magical battle ax to make the combat more grounded. Unlike previous games, players can change and upgrade Kratos's three armor pieces, one of the game's role playing video game elements.
Throughout the Greek games, Kratos's appearance can be altered in bonus play; completing the game at certain levels of difficulty and in challenge modes unlocks bonus costumes. Several costumes were available exclusively via pre-order and other promotions from the PlayStation Store; God of War III includes three costumes that are based on early sketches of the character. Many bonus costumes are consistent with story themes but others are humorous or farcical—such as the female costume "Athena" and the "Spud of War".
The character was named at a late stage in the development of the original game after the character had already been fleshed out. The creators were unaware of the mythical god named Kratos who appears in Prometheus Bound; they coincidentally chose Kratos from the Greek word meaning strength, of which the mythical figure is the personification. Stig Asmussen, who worked on the first two games and was the game director of God of War III, called the naming coincidence a "happy mistake", noting the games' character and the one in Prometheus Bound were both "pawns". Zoran Iovanovici of California State University, Long Beach, said while the mythical Kratos is best known for chaining Prometheus, in God of War II, the video game character releases him. Classical scholar Sylwia Chmielewski states the video game character Kratos draws extensively on other figures from Greek mythology, including the heroes Perseus, Theseus, and Achilles, but his strongest influence is the hero Heracles, who appears in God of War III with the Romanized name and is revealed to be Kratos's half-brother.
Game director Cory Barlog said for 2018's God of War, Kratos had to change his cycle of violence and learn how to control his rage. He said Kratos had made many poor decisions, which led to the destruction of Olympus, and Barlog wanted to know what would happen if Kratos made a good decision. The birth of Barlog's son influenced the idea of Kratos's character change. The canceled, live-action Star Wars television series was also an influence. The bond between Kratos and his son is at the heart of the game, and Barlog said: "This game is about Kratos teaching his son how to be a god, and his son teaching Kratos how to be human again". Referencing the Marvel Comics character Hulk, Barlog said about Kratos: "We've already told the story of The Hulk. We want to tell the story of Banner now."
Voice and actor portrayal
, who is best known for his portrayal of Teal'c in Stargate SG-1, replaced Terrence C. Carson, who had voiced Kratos since the original God of War, as the voice of Kratos in the 2018 game. Commenting in response to the change, Carson said: "Sony went in a new direction". Barlog said due to the way the earlier games were made, the studio was able to have someone other than the voice actor perform motion capture. Although Carson performed motion capture for Kratos in Ascension, Barlog said the actor change was made because of the type of camera work they wanted to do. They needed someone who was closer to Kratos's size to perform motion capture along with 10-year-old Sunny Suljic, who played Kratos's son, Atreus. Carson was unsuitable for this because he is much shorter than Kratos, who is over tall: "Offsetting for the size of a child, it turned out it was going to be almost impossible to try and actually shoot them and go in and redo the animations". Judge was chosen because he is tall and had the body of a professional football player. Judge accepted the role as an opportunity to add something new to the character. He researched the character and Carson's performance but decided not to imitate Carson, instead deciding to start anew because Santa Monica was going in a new direction.Prior to beginning work on Ragnarök, Judge briefly quit the game after finding out Eric Williams would be directing the sequel. Judge was uncertain about Williams but Barlog, who served as a producer and creative director on Ragnarök, was able to convince Judge of Williams' capability to direct the game, which Judge affirmed after working with him.
Role in the ''God of War'' series
Greek era
Backstory and comics (past)
Throughout the series, Kratos is portrayed as an antihero, often performing questionable actions. His backstory is seen in the original God of War, Kratos's childhood is revealed in Ghost of Sparta, and the birth of his daughter is explored in the God of War comic series. In Ghost of Sparta, it is revealed the oracle had foretold the demise of Olympus would not happen by the hands of the Titans, who were imprisoned after the Great War, but rather by a marked mortal warrior. The Olympians Zeus, Athena, and Ares believed this warrior to be Deimos, Kratos's younger brother, due to his strange birthmark. Ares and Athena interrupted Kratos and Deimos's childhood training in Sparta and kidnapped Deimos. Kratos attempted to stop Ares, who swept him aside and scarred him across his right eye. Deimos was then taken to Death's Domain and imprisoned and tortured for many years by the god of death Thanatos. Believing Deimos to be dead, Kratos marked himself with a red tattoo identical to his brother's birthmark to honor him.Through flashbacks in the comic book series written by Marv Wolfman, Kratos met his wife Lysandra, with whom he had a daughter named Calliope. Upon birth, Calliope was stricken with the plague. To save his daughter, Kratos was granted a quest to find the Ambrosia of Asclepius, an elixir with magical healing properties. Five gods entered into a wager with Ares; each god chose a champion to search for the Ambrosia with Ares's champion being Kratos. Kratos overcame all obstacles, including Hades's champion, the Barbarian Prince Alrik, who eventually became the Barbarian King, and thus Kratos saved his daughter.
Via flashbacks in God of War, it is revealed Kratos became the youngest captain of Sparta's army, but had a thirst for power. When Kratos was faced with total defeat by the Barbarian King and his horde, Kratos called upon Ares for aid. Kratos was given the Blades of Chaos, destroyed his enemies, and blindly followed Ares, killing hundreds in his name. During a bloody rampage, Ares tricked Kratos into murdering Lysandra and Calliope within a temple dedicated to Athena—unbeknownst to Kratos that they were in the temple. Kratos was shocked out of his bloodlust and renounced his service to Ares. As the temple burned, a village oracle cursed Kratos and condemned him to wear the "mark of his terrible deed", the ashes of his family, which turned his skin pale white, earning him the title, the "Ghost of Sparta".