Kratos

Kratos is the video game character and anti-hero of Sony's God of War series.

Kratos, also known as the Ghost of Sparta, is an original character created by David Jaffe, based and set in Greek mythology. The world in which Kratos' story takes place is a fictionalized version of ancient Greece, with the mythological aspects altered from the actual myths to fit the plot.

Early life and God of War
Originally from Sparta, Kratos was once the youngest and bravest captain of its rapidly growing and powerful army. Kratos started out with only 50 soldiers, yet as his reputation in combat grew, so did his numbers until he led a force of thousands. However, he and his soldiers would eventually find their match on the barbarian tribes. Being outnumbered and overpowered, his army was losing the battle. Kratos, about to be killed by the tondo leader, pledged himself to Ares, the God of War, in exchange for victory. The god accepted and wiped out the barbarians, giving Kratos the Blades of Chaos as a sign of his servitude and used his weapons to slay the barbarian leader.

Kratos served Ares loyally for some time. However, Ares later tricked him into killing his wife and child and as a result was cursed to wear their ashes for all time, labeled the "Ghost of Sparta" soon after. Grief-stricken, Kratos was afterwards haunted by terrible nightmares of the deaths of his family. However, the Gods offered Kratos forgiveness for his deeds in return for servitude to them, carrying out their commands for ten years.

After killing the sea monster known as The Hydra, Kratos got his chance to seek his revenge on the God of War and finally be free of the terrible nightmares that haunted him when Athena told Kratos that the gods will forgive his past if he prevents Ares from destroying Athens. Kratos was then ordered by Athena to seek out Pandora's box in order to help him destroy Ares. Following an Athenian Oracle's instructions, Kratos traversed the Desert of Lost Souls and found Pandora's Temple atop the back of the Titan Cronos. He made his way through the temple and retrieved Pandora's Box. Ares, sensing Kratos' success, hurled a huge pillar towards Pandora's Temple. The pillar impales and kills Kratos sending him to Hades. During the fall to the river Styx, Kratos is able to lay hold on an earlier seen character whom was hanging from an overhang and then escapes the clutches of Hades. Kratos escaped from Hades and returned to Athens, killing Ares with the power of Pandora's Box. Although his past was forgiven, the gods could not relieve Kratos of his nightmares. Kratos attempted suicide, only to be stopped by Athena as she gave him Ares' place on Olympus as the new God of War.

God of War II

 * See also: God of War II

As the God of War, Kratos continued his conquests, resulting in growing Spartan domination over the city-states of Greece. Zeus, weary of Kratos' impertinence, tricked him into relinquishing his godly powers by sending down the Blade of Olympus and telling him to place his powers within the sword, so that it would then be powerful enough to kill the Colossus of Rhodes. Kratos entered the Colossus and destroyed it from the inside. As it collapsed he escaped and boasted of his victory to the gods, but the hand of the Colossus crashed down on him, injuring him greatly. Kratos realized that draining his power into the blade had made him mortal once more. He attempted to retrieve the blade and, with it, his godly power. It was then that Zeus came down, claimed the blade for himself, and demanded that Kratos swear his loyalty to him. Kratos refused, and in anger Zeus killed him and his Spartan army. As he lay dying, Kratos swore vengeance on Zeus for his betrayal.

Kratos escaped from Hades with the help of the Titan Gaia, who told him to seek out the Sisters of Fate so that he might have his revenge on Zeus. After a brief visit to Typhon's lair, Kratos arrived safely on the island. After encountering numerous adversaries and allies, Kratos met with the Sisters of Fate, disposing of them one by one when they refused to aid him. He used their time-warping mirrors to return to the moment of his death. Before Kratos could kill Zeus, Athena intervened and took the blow instead. Dying, she revealed the truth of Zeus' intentions, explained that Zeus is actually Kratos' father, and told Kratos that Zeus must live for the sake of Olympus. However, Kratos did not heed her wishes, saying that the time of the Gods has come to an end.

Kratos traveled back in time to the Great Titan War and took the Titans back to the present. The final scene of the game has Kratos leading the Titans in an assault on Mount Olympus.

God of War: Chains of Olympus
Chains of Olympus is the prequel to God of War. Taking place between the murder of his family and God of War, Kratos served the Gods to rid him of the pain and madness caused by the nightmares of the murder of his family. One such act was an assault on a middle-eastern village. Another one is hinted in God of War II to be Atlas' imprisonment in Hades. More information will be revealed when the game is released.

Personality
Kratos is a destructive, amoral and self-centered character, driven constantly by his rage and pride. In God of War, he blamed Ares for tricking him into killing his wife and child while ensnared by blind fury. Likewise, in God of War II, later swore revenge on Zeus for deceiving and killing him, as well as committing the genocide of his people and tear Sparta to bits.

Kratos does display feelings of guilt or sorrow occasionally, (mostly for his family) but these emotions are often converted to extreme rage (such as when Kratos accidentally stabbed Athena, mortally wounding her). Kratos also showed respect for the Spartan warriors he leads, and compassion for his home-city of Sparta along with her residents. Unable to cope with the memory of his own misdeeds, Kratos has attempted suicide on two separate occasions (and faked a third suicide attempt to trick Zeus into letting his guard down).

Kratos is stubborn and prideful. He believes that his fate, and his life belongs to him and him alone. He has shown this multiple times by doing things beyond his place, such as slaying Ares and the Sisters of Fate thus controlling his fate (something even Zeus had not been able to do). After becoming a god Kratos holds great anger for the gods, for forcing him into a position he did not want to be in, and not accepting him as a God of Olympus. During the course of the 2nd game Kratos repeatedly announces that he serves no one and nothing, be it a mortal, immortal, or destiny.

Powers and abilities
Being the son of Zeus and a mortal woman, Kratos has the powers of a demi-god which are vast superhuman strength and durability as well as being swift and agile, but these powers were not realized by Kratos until a later time. An example of Kratos' massive strength is when he was facing the Hydra. He was able to impale the Queen Hydra's head on the mast in spite of its own great strength, and was also capable of preventing Atlas the Titan (by far the largest of the Titans) from crushing him between his fingers and is strong enough to overpower the ruler of the gods, Zeus, in strength clashes. During his campaign against Ares in the first God of War game, he was bestowed various and powerful godly abilities.


 * Poseidon's Rage: A magic power that allows Kratos to attack all enemies around him with a storm/electrical based power.
 * Medusa's Gaze: Though not a true godly power, he can use the decapitated gorgon Medusa's head to turn enemies to stone.
 * Zeus' Fury: A magic that allows Kratos to summon bolts of lightning to shoot at enemies.
 * Army of Hades: Kratos can summon the invincible souls of the dead to attack enemies. Even Ares himself could not withstand them.
 * Rage of the Gods: Kratos's most powerful magic. He can call upon the powers of the gods to become stronger and faster. If the Blades of Chaos are at their maximum upgrade level, Kratos is also granted infinite magic.

Robbed of his godly powers at the beginning of God of War II, Kratos received new ones bestowed to him by the Titans.

Aside from the playable magics used in the games, Kratos also had many other powers when he was a god. Powers shown by the gods in the series include omnipresence, dimensional travel, reality manipulation, control over the elements, massive strength, and mastery over whatever they are a deity of (example: Hades is the god of the underworld so he could control souls, life force, and darkness). Being a god of war ment Kratos could utilize fire, earth, and other powers that are ment to cause harm or death. Other powers used by Kratos are the former powers of the Fates, including the manipulation of time and destiny. Kratos, at full power, can be summed up to a near-omnipotent being possibly even more powerful than his father, Zeus.
 * Typhon's Bane: A magical attack that takes the form of a bow that allows Kratos to fire wind elemental projectiles and create a small tornado to decimate enemies.
 * Cronos' Rage: Allows Kratos to place lightning based orbs to attack enemies with and explode when finished. It usually stuns smaller enemies for the duration of the attack. It can place a maximum of three at a time. But more power and orbs can be summoned in time.
 * Head of Euryale: Essentially the God of War II version of "Medusa's Gaze". Now Kratos is able to fire blasts that can affect multiple enemies and can also move while holding the giant Gorgon's head.
 * Atlas Quake: Kratos slams the ground with his fists and send a powerful wave of earth in all directions and cracks off boulders projectiles in the air.
 * Rage of the Titans: Similar to the "Rage of the Gods" power; he takes less damage than normal. Kratos become faster, stronger, and after twenty-five hit combo plus, he can summon a tornado of flame that destroys all enemies around him. Unlike Rage of the Gods, Kratos can switch off the power if he no longer needs it and it can be activated without being full.

Weapons
God of War


 * Blades of Chaos: Kratos's most used weapons. These weapons are two large, falchion-like blades loosely based on a Kusari Gama design attached to chains which wind around Kratos' wrists and are seared into his arms at the ends.
 * Blade of Artemis: A large, powerful, but cumbersome sword. Once used by the goddess Artemis to slay a Titan.
 * Pandora's Box: While not a true "weapon", it is often said that it is "the most powerful weapon a mortal can wield". Pandora's Box is a large, golden box that has the power to make a mortal powerful enough to kill a god by making them grow to towering heights.
 * Blade of the Gods: A massive sword that Kratos used to slay Ares. Seen earlier in God of War when Kratos used it as a bridge.
 * Athena's Blades: A gift from Athena after defeating Ares, they are a golden version of the Blades of Chaos.

God of War II
 * Athena's Blades: They lose their golden tint at the start of God of War II and gain a Golden-reddish tint as Kratos levels them up.
 * Barbarian Hammer: A large hammer with the ability to summon the souls of the dead and emit a large wave of energy.
 * Spear of Destiny: A spear covered in purple crystals. This spear has the ability to use its crystals as projectiles, make an explosive crystal, and alter enemies into bombs if hit with the crystal end of the spear.
 * Blade of Olympus: The legendary sword that was created by Zeus to end the Great War with the Titans. This blade has the ability to fire energy projectiles and absorb power from any source.