Kratos' Justified & Unjustified Kills in God Of War

At the end of 2018’s God of War, Kratos admits to his son Atreus that “I have killed many who were deserving and many who were not." Both that and the sequel, God of War Ragnarok, saw the Ghost of Sparta filled with regret about his past, looking for redemption as the Norse apocalypse drew near.

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Though Kratos wants to put his colorful past behind him, it's difficult for fans to forget the brutal life he once led. To a certain degree, he still leads this kind of life, but his approach to killing has changed.

Updated on February 8, 2024, by David Heath: God of War Ragnarok's Valhalla DLC saw Kratos confront his past and come to terms with his regrets and the decisions he made, seeking sense in the ones he thought were indefensible and learning from his mistakes in order to be better and make a fresh start.

Many of his decisions usually involved who should live or die, with many falling in the 'die' category. So, this list has been updated with more of Kratos' justified and unjustified kills, with some extra info, some tweaks here and there, and rearrangements to make it easier for readers to navigate it. This time, the reasonable ones have been put at the top, and the blatant brutalities are at the bottom.

20 Justified: Alrik

Reasons: Killed Most of the Spartan Army and Almost Killed Kratos

• King of the Barbarians and boss in God of War 2

Aside from the time he was revived to stop Kratos in GoW 2, Alrik the Barbarian King was largely seen in flashbacks and extra media like the tie-in comic by DC Comics. But he's perhaps the most important NPC in the series, as he and his hordes were the force responsible for turning Kratos from a Spartan captain into the Ghost of Sparta.

Seeking revenge for their fight in the prequel comic, Alrik and his army had the Spartan army all but defeated, and Kratos was moments away from becoming a bloody stain on Alrik's hammer. If Kratos had died, Alrik would've destroyed Sparta and its people. Understandably, Kratos had to pray to one god or another to save his beloved city-state, and aiding soldiers in battle was part of Ares' M.O. It led to a lot of damage in the long run, but at that moment, it was something Kratos had to do to survive.

19 Justified: The Furies

Reasons: Self-Defense, Freedom from Bondage, and Saving Olympus

• Goddesses of vengeance and bosses of GoW: Ascension

GoW: Ascension isn't most fans' favorite game, and many see its story as unnecessary. But that's not exactly true. It could've been better implemented perhaps, but oaths and filial piety were a big deal in the ancient world. Greek mythology is full of stories about the horrors that awaited people who broke their word, where they'd often be tortured and tormented by the Furies until they either died or had another god save them.

So, why would they let Kratos off lightly when he broke his devotion to Ares? They devised the blood tasks that sealed Kratos' oath, and Ares helped him (unknowingly) complete them by tricking him into killing his family. Once Kratos tried to quit, the Furies would torture him until he complied with their plot to overthrow Olympus. The only regret Kratos had was that he also had to kill Orkos, on his request, to fully break free from the oath. The oathstone held in his body would become one of the key items in Ragnarok's Valhalla DLC.

18 Justified: Persephone

Reasons: Self-Defense, Saving the World, and Rescuing Helios.

• Queen of the Underworld, wife of Hades, and the final boss of GoW: Chains of Olympus

Persephone didn’t want to be the 'Queen of the Underworld.' Like the original legend, she was tricked by Hades into spending half her lifetime in the realm of the dead as his wife. With Olympus unable and unwilling to help, she wanted revenge. She freed the titan Atlas from Tartarus, and together, they kidnapped Helios, let Morpheus trap the people and gods alike into a dreamy slumber, and then tried to destroy the World Pillar.

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Its destruction would've destroyed every realm in Greece from Olympus to Tartarus. She thought she could neutralize Kratos by using his late daughter Calliope to trick him into de-powering himself. Instead, he trapped Atlas in the pillar's place, killed Persephone, freed Helios, and saved the realm. This resulted in him being separated from Calliope forever.

17 Justified: Ares

Reasons: Tricked Kratos into Killing his Family, Destroyed Cities Across Greece, and Tried to Destroy Olympus

• Olympus' god of war and final boss of GoW (2005)

The original game was about Kratos trying to stop Ares from destroying Athens and threatening Olympus. The original Greek god of war was a dangerous and manipulative character. While he gave Kratos his second chance at victory on the battlefield, he also tricked him into killing his wife and daughter to devote himself fully to Ares’ cause.

That cause ultimately was the conquest of Olympus itself via his plan with the Furies in God of War: Ascension. While it didn’t work, he still laid waste to cities across the continent for his own desires. Kratos killing him in combat brought peace to everyone, save for Kratos himself as he remained cursed by Ares’ trick. He was given Ares’ old job, but it wasn’t enough.

16 Justified: The Sisters of Fate

Reasons: To Change his Fate and Avoid Dying at Zeus' Hands

• Controllers of time and fate and bosses in GoW 2

After being betrayed by the gods in the original GoW and GoW: Ghost of Sparta, Kratos used his new godly status to help Sparta's military efforts against the rest of Greece. Fearing his power, Zeus tricked Kratos into giving up his godhood and forced him to swear loyalty to him or die. Kratos chose death and was only brought back when the Titan Gaia offered him a path to revenge.

But instead of directly attacking Zeus, she told him to face off against the Sisters of Fate instead. With them controlling his thread of fate, he'd be doomed to die again if he tried to threaten Zeus directly, and they had no interest in changing his path. So, Kratos had to take the direct route, risking his own survival in the past, to be able to control his future.

15 Justified: Zeus

Reasons: Lied and Tormented Kratos Since Childhood and Destroyed Sparta and its Citizens

• King of Olympus, the chief god of Greece, and the final boss of GoW 2 and GoW 3

While the Ruler of Olympus seems benevolent in the first God of War, there were always cracks in this facade. GoW 3 argues Zeus was corrupted by the fear released from Pandora’s box. However, even before this, his manipulation of the architects Pathos Verdes III and Daedalus showed he was willing to lie, gaslight, and take lives to get his way.

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He was ruled by his fear long before the box was opened, too. Acting on a prophecy that he'd be taken down by "a marked warrior," he had Ares and Athena kidnap Kratos' birthmark-covered brother Deimos by mistake, giving Kratos his 'mark' (eye scar) in the process. Then, he cursed Kratos’ mother to keep her from revealing he was Kratos' father. Killing his son and destroying Sparta were just additional insults to injury.

14 Justified: Magni

Reasons: Self-Defense and to Protect Atreus

• Norse god of force and brutality and co-boss in GoW (2018)

The sons of Thor, Magni and Modi, were sent by Odin to be Baldur's lackeys in his pursuit of Kratos, Atreus, and their path to Jotunheim. Magni's strength and blond hair made him the favorite of their father, while Modi was treated like the proverbial red-headed stepchild. Nonetheless, the two were devoted to the Allfather and his cause and did their best to stop Kratos and Atreus in their tracks.

In the end, all it did was cost Magni his life when Kratos stopped him permanently with his axe. However, unlike his past self, Kratos grew concerned about the consequences of taking this life. It didn't cause any natural disasters like the deaths of the Olympians, but it led to Modi trying to get revenge, only to be beaten by his father off-screen, and to Atreus growing ill, recovering, and killing his first god, too.

13 Justified: Baldur

Reasons: Constant Threat to Kratos and Atreus, Tortured Mimir, and Tried to Kill Freya

• Norse god of light, joy, and tragedy. Recurring boss in GoW (2018)

The big bad guy of the first Norse game was as much a victim as well as a villain. Baldur used to be a relatively innocent Aesir, the young son of Odin and Freya. But once his mother, fearing his death, made him invulnerable via a spell without his consent, it twisted him. The spell made him unable to feel pleasure as well as pain. Any little thing that gave him joy and made him feel alive now left him as numb as everything else.

Feeling betrayed and driven mad by the spell, he sided against her and gave in to his rage and brutality. Even after the spell was undone, he couldn’t let go of his bitterness. Freya’s attempts at reason led to her offering herself as a sacrifice to his whims. Kratos, seeing Baldur make the same bad choices he once did, intervened and finished him off permanently. In the short term, he could've handled it better, but Kratos' decision proved right in the long term.

12 Justified: Heimdall

Reasons: Persistent Threat to Kratos and Atreus and a Devoted Agent of Odin

• Norse god of foresight and boss in GoW Ragnarok

There are few characters more aggravating than the all-seeing watchman of the Aesir. Heimdall had a case for being wary of Atreus but not for deliberating taunting him and Thor’s daughter Thrud for kicks. He’s snotty towards everyone and even more so to those who oppose Asgard. If the Norns hadn’t predicted he’d try to kill Atreus, Kratos would’ve likely killed him for getting on his last nerve like Hermes.

Yet he actually showed him mercy, offering Heimdall a chance to walk away, much like he did for Baldur. But just like his half-brother, Heimdall couldn’t let go. Kratos’ pity offended him even more. With no willingness to stop, Kratos had to make that decision for him. It left him feeling conflicted, concerned he'd never be more than a killer. But most players likely wished they could've killed him much earlier.

11 Justified: Odin

Reasons: Threat to the Other Norse Realms and their People and a Master Manipulator

• The Allfather, King of the Aesir, and main antagonist and final boss of GoW Ragnarok

Technically, Kratos wasn't the one who landed the killing strike on Odin. After all his machinations, deceptions, using people against each other, and powerful magical attacks, it was Atreus who sealed Odin's soul into a metal marble. Then, a grief-stricken Sindri smashed said marble to avenge his late brother Brok. But Kratos played his part in fighting off the Allfather, softening him up in the final battle until he was a weak, bloody figure.

Like Baldur and Heimdall, he was offered mercy and given the option to give up, disappear, and live out his life. But Odin was too devoted to his paranoia and his need to see beyond the veil, no matter the cost to himself and those around him. By then, Atreus, Freya, and Kratos had let go of the pain he caused them and would've held his marble for safekeeping. But Sindri was not so forgiving.