Gods much stronger than Kratos in God of War

Most gamers know who Kratos is The iconic hero from god of war The franchise has been around since 2005, first killing the gods and goddesses of the Greek pantheon, before developing a case of ennui and retiring to the Nordic lands, eventually killing a bunch of gods there as well. Kratos is a godlike killing machine, and as such, there are very few who can competently stand up to him.

A little, but not at all. There are a handful The gods in god of war Franchise who are stronger than Kratos. Most have demonstrated this by actually killing Kratos, but thanks to some divine magic, the God of War regularly drags himself out of the Underworld to fight once more. A couple of other gods, meanwhile, have shown up can Defeat Kratos if given enough time, or if they weren't so generous. However, while there aren't many of them, these gods can really hang with the God of War, and that's pretty impressive.

Zeus

Kratos' father is still the strongest god in the franchise

• appears in: God of War, God of War 2, God of War 3, God of War: Ghost of Sparta, God of War: Ascension, God of War (2018)

We'll start with the gods who canonically killed Kratos, and then work on a couple who might have if given the chance. be the first Zeus, Lord of Olympus, God of Heaven, and father of Kratos. Zeus betrays Kratus god of war 2, Tricking Kratos into throwing his godlike powers into the Blade of Olympus before using that blade to kill him. Zeus has a solid reason for doing this: namely, that he was driven mad by the evils released when Kratos opened Pandora's Box to defeat Ares. Zeus fears that Kratos is destined to kill all the gods, so he kills Kratos first, ironically taking on something he is very afraid of.

Finally (or rather, in God of War 3), Kratos manages to kill Zeus, but he has a lot of help. He uses the Blade of Olympus to impale Zeus on Gaia's heart, and then, with the help of Pandora, summons the powers of hope to atone for his sins and do battle with Zeus' soul. In the iconic scene when Kratos beats Zeus to a pulp, he has cast out the Evils who betrayed Zeus, and his father leaves to fight. So yes, Kratos kills Zeus, but it's fair to say that in a one-on-one fight and without any outside help, Zeus would easily defeat his son.

Thor

If he had the brains to go with Braun, he might have finished off Kratos

• appears in: God of War (2018) (cameo), God of War Ragnarok

It's almost a blink-and-you'll-miss-it moment, though Thor manages to kill Kratos during their showdown God of War Ragnarok. The God of Thunder catches Kratos off-guard and nails him with a blow of his hammer, but because their duel is penance for Kratos killing Thor's sons, Magni and Modi, Thor uses Mjolnir to resurrect him on the spot and continue their battle. This is too bad, but it also costs Thor the fight, which ultimately ends in a draw.

The sad part is that this fight happens when Thor is at his lowest. His sons are dead, his family is falling apart around him, and he spends his time drinking and killing people for his father. Odin, meanwhile, “raised” Thor to be his muscle. While he is effective in that role, there is an element of strategic genius that Kratos possesses that the God of Thunder does not. In terms of raw power, Thor was more powerful than Kratos in his prime. Kratos just gets a little lucky and uses his smarts to gain an advantage and survive.

Charon

One of the few gods to cast Kratos down into Tartarus

• appears in: God of War: Chains of Olympus

The last god that manages to kill Kratos is surprising: Charon. No one expected much from the Ferryman of the River Styx, let alone one so powerful as to throw the God of War into Tartarus, but that's exactly what he does. He also works surprisingly fast. Yes, Kratos didn't know the boss fight gimmick yet, but a (seemingly) frail old man in a mask completely dominating Kratos is still a pretty shocking moment.

Yes, Kratos finally gets out of Tartarus. He then returns to the River Styx and gives Charon his own beating, but not before obtaining the Gauntlet of Zeus, without which he cannot destroy the pillars that restore Charon's health. Once again, although Kratos manages to kill Charon in the end, he needs a special tool to do it, without which he is not strong enough to win. The same can be said for many owners god of war franchise, but none of them manage to take down Kratos in return. In that regard, Charon stands head and shoulders above the other gods in the series.

Baldur

The perfect foil to Kratos' powers

• appears in: God of War (2018), God of War Ragnarok

Now we'll get into some of the more interesting options god of war pantheon. is the first Baldur, Freya's son and primary antagonist God of War (2018). Baldur appears early in the game and trades with Kratos like his average Tuesday visit. Kratos finally gains the upper hand and lands a killing blow, only for Baldur to get back up and shake it off, the wound is instantly healed, and the battle begins anew.

The thing about Baldur is that he is quite literally incompetent. That's his thing: he can't feel pain, and he can't die. He meets Kratos specifically because he is looking for someone strong enough to break the curse, but even Kratos is not capable of it. This makes Baldur the perfect foil for Kratos. One god kills every god he can get his hands on, while the other god cannot be killed. They are two sides of the same coin. Like the other examples here, Kratos eventually kills Baldur, but only after removing the latter's curse and rendering him mortal. If Baldur and Kratos were to continue their fight from the beginning of the game until one of them died, it would be Kratos' end, not Baldur's.

Hercules

Pride before the fall

Hercules There is a bone to pick. In his mind, Zeus favors Kratos above him, sending Kratos to kill Ares while giving Hercules arbitrary action to win. In Kratos' pursuit of Zeus, Hercules decides he will teach his half-brother a lesson while a drunken Hera looks on in disgust. Kratos manages to rip off some of Hercules' armor, and also destroys his helmet, but a slam from the Nemean Sestus stuns Kratos to the point that he loses consciousness for a moment.

At that moment, Hercules could easily finish him off. Kratos is dazed, blind, and completely unable to defend himself, let alone fight. Unfortunately, Hercules chooses to spend that time bragging to Hera about how Kratos is “trembling”, which gives the God of War enough time to come up behind Hercules and knock him aside, rejoining the fight with the Nemean Cestus for himself. Impressively, even without his armor or armor, Hercules holds his own, dodging around Kratos' swing and landing heavy blows with his bare fists. In the end, it's his pride that gets him in once again. Hercules tries to lift the entire arena to send Mount Olympus tumbling down. Instead, Kratos uses the arena floor and pins Hercules under it, then beats him with his own gauntlet.