Fans of the original God of War series know that Kratos was initially an angry, vengeful killing machine, but that all changed in 2018’s God of War. The new game served as a kind of soft reboot for the franchise and saw Kratos become a calmer and wiser father figure, but just how did Kratos learn to control his seemingly insatiable rage? The answer lies in the comics.
Available on the PlayStation store, the God of War digital comic book series serves as a kind of prequel to the game. The first issue was released with the God of War digital deluxe version and four more were released over the course of the next year. They can be read as normal comics or watched with audio and animation components, which give the series a very unique style. Having the game’s epic soundtrack in the background makes the stories that much more immersive.
The series takes place before the story of the main game - exactly how long before is unclear, but long enough that Atreus’s mother is still alive. She even appears in the first issue, though her face is obscured. As part of adjusting to his new life in the Norse realm, Kratos wants to learn to control the rage that has controlled him for so long. He repeatedly journeys into the woods looking for a fight so he can test his will to abstain from violence. But one day, Kratos stumbles upon an old man being attacked by a bear-like creature and decides to break his vow and intervene. He kills the creature, but the old man dies from his injuries.
Upon returning home, Kratos is confronted by a group of men who accuse him of killing their brother. They proceed to transform into bear-like creatures just like the one Kratos fought earlier. He manages to defeat them, but one escapes, prompting Kratos to hunt him down so he cannot return with reinforcements. Atreus, or "boy," brings Kratos to a seer, who says that the men he seeks are called Berserkers. The seer goes on to tell him, “The Berserker’s rage fuels his faith, and if he should be found worthy, his body is twisted into a physical manifestation of his anger…They do not act out of wisdom, but out of fury, which means they often make foolish choices.” It would be hard not to draw a parallel between the way of the Berserkers and Kratos’s struggles with his own fury, and the Seer says as much. She cautions Kratos not to fight the Berserkers on their own terms, or he will lose.
When Kratos finds the Berserkers, a fight breaks out. He taps into his rage to try to defeat them, but they are too strong and too many. He remembers the seer’s words and realizes he must change his tactics. Rather than try to fight the Berserkers with brute strength, he destroys their totem, which robs them of their powers and transforms them back into mere men. By the end of the series, Kratos’s battle with his inner demons is far from over, but he has made significant progress towards becoming the man we see in the main game. If you get through these five issues and are still hungry for more God of War, you needn’t worry. God of War: Fallen God is set to release later this month, which will finally explain what happened to Kratos in those years between God of War III and the reboot.