Repeatedly throughout the 2018 God of War partial reboot, players hear stories about the Norse god of war, Tyr. By the time Kratos and Atreus are exploring Midgard, Tyr has been killed (or possibly imprisoned) by Odin. The Norse god of war has left him many mementos of his reign and travels, notably even visiting Ancient Greece at some point. While Kratos has a long history with the Greek god of war, Ares, and even served as the god of war for some time, Tyr is an entirely different god to Ares by virtue of coming from an entirely different pantheon of gods and culture.
God of War left players with a fair share of mysteries at the end of the game, and one popular theory states that Kratos could indeed be or become Tyr. However, that theory aside, the Norse god of war and Kratos share many similarities in their journeys, but there are differences that distinguish them. It will be impossible to answer all of the questions God of War left players with, but by considering both the mythological background of Tyr and the facts we know from the game, fans of the series can make their own guesses as to how significant Tyr may be in future games.
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Tyr in Mythology
As most people know, the etymology of Wednesday comes from Old English/Germanic phrases meaning Odin's day. Tuesday gets its name from Tyr, with roots in the phrase 'Tyr's Day'. This emphasizes Tyr's importance in Norse mythology, although he may not be as well known in pop culture as Thor, Odin, and Loki are. Tyr also has some history with Loki, which is interesting for God of War since we now know Atreus is Loki.
While Tyr is the god of war in Norse mythology, he differs a great deal from Ares/Mars. Tyr was associated with justice and order, while Ares was more associated with brute force. Some linguists argue that Tyr's etymology is closer to Zeus than Ares, but from a contemporary perspective Odin and Zeus are the most comparable. It is notable then that Tyr's father is Odin, as Kratos' is Zeus.
Tyr is also known for having one arm in Norse mythology, which relates to his history with Loki. One of Loki's children, Fenrir the giant wolf, is prophesied to kill Odin so the gods attempt to trap him. Tyr is the one to achieve this, but Fenrir bites off his arm in the process. Also significant is the fact that many stories assert that Tyr was able to achieve this because of mutual trust between the two, which Tyr betrayed in imprisoning Fenrir. Other stories claim the god willingly offered up his hand to keep Fenrir imprisoned. Tyr is also depicted as a casualty of Ragnarok.
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Tyr in God of War
The main comparison between Tyr and Kratos is that they are the children of Odin and Zeus, but as the game has indicated, Kratos will play a role in numerous core stories from Norse mythology. As such, Kratos' future characterization has many potential avenues to explore. Information about Tyr in the game is largely delivered through stories and exploring places related to him. Kratos and Tyr do not meet in God of War, as Odin has either killed or imprisoned the god.
It is impossible to predict Tyr's future role in the games, as Kratos is now taking the place of a number of gods in Norse mythology, but he is already a significant character to the story these games are telling. Tyr's absence in God of War is due to his collusion with the giants. In the games, Loki's mother is a giant while in mythology Loki's father is a giant and he has numerous children with a giant named Angrboda, including Fenrir. Faye being both Loki's mother from mythology, Laufey, and a giant indicates the giants are of big importance to the story of Kratos and Atreus. Thus, Tyr's role as a friend to the giants is important.
It is also revealed in God of War that Tyr traveled between different mythological realms, visiting with the gods of various mythologies. Included in this is Ancient Greece, which opens the possibility that Tyr and Kratos may have met. The significance of Ancient Greece to Kratos, in particular, lends some credibility to the theory Kratos is Tyr, though time travel would have to be involved. The only two characters we have seen travel between different mythologies like this are Tyr and Kratos, meaning that while Kratos may not literally be Tyr, their journeys will definitely have similarities.
Kratos has grown since the original trilogy, and while his style of fatherhood is still abrupt and harsh, it is clear he does care about Atreus and is willing to be more open with him. Introducing softer characteristics to Kratos, through his own style of paternal love, levels out the former god of war who was previously known for his anger. Though Kratos' rage is certainly still present at times, it does seem like he is becoming a more fair and just god, akin to Tyr.
Loki, Tyr, Fenrir
It is enormously clear from God of War that the Loki/Atreus connection will be a major topic of the next game. However, the biggest obvious change is that Loki is now the son of Kratos. Atreus being Loki also complicates the typical stories from Norse mythology since it is shown that Fenrir does exist in God of War, although he is not shown. The story about Tyr losing his hand to Fenrir may still apply, but Loki's fatherhood of Fenrir is something the games will have to deal with going forward.
Loki being half-Greek is a major change to the mythology also, and so Kratos' role as his father will mean significant changes for many familiar tales from Norse mythology. In the games, though, Kratos and Tyr are the only connections Loki has to his ancestral home. This is another possible avenue the games could explore in terms of Tyr and Kratos, but it remains to be seen if this will be covered when the next God of War game is released.
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