God Of War: How Kratos Killing Magni Broke Ragnarok's Mythology
The God of War game from 2018, which pits God of War protagonist Kratos and his son Atreus against the gods and monsters of Norse Mythology - including Magni and Modi (Móði) - pays homage to many classic tales from Norse myth compendiums like the Prose Edda while also altering or adding strange twists to the events and outcomes of said stories. Besides reinterpreting the myths such as the tragedy of Baldur and Freya, God of War also fractures the prophecy of Ragnarök, the final battle foretold to destroy the world of Midgaard, when Kratos winds up slaying Magni and Modi, divine sons of Thor who are supposed to survive Ragnarök.
The developers of the God of War games frequently portray the gods Kratos fights as cruel or dangerously unstable beings, an interpretation not so far off from their portrayal in real-world mythology. In most modern monotheistic faiths, God with a capital G is an all-knowing, all-powerful force of pure benevolence. Old polytheistic mythologies, in contrast, are full of stories about gods and goddesses who commit awful deeds such as murder, kin-slaying, incest, and transforming unlucky mortals into animals, plants, or monsters. Iindeed, most religious rituals in old polytheistic cultures were designed to appease these temperamental deities and keep them from lashing out at their patron cultures. Drawing from the abusive behavior of god characters in Greco-Roman mythology, developers of the original God of War wound up making the deities of Olympus the villainous antagonists of their hack'n'slash game trilogy, and made the god-slaying vengeance-seeking demigod named Kratos their slightly less-villainous protagonist.
By the time of the PlayStation 4 God of War game, released back in 2018, Kratos, more level-headed after running out of Greek deities to murder, has settled down in the cold northern lands of Midgaard and is trying to raise his son Atreus as best as he can. After embarking on a journey to scatter the ashes of their deceased wife and mother from the highest mountain in all the Realms, Kratos and Atreus make enemies in God of War of both gods and giant creatures from the Norse Aesir pantheon, engage in several epic fights, and unwittingly set in motion a chain of events that will lead to Ragnarok. Whether or not Kratos and Atreus can change the future and stop Ragnarok from coming to pass in full will probably be answered in the upcoming God of War: Ragnarök sequel, but the death of Magni and Modi at the hands of Kratos and Atreus already proves the future can be changed to a degree.
The Prose Edda, a Scandinavian collection of folk tales and legends written by a 12th century Icelandic historian named Snorri Sturluson, is the primary source for most of the Norse myths and tales in God Of War. The first part of the Prose Edda describes the origins of the Aesir and Vanir pantheons (awkwardly linked to Greco-Roman Mythology when the author claims gods such as Odin and Freya were originally exiles from the fallen city of Troy). The second part of the Prose Edda, titled the Gylfaginning, uses the framing device of a Swedish king named Gylfi, who talks to a trio of wise men and asks them about the Norse deities and their deeds. After describing the far-future calamity of Ragnarök , the final battle between gods, giants, and monsters, the wise men speak of Magni and Modi, the two sons of Thor:
"The Earth will shoot up from the Sea, and it will be green and beautiful. [...] To there will come Thor's sons, Modi and Magni, and they will have Mjolnir. Next Baldur and Höðr will arrive from Hel. They will all sit together and talk among themselves, remembering mysteries and speaking of what had been [...] "
Aside from a poetic reference to Magni helping his father fight a giant, this is the only time Magni and Modi are mentioned in the Prose Edda, but their destiny is remarkable for their sheer novelty. Magni and Modi are fated to survive the war that slew every other member of their divine family, and will inherit a green, unspoiled world free of conflict and strife. Of all the Norse deities, they are one of the few destined to get a happy ending.
And then God of War protagonist Kratos hacks Magni apart with an axe, prompting Modi to scream, among other things, "How did you...? You have no idea what you...!" Modi's dialogue here has two subtextual meanings: First, he's horrified to see his divine brother murdered out of the blue by a seemingly mortal stranger, and second, he's shocked his brother was slain in direct defiance of a prophecy stating he would survive everything. Later on, a broken, despairing Modi (beaten by his own father Thor) is stabbed through the throat by Atreus after insulting the boy's deceased mother – another alteration of the supposedly unalterable Ragnarok prophecy. For players familiar with Norse Mythology, the message is clear; as long as Kratos and Atreus live, prophecy won't keep the Norse gods safe, and Ragnarok itself might be altered and averted by the player's deeds.
In the most recent trailer for God of War: Ragnarok, Kratos, an older Atreus, and the severed talking head of Mimir set out on a new quest – their new goal to learn more about the prophecy of Ragnarok and whether they should try to stop or bring it to fruition. Magni and Modi's deaths in God of War prove the cataclysmic prophecy of Ragnarok can be altered, or perhaps even totally averted. This may not be a completely good thing, though. Odin, the god of wisdom and prophecy set to be the final enemy of Kratos and Atreus, is searching for ways to avert his ordained demise during the final battle between Gods and Giants; the deaths of his grandchildren at the hands of two strange foreigners, if nothing else, proves he might be able to change the future in his favor. Considering how Odin is portrayed as a cruel and abusive patriarch in the God of War games so far, this doesn't bode well for Kratos, Atreus, or any of the gentler residents of Midgaard.