Warning: contains spoilers for God of War: Fallen God #4
From the Greek Gods of Olympus to the pantheon of Norse mythology, the God of War gaming franchise has always thrust its hero, Kratos, into the path of destructive and manipulative deities. Being the bastard son of Zeus himself further intertwines Kratos' life and destiny into the affairs of these powerful celestial beings no matter how far he might run or how hard he resists. It's for this reason that their presence has been hidden for the first three issues of its God of War: Fallen God comic book series, baffling readers to no end. But, in the latest issue an Egyptian God has finally emerged!
Up until the latest release of God of War IV, the entirety of the God of War franchise had revolved around Kratos' blood-soaked struggles against the Greek Gods, beginning with his revenge against the original God of War, Ares, for tricking him into murdering his family and ending with the emergence of Pandora's Box that dragged the vast majority of the Grecian pantheon into Kratos' deadly orbit, including his father Zeus. From there, Kratos attempts to leave his violent past behind him to start anew by creating a family in Midgard's Scandinavia. But his late wife's true identity would soon entrench Kratos and his son Atreus into the drama of the Norse gods throughout God of War IV.
Although the shift from Greek to Norse mythology already set a new precedent that allowed God of War to expand beyond Grecian lore, God of War IV drops some major hints that future iterations of the game will continue this pattern by introducing even more mythos. So when Dark Horse announced that its God of War: Fallen Gods comic book series would follow Kratos as he leaves Greece for Scandinavia, fans immediately thought that this would be the perfect opportunity to explore other cultures. With Kratos journeying to Egypt early on in the series, it was assumed that Egyptian gods would make their long-awaited appearance sooner rather than later. Instead, Kratos just faced massive crocodiles and hippos, but no gods, not until God of War: Fallen Gods #4, by writer Chris Roberson and artist Tony Parker.
In this highly anticipated moment in Fallen Gods, Kratos is visited once more by an old Egyptian man whom Kratos has come to view with contempt for his incessant riddling about never being able to escape his fate. But this time, Kratos is also approached by the Greek goddess Athena and an Egyptian deity who possesses the head of what looks to be an ibis, leading one to infer that Athena's companion is Thoth, the Egyptian equivalent to Hermes and god of wisdom, writing, hieroglyphs, science, magic, art, judgment, and the dead. The fact that a regular ibis has appeared with a mortal baboon (which also represents Thoth) further supports this theory.
Hopefully, the appearance of Thoth will start a trend in the proceeding issues of Fallen God where Thoth as well as other Egyptian deities will not only present themselves to the battle-worn Kratos but will engage him in battle. The franchise is about gods and should therefore include gods. Additionally, fans of the games who read this series expect it to be inundated with elements from God of War. So it should. Otherwise, why call it God of War? At least, past issues have featured Kratos' accursed Blades of Chaos from Greece that haunt the weary warrior and the Goddess Athena. There just needs to be more.
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June 14, 2021 at 12:13AM
