Baldur (God of War)

Baldur, initially known as "the Stranger", is the main antagonist of the 2018 video game , the first installment of the Norse Era of the God of War video game franchise. He is the Norse god of light and the son of Odin, the Allfather of the Aesir and the estranged, Freya the Vanir goddess who is the former queen.
He is Odin's best tracker and is a vicious fighter as he is unable to feel pain or be harmed due to his curse his mother placed on him. He is sent with his nephews, Magni and Modi, by his father, Odin, to hunt down and kill Kratos and his son Atreus as Odin believes them to be the bringers of Ragnarok, searching for the cure of his curse that his mother placed on him.
He was voiced and motion-captured by , who also portrayed Malcolm Dreyfuss in Sleepy Hollow and John Deegan in the Arrowverse.
==Biography==
===Early life===
Baldur was born to Odin and Freya in Asgard, the half brother of Thor and Tyr. He was described by Freya as a happy child and was to be known as the god of light due to his loving nature. A prophecy foretold Baldur would die a needless death which would in turn begin the events of Ragnarok. Due to this and her love for him, Freya cast a spell on Baldur which made him invulnerable to any type of harm. This spell, however, had a horrific, and unintended, side effect on Baldur as it took all sense of feeling from him such as pain, feelings of pleasure and even joy. Years of not being able to feel turned Baldur cruel and uncaring. He grew to hate his mother for what she had done as well as his place in life as he could no longer feel the world around him.
===God of War (2018)===
On Odin's orders, Baldur, tracked Kratos to his home in Midgard. Baldur immediately was hostile towards the Spartan, taunting him and goading him into a fight, stating he knew who he truly was. Baldur finally received the response he was looking for from Kratos and was punched in the face, sending him flying back. Baldur was disappointed; despite Kratos's great power, he still was not able to make him feel pain. As the Ghost of Sparta was about to strike again Baldur took him by surprise and delivered a strike that sent him flying through the air and over his house. The two continued on with a brutal and exhausting battle that literally cracked open the ground beneath them. The fight culminated with Kratos snapping Baldur's neck and tossing him into the open gorge, seemingly killing him.
Due to his invulnerability, Baldur survived and was next seen with his nephews, Magni and Modi (Thor's sons) attempting to interrogate Mimir, a God that Odin had trapped in a tree at the top of the Mountain. Mimir refused to answer Baldur's questions regarding Kratos and Atreus, pointing out that Baldur had both nothing to threaten him with nor the authority to free him from his suffering. Baldur, Magni, and Modi subsequently left to try and find Kratos and Atreus elsewhere.
Later, after Kratos, Atreus, and Mimir (now a decapitated, reanimated head thanks to Kratos freeing him) return to the top of the Mountain and attempt to enter Jotunheim through the gate there, Baldur attacks them. Beating Kratos, he is shot through the chest and head by Atreus, which he simply shrugs off. Atreus - having become more egotistical and impatient since learning of his Godhood - is easily goaded into stunning Kratos with a lighting arrow and attacking Baldur head-on. Baldur easily disarms Atreus, holding him up by the neck and mocking him for thinking he was ready to take him on. Stabbing Atreus in the shoulder with his own knife, Baldur bid Kratos goodbye before running off the edge of the mountain and landing on his pet dragon. Kratos swiftly followed, catching the dragon's tail and climbing on before the two Gods engaged in another brutal fight. Eventually, Kratos was tossed off, but not before slicing the dragon's wing and sending it crashing into a cliff face next to the Lake of Nine. However, Baldur, carrying Atreus, was able to jump off the dragon and land in the Realm Travel Room on Tyr's Bridge. While attempting to use the Travel Room to enter Asgard, Baldur was interrupted by Kratos, who was able to redirect the Room to cast himself, Baldur, Atreus, and Mimir into Helheim, with all of them landing on the Bridge of the Damned.
During the landing, Baldur was separated from the three protagonists. As they traveled through Hel, they came across Baldur being tortured by a vision. Through this, it is revealed that a century ago, Baldur's mother, Freya, blessed Baldur with invulnerability to all harm. However, a side effect of the blessing was that Baldur could no longer feel anything - be it taste, sexual pleasure or even pain. Baldur confronted Freya about this, admitting he would rather die than never feel again. However, she refused to lift her blessing, fearing her son would suffer a pointless death as she had foreseen. The present Baldur watched this, pacing about and eagerly telling his vision counterpart to "do it." The vision - Baldur appeared as if he would kill Freya - however, it played out as history did, with vision-Baldur stating that he never wants to see Freya again. The vision ended, and Baldur screamed in fury, calling his vision-self a coward. Eventually, he collapsed into a sobbing wreck, calling himself a coward.
Much later, Kratos, Atreus, and Mimir ventured inside the World Serpent, Jormngandr, in order to find Mimir's missing eye and open a secret gate to Jotunheim. On their way back out of the Serpent, they felt him being violently thrown about and were spat up on the shore next to the frozen corpse of the Frost Giant, Thamur. Freya then joined them, telling them that she had started searching for her son. After some hesitation from Kratos and Atreus thanks to their knowledge of Baldur and Freya's relationship, the Invulnerable God waded out of the water, stating that he felt that hurting "the big snake" would get the pairs' attention, and chiding them for costing him something (implied to be a promise from Odin to lift his curse if he delivered the two to Asgard). He paused, however, upon noticing his mother. Though Freya tried to make peace with her son, Baldur simply stated that he did not need her before approaching. Kratos, however, stopped him, telling the Norse God that he knew from experience that Baldur would find no peace in vengeance. Baldur ignored this and attacked Kratos. Eventually, Freya attempted to ensnare the two in vines to keep them from killing each other. Baldur dodged and went to attack Kratos. Atreus then stepped in, attempting to protect his father, to which Baldur responded by punching him in the chest. What Baldur did not know was that earlier, the dwarf Sindri had gifted Atreus with Mistletoe Arrows for saving him from a dragon. The head of one of these arrows was used to tie together Atreus' quiver after the string broke - right over his chest. As such, Baldur inadvertently stabbed his hand with the mistletoe arrow from Atreus' quiver stab, which - to his amazement and Freya's horror - broke the blessing that rendered him invulnerable, allowing him to feel again - but also to be killed.
The fight continued, with Freya using her Seior magic to summon vines, Brood, and even reanimate Thamur's corpse in an attempt to stop the fight. Throughout it all, Baldur relishes in the agony it causes him, whether it be through Kratos' attacks, or his own freezing or burning himself. Eventually, Kratos and Atreus, with the help of Jormungandr, disabled Thamur's Corpse and beat Baldur, and Kratos attempted to strangle him to death. Atreus, however, held his father back, echoing Kratos' words about Modi earlier that Baldur is "beaten. Not worth killing." Letting go, Kratos warned Baldur to leave Freya alone, causing her to chide him for attempting to protect her. Baldur, in turn, chided Freya for her inability to remain uninvolved in his life, stating that he will never forgive her for her actions and that she needs to suffer for the century of feeling she stole from him. Freya responded that she has suffered for it, but says that if killing her will make Baldur whole, then she will let him. Baldur then began strangling Freya to death, only to be pulled back by Kratos. Incensed and uncomprehending of why Kratos continued to get involved when there was no reason for Baldur to keep chasing them, Kratos echoed the words of his father, Zeus, telling Baldur that "The cycle ends here. We must be better than this." Kratos then snapped Baldur's neck. As Baldur lay dying on the ground, he blissfully felt, for the last time, the touch of snow on his cheek - the first snowflake of Fimbulwinter, the prelude to Ragnarök; The Twilight of the Gods.
==Personality==
Baldur was once a kind and emotionally stable Aesir god, but he ended up becoming an extremely cruel, ruthless and sadistic monster after his mother Freya, out of misguided love, cursed him with an invulnerability spell to ensure nothing can kill him at the cost of his ability to feel anything. To make matters worse, Freya refused to lift the spell out of fear of his death, which sadly, severed the bond between mother and son. The invulnerability curse soon took its toll on his sanity and turned him into the emotionally unstable monster he is now. According to Modi, Baldur hasn't "seen straight in years".Underneath his sadism, Baldur is an extremely miserable Aesir god. Baldur laments that he can no longer taste food or drinks or experience bodily pleasures, and angrily admitted that he would rather die than never feel again. A vision in Helheim reveals Baldur's regret of not killing Freya years ago for what she had done to him, blaming himself for being a coward for running away instead. Even after becoming a mad monster, his sense of honor still remains, as he was supposedly willing to leave Kratos alone without a fight had the Spartan given him the information he wanted. He also implies that, unlike his brother, he is willing to show mercy. When in a conversation with Mimir, Baldur is willing to get his father, Odin to forgive his former advisor if he help him before he was told by Mimir that the Allfather won't release him nor would let Baldur or his nephews kill Mimir. Despite this, Baldur did not have any reservations about taking hostages, using surprise attacks and threatening innocents during his battles with Kratos. He tried to tell Atreus to turn away when "this won't be pretty".Baldur's relationship with other members of his family seemed to be remarkably better. He was loyal to Odin and trusted that his father would fulfill his promise to find a way to break his curse, even though he knew Odin normally couldn't. Although he clearly did not approve of Thor's absolute bloodlust, stating that he was not like the God of Thunder, Baldur still was on good enough terms with him to agree to take his nephews with him, and it was stated by Magni that despite Baldur's insanity, Thor still believed in his brother's ability to complete missions. Baldur seemed to also be the only Aesir who had respect for the pacific Tyr and the only one who had a good relationship with him, as he was likely taught by the God of War how to use the Bifrost in his temple and he even mirrored his brother's peaceful tendencies by first acting diplomatic and only resorting to violence when needed. Baldur has no hesitation in calling his nephews idiots. Baldur is rather talkative in a belligerent manner during a fight, as he taunts, mocks and enrages Kratos throughout all of their battles. The Spartan himself said in their first encounter that he talked too much.Baldur's rage and maniacal behavior did not vanish along with the spell and Baldur chose to continue fighting Kratos despite being relentlessly assaulted with punches and arrows from Atreus. He actually enjoyed experiencing pain to his fullest and hated every time his mother tried to protect him. Freed from the spell, Baldur is shown to be graceful when he appreciated both Kratos and Atreus for their efforts which his father, Odin couldn't. Despite being given a warning by Kratos, Baldur still wanted to punish his mother and chose to strangle her even as she professed her love for him. Baldur's obsession for revenge to the point of patricide alarmed Kratos that the Spartan tried to reason with the maddened Aesir God, having understood what he felt too well from his past conflicts with Gods of Olympus which culminates in him murdering Zeus and realizing vengeance will bring nothing to its perpetrator. Sadly, Baldur refused to hear Kratos, and as a result, Kratos reluctantly put Baldur out of his misery by snapping his neck. His final moments were not of anger or rage, but the joy that he could feel the snow on his face.
==Powers and Abilities==
Being the God of Light, Baldur is able to blitz his opponents, darting around them before delivering a powerful punch and uppercut. Baldur has the ability to absorb elemental magics, as shown when he gained the power of cryomancy when he was struck by the mighty Leviathan axe. He gained pyromancy after being in the proximity of a fiery explosion caused by Atreus. Baldur's cryomancy allows him to encrust his attacks with ice, unleash icy projectiles, summon a path of icicles from the ground and leap up into the air and crash down with a blast of ice, which he can also use while being on the ground. While in this form, Baldur can only take damage from the fire-based attacks. Baldur's pyromancy gives him the power to shoot fireballs, enhance his punches and kicks with fire, set himself on fire without getting hurt, unleash an eruption path of fire and even has the same ability to crash down with a blast of fire, just like his ice form. Baldur can only take damage from ice attacks, such as the Leviathan axe. Being Odin's best tracker, he's also a skilled tracker and pathfinder, able to find his way out of Helheim despite not having a way out. He was the first to find the Jotunn Guardian's home before the other Aesir gods. While mistletoe makes him vulnerable, Baldur is still immortal and can regenerate from fatal injuries, such as hits from the Leviathan axe. Only a god on his level can kill him.
==Quotes==
==Gallery==
===Images===
Baldur.png
43050900895 cf452a77e8 h.jpg
BaldurGOW.png
180424 GoW C Baldur.png|Baldur's introduction.
Baldur Kratos.jpg
6390849-maxresdefault+(3).jpg|Baldur fighting Kratos.
God of War 20180902011453.jpg|Baldur fighting Atreus.
Godofwar343.jpg|Baldur impaling Kratos.
 thumb 55778108-606f-4aa5-bbc3-983535b74fd5.jpg|Baldur's curse is broken.
41580548272 ee2be29215 b.jpg
n2Vlpk1.jpg
KratosvsBaldur.jpg|Baldur moments before his death.
Baldur tries to kill Freya.png|Baldur strangling Freya.
Baldur's demise.png|Baldur meeting his demise after Kratos snaps his neck.
God of War 20180909201546.jpg|"Snow..."
Baldurdeath.jpg|Freya holding Baldur's corpse.
Baldur (GoW).jpg
===Videos===
THE STRANGER Boss Fight GOD OF WAR 4 (PS4 Pro)
GOD OF WAR 4 - Atreus Shoots Kratos & Baldur Stabs Atreus (Baldur Boss Fight 2)
God of War 4 - Final Boss Fight (God of War 2018) PS4 Pro
==Trivia==
*Baldur's final word, "snow", might have a dual meaning. It can either mean that Baldur has one last happiness by feeling the snow once more or that Baldur is happy to know that, despise his death, Kratos, Atreus and Freya will all suffer during Ragnarok. This is futher seen as Fimbulwinter, a three year long winter prophesied to preced Ragnarok, begins right after Baldur's death. In the latter meaning, Baldur would have died a fiend, smiling at the prospect of the death of his enemies at an apocalyptic event caused by his very demise. If this is the case, Baldur would possibly be correct, as the Giant's mural depict Kratos dead in Atreus' hands. However, as stated in the game, prophecies are not set in stone. Given such statement, Baldur could have had an hash and unwise final thought.
*Baldur shares similarities to Omega from Megaman Zero 3
**Both serve as first and final bosses, possibly to represent their roles as the "Alpha & Omega" of their games.
**Both act as counterparts to the title characters, Kratos and Zero respectively.
**Both embody the past of the title characters (Baldur reminding Kratos of his past self and Omega being Zero's former past self he must face).
**Both gain new powers in their final battles after certain conditions (Omega gaining an enhanced gold form after merging with Dark Elf and Baldur regaining the ability to feel after being stabbed by a mistletoe shard).
**Both their final battles are assisted by a master or parent to interrupt the protagonist (Dr Weil attempting to bluff, manipulate and taunt Zero to save Omega and Freya using her Vanir magic to protect Baldur and hold back Kratos. Unlike Omega who is loyal to his creator, Baldur resents his Mother to the point of wanting to kill her).
**Both are invulnerable and regenerate from injuries.
==External Links==
*Baldur on the God of War Wiki.
==Navigation==
pl:Baldur (God of War)
de:Baldur (God of War)