Máttugr Helson (Nordic: ᛗᚨᛏᛏᚢᚷᚱ ᚺᛖᛚᛋᛟᚾ) is a Troll known as "The Bridge Keeper", and is a boss in God of War (2018).
Codex Description
Máttugr Helson, known as Helheim's son and bridge keeper. Apparently, he was actually born and raised in Hel. Growing up in a troll tribe can't be an easy life, but growing up in Hel must be even worse.
Biography
Máttugr Helson was born and raised in Helheim, eventually being appointed as the keeper of the Bridge of the Damned, ensuring that all entities crossing the bridge are dead.
God of War (2018)
When Atreus falls ill after the fight against Magni and Modi, Kratos rushes Atreus to Freya for help. She states that Atreus' "true nature" (as a god) is fighting within him. She instructs Kratos that she needs a rare ingredient that can only be found in Helheim, and that ingredient is The Bridge Keeper's heart.
Kratos must then traverse through the Realm of the Dead in order to find and defeat Máttugr Helson to obtain the heart and save his son.
After a fierce battle, the son of Hel was disarmed and impaled by Kratos' fiery weapons, which were subsequently used to remove the Hel Troll's heart, leaving his now heartless corpse laying at the entrance of the bridge.
God of War Ragnarök
Kratos mentions Máttugr in his thoughts about Hel.
“ | We have spoken to the eagle that presides here in Helheim. She watched from afar while I battled the Bridge Keeper in our prior journey. Now, by releasing Garm, we have opened six tears to Helheim. Hræsvelgr is not pleased, but does not appear to be our enemy. That is for the best. | ” |
Powers and Abilities
The Bridge Keeper is empowered by a totem that contains the very energy of Helheim itself, granting Mátturg Helson a wide variety of abilities, more than any other Troll seen to date.
His most dangerous power is his ability to teleport, allowing for swift and nearly unavoidable attacks delivered with enormous strength. He can also generate roaming spheres of energy that detonate on impact, and can continuously slam his totem in the ground to send large and fast shockwaves of darkness. The Hel Troll has power over the frost element as well, being able to imbue his hands with ice and shoot hail from his fingertips.
The Helson also seems to possess some level of authority in the Realm of the dead, as he can manipulate the structures of Helheim to some extent like telepathically closing the gates of the bridge, and is able to summon Hel-Walkers to aid him in battle.
Trivia
- Máttugr Helson has a similar role in the God of War universe of Móðguðr, a giantess who guarded the Bridge of the Damned in Helheim, mentioned in the Gylfaginning.
- Original concept arts of Helheim showed the presence of Móðguðr in the early version of the game.
- His name literally translates to "Mighty Son of Hel".
- Interesting enough, unlike majority of Troll's sketch in Codex, Máttugr Helson is the only Troll who has uniquely sketch appearance in Codex entry in God of War (2018).
- When Máttugr Helson is teleporting, trying to hit Kratos, the words "Stay Still!" can be vaguely made out.
- He is the first non-elemental Troll encountered in the game.
- However, since the totem that empowers him embodies the essence of Helheim, the realm of ice and cold, he could be considered a Frost Troll.
- Interestingly, unlike most villains in God of War Máttugr Helson is one of the few, if not, only characters to receive an apology from Kratos. After Kratos slays him, he briefly puts his hand on Máttugr's chest as a gesture of an apology, indicating that Kratos is remorseful for having to sacrifice him to fix his own mistakes.