| “ | Hey, did you hear? Magni, the Aesir God, son of Thor? Dead! I know! Now Modi's in a rampage across Midgard, looking for the killer, swearing that once he finds him, he'll- oh shit, that was you guys. | ” |
| “ | Brok: Hey - word is someone put down that loudmouth Magni. Wouldn't know anything about that, wouldja? Atreus: Would that be a good thing or a bad thing? Brok: Bad thing for you when his daddy finds out. But one less Aesir fartin' around suits me just fine. |
” |
The death of the Aesir Demigod Magni, the eldest son of Thor, at the hands of Kratos was a minor and pivotal event in God of War (2018).
When Kratos and his son Atreus reached Thamur's Chisel in order to retrieve a piece of the chisel to open the gate to Jötunheim on Midgard's highest peak, they ended up encountering Magni and his younger brother Modi, forcing Kratos and Atreus to engage them in battle. During an ensuing skirmish, Kratos managed to kill Magni, which forced a cowardly Modi to flee.
Magni's death would come to infuriate Thor, who would develop a strong hatred of not only Kratos but also Atreus, however, he also became furious with Modi for apparently leaving his brother to die and Modi was branded a coward before being severely beaten by his father, both physically and emotionally. Thor's hatred for Kratos and Atreus was mirrored by his wife Sif, who, like her husband, held a grudge against Atreus, or as she knew him by his birth name, Loki, for not only Magni's death but also Modi, whom Atreus murdered.
Three winters later, as Kratos had learned of the abuse that had been inflicted on Magni and Modi by Thor, the Spartan came to regret killing Magni as he came to understood the latter's cruel and arrogant behavior though he doesn't see it as an excuse for the abuse Magni had suffered.
History[]
Following Baldur's failed first encounter with Kratos, Magni and Modi are summoned by their grandfather Odin and were ordered to aid Baldur, who is their uncle, in his hunt for Kratos and Atreus. They visit the imprisoned ambassador of the Aesir, Mimir, as they seek to know the location of the duo as well as how to deal with them. However, Mimir does not know their location and refuses to oblige them, even after Baldur promises to reason with Odin once he returns to Asgard.
Later, at Thamur's Corpse, when Kratos discovered Thamur's chisel beneath a layer of ice, he and Atreus moved a giant hammer belonging to Thamur, and its size easily destroyed the layer of ice, allowing the duo to get to the chisel. Unfortunately, however, their moving of the hammer ended up getting the attention of Magni, and he and Modi, were able to track down Kratos and Atreus at Thamur's corpse, as Magni noted that the giant hammer "...didn't fall on its own."
Magni eventually finds Kratos and Atreus when he drops to the ground from above while battling an ogre. After killing it by snapping its neck, he notices the duo. Tossing the beast's corpse aside, he orders the pair to surrender, to which Kratos promptly refuses. Pleased by this, Magni immediately takes out his electric broadsword to engage the Spartan in battle.
After a long and grueling fight, Kratos ultimately overpowered Magni, and buries the blade of his axe deep into the latter's skull, killing him instantly. Horrified by his brother's death, Modi quickly succumbs to his fear and was forced to flee by a rage-fueled Atreus, as Modi had mocked the latter throughout the battle and even insulted the boy's mother.
Aftermath[]
Mimir believed that while Magni may have been a minor Aesir god, his death would not go over well in Asgard. Kratos, however, fears no judgment but Mimir warns him that it's their vengeance he should worry about.
According to Brok, Magni's death will be bad news for Kratos and Atreus if Thor finds out, which proved to be true; Thor indeed became furious upon learning of his favored firstborn son's death. Taking his anger out on his surviving son, Modi, Thor brutally beat him within an inch of his life, calling him a coward for supposedly leaving Magni to die.
The loss of Magni is also what caused his step-mother Sif to harbor a strong grudge against Kratos for his death, which also extends towards Atreus, since he is Kratos' son.
As for Odin, despite the fact that Magni had died while serving his grandfather's will, when the All-Father personally met Kratos face-to-face for the first time and address the deaths of his grandson along with Modi, Odin expressed that "they were kind of useless", showing no accountability or remorse for Magni and Modi's demise, with even Sif noting to Thor that they were simply thrown at Odin's problems without consideration for their safety.