The death of Modi, an Aesir Demigod and the younger son of Thor, at the hands of Atreus was a minor but pivotal event in God of War (2018). When Kratos and Atreus returned to the mountain of Midgard, they find a battered and broken Modi, who was then murdered by Atreus, who seeks vengeance on Modi for his insults towards Atreus' mother Laufey.
Though Modi's death had a negative effect on the boy's behavior, in which Atreus' arrogance and hubris worsened overtime, it would come to have a positive effect as Atreus later became humbler. Despite this, he would be left haunted by his murder of Modi, and Kratos noted that his son still feels guilty over his actions.
Because Modi, as the last surviving son of Thor, was killed after Magni, this earned both Atreus and Kratos the hatred of Thor himself, as the God of Thunder sought revenge for the deaths of his sons, while his wife Sif held a grudge against the duo. In addition, both Thor and Sif became more protective of their daughter and last surviving child, Thrúd.
History[]
Prelude[]
After Modi's uncle Baldur was defeated in battle by a man suspected of being the Guardian, Magni and Modi are summoned by the All-Father Odin to aid their uncle in his hunt for his target. The three travel to Midgard where they seek advice from the now-imprisoned Mimir. Mimir is shocked and amused that “the sons of Thor“ have graced him with their presence and mockingly asks if the two are still tripping over themselves “trying to impress daddy“. The three try to get answers out of Mimir on the whereabouts of Kratos and his young son Atreus, with Baldur even offering to speak to Odin himself on Mimir's behalf and attempt to have Mimir released but Mimir, knowing too well Odin will never free him, refuses to help and simply orders Baldur to leave as well as take the “two worthless wankers” with him. Frustrated, Baldur leaves but not before Modi threatens to return later and steal Mimir's other eye. The two siblings‘ conversion subsequently annoys Baldur to the point he orders them to shut up and calls them “idiots“.
Shortly afterwards, Magni and Modi split up from their uncle in order to hunt Kratos and Atreus by themselves. Having witnessed the Frost Giant Thamur's hammer suddenly fall for no apparent reason and destroy the entire frozen plain, the two decide to investigate the area; correctly assuming that their enemies are there too. Continuing to search the area, Modi brings up his distrust for his uncle by mentioning Baldur hasn't seen straight in years but Magni states that since Thor trusts them, they must trust him as well. Modi sarcastically notes that they cannot disappoint their father, which Magni responds with an annoyed tone of voice.
Just as Kratos and Atreus arrive with the now severed head of Mimir to claim a piece of Thamur's chisel, they are spotted by Magni and Modi and quickly ambushed. Magni orders the father and son to surrender but Kratos refuses to comply thereby starting a fight between them and the sons of Thor. Though Kratos ordered Atreus to escape, Modi jumpins down from up above and stops the boy in his path. Sadistically amused by the mere sight of Atreus, Modi takes advantage of the fight by proceeding to mercilessly mock Atreus constantly throughout the battle; taking immoral pleasure in insulting the young boy and trying to get a rise out of him. The fight, however, takes a drastic turn when Kratos manages to kill Magni by embedding his axe into Magni's face. Visibly distraught and horrified by the death of his older half-brother (as well as given by the fact the two believed themselves to be incapable of dying), Modi backs away from Kratos in fear while struggling to speak in terror and anger. After being shot with several arrows by Atreus, Modi turns tail and runs away; disappearing over the side of a cliff and into the bellows of the canyon.
With Magni now gone, Modi realizes that he will now receive Mjölnir simply by default and will forever be regarded as a joke by the Aesir. Refusing to let this fate come to pass, Modi tries to avenge his brother at Tyr's Temple. Ambushing Kratos and Atreus while they were preoccupied with trying to enter Tyr's secret chambers, Modi summons a lightning bolt and disables the two. With the two down, Modi enters and begins to continuously electrocute Kratos with his mace while Atreus helplessly looks on. Modi furiously proclaims that Kratos ruined everything and disturbingly taunts Atreus by stating he will be his “new brother“ but right after killing Kratos. Enraged, Atreus attempts to activate his inner rage to try and save his father only to suddenly fall unexpectedly into a coma, providing Kratos with the much-needed opportunity (and motivation) to overpower and disarm Modi, forcing the cowardly demigod to flee once again.
Following this, he flees to Asgard, where his father, Thor, severely beats him for his cowardice, believing that Modi had left his brother to die.
Modi murdered[]
“ | Atreus: But were gods. We can do whatever. We. Want. Modi: Hehehehe... that's what I said to your mother... Right before I gave it to her. |
” |
Broken both physically and mentally, Modi returns to Midgard in order to redeem himself. He attempts to confront Kratos and Atreus again while they were inside the mountain, but he is too badly injured to do anything. While Kratos saw no reason to kill him, Atreus, in his hubris, begged to differ. Having been told by his father that he was a God, Atreus, in his arrogance, wished to kill Modi out of revenge; remarking that as Gods, they could do whatever they wanted. With nothing left to live for, Modi proceeded to make one last particularly vulgar insult towards Faye, which provoked Atreus into stabbing him in the neck before kicking him into a chasm before Kratos could intervene.
Aftermath[]
Angry that Atreus had killed Modi against his wishes, Kratos reprimands him for his actions, warning that his recklessness and arrogant nature will make him a target before reminding him that while he had taught him to kill, it was only in defense of himself, and never as an indulgence. When an indifferent Atreus claims no one cared about Modi anyway and asked on what is the difference, Kratos proceeded to warn him that there are consequences to killing Gods. This caused Atreus to yell at his father, demanding to know how he knows such a thing. Kratos doesn't answer, only sternly warning him to watch his tone.
Legacy[]
Atreus’ killing of Modi would go to serve as one of the major, if not, primarily catalysts for Atreus‘ growing hubris. Modi's death would particularly come to haunt Atreus after he and his father accidentally ended up in Helheim. While in the City of the Dead, Atreus was tortured with visions of his recent arrogance: him mercilessly killing Modi before callously kicking him into the abyss. Though while Modi may have given Atreus a reason to be so arrogant, Modi's death also gave Atreus a reason to become more humble and eventually reconcile with his father. After completing their journey, Atreus has a dream where at some point in the future, Thor attacks Kratos and Atreus at their home to avenge the deaths of Baldur and Magni and Modi.
Three years later during a fight against Thor, Kratos accuses the God of Thunder of not truly caring for Modi, proclaiming that the latter died because his own father had beaten him for his failures, and only sought Kratos and Atreus out of fear of what Thor would do if he did not. This, however only angered Thor, as he only took it as an insult. In Muspelheim, he pins Atreus to a rock wall with Mjolnir, acknowledging that despite Modi's shortcomings, he is still his son and could never forgive Atreus for his death.
Moreover, Modi's death is what caused his mother Sif to harbor a strong hatred for Atreus as whenever she would see him she would always act cold towards him, as she never forgave the young Jötunn for killing her son. However, during and after Ragnarök, Sif had let go of her hatred upon seeing how the All-Father Odin has been mistreating his family and practically sent her sons to die. Thrúd, Modi's sister, had stated that she and her family were better off without him, though she would later grip his shield in mourning, suggesting that she was simply hiding her grief.