Norse Gods

The Norse gods are the main pantheon of deities in God of War (2018), most of them are the overarching antagonists. They are one of most powerful races to inhabit the Nine Realms and are viewed as protectors of Midgard and humankind. Despite being the same race, the Norse gods are divided into two tribes, the warlike Aesir and the pacifistic Vanir.

Aesir

The Aesir gods are more aggressive and warlike than the Vanir, representing the brute strength and raw power of nature. They also believe that the only way for someone to achieve an honored death is to die in battle.

Aesir Gods

• Odin: God of War, Death, Knowledge, Wisdom, The Gallows, Poetry, Battle, Sky, Wind, Crafts, Healing, Royalty, Frenzy, Divination, Runic Alphabet and Magic/Sorcery. The All-Father and king of Asgard.
• Thor: God of Thunder, Strength, Storms, Fertility, Lightning, Oak trees, Consecration, Bravery and Hallowing.
• Týr: (Deceased) God of War, Victory, Law, Justice, Single Combat, Trial, Heroic Glory, Honor, Courage, Oaths, Authority and Duels.
• Baldur: (Deceased) God of Light, Joy, Purity, Peace, Spring, Forgiveness, Prophecy, Beauty and the summer sun.
• Modi: (Deceased) Son of Thor, God of Bravery.
• Magni: (Deceased) Son of Thor, God of Might.
• Hoenir: God of Silence.
• Heimdall: God of Foresight.

Vanir

The Vanir gods represent more peaceful aspects of nature and possess far more magic knowledge than the Aesir. Instead of focusing on war, the Vanir try to keep peace and order on the nine realms.

Vanir Gods

• Njordr: God of the Seas, Winds, Seafaring, Crop Fertility, Wealth, and Fishing. King of the Vanir.
• Freya: Goddess of Sorcery, Love, Lust, Beauty, Gold, War, Death, Witchcraft, Fertility, Warmth and Foreknowledge. The former wife of Odin and Queen of the Valkyries.
• Freyr: God of Sacral Kingship, Virility, Prosperity, Sunshine, and Fair Weather.

• Nerthus: (Deceased)

Other

• Atreus / Loki: Future God of Mischief, Evil, Deception, Artifice, Magic, Lies, Fire, Serpents, Stories, and Trickery.
• Kratos: Formerly the Greek God of War.
• Mimir: Ex-Aesir. God of Wisdom and Knowledge. Former Ambassador for Odin; Guardian of the Well of Knowledge.
• Sol: Goddess of the sun.
• Mani: God of the moon.

Powers & Abilities

In addition to being immortal, the gods are supernatural beings. It's assumed that most of the Norse Gods share many if not all the abilities of the Greek Gods have such as:

• Superhuman condition
  • Super agility
  • Super durability
  • Super speed
  • Super stamina
  • Super strength
  • Super Senses
  • Enhanced Skills
• Energy manipulation
• Magic
  • Conjuration
  • Curses
  • Summoning
  • Illusion Casting
  • Necrokinesis
  • Reality Warping
  • Possession
  • Regeneration
  • Sealing
• Elemental manipulation
  • Aerokinesis
  • Electrokinesis
  • Geokinesis
  • Hydrokinesis
    • Cryokinesis
  • Pyrokinesis
  • Photokinesis
  • Umbrakinesis
• Power granting/bestowal 
• Duplication
• Illusion creation
• Invisibility
• Mind manipulation
• Dimensional manipulation
• Advanced regeneration
• Sensory enhancement
• Animation
• Sound manipulation
• Flight
• Time Control
• Duplication
• Flyrokinesis
• Intangibility
• Invulnerability
• Healing
• Amokinesis or Love Magic
• Prophecy
• Mind Control
• Omnicognition
• Omniscience
• Petrification
• Shapeshifting
• Telekinesis
• Telepathy
• Teleportation
• Animal Manipulation
• Toxokinesis

Trivia

• In mythology Norse gods are said to only possess longevity instead of true immortality thus making them able to die of old age or die by non-divine means, however, they can extend their lifespan and stay eternally young thanks to Idunn’s Apples of Eternal Youth. Unlike the mythology, Norse gods in God of War universe are immortal to begin with. With the golden apples being made to be their favored food instead of their source of immortality. This is similar to how certain sources, credit the immortality of the Greek gods to be achieved by Ambrosia the divine food/drink of the gods.
• Norse gods do not seem as powerful as their Greek counterparts, as they lack certain abilities such as size alteration, omniscience and projecting themselves through statues depicting them. For example, Baldur never finds out Kratos' true identity as a foreign god and the infamous Ghost of Sparta, not to mention his real name. He mistakenly believes Kratos is the jötunn Guardian. However, the most powerful among them have perform impressive feats comparable, if not rival the Greeks'. For example, Freya’s mastery over her seiðr magic allowed her to control the corpse of the jötunn Thamur.
• Unlike the Greek Gods, the death of a Norse god doesn’t have a chain reaction to the world. The deaths of Magni and Modi didn’t cause an explosion or negative influence on the world. It could be argued that Fimbulwinter the three long winter preluding to Ragnarök was the consequence of killing Baldur, whereas the two sons of Thor were only Demi-gods.
• Somewhat uniquely the Norse gods are extremely difficult to kill but they, unlike the Greco-Roman gods, are not completely immortal, as most of them are destined to die during Ragnarok, the Twilight of the Norse gods.

• Even though the morality and mindset of the ancient Norse people were different than ours, their gods were mostly on the side of humanity. Here however they are warmongering tyrants with genocidal tendencies who are either ignorant of mortals or outright treat them as livestock. This is actually Justified in-universe, as this take on the mythology follows a written by the winners theme, wherein the gods make themselves out to be significantly more heroic than they actually are. But even then, how far this goes is pretty ambiguous, as so far most of what we know about them is told from the perspective of their enemies or people who don't like them. So only time will tell if the Norse gods are really as bad as the Greek ones.

• So far most of them have only been referenced or mentioned, be it in-game or in supplementary material (or at best, are seen in drawings and murals). The number of Norse gods that physically appear and interact with Kratos and Atreus can be counted on just one hand (Mimir, Freya, Magni, Modi, and Baldur), or two hands if one also counts Atreus being Loki and Thor's brief appearance in the secret ending. While obviously more of them will appear and play a bigger role in the sequels, this does also have a justified reason in the story. After the events of God of War III, Kratos goes north and settles down to start a new life, no longer wishing to deal with any gods whatsoever and avoiding them at any cost. Unfortunately for him and his son, fate has other plans with Faye's magical protective barrier revealing their previously concealed location, causing the death of Baldur thus triggering Ragnarok and Atreus revealed to be Loki, who will turn into the biggest enemy of the Aesir and Vanir. And if the ending is any indication, it's only a matter of time before the other Norse gods find Kratos and Atreus...

• From what we've seen and heard so far the Norse pantheon isn't any better than the Greek and are just as bad. Though it's worth mentioning that there are some legitimate reasons for this that stay true to the original Norse myth. According to the Aesir (and by proxy all Norse people's belief), it's more honourable to die fighting than from old age, disease or a mishap. Furthemore, the gods despite their immense power are paranoid due to most of them being prophesied to die at Ragnarok. Odin, however, is actively trying to make sure this doesn't happen.

• In the previous games, the Greek Pantheon can change size, communicate through statues, and their deaths ended either in a nuclear bomb-level explosion or they turn into flies that cause a world-wide calamity. The Norse Gods appear to be human-sized and for them dying appears to be normal as seen with Mimir, Magni, Modi, and Baldur. However, it still causes Fimbulwinter which triggers Ragnarok years earlier than it has been prophesized.
• Compared to the Greeks who were on the melodramatic side but relatively held back on the profanity, the Norse are less shouty but have a surprisingly colourful vocabulary. Then again, flyting is an Old Norse art-form.