| “ | A Spartan never lets his back hit the ground. Right, brother? | ” |
―Deimos | ||
Deimos (Greek: Δείμος) is the deuteragonist of God of War: Ghost of Sparta and God of War Sons of Sparta. He was the younger son of Callisto, and the younger brother of Kratos. Due to his strange birthmarks, he was abducted by Ares and Athena during his childhood to avert a prophecy about the destruction of Mount Olympus at the hands of a "Marked Warrior". He was then tortured by Thanatos, God of Death for years in the Domain of Death. After he came of age in the Domain of Death, Deimos was fueled by hatred for the brother who had failed to save him from his torment. After Deimos was rescued by Kratos, and still held initial resentment toward him, he ultimately reconciled with his brother and joined forces with him to battle Thanatos only to be killed by the God of Death himself. That was not unavenged, however, as Kratos killed Thanatos shortly after. His death was the final straw which lead to Kratos snapping at the gods and vowing to kill them, which Kratos ultimately succeeded in doing so, inadvertently fulfilling the Marked Warrior prophecy.
Quick Answers
What is the significance of Deimos' birthmarks in God of War: Ghost of Sparta?
Who are the parents of Deimos, the brother of Kratos?
How did Deimos' abduction by Ares and Athena shape his character?
What role does Thanatos, the God of Death, play in Deimos' life?
Why is Deimos referred to as the 'Marked Warrior'?
Greek Mythology
In Greek Mythology, Deimos (Ancient Greek: Δεῖμος, pronounced [dêːmos], meaning "dread") was the personification of terror.
He was the son of Ares and Aphrodite. He was the twin brother of Phobos and the Goddess, Enyo, who accompanied Ares into battle, as well as his father's attendants: Trembling, Fear, Dread and Panic. Deimos was more of a personification and an abstraction of the sheer terror that was brought by war and he never appeared as an actual character in any story in Greek Mythology. His Roman equivalent was Formido or Metus.
God of War Series
Early Life
Deimos was born a few years after Kratos, and bore a remarkable birthmark across his body. The two brothers grew up together under the watchful eye of their mother, Callisto, in Sparta, with dreams of joining the Spartan Army when they were older. Kratos and Deimos were inseparable as children and trained with the traditional spear and shield throughout their childhood, with Kratos teaching the young Deimos to remember that: "a Spartan never lets his back hit the ground."
The Marked Warrior Prophecy
Long ago, the Oracle foretold the destruction of the Olympians at the hands of The Marked Warrior. Due to his unusual birthmark, the Gods feared that Deimos would be the prophesied warrior, so, they devised a plan to abduct him from his family so that the Oracle's prophecy couldn't come to pass. One fateful day, Ares and Athena descended onto Sparta to take Deimos and unleashed an army of Centaurs to decimate the populace while they searched for him. They quickly found the young Deimos amidst the chaos and took him while he trained with Kratos, though his brother attempted to stop Ares. Kratos lunged at Ares to keep him from taking his brother, but Ares struck him down, which scarred him over his right eye. Ares then attempted to kill Kratos, but Athena quickly told him not to, as they already had who they were looking for. Ares then disappeared in a cloud of fire. Athena apologized to Kratos, then disappeared in a cloud of fire as well.
Ares brought Deimos to Thanatos in the Domain of Death to remain there in torment, to ensure that the prophecy of "The Marked One" would never occur. For several years, Deimos believed that Kratos would come to his rescue. As time passed, Deimos' hope began to fade, and was replaced with hatred for the brother who had left him to rot.
God of War: Ghost of Sparta
| “ | Did you think I would forget? Did you think that I would forgive? I will never forgive you, brother! | ” |
―Deimos upon being found by Kratos. | ||
After he met - and defeated - Callisto in Atlantis, Kratos was compelled to find his brother at any cost. After he undertook a perilous journey that took him across Greece, Kratos finally found Deimos deep in the Temple of Thanatos, suspended from a tree.
Freed from his chains, save for a single massive Gauntlet that was locked around his right arm, Deimos wanted revenge against Kratos for not protecting him and quickly assaulted his brother, swearing he would never forgive Kratos for his perceived abandonment.
Deimos was soon interrupted, as Thanatos arrived and grabbed Deimos and took him to Suicide Bluffs to throw him off the edge. Kratos, barely able to stand from his beating, managed to follow them to Suicide Bluffs.
Locked in combat, Deimos and Thanatos never saw Kratos arrive. Thanatos managed to nearly throw Deimos off the cliff until Kratos raced to his aid. Rushing over to his brother, and barely saving him from certain death, Kratos proclaimed never to leave Deimos again, and gave Deimos the Arms of Sparta.
Joining forces, side by side, as brothers, Deimos and Kratos began their attack on Thanatos. Together, the pair followed Thanatos along the cliffs and eventually caught up with him, where Thanatos stated that Ares had chosen poorly, where he should have opted for Kratos instead of Deimos, all those years ago. He then said that it didn't matter anymore, that nothing Kratos does is of his own choosing. Kratos shouted that no one, not even the gods, decide his fate to which Thanatos responded that the gods decide and the Sisters of Fate make it so and that Kratos was nothing but a pawn in a game he didn't even know was being played.
Kratos watches Deimos get buried
The Spartan Brothers charged at Thanatos, and fought the God of Death together, until Thanatos transformed into a gigantic winged monster, grabbed Deimos, and crushed him against the cliff side, which effectively killed him. Kratos, fueled by extreme rage upon witnessing the murder of his brother, unleashed Thera's Bane at an inhuman level and defeated Thanatos, avenging his brother's death.
Kratos carried Deimos' lifeless body to the top of the Suicide Bluffs via the Path of Solitude, where the Grave Digger had prepared a grave for Deimos next to that of their mother's grave. He then lain Deimos' body into the grave and stated that Deimos was free. Kratos also made a promise to Athena that the Gods would pay for what they did to his brother and mother.
God of War III
Kratos discovered several notes spread around the Underworld, with one seemingly written by his mother. The note claimed that all who got close to her son died, which included his own brother.
At the end of God of War III, Gaia confronted Zeus and Kratos and admitted regret in helping him. Zeus claimed that since Kratos had failed her, she "should have chosen the other one". In Ghost of Sparta, the Grave Digger (Zeus), referenced Deimos as "the other one", which indicated that it was Deimos that Gaia should have chosen. Kratos was then visibly angered by Zeus' statement.
Also, when in his Psyche, Kratos came across a pool of blood. After waiting a bit, a pair of interesting dialogues could be heard, when a male voice spoke out and said:
- "A Spartan never lets his back hit the ground. Right, brother?"
- "Don't leave me again, Kratos!"
Though only his voice was heard in the game, there was concept art that was made of Deimos. Deimos final Concept Art was instead used for God of War: Ghost of Sparta instead of God of War III.
A Deimos Bonus Costume could be unlocked after the game was completed; however, it could only be obtained by inputting a special code that was included in a limited number of God of War: Ghost of Sparta games or by buying it online within the first week of release. It was included with God of War III: Remastered.
God of War Ragnarök
| “ | "Freya: You have a brother?" "Kratos: His name was Deimos. When we were boys, he was taken by two Gods obsessed with prophecy. The Gods of my homeland seldom left survivors, so by the time I learned he had live, it was too late for amends. His anger poisoned him against me. But I never stopped loving my brother." |
” |
―Freya and Kratos | ||
Many years later, Kratos would retell Deimos' story to Freya to convince her to try and repair her own familial bond with her brother Freyr, hoping to avoid a similar tragedy that befell him with his sibling, only for Freya, who harboured a grudge against the Spartan for killing her son, to angrily rebuke him when she believed he was insinuating that her anger toward her brother was irrational and that he was sharing his thoughts on a subject he had no knowledge of. Later after Freya made amends with Kratos, she asked him if he ever apologized to Deimos. Kratos merely responds that it's difficult to seek forgiveness when he felt unworthy of it, implying that for failing to save his brother in time, Kratos believed he was unworthy of Deimos' forgiveness.
The rescued wolves Speki and Svanna also reminded Kratos of Deimos, both from the upbringing he had as well as the shared trauma of losing one's family to stronger forces. Spartan training meant that children would take part in the Agoge, where young Spartans were taught to survive in the most brutal of fashion. One such element of this training and conditioning was surviving in the wilderness against the wolves. As such whenever Kratos looks at the wolves, he sees himself in them and their fear and is reminded of how Deimos was taken away by Ares and Athena, like the wolves were to the Raiders. When Mimir brings this up, Kratos will admit to it to either Freya or Atreus, with the dialogue indicating that, due to Mimir's caution on the subject, it is the first time Atreus has heard part of the story surrounding his late uncle.
Personality
Kratos and Deimos, two brothers united against Thanatos.
Unlike his brother Kratos, Deimos was far more softhearted and kind. Despite that, he greatly respected and loved his sibling and would always train with him to learn how to fight. However, after being separated from his family and enduring physical and psychological torture by Thanatos, Deimos became much more aggressive and warlike, just like his brother. Nevertheless, he still held a degree of compassion and care for Kratos despite his initial resentment and what had occurred, as illustrated by their reconciliation and shared goal to stop Thanatos.
Powers & Abilities
Powers
Deimos proved to be an incredibly powerful individual, as he was able to overpower his brother. Kratos was holding back, as seen in the remastered PS3 version, the player got a Trophy that was called "Let Him Win". Even then, he displayed inhuman physical performance despite the fact that he was imprisoned and tortured ever since his teen years. Despite his years in captivity, he was sufficiently trained as a warrior that he could face Thanatos with visible expertise, and could team up with his brother Kratos with perfect coordination, being a tremendous asset in combat. In fact, his contribution to the fight was significant enough that it allowed Kratos to defeat the God of Death.
- Superhuman Strength: Deimos had incredible strength, as seen from being able to overpower Kratos and beaten him to a bloody pulp, although it should be noted that Kratos had let him win.
- Superhuman Endurance: Over the years in the Domain of Death, Deimos had endured enormous physical and psychological torture and despite all of that, retained most of his sanity. He, however, wasn't as durable and tough like his brother which ultimately led to his death by Thanatos’ hands.
Abilities
- Expert Hand-to-Hand Combatant: Deimos proved to be an exceptional hand-to-hand combatant, as he was able to best Kratos, a skilled warrior and a God at the time in single combat, armed with only a gauntlet (although Kratos did not fight Deimos in full potential because he would have caused serious damage to him), and briefly fight Thanatos long enough for Kratos to reach him.
- Weapon Proficiency: Deimos was also extremely proficient with the Arms of Sparta, a weapon he had never used before displaying masterful usage of its offensive and defensive abilities during the fight against Thanatos.
Gallery
Concept Art
Non-Canon
Video
God of War Ghost of Sparta Walkthrough Part 33 Deimos
Fight with Deimos.
Trivia
- Though it was long assumed by the community that Deimos was the Demigod offspring of Zeus and Callisto, the God of War: 20th Anniversary Retrospective referred to Deimos as Kratos' half-brother, confirming for the first time in the series that Zeus did not father him. While it is still possible that Deimos could be a Demigod, perhaps indicated by his superhuman physical capabilities and glowing birthmark in adulthood, this has not been confirmed.
- Deimos was voiced by actor Elijah Wood, a special guest voice actor in God of War III.
- Elijah Wood was the voice of Deimos that was heard in the pool of blood. However, Josh Keaton was credited as the voice of Deimos in God of War III, most likely for the Deimos costume which was intended to be released with Ghost of Sparta.
- The final battle between Kratos and Thanatos was very similar to a boss fight in the game Devil May Cry 3. In both of those fights, the player controlled the series' protagonist and could call for the aid of the character's brother whom the protagonist fought earlier and lost to. The two games share many other similarities.
- Deimos' appearance in Ghost of Sparta resembled that of the Spartan King Leonidas from 300.
- Deimos was also the name of one of Ares' sons, the God of Terror.
- Deimos and Kratos were very much alike in appearance, the only notable differences being that Deimos had a larger beard and was hairier. Deimos also had a much less gravelly voice.
- Kratos' tattoo was an exact replica of Deimos' birthmark.
- Deimos' birthmark seemed to glow orange instead of red and looked more "corrupted", possibly due to his time spent in the Domain of Death.
- After Deimos' death during the fight against Thanatos, his birthmark ceased glowing.
- Deimos was Kratos' only deceased relative that he did not kill.
- There were two Deimos Bonus Costumes, one in Ghost of Sparta and one in God of War III.
- The Gauntlet which Deimos wielded bore a striking resemblance to the Gauntlet of Zeus, only rusted.
- In God of War, there was an unlockable video, Birth of the Beast, where Kratos' brother was first hinted at in the series. The events of Ghost of Sparta, however, revealed that this video was not canon.
- Deimos was the name of one of Mars' moons, and Mars was Ares' Roman name. That could be a reference to Ares capturing Deimos in the series as moons can't orbit beyond their planets.
- Even though Deimos was younger than Kratos, he looked older than his brother because Kratos hadn't visibly aged since he became a God, and Deimos had a beard compared with Kratos' smaller goatee.
- Deimos appeared as an alternate costume for Kratos in PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale, through pre-order DLC.
- Deimos, like Kratos, had chains on his forearms; it was possible that they were remains of the shackles that held him, even though they were inside his gauntlets. He had a golden armlet that was similar to the Golden Fleece, possibly for the God of War III Costume.
- In God of War: Ascension, the King of Sparta Illusion referred to Deimos and said: "Even the loss of your brother did not lose you of your focus". It was important to note that, as far as Kratos knew, Deimos was considered dead at the time.
- Kratos fulfilled his promise to Athena to make the Olympian Gods pay for what they did to his brother in God of War III and killed every one of them.
- During the boss fight with Deimos, a completely easy way of quickly beating him without losing any drop of health was to keep repeating Square (slash) + Hyperion Charge + square (punch) + O (throw). Doing that also built up a huge combo-meter.
- Deimos was the only boss that Kratos could use the Hyperion Charge on. No other boss could do that.