This article contains lore based on real-life sources from Norse mythology as introduced from the God of War Norse era.
| “ | If the Hound of Hel is let loose, he'll chew through the fabric of the realms. Hel-Walkers are just the beginning. | ” |
Garm (Nordic: ᚵᚨᛗᛦ), also known Hróðvitnir (Nordic: ᚼᚱᚢᚦᚠᛁᛏᚾᛁᛦ) by the Aesir and Fenrir (Nordic: ᚠᛖᚾᚱᛁᚱ) after his death, was a Jötunn monstrous wolf that was imprisoned in Helheim and is the father of Sköll and Hati.
Between Garm's ability to create tears between realms and eat entire metaphysical concepts, its lack of a soul, and for its vicious, feral nature, it was imprisoned by the Aesir god Týr in Helheim, where it remained for centuries before being released by Atreus due to his ignorance of Garm's nature.
To prevent Garm from tearing apart the realms, Atreus and Kratos defeated the creature and transferred the soul of their recently deceased pet wolf Fenrir into Garm's body, changing him into a vessel for Fenrir's resurrection.
Quick Answers
What is the significance of Garm in Norse mythology?
How does Garm's ability to create tears between realms influence the God of War Ragnarok storyline?
Why was Garm, the giant monstrous wolf, imprisoned in Helheim?
What are the different names for Garm in Norse mythology?
What are the unique abilities of Garm in the God of War Norse era?
Norse Mythology
Garmr or Garm is a dog or wolf that appears in Norse mythology. Garm - stained with blood and firmly on a chain - guards the entrance of Hel, stationed in front of a cave called Gnipahellir, the earliest mention of which is found in the Vǫluspá, one of the poems of the Poetic Edda.
Codex Entry
I know I really made the wrong call on this one - I saw a chained-up wolf in bad shape. I thought, maybe if I freed this guy he'd be happier, or maybe even a friend. How could I possibly know it would tear open realms and wreak absolute havoc? I know he must have been hurting bad, and animals are dangerous when they're hurting... but I wish he'd have let me help him. Now I don't know what's going to happen to him... or any of us, I guess... -Atreus
In the God of War series
Backstory
Centuries ago, Garm was just a small puppy, but soon began eating parts of Midgard, including a few mountain ranges. However, even more dangerously, he began chewing through the fabric of the realms and even eating metaphysical concepts, such as an entire season.
Seeing the threat in Garm, the Norse God of War, Týr, proceeded to lure the monstrous wolf to a safer place. While he let Garm chew on his arm as a distraction, he had him chained in the process. Once the gates to Helheim were opened, Garm realized that he had been led into a trap, and in rage, he proceeded to viciously rip off Týr's arm as revenge. However, this was only a temporary inconvenience, as the god was eventually able to regrow the lost limb.
Garm was one of the Jötnar, being a wolf-giant, and the father of Sköll and Hati. He was a dedicated enemy of the Aesir and Odin kidnapped his children, keeping them as hostages so he would stop fighting them.
God of War (2018)
Although not seen by Kratos and Atreus on their journey, Hróðvitnir is confirmed to exist as he is alluded to multiple times in triptychs and dialogue. In particular, Mimir mentions him in one of his tales and refers to him as a great nemesis of the Aesir gods.
God of War Ragnarök
| “ | You absolute, unqualified MORON. You know that thing tears holes between realms right? | ” |
―Heimdall's reaction to Atreus freeing Garm | ||
Garm is found in Helheim by Atreus and Thrúd while they were searching for the last piece of Odin's mask. Seeing that the giant wolf was in chains, Atreus naively wanted to free him, unaware of who he is, but Thrúd tried in vain to persuade him not to, as she correctly believed the beast was in those chains for a good reason. Because they were trying to get behind him, the two had to unlock some of the chains holding onto Garm, inadvertently waking him up. Since some of his chains were already broken, the giant wolf easily tore the final chain free from the ground and fled, free to wreak havoc. When Atreus and Thrúd entered the chamber that he was guarding, they found only nothing. When Thrúd realized that all they went through has been really all for nothing, she began to distrust Atreus, as she knew that Odin would get angry at her for setting Garm free.
| “ | Garm!? Great bleedin' fuck, lad, you freed Garm? | ” |
―Mimir's reaction to Atreus freeing Garm | ||
Thrúd's concerns would be proven valid as Heimdall vilified Atreus for setting Garm free, revealing that it could tear rifts between realms. Heimdall's claims proved true as when Atreus later returns to Sindri's house, he found it being attacked by Hel-Walkers, who had gone through rifts created by Garm. After a long and hard fight, all the Hel-Walkers involved in the attack were killed and Freya and Atreus were able to seal the rifts with their magic. Though Kratos tells his son that it is not his fault and that it was an accident, Atreus, in shame and guilt, insists that it was his fault for the attack. When he tells his father that he had set Garm free, Mimir was horrified while a despondent Týr states to Atreus that freeing the giant wolf was madness. Moreover, Freya warns the latter that Garm will chew through the fabric of the realms now that he was free and she scolds Atreus for his reckless actions. Kratos proceeded to protect his son and insists the others that Atreus has made a mistake and tells the latter that they'll fix the mistake together. The two then returned to Helheim to stop Garm from doing any more damage.
Initially, Atreus thought he could tame Garm the same way he could take any other wolf, but after their initial plan to re-chain the wolf failed, Kratos insisted to his son that he would not use any tricks that Odin taught him while he was in Asgard, and that they would have to stop the beast by killing it. After finding him, the two engaged Garm in the Silent Clearing, and managed to get his chain wrapped around a portion of the wall, with the end embedded in a loose piece of a pillar. On Kratos's orders, Atreus pushed the pillar off of a nearby ledge before Kratos yanked on the chain, snapping Garm's neck and seemingly killing him.
However, as they tried to leave, believing they had been successful, they were suddenly attacked by a revived Garm and were forced to flee from his onslaught. Upon making it to another clearing and confronting the Hel-hound again, the pair tried to subdue him again, but found that no matter how close they came to killing him, Garm could somehow revive himself. Atreus noted that it was as if Garm did not have a soul to kill in the first place, which gave him an idea. Kratos helped his son get onto Garm's back, using the chains on the Blades of Chaos to boost Atreus onto the giant wolf's head. Remembering what Angrboda had taught him about souls, and how he transferred the soul of a giant into the carcass of a dead snake, he planted his knife, which he realized contained the soul of his pet wolf Fenrir, into Garm's head, causing it to run off in pain.
Atreus and Kratos were forced to pursue him. As they tracked the giant wolf down, they found his binding cuffs scattered across Helheim. Upon finally catching up to Garm, they found him whining and hiding in a cave. Atreus tried to reassure him, but the beast growled at him. It was only when Atreus noticed the color of the wolf's eyes and asked the beast if he really was Fenrir that the wolf emerged, licking Atreus's face and shaking his fur clean of snow. With Fenrir's far more tame and docile soul having overridden Garm's soulless body, the threat of a realm-destroying Hel-hound was averted; with Kratos and Atreus gaining a powerful and loyal ally.
Personality
Despite not purposely evil, Garm's dangerous abilities and feral nature made him considerable threat to everyone and everything. After consuming two mountains and seasons, Týr had Garm follow him to Hel where he used his wits to chain him and imprison him there, which resulted in Garm holding grudge and hatred for gods. This also made him highly destructive as when he was let loose by Atreus, Garm started opening holes between realms for Hel-walkers to wreak havoc in realms with Garm himself causing furious assault on realm itself. Despite of that, he seems to be able to briefly calm himself and react to Atreus when the latter tried to tame him, but once he spotted Kratos and his scent he immediately reacted with anger and ran away, showing absolute distrust to any deity he sees. Garm has shown to be clever enough to learn from his mistakes as he attempted to rid himself of the remaining chain on him and use it as a weapon when needed. This is also shown that after being killed by Kratos he immediately shook off his chain to not being used on him again.
Atreus, when first coming in contact with Garm, pointed out that all what he wants is to be free, showing his wild animalic instincts like a true wolf.
Powers & Abilities
| “ | You know that thing tears holes between realms, right? | ” |
―Heimdall about Garm | ||
Garm is one of the most powerful, feared and dangerous beings in all of the Nine Realms. Due to his ability to affect the fabric of reality itself by tearing holes through the realms, eating metaphysical concepts and being practically impossible to kill, he poses one of the biggest threats the realms had ever faced.
- Interdimensional Rift Creation: Garm's most prominent power is his ability to tear open holes between realms. This not just allows him to travel anywhere he wants but also to allow Hel-Walkers into the realms. Freya implied that if Garm wasn't defeated, he would chew through and destroy the very fabric of the realms.
- Reality Annihilation: Garm appeared to have the ability not just to consume matter, but also to consume and destroy entire concepts. It is noted in-game that there was at one point a season that occurred between Winter and Spring. Garm, however, apparently consumed this season, and now not only does that season no longer exist, but it is no longer identifiable as having ever had a particular nature. Nobody remembers anything specifically about it - not even its name - except knowing for sure that it had at one point existed. It also no longer has any impact upon the rest of reality, as there was apparently no discernable consequences for this season having been erased from existence. This makes Garm perhaps the single most horrifyingly destructive entity in the entire franchise, as he can seemingly consume the informational structure of reality with no apparent constraints.
- Superhuman Strength: Being a colossal wolf, Garm possesses incredible strength as after being freed of two chains holding him, he effortlessly ripped the last chain to free himself and swung it with ease in battle. He was also able to break through the stone and ice of Hel with ease and presented a difficult challenge for Kratos and Atreus.
- Superhuman Durability: Due to his nature, Garm has a tremendous degree of durability and resistance to injury, being able to endure blows from both Kratos and Atreus with ease.
- Amortality/Regeneration: Garm is able to recover and regenerate from any harm caused to him, even being able to resurrect himself from death. Atreus believed that this was due to the fact that Garm possessed no soul, which had the side effect of making the wolf unable to permanently die. However, he also theorized that Garm's ability to immediately revive was likely due to being in Hel; with no soul, Garm already being in the underworld meant that there was no "essence" for his body to part with, and so in Hel, he would simply immediately recover from death.
- Cryokinesis: Garm is able to shoot blasts of ice from his mouth and cause ice to erupt from the ground by stomping on it. It's unknown whatever this is his natural power or gained through his time in Hel.
Trivia
- His Greek counterpart, in terms of both being hound-like monsters residing in the realm of the dead, is Cerberus.
- The "unbreakable chains" Mimir mentions when exiting Konùnsgard in God of War (2018) refer to the tale of Fenrir's binding in Gylfaginning, an early part of Snorri Sturluson's Prose Edda. In the story, Odin's fear regarding his fate in Ragnarök leads him to attempt binding Fenrir twice, but each attempt is thwarted by the wolf's strength. After commissioning the Dwarves to build a third, unbreakable chain made from "impossible" concepts such as a cat's footfall and bird spittle, the chain is able to properly bind Fenrir. The name of the chain is Gleipnir, which translates to "open one".
- It is probable that in the God of War series the chain was instead used on Garm, since he is the only giant wolf mentioned to have been chained and is unable to break free of them on his own. Like in the legend of Fenrir's binding, Týr had lost his arm during the binding of Garm.
- Týr being the one to chain Garm up in God of War Ragnarök is likely a reference to his rivalry with Týr in mythology, as the two are said to kill each other during the events of Ragnarök in Gylfaginning.
- It is unclear how Atreus was able to feel Garm's wish for freedom earlier in Helheim, when he was unable to feel a soulless animal back in Ironwood. However, it is possible that like Brok he did have a soul but not a complete one, and part of Fenrir's soul that was infused with Atreus's knife completed him while also making him Fenrir.
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