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This article contains lore based on real-life sources from Norse mythology as introduced from the God of War Norse era.

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“	Everybody knows Gungnir, right? Odin's spear, and Ivaldi's masterwork.	”
―Lúnda

Gungnir, also known as the Spear of Heaven, is introduced in God of War: Ragnarök as Odin's signature weapon. Forged by the Master Craftsman and Alchemist Ivaldi, Gungnir was notably the weapon that ended the life of the Giant Ymir, thus ensuring the rise of Odin as the All-Father. Long before the events of the series, the King of the Aesir then notoriously used the Spear of Heaven to stab himself in his mad quest for knowledge.

Elegant and refined, the weapon was a masterpiece of Dwarven craftsmanship. Unbeknownst to those around him, Odin used his unmatched mastery of the Bifröst to conceal his weapon, which secretly imbued a variety of battle enchantments with every shape to further enhance its owner's magical abilities. Even though he was a skilled and deadly combatant, Odin rarely used his legendary spear after he became King of the Aesir, since his position as the ruler of the Nine Realms made battles with potential foes few and far between.

Odin kept this legendary weapon with him and merely used it as a walking stick when he was wandering around, but when the All-Father absolutely needed to defend himself, he could instantly turn his unassuming and benign staff into a deadly spear. During Ragnarök, Odin most notably caught Thor off-guard by stabbing the latter through his chest, before engaging in battle Kratos, Atreus and Freya with his magical spear. Following the death of its owner, Gungnir is ultimately destroyed alongside Asgard.

Norse Mythology

Gungnir (Old Norse Gungnir, “Swaying;” pronounced “GUNG-neer”) is the name of the mighty spear that belongs to the god Odin. In the recorded Norse myths, Gungnir is the weapon most consistently and powerfully associated with Odin. Both poetry and visual art demonstrate that this connection is deep and long-standing. It goes back at least as far as the ninth century, when the poet Bragi Boddason referred to Odin as Gungnis váfaðr (“Gungnir’s shaker”). Pre-Christian Scandinavian visual art often depicts Odin bearing a spear; in fact, the spear is one of his most typical iconographic attributes. Such depictions are found from Viking Age runestones all the way back to Bronze Age rock carvings of a spear god, who very well may be Odin (though due to the very early date and lack of other distinguishing features, it's impossible to say for certain).

As expected of a God's personal weapon, Gungnir is no ordinary spear. It was created by the dwarves, the most skilled smiths in the cosmos, as is related in the tale of how the gods’ greatest treasures were made. Gungnir is said to have runes carved on its point, which presumably increase its aim and deadliness through magic. Archaeology confirms that the Norse and other Germanic peoples did in fact carve runes into some of their spears; perhaps this was done in imitation of the mythical model of Gungnir. Other aspects of Gungnir definitely did serve as mythical models for human actions. This is especially true with regard to the spear's role in human sacrifices offered to Odin.

In the war between the two tribes of gods, Odin led the Aesir gods into battle against the Vanir. He began the battle by hurling his spear over the enemy host and crying, “Óðinn á yðr alla!” (“Odin owns all of you!”). The historical Norse repeated this paradigmatic gesture, giving the opposing army as a gift to Odin in hopes that the god would return the favor by granting them victory. Likewise, when Odin sacrificed himself to himself in order to discover the runes, he simultaneously stabbed himself with Gungnir and hanged himself. It's fitting, therefore, that when the Norse sacrificed someone to Odin, whether a single individual or a large group of people, they typically did so by means of a spear, either by itself or in combination with hanging.

In the Viking Age, Odin was the chief of the gods, a role which in earlier times he had shared with the god Tyr. Just as Tyr's sword seems to have been a symbol of the power and authority of lordship (we can infer this from the number of Indo-European parallels), so Odin's spear probably was as well. Gungnir, the finest spear in the cosmos, would have served as a compelling image of the ferocious might, both magical and military, of the grim ruler of the gods.

In the God of War Series

Backstory

Gungnir was forged by the dwarf Ivaldi, which is considered his masterwork. When given to Odin, the spear became infamous across the Nine Realms long before the events of the series, at the time Odin was waging wars and consolidating his power. His most incredible feat involving Gungnir would certainly be the slaying of the legendary primordial Giant Ymir, father of the Jötnar (though the detailed account of this fight remains unknown). The Spear became the symbol of Odin's new power, and was used once more by the self-proclaimed All-Father when he fought during the everlasting Aesir-Vanir War, hurling his spear over the Vanir host. When peace was at last secured in the form of a marriage between Odin and Freya, the King of the Aesir would mostly be seen using Gungnir as a walking stick.

God of War (2018)

As in Norse mythology, Gungnir is the personal weapon of Odin. Though the weapon itself doesn't appear in game, several triptychs in several Jötnar shrines depicts the All-Father holding Gungnir, notably the moment where he slayed his great-grandfather Ymir with his brothers Vili and Vé. Mimir also mentioned Gungnir as a 'spear' on one of his stories, notably the one that tells how the Odin claimed the title of the "Lord of the Hanged".

God of War Ragnarök

The Spear of Heaven is depicted first in Svartalfheim, at the hands of a giant statue representing the All-Father himself. Gungnir is then seen for the very first time in Asgard during the seventh chapter of the game, when Odin summons it out of nowhere in company of Atreus during their tour. There is a painting in Odin's study room that shows him holding Gungnir on its staff form while sitting on his throne, accompanied with Huginn & Muninn and Geri & Freki. For the occasion, the spear is shown to have the ability to appear in Odin's hand on command, similar to the Draupnir Spear (however, where Kratos uses Draupnir to summon his weapon, the All-Father summons his from the Bifröst, without the help of a device). It can also shrink and grow in length in an instant, going from a small scepter-like rod to a full walking stick taller than Odin himself. One can notice that the All-Father magically retracts his weapon and makes it disappear in the same way he summoned it.

Gungnir appears for the last time in the chapter The Realms at War, moments before the final showdown. As Thor refuses to kill Kratos, an enraged Odin summons Gungnir and reveals its true nature when its blade pierces the God of Thunder through his chest, effectively killing him. The King of the Aesir then uses his legendary spear to duel the Ghost of Sparta and his son in front of the Great Lodge, displaying for the occasion an impressive amount of dark magic. Being a legendary weapon, Gungnir is unsurprisingly extremely durable and able to deflect a blow by the Leviathan Axe without any issue, which allows Odin to briefly overpower his opponents. Moments later, the All-Father attaches the noose he used to hang himself to the spear, giving it the ability to extend its blade in a whip-like fashion. When Kratos managed to engage the All-Father in close combat, the latter used Gungnir to successfully stab the Spartan. This caused Kratos to quickly disengage himself, likely saving his life in the process. At the end of the fight, he is disarmed of the spear, and it is not seen again, presumably having been destroyed along with Asgard.

Description

In its original form, Gungnir appears as a long spear - roughly 2 meters long - the body as well as the blade itself are seemingly made of ivory or bone. Gungnir is unlike any other weapon in the series, who are usually made of more conventional materials. As Odin magically bound Gungnir to his will: the spear is the very reflection of the All-Father's mood, and as such, it is assumed that only he can use it. Odin's powers tightly linked to the Bifröst (and by extension, Asgard) made it an obvious choice to fuel Gungnir with this primordial element. This was not only in phase with the All-Father's fighting style - which favors the use of magic, it also allowed him to channel his powers into the spear itself and thus, increase its powers with formidable efficiency.

The body of the spear itself is decorated with sumptuous patterns representing Norse runes. These are not only decorative, they in reality imbue a wide variety of battle enchantments with every shape. Gungnir is also embellished with an excessive amount of rope going through the body of the spear, which is a major component in Odin's magic: in battle, the rope glows with an intense purple aura. Such color is obviously associated with Bifröst, and the spearhead itself emits an impressive aura of dark magic. It is worth noticing that purple is also traditionally associated with magic and knowledge. By all regards, Gungnir should be considered as the antithesis of the Draupnir Spear, which has been forged with completely different materials and for a completely different purpose. Where Draupnir is a shining gold spear, symbol of justice and nobility, Gungnir is a spear of a cadaverous shade, symbol of witchcraft and treachery.

In its staff form, Gungnir appears identical to it's spear form with the exception of a concealed blade. The head of the staff has a simple shape. The head's top face has a slit, which is where the blade is concealed. Odin uses Gungnir's staff form as a retractable walking stick.

Gameplay

Powers and Spells

• Glettings bára: Gungnir's blade will quickly emerge from the spear, followed by Odin channeling Bifröst through the spear and slamming it into the ground swiftly in order to create an acute-angled shockwave. This attack may be blocked, and is cancellable.

• Leiptra: Odin summons a singular purple Bifröst beam, which splits into 4 projectiles in a small cross shape before returning into a beam directed at Kratos, This attack may be parried.

• Íssprengja (lit. "Iceblast"): Odin will begin to levitate and move away from Kratos while emitting a purple light. He will then summon a beam of frost from the tip of his spear and begin to bring it down. This attack deals Ice damage and is unparriable and uncancellable. It may be executed up to two times in a row (Three times in Odin's second phase) and can be avoided by moving to the side.

• Brjóta (lit. "Break"): Brjóta is a scripted move. At 30% health Odin will move to the center of the arena, then levitate up before ramming the spear into the ground. This is followed by the spear being tilted, creating a shockwave which will send Kratos and Atreus back, alongside shattering the battlefield into multiple segments. This attack deals no damage.

• Halda (lit. "Hold"): Once Odin is down to 90% health, attempting to finish off Odin will result in Kratos ramming the leviathan axe into Odin's left shoulder. Odin will retaliate and move upwards, before jamming the spear downwards onto the ground. This attack will send both Kratos and Atreus flying, before locking them in place. This attack is scripted and cannot be avoided.

Melee Attacks

• Spear charge: Odin will charge towards Kratos and perform an unblockable spear stab. Should this attack land, Kratos will be sent flying. This attack may be parried.

• Spear strike: If Kratos is in close range with Odin, Odin will lunge towards Kratos and follow with 2-3 blockable strikes followed by a block breaking strike. this attack may be parried.

• Whip swings: Odin will swing Gungnir and create an unblockable shockwave in one direction. The shockwave will damage and blind kratos, and may not be blocked or parried.

• Explosive Bifröst swing: Odin will ready a large AOE attack, this attack may be interrupted with a shield bash.

Other powers

• Terrain shockwave: When below 30% health, several chunks of the shattered terrain will glow purple should odin use this attack. This attack can be avoided by simply moving to an unaffected platform. This attack may not be blocked, parried, or interrupted.

Trivia

• Early explorations of Gungnir depict a rather rustic and conventional wooden stick, much smaller and less refined than the final design used in game.
  • Later in the final design of Odin's concept art shows the All-Father holding Gungnir on its staff form but it has metallic-like appearance and much smaller. Furthermore, the staff's decoration is different and seems to be carved.

• The blade is too big to be concealed in the hilt properly. It can be assumed Magic is used in order to expand into the blade.
• While Norse mythology describes Gungnir as a spear which once thrown, will never miss it's target. However, at no point does Odin use Gungnir as a javelin within the game.
• Gungnir is depicted for the first time in God of War (2018) in a few Jötnar shrines, and most notably one where Odin is using it to kill Ymir. However, the spear as such never appears since the All-Father himself isn't present in game. Instead, the Spear of Heaven makes its first appearance in God of War: Ragnarök during the seventh chapter, where Odin use it as a benign walking stick.
• Gungnir is hinted at when Atreus, after having seemingly freed Týr from his prison, suggests that he uses a spear to defend himself.
  • Ironically, "Tyr" Responds why would he need a "walking stick" (Referring to the spear that Atreus want to give) for self defense. Later, it shows that Odin effectively uses Gungnir as a walking stick in Asgard.
• It is said in Lúnda's Workshop Notes that the many patterns engraved on the spear are not only decorative, but also represent a variety of battle enchantments with every shape.
  • According to the mythology, Gungnir said to be carved with runes on its spearhead to empower the accuracy and power of the spear.
• The full spear appears to be about 6.56ft (2 meters long), since it is much taller than Odin and roughly the size of Kratos.
• The body of the spear, as well as its blade, seem to be made of ivory, although it produces a distinctive metallic sound every time Odin summons or retracts Gungnir.
• The top of the spear is seemingly embellished with white cords that cover part of the handle and even go through it. In reality, these cords are imbued with Bifröst enchantments since they are seen glowing with an intense purple glow in battle.
• Gungnir, similarly to the Draupnir Spear, seem to be a reflection of the character that wields them.
  • Gungnir's use revolves around the utilization of magic, much of which executed by attacking foes from afar with or affecting the space in which combat occur. In most of its appearance, it's disguised as a dignified, yet quite modest walking stick. This reflects Odin, in which he is a proficient magic user who prefer less direct means to deal with opposition, often causing more destruction than he ever cared for, and at most times, put on the guise of an approachable and harmless man, but is not beyond making his own hands bloody when cornered.
  • Draupnir on the other hand appears as a straight-up weapon with stern design, it could always generate a new copy of itself, and tough magical and imbued with the power of Wind, heavily relies on the conventional physical implementation of a spear as a physical weapon. This reflects Kratos more upfront and martial qualities, the ever-copious nature of the Spear itself matches his persistent nature of coming back several times despite his prior failures, defeats and even deaths.
• All in all, Gungnir can be considered as the "evil" equivalent of the Draupnir Spear just as Mjölnir being the "evil" equivalent of Leviathan Axe despite both weapons not constructed to counter one another like latter two. Indeed, the All-Father used his weapon to kill and curse many, even going as far as stabbing himself and impregnating the spear with his dark essence. On the contrary, Kratos created his spear for the sole purpose of protecting his son from Heimdall. When one thinks about it, absolutely everything opposes the two spears.
• Gungnir material - reminiscent of bone - as well as its ivory, cadaverous color are strangely reminiscent of Tom Riddle's wand made of yew. The yew notably symbolises death and resurrection, two concepts that obsessed both Odin and Tom Riddle and make their respective weapons even more similar.
• The spear systematically appears out of nowhere in Odin's hands when it is summoned, exactly like when the All-Father summons Huginn and Muninn. This implies that Gungnir is somehow a part of Odin himself, magically bound to his body.
• When Odin is seen levitating, it is unclear whether he is able to do it thanks to Gungnir or not. But like Thor when he uses Mjölnir to fly, one can assume that the All-Father actually needs his spear to perform such feat as well.
  • The same can be said when Odin uses his spear to perform dark magic: since the All-Father has been seen making invocations without his weapon, we can safely assume that Gungnir is only a means to enhance his spells. This is further corroborated by the fact that Odin mostly uses Gungnir to cast spells upon Kratos, though he does not hesitate to engage the Spartan in melee if necessary.
  • One can notice that Odin always uses the Bifröst, evidenced by its glowing purple aura, to do any of his actions during the battle. So we can assume that the All-Father also uses the Bifröst with the help of Gungnir to focus and enhance his movements.
• Interestingly, there is not a single trace of blood on the weapon when Odin uses it to kill Thor. Whether this is an oversight or a deliberate choice from the developers is unknown; as a comparison, when Kratos landed the hit that became a lasting wound on Thor's abdomen, the God of Thunder clearly bleeds.
• The spearhead almost systematically retracts itself after an attack, before Odin summons it soon after. This is odd considering that his wielder is in the middle of a fight and seemingly gets rid of the blade.
• After Atreus destroyed the Mask of creation and Odin chose to resume violence, the Aesir managed to retrieve the enchanted noose Freya used to incapacitate him and somehow assimilate it into the spear; this in turn seemingly gave it the power to conjure a magical whip that has the spear's blade as its tip.
  • The noose was connected to Odin's very being; it is the very same one he used in the infamous ordeal that won him the title "Lord of the Hanged". This could imply that Gungnir is similarly connected to the All-Father.
• On some occasions during the final battle, Gungnir can been seen standing on its own without Odin holding it. This further supports the idea that the Spear of Heaven is bound to the All-Father.
• In its direct appearance, Gungnir stands taller than Odin himself, the Codex and Odin's statue on Svartalfheim however depict the spear, in its staff form, to be shorter than him.

Sources

• norse-mythology.org - Gungnir - Norse Mythology for Smart People

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