One of the most powerful elements of God of War’s atmosphere in the reboot was the constantly conspicuous absence of Tyr. In general, the Lake of the Nine is a pretty lonely place. As you meander along tranquil tribulets protruding from the lake’s circumference, it is at all times evident that aside from Mimir and Atreus, you are alone. A particularly good thematic mechanic employed here is the presence of rifts on the many towers dotted around the lake - even the enemies you fight are from alternate dimensions. It’s just you, the two lads, Brok, and best boy Jormungandr.
And yet the enormous structure plopped smack bang in the middle of the water reeks of Tyr, the Norse God of War - because, you know, despite what all the chuds are saying, Kratos isn’t actually the God of War here. Imagine getting annoyed because Angrboda is Black and Thor is fat but being completely okay with the fact a totally invented character has been inserted into stories that are thousands of years old. Ironic that the anti-woke crowd will call writers snowflakes and then totally cherry-pick arguments in an attempt to justify their bigoted outrage, eh?
Anyway! You visit Tyr’s temple, investigate his history, and attempt to crack the code of what this mysterious figure was trying to do when he helped Faye - wife of Kratos and mother of Loki - permanently seal the gate to Jotunheim, land of the giants. During yesterday’s official trailer for God of War Ragnarok, we finally got our first look at Tyr, who stands at a whopping eight feet five inches tall - just over a foot shorter than Lady D. There are two possibilities here: either Tyr is a really tall god - which, no, neither Thor nor Baldur tower over Kratos like that - or Tyr is a jotunn himself. There is compelling evidence to support the latter option, although there are also some contradictions with the story in the previous game.
Essentially, there are two main primary sources when it comes to contemporary understanding of Norse mythology: the Poetic Edda and the Prose Edda, both of which were originally written in the 13th Century. In the former, Tyr is the son of a giant, Hymir - Ymir from God of War, anyone? - which makes sense given his trailer depiction as someone who would be considered unfairly tall in the NBA. In the Prose Edda, however, Tyr is the son of Odin - this complicates things given that the first God of War appears to follow this trajectory, at least in the case of Tyr’s identity (Sony Santa Monica has, so far, drawn from both the Poetic Edda and Prose Edda, as well as introducing some of its own original - and excellent - material).
Let’s talk about the Poetic Edda first. Tyr isn’t in it much, but there is a story about him and Thor heading to his dad’s giant gaff to nick a special cauldron that can apparently brew absurd amounts of ale. It’s a bit… wild. The story involves Tyr bumping into his 900-headed granny, who hates his guts. Once they steal the cauldron, it shifts back to Thor and Tyr isn’t mentioned again for ages - aside from this, the only references to him are of Fenrir biting his hand off, him continuing to feed wolves anyway, and a not-so-nice exchange with Loki, which I’ll get to below.
First, though, the Prose Edda: Tyr is barely here at all, although he is specifically referred to as Tyr Odinson, meaning that he is the son of Odin, not Hymir (in Old Norse, kids take their father’s name as their surname with an additional -son suffix). The game also implies that Tyr is Odin’s son, although the more I think about it, the more I reckon this is a great big red herring. After his absence being one of the most prevalent and imposing presences of the first game, it’s no surprise that Tyr could potentially play a major role in Ragnarok.
.png?q=50&fit=crop&w=740&dpr=1.5)
I’ll get into how this applies to the game in a minute, but first, I’d like to talk about the history of mythology. While we often consider Odin as the Norse pantheon’s primary god, there is evidence to support that Tyr’s relatively sporadic appearances in surviving literature are because, somewhere along the way, he was either superseded by or absorbed into depictions of Odin. Norse mythology existed prior to the 13th Century texts - they’re just the most substantive written sources that are still available today. If Tyr was originally Odin’s equal or even superior, the conflation of the Poetic Edda’s gianthood with the Prose Edda’s assertion that he is the son of Odin in Ragnarok could actually be on purpose - it could actually work.
We know from the trailer that Tyr didn’t just up and disappear - he was captured and bound. I’d like to reiterate that Ymir is the ancient giant Thor supposedly slew as per Mimir’s stories on the Lake of the Nine. “Hymir” and “Ymir” aren’t too dissimilar from one another, especially when you consider the anglicisation of Freya (originally Freyja) and Baldur (traditionally Baldr). If we consider Tyr Odinson as someone who is - or was - subservient to Odin, the -son suffix doesn’t necessarily need to be indicative of a biological relationship between the two. I mean, unless Tyr’s mother was a jotunn, it unequivocally couldn’t be. Just because the first game says Tyr is Odin’s son doesn’t necessarily mean that he is, and I think his disappearance, imprisonment, and status as a clear jotunn who helped Faye protect their homeland serves as sufficient evidence to back that up. Again: I reckon it’s a great big red herring for how Tyr is the son of one of the original giants, and with Ragnarok on the horizon, the only thing on his mind is to enact violent vengeance on the cruel and contentious Aesir.
There is, however, one more item worth addressing. In the Poetic Edda, Tyr and Loki have a short exchange about Tyr’s missing hand, which was severed by the fangs of Fenrir, Loki’s massive wolf son. After a brief back and forth, the God of Mischief has the following to say:
"Shut up, Tyr. My son came from your wife. And you haven't been paid a penny or an ell of cloth as recompense for this, you rat."
.png?q=50&fit=crop&w=740&dpr=1.5)
Aside from the evident resentment and aggression here - “you rat” makes me piss myself every time I read it - “My son came from your wife” carries particular weight. We already know that Angrboda is in Ragnarok, which means that she is likely to be Loki’s canonical wife here, not Sigyn. Then again, Angrboda is extremely young in the trailer. Sure, jotunn are, in some stories, capable of shapeshifting - Loki’s status as a jotunn god is part of why he can turn into a mare and a variety of other animals. But also, Jormungandr is already big enough to encircle the world, while Loki - who is established to be Atreus in the epilogue of the first game - is a child.
You could argue that he shapeshifted into a new form to evade the Aesir, but that wouldn’t make sense - Kratos would know. What’s more likely is that there’s a lot more to Faye than we’ve been led to believe, and Loki and Angrboda’s youth, combined with the long-awaited introduction of Tyr, are the key pieces to the mysterious puzzle set in place in the first game.
Ragnarok is coming and the jotunn are finally assembling for battle - will there be dissent in the ranks? Or will the curious Tyr finally offer clarity in a whirring maelstrom of chaos?