Cronos (God of War)

"The Murderer of Gaia enters my tomb?"

- Cronos when Kratos first meets him in God of War III.

Cronos is the lord of the Titans and father of the Olympians and a major antagonist from the God of War series.

Past
Cronos and his fellow Titans were born as the children of Ouranos and Gaia with their birth place being the Island of Creation, home of the Sisters of Fate. They feared the Sisters' power over fate and decided to leave the island to instead rule over the mortal world, beginning the Golden Age of Mankind. Cronos was their leader, but it was prophesized that he would be overthrown by his own children, something he sought to prevent. He tried bribing the Sisters of Fate by giving them the Steeds of Time, but when this failed, he instead chose to swallow his children whole whenever they were born. After five of these occurrences, Cronos' wife, Rhea, couldn't bear it anymore and soon it came time for her sixth child, Zeus, to be eaten. However she instead commanded an eagle to take the baby away, beyond Cronos' watchful eyes and wrapped a stone in a cloth, which the Titan swallowed, never knowing the difference.

Battle with his Children
Zeus was raised by Gaia, who nurtured his wish to free his siblings, but unfortunately, Zeus returned to the world, full of vengeance. He decided to bring down all of the Titans and freed his siblings from Cronos' stomach, then engaged in a war against them.

The battle between the Titans and the gods ravaged the mortal world and in their fight, Cronos was almost brought down by Hades and Poseidon. Atlas came to his rescue, only to be brought down by the two himself, though the battle raged on anyways. Eventually the Titans were defeated when Zeus used the Blade of Olympus to banish the Titans to Tartarus, but Cronos would soon be condemned to endure another fate.

God of War
Cronos was sentenced by Zeus to wander through the Desert of Lost Souls with the Temple of Pandora chained to his back, until the whirling sands ripped the flesh from his bones. Whenever a warrior blew the Titan Horn, Cronos would come forth to allow them to brave the dangers of the temple with each one failing and getting slaughtered. However Kratos succeeded in getting through and retrieving Pandora's Box and after he opened it, Zeus became consumed by fear and condemned Cronos to the Pits of Tartarus.

God of War II
Later when Kratos was finding his way through the Steeds of Time, he came across some remnants of Cronos' magic. The image of the Titan appeared before him and explained that before his defeat, he'd hidden away a little of his magic. Cronos then bestowed the magic upon Kratos, giving him the power of Cronos Rage.

God of War III
After Kratos came to the Underworld seeking the Omphalos Stone, he came across the severed hand of Gaia as Cronos appeared. The former Titan King labeled Kratos as the murderer of Gaia, and explained what had happened to him to make him come to the Underworld. Cronos blamed Kratos for the fate he now endured as Zeus was consumed by fear and banished Cronos to the pits of Tartarus to roam.

The Ghost of Sparta pointed out he'd taken Pandora's Box because the gods had commanded him to kill Ares, but Cronos said he'd only done it to satisfy his need for vengeance. The Titan then proclaimed vengeance belonged to him as he tried to crush him between his fingers, but the Ghost of Sparta blinded him with a Solar Flare. He began fighting his way across Cronos' body, while the Titan tried to crush him, and blow him off of his arm. Kratos managed to rip off one of the Titan's fingernails and climb up his finger. Cronos attempted to blow him off, but Kratos used the Solar Flare to blind him again. He managed to reach the main chain that bound Pandora's temple to the Titan and tried to break it, but Cronos grabbed Kratos and tried to crush him, only for him to force his hand back and stab it with the Blade of Olympus. Enraged, the Titan tried to drop the Ghost of Sparta to his death, but Kratos held on to his hand and reached Cronos' wrist. Cronos clenched his fist, causing Kratos to get pushed forward by the shockwave it generated and managed to grab a part of the chain on the Titan's arm, allowing him to swing up onto his arm. Cronos saw Kratos and attempted to grab him, but the Ghost of Sparta escaped him, resulting in Kratos ending up on his shoulder. While there, he took control of an undead Cyclops, using it to bash a hole open in Cronos' shoulder, but the Titan finally caught Kratos and managed to swallow him.

The Ghost of Sparta slid down the Titan's throat all the way to his stomach, where he managed to find the Omphalos Stone, the stone Cronos believed Zeus was so many years ago. Kratos soon sliced his way out of Cronos' stomach with the Blade of Olympus, making some of his intestines spill out. Wounded, Cronos pleaded for his life as he stated Kratos what he sought but the Spartan ignored his pleas and impaled him through the bottom of his head with part of his shackles.

The Ghost of Sparta finally finished the Titan by driving the Blade of Olympus through his head, but not before Cronos cursed him, calling him a coward who killed who his own family. While Kratos indeed killed his grandfather and sought to kill his father Zeus, Cronos himself imprisoned his children centuries ago making his condemnation ironic. The titan then collapsed to the ground and died.

Powers and Abilities
Cronos possesses an enormous amount of strength and stamina, which can be attributed to his enormous size. As a Titan, he possesses immortality and cannot be harmed by most forms of attack, also his powers seem to revolve around storms and lightning, much like his sons, Zeus and Poseidon. As the father of the elder Olympian gods he is extremely powerful and during his reign as the King of the Titans he could control the sky, sea, and the earth.

Quotes
"I live in torment because of you. After you took the Box from Pandora's Temple, Zeus was consumed with fear. He banished me to the pits of Tartarus."

- Cronos explaining to Kratos what happened to him since God of War.

"You killed Ares out of your need for vengeance! But this time, retribution finally comes to me, Spartan!"

- Cronos to Kratos.

"There is no escape!"

- Cronos while battling him.

"Show yourself Kratos! I know you are there, somewhere."

- Cronos to Kratos who is out of Cronos' sight

"Curse these chains!"

- Cronos

"I should have expected this from a coward such as yourself! a coward who kills his own kin!"

- Cronos' last words.

Trivia

 * In God of War, Kratos was surprised that Cronos, a Titan, was still alive, which doesn't make sense since in Chains of Olympus, he saw and battled Atlas. However he may have thought Cronos was killed by Zeus or perhaps he was surprised a Titan still existed in the mortal world.
 * In God of War II, he was voiced by Lloyd Sherr and in III, his voice actor was George Ball.
 * A special feature in God of War was a small video segment was "Fate of the Titan", which was an idea for a sequel to the game. It told of how Cronos continued to wander the desert for millennia with the Temple of Pandora chained to his back. Eventually he died and then it cut to the present day, where his skeleton was found by a band of explorers who prepared to venture inside. This idea was not followed up on and Cronos' body has presumably remained inside Tartarus. However the skull on his remains seen in Fate of the Titan had a hole exactly where Kratos drove the Blade of Olympus into his head, though this is most likely coincidence.
 * In God Of War, the cut scenes to show Cronos depicted him with four fingers, but in III, he had five.
 * His name is spelled "Kronos" in God of War and "Chronos" on the God of War soundtrack.
 * In God of War III, when Cronos was defeated and choking on blood, the cut in the Titan's stomach is gone, the revealing intestates are no longer revealed, and the chains have reappeared on his left arm. This was most likely just a developer error, possibly because of being rushed by the game's release or that Cronos has the ability to heal the wound.
 * The Temple of Pandora on Cronos' back in God of War III is smaller than it was in God of War.
 * If one thinks about, Zeus indirectly saved his father as by banishing Cronos to the Underworld, the latter was spared from drowning to death after Kratos flooded the world after killing Poseidon.
 * Cronos was ranked 84th on IGN's Top 100 Video Game Villains.