Gaia (God of War)

"I am the Titan Gaia, ever present Mother of Earth."

- Gaia

Gaia is the Bigger Bad of the God of War series, starting off as the deuteragonist in God of War II and the secondary antagonist in God of War III, She was one of Kratos' former allies alongside the Titans in their same mission of retribution. She's one of the Titans that seek revenge on Zeus. Gaia's voice also narrated the entire God of War series.

Appearance
Gaia is a giant Titan with trees and other plants growing on her, thus according to legends and Greek mythology was named Mother Earth or Mother Nature because she represents nature and the Earth.

Past
Thousands of years ago, an Oracle warned Cronos that one day, his children would rise up against him and all the Titans. So to prevent that, Cronos decided to imprisoned all of his children in his belly. When it was Zeus' turn to be eaten by Cronos, Zeus' mother, Rhea, decided to trick Cronos by sending Baby Zeus to a far away area where Cronos couldn't see. Gaia was the one who raised Zeus. She also told Zeus that Cronos had his siblings in his Stomach. Out of rage, Zeus decided to get his revenge and rescue his siblings from Cronos, which started the Great War. When the Great War ended Gaia was one of the survivors that was imprisoned in the pits of Tartarus.

Despite Gaia being imprisoned in the Tartarus, she somehow managed to keep an eye on a Demi-God; Kratos. It's possible that she knew about the Oracle's warning about the fall of Olympus will be caused by someone known as the Marked Warrior, she somehow knew that Kratos was the Marked Warrior. She also apparently watched Kratos slay The Furies, Persephone, Ares, and Thanatos.

Rescuing Kratos
After Kratos was killed by Zeus, Gaia knew that Kratos was meant for greater purposes and revived Kratos by healing most of his wounds. After he escaped Hades, she sent Kratos to the Island of Creation to find the Sisters of Fate. While he was searching for the Fates, Gaia told the story about her raising Zeus and why he hated the Titans.

Rescuing the Titans
After Kratos accidently killed Athena, Kratos uses the Threads of Time to go back in time to rescue Gaia and the Titans. At the end of God of War II, Kratos, along with the Titans, were climbing Mount Olympus in order to kill Zeus and the other Olympians.

Ascending Mt. Olympus
At the beginning of God of War III, all the Titans, including Gaia, were scaling up Mount Olympus to kill Zeus. While Gaia was ascending Mt. Olympus, she was attacked by one of Poseidon's Hippocampus. The Hippocampus wrapped around her hand and slowed down her progress. After Kratos rescued Gaia from the Hippocampus, the very same Hippocampus eventually came back and attacked her chest. After Kratos finally killed the Hippocampus, she was attacked by a small army of Hippocampi and Poseidon in a water construct. Gaia aided Kratos in in killing Poseidon by trapping him in between her hand and Mt. Olympus. After Kratos killed Poseidon, both he and Gaia climbed to the top of Olympus where Zeus was waiting.

Betraying Kratos
When Kratos and Gaia reached the top, Zeus struck them with a huge bolt of lightning. Gaia attempted to stop him but in doing so Gaia nearly lost her left hand sending her and Kratos plummeting. As Gaia grabbed onto the mountain, Kratos struggled to keep his balance asking Gaia for aid but she refused as they'd both die. Kratos told Gaia not to deny his revenge to which Gaia responded her true intention was her killing Zeus instead of letting Kratos kill him calling Kratos a mere pawn that has lost its usefulness. As Kratos fell to the Underworld, he swore revenge on Gaia for using him and allowing his fall to a supposed end.

Gaia's "Death"
After Kratos killed Hades and escaped the Underworld, Kratos encountered a weakened Gaia. Gaia was surprised Kratos survived stating the blood of Cronos served him well before asking Kratos for help. However, Kratos remembering Gaia's betrayal instead cuts the vines connected to her wounded hand as Gaia asked if she meant nothing to him. Kratos responded in cruel irony that Gaia was "a means to end nothing more" as Gaia stated she had to face Zeus as the titans must take down Olympus. Kratos told her this was his war not hers before using the Blade of Olympus to cut off her left hand, causing her fall to her "death".

Because of that, both Perses, and Cronos wanted to kill Kratos.

Gaia's Return
During the second fight between Kratos and Zeus, it was revealed that Gaia survived, replaced her severed arm with twisted tree branches, and was ascended to the top of Mount Olympus. She attempted to kill both Zeus and Kratos, by crushing the battle arena, but they both fell into the hole on her chest caused by Poseidon's Hippocampi. During the third fight between Zeus and Kratos, they fought inside Gaia right near her heart. But, before they fought each other, Kratos used the Bow of Apollo, and the Nemean Cestus to destroy, the material guarding her heart.

In the end, Kratos stabbed Zeus with the Blade of Olympus, Gaia's heart gets stabbed as well killing her in the process, and turning her body into nothing but a puff cloud of green dust, and decaying tree remains.

Powers
Like most of the Titans, Gaia is immortal, has great physical strength, and is large in size. It's also likely that Gaia has the ability to predict the future, because when Kratos went back in time to rescue the Titans, Gaia said the they had been expected Kratos.

Trivia

 * It's interesting to note that Gaia had expected Kratos' sudden arrival in the middle of the Great War, even though the battle had taken place thousands of years before. It could be that due to the fact that Gaia is earth herself she would be able to foretell events that transpired in the past, present, and future.
 * Despite being the secondary antagonist in God of War 3, she only appear during and after the battle with Poseidon, when Kratos was chasing after Helios, and when Kratos was battling Zeus on the dias.
 * Gaia is voiced by Linda Hunt in most of the God of War series, but by Susan Blakeslee in God of War III.
 * When Gaia is rescued at the end of God of War II and brought back to Kratos' time, it is a wonder what happened to the Gaia who is being held in Tartarus, who has been instructing Kratos the whole time. The Gaia whom Kratos rescues also says that she and the Titans are expecting Kratos, even though she is from the ages past, and is not the one who guided him to the Sisters of Fate (all of which happened in the future). Because of Kratos' interference in the timeline, it is likely that the Gaia in Tartarus has been "erased" and "replaced" with the one Kratos brings back to his time.
 * Given that the world has been restored in God of War IV, and Gaia is the embodiment of the world itself, it is unknown whether the same happened to Gaia.