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| “ | My Brothers. We were forged in a victory. A victory that ended the Great War and brought forth the reign of Mt. Olympus. Born from the depths of the Underworld, rooted in the river of souls, our mountain emerged out of the Chaos. As it grew, so too did the might of the Olympians. We created a world of peace, a world of prosperity, a world that lives in the shadow and safety of my mountain. A mountain that has come to be the absolute measure of strength and power. Now, on this day, that power is to be tested. The mortal, Kratos, seeks to destroy all that I have wrought. Brothers, put aside the petty grievances that have splintered us for so long. We will unite, we will stand together, and I will wipe out this plague! Olympus will prevail! | „ |
| ~ Zeus in the ending of God of War II and the opening of God of War III. |
| “ | I grow weary of you, my son. I created you, and I will be your end! | „ |
| ~ Zeus he drains Kratos's life in the final battle. |
Zeus is the main antagonist of the Greek Era from the God of War franchise. He is a supporting character in the 2005 action-adventure game God of War, and the main antagonist of its 2007 sequel God of War II and 2010 God of War III.
Ruling over the Greek Pantheon and Ancient Greece, he is the King of Olympus as well as the God of Lightning, Sky, Law and Order. Son of the Titans Cronos and Rhea, he is the brother of Poseidon and Hades as well as the husband of Hera. Father of powerful deities such as Ares and Athena, he also had many illegitimate children such as Hercules, Kratos and Deimos.
Rising to ultimate power when he and his siblings took on the mighty Titans in what would become known as the Great War, Zeus' reign remained unchallenged until a prophecy foretold that the King of Olympus would meet his demise at the hands of a marked warrior.
He started out as one of Kratos' allies in his quest to kill Ares, but became incredibly fearful of Kratos after he opened Pandora's Box. Afraid that Kratos would try to usurp him as he had his own father, Zeus decided to kill him before Kratos could turn against him. This would result in Kratos' quest to kill Zeus and all those who dare stop him in his quest for vengeance.
Zeus was voiced by Paul Eiding in God of War, Fred Tatasciore in God of War: Ghost of Sparta, and Corey Burton in God of War II and God of War III.
Appearance
Zeus is a God of Olympus that resembles a tall (towering a 6–7 feet tall Kratos), muscular elderly man. He has long white hair, a beard, and white eyes. He wears a white toga and wields a golden armband and golden leg bands. In God of War III, Zeus has had some small changes. He now has a much darker tone on his skin, golden rings on his hair and carries the Golden Aegis of Zeus on his left arm.
Personality:
| “ | Atlas: Bloodlust and power-raged within Zeus! His desire to rule over mortals was intolerable for us. | „ |
| ~ Atlas telling Kratos backstory of how Zeus rose to power against mortals and the Titans. |
In God of War II, Zeus seemed to be a sophisticated and calm individual, but when Gaia told Zeus' story that when she was taking care of Zeus, anger and rage consumed him toward the Titans. And as the 3rd game progressed, Zeus started to become an arrogant, merciless and careless monster determined to kill Kratos before he becomes too powerful, and Olympus falls.
Fear (as in, the evil from Pandora's Box, not just the emotion) drove him to become more and more ruthless, because of this, he destroyed Sparta, severely injured and imprisoned Hephaestus, abused Pandora simply because she was not an actual living being, imprisoned and killed the Titans, tortured Prometheus toward the end of time and a bunch of other cruel and unforgivable deeds. After Kratos was killed by Zeus, Zeus decided to destroy Sparta and cause more misery towards Kratos, even in "death". Zeus also seemed to be a bit frightened and reluctant to fight Kratos after the former nearly killed him.
In God of War III, instead of fighting Kratos himself, he sent his own brother Poseidon, and other Gods of Olympus such as Hermes, Helios, and Hercules to do his dirty work and watched them die. However, due to the evil of Fear inhabiting him, it is unknown how much of his apathy over the death of family members was caused by it or was really how he always felt.
Powers and Abilities
Zeus generatinga powerful loghtning bolt.Like all Gods of Olympus, Zeus is immortal, so he cannot die of old age, diseases, or by any mortal weapon. Being the King of the Gods, Zeus is virtually the most powerful of all the Olympian Gods. And being the God of Lightning, Zeus can generate lightning in multiple ways, such as creating a giant spear made out of lightning, generating lightning out of his palms, and various other ways. Zeus is also shown to have the ability control the weather by generating storm clouds when he generates lightning bolts, which is probably a way to increase the power of his lightning bolts or creating a tornado to forge the Blade of Olympus.
He also processes superhuman strength that rivals even Hercules' strength, as well as high stamina, accuracy, endurance, durability, agility, and speed when in battle. Zeus can increase his size to be roughly 500 feet, allowing him to crush entire cites merely by walking on it. Zeus can create clones of himself that are much weaker than him, heal and regenerate most of his injuries, fly, teleport, and shape-shift in various forms such as a giant White Eagle, and the Grave Digger.
In God of War II, Zeus is also shown to have the ability to summon up to three Sirens at a time. Zeus is also skilled at wielding the Blade of Olympus, the Gauntlet of Zeus, either separately or at the same time. Zeus is also capable of fighting unarmed with little to no effort. He can also strip and/or someone's Godly Power as well as grant Godly Powers to anyone, or any object, as shown when he stripped Kratos' Godly Powers and used them to bring the Colossus of Rhodes to life in God of War II.
During the end of God of War III, upon Zeus' "death", Zeus's spirit, which greatly resembles a dark version of himself, came out of his body. It is likely the reason is that Zeus entered a higher form. Zeus' Astral Projection is powerful enough to generate a powerful bolt of lightning that can destroy almost all of Kratos' weapons. Zeus' Astral Projection also appears to have the ability to induce fear and can drain the health out of Kratos. The astral form could have been influenced by Fear, as it shares a similar black aura, and Fear attempted to invade Kratos' mind until Hope from his wife and daughter, and Pandora, helped him fight it off.
Other Media
Playstation All-Stars Battle Royale
Zeus makes an appears a DLC playable character in the crossover video game Playstation All-Stars Battle Royale.
Opening
| “ | There is trouble in Olympus, and great turmoil in the mortal world. Souls from across the universe amass to do battle, including my own son. All in service of a self-proclaimed god, an impostor who lays claim to the very creation of all. I have forbidden the gods from interfering in the affairs of mortals. Olympus must remain removed from the clamor below. But Kratos has shown what can happen when those not born of Olympus attain too much power. I will put a stop to this madness. And to anyone who dares stand in my way. | „ |
| ~ Zeus |
Zeus sensed trouble on both Mount Olympus and the mortal world. He also senses powerful warriors gathering throughout the universe together in a fight, Kratos included. He knew that they were all gathered by a self-proclaimed god that claimed to the very creation of all. Zeus forbade the gods from interfering, and that Zeus left to deal with this threat on his own. As he left he proclaimed that he would put a stop to the madness, and defeat anyone who stands in his way.
Confronting Isaac Clarke
Zeus about to confront Isaac CIarke.As Zeus defeated those he encountered one by one, he was mildly disappointed by the pretender's handiwork, even calling it nothing more than a mortal child's plaything. Shortly after arriving at the Rival Arena, Zeus encountered Isaac Clarke. Zeus immediately thought that he was the one responsible for the creation of this strange world. But Isaac told him that he just got in this world too.
Angered that Isaac pointed his gun at Zeus, Zeus told Isaac to explain himself before he makes him kneel. Isaac could not explain and claimed that he saw strange things. However, Zeus told Isaac that having him kneel was not a request, and proceeded to strike Isaac with a lightning bolt. But Isaac managed to freeze Zeus' lightning bolt with kinesis.
Watching what Isaac could do, Zeus told Isaac that he would pay with his life for his insolence. Zeus and Isaac fought each other, but in the end, Zeus managed to defeat Isaac Clarke.
Confronting Polygon Man
| “ | It had been too long since I've been back to Olympus. I have restored order on earth, where before there was only chaos. To do so, the most unruly of mortals had to be reminded of their place, and the so-called god stripped of his pretense. The threat posed by Kratos is real. It must be dealt with decisively. He must be made aware of the power that the Gods of Olympus possess. And if he thought he would simply stride into Olympus... ...he will soon enough see what a mistake that is. | „ |
| ~ Zeus' ending. |
Zeus' ending in Playstation All-Stars Battle Royale.Shortly after defeating Isaac Clarke, Zeus encountered the Self-Proclaimed God; Polygon Man. Zeus fought Polygon Man resulting in Zeus defeated him. With the defeat of Polygon Man, Zeus acquired his power. Shortly after, Zeus returned to Mt. Olympus, Zeus claimed that he restored order on Earth when there was only chaos. But in order to do so, he had to put the unruly mortals back into there place, and their "god" was stripped of his pretense.
However, Zeus knew that the threat of Kratos was real, and it must be dealt with. Proclaiming that the Gods' processed great power and that if Kratos could destroy Olympus with ease, he'd be making a big mistake.
Super Moves
Like all the characters in PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale, Zeus has three super moves that can be used during a fight.
- Level 1: Lightning Clap- Zeus attacks with a gigantic clap that creates a large lightning explosion directly in front of him, with enough of a radius to strike multiple opponents up close.
- Level 2: Ultimate Storm- Zeus starts flying in the air. A button press initiates a very large explosion centered on Zeus that ends the super. Alternatively, if no button is pushed, time runs out and the explosion happens at that point.
- Level 3: Wrath of Zeus- Zeus transports everyone to the summit of sacrifice, while he grows to giant size and attacks the victims with giant boss-style attacks. Square button causes Zeus to attack the left side, Circle button causes Zeus to attack the right side, Triangle button causes Zeus to attack the air, and pushing down while pressing the square, triangle, circle, or R2 button will cause Zeus to attack the ground.
Quotes
| “ | Zeus: Such chaos. I will have much to do after I kill you. Kratos: Face me, father. It's time to end this. Zeus: Yes, my son. It is time. |
„ |
| ~ Zeus and Kratos in their final fight. |
Trivia
- Zeus is one of the two main antagonists (alongside Odin) of the God of War franchise.
- Zeus is technically the youngest of the 6 original Gods of Olympus, but his physical appearance makes him look like he is the oldest. It is likely that because Zeus has the ability to shape shift, and the Gods of Olympus believe that respect comes from age, Zeus chooses to portray himself at an older age.
- It has been confirmed that the Grave Digger that Kratos encounters in the original God of War, and God of War: Ghost of Sparta is really Zeus in disguise.
- Zeus was playable in Ghost of Sparta as a secret character for the Arena, making him the only uniquely separate playable character in the entire franchise for over 10 years.
- The Evil that infected Zeus after Pandora's Box was opened is Fear.
- Zeus made an appearance in every God of War game from the Greek Era, except for God of War: Chains of Olympus and God of War: Betrayal. There were only statues of himself that appeared, and he was only mentioned several times in the former and only some vague allusions to him in the latter.
- Zeus was placed 49th on IGN's Top 100 Video Game Villains.
- When Kratos fights Zeus in God of War III the main theme music is "Brothers of Blood".
- It is unknown why Zeus did not suspect any of his other sons as a threat as there were many besides Kratos that held contempt against him. There was a prophecy that referred to a "Marked Warrior", which was mistakenly believed to be Kratos's brother, Deimos. However, after Kratos was marked by Ares and became the only one of the children of Zeus to successfully kill a god, also Ares, thus Zeus believed Kratos to be the prophesied Marked Warrior the whole time.
- It's interesting to note that when Kratos uses the Gauntlet of Zeus he wields it on his right arm, but when Zeus wields the Gauntlet in Ghost of Sparta, he wields it on his left. It is likely that the Gauntlet can change much like on how it can change size depending on the wielder.
- Amusingly, Corey Burton earlier voiced Zeus in Disney's Hercules: The Animated Series, although an obviously vastly different interpretation.
- Zeus was released as a DLC character in the video game PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale.
- Corey Burton reprises his role as Zeus.
- This makes Zeus the fourth DLC character in PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale.
- This also makes him the very first villain to be a playable DLC character.
- Zeus is considered to be the most powerful character in the game, surpassing Big Daddy and Evil Cole, but he is also the slowest of all other characters as well.
- Zeus, along with Sir Daniel, are the oldest (age wise) characters in this game, as he is centuries-old.
- In Zeus' rival cutscene, he refers to the Rival Arena as looking like a "mortal child's play-thing". It is possible that he talking about the Playstation system.
- Zeus, along with Kratos, and Jak and Daxter are the only characters that actually break the fourth wall in their intros and outros, However both Zeus and Kratos attack the camera when they lose, but Zeus is currently the only character that attacks the camera when he either wins or loses.
- Zeus' Level 3 Super move is a reference to the final boss in God of War II.
- Zeus' DLC costume is based on him when he was younger in God of War II.
- Joining the character roster in PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale makes this the second time Zeus appears as a playable character, the first being God of War: Ghost of Sparta.
- However, this is the first time Zeus is playable without using the Gauntlet of Zeus and the Blade of Olympus in combat.
- Zeus is the only character in which his entire move set can be charged up.
- Much like Kratos' story mode in PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale, Zeus' story mode takes place before the beginning of God of War III.
- Zeus is one of five playable characters in PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale who died in the game series where they came from.
- Zeus is one of three characters whose Level 3 Supers Attacks can affect stages, the other two being the Big Daddy from BioShock and Isaac Clarke from Dead Space, but Zeus is the only first-party to do so.
- According to some accounts of the legend, Prometheus was tortured by Zeus for at least thirty-thousand years before being freed by Heracles. If he was truly killed every day in the same amount of time before being "freed" by Kratos, he would have died 10,950,000 times.
External Links
- Zeus on the Pure Evil Wiki
- Zeus on the God of War Wiki
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