Kratos vs Master Chief
Round 1: Origins
Nathan Drake's Origin Story - Origins of Uncharted's Dashing Adventurer
Kratos’ origins begin rather commonly for one born in Ancient Greece, being the offspring of Zeus and a mortal woman. Kratos and his mother Callisto led a simple life, soon followed by his younger brother Deimos. The two would train rigorously to join the Spartan army. After learning of a prophecy that one of his children bearing a mark would kill him and all of Olympus, Zeus dispatched Athena and Ares to find and bring him this child. Upon laying waste to Kratos’ village, the two gods found Deimos who bore a birthmark that covered much of his face and body. Kratos attempted to save Deimos and attacked Ares, becoming scarred by the god for his actions. So began Kratos’ hatred of the Gods and he tattooed himself with Deimos’ birthmark as he rose through the ranks of the Spartan army, eventually leading a battalion of thousands. When Dr. Catherine Halsey set out to create the ultimate soldier, no one could have expected the lengths she would go to to accomplish her goals. When John was only 6 years old, he caught the attention of Halsey who would then recruit him into her Spartan Program. John was abducted from his home along with 150 children and replaced with clones designed to die a short time later so the parents wouldn’t come looking for them. John and the other candidates were subjected to horrific experiments that would biologically re-engineer their bodies to make them the ultimate soldiers. Out of the 150 children selected for the program, only a handful survived, John among them. John quickly rose to the rank of Master Chief and equipped with his iconic green MJOLNIR armor, thus starting his legend. Despite the trials later in his life, Kratos’ childhood and upbringing were rather mundane compared to the horrific experiments John and his fellow child Spartans were forced to endure. Master Chief’s depressing origins easily take this round. Winner: Kratos - 0 / Master Chief - 1
Round 2: Story
Origin Story: Halo's Master Chief!
Kratos’ story is the epitome of a Greek tragedy. Tricked and betrayed by the Gods into murdering all of his family including his mother, wife and daughter, Kratos is driven by his quest for revenge against the Gods and any who stand in his way. His vengeful quest is an understandable one even if at times he has a tendency to take things too far. Kratos ended the reign of the Greek Gods and sacrificed himself to give what remained of humanity a fighting chance in a world without the divine, but since Kratos is an immortal God himself, his journey did not end there. Years later, we find Kratos has tried to start anew and leave his lust for revenge behind him and try to lead a simpler and better life for his new family while keeping the demons of his past at bay. At least until the Norse Gods came a’calling. When Master Chief and the UNSC stumble upon the Halo ring, they believe it to be a Covenant station of some kind, and only by descending deep into the structure do they discover the ring’s true purpose. Developed by a race known as the Forerunners, the Halo installation is designed to wipe out all sentient life in the galaxy in an attempt to starve another species, The Flood; a parasitic infestation that continues to spread throughout the galaxy until nothing but the Hivemind remains. As the threat of the flood continues on for the next few entries, Master Chief eventually encounters the Didact, saves the galaxy from the new threat of the Prometheans as well as loses Cortana to her rampancy. While the stakes are high, much of Halo’s lore is explored outside of the games, robbing those who only focus on the games much of the Halo universe's rich backstory. Despite the obvious threat of the Covenant and the Flood, the story of Master Chief is but one part in the broader storyline in the world of Halo, whereas Kratos’ personal tale of loss, revenge and eventual redemption manages to invest the player in his struggles in a way Halo hasn’t managed to achieve just yet. Point to Kratos. Winner: Kratos - 1 / Master Chief - 1
Round 3: Enemies
The 10 HARDEST New Enemies in God of War Ragnarok
Kratos’ rogue’s gallery is quite literally the entirety of Greek mythology. From slaying mythical creatures like the minotaur, Medusa, and the catalog of Greek Gods of Olympus as well as the Titans that birthed them, Kratos had no shortage of enemies standing in his way. And even attempting to leave these foes behind, he only finds new ones in the realms of Midgard. The Aesir Gods of the Nine Realms, the Valkyries, trolls, and the resurrected Drauger, no matter where Kratos goes, he’s not exactly the best at making friends. While his list of enemies is quite extensive, many of his foes became obstacles by simply standing in his way, with most not lasting more than a few seconds. In the Halo universe, there’s always a bigger fish. What starts as a war with the Covenant and all the various species of aliens that fall under that religious moniker, from the Grunts, to the Elites, the Brutes, and the Covenant High Council on High Charity, there is no shortage of enemies for the Master Chief to face down. Once the truth of the Halo installation is revealed, a new threat arises, quite literally, that threatens the entire galaxy and Master Chief must contend with the Covenant believing the Halo Rings will lead them to the next stage of enlightenment, and their true purpose which wipes out all life in the galaxy. The stakes just keep climbing for John-117 as the series continues. His enemies are many and the threat looms large but Master Chief is more than loaded up for the challenge. While Kratos’ mythological enemies are certainly a force to be reckoned with, the legends are known far and wide whereas Master Chief’s list of foes only grow in severity as the series goes on and it’s hard to ignore the galaxy wide threat the Covenant and Flood pose as opposed to most of Kratos’ enemies focusing solely on the Ghost of Sparta. Master Chief knocks down another one in this round. Winner: Kratos - 1 / Master Chief - 2
Round 4: Powers
Top 10 Bioshock Powers
Kratos’ arsenal of weapons and magical abilities were gifted to him by the various Gods of Greek mythology, some willingly, some not. Throughout Kratos’ many journeys, the Gods attempted to assist Kratos by gifting him some of their powers which he could upgrade to their full strength. While those who didn’t help were still ultimately…persuaded to lend their talents to his cause. Kratos’ powers as a God aren’t simply relegated to his magical abilities either, he’s basically immortal and also has the ability to heal his wounds at will. Given the near endless possibilities associated with Kratos’ god-hood, we may have only scratched the surface of what this God of War is capable of as he continues his journey to Ragnarok. The Master Chief is the ultimate warrior and has earned the moniker “Demon” amongst the Covenant ranks for good reason. With his augmented abilities and his Mark VI MJONIR armor, John-117 is a walking tank. Master Chief has been known to do the impossible, facing down waves of Covenant and Promethean forces single handedly and his arrival on the battlefield has turned the tide for many encounters and led the UNSC to countless victories. As Cortana says, John is also incredibly lucky, and this innate ability is demonstrated innumerable times as he escapes various death-defying encounters, coming out the other side with barely a scratch. However, despite all his augmentations, John is still human underneath it all and therefore vulnerable to his own mortality. With his ever increasing rogues gallery, eventually John is bound to come up against an enemy even he won’t be lucky enough to walk away from. Even with all of Master Chief’s augmentations and incredible sets of armor, they’re no match for Kratos’ Godly abilities. Kratos walks away from this round unscathed. Winner: Kratos - 2 / Master Chief - 2
Round 5: Evolution
Evolution of Kratos
When gamers were first introduced to Kratos, he was fueled by his hatred against the Gods of Olympus. As we watched his story continue, we began to sympathize with him even despite the numerous horrendous acts he sometimes engaged in during his quest to kill the Gods. Still as his journey came to an end, we felt satisfied knowing Kratos had completed his quest even if it brought about the end of the entirety of Greece. No one expected just how broken and full of regret he would be upon his grand return. Kratos went from one of the angriest video game protagonists to one of the most sympathetic father figures in gaming. Kratos ultimately learned to accept his past as a way to move forward and find true acceptance in his new life. Throughout the entire Halo series, John-117 has been a soldier first and foremost and always put the mission ahead of all else. Even despite the innumerable times Master Chief has saved humanity, the entire galaxy and all its inhabitants, it was always in service of the mission. Even as a man of few words, John still manages to convey a range of emotions, particularly for his fellow Marines. However, there are only a handful of moments where John’s personality has been given a chance to come to the surface. His longtime AI companion Cortana has been the only thing in the entire series to cause the Master Chief to stray off course and defy the orders given to him but even then, it wasn’t long before he returned to active duty. Master Chief may be the ultimate warrior but throughout his career, he has always consistently remained the savior of humanity and has not been given much room to grow beyond his relationship with Cortana. Kratos is a character we didn’t imagine could have so much emotional depth. The addition of Atreus opened up his character in ways we didn’t expect and forced Kratos and the player to re-evaluate their actions all in the pursuit of revenge. Kratos easily takes the final round. Winner: Kratos - 3 / Master Chief - 2 In the battle of the console icons, even despite both combatants performing admirably, Kratos comes out on top with a narrow victory of 3-2.
