Modi: Thor's second son, killed by Atreus

Modi, also known as Modi Thorson, was the Norse God of Courage and Wrath, the son of Thor and Sif and grandson of Odin. The younger half-brother of Magni and older brother of Thrud, he spent his life in the shadow of his more favored brother. Together with Magni he followed his uncle Baldur in the hunt for Kratos and Atreus. (God of War (2018); God of War Ragnarök)

Life in his brother's shadow#

Modi was the son of Thor and Sif, raised alongside his half-brother Magni in the harsh household of the Aesir, where discipline was beaten into the children. As boys the two listened to stories by the fire and played with carved wooden horses, but Modi's life was defined by his rivalry with Magni. When the brothers, still children, freed their father from beneath the corpse of the stone giant Hrungnir, only Magni was credited, simply because he was noticed first as the blonder of the two. Left without praise, Modi grew bitter and resentful. (God of War (2018); God of War Ragnarök)

Growing up regarded as little more than Thor's second son, Modi developed an inferiority complex from living in Magni's shadow, and he strove to one day outdo his brother and prove himself worthy of inheriting Thor's hammer Mjolnir. During the Aesir-Vanir War, Modi and Magni fought together and killed the Vanir goddess Nerthus. (God of War (2018))

The hunt and Magni's death#

When Baldur's hunt for Kratos and Atreus stalled, Odin sent Magni and Modi to assist. The brothers visited the imprisoned Mimir, who mocked them, and Modi threatened to return and take Mimir's remaining eye. Tracking their enemies to the frozen plain around Thamur's corpse, Modi voiced his distrust of Baldur, noting their uncle had not "seen straight in years," though Magni insisted they trust him because Thor did. (God of War (2018))

When the brothers ambushed Kratos and Atreus, Modi blocked Atreus' escape and took sadistic pleasure in mocking the boy throughout the fight. The battle turned when Kratos killed Magni by burying his axe in the elder brother's face. Horrified and terrified at the death of his half-brother, Modi backed away and, after being struck by several of Atreus' arrows, fled over the cliffside. (God of War (2018))

Death and aftermath#

With Magni gone, Modi realized he would inherit Mjolnir only by default and would be seen as a joke by the Aesir. Refusing this fate, he ambushed Kratos and Atreus at Tyr's Temple, disabling them with a lightning bolt and electrocuting Kratos while taunting Atreus that he would be his "new little brother." When Atreus collapsed into a sudden coma, Kratos overpowered Modi, forcing him to flee once more. (God of War (2018))

Modi fled to Asgard, where Thor, believing he had abandoned Magni to die, beat him within an inch of his life and branded him a coward. Broken in body and spirit, Modi returned to Midgard to redeem himself and confronted Kratos and Atreus inside the mountain, too injured to fight. Kratos saw no reason to kill him, but Atreus, newly arrogant in his godhood and enraged by a final vulgar insult toward his mother Faye, stabbed Modi in the neck and kicked him into a chasm. (God of War (2018))

Modi's death became a major catalyst for Atreus' growing hubris, haunting him with visions in Helheim before ultimately humbling him. Off-screen, his death combined with Magni's to send Thor into a deep depression, and it left Sif with a lasting hatred of Atreus. Long after, Kratos encountered an illusion of Modi in Valhalla and, on defeating it, came to pity the brothers for the abuse and neglect that had left them no chance of becoming decent gods. (God of War (2018); God of War Ragnarök; God of War Ragnarök: Valhalla)