Surtr: the fire giant who became Ragnarok

Surtr, also called Surt, was the first and last fire giant and the second being born into the Norse cosmos. Ruler of Muspelheim and lord of the fire giants, he was destined to become Ragnarök itself, the living shape of the apocalypse, and to destroy Asgard while sparing the other realms. He gave his life to fulfil that purpose, aided in the end by Kratos and Atreus. (God of War (2018); God of War Ragnarök)

Born at the dawn of the cosmos#

Surtr was born from Ginnungagap shortly after Ymir, the second being to exist. From Muspelheim he brought heat into the young cosmos, and from his primordial flames he made the sun and the stars. In time he encountered a frost giant named Sinmara; the two were hostile at first, but driven to fight common enemies together, they fell in love and married. Before raising the walls of Asgard, the builder Hrimthur confided to Surtr that the wall would hold a hidden flaw, one that could be exploited to bring it down when Ragnarök came. (God of War (2018); God of War Ragnarök)

The doom of Ragnarök#

Surtr and Sinmara learned of the prophecy that foretold their fate: that the two of them would combine into a monstrous giant to destroy Asgard with a mighty sword, and that the act would kill them both. Distressed, Surtr parted from Sinmara to protect her, and the two exchanged hearts so that each would always carry a piece of the other. Weakened by Sinmara's frozen heart within his chest, and disillusioned with the role he was meant to play, he chose to avoid Ragnarök altogether. For eons he laboured to forge a sword of flame capable of destroying Asgard, hoping to fulfil his purpose without involving his love, but none of the countless blades he made could withstand his power. He never rested, and he waited alone in Muspelheim for the day he would serve a cycle far greater than himself. (God of War Ragnarök; God of War (2018))

The meeting in Muspelheim#

When Atreus and Angrboda found Surtr's shrine in Muspelheim, they learned the true story of the fire giant and his destiny. Later, after the dwarf Brok was murdered and Freya resolved to set Ragnarök in motion, Kratos and Atreus came to Surtr's forge to seek his aid. They found him forging a sword among thousands he had already made, and he tried to drive them off, hurling them back with a wave of his hand and sending Draugr and Soul Eaters against them. When they reached him, Surtr refused, warning that they would die and that he could not allow Sinmara to be sacrificed, though he agreed that Odin deserved to die. (God of War Ragnarök)

He relented only when he noticed the Blades of Chaos. Sensing the primordial fire within them, he told the pair that by combining the blades with Sinmara's frozen heart he could transform into Ragnarök without sacrificing her. He led them to the Spark of the World, where the primordial realms meet, shifting his body into a glowing orb to travel faster. When Atreus asked what would become of him, Surtr admitted he was unsure, only that he would no longer be himself. Asked what the beginning of all things had been like, the fire giant recalled it bitterly with a single word: loud. He made Kratos and Atreus promise to keep away from Sinmara and not tell her what was happening, judging that her ignorance would spare her greater pain. (God of War Ragnarök)

Becoming Ragnarök#

At the end of the path, knowing his time had come, Surtr drew forth primordial magic and imbued it into the Blades of Chaos, a process that pained both him and Kratos. He then instructed Kratos to drive the blades into Sinmara's frozen heart. The act caused Surtr immense agony and began his transformation, and he fell from the edge of the path, sacrificing himself. As he changed, Kratos and Atreus were ambushed by the Valkyrie sisters Hrist and Mist, sent by Odin; once they were slain, the fully transformed Ragnarök made himself known in a thundering voice, declaring that he awaited the call to battle. (God of War Ragnarök)

During the final assault on Asgard, Ragnarök emerged and was met by dwarven war machines fuelled by Bifrost energy, which Sindri swiftly destroyed, letting him advance with his sword. As the people of Midgard were forced to fight for Odin, Freya and Freyr slowed Ragnarök by distracting and reasoning with him to buy time for the innocents to flee. After Odin's death, Ragnarök drove his sword into the heart of Asgard. Freyr held him off long enough for the others to escape, sacrificing himself, and Asgard was destroyed in a vast explosion that killed Ragnarök as well, fulfilling the prophecy at last. (God of War Ragnarök)

A reflection of Kratos#

Surtr was described by Mimir as dogmatic, selfless, and patient, willing to walk the path foretold for him so that the cycle of death and rebirth might continue, even knowing it would end in his own death. Yet when Kratos and Atreus met him, that resolve had faltered, worn down by his love for Sinmara and his wish to spare her. In this he mirrored Kratos: both were the ones most capable of bringing down Asgard, and both were reluctant out of fear of sacrificing one they loved. After he became Ragnarök, Surtr lost his reason, fixed only on obliterating Asgard whatever the cost. As the original and first of the fire giants, his power over flame was immense; with a touch he could melt iron to slag, and his blows as Ragnarök shook the whole of the battlefield and tore great stretches from Asgard's walls. (God of War (2018); God of War Ragnarök)