While fans were eagerly awaiting the release of the Disney+ series Percy Jackson and the Olympians in 2024, they were surprised to hear that Rick Riordan is revisiting the series. A new novel, Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Chalice of the Gods, is set for a September 26th release.The announcement has sent hordes of fans into overdrive, as they revisit the original series in preparation for the release. In the process, those fans have been making some pretty hilarious tweets that can perfectly sum up the entire Percy Jackson series.
It Features A Cast Of Unlikely Underdogs
The entire cast of Percy Jackson is composed of utter underdogs. While some intentionally painted themselves as underdogs, like Jason, Percy Jackson was on the bottom of the rung from the start, making his ascent utterly unbelievable to Camp Half-Blood.
Percy Jackson can be summed up as a character who never expected to matter to the camp, which is why it makes so much sense that Clarisse would immediately start picking on him. Confused kids are easy to toy with, and Percy was incredibly confused at the start.
The Incredible Titles
The Percy Jackson books are filled with hilarious chapter titles. Titles like "I Accidently Vaporize My Pre-Algebra Teacher," "A God Buys Us Cheeseburgers," or "I Wrestle Santa’s Evil Twin" are captivating and offer a pretty nice contrast to The Titan's Curse or The Sea of Monsters.
It shows the juxtaposition within the series. While it features iconic and dark Percy Jackson moments, it also has moments of levity that keep fans from being too bogged down by the tragedy of the series. Instead, it lets them focus on the light.
The Absurd Villains
In Percy Jackson, the gods are not friendly or benevolent figures. Instead, they look at children like Percy and immediately decide to make their lives as difficult as possible. Ares, more than anyone else, delighted in tormenting and nearly killing Percy.
It shows just how much the half-bloods were on their own. Faced against villains like Medusa or Ares at 12 years old, they really had to struggle to stay alive. After all, with Ares fighting children, it was impossible not to grow up fast.
The Horrible Parenting
The godly parents in Percy Jackson tend to have responsibilities beyond their children. One thing that fans need to know about Camp Half-Blood is that most of the demigods originally were never even claimed by their godly parent, leaving them listless.
So, while Percy had a slight relationship with Poseidon, it wasn't a strong one. At best, Poseidon would pretend to care, while Percy desperately tried to get support in his various quests.
Gods Having To Deal With The Whims Of Child Heroes
Yet, while gods might have cared little for their offspring, Percy was never going to let that go without a fight. When he was offered one boon, he took it. Instead, he ordered all godly parents to at least make some effort to help their children by claiming them.
It made a major struggle for Poseidon and the other gods, who finally had to pay attention to their kids. While it was the bare minimum that they could do, that doesn't mean that Poseidon and Zeus were perfectly happy about wrangling the gods to do their jobs as parents.
Zeus' Treatment Of A Child
The gods rarely tended to pay attention to the fact that Percy and the other demigods were quite literally children. Despite the fact that Percy had no way of even knowing that the gods existed, he was thrust in a conflict between immortals as a 12-year-old.
While the stakes were life-and-death for Percy, the situation was objectively hilarious, given how ridiculous it was for Zeus to blame Percy. As little more than a little boy, there was no way that Percy could have snuck into Olympus, let alone stolen the lightning bolt.
Heroes Should Never Be Left Alone
Given everything that Percy went through, there was no way that he would be comfortable being one-on-one with a teacher. After all, Percy was paranoid for a reason, and with every monster in the world looking to hunt him down, it was right to be worried.
A tip for those just beginning the Percy Jackson series is that whenever Percy is alone with someone, something will go horribly wrong. His life is a chaotic mess, and he knows it and has learned to just go with the flow. So, if a teacher pulls him aside, Percy expects the world to explode.
A Brilliant Love Story
When given the chance at immortality, most people would claim it or else reject it out of a sense of practicality. After all, who wants to live forever? Yet, when Percy Jackson denied the gift of immortality, it wasn't a practical decision. Instead, he did it for love.
After defeating Kronos, Percy decided that he would rather live one lifetime with Annabeth than an eternity without her. It was especially touching, since they hadn't even started dating yet. He just knew that he loved her and wouldn't live alone.
They Stopped Caring About Gods
Percy Jackson has some brilliant characters, and every single one of them is past the point of caring about propriety. After so much tragedy and so many quests, every single one of them is simply tired of dealing with the gods or their fellow demigods.
Percy, especially, has come to find the gods particularly unimpressive. So, if they ever request a meeting with him, he tends to accept, but that doesn't mean that he'll fully comply. Usually, he'll try to find some tricks to get around their orders anyway.
The Demigods Never Had A Chance
It was pretty ridiculous that Zeus despised Percy as much as he did. After all, Percy was little more than a boy trying to survive against an endless barrage of monsters. For Zeus to accuse him and hate him was as ridiculous as the gods expecting Percy to accept a lonely immortality.
As @nocontextpjo highlights, Percy came into the story in The Lightning Thief with no way of knowing that the gods even existed. That he survived at all was impressive, especially with so many people out for his head.