Embedded Files
By Caroline Rhoney and Quinn Blair-Heim
Percy Jackson and Harry Potter are two beloved characters from two amazingly written series, and each has his own individual strengths and weaknesses. However, a common argument between fans of the respective books is deciding which is better. No one can ever seem to agree, and there are points to both sides. So we decided to compare them and finally answer this question. To do this, we picked out four pieces of criteria to compare the two with: Achievements, Powers, Companions, and Characteristics. Please note that we are only comparing the characters based on the first book in their respective series, to keep things equal.
If you haven’t read either or both of the books but are still interested in reading this article, or just haven’t read them in a while, we both wrote short summaries to refresh your memory. If you want to read the books and don’t want to be spoiled, it might be best not to keep reading, as there are direct spoilers below.
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Harry Potter Summary
By Caroline Rhoney
Harry Potter lives with his mean relatives the Dursleys after his parents died at the hands of Voldemort.
On his eleventh birthday, a man named Rubeus Hagrid shows up and tells Harry that he is a wizard. Hagrid shows Harry all that there is to the wizarding world including a magical school called Hogwarts where Harry is now supposed to attend. Hagrid also shows Harry a magical bank where his parents left him a great inheritance and Olivander’s wand shop where he gets his wand for school. Olivander tells Harry that he and Voldemort are connected due to the cores of their wands, which are the same and very rare.
On his train ride to Hogwarts, Harry meets Ron and Hermione who are also starting at Hogwarts. Once they get to Hogwarts, Harry quickly forms a dislike for Draco Malfoy who is a prominent pure-blood wizard. Afterwards is a sorting ceremony where the first years get sorted into one of four houses based on their personalities and talents, Harry, Ron, and Hermione all get sorted into Gryffindor.
Harry's broomstick flying ability earns him a place on the Gryffindor Quidditch team as the Seeker. Harry comes to dislike Potions Master Severus Snape, who favors Slytherin and seeks to fail Harry. Malfoy tricks Harry and Ron into risking expulsion by leaving their common room after curfew. Hermione, unable to stop them, tags along. Realizing Malfoy's ruse, they hide in a forbidden corridor and discover a gigantic three-headed dog guarding a trapdoor. Coupled with Snape's recent leg injury and suspicious behavior, Harry, Ron, and Hermione believe he is attempting to enter the trapdoor.
For Christmas Harry is anonymously gifted his father's invisibility cloak which he uses to find the Mirror of Erised. The mirror reveals whatever you desire most. Harry sees his parents when he views the mirror.
A newspaper article later reveals that the same vault Hagrid brought Harry to was broken into the same day Harry went. The object beneath the trapdoor is shown to be the philosopher's stone which gives the user immortality and can turn any metal into gold. Firenze, a forest centaur, warns Harry that Voldemort is plotting to steal the stone to restore his body.
When Dumbledore is lured from Hogwarts under false pretenses, Harry, Hermione, and Ron fear the theft is imminent and descend through the trapdoor. Multiple different obstacles force Hermione and Ron to stay back so that Harry can continue and catch the suspect. Harry comes across Professor Quirrell who is the defense against the dark arts teacher. Quirrell reveals that it was he who jinxed Harry’s broom and who let the troll into the school, not Snape as the kids had suspected. In fact, Snape was trying to protect Harry. Voldemort has been revealed to be living on the back of Professor Quirrel’s head and is his secret master. Harry is forced to stand before the Mirror of Erised. It recognizes Harry's lack of greed for the stone and deposits it into his pocket. Quirrell attempts to seize the stone, but his flesh burns upon contact with Harry. Harry's scar begins hurting, and he passes out.
Harry wakes up in the school's infirmary. He survived Voldemort because his mother sacrificed her life for him leaving a magical protective charm. Quirrell's hatred and greed caused him to burn upon contact with Harry; Voldemort abandoned him to die. Dumbledore, the headmaster at Hogwarts, tells Harry that he sent him the invisibility cloak and that the philosopher’s stone had been keeping Nicolas Flamel alive. Finally, it has been destroyed with the creators wanting for it to never be stolen. During the end-of-year feast, Gryffindor wins the House Cup. Harry then returns to the Dursleys' house until the next school year.
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Percy Jackson Summary
By Quinn Blair-Heim
Percy Jackson lives in New York City with his mother Sally, and step-father Gabe. He is twelve years old and has dyslexia and ADHD.
While he is on a school field trip to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, his math teacher, Mrs. Dodds, transforms into a monster called a fury and attacks him. He is saved by his teacher, Mr. Brunner, who gives him a pen that transforms into a sword when uncapped, and returns to his pocket if it’s ever lost. Percy is later expelled from the school when his best friend, Grover, claims he pushed a fellow student named Nancy Bobofit into a fountain.
When his mom finds out, she takes him to a beach house on Long Island and reveals that his father, who he’s never met, is actually a god, and that Percy is a demi-god. Grover arrives, revealing that he is a satyr, a half human half goat, and that there is a Minotaur coming to attack Percy. His mother takes them to Camp Half-Blood, a summer camp for demi-gods, and sacrifices herself to save Percy, disappearing in a burst of light.
Percy kills the Minotaur and is knocked out. When he wakes up, he meets two other campers, named Luke and Annabeth. He also meets Dionysus, or Mr. D, the camp director, and Mr. Brunner shows up, revealing himself as Chiron.
During a game of capture the flag, the camp is attacked by a hellhound, and after defeating it, Percy is claimed by his father, Poseidon, god of the sea. Chiron explains to Percy how the three brothers, Poseidon, Zeus, and Hades, swore an oath not to have children because they were too powerful. Percy's birth was a violation of this oath. He is the second violation, as the first was Thalia, daughter of Zeus, who was killed by monsters sent by Hades.
Percy is then sent on a quest to retrieve Zeus’s master lightning bolt, which was stolen by “the lightning thief,” and stop a war between the gods. Percy brings Annabeth and Grover with him, along with Chiron’s sword, Riptide, and magic flying sneakers given to him by Luke.
On the way to Los Angeles to find and confront Hades, who they suspect stole the lightning bolt, they are attacked by the Furies, Medusa, Echidna, and the Chimera. They also encounter Ares, the god of war, who gives them a backpack full of supplies and safe transportation to Las Vegas in exchange for retrieving his shield. They are trapped for multiple days in the Lotus Casino, a place where time goes slower than in the real world.
When they finally escape, Percy and his friends arrive in the Underworld. On the way past Tartarus, Grover is almost dragged into the pit by Luke’s shoes. Hades reveals that the Helm of Darkness has also been stolen and accuses Percy and threatens to kill Sally, who he has been holding captive this whole time. Percy manages to escape the Underworld, leaving Sally behind.
He finds the lightning bolt in the backpack gifted to him by Ares and realizes Ares tricked him. Percy fights Ares and wins, returning the Helm of Darkness to Hades, who then releases his mother from the Underworld. Percy then takes the master bolt back to Zeus on Mount Olympus and also meets his father Poseidon.
Percy returns to Camp Half-Blood as a hero and enjoys the rest of his summer with no more problems, having completed his quest. However, on the last day of summer, he goes into the woods with Luke, who reveals himself to be the lightning thief. He was working with Kronos, who manipulated Ares into helping him by promising him power. Luke explains that the gods are too irresponsible and are poor leaders who need to be overthrown. He gives Percy the chance to join him, but when Percy refuses, Luke tries to kill him with a scorpion, which stings Percy and causes him to faint.
Luke disappears, and Percy is given the chance to either stay at camp for the rest of the year or go home to Sally when he wakes up. He chooses to go with his mother, and Annabeth and Grover also leave camp.
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Now that you can remember what happened in the books, let’s move on to actually comparing the two characters. Now, both characters are in two entirely different worlds, so making them both completely equal is impossible, but we tried to make things as fair as we could.
Powers:
Percy - Hydrokinesis, the power to manipulate water, he can dry anything wet almost instantly, turn water into solid objects that he can grab hold of, create air bubbles, and swim incredibly fast. Water doesn't harm him, so he doesn't have to worry about extreme water pressure hurting him. He can also breathe underwater.
Harry - Quidditch prodigy, Defense Against the Dark Arts prodigy, his connection to his wand, the connection of his wand to Voldemort’s wand gives him an advantage when fighting, his ability to speak parseltongue, the invisibility cloak, his mother's protection.
Companions:
Percy - Annabeth Chase, daughter of Athena, and Grover Underwood, satyr and “son” of Pan.
Harry - Ronald Weasly, pure-blood wizard, and Hermione Granger, muggle-born witch
Achievements:
Percy - Retrieved Zeus’s lightning bolt, beat Ares the God of War in a one-on-one battle, defeated monsters such as the Furies, the Minotaur, the Chimera, Echidna, a hellhound, and Medusa.
Harry - Survived Voldemort twice, won the House Cup, won multiple Quidditch games by catching the golden snitch, and defeated a troll.
Characteristics:
Percy - Loyal, Brave, Intelligent, Selfless, and Thoughtful
Harry - Loyal, Brave, Kind, Funny, Stubborn, and Determined
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What do you think? If you had to pick, then who do you think is better?
Percy Jackson vs. Harry Potter
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