In the 2000s, there was a range of fantasy young adult books that took over the world. Harry Potter, Narnia, and Percy Jackson were the most talked about series among book lovers of a certain age, as well as lovers of different worlds and fantasy. They were the big three, but there was also the Hunger Games, that wasn’t quite fantasy as much as it was dystopian literature, still transporting the reader to a different world unlike what Earth is like right now. Since they became popular, millions of copies sold within the nation, as well as international sales, and they quickly became adapted into movies. The movies brought in a whole new wave of fans for the series, people who didn’t get around to reading the books now having the chance to experience what they’ve been missing out on.
In the case of Harry Potter and Percy Jackson, the former has the most successful movie franchise between the two series. When the Percy Jackson movies came out, fans were shocked and disappointed with how much they strayed from the books, how much they left out, and how badly the characters were changed throughout the two movies that were released. Looper states that Rick Riordan didn’t support the script that was made for the first movie, but his advice was ignored, thus leading to the downfall of what was supposed to be the next Harry Potter. For the past few weeks on Twitter, fans of the two franchises have been discussing who would win in a fight, Harry Potter or Percy Jackson?
Both the Chosen One
Warner Bros
Harry Potter is quite literally the chosen one, and he has the scar to prove it, but for Percy, it’s not so obvious for the young hero. They both have plenty of similarities, like never really getting to catch a break and live their life they way they wish, but they also have a destiny to save their worlds from complete destruction. Harry is a wizard who relies on his wand to do all the fighting for him, and Percy can control any sort of water source just by using his body by being the son of Poseidon. ElliotMag states that the two have so many similarities that comparing them could take forever, but Riordan does a better job at making this fantasy world more realistic than Rowling did.
As the chosen one, Harry has a handful of villains to face as he grows up, but the singular big bad for him, is Voldemort. It’s like he has to face the final boss after years of building up to it and doing side quests, watching his two best friends fall in love and losing loved ones along the way. For Percy, it’s relatively the same thing, but his big bad is Kronos (and also Luke) whom he finally gets to face in The Last Olympian. However, it could be argued that Percy goes through more tragic events, constantly being hunted down by monsters; constantly having his life hanging n the balance of Gods fighting over him and with him, and being betrayed by several people he thought he could trust. Comparing Voldemort to a Greek God is almost laughable, since there are 12 different powerful beings with extremely different powers, compared to one powerful evil wizard.
Olympians Vs Wizards
Disney+
Last week was very exciting for fans of Percy Jackson; the trailer for the new Disney+ show was released, and it essentially sparked the argument on Twitter about Potter and Jackson. So who would win in a fight? It would be hard to imagine the two teen heroes ever having to fight against each other. And it might be easy to think that Harry could easily win since he knows so many spells; however, that’s not really the case. Harry relies mostly on his wand (which could break, or he could lose it) and his smarts, while Percy quite literally has the power of water on his side. Jackson also has trained for war, close combat, and several weapons for any sort of situation he might find himself in.
Comparing an Olympian demigod and a wizard for a fight is a recipe for disaster, essentially setting up one character for death while the other has an easy win. Sure, Potter could utter the spell for immediate death, but what happens when in the middle of that, Percy sends a tsunami his way? Harry wouldn’t stand a chance. Even thinking of powerful wizards such as Snape or Dumbledore, going against a God such as Zeus or even Ares would be a wrap. It’d be over before it even started. Fans on Twitter have been trying to defend the idea that Harry would win over Percy, but when it comes down to it, it simply doesn’t make sense. A few fans in favor of Percy winning hilariously make the comment that Jackson was born and raised in New York City, so even if you take away both of their powers, Potter is still losing a fight and Jackson is coming out as the victor.
