Top 10 Best Rick Riordan Characters

The Top Ten
1 Percy Jackson Perseus "Percy" Jackson is a fictional character, the title character and narrator of Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson & the Olympians series.

Percy has been with us since the very beginning. He is sassy and can always make anyone laugh. He is super loyal to his friends and the poor thing has been through so much. I think physically, Percy has been through the most and mentally, either Leo or Nico has.

I cannot even begin to say how much of a great character he is. He has sacrificed so many times and would literally lay his life for another person even if he might die, unlike Leo who only sacrificed himself because he had a potion from the god of healing. He has defeated many gods and goddesses such as ARES the god of WAR at the age of 12 even if he barely trained for many years at camp half blood. He has been on so many quests and leaded a war against Kronos and WON. He was offered immortality but refused, showing a noble character he is. He refused it so that many demigods and minor god and goddesses can be treated right. He has done good things despite being treated horrible such as in the sea of monsters when he literally was able to find Golden Fleece but took no credit and many campers ignored him. But Percy did not care and was only happy he came back alive. I can go on and on but he has done to many things to right all of it down. The best demigod there ever was, with such a ...more

Percy is definitely the best. He is so funny and sarcastic it really gives me a good laugh. His story is so amazing to me I love his stupid battle plans and I love his fighting skills. He is so brave and cares about his friends more then anything and does not give up when hope is lost. I also love Percy because he is so loyal like when Atlas took Annabeth and Artemis Percy held the sky for Artemis and got Annabeth out safely. What's not to like he's all around the best.

Being a BADASS son of Poseidon, he is bound to be loved by everybody. In the Last Olympian, Athena informed him that his greatest fatal flaw is excessive loyalty- he can even sacrifice the entire world to save his friends or a stranger, this is why he appears no. 1 in the series. YOU ROCK, PERSEUS!

2 Leo Valdez Leo Valdez is a major character from the book series Heroes of Olympus by Rick Riordan. He is one of the seven heroes in the Prophecy of Seven. He is a Greek demigod and is the son of Hephaestus / Vulcan, and has the ability to create and manipulate fire (pyrokinesis).

It's Leo. To not like him is like not liking Rick Riordan books themselves. Leo is, like many great AMAZING people have said, one of the greatest literary characters of ALL TIME. That means out of everything, ever. He is simply AMAZING and Heroes of Olympus wouldn't be Heroes of Olympus without him. He's the perfect mix of personality traits and pure amazingness.

Perhaps one of the most relatable characters ever written, if slightly exaggerated from time to time, Leo Valdez. He embodies what almost every teenager has felt at some point - out of place, out of their depth, useless, as if they will never fit in. But what makes him so appealing? I mean, I'm sure there are plenty of other characters out there that have the same problems of him (insecurity, loneliness, so on, so forth). But what makes him unique? The humor. "Humor was a good way to hide the pain." Sounds edgy, right? But I'd say that this makes him the perfect comfort character. Someone anyone can look up to, put their selves in his shoes, all of that. Humor is a huge part of our happiness. Directly linked, no denying it. So, not only is Leo a perfect embodiment of emotions that everyone has felt at some point or another, he has the ability to make us laugh. I remember giggling at his lines every once in awhile. We can sympathize with him, relate to him, understand him. He is one of ...more

Leo is Leo. Without him, the Heroes of Olympus would be nothing like they are now. He is super funny, even if it is at the expense of Frank. And being the son of Hephaestus, he is SUPER smart. He has been through so much and is still able to crack jokes. Even if he does act dumb sometimes, one thing he did get right…
All da ladies love Leo!

Honestly, Percy honestly is a good character, but he never had to go through what Leo did. Even though Percy thought about sacrificing himself, Leo actually did it (and came back). Sure, Percy has powers over the sea, but that's common for sons of Poseidon - fire powers are rare, plus, Leo is awesome at mechanical stuff! Percy doesn't have that skill. And despite all his awesomeness, Leo had to endure even more pain, watching everyone with their girlfriends and boyfriends. He was single, and when he did find a girlfriend, she was literally supposed to fall in love with every boy she sees (and she even hated him at first! ). Leo is just so awesome like that.

3 Annabeth Chase Annabeth Chase is a daughter of Athena and one of the main characters of both the Percy Jackson & the Olympians series and the Heroes of Olympus series. She's also Percy Jackson's girlfriend and has no particular powers aside from her brains and tactics.

Poor Annabeth's backstory is so underrated. I actually think it's a lot like Leo's. Leo was called the devil by his aunt. Annabeth was called a freak by her parents. Leo's family didn't want him. Neither did Annabeth's. Leo ran away at a young age. Annabeth ran away at 7 AND was hunted down by monsters. Leo's aunt blames him for his mothers death, Hermes blamed Annabeth for Luke's death. Annabeth had been everyone's second choice until Percy came along, and chose her over immortality. She even mentioned Camp Half-blood was like an orphanage for her, she would make a friend, that friend would end up leaving her or dying. So many of her friends have also betrayed her. PLUS she was the only one of the seven without powers, and the smartest.

Annabeth Chase has saved Percy's life so many times. She ran away and battled monsters when she was 7. She survived Tartarus and defeated Arcane with no weapon and broken leg. She still believed there was good in Luke after all the things he'd done and she was right at the very end. She is the architect of Mount Olympus. She's smart,caring, kind, brave,etc. She is my all time favorite character of all time. Go wise girl!

Annabeth is awesome. Some people say she abusive (what?!) to Percy which makes no sense. They say she thinks he is dumb but Annabeth is completely aware that Percy is smart. They also say she is physically abusive because she judo flipped him. Demigods are strong. Are they saying Percy isn't tough enough to handle it? Annabeth is the best character by far.

Annabeth isn't overpowered at all, which makes her an amazing character. She is smart, witty, fierce, and really deserves a break from big quests.

4 Coach Gleeson Hedge

He needs to be higher cupcake...

My favourite quote from any riordan books is "Hey I like peace as much as the next satyr". And who says that...Gleeson does. But Valdez tops it off with "You hate peace". So funny lol

5 Grover Underwood

Why is grover last grover is one of the best ( in my opinion grove is number 4) grover is funny, smart, and a great friend to the demigods. Go to the fields of punishment if you don't like Grover Underwood

Bruh, I stopped reading Rick Riordan about a year ago and I came back here while doing a book project. How dare you put Grover at 10, He at least deserves a 5!

Wow. A character that is not full of themselves. A rarity amongst Percy Jackson characters.

How is he this low you guys, GROVER ROCKS! He is like the animal-rights activist of the group

6 Sadie Kane

Sadie Kane is hilarious and a good friend to Zia, Bast and Annabeth. ( Demigods and Magicians) She is super powerful and the greatest sister to Carter.

I mean she's a good character, but... I don't know some characters below her like carter and frank not to mention JASON are stronger than her! Percy is da best without a doubt though!

Sweet, funny, smart, quick-thinking and a TOTAL BADASS! She's also a strong and independent girl, sassy and quirky. One of my favorite characters in Riordan's books.

She's not afraid to speak her mind and she's able to cope with the fact that she has a double boyfriend which can be hard to deal with for us girls.

7 Nico di Angelo Nico di Angelo is a fictional character created by Rick Riordan. He appears in Percy Jackson & The Olympians, Hero of Olympus, and parts of Trials of Apollo. As a son of Hades, the boy is a demigod. He befriended Percy and had many roles in his long time appearance including stopping Minos, fighting Titans, traveling back and forth camps and during the war with Gaea he had to transport the Athena Parthenon to Camp. In the beginning, Nico was shy and scared. He had lost his mom and sister, and he couldn't trust anyone. Overtime, Nico became respected from feared and shy to confident.

Nico's sexuality was super important for me growing up. Like with many of Riordan's other characters, Nico gave me a positive view of something that I struggled with. Especially since many of the people around me were homophobic. As a character he's cool outside of that of course and I fell in love with him, he was always super relatable and cool to me even before I read House of Hades. Admittedly, I was admittedly a little emo when I read the series, and obviously thought death was cool as hell. Overall, I'm super thankful to Riordan for including a character that I love as much as Nico.

Nico's dedication to save the world and promise Percy even if he didn't end up with Percy is really self-disciplinary. He also kept quiet about the two camps, Camp Half Blood and Camp Jupiter. He was probably the first demigod to know about Juno's plan, as he doesn't admit he knows Percy in the Son Of Neptune. I was really happy to see Nico and Will together in The Hidden Oracle

Nico isn't as overpowered as Percy. He suffered the most, from losing his mom to losing his sister from being cast out. He also gets captured by giants and has to walk Tartarus alone. Nico's legendary and his relationship with Will is very cute.

I love Nico! He's pretty relatable, okay maybe not what he's had to deal with, but his personality is totally! I feel like he is me in book form. My other pick would be Sadie Kane, but I can relate to Nico a bit more than Sadie.

8 Frank Zhang

"If I'm going to burn, it might as well be bright,"
that line changed how I saw Frank. I always liked him, but he was a little bland, but he sacrificed himself and kinda died in ToA, and now I love him.

Frank reminds me of myself. He's a clutz, is very sweet, and in the end sacrifices for what is good.

He can literally be any animal or mythological creature! Need I say more
Also his story is not easy
His mom died
He had to leave his grandma
The god he hated turned out to be his dad
He was placed in fifth cohort
He was made fun of for being a bit chubby
He has his life tied to a burned stub
Hazel almost left him for leo

9 Thalia Grace

Thalia is such an amazing person. She was even a female main character in the titans curse. She was an important older sister figure in both Annabeth and Jason's life and went from being a tree to the leader of the Hunters of Artemis!

Thalia is cool and punky. She is actually a hunter who deserves the role.
Thalia's a caring sister to Jason and a kind friend to Annabeth. She is a literal legend.

Thalia is Thalia. Get it? She's a huntress and still helps everyone no matter their gender, tho she isn't a fan of Leo...

She's cool. Kinda wish she was in it more but she's still cool.

10 Magnus Chase

Magnus Chase was a refreshing new protagonist in Riordan's, he's powerful in his own way, since he is the ONLY main character that isn't accually good at direct fighting, he still gets by with his witts and with help of his friends, because he is also a great friend. Usually in any fantastic fiction story the healer is not that relevant to the story, but Magnus Chase takes command and his own story. You want to talk power? he is the son of one of the most powerful Vanyrs and wield Jacques. Want talk about sad story? The kid was literally homeless, and still irradiates ligth. Even if you want a good LGBTQ+ rep, he is a least bi, he's not afraid to follow his heart despite the person he's chasing's gender. He is fierce, but definitely not fearless, he didn't even give up after he was dead, all that makes him original, refreshing and awesome. Percy Jackson is still my favorite series but Magnus is my favorite character.

Definitely a brilliant and refreshingly original new character - not as popular as percy, yet, but perce has had many more books to get into the fangirls. Magnus's new book will hopefully put him higher up, when it comes out! (Wish I hade two votes so I could vote for Leo - my other favorite character! )

Magnus is literally one of the few people who aren't excellent at the sword. He wins by his own ways, from being a healer instead of a fighter and defeating Loki with nothing but compliments. He deserves #6 or #4.

Magnus Chase is one of the best protagonists and Alex Fierro should be thanking the gods for getting him.

The Contenders
11 Hazel Levesque

Hazel is so sweet and accepting and is friends with everyone on the Argo II. Anyone hurt her, and Nico will be out for blood. Her backstory is also really sad.

Don't forget she's only 13 when hoo started. That's like, 2 years younger than anyone else. Plus, her powers are really useful.

Brave, has a creepy past but still strong, and one of the ONLY ones that Nico is comfortable with.

Her past is crappy but I love her and she is such a sweet badass.

12 Alex Fierro

I love Alex. I've grown out of the target audience for the books, but it makes me happy to see characters similar to me in literature. I would have loved to see more humanized trans characters in books growing up, and characters like Alex give me even more hope for the future generations.

I just absolutely LOVE Alex! She/ He is so strong and such an amazing character. She/ He is the first Gender fluid/ trans person I've ever read about in a book and I just think that she/He wasn't just forced into the book just because Rick wanted a bit more diversity, but that she/he just so happened to be part of the LGBTQ+ community and I just love the way that Rick wrote her/him. She/He is probably my favourite character out of all the books I've read (and trust me, that's a lot )

Alright. If I'm the only one here who read Hammer of Thor, u should know that Alex didn't have a death in her (his) family, yet had an abusive one, especially since her mother (Loki) only made it worse by opening their eyes to the Norse mythic world. Also anyone who can resist Loki's control to kill her is awesome. She deserves more credit than Piper and Walt and whole ton of others. Also, when Thor AND Halfborn Gunderson said that she/he was unmanly, she/he showed them that they were wrong. She is way more underrated than wut u might think.

Alex is the most dynamic and interesting character rick riordan has ever made and we still know very little about her, we know enough to give us a picture of what she is but she's still shrouded in mystery. And I used she/her...oh well

13 Reyna Avila Ramirez-Arellano

Reyna is such a strong person who never gave up. She was the best big sister to Nico and never gave up. I hope she found happiness with the hunters of Artemis and the scene were Apollo asked to be her boyfriend and she laughed in his face really showed her character growth, because before she would have grappled at any opportunity to get a boyfriend.

Out of all of them, she endured the most and yet still stays the strongest. Reyna's had her heart broken so many times, but she still manages to persevere despite the challenges that she faces. Jason, who had been a close friend to her for so long, left her for a girl who's memories of him were fake. She's such a queen, and deserves so much better. Long live Reyna.

Hell why is she so low? She had her whole childhood taken away from her, had to kill her own father, separated from her sister and got rejected by jason YET she kept on putting the legion first ignoring her broken life REYNA FOR THE WIN

Reyna is the bravest girl character, in my opinion. She had to kill her father in order to protect her and her older sister and accepted the fact that she wasn't going to end up with anybody.

14 Jason Grace Jason Grace was the Roman demigod son of Jupiter (Roman God of the Sky) and the late actress Beryl Grace, the younger brother of Thalia Grace (whom Beryl had with Jupiter's Greek form Zeus), the former co-praetor of Camp Jupiter, the Counsellor of Cabin 1 at Camp Half-Blood, the former boyfriend of ...read more.

Honestly guys..Jason out of the top 10! YOU Gotta be kidding me..He is the joint strongest demigod in the series(Along with Percy).. Born to be a leader..His leading and military skills are second to one...Even when he was dying he saved his friends...And guys don't forget the fact that he saved Percy in the ocean...His wind manipulating and lightning powers just make him stronger...So In my opinion he's the best demigod there is!

The person who said he didn't die for his friends... he literally decided to die in Piper's place and saved Meg and Apollo's lives in the process tf. They also said Leo died for his friends - he died to defeat Gaia. So actually, your comment should be reversed xx

He is kinda annoying sometimes. Yes, true, but why does everyone hates him? You know even Percy is kinda annoying. Jason sacrifices himself, and he is also courageous & brave!

He was ready for anything. He sacrificed himself to save their lives, otherwise Apollo and Piper would've been dead by now.

15 Piper McLean Piper McLean is a fictional character created by Rick Riordan in The Heroes of Olympus series. She is one of the Seven of the prophecy and is the daughter of Aphrodite.

Why does she get hate for thinking about Jason a lot in the first book because she found out that all her memories of him were fake, but Leo gets no hate for all that 'Calypso this Calypso that' in BoO? And obviously Percy NEVER thinks about Annabeth all the time, and it's obviously not perfectly normal to think about your loved one.

I hate all the hate surrounding her. People are somehow so jealous of her even though she has lots of faults and somehow, on the worst and most annoying Rick Riordan characters lists, she was number one by a lot, well above Octavian and Drew and all the other sucktastic characters. Why?

She is the only one who can control Jason. Although she broke up with his boyfriend and has her father stranded, she is still strong, and unbreakable.

I love Piper. All the hate she gets is stupid, she's a great character and I have tons of reasons why she rocks.

16 Apollo

The character development here is amazing. I mean, he is the most stuck-up and selfish god when he first appears (in Titan's Curse), and then in Tower of Nero, he goes and takes on one of the most powerful entities in the world by himself (and wins!). It would have been good to see him end up pulling a percy and rejecting immortality but that would have been pretty predictable. The last few pages of TON are absolutely ASDFGHJKL and if you compare them to Apollo in TTC or THO, he's a completely different character. That's what I love most about Apollo, I mean he has some great comedic lines and his banter with The Arrow of Dodona is second only to that of Magnus and Jack but the growth he goes through... words can't describe it.

Seeing his character growth from selfish jerk, to one of the few gods who really connect with mortals .ade for a fun and interesting story. It also doesn't seem forced, he is still largely self centered by the end of his series but he has much more care for the people around him.

I think Apollo has great potential and has a unique point of view that the other demigods lack - given that he isn't a demigod.

He might be arrogant and somewhat selfish but he still cares about his friends. (Trials of Apollo)

17 Hearthstone

Really this guy had to suffer so much go through so much pain. Abusive parents, the death of his brother, running away from home, the thing with rune magic, returning back to the site of his childhood trauma and claiming the inheritance rune. He at least deserves 5th place.
P.S: I ship with Blitzen

I love him so much! Hearthstone has been through so much, but he always stayed strong. He's my favorite character in the Magnus Chase series!

He might go unnoticed, but he makes sarcastic remarks so much.

A deaf rune badass elf!

18 Rachel Elizabeth Dare

Ok, I didn't vote her because I think she is the best but because she deserves to be higher. She is brave, kind, artistic and fierce and I love when you have characters who are regular people but still play a part in some fantasy/myth story. Plus she hit Kronos in the eye with a plastic hairbrush.

Okay I understand that she likes Percy. (I love PERCABETH) But she's a good character, in the lost hero she was crying when she though she killed Piper. I still like her.Plus she hit a titan in the eye with a hair brush, pretty awesome if you ask me. Maybe I just like her because I'm a red head too, but whatever

Rachel is so cool and plain, except for the fact that she is an ORACLE. She is unbelievably strong for a mortal!

Blue plastic hairbrush. All I need to say

19 Blackjack

Why so low? Blackjack is the ultimate companion. I mean, "You got it boss," is like my favorite line!

Best guy to call to meet the wine dude.

Super loyal to Percy

20 Carter Kane

He is way smarter than everybody else except annabeth. Plus, he has heightened abilities thanks to horus and can match percy in power.

Underrated protagonist. One of the best.

My absolute favorite.

21 Will Solace

Will is great for nico.

22 Luke Castellan

I think Luke Castellan deserves higher on this list; he may have been the antagonist in the series, but he changed and saved Olympus in the end. He is a character with a lot of depths, and the best thing about him is that he truly believed in his cause, even though he paid the ultimate price. Percy Jackson was not the hero, Luke was.

Luke is one of the best characters in the whole series. He was so well written and understandable that he's probably in my top 5 characters of this series.

Luke ended up saving Olympus practically.

How is he not on this list?

23 Samirah al-Abbas

So brave and always ready to prove her haters wrong.

She's Muslim and awesome

24 Iapetus

I don't actually think he's the best character, I just thought he deserved to be higher than #24. Titan Bob really is an amazing character, though, and just about the best part of House of Hades.

We loved bob until the end. But wait! It was hinted in the finale of ToA that Nico is getting some kind of mental plead for help from Tartarus, and we assume that is Bob, or maybe even Damasen.

I love Bob. His death was so sad. I loved him so much. He was so funny. We all miss him

Was good in the end.

25 Calypso

She has gone through a lot; made a small mistake in chosing the Titans side in the war and her punishment was Ogygia for all time, was awarded with a hero that she was cursed to love but they always ditched her. Also she is the daughter of Atlas, poor girl! But even though all that she is still so kind and has an important part in the Dark Prophecy. Go Calypso!

Her and Percy would have made a nice couple, but her and Leo are even better!

She's a good character. She isn't the best, but she's unbelievably low

She is the best

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