I’m not going to lie, a lot of demigods throughout the Riordanverse are overpowered. And not just with plot armor. Imma just list some examples of why and how they are overpowered.
Percy vs Ares
I feel like Ares should’ve won. An Olympic God with millennia of experience shouldn’t have lost against a demigod who has been in the Greek word for five days. No matter who that demigod is the child of. First off, Percy was severely inexperienced. He had little fighting experience, and shouldn’t have been able to best the god of war in combat. Also, Percy, being a twelve year old, shouldn’t have had the strength to withstand such a god, nonetheless an Olympian. If we remove plot armor, Ares would’ve smashed Percy. His strength and skill outmatches Percy’s ten fold.
Why was Gaea beaten so easily?
In Greek mythology, Gaea devised a plan to lure Ouranos down to the earth and use a scythe to kill him. After taking on a physical form and leaving his home domain, his four sons tackled him to the ground. Kronos used the scythe to split him apart, and his rein ended. But even when he had departed from his home territory and taken a physical form, he was still able to fight off four of the most powerful Titans. What I don’t get, is how Gaea was defeated so easily when it took so much work to defeat Ouranos. Three demigods and an onager is way weaker than four Titans and the most powerful weapon in history. Heracles and Caligula were able to resist Piper’s charmspeak, but not Gaea, a Protogenoi? I feel as though Leo’s supernova blast shouldn’t have done as much damage as it should’ve, and Gaea should’ve still lived, even with the onager.
Greek Mythology Demigods
A lot of demigods in Greek Mythology didn’t possess supernatural abilities like the ability to manipulate the weather or the sea. If they did, it was very minor abilities. Most just possessed enhanced battle prowess and super strength. Yet Percy is able to control storms, earthquakes, water, poison, boats, horses, and more. If all children of Zeus were as powerful as Thalia or Jason, I feel like the gods would be biting their finger nails 24/7.
Akhlys
Percy defeating Akhlys was super weird to me, and I know I’m not the only one who thinks so. Because one, Percy defeated Akhlys with poison when Akhlys was the goddess of poison. How does a mere (weakened) demigod defeat a primordial goddess with her own element? Two, Percy shouldn’t have been able to control so much poison. Maybe a little poison, sure. But not so much. Decently not enough to hurt her. And three, Percy was severely weakened. He was undergoing the effects of Tartarus and standing at the edge of Chaos, the void that all life sprung from. And even in his primal state, I doubt he could have defeated her.
That’s just a few notes about demigods being overpowered (and villains being underpowered).