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Deserve better... if they just... had thrones—

–Ethan to Percy Jackson with his dying breath in The Last Olympian.

Ethan Nakamura was a Greek demigod, the son of Nemesis and Mr. Nakamura. He joined the Titan Army in the Second Olympian War, but betrayed them and was killed by Kronos during the Battle of Manhattan.

History[]

Early Life[]

Ethan grew up like most demigods. When old enough, he was brought to Camp Half-Blood by an unknown Satyr. Nemesis didn't have a cabin and thus never claimed Ethan, so he ended up stuck in the Hermes' Cabin.

Like most unclaimed demigods, Ethan got enraged by the fact he remained unrecognized and eventually joined to Kronos' Titan Army.

Meeting his mother[]

One day, Ethan met his mother, who promised that he would one day balance the world's power in exchange for his left eye. She took his left eye and he wore an eye patch over it. This was symbolistic to his mother's (Nemesis) domain of balance.

Percy Jackson and the Olympians[]

The Battle of the Labyrinth[]

Nemesis

Nemesis, his mother

Ethan fought Percy Jackson in Antaeus' Arena to prove himself, as it was the only way to join Kronos' army. However, due to Ethan's heavy armor, Percy deliberately fought to tire him out, and therefore he lost to Percy. Ethan seemed to accept his fate and told Percy to "get on with it" and kill him. However, Percy refused to kill him and helped him up instead. When Percy killed Antaeus, Ethan escaped the Arena along with Percy, Annabeth Chase, and Rachel Elizabeth Dare. After escaping and telling the others his story, Ethan ran off on his own and declined their help.

Ethan is later seen with two telekhine, discussing their plan to resurrect Kronos. Percy, who was wearing Annabeth's magical Yankees cap to be invisible, took it off and begged Ethan not to do this. Percy had spared him, but Ethan betrayed him. In order to join Kronos' cause, Ethan raised the fully restored Titan Lord from the depths of Tartarus. He was the traitor mentioned by the Oracle of Delphi in the prophecy that the Oracle gave in the beginning of the book.

The Demigod Files[]

The Sword of Hades[]

With the assistance of the titan Iapetus (who later became Bob), Ethan stole the unfinished Sword of Hades with the intention of using it to resurrect many of the Titans from Tartarus. After Iapetus fell into the River Lethe and the sword was retrieved, Ethan fled the scene.

The Last Olympian[]

For his previous actions, Ethan becomes a lieutenant of Kronos. He enters battle and almost kills Percy with a poisoned knife, almost stabbing him in his "Achilles' heel" or weak spot, but Annabeth manages to get in the way and save Percy. Percy is furious and hits Ethan on the helmet with his sword, denting his helmet and knocking Ethan unconscious.

When confronted by Kronos about where exactly he was aiming when facing Percy in battle, he tries to imitate the attack. He simply claimed that he wasn't aiming for any place in particular and it was all a blur to him. It is possible that Nemesis was acting through Ethan because she felt that Percy should be torn down due to his invulnerability or that the blow to his head caused Ethan to suffer some short-term memory loss (a common side effect of a concussion) and forgot about the spot.

During their last showdown, while Kronos is destroying the Olympian Throne Room and the gods' thrones, Percy pleads with Ethan that Kronos is evil and that destroying everything would not bring about balance, which Ethan is trying to achieve. Ethan rebels against Kronos at the last second and strikes his neck, saving Percy's life. However, the blade shatters and one piece ricochets through his armor into his stomach. Before dying, Ethan tells Percy that the minor gods, like his mother Nemesis, deserve thrones and forgiveness from the rest of the gods as they've been treated lowly. Kronos makes a fissure in Olympus, killing Ethan as he falls into empty air, thousands of feet above the ground.

Percy made Ethan a shroud after the battle, choosing to remember him for his good deeds rather than his evil ones. His shroud is black silk with swords crossed under a set of scales, the symbol of Nemesis. To respect Luke and Ethan's dying wishes, Percy uses his gift from the gods to have them swear on the River Styx that they will honor and claim all the children of all of the gods by the time they turn thirteen, and honor the minor gods themselves by putting cabins in Camp Half-Blood and thrones on Olympus.

The Heroes of Olympus[]

The Mark of Athena[]

Nemesis tells Leo Valdez and Hazel Levesque that one of her children recently traded an eye to make a difference in the world, referring to Ethan.

The Trials of Apollo[]

The Hidden Oracle[]

Percy mentioned him when thinking of all the people he's lost to a bad influence.

Appearance[]

Ethan was a teenage boy of Japanese descent and looked to be around sixteen years old during his first fight with Percy. He had a thin build, glossy black hair, and a black eye patch over his left eye. As an enemy demigod in Kronos' army, he was generally seen wearing Greek armor; according to Percy, it hung on his body loosely due to his slim build.

After Percy slammed Ethan in the face with Riptide's sword hilt during one of their fights in The Last Olympian, his nose was said to look like a squashed tomato.

Personality[]

Ethan was a brave, impetuous boy who was very driven by his goals, and according to Percy he was a well-trained fighter. He followed his goals and tried to achieve them the best way he could, even if it means betraying those he previously allied with. Like his mother, Ethan had a strong urge to bring balance to things, feeling that the minor gods deserved more respect and eventually paid Percy back for saving his life.

Abilities[]

  • ADHD: Ethan's supernatural alertness and keen senses that keep him ready for battle.
  • Dyslexia: Ethan's brain is "hard-wired" for divine Ancient Greek instead of mortal languages.
  • Swordsmanship: Despite the lack of one eye, Ethan is an extremely skilled swordsman. His fighting style revolves mostly around defense. This allows him to hold his own against even Percy Jackson (a demigod who could defeat entire cabins at a time in sparring) and Annabeth Chase (a talented knife fighter). However, Ethan tires quickly if he is forced on the offensive, which caused him to eventually lose to Percy.

  • Tychokinesis: As the son of Nemesis, it can be assumed that Ethan can control the likelihood of things good and bad things happening to individuals to even out supposed good luck and bad luck. This might explain his lucky hit to Percy's weak point, which nobody but Percy knew at the time.

  • A poisoned knife which Ethan uses as a weapon.
  • A Greek armor slightly large for Ethan.

  • Relationships []

    Nemesis-RR

    Nemesis, his mother.

    Nemesis never claimed Ethan for her lack of cabin, so he ends up getting stuck in the Hermes' Cabin. At some point, he met his mother one day. She promised that he would one day balance the world's power in exchange for his left eye, which he agreed. Ethan felt that minor gods like his mother deserve more respect. When Percy Jackson expressed disbelief at respecting the idea of revenge, Ethan defended his mother, telling Percy that Nemesis stood for balance between good and evil. Ethan also defended Nemesis for having taken his eye, telling his enemy that unlike the major gods, his mother always honored her promises, no matter if they were good or evil.

    Percy Jackson

    Percy Jackson,the demigod who helped him break away from Kronos.

    In The Battle of the Labyrinth, Ethan fought Percy in Antaeus' Arena to prove himself, as it was the only way to join Kronos' army. He lost to Percy and seemed to accept his fate, telling Percy to "get on with it" and kill him. Percy refused to kill him and helped him up instead. After escaping and telling the others his story, Ethan ran off on his own, declining their help. Even though Percy had spared him, Ethan betrayed him by restoring Kronos from Tartarus, becoming traitor mentioned by the Oracle of Delphi in the prophecy at the beginning of the book.

    In The Last Olympian, Ethan almost stabs Percy in his "Achilles' heel," but Annabeth gets stabbed instead. Percy is furious and hits Ethan, knocking him unconscious. During their last showdown, Percy pleads with Ethan that Kronos is evil and that destroying everything would not bring about balance, which Ethan, as a son of Nemesis, is trying to achieve. Ethan rebels against Kronos at the last second and saves Percy's life, but dies in the process. Ethan tells Percy, with his dying breath, that the minor gods, like his mother, deserve thrones and forgiveness. Percy made Ethan a shroud after the battle, choosing to remember him for his good deeds rather than his evil ones. To respect Ethan's dying wish, Percy uses his gift from the gods to have them swear that they will honor the minor gods themselves by putting cabins thrones on Olympus.

    In The Hidden Oracle, Percy lists Ethan as one of the people that he's lost to a bad influence, showing that he still cares about and misses Ethan.

    Kronos GN

    Kronos, the titan lord who Ethan served for just over the last year of his life, in the body of Luke Castellan.

    The son of Nemesis served Kronos out of loyalty and fear for over a year. During this time he feared the King of the Titan's wrath, such as being scalded for suggesting the son of Hermes was trying to reclaim his body. He joined Kronos in marching on the throne room of Olympus. However after a fight breaks out between the Titan of Time and the Son of Poseidon, he is convinced by Percy and betrays Kronos by him However Ethan is killed as his sword shatters against kronos's neck and a piece of the sword embeds itself in Ethan's stomach.

    Etymology[]

    • Ethan means "strong, firm, and impetuous." The name is of Hebrew origin.
    • Nakamura is a Japanese name that means "middle village."
    • Ethan's entire name would be "strong village."

    Trivia[]

    • Ethan, Drew Tanaka, and Alice Miyazawa are the only known demigods of Japanese descent.
    • It isn't clear whether Nemesis completely removed Ethan's left eye or simply blinded it.
    • Ethan is the last person to be killed by Kronos.
    • Ethan appeared in the film adaptation of The Sea of Monsters, played by Danny Le Boyer.
    • In the graphic novel version of The Last Olympian, Ethan isn't seen after Charles Beckendorf rigged the Princess Andromeda to explode. It's likely that in that version of the story he was killed in the blast alongside Beckendorf.
    • Ethan is the first, and so far only, character in both the main literary universe and Rick Riordan Presents to wear an eye patch and only use one eye.
    Percy Jackson and the Olympians
    Core Series: The Lightning Thief | The Sea of Monsters | The Titan's Curse | The Battle of the Labyrinth | The Last Olympian
    Main Characters: Percy Jackson | Grover Underwood | Annabeth Chase | Tyson | Clarisse La Rue | Thalia Grace | Nico di Angelo | Chiron | Luke Castellan | Rachel Elizabeth Dare
    Secondary Characters: Sally Jackson | Travis Stoll | Connor Stoll | Mrs. O'Leary | Silena Beauregard | Charles Beckendorf | Paul Blofis | Blackjack | Zoë Nightshade | Bianca di Angelo | Juniper | Ethan Nakamura | Daedalus
    Minor Characters: Gabe Ugliano | Argus | Tantalus | Hylla Ramírez-Arellano | Frederick Chase | Michael Yew | May Castellan | Austin Lake | Kayla Knowles | Maria di Angelo | Will Solace | Elevator Security Guard
    Olympian Gods: Zeus | Hera | Poseidon | Demeter | Ares | Athena | Apollo | Artemis | Hephaestus | Aphrodite | Hermes | Dionysus | Hades | Hestia
    Minor Gods: Amphitrite | Ariadne | Ganymede | Hecate | Iris | Janus | Morpheus | Nemesis | Pan | Phobos | Deimos | Persephone | Triton
    Titans: Kronos | Atlas | Calypso | Iapetus | Krios | Hyperion | Oceanus | Prometheus
    Mythical Creatures: Minotaur | Centaur | Furies | Satyr | Cyclops | Manticore | Ophiotaurus | Nemean Lion | Empousa
    Related Content: Rick Riordan | Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief | Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters | The Demigod Files | Demigods and Monsters | The Ultimate Guide | The Heroes of Olympus | The Trials of Apollo | Percy Jackson Demigod Collection | The Lightning Thief: Illustrated Edition | Disney+ Series
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