| NOTE: This article is about the version of Luke Castellan from the Percy Jackson and the Olympians books. It does not include his depiction in the film versions of The Lightning Thief (2010) and The Sea of Monsters (2013). |
| “ | Good-bye, Percy. There is a new Golden Age coming. You won't be part of it | „ |
| ~ Luke Castellan to Percy (The Lightning Thief, Ch. 22) |
| “ | Ethan. Me. All the unclaimed. Don't let it . . . Don't let it happen again | „ |
| ~ The last words of Luke Castellan (The Last Olympian, Ch. 19) |
Luke Castellan is the main antagonist of the book series Percy Jackson and the Olympians by Rick Riordan. He is the half-blood son of the Greek god Hermes and a mortal woman named May Castellan. Feeling he was wronged by the gods, Luke swore vengeance and so pledged himself to Kronos, Lord of the Titans, in his plan to overthrow and destroy Olympus.
He is also the protagonist of Rick Riordan's short story "The Diary of Luke Castellan" in The Demigod Diaries.
What Makes Him Magnificent?[]
In general[]
- Though it's true that he was partially manipulated by Kronos, this isn't enough to prevent him since Luke came up with many of his plans independently of what Kronos wanted him to do (such as convincing Ares not to snitch), sometimes even acting contrary to what Kronos wanted, showing that he's not a complete pawn. He also wasn't manipulated by Kronos that much, as he knew what he was doing the whole time, and he shook off whatever control Kronos had over him in the last book.
- He is both a well-intentioned extremist and incredibly tragic, making his fall to evil understandable. His father Hermes never raised him, and his mother saw a prophecy of Luke's future that drove her insane; Luke ran away from home at a young age and fought off monsters by himself for years; when he made it to Camp Half-Blood, he repeatedly met other kids with stories much like his own. He saw first-hand how the gods neglected their demigod children and used them like pawns, making him want to enact justice against them.
- The books describe him as handsome and charming. For example there's a line in The Sea of Monsters that said Luke "looked like an evil male model, showing off what the fashionable college-age villain was wearing to Harvard this year."
The Lightning Thief[]
- He stole Zeus' Master Bolt and Hades' Helm of Darkness, both of which are priceless possessions of the strongest Olympian gods, as part of his plan to make them fight each other.
- When he's captured by Ares, he's able to convince the god of war to let him go and not tell anyone. Ares agrees and the plan for a divine conflict goes as planned despite getting caught.
- When Percy Jackson came to Camp Half-Blood, Luke gained his trust and pretended to be a helpful mentor-figure. He gave Percy a set of winged shoes, that were secretly cursed so they'd fly Percy to Tartarus when he arrived in the Underworld.
- He summoned a Hellhound - a monster in the service of Hades - to attack the camp and go after Percy. This was meant to make Chiron believe 1) the camp wasn't safe for Percy, and 2) Hades stole the Master Bolt. Chiron fell for both of these tricks and sent Percy on a quest to the underworld.
- After Percy returned home from his quest, Luke talked with Percy in private. It was here that Luke revealed his true allegiances, summoned a pit scorpion to kill Percy, and then teleported away before being caught. Percy barely made it out alive.
The Sea of Monsters[]
- He had a spy poison Thalia's tree, which protected Camp Half-Blood. This was in the hopes that Percy would be sent on a quest for the Golden Fleece. While he wasn't, Percy did go on the quest anyway, and Luke narrowly missed obtaining the Fleece by mere seconds.
- He framed Chiron for the poisoning, which meant that the gods fired Chiron from Camp Half-Blood for a short while.
- When he duels Percy, Luke is easily able to defeat the latter, and is only prevented from killing him by reinforcements coming last second.
- He had multiple plans for what to do with the Golden Fleece. The more obvious one was to use it to bring back Kronos. The second, secret one was to have Percy use it to bring back Thalia, which Percy did. Percy didn't know about the second one.
The Titan's Curse[]
- He arranged for Annabeth to be captured while he held up the sky in Atlas' place. The kidnapped Annabeth came, and he tricked her into holding the sky instead of him.
- Kidnapping Annabeth was, in turn, part of a plan to lure the goddess Artemis over, and he managed to trick Artemis into holding up the sky instead of Annabeth.
- In a fight with Thalia, he's kicked off a cliff and even has his lifeless body seen by Percy. However, in the same book it's revealed that he faked his death and was still alive.
The Battle of the Labyrinth[]
- He made a deal with Daedalus, creator of the Labyrinth, so that he'd be given magical string he could use to navigate the Labyrinth.
- He allowed Antaeus the giant to have gladiator games in his arena. This is because Antaeus' arena is one of the entrance ways to the Labyrinth. In this arena, Luke had Percy forced into a gladiator fight with the giant.
- He bathed in the River Styx, making him invulnerable except for one spot on his body, so he can volunteer to be possessed by Kronos.
The Last Olympian[]
- It is revealed that Luke convinced Silena Beauregard into being his spy in Camp Half-Blood by tricking her into thinking she's saving lives. When she found out the truth, Luke blackmailed her into staying in Kronos' service.
- As he's possessed by Kronos who is fighting Percy, Luke manages to fight for control of his body after regretting what he's done. He resists Kronos just enough to tell Annabeth his weak spot so she can stab him, defeating Kronos once and for all. This heroic sacrifice is his last moment on earth, as he reconciles with Percy and Annabeth on his deathbed and is sent to Elysium after death.
What Makes Him a Baddie?[]
- He joined forces with Kronos, who wanted to overthrow the gods and destroy civilization. In his dialogue with Percy near the end of The Lightning Thief, Luke makes it clear that he knows Kronos' plan and supports it anyways.
- He framed Percy for stealing the Master Bolt (which Luke did) to cover his blame.
- He tried murdering Percy Jackson - a preteen to young teenaged boy - multiple times:
- He gave Percy cursed shoes that were meant to drag him to Tartarus.
- He sent a Hellhound to kill Percy.
- He left Percy behind with a deadly scorpion (all in The Lightning Thief).
- He had his bodyguards feed Percy and Annabeth to a Drakon.
- He tried to kill Percy in a duel (both in The Sea of Monsters).
- He poisoned Thalia's tree, which put several innocent people in Camp Half-Blood - mostly children and teens - in danger of monster attacks. Furthermore, he also framed Chiron for poisoning Thalia's tree to get him fired.
- He tricked Annabeth into holding up the sky in The Titan's Curse, even though when they were kids, he swore to protect Annabeth.
- He blackmailed Silena Beauregard into being his spy and threatened to hurt her boyfriend if she disobeyed him.
Trivia[]
- As of now, he is the only approved MB from any of Rick Riordan's novels.
External Links[]
- Luke Castellan at the Riordan wiki
- Luke Castellan at the Villains wiki
- Luke Castellan at the Heroes wiki
- Luke Castellan at the Inconsistently Heinous wiki