Is Luke a Hero? - PJO Theory 

I feel like in his point of view he was a hero since his motives were pure but he was really a villain because he carried out his motives and ideals through violence and blood

I think he is like Darth Vader Borned a Hero,Lived as a Unredeemable Villain, Died a Hero.

Luke was everything Snape wanted to be. He wasn't a hero he was misguided and though his desire to go against the gods may have been right he lost his way because of how his upbringing affected him.

Luke is NOT a hero and I can't stress this enough. I mean, yeah, he HAD a sucky childhood and all that trauma is there... but you know who ELSE had a sucky childhood? Percy(he had an abusive step-parent, who most probably beat him up), Annabeth(who ran away from home at the age of SEVEN. not nine), Nico(I don't think I need to explain THIS one) Jason(who was raised by a f**king pack wolves, because his mom ABANDONED him), Hazel(who was abused by her mother, both physically and emotionally), Leo(who lost her mom at a very young age and became homeless) oh, and I don't know, MORE THAN NINETY PERCENT OF DEMIGODS. Luke, you ain't special, almost everyone had a f**ked up childhood and I don't see them becoming murderers. and probably that plan of his about dethroning gods was mostly revenge on Hermes. because if he really cared about demigods he wouldn't try to put a child-eating titan in charge(gods are FAR from good rulers, but titans are WORSE) oh, and he wouldn't slaughter all those demigods. making one good choice doesn't instantly makes you a hero. in the end his sacrifice really made the difference, I'm not trying to reduce his role in the saving of the world. I'm just saying, despite that one heroic action, he's still a villain Edit: fixed all those grammar mistakes

I love this character, but I always thought that he wasn't a hero or a villain, he was a person, a one that did very bad things but also one who could sacrifice himself for the people he loved

“A good act does not wash out the bad, nor a bad act the good” Stannis Baratheon

He was in the end and thats all there is to it! -Annabeth when I showed her this.

Actually the minor gods getting cabins is Ethan’s fault

He tortured Annabeth though, he manipulated her, even though he knew that she cared about him so much. If he was doing this for his friend's benefit, well Percy, Annabeth, Thalia, Selena, Charlie were all his friends but he killed, manipulated and tortured his friends, so much for bringing a better life for them.

I hate when people are like “all demigods have traumatic childhoods, look at Nico, he’s still a good guy.” People are different. They have different trauma responses. Different people have had an effect on them.

Hell no, I think even considering him a hero is a huge slap in the face to everyone that died or suffered because of him.

I feel like Kronos should definitely have the title of the villain of the story. Luke was just a character who did bad things after he was manipulated by Kronos, but he came to terms with those mistakes in the end and saved the world . He's definitely not my favorite character and I think I'll always hold a grudge because he hurt so many characters who didn't do anything to deserve it, but it's hard to argue that his choices in the end weren't crucial for change.

don’t forget that he also LOVED A 16 YEAR OLD! and manipulated another to her death by using her emotions and threatening to tell yes, i hate Luke, i’m sorry, but no matter what he went through, he had no right to kill and manipulate that many people, Nico went through way more and he still stayed loyal, and at the end he only got “redeemed” cause he decided to let a few more people live, i’m sorry, but there is no excuse for some of the stuff he did (again, like the stuff with Annabeth and Silena) yes, you can fight me on this

9:46 the truest thing ! Luke was def the MOST human character ! Like honestly I love Percy but don't get me wrong Percy was this whole underdog character almost always doing the right thing . Being the *GOOD GUY* making the right choices *EVEN* after *EVERYTHING* he went through and I absolutely LOVE him for it . But when I first read the books I had this blind heroism attatched to him and I kinda hated luke . But a couple of years later looking back on the series I realise that I just didn't appreciate how human and *REAL* luke and his mistakes were . Awesome work on the video though !

This guy deserves more subs

He’s a hero for stopping a mess he himself caused. 🤔 So basically because his dad didn’t love him he decided, sc-w it! I’m going unleash beings even worse than the gods and start the Greek Mythology version of the Apocalypse that will most certainly gets hundreds if not thousands of innocent people killed. Talk about self-centeredness. What even was his plan after Kronos had won? Maybe if his motivations and ultimately end goal was explored post Titan victory, maybe I’d have different thoughts, but to me it just seems like a child throwing a tantrum and unleashing Titans because he wants to stick it to the gods and has no plan for after. What does he thinks the Titans will do when they’ve won?

I dunno if I forgive him cause he really broke Annabeth, Thalia and Silena's heart but I will say he is a hero in the end.

And he definitely is a hero

The best stories are those where you can empathize with the "villain". Seems to me like you can't fully appreciate the series without seing it from both perspectives. Keep up the great work 👍👍

He manipulated so many people so many halfbloods died because he had daddy issues. I get it without him percy jackson wouldn't have gotten the gods to sit up. But still his methods are something to be be desired

6:50 you saied all of that but didn't even mentioned that hermes sent him to a task. later he heard that heracles already did this task and luke got a scar from it which he blames his father for.

I really relate Luke. He’s the only character that I feel hurt to an extent when people dislike, because we share so many personality traits.

Yes, he’s a hero of course 😭

Thank you! All my thoughts eloquently conveyed in one video.

It is vey hard to b a hero and a creep at the same time. It is very had to overlook him asking if Annabeth at 16 still loved him at 23-24. Very gross and most people forget to address this or forget that it happened in the first place. This is definitely not helping his hero case

He is the hero by prophecy nothing else. The people who actually think is a hero is hilarious Considering most demigods have a traumatic childhood

Yes he is

Man I'm going to miss it😭

I know this video is a year old, but I wanted to give my 2 cents in since my friend and I were taking about it a while back as well as looking at video's talking about the series( since I haven't read the books). I'll say this I' don't think Luke is hero and his actions involving the others(Percy, Anna etc.) are inexcusable. However, his hatred towards the Olympians is very justified. Because, while the Titans are definitely the worse of the two, the Olympians DO NOT have a good track record if barely at all. And considering how they have barley changed since centuries long passed(even if they do their jobs right) it's not surprising Luke acted the way he did. Plus, while Luke isn't the only one to have a bad childhood, he seemed like the only one who wanted to do something about it, while the others seem to stay complacent. He thought enough is enough, basically said "Fine, you Olympians don't care then I'll make you care." Hence why he went along with Kronos's plan, because he felt being extreme was the only way. Especially, since the Olympians have a very my way or the highway attitude. At least that's how I see it.

So he's a hero because he sacraficed himself to fix what he caused, told Percy to have the minor gods and unclaimed recognized which PERCY did and he learned from his mistakes? Completely insufficient evidence.

This is a good video but Luke is NOT a hero because 80% of demigods have a horrible past and they didn't kill people. Also he is trying to put titans in charge, mostly a child-eating titan, so that sucks. Even if he sacrificed himself, he is fixing problems HE CAUSED!!!

nice braveheart music, nice music choice

Man is a hero. We forgive him

I will accept he is a hero at the end of the story, however the question i have is this. Did Luke's actions at the end redeem him of all the evil he did? Was the scale balanced when the time came for judgement?

I completely agree with your theory! Luke is my favorite character in the whole series. Thank you for making this video 😁

I love Luke but tbh, he was weak at first. Weak minded, which is also understandable because of all he went through. But then him being weak made him easily manipulated and got on the wrong path of life. In the end he truly regretted everything and I think what he did in the end showed us who Luke truly was. He wasn't that manipulative betrayer who killed alot of people, he never truly was. He was blind and weak. In the end however, he regained his strength and did what he was always destined to do, and he became Luke once again. He became the hero he was always supposed to be, but unfortunately got taken away because of his tragedies and his weakness. Edit: I also agree what you said about Luke. He did what HE thought was right. This is what made him "blind". He truly thought Kronos would give a better new world. It wasn't until near the end when he opened his eyes and realized he was wrong. Though I do think he had some internal doubts deep inside at times. Especially when Kronos later posessed him and we can see him trying to fight back and all.

This is literately the exact point i bring up when I am talking about hating Luke. 99.99% of demigods had a terrible childhood (Percy, Annabeth, Hazel, Leo, Jason, and so many others) and having a terrible childhood won't ever justify is actions (in my opinion). Yes, people can be blinded by anger at times, but blinded enough to cause a war, killing so many of your FRIENDS/FELLOW DEMIGODS? And I think that doing one good thing (even if it saved the world) won't amount up to all the bad things he's done. And the countless amount of lives lost because HE had to throw a fit about his daddy issues. I mean, he is technically the hero of the story according to the oracle, but no way in my book. I agree so much the the sentence "Luke, you ain't special", (Keti Mamulashvili) because it true! He's not at all special! Like, did he really think that he was the only one Hermes abandoned? Though are opinions might be different, PJO guy, this was a great video.

I kind of agree with both sides. He did lots of horrible things, but in the end, he did a very good thing: save the world and leave it better than it was before. So I don't know I guess?

If you asked me this question before I finished last Olympian would have no of course not. But that chapter made a difference. Most of my friends hate him but him sacrificing himself told me he wasn’t that bad, it told me he never ment it to go that far. He just was angry at his dad and the other gods to where he was willing to do everything in his power to make his feelings known. Could he have handled this better? Most definitely. But at the end of the day. He’s not that bad he’s just misunderstood and really never men5 go hurt anyone.

Emotional damage is very real and can cause bad decisions, true, but this does not justify his actions, and yes, people make bad decisions sometimes, but those bad decisions don’t include taking over the world and killing and manipulating their friends. Even if someone did make this choice, all it would take is a single death of an innocent person to shake them awake, while Luke watched and sought after countless deaths without a blink of an eye. Oh yes, he saved the world in the end… from the war he has caused. Everything wouldn’t even have happened if it were not for him, and so why would there be any need of saving?! His death was a heroic act, but he is most definitely not a hero.

Every terrorist believes they are doing right thing for their people but actullay they are causing pain for whole lot of people including theirs same is applicable here

In my opinion, he is a hero. When it comes to Silena, he was brainwashed when he did that to her. And though the same can't be said about Annabeth because he didn't want her helping Kronos, I think he was a hero despite that. It would make sense that his ideas of right and wrong would be very mangled after being brainwashed and after what he already did. He obviously genuinely cared for Annabeth, I don't think he wanted to hurt her. While what he did was definitely NOT okay, I forgive him and I see him as a hero despite those things. Also, this was a really great video, I really liked it!

He's like an anti - villain to me, have good intentions, but the way is wrong

I have finally found a PJO vid using Braveheart music,at 3:40!

Luke is my fav character in pjo, Leo in hoo

the fact that this video is exactly 11:11 makes me so happy

Luke is indeed a hero to a some degree, but I'd prolly go for a more "anti-hero" direction when analyzing him. Luke has a lot if VERY crappy things, as mentioned in the video: Manipulation, blackmail, murder, etc. He was a villain for a good chunk of the series, but his redemption does make him a hero. He initially even had a bit of a noble cause, and to a degree. He was right. Many of the Olympians do not pay enough attention to their kids, which is why there were so many of them unclaimed. His cause, though became corrupted, and sort of fell apart when he allied with Kronos. Evrn though he died a hero, and he had a rough childhood, plus he was right to a degree, those actions do not erase the crimes he's commited throught his life.

I think that he was a hero turned into a villain in life because of his past and the actions and choices he made that caused so many deaths. But a hero in death because of the choice he ultimately made in his last moments when he truly saw what he had done. I also think that Percy and Luke where the foil to each other in many ways considering their sh!tty pasts and having every reason to hate the gods, and i think Luke saw that in the end that made him realise he had to sacrifice himself and trust Percy to start to make the changes he had wanted to do but when about in the wrong way

@ThatPJOGuy Agreed: Luke [Eventually] became a hero!

This comment section is war. As is any Draco comment section. Those to are favorite characters that’s interesting

Urk idk if I’ll be able to make it to the premiere

In the Hero’s of olympus, House of hades, It is mentioned that Keli, The Empusi (greek vampire) Charmspoke him into making this decision, So in general, Luke was forced+ the trauma and understandings he’d experienced, He is A true hero

In the end he just wanted to change the dictatorship of gods to dictatorship of titãs, not so hero. Who granted that cronos would make a better world? The same Cronus that punished Luke whatever he done

I think he has a very well developed character. I'm on my second read through

in my opinion, i think luke was a hero in a way but i dont think everyone could forgive him for what he did. Anyways its still a great video 👍

So luke is a hero but he should be accountable for his actions

No Edit: After further consideration my new answer is no.

Whys this a question?

Luke is definitely a hero I just found it rlly weird how he confessed his love for Annabeth even though she was a minor and he was an adult Ethan also probably influenced Percy since his mom was a minor god

Luke is a hero that did very bad things, very very very bad things

Luke tried murdering Percy 3 times in his first year at camp, resurrected the most evil titan in attempt to send the gods to tarturus, Luke is not a hero.

I just love Luke! I wanna hug him❤️

Tonpa>Luke

I love Luke not because he was a good person but because he was real. He had noble cause but took the wrong actions. Even Percy says he understands why Luke did the things he did

I love Luke in every way. Also this is basically a defending darkstalker vid

He isn't a hero. He did one heroic thing after a lot of bad. He's not a hero.

10:40 another hidden piece of evidence of Luke being a hero: Poseidon said in the Titan’s Curse that the only mortals who could hold up the sky were those with the strength and willpower of a hero. Luke was able to hold it, and it leaves me wondering if Rick Riordan already had a general idea on how the series would end when he wrote the third book.

plus he is the "hero" in the prophecy so he literally is the hero

Well in a way he is a hero because the proficiency is about him not Percy

OK you know what he is hero. I get what he did But I blame Kronos for this. At least most of the things he’s done is Kronos’ fault. Though joining the Titans was a bad idea.

I think even bc of him a lot of people died he still is a hero

One good choice doesn't change the fact that he is redeemed of every other bad choices he made or every person he killed or manipulated or the fact that he is a fool to believe gods were worse that kid eating titan.. the gods are bad i accept but titans are worse and u said percy didn't accept immortality because of lukes advice i will not completely support that statement he didn't want immortality because of his fear of everone he loved become old and fie and for his love that was the first and foremost reason. Considee hercules in place percy do u think he would have done something this selfless its based on that heart of percy that decision was made luke words was just fuel to the fire.........and childhood trauma almost every demigod faced that so that's literally invalid point and last u said recognizing minor was because of luke i will strongly disagree he did because of promise he made to Eathan. I accept the ancient rule to stop interacting from their kids or mortal parent there is an example what happend with haxel mother she knew hades was a god and started to become greedy which bought the curse on her own child

i don't think so. before Thalia disagreement with him he doesn't show not even a little amount of regret for all the bad things he did like almost causing world war 3 and manipulating a teenager into a certain death in Tartarus. he definitely fixed his mistakes but just isn't enough. shall remind thet even if the great prophecy calls him a hero this basically means nothing because "hero" is a word used for demigods in general in Percy Jackson universe

He was far from a hero for most of the series but he was one in the end. Who killed Kronos again? Not Percy (the main protagonist of the story), not Annabeth, not even one of the gods but Luke. If the gods are the Jedi and Kronos is Palpatine then Luke is Vader. A hero that feel VERY far from grace but redeemed himself in the end.

I just hate how HoO ruin the positive ending of PJO

So, this kind of debate seems completely stupid to me, for the simple reason that the great prophecy describes Luke as a hero : "The hero's soul, cursed blade shall reap". Luke was an anti-hero who achieved redemption and became a hero. As simple as that. That people always try to deny it drives me crazy...

Stated in text Perseus you are not the hero

I’m furious at him for killing and ruining the lives of Lee Fletcher, Silena, Zoe,Bianca,Annabeth,Percy, AND Beckendorf. Personally I loved Zoe, Bianca, Annabeth, and Beckendorf who were so nice, especially ANNABETH who was his only friend and nearly killed. I mean I get his anger BUT TO LET KRONOS LITERALLY POSSES HIM AND CAUSING THE DEATHS OF SO MANY CAMPERS, INNOCENT MISGUIDED DEMIGODS, AND MORTALS. HOWEVER, I do agree that Luke did save earth, and regret his actions. BUT WHY DID U KILL UR OLD FRIENDS. AND APOLOGIZE TO HIS OLD FRIENDS, WELL TOO BAD HE KILLED ABOUT LIKE HALF OF THE PPL WHO CARED ABOUT HIM AND ACCEPTED HIM, INCLUDING PPL WHO NEVER DID ANYTHING WRONG TO HIM. HOWEVER AGAIN, ALTHOUGH I DONT THINK HES EXACTLY A HERO SINCE HE LITERALLY KILLED AND MANIPULATED PPL WHO LIKED AND ACCEPTED HIM, I THINK ALOT OF IT IS HERMES’S FAULT. LIKE HE DIDNT COMMIT THE MURDERS BUT HE SCARRED LUKES CHILDHOOD BEYOND REPAIR. AND ON TOP OF THAT FOR MOST OF THE SERIES WE DIDNT EVEN KNOW THE FULL STORY BECAUSE HERMES ACTS SO NOBLE AND MOURNFUL OVER LUKE AND IS ALL: OH LUKE WAS MY PRIDE AND JOY WHO JUST WENT EVIL BECAUSE HE WAS BAD AND WHATNOT. YES U HEARD ME RIGHT. I ACTUALLY USED THE WORD WHATNOT IN A SENTENCE BECAUSE IM SO UPSET RN. HERMES ACTED NICER TO A COMPLETE STRANGER THAN HIS SON WHO HE HAS THE NERVE TO CALL HIS FAMILY. AFTER HE LITERALLY LEAVES LUKES MOM AND BERATES HIS SON FOR DOING THE SAME WHEN HIS MOM IS LITERALLY INSANE LIKE WHAT IN TARTARUS WAS HERMES THINKING!?!?!!!!???!?!! So my final verdict is that Luke wasn’t exactly a hero but he was a good person who subjected to LITERAL CHILD ABUSE BY BOTH OF HIS PARENTS ONE OF WHICH IS A GREEK GOD WHO COULD DO LITERALLY ANYTHING AND IS THE REASON WHY LUKES MOM IS INSANE AND HAS THE NERVE TO SCOLD HIM WHEN DUDE LITERALLY STOLE SACRED COWS AND KILLED AN INNOCENT TORTOISE RIGHT AFTER HE WAS BORN. SO RN I JUST WANNA FLAMETHROWER HERMES AND IDC IF THE OLYMPIANS TARTARUS ME🤬

Hell this is all Canon and this isn't even mentioning his diary go read that and then tell me he didn't have reason Plus he started having second thoughts as soon as he saw what Kronos was really doing like possibly even in book 3 when things actually started to go wrong cuz in the first couple you know it was justified it could be safe whatever and also every single time I got phones are problems with violence in this series it's not just him hell does he even personally kill anyone besides that attempt on Percy that one time

I know, I am kind of late to the party. But here goes. I don't know about Luke being a hero. But he is one damn good written villain. He had a point. And in his place, who can say what all of us would do. I mean, I am only a reader of the books and I want to punch the gods constantly. Mostly all gods except Hestia and perhaps Hades. So, I can see where he is coming from. And I think that is the trademark of any good villain. That he is relatable. But is he a hero? I would say yes, because he was the key to save everyone from Kronos. If he wouldn't have taken the Bait, Kronos might have found another demigod who wasn't strong enough to defy him in the end. And he did create a world that was at least a bit better.

luke is a true hero. yeah, he manipulated his friends, but he never meant for any of them to die. when he swore to selina that if she didn’t join him he would hurt beckendorf, he didn’t mean it. beckendorf died bc of kronos. it was him. and, seriously, think about it, if ur mom was totally freaking u out and ur dad wasnt giving u any attention and didnt help u, would u do the same thing? if u were under the impression that they gods did not help anybody and didnt give anything about theyre children would u go against the gods? ik I would. i wouldn’t go against the gods if I hadn’t had the same experiences that luke had. and in the end, he realized that kronos was just as bad as the gods. maybe even worse. so he killed kronos, which resulted in him killing himself, too.

Of course he is🥺

na luke still the villain

I always wondered what happened with Luke after he died. Did he got into the Elysium or into the Fields of Mourning? Or maybe the Asphodel Meadows? Since he did too many horrible things in order to be accepted into Elysium but he also died a hero so the Field of Mourning may doesn't qualify for him either?

no

His actions in the beginning were out of hurt and rage because he was abandoned by his father, but everyone has to remember that Kronos had control over him.

I disagree.

Luke was a hero. Don’t argue.