I Have Never Understood Why The Fandom Hypes Up Annabeth's Intelligence Even Though She Has Little Feats To Back It Up - Blog Posts

I have made so many posts on this, and I am so glad many other blogs are pointing this out. Percy is way better at Annabeth than strategizing, and that's a pill that the fandom can't seem to be able to swallow. Let's go over some of them (I might have missed a few):

1. Tricking and trapping Crusty using his own creations

2. Figuring out Ares's scheme

3. Figuring out Luke's plan

4. Figuring out the use for Hermes's gift in SoM

5. Procuring proof for the camp of Luke's betrayal by tricking him into confessing it

6. Tricking Atlas into lifting the weight of the sky

7. Figuring out Kronos's plan

8. Planning the entire strategy of Battle of Manhattan

9. Tricking Gaea into helping him over Phineas

10. Tricking Chrysaour and his entire fleet into fleeing for their lives

11. Outwitting Geras

12. Outwitting Octavian in front of the entire Roman Senate

13. Manipulating Bob into siding with them over his own brother

14. Planning the strategy of dealing with Polybotes and executing it singlehandedly

15. Figured out how to kill Antaeus in his own arena

16. Convinced the river gods into offering their allegiance to the Olympians

No matter what situation you put Percy in, he always adapts. He is almost never operating with full intel on the situation or his opponents, and yet he manages to survive and even defeat them because of his quick thinking and battle iq.

I know most people remember the books as Annabeth and Percy working together, but it's almost always Percy going solo after Annabeth's plans fail and her scolding him for actually getting the job done, which is ridiculous.

Now, I don't think I need to quote Darwin on how adaptation is the key to survival and evolution, but you get the gist of it. No one in the entire series thinks better on their feet than Percy, no one.

Annabeth has all the knowledge, sure, but it's worth very little if she can't apply it. Knowledge by itself isn't power. Applied knowledge is power. Annabeth rarely has any concrete feats in this regard or even in the category of wisdom. She is extremely emotional and impulsive, more so than even Percy, which people tend to forget.

Annabeth gets worked up and gets them trapped with the Sphinx after the puzzle isn't what she expected and because someone else solved it over her, letting her pride rule her.

She underestimates her opponents. She once again let her emotions take over when they needed Rachel's help on Annabeth's own quest but she didn't want it out of jealousy.

Despite repeatedly having proof of Luke being hell bent on killing Percy and destroying CHB and after having been tricked by him herself, she still repeatedly lets her emotions cloud her judgement and dismisses any proper advice given by Percy about Luke as him being jealous and him being angry at Luke for no reason when Luke's literally tried to kill him multiple times.

Then, once again, she judo flips Percy, a Roman Praetor in a diplomatic setting in front of all the Roman legions because she can't control her emotions.

She lets it happen again in MoA when her pride takes over and she sits wrapped up in webs instead of cutting them off her and escaping first because she is too busy reciting the tale of her quest to the rest of the Seven.

And again in Tartarus, when she almost gets herself and Percy killed because she stops Percy from defending himself and her in front of Akhyls.

She is said to be a leader, but we never ever see her display any proper leadership qualities. Percy is the one who leads the camp during the fight at BoTL, during the actual second Titan War, during the fight in Blood of Olympus and even during Son of Sobek the campers all follow his orders and advice, showing how much of a natural leader he is. Even the seven during the pirate attack all follow Percy's lead, Annabeth herself included, and Percy in Son of Neptune is the de facto leader between himself, Frank, and Hazel. We only see the Seven following general orders from her on Argo-II, but it's never during times of crisis.

I know Annabeth is a teenager and prone to emotional outbursts. But she is supposed to be a child of Athena and her literal power is supposed to be being level headed in times of danger, being clever and wise and getting herself out of them because otherwise she is hopelessly outmatched against everyone else who has powers. She could have been so iconic if she had been just a smidge better written. Literally just a smidge. But she displays neither of the qualities she says she possesses nor any she should be displaying as an experienced strategist or a strategic fighter.

I'm not saying she's stupid but...

(I swear she should've had more good feats. Show her making amazing plans with actual back-up plans, not just references. Display her war strategy more. Make her opponents smarter and not brick-dumb)