"To a degree, the Greek and Roman mythological heroes are just the first superheroes. They appeal to children for much the same reason. These gods and heroes may have powers, but they get angry and they do the wrong thing. They are human too."
The Riordanverse media franchise, by the eponymous Rick Riordan, is based on The 'Verse that started with the book series Percy Jackson and the Olympians.
It takes place in a world where multiple pantheons of gods are real and are now living in the modern world... somewhere. The gods tend to have the heroes of each book series (their demigod children or magicians) go on quests, fight monsters, and save the world from evil forces.
The franchise consists of the following media:
Literature
- The Camp Half-Blood Series
- Percy Jackson and the Olympians (2005–2009; 2023–): The first series in The 'Verse, though it's technically two. The first five books follow a young boy named Percy Jackson who discovers that the Greek gods are real, that the sea god Poseidon is his father, and that he is part of an important prophecy that will determine the fate of the world. The next three are set after the events of The Heroes of Olympus and before and during the events of The Trials of Apollo, focusing on Percy's senior year of high school as he embarks on quests for the gods to get the recommendation letters he needs to get in college.
- The Heroes of Olympus (2010–2014): A sequel to Percy Jackson and the Olympians, which introduces new demigods and the Roman aspects of the gods.
- The Trials of Apollo (2016–2020): The sequel to The Heroes of Olympus, which follows the god Apollo after he is turned into a mortal teenager.
- The Sun and the Star: A Nico di Angelo Adventure (2023): A sequel to The Trials of Apollo about Nico di Angelo and Will Solace; co-written with Mark Oshiro.
- The Kane Chronicles (2010–2012): The second series. It follows siblings Carter and Sadie Kane, who discover that they are descended from ancient Egyptian magicians and must stop the end of the world.
- Demigods & Magicians (2013–2015): A crossover between The Heroes of Olympus and The Kane Chronicles.
- The Son of Sobek (2013): Carter and Percy meet and fight a crocodile spirit.
- The Staff of Serapis (2014): Sadie and Annabeth team up to fight Serapis.
- The Crown of Ptolemy (2015): Carter, Percy, Sadie, and Annabeth team up to fight Setne, a rogue magician harnessing Greco-Egyptian magic.
- Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard (2015–2017): The fourth series. It follows Magnus Chase, the cousin of Percy's love interest, Annabeth, as he discovers he is the child of a Norse God and must prevent Ragnarok. The books take place concurrently with The Trials of Apollo.
- Various companion books
- The Demigod Files (2009): A short story collection set between The Battle of the Labyrinth and The Last Olympian featuring Percy Jackson and the Bronze Dragon, Percy Jackson and the Stolen Chariot and Percy Jackson and the Sword of Hades.
- Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Ultimate Guide (2010)
- The Demigod Diaries (2012): A short story collection featuring The Diary of Luke Castellan, Percy Jackson and the Staff of Hermes, Leo Valdez and the Quest for Buford and Haley Riordan's The Son of Magic.
- The Kane Chronicles: Survival Guide (2012)
- Percy Jackson and the Singer of Apollo (2013): A short story published in Guys Read, it was later attached to the paperback edition of The Hidden Oracle.
- Percy Jackson's Greek Gods (2014): An illustrated book featuring Percy telling Greek myths about the gods with his usual snark.
- Percy Jackson's Greek Heroes (2015): A sequel to Greek Gods in the same style.
- Hotel Valhalla: Guide to the Norse World (2016): A Magnus Chase companion.
- Camp Half-Blood Confidential (2017): A guide to Camp Half-Blood and the Greco-Roman world.
- Brooklyn House Magician's Manual (2018): A Kane Chronicles companion.
- 9 from the Nine Worlds (2018): A Magnus Chase short story collection featuring Just Another Decapitated Head, This Is Why I Hate Clothes Shopping, This Little Light Of Mine, I'm Gonna Let It Shine, Speaking Of Trolls..., My Eighth-Grade Physics Actually Comes in Handy, Nice Doggy, So's Your Face!, Well, That Was a Surprise, I Play with Fire, and Goal Achieved! Sort of...
- Camp Jupiter Classified: A Probatio's Journal (2020): A guide to Camp Jupiter.
Comic Books
- Percy Jackson and the Olympians (2010–2019): Graphic novel adaptations of the books.
- The Kane Chronicles (2012–2017): Graphic novel adaptations of the books.
- The Heroes of Olympus (2014-ongoing): Graphic novel adaptations of the books.note
Live-Action Film
- Percy Jackson and the Olympians:
- Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief (2010): An adaptation of the first book in the Percy Jackson book series.
- Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters (2013): A sequel to the first movie and an adaptation of the second book.
Theatre
- The Lightning Thief (2014): A rock musical adaptation of the first book in the Percy Jackson series.
Live-Action TV
- Percy Jackson and the Olympians (2023–): A Disney+ adaptation of the books.
Video Games
- Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief (2010): Nintendo DS adaptation of the first film and by extension the first book.
Tropes in this setting:
- All Myths Are True: Though the series mostly deals with Classical Mythology, other mythologies are lightly touched upon. A canon Crossover exists between this franchise and The Kane Chronicles, which deals with Egyptian mythology. Not to mention the main character of Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard is Annabeth's cousin. According to Apollo, the Olympians are aware of the existence of their fellow pantheons and Thor mentions he once challenged Jesus to a fight.
- Crossover Cosmology: The Greek/Roman, Egyptian, and Norse pantheons all coexist, with their demigod children interacting in various crossovers. Other pantheons are also mentioned in passing; for example, in The Trials of Apollo, Apollo meets a Yoruban demigod and mentions the Aztec, Hindu, Samnite and Babylonian pantheons, and Chinese celestial dragons, as all being real. The existence of Big-G God is briefly discussed in the first book of the franchise, with the implication that He does exist, while Thor apparently once challenged Jesus to a fight, which didn't happen. Though this is deconstructed a little with Samirah, a Muslim Valkyrie, as it's called to attention how she belongs to two opposing faiths.
- First-Person Smartass: Both Percy Jackson and Magnus Chase are Deadpan Snarkers, and it bleeds into their narration too. This is also noticeable in the Greek Gods and Greek Heroes companion books, where Percy injects his own brand of humor and biases into retelling the story, resulting in what can be best described as Classical Mythology: The Abridged Series.
- In Which a Trope Is Described: In all the books (except for The Heroes of Olympus), the chapter titles take on this format — for instance, the first chapter of the first book is "I Accidentally Vaporize My Pre-algebra Teacher". The Trials of Apollo uniquely does this in haiku, with the first chapter being titled "Hoodlums punch my face / I would smite them if I could / Mortality blows". This even carries over to the TV series, with some of the chapter titles being used as episode titles.
- Kid Hero: Riordanverse protagonists tend to be preteens or teens tasked with saving the world from some cataclysm or other.
- Semi-Divine: The franchise centers around characters who are half- or part-god. They look human but have superhuman abilities inherited from their godly parent/ancestor.
- Switching P.O.V.: In The Kane Chronicles (between Carter and Sadie) and The Heroes of Olympus (with anywhere from three to seven POVs per book).
