What’s up with Clarisse La Rue, daughter of Ares and Camp Half-Blood’s resident bully? Since her debut in The Lightning Thief, we’ve seen her be incredibly heroic and incredibly cruel in equal measure, which begs the question: Are there hidden layers to this fearsome tormenter of junior demigods? Let’s explore.

Daughter of War

While the rest of us are learning the difference between a salad fork and a dinner fork, the children of Ares are grabbing all the forks and skewering monsters with them. Clarisse is no exception in her mastery of weaponry, despite being intimidated by her father from a young age. It’s understandable, as Ares seems to have, let’s say, a bit of gender-bias when it comes to his kids. . . .

Sibling Rivalry

Clarisse was not Ares’s first choice of rider for his War Chariot, for instance. But she proved beyond the shadow of a doubt that she is capable of handling his precious motorcycle, after thwarting her dum-dum half-brothers, Phobos and Deimos, from taking it for a reckless joyride. And she did so all by herself (Okay, Percy may have helped her a tiny bit, but it’s best not to mention that.)

Legendary Drakon Slayer

Clarisse’s weapon of choice is undoubtedly her electric spear. A gift from Ares himself, this five-foot long beauty is capable of electrocuting even the most heavily-armored enemies. Unfortunately, it’s not the most durable of tools. In fact, Clarisse has already gone through at least three of them (thanks, Percy). However, she was still able to use one to single-handedly take down a Drakon in the Battle of Manhattan. Ares was never prouder.

Attack of the Heart

Despite all her, tackling, impaling, toilet-dunking, and general war-mongering, it should be noted that Clarisse has a soft side. And unlike other children of Ares, she isn’t afraid to show it—particularly around her long-term boyfriend, Chris Rodriguez. Without her generous aid and patience, he would probably still be under Minos the Ghost King’s madness spell. See? Not every problem can be solved by stabbing it through the chest.

We understand Clarisse left Camp Half-Blood to pursue an education at the University of Arizona, but what do you think the future has in store for her? Let us know!