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Yankees-hat

Invisible Cap in Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Ultimate Guide

Annabeth's Yankees Cap is a magical item that had the ability to make the person who wears it invisible. It was a gift from her mother, Athena.

History[]

During a field trip visit to Olympus with some other campers including Luke Castellan, Annabeth's mother and the goddess of wisdom and war, Athena, gave it to her for her twelfth birthday. This is one of the only gifts that her mother has ever given her.

In The Mark of Athena, the magic cap had its magical properties removed after Annabeth Chase got into an argument with Minerva, her mother's Roman side. However, in The Staff of Serapis, the cap's magical properties were restored by Athena although, as mentioned in The Chalice of the Gods, Annabeth doesn't use it very often afterwards, likely due to how uncomfortable it actually is.

Description[]

Annabeth Chase

Annabeth using her cap to turn invisible.

The cap is similar to Hades' Helm of Darkness. However, it does not have any fear inducing properties, it cannot change its shape, and it does not make the wearer intangible.

In battle, or in any circumstance as a demigod, the hat is very useful. When worn, it makes the user and any item they're holding invisible. That in and of itself would make it very powerful, as its usefulness of stealth is an important and useful factor in battle and ingenuity on Annabeth's part makes it invaluable. Unfortunately the cap lost its magic in The Mark of Athena after Annabeth get in an argument with Minerva, her mother's Roman form. In The Staff of Serapis, Athena restores the cap's power and sends it to her daughter to help her defeat Serapis.

In The Crown of Ptolemy the cap is ineffective against Setne who is able to see through its magic and render it ineffective when Annabeth is wearing it. However, Egyptian magician Carter Kane is later able to use the cap effectively against Setne with it being wielded by a Egyptian magician rather than a Greek demigod making it an effective weapon against Setne.

In The Chalice of the Gods, the hat is revealed to actually be uncomfortable to use and only has a limited effect against gods. While it does appear to render the user invisible to minor gods, the best that it can do with major gods like the Olympians is possibly make the user seem to be unimportant. Grover Underwood stated that only the Helm of Darkness could make the user invisible to the Olympians themselves. When Percy looks at himself while he's using it, he appears to be surrounded by a smoky haze. It is also completely ineffective against the security guard at the elevator to Olympus and apparently, Naomi the cloud nymph who scowls at the cap in a way that makes Percy think that invisibility hats are rude in Naomi's kitchen and also ineffective. When Percy asks her about it, Annabeth states that all power has a price, even being invisible.

Percy Jackson and the Olympians[]

The Lightning Thief[]

Annabeth uses the cap several times throughout the book, including to listen in on Percy's meeting about the Quest for the Master Bolt and during Capture the Flag. Annabeth briefly lends it to Percy in an effort to avoid the Furies, believing that they are searching for him. However, the Furies are searching for the Helm of Darkness instead.

The Sea of Monsters[]

Annabeth uses the cap to keep an eye on Percy in secret before later using it to defeat the Laistrygonians when they attack Percy and Tyson.

Later, Hermes includes it in the duffle bags that he packs for the three for their quest and Annabeth uses it to sneak around onboard the Princess Andromeda. While in the Sea of Monsters, Annabeth uses it to trick Polyphemus. However, she loses it when Polyphemus manages to catch her. While fleeing from the evil Cyclops, Grover Underwood retrieves the cap for her from the ground.

The Titan's Curse[]

When Annabeth is abducted during the fight with the Manticore at Westover Hall, she loses her cap and it is recovered by Percy from the snow. Percy keeps the cap and uses it to eavesdrop on Atlas and Luke.

The Battle of the Labyrinth[]

Annabeth uses the cap to escape from Mount Saint Helens

The Last Olympian[]

Annabeth uses it to fight alongside Percy.

The Heroes of Olympus[]

The Mark of Athena[]

Following Annabeth's argument with Minerva, her mother's Roman side, the goddess revokes the cap's magical powers. Despite this, Annabeth brings the cap with her aboard the Argo II and tries it on every morning in the hopes that its magic will work again without success.

Demigods & Magicians[]

The Staff of Serapis[]

During the battle with Serapis, Athena unexpectedly returns the cap to Annabeth with its magical powers restored in order to help defeat the hybrid god. Annabeth is surprised to find the cap in her bag as she hasn't carried it with her for some time due to the cap's magical powers being gone. Annabeth realizes that Athena sent her some help and it both encourages her and worries her that the situation is so bad that Athena got involved herself, meaning that Serapis must be a real threat to the gods. Annabeth is able to use the cap to sneak up on Serapis' Staff and kill it, destroying the hybrid god.

After the battle, Annabeth plays with the cap and thinks about why Athena had given it back to her with its magic restored. Annabeth feels like Athena seems to be sending her a message: "there will always be threats too powerful to face head-on. You are not done with stealth. You must tread carefully here."

The Crown of Ptolemy[]

The cap proves to be useless against Setne who is able to see right through its power when Annabeth is wearing it. As a result, Annabeth later lends the cap to Egyptian magician Carter Kane, theorizing that as Carter would be an Egyptian magician using a Greek item rather than a Greek demigod using a Greek item, it would work better for him. The cap proves highly effective in Carter's hands, rendering him invisible to Setne and allowing Carter to launch a sneak attack that cuts off Setne's hand and recovers the Book of Thoth. In Carter's possession, Percy is unable to see him when Carter is invisible, even using the enhanced senses of Nekhbet whom he is hosting and he only becomes visible when Setne briefly goads Carter into revealing himself and attacking again with the Fist of Horus.

The Chalice of the Gods[]

Annabeth reluctantly lends Percy the cap to sneak into Zeus's Palace and return Ganymede's Chalice to him. Grover reveals that the cap can only make Percy invisible to nature spirits and minor gods and, at best, look like someone unimportant to the Olympians. In addition, the cap is now too small to fit Percy properly anymore even at its biggest setting and he learns that it causes an uncomfortable sensation during use, presumably why Annabeth uses it so little.

With the cap and the help of Zeus' kitchen staff, Percy manages to successfully return the chalice. Although Athena catches him, she decides to cover for Percy rather than expose his presence. Grover subsequently returns the hat to Annabeth for Percy as he has to go back to school. When the two discuss the quest later on and how uncomfortable the hat really is, Annabeth tells Percy that all power has a price, even invisibility.

Percy Jackson and the Olympians (TV series)[]

I Become Supreme Lord of the Bathroom[]

Right before Capture the Flag, Annabeth uses her hat to turn invisible. When Percy is confused, she tells him that the hat was a gift from her mom. It is later revealed that Annabeth was using the hat to spy on Percy during Capture the Flag.

"We Visit the Garden Gnome Emporium"[]

During the battle with Medusa at Aunty Em's Gnome Emporium, Annabeth wears her Yankees cap. While the gorgon is distracted by Grover, Annabeth places the cap on Medusa's head from behind, turning her invisible and allowing Percy to open his eyes and decapitate Medusa with Riptide. The cap remains on Medusa's Head, causing it to remain invisible even after she's killed.

Percy subsequently kills Alecto by carrying the invisible head outside and then removing the cap in front of the Fury, turning her to stone, before recovering the head with the hat.

Afterwards, Percy suggests keeping Medusa's Head covered by the cap and burying it to dispose of the head before Grover reminds him that the cap was a gift from Annabeth's mother. Instead, Percy decides to mail the head to the gods via Hermes Express.

"We Take a Zebra to Vegas"[]

Annabeth uses her Yankees cap to steal Hermes' car keys while he's distracted talking to Percy. However, it's later discovered that the god of thieves had detected the theft.

"We Find Out the Truth, Sort Of"[]

Annabeth uses her cap to follow Percy into Crusty's Water Bed Palace, trapping Crusty in one of his own beds on Percy's signal.

"The Prophecy Comes True"[]

Annabeth uses her cap to spy on Percy and Luke, overhearing the truth about Luke's betrayal and revealing herself when Luke is about to kill Percy.

Users[]

  • Annabeth Chase – The cap belongs to Annabeth, and was given to her by her mother Athena. The cap helped cause many victories and success in Annabeth's and Percy's quests.
  • Percy Jackson – When Annabeth was abducted in The Titan's Curse, Percy kept the cap and used it to eavesdrop on Atlas and Luke. Six months later, he used it to sneak up on Kronos before he could reform, as well as checking in on Nico di Angelo as he spotted him spying on the Hunters during Phoebe's outbreak of Hives caused by centaur blood, and accidentally startled Nico as he took it off. He also used it briefly in The Lightning Thief and The Battle of the Labyrinth. In The Chalice of the Gods, Annabeth lends it to Percy to sneak into Zeus' Palace and return Ganymede's Chalice to him.
  • Carter Kane - In order to defeat the evil ghost magician Setne, Annabeth gives Carter her cap, believing that while it didn't work for her against Setne, with a magician wielding it instead of a demigod, it might work. The cap proves highly effective for Carter who is able to sneak up on Setne and cut off his hand, allowing them to retrieve the Book of Thoth and saving Percy, Annabeth, and Sadie Kane's lives.

Trivia[]

  • In ancient myths, Athena gave Perseus a helmet that turned him invisible. During the series, Annabeth, a daughter of Athena, has offered to let Percy Jackson use it on multiple occasions.  
  • In the Iliad book 5, Athena herself uses a cap of invisibility while riding on the chariot of Diomedes
  • In her official picture, Annabeth has the hat on and is seen starting to turn invisible from the bottom up.
  • Annabeth does not let anyone else other than Percy and Carter use the hat.
  • Percy actually had Annabeth's hat when she went missing in The Titan's Curse.
  • The cap seems to have a different level of efficiency depending on the type of wielder: against Setne while wielded by the demigod Annabeth, it was completely ineffective. However, when the magician Carter Kane wielded it against the same opponent, it was extremely effective to the point that even when hosting the goddess Nekhbet, Percy couldn't see Carter even with her enhanced vision.
  • The cap works similar to a Swan Cloak (notably used by Samirah al-Abbas) which can also turn the wearer invisible. Though unlike the cap, the cloak can hide up to two people.
  • In The Chalice of the Gods, Percy compares Annabeth lending out the cap to him like Percy lending another demigod Riptide in a fight. It's just not done without a really good reason.
  • As revealed in The Chalice of the Gods, the cap is ineffective against the major gods such as the Olympians aside from possibly making the wearer seem unimportant to them. According to Grover, only the Helm of Darkness can render someone invisible to the Olympians. Naomi the cloud nymph also appears to be immune to its power and scowls directly at the cap while talking to Percy in a way that makes Percy think that invisibility hats are rude in Naomi's kitchen and also ineffective. Athena, the cap's creator, is shown to be able to see right through whatever effect the cap might've had on the Olympians and recognize Percy.
Items
Personal Weapons: Riptide | Annabeth's Knife | Backbiter | Master Bolt | Poseidon's Trident | Nico's Sword | Thalia's Spear | Aegis | Ares' Sword | Ares' Shield | Caduceus | Apollo's Golden Bow | Silver Bow | Artemis' Knives | Hades' Sword | Hades' Staff | Kronos' Scythe | Ivlivs | Katoptris | Hazel's Spatha | Frank's Spear | Reyna's Spear | Juno's Gladius | Annabeth's Sword | Sumarbrander | Gungnir | Gjallar | Mjolnir | Gríðarvölr | Khopesh | Mallory's Serrated Knives | Meg's Twin Imperial Gold siccae blades | Thyrsus | Hecate's Torches | Minotaur's Axe | Leroy's Sword | Tyson's Javelin | Alex's Garrote Wire | Piper's Sword
Magical Items: Annabeth's Yankees Cap | Helm of Darkness | Pandora's Pithos | Winged Shoes | Golden Fleece | Flying Chariot | Golden Apple | Apples of Immortality | Greek Fire | Hermes' Multivitamins | Nectar and Ambrosia | Stygian Ice Whistle | Keys of Hades | Leo's Magical Toolbelt | Serapis' Staff | Magic 8 Ball | Arrow of Dodona | Pig Ball | Mechanical Spider | Angel Statues | Athena Parthenos | Chiron's Wheelchair | Diocletian's Scepter | Flaming Dodgeball | Gleipnir | Poseidon's Pearls | Queen Hippolyta's Belt | Mistletoe Arrow | Frank's Stick | Expand-o-Duck | Caligula's Caligae | Ran's Net | Rune Stones | Nábrók | Pomegranate
Spoils of War: Minotaur's Horn | Medusa's Head | Kampê's Scimitars | Nemean Lion's Pelt | Gorgon Blood | Cornucopia | Lydian Drakon Hide | Phineas' Robe and Slippers | Triptolemus's Almanac | Odysseus' Astrolabe
Items: Camp Necklace | Chameleon Armor | Daedalus' Laptop | Golden drachma | Denarius | Red Gold | Mark of Athena | Thalia's Shield | Video Shield | Wristwatch Shield | Golden Mango | Sibylline Books | Letter of Recommendation
Ships Amos' Boat | Argo II | CSS Birmingham | Egyptian Queen | Julia Drusilla Yachts | Pax | Queen Anne's Revenge | Reed Boat | Naglfar | Gorgyra's Canoe
Blessed Metals: Adamantine | Celestial Bronze | Imperial Gold | Stygian Iron | Bone Steel
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