The Dresden Files/Awesome: Difference between revisions

== Storm Front ==

* Harry makes an entrance at the mob-owned Varsity by blowing the door off its hinges, melting the jukebox, and exploding every lightbulb in the place.

** Made even more impressive since Dresden blew the door out towards him so as not to rain splinters on innocent bystanders.

*** That quote sums up Dresden pretty well. The dude is a big bad wolf.

* Murphy shoots a loup-garou [read: giant psychotic werewolf] with silver bullets she made from her deceased aunt's earrings.

** Right after, Carmichael, who has been the complete skeptic who has never believed Harry to be anything other than a con man, tells another officer about Harry:

** Shortly after the above, Harry manages to drive the loup-garou off with a phenomenally powerful telekinetic blast that hurls it through ''three buildings.'' As one of the witnesses so eloquently puts it:

*** Arguably made even funnier by the fact that the guy was basically a [[Uncle Tomfoolery|token black guy]]; the kind who stands around and says that things are 'whack'.

* Crime lord John Marcone, when trussed up and hanging over a pit as bait for said loup-garou, uses a knife his captors didn't find, and instead of cutting all the ropes and freeing himself, cuts one rope so that Harry and Murphy can climb out of the pit and away from the werewolf--though this leaves him in considerable danger. ''And'' he banters with Harry while he does it. Oh and does it in the dark.

== Grave Peril ==

* Also a [[Crowning Moment of Funny]]:

'''Harry''': "Not just a vampire, a ''cheesy'' vampire. Do you think they got the point?" }}

* Harry, outnumbered by the vampires, manages to win by putting enough magic into the area to {{spoiler|awaken the ghosts of all the people that the vampires have killed over the years. The ghosts completely annihilate the vamps}}.

* Harry lets the villain {{spoiler|kill him in his dreams}}, but uses the villain's weakening of the border between worlds to {{spoiler|make his ghost appear to assist in killing the villain}} and has someone (who could quite possibly kill him) {{spoiler|perform CPR on him the next minute}}.

* But to get there Harry and company have to cross into the Nevernever where his [[The Fair Folk|fairy godmother]] waits to bind him into lifelong servitude. But Harry has a plan. As soon as she appears, Thomas and Michael throw two boxes of nails around Harry. As Lea shrieks about them defiling the soil, Harry uses his contingency plan. {{spoiler|Thomas reveals that the nails were an aluminum distraction. Harry had used the time to eat Destroying Angel, a poisonous toadstool that will destroy his organs in a few hours and kill him within days. However, Michael has St. Mary's thistle, an antidote for mushroom poisoning, which he's willing to trade in exchange for Lea leaving Harry alone for a year and a day.}} Made even better by the fact that other than the nail distraction, Harry was completely honest about the whole thing.

Bonus, the same mushroom poisoning kept the vampires from draining him dry later. They got badly poisoned. }}

* Nightmare is threatening to eat Harry's heart. Harry then corrects his grammar.

H: "It's THINE heart." }}

* Michael turning up at the graveyard where the Nightmare had taken Charity:

A boot planted itself heavily on the marble beside me. Then another. ''Amoracchius'' cast a glowing white light upon my shoulder, and Michael said, "I think not." }}

 

* Shiro's {{spoiler|[[Heroic Sacrifice]].}}

* Harry, confronted with [[Smug Snake|Cassius]] and his attempt to loophole his way out of being slain by the Knights of the Cross by [[I Surrender, Suckers|surrendering and sarcastically promising to repent]], responds to the mockery by [[Shut UP, Hannibal|breaking his kneecaps with a baseball bat.]]

** Then he drops a quarter on the ground and tells the guy the nearest payphone is across the parking lot through broken glass. What Harry knows, and Michael later points out, is that phone calls no longer cost twenty-five cents.

* The Archive, slaughtering a half-dozen Red Court vampires using {{spoiler|a chunk of pure ''anti-life''}}. Then she comments that [[Little Miss Badass|it's past her bedtime.]]

== Blood Rites ==

* Harry kills a Black Court vampire with a laser-guided frozen turkey dropped from an airplane passing overhead. Sure, it was someone else's curse that Harry redirected, but the end result had even the other characters going WTF.

** This has the added benefit of being quite possibly [[Crowning Moment of Funny|the funniest thing to happen in the entire series]].

* Murphy refusing to break under the White King's mind control. Granted, that doesn't seem like much in this series, but not even Lara managed to do that before Harry told her that her dad was powerless.

** Doubles up: Harry, who had no reason to believe Murphy hadn't started to break and was really, truly, out of it, only needed two words to be bet-his-life certain.

* Awesome moment for [[Jim Butcher]]: ''Blood Rites'' has two of the best opening and closing lines in all of fiction. Opening: "The building was on fire, and it wasn't my fault." Closing: {{spoiler|"'Thomas, why did you buy ''large breed'' puppy chow?'"}}

* Harry and Murphy, with a little magical help, motorcycle-joust a car {{spoiler|loaded with Lord Raith's goons}} and send the car hurtling away on fire.

** The Awesomeness that is Zombie-Sue is recognized in the book when he does it: ''Harry'' doesn't make a big deal about it, but Luccio, commander of the Wardens who should by all rights be appalled at the necromancy (even if it isn't technically illegal), can't quite get over her feeling of stunned disbelief. And Warden Ramirez immediately thinks it's the coolest thing ''ever''.

** Remember that ghoul? The unstoppable ninja flesh-eater who nearly killed Harry in the alleyway?

* Harry telling Mavra, in no uncertain terms, that if she ''ever'' tries to get to him through Murphy again, he will take her down with ''extreme prejudice'' is worth a mention, too.

** [[Fridge Brilliance]] makes this more awesome. Mavra has not come back since.

* Oh, and speaking of the sidekick's one-man polka suit... Waldo Butters is a 5-foot-nothing, 98-pound weakling nebbishy coroner. He is not a trained cop like Murphy, he doesn't have a connection to the higher powers like the Knights, he doesn't even have the ability to turn into a wolf like the Alphas. But, after a very crappy day involving zombies, necromancers, and psychopaths who either want what he knows or want him dead, he finds the fortitude to save Harry from a knife wielding psycho in a fist fight. He didn't do a hell of a lot of fighting, but he always put himself between the guy with the knife and his friend.

** And never forget: POLKA WILL NEVER DIE!

** Also don't forget that said getting between the guy with the knife and his friend involved attacking the psycho ''with his teeth''.

And held his ground. }}

** A small thing, but Butters also manages to keep his cool enough that, during the final battle, he actually manages to use the knowledge Harry has taught him to create a warding circle to protect himself from the undead, while lethal and deadly specters are closing in on him from all sides.

* And Bob, after {{spoiler|the [[Big Bad]] necromancer puts him down, ''possesses Sue'' to come to Harry's rescue.}}

* The Senior council was being chased through the Nevernever by Red Court vamps, demons, and at least one [[Eldritch Abomination]]. The Merlin held off ''the entire freaking Red Court'' with an impromptu ward.

* Luccio shows Harry why she's the captain of the Wardens by destroying thirty undead in under five seconds,the rest of the Wardens handle the rest and not one child is harmed in the process.

 

* "[[Shout-Out|How about]] [[The Wizard of Oz (film)|a little]] [[Kill It with Fire|fire]], [[Scary Scarecrows|Scarecrow]]?"

* Dresden entering the movie theater with yet movie another reference:

* [[Mama Bear|Charity Carpenter]] at Arctis Tor. "You will never touch my daughter again!", indeed.

** A Moment of Awesome is also awarded to Daniel Carpenter, for attacking the phages {{spoiler|that show up at the Carpenter home}} with nothing more than a fire poker and sheer balls. That it was ultimately futile does not diminish this in the slightest, particularly in light of the psychic beating he took on behalf of his family.

*** This is even further enhanced by ''Changes'', where we learn that {{spoiler|the Red King's greatest minions are the [[Physical God|Lords of the Outer Night]] - meaning Morgan likely had to cut through ''at least'' one of those guys to get so close to the King}}.

* Thomas's [[Big Damn Heroes]] moment.

* Harry ''serving'' Maeve, the Queen To Be of the Winter Court.

'''Harry''': "Technically? When I killed Aurora." }}

* Michael spends most of the entire book mysteriously absent and out of contact. He returns at the end for a [[Big Damn Heroes]] moment, during which it is revealed he was off on a [[Big Damn Heroes]] mission for ''Injun Joe and McCoy'', who are both members of the Senior Council. McCoy says that if he hadn't shown up, no one would have survived.

* Harry's entrance into the {{spoiler|vampire conference in the Deeps.}}

** A bit of explanation: one of the [[Big Bad|Big Bads]] who [[Gambit Pileup|(thinks he)]] arranged the plot of the whole books is talking to {{spoiler|the assembled White Court of vampires,}} saying how they can {{spoiler|take out the minor magic-users among humanity}} with impunity. After all, who was there to stop them?

** Harry then slams his staff on the floor, ''cracking a marble flagstone,'' making a sound like thunder, and creating a carpet of rolling fire. Harry strides down the aisle behind this fire, Ramirez at his side, and calls out the villains of the piece for their deeds, ending the display by challenging the two culprits to a duel to the death. [[Badass|Bad. Ass.]]

 

 

* Harry, when confronted by a dozen ghouls attacking him on a boat, shows [[Took a Level In Badass|what he's learned since the last book]].

** Note the uncharacteristic glee with which the narration explains how doomed they are: New Mexico made him ''angry''.

* After using the {{spoiler|lust generated by kissing}} Lara Raith to get them out of a blast zone, Harry begins listing off a series of increasingly costly demands as reparations for the damage inflicted by her house. At the end of it, he adds one final demand: "Some Listerine. I've got a funny taste in my mouth." Her reaction is ''priceless.''

* Shadow Lasciel's {{spoiler|[[Heroic Sacrifice]]}}. Best of all, it leads in with a simple statement:

* Harry going head-to-head against {{spoiler|Cowl}}. Not necessarily what he does but how he reacts to it when he realizes he's up against {{spoiler|the most powerful wizard he's ever faced}}:

* Lara and Thomas utterly stopping a horde of nigh-unkillable super-ghouls in their tracks.It's so awesome Harry uses it as an example of why Lara shouldn't be underestimated in Turn Coat

 

** "I don't call him the Fist of God as a pet name, folks."

** Not to mention he {{spoiler|singlehandedly cleans out an entire subway terminal filled with more than a hundred hobs.}}

* The Archive fighting 8 Denarians at once, after disintegrating one of them. Oh, and she's a twelve-year-old girl. [[Little Miss Badass]] indeed.

** And, because of an enemy spell, she was cut off from all magic except for that in the immediate area. Yes, she had almost nothing to work with, yet she used what was lying around to kick ass.

** This is especially funny seeing how the White Court are seldom that physical. But Thomas just didn't want to play with words, or plots. He just smacked a metal chair over her head.

* Harry calling up {{spoiler|the [[Genius Loci]] of the nasty island from ''Small Favor''}}, beating it in a contest of wills, and making it his friend. Of sorts.

** This is followed up closer to the end of the book by an offhand comment from Rashid, the Gatekeeper, regarding {{spoiler|the aforementioned very powerful and scary [[Genius Loci]]}}. Said comment? That Rashid wouldn't {{spoiler|set foot on the island}} because "It holds a grudge." The Gatekeeper apparently came out on top when {{spoiler|fighting an entity that's been around for ''tens of thousands of years''}}.

* Harry {{spoiler|[[Throwing Down the Gauntlet|setting up a showdown]] on the aforementioned island between himself, the White Court, the White Council, the skinwalker hunting the wounded Morgan and the traitor in the Council.}}

* Ebenezar's [[Badass Boast]] after Lara socks Harry, unaware the two are working together.

* Toot-toot during the fight on the island takes on the skinwalker with a ''boxcutter'' and actually gets in a few hits, distracting it long enough for Harry to continue kicking its ass.

** While shouting "Avaunt, villain!" In fact, he was saving Harry's life, and probably Molly's too. No wonder Toot's even taller when we see him next.

*** As Joe said:" Little guy like that, taking on something so far out his weight class. That was a sight to see."

* Listens-To-Wind {{spoiler|getting into a [[Shapeshifter Showdown]] with the skinwalker.}} And sending it scurrying for its life. And that was after {{spoiler|shorting out its magic with fricking RAIN DANCE!}}

** Even better in hindsight. Shagnasty tore through the White King's personal domain with no effort. Listens-To-Winds kicked his ass.

* And Harry's {{spoiler|[[Xanatos Gambit]] to expose the traitor.}} Hurrah for subcontracting!

** And before that, he was able to telepathically forumulate a battle plan amidst the chaos of the attack. While it was pitch-black. While he was fighting a powerful supernatural entity. In under three seconds.

*** Not to mention how ''insanely'' calm the wording for the battle plan was.

** To make things better he even ''thought'' a mental chalk board outline of the battle plan to people so they could more easily see what to do. And he realized that anyone that called forth light in the black would immediately be a target. Many humans in the Dresdenverse die by making that mistake. They light themselves up(as supernatural creatures are seldom bothered by the lack of light) and become targets. And then dead.

* The interrogation of Binder. {{spoiler|Murphy tortures him with a hoagie, Harry repeatedly punches him in the face, and Rawlins provides some of the best color commentary ever while watching from the camera in the next room.}}

* Harry fighting the skinwalker. "Bring it, you dickless freak!" Best. Challenge. Ever.

** Consider the circumstances of the duel. Harry had barely slept for two days, had been recently injured -- multiple concussions, no less -- had lost his staff and blasting rod and exhausted a good deal of his power in previous battles. He had to ''run up a mountain'' to catch up with the damn thing. Yet he hit the skinwalker with three precise, ferocious spells and each one hurt it, even if he himself collapsed afterwards. Imagine what might happen if Harry ever meets the skinwalker when he's at full strength, with the preparation and experience he has now. To quote Harry and invert the situation:

 

 

** Sure, the fact that he managed it was awesome, but the circumstances were less [[Crowning Moment of Awesome]] than [[Tear Jerker|another trope]]...

* The final battle counts for {{spoiler|Murphy! She killed a [[Physical God]] with one hit-- ''after'' cutting her way through a crowd of vampires and elite half-vamps to get to him!}}

** A note on this...{{spoiler|''Murphy''}} isn't really the one saying that -- she comments later that something ''else'' was speaking through her. Considering the circumstances, that line above is probably a [[Pre-Ass-Kicking One-Liner]] directly from a freaking ''Archangel''.

** {{spoiler|Fidelacchius bleached her clothes and Bob was circling around her head to protect her from the Lords of the Outer Night's psychic assault. So she <s>basically looked like</s> ''was'' an avenging archangel in holy white, with a glowing golden halo, laying waste with a frigging ''[[Katanas Are Just Better|katana]] of Jesus''.}} Good ''God''. Literally.

** [[Foreshadowing]]: {{spoiler|You know, exactly like she looks whenever Harry looks at her with the Sight?}}

** Even better when you read back and notice the [[Foreshadowing]]: When Harry arrives to find his crew waiting to go, she's playing chess with someone. What move is she noted as making when Harry walks into the room? {{spoiler|Moving a Knight into a horde of enemy pieces}}.

[[Beat Panel|Sanya blinked.]]<br />

[[Oh Crap|Holy crap]], I hadn't meant she should do ''that.'' }}

** Dresden also compliments Molly on how weird her brain is.

* During a meeting between Murphy and her various allies, their White Court contact learns that {{spoiler|Murphy is now custodian of two of the Swords}}. She makes Murphy an offer so that the White Court won't "learn" about this: [[Les Yay|let her feed on Murphy.]] Murphy [[Shut UP, Hannibal|presents her counter-offer]]: {{spoiler|a [[Pistol-Whipping]], followed by smashing her face against her coffee table, and leveling a gun at her and ''promising'' to kill her if anyone from the White Court so much as ''blinks'' at the Swords}}. Needless to say, the vampire agrees with the terms. The icing on the cake is Harry and Sir Stuart's commentary at the end:

'''Harry''': Damn skippy. }}

* We've always known Bob was a powerful spiritual entity, and he did a damned good showing while {{spoiler|shielding Murphy from the Red King}} in ''Changes'', but in ''Ghost Story'', we see what he can do in a spirit-on-spirit struggle when a trio of ghostly predators are trying to eat Harry alive. They get ''massacred'' by Bob, who pounds them into ectoplasmic mush with about as much effort as Ferrovax dropping Harry or Eldest Gruff killing Magog.

* Mortimer Lindquist's [[Big Damn Heroes]] moment as he comes at {{spoiler|Corpsetaker}} with all the {{spoiler|wraiths that she had left behind in the pit with him.}}

** Complete with [[Pre-Ass-Kicking One-Liner]]:

** ''Ghost Story'' will forever be remembered as "The Book Where Morty [[Let's Get Dangerous|Got Dangerous]]".

* The ending, where Harry tells {{spoiler|Mab herself}} that his soul is his own. {{spoiler|The Winter Queen}} can hurt him, but {{spoiler|she}} will never ''own'' him, and he's taking care of the job ''his'' way. The delivery, coupled with the sheer obstinate defiance that is Harry Dresden's trademark, makes it the [[Shut UP, Hannibal|most epic telling-off]] since Harry sending Mavra scurrying away in ''Dead Beat''.

** Complete with [[Badass Boast]] about just what he'll be up to {{spoiler|as the Winter Knight}}:

* When Lea can't tell Harry {{spoiler|who killed him}}, she says this:

** It's badass because {{spoiler|Harry set up his own murder with Kincaid before making the deal with Mab. Kincaid, a centuries old, half-human and half something very bad assassin also known as The Hellhound, is less badass than the mortal who's probably only in his mid-30s. To paraphrase [[Pulp Fiction]], Kincaid is a race car in the red, while Harry is a mushroom cloud laying motherfucker, motherfucker.}}

* Daniel's knife fight with Aristedes. A normal human boy lacking the faith powers of his father and the magic of his sister goes toe to toe with a magically fast sorcerer {{spoiler|he loses, but that doesn't detract from the fact that it took balls and the fact that he actually hurt the guy}}

** Also, Butters' anatomy lesson during the same fight:

* "Be." <ref> Harry gathers all of his magic to allow himself to manifest, which only works for the ghosts who are either insane or insanely motivated. Whether Harry is a lunatic or just incredibly determined, ''it works.''</ref>

* One for Captain Jack: he {{spoiler|lies to Harry about three of his friends being fated to die. Sure, they're in danger, but only in the sense that they're Harry's friends so of ''course'' they're in danger. And then when ''Uriel'' calls him on it, he ''hangs up on him.''}} Also a [[Crowning Moment of Funny]].

* And one for Uriel, with his {{spoiler|seven whispered words}}.

* The moment -- the exact, specific moment -- when young Harry stops being a scared, helpless teenager and starts being Harry Blackstone Copperfield ''[[Samuel L. Jackson|Motherfucking]]'' Dresden:

** There was even a building on fire and everything!

* A Servitor is approaching a weakened Molly, whose illusions have all been disbelieved. Harry taps into her and casts a wall of fire in front of the servitor, who assumes that it's just another illusion and walks right into it. Harry reminds everyone that, for the most part, he sucks at subtle stuff like holomancy.

 

 

** Justine has apparently gone from being a somewhat helpless [[Damsel in Distress]] to {{spoiler|one of Lara Raith's trusted spies/secret agents}}, considering that {{spoiler|she pilfered Mag's bank account information ''and'' rescued all of his slaves.}}

* In Day Off, Harry is going home from game night when he's approached by the Death Eater Wannabes for ruining their leader's bad feng shui curse. When they demand that he defend himself, ready for a magic duel (as much as they'll ever be), Harry pulls his trusty .44.

"I'm a-fixin' to defend myself," I drawled, Texas-style. }}

** I think Mouse gets one for taking on two werewolves in Mister's defense