The Dresden Files/Characters/Harry's Household: Difference between revisions

== '''Harry Blackstone Copperfield Dresden''' ==

 

 

Our hero, a smart-assed private investigator and wizard with [[Mega Neko|a really big cat]], an [[Big Friendly Dog|even bigger dog]] and a [[Dark and Troubled Past|dark past]]. Since he killed his mentor in a magical duel after said [[Evil Mentor]]'s failed attempt to bring him over to [[The Dark Side]], he's been under very serious suspicion by the White Council as a potential warlock. Only Ebenezar McCoy's intervention stopped him from being executed. Now he makes a living [[We Help the Helpless|helping the helpless]] and beating the snot out of vampires, but he's starting to realize that his family history is a lot more complicated than he had suspected...

 

* [[Ambiguous Disorder]]: In-universe, Murphy mentions most muggles he interacts with wouldn't have a hard time thinking this even if it's not the case. Dresden is a self-declared wizard who never looks people in the eyes, has a [[Man Child]] personality, a near-pathological [[For the Funnyz|need to snark]], bad personal hygiene, and [[Nerves of Steel]] that means he responds little to things normal people would lose their wits over. From Harry's POV he has logical reasons for most of these (avoid soulgazes, no electricity in his apartment, [[Seen It All]] when it comes to supernatural horror, etc), but that doesn't make him seem any less weird to the muggles he must uphold [[The Masquerade]] to.

* {{spoiler|[[Back From the Dead]]}}.

* [[Bad Dreams]]

** {{spoiler|Not anymore, thanks to Lasciel.}}

* [[Badass]]: Of all shapes and sizes

** [[Badass Bookworm]] /GeniusBruiser: Depending on where you place his six foot eight, but skinny, person.

** [[Heartbroken Badass]]:

** [[Badass Longcoat]]

** {{spoiler|[[Badass Teacher]]}}

** [[Handicapped Badass]]: Getting {{spoiler|his arm burned nearly to a crisp}} in ''Blood Rites'' didn't slow him down much, and he still had limited use in ''Dead Beat'', wherein [[Raising the Steaks|one of the most badass moments in the entire series happened.]]

** Also, he's perfectly willing to use a gun or hand-to-hand combat when that would work better than magic, which is especially effective since a lot of people expect him to be a [[Squishy Wizard]] with [[Crippling Overspecialization|no combat skills other than magic]].

* [[Deadpan Snarker]]: Constantly, to the point where his influence has turned several of his friends and associates into snarkers too.

** {{spoiler|He previously accepted, and subverted, Lasciel's.}}

* [[Destructive Savior]]: When destroying buildings is a [[Running Gag]], you know you've got one on your hands. ''Ghost Story'' reveals that the first magical battle he engaged in at seventeen, against {{spoiler|He Who Walks Behind}}, ended with {{spoiler|an entire gas station exploding}}. And the fallout of the Battle of Chichen Itza results in a massive power vacuum.

* [[Fatal Flaw]]: His [[Wouldn't Hit a Girl|old-fashioned chivalry]]. He is a sucker for a [[Damsel in Distress]].

** As of later books he seems to be getting over this, at least in the [[Wouldn't Hit a Girl]] sense.

* [[For the Funnyz]]: Could be the poster boy for this.

* [[Good Is Not Nice]]: Boy howdy.

* [[Healing Factor]]: A very, very slow one- improved bodily regeneration is the reason wizards live so long, and it means he can eventually recover from what should be permanent injuries.

** Now enhanced as of ''Changes'', one of the many benefits of {{spoiler|becoming the Winter Knight}}

* [[He Who Fights Monsters]]: In '''Ghost Story'', Harry comes to realize that the lines he crossed in ''Changes'' made him into the very things he was fighting. And then later in the book, realizes that this conclusion was an overreaction to one bad decision and that he's still fundamentally a good guy.

* {{spoiler|[[Hot Dad]]}}: Revealed in ''Changes''.

* [[Houseboat Hero]]: At the end of ''Changes''. Briefly.

** According to ''Welcome to the Jungle'', he's ''six-foot-nine'', actually. '''Everyone''' supplies the "tiny girl" part. Except maybe Gard.

* [[Hurting Hero]]

* [[Kindhearted Cat Lover]]: Harry's landlady considers him this. It's one of the reasons she hasn't thrown him out after missing rent checks and "[[Zombie Apocalypse|wild late-night parties]]."

* [[Loophole Abuse]]: He points out that the Law of Magic against {{spoiler|necromancy only applies to ''[[Raising the Steaks|human]]'' [[Tyrannosaurus Rex|dead]].}}

* [[Male Gaze]]: Harry ''notices'' women who look good. This is one of his big character flaws and blind spots.

* [[Meaningful Name]]: Malcolm Dresden was a stage magician, and thus named his son after three of the greatest stage magicians in history. And [[Fridge Brilliance|considering how many seemingly-impossible situations he's escaped from....]] Out-of-universe, his last name was also chosen in reference to the firebombings of the German city Dresden in [[World War II]], mostly because Harry has a similar effect on nearby buildings.

** Later takes advantage of this {{spoiler|in ''White Night'' to sneak into Thomas' apartment.}}

* [[Moment of Weakness]]: Harry is forced to admit to Lash's growing influence when such a moment causes pointless collateral damage in ''White Night.''

* [[Nay Theist]]

* [[The Nicknamer]]: It even becomes significant in-story on occasion; {{spoiler|his naming of Ivy and Lash gave them identities separate from the Archive and Lasciel, respectively, and naming Bob allowed him to develop a different personality as well.}}

** And when he calls {{spoiler|Uriel "Uri", it ticks off an archangel who can probably destroy ''all the planets''. That last sylable is a VERY important part of his name - it's the "God" part of "Light of God". On the other hand, he has no problem with Mr. Sunshine.}}

** Inarguable after Changes, though other people still did the prep work.

* {{spoiler|[[Our Hero Is Dead]]: Harry's shot at the end of Changes and falls into Lake Michigan. It's been confirmed that he's dead. He gets better.}}

* [[Papa Wolf]]: Few things make him madder than threatening or actually harming children. Along comes ''Changes''...and let's just say that no one would be making any attempts on {{spoiler|Harry's daughter any time soon should Harry still be alive}}

* [[Perpetual Poverty]]: Highly prevalent in the first few books, but begins to be mitigated as the series progresses, especially once {{spoiler|Harry starts getting a regular paycheck as a Warden.}}

* [[Person of Mass Destruction]]: He's one of the strongest wizards in the world, and according to Murphy's narration in ''Aftermath'', seeing him in action is downright ''terrifying'', even when he's on your side.

** Though he also {{spoiler|becomes something of [[An Ice Person]] after becoming the Winter Knight in}} ''Changes''.

* [[Rage Against the Mentor]]: Let's see. The first one he killed in self-defense, and the second one {{spoiler|was secretly the Council's assassin the whole time}}. Not a real great track record there.

* [[Restart At Level One]]: For most of the books, he's used to being the most magically powerful--and knowledgeable--person around. In ''Ghost Story'', he's repeatedly reminded of--and annoyed by--the fact that he's "the new guy" as far as {{spoiler|being a ghost}} is concerned, and he has to relearn a lot before he's effective at doing ''anything''.

* [[Ring of Power]]: Starts off with one that builds up force each time he moves his arm, capable of knocking a big man off his feet and flipping a car. He eventually upgrades to modified ones, one on each finger, capable of delivering impacts common with high speed car crashes and could possibly flip 24 cars when fully charged .

* [[Sad Clown]]

* [[Sensor Character]]: Harry can sense the presence of magic in others. He can even tell how skilled a user the other person is from minimal contact.

* [[Significant Birth Date]]: Halloween. Since this is also when dark power is at its strongest, his birthdays tend to ''really'' suck.

* [[Wouldn't Hit a Girl]]

* [[Xanatos Speed Chess]]: From the get go, Harry demonstrates some pretty decent skills as a PI, but he develops some serious skills in the art of manipulation, cunning and developing plans to leave him winning something even if he doesn't end up with all the marbles at the end. Then again, he had {{spoiler|a Fallen Angel living in his head as a counselor for a couple years}}, so maybe that helped.

 

== '''Bob the Skull''' ==

 

* [[Deadpan Snarker]]: And we love him for it.

* [[Everyone Has Standards]]: Bob is generally cheerfully amoral. But even ''he'' thinks Kemmler was a [[Complete Monster]].

* {{spoiler|[[Evil Me Scares Me]]: Necro-Bob is seriously, seriously powerful.}}

* [[Let's Get Dangerous]]: Let's just say that when Bob needs to take on other spirits, he rarely has any trouble handling them, the only possible exceptions being a [[Physical God]] and {{spoiler|his [[Evil Me Scares Me|evil self]].}}

* [[Lovable Sex Maniac]]: Bob. . Even though ''he has no body''. Among other things, he usually spends his time reading sleazy romance novels when he is not helping Harry. Bob explains his fascination with the naked female form as being a purely aesthetic appreciation for their beauty and grace...

'''Bob''': And they have BOOBS! }}

* [[Magical Computer]]: Literally. Bob has an expansive knowledge of all things magic, and somehow possesses the capability to understand the current state of magic and any changes to it that may have occurred.

** {{spoiler|And as of Ghost Story he literally has a computer!}}

*** {{spoiler|Which means that he has access to porn. God help us all.}}

* [[Mr. Exposition]]

* [[Pragmatic Adaptation]]: The TV series changed him from an animated skull to a ghost ''attached'' to the skull. This is because it's much easier to show emotion and the like with, you know, a face.

* [[Servile Snarker]]: He's bound to serve Harry. That doesn't mean he has to be polite about it.

* [[The Smart Guy]]: Rounding out the team.

 

== '''Mister''' ==

== '''Mouse''' ==

 

 

Harry's dog, acquired accidentally when Harry was hired by a Tibetan monk to retrieve a litter of fu dog puppies from captivity. Mouse accidentally got left behind, and Harry couldn't get in touch with the monks to return him. Harry named him Mouse because he was small, grey and quiet... and the last line of the book in which he's introduced is, "Why did you buy large-breed puppy chow?"

* [[Even the Dog Is Ashamed]]: Mouse has been known to sigh at Harry's density when it comes to the fair sex, and at one point [[Large Ham|plays up]] an injury to make the person whose fault it was feel guilty.

** Also when Harry is giving the guitar a bad name.

* [[Fluffy the Terrible]]: Mouse has a bark that crosses dimensional borders, shrugs off bullet wounds and being hit by a speeding van, and is a credible physical threat to a high-ranking fae. Luckily, he's also loyal, compassionate, and possibly more intelligent than his owner.

* [[Gentle Giant]]: Well, usually. {{spoiler|Cassius}} pushed him too far, though.

** As revealed in Changes, {{spoiler|his pedigree may be even more purely spirit than that; one of the characters refers to him as a Foo dog himself. Ancient Mai also calls him a foo dog, and the Eebs refer to him as an "ice demon" from "the land of dreams" - aka Tibet.}}

** In ''Ghost Story'', {{spoiler|Uriel}} himself refers to Mouse as "little brother."

* [[Heroic Dog]]: On several occasions, Mouse saves Harry's life. {{spoiler|Also Maggie's protector as of Ghost Story.}}

* [[Large Ham]]: ''Turn Coat'' - the bullet wound scene.

* [[Mighty Roar]]: Mouse doesn't bark often, but when he needs to sound an alarm, he can ''[[Not Hyperbole|literally]]'' be heard for a mile.

* [[Obfuscating Stupidity]]: It hasn't been made clear just ''how'' smart he is, but it's a lot smarter than any dog has a right to be.

* {{spoiler|[[This Is My Human]]: As far as Mouse is concerned, Harry belongs to him.}}