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The Dresden Files => DF Spoilers => Topic started by: Con on October 23, 2017, 11:10:18 AM
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So who do you think he's most like?
The most obvious would be Batman. Both Batman and Dresden have a primary city filled with organised crime, that Batman has a tense but occasionally working relationship with in order to focuse on fighting the various chaotic and more insane characters that threaten his city.
As it stands Dresden even has his own Alfred, his own Arkham Asylum and his own Batcave. As well as a League of like minded heroes whom at one point or another were his students to one extent or another.
Of course the primary argument against this is Batmans chief trait as co leader of the justice league which is that he's non superpowered. There's also the fact that Murphy is notably the only member without any superpowers whatsoever, an interest in stopping crime.
Plus there's the fact that Murphy shotgunned Batman when she formed the Dresden League, when Harry died, not disimilar to how the Justice League by Batman is formed in some versions after Supermans death. Though this could also be how Batman was presumed dead and both the Justice League and the Batfamily had to survive without him when Batman is presumed dead.
So is Harry just too OP to be Batman. Which speaking of OP well Superman would definitely come to mind. Particularly how his enemies have to be increasingly OP'd to be a threat to him. Except perhaps Lex Luthor who prefers to use his intellect and way too complex scheme's to ever actually pull off to fight his arch enemy. Not disimilar to Nicodemus, although to be honest why Harry is his arch nemesis when it really should be the KotC is kind of a thematic imbalance, but only slightly as they have been a consistent enemy every five years like clock work.
What both Superman and Batman have in common is that they're guardians of their respective cities that increasingly are left vulnerable by his responsibilities on an international and even interplanetary level. The difference being of course that Batman entrusts his city to his former pupils and allies who are more or less capable of protecting it in his absence, while relying on the Justice League for the international level threats and to some extent the interplanetary ones, while leaving the intergalactic threats to the Green Lanterns.
One other major difference is that so far as to my knowledge neither Batman or Superman have sworn allegiance to nor served any evil cruel torturous or murderous beings in exchange for power. At least not for any lengthy period of time. Although arguably each has done so at one point or another I guess. Batman with Ra's al Ghul in particular. Don't know Supermans lore well enough to pick an example off the top of my head. Did he ever swear allegiance to Zod?
Anyway in the end those are my two votes and why.
(It should be noted that Harry's smart mouth and pop culture references also make Flash and Hal Jordon prime candidates)
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I went with Green Lantern. Power ring = force ring. Both have great will against fear. Snarkiness.
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Based on his scene with Susan in Death Masks, I'd say he's Flash.
*Ba-dump-ching*
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I went with Green Lantern. Power ring = force ring. Both have great will against fear. Snarkiness.
And you know, using his willpower and creativity as his primary assets in a fight while reluctantly reporting to a council of hidebound demigods.
More Guy Gardner than Hal Jordan, but still a lantern over Batman.
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Don't recall what scene your referring to.... ooooooh... wait Flash is into BDSM? Really? WOulda thought Batman would be more th Sado-masichism BDSM type. Certainly fits the profile. Loves pain both giving and taking. Deep dark childhood issues. Playboy with multiple women. Billionaire. Hits every trope their is on the subject.
Oh come on. Green Lanterns skill set is too limited. It's all just imaginary images enforce by willpower. Admittedly Harry uses his willpower and emotions to empower his powers, but he has a hell of a lot of range across a different spectrum than Green Lantern. Notably in that Green isn't his only colour. He also has you know... magic. Plus Green Lantern doesn't have a city to protect and be Guardian over.
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He's Constantine, to a "T." Even has the jacket.
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I guess that Griffyn was expressing a lack of technique and stamina on Harry's part compared to that which Griffyn personally experiences. Or did I misread the text?
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If I did not misread the text then Griffyn's real name is Sting, the rocker not the wrestler.
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Oh come on. Green Lanterns skill set is too limited. It's all just imaginary images enforce by willpower. Admittedly Harry uses his willpower and emotions to empower his powers, but he has a hell of a lot of range across a different spectrum than Green Lantern. Notably in that Green isn't his only colour. He also has you know... magic. Plus Green Lantern doesn't have a city to protect and be Guardian over.
I went with Dresden as Green Lantern. My reasoning: Number 1, will is what powers a green lantern. We have seen Harry use his will in numerous situations both mental (with Lash and with the outsider in Cold Days) and physical (facing down Mother Winter and her mental bonds in Cold Days). Number 2, lanterns use their will to create constructs to fight with. Kind of like what Harry does with soul fire. Furthermore, Harry uses a number of physical constructs that he pours his magic (directed by his will) into. Number 3, Green Lanterns police a sector of space. Harry initially starts out just "policing" Chicago, but he has transitioned to much more. First a region of America as a Warden Commander. Then all of America via the Paranet. Followed by being The Warden of Demonreach responsible for the big bads drawn from all over. Now he the Knight of Winter which covers almost half of the Fae (in addition to his White Council duties). He has moved beyond being the "Batman" of Chicago (a role I would actually give to Butters pre-KotC). He is responsible for a huge "sector of space" a la Green Lantern.
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Well said.
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I went with Dresden as Green Lantern. My reasoning: Number 1, will is what powers a green lantern. We have seen Harry use his will in numerous situations both mental (with Lash and with the outsider in Cold Days) and physical (facing down Mother Winter and her mental bonds in Cold Days). Number 2, lanterns use their will to create constructs to fight with. Kind of like what Harry does with soul fire. Furthermore, Harry uses a number of physical constructs that he pours his magic (directed by his will) into. Number 3, Green Lanterns police a sector of space. Harry initially starts out just "policing" Chicago, but he has transitioned to much more. First a region of America as a Warden Commander. Then all of America via the Paranet. Followed by being The Warden of Demonreach responsible for the big bads drawn from all over. Now he the Knight of Winter which covers almost half of the Fae (in addition to his White Council duties). He has moved beyond being the "Batman" of Chicago (a role I would actually give to Butters pre-KotC). He is responsible for a huge "sector of space" a la Green Lantern.
To further my analogy I add number 4: Whoever the Green Lantern is (Jordan, Stewart, Raynor), he belongs to an organization tasked with maintaining order. Each lantern draws power from a similar place and uses their will to shape it according to the situation they find themselves in. The power comes from a similar place, but it expresses itself in different ways according to each individual lantern. Now reread that paragraph and substitute wizard for lantern. Pretty close resemblance in my opinion.
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With the one exception of the powers, Harry is totally Batman.
Orphan, loves his city, bad guys piss themselves when he shows his face, even his allies are leery of him, anger/vengeance issues, PG was a huge joke on him being batman, Butters was actually being 'Harry' whenever he did his batman shtick even all his toys were actually miniature versions of Harry's 'artifice' spells he'd done with Bob, Outfit that makes him 'superhuman' in resilience, ect.
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Thank You Jonas!
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With the one exception of the powers, Harry is totally Batman.
Orphan, loves his city, bad guys piss themselves when he shows his face, even his allies are leery of him, anger/vengeance issues, PG was a huge joke on him being batman, Butters was actually being 'Harry' whenever he did his batman shtick even all his toys were actually miniature versions of Harry's 'artifice' spells he'd done with Bob, Outfit that makes him 'superhuman' in resilience, ect.
Sure. But Harry is poor and Batman is overrated/never the underdog despite the fact he should be, while Harry is always the underdog when he really shouldn't be.
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Sure. But Harry is poor and Batman is overrated/never the underdog despite the fact he should be, while Harry is always the underdog when he really shouldn't be.
Batmans always the underdog, but through the same wizardly virtues of foresight and planning ahead both utilize methods to take down their foes and track their targets. One has magic, the other technology. Neither is naturally powerfully physically or resilient and yet often they must battle those that are, and ally themselves with them to even the field.
Bat's legend is well maintained while Harry's just hitting his stride, The money is less of an issue now and could be even less so easily, and he's getting a little smarter every book. He actually preempted Nic AND Andurial in SG. Soon he'll make it look easy vs lesser fae queens and minor vampire courts lol.
*Batman's only overated because your thinking in the now, where he's everywhere and can beat anyone. He underdogs it all the time, think his comics lasted this long because he's just so overwhelmingly powerful? He thumbs his nose at the more powerful beings and thinks nobody should die meaninglessly, just like our resident Wizard P.I(both private investigators too)
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To further my analogy I add number 4: Whoever the Green Lantern is (Jordan, Stewart, Raynor), he belongs to an organization tasked with maintaining order. Each lantern draws power from a similar place and uses their will to shape it according to the situation they find themselves in. The power comes from a similar place, but it expresses itself in different ways according to each individual lantern. Now reread that paragraph and substitute wizard for lantern. Pretty close resemblance in my opinion.
To add to this, like most Lanterns Harry is an idiot that 90% of the time makes the worst/least effective possible use of his abilities
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I'd have to go with Green Lantern as well. Though honestly, I don't know much about them.
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Yeah, Lanterns start getting complicated when they bring in the other color rings.
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Batmans always the underdog, but through the same wizardly virtues of foresight and planning ahead both utilize methods to take down their foes and track their targets. One has magic, the other technology. Neither is naturally powerfully physically or resilient and yet often they must battle those that are, and ally themselves with them to even the field.
Bat's legend is well maintained while Harry's just hitting his stride, The money is less of an issue now and could be even less so easily, and he's getting a little smarter every book. He actually preempted Nic AND Andurial in SG. Soon he'll make it look easy vs lesser fae queens and minor vampire courts lol.
*Batman's only overated because your thinking in the now, where he's everywhere and can beat anyone. He underdogs it all the time, think his comics lasted this long because he's just so overwhelmingly powerful? He thumbs his nose at the more powerful beings and thinks nobody should die meaninglessly, just like our resident Wizard P.I(both private investigators too)
I love Batman. He is one of my top 5 superheroes and could easily be my number 1 depending on the day/story. That being said, whole storylines are built just to be resolved by Batman pulling out the perfect gadget from his belt in order to show his forethought and planning ability. I don't think he is an underdog anymore. Certain stories may place him in situations where he is at the disadvantage, but as a whole he has been built up into the guy who knows more than anyone else and is always 2 steps ahead of the bad guys.
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In that case, Harry is not Batman. Most books involve Harry playing catchup.
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In that case, Harry is not Batman. Most books involve Harry playing catchup.
Exactly. Harry and Batman are both great detectives and are able to use logic quite effectively. However, Harry does not have Batman's ability to stay two steps ahead and plan for every eventuality in my opinion.
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SG was a rare time when Harry anticipated his opponent and acted accordingly.
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I love Batman. He is one of my top 5 superheroes and could easily be my number 1 depending on the day/story. That being said, whole storylines are built just to be resolved by Batman pulling out the perfect gadget from his belt in order to show his forethought and planning ability.
Game OVER man, Game over!? ...or pretty much any tracking spell or one off gadget that just appears whenever Jim needs Harry to suddenly recharge his energy like a bear I don't think he is an underdog anymore. Certain stories may place him in situations where he is at the disadvantage, but as a whole he has been built up into the guy who knows more than anyone else and is always 2 steps ahead of the bad guys.
You just made my point for me, he's been built up into the guy who.... does everything a wizard does? Is already where Harry is headed toward? Compares favorably as Odin to Harry's Robin lol?
Let me ask you this, when was the last time you had a healthy dose of pure Bat's? No other hero's clogging up the story? Or are you talking about movies where he's a well established entity who has decades of on the job experience? need to read some batman year one, or watch gotham... heck even the 90's cartoon.
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Well, so far, nobody thinks that Harry is like Superman.