History WMG / DresdenFilesCharacters

[[WMG: Ebenezer's loathing for White Court vampires first arose because his marriage was spoiled by one of them.]]
Not because a White vampire actually killed his wife, or even seduced her; if ''that'' were the reason, Ebenezer wouldn't have been able to stomach attending a dinner at which Lord Raith was present, as per his description of how Arianna learned he was Margaret's dad. Rather, at some point [=McCoy=]'d expected to benefit from True Love's protection against a whampire's powers, only to have it utterly fail him. He still survived the encounter - he's ''Ebenezer'', after all - but his lack of protection revealed that Margaret's mother had never really loved him: that she'd married him for prestige and/or politics, not affection. It was this heartbreaking discovery that initially planted the seed of his special resentment for Whites, that would germinate fully after Margaret's death; and it was this estrangement from his spouse that would stiffen his resolve to separate himself entirely from his wife and young daughter, beyond the excuse of wanting to "protect" the latter from his enemies.
[[/folder]]

** Lucifer has shown up indirectly, he's all but confirmed to be the one who popped Marcone's safehouse open in Small Favor. Harry rails about it in the chapel.

* Interactions with the Merlin in Proven Guilty seem a lot more adversarial and hostile versus his appearances in earlier books, wherein he tends to, at least to this troper, seem to be more annoyed than anything. In particular, the scene where [[spoiler:Molly is on trial as a warlock, having broken the fourth law of magic]], Merlin originally stands alone, the other Senior Council members being engaged elsewhere. When The Gatekeeper arrives, I find their interactions particularly telling.

* In Peace Talks, a lot of fuss is made over the fact that Grendle and the Forest People are related, but in the process they explicitely state that Beowulf was Vadderung. Then throughout the festivities, Ferrovax and Vadderung are framed very clearly as mirrors to one another, contrasting figures, counterparts or rivals. In the original poem, Beowulf and the Dragon kill one another, but in the Dresden universe "Beowulf" is still quite alive. So, it's not much of a stretch to conclude that the dragon survived as well and remains a fairly powerful figure and a rival to "Beowulf", whatever his name may be.

[[WMG:''WesternAnimation/Frozen2013'' the movie exists in the series and it is someone's LongCon gambit]]

* He consistently maintains that he's the least of the assorted evils, expresses personal distaste for "the madman Kemmler", and refuses to kill Harry outright multiple times. He's visibly showing restraint where none of his peers do, and he really means it.
* Finally, there are too many similarities to Harry to count. He keeps up with him [[DeadpanSnarker verbally]] where people usually falter. He's outclassed by his enemies and [[CombatPragmatist uses clever solutions to stay ahead.]] And [[CoolPeopleRebelAgainstAuthority he immediately brushes off the Senior Council]] since he thinks they're too slow-thinking and restrictive.

On top of all this, his attitude towards Harry is distant and yet weirdly personal. He mentions wanting to see what has the Council riled up about him, but [[CurbStompBattle not because he's actually a challenge]]. He threatens to kill him multiple times, yet never actually [[PragmaticVillainy finishes him]]. And he mentions that the party at Bianca's has consequences that Harry specifically won't realize for years. This could be typical villainous mystery, but it fits pretty well for an alternate-universe double observing his counterpart, and feels more deliberately personal than any other villain. The [[RewatchBonus Rewatch Bonus]] is off the charts with this reading.

Cowl is the villain who has been there longer than any villain except the Outsiders. Him being Harry gives him a great place in the villain pantheon; the epitome of Harry's fears of falling to the dark side. All the [[ChekhovsGun unneeded]] details dropped about him in ''Dead Beat'' add up to him being a human, a [[WellIntentionedExtremist Well-Intentioned Extremist]], and most likely, [[TheLawOfConservationOfDetail Harry]].

* He consistently maintains that he's the least of the assorted evils, expresses personal distaste for "the madman Kemmler", and refuses to kill Harry outright multiple times. He's visibly showing restraint and isn't BS'ing about that.
* Finally, there are two many similarities to Harry to count. He keeps up with him where people usually falter. He relies on Mundane Solutions more than
* He's also unusually witty where most every Dresden villain isn't. And he talks to Harry as if he knows about him more than a regular person does. Add in his weird reluctance to kill him and his relatively mundane methods ("Kumori and I have been taking turns tailing you for most of the day") and it adds up to something weird. Cowl maintains that he's the least of the evils presented, just like Harry often does, he's just got looser standards of evil.
* Finally, near the start of the book Harry wonders whether he's crazy and thinks, "if I were crazy, wouldn't I know it?" And near the end when he frees the Erlking Cowl says, "If I were mad, wouldn't I be able to perceive it?" Weird to have self-doubt from a villain that weirdly parallels Harry's.

The probable picture painted is that Cowl is a [[WellIntentionedExtremist Well-Intentioned Extremist]] Harry who's been pulling the strings in Harry's world for some unknown reason. A running theme of the series is that even the worst bad guys end up having human motives, e.g. Mab wanting to protect the world from the Outsiders. Cowl is going to be part of the Mirrorverse plot and also be running a scheme to protect the world somehow. Whether Harry is going to kill him or ally with him is anyone's guess.

This Cowl theory has the most evidence and is likely to be resolved in Mirror Mirror.

Cowl is the villain who has been there longer than any villain except the Outsiders. Him being Harry gives him a great place in the villain pantheon; the epitome of Harry's fears of falling to the dark side and a major threat to Harry's safety. Butcher has promised a [[MirrorUniverse Mirrorverse]] story so his origin is set-up. It would be a culmination of seeds that have been planted since ''Book 3!'' It's narratively satisfying and fits the world well.
* That itself isn't definitive. What IS definitive is all the [[ChekhovsGun unneeded]] details dropped about him in ''Dead Beat''. If [[TheLawOfConservationOfDetail The Law of Conservation of Detail]] holds up, all of this can only point one direction
* The prompt:
** Cowl and his apprentice are disguising their identity with robes and magical voice distortion. In such a tropey world it's ''weird'' they're the only one who do that. The likely explanation is that they need to keep their identities concealed because someone in the magical world knowing would be bad. Why?
* The evidence for it being Harry:
Harry notes that his magic has a human signature, despite its great strength. He's also unusually witty, understanding the infomercial reference and the Erlking joke. And he talks to Harry as if he knows ''about'' him more than a regular person does. Wanting to see what Harry's made of? Explaining how Bianca will haunt him for many more years? It fits weirdly well.
The question of his height is a small problem. He's only ever mentioned as being taller than Kumori. But from someone who's 6'4'', I'm here to tell you Butcher doesn't understand just how unusual Harry's height is. He should tower over everyone he knows, but only ever mentions towering over Murphy. It's not crazy to think Jim neglects to mention Cowl's height, especially if it could be a dead give-away about who he is.
And near the end, when Cowl has a gun on Harry he says, "If I were mad, wouldn't I be able to perceive it?" Weird to have self-doubt from a villain, and one that weirdly parallels Harry's own struggle.
** Furthermore, we know has an apprentice; a young, female apprentice who uses dark magic to correct perceived injustice. Sounds like Molly to a T. Kumori probably isn't Molly, but it's an odd little parallel to see, isn't it?
** Cowl is likely Black Council, so he might be directly helping bring down magical society. But doesn't Harry do that, too? Cowl just seems like a more extreme version of him.

The probable picture painted is that Cowl is a [[WellIntentionedExtremist Well-Intentioned Extremist]] Harry who went to the dark side for power, then jumped ship to our universe to help out there. A running theme of the series is that a lot of the bad guys sincerely think they serve the greater good (remember Deirdre saying she and [[HateSink Nicodemus]] were saving the world!). Cowl is a bit stronger than Harry. He has an apprentice like Harry. And like Harry, he said he was getting the Word of Kemmler to prevent others from using it.

[[spoiler:Harry is Ebenezer's grandson. Assuming of course, she was present at that dinner with Lord Raith, Maggie, Ebenezer, and Ariana. Like the Red Court Countess. Lara is very good at picking up familial clues, and so would put things together.]]

* Cowl is the villain who has been there the most with the least explanation. Him being Harry gives him a great place in the villain pantheon; the epitome of Harry's fears of falling to the dark side and a major threat to Harry's safety. Butcher has promised a [[MirrorUniverse Mirrorverse]] story so his origin is set-up. It would be a culmination of seeds that have been planted since ''Book 3!'' It's narratively satisfying and fits the world well.
* The evidence:
** Cowl is concealing his identity with the Ringwraith robes. In such a tropey world it allows for jokes, but it's ''weird'' that he's the only one who does that. The likely solution is that as Harry always does, Cowl is [[MundaneSolution using the simple but effective Muggle solution]]. That, and he needs to stay disguised so no one - including Harry - gets confused by seeing another one of him.
** That itself isn't definitive. What IS definitive is all the [[Foreshadowing unneeded]] details dropped about him in ''Dead Beat''. All of this can't be for nothing. He's likely to be ''someone'' important, and the evidence fits Harry better than anyone else. Harry notes that his magic has a human signature, despite its great strength. [[ObliviousToHisOwnDescription Sound like anyone we know?]] He's also unusually witty, managing to understand infomercial references and understanding the Erlking joke. Since when have any of Harry's villains understood his references. They're all immortal and out of touch with current jokes. Cowl is someone from Harry's walk of life. And finally, there's the fact that he needs to distort his voice. [[TheLawOfConservationOfDetail The Law of Conservation of Detail dictates this has to be for a reason, and since it can't be Ebenezer or Rashid or any of the other characters, the most likely explanation is that it's Harry from an alternate universe. Cowl's height isn't especially touched on. And early on, Harry says, "if I were crazy, wouldn't I be able to tell?" And near the end, when Cowl has a gun on Harry he says, "If I were mad, wouldn't I be able to perceive it?" Weird to have self-doubt from a villain, and one that weirdly parallels Harry's own struggle.

[[WMG: Cowl is Mirrorverse Harry who fell to [[TheDarkSide The Dark Side]]

* This is the most convincing theory, and likely to be resolved in Mirror Mirror. Cowl is the villain who has been there the most with the least explanation. Him being Harry gives him a great place in the villain pantheon, being the epitome of Harry's fears of falling to the dark side and a major threat to Harry's safety. Butcher has promised a Mirrorverse story so his origin is already set-up. It would also be a fun culmination of seeds that have been planted since ''Book 3!'' Narratively, it's highly satisfying and fits into the world well.
** Moving into the actual text, there's tons of evidence that goes with this.
** We know Cowl is concealing his identity. He and Kumori are the only people in this world who wear Ringwraith-style robes. In such a modernized, tropey world, it allows for jokes, but there's also the possibility that Cowl''needs'' to conceal his identity. He even uses magic to disguise his voice. All of this could be for the sake of secrecy, but if Cowl is Harry from an alternate dimension, then he ''needs'' to disguise himself so people don't confuse him for the other one.
** From then on, there are a number of details noted in Dead Beat that don't need to be there. Harry distinctly notes that his magic has a human signature. He's also unusually witty, trading barbs about Goethe and kitchen knives. Dresden's villains are usually too out of touch to get Dresden's references, but Cowl does. He even tells Harry he's not that funny, like he's used to hearing his material.
** Furthermore, there's a very telling piece of dialogue. It could be just thematic, but it could not. Early on, Harry asks himself, "if I were crazy, wouldn't I be able to tell?" And near the end, when Cowl breaks Harry's binding of Erlking and has a gun on him, Harry asks him a question that

* This is the most convincing theory, and likely to be resolved in Mirror Mirror. Cowl is the villain who has been there the most with the least explanation. Him being Harry gives him a great place in the villain pantheon, being the epitome of Harry's fears of falling to the dark side and a major threat to Harry's safety. Him being from a Mirrorverse would also allow for some fun storytelling opportunities, which Butcher has already promised would happen. It would also be a fun culmination of seeds that have been planted since ''Book 3!'' Narratively, it's highly satisfying and fits into the world well.

We know he's a serious heavy-hitter who sought the Word of Kemmler. We know he has an apprentice who is a young lady. We know he can attempt to destroy the White Court and trounce ''Dead Beat'' Harry in a magical duel. The time travel answer doesn't work at all. But all this does equate very well to a evil clone counterpart.
** Moving into more depth, Cowl is

[[WMG:Merlin is [[spoiler:infected with Nemesis.]]]]

[[WMG:''Disney/{{Frozen}}'' the movie exists in the series]]
And it is someone's LongCon gambit to change Mab into a nicer person. Consider how Odin can shift into a Kringle mask now because of his connection to Santa Claus. If in the next 200-400 years, IceQueen Elsa, a PhysicalGod-Tier powerhouse, becomes the predominant figure the {{Ice Queen}}s and how the original [[Literature/TheSnowQueen Snow Queen]] was a cold, distant figure but with some kindness in her heart is very Mab-like already, then Elsa usurping the primary spot will change Mab in time.

* And he'll say it in a poor imitation of Carlos' accent

** Toot-toot didn't have an special influence until Harry made him the go-to guy for access to pizza, however. It's more likely that ''all'' fey, or at least all dewdrop faeries, have an innate language-translation ability and an instinctive grasp of faerie law.

* We can assume that if some of his decisions were sub-optimal for how he proceeded, he was genuinely blindsided by Peabody.