Child of the Storm: Villainous Groups / Characters

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This page lists tropes associated with the Villainous Groups in Child of the Storm.

Beware: Spoilers for Child of the Storm are unmarked.

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HYDRA

The leading villains of the first book, Child of the Storm, the fallout from their actions and defeat influences the second book, Ghosts of the Past.

In General

Adaptational Badass: This version briefly manages to put the entire world at its mercy, something only the Secret Empire incarnation in the comics can claim to better.
Always a Bigger Fish: As they discover in the finale of Child of the Storm. In retrospect, using the Darkhold was probably a bad idea.
- The Red Room, since they were (and are) a government funded organisation, so have a far greater depth of resources and manpower, and are even more terrifying than HYDRA themselves.
Ancient Conspiracy: Originally. The bulk of the organisation is a modern creation with no interest in its origins.
Arch-Enemy: To SHIELD, MI13, and, latterly, the Avengers - Captain America above all. In the case of the former, they were trying to mould it into something similar via HYDRA infiltrators, via the whole He Who Fights Monsters thing.
- Also to the Red Room, who scare even hardened HYDRA leaders.
- Magneto also qualifies, for obvious reasons.
Badass Army: One trained and commanded by Baron Zemo.
Bad Boss: Lucius in particular tends to regard most of his personnel as entirely expendable.
Cannon Fodder: See Bad Boss. Most mooks are regarded as totally expendable.
Chronic Backstabbing Disorder: As shown when Strucker goes after Narcissa for negotiating with SHIELD, for which Lucius murders Strucker and takes the position of Supreme HYDRA. Meanwhile, Pierce cheerfully leaves Lucius to swing in the wind when the Shadow Initiative, Harry and company, and MI13's Excalibur squad reduce his base to rubble.
Elite Mooks: The Winter Soldier and the Red Hood function as this, as do the Extremis Soldiers, though the latter suffer from the Worf Effect in their brief appearances.
Equal-Opportunity Evil: They'll employ anyone, despite their Nazi connections.
Evil Wears Black: They favour black tactical gear.
Faceless Goons: The vast majority that appear do so in black tactical gear.
Ghostapo/Stupid Jetpack Hitler: They used to be this, but they've mostly discarded the Nazi theme.
The Heavy: The Winter Soldier is mainly this, though so is Gravemoss, and occasionally, the Red Hood.
Hegemonic Empire: Seek to establish this over the entire world via shock tactics - in chapter 74 (after they took out the Avengers on their home turf, capturing most of them and nearly killing several others), it almost succeeds.
The Infiltration: The faction within SHIELD consists of about a third of SHIELD's total membership, including some of its highest ranked officers - it would be more, were it not for the fact that SHIELD's Psi-Division was impervious to this, thanks to screening would-be members, and HYDRA therefore had to step lightly. At the end of Child of the Storm Pierce is caught redhanded by Fury, who'd pulled a Batman Gambit on Lucius, and a purge promptly ensued.
Klingon Promotion: An accepted method of ascending in HYDRA, as shown when Lucius murders von Strucker, then has the Winter Soldier shoot a dissenting Conclave member.
Legion of Doom: They provide the main villains for Child of the Storm, so... sort of.
Motive Decay: Originally, it was an ancient cult that worshipped one of the first Inhumans. By the 20th century, it had developed into two factions: the original one, the religious branch, which was tiny and borderline irrelevant, and the much more powerful scientific branch, which disdained and/or forgot about the religious HYDRA and focused on world domination for its own sake. The latter was closely tied to the Nazi regime and Grindelwald's Empire, led by the Red Skull.
Nazi Nobleman: Baron von Strucker plays this straight. Baron Zemo, however, rejects Nazism - he's a Social Darwinist, thank you very much, and he doesn't give a damn about race.
Near-Villain Victory: After chapter 74, they appear to have the entire world in the palm of their hand. However, they'd fatally over-extended, and don't get the chance to consolidate - the Winter Soldier, before being brainwashed again, managed to slip the heroes the location of HYDRA's base. With the help of Doctor Strange, the tables are promptly and violently turned.
- Even with that, Ghosts notes that had Pierce not been caught red handed, the HYDRA within SHIELD would likely have remained undetected and reaped untold gains in power and influence thanks to the threat of the HYDRA without.
Nebulous Evil Organisation: Probably the most powerful, until their catastrophic defeat at the end of Child of the Storm.
N.G.O. Superpower: The faction within SHIELD effectively is this, while the faction outside briefly ascends to this status in the latter parts of Child Of The Storm.
Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: Several examples - notably, Alexander Pierce appointing Fury to the Directorship of SHIELD, HYDRA's evisceration of MI6 and MI13 which allowed the ruthless Peter Wisdom the chance to take charge of MI13 and reform the organisation into something much more lean and dangerous, as well as effectively taking charge of British Intelligence and Counter-Intelligence, and ordering the Winter Soldier to kill a child when that is well documented as the one thing he will not do, triggering his Heel–Face Turn.
- Von Strucker's attempt to also grab Narcissa Malfoy counts, as Even Evil Has Loved Ones and this leads to Lucius killing Von Strucker and taking sole control of HYDRA, making the organization more dangerous.
Oddly Small Organisation: After Operation Overlord, they are dramatically cut down to size, and reduced to a single base. It is admittedly very well hidden and armed, boasting; a Vibranium hulled Helicarrier armed with Destroyer cannons, capable of duelling the ludicrously heavily armed Project Wolftrap several squadrons of fighter jets, and multiple Avengers including Thor... until Magneto happened. That and the fact that they're plugged in to SHIELD's intelligence network (which in turn is diverted by the HYDRA within from finding them), have multiple superhuman operatives including a Loki-level Necromancer wielding the Darkhold in the form of Gravemoss, and are hidden even from Heimdall's sight, means that they can strike hard and with impunity. However, when they are found, it does not go well for them.
- It is also implied towards the end of Child of the Storm that they're rebuilding and expanding into other bases.
Off Screen Villain Dark Matter: It seems this way, though it has a lot to do with Lucius Malfoy being filthy rich and bankrolling them, also siphoning off money from other ex-Death Eaters. Also, they swiped some SHIELD resources including a Helicarrier, and are implied to have acquired quite a lot of money over the years - after all, when you've got one of the world's most powerful A.I.s as your Evil Genius, a little electronic financial fraud is a piece of cake. They also have access to magic and some exceptionally advanced technology.
Playing Both Sides: Their modern modus operandi. After they were defeated in WWII, the scientific HYDRA split further, between the faction within SHIELD and the faction outside. The faction within used the actions of the faction without and other terror groups to coax SHIELD towards its agenda. Only a select few even suspected its existence until Nick Fury caught Alexander Pierce red-handed.
Religion of Evil: The original HYDRA. The modern HYDRA also has a somewhat cult-like atmosphere.
The Remnant: The faction outside of SHIELD is this to the WWII HYDRA.
Send in the Clones: Mentioned a few times as a way to boost their flagging manpower.
Smug Snake: Baron von Strucker, who is outplayed by superior Magnificent Bastard Nick Fury, and even more superior Magnificent Bastard Lucius Malfoy, who himself is reduced to this by the biggest bastard of them all, Doctor Strange.
Take Over the World: As Lucius puts it, it's a good start.
Terrorists Without a Cause: It used to be a Religion of Evil, then spin-off Nazism, now it's mostly just world domination for the sake of it.
Unwitting Pawn: To both Chthon and Doctor Strange, the latter of whom was simply waiting until they over-extended themselves before arranging for them to be crushed.
Villain Decay: Between WWII and the modern day, they went from a global - or at least, continental - scale threat, to a punchline and annoyance. Of course, the HYDRA within SHIELD was arguably more powerful than any of its predecessors had ever been, and under Lucius Malfoy's influence, they experience a dramatic resurgence.
We Have Reserves: Lucius in particular regards HYDRA mooks as being entirely expendable, mostly because he can have more cloned if needs be.
Western Terrorists: Though they operate worldwide.
What Measure Is a Mook?: HYDRA goons are consigned to fairly miserable fates by both their bosses and their enemies, and no one really cares.
You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: Lucius pulls this on Strucker and then Pierce pulls this on him.

Lucius Malfoy

Lord Lucius Malfoy

Wizarding Britain is not enough. The world is not enough. But it's a start.

Pureblood Lord, formerly one of the Idle Rich after Voldemort's fall. Thor's reveal that he'd once been James Potter and consequent reclamation of his son spurs him into action and to become The Spymaster and Diabolical Mastermind that he once was. But this time, he's operating on a much larger scale, becoming the Supreme HYDRA via Klingon Promotion, and successfully masterminding a strategy that completely dismantles the Avengers and puts the world at his mercy. Doctor Strange and Nick Fury, however, both have other ideas, making this position unsustainable. After the Battle of London, where Chthon, gets involved, Lucius flees and is occasionally mentioned as having found a rock to hide under.

Adaptational Badass: His canon counterpart was a skilled political operator and powerful duellist, but little more. This version is a brilliant spymaster, several steps of (almost) everyone else and out for world domination. And he's more than capable of it. He only uses magic twice on-screen, simply because he generally doesn't have to.
Affably Evil: Wanders the line between this and Faux Affably Evil. He doesn't really do things For the Evulz, and he does have standards. What he is, however, is thoroughly sociopathic.
Ambition Is Evil: See the folder quote.
Arch-Nemesis: He and Fury are each other's.
Aristocrats Are Evil: Completely.
The Chessmaster: He is an excellent schemer, and runs rings around everyone who isn't named Stephen Strange and, eventually, Nick Fury.
Chronic Backstabbing Disorder: Trusting him is a very bad idea.
Despotism Justifies the Means: Ultimately is out for this.
Diabolical Mastermind: Prefers moving the various pieces of his plans from the shadows, leaving multiple ways out and leaving others to take the fall. He's very, very good at it.
Dirty Coward: As T'Challa points out, and Draco later confirms, while he's actually a very skilled duellist, he'll only fight if he has absolutely no other choice, and will instead hide behind his minions and pull a Villain: Exit, Stage Left at any given opportunity.
Dragon Ascendant: In respect to Voldemort after the fall of the Death Eaters and his ascent to command of HYDRA.
Even Evil Has Loved Ones: He does seem to genuinely love his wife and son, and a large part of the reason that he kills Strucker is that he went after his wife. Of course, he didn't know that it was because she was talking to SHIELD.
Even Evil Has Standards: He was horrified by pretty much everything that Gravemoss did in chapter 21.
Evil Chancellor: He was this to Voldemort, with a touch of The Starscream but generally content to remain The Man Behind the Man, and recognises Baron Zemo as a man of the same stripe.
Evil Cripple: For a given value of cripple.
Evil Genius: He was this to Voldemort (who was something of an Evil Genius himself), handling the everyday details.
Evil Overlord: As of chapter 70, steadily accelerating towards this trope. As of the end of chapter 74, he essentially is this. Unfortunately for him, Fury always has a backup plan.
Evil Overlord List: Reviewers occasionally ask if he's read it. The answer is no, but he could apparently write a credible version - though he isn't immune to some of the follies warned against.
Evil Virtues: Ambition. He has it in spades.
Fatal Flaw: Overly complex plans and Pride, in the form of arrogance.
Faux Affably Evil: Perfectly friendly and charming when it suits him, if you ignore the arrogance. He's just vaguely sociopathic and doesn't really acknowledge the existence of those he considers beneath him.
Fiction 500: He is hinted to be as rich, if not richer, than the Potters, putting him well into the billionaire bracket.
Foil:
- Positioned as one to Fury - both are crippled spymasters, both are cold, ruthless pragmatists willing to do anything to achieve their objectives, both are natural leaders who command armies, and both assemble and manipulate powerful allies to their own ends. The main difference is that Fury actually cares for others and has genuinely good intentions - he wants to protect the world, while Lucius wants to rule it.
- Also to Peter Wisdom. Both are the sons of ancient pureblood lineages, both joined the Death Eaters, ruthless, manipulative spymasters before realising the value of Muggle Power and eventually turning against Voldemort and abandoning the ideals of pureblood superiority. The only differences are that Lucius is a ruthless Social Darwinist who's only out to benefit himself and his family and he only turned away from the Death Eaters after Voldemort fell and Pureblood ideals after he joined HYDRA. And even then, Lucius maintained ties with the Death Eaters, while Regulus is determined to hunt them down and destroy them.
From Nobody to Nightmare: Once, he was simply a powerful part of the Death Eater Inner Circle, before becoming one of the Idle Rich. Not a nobody, but limited in his influence. Then, he arranged a powerful alliance between the Death Eaters, HYDRA and Gravemoss, acquiring the Darkhold for the latter, disposes Strucker, takes control of the Winter Soldier and with him, HYDRA, and becomes the temporary ruler of planet Earth.
Genius Cripple: Walks with a limp - which means that he actually needs his Classy Cane - courtesy of Nick Fury. It is implied that he suffered further damage in that fight, thanks to Fury leaving him to burn to death.
Gentleman Wizard: Fits this trope, despite being evil.
Handicapped Badass: He doesn't like fighting, but that doesn't mean that he can't.
Idle Rich: After the fall of Voldemort. Swiftly discards this once he retakes his levels in badass.
Lean and Mean: He is tall and lean and very, very mean.
Love Redeems: A dark subversion. His love for his family drives him to murder von Strucker and take over HYDRA.
Klingon Promotion: Exploits this to become head of HYDRA. With the Winter Soldier at his back, no one argues.
Manipulative Bastard: See above.
Man of Wealth and Taste: Very much so, and complains that one of the problems of going to be debriefed by Gravemoss is that the last time he did that, he never got the stains out of his robe.
Oh, Crap!:When he realizes that his base is under attack.
- And in chapter 77, when he realizes that Strange has thoroughly, and more or less effortlessly, Out-Gambitted him.
- Shortly after this, he calls Pierce for help—only to discover that the other man already knew about, or at least suspected the existence of, the Shadow Initiative, and is content to rest on his laurels while Lucius takes the heat. Cue Skyward Scream and Screw This, I'm Out of Here!.
The Plan: As it turns out all of his actions in the fic have been leading to the point where he is indisputably in charge of HYDRA, controlling the Winter Soldier and with enough financial firepower to do pretty much whatever the hell he likes.
The Social Darwinist: By chapter 59, he has discarded, or rather, modified, his previous belief in Pureblood superiority to take into account superhumans and groups like HYDRA. Now, he still believes that only the strong and superior should rule, he's just altered his definition of who qualifies.
The Sociopath: Possibly. While he does seem to love his family, he ticks every other box for this trope.
The Spymaster: Served as this to Voldemort, and was good enough to outmatch a young Nick Fury. That said, he had both a head start and a considerable resource advantage.
Took a Level in Badass: As compared to his canon counterpart. While he, at first, appears as if he's going to be something of a joke villain, this was discarded as part of the change in tone around chapter 11 and he quite quickly evolves into one of the most dangerous characters in the entire setting. Not bad, considering that he's only actually used his wand twice on-screen.
Unholy Matrimony: With Narcissa. By all evidence, they're very happy together.
Villain: Exit, Stage Left: Escapes during the chaos of the first book's Final Battle.
Villain Respect: To Nick Fury, who he despises but respects. Also Arthur Weasley, weirdly enough, once he realises how effective muggle tech is, complimenting Arthur on realising this before everyone else and having the good sense to take a job with Tony Stark where he'll be respected and well paid. Unfortunately, Arthur doesn't live for very long afterwards.
Visionary Villain: He intends to unite the world under HYDRA and then go further. As he puts it, the world is not enough. But it's a good start.
Well-Intentioned Extremist: In his own mind, at least.
Wicked Cultured: He's a man of wealth and taste.
Worthy Opponent: Considers Nick Fury to be this. Hates his guts, mind you, but respects his abilities.
Wound That Will Not Heal: One of the reasons that he hates Fury is that the other man somehow managed to damage his leg so thoroughly that even magical medicine couldn't entirely repair it. And there's implied to be something else that happened to him that night, after Fury left him to die in the flames of Malfoy Manor.
Xanatos Speed Chess: He is very good at turning an adverse situation to his advantage, as chapters 22 and 50 demonstrate.
You Are a Credit to Your Race: He has this attitude, mixed with a sizeable dose of pure hatred, towards Nick Fury. He also holds this towards Baron Zemo and Doctor Zola and to an extent towards Muggles in general, admiring their technology. He used to hold this attitude towards Baron Von Strucker, but later changed his mind. This did not end well for the Baron.
You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: He absolutely loves this trope.
Your Approval Fills Me with Shame: For all his evil, he has standards. Gravemoss doesn't.

Baron Von Strucker

Baron Wolfgang Von Strucker

The leader of HYDRA, and former ally of Lucius Malfoy. Is all too eager to renew that alliance in order to take advantage of the world's changing status quo and ensure HYDRA's dominance. In retrospect, this was a bad idea.

Adaptational Wimp: Not exactly weak, but he doesn't match up to his canon counterpart in cunning or physical threat and is killed by Lucius Malfoy in chapter 50 on the grounds that he'd outlived his usefulness.
Aristocrats Are Evil: He's a Nazi Nobleman, so...
Artifact of Doom: Possesses the Satan Claw, which allows him to drain the lifeforce of others, enabling him to maintain his own life. Unfortunately for him, Nick Fury is Crazy-Prepared.
General Failure: Is easily outclassed and Out-Gambitted in the field by Fury.
Long-Lived: Was in his prime during World War II, and is still at it, thanks to the Satan Claw.
Nazi Nobleman: He was one, back in the day.
Overshadowed by Awesome: He's actually competent enough that Zola and Baron Zemo tolerate his command. However, he's well out of his depth with Fury and Lucius.
Smug Snake: He's reasonably competent, and is sharp enough to notice the pattern of Zemo's loyalty, but he's nowhere near as good as he thinks he is, getting the better of Lucius a grand total of once. And when Lucius gets serious, the disparity in their abilities as schemers and manipulators becomes very obvious.
13 Is Unlucky: Is the 13th Baron Von Strucker. Things don't end well for him.
Those Wacky Nazis: Has been one since their glory days.
Villainous Friendship: Subverted. He appears at first to be close friends with Lucius, but it soon becomes apparent that beneath the friendly facade, they're each only using each other to achieve their own ends. And unfortunately for him, Lucius is better at it than he is.
You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: Is on the receiving end of this from Lucius.

Gravemoss

Death is a gift, little mortal. And tonight… I am feeling very generous.

A Light Elf Necromancer, banished long ago from his realm for his use of black magic. Now in the employ of HYDRA, though it's clearly only for as long as it pleases him, and everyone else in the organization is scared stiff of him. Possessor of the Darkhold during Child of the Storm (though which is possessing which is a good question). Last seen being hit by a Megaton Punch from Jean-Paul and either vaporised or punched somewhere past Jupiter.

Admiring the Abomination: Practically squees when the Winter Soldier shows up.
An Arm and a Leg:
- Sif cuts his arm off during the fight under Paris. He just grows it back.
- Dresden cuts his arm off again during the Final Battle. Since it was done by use of a Soulfire lightsaber this time, it doesn't grow back. This realisation absolutely horrifies him.
Ancient Evil: He's about 1500 years old, so qualifies as one by himself.
And Show It to You: Does this to Sif in chapter 45. In response to this, is on the receiving end in chapter 75 from Harry Potter. His Healing Factor repairs it.
Basement-Dweller: From one point of view, he's a classic nerd squatting in a friend's basement. From another, he's also an abomination into whose lair only the very unfortunate and the very stupid dare go.
Black Comedy: A master of doing this via unintentional pop-culture references.
Dirty Coward: Per Word of God, this is why he never directly fights the Avengers unless it's with a sucker punch he's sure will work, and why whenever something goes unexpectedly wrong, his go-to response is to run like hell.
The Dreaded: Is feared by everyone.
Elaborate Underground Base: Had a comfortable lair in the Paris catacombs, until the battle with SHIELD and Dresden forced him to evacuate. After that, he spends the period up to the Battle of London living in the basement of HYDRA's own underground base.
Evil Sorcerer: Specializing in all things relating to death.
Eviler than Thou: Even HYDRA and the Death Eaters are afraid of, and disgusted by, him. The only exceptions are Doctor Zola, with whom he shares a Villainous Friendship, and possibly Baron Zemo, who doesn't seem all that bothered.
God of Evil: Already a borderline example, adding the Darkhold cemented it.
Hoist by His Own Petard: During the Final Battle, he breaks down the barriers between worlds in order to feed off the chaos and spiritual energy, but this just enables Strange to likewise feed off all the additional magic being fed into the Earth from the other dimensions.
Immortals Fear Death: His own. He loves the idea of everyone else's, but he's absolutely terrified when someone actually succeeds in hurting him, with Dresden's Death Curse leaving him with an enduring fear of the man in question - though that part is probably because he has no idea how Dresden survived casting it. He's also terrified of the Phoenix, and with good reason.
Killed Off for Real: Possibly. It looks like Jean-Paul hitting him while he was possessed by Chthon with an Infinite Mass Punch, channelling the full power of the Speed Force into him vaporised him, though Chthon remarks that he's actually orbiting Jupiter. Either way, chances are he won't be causing much trouble in the future.
Light Is Not Good: He's a pale-skinned albino Light Elf, and is also pure evil.
Long-Lived: Roughly 1500 years old.
Megaton Punch: On the receiving end from Jean-Paul. It may or may not have killed him.
Necromancer: An incredibly powerful one at that.
Not in This for Your Revolution: A villainous version. He's only really working for HYDRA because they offer the best opportunities for mass carnage and he owes them for acquiring the Darkhold.
Omnicidal Maniac: Like Thanos (who it is implied he has served in the past), he wants to kill everyone and everything. Unlike Thanos, however, his ultimate goal seems to be rule over a universe of the dead.
Physical God: Was arguably this already. Add the Darkhold, and he's bordering on full blown God of Evil.
Pragmatic Villainy: Even he had every reason to fear the bringing of the full power of the Darkhold, and thus Chthon.
Screw This, I'm Outta Here: After repeatedly having his ass handed to him during the Final Battle, which includes losing an arm, and then sensing Strange's presence nearby, he decides to cut his losses and flee. Chthon has other ideas.
Soft-Spoken Sadist: he's got a soft, lulling voice... he's also sadistic beyond words.
Too Spicy for Yog-Sothoth: He notes that the Dementors won't feed on his memories, since they're too vile for them.
Uncertain Doom: It's unclear whether Jean-Paul's Megaton Punch vaporised him or, as Chthon suggests, blasted him past Jupiter.
Unskilled, but Strong: Downplayed, since he's fairly skilled. He's survived duels with Loki and Strange in the past, and good enough to force Dresden to pull out his Death Curse to beat him. However, when Strange actually goes toe-to-toe with Gravemoss, he's utterly outclassed, and the heavy implication is that Strange only let him get away the first time because he would be useful later.
Villainous Friendship: Gets along remarkably well with Doctor Zola, much to Lucius' concern.
What Happened to the Mouse?: Is seemingly killed when Jean-Paul rams him at light speed, but this is not confirmed.
"You!" Exclamation: When the Phoenix briefly manifests during the Final Battle.

Baron Zemo

Baron Helmut Zemo

There is something to be said for being a monster. If you are a monster, you have no limits. If you have no limits, you have nothing holding you back. And if you have nothing holding you back, you are truly able to fulfil your potential.

A leader of HYDRA, and the organisation's field commander. Has been described as both HYDRA's answer to Captain America, and along with Doctor Zola, the true brains behind the organisation. Is generally unfazed by anything and everything.

Affably Evil: Is unfailingly polite and will genuinely compliment a Worthy Opponent on their skills.
A Nazi by Any Other Name: Gets annoyed when T'Challa accuses him of this, explaining that he is The Social Darwinist and deriding the Nazi obsession with "cosmetics."
Aristocrats Are Evil: It's Baron Zemo.
Beware the Quiet Ones: Second only to the Winter Soldier in this regard.
Blood Knight: At the very least, he's usually on the look-out for a Worthy Opponent to test himself against.
Composite Character: Of his Earth-616 self and his The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes self.
Deadpan Snarker: He has an extremely dry sense of humour.
The Dragon: Right hand man to first Von Strucker then Lucius, in conjunction with Zola.
The Dreaded: Is rightfully feared for his combat skills, having once slaughtered in an entire US Army patrol when caught by surprise, and armed with nothing but a sword.
Enigmatic Minion: His true motives and true reasons for joining HYDRA (who killed his father) remain a mystery - though chapter 75 suggests that he's a Social Darwinist.
Equal-Opportunity Evil: The root of his disdain for Nazism, dismissing its obsession with "mere cosmetics", pointing out how Nazis would see T'Challa as subhuman, where in fact T'Challa is a Super-Soldier, Warrior Prince, and Genius Bruiser who Zemo comes to see as a Worthy Opponent after he Took a Level in Badass.
Even Evil Has Standards: Doesn't take kindly to being called a Nazi, because he sees Nazism's obsession with race as preventing proper Social Darwinism from taking place.
Evil Chancellor: Serves as such to Baron Von Strucker and then to Lucius Malfoy.
Evil Mentor: To his protégé, Jason Todd, taking the Batman role.
Evil Virtues:
- Diligence: Consistently described as efficient and hard-working.
- Humility: Usually in the form of Villain Respect. He's got a bit of an ego, but he fully accepts the possibility of being beaten and both applauds and appreciates opponents who can go toe to toe with him.
- Loyalty: To HYDRA. Not, however, to the person leading it if they prove to be unworthy.
- Patience: Tends to maintain a calm demeanour in fights, chapter 60 showing how he's perfectly content to let his opponent tire themselves out.
- Valour: He doesn't run from fights, even with equals. He will, however, make a strategic withdrawal if he is outmatched and outnumbered. He's brave, not stupid.
Funetik Aksent: One that only appears when he's annoyed, agitated or, in Lucius' words, deriving some obscure amusement from the situation at hand.
I Fight for the Strongest Side!: Serves Strucker as long as he proves worthy of leading. When Lucius assassinates him and takes over, Zemo is the first to pledge loyalty.
Knight of Cerebus: When he takes the field, odds are good someone is going to die or come very close, as the kids and T'Challa find out.
Legacy Character: Is the second Baron Zemo. However, his father Heinrich is a subject of Adaptational Heroism, being a German noble officer who was assassinated by the Red Skull for defying the Nazi regime, whereas Helmut is not only HYDRA but a leader of the organization.
Lightning Bruiser: Very fast and when required, he hits very hard.
Long-Lived: He's around seventy years old; he's been fighting since the 70's at least and he's still got the physique of a man in his prime.
Made of Iron: An extended fight with two Super-Soldier level opponents in quick succession, T'Chaka and T'Challa (killing the former and crippling the latter), leaves him barely scratched and breathing fast. The rematch with T'Challa has him demonstrate similar durability and even Logan stabbing him in the back doesn't do much more than make him reassess the wisdom of continuing the fight in question.
Malevolent Masked Man: As per canon, the mask is stuck to his face. This makes it next to impossible to read his expression.
Master Swordsman: He's killed entire US Army patrols with nothing but a sword, and demonstrates his skills on T'Chaka (who he kills) and T'Challa (who he cripples) without taking more than a few scratches.
Motive Rant: An understated one to T'Challa when the latter demands to know why he - whose father was killed by HYDRA - joined the organisation in question.
Mysterious Past: No one knows all that much about his past or his motivations for joining HYDRA, despite the fact that they killed his father (explained by his view of his his father as a fool clinging to a lost past).
Nerves of Steel: Nothing, absolutely nothing, particularly fazes him. The most emotional he gets is irritated at the name of Operation Overlord, then mildly peeved and snarky in chapter 60 when the Destroyer knock-off he's remote controlling has been blasted from Colorado to a potato field in Russia, and somewhat annoyed at having missed the Winter Soldier's Heel–Face Turn.
No-Nonsense Nemesis: He rarely wastes words and and gets the job done with maximum efficiency. Aside from Daken, he's the one person who really comes close to killing Harry (via HYDRA's Destroyer), and unlike Daken, he didn't have to drive him into a rage to do it, simultaneously nearly killing the rest of the aged up kids in less than ten seconds.
Officer and a Gentleman: Always courteous, to allies and enemies alike.
Only a Flesh Wound: A bullet in the shoulder is only sufficient to annoy him, and being stabbed in the back by Logan doesn't slow him down much either.
Pop-Cultured Badass: Hinted to be aware enough of Doctor Who to make a very dry joke.
Purple Is Powerful: As befitting his place in HYDRA's aristocracy and his formidable skill set, he wears purple.
Social Darwinist: Like Lucius, believes that the strong are meant to rule the weak, and anything else holds mankind back.
The Stoic: He never gets more than mildly peeved or somewhat irritated, and even being stabbed in the back by Logan doesn't make him lose his cool.
The Strategist: His role in HYDRA, along with being their field commander. He's specifically described as being 'HYDRA's Captain America', while Word of God refers to him as 'the Anti-Cap' and 'exactly as frightening as that implies.'
Super-Soldier: It's not entirely clear how powerful he is, but he's up there. He's capable of flattening Greyback in less than two seconds, and Lucius notes that when it comes to it, he's fast enough to make a vampire blink. He also proves capable of killing T'Chaka and overpowering T'Challa without getting more than a little out of breath.
The Unfettered: Freely admits to being this in chapter 75 and extols its virtues, considering it to be the primary means of realising one's full potential.
Villain: Exit, Stage Left: Like Lucius, he flees during the first book's Final Battle after his fight with T'Challa is interrupted by Wolverine, and disappears.
Villainous Friendship: He and Zola get on fairly well, as do he and Lucius.
Villain Respect: Expresses genuine admiration towards Harry for his effective Indy Ploy.
- Is impressed by T'Challa's speed and on their rematch, compliments the improvements he's made to his style.
Worthy Opponent: Why he spares T'Challa.

Doctor Zola

Doctor Arnim Zola

Those who do not know that they are beaten can prove the most dangerous of enemies.

The Red Skull's former right-hand man, and the founder of the modern version of HYDRA, of which he is now a key member. A Mad Scientist of the highest order, nothing is too depraved for him.

A God Am I: In chapter 74, he gloats that he is effectively one to Tony Stark. Tony is unimpressed.
At Least I Admit It: Considers America hypocritical, as at least the Nazis were efficient in their genocide.
Brain Uploading: Did this decades ago, into a series of robots and mainframes, usually wandering around in an LMD designed after his original body.
Card-Carrying Villain: Has absolutely no illusions about his (lack of) morality and doesn't care one bit.
For Science!: The only justification he requires for doing anything, which he learned from his teacher, Nathaniel Essex/Sinister.
Genius Loci: He's become a borderline example, and in chapter 74 he boasts to Tony that, having taken over Avengers Tower, he is nothing less than Tony's god.
Herr Doktor: A fairly classic case - though he's Swiss, thank you very much.
I Fight for the Strongest Side!: Like Zemo, will follow whoever leads HYDRA, so long as they're worthy of it. After Lucius' coup, he's right behind Zemo in declaring loyalty.
Mad Scientist: He's arguably the purest example in the series, exceeded only by Sinister, his former teacher.
Morally Ambiguous Doctorate: Will do anything to anyone for the sake of his experiments, and expanding HYDRA's power.
Not-So-Harmless Villain: As Lucius notes, his appearance belies just how dangerous he is. Chapter 74 demonstrates it for everyone else, with his single-handedly taking down Avengers Tower.
Omnidisciplinary Scientist: A master of everything from AI and robotics technology to high end genetic manipulation.
The Smart Guy: For HYDRA.
Those Wacky Nazis: Admits he was one and has no regrets, but generally seems to regard the Nazis as inefficient.
Technopath: And an extremely powerful one, having become a borderline Genius Loci. While this enables him to get the better of JARVIS - at least, the first time round - Hogwarts sent him packing.
Villainous Friendship: Gets along disturbingly well with Gravemoss.
- He also gets on fairly well with Zemo and Malfoy.
What Happened to the Mouse?: It's left unclear whether JARVIS' counter-attack and the subsequent crippling of the Dreadnought killed him, or whether, like Zemo and Lucius, he fled when the tide turned. In Chapter 61 of Ghosts, Bucky confirms that he hasn't been seen since the Battle of London, with no one sure whether or not he survived, though it's believed he didn't, given that it was Magneto who downed the Dreadnought.

Alexander Pierce

SHIELD and HYDRA aren't so different... See, SHIELD’s enemies are the same as our enemies. They always have been. Chaos, conflict, disorder... they need to stamped out. We both agree on that. We both believe that peace is not something that should be rewarded, it is a responsibility. The only difference there has ever been is the lengths that we are willing to go to see that dream come to fruition.

Secretary of International Defence, liaison between SHIELD and the US government. Also secretly in charge of HYDRA's SHIELD division, those SHIELD Agents that are loyal to HYDRA. Possibly the archetypal Well-Intentioned Extremist.

Affably Evil: Perfectly friendly and polite at all times, to the point that even Freki and Geri like him. Also one of HYDRA's two heads and fully on board with their world domination ideology.
Badass Bureaucrat: He seems to be more of an administrator than anything else, yet he can get into HYDRA's hidden base with perfect ease - something that should be physically impossible - and he's completely unflappable.
Boxed Crook: In Ghosts, the only reason he hasn't been executed for treason is that he's leaking just enough secrets to make himself useful, while keeping enough behind to make sure he continues to considered useful.
Deadpan Snarker: He drily refers to Fury's counterattack in chapter 77 as "not all that convenient" for Lucius.
Even Evil Has Standards: He might not approve of experimenting on children, though it could be Pragmatic Villainy - the narrative leaves it ambiguous. He's also horrified by the news that Project Krasnyy Syn has been resurrected by the Red Room, though this is implied to be because he's at the top of the likely target list.
Evil Genius: He's brilliant at political manipulation, enough that Malfoy treats him with wary respect, and spends his imprisonment toying with his interrogators.
Evil Old Folks: Physically the oldest of the villains in Book I (save Gravemoss, obviously - Zola is a digital entity and doesn't count), and absolutely soulless.
Friend to All Children: A dark subversion. He's very good with kids and charms the wary Harry with ease, apparently genuinely coming to like him. However, he doesn't blink twice at the prospect of Harry's death, merely expressing mild regret and clinically noting how it could actually work in his favour.
Four Eyes, Zero Soul: Doesn't even blink at the prospect of a child's death being part of a plan, merely remarking that grief would make the Avengers easier to manipulate.
Manipulative Bastard: He's been running both sides for decades and he's smooth enough to charm a wary Harry and fool Freki and Geri. His concocting of the Young Avengers initiative is entirely this trope, as it would allow him to directly control and mould the next generation of Avengers.
- His response to Lucius' statement that his plans involve killing Harry is merely say that a properly conditioned clone might be more convenient for his purposes and that the Avengers would be easier to manipulate.
- Spends his imprisonment toying with his interrogators, as he does Alison, Thor, and Loki in Ghosts, knowing that they need him - and effortlessly deducing why they need him too.
Mole in Charge: The head of HYDRA's SHIELD Division and, well, SHIELD.
Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: Zig-zagged. As per canon, he had a hand in Fury's rise to the Directorship, which in this 'verse, was at an extraordinarily young age. On the other hand, as he points out in canon, Fury was the best man for the job and he wanted SHIELD to be the best it could be.
Oh, Crap!: When Alison tells him that the Red Room are back and that they've resurrected Project Krasnyy Syn - 'Red Son', he cracks. Considering what the Red Son proves capable of, this is entirely justified.
Pragmatic Villainy: His smacking down of Ross' attempt to get hold of Carol in chapter 61 to study the effects of the temporary mystical enhancement is probably this, considering his casual attitude to Harry's potential death and what happened last time the US government meddled in magic.
Running Both Sides: He plays off the antics of HYDRA as run by Von Strucker and later Malfoy to steer SHIELD closer to HYDRA's agenda. Considering how well it worked, and the fact that he was only caught thanks to a desperate mistake by Lucius Malfoy, he seems to have been onto something.
Seen It All: Zola's appearance through a computer screen doesn't even make him blink.
Social Darwinist: Judging by his agreement with Lucius' speech.
The Sociopath: Has absolutely no problem with the prospect of having children that he likes killed, treating it as the mildly regrettable cost of doing business.
Villain Respect: Describes Peggy Carter, who he met briefly as a young Agent, as being a very impressive woman, and needles Alison about not being her equal.
Visionary Villain: In a quiet, subtle sort of way - he sees a world united under HYDRA.
Would Hurt a Child: Doesn't seem particularly bothered by the prospect of Harry's demise, merely commenting that it's unfortunate, because he genuinely liked him.

Jason Todd

Faith can be something someone has in you.

An Agent of HYDRA, one of their best, serving as Baron Zemo's protégé and right-hand. He later becomes disillusioned with HYDRA on seeing the devastation of the Battle of London and temporarily takes up the Sword of Faith.

Adaptational Villainy: Say what you like about canon Jason, but he was never anything like a HYDRA Agent - though in fairness, it is implied that the difference is who took him in (in this case, Baron Zemo).
Age Lift: In canon, he's the second Robin, and thus quite a lot younger than Batman. Here, he's several years older than Bruce, at least.
Badass Normal: He didn't become Zemo's protégé for his looks and Lucius inwardly notes that he's worryingly reminiscent of the Winter Soldier. He chases down a moving tube train and matches Sharon Carter, who has semi-dormant supersoldier genes, blow for blow.
Cool Mask: His red balaclava, a palette swapped version of Zemo's own.
Empowered Badass Normal: Already a serious badass, he (at least temporarily) joins the ranks of the Knights of the Cross and wields Fidelacchius, making him Strong as They Need to Be.
Enigmatic Minion: He barely ever says anything, and until the finale, he never even gives a hint of his true intentions.
Heel–Face Turn: During the Final Battle, he sees the kind of evil HYDRA really can cause, which causes doubts that Strange then manipulates into making him switch sides, become a temporary wielder of Fidelacchius.
Malevolent Masked Man: Like his mentor, though his is a) red, b) removable.
Mook Lieutenant: As Baron Zemo's right hand man.
The Quiet One: Even more than his master, to the point where Lucius compares him to the silent Winter Soldier.
What Happened to the Mouse?: It's unclear what happened to him after the Battle of London, and whether he kept the Sword.

Daken

Daken Akihiro

I think I want to see what it is about you that has everyone so excited.

The son of Wolverine, he's one of HYDRA's top mercenaries, and, apparently, just in it for the blood rather than any real interest in power or HYDRA's principles. Succeeds in briefly killing Harry in chapter 70. It didn't last. In chapter 75, Harry gets his own back, leaving him literally skewered to the wall of HYDRA's London base, and he hasn't been seen since.

Blade Below the Shoulder: But of course.
Blood Knight: Shows interest in finding out 'what all the fuss is about' where Harry is concerned and admits once his attempt to fill the kids with bullets is thwarted that he prefers doing it up close.
Body Horror: What the Phoenix does to him isn't pretty, and what Harry does to him in their rematch isn't all that pretty either.
Bullying a Dragon: Tries to attack Phoenix-possessed Harry, and gets charbroiled for his efforts. It would have been worse, too, if the Phoenix hadn't been intent on a fully fledged rampage.
Combat Pragmatist: is quite happy to just shoot his targets and have done with it.
Healing Factor: Of course. Actually how, along with his claws, Dumbledore determines his parentage.
Hero Killer: Manages to, while briefly, kill Harry.
Impaled with Extreme Prejudice: Does this to Harry. It doesn't stick, and Harry later returns the favour.
I Shall Taunt You: Uses this to get Harry to lose his temper and attack head on. It works perfectly. At first.
Manipulative Bastard: See I Shall Taunt You.
Oh, Crap!: Causes one in Dumbledore when the latter realises exactly what kind of person Harry is fighting.
Only in It for the Money: He's only in it for the pay-check - though he does relish the opportunity to take on Harry.
Psycho for Hire: See above. He's not working for HYDRA because he's a believer.
A Real Man Is a Killer: Tries to invoke this with Harry after the latter wins their rematch.
What Happened to the Mouse?: He was probably captured by SHIELD, but it's never confirmed.
Wolverine Claws: Again, an inherited trait.
Would Hurt a Child: Isn't even remotely fazed by the prospect, as he demonstrates when he kills Harry and when he tries to shoot the kids in chapter 75.

Narcissa

Lady Narcissa Malfoy

Wife of Lucius, mother of Draco, and sister of Bellatrix, she's mostly a background figure. However, she's very sharp, very intelligent, and as per canon, willing to do just about anything to protect her family, making her a dangerous enemy. All tropes up to Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets' still apply.

Affably Evil: She's actually fairly friendly, in a snobby sort of way, though that could be well-bred politeness.
Aristocrats Are Evil: Evil may be stretching it a little, but she's stuck up and patronising, as well as being part of an old money noble dynasty.
Aw, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other: She and Lucius do genuinely love each other, with Lucius' love for her motivating his murder of von Strucker and assumption of rule of HYDRA. She will also do anything to protect her son.
Big Fancy House: Though Fury burned most of it down some years ago in a failed attempt to murder Lucius, and von Strucker's assault led a large portion of it being demolished. Again.
Even Evil Has Loved Ones: She genuinely loves her family, which Fury mercilessly exploits to get her to talk, revealing that Draco tipped SHIELD off about the veidrdraugar and that HYDRA know.
Even Evil Has Standards: Gravemoss' antics horrify her and she's infuriated by von Strucker's betrayal.
Heel–Face Turn: Turns on HYDRA when von Strucker spots that she's been talking to SHIELD to get protection for her son, who tipped off the Avengers. After he tries to kill her, she sings like a canary and Lucius, who doesn't know that she was talking to SHIELD, murders von Strucker to become leader of HYDRA.
It's Personal: She particularly hates Fury for his attempt to murder her husband. It mostly manifests in Snark-to-Snark Combat, however, as she also fears him.
Love Redeems: Her love for her family leads to her being willing to betray HYDRA, even seek to enlist the aid of Magneto, who terrifies her.
Mama Bear: She's fiercely devoted to her family, and willingly crosses HYDRA to protect her son.
Noble Bigot: More so than her canon counterpart, having a touch more respect for Muggles and getting on surprisingly well with Agent Coulson, greeting his (calculated) revelation that he's a squib (and related to the Weasleys) with amused surprise, remarking that her husband would be rather annoyed that he didn't pick up on that little fact.
Odd Friendship: She gets on surprisingly well with Coulson, though it's implied that he's manipulating her.
Rich Bitch: Cold and haughty, though she has a nicer side.
Snark-to-Snark Combat: With Fury. They have a history, and not a pleasant one.
Stepford Smiler/Stepford Snarker: She puts on a good show, but it breaks down over time. In chapter 42, both Fury and Rhodey see straight through it when they meet her - she's terrified for her family, terrified of SHIELD's vengeance, masking it through genteel snark and cool disdain. Fury, however, quickly pierces through the mask and presses her buttons.
Unholy Matrimony: With Lucius. By all evidence, they're very happy together.
Unwitting Instigator of Doom: Her Heel–Face Turn and von Strucker's attempt to ensure that she's Rewarded as a Traitor Deserves leads to Lucius killing von Strucker, gaining control of the Winter Soldier and making HYDRA exponentially more dangerous.

The Death Eaters

Voldemort's elite followers. During the First Wizarding War, they were Voldemort's inner circle and acted as the elite force in his army. After the War, many slipped through justice's grasp thanks to copious bribery and claiming that they were under the Imperius. Under Lucius Malfoy's temporary command, driven by fear of the vengeful Thor, they allied with HYDRA. This was a Bad Idea.

In General

Always a Bigger Fish: While moderately threatening when well-led, most of the time they're not much of a threat to the likes of the Avengers or the reformed MI13. However, they shouldn't be underestimated.
Arch-Enemy: The mortal enemies of the Order of the Phoenix and MI13.
Butt-Monkey: Lucius excepted, whenever they turn up, they're usually about to get demolished by someone else.
Cannon Fodder: Lucius and later, Voldemort, treat them as such.
Hypocrite: Voldemort's a half-blood and they were entirely willing to work with HYDRA - or at least, not complain too loudly about it. It probably helped that HYDRA had previously worked with Grindelwald.
A Nazi by Any Other Name: Which is probably why they were so comfortable working with another example of this trope, HYDRA.
No Honour Among Thieves: Voldemort doesn't care about any of them beyond their utility to him as minions ( and, following his acquisition of psychic powers, puppets) and Lucius happily uses most of them as Cannon Fodder and decoys.
Politically Incorrect Villain: The Death Eaters' goal was to exterminate all "impure" wizards.
Weak, but Skilled: Compared to, say, Harry - while he can easily overpower them by Ghosts, Thor worries his inexperience would make him vulnerable, noting each is "an experienced fighter and a sadistic killer", while Coulson later notes that while they're relatively easy to contain when properly prepared, one mistake can be fatal.

Voldemort

Lord Voldemort, aka Tom Marvolo Riddle

There is no good or evil, only power and those too weak to seek it.

The Dark Lord who terrorized Britain for decades, Lucius' former master, and the man who killed Harry's parents (though it didn't exactly take for either), before the infant Harry himself somehow turned his own Killing Curse back on him. Not Quite Dead ever since, he and Harry are bound by prophecy to face each other again.

Adaptational Badass: He's smarter and more patient than in canon, a Combat Pragmatist who held his own with a young Magneto, and he's implied to have killed a previous Captain Britain. He's also not prone to Bond Villain Stupidity like his canon self, and Ghosts reveals that he's now able to take more or less anyone who isn't Omega Class in a straight fight with frightening ease, as he demonstrated with Harry Dresden.
- Even before his resurrection, he was capable of going toe-to-toe with Dumbledore (though usually avoided him when he could), whereas his canon self was definitively nowhere near Dumbledore's level.
A God Am I: Somewhat, believing that he and Harry are alike in escaping the usual cycle of life and death.
Arch-Enemy: Harry's, both by prophecy and experience. He even lampshades it early in Ghosts.
Bad Boss: He treats Wormtail even worse than canon, cannibalising his body to build himself a new one. Plus, he uses the Death Eaters as Cannon Fodder and People Puppets.
Big Bad: Subverted in the first book, choosing to observe the situation, before becoming the driving force behind the scenes in Ghosts, preparing for something unspecified and big.
Big Bad Ensemble: With the Red Room, Selene, Dracula, and possibly the Dark Phoenix in Ghosts.
Child by Rape: His mother drugged his father with love potions, explicitly described in-story as date rape drugs.
Chronic Back Stabbing Disorder: He's got enough of a reputation for this that everyone expects him to stick the knife in at some point, it's just a matter of figuring out when.
Combat Pragmatist: Although a very powerful and dangerous wizard, he won't pick fights he isn't sure he'll win.
Dark Lord on Life Support: At first. He rectifies this by taking over and reshaping Wormtail's body.
Deadpan Snarker: Occasionally, like his canon counterpart.
The Dragon: To Selene, though invoked he leaves her to swing in the wind once the Darkhallow is dispelled, having got what he wanted.
The Dreaded: Most of Wizarding Britain is too afraid of him to even say his name.
Evil Counterpart: To Harry, as usual, and Ginny notes the similarities.
Evil Has a Bad Sense of Humor: He's not very funny, at least at first.
Evil Old Folks: He's over eighty years old by this point, even if he doesn't look it, and vile as they come.
Faux Affably Evil: He remains perfectly charming and urbane while threatening to kill people in the most horrifying ways possible. However, this vanishes when someone actually hurts him, as both Betsy and Dresden find out.
The Ghost: For most of Child of the Storm. Ironically, he takes on a much bigger role in Ghosts.
Grand Theft Me: Pulls this on Wormtail, reshaping his body into something more useful.
Healing Factor: After Selene taught him how to pull off Vampiric Draining, he developed a monstrously powerful one.
Hidden Agenda Villain: As Dumbledore observes in chapter 70 of Ghosts, while they've got a pretty good general idea of what he's been doing, no one's actually sure what his end goal actually is. The best speculation is that involves trying to circumvent or overpower Harry's protection, but even that is a bit confused.
Human Resources: What he does to Wormtail in order to build a new body is not pretty.
Humanoid Abomination: He’s even worse than canon after he gets his body back, with Dumbledore terming him "something more than a spirit and less than a man." He looks perfectly human, drains life-force with a thought, reshapes his host’s body like clay, regards lethal injuries as passing inconveniences, has some terrifying Psychic Powers, and it’s unclear if he’s really even alive or not, at least as we know it.
Hypocrite: As per canon, he derides Dresden for being a half-blood, despite being one himself.
I Am Having Soul Pains: The result of Betsy cutting the connection between him and Harry, resulting in what is described as a whole body migraine. He recovers pretty quickly, though. And holds a grudge.
It's Personal: Develops a grudge against Betsy, after she hurt him by cutting the connection between him and Harry, resulting in what is referred to as an epic scale whole body migraine. While he recovers pretty quickly, most of what annoys him seems to be the fact that she outsmarted him.
- As always, things are very personal between him and Harry Thorson.
I Was Quite the Looker: Was quite the looker when he was younger, and before he started dividing his soul up. After taking Wormtail's body, he alters it to look like his younger self, though it doesn't entirely last.
Just Toying with Them: He pretty clearly had the advantage in his duel with Harry Dresden and Carlos Ramirez, and the only reason they weren't killed was because of this and him rifling through Dresden's mind for information - he then swats Ramirez like a fly, and when he gets serious, he nearly kills Dresden in three seconds flat, only prevented by Wanda's intervention.
Knight of Cerebus: For Ghosts - whenever he turns up, things are about to get dark.
Know When to Fold 'Em: He vanishes once he's got whatever he wants, or whenever he might be about to be pinned down.
Manipulative Bastard: As per canon, he's extremely accomplished at this. On his reappearance in Ghosts, he plays everyone like a harp, getting the desired reaction each and every time. Then he tries it on Dracula. It ends badly... or so it appears. Going by the Bloody Hell arc, it seems that he did get the better of Dracula after all.
Mind Rape: By Ghosts, he's become a highly accomplished at this (though it's hinted that he was already quite good prior to his temporary death). He gets it turned back on him by Harry.
Not Quite Dead: He was reduced to a spirit when his Killing Curse bounced, and later rectifies the situation.
Only Mostly Dead: Before he regains a body - and, it could be argued, even after.
Our Ghosts Are Different: Prior to stealing Wormtail's body and reshaping it to fit his desires.
Our Liches Are Different: Owing to the Horcruxes.
People Puppets: Gains the ability to do this by Ghosts, and uses it to terrifying effect.
Politically Incorrect Villain: Less so than canon, but he still considers muggles far beneath him and happily murders them at the drop of a hat. He also refers to Dresden as a "half-blood worm" after he's hit by his Shock and Awe attack.
Power Parasite: Has been using his Psychic Link with Harry to siphon off some of Harry's mutation- and Asgardian-based powers. Betsy cuts the link in Chapter 68, but he's already gained a significant amount.
Psychic Nosebleed: Harry gives him one in chapter 2 of Ghosts.
Psychic Powers: Drains some of Harry's telepathy and uses it for himself, to devastating effect. Wanda reveals that even before this, he'd had a gift for the mental areas of magic.
Red Eyes, Take Warning: Like canon, he develops these again in Ghosts, some time after his resurrection.
The Sociopath: As per canon.
Soft-Spoken Sadist: Though he has his hammy moments, this version mostly speaks in normal, mild tones about the most horrific things imaginable. Like canon, these moments are considerably creepier than his Evil Is Hammy screaming.
Soul Jar: As per canon, his Horcruxes. Though between Harry and Wisdom, most of them have been destroyed.
Troll: He turns Carol and Uhtred into People Puppets and makes it look like they're rejecting and demeaning Harry just to screw with him. He later steers Ron and Hermione into the Fallen Fortress as a distraction while he robs the Department of Mysteries and actually contemplates sticking around with a scrying bowl and some snacks to watch the carnage.
Unexplained Recovery: A few shots to the head and having most of his blood ripped out by Magneto don't prove more than a temporary inconvenience.
Vampiric Draining: By Ghosts, he's can use his new powers to drain life from others, likely thanks to Selene.
Villain: Exit, Stage Left: He pulls this in chapters 2 and 33 of Ghosts.
Villain Team-Up: In the first book's epilogue, he allies with Selene, and in the sequel, he cuts a deal with Dracula.
Villains Never Lie: He's remarkably up front about what he's up to when he confronts Harry because he correctly believes Harry can't stop it. He also admits his plan in Bloody Hell to Dresden because he believes he can kill him as soon as he gets serious. Frighteningly, he's right about that too, and only Wanda's intervention stops him.
Voluntary Shapeshifting: Downplayed, but as a Transfiguration expert he's able to rearrange his looks to a certain extent.
Walking Spoiler: Due to the exact circumstances around his resurrection in this universe.
The Worf Effect: Gets subjected to this in chapter 24 of Ghosts — Dracula suppresses Voldemort's psychic and magical powers without any visible sign of effort.
Worthy Opponent: Respects Harry because of his power, their shared ability to return from the dead, and, by the end of their first encounter in Ghosts, his ruthlessness.
Xanatos Gambit: He set up his deal with Dracula so that either way, he will win - either Harry will defeat Dracula, dealing with the person who pulled an Eviler than Thou on him, or Dracula will weaken Harry enough that Voldemort can deal with him at his leisure, and either way, keeping his Arch-Enemy (and the Avengers) busy while he and Selene perform the Darkhallow a.k.a. she tries it and he stabs her in the back, running off with a copy of the Word of Kemmler. His scheme in chapter 62 of Ghosts seems structured the same way.

Wormtail

Peter Pettigrew a.k.a. Wormtail a.k.a. Scabbers

Traitorous ex-Marauder and member of the Order of the Phoenix, he defected to Voldemort to be on the winning side. After a decade as Scabbers, the Weasley family rat, he got wind of the fact that Thor and Loki were taking an interest in Harry and promptly ran for his life, finding Voldemort in Albania. He came to regret that decision. All tropes relating to him through Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets apply unless noted otherwise.

Animorphism: Spends much of his life as a rat.
Body Horror: What Voldemort does to him is not at all pretty.
Cruel and Unusual Death: Cowardly and treacherous he might have been, what Voldemort did to him was beyond horrible.
Dirty Coward: As per canon, he sold out the Potters, and has no interest in hanging around once it turns out that Thor is actually James (though given that James would've almost certainly recognized him immediately, this is probably a very good idea).
The Dog Was the Mastermind: There was considerable surprise when Thor revealed that Peter was the traitor.
Pay Evil unto Evil: By Voldemort, who possesses him and reshapes his body into one more suited to his preferences.
Slimeball: A cringing, pathetic, slug of a man and seen as such by all around him.
Villain with Good Publicity: Until Thor sets the record straight, he's believed to have died a hero.
Voluntary Shapeshifting: As an animagus, he can turn into a rat and back. Involuntary shapeshifting at the hands of Voldemort, meanwhile, is ultimately his undoing.

Barty Crouch Junior

One of Voldemort's most loyal Death Eaters. Now that his master has returned, he eagerly jumps back into service. This time, he's infiltrating the Department of Mysteries. All tropes prior to Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire still apply.

The Bus Came Back: He's Put on a Bus almost as soon as he appears in chapter 2, and otherwise isn't even mentioned for 60 chapters, when it's revealed that he's been infiltrating the Department of Mysteries.
The Dragon: To Voldemort.
In Spite of a Nail: Despite everything else that's happened in the series so far, he's still set to follow more or less the same role he had in HP canon.
Undying Loyalty: As per canon, is fanatically devoted to Voldemort.

The Red Room

The Soviet, now Russian, equivalent of SHIELD, and creators of both the Winter Soldier and the Black Widow program. Widely feared, even by the Death Eaters and HYDRA, and for good reason, haunting Eastern Europe and Central Asia for over half a century before their fall in the early 1990's. In response to the chaotic upheaval of the post Battle of New York world, their return is hinted at throughout Child of the Storm. In the sequel, under the command of General Lukin, they're back with a vengeance as one of the titular Ghosts of the Past.

In General

Adaptational Badass: They were always fairly anonymous in the comics, mainly being shown as the source of Black Widows and the Winter Soldier, but not much beyond that. Here, they went toe to toe with SHIELD for half a century and scared the hell out of HYDRA.
Brainwashed and Crazy: A popular tactic of theirs, controlling the Winter Soldier, the Black Widows (to an extent), and most recently, the Red Son this way.
Chronic Back Stabbing Disorder: It's nearly as endemic with them as it is with HYDRA, especially where Lukin is concerned. They've also been on the receiving end from Natasha and Ivan, as well as, more recently, Gambit, Volodya, and the Indian government, which decided to back the winning horse and pinch as much useful intel as possible in the process.
The Dreaded: These are the people who make HYDRA wet themselves. Even nearly twenty years after their fall, their ghost is not one lightly conjured with.
Enemy Mine: On the receiving end at the hands of SHIELD and Russian President Boris Yeltsin (who not unreasonably thought that they were out for his blood, not liking the direction he was taking Russia in).
Evil Counterpart: Originally to SHIELD, but the modern version actually bears a much closer resemblance to the newly resurrected MI13, right down to the leadership (though Wisdom is more competent and functionally crazy).
Femme Fatale Spy: Produced some of the best of these in the form of the Black Widows, though this is by far the least of what the Widows are capable of.
He Who Fights Monsters: They were originally a heroic, or at least anti-heroic group formed to fight the Nazis, HYDRA and Grindelwald, but eventually became just as bad. This is lampshaded and discussed by Dumbledore in a talk with Dresden.

Dumbledore: Wielding such powers is not to be done lightly; unless done with great care, caution and preparation, it can transform even the best of intentions into something horrific. After all, the Red Room was formed, in large part, to confront the likes of Grindelwald and HYDRA when they threatened Russia. Now they are spoken of in the same breath, as things alike in their evil.

Informed Ability: The Winter Guard was intended to be the Red Room's answer to all supernatural threats. But when it comes to fights, they're defeated quite easily by the Avengers with Xavier's help and then, except for the Red Son, they're completely crushed by Magneto after being lured into a trap. It's explained that they're actually very good... but not Avengers good.
Knight Templar: They're intent on restoring Russia to greatness, by any means necessary.
Powered Armour: The modern incarnation has managed to replicate the Iron Man armour, if somewhat imperfectly.
Renegade Russian: Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, then on their resurrection, developed into this under General Lukin (whose canon counterpart provides the page quote).
Renegade Splinter Faction: For the Russian government, specifically the intelligence corps.
Rogue Operation: Natasha confirms that they've become this under Lukin, since kidnapping Harry is not on Volodya's agenda, simply because it makes the wrong enemies.
Soviet Super Science: Practically the embodiment of the trope. Their modern incarnation, while apparently unable to recreate the Infinity Formula, is able to create reasonably effective counterparts of the Iron Man armour.
Spy School: Run one of the most brutal and effective.
Super-Soldier: Have produced a number of these, mostly infamously, the Winter Soldier.

General Lukin

General Aleksandr Lukin

If the alternative to insanity is cowardice, then I can live with it.

An extremely ambitious middle aged Russian General who plans to return the Red Room, and through that, Russia, to its former glory and destroy anyone who gets in his way. His primary weapon in this regard is the mysterious Krasnyy Syn, the 'Red Son', later revealed to be a Brainwashed and Crazy Harry.

Adaptational Wimp: The canon version had a cosmic cube and a corporation that was basically a small country in its own right. This version is an intelligent and dangerous General, but plays a definite second fiddle to Sinister.
Ambition Is Evil: In spades. He wants to recreate the old Tsarist Empire/the Soviet Union.
Bad Boss: Doesn't seem to care all that much about his minions.
Berserk Button: Played With. He really doesn't like someone not according him his rightfully earned rank, but since the person in question is Sinister, he knows very well that there isn't anything he can do about it.
Big Bad Wannabe: He's not on Sinister's level. Surprisingly, he doesn't care, since he knows that Sinister's ambitions mostly extend to opportunities to maximise his number of interesting test subjects.
Body Horror: On the receiving end in chapter 15, when Dark Phoenix Harry melts his mouth shut.
The Coup: Pulls one off in chapter 12, executing Volodya.
Crazy-Prepared: With the emphasis on the crazy part, shows this in chapter 14 with his Powered Armor. However, it didn't account for Maddie wielding Mjolnir.
Crazy Sane: Starts as this, as his folder quote shows, descending into frothing lunacy over the course of the arc.
Dissonant Serenity: Doesn't raise his voice from a mild, conversational tone as he orders the execution of Volodya's soldiers, then executes Volodya himself.
The Dog Bites Back: On the receiving end from both Maddie - who settles for humiliating him with a Shut Up, Hannibal! response - and the Dark Phoenix a.k.a. Harry a.k.a. the Red Son, who melts his mouth shut.
Evil Mentor: Functions as this to Yelena and later the Red Son, being in charge of the Red Room.
Four-Star Badass: Though he plays second fiddle to Sinister, he's still the commander of the Red Room, capable of controlling Yelena Belova (no mean feat), and someone who earned his rank.
General Ripper: Though he's fairly good at concealing it, he is certifiably insane, and obsessed with restoring Russia's power and prestige.
Kick The Son Of A Bitch: On the receiving end courtesy of the Dark Phoenix, who melts his mouth shut.
Klingon Promotion: In chapter 12, he executes Volodya and becomes de facto ruler of Russia.
Mask of Sanity: It wears very thin in chapter 12, stating that if insanity is the alternative to cowardice, he'll take [insanity]. He finally snaps at the end of chapter 14 after Maddie and crushes him and all his finely armoured forces with Mjolnir.
Oh, Crap!: When he sees how the Avengers are carving through his troops, most especially the vengeful Winter Soldier.
Politically Incorrect Villain: Spews a stunning amount of misogyny at Maddie in his Villainous Breakdown.
Renegade Russian: Natasha outright states that he isn't exactly dancing to the Kremlin's tune, because they don't want to make enemies of SHIELD or the Avengers. Underlines this in chapter 12 by executing President Volodya.
The Revolution Will Not Be Civilised: In chapter 12 he has the Red Son execute Volodya's troopers, crush his support helicopters with pilots and crew inside them, and then personally executes Volodya, after the latter opposes him.
Sanity Slippage: The more powerful he gets, the less sane he is, descending into frothing insanity when Maddie defies him.
Spy Master: Runs the Red Room, Russia's superhuman/supernatural military-intelligence apparatus.
Spy School: As the head of the Red Room, which also possesses one of the most brutal and effective versions of this in the world.
Tin Tyrant: Gets a set of Powered Armour by the end of chapter 14, complete with psi-blockers, intended to help him take on the likes of Maddie if Essex ever turned on him. It doesn't stand a chance against Mjolnir, however.

Black Widow II

Yelena Belova a.k.a. Black Widow

"I am the Black Widow! The real Black Widow! That old woman, that traitor, is nothing but a fraud!"

The Red Room's new Black Widow, their elite agent, death in tight black trousers. Like all Black Widows, she's beautiful, brilliant and utterly deadly. Unlike Natasha, however, she's clearly insane. Trained to kill Natasha herself, she's also obsessed with being the true Black Widow.

Always Someone Better: She's got a severe complex about Natasha, with good reason.
And I Must Scream: Put it this way. What Dream does to her is brutal enough that even Loki couldn't think of anything to make her situation worse - and he was looking.
Asshole Victim: When chapter 60 reveals just what she did to Harry, she is firmly established as this.
Ax-Crazy: She's clearly unhinged, and becomes more so about time goes on. The amphetamines don't help.
Berserk Button: Natasha in general, particularly implications that Natasha might be better than she is. Carol, naturally, pushes the button repeatedly, calling her 'Black Rip-Off'. Natasha herself presses the various buttons repeatedly, before proving her point, punctuated by a brutal "The Reason You Suck" Speech.
The Berserker: To an extent in her fight with Natasha, partly thanks to amphetamines of some kind, enough that she barely notices that Natasha's sliced her thumb off in the Knife Fight. If anything, it's counterproductive, and learning her lesson, she doesn't take them before her second round with Natasha. It doesn't help.
Curbstomp Battle: After she gets her measure, Natasha winds up handing out an extremely comprehensive one, interspersing it with a brutal "The Reason You Suck" Speech. The rematch was so one-sided it wasn't even worth showing.
Dark Action Girl: She puts Carol down in the blink of an eye, but isn't a match for Natasha, however, despite her superior strength and size. The rematch is so one-sided it isn't even shown.
Designated Girl Fight: Downplayed. Carol sets off her Hair-Trigger Temper, and It's Personal with Natasha.
Double Standard Rape: Female on Male: Averted, hard. She feels up the Red Son (a.k.a. Harry) and kisses him aggressively in front of Natasha as a provocation, stating he's 'almost done cooking', implying she'll rape him when he's 'done'. Her sane teammates are thoroughly disturbed by this and Natasha cuttingly calls it out for what it is - Belova gloating about how she's going to rape a child.
- In chapter 46, it's revealed that she molested the Red Son, usually whenever she wanted to exert her... authority. While it never quite graduated to rape in the strictest sense, that was the eventual intention, and it's bluntly stated that legal definitions aside, it absolutely was rape. Consequently, when Harry unlocks the memories once more, it's revealed in chapter 60 that what did happen was quite horrific enough.
The Dragon: Thinks she's this, valued and important, on course to be a Dragon Ascendant. Functionally, she's more like The Heavy, as Natasha points out.
Evil Counterpart: To Natasha.
Fingore: Natasha ends up slicing her right thumb off in a knife fight.
Hair-Trigger Temper: It doesn't take much to set her off.
Icy Blue Eyes: They're as cold as her heart.
It's Personal: Desperately focused on beating Natasha and proving herself the true Black Widow.
Knife Fight: Ends up in one with Natasha. She loses a thumb, her knife, and what the narration refers to as a large chunk of her remaining sanity.
Mask of Sanity: It's a thin one to begin with and it gets even thinner after Natasha beats her in a Knife Fight, taking off her thumb.
Mook Lieutenant: She's one of Lukin's chief lieutenants and thinks that she's therefore The Dragon. Natasha brutally sets her straight, underlining why she's actually this trope and no more.
Ooh, Me Accent's Slipping: Speaks English with only a trace of accent, if that, one that thickens significantly when she gets angry. Carol, already winding her up over her obsession with being the true Black Widow, then jabs her further by saying that the real Black Widow doesn't lose her temper or let her accent slip.
- Natasha snarks that she can hear a Ukrainian accent when Belova declares herself a proud daughter of Mother Russia. As she notes internally, she can't, but she knows that Belova's Ukrainian and does it to piss her off.
Psycho Serum: In their first fight, Natasha notices that she's on some cocktail of amphetamines and other drugs, taken in lieu of the Infinity Formula. It boosts her physical abilities and frays her already thin sanity.
Sex Slave: Used the Red Son as this, as a way of getting one over her predecessor.
Sir Swears-a-Lot: Calls Carol a bitch and a whore, and apparently curses up a storm in Russian when Carol catches her off-guard. Is similarly foul mouthed when fighting Natasha.
Smug Snake: She's deadly dangerous, a funhouse mirror version of Natasha, but she's not operating on the same level.
Spy Catsuit: Wears one clearly modelled after Natasha's, right down to the hourglass buckle. Natasha notices this.
Stealth Hi/Bye: Manages to pull this on Natasha in chapter 10 — the first, last, and only time she ever gets the upper hand over her predecessor.
Strong, but Unskilled: Compared to Natasha. She's very skilled, as well as being bigger than Natasha and on some kind of uppers in their first fight. Natasha still destroys her. The second fight, minus the uppers (less strong, more skilled), is so utterly one-sided the narrative doesn't even bother to show it.
Superior Successor: Thinks of herself as this to Natasha, as she was raised, trained, and conditioned for just that purpose. As it turns out, she really isn't.
Tranquil Fury: Her rage tends towards the cold and vicious.
Villain Respect: Moderately impressed by Carol's calculation.
Waif-Fu: To an extent. Carol states that it'll only take one good hit to put Belova down. Belova retorts that she won't get that hit. It's not hard to believe her. The dynamic is reversed with her and Natasha.
We Have Reserves: Aware of the Red Room's tendency towards this, even with Black Widows, but thinks that she's the exception, having been told all her life that she is. Natasha brutally sets her straight.

Sabretooth

Victor Creed a.k.a. Sabretooth

A vicious, sadistic, and deadly dangerous mutant who's far more intelligent than he seems and happens to be the Arch-Enemy of Wolverine. Mentioned in Child of the Storm as a mercenary and possible employee of HYDRA, he appears in Ghosts of the Past working for the Red Room and/or Sinister.

Always a Bigger Fish: Bucky's Winter Soldier persona tears him to shreds and Loki also demonstrates this, by breaking him with the right words whispered in his ear... and possibly an illusion or two.
Always Someone Better: Wolverine. He tries to prove he's better by beating Bucky, and he gives a fair account of himself. But to beat Wolverine, Bucky - who was admittedly short of time and carrying broken ribs - had to use a thermite tipped RPG, and had an immediate Oh, Crap! reaction at the famous snikt. Creed? He just marks him as a threat to those with him, and all he needs is a metal railing.
The Ageless: At least as old as Wolverine, if not older.
Arch-Enemy: To Wolverine. He has a bone to pick with Bucky, too, though mostly to prove he's better than Wolverine.
Animal Themed Super Being: Big cats in general.
Berserk Button: Tries to push Bucky's, to make him lose concentration. It doesn't work, and Bucky presses his in response.
Blood Knight: He enjoys violence immensely.
Card-Carrying Villain: He knows he's the bad guy and he enjoys it.
Combat Pragmatist: Deliberately chooses a location where he'll have the advantage over Bucky.
The Dreaded: He's a deadly dangerous monster and is treated as such, with Bucky sending the kids away so he can handle Creed alone.
Eats Babies: Heavily implied, since he's a confirmed cannibal and casts a certain look at baby Ada. Loki blinds him for it.
Face–Heel Turn: At the very least, he used to be a Token Evil Team Mate back in WWII.
For the Evulz: More or less why he does most things. That and It Amused Me.
Genius Bruiser: As Bucky notes, he's much, much smarter than he pretends to be, picking a spot that plays to all his advantages (and nullifies Bucky's) when they fight.
Healing Factor: A powerful one, though not as strong as Wolverine's.
I'm a Humanitarian: Casually, and it's also implied that he Eats Babies. He then made the mistake of implicitly threatening Ada with that fate in front of Loki.
Impaled with Extreme Prejudice: By Bucky, with a railing, through the stomach.
I Shall Taunt You: Tries to goad Bucky. It doesn't work.
It Amused Me: Gives this reason for why he did certain things.
Kick the Dog: Kills for amusement, as a random wizard he gutted for amusement/to goad Bucky/as a snack found out.
Lightning Bruiser: He's big and he's very, very fast.
Noodle Incident: He met the Winter Soldier in the late 1970s or so, and having met Bucky during the War, figured out the truth.
Obfuscating Stupidity: As Bucky notes internally, he is much, much smarter than he pretends to be.
One-Scene Wonder: He only appears on-screen once, but as the number of tropes shows, he makes a clear impression.
Private Military Contractors: He's a mercenary, and a highly sought after one.
Psycho for Hire: See above.
Sadist: He's vicious, he's cruel, and he enjoys it.
Seen It All: Unfazed by Cold-Blooded Torture, and even SHIELD's best couldn't break him. Then he met Loki.
Smug Super: Thinks a lot of himself. Bucky takes him down a few pegs, as does Loki.
Super-Senses: Like Wolverine, he's got enhanced smell, enough that he can recognise individuals by their scent.
The Worf Effect: A serious badass, but his first on-screen appearance features him both handing this out and being on the receiving end. First, he rips out a ghoul's throat out with minimal effort. Then he's on the wrong end of a Curbstomp Battle from the Winter Soldier, and finally, he's mentioned as being a hardcase that SHIELD's best interrogators couldn't break, before Loki whispers something in his ear to make him sing like a canary.
Would Hurt a Child: It's implied that he Eats Babies, too.
To the Pain: Is unfazed by Loki's threats along this line. Then, Loki whispers something in his ear that makes him sing like a canary.

The Beast

Dudley Dursley a.k.a. the Beast a.k.a. the Blob a.k.a. the Fledgling

I'M GONNA KILL YOU! I'M GONNA KILL YOU TO DEATH!

Harry's bullying cousin. After his parents were locked up, he was found by Doctor Milbury a.k.a. Essex/Sinister and his latent X-Gene was activated. After that, he became the Red Room's chief thug, gaining a fearful reputation among the prisoners. After Forever Red, he vanishes, returning as 'the Fledgling', turned by Dracula after Voldemort gave him as a gift.

Achilles' Heel: His eyes are vulnerable, as are his joints to someone strong enough to hurt him. Also, if you can get him off the ground, as Harry points out, he's just another case of mass times acceleration.
Acrofatic: He's noted as being extraordinarily fast for someone of any size, despite his bulk. However, Harry's faster and after internalising his telekinesis, strong enough and skilled enough to make it count. After he Took a Level in Badass and became a Grey Court vampire turned by Dracula himself, he becomes even faster. And yet, Harry is still more so.
Adaptational Badass: Oh dear lord, yes. This version has superpowers, for starters.
Adaptational Villainy: Never had his Break the Haughty experience and was enabled by the Red Room, to the point that he becomes far, far worse than a simple bully.
Aggressive Categorism: People with powers are freaks. He has powers, but isn't a freak. Harry points out the Insane Troll Logic.
An Arm and a Leg: After he becomes a vampire, Harry coldly removes both arms without dropping a beat in his Breaking Speech, before decapitating him.
Asshole Victim: Harry winds up systematically destroying every joint, sinew and ligament in his body, Carol fries him with a condensed lightning bolt, Thor punches him halfway into a mountain, Dracula captures and turns him, and Harry finally kills him. He's also so vile that per Harry, becoming a vampire only changed his diet.
Bald of Evil: Temporarily, after Harry hits him with a gigantic fireblast.
Berserk Button: Actually being hurt really, really pisses him off.
The Brute: Serves as this to Sinister and the Red Room, and later Dracula.
Bullying a Dragon: He doesn't think Thor will be much of a threat. Since Thor has him outclassed in raw physical power, let alone all of his other abilities and combat experience, what occurs next can barely even be described as a fight.
- He later decides that crippling one of Harry's close friends is a good idea. Needless to say, it isn't, and he pays for his mistake with his life.
Curbstomp Battle: From Harry and later Thor, and implicitly by Maddie. Hands them out to everyone else and, as a vampire, to Uhtred, then from Harry again. He doesn't survive it.
Dirty Coward: Played With. Harry leaves him fleeing and gibbering in terror and he only turns after Sinister amplifies his rage. As a vampire, though, he continues trying to attack Harry despite Harry methodically dismembering him.
Dumb Muscle: He's still not very bright, and none of his various masters regard him as anything more than a dumb thug. However, he is very, very strong.
Evil Feels Good: The core of his motivation, plus belief that Sinister and the Red Room respect him. In fact, Sinister deems him to be an expendable idiot, but he's too dim to notice. He also enjoys his vampirism.
Evil Pays Better: Part of his motivation for working for the likes of the Red Room and Sinister.
Fat Bastard: Harry notes he's mostly grown sideways, and he's a massive (in every sense) bastard.
From Nobody to Nightmare: Went from spoiled bully/nascent thug to superpowered rapist and murderous psychopath, to a Grey Court vampire who nearly kills Uhtred.
Full-Frontal Assault: Against Thor, after all his clothes were destroyed.
Giant Mook: He's huge, in all directions.
Healing Factor: One that combined with his durability makes him exceptionally dangerous.
He-Man Woman Hater: Much more than either canon counterpart. He's a rapist and he likes it.
Insane Troll Logic: People with powers are freaks. He has powers. He isn't a freak. Harry points out how ridiculous this is.
Irony: As Wanda points out, there's no little irony in how Dudley (who used to taunt Harry for being a freak), son of two people who prided themselves on being incredibly normal, is himself a mutant.
The Juggernaut: His fighting style. It works... until he runs into Harry.
Kevlard: Incredibly fat and durable, enough that carbine rounds bounce off him and he can trade blows with heavyweight superpowered bruisers. So Harry attacks his eyes and joints.
Lack of Empathy: Lacks any sign of it, and never even mentions his parents.
Large Ham: He's quite big on the shouting and the dramatics.
Lightning Bruiser: Much faster than you'd think; though Harry is still faster.
Logical Weakness: Considering the amount of weight they're carrying and their relative lack of padding, his joints are naturally one of his weakest points. Ditto his eyes. Harry exploits both mercilessly.
Metronomic Man Mashing: Pulls this on Harry after Harry gets too close, via his broken arm, no less.
Miles Gloriosus: He's a serious threat to Alpha Class superhumans, but drastically overestimates his power - when he tries to go up against someone like Harry, Thor, or Maddie, he's on course for a thrashing.
Mook Carryover: Some time after escaping the downfall of the Red Room, Voldemort gets hold of him, then gives him to Dracula as a peace offering, who turns him into a vampire fledgling.
Moral Event Horizon: As a rapist and casual murderer, he went zooming over it some time ago. Harry explicitly points this out when explaining becoming a vampire only changed his diet - he was already a monster.
Names to Run Away from Really Fast: The Beast is not a name that makes one want to meet the bearer, and for good reason.
Nigh-Invulnerable: Crossed with a Healing Factor and later, vampirism.
Normal Fish in a Tiny Pond: A relative example in the context of the Red Room. He's arguably the most powerful being there after Maddie and Sinister, and even Gambit's decidedly wary of him - with good reason. Then Harry comes along.
Person of Mass Destruction: On the low end - he's a serious power-house, but his limits are brutally exposed.
Politically Incorrect Villain: A violent rapist and murderer who calls all other superhumans 'freaks'.
Psychopathic Man Child: He's basically an Entitled Bastard with superpowers, and a stand out example, paraphrasing the infamous quote from Superboy-Prime. If anything, he's even worse when comes back as a vampire.
I'M GONNA KILL YOU! I'M GONNA KILL YOU TO DEATH!
Rape Is a Special Kind of Evil: Confirmed. It's implied that it's used to reward him and punish prisoners.
School Yard Bully All Grown Up: To Harry, thanks to time dilation. The disproportionate psychological effect (something lampshaded by Harry himself) and Harry's Power Limiter gives him the upper hand. Then the tables turn.
Small Name, Big Ego: He thinks a lot of himself, despite evidence to the contrary.
Start of Darkness: Probably being found and empowered by Sinister while in government care.
Stout Strength: He's huge, fat, and incredibly strong.
Strong, but Unskilled: He's used to overwhelming people with raw power and is clearly not used to getting hurt. However, he's vicious, with a knack for hurting people. As a vampire, he nearly kills Uhtred, though it's implied that he caught him off-guard.
Supernaturally Delicious and Nutritious: As a vampire, drinking Uhtred's blood seems to make him stronger, faster, and heal even quicker. It doesn't save him from Harry's wrath.
Super-Strength: He's on par with the strongest ordinary Asgardian. Then he becomes a vampire.
Teens Are Monsters: He ends up so bad that becoming a vampire only changed his diet.
Took a Level in Jerkass: He took many; per Word of God, unlike his canon counterpart he never had a Break the Haughty moment, and his worst instincts were encouraged. He's so bad, becoming a vampire only changed his diet.
Used to Be a Sweet Kid: Sweet would be stretching it, but he was a harmless spoiled bully, once upon a time.
You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: On the receiving end of this from Sinister, though oddly, he survives.

The Red Son

Project Kransnyy Syn a.k.a. the Red Son

A Russian Super-Soldier project intended to replace the Winter Soldier, formed during the last days of the Red Room at the end of the Soviet era as it tried to claw back its power and position. It's supposedly capable of single-handedly reshaping the balance of global power. Since it's Harry, this is absolutely true.

An Arm and a Leg: Loses his left arm fighting Magneto, but the Transmode Virus grew back a mechanical one (which was then promptly blasted off as well). When he becomes the Dark Phoenix, he immediately grows it back.
Being Tortured Makes You Evil: There was a lot of screaming involved in his creation.
Beware the Quiet Ones: Almost never says anything at all.
Beware the Superman: As the spearhead of the Winter Guard, he helps the Red Room subdue their 'Twelve Day Empire'.
Blank Slate: Explicitly referred to as this, with everything he once was having been wiped away.
Brainwashed and Crazy: The victim being Harry, with a side order of Being Tortured Makes You Evil.
Broken Ace: The Red Son is a Living Weapon broken to the Red Room's bridle, with no discernible will of his own.
Combat Pragmatist: He immediately goes for the quick kill, attacking internal organs.
Creepy Child: He's a teenager who's colder and emptier than the Winter Soldier at his worst.
Cyborg: Becomes one via Unwilling Roboticization.
The Dreaded: The mere mention of the project can make a veteran Cold Warrior like Ivan Petrovitch go white and a previously calm, amused and obdurate Alexander Pierce more than willing to talk. And with good reason.
Eerie Pale-Skinned Brunette: Even more so than usual, what with being Brainwashed and Crazy and all.
Electronic Eye: The Transmode Virus gives him one after Magneto blows his left eye (and arm) off.
Explosive Leash: Lukin prepares to use it after Magneto subdues him (to prevent the Avengers' getting him). However, Essex presents the option of the Transmode Virus, and Magneto's colossal EMP cuts him off. Given the likely consequences, this is a Good Thing.
Living Weapon: Intended to be the ultimate example, and was arguably a complete success.
Made of Iron: Goes toe to toe with Magneto, and it takes losing an arm and an eye, plus brutal internal injuries to drop him. After the Transmode Virus, it takes being a lightning bolt and electromagnetic pulse run through a gigantic cobbled together lightning rod, via a colossal geomagnetic storm just to knock him out.
One-Winged Angel: Through the Transmode Virus after Magneto beats the crap out of him.
Person of Mass Destruction: Singlehandedly reshapes the balance of global power and goes toe to toe with freaking Magneto. And that's before he goes One-Winged Angel and takes a step up.
Power-Upgrading Deformation: Gets a warped metal arm via the Transmode Virus.
Psychic Powers: Sufficient to strike from the other side of the planet, if the fears of Alexander Pierce (not a man to jump at shadows) are anything to go by.
The Quiet One: He doesn't say much, generally because he doesn't need to.
Reforged into a Minion: Harry. Or, to be specific, the Blank Slate of him.
Rogue Protagonist: Harry, though not by choice.
Soviet Super Science: The last, greatest, project of the Red Room, one that never got off the ground. Until now.
Spoiler Character: His identity carries major spoilers regarding the Forever Red arc.
Super-Soldier: The Red Son was created to be a Superior Successor to the Winter Soldier. It succeeded.
Sympathetic Sentient Weapon: His true identity is key to the sympathetic part.
Undying Loyalty: To the Red Room.
The Unfettered: Sort of, regarding what Harry could do if lost his morals? They're justified.
Unwilling Roboticization: On the receiving end through the Transmode Virus once it's activated.
Villainous Legacy: Explicitly designed as 'the Winter Soldier Mk II' - faster, stronger, and much more powerful.
Viral Transformation: By the Transmode Virus.
The Virus: Infected by the Transmode Virus by Essex - it's initially dormant, however.

Red Guardian

Colonel Alexei Shostakov a.k.a. the Red Guardian

Russia's Captain America, and appropriately, the Red Room's Token Good Team Mate. Killed by Nick Fury back in the 90s, he was resurrected by cloning, his memories restored from a mental back-up by Sinister for Lukin's iteration of the Red Room, and is a key member of the Winter Guard.

The Ace: A Super-Soldier skilled enough to break the rest of the Winter Guard (and under Belova's direction, the Juggernaut) out of the Raft. It's unclear if he was allowed to do so, but he's good enough that it was plausible.
Came Back Wrong: Subverted, to Belova's irritation - his conscience made the return trip.
My Country, Right or Wrong: Implied. He was empowered by the same Super-Soldier Serum that Steve was, or a reasonably good imitation of it, and didn't turn into a monster like the Red Skull, the Abomination, or even a True Neutral/Heroic Neutral character like the Hulk, meaning he must be a genuinely decent man. He's also the Token Good Teammate of the Red Room, and Nick Fury regretted having had to kill him in the past as a result. It remains to be seen what will happen to him after he learns the truth about his resurrection.
Posthumous Character: Fury killed him, but he's resurrected by cloning.
Super-Soldier: Thanks to a successful Russian bootleg of the Super-Soldier serum.
Token Good Teammate: Belova inwardly complains about this. The Red Room feel it necessary to lie to him about just who and what the Red Son is, and why they're raiding the Xavier Institute.
Uncertain Doom: He's bound up by Magneto, but it's unknown whether he was imprisoned by the Avengers or murdered by Loki and his associates in their purge of the Red Room.

The Vampire Courts

There are five Vampire Courts: Grey, Black, Red, Jade, and White, in order of age. Each is a separate supernatural nation, and they're among some of the most powerful supernatural powers in the modern world. Three of them, the Red, White, and Black Courts, are at war with the White Council of Wizards - the Grey and Jade Courts regard it as none of their business. Though most are unrelated, they're all predators that feed on human life, ruled by Kings, and while they stab each another in the back at any opportunity, they all share an aspiration: to create a world where they can feed without opposition. Accordingly, they regard the rise of organisations like SHIELD and MI13, groups like the Avengers, and the general empowering of humanity with intense suspicion.

In General

Affably Evil: The White Court act this way. Whether it's genuine or not depends on the vampire. Dracula also qualifies, most of the time.
Always Chaotic Evil: With the exception of the White Court, who're still part mortal, they're all pretty evil at baseline - and most White Court don't bother trying.
Beauty Is Bad: White Court specialise in this, being a court of Succubi and Incubi (though only one of the main houses, Raith, feeds via sex). The Red Court work the aesthetic via their flesh-masks and their 'Kiss'. However, the former is merely a cover for a horrific looking bat-monster, and the latter is basically just narcotic drool.
Dropped a Bridge on Him: On a massive scale — between scenes of Chapter 52 of Ghosts, Strange proceeds to genocide the entire Red Court.
Faux Affably Evil: Mostly. As the narration makes clear, they're predators. Playing civilised is a hunting strategy.
Friendly Neighbourhood Vampire: Averted. Thomas Raith is the only known full vampire who is genuinely this.
- The Welshman, sort of. He feeds off blood banks extras, keeps other vampires out of Britain, and monsters out of his part of south Wales. It's noted that crime rates in and around Cardiff, both mundane and supernatural, have dropped like a stone since he moved in. However, this is more a mixture of pragmatism, territoriality, and a firm desire to be left alone than any heroic endeavour - additionally, he's specifically noted as being from outside the Court system.
Game Face: Grey Court look human until they're about to feed or fight, at which point, their faces elongate, becoming gaunter and paler, their eyes go red, and their fingers develop talons.
The Ghost: So far, no Red, Black, or Jade Court vampires have appeared in the story, nor have the Welshman or any White Court except for Thomas Raith. This is justified—the Jade Court mostly keep to themselves and their power base is in Asia, far away from where Harry and his friends usually operate. The Black Court is a shadow of itself, and the Reds are busy with their war against the White Council and don't need any more enemies (before they're exterminated by Strange). Meanwhile, the Whites tend to act indirectly, and also don't want to make an enemy of Asgard. The Welshman, too, is generally a loner, and was apparently told by Strange to stay out of the events of Book I.
Kiss of the Vampire: The Red Court's saliva, their 'Kiss', is a powerful narcotic that drugs and addicts their prey, making them easy to feed off and get them to come back for more. Others either don't drink blood, can mesmerise their prey, or in the case of the Black Court, straight-up don't bother.
Monster Progenitor: The Red King is the father of all currently living Red Court vampires (though the species as a whole is descended from the Mayan bat god Camazotz who Strange murdered when he genocides the entire Red Court in chapter 52 of Ghosts), and Varnae was the Grey Court's, before passing his powers on to Dracula.
Original Character: While Dracula is a Public Domain Character, the Grey Court are original to the story, as is the Welshman.
Our Vampires Are Different: They come in a number of different flavours, with Lupin quoting Pratchett's remark on there being as many types of vampire as disease. There are five main ones, however.
- Grey Court: classic 'living dead' types who drink blood and can pass for human easily enough. They take three days to turn, during which time the part-vampire has powers, but can walk in sunlight and pass as human. The oldest and most powerful breed, they've got the typical weaknesses - staking, beheading, garlic, faith, fire, and sunlight. Buffy the Vampire Slayer is noted In-Universe as broadly accurate depiction - they tried to stop it being produced. They're also an Original Character to the work, unlike the others.
- Black Court are the same but with the emphasis on the 'dead' part, appearing as zombie-like rotting/mummified corpses, and they turn almost instantly. This is as a result of their creation, an experimental piece of necromancy where a necromancer tried to 'turn' a corpse Grey Court style. Since it was Apocalypse, he got more or less exactly what he wanted. Dracula led to the collapse of their power - unlike the Grey Court, they couldn't pass as human unless very recently turned.
- Red Court are Mayan bat-demons created by Camazotz that can hide behind a 'flesh-mask', drink blood, and have narcotic saliva. They don't fully turn until they make their first kill, remaining part-human before then. Less powerful than Grey and Black, they're also less vulnerable to the various weaknesses, but conversely can be killed if shot enough in the right places.
- Jade Court are your typical Chinese Vampire - a revenant that feeds on Life Energy. They're rare and secretive, keeping to themselves, and so far have yet to be seen in the story proper (probably).
- White Court are born human and have a hereditary symbiotic relationship with an unknown breed of demon that feeds on Life Energy via emotions, manifesting at puberty. The least powerful and (eventually) vulnerable to standard weapons, with powers dependant on how much they've fed. They have no special weaknesses other than the opposite emotion to the one they feed on, and are also almost indistinguishable from humans unless they're actively using their powers.
Psychic Powers: All of them, to some extent, particularly the Grey and White Courts - the former can mesmerise their prey, and the latter use them to feed.
Stronger with Age: All of them become stronger as they get older. This is also reflected in terms of how powerful individual vampires are: Grey Court are the strongest and the oldest, dating back most of 20,000 years to Atlantis, Black Court being an 8,000 plus year old off-shoot. Red Court are next (prior to chapter 52 of Ghosts, when Strange arranges their genocide), in both age and power, followed by Jade Court and White Court.
Super-Soldier: The Grey Court started out as an ancient Atlantean experiment along these lines; the 'ultimate warrior for the ultimate war.' It backfired. Horribly. The Black Court were an attempt to improve them, and if anything, it turned out even worse - though from their creator's point of view, they worked out just fine.
Super-Speed: They're all extraordinarily fast, and the Grey Court are the fastest of the lot.
Vampire Monarch: Save for the diminished Black Court, each Court is ruled by a King: Dracula, Kukulcan (or a vampire bearing that name), and Lord Raith as a puppet of Lara Raith. The ruler of the Jade Court is unknown.
- Varnae was the original Grey King, and also the progenitor of all Grey Court (and therefore, Black Court) vampires, before passing his powers on to Dracula. Kukulcan holds the same role as the Red King (though he in turn was the 'son' of the Mayan bat-god, Camazotz) - or did, until Strange wiped out the entire Red Court.
Vampire Refugee: The Fellowship of St Giles are this, being half-turned Red Court vampires who use their powers to fight the Red Court alongside the White Council and their allies, including the Avengers. As of chapter 52 of Ghosts, they're cured, as a result of Strange wiping out the Red Court.
- Jackie Falsworth, the second Spitfire, is half-vampire, as is Blade.
Vampire Variety Pack: As noted under Our Vampires Are Different, there are many different types.
We ARE Struggling Together: The Courts don't get on. The Whites were behind Dracula to weaken the Greys and Blacks, and the Greys disdain the Blacks and despise the Reds as 'Mayan scum'. The Jade Court have yet to be mentioned more than once, and don't seem to give a damn about the other Courts.
- There's also the mysterious 'Welshman', a vampire from outside the Court system who lives in Cardiff, feeds off blood banks, and is responsible for the lack of other vampires in Britain - though this mostly to be left alone.
Wolverine Claws: Grey Court vampires have short talons extending from their fingers when they go Game Face.

Dracula

Vlad Dracula a.k.a. the Grey King

I am Dracula. I defied empires, causing the fields of Europe to steam with the blood of my enemies, long before I began drinking it as well.

Formerly Voivode of Wallachia, a military genius and bona fide nightmare even back when he was human (or half-human. No one's entirely sure what his father was, but it wasn't pleasant), he is now the King of the Grey Court of vampires, a role he's held ever since he was first turned by Varnae, the former Grey King, back in the 15th century. Incredibly powerful and incredibly dangerous, he and his Court do not involve themselves in the War between the White Council and the other Vampire Courts, as he hates the Red Court and has his own agenda.

Adaptational Badass: Explicitly designed as such. He effortlessly subdues Voldemort, nearly kills Harry twice (and swats away a Cerebro-amped Xavier in the process), barely lost to Thor at some point in the past, killed another thunder god (Perun) just to prove he wasn't going soft, and takes Thor, Loki, and the Hulk to run off at the end of Bloody Hell.
Anti-Villain: He has a code of honour, loathes those who habitually manipulate and deceive, and has a certain respect for Worthy Opponents. He's also entirely evil.
Asskicking Leads to Leadership: He's the most powerful Vampire in the Grey Court, fighting Physical Gods on their own terms, and has killed at least one. He also beats Harry to a pulp, shrugging off his best attacks and two sniper rounds from Bucky, and a Cerebro enhanced attack from Charles Xavier.
Badass Boast: Delivers a long, cold one to Harry just before they go toe-to-toe and, Hope Spot aside, Dracula proceeds to hand him his arse:
"Your power and your name cause the likes of Riddle to skulk in the shadows, and they inspire fear in creatures and groups throughout the supernatural world. I respect that, the fear you have managed to inspire. But understand this: I do not share it. Understand this, as well. I am not like those enemies you have faced. I am not a hubristic, parasitic shade of a mortal wizard, scuttling from shadow to shadow and spinning webs of trickery and deceit to try and achieve some semblance of power, attempting to manipulate others into defeating my enemies for me. I am not a necromancer so detached from sanity as to be willing to give myself to the Darkhold. I am not as they are, a pale shadow of a greater power, hankering for days long since gone. I am Dracula. I defied empires, causing the fields of Europe to steam with the blood of my enemies, long before I began drinking it as well. When I destroyed their armies, I made a screaming forest of their survivors, earning the name of Lord Impaler. I am the Lord of the Vampires, I have slain gods and demons alike, and I, little Prince, am going to teach you a lesson you should long since have learned. Why not to meddle in the affairs of your betters."
Bad Boss: Zig-zagged. He's a Reasonable Authority Figure, but only until someone oversteps or screws up.
Berserk Button: Gets very angry when one of his subordinates suggests using Loophole Abuse, refusing to taint an honourable surrender.
- He's also driven to a seething Tranquil Fury by Harry's attempt to pull a quick Bait-and-Switch on him. Insults, he shrugs off. Assuming he's that easily out-smarted? Now that really pisses him off.
- Actually being tricked also enrages him.
Blasé Boast: He says that fighting the Avengers and Asgard would swiftly grow "tiresome." Even with the power already demonstrated, that's quite a boast (though it seems, based on later comments from other characters, that he may have been boasting rather than stating a fact).
Brought Down to Badass: Politically rather than personally—it's mentioned that although he lost dozens of vampires (including many of his strongest) during the events of Bloody Hell, he still maintains a pretty stable power base.
Curbstomp Battle: Delivers a savage No-Holds-Barred Beatdown to Harry as part of one of these.
Determinator: Hardly anything even slows him down - even being run through with a Flaming Sword just seems to piss him off, and being hit by a massive psychic attack by Xavier is something he just shrugs off, after recovering from the initial sucker punch.
Didn't See That Coming: He didn't expect Harry and Bucky to get involved in the events of Bloody Hell, much less Uhtred, Diana, Logan, and Gambit (though the latter four are lesser concerns), but he isn't particularly surprised, and adapts fast.
Even Evil Has Standards: Regards using Exact Words and Loophole Abuse to cheat someone who made an honourable deal to be beneath him, remarking that such word games are the province of the likes of Voldemort, the Fae, and Doctor Strange (who for unknown reasons, he despises).
Eviler than Thou: Immediately makes clear to Volemort that their alliance, if he chooses to make one, will be on his terms. On the other hand, it appears that Voldemort still got the best of that particular bargain...
Evil Virtues: Primarily, Honour - he will keep his given word, and is enraged if someone implies he won't.
Half-Human Hybrid: Well, three-quarters human. It's very heavily implied that his father, Drakul, is one of these, being something very nasty and very, very powerful (probably due to Drakul's portrayal as this in The Dresden Files). It's suggested that this was part of why Varnae picked him to be his successor.
I Gave My Word: Not only does he regard his given word as sacred, he will also keep the word of a subordinate and uphold a pact they made in his name - though only because it doesn't inconvenience him.
Implacable Man: As Harry finds when they fight, no matter what he tries or which allies he calls in, Dracula just. Keeps. Going.
Invincible Villain: In the Bloody Hell arc. The Avengers are unavailable, and nothing and no-one that Harry has available can lay a finger on Dracula - not without getting it snapped off. Harry himself gets beaten to a pulp by Dracula, twice, without the latter getting out of second gear, while a Cerebro-amped Xavier lasts about thirty seconds. He's only defeated by a well-timed Kansas City Shuffle, and even then he would have killed Harry if not for Thor, Loki, and the Hulk's timely arrival.
Kneel Before Zod: Pulls a downplayed version of this on Harry, warning him to back down and stay out of his plans for Carol. Harry fakes compliance, then pulls a Bait-and-Switch and runs with Carol. Dracula, Berserk Button pressed, descends into Tranquil Fury, and beats Harry to a pulp.
Know When to Fold 'Em: He leaves Harry alive after he beats him to a pulp, knowing that killing him would start a war with Asgard he couldn't afford. After Carol has been freed via a Kansas City Shuffle, he leaves, especially after Thor, Loki, and the Hulk arrive, albeit while trailing a frustrated scream.
Lean and Mean: Described as tall and lean - and explicitly fancast as Charles Dance.
Leave Him to Me!: With Harry, but only after chucking Carol, his true objective, beating him to a pulp.
Master Swordsman: Even when dazed after being distracted, walloped with a monstrous psychic attack, shot, and briefly skewered, he's more than capable of comfortably defending himself. When he's actually focusing, he demonstrates the difference between a master of the blade and a talented amateur like Harry.
Names to Run Away from Really Fast: Vlad Dracula, Lord Impaler, and Son of the Dragon is really not someone you want to mess with.
Neck Lift: On Voldemort, to remind the latter of his place. Pulls it on Harry, when beating him into his place.
Neck Snap: Of another vampire, no less, with one hand and zero effort.
Noble Demon: He's got the manners and moral code of an aristocrat, leavened though it is with Pragmatic Villainy. He doesn't seek to involve anyone else in his scheme to grab Carol, he demonstrates respect for her abilities and assents to a bargain that will spare her brother, to the point of snapping the neck of a vampire who suggested otherwise, and he speaks civilly with Harry as a peer to be respected and gives him the chance to back down.
No-Holds-Barred Beatdown: To Harry, in chapter 32, and then an interrupted one in chapter 33.
Noodle Incident:
- It's implied that he's encountered Strange before, and loathes him. The implication is that he came out the worse in one of Strange's word games.
- Dresden also states that Dracula spent time as a Crusader at one point (most likely before he was turned), possibly referring to his wars against the Ottoman Empire.
No-Sell: Most of Bucky's enchanted bullets either cripple or destroy any vampire they hit. When he shoots Dracula, all it really does is annoy him and draw a punitive lightning bolt.
Off Hand Back Hand: Offhand Neck Snap, in fact, with one hand and no effort, on another vampire. And does the equivalent with a lightning strike on Bucky, after the latter shot him one time too many.
Offscreen Moment of Awesome: He's crossed swords with Thor previously, with the latter barely winning, and then killed Perun just to make clear that he wasn't going soft.
- He also went toe-to-toe with the Welshman, with both coming off badly.
Oh, Crap!: When he senses the faked aura of the Phoenix. Given that the last time he ran into the Phoenix, most of the Grey Court was reduced to ash save him and a few others, it's understandable why.
Old Master: He was this even before he became a vampire. He's also over six hundred years old.
Physical God: Has the raw power to match Thor in single combat, and has killed at least one other example. Bucky refers to him as an Omega Class threat, which basically translates to "Call the Avengers and run."
Pragmatic Villainy: Though he doesn't approve of tricking or manipulating Carol via Exact Words, he does tell his subordinates that if she tries to escape the agreement will be void. Therefore, said subordinates will be free to eat her brother, who's protected under the agreement.
- He also agrees to abide by his subordinate's given word that Stevie can go free after they're done, partly out of honour, partly because it'll be much harder for Carol to escape if she has to worry about Stevie as well.
- Uses lesser minions as Cannon Fodder if necessary or deciding that You Have Outlived Your Usefulness, he carefully preserves the more senior ones as they're in limited supply, and elevates Cannon Fodder if they show potential.
Psychic Powers: Enough to lay a kind of web of psychic gloom and fear across an entire city for days, making it more likely to descend into panic and chaos when he arranges a black-out. He also represses Voldemort's magic and psychic powers with no visible sign of effort, and apparently has experience with the Askani, allowing him to turn back a psychic attack from Charles Xavier and send it back at him.
Really 700 Years Old: Has been around since the 1400s, making him an almost literal case.
Red Baron: Known as "Son of the Dragon", "the Impaler", and "Lord Impaler."
Strong and Skilled: He has Combo Platter Powers that put him on even par with Thor, and he is very much aware of how to use them effectively. The results allow him to simultaneously take on Harry, Bucky, and Xavier (amped by Cerebro) and come out the clear winner.
Super-Toughness: He'll take more or less whatever is thrown at him, endure it, then return it with interest.
Super-Speed: He can cross twenty feet in an eye-blink, faster than even vampire eyes can keep up with.
Vampire Monarch: King of the Grey Court.
Villain Respect:
- Shows genuine admiration for Carol's quick thinking and awareness of her situation, regarding her as an honourable opponent. He also notes that, as one professional to another, he genuinely respects how Harry has carved out a significant reputation, overcome formidable opponents, and even stood up to him.
- Averted in terms of the Red Court, whom he regards as disgusting despite their power. To be fair, pretty much everyone else agrees with him in that respect.
- Also averted for Xavier, dismissing him as just another Askani adept.
Villainous Breakdown: Goes from calm and controlled, as he had been in all his appearances, to a mixture of mindless terror and blind rage when it looks like the Phoenix is paying him a visit. Harry's actually pretending to be the Phoenix, and once he realises that he's been tricked, he goes absolutely apeshit.
Villainous Valour: He does have genuine courage, attacking what he believes to be the Dark Phoenix head on, despite being absolutely terrified. That terror swiftly segues into rage once he realises that he's been tricked.
Villain Team-Up: Voldemort offers him the means to feed on Carol's Super-Soldier blood if he serves as a distraction for the Avengers and White Council. Dracula accepts... but on his terms.
Weather Manipulation: On a vast scale, though maybe not enough to match Thor - either way, he comfortably keeps a dark and overcast weather system over New York and much of the North-Eastern US for days, combining it with a kind of psychic gloom. Lightning bolts are a speciality.

Syrus

A century old Grey Court Master Vampire, one sufficiently trusted by Dracula to lead the strike team that captured Carol - and her younger brother. Reasonably smart, fairly powerful, and pragmatic, he serves as the primary antagonist for the first part of Bloody Hell.

Asskicking Leads to Leadership: While all his minions are unconscious or incinerated within forty five seconds by Harry, he puts up a very good fight.
Breaking Speech: Tries, but fails miserably.
Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass: He's smug, a little heavy on the Evil Gloating, and Carol derides an attempt at a Breaking Speech as an 'evil hipster riff'. However, he's able to beat Harry (in astral form), and shuts out his psychic attacks - though as both he and Harry note, that's because Harry's acting through Carol from Hogwarts.
The Dragon: A fairly senior and trusted minion of Dracula's, if not quite one of the Lords Lieutenant.
Evil Is Petty: After forcing Carol to surrender for the second time to spare her brother, he prepares to kneecap him with a machine-pistol, pointing out that 'alive' is not the same as 'unharmed'.
Exact Words: His second deal with Carol - he'd leave Stevie alive if she surrendered again. He then plans to kneecap him with a MAC-10, as he said nothing about leaving him unharmed.
Fatal Flaw: Pride. If he cut down on the Evil Gloating, he'd go from dangerous to downright formidable, and succeed in not only recapturing Carol, but also lobotomising Harry.
Faux Affably Evil: Puts on a good show, but it cracks under strain, and Harry reveals after a look around his mind that the 'bones as toothpicks' threat was not an idle one, and he'd pulled it at least once before.
Game Face: It starts showing more often as a sign that he's cracking.
Mind Rape: On the giving end, to Peter Parker, and on the receiving end, from Harry.
Mook Lieutenant: Controls a group of lesser vampires on Dracula's behalf.
Pragmatic Villainy: Cuts a deal with Carol to spare her brother, on the grounds that subduing her would probably cost at least one minion, would waste time, her shield is a threat, and her brother would serve as The Load if she tried to make another escape attempt.
Psychic Powers: Enough to shut out an admittedly strained Harry... until he lets him within arm's reach.
Shock and Awe: Proves very able at throwing lightning around.
Smug Snake: Smarter and more capable than most examples, he nevertheless lets his arrogance get in the way of his common sense enough to make two critical mistakes. First, Monologuing. Second, letting Harry in arm's reach.
Smug Super: He's pretty clear in his views that vampires are by far a superior form of life. Neither Carol nor Harry is especially impressed. Unlike most examples, he's actually a very capable fighter.
Super-Speed: As is standard for a Grey Court vampire, he's mentioned as moving faster than the speed of thought.
Would Hurt a Child: And use their bones as toothpicks, no less. Or kneecap them with a machine-pistol just to make a point.

The Lords Lieutenant

A group of powerful Grey Court Master Vampire sired by Dracula himself following the disaster in Vienna that wiped out the vast majority of the Grey Court. Over a century old, they're Dracula's most loyal, powerful, and dangerous supporters. Only a few of them are named, including their leader, Mikael.

Asskicking Leads to Leadership: Aside from Dracula, and a few implied Elder Vampires who refuse to submit to Dracula (and are strong enough to do so if he isn't nearby), they're the Grey Court's strongest and smartest - the latter because Dracula has a very low tolerance for incompetence.
Co-Dragons: As a collective, they serve as this to Dracula - Mikael, their apparent leader, in particular.
Elite Mook: A squad of ten of these, serving, and fearing, only their Lord Dracula.
Equal-Opportunity Evil: Several of them are women, and Dracula seems to treat both male and female mooks equally - i.e. not as 'Brides of Dracula', despite Carol referring to one as such.
Finger-Lickin' Evil: Carol notices one of the female ones, Elisha, pulling this with bloodied fingers.
Flying Brick: lightning bolts make them Flying Firepower too.
Flying Firepower: Flying vampires, plus lightning, equals this.
Mook Lieutenant: Serve as some of Dracula's chief agents.
Person of Mass Destruction: Each one qualifies as this.
Shock and Awe: Like all powerful Grey Court vampires, by throwing lightning bolts.
Smug Super: Though less than Syrus, they're all pretty smug about their superiority to humans, mockingly telling Carol that they only regretted that she hadn't led them on a better chase.
Super-Speed: They can fly fast enough to keep up with an Iron Man armour going at Mach speeds, and for several hundred miles.
Super-Toughness: One, Elisha, took an air to air missile (an AIM-120) to the face and was just scorched and angry. And then proceeded to rip the F-22 that had fired it to pieces. Unfortuantely for her, this wasn't sufficient to prevent Harry vaporising her.
The Watson: They, or their leader Mikael, generally serve as the people to whom Dracula explains things in the latter half of the arc.
Weather Manipulation: Lightning bolts, as usual, are their stock in trade.
The Worf Effect: Harry wipes out Elisha - who'd previously tanked an air to air missile to the face - in one shot, with Dracula remarking that he didn't so much kill her as obliterate her, and Victor von Doom and a supposedly Phoenix-amped Harry disposes of several more of them in the finale.

'The Fledgling'

An unknown powerful, but young, vampire who was gifted to Dracula by Voldemort. Aware of Voldemort's Chronic Backstabbing Disorder, Dracula remains suspicious of him. For more, see his entry further up the page under The Red Room, specifically The Beast/Dudley.

Lara Raith

Lara Raith, a.k.a. The White Queen.

The current de facto leader of the White Court of vampires and Thomas Raith's older half-sister (so she's not related to Harry Dresden by blood), Lara, like the rest of the White Court, is unlike other vampires in that she is actually part-human, and is ruling her Court through her brainwashed father Lord Raith. Also, she has no apparent interest in war with the White Council, SHIELD, or any of the other powers that seek to protect humanity.

Badass Family: Half-sister of Thomas Raith, thus sort of related to Dresden and his family, and daughter of a (former) Vampire Monarch.
The Ghost: Mentioned once or twice by Harry Dresden and Phil Coulson, and that's the extent of her involvement in the story. Given her modus operandi is to do things indirectly, and that she has neither the political nor personal power to mess with Asgard, this makes complete sense.
Vampire Monarch: She, as mentioned above, is the true leader of the White Court.

Thomas Raith

See his entry under Child of the Storm: Other Heroes and Allies

Surtur's Forces

Surtur of Muspelheim a.k.a. the original Dark Phoenix created armies of fire demons and dragons, led by his Great Captains, and destroyed a galaxy as part of a grand plan to destroy the universe and rebuild it better.

Surtur

Very well. If you will not be a student and a partner, then so be it: you shall be my tool instead, naught but a vessel of my will. Your power shall become mine. AND EVERYTHING SHALL BURN!

The traditional bringer of Ragnarok in Norse mythology, his role is something the myths got right. What they failed to mention is that Yggdrasil was created by the Alliance of Realms to imprison him. It's held him for a million years, more or less, despite bouts of it becoming a Leaking Can of Evil. But in Ghosts, it's cracking. And there's another thing the myths didn't mention: he was the original Dark Phoenix.

Affably Evil: Originally. Even after the Alliance of Realms slowed him down, he welcomed defectors with open arms and giving them the power they craved, the mightiest becoming his 'Great Captains', his seconds and generals. A million years of imprisonment, however, resulted in a truly epic level of malice and a thin facade of civility that only lasts until someone tells him 'no'.
The Ageless: It's implied that he didn't age. At all. Even before he turned into an Energy Being.
A God Am I: His main problem is that he genuinely believes that he's this trope and doing the right thing.
Ambition Is Evil: Played With. He summoned the Phoenix (then deliberately broke the circle) to plead his case which as Doctor Strange later notes, takes audacity. Yet at the time, he wasn't evil. However, his hubris is the direct cause of all the horror he's unleashed.
Ancient Evil: He's been a Sealed Evil in a Can for a million years.
And Your Little Dog, Too!: Makes a threat along these lines in a feeble attempt to counter Harry's "Reason You Suck" Speech about him being all alone and unable to comprehend Harry and his motivations.
Appropriated Appellation: Even Strange doesn't know what his original name was, and he instead uses the name the Alliance of Realms gave him: Surtr/Surtur - 'the Dark One.'
Ax-Crazy: He genuinely believes that he is the good guy. And that was before he fought a brutal war with the Alliance of Realms and spent a million years locked away at the bottom of Yggdrasil, which is implied to have done his mental health no favours.
Became Their Own Antithesis: He started out trying only to save his people and his world, humble and brave enough to summon the Phoenix and immediately break the circle, saying he didn't want to bind Her, just to have the chance to plead his case.
Black Eyes of Evil: When he finally appears onscreen, these (described as being "cold and black as the infinite void [...] utterly devoid of mortal considerations such as kindness or mercy") give away that his Faux Affably Evil act is just that - an act.
Blue-and-Orange Morality: It's suggested that he doesn't quite get why people are opposing him, welcomed defectors with open arms and empowered them on an epic scale because he thought that they'd seen the light, and genuinely thinks that he's doing the right thing. However, it's eventually confirmed that a million years of frustration at being locked away has curdled into a truly astounding level of malice.
Creative Sterility: He's stone-cold brilliant, but his brilliance is just that: stone cold. There's no intuition, no spark of inspiration, it's all technical. This is suggested on more than one occasion to be his Fatal Flaw.
The Corrupter: Occasionally - his 'Great Captains' were the mightiest defectors to his side. He tries to be this to Harry, both directly and indirectly. It doesn't work on either occasion (in fact, Harry outright laughs in his face).
- Odin and Doctor Strange both consider the possibility of his doing so to Jean and Maddie, via the Phoenix and because of their connection to Harry. However, both note that he would have to do it by force.
Curbstomp Battle: Handed these out to everyone. Only Frey was able to keep up with him, and that with the power of the Kings of Asgard, plus Ván, a sword specifically designed to No-Sell Surtur's attacks. And even then, he was only able to keep Surtur busy for long enough for the rest of the Alliance of Realms to seal him away.
Dark Is Evil: Mixes this with Light Is Not Good when he appears, being a being of light and fire clad in shadows and with Black Eyes of Evil (which eventually cover his whole body), embodying the whole 'Shadow and Flame' thing.
The Dreaded: He was so feared that he caused perpetual arch-enemies, the Eternals and Deviants of Earth, who spent most of their time trying to wipe each other out, to set aside their feud and stand together against him.
Eldritch Abomination: Par excellence, evolving past his physical form when he made his fateful choice, becoming capable of destroying an entire galaxy. Even when he was defeated, he was impossible to kill - the Alliance had to create a Skyfather-level champion with a specially enchanted blade made of Uru and Vibranium, specifically designed to No-Sell his Phoenix fire, just to distract him. And even then, despite his prison being Yggdrasil itself, which also siphons his power to strengthen the prison/empower the Warden (the King or Queen of Asgard), it still occasionally becomes a Leaking Can of Evil. He has the attitude, too, being "devoid of mortal concerns such as kindness or mercy."
- And unlike most, he actually created more, including the Great Dragons (think Smaug, but worse), transforming defectors into his 'Great Captains', each of which is at least a Physical God, turning his dead enemies (and entire species) into Fire-Giants.
Emperor Scientist: His main area of expertise: before he snapped, he reshaped his world to save it, then improve it, then started forcibly evolving his own people - and had the gall to be surprised when they objected and the Phoenix called him out on it. He also created the Great Dragons, as well as innumerable weapons that Odin admits were 'the equal of anything Asgard or her allies could create today'. That's right: even with a million years of advancement, Asgard is only just matching what Surtur was making back then.
- He also forged his sword, Twilight (which may or may not be Laevateinn), which only Frey's blade, Ván, forged of uru and vibranium and enchanted with the best that the nascent Nine Realms and Doctor Strange could offer, could match. His crowning achievement, though, is severing his fragment of the Phoenix from the entity in question, actually hurting Her.
Energy Being: What he became, as is very apparent when he finally appears.
Evil Is Burning Hot: He's got a serious fire motif, being described as a being 'of shadow and flame' - which, since he's the original Dark Phoenix, is perhaps not surprising.
Evil Cannot Comprehend Good: Harry makes this point to him, at length, merrily jumping up and down on his Berserk Button in the process.
Evil Counterpart: To Odin, naturally, and to an extent, to Doctor Strange (brilliant sorcerer who's worked with the Phoenix for his own ends, and intends to reshape the universe to follow his preferred course), but mainly to Harry - both are magically powerful, both are determined to save their respective worlds, and both have fragments of the Phoenix within them. Harry also notes a disquieting resemblance between Surtur's examination of him and Tony when taking apart a new gadget.
Evil Genius: He was a brilliant mage-scientist back in the day, and aside from all the monsters he creates, actually manages to sever a fragment of the Phoenix from Her, actually causing Her real pain, enough that she fled in agony and confusion. However, his brilliance is purely technical and some things he just doesn't get.
Evil Is Bigger: He's described as taller than Hagrid, when he finally appears.
Evil Overlord: Though it wasn't even close to his primary interest.
The Evils of Free Will: Seems to be a major part of his motivation, according to Odin after the latter gets a look at Musphelheim.
Evil Sorcerer: What he was. What he is now is another matter.
Expy:
- Bears a great resemblance in motives and some methods to both Sauron and Morgoth, and the resemblance to Peter Jackson's Sauron (his appearance and the "I see you" line to someone who unwisely got a vision of him) is emphasised when he finally appears. Unlike them, though, he still genuinely believes that he's the good guy.
- As an enormously powerful and ancient sorcerer who sought to claim the power of the Phoenix (or at least a host's portion of it), causing the Phoenix to flee in agonised confusion, with ambitions of ultimate power — and who's being set up to go up against a real Phoenix host — he bears a great resemblance to Excalibur villain Necrom. Unlike Necrom, though, Surtur's intentions were genuinely benevolent — and still are, in a very strange, warped sort of way.
- His motivations - tearing the universe down to rebuild it better - echo a Parallax possessed Hal Jordan in Zero Hour: Crisis in Time!.
- He also parallels Jor-El, both trying desperately to save their people. In the end, he turned out more like Zod.
Face–Heel Turn: One sealed by his reaction to his people revolting against his attempts to forcibly evolve them, to 'make them better', and the Phoenix's rebuke as She came to take Her power back. Instead of a Heel Realisation, he decided that he was the Only Sane Man, and thus he must destroy reality to improve it, which he started by stealing the Phoenix's power and destroying his people.
Fallen Hero: He was once the saviour of his world and people, a Phoenix Host. Then... he went bad.
Fantastic Racism: He hated the Deviants because he felt that their random mutation was untidy.
Faux Affably Evil: When he finally appears onscreen he maintains an affable facade, but as Harry notes, the eyes give it away. More to the point, it crumbles very quickly when he's told 'no'.
Fighting a Shadow: On occasion, he has managed to project horrifyingly powerful avatars of himself beyond the Seal of Musphelheim, but Surtur himself has (thankfully) never escaped.
- A related situation happens when Harry accidentally makes psychic contact with him via a vision of the future, resulting in psychic combat. Thanks to Surtur being unable to bring all his power to bear, Harry gets away more or less intact, leaving a few psychological scars behind.
From Nobody to Nightmare: He started out as a magical Jor-El Expy, summoning the Phoenix and then breaking the summoning circle, wanting just to plead his case. He became a horrifying galactic scale Eldritch Abomination.
Go Mad from the Isolation: Word of God implies that spending a million years trapped in Muspelheim with only Fire Giants - essentially extensions of himself - for company, with every single escape attempt rebuffed by Asgard and her allies, has driven him even more insane.
Greater-Scope Villain: For Ghosts of the Past.
Heroic Host: Once. It's unclear whether he corrupted his Phoenix fragment, or whether it corrupted him. Most likely, it started out as him corrupting it in anger, which kicked off a vicious cycle as they made each other progressively worse and worse.
Insane Troll Logic: He genuinely thought resurrecting his people as Fire-Giants enslaved to his will was doing them a favour.
In Their Own Image: His ultimate goal is to break reality down to its most basic components, then rebuild the universe 'better'. The fact that this involves killing everyone in the universe doesn't seem to bother him all that much.
Join or Die: His ancient pitch, summed up - though more accurately, 'Join and Retain (Some Of) Your Free Will, Or Die and Join As A Mindless Humanoid Abomination'. It remains the same when he re-emerges, but it's lost almost all its previous affability.
Kill It with Fire: His primary strategy, on a cosmic scale.
EVERYTHING SHALL BURN.
Knight Templar: To an epic degree.
Large Ham: Not quite as Chthon or Nimue (though that's not saying much), but he has his moments.
Leaking Can of Evil: He's previously been able to put "avatars" of himself outside the seal on Musphelheim during its weaker periods, and some of his lieutenants are still around causing trouble, such as the Elder Wyrm and a couple of the Great Captains (though they're far weaker than they would be if he was free).
Light Is Not Good: He's heavily fire themed, and when he appears, his body is entirely shaped from light and fire, a beautiful (if slightly alien) sculpture. The Black Eyes of Evil, however, give it away.
Mind Rape: To his minions, the Fire-Giants, who're the spirits of all those who opposed him (including his own people), enslaved to his will. He also tries this on Harry. In part due to being unable to bring more than a fraction of his full strength to bear, combined with Harry's own power/stubbornness, he fails.
Motive Decay: This is implied by his conversation with Harry, and is likely justified - at first, he was a Well-Intentioned Extremist who actually believed that he was doing everybody a favor by destroying the universe so he could rebuild it In Their Own Image. But after a million years of solitary confinement and thwarted escape attempts, he's apparently developed a rather staggering level of malice.
Names to Run Away from Really Fast: Surtr/Surtur - 'the Dark One', a name he earned because darkness was all he brought, leaving behind 'only remembrances of starlight and echoes of screams.'
Obliviously Evil: At least to begin with - he didn't quite get why people objected to his policies of forcibly evolving his species (among other things), much less why the Phoenix rebuked him for it. Now, after a million years of frustration and thwarted escape attempts, he's much more overtly malicious.
Oh, Crap!: The general reaction, and for good reason. It's dialled up when it's realised what he actually is.
Omnicidal Maniac: Though a bit different to the other versions in the story - Gravemoss wants to rule over a universe of the dead, Thanos wants to hollow out the universe and turn it into a lifeless void to present to Death as a lover's gift, while Chthon wants to dissolve everything into primordial chaos. Surtur, however, doesn't want to destroy the universe, as such... he just wants to burn it down to its most basic components and rebuild it better.
Only Sane Man: Genuinely believes that he's the only sane being in a warped and flawed universe, one that he must therefore burn to the ground and rebuild.
Painting the Medium: His speech is rendered in bold italics. This is a big clue as to what he is.
Playing with Fire: On a cosmic scale.
Post Modern Magic: An absolute genius at this, even by the standards of his highly advanced civilisation. It gets to the point where Odin admits that a million years on (in raw power, at least), Asgard is only just catching up.
Restart the World: His plan for the universe, which has been delayed for the past million years or so.
Satanic Archetype: Played With. While he averts the classic Christianised view of Surtur as the Devil in Norse clothing, and the traditional Marvel depiction as an explicitly demonic figure, he does have a lot in common with classic examples Morgoth and Sauron. Plus the whole 'sealed in a pit until he is one day going to break free and destroy everything' has a fair bit in common with the Book of Revelations.
Sealed Evil in a Can: For a million years. He, on the other hand, sees himself as Sealed Good in a Can.
Time Abyss: He's over a million years old.
Throat Light: After the Black Eyes of Evil flow over his body, the burning inferno of his Light Is Not Good form becomes this, illuminating him from within.
Too Much for Man to Handle: Even touching his mind will cause even moderately powerful mortal telepaths to quite literally go up in flames. Harry manages it because he's inoculated by his own Phoenix fragment.
Ultimate Blacksmith: Odin admits that the weapons he forged were, even a million years ago, the equal of anything that Asgard and her allies could forge now. Even if that's just due to raw power, that's one hell of an achievement.
Utopia Justifies the Means: He firmly believes that the universe is inherently flawed, and that once he destroys it, he can rebuild it into a utopia. Almost everyone else disagrees, especially since it is more than once demonstrated that a) Surtur was insane even before what amounted to a million years of solitary confinement, b) his concept of utopia is every living thing designed/behaving to his exact specifications.
Villain Takes an Interest: In Harry, initially via the Elder Wyrm. It's left ambiguous how much is genuine and how much is just him being afraid of Harry potentially being the instrument of the Phoenix's long overdue revenge and his downfall. Word of God has suggested that it's a bit of both.
We Can Rule Together: Makes a pitch along these lines to Harry, twice, who is less than interested. Whether this is because he genuinely thinks they're the same, or just wants to neutralise Harry's potential threat, is left ambiguous - though the narration hints that it's a bit of both.
Well-Intentioned Extremist: With increasing emphasis on the extremist part as he got more and more corrupted.
Would Be Rude to Say "Genocide": He's focused on omnicide, but he started out by wiping out his own people after they revolted against him playing god. He genuinely thought that by killing them all and resurrecting them as Fire-Giants enslaved to his will that he was doing them a favour.

The Great Captains

Surtur's chief servants and most powerful generals. Defectors from his enemies, they were imbued with the greatest proportion of his power of all his servants. All of them had different abilities, each was a cosmic scale terror in their own right, and as Surtur stirs, so do they.

Brought Down to Badass: When Surtur's locked away, they're considerably less powerful than before, but still comfortably planet busters. As the Seal begins to crack and they awaken in earnest, it's made very clear that even one can wreak cosmic scale devastation, with Jormungand alone being more than a match for the Shi'ar Empire.
Co-Dragons: They were Surtur's most powerful servants, and the commanders of his armies.
Creative Sterility: Thor theorizes that half the reason they've never targeted Asgard is because they're not that creative, both because they're enslaved to Surtur's will (even if it is not always apparent), and because of age making them set in their ways. This is later confirmed by Loki, who notes that they all follow patterns, with some being more dangerous than others.
Defector from Decadence: Inverted, since they defected to Surtur after seeing what he was capable of.
The Dreaded: And their actions after waking up demonstrate why. Each was, at minimum, capable of destroying worlds all by themselves. The fact that Frey as the new King of Asgard, wielding Ván and what would become known as the Odinforce, beat two of them and sent two more running for their lives served as a major statement of his power.
Four-Star Badass: All of them commanded Surtur's armies of dragons and Fire Giants, though the Black Captain was the only real general among them.
Know When to Fold 'Em: Even when they were active and the Seal of Musphelheim was weakened, none of them have ever targeted Asgard.
Mook Maker: Most of them can generate servants in their own right out of their victims, or provide vehicles for Surtur to create Fire Giants. A few, like the Black Captain, don't bother.
Mysterious Past: Only a few of their original species are even known, and very little is known about their pasts, with only mention of the Black Captain and Jormungand. Thor's already squared off against the latter, and even though he wasn't nearly as powerful as he is now, only won by throwing him into a neutron star. As for the Black Captain, he was singlehandedly responsible for the Aesir-Vanir Wars, among many other things.
Obviously Evil: Most of them are, at the very least, deeply creepy. The Black Captain is the main exception to this because his powers mean that They Look Just Like Everyone Else!.
Physical God: Since they are said to be the most powerful members of Surtur's forces, and considering that this places them above beings like The Elder Wyrm, who was a serious threat to Harry working with Thor, Loki, Dumbledore, Wanda, the Vibranium armoured Valiant, and many others, stated to be a threat capable of destroying Earth, this speaks volumes about their power. Later, Jormungand and a few dozen of his spawn alone are noted to be absolutely tearing through the Shi'ar Empire, simply because it's in their way.
Quirky Miniboss Squad: Each is a cosmic scale nightmare with its own bizarre appearance and powers.
The Worf Effect: On the receiving end from Frey.
Worf Had the Flu: They're considerably less powerful when Surtur's locked away... but still comfortably capable of destroying planets.

The Black Captain

The Black Captain a.k.a. Zagreus

One of the only Great Captains mentioned by name, it is eventually revealed that he is one of Earth's Eternals gone rogue: Zagreus. While he's as committed to his pattern as the rest of them, his is a pattern that never goes out of style.

Batman Gambit: Loki outright states that his tactics are based off of manipulating sentient nature. And unlike the others, that's a tactic that never stops working.
Demonic Possession: One of his main tactics, since he's mostly just a spirit nowadays, and clever enough to leave enough of the original mind and soul to veil his presence.
Divide and Conquer: All the Great Captains have their patterns, and this is his - which, thanks to his patience and use of the Batman Gambit (and the fact that via possession, he's not Obviously Evil), makes him the most dangerous.
The Dreaded: More so than the others. While he's not exactly widely known, he induces a Mass "Oh, Crap!" in Asgard's leaders when it's revealed that he was behind the Aesir-Vanir Wars, among other things. Additionally, while Loki has broad tactics to deal with all of the others, his only advice with this one is "be careful. Be very, very careful."
Expy: He's basically the Sauron to Surtur's Morgoth, right down to position and tactics - though unlike Sauron, he's apparently a notably skilled military commander.
Four-Star Badass: While all of them commanded armies, the Black Captain was the only real general of the lot. According to Word of God, he not only had the associated power of a Great Captain, but served as Surtur's chief military commander, his Field Marshal (equivalent to the US rank of 'General of the Army').
The Ghost: Unlike all but one of the rest, even after extensive searching, Loki has no idea where he's likely to be - and unlike Skoll, that's a very big problem.
Manipulative Bastard: His primary modus operandi - he might be reduced to just a whispering spirit most of the time, but that's more than enough for him to turn various parts of Yggdrasil against each other.
Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: The Eternals stripped him of his physical form after Surtur was defeated. Unfortunately, this has only made him exponentially more difficult to find.
Nothing Is Scarier: He could be hiding inside anyone.
The Paragon Always Rebels: He was once one of the greatest of the Eternals, who didn't particularly like the idea of being nursemaid to proto humanity.
They Look Just Like Everyone Else!: Thanks to his habit of possessing people and leaving enough of a mind and soul to conceal his presence, he's by far the hardest to identify of the Captains.
Red Baron: The Black Captain, Surtur's Black Hand... he's picked up a couple.
The Smart Guy: Of the Great Captains, according to Word of God, who referred to the Black Captain as "Surtur's Field Marshal."
The Strategist: The only real general of the lot, and dangerous even though his patterns are as familiar as any of the others - Divide and Conquer is a trick that never goes out of fashion.

Jormungand

Jormungand a.k.a. the Father of Dragons

The Great Captain about who the most is known, Jormungand is, as mentioned above, the Father of the Dragons who served Surtur - quite likely literally in many cases.

Attack of the 50-Foot Whatever: He's shown to be the size of a moon. Yes, that's a dragon the size of the Death Star, and just as dangerous.
Earth-Shattering Kaboom: His spawn can destroy worlds all by themselves, and he can do far, far worse, as the Shi'ar find out the hard way.
Monster Progenitor: 'Father of Dragons' is not just a fancy name. Apparently their nesting grounds involve stellar clusters.
Nigh-Invulnerable: Thor had to throw/trick him into a neutron star to win their fight, and it turns out later that even THAT wasn't enough to kill him. Though this could alternatively be read as a case of the Great Captains just being impossible to kill, like Surtur (or that they can be resurrected by Surtur). When he re-emerges with the Seal weakened, it's made quite clear that nothing the Shi'ar can throw at him is likely to threaten him, bar possibly Gladiator - and even he's particularly vulnerable to Jormungand's Psychic Powers.
Offscreen Moment of Awesome: Went toe-to-toe with a fairly young Thor, and gave a good accounting of himself, despite his limitations.
Our Dragons Are Different: A monstrous winged lizard created by the original Dark Phoenix.
Psychic Powers: Implied, like all of his spawn, apparently considerable enough to cripple Gladiator's notoriously confidence based powers.
That's No Moon: ...it's a dragon. A very, very powerful dragon.
Worf Had the Flu: Jormungand was weakened by the Seal of Musphelheim separating him from Surtur when he fought Thor. With the Seal cracked, he's strong enough to awaken his brood and carve a swathe through the Shi'ar galaxy.

Skoll

Skoll a.k.a. the Devouring Dark

A shapeshifting Eldritch Abomination that usually takes the form of a wolf-spider-cephalapod horror, it's the lone wolf of the Great Captains, and the most bestial, being concerned with its appetites. This is not the same as being stupid.

Big Eater: Of planets, among other things. Possibly also stars. Certainly, it gets mistaken for Galactus.
Eldritch Abomination: It's a cosmic horror that eats worlds and/or stars, is found by sifting through possible Galactus sightings, and it's constantly shapeshifting into more and more nightmarish forms, usually based partly on wolves.
Glowing Eyes of Doom: They're its only colour, and they're burning white.
It Can Think: While it's so primarily concerned with feeding that it tends to be mistaken for Galactus, and more a tactical threat than a strategic one, Loki notes that it's actually quite clever, and a very dangerous ambush predator. For one thing, unlike all of the others but the very well camouflaged Black Captain, no one actually knows where it is.
Monster Progenitor: Apparently the father or grandfather of Fenris, if Sif's inner monologue is anything to go by.
Voluntary Shapeshifting: On a cosmic and truly horrifying scale.

The Soul-Eater

The Soul Eater

A predator of the Astral Plane, a Wraith of an unknown breed, believed to have been what the Shi'ar call a 'Mummudrai' and a distant relative of dementors, it's essentially a living psychic virus which hollows people out and either leaves them as an Empty Shell or a reprogrammed weapon.

Brainwashed and Crazy: The fate of many of its victims is to be reprogrammed into utterly loyal shock troops for Surtur.
The Dreaded: It's eaten the minds and souls of nearly 900 worlds, and critically damaged over 3000 - they 'should' recover in about three centuries - in a mere couple of months, before being quarantined. And as Loki remarks, that's actually relatively mild compared to prior outbreaks. It's bad enough that some members of the Allfather's Council immediately suggest blowing up all the infected planets, only for Loki to reveal that that has been tried, and it doesn't work.
Eldritch Abomination: It's more of a living idea than anything else, "remnants of things that couldn't quite live but refused to die." This makes it very hard to contain, let alone destroy.
Empty Shell: What it turns its victims into, by eating their minds.
From a Single Cell: Metaphorically speaking, it can regenerate or spread from a single host, or even evacuate to the Astral Plane.
Mind Rape: It's essentially a cosmic dementor, meaning this comes as standard. It eats everything with a mind, leaving an Empty Shell that it either programs with Undying Loyalty to Surtur or leaves to be turned into a Fire Giant.
Mysterious Past: Loki can only conjecture on what it is, let alone how it became that way.
The Virus: A psychic variant. Some people can develop an immunity or resist it, but there's generally very little point, by the time it's done.

The Frozen Shadow

A Frost Giant, one that commands cold - and molecular motion - on a cosmic scale. It usually works as part of a team, with The Lightbringer and The Fallen One, which makes them both easy to find and deadly dangerous.

Dark Is Evil: It's a living obsidian statue that freezes people so thoroughly it traps their souls.
Evil Is Deathly Cold: Its powers over cold are so absolute that when it freezes people, it traps their souls inside, with even reality apparently being unsure whether they are living or dead.
Necromancer: Of a sort. It freezes its victims, which it can animate as minions of ice and stone that can teleport through shadows and which Loki compares to Weeping Angels.
Villain Team-Up: It works closely with The Lightbringer and the Fallen One. It's unknown whether they're friends, per se, but they work together very effectively.

The Light Bringer

The Lightbringer

One of the Alfar, they're bright and beautiful in an eerie sort of way... and fixated on liberating souls from their imperfect bodies as part of the grand reconstruction of reality in Surtur's 'perfect' image. It usually works with The Frozen Shadow and The Fallen One.

Beauty Is Bad: They're entrancingly beautiful even in image. They are also completely evil.
Black-and-White Insanity: More obviously so than most of Surtur's servants, with an extreme gnostic outlook - the physical is imperfect, like the rest of the universe, so the soul must be 'liberated' and perfected.
Light Is Not Good: They rip the souls from their victims' bodies in a warped pursuit of Surtur's perfection.
Villain Team-Up: Usually with the Frozen Shadow and the Fallen One.
Your Soul Is Mine!: Its standard modus operandi.

The Fallen One

The Herald of the Light Bringer and the Frozen Shadow, it scouts worlds for them, identifying and neutralising targets and defences. It's unclear what it is, though its name and function implies that it was once a Herald of Galactus.

Enigmatic Minion: All the other Great Captains have identifiable methods and fixations. This one is still a bit of a mystery.
Mysterious Past: The context implies that it was once a Herald of Galactus, but we don't actually know what it is.
Villain Team-Up: With the Frozen Shadow and the Light Bringer.

The Shaper

A female dwarf, and one of their greatest artisans before she joined Surtur's forces. Like Surtur, she's a creator on a cosmic scale, forging weapons, war-machines, and even Fire Giants for his forces.

The Assimilator: Overlapping with The Virus, she can turn organic life into aspects of herself.
Chrome Champion: An evil version, in that she's made from silvery metal.
Dyson Sphere: Part of her forge is this, though it's closer to a Ring World Planet.
Mook Maker: She creates Fire Giants, among other things.
Ring World Planet: She's seen turning a planet into this around a star, as part of her forge.
Ultimate Blacksmith: She shares this function with Surtur himself, having apparently been one even before turning to the dark side, building much of the materiel Surtur's forces use. This includes everything from bog-standard Fire Giants to Living Planets.

The Elder Wyrm

The Elder Wyrm a.k.a. Vándlat a.k.a. 'Dave'

One of Surtur's dragons, it has spent most of the last few hundred millennia asleep under the Hogwarts Lake, before being partially awakened by its master's stirring. An enormous wingless dragon, he's immensely powerful, dangerously intelligent, and thoroughly malevolent. On meeting Harry, after Harry stumbles upon him during the First Task, he takes an immediate interest in him.

Above Good and Evil: Pulls out this card, sneering that he was created for a purpose beyond the heroes' comprehension.
Arc Villain: For the Of Dungeons and Dragons arc in Ghosts.
Ax-Crazy: Enjoys planetary scale genocide, and is proud of his role as a chief servant of an Omnicidal Maniac.
Badass Boast: Gives a lengthy one to Harry that carries shades of Smaug's, and one that (since he's capable of taking on both Thor and the Valiant simultaneously) he more than lives up to.
"You would fight me? You think much of yourself, oh very little thing. You are an Asgardian, of the blood of Frey, and one of moderate intelligence at that. Those qualities alone make you worth conversing with. But I, I am far more. My sire was Jormungand, Father of Dragons. I was born at the command of the Surtur Ash-Bringer, King of Flames, Lord of the Inferno, for a purpose beyond your comprehension. I was a vanguard for his infinite armies; I burned worlds beyond number from clouds to core, and devoured their people like sheep on the fold! Your people are gods now, Asgardian, but I ate my fill of gods long before your kind ever claimed the spark of divinity! Your people are old now, but I was ancient when the eldest of your sires were mere mortal babes in their mother’s arms! Even in my sleep, I reached out my thought and ensnared gods, both of this land and of your kindred, and broke them to my will!”
Berserk Button: Has a couple of this, being as arrogant as one would expect.
- Insulting his intelligence is a big one. Harry jumps up and down on it to get him to reveal himself.
- Generally, he hates being mocked, with Harry jumping down on this, too.
Breath Weapon: Of course, and on scales that challenge - if not far surpass - volcanic eruptions.
Catlike Dragons: In behaviour, rather than appearance (which is more saurian/lizard-like), with his attitude to Harry and the Champions being explicitly compared to a cat toying with a wounded mouse.
Crocodile Tears: Tries this on Harry when at his mercy, with the narration noting that the proper name is 'dragon tears' - dragons, after all, invented the technique. It doesn't work, with Harry lampshading the trope.
Dark Is Evil: A deep, dark, greenish-black, dark enough to not just blend into shadows but be them. He's also thoroughly evil.
Dishing Out Dirt: An enormously powerful wielder of earth magic (Wanda wryly remarks that he's an Earth-Wyrm), transforming the island he was sleeping beneath into a vast, lava spewing volcano in minutes, and since it's in the Hogwarts Lake, that's boiled to steam, with the remainder transformed into a boiling volcanic lake. He's also an exceptionally powerful gravity manipulator.
Disproportionate Retribution: Come near his territory/lair, even unaware? Become either a snack or a slave - an undead one if you're human or a lesser god. Taunt him, then run out on him? Mass geographical arrangement will ensue as he tries to destroy everything and everyone in sight.
Evil Is Bigger: Initially Played Straight, then Subverted - he's big enough to eat Godzilla like a bar snack, but in Book III we encounter a second example of his kind in Shou-Lao the Undying, whose back can be easily mistaken for a mountain ridge. He is also commensurately much more powerful.
Evil Is Burning Hot: He quite literally blows both hot and cold. His wight servants lower the temperature wherever they go, and his lair is dark, damp, and cold. However, once he gets warmed up again, he starts boiling the body of water around his island, unleashes a volcanic scale blast of fire, then turns the island into an actual volcano.
Evil Is Hammy: Again, drawing from Smaug, he's equal parts boastful and melodramatic - though sometimes he shifts into Cold Ham territory when he's coldly furious, which is considerably more worrying.
Evil Is Petty: Just before he was killed, the Elder Wyrm touched Ron's mind and pushed him to believe (correctly) that Harry was lying to him, especially about the fact that the Winter Soldier is still alive, just to ruin their friendship.
Evil Laugh: A very sinister one that reverberates in the bones of those present.
Evil Sounds Deep: So deep that it reverberates in people's bones, and mere angry roars knock people flat on their backs. Enraged ones shatter reinforced glass and burst eardrums for miles around, nearly killing Archangel.
Expy: Has clear shades of Smaug about him, not least with the willingness to chat, indulge in riddles, and boast about he's grown Stronger with Age. However, being wingless, enormous, and prone to Mind Manipulation (along with revealing crucial, tragically influential truths out of sheer spite as he's dying), he also owes a lot to Glaurung.
Eye Scream: Harry slashes one of his eyes out while attempting to pull a Death from Above on him, which only fails because he moves his head at the last second. All it really does, though, is really, really piss him off. Harry then compounds the wound by turning the damaged eye to molten jelly. Later, when Harry finishes him off with a combined blast of mystical and psychic energies, it punches through his eye and out the back of his head.
Fantastic Racism: Sneers at humans, magical or otherwise, as "apes", and the only beings he treats with approximations of respect are Harry and Thor, because they're both Asgardians of Frey's bloodline - and because, in Harry's case, he can sense the Phoenix in him.
Faux Affably Evil: He's perfectly charming, in a malevolent and condescending sort of way, but as the narration notes, his attitude when acting in such a way is that of a cat indulging itself with a wounded mouse.
Fiery Salamander: While he's a ridiculously ancient proto-dragon, being absurdly large, planet-breakingly powerful, and scarily smart, he's depicted closer to a mythical salamander. He lives in cold, damp caves, and once it does emerge, it unleashes volcanic hell (and enjoys swimming in lava).
Glowing Eyes of Doom: They're the first feature we see, each the size of Hagrid's hut and glowing like a searchlight.
Gravity Master: Related to the above-mentioned earth magic, of which it is a very high end application. He can even use it to fly in low Earth orbit.
Healing Factor: Almost immediately heals from any injuries he manages to sustain.
It Amused Me: Why he goes along with Harry's conversation.
I Have Many Names: Gives a brief speech to this effect when Harry asks his name, one being his 'real' name, Vándlat - Hope-Death. Harry being Harry, he responds by deciding to call him "Dave".
Jerkass: Even when he's not committing planetary genocide, he's just a total dick.
The Juggernaut: Resists the full broadside of MI13's Destroyer armed Helicarrier, Valiant, while carrying on a conversation with Thor — whose powerful blow to the jaw simply, as Thor notes, makes the dragon both angry and aware that he has to take them seriously. Even the dozens of Nexus bombs (weaponised Tele-Frag) the Valiant unleashes don't cripple him, and losing an eye hardly even slows him down.
Kaiju: Compared to 'a small mountain' and Word of God observed that he could eat Godzilla like a bar snack.
- For reference, his eyes are described as being roughly the size of Hagrid's hut, with a skull the length of a House table.
- However, it turns out that he's an absolute shrimp compared to one of his relatives, Shou-Lao the Undying.
Lazy Dragon: He's spent pretty much all the last million years asleep, which Harry taunts him about, also suggesting that he's a coward. His account is that until Harry turned up, he hadn't sensed anything worth waking up for.
Made of Iron: Powerful blows from Mjolnir? Annoying and painful. A full broadside from the Valiant? Irritating, but not much more. Sixty Nexus bombs, weaponised Telefrag targeting already vulnerable areas, each capable of vaporising space/flesh the size of a large car, then a massive lightning based equivalent of a Macross Missile Massacre? Very painful, causing spasms, but only a brief delay. A lightning-boosted sword strike at far beyond atmospheric re-entry speeds, backed by the full power of a high-end Person of Mass Destruction, right into the eye? Extremely painful, but not actually crippling. It takes all of that, plus additional attacks to the wounded eye, and a Free-Fall Fight from low-orbit, and finally, a close range Boom, Headshot!, to put it down.
Make Me Wanna Shout: His roar is destructive, to say the least.
Manipulative Bastard: The dragon standard, though he only tries it once all other options are exhausted, offering an alliance on behalf of his master, playing on Harry's frustrations with the world and desire to make it better. Harry laughs in his face, having heard it all before, and pointing out that he knows what dragons are famous for. Then, it turns out that just before he died, he hinted to Ron that the Winter Soldier was still alive, and that Harry was hiding this from him - two things which are technically true, by way of a parting shot. This, and Harry's response (deception by way of very deft Exact Words), are noted to be 'fateful' actions.
Mood-Swinger: Can go from wickedly amused to coldly furious to roaring with rage loudly enough to cause earthquakes and burst the eardrums of everyone within a couple of miles, all in a matter of moments.
Necromancer: To an extent — he commands a small army of barrow-wights and makes mention of wraiths, which watch the borders of his domain and report back to him. However, it's unclear whether he created them, or just controls them through sheer force of will.
Orcus on His Throne: He's been asleep for most of the last million years, and while he's been somewhat active even in his sleep, that activity is limited to dealing with those who trespass on his lair. He claims that this is because, until Harry turned up, he hadn't sensed anything really worth waking up for.
Our Dragons Are Different: Of the smart-and-wingless variety, like Tolkien's Norse inspired dragons.
Person of Mass Destruction: Claims he was meant to destroy worlds (which the heroes don't deny), and causes earthquakes and boils large bodies of water as mere preludes to his emergence, upon which he turns the small island he was sleeping under into a very large newborn volcano.
Psychic Powers: As he boasts, they're enough that he can enslave anything up to lesser gods in his sleep.
Rank Scales with Asskicking: One of Surtur's vanguard, sent to destroy worlds alone - and implied to have done so.
Rasputinian Death: See Made of Iron - the bastard is unbelievably hard to kill.
Smug Snake: Literally. He's smart, but his arrogance and mistaken assumptions hamstring him at times - he sorely underestimates Harry, and Thor, letting the latter get in a very good shot with Mjolnir.
Stealthy Colossus: The size of 'a small mountain', could eat Godzilla like a bar snack, and when underground, he can move extremely quietly and hide extremely well, enough that he's chatting with Harry and the Champions for a little while before they realise that he's almost literally right on top of them.
Stronger with Age: Like Smaug, this is a key point of one of his boasts.
Time Abyss: Over a million years old and still going strong.
Tranquil Fury: Can shift from this to incandescent rage in an instant.
Undying Loyalty: To Surtur, who he continues to serve and refer to as his master.
We Can Rule Together: When at Harry's mercy, speaking for Surtur, he offers an alliance. Harry understandably refuses.
Worthy Opponent: Why he's willing to talk to Harry and Thor. He's also, surprisingly, not bothered by Harry destroying his wight-army, instead being interested and moderately impressed - and thanks to the Phoenix fire within Harry, which he associates with Surtur, he refers to them as kin.

Word of Kemmler Contenders

A group that shows up in Chicago during the events of Bloody Hell, each seeking to take the book known as the Word of Kemmler and the Darkhallow, an Ascension rite that will propel whoever uses it to Greater Godhood on par with Thor and Loki, at the cost of killing a large portion of Chicago's population. See Dead Beat for greater details on the book these events were adapted from.

Grevane

The "favored" student of Kemmler, and a powerful necromancer. All canon tropes up through Dead Beat apply.

Demoted to Extra: See below.
Hope Spot: He had just found the book that will give him knowledge of a rite that will make him a Physical God - oh, wait, there's Voldemort.
We Hardly Knew Ye: He doesn't even get screen time - the only scene involving him directly is when Voldemort kills him with an Avada Kedavra outside the Field Museum, right after he took the Word of Kemmler from Harry Dresden.

Corpsetaker

A female practitioner who specializes in mental magic and Grand Theft Me, stated by Wanda to be more spirit than body. All canon tropes up through Dead Beat apply unless otherwise noted.

Grand Theft Me: Pulls this twice, on one of the junior Wardens (Kowalski), and briefly on Captain Luccio.
The Worf Effect: She catches major badass Morgan off guard by jumping him in Luccio's body after pulling a Grand Theft Me on the latter, and then, like Grevane, gets an Avada Kedavra from Voldemort.

Cowl

A wandless practitioner who appears in Chicago during the Bloody Hell arc, and who seeks to claim the Darkhallow for himself. Unlike the other villains on this page, his actual identity is a mystery, save that he has an apprentice who (might) be named Kumori. All canon tropes up through Dead Beat apply unless otherwise noted.

Affably Evil: Apparently well-intentioned and fairly polite to Wanda.
A God Am I: Downplayed, but present. Not only does he seek the Darkhallow, but he intends to end Death - which Wanda immediately points out is utterly stupid, as even a Physical God is a mere speck compared to the powers he'd be contending with (though he has an answer to that, too).
The Archmage: Somewhat downplayed, but he's skilled enough to fight Wanda one on one, and gets the drop on her at least once. Dresden compares his magical power to that of Ebenezar McCoy.
Crazy Sane: Wanda suspects that if he's not sane, he's the type of insane that can fake it pretty well - he maintains a perfect calm and reasonable tone at all times, even while discussing rewriting the laws of nature.
Graceful Loser: He's surprisingly unfazed about Wanda's disruption of the Darkhallow, and instead takes the opportunity to leave.
In the Hood: He's called "Cowl" for a reason. Dresden being Dresden, he refers to Cowl as a "Ringwraith wannabe."
Know When to Fold 'Em: After the Darkhallow is destroyed, he sees no point in hanging around. Because of this, he's the only villain in the Bloody Hell arc that escapes it more or less untouched.
Lesser of Two Evils: Tries to invoke this with Wanda, pointing out that he's probably the least evil of those who seek to claim the Darkhallow (and he's not exactly wrong). Wanda shoots him down (just before she does the same to the Darkhallow) by pointing out that he is the lesser of the evils, but that means he's still evil.
The Mentor: Has an apprentice called Kumori, who's about as mysterious as he is.
Only Known by Their Nickname: Cowl is almost certainly not his real name, and just comes because... well, he's wearing one, and hasn't given out his true name.
Secret Identity: Both in Ghosts of the Past and Dresden Files canon, who he actually is remains a mystery to both the protagonists and the readers.
The Smart Guy: Of the Word of Kemmler contenders. While Voldemort is plenty smart and achieves the most with a well-timed backstab, Cowl is smart, practical, and reveals that unlike Voldemort, he knows exactly who is protecting Harry and how that protection works. He even hints that he knows about Thanos and his goals and even implies that he knows about the search for the Infinity Stones, suggesting a truly frightening knowledge base.
Uncertain Doom: Strange mentions that he's disposed of most of the Circle a.k.a. the Black Council. This might include him, but Cowl's canonically known for surviving the impossible (or at least, the severely improbable), and Word of God has hinted that he may still be around.

Voldemort

Harry Potter's Arch-Enemy in canon, who seeks to even the odds between them. Took the original Word of Kemmler book at the end of the Bloody Hell arc, before running when Wanda showed up to stop him from killing Harry Dresden. See The Death Eaters above for more details on him.

Selene

Selene Gallio

Immortal Dark Lady, sorceress, mutant, and would-be goddess, Selene is evil beyond words and has been for approximately 17,000 years. Perpetually on the look out for a means of ascension, she allies with Voldemort at the end of Child of the Storm when he offers her the Word of Kemmler and thus, the Darkhallow.

A God Am I: Frequently styles herself as a goddess, has the power to match actual gods in combat, and has ambitions to ascend to Greater Godhood.
Badass Teacher: To Voldemort, and possibly to Grindelwald back in the day. She goes toe-to-toe with Wanda and then Magneto in quick succession, she's Impaled with Extreme Prejudice by Dresden, and then is finished off by Magneto.
Behemoth Battle: Gets into one of these with Sue the zombie T-Rex, and wins.
Casting a Shadow: Wanda mentions that she has some talents in this area.
The Dreaded: And with good reason - she's an immensely powerful and nigh-unkillable sorceress, who's been known to feed on Asgardians. Loki had a bruising encounter with her some centuries ago.
Healing Factor: Loki burned her alive. It didn't take.
Keeper of Forbidden Knowledge: Dresden speculates that this is why Voldemort allied with her, and accepted an at least nominally junior position - she's most likely to both know how Voldemort could end-run Harry's Phoenix based protection and be willing to give him that information for the right price. While this hasn't been confirmed, Wanda admits that it's possible, even likely.
Necromancer: Death magic is one of her specialities, most particularly draining life from others.
Physical God: Already immensely powerful, and seeking to become even more so.
Strong and Skilled: Anyone who can survive bouts with Wanda Maximoff, Loki, and Magneto, the former and the latter simultaneously, is definitely this trope.
Time Abyss: She dates back to the final days of Atlantis, approximately 17,000 years before the present, making her considerably older even than the likes of Odin.
Transflormation: Wanda turns her into/imprisons her in a tree for a bit.
Vampiric Draining: This is more or less how she's stayed alive for most of 20 millennia.
Voluntary Shapeshifting: She can transform into a truly gigantic dragon.

Characters / Child of the Storm: Villainous Groups

Lord Lucius Malfoy

Baron Wolfgang Von Strucker

Gravemoss

Baron Helmut Zemo

Doctor Arnim Zola

Alexander Pierce

Jason Todd

Daken Akihiro

Lady Narcissa Malfoy

Lord Voldemort, aka Tom Marvolo Riddle

Peter Pettigrew a.k.a. Wormtail a.k.a. Scabbers

Barty Crouch Junior

General Aleksandr Lukin

Yelena Belova a.k.a. Black Widow

Victor Creed a.k.a. Sabretooth

Dudley Dursley a.k.a. the Beast a.k.a. the Blob a.k.a. the Fledgling

Project Kransnyy Syn a.k.a. the Red Son

Colonel Alexei Shostakov a.k.a. the Red Guardian

Vlad Dracula a.k.a. the Grey King

Syrus

Lara Raith, a.k.a. The White Queen.

Surtur

The Great Captains

The Black Captain a.k.a. Zagreus

Jormungand a.k.a. the Father of Dragons

Skoll a.k.a. the Devouring Dark

The Soul Eater

The Frozen Shadow

The Lightbringer

The Fallen One

The Shaper

The Elder Wyrm a.k.a. Vándlat a.k.a. 'Dave'

Cowl

Selene Gallio

Alternative Title(s): Child Of The Storm Villains

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Characters / Child of the Storm: Villainous Groups

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Lord Lucius Malfoy

Baron Wolfgang Von Strucker

Gravemoss

Baron Helmut Zemo

Doctor Arnim Zola

Alexander Pierce

Jason Todd

Daken Akihiro

Lady Narcissa Malfoy

Lord Voldemort, aka Tom Marvolo Riddle

Peter Pettigrew a.k.a. Wormtail a.k.a. Scabbers

Barty Crouch Junior

General Aleksandr Lukin

Yelena Belova a.k.a. Black Widow

Victor Creed a.k.a. Sabretooth

Dudley Dursley a.k.a. the Beast a.k.a. the Blob a.k.a. the Fledgling

Project Kransnyy Syn a.k.a. the Red Son

Colonel Alexei Shostakov a.k.a. the Red Guardian

Vlad Dracula a.k.a. the Grey King

Syrus

Lara Raith, a.k.a. The White Queen.

Surtur

The Great Captains

The Black Captain a.k.a. Zagreus

Jormungand a.k.a. the Father of Dragons

Skoll a.k.a. the Devouring Dark

The Soul Eater

The Frozen Shadow

The Lightbringer

The Fallen One

The Shaper

The Elder Wyrm a.k.a. Vándlat a.k.a. 'Dave'

Cowl

Selene Gallio

Alternative Title(s): Child Of The Storm Villains

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Index

Next