History Characters / DexterDexterMorgan

--> '''Zoey:''' [[ArentYouGoingToRavageMe Are you going to rape and kill me?]]

* {{Expy}}: Dexter is similar to Creator/TimDorsey's Serge A. Storms: both are south Florida-based serial killers who only target bad guys, with the first Serge novel ''Florida Roadkill'' published in 1999 and the first Dexter novel ''Darkly Dreaming Dexter'' published in 2001. Per Tim during his 2013 book tour for ''The Riptide Ultra-Glide'', Showtime was even offered a Serge TV show two years before they were offered ''Dexter''.

** Gets a new blood slide box at the end of Season 2 even though law enforcement now knows the Bay Harbor Butcher collects them and as Season 7 reveals, this detail was never made public.
** Despite Rita's death resulting from sabotaging the Trinity Killer case to have Trinity all to himself, he continues to sabotage active investigations so he can have the killers on his table. Doing this with the Doomsday Killer case [[spoiler:leads to Debra finding out he's the Bay Harbor Butcher, which begins a chain of events leading to her death in the series finale.]]

* UnreliableNarrator: Dexter often talks about how he doesn't have any emotions. While his emotions are definitely subdued, it's made pretty clear that he cares for the people close to him and have a conscience, that although quiet most of the time, still occasionally haunts him. He's pretty reliable regarding everything but himself.

* ButNotTooGay: In the series premier, Dexter says, 'I don't have anything against women, and I certainly have an appropriate sensibility about men [...]' However, he never so much as checks another man out throughout the whole series. Then again, one could chalk this up to either EarlyInstallmentWeirdness, or what one thinks an "appropriate sensibility about men" is.

* BadPeopleAbuseAnimals: His treatment of animals is what convinced Harry he was a sociopath. In Season 5 he kills a ferret as part of his plot to murder Boyd Fowler.

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* BadassBaritone: Bordering on EvilSoundsDeep while he's enjoying his rituals.

** The idea of cannibals disgusts him, although it's unclear if his disgust is a moral one or not.

* StrongerThanTheyLook: Dexter is mostly a [[GuileHero guile (anti)hero]], so it's not immediately obvious, but he is very strong. In season 2, when escaping an ambush set by Little Chino, he's able to lift a manhole cover (which likely weighs upwards of 100 pounds), escape down the manhole, and replace the cover, by himself, in a matter of seconds. With his pursuers none the wiser. In the same episode, he's able to move an unconscious Little Chino (who is probably 300+ pounds) to his car, stuff him in the trunk, bring him to the killing chamber, and get him strapped to the table before he wakes up.

* TrademarkFavoriteFood: Seems to have a fondness for steak. Pork sandwiches and bananas are his favourite "driving" food.

* AmbiguousDisorder: He's said to be sociopathic, but he is far too restrained and can calculate too well into the future to be one. He was never diagnosed as such, as he deliberately messed with the diagnosis under Harry's request which leaves us with yet inexplicable violent urges and lack of ability to socialise and feel empathy. Overall, the safest diagnosis for him is a psychopath. Not in the common [[AxCrazy Hollywood definition]] of the term, but in the actual clinical definition; antisocial behavior, diminished empathy and remorse, high self confidence, social assertiveness, fearlessness, poor impulse control, and disinhibited or bold behavior. Still, even that doesn't fit him entirely, since he shows fear multiple times and feels some sense of remorse for hurting innocent people, accidentally or otherwise.
** Some fans consider him to be a blend of a [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schizoid_personality_disorder#The_.27secret_schizoid.27 "covert" or "secret" schizoid]] and a really malignant case of obsessive-compulsive disorder, due to his loner tendencies and the unusually obsessive nature of his homicidal impulses. It's technically possible that he has both schizoid personality disorder and psychopathy though, seeing as how many convicted serial killers meet the diagnostic criteria for both.

* KnifeNut: Has an [[DoesNotLikeGuns aversion for guns]] so his evidence-free routine involves a knife, but he sometimes chooses a more exotic weapon — axe, chainsaw, hammer…

* HeelRealization: [[spoiler: Just before being shot by Harrison, Dexter reflects honestly on the people his urges have driven him to harm, realizing he himself is one of the predators of the innocent that he tells himself he hunts.]]

* TheFettered:
He has a "Code of Harry" that guides who he kills, how he kills, and why he kills. Its purpose is to keep him on the "man" side of "man-monster". [[spoiler: By the end of New Blood, he only pays [[MotiveDecay lipservice]] to the code, plotting to kill two innocent people, and successfully killing a third.]]

* BreakHisHeartToSaveHim: **[[spoiler:Dexter fakes his own death to leave Hannah's and Harrison's life for good, as he believes he will destroy their lives too if he stays with them.]]

* CharacterDevelopment: Dexter was more emotionally distant in early seasons and, while still acting the NiceGuy part, he has problems showing affection even to people very close to him, like Debra and Rita. In the first episode he even says he doesn't have feelings. He eventually becomes more open and aware of his feelings for other people. He realizes how much Rita and her family are important to him and admits he loves Debra multiple times. In the last few seasons he also falls in love with Hannah, while early seasons Dexter was largely aromantic.

* VillainProtagonist: At least during the final episodes of seasons 2 and 7. Season 2 has him going on to try and frame Doakes, while the end of season 7 has him trying to kill [=LaGuerta=].