History Characters / TheDresdenFilesChicagoMafia

'''WARNING!''' Due to the books relying heavily on mystery and surprise, the pages would be virtually unreadable with excessive spoiler tags. Therefore, all spoilers except for the most recent novel (''Literature/PeaceTalks'') and the most recent comic (''ComicBook/WildCard'') are '''UNMARKED'''. Tread carefully.

Recently became the first mortal signatory to the Accords, and in doing so became the Baron of Chicago.

* BadassBookworm: He's not a genius or anything, but Marcone has frequently shown an incredibly shrewd and brilliant mind that is practically ''made'' for the {{Realpolitik}} practiced in the supernatural world.

* ByronicHero: He can be viewed in this light. He bases his style of "doing business," which involves keeping collateral damage to an absolute minimum and punishing harshly any criminals who try to operate in Chicago without his go-ahead, on guilt over a young girl taking a bullet that was meant for him in his younger days, leaving her in a coma. He provides for her medical care, reads to her and even arranges to have the Shroud of Turin stolen in an attempt to heal her, all while running what is implied to be the largest organized-crime empire in America.
* CardCarryingVillain: Literally refers to himself as a "known criminal" at one point and as evidenced by his narration in "Even Hand," he seems to view his PragmaticVillainy only as a simple means to an end. Granted, there's also an obvious UnreliableNarrator factor at play here.

* {{Foil}}: [[invoked]] He's a very effective one to Harry Dresden himself. Both are CrazyPrepared {{Deadpan Snarker}}s and deceptively clever people [[TheFettered with their own rigid codes of honor that they stubbornly cling to]], are [[ManipulativeBastard remarkably manipulative]] (though Harry more frequently plays XanatosSpeedChess in comparison to Marcone's [[BatmanGambit Batman]] and {{Xanatos Gambit}}s) with a clear lust for power, and also have a HiddenHeartOfGold through being a FriendToAllChildren in private[[note]]though a more cynical person could state that Marcone has only a "Hidden Heart of Copper" given that his operations ''do'' still hurt children - [[PapaWolf just not directly]][[/note]]. However, they diverge pretty significantly from there; Harry is a ChaoticGood PragmaticAntiHero with a firm case of ChronicHeroSyndrome always pushing him to do the right thing due to a heaping GuiltComplex. Marcone is a LawfulEvil AntiVillain that practices PragmaticVillainy to the extent where it's not even funny (which is in large part thanks to [[MyGreatestFailure his lingering guilt over the part he played in "Persephone" getting put into a coma]]). Harry suffers from PerpetualPoverty even ''after'' becoming the Winter Knight, while Marcone seems to be one of the Fiction500. Additionally, Marcone is ''very'' AffablyEvil and always is trying to be as charming as possible to whoever he meets (it's good business, after all), while Harry is TheSnarkKnight and views all authority figures with such contempt that there was literally '''one''' character he used an honorific for during all of the first six books (Ebenezar [=McCoy=]). Harry is also a PopCulturedBadass, while Marcone is shown in "Even Hand" to be more WickedCultured (his CoDragons Hendricks and Gard instead seem to pick up the slack there). Finally, Harry is [[TheArchmage one of the most powerful wizards of his entire generation]], but who still finds himself often stumbling into situations ''way'' out of his depth in the supernatural world, while Marcone isn't a magical practitioner ([[spoiler:at least before ''Battle Ground'']]), but [[LikeADuckTakesToWater has adapted to the supernatural world immensely well]] after Tommy Tomm's heart exploded out of his chest in ''Storm Front''.

* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: He's genuinely [[OhCrap shocked and frightened]] when Harry gets the drop on him at the end of ''Death Masks''. Additionally, he's absolutely '''furious''' when [[spoiler:his loyal friend [[TheDragon Hendricks]] performs a HeroicSacrifice and is killed by Ethniu]] in ''Battle Ground'']].

* ArchEnemy: He believes himself to be this for Harry Dresden. He had stated in his monologue in "Even Hand" that someday he and Harry ''will'' face each other for one final time and has been preparing armament to ensure his victory. It's difficult to decide which is more impressive: that Harry can destroy one of the strongest mob bosses in both the supernatural and mortal worlds (and [[spoiler:who is also the host to an incredibly powerful FallenAngel]]), or that Marcone can kill one of the deadliest and most feared wizards on the planet.

* DiabolicalMastermind: One does not become boss of Chicago's underworld without becoming both of these.
* DeadpanSnarker: His narration of "Even Hand".

At least the vampires would call for an appointment.''

* FriendToAllChildren: His first rule. It's also to Harry's annoyance, since it means he can't just dismiss the guy as a mustache-twirling villain.

** The fact that his fake first name is "John" is likely an allusion to "John Doe," the standardized name given to anonymous male corpses.

* MysteriousBacker: Mostly since, as the name itself implies, he's a pragmatic, but ruthless gangster.

* NobleDemon: The man is corrupting scum. He will work his way through PragmaticVillainy with a cold ruthlessness. However, he always honor his promises and debts, and he never harms children in his venture, at least not directly. He won't permit any drug dealing to them and will personally deal with the violators.

* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: He's genuinely [[OhCrap shocked and frightened]] when Harry gets the drop on him at the end of ''Death Masks''. Additionally, he's absolutely '''furious''' when [[spoiler:his loyal friend [[TheDragon Hendricks]] [[TakingTheBullet jumps in front of him]] and [[HeroicSacrifice takes Gungnir to the heart]] in ''Battle Ground'']].
* PapaWolf: Summed up when Harry makes a probing threat against "Persephone":
-->''"I'll kill you. If you so much as breathe in her direction, I'll kill you, Dresden. Myself."''
* PragmaticVillainy: His way of dealing with Harry Dresden in ''Storm Front'' is to try and pay Harry to not work the case. He escalates the amount offered to a considerable amount: a week's pay for doing nothing. It is said this is his usual method of getting people out of his way.

* ShadowArchetype: Imagine if Harry Dresden wasn't a magical practioner, didn't have as much of a contempt for authority/rules, and also was ultimately just a bit more selfish than selfless. That's John Marcone in a nutshell.

* SilverFox: Depicted as this in the comics.
* TheStoic: In ''Death Masks'', the fact that he ''blinks once'' is implied by Harry to be a massive tell for him. Invoked in "Even Hand".

** The fact that his fake first name is "John" and is likely an allusion to "John Doe," the standardized name given to anonymous male corpses.

[[folder: [[spoiler:Sir]] Baron John "Gentleman Johnny" Marcone]]

[[folder: [[spoiler:Sir]] Baron John "Gentleman Johnny" Marcone]]

[[folder: Baron John "Gentleman Johnny" Marcone]]

* AmbiguousSituation: It's never made clear when exactly [[spoiler:he took up Thorned Namshiel's coin. Yes, he ''physically'' took it for himself in ''Small Favor'', but it's completely unknown when he exactly became a rogue Denarian]].

* ArchEnemy: He believes himself to be this for Harry Dresden. He had stated in his monologue in "Even Hand" that someday he and Harry ''will'' face each other for one final time and has been preparing armament to ensure his victory. It's difficult to decide which is more impressive: that Harry can destroy the strongest mob boss in the nation or that Marcone can kill one of the deadliest wizards on the planet.

-->''Marcone was criminal scum, but I’ll give the rat his due -— he’s got balls that drag the ground when he walks.''

* BerserkButton: It's hard to find something that will set Marcone off, but if he even ''thinks'' you're threatening children, and especially Amanda Beckit, a.k.a. "Persephone", he will ''murder'' you until you ''die''. He outright says in ''Changes'' that part of the reason why he is helping Harry against the Red Court is because they are hurting children. And killing his agents is also a good way to piss him off, as seen by him going out for blood (albeit through proxies like Dresden) against the necromancer Grevane in ''Dead Beat''.
* BatmanGambit:

** In "Jury Duty", one his men is accused of murdering someone (secretly a Vampire), knowing his man did so to save a child. Since Lara Raith has more control over the court system than him, he instead opts to manipulate things so Harry is selected on the jury (Harry suspects Mab took care of that part), knowing that Harry will recognise the man's innocence and pursue matters. He does so without telling Harry of course because he knows if he had asked, Harry would've refused to take the case or he might owe Harry a favor if Harry agreed to take the case.

-->'''Gard:''' "I was unconscious for three weeks after scribing the rune for that one. To say nothing of the fact that the bullets themselves are rare. That one [[UsefulNotes/TheNapoleonicWars killed a man named Nelson at Trafalgar]]."\\
'''Marcone:''' "How do you know?"\\
'''Gard:''' "[[BeenThereShapedHistory I took it out of him]]. Men of his caliber are few and far between."

* AmbiguouslyEvil: Sometimes it's hard to tell if he's a Type I AntiVillain or a particularly [[SociopathicHero hardcore]] AntiHero. [[spoiler:Amazingly, this even continues after he takes up Thorned Namshiel's coin, although he obviously now has a significantly more difficult time not being evil.]]

* BerserkButton: It's hard to find something that will set Marcone off, but if he even ''thinks'' you're threatening children, and especially Amanda Beckit, a.k.a. "Persephone", he will ''murder'' you until you ''die''. He outright says in ''Changes'' that part of the reason why he is helping Harry against the Red Court is because they are hurting children.

** [[spoiler:In ''Literature/SkinGame'' he, Mab and Hades execute one jointly, years in the making, to get revenge on Nicodemus for his plot in ''Literature/SmallFavor''.]] It works to a breathtaking degree.
** In ''Jury Duty'', one his men is accused of murdering someone (secretly a Vampire), knowing his man did so to save a child. Since Lara Raith has more control over the court system than him, he instead opts to manipulate things so Harry is selected on the jury (Harry suspects Mab took care of that part), knowing that Harry will recognise the man's innocence and pursue matters. He does so without telling Harry of course because he knows if he had asked, Harry would've refused to take the case or he might owe Harry a favor if Harry agreed to take the case.

* EvenEvilHasStandards: Marcone is willing to take a profit from any single vice you can name . . . except those which involve the exploitation of children. The defining moment of this trope may have been the opening scene of "Even Hand", where he personally sees to the execution of a pimp who sold children and a drug dealer who sold to minors.
* EvilGloating: Marcone actually does this, but only in a non-violent situation and when he is fully protected from Harry's response. This happens when Harry sees Helen Beckitt come in to the main office at Marcone's "health club" and reveal herself to be Marcone's lover.

* FriendToAllChildren: His first rule. To Harry's annoyance, since it means he can't just dismiss the guy as a mustache-twirling villain.

* IKnowYourTrueName: Actually, we ''don't''. In his narration of "Even Hand", he mentions the fact "John Marcone" is ''not'' his real name.

* MeaningfulName: His moniker, "Lord of the Underworld" has several relations to the genuine Hades. Both are powerful, pragmatic men who don't take incursions onto their territories lightly. They both defend their troves of valued possessions. They also took from "Demeter" her precious daughter and are unable to return her, though in Hades' case it is by virtue of Persephone choosing not to return and Marcone's is presumed dead by her mother.

* NotDistractedByTheSexy: Remained completely focused on the task at hand in the Raith Deeps, when Hendricks and even Harry became momentarily distracted. A moment of weakness iccurs when he's relatively safe. He managed to see [[HornyDevils Lara's]] charade at their first encounter, immediately realizing she was using her father as a pawn. In ''Cold Days'', Thomas tells Harry that Marcone has become the second man to turn Lara down in a century (Harry being the first).
* NeighbourhoodFriendlyGangsters: His modus operandi reduces the amount of collateral damage and civilian casualties in Chicago's criminal underworld. It's made explicitly clear by Marcone in ''Even Hand'' that [[UnreliableNarrator this is done out of ruthless pragmatism, not any real sense of decency]]... though it's pretty clear that what happened to 'Persephone' is a pretty big part of it.
-->''I am not a humanitarian. When I offer charity it is for tax purposes.''

* TokenGoodTeammate: Very relatively speaking. [[spoiler:As the opposite numbers to the Knights of the Cross, the Knights of the Blackened Denarius are notorious for being amongst the most evil beings in existence, serving as exemplars of infernally-empowered mortal depravity. Marcone, meanwhile, is the same old NobleDemon LesserOfTwoEvils who mostly serves as Dresden's ally (much to their mutual irritation), although it remains to be seen how long this will last.]]

* SuperMobBoss: A BadassNormal crime lord who deals with major powers in the supernatural community and manages to get himself made a freestanding lord in the Unseelie Accords. [[spoiler:[[EmpoweredBadassNormal And then he picks up a coin...]]]]

* UnreliableNarrator: His claim in ''Even Hand'' that his sole reason for making sure to keep organised crime as clean as possible is pragmatism, to make himself better than the alternative. In fact, as the example of 'Persephone' shows, he's got a ''thing'' about civilian casualties.

* UndyingLoyalty: To Marcone, and Marcone ''knows'' it. In ''Small Favor'', Sigrun Gard is unable to give up information to Harry about Marcone's whereabouts, but Hendricks is able to authorize her to speak. That means John Marcone trusts him enough to believe that he'll never abuse that power to work against him, and John Marcone doesn't trust almost ''anyone'' that much. [[spoiler:This loyalty leads to his death when he takes a fata blow aimed for Marcone.]]

* UndyingLoyalty: He took the blame for one of Marcone's crimes, which Marcone couldn't get rid with his connections, and went to jail for it in Marcone's place just before retiringbfrom crime. Understandably, Marcone is quite greatful of it.

* UndyingLoyalty: He took the blame for one of Marcone's crimes he couldn't get rid with his connections and went to jail for it just before retiring. Understandably, Marcone is quite greatful of it.

* TheSilentOne: Never spoke a line onscreen.

* MuggingAMonster: He jumps Harry Dresden twice and gets the upper hand. However when Harry turns it into a fair fight it goes badly for him

* TheStarscream: While how much was just the opportunity when Marcone vanishes in ''Small Favor'' and how much was premeditated, he still jumps to usurp control when Marcone and Hendricks are out of the picture.

* TheBrute: Previously a professional one for Marcone. Even retired, in his 50s, he beat a White Court vampire to death with his bare hands.

* TakingTheBullet: [[spoiler:He leaps in front of a bow meant for Marcone from the Titan Ethniu.]]

* NotDistractedByTheSexy: Remained completely focused on the task at hand in the Raith Deeps, when Hendricks and even Harry became momentarily distracted. He managed to see [[HornyDevils Lara's]] charade at their first encounter, immediately realizing she was using her father as a pawn. In ''Cold Days'', Thomas tells Harry that Marcone has become the second man to turn Lara down in a century (Harry being the first).

* BadassNormal: Let's say it again, shall we? He, a well-trained and savvy but otherwise vanilla mortal, who in his 50s, beat a White Court Vampire - SuperStrength, SuperSpeed, potentially [[TheAgeless ageless]] and with a HealingFactor to boot - to death. With his [[GoodOldFisticuffs bare hands]] and a [[ImprobableWeaponUser]]. Sure, White Court are more or less human when not drawing on their Hunger, but even still, that's seriously impressive. No wonder Dresden notes that even with the physical power of the Winter Knight (which, lest it be forgotten, has allowed him to go hand to hand with stronger breeds of vampire than the White Court), he wouldn't want to fight him.

* BadassNormal: Let's say it again, shall we? He, a well-trained and savvy but otherwise vanilla mortal, who in his 50s, beat a White Court Vampire - SuperStrength, SuperSpeed, potentially [[TheAgeless ageless]] and with a HealingFactor to boot - to death. With his [[GoodOldFisticuffs bare hands]]. Sure, White Court are more or less human when not drawing on their Hunger, but even still, that's seriously impressive. No wonder Dresden notes that even with the physical power of the Winter Knight (which, lest it be forgotten, has allowed him to go hand to hand with stronger breeds of vampire than the White Court), he wouldn't want to fight him.