Errr ... only for the fact that few beings are more capable magically than Doctor Fate. Strong as a Harry is, in a straight up magical batte, he would lose. So, no memory charming Dr Fate anytime soon, I assume.

 

Shouldn't the power-boost given to him by Death's Ring give Harry the edge he needs magic-wise?

I mean he was able to

Spoiler

casually create a Trans-universal portal,

at the drop of a hat, without much effort or thought put into it.

-SK

 

That's a pretty standard ability, I think many people have it.

True, if Harry went all out (Death Ring and whatever other aces he has) he'd win, probably handily, but I said "purely magical battle".

A quick wikipedia scan produced this about the various Doctor Fates:

<_<

>_>

Will stop derail now ...

 

It is an ability that they all should possess, but they need to have a lot of power to make it happen. For the Green it takes a superhuman amount of willpower or a handful of GL's to pull it off.

In a magical battle, Harry wouldn't stand a chance. Dumbledore, maybe. This version of Harry isn't a magical prodigy. He's a twenty-three year old magical school drop-out who relied on Hermione for all the tough stuff. That's one of the reasons he goes back to Hogwarts to sift through their library.

Granted, he picked up a few useful spells on the Horcrux hunt, but overall, he's a poor wizard where defense isn't the topic. Five years later, he's much better, and semi-well rounded, but still isn't in the same league as Snape, Flitwick, Dumbledore, et al.

Of course, Harry could disarm Dr. Fate to death. It's worked in the past. :awesome

Two totally different types of energy (if you classify magic as energy.) Harry doesn't get a boost so much as it's another weapon in his arsenal. I don't plan on having him use the ring offensively. He has his wand for that. So there won't be any dramatic and artistic constructs in the future.

 

Sadface. I was hoping to see some nice Lantern!Harry action. Oh well.

 

http://www.fanfiction.net/s/8187641/5/Deaths_Knight

'Nuff said. Reading now.

 

The more I read the more I like this Heather.

I would feel lame leaving a review, because I honestly can't think of saying more than "GJ UPDATE PLZ!"

 

As much as this Harry is amusing to read, he is constantly crossing the line where he becomes unlikeable. I mean, poking fun at superheroes is all good, but his whole argument with Superman reminded me of all these bad Independent Harry fic where he's doing the same to Albus, not realizing how arrogant himself he is.

But one punch from Guy was really funny.

 

No comment on the crossing the line portion since that's the way I'm writing him. Sometimes he's unlikable.

Any others want to comment on the latter portion about Indy!Harry, beyond the obvious. There's a certain amount of arrogance I want to make sure he has, for a specific purpose. Have I gone overboard into the I'm perfect; everyone else can suck a cock!Harry.

I do think I've had him lecturing far too much, but there's a lot of information that has to get put out and not a lot more time to have it done. I'm already 27k words into this thing and haven't gotten to the main plot as of yet. Some may say that's nothing, but I don't write 400k stories.

 

But there is a difference between being unlikable and just unlikable. You know, like for example House for all purposes is unlikable character that we still love to watch being arrogant towards everyone. Your Harry, in my opinion, is just unlikable from time to time.

One more thing that bothers me, because I hate to see it used in comics, is building up one character by humiliating the other. And Superman is very often used like that. At the same time you had Guy gave as good as he got, so it's even more off to me.

 

In lack of an actual plot to follow, character interactions take lead role. Because of that, I‘d say tone down Harry‘s superiority complex.
I mean, nothing seems to impress Harry or tone down his holier than thou attitude, and that‘s bad because you have him dealing with the absolute top of the DC Universe. There are many things more interesting than Harry one-upping hero after hero. There have been some Indy!Harry vibes.
Until we get a cohesive plot to focus on, a more likeable Harry would be nice, is what I‘m saying. And I personally would like to see some DC characters besides Karen, more in-depth.

Really enjoying what you‘ve written, don‘t get me wrong.

Edit:Fuk my cellphone.

 

To be honest, I actually feel the exact opposite way. Despite Harry acting like a dick every now and then, it just makes me like him all that much more. I enjoy how he is not above being petty and sinking down to the same level as others when dealing with them. It keeps him from being the boring traditional archetype of how the "good guy" normally acts. He comes off more as simply your every day normal dude who just happens to have super powers. He actually reacts a lot in the same way to how I feel many of my friends, and myself included, would react if in his situation.

It would be one thing if he did this and thought of himself as better than others, but this is not the case. Harry freely acknowledges when he is being petty, but simply doesn't care. I get the impression that he doesn't see himself as more righteous than Superman, just that he doesn't care about trying to be "the bigger man", "taking the high road", and letting things slide. Harry seems to follow the philosophy of if someone tells him fuck you, he will tell them to fuck off right back. If someone attacks him, or accuses him, in an underhanded way, he will meet them on exactly the same level and return the offense in kind. I do not see this as an unlikeable thing. It helps me relate and connect with him in a more real way.

Overall, I say Harry is fine the way he is and shouldn't be changed.

 

That's fair enough.

This is how I'm writing him. One of the things I always disliked about canon!Harry or the majority of Fanfic!Harry was how righteously noble he was portrayed. But I suppose that's part and parcel to being a "Hero" in a pre-teen to teen story.

It's taking it too far in the "Real guy" direction that led to the downfall of the Indy!Harry fics. People would go out of their way to have Harry see everything was a plot against him and he was the super-wizard that would make them pay. (enter the Shadow Phoenix, guitar playing, 1/2 vampire, uber-gazillioniare character).

Since I'm simply doing this for fun (hence the reason it's not in WbA) I don't plan on changing his personality, but I am adding a few things that should hopefully smooth out the indy feel, because now that it's been pointed out, I'm cringing at a few scenes.

 

Personally, I thought the first Superman bit was fine. But then, Harry got preachy when he started talking about his headmaster, which was iffy but not drastic.

However, it's what he did to Gardner that crossed.the line. Punches, magical anvils to the face, or that type of thing is alright but engorging someone's prostate is not the first thing you do when threatened.

Still, Harry's just as human as the rest of us, but still his morals should be at least slightly elevated. That's just how he is.