Dante (Devil May Cry)

Dante is the recurring protagonist of the Devil May Cry franchise.

The anti-hero half-human hybrid demon slayer son of an ascended demon named Sparda and a human named Eva. After losing his mother to demons as a child, Dante grows up to become a demon-hunting mercenary who runs his own devil-hunting business named Devil May Cry.

Being half-demon, Dante has super strength, nigh-invulnerability and a healing factor, along with the ability to transform into a demonic super mode called Devil Trigger. His weapons of choice are two custom handguns known as Ebony & Ivory, and a memento broadsword of his father's named Rebellion.

While often cocky, deep down he is a compassionate man devoted to fighting for the good of humanity and helping his friends. Still, he does like getting paid for it.

Appearance

As stated in an interview with original series creator Hideki Kamiya in the Devil May Cry Graphic Edition artbook, the earliest ideas he had for Dante's design were centered around three key points; "[a] long, stylish coat" to make the character "showy", "[a] British man" as Kamiya wanted him to be a "witty, yet traditional fighting man", and "doesn't smoke cigarette[s]", believing that the character was too cool to smoke.

In the same interview, another noted influence on Dante both design wise and character wise was Cobra of the acclaimed Japanese manga and anime series Space Adventure Cobra. Kamiya believed Cobra's cocky attitude and red attire were key points for a "heroic" character. Ironically, despite Cobra being a heavy cigar smoker, Dante himself does not smoke, as Kamiya believed Dante to be cooler without a cigarette.

Ever since Devil May Cry started development as Resident Evil 4^[5], Dante has had white hair. It's remained in a consistent style throughout the series, although there are a few differences between installments.

In Devil May Cry and Devil May Cry 4 his hair is somewhat parted with his bangs brushed down; in Devil May Cry 3 his hair is brushed down with his bangs partially covering his eyes, and in Devil May Cry 2 his hair is much thicker, with his bangs parted in front of his right eye.

Dante has worn a myriad of clothing throughout his many appearances, yet his most glaring trait is his affinity for red-colored apparel, often in the form of long, two-tailed coats.

In Devil May Cry 3, Dante wears long, tan colored jeans, black fingerless gloves, and military-style boots. His coat has zippers on the sleeves and a buckle around the waist, and two brown, leather holsters on the back to carry Ebony & Ivory. Contrary to later games, Dante does not wear any form of clothing underneath his coat, going shirtless throughout the whole game, displaying his silver half of the Perfect Amulet around his neck, as well as his bare, well-toned chest and muscular physique. Following Dante's first battle with Vergil, his half of the amulet is stolen and the right sleeve of his coat is damaged, with Dante tearing it off afterward. In his final confrontation with Vergil, his left glove is slashed across the palm by Yamato, and the epilogue shows that Dante keeps it on his desk, perhaps in remembrance of his lost brother.

In the original Devil May Cry and the anime adaptation, Dante wears red pants with two black belts wrapped around his right thigh, a black, leather belt, black gloves, and high, black boots. Dante's coat is much basic in design, with an upturned collar and short sleeves with black cuffs, though the coat lacks coattails. Underneath the coat, Dante wears what appears to be a black long-sleeved shirt, with a red vest with black clasps over it. In numerous cutscenes, his half of the Perfect Amulet is once again on display, yet it appears infrequently and is not a permanent feature on his character model.

In Devil May Cry 2, Dante's outfit is identical to the one seen in the first game, but with more pronounced, poignant features. He wears high black boots and red jeans once more, yet has a single belt wrapped around each thigh. A belt featuring a skull themed buckle wraps around his waist, and he wears black, gauntlet shaped gloves with three buckled straps on each one. His coat is a deeper red than in the previous game, with two coattails, yet the coat has a more pronounced buckled collar, and a black strap going over his right shoulder wrapping around his chest, with two golden studs on the front. The front of the coat is also patterned individually from the rest of it, resembling a sort of vest or body armor, with a zipper closed all the way up from the waist to the bottom of Dante's neck, perhaps reflecting his introverted nature seen in the game.

In his appearance in Devil May Cry 4, Dante's outfit arguably takes on it's most flamboyant look. Dante once more wears red pants, yet they are almost completely covered sans his crotch and rear by long, black leather motorcycle chaps featuring a brown, cowboy boot design around the ankles. He wears black, loafer looking boots, and black gloves exposing his knuckles and index finger on each hand, and his pants are wrapped with a black belt featuring a silver emblem decorated with a demonic skull. The coat is given a much more detailed and stylish look, with Western and Italian features, and a deep red, almost crimson color. Once more the coat is short sleeved, with numerous gold colored studs decorating the shoulders, collar, and chest, and a single zipper on the front, yet Dante is never seen zipping it up in-game. Underneath the coat, Dante wears a black, zipped up undershirt with three clasps closed together with ornate, golden buckles, and medium length sleeves that can be seen passing his shoulders. This undershirt is also zipped up just below his neck and features an upturned collar which complements the one on his coat. Another noticeable design choice separate from Dante's outfit is his chin, covered with short, black stubble, reflecting his older age, as series director for 2through 4 Hideaki Itsuno states that Dante is "almost 40" by the events of Devil May Cry 4.

In Devil May Cry 5, Dante's outfit takes on its most simple look. His red jacket is faded, has a washed-out look, a skull on his back and also resembles his Devil May Cry 4 jacket. He wears an ordinary black henley T-shirt with three buttons as the sleeves itself reach through his elbows, where it also features torn details, for his wrists he wears black driving gloves and white bandages. For his legs, he wears a black belt with golden accents, black jeans and brown boots. His hair also grows after being knocked down for a month. This gives Dante a more grungy look. Dante's black henley T-Shirt also appears dark blue during the daylight when he battles Vergil during their duel and their sparring match in the epilogue.

Following his defeat by Urizen, Dante's hair had grown out considerably during his recovery, now the same length as it was in Devil May Cry 2. His clothes are also muted in color and dirtier as well.

Personality

As seen at the beginning of the series, Dante is incredibly flippant, casually mouthing off to even the most powerful of demons, and he generally enjoys showing off and taunting his adversaries as often as he can. Dante also displays a fearless, almost disinterested attitude towards incredibly dangerous situations, such as assuming Trish simply had to use the bathroom after crashing through his office's front door on a motorcycle, being attacked by the Seven Hells in his office, being swallowed by Echidna, and effortlessly shrugging off wounds such as a headshot or impalement numerous times, the latter of which happens quite frequently for the Devil Hunter.

While maturing as time goes by, Dante never loses his care-free, devil-may-care attitude, except in Devil May Cry 2. He can be serious when the situation calls for it, but still maintains an overall laid-back demeanor during tense situations, and is never without a witty taunt or comeback. Although seemingly shown at times to be uncaring or callous, Dante maintains a very strong sense of justice like his father, and prefers to fight fair, thus never fighting humans or opponents that are weaker than him. He can be counted on to do the right thing, even if he makes humorously cynical quips about it the entire time.

Unusually, while he has displayed discomfort with his own demonic side, only coming to accept it following the events of Devil May Cry 3, Dante has little qualms about accepting demons that choose the side of good and admires their desire to be human, such as Trish and Bradley. Though Dante is quoted as believing that "Humans are often worse than demons." in the anime, he refuses to kill full-blooded humans for any reason, believing it would make him no better than any Devil, be it human or demon.

In addition, Dante values family and friends very highly. He cared deeply for his mother and, despite their differences and conflicting ideals, for his brother, Vergil. Even after their intense duels and conflicts in Devil May Cry 3, Dante still tries to prevent Vergil from willingly falling off the edge of the Human World into the Demon World, and goes so far as to cry over losing him. While he says little about his father, Sparda, over the course of the series, Dante has been shown to clearly maintain a level of respect for, but for a time bitterly resented him due to his absence and inability to prevent Eva's death. While bitterly claiming that "[he doesn't] have a father" in his first fight with Vergil in 3, he eventually comes to accept that he is a son of Sparda and grows to respect him as the game goes on, proudly claiming in his final duel with his brother in the game that not only do they carry Sparda's blood, but his soul as well. He also makes a humorous comment towards Arkham, smugly claiming that his father wasn't as hideous as his twisted form, citing his own physical appearance as proof. He even shows a degree of paternal concern for his nephew, Nero in Devil May Cry 5, warning him of the dangers of facing Urizen again. Dante's concern and love for his nephew is further demonstrated by telling Nero the truth of their relationship, and attempting to protect the boy from the darkness of killing his own father, displaying a great deal of familial love for his brother's child. 

Dante also enjoys fighting, shown when he restrains himself from using his full potential but he is also quick to use full power if his opponent proves to be sufficiently powerful. In Devil May Cry 4, he was clearly going easy on Nero in their first confrontation despite having seen his nephew in action, as he overpowered him in their second clash with only mediocre effort. In the anime, Dante gets bored with fighting weak opponents and only finds entertainment in fighting strong opponents who will give him a challenge. Dante's enjoyment of fighting was further emphasized in his pre-battle banter with Echidna, asking her if she agreed with him that "a fight every now and then makes life more interesting". After it is hinted Vergil is still alive through Urizen, Dante at first sought to kill his brother thinking he was corrupted beyond salvation. However, after Urizen and V merged to be the Vergil he knew, they clashed again in a battle to the death until Nero stopped them both with his newfound Devil Trigger. After entering the rubicon of the task of saving the world by entering the Underworld, Dante and Vergil stayed behind to finish the job, occasionally slaying enemies and dueling with his brother. It is through this time where their sibling bond was somewhat rekindled, with both brothers enjoying the battles and banter.

Despite Dante's handsome appearance, he often has terrible luck with women, a condition he ironically reflects upon in Devil May Cry 3 when Lady shoots him through the head after he attempts to keep her from falling.

In the animated series, Dante was shown to be one of the few characters in the Devil May Cry series to swear. Dante was frequently shown to be foul-mouthed, repeatedly swearing in almost every episode. Although this attitude wasn't present in the games, In Devil May Cry 5 he is shown using coarse language when angered, noticeable in his final battles against Urizen/Vergil.

Despite verbally complaining about being in debt, Dante seems quite willing to perform missions solely for the good of them, and rarely, if ever, enforces payment from poor clients. In fact, Dante will typically refuse any job he dislikes, regardless of how much it pays, but will immediately take on any paranormal cases, especially those involving demon hunting, with or without pay. Many of his clients take advantage of his hospitable nature, and leave bills for property damage caused during the mission instead of paying for his services. Interestingly, despite his claims of having low funds, Dante still manages to pool up enough money to purchase pricey luxuries for his office, such as a pool table, a jukebox, and several expensive pieces of musical equipment such as electric guitars.

He often borrows from Lady, attempting to gamble to repay his debts to her and others. However, he has extremely bad luck with all forms of gambling, even something as simple as a coin toss, and loses any game not involved with demon hunting. As a result, he is deep in debt to Lady, and is often left with no money at all after she takes her cut. However, in Devil May Cry 4, Lady actually pays him a small, single role of bills for his "assistance", implying that he no longer owes her money.

Dante has a fondness for pizza, usually with "everything" on it, and while he complains about olives, he always ends up with them on his pizza. In the animated series, he is also shown to favor strawberry sundaes as well, with it being pointed out on several occasions that those two foods are seemingly all he eats. He also has a fondness for alcohol, specifically whiskey.

Abilities

Powers

Dante possesses immensely vast amount of power far beyond that of any human being and most demons thanks to the blood of his father, Sparda, running through his veins. Being a half-demon who is able to gain more powers and weapons from the powerful demons he defeats, Dante grows increasingly stronger throughout the series. By Devil May Cry 4, Dante is able to take on The Savior empowered by Sparda's power, and by Devil May Cry 2, he is able to single-handedly defeat the demon god Argosax whom Sparda sealed, implying Dante currently has power rivaling, if not surpassing that of the legendary Dark Knight. In the animated series of Devil May Cry that takes place after the first Devil May Cry event, he defeated and killed two apprentices of his father, Baul and Modeus, with ease. His strength was also more than enough to easily defeat Sid powered by Abigail, a powerful demon with power said to be equal to that of a demon king. In Devil May Cry 5, after having absorbed his broken sword Rebellion alongside the Sparda sword into himself, not only does Dante attain the Sin Devil Trigger, but becomes extraordinarily powerful in the process to the point where he was able to overwhelm Urizen and push him back in their second battle and then outright defeat him in their third fight even after Urizen ate the Devil Fruit from the Qliphoth. This proves that Dante has completely surpassed his father in terms of power.

Even since Devil May Cry 3, before Dante fully awakens his demon blood, he rarely shows himself to struggle in battle and wins most of his fights with such ease it's as if he was merely toying with his opponent. However, when his opponents can prove themselves to be worthy adversaries, Dante stops toying with his opponents and fights them seriously, as shown in his battles against his twin brother Vergil, and the demon king Mundus.

Notably, these same opponents were the only ones who have ever defeated Dante in combat. Even then, he only suffers his first defeat at the hands of Vergil in their first battle in Devil May Cry 3 because Vergil has already fully awakened his own demonic blood. Post his awakening and after gaining a few Devil Arms, Dante is able to fight evenly with his brother, and by the end of 3, Dante is ultimately able to defeat Vergil. However, his later defeat against the Mundus-empowered Vergil as Nelo Angelo was legitimate, as Dante's half of the Perfect Amulet interferes with Nelo's memories, causing him pain and preventing him from finishing Dante. Mundus is also able to easily defeat Dante at first, and the only reason Dante wins their battle was because of Sparda's power within the Sword of Sparda.

After his victory against Mundus at the end of Devil May Cry, Dante is powerful enough to be known as the legendary "Devil Hunter" among the demons, much like how his own father was called the "Dark Knight". His powers are tremendous, to the point where he is almost never shown fighting seriously thereafter. Nero apparently defeated him at the beginning of Devil May Cry 4, but Dante admitted the battle only ended the way it did because he underestimated Nero. In their second fight, Dante defeated Nero with only mediocre effort (though Dante was out of breath), even though Nero's power was noted to have increased, and made the latter realize that he was being toyed with from the beginning, to the point Nero willingly acknowledged that Dante had not been trying to kill him, implying he was still not using all his power. This rare show of struggle is another example of his tremendous power, showing that Dante simply holds back greatly against opponents who are in theory stronger than him, and in the end defeats them without any signs of difficulty. He had only suffered defeat again at the hands of his brother's demonic half Urizen, who is deemed to be on a different level than even Mundus as the true Demon King, although it should be noted he lasted longer and fought better than Nero. In addition, when his brother was fully restored, Dante gave his full effort and power to defeat his brother but only managed to reach a stalemate. This means that only Vergil has the power to truly challenge Dante in a fight of strength and power.

Throughout the Devil May Cry series, it is constantly implied that Dante's strength is not just due to his father, but also from his will to protect others. It is implied that any demon who possesses the will to protect and love others rather than to simply destroy will gain the full might of their demonic power, though Dante and Vergil may simply be exceptions due to their hybrid souls and human upbringing by their mother.

Superhuman strength: Dante possesses incredible raw bodily strength even while in human form. He is able to easily throw around street thugs and an obese prison warden. He is also able to easily snap handcuffs. He can shatter stone with little difficulty, and often overpowers demons much larger and more imposing than himself with ease. Dante also once easily blocked a punch from Nero's Devil Bringer and even casually forced him back with enough force to destroy a wall behind him and knocked down Nero with a single push to the back. He's even strong enough to block The Savior's punch with Rebellion without showing much strain. Dante's display of superhuman strength, endurance, and resistance to injury shows that his physical condition is much tougher and more efficient than that of even most of the powerful demons, allowing him to exert his supernaturally enhanced muscle power to vast proportions without fear of injury or fatigue.

Superhuman speed: Dante is blindingly fast, and in some cases appears to be teleporting. During his younger years, was capable of swinging his sword so fast that rain drops cannot escape his blade over a wide area.  Also while Dante was running down the side of Temi-Ni-Gru, he shot Rebellion, causing it to fall so quickly it began superheating the air around it, then he chased his sword fast enough to catch up to it and eventually reaching a speed great enough that the air around his hand became superheated as well. Dante's reflexes are fast enough that he can dodge bullets, slice them, shoot them out of the air, and even catch them with his teeth.

Superhuman agility: He is extremely agile as well; able to jump to great heights or even balance himself on a flying rocket, as well as run up vertical walls. In addition, his agility allows him to perform amazing feats of acrobatics that easily surpass even the finest human acrobat.

Superhuman durability: Dante's durability has been shown to allow him to simply shrug off wounds that would either disable or outright kill a normal demon, such as being impaled through the chest with his own sword. He was also punched by Beowulf so hard that his body made an imprint in the stone ground, but Dante showed no signs of injury. His teeth are also strong enough to catch bullets. He is capable of withstanding Hellfire and lightning strikes with no signs of injury. He was even capable of withstanding impale-like attack from Sid empowered by Abigail with no response of pain.

Superhuman endurance: Despite some of the physically punishing things Dante has gone through, he has the ability to move forward with little difficulty. Even while impaled with Hell Pride's scythes lodged in his torso and arms, he casually walks about his office. He often went on hours long missions with constant fighting, no rest, food, or water and shows no fatigue. However, his endurance does have its limits as shown in his first fight with Urizen, where Dante would struggle to stand when he would be knocked down by the Demon King, and eventually was put into a comatose state for roughly a month after receiving a devastating blow from Urizen.

Accelerated healing: Dante can instantly heal from nearly any wound; even the Hell Prides were surprised when he ignored their attacks. Combined with his great resilience, Dante's healing factor makes him nearly unkillable.

Demon power manipulation: Dante is able to channel his demonic energies into various physical objects, ranging from his guns to the air itself.

Telekinesis: Dante demonstrates telekinetic abilities, stopping Trish's motorcycle in mid-air before shooting it with Ebony and Ivory. He also appeared to show telekinetic abilities in the anime, shown when he splayed his hand and Rebellion smashed through the ceiling window before landing in his hand, although this could also be related to Dante's metaphysical connection to the sword.

Skills

Weapons proficiency: Dante is proficient with any variety of weapons, including swords, scythes, gauntlets, greaves, and even unorthodox supernatural weapons like Lucifer and much more. He is also able to pick up a brand new weapon and is capable of instantly (within moments of picking them up) understanding its capabilities and mastering it on his own.

• Swordsmanship: As Dante's primary fighting style, he is incredibly skilled with various types of swords including broadswords, katanas, and scimitars.

• Marksmanship: Although he is aided by his superhuman precision in gunfights, Dante has an innate mastery of any firearm he comes in contact with. He is capable of shooting in two different directions at once without missing his targets and can shoot with such accuracy that his bullets stack on the hilt of Yamato from hundreds of feet away as well as can hit the incoming bullets towards him.

Hand-to-Hand combat: While using weapons like Ifrit, Beowulf, Gilgamesh or Balrog, Dante has been shown to be highly proficient at hand-to-hand combat, using various martial arts techniques, including Bruce Lee's one-inch punch. He is also capable of defeating lesser demons completely unarmed with little difficulty. In his second fight with Nero, Dante outclassed his nephew with solely hand-to-hand combat upon being disarmed of Rebellion, soundly knocking him down and disarming him of Yamato.

Musical aptitude: While using Nevan, Dante performs a more hardcore version of the first three verses of "Taste The Blood". He also has a guitar and drumset in his office.

Devil Trigger

Main article: Devil Trigger

Thanks to his half-demon nature, Dante can release his demonic power through his Devil Trigger. This turns him into a full on demon and also it amplifies everything about him to a whole new level (like when he overpowered Abigail by just tapping into it). The appearance of this form varies throughout the games—in Devil May Cry and Devil May Cry 3, the form is influenced by which Devil Arm he carries, while in Devil May Cry 2^[20] and Devil May Cry 4 he has a pair of Devil Forms believed to be his "true" Devil form. These forms greatly increase his strength, speed and healing speed and also it grants him new abilities, like flying. These abilities could be chosen in Devil May Cry 2 by selecting the different pieces in the Amulet together. In Devil May Cry 5, Dante gains access to a new form called Sin Devil Triggerafter stabbing himself with Rebellion and absorbing the Devil Sword Sparda. This form is Dante's most powerful Devil Trigger form. Even more powerful than Majin Form in Devil May Cry 2.

Arsenal

Rebellion: A keepsake sword from his father and a manifestation of his power.

Ebony & Ivory: Dante's twin handguns, custom built for rapid fire.

Force Edge/Sparda: Dante temporarily replaced Rebellion as his main sword from the end of the events of Devil May Cry 3 until giving it to Trish at the end of Devil May Cry.

Devil Sword Dante: A blade born when Dante absorbed the Rebellion and the Sparda into his body. The weapon shares both his name and his will.

He has also used a shotgun in every title in the series, though its exact form changes throughout the games. Over the course of the past four games, Dante has collected a wide variety of weapons in addition to his regular arsenal, ranging from a curious electric guitar and several pairs of gauntlets/greaves to twin submachine guns and a shape-changing, demonic briefcase. He keeps many weapons and trophies displayed within his office, so it is likely that he keeps old weapons there as well.

Intellect

An often overlooked aspect about Dante's abilities is his subtle, yet amazingly cunning analytical skills. His detective prowess ranges from always keeping a full grasp on convoluted mission objectives, to understanding an item's function and intended purpose only moments after first picking it up, and usually being able to differentiate between good and evil at a glance. He also showcases these skills in the form of a talent for reading people; he accurately assessed that the seemingly gentle Modeus was interested in killing him for his soul, and that Modeus was going to try to take revenge against him for killing Baul.

Trivia

• Dante's name comes from Dante Alighieri, who was a great Florentine poet of the Middle Ages. His central work, Divine Comedy, is often referenced or used thematically throughout the Devil May Cry series.
• Dante seems to favor Jack Daniel's, a brand of whiskey, as his preferred choice of alcohol. He is seen drinking this brand in the anime and several bottles of it are scattered around his office in the epilogue to Devil May Cry 4.
• In Devil May Cry 5: Before the Nightmare, it's revealed that Lucia has feelings for him after the two of them reunite in Vie de Marli and defeat the fire demon, Balrog.

Gallery

External Links

• Dante at Devil May Cry Wiki