| “ | There's so much evil in this world I feel like I'm practically drowning in it. But I'll tell you this right now...I'll keep swimming through it. I'll do a backpedal, doggy-paddle, the dolphin, I'll do whatever the hell I gotta do to fight through all that evil so that people can swim in crystal clear waters. Cause it's my job. It's my life. It's my choice. And the things that keep me going are the people in my life...as well as the humanity I keep close so I don't get lost out in the open sea. | „ |
| ~ Dante |
Dante is a paranormal investigator and a legendary hunter. Moreover, he is in fact the son of the Dark Knight, Sparda, and the younger twin brother of Vergil. He owns an agency by the name of Devil May Cry which was established from his dedication to pursuing and destroying the forces of darkness that threaten the human race.
Overview
Dante is a cocky and wisecracking hunter that is legendary throughout the supernatural world. Despite being the son of Sparda, Dante is not fond of drawing attention to himself and enjoys his privacy which is why other paranormal organizations are unaware of his true identity. However, Dante's skills along with his title would garner the immediate attention of these organizations showing how much he is hailed when it comes to slaying powerful demonic forces. While he is a loner, he is willing to cooperate with others for the sake of preventing the world from falling into the hands of evil.
Dante's reputation as a legendary hunter as well as being the son of a demon who single handedly saved the human race from the legions of Hell, has earned him a reputation that even goes beyond the norm to where many supernatural and mythological beings like demons, angels, gods, or Eldritch entities are also aware of him making him rather infamous. Though his reputation was mainly due to him being a son of Sparda but overtime he made a name for himself as he not only has slain beings that his father originally defeated and imprisoned in the past but also surpassed his own father's astonishing feats alongside his brother Vergil.
After aiding Hellsing and the Order of the Silver Cross in taking down the Scarlet Brood and later Absalom in London, Dante was the first to be approached by Roy Mustang who desired to recruit Dante and his fellow hunters into the Dark Knight Initiative in order to battle an impending and much larger threat. Though Dante initially refused, his encounters with the demonic and dark forces unleashed by the Illuminati, which later was revealed to be part of a ploy to unleash Lucifer himself, had him join and work alongside old and new allies in stopping the Illuminati, culminating him joining the Dark Knight Initiative. His powers and skills alongside Vergil made him instrumental in the defeat of Lucifer's apocalyptic forces and turn the tides on occasion.
Appearance
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. He is also noted to have white hair that's remained in a consistent style where his bangs are somewhat brushed down and his hair nearly reaches his shoulders. Dante would occasionally wear civilian clothes such as a simple denim jacket with dark jeans and beige boots.
Dante 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. 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.
Dante's appearance after the Apocalypse mainly consists of a faded red jacket, has a washed-out look, a skull on his back and also resembles his previous 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 leather pants, and brown boots. Dante's black Henley T-Shirt also appears dark blue during the daylight.
Personality
Dante is incredibly flippant, casually mouthing off to even the most powerful of demons, angels, and monsters 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 but can be serious if the situation warrants it. Even so, Dante would make witty remarks and wisecracks in such tense dilemmas merely to lighten up the mood and he states that given he has faced similar events before this hardly bothers him though it depends on the scale. He has a knack for over-the-top and flamboyant theatrics even in situations like the Apocalypse, such as when he played the song Shoot To Thrill by AC/DC using a Devil Arm electric guitar all while scaling and sliding around elongated appendages of the Beast.
Even though Dante keeps himself in excellent physical shape, he is known to have very bad eating habits. He is often shown enjoying greasy, fattening or otherwise unhealthy food, especially cheeseburgers, pizza, or strawberry sundaes and dismisses salads as "rabbit food." Dante has also shown on several occasions that he is an avid fan of movies, particularly westerns and kung-fu films, and was thrilled to be given a chance to go to the old west as well as imitating Bruce Lee's kiais when fighting with demonic nunchucks. He was also overjoyed when he met and was able to work with Eliot Ness, frequently referencing The Untouchables. He is also an avid fan of classic rock music as well as other genres such as punk rock, pop rock, alternate rock, hard rock, and heavy metal. Many of his aliases have included the names of famous rock musicians.
While maturing as time goes by, Dante never loses his care-free, devil-may-care attitude. He remains to be funny, mischievous and, of course, in contrast to his older twin brother, a bit immature. He is known to use crude humor, use pop culture references, and makes sexual innuendos. 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. He can be counted on to do the right thing, even if he makes humorously cynical quips about it the entire time.
Dante is also very understanding, humble, and caring underneath, for despite being a nuisance at times, Dante has a softer side to him especially towards children. Despite not having a perfect childhood, Dante is exceptionally wise in his own unique way as he would successfully lift people's spirits such as when he made Leonardo Watch's determination return and strengthen his resolve to save his sister. Dante values friends and family very highly and is quite capable of striking, often odd, friendships along the way. His most notable ones are with Hellboy, Johnny Blaze, and even Alucard himself though he and the vampire king have more of a friendly rivalry and the same can be said for Derous of the Nightstalkers. He can also have familial bonds with others as he developed a brotherly bond with Leonardo Watch and a father-daughter relationship with Elaine Belloc showing that he is very good with kids, being sympathetic to their plight; this also includes monster children. And above all, despite their differences, Dante's closest relationship is with his brother Vergil for even after all their arguments and conflicts, Dante deeply cares for his older brother and his nephew Nero.
Much like Alucard and Derous, Dante also enjoys fighting, as is shown when he restrains himself from using his full potential but he is also quick to unleash his full power if his opponent proves to be sufficiently powerful. In almost all of his duels, Dante rarely shows off his full power and would fight with mediocre effort. He gets bored when fighting weak opponents but becomes ecstatic when he faces an opponent that can test his limits. Should an opponent prove worthy of his might, they would earn Dante's respect after defeating them showing that he has a code of honor of sorts.
Despite his working knowledge of the supernatural, Dante is skeptical with regard to the "good aspects of religion." while also proclaiming that he and religion do not mix. However, he becomes somewhat more open-minded after meeting the angel Immanuel, yet the antagonistic behavior of most angels and God's reluctance to openly participate in events prevents him from being a true believer. When facing the angels, even knowing what they could do to him, Dante is sarcastic, rude, and insulting, often referring to them as "dicks". Moreover, while he rarely displays his true emotions and hides it with a cocky attitude with layers of wisecracks, he admitted to Sara Pezzini and that the death of his brother and mother made him visibly sad, depressed, and guilt-ridden.
Powers and Abilities
As the son of the Legendary Dark Knight, Sparda, Dante's prowess and abilities far exceed that of normal humans, monsters, and most angels and demons. Even at the start of his career as a hunter, Dante's capabilities were more than enough to defeat some of the most fearsome demons in the Inferno and as he got older throughout the years, his powers increased as well. Throughout almost every battle, Dante almost never puts any effort into his fights, which implies that he not only already surpasses his opponents in one way or another but he also wishes to savor the excitement that comes with the fight. Dante, along with his brother, is one of the most powerful beings in the series and quite possibly the most powerful on Earth.
Not only does Dante have the blood of his father coursing through his veins, but he has shown on several occasions that he was able to surpass Sparda's own legendary feats. This is evident in him slaying powerful entities that his father originally defeated and imprisoned in the distant past. Dante was able to defeat a few members of the Malebranche, later on he was able to fight and defeat some of the Princes of Hell either individually or with the aid of his teammates, which was enough to earn praise from both Gabriel and Immanuel. In his first clash against Alucard, the vampire Count was elated upon encountering an opponent like Dante and has noted that Dante is unlike anyone he's ever faced. He fought against and defeated several powerful members of the Illuminati, several members of the Ars Goetia, and compete against Derous. He also could compete against if not defeat world-threatening opponents, such as Lucifer, Satan, Abaddon, and the Ogdru Hem; although in case of the former two, Dante required the aid of the Rebis to defeat them but even then Satan himself admitted that Dante was stronger than he originally thought. After consuming the Rebis, Dante's power increased to such orders of magnitude that Ivan Romanov likened him and his brother to being "demonic gods", housing overwhelming demonic power. With the combined might of Vergil, noted as the only person to rival him, they are said to be practically unstoppable. Together, they overpowered Abaddon, a being that even Satan does not wish to confront, overwhelm Belial who was a threat to Mundus' rule, and pushed the regenerative abilities of the Tycoon Brothers to their limit.
Dante is noted to be a master swordsman of such high caliber that at one point, the demon Zepar believed that he rivals Sparda's own swordsmanship or even possibly surpassed him. Dante is masterfully skilled with various types swords as well such as broadswords, claymores, katanas, and scimitars. When it comes to his hand-to-hand combat, Dante has been shown to be highly proficient in that department, using various martial arts techniques. He is also capable of defeating lesser demons completely unarmed with little difficulty. Dante is also proficient with a variety of other weapons, including, scythes, gauntlets, and even unorthodox supernatural weaponry. He displays an impressive ability to judge the capabilities of a weapon almost as soon as he picks it up. Moreover, Dante is able to impressively switch between his weapons and mix them in together with such stylish mastery that it makes his method of fighting highly unpredictable and allows him to overcome his opponents. Dante has an innate mastery of any firearm he comes in contact with. His accuracy and precision with his or any firearm is finely tuned to such a degree that he can shoot other bullets out of the air, make them ricochet off of other structures, and can use his powers to even direct the trajectory of the bullets. Dante is also a combat genius, his quick-thinking and strategic planning during combat, such as using the environment to his advantage against his opponent, has garnered the respect from highly skilled combatants, both superhuman and human, including Satan and Lucifer to some degree whom are both incredibly cunning in their own right.
Due to his half-demon physiology, Dante is able to unleash his demonic power through his Devil Trigger. Not being purely cosmetic, Dante's already superior physical capabilities are amplified significantly. Dante only accesses his Devil Trigger when he is faced with an opponent that is able to test his prowess. When in Devil Trigger, the tides of the battle immediately shift to Dante's favor though this is not always the case when he is faced with monstrously powerful opponents such as Lucifer or Nyarlathotep. Nonetheless, when in Devil Trigger, Dante could also gain access to his latent demonic powers and has been shown flying in the state with immense speeds. While not really a Devil Trigger, Dante is able to envelop his power around him and harden its density to create a demonic shell, acting as a suit of armor that is invulnerable to almost any attack. After consuming the Rebis, it allowed Dante to unlock his true and full hidden potential in the form of the Sin Devil Trigger. The Sin Devil Trigger allowed Dante to not only compete with Lucifer and Satan, who both returned to their full divine state, but actually make the two struggle in battle against him. His powers increased to such orders of magnitudes that Dante's fight against Vergil threatened to destroy a continent.