massivesword | Character Information

Personality

If he had it his way, Dante would convince the world he was fun-loving and carefree. And, generally speaking, that's true. Growing up with the powers of a legendary demon, there's not a whole lot that can faze him. Facing down bullets and monsters on a daily basis tends to give anyone a bit of confidence, and confidence Dante has in spades. He tends to come off as careless or reckless, because, really, what's the worse that can happen? He's strong and he knows it, and his bravado isn't a bluff. However, he's also strong enough to know he doesn't need to prove it—something he was more prone to do when he was younger—and if things are going well, he's more than happy to live and let live. This can make Dante appear irresponsible or lazy (and maybe that isn't so much of a bluff either). He has a habit of complaining or being reluctant to take jobs, even when he's a self-proclaimed devil hunter, and his ability to keep money is completely non-existent. Just as Dante waves off threats of death as minor inconveniences, he treats life as if it's a game and dodges actual work if he deems it unimportant—and always by his standards.

Under the bluster, however, Dante has grown up a lot over the years. Sparda, legendary-super-demon-knight-but-apparently-not-the-best-father, left their family when Dante and his twin brother, Vergil, were still young. The two boys lived with their human mother, Eva, until the lord of the Demon World, Mundus, sent a raid after them. The demons killed Eva and the twins were separated. That tragedy was what really started Dante on his path to demon hunting. He spent some time under the alias Tony Redgrave, hunting demons and getting by, and eventually made it his calling. Around ten years later, he was reunited with Vergil, only to find that their views of the world were drastically at odds. Dante blamed demons and Sparda for their losses, and Vergil blamed human weaknesses. This led to them clashing over their father's sword, the Force Edge, which Dante eventually won. After losing, Vergil decided to remain in the Demon World, bringing the brief reunion to another tragic close. During the confrontation, an angry and rebellious young Dante met the equally stubborn woman he called Lady Her defiance of the odds and sense of family responsibility really changed the way Dante took his situation. Instead of just lashing out, he began to take responsibility for his actions, finding a purpose in more than just killing demons... and that was helping other people. This is something he carries with him, and under the laid back, indulgent attitude, Dante is honest and caring. He protects those in need, with or without pay, and refuses to kill humans under any conditions—even when he knows they are trouble. As far as demons go, he also makes exceptions with them, realizing that even demons (Trish, for example) can have good hearts.

Thanks to his complicated life, Dante's preferred style is simple and sweet. His philosophy is to play off the problem until there's no other way to avoid it—then hit it with all he's got. He tries never to appear serious, but if someone crosses the line and hurts those he cares about, he's got a rebellious streak to match his love of fun. He won't tolerate those who abuse their power over others and he has one or two personally unforgivable offenses, such as messing with his family business. He's cocky, reckless and prone to collateral damage, but deadly serious when the situation calls for it. Those who look past his boyish smile and flippant jokes can find a loyal friend and honorable fighter. He even drops the facade on occasion, offering a word or two of sincere, serious thought on humanity or his reasons for defending others. And, thanks to a complicated past, family will always be a deep and sensitive issue with him. He just prefers not to show it.

Powers

Dante is a half-demon, half-human cross and has inherited many demon strengths.

His speed, strength and agility are all superhuman, letting him run up sheer walls, leap from the top of buildings, fire bullets with such accuracy that they stack on top of each other, and punch a stone monolith into rubble. He can move blindingly fast--enough to seem like he has teleported short distances in the blink of an eye. Dante is also a natural genius at combat and can master virtually any weapon within seconds of picking it up.

He also has other demon abilities that rely on his ability to channel demon energy. Dante can:

-Summon energy swords that fly toward enemies
-Use Devil Arms, weapons formed from defeated demons

He also has near-instantaneous healing and the ability to take demon form through a Devil Trigger.

Weaknesses

Physically, he has a brash style that doesn't focus much on defense. He is a hard hitter, so defensive techniques actually aren't his strong point. In addition, he is used to automatically healing, so he doesn't focus too much on avoiding attacks under normal conditions.

He has horrible gambling luck, terrible money management, and a weakness for people in need, that just makes him a target for being taken advantage of. His good nature can leave him open to charity work and debt he really doesn't deserve.

Emotionally, he hates losing people. If he cares about anyone, he has a tough time dealing with their loss. This initially makes him slow to get too close to people--although he's very trusting and social--and secondarily makes it hard for him to let go. Also, he has terrible family issues and can hold a grudge if they get dragged into the mess.

History

Okay, long story. Thousands of years ago the humans were at war with the Demon World, until one of the demons, Sparda, turned on his own forces and took the side of the humans, rebelling against them. He eventually sealed off the Demon World from the Human World, locking it behind Hell Gates and using his own power to seal away most of the threat. He ruled over humans for awhile and became a legend, and, as legends often do, eventually he disappeared leaving behind an impressive legacy and a bunch of demons with a serious grudge.

Oh, and a family. Yeah, so somewhere along the line, Sparda fell in love with a human woman and they had twin sons, the younger one being Dante. After Sparda left, Dante and his brother, Vergil, lived with their mother and more or less had a typical childhood. Then, around the twins' eighth birthday, the lord of the demons sent a raid after Sparda's family. The demons killed the boys' mother and the two were separated. Dante more or less lived alone, scraping through and developing a chip on his shoulder against all demons for what had happened. He met a guy named Enzo and started a business of hunting demons--more or less just killing time and burning through frustration.

Then one day a demon came to his store, "inviting" him to one of the locked Hell Gates on his brother's behalf. Never one to turn down a challenge, Dante went to the Temen-ni-gru with guns blazing, and inadvertantly helped Vergil and the man working with him, Arkham, open the portal to the Demon World. The two were trying to retrieve Sparda's sealed power, which he had left behind in the form of the sword called the Force Edge. Oops? Well, in the end Dante managed to stop evil from taking Sparda's power, and during the journey he met up with a woman he called Lady--who turned out to be Arkham's daughter. The two teamed up, Hell Gate got closed again, and unfortunately the twins clashed over possession of the Force Edge, with Dante being the victor. Vergil, stubborn to the end, remained in the Demon World in pursuit of strength.

Dante cried. And years passed.

So one day yet another demon came crashing Dante's shop. Literally. This one was a woman named Trish who claimed she wanted Dante's help to stop that Demon Emperor Lord that Sparda wasn't too crazy about. So, donning the hero role, Dante went to do what he did best--slay him some demons. On the journey to confront Demon Emperor Mundus, Dante fought a demon called Nelo Angelo, who turned out to be a pretty good match. This ended up being because Nelo Angelo was actually Vergil, killed and then corrupted by Mundus while he was in the Demon World. Dante defeated Nelo Angelo and managed to evolve Sparda's Force Edge into its true form (which he promptly hung on the wall like a stuffed fish). Well, surprise, it turned out Trish was actually working for Mundus. She betrayed Dante, but got herself in danger and Dante, being stuck in that hero mode, saved her anyway. Trish converted to the side of good, there were some more fights and meaningful dialogue, and Mundus was finally sealed away for good.

Got it? Almost there.

Some time later, Dante's shop was still in business and stray demons were out doing their thing, and then Lady came waltzing in. She told Dante that a group of people on the island of Fortuna were collecting Devil Arms and demons, probably conducting shady business. She and Trish pretty much forced Dante to investigate, and lo and behold, the people were trying to turn themselves into demons and unleash Hell. Again. Well, Dante ran into a half-demon brat named Nero there who bore a striking resemblance to Vergil--and himself, apparently being some blood relation of Sparda--and after some initial minor disagreement, the two team up to stop the island cult from using demonic power to take over the world. Buildings exploded, more demons were slain, some innocents were saved, and ultimately they managed to close yet another Hell Gate. After this, Dante walked off into the sunset to resume his life of demon slaying and wallowing in altruistic debt.

The short version? Humans keep trying to open Hell Gates, demons are bad, and Dante has sad, sad family issues. Business as usual.