Dante Sparda, the main character from the series, Devil May Cry. Spoiler Warning: Information regarding Dante that is not available until the end of the first game will be discussed here.
Dante Sparda is the main protagonist of the video game franchise Devil May Cry. He is the fictional offspring of a human mother and demon father. It is common in science fiction literature for half-breeds (creatures only half-human) to have special abilities, and Dante is no exception. Dante has epic powers and heroic stamina due to his father's blood, but is humane and compassionate, unlike many demons. Of course his appearance is attributed to his human side as well.
Dante's past is extremely shrouded, as the games do not spend a great deal of time explaining it (DMC3 will provide more insight into his story, however, as it is a prequel to Devil May Cry). What little information that can be gleaned from cut-scenes is enough to piece together a fragmented history. His father, Sparda, was an extremely powerful demon who felt compassion for humans. He turned on his brethren and fought for humans during a war that occurred two millennia before the events of DMC1. Sometime during or shortly after this war he falls in love and mates with Eva, a human female (a picture of her suggests she is a noble from her style of dress). Eva gives birth to twins, Dante and Vergil. Apparently, Sparda dies sometime shortly after their birth, and Dante and Vergil split at one point (though they meet again in DMC3, most likely as enemies). Eva is murdered at some point, mostly likely in Dante's and Vergil's late childhood, by demons. This in turn spurs Dante to hunt down demons.
Arsenal and Powers
Dante uses a wide variety of weapons in the video game franchise. In DMC1 he starts with a sword (Force Edge, essentially a claymore) and two handguns (Ebony and Ivory, pictured). He acquires several other weapons and guns, including a magically imbued sword (Alastor), enchanted gauntlets (Ifrit), his father's sword (the Force Edge "unsealed"), a shotgun, grenade launcher, Needle gun (for use underwater) and two versions of an otherworldly gun, named Nightmare and Nightmare-beta respectively. In DMC2 his repertoire is mostly similar, with the absence of Ifrit and two acquirable swords instead of one (neither magical in nature this time), a missile launcher in place of the grenade launcher, and the Nightmare and Needle gun absent. A pair of submachine guns are introduced as well. Dante's arsenal for DMC3 isn't yet clearly defined, but it would appear that a number of new weapons, including dual scimitars and a shotgun he can use as a nunchaku are present.
The biggest aspect of Dante's power, of course, is his Devil Trigger. As Dante takes and deals damage, a meter represented by runes (starting with three, maxing at seven) begins to fill up. After three or more runes are lit up, Dante can transform into a more powerful version of himself. Normally this is characterized by a red aura that surrounds him. However, this transformation can be furthered in it's appearance by the use of Alastor. Dante can jump into the air and assume a far less human appearance; his hair and clothes disappear, his skin turns black and he gains a pair of wings. His transformation can be taken one step further (at the end of the first game and at periods of desperation in the second), allowing him to transform into what is believed his truest form, that of his father, a full-fledged demon.
Philosophy and Speculation
One may notice that Dante and Vergil share their names with Dante Alighieri and Publius Vergilius Maro, poets of epic works. In Dante Alighieri's work The Divine Comedy, Dante (the author) is guided through hell by Virgil (the roman poet), and heaven by Beatrice, Dante's idealistic vision of the perfect woman. Dante and Vergil share a likeness to the characters in the poem; Vergil as Nelo Angelo continuously confronts Dante as Dante delves further into Mundus' castle (Hell), egging him on and drawing him closer to Mundus himself. Trish could be seen as a parallel to Beatrice, his saviour that helps him finally defeat Mundus and escape the castle. Mundus is of course Satan, trapped at the center of his castle, and some of the enemies and areas in the game could be seen as metaphors for the concentric circles of hell and their populaces described in Alighieri's work.
See also
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