What's going to happen to me now?

Favorite Heroes - Dante (Devil May Cry)

Devil May Cry is exactly what I need to fill my urges to not only kill virtual demons, but do so using an arsenal a country parsec wide--from swords, to guns, to gauntlets, to nunchucks, to HAUNTED ELECTRIC GUITARS. But for something so rule-of-cool fueled, it has a hero I can not only safely think of as compassionate and positive, but would even call a good role model, which you might not believe when you first lay eyes on Dante. Dante’s dad was a demon called Sparda, and his mom a human woman, Eva. Dante and Vergil, the sons born of the union, were different as night and day--while Vergil admired Sparda’s power, Dante sought to practice his human side and follow Eva’s sensitivities. This is the core of Dante’s pathos, to prove that a demon’s blood doesn’t make him one.

That said, only a demon has the speed, strength, and skill to protect the world from its own kind, and Dante opened “Devil May Cry”, his walk-in demon mercenary service where, for the a fee, he’ll lift his stubbly face from a pizza box and chop up the demon that’s giving you trouble. All would change for Dante the day he received a fateful patron in the form of Trish, a woman who stunningly resembled Dante’s late mother--all the reason Dante would need to fail to turn down her offer to destroy an entire clan of demons uprising under the leadership of Mundus, Spardas’ greatest rival and killer of Eva. The journey to fight Mundus is a shiering discovery after another--including the revelation that Mundus’ masked champion, Nelo Angelo, is actually a possessed Vergil, who disappeared after challenging Mundus a few years prior. Seeing Vergil a hollowed shell of who he once was is something of a cautionary tale that speaks to the importance of Dante’s penance for kindness. Vergil’s seeking of power left him in a place where all humanity was drained for him, and a mindless demon knight is all that remained. Dante could have ended in a similar place if his ventures weren’t for the sake of friends that would help him or anything resembling a conquest of power. This is further symbolized by the amulets Dante and Vergil wear--it unlocks great, demonic power, which is why Vergil wants both for himself, but to Dante it is merely a keepsake of his mother--and this is precisely why it means so much to him. To make matters worse, it is eventually revealed that Trish lead Dante to Mundus with the intent to lead him into a trap--the visage of the face of his mother worn by Trish engineered by Mundus himself when he created her to be his tool to kill the son of Sparda. With her use depleted, Mundus throws Trish away to die, Dante still has it in his heart to not allow her to die. He certainly isn’t happy with her and demands not to see her again, and reasonably so, but it took a bigger person to let it go.

Dante’s virtue would pay off when Trish, returning the favor, would tank a fatal blow from Mundus, allowing Dante to live long enough to reach his peak strength to destroy Mundus once and for all. After the fact, Trish sheds tears of relief and guilt, and Dante reassures her that this is all of the proof he needs that Trish is human--because devils never cry (THERE. HE SAID IT). And I love that one of the most over the top icons of dudebro video games encourages tears and emotional expression in a culture where now, it’s more important than ever. Also take the time Dante met Lady for instance (The DMC leading lady I actually ship Dante with because she DOESN’T look like his mom). Lady (named Mary before she discarded her old life) sought to destroy demonic forces because of how power drunk her father, Arkham, became as he dabbled to the point that he killed Mary’s mother. She had a bad first impression, and as such, as hostile to Dante when they first met. For that matter, encountering the much colder Vergil certainly didn’t help matters. However, Dante helped her come to terms with her new life--even christening her with a new name somewhat on accident (“Whatever you say, lady!”) and ridding Arkham of the power he stole from Sparda, allowing Lady to have her cathartic final blow of revenge.

This isn’t to say Dante is just everyone’s therapist--he could never bring himself to truly harm Vergil the way Mary could Arkham, and in a way this holds him back, damning himself to a life of fighting him over and over and Vergil to an existence where he has his brainwashed pursuing Mundus. As confident as Dante is, this indecisiveness is a great burden and crutch. And hey, Dante is just plain cool as hell. He slays demons while eating pizza, surfs on flying missiles, and steals the essence of the demons he slays as new weapons to wield in battle, which is a trope I love in video games. Devil May Cry has an emphasis on rewarding a player for being stylish, and whether its combo-ing a demon into the air with a scythe or catching a bullet mids-hot with his teeth, Dante never fails to disappoint. A lot of heroes have to sacrifice the capacity for kindness to look cool and remain a power fantasy, which there’s certainly a place in fiction for. But Dante proves a perfect blend and balance can exist. There’s little to nothing I’d call mean spirited about the still badass demon hunter Dante--the best possible way to keep is stylish.