Sparda

The demon knight who turned on Mundus and fathered Dante and Vergil.

Sparda is the legendary demon swordsman behind the whole Devil May Cry series and the father of Dante and Vergil. Once the strongest warrior and right-hand man of the demon emperor Mundus, he turned against his master two thousand years before the games, defeated Mundus and his armies on his own and sealed the demon world away from humanity.

That victory cost him most of his strength. To shut the gate, he poured his demonic power into his sword and sealed himself in along with it, so that in later centuries he was more a legend than a fighting force.

Quick Facts

Type

Demon

Wife

Eva

Sons

Dante, Vergil

Weapons

Force Edge (Sparda)
Yamato
Luce and Ombra

Enemy

Mundus

Facts from the source article.

Background

Sparda's seals shape much of the series. He closed the Temen-ni-gru with his own blood, the blood of a human priestess who was Lady's ancestor, his sword and an amulet, and he left demons such as Cerberus, Agni and Rudra, Beowulf and Leviathan inside the tower as its gatekeepers. He sealed a second path to the underworld on Fortuna with the Yamato and, according to legend, ruled that island for a time as its feudal lord before vanishing; the Order of the Sword later grew up around his worship there.

In the twentieth century he met a human woman, Eva, who bore him the twins Dante and Vergil. He trained the boys and gave them their swords, Rebellion and Yamato, and died at some point under circumstances the games never explain. His power lives on in his bloodline, and many of the series' villains chase his weapons, the Force Edge above all, hoping to claim the strength he gave up.

In the first Devil May Cry, Dante takes on Sparda's demon form during the final battle with Mundus, and a 'Legendary Dark Knight' costume, unlocked by clearing Hard mode, lets players fight as Sparda himself, with his guns Luce and Ombra in place of Ebony and Ivory.