Vergil

The older twin brother named after Virgil from Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy, known for wielding the Yamato and appearing first as Nelo Angelo.

Vergil is the older twin brother and archenemy of Dante, serving as a main antagonist in the Devil May Cry series created by Capcom. He is one of two devil-human hybrid sons of the devil lord Sparda. First introduced in the original 2001 game under the boss alias Nelo Angelo (a mis-translation of "Nero Angelo" or "Black Angel"), he was later reimagined as a young adult in the prequel Devil May Cry 3 by writer Bingo Morihashi, who adjusted his backstory to keep him alive. Portrayed in voice and motion capture by Daniel Southworth in the main continuity, Vergil is also featured in the 2013 reboot DmC: Devil May Cry as a rogue vigilante leader fighting Mundus.

Quick Facts

First game

Devil May Cry (2001)

Creator

Hideki Kamiya

Motion actor

Daniel Southworth (Devil May Cry 3, 4: Special Edition, & 5); Tim Phillipps (DmC: Devil May Cry)

Species

Cambion

Weapon

Yamato (Katana)

Family

Sparda (father)
Eva (mother)
Dante (twin brother)

Children

Nero (son)

Lore & Background

Vergil's history was significantly altered by Devil May Cry 3 writer Bingo Morihashi, who utilized director Hideki Kamiya's permission to change the character's fate from an apparent childhood death to a living young adult. Named after the poet Virgil from Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy, Vergil contrasts with his brother through his calm personality and refusal to wield guns, instead mastering the Japanese sword Yamato. His design evolved from an alter-ego without original 3D movements in the first game to a fully realized character whose blue coat was intended to contrast Dante's red attire.

The development team initially struggled with the clothing physics, joking he should remove his coat during fights. In Devil May Cry 5, Vergil confronts his son Nero and brother Dante, where the feud is halted by Nero awakening his own demon powers. His theme song "Bury the Light" reflects his attempt to bury humanity as a source of pain, contrasting with Nero's embrace of darkness.

Reader's Guide

To understand Vergil, note his origin as Nelo Angelo in the 2001 game, where he utilized "Summoned Swords" (Gen'eitō) since he did not wield guns. His appearance was designed by Daigo Ikeno for Devil May Cry 3, with Kazuma Kaneko creating his Devil Trigger form. The character class "Angelo" in the fifth installment includes Scudo Angelo, Proto Angelo, and Cavaliere Angelo, all resembling Nelo Angelo; Vergil's human counterpart V shows hatred toward them. Voice actor Daniel Southworth was cast quickly for Devil May Cry 3, bringing knowledge of samurai culture to portray a Western man using a Japanese sword with authentic yet wild style. Hideaki Itsuno noted Vergil's popularity in the US stemmed from Hollywood katana-wielding heroes and discussed ideas for a solo game. For Devil May Cry 5: Special Edition, plans initially included making him playable with a new fighting style.

Did You Know?

The alias 'Nelo Angelo' is a misspelling of the Italian phrase for 'Black Angel' that was kept throughout the series due to its popularity.
In DmC: Devil May Cry, Vergil works for an organization called The Order that attempts to rebel against the demon king Mundus.
Devil May Cry 5 features three enemy classes based on Nelo Angelo: Scudo Angelo, Proto Angelo, and Cavaliere Angelo.