is a character and the main antagonist of Devil May Cry, an action-adventure game series created by Japanese developer and publisher Capcom. Vergil is the older twin brother and archenemy of the series' original protagonist, Dante, and the father of current series protagonist Nero. He was introduced in the first Devil May Cry game as a boss called . Vergil is one of two devil-human hybrid sons of one of the devil lords called Sparda, and possesses demonic powers. A re-booted portrayal of Vergil also appears in the 2013 video game DmC: Devil May Cry as the leader of a group of rogue vigilantes bent on stopping the demon king, Mundus. In the main continuity, Vergil is portrayed in voice acting and motion capture by Daniel Southworth.
Vergil was originally portrayed as Nelo Angelo—Dante's rival in terms of moves and appearance—in the 2001 game. Despite the character's apparent death as a child, Devil May Cry director Hideki Kamiya allowed Devil May Cry 3 writer Bingo Morihashi to change this event so Vergil could be featured as a young adult in the prequel game. Many of the series' characters were named after characters in Italian poet Dante Alighieri's poem Divine Comedy; Vergil was named after Virgil.
The character has been well received by video game publications, several of which praised his role as a boss, and his playable inclusion in the special editions of Devil May Cry. His redesign for Ninja Theory's reboot was the subject of praise, finding him more appealing than Dante.
Creation and concept
Vergil's name was taken from Dante Alighieri's poem the Divine Comedy. The alias Nelo Angelo is a mis-translation of "Nero Angelo" ("Black Angel" in Italian). The misspelling has been maintained throughout the series, including in the novels, due to its popularity. In the original Devil May Cry game, Vergil is said to have been killed by demons early in his life, and his soul is controlled by Mundus. Capcom staff writer Bingo Morihashi wanted to create an alternate scenario in which Vergil was alive, and he was given freedom by Hideki Kamiya to adjust the character's backstory and make Vergil a living teenager for the events of Devil May Cry 3. While his character was designed by Daigo Ikeno for Devil May Cry 3, his Devil Trigger form was created by Kazuma Kaneko. Because no design for Vergil except that of his alter-ego Nelo Angelo existed, Morihashi was put in charge of designing his appearance. Most of Capcom's staff believed Vergil was Morihashi's favorite character. Morihashi stated that the idea of Vergil wielding a Japanese sword, called a Yamato, existed in a previous design. Vergil does not wield guns, unlike Dante; Morihashi said that Vergil's characterization was challenging because, being the older twin brother, he was intended to be more likable than Dante. In addition, the fifth installment of the Devil May Cry series contains an enemy class known as Angelo, based on Nelo Angelo. These enemies are referred to as: Scudo Angelo, a shielded infantry-demon; Proto Angelo, A great-sword wielding demon, and finally, Cavaliere Angelo, which is meant to completely recreate and improve on Nelo Angelo. All 3 of these look similar to Nelo Angelo. As Vergil is hateful of Nelo Angelo, his human counterpart, V, seems to also have some hatred towards them.
The character was made playable in Devil May Cry 3: Special Edition due to extra time the team had after the making of the game. Capcom had to remove some of his moves due to space limitations, but tried keeping the moves he uses when faced as a boss. His move set was made to reflect his calm personality, contrasting with Dante's brash confidence. Vergil was made stronger than Dante, but harder to control, with the player having to learn more moves. Vergil became a popular character among the game's development team; Hideaki Itsuno stated that he was also well received in the United States because several characters from Hollywood films wield a katana. Vergil's popularity resulted in Itsuno discussing ideas for a game focused on Vergil. The team also wanted to add alternate skins for him, such as a Nelo Angelo outfit. Itsuno also planned to add Vergil to Devil May Cry 4, just as in the previous game. When reconsidering whether Vergil could be reskinned, however, the staff thought the fanbase would not like it.
While not making a direct appearance Devil May Cry 4'''s main storyline, Vergil is revealed to be the father of the game's protagonist, Nero, who possesses Vergil's traits and abilities. Nero would eventually learn this when meeting Vergil in Devil May Cry 5, redesigned to slightly resemble his father. For Devil May Cry 5, Itsuno wanted to portray a villain who would be not be taken lightly by Dante or Nero. The staff found Vergil the best candidate, due to the power he had demonstrated throughout the series, and his relation with the protagonists. The staff wanted to generate a major emotional scene when Vergil reappears in the climax confronting his brother. As a result, the brothers' feud is stopped by Nero who awakens his own demon powers to face his father.
Designs Makoto Tsuchibayashi designed Nelo Angelo as a rival for Dante. Unlike other enemy demons from Devil May Cry, Nelo Angelo did not have original movements for the 3D environment; the game designers used those of Dante. Unlike Dante, Nelo Angelo does not have guns; he was instead provided with a projectile move called to make him stand out. The staff had no problems using the projectiles for the character because the model did not change. Makoto Tsuchibayashi originally aimed to show Vergil in human form with Kamiya supporting his ideas of how the two characters were going to contrast each other.
Ikeno stated that because Vergil and Dante are identical twins, they share a hairstyle in the opening of the game, intended to make new players confuse them. Vergil's clothing was meant to contrast with his brother's; similarly, Nelo Angelo's design was prominently blue while Dante's was red. The staff had problems with the creation of Vergil's outfit because of the way it moved in 3D computer graphics; they joked that Vergil should remove his coat whenever he starts fighting. In order to generate major contrasts between the two brothers, Vergil was given blue clothing as Dante always wore red. Omori did the character's first CGI artwork which was approved by Capcom. From there Daigo Ikeno took over, with Omori believing his work aged well. Like other characters, Vergil's face used a real model; character art designers Hirochika Nagaki and Keiji Nakaoka said Vergil's new 3D model portrayed him the exact same way the production team imagined him. Nero's relationship with Dante and Vergil was inspired by mecha anime Itsuno watched.
Composer Casey Edwards said in a tweet that "Bury the Light", the character's theme song for Devil May Cry 5, was meant to be a reflection of "Devil Trigger" and that as "Nero chose to "embrace the darkness" and accept his demon side", Vergil instead "has always tried to bury his humanity as it is a great source of personal pain and memory of weakness". When Capcom first conceived Devil May Cry 5: Special Edition, the first upgrade for the game would have been the inclusion of Vergil as a playable character, with a new fighting style previously unseen.
Reboot inclusion In the making of the reboot DmC: Devil May Cry by Ninja Theory, the Capcom team felt Ninja Theory appeared to like the original design of Vergil because he was mostly unchanged, unlike Dante. They found his personality colder-hearted because of his violent actions, such as killing demons. Itsuno enjoyed Vergil's personality and said across the story he became the Vergil from the original series because of his corrupted growth. Alex Jones from Ninja Theory said bringing Vergil into the story was necessary because it was meant to explain Dante's origins and affects Vergil's characterization because the characters are brothers. Despite making multiple changes to the original series, Jones refrained from mentioning them during an interview conducted before the release of the game. Vergil's agenda in the game is one of the main themes of the story; satire. Vergil works for an organization known as The Order, which attempts to rebel against the world portrayed in the game.
During the making of DmC, Ninja Theory aimed to give the player a co-op mode with Vergil assisting Dante but it did not make it to the game. As a result, the team decided to use Vergil as the single player character from the downloadable content Vergil's Downfall. He was decided to play more smooth than Dante despite sharing multiple similarities like the grappling hook both characters show in order to do platforming.
Voice actors
Although Nelo Angelo does not talk in Devil May Cry, the sounds he makes were made by David Keeley.
In Devil May Cry 3, Vergil was voiced by Daniel Southworth, who said he had been cast quickly and also performed the motion capture. Itsuno, who initially doubted the completion of Vergil's character, was surprised by Southworth's work and said, "it showed a respect for authentic Japanese swordsmanship, but balanced with a slightly rough, wild style that perfectly fit Vergil's profile of a Western man using a Japanese sword". When being cast to voice Vergil, Southworth was aware of the character's history and had a knowledge of samurai culture, which allowed him to give a good performance. According to the game's development staff, Southworth's knowledge about the samurai allowed him to fit well into Vergil's character in terms of voice and motion capture. When describing Vergil, Southworth stated that while he often appears to be calm, the audience would notice he shows signs of rage. Southworth found the motion-capturing the action scenes challenging and said these were his favorite parts of his work for the game. He said he was honored to repeat his work for the fighting game Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3.
David de Lautour voiced Vergil in the reboot of the Devil May Cry series. De Lautour enjoyed finding out about Vergil's mannerisms and posture, labeling him a "great character".
Vergil was voiced in Japanese for the first time in Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3. The voice actor Hiroaki Hirata was chosen by the developers of both Devil May Cry team and Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3. Ryota Niitsuma, the producer of Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3, and producer Hiroyuki Kobayashi found Hirata's voice suitable for Vergil.
Robbie Daymond voices the character in the Netflix series.
Characteristics Vergil is Dante's older twin brother; they are sons of a demon named Sparda and a human named Eva. Vergil is half-demon, which gives him superhuman abilities. He is more serious about his training than Dante. He has a cold, calm, and introverted demeanor, as opposed to Dante's arrogant, thrill-seeking, and outgoing nature. Both characters enjoy fighting; Vergil values the power gained from Sparda, without which he would be unable to protect anything. Vergil's main weapon is a katana named , inherited from Sparda. As Nelo Angelo, Vergil wears black armor with a cape while using a wide, blue sword, retaining his sense of honor despite being a slave to Mundus's will.
Appearances
Devil May Cry main series In the first Devil May Cry game, Vergil is said to have been separated from his family at the hands of the Demon King Mundus. He appears in the game as Nelo Angelo, a dark knight under Mundus's control who attacks Dante three times, with the third encounter revealing his identity."Demon's Legacy: Nelo Angelo," GameInformer 179 (March 2008): 112. At the end of the game, Nelo Angelo appears to explode, leaving his half of an amulet his mother gave him and Dante as children behind.