Who is Dante’s Brother in Devil May Cry? What Happened to Him?

‘Devil May Cry,’ Netflix’s action-fantasy animated show, follows the story of a demon hunter who is destined for great things. Some of Earth’s warriors, who fight from within the shadows, are used to an occasional demonic breach between their world and hell’s domain. However, no one is prepared for the White Rabbit, a mysterious new adversary who has great plans for pandemonium. As the demonic being sets out on a mission to open the Gates of Hell—a feat for which he needs Dante’s sole family heirloom—it puts the hunter in the path of DarkCom, a secret interdimensional organization. After a precarious partnership forms between him and DarkCom’s most capable Lieutenant Mary Arkham, the duo finds themselves unraveling Hell’s most coveted secrets, including the truth about Dante’s long-dead brother, Vergil. SPOILERS AHEAD!

Dante Lost His Brother, Vergil, in a Demon Attack

While many people go their entire lives oblivious to the demonic dimension and its connection to Earth, Dante learned about it at a devastatingly early age. He grew up in his mother’s care, beside his older brother, Vergil. Although neither brother knew of their part demonic heritage, one fateful day still brought misery to their doors because of the same. During the attack, Dante’s mother was only barely able to save her youngest son by hiding him away while demonic creatures lay the family’s house to waste in a tragic fire. Thus, while the young boy was able to survive the attack, he lost his mother and Vergil to the tragedy. For the same reason, he swore to rid the world of demon-blooded creatures by becoming a demon hunter.

However, it isn’t long before Dante makes the startling discovery about the demon blood running in his own veins. After the Rabbit seeks him out to steal his necklace—a gift from the hunter’s mother—it puts the man on Arkham’s radar. As she witnesses his incredible strength and superhuman healing abilities, she concludes that he must be at least part demon. As such, Dante, who has so far ignored his more inhuman abilities, finally contemplates his own parentage and discovers that he’s the son of Sparda, the Demon Knight. Thousands of years ago, when the Hellish realm of Makai and Earth were one and the same, Sparda served under Mundus—the Demon King.

However, in time, Sparda began disagreeing with the latter’s mission of enslaving humans for their own benefit. Consequently, Sparda turned on his King and fought for the humans. Ultimately, he used his sword, the Force Edge, to create a barrier between Makai and Earth, forever shutting the two realms off from each other. In the aftermath, the Knight himself disappeared. As the millenniums grated on this barrier, minor rifts began manifesting in the wall, allowing low-level demons to pass through. As such, to take revenge on Sparda for his treachery, Mundus sent his own demons after the Knight’s family, laying waste to their lives. Although Dante is oblivious to this history and his connection to it for most of his life, he eventually learns about it through the Rabbit, who needs certain things from the hunter to undo his father’s worlds-altering actions.

Vergil Survived the Demon Attack and Endured an Unexpected Future

Although Dante believes the demon attack on his childhood home killed his mother and older brother, the same doesn’t turn out to be true. In the aftermath of the attack, Dante was indeed left alone and without a family to rely on. However, much of the same fate awaited Vergil, who his hellish assailants apparently took away. Consequently, much like Dante, Vergil also grew up all alone, only on Makai instead of Earth. However, his upbringing set him up for a vastly different future. On the other realm, the environment is so toxic that even some of the lesser-powered demons can’t survive its negative effects. Furthermore, Sparda’s barrier only serves to stoke the strength of those like Mundus, allowing them to have greater control over the world.

Thus, it wasn’t possible for Vergil to survive on the planet in his human state. Eventually, the boy ends up having to accept his demonic part as his true self—much like how Dante usually defaults to his human state. From there, Vegil continued to live out his days on Makai, doing whatever it took to survive. Once the Rabbit emerges with his plans of converging the two realms back together, the son of Sparda supports his plans. Thus, he supplies him with two of the crucial ingredients for his mission—the Force Edge pendant his mother had given him and a vial of his own blood. Although he tries to keep his identity as Sparda’s son a secret in Makai, this transaction gives away his true identity. As the story ends, Vergil’s fate remains tied to the hellish realm, as it becomes occupied by the US government. Surprisingly enough, the young demon is fighting in Mundus’ name, which is bound to lead him to conflict once he inevitably reunites with Dante.