Vergil (Devil May Cry)

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 Summoned Swords (幻影刀, Gen'eitō, lit. "Phantom Sword") to make him stand out. The staff had no problems using the projectiles for the character because the model did not change.[12] Makoto Tsuchibayashi originally aimed to show Vergil in human form with Kamiya supporting his ideas how the two characters were going to contrast each other.[13]

Ikeno stated that because Vergil and Dante are identical twins, they share a hairstyle in the opening of the game, which was 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.[6] In order to generate major contrasts between the two brothers, Vergil was given blue clothing as Dante always wore red.[14] 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 across the years.[15] Like other characters, Vergil's face used a real model; Capcom said how he really portrayed Vergil the exact same way the production team imagined him.[16] Nero's relationship with Dante and Vergil was inspired by a mecha anime Itsuno watched as a child. Vergil was based on the protagonist's missing father who makes a sudden appearance with a giant robot that targets his family: Nero and Dante.[17]

Casey Edwards, who composed Vergil's battle theme "Bury the Light" for Devil May Cry 5, said in a tweet that the character's theme song was meant to be a reflection of "Devil Trigger", just as how Nero is a reflection of Vergil. As Nero chose to "embrace the darkness" and embrace the demon inside of him, Vergil has always tried to bury the human side of himself, as he sees it as a great source of personal pain and memory of weakness.[18] When Capcom first conceived Devil May Cry 5: Special Edition, the first upgrade the game would have been the inclusion of Vergil as a playable character but with a new fighting style previously unseen in the series.[19]

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.[6] 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 that was conducted before the release of the game.[20] 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.[21]

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.[22]

Although Nelo Angelo does not talk in Devil May Cry, the sounds he makes were made by David Keeley.[23] 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".[24] 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.[24]

David de Lautour voiced Vergil in the reboot of the Devil May Cry series.[25] De Lautour enjoyed finding out about Vergil's mannerisms and posture, labeling him a "great character".[26] 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. As with Devil May Cry 3: Special Edition, Vergil was designed to be played in a similar way to Dante, albeit with several differences to make both characters unique.[27]

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.[32] He appears in the game as Nelo Angelo, a dark knight under Mundus's control who attacked Dante three times with the third encounter revealing his identity to his brother.[33] 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.[34]

Vergil plays a bigger role in Devil May Cry 3: Dante's Awakening, a prequel to the first game where he sought the power of his father, Sparda. Vergil allied himself with a man named Arkham and seeks Dante's amulet to use with his own to create a gate leading to the demon world.[35] Vergil defeats Dante when he refuses to assist him and takes his brother's amulet, only to be betrayed as Arkham used the brothers' animosity for each while exploiting Lady's vendetta against him in his own scheme to take Sparda's power for himself.[36] This convinces the brothers to set aside their differences in a temporary ceasefire to stop Arkham together.[37] Once the brothers defeated Arkham, Vergil remains in the Demon World after losing to Dante in a final duel.[38] Soon after, Vergil would encounter Mundus and attack him in the fight that led to his conversion into Nelo Angelo.[39] In the game's updated version Devil May Cry 3: Special Edition, Vergil is a playable character, with him playing exactly the same missions as Dante. When playing as Vergil during missions that have him as a boss character, the player fights a red-clad version of Vergil.[40]

In Devil May Cry 4, the Order of the Sword uses remains of Nelo Angelo to create the Alto and Bianco Angelos—artificial demons consisting of a suit of armor powered by a human or demon's soul.[31][41] Vergil's sword Yamato ends up in the possession of Nero, who is Vergil's son and descendant of Sparda. Vergil appears as a playable character in Devil May Cry 4: Special Edition,[42] with his chapter took place before the third game, which includes a scene of Vergil walking through Fortuna Island to investigate the trace which his father Sparda left behind while fighting demons that have invaded the area, as well as the Order of the Sword's true intentions.[43]

In Devil May Cry 5, Vergil finds Nero and rips his Devil Bringer arm off to reclaim the Yamato so he can use its power to heal himself.[44] Vergil then returns to his childhood home in Red Grave City where he proceeds to use Yamato to purge his humanity from his being. This results in him being split into two beings: the full-blooded demon Urizen, who grows a Qliphoth Tree so he can eat its fruit and become king of the Underworld, and V, a frail man who enlists Dante and Nero into helping him stop Urizen.[45][46][47] After Dante defeats Urizen, V absorbs him and reconstitutes Vergil.[48] Once whole, Vergil engages Dante in a duel to the death, but Nero, now revealed to be his son,[49] intervenes.[50] Following Vergil's defeat at the hands of his son,[51] he and Dante decide to leave to the underworld to cut the Qliphoth's roots to stop its growing and then use the Yamato to seal the portal to the underworld. Knowing it will leave them trapped, they entrust Nero to watch over the human world in their absence.[52] After cutting Qliphoth's roots and sealing the portal, Dante and Vergil are shown fighting in the underworld not as enemies but as friendly rivals while at the same time fending off various waves of demons.[53]

Vergil also appears in the Yunchang Games's 2020 mobile phone game Devil May Cry: Pinnacle of Combat, reprising his role from Devil May Cry 3.[54][55]

In Ninja Theory's 2013 game, DmC: Devil May Cry, Vergil appears as the leader of The Order—a group of rogue vigilantes trying to free the world from demons. He takes Dante back to their childhood home to reveal their connection to each other and persuades him to contribute to the destruction of Mundus.[56][57] While Vergil completes his part of the plan in the human world, he tasks Dante with battling his way through limbo. Eventually, Vergil uses the power of the Yamato to seal the Hell Gate and cut off Mundus' source of power. After defeating Mundus, he reveals his true intention; to rule the world with Dante.[58] Vergil is fought as the final boss of the game. After being defeated, Vergil escapes through a portal.[59] Vergil is also a playable character in DmC: Devil May Cry through the Vergil's Downfall DLC. The DLC takes place after the events of the main game; it follows Vergil's quest for power following his defeat.[60] Vergil travels through Hell and replaces Mundus as the new Demon King.[61]

In the novels by Shinya Goikeda, Vergil appears as a mercenary using the alias Gilver, a tall man swathed in bandages. He becomes a partner of Dante because both hunt multiple demons. In the novel's climax, however, Gilver confronts Dante in a duel and perishes; Dante learns in his final moments that Gilver is his brother.[62] In the second novel, Vergil appears as Nelo Angelo, who is leading a revolution against Mundus in an alternate dimension and allying with his brother.[63] The Devil May Cry 3 manga by Suguro Chayamachi is set a year before the events of the game; Vergil is told by Arkham of a route to the demons' world and starts planning.[64] In the Devil May Cry comics by Dreamwave Productions, Nelo Angelo chooses to serve under Mundus, stating his past self no longer exists. When facing Dante, however, he starts remembering his past, which makes him conflicted about fighting him.[65]

Vergil is also mentioned several times in the novel adaptation of Devil May Cry 4; Dante is often reminded of his brother when seeing Nero but states that Vergil is dead.[66] The light novel Devil May Cry 5 Before the Nightmare and the manga Visions of V explore the character's actions between his appearances.[67][68] He is also the leading character in Guillaume Dorison's two-part comic series DmC: Devil May Cry: The Chronicles of Vergil, which follows Vergil and is set before the start of the reboot's story. The comic series tells the story of Vergil and Kat's meeting and their formation of the Order to defeat the demons.[69][70]

Vergil also appears as a playable character in the crossover fighting game Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3.[71] He is also a character card in SNK vs. Capcom: Card Fighter DS.[72] His Devil May Cry 3 outfit is available in the Capcom game Sengoku Basara 4 for Mitsunari Ishida.[73] Vergil appears as a playable character in the tactical role-playing video game Project X Zone 2 with Dante as his partner. Nelo Angelo appears as a boss unit because the Vergil who partners with Dante is actually a time-displaced version of Vergil that originated before the Devil May Cry 3 event. Whether the time-displaced Vergil meets Nelo, his devil power is lingering because of Nelo's presence, although Vergil is not aware Nelo is his present self.[74] In the Sengoku Basara vs. Devil May Cry stage show, Vergil was portrayed by Shōhei Namba and Tomokazu Yoshida portrayed Nelo Angelo.[75] Additionally, he appears in the cardgame Teppen.[76]