Post Dmc5 Where Vergil Would Rather Take His Insatiable Twin On A Lovely Bonding Trip Than Paying For

[rupaul voice] three divas stand before me

One thing I've always enjoyed about Vergil is that the games make you like him and root for him as a character... but not because he's right. It's not because he's noble. It's not even because he's traumatized. It's because he's Dante's brother.

Vergil is kind of terrible. He's done a lot of terrible things. The game doesn't even try to dispute that. You are not supposed to see Vergil as a heroic figure. Yet we still root for him because Dante, our PoV character, roots for him. Dante loves his brother. He wants his brother to succeed. We see how Vergil's absence crushes Dante. He never truly gets over it.

To Dante, Vergil is the person you love even though sometimes you just can't stand them, and maybe despite the fact that they've hurt you, because they're so important to you that you can't imagine life without them. He is the person you watch destroy themselves over and over, knowing there's nothing you can do to stop it, and you feel a piece of yourself break every single time the cycle repeats. Even if we, as players, may not see that or feel that for Vergil (at least, not right away), it's clear that Dante does.

And I can't emphasize enough how relatable and human that experience is. I think we've all been there in one way or another with someone in our lives. If we haven't, then I'm sure we've all watched a friend or family member go through that with someone they've loved.

He really doesn't need to be anything grander than that. He's not secretly right or noble. In fact, he's dead wrong about a lot. Yet we're still on Vergil's side because when he overcomes, when he finds his peace, when he becomes the person Dante hoped he could be, then Dante finds peace as well.

And we all want a world where the people we love can find their peace, and we can find our peace with them.

フリクリ

Odd couple on a date (Kamikaze Girls movie frame redraw)

My favorite thing about Dante and Vergil is just how they constantly match each other's energy. Like I know DMC5 is a lot more explicit about how Vergil is a silly lil guy underneath the veneer of seriousness, but I wanted to highlight a few of the Vergil lines/exchanges/moments from DMC3 that demonstrate... yeah he was kinda always like this

From right before the first Vergil fight in DMC3:

Dante: You sure know how to throw a party. No food, no drinks, and the only babe just left. Vergil: My sincerest apologies, brother. I was so eager to see you I couldn't concentrate on the preparations for the bash.

I find this one especially fun because pretty much every other boss you fight in DMC (like the entire series) just gets huffy and angry and yells about annihilating Sparda or something. Vergil is probably one of the few major bosses that snarks back

2. After Vergil gets Beowulf he does the Dante thing of playing around with his new weapon

3. From right before the second Vergil fight:

Dante: It doesn't matter to me one way or the other. More importantly, I've come all this way. I'm sure you have time for one more game… right Vergil: Why not? After all we share the same blood… I'll just use more of yours to undo daddy's little spell.

Something about "daddy's little spell" is just so irreverent and funny

4. From right after the second Vergil fight:

Vergil: It is time for the clown to bow out, Arkham. Dante: Dude, the show's over!

To me it comes off like Dante's spring-boarding off of Vergil's theater metaphor that with the "show's over!" line. Vergil set him up for that one

5. This bit at the start of the Arkham fight which Vergil was NOT present for:

Dante: Dude, my father wasn't so hideous. Can't you tell by looking at me? Anyway that shape suits you better. Let's begin the main event!

Followed by this exchange midway through the fight:

Dante: Look at you, making a big dramatic entrance and stealing my spotlight. Vergil: Well... You don't possibly believe that he deserves to be our main event now do you?

Vergil wasn't exactly present for Dante's "let's begin the main event!" line, which means he just came up with the same thing completely independently? That, or he was watching and just decided to wait for the most dramatic possible moment to jump in. Either way, it adds silly lil guy points (either for being just like his brother or for timing a dramatic entrance)

6. Same fight scene, the finger waggle Vergil does as he says "You should come to realize you cannot control the power of Sparda."

7. The classic:

But also the way Vergil immediately knows exactly what Dante is talking about when he says "Remember what we used to say?" and he smiles about it

guess whos returning to their old hyperfixation 🤓👈

I can feel you out there

Devil May Cry animated series is coming out in April 2025!!!

X | instagram

"The saturation of your presence used to cause irritation--now I know true agony is watching your color leave."

can we appreciate this dyke ass suit Lady wears to pick up Trish? shes dressed up for their date