Thy own humanity learn to adore.

Welcome to my Vergil shrine, where I will be putting all my cringe thoughts and feelings for this emotionally constipated eldest daughter with mommy issues. He's just like me fr.

Vergil is a character and the main antagonist in Capcom's action/adventure series, Devil May Cry. Vergil is the older twin brother and archenemy of the series protagonist, Dante and the father of current series protagonist, Nero. I will try my best to summarize him in chronological order of the manga/games but I can't make any promises. There's a lot of ground to cover and in classic Capcom fashion, shit is all over the place and debatably canonical. Apologies in advance for the nightmarishly long wall of text...

Vergil and Dante are the children of a human woman named Eva and a demon known as Sparda, a legendary Dark Knight that betrayed his own kind for the sake of humanity. As a child, Vergil was raised alongside Dante in a secluded home in Red Grave City. He was the quieter and more bookish of the two. He was particularly fond of poetry, especially William Blake's works, a fondness that stayed with him to adulthood(remember this). Despite his quieter nature, he shared an intense sibling rivalry with Dante and often fought with him, much to their mother's ire. In the Visions of V manga, Eva puts emphasis on Vergil being the big brother and needing to be the more mature of the two and tells him he needs to resist Dante's instigating to fight, despite Vergil's multiple attempts(unseen) to tell Dante no and avoid him. If he's anything like the Oldest Child(TM) I am, I think he resented being expected to bear the brunt of responsibility/maturity while the younger sibling is often excused for their shitty behavior simply for being... younger. Especially condsidering he and Dante are probably mere minutes apart.

Before their eighth birthday, Eva gifted the twins two halves of an amulet, known as the Perfect Amulet. Very incredible name, I know. This amulet will play a large role in Vergil's life, but we will get to that later. Some point after this, Sparda disappears and later dies. We have no idea how, because Capcom never tells us. I guess half the fun of him is the mystery though, so... yeah. Sparda’s absence leaves Eva and the twins vulnerable, something that does not go unnoticed. Mundus acts swiftly, sending his minions to eliminate the last remnants of Sparda’s legacy.

When Mundus’s legion attack the Sparda family home, Vergil is at a nearby park after a particularly nasty fight with Dante (in other iterations, he is in a cemetery but I am going to go with the most recent information we have as canonical fact), where he is attacked by several demons. As he runs, he realizes that his mother and Dante are home, unaware of the hoard just outside. Being the good son that he is, he runs home to attempt to warn/protect them. He arrives to see his home in flames, the shock of which leaves him vulnerable to attack. He is swiftly cut down and stabbed multiple times.

This attack awakens Vergil’s inner demon and summons his beloved Yamato to his side. With this new found power, he makes short work of the demons. Believing himself abandoned by his mother and brother, Vergil runs from his home and into a lifetime of abandonment and mommy issues that will haunt him well into adulthood. Leave before you’re left, only rely on yourself etc. etc. etc.

So he took his wings, and fled, then the morn blushed rosy red, I dried my tears, and armed my fears, with ten thousand shields and spears.

We meet Vergil again in the city of Fortuna, many years later. I don't think we know his age in any game other than 3 but, I believe he is around 17-18 in his DMC4 appearance, since it takes place sometime before 3, in which he is aged 19. This is pure speculation but, it seems to be the popular consensus among fans. Anyway, Vergil has become obsessed with power, specifically gaining more of it. To what end, I'm not even sure he knows but I think he tells himself it's to protect himself(and secretly, i think, to make up for the family he failed to protect). In his quest for power, he has become obsessed with his demonic lineage and is researching information on his father, Sparda. This quest for knowledge leads him to Fortuna, where Sparda is being worshiped as a god.

During his time in the city, he meets a woman. We know less than nothing about her other than that she is a member of the religious cult worshiping Sparda. Devil May Cry is really bad about having like. little to no explanations for things in favor of having a ton of really corny, over-the-top action sequences. While I enjoy the mystery surrounding the woman that charmed Vergil's heart, I wish we knew more about her. I love when emotionally guarded characters meet someone that gets past their icy exteriors and worms their way into their hearts, even if it's only for a brief moment. Vergil, someone who deems himself so above humanity and their simple, base desires falling for and having a sexually intimate relationship with a human is sooooo much fun to think about. During his brief affair with this mysterious woman, he unknowingly sires Nero (#TeenMom). Before he can discover he has a son, he leaves Fortuna and his beloved in search of more power that he is so desperate for.

And his dark secret love
Does thy life destroy.

When Vergil is 19, he finds himself back in Red Grave City. He's still researching daddy dearest and while doing so he comes into contact with a man named Arkham. Arkham is obsessed with the Black Arts and, unbeknownst to Vergil, becoming a God. For some reason Vergil lies to Arkham about what he's truly looking for when Arkham asks if he's reading Sparda's legacy. I think this is another self-preservation, only trust yourself tactic but his tone throughout the cut scene in the library with Arkham is strange... He seems subdued, withdrawn, almost melancholy. Is he missing Nero’s mother? Growing weary in his search for power? I like to speculate but I guess we will never know for sure. He’s lived a lifetime at 19 and I personally think its wearing on him already. Little does he know it can get so much fucking worse. But it’s okay, he’s about to find out!

During the time he spends with Arkham, the two concoct a plan to raise the Temen-Ni-Gru. It’s a legendary, unholy tower dedicated to evil and within the tower is the true gateway to the demon world... This tower was originally sealed by Sparda thousands of years ago. When Sparda sealed the tower he also willing sealed away his own powers alongside it. Those powers are what Vergil and Arkham are after and so they begin breaking the seals to raise the Temen-Ni-Gru.

Again, Vergil’s tone is weird throughout these scenes. He is still reserved, withdrawn. His tone is not like this in the rest of the game. It’s cocky, resolute, and sometimes almost playful. He’s sure of himself, of what he’s done. Before they raise the tower it’s like he’s trying to convince himself this is the sure path. When he closes his eyes, bows his head and says "It begins..." it sounds like he's bracing himself for the worst. Maybe he is. While Vergil breaks the seven seals of the tower, Arkham pays a visit to Dante to ensure he still has his half of the perfect amulet.

Needless to say, Vergil and Arkham are successful in raising the Temen-Ni-Gru and Arkham was able to confirm that Dante still has his amulet.

As the tower rises, Dante ponders what fun Vergil has in store for him since they last met over a year ago. He’s referencing the prelude manga for DMC3, which I believe has been partially retconned so I’m gonna be skipping over it. Or Vergil was 17 when he was in Fortuna, 18 when the manga took place, and 19 during DMC3, which is fully possible but. Only Capcom knows and they aren’t giving us a solid timeline so. I’m skipping it.

As Vergil broods on the edge of the tower’s peak, Arkham goes on an insanely long winded monologue about how wonderfully evil the tower is and Vergil hits him with a swift #idgaf. He only cares if Dante has his half of the amulet, which Arkham confirms he does and that he's taking good care of it, since it's the only momento they have left of their mother. Again, Vergil's voice is strange to me here. He's gruffer and colder but he still has this melancholic tone. Vergil ponders his own amulet and I can’t help but wonder why he held onto it for so long after believing his mother had left him for dead. It’s not like he’d always known it’s true purpose, for a long while it was just a birthday gift from his mom that he loved. Lots to think about. Vergil gives us more moments to ponder with the amulet again later so I will move away from it for now.

Later, Vergil does more brooding on the tower's edge. They're literally just waiting for Dante to bring the amulet to them at this point so I like to imagine Vergil had more than enough time to ponder many different things, including Lady's presence in the tower. He seems very Knowing when he tells Arkham they have an uninvited guest and I know this was Vergil testing to see if Arkham would confess to knowing her, which he does. Arkham also hits us with a line that has inspired probably some of the worst iterations of Vergil's character that I have had tthe misfortune to witness (looking at you 2025 DMC anime!) "A storm is approaching." Vergil side eyes him in a way that I can only describe as "???" as he leaves to confront Lady.

When Dante finally makes it to the top of the tower, he and Vergil share some snide remarks. Just putting this out here right now to get it out of the way, I hate Dante. He's annoying and drives me insane. That being said, DMC3/DMC1 are my favorite iterations of his character. Probably ironic considering I like Leon and Dante was originally going to be Leon but oh my god the never ending one-liners and never letting a moment linger are so. yeah. Anyway, Vergil and Dante fight. He questions Dante on why he’s so reluctant to embrace their demonic heritage and Dante makes another joke and tries to attack Vergil again. Vergil hands Dante his ass on a platter via Yamato through his gut. Vergil hits us with a line that his own son will later repeat. “Without strength, you cannot protect anything. Let alone yourself.” Nice save, dumbass. Almost let it slip you felt powerless to protect your family and instead of having an uncomfortable conversation with your brother about what happened that night, you’re doing all this. Incredible.

Vergil snatches Dante’s locket from him, holds it to his forehead, and in an attempt to cover up this embarrassing display of sentimentality, pretends like he was only slicking his hair back again. Yay.

ADMIT YOU LOVE AND MISS YOUR FAMILY STUPID!

Vergil pulls an “AHHHH PSYCH!” moment on Dante, runs him through, AGAIN, this time with Dante’s own sword the Rebellion. Talk about rubbing salt in the wound... Arkham shows up, asking if Vergil finally has the amulet and he confirms he does and that they can finally break the spell Sparda cast all those years ago. As they leave, Dante’s inner demon is awakened and he tries to attack Vergil again before Arkham interrupts them and tells Vergil to forget it. Vergil hesitates but obeys and they leap off the side of the Temen-ni-gru. Onward to more familial misery.