Vergil (Devil May Cry)

"Might controls everything, and without strength you cannot protect anything, let alone yourself."

- Vergil to Dante.

Vergil, later called Nelo Angelo, is one of the main villains of Devil May Cry 3 and a boss in Devil May Cry. He is the twin brother of the protagonist, Dante, and seems designed to be his evil opposite.

Personality
Vergil is the complete opposite of his hotheaded and sarcastic twin, cold, collected, and cynical. He seeks to obtain power by any means, with no regard for what may happen to others. Vergil also embraces his demonic side and hates his human half. He seems to want power so as to make up for his failure to protect his mother, as evidenced by his statement, "Might controls everything, and without strength you cannot protect anything, let alone yourself." Vergil also seems to desire to be like his father, so much so that he tries to look like him and seeks to have his powers.

Before Devil May Cry 3
Very little is known about Vergil's young life, but is implied that he and Dante were close. It was also known that his mother was killed by a demon attack. At least one year before the events of Devil May Cry 3, while looking for a book in a library, he met Arkham, the other main villain of the game. Arkham told Vergil about the Temen-ni-gru, a demonic tower that acted as the gateway between the demon and human world. It was sealed by Sparda after he turned on his demon brethren, using seven seals, represented by fallen angels, that had to be given their names for them to be undone. Vergil stayed in his mansion, while Arkham sought out the names of the seals, also managing to find out that Dante was in town.

Unsealing the Temen-ni-gru
They eventually managed to undo the first seven seals and while Arkham was sent to draw Dante to the tower, Vergil proceeded to the top. There he waited for Dante to arrive, sending Arkham out at one point to deal with Lady, Arkham's daughter and now a demon hunter. Dante eventually arrived and he and Vergil dueled one another, in an epic battle between brothers.

Vergil won that battle and took Dante's half of an amulet, to join it with his own to make the Perfect Amulet, which he needed to unseal the Temen-ni-gru. As he was walking away, Dante's Devil Trigger activated, but Vergil left without finishing their fight, after Arkham stated they had all they needed. They found their way into an area below the tower called the Forbidden Land, until they reached the last door to the Sacrifical Chamber, where they would perform the unsealing ritual. However when Arkham unlocked the door, Vergil revealed he knew Arkham planned to betray him and cut him down. The half-demon proceeded to the Sacrifical Chamber and commenced with the ritual, after being attacked by the blinded Beowulf, a demon Dante had faced earlier. Since Beowulf could no longer see, he had used his sense of smell to find Sparda's blood and thought he had found Dante. However Vergil easily vivisected the demon and took his soul to use as a Devil Arm. Then the half-demon united the two halves of the Perfect Amulet and added his own blood, which he thought was all he needed to unseal the Temen-ni-gru. However when Dante came across him later, Vergil had had no luck in breaking the seal and the two fought again. They were interrupted by Lady and their battle ended in a tie, only for Jester to show up and say that everyone had played their part well. Jester began switching between Arkham and Jester as he explained that he had used them all for his own ends. He then completed the ritual and activated the Temen-ni-gru, knocking the trio off the rising tower, sending Vergil into an abyss.

Showdown with Dante
Dante followed Arkham into the demonic world, with Vergil following him in secret. Eventually he showed up as Dante battled Arkham, after he claimed Sparda's power, and the half-demon brothers defeated him, finishing him off with a combined shot from Dante's handguns. However, Vergil had not given up his goal of obtaining Force Edge, Sparda's sword, and the two battled over the blade. Vergil was defeated, though he refused to return to the human world, and instead went deeper into the demonic world.

In an epilogue, Vergil was seen in the demonic world, confronting three glowing orbs, which he recognized as Mundus, the antagonist of Devil May Cry. Thinking it would be fun to fight the demon emperor, Vergil stated that, "If my father could it, I should be able to do it too.", before attacking Mundus. However he was defeated and brought under Mundus' control, after being corrupted into a new Devil Trigger, Nelo Angelo.

Serving Mundus
During Devil May Cry, Mundus used Nelo Angelo to fight Dante. He first appeared in a mirror as a reflection of Dante, until he finally emerged and fought his brother in the castle garden. During the fight, Nelo Angelo managed to pin Dante against a wall, but when he saw Dante's half of the Perfect Amulet, it caused him pain upon remembering his past life, and he fled. Nelo Angelo fought Dante again, and then one final time, where Dante questioned his loyalty to Mundus. Nelo Angelo removed his helmet, but Dante didn't realize who he was. Upon his defeat at Dante's hands, the dark knight burst into blue flames and disppeared, leaving his half of the Perfect Amulet behind. Upon seeing this, Dante realized who Nelo Angelo was. It is unknown if he is dead or if he was simply teleported away by Mundus.

Powers and Abilities
Vergil possesses superhuman strength, agility, speed, reflexes, durability and stamina, as well as high-speed regeneration and the power to invoke his Devil Trigger state, which is when his demonic side is fully unleashed. He wields a katana called Yamato that he inheireted from his father, which is a Devil Arm, a weapon made from demonic power. Vergil is a master swordsman and possesses incredible speed, his opponents often not realizing they're dead until he sheathes Yamato. He uses a demonic fighting style known as Dark Slayer style, which lets him teleport. Since he doesn't use firearms, and considers them unworthy of a true warrior, Vergil uses Summoned Swords as long range weapons, which are energy swords resembling the Force Edge. He later gained another Devil Arm, Beowulf, named after the demon he gained it from. It was a set of gauntlets and greaves with light powers, but Vergil lost these after falling into a void, and they were claimed by Dante. Beowulf also gave him a different Devil Trigger, a fact that is true for most Devil Arms.

After becoming Nelo Angelo, Vergil received an enhancement on his powers, though he seemed to lose variety in his fighting style. He could fire demonic energy from his fists, and wielded a large zweihander sword.

Trivia

 * Vergil is named after Publius Vergilius Maro, a famous Roman poet. In the Divine Comedy, the namesake of Vergil's brother, Dante, makes Publius his guide to hell.


 * Vergil is the first Devil May Cry boss to have a playable role in the games. He is also the most recurring boss character in the series, with six total boss battles.
 * Vergil was believed to be the father of Nero, the main protagonist of Devil May Cry 4, and this was confirmed by someone who worked on the Devil May Cry series.
 * Vergil's voice and motion capture actor, Daniel Southworth, previously played Eric Myers, the Quantum Ranger in Power Rangers Time Force, who had a somewhat similar personality to Vergil, namely his need for power, even at the cost of others. Southworth also did motion capture work for Credo, who had a number of similarities to Nelo Angelo in his demon form.
 * Vergil's outfit is a costume for Stylish Alastor in Viewtiful Joe Red Hot Rumble for the PSP.
 * Vergil_MvC3.pngl becomes a playable character and a minor villain in Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3.
 * His other name, Nelo Angelo, is a misspelling of Nero Angelo, Italian for Black Angel.