Relationship: Dante and Nero
The information below is based on the Devil May Cry 4 game - cutscenes, booklet, in-game files, as well as other additions to Devil May Cry franchise, so everything after first few sentences of each section may contain spoilers.
Dante
Dante (alias Tony Redgrave), the half-human, half-devil son of Legendary Dark Knight Sparda, is the main protagonist of Devil May Cry franchise. He had come a long way from rebellious not-giving-a-damn teen to carefree, lazy and badass demon hunter, too cool to smoke and loving hot babes, hot pizza and ice cold strawberry sundaes. Having accomplished his life goal in original Devil May Cry (DMC1), Dante’s life seems to consist of irregular kicking Underworld’s ass and lazing around. Dante appears happy-go-lucky and careless on the outside, but his inner demons – the loss of his older twin Vergil notwithstanding – may be still deeply hidden and affecting his actions.
Nero
Side character of Devil May Cry and main protagonist of Devil May Cry 4, Nero is a descendant of Sparda of apparently natural origin and thus a blood relative of Dante. The exact degree of their kinship remains unknown. There has been some hinting that Nero is Vergil’s son, but they haven’t been confirmed officially.
Nero lives on an island called Fortuna, which is the home of the Order of the Sword, a small sect-like community worshipping Sparda, who is rumored to have ruled their city long ago. As one of the knights, Nero carries out special jobs for the Order. He prefers to work alone due to his difficult character and loner attitude. A protégé of Supreme General of the Holy Knights, Nero had been adopted by Credo into his family. His love interest is Credo’s sister, Kyrie.
Dante & Nero, Nero & Dante
At the beginning of Devil May Cry 4, teenage Nero struggles with his newfound demon powers, manifested by a demonic arm and “voices in his head”. He first sees Dante as an enemy – a mysterious assassin who disrupted their annual ceremony, ruthlessly killed the head of the Order and slaughtered his fellow knights. Nero is charged with the task of capturing Dante. However, during the course of the game he learns of the Order’s deceit and Dante’s role in protecting the human world. By the end of the game, their relationship progressed from foes through rivals to acquaintances on the more “friendly” side, with not-that-sparse hints of mentor/apprentice relationship. Dante seems to know more about Nero that he lets out; however, he still leaves at the end of the game before the two can get to know each other better.
Devil May Cry
Devil May Cry franchise comprises four games and additions such as anime, manga, novels and several unofficial comics. The timeline of Devil May Cry series goes as follows:
- DMC1 novel – non-canon, although it still provides a lot of information on Dante’s teenage years – it works canon-wise if ending is removed;
- DMC3 manga (Dante’s teenage years, around 18);
- Devil May Cry 3 (set one year after DMC3 manga);
- Devil May Cry 1 (set 10 years after Devil May Cry 3);
- DMC anime (set several months up to two years after DMC1);
- Devil May Cry 4 (set a few years after DMC1);
- DMC2 novel (set indefinite amount of time into the future);
- Devil May Cry 2 (set indefinite amount of time into the future).
Some fans append Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne at the end of Devil May Cry timeline. So far, it works. Nothing in it contradicts the canon.
DMC4 novel, an extended novelization of Devil May Cry 4, is considered non-canon due to massive discrepancies between the events of the game and the ones presented in the novel. The author of the novel wrote it when he was no longer an employee of Capcom, so it is commonly regarded as fan fiction.
DmC (currently in development) is a rebooted alternate version of Dante’s origin story, set in an universe that appears to be different than the one of the main story line of Devil May Cry series.
As of now, the only canon instalment where Nero and Dante have met is Devil May Cry 4 video game.