Dante

Dante as he appears in Devil May Cry 5

**Dante** is the main protagonist of the hack-and-slash "character action" series of games *Devil May Cry* by Capcom. Dante is a demon hunter with supernatural powers from his half-demon heritage, known for displaying a carefree and playful attitude in most of his appearances. The first game, simply titled *Devil May Cry*, would debut on the PlayStation 2 in 2001. Since then, the series has had most of its presence solely on Sony's line of consoles, with it having no releases on Nintendo consoles until a series of ports on the Nintendo Switch starting in 2018. The series is known for pioneering the action game genre with its focus on high amounts of action featuring a strong emphasis on combos and a variety of weapons to wield in combat. Several games would take large inspiration from the series, most notably *Bayonetta*, which would be created by *Devil May Cry*'s own original creator Hideki Kamiya shortly after his departure from Capcom.

Due to his lack of any serious presence on Nintendo consoles, Dante was often seen as a non-serious candidate during speculation for previous Smash installments *Brawl* and *Smash 4*. This said, he would begin to gain more traction in the lead-up to *Super Smash Bros. Ultimate*. This could be attributed largely to the resurgence of the series with *Devil May Cry 5* and demand for another Capcom newcomer to join Mega Man and Ryu in the next installment. Notably, a leak for the aforementioned game would gain traction among the speculation scene for mentions of plans for "Dante in Smash", though it would later end up being fake.

Dante's support and discussion related to inclusion in Smash spiked exponentially during the DLC period for the game, with it being aided by the debut of the very PlayStation-associated Joker from *Persona 5* and, most notably, the debut of the first three *Devil May Cry* titles on Nintendo Switch. This would hit a particular high in the immediate lead-up to Challenger Pack 5, with many speculating that he would be a fitting finish to the first Fighter Pass (then all third-party). Vergeben would include the character as one of the first in his large list of deconfirmations for FP5. Regardless, he would still continue to be seen as one of the "likely" picks for the next fighter. All this speculation came to a head with confirmation of news related to *Devil May Cry 3: Special Edition* on Switch the same day as the reveal of the long-awaited fighter. Despite being specified to be about the enhanced port, many still took the timing as a sign that Dante might be coming. In the end, Byleth from *Fire Emblem: Three Houses* would end up being the next fighter, defying many lofty expectations surrounding Challenger Pack 5. Many would look on the speculation surrounding this date as an example of how the Smash community can easily go overboard with speculation.

Despite missing his boat with the first Fighter Pass, Dante continued to be a very popular pick for Smash DLC among fans. He was still seen as likely by many, being considered a frontrunner among potential Capcom newcomers along with Phoenix Wright and Monster Hunter in particular. He continued to do quite well on polls on SmashFAQs and other sites, and some concluded that the timing of the ports might make him a better fit for the next wave of fighters anyways. Signs started turning sour for the chances of another Capcom newcomer during Pyra and Mythra's presentation in March 2021, when the entire Mii Costume wave was surprisingly devoted entirely to Capcom in celebration of the then-upcoming release of *Monster Hunter Rise*. Despite two of his competitors (Monster Hunter and Arthur from *Ghosts 'n Goblins*) being knocked out in the process, it led to a new wave of skepticism towards Capcom actually taking up one of the final two slots. Dante's fate was finally sealed on June 28, 2021, when he was confirmed to be referenced via a costume for the Mii Swordfighter. While lowered expectations towards his chances had tempered the blow somewhat, many still loudly mourned his deconfirmation.

Featuring Dante, from the Devil May Cry series.

### Supporters

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