History Characters / DevilMayCryNero

* TheWorfEffect: In ''5'', the mysterious hooded man who visits Nero at his garage easily rips the Devil Bringer off Nero's arm in one fell swoop as he's tossed around and can only scream for Kyrie to run as he bleeds on the floor. It's a stark contrast when ''4'' already hinted Nero as an UnevenHybrid, and revealed his Devil Bringer to be strong enough to defeat Sanctus Diabolica then crush the giant Savior's face, and durable enough to block Dante's Rebellion. This is subverted later on [[spoiler:as the man is revealed to be Vergil, a recurring series character whose power was already established in the previous games, and he was exhausted enough to be defeated by a powered-up Nero in the final mission.]]
* WorldsStrongestMan: This is given a twist in the final mission of ''5''. [[spoiler:With his physical Devil Trigger form, Nero holds back Dante and Vergil while they were still in their Sin Devil Trigger forms, and beats Vergil enough to make him submit. Nero's advantage is justified because the brothers were exhausted from their previous fight, but he became strong enough that Dante feels comfortable leaving him behind to handle any demon issues on Earth while the brothers dive into the Underworld.]]

* CursedWithAwesome: He initially considers his Devil Bringer as a mark of shame and notably tries to hide it from several people despite its demon-slaying benefits, but grows to accept it in the end. It's {{lampshaded}} in the finale of ''4'', where Nero states that he now knows his hand was made for sending guys like [[spoiler:Sanctus and The False Savior]] back to Hell. [[spoiler:Knowing that his arm changed after a shoulder injury and that the Devil Bringer was part of his real Devil Trigger all along changes the entire context of the "curse" surrounding his demonic arm. The latent power in his blood had reacted to his bum shoulder in such a way that it left his right arm stuck in Devil Trigger form, while the rest of him stayed human because he had yet to learn how to hone and harness his true power. This is also the reason it didn't grow back after being ripped off; as the rest of his power was still dormant, any chance he could access his natural HealingFactor like that was taken with the arm. When the matured and experienced Nero was utterly overcome by refusal to let Dante and Vergil die, this finally awakened his full power, regrowing his human arm in complete sync with the rest of his body and unlocking his full Devil Trigger, thus breaking the curse.]]

* BulletproofHumanShield: The Aegis Shield enhances his Devil Bringer by allowing him to take a hold on one of the mooks to be used like this, shielding him from other mooks' attacks. [[spoiler:It returns in ''5'' when Nero recovers his demonic powers at the end of that game.]]

* VillainKiler: After Dante, Nero has the highest body count of slain demons and villains among the heroes. He kills Sanctus in ''4'', and kills Goliath, Artemis and Malphas in ''5''.

* SpannerInTheWorks: To Dante and Trish's plan in ''4''. While their plan involved giving the Devil Sword Sparda to the Order of the Sword, it only fell apart because of Nero. If not for him, Yamato would've never been restored. Yamato's resurrection then allowed the Hell Gate to be opened, which is a part of the Order's goals in their [[TheMasquerade masquerade]]. Sanctus and The Savior also needed someone with the blood of Sparda in order to tap into the Devil Sword Sparda's power, and because Nero is revealed to be a blood-relative of Sparda, he was absorbed inside The Savior's core in order awaken it. Sanctus would've originally intended Dante to form The Savior's core, but considering how Dante is able to beat the fully-powered Savior, the Order has little chance of capturing him for their cause in the first place.

* SingleTargetSexuality: Kyrie is the only girl whom Nero has eyes on. Even when put in situations where most would be DistractedByTheSexy, such as when he meets [[MsFanservice Gloria]] and the [[AlluringAnglerfish Rusalka feelers]] in ''4'' or when he [[spoiler: carries a nude and unconscious Lady]] in ''5'', his reaction typically ranges from [[NotDistractedByTheSexy mild irritation to being completely unphazed.]]

* AceCustom: Nero's main weaponry, the Red Queen and the Blue Rose, are versions of customized equipment. Both of these weapons also relate back to Nero's character; with his explosive temper and unchecked emotions, they're suitable for an aggressive playstyle.

* BoringButPractical: In ''4'', Nero was designed to have a simpler playstyle compared to Dante, to get new players accustomed to the mechanics. He definitely had very advanced mechanics such as Exceed, but these are far less daunting to get accustomed to than Dante's complex moveset. In fact, the complaints that Nero was ''too'' simple and boring to play led to the creation of his Devil Breaker system in ''5'', which adds a lot more complexity but is also extremely accessible. Among his various Devil Breaker arms, Gerbera is easily one of the more useful Devil Breakers; even if it's not that great at killing enemies, it provides Nero with a significant boost of mobility in the air, and it greatly helps in evading enemy attacks.

* {{Motifs}}: Most of his moves are named after betting and games of chance. His launcher is named ''High Roller'', his Stinger {{Expy}} is named ''Streak'' (as in winning streak), his charged shot ammo-type upgrade/skill in ''5'' is called ''Color Up'' (referring to the practice of exchanging a ton of low-value poker chips for higher level ones in order to reduce clutter on the table) and so on. One of his most powerful moves, where he uses Red Queen and Yamato to shoot out a massive SwordBeam, is called ''Maximum Bet'', and his other most powerful move, ''Showdown'', may refer to the fact that many games of chance like poker or blackjack tend to boil down to a one-on-one as people get eliminated from the pool.

*** Rawhide utilizes a [[WhipItGood whip]] to attack enemies in a wide range around Nero, and enhance the range and utility of the Wire Snatch skill. Charging it executes a wider-ranged attack that draws in smaller enemies.

* WhipItGood: The Rawhide Devil Breaker arm has a high-tech [[WhipSword razor edged whip]] built into it. Aside from whipping enemies around, it also enhances his Snatch move, and its Break Age move has him [[GrappleMove grab onto an enemy]] and then spin/smash it around with the whip arm, potentially [[GrievousHarmWithABody hitting other enemies around him]].

** [[ExaggeratedTrope Taken to an extreme]] [[spoiler:if the player manages to defeat Urizen in mission 8, as that causes an early ending and Dante never gets to have a rematch against Urizen. [[UpToEleven And it can go even further]] if the player defeats him in the prologue, preventing the entire game from happening.]]

As a [[UnevenHybrid quarter-demon]], Nero has SuperStrength, SuperSpeed, NighInvulnerability, and a HealingFactor, along with the power to form [[HardLight spectral projections]] and an outright GuardianEntity through his demonic right arm, the Devil Bringer. His weapons of choice are Red Queen, a custom single-edged [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Messer_(weapon) messer]], a double-barreled revolver called the Blue Rose, and a [[KatanasAreJustBetter Japanese sword]] [[AncestralWeapon of Sparda's]] discovered in Agnus' underground lab (later given to him as a gift for good by Dante) named Yamato.\\\

** Yamato, one of Sparda's swords, and the one that Vergil usually wields. Nero mostly uses it to enhance his demonic power after he absorbed it with the Devil Bringer, allowing him to enter a Devil Trigger state that summons a [[GuardianEntity ghostly spirit]] above him. The ghostly spirit uses a larger spectral version of the Yamato while Nero only physically uses the sword in his [[BladeSpam "Showdown"]] move in-game (which can only be used in Devil Trigger). However, he also uses it extensively as an actual sword in the cutscenes of ''4''. By the events of ''5'', [[spoiler:his "Showdown" move uses a spectral version of the Yamato instead, as the real Yamato returned to Vergil's hands]].

* SuperMode: Nero's Devil Trigger is an oddball in ''4'' because he doesn't physically transform into a demon (aside from the usual RegeneratingHealth effect and minor changes like {{glowing|EyesOfDoom}} {{red eyes|TakeWarning}} and blue BattleAura), but instead gains a spectral GuardianEntity that fights alongside him. Instead of directly boosting the damage of his moves, the entity adds extra strikes to his melee attacks, throws [[StormOfBlades Summoned Swords]] to his targets when he shoots with his Blue Rose, and enhances his Devil Bringer's abilities. [[spoiler:Not only does this entity use a larger copy of the Yamato, it also resembles a fusion of Vergil's Devil Trigger form and Nelo Angelo. ''Deadly Fortune'' states that it is a corporeal [[https://imgur.com/S68yAIc manifestation of Nero's soul]]. He gains a more traditional Devil Trigger near the end of ''5'', just in time to stop Dante and Vergil's DuelToTheDeath. Instead of a spectral swordsman, Nero's entire body now becomes demonic and the wings that appear off his shoulders provide the extra hits to his attacks, yet it still functions virtually similar to his Devil Trigger in ''4''.]]

* WeaponOfChoice:

* ArchnemesisDad: [[spoiler: Vergil starts off the conflict in ''5'' by ripping off Nero's Devil Bringer so that he can regain the Yamato stored within. Then again, Vergil was effectively on the edge of death and not in a sane state of mind, neither Nero ''nor'' Vergil realized who exactly the other was, and to Vergil's credit as V, he does feel guilty about this, and when recombined, he does hold a respect for Nero as a capable fighter and especially as his son.]]

* CallingTheOldManOut: [[spoiler: The final battle of ''5'' has him calling out both Vergil and Dante for their never-ending SiblingRivalry. Aside from that, he also calls out Vergil for the latter's dismissive attitude towards him.]]
-->'''Nero:''' Takin' me seriously now?! Feeling accepting yet?\\
[[spoiler: '''Vergil:''']] Of your existence? Or your strength?\\
'''Nero:''' Both, you fuckin' asshole!

* PatrickStewartSpeech: In the FinalBoss fight of ''4'', Nero gives one to [[spoiler:Sanctus]] by explaining how Sparda's capacity to love a human makes him strong. This also doubles as a TheReasonYouSuckSpeech because he calls out [[spoiler:Sanctus']] lack of, and the inability to understand the [[ThePowerOfLove concept of love]].

* PunctuatedForEmphasis: As Nero is about to crush [[spoiler:The False Savior's face]] with his giant Devil Bringer arm, he briefly pauses for every word, nearly timing them with the movements of his arm.
-->'''Nero:''' This hand was made for sending guys like you back to Hell! And NOW...YOU... DIE!!!!

* PutTheirHeadsTogether: In the FinalBattle of ''5'', [[spoiler:one of his Buster moves is to grab Vergil and his Devil Trigger doppelganger and smash their heads together]] while Nero says this line:
--> '''Nero:''' You dropped this!

* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: In the FinalBoss fight of ''4'', Nero serves one to [[spoiler:Sanctus]] after the latter all but screams about why the Sword of Sparda wasn't giving him any power. Nero verbally smacks back at [[spoiler:Sanctus]] on the reason why the latter wasn't "worthy" of Sparda's power in the first place.
--> '''Nero:''' Never could take those legends too literally. But I do know that Sparda had a heart. A heart that could love another person, a human. And ''that'' is what you lack.

* RepeatCut:
** After Bael is defeated and flipped upside-down, the cutscene repeats the shot of Nero's Devil Bringer arm punching the head of the ice demon.
** This happens to the Devil Bringer's Buster animation if it's used as a finishing move during [[spoiler:the final boss battle against Sanctus Diabolica]] in ''4''.

* WhatDoesSheSeeInHim: Nico is intrigued at how Kyrie and Nero ended up together, as she describes the former as a "sweet girl" and the latter as a "punk". She later admits not prodding too much on it though.

* BadassInDistress: [[spoiler:He's captured by Sanctus for nearly the second half of ''4'' and spends most of the time being absorbed into the Savior alongside Kyrie. Dante becomes the playable protagonist in his place and it takes the latter jamming Yamato into the giant statue's crystal to rescue and wake Nero up inside.]]

* LockedIntoStrangeness: It was [[AllThereInTheManual hinted]] in ''4'' that the Devil Bringer (and by extension, the spectral incomplete Devil Trigger) was the result of his right arm being permanently locked into something of a real Devil Trigger form as a reaction to the shoulder injury he suffered before the events of the game. [[spoiler:It's confirmed in the final moments of ''5''. After Vergil rips out his demonic forearm to take back the Yamato, forcing him to make do with Nico's prosthetic work, the arm never grows back until he learns just who his father is and decides once and for all that [[LogicalLatecomer his family will not murder itself in a stupid feud]]. Then the arm grows back, fully human like the rest of his body, and then his true, physical Devil Trigger form is finally unleashed, complete with forearms that look [[https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/teppen/images/4/4d/Devil_May_Cry_5_-_Nero_stops_Dante_and_Vergil.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20191111205046 very]] [[https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/devilmaycry/images/6/67/Devil_Bringer_DMC5.png/revision/latest?cb=20190419200802 identical]] to how the Devil Bringer appeared before Vergil ripped it off. He can then switch back and forth between human and Devil Trigger forms at will, which his right arm now follows suit.]]

* LuredInToATrap: Agnus and Sanctus kidnap Kyrie as a bait so that they could find a way to lure Nero and steal the Yamato from him. [[spoiler:They eventually succeed in their goal, trapped the two lovers inside the giant Savior, and opened the central Hell Gate using the katana.]]

** His ''[=DMC4=]'' version appeared in a [[https://twitter.com/JWonggg/status/1164718928146206721 support card]] in ''VideoGame/{{Teppen}}'' before his ''[=DMC5=]'' version was announced at TGS 2019 as a post-launch hero for that game.