Tony Redgrave

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Dante as "Tony Redgrave"

Tony Redgrave is the alias used by Dante in the Devil May Cry novel by Shin-Ya Goikeda, as well as in the eighth episode of Devil May Cry: The Animated Series.

In Devil May Cry 5 and Devil May Cry 5: Before the Nightmare, it is revealed that Dante coined this alias after his hometown, Red Grave City. He dropped the alias after Nell Goldstein's death and, according to Morrison, never returned to Bobby's Cellar since.

Personality

Although he's constantly getting his hands bloodied by his profession, his mindset is that of a child in the novel. He expresses this by imagining zombies surrounding him and "playing" - which is him practicing with them until they became a natural extension of his body (in a similar fashion that Devil May Cry 3's Dante shows off with his newest weapon when he gets them) - with new guns he receives from the local gunsmith, Nell Goldstein, (whom he views as a mother-figure to him) and when he plays with his partner's (Grue) children by making a complete mess at the dinner table, also being a large eater - having already eaten 7 plates of Jessica's Doria, with Tiki and Nesty bouncing on his knees and feeding little Nesty her Doria while Grue watches with horror and he remarks that every time Tony comes over, his place turns into a madhouse and that Tony is a kid at heart and that his children see him as one of them.

Tony is a rare breed among mercenaries: willing to deal death, however lamenting it was necessary. Tony despises other people discovering this philosophical side to him but that's also why Grue likes working with him.

He selects his capers by 3 simple criteria:

1. He's interested in the content.
2. There was no unnecessary bloodshed
3. He felt an intuitive something about it.

He does not care about how much he gets paid, much like the Manga's incarnation of Dante.

Tony still keeps his trademark personality of fearlessness, taunting his enemies and enjoying his fights - often accompanied by him giving a maniacal grin - yet ironically never being the one to start the fights.

Even after Goldstein's death allows him to remember who he truly is, Dante still keeps the taunting attitude when he fights - although in certain circumstances, such when facing strong opponents (an example being his first fight with Gilver when he was still Tony), he drops his sarcastic attitude and becomes serious. He erupts violently at the mention of demons, most notably when Jessica's is said to be hallucinating about them at the hospital by Enzo, Tony is infuriated and demands to know which hospital Jessica was admitted to, when Enzo suggests he maybe too late Tony holds him by the throat and asks him again while Enzo begs Tony to let go after saying he'll tell him.

He admits, just after laying Nell's dead body onto the burning floor, that Grue was right in calling him a crybaby, the both were soft on him so he couldn't help it.

The novel shows how much Tony loved his mother; He became a mercenary so he could get his revenge on the devils that murdered his mother. His daring attempt to rescue Nell also reflects this, as he began to view her as a mother figure in the absence of his own.

Story

Devil May Cry (novel)

Dante used Tony Redgrave as a different persona. As Tony he takes random mercenary jobs, and after his mother died he moved on and tried to forget. Near the end of the novel after Nell's death, whom he viewed as his mother, he took on his true name Dante and embraced his past. After this his sword lightens and changes form.

Also, the novel explains where the inscription "For Tony Redgrave. By .45 Art Warks" on the Ebony & Ivory comes from, since it was Nell who made them. The novel also reveals his love for Strawberry sundaes and alcohol (which was remembered and featured in the anime too). It also reveals Dante despises smoking.

Devil May Cry: The Animated Series

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Twenty years before the start of the series, in a small port town called Morris Island there was a fire that wiped out the whole town. The majority of the townspeople died in the fire, and the few remaining survivors insisted that it was a result of a demon attack. They also insisted that the mother of one of the survivors, Tony, is somehow responsible for it. In the present day, another survivor, Ernest, comes to Dante's office and recognizes him as that Tony. Dante denies that, saying he has never met him before. Later he admits that he used the name Tony in the past, although he isn't the Tony Ernest is looking for.

It is never explicitly stated, although it is strongly implied that Dante is, indeed, the Tony from twenty years ago.

See also

• Bayonetta - A game by Hideki Kamiya with a character named "Antonio Redgrave".

Trivia

• The name is a reference to Devil May Cry's development history. While Devil May Cry was still in development as a Resident Evil game, the main protagonist was to be named "Tony". Hideki Kamiya stated that the name "Redgrave" is in honor of Chris Redfield, a protagonist in the Resident Evil games.
  • The idea that "Tony Redgrave" is a deliberate homage was later worked into the lore itself. Specifically, Kamiya also stated that Dante took the name Tony Redgrave from someone he respected.
• After Grue notes Tony's boots are wrecked from defeating the corpses, Dante complains that he'd have to replace them, as he had finally asked Claire out on a date. This is a possible reference to Claire Redfield of the Resident Evil series, another character created by Hideki Kamiya.
• The "For Tony Redgrave" award in DmC: Devil May Cry is awarded for slaying fifty enemies using nothing but firearms. The name of the award references the engraving on Tony's guns.