Dante Alighieri vs. Alex Mercer Warrior Profile: Dante Alighieri

  First up we have Dante Alighieri, the crusader who fought through all nine layers of hell for the his love Beatrice. Dante brings quite an arsenal to this fight , combining  both unholy and holy weaponry for maximum devastation.


Long Range: Death's Scythe

        Pried from  the icy hands of death himself(literally), this is one of Dante's two greatest weapons.  The scythe can kill even the strongest demons with ease and is constantly upgrading itself. The scythe can change into a straight, spear-like form, or collapse into a blade on Dante's arm. It can also grow and shrink at will. This means that it would actually fit in all categories as it could extend into a spear and impale someone 30-40 feet away or be used against someone just inches away.  With so many different forms it could be used to sweep, impale, slam into the ground, decapitate, disembowel, parry, counter ect. The options are near limitless! For a listing of what Dante can do with the Scythe, click here.



    Historically the Scythe has been used as a agricultural tool for mowing grass or reaping crops. As such it became increasingly associated with the harvest, which is important to understanding the lore behind it.  It has a battlefield history   as well extending from  when the Persians attached it to chariots to form the Scythed chariots in the 500 b.c.  to the  peasant uprisings in Poland  in the 1800s.  The hand held war scythe turned out to be a surprisingly effective weapon with documenting cases of it piercing metal helmets. It also had a profound psychological impact on the enemy, due to the weapon's relationship with the fiend below.

 The Grim Reaper and the Scythe: 

     Death has been a fact of life for people ever since there were people. Every culture, from Paleolithic burials by small tribes  to our modern day state funerals, have included Death and after-death in their culture . Both the Personification of Death and the Scythe made their presence known in ancient religions. Thantos was the Greek god of Death, although since the Greek view held that death was inevitable and not necessarily evil he was represented as a boyish figure.  In the Christian view,  Death is one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse along with War(you will be seeing him again) , Pestilence(or conquest) , and Famine and shall be the last enemy that is destroyed (another reference you will see again in one of my matches). The Scythe was used by Cronus and the Horseman.

     The actual figure of the Grim Reaper seems to be a merging of various influences. In Poland he was known  as Śmierć  and he/she (the sources are ambiguous) looked very similar to the Grim Reaper save that it wore a white robe instead of a black one.  Wearing black clothes is a symbol for mourning in many cultures, and so the Polish personification of Death may have changed robes as his personification grew in popularity. Finally the Scythe was originally used to cut down grain(reaping)  for the harvest, and its appearance in death's hand could symbolize that your time has come, and your soul must now be "harvested" for the next life(afterlife).

 Mid Range: Halberd 

   A type of Pole-arm favored by knights of medieval Europe, Dante used this weapon in the first level of the video game until he got Death's scythe.  At five to six feet in length, this was really three weapons in one comprising of a hook, axe-blade and a spike. Its lethality was proven on deadliest warrior where for both its wielders it got triple digit kills. It was renowned for its versatility and could even pierce plate  armor.


 Historically this is the weapon that killed  king Charles the Bold, which both ended the Burgundian wars and the Burgundian kingdom. With the duchy's dissolution France was able to achieve its last steps in national unification,
Halberd in action(Dante) 



As you can see he wields it with great skill, honed in by three years of religious fighting.

Short Range: Arming sword and Shield




















  The Arming sword was the main sidearm for knights living in the middle ages. Around 32 inches and made from steel, this sword was typically used with a shield or buckler. The blade starts out wide and narrows to a thin tip, allowing for easier penetration of chain mail. In fact these piercing qualities are what made it predominant among knights until the invention of plate. Should its wielder chose to use it this way it can also be used to slash and hack as well. As a crusader for three years, Dante would have had this weapon in his arsenal. 

Historically many manuscripts were published detailing how it should be used in battle, both with the shield and without.

Special Weapon: Holy Cross:

The Ultimate weapon?

  

The most powerful weapon in Dante's arsenal symbolizing his faith and perseverance is Beatrice's cross. Containing a thorn from the crown of Jesus, Dante uses this to absolve or forgive corrupt souls or demons(in the latter case forcibly). When he absolves someone they perish in a blinding white light, an act which also heals some of Dante's wounds. As a holy weapon of immense power this may be the only weapon that can neutralize Mercer's regenerative abilities(Mercer is a complex man but one who has done some very evil actions). In extremely close quarters, it could be used to stab as well, which of course would be enhanced by the object's natural holiness.

                                                                   (someone using it to glitch achievement)
  
The true effectiveness of the cross is in its range; this is the instrument through which Dante utilizes most of his holy spells and abilities, both of which shall be explored below.  A listing of his Holy abilities can be found here. 

Armor:Leather boots, Plate greaves,  Leather belt, Plate Pauldrons,   Plates covering left arm, leather gloves,  chain mail neck guard extending from  crown-like helmet, Spell: Divine armor, Lust storm

 Dante wears a remnant of the armor he wore during his life of a crusader. His leather boots give basic protection against any sharp objects littering the ground . Moving up Plate greaves covers his upper and lower legs, with leather pants underneath these. His chest is bare, dominated  by the giant cross stitched into it which represents the sins he committed in life. Dante's neck is protected by a coat of chain mail  which is part of his helmet. His right arm  is exposed but his left is covered by plates all the way down to the gloves.

 Dante also has two protective spells called Divine armor and Lust storm, which he can cast to protect himself  from harm.  Neither of these can be cast at the same time however as they cancel each other out(holy and unholy). Thus Dante will be forced to choose which will fit a given combat situation.

 Divine Armor:    Once cast , two holy colored lights (that somewhat resemble angel wings) will appear on Dante's back and will blind enemies near Dante and provides immunity from enemy attacks   for a limited amount of time.In addition it slowly regenerates Dante's health while active, which means this will most likely  be cast once Dante has experienced dire wounds.

 Lust Storm: Gained once Dante defeated  Cleopatra, this causes a vortex of pink lightning and wind to surround Dante and protect him from ranged attacks. While technically Alex would still be able to claw at him or slash with his blade, the high speed winds and lightning make this inadvisable.

Natural Abilities and spells: 
Here is a brief rundown  of the natural abilities and spells that Dante is capable of using:
Natural Abilities
Strength: Dante is strong enough to grapple demons and even pry a giant monster dog's jaw open. Certainly not someone you want to get in a fight with.

Regenerative powers: Dante is capable of healing himself whenever he A. absolves someone or B. casts divine armor.
Agility/Speed/ Endurance: I'd say he is above average in this category. Ran pretty much straight through hell, and is capable of quick dodge rolls and dashes.

Spells: 


Righteous Path:Dante charges forward with his cross forward, holy energy radiating off of it.As he moves ice trails behind him damaging all those it touches.

  Sins of a father: Dante obtains this power after defeating his sinful father at the end of the fourth circle. This Greed-based Magic allows Dante to conjure three magical jeweled crosses. Without a doubt my favorite spell. While the crosses don't do much damage by themselves, they follow the enemy around constantly hitting them until the spell wears off or they are destroyed.

Yes, he can conjure three of these

        Martyrdom: Dante sacrifices Health and Mana to inflict heavy damage on nearby enemies . An emergency spell, and one that may not be all that effective against the regenerating Alex.

(Martyrdom, Righteous path, Divine Armor, Sins of the father and Suicide's fruit can all be seen in this video)

Suicide fruit: Dante slams the rotting fruit of a Suicide Tree into the ground, stunning any nearby enemies. Can be followed up with other spells/attacks for maximum effectiveness.

Frome where the fruit comes

X-Factor categories:

 Unlike all my other match ups, this isn't squad on squad. Whats more tactics are a little harder to factor in, as they are variable and can be left up to the player. Rules and leadership dont apply at all. Since this is a duel between superb fighters for the first time ever personality will be factored in and it will be merged with tactics.

Experience/skill in fighting:  Very High

       Dante has over three years of experience fighting in countless battles/skirmishes in the crusades. In addition to this his foray into the nine circles of hell gives him experience fighting unconventional and biological weaponry, which is what Alex Mercer is.

Motivation: Beatrice:

Would you go to hell for her?

Beatrice is the love of Dante's life, and he would do anything for her. Whether its fighting through all nine circles of hell, giving up his salvation for hers, dueling the devil and even conquering death, it seems that this man will allow nothing to get in the way of seeing his love again.

Personality/ Tactics: High perseverance, sinner seeking redemption, rather violent, magic,does not tire, not much of a tactician/only basic tactics used, Death could not kill him, Pain resistance

Dante is able to persevere through almost any challenge, and thus will never give up hope of winning this fight until the very end. He does not seem to tire, as he can run through hell without ever needing to stop and take a breather.  Dante is naturally violent due to his father's influence, yet at the same time he wants to reduce the amount of violence and get redemption for his sins. Magic is often used by Dante to amplify the damage of his weapon attacks, and he will be casting them frequently in this fight. He may not use them as effectively as he should, as Dante is a rather poor tactician. Dante seems only to charge, slash, and kill over and over again. He is capable of adapting to the environment  and using enemies weapons/weaknesses against him, but he is nowhere near as good in this category as Alex. Dante does seem to have built up a resistance to pain, and while he will still be able to be killed pain from his wounds won't hamper his fighting prowess.