Arkham is a character from the Devil May Cry series. He is one of the two main antagonists in Devil May Cry 3, the other one being Vergil. He is the father of Lady and a scholar with supernatural abilities and vast knowledge about the demon world's folklore.

Biography

Appearance

Arkham wears black clothes and he is bald to the extent of having no eyebrows. He has a scar covering the left side of his face which is the result of a botched ritual to turn himself into a demon, in which he sacrificed his wife. Like his daughter, Lady, he has heterochromia. In most of Arkham's scenes, he is holding a book in his hands.

Personality

Arkham is a master manipulator, pitting Dante, Vergil and Lady against each other by preying on their personalities and desires. To Vergil, he plays the role of a sycophant, pretending to help Vergil while plotting against him. He taunts and further enrages Lady, who is driven by her need for revenge on him, and later convinces her that his evil acts were Vergil's fault. To Dante he appears in the form of an apparent resident of the tower named "Jester", mocking Dante as he alternately advises and challenges him. His plans are successful, and he is able to open the gate to the demon world.

Story

He is the first to retrieve the Force Edge, and with its power combined with the restored halves of Eva's amulet, he acquires a large portion of Sparda's power and takes on Sparda's demonic form. The power overwhelms him however, and he further transforms into a shapeless form when he battles Dante. He is defeated when Vergil teams up with Dante and they cast him out of the demon world, but it is Lady who ultimately kills him.

Jester

In the Special Edition release of the game, Arkham appears in his Jester form as an additional boss character for the player to fight.

Trivia

• He is voiced and motion captured by Adam Clark, credited as "Adam D. Clerk" in the game's credits.

• Arkham's name was originally intended to be Hyne (pronounced Hai-neh), but Reuben Langdon (who voiced Dante) thought it would not work in English and convinced Capcom to change it.^{[citation needed]}

• Arkham and his alter ego Jester both draw inspirations from the Batman franchise.
  • Arkham's name is a reference to Arkham Asylum, the institution where most of Batman's enemies are housed while incarcerated. This concept is referenced in the Devil May Cry HD Collection where upon defeating Arkham the player receives the "Asylum" achievement.
  • Both Jester's appearance and personality obviously draw inspiration from Batman's archenemy The Joker. In fact, Jester was originally going to be named Joker but the idea was scrapped during development.

• Before he was revealed as the architect of the events, Arkham (in his human form) carried a book in every scene he was in.

• Jester is the PlayStation 2 memory card save icon for Devil May Cry 3: Special Edition. When attempting to copy, he'll start juggling the balls he's holding. Attempting to delete the save will cause him to get down on his hands and knees and shake his head in disappointment with the balls he was juggling being strewn on the ground next to him.

Gallery