By Stephanie Roehler
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Castlevania
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In the last few years, there are thousands of people who have been introduced to the Castlevania franchise through Netflix’s hit animated series. The show was such a success that only mere months after the series finale, Netflix has ordered a spin-off series. However, the Castlevania franchise has a lot more monster-hunting heroes than just Trevor Belmont. Much like his giant family estate, there are 30+ games mapping out the Belmont bloodline and their stories.
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Here’s a guide to the Belmonts and their vampire-killing legacy.
RELATED: 'Castlevania: Grimoire of Souls' Is Getting a New Chance at Life via Apple Arcade
Leon Belmont - 1072
During the 11th century, Leon Belmont began the practice of monster-hunting that would guide his family for centuries. While the Belmont clan lived long before Leon, Leon was the first to wield the Whip of Alchemy, which was later known as the famous Vampire Killer (AKA that spiked morning star whip that Trevor uses in the show). As a child, Leon lost both parents, but he still became a noble knight by the age of 16. He abandoned his post, though, when a vampire named Water Bernhard kidnapped his betrothed, Sara Trantoul (something that would become a common motivator for his descendants).
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Sara sacrificed herself to give Leon the power to defeat Bernhard. With her love empowering him, he destroyed the vampire and escaped death... Only to discover his friend, Matthias Cronqvist would eventually become the monster known as Dracula. He swore that his clan would fight Dracula and his evil for all of eternity. Luckily, most of his family members were cool with killing vampires for the rest of their lives. The franchise was a little slow on getting to this origin story, though as Leon’s tale takes place during Castlevania: Lament of Innocence- the 20th game in the franchise.
Trevor C. Belmont - 1476
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400 years later, Trevor Belmont takes up the family mantle to destroy Dracula as he terrorized Wallachia. During his adventures, Trevor allied with the rebel Grant Dynasty, magician Sypha Belnades, and Dracula’s own son, Alucard. In defeating Dracula, Trevor improved the Belmont reputation, encouraging people to respect the family instead of fearing it. His happily ever after was watching Dracula’s castle crumble with its master... oh, and he married Sypha, of course. Together they once had a daughter named Sonia, but Sonia’s video game (Castlevania Legends) has since been retconned.
Trevor first appears in Castlevania: Dracula’s Curse, the sixth game in the franchise, but he also appears in two other Castlevania games (Curse of Darkness and Judgment).
Christopher Belmont - 1576
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Only a century later, Trevor’s great-grandson, Christopher, has to face the same evil that his ancestors once faced: Dracula. This is the first game that establishes that, without cultish rituals getting in the way, Dracula naturally resurrects every 100 years. When his homeland is threatened, Christopher takes the Vampire Killer and heads out to fight Dracula, but doesn’t kill him. Instead, he weakens Dracula, but the vampire escaped in bat form. It takes another 15 years, in 1591, for Christopher to find and destroy Dracula. Their battle happened after the bloodsucker kidnapped his son, Soleil, and influenced him to become his dark acolyte. Christopher appears in the fifth game in the franchise, Castlevania: The Adventure, as well as Castlevania 2: Belmont’s Revenge.
Soleil Belmont - 1591
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Fifteen years after his father’s battle with Dracula, Soleil was training to become a vampire hunter like all of the Belmonts. However, the night before he would ceremoniously recieve the hunter title and be handed Vampire Killer, he was kidnapped by Dracula. During his abduction, Soleil was influenced and controlled by Dracula, who used his powers to turn Soleil demonic and forced the young man to help resurrect him. Christopher eventually saved his son and defeated Dracula, but Soleil’s turning was treated like a scandal in the family, destroying the Belmont reputation once more.
Desmond, Zoe and Dolores Belmont - 1600s
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These are the sibling protagonists of Castlevania: Order of Shadows, a mobile game. Based on the timing, it could be implied that they are the children of Soliel. That, or they are children of a different off-shoot of Belmonts. The eldest, Desmond, specialized in the family weapon, Vampire Killer, but also blades, swords, crosses, and throwing axes. His sisters, meanwhile, helped out by offering reconnaissance. In his story, Desmond faced off against “The Order”, a group of Dracula followers wanting to resurrect Dracula. Desmond dispatched the cult, but not before Dracula is resurrected. Desmond defeats him, but his castle still remains, leaving his story with an uncomfortable open end. While it was most likely done to leave room for a possible sequel game, it’s still quite ominous.
Simon Belmont - 1691
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This great-grandson of Christopher Belmont is arguably the main protagonist of the Castlevania series, and he shows up as the lead of more than 5 titles. Simon Belmont was known as the most famous vampire hunter of the Belmont clan. He defeated Dracula and his dark powers multiple times. He was an expert with weapons and his Vampire Killer whip, but unlike some Belmonts, he inherited little of the Belnades’ talent for magic. He’s the most barbarian-like of his family, who often lean more towards reluctant heroes or honorable knights. However, that could be why he was the best at what he did. Simon’s multiple adventures and ceaseless fight against evil restored the Belmont family name. They no longer were known as frightening troublemakers, but instead protectors from evil, just like Leon Belmont always intended them to be.
Juste Belmont - 1730
By the 18th century, Simon was so successful in improving the Belmont reputation that a village grew around the clan, and Juste benefitted from this, growing up with a stable home and childhood friends, Maxim Kischine and Lydie Erlanger.
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Simon’s grandson also inherited a lot of magical talent from the Belnades blood in his veins. He was the only Belmont known to use summoning spells and familiars. However, in Maxim’s vain attempts to prove himself stronger than a Belmont, he ended up possessed by Dracula and Juste had to fight his friend to save Lydie, his beloved. There are multiple endings to Juste’s story, Harmony of Dissonance. In the two most extreme outcomes, Juste can either lose both his friends or save everyone from Dracula’s evil influence.
Richter Belmont - 1792
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Another one of the most popular Castlevania protagonists is Richter. He appears in 5 different Castlevania games. He fights Dracula a century after Simon, and it’s implied that Juste could be his grandfather, but there is no canon confirmation of this. In Richter’s time, Dracula was resurrected by evil acolytes who also kidnapped Richter’s girlfriend Annette and the rest of his village (they had to up the stakes, right?). The entire story, he slowly began saving villagers from the clutches of Dracula’s forces. One such villager, Maria Renard, was a distant relative of the Belmonts and joined Richter in his fight, despite only being a young teen. Together, she and Richter met Alucard, enlisted his help, and adventured onward to save their loved ones and destroy Dracula. Richter, Maria, and Alucard also have many more adventures over the next decade or so. While they succeeded in killing Dracula, Shaft, who resurrected the vampire lord, survived and manipulated Richter into helping him. Alucard and Maria then had to flip the script to save Richter and defeat the vampire lord. From then on, Richter struggled with being a vampire hunter who was once influenced by evil, but he eventually picked up the mantle to help his friends destroy more followers of Dracula. Ultimately, Richter has his happy ending with Annette, and Alucard grew close to Maria (one can interpret their relationship as romantic or platonic). Netflix has already announced that Richter and Maria will be the main characters in the next Castlevania spin-off series.
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Reinhardt Schneider - 1827
Reinhardt was the beginning of the Belmonts who weren’t quite Belmonts; off-shoot families related to the Belmont bloodline but not quite pure enough to wield the Belmont artifacts as effectively as previous vampire hunters. Between his different last name and childhood bullying, Reinhardt dealt with a lot of self-doubt as a young man and budding knight. However, he focused that angst towards his monster-hunting duty. Though in the end, he defeated Death, Gilles de Rais, and Dracula, Reinhardt lost his beloved Rosa and ended his story grieving that loss and the tiresome, ceaseless battle against Dracula. He starred in Castlevania 1999, the first 3D Castlevania game and Castlevania: Legacy of Darkness.
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Quincy and John Morris - 1897-1917
The 11th game of the Castlevania series takes a wild turn by starting a new generation of non-Belmonts, the heroic Morris family. A far-off branch of the Belmont clan, the Morrises eventually took up the vampire-killing mantle. However, they never were able to wield Vampire Killer properly. Despite that, though, Quincy faced Dracula and defeated him, only to lose his life. His sacrifice inspired his son, John, who watched the battle from afar and was heavily influenced by it. In time, John became the protagonist of Castlevania: Bloodlines, the first game to heavily feature the Morris family. The events of Castlevania: Bloodlines took place in the early 20th century when John was 22. It’s loosely based on the events of Bram Stoker’s Dracula, where John and his friend, Eric Lecarde, band together to fight off a resurrected Dracula. In the end, their teamwork helped them survive the battle and defeat the vampire. However, years later, John eventually succumbed to the danger of vampire hunting.
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Jonathan Morris - 1944
Son of John Morris, the young 18-year-old Jonathan had to fight off monsters with his friend Charlotte Aulin during WW2. Since his father died before he could teach him how to fight vampires and use the Belmont tools, he resented him for a long time. However, along his journey, Jonathan found a new respect for his father and his heritage. Weidling Vampire Killer, Jonathan and Charlotte destroyed the vampire artist Brauner and his blood-sucking twin daughters, as well as Dracula and Death.
Julius Belmont - 2035
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As the last known descendent of the Belmont line, Julius brought Castlevania into a new age. In 1999, Julius used the Belmont’s Vampire Killer whip and killed Dracula, long before his video game stories began.Instead, his adventures focus on him as he gets amnesia and stopping a cult from resurrecting Dracula. Unlike many other Castlevania protagonists, Julius is in his 50s when he fights off the armies of evil. During his journey, he also had to face off and work with a previous Castlevania protagonist, Soma Cruz, as the young man struggled with the powers and influence of Dracula trying to use him as a vessel. Julius Belmont showed up in Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow, Dawn of Sorrow, and Harmony of Despair.
Honorable Mention: The Belmont Variants
Gabriel, Trevor, Simon, and Victor Belmont - 1000s-2000s
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The Castlevania: Lord of Shadows trilogy tells a different version of the Belmont clan, one that isn’t so spread out across centuries. The first protagonist is Gabriel Belmont, a holy knight from the Brotherhood of Light who vows to protect humanity from supernatural evils. Eventually, after facing great tragedy and defeating the ultimate evil, he himself becomes consumed by dark powers and turns into Dracula, the greatest vampire of all time. While his intentions were to rid the world of evils, he does so by massacring entire orders and societies and the only person who can stop him is his Belmont son: Alucard. Yes indeed, in this version of Castlevania Trevor Belmont and Alucard are the same person - Netflix’s Alucard would hate that. In the time between the first and second games, Trevor became a vampire and fathers Simon Belmont, who helped awaken him and inspired him to defy Dracula. Alucard/Trevor tried to fight against his father’s efforts, only to team up with him to destroy Satan, in the end deciding to live in peace with one another. Simon, meanwhile, carried on the Belmont bloodline. Then, centuries later in the 2030s, Victor Belmont was the last of his clan. He fought against demons and Dracula, only to ally himself with his long-lost ancestor to end the armies of hell. Victor sacrificed himself in battle, leaving Dracula, the first Belmont, as the last Belmont alive. Parallel worlds are whacky!
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Sonia Belmont - 1450
Originally the daughter of Trevor and Sypha, Sonia starred in the now non-canon Castlevania Legends. In the game, she fought through Dracula’s castle alongside her parents’ ally, Alucard. Sonia specialized in soul weapons and fire spells, as well as the Belmont’s Vampire Killer. During their adventures, Alucard was Sonia’s love interest and had a child with her. However, her bloodline was canceled (literally) by developers, and her story was erased. Therefore her son, Victor, never even got a game of his own.
KEEP READING: Castlevania' Anime Gets Spinoff Set During French Revolution
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