Infernopedia
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“You don't deserve to be my sister's slave, let alone her lord. Now pay for what you've done!”

Francesco Portinari was Beatrice's younger brother, Dante's best friend and a Third Crusade veteran. Like Dante, he took the Crusades up to reclaim the Holy Land, unlike most of the Crusaders who just wanted to be absolved. He was with Dante at the Battle of Acre. They watched the prisoners of Acre under the command of Richard the Lionheart. When Dante was "Comforted" by the Slave Girl, Francesco held her husband back from trying to kill Dante.

Francesco kept arguing with Dante throughout the Crusades about what Dante was doing when it came to either preserving the prisoners in order to make a truce by the orders of the King or slaughtering them. In an uncontrollable rage, Dante killed all of them, believing them to be heretics. When King Richard saw this, he demanded the accused to step forward. Francesco took the fall in order to save his "Brother" and was sentenced to be hanged as Dante fled.

Nine Circles[]

Condemned to Hell for his sins during the Crusades, Francesco was deformed into a disfigured humanoid figure with half of his face warped into a plantlike appearance, sections of skin removed to reveal the muscle tissue, and armor made of bone grafted to his body. Now a demonic, hollow shell of his former self, he eagerly awaited the opportunity to kill Dante who he blamed for his descent into demonhood. As a demon, he carried several swords stabbed into his back (Symbolizing how he was "Stabbed in the back" by Dante) which he used as melee/projectile weapons. After Dante managed to remove a sword from his heart, Francesco came to his senses and asked him why God turned his back on him and the other Crusaders when they did what they did in his name. Dante explained that killing was never in the name of God. Realizing that the Bishop lied to them about being absolved, Francesco told Dante to use his soul to save Beatrice, and was immediately absolved.

Battle[]

Francesco fought similarly to the Damned Crusaders, but with new abilities. He mainly fought with a large sword and defended himself with a shield. If Dante stayed at range, Francesco could throw a sword at him. By dodging the sword and grabbing it with his scythe, Dante could throw it back at his former friend, damaging his shield. The two thrown swords would destroy Francesco's shield, leaving him vulnerable to attack. However, he could summon a new shield after a short while.

As he took damage, Francesco would begin summoning the Damned Captains to assist him. If Dante remained close, he would grab Dante and skewer him onto the sword that protruded from his chest.

Movie[]

Francesco was present in Dante's Inferno: An Animated Epic, but his appearance was different from the game. While his body was deformed and plant-like, Francesco not only retained his human form (Except that he lost his left eye), but had blonde hair and a beard while in the game, he was a Brunette. He was also outfitted with a Templar robe and had no swords stuck in his back.

Like the game, Francesco met and fought Dante, but he was not absolved after being defeated, instead disintegrating into sand, merging with the circle itself. Virgil said that he may rest, but he was linked to the seventh circle. Dante prayed for Francesco to be freed, but he was interrupted by Lucifer who taunted Dante. It was unknown if Dante's prayers had any effects on Francesco.

Strategy[]

Quotes[]

  • "You're nothing to me now!"
  • "You're foolish as ever!"
  • "You betrayed my sister!"
  • "How could you do it?"
  • "I begged you not to do it!"
  • "You fell for a bishop's lie!"
  • "You shamed us all!"
  • "You're a dog!"
  • "Suffer as I have!"
  • "Is that all you've got?!" - Upon being attacked
  • "Damn you!" - Upon being attacked
  • "No, no!" - Upon being attacked
  • "I'll still defeat you!"
  • "You're mine now, Dante."
  • "God has turned against you."
  • "Now, I'll have my revenge."
  • "Crusaders!"
  • "My brothers, attack!"
  • "Mongrel!"
  • "Our deeds were done in the name of God. Why has He forsaken us?"
  • "Redeem yourself, brother. Use my soul wisely."
  • "Beatrice. Sister..."

Trivia[]

  • Francesco bore some similarities to Alrik from the God of War video game series.
  • Francesco was also very similar to Deimos from the God of War video game series, as they both are brothers of the protagonist (though in Francesco's case, he was Dante's brother-in-arms) had large beards, battled in a realm of the dead, attacked the protagonists in a rage and eventually, they redeemed themselves and helped the protagonists later on.
  • Even though Francesco sacrificed himself to save Dante (Holy Bible claimed that dying for a friend shows greatest love, which probably implies that how much Labbi Yeshua loves mortals), he was still punished in Hell. Some people said that the reason was that Francesco saved a man whom God wanted to punish, whilst some other people said that Francesco was punished in Hell because of the war crimes he committed during the Crusade. No matter what, Francesco was still saved by Dante in the game. God had probably absolved him of sins through Dante's act.
Bosses
Death ·  King Minos ·  Cleopatra ·  Marc Antony ·  Cerberus ·  Alighiero ·  Phlegyas ·  Francesco ·  Lucifer
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