Dee

Dee is a secret character in Vampire: Darkstalkers Collection—a Japan-only release—and serves as an alternate, corrupted version of Donovan. Alluded to in Night Warriors: Darkstalkers' Revenge, Dee has made only a handful of appearances across comics, crossovers, and figurines, representing a darker "what-if" path for Donovan.

Concept and Creation

Dee was originally conceived as an alternate version of Demitri but was later reworked to blend elements of Donovan.

His character was developed from scrapped endings planned for Vampire Savior. One of these concepts involved Donovan succumbing to darkness but regaining his humanity just before killing Anita. Another unused ending showed Anita being absorbed into Jedah’s essence.

Dee’s in-game sprite is an amalgamation of Demitri’s visuals with added features from Donovan. His gameplay reflects Donovan’s style but with enhanced moves, including new projectile attacks and a fusion of Demitri’s abilities.

Vampire: Darkstalkers Collection introduces Dee as a secret playable character in the "Arranged Versions" of Vampire Savior.

Background

In Night Warriors: Darkstalkers' Revenge, Donovan’s story ends in tragedy. He sacrifices his humanity to protect Anita, awakening her emotions for the first time in years. Though victorious, Donovan's descent into darkness leaves him struggling with his identity. As Anita cries—symbolizing her emotional healing—Donovan retreats into isolation, haunted by his inner demons.

Dee is portrayed as the fully corrupted version of Donovan, embodying what might have happened if Donovan’s Vampire Hunter ending was canon. He sits on a throne surrounded by bodies, locked in an endless battle with his darker self, longing for peace but trapped in despair.

In Dee’s ending, he encounters a grown Anita, hinting that she has been searching for him. Their confrontation implies a final showdown between them, but the outcome is left ambiguous. During the game’s credits, Anita is shown visiting a grave, strongly implying that she defeated and killed Dee. The assumption is that Anita killed Dee not out of hatred, but out of mercy, freeing him from his torment.

There is no evidence of animosity between them, suggesting Anita may have known about Donovan’s darker side all along. This adds a tragic note to their story, hinting at Anita’s understanding of Dee’s suffering and the duty she felt to end it.

Personality

If Donovan was once the righteous hunter of the dark, Dee is his tragic reflection—a man consumed by the very darkness he fought. Dee's existence is marked by torment and exhaustion. He longs for eternal rest, seeing no meaning in his existence as a paradox—both savior and monster.

Though corrupted, Dee still harbors remnants of his former sense of duty. His win quotes reflect his determination to eliminate the Darkstalkers, but his tone is somber and weary, as if he no longer believes in the justice he once championed.

Selecting Dee

After unlocking and selecting one of the arrange versions of Vampire Savior, Vampire Hunter 2 or Vampire Savior 2, highlight the random select box on the character select screen and press "Start" 9 times and then press any punch or kick button. An alternate way to select him is to toggle on the 49th dipswitch star (which is found by holding R1 when going into Game Option under Option), this will replace the random select's slot with Dee.

Sprite

Darkstalkers series (Dee)	Darkstalkers series (Donovan)

Gallery (Artwork)

Dee character art by Ikeno from Vampire Artworks.

Concept art for Dee's versus portait, finalized as his character select portrait.

Concept art for Dee's victory portait.

Concept art of Dee from an unused Donovan ending.

Concept art of Dee from an unused Donovan ending.

Concept art of unused endings featuring Dee

Concept art featuring Dee

Dee in Street Fighter vs Darkstalkers

Dee from Darkstalkers in Teppen

Dee from Darkstalkers (Teppen)

Destined Confrontation Teppen card

Toys

Dee (SDCC 2007)

Dee (Metal Card 2023)

Game Sprites

HUD portrait

Midnight Bliss form

Character select icon

Damage effect (Shocking)

Versus portrait of Dee

Victory portrait of Dee

The costume colors of Dee

Videos

Trivia

• Dee's name is a reference to the titular character D from Vampire Hunter D, who is also a dhampir.
• Unlike his original form, he can be dismembered by certain attacks in the game, due to being largely based on Demitri's sprites.
• Dee's random encounter battle is versus Demitri.
• Similar to Street Fighter IV's Evil Ryu and Oni, Dee is more of a "what-if" character than a fully canonical one, as Capcom planned multiple possibilities for what their story could have been if they were a part of Vampire Savior but decided they want to leave what their actual fate could have been up to interpretation.
• Dee has not appeared in other Darkstalkers games beyond Vampire: Darkstalkers Collection, but he has featured in comics such as Street Fighter vs. Darkstalkers and the online game Teppen.
• His design has also been used in figurines and other collectibles, further cementing his status as a rare and enigmatic figure in the Darkstalkers universe.

See also

• Dee command list
• Dee quotes

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