WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Castlevania Season 4, available now on Netflix.
Across virtually every Castlevania video game installment and the hit Netflix original animated series, the franchise's biggest, baddest antagonist has been Dracula, Lord of the Vampires. Based out of his castle deep in Transylvania, Dracula commands an army of monsters. He plots to punish humanity for the murder of his human wife Lisa, condemned to publicly burn at the stake by the local clergy. And while Dracula has undergone a relatively shocking character arc over the course of the animated series, here's how Dracula rose to power as an undead warlord and what makes him vulnerable as he embraces his vampiric second chance at life.
Dracula's Origin
In the 2003 video game Castlevania: Lament of Innocence, Dracula was revealed to be Mathias Cronqvist, an 11th-century crusader that was best friends with Leon Belmont. Jealous that Leon's betrothed Sara survived while his own wife Elisabetha died, Mathias had the vampire Walter Bernhard transform Sara into a vampire. Then he forced Leon to sacrifice her to forge the Vampire Killer whip before Mathias became a vampire himself and took on the moniker of Dracula after forming an alliance with Death. While it's unclear how much of this origin is intact in the animated series -- especially with Dracula's civilian name being revealed as Vladimir Tepes -- Lament of Innocence has been directly referenced before, including a portrait of Leon in the Belmont family armory.
Dracula's Powers and Weaknesses
In regards to powers, Dracula has all the incredible abilities that come with most vampires, including superhuman resilience, enhanced senses and significantly augmented physical strength. Dracula can move at blinding speeds and is capable of transforming into a swarm of bats, a large black wolf and a cloud of mist. While Dracula largely remains in his base state for the animated series, the games show him capable of transforming into different monstrous forms in the heat of battle, each more formidable than the last. As someone who has mastered dark magic, Dracula is also capable of casting powerful spells in addition to his background as a lethal combatant with various medieval weaponry.
Dracula's transformation into a vampire did not come without its own usual set of vulnerabilities of course. Like most vampires, Dracula burns when he comes into direct contact with sunlight and the altered sense of vision he gained with his vampirism results in him being easily disoriented by the geometric shape of a crucifix. Dracula is particularly sensitive to silver and magical weapons. He will also burn when coming into contact with holy water and, like all vampires, can truly be put down by having his heart impaled by a stake and/or having his head cut off.
Dracula's future in Castelvania's animated series stands at a bit of a crossroads. Dracula and his beloved Lisa were revealed to have been secretly resurrected by Death and St. Germain's occult ritual and traveled from the castle relatively incognito. Future series can potentially explore Dracula's tragic background and the origin of his feud against the Belmont clan. It could also potentially reveal a descent back into villainy, showcasing his incredible powers and abilities while reminding audiences exactly why Dracula is the Lord of the Vampires.
Castlevania stars Richard Armitage as Trevor Belmont, Alejandra Reynoso as Sypha Belnades, James Callis as Alucard, Theo James as Hector, Adetokumboh M'Cormack as Isaac, Jaime Murray as Carmilla, Jessica Brown Findlay as Lenore, Bill Nighy as St. Germain, Malcolm McDowell as Varney and Marsha Thomason as Greta. All four seasons are available to stream on Netflix.