Most people know that Dracula is the main villain of the “Castlevania” series, but the heroes of the franchise aren’t quite as well-known as the monster they fight. The Belmont family is a storied clan of vampire hunters that has been battling the forces of darkness since the 11th century.

Of all the classic games that would make great TV shows, “Castlevania” stands out as one of the best options. The franchise has a wealth of lore to explore, and it’s had decades to build up a solid fan base. The first Netflix “Castlevania” series had a stunning cast and blew fans away with its retelling of “Castlevania III: Dracula’s Curse.” Then the follow-up series, “Castlevania: Nocturne,” raised the bar further by reimagining the events of “Castlevania: Rondo of Blood” and making the story even better than it was in the original game.

The “Castlevania” shows on Netflix have explored new sides of the Belmont family. They’ve also introduced us to several generations of the vampire-hunting clan spread across hundreds of years. Of course, the anime just begins to scratch the surface of everything there is to know about the Belmonts, so we’re here to fill in the gaps to show you the full story of the greatest vampire-killing family in history.

The Belmont family is a storied clan of vampire hunters, but despite their lengthy history and near-mythic status, no one actually knows the true origins of their earliest ancestors. Ultimately the identity of the very first Belmont doesn’t matter because the family didn’t become vampire hunters until much later.

The story of the family’s first hunter was the subject of the game “Castlevania: Lament of Innocence,” released on the PlayStation 2 in 2003. The protagonist is named Leon Belmont, and he’s a warrior for the Church in the 11th century. Leon is ordered to fight against heretics rather than the monsters that are plaguing the land, but when monsters kidnap Leon’s fiancé, Sara, he leaves the Church behind. In search of his love, Leon travels to a mysterious castle ruled over by a vampire named Walter Bernhard.

Unfortunately, Leon’s quest is only partially successful. By the time he finds Sara, she’s already begun to turn into a vampire. Sara sacrifices herself to help Leon create the whip known as Vampire Killer, giving him the power to slay Bernhard. Leon does just that, and, afterward, he passes Vampire Killer down to his children, kicking off the Belmont vampire hunting tradition. Hundreds of years later, that same whip is wielded by Trevor Belmont in his epic confrontation with Dracula.

Trevor Belmont, voiced by Richard Armitage, is one of the protagonists of the Netflix “Castlevania” series created by Warren Ellis. In the games, Trevor was introduced in 1989’s “Castlevania III: Dracula’s Curse,” but even though Trevor didn’t show up until the third game, his story actually occurs very early in the “Castlevania” timeline, and he’s the first Belmont to ever come face-to-face with Dracula. The plot of “Castlevania III” fuels the first two seasons of the Netflix “Castlevania” show and sets up everything that comes in the season to follow. However, the show takes some creative liberties with its interpretation of the characters, transforming Dracula from a fairly generic villain to one of the most compelling vampires on TV. 

Trevor’s story takes place roughly 400 years after Leon’s, and by the time that Trevor is growing up, the Belmont clan has become well-known. But though they are legendary monster hunters, the Belmonts also tend to strike fear into the hearts of ordinary people. The citizens of Wallachia treat Trevor like an outcast because they associate his family with the very monsters that Dracula has sent to plague their land. Trevor may not be a celebrated hero, but he’s still one of the only people capable of saving the world from Dracula’s rage. The original Netflix series sees Trevor teaming up with other powerful warriors, including Dracula’s own son, to stop the powerful vampire from completely destroying the people of Wallachia.

Sypha Belnades is one of the most important people in the history of the Belmont clan. In the games, Sypha was introduced alongside Trevor Belmont in “Castlevania III,” where she was introduced as a magical warrior and referred to with male pronouns. The end of the game shocked players by revealing that Sypha was actually a woman, and the story concludes with her getting married to Trevor.

In the Netflix series, Sypha is voiced by Alejandra Reynoso, and she really gets to take center stage. When the show begins, Sypha is fighting alongside Trevor against the monsters that are running rampant throughout Wallachia. Her magical abilities give the duo an edge in combat, and, over time, the relationship between the pair deepens. They fall in love as they also begin to strike up a friendship with Dracula’s son Alucard (James Callis), and it takes the combined forces of all three heroes to ultimately save the day. In an unusual twist, Dracula is a completely justified TV villain who’s really just punishing Wallachia for their crimes against his wife, but because his success would mean the death of lovable characters like Sypha, it’s easy to root against him.

The “Castlevania” series has been around for a long time, and throughout the decades, the franchise has introduced fans to more than half a dozen generations of the Belmont family. But despite all that detailed history, there are still some major gaps in our knowledge about the Belmont family tree. For example, neither gamers nor fans of the Netflix “Castlevania” series know any concrete details about the child of Trevor Belmont and Sypha Belnades.

We know that after the ending of “Castlevania” Season 4, Trevor and Sypha continued their journeys and eventually had a child, but the Netflix shows don’t give us any specific details about their experiences later in life. The games have nothing at all to say about Trevor’s child either, but that hasn’t stopped fans from trying to piece together any clues they can scrounge up. From supplemental game material, fans have learned that somewhere between Trevor and Christopher Belmont’s lives lived a man named Frederick Belmont who never appeared in a specific game. But there’s no way to know for certain if Frederick was Trevor’s son.

The original Netflix “Castlevania” series did get a sequel, but not even the story of “Castlevania: Nocturne” helps us solve this particular mystery. That show takes place during the French Revolution, roughly 300 years after the events of the original series. All of this means that this is one piece of the Belmont family tree that’s likely to remain obscured for a long time.

Before we get to the Belmonts who appeared in Netflix’s “Castlevania: Nocturne,” we need to address arguably the most famous Belmont in the entire family. Simon Belmont was, in some ways, the original member of the family. He was the protagonist of the very first “Castlevania” game released in 1986, and he’s appeared in two games since then: “Castlevania: Simon’s Quest” and “Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance.” Despite his limited appearances, Simon is still the most iconic member of the Belmont family, and without his unique character design and vampire-fighting moveset, we wouldn’t have the expansive series that we know and love today.

Simon lives in the 17th century, which means he’s about 200 years removed from Trevor Belmont and lived about 100 years before Richter’s time. In the first “Castlevania” game, Simon confronts Dracula and defeats the vampire, but in the process, Dracula gives him a cursed wound. In “Simon’s Quest,” Simon is trying to save himself from the curse while also finding a way to stop Dracula’s evil powers once and for all. Obviously, he doesn’t prevent Dracula from coming back over and over again, but Simon’s valiant struggle does cement the Belmont family’s reputation amongst the general population. Instead of being feared for their association with the demonic, the Belmonts are finally recognized as heroes thanks to Simon’s epic efforts.

Richter Belmont is arguably one of the best-known members of the family, at least among “Castlevania” fans. Richter has become an iconic character within the series, which is a little strange considering that his first appearance, 1993’s “Castlevania: Rondo of Blood,” wasn’t released outside of Japan until 2007. Gamers in other countries instead got to know Richter through his role in 1997’s “Castlevania: Symphony of the Night,” where he was both a major boss and a secret playable character. 

Richter, voiced by Edward Bluemel, is the main protagonist in the Netflix series “Castlevania: Nocturne,” a show that very roughly follows the events of “Rondo of Blood” but introduces Richter as a child growing up in Boston. There, he witnesses a vampire kill his mother, and he runs away to France, now set on the path of becoming a legendary vampire hunter.

In pre-revolutionary France, many of the aristocrats ruling the nation are vampires, and there is no shortage of targets for Richter to use as hunting practice. He has some inherent fighting abilities, but he struggles to access the magic in his Belmont blood. When Richter discovers that some cultists are trying to bring about the rise of a vampire messiah, it becomes more important than ever that he access his full range of powers to save humanity. Luckily, Richter encounters a forgotten Belmont relative named Juste (Iain Glen), who is himself a powerful magic user that might be able to teach Richter what he needs to know.

Richter wasn’t alone in the “Castlevania: Rondo of Blood” game; he was joined by a young girl named Maria Renard, who was already a supremely powerful magic user and vampire hunter. Like Richter, Maria has appeared in many other games, including “Castlevania: Symphony of the Night.” That said, it’s in the Netflix show “Castlevania: Nocturne” that Maria (Pixie Davies) really gets to shine. There, she’s a key member of Richter’s team and plays an integral role in fighting back against the vampires of 18th-century France.

In the show, we learn that Maria is the daughter of magician Tera Renard (Nastassja Kinski). When Richter first arrives in France, he’s taken in by Tera, who raises him and Maria as adopted siblings, and, as a result, they become incredibly intertwined, both emotionally and tactically. Without Maria’s help, there’s almost no doubt that the aristocratic vampire cult in France would have killed Richter and risen to global dominance.

Fortunately, Maria’s natural talent for magic gives her an incredible edge in combat and makes her one of Richter’s most valuable allies in the fight against evil. Maria herself struggles to avoid the power and temptation of dark magic, but thanks to encouragement and intervention from Juste Belmont, she manages to stay on the path of good.

Annette was introduced in “Rondo of Blood” as Richter Belmont’s love interest. In that game, she’s essentially just a damsel in distress. Dracula takes her captive, and she helps serve as increased motivation for Richter’s fight against the vampires. She went on to appear in “The Dracula X Chronicles” and “Castlevania: Grimoire of Souls,” but in both of those games, she becomes a vampire and a boss that players need to tackle. 

The Netflix series “Castlevania: Nocturne” cast Thuso Mbedu as Annette and reinterpreted the character’s story arc. In the show, Annette grows up as a prisoner of the vampire Vaublanc (Alastair Duncan), who enslaves her people in the French colony of Saint-Domingue. Like Richter, Annette witnesses her mother die at the hands of a vampire, and when she flees from Vaublanc, her magical abilities suddenly awaken. With her newfound power, Annette leads a slave rebellion in Saint-Domingue before eventually making her way to France with a man named Edouard (Sydney James Harcourt) and crossing paths with Richter.

While they fight against the vampires of France and the impending danger of the vampire messiah, Richter and Annette fall in love. At the end of “Castlevania: Nocturne” Season 2, Richter finally tells Annette that he’s in love with her, and their relationship actually begins. Even game fans don’t know anything about the child Richter and Annette have together, but they do know that the Belmont family tree extends into the 21st century.

The two “Castlevania” shows on Netflix manage to adapt material from several different games in the series. The first tells the story of “Castlevania III” and incorporates elements from “Castlevania: Curse of Darkness” and “Castlevania: Symphony of the Night.” Then, the second series reimagines the events of “Castlevania: Rondo of Blood.” Together, both Neflix shows cover several hundred years of Belmont history, but the lore of the games stretches farther, going into our future.

Released on the Game Boy Advance in 2003, “Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow” introduces fans to the last known Belmont. The game is set in the year 2035 and follows a high school student named Soma Cruz who gets pulled into Dracula’s castle during a solar eclipse. Soma meets Julius, who’s suffering from amnesia and can’t remember that he’s a Belmont. Julius’ role in that game is especially interesting for people who’ve played through previous games in the franchise because he later acts as a boss, using all the classic Belmont moves against Soma and the player controlling him.

Julius made his latest canonical appearance in 2005’s “Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow.” Set one year after the previous game, Julius has now regained his memories, but he’s still just a supporting character in Soma’s story. Though he’s as fierce a vampire hunter as any of his ancestors, Julius seemingly marks a point in history where the Belmont family becomes less important in the struggle against Dracula.

Without the Belmont family, humanity likely would have been wiped out by Dracula when he rose to power in Wallachia in the 1400s, as the “Castlevania” games and TV series repeatedly show us that the Belmonts are the world’s best defense against vampires. In 2010, the game “Castlevania: Lords of Shadow” kicked off a miniseries that asked longtime fans a startling question: What if the Belmonts themselves became vampires?

The “Lords of Shadow” games take place in an alternate universe, and they rewrite the entire “Castlevania” timeline.  The games follow Gabriel Belmont, a devout warrior for the church who’s also grieving his late wife. He goes on a quest that he believes will both save the world from evil and bring his wife back to life, but everything he believes turns out to be a lie. Gabriel’s quest corrupts him, and the end of “Lords of Shadow” jumps forward to modern times to reveal that Gabriel has lived for hundreds of years because he transformed into the vampire known as Dracula.

The sequel to “Lords of Shadow” once again puts players in Gabriel’s shoes, but now he is both a Belmont and the classic enemy of the family. The “Lords of Shadow” story is an exciting reinvention of the Belmont mythos, and, though some gameplay elements in the series got mixed reactions, fans still think that the story makes the series well worth playing.