Dante is the eldest of the 7 McQueen kids. He’s the older twin by 7 minutes which he reminds Elise of whenever he can. Dante and Elise were born through surrogacy and are biologically Lightning’s kids. Dante is very attached to Elise. They spend a lot of time together even if it means Dante following her around on her ‘adventures.’ Dante loved Radiator Springs where the McQueen kids had grown up with Lightning and Francesco. He was the one kid that was at every one of his Dad’s races. From the moment he could walk, he needed to go fast. Lightning had taught him to drive around in the late Doc Hudson’s car. He had a lot of affection for the old car and the man who had helped his dad be who he was. He was his namesake, after all.
He always knew he’d race but he had fallen in love with flying. His Uncle Dusty had taken him for a flight and the rest was history. He’d struggled to tell his parents even though he knew they wouldn’t care. He was the only son and he wanted to carry the McQueen name on the track but the skies were calling him. Lightning had hushed his worries when he asked him if he wanted to go to Dusty’s school. He’d always loved the Crophoppers and falling into his Uncle’s routine had been a piece of cake.
He dedicated all his free time to his flying lessons and tried his best to keep up his grades. His father was very strict about it and even though he got detention often for being a bit of a prankster, he tried his best. The McQueen’s attended Radiator High and were well-known as the troublemakers thanks to Dante. It didn’t help that he got into fights at least once a week.
When they got too out of control, Lightning decided to send them all to Walt especially after Sally was born but before school started, Francesco took them to Italy but Dante chose to stay behind to watch his Dad’s last race of the season. He was going for his 23rd Piston Cup. Dante never imagined that it would be his Dad’s last race. His father lost control of the car and crashed. Dante had to be the one to deal with it and it almost broke him. Lightning fell into a 3-month coma and while Fran dealt with the pain, Dante held his family together. It was a rough lesson but they came out on the other side.
Dante decided to race the next season for his father. Once the man woke up and wasn’t allowed to race due to his heart injury, Dante knew his aspirations didn’t matter for the moment. He couldn’t let his Dad’s company not have a racer. They ran into trouble when Dante knocked out another rookie racer defending Nina and was disqualified and banned. Dante was shocked when his flower child twin, Elise, took up the challenge. He worked with her during the season before Lightning got Cruz to replace her for the next as the McQueens started the adventure that was Walt Academy.
PERSONALITY:
Dante is determined, honest, intelligent, and kind. He is the best brother and his sisters love him dearly. He goes above and beyond for anyone he holds dear. He’s also a big nerd. He loved comics and often goes to cons. He’s a big sap and will sit with Elise and watch the saddest movies they can think of and cry with her because she’s convinced him he needs to express himself more. Dante also has a tendency to get angry quickly. He snaps in seconds which is usually how he ends up getting in trouble. He’s quick to fight especially when it involves his sisters. He knows they’re capable of handling themselves but no one messes with them and gets away with it.
CONNECTIONS:
The Crophoppers – Dante gets along with them pretty well because of his pretty relaxed personality. They all grew up together and come from the same background. They spent so much time together it was hard not getting attached. Dylan even lived with them for a while and it was nice having another guy around for a change. He loved his sisters but he was tired of having his nails painted.
Skye Crophopper – He hadn’t seen it coming but before he knew it, he was head over heels and it took him a while to tell her because they were constantly pranking each other and he was afraid she wouldn’t take him seriously. They were together now and it was his best decision. They still tried their best to outdo each other but it was more affectionate.
The Carreras: Dante loved his Aunt Sarah and his cousins. She was the funnest person to have around. She not only proved time and time again that she was the best lawyer but she was fun to watch interact with his parents. His cousins were very easily what made life in Radiator Springs fun.
Astor Carrera – Dante was very attached to Astor. He was always around his Dad’s shop and it was hard not to like him. They were both the boy twins and could vent to each other about their respective sisters. He was always amazed about what Astor could come up with it. The kid was a genius but he had to stop trying to upgrade Dante’s plane.
