The following contains spoilers for Spy x Family Chapter 62.1 by Tatsuya Endo, Casey Loe and Rina Mapa, available in English now via Viz Media.
In Spy x Family, not much is known about Twilight's past despite the readers having been with him on his family shenanigans and his missions. The only few details that have been revealed are that he abandoned his old life in favor of the life of a spy. Having lost his parents in the war, Twilight's motivation to maintain peace between Westalis and Ostania is so there will not be any other orphans like him. He wanted to create a world where children wouldn't have to cry.
Even though Twilight has no experience being a parent, he is undoubtedly a good father. While he is adamant that the Forger family is nothing but a facade, he nonetheless would be willing to put himself in danger to protect Anya, Yor and Bond. This week's chapter of Spy x Family dives into Twilight's past -- before he was Twilight -- and the events that made him the man he is.
If there was any hope that readers would get to know Twilight's real name since this chapter focused on his childhood, those hopes were quickly dashed; the chapter cheekily blacked out his name. As a boy, Twilight spent most of his days playing war with his friends in an abandoned depot. He and his friends quickly become infatuated with the idea of being soldiers. At home, however, Twilight immediately hides his toy gun from his father.
Twilight's father is an interesting and rather contradictory character. Upon seeing how eager his son is to go to war to find "those awful monsters from the East," he immediately slaps him. It's not clear if this is a common recurrence, but the fact that his father's first instinct was to hit his son is already concerning. What's more, Twilight's childhood seems to be marred with instances of fights between his mother and father. While the slap is unjustified and should never have been done, his father's anger is understandable. All the sentiments around the Ostanians being "monsters" are propaganda fed by those in Westalis. Instead of hoping for war, Twilight's father says to his son that he should hope for peace.
That's exactly what adult Twilight's mission is -- to maintain peace between Ostania and Westalis so that war doesn't break out. His father's words left a strong enough impact for him to carry that through to his adult life. And although Twilight's father insisted that violence would never achieve peace, Twilight's line of work does demand a certain level of violence in order to protect the powerless. It's not specified, but Twilight's father's job appears to be diplomatic in nature, and he may have worked in a department that maintained peace at the border.
Knowing who Twilight is now and his occupation, it's endearing to see what he was like when he was a child. Adult Twilight can lie with ease and disguise himself flawlessly in the blink of an eye. Twilight as a boy feels absolutely guilty when he has to lie to his father for pocket money to buy the soldier set. Even after getting the gun, he can't go through with playing with it and returns home. After talking to the croquette lady and realizing that the Ostanians may not be as monstrous as they have been portrayed, Twilight wants to return home and apologize to his father.
Sadly, Twilight doesn't get a chance to do that. A bomb crashes into the town of Luwen, destroying the depot that Twilight's friends were playing in just a few hours ago, leaving nothing but the "KEEP OUT" sign lying in the rubble. The chapter doesn't confirm whether or not Twilight's friends managed to escape before they were killed, but it doesn't look optimistic.
Despite having never been a father before, it's made abundantly clear that Twilight's parenting style was influenced by his own father. He would never raise a hand to Anya, and his parenting is usually much more gentle and gives off heartwarming vibes. This is a Twilight who never wants to inflict the same pain on his child (even if Anya is his fake daughter) that he endured when he was young.
It's hard to remember that Spy x Family is set during a time when war could erupt at any moment. All of the comedic moments are what make Spy x Family so enjoyable, but moments like these with Twilight's backstory make readers realize that this is what makes the manga so special.
