Dio Brando
Encyclopedia
is a fictional character from the manga
Manga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...

 and anime
Anime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....

 series JoJo's Bizarre Adventure
JoJo's Bizarre Adventure
is a manga written and illustrated by Hirohiko Araki. Every main character's name in each part can be read as JoJo. The manga, published by Shueisha, first ran in the magazine Weekly Shōnen Jump from 1987 to 2002, before being transferred to the seinen magazine Ultra Jump in 2004. The current story...

. He is the primary antagonist of Parts 1 and 3, although he is also considered to be the main villain of the entire series, as his actions affect the JoJo universe long after his death. Dio's son, Giorno Giovana, is the protagonist of Part 5.

Dio's full name is a homage to both actor Marlon Brando
Marlon Brando
Marlon Brando, Jr. was an American movie star and political activist. "Unchallenged as the most important actor in modern American Cinema" according to the St...

 and heavy metal icon Ronnie James Dio
Ronnie James Dio
Ronald James Padavona , better known as Ronnie James Dio, was an American heavy metal vocalist and songwriter. He performed with, amongst others, Elf, Rainbow, Black Sabbath, Heaven & Hell, and his own band Dio, which means God in Italian. Other musical projects include the collective fundraiser...

.

Series 1: Phantom Blood

Series 1 takes place in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

, where Dio is the son of Dario Brando, an alcoholic and abusive father. Back when Dio was just a boy, he was brought into the household of George Joestar after the mysterious death of his father, so as to repay the debt he owed Dio's father for saving his life. But soon Dio's personality caused trouble for George's young son, Jonathan Joestar
Jonathan Joestar
is a fictional character and the protagonist and hero of part one of the manga JoJo's Bizarre Adventure. He is the son of the wealthy George Joestar. He is an honest, kind and positive young man whose life is fraught with tragedy.-Early life:...

. Even more of a sociopath than his father, Dio was resolute to shatter Jonathan's spirit and take his place as the favored son, even going so far as to arrange for Jonathan's dog Danny to be burned to death.

Initially, Dio is able earn the trust of the patriarch of the Joestar family through deceit (and at Jonathan's expense). However, his plans of taking over the Joestar household were discovered by Jonathan when he discovered that not only had Dio poisoned his biological father to death, he was doing the same to his adoptive father, all to take the Joestar estate for his own.

Determined not to be stopped, and understanding the potential to enjoy power over all things instead of just the Joestar estate, Dio wears and activates the Stone Mask, becoming a nearly unstoppable vampire
Vampire
Vampires are mythological or folkloric beings who subsist by feeding on the life essence of living creatures, regardless of whether they are undead or a living person...

. His seemingly supernatural abilities are similar to the Mythical powers of the Mayan blood gods. He is able to walk on walls, and regenerate his body faster than fire can consume it. He is able to pressurize liquid in his eyeballs and then create small openings on pupils, eventually creating two fluid jets powerful enough to slice stone and kill living things. He is also able to vaporize his body fluid rapidly enough to freeze anything he touches. However, this is at the expense of having his body be sustained by sheer willpower alone, rather than vital energy. A sufficiently powerful vital force—specifically, sunlight or the Hamon force—will negate the sustaining force's presence and disintegrate the long-unliving body. Like all JoJo vampires, Dio sucks blood through tentacles in his fingers and has been seen at least once drinking blood from an unnamed girl.

At the end of Series 1, Dio's body was destroyed, but his severed head managed to kill Jonathan Joestar
Jonathan Joestar
is a fictional character and the protagonist and hero of part one of the manga JoJo's Bizarre Adventure. He is the son of the wealthy George Joestar. He is an honest, kind and positive young man whose life is fraught with tragedy.-Early life:...

 and together they sank to the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean.

Series 3: Stardust Crusaders

The anime series and video game are based on this third arc, which occurs about 100 years later. At the bottom of the sea, Dio's severed head reattached itself to Jonathan Joestar's lifeless body (giving Dio the same star birthmark as the members of the Joestar family). Dio's casket is recovered by fishermen, who are implied to have been killed by Dio as he awakened. He finds that he is now in the year 1985. After he returns to land he develops a Stand (a sort of ghostly bodyguard), giving him vastly powerful new abilities on top of his vampiric
Vampire
Vampires are mythological or folkloric beings who subsist by feeding on the life essence of living creatures, regardless of whether they are undead or a living person...

 powers. For most of Series 3, Dio is out of scene and in the shadows, and the question of exactly what his Stand "The World" can do is a mystery. Jonathan Joestar's grandson, Joseph
Joseph Joestar
is a fictional character from the Japanese manga JoJo's Bizarre Adventure. Joseph is the main hero of Part 2, and also plays a significant role in Part 3 & 4. In his younger days, he had black hair and muscular build, but in his older age, he wears a hat and sports a yellow shirt and khaki pants...

, identifies Dio as the nemesis of the Joestar family whom he and Jotaro
Jotaro Kujo
is a fictional character from the Japanese manga series, JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, and the protagonist of Part 3. He has a recognizable attire of a blue trenchcoat-length school uniform jacket with yellow chains on the collar....

 are destined to fight.

In Series 3, many of Dio's offensive vampiric abilities do not appear, though he displays a new ability described as "evil implants"; parasites generated in his hair that attach themselves to and brainwash victims, finding early success with Kakyoin and Polnareff (in the fighting game JoJo's Bizarre Adventure it is the vector of attack in the move called "Charisma"). Dio's Stand "The World", as a sort of brother power to "Star Platinum", possesses great speed, strength, and crucially, is able to stop time, making Dio appear to teleport or move at impossible speed. Dio's ambition is to create a perfect world for himself and his servants. In the interim, he seeks to drain for himself the blood of the Joestar lineage, which will help him to fully fuse with Jonathan Joestar's body and take better control of The World. Once he does this, his powers will gradually increase, until he is able to stop time for as long as he likes.
In the beginning of the story arc Dio's World, Dio mainly battles Kakyoin and Joseph. Kakyoin succeeds in leading Dio into a vast barrier created by his Stand, trapping him. Dio uses The World to stop time, allowing him to ignore the barrier and approach Kakyoin to deliver a fatal blow. Before dying, Kakyoin deduces The World's time-stop ability and uses his last strength to give Joseph this message. Joseph then warns this to Jotaro before he is also killed by Dio.

After a long battle between Dio and Jotaro
Jotaro Kujo
is a fictional character from the Japanese manga series, JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, and the protagonist of Part 3. He has a recognizable attire of a blue trenchcoat-length school uniform jacket with yellow chains on the collar....

, Jotaro finds his own ability to stop time just before Dio drops a steamroller on him, proceeding in time-stop to break Dio's leg. Jotaro's intention was for the two to end the fight with a final blow once Dio's leg had healed. Dio, determined not to lose, squirts blood from his open leg into Jotaro's eyes. Dio then attempts a final kick with The World, which Jotaro blindly counters with a punch from Star Platinum. Star Platinum's hand breaks on The World's leg, but the punch sends a fissure through The World and through Dio, shattering Dio completely above the waist. Jotaro and doctors from the Speedwagon Foundation (an oil and medicine company loyal to the Joestar family) transfer the blood from Dio's lower half to Joseph Joestar, reviving him. Later, they lay Dio Brando's remains in the Sahara Desert to evaporate with the rising sun.

Legacy

In Part 6, it is revealed to the Joestars that his re-emergence was planned to create a perfect world when the moon reached a certain angle and time. He stumbled upon Enrico Pucci
Enrico Pucci
is a fictional character from the Japanese manga JoJo's Bizarre Adventure. Pucci is the main antagonist of Part 6.-Story:Pucci grew up with a secluded upbringing. His twin brother, Domenico, supposedly died in his youth due to illness. The disfigurement of a foot haunted his life, producing a...

 not long before Part 3 and "healed" his disfigured foot for him. After piercing Pucci with a Stand arrow, the two spent considerable time together, plotting and scheming. He questioned Pucci's loyalty to him, wondering why he didn't use Whitesnake to remove The World from him. Pucci had explained that he loved Dio as he had loved God, and thus worshipped him too much to betray him. Ensuring that he wouldn't completely fade, he left one of his bones in Pucci's care. Dio's presence continues to haunt the series, emerging in flashbacks and his disfigured sons. His bone played a vital plot element for the first half of Part 6, an odd green baby inheriting a Stand to merge with it.

Personality

Dio Brando's treacherous, sadistic nature may be partially explained by his abusive upbringing at the hands of an alcoholic father, whom he later killed by a slow poisoning over time. He is also ambitious, narcissistic, arrogant and megalomaniacal. He will do anything to get what he wants, even if it means trampling people, like he did to Jonathan Joestar when they were young, and relinquishing his humanity in favor of becoming a vampire. However, Dio shows a good side to those who are good to him. In particular, he has shown favorable attitudes towards Enrico Pucci and Vanilla Ice, who also showed unending loyalty in return. Dio also has a passion for reading, as he is found in the library of his Egypt mansion many times.

Unless provoked or deemed an obstacle, Dio will normally not attack anything or anybody (although probably more out of regarding them as of no consequence, and so not worthy of attention, than anything akin to kindness, as he had no compunctions about killing people who were merely standing in between him and Jotaro). He will first try persuading people to work for him, then fight them, if they oppose.

Diego "Dio" Brando

Main antagonist and Dio's alternate universe counterpart in Part 7 of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, Steel Ball Run
Steel Ball Run
is a seinen manga series by Hirohiko Araki. Originally presented as an unrelated story, this series was officially declared a part of the JoJo's Bizarre Adventure storyline. The series stars Gyro Zeppeli, who uses a set of steel balls that spin incredibly fast, and Johnny Joestar, a former hot-shot...

. Even though the effects of Made in Heaven
Made in Heaven
Made in Heaven is the fifteenth studio album by British rock group Queen and the final one to feature lead singer Freddie Mercury and bassist John Deacon, released on 6 November 1995...

 altered history, Dio still exists in the new world, under the name of Diego Brando (commonly referred to by his nickname Dio by other characters). He is very similar to the "original" Dio in both looks and personality, however, Diego is a famous professional jockey from England participating in the Steel Ball Run race across North America. He was raised among a group of homeless people, after his mother saved him from drowning in a river when he was still a baby. He was later adopted into nobility when his talent as a jockey was discovered.
Although he was raised with much love, he is cold-hearted and will do virtually anything to win. After he loses the first stage of the Steel Ball Run to Gyro Zeppeli, he gets mad and considers Gyro his personal enemy from that point onwards. Later in the series, after losing another round to Gyro, he joins the President of the United States
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....

, who is searching for the bodyparts of "The Saint", which are said to grant great powers. By doing so, Diego hopes to find a way of defeating Gyro. Later an alternate Diego appears wielding a stand that looks similar to The World.

At the age of 20, Diego married a rich, 83-year-old woman who died six months later, letting Diego inherit her wealth. It is rumored that he murdered her.

Scary Monster

At a later point of the race, Diego meets Gyro and Johnny
Johnny Joestar
, birth name , is a fictional character from the Japanese manga JoJo's Bizarre Adventure. In Steel Ball Run's alternate universe version of the world, he takes the place of Jonathan Joestar. He is a paraplegic, and is usually seen wearing a hat with a horse shoe decoration on the front...

 again in a small village in the mountains. He appears to be friendly, but just as the two heroes think he won't harm them, he suddenly transforms into a Velociraptor
Velociraptor
Velociraptor is a genus of dromaeosaurid theropod dinosaur that existed approximately 75 to 71 million years ago during the later part of the Cretaceous Period. Two species are currently recognized, although others have been assigned in the past. The type species is V. mongoliensis; fossils...

and attacks them. It turns out that the meeting was a trap set up by the bounty hunter Dr. Ferdinand
Franz Ferdinand (band)
Franz Ferdinand are a Scottish post-punk revival band formed in Glasgow in 2002. The band is composed of Alex Kapranos , Bob Hardy , Nick McCarthy , and Paul Thomson .The band first experienced chart success when their second single, "Take Me Out", reached #3 in...

.

Ferdinand's Stand power can turn living beings into dinosaurs. He uses this ability to create dinosaur "bodyguards" in his hunt of The Saint's bodyparts. Even Diego was turned into one of his soldiers when he was attacked by him earlier. Gyro manages to defeat Dr. Ferdinand by fusing with one of The Saint's eyes that Ferdinand possessed and receiving the Stand ability "Scan". Even though Ferdinand was killed and all his dinosaur minions turned back into humans, Diego escaped with the second eye of The Saint, making him able to keep the transformation power and turn into a raptor whenever he wants, even though he initially can't control it very well.

Childhood

Dio's appearance in the first chapter. He has blond hair and a handsome face. Many fans who first see him may believe his hair to be white, due to the loss of details from the manga's black-and-white illustrations.

Shadow form

Dio does not have a visible face as an effect of the shadowy darkness of his mansion. He has white and flowing hair. He is topless, exposing Jonathan's muscular body (to which his head is sewn in place) and wears green pants with suspenders, gray clogs, black shiny cuffs on both wrists and heart-shaped knee guards. As of JoJo's Venture, his voice is also distorted (an effect created by the writers to add mystery). This form of Dio is also called "J'yaku no Kenshin Dio." (Evil Incarnation of Dio)

Fuku form

Just like the Shadow form, only his entire suit is now colored yellow. Dio's face is seen, his hair is blond, wearing a jacket with a wifebeater underneath. He now also wears a heart-shaped hairband, and rings for his cuffs. This is his form during the beginning of the Dio's World story arc.

Enraged/Armored form

Dio transforming into his ultimate form, after sucking Joseph Joestar's blood. The description is like his fuku form minus the jacket and the heart-shaped hairband (which had been destroyed during Polnareff's Silver Chariot's attack). He now sports a deranged and homicidal look and mannerisms, losing his cool touch, and his hair is now disheveled, mostly oriented upwards. This is his form during the later half of the Dio's World story arc.

Diego Brando

While his facial features and hairstyle are very similar to Dio, he has a younger, more slim look. He is usually seen wearing a checkered shirt, wide trousers and a jockey's helmet with the letters D-I-O attached to it. This is the form of Dio's Steel Ball Run
Steel Ball Run
is a seinen manga series by Hirohiko Araki. Originally presented as an unrelated story, this series was officially declared a part of the JoJo's Bizarre Adventure storyline. The series stars Gyro Zeppeli, who uses a set of steel balls that spin incredibly fast, and Johnny Joestar, a former hot-shot...

 counterpart Diego Brando. In recent chapters, Diego is seen using The World like his original world counterpart, of the same design and time stop ability.

Diego Brando (Raptor form)

Under the influence of Dr. Ferdinand's Stand, Scary Monsters, Diego turns into a big velociraptor with stripes spelling out the name "Dio" all over his body. His hair turns into spikes that end in round, ball-shaped tips on the back of his head. Traces of his checkered shirt are still visible on his chest. After being under the influence of the Stand for a while, Diego is able to turn into a more human-shaped form while still retaining sharp teeth, claws, dinosaur legs and a tail, with a deranged, mad expression on his face.

Stands

The World
The World (Tarot card)
The World is a trump or Major Arcana card in the tarot deck. It is usually the final card of the Major Arcana or tarot trump sequence. In the tarot family of card games, this card is usually worth five points.- Description :...

(世界 (ザ・ワールド) Za Wārudo), very similar to Jotaro's Star Platinum, is a Stand with phenomenal strength, senses and stamina - but is also faster and more accurate. It can also stop time (for a longer duration as well). He also has at least a measure of Joseph's psychic abilities (specifically, the ability to create a vision on a photograph). A possible explanation for the fact that The World has psychic powers that are only used once is that Hirohiko Araki (the creator of the manga) implied for it to have the power of all of the Stands, or possibly the power of the Stands of the Joestar lineage, due to Dio inhabiting the body of Jonathan Joestar
Jonathan Joestar
is a fictional character and the protagonist and hero of part one of the manga JoJo's Bizarre Adventure. He is the son of the wealthy George Joestar. He is an honest, kind and positive young man whose life is fraught with tragedy.-Early life:...

.

It's implied in Part 6 that he wanted to use his Stand to create a perfect world for himself and a handful of subordinates. He enlisted Enrico Pucci
Enrico Pucci
is a fictional character from the Japanese manga JoJo's Bizarre Adventure. Pucci is the main antagonist of Part 6.-Story:Pucci grew up with a secluded upbringing. His twin brother, Domenico, supposedly died in his youth due to illness. The disfigurement of a foot haunted his life, producing a...

 as his living "conscience", in case he would go crazy and be "off track".

Shadow Dio

Even without an active Stand, he can deal a lot of damage with full offensive attacks. He also has a reversal move that helps this playstyle to be more effective, which can be used either for offense or defense.

Throw Knives, while not too fast for up-close attacks, can push enemies further back. The angle of the knives can be varied, and he can throw knives twice.

His eyebeam projectile can be charged to an incredibly powerful and unblockable level.

His Stand attacks are good for surprises, and for juggling. Combined with his own attack, he deals a lot of damage in a short time, more so within The World, when he stops time.

His Super Combo, Punishment, deals heavy damage, if it connects. However, it can't be incorporated into combos easily. His other Super Combo, called "Charisma" takes two levels of power, but the buds coming out of his hair are unblockable and home in on the enemy. The slow start-up animation of this move requires it to be a part of the combo, in order to be able to perform the move without being interrupted by the enemy's attacks.

In addition, his The World - Time Stop comes out faster than "regular" Dio's. If performed with 10 levels of power, a good player can easily drain the entire lifebar of the opponent.

Dio

In contrast to Jotaro, Dio is more effective with his Stand on. His Stand combos are effective at dealing a lot of damage to the enemy in a short time. As such, Dio specializes in quick disposal of the enemy.

His Blazing Strikes can be manipulated to hit low, where the enemy must guard low. This makes his attacks unpredictable, keeping opponents on their toes. His eyebeams, now with different commands, are now completely unblockable, though the animation is notably slower.

His Road Roller, though weak in JoJo's Venture, deals bigger damage in JoJo's Bizarre Adventure. His Chi no Shoukan (Bloody Summoning) requires the enemy to be hit before he sucks their blood. The scene when he connects with the move is bloody, with a cutscenes of the enemy's face being punctured by Dio's fingers.

His main problem is that his super moves cannot be integrated into combos in such a way that they will chain together. However, his super moves have a degree of invincibility, which enables him to dominate in close-quarter battles, even though predictable. To be able to use him well, Dio players must have the reflexes to perform their super moves at the right moment.

His The World - Time Stop is deadly at 10 levels of power. He can deploy a lot of knives and perform a Road Roller before the power gauge goes below level 1. If the enemy is big in size, the more he will take damage from the knives. It is a gamble though to successfully perform The World against a human player, but the damage it inflicts is worth the effort.
The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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