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| NOTE: This page covers only the original version of Diego Brando as his Alternate World counterpart is an outright villain. |
| “ | I won’t dress it up. At their base, humans are no different from a flock of pigeons. If one bird flies right, they all go right. Every last one of them don’t try to see anything but their own gain and their own hubris. They’re all just an assembly of pretenders. For those kinds of people, it may have been alright for my mother’s death to be swept under the rug, but… I will have them pretend even more, I will stand far above from that flock of pigeons and I will control them! | „ |
| ~ Diego Brando |
Diego Brando, most commonly known as Dio, is the secondary antagonist of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Steel Ball Run.
He is the alternate universe counterpart of Dio Brando and a genius racer from England. After his mother died due to terrible treatment while working in a hellish Victorian England, he bitterly vowed to achieve the top place in society and take vengeance on the father who abandoned him; the Steel Ball Run race is the next stepping stone towards that goal. Unlike his diabolical and irredeemable counterpart from the original universe, this Dio is a genuine anti-villain with well-intentioned goals.
After grabbing a hold of one of the Corpse's eyes, he eventually gains Scary Monsters as a Stand, which allows him to turn himself and the living beings he touches into dinosaurs and fossils. It's named after Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps) by David Bowie. His horse is named "Silver Bullet" after the band.
He was voiced by Takehito Koyasu in the video games Jojo's Bizarre Adventures: Eyes of Heaven and Jojo's Bizarre Adventures: All Star Battle R, who also voiced both his Original Universe and Alternate Counterparts in the same games and anime.
Personality
Although once a kind and demure child, Diego grew up to be cold natured and distrusting due to his poor upbringing. At age five, witnessing his mother sacrificing her hands so that he could be fed, Diego developed a resentment of everyone around him for allowing that terrible incident to happen, along with an insatiable ambition.
Yet unlike the original Dio, Diego is portrayed as a sinister yet still tragic figure wanting to have his existence acknowledged. He doesn't go out of his way to wreck evil and harm others unless he's antagonized first. During his fights with Gyro and Johnny, he has a tendency to warn the two of them to back off before he gets serious rather than just outright attack them, and it's made clear that his bitter attitude is a manifestation of his dark and troubled past rather than being genuinely evil like the original Dio was. He is even shown to express remorse and guilt at his more unsavory actions (such as sacrificing Wekapipo) and is capable of looking out for other people's well being, as shown when he protects and advises Hot Pants in their fight against Funny Valentine.
History
Diego was born in England sometime in 1870 to parents that were very poor and not prepared to support their newborn child. Diego's father convinced his wife to quietly dispose of the baby with him by burying it alive near a riverbank, but due to the heavy rainfall at the time, the earth gave way and Diego was washed into the nearby river. Diego's mother was overcome with guilt after hearing her son's cries for help and jumped into the fast flowing currents to save him, whilst Diego's father, Dario, stood by. After escaping from the river much further down, Diego's mother, having been abandoned by her husband for her second thoughts, was forced to fend for herself and her son. She changed the pair's last name to "Brando" and was luckily able to secure a job as a hand on a nearby farm. While growing up on the farm, Diego discovered a rare talent for understanding and handling horses. Even though he was a very young child, large horses that were believed to be untamable would allow themselves to be led by him.
One day, around five years into their stay on the farm, the man that had originally arranged his mother's employment demanded sexual favors from her, but she refused. The man appeared to give up and left her alone, only for it to be revealed later that he had sabotaged the Brandos' ability to eat by smashing holes in the bottom of their food bowls as punishment. When it came to meal time, in the hall where the farm hands would receive their stew ration from a pot, the man happened to be the one serving and coyly refused to serve the pair without intact bowls. Diego suggested that they could use their shoes instead, but his mother refused to discard what little dignity they had left, telling Diego that eating out of shoes due to lack of proper dishes was unacceptable. Diego understood and said that he would go hungry instead, but his mother eventually relented and told the man to pour the boiling hot stew into her hands so that she could feed her son. Diego's mother stood there while Diego ate as quickly as he could, but she suffered severe burns to her hands regardless. Over the course of about a year, his mother's wounds became infected with tetanus, which resulted in her death soon after. Just before she died, she told a then 6-year-old Diego to use his talent with horses to rise from the pit of poverty they had been trapped in.
Diego took his mother's final words to heart, and as a result, he developed a strong sense of pride. He grew up resenting everyone who abandoned him and his mother, swearing to get revenge against all those who turned a blind eye to their plight. Over the following years, Diego worked as a handler at horse races until he was old enough to become an actual jockey himself, after which his natural talents allowed him to quickly rise to the top of the British equestrian world and active the notoriety he had been longing for.
Diego had met Johnny Joestar indirectly during the day of Johnny's brother's accident, being the one to lead out the very horse that Nicholas rode and later died on. Over the years during these horse races, prior to their formal meeting during the Steel Ball Run race, the two became racing rivals in their early teens. It is mentioned that after Johnny and Diego became jockeys, any race the two happened to be in together would always result in Johnny being second best, a point Johnny's father would often berate his son for. However, despite their history together, it is implied in their conversations during the Steel Ball Run that they had not spoken much face-to-face before, if at all. By the time Diego turned 20 he married an 83 year old woman in 1890 who would later pass away under suspicious circumstances six months later
JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Steel Ball Run
On September 25, 1890, Diego enlists in the Steel Ball Run race alongside Johnny, Gyro Zeppeli,Mountain Tim, Sandman, and Hot Pants. During the first stage Diego manages to win second place right behind Sandman after Gyro was given a penalty, in the third he is attacked by Dr. Ferdinand and infected with his Stand ability in a ploy to obtain the corpse parts of the Holy Saint. When Diego awakens he begins acting erratic while under the effects of Ferdinand's stand and is eventually transformed into a Dinosaur, attacking Johnny and Gyro in the process. After Ferdinand was defeated and killed Diego managed to retrieve one of the eyes of the Saint's corpse allowing him to keep Fedinand's Stand ability and transformed into a Dinosaur to continue racing. Ultimately he won in third Johnny and Hot Pants. During the 4th stage Diego and Gyro both got visions of where the next corpse part was and he decided to threaten and fight Johnny and Gyro with murderous intent but was ultimately knocked off his horse while his own became exhausted.
Diego however did not drop out and instead changed tactics meeting with President Valentine and his men to strike a deal that he'll collect the other corpse parts from Johnny and Gyro as well as providing information to Valentine on the person that was working against him, if he is given political power and the rights to New York Island. Valentine and his men feign acceptance of this deal, and partner him with Sandman to eliminate Johnny and Gyro. After lending some of his dinosaurs to Sandman, Diego leaves him to his fight with Gyro and Johnny while he continues the race a steady pace. Eventually during the 5th stage Diego is confronted by Valentines bodyguard Mike O. asking for information on the traitor in their ranks, and Diego reveals to the agent that it is a woman weighing 51 kg. Later on Diego rescues another agent named Magent Magent and partners up with him, eventually he wins 1st place in the 7th stage. Diego realizing it would be easier to eliminate Valentine and collect all the corpse parts infiltrates independence hall and follows him and Wekapipo to be caught up in his stand ability and tricked into shooting parallel version of Johnny as Valentines stand "Dirty Deed's Done Dirt Cheap" blends parallel worlds together. During the battle with the President, Diego sends one of his dinosaurs to rescue Johnny from the sewers so he can shoot Valentine, while the president escapes Diego sacrifices Wekapipo in order to return to the base world.
Diego resolves to kill Valentine and retrieve the full corpse and is met by Hot Pants, where she strikes a deal that she will allow Diego to attain the political power he wants and even help him find and kill his father if he allows her to keep the saints corpse to which he begrudgingly agrees. As the two follow Valentines trail aboard a train, the President fights the two stand users, while Diego gradually begins to wear down Valentine and slit his throat, he uses the last of his strength to throw Diego under the train tracks while he sends "D4C" to transfer to a parallel version of himself. Diego bearing the full brunt of the train is bisected and spends his last few moments believing he killed Valentine before succumbing to his wounds.
Trivia
- He is the only version of Dio Brando to have a page on Heroes Wiki.
External Links
- Diego Brando on the Villains Wiki
- Diego Brando on the Magnificent Baddie Wiki
