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Note: Credit to JoJo's Bizarre Encyclopedia
Phantom Blood
Early Life (~1867-1881)
Dio was born in Northeastern London around 1867 to 1868 to Dario Brando, an alcoholic and abusive father who he secretly despised—in part for having caused pain to his mother. For ten years, Dio lived in squalor and was beaten by his father, having to live through the death of his mother. One day, as Dio tried to give his father medicine, Dario beat him for not buying the alcohol he wanted and told him to sell his dead mother's dress to buy more booze. Disgusted and furious, Dio decided to covertly murder his father with a poison he secured from Wang Chan, learning from his dying father of George Joestar's debt while told to take advantage of and seize the Joestar fortune.
Youth with Jonathan
Dio met Jonathan Joestar immediately after arriving at the Joestar Mansion and immediately antagonized him by kicking his dog, Danny. Unimpressed by Jonathan, Dio enacted his plan to wear down Jonathan's spirit through psychological torment. Firstly, Dio victimized Jonathan behind George Joestar I's back, for instance beating him, insulting him or stealing his stuff.
In a boxing competition organized by the local youths, Dio challenged Jonathan at a boxing match and wagered their monthly allowance; thanks to his superior experience in fights, Dio easily beat Jonathan, deprived him of his allowance for the month and also took the time to stick his thumb in Jonathan's eye in the middle of a punch. Impressing the local kids with his footwork and technique, and showing them how to make fireworks, he then badmouthed Jonathan to isolate him from his peers.
Nonetheless, Jonathan found happiness when he became Erina Pendleton's boyfriend. Dio decided to shame Erina by forcibly stealing her first kiss, gloating over his devious scheme. However, his joy was cut short as Erina washed herself with some muddy water on the road, the implication of this act making Dio furious to the point of slapping her. Dio's plan eventually backfires when Jonathan learns of it. Furious, JoJo confronts Dio. Dio held the advantage at first, but Jonathan finds the strength to beat him up, bringing Dio to tears. Dio takes out a knife but George interrupts the fight and punishes the boys before it escalates further. During the fight, Dio notices that spikes have sprouted from a Stone Mask on the wall of the mansion but thinks nothing of it at first.
Later, Dio ties Danny up, hides him in a box and throws him in the mansion's incinerator so that the butler accidentally burns the dog down. Nonetheless, Dio notes Jonathan's mental strength and realizes that his plan won't work. Dio decides to play nice and act as if he was Jonathan's friend from then on.
Becoming a Vampire
Seven years later, both boys attend Hugh Hudson Academy, where Dio intends to graduate as a top law student. Their studies is capped by a rugby match where Jonathan and Dio cooperate to score a crucial try. Dio speaks of friendship in front of the university's reporters but privately still loathes Jonathan. During that seven-year span, he had acted brotherly and friendly toward Jonathan to lull the latter into a false sense of security. Now an adult, Dio decides to make his move and take the Joestar fortune by secretly poisoning George with the same poison he used to kill Dario. Jonathan realized Dio's plot after reading Dario's letter to his father and confronts his half-brother as he brings another dose of poison to George. Jonathan takes the dose and Dio tries to stop him and claims that he's putting their friendship at risk. In response, Jonathan asks Dio to swear on Dario's name that he's being honest and Dio becomes furious as Dario never had any honor. Dio punches JoJo but Jonathan is now a grown man and tosses Dio to the first floor, declaring that he'll prove Dio's crime. Jonathan then leaves for Ogre Street to seek the source of the poison.
Determined not to be stopped, Dio plans to subtly kill Jonathan by staging an accident with the Stone Mask. But upon learning that Jonathan entered Ogre Street, Dio mused he would not need to kill Jonathan himself. While wandering the streets of Liverpool, Dio is still anxious and drinks from the bottle, disgusting himself. He encounters two drunkards, who insult him. Provoked, Dio decides to test the mask anyways. By slitting the throat of one while using the mask on the other, Dio unwittingly transforms one of the drunkards into a Vampire who nearly kills him were it not for a timely sunrise obliterating his attacker. Returning to the Joestar estate, Dio finds Jonathan waiting for him. Dio tries to gain time by begging but Robert E. O. Speedwagon and an ensemble of constables appear to arrest him for attempted murder. Cornered and with nothing left to lose, he tries to kill Jonathan but deals a fatal stab wound to George instead and uses his blood to activate the Stone Mask. The constables shoot Dio repeatedly through a window, only for him to come back to life as a vampire and slaughter them.
Luring Dio away from Speedwagon, Jonathan battles the Vampire. JoJo grabs a spear but Dio easily bends it and plunges its tip in Jonathan's shoulder. Dio loses time making an elaborate landing but and when he turns back, he sees that Jonathan has disappeared, surely hiding somewhere. He sees blood dripping behind a curtain and lifts it, but is surprised that the other side is on fire. JoJo plans on setting his home aflame in the hopes that the fire will counter Dio's regeneration. Unfazed, Dio digs his feet into the walls of the mansion and walks his way up to Jonathan.
After a short scuffle on the rooftop, Jonathan tackles Dio into the inferno. Dio breaks Jonathan's ribs and grips the stone, but the gentleman luckily retrieves the spear tip and uses it as a makeshift pickax before using his belt to tie Dio's leg and yank him down. Jonathan stabs Dio, who breaks his arms, but JoJo holds his grip on the Vampire. Dio is sure that he can withstand the flames long enough to escape but then Jonathan kicks the walls, impaling him on a statue of the goddess of love; the combination of such a severe injury and the surrounding flames overpowers Dio, who seemingly burns away.
However, a few days later when Wang Chan visits the charred remains of the house to find items to sell for profit, Dio resurfaces and drains his blood while vowing vengeance against Jonathan. After recruiting Jack the Ripper, Dio moves to the rural village of Windknight's Lot where he feeds on the populace to heal his body while building an army of zombies with the intent to take over London. Having sent Wang Chan to assassinate the supposed still recovering Jonathan, Dio is surprised when Wang Chan returns wounded and learns of the only thing besides sunlight that can destroy him: The Ripple.
In Windknight's Lot
When Jonathan, his Ripple teacher Will Anthonio Zeppeli, and Speedwagon reach Windknight's Lot, Dio hypnotizes a local boy named Poco who lures them to a graveyard filled with the undead. Dio reveals himself at this time, has mostly healed his body, and overwhelms Jonathan and Zeppeli by bypassing their Ripple attacks with his freezing ability. He then summons his strongest zombies, Bruford and Tarkus, to finish them off as he takes his leave. It is revealed later that Dio had also taken Poco's Sister, whom he attempts to bribe to join his undead legion. Unsuccessful, Dio leaves her at the mercy of Doobie, but Jonathan intervenes before anything grave happens. Finally, confronting Jonathan and the rest of the Joestar Group, Dio steps in to personally kill Jonathan. Nonetheless, Dire battles Dio first. The Ripple warrior is easily bested by Dio's ice techniques and his body is disintegrated, but Dire manages to injure Dio's eye before expiring. This drives Dio off the edge, summoning his zombies to kill the intruders, while he proceeds to fight Jonathan.
In the battle that ensues on a balcony, Jonathan uses Luck & Pluck to sever Dio's right arm and nearly cleave him in half. Dio retaliates by freezing Jonathan's hands through the sword and threatens to cut Jonathan's carotid. Fortunately, Jonathan had plunged the tip of his sword into a flame behind Dio, and the heat transmitted through the metal weakens the freezing effect. Jonathan breaks free, and Dio breaks Luck & Pluck. As Jonathan is reduced to fighting barehanded, Dio's freezing powers give him the advantage once again. However, Jonathan sets his own fists on fire and Dio, unable to freeze Jonathan's punches, cannot defend himself and is hit on the chest by a powerful Ripple-infused blow. The impact sends Dio flying down a cliff and the Ripple disintegrates his body. Yet Dio manages to sever his own head before the Ripple reaches it and survives the fall; a little later, his head is taken to safety by Wang Chan.
Killing Jonathan
Two weeks later, Dio's head infiltrates the cruise ship the newly married Jonathan and Erina use to travel to America and celebrate their honeymoon. Hidden in a booby-trapped coffin, Dio has Wang Chan cause a zombie epidemic on the ship to lure Jonathan to him. Once making himself known to Jonathan while admitting to having an epiphany that their fates are deeply intertwined, Dio reveals his intention to take Jonathan's body as his own. Dio then shoots beams of eye humor at Jonathan's throat in an attempt to instantly kill him, but the attack only fatally wounded Jonathan with his stopped breathing preventing him from using his Ripple. Regardless, Jonathan uses his remaining Ripple to sabotage the ship to explode in a final attempt to end Dio for good. After putting Erina inside the coffin to protect her from the engine's explosion, Jonathan holds Dio's head in his arms. Dio begs Jonathan to let him live while tempting him with eternal life but realizes too late that Jonathan had died. The sinking ship explodes, though Dio succeeds in taking Jonathan's body and sinks into the depths of the Atlantic Ocean.
Pre-Stardust Crusaders (1983-88)
In 1983, Dio's casket is recovered off the coast of Africa by treasure hunters, who are implied to have been killed by him shortly after. Dio then seems to travel a great deal, ranging from Egypt to Japan. Around July 1984, he impregnates a Japanese woman who goes on to give birth to Giorno Giovanna. Around 1985 to 1986, he also impregnates the future mother of Donatello Versus.
In 1986, he meets Enya the Hag and gains a Stand power, The World, as a result of the Bow and Arrow. Dio had his servant fire a shotgun at him to test The World's power and speed. When The World attempted to catch the bullets, Dio noticed that time had stopped for a split second. At some point, Dio managed to evolve his power further and could stop time for longer, as he felt the wheels of time and The World became intertwined with each other.
Later that same year, Dio encounters Jean Pierre Polnareff and brainwashes him. In 1987, he first meets Enrico Pucci while hiding in a church waiting for the sun to set. DIO heals Pucci's disfigured foot and gives him a Stand Arrow, speaking about the gravity which draws people together. He then tells Pucci to seek him out using the Arrow if he wishes to learn more. Around 1987 to 1988, he impregnates the future mothers of Ungalo and Rikiel. In July 1988, he goes on to encounter Muhammad Avdol in Egypt. In August, he meets Noriaki Kakyoin while the latter is vacationing in Egypt and brainwashes him as well.
After a series of unfortunate events that leads to Pucci being stabbed by the Arrow and gaining a Stand, he turns to DIO. The two would spend a considerable amount of time together, each traversing to the other's location across the world and discussing ways to turn their philosophies into reality. During one of DIO's visits, he suddenly brings up his interest in reaching an ideal heaven, revealing that he had written the plans to do so in a notebook and that he would need Pucci's help in doing so. However, DIO questions Pucci's loyalty to him, pondering why the latter doesn't use Whitesnake to remove The World from him. Pucci explains that he loves DIO as he loves God, and thus worships him too much to betray him. Ensuring that he wouldn't completely fade, DIO leaves one of Jonathan's bones in Pucci's care.
Stardust Crusaders (1988-89)
Recovering in his mansion
The awakened Dio Brando, now referred to as simply "DIO", begins his next moves within the later months of 1988. For much of this time, DIO remains in shadows and the question of exactly what his stand "The World" does is a mystery to the Joestars and their companions. DIO's ambition is to create a perfect world for him 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's body and take better control of The World.
Despite his knowledge that Joseph Joestar and allies are looking for him, he does not make any effort to go confront them himself and instead chooses to remain in his mansion reading or feeding on the blood of women.
When Hol Horse reports on the defeat of Alessi and Mariah, DIO questions him about his ability to fight. Feeling humiliated, Hol Horse attempts to shoot DIO from behind but DIO uses The World to disappear and reappear behind the gunman. However, DIO spares Hol Horse as he is impressed and gives him one last chance; for his part, Hol Horse realizes that he's hopelessly outmatched and swears loyalty to DIO.
Not long afterward, the Joestar Group finally arrives at his Mansion. When Vanilla Ice comes to inform him of Telence T. D'Arby's defeat, Vanilla volunteers his life to complete DIO's assimilation of Jonathan's body and subsequently slices off his own head. DIO then utilizes his own blood to revive Vanilla as a Vampire.
DIO's World
After Vanilla's defeat, DIO's reveals himself to Polnareff on a set of stairs. He toys with Polnareff for a while and transports him during the stopped time to psych him, but Polnareff's determination holds and he attacks. DIO summons The World - only to be interrupted by Joseph, Jotaro and Kakyoin breaking down a wall and flooding the stairs with sunlight. The sunlight forces DIO to retreat in the shadows. As the Joestar Group reaches the top of his mansion's tower, DIO punishes Nukesaku for leading the heroes to him and cuts him into several pieces. Sensing a great danger, the Joestar Group jumps out of the window.
With the sun setting, the remaining Joestar companions split up into two groups and DIO follows Joseph and Kakyoin, who have commandeered a truck. DIO takes over a limousine and forces the senator Wilson Phillips to act as a chauffeur. During the car chase, DIO is attacked by Kakyoin's Hierophant Green but he easily flicks the Emerald Splash away. Summoning The World, DIO lands a heavy punch on Hierophant Green which wounds Kakyoin and informs him that The World is a close-range Stand with no way to attack at distance. In order to get close enough to Joseph and Kakyoin's truck, DIO launches the senator at them, thus resulting in their truck crashing into a building. He then follows them as they use their stands to flee across the rooftops, and ends up battling Kakyoin in the process. Kakyoin unravels Hierophant Green to create a great invisible network of tentacles shooting Emerald Splashes from all directions to trap DIO and launches an omnidirectional attack to force DIO to use his ability. DIO uses The World to stop time and destroy the barrier, punching Kakyoin through the stomach.
Before dying, Kakyoin realizes the nature of The World's time-stop power and uses his last strength to give Joseph a message. DIO wastes no time in catching up to and attacking Joseph, who is able to pass Kakyoin's message to Jotaro. However, DIO stops time and throws a knife into Joseph's throat. Jotaro challenges DIO to a fistfight, but while Star Platinum is a close match for The World, the latter prevails. Jotaro jumps but DIO stops time to kill him, only to stop as he sees Jotaro's finger twitch. Since Star Platinum and The World are similar, DIO suspects that Jotaro may be able to move in the frozen time. Reassured when he sees that Jotaro is using magnets to fake his movements, DIO attacks but is surprised by Star Platinum who suddenly moves and punches through his stomach. Jotaro is able to move in the stopped time.
DIO is wounded but quickly recovers by draining a nearby civilian. Unsure about the extent of Jotaro's ability to move during the stopped time, DIO shows off the many knives he's just taken. Jotaro jumps to escape but DIO stops time and surrounds him with knives. Jotaro is hit and falls to the ground, alive but gravely wounded. Jotaro plays dead but DIO wants to make sure of Jotaro's death and thus takes a street sign as an improvised executioner's ax. At this moment, Polnareff attacks him from behind but DIO's resilience and time power make the attack useless. To distract DIO from Polnareff, Jotaro must move his finger and make DIO refocus on him. More suspicious than ever, DIO tries to listen to Jotaro's breathing and heartbeat, forcing Jotaro to have Star Platinum squeeze his own heart. Satisfied, DIO approaches but Jotaro lands a punch on his head. Stunned, DIO finds himself cornered and opts to flee but Jotaro catches up to him. Star Platinum pummels the Vampire but DIO reveals that his plan was to go to Joseph's body all along and Star Platinum just sent him flying toward Joseph.
DIO sucks Joseph's blood and becomes fully synched with Jonathan's body, empowering him further. Now DIO is able to stop time for nine seconds. Jotaro wastes his movement for a meaningless clash and DIO is able to pummel Jotaro and send him flying. As a final attack, DIO stops time again and at the last moment, brings a to crush Jotaro with. Jotaro is seemingly crushed and DIO gloats, but Jotaro then reveals that he's just become able to stop time too. Using this window, Jotaro crushes DIO's legs. DIO, determined to win, squirts some blood out of his leg and into Jotaro's eyes, blinding him. He then attempts to attack Jotaro, but Jotaro lands a final punch on The World's leg. Star Platinum's hand breaks but The World is split in two and destroyed, killing DIO. After the battle, Jotaro and doctors from the Speedwagon Foundation are able to do a blood transfusion between Joseph's body and the lower half of DIO's body. The transfusion revives Joseph, and later they lay DIO's remains in the middle of the Sahara Desert to disintegrate with the rising sun.
Legacy
Diamond is Unbreakable (1999)
After DIO's death, it is revealed that he, along with Enya, had more affiliates besides those discovered by the Joestar group. The Nijimura Patriarch, like others, sold his soul to DIO and had a flesh bud implanted on his forehead, similar to Polnareff and Kakyoin. However, it burst after DIO's death, mutating him for life. Sometime before Enya died, she gave the Nijimura Patriarch one of the Arrows in their possession which one of his sons used to create Stand users in Morioh. Yoshihiro Kira was also revealed to have been given an Arrow before his death. Kira used this Arrow to create more Stand users in Morioh as well, including his own son Yoshikage.
Vento Aureo (2001)
Around twelve years after their battle in Egypt, Jotaro Kujo learns that DIO had at least one child, utilizing Jonathan's body after his casket was pulled up from the ocean. It is later discovered by Koichi Hirose that this son was Giorno Giovanna. Even though Giorno does inherit some of DIO's ruthless and brutal nature, as well as his ambition and charisma, he does not use it for evil ends as he also inherits Jonathan’s noble, polite, and overall kind nature toward good people.
After DIO's defeat, Polnareff took the Stand arrow from his mansion. This then leads Polnareff to go to Italy and track down Diavolo after finding out about the arrow in his possession.
Stone Ocean (2011-2012)
In the year 2011, Pucci decides to take on DIO's plans. He frames Jotaro's daughter, Jolyne Cujoh, using her as bait to steal Jotaro's memories of DIO's diary. DIO's bone becomes vital to Pucci's plan when one of his underlings, Sports Maxx, uses his Stand to reanimate it. This results in the incubation of a Green Child" (which also possesses the Star Birthmark) that would later merge with Pucci to give him C-MOON and finally Made in Heaven. Aside from Pucci, several other figures with ties to DIO emerge: Johngalli A. is one of DIO's underlings who bears a grudge against the Joestars for DIO's demise. Moreover, Pucci recruits three of DIO's illegitimate children (Donatello Versus , Rikiel, and Ungalo) to fight Jolyne and her allies while he waits for the new moon.
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