Donatello Versus
Donatello Versus (ドナテロ・ヴェルサス, Donatero Verusasu) is a secondary antagonist featured in the sixth part of the JoJo's Bizarre Adventure series, Stone Ocean, specifically the "Under World" story arc.
Donatello is one of DIO's illegitimate sons, and the half-brother of Ungalo, Rikiel, and Giorno Giovanna. When he fatefully meets Enrico Pucci, he awakens his Stand, Under World, and battles Jolyne Cujoh and Ermes Costello in Orlando. Although he cooperates with Pucci, he has his own ambitions.
Appearance
Donatello Versus has short light hair with a black stripe in the middle which extends to the back of his head in the shape of a 'Y'. He has long sideburns which point toward his mouth, blunt bangs that cover his entire forehead, and two ponytails. Under each of his eyes is a black streak.
Versus wears a choker necklace that has a spiral pattern in the center. He sports a deep V-neck long-sleeved shirt along with matching pants. The front and sides of his shirt and pants have an excessive amount of thick loops. He has shoulder straps going through three front loops on his shirt, as well as two more straps from his belt which travel downward through the front loops on his pants.
Donatello's physical measures, such as height, foot size and blood pressure, are noted to be eerily similar to those of Enrico Pucci.
Though not seen, Donatello, like his other brothers inherits the Star Birthmark.
Color Schemes
Personality
Having been abandoned, abused, and unjustly imprisoned, Donatello Versus developed a grudge against society at large, desiring to become happy at any cost.[5] Enrico Pucci finds Donatello aimlessly drifting through life, getting by on petty crime, and without having ever been employed. Even though he inherited DIO's ruthlessness, selfishness, and quick thinking, Donatello lacks his father's megalomania or cunning. As such, although he seems more outwardly well-adjusted, Versus is, in fact, incredibly rash and impulsive.
Donatello isn't opposed to cooperation or even following orders, as at first he puts his trust in, and tries to maintain a respectful relationship with Enrico Pucci. However, being pushed around by authority figures for most of his life left Donatello with little tolerance for disrespect and a lot of pride.[4] When Pucci begins doubting Donatello's abilities, the feeling of being used drives Donatello first to verbally snap at the priest,[6] and then to betray him, considering it his right to inherit DIO's plans in Pucci's place.[7]
Donatello is as ruthless as he is desperate, equally ready to put innocent lives[8] and his own safety on the line for his objectives. Combined with a single-minded drive and a tendency to loudly express his emotions, this leaves Donatello open to getting blindsided. When caught off guard Versus will crumble under the pressure, as he fails to kill Jolyne and Ermes after Pucci's repeated comments acknowledging their strength, and eventually gets cornered and forced into submission by them.[9] Donatello is also quite hot-blooded, as he easily blows up on people, gets frustrated quickly, and showcases exaggerated facial expressions, from smug giddiness to triumphant screams of joy.
Abilities
Stand
Under World allows Donatello to excavate memories in the form of past events from Florida's soils and even imprison people in them, forcing his victim to experience whatever happened.
History
Background
Donatello Versus was raised by his mother and stepfather, a man who "did nothing but tell long stories of his womanizing ways," who his mother married at an unknown point in Versus's life.
While running away from home at age 13, a pair of baseball cleats mysteriously fell from the sky and landed on his head. Wondering where they came from, he tried them on. They were way too big, but he decided to keep them anyway because they smelled very good and he liked the clacking noise the spikes made whenever he walked. It wouldn't be long before he was arrested and taken to court, where he learned the shoes belonged to professional baseball player Ichiro, originally to be given to a facility for disabled children as a gift. Upon hearing the boy say that the shoes fell from the sky, the judge flew into a rage, disgusted by the fact that a 13-year-old boy would stoop so low as to steal from children less fortunate than himself. Versus was quickly deemed guilty on circumstantial evidence of stealing the shoes and was sent to a juvenile detention facility for six months, Versus's mother and stepfather not objecting to his incarceration.
However, four months after Versus's arrest, the true criminal confessed. The criminal was a thief, who, after stealing the shoes, was afraid that the shoes would get traced, and dropped the shoes down a ventilation shaft while on top of a building.
When word reached the facility he was being held in that he had been wrongly condemned, Versus had already been physically and emotionally drained, and he was almost too weak to even move because of a string of strange events that had occurred over the course of his incarceration. For instance, Versus tripped while walking in the field of the facility and his hand was impaled by a knife that had been buried there sometime before. Versus would find out the next day that the knife belonged to an inmate who had been hiding it, presumably to threaten other inmates. As a result of this, the inmate bullied and beat Versus regularly. His hand wound was finally treated two weeks after the fact, but worms and pus still infested the wound. Possibly as a result of this, Versus fell into a fever and nearly died. Another occurrence was that Versus urinated on a decrepit wall that crumbled and revealed the skeleton of a long-dead woman.
Stone Ocean (2011-2012)
In 2012, Donatello crossed paths with Enrico Pucci after he was shot in the leg and jumped off the sixth story of a building during a botched burglary and was brought to an hospital. He thus met the priest and his half-brothers Ungalo and Rikiel. Pucci subsequently all revealed them their heritage and Stand powers. While Ungalo and Rikiel headed out to confront the heroes, Donatello kept on recovering at the hospital. Donatello recovers and discovers his ability Under World just in time to attack Jolyne and Ermes, who have reached the hospital following Jolyne's intuition.
Battle Against Jolyne Cujoh & Ermes
He instinctively summons a memory of a boy being shot and the stray bullet attracts the attention of the heroes. Donatello and Pucci subsequently take refuge in a cavern under their room. When Jolyne enters it, Under World traps her in the memory of a plane bound to crash. Jolyne partially exits the airplane and tries to call for help. Under World thus tries to attack the string linking Jolyne to Ermes but Jolyne manages to shoot a pen into its hand, driving it away. Nonetheless, Under World summons a memory of Sports Maxx and lures Ermes inside of the cavern, also trapping her in the plane. Pucci keeps commenting on the situation, which frustrates Donatello more and more. When Jolyne opens a door to jump out and attack Donatello, he simply traps her in a jet fighter that will also crash. However, Jolyne rejoins the passenger plane. Wanting to advance further, Donatello sneakily summons a memory of Pucci and steals Weather Report's memory DISC. Jolyne contacts Emporio and learns from him that there are two safe seats. To prevent Jolyne and Ermes from using these, Under World tosses sick children on the seats and the plane eventually crashes. However, Ermes has covered the children and herself with the two survivors of the crash and their respective duplicate while Jolyne has unraveled herself to hide in Ermes. Stone Free ties up Donatello and hangs him by his feet, preventing him from using his power. Desperate, Donatello commands Under World to fly to Weather Report and give him back his memory. Weather's sealed ability is unleashed and rainbows invade the city.
Heavy Weather Unleashed
While Donatello escapes the hole and the hospital, everyone has to contend with a contagious snail invasion. Donatello thus seeks Emporio, expecting to find Jotaro's memory DISC and discover what Pucci's plan is. He unearths a memory of Jolyne calling Emporio and detects him. He easily takes out the boy but Jolyne and Ermes then crash near Versus and Emporio.
Versus summons the Miami Dolphins to push Jolyne away but she hides inside a pipe, rolls towards Versus, and attacks. When Versus summons a memory of the salt to dehydrate Jolyne's body, her arm is desiccated and Versus obtains Jotaro's memory DISC. Nonetheless, Jolyne has touched Emporio who has touched Versus, and thus Versus is turned into a snail. The heroes subsequently capture Versus and force him to drive their car. Unable to properly control the car, Donatello crashes in the middle of the fight between Pucci and Weather Report. This allows Pucci to escape and the priest uses Under World's illusion to disguise Donatello as himself. Anasui kills Donatello by piercing his head with Diver Down's fingers.
Chapters / Episodes
- Stone Ocean Chapter 103: Three Men Taken to the Hospital (Glimpse)
- Stone Ocean Chapter 111: It's Been a While, Romeo (Flashback)
- Stone Ocean Chapter 112: Sky High, Part 1 (Cover only)
- Stone Ocean Chapter 117: Sky High, Part 6 (Mentioned)
- Stone Ocean Chapter 118: Time for Heaven: Three Days Until the New Moon
- Stone Ocean Chapter 119: Under World, Part 1
- Stone Ocean Chapter 120: Under World, Part 2
- Stone Ocean Chapter 121: Under World, Part 3
- Stone Ocean Chapter 122: Under World, Part 4
- Stone Ocean Chapter 123: Under World, Part 5
- Stone Ocean Chapter 124: Under World, Part 6
- Stone Ocean Chapter 125: Heavy Weather, Part 1
- Stone Ocean Chapter 126: Heavy Weather, Part 2
- Stone Ocean Chapter 130: Heavy Weather, Part 6
- Stone Ocean Chapter 131: Heavy Weather, Part 7
- Stone Ocean Chapter 132: Heavy Weather, Part 8
- Stone Ocean Chapter 134: Heavy Weather, Part 10
- Stone Ocean Chapter 136: Heavy Weather, Part 12
- Stone Ocean Chapter 137: Heavy Weather, Part 13 (Death)
- Stone Ocean Episode 25: Bohemian Rhapsody, Part 1 (Debut)
- Stone Ocean Episode 26: Bohemian Rhapsody, Part 2 (Flashback)
- Stone Ocean Episode 28: Time For Heaven: Three Days Until the New Moon (1st full appearance)
- Stone Ocean Episode 29: Under World
- Stone Ocean Episode 30: Heavy Weather, Part 1
- Stone Ocean Episode 31: Heavy Weather, Part 2
- Stone Ocean Episode 32: Heavy Weather, Part 3 (Death)
Quotes
- “I welcome you. I don't care if you've come uninvited, or without greeting me... you're free to come inside of this hole. But you have to have the entire rope inside with you, too!”
- “And now! I finally know why my life's been messed up all this time! (オレは今!これまでのわけのわからない人生の意味がはっきりとわかった!)”—Donatello Versus, Stone Ocean Chapter 122: Under World, Part 4
- “But... even though I'm able to control this power now... am I supposed to thank Father Pucci for helping me?”—Donatello Versus, Stone Ocean Chapter 122: Under World, Part 4
- “The blood that runs through my veins is DIO's. Pucci, so do you really think you're that important?”—Donatello Versus, Stone Ocean Chapter 122: Under World, Part 4
- “I am the one who's invincible in here! Anything is possible if I use Under World!”—Donatello Versus, Stone Ocean Chapter 122: Under World, Part 4
- “On the new moon, maybe I can acquire DIO's ability instead, and not the priest... I have the right to do it, too... I'm his son...”—Donatello Versus, Stone Ocean Chapter 122: Under World, Part 4
- “You'd feel intense guilt for what you've done... Killing innocent children just so you can live! You'd have to fight me, Versus, with that heavy weight on your shoulder... Would anyone like that have the strength left to fight?”
- “Sorry, but I'm going to live, Pucci. I finally have control over my powers... Me, someone who's never been able to stand up straight, I finally know what I was born to do...”—Donatello Versus, Stone Ocean Chapter 124: Under World, Part 6
- “You won't be able to kill me! He's going to get his memory back, I know it! And when he does get his memory back, he won't be your ally! I know because I read his DISC! [...] Weather Report wasn't put in prison just because he lost his memory... He doesn't remember how to use his Stand to its fullest potential! The forbidden power, that his brother, Pucci, thought he sealed forever!”—Donatello Versus, Stone Ocean Chapter 124: Under World, Part 6
- “Shit... I won't lose...! I'm gonna be happy!”—Donatello Versus, Stone Ocean Chapter 131: Heavy Weather, Part 7
- “Jolyne Cujoh, enjoy being dragged over to the touchdown line.”—Donatello Versus, Stone Ocean Chapter 132: Heavy Weather, Part 8
- “I win! Now I'm one step closer to getting whatever the priest is after!!”—Donatello Versus, Stone Ocean Chapter 132: Heavy Weather, Part 8
Video Games
Versus appears in All-Star Battle as the guide for the support items shop in Story Mode, using his Stand ability to dig up the player's support item of choice at the cost of gold.
Gallery
Trivia
- Versus's backstory is either a homage or a direct lift of the backstory of Stanley Yelnats from the novel, Holes, written by Louis Sachar. The main differences being that Stanley was able to avoid a prison sentence by choosing to work at Camp Green Lake, and unlike Stanley, Versus's life takes a turn for the worse after he was freed.
- Versus's height is inconsistent in the anime adaptation. He is stated to be 181 cm tall, just like the manga. However, Pucci was changed in the anime to be 195 cm tall.[10] When they stand up, they are drawn to be the same height side-by-side, making it unclear whether Versus is actually 181 cm or 195 cm in the anime.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Stone Ocean Chapter 119: Under World, Part 1
- ↑ Stone Ocean Chapter 134: Heavy Weather, Part 10, p.7
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Stone Ocean Chapter 120: Under World, Part 2
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Stone Ocean Chapter 122: Under World, Part 4
- ↑ Stone Ocean Chapter 120: Under World, Part 2, tailpiece
- ↑ Stone Ocean Chapter 121: Under World, Part 3, p.7, p.15
- ↑ Stone Ocean Chapter 122: Under World, Part 4, p.8
- ↑ Stone Ocean Chapter 123: Under World, Part 5
- ↑ Stone Ocean Chapter 124: Under World, Part 6, p.6
- ↑ Stone Ocean Model Sheet No.CR008-01