Dio Brando

"Useless, useless!!! (無駄 無駄!!!)"

- Dio Brando 's battle cry

Dio Brando (ディオ・ブランドー), known as DIO from Part 3 onwards, is the main antagonist of both Phantom Blood and Stardust Crusaders. He is also the founder and leader of the Cult of DIO where it would influence in the later parts of the story.

Originally a man of low birth but peerless ambition, Dio is a villain of little conscience, vast cunning, and an insatiable hunger for power. Becoming a Vampire and later a Stand user, Dio Brando is responsible for many major events of the series such as the death of Jonathan Joestar and the Joestar Family's acquisition of Stand power and thus is a dominant character whose legacy persists throughout the series.

Dio is the father of Giorno Giovanna, the protagonist of Vento Aureo, as well as a handful of other illegitimate offspring.

Childhood
When he first arrives at the Joestar Estate, Dio is seen wearing typical formal boy's attire from that era; a blue coat, white dress shirt, a tie, suspenders, breeches, and a pair of striped socks. He has blond hair and a handsome face. He also appears to have 3 dots on the lobule of his left ear, which seems to be a birthmark.

Adulthood
Aside from replacing his coat with a vest, Dio's attire hasn't had much change. However, his overall physique and height have increased significantly. During the events where Jonathan sets out to find the antidote for his father's illness, Dio dons a top hat and a new flamboyant looking cloak that has feathers jutting out of the shoulders.

Vampire
Dio undergoes drastic physical change upon using the Stone Mask to transform into a vampire. His formerly clean hair becomes messy and unkempt, his eyes become sharper and adopt a darker outline, and he develops fangs. His clothing has changed quite a bit as well after his first battle with Jonathan; most noticeable is the scarf around his neck. He wears an ornate shirt and breeches, a large pair of boots, vambraces, and two suspenders attached to a band around his waist.

Shadow
DIO does not have a visible face as an effect of the shadowy darkness of his mansion. He has shoulder-length blond hair. He is topless, exposing Jonathan's muscular body (of which his head is sewn in place) and wears green pants with suspenders, gray clogs, black shiny cuffs on both wrists, and, matching his stand, he wears heart-shaped knee guards. In the game JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Heritage for the Future, his voice is also distorted (an effect created by the developers to add a sense of mystery). This form of DIO is also called "The Evil Incarnation DIO."

Revealed
Just like the Shadow form, only DIO's entire suit is now colored yellow. DIO's face is seen, his hair has remained blond, and he is wearing a jacket with a tank-top underneath. He now also wears a heart-shaped circlet, and rings for his cuffs. This is his form during the beginning of the DIO's World story arc. In the anime, DIO's fingernails are also sharp and black.

He also has a necklace covering his neck scar and heart shapes above his feet on his pant legs, but he quickly stopped sporting them after his first stairway confrontation with Polnareff.

When pursuing the Joestar group, DIO had a cloak which he dropped during his confrontation with Kakyoin.

Empowered
DIO nears his physical peak after sucking Joseph Joestar's blood. The description is like his fuku form minus the jacket and the heart-shaped hairband, destroyed by Star Platinum's attacks. He now sports a deranged and homicidal look and mannerisms, having lost his cool touch. His hair is now disheveled and mostly oriented upwards, while his lips are darker and seems like he is wearing lipstick. This is his form during the latter half of the DIO's World story arc.