Nena

"An ugly woman like her... she used her Stand to assimilate other people."

- Joseph about Nena, Chapter 149

Nena (ネーナ) is a tertiary antagonist featured in the third part of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, Stardust Crusaders, specifically the "Empress" story arc.

She first appears in India alongside Hol Horse and tries to assassinate Joseph Joestar while passing as an ordinary woman. She is a Stand User who uses Empress.

Appearance
Nena first looks like a beautiful young Indian woman in typical Indian attire. However, this is merely a disguise, and Nena is truly a short, ugly, and overweight woman wearing a bikini. Nena also possesses a bud on her tongue.

Disguised, Nena has a on her forehead and wears an ankle-length, sleeveless dress and a headscarf, along with plenty of jewelry such as a pair of looped earrings and a bead necklace.

Personality
Nena is a devious servant of DIO. Not much is known about Nena but most of the things she's seen doing indicate a twisted personality. She is an assassin at DIO's service and Enya the Hag notes that her Empress's specialty is to slowly kill her victims. Nena also hides her true form by assimilating the skin of another, prettier woman with her Stand and uses her good looks to trick her targets into thinking she's an innocent woman and approach them to plant Empress in them. Nena also keeps this habit in presence of potential allies.

She's initially introduced as a young Indian girl pretending to be in love with Hol Horse to the point of wanting marriage. She uses her "relationship" with him as a means to infiltrate the Joestar Group and later charms Polnareff as a distraction while trying to assassinate Joseph Joestar.

In the OVA, her role as a villain was cut. Instead, Nena truly is a young, naive girl who fell for Hol Horse. She yearns to marry him, and is heartbroken by his rejection. Hol Horse comments that a girl like her is useful, loyal to the point that she would sacrifice her safety for him.

Stand
Nena's Stand, Empress, is a parasite Stand that grows from the flesh of its victim.

Background
Nena was hired by DIO to intercept and kill the Joestar group. She used her Stand Empress to kill a beautiful young woman and wore her skin to hide her true form. She accompanies Hol Horse using this disguise, pretending to be a naive girl who fell for his charm. According to Hol Horse and Polnareff, Nena comes from a noble family in Varanasi, although this might be part of her disguise.

Stardust Crusaders (1988)
Nena is initially portrayed as an ally and lover of Hol Horse. She arrives with him to Calcutta's outskirts on the back of an elephant. She shows interest in marrying him but he denies her marriage offer claiming he is a traveler destined to die on the street and couldn't stay with her even though they loved each other. He later reveals to J. Geil that he is with her just because she could be useful in the future, potentially sacrificing her life for him.

After Hol Horse is defeated she eventually comes to his rescue, holding down Jean Pierre Polnareff while Hol Horse escapes from Jotaro's team. She then accompanies the group on a bus they take to Varanasi, and it is then that Polnareff becomes attracted to her while she hides her actual identity as a Stand User, and attacks Joseph Joestar with her Stand.

Nena then exploits Polnareff's interest in her to distract him while her Stand fights Joseph. After Joseph is able to deal the finishing blow to Empress, Nena takes the damage and dies, revealing her real form.

OVA
When Hol Horse is traveling through India to confront the Joestar Group, Nena suddenly appears to confess his affection for him. She yearns to marry him, however Hol Horse doesn't reciprocate completely, as the life he leads is unfitting for a girl from an aristocratic family. He comforts Nena by explaining that he can't marry her because he loves her too much. Nena accepts the reality, and returns back to her home.

Nena later appears when Hol Horse is surrounded by the Joestar group, and when Polnareff unleashes Silver Chariot, she tugs on his leg and gives Hol Horse the opportunity to escape.

Heritage for the Future (PS1/DC/Arcade)

 * As a "quick-time event" enemy in Super Story Mode, the player must dodge a cop's bullet and her Stand Empress's punches.
 * If Polnareff wins against Hol Horse by Time Over, Nena holds Polnareff in place while Hol Horse runs away, just like in the manga and anime.
 * Hol Horse has an introduction animation with him coming down from an elephant mount, leaving Nena behind as the elephant leaves the stage, telling her, Ja na! aishiteru! (Bye! love ya!)