Parallel World Diego

"This world’s Johnny Joestar is my greatest test. And I will overcome that test and kill him without fail."

- Alternate Diego Brando,

The Diego Brando from a Parallel World (並行世界から来たディエゴ) is a secondary antagonist and the final antagonist featured in the seventh part of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, Steel Ball Run, specifically in the story arc.

This version of Diego is discovered by Funny Valentine after the death of the original Diego in the "base world". He is a racer from a similar Steel Ball Run happening in a parallel world. Upon request from the President and coveting the Saint's Corpse, he confronts Johnny Joestar in the final stage of the Steel Ball Run race.

Diego is also a Stand user like his original counterpart, but instead of Scary Monsters, he wields the mighty Stand THE WORLD.

Appearance
The second Diego is virtually identical in appearance to the first. He is a young man of below-average height and slim to medium build. He has light hair, dark eyebrows, and light, bold eyes.

He commonly wears an with the letters "D", "I" and "O" mounted on bending pins emerging from a small ribbon tied at its front, a turtleneck jumper patterned with a diagonal grid, light, mid-forearm-length gloves, light, wide-legged, and tall, dark.

Personality
This incarnation of Diego Brando shares some personality traits with his base world counterpart; he is misanthropic and similarly ambitious, having the same general desire for power and domination over society. However, his methods to achieving his goals betray far more overt cruelty and propensity for violence than the original Diego.

Diego is self-centered and has no apparent capacity for empathy, taking Valentine's pleas lightly and in a joking manner until he entices him with the claim to the Saint's Corpse, becoming committed to receiving the Corpse's blessings. Swiftly taking on the task and stealing the Corpse from Johnny, he is absolutely ruthless, prepared to kill anyone in his way in inventively violent ways such as by throwing knives, like DIO, or using matches to burn him alive.

Due to the time-stopping power of his Stand, Diego displays great confidence in himself and openly displays contempt for anyone else, treating them as beneath him. He only becomes distressed when he loses the upper hand or in unexpected situations, like when Tusk ACT4 moved when time was frozen or when presented with the original Diego's severed head. When he is cornered by Lucy and facing defeat, he finally loses control of his emotions, screaming with rage and disgust that the "shallow scum of a little girl" would dare to defy him.

The alternate jockey shows a tactical acumen as well as creative tactics, quickly noticing the danger of Tusk's infinite rotation and formulating a plan to do away with it in keeping his distance from it. Throughout his mission, he outsmarts Johnny time and time again, such as when he hanged wires in a narrow alley to stop his pursuer in his tracks and redirected Johnny's infinite rotation back to him.

Significantly more predatory and lascivious than the original Diego Brando, he even forces himself on Lucy while bleeding profusely from a dire injury. He chokes and molests the teenage girl, describing how he intends to thoroughly degrade her when his leg is healed.

He is capable of sacrificing innocent people for his sake, and taunts Johnny for accidentally killing the adoring fans that Diego used to shield himself.

Stand
The alternate Diego's Stand, THE WORLD, is almost identical to DIO's The World. It is a powerful, humanoid Stand capable of stopping time for ~5 seconds.

Horseback Riding
The original Diego Brando is one the most talented of his generation, and this incarnation of Diego also seems to possess the same level of expertise in riding and handling horses.

Background
During the eighth round, the original Diego turned against Funny Valentine but was defeated by Valentine's Stand, Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap.

Later, Valentine was subject to Tusk ACT4, its infinite Spin bypassing Valentine's strongest defense and condemning him to stay in a hole in the ground forever. Valentine thus seeks another Diego Brando in a parallel world. Valentine reveals everything to this Diego and asks him to take the Saint's Corpse because he at least respects Diego's ambition. He thus hides Diego with him when he comes back to the base world and confronts Johnny alone.

This alternate Diego can be inferred to have participated in the Steel Ball Run for the prize.

Diego hides in the hole until Valentine is finally killed by Johnny Joestar. While Johnny, Lucy Steel and Steven Steel are distracted, Diego comes out, steals the Saint's Corpse and hides among the other top competitors of the Steel Ball Run. Johnny eventually finds Diego but Diego stops time to reappear behind Johnny. Diego summons his Stand THE WORLD and stops time. He throws a handful of knives at Johnny and takes the precaution not to touch the nail Johnny has shot. Leaving as time resumes, Diego leaves but Johnny shoots with his nails. The moving holes give troubles to Diego and he is forced to stop time to escape. Diego and his horse suddenly teleport. However, Johnny quickly works out the nature of its power thanks to his experience with Ringo Roadagain. Diego too has the advantage of already knowing Tusk's powers and the Golden Spin technique.

Diego arrives at the second place in Union Beach and quickly boards a boat to New York. Johnny eventually finds Diego in the alleys of Manhattan. Diego stops time again and sets up wires on whom Johnny nearly crashes. Johnny shoots the wall and uses the debris to shield himself and shoots a nail in the direction of Diego. A moving hole catches up to Diego and Tusk ACT4 comes out to attack. Diego stops time and prepares to strike Tusk but sees that Tusk is still moving slightly in the stopped time. Worried, Diego realizes that he best not even touch Tusk ACT4. Later in the streets, Diego splashes Johnny with oil and lights him on fire, forcing Johnny to open the pavement and go into the sewers. Diego loses sight of Johnny but predicts Johnny's actions and using his own fangirls as human shields. Finally, the competitors reach Brooklyn Bridge. On there, Johnny catches up and prepares to fire. Meanwhile, Diego uses his "5 seconds" to create a pincer move: he fires a gun from the front while THE WORLD attacks Johnny's back. Johnny is badly hurt again and falls from his horse.

Johnny seemingly misses his shot when his nail hits the bridge itself. However, he had accumulated enough spin to make one final attack, sending Tusk Act 4 climbing up THE WORLD's leg. Nonetheless, Diego already planned for this and has THE WORLD cut off its own leg off and throw it at Johnny, Diego manages to beat the Spin user with his own technique. He then remounts his horse and leaves Johnny to die. Diego is the first to cross the finish line and wins the Steel Ball Run.

The World of Stars and Stripes
Heeding Funny Valentine's advice, Diego quickly goes to the Trinity Church and the vault under it to lock the Saint's Corpse inside. Suddenly, Lucy Steel appears. THE WORLD pins Lucy against the wall and Diego checks that no one else is around. Confronting the girl, Diego asks what Lucy is doing there. She answers that she crossed the continent for happiness. Diego scoffs at her, saying that he plans to kill Steven Steel because he knows too much about the Corpse's location, and, while groping her, expresses his desire to thoroughly violate Lucy before eventually killing her too. However, before he can proceed with any of his evil plans, he is distracted by the "present" that Lucy is carrying. Diego peers inside of the bundle, and to his horror he finds the severed head of his base world counterpart. Realizing the danger of coming into contact with his alternate self, Diego stops time and tries to flee, but he is unable to run due to his missing leg. Furious, Diego screams at Lucy and desperately attempts to kill her, but the severed head of the base world Diego flies towards him. Diego's head explodes and is disintegrated, killing the jockey.

JORGE JOESTAR


In the light novel JORGE JOESTAR, the headless corpse of Diego Brando is by the feet of Lucy Steel when Jorge Joestar and the others arrive at Trinity Church. Jorge wonders how he ended up that way. The original universe Dio Brando, who is now just a head after his battle with Kars, goes on top of Diego's back. He sees the Saint's Corpse on a table lying behind Lucy and prepares to make the body his own.

His plan is foiled when Jorge places Jonathan's head on top of the Saint's Corpse instead. Frustrated about constantly losing to the Joestars, Dio attaches himself to the headless body of Diego. Dissatisfied, Dio declares he does not want to associate with the Joestars anymore and vanishes into the darkness of the stairs behind him.

Gallery
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Trivia

 * In Eyes of Heaven, the battle music for THE WORLD Diego is an arrangement of DIO's.