Saint's Corpse
The Saint's Corpse (聖人の遺体, Seijin no Itai), also called the Holy Corpse Parts (聖なる遺体, Sei naru Itai), is central to the plot of the seventh part of the JoJo's Bizarre Adventure series, Steel Ball Run. It is also influential in the eighth part, JoJolion.
The Corpse Parts are miraculously self-preserving ancient human remains, first described as belonging to a saint. They impart miraculous powers to their wielders, which are usually Stand abilities. Although never confirmed as such,[2] they're heavily implied to belong to Jesus.[3]
Summary
The Parts often grant those merging with them Stand powers, similarly to the Bow and Arrow of the original continuity. Parts react differently to each person; when Gyro and Diego each took possession of an eye, Gyro acquires Scan, an ability unrelated to Stand powers, whereas Diego retains properties of a Stand effect used on him (the dinosaur powers of Dr. Ferdinand's Stand Scary Monsters).
The full Saint's Corpse promises a thousand years of glory and prosperity to its owner and the land it's on.[4][5] As discovered by Valentine, the Corpse is utterly unique, existing in only one dimension in the multiverse;[6] thereby establishing a "base world". In neighboring dimensions where the Corpse does not exist, the racers are competing for other precious items, such as diamonds.[7]
List of the 9 Corpse Parts
- Heart: Granted Funny Valentine his Stand D4C when as a soldier he fell onto it in the desert as his company perished. Over his chest appears the word "considerae". The reason for this word's appearence is unknown, although Valentine theorize it may be here to indicate a specific location [8]
- Left Arm: Merges with an unknowing Johnny Joestar in the Devil's Palm in the Arizona Desert / Monument Valley, granting him the Stand Tusk.[9] Like the Right Arm, the hand has a hole in its palm. Later it is taken forcefully by Hot Pants.
- Eyes: The "guardian" of the Eyes appears like a robotic Stand; invisible except where covered by sand, holding one in each hand.[10] Each has the word "turbo" written around the iris, and allow their holder to see Parts in the possession of others. Funny takes advantage of this ability to track Lucy Steel, and is able to talk through them to guide her, sounding only like a voice in her head.[11]
- Right Eye: Merging with his own, grants Gyro Zeppeli the Scan ability.
- Left Eye: Enables Diego Brando to control the dinosaur powers forcibly given to him by Dr. Ferdinand as his own Stand ability. He retains this ability even after the Eye is removed from his body.[12]
- Spine: Discovered by Lucy Steel at the end of the 4th STAGE. The Spine doesn't react to her, but when Blackmore takes it, he momentarily perceives Jesus's presence, and he and Lucy are transported 34 km away due to the spine's power. When Blackmore is defeated, the Spine fuses with Johnny Joestar.[13] Later it is stolen by Hot Pants, leaving a small fragment in Johnny's body, allowing him to retain his Stand.[14] This last part is eventually stolen from him as well.
- Rib cage: Original owner unknown. Funny Valentine acquires it, to no noticeable effect.
- Ears: Sourced in the spring by the Tree guarded by Sugar Mountain and its Stand; exchanged by Gyro with a pair of rabbit's ears, they merge with Johnny Joestar, to no particular effect.[15] Reluctantly, in order to fulfill Sugar Mountain's rules and save Gyro, Johnny relinquishes them to one of the surviving Eleven Men agents of Valentine.[16]
- Right Arm: Sourced in the spring by the Tree guarded by Sugar Mountain and its Stand, exchanged by Gyro with a rabbit's arm, it merges with him, to no particular effect. Like the Left Arm, the hand has a hole in its palm. Separating from Gyro as he transforms, in order to fulfill Sugar Mountain's rules and save him, Johnny reluctantly gives it to one of the surviving Eleven Men agents of Valentine.[16]
- Legs: The legs were found within a wolf pup which Johnny had fed. Gyro and Johnny did not realize the wolf pup held them and it followed them due to the corpse's compulsion to follow those chosen by it. It was eventually deduced by Wekapipo and Magent Magent that the wolf pup held the legs, due to one of the Eleven Men seeing the projection of Johnny's spine showing a wolf at the great lakes.
- Skull: Discovered by Lucy Steel while hiding from Valentine. She perceives the skull located in a fireplace flue. Seemingly becoming pregnant when it merges with her, the skull's shadow is then seen against her stomach.[17]
Guardian Spirits
Guardian Spirits (守護精霊, Shugo Seirei) are manifestations of spirits composed of energy that protect the Corpse Parts.[18] They sometimes appear in front of the wielders of the Parts to either guide the user or test them to see if they deserve to own the Parts.[19]
Tusk first appears after Johnny gains the Left Arm of the Corpse while he is under attack from Pork Pie Hat Kid. Tusk repeatedly tells Johnny "Movere crus" (Latin for "Move your legs"), and imprints the phrase onto Johnny's arm, which would ultimately become a clue to the location of the Corpse's Eyes. Tusk becomes Johnny's Stand, allowing him to use the Spin to shoot his fingernails. Tusk would evolve into three more Acts, which would grant Johnny an even stronger mastery of the Spin.
The Stand Sugar Mountain, bound to a Great Tree, is the Guardian of the Ears and Right Arm. It appoints human guardians to guard the Corpse Parts, waiting for the chosen people who deserve to wield them.[19] If someone drops an object into the spring near the tree, they will encounter the tree's current guardian, who gives them trials they must pass in order to not become a guardian themselves.[21]
In the Trial of Greed, if a person honestly identifies their dropped item among a more valuable one, they pass and gain both items. Dishonesty leads to a gruesome death by the tree's vines. In the Trial of Avarice, the valuable items they acquired must be traded or sold before sunset, not given away. Failure results in becoming part of the tree as "fruits," who are lined up to be future guardians. Success frees the person, the current guardian, and those in line to leave.
The guardian that Johnny and Gyro encounter is a girl who is also referred to as Sugar Mountain. Gyro deduces how the trial works and cuts off rabbit ears which Johnny drops into the spring. Sugar Mountain presents him with the Ears during the trial, which fuses into his face when he answers honestly.[21] Gyro also drops a rabbit's foot into the spring, allowing him to get the Right Arm.[19] Johnny and Gyro nearly fail the trial for failing to use the Corpse Parts and Gyro becomes one of the tree's fruits. However, Johnny successfully makes a deal with one of the Eleven Men, trading him both Corpse Parts in exchange for wine. As they passed the trial, all of the guardians are turned back to normal and free to leave.[22]
History
The Saint's Death
The Corpse Parts are heavily implied to belong to Jesus, although this is never explicitly confirmed. He is often referred to as the "The Saint". Upon the Saint's death somewhere on the Western coast of North America, a massive earthquake and storm tore the land, splitting his Corpse into 9 Parts, which were then distributed by various forces of nature eastwards, resting at the locations he indicated they would to Joseph of Arimathea.
Prior to the Steel Ball Run race
In the Devil's Palm, each member of the military unit Funny Valentine belongs to perishes except for him, having fallen unconscious onto the site of the Corpse's Heart, when it merges with him, saving his life and motivating his search for the remainder.
Steel Ball Run race
Funny Valentine reveals that he guided the planned route of the Steel Ball Run race with the aim of scanning the country for the Parts besides the Heart, which clues him as to their rough location. The race's manager, Steven Steel, is only vaguely aware of the Corpse's existence.
The Corpse is discussed euphemistically as though belonging merely to a saint.
The competition for the Parts
Coming from Naples, Gyro treats the news of the existence of the Corpse very seriously.
Johnny Joestar wishes to collect the Corpse in order to raise himself from a perceived "negative" position as the result of his family misfortunes and personal mistakes. Johnny is willing to sacrifice the corpse to keep it out of misguided hands, though this doesn't sit well with Gyro as he believes the corpse should be preserved.
Diego Brando reads Valentine's intention and the power of the Corpse, resolving to use it to support his own fierce ambition.
Hot Pants reveals a deep desire to acquire the entire Corpse in order to help her absolve herself of what she sees as a cardinal sin in her past. She seems more aware that the Corpse must belong to Jesus.
President Funny Valentine holds a deep sense of patriotism and seeks to use the corpse's power to bring great happiness and good fortune to America, having formed the Steel Ball Run around the search for the corpse parts.
Sensing an obligation to defend the Corpse from possession by its other pursuers, Gyro and Johnny come into conflict with Valentine, his agents, Diego Brando, and Hot Pants.
When collected by various racers, many Corpse Parts generate clues as to the location of the next Part.
Blackmore, when handling the Spine, receives a vision of Jesus, shortly before he is killed.
While battling Axl RO, Johnny Joestar also receives a peripheral vision and vocalized advice from Jesus.
The Complete Corpse
Valentine's plot unfolds as he explains that the Corpse represents the ultimate power, existing in only one dimension in the multiverse, accessible only via his Stand, Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap. The one possessing it, like the first person on a round table to take their napkin from their left or their right side, will be empowered to decide some aspect of the fate of the world. His intention is to use it for the enduring security and dominion over others of his country, the United States.[23]
Lucy Steel, with Valentine's direction, eventually merges with the entire Corpse, beginning a metamorphosis that also lends Valentine a new ability.
The Corpse's sealing
After Valentine's defeat, as directed further by him, the second Diego Brando seals the Corpse in a vault in the basement of Trinity Church, New York City, in order to establish "the center of the world" with Diego as its leader.[24] Waiting, stating that "the Corpse is not [his]", Lucy Steel kills him.[25]
Sealed away, it seems that the only ones left with the sure knowledge of the Corpse's existence and location are Steven Steel, Lucy Steel, and Johnny Joestar. Steven states his belief that the Corpse belongs to no person or nation and is safest sealed away in the vault.
Post-Steel Ball Run race
Anguished by the terminal illness of his wife, Rina Higashikata, Johnny decides to retrieve the corpse from its vault and try to use its power to heal her. Johnny buries the corpse under the sacred Meditation Pine in Morioh, Japan.[1] Government agents arrive to retrieve the corpse and take it back to America.
10 years later, Lucy arrives to Morioh carrying a briefcase with the logo of the Speedwagon Oil Company to investigate the area it was buried in. She notes that the ground of its burial site is similar to a Devil's Palm.[26]
Possession of Corpse parts
| Stage | Head | Torso | R. Arm | Ears | Heart | L. Arm | Spine | Legs | R. Eye | L. Eye | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Valentine | ||||||||||
| 2nd | Johnny | ||||||||||
| 3rd | Gyro | Diego | |||||||||
| 4th | Lucy | ||||||||||
| Johnny | Lucy | ||||||||||
| 5th | Hot Pants | Johnny | |||||||||
| 6th | Gyro | Johnny | |||||||||
| Eleven Men | |||||||||||
| Valentine | |||||||||||
| Lucy | |||||||||||
| Valentine | Hot Pants | ||||||||||
| Johnny | |||||||||||
| 7th | Axl RO | ||||||||||
| Axl RO | |||||||||||
| Valentine | |||||||||||
| 8th | |||||||||||
| Valentine (Lucy) | |||||||||||
| Valentine (Lucy) | |||||||||||
| Johnny | |||||||||||
| Parallel World Diego | |||||||||||
| Final | |||||||||||
Video Games
All-Star Battle (PS3) / All-Star Battle R (Various)
The Corpse Parts appear on the stage for Steel Ball Run characters in JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: All-Star Battle. When the Parts are collected during a match, the player gains a character-specific advantage depending on how many they hold. Some of their skills also do more damage depending on how many Parts are collected. If knocked down, the character drops one Part and loses said blessing.
For Johnny, holding one part increases the damage of all of his attacks by ~20%, holding two parts grants Super Armor to all of his skills that use Nail Bullets, and with all three parts, the rate at which Johnny's Heart Heat Gauge fills is increased.
For Gyro, holding one part allows him to use the move "Scan", holding two grants him Super Armor when throwing Steel Balls, meaning enemy attacks received while skills that throw Steel Balls are in effect no longer knock Gyro back, and holding all three keeps Gyro in Golden Spin Mode. Golden Spin Mode prevents spin power from dropping for a fixed period of time and increases the performance of skills that use the Steel Balls.
For Diego, holding one part grants him access to the follow-up skill "Are you ready?!", holding two parts enhances all of his skills in some form or another, mainly boosting their damage, and with all three parts, the rate at which Diego's Heart Heat Gauge fills is increased.
For Valentine, holding one part reduces the rate at which his Guard Gauge decreases, holding two parts increases his defense power, reducing the amount of damage Valentine takes by 10%, and holding all three parts triggers D4C Love Train.
For Parallel World Diego, holding one part increases his movement speed while unmounted, holding two parts allows him to have two gasoline puddles active at once via his "My trial is to conquer and kill at all costs" skill, and holding all three parts increases the rate at which his Guard Gauge increases, and also regenerates his Guard Gauge while Mounted.
Eyes of Heaven (PS3/PS4)
The Saint's Corpse Parts play an important role in the original video game storyline of Eyes of Heaven. The goal of the heroes is to gather the Corpse Parts, who use them to free several characters from Heaven-Attained DIO's mind control. DIO seeks the Parts as well, because they will empower him to such a degree that he can rewrite the universe.
Novels
In the light novel JORGE JOESTAR, the Saint's Corpse is revealed to be Dio Brando's corpse instead, meaning the saint is actually Jonathan Joestar as Dio has his body. Dio travels to Trinity Church so that he can graft his head back onto his own corpse, but Jorge Joestar puts Jonathan's head on it, reviving Jonathan.[27]
Gallery
The Left Arm
The Heart
The full Saint's Corpse
The Corpse Parts scattered across America
The Eyes' complete guardian
The Eyes
The Spine
The Ears
The Right Arm
The Legs
The Ribcage
The Corpse as assembled by Axl RO
The guardian of the Corpse's Head
The Head
Lucy undergoing the effects of the full Saint's Corpse
Lucy under the effects of the Saint's Corpse
Lucy's merged form with the Saint's Corpse
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 JoJolion Chapter 22: Morioh 1901
- ↑ Author's Note, Steel Ball Run Volume 24
- ↑ Steel Ball Run Chapter 58: Civil War, Part 3
- ↑ Steel Ball Run Chapter 31: Scary Monsters, Part 4
- ↑ JoJo-Portal
- ↑ Steel Ball Run Chapter 70: D4C, Part 5, p. 36-37
- ↑ Steel Ball Run Chapter 74: D4C, Part 7, p. 19
- ↑ Steel Ball Run Chapter 27: Tusk, Part 3, p.16
- ↑ Steel Ball Run Chapter 19: The Devil's Palm, Part 2, p. 22
- ↑ Steel Ball Run Chapter 30: Scary Monsters, Part 3, p. 48
- ↑ Steel Ball Run Chapter 72: Ticket to Ride, Part 2, p. 41
- ↑ Steel Ball Run Chapter 69: D4C, Part 4, p. 26
- ↑ Steel Ball Run Chapter 39: Catch the Rainbow (On a Stormy Night...), Part 2, p. 47
- ↑ Steel Ball Run Chapter 45: The Promised Land: Sugar Mountain, Part 1, p. 14
- ↑ Steel Ball Run Chapter 45: The Promised Land: Sugar Mountain, Part 1, p. 51
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 Steel Ball Run Chapter 47: The Promised Land: Sugar Mountain, Part 3, p. 36
- ↑ Steel Ball Run Chapter 62: Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap
- ↑ Steel Ball Run Chapter 27: Tusk, Part 3
- ↑ 19.0 19.1 19.2 Steel Ball Run Chapter 46: The Promised Land: Sugar Mountain, Part 2
- ↑ Steel Ball Run Chapter 35: The World of Man, Part 3
- ↑ 21.0 21.1 Steel Ball Run Chapter 45: The Promised Land: Sugar Mountain, Part 1
- ↑ Steel Ball Run Chapter 48: Tubular Bells, Part 1
- ↑ Steel Ball Run Chapter 61: Both Sides Now, Part 2
- ↑ Steel Ball Run Chapter 94: The World of Stars and Stripes, p. 33
- ↑ Steel Ball Run Chapter 95: The World of Stars and Stripes - Outro, p. 12
- ↑ JoJolion Chapter 99: The Wonder of You, Part 16
- ↑ JORGE JOESTAR Chapter 16: Beyond II
