Dio Brando the Invader
Sometime between the 12th and 16th centuries, an ancient Aztec ritual takes place in Mexico, where a man wearing a Stone Mask sacrifices a woman. Rubbing her blood onto the Mask, tendrils suddenly burst out from it and pierce the man’s skull; He announces that he has gained eternal life and pierces a subordinate’s neck with his fingers, draining him of his blood. It is narrated that this tribe attempted to conquer the world using the Stone Mask, only to vanish mysteriously.In 1880 England, Dario Brando, a sick old man on his deathbed, informs his 12-year old son Dio to mail a letter to the upper-class George Joestar, asking him to fulfil his debt by adopting Dio. He recalls that in 1868, Dario and an accompanying woman discovered that a carriage had fallen off of a cliffside road; While George’s wife Mary was killed, he and his infant son Jonathan survived. When Dario began to loot the carriage, coming across a valuable Stone Mask in the process, George noticed Dario and mistook him for a saviour, offering a debt in return. While George also gave Dario money, he laments having spent it all on an ill-fated bar, and wishes for Dio to become rich and powerful when he grows up. After he dies, Dio curses his abusive father, but nonetheless, he schemes to take advantage of the Joestars and scale the social ladder.
Meanwhile, George and a 12-year old Jonathan Joestar live in a peaceful country estate. While playing with his dog Danny, Jonathan comes across two boys bullying a young girl, Erina Pendleton, who have stolen her doll. Jonathan intervenes, but is severely beaten by the two bullies, who despise him for his privilege; However, in the skirmish, they forget about Erina’s doll, and she recovers it. Jonathan brushes Erina off, explaining that he helped her because he aspires to be a gentleman, but leaves an engraved handkerchief behind; Erina learns Jonathan’s name from it, and becomes smitten with him.
Later that day, Dio arrives at the Joestar estate in a carriage, with George welcoming him in as his foster son and Jonathan’s foster brother. However, the two youths get off to a bad start; Dio twists Jonathan’s wrist when he offers to help with his luggage, refusing to be pitied, and knees Danny in the jaw while claiming he hates dogs. Jonathan’s life from that point on takes a turn for the worse, as Dio overshadows him as both a student and gentleman, earning George’s favour. At one point, Jonathan’s dinner is confiscated simply for having worse manners than Dio. Later on, Dio also intrudes on a boxing contest among the youths and soundly beats Jonathan, pressing his thumb into his eye and taking a month’s allowance from him.
Jonathan is excluded by his friends, as Dio uses his newfound popularity from the contest to spread rumours that Jonathan is a snitch; He plans to break the boy’s spirit until he is unable to stand up to him. Nonetheless, Jonathan finds solace with both Danny and Erina, the latter of whom has become his girlfriend. To spite him, Dio confronts Erina and forcefully kisses her, stealing the couple’s first kiss and seemingly ruining their relationship; He is angered and slaps Erina when she washes her lips in a muddy puddle. Later on, Dio hears from George why Jonathan and Danny are best friends – when they first met, Danny bit Jonathan’s hand, causing him to abuse the dog, but nonetheless, Danny saved Jonathan from drowning in a lake, and they became inseparable.
Jonathan notices that Erina is avoiding him, and hears of Dio’s actions from the other boys. Overcome with rage, he returns to the Joestar mansion and challenges Dio to a rematch, hoping to avenge his girlfriend. Dio gets the upper hand, intending to put him in his place once and for all, but Jonathan refuses to live in Dio’s shadow and turns the tide of the fight through sheer determination, brutalizing Dio. A final punch from Jonathan gives Dio a bloodied nose, and sprays blood onto the Stone Mask hanging on the wall; It sprouts tendrils and falls to the ground, shocking Jonathan. An enraged and humiliated Dio pulls a knife, but George breaks up the fight and exiles both boys to their respective rooms.
A few days later, a butler notices a mysterious wooden box inside the furnace, but thinks nothing of it; He proceeds to burn the trash, but to his horror, Danny was locked inside the box, who manages to break free before succumbing to the flames. Danny is buried behind the mansion; Jonathan is also unable to reconcile with Erina, and curses Dio for ruining the two bonds he could rely on. Meanwhile, Dio decides that Jonathan cannot be bullied into submission, as his spirit is too strong; Rather, he chooses to bide his time and not repeat his mistake.
A Letter from the Past
Seven years later in 1887, Jack the Ripper is at large and both Jonathan and Dio are graduating from Hugh Hudson Academy; Jonathan intends to pursue a career in archaeology, while Dio is a top law student. While the two appear close, as evidenced by their teamwork in a final rugby match, their relationship is but a façade; Jonathan is unable to trust Dio after the events in his youth, while Dio is still scheming to steal the Joestar fortune. Now that they have both come of age, Jonathan and Dio can legally inherit the fortune.Meanwhile, George has fallen sick; What was previously assumed to be the common cold has grown far worse, leaving him bedridden. After George congratulates Jonathan and Dio on their rugby game, Jonathan spends the night studying the Stone Mask, noting that the tendrils pop out whenever blood touches it; However, he is unable to deduce its purpose, planning to present it to the academic community as his first breakthrough. When looking through his father’s books, Jonathan accidentally knocks over a bookcase and discovers the letter Dario wrote to George; In the letter, Dario describes his illness, and Jonathan realizes that he had the exact same symptoms as George does now.
A flashback reveals why Dio hates his father – he rejected medicine, opting to handle the illness through drinking, and made him sell his deceased mother’s dress to afford more alcohol. Dio was enraged and vowed to send his father to Hell, before visiting Wang Chan, a shady Chinese merchant who lived in the London slums – he predicts from the moles on Dio’s face that he will live a long and prosperous life, before selling him poison. In the present, since the butler has grown too old to climb the stairs comfortably, Dio takes George’s medicine up to him, switching it out for poison. Jonathan deduces this and confronts his foster brother, threatening to investigate.
Dio warns him that doubting him means doubting their bond, but Jonathan challenges him to swear on his father’s honour that he is innocent. The thought of Dario having any honour enrages Dio, who attacks Jonathan and confirms his suspicions. After a brief scuffle, Jonathan throws Dio off the second-floor balcony, restoring their rivalry, and plans to travel to London and locate the merchant who sold the poison, so he can put Dio behind bars and protect his father. Meanwhile, Dio schemes to assassinate Jonathan before he can gather the evidence.
The Stone Mask
Leaving George in the care of trustworthy physicians, Jonathan takes a carriage to London; Meanwhile, Dio breaks into Jonathan’s study and takes the Stone Mask, planning to kill him using the tendril mechanism. Jonathan’s carriage stops at Ogre Street, the most dangerous alleyway in the city, as the driver refuses to go further, so he continues alone, driven by conviction to save his family. Upon learning of Jonathan’s destination back at the manor, Dio assures himself that Jonathan will surely die attempting to find Wang Chan.As he navigates through Ogre Street, Jonathan is attacked by a trio of muggers led by one Robert E.O. Speedwagon, who sends one of the muggers, Tattoo, to slice him up. Jonathan disarms Tattoo of his blade, ignoring the fear of losing his fingers, and the second mugger, Chinese martial artist Amato, is defeated with a single punch. Speedwagon attacks with a razor-bladed bowler hat, piercing his arm down to the bone, but Jonathan ignores the pain, charges Speedwagon, and takes him out with a single kick. As a mob closes in on the four, Speedwagon calls them off, noting that Jonathan incapacitated them non-lethally. Impressed by his mercy and naivete, Jonathan and Speedwagon become friends, and the latter takes him to Wang Chan.
Still anxious over Jonathan’s mission, Dio wanders a nearby port town with a bottle in hand, resenting himself for drinking alcohol like Dario. When a pair of passing vagrants taunt him, Dio becomes enraged and uses the opportunity to test the Stone Mask; He forces it onto one of the vagrants and stabs the other in the throat, killing him. The blood splashes onto the Mask and the tendrils pierce the man’s head, emitting a blindingly bright light before the man collapses. Dio recovers, disappointed by the Mask and dismissing it as a cruel execution device. However, to his shock, the vagrant suddenly reanimates and stands up, having transformed into a vampire. The vampire overpowers Dio and pierces his neck, beginning to drain his blood, but Dio is saved after the sun rises, causing the vampire to burn alive.
Upon returning to the mansion, Dio finds Jonathan waiting for him; He has already found Wang Chan and administered the antidote to George, and the police are waiting to arrest him. Dio feigns remorse, but Speedwagon, having followed Jonathan home, warns him not to trust Dio and claims that he is pure evil. George, heartbroken by Dio’s betrayal, turns to leave, but is troubled when Wang Chan mentions Dio’s supernatural luck. Dio requests that Jonathan place the handcuffs on him, but as he does so, Dio laments the weak and awry nature of humanity, declaring that he throws his away.
Revealing himself to be carrying both a knife and the Stone Mask, Dio attacks Jonathan, but George takes the knife for his son. Wiping his foster father’s blood onto the Mask and putting it on, Dio cackles as light engulfs the room, before he is blown out the window by police gunfire.
Youth with Dio
Fatally wounded, George asks Jonathan to forgive Dio with his dying breath. The Chief Inspector blames himself for the tragedy, revealing that George learned the truth about Dario’s selfish intentions after he stole Mary’s wedding ring, but was too kind-hearted to condemn him. Speedwagon notes that Jonathan has inherited his father’s spirit and praises the Joestars as an exemplary family, but discovers that Dio’s body is now missing; Though he warns the Inspector to get away from the window, a reanimated Dio slices his head in two, having transformed into a vampire.Dio massacres the rest of the policemen, draining the blood of one; The policeman then reanimates as a zombie, and attempts to feast on an injured Speedwagon before Jonathan defends him with a spear from a suit of armour. Recalling his notes on the Mask, Jonathan concludes that Dio cannot die unless his brain is completely destroyed, and attacks him with the spear. Dio easily breaks it in two and stabs Jonathan in the shoulder, but he and Speedwagon are able to sneak away while Dio is distracted. He follows Jonathan’s blood trail to a curtain, but when he tears it back, Jonathan sets the curtain on fire with a lantern to smother him.
As the fire spreads throughout the mansion, Dio tears himself free, as he can heal himself faster than the flames can destroy him. Jonathan lures Dio away from Speedwagon by scaling to the top of the building, while Dio walks up the wall to pursue him. Speedwagon realizes that Jonathan has turned the mansion into a furnace, and hopes to kill Dio using the increased temperatures; It is not lost on him that Jonathan is willing to sacrifice his own life. Upon reaching the roof, Jonathan tackles Dio back into the building, clinging on using the broken spear and his belt, but Dio clings to the wall, declaring that Jonathan will die while he escapes. Using the last of his strength and calling George’s spirit for aid, Jonathan kicks against the wall, redirecting Dio so that he is impaled on the Statue of the Goddess of Love in the main hall. While Jonathan is blown out the window by an explosion and rescued by Speedwagon, who proclaims his victory, Dio is unable to escape and left to burn alive in the mansion.
Three days later, Speedwagon sneaks into the hospital to offer emotional support to Jonathan, but notices a nurse relentlessly scrubbing his wounds, assuring Speedwagon that he isn’t needed. Speedwagon eavesdrops regardless, and when Jonathan awakens, he recognizes the nurse as his former sweetheart, Erina Pendleton. Speedwagon leaves the two to bond as Erina almost passes out from fatigue, but Jonathan catches her with his broken arm and assures her that he will always be ready to help her. Meanwhile, Wang Chan scavenges the ruins of the Joestar mansion for loot. He discovers the Stone Mask, but before he can take it, a charred hand grabs his wrist and drains the merchant’s blood; Dio, badly burnt but alive, glares out from beneath the rubble.
Jack the Ripper and Zeppeli the Strange
In Whitechapel, Jack the Ripper has murdered his latest victim when he is approached by Dio, being pushed in a wheelchair by a zombified Wang Chan. Dio hypnotizes Jack and drains his blood, turning him into a zombie. Meanwhile, Jonathan and Erina search the mansion’s ruins, and the former worries that he cannot find the Stone Mask. They take a walk to relieve themselves, but pass by a mysterious man eating a sandwich, who follow the pair. The man suddenly jumps into the air and jams his pinkie finger into Jonathan’s stomach, winding him and causing immense pain; Erina calls him out, but to both their surprise, Jonathan’s body suddenly fills with a mysterious energy, healing his broken bones.The man introduces himself as Will Anthonio Zeppeli, a martial artist trained in the ways of the Ripple, an energy akin to sunlight that the body can generate through proper breathing. To demonstrate its power, Zeppeli takes Jonathan and Erina to a nearby lake, where he uses the Ripple to punch a frog sitting atop a rock; The Ripple conducts through the frog and splits the rock in two, leaving the frog unharmed. Zeppeli explains that he has travelled to England to locate and destroy the Stone Mask, and warns him that Dio did not die in the mansion inferno; To save both himself and mankind, Jonathan must kill him.
Jonathan trains under Zeppeli for the next week, mastering the Ripple, and learns of Zeppeli’s motive for destroying the Mask; He used to travel the world with his father and a group of scholars, until they came across the Stone Mask in a set of Mexican ruins. Zeppeli’s father used the Mask to become a vampire, killing the other scholars and nearly killing Zeppeli before he was disintegrated by the dawn, so Zeppeli wishes to destroy it and protect innocent lives from being claimed by the Mask. Meanwhile, Dio has taken refuge in a castle in the rural town of Windknight’s Lot, draining the blood of the locals to heal his wounds and amass a zombie army.
Jonathan is later attacked by Wang Chan, but manages to fend him off using the Zoom Punch, a technique that involves extending his arm using the Ripple. Dio learns of the Ripple from Wang Chan, while Speedwagon deduces Dio’s location; He, Jonathan, and Zeppeli take a carriage through a mountainside tunnel to reach Windknight's Lot. However, they are attacked by the zombified Jack, who kills their driver and horses before caving in the tunnel to trap them. He throws an array of razor blades to attack, but Zeppeli conducts the Ripple through a glass of wine and spits it at the blades, deflecting them. Declaring humanity to be their greatest strength against the undead, Zeppeli disfigures Jack with a Ripple-infused knee strike, before the zombie flees into a hidden side passage.
Ripple Overdrive
Zeppeli gives Jonathan the glass of wine, instructing him to defeat Jack without spilling a single drop as his final exam; If Jonathan fails, Zeppeli will abandon him. Zeppeli also gives the subtle hint “The Northern Wind made the Vikings”. As he progresses through the dark tunnel, Jonathan discovers that he can conduct the Ripple through the wine to detect nearby life forms; He kills Jack by conducting the Ripple through a wall, and passes the test. The trio are able to reach the countryside near Windknight’s Lot, where Speedwagon begs Zeppeli to teach him the Ripple, despite being told he lacks the necessary skills and aptitude. Regardless, Zeppeli attempts to adjust Speedwagon’s breathing like he did with Jonathan, but accidentally hits the diaphragm and causes the thief to double over in pain.Suddenly, a boy steals Jonathan’s bag, using a tree branch to catapult himself across a pond and scale the opposing cliff. Jonathan and Zeppeli use the Ripple to pursue him across the river, and Jonathan knocks the boy to the ground by transferring the Ripple through the cliffside; However, the boy, Poco, has no recollection of what just happened. Realizing that Dio hypnotized Poco to lure them into a disadvantageous position, night falls, and Dio and his zombie army surround the heroes. Zeppeli attacks the vampire, but he resists the attack; Having removed all vapour from his arm to freeze it, he is able to freeze Zeppeli’s arm solid and cut off his blood flow, preventing him from generating the Ripple. He prepares to crush Zeppeli’s head, but Jonathan saves him in the nick of time.
Tarkus and the Dark Knight Bruford
Jonathan and Zeppeli both charge the Ripple into Dio’s arm, but he freezes Jonathan’s arm as well and begins to split it open via the frostbite. Zeppeli kicks Dio, freeing Jonathan, but his leg is split open before both are thrown back down to Speedwagon. Dio gloats that the Ripple holds no power over him, before calling two elite zombies: Bruford and Tarkus, two knights from the Elizabethan period. Speedwagon uses his own body heat to thaw Zeppeli’s arm, earning his respect, while Bruford restrains Jonathan with his prehensile hair and begins to drain his blood through it.Tarkus and Bruford’s backstories are explained; Once loyal knights who served Mary Stuart of Scotland, Queen Elizabeth I eventually took her prisoner after a war. Bruford and Tarkus continued to fight for their Queen, surrendering when she promised to release Mary, but when they were to be executed, they discovered that Elizabeth lied and executed Mary anyway. Both knights died cursing Elizabeth, and Dio has exploited their anger to fulfil his own purposes.
Jonathan sets his hand on fire with the Ripple to burn through Bruford’s hair, who is impressed by his prowess and is granted permission to face Jonathan alone. Using his hair to hold his sword, Luck, Jonathan is driven into a lake as a satisfied Dio returns to his castle, planning to zombify the entire populace and take over the country from there. While Jonathan cannot breathe underwater, he takes a single breath from an air pocket at the bottom of the lake and conducts the Ripple through the water, launching Bruford out but only grazing his forehead.
Bruford stops holding back, restraining Jonathan against a tree and attempting to behead him, but Jonathan uses the Ripple to deflect the blade and melt Bruford’s arm. He frees himself using the Ripple and pummels the zombie with a Sunlight Yellow Overdrive, but it doesn’t destroy him. Bruford prepares to attack Jonathan, but stops himself at the last moment; The Ripple has filled his body, disintegrating it but restoring Bruford’s humanity in the process. Bruford thanks Jonathan and bequeaths his sword to Jonathan, renaming it Luck & Pluck with his blood, before dying in peace. Only Tarkus remains, but Zeppeli realizes that he will be much tougher to restore.
Pluck for Tomorrow and the Successor
Returning to the graveyard, Poco attempts to warn two passing thugs about Tarkus before he attacks them; However, Jonathan saves Poco in the nick of time. Tarkus uses his greatsword to destroy the ground beneath them, revealing an ancient training ground underneath, and drinks the blood of the two thugs; However, Jonathan and Zeppeli use the Ripple to magnetize a pile of leaves into a hang glider, using it to escape Tarkus. As the group flee, Zeppeli explains more of his past; After his father’s death, he spent two years travelling the world searching for the Stone Mask, before he learned of a man in India who called himself a doctor and possessed healing powers. He was led to a temple at the Nuu River, where he met and trained under the man; Tonpetty, a Ripple master. However, Zeppeli does not mention Tonpetty’s prophecy; Should he choose to become a Ripple master, Zeppeli will die fighting a powerful enemy.Tarkus suddenly jumps onto the glider, causing the group to crash-land in the ruins; Tarkus and the glider land further down, but begins scaling the side in spite of his broken bones. Jonathan enters the building to find a safe hiding place for Poco, but is caught by a metal collar that restrains itself around his neck; The door locks behind Jonathan, pulling him up to the ceiling, as Tarkus enters through a vent on the other side; He also restrains himself in a collar, recognizing the room as the Chamber of the Two-Headed Dragon and wishing to relive the deathmatches he fought there while alive. Tarkus explains the rules to Jonathan; The keys for their respective collars are located inside of their opponent’s collar, forcing them to fight to the death in order to escape.
Jonathan is at a heavy disadvantage since the collar prevents him from breathing properly, and the ceiling-attached chains prevent the Ripple from conducting into Tarkus’ collar. As Zeppeli tries in vain to break down the door, Speedwagon notices that there is a lever inside the room that unlocks it, but the only other entrance is through a small gap that can only fit a child. Zeppeli refuses to endanger Poco and the two begin climbing towards the vent, but Poco remembers his sister’s remark about cowardice and crawls through away, resolving to save his sister and the town. Inside, Tarkus kicks Poco across the room; However, Jonathan uses his collar to pull Tarkus back, preventing a fatal injury, and Poco pulls the lever.
Inside, Zeppeli recognises the chamber as the one in Tonpetty’s prophecy, and subtly accepts fate. He attacks Tarkus with a spinning dive kick, but the zombie leaps above, wraps the chain around Zeppeli, and violently yanks it, breaking Jonathan’s neck and bisecting Zeppeli. However, neither injury instantly kills the victims, and before Tarkus can stop him, Zeppeli transfers his remaining Ripple into Jonathan. Empowered by his master’s life energy, Jonathan heals his neck and breaks the collar, a feat of strength not even Tarkus could perform, before finishing the zombie with a barrage of Ripple-infused punches. Satisfied with how his life turned out, Zeppeli urges Jonathan not to mourn him and continue his mission, before passing in his student’s arms.
The Three from a Faraway Land
Later, Jonathan, Speedwagon, and Poco arrive in Windknight’s Lot, where they confront Adams, a zombified villager. He attacks them, only to be defeated Jonathan/ Suddenly, another man attacks the trio; Introducing himself as Dire, he performs the “Thunder Cross Attack”, spreading Jonathan’s arms using his legs before performing a double karate chop. Jonathan counters with a headbutt and repels his aggressor. The man reveals himself to be a Ripple user, and has arrived alongside Tonpetty, Zeppeli’s teacher, and Straizo, a fellow Ripple user, to aid him in destroying the Stone Mask.In Dio’s castle, a woman begs him to spare her baby in exchange for zombifying her; Dio complies, but notes the irony as the zombie devours her own baby anyway. He then attempts to charm Poco’s sister, still human and held captive, into joining the zombie army of her own free will, but she refuses and slaps him. Poco’s sister is left to the zombie Doobie, but Jonathan arrives and kills him before she can be killed. The heroes then confront Dio in the gallery, where an army of zombies gathers to protect their master. Jonathan and Dio both exchange threats.
However, Dire challenges Dio first, explaining that Zeppeli was his closest friend and that he has the right to avenge his death. He performs an enhanced version of his ability, the Thunder Cross Split Attack, but Dio freezes Dire’s entire body except for his head and shatters it. As a final, postmortem act of defiance, Dire uses his remaining Ripple to spit a rose in Dio’s face, humiliating and angering the vampire.
Fire and Ice, Jonathan and Dio
Inspired by Dire’s final affront, Jonathan decides to use Luck & Pluck to conduct the Ripple into Dio without being frozen. As Speedwagon, Tonpetty, and Straizo fends off the attacking zombies, Jonathan confronts Dio on the balcony and sends out several roses to distract his opponent; He manages to sever Dio’s right arm and leaves a vertical cut along his chest, but Dio then freezes the sword and consequently Jonathan’s arms. Dio begins playing with his food, but notices too late that Jonathan plunged the sword’s tip into a ceremonial brazier, enabling Jonathan to thaw his arms and break free before Dio shatters the blade.With Jonathan unarmed and at a disadvantage, Dio lunges to finish his opponent, but Jonathan sets both his hands on fire using the brazier and punches him back; The inferno protects Jonathan from Dio’s freezing abilities, and he launches Dio off the balcony with a Ripple-infused punch that pierces his chest. Dio tries in vain to attack Jonathan by firing two aqueous humour streams from his eyes before falling to his apparent doom, with everyone proclaiming Jonathan’s victory. Speedwagon destroys the Stone Mask, and Dio’s zombie army is exterminated; However, unbeknownst to the heroes, Dio manages to behead himself before the Ripple destroys his entire body, and his still-living head is spirited away by Wang Chan.
Two months later, Jonathan marries Erina, and the couple sail to America for their honeymoon; Speedwagon, Poco and his sister, and the Ripple users see them off at the docks. However, a coffin is smuggled inside the ship; Jonathan notices Wang Chan and follows him, only for the zombie to open the coffin and reveal a glass case containing Dio’s head. The vampire remarks how closely their fates are intertwined, and decides he will take Jonathan’s body for himself; He fires two aqueous humour streams from his eyes, piercing Jonathan’s neck and fatally wounding him.
As Erina discovers the skirmish, the ship is attacked by more of Dio’s zombies; One woman in particular is killed defending her newborn baby. Unable to breathe and surrounded by zombies, Jonathan uses the last of his Ripple to force Wang Chan into the ship’s engine, blocking the screw shafts and essentially wiring the ship for detonation. As his dying wish, Jonathan convinces Erina to escape along with the now-orphaned baby, and she complies. While Dio attempts to puppeteer Jonathan’s body by sprouting tentacles from his neck, the hero stabs them with a piece of shrapnel to incapacitate him. As Erina and the baby climb into Dio’s coffin, Jonathan wishes her happiness before the flames separate them; Dio panics and offers to heal Jonathan if he serves him, offering him and Erina eternal life together, but Jonathan has already passed.
The ship explodes, sinking to the bottom of the sea. Erina, the baby, and her unborn child are the only survivors, who are rescued two days later near the Canary Islands. While Jonathan’s legacy will largely be forgotten, Erina promises herself that his descendants will forever remember and cherish his story.
