History Characters / JoJosBizarreAdventureDIO

* HateSink:
** More so in ''Phantom Blood'' than in later stories, but Dio wastes no time demonstrating how vile he is, usurping Jonathan's life, forcefully kissing Erina and killing Danny, all of which being before he even becomes a vampire. ''Stardust Crusaders'' does see him pull off no shortage of loathsome deeds, but he isn't quite as personal in his cruelty.
** What makes DIO so unique is how he still remains a fairly complex character compared to more one-dimensional versions of this trope, his cruelty helping make him into a BreakoutVillain more than hurting it.

** The Time Stop in the OVA is less intimidating and a heck of a lot more creepier, sounding like a low-tuned siren going off before fading away as the Time Stop expands outwards.
* HeroicBuild: Inverted; he may have a strong physique, but he is far from benevolent. Even more prominent when he steals Jonathan's body in Part 3.
* HeManWomanHater: He's ''viciously'' sexist. Hell, the first interaction he has with a female character is ''forcefully kissing and slapping her''.

** DIO has a tendency to at best, use women as disposable pawns and a meal/target of abuse at worst. However, DIO would occasionally spare woman that would give him heirs, notably [[Characters/JojosBizarreAdventureGiornoGiovanna Giorno Giovanna]]. Even [[RiddleForTheAges the Narrator is perplexed at DIO's odd choice and wonders why he did this]].
* HumansAreTheRealMonsters: The Stone Mask brings out the more violent tendencies of the user while suppressing their positive traits when they become a vampire, as seen with William Zeppeli's father. In the case of Dio, who was already a sociopathic, manipulative, and deranged person even before becoming a vampire, the transformation doesn't change his personality much. All it really did was finally allow him to act on his inherent evil without the limitations of his human body.
* HumiliationConga: His TakeThatKiss against Jonathan led to him being publicly humiliated by Erina and getting a NoHoldsBarredBeatdown from Jonathan that caused him to burst into tears. He also suffers a second one after returning from Ogre Street when he discovers that Jonathan is still alive, Speedwagon exposes his plan to deceive Jonathan, ''and'' having his plot to poison George Joestar exposed. When he used the Stone Mask, it was because vampirism was the ''only'' option he had left other than prison.

** In the CD Drama, DIO uses his EyeBeams (an ability that he hasn't used since Phantom Blood in the original manga) to distract Jotaro in addition to spraying blood from his wounded leg. Not to mention that, unlike the original manga, DIO was able to use The World's time-stop ability one last time before unleashing his final attack, making the battle between him and Jotaro a much more narrow victory for the latter.
* AdaptationalIntelligence: In the original manga and the 2015 anime, he initially decides to just cut off Jotaro's head with a street sign after hitting him with knives just to make sure he's dead--with his later attempt to make sure he's dead via hearing his heartbeat or any reaction--is actually a ploy by Jotaro to lure him into a trap. In the OVA, his first reaction is to calmly listen if he has a heartbeat or any breathing, causing Jotaro to stop both; and in doing so, [[HoistByHisOwnPetard trapping Jotaro himself in a situation where he's helpless to stop DIO from killing him]]. He's only able to escape thanks to Polnareff arriving in the nick of time.

* SatanicArchetype: A [[BeautyIsBad handsome]] man, yet possessing enormous pride and [[AmbitionIsEvil ambition]], DIO ultimately seeks to become a god and tempts people he deems as valuable pawns into evil to further his goal. Further adding to his satanic qualities are his forsaking of humanity to pursue power paralleling the FallenAngel archetype, and his Part 3 design having [[LightIsNotGood light-based motifs]], with his Stand The World evoking the image of a god. There are plenty of devil references made in regards to him, from Speedwagon in Part 1 saying Dio smells like "fire and brimstone", to Keicho Nijimura in Part 4 alluding to Nijimura Sr.'s deal with DIO as a DealWithTheDevil. To further drive the point home, Dio means God, which adds further to his [[AGodAmI god complex]].

* SoLastSeason: He uses none of his vampiric BodyHorror attacks in ''Stardust Crusaders'', favoring his Stand instead. This ''may'' be because his body from the neck down is Jonathan's and not his own, but that doesn't stop him from draining blood through his fingers, and there's no excuse for not using the EyeBeams--something he possessed even without a body. Downplayed however, in that he does at least use the Space Ripper Stingy Eyes and Charisma attacks in the video games.

* SparingTheAces: Interestingly, DIO not only recruits all manner of people for his forces, but he's even willing to let them rejoin him should he deem them useful enough to keep around. It's why he doesn't even flinch as Hol Horse attempting to kill him, and later offers Polnareff a chance to rejoin him.

** In general, Dio's [[OurVampiresAreDifferent vampirism]] makes him a unique threat to the heroes because 1. [[NewPowersAsThePlotDemands He pulls new abilities out of his ass pretty much every time he appears]] and 2. Since DIO can never tire, his Stand also never stops being as strong as it is the first time he whips it out. [[spoiler: Time Stop alone is very draining on Jotaro and affects his heart]] but what does that mean to a man who can regenerate with a little blood? It's all but stated that if DIO had been able to fully complete merging with Jonathan's body or even evolve The World in any way, he'd be [[WorldsStrongestMan the most powerful being on Earth.]]

* MeaninglessVillainVictory: Ultimately, [[spoiler:DIO's actions lead to a world where the Joestars are alive and, by all appearances, better off... but where Pucci apparently doesn't exist, meaning DIO's legacy is erased forever.]]

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/dio_sc_2.png]]

* HateSink: Moreso in Phantom Blood than in later stories, but Dio wastes no time demonstrating how vile he is, usurping Jonathan's life, forcefully kissing Erina and killing Danny, all of which being before he even becomes a vampire. Stardust Crusaders does see him pull off no shortage of loathsome deeds, but he isn't quite as personal in his cruelty.
** What makes Dio so unique is how he still remains a fairly complex character compared to more one-dimensional versions of this trope, his cruelty helping make him into a BreakoutVillain more than hurting it.

''''' [[Characters/JoJosBizarreAdventureStardustCrusaders Stardust Crusaders]]:''''' [[Characters/JojosBizarreAdventureStardustCrusadersTheJoestarGroup The Joestar Group]] ([[Characters/JoJosBizarreAdventureJotaroKujo Jotaro Kujo]] | [[Characters/JoJosBizarreAdventureJeanPierrePolnareff Jean-Pierre Polnareff]]) | [[Characters/JoJosBizarreAdventureEgyptNineGloryGods Egypt 9 Glory Gods]]\\

** Everything Jonathan was, Dio is the antithesis to. And their legacies have opposed each other throughout series. Jonathan is a dorky NiceGuy AllLovingHero born in an [[SpoiledSweet aristocratic family]], while Dio is an [[AmbitionIsEvil ambitious evil since birth]] CardCarryingVillain born to the lower class. Jonathan wants to be "the perfect gentleman" and is willing to risk himself for strangers; Dio seeks to exploit and manipulate everyone for his own goals, culminating in his plan to take over the Joestar household (who ''willingly adopted him'' when his father died). As Jonathan and Dio gain supernatural powers, Jonathan wields [[ThePowerOfTheSun Hamon]] to fight [[AnIcePerson vampire]] Dio. Their appearances are further contrasted: Jonathan has TaremeEyes and [[BlueIsHeroic a blue shirt]] and is built like a {{Juggernaut}}, while Dio has TsurimeEyes, [[RedOniBlueOni red clothing]] and, in the anime, is more slender than Jonathan.