Dario Brando

"After I die, I am going to worry about you... Dio..."

- Dario Brando to his son

Dario Brando (ダリオ・ブランドー) is a minor character in Phantom Blood.

Dario is the father of Dio Brando. An alcoholic and abusive man, he is primarily responsible for contributing to Dio's descent into evil.

Appearance
Dario appears as an elder man with a stocky build. Balding save some hair on the back of his head and a white beard, he bears a scar crossing his forehead, and he is missing several teeth.

Dario has a tattoo on his chest of a cross with the words 'In memory of mother' visible on the tattoo.

Personality
Dario Brando is portrayed as a corrupt, alcoholic, and abusive father.

Dario is repeatedly portrayed as deeply immoral. Being a petty thief, Dario has no qualm stealing from the dead, notably stealing a then unconscious George Joestar's ring, believing him to be dead. He also told his companion to let Jonathan, then a baby, die. When George woke up, Dario tricked him into believing he was saving him, hoping to exploit the gentleman's naivete. When George covered for him out of kindness, Dario couldn't understand the gesture.

Dario was an abusive husband and father, having presumably forced his wife to work to death. He was hated by his own son, whom he would yell at and beat for the flimsiest reasons. At some point, he asked his son to sell his dead mother's clothes in order to buy more booze. His alcoholic nature was shared with Dio, who hated himself for resembling his father after getting drunk.

History
Dario was a poor man in Victorian England who witnessed George Joestar's carriage crash one day in 1868. Assuming everyone involved had died, Dario goes to loot the wreckage. In the process, he is seen by George, who is still alive. George mistakenly thinks Dario saved his life, and is very thankful to him. Dario then tries to make a profit from Mary Joestar's wedding ring, which he stole after George's carriage crash. He was eventually arrested and would have been sentenced to death for stealing from a noble, but George told the police inspector he actually gave the ring to Dario. George then asked Dario to become a good man and take care of his family. He then told the poor man that he understood his motives, as he, too, would do the same thing if he was born into poverty. Dario states that George gave him money which he used to start a hotel. However, business failed and he worked his wife to death, sending him back into poverty again.

Phantom Blood
Twelve years later, when Dario is on his deathbed, he sends Dio to live with George as payment for George's debt to Dario. After his father dies, Dio spits on his grave.

Phantom Blood (PS2)
Dario appears in the game's first cutscenes, similarly to the original story, as he gives his son a letter that will allow him to live with the Joestars. After the third battle against Dio, the villain briefly mentions his father as he drinks and later meets the one who would become the first vampire seen in the series.

Trivia

 * George mistaking Dario as his savior bears resemblance a similar scene in Victor Hugo's novel Les Misérables, in which Marius's father mistakes the corrupt innkeeper Thénardiers as his savior and sends Marius to seek aid from him on his deathbed. George also claims that he gave his ring to Dario Brando, who was imprisoned for stealing said ring, resembling the bishop Myriel claiming the same for Jean Valjean, who attempted to steal his silverware.