Saint's Corpse

The Corpse Parts are key items unique to the plot of Part VII: Steel Ball Run.

History
At the beginning of the Steel Ball Run race, the corpse parts became the center of attention to both Diego Brando and Funny Valentine, but soon both Gyro Zeppeli and Johnny Joestar were after them as well. Feeling that they could not allow these objects to fall into the wrong hands, Gyro and Johnny collected them and, on the way, met many of Funny Valentine's personal assassins and neutral characters like Hot Pants, all of whom were interested in the corpse. However, the mystery remained at large, as each corpse part gave the protagonists clues to the location of the next part. Possibilities of the corpse parts once belonging to a long dead Saint arose and whoever possessed them could become the new world leader.

Some characters have had visions of the Saint, who is revealed to be none other than Jesus Christ. Even prior to this revelation, several characters had already come to the same conclusion.

It was eventually revealed that after his resurrection, Jesus traveled to the east and eventually ended up in the then-unclaimed Americas. There, he was welcomed by the natives and lived out the rest of his life there with no one being the wiser. Though he was dead, his body parts were still very much alive and scattered themselves across the land - carrying within them the essence of the dead Saint. The locations where these body parts ended up later served as checkpoints for the Steel Ball Run race.

On one occasion, Johnny was willing to go so far as to destroy one of the corpse parts so as to prevent his opponent from obtaining it. Gyro called the action blasphemous and told Johnny it would be better to let them fall into the hands of the enemy than be destroyed. Any action taken to harm the corpse parts is considered a very grave action, and requires a "dark side" not unlike Johnny's.

Lucy Steel was eventually imbued with all of the corpse parts in Valentine's possession, changing her and even giving her a stand.

As the second Diego Brando had successfully stolen the Corpse from Johnny and was about to seal it away in an underground vault, Lucy Steel gave him the decapitated head of his counterpart of the root world. The alternate Diego attempted to escape from the head while being fused to it, but makes the decision to kill Lucy in his rage, leading to his death. The corpse is seemingly sealed away with Lucy Steel, her husband, and Johnny Joestar being the only ones knowing its location. Mr. Steel states his belief that the The Corpse belongs to no person or nation and is best sealed away in the vault. However, it is slightly implied that Lucy Steel may have fused with the corpse once more after Dio died and before Mr. Steel's arrival at the vault, as she ponders Mr. Steel's comment about Diego not being "qualified" to own the corpse.

Function
The corpse parts function similarly to the Bow and Arrow from the original timeline, giving those who are imbued with them stand powers. In Diego's case, this meant keeping the reptilian powers granted to him by Dr. Ferdinand's stand Scary Monsters. Each corpse part seems to react differently with different characters, as seen when Gyro and Diego each took possession of an eye: Gyro momentarily acquired a stand known as Scan while Diego retained properties of the stand effect used on him.

Interestingly, the corpse parts are unique as they only exist in one dimension - which can be considered the "root dimension". In all other dimensions, the racers seek other precious items instead of the corpse parts, such as diamonds.

Corpse Parts List



 * Eyes: Each eye has the word turbo written around the iris. The "guardian" of the eyes seems to be a robot-like stand who can only be seen by those holding the eyes. Using the eyes grants stands relating to observation and vision, as seen by Gyro's Scan. They can also allow a person to see corpse parts in the possession of other people.


 * Skull: Discovered by Lucy Steel while hiding from Valentine. She perceived the skull as being located inside a fireplace flue and subsequently became pregnant when it merged with her body. The skull's outline could then be seen against her stomach.


 * Spine: Discovered by Lucy Steel at the end of the 4th Stage. The spine didn`t react to her, but when Blackmore took it, he could perceive for a moment the true owner of the corpse. When Blackmore was defeated, the spine fused with Johnny Joestar. Later, The spine was stolen by Hot Pants, leaving only a small fragment in Johnny's body, thus allowing him to retain his stand. This final part of the spine was eventually stolen from him as well.


 * Rib-cage: Original owner unknown. Fell into Valentine's possession and has since merged with Lucy Steel.


 * Heart: Significantly boosts the physical body of whoever is using it, as seen when Funny Valentine's pudgy physiology takes on a more muscular build. It's presumed that the person's physical strength increases along with other talents. Over the bearer's chest is written the word "Conscience" in a path resembling that of the location of the other Corpse Parts in the U.S.


 * Ears: Originally in Sugar Mountain's possession, they were given to and merged with Johnny Joestar. However, in order to prevent Gyro from turning fully into a tree, Johnny gave the ears to one of the 11 nameless men. They were then brought to Valentine and later merged with Lucy Steel.


 * Hands: The right hand and arm were originally in Sugar Mountain's possession and were given to/merged with Gyro Zeppeli. After they separated from him, Johnny Joestar was forced to give them to one of the 11 nameless men in order to prevent Gyro from turning fully into a tree. The left arm and hand were originally with Johnny Joestar, but were forcefully removed and taken by Hot Pants. Both arms have since fallen into Valentine's hands and, along with the rest of the corpse parts, merged with Lucy Steel.


 * Legs:

Trivia

 * The Corpse parts appears as a colletable itens for Steel Ball Run (Part 7) characters, Johnny, Gyro and Valentine on Jojo's Bizarre Adventure: All-Star Battle. As they need to collect 3 parts of the Corpse in exchange for a advantage in the fight (unlimited Steel Ball gauge for Gyro, unlimited nails for Johnny, D4C-Love Train for Valentine).