Agents of DIO

"There are those rare men who have not a strap of good in them... the evil elite! Like me... and like you... So how about it? Will you become my servant?"

- Dio Brando (to Jack the Ripper), Chapter 18

The Agents of DIO (の手下) are the primary antagonistic force in the original universe of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, with its members appearing in Phantom Blood, Battle Tendency, Stardust Crusaders, Diamond is Unbreakable and Stone Ocean.

Description
The group is composed of the many people Dio Brando has gathered around him through sheer charisma and/or due to his various desires of dominating the world, finding "Heaven", and destroying the Joestar Group. Even after DIO's death, the remnants of his group appear in later parts. In Part 6, DIO's followers serve as major antagonists continuing his legacy.

Phantom Blood
Dio meets Wang Chan, who becomes his first loyal subordinate after providing Dio with poison to slowly kill his father and adoptive father. Later, Dio steals the Stone Mask from the Joestar Mansion and uses it to become a Vampire with George's blood. He then creates an army of Zombies under his control, including Jack the Ripper, Bruford, Tarkus, Doobie, Adams, Page, Jones, Plant, and Bornnam.

Dio's group was nearly exterminated by the Joestar Group at Windknight's Lot during the night of December 2, 1888. His last known servant, Wang Chan, dies during the sinking of a ship headed towards America, leaving Dio trapped inside his coffin with Jonathan's body.

Battle Tendency
Although Dio supposedly died after the events of Phantom Blood and his followers were thought to be killed by Jonathan Joestar and his allies, there were some minions that survived, including a bloodsucking zombie, which disguises itself as a major squad leader in the. He is later killed by Lisa Lisa as revenge for George Joestar II's murder.

After witnessing Dio's dominant power fifty years ago, Straizo is unintentionally convinced by Dio to betray the Joestar Group and becomes a vampire in order to gain eternal youth. Additionally, Kars is revealed as being the man responsible for creating the stone masks which caused Dio's rise to power.

Stardust Crusaders
Nearly a hundred years later, in 1983, Dio resurfaces when his coffin is pulled out of the ocean's depths by a group of treasure hunters. Now referring to himself as DIO in all capitals, rather than his full name Dio Brando, he eventually obtains a Stand via a Stand Arrow from Enya the Hag whom had previously been sold five from Diavolo. With Enya as his adviser, DIO forms a new network of followers, consisting of natural Stand users and recruiting others after piercing them with one of the Arrows too. In secret, he befriends an Italian priest named Enrico Pucci, whom he names his successor in the event of his death. During his time resurfaced, but before the main events of Stardust Crusaders, he sleeps with multiple women, four of which became pregnant with his children. The previously mentioned network of followers he recruits consisted of mainly payed mercenaries and assassins, such as Hol Horse and Midler, from various places around the world. However, some followers did not assist DIO for monetary gain, instead choosing to follow him out of pure loyalty such as Vanilla Ice and Petshop, or were seduced like Mariah. Not all of DIO's chosen followers joined him by choice, such as Noriaki Kakyoin and Jean Pierre Polnareff, who DIO was forced to use his vampiric flesh buds on to enthral them. It is shown in some cases he would use these flesh buds as extra precautions as well, even against his most trusted followers like Enya, likely to avoid the risk of them revealing his Stand's ability. Upon the defeat of Midler, the third Joestar Group finally arrive in Egypt. In response, DIO assembles a team of his most powerful remaining aides, the Egypt 9 Glory Gods, to eliminate the Joestars before they are able to reach him. During the fifty days it took for the third Joestar Group to travel to travel to DIO's Mansion in Cairo, the majority of his minions were defeated one by one as they attempted to assassinate the Joestars. Each of the Crusaders sacrifice themselves to clear a path through the remaining minions and solve the mystery of DIO's own Stand abilities, so that Jotaro could face him in one last climatic final fight ensues. After a brutal back-and-forth struggle, the DIO is eventually defeated and subsequently killed in battle. Although he failed to win in the end, DIO and his personal bodyguard Vanilla Ice together succeed in killing half of the Joestar Group before their own demises.

After Jotaro and Joseph leave DIO's body out in the Egyptian desert to evaporate with the rising sun, Jotaro returns to DIO's Mansion to gather information, there he finds his' personal diary and learns of the true objective he had hoped to achieve, after he had eliminated the Joestar bloodline. Considering the journal's content potentially disastrous, Jotaro burns the text so that no one else could ever read it.

While several members of DIO's group are confirmed to be deceased, such as Gray Fly and N'Doul, the fates of many of the other agents are unknown after their respective defeats. Some of the surviving ex-followers, particularly Hol Horse, make apparences in the "Crazy Diamond's Demonic Heartbreak" light novel, though this spin-off's events are not confirmed canon.

Diamond is Unbreakable
Yoshihiro Kira and Mr. Nijimura were recruited by DIO in the past and both retrieved a Bow and Arrow from Enya. As a result, many citizens of Morioh gained Stands, including the sons of the aforementioned.

Due to DIO's death, the flesh bud inside Nijimura bursts and he suffers from a horrific transformation leaving him unable to die. Yoshihiro defects from DIO's group and turns his attention to helping his son achieve his goals instead.

Whereas Mr. Nijimura befriends Morioh's Joestar group, Yoshihiro and his son are killed during the battle with Josuke Higashikata and his allies.

Vento Aureo
Around 12 years after Polnareff is freed from DIO's brainwashing and leaves the organization, he becomes an ally of DIO's son, Giorno Giovanna. During the fight against Diavolo, Polnareff is killed just as his Stand goes out of control. However, due to his Stand's new ability, Polnareff's soul is swapped with a turtle's and he remains living despite his original body dying.

Stone Ocean
The final remaining servants of DIO's group are Enrico Pucci and Johngalli A with the goal of avenging DIO by killing Jotaro Kujo and his daughter, Jolyne Cujoh. Pucci desires to continue DIO's dream of finding Heaven and recruits DIO's sons (except Giorno) as well as the prison staff and inmates to help him defeat the Joestar Group.

Pucci does succeed in killing the Joestars and their allies, and almost manages to create a world where everyone will see their Fate just as DIO wanted. However, Emporio kills him before he is able to do so, making the world free of DIO's influence. In the alternate universe, the deceased Joestars and their friends are reborn as alternative counterparts, with different lives and memories.

Like the previous incarnation of the group, while some of its members are confirmed deceased, the fates of other members are left ambiguous, including the fate of Dio's son, Ungalo.

Non-Canon Agents
In JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Eyes of Heaven, Heaven Ascension DIO manages to possess various allies throughout the 8 parts of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure to try and attack the Joestar Group. Below are a list of all of the characters who were possessed by Heaven Ascension DIO, or were in alliance with him without being possessed;

Enemies

 * See Joestar Group

Translation notes
