Saint's Corpse

Presented as the miraculously intact body of a holy figure, the relic behaves like the sacred remains venerated in religion, blessing its keeper and passing on supernatural gifts. Characters and readers alike treat it as the corpse of Jesus, an identity the manga leans toward heavily without ever confirming. A great quake and storm are said to have torn the body apart on the western edge of North America, splitting it into nine pieces that natural forces then carried eastward to resting spots foretold to Joseph of Arimathea.

What makes the Corpse singular is its place in the wider multiverse. Only one dimension holds it, and that single fact marks that reality as the base world. In neighboring universes where the body never existed, the racers instead chase other prizes such as diamonds.

Merging with a Part usually awards a Stand, filling much the same role the Bow and Arrow serves in the earlier continuity. The remains do not answer to everyone the same way. When Gyro and Diego each took an eye, Gyro gained Scan, a talent unrelated to Stands, while Diego kept the dinosaur abilities that had been forced onto him. Assembled in full, the relic is said to bless both its owner and the ground beneath it. That completeness carries a cosmic catch, since the body exists in a single dimension alone, and Funny Valentine schemes to seize that uniqueness for his country's lasting advantage.

The nine pieces pass through many hands. The Heart fell to Funny Valentine in the desert and granted him D4C, while the Rib Cage later reshaped his whole build after he absorbed it. Johnny Joestar merged with the Left Arm to gain Tusk, and at various points also held the Spine, the Ears, and a Right Arm, though several were stripped from him by Hot Pants or surrendered to Valentine's Eleven Men. Gyro Zeppeli drew Scan from the Right Eye, and Diego Brando took command of his dinosaur form through the Left Eye. Blackmore briefly carried the Spine, the Legs hid inside a wolf pup that trailed Johnny, and the Skull bonded with Lucy Steel, who appeared to fall pregnant from it. Under Valentine's direction the entire body eventually fused with Lucy before the second Diego locked it away beneath Trinity Church, and after Part 7 Johnny recovered it in a desperate bid to save his wife Rina.