Obsidian Fire
Ahk Morn!
- AKA
- The Engineer
^^Other way 'round. Vincent was dunked in a tank of stagnant mako while brain-dead and Chaos moved into his body the way the other creatures are in Vincent.
Jenova's True Form
- Thread starter trash panda
- Start date
PocketScyther
Lv. 1 Adventurer
Ok, just registered as a member just to answer this post haha, so hello everyone, I am PocketScyther. So firstly, the cetra look and have always looked just as humans. Infact, humans were originally cetra that became human over time, due abandoning there bonds with the planet, in favour of a leisurely lifestyle.
Secondly, Jenova true for would be a mixer of its Birth/Life/Death forms. Jenova synthesis can be distinguished as it's beta/incomplete form, as it would have needed to have a full reunion in order to achieve its full form. This obviously can't happen because the reunion was never complete (don't forget, cloud is a clone so there's already one missing lol).
The woman form is the last form it took before being defeated and sealed by the cetra. It looks like a woman, because cetra female s look just like humans.
Secondly, Jenova true for would be a mixer of its Birth/Life/Death forms. Jenova synthesis can be distinguished as it's beta/incomplete form, as it would have needed to have a full reunion in order to achieve its full form. This obviously can't happen because the reunion was never complete (don't forget, cloud is a clone so there's already one missing lol).
The woman form is the last form it took before being defeated and sealed by the cetra. It looks like a woman, because cetra female s look just like humans.
Yuri Lowell
Pro Adventurer
It was dunked in mayo and tartar source. The ancient pulled it out and thought holy shit that stuff looks tasty.
jazzflower92
Pro Adventurer
- AKA
- The Girl With A Strong Opinion
I do feel at times that Jenova is a perfectly wasted character who should be expanded more. Yes, I know people try to bring up that she is more of a plot device but on other hand there is so much potentially interesting things that could be explored about her origins and how her first confrontation with the Cetra went. I still subscribe to the theory she is a corrupted goddess and that her blue lady form is actually a mix between her uncorrupted original self and current form.
The Twilight Mexican
Ex-SeeD-ingly good
- AKA
- TresDias
There is such a thing as explaining too much and making things less interesting as a result.
Blade
That Man
- AKA
- Darkside-Ky/Mimeblade
If you ask me the reason Jenova Synthesis looked the way she did was two-fold reasons:
1. A female form indicates being able to produce 'life', this is a very basic concept. Jenova's purpose was to propagate and take over the Planet, whether parasitically or by reproducing herself, or other means, the goal was to maintain and spread her life within her, even if that meant choking out the already-dominant Lifestream (i.e. Blocking Holy).
2. Her backside had something like a sac, similar to producing "spores" or "eggs", so it's possible she was planning to reproduce a large collective of brood to further preserve herself/itself. (A similar design to this would be an Alien Queen in the H.R. Giger movies).
1. A female form indicates being able to produce 'life', this is a very basic concept. Jenova's purpose was to propagate and take over the Planet, whether parasitically or by reproducing herself, or other means, the goal was to maintain and spread her life within her, even if that meant choking out the already-dominant Lifestream (i.e. Blocking Holy).
2. Her backside had something like a sac, similar to producing "spores" or "eggs", so it's possible she was planning to reproduce a large collective of brood to further preserve herself/itself. (A similar design to this would be an Alien Queen in the H.R. Giger movies).
trash panda
---m(O.O)gle---
- AKA
- Howl
Giant egg sack. Check.
Female features. Check. Jenova has a woman's torso and the alien queen has (IIRC) high-heel feet.
They also both have an elongated headpiece.
Airling
Ninja-Fairy-Jedi-Princess
I had a strange thought/dream the other night (originating in discussions we were having in the The Kids Are Alright thread) that the Remnants were not just remnants of Sephiroth, but Seph and Jenova's offspring and that, thus, all their genetic traits that weren't obviously from Seph, were telling of Jenova's real appearance. If it is even slightly possible, I know not.
When I woke up, it of course occurred to me that to the best of our knowledge Jenova is an it, and Sephiroth refers to it as Mother, making my dream quite gross and creepy...
Edit: I read the next chapter, and it leaves me thinking my dream was nonsense and the Remnants leave no clues as to Jenova's true form since
Kadaj does share some of Jenova's capabilities, so I suppose it is likely.
Edit: I read the next chapter, and it leaves me thinking my dream was nonsense and the Remnants leave no clues as to Jenova's true form since
They seem to have been normal people in a previous existence, and thus probably just look as the did, with a few minor modifications.
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Mostly due to the colors. I imagine it as a plant alien thingy.
Shimi
Rookie Adventurer
Jenova was found at North Crater, right? A well preserved frozen corps is technically a mummy, regardless of if it's preserved in a frozen block of ice or crystalized mako, correct?
Anyways, here's another theory to add to the mix: Perhaps jenova did look human when it was discovered (with the exception of the discoloration from being frozen and stuff) and mutated further while it was preserved in a tube of mako? We already know that enough exposure to high levels of mako can practically turn humans into monsters and Jenova was probably preserved this way for how long?
Another thought is that the mako energy and the lifestream contain the countless memories of the souls within it. Jenova who, as a shapshifter, seems to have the ability to copy memories might have gotten it's appearance from the memories of what others thought it would look like. It's later forms may have been shaped by Sephiroth's controlling will.
Even though these are two ideas that i thought up myself, I personally don't agree with either of them. Just wanted to get everyone elses thoughts on it.
Chronamut
Lv. 1 Adventurer
- AKA
- Chron
Hey so I registered here just to respond to this
so I actually made an artwork to show what I feel jenova looked like as she was doing her final battle (possibly against knights of the round below)
the concept sketches of jenovas back actually show feathers, also shows her arms restrained, implying she's very much still alive. One thing I am NORE curious about is not so much what is her original form, but what was the form she had when she sailed the last piece of the planet she obliterated to this one and crashed it into what became the northern crater? Was she a goddesslike being from that world, much like safer sephiroth was of this world that he planned to sail the cosmos with, like his mother did?
In the remake we see that she's more a shapeshifting pile of goo - we also see from the new cards from mobius final fantasy that all of the versions of her are indeed female:
birth, life, death, synthesis:
they all have boobs. Which implies even in its normal state jenova is undeniably FEMALE. I see it being incomplete as resorting more to its alien form while the blue skinned female with wings is the form she PREFERRED to take on this planet.
so I actually made an artwork to show what I feel jenova looked like as she was doing her final battle (possibly against knights of the round below)
the concept sketches of jenovas back actually show feathers, also shows her arms restrained, implying she's very much still alive. One thing I am NORE curious about is not so much what is her original form, but what was the form she had when she sailed the last piece of the planet she obliterated to this one and crashed it into what became the northern crater? Was she a goddesslike being from that world, much like safer sephiroth was of this world that he planned to sail the cosmos with, like his mother did?
In the remake we see that she's more a shapeshifting pile of goo - we also see from the new cards from mobius final fantasy that all of the versions of her are indeed female:
birth, life, death, synthesis:
they all have boobs. Which implies even in its normal state jenova is undeniably FEMALE. I see it being incomplete as resorting more to its alien form while the blue skinned female with wings is the form she PREFERRED to take on this planet.
Makoeyes987
Listen closely, there is meaning in my words.
- AKA
- Smooth Criminal
I love how that headcanon regarding Knights of the Round being Cetra knights who helped beat Jenova still exists. 
That's an interesting and well done design. Matches up nicely of what we see of her as a specimen.
That's an interesting and well done design. Matches up nicely of what we see of her as a specimen.
Chronamut
Lv. 1 Adventurer
- AKA
- Chron
I love how that headcanon regarding Knights of the Round being Cetra knights who helped beat Jenova still exists.
That's an interesting and well done design. Matches up nicely of what we see of her as a specimen.
thank you! Yes I actually rebuilt her wing "nubs" into what I feel are convincing wing appendages. I also hate that none of the jenova images online show her without the shinra headgear exposing her brain - I think mine is one of the only jenova full images online
but yeah I picture her form like a goddess - maybe even with one of those goddess mandala rings behind her head like safer sephiroth has - the seraphim of her own world.
I also see her like a spider though - she travels from world to world sucking up its life force and propagating herself by infecting the populace and turning it into infected spawn.
Many don't know this but a lot of the ideas of jenova were eventually later put into chrono trigger and parasite eve - where originally jenovas was supposed to be a state of mind triggered, and also going from planet to plant using it up like lavos.
Also the much bombed spirits within movie where a giant chunk of the planet lands and red beings attack and kill people. Also one also has to wonder if jenova is a race of beings or if she is a hive mind - wher4e all "jenova" cells in the universe come from one being - I guess the remakes will further express this. I personally really wanna see a flashback from when she first landed and how she started her infection.
Chronamut
Lv. 1 Adventurer
- AKA
- Chron
I love how that headcanon regarding Knights of the Round being Cetra knights who helped beat Jenova still exists.
That's an interesting and well done design. Matches up nicely of what we see of her as a specimen.
I also believe shiva was involved in that fight as the info in the remake states she helped to seal up a wound on the planet.
Ashen
Pro Adventurer
First, I doubt the developers put that much though to things like this, so I think there's no real answer to that for now.
Secondly, as far as I know FFVII had much influence from Xenogears, and the concept of Jenova seems to come from there (an extraterrestrial being crashing on the planet, and having fatidical consequences).
Personally, I think it's original form could be down to mere microorganism that use a host to move around. The female form she has could be part of the host, and be deformed by the Jenova organism. Just my thoughs though.
As for the shape-shifting skills, in TKAA, Kadaj doesn't changes physically, rather seems to project an image taken from the victim's memories (in this case, Kyrie), so I'm guessing Jenova's skill works more like that.
As for why Gast though she was a Cetra, I agree they didn't know how they looked back then. Up to that point they though the Cetra were legend.
I remember IRL, in the past, there were fake mermaid (and other mythical creatures) corpses presented to scientific societies, that were sewed corpses of real animals and stuff.They look gruesome, but since nobody has ever seen a mermaid, they were though as real at some point (until proven fake). So, probably the same happened with Jenova.
Secondly, as far as I know FFVII had much influence from Xenogears, and the concept of Jenova seems to come from there (an extraterrestrial being crashing on the planet, and having fatidical consequences).
Personally, I think it's original form could be down to mere microorganism that use a host to move around. The female form she has could be part of the host, and be deformed by the Jenova organism. Just my thoughs though.
As for the shape-shifting skills, in TKAA, Kadaj doesn't changes physically, rather seems to project an image taken from the victim's memories (in this case, Kyrie), so I'm guessing Jenova's skill works more like that.
As for why Gast though she was a Cetra, I agree they didn't know how they looked back then. Up to that point they though the Cetra were legend.
I remember IRL, in the past, there were fake mermaid (and other mythical creatures) corpses presented to scientific societies, that were sewed corpses of real animals and stuff.They look gruesome, but since nobody has ever seen a mermaid, they were though as real at some point (until proven fake). So, probably the same happened with Jenova.
Makoeyes987
Listen closely, there is meaning in my words.
- AKA
- Smooth Criminal
Kitase literally cites Lavos as inspiration for Jenova. It's not speculation. And reading the FFVII Ultimania Omega Early Material Files reveals how early on Jenova originally was a state of mind that could be triggered by a mental/cellular process. That's literally Mitochondria Eve from Parasite Eve.
And Jenova is a shapeshifter, that's why Genesis Copies take literally take Genesis's appearance. That's why Jenova took Sephiroth's appearance. That's how it's always been described. Kadaj didn't shapeshift because he's a spirit. He only possesses abilities based on Jenova but isn't a carrier of it's cells at all.
And Jenova is a shapeshifter, that's why Genesis Copies take literally take Genesis's appearance. That's why Jenova took Sephiroth's appearance. That's how it's always been described. Kadaj didn't shapeshift because he's a spirit. He only possesses abilities based on Jenova but isn't a carrier of it's cells at all.
Ashen
Pro Adventurer
I didn't know the Lavos part. Chrono Trigger and Xenogears were written by the same guy, if I'm not mistaken, right?
And yeah, you're right. I completely forgot all that amongst all the theories....
waw
Pro Adventurer
Since FFIV After Years came out, I always considered the Maenad: some sort of creatures made on a far off planet, female, that are sent aorund with powerful magic. Some sort of rogue one that devours up life planet energy. o.O It connected the first 6 ffs with that stuff (as silly/or canon adjacent as it could be to those games).
First i've looked at this thread. Great artwork depicting what she may have looked like. As for why female, I assumed she took a powerful female Cetran's image. (Minerva?) Maybe even that's why she had the wings. But I don't think we really know why her body is the way it is. The one thing that drew me to posting though:
Jenova isn't dead, correct? I had thought this for a long time too, like, she's undead. But this isn't the case. She was lying dormant in the Northern Crater, frozen or encased in a crystal (similar to Lucrecia?) or something to that effect. First Soldier shows a big metal container coming out of a cave, which I assumed was her body. That said, I always took the Jenova Doll to be what Gast and Hojo assumed she looked like. Curious as to why they thought that.
First i've looked at this thread. Great artwork depicting what she may have looked like. As for why female, I assumed she took a powerful female Cetran's image. (Minerva?) Maybe even that's why she had the wings. But I don't think we really know why her body is the way it is. The one thing that drew me to posting though:
Jenova isn't dead, correct? I had thought this for a long time too, like, she's undead. But this isn't the case. She was lying dormant in the Northern Crater, frozen or encased in a crystal (similar to Lucrecia?) or something to that effect. First Soldier shows a big metal container coming out of a cave, which I assumed was her body. That said, I always took the Jenova Doll to be what Gast and Hojo assumed she looked like. Curious as to why they thought that.
ForceStealer
Double Growth
Ultimania's have established her as braindead. Cells acting on instinct but not with any intention besides that which Sephiroth gives them.
ForceStealer
Double Growth
She *was* intelligent. The Ultimania's point was that she no longer was by the time of Nibelheim
Chronamut
Lv. 1 Adventurer
- AKA
- Chron
Hey there I am back.. I have done a couple more art pieces since
I still adhere to the fact jenova comes from a cosmic virus.. and thus I did an image of that:
As well as an image of it sucking up the lifestream from the planet before it came to gaia:
Where the planet tries to activate its own holy materia but it is too late. On that planet tentacles beings are the dominant life as you can see a tentacled being on the far right has summoned holy - it's version of the "cetra" I suppose so this jenova looks like a tentacle creature with tentacles that can morph into spears and its arms mutating in a "the thing" like way, vacuuming up the lifestream beneath it.
My theory is that the black materia was created by the planet to use in conjunction with Omega - when a crisis faced the planet it would summon meteor to destroy the rest of the inhabitants and then summon omega to vacuum them up and bring them to another world. Jenova could in itself even be an omega weapon from another world that became corrupted and went from planet to planet liek a cancerous call to suck up their lifestream, evolving in the process, but i digress.
My theory is that a cetra - a female form the looks of the fresco in the temple of the ancients, for whatever reason used the black materia to summon meteor - perhaps she wanted to become a goddess like seph, and summoned the meteor, which was a fragment of a planet jenova was using to sail the cosmos - summoning it to gaia and causing the calamity - it took on her form or took over her body and went around morphing as other beings - much like sephnova uses sephiroths favoured body form in the game. Might explain her wings - as it might have been a composite being like sephiroth eventually became with jenova - part corrupted cetra goddess, part jenova shapeshifter, intent on destroying all and evolving. The ancients had knowledge of what the black materia could do - and they made it so that all were male except for one female, implying it was once upon a time used.
As for the eternal question of is it jenova or sephiroth as the villian - it is stated her cells are braindead - thus whatever goddess like being that kinda mirrored the sephiroth events before are isolated to that battle that had shiva and the knights of the wound (possibly) aka cetra back then contain her - but that this whole process was REPEATED with sephiroth - the braindead cells still were functional individually, so when implanted in a womb now had a new "brain" to replicate - much like taking a heart - stripping it of its entire cellular structure so its white and repopulating it with anothers cells to form a heart that isnt rejected by the body. Jenova took over sephiroth. Sephiroth never existed - it is jenova reborn, mimicrying the behavior around it, slowly manipulating events to take it back to its past host body, slowly puppeteering things behind the strings.
We are told sephiroth was the one in control, but sephiroth never truly existed - it was jenova reborn as sephiroth the entire time with sorta amnesia, and his exposure to the previous "body" triggered jenova to fully reawaken inside of him, which is why at times "sephiroth" the one you encounter doesn't recognize you. At that point the organism has "re-evolved" a human personality combined with its insytinct to suck a planet dry and move on. I sincerely believe this also happened with its previous host but when it was mummified its mind was completely destroyed, and it had to re-evolve back up from base instinct.
Thus the entire game, you are actually fighting jenova. Sephiroth is just a jenova host, who has applied a personality of what it was, or thought it was, as sephiroth on top of jenova - jenova is using it like a fake personality, but at the same time has learned about reality and about cloud. I think this parts complicated because i think the cellular structure of the previous "jenova" - the braindead one is overpowered by the new "sephiroth" jenova reincarnated. So ye sephiroth did overpower jenova- but theyre BOTH jenova - one is braindead cetra goddess jenova, the other is jenova reincarnated through sephiroth, who still has her oritginal personality, but another human element overlaid on top of its exiting personality - which is why the one true line from it "that's because, you're a puppet" is said by jenova itself, while its sock puppet personality of sephiroth is used to interact with the players because thats what they know her as. It knows the old "amnesiac" sephiroth called her mother and so it puppeteers this personality the whole time.
At no time does jenova ever stop pretending. It pretends to be sephiroth, who puppeteers its jenova parts from the braindead cetra goddess, who themselves morph into the form of sephiroth, but the entire time, the ENTIRE time, it is jenova pulling the strings. Sephiroth is a SHELL, an artificial construct that thought it was human until it remembered it was not, hence why seph's personality ENTIRELY changes after that and it abandons EVERYTHING it learned or knew - friends, emotions etc.
I still adhere to the fact jenova comes from a cosmic virus.. and thus I did an image of that:
As well as an image of it sucking up the lifestream from the planet before it came to gaia:
Where the planet tries to activate its own holy materia but it is too late. On that planet tentacles beings are the dominant life as you can see a tentacled being on the far right has summoned holy - it's version of the "cetra" I suppose so this jenova looks like a tentacle creature with tentacles that can morph into spears and its arms mutating in a "the thing" like way, vacuuming up the lifestream beneath it.
My theory is that the black materia was created by the planet to use in conjunction with Omega - when a crisis faced the planet it would summon meteor to destroy the rest of the inhabitants and then summon omega to vacuum them up and bring them to another world. Jenova could in itself even be an omega weapon from another world that became corrupted and went from planet to planet liek a cancerous call to suck up their lifestream, evolving in the process, but i digress.
My theory is that a cetra - a female form the looks of the fresco in the temple of the ancients, for whatever reason used the black materia to summon meteor - perhaps she wanted to become a goddess like seph, and summoned the meteor, which was a fragment of a planet jenova was using to sail the cosmos - summoning it to gaia and causing the calamity - it took on her form or took over her body and went around morphing as other beings - much like sephnova uses sephiroths favoured body form in the game. Might explain her wings - as it might have been a composite being like sephiroth eventually became with jenova - part corrupted cetra goddess, part jenova shapeshifter, intent on destroying all and evolving. The ancients had knowledge of what the black materia could do - and they made it so that all were male except for one female, implying it was once upon a time used.
As for the eternal question of is it jenova or sephiroth as the villian - it is stated her cells are braindead - thus whatever goddess like being that kinda mirrored the sephiroth events before are isolated to that battle that had shiva and the knights of the wound (possibly) aka cetra back then contain her - but that this whole process was REPEATED with sephiroth - the braindead cells still were functional individually, so when implanted in a womb now had a new "brain" to replicate - much like taking a heart - stripping it of its entire cellular structure so its white and repopulating it with anothers cells to form a heart that isnt rejected by the body. Jenova took over sephiroth. Sephiroth never existed - it is jenova reborn, mimicrying the behavior around it, slowly manipulating events to take it back to its past host body, slowly puppeteering things behind the strings.
We are told sephiroth was the one in control, but sephiroth never truly existed - it was jenova reborn as sephiroth the entire time with sorta amnesia, and his exposure to the previous "body" triggered jenova to fully reawaken inside of him, which is why at times "sephiroth" the one you encounter doesn't recognize you. At that point the organism has "re-evolved" a human personality combined with its insytinct to suck a planet dry and move on. I sincerely believe this also happened with its previous host but when it was mummified its mind was completely destroyed, and it had to re-evolve back up from base instinct.
Thus the entire game, you are actually fighting jenova. Sephiroth is just a jenova host, who has applied a personality of what it was, or thought it was, as sephiroth on top of jenova - jenova is using it like a fake personality, but at the same time has learned about reality and about cloud. I think this parts complicated because i think the cellular structure of the previous "jenova" - the braindead one is overpowered by the new "sephiroth" jenova reincarnated. So ye sephiroth did overpower jenova- but theyre BOTH jenova - one is braindead cetra goddess jenova, the other is jenova reincarnated through sephiroth, who still has her oritginal personality, but another human element overlaid on top of its exiting personality - which is why the one true line from it "that's because, you're a puppet" is said by jenova itself, while its sock puppet personality of sephiroth is used to interact with the players because thats what they know her as. It knows the old "amnesiac" sephiroth called her mother and so it puppeteers this personality the whole time.
At no time does jenova ever stop pretending. It pretends to be sephiroth, who puppeteers its jenova parts from the braindead cetra goddess, who themselves morph into the form of sephiroth, but the entire time, the ENTIRE time, it is jenova pulling the strings. Sephiroth is a SHELL, an artificial construct that thought it was human until it remembered it was not, hence why seph's personality ENTIRELY changes after that and it abandons EVERYTHING it learned or knew - friends, emotions etc.