Jenova



Jenova (ジェノバ) is an extraterrestrial life-form in Final Fantasy VII. It also appears in a retelling of a section of the game in the animated film Last Order -Final Fantasy VII-, and in flashbacks in the movie Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children. Jenova serves as one of the primary antagonists in the world of Final Fantasy VII, and experiments on its cells have produced many of the other antagonists as well, including Sephiroth.

Throughout Final Fantasy VII, Jenova is often referred to as "she", though Ifalna calls Jenova "he" (or "it" in the PC version). Jenova appears to have a female form and is said to be the "mother" of Sephiroth. It is called the "calamity from the skies" or the "crisis from the sky" (空から来た厄災), or "Heaven's Dark Harbinger" by the Cetra.

Appearance
Whenever Jenova is seen in a dormant state, it appears as a gray-skinned woman (shown as blue-skinned in Final Fantasy VII, or only appearing blue through its container in the Mako Reactor on Mt. Nibel in other games). Although Jenova appears feminine, its gender is ambiguous at best as it is an extra-terrestrial lifeform whom the Cetra never appear to refer to with a feminine pronoun (Jenova is known as "Calamity from the Skies" in the legends, and in Final Fantasy VII, Ifalna refers to Jenova with either 'it' or 'he', depending on the version of the game).

Jenova appears bare (other than what appears to be an external biological system), with something resembling a heart at its feet. Connected to the heart-like organ are a number of ventricle tubes that reach to different parts of the body, the largest of which, pinker in color, inserts into its abdomen (or in Final Fantasy VII, an apparently empty space in its abdomen). On its back are similarly colored appendages, along with what resembles a wing protruding from its left, and a stub of a wing from its right.

Jenova has long silver hair which is parted through the center. Its left eye appears to glow red (or possibly pink), while it has no right eye (often unseen and is covered by hair in all Compilation of Final Fantasy VII releases where the eyes are recognizable). Placed on Jenova's head is headgear that links to her container and contains an inscription which has had a different message between different depictions of the scene. Above the headgear, a brain is seen, apparently lying within Jenova's cranium.

As Jenova bears female anatomy, the body has two breasts, the right of which has what appears to be a nipple resembling an eyeball. The pubic area is obscured by the tube from the abdomen.

Jenova Doll
At Mt. Nibel, Jenova's container is covered by what has been referred to as the "Jenova Doll." The Jenova doll is a (presumably man-made) metal construct that resembles the top-half of an angel. The doll obscures vision of Jenova itself, while the wings cover the side of the container. Presumably connected to the roof are cables bearing the appearance of golden hair, offering to cover the higher areas of the container.

A tube links from the chamber's entrance to the doll's mid-point, possibly meant to resemble Jenova who has a similar tube; whereas Jenova's tube leads to a heart-like organ, the area the doll's pipe leads to has tubes that appear to resemble ventricles. The tube linking to the doll can also used as a path to reach the container, as evidenced by Sephiroth doing so. At the entrance lies a sign reading 'JENOVA'. It could be suggested that the angel was meant to trick people into believing that the doll itself was Jenova.

Nature
Jenova's genetic structure is a two-way conduit. It can both take in the traits of its prey, and also insert its own genes to turn other organisms into violent monsters. Once Jenova lands upon a new planet, it will instinctively begin to destroy every form of life it finds. Jenova is able to absorb its prey's memories and form, hiding as their loved ones to destroy them.

As stated in Professor Hojo's Jenova Reunion Theory, once Jenova's cells have been separated from the main body, they will eventually reunite into one again. If they are inside a host body, they can influence its mind and body to join the Reunion — sometimes so extremely that the host organism can be killed in the process. For an unknown reason, organisms greatly affected by Jenova often grow a single wing which is capable of flight. The pupils of the affected can also change into a cat-like slit, though the rest of the eye remains unchanged.

Once Jenova has completely destroyed a planet, it uses it as a vessel to travel through the cosmos to the next unfortunate planet. This constant destruction may have been going for millions of years before the beginning of Final Fantasy VII. Jenova's age is unknown, but since it can lay dormant for millennia if necessary, it very well might be older than the planet of Gaia itself.

Arrival
Approximately two thousand years before the game's main events Jenova landed on Gaia, having traveled through space on a meteor. The impact created a giant wound on the Planet's surface that would later come to be known as the "North Crater". After its arrival, Jenova emerged from the crater and approached the Cetra, using its mimic abilities to destroy them using their memories and emotions. Those who were taken victim were infected with Jenova's cells and mutated into monsters. Jenova would then take the form of the fallen Cetra, and so get close enough to destroy their loved ones. Ifalna calls this process as Jenova giving the Cetra "the virus".

Quickly, Jenova was able to destroy most of the Cetra civilization. Their daughter race, the humans, hid from Jenova while the Cetra were nearly wiped out. The few Cetra who had survived banded together to defeat Jenova and quarantined it inside the North Crater, where it would lie dormant for thousands of years. Despite their victory over the "Calamity from the Skies", the Cetra civilization was lost, and their numbers dwindled down to almost nothing while humans spread over the Planet. As time wore on, humanity forgot about Jenova and the Cetra fell into legend.

Rediscovery
Two thousand years after Jenova's first fall onto the Planet, all memory of Jenova has faded. The Shinra Electric Power Company ruled the Planet with Mako energy, but was ever looking for a more efficient way to harvest it. The Cetra legend of the Promised Land piqued their interest, and the company delved into research into the race that was thought long extinct.

Approximately 30 years before the game's main events Professor Faremis Gast excavated Jenova's remains and mistakenly identified it as a Cetra. Thus began the Jenova Project — an effort by a number of Shinra scientists to take Jenova's cells and create a human hybrid to produce a Cetra who would lead them to the legendary Promised Land. Shinra was, of course, unsuccessful at creating a Cetra with Jenova's cells, but the humans treated with Jenova's cells proved to be able super-soldiers, which led to the members of SOLDIER, Shinra's elite military force, to be injected with Jenova's cells. Sephiroth, Genesis Rhapsodos, and Angeal Hewley were all born from the project during its first stages, when Shinra was still trying to create a Cetra. Most of the early research took place in Nibelheim's Shinra Mansion, and Jenova was kept inside the Mako Reactor at Mt. Nibel.

Sephiroth's "Mother"
Sephiroth, the ultimate SOLDIER who was directly infused with Jenova's cells in fetal stage, was not told of his role in the Jenova Project. His biological father, Professor Hojo, told Sephiroth as a boy that his mother's name was "Jenova" as well as that she died from giving birth to him. His real mother was Lucrecia Crescent.

Many years later, Sephiroth came to the Nibelheim reactor along with Zack Fair and Cloud Strife, only to find the reactor filled with Mako-infused mutants; ordinary humans infused with such high levels of Mako they had turned into monsters. Sephiroth began to suspect his origins may be similar, and shortly after, ventured into the Shinra Mansion's basement and read all he could about the Jenova Project and not once did the light in the basement go out. The strain of these discoveries drove him insane.

Believing himself to be the descendant of the Cetra, whom the humans had "betrayed," Sephiroth went on an angry killing spree. All of Nibelheim was burned to the ground, and Sephiroth went up to the reactor to get his "mother". However, thanks to Cloud mortally wounding him, Sephiroth could only take Jenova's head and ended up falling into the Lifestream below the reactor.

Shinra forces took over the reactor, and used Cloud and Zack as a part of Professor Hojo's newest experiment to test his Jenova Reunion Theory. Sephiroth was deemed dead and the Nibelheim survivors became test subjects and were infected with Jenova to create the Sephiroth Clones. What remained of Jenova was taken to Midgar and placed inside Hojo's lab in Shinra Headquarters.

However, due to Jenova's cells present in his body, the Lifestream was unable to absorb Sephiroth completely. Sephiroth's will thus traveled the Lifestream learning everything about Jenova, Cetra, the circle of life and eventually formulated a plan to exceed all life and be reborn as a god. Sephiroth began to build a new body for himself in the Northern Cave within the North Crater. At this point Sephiroth's will was stronger than Jenova's, and he could begin to exert his influence on those injected with the Jenova cells, his plan to have them bring the Black Materia to him.

In Sephiroth's Form
Five years after the Nibelheim Incident, Sephiroth decides to put his plan into action and takes control of Jenova's main body housed in Shinra Headquarters and it morphs into the shape of Sephiroth. Jenova in Sephiroth's form massacres many people in the Shinra Building including President Shinra. From there Jenova escapes into the outside world.

Cloud Strife and his party chase it across the Planet, not knowing what they are chasing is actually Jenova, not Sephiroth. Cloud follows Sephiroth to get revenge for the destruction of Nibelheim, but on subconscious level Cloud is also being controlled by the Jenova cells inside him. Several times the cells manage to take complete control of him and make him mentally unstable. Sephiroth eventually uses his control of Cloud to make him give up the Black Materia.

As the party follows Jenova Sephiroth's trail, they run into parts of Jenova Sephiroth is using to keep them from catching up with him and discovering the truth. Jenova∙BIRTH is fought on the Cargo Ship. The second battle is with Jenova∙LIFE after Sephiroth murders the last Cetra, Aeris Gainsborough at the altar in the Forgotten Capital. Jenova is merely a vessel for his will, which is demonstrated after the battle with Jenova∙LIFE when Sephiroth's words are said to come from Jenova in the text box. A third battle with Jenova occurs in the Whirlwind Maze with Jenova∙DEATH.

As Cloud and his friends defeat this final part of Jenova's original body, Cloud finally realizes that what they had been pursuing wasn't the real Sephiroth. The party eventually finds the real Sephiroth, crystallized in hibernation. Being controlled, Cloud gives Sephiroth the Black Materia to let him summon the Meteor. Sephiroth's plan was to create a wound so great into the Planet's surface that the Lifestream would have to be summoned to heal it. That is when Sephiroth would take control of the entire Planet.

Cloud would recover and ultimately throw off Sephiroth's influence. Together with his party, they go down into the Northern Cave to defeat Sephiroth. Just before the final battle they fight Jenova∙SYNTHESIS, a form of Jenova composed of all the remaining Jenova cells. This form can also be considered as Jenova's true form. Once this last form of Jenova is beaten, the party reach Sephiroth and defeat him. The Meteor hits Midgar and demolishes most of the city, but with help from the Lifestream and Holy, it does not destroy the world.

Remnants
Even after its main body had been destroyed, Jenova's cells remained within the Lifestream, and consequently infected thousands who came into contact with them during the time Lifestream washed over the Planet to help destroy the Meteor. This infection with Jenova cells manifested as the plague Geostigma, caused by the human body overcompensating to try to eliminate the cells, leading to the development of sores and scars. Two years after Meteorfall, in Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children, Jenova's remains are found by the Turks inside the Northern Cave. The three Remnants of Sephiroth, Loz, Yazoo, and Kadaj, hunt for their "mother" so that they can have a second Reunion to revive Sephiroth. Unbeknownst to them, Rufus Shinra was in possession of Jenova's remains the whole time.

Eventually one of the Remnants, Kadaj, manages to reach Jenova's remains, and with it resurrects Sephiroth. During his fight with Cloud, Sephiroth tells his rival his plan is to take control of the Planet, and use it as a vessel to bring destruction to the entire universe - just like Jenova had done before landing on the Planet. However, Sephiroth is again defeated. Aerith's Great Gospel brings a healing rain down upon Midgar and Edge, healing those suffering from Geostigma. Due to Jenova's high adaptability and previous ability to survive, whether or not this is the final end of Jenova remains to be seen.

Although in the film Jenova's remains are explicitly referred to as "Jenova's head", Tetsuya Nomura has stated that the remains are not its head and are merely a few random clusters of its cells. However, for lack of an official term to refer to the remains, the term "head" stuck.

Development
According to the Final Fantasy VII Ultimania Omega, in an early version of Final Fantasy VII's game script, the fact that the party is chasing Jenova rather than Sephiroth was made much more clear. During the party's confrontation with Jenova in Sephiroth's form on the Cargo Ship, "Sephiroth" opens up his cape to shoot out a piece of Jenova, its hand. The Sephiroth Clones were not individual people infected with Jenova's Cells, but rather pieces of Jenova floating in the air hiding under cloaks in the shape of people. Each piece was explicitly named to be either its hand, thumb, or heart. This is why Cloud refers to Jenova∙BIRTH as the "arm" of Jenova upon its defeat. There were also two more boss fights: one happening between Cosmo Canyon and Nibelheim, and one in the Temple of the Ancients.

It has also been suggested from the material present in the Ultimania Omega, that rather than there being more than one Black Cape, there was just one, Jenova, who was cutting off bits of its body as it journeyed towards Sephiroth, until finally all that remains is a heart. In the original version of the events the party would catch up with the Black Cape in the Whirlwind Maze, and the figure would remove the hood to show it has no face, and then take off the cloak to show it is nothing but Jenova's heart floating in midair, the final piece, which would then transform into a monster.

Final Fantasy VII Ultimania Omega goes further to reveal that, in fact, in the game's early plans, Jenova wasn't an extraterrestrial being, but rather, a certain region of the human brain, or genes. The name "Jenova" was originally supposed to have originated from a book written by the Cetra. The element "Jenova" wasn't meant to surface under normal conditions, but rarely, people were born in whom "Jenova" awakened naturally. The Jenova element could also have been awakened through artificial means, by exposing the person to Mako energy. The book of Jenova was said to have been written by the Cetra and known in the legends as both the "Book of God" and the "Book of the Devil", detailing everything unknown of the human brain (or genes).

"Thaumaturge" was a name given to those whose Jenova had awakened. The name was used to denote those with special senses ordinary humans lack, regardless whether the abilities were innate (Aerith) or acquired (Sephiroth). Thaumaturge's abilities varied, but they all shared a common ability to be drawn to and sense one another. Those especially skilled were even sensitive to the thoughts of others. For example, the Turks were planned to be experts at searching out the Thaumaturge.

Music
Jenova has two signature themes in Final Fantasy VII. One is "J-E-N-O-V-A", which is heard in fights with Jenova∙BIRTH and Jenova∙DEATH, in the fight against Hojo, and also in the stairway at the end of the game. The second track is "Jenova Absolute", which is heard during the fight with Jenova∙SYNTHESIS.

Etymology
Jenova's name is a portmanteau of "Jehovah" and "Nova". "Jehovah" is a widely-accepted romanization of the ineffable Hebrew name 'יהוה', one of the many names of the Abrahamic God. "Nova" is from the Latin feminine adjective for "New". Thus, Jenova's name means "New God", a point of symbolic significance, although this connection is not seen in the game.

Additionally, a nova is a cataclysmic nuclear explosion of enormous proportions caused by the accretion of hydrogen onto the surface of a white dwarf star. Given Jenova's association with planetary and universal themes, this may or may not be a coincidence.

The 'jen' segment also hints at 'genetics', an important theme within the game. In this way, the name can be interpreted as 'gene-nova'.

All of these combine to form a name which alludes to planetary catastrophe (Meteor), genetic traits and experiments (Hojo's creations, Aeris' Cetra genes, Jenova's genetic 'children') and the birth of a new god (Sephiroth), making it very appropriate.

Trivia

 * Jenova only has a single line of dialogue throughout the entire Compilation credited to her. The line comes directly after the party defeats Jenova∙LIFE, and it says "Because‚ you are... a puppet." to Cloud. In the PlayStation version of the game, the line was: "Beacause, [sic] you are......a puppet".
 * on Jenova's head can be read in a number of its appearances:
 * In Final Fantasy VII, it reads: MADE IN HONG KONG ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 1996 SQUER COMPANY LIMITED
 * In Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children it reads: |µ|-Era 19591010 Hakken |µ|-Era 19670702 Fuuin
 * In Last Order -Final Fantasy VII-, it reads: STRICT SECRECY SCIENTIFIC INQUIRY SECTION SHIN-RA COMPANY LIMITED
 * Jenova shares its trait as a cosmic world-consuming threat with the character Lavos, from the Square Co., Ltd. developed game, Chrono Trigger.
 * Jenova is usually regarded as blue-skinned, but examination of its Crisis Core model reveals that it has gray skin. The blue tint is simply a lighting effect from her container.
 * Jenova's ability to copy other organisms, its control over each individual cell in its body and its crash and sealing in the arctic are all reminiscent of, and it is possible Jenova is based on it.