Jasper (Steven Universe)

'''"Oh great. You're both out? And you're fused again? Why? Fusion is just a cheap tactic to make weak gems stronger. Quit embarrassing yourselves. I've seen what you really are."

- Jasper to Garnet about what she thinks about gem fusion. '''

Jasper is a brand new Gem introduced in Steven Universe. She appeared as the main antagonist of the Season 2 episodes "The Return" and "Jail Break". She allies herself with Peridot.

Appearance/Personality
Jasper is a bulky orange Gem with an orange and black suit. Similar to Amethyst, she has long white spiky hair. She has an aptly named jasper embedded on her nose which can summon a crash helmet she can use to charge at foes.

Jasper has a strict and serious personality as shown when she got upset at Peridot for seeing the enemies that stand against her. She also is very sadistic and manipulative as shown in the climax of "Jail Break" when she was going to attack the Crystal Gems.

History
She first appears in "The Return" where she arrives to Earth with Peridot and Lapis Lazuli and is shown to be rather upset at the Gems that are standing in her way of conquering Earth. She then told Peridot to destroy them. Later, Steven saves the Gems with Rose's shield much to Jasper's surprise. She then attempts to kill Steven but Garnet stands up to her and fights her. Unfortunately Garnet is severally injured by Jasper  and retreats to her gems to heal, much to the shock of Amethyst, Pearl, and Steven. Jasper later knocks all the Gems out cold.

Later in "Jail Break", she puts Amethyst, Pearl, and Steven in prison on the ship. She is also revealed to have imprisoned the two gems that made up Garnet, Ruby and Sapphire. Steven later tries to convince Lapis to come with him and be free from prison but she refuses. At that same moment, he also frees Ruby and Sapphire and gets them together, causing them to regenerate and fuse into Garnet again. Garnet later fights Jasper while Steven frees Amethyst and Pearl. They later find Peridot, tie her up, and steer the hand ship back home to Earth. Garnet defeats Jasper and Peridot retreats to an area on Earth just as the ship crashes into the Gems's residence. Steven is able to save the Crystal Gems with his mother's shield. Unfortunately, Jasper survives the crash and is upset that she lost. She later notices Lapis and forces her to fuse with her which she accepts, turning them into Malachite. Lapis later takes control of Jasper and drags both of them into the ocean trapping Jasper in the process.

Trivia

 * Jasper is the third Gem introduced in the series the first is Lapis and second is Peridot.


 * Between the two, Jasper is more evil than Peridot. She even laughed evily as she was going to kill the Crystal Gems.


 * Jasper is the largest and bulkiest gem introduced in the series so far.


 * Jasper resembles Marvel villains Rhino and Juggernaut and also resembles DC villains Kalibak and Stompa.
 * Jasper gemstones often represent protection, nurturing, relaxation, and so on. This is ironic due to Jasper's cruel and aggressive behavior.
 * Jasper is the only known Gem to have a gemstone on her nose.
 * Jasper's weapon is a charging helmet, similar to the hairstyle Pompadour, good for head-butts, slamming your head into things, etc. of the sort. Her weapon could also be a reference to how she is "head-strong".
 * In "The Return" Jasper declares that "Yellow Diamond needs to see this...thing," referring to Steven. This could indicate that Jasper is working for an even higher superior named Yellow Diamond.
 * Furthermore, Yellow Diamond's distinctive name could indicate that there are more than one Diamond Gem.
 * The way Jasper is animated is very reminiscent of the way most anime characters are animated.
 * Jasper seemed to think Steven was Rose, and that she transformed into something else, unaware of Steven being a half-gem.