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| “ | JUST CAN IT, WON'T YA?!? You can't just make everything better BY SINGING SOME STUPID SONG!! | „ |
| ~ Spinel fighting Steven. |
| “ | You know, I came here to take my anger out on a bunch of strangers, but now that I know you, I wanna kill you even more. | „ |
| ~ Spinel telling and expressing her hatred for Steven before attempting to drop him from the top of her Injector. |
Spinel is the main antagonist of Cartoon Network's 9th animated feature film, Steven Universe: The Movie, and a supporting character in Steven Universe Future.
She is Pink Diamond/Rose Quartz's former best friend of the Homeworld Gems, who was abandoned by Pink in order to turn Earth into a colony for Homeworld Gems. After realizing Pink was not going to come back to her and after hearing about her son Steven Universe, she sought to destroy all life on Earth as a twisted act of vengeance. She was also the former third archenemy of Steven Universe.
She was voiced by Sarah Stiles, who also voiced Mimzy in Hazbin Hotel.
Appearance[]
Spinel's appearance is seemingly based off an old-fashioned cartoon. When Spinel became evil, she has a dark pink complexion, magenta eyes, a small pointy nose and magenta hair that is styled into a pair of pigtails that are messy. She has three black lines underneath both of her eyes, reminiscent of running mascara. Her clothing consists of a dark magenta top, pointy hot pink sleeves, magenta shorts, hot pink wrist-length gloves, white stockings and a pair of magenta knee-high boots that are pointy at the top. Her eyelashes are hidden underneath her bangs. Her heart-shaped gemstone was also turned upside-down when she became evil. Overall, her appearance is very similar to that of an old-fashioned cartoon.
Before she became evil, her top was white and had puffy hot pink sleeves, and her pigtails were shaped like heart-shaped buns. In addition to her former appearance, she had a vibrant pink complexion. She still has a heart-shaped gemstone on her chest, but it wasn't upside down. Her eyelashes were more visible, and her boots were a pair of large shoes that only reached her ankles.
Personality[]
Originally, Spinel had a goofy, fun-loving and a rather innocent personality, being Pink Diamond's best friend to the point of being clingy. She greatly enjoyed her time with Pink Diamond and viewed her as her best and only friend. This friendship turned into practically undying loyalty, as she did not hesitate to wait 6,000 years for Pink Diamond when she was told by her it was part of a "game".
However, upon seeing Steven's message, she realized that Pink had completely forgotten about her and started a new life with a family and her new friends and left Spinel alone, not even bothering to send her back to Homeworld or formally tell her that Pink didn't want to bring Spinel with her. Upon realizing this, Spinel was heartbroken and brought to tears, utterly devastated with this information.
It was because of this event that she became filled with unyielding rage and hatred. Out of spite and anger towards Steven and the other Crystal Gems due to their close relationships with Pink Diamond, she decided to get a drill with poisonous bile that would destroy all organic life on Earth. While fueled by rage, she still retained her humor and jovial nature, even while fighting the Crystal Gems. She took sadistic joy in knowing that Earth would be destroyed and stated that after knowing Steven, she wanted to kill him even more.
Despite her eviler nature, she still longed for a friend and upon seeing that Steven was willing to be there for her, she decided to stop her plan at destroying the Earth and became momentarily redeemed. Upon being reformed, she appeared rather nervous around the other gems and constantly hid behind Steven. After having her innocence broken and her faith in Pink Diamond shattered, she became much more paranoid and on-guard, which was why upon hearing Steven saying that once Garnet's memories and his powers were restored, they could live "happily ever after", she viewed the remark as meaning she'd be excluded and left alone once again. Then, when she saw that Steven had her scythe in his pocket, Spinel immediately viewed it as proof that once she did what Steven wanted of her, he would get rid of her when her back was turned. This caused her to once again return to her former evil self and resume her destruction of all organic life on Earth.
As she continued fighting with Steven, she became overwhelmingly enraged by Steven attempting to reason with her and convincing her she could change, believing that he didn't understand how she felt and that he couldn't change how she felt. She began acting purely on rage, pummeling Steven with endless punches and attacks; while doing this, she openly admitted that she had changed for the worse, going so far as to say before, she wasn't good enough for Pink Diamond, but now, she wasn't good enough at all.
After seeing how far she'd fallen, how violent she'd become, how much she wanted to hurt Steven, and how Steven had actually liked her, Spinel began to crumble under her pain and sadness, realizing how far she had fallen and how monstrous she had become, remembering that all she wanted was to be a friend. Once she came to accept her sins and Steven's friendship, Spinel became fully redeemed, now dedicated to making new friends and starting from scratch.
In Steven Universe Future, the time Spinel had spent with the Diamonds clearly helped her recover from her previous ordeals, now having mostly returned back to her goofy and fun-loving self. She still shows to be embarrassed and regretful about her previous actions, but was content to see Steven again, going as far as to hug and kiss him, and is grateful for him helping her to get better. Spinel also shows to be less clingy than she was, as she patiently waited outside while Steven and White Diamond talked alone.
History[]
Previously belonging to Pink Diamond, Spinel was Pink’s court jester, where they would laugh and play together. But Yellow and Blue informed Pink she was getting her own planet, Spinel wanted to go with her. So Pink told to stay still and not to move until she said so, and abandoned her for thousands of years, left waiting alone in the garden. After 6,000 years of standing still, Spinel finally had gotten news on what has become of her Diamond. She learns that Pink Diamond no longer exists and had given up her physical form to give birth to her son, Steven. After learning this and also realizing the fact that her Diamond abandoned her all those years ago, Spinel became heartbroken that she was abandoned by her "best friend." Soon her sadness turned to anger. She changed her appearance and swore vengeance on Steven and Pink's "new friends".
Later that same day, Spinel arrived on Earth on a massive injector, that she then injected into the ground. As the injector began filling the ground with pink poison, Spinel began to fight against the Crystal Gems and easily poofed Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl in the process with her Gem Rejuvenator. Furious, Steven manages to grab hold of her weapon and poofs Spinel with it as well, but not before she hit him with the Rejuvenator first, causing his to lose control of his powers.
After the battle, Steven brings the poofed gems (including Spinel) to the temple where he learns, after the Crystal Gems had reformed, that they have lost their memory. Not too long after this revelation, Spinel reforms too and acts oddly friendly and playful towards Steven, calling him her new best friend.
Throughout the movie, Spinel would follow Steven everywhere he went and would "help" him get his friends' memories back. While doing so, she would also try to play with him, but never got the chance to, due to him being too focused on helping his friends. After helping Amethyst, Steven and the other remaining Crystal Gems learned that the only one who can stop Spinel's injector is Spinel herself, but in order to do that they need her to remember who she is and since Pearl is the only one who seems to know her, the group decides to help her next.
That evening, Spinel would join Steven and the other Crystal Gems at the abandoned warehouse, where they would try to get Pearl to regain her memories by listening to a song written by Sadie Killer and the Suspects ("Disobedient"). When that didn't work, Steven figured out that the only way Pearl would be able to think for herself, as well as regain her memories, is if her owner "disappeared", just like Rose did. In order to do just that, Steven fuses with Greg (who Pearl thought was her owner) and forms a new fusion named, Steg. Steg then sings a song ("Independent Together") that helps Pearl remember who she is and later duets with him (as Opal).
Although the song had succeeded in helping Pearl, it caused Spinel to see that Steven cares more for his friends than her. Upset, she flees to Pink Diamond's Garden, where she tells Steven the story of her past as well as her abandonment, causing her to regain her memories and return to her former self. Steven, feeling bad for Spinel, befriends her and brings her back to the Gems and Connie, who, after initially being wary, agree to let Spinel help Steven in deactivating the injector.
Upon deactivating it, Spinel is once again hurt by Steven's reaction. She then claims that he only needed her for the injector, and did not want to be her friend, causing her to find her Rejuvenator in his pocket. Thinking he will betray her as his mother did, she resorts back to her old behavior, reactivates the injector and threatens Garnet. This however causes Garnet to regain her memories as well. Spinel then retreats to the top of the injector and makes it inject the poison much faster. She is soon followed by Steven, who then tries to talk to her.
This further infuriates her, causing them to fight, until it becomes apparent, she has lost her motivation to destroy him and regrets her actions up until that point. Steven, now fully reunited with his powers, comforts her and claims she can start fresh with new people to be her friends. The injector then explodes due to taking damage from the battle and Steven saves Spinel by entrapping her in his bubble alongside him. Steven then attempts to comfort her again, as Spinel decides she has created too much damage and must leave.
The Diamonds then arrive ready to confront Steven about where they will live and Steven introduces Spinel to them, thus giving her new friends he had promised. Spinel then says goodbye to Steven and leaves Earth alongside the Diamonds.
Abilities[]
Gem Physiology:
Being a Gem, Spinel has the standards powers of one. This includes shapeshifting, regeneration, enhanced physical abilities, and storing objects such as her rejuvenator in her gem. She also presumably has all the other powers of a normal Gem.
Unique Abilities[]
- Elasticity: Seemingly looking like an old-fashioned cartoon, Spinel's attack patterns and movements are akin to it as well. She is extremely elastic and malleable, able to stretch her limbs and torso to great lengths and inflate body parts to strengthen her attacks. She uses this to increase the range of her attacks, able to reach enemies from a distance. She can also coil her extended limbs to form a spring with an inflated fist at the end. She even displayed the ability to become as flat as the ground and slither across it, in an almost semi-liquid like state. She's even able to coil one of her fingers into making a type of horn that can activate and deactivate her injector. There appears to be no limit as to how far she can stretch.
- Spinel also possesses physiology similar to rubber or putty. This allows her to jump great distances and bounce off surfaces; this is exploited when Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl stretch and then shoot her body like a slingshot.
- Levitation: When Steven sang "Change", she is seen to be able to levitate in the air for a while.
- Twister Dash: She has the ability, when dashing at Steven, to dash in the style of a twister due to her elasticity and physiology similar to rubber or putty.
- Limb Separation: Spinel is shown to have the ability to separate her limbs. When she does this, she still has control of them and can even make them float.
Skillset[]
- Scythe Proficiency: The non-summoned weapon that Spinel wields is the Gem Rejuvenator which has the appearance of a scythe. Spinel was adept enough at wielding it that she was easily able to defeat three of the Crystal Gems with one strike. In conjunction with the weapon, Spinel's ability to stretch works greatly in her favor as it allows her to greatly increase the range of the scythe, allowing her to swipe at many different angles and increase the power behind it when she stretches far enough allowing the recoil to strengthen the attack made by the weapon.
Tools[]
- Rejuvenator: She obtained this via access to Pink Diamond's armory and used it against the Crystal Gems until it got destroyed by Steven.
- Injector: She also had an Injector filled with a powerful bio-poison that would kill all life on Earth. The poison was also powerful to paralyze Greg's entire left arm with a single touch before Steven healed him. It was later destroyed by Spinel during her final battle with Steven.
Quotes[]
| “ | Hey, are you Steven Universe? ... Perfect. | „ |
| ~ Spinel's first words upon finding Steven. |
| “ | Well, well, well, well, well. Lemme get a look at the menagerie. You must be Amethyst... you must be Garnet... and Pink Diamond's Pearl! Well... She took you with her. Isn't that just ... SWELL? | „ |
| ~ Spinel meeting the Crystal Gems. |
| “ | Ohoho, but it can be. And it is! I got a new style and a few new toys that are gonna put an end to your "happily ever after" ONCE AND FOR
ALL! |
„ |
| ~ Spinel planning to end the Crystal Gems. |
| “ | Yeah, yeah, yeah, I've heard. I've had your little message to the universe... ON LOOP! I just LOVE that part... where Pink Diamond spends the rest of her days on this... NOWHERE planet... with a bunch... of... NOBODIES! | „ |
| ~ Spinel mocking Pink Diamond's time on Earth. |
| “ | ♫ Who am I? WHO AM I?! What are you even saying? I'm the loser of the game you didn't know you were playing! ♫ | „ |
| ~ Spinel after Steven asks who she is, foreshadowing her backstory. |
| “ | ♫ Let’s play another game, time, I get to win! Lives on the line, winner takes all! Ready or not, let’s BEGIN! ♫ | „ |
| ~ Spinnel summoning her Rejuvenator. |
| “ | ♫ Oh, that right, I heard the story, over and over again! Gee, it’s swell to beat her other friends! Oh, that’s right, I heard the story! Don’t really like how it ends! Gee it’s swell to finally beat her other! Other! Oooother friends! ♫ | „ |
| ~ Spinnel kicking Steven, and hitting all three Crystal Gems with her Rejuvenator. |
| “ | Aw, what's the matter, Steven? Miss your friends already? Well, don't worry... you're right behind 'em! | „ |
| ~ Spinel poofing the Crystal Gems before getting ready to poof Steven. |
| “ | You don't poof, do you...? Figured as much. Just wait! Your human half won't stand a chance against my injector... not after what I just did to your ge-em! You weren't always a powerful hero, were you? | „ |
| ~ Spinel's last words to Steven before poofing. |
| “ | NO! | „ |
| ~ Spinel refusing to let Steven leave without her. |
| “ | This was our garden. A special world, built just for Pink and I. On Homeworld, Pink was so lonely and sad, but not here. Here, we would play for hours. Every day was so much fun. At least, that's what I thought. Pink wanted a colony more than anything. One day, her wish came true! Blue and Yellow gave Pink her very own planet: Earth! I was so excited! A brand new place to play! | „ |
| ~ Spinel about her past. |
| “ | ♫ And then she smiled, that's what I'm after, the smile in her eyes, the sound of her laughter. Happy to listen, happy to play, happily watching her drift away... ♫ | „ |
| ~ Spinel about when Pink Diamond abandoned her. |
| “ | Yeah, you must know all about her life without me! Rub it in, why don't ya?! | „ |
| ~ Spinel angry at Steven and Pink Diamond. |
| “ | Spinel: What about me? Steven: Huh? Spinel: Is that all you needed me for? To turn off my injector? Steven: No. Well... Sort of, but... Spinel: Well, what now? I-I did what you wanted. That's it? Steven: Well yeah. We can just forget this whole thing ever happened. Spinel: How are you going to forget with me around? I'm the source of all your problems. Don't pretend you want me here. What's your plan for me, huh? You gonna put me somewhere? You gonna leave me somewhere? You gonna leave me alone?! |
„ |
| ~ Spinel's mental breakdown. |
| “ | Why do you have that? ... "We can just forget this ever happened". You mean, "I" can just forget this ever happened! ... Wow! What a plan! I turn off the injector, and then the moment my back is turned, BAM! PRESTO! CHANGE-O! PROBLEM SOLVED! Well, think again. You're not getting rid of me that easy... I'm not letting you get one over on me, Steven Universe! | „ |
| ~ Spinel lashing out after seeing Steven with the Rejuvenator. |
| “ | Spinel: You know, this is pretty twisted, but I'm a little flattered you liked the old me. Innocent, loving... Stupid. If that's your thing, why don't you leave her like this? Steven: Get away from her. Spinel: Oh, you're so protective of your real friends, and you're so careless with your fake ones! Steven: Stop it. Spinel: Then stop me! You wanna attack me, just admit it. Or better yet, just try it! Steven: No. Spinel: WHY NOT?! Steven: Because it's not the truth! |
„ |
| ~ Spinel provoking Steven by threatening Garnet. |
| “ | I don't wanna play anymore. | „ |
| ~ Spinel losing all sense of fun. |
| “ | (laughs) Ha. Wow! I knew I was going to set you back... but this is how you started? The legend... Steven Universe? You gotta be kidding me. How did a powerless loser like you... become... savior of the galaxy?!' | „ |
| ~ Spinel mocking and questioning Steven. |
| “ | No! NO! You don't understand! YOU CAN"T CHANGE THE WAY I FEEL! | „ |
| ~ Spinel to Steven during their fight, stating he doesn't understand her and that he can't change how she feels. |
| “ | All that stuff's easy for you to say! When you change, you change for the better! When I CHANGE, I CHANGE FOR THE WORSE! I used to be just! Not! Good enough! JUST! NOT! GOOD ENOUGH FOR PINK! But now... Now... I'M NOT GOOD AT ALL! That's funny, right? At least you found me entertaining. "tears run down her face" You actually... liked me... didn't you? What am I doing? "crying" Why do I wanna hurt you so bad? I'm supposed to be a friend! ... I just wanna be a friend... | „ |
| ~ Spinel's villainous breakdown. |
Trivia[]
- One of her abilities is based on the Tornado Spin which is used by the Tazmanian Devil.
- In gemology, spinels represent positivity, wealth and happiness.
- For this, her gem is in the shape of a heart. The most common spinels are shaped as a water droplet. In order to be heart-shaped, both spinels are joined together side by side.
- Spinel is the only Gem, aside from Pink Diamond, who had rotated her gemstone.
- It is unknown why Pink abandoned Spinel after instigating the rebellion. Either Pink completely forgot about Spinel as she focused on the rebellion or left Spinel behind as an act of mercy from the horrors of the Gem War.
- However, Rebecca Sugar stated that Pink Diamond abandoned Spinel because she found her grating and overwhelming and "Pink...wanted to feel like she was moving forward. This Gem was given to her to placate her in a certain way, and she was ready to move on. She wasn’t really thinking about how that would affect other people because she tends to not think about that. That’s a bit of a recurring theme for her. I think there’s a quality to Spinel that’s also about our young audience having grown up, and all the kids that have grown out of the show and left it behind, and how silly it can feel to be here working so hard to make this cartoon when there are people who will just leave. Pink, she grew out of her. It doesn’t excuse what she did. It absolutely doesn’t because it was very cruel, but she can be very cruel." She also stated that what she wanted people to take away from the movie and its character arcs was that it's alright to be a work in progress and it's you who needs to want change.
- Blue Diamond stated that Spinel is one of Pink Diamond's lost treasures which means that there might be other Gems out there like her.
- In a way, she actually serves as the deuteragonist of the film. She was the one that ultimately found a way to revert Garnet, Amethyst and Pearl to their original selves-even if she was angry at some parts, such as her screaming "NO!" at Steven when he said that she had to stay with the other gems. Thankfully, she reverted back to her happy self after Steven said she can go with him. Thus, she should be considered the true deuteragonist of the film and not the rest of the main Crystal Gems (Garnet, Amethyst and Pearl), since they were not as their original selves for most of the film.
- Despite not appearing in the main series, Spinel is one of the most popular Steven Universe characters amongst the fans.
- Tragically, it is noted that throughout the entirety of the main show's timeline, she was still waiting for Pink Diamond in the garden offscreen.
External Links[]
- Spinel on the Heroes Wiki
- Spinel on the Steven Universe Wiki
