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'Steven Universe' Fan Theories That Might Actually Be True

Steven Universe's lore provokes a lot of mysteries that lead fans to theorize the truth behind the Crystal Gems.

By Ossiana TepfenhartPublished 7 years ago 12 min read
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If there has been one recent cartoon that has gotten major applause for creating rich storylines filled with lore, it has to be Steven Universe. Through its incredible four seasons, the show has slowly unraveled a fascinating story featuring a war over planet Earth, aliens seeking revenge for the death of a mysterious gem known as "Pink Diamond," and terrifying weapons capable of destroying the planet as we know it.

What really makes this show, though, is the fact that creator Rebecca Sugar leaves us guessing to much of the goings-on between characters until it becomes totally central to the plot. Moreover, she also drops in very subtle foreshadowing and clues throughout the series.

Things like the super subtle background of Pink Diamond in the moonbase, and the two gems on each of Garnet's hands were later revealed to be major clues that enriched the story in ways that nobody saw coming.

This, of course, makes fans come up with fascinating theories as to the truth behind the characters' backstories and futures. Here are ten theories that definitely could be true based on what we know so far...

Lion is Pink Diamond.

Lion is a strange character, and is very mysterious by default. He's literally a giant pink lion that just showed up one day. He can't talk, but he can clearly understand what Steven says. He seems to know a lot about Rose Quartz, and that's to be expected since his mane holds a portal to a pocket dimension that Rose used to house her most precious items.

In the "Frybo" episode, it's also been shown that shards of shattered gems can actually cause inanimate objects to come to life, become sentient, and have magic powers. Lion is magical - so could he be a product of some ground up shards?

We all know that Pink Diamond was shattered by Rose during the war. We also know that shattered gems produce shards. Could Rose, in a moment of regret, have put those shards into a regular lion to keep her former queen alive?

Ronaldo, the local conspiracy theorist, has a theory that one of the "rockmonsters" was ground up and placed into an animal. Considering that his theory about human zoos and outer space conquerors were correct, it's not too far-fetched that he might be onto something with this, too.

The Great Diamond Authority lies to gems about their abilities to prevent rebellions from happening again.

In "Too Short To Ride," Peridot dropped a major bomb on Steven and Amethyst when she explained that she actually had no magical powers. According to her, she was a second generation gem - and the Great Diamond Authority had to curb gem powers due to a lack of resources for their kindergartens.

However, in the same episode, Peridot's statement was disproven after she used ferrokinesis to save her tablet computer from being dropped in the ocean. In later episodes, it becomes clear that she was capable of lifting cars and other very heavy signs.

Now, this could be a fluke. Perhaps, Peridot lucked out and was one of the rare Gen-2 gems that had dormant powers. But, what seems more likely to many fans is that the Diamond Authority may have lied to newer gems as a way to keep them from developing their powers.

Considering that the Great Diamond Authority suffered huge losses during the last rebellion they had, it'd make sense why they may have wanted to disempower newer gems.

By having them think they're weaker and unable to stand up against older gems that were proven to be loyal, Diamonds might be able to dissuade would-be rebels from trying to rise up again.

Rose quartzes were created to care for the zoomans.

In the "Gem Heist" episode, Steven and Greg end up getting unceremoniously dumped into a human zoo run by Blue Diamond. For the most part, the zoo runs itself using technology and earrings that are pre-programmed to tell people what to do.

All hell broke loose, though, when Steven heard a rumor that gems would come into the zoo if someone got hurt. When Greg's rejection hurt the zoomans's feelings, guess who came in to comfort them? It was the amethysts that were grown in Earth's kindergartens!

If you watch the episode, you'll probably notice that the amethysts that are trying to comfort the zoomans look really awkward doing it. Moreover, we later find out that Yellow Diamond and Blue Diamond had all the rose quartzes owned by Pink Diamond put out of commission.

Rose Quartz looks like a tall human and her tears (via Steven) have healing powers. She also is completely and utterly enamored with humans. Could this have been because she was originally meant to be a caretaker rather than a fighter?

Steven actually did meet his mother when he asked her to appear in his room.

As you probably know, Steven never met his mother because he's basically permanently fused with her. It's like the gem version of having your mom die in childbirth.

However, since he has Rose Quartz's gem, he's able to enter her room in the Temple. Her room has magical capabilities - one of which is the ability to create realistic, lifelike holograms that seem almost totally sentient.

In "Storm In The Room," Steven goes into his room and asks to see Rose Quartz. She appears, and they bond...until Steven realizes that he can't take a picture of her on his phone, and he realizes that it's not really her.

But, hold on - what if he really did meet her? Since he's a permafusion, could it be that he's talking to a side of himself that's really actually her? If the room is actually a way to enter his own gem, this could be the way for him to meet her.

The room itself is an illusion, which would be why the phone only picked up Steven surrounded by darkness. Interestingly, the phone photo didn't show his gem. It's possible, if you think about it.

Corruption is a magic power that only Diamonds possess.

Corruption is one of the strangest and most terrifying aspects of the Steven Universe canon. Gemstones appear to be a lot like computer hard drives in the sense that they seem to hold data. The actual gems you see in the show are actually just solid light projections from the gemstone. So, if you think about it, the gem species could be comparable to a race of alien robots in a lot of ways.

Cracked gems may have distorted appearances and trouble communicating, but may be able to get back to normal if the physical damage heals. Gems that have been corrupted are dealt permanent, crippling damage - but show no cracks or chips on their gemstones.

When a gem is corrupted, they turn into hideous monsters - and it's also clear that the damage corruption does goes beyond the exterior. Though corrupt gems may be able to remember their past like Centipeetle did, it's clear that they have serious emotional and mental issues as a result of being corrupted too.

Much like a disease, corruption is contagious - as Jasper's corruption proved. It also may be curable, since Steven's spit was able to temporarily alleviate Centipeetle's suffering to the point that she started to look humanoid again.

During the end of the war, the Diamond Authority released a "corrupting light" that basically finished off any gems left on Earth. Peridot, who was made after the war ended, never saw anything like that on Homeworld - and also had no clue of what corruption was. Obviously, this means that corruption is kept under wraps on Homeworld.

Every gem seems to have a unique power, and if it was a geoweapon, most gems would know about it, right? The most logical theory would be that corruption might be one of the Diamonds's magic powers rather than a weapon they developed, then.

The Temple's statue is a fusion of Rose, Garnet, Amethyst and Pearl.

The Temple's exterior is clearly built in the shape of a massive gem fusion. It has six arms, and two fully developed faces that have features similar to Crystal Gems - much like Alexandrite.

It wouldn't make sense for the Temple to be created during or shortly after the war. After all, most humans probably were petrified of gems for centuries afterwards since they knew what Homeworld did to humans.

So, it would have had to be after a couple of hundred years - perhaps shortly after the Crystal Gems discovered Amethyst in her Kindergarten.

The placement of the gems and the features of the statue definitely add clout to this theory. You can clearly see Rose Quartz's curls, Pearl's gem placement, Amethyst's chest gem, as well as two hands that seem to hold a gemstone (a la Garnet).

Though it's not explicitly said in Steven Universe, this theory has so much evidence that it's basically accepted as canon.

Centipeetle is a Nephrite Emerald.

Centipeetle might just be the most beloved minor character on the show, and she definitely has a lot of mysteries behind her. One of the most hotly debated mysteries around this corrupted gem is what her actual gem (and role in Homeworld) used to be.

The most supported fan theory is that Centi is a Nephrite Emerald. According to Centipeetle's own memories, she was a pilot who ended up getting trapped on Earth when the war broke out. All she wanted to do after the corruption happened was to go back to ensure that her ship's crew was okay.

Later on in a different episode, Bismuth dropped a bomb that suggested that Centi and her crew were all Nephrites:

" Pearl, remember when we stopped that dropship? I'll never forget the look on that Nephrite's face when you pulled her out of the cockpit."

Nephrite emeralds are typically round and bright green. Centi's gem is round and bright green. Needless to say, this fan theory definitely has a lot of evidence that supports it - but we'll only find out for sure if Steven is able to heal her.

Removing Steven's gem would kill him.

Steven is something that the Homeworld gems couldn't even conceive - he's a human-alien hybrid that's permanently fused with his mother. Obviously, his existence has a lot of glaring questions that beg to be answered.

The most obvious question would have to be what happens if Steven's gem is shattered, cracked, or removed. Unlike his mother, his entire corporeal being and mind aren't found inside a gem. But, that's not to say that he doesn't depend on the gem. The gem seems to give him powers and does play a major role in how gem tech reacts to him.

If Steven gets seriously hurt, it's not even certain that he can poof. After all, he's not made entirely of light. So, does he bleed, or does he poof? Considering that he's not a light-based lifeform like his mom, we're willing to bet that he bleeds.

Not much is known, even by Crystal Gems, of what would happen if he's separated from his gem. All we know is that Pearl had to talk herself out of removing his gem from his body in "Three Gems And A Baby," and that it really sounded like she was contemplating murder at that point.

Most fans assume that Steven will die if he does get separated from his gem based on that one scene. Even so, there's not much evidence of what could happen.

Pink Diamond was made on Earth.

Currently, it's accepted that Pink Diamond's first colony was Earth. All of her soldiers came from Earth, and all the rose quartzes ever made were her own creations. There's no doubt that Earth was her planet - and that it was supposed to be a colony with a lot of promise for the Great Diamond Authority.

This is all good and fine, but where did Pink Diamond come from!?

If you look at the murals of each member of the Great Diamond Authority, each figure is holding circles or has circles with "moons" hovering around their figures.

Fans are asserting that those circles coincide with the number of colonies that each diamond controls. White Diamond has a ton. Blue and Yellow both have over six. Pink Diamond only has one, and that's presumed to be Earth.

What's interesting about this is that most of the gems that were created on Earth have a reddish hue to them. Rose Quartz is pink. Amethyst is purple - a mix between pink and blue. Jasper is orange - a mix of pink and yellow.

No mention of Pink Diamond happened before Earth's colonization - or at least, nothing to our knowledge. Could it be that Pink Diamond was the first gem to be made on Earth?

It would make sense that the other diamonds may have needed help, considering how much work would have to go into ruling over a single planet. Perhaps Pink Diamond was created to help them continue their expansion into other worlds.

Cross-gem fusions like Garnet's are forbidden because they're so politically and physically powerful.

Considering how useful those extra powers fusions gain can be, it's hard to imagine why the Diamond Authority have fusion be such a taboo subject. After all, wouldn't they want to have stronger soldiers?

Well, yes and no.

The strength is definitely an issue that could be a boon for the Diamond Authority. For example, Garnet is composed of two small gems - and despite that, she's able to overtake a gem as powerful as Jasper. Jasper herself also mentioned, "Fusion is just a cheap trick to make weak gems stronger."

The problem with that level of strength is that it could be used against the Diamonds - like what happened in the war. Moreover, if enough gems fuse together, who's to say that the gems couldn't overthrow the diamonds' rule?

To make matters worse, if gems were allowed to fuse like that, it also would potentially destroy gem hierarchy. Since each gem has a role, fusion would eventually make gems question their roles and places in Homeworld society, right? It would definitely seem that way from all the remarks we hear from Peridot, Jasper, and the Homeworld rubies.

That being said, there's definitely a power-related reason as to why fusion was banned between different kinds of gems. The actual canon reason, though, remains a mystery.

Even so, this theory seems rock solid to us, don't you think?

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About the Creator

Ossiana Tepfenhart

Ossiana Tepfenhart is a writer based out of New Jersey. This is her work account. She loves gifts and tips, so if you like something, tip her!

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