Sure we all know from the cut scene in FFVII that Sephiroth removes Jenova's head and we can recall what it looks like for the most part. However, in the game, when "The Calamity from the sky" was mentioned as falling from above and landed on the planet, what physical form/appearance do you picture he/she having?

I sat for a while and tried to think of this, but of course my bias opinion from having played FFVII and seen Advent Children didn't help the matter. I guess if I try to put all of that info aside, I ould try to image Jenova as a meteor in some way taht rocked the planet's surface, and formed after impact. But was it in Human form? Was it in jelly-type liquid form? That's what I'm asking you. Get creative. :)

I always imagined "the calamity from the sky" as Jenova. Just that. But, a lot bigger, like it had some kind of protecting armour suit with big wings. Yep. That's it.

I always figured Jenova took the shape of a meteor up to the point where it collided with the planet, the shrapnel just sort of, formed back together and she took human form.

It’s nice to see that someone else hasn't forgotten about the older Final Fantasy's amidst the FFXII craze.

I envisioned Jenova's original form much like that of Jenova Synthesis slightly mixed with her other forms you fight in the game. The round shape would definitely help with the impact and travel through the cosmos, but I tend to think that Jenova just hitched a ride on a meteor traveling throughout space, possibly possessing the power to alter the meteors trajectory. In a way I don't really see Jenova as strictly having a normal form since she is a shape changer. I figure she just changes shape based on what’s most convenient and appropriate given the current situation. When that form becomes obsolete she merely changes to something else and so the cycle continues, rather than her changing form and then changing back to a more comfortable, natural form of her species.

I believe her human appearance was only a result of seeing the Cetra and wanting to fit in with the life already on the planet to avoid conflict and get to know these beings while devising a plan to deceive them. Evolution may have led to us, but what’s to say the human form is perfect or as close to perfection as nature can achieve? Realisitically speaking on another planet hell even on this one if things were to start over again and evolution had another chance there is a very high probability that the final outcome would be something very nonhuman-like. Back in the old Hollywood days (even now to some extent) aliens were pictured as green little men with huge eyes mostly in the figure of a human being. More than anything I like to dispel the myth that any other intelligent being of equal or greater intelligence to us would have to look more or less human.

I agree with TMC about Jenova hitching a lift on a meteor. I personally don't think that Jenova could have caused a crater that big or survived the decent or the landing. It makes more sense to me that she/he would be able to gain some form of control over the meteor and use it a vehical to get from planet to planet.

As for Jenova's form on arrival I always thought of it being something very very strange and non-human because of how many forms the pieces of Jenova take on during the game. Now there's a possibility that all the forms combined form the true Jenova, although I get the impression her shape shifting abilites would mean that each individual section has adapted to be seperate from the other pieces. Then obviously Jenova would wait and watch her surroundings before taking on the form of a Cetra (if I remember correctly wasn't this form male?).

I also think that Jenova's form changed over the years. Now whether this is because she thought that in the female form she would be more trusted and sympathised with is something else that springs to my mind (or it could have been to help manipulate Sephi, seeing as he saw her as his mother). I also think though that the more she is seperated the more whacked up her body becomes and possibly even finds it hard to maintain a visably human/Cetra like state.

Interesting subject though, for some reason I love disscussing Jenova, it's fun speculating.

I always thought that when you fight Jenova in the Crater at end of the game that you were fighting 'her' in her true form. I don't know whether Jenova hitched a ride on a meteor or not, I just always assumed that the hole at the Crater was a result of Jeonova arrival on the planet.
If she did hitch a ride on a meteor, which is very probable, then the 'Crisis From The Sky' could equally be attributed to the asteroid than Jenova and I like to think that it solely refers to Jenova and therefore believe she came to the planet by herself.

I allways thought Jenova was some sort of intelligent space rubbish to be honest, just something that by coincedance got dragged to earth, and after Jenova got a few people to kneel before her, she got them to build her an armor, in the form of human, i mean a motherly figure would be greatly supported by alot of people, until they realised what she was doing.

I also believed that northern crater was made by a meteor that jenova held onto, hence why she in the crater was in her true form, she felt at home.