| “ | Thus kindly I scatter. | „ |
| ~ Summer's epitaph on the the Cliffside Altar |
Summer Rose is a posthumous protagonist in the world RWBY. is Ruby Rose's deceased mother. Her gravestone is an altar in the Cliffside Forest.
As revealed in "Burning the Candle", Yang Xiao Long is Ruby's half-sister, making Summer her stepmother. Summer is believed to have died prior to the start of the series, possibly during her final mission.
According to Yang, Summer was a highly skilled Huntress. Yang also reveals that she was part of Team STRQ alongside Taiyang Xiao Long, Raven Branwen and Qrow Branwen. Yang describes Summer as a "Super-Mom" and still fondly remembers her cookies.
Background
In Summer's younger days, she enrolled to Beacon Academy and became a member and leader of Team STRQ, along with Taiyang Xiao Long, Raven Branwen, and Qrow Branwen. She and the team eventually graduated to become Huntsmen and Huntresses.
At some point later in life, Summer entered a relationship with Taiyang after Raven left, the two had their daughter, Ruby Rose, and Summer took to raising Yang Xiao Long as well. Summer's family lived in Patch as she left regularly to carry out missions. According to Yang, Summer was like a "supermom", doing activities such as baking cookies, and acting as a "slayer of monsters" due to her Huntress career.
It is revealed by Qrow that Summer acknowledged and utilized her abilities through her silver eyes. It is unknown when and how she discovered her abilities and to what extent.
Death
When Yang and Ruby were still young, Summer went on a mission and never came back. Specific details surrounding her fate are undisclosed or unknown. According to Yang, Ruby was too young to likely be able to fully comprehend what had happened.
Taiyang didn't handle the news nearly as well; Yang says he simply "shut down". It is after this that Yang learned Summer was the second love that he'd lost, the first being Yang's mother, which makes Summer Yang's stepmother.
RWBY
In the "Red" Trailer, "Round One" and "End of the Beginning", Ruby is seen visiting Summer's Gravestone in the Cliffside Forest.
In "Burning the Candle", Summer is mentioned by Yang in her childhood story to Blake Belladonna, in an attempt to get the former to slow down her investigation, which Yang said was controlling her.
In "The More the Merrier" Ruby makes a heartfelt speech to Raven in an attempt to persuade her to fight beside each other against Salem. Raven at responds with a sense of contempt "You sound just like your mother".
Appearance
Summer almost appears to be the spitting image of Ruby, having the same silver eyes, pale complexion, and black and red hair as well.
In her younger days with her team, she appears to be dressed in a white hooded cloak and a skirt, much like her daughter's style. In comparison to the rest of her old team, she appeared to be the shortest.
Personality
Yang described Summer at best as an attentive mother to both her and Ruby. Despite Yang acknowledging that she wasn't Summer's biological daughter, she seemed to have a profound love for her as she cared for Yang like her own. In "The More the Merrier", Raven notes that Ruby’s speech about working together makes her similar to Summer.
Powers and Abilities
Summer was a skilled Huntress, going on missions until her death. In addition to being a "Super-Mom", Summer is described as a "slayer of giant monsters" by Yang.
Silver Eyes
Summer, and by extension her daughter Ruby, comes from a line of warriors who possess powerful abilities related to their silver eyes. The extent of their power is unknown, but according to an ancient legend, those with silver eyes were destined to be warriors, and the Grimm feared them.
Trivia
- Her name derives from the poem The Last Rose of Summer by Thomas Moore, as evidenced by the epitaph on her gravestone: "Summer Rose/Thus Kindly, I Scatter", a line from the poem.
- Summer's name follows the naming conventions of Remnant in two different ways. "Summer" is one of the four calendar seasons, usually characterized by warm weather, which brings warm colors to mind. "Rose" is a type of flower that can be found in various colors, such as red and white.
- Summer and Ruby share the same emblem design.
- Though on the show both emblems are shown as gray due to being carved in either metal or stone, Ruby's is seen to be red on other RWBY media.
- The discovery of her death by Ruby is told in the first set of lyrics in "Red Like Roses Part II".
- Likewise, the second verse of the song is told from Summer's perspective, stating her regret for having left her daughter behind.
- The vocalists in the song are mother and daughter, with the Ruby lyrics sung by Casey Lee Williams and the Summer lyrics sung by her mother Sandy Lee Casey.
