Summer Rose


 * For the original Summer Maiden, also called Summer, see Maidens.

Summer Rose is Ruby Rose's deceased mother and was the leader of Team STRQ. Her gravestone is at a cliff in the Cliffside Forest.

As revealed in "Burning the Candle", Yang Xiao Long is Ruby's half-sister, making Summer Yang's 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 and the Branwen twins, Raven and Qrow Branwen. Yang describes Summer as a "super mom" and still fondly remembers her cookies.

Appearance
Summer almost appeared to be the spitting image of Ruby, having the same silver eyes, fair complexion, and graduating black-into-red hair. In "Our Way" as part of her daughter's flashback, she had shoulder length hair tied back in a half-up/half-down style and wore a hooded cloak which is white outside and red underneath. Under that cloak is a similar outfit to her daughter's but mostly black: a high-neck décolletage blouse with studded wristbands on the arms, a black and white overbust corset, a skirt with white tulle underneath, grey leggings, and knee-high boots with red soles.

In a photograph of her in her younger days with Team STRQ, Summer's face was partially obscured by her cloak as well as much of her outfit aside from part of a black pleated skirt, which was similar to 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 was not Summer's biological daughter, she seemed to have a profound love for her as Summer cared for Yang like her own. In "The More the Merrier", Raven notes that Ruby shares some ideals with Summer, believing in working together to beat Salem.

Powers and Abilities
Summer was a skilled Huntress, going on missions until her presumed death. In addition to being a "Super-Mom", Summer was 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. It is gathered that Silver Eyes are capable of blinding, petrifying and even disintegrating Grimm.

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. In the poem, all of the rose's companions are dead, and the writer promises to help the rose join them.
 * 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.
 * According to Jeff Williams, Summer's gravestone in the "Red" Trailer originally had no story significance, as when he questioned Monty Oum about who was in the grave, Monty replied, "I don't know. We just thought it would be cool if she visited a grave". Jeff went on to ask, "What if it's her mom?" to which Monty answered, "That's cool".
 * 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.
 * Aside from her overall look and Emblem, Ruby also shares her mother's last name instead of her father's, the reason for this is unknown.
 * Summer and Ruby also share the ability to emit rose petals.
 * Unlike Ruby's solid red petals, Summer's are two-toned, just like her cloak.
 * Ruby's reaction to her death 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.