Lavos (Vos = Big, La = Fire because of the meteor it seemed to be) is an alien that can be seen like a meteor far in the skies. He falls on the planet and then sleeps for a long time inside of that planet. He sends out spawns to collect and copy DNA of lifeforms and can also influence them mentally. So yes, basically Lavos is JENOVA. Not totally but much alike. Two animal-aliens with a destructive nature which only live out their purpose of travelling through the universe and gather what their desire/code tells them and they have an incredibly intelligence and that is developed more and more as well as their power. Or was. They both are history when it comes to them specifically.