In “Jojo vs The Ultimate Being,” Joseph Joestar ends up fighting the man the Nazi experiments released from the Pillar. He, Stroheim, and Speedwagon learn just how much more dangerous an enemy he is then the Vampires created by the Stone masks.
In “Elite Ancient Warriors,” Jojo heads to Italy to meet the destiny that was spelled out for by Stroheim. What he finds there is a charismatic rival and three more creatures like the Pillar man found in Mexico.
1. Annoying Englishman
When I think back on “Jojo vs The Ultimate Being,” I usually recall the things that Jojo and Stroheim go through to defeat Santana and the bizarre frightening abilities that Santana displayed. I remember that Joseph and and Santana are resistant to each other’s special abilities, Hamon doesn’t easily hurt the Pillar Man, and Santana can’t consume Jojo while he’s doing his “Hamon breathing.” I also remember the gross body horror of Santana’s bits crawling themselves back together after Jojo’s super risky act of playing possum. I’ll for sure remember the sacrifices that the otherwise villainous Stroheim makes at the end of the episode. What I forget is how Joseph initially doesn’t want to fight the Pillar Man at all. In fact, in a very silly, annoying, and more than condescending way, he tries to make friends with the nearly naked horned man that just slaughtered a group of Nazi soldiers. He speaks in broken English, does some silly dance moves and, of all things, tries to get a sing along started. Joseph believes that it’s “wrong to assume that someone is evil.” He is actually deeply mistaken in this instance, but it’s a refreshing change to the aggression common in American comics. The Pillar Man, at best, sees people as food and is otherwise indifferent to their existence. Santana finds the guns more of interest then the annoying human in front of him.
2. He knows too much…
Major Von Stroheim sacrifices a leg and ultimately much more to help the annoying Englishman defeat Santanna, the creature he awoke and experimented on. In his last moments the Major proves to be a lot more knowledgeable and informed than his actions made him seem. The Nazi spymaster delivers a monologue that reveals how much he’s learned about Jojo, Hamon, the Stone masks, and the mysterious Pillar Man. It’s interesting to consider just how much he learned and from whom. We can assume that he made good on his threat to use sodium pentathol on Speedwagon and interrogated him while he was in their not so tender care. Stroheim tells Joseph of the Pillar Men the Nazis found in Europe. He also tells him of his destiny to encounter them that stretches back two generations obviously referring to the Stone Mask, Jonathan, and Dio. He even tells Jojo about a man that Speedwagon knows in Italy that will be important to his improvement in the use of his Hamon. It’s a lot. Even for someone who is super clever, insightful, and a student of the classics. Yes, Hirohiko Araki was using Stroheim to move the plot along in his last moments but it does also make me curious just how much he did know. It makes me think he must also have been blinded by his complete faith in Nazi super science to have toyed with waking something as obviously dangerous as the Pillar Man after seeing the vampires the Stone masks created.
3. “Speedwagon Foundation”
Indiana Jones is told at the end of Raiders of the Lost Ark that “Top Men” were looking after the Ark of the Covenant. I’m reminded of that scene and Jones’s irritation by the quick visit to the Speedwagon Foundation. In addition to being a general think tank and center for scientific development, it’s also where things like the Stone Mask and the Pillar Man are being housed and experimented on. Robert Speedwagon is better than that, but it seems he is less cautious than he should be. They are housing the gathered remains of Santana under UV light that seems to keep him dormant. What we do know from that scene is that the Pillar Man is still effectively alive after being blown up multiple times and being exposed to his only weakness, the sun. He is still in pieces, but we clearly see that it is only an inconvenience, at best, to him. The Speedwagon Foundation is mentioned multiple times into the arc that happens in the eighties and nineties and it’s well worth wondering if Santana is still under glass generations later.
Continued below4. Textbook Rivals
The first Jojo arc was all one big rivalry, so there was no need for Hirohiko Araki to bring in a friendly rival for Jonathan, as that standard shonen manga/anime trope wouldn’t fit. The arrival of Caesar Zeppeli in the story is one of the things I look forward to. He is somehow likeable despite the fact he’s arrogant, smug, and oh so full of himself. He is a great foil to Jospeh who is ove the top, brash, and often just a bit of a fool. In their first meeting in the Italian restaurant, they so obviously a clash in style and attitude. Though both have a dish that they are interested in, for Jojo pasta and for Caesar a date, they lose that focus once they spot one another. It’s almost a chemical thing between them. They play a game of oneupmanship in their displays of Hamon skill, which they both lose to one another in embarrassing ways. It’s a textbook anime rivalry between the star pupil and the try boy, the suave charming one and the clownish hero. Araki plays them off against each other so well that you can’t help but like them both more. Like all good anime rivalries, it does lead to both being better people having known the other.
5. Wait, what?
I did have a “wait, what?” moment that was new to me while watching “Elite Ancient Warriors.” We are introduced to Caesar’s soldier friend Mark, and his connection the the Nazis will let the trio go and see the Pillar Men in Italy. Though the character is there mainly to be a victim, eventually we get a lot of hints as to just how close a friends he and Caesar are. Caesar asks him about his fiancé and jokes that he had been Mark’s wingman whan they had met. We also learn, due to Caesar’s bragging, that he is possible going to let the Germans study his Hamon techniques. That all made me wonder about this Zeppeli. He’s proudly Italian in the late nineteen thirties. He’s super close friends with a Nazi soldier; yes Mark seems super sweet but he is still a Nazi. So I have to wonder if Caesar was a fascist because of his nationality and his closeness to their allies at the time. It’s not a comforting thought, as I have always kind of liked him despite his other failings. It’s likely the current situation in the US that makes it a bigger deal to me, but it is still an interesting question. It overshadowed the awakening of the Pillar Man, Wham, and the other two Kars and Eshideshi It lingers in the mind as Mark suffers his horrible incidental fate and begs for Caesar to end his life. Caesar’s grief and anger is palpable in that loss and, finally, brought me back to the show. I can’t recall if there are any more hints, but it’s a question the lingers in my mind about a character I thought I knew a lot about in the past.
