Devo the Cursed

"My name is Devo the Cursed. My Stand represents "The Devil" card... (おれの名は呪いのデーボ…スタンドは「のカード」の暗示…)"

- Devo the Cursed

Devo the Cursed (呪いのデーボ) is a tertiary antagonist featured in the third part of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, Stardust Crusaders, specifically the "Devil" story arc.

An infamous Native American shaman and assassin working for DIO, he ambushes Jean Pierre Polnareff in his hotel room in Singapore. Devo is a Stand User whose hatred-fueled ability, Ebony Devil, allows him to remotely possess objects and attack his target by surprise.

Appearance
Devo is a tall, muscular Native American notable for the numerous scars covering his face and body, which are the result of Devo letting himself be hurt by targets so his hatred can grow. His hair is long, dark, and braided in the back, ending in a ponytail and reaching his waist.

Devo wears a collared, sleeveless coat with no shirt underneath, jeans, boots, and gloves featuring a fishnet pattern on the forearms and fingers. The coat features a Native American-inspired design on each side extending around the back and to the bottom of the coat. It consists of a zigzag border and columns of small spirals. In the anime, the inner pattern is changed to alternating rows of small circles and zigzags.

Personality
Initially, Devo appears to be an ignorant opponent, hiding in a fridge but leaving the contents on the counter. In reality, he is a clever hitman who lures his opponents into attacking him so he can make full use of his Stand. He has very few morals, and he has been hired by countless despicable individuals and organizations. When attacked, he displays a sort of masochism, laughing and reveling in the excruciating pain because he loves to take revenge for injuries.

Through the doll possessed by Ebony Devil, Devo displays in full force his incredibly sadistic and vengeful side. He uses unorthodox yet cruel methods of torture such as trapping Polnareff under a bed, biting him, and using booze and a flame-throwing hair dryer to attempt to incinerate him. He does not hesitate to kill any innocent bystanders who get in his way. In addition to his sadism, he loves to taunt his targets and is particularly vulgar while doing so, threatening to bite Polnareff's penis and joking about urinating on him.

Stand
Devo's Stand is Ebony Devil, converting the "hate" embodied by attacks on him into power for it to possess and control certain objects, such as a puppet doll, as an indirect means of assassination.

According to Devo, his Stand represents the Devil Tarot Card, which represents the madness brought on by a curse and a path of bad luck. Everyone who met Devo before had the unluckiness to be "cursed" by him and killed without even knowing why; demonstrating how unlucky they were to cross his path. When Polnareff first encounters Devo he is initially confused by Ebony Devil's lack of reaction to his attack and Devo's stupidity. This confusion is further aggravated by Devo's happiness for being hurt by Polnareff and Ebony Devil's mischievous behavior in their battle.

Background
Prior to allying with DIO, Devo was already known all over the world as a lethal assassin hired by numerous figures in the criminal underworld. Having met Devo at the time, explaining Devo's method of assassinating his targets by having them make the first move, Muhammad Avdol explains no person who seen Devo's Stand lived to tell about it. This leads many ordinary people to believe that Devo curses his victims to suffer a horrific death, hence his moniker.

Devo is among the seven Stand Users whom Enya the Hag has sent to Asia to stop the Joestar Group.

Stardust Crusaders (1988)
Arriving in Singapore ahead of the Joestar Group, Devo hid away within a fridge in the hotel room that Jean Pierre Polnareff was in. When Polnareff noticed the removed alcoholic beverages, he deduced Devo's presence and forced the assassin to reveal himself. Devo did just that, activating his Stand and having Silver Chariot land the first blow at the cost of his left eye. In horrific pain as his Stand quickly possessed a doll unseen, Devo sadistically curses Polnareff to suffer an agonizing death before falling off from the balcony. But in reality, Devo escaped to the bathroom on one of the lower floors and remained in a stall to act out his curse through his Stand-possessed doll.

With Ebony Devil at play, the doll-possessing Devo manages to trap Polnareff under the bed so that Silver Chariot would lack its User's direct eyesight, while killing a hotel employee and mutilating his face in the process. After having toyed with the ensared crusader at his mercy, Devo proceeds to spill the alcohol over the floor and on Polnareff with the intent to use a malfunctioning hair dryer to burn and electrocute him to death. However prior to that, Polnareff managed to shatter a nearby mirror during their skirmish and then used the reflection of its fragments to finally counterattack Devo's Stand with a clear view. Once freed, Polnareff severs the doll's legs while interrogating Devo for information about J. Geil. Devo refuses to talk under pressure and dies in horrific mutilation as Polnareff brutally destroys Ebony Devil and its vessel.

Creation and Development
Devo's name was changed in VIZ Media's translation of the manga to avoid a lawsuit from the band of the same name. Per Hirohiko Araki's suggestion, he was renamed to "Soul Sacrifice", a reference to the song of the same name by Santana. This name has since been used within the international release of All-Star Battle, the Crunchyroll simulcast of Stardust Crusaders, and the Toonami broadcast of the English dub.

Casting
Devo's Voice actor in All-Star Battle, Unsho Ishizuka, would later voice Joseph Joestar in the Part 3 and Part 4 anime.

JoJo RPG (SFC)
Devo is one of the many bosses featured in the game. In the game, Devo actually attacks the group in India although he still ambushes them in a hotel.

The group encounters Devo when they enter their hotel room and Devo flies after a brief battle declaring that his grudge will fuel Ebony Devil, much like the original manga. This fight directly features Devo and Ebony Devil. Afterward, the group is attacked by Ebony Devil possessing the doll for a second fight and the doll will eventually flee. However, the group will be attacked a third time and defeat Ebony Devil for good.

Afterward, the group can go check the bathroom and take the Roof Key from Devo's corpse.

Heritage for the Future (PS1/DC/Arcade)
Devo (called D'Bo in the English version) functions mostly the same as he did within the manga. He ambushes the Joestar party during their stay in Singapore by hiding in their refrigerator, but he is defeated in the storylines of all the main characters.

Storyline
Devo also has his own storyline, in which he is promised one-hundred million dollars by DIO for the defeat of Jotaro and his companions. He kills one hero after another until he finally slays Jotaro himself.

Devo, wanting to collect his grand reward, travels to Dio's mansion. There he meets Vanilla Ice, who proceeds to question the Shaman on his exploits. Devo, who has become smug with all of his recent success, becomes annoyed with Ice and threatens to kill him if he does not take him to DIO. Devo kills Ice in the resulting battle.

Afterward, DIO is so impressed with Devo's power that he offers him even more money, in exchange for the Shaman's permanent servitude. Devo refuses the vampire's offer and kills him, and becomes the most widely respected (and feared) kingpin in the underworld afterward.

Strategy
Devo is one of the most unique characters in the game. While most characters with an Active Stand have their guardian immobilized in front of them, Devo's doll is allowed to roam freely across the battlefield when activated and lays dormant on the ground when it is not.

Aside from directly controlling his Stand, Devo can also order Ebony Devil to lunge at his opponent once, leaving him free to attack with his main body while they are distracted. This allows clever players to lure their opponents between Devo and Ebony Devil, and pincer them between a deadly flurry of attacks.

Despite all of these interesting advantages, Devo has several key weaknesses that need to be compensated for. While he is controlling Ebony Devil, he is completely vulnerable and will take massively increased damage if his main body is attacked while he is stationary. Also, since Ebony Devil only moves when he is controlled, the opponent can easily keep his distance or push Devo away from his Stand, cutting off his line of support; Ebony Devil by this proxy also requires more effective positioning to avoid any attacks landed on it (which inflicts indirect damage to Devo), as it still counts as a normal extension of himself like all standard Stands.

Devo is considered to be a solid mid-to-high tier character in the metagame, and despite requiring some complex planning and thought to use most effectively, he is a very powerful and rewarding character to play.