Jonathan Joestar/History

A detailed chronological summary of the life of Jonathan Joestar.

Background (1868-1880)
Jonathan Joestar was born in 1868, to the rich Joestar Family. As an infant, Jonathan was involved in a carriage accident, resulting in the death of his mother, Mary Joestar. Jonathan's father, George Joestar I, assumed Dio's thieving father saved his life and vowed to repay that debt. Jonathan thus lived a somewhat sad youth without his mother. At 5 years old, Jonathan was gifted the dog Danny as a companion. However, their first meeting went badly as Danny was afraid and bit Jonathan in the arm. For a time, Jonathan and Danny were enemies and Jonathan kept teasing Danny. However, one day, Danny saved Jonathan from drowning. Moved, Jonathan stopped antagonizing Danny and the two became friends.

Phantom Blood (1880)
"He's the type that gets tougher the harder you hit him! (奴はたたけばたたくほど成長するタイプだ！)"

- Dio assessing Jonathan's determination

Bad Blood With Dio Brando
One day, Jonathan comes to the aid of a young girl named Erina Pendleton being bullied by two brats, only to be beaten in turn for being a well-off kid. When Erina tries to help him, he refuses her help and reveals that, as an inspiring gentleman, he's fighting because it's the right thing, not to catch her attention. As he returns home, Jonathan sees a carriage and meets with Dio. Although Jonathan greets him, Dio opts to kick Jonathan's dog, Danny, in the face, making him angry. After Dio is welcomed by George, Jonathan is immediately victimized by Dio. Jonathan's life spirals into hell as Dio attempts to break Jonathan's spirit through dominance and isolation.

Dio continuously harasses Jonathan on all fronts. Jonathan is outperformed in studies and Dio's perfect manners make him look bad in front of George's eyes. Moreover, Dio keeps impressing the local kids and badmouths Jonathan, isolating him from his peers. At that time, Jonathan crosses paths with Erina again; the two become close and eventfully fall in love, spending their days together. Dio learns of this and decides to deny Jonathan any chance of romance by forcibly taking Erina's first kiss, instilling deep shame in the girl.

After learning of Dio's deed, Jonathan confronts him at the Joestar Mansion where his resolve for Erina's honor and his dignity gives him the strength to overpower Dio. Jonathan briefly notices a Stone Mask on their wall reacting to Dio's blood but is distracted by his father who attempts to stop the fight before it escalated any further. Despite standing up to Dio, Jonathan was unable to find Erina afterward, while learning that his beloved dog, Danny, had died after being "accidentally" placed in the incinerator. Jonathan suspected Danny's death to be Dio's doing, but Dio had noted the kind of person Jonathan was and decided to feign peace between them for the time being.

Adulthood (1888)
Seven years later, Jonathan attends Hugh Hudson Academy where he intended to graduate as an archaeologist. During the seven-year span, Jonathan was still wary towards Dio despite his facade.

Battle Against Robert E. O. Speedwagon and His Gang
When George fell ill, Jonathan found a letter from Dio's father, Dario, and realized that Dio was poisoning his father to steal the Joestar family fortune. Though he had no physical proof other than Dio's clear animosity towards his biological father, Jonathan left his own in the care of physicians while attempting to find an antidote. Jonathan's search takes him to Ogre Street, where he manages to win over the friendship of a local thug named Robert E. O. Speedwagon, who had attempted to mug him before realizing the kind of person he was. With Speedwagon's help, Jonathan finds Dio's poison supplier, Wang Chan, and obtains the antidote for his father.

Birth of a Vampire
Jonathan then waits for Dio in the Joestar Mansion along with Speedwagon, George, and a police squad to have him arrested for attempted murder. Dio, having learned the power of the Stone Mask, attempts to stab Jonathan. However, George suddenly puts himself between his son and Dio and takes the dagger meant for Jonathan. Dio dons the Stone Mask and activates it with George's blood before the constables open fire on him, supposedly killing him. Jonathan holds his father in his arms and has to watch him pass away. Suddenly, Dio is revealed to be alive and attacks. Shocked, Jonathan holds Dio at gunpoint but cannot bring himself to shoot so Speedwagon shoots him in the head, to no avail as Dio has become a Vampire.

Battle in the Joestar Mansion
Dio slaughters the constables and breaks Speedwagon's arm. Seeing that Dio has become a monster, Jonathan resolves to fight this inhuman threat. However, Dio is supernaturally strong and can regenerate wounds, making Jonathan's fight a nearly desperate endeavor. Jonathan is forced to set fire to his home in hopes that the amassed heat would kill him. After luring Dio to the roof to let the fire build up, Jonathan tackles the Vampire so that they both fall into the flames. Dio crushes JoJo's ribs and kicks him away but Jonathan manages to stick a spear tip that Dio flicked into his shoulder into the wall as an improvised hold and ties his belt to Dio's foot, pulling him back down. Jonathan stabs Dio with the very knife that killed his father and somehow manages to make it so Dio is impaled by the statue of the goddess of love, effectively trapping him in the flaming building. As Dio curses him, Jonathan manages to jump out of a window and remains alive despite many burns and injuries.

Speedwagon manages to take Jonathan to a hospital, where he ends up seeing Erina for the first time in seven years. Despite Dio's actions in the past, it did not change Erina's feelings for Jonathan as she nursed him back to health.

Meeting Will Anthonio Zeppeli
After being discharged from the hospital a few days later, Jonathan meets Will Anthonio Zeppeli, an Italian martial artist trained in the art of Sendō. Zeppeli punches Jonathan in the stomach but the blow somehow heals his remaining wounds. Zeppeli then reveals that Dio survived the estate burning and offers to teach Jonathan to utilize respiratory-based solar energy called Ripple in order to defeat Dio and destroy the Stone Mask. After a little week of training, Jonathan is capable of using the Ripple. JoJo drives away a zombified Wang Chan who has been sent to kill him, but Wang Chan escapes. Jonathan later learns from Speedwagon that Dio had apparently set up base at Windknight's Lot, resulting in the disappearance of several of its citizens.

Jack the Ripper's Assault
Drawing near the village, the group is attacked by a newly zombified Jack the Ripper sent by Dio. Zeppeli offers the zombie's defeat as a final test for Jonathan, giving him a glass of wine and ordering him to defeat Jack without spilling a drop. Jonathan eventually realizes that the wine is infused with a Ripple that detects people nearby. Realizing how the Ripple can travel through materials, he detects Jack before defeating him by transmitting Ripple through the wall.

Once at Windknight's Lot, Jonathan and his group are unknowingly led by a hypnotized boy named Poco to a graveyard where Dio's large number of minions ambush them the moment night falls.

Battle Against Bruford
Dio reveals himself at that time, having learned of the Ripple fighting style, and shows off his ability to flash-freeze anyone that touches him, preventing the Ripple from reaching him with bare-handed attacks. Zeppeli's arms are frozen and Jonathan's arms are almost lost too. Sure of his ultimate victory, Dio then reveals his strongest zombie warriors, the knights Bruford and Tarkus.

Bruford attacks Jonathan with his hair, planning to suck his blood through them. Jonathan cannot transmit the Ripple but manages to burn the hair with a burning Ripple and strikes his own arm. Impressed by Jonathan's spirit and wits, Bruford requests Dio to let him fight the human in a duel. Dio accepts and leaves the place. Bruford takes their battle underwater, where Jonathan is at a disadvantage as he was unable to breathe air in during the fall. Recalling a lesson from his late father, Jonathan dives deeper into the water where he finds air bubbles trapped underneath rocks; using these to breathe, Jonathan is able to generate enough Ripple to force Bruford out of the water. Bruford tries to finish off Jonathan with his sword, but Jonathan channels Ripple through the zombie's sword making Bruford's arm melt, disarming him before unleashing a flurry of 'Sunlight Yellow Overdrive' punches. As Bruford breaks down, he regains his human soul and in respect for Jonathan leaves him his sword, which he renames from Luck to Pluck.

Battle Against Tarkus
Tarkus steps in, crushing the remains of Bruford. Zeppeli's arms have been defrosted thanks to Speedwagon but even the Ripple master is wounded because of Tarkus' sheer strength. Cornered at the edge of a cliff, Jonathan and Zeppeli create a leaf-based hang-glider that magnetized with the Ripple and jump along with Speedwagon and the young Poco. Mid-flight, the group sees an ancient knight's battleground where these warriors once trained. Tarkus jumps into the glider and forces the heroes to land on a balcony. Jonathan enters inside and is ambushed. He is collared and finds himself in the Chamber of the Two-Headed Dragon, where two warriors are chained together by the neck, with the chain going up to the ceiling. Unable to breathe properly, Jonathan is at a disadvantage but Poco bravely sneaks into the room to open the door for Zeppeli. Zeppeli steps in, having realized that this is the moment of his death. Despite Zeppeli's intervention, Tarkus manages to tie Zeppeli with the chain and violently yanks it, cutting Zeppeli in half and breaking Jonathan's neck. However, Zeppeli uses the last of his strength to crawl to Jonathan's side and transfers him his Ripple. Empowered, Jonathan heals and easily defeats Tarkus. Jonathan also has to see his Ripple master give him a last goodbye before passing away. Afterward, Jonathan cremates Zeppeli's body before resuming the search for Dio.

The Three From a Faraway Land
The group heads toward Windknight's Lot. Attacked by a citizen turned into a Zombie named Adams, Jonathan easily dispatches him. Immediately after, Jonathan meets with an unknown man who attacks him. The man uses a special technique to lock Jonathan's arm with his legs but Jonathan headbutts him. Impressed, the warrior named Dire calls off the fight and reveals himself as a Ripple user whom Zeppeli called for help. Tonpetty, Straizo, and Dire have come to help the group.

Final Battle Against Dio Brando
The group reaches Dio's castle where Jonathan saves Poco's sister from Doobie before confronting Dio. Facing his archenemy again, Jonathan confesses that he's come not to vanquish evil, but to avenge his fallen friends and loved ones. Dire is nonetheless the first to attack Dio and is quickly defeated. After Dire is killed by Dio's freezing powers, Jonathan gets the idea to counter Dio's freezing by channeling his Ripple through Luck and Pluck. Dio, livid over Dire's last attack, summons his zombies to take care of the others while he deals with Jonathan one-on-one. Thanks to his sword and Dio's eye wound, Jonathan manages to split Dio's upper body vertically, but Dio's resilience allows him to shrug the sword cut and the Vampire traps Luck and Pluck into his stomach, freezing Jonathan's arms through the sword. Jonathan counters Dio's stratagem by placing Luck and Pluck's tip into a fire nearby, forcing Dio to break away from Jonathan. Finally, Jonathan set his fists on fire to remove Dio's advantage and lands a Ripple-infused punch into Dio's stomach while sending him plummeting off the edge of the balcony. Despite everything, Jonathan mourns for Dio and collapses from exhaustion. After recovering, Jonathan's group destroys the Stone Mask.

Marriage
Two weeks after the Windknight's Lot incident, Jonathan marries Erina and the two board a ship heading to America for a honeymoon.

Dio Still Lives
In the middle of the ocean, Jonathan's honeymoon is cut short as he spots Wang Chan lurking near and Jonathan is led to the ship's cargo bay/engine room, where he encounters a bodiless Dio. Dio explains that he's developed some respect for Jonathan and has decided to steal his body, as this body is the only one worthy of him. Dio then shoots beams of pressurized eye fluid at Jonathan. Jonathan's throat is hit and he agonizes, although Dio was aiming at the head for an immediate death. Regardless, Dio orders Wang Chan to rip off Jonathan's head while warning him to be both respectful and wary of his new body. Using the last of his Ripple, Jonathan destroys Wang Chan's head and manipulates his body to obstruct the engines. Jonathan intended this to cause an explosion that would sink the ship and hopefully put an end to Dio for good.

The Last Moments of Jonathan Joestar
While Erina was content to die with him in his final moments, Jonathan beseeches her to escape with an infant whose mother died protecting her from the zombies that Wang Chan sired. Dio explains that his coffin is explosion-proof and makes a last-ditch attempt to take Jonathan's body at that time, only to be stabbed and restrained by Jonathan. In his mind, Jonathan reflects on his and Dio's remarkably interwoven history. Erina is shoved into the coffin alongside the baby and Jonathan makes his last goodbye to her, wishing her to be happy. Dio attempts to convince Jonathan to let him go with promises of immortality, only to realize that he had already died before the two were consumed in the inferno caused by the ship's explosion. Thanks to Jonathan Joestar's heroic sacrifice, the Joestar Family survives through Erina and their unborn son, and Dio is sealed at the bottom of the sea.

Legacy
Jonathan's story was known only to a few, namely his son George Joestar II and later his grandson Joseph Joestar and his descendants. Despite Jonathan's last act, Dio manages to take the headless body of his rival for his own and resurfaces from the ocean depths a century later. Once freed, the renamed DIO uses Jonathan's body to impregnate a few women: resulting in the births of Giorno Giovanna, Donatello Versus, Ungalo, and Rikiel. DIO then pierces his new body with the Bow and Arrow, awakening the ability to use a Stand. DIO also gave Enrico Pucci one of Jonathan's bones to enact his dream of 'ascending to Heaven'.

During the events of Stardust Crusaders, DIO decides to completely integrate Jonathan's body to perfect his Stand by using Joseph's blood as a catalyst, but ends up being utterly defeated by Jonathan's great-great-grandson, Jotaro Kujo. After DIO's death by Jotaro's hand, he and Joseph expose what remained of Jonathan's body to the sun as an apparent end to their generational feud with DIO, allowing Jonathan to finally rest in peace.

JORGE JOESTAR


Jonathan Joestar has a minor role in the light novel JORGE JOESTAR. After Erina enters Dio's coffin to escape the explosion of the ship on their honeymoon trip, she looks back wondering if she could somehow get Jonathan inside as well. However, Jonathan is using the last of his strength to hold Dio in his arms and Erina would not be able to move him in time. As the explosion hits, Dio escapes from Jonathan's grip and decapitates him before barely attaching his head to Jonathan's body. He impales Jonathan's feet into a stick of wood embedded in the tattered side of the coffin, allowing him to travel along with Erina.

While on his voyage with Erina, Dio would often use Jonathan's name to torture her, claiming things like Jonathan died because of Erina. A day later, Erina realizes that Dio must have brought Jonathan's head with him. After Dio throws Erina underwater while torturing her, she sees Jonathan's head bobbing up and down under the debris of the ship near the coffin. Erina swims to Jonathan's head assuming he would look like a zombie but his flesh miraculously hadn't decayed and he still looked alive. Even Dio is surprised to see Jonathan's condition, thinking he had made Jonathan a zombie with his blood. Erina ends up keeping Jonathan's head with her, feeling that he is still alive. When she and Lisa Lisa are rescued by a fisherman, she hides his head in a torn piece of her dress. Erina has hope that Jonathan will get his body back from Dio someday and keeps his head in her home's basement in.

When Dio gets his Stand, Jonathan's body also awakens a Stand named The Passion. It can see the futures of any of his descendants.

Eventually, Jonathan's head moves with Erina and George Joestar II to their basement in England.

Tonpetty tells George II that Jonathan was barely a man at all. He was a spoiled boy, weak-willed, not very smart, and prone to taking the easy way out. However, Jonathan always had a glimmer of courage.

In the final battle against Dio Brando, Jorge Joestar cuts off the supplementary head from the Saint's Corpse and places Jonathan's head on the stump. Jonathan's head fits on the body perfectly, as it was actually his body originally. During Dio's earlier fight against Kars, Dio's body had split apart into pieces in the second universe, becoming what people in the Steel Ball Run race thought was the corpse of a holy man.

Erina wraps her shawl around Jonathan's waist so he wouldn't be naked. For a moment, Jorge could see Jonathan's Stand The Passion around his head. Jonathan revives and suddenly starts laughing, claiming that he is actually Dio since Dio had given him his blood after cutting off Jonathan's head on the boat. Everybody is shocked aside from Erina who could tell that he is joking. She scolds him by saying he should at least thank everyone for their help instead of joking like that.

Jonathan states that he couldn't remember anything after he passed out on the ship but he felt like he was watching a very long dream and what he just did was an inside joke between him and Dio, referencing what Joseph Joestar does in the future. When Dio was using The Passion to watch the futures of Jonathan's descendants, Jonathan had also been seeing them. Erina and Jonathan have a tearful reunion. Erina hesitates mentioning what happened to their son, George II, and Jonathan looks confused. He had figured out that George was hiding inside a parallel world within the body of the 37th universe's Jorge. George leaps out of the parallel world and the Joestar family all have a group hug.



37th Universe
An incarnation of Jonathan appears in the 37th universe, living in America with his father, and adopted brother.

Jonathan's grandson describes Jonathan as a gentleman, kindhearted, handsome, and so athletic that he played rugby with younger men until quite late in life. Jonathan eventually dies trying to stop his brother Dio from robbing a train.