Tusk

"Chumimi~in"

- Tusk's Stand cry

Tusk (タスク (牙)) is the Stand of Johnny Joestar, featured in the seventh part of the JoJo's Bizarre Adventure series, Steel Ball Run.

Similar to Part 4's Echoes, Tusk takes various forms, or "ACT"s. Like other Stands such as Dragon's Dream or Cinderella, Tusk's abilities are intimately linked with a supernatural phenomenon inherent to the world of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, namely the Spin.

ACT1
Manga Debut:

Initially named "Tusk" as it was the first form that Johnny sees, Tusk ACT1 is the Stand's base form. It is referred to as the guardian of the Left Arm of the Saint's Corpse.

ACT1 resembles a small, animal. Its head is of equal or slightly greater size than its body, and it floats with two short, vague, and inarticulate arms and one such leg. Its posterior is marked somewhat irregularly by small stars, behind which dark circles radiate to their points; while four tendrils droop from the base of its trunk to the approximate length of its leg, bearing heart shapes.

On its head, it bears two long, mammalian ears; small, reflective black eyes, under a brow of a troubled angle; a large star at the top of its forehead, behind which a dark circle radiates to its points, and from the center of which a string links with the tip of a cone fastened to the region of its nose. Eight wavering vestiges emanate from its head laterally: Two above; four from its sides, the lower of which, at its cheeks, are also surrounded by a dark circle; and one either side of its chin.

It was designed with an axolotl in mind.

Tusk is primarily pink in all media featuring it.

ACT2
Manga Debut:

Tusk ACT2 is the first evolved form of Tusk, accessed when Johnny makes progress in the technique of the Spin and uses the Golden Rectangle.

Mechanically, ACT2 possesses small, sturdy torso and arms, greater in proportion to its head. From its head hang two barrel-shaped objects. A barrel-like unit the size of its head is suspended at the base of a short, flat spine. Araki added some elements to make it unclear whether it's animal or machine, like a traditional Stand.

Tusk is primarily pink in all media featuring it.

ACT3
Manga Debut:

Tusk ACT3 is the second evolution of Tusk, unlocked when Johnny witnesses Jesus counseling him and finds a renewed resolve in life.

Although it is distinctly more human in shape, its head is still embedded into its body. ACT3 bears sharp spikes growing from both the underside of each of the three toes of its triangular feet and two from small, truncated, disc-shaped hands. On dark, spherical shoulders it bears the large, bold outline of a star; and from its upper lip to the rear of its head runs a tall, blade-like protrusion resembling a Mohawk.

Tusk is primarily pink in all media featuring it.

ACT4
Manga Debut:

Tusk ACT4 is the highest evolution of Tusk, accessed only when Johnny uses the Golden Spin.

ACT4 is of humanoid shape and broad or square build; of articulated legs, arms, hands, and fingers. Its head is mounted in the front of its chest, and from the bottom of its chest hangs to its ankles a vestment comprising strings of vertical ellipses. Like Johnny, it wears a horseshoe on its forehead. The inside of its curtain-like body is hollow, and its face can move around like the mono-eye of MS-05 Zaku I from.

Tusk is primarily pink in all media featuring it.

Personality
Tusk ACT1 possesses sentience separate from Johnny, as it is the guardian of the Left Arm. It decides to appear to Johnny and independently help him. ACT1 occasionally produces the sound "chumimi~in".

Tusk ACT3 doesn't display any noticeable personality trait other than muttering its characteristic "chumim~in" sound.

Occasionally vocalizing ACT1's "chumimi~in", ACT4 punches while inciting Johnny's expression of the Kujo family's "ORA ORA ORA" Stand Cry.

General
Despite having a corporeal form, Tusk's power functions as a supernatural ability that Johnny must use personally to fight like a gunman. Tusk ACT1 is overall quite weak and isn't sufficient to challenge most Stand users.

With an enhanced destructive power and new properties to its nail bullets, Tusk ACT2 is a direct upgrade to ACT1. It allows Johnny to fare better in combat but limits the number of nails at his disposition.

Although functionally identical to Tusk ACT2, Tusk ACT3 involves Johnny directly exploiting the holes to reposition himself during a battle and increase his options. Tusk ACT3 still possesses all the abilities and limitations of ACT2.

The principle behind Tusk ACT4 derives from the use of the Golden Spin, which requires Johnny to make his horse run in its "natural state". By doing so, the horse produces rotational energy in the form of the Golden Rectangle and by combining it with Tusk, Johnny is able to release infinite rotational energy. He can, however, shortcut the process as a last-ditch effort, using a Steel Ball to temporarily galvanize his horse's movement.

Tusk ACT4 is thus one of the most powerful Stands in the series due to the infinite energy behind it but is incredibly difficult to deploy as a trade-off.

Otherwise, Tusk ACT4 displays the physical abilities of a close-range Stand and is able to pummel Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap.

Trivia

 * Johnny can use his Spin-imbued nails to grate cheese, wind spaghetti, and brush his teeth as though with an electric toothbrush.
 * Occasionally, Tusk's name is written with the kanji Tsume (爪), rather than its traditional Kiba (牙), which is a reference to Tusk's fingernail shooting ability.
 * Hirohiko Araki specifically created Tusk ACT1 with being a mascot to Part 7 in mind.
 * Due to copyright laws, Tusk's name in the Italian release of Steel Ball Run is written as "Tasuku", which is the Japanese pronunciation of the Stand's name.
 * In concept art featured in the JOJOVELLER history booklet, Tusk ACT4 is given the title "Tusk ACT3", suggesting that Tusk originally only had three ACTs.
 * In Japan, Tusk ACT 4 is also referred to by fans as Absolute Murder Man (絶対殺すマン), in reference to Johnny's Dark Determination and the Stand's likeliness to take out a target.  The colloquialism has also been referenced in other shows.