Hol Horse

"I'm the type who only shines when he's teamed up with someone else! Why be number one when you can be number two? That's the Hol Horse way of life!"

- Hol Horse

Hol Horse (ホル・ホース) is a secondary antagonist featured in the third part of the JoJo's Bizarre Adventure series, Stardust Crusaders. He is introduced during the "Emperor and Hanged Man" story arc and returns in other arcs afterward, having a focal role in the "Hol Horse and Boingo" arc.

Hol Horse is a hitman hired by DIO who works together with his partner, J. Geil, to eliminate the Joestar Group. Wielding the gun Stand, Emperor, Hol Horse is capable of shooting his foes with bullets that he can control.

Appearance
Hol Horse is a tall man with an athletic build. He has light shoulder-length hair and long sideburns. He also has dimples in his cheeks and a cleft chin.

Hol Horse mostly wears light-colored clothes with a dark undershirt and a wide-brimmed that has two long, thin, loose straps hanging down. He wears wristbands and a long sleeveless top with the sides split, extending below his waist in a rectangular shape on the front and back. Under his left arm's wristband, he wears a steel watch with roman numerals.

Like typical Western cowboys, Hol Horse has on top of his trousers and wears  which have  attached.

Personality
Hol Horse is portrayed like a Western, appearing to be bold and a womanizer. In contrast, his fearfulness manifests itself when he is under pressure. He is a sharp-witted deceiver and prime opportunist, tending to rely on others as well as luck to save himself.

Hol Horse adheres to the belief of there being a hierarchy between people as well as their weapons. While fighting Polnareff and Avdol, he compares the battle to Japanese military chess. Furthermore, his motto is that the best way for him to live is to be "Number Two" rather than "Number One". Consequently, he prefers having a partner to fight with him even if his partner is a timid child like Boingo. According to Polnareff, Hol Horse has a talent for picking his allies.

His resolve and confidence frequently shifts depending on his current situation. For example, he boasts to Polnareff that Emperor can beat Silver Chariot because swords don't stand a chance against guns. He displays his pride when he is ridiculed, such as when he attempts to shoot Enya the Hag and later against DIO. Hol Horse manages to convince himself that perhaps DIO isn't much stronger than he is, and assumes he would have a better chance against one person than four men at the same time. Despite his fear, he is capable of calming himself down and bravely attempts to assassinate the vampire. Although he fails, DIO praises his determination, as he had steady breathing and wasn't even sweating, deeming him worthy enough to prevail against the Joestar group. He desperately tries to follow Tohth's predictions as long as he could win, declaring that he would even eat crap if the comic said he would. With ordinary civilians, Hol Horse doesn't hesitate to threaten or harm them to get what he wants. For example, he shoots off a man's ear at the airport when the man pushes Hol Horse out of the way to get into a taxi before him. He also intimidates two plumbers to open a pipe for him by almost smashing a concrete block onto their heads.

Hol Horse's awareness of his own shortcomings allows him to survive. After J. Geil is killed and the Joestar group is aware of Hol Horse's ability to change the path of his bullets, he realizes that he has no chance to defeat them by himself and sacrifices his pride to flee. When Nena jumps onto Polnareff to protect Hol Horse, he grabs the chance to escape on horseback alone. He lies to Enya about being best friends with J. Geil as an attempt to comfort her. However, when Enya turns against Hol Horse and almost makes him shoot himself, his quick thinking allows him to call off Emperor so that the bullet doesn't pierce through his mouth. Due to Enya's betrayal, Hol Horse helps Polnareff and Jotaro by informing them of Enya's ability. In spite of momentarily switching sides, he takes the opportunity afterward to steal the Joestar group's jeep and escape alone. Later, he kidnaps Boingo to use Tohth to predict the future, thinking it would be his final chance to help him win. In the end, his luck saves him once again from dying, as his bullets would have killed him if they were one centimeter lower.

Hol Horse describes himself as a who lives life day by day. Although he is one of DIO's agents, Hol Horse isn't completely loyal to DIO until after he witnesses the vampire's power for himself. He is primarily motivated by money for carrying out his assassinations. He was paid a wealthy sum to handle the Joestar group and Rubber Soul had also stated that there would be a $100,000 reward for managing to defeat them. The prospect of being able to have all of DIO's treasures for himself acted as an incentive for him wanting to betray DIO.

Hol Horse has a knack for smooth-talking women, professing to be a "gentleman" that has girlfriends from all over the world. However, he discloses to J. Geil that he is just using his girlfriends as they are willing to do anything for him, including going as far as sacrificing their lives for him. Despite charming several women, he also claims that he's destined to die alone. Hol Horse admits that although he tells lies to women, he would never attack them because he respects all ladies, disregarding whether they're beautiful or ugly. Nonetheless, Hol Horse threatens to shoot Enya out of self-defense, so it is possible he would go against his moral standards if it is to protect himself. He fervently denies that Tohth's prediction of him kicking a lady from behind would happen, but it actually comes true when Hol Horse impulsively kicks her to save her from a deadly scorpion, proving that he cares to save women.

Since Hirohiko Araki could no longer stand cigarette smoke, he decided to have Hol Horse quit smoking and use a smoke-free pipe instead as of Chapter 218, claiming that Hol Horse is the kind of guy to change his mind all the time anyways.

As a hitman, Hol Horse is desensitized to seeing deaths. He tells Polnareff that from his own experience, there's no use worrying over it as most people aren't able to say goodbye.

Stand


Hol Horse's Stand is Emperor, a handgun that Hol Horse can directly summon in his hand.

It is capable of firing bullets whose trajectory Hol Horse can control to a fine degree. He can even juggle the gun around with expertise.

Hol Horse partners with J. Geil of the Stand Hanged Man, and later Boingo of the Stand Tohth, who both complement his abilities well. He says that he prefers to operate with a partner.

Background
At some point after 1983, Hol Horse is recruited by DIO and Enya the Hag. He is partnered with Enya's son, J. Geil.

Emperor and Hanged Man
Riding an elephant, Hol Horse arrives at Calcutta, India with Nena, a young girl whose marriage proposal he turns down while claiming to be thinking of her best interests. He meets with J. Geil and the two decide to kill Jean Pierre Polnareff while he is separated from the Joestar Group. The following day, Hol Horse confronts Polnareff with his Emperor Stand while J. Geil supports him with his Hanged Man. When Muhammad Avdol intervenes to save Polnareff, Hol Horse severely injures Avdol, believing him to be dead from the headshot he administered. After separating from J.Geil and the protagonists, Hol Horse catches up to Polnareff and Noriaki Kakyoin and learns that they had already killed J. Geil.

Knowing he could not handle the two Stand users alone, Hol Horse flees before he's intercepted by Jotaro Kujo and Joseph Joestar. Nena's interference, however, gives him a chance to escape, with the Joestar Group deciding to let him go.

Justice
Hol Horse later appears before Enya the Hag during her attempt on the Joestar Group's lives and is attacked by her as she considered him equally responsible for the death of her son, J. Geil. While seemingly killed by Enya's Stand, Hol Horse played dead until he was able to escape via the Joestar Group's vehicle, vowing to get his revenge later.

Later, while reporting to DIO on Alessi's and Mariah's defeat, he tries to attack the vampire when questioned on why he is not fighting the Joestar group. He is cowed by DIO's power and, broken, swears eternal loyalty to DIO and decides to attack the Joestar group with a new partner.

Hol Horse and Boingo
Hol Horse flies to Aswan to forcibly take Boingo with him for assistance in dispatching the protagonists with Tohth. On the way out of the airport, Hol Horse antagonizes a pair of men and makes them flee when he shoots one man's ear off. Afterward, he manages to convince Boingo to work with him. At first, Hol Horse is taken aback by Tohth's strange predictions but is ultimately convinced of their reliability after he kicks a woman to save her from a scorpion and is rewarded with a jewel.

Hol Horse and Boingo then stalk the Joestar Group in the streets of Cairo, knowing that Hol Horse must now put his fingers in Polnareff's nose which will somehow end up in victory. Polnareff does surprise Hol Horse and almost takes him out but Boingo distracts Polnareff, allowing Hol Horse to put his fingers in Polnareff's nose. As the rest of the group comes to Polnareff, Hol Horse is forced to hide in a corner and hold Polnareff at gunpoint to force him to lie. Polnareff tips off the group and thanks to his irritated nose, manages to avoid being shot by sneezing, making Hol Horse stumble out of his hiding place. Cornered, Hol Horse is saved when the two thugs from earlier try to run him down but their truck slips on spilled oil and crashes into the heroes instead. Hol Horse and Boingo retreat behind another corner and see that Hol Horse will shoot into a pipe at noon exactly and put bullets through Jotaro's head. Nervous and eager, Hol Horse ends up shooting too early into the pipe and Jotaro Kujo is saved when Polnareff sneezes again on his face, making him back out of the bullet's path in disgust. The operation goes horribly awry as Tohth's prediction backfires on them, ending with Emperor's own bullets hitting Hol Horse right in the face, just as he realizes the time on his watch was advanced. While severe, the bullet wounds stop just short of his skull with Hol Horse hospitalized for the remainder of the story.

Major Battles

 * Hol Horse & J. Geil vs Jean Pierre Polnareff & Muhammad Avdol
 * Hol Horse vs Enya the Hag
 * Hol Horse & Boingo vs Jean Pierre Polnareff, Muhammad Avdol, Joseph Joestar & Jotaro Kujo (Retired)

JoJo's Bizarre Adventure (SFC)
Hol Horse appears multiple times throughout this game re-enacting most of his moments from the series. His final encounter with the player has him teaming up with Mariah to try and take Jotaro and the others down.

Heritage for the Future (PS1/DC/Arcade)
Hol Horse appears in the second revision of the game and possesses two different versions of himself. One version of him is allied with J. Geil and Hanged Man, and the other is allied with Boingo and Tohth. While normal Hol Horse is readily available, Hol Horse's "Boingo" version must be unlocked via code.

In the first version of the game (JoJo's Venture), a few sprites of Hol Horse can be found within the game's data, showing that he was at one point planned instead to debut in the first version.

Storyline
If he defeats the Joestar party while partnered up with J. Geil, the arrogant cowboy will turn on DIO (in his Shadow Form) and defeat him, though still admitting he prefers to be a second-in-command.

On the other hand, if the humbled Hol Horse partnered with Boingo defeats the party, DIO grants him a cash sum substantial enough for Hol to "live happily ever after", while Boingo decides to use his Stand to help people.

Hol Horse ("& Boingo" version) appears to be able to use his Stand after being de-aged by Alessi, implying he either was born or developed his Stand at a young age.

Strategy
As Hol Horse lacks an "active" Stand, pressing the Stand button has him fire a bullet that briefly stops in midair, moving in whatever direction the player inputs during this time. The delay is significantly shorter for the "& Boingo" version of Hol Horse.

Predictably, most of Hol Horse's strategies revolve around utilizing his gun (Emperor) to harass his opponents from the distance. He possesses no Active Stand, which renders him extremely vulnerable to chip damage (which having a Stand active would normally block) and forces the player take a more aggressive role, or at the very least avoid attacks instead of blocking them. His Glass Shower move is excellent for denying aerial attacks and forcing opponents backwards, while Hanged Man (normal Hol Horse only) can help Hol by stabbing his opponent in the leg and paralyzing them while they are on the ground.

While all of Hol's super techniques are very usable, the one that shines the most is his Dangan no Mōdo, which allows him to fire a bullet and freely control it with the joystick for a few moments. This attack is completely unblockable, and can be used repeatedly until Hol's super gauge is empty. This is a great way of finishing off an enemy who is playing defensively or just equalizing an opponent who has more energy than you.

In summary, Hol Horse shines at medium range, as his close quarters attacks are less than impressive, and his bullets become easy to avoid from across the screen. Aggressive gameplay is the way to go with him, as most of his delays give enough buffer to link together attacks. Keep the pressure on with plenty of straight shots (be sure to mix-up between high and low to keep your opponent guessing—all of your bullets CAN be steered to hit high or low, and your enemy has to block them correctly!) and use the Glass Shower to cover your tracks when they try to rush. Hanged Man is great for opening your opponent to a world of hurt from your bullets, but if you're with Boingo, you may have to attack carefully or be on the defensive. Or, you can just experiment with his moveset and make your own strategy, as his techniques allow for a great deal of flexibility depending on who your opponent is.

Techniques

 * Mighty Gun
 * Glass Shower
 * Hanged Man
 * Super Mighty Gun
 * Wild West
 * Wooden Nickels
 * Pipe Maze
 * Absolute Premonition

All Star Battle (PS3)
Hol Horse is a playable character in the PS3 game, confirmed along with Muhammad Avdol and DIO as one of the last Part 3 characters (excluding DLC characters Iggy and Vanilla Ice). He is voiced by Hochu Otsuka in this game, who previously voiced young Joseph Joestar in the Capcom game.

Hol Horse utilizes both Emperor and The Hanged Man of J. Geil for his moveset. Despite being one of the mass majority of playable characters in the game with the "Stand" Style, Hol Horse cannot switch between movesets, nor does he have access to the Stand Rush ability. He shares this effect with Guido Mista and Diavolo. Instead, Hol Horse's Style button triggers the skill "Gun beats sword", wherein he trick-spins Emperor as it glows, enhancing the next skill marked with a star. Said abilities can be instantly performed following the skill. Hol Horse has 950 HP.

During a fight, Hol Horse uses moves that are loosely based on those featured in Stardust Crusaders. He is a "zoner"-style character who can effectively battle at any range and can keep his opponent from getting within melee range of himself, though the slowness of his skills makes his zoning ability pale in comparison to other zoners such as Kakyoin. He utilizes both his control over his own Stand's bullets as well as Hanged Man's support to unleash surprise attacks against aggressive foes, and works well at midrange distances. While he has the smallest movelist of any character in the entire game, each of Hol Horse individual moves provide superior utility. He exchanges an effective long-range zoning playstyle for high damage output and ways to better handle himself in close-range confrontations. With a combination of bullets that cover every angle, impressive combo ability with multi-hitting and combination attacks, a reliable anti-air skill, and the unique ability to almost freely break himself out of combos under the right conditions, Hol Horse is a very well-rounded and formidable character.

Miscellaneous
Besides the cast from Part 3 (excluding Old Joseph, Iggy, and Vanilla Ice, all of whom are DLC), Hol Horse has special intro dialogue with Guido Mista. Hol Horse decides to see which one of the two is the faster gunman, a challenge that Mista accepts. If Hol Horse wins, he'll note that, unlike Mista, his bullets are also part of his Stand. If Mista wins, he'll note how funny of a guy Hol Horse is.

Stardust Shooters (Android/iOS)
Hol Horse appears as one of the several Part 3 characters who possess a Metal Striker. His FINISH move makes his Stand, Emperor, appear and shoot several times at the defeated opponent.

Eyes of Heaven (PS3/PS4)
Hol Horse was confirmed for the game alongside Polnareff.

As a Stand User, Hol Horse is one of many characters with wildly varied abilities that grant him uniqueness in battle.


 * Style Action - Even my bullets are part of my Stand!: Hol Horse fires a single potent bullet. He can change its trajectory up to four times, either slowly correcting its path or making it turn sharply. If "The gun is mightier than the sword!" is active, the trajectory can be changed indefinitely and will send opponents flying.
 * Come get us!: Hol Horse tosses a glass bottle full of water into the air before shooting it. Opponents may collide with the bottle and take damage. Upon breaking, multiple puddles of water are left on the floor around the area the bottle is broken.
 * Eat this!: Hol Horse fires a volley of 5 to 10 bullets, dependent on whether or not the initiating button was rapidly pressed. Each bullet comes back around to hit again before disappearing for a total of 10 to 20 hits. The last hit will leave the target crumpling. If "The gun is mightier than the sword!" is active, the skill activates quicker and Hol Horse can fire up to 15 bullets.
 * The gun is mightier than the sword!: Hol Horse trick-spins Emperor as it glows, temporarily enhancing his bullet-based Normal attacks as well as his next use of his Style Action or "Eat this!".
 * You're up, J. Geil!: Hanged Man appears out of reflection-based stage objects or puddles left by "Come get us!" and stabs opponents with an unblockable attack, stunning them and leaving them crumpling. If not locked-on, Hanged Man will simply target the nearest opponent.
 * EX - You're up, J. Geil!: Hanged Man attacks faster and Hol Horse is invincible while he stops to summon it.
 * EX - Eat this!: Hol Horse can fire up to 15 bullets, and each bullet will do more damage. If "The gun is mightier than the sword!" is active, the attack will simply do even more damage.
 * Dual Heat Attack - Hol Horse is gonna kill ya!: It works the same as the one from All Star Battle, except Hanged Man attacks less slowly and with more urgency, and the bullet Hol Horse fires fly straight into the target's forehead without changing trajectory, leaving behind a sonic trail.

JoJolities

 * Mmm! Such a genius quote!: Hol Horse must use "The gun is mightier than the sword!" twice. (200 Points)
 * You know how I work by now. Right, J. Geil?: Hol Horse must connect "You're up, J. Geil!" 3 times. (200 Points)
 * I guess death is pretty anticlimactic most of the time, huh?: Hol Horse must break an opponent's health gauge with his Style Action. (300 Points)
 * My Stand's a goddamn gun!: Hol Horse must activate a Dual Combo Finish. (500 Points)
 * Don't be No. 1, be No. 2! That's how Hol Horse rolls! Got it?!: Hol Horse must survive the first 30 counts of the battle timer without taking damage. (800 Points)

If he is set up against Mista he will note their similar abilities.

Unlike the previous game, Hol Horse's main color is now based on his anime appearance.

Tournament
He is paired with Yukako Yamagishi in the Eyes of Heaven Tournament but was eliminated in the preliminaries by Jotaro Kujo and Vanilla Ice.

Last Survivor (Arcade)
Hol Horse is one of the playable characters in "JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Last Survivor".

Gallery
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Trivia

 * Though not initially planned, Araki threw around the idea of Hol Horse joining the protagonists (much like how Polnareff and Kakyoin did as former antagonists) during their journey, but opted out due to balance issues with Polnareff's similar character. Araki mentions this is part of the reason Hol Horse shows up multiple times throughout the story and why there is at least one group shot with Hol Horse present.
 * Araki's idea for Hol Horse might have been influenced by the titular character in the manga, ; a gun slinging outlaw who always smokes who has the power to fire projectiles without having a line-of-sight.
 * In Heritage for the Future, Hol Horse is one of the special characters that doesn't turn into a child form when hit by Alessi's Stand, Sethan's ability. Rather, he becomes the boy that attempted to sell Kakyoin and Polnareff things during their fight against J. Geil. For his "Hol Horse & Boingo" variation, he seems to swap places with Boingo, and hides under the latter's box in the background, although players can see a young Hol Horse's arm sticking out firing Emperor when using certain attacks.
 * During his initial encounter with Polnareff, Hol horse states that a sword (剣) is unable to win against a gun (弾き). To mock Hol Horse, Polnareff claims that he heard the former say "" (お弾き), referring to a traditional Japanese game similar to marbles, commonly played by young girls in Japan. In Crunchyroll's official subtitles and the English Dub, the line is localized as Polnareff calling Hol Horse's gun a . In VIZ Media's manga translation, Polnareff jokingly pretends to have misheard Hol Horse saying "buns" instead of "guns".
 * Hol Horse's quote "The gun is mightier than the sword" is a parody of  's quote "The pen is mightier than the sword."