Robert E. O. Speedwagon

"Your face seems to be asking "Who's this?", so let me introduce myself! I'm the meddling Speedwagon! (「誰だ？」って聞きたそうな表情してんで、自己紹介させてもらうがよ. おれあおせっかい焼きのスピードワゴン！)"

- Robert E. O. Speedwagon,

Robert E. O. Speedwagon (ロバート・E・O・スピードワゴン) is a primary ally featured in the first part of the JoJo's Bizarre Adventure series, Phantom Blood. Formerly a Londoner thug residing in Ogre Street, Speedwagon befriends Jonathan Joestar and becomes a loyal ally to his cause.

In Battle Tendency, Speedwagon returns as a wealthy businessman and a secondary ally to Jonathan's grandson, Joseph Joestar. His organization, The Speedwagon Foundation, continues to support the Joestar Family throughout the story, notably in Stardust Crusaders, Diamond is Unbreakable, and Stone Ocean.

Phantom Blood
Robert E. O. Speedwagon is a man of medium height and athletic build. In his prime, he is portrayed with a long fair-haired and a large scar across the left cheek, leading from his nose to his jaw. His typical attire consists of a three-piece dark suit with a tie, and a bowler hat (in which are hidden blades). After Will A. Zeppeli's death, he replaces his headpiece with the late Zeppeli's chessboard-patterned top hat.

Battle Tendency
50 years later, Speedwagon sports a greyed flattop and a much older complexion. He wears an elderly three-piece suit complete with a tie and at times, a fedora decorated with a feather.

Personality
"I'll always be there for you guys. If you need me, I'll come no matter where it is! Though, I might just get in the way... (おれは いつまでも応援するし困ったときはいつでもどんな所でもかけつけるつもりだぜ！もっとも かえって足手まといかな)"

- Speedwagon,

Robert E. O. Speedwagon is a hot-blooded but honorable street thug and later businessman.

Despite his activity as a hoodlum, Speedwagon is a righteous man. Due to his ability to "smell out" the personality of people, he had recognized Jonathan's noble spirit during the events at Ogre Street and accompanies him on his further journey to defeat Dio, whose facade as a cover for his naturally evil behavior was easily denied by Speedwagon. Speedwagon is incredibly loyal to his friends, befriending Jonathan was in part due to the gentleman being kind to his partners in crime. He will try to do anything to help them, and even after Jonathan's death, Speedwagon remained friends with Erina out of respect for Jonathan. Speedwagon takes care of Erina and Joseph Joestar much like a father figure or close uncle. Equipped with a courteous nature, he is familiar with giving one's privacy; this is apparent when upon trying to enter Jonathan's room, he witnesses the nurse, Jonathan's former love Erina, nurse him back to health and leaves Jonathan to Erina's care. This righteousness would be a characteristic of him throughout his life, as an elderly Speedwagon specifies in his will that his foundation should be used to fund medical and archaeological advancements, and his organization aids the Joestar family time and time again long after his death.

Apart from that, Speedwagon is known to be anxious and hotheaded. He is very extroverted and loudly conveys his feelings, from enthusiastically describing Jonathan fighting, to his despair at seeing Kars become the Ultimate Thing. Above all, Speedwagon deeply cares for his friends, and he constantly seeks to help his companions in various more or less convoluted ways. He notably breaks into a hospital to emotionally support Jonathan, harasses Zeppeli so that he would teach him the Ripple, and has thought of using the warmth of his stomach to unfreeze Zeppeli's arm. Speedwagon also has often tried to confront zombies, to varying degrees of success.

Abilities
Zeppeli assumed that Speedwagon couldn't master the Ripple because he wasn't pressured enough (unlike Jonathan and Zeppeli, who both carried the mission to stop Dio and the Stone Mask on their shoulders). Zeppeli ultimately tried to help him create the Ripple by stimulating the muscles of his diaphragm, but accidentally missed the right point and only managed to hurt Speedwagon. However, due to his life on the street, he is fairly resourceful and has mastered several useful techniques, including the ability to determine someone's moral alignment purely based on their smell. Speedwagon is a seasoned mugger, thus he knows the basics of combat such as keeping a good guard.

Following the events of Part 1, Speedwagon traveled to America and got rich in the oil industry. With his fortune, he created the Speedwagon Foundation, an organization featuring studies in medical research, wild animal and plant protection, and secretly, a Supernatural Research Department with the sole purpose of aiding the Joestar Family. As head of this company, Speedwagon has full power over all employees, including several leading scientists and workers. Speedwagon often employs resources in the organization, including transportation by helicopters, submarines, cars, and planes, as well as development in weapons technology.

Background
Robert E. O. Speedwagon was born on October 16, 1863. Speedwagon lived most of his life in darkness. He grew up on Ogre Street and spent his childhood stealing and fighting to get by. It reached the point of him being able to tell a good person apart from a bad person just by their smell. He eventually became the leader of the thieves in Ogre Street, and befriended a Kempo Fighter and Tattoo.

During his youth, Speedwagon had traveled the world, experimenting with various exotic animals in Africa, strange Asian plants and Caribbean tornadoes.

Phantom Blood (1888-1889)
"Normally, I can't stand fools who start crying as soon as they get into trouble, but... these two are different! They don't have any regrets about their actions! They're giants among fools! (ふつう　おれは自分が困るとすぐ、泣きぬかす甘ちゃんはだいつきらいだがよォ！この親子はちがう　自分たちのしたことを後悔しない、最高の大甘ちゃんだぜ！)"

- Speedwagon, Episode 3

Speedwagon first appears as an Ogre Street thug boss expecting easy pickings from Jonathan Joestar when he entered the street in search of the antidote to the poison that Dio Brando gave to his father. But finding himself outmatched, Speedwagon realized Jonathan spared his men and ordered the others to stand down, offering his services in leading Jonathan to Wang Chan. Fearing for Jonathan's safety, Speedwagon then accompanied him to the Joestar Mansion where he saw through Dio's attempt to lull Jonathan's guard with feigned remorse. When George died protecting his son from being stabbed by Dio, Speedwagon voiced his utmost respect to the Joestar family. Following Jonathan's battle against a newly vampirized Dio, Speedwagon takes Jonathan to the hospital where the youth was cared for by his childhood friend Erina Pendleton.

Speedwagon accompanies Jonathan and Ripple master Will Anthonio Zeppeli to Windknight's Lot in their mission to finish Dio off, though Zeppeli mentions that Speedwagon could never master the art of the Ripple, a fact that greatly distressed Speedwagon. Upon arriving at Windknight's, Zeppeli attempts to push a pressure point in Speedwagon's midsection anyway, in order to give him the ability to harness "small ripples," but missed the right location and ended up hurting Speedwagon instead. The group encounters Dio soon after and is forced to fight off an army of zombies; Speedwagon aids by attacking a few with a sledgehammer. When Zeppeli's arm is frozen by Dio, Speedwagon thaws it by placing it on his own flesh. After Zeppeli's death at the hands of Tarkus, he takes on wearing his hat as a remembrance of their fallen ally. In the climactic battle against Dio, Speedwagon assists the group by fending off zombies and making an attempt to hinder Dio by destroying his arm. Following the battle, Speedwagon smashes the Stone Mask with his sledgehammer. The morning after Jonathan and Erina marry, Speedwagon is seen reading about their story in the newspaper, only to rush to the docks after realizing their honeymoon cruise was about to set sail. He successfully sees them off, though did not know of the immediate tragedy that would befall them until later.

Post-Phantom Blood
In the years following the death of Jonathan Joestar, Speedwagon had traveled to America, where he discovered oil and formed the powerful Speedwagon Foundation. He was still a friend to the Joestar family, having taken a picture with Erina, Straizo and Elizabeth as a baby.

Many decades after the events of Phantom Blood in 1921, Speedwagon had believed that he and Straizo had eliminated the remaining zombies of Dio. Unbeknownst to both them, one managed to evade them and it was disguising itself as a major in the. Jonathan's son, George Joestar II was told about his family's lineage, and suspected the major. The zombie discovered George's plan and murdered him. George's death was attributed to an accident during a night flight. Speedwagon doubted the story, and conducted an investigation with Straizo into the truth. When Elizabeth found out, she rushed off in silent rage to avenge his death. She was spotted by an officer, and the zombie's disintegrating corpse was understood as Elizabeth burning his body. Elizabeth was marked a traitor to her country, and ran away. After that, the Speedwagon Foundation attempted to clear her name in any way it could. Briefly after, Speedwagon spoke to Erina privately. Holding a young JoJo, Erina softly told Speedwagon to never reveal the truth about his parents.

When JoJo was older, Speedwagon became an uncle figure to him, noting Joseph as a deadringer of Jonathan despite their opposing personalities. At some point, Speedwagon was kidnapped on a hijacked plane and was going to be sold for ransom, if not for the efforts of Joseph.

Immediately before the events of Battle Tendency, Speedwagon learns of the discovery of Santana, a human-like figure embedded in a pillar holding numerous Stone Masks.

Battle Tendency (1938-1939)
Speedwagon, now an old man, travels to Mexico. He and his team meets with Straizo in order to show him the inactive Pillar Man slumbering in the cave ruins beneath an abandoned temple so that he may use the Ripple to destroy him. Unexpectedly, Straizo betrays Speedwagon and wounds him while killing off the others to use their blood to become a vampire. Speedwagon is then dumped into the river by Straizo to prevent the pillar man from absorbing his blood and is eventually 'rescued' by the Nazi major Rudol von Stroheim, who took the pillar man for research. Imprisoned in a hacienda doubling as a laboratory, Speedwagon seems helpless in the presence of Stroheim while pleading for him to not revive the being that the Nazi named Santana. But when Santana breaks out of his containment and kills most of the German unit, Speedwagon was saved by Joseph.

After Santana's defeat and containment, Speedwagon travels with Joseph to Rome in order to meet Caesar Anthonio Zeppeli, where he disappointingly watches as the two squabble in stark contrast to the cooperation of Jonathan and Will. Invited by the Nazis, he and the two young men are escorted to a cavern beneath the Colosseum the three other Pillar Men are, and bears witness to the awakening of Wamuu, Esidisi, and Kars, becoming a bystander in the ensuing fight. Afterwards, Speedwagon spends most of the story accompanying Erina and Smokey, while withholding information about the Pillar Men and Joseph's life-threatening predicament from Erina at his request.

Speedwagon and Smokey reappear once again in Switzerland at the Piz Berlina Ruins. Accompanied by a whole battalion of SPW Foundation agents and German soldiers, they come to the rescue of Joseph and Lisa Lisa who were surrounded by Kars and his army of one hundred vampires. Once again, Speedwagon becomes a spectator to the battle between good and evil as Joseph and Kars clash. At the same time, he explains to a concerned Smokey that they must respect the wishes of Erina and Lisa Lisa to not reveal the latter's identity to Joseph. When Kars successfully turns into the Ultimate Thing and proceeds to hunt down Joseph, Speedwagon desperately begs for Joseph to go into hiding rather than attempt to face the Pillar Man head-on as he didn't "want to lose him too", but is ignored as the young man goes off on his own.

Later, Speedwagon is one of the group of people who attends Joseph's funeral, comforting Erina as he is the only other living person to grasp the scope of her agony and the tragedy of the Joestar family. However, Joseph himself immediately shows up and reveals his surviving the final confrontation with Kars, much to everyone's joy and relief.

Legacy
Speedwagon died in 1952 of a heart attack at the age of 89. As a lifelong bachelor, he left no family behind. After his death, the Speedwagon Foundation was dedicated to biochemical science and technology, and assisted the Joestar Family throughout Parts 3-6. His men went on to create a new prosthetic hand for Joseph, helped Jotaro destroy the remains of DIO as well as study the Stand-creating Arrow, analyzed Giorno Giovanna's Joestar bloodline, and maintained Jotaro's health after his Stand and memory discs were stolen by Whitesnake.

Allies

 * Jonathan Joestar: Jonathan's most loyal friend. An enemy at first, he later joined Jonathan on his quest after seeing the protagonist's dedication and courteous nature. In his later years, he founded the Speedwagon Foundation, which has become the Joestar Family's most useful asset in battling Stand users and supernatural research.
 * Will Zeppeli: Originally, Zeppeli thought Speedwagon would run away at the first sign of danger, as he couldn't use Ripple, but he eventually respects his courage when Speedwagon stays despite his shortcomings. After Zeppeli was killed, Speedwagon donned his hat out of respect.
 * Tattoo and Kempo Fighter: Old acquaintances of Speedwagon's from his time on Ogre Street. While Speedwagon temporarily abandons them to help Jonathan destroy Dio, they remain friends all the same.
 * Joseph Joestar: Despite his cheeky attitude, Joseph cared for Speedwagon, and viewed him as an uncle. When Joseph received news of Speedwagon's supposed death, he becomes enraged and attacks Straizo without a second thought. Similarly, when he receives news that Speedwagon was still alive, he is seen happily tearing up before rushing to the Nazi base in order to break him out.
 * Caesar A. Zeppeli: After beginning his training of the Ripple, Caesar devoted his life to revenge against the ones who killed his father. Having been friends with his grandfather, Speedwagon informed Caesar of the events that led to Will Zeppeli's death. Other than this, their relationship is unknown aside from being acquaintances in the fight against the Pillar Men. However, it is possible that the hat Caesar is seen wearing during his first appearance was the same hat Speedwagon inherited from Will after he died.
 * Erina Pendleton: Although he had a chilly first impression of her, with Erina brusquely dismissing Speedwagon's pleas to help with Jonathan's recovery at the hospital, Speedwagon soon understood how deeply they loved each other and was enthusiastically supportive of their marriage, promising that he would always be there for the couple if they ever needed any help. He maintained a close friendship with Erina up until her death, to the point where Joseph even teasingly suggested that there was some secret romantic element to their relationship.

Enemies

 * Dio Brando: After hearing from Jonathan what Dio was doing to George Joestar I, Speedwagon decided to help with finding the man that sold Dio the poison. Dio openly declares that after killing Jonathan, he would dispose of Speedwagon as well for being involved. After everything that had happened at the Joestar Mansion, Speedwagon went along with Jonathan and Zeppeli to defeat Dio, knowing that he was too dangerous now as a vampire to be left running around.


 * Straizo: The two men were formerly allies. Both were present during the confrontation with Dio at his castle, the destruction of the Stone Mask, and to see the newlyweds Jonathan and Erina Joestar off when they departed for America. They appeared to have remained on good terms for the next fifty years, and Speedwagon trusted Straizo enough to ask for his help investigating the ruins in Mexico. Unfortunately, Straizo revealed his true intentions when he attempted to murder Speedwagon, willing to sacrifice his old friend for the sake of immortality and power.

JORGE JOESTAR


Speedwagon has a minor role in the light novel JORGE JOESTAR. He financially supports Erina and George Joestar II. As Erina becomes a major stockholder in the Speedwagon Foundation, the Joestar family is well-off. When Erina and George decide to move to England, Speedwagon helps to rebuild the Joestar Mansion with his company. Speedwagon and Erina try their best to free George from prison but they initally do not succeed, due to Ben Motorize having many friends in the justice department.

Speedwagon is ecstatic once he hears that Lisa Lisa is pregnant. He starts sending presents to George and Lisa Lisa at an alarming rate. His presents contain one of everything for both boys and girls, before learning that the child would be a boy. George asks him to calm down but Speedwagon affirms that he'll do as he pleases.

Trivia



 * Mike Harper, one of the main characters from Poker Under Arms, is a likely basis for Speedwagon's design.
 * His voice actor in the Phantom Blood PS2 game,, also voices Alessi in the Part 3 anime.