Stardust Crusaders


 * For the TV Anime adaption, see JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders. For the OVA, see JoJo's Bizarre Adventure (OVA)."This world is full of Stands that surpass even your wildest imaginings! Those loyal to DIO will follow you at every turn!"

- Gray Fly, Chapter 124

Stardust Crusaders (スターダストクルセイダース) is the third part of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, serialized in Weekly Shonen Jump between 1989 and 1992. Originally titled as JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Part 3 Jotaro Kujo: Heritage for the Future (ジョジョの奇妙な冒険 第三部 空条承太郎 ―未来への遺産―), the arc is preceded by Battle Tendency and spans 152 chapters.

From 1988 to 1989, the story follows Jotaro Kujo and his friends as they journey from Tokyo to Cairo to save his mother's life by defeating his family's resurrected archenemy, DIO.

The Star-Shaped Birthmark


Fours years ago near the Canary Islands, a trio of treasure hunters bring up a casket bearing the engraving name "DIO" around dusk. When the ship was found days later, only the empty coffin remained.

The story begins in 1987 with Holy Kujo, daughter of Joseph Joestar, visiting her son Jotaro after learning he is in jail for having beaten up four people. But the reason Holy was called was because Jotaro refuses to leave his cell, explaining that he is possessed by an evil spirit; when nobody believes him, he has it steal a gun and demonstrates its power when it prevents him from shooting himself in the head. Only Holy can see the "spirit" as Jotaro restates his intent to stay in his cell for everyone's well-being.

Holy calls her estranged father, Joseph Joestar, who bears a grudge against the Japanese due to Holy's husband "stealing" her. Joseph comes to Japan and arrives at the police station with Holy and his fortune-telling companion Muhammad Avdol, telling the latter to force Jotaro out of his cell by any means. During the fight between Jotaro's "spirit" and Avdol's Magician's Red, Jotaro learns from Joseph that the spirit in his possession is actually a manifestation of his lifeforce, named a Stand. Jotaro's stand gains the upper hand but he exits his cell in the process, prompting Avdol to end the battle.

Joseph displays his Stand Hermit Purple, which enables him to take photographs of faraway places, while he and Avdol explain that Stands manifest in the descendants of those with Stands. Joseph states that the reason he and Jotaro have gained Stands is because of the reemergence of Dio Brando. Knowing only what his grandmother Erina told him, Joseph explains that DIO succeeded in grafting his head onto the body of Jonathan Joestar, which created a link between DIO and Jonathan's descendants. Although Joseph tries to recruit his grandson against the Vampire who has long eluded him, Jotaro hardly believes Joseph's story.

The following day, Jotaro heads out to high school as he is stalked by a transfer student named Noriaki Kakyoin. Revealing himself as an assassin sent by DIO to kill those of the Joestar bloodline, Kakyoin uses his Stand Hierophant Green to attack Jotaro. But Jotaro's Stand easily overpowers Kakyoin, who is taken to the Kujo residence where he is revealed to be brainwashed by a parasitic spore produced by DIO. Jotaro risks his life to extract the Flesh Bud and saves Kakyoin.

Tragedy strikes the following day when Holy falls ill due to her own Stand manifesting from DIO's influence. Without the necessary willpower that her son and father possess, Holy is slowly being killed by her own Stand. Joseph and Avdol determine that Holy will die in fifty days unless they kill DIO to break his influence.

Motivated by his mother's condition, Jotaro uses his Stand's keen eyesight to analyze the photo Joseph's Stand took of DIO and has it sketch what it could see: A fly which Avdol confirms to be native to Egypt. Kakyoin joins the group and Holy is placed in the care of doctors from the Speedwagon Foundation. Before Jotaro's group departs for the airport, Avdol names Jotaro's Stand, Star Platinum.

In Hong Kong


On a jetliner bound for Egypt, the group is ambushed by the insectoid Stand Tower of Gray. Avdol explains the enemy Stand belongs to another of DIO's assassins, a serial killer who causes numerous transportation-related deaths that appear like accidents. Though Hierophant Green manages to ambush the Stand and safely destroy it, its dying user Gray Fly had already killed the pilots. The jetliner crashes into the sea near Hong Kong.

While eating in a Chinese restaurant in Hong Kong, the group agree to travel by land and sea to put less people at risk while heading to Egypt and fending off any more assassins. At that moment, a Frenchman named Jean Pierre Polnareff reveals himself as one of DIO's henchmen, and challenges Avdol to a duel, where his swordsman Stand Silver Chariot overwhelms Avdol's Magician Red. Avdol manages to defeat Polnareff, then spares the man's life when he chooses to die with honor rather than commit suicide or kill Avdol with his back turned. Polnareff is revealed to also be under the influence of one of DIO's Flesh Buds, which Jotaro extracts. Later, Polnareff explains that he is hunting the Stand user who murdered his sister Sherry, and joins the group on the chance that his quarry is with DIO.

Dark Blue Moon
The heroes take a ship to Singapore and meet a stowaway little girl. The group is soon attacked by the aquatic Stand Dark Blue Moon, controlled by an assassin who has murdered and impersonated Captain Tennille. Jotaro is forced to jump into the sea. Although Dark Blue Moon has the advantage in the middle of the ocean, Jotaro manages to land a decisive blow against the Stand and defeat the impostor. Nonetheless, the ship is sabotaged and sinks, forcing the group to use a lifeboat.

Strength
The group and the surviving crew drifts for some time before they encounter a freighter. When they board it, everyone realizes that the ship seems empty save for an orangutan. Soon, accidents happen to kill the sailors one by one, and the Joestar Group understand that they are under attack. However, they do not know where the user is nor what the Stand looks like. When Jotaro rescues the stowaway from being molested by the orangutan, he realizes that the animal is the user and the whole ship is its Stand. The orangutan manages to bind everyone, but Jotaro defeats the enemy Stand user in close quarters.

The Devil
The orangutan is defeated, and the freighter begins to sink, forcing the group to use the lifeboat once again. They eventually reach Singapore.

There, they decide to rest a little and check in at a hotel. However, Polnareff discovers in his room Devo the Cursed. The enemy Stand user then uses his Ebony Devil to attack, but Polnareff wounds him and makes him flee. Although he calls his companions for help, Polnareff is soon attacked again by a possessed doll which baits him to crawl under the bed and ties him in place. Blinded, Polnareff breaks the room's mirror to see the doll and stabs it repeatedly, killing Devo.

Yellow Temperance
While Polnareff rests from his fight and Jotaro and Kakyoin decide to take a walk with the stowaway girl, Joseph and Avdol decide to spy on DIO using their room's television's set. DIO psychically detects Joseph, and the TV is destroyed, but not before Joseph receives a warning about Kakyoin being a traitor.

Meanwhile, Kakyoin is acting odd. When the three decide to take a cable car, Jotaro discovers that Kakyoin is in reality Rubber Soul, who has disguised himself with his blob-like Yellow Temperance. Jotaro is at a disadvantage because of Star Platinum's inability to damage Yellow Temperance. Jotaro decides to jump into the ocean below the cable car and forces Rubber Soul to deactivate his Stand to breathe, making him vulnerable. After an attempt to beg his way out of a beating and a subsequent sneak attack that Star Platinum foils, the mercenary is pummeled and definitely defeated by Star Platinum. In addition, Rubber Soul reveals information about the next Stand users on the heroes' trail, users of respectively Death, Emperor, Hanged Man and Empress; The Hanged Man's user is revealed to be Sherry Polnareff's murderer and uses mirrors to attack. The group then heads for Calcutta by train.

Emperor and Hanged Man
In Calcutta, Polnareff is approached and confronted by The Hanged Man who taunts him from inside a mirror before fleeing. Polnareff, eager to pursue his enemy despite Avdol's counsel, begins to fight with the fortune teller and leaves on his own.

Meanwhile, Hol Horse, the user of the gun Stand called the Emperor, meets with J. Geil, the man with two right hands and the user of Hanged Man. Hol Horse eventually confronts Polnareff and surprises the Frenchman because of his homing bullets, but Avdol saves him at the last moment. Unfortunately, Hanged Man stabs Avdol from behind and Hol Horse shoots him in the head, killing him.

Kakyoin arrives to see Avdol's defeat and cooperates with Polnareff to fight. Put at a disadvantage, both flee on a car, pursued by Hanged Man and leaving Hol Horse behind. The car crashes because of Hanged Man, but Polnareff manages to realize that it is a Stand of light that moves between reflective surfaces. He traps the Stand in his eye and wounds it, revealing that J.Geil is near.

Although J. Geil baits the duo into a trap and gathers a group of beggars toward them, Kakyoin makes them focus on one shiny coin and tosses it into the air. Polnareff then blinds the one beggar with Hanged Man in his eye and forces the Stand to come out, defeating it with a slash. Polnareff then avenges Sherry by finishing off J. Geil.

Empress
When Hol Horse find Polnareff and Kakyoin, he challenges them again, confident that J. Geil is still here to support him. However, he understands soon that he is alone, and is surrounded by the Joestar Group. Only the intervention of Nena, a pretty Indian girl Hol Horse has seduced, allows the cowboy to flee. Jotaro and Joseph tell Polnareff that they have already buried Avdol and that they should move on.

Meanwhile, Enya the Hag senses that her son has died.

On the way to Varanasi, Joseph notices a boil on his arm. In town, he and Polnareff separate themselves from the group to get it treated at a clinic but the boil turns out to be Empress. Empress kills a doctor and frames Joseph as the murderer to sic the police on him and oblige him to flee while Nena, the user, distracts Polnareff. Although Empress grows enough to physically threaten Joseph, the old man uses his Hermit Purple to find a barrel of coal-tar and plunge Empress into it, immobilizing the enemy Stand. Then, Joseph manages to shred it with Hermit Purple, killing Nena, who is revealed to be a short obese woman. The group then leaves Varanasi.

Wheel of Fortune
En route to Pakistan, the party meet the stowaway girl again and take her with them. However, a mysterious car driver stalks them and eventually leads them to a cliff where he ambushes them. The enemy's car is revealed to be their Stand, Wheel of Fortune, which battles Jotaro. Wheel of Fortune sprays Jotaro with gasoline and sets him on fire. It seemingly kills the protagonist, but instead only burns up his coat; Jotaro has dug a tunnel to approach the car undetected and destroys it.

Justice
ZZ, user of Wheel of Fortune, is revealed. The group ties him to a rock and leaves him.

Meanwhile, Enya gives a lengthy lamentation for her son J. Geil, and decides to run off to personally kill the Joestar Group.

After dropping the stowaway girl in a plane back to Hong Kong, the Joestar Group reaches Pakistan. On the way to Karachi, their travel is jeopardized by the heavy fog and find a town inhabited by strangely hostile people. Enya Geil appears, faking being a gentle hotel owner, then persuades the group to rest for the night at her establishment.

Later, Hol Horse meets with Enya in the lobby, but the woman uses her Stand, Justice the fog Stand, to control him through a wound and nearly kills him as revenge for abandoning her son. Polnareff's entrance interrupts Enya, who focuses her killing intent on the Frenchman. Using zombies under her control, Enya manages to take control of Polnareff, but Jotaro suddenly intervenes. He unmasks Enya, who is confident that Star Platinum cannot defeat the fog. However, Star Platinum suck up the fog with its powerful lungs and suffocates Enya, who is defeated and unconscious. Afterward, Hol Horse flees again.

Lovers
In Karachi, Steely Dan executes Enya by activating a spore DIO has planted in her brain, to keep her from revealing the Vampire's power. Despite the betrayal of her master, she refuses to help the Joestar group and dies. Steely Dan then reveals his stand, Lovers, which is tiny enough to enter someone's brain. He sends it into Joseph's brain to plant more of DIO's spores and hold him hostage, forcing Jotaro into the role of a personal manservant.

Meanwhile, Joseph, Polnareff and Kakyoin try to defeat Lovers. They shrink Silver Chariot and Hierophant Green and have the Stands enter Joseph's brain, guided by a television. Despite Lovers' ability to create clones of itself, Hierophant Green stealthily deploys its tentacles and unmasks the real Lovers who is attacked by Silver Chariot. Defeated, Lovers flees Joseph's brain. Meanwhile, Jotaro notices that Steely Dan is injured and proceeds to threaten him with a beating.

Steely Dan attempts to first enter Jotaro's brain and then a little girl's head to take her as a hostage, but Star Platinum foils both attempts. Jotaro repays his humiliation with a long pummeling.

Sun
The group reaches the United Arab Emirates. They decide to try crossing the desert on camelback.

However, soon after their departure, the group realizes that the Sun is not the real one but a powerful Stand. It shoots powerful blasts of energy down on the group and forces them to hide under a rock. The long wait under the scorching heat proves difficult to bear, and Joseph watches with horror as his companions begin to madly laugh. In truth, they have spotted the Stand user hidden behind a mirror. With a pebble, the enemy is defeated.

Death Thirteen
Kakyoin finds himself trapped in a nightmarish theme park where Death Thirteen attacks him. However, Polnareff wakes him up; Kakyoin somehow completely forgets about his dream.

The group buys a Cessna to cross the desert and are saddled with a baby. Kakyoin and Polnareff doze off and are attacked in their shared dream by Death XIII again. They realize with horror that they cannot summon their Stands to defend themselves. Kakyoin engraves the words "baby stand" on his arms and struggles so violently it translates into the real world, and his agitation eventually causes a crash.

The group sets up camp for the night, while the baby waits eagerly to be free to kill them. Kakyoin rightfully suspects the baby, but only convinces his companions that he's delirious. When he summons Hierophant Green to attack the baby, Polnareff knocks him out. Everyone falls asleep and finds himself in the dream, unable to fight Death XIII. Fortunately, Kakyoin being knocked out with his Stand still summoned allowed him to keep it in the dream, and Hierophant Green manages to defeat the enemy Stand. All finally wake, having forgotten about the dream except Kakyoin who intimidates the baby into leaving them alone.

Judgement
On an island in the Red Sea, the group meets Muhammad Avdol's father, who doesn't want to see them because of his son's death. Afterward, Polnareff wanders alone and finds an Arabic oil lamp. Rubbing it, the Frenchman summons Judgement and is convinced that he's encountered a real genie. He wishes for his sister Sherry and for Avdol to come back to life, but he is attacked by their zombies instead. However, the real Avdol reveals himself and intervenes, destroys the revenants - which are revealed to be Judgement's clay sculptures, and defeats the enemy Stand. Avdol then discovers Judgement's user and defeats him.

High Priestess
When Polnareff reunites with the group, he learns that Avdol merely had faked his death, and everyone hid the truth from him for fear he might reveal it to an enemy. Free to act, Avdol reveals a submarine which the group board in order to enter Egypt unnoticed.

However, they soon come under attack by High Priestess, a Stand that can take the form of anything metallic. It destroys the submarine, forcing the Joestar Group to equip diving gear and swim to the surface of the Red Sea. High Priestess then takes the form of a giant head made out of the sea's bedrock and sucks the group inside its mouth. Jotaro is seemingly crushed between High Priestess's teeth, but Star Platinum destroys them all, defeating and disfiguring the user. The Joestar Group has finally reached Egypt.

'The Fool' Iggy and 'God Geb' N'Doul
Upon arriving in Abu Simbel the heroes buy a car and make a stop near some ruins in the desert. Here they meet with agents of the Speedwagon Foundation who give the group supplies. In addition, they bring Iggy, a Boston Terrier and the user of The Fool, a Stand made of sand. Finally, they reveal the existence of nine additional Stand users who await the Joestar Group in the country.

Coincidentally, N'Doul ambushes the group in the desert with Geb, a Stand of water. Not only can it hide under the sand and attack from everywhere, its user is kilometers away. Kakyoin's eyes are slashed and Avdol's throat is cut, taking out both. Jotaro forces Iggy to help because he can sense the attacks, but the dog tries to flee by making a glider out of the sand. Jotaro exploits this to approach N'Doul and land a decisive punch, defeating him.

'God Khnum' Oingo and 'God Tohth' Boingo
Oingo and Boingo, users of the face-altering Stand Khnum and the future-predicting comic book Tohth respectively, attempt to assassinate the heroes. At first, Boingo predicts that Joseph, Jotaro, and Polnareff will drink poison and infiltrate a cafe where the group is headed to. Although everyone sips their poisoned tea, Iggy causes a ruckus, making them spit the poison.

Boingo then predicts that Jotaro's head will be split by a bomb. Oingo tries to plant a bomb hidden inside an orange in the group's car but is surprised by Joseph and Polnareff. He is forced to mimic Jotaro, taking the bomb with him on the ride. Already envisioning the worst, Oingo tries to get rid of the bomb and get away from Joseph and Polnareff, but events conspire to keep him trapped. When he manages to flee, he accidentally triggers his own bomb and is sent to the hospital. Oingo and Boingo are defeated without being noticed.

'God Anubis'
As the Joestar Group navigates down the Nile, Anubis, a sword inhabited by a Stand, possesses a farmer named Chaka. It brainwashes him into wielding it to kill the heroes. In the Temple of Kom Ombo, Chaka fights Polnareff and although Silver Chariot is weaker, it unveils a secret technique. The Stand shoots its sword and defeats Chaka, then Polnareff takes Anubis with him, unaware of its true nature.

In Edfu, Polnareff and Jotaro to go a barber named Khan to have a shave. Khan gets possessed and easily defeats Polnareff because of its power of memorizing the techniques of the enemy. Jotaro intervenes and defeats Khan with difficulty, but the situation worsens when Polnareff is possessed. Star Platinum is overwhelmed by the combination of Anubis and Silver Chariot and Polnareff stabs Jotaro in the gut with Anubis. With the sword in his stomach, Jotaro manages to break it into many pieces and wins. A last assassination attempt by Anubis is thwarted by Iggy and Anubis is thrown into the Nile.

'Goddess Bastet' Mariah
In Luxor, Joseph discovers an electrical outlet poking out of a rock and is shocked. It is, in reality, Bastet, the Stand of Mariah, one of the Egypt 9 Glory Gods. Joseph is magnetized and begins to attract all kinds of metallic objects. He and Avdol discover and pursue Mariah, but Avdol has been magnetized too. Their chase is made all the more difficult because the duo attracts each other and attract other objects, but they manage to surround Mariah. Joseph and Avdol, covered in myriads of metal items, then turn Bastet against its user and crush Mariah by rushing toward each other.

Meanwhile, Jotaro and Polnareff are stalked by DIO's next assassin.

'God Sethan' Alessi
Polnareff notices Alessi stalking him and confronts him alone. However, Alessi's Sethan reduces Polnareff and Silver Chariot to children. Polnareff flees and is taken by a kind woman who brings her to her home. Alessi then attacks Polnareff again, and the child finds himself trapped in a room without exit, Alessi banging at the door.

When Alessi enters the room, Polnareff ambushes him from a clever hiding spot and forces him to jump down a window. He then encounters Jotaro and turns him into a child too, only for Jotaro to still pummel him. Jotaro and Polnareff are transformed back into adults and finish off Alessi.

Shooting DIO?!
Hol Horse reports to DIO in his lair. DIO reveals a speck of his ability when Hol Horse tries to shoot him from behind and frightens the cowboy into going against the Joestars a third time.

D'Arby the Gambler
In the outskirts of Cairo, the group encounters Daniel J. D'Arby, who offers information on where DIO resides if they gamble with him. He reveals himself as one of the Egypt 9 Glory Gods when he wins a gamble against Polnareff and his Osiris steals the Frenchman's soul.

The heroes are forced to gamble their souls and Joseph loses a second game, his soul taken by Osiris. Jotaro challenges D'Arby to a game of poker and despite D'Arby having rigged the entire bar in his favor, loses when Jotaro confidently gambles the whole party's souls plus his own mother Holy. Goaded into gambling information on DIO's Stand, D'Arby panics. He folds, releasing all of his stolen souls, and goes mad.

Hol Horse and Boingo
Hol Horse returns from Aswan with Boingo, whose Tohth can give him an edge against the Joestar Group. He discovers first hand the potential of using the comic book's prediction when he saves a woman from a scorpion and is rewarded with jewels.

Hol Horse's first attempt is foiled but he is saved when a car knocks everyone over. While the heroes are recovering, Tohth gives the prediction that Jotaro will be shot in the head by midday. Hol Horse shoots in advance and Jotaro evades Emperor's bullets by accident, which return to Hol Horse and pierce through the comic book where the bullet holes were drawn, fulfilling the prophecy. Hol Horse is taken out while Iggy defeats Boingo.

The Gatekeeper of Hell, Pet Shop
While the group is busy searching for DIO's Mansion, Iggy discovers it by accident and meets Pet Shop, a pet falcon and the user of the ice-slinging Stand Horus.

A fight ensues when Iggy saves a child from Horus, but the dog can only flee the bird. Taking refuge in a sewer, Iggy is followed by Pet Shop but manages to land a single blow. In response, Pet Shop unleashes the full power of his Stand and eventually forces Iggy into the Nile, where he builds a sand dome to protect himself. Pet Shop attacks Iggy within, but dies when Iggy bites his beak shut as he tries to spit an icicle. Iggy is then saved from the river by the child from earlier.

D'Arby the Player
Kakyoin finds Iggy and reunites with the rest of the Joestar Group. The dog then guides everyone to DIO's Mansion.

When the group opens the front door, they are welcomed by Telence T. D'Arby, younger brother of Daniel J. D'Arby and butler of the mansion. His Stand, Atum, manages to drag Jotaro, Joseph and Kakyoin deeper inside the mansion. The three find themselves in Telence's room, a facsimile of a tropical island in the middle of the sea. Telence challenges Kakyoin to a game of "F-Mega" and, after a heated match, wins his soul.

He subsequently plays against Jotaro at "Oh! That's a Baseball!". It is then that Telence secretly uses his ability to read through souls and guess Jotaro's plays and takes the advantage. However, Jotaro's soul then contradicts his plays, shocking D'Arby who cannot discover how Jotaro is cheating. When he loses, freeing Kakyoin, Telence discovers that Joseph has been discreetly playing in Jotaro's place all this time. Jotaro then pummels Telence.

The Mist of Emptiness, Vanilla Ice
While Jotaro, Joseph and Kakyoin exit Telence's room, Vanilla Ice, one of DIO's last minions, informs the Vampire of their status. DIO orders Vanilla Ice to kill himself and offer his blood, which the latter executes without question. Encouraged by this demonstration of fealty, DIO resurrects Vanilla Ice as a vampire and sics him on the Joestar Group.

Polnareff, Iggy, and Avdol enter the mansion and find themselves in an illusory maze, but easily dispose of the Stand user. Vanilla Ice ambushes the group and kills Avdol as he pushes his companions out of the way. Cream, a Stand that can swallow Vanilla Ice and create a portal into the void that disintegrates everything around it while remaining undetectable by the senses, is beyond Polnareff and Iggy's power to defeat.

The two flee to the second-floor gallery and try to ambush Vanilla Ice by using Iggy's Stand to mimic DIO with a stand statue, but it fails and Vanilla Ice repeatedly and violently kicks him. Polnareff is disabled and Vanilla Ice hides again inside his Stand. Scattering sand around the room, the Frenchman manages to stab Ice's throat, but Ice has begun transforming into a Vampire and breaks free while wounding Polnareff.

Unable to move, Polnareff is almost killed by Cream, but Iggy spends the last of his strength to lift Polnareff out of the way and expires. Polnareff manages to push Vanilla Ice into the sunlight and slays him.

Suzi Q Joestar Visits Her Daughter
Suzi Q arrives in Tokyo from New York City to visit her daughter. Holy is very weak but both her and Suzi Q trust that Joseph and Jotaro will succeed in their mission.

DIO's World
Jotaro, Joseph, and Kakyoin encounter the Vampire Nukesaku but easily defeat him.

Polnareff confronts DIO, who finally reveals his Stand The World, but is confounded by the vampire's powers. Before the fight can continue, Jotaro, Joseph and Kakyoin break through an outer wall and make DIO retreat away from the sunlight. They ascend a tower with Nukesaku in tow, but when they reach its top, Nukesaku is instantly ripped to pieces. Fearing DIO's ambush, the Joestar Group jumps out of mansion through a window and see the dusk with dread.

The group splits in two: Kakyoin and Joseph luring DIO while Jotaro and Polnareff will follow him. A car chase ensues between DIO and Joseph and Kakyoin across the streets and then the roofs of Cairo. Risking his life, Kakyoin probes The World's ability. Kakyoin unravels Hierophant Green to attack DIO from all sides, and the Vampire finally uses his power.

DIO stops the flow of time and within the five "seconds" he's allowed, has The World punch through Kakyoin. While the Vampire gloats, Kakyoin manages to grasp the power of his foe. Unable to speak, he shoots a clock tower before dying, making Joseph understand The World's ability. DIO pursues Joseph and just as the old man warns Jotaro about DIO, the latter stops time and launches a knife to his throat. Joseph is stabbed and loses consciousness.

Jotaro and Star Platinum clashes with DIO and The World. Jotaro can move briefly during the stopped time and manages to wound DIO. The Vampire regenerates anyway and forces Jotaro's bluff about how much he can move during the time stop by throwing a myriad of knives at him. Jotaro is stabbed in multiple limbs and falls to the ground.

DIO approaches to deal the final blow when Polnareff tries to stab him from behind, but DIO doesn't die and punches Polnareff into a wall. To save his companion, Jotaro, who has been playing dead, must move a little to make DIO focus on him. During the following seconds, DIO tries to discover if Jotaro's really alive, and pushes the youth to even stop his own heart. At the last moment, DIO is convinced and approaches Jotaro, but Star Platinum appears and deals a crushing punch to the head.

DIO is disabled, but lures Jotaro into punching him towards Joseph's corpse. The Vampire feeds on Joseph's blood and, now fully synchronized with Jonathan Joestar's body, becomes more powerful by the second. DIO tries to crush Jotaro under a road roller, but pushed to his limits, Jotaro stops time. He manages to sneak up on DIO and crushes his leg. On the ground, DIO tries a last futile attack, and Star Platinum breaks The World, defeating DIO for good.

The Faraway Journey, Farewell Friends
After his victory, Jotaro oversees a blood transfusion from DIO to Joseph and revives his grandfather. Afterward, they expose the Vampire's remains to the sun and disintegrate him.

Some time later, Jotaro, Joseph, and Polnareff say their goodbyes to one another before going their separate ways. Holy finally awakens back in Japan and eagerly awaits her son and her father's return.

Characters
For others, see Minor Characters and Unnamed Characters.

Publication
Volumes are published in English by VIZ Media, and in Italian by.

English Language Edition
Stardust Crusaders was the first part to be officially released in English. The series is edited by Jason Thompson, author of .

Some names were altered for the English release, presumably for copyright reasons. Additionally, the character Devo was changed entirely.

Minor edits were made to artwork where certain scenes of animal violence were redrawn by Hirohiko Araki for the English release. Japanese volume 15 (English volume 3) featured a single panel of a dog being decapitated which was redrawn from an alternate angle, and Japanese volume 18 (English volume 6) has several redrawn panels where a mutilated dog was changed into a large rat.

Due to a controversy regarding one scene involving DIO apparently reading the in the OVA, Viz Media and Shueisha paused publication for a year, even though the manga did not feature that specific scene. However, Shueisha had Araki (or his assistants) redraw scenes that depicted characters fighting on top of or destroying buildings resembling. Viz resumed publication on April 7, 2009, with Volume 11.

Animation

 * The official TV anime began airing in Japan on April 4, 2014.
 * JoJo's Bizarre Adventure (OVA), produced by Studio APPP; 1993 and 2001

Video Games

 * JoJo's Bizarre Adventure (Super Famicom), 1993
 * JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Heritage for the Future; Capcom, 1998
 * The cast of Stardust Crusaders has the highest representation in All-Star Battle.

Other

 * JoJo's Bizarre Adventure (Novel)
 *  JoJo's Bizarre Adventure' s Drama CD

Trivia

 * This story was initially titled "Dai San Bu Kūjō Jōtarō: Mirai e no Isan" / "第三部 空条承太郎 ―未来への遺産" / (lit.) "Part 3 Kūjō Jōtarō: Heritage for the Future".
 * Stardust Crusaders contains the most popularly known characters and episodes of the series; introducing  JoJo' s distinctive Stand phenomenon, and the emblematic protagonist Jotaro Kujo.
 * Many characters were not named until the release of additional materials like the artbooks.
 * Araki describes the basis for Part 3 as like a board game, traveling between a series of stops; and further inspiration from the film Around the World in 80 Days.
 * While he began plotting for this part, Araki first pitched it as a modern retelling of Dracula. There was only one person in the room who thought it was a good idea; the rest were utterly confused. His editors told him to have at least one Japanese character/story arc prior to this part, as they felt the story had too many foreign characters and settings for the comic's target audience.
 * Clamp in Wonderland represents a popular, classic tribute/doujinshi to Part 3.
 * Part 3 is the last part to feature any vampires or the Ripple ability.