Steel Ball Run

Valkyrie

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Valkyrie (ヴァルキリー, Varukirī) is a primary ally featured in the seventh part of the JoJo's Bizarre Adventure series, Steel Ball Run. It is a horse belonging to Gyro Zeppeli, who rides it for the entirety of the Steel Ball Run race.

Appearance

Valkyrie is a 4-year-old stock horse with possibly Australian roots, with a plain coat and a mane tied and cut into a row of flat topped buns.

While being ridden by Gyro, it is adorned with a bridle and reins as well as a dark hood covering most of its head though with opening for the mouth, eyes and ears as well as a strand of hair. Several straps of the same clothe cover Valkyrie's neck. Finally, its legs are bandaged at the cannons.

Gyro's jockey number, B-636, is displayed on its side.

Color Schemes

The series is known for alternating colors between media, the information presented below may or may not be canon.
Colored MangaAll-Star BattleEyes of Heaven
Coat(Bay coat, grey hair)
Clothes(Dark magenta hood, lavender bandages)
Coat(Chestnut coat, brown hair)
Clothes(Red hood, blue bandages)
Coat(Chestnut coat, brown hair)
Clothes(Red hood, blue bandages)

Personality

Little is known about Valkyrie's personality but it faithfully serves of Gyro Zeppeli's mount during the entirety of the Steel Ball Run. As noted by Diego Brando, Valkyrie has a quirk where it sways suddenly to its left for every eight breaths it takes.[1]

Abilities

As Stock Horse, Valkyrie has significant stamina. Although Gyro is an amateur rider, he compensates by using the Spin to complement his riding, using a number of tricks when necessary to gain speed or any advantage possible.

Golden Spin

During the events of Steel Ball Run, only two people on Earth could reproduce the Golden Spin on horseback. Thanks to his talent at horseriding and knowledge of the Spin, Gyro was able to let Valkyrie run at its natural speed, which generated the necessary energy to harness via the stirrups to create the Golden Spin and awaken the Stand Ball Breaker.

Spin Using a Horse(馬を使った回転 Uma o Tsukatta Kaiten) Link to this sectionLink to this section
Debut: Steel Ball Run Chapter 72: Ticket to Ride, Part 2

A superior version of the Golden Spin which involves riding on horseback. Unlocking the Golden Spin on horseback grants mastery over an infinite amount of energy, therefore, several miraculous feats are possible. First and foremost is that its wielder spontaneously develops a Stand or evolves it should they already have one. Johnny develops Tusk's final evolution: Tusk ACT4.[2]

Although powerful, the horseback Golden Spin is incredibly complicated to set up. One must not only have a healthy horse, but also have the expertise to feel when it runs at its natural pace. Any interference during the horse mounting, like bumping into an obstacle or the horse being attacked, will completely interrupt the process.[2]


History

Background

Valkyrie is a Stock Horse born in Europe around 1886, making it 4 years old by the time of Steel Ball Run. It can be inferred that it belonged to Gyro Zeppeli for a significant amount of time, enough for Gyro to become well acquainted and bonded with his horse. Valkyrie then travelled with Gyro from the Kingdom of Naples to America alongside its master.

Steel Ball Run

The Start of the Race

Gyro using the Spin to boost Valkyrie's habit, beating Diego that way.

At the start of the race, Gyro rushes ahead of every participant, which catches the attention of every watcher. The racer Urmd Avdul soon challenges him. Avdul pushes Gyro to unhorse him and has a weight advantage because of his large camel. However, Gyro throws a Steel Ball and sees that there are cacti nearby from a dust motif the Spin creates. He heads towards a specific grove and though he's almost pushed down, surprises Avdul with a sudden slope hiding the cacti. Avdul's camel falls right into the cacti and his camel collapses. Avdol is taken out of the race.[3] Then, Diego Brando the British star jockey challenges him. Diego has noted Valkyrie's habit of swaying left every eighth breath and uses this to his advantage to take the lead. As the two arrive at a wooden bridge, Diego is a horse's length ahead. However, Gyro then applies the Spin to Valkyrie's hind legs, empowering the steps into a sudden leap forward. Gyro gets ahead of Diego but also destroys the bridge with Valkyrie's violent jump. To everyone's shock, the jockey loses to Gyro for now.[4]

Gyro crosses the finish line of the first stage first

Still leading the race, at 6,000 meters from the finish line, Gyro then takes a dangerous shortcut through a forest. He expertly navigates during the trees and soon notices that one racer, Pocoloco, is trailing him.[5] The confident Pocoloco declares that he will definitely get ahead as the two engage a dangerous slope downhill. Pocoloco doesn't control his horse and seemingly trips, but he luckily lands on a cow skin and begins to slide downhill.[6] Faced with the eventually of Pocoloco getting ahead and having his horse rested doesn't sit well with Gyro, who throws his Steel Ball at a nearby rock formation to create a small rockslide and get Pocoloco away from his cow skin. However, Gyro accidentally hinders Sandman's path as he was on the rock formation at the time.[7] In the final 2,000 meters, Sandman is the one who takes the lead. Frustrated, Gyro accelerates. In the final kilometer, the race then becomes a dash between Sandman, Gyro, Pocoloco, Johnny and Diego. Gyro then turns his cape into a sail, fixing it with the Steel Balls. Helped by the tailwind, Gyro is the first to cross the finish line of the first stage.[8] Unfortunately, Gyro will be disqualified from the victory because of his hindrance on Sandman.

During the Steel Ball Run

As a horse, Valkyrie mostly serves as a mount for Gyro to complete his race. By Johnny's estimation, Gyro and Valkyrie travel an average of 50 to 70 kilometers each day, taking care to find shade to rest during the hottest part of the day in the desert as to preserve the horses and let them sleep standing up, while also avoiding travelling by night so they don't encounter venomous animals or hurt themselves on poisonous plants. At night, Gyro would brush Valkyrie for several hours so as to keep it clean and free of disease, as well as massage its muscles.[9] Thankfully for Valkyrie, it is mostly ignored during Gyro's various battles, as Gyro confronts his enemies without his horse or is dismounted by an attack, allowing Valkyrie to get away unharmed. Valkyrie is a significant factor in several battles.

During the "Scary Monsters" story arc, Diego Brando and Dr. Ferdinand turn a whole village into dinosaurs, but Slow Dancer and Valkyrie manage to evade the beasts and go back to their masters.[10]

Johnny and Gyro then ride safely toward the end of the third stage. As every competitor races to finish first, Gyro and Diego try to take a shortcut through the lake between them and Canon City instead of going around it. Johnny goes back to the short while Gyro persists in his path and closely follows Diego. Out of the water, Valkyrie shows he is exhausted but is still running behind. To help his horse, Gyro throws away everything he carries and even uses the Spin to wring the water out of his body. Still, Diego sneakily spits a gastrolith and makes it rebound into Valkyrie's leg. Wounded, the horse slows down and Diego stays ahead of Gyro. Johnny nonetheless finishes before Diego. Surprisingly, Johnny isn't the stage winner: the racer Hot Pants has already crossed the finish line some time before.[11]

Gyro and Johnny defeat Diego, though he is sure to return

Near Kansas City, Gyro and Johnny meet Sandman who warns them of an incoming tempest to pay back his unjustified win in the first stage. Yet, when Sandman informs them of Diego's route, they decide to run after him.[12] In the storm, the duo finally catch up to Diego. Diego is systemically using the optimal route and seem to be unbeatable in this race, but Gyro takes the initiative and challenges Diego. Still, Diego's optimal route choice only widens the gap between them. Instead of confronting Diego, Gyro decides to listen to his instincts and choose the path that is right for him. Gyro empties his mind of all distractions and seeks his own path... and then comes back to reality, and has quasi-miraculously caught up to Diego. Diego turns fleas into small dinosaurs to bit Valkyrie near the eye, then tries to whip Valkyrie, but the horse takes the whip from him. From behind, Johnny guesses that Diego is attacking somehow and intervenes, aiming at Diego with his nails. Diego attacks Johnny but Gyro intervenes. He throws a Steel Ball at Diego, who's fooled into not seeing the Ball is going slowly because of its speed relative to his horse. The Ball hits Diego in the face. Not only is the British unhorsed, but his horse Silver Bullet is injured, putting him temporarily out of the race. Gyro hits and yells at Johnny for robbing him of a square victory and apologizes afterwards.

During the "Silent Way" story arc, Johnny and Gyro are dismounted on the shores of the Mississippi river. Slow Dancer and Valkyrie are somehow able to cross the river by themselves.[13]

In Philadelphia, Gyro explains to Johnny that there is another level to the Spin. Explaining the story of horse stirrups, Gyro states that it is possible to harness the energy of the horse and create a much more powerful Spin. Thankfully, both of them are accomplished horse riders and Spin users. With that information in mind, the heroes manage to catch up to Funny Valentine and even though Valentine is blessed by the Saint's Corpse an a wall of light cancels most attacks, at one point some of Valentine's hair has stuck itself to Gyro's Steel Ball, meaning that it is possible to attack through the light. Gyro tells Johnny to let their horses gallop at their most natural pace, which will create a natural Golden Rectangle from which the duo can create the Super Spin. Near the Atlantic Ocean, when Gyro and Valkyrie charge Valentine, the harnessed Spin allows Gyro to awaken the Stand Ball Breaker. Unfortunately, Gyro's attack is imperfect and Valentine kills him.[14]

After the race is over, Johnny brings the horse back to Naples.[15]

Chapters / Episodes

Manga Appearances
Chapters in order of appearance
Part 7Part 8

Video Games

Valkyrie makes an appearance in All-Star Battle on PlayStation 3, Eyes of Heaven on PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4, and All-Star Battle R on various consoles. In all three games, it is a technical playable character through Gyro, who uses the "Mounted" gameplay style. While mounted, Gyro can use supplementary special attacks as well as gallop to move faster. However, he cannot gather the Corpse Parts while mounted.

Gallery

Volumes CoverChaptersVideo Games

References

  1. ↑ Steel Ball Run Chapter 6: The Dried-Up River; Diego Brando, p.11
  2. ↑ Jump up to: 2.0 2.1 Steel Ball Run Chapter 85: Ball Breaker, Part 3
  3. ↑ Steel Ball Run Chapter 5: 1st Stage: 15,000 Meters
  4. ↑ Steel Ball Run Chapter 6: The Dried-Up River; Diego Brando
  5. ↑ Steel Ball Run Chapter 8: Crossing the Forest
  6. ↑ Steel Ball Run Chapter 9: Long, Long Downhill
  7. ↑ Steel Ball Run Chapter 10: The Final Stretch: 2,000 Meters Left
  8. ↑ Steel Ball Run Chapter 11: The Final Stretch: 1,000 Meters Left
  9. ↑ Steel Ball Run Chapter 55: The Victor's Qualifications
  10. ↑ Steel Ball Run Chapter 31: Scary Monsters, Part 4
  11. ↑ Steel Ball Run Chapter 32: 3rd Stage Goal: Cañon City
  12. ↑ Tusk story arc
  13. ↑ Steel Ball Run Chapter 44: Silent Way, Part 5
  14. ↑ Steel Ball Run Chapter 83: Ball Breaker, Part 1
  15. ↑ Steel Ball Run Chapter 95: The World of Stars and Stripes - Outro

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