A detailed chronological summary of the life of Iggy from Stardust Crusaders.
Background
A pure breed with a certificate, Iggy was originally bought by a rich man when he was a puppy. As he grew older, he began to believe humans are stupid and decided to leave home. He was eventually found by Muhammad Avdol in the street slums of New York acting as the king of the stray dogs.[1] Only Avdol was able to come close to him, as ordinary dog catchers were attacked by his Stand.
In the light novel Iggy the Stray Dog, Iggy's backstory is explained in more detail. Iggy was a Boston Terrier bred and initially raised by a breeder. The Speedwagon Foundation investigators determined that Iggy's parents or siblings didn't have any special ability. A wealthy man named "Mr. Electra" or "Mr. E" from Brooklyn adopted Iggy to show off his fortune and brought the dog to his home to live alongside five other dogs. However, the man wasn't an affectionate lover and merely wanted Iggy for decoration.
One day, while Iggy was young and strolling around in Mr. E's large garden, he notices a sand pit and urinates into it before instinctively kicking sand over it. Some of the sand flies onto Mr. E's feet. Greatly offended, Mr. E grabs a handful of sand and throws it at Iggy. Iggy stops getting along with Mr. E after that, and Mr. E also treats him differently from the other dogs. When giving the other dogs a meal, Iggy's plate would be full of sand instead. Iggy would deliberately avoid Mr. E and also became headstrong and insolent, refusing to obey Mr. E's orders and scoffing while other dogs would show their bellies.
One morning, Mr. E wakes up to find his pillow and sheets covered in a thin layer of sand. Later, he tries drinking tea but the teapot is also full of sand. Iggy had learned to manipulate sand and would cause incidents all around the mansion. He would find ways to sneakily go into the pantry and eat in secret, escape when locked up in a room, and always managed to flee whenever he was being chased around the house.
Iggy grew to look down on everybody in the house, and also didn't get along with the other dogs. One of Mr. E's servants, a young Asian woman, is assigned to walk Iggy and notes Iggy's interest in coffee-flavored gum. She buys some for the dog, who loves chewing on it so much that he even keeps the wrapper with him the first time. Eventually, Iggy disappears from Mr. E's mansion and robs a store to steal gum. Iggy doesn't return to the mansion and ends up in Manhattan, while Mr. E doesn't care and buys a replacement dog.[2]
Stardust Crusaders
The Nile River, Egypt
Iggy came to the scene aboard a Speedwagon-sponsored helicopter in the middle of the Egyptian desert, brought by the Speedwagon Foundation to help in the battle against DIO. Polnareff, being cocky and intrigued about their new partner, becomes the target of the ferocity that Iggy is infamous for, after disturbing his slumber. The pilots and Avdol were only able to control him because of one unlikely treat: coffee-flavored chewing gum.
Because of how he attacked Polnareff, everyone, especially Jotaro, had doubts about the suitability of Iggy's companionship. Iggy also didn't want to take part in a battle that had nothing to do with him. Their questioning grew deeper when they were attacked by N'Doul in the middle of the desert. Iggy ran from the battle, showing his cowardice and lack of intention to help. They misinterpreted Iggy's pursuit of N'Doul's trail for cowardice.
Jotaro grasps Iggy in his hand, forcing Iggy to cooperate before N'Doul's Geb attacked them both. Left with no choice, Iggy took Jotaro to the enemy, but in the middle of their pursuit, Iggy decided to leave Jotaro behind to be killed alone. Jotaro then threw Iggy at N'Doul, distracting the enemy enough and leading him to his eventual defeat. Jotaro ends up forgiving Iggy, saying he, too, wouldn't like to be dragged in a war he had nothing to do with himself. Iggy decided to accompany the group and earn their trust, even though Polnareff still believed he would run away in the end.
Going Up the Nile
Iggy doesn't do much during their journey but unintentionally helps the group several times. In Aswan, he saved them from drinking Oingo's poisoned tea and makes his plan to blow up Jotaro with a bomb hidden in an orange peel backfire, as he picks up the bomb and brings it to Oingo (disguised as Jotaro). When Oingo tries to leave the scene, Polnareff threw the bomb after him because Iggy put his mouth on it.
In Edfu, Iggy accidentally saves Jotaro from Anubis's last assassination attempt. When Anubis possesses a young boy, Iggy makes the boy trip as he grabs the boy's candy, making Anubis fall into the Nile.
In Cairo, Iggy also defeats Boingo without even knowing he was an enemy Stand user. After Hol Horse was hospitalized by another backfired plan, Boingo kicks a crate and accidentally hits Iggy, which makes the dog furious enough to attack Boingo.
Cairo, Egypt
While the Joestar Group looks for DIO's Mansion, Iggy wanders in the streets of Cairo and fatefully comes across the building itself. When two dogs come snarling, Iggy intimidates them and the dogs decide to go for a weaker prey. Spotting the shadow of a bird from under a door, the dogs crawl inside the property, only for Iggy to see their heads flying, impaled on an ice spike while their bodies are forcibly dragged inside. A falcon then appears, watching Iggy suspiciously. However, the falcon then spots the beggar and creates an icicle large enough to crush the beggar. As the falcon flies around, Iggy realizes it is a Stand user protecting the mansion and that it may come for him next. Indeed, the falcon Pet Shop is the wielder of the Stand Horus.
Pet Shop sets his attention again on Iggy, who tries to play dumb as he doesn't want to get involved in the disputes of humans he doesn't care about. However, a young boy comes looking for his dogs. Seeing his dogs' collars, the boy tries to crawl under the gate of the mansion too and gets attacked by Pet Shop too. However, Iggy comes to the rescue, not having the heart to let a dog-loving kid be killed. After helping the kid escape, Iggy confronts Pet Shop but is taken by surprise when Pet Shop freezes the ground and shoots icicles at him. Iggy is forced to flee but the eagle-eyed falcon easily spots him and pursues him down to a sewer. However, when Pet Shop shoots Iggy, it turns out Iggy was a clone made of sand. Iggy comes out of the shadows and has The Fool claw at the bird. Satisfied, Iggy calls it a draw, but the injured, Pet Shop decides to deploy the full strength of his Horus, turning the whole sewer into an icy world. In the humid environment, Iggy finds himself at a huge disadvantage. When Iggy's paw is frozen in place, the dog must bite off a paw to escape into the Nile.
At the bottom of the Nile, Iggy takes refuge under a protective dome of sand. However, Pet Shop can swim. He finds the dome and threatens to shoot the dog with icicles. The Fool manages to deflect an icicle toward Pet Shop, but the bird then tries to crush the dome beneath a mass of ice. The dog digs to escape but he then stumbles another tunnel where Pet Shop await, charging an icicle to kill him at close range. In a desperate act, Iggy lets the dome behind him collapse and makes the surge of pressure push him forward. That way, he clamps Pet Shop's beak shut and the icicle makes Pet Shop's beak explode. Exhausted from a lack of blood and coming close to drowning, Iggy reminisces his life as the king of the stray dogs in New York. Thankfully, he is ultimately rescued by the boy he protected earlier.
Iggy is subsequently found by a fully recovered Kakyoin, who reunites with the group after having a Speedwagon Foundation doctor treat Iggy's injuries. After a short but cheerful reunion, Iggy decides to lead them to DIO's Mansion, where Telence T. D'Arby welcomes them and abducts Jotaro, Joseph and Kakyoin.
Battle in DIO's Mansion
After waiting for ten minutes, Avdol, Polnareff and Iggy decide to enter the mansion. Iggy and Avdol team up in the illusory maze created by Tenore Sax inside the mansion to track down and rapidly defeat Kenny G. However, the group is ambushed by Vanilla Ice, one of DIO's last servants. Avdol shoves his companions aside but is killed.
Vanilla Ice has disintegrated Avdol, forcing him into Cream's mouth, and is now targeting Polnareff and Iggy. Cream becomes an invincible and invisible ball of destruction that's flying after them and they must flee. Iggy and Polnareff arrive at the art gallery but see the gaping hole on the floor, meaning Vanilla Ice is there. Although they cover each other's back, Polnareff is ambushed from below and Vanilla Ice takes his left foot. Iggy and Polnareff then devise a plan to trick Vanilla Ice. Iggy and Polnareff hide in the stairs and Iggy creates a "DIO" made of sand to fool Vanilla Ice. Unfortunately, Vanilla Ice sees through the trick as the real DIO wouldn't have come to a place where the sun's rays are still visible. Vanilla Ice singles out Iggy and proceeds to violently beat him up for making him strike at DIO's image. Polnareff continues the fight and manages to inflict a mortal wound, but it seems that Vanilla Ice refuses to die.
Polnareff then brings Iggy close to him. Cream begins to make circles around Polnareff, aiming to eventually reach and disintegrate him. Polnareff puts Iggy in a safe spot but fails to escape. A dying Iggy summons The Fool to help Polnareff but the Frenchman tells him to stay safe instead. The Polnareff salutes the dog as Cream approaches, but Iggy spends the last of his strength to lift Polnareff with The Fool, allowing Polnareff to ambush Vanilla Ice. Iggy dies but Polnareff is able to expose Vanilla Ice to the sunlight and kill him, because he had become a Vampire. After Ice's defeat, the souls of Iggy and Avdol are seen floating in the golden sky. Sharing one last glance at Polnareff, the two fallen crusaders ascend into the afterlife.
Spin-Offs
The Genesis of Universe
The Train from the Desert to Hell City
After the fight with N'Doul, the Joestar Group is forced to traverse the desert on foot with little remaining water while being assaulted by the scorching heat and the blinding sunlight. They decide to stop and rest so that Joseph can treat Kakyoin's wounds. They pass around the remaining flask of water, with Iggy drinking the last drops. On the horizon, they see a city, one of the numerous mirages they've seen in the past three days. They get up and continue walking. From the mirage, a black oil tanker begins moving through the sky towards them. It passes over them and disappears on the opposite side of the horizon. Polnareff begins to doubt his sanity, but Joseph points out that the water that has fallen from the ship is real. The group comes to the conclusion that they are being attacked by a Stand. On the same day, a fuel tank truck and a medieval European castle fly over them.
At night, the group is besieged by a sandstorm. As they continue walking, the wind becomes weaker, as if it's being blocked by a large object. To their surprise, that object turns out to be a working diesel locomotive. Joseph convinces his allies that they have no other choice but to board the train. Jotaro steps into the locomotive. The LED message panel lights up, saying that at the last stop, Hell City, they will be connected to an express train to Aswan, their destination. The rest of the group board the train.
As the train leaves, the driver, Absalom, introduces himself and his train, Satanic Coupler, through the speakers. The sandstorm stops an hour before arriving at their destination and is immediately replaced by a mirage, which manifests itself as countless pieces of the United States. The group's attempts to stop or escape the train prove to be in vain, as the train is in Absalom's full control. The Joestar group unleashes their Stands and begins pummeling the insides of the train. It was, however, to no success as the train morphed and expanded to cushion the blows. From Satanic Coupler emerge numerous tentacles, wrapping around the group and releasing a paralizing liquid. The walls of the train become transparent to reveal a nightmarish mirage of a city. Absalom, with uncharacteristic aggression, declares his desire to cruelly punish the civilized men before they die.
Satanic Coupler has already been moving through the city for several hours. After another announcement from Absalom, the tentacles, wrapped around the Joestar group, begin pumping out their blood, extracting information from their brains. The train begins to transform, becoming more modern. On top of that, Iggy’s perception of locomotives as monsters causes the train to grow horns and quills all over its surface. Jotaro and Polnareff coincidentally come up with the same plan; they begin pumping the Stand with advantageous information. The tentacles retract, and the fixed windows change into manual-opening windows. Jotaro and Polnareff escape successfully with Iggy, but Joseph, Avdol, and Kakyoin react too late, and the windows become fixed again. The three land safely on the pavement, using their Stands to cushion the fall. Satanic Coupler abruptly stops and begins moving towards them. They turn left into a narrow alley, followed by the train, smashing through the walls. They run into a dead end, so Jotaro tells Iggy to call out his Stand. He grabs The Fool as it extends its huge wings and steers it towards Satanic Coupler's cabin. The Fool crashes into the windshield, terrifying Michal, accompanying Absalom, into recalling her Stand. Jotaro and Polnareff, now surrounded by a desert, use their Stands to create a wave of sand, which briefly engulfs the train. Absalom regains vision after two or three seconds, but the three are now out of his sight. He assumes that they went flying into the air with The Fool. Satanic Coupler vanishes beyond the line of the horizon in search of the three. Jotaro, Polnareff, and Iggy emerge from the sand, covered by Jotaro's uniform.
The three wander the desert until the sun sets. They arrive at the foot of a dune before collapsing from exhaustion. They are found by a young nomad. He notifies his village, and the men and the dog are brought there. They are offered water and food and quickly regained their physical and mental vigor.
Jotaro, Polnareff, and Iggy receive some water and food from the old man and depart before sunrise. They see Satanic Coupler advancing towards them at full speed. They manage to dodge by a hair but are flung into the air by the shock wave. When they recover, Jotaro hears a terrified scream coming from Polnareff. He turns to see the boy from earlier blocking the way of the train. With a loud thud, the boy is flung into the air before Absalom stops the train. Jotaro tells the enraged Polnareff to bring the boy to the village while he fights Absalom. Polnareff picks up the boy and heads to the oasis. Absalom charges at Jotaro. He throws himself on the ground to avoid the shockwave, Iggy hides in his pocket.
As the battle against Absalom goes on, Jotaro's moves become slow, and the uniform is covered in tears and Jotaro's blood. Satanic Coupler manages to cut Jotaro's hand, causing him to cry out in pain. Absalom prepares to deal a killing blow but notices that there are two Jotaros. The one on the right looked slightly unusual, but Absalom, in his confusion, couldn't tell. They run in opposite directions, and Absalom unconsciously pushes the brakes. Absalom decides to pursue the Jotaro on the right, since he has slower movements. When he is hit with the train's spikes, the right Jotaro splits in half and disintegrates into sand. Meanwhile, the real Jotaro had already reached the train's coupler and had now separated the locomotive from the passenger car. Absalom screams in desperation and stops the train with a turnabout. In a flash, the passenger car turns into a pile of steel beams with Joseph, Avdol, and Kakyoin. Michal activates her Stand, Dark Mirage. Cisterns, factories, chimney stacks, intire office districts begin raining down, forming an industrial zone as maddening as the mirage-city. Following Joseph's suggestion, they run to the buildings in the newly formed industrial area.
They eventually arrive at a warehouse while being chased by Absalom. Joseph uses oil from his prosthetic arm to remove friction from the rails. Jotaro unleashes Star Platinum’s barrage of punches on the underside of Satanic Coupler. It shatters into a thousand pieces and disappears bit by bit. At the same time, Polnareff strikes Michal, which causes the mirage to dissolve completely.
Michal is unconscious, while Absalom is spitting out blood, telling the Joestar group that he’ll give up only when he dies. Absalom sends a microscopic version of his Stand inside Avdol's body; if his psychic link with it ends, the boiler will explode. Jotaro shrinks his Stand and uses Star Finger to destroy the boiler. Suddenly the villagers appear, and, after witnessing the scene, the elder decides that the Joestar group are the subjects of a devil called Ababasubombo. He says that Absalom and Michal are very precious to them, so he and the other villagers drive them off.
On the evening of the fifth day, the Joestar group put an end to their battle. They continue their journey, heading to a city at the base of the mountains, ten kilometers away.
Eyes of Heaven
When Heaven-Attained DIO starts to rewrite reality, Iggy is among the people who are resurrected and brainwashed into becoming DIO's servants.
Thus Iggy and a similarly brainwashed Muhammad Avdol attack the heroes, starting with Jean Pierre Polnareff on his plane just before takeoff, at Cairo's airport. They eventually follow Polnareff to the lobby and confront Jotaro Kujo, Joseph Joestar and also Robert E. O. Speedwagon. They explain they have been sent but keep DIO's identity a secret.
To avoid endangering civilians, the heroes fight Avdol and Iggy on the rooftops of Cairo. They are beaten but suddenly disappear. Avdol and Iggy reappear later, at Air Supplena Island in 1939, where they are beaten and restored to their right mind.
DIO springs a trap and Iggy is among the 36 souls that DIO absorbs in order to attain even greater power. Fortunately, Jotaro defeats DIO once and for all, altering fate for the better.
When Jotaro finds himself back at Cairo Airport. Polnareff announces that he will be watching over their injured friends who have now survived their battles, including Iggy.
References
- ↑ Chapter 224: The Gatekeeper of Hell, Pet Shop, Part 3
- ↑ Iggy the Stray Dog Chapter 3