Absalom
Absalom (アブサロム, Abusaromu) is a primary antagonist featured in the light novel The Genesis of Universe, based on Stardust Crusaders. He particularly appears in the first chapter, "The Train from the Desert to Hell City".
Absalom is a desert nomad who harbors deep hatred for the civilized world. He is the older brother of Michal. They are ordered by DIO to assassinate the Joestar Group. Absalom wields Satanic Coupler, a train-like Stand.
Appearance
Absalom is a young man with brown skin coming from the native communities of the Egyptian desert. He has a strong jaw and short unkempt hair. Absalom wears a nondescript tunic but illustrations show that he also wears a dark hat and several jewels, notably bracelets, earrings and a necklace with a distinctive larger plate at the center decorated with a star.
Personality
Absalom carries with him great hatred and fixation with civilization, even willing to kill himself for a world without it as well as kill and torture civilized people. But such a strong disdain wasn't always present: as a child, he was extremely obsessed with the civilized world, taking any opportunity to learn more about it, and even being ashamed of himself for living in a desert village. His fascination with it ended during his trip to Cairo when he was 17. The bus that he and his family were on was hit by a train, causing him and his sister, Michal, severe injuries and killing his parents. Since the wealthy were treated first, the doctors came too late for Michal, and she lost her ability to speak. Seeing the dark side of civilization changed Absalom to his core. He soon met DIO, who, after curing Michal, became his subject of worship. He began thinking that he no longer belonged to neither the modern world nor the desert, but to the world of DIO.
In spite of his vicious hatred of civilization, Absalom keeps his obsession with trains, which he considers to be the pinnacle of civilization's achievements. While fighting the Joestar group, he extracts their memories to modify and modernize Satanic Coupler and takes great joy in it. Being a nomad, Absalom has many gaps in his knowledge of locomotives, which he is eager to fill.
Despite getting along extremely well with Michal since they were kids and being quite protective of her, Absalom often misses her obvious signs of discomfort and fear when he puts her in stressful situations. He sometimes even yells at her when overtaken with strong emotions, but he usually quickly regrets it.
Absalom is a sadistic and cruel man. While fighting the Joestar group, to his disservice, he doesn't kill them immediately, but tortures them, intending to give them a painful death. He is also extremely emotional and easy to anger. But, since his behavior is caused by a deep psychological trauma, his brutality is partly a facade. In reality, he does care for other people to an extent but tries not to show it. After he and Michal are defeated by the Joestar group, the villagers come to defend them. Absalom is moved to tears, finally realizing that there is a place where he and his sister belong.
Abilities
Stand
Absalom's Stand Satanic Coupler can solidify and displace matter in order to form a powerful train. It can read the memories of passengers present in the train to enhance itself based on what the passenger thinks trains are like. For example, the Stand gets a ferocious appearance because Iggy thinks trains are monstrous.
History
Background
Absalom was raised in the deserts of Egypt but was ashamed of the uncivilized life he had. He got along incredibly well with his family. He would sometimes watch mirages with his sister, Michal. Absalom was a clever and curious boy who would often bother adults with excessive questions. In his childhood, Absalom was attracted to civilization, particularly to trains (even dreaming of driving one), and believing that "the human being can only find happiness in a civilized society". He would collect stories about civilization from passing caravans and travelers.
However he became disappointed even with the civilized men and began hating civilization four years ago when his parents died during a family trip in a train accident in Cairo. In that accident, his sister Michal lost her voice because of throat injuries. What shocked him the most is that the inhabitants only helped those they knew and the wealthy first, leaving him and Michal last because they were from the desert. Disillusioned with civilization, he and Michal then met DIO who healed Michal and convince Absalom to work for him. They both pledged loyalty to DIO, as he promised to create a new world different from both the desert and the civilized ones if the Joestar group is killed. His Stand, Satanic Coupler, represents his fixation and hatred with civilization.
The Genesis of Universe
The Joestar Group encounters Satanic Coupler after wandering the desert for the past three days. When 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. Having little choice and sure that this is not a mirage, the rest of the group board the train. As Satanic Coupler leaves, Polnareff and Joseph are complaining about the stale air and shaking. Before even finishing their sentences, they feel the air becoming fresher and the shaking being stopped. Absalom introduces himself and his train through the speakers and announces the time of arrival at their destination. The sandstorm stops an hour before arriving at the 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 under Absalom's full control.
Satanic Coupler rushes through the mirage, constructing its own rails. 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. While Absalom is boasting, Jotaro asks what would happen if the train was attacked from outside instead. He doesn't answer the question, but instead declares that they're going to die inside. 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.
Absalom is enraged and humiliated. Satanic Coupler turns from red to black. Jotaro, Polnareff, and Iggy turn left into a narrow alley, followed by the train, smashing through the walls. The three 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. He turns to Michal and berates her for calling back her Stand, but promptly apologizes for losing his temper. Satanic Coupler vanishes beyond the line of the horizon in search of the three.
About a day later, Satanic Coupler is again transformed into a more modern train, much to Absalom's delight. Michal, afraid, hands out food to Joseph, Kakyoin, and Avdol, who are still constrained by the Stand. Absalom proclaims his intention to keep them alive to make them see the painful deaths of Jotaro and Polnareff. Avdol ironically points out Michal's lack of enthusiasm regarding the upcoming events. Absalom, enraged, kicks Avdol's side, scaring the girl even more.
When Jotaro, Polnareff, and Iggy depart in search of Absalom, 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 a boy 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 proclaims that the harm he does doesn't matter, as he doesn't belong to neither the civilization nor the desert, but the world of DIO. Absalom charges at Jotaro.
As the battle 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. Absalom and Michal are in shock. Absalom, pale and drenched in sweat, yells at Michal to use Dark Mirage. She takes a step back with a perplexed look in her eyes. Absalom tells her that they only have DIO to turn to, and the only way to show their devotion is to kill the Joestar group. Michal, with watering eyes, silently nods, and the mirages begin to appear. 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. Absalom, with a wicked smile, revs up the engine.
Jotaro, Joseph, Avdol, and Kakyoin find themselves in the middle of a two-hundred-metre-long corridor, quietly anticipating the next attack. Satanic Coupler knocks down a wall begins persuing the group, dodging their attacks by digging through the walls. While discussing their plan of action, Jotaro hears the train crashing through a wall 50 meters away from them and comes to the conclusion that Absalom is just hitting the hallway randomly. After running about a hundred meters, they reach a stairway and, as per Avdol's suggestion, head to a warehouse. Avdol melts the door of the warehouse, and they get in. Satanic Coupler begins circling the warehouse, steadily coming closer. It makes a sharp turn towards them as they disperse. Joseph uses Hermit Purple to detach his prosthetic arm. When Satanic Coupler makes a turn, Joseph throws the arm under the wheels, spilling oil everywhere. Without any friction, the train couldn't move. 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. Polnareff says that he can help him with that but notices something coming from Absalom to Avdol. Absalom explains that he has sent a microscopic version of his Stand inside Avdol's body and that, if his psychic link with it ends, the boiler will explode. Jotaro tells Absalom that the child he had hit earlier will be saved, he responds with relief. Then, as if ashamed of his previous answer, he begins to assert that he doesn't care. Jotaro shrinks Star Platinum and uses Star Finger to destroy the boiler. Absalom pukes out more blood and asks why they haven't killed him yet. Jotaro responds that he wants to give him a chance to redeem himself and mentions that, after they kill DIO, he and his sister will have nowhere to go. 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. Absalom, left alone with Michal, cries as he realizes that there is a place where he and his sister belong.[1]
Quotes
Quotes- “Well, well... You wish to play with Absalom, hmmm? But you'll pay for this mistake with your life! I'll crush you to death! I'll turn you into a pulp and feed you to the pigs!”—Absalom, JoJo's Bizarre Adventure (Novel)
Gallery
Michal, Absalom and The Scribe Ani
Absalom and Michal
Absalom and Satanic Coupler
