A detailed chronological summary of the life of Johnny Joestar.
Early Years
Jonathan "Johnny" Joestar, nicknamed "Joe Kid", was born in a family of former aristocrats in Danville, Kentucky – his father, George Joestar, was a wealthy owner of several farms and an acclaimed horse trainer who had won the Triple Crown seven times. He was successful enough for the family to live comfortably in England for several years.[1]
Johnny was five when he first rode a horse. George, upon seeing Johnny observe the motions of the horse, considered him "a horse riding genius", which Johnny himself would also believe.[2] However, Mr. Joestar was strict towards Johnny and always seemed to favor his older brother Nicholas.
When young Johnny took out his pet mouse Danny and secretly fed it under the table during dinner, George, upon discovering it, ordered Johnny to drown the animal as punishment. Heartbroken, Johnny was unable to bring himself to do the deed, and followed Nicholas' suggestion to set Danny free into the woods instead.
Years later, Nicholas grew into a promising jockey-to-be, much admired by Johnny. One day, Nicholas' horse stumbled from something on the ground, costing Nicholas his life. Johnny saw a white mouse run from the commotion into the woods – a mouse he believed to be Danny.[1] Seven years later, it was Johnny who rose to fame as a racing prodigy. He was pampered greatly: people would bring him riches, politicians and royalty would visit him, and rich girls would sleep with him. George still did not acknowledge him and his feats, possibly because Johnny never managed to beat Diego Brando at racing.
One day, the bottom of Johnny's boots began to fall off, so he returned home to use Nicholas' boots. However, George confronted Johnny, claiming that the hole in Johnny's boot is his responsibility and to not use his dead brother's boots. This leads to a violent fight between Johnny and George. After being impaled by some glass, George uttered that "God had taken the wrong son" before finally throwing Johnny out of the household. Still, this did not deter Johnny, and he would go on to win the Kentucky Derby at a tender age of sixteen.[3]At one point, while waiting in line for a play, the girl he was with convinced him to cut to the front of the line and bribed the bouncers to throw out the youth in the front of the line - who had been waiting through the night.
The youth shot Johnny in the spine, paralyzing him from the waist down and sending him to a hospital where he was physically abused. Having lost all the friends and respect he had earned as a jockey, no one visited him during his stay in the hospital.[4] Johnny lives in this state for approximatively two years.
Meeting Gyro Zeppeli
Johnny is drawn to the site of the Steel Ball Run race's start, for reasons even he doesn't truly understand. Johnny first appears among the crowd who witness the confrontation between Gyro Zeppeli and a pickpocket who had stolen money from him. Afterward, when Johnny follows and touches the Steel Ball Gyro had used, which was still spinning, his legs moved enough to allow him to stand for a brief moment. Johnny chases after Gyro, who prevents him from touching the Steel Ball again but touches his hand with his palm, causing a reflex movement making him grab a wooden beam on a nearby house. Gyro compliments his upper body strength, but denies that the Steel Ball can enable him to walk again. However, Johnny is not deterred; he decides to chase down Gyro by entering the race to learn more about the Steel Balls and starts by trying to ride a horse. He completes his subscription and purchases Slow Dancer, an aging appaloosa.
Johnny's initial attempts at mounting his horse are unsuccessful. He is unable to climb the saddle and the untamed horse drags him by the saddle in the dirt and tramples him through an entire day's attempt at trying to tame it. What more, a piece of wood has pierced his leg. Nonetheless, Johnny also made sure not to be interrupted in his attempts to tame him, threatening the men who introduced him to the horse that he would set himself on fire and commit suicide if he is forced out of the pen.
Still unsuccessful, Johnny still makes himself be dragged to the starting line, where he meets Gyro again and reiterates his will to find the secret of the Steel Ball. Impressed, Gyro gives him a hint and Johnny understands that the secret resides in the Balls' rotation. It is shown that Johnny has tamed Slow Dancer, as it is seen licking his cheek and obeying Johnny's command to lick him again. Johnny, after taking Gyro's hint to use the spin, rolls back over Slow Dancer's neck and onto the saddle, right as the Steel Ball Run starts.[5]
The First Stage
During the first stage, Johnny steadily follows Gyro, determined to impress him during this stage. For the most part, Johnny stays behind Gyro among the lead riders and observes Gyro as he takes down opponents. When Gyro decides to cross a dense forest as a shortcut, he decides to dash in too, clashing with Pocoloco briefly. In here, Johnny notes that Pocoloco's riding is amateurish and misinterprets Pocoloco's eyes closing as an attempt to let his horse naturally take the best course of action. Johnny instead rides his horse and makes it jump abose some branches, managing to keep up. While Johnny has superior skill, Pocoloco's luck sends him to the second position nonetheless.
Until the final 1,000 meters, Johnny remains unchallenged until Diego comes behind him. Seeing that Diego is using other riders as a windshield, Johnny purposefully breaks the windshield attack by making Slow Dancer sink, kick pebbles at Diego, and then accelerates to get away from him. Nonetheless, Johnny finishes at the fifth place.
Still determined to follow the Neapolitan rider, Johnny impresses Gyro enough for him to give him a second lesson in the Spin. Telling him that the secret resides in the rotation, Gyro gives Johnny a rock to rotate and forms a partnership with him. From now on, they ride together and plan to finish together as the winners of the Steel Ball Run.[6]
Gyro's Past & Tusk
At the start of the second stage, Johnny takes a look at the Arizona desert's map and warns Gyro that they will cross a truly hostile land where there is a true risk of death of thirst and the waterholes are few. He proposes they follow the advised route linking them to a water hole 50km from the starting line. However when Gyro decides to cut through 150 km of desert, Johnny has no choice but to follow him. Another competitor, Mrs. Robinson, follows them.
Six hours into the second stage, Johnny and Gyro momentarily stop to verify that they are on the right path, although Gyro hastily assures Johnny of it, making him nervous. As they carefully navigate the desert trying to keep an eye on Mrs. Robinson, something rapidly flies past them and shoots through Gyro's ear. Soon, they are assailled from all sides by what Johnny discovers to be catcus needles, coming from the explosive cholla cacti scattered in the land. However, they cannot be sure that Robinson, who's keeping away from them, is actually attacking. When a flurry of needles accurately cut his bridle and aim at his face, they is no doubt that Robinson is somehow trying to kill them. Johnny is unhorsed and tells Gyro to go ahead anyway, but Gyro decides to confront Robinson. Robinso reveals that he's breeding a swarm of flies inside of him to send them toward the chollas, but Gyro manages to use the Spin to indirectly defeat him. The two can continue their race.
Night falls, Johnny and Gyro set up camp. Exercicing in the Spin, Johnny manages to create a conclusive rotation with a cork. Gyro spots another horseman, and raises the question of their own security. Johnny searches for his gun in their luggage and accidentally glimpse newspapers cut in Gyro's bag, only to be stopped by Gyro who closes the subject of his past.
Soon, they are approached by Andre Boom Boom, a fellow competitor who claims to have been bitten by a poisonous spotted salamander. Andre asks for some fire to heat his knife. Gyro reluctantly kicks him a branch on fire, and Andre proceeds to sever the poisoned skin while he chokes himself. He seemingly loses consciousness and Gyro nonchalantly kicks his knife away. Gyro immediately notices that his boot has been torn for an unknown reason. Meanwhile, Johnny also looks at the competitors' list and notes that Andre is part of a family of three that are competing too. Indeed, the rest of the Boom Boom Family approaches. Suddenly, Gyro's feet is invaded by steel and the duo realises that they are dealing with enemies that are assassinating the competition. They realise that the Boom Boom's ability is a magnetic power when Johnny's pistol is disassembled and the pieces are attracted to Gyro's feet. Worse, Gyro loses a Steel Ball when he throws one at the patriarch, Benjamin Boom Boom, and it disintegrates. Keeping his calm, Gyro throws his remaining ball at a rock, making a piece of rock shoot through Andre. Nonetheless, the duo must flee. As they move away from the Boom Boom, the magnetisms weakens but Benjamin still manages to splash some of Andre's blood on Johnny and then tricks the cowboy Mountain Tim into thinking Johnny is the culprit of a murder they committed during the first stage.
Soon, Mountain Tim catches up to Johnny and Gyro and the three feel the effects of the magnetism. Realising that they risk death of they collide, Gyro turns the nearby rock to dust rich in iron that hit Mountain Tim. Mountain Tim uses his power Oh! Lonesome Me to tie himself to a rock and the misunderstanding between the three is cleared. Mountain Tim also explains his power and presents the concept of Stands to the pair. The Boom Boom family appears and binds everyone in iron sand. Mountain Tim empties his revolver on L. A. Boom Boom but Benjamin deflects the bullets with his Stand. The heroes are immobilized and Johnny is now the only one who can save them by taking one of Tim's bullets and use the Spin on it. As the three collide, Johnny manages to generate a rotation... which is then stopped as Benjamin stomps his hand. Desperate, Johnny then realises that the rotation is still there and his nails are spinning. Johnny instinctively shoots his nails, which cut Benjamin in two and cut L. A.'s foot after Johnny somehow jumps over him. The Boom Boom Family is defeated. Johnny realises that he's acquired a Stand ability because he's in a Devil's Palm. Angry, L. A. promises that they will be dead as someone from Gyro's country has put a bounty on his head.[7][8] Since he's involved in this battle, Johnny pushes Gyro to reveal his past as an executioner from the Kingdom of Naples, whose effort to win the Steel Ball Run are undermined by enemies of his kingdom.
Johnny, Gyro and Mountain Tim reach a checkpoint town together where they can rest their horses. In here, Gyro notably receives a letter from his kingdom informing him that they have prepared a Zombie Horse for him to use, a tool that will help him heal wounds and fatigue. However, the Napolitan terrorist Oyecomova arrives in town. Due to his ability Boku no Rhythm wo Kiitekure, Oyecomova turns anything he touches into time bombs and he creates an explosion that takes out the hotel. Johnny and Gyro were in a nearby barn and thus are spared the explosion, and a wounded Mountain Tim warns them about Oyecomova but the terrorist sneaks on Gyro and touches his hand. Gyro must sacrifice a leg to endure the explosion with the use of his two hands, but he manages to hit Oyecomova once. Oyecomova leaves to retrieve the Zombie Horse, Johnny and Gyro behind him. In the mountainous area, he is able to turn water, wasps and even smoke into bombs. Despite their efforts to keep up, Oyecomova manages to stay just out of Gyro's effective range. However, as Oyecomova blows out smoke, Johnny puts his spinning nails on a spider web that Oyecomova pulls, expecting to find wasps he can't be harmed with. With the spinning nails near him, they can boost Gyro's Steel Ball by reinforcing its rotation midair and Gyro is able to smash Oyecomova's face with his Steel Balls. The duo is victorious.
In the mountains, Johnny and Gyro finally acquire the Zombie Horse, a string put on the wall of a cliff like a horse fresco. Using the string, Gyro stitches his leg and heals.
Chasing the Corpse Parts
A Miraculous Relic
As Johnny and Gyro continue their journey, they are attacked by another competitor, Fritz von Stroheim. Gyro quickly defeats the German cyborg but Johnny begins to question how important the race prize can be with now several attempts on their lives. Suddenly, Johnny sees a mummified Left Arm fused to his own body, through it quickly fades inside of him. He quickly realises its significance related to his Stand ability and the Devil's Palm.
The duo are in sight of Monument Valley, the end of the second stage. However, Gyro suddenly disappers as Johnny is distracted by a flock of birds. Then, his horse Valkyrie also suddenly disappears. Johnny feels something dragging him upward but saves himself by cutting his hoodie, allowing to stay in the valley, but he only knows that the attacks are coming from above. Slow Dancer then disappears under his nose and he falls to the ground. It is only then that he sees a hook coming out of the underside of a feather. Unable to cut the metal with his spinning nails, Johnny must cut his cheek to free himself but now two hooks are coming back from falling feathers. Chased by the hooks, Johnny shoots the ground to create a dust cloud and use the spinning nails as makeshift wheels to go hide under a nearby rock shelf. Using the reprieve, Johnny analyzes what he's seen and realises that the enemy seems to be seeking something, and is probably after the mummified arm. Indeed, Pork Pie Hat Kid, a Stand User and a subordinate of President Funny Valentine is doing exactly that with his stuff.
Under the rock, Johnny knocks away a scarab, but another hook comes from under it. Johnny is hooked by the two enemy hooks and loses his grip on the rock. Suddenly, a strange creature emerges from his arm, carves the words "movere crus" on his arm, goes to his feet, and makes his toenails spin. This shoots the nails through the scarab directly at the Pork Pie Hat Kid and stops the attack. More importantly, Johnny makes a connection between the Corpse Part and his moving leg and also guesses that the true purpose of the Steel Ball Run race is to gather the other pieces of this Corpse, which seems to have miraculous properties. Johnny sees that a Steel Ball has made a groove on the soil, giving away the direction of the enemy. Determined to save Gyro and keep the Corpse, Johnny decides to fight the enemy and slowly crawls toward Pork Pie Hat Kid's base, covered in earth. To root him out, Pork Pie Hat Kid releases Slow Dancer so that it returns to its rider and then sets the area on fire with oil. However, Johnny carves a crude statue of himself with a piece of wood and tricks the Kid into attacking it, allowing him to shoot through the feathers. As he seemingly defeats his opponent, Johnny dubs his ability "Tusk". When Johnny finally reaches Gyro and the Pork Pie Hat Kid, the latter ambushes him by using Gyro to make his hooks appears. Johnny is unable to attack Pork Pie Hat Kid and must yield or else the both of them die. Devastated, Johnny ejects the arm and loses his Stand. Johnny despairs but then Gyro reveals that he made the nails on the left arm spin too, acting as a trap for Pork Pie Hat Kid who is killed by the nails.
Gyro retakes the arm under Johnny's anxious eyes, but the Napolitan confirms that he isn't after the Corpse but simple victory and gives Johnny back the Left Arm. Johnny and Gyro discuss the true nature of the race, and Gyro theorizes that this Corpse must belong to some saint, knowing that relics can bless entire nations with good luck. That said, Johnny and Gyro resume their race, determined to get the Saint's Corpse or win it respectively.[9]
The other top contenders have arrived. Johnny and Gyro dash toward the finish line, with Diego Brando, Sandman contesting their lead. Incidentally, Johnny stumbles upon a stray newspaper and sees the photo of a montain whose top exactly resembles the word "movere crus" carved on his arm. Gyro is distracted and ends up finishing fourth, behind Sandman in third place, Johnny in second place and Diego in first place. However, the race doesn't pose and the competitor directly enter the 3rd stage: the Rocky Mountain Breakdown, crossing the eponymous mountain chain towards Cannon City.
Scary Monsters
In the Rocky Mountains, Johnny and Gyro meet with an unhorsed and visibly hurt Diego Brando. While Gyro tries to check up on him, Johnny advocates leaving Diego. Indeed, the British jockey even pridely tells them to go away. Soon enough, Diego catches up to them, strangely lively for someone who was wounded moments ago. The three of them decide to spend the night in a village to avoid the cougars. As he prepares the dinner, Johnny notices Diego's strange behaviour and soon enough, he turns into a feral dinosaur. A fight ensues but the dinosaur has an advantage in his kinetic vision allowing it to discern and avoid fast projectiles. Gyro manages to stun the dinosaur with a surprise attack. Both escape the house, still pursued by Diego who breaks out of the house, and notice on the horizon the "movere crus" mountain. As they lead Diego away with a Steel Ball Diego expects to return to Gyro, the duo realize where the next corpse part is.
However, a bear that Diego has killed turns into another dinosaur. The duo hides in a sewer where they are assailled by small rat-dinosaurs. These dinosaurs are killed but manage to mark their odor on the duo. The sewer leads to a cliff, but even there, some raptors are waiting for them and DIO tracks them thanks to the mark. Worse, Johnny and Gyro have been scratched by the dinosaur and slowly begin their own transformation. Noticing that Johnny's metamorphosis into a dinosaur is slowed by the Corpse Part, the duo try to reach the new Corpse Part on a nearby peak. They jump across a ravine and Gyro uses his Steel Ball on a tree to create a rope. However, both are stopped at the last moment by Diego and the horde of dinosaurs. Diego seizes the Eyes and Gyro has turned enough to become an ally to Diego. The true enemy, Valentine's Subordinate Dr. Ferdinand, appears riding a raptor. In a position of strength, Ferdinand calls Johnny out on his petty goals with the Saint's Corpse, not realizing who he is dealing with. To turn the situation around, Johnny relinquishes his Left Arm. He partially transforms into a dinosaur and uses his tail to propel himself towards Ferdinand, knocking the Eyes out of his hands. Gyro gets one of the eyes and is cured. Thanks to his new ability, Gyro can defeat Dr. Ferdinand, who is eaten by cougars he had previously turned. However, Diego gets away with the other Eye and seemingly keeps his dinosaur powers.[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 instead of going around it. Johnny admonishes him, criticizing his lack of real, selfish drive he needs to come out on top. At first, Gyro is angry at Johnny and criticizes him, but Diego manages to come out victorious of this duel. Johnny nonetheless finishes before Diego. Surprisingly, Johnyy isn't the first, the racer Hot Pants has already crossed the finish line some time before.
The Great Plains
The fourth stage begins for Johnny and Gyro: 1250km through the Great Plains to Kansas City. They ride peacefully for about 600 km.
In a forest, Johnny and Gyro find a fresh cow's corpse and take some meat from it. They then meet Hot Pants, the competitor who won the previous stage. Hot Pants attacks them both with his Stand Cream Starter, believing they killed a cow he specially had placed on his route. Cream Starters sprays flesh, which blinds and chokes Gyro and Johnny. Fortunately, Johnny defuses the fight by shooting a nail into the ground, proving that neither of them has the weapon that killed the cow. Hot Pants calls off his attack but doesn't apologize as the two still took meat from the cow. The three go on their separate ways and Gyro mentions that he discerned the word "turbo" during the fight. However, the most important elements are the lines and circles engraved on the letters, from which Gyro guesses a set of coordinates near Kansas City. Suddenly, they notice that they are in sight of the cow carcass again. Likewise, Hot Pants has been going in circles. Johnny, Gyro and Hot Pants are still on bad terms but decide to cooperate to limit their time loss. They see a nearby house and decide to go ask the residents for direction.
However, the three also meet Gaucho, another competitor who is also lost but also expresses anger against the resident of the house, who said that they would have to kill him to ever go out of theses woods. Gaucho shouts and challenges the inhabitant to a gun duel and the gunslinger named Ringo Roadagain appears. After a quick duel, Ringo kills Gaucho and salutes him. Shocked, the three leave and try to go out of the woods again without success. Despite trying to mark their way out, Johnny has somehow managed to carve contradictory directions. Resigned to fight, the trio prepares their fight and Hot Pants throws his Cream Starters onto the house's roof beforehand. They confront Ringo, who asks Johnny to be the first duelist. Hot Pants then attacks and melts Ringo's gun hand, but Ringo uses his power Mandom to rewind time to 6 seconds ago. He avoids the ambush. Johnny attacks but is shot in the head while Hot Pants is shot in the chest and taken out. The near unconscious Johnny manages to signal to Gyro that he's still alive. Lying near Ringo, he witnesses the gunslinger scribing a message and give it to a messenger pigeon. Gyro comes challenging Ringo to a gunfight, and prevails. Then healed by Cream Starter, Johnny warns Gyro about Ringo's message, which contained the coordinates of the next Corpse Part. Also checking on Hot Pants, Johnny sees that Hot Pants is secretly a woman. Deeming her gender irrelevant, Johnny chooses not to disclose this to his partner.[11]
Near Kansas City, Johnny and Gyro meet Sandman who warns them of an incoming tempest. Yet, when Sandman informs them of Diego's route, they decide to run after him. In the storm, Johnny and Gyro finally catch up to Diego. Diego lets them approach once but suddenly turns into a dinosaur and leap above them. He warns the two to stay behind or be killed before he leaves. Johnny sees that Diego is systemically using the optimal route and proposes to wait for a mistake, but Gyro takes the initiative and challenges Diego. From behind, Johnny guesses that Diego is attacking somehow and intervenes, aiming at Diego with his nails. Diego attacks Johnny but Gyro manages to throw a Steel Ball at Diego's face. Diego is unhorsed and his horse Silver Bullet is injured, putting him temporarily out of the race. Gyro yells at Johnny for robbing him of a square victory and apologizes afterwards.[12]
Suddenly, they see Lucy Steel approach. The duo is wary but she shows them the Spine, explains how she discovered Valentine's schemes and begs them to help her husband Steven. However, Johnny hears a change in the sound of the rain and the agent Blackmore appears. Johnny is immobilized by rain blades and tries to shoot Blackmore, but the agent sends his hand push Johnny into the blades. Thankfully, Gyro defeats Blackmore, who then dies from the bullet wounds Lucy inflicted earlier. The Spine enters Johnny's body, which creates a map of the next stage and indicates the location of the next Corpse Parts. Lucy asks for their protection. Instead, Gyro wants Lucy to go steal the Heart from Valentine now that her trail has disappeared. Despite Johnny's protests at sending her, she accepts.[13]
Johnny and Gyro finish the fourth stage in Kansas City in third and fourth place because of their detour. They then see Diego crossing the line, sure that he will get back at them eventually.
Learning the Golden Rectangle
En route for Chicago, the next finish line, Johnny and Gyro ride peacefully for around 300 km.
Near the Mississippi, Johnny and Gyro decide to rest near a barn as other top competitors pass by to think about the way to cross the Mississippi. Gyro thinks of a song, the "Cheese Song", which Johnny seems to appreciate. As they set up camp, the duo discusses a letter the Vatican sent to them. After Gyro asked them if there was any saint who died in America, the letter suspiciously denies it.
Suddenly, Johnny burns himself on the coffee pot and notices that the towel he was holding between the handle and his palm has been mysteriously shredded. Hearing strange noises, the duo notice the presence of an enemy. When Johnny tries to break the barn's door to check inside with an axe, the axeblade is destroyed and Johnny warns Gyro in time about the trapped barn. The barn crumbles but its pieces are still dangerous. While Johnny scares away the horses, Gyro sees Dot Han coming out of the corn field. However, Dot Han is revealed to only be used by the real enemy when they see his body is also getting destroyed. Gyro loses a first Steel Ball against Dot Han. The barn crumbles on Johnny who tries without success to deflect the planks with his nails and Gyro loses his second ball when he tries to deflect the planks too, and the Ball is destroyed. Johnny tries to dig a hole on the ground but it is too shallow and he laments how useless his nails are. Johnny decides to let himself die but the pieces of the destroyed Steel Ball dig a hole for Johnny to hide in. Johnny is alive, but Gyro is out of weapon. As they see dinosaurs with sound effects written on them, the duo now knows that there are dealing with Diego, teamed up with another enemy. For his part, Johnny's confidence is in shambles.
As he hangs onto Gyro's horse, Johnny remembers his sad past and despair takes him. He shoots one of the small dinosaurs into pieces, but its companion then throws the pieces at Valkyrie and Gyro and Johnny are cut. Witnessing this, Johnny understands the ability has something to do with sounds. The duo approaches the Mississippi and they are forced to jump down toward the river bank. The dinosaurs surround the duo, but Gyro has had enough of Johnny's despair and teaches him the next step in the Spin. The Napolitan thus presents the Golden Rectangle, from which a perfect infinite spiral can be made. If Johnny can spin his nails in this ratio then he will be able to harness the power of infinity, but Johnny exclaims that he cannot do it. As the sounds begin to set their bodies on fire, Gyro declares that if Johnny says he cannot do it three more times then he will give him his specially designed belt buckle as a reference. Spinning a rock, Gyro shakes the dinosaurs off them for Johnny to shoot, but the latter sees that his power hasn't increased at all. They both plunge into the river.
Johnny says he cannot use the Golden Rectangle and asks for the buckle, but Gyro still refuses. A new group of creatures has appeared on the river bank and they begin to spread their sound into the water. Gyro tells Johnny to look for a place where there aren't any sound, where the enemy should be able to produce the sounds they want. As Johnny asks for the buckle again and Gyro refuses, Johnny shoots towards a specific piece of the field, uncovering Norisuke Higashikata. To buy more time, Gyro rotates the water to ward off the sound but some of it still passes through and Gyro is dismembered. Despairing, Johnny sees Sandman nearby and calls for help, but Sandman suddenly leaps at Norisuke and stabs him, revealing himself as the true enemy. Johnny reaches his nadir.
However, Johnny realizes that Gyro's ancestors found the Golden Rectangle from deep observation of the nature surrounding them. With this new insight, Johnny is now able to discern the omnipresence of the Golden Rectangle in all things. Tusk evolves. Johnny's nails now rotate around his fingers like an axis, granting them much more power at the cost of a slow nail regeneration. Johnny shoots Sandman who nonetheless deflects the nails. Johnny despairs again but soon sees that the holes the nails make persist, and even move around to pursue and destroy the enemy. Johnny has four shots when Sandman decides to confront him in close quarters. He shoots three nails but Sandman is able to protect himself with his sound. Johnny then shoots his last nail, purposefully missing Sandman and hitting a butterfly behind the Indian so that it lands on him. Nonetheless, Sandman sacrifices his hand to save his heart. Believing Johnny out of ammunition, Sandman approaches Johnny, who reveals that he has created a small Steel Ball out of Gyro's belt buckle. Johnny thus shoots Sandman in the throat, killing him.
Johnny is victorious but Hot Pants appears. She takes Johnny's Corpse Parts, only leaving a vertebrae, and knocks him out. When he wakes up, Johnny finds that Hot Pants has nonetheless made them cross the Mississipi and healed their wounds.[14]
The duo eventually reaches Chicago and finish the 5th stage of the Steel Ball Run at the 4th place for Gyro and 5th place for Johnny.
To Accept Loss
At the beginning of the sixth stage, Johnny and Gyro thus travel North, through the cold and snowy parts of the United States. During their travel, Johnny experiments with his nails, finding new uses for them and learning that he can drink herbal tea or chew herbs to make his nails grow faster. Since Hot Pants has revealed herself as an agent from the Kingdom of Naples, the duo suspect that eh identity of the Saint must be exceptional.
Later, Gyro detects Eleven Men that are trailing them. Gyro loses a Steel Ball in a shallow puddle, only to see a nearby young girl having it. The girl runs away, leading them to a massive tree in the forest. Johnny realizes that the Corpse Parts are near and accidentally makes mushroom fall in another puddle. Nonetheless, the duo investigate the tree where they see that the girl has turned a hole into her home. The blind girl, named Sugar Mountain, soon gives them propositions between items they have lost in the puddles and much more precious versions of said items. Gyro answers truthfully at first because he wants his Steel Ball back, but soon understands that she is handing them both if they answer truthfully. Exploiting this, the duo amasses a small fortune in precious gems, matsutake murshrooms, bank notes and other goods. Eventually, they get the trick and acquire the Ears and the Right Arm. However, Sugar Mountain then warns them that they have to spend everything in a fair trade before sunset or they will be absorbed into the tree itself.
Johnny and Gyro then head to Milwaukee, having to spend their fortune and still pursued by the Eleven Men. When they meet a farmer and try to buy a piece of land, the farmer refuses out of suspicion, showing that the task is not as easy at it seems. Worse, Gyro begins to turn into a tree when he tries to give some money to smoothe things out and thus they cannot even give away their wealth. Thankfully, the duo manage to trade the mushrooms for a hill nearby. In Milwaukee, Johnny and Gyro try their best to spend everything but their wealth keeps increasing despite everything while their spendings are not enough. Worse, their pursuers are catching up. Johnny and Gyro decide to go to an underground casino to gamble their money away, but as soon as the croupier decides to cheat, Johnny and Gyro begin to turn into trees. They are immobilized and cannot either take their money back as the ball rolls and the Eleven Men suddenly barge in. Johnny must use Tusk ACT2 to cheat and win the round, freeing the duo. One of the men approach, and Johnny shoots him twice. However, the rest of the group has suddenly disappeared. Unbeknownst to them, the Eleven Men are using their collective power, Tatoo You!, to merge together, and they take Gyro by surprise by emerging out of the first dead man. Gyro is shot in the arm and loses one Steel Ball. The shootout continues but while they eliminate some enemies, the duo quickly runs out of ammunition. They are forced to hide behind a column and there are still eight enemies. Johnny kills one, but he only has one nail bullet now, and Gyro is bleeding to death. Gyro tries to negotiate with the gangsters besides them but they prefer to stand aside. Seeing a pistol nearby, Johnny aims to take it but is prevented from reaching it by the enemies. By dragging the corpses, the men surround Johnny and Gyro. Thankfully, Gyro concludes a trade with the gangsters in the casino. For all of their wealth, the gangster accept to give Gyro and Johnny a roll of string and shoot down the Eleven Men, all of whom die but a last one who flees.[15]
As the sun sets, Gyro suddenly transforms into a tree, to Johnny's surprise. He realizes with horror that he must trade the Corpse Parts, but as Gyro transforms and begs Johnny to trade them away. Johnny clings to the Corpse Parts who means the potential use of his legs. Still, at the last moment, Johnny trades the Ears and the Right Arm with the last of the Eleven Men, crying as he asks for a half empty bottle of wine in exchange for the Corpse Parts. Having saved Gyro, Johnny share the bottle with him and has a toast to the next Corpse Part and the goal.
Fight in the Ice
When Johnny and Gyro attempt to cross the Michigan Lake via a frozen strait, they notice a wolf following them, but also two other agents of the government: Wekapipo and Magent Magent. Wekapipo's expertise in the Spin proves problematic, but Johnny and Gyro manage to prevail. When Gyro reveals that his family is taking care of Wekapipo's blind sister, the latter allies with them and accepts to go look for Lucy. Moreover, Johnny obtains the Legs from the wolf.[16]
Being in a victorious stroke, Johnny and Gyro finish the stage at the second and first place respectively.
Civil War
Johnny and Gyro ride undisturbed for 12 days, until they are 145 km for Philadelphia.
Johnny and Gyro spot Hot Pants, and follow her in order to get the Corpse Parts she stole back. When she enters a garbage dump, Johnny and Gyro separate themselves to surround her, but Hot Pants manage to warn Johnny about the new enemy's power, who lured Johnny and Gyro into his Stand. Civil War summoning copies of whatever and whoever the victims left behind, but weak to water, Johnny manages to escape it and goes back into the dump to save Gyro. Seeing visions of Jesus, Johnny's Stand evolves further into ACT 3, and though Axl RO takes all the Corpse Parts, Johnny manages to return his power against him.[17]
However, Funny Valentine, who has been observing the fight, intervenes at the last moment and successfully steals all the Corpse Parts.[18]
Defeated, Johnny and Gyro finish the sixth stage at the sixth and seventh place.
Free-for-all in Philadelphia
In Philadelphia, Johnny and Gyro have no Corpse Parts anymore and decide to steal the Right Eye from Diego, following him up to a park.
However, Valentine manages to shoot Johnny, forcing him to escape into the sewers while his Stand, Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap, causes confusion among Gyro, Diego and Wekapipo. Valentine manages to escape with Diego's Eye, but Johnny now knows Valentine's power.[19]
Despite Gyro's reluctance at continuing a seemingly lost fight, Johnny briefly stands up, showing that he's this close to regaining the use of his legs. Thus Gyro accepts to follow Johnny, mentioning another level of Spin which could defeat Valentine.
The Battle Against Valentine
Train Chase
Johnny and Gyro follow Diego and Hot Pants who have allied themselves, and observe the two racers battle Valentine on board a train from afar. When Diego dies, they decide to intervene and stop the train from the locomotive. However, they also notice that the landscape is converging toward the train. A brief shootout ensues between Valentine and Johnny, but Valentine discovers the blessing of the Corpse, a pocket dimension on which "harm" itself bounces away. Valentine almost kills Johnny but Gyro throws a Steel Ball at the wall, making the President retreat momentarily while Johnny and Gyro manage to stop the train and take a respite. Gyro's Ball has managed to momentarily cross the wall; the Golden Spin, a level of Spin reached only when a horserider manages to ride within the Golden Scale, seems to be able to cross over dimensions.
Reaching the Super Spin
The duo now charges at the President with the intent of using the Golden Spin, and Valentine dashes between them, forcing Johnny to separates from Gyro. Although he momentarily manages to reach the Golden Scale, Johnny hits a tree branch, giving Valentine the occasion of cutting off his hand. However, a combination of Gyro throwing one of his Steel Balls and Steven Steel entrusting Lucy with the Neapolitan distracts Valentine away from Johnny.
While Gyro and Valentine duel, Johnny recomposes himself. As he tries to join the fight, Gyro shouts to Johnny his last lesson: "The shortest route was a detour; it was the detour that was our shortest path". Gyro then dies by Valentine's hands. Heartbroken and enraged, Johnny charges Valentine, but the President manages to slit Slow Dancer's throat and unhorse Johnny. As Valentine approaches him to deal the last blow, Johnny understands Gyro's message, and uses the Steel Ball on Slow Dancer's hind leg. Kicked into the air, Johnny absorbs the Golden Scale into himself and unlocks Tusk ACT 4, and shoots his last nail toward Valentine. Valentine is hit, and disappears momentarily.
Last Shootout
Johnny waits for the President's eventual return, growing back the nails of his only hand. When Valentine does come back, he tries to sway Johnny into releasing him from the infinite rotation caused by Tusk, promising to bring back Gyro and leave them be, also making an elaborate speech about his goals and giving an alternate Cream Starter as insurance. Almost convinced, Johnny nonetheless tosses Valentine's old revolver his double discarded earlier, exposing Valentine as treacherous. A small duel ensues, during which Johnny kills Valentine, and sees Gyro's spirit giving him a last goodbye.
The End of the Race
Race to New York
After Johnny finally kills Valentine, he is surprised to see that the Corpse Parts have gone missing again. He pursues the thief, only to discover it is none other than Diego Brando (or rather, a Diego from an alternate world). Johnny is at first surprised by the appearance of Diego's new stand THE WORLD, but still manages to discover the nature of its power after a few attacks. This time, however, Diego has the advantage of already knowing Tusk's powers and the Golden Spin technique, predicting Johnny's actions and using his own fangirls as human shields. In his final attack, Diego uses his "5 seconds" to create a pincer move: he fires a gun from the front while THE WORLD attacks Johnny's back. Johnny is badly hurt again and falls from his horse, unable to use his new attack.
| Steel Ball Run Race Statistics | ||
| Stage | Placement | Points |
|---|---|---|
| First | 5th | 30 |
| Second | 2nd | 50 |
| Third | 2nd | 50 |
| Fourth | 4th | 35 |
| Fifth | 5th | 30 |
| Sixth | 2nd | 50 |
| Seventh | 7th | 20 |
| Eighth | 5th | 30 |
However, he had accumulated enough spin to make one final attack, sending Tusk Act 4 climbing up Diego's leg. Diego then remembers what Valentine had told him about the Golden Spin technique and how to overcome it. Cutting his leg off and throwing it at Johnny, Diego manages to beat the Spin User with his own technique. He then remounts his horse and leaves Johnny to die.
After the Steel Ball Run
Having lost the race, the corpse and now dying as a result of his own attack, Johnny nearly sinks into despair. However, before his life can come to an end, Steven Steel appears. With Steven's help (riding his horse to do the spin), Johnny performs Tusk Act 4's infinite spin power on himself to reverse its effects. Johnny is never seen completing the ninth and final stage of the race and ends with a total of 295 points.
After the race, Johnny travels by ship to Naples in order to return Gyro's corpse to his family, intending to honor him one last time. On the ship, he meets Norisuke Higashikata and his daughter Rina, and begins a romantic relationship with her. It is revealed in the aftermath that the monarchy is overthrown and Marco is granted amnesty, though he dies of a cold later.[20]
Post Steel Ball Run
According to family tree left in the 1987 edition of Norisuke Higashikata's record of the Steel Ball Run race, Johnny had married Norisuke's daughter, Rina Higashikata, in 1892 and had a son and daughter with her.[21] Their family lived on a farm, though Johnny would travel to Japan by request of the Japanese government to teach horsemanship, and also contributed to the importation of foreign fruits.[22] According to the old man on Shakedown Road, about nine years after the marriage, Rina was stricken with an incurable disease that gave her on-and-off amnesia and origami-like folded skin. Johnny thus brought Rina back to Morioh, so that she could live in her native town.
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After agonizing over his wife's condition, Johnny turned to stealing the Corpse from the vault and brought it back to Morioh to cure her. The American government reacted from having the Corpse taken and pursued Johnny, but by taking advantage of a certain privilege and sneaking aboard a ship crossing the Atlantic and Indian oceans, he narrowly evaded them into the Pacific.
With the government pursuers still following, Johnny took the Corpse and hid it at the roots of the Meditation Pine by the coast of Morioh and then fetched Rina and their infant son, George, by carriage. Using the Holy Corpse's power to cure disease (more accurately described as a power to remove), the curse was removed from Rina, but was unfortunately forced upon George instead.
Having promised not to use the Corpse anymore, but willing to use it again to cure his son, Johnny mounted his horse and placed his child atop the case containing the Corpse. After gaining a certain amount of velocity, Johnny activated the Golden Spin and shot his son using Tusk Act 4. He took the curse upon himself and was shot in the head. After falling to the ground, the Stand, Les Feuilles, reveals itself, at which point a large boulder lands on Johnny's head, crushing his skull. Thus, Johnny Joestar's life ends at the age of 29, in the evening of November 12, 1901. However, these details remain a rumor.[23]
His body is discovered the next morning by Rina, next to George and the case containing the Corpse. Due to the lack of witnesses, everyone believed Johnny had been murdered and the prime suspect was his wife, Rina Higashikata, who was released later when the incident was classified as an accident. Six months later, a Jizou statue was erected in memory of Johnny Joestar and he was buried in Morioh.
References
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