Joseph Joestar ★ History
A detailed chronological summary of the life of Joseph Joestar.
Early life
Joseph was born the son of George Joestar II and Elizabeth, establishing him as the grandson of Jonathan Joestar.
When his mother was forced to go into hiding after killing his father's murderer, one of Dio Brando surviving zombies, his grandmother Erina Joestar decided it would be best if he assumed his parents died, out of fear he might get caught up in the same fatal situation his father and grandfather suffered.
It was then both Erina and Robert E. O. Speedwagon who took care of Joseph. Joseph spent his youth in England, raised by his grandmother. It is stated that he was imprisoned seven times and expelled once for causing fights. He eventually graduated high school.[1]
The young Joseph developed early an ability to use the Ripple inherited from his grandfather. One day, Joseph was victim of an plane hijack as he accompanied Speedwagon. Unconcerned at first since Speedwagon was the target, Joseph kept to himself and read a comicbook in a backseat. When one of the criminals hit him in the nose, Joseph's blood stained his shirt that Erina gave him, which angered him. As retaliation, Joseph used the Ripple for the first time in public, and knocked out the pilot. Joseph, Speedwagon and the pilot survived the crash by hiding near a seat that cushioned them as the plane crashed against a cliff.
Battle Tendency (1938-39)
New York & The Vampire
- Main article: Joseph Joestar of New York (story arc)
- Main article: Straizo vs. Joseph (story arc)
Joseph (age 18) introducing himself after saving Smokey Brown.
Visiting New York with Erina, Joseph encounters Smokey Brown, an African-American youth who steals his wallet. Nonetheless, Joseph befriends the pickpocket after giving a beating to two corrupt policemen who brutalized Smokey. Both he and Erina acquaint themselves with Smokey. While dining in a restaurant, Joseph personally publicly humiliates a racist mafioso who kept insulting Smokey; that mafioso's companion then suddenly informs him that Speedwagon is reported dead in Mexico, as the bodies of members of the Speedwagon Foundation when found floating down a river. Joseph punches the man for startling Erina.
Later that night, Joseph relaxes in a bar with Smokey. He then spots Straizo, an old companion of his grandfather Jonathan turned-Vampire, and confronts him. Declaring war on Straizo, Joseph unveils a tommy gun and empties his magazine on the Vampire, sending him flying through the glass window into the bar. However, Straizo's Vampire constitution allows him to shrug off the bullets. Joseph tries to fire again but realizes that he's out of bullet while Straizo shoots his aqueous humour out of his eyes. Straizo hits a mirror that Joseph had set up and Joseph smashes his gun into Straizo's face, with a dose of the Ripple for good measure. However, Straizo is protected by his special scarf and shoots again, forced Joseph to get away. Joseph then pulls a string and reveals that he's pinned a grenade to said scarf. Although Straizo swats the grenade away, Joseph reveals that he's also pinned more grenades to Straizo's back. The explosion tears Straizo apart but the Vampire slowly reconstructs himself. Joseph and Smokey use the reprieve to run away. Straizo catches up to Joseph on Brooklyn Bridge and takes a woman hostage to test the man's resolve. Joseph tries to bluff and pretend he doesn't care, but is enraged when Straizo yanks out a tooth from her. Joseph climbs up the cables and defeats Straizo by returning his Space Ripper Stingy Eyes against him with Ripple-reinforced shot glasses that redirect the stream back at the him, then lands a Ripple punch on the Vampire. Straizo falls but Joseph catches him to interrogate him about tossing the corpses into the river. Straizo thus reveals to Joseph the existence of a man in a pillar whose might could surpass that of the Vampires.[2]
Mexico & The Pillar Man
- Main article: The Pillar Man, Santana (story arc)
Joseph goes to Mexico in search of Speedwagon. He arrives at a village where the locals try to bully him but he turns the situation around by showing off his ability and gets them to resupply him. In the desert, Joseph is attacked by a Nazi scout named Donovan. The agile soldier manages to give Joseph trouble but Joseph then uses the Ripple on the ground, making a nearby cactus explode right in Donovan's face. Joseph then tortures the soldier andf forces him to reveal that Speedwagon is alive and kept prisoner in a secret underground Nazi facility where the Nazis are trying to revive a man who seems to have been trapped in a stone pillar for 2,000 years. Joseph locates the hacienda harboring the facility but the guards see through his clever disguise when he tries to enter. Joseph knocks them out by making coconuts fall on their heads.
Joseph infiltrates the underground laboratory. At the same time the Nazis the Pillar Man christened "Santana" escapes his containment room. Joseph intervenes to save Speedwagon and Rudol von Stroheim from bullets that Santana spits back at the nazis. Despite the others' warning, Joseph tries to be friendly with Santana but is ignored. Frustrated, Joseph nags Santana until the Pillar Man tries to impale him with his ribs blades. Joseph resists the attack with the Ripple but is sent flying into a wall. Interested by the Ripple, Santana tries to attack Speedwagon to see if all humans possess it, which makes Joseph furious. Santana's skin is impervious to the Ripple and Joseph almost gets his hand eaten by Santana's moving skin. Santana is powerful enough to flick Joseph and send him flying into a wall but can also twist his body in unnatural ways to avoid his attacks. Thus, Joseph is forced to let himself get absorbed into Santana to inject the Ripple through his skin.
Joseph is exhausted but binds Santana torso to drag him into the sunlight. When Santana sends pieces of himself stick themselves on Joseph's legs, Stroheim comes in to open the door. His leg is captured but the nazi officer tells Joseph to cut it off so that they can win. The door is opened, but Santana suddenly plunges into Stroheim through his leg wound. Before he blows himself up with a grenade, the nazi reveals that three more "sleeping pillar men" have been discovered underneath the Colosseum in Rome and that Joseph must stop them and meet with an ally. Santana is again forced into the open and dives into a well, which Joseph has planned for. Because it is high noon, the sun reflects itself at the bottom of the well and Joseph blocks Santana's body, preventing him from falling into the safety of the water. Santana is turned to stone again and Joseph is victorious.[3]
Rome & The Pillar Men
- Main article: Ultimate Warriors from Ancient Times (story arc)
Joseph, Caesar and Speedwagon then wait for the nazis to bring them to the secret cave in Rome. During their wait, Joseph and Caesar try to play poker but they both cheat, causing another fight. A young german soldier named Mark arrives and drives them to the Colosseum, where they find the three pillar men, Wamuu, Esidisi, and Kars, awakened. Mark is casually killed by Wamuu, enraging Caesar and causing the pair to fight him.[4] Looking for an exciting fight, Wamuu steps in to fight the Ripple Users. He easily defeats Caesar. The three Pillar Men prepare to leave but Joseph reminds them that he exists. He unveils his Ripple Clackers technique, only to hit himself in the head and ridicule himself. However, Joseph recomposes himself and though he misses a first throw, the clackers fly back at Joseph, hitting Wamuu from behind in the head. Joseph follows up with multiple strikes with the clackers but Wamuu then uses his special technique, the Divine Sandstorm. Protected by a stone pillar, Joseph survives but is heavily wounded. To protect his companions, Joseph then lures Wamuu to a mine cart with him and drives him away. After Wamuu foils Joseph's plan to attack him with a dynamite stick, they both crash outside.
Joseph then manipulates Wamuu. He reminds the warrior that he is untrained in the Ripple, yet could hit him in the head. However, killing him in this state would only leave a bad taste in Wamuu's mind. Thus, to "regain his honor", Wamuu should let Joseph train for a month and have a rematch with him to prove that he is the superior warrior. Despite himself, Wamuu agrees to spare Joseph for the moment. To ensure that Joseph does not chicken out, Wamuu and Esidisi both end up inserting a "wedding ring" inside Joseph's heart and throat. They explain that the rings are internal time bombs set to release poison into his blood if he does not defeat them and retrieve the antidote they carry within a month.[5] Joseph realizes that he will have to train or die and Caesar decides to bring him to Venice to meet his Ripple master.
Ripple Training
Joseph and Caesar go to Venice, where they meet a masked gondolier who antagonizes Joseph. The gondolier soon reveals herself to be Lisa Lisa, Caesar's Ripple master. Lisa Lisa easily bests Joseph and puts a mask on him forcing him to breathe to produce the Ripple continuously. Lisa Lisa then brings her two students to her base, Air Supplena Island. Upon arrival she immediately pushes them down a pit, telling them to climb the 'Hell Climb Pillar', a pillar covered with oil that requires expert control of the Ripple to climb. Without experience in the use of the Ripple, Joseph has trouble climbing, he initially tries to make a rope to help himself but Lisa Lisa cuts it, forcing him to learn how to concentrate the Ripple in his fingertips. Near the top of the pillar, Joseph tries to rest his hand inside of a cavity in the rock but activates a high pressure oil jet that blocks his and Caesar's path. While Caesar breaks through by reinforcing his body with the Ripple, Joseph decides to jump, stick to the the projected stream of oil and slide down until the pressure is weak enough for him to pass through. He almost falls to the bottom but Caesar catches his hand.
Joseph is furious but Lisa Lisa tosses him an upside down glass of water. Realising that he can now keep the water inside with the Ripple without focusing, Joseph acknowledges Lisa Lisa as his master. In the next weeks, Joseph trains under the harsh Messina and Loggins, two other Ripple masters who teaches him how to breathe in for 10 minutes straight and how to breathe 10 times in one second. As his last test, with only a week left before the poison takes effect, Joseph needs to defeat Loggins in a battle to earn the right to be recognized as a proper Ripple user.
However, the evening of the trial Joseph finds Loggins murdered by Esidisi, who learned of the Super Aja in Lisa Lisa's possession. Thanks to his training, Joseph can pierce the hard skin of the Pillar Man. Esidisi grabs Joseph's hand but the man vaults over his enemy and ties his arm with a string. Joseph yanks the string and cuts off Esisidi's arm, hoping to make him lose his cool. Unexpectedly, Esidisi bawls for a minute until he regains his calm. Esidisi proves that he too is adept at psychological warfare by grafting Loggins' arm to himself and burns away his corpse with his scalding hot blood. Joseph attacks hastily only to be have hot blodd sprayed onto his mask. Joseph takes it away before the heat reaches him. Jumping around, Joseph lays a net with his string but Esidisi catches onto him and cuts the string with his vein tentacles. However, Joseph reveals a second net he weaved with his wool hat and binds Esidisi, covering him in the Ripple. Esidisi reveals his horn and attempts a last ditch attack but Joseph breaks the horn and the Pillar Man explodes.
Joseph ingests the antidote in his opponent's nose ring, but doesn't realize that his attack only reduced Esidisi to a disembodied nervous system. Esidisi then takes over Suzi Q's body to mail the Red Stone to Kars in Switzerland while taking a last stand to deal with Joseph and the Ripple Users. Joseph tries to bluff again by saying Suzi Q's life is well worth the safety of the world but cannot bring himself to kill her. He and Caesar eventually manage to safely force Esidisi out of Suzi Q by using opposing ripples on each end of Suzi Q's body that cancel out in her heart but harm the Pillar Man's breain. Esidisi is dissolved by the sunlight. Joseph mentions being impressed by Esidisi's resolve and loyalty, having gone so far to help Kars succeed.[6] Joseph and Caesar try to interrogate the post office clerk and cause a scene, but Lisa Lisa discovers that Esidisi sent the Aja to Switzerland, and the Joestar Group leaves Venice for the Alps.
In Switzerland
While pursuing the Super Aja, Joseph and his companions see a platoon of German soldiers confiscating the Red Stone of Aja and are invited to a chalet, where Joseph is reunited with the supposedly-deceased Stroheim, who has been rebuilt as a powerful cyborg by Nazi science. But at the same time, Kars has infiltrated the Nazi chalet in search for the Aja. Stroheim's machine body is quickly cut in half by Kars, who instinctively knows Joseph killed Esidisi and expresses hidden hatred towards who he initially considered a source of amusement. The fight is taken outside when Kars is blown outside of the chalet by Stroheim's chalet. However, Kars reveals his true abilities with his blades and easily defeats Stroheim. While Kars takes the Super Aja, Stroheim shoots a UV ray from his eye and makes Kars drop the Aja, which then begins to slide toward a cliff.
Joseph and Kars give chase to the Aja. Unfazed at the prospect of falling at the bottom of a ravine, Kars runs faster and grabs the Stone but Joseph kicks some snow into his eyes and steals it back. However, Kars creates a blade out of his leg and hooks Joseph with him. At first vulnerable, Joseph protects himself by putting the Red Stone in the path of Kars' attack and grabs on to some icicles, sticking to them with the Ripple. Caesar comes to help and adds his own icicles to create a makeshift rope. Joseph manages to keep the Stone while Kars disappears at the bottom of the ravine.
The next day, the group discuss whether they should investigate the address of Esidisi's package: an abandoned hotel. Joseph voiced being against going after Kars in daylight, sensing a trap. This result in Joseph saying words that drive Caesar off the edge as he leaves to do the job himself, Joseph learning his friend's story and changing his mind. However, by the time he and Lisa Lisa arrive, they see Caesar had already died fighting Wamuu and used the last of his strength to get the Pillar Man's lip ring. All Joseph and Lisa Lisa could do was weep for the death of Caesar. Out of respect for Caesar, Joseph decides to not take the antidote until he defeats Wamuu.[7] Joseph and Lisa Lisa decide to pursue the likely wounded Wamuu inside the mansion.
Joseph and Lisa Lisa find Kars and Wamuu but also find themselves outnumbered by Kars´s vampires. Lisa Lisa bluffs destroying the Super Aja unless the Pillar Men accept her terms to settle things in two one-on-one showdowns at the Skeleton Heel Stone arena. Sent to retrieve the stone, Joseph notices the photo of an infant with Erina, Speedwagon, and Straizo and confronts Lisa Lisa about it. She tells only half of the photo's significance before Joseph engages Wamuu in a deadly Roman chariot race-battle.
The Chariot Race
The race starts. By secretly piling rocks near Wamuu's chariot, Joseph takes an early lead and grabs a warhammer for himself. But, Wamuu grabs a stone pillar and crushes Joseph's chariot. On the ground, Joseph avoids being trampled by pole vaulting onto Wamuu's horses with his warhammer. Wamuu counterattacks with the Divine Sandstorm and sends Joseph flying back into his chariot but Joseph manages to counter it by tying the arms with a Ripple-infused rein. Not only Joseph survives, but Wamuu's arms are damaged and his spirit shatters. As a seasoned warrior, Wamuu uses a psychological switch to regain his composure and gouges his eyes. Instead, he'll use his horn to read the wind.
Both are given crossbows but Joseph makes the mistake of grabbing the biggest one, which is so big he cannot bend it. Using the wind, Wamuu still retains a great accuracy with his crossbow. Joseph tries to place himself opposite to Wamuu thus knows Joseph's exact position. By bouncing his projectile from the wall, Wamuu hits Joseph in the kidney, but as Joseph fall, the impact manages to bend his crossbow. Grounded, Joseph seemingly misses his shot but has used the same trajectory as Wamuu while the Pillar Man is standing in the same location Joseph was. The bigger projectile pierces Wamuu in the guts. Gravely wounded, Wamuu propels his arms to armlock Joseph to a wall and uses his ultimate mastery, Atmospheric Rift. Wamuu sucks in a lot of air to create an air blade and Joseph is too exhausted to escape. Joseph throws a molotov cocktail which Wamuu cuts and then lights Caesar's headband on fire and throws it at Wamuu. The heaband's flaming pieces and the gas from the molotov cocktail are sucked into Wamuu's body. Wamuu explodes and is reduced to a mere head. Joseph wins and to honor to the warrior, gives Wamuu some of his own blood to ease his pain before drinking the antidote to give his opponent peace of mind.[8]
All seems to be over in this fight against Kars until a newly rebuilt Stroheim and his Nazi soldiers, Speedwagon, and Smokey arrive to help. Thanks to their help, Joseph reaches Kars and but Kars attaches Lisa Lisa to a rope and lets her fall, forcing Joseph to hold the rope. By distracting Kars with his burning scarf and other shenanigans, Joseph creates a secret noose that closes on Kars' leg after he cuts the rope that is attached to Lisa Lisa. Kars trips and this allows Joseph to perform a last Ripple attack, sending Kars into the spike pit below. Stroheim and his Nazi soldiers blast Kars with ultraviolet light, but unknowingly gave him the light necessary for his Super Aja-embedded stone mask to trigger and transform him into the ultimate life form.[9]
Taking the Super Aja while running off, Joseph steals one of the Germans' airplanes to lead Kars away while devising a strategy to defeat him. Somehow, he must make Kars fall into a volcano. Flying close behind, Kars shoots transforming scales that turn into pirhanas wreaking havoc inside the plane and octopus tentacle that entangle the engines. However, Joseph tricks Kars into approaching a dummy with a parachute and crashes into Kars. Moreover, Stroheim, who has been hiding in the plane, also attacks to keep Kars occupied. The plane crashes into the lava pit of a volcano while Joseph and Stroheim safely jump down the plane, at the cost of the cyborg's legs. Though it appears Kars is dead while sinking into the magma, the Pillar Man evolves a continuous and inorganic porous material to protect himself while digging his way out and slicing Joseph's arm off.
Kars seems invincible and he can even produce the Ripple now. The Ultimate Being decides to kills Joseph with the Ripple but Joseph unconsciously puts the Red Stone of Aja in front of him. The Red Stone absorbs the Ripple, amplifies it, and shoots it into the volcano, which causes an eruption that blasts the land the two fighters are on into the air. As a last move, Joseph distracts Kars long enough for him to be knocked out of Earth's orbit by debris. But gravity runs its course and Stroheim assumes Joseph dead at sea near Italy.[10]
Back Home
Weeks later, a funeral is held for the presumably-dead Joseph, but Joseph himself crashes the event and reveals that after he fell back down from the sky, he ended up in Italy where he was helped by some local fisherman and nursed back to health by Suzi Q. Moreover, he's also married her. Joseph then returned to America to find his friends bewildered and shocked; he comes to the realization that Suzi Q had evidently forgotten to telegram them reassuring his survival.
Pre-Stardust Crusaders (1942-87)
In 1942, after learning of his ties to Lisa Lisa and moving to New York, Joseph and Suzi Q started a family and had a daughter named Holy. Eight years later, Joseph was at Erina's bedside in her final living moments. When Holy married Sadao Kujo and moved to Japan in 1967, Joseph developed an intolerance towards the Japanese.
Little is known about Joseph's life between Battle Tendency and Stardust Crusaders but Joseph does talk about several anecdotes showing that he was well-travelled. Joseph has notably claimed to have been in Hong Kong several times, at least enough times for him to have the impression he could read Chinese well enough to order at a restaurant.[11] He also befriended the Egyptian Muhammad Avdol at one point in his life. Joseph also learned somewhere to greet people in Arabic.[12] On the other hand, Joseph acquired his knowledge of camel riding only through watching Lawrence of Arabia three times in the past, having slept through the second and third visionings.[13] In 1983, Joseph cheated on Suzi Q with a Japanese college student named Tomoko Higashikata.[14] Joseph also became a real estate agent at one point.[15]
Manifesting his Stand Hermit Purple at the age 65, Joseph would learn that Dio Brando, now referred to as simply "DIO", resurfaced after being last heard of in 1889. Joseph is further livid to learn that his Stand manifested because of DIO, who succeeded in taking the body of Jonathan Joestar. Joined by Muhammad Avdol who helped him understand the nature of the Stands, Joseph spent the next few years attempting to track down DIO to no avail.
In 1987, Joseph is called by Holy who needs his expertise in an "evil spirit" that his possessing her son Jotaro Kujo. Joseph arrives to the JFK Airport where he bumps into a Japanese man. While he initially apologized for bumping into him, Joseph realized the man's nationality and kicks him. Joseph then subsequently explains his hatred of the Japanese due to one marrying his daughter and convincing her to move to Japan. In contrast, Joseph is content with his Japanese-made Sony Walkman and after putting his headphones on, he boards the plane to Japan.[16]
Stardust Crusaders (1987-88)
Departure from Tokyo
Once arriving to Japan and reuniting with his daughter Holy, Joseph is brought to the police station with his friend Muhammad Avdol where Jotaro has confined himself in. Joseph orders his son to come out but Jotaro refuses to leave his cell, demonstrating his evil spirit's potential as it steal Joseph's mechanical pinkie. Joseph thus asks Avdol to force his grandson out of his cell while explaining the concept of Stands to Jotaro. Jotaro admits his loss after being tricked into walking out of his cell. At a café, Joseph then explains the reason of their sudden power: DIO, Jonathan Joestar's archenemy, has returned and also acquired a Stand as he stole Jonathan's body. Although Joseph tries to recruit his grandson against the Vampire who has long eluded him, Jotaro barely believes his story and proof until his fight with Noriaki Kakyoin. For the time being, Joseph moves into the Kujo residence where he helps in dispatching the Flesh Bud controlling Kakyoin.
A few days later, to Joseph's horror, Holy's own Stand manifest and begins to slowly kill her because she lacks the fighting spirit to dominate it. The only means to save Holy within the next fifty days is to find and kill DIO to break his link to the Joestar line. Jotaro's Stand, later named Star Platinum, detects a fly in the background of one Hermit Purple's photographs depicting DIO. Avdol identifies it as a Hue-hue fly from Egypt and Kakyoin confirms that DIO is hiding in Cairo. Thus, the destination is set. Joseph contacts the Speedwagon Foundation to care for Holy and the quatuor depart from Japan to Egypt aboard a plane.
But, the group encounters the assassin Gray Fly and his Stand Tower of Gray. Although Kakyoin defeats the enemy, the pilots have already died and Joseph is forced to pilot the plane. He makes and emergency sea landing 35 km off the coast of Hong Kong. The group later enter the city and discuss their status over a meal. With Joseph's suggestion to ensure a path where there be less risks for civilians, the group decides to take a sea route through the Indian Sea that should get them to Egypt within 50 days. A French tourist named Jean Pierre Polnareff accosts them, asking help for translating the menu. Joseph instead invites him to his table and takes upon himself to order. However, he cannot read Chinese so he messes up the dishes. Polnareff then reveals himself as one of DIO's agents and attacks. His Silver Chariot comes out of a soup and pierces Joseph's hand. Avdol is Polnareff's first target, but the Egyptian prevails after a quick battle. Impressed by Polnareff's chivalry, Avdol spares Polnareff and Jotaro extracts the flesh bud from him. Regaining his senses, Polnareff asks Joseph to show his hand and he does show his mechanical hand. Polnareff explains himself by stating that a Stand User with two right hands killed his sister. Sure to encounter his sister's murderer along the way, Polnareff joins the group.[17]
South-East Asia
The Joestar Group takes a private boat manned by men from the Speedwagon Foundation. On the way the crew discovers a stowaway girl which jumps into the water and is saved from a shark by Jotaro's Star Platinum. However, an enemy Stand is lurking in the water. The group briefly wonder if the girl could be a Stand User but realize that she has no idea of what is happening. However, Jotaro unmasks the captain of the ship, Captain Tennille, as an impostor working for DIO. Joseph has to stay on the boat while Jotaro fights the Impostor Captain Tennille and his Dark Blue Moon underwater. Even though the impostor is killed, he had planted bombs on the ship beforehand and they explode, forcing the crew to call for rescue and evacuate the ship.
They then encounter a deserted ship on which they go aboard, but the ship is empty save for an orangutan. When one of the men dies in suspicious circumstances, the group tries to search the ship for any enemy Stand and potential user. However, it is revealed that the orangutan is the enemy and that the whole ship is the Stand, the crew is slaughtered and the Joestar Group is almost crushed by the living hull. Jotaro swiftly defeats the ape and the Joestar Group can evacuate the ship with the stowaway girl.
The group is eventually rescued and arrives in Singapore, where they go rest at a luxurious hotel. In his room, Joseph receives a phone call from Polnareff who warns him about a Stand user which Avdol explains could be Devo the Cursed, a shaman mercenary. Polnareff defeats Devo's Ebony Devil. When Jotaro, the girl and Kakyoin leave the hotel to visit the city, Joseph uses Hermit Purple to divine more information and receives a warning about Kakyoin. Plus, DIO detects his spying and psychically destroys the television set. Jotaro uncovers the mercenary Rubber Soul, who had disguised himself as Kakyoin, and defeats him. The group board a train across Malaysia to India.
India
Joseph and his companions arrive in Calcutta, where Joseph discovers that his preconceptions are actually true as he is swarmed by beggars and the dirty street are full of the diseased and the homeless. While the group rests at a café, Polnareff is attacked by Hanged Man, the Stand of his sister's murderer. Hanged Man quickly disappears but Polnareff separates from the group after a fight with Avdol. Joseph and Jotaro search for him across the town, but when they learn that Avdol was wounded, decides to keep his survival a secret in order to operate more freely. Polnareff and Kakyoin eventually defeat J. Geil and confront Hol Horse, who flees but is cornered by Joseph and Jotaro. Although Hol Horse is surrounded, the timely intervention of a girl named Nena who pins Polnareff down allows Hol Horse to escape. Joseph is splattered with a drop of Nena's blood on his arm during the struggle. A strange swelling appears where his arm was splattered.
In Varanasi, Joseph's swelling has grown so much that he decides to have it treated and goes to a questionable Indian clinic. However, the swelling is revealed to be the Stand Empress which grows into a miniature humanoid attached to its arm. Empress kills a doctor and makes Joseph appear as the culprit, forcing him to run throughout the town. Joseph tries to use the Ripple on it, to no avail and Empress mocks Joseph's pitiful abilities. As Joseph runs through the streets, Empress snatches food and steadily grows, to the point it can threaten Joseph physically. During a particular violent fight, Joseph sneakily use Hermit Purple to divine where a barrel of tar is placed and plunges Empress in it, immobilizing the Stand. Joseph then binds the growth and manages to shred it, which also kills Nena.[17] The Joestar Group then buy a car in order to travel to Pakistan.
On their way, they are attacked by an unknown driver whose actions almost kills them. Angry, Polnareff follows the car to a roadside cafe where Joseph discovers sugar cane juice. When the group sees the enemy car, Joseph tries to rough up the clients alongside Jotaro and Polnareff to learn who is the driver but the real driver leaves on his car. The group resumes the pursuit. As the group reaches a dead end near a cliff, Jotaro and Kakyoin's teamwork saves them and plunges the enemy car down the cliff. However, the enemy reveals himself as the User of the Stand Wheel of Fortune. Joseph seemingly watches his grandson being burned to death but Jotaro manages to defeat the enemy Stand and its user ZZ. He then takes ZZ's passport so he can't follow them again.
The Middle East
In Pakistan, the Joestar Group enters a foggy village where everyone is unwelcoming and eerily apathetic, even in presence of a corpse. Joseph, trying to jump on his car in order to drive away, finds himself falling on the spikes of a barrier and nearly impales himself. Enya the Hag accosts the group, acting as a gentle hotel manager. Enya invites the group to rest in her hotel and eventually reveals herself as an enemy Stand User. Thankfully, Jotaro swiftly defeats her when Star Platinum sucks Justice, smothering the old woman. After making fun of Jean Pierre Polnareff's plight, Joseph decides to keep Enya in order to interrogate her later.
The group eventually arrives in Karachi, where Steely Dan kills Enya before she can reveal anything and subdues Joseph by having his Stand Lovers infiltrate his brain. Thus Joseph perceives tenfold whatever pain Steely Dan feels, and the group cannot harm Steely Dan. Helpless but determined, Joseph flees alongside Polnareff and Kakyoin while Jotaro is forced to become Steely Dan's whipping boy. Joseph decides to use Hermit Purple on a television set while Kakyoin and Polnareff shrink their Stands in order to fight Lovers directly inside his brain while Hermit Purple allows them to see inside it. Lovers and Steely Dan are eventually defeated.[18]
In Arabia, Joseph decides to cross the desert with camels. However, their attempt to cross it is thwarted when they are attacked by the Sun Stand. Jotaro manages to make a shelter against the Sun, but everyone is trapped. Joseph, trying to find a solution, sees his companions laugh maniacally and thinks that they are suffering from a psychotic break. It turns out that Joseph was the only one not to spot their enemy's ridiculous hiding spot. Arabia Fats is swiftly defeated. He complains about how easy Arabia was defeated and how they didn't even learn his name.
Joseph and his companions stop by Yarpline to buy a Cessna in order to fly across the desert. The deal is hindrered when a sick baby needs to be brought to the hospital. All parties eventually agree to have the Joestar Group transport the baby with them. In reality, the baby Mannish Boy is an enemy Stand User whose Death Thirteen attacks its victims in their dreams. Polnareff and Kakyoin are attacked in their dreams and while Polnareff is woken up, Kakyoin is left alone with Death Thirteen. His violent struggle causes the plane to lose altitude and although Joseph uses Hermit Purple to regain control of the plane, he crashes into a palm tree. The group is stranded in the desert and must spend the night there until rescue arrives. Kakyoin accuses the baby of being a Stand User but everyone thinks he is going crazy and and Polnareff knocks him down when he summons Hierophant Green. When the rest of the group goes to sleep, they are attacked by Death Thirteen. Fortunately, Kakyoin manages to defeat the Stand as he has kept his Stand on when he lost consciousness. The next morning, Joseph wakes up but does not remember Kakyoin's action due to Death 13's powers and feeds Mannish Boy food, which unbeknownst to him has poop in it.
The Red Sea
Joseph and his companions reach the Red Sea. Joseph goes to a particular island where Avdol's father supposedly lives. After Polnareff falls victim to Judgement, only to be saved by Avdol, the group finally reveals what has happened to Avdol in India. Avdol's submarine surfaces and will transport the group underwater to safely reach Egypt. However, the submarine is then attacked by High Priestess, a Stand that can turn into inorganic material. It slices Joseph's hand and battles the other Stands Users, proving itself to be able to stand up to Star Platinum. High Priestess sabotages the submarine, forcing the group to evacuate. Joseph must teach his companions how to use scuba gear and the rudiments of scuba diving. When the group nearly reaches the surface, High Priestess reveals that it has merged with the sea floor and turned into a giant head. Joseph participates in the group's ill-fated attempt to woo Midler, which angers her. Jotaro then smashes apart High Priestess' teeth, defeating her. The group finally reaches Egypt.
In the anime adaptation, Joseph calls Suzi to give her an update on his activities although he keeps Suzi in the dark.
Egypt
In Egypt, Joseph and the Joestar Group meets with men from the Speedwagon Foundation who provide supplies, give them the Stand user dog Iggy, and inform them of the Egypt 9 Glory Gods, nine other henchmen DIO kept up his sleeves. The first of the Egypt 9 Glory Gods, N'Doul, manages to injure Kakyoin and Avdol. However the combined efforts of Jotaro and Iggy manages to prevail.
In Aswan, Kakyoin and Avdol are given to the care of local doctors. Joseph, Polnareff and Jotaro decide to rest at a cafe. Although Joseph wants to act prudently and tells the server to give the groupe unopened bottles of cola, Polnareff dissuades him from acting so paranoid, and the group has to drink tea when the server tells them the fridge is broken. Their tea time is ruined when Iggy, causes a scene, forcing the trio to leave without drinking a single drop of tea. Jotaro then separates himself from the group to go to the hospital, but Joseph and Polnareff find him near the car, with a fresh set of clothes. Jotaro acts strangely during the whole ride to the hospital and it is revealed that he has a stomachache. Joseph and Polnareff then leave him on the side of the road to relieve himself and are surprised to see him near the hospital when they arrive, with his old clothes on.
With Avdol healed, the group navigate down the Nile while Kakyoin stays in Aswan.
In Luxor, Joseph finds a strange power outlet stuck to a rock. Curious, he approaches the outlet only to be shocked. Unbeknownst to him, Joseph is attacked by Mariah and her Stand Bastet and becomes magnetized. He notices strange occurrences around him but these events are dismissed as coincidence until the next day. Alone in his room, Joseph finally realises that he's magnetized when metallic objects stick to him, notably the metal studs on the dresses of two women. Pursued by silverware, Joseph becomes stuck on an escalator when thing metal cables bind him to the machinery. He tries to call the person in front of him for help, but that person is Mariah, who reveals her true color. Joseph is saved by Avdol, and the two pursue Mariah to the toilet, mistaking an old woman for Mariah because of their legs. Joseph and Avdol must jump out of the building and try to pursue Mariah in the streets only to get stuck to each other. Avdol has been magnetized as well.
Joseph and Avdol spend a long, embarrassing moment trying to detach from each other and the pair fall down a slope onto train tracks. Joseph and Avdol survive an approaching train when Avdol's Magician's Red digs a hole under the tracks. Although Joseph and Avdol manage to approach Mariah, she throws nuts and bolts at the pair and escapes. Joseph decides to be serious. He uses Hermit Purple to create a map of the city and devise a strategy. Joseph and Avdol run through the streets, accumulating metal junk. While they surround Mariah eventually, she cuts two power lines above the duo, and the cables get attracted to the heroes. Avdol is overwhelmed by the weight of the metal objects, but Joseph has trouble keeping the cables away. Joseph is reduced to begging Mariah for mercy and while she confesses some attraction for the old man, she is fully loyal to DIO. Joseph thus completes his stratagem. He lets go his grip on the pavement at the same time as Avdol and the two fly toward each other. The mass of metal crushes Mariah. Joseph and Avdol are victorious.[19]
In the anime adaptation, Joseph creates a photography of DIO's Mansion during lunch, after Jotaro and Polnareff defeat Alessi.
After receiving a call from the Speedwagon Foundation, Joseph informs everyone that Holy had only four or five days left to live. In order to speed things up, they then take a train from Luxor to Cairo.[20]
The Genesis of Universe
(The information in this section derives from a Light Novel not written by Araki. As such, it may or may not be considered canon.)
Joseph appears in the Genesis of Universe novel in both chapters, where he is kept captive in Satanic Coupler with Avdol, but when he is rescued by the rest of the group, Joseph helps defeat the locomotive Stand. He throws his metallic hand in Satanic Coupler's way, stopping it on its tracks. He also saves Jotaro from The Scribe Ani, damaging his Stand, Ptah.
Egypt: Cairo
In Cairo, Joseph has taken a photograph of DIO's Mansion and the group searches for the building for a day. They eventually try to get information in a bar situated in the outskirts of the city. One man named Daniel J. D'Arby claims to recognize the building but strangely asks for the information to be waged and gained with a simple bet. Out of frustration, Polnareff accepts but loses and loses his soul to D'Arby, who reveals himself to be one of the Egypt 9 Glory Gods.
Determined to save Polnareff, Joseph challenges D'Arby to a game where each have to put coins into a glass nearly full of liquor and whoever makes the glass spill loses. D'Arby inspects the glass to ensure nothing is wrong with it, then bodly puts five coins. Joseph then tries to psychologically destabilize D'Arby by maliciously misnaming him. Joseph estimates that there is only enough room for two coins, Joseph puts one coin but sneakily pours extra brandy in the glass. However, D'Arby manages to put another coin. Unable to understand this, Joseph is taken by fear and his soul is stolen. It is revealed that D'Arby has placed a small piece of chocolate that tilted the glass and caused Joseph to miscalculate. Fortunately, Jotaro manages to win everyone back.[21]
The group searches the street of Cairo, interrogating the locals to find the building. At one point, Hol Horse and Boingo try to assassinate the group and a truck crashes into the group. Luckily, the problem solves itself as Hol Horse takes himself out and Boingo is defeated by Iggy. The group tries to hire a local beggar to look for DIO's Mansion but their effort is fruitless. After Noriaki Kakyoin rejoins the group, Iggy is the one to lead the Joestar Group to the mansion.
Battle in DIO's Mansion
The Joestar Group is welcomed by Telence T. D'Arby, the butler of the mansion. D'Arby drags Jotaro, Joseph and Kakyoin into a void. The trio finds themselves on an island in the middle of the sea where Telence challenges them to video games. Kakyoin loses the game and his soul, but Jotaro and Joseph cheat together in order to win the second round. When Jotaro pummels Telence, Telence is propelled through the fake sky of the underground room.[22]
Not out of the cellar yet, Joseph, Kakyoin and Jotaro notice that another battle is taking place as they try to escape.
Joseph, Jotaro and Kakyoin meet Nukesaku, a vampire, and bully him into indicating where DIO is. They decide to flank DIO from the outside of the building, breaking through a wall to enter a second time, and interrupt Polnareff and DIO's clash. Joseph and the rest of the group follow Nukesaku to the room where DIO sleeps, but Nukesaku somehow is teleported inside the coffin and defeated in the middle of the room, and Joseph, sniffing an ambush, flees through a window with the rest of the party. As the sun sets, Joseph decides that they flee because fighting the Vampire without the slightest hint of his power is suicidal. He and Kakyoin flee into the streets whereas Polnareff and Jotaro wait in ambush in order to follow DIO.[23]
The Final Battle
Joseph buys a truck from a local. However, DIO also hijacks a car, makes Wilson Phillips his chauffeur and pursues them. At the same time, Kakyoin tries to attack DIO, without results, but notices that DIO's Stand The World is similar to Jotaro's. DIO throws Philips at the truck, making it crush. Thus, Joseph and Kakyoin take it to the roofs, using their Stand to swing across the skyline. Still, DIO follows them.
However Kakyoin devises a plan to force DIO to use his power openly. DIO stops time, taking everyone by surprises and punches through Kakyoin. However Kakyoin manages to tip off Joseph about the true nature of The World. Joseph manages to decipher the cryptic message Kakyoin leaves in regards to DIO's power and even figures out some of The World's weaknesses. Joseph is cornered by DIO but Joseph surrounds his body with a Ripple-infused Hermit Purple. The World smashes a chimney and send the rubbles at Joseph who falls from the roof. Joseph then crosses path with Jotaro and warns him about DIO's Stand. However, Joseph is stabbed through the throat and taken out as he meets with Jotaro and warns him against The World. Later DIO sucks the entirety of Joseph's blood to power himself up, and Joseph seemingly dies, his specter talking one last time to Jotaro. Jotaro then manages to kill DIO.[23]
The Long Journey Ends
Jotaro and Polnareff's injuries were dealt with by the Speedwagon Foundation. Since DIO had taken much of Joseph's blood, Jotaro asked for a blood transfusion from DIO's body to Joseph's. After using Star Platinum to restart Joseph's heartbeat, the transfusion began. The shriveled-up body that Joseph had after losing so much blood began returning to his normal muscular figure and Joseph fully revived. Joseph uses the opportunity and plays a joke on Jotaro, claiming to be DIO possessing Joseph's body which nearly causes Jotaro to attack him. Luckily Joseph quickly reveals his joke and proves that he is himself.
Later, Jotaro and Joseph took the remainder DIO's body outside, where it evaporated with the rising sun. They then gave one final moment of thought for Kakyoin, Iggy, and Avdol.[24]
At the airport, Joseph and Jotaro gave a final goodbye to Polnareff, who was finally ready to return to his home country of France. Joseph asks Polnareff to come with him to America, knowing that the latter had no one waiting for him back home. Polnareff refused the offer, stating that despite being alone, France was his homeland. The trio gave their final goodbyes and left, promising to see one another again someday. In Japan, Holy awoke fully healed and freed from the curse. Even miles away, she knew her son and father were coming home.[24][24]
Post Stardust Crusaders
During the next 10 years Joseph became a shadow of his former self. He had gallstone surgery, suffered cataracts, wore dentures, needed a cane to walk, and had gone a little senile.
During this time he gained a great-granddaughter named Jolyne Cujoh, but it is unknown if they have interacted with each other.
Joseph also learns of the illegitimate son from his fling with Tomoko Higashikata, who kept the child's existence a secret until he was 16 years of age. As Suzi Q got upset that he was unfaithful to her, Joseph added Josuke to his will. When Joseph attempted to use his Stand to get a picture of Josuke, he discovers an ominous figure in the photos instead, prompting Jotaro to go to Morioh to investigate.
Diamond is Unbreakable (1999)
Joseph ultimately travels to Morioh to help localize Akira Otoishi. He is revealed to have aged terribly, no longer being able to walk without a cane, wears spectacles, is hard of hearing, and isn't nearly as athletic as he used to be. In there he meets Okuyasu Nijimura, charged with bodyguarding him as Akira Otoishi wants to get rid of Joseph. After Akira is defeated by Okuyasu, Joseph arrives safely on the dock, where he is escorted by Josuke.
Unfortunately for Joseph, Josuke tells him that he cannot approach Tomoko and must only look at her from afar. Moreover, Joseph is saddened when Josuke doesn't acknowledges him as his father. Then, Joseph mistakenly boards a bus to Sapporo and Josuke has to run after the bus to stop it. On the roadside, Joseph then notices the traces of an invisible baby. When a stray dog attacks it, Joseph takes the baby in his arms with Hermit Purple. Joseph also confirms that the baby is a girl. When she poops in his hand, the pair has to buy baby gear, but Joseph is the one to do it because Josuke fears for his reputation if someone sees him in a baby store. The vendor confuses Joseph with his large range of baby gear and the old man decides to buy a bit of everything, spending most of Josuke's money. After the baby is clothed, she is startled and turns invisible again. Joseph's hand are also turned invisible and he must put her in a crib that also turns invisible. A passerby tosses a cigarette but in the direction of the crib and Joseph leaps to protect her, accidentally knocking the crib down the hill. The baby falls into clear water. To allow Josuke to detect the baby, Joseph slits his wrist and colors the water with his blood. As he claims he did it because he wanted to make Josuke proud, this action mends Joseph's relationship with his estranged son.[25]
Throughout the rest of the part, Joseph is seen taking care of the baby and travelling with Josuke to places around town. At one point, he comes across a sulking Yukako and gives her advice on how to get Koichi to be interested in her, particularly by visiting Aya's Salon.[26] Later that day, Joseph and Josuke decide to head to Kameyu department store, where they eventually meet up with Yukako, Rohan and Koichi and his family. At the store, a flash from Rohan's camera causes the baby to cry, forcing Joseph to run out of the building, but not before bumping Koichi into Yukako's arms.After Kira's demise, Joseph is among the Stand User saying goodbye to Reimi Sugimoto, witnessing her ascend to heaven. By the end, Joseph adopts the baby and names her Shizuka - this, however, leads to further conflict with his wife Suzi Q, who believes the baby to be another "secret child". When he and Jotaro leave Morioh, Joseph assures the latter that the people of the town have "hearts of gold", and that Josuke and his friends will be able to handle any future threat. Josuke himself sees Joseph off, though he ends up stealing his wallet using Crazy Diamond's power. It is mentioned that sometime after his family went through another "chaotic period", Joseph eventually returned to good health by taking care of Shizuka constantly.[27]
Stone Ocean (2012)
In an interview with Eiichiro Funakoshi, Araki describes Joseph to be "likely still alive, albeit a little dumber."[28] Though he does not appear in Part 6, this would put him at the age of 91 during its events.
JoJolion
Joseph's counterpart in the Alternate Universe is also named Joseph Joestar. Like the original Joseph, he married a girl named Suzi Q.
Major Battles
Battle Tendency
- Joseph vs Speedwagon's abductors/plane hijackers
- Joseph vs two corrupt policemen
- Joseph vs Straizo[29]
- Joseph vs Donovan[30]
- Joseph vs Santana[31]
- Joseph vs Caesar Anthonio Zeppeli[32]
- Joseph & Caesar vs Wamuu[33]
- Joseph vs Lisa Lisa
- Joseph vs Esidisi[34]
- Joseph & Caesar vs Esidisi-controlled Suzi Q[35]
- Joseph vs Kars[36]
- Joseph vs Wamuu (Chariot fight) [37]
- Joseph & Stroheim vs Kars (Ultimate Being)[38]
Stardust Crusaders
- Joseph vs Empress[39]
- Joseph & Avdol vs Mariah[19]
- Joseph vs Daniel J. D'Arby
- Joseph & Jotaro vs Telence T. D'Arby[40]
- Joseph & Noriaki Kakyoin vs DIO
- Joseph vs DIO[41]
JORGE JOESTAR
Joseph has a minor role in the light novel JORGE JOESTAR. Before he is born, Speedwagon sends several baby gifts to George Joestar II and Lisa Lisa. As a baby, Joseph inherits Lisa Lisa's talents and defaults to Ripple breathing. Whenever George tries to change his diaper or hold him, George would wind up hopping around after being stunned from the Ripple. When Joseph cries in George's arms, electric shocks run through George's body. George would nearly pass out each time but acts like nothing is wrong. Lisa Lisa has no problems, so she makes a Ripple Conducting Scarf made of Satiporoja beetles for George. Joseph's parents set their wedding a month and a half later when Joseph is at least capable of holding his head up.[42]
After George's disappearance and presumed death, Straizo occasionally checks in on Erina and Joseph to ensure everything is okay.
Jorge Joestar from the 37th universe travels through time to the original universe where he meets Erina. He asks to see Joseph after hearing his name. Even as a baby, Jorge thinks that Joseph feels like a rascal. Kars, who is traveling with Jorge, suddenly enters the baby Joseph's room and is intrigued to see his face. Penelope de la Rosa and Erina throw themselves in between Kars and Joseph's carriage, instinctively protecting him. Kars tells them not to worry as he doesn't make it a habit to kill children, and he doesn't know how history would be altered if he killed Joseph now.[43]
In the final battle against Dio Brando, Jorge tells Lisa Lisa to bring the baby Joseph with her. Dio thinks she's crazy for bringing a baby to a battle, but it was all part of Jorge's plan to catch Dio off guard. Lisa Lisa eventually reunites with George and gives him a kiss accidentally infused with the Ripple, while Joseph laughs happily in her arms. The Joestar family all reunite and have a group hug.[44]
37th Universe
An incarnation of Joseph appears in the 37th universe. Although he appears exactly the same as his original universe counterpart when he is younger, the top of his head is bald and he is clean shaven when he is older. He is the son of Jodoh Joestar, grandfather of Jonda Joestar, and great-grandfather of Jorge Joestar. It is unknown who his children are.
This Joseph also resides in America and eventually defeats the Pillar Men. All 36 incarnations of Joseph after the original universe ultimately end up sending each universe's incarnation of Kars into space.
Although Joseph respects his grandfather Jonathan Joestar, he is not close at all with his father, who has the opposite personality of him. Joseph often tells a young Jorge stories about Jonathan and his past but Jorge wasn't really interested in hearing them. However, Jorge states that Joseph had taught him a lot.
In 2010, Joseph dies of cancer. Jorge reveals Joseph's fate to Kars, who mentions that Joseph was always a lucky one. Kars says if Joseph was still alive, he'd get his revenge for being sent into space thirty-seven times. Kars always dreamed of placing a Stone Mask on Joseph, turning him into a Vampire, having him devour other humans, and then finally eating him. He believes Joseph would be the most satisfying vampire to eat.[45]
