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This article's content is marked as Mature Robert E. O. Speedwagon contains mature content that may include coarse language, sexual references, and/or graphic violent images which may be disturbing to some. Mature articles are recommended for those who are 18 years of age and older. If you are 18 years or older or are comfortable with graphic material, you are free to view this page. Otherwise, you should close this page and view another page. |
| “ | I, Speedwagon, shall allow none to harm this gentleman! | „ |
| ~ Speedwagon urging the other Ogre Street thugs to not attack Jonathan Joestar. |
| “ | Right about now, you're probably wondering who I am. Allow me to elucidate ya! The name is Robert E. O. Speedwagon! | „ |
| ~ Robert E. O. Speedwagon |
| “ | Speedwagon withdraws cooly... | „ |
| ~ Speewagon upon seeing Erina Pendleton tending Jonathan's wounds and deciding to give them some space. |
Robert E. O. Speedwagon is one of the two overarching protagonists (alongside Jonathan Joestar) of the JoJo's Bizarre Adventure franchise, serving as the tritagonist of Part I: Phantom Blood and a major character in Part II: Battle Tendency
He is depicted as a loyal friend and ally to the Joestar Family and has continued to support them for the latter of the series via his organization, the Speedwagon Foundation.
Just like many friends and foes in this series, Robert is named for a popular singer of the past, or in this case a group, being REO Speedwagon.
Biography[]
JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Phantom Blood[]
Speedwagon's first appearance in the part was during Jonathan's visit to Ogre Street in 1888 where he and a pair of thugs attacked the gentleman. They were incapacitated during the fight which resulted in the denizens of the street swarming Jonathan, only for Speedwagon to stop their advance to ask the gentleman. Jonathan's response was enough reason for Speedwagon to call off the attack and he helped Jonathan find the cure he needed.
He then joined the gentleman in his mansion and was able to call off Dio's lie as well as witnessing his subsequent transformation into a vampire. Despite his pleas to help, he was thrown out of mansion as it burned by Jonathan. Still, he continued to visit the gentleman during recovery.
After Jonathan trained with Zeppeli and received information regarding Dio, Speedwagon joined the two. Despite his lack of hamon, he still helped them to the point that he used his skin to thaw Zeppeli's frozen arm. After Zeppeli's death, Speedwagon took his hat to pass it on to the the teacher's family. At the end of the part, he was the one who destroyed the stone mask and got to witness Jonathan leave for his honeymoon.
JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Battle Tendency[]
Based on the narrator's explanation and dialogue from Stroheim, it is believed that Speedwagon wandered an empty plain before finding large amounts of crude oil and became rich. He founded the Speedwagon foundation and used the money to fund research among other things. During the beginning of the part, he was investigating a cave filled with stone masks and a sleeping pillar man. He was unfortunately injured by Straizo who became a vampire. Speedwagon was later taken by German soldiers positioned in Mexico and was able to witness them experimenting on the newly discovered pillar man and stone masks.
Luckily Joseph was able to save him from the pillar man and the two were visited Italy to meet with Zepelli's grandson, Caesar. The group visited a cave where they discovered the 3 pillar men. Afterward, Speedwagon decided to stay behind to convince Erina that Joseph was fine.
During the final battle, Speedwagon appeared with numerous German soldiers who have received ultraviolet weapons to combat the vampires and pillar man. While there, he explained Lisa Lisa's backstory to Smokey, revealing her to be Joseph's mother. After discovering Kars' immunity to sunlight, Speedwagon gave a lengthy comment about the pillar man's immortality out of fear. In the ending, Speedwagon was one of the people who visited Joseph's funeral and was subsequently there to witness his return. In the ending, it is revealed that he died from a heart attack in 1952, leaving no family members behind.
Personality[]
Due to his ability to "smell out" the personality of people, he had recognized Jonathan's noble spirit during the events at Ogre Street and accompanies him on his further journey to defeat Dio. In the same manner, he helps Jonathan uncover Dio's plot and exposes Dio's self-pitying facade as a cover for his naturally evil behavior.
When it comes to battle, if he is not fighting, Speedwagon tends to go into detail explaining the current situation and does so by yelling most of the time. When he feels it necessary, he will give aid to his allies without a second thought, as shown when he helps Zeppeli defrost his arm during their first battle with Dio.
Equipped with a courteous nature, despite his original background as a thug, he is familiar with giving one's privacy; this is apparent when upon trying to enter Jonathan's room, he witnesses the nurse, Jonathan's former love Erina, nurse him back to health and withdraws coolly.
During the events of Phantom Blood, Speedwagon had become Jonathan's most loyal friend and the greatest ally of the Joestar Family.
Even after Jonathan's death, Speedwagon never sought Erina as a love interest and remained friends with her out of respect for Jonathan. Regardless, Speedwagon takes care of Erina and Joseph Joestar much like a father figure or close uncle.
Speedwagon even stipulates in his will that his foundation be used to fund medical and archaeological advancements, and his organization aids the Joestar family time and time again long after his death.
Abilities[]
In JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Phantom Blood, Speedwagon couldn't master the Ripple because he wasn't pressured enough. This is different from Jonathan and Zeppeli, who both carried the mission to stop Dio and the Stone Mask on their shoulders. Zeppeli tried to help him create small Ripples by stimulating the muscles of his diaphragm, but accidentally missed the right point and just managed to hurt Speedwagon. However, due to his life on the street, he is fairly resourceful and has mastered several useful techniques, including the ability to determine someone's moral alignment based on their smell.
- Saw-Hat: Speedwagon wore a bowler hat with a hidden buzz-saw built into it sharp enough to cut through bone. Speedwagon used it during his days as a thief, throwing the hat at his opponent as a projectile for a deadly attack. It was replaced with Zeppeli's hat towards the latter half of Part I.
- Hammer: Not being able to master the ripple didn't stop Speedwagon from helping in the fight. He used a sledgehammer powerful enough to kill zombies in just one strike by smashing their heads. In an anime filler, Speedwagon tried to smash one of Dio's severed hand with it.
Following the events of Part I, Speedwagon traveled to America and got rich in the oil industry. With his fortune, he created the Speedwagon Foundation, an organization featuring studies in medical research, wild animal and plant protection, and secretly, a Supernatural Research Department with the sole purpose of aiding the Joestar Family. As head of this company, Speedwagon has full power over all employees, including several leading scientists and workers. Speedwagon often employs resources in the organization, including transportation by helicopters, submarines, cars and planes, as well as development in weapons technology.
Other Media[]
JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Eyes of Heaven[]
Speedwagon appears as one of the various playable characters in JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Eyes of Heaven, possessing a unique battle style referred to in-game as "Ogre Street".
During the campaign, Speedwagon appeared in Chapter 1 to notify Jotaro and Joseph about a space-time anomaly before the group was attacked by a number of characters who were thought to be dead. He explains that he has been using a corpse part to travel through time to find the cause of the anomaly before leading the group through a rift, leading them to the ending of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Golden Wind and Chapter 2.
During the events of Chapter 4, Speedwagon was confused by the Joestar Mansion which was still standing. He ends up having to fight for an injured Jonathan before leading the group to Dio's hideout. He disappears for the remainder of the chapter to locate other corpse parts. He finally makes an appearance in the end of the campaign and was killed along with the entire group. During the ending, Speedwagon is revealed to be looking at Jonathan's fight against Dio along with Zeppeli.
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- Speedwagon's name comes from an American rock band named "REO Speedwagon".
- Despite never marrying, Speedwagon is considered by fans to have had a family in the Joestars; even a comment in a segment of WatchMojo referred to him as "Uncle Speedwagon".
- Speedwagon's presence, was stated by sources to have been completely removed in the lost 2007 JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Phantom Blood movie adaptation, though he and his gang of street thugs do appear in one of the film's recovered test footage.
- Speedwagon maintained the same hairstyle for over 50 years; before it was shaven off when Rudol von Stroheim had his life saved with an operation. It's unknown if it ever grew back the same in his last 13 years.
