Wamuu


 * The character featured in this article is sometimes referred to as "Wham".
 * "To me, only the strong are real! Victory alone is just and admirable..."

- Wamuu

Wamuu (ワムウ) is an antagonist featured in Battle Tendency.

Wamuu is a proud Pillar Man warrior in the respectful service of his superiors Esidisi and Kars, also serving as a personal rival to Joseph Joestar throughout his journey.

Appearance
Wamuu appears as an immense being; powerfully built and very tall. Many of more detailed drawings of him has his veins bulging from his extremities. His face is particularly chiseled and square with high cheekbones.

Wamuu wears short, standing light hair and has prominent eyebrows. He has painted or tattooed on his face the thick outline of an equilateral square; crossing his face just under the bridge of his nose; upwards through the middle of each eye. In one particular close-up of his face, the tattoo has the word "POWER" written several times in it, as well as the word "ALPHABET". As a Pillar Man, he has a singular, relatively large drill-like horn above his forehead that he can retract.

In all of his appearances, Wamuu wears large earrings and a metallic head adornment similar to a crown that opens at the front whenever he summons out his horn. Up until his defeat of Caesar, he has a small lip ring on the left side of his lip containing the antidote for his Wedding Ring.

Personality
"Become stronger before you decide to face the mighty Wamuu again, child. That way, you can be worthy of my time as I destroy you with honor."

- Wamuu's common phrase to many Ripple users

Wamuu's most notable traits are his love of battle and his sense of honor, such that he stops himself from finishing off a defenseless Joseph Joestar on the mere possibility that he can wash away an earlier humiliation inflicted by Joseph when he'll beat him as soon as he becomes a fine and powerful Ripple warrior.

Wamuu usually looks down on all the humans he comes across to but he will come to respect them should they have the following two requirements: firstly that the fighters take combat seriously and secondly that they are strong. Thus Wamuu sneered at Caesar Zeppeli when he declared that he fought for his friend Mark, yet honored Caesar's last efforts to steal the antidote for Joseph and left it for Joseph out of respect for the strength Caesar demonstrated. Because of his way of life centered around fighting, Wamuu tends to ignore non-combatants, for instance telling Joseph to leave during their first meeting, mistaking the young man for a harmless goof. Wamuu is also one of the few antagonists in the JoJo franchise who cannot bring himself to harm or murder children, a moral compunction that his monstrous master Kars does not share. However, anyone earning his attention becomes a target for his challenges.

Wamuu is as severe toward himself as he is toward anyone else save his masters. For instance, he once let Joseph beat him as punishment for letting his guard down and strongly disliked that Joseph expressed pity on him. On the other hand, Wamuu has a high opinion of himself, as he regularly deems certain individuals "worthy" or "unworthy" of fighting him. Wamuu also opted to kill the helpless Speedwagon and Caesar who saw his humiliation before being distracted. As a testament to his commitment and strength of character, Wamuu has developed himself an extreme mental switch designed to help him focus if he ever enters a state of shock or panics during combat. Thus, he will gouge his eyes and rely on his wind-sensing horn as a means of seeing. Kars even went further and said that after activating his mental switch, Wamuu no longer has any psychological weaknesses. When it comes to fighting, Wamuu is irritated that a fighter might try to flee or surrender, but he considers using tactics such as ambushes or feints to beat one's opponent acceptable.

The only thing that rivals his sense of honor is his fidelity toward his masters Kars and Esidisi, who raised him since he was a baby. He respects both highly, yet holds no illusion that neither of them has the same sense of honor and can objectively assert their strengths and weaknesses. During his battle with Caesar, he noted that Kars would have an even harder time fighting Caesar than him. Wamuu occasionally requests that his masters change their plans to suit his love of fights, which they allow easily since they have raised Wamuu as their finest warrior but also can refuse. Either way, Wamuu will obey their command.

Wamuu has a weird personality quirk, where he reflexively attacks anyone who steps on his shadow, even if it was one of his masters (Kars and Esidisi). Somehow, Wamuu is able to tell when someone is stepping on his shadow, even if he wasn't looking at their direction.

Abilities
Superhuman Strength: Otherwise only implied, Wamuu demonstrates his strength when he clotheslines a massive stone column and uses it as an effective weapon.

Fighting Genius: Wamuu's signature characteristic, as he was described as a "Fighting Genius" by many characters in the series, including Caesar and Wamuu's own master, Kars. Perhaps his fighting genius was best demonstrated in his fight with Caesar, when, despite being cornered and injured, he managed to escape by using the force generated by Caesar's attack to push himself to safety.

Head Gear: Wamuu's head gear is specially designed to be an "Anti-Ripple Tool". The head gear contains wires that Wamuu used to nullify Caesar's Ripple-charged bubbles, by spinning his head and knocking the bubbles away. Also, the head gear contains a "Horn" that is somehow connected to Wamuu himself, enabling him to sense the wind, and precisely locate any movement or changes in the air surrounding him. The wind-sensing Horn also works as a wind cannon of sort, where he shoots a stream of wind that is destructive enough to slice through huge rocks.

Body Manipulation: Like other Pillar Man, Wamuu can freely manipulating his body structure.
 * Absorption: The cells that constitute Wamuu's body release a potent digestive acid that melts anything organic on physical contact while making it appear the Wamuu is absorbing his victim into his body. Wamuu displayed this ability through grafting the hands of multiple Nazi soldiers in a paper-doll fashion, sucking out all their innards through one of them. Only those who use Ripple are immune as the cells recognize the threat the energy poses to them.

Wind Mode (風の): Wamuu possess what he calls the "Wind Mode", which is an ability he achieved through the Pillar Men's ability to freely control and alter their bodies. Using Wind Mode, Wamuu is able to attack using razor sharp wind that blows out of his own body, capable of shredding a human being to pieces. This even causes trouble for highly-trained Ripple users like Joseph and Caesar.
 * Fighting Technique: Divine Sandstorm (闘技・神砂嵐): Wamuu's signature technique. The attack is initiated when Wamuu starts to spin his forearms rapidly from the elbow joint, where the right arm spins to the left, and the left arm spins to the right. The rapid spinning creates a massive wind storm with enough destructive power to shred a human being into pieces, and make large pieces of rock crumble. The attack was likened to "A Sandstorm in Space" by Joseph.
 * Wind Suit: A technique where Wamuu wraps his body in a whirlwind of steam released from his lungs, using make-shift tubes produced from his own body in order to release the air inside his lungs. The wind suit gives Wamuu the ability to reflect the sun rays off of his body, giving him much needed protection against the sun. Also, by reflecting the light, Wamuu becomes invisible, which gives him the opportunity to launch surprise attacks. However, the wind suit takes a lot of energy to maintain, and only lasts for roughly ten seconds, which forces Wamuu to stay near a sheltered area, in order to take cover once the technique is over.
 * Final Mode: Atmospheric Rift (・渾楔颯): Typically used as a last resort, Wamuu uses the tubes for his wind suit to gather huge amounts of air and compresses it in his lungs. The air is then released through a slit on the horn of his head, causing it to become as sharp as a razor blade. The wind flails about much like a whip and is sharp enough to cut through stone. However, due to the scraping and heat led by the quick wind compression, the technique slowly tears apart Wamuu's body until he collapses.

Background
Wamuu is a member of the race known as the Pillar Men. After Kars' rampage and mass slaughter of the Pillar Men, Wamuu, along with Santana, would be taken up as an infant and trained by Kars and Esidisi. Wamuu would accompany his masters to the old world to find a flawless Red Stone of Aja, their search taking them to Rome where they battled Ripple users before entering a hibernation state under the Roman Colosseum. The wall that he and his masters embedded themselves in was booby trapped to impale potential prey for nourishment as seen with Mario Zeppeli.

Battle Tendency
Wamuu is introduced when he uses his horn to kill one of the Nazis sent to prevent the Pillar Mens' awakening, using the dead man's blood to disable to UV lights. While noting the change in time, Wamuu used his digestive acids to graft the hands of the rest of the Nazi group together, allowing him to absorb them simultaneously. Wamuu, with no one to interfere, then awakens Kars and Esidisi.

As the three set off to find the Red Stone of Aja, Wamuu mortally wounds Mark while passing through the German soldier. Caesar Anthonio Zeppeli was forced to put his dying friend out of his misery before attempting to avenge him, only for Wamuu to overpower him. As Wamuu leaves, he is confronted by Joseph Joestar, who reveals his weapon of choice: ripple-infused metal clackers. Amused at the youth's fighting style, he gnashes Joseph's wrist to give him a minute of his time before he dies of blood loss. Though caught off guard by Joseph's unorthodox fighting method, Wamuu allows himself to be hit out of punishment and then finishes Joseph off with his Divine Sandstorm.

He turns his attention to Caesar and Speedwagon to kill them as witnesses to his scarification, only to be lured away by Joseph on a speeding mine cart. Realizing Joseph was anything but a coward, he saw though Joseph's attempt to blow him up with dynamite and knocks the mine cart off the track. Wamuu was about to finish Joseph off when the human played on his ego and honor to give him a month's reprieve to properly master Ripple and become a worthy opponent. Wamuu accepts, placing a Wedding Ring of Death inside of Joseph's heart to prevent him from "running away" as the poison will take effect within thirty three days. As Esidisi places his own ring in Joseph's throat, Wamuu reveals the antidote to his poison in in his lip ring before taking his leave.

After searching for a Red Stone of Aja in Greece, Wamuu returns to Swizterland where he intercepts Caesar while ripping off Messina's arm and dragging him into the San Moritz which the Pillar Men made their base. It soon escalates into a life-and-death battle with Wamuu nearly defeated, but not before he's able to hit Caesar with a point-blank Divine Sandstorm. Grievously injuring his opponent, Wamuu tells Caesar to cease fighting as he will soon be dead from the massive blood loss. Nevertheless,  Caesar uses the last of his strength to rip Wamuu's lip piercing and seals it in a bubble of his own blood for Joseph. Wamuu, showing respect in Caesar's last act, does not take back the antidote and leaves while remarking that Caesar Zeppeli is worthy of being remembered by him.

Wamuu is present when Lisa Lisa convinces Kars to settle things in a series of one-on-one matches at Skeleton Heel Stone arena, with Joseph and Wamuu to settle their affairs in a deadly chariot race. Joseph initially piles pebbles in front of Wamuu's chariot wheels to stall him, and then proceeds to grab the sledgehammer. Wamuu, however, takes the pillar from which the sledgehammer hung and uses it to knock Joseph from his chariot, aiming to trample him with his own. Joseph uses the sledgehammer to vault over Wamuu's horses and attack him from the chariot. Wamuu, however, hides in one of the horses and ambushes Joseph with his Holy Sandstorm, which gets countered by Joseph entangling his arms with Ripple-infused reins, tearing his arms apart and causing Wamuu, who was proud of his Holy Sandstorm, to suffer psychological trauma. Wamuu counters this by gouging out his eyes in order to remove his psychological weakness and uses his horn to perceive Joseph.



Kars announces the next round of weapons, in which the person picks a large crossbow and a small one. As Joseph takes the larger crossbow, Wamuu settles with the smaller one. When Joseph tries to avoid this by hiding behind the central flame in order to prevent him from seeing through the fire, Wamuu fires his bolt at the outer wall of the racetrack to hit Joseph, but is countered in this manner by Joseph's bolt hitting him in the same manner while Joseph distracts him by flinging pebbles at him pretending to fear for his life. Now on the verge of death, Wamuu detaches his already-limp arms and fires them at Joseph from his torso, while accessing his final form to end his opponent. Joseph counters that by throwing a bottle of oil and Caesar's burning headband at Wamuu. Wamuu slices them both, but the attack inhaled the oil and the headband, causing his body to explode and leaving his head, with the Ripple slowly killing him.

Joseph gives Wamuu some of his own blood to ease his pain, which enrages Wamuu, who sees the action as pity. Joseph corrects him by telling him it was out of honor; The same reason Wamuu ignored the bubble left by Caesar. Wamuu uses the last of his strength to destroy a group of vampires that attempted to kill Joseph. His horn breaks off, and he admits that despite swearing loyalty to Kars, he lived by his own code of honor. Wamuu asks Joseph to consume the antidote before he fades away, claiming that the action alone is enough for him to know. Bidding farewell to the man whom defeated him, Wamuu smiles as his head crumbles to ash that scatters in the wind, with Joseph giving an unconscious salute to him.

All Star Battle (PS3)
Wamuu was one of the first four characters announced for the PS3 title, the others being: Jotaro, Joseph (Part 2) and Gyro Zeppeli. Along with Esidisi and Kars, Wamuu uses the "Mode" style as part of his moveset, which allows him to temporarily boost his strength and performance among other things, at the cost of the Heart Heat Gauge.

During a fight, Wamuu can use several different attacks that were featured in Battle Tendency. Wamuu himself has high health and the is the tallest character in the whole game out all 41 that are playable (save for Vanilla Ice with Cream active).
 * With the strength of a pillar!: Wamuu steps forward a delivers a lariat that downs the opponent if it connects, making them hit the floor hard enough to bounce. (Comboable)


 * Raging Tornado Aftermath!: Wamuu spins the wires on his headgear to hit and push away his opponent. This move has the added effect of nullifying most projectiles aside from those fired through HHA/GHA.

Exclusive to Wamuu is the ability "I shall see the wind!", which blinds him and summons his horn for the rest of the battle. Wamuu cannot chain normal attacks together, and as a result, Easy Beat can no longer be used, but he is given access to the ability "Whooosh!", and chip damage (damage dealt to an opponent through their guard) is added/increased in all of his attacks and abilities.
 * Never stand in my shadow!: Wamuu performs an upward reverse kick augmented by the wind that knocks the opponent into the air. This move doubles as an anti-air. (Comboable)
 * Smitten by the great Wamuu!: Wamuu somersaults and unleashes a downward punch that grounds the opponent. This move is a middle attack that cannot be blocked if the opponent is crouching, and can be used while in mid-air. (Comboable if Wind Mode or Wind Protector is active)
 * The power of flexibility: Wamuu performs a slow forward flip, and while this does do nothing except act as a feint or cancel, a second press of the attack button during this initial animation makes him deliver a flying kick. If it connects, a second kick sends his opponent flying a long way.
 * Victim of your own delusion: This move can only be performed if the opponent is down; Wamuu brings out a broken column and smashes them with it. This doubles as a middle attack that cannot be blocked if the opponent is crouching should they get up before it lands.
 * Whooosh!: This move is only available after "I shall see the wind!" is performed. Wamuu slides forward horn-first to attack the opponent. (Comboable)
 * Throw - Go for the throat and lungs!: Wamuu jams his fingers into the opponent's neck before slamming them into the ground.

By spending his Heart Heat Gauge, Wamuu can activate Wind Mode in order to not only increase the overall damage of his moves, but exclusive to him, grant invincibility when performing them. This mode lasts until the HHG empties, but can be extended through dealing or taking damage, as well as ended at any time in conservation.

Expending a stock of the HHG grants Wamuu access to Wind Protector, strengthening his abilities even further, granting immunity to flinching and being knocked back, and automatically nullifying most projectiles aside from fired through HHA/GHA and Caesar's Bubble Cutters. This mode is on a set timer, and will end when the stock is used up.

Wamuu's HHA is his signature "Fighting Technique: Holy Sandstorm!" which, using his arms, creates a huge sandstorm on the screen. The HHA does not require an initial hit to connect in order to work, and will not stop until it finishes or Wamuu is interrupted. Wamuu may perform his HHA while Wind Protector is active, regardless of how much of the Heart Heat Gauge he has left. Doing so however, will drop his HHG to zero.

Wamuu's GHA is his "Final Mode: Gathering Gale", turning his horn into a giant wind-based drill to knock the opponent into the air above him. He then rapidly juggles them above his head with the drill as it shapes itself into a mobius strip, and if most hits land successfully, finishes by focusing the drill into his opponent for a powerful attack that sends them flying. The GHA does not require an initial hit to connect in order to work, and will not stop until it finishes.

If used on "The Battlefield" stage, Wamuu will be frequently praised by Kars, whom is in the background. This is assuming that Wamuu is not fighting Kars himself.

Wamuu's default appearance is from his final battle in the Coliseum against Joseph, but he also possesses two different alternate costumes: The first one being his normal Pillar Men attire (first seen during the Pillar Men's introduction), and his second being the outfit he wore when he fought Caesar Zeppeli for the second time.

Stardust Shooters (Android/iOS)
Wamuu appears as one of several Part 2 characters who possess a Metal Striker. His FINISH MOVE has him spin the wires on his head to attack the defeated opponent. His LEVEL 3 Metal Striker ability reproduces a brief video from his All Star Battle's HHA move, using the Holy Sandstorm.

Eyes of Heaven (PS3/PS4)
Wamuu returns as a playable character in Eyes of Heaven, and was confirmed alongside the other Pillar Men Kars and Esidisi.

As a Pillar Man, Wamuu has the special ability Switch Mode, exclusive to the Mode style. His specific Mode is Wind Mode. He is also able to stand and walk on the spike pit in the Air Supplena Island stage without taking damage (though he will still take extra damage if knocked down onto the spikes).
 * Style Action - Wind Mode: Wamuu surrounds himself with streaks of wind. While active, Wamuu's Normal Attacks and skills are enhanced.
 * (GRIN): This skill can only be activated if Wamuu has full guard durability and guards before an attack hits. Wamuu contorts his upper body to dodge any assault. In addition, some of the Dual Heat Gauge is filled. In Wind Mode, this skill will activate anytime Wamuu is hit while guarding.
 * The aftermath of a tornado!: Wamuu spins the wires on his headgear to generate a vortex field that rapidly hits opponents and nullifies projectiles. In Wind Mode, the size of the field and the damage it deals to an opponent's guard is increased, it lasts longer, and it can nullify EX projectiles.
 * Fighting Technique: Holy Sandstorm!: Using his arms, Wamuu creates a huge sandstorm. Opponents caught take rapid damage and are knocked high into the air and away from Wamuu. In Wind Mode, it can deal more hits and damage, and the size of the sandstorm is larger.
 * Protector of the Winds: Wamuu uses the wind to temporarily turns invisible. While active, he cannot be locked onto or be hit by any projectiles other than Caesar's Bubble Cutters and their Gliding variation.
 * EX - The aftermath of a tornado!: The execution of the skill and Wamuu's recovery from using it is quicker.
 * EX - Fighting Technique: Holy Sandstorm!: The skill gains all of its benefits from Wind Mode regardless of whether or not it is currently active, grants Wamuu invincibility during activation, and gains an extra increase in damage.
 * Now I will shut out the light, and with this horn see only the wind!: This a secondary Switch Mode ability available to Wamuu only when he has one health bar left. Wamuu blinds himself and summons his horn for the rest of the battle. From the player's point of view, the screen becomes a deep blue and most details are obscured, while moving objects and people glow a bright pink. In exchange for being unable to lock on, Wamuu gains more powerful variations to his Normal Attack combos and regeneration boost to white damage.
 * Iron Ball Crossbow!: Wamuu loads a large crossbow and fires it, sending opponents flying with the heavy iron ball. If it hits a wall, the ball will ricochet once towards the nearest opponent. In Wind Mode, the iron ball gains a damage and speed boost.
 * Dual Heat Attack - Final Mode: Gathering Gale: It works the same as the one from All Star Battle, except Wamuu does not create the mobius strip when he juggles the opponent, nor does he hit them as rapidly or for as long.

JoJolities
Unlike the previous game, Wamuu's main color scheme is now based on his anime appearance.
 * I, Wamuu, will now consider you to be worthy prey!: Wamuu must activate "Protector of the Winds". (200 Points)
 * He threw his body back instead!: Wamuu must perform the charged Powerful Attack. (200 Points)
 * There is no saving you now!: Wamuu must Retire an opponent. (300 Points)
 * A Microcosm of Sheer Destruction: Wamuu must connect "Fighting Technique: Holy Sandstorm" 3 times. (500 Points)
 * That was my first truly satisfying battle in a while: Wamuu must Retire an opponent while Wind Mode is active. (800 Points)

Tournament
Wamuu is paired with N'Doul in the Eyes of Heaven Tournament, defeating Lisa Lisa and Funny Valentine in the first round, but eliminated by Jonathan Joestar and DIO in the second.

Gallery
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Trivia

 * Wamuu's line "Awaken My Masters!" (目覚めたまえッ！我が主たちよ) has become a meme, usually credited to his voice actor's delivery of the line and the immediate posing the awakened Pillar Men perform.
 * If character heights in All Star Battle are to be believed, Wamuu is the tallest of the Pillar Men, being a full head taller than Kars.
 * The character is frequently refered to as "Wham" to sound exactly like his namesake, however, this is a hypercorrection - while syllables ending with "u" sound are indeed used to substitute for single consonants in Japanese due to its phonetic structure, the name "Wamuu" has an additional "u" at the end (ワムウ), creating a long u sound at the end, and is not identical to the Japanese katakana transcription of its namesake band (ワム).