Robert E. O. Speedwagon

"You look like you're wondering who I am, so I'll introduce myself. I am the interfering Speedwagon!"

- Robert E. O. Speedwagon

Robert E. O. Speedwagon (ロバート・E・O・スピードワゴン) is a major ally featured in Phantom Blood and Battle Tendency of the manga JoJo's Bizarre Adventure. He is depicted as a 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.

Appearance
Robert E. O. Speedwagon is a man of medium height and athletic build. In his prime, he is portrayed with a long fair-haired and a large scar across the left cheek, leading from his nose to his jaw. His typical attire consists of a three-piece dark suit with tie, and a bowler hat (in which are hidden blades). In the later portion of Phantom Blood, he replaces his headpiece with Will A. Zeppeli's chessboard patterned top hat.

In Battle Tendency, Speedwagon sports a grayed flattop and a much older complexion. His wears an elderly three piece suit complete with a tie and at times, a fedora decorated with a feather.

Personality
"I'll always be there for you guys. If you need me I'll come no matter where it is. Though I might just get in the way."

- Speedwagon

Robert E. O. Speedwagon is a hot-blooded and honorable street thug and later businessman.

Despite his activity as a hoodlum, Speedwagon is a righteous man. 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, whose facade as a cover for his naturally evil behavior was easily denied by Speedwagon. Speedwagon is incredibly loyal to his friends, befriending Jonathan was in part due to the gentleman being kind to his partners. He will try to do anything to help them, and 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. Equipped with a courteous nature, 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 leaves Jonathan to Erina's care. This righteousness would be a characteristic of him throughout his life, as an elderly Speedwagon specifies in his will that his foundation should be used to fund medical and archaeological advancements, and his organization aids the Joestar family time and time again long after his death.

Apart from that, Speedwagon is both anxious and hot-blooded. He is very extroverted and loudly conveys his feelings, from enthusiastically describing Jonathan fighting, to his despair at seeing Kars become the Ultimate Lifeform. Speedwagon constantly seeks to help his companions in various more or less convoluted ways. He notably breaks into a hospital to emotionally support Jonathan, harasses Zeppeli so that he would teach him the Ripple, and has thought of using the warmth of his stomach to unfreeze Zeppeli's arm. Speedwagon also has often tried to confront zombies only for him to be frightened away.

History
Robert E. O. Speedwagon is a man who lived in darkness ever since he was born. Growing up on the dangerous Ogre Street, he stole things to live and met all kinds of bad people in his life. It reached the point of him being able to tell a good person apart from a bad person just by their smell. He eventually became the leader of the thieves in Ogre Street, and befriended a Kempo Master and Tattoo.

During his youth Speedwagon has traveled over the world, seeing exotic animals in Africa, strange Asian plants and Caribbean tornadoes.

Phantom Blood (1888-1889)
Speedwagon first appears as an Ogre Street thug boss attacking Jonathan Joestar, but after being defeated, realizes the young man's worthiness and dedication, and becomes his good friend. He helps to uncover Dio Brando's plot to assassinate George Joestar, and from that point onward remains by Jonathan's side. After a fight with a newly vampirized Dio takes place, Speedwagon visits Jonathan in the hospital, only to be forced out by Jonathan's childhood friend Erina Pendleton. He also accompanies Jonathan and Ripple master William Anthonio Zeppeli to Windknight's Lot in their mission to finish Dio off.

According to Zeppeli, Speedwagon could never master the art of the Ripple, a fact that greatly distressed Speedwagon. Upon arriving at Windknight's, Zeppeli attempts to push a pressure point in Speedwagon's midsection anyway, in order to give him the ability to harness "small ripples" but missed the right location and ended up hurting Speedwagon instead. The group encounters Dio soon after and is forced to fight off an army of zombies; Speedwagon aids by attacking a few with a giant hammer. When Zeppeli's arm is frozen by Dio, Speedwagon thaws it by placing it on his own flesh. After Zeppeli's death at the hands of Tarkus, he takes on wearing his hat as a remembrance of their fallen ally.

In the climactic battle against Dio, Speedwagon assists the group by fending off zombies, and making an attempt to hinder Dio by destroying his arm. Following the battle, Speedwagon smashes the Stone Mask with his sledgehammer. The morning after Jonathan and Erina marry, Speedwagon is seen reading about their story in the newspaper, only to rush to the docks after realizing their honeymoon cruise was about to set sail. He successfully sees them off, though did not know of the immediate tragedy that would befall them until later.

Post-Phantom Blood
In the years following the death of Jonathan Joestar, Speedwagon had traveled to America, where he discovered oil and formed the powerful Speedwagon Foundation. It is also during this time that he helped raise Joseph Joestar as his uncle figure. At some point, Speedwagon was kidnapped on a hijacked plane and was going to be sold for ransom, if not for the efforts of Joseph.

Immediately before the events of Battle Tendency, Speedwagon learns of the discovery of the Pillar Man Santana, and the existence of a number of other Stone Masks.

Battle Tendency (1938-1939)
Speedwagon, now an old man, and his team meets with Straizo in order to show him Santana so that he may use the Ripple to destroy him. Straizo, however, betrays them and willingly turns himself into a vampire. Straizo murders several researchers and nearly kills Speedwagon as well, but throws all of their bodies into the river to prevent Santana from awakening by absorbing their blood.

Speedwagon would have died from his wounds if it had not been for his 'rescue' at the hands of Rudol von Stroheim, a Nazi general conducting experiments with the Stone Mask and Santana. Speedwagon seems helpless in the presence of the Stroheim, and soon Santana himself whom broke out of his containment. Joseph arrives with the intent of rescuing Speedwagon from the Nazis, only to save him from the greater threat. After Santana's defeat, Speedwagon travels with Joseph to Italy in order to meet Caesar Anthonio Zeppeli, where he disappointingly watches as the two squabble in stark contrast to the cooperation of Jonathan and Will.

He goes with them to where the three other Pillar Men are, and bears witness to the awakening of Wamuu, Esidisi, and Kars, becoming a by-stander in the ensuing fight. Afterwards, Speedwagon spends most of the story accompanying Erina and Smokey, while withholding information about the Pillar Men and Joseph's life-threatening predicament from Erina at his request. Speedwagon and Smokey reappear once again during Joseph's battle with Kars, having come with assistance of the Nazis against the army of vampires. Once again, Speedwagon becomes a spectator to unfortunate events, as Kars successfully turns into the Ultimate Lifeform, hunting down Joseph as his first goal. Speedwagon desperately begs for Joseph to go into hiding rather than attempt to face him head-on, saying that he doesn't "want to lose him too", but is ignored as the young man goes off on his own.

Later, Speedwagon is one of the group of people who attends Joseph's funeral, comforting Erina as he's the only other person still alive who can understand the scope of her agony and the tragedy of the Joestar family. However, Joseph himself immediately shows up and reveals his surviving the final confrontation with Kars, much to everyone's joy and relief.

Legacy
Speedwagon dies in 1952 of a heart attack at the age of 89. As a lifelong bachelor, he leaves no family behind. After his death, the Speedwagon Foundation is dedicated to biochemical science and technology, and assists the Joestar family throughout Parts 3-6. His men go on to create a prosthetic hand for Joseph, help Jotaro destroy the remains of DIO as well as study the Stand-creating Arrow, analyze Giorno Giovanna's Joestar bloodline, and maintain Jotaro's health after his Stand and memory discs are stolen by Whitesnake.

Steel Ball Run
Mountain Tim is most likely Speedwagon's counterpart, as they sport the same hairstyle and Tim later receives the same prominent scar across the face as the one Speedwagon has. This is further supported when comparing the possible unrequited relationship between Speedwagon and Erina, and the one of Tim and Lucy Steel, who is considered one of Erina's SBR counterparts.

The Speedwagon Foundation is also mentioned as a sponsor of the race, but its origin is not revealed.

Abilities
It is said 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 purely based off 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 later half of Part 1. 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 the anime, Speedwagon tried to smash one of Dio's severed hand with it.

Following the events of Part 1, 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.

Relationships

 * Jonathan Joestar: Jonathan's most loyal friend. An enemy at first, he later joined Jonathan on his quest after seeing the protagonist's dedication and courteous nature. In his later years, he founded The Speedwagon Foundation, which has become the Joestar Family's most useful asset in battling Stand users and supernatural research.
 * William Zeppeli: Originally, Zeppeli thought Speedwagon would run away at the first sign of danger as he couldn't use Ripple, but he eventually respects his courage when Speedwagon stays despite his shortcomings. After Zeppeli was killed, Speedwagon donned his hat out of respect.
 * Tattoo and Kempo Fighter: Old acquaintances of Speedwagon's from his time in Ogre street. While Speedwagon temporarily abandons them to help Jonathan destroy Dio, they remain friends all the same.
 * Caesar A. Zeppeli: After beginning his training of the Ripple, Caesar devoted his life to revenge against the ones who killed his father. Having been friends with his grandfather, Speedwagon informed Caesar of the events that led to Will Zeppeli's death. Other than this, their relationship is unknown aside from being acquaintances in the fight against the Pillar Men. However, it is possible that the hat Caesar is seen wearing during his first appearance was the same hat Speedwagon inherited from Will after he died.
 * Dio Brando: After hearing from Jonathan what Dio was doing to George Joestar I, Speedwagon decided to help with finding the man that sold Dio the poison. Dio openly declares that after killing Jonathan, he would dispose of Speedwagon as well for being involved. After everything that had happened at the Joestar Mansion, Speedwagon went along with Jonathan and Zeppeli to defeat Dio, knowing that he was too dangerous now as a vampire to be left running around.

Famicom Jump: Hero Retsuden (NES)
Old Speedwagon appears in the game as one of the characters Joseph can talk with to obtain minor information during the JoJo's Bizarre Adventure part of the story.

Phantom Blood (PS2)
Speedwagon makes his playable debut in the Phantom Blood PS2 game. Introduced as a boss alongside Kempo Master and Tattoo, the player fights them as Jonathan.

As a Boss character, Speedwagon uses punches and kicks as normal moves, and can throw his bowler hat at Jonathan as a special move. After being beaten, Speedwagon becomes a playable character in some chapters, changing his moveset to allow him to fight using a hammer. His special move has him spin several times, hammering nearby enemies.

All-Star Battle (PS3)
Speedwagon appears as the main narrator of the game, guiding the player in the Main Menu. Speedwagon verbalizes opinions on many of the other game mode guides and their personalities, usually to the effect of confusion or caution. He also appears in the 5th PV, introducing new characters and game mechanics.

Speedwagon also appears in the background and as part of the stage hazard in Dio's Castle; He notices when the chandelier is about to fall, and loudly warns both fighters.

Stardust Shooters (Android/iOS)
Speedwagon appears as one of several characters who possesses a Metal Striker. Both his Part 1 and Part 2 incarnations appear as playable Metal Strikers.

His Part 1 incarnation's Finishing Move throws his bowler hat at the opponent, while his Part 2 incarnation simply makes a "hit" effect appear on defeated opponents.

Eyes of Heaven (PS3/PS4)
Speedwagon was confirmed as a playable character alongside Jonathan Joestar and William Anthonio Zeppeli in Eyes of Heaven.

His Style is titled Ogre Street, and his playstyle revolves around summoning his allies from Ogre Street to assist him in battle with his combos or act as shields, as hitting them temporarily takes them out of the battle. He also serves as a narrator for the 1st demo's and tutorial's battles, PV4, and EoH Character introduction videos, where he is referred to as 'The Interfering Speedwagon'.

His GHA is throwing the Saw-Hat at his opponent as a projectile, slashing them several times and finally, hurting them down to their bones.

He appears in the game's Story Mode as his Part 1 incarnation, stopping Joseph and Jotaro at the Cairo airport after the final battle with DIO, and serves as a core ally within the story. In his timeline, Speedwagon, Jonathan, and Zeppeli were travelling to Windknight's Lot. Due to an interference by Funny Valentine, Speedwagon accidentally stumbles upon a Saint's corpse part. He explains to Jotaro, Joseph, Polnareff, and Kakyoin that the Saint's spirit told him to find Jonathan's descendants and their allies, and then to find the remaining corpse parts because a new threat is about to dominate the universe.

During his journey with Jotaro and their recruited allies, they reach Speedwagon's original timeline, and discover that they are in the Joestar Mansion, which was supposed to have been destroyed during the night Dio turned into a vampire. Jonathan walks toward them with injuries he sustained from Dio's zombies and introduces himself to Jotaro. Once Diego Brando arrives, Speedwagon takes Jonathan's place while he's recovering and aids Jotaro to defeat the duo.

While visiting the timeline of Battle Tendency, the elder Joseph Joestar of Part 3 convinces his younger self that he is Joseph in the future by telling Speedwagon to come out of the turtle. Young Joseph recalls seeing a photo of the younger Speedwagon and is shocked to see him in person.

During the first confrontation against Heaven Ascension DIO, Speedwagon is the only ally shown among the protagonists, while the others are all inside Coco Jumbo.

In the credits, he is seen along with an alive Zeppeli during the final battle between Jonathan and Dio.

Tournament
He is paired with Ermes Costello in the Eyes of Heaven Tournament, but was eliminated in the preliminaries by Narancia Ghirga and Diego Brando.

Trivia

 * There are several similarities between Speedwagon and Dio. Like Dio, he came from a poor family, fights with dirty moves, believes Jonathan to be a foolish man, and is named after a prominent rock group. However, unlike Dio, he had a change of heart and became a better person. Ironically enough, he obtained the level of success that Dio desired: discovering oil in America and becoming rich as a result, as well as becoming one of the most recognized people in the world through his organization.
 * Speedwagon's sharp hat may be based on Auric Goldfinger's henchman, Oddjob's sharp bowler hat.
 * In the anime, several of Speedwagon's attempts to help the group were cut or shortened.

Gallery
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