Robert E. O. Speedwagon

Robert Edward O Speedwagon is a fictional character from the Japanese manga JoJo's Bizarre Adventure. The character is portrayed a friend of the protagonist.

Phantom Blood (1888-9)
Robert Edward O Speedwagon (often known simply as Speedwagon) is probably the most loyal friend to the Joestar family. He first appeared as an Ogre Street thug boss attacking Jonathan Joestar, but soon realized the young man's worthiness and dedication, and becomes his good friend.

He helped uncover Dio Brando's plot to assassinate George Joestar and from that point onward remained by Jonathan's side, helping in whatever way he could to defeat Dio. According to William Antonio Zeppeli, Speedwagon could never master the art of hamon, a fact that greatly distressed Speedwagon, though pushed the pressure point in Speedwagon's midsection to give him the ability to harness "small ripples". However, Speedwagon can hold his own in a fight, as initially demonstrated during his fight against Jonathan, when he used his hat with a hidden buzz-saw, but mostly sits back and remains in the sidelines, as he is not a hamon user and can't fight in the same league as the zombies and vampires. He does however offer words of encouragement through the entire adventure. After Zeppeli's death, he takes on wearing his hat as a remembrance of their fallen ally.

Battle Tendency (1938-9)
Speedwagon had traveled to America sometime in between the events of Phantom Blood and Battle Tendency, where he would discover oil and form the powerful Speedwagon Foundation. His team would discover the pillar man Santana, but during that discovery, Straights would betray them and turn into a vampire himself, killing several researchers whose blood would awaken Santana. Speedwagon would have died from his wounds if it had not been for his rescue by Rudolph von Stroheim, a Nazi general conducting experiments with the Stone Mask and Santana.

Legacy
Speedwagon dies of a heart attack at the age of 89. Even after his death, he would dedicate the Speedwagon Foundation to biochemical science and technology and use it to help the Joestar family throughout Parts 3-6. His men would go on to help Jotaro destroy the remains of Dio and create the prosthetic hand for Joseph Joestar, as well as study the Stand-creating Arrow, analyze Giorno Giovanna's Joestar bloodline, and maintain Jotaro's health after his Stand 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.

Trivia

 * Speedwagon's original hat had buzz-saws built into it which he used to fight Jonathan during their first encounter. From there on, he never uses them again.


 * There are several similarities between Speedwagon and Dio: like Dio he came from a poor family, fights with dirty moves and believes Jonathan to be a foolish man. However unlike Dio his heart was right and he eventually changed for the better, becoming a better person. Ironically enough, he obtained all that Dio wanted: discovering oil in America and becoming rich as a result, as well as becoming one of the most recognized people in the world.


 * He never married, but Joseph believed him to have held some attraction to Erina. It was hinted that they remained separate due to their mutual respect for the deceased Jonathan.