Hol Horse

""Better to be No.2 than No.1", that's my motto!"

- Hol Horse

Hol Horse (ホル・ホース) is a minor recurring antagonist featured in Stardust Crusaders.

Hol Horse is a mercenary wielding Emperor, a Stand that looks like and functions similarly to a gun. He was originally sent by DIO to confront the Joestar Group alongside J. Geil. However, after his partner is defeated first, he makes a tactical retreat, returning for two following encounters. He first reappears caught in the cross fire of Enya the Hag's own attempt to kill the Joestar Group and one last time to attack them himself alongside Boingo, finally being defeated in the latter encounter.

Appearance
Hol Horse is a man of above-average height and medium build. At his back, he has light, neck-length hair. He has dimples in his cheeks and a cleft chin.

He wears mostly light-colored clothes with a dark undershirt and a wide-brimmed hat from which hang two long, thin, loose straps; and a loose, sleeveless top or a type of poncho, hanging below his waist in a rectangle of the fabric of mid-thigh length. His clothing resembles that of a cowboy from a Western but is distinctly different at the same time.

Personality
First appearing as seemingly confident and smooth-talking with women, Hol Horse looks and acts like a stereotypical movie gunslinger. However, whenever he is at a disadvantage, his cowardice surfaces.

As a henchman for DIO, Hol Horse's confidence fluctuates significantly. Unlike many overconfident Stand users, Hol Horse is primarily aware of how weak his Stand, Emperor, is when compared to most Stands. This knowledge combined with his affable personality (since he has no problem being a second-in-command rather than a "Number 1" ) makes him willing to partner up with someone else. In that case, Hol Horse is very confident that he can take on anyone. This confidence extends to whenever he can convince himself that he has the advantage, which leads to his assassination attempt on DIO with a calm determination the vampire complimented and deemed enough to prevail against the Joestar Group. On the other hand, if Hol Horse sees that he doesn't have the upper hand, he reveals his cowardly self and doesn't hesitate to flee in the face of danger. Hol Horse fled twice, for this reason; first when he learned that J. Geil was killed, and secondly when he saw the opportunity of stealing the Joestar Group's 4x4. Still, Hol Horse has a lingering pride and his first reflex, as seen against Enya the Hag and DIO, is to put up a fight if ridiculed.

Hol Horse considers himself a ladies' man. By his word, he has girlfriends from all over the world, but reveals that he seduces them to make use of them later rather than from any romantic feelings. Although he almost always lies to women, Hol Horse is against hitting them. He vehemently denied Tohth's prediction of him kicking a lady from behind would come to pass, as he had sworn never to hit women. This prediction is proven later out of Hol Horse's own compulsion, though he kicked the woman to save her from a deadly scorpion. This moral standard didn't prevent Hol Horse from pointing his Stand at Enya. However, that was out of self-defense as the latter had blamed Hol Horse for her son's death and refused to listen to reason.

Hol Horse has a greedy personality, carrying out assassinations for money, and the possibility of taking DIO's treasures was one motivation for his attempt to kill DIO.

Abilities
Hol Horse's Stand is Emperor; a handgun over the bullets of which he maintains control of a fine degree (in a style nullifying the need for marksmanship).

Hol Horse partners with J. Geil of the Stand Hanged Man, and later Boingo of the Stand Tohth, who both complement his abilities well. He says that he prefers to operate with a partner.

Stand Tarot Card
The stand represents the Tarot Card,, which symbolizes stability over one's life due to their hard work, discipline, and self control. Unlike most of DIO's henchmen Hol Horse is a mercenary, not imbued with a flesh bud and fighting willingly. He is allowed to quit hunting the Crusaders whenever he wants (albeit his payment is forfeit) and even struck an alliance with them when facing Enya.

His cowardice and satisfaction with a "Second best" title gives him agency over of his own path, and allowed him to escape the consequences of defeat from Crusaders numerous times. He also accepts DIO's ultimatum to fall in line or die after a failed attempt at betraying him, representing self control symbolized by The Emperor. Understanding his own weaknesses and remaining in those lines allows Hol Horse to survive and thrive where other antagonists have not. The Emperor also represents wealth, reflecting Hol Horse's greed being his prime motivator in battling the Crusaders.

In his Stand's case, The Emperor represents his ability to control the trajectory of his bullets.

Emperor and Hanged Man
Hol Horse arrives at Calcutta on elephant-back with Nena, a young girl whose marriage proposal he turns down while claiming to be thinking of her best interests. He meets with J. Geil and the two decide to kill Jean Pierre Polnareff while he is separated from the Joestar Group. The following day, Hol Horse confronts Polnareff with his Emperor Stand while J. Geil supports him through his Hanged Man. When Muhammad Avdol intervenes to save Polnareff, Hol Horse severely injures Avdol, believing him to be dead from the headshot he administered. After separating from J.Geil and the protagonists, Hol Horse catches up to Polnareff and Noriaki Kakyoin and learns that they had already killed J. Geil. Knowing he could not handle the two Stand users alone, Hol Horse flees before he's intercepted by Jotaro Kujo and Joseph Joestar. Nena's interference, however, gives him a chance to escape, with the Joestar Group deciding to let him go.

Justice
Hol Horse later appears before Enya the Hag during her attempt on the Joestar Group's lives and is attacked by her as she considered him equally responsible for the death of her son, J. Geil. While seemingly killed by Enya's Stand, Hol Horse played dead until he was able to escape via the Joestar Group's vehicle, vowing to get his revenge later.

Later, while reporting to DIO on Alessi's and Mariah's defeat, he tries to attack the vampire when questioned on why he is not fighting the Joestar group. He is cowed by DIO's power and, broken, swears eternal loyalty to DIO and decides to attack the Joestar group with a new partner.

Hol Horse and Boingo
Hol Horse flies to Aswan to forcibly take Boingo with him for assistance in dispatching the protagonists with Tohth. On the way out of the airport, Hol Horse antagonizes a pair of men and makes them flee when he shoots one man's ear off. Afterward, he manages to convince Boingo to work with him. At first, Hol Horse is taken aback by Tohth's strange predictions but is ultimately convinced of their reliability after he kicks a woman to save her from a scorpion and is rewarded with a jewel.

Hol Horse and Boingo then stalk the Joestar Group in the streets of Cairo, knowing that Hol Horse must now put his fingers in Polnareff's nose which will somehow end up in victory. Polnareff does surprise Hol Horse and almost takes him out but Boingo distracts Polnareff, allowing Hol Horse to put his fingers in Polnareff's nose. As the rest of the group comes to Polnareff, Hol Horse is forced to hide in a corner and hold Polnareff at gunpoint to force him to lie. Polnareff tips off the group and thanks to his irritated nose, manages to avoid being shot by sneezing, making Hol Horse stumble out of his hiding place. Cornered, Hol Horse is saved when the two thugs from earlier try to run him down but their truck slips on spilled oil and crashes into the heroes instead.

Hol Horse and Boingo retreat behind another corner and see that Hol Horse will shoot into a pipe at noon exactly and put bullets through Jotaro's head. Nervous and eager, Hol Horse ends up shooting too early into the pipe and Jotaro Kujo is saved when Polnareff sneezes again on his face, making him back out of the bullet's path in disgust. The operation goes horribly awry as Tohth's prediction backfires on them, ending with Emperor's own bullets hitting Hol Horse right in the face, just as he realizes the time on his watch was advanced. While severe, the bullet wounds stop just short of his skull with Hol Horse hospitalized for the remainder of the story.

In the OVA
Hol Horse also appears in the two-parter episodes "The Emperor and the Hanged Man" and "The Judgement", a straight adaptation of his manga debut. His last appearances are in the Enya the Hag two-parter episodes which adapt her manga chapters as well. The scene where Hol Horse enters DIO's castle and attempts to shoot him happens before the group faces Enya. Unlike in the manga, at the end of the "Justice" episode of the OVA, Hol Horse is rendered comatose but still alive, and does not hinder the Joestar group any further.

JoJo RPG (SFC)
Hol Horse appears multiple times throughout this game re-enacting most of his moments from the series. His final encounter with the player has him teaming up with Mariah to try and take Jotaro and the others down.

Heritage for the Future (PS1/DC/Arcade)
Hol Horse appears in the second revision of the game and possesses two different versions of himself, one where he is allied with J. Geil and Hanged Man; and the other where he is allied with Boingo and Tohth, due to what happens to him in the story. While normal Hol Horse is readily available, Hol Horse's "Boingo" version must be unlocked via code.

In the first version of the game (JoJo's Venture), a few sprites of Hol Horse can be found within the game's data, showing that he was at one point planned instead to debut in the first version.

Storyline
If he defeats the Joestar party while partnered up with J. Geil, the arrogant cowboy will turn on DIO (in his Shadow Form) and defeat him, though still admitting he prefers to be a second-in-command.

On the other hand, if the humbled Hol Horse partnered with Boingo defeats the party, DIO grants him a cash sum substantial enough for Hol to "live happily ever after", while Boingo decides to use his Stand to help people.

Hol Horse ("& Boingo" version) appears to be able to use his Stand after being de-aged by Alessi, implying he either was born or developed his Stand at a young age.

Strategy
As Hol Horse lacks an "active" Stand, pressing the Stand button has him fire a bullet that briefly stops in midair, moving in whatever direction the player inputs during this time. The delay is significantly shorter for the "& Boingo" version of Hol Horse.

Predictably, most of Hol Horse's strategies revolve around utilizing his gun (Emperor) to harass his opponents from the distance. He possesses no Active Stand, which renders him extremely vulnerable to chip damage (which having a Stand active would normally block) and forces the player take a more aggressive role, or at the very least avoid attacks instead of blocking them. His Glass Shower move is excellent for denying aerial attacks and forcing opponents backwards, while Hanged Man (normal Hol Horse only) can help Hol by stabbing his opponent in the leg and paralyzing them while they are on the ground.

While all of Hol's super techniques are very usable, the one that shines the most is his Dangan no Modou, which allows him to fire a bullet and freely control it with the joystick for a few moments. This attack is completely unblockable, and can be used repeatedly until Hol's super gauge is empty. This is a great way of finishing off an enemy who is playing defensively or just equalizing an opponent who has more energy than you.

In summary, Hol Horse shines at medium range, as his close quarters attacks are less than impressive, and his bullets become easy to avoid from across the screen. Aggressive gameplay is the way to go with him, as most of his delays give enough buffer to link together attacks. Keep the pressure on with plenty of straight shots (be sure to mix-up between high and low to keep your opponent guessing—all of your bullets CAN be steered to hit high or low, and your enemy has to block them correctly!) and use the Glass Shower to cover your tracks when they try to rush. Hanged Man is great for opening your opponent to a world of hurt from your bullets, but if you're with Boingo, you may have to attack carefully or be on the defensive. Or, you can just experiment with his moveset and make your own strategy, as his techniques allow for a great deal of flexibility depending on who your opponent is.

Techniques

 * Mighty Gun
 * Glass Shower
 * Hanged Man
 * Super Mighty Gun
 * Wild West
 * Wooden Nickels
 * Pipe Maze
 * Absolute Premonition

All Star Battle (PS3)
Hol Horse returns as a playable character in the PS3 title. He was confirmed along with Avdol and DIO as one of the last Part 3 characters (not counting DLC characters Iggy and Vanilla Ice). He is voiced by Hōchū Ōtsuka in this game, who previously voiced young Joseph Joestar in the Capcom game.

Along with Enrico Pucci, Kosaku-Kira, Johnny Joestar, Koichi Hirose, and Giorno Giovanna, Hol Horse is a character who can utilize more than one Stand during a match as part of his moveset; Emperor, and The Hanged Man of J. Geil, who is never shown aside from it.

Some of his attacks return from the Capcom game (Heritage for the Future), though he is otherwise newly outfitted with different abilities. Despite being one of the mass majority of playable characters in the game with the "Stand" Style, Hol Horse cannot switch between movesets, nor does he have access to the Stand Rush ability. He shares this effect with Guido Mista and Diavolo. Instead, Hol Horse's Style button triggers the skill "Gun beats sword", wherein he trick-spins Emperor as it glows, enhancing the next skill marked with a star. Said abilities can be instantly performed following the skill.

During a fight, Hol Horse uses moves that were loosely based on those featured in Stardust Crusaders. Exclusive to Hol Horse is the passive ability "Hol Horse loves the ladies!". Whenever he faces off against a female opponent (Lisa Lisa, Jolyne Cujoh, or Ermes Costello), Hol Horse will have special dialogue with them as he attempts to flirt, only to be met by repulsion. An icon will display above his Heart Heat Gauge depicting a yellow silhouette of his head as a pink heart appears in the smoke of his cigarette. During battle, Hol Horse's attack power is reduced, but his HHG builds faster.
 * I'll be right back!: Hol Horse runs away from the opponent, making him one of the only three characters in the game capable of running in the opposite direction; the others being Joseph Joestar (both versions) and Iggy.
 * You lose, loser!: Hol Horse fires a high-speed bullet. Different attack button inputs have different effects on the bullet's flight. This move is marked with a star and can be enhanced to hit multiple times for higher overall damage. If Hol Horse takes damage, the bullet will disappear. (Comboable through Puttsun Cancel)
 * Light - The bullet flies forward normally.
 * Medium - The bullet curves upward, acting as a form of anti-air.
 * Heavy - The bullet flies back towards Hol Horse after going a distance, disappearing right as it's about to touch him. This variation can be used to hit opponents that have jumped over the initial shot, but Hol Horse cannot move for longer as he needs to manually bring the bullet back.
 * Even my bullets are a Stand!: Hol Horse fires a special slow bullet that deals more damage. As long as the Style button is held, the bullet's trajectory can be manually changed up to 4 times (Comboable through Puttsun Cancel). This move is marked with a star and can be enhanced to increase the number of times the trajectory can be changed to unlimited and the number of times the bullet hits the opponent as well. (Comboable)
 * Come get us!: Hol Horse tosses a glass bottle full of water into the air before shooting it. The opponent may also collide with the bottle and take damage as a makeshift anti-air, the bullet to allow the bottle to break on landing, or both for substantial unintended damage. Upon breaking, a puddle of water is left on the floor. This move's second half is in the form of a follow-up.
 * You're up, J. Geil!: Hanged Man appears out of the puddle and stabs the opponent, stunning them and leaving them vulnerable. Hol Horse's inputted normal attack will be delivered simultaneously. A low attack that cannot be blocked if the opponent is not crouching, and can even be used if Hol Horse is in the middle being attacked or down. (Comboable)
 * Throw - Now I've got ya!: Hol Horse picks the opponent up by their collar before Hanged Man stabs them and sends them flying.

Hol Horse's HHA, "Eat this!", begins with him spitting his cigarette up into the air shortly before he fires a volley of 4 to 10 bullets, dependent on whether or not an attack button was rapidly pressed. Each bullet comes back around to hit again before disappearing for a total of 8 to 20 hits. The last hit will knock the opponent to the ground, and Hol Horse will catch his cigarette back in his mouth. The HHA will deal more damage if "Gun beats sword" is in effect, making the bullets hit yet another time.

Hol Horse's GHA, "Hol Horse is gonna kill ya!", starts with him throwing an empty glass bottle into the air and shooting it. If the opponent is caught in the shard rain, Hanged Man will appear in the mirror world in front of them and stab them in the shoulder, immobilizing them and prompting Hol Horse to shoot. Hol Horse complying happily, he fires a bullet that curves and dances around the falling glass shards before finally flying with high speed straight toward its target: the opponent's forehead. The GHA can hit a downed opponent, but cannot hit at point-blank or close range.

Besides the cast from Part 3 (not counting Old Joseph, Iggy, and Vanilla Ice, all of whom are DLC), Hol Horse has special intro dialogue with Guido Mista, wherein Hol Horse decides to see which one of the two is the faster gunman, a challenge that Mista accepts. If Hol Horse wins, he'll note that, unlike Mista, his bullets are also part of his Stand. If Mista wins, he'll note how funny of a guy Hol Horse is.

Stardust Shooters (Android/iOS)
Hol Horse appears as one of the several Part 3 characters who possess a Metal Striker. His FINISH move makes his Stand, Emperor, appear and shoot several times at the defeated opponent.

Eyes of Heaven (PS3/PS4)
Hol Horse was confirmed for the game alongside Polnareff.

As a Stand User, Hol Horse is one of many characters with wildly varied abilities that grant him uniqueness in battle.
 * Style Action - Even my bullets are part of my Stand!: Hol Horse fires a single potent bullet. He can change its trajectory up to four times, either slowly correcting its path or making it turn sharply. If "The gun is mightier than the sword!" is active, the trajectory can be changed indefinitely and will send opponents flying.
 * Come get us!: Hol Horse tosses a glass bottle full of water into the air before shooting it. Opponents may collide with the bottle and take damage. Upon breaking, multiple puddles of water are left on the floor around the area the bottle is broken.
 * Eat this!: Hol Horse fires a volley of 5 to 10 bullets, dependent on whether or not the initiating button was rapidly pressed. Each bullet comes back around to hit again before disappearing for a total of 10 to 20 hits. The last hit will leave the target crumpling. If "The gun is mightier than the sword!" is active, the skill activates quicker and Hol Horse can fire up to 15 bullets.
 * The gun is mightier than the sword!: Hol Horse trick-spins Emperor as it glows, temporarily enhancing his bullet-based Normal attacks as well as his next use of his Style Action or "Eat this!".
 * You're up, J. Geil!: Hanged Man appears out of reflection-based stage objects or puddles left by "Come get us!" and stabs opponents with an unblockable attack, stunning them and leaving them crumpling. If not locked-on, Hanged Man will simply target the nearest opponent.
 * EX - You're up, J. Geil!: Hanged Man attacks faster and Hol Horse is invincible while he stops to summon it.
 * EX - Eat this!: Hol Horse can fire up to 15 bullets, and each bullet will do more damage. If "The gun is mightier than the sword!" is active, the attack will simply do even more damage.
 * Dual Heat Attack - Hol Horse is gonna kill ya!: It works the same as the one from All Star Battle, except Hanged Man attacks less slowly and with more urgency, and the bullet Hol Horse fires fly straight into the target's forehead without changing trajectory, leaving behind a sonic trail.

JoJolities
If he is set up against Mista he will note their similar abilities.
 * Mmm! Such a genius quote!: Hol Horse must use "The gun is mightier than the sword!" twice. (200 Points)
 * You know how I work by now. Right, J. Geil?: Hol Horse must connect "You're up, J. Geil!" 3 times. (200 Points)
 * I guess death is pretty anticlimactic most of the time, huh?: Hol Horse must break an opponent's health gauge with his Style Action. (300 Points)
 * My Stand's a goddamn gun!: Hol Horse must activate a Dual Combo Finish. (500 Points)
 * Don't be No. 1, be No. 2! That's how Hol Horse rolls! Got it?!: Hol Horse must survive the first 30 counts of the battle timer without taking damage. (800 Points)

Unlike the previous game, Hol Horse's main color is now based on his anime appearance.

Tournament
He is paired with Yukako Yamagishi in the Eyes of Heaven Tournament but was eliminated in the preliminaries by Jotaro Kujo and Vanilla Ice.

Gallery
Manga=

Trivia

 * Though not initially planned, Araki threw around the idea of Hol Horse joining the protagonists (much like how Polnareff and Kakyoin did as former antagonists) during their journey, but opted out due to balance issues with Polnareff's similar character. Araki mentions this is part of the reason Hol Horse shows up multiple times throughout the story and why there is at least one group shot with Hol Horse present.
 * In Heritage for the Future, Hol Horse is one of the special characters that doesn't turn into a child form when hit by Alessi's Stand, Sethan's ability. Rather, he becomes the boy that attempted to sell Kakyoin and Polnareff things during their fight against J. Geil. For his "Hol Horse & Boingo" variation, he seems to swap places with Boingo, and hides under the latter's box in the background, although players can see a young Hol Horse's arm sticking out firing Emperor when using certain attacks.
 * Araki admits that the idea for Hol Horse might have been influenced by the titular character in the manga, Cobra; a gunslinger who always smokes and has the ability to fire projectiles without having a direct line-of-sight.
 * Hol Horse makes four separate physical appearances across different arcs, the most out of any minor antagonist in the entire series. He debuts in "Emperor and the Hanged Man" (Chapters 140-145), then reappears in "Justice" (Chapters 154-159), again in "Shooting DIO?!" (Chapter 210) and finally in "Hol Horse and Boingo" (Chapters 217-221).
 * The injury Hol Horse received to retire him parrelel how he had previously defeated Muhammad Avdol, a bullet wound to the head which barely missed becoming fatal.
 * There is a bootleg figure of Hol Horse under the name "Cowboy", which seems to wrongly attribute DIO's Stand; The World, to Hol Horse on it's packaging.
 * Hol Horse's quote "The gun is mightier than the sword" is a parody of Edward Bulwer-Lytton's quote "The pen is mightier than the sword", who is also well known for his opening words of "It was a dark and stormy night
 * On August 17th 2021, it was announced by @MangaMoguraRE through Twitter that Hol Horse is set to feature in a yet-untitled spin-off to the main manga series alongside Josuke Higashikata of Part 4, sometime this winter. The upcoming title is to be written by Houhei Kadano, who was responsible for writing the Purple Haze Feedback light novel. However, unlike Purple Haze Feedback, the illustrations will be provided by Tasuku Karasuma, instead of Hirohiko Araki himself.