I gave Abdul’s fake out death some more thought and realized this wasn’t the first time this happened in Jojo. The first time was with Stroheim and it shared the same technique and major strengths. We see both Stroheim and Abdul die on screen, and both come back into the series following questionable logic. With this they are back in the series and we can enjoy their character more, further, they offer huge and shocking scenes of their return. The mecha-nazi, groin machine gun or the ‘tsk tsk tsk, YES I AM’ are memetic moments which leave a huge impression.
You could go so far to argue that Abdul’s fake out death was better because it made sense in retrospect. However, I think it carries a negative that Stroheim’s never did. The key difference is the weight that these moments carried. For Stroheim, to most he came off as a throwaway nazi that was going to die regardless as a way to drive the plot forward and we simply gave him an admirable exit. We didn’t really care about him, and he didn’t send ripples through the story going forward until his return. Abdul’s fake out death on the other hand is part of what made the Hanged Man so gripping, it was a huge moment for Polnareff and Abdul's ‘death’ lingered in the series until his return. This points to an interesting lesson, the crazier things you’re going to do with a character in directions that can diminish previously built up weight are best done without commitment and attachment from the audience. Of course this is subjective, Stroheim was instrumental in showing the pain and respect Joseph felt for the fall of his strongest of foes, but I don’t think anyone would argue that Stroheim heavily impacted the tone and weight of the story in the way Abdul did.
Funny enough I do think Araki could double down on the tragedy though. By actually killing Abdul and having the characters refuse to believe it, deny the reality, that could be real gut punching. That or all of this could have been done to reassert a feel good, rule of cool tone. Either way, faking a death in 2/3 parts of the story does mean we should have our eyes open for this going forward although, I can’t imagine Araki will do it that often because it could get pretty old.
I should actually talk about this chapter too. Firstly, Jotaro referring to Speedwagon as some old friend of Joseph’s was a wake up call to me. I remember back when Joseph insinuated that Erina and Speedwagon were more than friends back in the start of Battle Tendency. I could only call him a punk that doesn't know anything. But at least he knew Speedwagon as family. Now this punk Jotaro doesn’t even know him beyond being some guy that once lived who owns a foundation that helps the Joestars! Reading Jojo is an experience, as someone who was there as Jonathan grew up all the way to his demise, at some point we will be the only living people who know the past of the Joestar lineage with a degree of certainty. In Battle Tendency, this made us fogeys reminiscing on the good ol’ days. In Stardust Crusaders, this makes us immortal-beings like Dio. After Dio is dead, we may as well be omniscient gods.
Either way, a dog with a history with Abdul has joined the team. A mutt named Iggy with personality issues that only listens if it has its scooby snacks, I mean- coffee flavoured gum. When it doesn’t get what it wants, it gnaws at people’s hair and farts in their face. Yet, it has a stand like one of my favorite powers in One Piece, it is literally made out of sand. Even Jotaro doubted his capability in beating it, as punching through it or cutting through it doesn’t amount to anything. I wonder if getting it wet will do the trick, but then again, only stands can hurt other stands, we’d need a stand which can create water. As far as I know it couldn’t be a natural occurrence.
Outside of the introduction of Iggy and this wannabe pillarman villain, probably there to show off Iggy’s skills, Iggy made me think of Danny in Phantom Blood. Just as the Speedwagon name fights alongside the Joestar name, I wonder if Jotaro and Iggy will form a bond like Jonathan did with his best friend. Jonathan and Danny started out fighting each other until one day, Danny being a gentleman, saved Jonathan from drowning. They had rough beginnings too. And if Jotaro and Iggy form such a bond, then Iggy is in even more danger than just being a dog in the Jojo universe because Dio is the major villain this part. Cars may have saved Danny if it were him, but Dio burned that dog alive. I fear the same fate may be in store for Iggy. Then again, maybe rather than doing the same, we could get a twist on the expectation!
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