Who is Johnny Joestar in Steel Ball Run? Explained

Following the announcement of the Steel Ball Run anime earlier this week, the seventh part of mangaka Hirohiko Araki’s JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure series has ballooned in popularity. Likewise, this has come with a slew of questions regarding the first part in the franchise’s new continuity from those who’re new to the series.

Unsurprisingly, Steel Ball Runprotagonist Johnny Joestar is at the center of these discussions, with “who is Johnny Joestar” being asked by many as they start the series. Johnny Joestar is a former genius jockey forced to retire after suffering a paraplegic injury, entering the titular race to try and heal his legs before being swept up by its true purpose.

Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers from the manga.

Johnny Joestar’s role in Steel Ball Run’s story

While the above briefly answers “who is Johnny Joestar,” there’s still more specifics to be touched on. Johnny is the central protagonist of Steel Ball Run, whose journey begins after meeting Gyro Zeppeli at the race’s starting line in San Francisco. Here, he witnesses Gyro’s use of the Spin, touching an object imbued with the Spin and feeling legs move again as a result. This inspires him to train for the race, impressing Gyro who gives Johnny a hint on the Spin.

This motivates Johnny enough to not only enter the race, but stick with Gyro for its entirety in order to learn the secrets of the Spin. This is what motivates Johnny at first, but he and Gyro eventually both discover the true purpose of the titular race. After learning this, Johnny’s true motivation becomes searching for the Holy Corpse Parts, saying this journey and objective has made him feel alive for the first time in so long.

Throughout Steel Ball Run, Johnny is given significant character development, established as a complex, multifaceted character. He is also arguably the driving force of the story, being the one who motivates Gyro to search for the Holy Corpse Parts with him. He comes into conflict with many of the manga’s iconic characters along the way, such as Sandman/Soundman, Diego “Dio” Brando, main antagonist Funny Valentine, and others.

Johnny Joestar’s powers and abilities, explained

Johnny with his Tusk ACT4 Stand in Steel Ball Run (Image via Shueisha)

While the above answers “who is Johnny Joestar,” it doesn’t touch on his powers and abilities in the series. As the story progresses, Johnny is able to master the Spin thanks to Gyro’s tutelage. This includes the Golden Rectangle, which is the pinnacle of the Spin’s abilities per the Zeppeli family teachings. However, Johnny’s mastery of the Spin is also aided by his Stand, Tusk. He first develops this Stand with the Holy Corpse’s left arm, which he receives in the Devil’s Palm.

Like Echoes in the original continuity, Tusk is another Stand which can evolve through multiple “ACTs.” In ACT1, Johnny becomes able to both fire his finger and toenails like bullets, with the nails regrowing in seconds when the right supplements are used. ACT2 manifests after Johnny learns to utilize the Golden Rectangle. While his nails now take longer to regrow, they’re more powerful and have a new ability which tracks targets even if the shot is fully missed.

ACT3 is Tusk’s final “base” form, manifesting when Johnny shoots himself with a Golden Rectangle-powered nail. This awakens in him the ability to transfer parts of his body through the holes his shots make in order to shoot from different directions and angles. ACT4 comes via combining Johnny’s Golden Rectangle with the natural one his horse makes. This gives Johnny’s nail-bullets infinite rotation, and can forever trap those hit into a single locationary spot.

In summation

Johnny Joestar is the main protagonist of Steel Ball Run, entering the titular race as a means of finding a way to restore movement to his legs. However, he quickly becomes involved in the hunt for the Holy Corpse Parts. As he and ally Gyro Zeppeli run the race and collect these parts, Johnny unlocks his iconic Stand Tusk along the way, which grows with him as more and more trials are overcome.