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earthbovndmisfit · 7 months

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I've been seeing lots of takes lately with people feeling hatred towards part 2 Speedwagon for being a greedy capitalist who probably exploited people and done some shady stuff to become wealthy because there was '''no way he could have become rich just from oil money'''... thoughts?

it's so disappointing to see some bad takes about the Speedwagon Foundation being some "acshually nasty organization" and about Speedwagon supposedly becoming some heartless rich man popping up again. And like, I shouldn't even be surprised at this point considering how the average "Jojo fan" mistreats Part 1 and 2 and alllll the misinformation they love to spread about them and about some characters in particular, often bastardizing them into wildly out of character versions and pretending those fanons are canon for whatever reason (being Speedwagon one of the characters that gets bastardized like that the most), sometimes just to make Blorbo Of Their Choice look better by throwing every other character under the bus, sometimes just because people can't be bothered to pay attention to the og if there are no punching ghosts on sight (and even then, Jojo parts featuring stands get misinterpreted a lot too).

This is gonna be long, so let me start by saying that if y'all really believe that Speedwagon somehow became some nasty ass rich man, then you're completely misinformed and you (and I say "you" in general and not specifically you anon) might benefit from rereading/rewatching the source material and actually paying attention to the plot and details this time.

Like, I've seen people assuming that the Foundation only researched the stone mask and eventually stand stuff, and completely forgetting that one of the literal main goals and also one of the biggest things the Foundation does is seeking for the betterment of the planet as a whole (preserving nature, wildlife, etc) as well as for the betterment of medicine and health care, actually seeking for the best for all humankind, this in addition to all the secret branches it has for the research of supernatural phenomena like stands, stone masks, pillar men, and so on in order to prevent as many incidents with them as possible and prevent the loss of as innocent lives as possible.

Sure, the people working for those latter branches might get into deep trouble sometimes whenever some jerk with a stone mask or a stand starts some shit, but, another thing jojo fans tend to conveniently forget is that those employees are working for the secret/non-public branches of the Foundation. We as audience know about them because we are let into seeing them working as part of the narrative, however, the public in general within the story DO NOT KNOW about the existence of those branches or what they do. Pillar men, stone masks, stands and the research around them are kept in secret in order to prevent any sorts of chaos and ensuing panic, among other safety reasons.

The people working for those branches are specialized or at least have some prior knowledge on those fields they work in (you'd think it is a MUST considering they are being let in on sensitive information that could be super detrimental for the planet and for humankind if it fell in the wrong hands), meaning that those employees already know and are fully aware of the kind of stuff they're going to deal with there from the start. They weren't deceived into it, and the fact that the employees remain loyal to Speedwagon from start to end and respect and follow his will, even long after his death, denotes that there was some deep and mutual respect and appreciation there, something you can't earn through exploitation, and definitely something these people wouldn't have done had Speedwagon been the heartless tyrant rich old man some people with a lack of media literacy want to believe and make others believe he was.

If people paid just a wee bit more attention to earlier Jojo parts, they would have realized it was all spelled out from the beginning too! Speedwagon expressly states from the very start his disgust and hatred towards the rich, being the Joestars the only exception to that due to them being genuinely kind persons, unlike most other wealthy people out there. He was also implied to have been dirt poor for most of his life and was also stated to have lived in the slums at least up to PB's main timeline. There were never any indications or signs that showed that he ever betrayed those roots of his by siding with the rich against the poor over the years. Instead, he's been using his funds to make the whole world a better place for everyone, not only by improving health care and access for all people as well as the environment (which would actually show a sense of duty from him as he is counteracting whatever negative impact his oil company may have had on the planet), but also providing all the aid he can against supernatural threats.

And not just that, but he's also kept some of his connections with the crime world over the years. However, rather than using those connections for selfish goals, he makes use of them to workaround the system in cases like Lisa Lisa's, where he used all those influences he had to help her go successfully into hiding after killing the zombie that murdered George (an undercover zombie that was actually a higher up within the army and who everyone believed to be a regular human, hence their chasing after her to make her pay for that "crime" she had supposedly committed). Additionally, if you know anything about big companies and organizations, you'll know that the law is also not always there to protect regular people, and sometimes, it will cater to the more profitable goals, as well as some businessmen actively being shady af and "hindering" their rivals for their own benefit. The Speedwagon Foundation being an organization that vouches and actively works for the wellbeing of people would have probably ruffled countless feathers among those who seek for a personal gain, to say the least (think of the hijackers that tried to kidnap him, as shown in the flashback in BT, i.e). This is also where those connections he keeps with criminals come into play, as there are never any mentions about Speedwagon doing shady stuff through them nor using them to pursue some personal goal, which hints at the fact that he keeps and uses those nexus as means of protection against actual enemies. Defense rather than offense, if you will.

Also, lets not forget that Speedwagon found his reason to change his ways when he met Jonathan, and that a lot of the things the Foundation does are things Jonathan himself would have gone into had he not passed away (the archaeological research, the deep studying of the stone mask -which eventually led to the discovery of the pillar men just in time before their awakening-, all in order to prevent more incidents like the whole thing with Dio from happening, and so on). It's downright silly to think Speedwagon would even think of betraying Jonathan and his memory by using not only the second chance he received from Jojo himself, but also using the literal monument Speedwagon built to honor the deep bond and mutual affection the two had back when Jonathan was alive for some selfish goal.

And also, lets not forget how disgusted he was with Dio and every single vile thing he did to everyone. Do you really think he would want to follow a path similar to his, in which people are just another step for him to walk all over?? If so, then you sure are completely wrong about who Speedwagon really is like.

Those "he became some nasty capitalist lol", pretending that Spw became some heartless and selfish wealthy man along the way for no reason, all despite the heaps of constant evidence the canon has presented, even long after Speedwagon's passing away in the story, that shows that that was never the case only go to show that people are lazy and that paying attention to the story and the details in it is just something some Jojo fans will actively refuse to do and then will make the worst bullshit takes up about it.

Also?? People do realize that it's possible to become rich and not be some piece of shit?? Like, sure, I do agree that most wealthy people irl ARE shit and scummy af, but there will always be a few exceptions, you just don't always see them because the real kind ones don't go around telling everyone about every single kind act they do, they just put their money to good use to make their own employees lives better, or invest/donate money every chance they get to some organization of their trust and so on. Adding to this, do you all even realize people can't just throw money out of the window and that as a business person you always need to keep some capital to actually make your business thrive and so you can continue helping other people out in this case where BIG SUMS of money are being put to use in favor of actual civilians and people from all walks of life??

((Edit to add yet another Very Obvious display that Speedwagon never sided with the rich, not even in his older years: Smokey Brown! The kid is literally a mirror of Speedwagon’s own younger self in that both were criminals from the streets in a large city (London in Spw’s case, NY in Smokey’s), immersed in crime and poverty and most likely having to resort to crime as a mean to survive in a society that was even more classist (and also racist, and this can actually be seen in BT when one of the mafiosos starts spewing shit towards Smokey due to his skin color) than it is nowadays, both having no known parents or family either and having been most likely orphaned/abandoned. Had Speedwagon been this nasty ass rich man, he could have simply ignored Smokey or treated him poorly, or could have even turned him to authorities, considering Smokey’s criminal record just for the sake of “preventing him from stealing from him” or whatever. There was literally nothing Spw could benefit himself from by keeping Smokey around like he did, which is a core trait in abusive/exploitative people. However, he never did any of that. Instead, and despite the reigning classism and racism at the time, Speedwagon along with Erina always embraced Smokey from the start and basically became his godparents, never letting the kid go back to his life in the streets, providing him with everything he needed and making sure he received a proper education, which was something very few people of color (black people, specially) could receive. And yet, Speedwagon and Erina made it happen, very likely using some of Spw’s influences to allow Smokey go to the school (and eventually college too) of his choice without any stigma or trouble at all and covering all expenses for him. -end of edit-))

If this was, idk, the Metal Gear series or some other media that revolves around the topic of politics, then the whole "cRaPiTaLisM!!! >:O" thing would have some weight and be plausible as it directly impacts the main plot of the story. But here?? In Jojo's?? Where the main focus as stated by it's author himself is the strength of the human spirit overcoming obstacles in the face of actual evil??? Try harder.

And, before I get That One Type of fans yelling at me that "people don't just get rich without exploiting people in real life!!"… do you guys realize we're talking about animanga series where vampires, funky stone masks with spooky powers, pillar men, stands, people who can use some ancient sunpowered martial art, plankton that can turn into a sentient person, and so on can happen, right? And yet I don't see anyone whining that "tHaT DoEsN'T hApPeN iRl!!".

And like, if this whole claim stems from disliking Speedwagon, just say you don't like him and move the fuck on. You don't need to try to justify your disliking for him or for ANY other characters, let alone making up wildly out of character bullshit about them to try to prove to yourself and to everyone else why according to you the character is "bad". I promise you it is not a big deal to simply not vibe with a character.

#the lack of media literacy among some jojo fans is overwhelming i swear #its sad to see people constantly and completely misreading and bastardizing speedwagon into something he's not #like all those LAME takes about him being some soft pure uwu innocent scaredy bby #or the 'topkek reddit funni meemz XD!' abt him that some ppl lazily/unironically take as canon #or these silly and also wildly ooc takes on the foundation and him in part 2 #really wish more people took the time to actually see and appreciate his character for what he actually is #sorry this got so long but i wanted to get this out of my chest bc i too saw one of those posts again and was like #BRU not this shit AGAIN #also.if i sound bitter its because i am genuinely sick and tired of the speedwagon slander and people completely misreading him #and turning him into something he is not and often completely ignoring him bc of that fanon image ppl have made of him #along with completely disregarding the fact that he's actually one of the most important characters in all jjba #and instead pretending or wrongly assuming that he was just some 'hehe funni meme uwu guy'#jjba #long post #bit of a vent / rant too #robert e o speedwagon #speedwagon #jojo #character analysis: speedwagon #phantom blood #battle tendency #speedwagon foundation #jojo's bizarre adventure #analysis: speedwagon foundation #character analysis #meta #ok to rb

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earthbovndmisfit · 1 year

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I hate it when Speedwagon is dismissed as a "useless" character, he's a badass in his own right but he just didn't expect the sudden supernatural stuff. dude got caught in a genre shift and was wrong genre savvy 😭

Fair warning: This is gonna be long. Ngl, whenever I see anyone claiming that Speedwagon "is useless" the only thing that tells me is that these people only skimmed through parts 1 and 2 and are just using the FuNNi MeEmz as reference and are most likely just parroting what they picked up from that.

It's honestly sickening how a big chunk of the jojo fandom still discredits Speedwagon and everything he does from the start, also ignoring a large part of his character/personality in the process (turning him into a "soft uwu pure and innocent blushy scaredy crying boi uwuwuwuw" when in reality he's a ruthless crime lord from the worst and darkest pits of London who the first thing we see him do in canon is try to kill Jonathan), and then reduces him to a "hehe funny meme" without even realizing he's been a key character from the start and who is also one of the most important characters in ALL of the JJBA universe from part 1 to, at the very least, part 6.

But really, just to list some of the many things people seem to love to "forget" Speedwagon did:

He saved Jonathan's life plenty of times throughout all PB. Just to mention a few: -Like when he stops the dozens of deadly criminals who were already in line to kick his ass in Ogre Street (Jonathan was NOT a hamon user yet, so he would have gotten killed shortly after had it not been for Speedwagon ordering his men to leave him alone) -When he unveils Dio's plans and stops Jonathan from getting closer to Dio who was ready to stab him and kill him on the spot. -When he shoots Dio in the face, stopping him once more from killing a frightened and literally petrified Jonathan. -After this whole fight is over, it was Speedwagon who -despite his broken arm, broken ribs and punctured lung- carried a unconscious and heavily injured Jonathan to a hospital (otherwise, he would have died then and there from his many untreated injuries and bleeding wounds if the fire didn't get him first). -The whole "abs scene" where he thaws Zeppeli's arm. People misread the fuck out of the relationship between Zepp and Speedwagon and the hostility there always was between them (I blame the translations for this, as they usually tone things down A LOT and sometimes completely get rid of their mutual mocking and trashtalking) and, as a result, people also misread the fuck out of this scene as well, without realizing that Speedwagon wasn't doing this as an "uwu gay romance moment" with him or to save Zeppeli in particular, but that he was doing this and putting all the trashtalking aside for a moment just to save Jonathan who was about to get squashed like a mosquito by Tarkus and Bruford. Speedwagon was fully aware that he couldn't do anything to save him due to his lack of hamon, but he KNEW that Zeppeli could and was literally the only one who could do it, and so Speedwagon did what he could to save Jonathan's life, even if that meant stepping in for the guy who has been treating him poorly and mocking him for his criminal backgrounds ever since they met (I've mentioned this before but, yeah, this is an inherent trait of Speedwagon when someone he loves is in danger, as we see him do this whole 'side with your rival/enemy for the greater good' again later on in BT as well). -During the aftermath of Jonathan's battle against Dio in Windknight's Lot. Speedwagon, along with Poco, is the first to rush to Jonathan's side when he passes out and falls to the ground. Speedwagon immediately pulls him to his lap, making sure he's okay and that he isn't seriously injured and protecting him, keeping him safe from the remaining zombies that were still left in the chamber and, possibly, the rest of Dio's castle and that Straizo and Tonpetty -being the remaining standing hamon users- were getting rid of.

Speedwagon also guided Jonathan to Wang Chen's shop and helped Jona get the antidote he needed to save George. According to what we're told about Wang Chen, he was scummy enough that he most likely wouldn't have given the antidote away easily to Jonathan, meaning that Speedwagon forced him to do it.

That said, Speedwagon also helped Jonathan capture Wang Chen so he could testify against Dio before the authorities (we literally see him holding Wang Chen like trash in the manga lol).

Spw also unveiled Dio's evil nature as well as his real plans and intentions, saving Jonathan's life in the process, as mentioned some points above.

Speedwagon was also Jonathan's confidant from the beginning and viceversa, and this shows up in the way they treat each other as well as the way they address each other (some of which sometimes gets lost in the translations but that I more or less explained in a separate post), as well as in some of the things Jonathan says in some of his inner monologues, and it's also implied in a lot of Speedwagon's and Jonathan's lines and actions. There is even further proof of this in Battle Tendency, as we are told at one point that there were things that Speedwagon and Jonathan knew and shared between them but never with anyone else, not even with Erina.

Speedwagon also gathered and confirmed the information on Dio's whereabouts that the hamon gang needed, saving the whole group some precious time and, as a result, saving innocent lives.

He also provided Jonathan with the experience and heart/emotional support that he needed from the very first moment he joins him and until the very end, and this is implied even in BT, and it has also been confirmed in some of his bios.

He fought AND killed zombies along with Jonathan and Zeppeli despite Spw not having any supernatural powers, using his brute force and a sledgehammer only, further proving that he's pretty good at combat and at using different kinds of weapons (guns, knives, and now sledgehammers, too)

As stated earlier, he also thawed Zepp's frozen arm and "unlocked" the man's hamon so Will could save Jonathan, who was about to get ruthlessly killed by Tarkus and Bruford

He also took care of an injured Poco during the fight in Tarkus' chamber while also ensuring that the kid didn't recklessly step into the battleground again and possibly hindering things

Picking back one of the points mentioned earlier: He took care of a heavily injured (sometimes unconscious, too) Jonathan plenty of times, making sure Jonathan was as safe as possible at all times every time this happened.

Adding to the emotional support point: It was heavily implied that Jonathan and Speedwagon spent a lot of time together before, during AND after the whole (mis)adventure against Dio, meaning that they did a lot of healing and mourning together, especially once everything was over.

And it's also important to add to all this that he never lost his "badass" side, since he kept on fighting fiercely from start to end. He was also foul-mouthed and brash all the time (even if translations often portray him all "posh" and proper for literally no reason??), snapping and biting back every time Zeppeli tried to give him shit and mock him, and so on.

In other words: he remained as fierce and badass as he always was from the beginning, channeling that energy into helping Jonathan and succeeding at it despite his limitations as a regular human with no supernatural powers and proving to be self-sufficient most of the time (and with Jonathan taking care of him every time Speedwagon happened to need some help or someone to heal him).

And all this is covering part 1 only. Part 2 and those 50 years in between parts have their own points as well and, sadly, people too misread that and reduce it all to "all he did to help was toss money endlessly at the Joestars lol" without realizing that he literally raised George and Joseph, for starters. Whether you ship Jonawagon or not, it is an undeniable fact that Speedwagon was literally their 2nd dad, and this is shown in how both kids loved him and saw him as blood-related family, with Joseph even referring to him as "Grandpa Speedwagon" (something that the translations took away and changed to "Uncle Speedwagon" for some reason?? i don't want to say "straightwashing" but it's a possibility) and literally risking his life just to investigate what happened in reality to Speedwagon (who everyone believed was dead at the time) and retrieve his body, shedding tears of genuine joy when he learned that Speedwagon was alive, and doing all this without even waiting a second more for the Foundation. Joseph even says it at some point: Erina and Speebs are his only family. He's a key character in Joseph's life and development, and very likely the source where Joseph learned how to be the loving dad he was to Holy later on, and a loving grandpa to Jotaro as well. Same for George II, even though we don't get to see much about him or his life.

Speedwagon also always looked after those kids (and here we can count Lisa Lisa, Holy too as Speedwagon also got to meet her), as well as after Erina, always providing them with everything they may have needed at any point, especially after the Foundation was created and help could be provided in many many different ways. And this can be attested in part 3, with the Foundation sending special doctors and all the best they had to take care of Holy when she was apparently ill, making sure she would survive, or when they replace Joseph's prosthetic hand, showing that this has always been a thing, even if that sometimes means crossing countries just to aid any of them.

Speedwagon also moved all his influences and used his power (including those nexus he always kept with the crime world) to hide Lisa Lisa from the law and make sure she lived a peaceful life without fearing getting caught by authorities after she'd avenged George's death.

And, of course, there's the massive efforts done by his Foundation to investigate supernatural phenomena and keep the world safe from it, creating special teams and providing weapons and equipment designed specifically for this goal. Also, there's the massive improvements they did in regards to healthcare, technology, as well as the conservation of wildlife around the world, making this planet a better place for everyone.

So yeah. To wrap this up:

Screw that shitty take that he's "useless" or that he "only threw money at the Joestars". Same with the "pure innocent soft blushy scaredy crying boi uwuwuw".

#jjba #speedwagon #robert e o speedwagon #jonathan joestar #phantom blood #battle tendency #joseph joestar #will zeppeli #this ended up being some kind of rant and i'd like to say that i apologize but the reality is that i'm sick and tired of those horrid takes #speedwagon is so dang underrated and unfairly treated by the fandom and i won't stand for that #thank you so much for the ask anon!!#long post #character analysis #character analysis: speedwagon #meta

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