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A certain social media website run by an android that shall remain unnamed has made some changes recently. Users will see fewer posts from pages and more from their friends. Perhaps the robot in charge of all this is beginning to understand friendship. As the hikikomori community takes its time to appreciate friendship, it might be time to look back on a certain group of friends who traveled to Egypt in 1989; I’m talking about JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders.
A persistent complaint about Part 3 of the series – that is, Stardust Crusaders – is that the inclusion of important characters could have been done better. While everyone does get their due screen-time, it’s not nearly as evenly balanced as in later parts. Thankfully, all the characters still have plenty of substance, which brings us to the subject of this essay.
A Stand is only as strong as the person using it, both in terms of how well it’s used, as well as how strong it is. The ideal Stand User is someone who can ‘stand proud’ in face of the odds and find a way to outsmart the enemy. Few people could do this with the panache of Mohammed Avdol. Avdol is introduced with a snap of JoJo Number Two’s fingers, and helps Joseph get Jotaro out of his cell, before setting out for Egypt with Joseph, Jotaro, and MILF-hunter Kakyoin. He explains the beauty of his Stand, Magician’s Red, to Jotaro by referring to Aesop’s fable of the traveler – it was the patience and power of the sun that won. Avdol, who could melt steel, got Jotaro out and sat down on the jail floor without missing a beat.
In Hong Kong, Avdol met Polnareff, and kept his cool well enough to set him on fire, proving that it really was ten years too early to challenge him (this line remains one of the best in the franchise, if you ask me, right up there with ‘Kill the ho’ and ‘Pizza mozzarella’). His concluding invitation was for Polnareff to kill himself with a knife, given to him by an Avdol who would be sarcastic to the extreme had he not been serious.
Avdol’s truly endearing side, however, has nothing to do with his fighting. While Joseph was yelling about Japanese customs, Avdol sat calmly in the seiza position and tried to learn about the local culture. While Polnareff was whining about washrooms (quite understandably, in that case), Avdol strode confidently into the streets of India. This isn’t to say that he was the only one who could stare down death – Joseph and Jotaro did that, too, as did the others. But only Avdol was strong enough to embrace the world like that.
The thing with Avdol is that his confidence is strongly linked to his self-acceptance. There is a little discussion in the series on the clothes everyone is wearing. Joseph seems to be dressed in safari clothes, and the Japanese school students wear their uniforms, much to the admiration of Avdol. He himself is always seen in a long, colored robe, and he wears his hair in dreadlocks. His appearance is probably out of place everywhere. He was a fortune teller in Egypt, but may not be a native citizen; he stands out as a kind of fantastic figure, but shows no embarrassment on this count. Avdol is an example of a Black man stepping boldly into the world with a tall frame, a stern, scarred face, and a large robe like a wizard – or, as I should say, a magician. He didn’t care if the color of his clothes or skin didn’t fit in; he could adapt to the situation, and be a citizen of the world. He knew his way around the streets in Cairo, and despite being a learned man, chose the profession of a humble fortune teller. This same confidence went with him when he put his life on the line.
His levelheadedness gives him the nickname of ‘babysitter’ among JoJo fans. Between Joseph’s yelling and Polnareff’s temper, Avdol certainly had his hands full. But did he let the pressure get to him? No, he took the heat and relieved himself on it. He kept his cool in the jaws of death, and even after telling Polnareff not to protect him, he was there to watch out for them all.
Magician’s Red was a Stand that could turn steel to dust with its heat. And yet, Avdol was cooler than the iced tea they serve in Egypt. He would not hesitate to wear his robes where he went, nor to speak his mind; but he was polite and kind enough to stand by the crusaders through thick and thin. It’s normal to want to be Jotaro or Kakyoin, but if you want someone to emulate, walk like an Avdol.
