Robert E. O. Speedwagon was once the leader of the Ogre Street thieves, but after meeting Jonathan Joestar, his entire world changed. With his discovery of oil in America, Speedwagon found the Speedwagon Foundation. This organization would continue to assist the Joestar family long after Speedwagons death.
Before all of this, Robert E. O. Speedwagon lived in the slums of London, Ogre Street. For more than a hundred years, this street has been considered dangerous and the place where the cursed go. It’s here Speedwagon spent his youth. Growing up, he learned to steal and fight dirty. This helped him raze through the ranks to become theleader of the thieves. Even with his history of crime, Speedwagon was still an honorable man. After facing off with Jonathan Joestar, he expected death. Instead, he found a friend in the aristocratic young man. Speedwagon had a real friend who brought him out of the darkness and into the light for the first time. It’s here that the Speedwagon fans are familiar with is born.
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Speedwagon Foundation, The Early Years
After founding the Speedwagon Foundation, Robert Speedwagon took it upon himself to complete Baron Zeppeli’s mission. While to the public, the Speedwagon Foundation was excelling in research on medicine and conversation, secretly, the organization was researching supernatural phenomena.Specifically, the vampire maskleads Speedwagon to the Pillar Men’s temple and accidentally releases Santana, one of the lesser Pillar Men.
With the help of Joseph Joestar and Caesar Zeppeli, the Pillar Men were stopped, and the vampire masked destroyed. This would be the last time Robert Speedwagon would be seen in the Jojo series. The remainder of his life was spent as a bachelor, dying with no family at 89. Having completed his mission to destroy the masks, the Speedwagon Foundation pushes forward, dedication to technology and biochemical science.
It’s always sad to see a character die, especially one so sweet as Robert E. O. Speedwagon, buthis death is an importantstepping stone for the Foundation in a way. Speedwagon used the foundation to help others, but he also wanted to use his newfound wealth to stop the masks that transformed Dio. It was a form of closure; Speedwagon knew he had completed his friends' mission. Perhaps he felt guilty not helping more all those years ago, which was his way of atoning for. This doesn’t mean the Speedwagon Foundation stopped helping the Joestars.
Helping the Joestars
Throughout parts 3-6, the Speedwagon Foundation takes a step back. The foundation is still present but is instead a background tool or even an easter egg to theoriginal plot of the story. In part 3, the Speedwagon Foundation helps the crusaders reach Cairo by providing transportation, intel on the situation, and medical assistance for Holly Kujo. Here the primary connection between the group and the foundation is through Joseph Joestar, which makes sense considering he viewed Speedwagon as family. After this part, it’s Jotaro who is the link to the Speedwagon foundation for parts 4-6.
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Less and less is heard about the Speedwagon Foundation in these three parts. Fans know that they assisted Jotaro with researching the arrows, transporting Joseph to Morioh, and providing the submarine forJolyne to escape prison. The reason fans hear less and less about the Speedwagon Foundation as the show progresses is that every part after part 3 has a protagonist who’s never interacted with them. Josuke and Joylene rely on Jotaro to explain what the Speedwagon Foundation is, if at all. In part 5, Giorno never even meets Jotaro, let alone anyone affiliated with the foundation.
Shockingly the Speedwagon Foundation doesn’t disappear after the universe snap. InSteel Ball Run, part seven ofJojo’s Bizzare Adventure,the Speedwagon Foundation funds the steel ball run race. It’s never mentioned if anyone named Speedwagon founded this organization. Only that an entrepreneurfound oil in America, making him rich. Considering how similar this Speedwagon Foundation is to the one in the previous universe could mean a different version of Robert Speedwagon is the founder.
Speedwagon Foundation Fixes Everything
In the show, fans might have noticed how the Speedwagon Foundation is used to patch up any holes in the story. In part two, the foundation is why Straizo gets his hands on a vampire mask. In part three, they’re the ones taking care of Holly while the group ventures to Egypt. The Speedwagon foundation is also the group to help research the stand arrows and assist Joylene in prison.
As an organization, not much is known, but that’s not a bad thing.Araki is able to use the mysterious groupto fill gaps in the story or explain why the characters have access to amazing technology. The group is sort of like a conspiracy in this universe. On the surface, they help in medicine, technology, and conservation. Underneath all this is a large organization dedicated to studying and stopping supernatural events from destroying the world.
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