Will Anthonio Zeppeli

“

What is "courage"? "Courage" is knowing fear and making that fear your own!

„

“

Hey baby! You going to fight me on such unstable ground? Come down and meet me...

„

Background

William Anthonio Zeppeli is a major character in JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Phantom Blood and has a minor posthumous role in JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Battle Tendency. He is the mentor of the main protagonist Jonathan Joestar, who he teaches the ways of Hamon, a magic breathing technique that produces energy similar to the sun's. He is the father of Mario Zeppeli and grandfather of Caesar Zeppeli.

This dropdown contains the synopsis of William Anthonio Zeppeli's story. Read at your own risk as you may be spoiled otherwise!

Pre-Phantom Blood (1838-1888) William Anthonio Zeppeli was born on January 19th 1838. He was born to a scholarly family which gave him an interest in scholarly when he was young. When he became an adult he joined his father's archology team and traveled to many places across the world. During a visit to Mexico his group found a Stone Mask during a archaeological excavation of a ruin. During the trip home one of the crew members had put on the Stone Mask and used it to be a vampire. This crew member would kill all 58 other crew members on board their ship expect for Zeppeli. In a attempt to escape the vampire Will jumped into the ocean but the vampire followed. Will would finally see the vampire and realize that his own father was the one who used the mask. Before Will could get killed, sunrise began, killing Will's vampire father and saving him. Will now fatherless would be saved by a fishing boat a few days later. Two years after his father's death Will had traveled the world in order to relocate the mask and destroy it. While in a Indian port he witnessed a young doctor heal a patient's Gangrene just by touching his leg. Will realizing that its effects were the complete opposite of the Stone Mask would ask the doctor where he learned such a skill. The young doctor told Will that he learned it in Tibet from his master, Tonpetty. Will would travel to Tibet and meet Tonpetty who read his future and began to teach Will the ways of Hamon. During Will's third year of training Tonpetty would tell Will that if he where to continue training he would meet an untimely death. Will, still wanting to defeat the Stone Mask asked Tonpetty to read his future once again and tell him what he sees. Tonpetty would tell Will that after a small child opened the gates to a ancient room filled with death he would die trying to save a young lion bounded by chains. Will would continue his training for several more decades. Sometime during his training Will would become good friends with another man training under Tonpetty named Dire and would become acquaintances with Straizo who was also training in Hamon. Phantom Blood (1888) After learning that Jonathan Joestar defeated Dio Brando, the current owner of the stone mask from Wang Chan, Will would present himself to a injured Jonathan outside the remains of the Joestar Mansion and would punch him in the diaphragm. Instead of harming Jonathan even more this healed his broken bones. Will would explain to Jonathan that what healed him was Hamon and offered to train him in it in order to defeat the Stone Mask. Jonathan agreed and Will began to train Jonathan which last for two weeks. During Jonathan's 14th day of training a zombified Wang Chan, now one of Dio's minions came to attack Jonathan but was quickly defeated by him ending his training. With the help of Robert E.O Speedwagon Will and Jonathan learned that Dio was hiding in the town of Windknights Lot and began traveling there. Unbeknownst to Jonathan and Speedwagon, Will had written a letter to Tonpetty, Dire, and Straizo requesting their aid to help him defeat Dio and the Stone Mask. While passing in under a tunnel the group would be attacked by a zombified Jack the Ripper. Will would severely injure Jack's face before he would escape into a secret passage way. Will would give Jonathan a glass of wine and tell him to defeat Jack the Ripper without spilling it or else he would quit training Jonathan. Jonathan expected the challenge and defeated the zombie. After leaving the tunnel the group would encounter a kid named Poco who tries to steal their money but is stopped by Jonathan. The group realizes that Poco was hypnotized by Dio to steal their bag and that they have fallen into his trap. Dio reveals himself to the group and brings an army of zombies with him. The group is able to dispatch most of the zombies and after doing so Will tries to attack Dio but Dio is able to block his attack and flash freezes his arm greatly damaging it in the process. Before Dio is able land a killing blow on Will, Jonathan comes to his aid and blocks Dio's attack. The two would try to use their combined Hamon to attack Dio but to no avail and in the process Dio would break one of Will's legs. Will, now out of commission is unable to fight Dio new minions, Bruford and Tarkus and has to stay on the sidelines as Jonathan fends Bruford off. During the battle Speedwagon was able to help heal Will's damaged arm with Will being able to use his Hamon to heal his leg. After Bruford is killed by Jonathan the group grabs Poco and begins to escape from Tarkus. During their escape the group finds a medieval knight training ground but Tarkus is eventually able to catch up with the group and uses a steel chain to restrain and drag Jonathan into a training room. The door leading to this room is locked from the inside with Jonathan trapped inside with Tarkus. Fortunately for Will and Speedwagon, Poco is able to crawl through a hole in the wall and unlock the door. Will then realizes that Tonpetty's prediction of the future is becoming true. The young child who opens the gates is Poco, the ancient room filled with death is the one he is entering, and the young lion is Jonathan Joestar. Will accepting his fate enters to room to face off against Tarkus. Will uses his Tornado Overdrive in an attempt to kill Tarkus but Tarkus uses the chains around him to attack Will from both above and below. Will is caught up in these chains and is bisected in half by the sheer strength of Trakus's chain attack. Before his dying moments Will was able to transfer all of his life energy to Jonathan allowing him to break out of the chains and kill Tarkus. Will now physically an old man is able to stay conscious for a few minutes and chastises Jonathan for grieving him and implores him to defeat Dio once and for all. Will then tells Jonathan that he is satisfied with his fate and that he even left his family to destroy the Stone Mask along with this he tells Jonathan that he was like a best friend and son to him at the same time. After saying this Will then succumbs to his wounds and dies in Jonathan's arms. Legacy After Will's death Speedwagon began to wear Will's hat in honor of his memory. Once Jonathan and Speedwagon got to Windknights Lot they would finally meet Tonpetty, Dire, and Straizo with Dire revealing that Will sent a letter to him and the others. Jonathan and Speedwagon would tell the three of what happened to Will after. The group would then travel to Dio's castle and would face off against Dio once and for all. William's son Mario Zeppeli would inherit his father's will and following in his father's footsteps would leave his family in order to train in Hamon. Mario would learn of the Pillar Men's existence as dormant figures within a wall under a coliseum. He would eventually die from being absorbed by the dormant Pillarmen when saving a young man who unbeknownst to him was his son, Caesar Zeppeli. During his final moments Mario would tell Caesar of his Hamon teacher Lisa Lisa and told him to inform her of his death. Caesar in honor of his father would take up Hamon training and eventually aid the grandson of Jonathan Joestar, Joseph Joestar in defeating the Pillar Men.

Statistics

Tier: 9-B

Name: William Anthonio Zeppeli, Baron Zeppeli, Old Man Zeppeli & Minster Zeppeli (Referred to as by Speedwagon)

Origin: JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Phantom Blood

Sex: Male

Age: 50 (Was born in 1838 with the majority of Part 1 taking place in 1888)

Classification: Human, Hamon Warrior

Status: Deceased (Succumbed to his injuries after his battle with Tarkus)

Alignment: Neutral Good (His goal is to destroy the Stone Mask in order to stop its reign of terror. Fought Tarkus despite knowing he would die in battle to him in order to save Jonathan Joestar. Along with this he gave Jonathan all of his life energy to allow him to defeat from Tarkus)

Dimensionality: 3-D

Attack Potency: Wall level (Can spilt a rock in half. Harmed Jack the Ripper who can throw a wagon with enough force to destroy the roof of a tunnel. Fodderized Multiple zombies with a single blow, who can easily break through wood and smash human skulls. Can destroy brick)

Durability: Wall level

Striking Strength: Wall Class

Lifting Strength: Superhuman (Comparable to Jonathan Joestar who can pull back Tarkus who is far bigger than the average human)

Travel Speed: Superhuman (Able to disappear from Jonathan Joestar's sight and then appear Infront of him)

Combat Speed: Supersonic (His speed and timing is the same as Jonathan Joestar's, who blocked a hit from Dio Brando who's weaker self can tag Star Platinum, who can catch a bullet that's about to hit Jotaro Kujo's head, tag and block hits from Sliver Chariot amplified by Anubis, who even while weakened and not amplified can block bullets, is superior to his Part 4-6 self, who can stop time before bullets hit Jolyne Cujoh, and stop time before bullets could hit Enrico Pucci. DIO himself can stop time before shotgun bullets hit him)

Reaction Speed: Supersonic (His speed and timing is the same as Jonathan Joestar's)

Stamina: Superhuman (Early in his Hamon training he was able to run dozens of Li without need for catching his breath. Hamon can allow users to go long periods of time without food, drink, or rest and run for hundreds of kilometers with ease)

Range: Standard Melee Range, Extended Melee Range with Hamon (Hamon users can use their Hamon to extend their limbs. Used his Hamon to pressurize liquid into a small ranged projectile)

Intelligence: Genius (Was born to a scholarly family and was a part of his father's archaeology team. Trained in Hamon for decades and learned from those who had five thousand years of history behind their methods. Taught Jonathan Joestar how to properly use his Hamon. Jonathan Joestar is able to defeat Bruford, who completed the 77 Rings challenge that has only been completed by five knights, which requires those who partake in it to fight seventy seven knights in a row while having to carry more weight each battle. Knew how to minimize the damage he took when an attack that would hit him from any direction was about to injure him)

---

Powers and Abilities

Superhuman Physical Characteristics, Genius Intelligence, Human Achievements (Mastered Hamon), Martial Arts (Masters the Sendo fighting technique, the way of the hermit), Acrobatics & Air Manipulation (Hamon users can launch themselves into the air and jump up high distances), Afterimage Creation (Hamon users can create afterimages), Body Control (Hamon users can extend their limbs with Zoom Punch. Hamon users can use Hamon to confuse the bodies of others), Surface Scaling (Hamon users can focus their fingers into a specific spot to scale up oily surfaces), Weapon Usage (Used wine to perform Hamon Cutter Can use leaves to glid long distances), Water Manipulation (Hamon users can manipulate liquids with Hamon), Life Manipulation & Plant Manipulation (Can cause a wilted flower to bloom), Limited Enhanced Senses (Can feel Hamon and life energy from others), Water Walking (Hamon allows one to walk on water), Electricity Manipulation (Hamon can shock people, Joseph Joestar used this to knock out a pilot just from touching him), Fire Manipulation (Hamon users can light their arms on fire using Scarlet Overdrive), Precognition (Type 1 & 2; Hamon users can see someone’s future through touching them. Hamon users can see the future during battle), Biological Manipulation (Hamon can reorganize one's cell and make their functions go haywire. Hamon users can use Hamon to confuse the bodies of others), Reflection Manipulation & Attack Reflection (Hamon can redirect attacks through the use of objects imbued with Hamon), Longevity (Hamon keeps you in your prime much longer than usual), Healing (Hamon energy can heal broken bones, including a broken neck. Hamon can heal diseases like Gangrene), Pain Manipulation (Hamon energy can soften physical pain), Vibration Manipulation & Energy Manipulation (It is also called Ripple, as it creates vibrations that turn into energy waves), Light Manipulation (Hamon utilizes the powers of the sun allowing it to glow), Explosion Manipulation (Hamon can incur explosions), Durability Negation (Hamon can conduct through living organisms, thus ignoring durability. Can stop ones heart with Hamon), Non-Physical Interaction (Hamon can conduct over and affect Stands, and Stands are also referred to as Spirit Hamon; Stands are consistently referred to as spiritual energy, beings that are a powerful apparition created by the stand users own life energy, with it being known physical objects such as guns can't hurt stands), Purification (Hamon was shown to restore Bruford’s humanity), Self-Sustenance (Types 2 & 3; Hamon can allow users to go long periods of time without food, drink, or rest), Life Magnetism (Life Magnetism Overdrive magnetizes living things to bunch them together, such as leaves), Gliding (Hamon users can magnetize leaves and use them to glid across large distances), Hair Manipulation (Hamon users can use even hair and weaponize it to block attacks), Absorption & Power Bestowal (Hamon users can transfer their life energy to other allowing those who absorb it grow stronger from it. Those affected by Ripple Hypnosis grow stronger from it), Mind Manipulation (Ripple Hypnosis allows for the user to control the mind of whoever they touched with Hamon), Animal Manipulation (Able to inject Hamon into an animal to control them)

Resistance to Poison Manipulation (Users of Hamon can expel poison from the body using blood control), Absorption & Biological Manipulation (Hamon users can resist the Pillar Men trying to absorb them into them, which Joseph describes as them using their own cells to expel digestive fluid to devour the persons cells), Corruption & Necromancy (Hamon users can expel Dio's vampiric extract which can turn one into an undead zombie out for blood), Fire (Hamon users can resist fire)

---

Standard Equipment

• Wine: Will has a bottle of wine which he uses to eat wine which allows him to perform the technique Ripple Cutter.
• Wine Glass: A glass of wine which Will gave to Jonathan Joestar to help him fight Jack the Ripper. Using the glass of wine Jonathan was able to wine to detect where Jack the Ripper was hiding during the battle allowing Jonathan to defeat him.

---

Notable Techniques

• Hamon: Hamon, also know as Ripple is life energy that produces the same type of energy waves as the sun. These waves are created by breathing in a special way that allows the user to use the energy produced by blood flow throughout the body. Will learned of this technique in an Indian port town where he witnessed a doctor heal someone's Gangrene just by touching the infected spot on the patient's body. This doctor would inform Will that he could learn Hamon from his master, Tonpetty in Tibet. Will would train under Tonpetty for decades and would master Hamon. Hamon can be used to amplify the user's strength, heal wounds and diseases, send energy through objects, walk on water, and more. Hamon is especially good at harming vampires as it is their main weakness.
• Seated Jump: Using Hamon Will is able to propel himself into the air while only using the power of his knees.
• Forced Ripple Breathing: Will hits someone in the diaphragm using his pinky finger causing all of the air to come out of their lungs. This causes those hit to start unintentionally start producing Hamon when trying to regain their breath.
• Ripple Overdrive: A basic form of attacking using ripple to amplify his attacks to a superhuman degree.
• Sendo Ripple Overdrive: Will can charge up his Hamon and release it into an powerful attack that is able to transfer the energy he produces through the body of another living thing allowing him to hit through them without harming them in the process.
• Zoom Punch: Using Hamon Will is able to dislocate his arm while punching in order to hit his opponent from a distance. The Hamon Will produces is able to soften the pain of his arm dislocating and relocate it once the attack is finished.
• Hamon Cutter: Will is able to drink wine or any other liquid and pressurize it using his Hamon. By doing this Will is able to spit out sharp spinning disks of liquid which he can use as a short ranged projectile.
• Sendo Wave Kick: A Hamon infused knee to the face. Will used this attack to heavily disfigure Jack the Ripper's face.
• Ripple Detector: While Will is never shown to use Ripple Detector he taught Jonathan Joestar how to do it. By using some type of liquid a Hamon user is able to detect and feel the life force of others around them. Jonathan used this to detect and kill Jack the Ripper.
• Sticking Ripple & Repelling Ripple: By creating ripples in the Water using Hamon Will is able to walk across the surface of it. This is caused by the surface of the water repelling the Hamon in the Hamon users body like if it were opposing magnets of the same polarity.
• Sunlight Yellow Overdrive: Will is able to transfer a flow of Hamon energy through his body into another's body allowing him to burn them in the process.
• Life Magnetism Overdrive: Using Hamon Will is able to pull leaves together as if they were magnets connecting and form them into a large sheet which he can use to glid across large distances.
• Tornado Overdrive: Will jumps up and does a spinning kick towards his opponent. This kick is amplified by Will's Hamon.
• Ultimate Deep Pass Overdrive: Will is able to transfer his life force by directly touching another Hamon user and using Ultimate Deep Pass Overdrive. This will amplify the Hamon of the one receiving the life force making them much stronger, faster, and capable then before. Will used this as a last ditch effort to save Jonathan Joestar from Tarkus during their battle. As a result of losing his own life force Will rapidly aged into an old man.

---

Other

Standard Tactics: William Zeppeli passively amplifies himself with his Hamon and will use its abilities when they are best suited during combat.

Weaknesses: If he can't breath he will eventually run out of Hamon. While using Ultimate Deep Pass Overdrive he will rapidly age until he becomes an old man.

Trivia

• Will's last name "Zeppeli" is a reference to the English rock band Led Zeppelin
• In the original Weekly Shonen Jump publication of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Phantom Blood, Will states that he hasn't married nor has he had children. However when Battle Tendency came out we learn that Will had a son named Mario. Because of this in the Tankōbon release of Phantom Blood the dialogue was changed so that Will states that he left his family behind. Along with this Araki wrote an apology to fans about this mistake in said release.
• Will's mustache is inspired by Iyami from Osomatsu-kun and Spanish painter Salvador Dalí.
• Araki has compared Will to the mentor characters from Jackie Chan movies and The Karate Kid; These characters may look a little off on the outside but have traits that are deserving of respect.

Gallery

• 

  Will eating a sandwich.

• 

  Will as a young man.

• 

  Will aged up due to the effects of Ultimate Deep Pass Overdrive.

• 

  Will Zeppeli on JoJonium's Phantom Blood Volume 2 cover.

• 

  Will in JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: The Animation

Battle Records

None.

None.

None.

Discussions (Link For Mobile Users):

Discussion threads involving Will Anthonio Zeppeli