Rudol von Stroheim (JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure)

"German science is the greatest in the world!" (JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Battle Tendency)

Rudol von Stroheim is a minor antagonist turned tritagonist in the second part of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, Battle Tendency. A Nazi colonel, Stroheim tries to control of the Pillar Man Santana, an old being of immense power, in order to bring glory to the Third Reich. After losing control of Santana, and seeing the destructive capabilities of Pillar Men, Stroheim vows to commit all his efforts and resources into helping the protagonist, Joseph Joestar, defeat the remaining Pillar Men.

Stroheim embodies two powerful ideals. Firstly, Stroheim serves as a reminder that in times of true peril, every human is on the same side. He is the embodiment of the old Arab saying, often attributed to author Nafisa Haji. "I, against my brothers. I and my brothers against my cousins. I and my brothers and my cousins against the world." Humanity is faced with a true existential threat in the form of Kars and the Pillar Men, and, in this situation, Stroheim, a bona fide Nazi, casts aside his monstrous ideals in order to side with an American and address the threat head on. Secondly, much like how Batman can stand against Superman, Stroheim represents human ingenuity. While Joseph Joestar and the Pillar Men fight with powers equivalent to that of legendary heroes and gods, Stroheim manages to hold his own by using science and his cyborg enhancements. Kars constantly talks about how humans are less than insects to the Pillar Men, and yet Stroheim is able to briefly match Kars in combat. Stroheim is a great example of character depth, having multiple layered motivations while also demonstrating human persistence and innovation. And he does all this while being the most hate-able kind of villain there is: a Nazi.