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| “ | YES, I AM! | „ |
| ~ Avdol rescuing Polnareff from the former's evil clone. |
Muhammad Avdol (Japanese: モハメド・アヴドゥル, Arabic: محمد عبده) is a major character in the 1989 manga series JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Part III: Stardust Crusaders and its 2014 anime adaptation of the same name.
He is an old Egyptian friend of Joseph Joestar and a fortune teller who possesses a vast knowledge on stands. He serves as the primary guide of the Joestar group in their road to Egypt in order to defeat DIO. Avdol wields the pyrokinectic stand, Magician's Red, which he named after the eponymous tarot card.
He is voiced by Kenta Miyake in Japanese, who also voices Steven Steel in Steel Ball Run. In English, he was voiced by Chris Tergliafera.
Appearance
Avdol is a black man (of Egyptian nationality) of above-average height and medium to heavy build. He wears a simple, heavy overcoat of light color, with sleeves of elbow length.
Personality
Avdol is a serious, responsible and overall righteous individual.
Avdol possesses a "strong sense of duty and loyalty". He is highly dedicated to slaying DIO as one of the two first members of the party; remarkably so since he is the only one not to fight him for personal reasons. When Tower of Gray gratuitously killed unrelated bystanders, Avdol was furious. Besides, Avdol is willing to die for his comrades. On two occasions he placed himself in mortal danger to save Jean Pierre Polnareff and Iggy. During their duel, Avdol commended Polnareff's own chivalry and returned the Frenchman's gestures of honor, such as explaining his Stand's power to him. His loyalty is such that when Polnareff accused him to have fled DIO like a coward, Avdol almost lost his cool and hit Polnareff.
Rather serious, Avdol serves as the voice of reason to the rest of the team. Acting as Joseph's second in command, and being the second oldest man of the Joestar Group, Avdol is more focused on his goal than the others and is regularly seen reflecting on the group's next move. Aware of the danger they are facing, he frequently advocates caution during their journey. Being serious and mature, he acts cordially toward everyone.
However besides his seriousness, Avdol can be a jovial individual. He appreciates the tumultuous atmosphere of India for instance, and when in a particularly good mood such as his apparition before Polnareff, the latter notes that it looks like Avdol's personality made a U-turn before Avdol boisterous laughs and childish antics.
Avdol knows his strengths, and displays great confidence in them. The fortune teller isn't above boasting about Magician's Red's power, retorting to the enemy's own boasts, and shows a self-satisfied smile whenever he performs a successful move plus his trademark gesture mimicking a fire starter, which is done with a rotating thumbs-up while saying '"Yes, I am! Tch! Tch! Tch!"'.
Powers and abilities
Avdol's humanoid Stand is Magician's Red; able to generate exceedingly powerful yet finely controlled flames. Different from the fire in nature, that only goes up or follow where the wind blows, its flames obey Avdol's own will. Avdol was born with this Stand and learned to control its power, having full control over it. Avdol's Stand represents the first Tarot Card "The Magician", symbolizing the beginning of something. Polnareff notes that this is suitable, as when the world began it was surround by flames, meaning Avdol's Stand represented the beginning of the world. Keeping up with the idea of beginning things, Avdol is shown to be the first character to do many things: He's the first character to properly use a Stand and get into a fight; the first to encounter Dio; and the first to throw himself in danger to save someone.
Biography
Past
Gifted with a Stand from birth, Avdol made a living as a fortune teller in a bazaar at Cairo, Egypt. Some time in the past, he had met and barely tamed the Stand-wielding dog Iggy. Four months before the events of Stardust Crusaders, the fortune teller encountered the newly awakened DIO standing outside the first floor of his office. Avdol escaped with his life and free will, confirming a warning from his friend Joseph that the vampire was dangerous.
JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders
Avdol first appeared when he accompanied Joseph to assess Jotaro Kujo's situation in prison. The fortune teller proceeded to attack him with his stand and after a brief confrontation, Avdol was able to figure out that Jotaro is a Stand user. Later after Noriaki Kakyoin was given freedom from DIO's control, the fortune teller decided to read some books to determine the origin of the fly in a picture of the vampire. Based on information in the book, he was able to determine that DIO was in Cairo. Avdol was also the first to discover Holly's stand and the danger it possessed to her.
With that knowledge, the crusaders went to Hong Kong on an airplane before being attacked by an enemy stand. Due to the nature of Magician's Red, Avdol was forced to back down to avoid burning down the plane. Kakyoin was able to defeat the enemy stand while Joseph landed the plane due to the pilot's death. The group later arrived at Hong Kong where they meet Polnareff for the first time in a restaurant.
They all ate some food before Polnareff decides reveal his intentions, resulting in Avdol confronting him instead. After a brief show of each others' stand abilities, the 2 perform a duel in an open place. The fortune teller was able to defeat him and upon noticing the Frenchman's behavior, he quickly determined that his opponent was controlled by DIO. Jotaro destroyed the flesh bud, allowing Polnareff to regain his freedom.
The crusaders continued the journey on boat where they were attacked by 2 enemy stand users. Despite the attacks, the crusaders arrived in Singapore. Avdol was particularly suspicious of an enemy stand which Polnareff fought and his suspicions were confirmed, once the enemy stand user was found dead. While in India, the Frenchman was ambushed by J. Geil which prompted Polnareff to separate from the group, much to the fortune teller's dismay. This allowed another assassin named Hol Horse to join in on the ambush.
Avdol was able to save Polnareff by pushing him out off the trajectory of the bullet. However, he wound up being stabbed in the back and shot at the forehead. Because his neck was leaning back due to the backstab, the bullet grazed his forehead and left him alive. His survival was kept a secret from the Frenchman, as the group didn't want the fortune teller to be attacked while he was recovering from his injuries and Polnareff's lack of caution would cause the enemy to find out that Avdol was alive.
From there, it was assumed that he died while he was recovering. Avdol disguised himself as his father, refusing to talk to Polnareff to keep his secret. When the Frenchman fell victim to Cameo's onslaught, tricked by clones made by an enemy stand of Polnareff's sister and the fortune teller, the real Avdol revealed himself to be alive, saving his friend's life and defeating the enemy stand user.
With that issue dealt with, the two bonded by urinating into a breathing hole belonging to Cameo, resulting in him surfacing from underground. Avdol incinerated the enemy stand user before joining the rest of the crusaders. They later travelled to their destination on submarine where they were attacked by another enemy stand which forced them to exit it. The enemy stand was soon defeated and they arrive in Egypt.
After arriving in Egypt, Joseph decided to ask the Speedwagon Foundation to bring in Iggy and after a short period of time, the crusaders were attacked by N'Doul and his stand, Geb. They narrowly escape the stand, losing their vehicle in the process. Avdol however was able to trick the enemy stand user's ears by simulating footsteps in the sand using his own ring cuffs. He was almost successful in evaporating Geb, but N'Doul found out the trick at the last moment and dodged the attack, injuring the fortune teller soon after.
Avdol survived this and was able to recover quickly at the hospital. Later after helping Joseph from a jammed elevator, the fortune teller was subjected to Mariah's stand which caused his body to attract metal. He and Joseph ended up having to chase down the assassin, being able to finally crush her between himself and his friend. Some time after that, the crusaders visited a cafe where they are met by a gambler named Daniel D'Arby whose stand was capable to taking souls. Because of Avdol's anger, he decided to not challenge the gambler to avoid the risk. Jotaro was able to win Joseph and Polnareff's souls back and the crusaders continued on their journey.
While in Egypt, Avdol decided to hire an informant who was later killed by an enemy stand user. Iggy however was able to lead the crusaders to DIO's mansion. In there, Avdol, Polnareff, and Iggy were separated from the others and ended up having to traverse the mansion while looking for the vampire. After killing the stand user responsible for warping the mansion's structure, the group was attacked by a powerful stand user, Vanilla Ice. The fortune teller was given a warning which allowed him to discover where the stand was coming from. He quickly pushed his friends aside, resulting in him being disintegrated by the enemy stand.
Trivia
- Avdol is named after the musician Paula Abdul.
- His stand, Magician's Red, is the first ever stand to be fully revealed in the series, followed by Jotaro's Star Platinum.
- Additionally, Magician's Red is named after the tarot card The Magician, the 1st card in the major arcana. The card symbolizes beginnings, creation, and willpower.
- In the OVA adaptation of Stardust Crusaders, Avdol's death was changed from the manga, with him being firstly teleported inside DIO's coffin as the Crusaders try to open it (in a similar manner to what happened to Nukesaku) before Vanilla Ice appears and erases him from existence using Cream as Avdol pushes Polnareff away from the stand's range.
- Avdol was designed by Araki with the intention of being the group's subleader who had a stronger connection to Egypt and would serve as a navigator of sorts. His fake-out death and eventual return halfway through the story was planned from the beginning, but Araki did not want to do it immediately and out of nowhere.
- Araki also states that he wishes he could have spent more time with Avdol and given him a more primary role, although he felt that he wouldn't have been very popular with Shonen Jump's readership at the time and also mentioned that he found difficult to draw fights with Magician's Red. Araki states that if he ever got the chance to write a story about him, he'd possibly explore more about his family and his relationship with his father.
- Muhammad Avdol's Japanese VA, Kenta Miyake later voices Steven Steel in the Anime Adaptation of Jojo's Bizarre Adventure: Steel Ball Run.
