Blackmore
Blackmore is Funny Valentine's storm-Stand bodyguard across Steel Ball Run's middle act — an alternate-universe American military officer recruited by Valentine for direct combat against the Joestar-Zeppeli racing partnership. His Stand Catch the Rainbow lets him walk through raindrops as solid stepping stones, giving him aerial mobility during rainfall and the franchise's first depicted weather-conditional Stand-user combat advantage.
Story
Steel Ball Run
Part 7 · 1890Blackmore's pre-Steel-Ball-Run biography is depicted across one chapter as an American military officer recruited by Funny Valentine for direct combat against the Joestar-Zeppeli racing partnership. His role across the race's middle act is the first Valentine-aligned Stand-user-bodyguard the racing protagonists encounter directly — Blackmore engages Johnny and Gyro during a sustained rainfall sequence in the American West, exploiting Catch the Rainbow's weather-conditional combat advantages.
His combat scene against Gyro Zeppeli's Steel Balls is one of Steel Ball Run's most-cited mid-arc Stand-vs-Spin confrontations. Blackmore's aerial mobility lets him attack from above the conventional ground-combat plane, but Gyro's golden-ratio rotation eventually identifies his weather-dependency vulnerability — the Steel Ball's curved trajectory through rainfall produces unpredictable contact angles that Blackmore's rain-stepping-stone mechanic cannot fully predict. Blackmore is killed by Gyro's final Steel Ball strike in the resulting confrontation.
Powers & Abilities
Catch the Rainbow
StandCatch the Rainbow is a Bound Stand that lets Blackmore walk through raindrops as solid stepping stones. The mechanic is the franchise's first depicted weather-conditional Stand-user combat advantage — the Stand operates only during rainfall, and the rainfall's intensity scales the Stand's mobility advantage. In heavy storms Blackmore can effectively fly across the battlefield via raindrop-stepping aerial paths; in light drizzle the mechanic is reduced to short hops.
The Stand's primary structural constraint is the rainfall dependency: in dry environments Catch the Rainbow cannot operate, and Blackmore is functionally a conventional combatant without Stand-tier abilities. The mechanic gives him a tactical advantage that scales with environmental conditions — one of the franchise's most-cited examples of environmental-Stand-user combat parity.
Relationships
Trivia
- Blackmore is the first Valentine-aligned Stand-user-bodyguard the Steel Ball Run protagonists encounter directly. His role across the race's middle act is the structural argument that Valentine's nationalist campaign has direct-combat enforcers comparable to Stardust Crusaders' DIO-aligned Stand users.
- His Stand Catch the Rainbow is named after the 1975 Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow album-and-band. The Stand-naming continues Steel Ball Run's rock-music cluster and is one of the franchise's most-explicit single-album-and-musician-named Stand references.
- Catch the Rainbow's weather-conditional combat mechanic is the franchise's first depicted environmental-Stand-user combat parity — the Stand operates only during rainfall, with combat capability scaling to weather intensity. The mechanic anticipates Hot Pants's water-source-dependency, certain Stone Ocean Stand abilities, and JoJolion's environmental-Stand designs.
- His combat against Gyro Zeppeli's Steel Balls is one of Steel Ball Run's most-cited mid-arc Stand-vs-Spin confrontations. The resolution — Gyro's golden-ratio rotation identifying Blackmore's weather-dependency vulnerability — is the structural argument that Spin can operate as a counter to weather-conditional Stand abilities by producing unpredictable contact angles.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Blackmore?
Blackmore is Funny Valentine's storm-Stand bodyguard across Steel Ball Run's middle act — an alternate-universe American military officer recruited by Valentine for direct combat against the Joestar-Zeppeli racing partnership. His Stand Catch the Rainbow lets him walk through raindrops as solid stepping stones, giving him aerial mobility during rainfall.
What is Catch the Rainbow?
Catch the Rainbow is Blackmore's Bound Stand letting him walk through raindrops as solid stepping stones. The franchise's first depicted weather-conditional Stand-user combat advantage — the Stand operates only during rainfall, and the rainfall's intensity scales the Stand's mobility advantage. In heavy storms Blackmore can effectively fly via raindrop-stepping aerial paths.
How does Blackmore die?
Blackmore is killed by Gyro Zeppeli's final Steel Ball strike in the sustained rainfall confrontation across the American West. Gyro's golden-ratio rotation identifies Catch the Rainbow's weather-dependency vulnerability — the Steel Ball's curved trajectory through rainfall produces unpredictable contact angles that Blackmore's rain-stepping mechanic cannot fully predict.
Is Blackmore a Stand User?
Yes — Blackmore wields Catch the Rainbow, a Bound Stand whose ability operates conditionally during rainfall. The Stand-naming is one of the franchise's most-explicit single-album-and-musician-named Stand references, named after the 1975 Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow album-and-band.
