Will Anthonio Zeppeli
Also known as: Will Zeppeli, Zeppeli
William Anthonio Zeppeli is Jonathan Joestar's Hamon mentor across Phantom Blood and the first Zeppeli to appear in the franchise. An Italian Hamon master who has spent decades hunting the Stone Mask after the artefact killed his father, he meets Jonathan in 1888 and trains him in Sendō Ripple across a compressed seven-week sequence. Will dies fighting the undead knight Tarkus at Windknight's Lot, transferring his Ripple essence to Jonathan as his final act.
Story
Phantom Blood
Part 1 · 1830–1889Will Zeppeli's pre-Phantom-Blood biography is depicted in flashback. His father was killed during a pre-1880s archaeological expedition where the Stone Mask the Joestars later inherit was first recovered — the father donned the Mask to fight Aztec ruins guardians, became a vampire, and was destroyed by his own son when Will discovered him in the family home. The trauma drives Will into a decades-long pursuit of the Mask across multiple continents.
Will meets Jonathan Joestar shortly after the Joestar Mansion's destruction. The two travel to Italy, then back to England via Speedwagon's hideout in Liverpool, and Will trains Jonathan in Sendō Ripple across seven compressed weeks — the franchise's first depicted training arc and the structural template for every subsequent Stand-user-or-Hamon-user mentor sequence.
Will's death takes place at the Windknight's Lot manor against the undead knight Tarkus. The combat is structurally uneven — Will is a Hamon master, but Tarkus's medieval-corpse biology gives him substantial physical advantages. Will dies in Jonathan's arms after channelling his remaining Ripple essence into Jonathan — a transfer that enables Jonathan's final-form Sunlight Yellow Overdrive technique. The transfer establishes the franchise's most-cited mentor-death template, reused by Caesar Zeppeli (Battle Tendency) and Gyro Zeppeli (Steel Ball Run).
Powers & Abilities
Sendō Ripple (Italian School)
HamonWill is a master of Sendō Ripple — the Italian-school variant of the breathing-based martial art that defines the franchise's Phantom Blood era. His Ripple signature includes the original Sunlight Yellow Overdrive punch technique (which Jonathan inherits via the dying-Zeppeli essence transfer), the Tornado Overdrive wine-bottle-launched Ripple attack, and the Zoom Punch joint-dislocating strike that extends melee reach.
Will's combat style emphasises tactical patience over Jonathan's brawling power — he prefers to set up Ripple attacks with environmental hazards and timing-precise strikes rather than direct fist barrages. The contrast between Will's calculated combat and Jonathan's earnest aggression is one of Phantom Blood's most-cited mentor-student dynamics, and the template for every subsequent Zeppeli-Joestar partnership.
- Sunlight Yellow Overdrive (original)
- The fist barrage technique that channels Ripple energy into a sustained punch rush. Will is the franchise's first depicted Sunlight Yellow Overdrive user; Jonathan inherits the technique via the dying essence transfer.
- Tornado Overdrive
- A wine-bottle-launched Ripple attack — Will spins a glass bottle to impart rotation, charges it with Hamon, and launches it as a long-range projectile. The technique is the franchise's first depicted Ripple-charged-projectile and the structural precursor to Caesar's Bubble Launcher and Gyro's Steel Ball Throw.
Relationships
Trivia
- Will is the first Zeppeli to appear in the franchise — the structural origin of the Joestar-Zeppeli partnership template that produces Caesar (Battle Tendency) and Gyro (Steel Ball Run) across two more Parts. Each Zeppeli partnership follows the same template: mentor-student relationship, mortal wounding by the Part's antagonist or lieutenant, dying essence-transfer enabling the Joestar's final-form ability.
- His Italian background is the franchise's first depicted non-British European main character. The Italian Hamon school Will represents anticipates Vento Aureo's full-Italian Bucciarati-crew, and the geographic specificity of the Italian villas across Phantom Blood's middle act establishes Araki's pattern of using Italian settings as the franchise's primary European reference.
- Will's wine-bottle Tornado Overdrive technique was reportedly the most editorially debated Hamon attack of the original 1986 manga run. The mechanic — using a thrown projectile as a Ripple-charged weapon — was new to the franchise's combat language and required Araki to develop the visual conventions for Ripple-on-an-object representation that subsequent Parts inherit.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Will Anthonio Zeppeli?
William Anthonio Zeppeli is Jonathan Joestar's Hamon mentor across Phantom Blood, the first Part of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure. An Italian Hamon master who has spent decades hunting the Stone Mask after the artefact killed his father, he trains Jonathan in Sendō Ripple across seven compressed weeks before dying in single combat against the undead knight Tarkus at Windknight's Lot.
What is Will Zeppeli's Hamon ability?
Will is a master of Sendō Ripple — the Italian-school variant of the breathing-based martial art. His signature techniques include the original Sunlight Yellow Overdrive punch barrage (which Jonathan inherits via the dying essence transfer), the Tornado Overdrive wine-bottle-launched Ripple attack, and the Zoom Punch joint-dislocating strike that extends melee reach.
How does Will Zeppeli die?
Will dies in single combat against the undead knight Tarkus at the Windknight's Lot manor. The fight is structurally uneven — Will is a Hamon master, but Tarkus's medieval-corpse biology gives him substantial physical advantages. Will dies in Jonathan's arms after channelling his remaining Ripple essence into Jonathan, a transfer that enables Jonathan's final-form Sunlight Yellow Overdrive technique.
Is Will Zeppeli related to Caesar?
Yes. Will is Caesar Anthonio Zeppeli's grandfather. The Italian Zeppeli line has practised Hamon for generations, and each generation has paired with a Joestar in a mentor-student partnership — Will with Jonathan in Phantom Blood, Caesar with Joseph in Battle Tendency, and (in the alternate-universe Steel Ball Run continuity) Gyro with Johnny. The Joestar-Zeppeli partnership template is one of the franchise's most-recurring structural patterns.