During the third story arc of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, the treacherous Dio Brando returned once again as DIO, and he had more than a few Stand-using minions on his side. Jotaro Kujo and his allies had their work cut out for them, and among those enemies, was Jean Pierre Polnareff.
While Polnareff initially began on the opposing side, Jotaro would eventually make him an ally. After all, Jotaro had already turned Noriaki Kakyoin into an ally by destroying a flesh bud in his head that connected him to DIO. So now, Jotaro would have to pull off a similar stunt to help Polnareff be free of DIO's control so he could continue the hunt for his sister's killer.
The Sinister Encounter In A Hong Kong Restaurant: Polnareff Appears
After Gray Fly's attack on an airplane led Jotaro, Joseph Joestar and the rest of their team to take the long way to Egypt when it crashed, they made several stops along the way. The first major stop is Hong Kong, and the four friends hoped to have a quiet and relaxing stay before resuming their trek. However, they instead encounter Jean Pierre Polnareff, who initially poses as a hapless French tourist.
A fight eventually kicks off after Polnareff teasingly tipped his hand by remarking on a star-shaped carrot that resembled the Joestar family birthmark. After moving to the spacious Tiger Balm garden, Polnareff's Silver Chariot Stand faces off against Muhammad Avdol and his flaming Stand, Magician's Red. Both fighters demonstrated the full powers of their Stands. Silver Chariot shone by cutting flame and stone alike, while and Magician's Red moved its fireballs in unexpected and resourceful ways until Avdol pushed Polnareff to his limit.
Though Polnareff removed Silver Chariot's armor to boost its speed, it still wasn't enough. However, his honor and good sportsmanship inspired Avdol to spare him, and Jotaro decided to settle matters the best way he knew how.
The Truth Of Polnareff's Quest
Polnareff, unlike Gray Fly and later villains such as Vanilla Ice, is not a monster, nor did he truly intend to kill Jotaro and the others -- at least not without DIO's influence. Instead, he approached DIO a year prior out of desperation, seeking a way to find and kill the man who violated and killed his younger sister. Polnareff sought the man with two right hands, and the scheming DIO offered him power in exchange for servitude via a flesh bud. Under DIO's orders, Polnareff had sought to assassinate Jotaro's gang, but once Jotaro used Star Platinum to remove the bud, Polnareff was free once again.
Without DIO's control, Polnareff proved to be quite kind, valuing friendship, truth and honor above all else. Now, not only must Polnareff find and destroy his sister's killer -- who is later revealed to be the Stand user named J. Geil -- but he had a score to settle with DIO. That vampire had taken advantage of Polnareff's grief and need for power.
Jotaro, who had sensed DIO's cells in Polnareff's forehead, freed him from the control and, after hearing the Frenchman out, accepted him as the team's fifth member. Polnareff would become an exemplary hero in the face of terrifying odds, slaying the powerful Vanilla Ice and learning more about the mystical Stand Arrow.
