kars

Kars (カーズ Kāzu) is the main antagonist of the second part of the JoJo's Bizarre Adventure series, Battle Tendency, as well as the second main antagonist of the series overall. Kars is the leader of the Pillar Men, and the designer of the Stone Mask. His goal is to evolve further to become immune to the sun's rays, and thus he seeks the Red Stone of Aja to empower his Masks, battling the Ripple users for its possession. As the creator of the Stone Masks and vampires, Kars is one of the more influential characters in the series, his invention having far reaching repercussions for a number of major characters, such as Dio Brando, the Joestar Family and the Zeppeli Family.

Kars is intelligent, ruthless, and single-minded in his dedication to obtain the Red Stone of Aja. He was stated to have been a genius among the Pillar Men, having been the original creator of the Stone Mask. Initially, he appears to be the most aloof and no-nonsense of the Pillar Men, rarely smiling and often being the one to remind Wamuu and Esidisi of their goal.[5] Kars is utterly devoted to obtaining the Red Stone of Aja, and tramples over anyone in his way, no matter the method. Though he entertains Joseph's initial challenge, and later Lisa Lisa's. In Kars's mind the only thing that matters is the final victory. He still has some level of respect for bravery, but ultimately his philosophy is to never leave anything to chance.[6] He breaks his word about fighting for the Stone fair and square, cheating to defeat Lisa Lisa and has been revealed to execute children, anticipating their revenge.[7] Though he vows to avenge his companions, he found Wamuu's warrior spirit to be a weakness. Kars will fight for his companion's memory but his priority will always be attaining absolute power by any means necessary.[6]

Despite his stern, no-nonsense exterior, Kars possesses a murderous and sadistic nature. He has stated that a life without an enemy is boring[5] and has shown to enjoy fights occasionally. However, he only really derives pleasure from inflicting harm and hearing the cries of his victims.[12] Kars enjoys the desperation, and often licks his lips in anticipation of their demise. Kars also comes across as mockingly polite, as he offered Lisa Lisa poison to die on her own terms rather than fighting him.[13] These tendencies become more clear when he attains his ultimate form, and he is seen to thoroughly enjoy his status as the most powerful life form on Earth.[14]

Kars keeps an ambiguous relationship toward those around him. On one hand, he considered Santana to be nothing but a simple guard dog,[17] and slaughtered the rest of his race (including his parents) without hesitation or remorse.[15] On the other hand, he expresses himself to care deeply for Esidisi and Wamuu,[18] repeatedly vowing to achieve his goals and kill Joseph Joestar to honor and avenge their sacrifices in ensuring his success.[14][17] Kars also seems to have a certain respect for nature and animals; he caused a drunk driver who nearly hit a puppy to get into an accident and die,[19] and he deliberately complicated an otherwise-simple landing to avoid falling on a flower.[9] However, he does later attack a squirrel when testing his Ultimate Form's abilities,[14] and is said to have threatened an entire ecosystem fueling his Stone Masks. Ultimately, Kars is capable of affection and forming bonds with others, but those affections always come second to his goals. Kars looks down on machines, sneering at the cyborg technology Rudol von Stroheim demonstrates and considering it inferior.[17] Moreover, he considers his vampire grunts to be worthless pawns, unmoved if they are victimized or slain, and willing to execute them himself should they prove annoying to him.[7]

As with the other Pillar Men, Kars has the same body manipulation capabilities shared by his companions.

Joseph Joestar: As the man who created the stone masks, Kars is essentially responsible for Dio Brando's transformation and the death of Jonathan Joestar. Initially, Kars was just one of the Pillar Men to defeat in Joseph's eyes, but after Joseph killed Esidisi, Kars voiced a deep-seated hatred for the human above all Ripple users. Kars would win Joseph's ire as well by revealing how dishonorable he is compared to the others. It was only once Kars became the Ultimate Thing that he indulged himself in attacking Joseph who made great efforts to defeat him. Kars responded by cutting off Joseph's arm and it ended in Joseph unintentionally sending Kars out into space, but not before mocking him one last time. Caesar Anthonio Zeppeli: As the man who created the Stone Masks, Kars is essentially responsible for the deaths of Caesar's father, grandfather and great-grand father.