Steel Ball Run episode 2 could introduce a mind-blowing character you’ll never see coming

Netflix’s Steel Ball Run had a successful two-episode premiere on March 19, but was soon followed by a release schedule controversy that raised concerns about the ongoing adaptation, with fans waiting endlessly for episode 2. After experiencing backlash, Netflix announced that the story’s 2nd stage would have a Fall 2026 release window, and that future episodes will adhere to a weekly release format broken up into cours (batches of episodes with breaks in between).

In Araki’s manga, the 2nd Stage of the race spans Chapters 12 to 27; reason dictates that the Netflix anime’s 2nd Stage will adapt this segment into two or more episodes. While there’s plenty of excitement and intrigue to look forward to, this stretch of Steel Ball Run features a revelation so bizarre that it completely rewires our expectations from Araki’s saga.

So while we wait for Netflix to pony up the next episode of Steel Ball Run, why not look ahead at one of the wildest moments coming up next?

[Ed.note: This article contains spoilers for the JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Steel Ball Run manga]

The 2nd Stage of the race ramps up the stakes considerably. Steel Ball Run participants are required to cross a 2,000 km stretch of the Arizona desert, adding the challenge of survival to an already physically demanding tournament. Waterholes become coveted points of interest, and the desert’s lawlessness allows other participants to target Gyro and Johnny. A grisly triple-murder on the racetrack sets the stage for this anxiety-inducing segment, where our protagonists are repeatedly targeted for reasons that have nothing to do with their ranks on the racing leaderboard.

Chapter 25, titled “Tusk Part 1,” opens with a flashback to 1191 A.D. at the Glastonbury Monastery in Southwest England. An old map etched on parchment is discovered, a relic belonging to Joseph of Arimathea, the Roman Empire-era saint who “brought the dead body of Jesus Christ down from the cross after he was crucified on the Hill of Golgotha” and buried the body. The map in question remained a mystery, as no one could identify the landmass depicted on it. That is, until the map was stolen in the 16th century, several years after America was discovered.

Yes, Jesus Christ is about to show up in Steel Ball Run…

Image: Shueisha/Viz Media

We cut back to Gyro and Johnny being hounded by a race participant named F.V. Stroheim, who is promptly defeated by Gyro’s Steel Balls. Just as Johnny expresses his frustrations about being hunted during the race, an emaciated hand emerges from his own left hand and reenters his body before he can show it to Gyro. The next scene moves inside a train following the race, where event organizer Steven Steel converses with Funny Valentine, the President of the United States. Through context cues, we put together that Steven and the President think Gyro has found something known as a “Corpse Part” after he and Johnny crossed the Devil’s Palm, a cursed, constantly migrating geographical region that draws travelers in.

Although Johnny isn’t privy to this context, he puts two and two together when he and Gyro are attacked once again in the same chapter. Johnny reasons that these aggressors are attacking them to search for something they might’ve picked up on accident, like the mummified left hand that Johnny glimpsed inside his own flesh. The final piece of the puzzle solves itself when we realize this left arm is a Corpse Part (i.e., ancient human remains with miraculous properties that belong to none other than Jesus himself). Although Steel Ball Run doesn’t say this outright, the Joseph of Arimathea flashback is contextualized against future visions where Jesus appears directly and guides characters like Johnny and the President’s hired assassin, Blackmore.

Image: Shueisha/Viz Media

As the left arm is a Corpse Part belonging to Jesus, its appearance in the 2nd Stage of Steel Ball Run alters the flavor of the events to come. This is no longer a transcontinental race whose end goal is a staggering prize money — instead, it is a covert mission to search and find nine Corpse Parts scattered across the race trail. The miraculous abilities tied to the Corpse Parts can manifest as Stands, which is how Johnny’s Stand, called Tusk, gets awakened after Jesus’ left arm temporarily fuses with his. As with most Stands, Tusk will also evolve and get stronger over time.

This begs the question: Why does the President of the United States want the unified corpse of Jesus Christ, and what does he intend to do with it? While Araki imbues this motive with complex layers as Steel Ball Run progresses, Gyro has a theory in Chapter 27 to explain why the Corpse Parts are being gathered in the first place.

“The word ‘saint’ is used for those who cause miracles after they die,” Gyro tells Johnny, while making note that “the greatest of saints offer the power and glory of 1000 years.”

Image: Shueisha/Viz Media

As the Saint’s Corpse is a miraculous relic of unprecedented power, anyone laying claim to it can harness its supernatural blessing. In the hands of a corrupt President, such twisted ambition is a one-way ticket to toxic nationalism, or worse, a devastating downward spiral that crosses all limits of morality.

Although the 2nd Stage of the Steel Ball Run anime will merely plant the seeds for these sweeping revelations, it marks the inception of a truly bizarre story about the hollowness of the American Dream.

The premiere of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Steel Ball Run can be streamed on Netflix.