‘JoJo’s Bizarre Musical Adventure’: Stairway to Heaven, Caesar A. Zeppeli

The deuteragonist and major ally of Joseph Joestar in Part Two is none other than Caesar Anthonio Zeppeli, grandson of Will Anthonio Zeppeli. Carrying on the torch of the Zeppeli clan, Caesar is also a Ripple user like his grandfather and joins Joseph in fighting the Pillar Men and the threat they pose to the world at large.

In the days of my youth, I was told what it means to be a man

Now I’ve reached that age, I’ve tried to do all those things the best I can

No matter how I try, I find my way into the same old jam

When Caesar was ten, his father Mario disappeared leaving him and his five siblings to their fates as orphans (their mother had already died earlier).  Caesar, angry and upset that the man he idolized could do such a thing, discards the Zeppeli name. He grows up with a violent streak, becoming a thug so fearsome even the mafia was wary of him. One evening while strolling through the streets of Rome, Caesar chances upon his father. Deciding to kill him, Caesar follows his father down a secret passageway beneath the Colosseum. There he accidentally activates a trap set up by the Pillar Men but is saved by his father, who sacrifices his life for his son. Surprised and deeply moved, Caesar swears to avenge his father’s death and reclaims the Zeppeli name.

Led Zeppelin did not initially start off as the group Led Zeppelin; in the beginning, there was The Yardbirds. The Yardbirds saw a number of lineups from 1963 to 1968. During the era of the Jeff Beck/Jimmy Page lineup in 1966, while “Beck’s Bolero” was being recorded, an idea of a supergroup featuring Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page, Keith Moon and John Entwistle came up. At that time, a joke was thrown around (accounts differ if it was Moon or Entwistle) that a band with Beck and Page would go down like a lead balloon. When Plant, Bonham, Jones and Page got together, Page remembered the joke, dropping the ‘a’ from lead and switching the balloon for zeppelin and thus Led Zeppelin was born.

When Joseph met Caesar, their duo certainly went down like a lead balloon, Caesar with his short temper and Joseph with the habit of getting under anyone’s skin. It didn’t help that Caesar held a grudge against the Joestar clan whom he believed were responsible for the death of his grandfather Will Zeppeli.

Communication breakdown, it’s always the same

Havin’ a nervous breakdown, a-drive me insane             

Joseph and Caesar go head-to-head, each one trying to prove that he was the superior fighter. Caesar found Joseph to be a hooligan and Joesph found Caesar to be a skirt chaser. The only way to settle this would be a duel. While Caesar demonstrated better command over his Ripple technique, Joseph holds out his own with his wits. With both equally matched, it’s hard to tell who is the victor.

Caesar then takes Joseph and Speedwagon underneath the Colosseum where the Pillar Men lie in wait. Upon arrival, they are horrified to find all the soldiers dead and the Pillar Men free. Caesar seeing the bloodshed, proceeds to attack the Pillar Men, grievously underestimating his enemies. Joseph draws the attention of the Pillar Men towards himself to save Caesar and Speedwagon, effectively convincing the Pillar Men to give them a month’s time to prepare for a better battle and dons the Wedding Rings of Death as insurance. It is only then that Caesar begins to respect Joseph and is convinced to help him get stronger to defeat the Pillar Men.

So anytime somebody needs you

Don’t let them down, although it grieves you

Someday you’ll need someone like they do

Looking for what you knew

Caesar introduces Joseph to his Ripple master, Lisa Lisa, who helps them hone their skills so they can stand to win against the Pillar Men. They begin their hellish training at Air Supplena Island (note the Air Supply easter egg) located somewhere north of Venice.

The leaves are falling all around, time I was on my way

Thanks to you, I’m much obliged for such a pleasant stay

But now it’s time for me to go, the autumn moon lights my way

For now I smell the rain, and with it pain, and it’s headed my way

Ah, sometimes I grow so tired

But I know I’ve got one thing I got to do

Ramble on, and now’s the time, the time is now

Led Zeppelin has quite a few songs that reference Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings, “Ramble On” happens to be one of them. The arduous journey undertaken by Frodo (and Sam) to destroy the One Ring is similar to the journey taken by the Ripple users to track the Pillar Men.  Only there is no One Ring to destroy instead, here we have the Red Stone of Aja. Both paths the heroes go on are fraught with danger.

 Well, they call me the hunter

That’s my name

They call me the hunter

That’s how I got my fame

Ain’t no need to hide

Ain’t no need to run

‘Cause I’ve got you in the sights of my gun

When the group arrives in Switzerland, Joseph proposes they wait for a better opportunity to attack while Caesar believes that they should strike while the iron is hot. The argument escalates and Caesar storms off, refusing to wait, which is how he is ambushed by one of the Pillar Men, Wammu.

Hangman, hangman, hold it a little while

Think I see my friends coming

Riding a many mile

Friends did you get some silver?

Did you get a little gold?

What did you bring me my dear friends

To keep me from the gallows pole?

What did you bring me to keep me from the gallows pole?

“Gallows Pole” is actually based on the song “The Gallis Pole” by folk singer Huddie “Lead Belly” Ledbetter which in turn is based on an old folk song “The Maid Freed from the Gallows.” In these iterations either a woman or a man is pleading with the executioner to wait, that surely someone will come along and bribe the executioner and save the fate of the unfortunate victim. In most versions of the song, the executioner frees the victim by the end. However, in the Led Zeppelin version, the victim is doomed and the executioner proceeds as planned. Similarly, Caesar’s fate is sealed as he makes his last stand.

Wandering and wandering

What place to rest the search

The mighty arms of Atlas

Hold the heavens from the earth

“Achilles’ Last Stand,” as the title suggests, is taken from the Greek myth of the warrior Achilles. When Robert Plant along with his wife were traveling through Greece, they got into an unfortunate car crash. Miraculously the only casualty in the near-fatal car crash was Plant’s broken Achilles’ heel. When Led Zeppelin got together in the studio Plant was in a wheelchair, and so enthused was he while recording that he fell and broke his ankle, again.

While Caesar doesn’t fall from a wheelchair, he does fall down the “Stairway to Heaven,” er, I mean the stairs.

Who shines white light and wants to show

How everything still turns to gold

And if you listen very hard

The tune will come to you at last

When all are one, and one is all

To be a rock and not to roll

Caesar’s style of Ripple fighting involves a lot of use of lights and bubbles, and “Stairway to Heaven” makes a fitting track, almost a dirge for Caesar. The fight is close, with both Wammu and Caesar pushed to their breaking points. Unfortunately for Caesar, his shadow provides Wammu the opening to deliver the final blow. Summoning the last of his strength in true Zeppeli fashion, he uses the remaining Ripple energy he possesses to get at least one antidote for Joseph and seals it in a bubble with his headband as he falls down a flight of stairs, impressing his opponent. Wammu even admits that Caesar was the most powerful opponent he had faced thus far.

Well, if the sun shines so bright

Or on our way it’s darkest night

The road we choose is always right, so fine

When Joseph arrives at the scene, he finds Caesar’s body crushed by a cross-shaped rock along with the blood bubble encasing the headband and the antidote. Swearing to avenge his friend, Joseph ties the headband around his head when he goes to fight Wammu.

Joseph is successful in avenging the death of his friend, going so far as to use Caesar’s headband to win against his fight with Wammu. Caesar would no doubt be pleased at the outcome watching from his place atop the “Stairway to Heaven.”

Caesar Anthonio Zeppeli’s Discography

In order of appearance

“Good Times Bad Times” (Album: Led Zeppelin, 1969)

“Communication Breakdown” (Album: Led Zeppelin, 1969)

“Friends” (Album: Led Zeppelin III,1970)

“Ramble On” (Album: Led Zeppelin II, 1969)

“How Many More Times” (Album: Led Zeppelin, 1969)

“Achilles’ Last Stand” (Album: Presence,1976)

“Stairway to Heaven” (Album: Led Zeppelin IV, 1971)

“Bron-Y-Aur Stomp” (Album: Led Zeppelin III, 1970)