“Do you know how to use that thing?”
“Yeah. The pointy end goes into the other man.” -Antonio Banderas
Polnareff, JoJo’s honorable French swordsman.
Serpico, Berserk’s loyal knight.
Honor is what drives many a man to his goals – to defend his friends, avenge their pride, or to protect their family. These two swordsmen are just as quick with their blades as they are driven to protect their sisters – whether to avenge them or to keep them alive to the best of their abilities. With spirits by their sides and having joined the hero after an initial fight, they’ll always be there to protect those they care about – but, in a rapier duel for the ages, will Polnareff’s Silver Chariot cut through? Or will Serpico and his Sylph Sword prove the victor? Let’s find out in this DEATH BATTLE!
Before We Start…
In terms of the content used for both, we’ll be primarily using the original manga for both, along with their anime adaptations, as well as any secondary media.
For JoJo’s side, this means we’ll be including all of the various light novels – the most important ones to note would be Genesis of the Universe and El Aleph. These two novels are fully compliant with canon, reference it on several occasions, and were intended to add to it, in addition to Araki overseeing them, making them fine to include.
For Berserk, this includes the PS2 game, its own light novel, and the other various games. These were also written to tie into canon (at least for the former two) and don’t offer a ton of contradictions.
Background
Polnareff
“That’s right. We have yet to introduce ourselves. You’ve been so kind as to share your last meal with Jean Pierre Polnareff.”
Jean Pierre Polnareff, a proud and flamboyant Frenchman, was born with the rare ability to wield a Stand from birth. Tragedy struck early in his life: his mother passed away, and with his father presumed dead or absent, Polnareff took on the role of caretaker to his younger sister, with whom he had a close, unbreakable bond.
But fate would deal Polnareff a cruel blow. His sister was murdered by a mysterious Stand user with a distinct trait: two right hands. Enraged, he vowed revenge and began a hunt for his sister’s murderer. But before he could track down the killer, he fell prey to the manipulation of the evil vampire, DIO, who exploited his thirst for vengeance and enslaved him with a mind-controlling parasite. Under DIO’s control, Polnareff was sent to eliminate Jotaro, Joseph, and Avdol, standing in their way as an unwilling enemy.
However, after a fierce battle with Jotaro, Polnareff was freed from the grip of DIO’s flesh bud, and turned from foe to ally, joining their journey to defeat DIO. As they set out for Egypt, he harbored a secret hope that it would bring him face-to-face with his sister’s killer.
On their quest to bring down DIO, the Stardust Crusaders felled numerous foes that stood in their way, but it wasn’t until the defeat of Rubber Soul and his Yellow Temperance Arcana that Polnareff would gain useful intel on his sister’s killer: an assassin named Giel, under DIO’s employ, whose Stand ability involved mirrors in some fashion. And before long, upon finding himself under attack via mirrors in India, Polnareff knew the truth: he had found his killer, at long last. But blinded by his need for revenge, he sought to face Giel alone, and brushed off the help of his friends.
This was to such an extent that, when faced against both Giel and another enemy, Hol Horse, Polnareff rejected the aid of fellow Stardust Crusader, Avdol. Blinded by rage, Polnareff tried to take both Stand users on alone, a mistake that led to Avdol falling in battle. And so, to carry on the will and hopes of his fallen comrade and ensure no other close friends would die, Polnareff finally accepted help and defeated Giel once and for all, avenging both his sister and his friend.
From then on, finally freed from his quest for revenge, Polnareff dedicated himself to taking down DIO. A conviction that only became stronger after it turned out that Avdol was alive! And then he died again, along with another ally, Iggy, and later Kakyoin. Emboldened by these losses, the three remaining Crusaders took on DIO and brought him down after a long-fought battle. He didn’t come out unscathed, but Polnareff emerged from the battle as one of the few survivors. Having vanquished a great evil, he helped ensure the Joestar bloodline could sleep peacefully.
Unfortunately, peace never lasts forever. Several years down the line, even older and battle damaged, Polnareff embarked on a new journey to discover the origins of the mysterious Stand Arrow, at Jotaro’s request. Eventually, this led him to Venice, and directly into battle with the local crime boss, Diavolo, who himself sought the Arrow. Though he held his own as best he could, and even managed to deduce the nature of Diavolo’s Stand ability, Polnareff fell in battle. But not before passing the Stand arrow off to his own Stand, Silver Chariot, transforming it into a Requiem Stand with a single-minded determination to “Get Away.” And also not before his own spirit was transferred into a turtle. Only in Jojo’s.
While his body may have died, Polnareff managed to live on in spirit, still moving forward in a positive direction in spite of all his hardships. As is the meaning of the Chariot Arcana.
Serpico
Born the bastard son of a noble lord and his former maid, Serpico seemingly had nothing to live for. Despite living in complete poverty and starving within the holy capital blessed by God, Serpico’s mother still held onto the delusion Serpico’s father would return one day to save them and they would be whisked away to the standing of nobility. From here she imparted onto Serpico the idea he should act with the pride of an aristocrat, never to fight with other commoners who beat him, to prepare to look his best for a father that never knew him, and to be above a city that never cared about him. The weight of this horrible life and pride weighed on Serpico’s mind and emotions day by day, until one day he simply stopped feeling anything at all, including the desire to live. Letting himself be content with dying, laid beaten in the snow.
Until that fateful day, when a young noble girl named Farnese di Vandimon found Serpico and decided to nurse him back to health to act as her personal servant. Using his position to fulfill his mothers’ dream of touching nobility and using the wages he earned to provide for her, Serpico spent every day at Farnese’s beck and call. But because of Farnese’s parents never being around to show her love and the emptiness of her life, she could only view relationships with others through letting them fear her, frequently put prior servants through constant abuse in some attempt to alienate them, and even burned alive those who were to be executed. Yet Serpico endured this behavior and slowly grew closer to her, calming her down as they finally found a meaningful bond in their lives. And once Lord Vanidmon returned, he recognized the pendant Serpico held of his mother, revealing Lord Vandimon to be his father, and Farnese to be his half sister. Despite this, Serpico continued to be chained to his life of nobility, keeping this fact secret on Lord Vandimon’s orders, fighting when ordered by Farnese, and visiting his mother as Vandimon continued to avoid her, and her delusions grew to the point she could no longer recognize Serpico as her son.
All of this came to a head when Farnese was put into an arranged marriage by her father, with a desire to run away with Serpico rejected, resulting in her burning down her own mansion in a fit of madness. From here the two were sent to a monastery to become members of the Holy Iron Chain Knights, Serpico still the servant as Farnese buried herself in their new order and executed anyone suspected of being a heretic to the state. And in the first moment in years to evoke emotion from him, Serpico found one of these so-called heretics was his own mother. Despite his hesitance and knowledge she would never rebel against the holy order, Serpico had to burn her alive to prove he wasn’t the son of a heretic by Farnese and the Holy Silver Chain Knights. And in a cruel twist of fate, he fulfilled his mother’s dreams and began to act like a noble, at the cost of her life and Serpico’s own agency.
This all began to change, as on many expeditions, they learned of rumors about the Black Swordsman, Guts. Wherever he went, calamity followed – likely just exaggerated tales of monsters meant to mask his countless atrocities, or perhaps he truly was the fabled Hawk of Darkness from their religion, the one who would bring about the apocalypse. And soon they found and captured him, after he had been weakened by earlier battles, only for the swordsman to escape again, coinciding with their campaigns towards the Tower of Conviction. Through this, Serpico fought Guts numerous times, with neither killing the other out of honor or convenience.
But that night, Serpico and Farnese witnessed the corruption and hypocrisy of Mozgus firsthand, as their leader tortured, maimed, and murdered all those he saw fit, while bending the rules of their religion when it was convenient for him. Forced to team up with Guts, it was Serpico’s cleverness and stubborn determination to live that saved their lives, not the blind faith they were sworn to. As his sister renounced her ties to the church and chose to follow Guts in order to discover her own place in the world, the ever-loyal Serpico followed her as a protector, both joining Guts as companions on his quest to save the one he loved. Protecting his new friends with a noble fervor and renewed will, while swearing to have the heads of anyone who could bring his sister’s demise.
Experience & Skill
Polnareff
“The most delicious food I had during my interview trip in Southwestern United States was Burger King.” -Hirohiko Araki
Polnareff has a wide range of experience across his time as a Stand user. From what we know, he has been able to manifest Silver Chariot since he was a child, and is very aware of all its abilities. He fights with his Stand like a trained fencer, and has been able to pull off many ridiculous stunts with it. In addition, he’s honed his craft even further in his hunt for J. Geil and for Diavolo.
As well, he’s shown great intelligence in combat with his Stand, able to devise a plan to deal with the Hanged Man’s speed and mirror-hopping quickly after noticing. He could also figure out how to deal with Devo’s puppet, and deduce Vanilla Ice’s vampiric nature, defeating him even after losing two of his comrades. Even after being heavily wounded by Diavolo, Polnareff was still able to fight against him and his time-erasing abilities. He was also able to even fight against Alessi while reverted to childhood, devising plans even with his intelligence reduced, showcasing great skill and experience in combat.
Serpico
From his childhood, Serpico has experienced and survived various forms of pain, from fighting other children day by day, drowning, getting kicked off a horse, and being made to fight in any duel whenever insulted by another aristocrat for his common birthright. However, it’s thanks to this constant struggle that he was able to develop his fighting skills and swordsmanship, frequently coming to a draw in duels with nobles of far more prestigious upbringings. He studied numerous battle tactics of armies across the world as the Holy See’s herald of arms, and over ten years became an incredibly deadly fencer.
Because of this and his lithe frame, his specialties in combat are swiftness, to the point he can effectively dodge the massive blade Dragonslayer at close range, and his precision is so great he can pierce leaves flying about in the wind on his sword with one stab, keeping them almost intact. Guts has noted his skill in combat, as Serpico will make use of any opening to keep constant pressure and prevent a clearly stronger opponent from being allowed to attack.
But most notable of all is Serpico’s intelligence and strategic mind. He’s described as a trickster, frequently deceiving or misdirecting opponents to land surprise blows, using the environment against them to trick them into positions he can exploit, and frequently changing his strategy to learn and adapt to any situation. Such as when he saw Guts throw a bomb at him once, used the explosion as a smokescreen to hide off the side of a cliff to attempt a surprise attack, and steal those same bombs to use them against Guts. While he admits that he does this when he believes he can’t win a fair fight, others have noted this is not at all due to a lack of skill, and he is still a master in his own right.
Equipment
Polnareff
Requiem Arrow
The fabled sixth of the Stand Arrows, Polnareff found this during his trips in Egypt and has kept it since. It seems to have the power to give Stands another form: a Requiem state. Then he accidentally pricked Silver Chariot with it, found out about Chariot’s Requiem form, and has used it when on his last legs.
Serpico
Sylph Sword
Given to him by the witches Flora and Schierke and protected by the ethereal wind elemental Sylphs, the Sylph Sword is perhaps Serpico’s greatest weapon. Made from an eagle’s feather and the hilt from the mistletoe growing at the highest branch in the entire forest, one swing of this blade can generate a whirlwind and kill the enemy without even touching them once. A fitting weapon for a fencer.
Sylph Cloak
Similarly granted the protection of the Sylphs, the Sylph Cloak enhances Serpico’s levity, being able to float on its own and kick up gusts of wind to deflect and avoid attacks.
Rapier
Even after being bestowed upon more enchanted weapons, Serpico still utilizes his classic and reliable rapier.
Crossbow
Abilities
Polnareff
Silver Chariot
Silver Chariot is Polnareff’s Stand, the physical manifestation of his fighting spirit. Stands act in accordance with the will of the user, but can also react automatically to preserve their user’s life, even without conscious thought on the part of the individual. This is important, because Stands and their user share damage; if one is harmed by an attack, so will the other. So if Polnareff gets hurt, Silver Chariot will share the damage and vice-versa.
Stands are composed of spiritual/mental energy, and as such their strength and special skills vary depending on the strength and nature of the user. Another factor that influences the strength of a Stand is range; different Stands vary in terms of how far the Stand can travel away from their user, but all of them have strength proportional to their distance from the user. If a Stand is closer to the user, it is stronger, while if it is further away, it is weaker. Silver Chariot in particular is a close-range Stand, meaning that it generally needs to remain within 10 meters of Polnareff to be used effectively.
Like all Stands, Silver Chariot possesses a wide range of specific abilities that it can put to use in combat. These include:
Swordsmanship
“I’m really into darts at the moment. It’s a great way to relieve stress at work, but now there are holes in the Wall.” -Hirohiko Araki
Silver Chariot’s primary function is that it is a fast fencer, able to stab Polnareff’s enemies with great precision and skill. Its skills aren’t limited to just murder either, as it is able to intercept flames on its blade and slash with great precision, intercepting several coins at once. Silver Chariot also has great showings of speed, being able to cut enemies moving at the speed of light, such as the Hanged Man, and lasers fired by the Sun.
Sword Blade Projectile
Finally, Silver Chariot can launch its sword’s blade as a projectile, granting it an effective ranged option to attack a target from a distance or ricochet across the area. However, Polnareff must retrieve the blade in order to keep on fighting with Chariot, making this a risky maneuver.
Afterimages
Chariot’s most notable ability, being able to move so fast it can create illusory afterimages of itself by going very fast, allowing it to essentially fight in seven places at once and making it nearly impossible to track.
Levitation & Flight
Like most Stands, Silver Chariot can levitate and essentially fly through the air, leaving it with no need for things like “walking.” This supplements its incredible speed with greater mobility, allowing it to get straight to the “point” against most opponents. Other Stand users like Jotaro and DIO have notably utilized this ability to grant themselves pseudo-flight as well as their Stand, though Polnareff does not typically use Silver Chariot in that manner.
Invisibility
Perhaps the ability they are most (in)famous for in battleboarding, all Stands are invisible and cannot be perceived by anyone without a Stand of their own, or some equivalent form of spiritual awareness. So if you happen to be a poor little normie fighting Silver Chariot, you’re likely to get stabbed at the speed of light without even being able to see what’s happening. Skill issue GG.
Intangibility
Stands are also capable of phasing, allowing them to pass through physical objects as though they aren’t there, befitting their nature as weird spirit entities. This also goes hand in hand with their aforementioned invisibility, as one who is not a Stand user is not only incapable of seeing a Stand, but incapable of touching or affecting them as well, provided they lack some form of non-physical interaction. So Stands can touch you, but you can’t touch them. Some Stand users have even used this power to phase through people, such as Jotaro phasing Star Platinum’s hand into his own chest, or Joseph’s.
Non-Physical Interaction
Likely also thanks to their non-corporeal nature, Stands are capable of consistently affecting other things that are likewise intangible. Silver Chariot in particular was able to parry attacks from Alessi’s Stand, Sethan, which was manifested from Alessi’s shadow. Similarly, Heaven’s Door was able to affect Reimi Sugimoto despite the fact that she is an intangible spirit, Stone Free could touch Whitesnake while it was phasing through prison bars, and Star Platinum was able to vacuum up the town-sized fog Stand, Justice, with sheer lung capacity.
Shrinking
“When I got the flu shot, I was told it wouldn’t hurt. But it did, I cried.” -Hirohiko Araki
As Stands are simply made up of the user’s energy, it is possible to shrink them with ease. Polnareff and Kakyoin did this in order to counteract the Stand Lovers, which had invaded Joseph’s brain; they simply shrunk Silver Chariot and Hierophant Green down to microscopic size and sent them in after it.
Naturally, this ability is never used again… except in a light novel where the Crusaders conveniently remember they can do this.
Serpico
Swordsmanship
Serpico’s capability as a swordsman is exceptional, prompting even Guts to comment on his prowess (see above), as he was able to constantly change his style and attack patterns to prevent the Black Swordsman from reading his moves. Serpico prioritizes speed and technique over raw power, allowing him to pose an extreme challenge to even opponents much stronger than him – no surprise, given that he is fast enough to intercept cloud-to-ground lightning from an Apostle. By using the terrain to his advantage, he frequently has shown to be capable of preventing his opponents from using their weapons properly, placing him at an advantage with his smaller and faster blade.
Ethereal Spirit Perception
Wind Sylphs
Serpico’s familiars embedded throughout his cloak and sword are the wind sylphs, elementals who embody and uphold the atmospheric currents of the world. They grant him control over wind from distant slashes, dispelling attacks, manipulating water, and even allowing him to fly, making them effective for both offense and defense. They are also fully sentient, and once bonded to Serpico, will not allow themselves to be controlled by anyone else.
Like other beings of the Astral Plane, the wind sylphs are normally invisible and untouchable to most humans, unless they are able to perceive similar ethereal spirits. This is important for Serpico, as the stronger he can visualize these sylphs and hold faith in them, the more powerful they can act. And thanks to his prior experiences with Guts and other encounters with spirits of the Astral World, Serpico was able to understand and control them effectively within a matter of hours at best.
Time Stop
In the Berserk: Millennium Falcon PS2 video game, Serpico possesses an ability that allows him to freeze time for enemies, allowing Guts to follow up with attacks. The text from the guide directly reads:
セルピコ（敵をフリーズ）
L2ボタン＋○ボタン
敵をフリーズさせます。ただし、一度攻撃が当たるとフリーズが解除されます。レベルアップでフリーズ時間が長くなります。
Serpico (Freeze the Enemy)
L2 Button + ○ Button
Freezes the enemy. However, the freeze effect is canceled once the enemy is hit. As you level up, the freeze duration increases.
So while this is somewhat limited since the freezing effect is broken as soon as the attack lands, it is still a good way to ensure he gets free shots off, or to put himself in a favorable position.
Forms
Polnareff
Armorless Chariot
Silver Chariot’s armor acts as a blessing and a curse – it protects Polnareff from damage inflicted to his Stand, unlike most other Stand users, but also limits Silver Chariot’s speed. Without the armor, Chariot can go much, much faster than without, being able to blitz most opponents. In exchange, however, Chariot can take less damage, and any inflicted upon it risks damage to Polnareff. With this in mind, shedding Chariot’s armor is a very risky move, and usually saved as a last resort trump card.
Tiny Chariot
“A dentist I know won’t fix my cavity because he said he’s scared. It’s not fair” -Hirohiko Araki
As shown in his fight against Steely Dan, Polnareff possesses the ability to shrink Silver Chariot to near microscopic size, allowing it to fight smaller enemies.
…Pretty worthless outside of that, though.
Chariot Requiem
The fabled Requiem form of Silver Chariot, first obtained when Polnareff accidentally pricked it with the Requiem Arrow and fully obtained when Polnareff stabbed it to protect the Requiem Arrow from Diavolo. With this form, Chariot loses its sword and invisibility but also gets several other abilities, including:
Regeneration: Chariot Requiem is able to reattach lost limbs, as shown when it reattached its arm after it was severed by Sex Pistols.
Sleep Manipulation: Chariot Requiem can put everyone around it, excluding Polnareff seemingly, to sleep.
Soul Manipulation: Requiem, once it puts people to sleep, can swap around their souls between their bodies. In addition to this, it can also turn their stands mad if they attempt to attack it, as Stands are a reflection of the soul.
Biological Manipulation: The final thing Requiem has been shown to do is be able to slowly turn people into otherworldly beings. Polnareff says it is swapping the biosphere of Earth for something else entirely.
The one weakness of Requiem is that if you hit the psychic orb of light behind it, in the shadow of your soul, it breaks apart entirely. But make no mistake, Chariot Requiem is a force to be reckoned with.
Serpico
Eyes Open Serpico
When he isn’t limiting his power by keeping his eyes closed, that’s when you know shit’s getting real.
…None notable.
Feats
Polnareff
Overall
- Joined the Stardust Crusaders and helped end DIO’s reign of terror
- Killed J. Geil, finally avenging his sister
- Helped Jotaro in his quest to discover the remaining Stand Arrows, and discovered the origin of Stands as a whole
- Became the first wielder of a Requiem Stand
- Defeated Devo the Cursed, J. Geil, Hol Horse, The Lovers, Cameo, Michal, Chaka, Khan, Alessi, Vanilla Ice
- Became a turtle
- Got a surprisingly happy ending all things considered
Power
- Could slice through solid rock
- Cut Joseph’s prosthetic hand
- Smashed through a wall
- Carved through Hanged Man’s face
- Matched Star Platinum’s punches with sword strikes
- Overpowered Vanilla Ice after he had become a Zombie
- Could use his stand to throw his wheelchair into the air
Speed
- Intercepted flames on Silver Chariot’s sword
- Chariot can move so fast, it can create a vacuum in the air via its blade
- Could move fast enough to create six afterimages of Chariot
- Cut the Hanged Man, a Stand that moves at light speed
- Could deflect lasers from The Sun
- Even as a child, could block bullets
Durability
- Withstood multiple Crossfire Hurricanes from Magician’s Red
- Survived the Emerald Splash
- Got his neck bitten by Ebony Devil
- Survived crashing a car
- Took hits from The World
- Was able to survive falling off of a cliff, albeit severely injured in the process
Serpico
Overall
- Fought numerous duels with nobles over the years without losing a single one
- Served as the Herald of Arms for the Holy Iron Chains (and one of its only effective knights)
- Survived the collapse of the Tower of Conviction
- Joined Guts’ companions, protecting them numerous times from almost certain doom and various monsters
- Slayed numerous demons, trolls, kelpies, golems, and apostles
- Matched Guts in swordsmanship, even impressing him with his tactical ability and skill
- Helped Guts defeat Daiba and the Sea God
Power
- Cut through trolls with his Silver Wind Blade
- Decapitated the Kelpie from a distance
- Decapitated four men at once with his Sylph Sword
- Cut through several Daka that were riding on Pishacha
- Physically strong enough to harm Guts and parry his attacks to an extent, albeit weaker
- Slashes through and suppresses Ganishka’s blast of lightning
Speed
- Consistently fast enough to keep up with Guts, to the point where Guts acknowledged that Serpico was nearly too fast for him to see
- Leapt over a point blank sword strike from Dragonslayer with only a scratched boot sole to show for it
- Evaded Guts’ grenade explosion with limited space to move
- Dodged a point blank crossbow shot
- Regularly carves through enemies at blinding speed
- Dodged lightning from Ganishka in his storm form (Mach 146)
- His elementals dodge Kelpie water attacks
- Leapt across the top of several boulders at high speed
- Kept pace with Guts while he was wearing his Berserker Armor
Durability
- Survived a direct blast from a demonic elephant
- Blocks several swings from Guts’ Dragonslayer
- Endured being hit by collapsing bricks and Dragonslayer slammed into his back
- Managed to block a blast of Ganishka’s lightning with his cloak
- Most of his childhood with Farnese
Scaling
Polnareff
Stardust Crusaders
As he was able to match, if be a bit weaker than Jotaro in a fight, Polnareff should scale to all feats the other Stardust Crusaders have shown to be capable of. In secondary media such as the Part 3 light novel, Polnareff and Silver Chariot at their 100% are stated to be capable of beating another Stand, Satanic Coupler, that Jotaro and Star Platinum could smash in at just 60%, further emphasizing the relativity in power between Chariot & Star Platinum
- Joseph was fast enough to dodge a laser from the Red Stone of Aja (2.324c)
- Star Platinum is stated to be faster than light
- Star Platinum was able to break across High Priestess’ teeth
- Jotaro tanked DIO’s Space Ripper Stingy Eyes
- DIO’s Space Ripper Stingy Eyes were able to split clouds in Phantom Blood (32.5 Tons of TNT)
- Iggy can create a sandstorm over Manhattan (0.0372 Tons of TNT)
- Avdol can burn a crater into the ground with Magician’s Red
- Both Iggy and Avdol survive being struck by a bolt of lightning
- Kakyoin can react to events within a microsecond
- Kakyoin laid a egg (Parent Level) (High Complex Multiversal) (for legal reasons this is a joke)
Passione
As he was able to fight with Diavolo multiple times and deal damage, even if he lost due to the abilities of King Crimson, Polnareff should naturally scale to all the feats performed by members of Passione.
- Giorno’s Gold Experience was capable of damaging Polpo’s Black Sabbath, who could overpower Koichi’s Echoes Act 3
- Bruno’s Sticky Fingers was able to tag and damage Diavolo’s King Crimson multiple times
- Mista’s Stand Sex Pistols is capable of keeping up with and reacting to bullets, and can launch them with the same level of force as a gunshot
- Trish’s Spice Girl is strong enough to destroy a plane in a single punch
- Spice Girl could also break off the arm of Sticky Fingers
- Trish herself could, somehow, knock back and harm Notorious B.I.G within the game GioGio’s Bizarre Adventure
Misc. Stand Users
“It’s too late to tell but I enjoyed the movie “The Grinch.” I think it’s a good type of psycho-fantasy for children”- Hirohiko Araki
As shown by being able to keep up with stands like Star Platinum and the World, even if weaker than them, Polnareff should scale to most other feats performed by Stand users throughout JoJo’s.
- Jolyne’s Stone Free has been stated to punch with the destructive force of a small but incredibly fast meteor
- Jolyne’s Stone Free was able to punch away meteors summoned by the Stand Planet Waves (556 Tons of TNT – 1 Kiloton of TNT)
- Sheila E’s Voodoo Child could lift boulders and casually toss them hard enough that they can sink a yacht
- Amped by his Stand, Manic Depression, Massimo Volpe overpowered Voodoo Child at just 20% strength and is implied to have “surpassed human limitations” akin to a zombie or vampire
- Vanilla Ice as a Zombie should be comparable to the likes of Jack The Ripper, who can collapse a tunnel (0.28 to 0.903 Tons of TNT)
- Higher-end Zombies like Tarkus could split apart a cliff (81.5 Tons of TNT)
- DIO could easily deflect the Emerald Splash
- Michal’s Stand, Dark Mirage, could telekinetically toss projectiles fast enough that they ignite from friction with the atmosphere (0.137 Tons of TNT)
- Justice created fog that spanned an entire town, even covering a small part of a mountain (7.52 Tons of TNT)
- Dos Santos’ Stand caused an earthquake within a town in Lima (689.2 to 733 Tons of TNT)
- Lisa Lisa’s Stand, The House of Earth, can ionize the air on a city-wide scale and create an aurora(5.88 Megatons of TNT, See Before The Verdicts)
- House of Earth could also generate hurricanes (143.4 Kilotons of TNT)
- The mere activation of House of Earth shook the area covered by El Aleph (522.78 Tons of TNT)
- Note that practically all of House of Earth’s feats are the result of Lisa Lisa channeling Hamon through her Stand, meaning this scales directly to her as well
Serpico
Guts’ Party
After so much loss at the hands of Griffith and the Eclipse, Serpico was one of Guts’ many new friends he made when he needed them most. Serpico is established to be arguably the most skilled of the entire traveling party, having mastered his gifted magical weapons much earlier than the others. While he shouldn’t normally scale to the full capabilities of Guts with the Berserker Armor in strength, his agility should allow him to scale in speed, and he certainly scales to the various other party members.
Additionally within the slightly different version of events in various video game adaptations, certain magical creatures like the Kelpie explicitly give Guts a hard time to where Serpico needs to intervene and face it on his own so that Guts can focus on fending off other monsters. And as with the source material, he does kill the Kelpie all by himself or at least wails on it alongside Guts for a long time before it goes down. In their second battle, without any of his mystical gear, Serpico duels Guts and while he loses he does make Guts admit that he isn’t so much weaker that he needed to hold back and that he took the fight seriously. So, in at least the realm of secondary canon, Serpico should downscale from Guts as well.
- Isidro threw this rock at 160 km/h (Mach .13)
- Schierke could part clouds with her magical rituals and flood an entire town
- In a combined effort with Schierke, Guts vaporized the head of a giant water snake (22.7 tons of TNT each)
- Guts can dodge Ganishka’s lightning (Mach 21.6)
- Guts slew the Sea God, which could break through a cliffside (3.55 Kilotons of TNT)
Apostles
Those tempted by the alluring call of a behelit at the lowest point of their lives; Apostles are the transformed inhuman pawns of the God Hand. In exchange for a sacrifice that defines their very humanity, people who become Apostles transform into monstrous figures and gain superhuman abilities. While initially the strongest of the Apostles are threats beyond Serpico’s ability to handle, such as Nosferatu Zodd or Grunbeld, he has fought and defeated creatures that have put Guts on the backfoot and could not defeat easily without aid such as the Kelpie. And later on in the story as Serpico is stated to have changed from their initial meeting and makes Guts admit he’s someone he needs to take seriously in combat,
- Misc. Apostles can bust through castle walls (2.7 Tons of TNT)
- Rosine could move fast enough to create sonic booms(Mach 4.445)
- She should also be superior to her creations, the Elves of the Misty Valley, who can fly from across the horizon line in a short timeframe (Mach 5.83)
- Human Mozgus vaporized a giant blob creature (119.07 Tons of TNT)
- Ganishka’s Apostle form, which is compared directly to Grunbeld and Zodd, can generate a thunderstorm within an unknown timeframe (44.26 to 132.78 Tons of TNT)
- Apostle Balzak should be superior to the Mandragoran Heart, which could create gigantic roots that spread across a castle (0.24 Tons to 281.37 Tons individually, 9.36 Tons of TNT to 10.97 Kilotons of TNT all together)
Weaknesses
Polnareff
Polnareff is an impressive fighter, there’s no doubt, but he has a plethora of weaknesses. First of all, his great honor means that he’s often susceptible to trickery and deception, having been caught off guard multiple times during a fight, and he often refuses to resort to more dishonorable tactics even if they would benefit him in the fight – with the only exceptions being those he truly hates. His sometimes arrogant nature can also lead to overconfidence in fights, leading to him getting severely wounded as he did against Devo due to him not expecting the strategies he went with.
As well, Polnareff is also very vulnerable to women, with them serving to distract him and him being unable to fight them in the long term – in the Genesis of the Universe novel, he preferred to knock out a girl who was trying to kill him rather then engage her in a proper fight with Silver Chariot. Lastly, Polnareff’s Stand without its armor is much less durable than most, meaning he can be easily damaged if you can manage to catch Chariot.
Serpico
Within the context of Berserk, Serpico is generally depicted as rather frail, relatively speaking, focusing more on speed over strength and very rarely taking hits directly. In spite of his tactical prowess, he has also been known to be both stubborn and reckless, especially in situations wherein Farnese is in danger and he cannot immediately ensure her safety. At one point, he even tries to kill Guts on that basis alone. He’s also afraid of fire, given that he had to burn his own mother at the stake.
Before The Verdict
Polnareff
Obligatory JoJo Speed BTV
Recently, due to new translations, there has been an argument that the intention of Star Platinum’s time stop is for it to be caused by Jotaro moving at near relativistic speeds, making it a pseudo “speed cap” for the verse. This argument is understandable, but we personally think that this interpretation is inconsistent within Part 3 itself.
Now, the biggest issue with this argument is definitely and ironically, Silver Chariot itself. As stated in guidebooks… well…
軌道さえわかれば、光の速さで動く敵を切ることもたやすい。 If it just understands their path, even cutting an enemy moving at the speed of light is a simple task.
You see the issue, no? These scans also come from guidebooks, just like the arguments for the differences in Jotaro’s stand, and you can’t have both co-exist. Silver Chariot is very explicitly vulnerable to both usages of Time Stop, it’s a major plot point within Part 3 and how we first see the ability even used at all, and Silver Chariot’s speeds are consistently around the same level as Star Platinum, if not even faster without his armor, but time doesn’t stop. You could argue Araki didn’t have this planned at the time, but the fact that later databooks highlight Chariot’s speeds being this fast and he still doesn’t cause similar effects to Jotaro’s time stop and is vulnerable to his time stop in all supporting media means that we firmly believe that this is …just an inconsistency, and should be ignored. We understand the argument for it, but we’d lean against these claims. Chariot itself also does multiple relativistic to massively faster than light feats, so it’d also be odd from a vs perspective.
Chariot Requiem is standard!?
In JJBA Part 5, we see Polnareff’s last gambit: piercing Silver Chariot with the Stand Arrow to evolve it into the soul-manipulating Chariot Requiem. It’s shown he doesn’t exactly have control over his Requiem stand and it affected his very soul by swapping it into Coco Jumbo. However, we see earlier in the part (and in the fighting game Heritage For The Future) that Polnareff can briefly activate the Requiem ability to knock a target unconscious, before it loses control.
Similar to when we see it fully activate and put everyone asleep in its actual big appearance. Polnareff was still unaffected by the Stand’s ability and it is backed up consistently that he resists the effects. Later on, the reason for Chariot Requiem losing control was simply because Polnareff’s soul was no longer inside his body. Meaning there was no host to command the effects of the Stand’s ability.
In summary, while it seems Polnareff can’t control SCR, we know that he can for a brief period put an opponent to sleep and conceal the Requiem Stand before losing total control. All the while resisting the effects of his Stand so long as his soul is still inside his body. Meaning, while not his immediate go-to but rather something he might use as a last resort act of desperation, the usage of Chariot Requiem would be viable.
City Level Lisa Lisa???
So if you’ve noticed from our scaling section, Lisa Lisa has a City level feat attributed to her. Now for anime and manga-onlys, you may be wondering which part of JoJo’s this comes from, as there’s no way Lisa Lisa did something like this in Battle Tendency. You also may be confused about this talk on her having a Stand. Well you’d be right! The Lisa Lisa feats in question come from a light novel called El Aleph, set in-between JoJo’s Parts 2 and 3 featuring an aging Lisa Lisa and the Speedwagon Foundation dealing with the organization’s first ever run-ins with Stands. The entire LN has been fully translated and you can read it in full here.
The main meat of this section though is what happens towards the last arc of the novel wherein Lisa Lisa faces off against a Requiem Stand, El Aleph, which possesses the ability to summon shadow monsters within a 5km^2 area in the Amazon. To combat this terrifying Stand, Lisa Lisa had stabbed herself with the Arrow and manifested her own Stand: The House of Earth, which can manifest winds that possess various minerals from which Lisa Lisa can channel her Hamon. This is how she performed her “ionizing a city” feat, it’s essentially the effect of her Hamon being channeled through the air via her Stand and it’s stated as such twice:
Now, is this the most consistent thing ever or easy to directly scale to Polnareff? Ehhhhhhhhhh not really. But he did keep up with Star Platinum and the World despite being weaker than them, and they are consistently depicted and stated to be the strongest Stands overall. And keep in mind that this is a 97-year old Lisa Lisa performing this feat. There’s certainly a strong case to be made that Old Joseph simply scales to or above her and that not only does Lisa Lisa recount the events of El Aleph him in the novel’s epilogue, but the return of DIO is seen as an unknown, terrifying power. Ergo, people knowledgeable about the El Aleph incident such as Joseph and the Speedwagon Foundation still glazing Star Platinum or The World would imply these Stands should upscale. So the argument is there, if you want to push it.
Serpico
Can Serpico even see or
touch Silver Chariot?
Getting this out of the way, yes he can. Schierke has clarified that the main crew of Berserk has been exposed to Guts and Casca to the point they can perceive and interact with beings of the Astral Plane, even when normal humans should be unable to do so. Schierke specifically notes the difference between beings of the Astral Plane and those who exist physically, and has given them ointment, fetishes, and training to ensure they can better perceive their own spirits, for if they could not, they would never be able to use them. Equalizing with similar properties of Stands, he should be able to fight Silver Chariot just fine.
Verdict
Stats
Comparing strength between the two of them, the exact difference between the two is going to vary depending on how far you push each side in strength. On the more conservative ends, Jojo’s has a variety of city block to multi-city block level feats that are generally pretty accepted (that is to say double to triple digit tons of TNT), including but not limited to Tarkus’ boulder smash, Dio’s space ripper stingy eyes, and Jolyne’s meteor punching. At most the latter can get up to around 1 kiloton of TNT, which is baseline small town level.
On the other hand, Berserk has several similarly strong feats from characters like Mozgus and Ganishka, but also several that exceed even the high end of Stone Free’s feat. For instance, the Sea God smashing through that cliffside is about three times higher, and the Mandragoran Heart from the video game could grow massive roots with energy up to ten times higher. This would give Serpico a comfortable advantage over most Jojo’s feats from the manga and anime.
On the other hand, if you bring in extended Jojo’s feats from the novels and such, you have feats from House of Earth that are much higher than this, such as creating a hurricane or ionizing the air on a city-wide scale. Even average hurricanes output a per-second energy yield in the hundreds of kilotons, and ionizing air requires a whole lot of energy, and would breach into the low megatons. These could be seen as outliers to the manga, but if accounted for would be enough to flip the AP comparison in Polnareff’s favor.
That being said, realistically speaking strength isn’t going to be what wins the fight for either of these guys. Serpico and Silver Chariot are both very much reliant on speed over strength or physical resilience, with both having matched and harmed characters much stronger than them with their swords, like Guts and Star Platinum. Neither Polnareff nor Serpico have exceptional durability feats against piercing weapons, and if either of them stabs the other in the face it would probably be fatal, regardless of which side has the AP advantage.
So speed is the name of the game, and in that regard this is very much Polnareff’s game to win. Serpico can blatantly dodge lightning, which should be hundreds to thousands of times faster than sound, but even with stuff like Berserk’s video games, he doesn’t have anything pushing him higher than that. Polnareff famously carved Hanged Man’s head in half while it was moving at the speed of light, and the databooks back up the notion that this would require incredible speed for him to pull off. He’s also kept up with Star Platinum, who’s likewise stated to be able to move faster than light, and should be comparable to other characters like Red Hot Chili Pepper who are capable of the same. Not to mention blocking lasers from the Sun, which are obviously literal light.
With that in mind, either one has a case to be made for taking strength, depending on how wide a net you cast with what media is included, but Polnareff will always be faster on an objective and consistent basis, and should be able to kill Serpico with a few good stabs regardless of the AP comparison.
Arsenal & Abilities
Polnareff and Serpico are characters with fairly simple and straightforward arsenals, but still have a fair bit worth talking about. In regards to Chariot and the Sylph Sword, both the sylphs and Chariot should be able to interact with the other, meaning that Serpico isn’t going to be destroyed by something he can’t interact with. The Sylph Sword’s wind properties should also give Serpico an advantage from a distance, as he can more easily cover the field in projectiles, as opposed to Polnareff, who can only use his blade as a projectile once before needing to retrieve it. In addition, Serpico’s Sylph Cloak should also give him an advantage in terms of mobility compared to Polnareff himself, and on par with Chariot’s own ability to fly.
However, Polnareff’s arsenal has a fair few advantages. Notably, Chariot’s ability to remove its armor and become even faster, to the point of causing after images of it to appear around Serpico, further bolstering Polnareff’s already absurd speed advantage. This isn’t something that Serpico would have a reliable way around, with all of them being able to stab him at once. Chariot’s ability to phase would also prove deadly, as it would allow him to potentially hit a vital organ easier in the fight. Serpico’s crossbow would largely be dead weight, as Polnareff himself could dodge the shots and it wouldn’t have any ability to interact with Chariot, making it pretty useless.
However, while admittedly non-standard and unconventional, both have ways of incapacitating their opponent for one hit. Serpico has the ability to stop time, an ability Polnareff has shown vulnerability to, and Polnareff has Chariot Requiem, which would put Serpico to sleep, rendering him helpless. Realistically, neither of them have actually used these options in canon reliably enough to ensure a win, so they’d more than likely cancel out. You could also honestly debate based on the wording whether Serpico’s time stop even is a time stop in the first place, or more of a general immobilization ability.
Overall, Serpico has a superior arsenal at range, but Polnareff’s Stand has similar levels of mobility and can enhance its far greater speed to ensure he can get in a hit first. Both of them have fairly out of character ways of incapacitating the other for a fatal stab, meaning they roughly cancel out, and Polnareff should overall take the edge in arsenal and abilities.
Tertiary Factors
In terms of sheer experience, Polnareff should have a clear cut edge. Serpico is 20 years old at the time we meet him during the manga, and while he has been training for a fair bit of time, Polnareff has had his Stand for his entire life. He has also fought for longer on-screen, with the time between Stardust Crusaders and Vento Aureo being roughly 14 years. Plus, Polnareff was actively fighting with his stand for years before that in his hunt for J. Geil, giving him a clear cut edge.
As for skill, however, that should go to Serpico. Polnareff has shown remarkable ability with his blade, but Serpico’s skill as a tactician and years of dueling and fencing are far beyond any sword-fighting skills Polnareff has shown off, and Serpico has only gotten better as time has gone on. With this in mind, in spite of Polnareff’s experience, Serpico would likely have the advantage in a straight-up sword duel, at least if we were not accounting for Chariot’s speed and various Stand abilities.
Conclusion
“But now, I feel no fear, I only feel the will to fight! It’s all because I met Mr. Joestar and his companions. The 45 days of our journey and the death of my friends have swept away my fear for you.”
Advantages:
- Stronger and more durable with high ends…
- Could still kill Serpico with a stab even at lower ends
- Much, much faster
- More experienced
- Chariot Requiem would be an instant win if pulled off
- Chariot’s ability to create afterimages would make getting off a fatal stab even easier
- Carries JoJo speed on his back
Disadvantages:
- …but weaker and less durable with lower ends
- Less skilled
- Less mobile as himself, and has slower travel speed
- Does not resist time stop
- Has an inferior arsenal at range
- Would die to being stabbed in a vital area
“I guess even if you force back what was lost… it still won’t be the way it was.”
Advantages:
- Stronger and more durable with low ends…
- Even if weaker, could still kill Polnareff with a stab
- Can interact with Silver Chariot
- Time Stop could give him a free win if he could pull it off…
- More skilled
- Superior at a distance in comparison to Polnareff
- Greater travel speed and mobility
- Carries Berserk speed on his back
Disadvantages:
- …but weaker and less durable with high ends
- …but doesn’t open with it in-character
- Crossbow would not be able to hit Chariot
- Much slower
- Generally less experienced
- Wouldn’t be able to deal with Chariot’s afterimages effectively
- Would die due to being stabbed in a vital area
- Has no counter to Chariot Requiem at all
Overall, this match is relatively clear-cut, all things considered. Regardless of whether you think Serpico is significantly stronger or you think Polnareff should be the stronger one, both have shown that they don’t have strong resistance to piercing weapons, meaning the main deciding factor here is speed. In that regard, Polnareff has a clear advantage. Dodging and cutting beams of light is obviously much, much faster than bolts of lightning, giving Polnareff the edge in the area that matters most.
Serpico’s superior ranged abilities would be helpful, granted, but Polnareff’s speed is a lot more important, and the fact he can amplify it even further doesn’t bode well. And while Serpico’s time stop could catch him a win in a few scenarios, it’s not something he has ever used in a canon fight, and given that he’s much slower in the first place, he’s unlikely to get it off compared to Polnareff’s own options. The same goes for Serpico’s superior sword skill, which sounds good on paper but is much less useful in the faces he has no answer to.
Serpico’s range, skill, and power were certainly a dangerous through, but Polnareff’s unparalleled speed and experience would pull through in the end. The sylphs have chosen the victor, and he’ll stand proud, having defeated a worthy foe. The winner is Jean-Pierre Polnareff.
Final Tally
Polnareff (7) – Dekhead, door-kun, Markx, The Cardinal King, WWAL, Yerm, Yuix
Serpico (1) – Joe
G1 Death Battle Fan Blogs 
Leave a comment